Steve opened his eyes, shooting to a sitting position. Unfortunately, he forgot that he was on the bottom bunk and promptly smacked his head. He heard Cooper mumble something from the top bunk and then settled back to sleep. Steve quietly slipped out of bed and walked into the hallway. That was the best night's sleep he had had in a long time. The dream, however, was strange. Thinking back, he couldn't picture the woman's face only those eyes. Sighing, he headed downstairs to get something to drink. The sun hadn't quite started to come up yet. Laura was standing in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.
"Good morning, Steve, how did you sleep? Sorry, you had to bunk with Cooper I hope he didn't keep you up. This house isn't large enough for this number of people. Would you like a cup of coffee?" She talked in a flurry of words. There were dark circles under her eyes, which made him wonder how well she slept last night.
"Yes, thank you. I slept surprisingly well. It must be the bed." Steve's feet had, in fact, hung off the edge of the bed, but that didn't seem to bother his sleep. Laura pored him a cup of coffee while he watched her. Her hands were shaking slightly as she moved.
"Are you okay. If I may say, you look a little tired. I'm sorry this probably isn't best for you with a house full of strangers." Laura looked down at her belly, giving it a soothing rub.
"I am so grateful that you all came here. I get to see Clint and Natasha. Most of all, I get to see Jennifer again." Steve looked up at this.
"I thought you two knew each other. How did you meet if I may ask?"
"Jennifer came to live with Clint and me when he first found her. She stayed with us until her powers started to appear. We tried to hide them, but eventually, S.H.I.E.L.D. came and took her away. Clint took pictures and told me how she was doing. But I still missed her." Laura looked at her cup of tea lost in memories.
"How was that having her here when she was younger. I can't picture what she was like." Steve said, leaning on the counter next to her.
"It was amazing having her hear for ten years. She didn't talk to anyone except Clint for the first five months. To this day, he won't tell me what she talked to him about. Later she started talking to me. It was small things, but I loved those moments. Jennifer was cold and distant, but over time, she warmed up and even started to act like a normal child. She had friends and went to school dances. Jennifer even made it on the cheerleader squad at her school and played volleyball. Then it all changed when she got her powers. One day she was sitting at that table working on homework, and the next thing I knew, she was dragged out of the house. Clint and I tried to stop them. I never got to say goodbye. She wasn't ever allowed to come back while she was with S.H.I.E.L.D. it was said that it would be too dangerous. Since this was where she first got her powers, they didn't want anything triggering her. Clint completely remodeled the house it almost looks nothing like what it did when Jennifer lived here. All except for one thing." Laura said, looking out the window. Steve followed her gaze and saw Jennifer sitting on the porch swing. "She always loved that spot."
"What is she doing up the sun has barely started to rise." Steve didn't notice he had said it out loud until Laura replied.
"She was up all night." Laura's voice grew hushed. "She entered all of your dreams last night." Steve stopped and looked from Laura back to Jennifer. She was the woman in his dream.
"What, I didn't know she could do that," Steve said, Laura sighed.
"Clint left it out of the files. He felt it was too dangerous. If she wanted, she could whip the memories from your mind. That's how she fixed people that she uses her powers on. However, she just forced you all into a deeper sleep allowing you to prosses your dreams better." Steve just stared at this.
"I can't believe she never told me. That might have been useful on some of our missions." Steve shook her head. Laura rubbed the back of her neck.
"There are other dangers that come with that power. If she uses that power on someone, she could get trapped in their mind forever if they don't let her go. It happened once, and she was in a coma for a month. I thought we had lost her, but the person finally let her go." Steve closed his eyes, thinking back over the dream.
"Natasha said her powers had side effects sometimes, but I never thought they were like that." A small tear slides down Laura's cheek.
"Steve that's the thing all her powers have side effects. She won't tell anyone what they are. Clint and Natasha have noticed the change in her, and I can see it now that she is here. What they are you will have to ask her. In fact, it would be a good idea to go talk to her anyways. One thing that Clint and I learned when she was a little girl was that if you left her to her thoughts, she would lock her mind back into that dark room that those evil men held her in all those years ago. It was almost like she felt she deserved to be there. Clint said he still catches her doing it."
Jennifer was surrounded in blackness. There was a faint tapping sound, but she couldn't find the sores of it. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. She was slowly sawing her wrists back and forth. she had to get out of this room, so she could go home. She stopped and shook her head; her parents were dead; she couldn't go home. She went back, trying to get out. Jennifer had to get out, no matter what. "Why I have missed this." The Monster said sitting across from her.
"You have no power here," Jennifer said plainly. The Monster laughed.
"True but if this goes wrong, then I will finally have what I want, freedom."
"It doesn't matter what you want." Jennifer hissed, causing the Monster to laugh.
"I am inevitable you cannot fight me forever." Jennifer's stomach churned at the thought.
"Strong words for a woman that has nothing," Jennifer said back, the Monster leaned forward.
"But Jennifer, I have you. And you…well…you have no one. You made sure of that."
The porch door opened, causing Jennifer to jump. Looking, she was surprised to see Steve standing by the door with two cups of coffee in his hands. He handed her one of the cups and sat down next to her. They sat in silence, drinking their coffee and watching the sun come up.
"Why did you risk going into our dreams." Jennifer didn't bat an eye at the question. Laura probably told him.
"I wanted to help…these powers have to be good for something." She said, taking a sip. Steve looked over at her.
"You didn't remove the memories." Jennifer looked up at him.
"It wasn't my place to remove your memories. I just wanted to help. That's all I wanted." Jennifer smiled over at him.
"But you could have gotten stuck and died." Jennifer looked out at the view letting out a quiet whipper.
"I died years ago in that room. Clint freed me but not forever eventually, I have to go back." Jennifer bit her lip clearly, not meaning to say that out loud.
"What do you mean?" Steve gently pressed her for an answer. She didn't look at him continuing to watch the sun come up swaying back and forth on the swing.
"I'm losing my mind, Steve." He froze as she started to talk the last thing, he wasn't was to make her feel trapped. "When I was given my powers, I was also given a Monster. Not like the Hulk but Mr. Hyde. The more I draw on my powers, the more control the Monster has. My mind wants to retreat to hide in on itself, but then the Monster will get out. I lost control when we first took Strucker. I almost killed someone, and I couldn't stop myself." Jennifer stopped, looking up at him. "When I became a doctor, I thought I would be fine. But then I started to have problems with the patients. I couldn't control my powers. S.H.I.E.L.D. realized what was happening and took that away from me. Then they needed me for interrogations and then the Avengers…. and Then and then a then…Before I knew it I was here on this bench. Control slowly slipping through my fingers. I thought that I could handle it. But now I'm…" Steve closed his eyes.
"Scared." Jennifer sniffled slightly. "Your afraid that you will lose everything." Jennifer closed her eyes.
"I thought that it would make it easier for everyone if I keep it to myself. I don't know what the Monster will do when she gets out. With my powers, she could hurt a lot of people with just a snap of a finger. But now I'm not so sure." Steve let out a breath the weight of her secret catching him by surprise. Jennifer ran her fingers over the old wooden beach.
"There has to be a way to stop this." The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
"I wish it was that simple." Jennifer stood, needing to move walking over the railing. Steve watched her. She pulled her arms close to her body closing herself off again. She was looking to the left, always the left. Steve stood walked over to her.
"I'm sorry." Jennifer pulled her eye for the left to meet his.
"What are you talking about." Her voice a quiet. Steve let a breath out.
"You and Bruce wouldn't have to deal with any of this if the serum had never worked." Jennifer looked into his eyes the guilt that had always been there coming to the surface.
"I don't blame you, Steve." She reached over, grabbing his hand.
"I know that, but I think that you shut me out because of it." Jennifer looked down.
"After DC I thought…Hoped that It would be fine, but Natasha was right I'm too broken for you." Steve followed her gaze. He could see the slight glimmer of a scar where her sleeve had slipped up. She gave him a small nod, and he gently pushed her sleeves up, so he could clearly see the scars. They were deep in some areas where the wounds had gone to the bone. The skin was stretched because of how young she was when she got them. Jennifer was afraid to look up at him closing her eyes. "Jen you have nothing to hide." He tilted her head up toward his. She opened her watery eyes looking at him. "They put you in that hole you don't need to keep yourself there. You are the strongest person I know."
"But what if I lose control." She said, searching his face. Steve smiled, stepping closer to her.
"Then I will be there to help you pick up the pieces." He said softly.
"Why Steve…Why are you so determined to get close to me." Steve smiled; his eyes deepening slightly.
"You have to know." He said then leaned forward their face's inches apart. Jennifer slowly closed her eyes to only have them snap open at the sound of the porch door swinging open and a dinner bell being rung. They both pulled back blushing slightly. They looked to find Clint standing in the doorway. Clint cleared his throat.
"Laura wanted me to tell you that breakfast was ready." He looked between the two of them. Steve glanced over at Jennifer.
"We'll be right in." Clint rung the bell again.
"It's time for breakfast," Clint repeated, not moving. Jennifer let out a bubbly laugh waving Clint off. He reluctantly left them alone, but Jennifer had a feeling he was standing at the window watching them.
"I wish you would do that more," Steve said, looking at her. Jennifer raised her eyebrow confused by the comment.
"More what." Steve stood up holding his hand out to her.
"Laugh like that, not a nervous one. But one that reaches your eyes." She looked at his hand for a moment, then gently placed her hand in his.
"Maybe, I will." She said following him into the house. Clint was in fact by the door waiting for them. He gave Stave a protective glare. But she didn't care right now the voice was silent, and she was able to enjoy the moment to peace.