Music is "The Aviators (Extended Version)" by Helen Jane Long.

Picture is Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

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"Courage, dear heart."

- C. S. Lewis

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Hey guys!

I want to apologize for my terrible timing for posting lately. I'm being inconsistent and tardy, I know. The last couple weeks have been very busy! School's starting soon, I've been out and about with family, I've been visiting colleges, and my allergies have been giving me hell so I try to avoid screens, but those are no excuse!

I will try to be better, I swear. I'm going to aim for once a week, but we will see how that goes. I figure I owe you an extra long chapter, so that's what this one is! :D

Don't give up on me! I haven't given up on this story, and I still can't wait to write more :)

Love and Light,

~Save_Pietro_Maximoff

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CHAPTER SIX

"Gloria?" My mother's voice shakes, almost as if she can't believe what she's hearing.

"Yeah, it's been a long time."

"Too long. I was starting to think you weren't ever going to call me back. It's been almost a week."

"I know, and that's my fault. I'm sorry. It's been a long week."

There's a pause, before she says, "I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about your life besides what I see on the TV, but I sure as hell would love to know you better, Gloria."

I blink my eyes, not knowing how to reply. This was the woman who left me and my sister with my father, left us alone. What do I say? "Um..."

"I know that I left you and your sister with your father when you were young, and I know that right then and there was my first mistake. First of many, and I know I can never make up for the damage I did, but your father and I are friends again, Gloria. We would love to see you again. Even your sister wants to see you."

"Rebecca, I... I don't know," I choke out. I haven't called her "mom" or any affectionate term since I was ten years old. The one time she called last week, "mom" slipped out. She was the last person I'd expected to call.

"We miss you."

"Why now?" I ask, suspicious. "Why now? I'm twenty-five. I'm a comic writer and an Avenger. Everyone knows that. What is this really about, mother?"

She sighs. "There isn't an ulterior motive, ladybug," she says, calling me by my childhood nickname. "Roosevelt and I regret most of our parenting. I know you're grown and have your own family now, but I would like a chance... just one."

"I don't know..."

"Just one chance?"

I lie down on the rooftop hammock, curling up with a blanket and my favorite book, The Red Necklace. I'd fallen in love with it after I listened to the audiobook read by Tom Hiddleston. "Okay. What did you have in mind?"

I can hear her smile in her next words. "I was thinking dinner. At your father's place. He has a barbecue planned for next friday, and we would love nothing more than for you to join us."

"Can I bring a plus-one? I have a fiancee..."

"Please do! I would love to meet this boy, or girl, if that's what you're into."

I roll my eyes. "Roosevelt would have a cow if I brought home a girl, but no. His name is Pietro. I'll have to ask him about the dinner. I'll get back to you once we talk, okay?"

"Okay, ladybug. I can't wait."

"Goodbye, Rebecca."

"Goodbye, ladybug, and thank you."

A small smile creeps onto my lips. "You're welcome."

Once I hang up the phone, I can hear gentle steps behind me. "Barton, I swear to Frigga, if you dump cold water on me again, and say, 'Her water's broke!', I will kill-"

A smooth chuckle cuts me off. "It's me," Steve says, making me turn to look up at the super soldier. "Barton misbehaving again?"

I roll my eyes and laugh as Steve takes a seat on the hammock opposite me. "That man is not old enough to have a child, let alone four. Cooper is probably, no definitely, more mature than his father."

Steve huffs as he rests against the hammock that is probably too small for him, but for his "adoptive sister", as he calls me affectionately, he will suffer through it with a smile. "We take all kinds of crazy in this place."

"Why are you here, Spangles? Don't you live at the second tower still?"

He nods, resting his hands behind his head. "No, but I went to visit Tony, and decided to pay my favorite Avenger a visit as well. I hope I didn't come off as prying. I just came up the stairs when you ended the call."

"You weren't spying, that's Nat's job, but even if you were, I wouldn't mind. How was Tony?" My voice drops as I say Tony.

Steve groans and closes his eyes. "He's being difficult."

"He probably can hear us, being in Stark Tower."

Steve turns to look me in the eye, raising a blond eyebrow. "Does it look like I care?"

I roll over to face him, lying on my side. "Nope. What happened to get your American flag boxers in a twist?"

He sighs, closing his eyes. "Tony and I are too different. You read the comics. You know what he's like."

"Stubborn, irritating, obnoxious at times," I say, Steve nodding after each trait.

"On the nose! He's such a pistol, and he isn't willing to listen to anything I say, and he's dead set that the government needs to know about mutants and supers. Why? What good will it do? He thinks just because he's swanky that he can get away with things, but he's nothing more than a jerk and he's causing a war."

"Swanky?"

"Someone of wealth," he says.

"He thinks that what he's doing is right," I reply, pointing out Tony's point of view. "He believes that if people like Black Death and Magneto were known about before they gained power, we would be able to stop them."

"That's ridiculous," Steve mumbles. "Bad people will always exist and they will always find a way to abuse others. I've been around long enough to know that. Maybe if he would stop being such a wise-guy, we could sit down and discuss our differences."

"You're two different men from two different times. Some things you will never agree on, but Steve," I look into his eyes, pleading, "you can't allow Civil War to happen. I told you what happens. Hell, I showed you."

Steve nods, looking down. "I know. I don't want any of that to happen. Obviously. It effects me a lot."

"Steve, you're about the closest thing I have, outside of Vlad, to a brother. I won't allow anyone to hurt you. Or anything."

He grins, reaching out to squeeze my hand that lays over my book. "Thanks, Glory. That means a lot. Ever since Peggy passsed... I feel like I know more people in the ground than I do above it. I feel like such a geezer."

I give him a sad smile. "You don't have to feel that way, Steve. You have me. You have Bucky, and Nat, and Sam. Thor and you seem to be getting along pretty well, too."

"Sam stands with Tony, Glory," Steve says in a quiet voice. His eyes avert mine, upset over his friend taking a stand against him.

"It was the same in the comics," I sigh. "I wish this would all just go away. I thought that me being here and having the knowledge I do would help avoid certain disasters, like Civil War. Turns out I can't do anything. I can't even help the man I love when he's having night terrors."

"Pietro having problems again?" Steve asks, not being mean, just matter-of-fact.

I nod, gazing up at the starry sky. I tell him everything I told Vision. "Vision told me that we just need to understand that the Maximoff twins will always be close. They will always be like magnets to each other, and I'm okay with that. I just wish I could... do something, you know?"

"Boy, do I. The first twenty-three years of my life, I had to depend on someone else to take care of me."

"I read your file in my world. Asthma, heart palpitations, chronic colds, rheumatic fever, high blood pressure, diabetes, sinusitis, easy fatigue? Steve, why the hell did you even leave the house?"

Steve bursts out into a deep laugh, one where his eyes crinkle up and you can barely see them. "Bucky always asked the exact same thing!"

"That boy is the only reason you are still alive!"

"Probably," he admits, wiping his eyes from laughing so hard. "My point is that you can't always do everything yourself. You shouldn't feel the need to. Sometimes having other people help takes some off your shoulders."

I nod, smiling again. "Thanks, Stevie."

"I heard you talk about your Mom to Pietro earlier this week," he says, changing the subject.

"The woman who gave birth to me, yes." I pause. "She's not my mom."

"You must hate her something fierce."

"I don't hate her. Extreme dislike, yeah. Probably. I just want to know why she contacted me now, of all times, why now?"

"I can have Nat do a quick recon in her if you like," he kids. "Nat would love that, your very own personal gumshoe. Neighborhood surveillance, grill the family-"

"-No," I say, chuckling. "That's sweet... I think, but no. I'll just ask them myself. I'm a strong girl."

"That you are."

After a half an hour in silence, looking up at the milkyway, it starts to get too cold. "I think I'll be heading back to the base," Steve says, walking with me to the door. "I have a couple things to finish up, then I'll be heading home."

"Can I ask a huge favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can I come back to your casa? I can't stay here tonight. Just one night?"

He smiles, wrapping an arm around my shoulders like an older brother would. Like Pietro would to Wanda. "Of course, Glory. You're welcome any time."

I smile up at him and kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Cap."

I tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. to pack me a bag for one night and clothes for tomorrow, bathroom stuff, and any medicine I might need overnight. Only taking five minutes, we're out of the tower in less than ten. Steve was fortunate enough to have driven his car, not his motorcycle. Thank Frigga.

Steve drives us up to the second edition Avengers Tower. I prefer this one, actually. I haven't been in it much since I was around three months pregnant, Pietro insisted I take some time off, but I always felt more at home here.

We hop out of the car. "You can just stay in the car if you want," Steve offers. "I just need to grab some files on an ongoing event."

"I'm coming with you. It's not like I've done anything lately. I miss this place."

He smiles. "Pietro told me you were signing back up with the Avengers full time. Can I ask why?"

"I miss it," I admit. "I miss the guys and girls, I miss the training, I miss the buzz of helping people. Besides, if Civil War-like events start to go down, you'll need my expertise around."

"I'll have to fill you in on current events whenever you decide to sign back up."

I nod, following him into the tower. It's pretty vacant. It seems that most times I'm here, it's that way. I can never catch any of the action. On the top floor, which isn't very far, are the offices. Steve's is at the end of the hall, and I can see several names that we pass: N. Romanoff & C. Barton, W. Maximoff & P. Maximoff, Vision, S. Wilson & J. Rhodes, M. Hill & S. Carter, S. Lang & H. Pym. Steve shares his office with Carol, and the door reads "Cpt. S. Rogers & C. Danvers."

The offices are pretty typical, desks and comfortable chairs, tons of books and files everywhere. Half of them are labelled S.H.I.E.L.D., the other half devided between HYDRA, X-Men, New Avengers, First Avengers Initiative, and the reports on the 2,000 new mutants. "Why do you have files on the X-Men?" I ask, picking up one of the files on top, ironically labelled "Top-Secret".

I open it to see several pictures. They seem random, not adding up to anything, but my comic mind finds several things that stick out. One picture has metal flying everywhere. Another has a hint of the X-Jet, the Blackbird, disappearing in the cloudcover, possibly caused by one of my favorite X-Men, Storm or Ororo Munroe. The last is a burning building, the entire photo is red and scarlet except for the small portion in the corner where you can see a whisp of long, green hair.

"What are these?" I ask, jerking my head up towards Steve.

"That's what I was looking for," he says. I hand him the folder. "You know about this already?"

"Let me guess, a man who can bend metal?"

Steve nods. "You know of him? From what Xavier said, he's bad business."

"Sort of. He's about to be my father-in-law," I groan. Steve's confused look makes me add, "Magneto, also called Erik Lensherr, Erik Magnus, Max Eisenhardt, just Magnus, Erik the Red, White King, White Pilgrim, Grey King, Michael Xavier, or The Creator. One of the first mutants, he has the ability to manipulate metal and the magnetic field. He has been a friend, an antihero, and an enemy of the mutant community and humans alike. He is also Pietro and Wanda's father, and I believe that," I point to the picture with the long, green hair flowing behind a feminine figure, "this is their other, half sister, Lorna Dane or Polaris. She shares Magneto's abilities, and is very loyal to her father."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Why do we even have files anymore? We have our ace: you. You know everything about everyone!"

I shrug, a smirk on my face. "Not everything. Magneto is big, though. That's why. This explains why Charles Xavier, Logan, and Ororo showed up earlier, doesn't it?"

"Yes, we invited them over for a meeting earlier. He thought he should visit you since you weren't there at the time." Steve gets the couple files he needs and starts walking towards the door. "Lets go home. I don't know about you, but I feel a good ole Disney movie night coming on."

A huge smile breaks across my face as I scurry after him.

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After a couple hours of fun, watching movies and talking about random things, our drowsiness began to alter our conversations to things I don't think either of us will admit we said. Like who has a better butt: Pietro or Bucky? We seriously had THAT discussion. So much for 100% straight Steve.

Luckily, soon after that, we decided to sleep. Steve gave me his bed, like the gentleman he is, and he slept on the sofa. He finally got that apartment in Brooklyn, and though it's small, it's cozy and comfortable and warm. It's everything a super soldier with PTSD needs to get better.

I have the same dream again. Aspen is falling. I'm frozen, unable to do anything but scream at the top of my lungs. It's tiring, this endless torture. I can't run, I can't escape. I can't even roll over into Pietro's arms tonight for shelter and comfort.

"Glory," Aspen mouths. "Glory!"

"No!"

"Glory!" This voice is different, it's deep, manly, authoritative.

Steve.

I shoot upwards, shivering and trembling from the nightmares. "Aspen, Aspen," I whimper over and over.

Steve grasps my arms gently in his rough hands, stroking up and down, trying to give me any form of comfort. "It's okay, Glory. It's just a dream."

"No, no it happened. It happened... not now, but it happened." Tears floor my eyes. "I couldn't stop it. I couldn't do anything!"

"It's not your fault, dolly. I promise it wasn't. It was his fault, not yours." Steve wraps his arms around me and pats my back, calming me.

"I just wish she was here,' I sniffle. "I miss her."

Steve sighs, no doubt knowing my pain all too well. "It's okay to cry, doll. I'm not going anywhere. Cry as much as you want and then get some shut-eye."

I whimper as Steve climbs in bed next to me, keeping me close. "Thank you, Steve. What would I do without you?" I turn my head to look up at him. "Dolly?" I smirk.

He shrugs, grinning a bit thst he got me distracted. "It's an affectionate term from the '40s. If itmakes you uncomfortable, I ca-"

"-No. I love it actually." I rest my head back down. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, dolly."

The rest of the night is spent with soft crying and huddled together like little kids hiding from the storm.

END CHAPTER SIX