Lieutenant - Daughter of the Captain

Chapter 52.0 - Socializing

They sat in silence.

Blue-green met brown in a standoff.

It was a competition of wills.

They sat like that for ten straight minutes.

Tony broke first.

"Kid-"

"No." Carter interrupted him.

"No isn't an option, they're forcing my hand-"

"Because they have your John Hancock?" She interrupted, "I signed mine too, Tony. I agreed to their terms, they have no right to force me into this," Carter argued, uncrossing her arms and sliding the papers back across the table.

Tony rolled his eyes, "You have no right. Or...rights, considering you're a kid and now that I'm your legal guardian and they know you have something like Barnes does programmed into that developing brain of yours this is the solution they came to," He countered, casually fiddling with his copy of the official amendment he'd received that morning.

Carter scowled, "Then ask them to compromise-"

"This is a compromise. Do you think they don't know you helped your dad that day? Do you know how hard it's been for me to get them to let you roam free? This is the compromise. Barnes gets a frozen closet, and you have to be socialized a little-"

"I'm not a reactive dog, Tony. You and I both know that this so-called 'Societal Reintegration and Project'," She quoted, emphasizing her point with finger-quotes, "is dangerous and unnecessary,"

Tony crunched his brows together, rubbing his temples, "With your EARS on you should be fine-"

"You mean the students and parents will be fine?" She interjected, "Meanwhile, I have to go about life without my hearing- and in public school no less!" She snapped, and then she gestured to the devices sitting to her left, "You have the luxury of choosing when I can take them out, but I don't. If being the 'child avenger' that the news has dubbed me isn't bad enough but I'll be the freaky deaf kid who lived with international fugitives now too?" Carter scoffed, standing from the table and grabbing her EARS, "No, Tony. I won't do it," She went to leave, only to see Happy standing at the door with a sad frown.

"You have no choice, kid..." Tony spoke slowly, "I have no choice. It's this or..." He couldn't finish, heaving another sigh.

The girl struggled to keep her breathing level, but she managed.

"What would they do with me?" She asked, her voice almost a whisper.

He took a long moment to think, probably searching for any answer that was better than the one he had.

"I don't know...but we'd probably never see each other again," He said, and though he tried to sound aloof and indifferent she could feel the pain and worry flowing off of him.

Carter sighed, turning and walking back to her seat.

The silence was different this time. Still tense, but thicker. Like the eye of a storm, it was calm, but a single change of wind could spell disaster.

Carter broke this time.

"I can't stay here," She blurted, her shoulders tensing.

Tony frowned, "Pardon?"

She sighed, "I can't...stay here," she repeated, "It's too...different. Too quiet. Everywhere I go..." She trailed off, hating the way she sounded, "I just can't be here anymore. I want to go back to the Tower, at least..." She finished, fidgeting with her EARS.