Chapter Seven
Wanda had gotten Sofia into a cab to take them back to Greenwich Village as fast as possible- they'd used the Subway to get into the city, but she didn't want to risk Clea getting to the Sanctum before they did. Though, she reflected wryly, if the other sorceress teleported, she could already be there. Stephen hadn't replied to her text, so who knew?
Wanda glanced at Sofia, who'd hardly spoken since she'd led her away from Clea. No doubt the girl was in shock, but this time, Wanda had absolutely no idea what to say to help. It had never even crossed her mind that Clea would just turn up like that, and to expect to just take Sofia away, with no input from Stephen... it beggared belief.
A chilling thought struck Wanda. If Clea had managed to get to the Sanctum before them, then even now there could be an ugly scene playing out between her and Stephen. Sofia didn't need to be exposed to that! Pulling out her cell, she tried to call Stephen, hoping to get the lay of the land before they got home. He didn't reply. Wanda ground her teeth in frustration. Now what?
The journey passed way too quickly, with no-one speaking, and even as they clambered out of the cab, and Wanda paid the driver, a woman's voice yelling could be heard from inside the disguised Sanctum Sanctorum.
Wanda watched the cab leave, trying to gather her thoughts, before noticing how pale Sofia's face was. She put an arm round her shoulder. "Whatever this is, it's not because of you." She'd only been guessing at Sofia's thoughts, but the girl's blink told her she'd been right. Wanda thought fast. Sofia didn't need to get caught up in a fight between Stephen and Clea- but where else could she take her?
Footsteps approached and she turned to see Wong walking towards them, a stressed look on his usually calm face. He pointedly didn't say anything about what was going on indoors, but addressed Wanda and Sofia calmly. "It's best Stephen isn't disturbed right now. Perhaps you two would like to take a walk somewhere? I'll take your bags inside, then call you when it's saf- er, convenient to come back."
Wanda nodded. She and Wong both knew Sofia wouldn't be fooled by his excuse, but Wanda didn't give her a chance to protest, linking arms with her and leading her back down the path. "Come on. You need to let your parents have some time to catch up."
Sofia snorted. "Catch up? They sound like they're going to kill each other!"
"Adults argue, Sofia," Those two far more than most. "But even so, they'll be alright. We'll come back in a while and talk to them. Don't let this worry you."
"But maybe it would help if I went and-"
"No." Wanda frowned. "I think you're old enough to realise you're part of the reason they're fighting, but it is not your fault and you don't need to get in the middle of it." Her face softened slightly at Sofia's worried expression. "Look, neither of them will really hurt each other."
"You sure?" Sofia was gnawing her lip worriedly.
"Yes. Words never hurt anyone, did they?" Wanda smiled reassuringly. "Come on. I'll show you around here a bit. There's a really beautiful garden out back here- well, kind of. It's actually through a dimensional gateway that leads to the back yard, but it's gorgeous..."
She glanced back once as she led Sofia away from the sound of her quarreling parents. I hope it's not going too badly in there...
Stephen winced as the white-hot energy blast he'd barely managed to repel seared its way into the wooden flooring. That mark will be there forever. "Clea, that was not necessary!" He was livid with her, for obvious reasons, but she'd come in shouting, and he was trying to be the voice of reason.
His ex-wife was making that very difficult. Her face was a picture of rage, and her glare could have melted steel.
Stephen held his hands up. "Can we please discuss this calmly?" Not that he had much hope of that. Clea had teleported in without warning, just as Stephen's phone had vibrated with a text he hadn't had a chance to read, and as he'd been getting over his shock at seeing Clea, she'd started their reunion by shouting that he'd had no right to go anywhere near Sofia.
Obviously that had angered him, (how could he have no right to see his own daughter?!) but he was trying to keep his head. Wong had excused himself from the room as soon as their voices were raised, and Stephen's previous attempt to reason with Clea- pointing out that she herself didn't really know Sofia- had led to the energy bolt being flung.
Clea raised her flame-wreathed hands, no doubt intending to attack again. Stephen quickly muttered an incantation that would temporarily prevent her using magic. She scowled at him when the flames died, then huffed angrily, folding her arms.
Stephen exhaled. "Are you willing to have a civilised conversation now?"
Clea glowered at him but nodded sullenly.
"Right. Now, I don't know where to start this really." He ran his hands through his hair, thinking about recent events, and his anger about being deceived for so long began rising to the surface. Trying to keep his voice calm, he held Clea's gaze. "First off, why, in fifteen years, did you never tell me about our daughter?!"
Clea's lips tightened. "Would you have wanted to know?"
"'Would I have wanted to'- What in blazes is that meant to mean?!" He skewered her with his gaze.
"It means would you have actually even cared! We both know you have a problem with commitment, the number of times you put other matters before me during our marriage-"
Stephen couldn't believe it. "Oh, don't you start that again. You knew from the start that I had responsibilities that would mean I was often away, it was you who decided I was abandoning you-"
"Because you were! And that's without mentioning all the other women you occupied yourself with-"
"Because you left me! We were separated, it's not as if-"
"We were still married!" Clea's voice was rising.
"Oh, so I was supposed to just wait indefinitely, until you decided to pay me any attention?!"
"Why not?" Clea nearly screamed. "I had to! For years!"
Stephen ground his hands over his eyes. This wasn't getting them anywhere. He made an effort to speak more quietly, his words coming out icily now. "Whatever grievances you and I had are not the issue here. You had no right to hide Sofia's existence from me."
Clea spoke through gritted teeth. "I am her mother, I was responsible for her, I had every right to take care of her as I saw fit."
"By sending her away and ignoring her for years?" Sephen retorted. "By leaving her vulnerable to Dormammu and any other enemy you and I might have?"
Clea's eyes narrowed to slits. "I have almost no enemies besides Dormammu. The fact that you do is only further reason for me to keep Sofia out of your life."
A vein throbbed in Stephen's temple. "Meaning what exactly?"
She held his gaze. "Name one person you're related to, or that you've befriended or become fond of, that hasn't suffered in some way or another at the hands of those who wish you harm."
Stephen counted very slowly to ten (in several languages) before replying. "That has nothing to do with the issue at hand." His voice was tightly controlled, though his blood was boiling. How dare she use that against him?! Donna... Victor... just thinking the names of his deceased siblings made his heart ache. And the others... numerous friends and associates who'd been injured or otherwise suffered when he could have prevented it... The Ancient One... Wong... Rintrah... his friends on the Avengers... Jericho Drumm...
"Doesn't it, though?" Clea's voice broke into his thoughts, and he was grateful for the distraction- until she spoke again. "If I'd given Sofia to you from the beginning, how long would it have taken for her to be hurt, or even end up d-" She cut herself off, unable to even say the word 'dead' in relation to Sofia.
"I wasn't going to argue that it might not have been safe for her to spend her infancy with me. But you should still have told me! We could have worked out a way to protect her together!"
Clea's eyes glittered- with anger? Tears? Stephen couldn't tell. "So basically, you're saying that even though it wasn't safe for me to be in contact with my baby daughter, even though it tore me apart to have to hide her, you think I should have told you where she was, so you could be with her when I wasn't able to?"
Stephen whirled and slammed his hand into the wall in anger. "Why are you deliberately twisting my words?! I would never have cut you off from Sofia, you did that to yourself!"
Clea squared her shoulders, face going blank. "Perhaps I did. But I see now it was wrong."
"About time." Stephen suppressed a snort.
"Which is why I'll be taking her home with me. Then she won't be under your feet any more. Which is no doubt what you've been thinking since you took her in. We'll be gone by tomorrow."
Stephen wasn't positive what happened next, he just knew his vision went red with anger as fear at having his daughter taken away so soon churned in his stomach. The next thing he knew, he had Clea in a tight grasp, and he'd never felt angrier in his life. "You are not just going to take Sofia away again. I've only just met her!"
"So have I!"
"That's your own fault!" Sofia's voice made both adults jump, and Stephen immediately moved away from Clea. They both stepped towards their daughter, who stepped back.
Sofia stood in the doorway, Wanda and Wong just behind her, both looking as if they'd been trying to lead her away from this scene.
Stephen took in Sofia's tear-stained face and flinched. How much of that had she heard? What would she think of him- of them both- now after that display of anger?
Clea made to go and embrace Sofia, but the girl held her (trembling) hands up as if to ward her off. She was blinking back tears as she spoke, addressing them both.
"OK, I really don't know what issues you two have, and I guess it's none of my business. But I just want to say two things. I am not going to leave Earth and go live in some other dimension I know nothing about, but I do really want a chance to get to know both of you better." Her voice shook, but she shrugged. "So... I really hope you figure this out."
Clea tried to take another step closer, arms raised as if to hug her, but Sofia backed away. "Just give me a while." She stifled a sob as she ran past Wong and Wanda and headed up to her room. A huge part of her 'parents' fantasy had involved them either being together or getting back together. But judging by what she'd heard as she'd slipped past Wanda in the garden and come back into the house, that was never going to happen. And she couldn't shake the feeling that this fight wouldn't have happened if she hadn't come into Stephen's life... She stumbled into her room in tears, letting the door slam behind her and locking it.
Stephen, Clea, Wanda and Wong all stared at each other, none really knowing what to say. Now what? Was essentially their collective thought.
Clea was still angry, and partly blaming Stephen for turning Sofia against her, poisoning her daughter's mind against her own natural home. 'Dimension she knew nothing about' indeed! It was her birthplace! And yet Sofia seemed so determined to stay on Earth, but wanted Clea to stay as well... could that happen? It could, but not for too long. Clea's people needed her, back in the Dark Dimension...
Stephen was kicking himself for not realising that Sofia might accidentally overhear the fight and wondering desperately if there was any way to make this up to her- he never wanted to upset her that way! He wanted to go and reassure her, but she'd asked to be left alone... maybe that was best.
Wanda was mad at herself for not simply taking Sofia back into the city when she'd realised Clea and Stephen were fighting indoors, and also for not stopping the girl going indoors and hearing that argument. She quietly excused herself to go sit on the landing. If she could do nothing else right, she could listen out for Sofia, and be there if she called. She cast a wary glance at Stephen and Clea, but they both seemed calmer now, and Stephen looked ashamed, even though this wasn't really his fault- Clea always seemed to incite the arguments, as far as she could see. She sat down just outside Sofia's room, mediating and listening, hoping Sofia wasn't crying in there, but not wanting to just barge in when Sofia had asked to be left alone.
Wong was shaking his head at the irresponsibility of Stephen and Clea both, arguing like that when they had no idea whether or not their child was in the vicinity. Not that he'd ever dream of saying any of this. Prying into Stephen's family affairs wasn't his place. He just hoped there was a way to work this out peacefully. But how that could ever happen, he had no idea. He headed off to start tonight's dinner, hoping that the fighting was over with- for now at least.
Stephen and Clea were left staring at one another, both too stubborn to admit to any personal faults. They were at a stalemate. Was there any way to settle this? None that either of them could see right now...
To be continued...
