Some Things Never Sleep

Chapter Nineteen

Emma exited the Quinjet with the others, not even paying attention to her surroundings because she was still haunted by what the witch had shown her. Steve would glance at her every now and then in concern but she ignored him. She had finally woken up from her deep sleep around a half an hour before they landed. Thankfully her deep sleep was dreamless and she hadn't revisited the things that the witch had showed her. The others had seemed to walk on eggshells around her as soon as she woke up. She briefly wondered if they knew how bad the witch had attacked her. Judging by the scratches on Clint, Steve, and Thor, Emma could guess that they might've had an idea although she didn't think they knew the details.

A sinking feeling hit Emma as they walked through the grassy land. The witch knew. Emma realized it at that moment and the feeling made her sick. The witch knew everything about her. Not even Steve knew everything about her yet the witch knew what made Emma tick...what terrified her and what she laid awake at night thinking about. She knew the inner turmoil Emma faced whenever she woke up in the morning and she had seen all the lives Emma had taken. Emma felt enraged that the witch had so needlessly violated her like that and took a look inside her mind. Emma swore there was only one life she was ever going take if she had the chance and that was Rumlow but Emma was slowly beginning to reconsider that decision. She might raise that exception up to two lives.

Emma looked up from the ground as they neared what looked to be someone's property and felt her thoughts drift away from the witch as her eyes landed on a house. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the house. She felt her heart beating rapidly and just for a moment she thought she might be back in Oklahoma. It looked so much like the farmhouse she lived in with her parents. If she squinted her eyes enough she could see her parents on the front porch, laughing as they drank a glass of ice tea. The vision faded from her eyes as she heard Thor speak up from ahead of them. Emma realized that she stopped walking when she saw the house so she quickly caught up to the rest of them.

"What is this?" Thor said to Tony.

"A safe house." Tony responded but Thor just looked at him, not looking convinced.

"Let's hope." Clint told them both as he ushered Natasha into the house. Emma narrowed her eyes, not really sure how to feel about waltzing into a random house even if it was a safe house. Years of mistrust hadn't really helped prepare her for a circumstance like this. Emma and the others slowly followed Clint into the house, deciding to put trust in their teammate. Emma raised an eyebrow as she glanced around the house, spotting various toys on the floor as well as drawings hanging on the walls that looked as though a child had drawn them. This was taking a cover a little too far, wasn't it? Setting up such a secure looking safe house that it appeared to be a family home?

"Honey?" Clint called out as he entered the living room, looking around the house for someone. Emma wanted to know what was going on right then. She didn't care too much for guessing games and she felt uneasy enough as it was. "I'm home."

It was then that a very pregnant looking woman appeared around the corner and Emma immediately assessed her appearance as she tried to determine whether or not the stranger was a threat. The woman appeared to be in her late thirties with long brown hair and big, brown eyes. She had some pieces of paper and markers in her hand but seemed completely surprised to see Clint and the rest of them. Clint's entire face brightened up when he saw her and Emma suddenly wondered what she was to him.

"Hi." He greeted with a huge grin on his face. "Company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead."

"Hey." The woman said before she embraced him, placing her hands on either side of his face as he wrapped his arms around her. Emma watched in moderate surprise as they kissed. Well...Emma certainly hadn't been expecting that.