**I am so late, I'm so sorry**

♫ Would you know my name

if I saw you in Heaven?

Would it be the same

if I saw you in Heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

'Cause I know

I don't belong

here in Heaven

Would you hold my hand

if I saw you in Heaven?

Would you help me stand

if I saw you in Heaven?

I'll find my way

through night and day

'Cause I know

I just can't stay

here in Heaven

Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven

A group of people stopped to help Natasha, Steve held her in his arms and Natasha began to move her head from one side to ther other and she moaned something that nobody couldn't understand.

S: She's waking up.

- Let's take her to the infirmary. Quickly.

Steve carried Natasha, following the nurse down the hallways, to the elevator. Steve left Natasha on the bed and sighed, he was not too worried about her right now, because she was already coming back to herself, and he is still suffering a lot for losing his baby girl, Lily, and he knows that Natasha must have passed out due to the clash of the news.

The nurse approached Steve.

- I need one of you to sign the death certificate.

Steve took a deep breath. Hearing that phrase, it was like going through all the trauma again, he followed the nurse out of the room and before signing the certificate, he asked if he could see Lindsay's body first. The nurse said yes and escorted him back to the morgue.

When he reached the door, Steve froze again and his heart clenched, he didn't know if he could move.

- Sir, you don't have to do that now. Why don't you wait until the funeral to see her? She will be looking better...

Steve shook his head.

S: I, uh... I need... I need to see her and stay with her a little. I won't have any time to do that from now on, so I better see her... right now.

- Okay, I need to get back. You will find the coroner inside the morgue and he will show you her body, when you done here, please come sign the certificate.

S: Okay, I'll do that. Thank you.

Steve finally entered the morgue and he was greet by the coroner who said he was sorry for his loss and it was not advisable for Steve to be there, but Steve was determined, he spent only a few weeks with Lindsay, he had to say goodbye before she was buried forever.

- This way, please.

The coroner said.

Steve entered the room and saw several metal doors and he felt a chill to imagine his daughter inside a compartment as if she were a piece of frozen meat, he put his hand in his mouth because of the strong smell of formaldehyde and some tears escaped from his eyes without he notice.

S: Is she in there?

Steve sobbed.

- Yes. Unfortunately everyone is put here, it's a bit inhumane, I know, but... It was not for the family to come in here and see this.

S: All right.

At least she died quietly, with no pain. Steve thought.

The doctor pulled the door from Lindsay's body compartment and pulled the mat with her body out. Steve turned on his back at the same time, he didn't want to see anymore, there is no way he could that.

- This disease, you know...

The coroner sighed.

- It is just so unpredictable and silent at times. Very sad to lose a child to a cancer.

Steve looked at the doctor and frowned.

S: What did you say?

- I bed you pardon?

S: What did you say about cancer?

- Sir... Hm... Wait a minute.

The doctor pulled out a clipboard and read Lindsay Romanoff Rogers' chart.

- That's right... It's cancer. Why are you so surprised?

S: You made a mistake, she didn't have cancer, she had, uh... a thing with her lungs, she needed a device to breathe... can you check again?

- I made the authopsy myself, it was the cancer, it was in a very advanced stage. That's what I've identified as the cause of death.

S: That can't be right!!!

Steve looked at the baby on the mat, her skin pale, her lips purple from the cold. Steve started shaking right away, he knew that baby was not Lindsay, but he could be confused because babies can look alike when they're small. But there was a way of knowing if that was Lindsay or not.

S: Doctor, can you lift the... blanket, please?

- Yes.

The doctor did what Steve asked.

S: Can I? Just...

Steve turned the baby's body to see her back and he was starin in shock to the back of the baby.

S: That's not my daughter!

- How come? Please, sir, calm down.

S: That's not my daughter! Where is she???

- Sir, everything's fine. This reaction is normal, of course she is your daughter. I know how it's hard to accept her death.

Steve grabbed the doctor's collar and lifted him off the floor.

S: I'm gonna ask you one more time... where is my daughter?

Steve noticed that the doctor didn't know what was happening, and he started to remember about everything that happened in the morning...

Steve called Natasha, to ask her to marry him, Steve left the room with John for breakfast and Anne stayed with Lindsay and Chloe in the room. The two returned to the room, Lindsay was fine and Chloe semmed fine too, but a few minutes later Lindsay had a terrible crisis, she couldn't breathe and Steve saw her pass out up close, she was in his arms and she collapsed, so Steve saw her daughter dying. Lindsay was dead. Steve thought.

Steve also remember that Cho came in to take Lindsay to be rescued and Steve didn't see Dr. Cho more after this, just one of her assistant's doctors appeared to say that Lindsay hadn't resisted. Steve tried to remember if Anne was with him in the bedroom when this news was delivered, he thinks she was not there, and not even her daughter, but he is not sure.

Steve put the doctor back on the floor and ran out of the morgue and then he went up the stairs, back to Lindsay's room. He entered the room, almost making the door fall and he saw John in the room, talking on the phone with someone and he looked worried.

Steve didn't see his wife or his daughter.

S: John? Where's Anne?

John: Steve, I'm with her on the phone. I don't know where she went with our daughter. She doesn't want to tell me and she knows Chloe need to be in the hospital. I don't know what is going on. Why would she do that? She's putting Chloe's life at risk.

S: I think I can handle that, let me talk to her.

John handed the cell phone to Steve.

S: Anne? Anne? It's Steve.

Steve heard Anne hang up the phone. Steve sighed and frowned, then he looked at John.

S: John... I know what is going on... Anne disappeared with Lindsay, with my daughter.

John: What?

S: John... do you have something to do with it? Did you plan to kidnap my daughter?

John even smiled, it seemed like a joke. John frowned.

John: What?? No! Your daughter died! What are you talking about???

S: Come with me.

Steve took John to the morgue and showed the baby's body. John was speechless.

John: That... That is Chloe. My Chloe!

John despaired at the same moment and began to cry.

S: Where is Anne?

John couldn't speak, just cry.

- Wait! Was there a baby exchange? I'm going to call the police right now.

S: Do it!

Steve looked at John and by the way he looked, so lost, Steve trusted that John was not involved with the disappeareance of his baby daughter.

S: Is Lindsay alive?

John: I... I don't know.

Steve left the morgue and called Maria Hill and Tony Stark, who immediately made arrangements to identify Anne and do facial recognition searches across the country. It is not known where Anne went, whether she is far or near.

Steve ran to the infirmary where he found Natasha pulling all the tubing attached to her body and the nurse arguing with Natasha for it.

S: Natasha!

Natasha looked at Steve and frowned at Steve's expression.

S: I went to the morgue.

Natasha closed her eyes and lowered her head.

N: Steve, don't...

S: Listen to me!

Steve interrupted Natasha, then walkedto stay closer to Natasha and he grabbed her shoulders, Natasha was with her eyes filled with tears, looking at Steve.

S: That body in the morgue was not Lindsay's.

N: What?

Natasha was confused.

S: Listen to me, I saw the body, I'm sure it was not Lindsay and I called John, he confirmed that that baby's body is Chloe.

N: Chloe died?

S: Yes.

N: Why do you look excited about it?

S: Not with that, Natasha, but Lindsay's body is not there, Chloe's was in her place. Anne disappeared from the hospital, supposedly carrying her daughter, but it's not her daughter... Think about it, it can only be...

N: Lindsay!

Natasha frowned, looking at Steve, she didn't know whether to believe and have hope, or whether she should not delude herself as Steve is deluded now.

N: A-are you sure??

S: Yes. Do you want to go there and see? I show you.

Natasha hurried up and ran with Steve to the morgue. On arriving that, the coroner was already with two police officers reporting on the baby changing incident.

Natasha approached the baby's body and just looked at her face, she knew right away it was not her daughter, she immediately began to cry, relief and then she became nervous.

Natasha turned the baby's body around to make sure it was not just her psychological desire that it was not for Lindsay, but by noticing the baby's back and not identifying the birthmark, she could finally take a deep breath and hope that Lindsay still alive.

Twenty minutes later, Cho arrived with Maria Hill.

Cho: Steve...

N: How did this happen??? How did she steal our daughter and walked out of the hospital with her?

S: Natasha, not now. What we need to know is if when Cho took Lindsay to the emergency room, she came out alive from there? Dis she went throught a surgery somehow?

Cho shook his head.

Cho: I didn't make any surgery on Lindsay, it was not necessary, she went into the ICU and we did medication treatment, which she responded very well at the time. We don't believe that she suffered from heart failure, but from a problem we didn't identify before, but now that I learned of the abduction, I suspect that Anne induced Lindsay to feel sick and seem like she was dying or something, she was planning that.

N: My God! After everything we did for her and her baby... I'm going to tear her skin off with a razor, I swear.

S: Cho, is Lindsay alive?

Cho: Yes, when I left the hospital she was fine, I couldn't come to talk to you after the procedures, because I was called in another hospital nearby with urgency, but I asked my assistant to warn you, I don't know how this happened, I'm so sorry for it, guys, I will fire him and...

S: We don't have time for that now, we need to find Lindsay.

N: She needs oxygen. What if she ran out of oxygen, Steve?

Cho: We need to find her as soon as possible, but I guarantee her breathing was better, she can stay without her equipment for a while.

H: My agents are looking for Anne. Her husband, John... You said he was here.

S: He was right here.

- He was disturbed, probably he went out to take some air.

S: Or ran away.

H: Do you have his cell phone number?

S: No.

Cho: I have their information, come with me.

Cho passed all the information the hospital had about the couple. Immediately a team of SHIELD and FBI, invaded the house of Anne and John. They did a search, but they did not find Anne or Lindsay.

H: I'll keep the FBI at Anne and John's house to find out about the couple's habits, they're best suited to unravel pathological profiles and tell us where to look for them.

Natasha leaned against Steve's arm.

N: We need to look for her.

S: Yes.

H: Look, why don't you go home and stay there with the kids? You know I will not rest until I find Lindsay.

N: Hill...

H: As soon as we have any clues, I'll get in touch. I promise.

Cho: Hill's right, you don't even know where to search.

N: I can't be at home.

H: Natasha, Nick needs to nurse, Sarah and James must be terrified too.

N: I know, but I don't have mind to deal with them now.

H: At least Lindsay is alive, trust me to bring her back to you. Have I ever failed you?

Natasha sighed and shook her head.

S: I'm going with Hill, Natasha. You go home with the kids.

Steve turned Natasha to face him, he stroked her face.

S: Don't cry anymore, she's alive.

N: Is she? You don't know.

S: I know, I can feel it. I'll bring her home. For you.

N: For us.

Steve was finally able to smile a little, after all this tribulation, he kissed the tip of Natasha's nose, and then pressed his lips to hers. Steve grabbed the back of Natasha's neck and massaged it lightly, almost in the same intensity that he was kissing. Natasha stood on tiptoe and hugged Steve's neck, who hugged her waist and stroked her back, pressing Natasha's body against his.

H: I'm sorry, guys, but we need to go.

Steve and Natasha turned their faces away and looked at each other, Steve once again stroked her cheek and he remained staring into his eyes.

S: Do you still want to marry me?

N: Steve?

Natasha frowned.

N: This is not the time for that!

S: Yes, it is. Tell me. I need to hear you say.

N: Yes, Steve!

Natasha sighed and Steve gave her a long peck on the lips, then he smiled followed Maria Hill and her agents out of the hospital.

...

Out of the hospital, already in the car...

H: Steve, the FBI sent us Anne's profile. They have noticed a change in her behavior since the loss of her first child.

S: How did they detect that?

H: They are with her diary, and she has shown severe depression, even after the birth of her daughter Chloe, they also interview their neighobours to know about them. The ruined marriage and the inevitable death of the daughter caused the emotional break in her.

S: I figured she was depressed, so much that in a moment I saw her crying and suddenly she was having a momento of rage over simple things with nurses and her husband, John, but she seemed so docile to Chloe and Lindsay, I didn't think she would be capable of such a thing.

H: Well, we'll know more when we arrive there.

John and Anne lived far away from the hospital, Steve and Hill took more than two hours to get to their address. As soon as they arrived there, the head of the FBI operation came to greet them.

- Captain, we have our best investigators on the case. We will bring Lindsay home.

S: I'm sure everyone is doing their best, I appreciate that.

- We arrested a man who was walking around the house, then we identified him as Anne's husband.

S: Where is he?

- Inside the house, being interviewed by one of the agents.

As they entered the house, Steve noticed that the decoration of the house was very depressing for a house that had a baby living there.

S: I don't understand... Why did Anne take Lindsay? We helped them, we paid the hospital for her.

- She projected her daughter in Lindsay, she knew Lindsay still had a chance to survive, while her daughter had none. Your daughter had what she wanted Chloe to have: Chances of surviving.

S: Is she going to hurt her?

- No, she's in a psychotic outbreak, she sees herself as Lindsay's mother and she thinks that running away with her, she is protecting her life.

S: She can't run out of oxygen. We need to find her.

- We will.

When it was dark, two agents appeared in the living room.

- Sir, we have a possible place where Anne might have gone.

- Anne's husband said Anne planned to take Chloe to Lake Albert as soon as she was born, before she knew of her illness. The two of them used to take boat trips on this lake and it was the place that John asked her to marry him and also was the place where Anne announced her first pregnancy.

- So it's probably there.

- Let's go, there's no time to waste!

Hill and Steve ran back to the car, the FBI agents rushed to their respective cars, and they took John with them.

Once in the car, Maria Hill alerted SHIELD to move for the lake.

They all arrived on the lake one hour later, as it was also far away from where they were at the moment, Steve spotted a small boat moored in the middle of the lake.

S: It's her, isn't it?? I'll go there!

- Captain, we do not recommend it. She can recognize you and remember that Lindsay is not her daughter.

S: That is my intention!

- But, if she doesn't see her as a daughter, she'll remember that hers is dead and then she could hurt Lindsay.

S: But you said she wouldn't hurt Lindsay.

- As long as she still believes she is her baby.

H: Steve, they're professionals, let them act.

S: It's my daughter with a crazy woman in that boat! I can't just be here... just watching.

H: Well, I want to take some action too, but it's a delicate situation. Lindsay is too young, too small, too fragile. We can't risk. Let them handle this situation.

Steve sighed and nodded.

The FBI arranged a boat on the pier and boarded with John. The boat approached Anne's boat, but kept some distance. The FBI chief announced their presence on the loudspeaker.

Anne was startled to hear them and stood up. The FBI chief noticed the baby wrapped in a blanket.

- Anne, John is here... your husband... We just want to know if the baby is okay. Can you tell us if she's okay?

A: She-she is okay. I saved her. She's safe as Nicholas was.

- We believe you, Anne. Thanks for taking care of her, but righ now we need to get her to the hospital, it's too cold here for a newborn.

A: NO HOSPITALS!

Anne got angry.

A: They didn't know anything! They were making her sick! I can save her. She's safe with me.

The FBI chief looked at John and turned off the loudspeaker.

- John, we need you to talk to her, but don't mention the name of Chloe or Lindsay at any moment, nor try to convince her that that baby is not Chloe.

John nodded and picked up the loudspeaker.

John: Anne? Honey... what are you doing?

A: Protecting our daughter, John! Why are you with them?

John: I'm not with them, I'm with you... they... They just want to make sure the baby is okay. Did you hurt her?

A: I would never hurt our daughter! John!

Anne started to cry.

A: I'm scared.

John: I know, honey.

A: I don't wanna lose our baby girl. I don't.

John: I know... neither do I. You don't need to be afraid, I'm right here, I'll help you... come with me.

A: No!!! You need to leave, I told you to move on with your life.

John: I know that, but I couldn't do that.

A: Why?

John: Because... because I love her. The baby... I couldn't be without her.

A: So, do you want her too?

John: Yes, yes, of course I want her. We're going to get closer, just so I can move to your boat and we can just go travel as we always do, okay?

A: Okay...

Anne nodded and sobbed.

The FBI boat approached and positioned itself next to Anne's boat that ran holding the baby to the end of the boat.

A: If this is a trick... I'll jump in the water with her.

John: It's not a trick, ok? It's just me. See? Just me.

John put down the loudspeaker, lifted his hands up and entered Anne's boat.

John: Honey, what are you doing?

A: Protecting her!

John: Why don't you let me hold her for you a little bit? You look tired.

A: No...

John: Anne, it's me... baby, I love her, I would never hurt her.

John moved closer to Anne, but the officers ordered him to stop, because Anne was taking small steps back and was very close to the edge.

John: We should travel far away this time. Go to the Bahamas as you always wanted. What do you think?

A: Yes.

John: Would you like that?

Anne nodded.

John: Me, you and the baby.

A: Only the three of us?

John: Only the three of us...

A: They will hurt me.

John: No one will hurt you. I promise.

John held out his hand to Anne. Anne hold John's hand.

From the pier, Steve and Hill watched everything, not knowing what was going on or what they were talking about.

S: I can't wait any longer!

H: Steve, she's there. Let's trust their work.

Anne hugged John.

John: Let me get her.

John took the baby from Anne's lap and at that moment, the FBI agents got on the boat and immobilized Anne who was crying and shouting that John was a traitor.

John was surprised at the lightness of the blanket, it didn't seem like he was holding a baby, he lifted the blanket to look at it and he was astonished to find out that it was just a doll.

John handed it over to the FBI chief.

John: Guys, it's not the baby!

- God dammit!

Steve saw the FBI boat approaching the pier and he ran to see Lindsay. The FBI chief came down and showed the doll to Steve.

- Sorry, it's not her.

Steve was terrified now.

S: Where is my daughter???

- We have no idea.