American Oxygen ~ Captain America's Daughter story [0]

Chapter 19: Bad Guy

"Here, drink this."

Steve handed her a cold glass of water, which she downed haphazardly. Adeline wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and placed the now empty glass on the floor beside her. They were sitting on the ground leaning against her bed, Adeline was trying to calm down after the events that just occurred.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked his daughter. She looked at him and sighed.

"I guess," She trailed off. "I just don't know what to do." She passed her hand through her hair worriedly. "Is there a manual for when your adoptive father kidnaps your best friend because a Nazi organization wants you dead?" Adeline asked, rhetorically. "Before I knew he was behind this, I knew what to do. The bad guy was a threat that had to be taken down, I knew that. I understood that. I was ready to do anything to stop him but now..."

Steve gave her a hug and rubbed her hair. "Whatever you want to do, I'll help you. We will all help you, you're not alone." Steve reassured her and she thanked him. "You are stronger than you think you are, Adeline."

"If you want to stay home tomorrow, you can." He offers her but she quickly declines.

"No, I have to. If I stay here, I'll just mope in my bed all day. I don't want that."

"Okay, do you want to try to sleep a little bit?" Steve asks her and she agreed. He stayed until she fell asleep despite her protests (she secretly appreciated it.) As soon as she slept, Adeline was transported to the past.

A little girl was sound asleep, curled up on a hard and uncomfortable mattress, a thin blanket barely heating her small frame. The sound of a door closing and footsteps woke her up. She sat up to see Hydra agents leading a man into the room. The man sat on a chair and started to remove his gear while the agents left.

Adeline got up from her spot on the floor and went to get the medkit, helping the man with his wounds. This was part of their routine, they had to help each other if they wanted to survive and that's exactly what they did. He comforted her when she got nightmares and she brought him back when Hydra activated him. She was his access to humanity and he swore to get her out of there. Whatever it took.