Deception || Steve Rogers Daughter

Chapter Thirteen

Steve roughly takes the folder from Fury's grasp and immediately starts to leaf through it, his expression changing with each word that he read. Fury places a hand on Emma's shoulder to stop her from shaking, not that she noticed anyway. Instead, her senses were zeroed in on Steve. Watching his every move, every change in expression, studying him like she'd been raised to do. 

How could Fury do this to her? Emma had begged him not to, she told him that eventually she'd gain the courage to tell Steve who she was. Just not today, not in front of everyone, and certainly not hours after her good friend had died. 

Eventually, Steve stops and stares at one part of the file. All at once, Emma's world seems to crash once again, he found it. The little section of her file that gave a detailed description of her past, which meant that he knew more about Hydra than she would've liked. 

"It's you." Steve whispers without looking away from the page. "Squirt." 

That little word comes out breathless, barely louder than the hum of the fridge across the room. Tears gather in Emma's eyes and she roughly pushes them away. Steve had called her that all her life, she was tinnier as a baby and he loved to use that nickname instead of her real one. 

Steve takes a deep breath, tears brimming his eyes, and turns on his heel. He shoves the doors open and rushes down the hall, away from the compound. Emma notices how his right hand clutches the file, almost ripping the pages. The room stays silent, everyone afraid to ruin the silence and question the moment.

Emma whirls on Fury, her eyes shining with the unfallen tears. "I freaking told you I wasn't ready. Obviously he wasn't either, why couldn't you have just listened to me?! You always said that you would yet here we are! I trusted you, Nick, how could you do this?!"

Emma's words come out faster than her brain could process them. After a few seconds of her voice ringing through the room, Emma stomps her foot and leaves in the same fashion her dad had seconds before. Maria takes a step to go after her but Fury puts his hand out to stop her. Emma was like her father in more ways than one, they both needed their space to cool down. 

Emma rushes through the halls, her hair whipping out behind her. She held her injured arm close to her chest and tried her best to watch where she was going but it was just so damn hard. Emma's mind swirled with the words that Hydra used to taunt her with, "Your father never loved you." and "He's never going to come for you, he hated you!". It gave her nightmares and sometimes she'd dream about him saying it to her. 

Steve walking out without looking or speaking to her was like a punch to the gut. It knocked the wind from Emma's chest and made her look for somewhere to breath. She had to get out of this hallway, find an oxygen tank or something that would help her. 

Emma bumps into someone, sending her flying back slightly. Why was she always doing this? She mumbles an apology and continues to curse herself out as she tried to move forward. She had to get out of here, find something. 

The person grabs her wrist and forces her to turn around and look at him. It was Fitz, he was wearing a lab coat and looked to be running errands for Jemma. Fitz purses his lips sympathetically before, without a word, leading her towards the lab. 

He says nothing as the doors open and he leads her to his desk chair. Jemma looks up from her computer and immediately jumps into action with him. Within seconds, Emma was hooked up to a mask that blew fresh oxygen into her lungs, already making her feel much better.

"Just take deep breaths." Jemma finally speaks while rubbing Emma's shoulder. "You suffered from a mild panic attack, are you alright?"

Emma can only shake her head. Her throat felt closed like it was blocking her from saying the wrong thing to these two agents that she had only just met hours before. Emma had heard about them through the grapevine when she first arrived at SHIELD years ago, but she never had the honor to meet them in person. Now she was with them twice in a matter of hours.

"Fury was talking about cutting her off near the Avengers area." Fitz mumbles under his breath, despite Emma obviously being able to hear him. "I bet he made it." 

"Do you think they told Captain Rogers?" Jemma inquires while tipping her head to the side. Both share a look and turn to stare at Emma before looking back at one another. "They definitely told him. Poor thing." 

"I wonder how he took it-"

"I need you two." Coulson bursts into the lab, completely out of breath and missing his suit jacket.

"Sir? What's going on?" Jemma questions while standing to her full height. Coulson stares at Emma, evaluating her condition, for a few seconds before turning back to the two scientists.

"Fitz, stay here with Emma. Jemma, with me." Coulson orders. Jemma grabs her medical bag and races to the door. All Emma catches is 'Rogers' and 'Down', did that mean her father had been shot? Was he okay?

Despite everything screaming at her not to move or go after them, Emma pushes herself to her feet. Fitz, who had been watching the door, immediately shakes his head and pushes her back down. "You don't want to go out there, seriously stay here." Emma shakes her head in defiance and tries to stand again. Fitz purses his lips while placing his hands on his hips. "Do you really want me to tie you down?"

Emma looks up at him with an expression that just read 'You wouldn't dare' and he raises an eyebrow back in a challenge. Was Fitz seriously threatening her to keep her away from the scene? That meant it was worse than she imagined....could she take him down in time to reach wherever Steve was down? It would be hard but Emma knew she could do it. Slowly, she looks up from the floor with a smirk that causes Fitz to swallow the lump in his throat. What the hell had he gotten himself into?