Saving Grace

Forty Seven

Tony sent Peter back to his hotel with Happy forever ago. Grace didn't want to leave, so Peter told her to text him when she could, to let him know if everything turned out okay. Or if she just needed someone other than her dad to talk to. She said she would.

Now, she's standing with her dad — whose arm is in a sling — outside the room where her godfather is getting an MRI. Vision hit him during the fight, though he was aiming for Sam, who's standing with them, looking at Rhodey regretfully.

Tony asks, "How did this happen?"

"I became distracted," Vis replies quietly.

Grace looks up at him. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Neither did I."

Grace looks farther down the hall and spots Nat, then runs over to her, hugging her tightly. A few tears slip out, but that's all. She's almost cried out by now.

"T'Challa told us..." Grace quietly trails off.

Nat sighs. "You told me to do something... I did what I thought was right."

Grace hugs her tighter. If Nat believes Steve, then it must be true — it wasn't Bucky's fault. And they have to stop that psychologist. "Thank you."

Before Nat can respond, Tony clears his throat.

He's standing a few feet away from them, and he clearly wants to talk to Nat. She pulls back and nods at Grace. "See you when I see you," she says quietly.

"See you when I see you," Grace replies, heading back over to Vision. She decides to go ahead and text Peter. He's probably sitting in his hotel room right now, bored out of his mind.

Meanwhile, Tony's talking to Nat. "The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."

"Steve's not gonna stop," Nat replies. "If you don't either, Rhodey's gonna be the best case scenario."

"You let them go, Nat."

"We played this wrong."

"'We?'" Tony asks. "Boy, it must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? It sticks in the DNA."

"Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one second?" Nat replies sharply, then shaking her head in regret. "We should've listened to Grace when we had the chance."

"Well, we didn't," Tony replies. "She disagreed with the Accords, and you know we need them. You signed them. She's only been in one big fight, and even then she wasn't really in it. She doesn't get it. She can't."

"She knew this would tear us apart," Nat argues. "You know what she told Wanda and me after your fight?" She pauses, thinking back on it — her and Wanda, trying to calm Grace down as she sat against the wall and cried. Tony says nothing, so Nat continues. "She said, 'I just don't want you guys to hurt each other.' And look what we did."

Tony sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Well, it's too late now."

"That's what I told her," Nat says. "Out there, during that stupid fight... she said I was her last hope to fix this."

"And then you let Steve and Bucky go," Tony finishes. "Is that what she told you to do?"

"No. She told me to do something. And I did what I thought was right."

Tony shakes his head. "T'Challa told Ross what you did, so... they're coming for you."

"I'm not the one that needs to watch their back." Nat turns. "Tell Grace that I'm sorry."