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*Mentions of alcohol abuse in this chapter*
A couple of hours had passed and Melissa was putting Elizabeth and Lucy to bed at around 8pm, when the front door opened, a dishevelled Olly walking in the front door, a large bottle of bourbon in his hand.
"Jack, can I crash?" He asked as he stumbled into the lounge, Ellie giving him a look of concern, She hated seeing her brothers upset.
"Yeah, why?"
"Tell you later." Olly dismissed sitting down next to Ellie, placing his arm around her and kissing her on the forehead. "Hi."
"Hi?" She replied, looking curiously at him. "You okay?"
"Fine. I'm just brilliant. Who's the kid?" Her brother asked, looking over at Peter, studying him.
"That's Peter, don't change the subject." Ellie scolded, as Olly led back on the sofa placing his legs in his sisters lap.
"I'm gonna head to bed." Peter said, not wanting to be apart of this conversation.
"Okay, could you check on Harry for me just to make sure he's asleep?" Ellie asked, as Peter stood up.
"Of course, Night."
"Night honey." She smiled as he walked out of the room.
"Once again, who's the kid?" Olly repeated.
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Jack questioned, cutting to the chase.
"Nothing, I'm great." Olly slurred.
"You're drunk." Ellie mumbled, it was pretty obvious, he had a bottle of bourbon in his hands.
"Ding ding. 20 points to Ellie." He replied sarcastically, placing the bottle to his lips.
"What happened?"
"Anna."
"What happened to Anna?" Ellie asked.
"We had a fight, she thinks I'm working too many hours." He told his siblings, taking a swig of the bottle in his hand. "She said I was being selfish and that I don't care about my family."
"Well, that's obviously bullshit!" Jack exclaimed, "Of course you care about your family."
"People say things in the spur of the moment, things they don't mean." Ellie expressed.
"I can't exactly cut down my hours, I'm a doctor for God's sake." Olly complained.
"I assume you aren't working tomorrow." Jack mused.
"Nope." He answered, popping the 'p'.
"You'll work it out." Ellie reassured him as Melissa walked, sitting next to Jack, leaning back against him.
"Where's your husband?" Olly asked Ellie changing the subject, turning his head to face her.
"In a cryo-freeze chamber in a hidden country." She answered nonchalantly.
"What? Why?" Jack queried.
"You've heard the stories about him right?"
"About what HYDRA did to him? Everyone's heard them." Olly replied, earning a glare from Ellie.
"They put these things in his head, has had these, these words. When you say them it brings back whatever the fuck they did to him." She explained, "3 months ago, I was asleep and the next minute I had a gun pointed at my head."
"Oh my god." Melissa muttered.
"I managed to get the gun out of his hand and get him down long enough to get Harry and get downstairs."
"Harry? You had your baby?" Olly questioned, Ellie nodded, pulling out her phone and showing Olly her lock screen which was a picture of Bucky holding Harry.
"Cute." Olly commented.
"Nat, Steve and Sam showed up, knocked him out. But the whole thing freaked him out because I had Harry, so he uh, he left. He was paranoid because of what happened last time we fought."
"He left you alone?" Jack asked angrily.
"Oh calm your tits." Ellie rolled her eyes. "I wasn't alone, and he came back."
"You've fought before?" Melissa thought aloud.
"Verbally, yes many times, Physically, a couple of times."
"He's hit you?" Olly raged.
"It wasn't him, he would never intentionally hurt me." Ellie defended.
"What happened last time?" Jack wondered.
"What?"
"You said 'because of what happened last time we fought.'"
Ellie sighed, her hand reaching up to find his wedding ring around her neck, enclosing it in her hand. "Technically we weren't fighting each other. Remember when I got shot?"
"Pretty hard to forget." Melissa remarked.
"Right, well, I, Uh, I was pregnant."
"I'm not following." Jack commented.
"You lost it." Melissa answered, piecing it together. Ellie gave a small nod, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
"He blamed himself, says it was his fault I was pulled from safety anyway." Olly offered her the bottle of bourbon which she declined.
"C'mon it won't hurt, plus you have a way more difficult life than me."
"No, I'm fine." She told him again.
"You sure?"
"I can't."
"Alright. The kid, Peter, how do you know him?" Olly asked her, changing the subject.
"Remember that little airport fight?"
"The one where you got shot?" Jack confirmed sarcastically.
"That's the one." She replied, "He was on the other side, He's one of Tony's many adopted kids."
"So what, you've like adopted him?"
"I haven't adopted him, I have enough things to take care of. I've like him though, he's a good kid."
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The next day Ellie was feeding Harry in the kitchen, Peter sat next to a very hungover Olly, at the breakfast bar whilst Lucy sat in her high chair, Elizabeth was at school. Jack was making them lunch whilst Melissa was at work.
"Hello?" Ellie's Mother called through the house as the front door opened.
"Oh yay." She muttered sarcastically, causing Olly to laugh slightly.
"Be nice." Jack reprimanded as Olly called back a hello.
"Who's car is parked-" Alison, Ellie's mother, began as she walked into the kitchen. "Eliana."
"Hello mother, long time no see." She quipped.
"How are you?" She asked placing a kiss on Lucy's forehead.
"Fine." Ellie replied.
"Good."
"Awkward." Olly muttered to Peter earning a glare from Alison and a smirk from Ellie.
"You had your baby I see." Alison commented, gesturing to the baby she was placing in the pop up crib that was placed in the kitchen.
"I never told you I was pregnant." Ellie recalled, glancing at her brothers who avoided her gaze.
"Don't look at me." Olly defended taking a bite of his grilled cheese, Ellie turning to look at Jack in who has a guilty smile on his face.
"You said you spoken to her so I thought you'd meant that you'd spoken about your situation." Jack explained shrinking slightly under his sisters harsh glare.
"Why didn't you tell me?" The older woman questioned, a hurt look painted on her face.
"Oh, ghee mum, let me think of all the reasons why I didn't tell you." Ellie began sarcastically, causing Olly to sigh and Peter to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"Do you know how upsetting it is to find out that your only daughter is having a child and got married and didn't tell her own mother?"
"Seriously Jack, can't keep one secret can you?" Olly joked trying to diffuse some of the tension.
"Hey!" Jack protested, "I didn't tell her Ellie got married. That one wasn't me."
"I'm not stupid! I can see the ring on your finger." Alison told them coldly.
"Peter, how about you and Lucy go in the garden?" Jack suggested as his mother and sister continued to argue.
"Good idea." Peter replied quickly, standing up and picking Lucy up from her seat and leaving the room abruptly.
"Who the hell is that?" Alison questioned as she watched Peter leave and heard the back door close.
"Another of Ellie's mystery guests that she's picked up off the street." Olly mused, complaining as Ellie threw a piece of bread at his head.
"Is he okay?" Alison asked, confusing her children.
"Is who okay?" Ellie responded.
"Your son, is he okay?" Her mother repeated.
"He's fine." Ellie told her mother coldly, still not entirely understanding what the point was that she was trying to get across.
"Mentally and physically?" Alison confirmed.
"I'm sorry." Ellie began rudely, "What exactly are you trying to ask me?"
Alison sighed, her eyes flicking between her children, "I'm trying to ask you if..." She paused infuriating her daughter.
"If what?" Ellie snarled.
"If you drank whilst you were pregnant." She finally admitted.
For a moment Ellie just paused not tearing her eyes away from her mother. How could her own mother think that she would knowingly endanger the wellbeing of her own child. Alison instantly regretted asking the question as she saw the look on Ellie's face.
"Do you really think that little of her?" Olly defended his little sister.
"Ellie you know what I mean." Her mother attempted to reason.
"Why do you think I would do that?" Ellie raged.
"Because I know you." Alison snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you're an alcoholic!"
The room fell into a deadly silence.
"Is that true?" Jack asked quietly glancing up at his sister, who had still not broken eye contact with her mother.
"I wouldn't do that to him." Ellie told her mother softly.
"I didn't mean to..." Alison trailed off.
"I know, I'm not mad at you." Ellie said taking a deep breath before speaking again. "Please don't accuse me of something like that again. I get why you asked and it's not stupid question, but I'm not a bad person."
"Is that true?" Jack repeated losing patience.
"I've got to get back to work." Alison sighed, picking up her bag off the counter, shooting her daughter an apologetic glance before turning around and walking out of the door leaving Ellie alone with her very confused brothers.
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