Georgia, 2:50 AM
The instrumental opening of AC/DC's Back In Black begins blaring in the pitch black bedroom, Jolting both Tony and Pepper awake.
"Tony!" She shush's him as he frantically searches his bedside table for the noise's source.
"I know! I know!" He groans out, pulling the phone to see Unknown Caller on the screen.
Sliding the call to answer with a huff,
"Whoever this is, Someone better be dying."
Pepper twists the gold lamp beside her on, Shifting her gaze to Tony as all the color drains from his face.
"T-...Tony..." Steve's muffled sob is barely recognizable on the other end, sending a heavy pit into Tony's stomach.
"Steve is that you?"
Steve struggles to calm his panicked breathing, his eyes focusing on the blood that stains his hands.
"I hurt her...Tony..."
With that, Tony's jaw goes slack as he meets Pepper's worried gaze.
"What do you mean you hurt her? Her who? Anastasia?" Tony asks, fighting to keep his tone even.
"He hurt Annie?!" Pepper whispers, her eyes shooting wide.
But all Tony hears is muffled sobbing on the other end, His mind racing a mile a minute.
"Steve, where is Anastasia?!" He asks more forcefully, Wedging his phone between his shoulder and ear as he slips his watch on.
"I-I don't know..." Steve chokes out.
Anastasia laying covered in blood flashes in Steve's mind.
"Alright, where are you?"
"Th-The compound, I'm at the compound..."
"Stay there." Tony demands, Ending the call as he jumps to his feet.
"What happened?!" Pepper asks, watching Tony as he moves through the room in a fury, dressing as quickly as possible.
"I don't know, But I gotta find the kid."
~
New York Hospital, 3am.
Wanda bursts into the brightly lit hospital room with Vision in toe, Bucky jolts up momentarily until his swollen and blackened eyes recognize it's only the couple whom he called hours ago.
Wanda's mouth gaps open as she brings her hand up to muffle her gasp.
In all their many years of friendship, She's never seen Anastasia severely injured.
But now she lays unconscious on the long hospital bed, IV and monitor wires keeping her attached to the beeping screen and sack of fluids. Small bandages scattered around her delicate freckled face, With a large protruding bandage covering the majority of the left side.
Bucky's blackened gaze follows the couple intensely as they slowly draw near on the opposite side of the bed.
Wanda grimaces, her shaking hand hovering over Anastasia's bandaged temple, a red glow spreading between the two as she closes her eyes.
"Riley! Samy! Come on!" A small voice calls.
"Angel you're going too far, Wait for us!" A deep voice booms in the distance.
"I told you three Mickey Mouse ice creams was going to be too much sugar for her, man." Sam laughs.
Wanda lowers her hand, A few tears rolling down her cheek as Vision massages her shoulder.
"What did you see?" Is the first word Bucky speaks, his face twisted as he struggles to hold his emotions together.
"She's dreaming." Wanda whispers, eyeing her injuries for another moment before turning to meet Bucky's gaze.
"Steve did this?" She snarls, her eyes glowing red.
"Yes."
"He's a deadman."
"Not yet." Bucky growls back.
"Now, Both of you, Please," Vision tries to speak calmly, Burying his own anger deep within.
Wanda shoved his hand from her shoulder as she scowls up at him,
"Do you see her, Vision?!"
Bucky drops his gaze to the floor as he continues to hold her hand, Guilt of failing to protect her consuming him whole.
"Of course I do, Darling."
"Then help me find him." She whispers angrily.
"That's not what she needs." Vision tries to reason.
"What she needs is-" Wanda begins to argue but Bucky interrupts.
"What she needs is to wake up with you here, It's why I called you. We can worry about him later. He's not going to go far."
Vision gives Bucky an nod of approval as Wanda storms out into the hall, overwhelmed by her emotions Wanda charges into the nearest public bathroom in search of privacy.
~
"Where is Sam?" Vision asks, His worried gaze racking over Anastasia's medical chart.
"Back at The Tower with Rosie." Bucky replies, his eyes not leaving Anastasia for a second.
"Is he injured as well?"
"Not badly."
"Perhaps I should swap places with him?"
"Rosie is going to need to be feed soon, There should be one bottle left in the fridge. But the doctor," Bucky swallows down his tears as he reluctantly releases her limp hand, Striding across the room to the little white table by the window.
"They said because she lost so much blood, And because we don't know the extent of her injuries until she wakes up, I need to plan on formula feeding Rosie. They brought me this, the uh, the instructions are on the canister." He stammers, handing the bright blue baby formula to Vision.
"I'll see to it, You just focus on Annie."
"Thank you, Thank you guys for coming." Bucky says tearfully.
"There's no need to thank us," Vision drops his gaze to Anastasia, "She's family."
~
The Compound, 4:13am.
Tony lands on the roof top in his iron man suit, Retracting his helmet as he cautiously walks up behind Steve, who sits on the rooftop edge staring out into the dark nights sky.
Upon getting closer, Tony eyes the dark blood staining Steve's hands, his bruised knuckles, The bruises along his throat and his blackened eye.
"What the hell happened?" Tony asks, visibly horrified.
Clenching his eyes shut, choking back his tears, Steve replies, "I hurt her..."
"How?"
Tony watches Steve bring his bloodied hands up to cover his mouth as he breaks into a full sob, Causing nausea to rise in Tony's throat as his mind whirls with what possibly lead to this.
"How did you hurt her, Steve?" Tony asks again, with his voice coming out like a demand.
All Steve can see is Flashes of Anastasia laying in Bucky's arms, Blood pooling from her temple as it runs down her cheek.
The sound of Tony's suit whirling up gains his attention. Shooting his dazed, broken eyes up to Tony as he stands to his left with his glowing palm directed at his chest.
"I-I threw her. She tackled me off Buck and I wasn't thinking, I just grabbed her and..." He trails off , dropping his gaze back down to the ground below his dangling feet.
"Is she alright?!"
"I don't know..."
"What do you mean you don't know?!"
"I ran!" Steve cries out, meeting his eyes once more, The terrified look on Tony's face striking him in the gut,
"I ran here, I don't know what happened after that." He shamefully finishes.
"What about Bucky?! You said she tackled you off him, did you... Steve, did you kill them?!"
Steve's jaw goes slack as he jumps to his feet.
"No! No! I didn't kill them! They... they were fine, they were hurt, but..." Steve's heart begins to race as he hears her pain filled shriek radiates through his body,
"What if I killed her? What if she's dead?!" He pants, pacing back and forth on the flat roof top.
"Fucking hell," Tony scoffs, "F.R.I.D.A.Y. Call The Vision."
Steve continues to pace the roof, muttering "what if she's dead?" Under his breath as Tony watches him carefully.
~
The Tower, 4:19AM
"There you go, Peanut." Vision coos, laying the sleeping Rosie down gently into her crib.
Feeling his phone vibrate against his leg, He quietly exits the nursery and makes his way down the long hallway until he reaches the kitchen.
Sighing when as he reads the caller ID, Sliding the call to answer.
"Tony, Now is not a good time."
"Yeah? Well, it's about to get a whole lot worse."
Leaning his back against the counter, Vision sighs.
"I take it you know then?"
"Not the specifics, Is Anastasia alive?"
"She is, However she's unconscious and therefor the severity of her injuries is still unknown."
"She's alive." Tony repeats aloud, Locking eyes with Steve as he drops to sit on the cold roof,
"Where is she?"
"Are you with Steve?" Vision asks, his voice cold.
"I am."
"Then I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"He's not asking, Vision, I am." Tony argues.
"I'm sorry, But I won't risk it. I do ask that you warn him against coming anywhere near Anastasia, Or Rosie for that matter. Otherwise there might be no force in this nor any known universe, strong enough to protect him." Vision threatens, Tony's brows twist together.
"From you?" He questions, Shocked by Visions tone.
"From my Wife." Vision finishes, ending the call.
~
Tony's mouth gaps open as he mind races.
"You've really fucked up this time, Even Vision is pissed." Tony scoffs, Stomping toward the edge of the rooftop.
"You think I don't know that?!" Steve cries out in frustration.
"So what now, huh? What happens next?"
"I need to speak to T'Challa."
"Oh, Sure," Tony starts sarcastically,
"Let's call up a literal KING, in the middle of the night, to tell him you nearly killed the mother of your infant child. I'm sure he'll jump at the chance, TO KILL YOU!" He finishes exasperated.
"He helped Bucky, They got The Winter Soldier out of him." Steve argues defensively, standing to his feet.
"I hate to break it to you, Cap, but there's no hydra programming rattling around in your brain. This is just you..." Tony lowers his voice as they take a few steps near each other,
"Which, quite frankly, is more terrifying."
"I need to fix this, Tony. I need to leave and sort my shit out... I don't know where else to go other than Wakanda... P-please..." He begs.
~
New York Hospital, 4:30AM.
Sam's sneakers squeak beneath his feet as he rushes off the elevator and toward the room Vision said belonged to Anastasia, Taking a deep breath to gather himself as his hand reaches for the cold metal handle.
Carefully opening the heavy door, His heart sinking as his bloodshot eyes fall to his little sister laying in the middle of the large open space. With Bucky holding her hand between his as Wanda stares out the large floor-to-celling window across the room.
"Oh my god..." He gasps, His mind drifting back to the first time he laid eyes on her.
~
July 28th 2008
"Riley! It's over here!" Sam calls to his somber best friend, as he rushes down the excruciatingly bright hallway. Finally finding room 232 in the ICU wing of the New York Hospital.
They were in Syria yesterday, Enjoying a somewhat relaxing lunch on their military base, When Riley got a phone call that changed his life forever.
His world shook when the commanding officer told him that his parents and younger sister had been in a terrible car accident, And only one person survived.
Sam fought to leave with Riley, Not wanting his hysterical best friend to go through what would inevitably follow, alone.
The typically chatty Riley, barely spoke two words the entire twelve hour flight back to NYC.
Too lost in thought over how he let this happen?
Why didn't he step in sooner?
Would his parents still be alive if he had?
Riley charges past Sam and into the room, freezing the moment his soft blue eyes fall onto his baby sister.
His heart sinking into his stomach as tears begin streaming down his freckles cheeks, her dainty body laying unconscious in the much too large for her, hospital bed.
Deep violet bruises scattered over her face, Along with small bandages, Including one on her busted lip.
Her mess of frizzy red curls overflowing down onto the neck brace that holds her frail head still, her left arm in a sling across her chest. With in IV hooked up to her right arm that lays still at her side.
"Oh my god..." Sam gasps, Stopping beside Riley as nausea rises in throat.
Sam's seen many different horrors since joining The Air Force, But never has he seen a child in such bad shape.
There's not a single inch of her unscathed.
Swallowing thickly as he drops his gaze from the girl, His deep brown eyes falling to his typically out-going, loud and charismatic best friend, whom is completely devastated at his side.
They both joined The Air Force fresh out of High School 10 years ago and by a stroke of random luck, Sam Wilson from Louisiana and Riley Miller from Upstate New York were thrown into the same basic training program.
Clicking instantly due to their love of sports and sarcastic humor, They were ecstatic to be paired up together as they continued on in their training to become Pararescuemen.
Riley joined The Air Force solely to escape his toxic family, vowing never to speak to them again. However, during his third week of basic training, he received a letter from his Mother announcing that he would soon have a baby sister.
Since Anastasia was born, He's come back to Upstate New York every chance he's gotten.
Always managing to bribe his higher ups into allowing him at least two days free for her birthday each year. Even though at times it's meant a 10+ hour plane ride just to spoil her with gifts and have a slice of cake, before having to jump on another plane and head right back.
Sam rests a comforting hand on his shaking shoulder as Riley kneels at the foot the bed.
No audible words leave Riley's lips as he sobs.
Only one thought repeating in his head,
I failed her.
"Mr Miller, I presume?" A gentleman asks appearing in the doorway, gaining both of their attention.
The man stands a little taller than Sam, with a thick head of dark gray hair, Wearing a long white lab coat over a nicely tailored navy suit.
"Y-Yes." Riley chokes out with his tearful eyes darting back to Anastasia.
"I'm Doctor Clooney, Why don't we talk out here so we don't wake your sister, hm?" The man asks, gesturing toward the hall with a thick white folder in his hands.
"I'll stay with her." Sam nods down at Riley as he swallows thickly.
Inhaling a sharp deep breath, Riley brushes his tears away as he nods back in agreement. Rising to his feet, he trails off after the doctor.
"Holy shit..." Sam sighs, running his clammy hand over his face as he strides across the room, Sinking into the cushioned seat beside the bed.
He knew the car accident was bad, After all, It killed both of Riley's parents.
But he wasn't prepared for how much seeing an injured child would make him feel ill.
Riley talked about his baby sister constantly, And Sam knew that this little girl was his best friends world. Often speaking of her more as a proud father rather than older brother.
Minutes pass in the painfully quiet hospital room, With the only sounds being that of ambulance sirens in the distance and the computer monitor beeping slowly as they track her blood pressure.
He begins searching the metal bedside table that sits between them until he finds a small remote, pointing it up at the thick box television mounted in the corner of the room.
Pressing the green ON button, the loud laugh track from Friends bounces off the walls around them as he scrambles to turn the obnoxiously loud volume down.
Anastasia begins to stir awake from the sudden noise, Sam panics, jumping from his seat as her swollen eyes pop open at him.
Having no idea where she is or how she got here, Her blurred vision locks on the strange man rushing across the room and she does the only thing she can think to do.
She screams.
The ear piercing shriek sends Sam flying a foot in the air as he darts his attention back to her.
"Hey! Hey! It's okay!" He starts, but as she struggles to move backward on the bed, The pain from her broken rib cage kicks in and her panicked shriek turns to a cry of pure agony.
Riley and Doctor Clooney come barreling inside the room a second later.
"Annie! It's me! It's Riles, you're okay!" He sobs, dropping to her side as the Doctor rushes to pull out a syringe, injecting something into the IV attachment on her hand.
"R-Riley?" She cries, recognizing her favorite person before her eyes shoot back to the stranger standing at the foot the bed.
"That's Samy, That's my partner. Remember? He's not going to hurt you, Angel." Riley promises, reassuringly.
"The one who flies?" She asks with her swollen pout quivering as tears continue to sting her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah the one who flies with me." Riley chokes down his tears as he strokes her matted hair.
"I'm sorry for scaring you." Sam says with a sympathetic tilt of his head.
Looking from Sam back to Riley, With her banged up face twisting in confusion she asks,
"Where am I?"
Riley darts his panicked gaze between Sam to his right and the Doctor to his left, his mouth gapping open.
~
Present Day.
"This is all your fault!" Wanda snarls, Lifting Sam a few feet off the ground by use of her magic.
"Wanda, Put him down!" Bucky snaps, But she ignores him.
The loud voices cut through Anastasia's dreamy state, Struggling to blinking her swollen eyes open, She's met with the feeling of her head weighing a thousand pounds.
"Wanda, I know you're upset..." Sam chokes out as his body is being retrained mid-air.
"I'm far past upset." She replies through grit teeth.
Instinctively, Anastasia reaches up to touch the foreign object impeding her vision on her left eye, but the abrupt movement yanks the IV that is attached to her left arm, eliciting a loud cry.
Everyone's attention falls to her, Causing Wanda to lose focus and therefor send Sam hurdling toward the ground with a heavy thud. Groaning out as he lands on his already bruised hands and knees.
"Be careful, Stassie!" Bucky panics, checking on her arm to make sure she hasn't loosened the IV.
Anastasia's opened right eye is narrow as she struggles to adjust to the excruciatingly bright room,
"Where are we?" She croaks out with her voice hoarse, Feeling as if she's swallowed sandpaper.
Bucky's jaw clenches tight, gently touching her right swollen cheek.
"We're in the New York hospital, Doll..." His shaking voice comes out barely above a whisper.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Wanda asks, gaining Anastasia's attention as she rounds the front of the bed.
"Wands!" Anastasia exclaims, her eyes swelling with tears at the sound of her best friends voice.
"Wait, where's R-Rosie?!" Anastasia asks as her mind begins to whirl, thinking back to how they left her alone in the suite.
"She's okay, She with Vision." Bucky reassures her, Swallowing harshly.
Sam stands to his feet in front of the bed, His shattered expression meeting hers.
"Samy," She gasps, taking in his injuries through her blurred vision, her eye darting to Bucky next.
A heavy sob escaping her as she sees his injuries are far worse than Sam's, With his gorgeous scruffy smirk bruised and covered in dried blood. His eyes and cheekbones looking like someone smeared paint on them from how they glow.
"Annie," Wanda says eerily slow, Taking Anastasia's left hand gently in hers,
"Do you remember how you got here?"
The image of Steve straddling Bucky's lap, His fists flying rapidly as blood splatters from his face.
"Yes." She tearfully answers, her gaze falling to Bucky whom is only inches from her face,
"This is all my fault." She cries out, Pulling her right hand from Bucky's grasp to hover her fingers over his busted pout,
"I'm so sorry, Bear, I- I-" She wheezes in a painful breath, his tearful gaze turns to a intense scowl as he snaps at her.
"Don't! Don't you dare apologize for this, This was not your fault!" He growls, his heart shattering at the pain in her voice.
There's only one person to blame for all of this.
Steve. Bucky says in his mind.
"He's right, Annie. This isn't your fault." Sam chimes in, guilt washing over him.
It's mine. Sam thinks to himself.
"Can I talk to S-Samy alone?" Anastasia stutters out, her eye darting between Wanda and Bucky.
"Why, Doll?" Bucky asks, meeting Wanda's concerned expression before their focus finds Anastasia once more.
"I just wanna talk to Samy for a minute..." She cries, the sight of her quivering swollen lip sending a deep ache into his chest as he nods.
"We'll be right out there, Okay?" He asks, Giving her right hand a kiss.
Standing to his feet, he gestures for Wanda to lead the way out of the room but her scowl lingers on Sam for a moment until he takes Bucky's seat.
"Wanda, Come on." Bucky urges her and she finally concedes, following him out into the hall.
With the door closed and the two siblings finally alone, They both open their mouths to speak in unison.
"I'm so sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
Sam let's a tearful chuckle leave his lips, pausing for a moment to see who is going to begin and she tilts her head slightly.
"I never should have brought you back here." He starts, Watching her struggle to sit up against the pillows.
Her entire body feeling as if it's being torn in different directions from the various stitches holding the deep wounds that litter her sides, abdomen, thighs, and arms together.
"Be careful, kid," He jumps to his feet, preparing to help her in anyway he can but she waves his hand away as she grimaces in pain.
"This is my fault, Not yours," She groans out, meeting his concerned gaze.
"This is not your fault," He argues but she talks over him.
"If I hadn't-"
"Nothing you did warranted you ending up in a hospital bed and needing blood transfusions, Anastasia. Nothing."
"I heard you guys in the hall, I-"
"Stop!" He snaps, jumping to his feet as he paces a few steps toward the window with tears pricking his eyes.
The image of her being thrown into the pile of glass replaying over and over in his mind.
"He... He could've killed you, Annie." He chokes out, meeting her fearful eyes across the room.
His words striking her like a sword through her chest, her body flashing hot as she shakes the terrible truth away.
"Steve would never hurt me on purpose, Samy, You know tha-"
"No, No I don't! I know what I saw, Which was my sister being thrown like god damned rag doll across a room, Landing in a pile of glass," He angrily sobs as he nears the bed, She clenches her jaw tight as tears being streaming down her face.
Her chest tightening as a panic attack begins to settle in.
"And blood gushing from your head as you screamed until you passed out."
"It was an accident..." She croaks out as he leans his elbows onto the bed at her side, staring up at her.
"It wasn't. He grabbed you, And he threw you,"
"It was an accident!" She argues with her voice going much more high pitched than normal as she struggles to breathe.
"It wasn't an accident, Annie,"
"S-Steve would n-never hurt me! H-he didn't know it was me, he-"
"Who did he think it was then?" He asks, his heart breaking watching her try to rationalize away Steve's actions.
"I- I- You, maybe he th-"
"You weigh a quarter of what I do, Annie,"
"He reacted fast, he was panicking h-he-"
"He was beating the shit out of Bucky, Do you not care about that?"
"Of course I do!"
"He did this to me," He gestures at his beaten face, "Do you care about that?"
"You know I do!"
Sam gently cups her right cheek, trying to avoid the small bandages as her face twists as she sobs.
"Then stop." He whispers, searching her eyes as she fully breaks down.
She leans forward as he rises up to sit on the bed, wrapping his strong arms around her shaking body as she wails.
The severity of the situation washing over her like a tidal wave.
"I'm so sorry, Samy." She pants out between painful breaths.
"I should have protected you, I'm supposed to protect you. I failed you, kid..." He sniffles through grit teeth.
"I'm an adult, S-Sam," She stutters out, Pulling away just enough to look him in the eye,
"You can't protect me all the time anymore."
"I'm your brother, It's my job."
"You'll always be my brother, But I'm not a little kid anymore," She inhales a sharp breath, "I'm responsible for my own actions and my own mistakes."