The Heart Thaws In Its Own Time (Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 4 - Rapid Pace

"Okay, Steve lay back and just relax. Focus on your breathing." Wanda guided him gently.

Steve looked nervous but she knew he trusted her. He laid back on the bed and folded his hands overtop of his ribs.

Wanda turned to walk away. Steve put his hand on her arm and looked up at her. "Wanda... thank you."

"Okay, now Steve, let's start. And if it gets to be too much, I promise we will stop." Her demeanor became more of the teacher than the student. She knew he needed that in order to be comfortable. "This is all between us."

Steve tried relaxing his muscles. His tension was so bad that his shoulders were not touching the bed. He forced them downward.

Wanda stood at the foot of the bed and watched to see if the grimace would leave his face before she started. Steve opened one eye widely like a cartoon character and looked at her. He started laughing. "I'm just kidding, I swear. Go ahead."

"Glad you still have your humor, Steve. That can only help you."

Wanda remained still a moment longer to make sure she was as calm as she thought she should be. She raised her hands to chest level and took a breath. Her delicate fingers weaved around each other, contorting and stiffening. Her face focused on her hands and a glow washed over her features as a red light began encircling her hands.

She took a step backwards and extended her arms out in a larger motion and the orb of red light moved with her reach. She motioned the orb towards Steve as he lay on the bed and quickly, it enveloped him. He remained still and his eyes were closed. Wanda couldn't see anything for a moment and then...

Scenes, faces, fights, fire, kicks and hits to her body, and emotions came flying at her like a tornado of expression. It was so fast and frantic that she almost lost her focus and her balance. She steadied herself and took note of her feet solidly being on the floor so she could remind herself she was not floating, she was really safe in a room. She would have to take her time sorting through the memories and finding what could help Steve. Wanda could not have imagined how much Steve was holding back and she wondered how he had been functioning normally all this time. He had seen terrible things. She felt so much of his pain.

Looking at the whirling faces, she picked the one she saw in the most memories... a friendly looking face, pale with piercing blue eyes, framed with red hair. Wanda was positive it was Steve's mother. The eyes told her everything she needed to know: steel blue eyes that looked lovingly at her. This would be where she would focus first. She was seeing Steve's memories from his point of view.

Organ music played loudly. "Stevie," the Irish voice said gently, "get your coat back on, we are going to see your father." Steve stood up and started getting his ragged coat on, it had seen better days. His mother would make him take it off when they went to church. The other Irish parishioners were already filing out of the church after mass.

At the cemetery, his mother knelt down in front of his father's headstone. "Come down here with me, Steven," she said as she tugged lightly at him.

"Jo... seph... Joseph Rogers," Steve's small voice said, rather surprised at his own newfound reading ability. His mother smiled down at him proudly. He could see her eyes starting to look glossy.

"Mummy, please don't cry," Steve leaned his head into her arm tenderly. "I love you."

Steve's tough Irish mother, who did not like to show her son that kind of emotional scene looked down at her boy. She smiled through her pain and with a broken voice, she replied "I love you too, Stevie."

"It will be okay, Mum," he assured her. It killed him to see his mother so hurt and although he missed his father, he was worried about his mother more than anything. Just a little boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders.