Accidental Avenger [Steve Rogers]

[10]

The meeting proved nothing. There was no leads, no evidence, nothing of significance that could help them find Elodie.

As they stepped out of the FBI building and turned a corner Steve punched a wall in frustration. Natasha scolded him and pulled his arms down. "You can't do that here!" She whisper yelled at him while letting her eyes flicker over to the crowd of kids watching him.

He gave them a fake smile to pretend everything was ok as their parents pulled them away. One kid looked back and gave him a soft wave, melting his heart a little. He waved back and the kids eyes lit up. That minor exchange helped him more than he cared to admit.

—————
Eight months ago

There was a knock on the door at 9am and Penn went down in his dressing gown. He grumbled as he nearly slipped on the step, a packet of baby wipes left open. He rolled his eyes and continued to the door. He unlocked and pulled it open only to be greeted with an undercover Steve. "Good morning, Mr America Sir." Penn saluted and stepped back to let him in.

"Morning." He nodded and stepped inside. "Call me Steve. You must be Penn Jones?"

"Yes, Hi. Please have a seat I'm just going to wake my girlfriend, she's been up all night with our daughter." Penn excused himself and practically sprinted up the stairs.

Steve nodded to himself and sat on the soft blue velvet couch. He looked around and saw multiple child related items. Rattles, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, and the biggest giveaway of all was the small white bassinet in the corner.

Moments later Penn ambled down carrying their one month old in his arms, Harlow following in full on panic.

Penn stepped over to the bassinet to put the baby down as Harlow rushed over to Steve. "Oh my god. What's happened?" She asked, her voice full of fright for her friend.

Steve guessed that his presence would strike fear. "Please take a breath and sit, I have some things to discuss with you if that's okay."

They all got situated around the kitchen table with cups of tea and coffee. Harlow rubbed her tired eyes as she prepared to hear the worst. "Please Captain, tell me my best friend's alright?" Harlow mentally pleased, crossing her fingers subtly under the table.

Penn was the calm one, looking at Steve with a level head also praying that she was ok but knowing from the Captain's demeanour it was likely that Elodie was missing rather than dead.

Steve cleared his throat and looked between them. "The team was on a job in England when the people we suspected to be dangerous got to Elodie and have taken her somewhere that we have not identified yet."

"So she's missing?" Harlow asked, her voice cracking.

Penn rolled his eyes at her obvious question. "But you'll find her right?"

"Of course." Steve nodded. "Wanda and Sam are there right now and they're not leaving until they find her. Myself and everyone on the team, agents in training and all of our contacts are on this. I give you both my word, the next time you see me I'll either be bringing Elodie to you or..."

"Lets not go there." Penn put a hand up as if to stop the thought. "Elodie's a tough gal. Thank you for coming today Captain and please, if there is anything we can do, anything at all."

Steve nodded. "I'll let you know."

Harlow knew there was a problem as soon as Steve called to ask if she was home. She called all of their friends and Elodie's family to come around and here they were, waiting for the doorbell.

Steve stood outside with his finger hovering above the small white button. Natasha saw how challenged he was and gave him a nudge, knocking his finger into the doorbell. The noise rang throughout the house and bolts of anxiety were set throughout them.

Harlow almost raced to the door when Penn shook his head, knowing that if she saw Elodie wasn't with him she'd probably break. Penn didn't bother looking, he pulled open the door and hurried back to the living room. He wrapped his arms around Hayley and they silently hoped and prayed.

Two sets of footsteps were heard on their hardwood floors as they front door closed. Harlow heard Steve's heavy footsteps followed by lighter sounding footsteps. Natasha was walking beside Steve, just visible enough so Elodie's friends and family would know it was a girl. Elodie's mother's eyes lit up, causing Harlow to push Penn back to get a glimpse at the girl.

Harlow's smile quickly dropped as she saw that the women with Steve wasn't Elodie. She felt tears rush to her eyes and she shook her head. "No, no. Steve, please..." Harlow's voice was shakey, she was at breaking point.

Elodie's parents were sat at the table, looking over at the soldier and ex assassin. Steve hadn't met her parents yet and left Wanda and Tony to deal with them, he couldn't face them.

Steve looked around, everyone looked at him with such sorrow and disappointment. "Hello um." Steve cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you all, I just wish it was better circumstances uh. Me, my name it's, sorry, I am Steve Rogers, myself and my team have uh..um. We've been trying... to um." His words were all over the place, he repeated some and forgot others. He bit back his emotions as he stood in front of everyone. He was tired, angry and downright lost.

Natasha put a hand on his shoulder and whispered to him softly. "Go wait in the car, I've got this." Without any further words Steve listened to Natasha and went out to the car, where he fell asleep.

When Steve woke Natasha was had a hand on the steering wheel while the other used a tissue to wipe under her eyes. They were parked up in stand still traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Wha- What happened?" He asked, sitting up in his seat and rubbing his eyes.

Natasha shrugged and quickly hid the tissue in her pocket. She placed her elbow against the window and let her hand rest in her hair. "I explained that the situation wasn't looking good. I told them that we had met with the FBI today and got absolutely nothing. But more importantly, that we'd never stop looking, never stop working."

Steve bit the inside of his cheek and looked out the window. "Great." He mumbled.

"Did you see Harlow and Penn's baby? Cute right. Pudgy." Natasha tried to lighten the subject and remove some of the tension. "I love the name though. Aria Elodie. Adorable."

"Elodie would have loved to have met her."

Hearing him say her name felt like a stab to her chest. Natasha just wanted him to be happy but every time he brought her up she knew could feel his pain. "And she will. We're not going up on her." Natasha tried to comfort him but it seemed to backfire.

Steve angrily shook his head and slammed his hand into his thigh. "Don't!" He gritted his teeth. "Enough with the false hope-"

"-Thor will be back soon and until the we can't be sure-"

"Yes we can. Thor can't give us anything that we don't already know."

The pair went back and for interrupting each other until finally they sat in silence. Natasha drove back the facility and as soon as the car stopped Steve unbuckled his seatbelt and stormed inside. Natasha shut her eyes tightly and rest her head against the steering wheel.

Nat walked up the stairs, throwing and catching the car keys in her hand. She stepped into the living room to see Steve stopped in the middle of the room, his back to her but standing still. The catching and throwing stopped as she stepped around and him. The keys hit the floor in what seemed like slow motion, creating a harsh thud.