Pepper's question snaps Maria out of her dazed thoughts and into the present. The present where her child is crying in another person's arms. Tabby is still murmuring 'dada' as she sniffles in Pepper's arms, blue eyes still leaking glistening tears as she stares at her mother's expressionless face. It only takes a moment for the team to leap into action.
Clint is already on the phone to someone, Maria expects it is Natasha by the look of concentration on his face – he only really listens to Nat with that level of focus. Tony and Bruce are explaining what is happening as Pepper nods, her brain clearly whirring into motion, analysing exactly how to fix this. Maria just collects her daughter from where she strains in Pepper's soft embrace, Tabby's arms stretching out for her mother as she sees her rise and come closer. She cannot cross the room fast enough, snatching her daughter and pulling Tabby close. Her face immediately burrows into her shoulder, small puffs of air a comforting warmth against Maria's collar bone. She expects she is holding her too tightly, but neither seem to mind, the hard grip means they are together and to small Tabby, that means they are safe.
In her mother's arms nothing can touch her, nothing can penetrate her mother's embrace.
Maria knows that this isn't true, that she can't stop everything form hurting her poor baby, but she swears she will give her life trying.
Across the room Clint hangs up his phone with purpose. Apparently him and Natasha have worked out exactly what is going to happen to them all – to her and Tabby. She isn't even surprised that the pair have some sort of contingency plan that they can use at a moment's notice.
"Alright," he starts with a weary sigh. "Maria, I'm going to take you and Tabby to a safe house; Nat is going to meet us with Steve when they can get away. The rest of you are going stay here and try to find out what kind of threat this this, where it might come from and how to stop it."
They all nod and move, accepting that Clint is taking the role of leader in this situation, a role that Steve or Maria usually take. Maria is glad that someone is taking charge, she doesn't want to have to think of anything but keeping her daughter safe. Even the thought of Steve's safety is pushed aside as she buries her nose in Tabby's soft baby head, lost in that warm smell that reminds her they are safe for this moment. She gets so caught up in Tabby and her small, meaningless babbles she doesn't even notice when Pepper comes back with a few of their bags.
"I got some of your stuff. I just grabbed as much as I could fit in there, I didn't know what you wanted."
"Thanks." Maria replies as Pepper puts the bags down with a ridiculous amount of grace for a woman in 5 inch heels. She seems to deliberate for a moment before lunging forward to hug Maria, Tabby sandwiched between them.
"I'll see you two soon, okay?" Pepper whispers, not entirely sure if this is a comfort for her or them. It is in this moment that Maria realises that Pepper is really her only friend and she, Pepper's. Of course there are other people, but no one else who quite understands what it means to be in a relationship with a superhero. As Pepper pulls away she places a soft kiss on Tabby's head; Maria thinks she catches a tear landing silently onto Tabby. She will miss Pepper. She doesn't know where Clint is taking them, or for how long they will be gone. All she knows is that she trusts Natasha and Clint with her family's life, they will do all they can to keep them safe.
There is something desperately sad about leaving their home and family with such urgency and haste, but Maria is glad that soon she and Tabby will be safe and that eventually they will all be back together, not only with Steve but the whole of their strange family of superheroes. It is silent in the elevator as Clint takes them down to the garage where the car waits. Even Tabby has stopped mumbling 'dada', the small child recognising that now is not the time to be making a fuss. Maria is scared. Scared for her life and Steve's, but mostly for Tabby. Tabby who has only been in this world for a year and a half; Tabby who is so full of joy and love that it infects anyone around her. Tabby who hasn't yet had enough time to live, to learn, to play. As Tabby drifts off to sleep in her mother's arms, Maria vows to make sure she will get to do all those things and more.
When they reach the garage Clint makes sure the car seat is secure before helping Maria fasten the exhausted child into the armoured car. Clint gets them out of the tower parking garage and onto the route that leads them out of New York, Maria cannot help but look back at the peaceful face of her sleeping baby, so calm and serene despite the chaos of their last few hours. She leans her head against the blacked out window, watching the roads of the city blur into the monotonous long roads of the countryside. She fights sleep, needing to be awake and alert just in case. But when she yawns three times in one minutes Clint reassures her "Sleep. I've got you both," she allows unconsciousness to pull her into dreams of laughter and times much calmer and safer than they currently are.
Clint's call of her name penetrates her blurry dreams, violently rousing her from sleep. When she forces her eyes open she realises she's been out long enough for it to go dark, and a glance at the clock confirms she has been asleep for several hours. The road ahead is pitch black, only their headlights piercing the inky abyss. It makes her feel incredibly small, that the three of them in the car could be the only the only people in the whole universe. Of course she knows they are not alone; she even has friends who are actually on other planets, other dimensions. She looks over to Clint as he anxiously glances at the road behind in the mirrors. She does the same, catching sight of a headlights a couple of hundred feet away. In the back seat Tabby continues to dream, her small body rising and falling rhythmically.
"How long?"
"They've been trailing us about 30 minutes."
She sighs. She had been a fool to think it would be this easy to get away, that they could just hop in a car and run away from the danger, wait a few days then return.
"Is there anything I can do?" she questions, unable to sit here and wait for the inevitable attack. Clint knows this, that he isn't alone in protecting Tabby. She can do that too.
"There's a gun in the glove box." He keeps his eyes on the road, trying to push the car faster. "The car is bullet proof, but you never know."
It is as she leans forward to open the compartment that the car is hit from behind, Clint swears as he pushes the gas down to the floor. She has no idea how the car behind caught up so quickly but has no time to think as the truck suddenly comes into their path. It falls onto its side and skids across the road, blocking their path; Clint immediately hits the brakes but it is too late. It is very clear he cannot do anything to stop them from hitting the now stationary truck. Maria casts a final look at her daughter who now sits wide awake with a look of terror across her innocent little face. Her round eyes reflect the little light form their headlights, the blue piercing Maria's heart with their fear.
The last thing she sees is a memory of Steve holding Tabby only days earlier, laughing about something silly he had done just to draw a giggle from his daughter. She is happy for that split second, then it all goes white.