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9:06 AM. AUGUST 13th, 2018
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"OH my god. I'm sooo hungry right now," Ellie complained as she walked down the streets of Hell's Kitchen. "I would kill for a cheeseburger."
Jessica scoffed. "Kid, it's only nine in the morning," she retorted. "We are not getting cheeseburgers." Ellie groaned loudly, only to stop with a wince as Emily slapped the back of her head. Massaging her aching skull, Ellie gave her adoptive mother a dirty look. Emily merely returned the sentiment and continued on her way.
"Ms. Jones, what's gonna be our plan of action if the man is there?" Emily asked as she struggled to match Jessica's breakneck pace.
Readjusting her grey, tightly knitted scarf so it was no longer in her face, Jessica rolled her eyes. "You know this isn't some spy shit, right?"
Emily's eyes widened at the detective's snarky attitude. "Excuse me, Ms. Jones, but maybe you don't remember that I am a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who could have easily turned you into the authorities. The only reason why we're even working together is because of Ellie."
"You know," Jessica began, "I could just as easily get you in trouble for using your oh-so-special S.H.I.E.L.D. privileges to get us here. I'm not your fucking kid, so step the fuck down, Preston." Jessica had been a bit touchy ever since her argument with Luke. She never liked getting told what to do, especially by someone she barely even knew.
Trying to defuse the tense situation, Ellie jammed her way between the two women and showed off her bright smile. "So, Jessica, you got cool powers, right?" she asked, clicking the roof of her mouth with her tongue.
Jessica gave a barely audible "yeah" before speeding up once again. Ellie nearly had to run to keep up, but still, she kept talking all the while. "Cool! So what are they?"
"You'll find out if you-"
"Do you think your baby is gonna have them too?"
"I don't-"
"That would be one helluva super-"
Jessica's breathing became heavier and faster with each of Eleanor's relentless questions. She knew the teenager meant no harm by them, but God, were they getting annoying. Abruptly stopping, the woman took a sharp left turn into an alley leaving Ellie and Emily in utter concern and confusion. Slamming the palm of her right hand into a scratchy brick wall, Jessica slipped into a dark place full of anxiety. Talking about the baby on the way always made her uncomfortable, but usually, she could easily get out of the conversation by making up excuses like "I need to go to bed" or "I'm working" - phrases like that. But in this moment, there was no escape route and it forced her to be the one thing she hated most: vulnerable.
Careful in her approach, Eleanor gently placed her tan hand on Jessica's back. Emily watched the two a few feet away, not exactly wanting to insert herself into whatever was going on. "Ms. Jones? Is everything okay? Did I say-"
"Kid, can you stop asking questions for one goddamn second?" Jessica breathed out, slowly slumping to the jagged concrete ground, clutching her head between gloved hands. Her breathing started to return to normal, but there was still a clear look of panic stretched across her face. "Okay, okay, ah. Luke told me that you were gonna be my test run or some stupid shit like that. Do you, uh, do you think that I'm gonna be good at this whole... parenting thing?"
Hard as she tried, Ellie couldn't resist a burst of laughter, falling to the ground right beside the older woman.
Puzzled by the teenager's spontaneous outburst of giggling, Jessica snapped at her. "Hey! What's so funny about the question?"
Ellie looked over at the detective with a snort, trying and failing to contain her humorous fit. "I'm sorry Ms. Jones, but-" She snorted once again. "I'm the wrong girl to ask that. You wanna know who my dad is?"
Peeved, Jessica jutted her head out, raising her eyebrows. "Who?"
"Deadpool!" she exclaimed. "He freaking killed people for a living! So yeah, I think you're gonna be alright." Eleanor did not even realize it, but this had been the first time she had laughed since the Decimation happened. For once, when speaking of her father, sadness did not arise. All she felt was extreme joy.
A small chuckle escaped Jessica's mouth in response to Ellie's over-ecstatic answer. "Alright, I'll take your word for it," she admitted, mussing Ellie's jet-black hair. Pushing herself up, Ellie smiled brightly once more, holding a welcome hand out to the sitting woman. Jessica would never admit it, but perhaps there was a bit of a smile on her face too as she took it and stood.
