A little girl laid curled up on her bed, tears silently streaming down her face, while she listened to the pitter patter of the light rain outside her window. The dark, cloudy sky was as gloomy as her current emotional state.

Today was her mother's funeral.

She missed her and she ached for her, badly.

Hope could hear the faint voices of people downstairs, talking and whispering. Relatives, friends, and co-workers who had attended the funeral. She was tired of them telling her they were sorry for her loss and so she escaped to her room, for solitude. They could never understand the pain she was going through, and whatever they said to her did nothing to make her feel better.

Even at 7-years-old, Hope was wise for her age. Ever since her father solemnly told her that her mother was gone, she just couldn't comprehend, and her father gave no answers to her pressing questions about her mother.

Hope knew that there was no body in the casket. Did she disappear? Did she leave? Why would she leave her? She was supposed to come back. She promised. A million questions rose from her mind. Every day, she imagined that her mother would magically appear at their doorstep, telling her it was all alright, that she's back home. But, it never happened.

She was drowned in her thoughts when she heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Hope..."

A woman's voice.

"It's aunt Peggy. I'm coming in.", said Peggy Carter as she turned the door knob. Peggy noticed Hope's absence from the crowd of people downstairs and came to check on her. Hope didn't budge from her bed. She had stopped crying but her cheeks were smudged with dried tears. She adored her aunt Peggy but she just couldn't muster up her energy to look at her.

"Oh sweetheart...", Peggy sighed. She sat on Hope's bed and pulled her into her arms, caressing her hair. She treated Hope like her daughter. Peggy Carter and Janet Van Dyne were close, as close as sisters, and her untimely death devastated her. She knew the truth of her death of course, and felt as guilty as Hank did.

"I miss her, aunt Peggy...", tears welling up in her eyes again. The warmth of Peggy's hug comforted her, but she longed for her mother's touch.

"I know. I miss her too Hope.", Peggy swallowed a lump in her throat and fought back tears.

"Is she really dead?", Hope looked up at Peggy, expression full of grief, as tears rolled down her pale cheeks.

"I'm afraid so...", Peggy bit her lip. It broke her heart when she said that, but even more so because she couldn't tell Hope the exact truth as Hank forbade her to do so. Hope buried her head into her aunt Peggy's arms and sobbed.

"I know it's hard losing someone you love, sweetheart. Believe me, I really do. The pain will always be there, but as time passes, it will heal, but you will never forget them. I know Janet will want you to be happy...", Peggy lightly kissed her head. Hope understood that aunt Peggy was talking about uncle Steve Rogers. She always told her stories about him.

Deep down, Hope knew she could never be happy again, not without her mother.

"You can do it Hope...", Peggy hugged her closer.