I Thought You Were Different: Part 3

Wait

No one spoke another word after Anthony's revelation.  While Tony and Bucky prepared to leave, Steve took his son back to the nursery, hoping to lull the little one to sleep before he had to leave him.  It hadn't escaped anyone as to what the boy had said, and no one was pretending to not know; they all knew that you had given up, and that you let Hydra get exactly what they wanted.  In order to save you, Steve hesitantly resolved himself to the idea that he would have to fight you.

"Can't find...mama..." Anthony quietly cried into a long yawn as Steve held him tight to his chest, rocking him slowly back and forth in the darkening room.  When he looked down at his son and saw his little thumb go into his mouth to try to soothe himself, Steve couldn't hold it in anymore and began to cry with him.  The thought that he may never get you back was becoming a reality, and the thought that you could very possibly try to kill him sent a terrifying chill down his spine.  In the flash of a moment, he decided that he would let you do it rather than risk taking your life to stop you if it went that far.  He decided that it was what he deserved for bringing you to this point.

"I love you, Bug," he whispered into Anthony's soft hair, leaving a kiss behind before standing to put him into his crib.  "I'll get her back."

"I have heard you say that before, Captain.  I am beginning to worry that this pattern has become too commonplace and that this may not be a safe environment for your children."

Steve didn't flinch at the voice and simply nodded in agreement, only glancing at T'Challa when he rested his hands on the crib rail to look down at the now-sleeping boy.  "You're right.  It's not safe here.  They're not safe with me.  I would never hurt them, but having them here right now puts them at risk.  I'm putting everyone at risk."

"Yes, and that is why I'm here to take them with me to Wakanda.  They'll be safe there, and no one will know where to find them.  If anyone dares to try, believe me, Captain, they will be stopped."

Steve knew that the king was right, and that taking the kids away was the logical choice to make; he was grateful in that moment that someone else had made it for him because he knew that he was nowhere near strong enough.  "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," T'Challa replied with a shake of his head.  "I don't want it.  I'm doing this for (Y/N).  But, when you apprehend her, you will bring her to me."

Steve finally turned to face him, fully confused now and slightly angry at the insinuation that they couldn't take care of you within your own family, "and why would I do that?"

"She will need to be protected as well, if you're taking her from those who think to own her.  She'll need medical care that we can provide, as well as a nurturing environment to rebuild her memories.  I don't believe that can be found here.  Not anymore."

~~~

"Go away," you mumbled in your sleep, tossing and turning enough to strip the sheets from each edge of the bed until they were wrapped around you in a cocoon.  At night when you let your conscious self rest and when you weren't actively stopping the intrusion, you felt a small presence trying to push its way into your mind, though you had no idea who it was or why they were so persistent.  It was becoming disruptive and would soon be a threat to your performance; if it hindered your progress on a mission, you would face even more hours of stripping your personality away, and what was left of the real you was barely hanging on by a thread.

Only two hours into your scheduled sleep time, you woke and decided that tonight wasn't going to happen.  The room around you was cold and sterile, without any items that would be of use to remember your former life, and it was done with careful attention to keep it that way.  Hydra had even taken such precautions as making sure that the guns you were carrying were different than those that you had used with the Avengers as to not trigger a memory.  When you sat up on the edge of your firm and uncomfortable bed, it only took seconds for a loud voice to echo through your quarters.