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3 weeks Later
Location: Iowa
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Tuesday
September 27, 2016
2:30 pm
~~~~~
"Steve!? Steve!?" Natasha said frantically looking around for the man.
"What? What's the problem!?"
"Have you seen Ivory? I can't find her!"
"What!? I thought she was with you!?"
"She was, but does it look like I have her with me now!?" Natasha yells flustered.
"Okay...calm down...where was she last?"
"She was just outside by the sandbox, and now she's gone!" By now Nat had already resorted to tears.
"Nat...it's going to be okay, we're going to find her...you need to relax..."
"DON'T TELL ME TO RELAX STEVE!" Natasha shouted angrily.
"Incase you forgot, WE are responsible for that helpless baby, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing something horrible happened to her! Please Steve, we have to take this seriously..." Natasha says to the man as she follows him out the door of the safe house.
"Okay...did she wander into the house with Laura and Clint?"
"No, we looked in the house for her and she's not there...Clint and Laura took the dog and the kids and went out to the woods to go look for her..." Nat says getting more tearful by the second. The thought of Ivory lost and scared in the woods did something to her heart, and she hoped that Ivory didn't wander all the way out there by herself.
"Okay, so they are out there looking for her, we need to stay on the main land and try to see where she could be..." Steve says, Nat nodding in agreement.
"Okay...let me think...remember that time at Sam's when Ivory accidentally broke AJ's toy? What was the first thing she did?"
"She hid..." Natasha says instantly remembering how scary that day had been for everyone...today reminded Nat way too much of that day.
"Exactly...but why would she be hiding?
"Well if there's one thing we know about Ivory, it's that she hides when she's upset or afraid..."
"So you think something scared her maybe?" Nat says.
"It's possible...So wait...do you remember what actually happened before she ran off?"
"Nothing happened! She was playing by the sandbox, with her toys, holding her Yaya...then I said to her, 'Nana is going to get you a snack' and she said 'okay Nana' and gave me her precious smile...then by the time I literally went in to grab her snack and came back out she was gone..."
"Okay so maybe she saw something that scared her and she ran off...it's all a matter of where did she run off too..."
"Nat! Steve!" Nat turned and saw Laura, Clint and the kids had all returned back from the woods.
"Any luck?" Steve asks.
"Nope, nothing. We traveled as far out as the woods would take her, and there's no sign of her..." Laura replied with a sigh.
"We think that she's either been scared or upset...we think she's somewhere hiding...We just don't know where..." Nat says.
"Well let's all think...maybe she didn't get scared off by anything...maybe something upset her..." Clint says.
"That's pretty plausible..." Steve says.
"So think about it...Where's her favorite place to go when she's sad?" Clint points out.
"The tree..." Nat says to herself.
"What tree?" Steve says confused.
"You know...HER tree." Steve and Nat both looked up the vast acres of land, leading up to the big weeping Willow tree that sat down stream, a little ways away from the safe house.
Steve showed Ivory that spot, he took her there often, and would read her stories there and would watch Ivory as she sat and admired the wilderness around her.
Without even giving it a second thought Natasha ran like her life depended on it towards the weeping Willow tree, Steve, Clint and Laura following closely behind her. Nat arrived at the tall tree and sighed in relief to see that Ivory had been sat underneath the tree, her 'Yaya' tucked tightly under her arm as she stared off into nature.
"Ivory...Thank God you're alright." Nat said getting down on the girl's level giving her a tight squeeze.
"I'm okay Nana, I'm okay..." Ivory says refusing Nat's hug.
"Jeez, you really gave us a scare kid..." Clint says sighing in relief. "Don't do that ever again, alright?"
Ivory looked up at everyone and then back down at her hands.
"Ivory..." Steve says getting on the girl's level. "Why would you run away from Nana?"
Ivory shrugged her shoulders as she continued to avoid making eye contact with Steve. "...You know that was VERY, VERY dangerous right? You can't just run away from Nana like that...something could have happened to you..." Steve explains to the toddler.
"Uh-No Steve! No! I'm okay!" Ivory repeats once more not looking at Steve or Natasha.
"Ivory, look at me sweetheart..." Steve says.
"Uh-No..." Ivory replied turning her back to Steve.
"What did you just say!?" Steve replies confused.
"No, don't want to..."
"Ivory, will you talk to Nan?" Natasha asked the girl. It took Ivory a minute to answer but Natasha knew that Ivory would listen to her.
"Yeah...only Nan..." Ivory says, gripping her 'Yaya' even tighter. Natasha knew something was wrong with the girl, it wasn't like Ivory to just take off or run off announced.
"You got her from here Nan?" Clint asked earning a small grin from Natasha.
"I got her...Thank you guys for helping us find her..." Nat says sitting down beside the girl. Shortly after, Steve, Laura and Clint left the tree leaving Natasha to try and reason with Ivory.
"Ivory...why did you run away sweet heart? Uncle Steve is right...running away is very dangerous and something really bad could have happened...you could have gotten lost, or the bad men could have taken yo-"
"NO!" Ivory screamed backing away the moment she heard Nat bring up the bad men.
"NO BAD MEN, UH-NO BAD MEN!"
"No, No sweet pea they're not here..." Natasha explained to Ivory, hugging her tightly to her chest. "...But if they were here, they could have gotten you...do you want that?"
"No!" Ivory said clinging to Natasha for her life.
"Then you can't run away like that..." Natasha says with a sigh. "So tell Nan...why did you run away?"
"I dunno..."
"Yes you do...what did you run away for? It's alright, you can tell me..." Natasha says to the young girl.
"Cause, I'm s-sad." Ivory said starting to cry.
"Tell Nan all about it...why are you sad sweet heart?"
"I-I w-wanna go be with My Daddy." Ivory said rubbing her eyes. "I m-miss him."
"Shh Ivory sweet heart, it's okay..."
"I M-Miss m-my Daddy, and I want to go h-home..." Ivory said starting to get even more worked up.
"Ivory, Look at Nana..." Natasha says getting the girl's attention.
"I know it's hard not being able to see daddy, and I know you miss him...I promise you'll get to go home soon..."
"I go see Daddy tomorrow?" Ivory asked still crying.
"Not tomorrow honey, but soon..."
"I-I w-want to see h-him!" Ivory said angrily wiping her tears from her cheeks.
"Shh it's okay...Nana's got you..." Nat said to the girl, hugging her close, to avoid her causing self inflicted harm to her face. "...I know you miss your Daddy, and I know it's hard...it's SO hard not being able to see him, but I promise you, you'll get to go home soon."
"How soon?" Ivory asked.
"Sooner than you think..." Natasha sighed hoping she was right.
~~~3:27 PM~~~
Steve sighed as he sat at the kitchen table, combing through all the possible reasons Ivory ran away from Nat.
It was never like Ivory to just run off, but he knew Ivory well enough to know that most of her behaviors in the past seemed to revolve around Bucky, and how much she longed to be with him again.
Steve was distracted from his thoughts at the sound of the phone ringing and he frowned realizing that it could only be one person...Bucky of course.
"Hello?"
"Steve..."
"Hey Buck! How are you?"
"I'm doing good, I'm slowly getting better." Bucky replied.
"You sound a hell of a lot better. I'm glad the rehab is working for you." Steve says.
"It's definitely a very slow process but you know what they say...slow and steady wins the race." Bucky replies.
"How is Peach?"
"She's been...doing great actually...she's been eating better, she's been using her words...Nat's been working with her on using the potty! She's really growing up..." Steve says.
"Wow...to think that I might have a potty trained kid in a couple weeks...I seriously can't thank you guys enough for how you've taken care of her like she's your own. As a father, it makes me feel good knowing my baby girl is being cared for..."
"We love her, we wouldn't have it any other way Buck." Steve explains.
"Where is Ivory? What's she been up to today?" Bucky asks.
"You want the honest answer?"
"Oh man...is she causing trouble?" Bucky asked with a sigh.
"No...Not necessarily. Today she's been having a sad kind of day I guess you could say...earlier this morning she seemed super down before this happened...so about an hour ago, she decided it would be cute to run away and hide from Nat...granted we found her in no time, but it scared the shit out of us you know?"
"Oh shit...she ran away from Nat? That's not like her..."
"Yeah, I know!" Steve says. "Have you ever had her do things like that with you?"
"You know...now that I think about it, when she first started walking, she would hide from me in our apartment all the time...and usually she would do it if she knew she was in trouble...did she get in trouble for something?"
"Not at all...I honestly think she did it because she was sad. Nat's still outside talking to her about everything but I bet you that's what her answer will be...sorry to drop this on you man..."
"No, please don't be sorry, I appreciate you being honest with me about this stuff...because when she comes to Wakanda, I have a feeling I'll be dealing with a lot of these same behaviors, and I rather not be blind to it...I'd rather know what to expect more than anything." Bucky explains. "It's been 3 months, I'm sure she's changed A LOT, and I rather be aware, you know?"
"Absolutely, I know what you mean!"
Moments later Natasha came through the door with Ivory still crying and hyperventilating on her hip and placed her down.
"That's her crying?" Bucky asks.
"Yeah...I told you...we've had a rough afternoon." Steve sighs.
Judging by the sound of Ivory's crying Bucky could easily tell she's been at it for a little while.
"Put her on the phone, let me talk to her." Bucky says to Steve.
"You're on speaker." Steve says as he puts the call on speaker Phone.
"Ivory...Ivory Lee..." Bucky says into the phone quickly getting Ivory's attention.
"D-Daddy? Where are you?" Ivory said looking around for the sound of Bucky's voice.
"I'm on the phone baby doll, come talk to me." Bucky says calmly.
"D-D-Daddy, I-I w-wan-"
"Ivory, slow down, and stop crying Peach...you need to relax..." Bucky says in a calm voice.
"I-I d-dunno h-how..." Ivory says continuing to cry and hyperventilate.
"Listen to Daddy, take a deep breath in..." Ivory took a moment and inhaled deeply.
"...and breath out..." he smiled when he heard Ivory let her breath out over the phone.
"Good girl, do it again...breathe in, and out..." once Ivory was finally able to calm down he decided to finally try and talk with her about what had been happening.
"I-I'm okay now Daddy, I'm okay." Ivory replied twirling her hair, as she stood hugging her Yaya.
"Did you run away from Aunt Nat today?" Bucky asks her.
"I-I did." Ivory confessed with a small pout on her lips.
"Why babydoll? Aunt Nat loves you...you scared her...you can't run away, that's a very scary thing to do..."
"D-Daddy, I-I sorry." Ivory says trying not to cry again.
"I'm glad you're sorry...did you tell Aunt Nat you're sorry?" Bucky asks the girl in a calm still voice trying to avoid her crying more.
"Nan, I-I sorry..." Ivory whispered quickly giving Natasha the tightest hug her small arms would allow her to give.
"It's okay...Nan still loves you." Natasha whispered before Ivory went back to her conversation with Bucky.
"I say sorry to Nana..." she says.
"Good girl, now tell daddy, why did you run away?"
"C-Cause I was sad, an I miss you Daddy...I-I w-want to go home with y-you." Ivory said trying not to cry again.
"I miss you too Peach, I miss you so so much, everyday...I promise you just have to wait a little bit longer and then you'll be home..."
"I-I no like waiting, want to see you now!" Ivory yelled stomping her foot. Bucky sighed not knowing what else to say to the little girl.
"Hey Ivory?"
"Yeah?"
"Where did you go?"
"I-I right here Daddy..."
"No baby doll...I'm asking you where did you go to hide?"
"M-My tree." Ivory says wiping the angry tears from her eyes.
"Is it your favorite tree?" Bucky asks.
"Uh-huh..."
"You know, at our new home Daddy has a favorite tree too..."
"A Daddy tree?" Ivory asks confused.
"That's right, there's a tree I really like here at home...and when you come home, I can't wait for you to see it, I know you'll love it just as much as I do." He says earning a smile from Ivory.
If only Bucky could see the smile he put on that child's face, he would take her home right that second.
"Daddy, when I go home?" Ivory asks with a sigh.
"Soon...sooner than you think Peach...Daddy has to go now, but just remember, I love you so so much, and you will be home soon, okay?"
"Kay Daddy...A-An I-I love you REAL BIG!" Ivory says causing Bucky's smile to widen, as he thought back to the first time Ivory ever used that phrase with him.
"Hang on sweet girl...I'll see you soon, I love you!"
"Love you Daddy!" Ivory says excitedly.
"Steve..."
"Yeah, I'm here..." Steve replies.
"As always, Thank you...you and Nat both, thank you guys for caring for my baby...I'm hoping the next time I call, I will be telling you guys to bring her home...but until that day, thank you for looking after her." Bucky says.
"We wouldn't change it...Ivory is family to us and so are you. Take care of yourself okay Buck?"
"Will do, I'll be in touch. Later Steve." Bucky says before hanging up the phone.
"What a nice surprise that you got to talk to Daddy Ivory!" Nat says earning a smile from the girl. "You feel better?"
"Uh-huh, I-I still miss Daddy." Ivory says hugging her Yaya, along with Natasha's leg.
Just then someone knocked on the door causing Ivory to immediately run over to Steve.
"Steve, hold me..." Ivory said hanging onto Steve for her life.
"It's okay sweetheart, I'm here..." Steve says listening for the secret knock. Shortly after, someone had knocked on the door irregularly by using the secret knock which was meant to match the tune "Twinkle Twinkle little star" and Ivory immediately knew it was someone safe.
Natasha opened the door and was met with Laura.
"Hey Laura!"
"Nat! Clint and I were going to take the kids up the street to get ice cream, and we wanted to see if Ivory wanted to join..." Laura says looking at the small toddler. "It's only a short walk, but I thought ice cream would help cheer her up."
"What do you think Kid? You wanna go get ice cream with Clint and Laura?" Steve asks.
"Um...uh-huh!" Ivory says excitedly handing Steve her Yaya before running up and grabbing Laura's hand.
"You be good for Clint and Laura!" Nat says to the girl.
"I be good!" Ivory replied back tightly hanging onto Laura. Whenever Laura had the kids Ivory loved Laura and had always been attached to the woman at the hip so Nat knew that wouldn't be an issue.
"Bye Steve, bye Nana!" Ivory says waving to the pair.
"Bye sweet girl, we'll see you when you get back!" Natasha said smiling. Laura closed the door behind her, Ivory still in tow and Natasha sighed looking at Steve.
"You already know what I'm about to say, don't you..." Steve says to Nat as she sits across from him at the kitchen table.
"I do, but I feel like I'm not ready for it..." Nat says tearing up as she knew exactly what was next to come from Steve's mouth.
"We need to get her home..." Steve says.
"I know." Nat says as a gentle tear falls from her eye.
~~~~~
Author's Note:
Hey y'all, I know it's been a minute! I've been super slammed with work this past month, like I've literally been working 5-6 12 hour nights a week for the past month after getting my car totaled after I got into a car accident with an Amazon driver (Who was at fault) so I've been working crazy hours to save up for a new car!
So that explains the month long hiatus from writing...once I get myself together I will definitely be back to updating more! In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoyed this lengthy chapter! There is more to come! 😉