In the Still of the Night
A/N: Oh my God. You guys. Has it really been a month since I've updated?! I'm so sorry, I just completely put this story on the back burner this month. I'm heading into Week 4 of my sophomore year of college which has been beyond stressful so far, so I've barely had any free time in four weeks. Which is a lame excuse, I know, but it's a reason nonetheless. That being said, here's chapter fourteen for you! Don't hate me for having to wait forever for a new chapter...
I also do have to say that I'm not sure when I'll have time to write the next chapter...Hopefully I can get it up on in a few weeks but if it takes longer then I'll just have to post it when I can. Again, sorry about it but I'm just super busy!
Side note: this story has almost 10,000 views. Wow, you guys. That is incredible. Even though I haven't updated in weeks I still get people following and/or favoriting this story, which makes me really happy. You all are awesome!
Enjoy the new chapter! :)
-PenPaperParadise
Chapter Fourteen: Lover, Come Back to Me
A week had passed since the break-in at the museum. And it was not a week that passed by quickly and easily for Vera: the break-in had caused a lot of damage to some of the exhibits, especially the Captain America one, so she and her coworkers had to work practically around the clock to restore the damaged exhibits and get them up and running as soon as possible. Her supervisor had been especially hard on Vera and her coworkers to get the exhibits restored quickly so that the museum will not lose attendance, and therefore money, because of closed exhibits. Needless to say, Vera felt a lot of pressure on her shoulders – but not all of it had to do with her supervisor.
She had not communicated, or even tried to communicate, with Steve since she saw him at the SHIELD base one week ago. There were many times when she wanted to; sometimes it felt like her phone was calling out to her to pick it up and dial Steve's number. But she always came up with some excuse or reason not to: he lied to me about who he truly was and that's unforgivable...It's only been a week, it's too soon to call him...I'm too busy to talk to him right now...And lie after lie after lie.
Although...Steve hadn't made any attempt to communicate with her, either. Despite her guilt, Vera couldn't help but feel miffed that he hadn't tried to patch things up with her. She was enduring a fierce internal struggle: The optimistic side of her told her that Steve was just respectfully giving her space and allowing her to have time to herself to work out their current situation. But the pessimistic side of her said that Steve was purposely ignoring her and didn't even want to work things out between them. As much as she wanted to believe in the positive, the fear of losing Steve took over and Vera could not help but dwell on that possibility.
After the longest week of her life, Vera found herself at her mother's house. Vera hadn't seen her mother, Claire, in a while and felt guilty about it (adding to the immense guilt she already had on her plate), so she decided to visit her mother when her supervisor let her off a couple of hours early. Claire cooked Vera dinner and when they were only one bite into the meal, Vera burst out the story of what happened between her and Steve last week and what her feelings were about it. She told her mother everything: the museum break-in, Steve revealing he was Captain America, being practically kidnapped and taken to the SHIELD base...and while Vera poured out her heart, her mother remained pensively quiet.
"...And it's been a whole week and I still haven't heard from him," said Vera morosely as Claire finished her last bite of pot roast.
Claire nodded thoughtfully as she processed all that her daughter had told her. After a moment, she said, "Have you tried talking to him?"
"Well...no," admitted Vera shamefully. "But I don't think I'm obligated to, aren't I? He's the one that lied to me."
"And how did he find out about your SHIELD days?" asked Claire inquisitorially, raising an eyebrow at her.
"That's different, it's not like I'm currently a SHIELD agent. That's just a part of my past. And besides, that's not as big a secret as being Captain America –"
"But does that really change the way you feel about him?" Claire asked seriously. Vera stared at her, thinking. Claire continued, "Having a secret job doesn't make Steve a different person. I'm sure he's still the man you fell in love with."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Vera interrupted. "In love with him? I never said I was in love with him."
Claire's green eyes twinkled. "You never said you weren't."
Vera stuttered, at a loss for words. "That's...I never said...It's more complicated than..."
"Look, sweetie," Claire said gently, "all I know is ever since you met that man, you've been happier than I've seen you in years. And I don't think you'd be this upset over what happened last week if you didn't love him."
Vera sighed deeply, contemplating her mother's words. Do I love Steve? she wondered. I certainly have feelings for him...I care about him...but am I actually in love with him?
The honest truth was she hadn't been in love since Joey – he had been her first and last love. And based on the way that had...ended, Vera had had a difficult time accepting love ever since. After Joey, she had vowed not to get too deep into a relationship again because she was afraid of getting hurt – and she didn't know if she'd be able to take that kind of hurt a second time.
"Mom..." Vera sighed, "I honestly don't know if I love him. I haven't loved anyone since..."
Claire put her hand over Vera's and looked at her daughter sadly. "I know, sweetie. But just because Joey was your first love doesn't mean you should stop yourself from having a second one. He would want you to be happy, and Steve makes you happy."
"I just..." Vera searched for the right words to convey how she was feeling. "I don't know if I can trust him since he lied to me."
"Vera, do honestly believe that Steve didn't have a darn good reason for not telling you he's Captain America?"
"Well...maybe he did it to protect me," Vera considered, and her mother nodded. "From what I've heard, Captain America has made enemies so maybe he was just trying to keep me safe?"
"Sounds like a pretty valid reason to me," agreed Claire. "What I think the two of you need is a nice, long conversation. And don't let your pride get in the way of that, have the courage to take the initiative and call him."
The way her mother worded things made everything seem so simple. Why don't I just call him? thought Vera. Am I really going to throw away my second chance at happiness just because Steve wasn't entirely truthful with me? How ridiculous that would be.
"Okay," Vera conceded, feeling a newfound hope and confidence surge through her. "I'll call him. I want things to work out between us, I really do."
"Great," Claire smiled.
Suddenly Vera's phone rang. Claire raised her eyebrows.
"Maybe he's come to his senses, too," she said hopefully, pointing to Vera's phone as she pulled it out of her pants pocket. Vera looked at the number, and sighed.
"It's only Monica," she said, her hope deflating. She excused herself from the dining table anyway and answered the phone.
"Hey Mon, what's up?"
"Vera, darling," rang the cheerful voice of her best friend. "I haven't heard from you in ages! Me and Bradley were considering coming to your office and kidnapping you just so you'd get out of that stuffy museum."
How little you know, Vera laughed internally, beginning to believe her friend was psychic. "Sorry, Monica. I've been really busy lately."
"So things are going well between you and Steve, huh?" she asked, the suggestive tone of her voice very clear.
"Well...actually..."
"Oh, amiga, please don't tell me you let this one get away."
"We're just...going through a rough patch right now," she explained vaguely. "But it's okay, I'm going to try to work things out."
"Well, good," said Monica, "because if you give up someone has hot as him, I'm going to personally kill you. Which I know I could get away with because I know how to erase my file. Ah, the perks of working in law enforcement."
"Monica! I don't just care about how he looks."
"Ah, that's right. I forgot you're not as shallow as I am." Vera rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we should go out, we haven't gone drinking for weeks!" That's because it isn't fun for me, Vera responded in her head. "I'm at work right now but how about tomorrow night? Please tell me you're free."
"Um, well, I have to work late tomorrow night..." Vera lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie – she did have to work but she was planning on staying a few extra hours to do some research. That word that had popped up when she accessed the file, "Mjolnir", was still buzzing in her brain. Vera had only had time this past week to Google the word and found out that it was an old Norse word for the magical hammer of the Norse god, Thor. Vera found this a bit intriguing since she knew Thor was a part of the Avengers...with Steve. But that was all she had found out so far.
"Oh come on, Vera," Monica protested, "you spend more hours in that museum than I do at the precinct!"
Suddenly, Vera was struck with an idea. "Hey, Monica, you have access to personal records down at the precinct, right?"
"Yes," Monica replied slowly, clearly suspicious of Vera's question. "As a soon-to-be detective I have access to that kind of stuff. Why?"
"Could you look up someone for me?" asked Vera. "And by someone...I mean someone important. Famous."
"Ay, dios mio, you better not make me do something illegal."
"I just need some contact information," Vera explained, praying her friend would be willing to do her a favor. "An email address, phone number, anything."
"Oh...alright," agreed Monica. "What's the name?"
"Thor."
"Excuse me?"
"Thor. Like the...god? You know, the Avenger who fought in the Battle of New York."
There was a long pause in which Monica was completely silent (a rare occasion, Vera noted). Finally, she responded with, "Please tell me you're kidding, Vera."
"Look, this is really important. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important. You know that, Mon."
Monica sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'll see what info I can get on him. But I can't promise you I'll get anything, I mean doesn't he live on another planet or something?"
"I have no idea. But Monica, thank you. You're the best."
Monica laughed. "Tell me something I don't know. Anyway, I'll look him up right now and see what comes up."
"Okay, bye."
Monica hung up and Vera slid her phone back into her jeans pocket. Vera knew it was a long shot, but if she could somehow persuade this Thor guy to talk to her then maybe he could tell her more about Mjolnir and why it might be an important password for SHIELD. Vera knew she'd have to play the "I know Captain America" card to get Thor to even consider talking to her, but, hey, it was worth a shot if it got her one step closer to finding out more about the mystery.
A little while later, Monica called her back.
"Vera? I got something."
"What do you have?" asked Vera as she grabbed a pen and paper.
"Information on Thor is hard to come by," explained Monica, "so I couldn't get an address or anything like that. You know, I really do think he lives in space."
"So I can't contact him?" Vera inquired, her heart sinking.
"Not him directly, but I got you the next best thing. I did some digging and found out he has a girlfriend – who does not live in space. I got a name and a phone number."
"Okay, I think that'll work. What's the number?"
Monica listed the girlfriend's digits and Vera copied them down carefully. "And what was this girl's name?"
"Foster," Monica answered. "Jane Foster."
"Jane Foster..." Vera repeated thoughtfully, looking down at the phone number. "Okay, thanks Monica."
"You're welcome. And I think I already know the answer to this question, but are you going to tell me why you need to talk to Thor so badly?"
"Maybe I'll tell you eventually," Vera answered mysteriously and Monica clucked in discontent.
"Typical Vera. Such an enigma. Anyway, I gotta go but I'll talk to you later. Good luck with your Norse god."
"Thanks, Mon."
Vera hung up and stared back down at the numbers she had scribbled. Well, this isn't as good as getting a direct way to contact Thor, thought Vera, but Monica was right: this is the next best thing.
Vera dialed the phone number carefully and waited impatiently as each ring sounded. Finally, after several rings, there was a click and a female voice said, "Jane Foster."
"Um...hi, Miss Foster," Vera said awkwardly. "My name is Vera Rochester. You don't know me, but I need to talk to you. I need your help."
"Alright," Jane responded, some confusion evident in her voice. "What can I help you with?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story," Vera admitted. "I work in the Smithsonian in D.C. and I came across something that I think has to do with Thor. It's an old Norse word that I wanted to learn more about. I heard that you know Thor, so I was hoping that you'd be able to pass along the message to him that I need his help."
"I'm sorry, but Thor is...out of town right now," said Jane. "But I might be able to help. What was the Norse word you came across?"
"Mjolnir," Vera said hopefully.
"Right, that's the name of –"
"Thor's hammer, I know. I did a tiny bit of research but I wanted to know more about it."
"Okay, well I have some books on Norse mythology that have articles about Mjolnir. I could copy them and send them to you if you'd like."
"That would be wonderful, thank you," said Vera, and she gave Jane her contact information.
"I'll send the info along as soon as I can," Jane said.
"Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it."
"No problem," Jane said pleasantly. "And by the way, how did you get my number?"
"Oh, um..." Vera stammered. "From a friend of a friend...of a friend...who said they knew you."
"...Alright," Jane said slowly. "Well, I'm glad I could help."
"Thanks again, Miss Foster."
Vera hung up, her heart racing in excitement. Sure, she didn't get exactly the kind of help she wanted, but she at least got something: Thor's girlfriend was going to send her information about Mjolnir which could potentially help her solve this mystery.
I'll take what I can get, Vera thought as she slid her phone back into her pocket and headed back into the kitchen, where her mother was washing dishes.
"Was that Steve, dear?" Claire asked hopefully and Vera stopped in her tracks.
"Oh my God, I completely forgot I was about to call Steve," said Vera, practically smacking herself in the forehead. She hastily pulled out her phone and brought up Steve's number from her contacts list. She hesitated for a second, glancing up at her mom who gave her a reassuring nod. Vera exhaled and pressed "dial."
It rang. And rang. And rang. It kept ringing for several minutes and did not even go to his voicemail. Vera waited as it rang a few more times but then she hung up, looking down at her phone in confusion.
"That's weird," Vera mumbled, "Steve almost always picks up his phone when it's ringing. And why didn't it let me leave a message?"
"Maybe he's calling someone else?" suggested Claire. "Or he doesn't have service?"
"Hmm..." Vera voiced thoughtfully. "I guess I'll try calling him later."
"Why don't you call him in the morning? It's nearly midnight, he might be asleep."
"Yeah..." Vera looked down at the screen of her phone, which was currently showing Steve's contact information and a little picture of him smiling at her. She sighed.
"I'll try talking to him in the morning."