The Flames of Amarra - DR STRANGE x OC - COMPLETE

THE CURSE STRIKES AGAIN

⌚ YEAR 5

Nora stood in the living room and cleared her throat. “Kelly ! Dad ! Living room, now !” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She coughed and took a deep breath. Kelly ran down the stairs, her father hurried from his garden. “One more time,” she said. 

“Feels like the army,” her father said. 

“You’ve never even been.” She moved to see them both and clapped in her hands. “Chop-chop ! One more time !”

“I’m going to work,” Kelly recited. 

“I’m staying home,” her father added. 

“I’ll drive to my AA meeting as soon as my shift is over.”

“I’m staying home.”

“I’m coming back as soon as the meeting is ov- No,” she quickly said when she saw the look on Nora’s face. “I’ll go get the groceries and then I'll come back home.”

“No,” Nora said, suddenly panicking that it was all a terrible idea. “You come back here to pick up my father, and then you both go get the groceries.”

“Because I’ll be tired of staying home,” he said with a laugh. 

“I’ll be back in three days,” Nora said. “I’d like to stay, but Wong begged me to keep the library open.”

“You’re not staying for dinner ?”

Nora shook her head and pointed at the pile of paperwork waiting for her. “Meeting with Nat. I missed the last one, she’ll kill me if I don’t make it to this one.”

“Oh,” Kelly said, remembering something. “They’d like you to come over at work.”

“Why would I come to the hospital ?”

“Spend time with the children, stuff like that.” She raised her hands in defense and smiled. “I’m just delivering the message, they don’t even know my name.”

Nora sighed. “Okay, I’ll think about it. Maybe they’ll get you a raise for that.” She took her paperwork and pointed at Kelly. “By the way, we’re seeing the judge in two weeks.” She looked into everything she was holding and handed a file to her. “Read it, sign it, and you’ll get your life back.”

“What does it say ?”

“Don’t drink, don’t go crazy, keep your job, don’t be a nasty bitch.”

Kelly nodded at her. “Fair enough.”

“I thought so.”

Before she could leave, her father hugged her and gave Nora a suspicious look. “Don’t forget to come back.”

She looked up and gave him her most innocent look. “Don’t burn the house while I’m gone, I’d like to at least be there when you do it.”

She quickly kissed him on the cheek, waved at Kelly, and fired herself away to the Avengers compound. She took a quick look at the time and left her papers on a table before walking out. 

Nora found a nice spot on a bench, away from anyone’s eyes, and a small flame appeared at the end of her cigarette. She sighed and looked up to the sky. 

“I’m going back to Kamar-Taj,” she said softly. “I think I’m finally getting somewhere. Things are good now. I don’t know what you had in mind, but you were right. I made it. I’ll be fine.” She smiled, thinking that for once, it could actually be true. “Wong and I talked. We’re not letting you plan anything after you come back. Five years, Stephen. It’s been five years and we’re still waiting. That’s a shit plan you came up with.”