Retribution ★ Avengers

Tomorrow Will Be Better

The apartment was quiet for the most part. The twins were fast asleep in their bedroom. Sam had gone back to his apartment with Mason, who'd very graciously accepted Sam's offer to stay while Marlena dealt with Charlie's predicament. James had gone back to his apartment in the city, and Alena had gone with him. Bucky remained at Steve and Marlena's apartment, simply for the sake of being there for Charlie and Jay. He wanted to know what was going on and what Marlena planned to do to help their little girl, but she was still at a loss herself. She knew what Charlie wanted from her, and she knew she would likely give her daughter what she wanted, but she was unsure how to go about it the right way.

Marlena stood in the kitchen staring at the bottle of water in front of her on the counter. She was so lost inside her thoughts. Every passing minute she was trying to find a way to process exactly what her daughter had done. Charlie tried so hard to be good, but she often found herself falling through the cracks trying to pull it off. That was what hurt Marlena the most. Knowing Charlie was suffering so much at such a young age troubled Marlena tremendously.

The kitchen door opened rather abruptly, startling Marlena slightly. She looked up to see Bucky in the doorway watching her, his blue eyes curious. She'd almost forgotten she'd left Steve and Bucky in the living room to grab a bottle of water. Looking at the time on the stove revealed at least five minutes had gone by since then.

"Are you okay? We were kind of in the middle of a conversation," Bucky reminded her. He was impatient, that much Marlena could indicate from his tone. Marlena figured he was likely ready to wrap everything up for the sake of still being under the same roof as her and Steve. Tension between the three, more specifically between Marlena and Bucky, had gotten worse since their unforeseen conversation in the kitchen just a couple weeks prior. They hadn't spoken much since then. Of course, they both knew now wasn't the time to let their feelings over the situation keep them from being there for Charlie and Jay as their parents, but the painful fracture in their relationship could not be ignored.

"I'm fine," Marlena answered him. She grabbed her water bottle from the counter and started out of the kitchen. Bucky followed closely behind her and together the two headed back into the living room.

Marlena walked over to sit beside Steve on the couch, while Bucky sat down in the recliner. Marlena met Bucky's eyes, though he tried desperately to stray from meeting hers.

"So, she's not gonna get in trouble for this, is she?" Marlena asked Bucky, and he shook his head.

"Officially, the only thing the police know is that the restaurant had three deteriorating columns," he explained to Marlena.

"Do you know how many people were involved? Who they were?" Steve asked.

"Mom and daughter from the Aldeman family; father, daughter, and son from the Crawford family; mother from the Sherwood family," Bucky answered with a frown on his face; couldn't even look at them as he spoke his next words. "They were all DOA."

"And she knows it all?" Marlena spoke quietly. Just hearing the number of casualties made her sick to her stomach.

Bucky nodded his head. "She told me she felt it."

"And that's why she wants me to take it away," Marlena spoke quietly as she looked to the floor. She was more or less speaking to herself and hadn't counted on Steve or Bucky hearing her, but they had, and now their confused faces were now on her own.