Hello! This chapter is kind of short and isn't really full of anything super important. There's one really big detail that's revealed but I mentioned it to you guys at the start of the last chapter. It's big for Steve though, and it'll play a big part in how he acts in the next chapter. Anyways! THANKS YOU ALL SO MUCH for following/favoriting this story. It means a lot. :)
On we go...
Disclaimer: Marvel is not mine.
The Violinist
Chapter 4:
Max couldn't sleep after saying goodnight to Steve and going back to her room. She was physically exhausted but her mind was racing with everything that had happened. There was only way to calm herself down when she was like this. She dug her violin case out of the closet and called a cab to pick her up.
A quick ten minute drive across town ended when the car pulled up outside Shaker's Music Studio. Max located the correct key on her key ring and wandered around back to enter the building.
Since moving to D.C. when she was ten, Max had spent a good chunk of her free time at the studio just playing for fun. She knew the owner, Wayne, well enough that he had trusted her with a key so she could play whenever she wanted.
She set her case down outside the recording studio and flipped on the lights. The familiar view of ratty couches and worn-out rugs greeted her. She took a deep breath and sighed, feeling like she was home. It was completely quiet and she was about to change that. She fired up the sound system and headed into the sound room.
After locating the right music she felt like playing, Max opened her case and picked up her violin. She hadn't played since before the night Steve and she had slept together; her hands itched to pull the bow and finger the strings. Her violin was her most valued possession, the last thing her parents had given her together, and she kept it in impeccable shape.
She put on her headphones, pressed the play button on the remote and laid it on her music stand. Lindsey Stirling blasted through the speakers and she played along, bobbing her head and rocking her body with the music. The walls and floor vibrated with the force of the music coming from the surround sound speakers around the room.
The hours passed and Max continued to play with no more than a two minute break here and there. If she ceased playing for any more than the two minutes, thoughts of Steve and the fact that she was carrying his child would start to overwhelm her. She wasn't ready to face the fact that she was pregnant let alone the fact that it was Captain America's baby.
The sun eventually rose, welcoming the morning, and Max kept on playing with no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Steve had lain in bed awake, stock-still, the entire night after he had packed his things for moving later that day. It wasn't until the sun streamed through the windows that he came out of his trance and got up. He checked his schedule for today, seeing that Fury wanted to see him and Max in an hour, left his room without changing and headed to the cafeteria to try and eat something. When he failed to take a single bite of his eggs and toast, he made his way up to Fury's office in search of Max.
He arrived and walked in on Fury and an older gentleman in a heated discussion. Steve stood near the doorway with his arms crossed and an emotionless face. The director spotted him after a few seconds ticked by.
"Excuse me, Councilman Pierce. It seems the Captain would like a word," Fury observed.
The man left and Steve moved closer to Fury.
"What can I help with exactly, Rogers?"
Steve shrugged and pursed his lips. "I'm just looking for Max. My schedule for today said that we were to report here for our moving details at 8am."
"That's right. Unfortunately, Max isn't here," the one-eyed man revealed.
"What do you mean she isn't here?" Steve hissed.
"Exactly that, Captain. Cameras showed her leaving building around three this morning," Fury said. "Lucky for you, I know where she went."
Max's phone chimed in her pocket alerting her that it was time for the meeting with Fury. She ignored it and switched the music over to something softer. It still pounded out of the speakers but sounded more like sitting front row at an orchestra concert compared to the rock concert that was the electric violin songs.
The playlist she had chosen was full of songs she had played, and come to memorize, following her parents' deaths. Every time Max performed her way through it, she cried. Usually it took her a few songs before it hit her, but today it was almost instantly that she felt hot tears running down her cheeks.
She had nearly reached the halfway mark on the playlist when she stopped. Plucking a tissue out of the box on the desk nearby, she wiped her face and sighed.
"You play beautifully," a voice came from across the room.
She dropped the hand that had been drying her tears. "Steve? How—how did you find me?"
"Fury can be helpful when he wants to be," he said, the side of his mouth lifting in a half-smile.
She nodded and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I—uh…I came to make sure you were okay," he admitted bashfully. "Fury told me you were gone and I got worried."
"I'm fine."
He eyed her and she didn't blame him; she had barely believed the words herself. Max walked over to one of the couches and plopped down. Silence stretched out between them for a few minutes before Steve sighed and made his way to the couch, too.
"We've found ourselves in quite a pickle, haven't we?" he questioned with a slight chuckle.
She exhaled loudly. "Tell me about it."
"What was Fury talking about last night when he said he expected you to fill me in on the part I'm unaware of?"
Max gave him a nervous sideways glance and then began, "He's talking about a secret that only a few people know about. We don't tell everyone because someone could use it to hurt Fury or myself. You have to promise to keep this quiet, for my sake and the sake of our baby."
"Of course I promise," he agreed. "Is it really that bad?"
She stood from the couch and started pacing in front of him. "I've known Fury my entire life. He was on a strike team with my dad back in the day and had been my mother's best friend long before that. He's actually the reason my parents met." Max paused and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the next part. "My dad was killed during a mission right before my fifth birthday. After that my mom married Fury and life was slowly getting better. Then my mom got sick, cancer, and she passed when I was ten. Fury brought me here and raised me. He made me his assistant to keep me close and protected."
"So Fury is your…" he trailed off.
"Father. Well, stepfather technically. I call him dad when were in private," she gave a dry laugh in hopes of lightening the mood. "So you can see why it's a secret. If people knew Fury had a daughter, and that daughter was me, they could use it against him. And Fury doesn't want people to know he has a weakness. It's what gets you or someone you love killed."
He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and covered his mouth with his clasped hands. She didn't know how she expected him to react to the news, but she hoped for the best. Although, he had just found out he knocked up the boss's daughter.
The minutes ticked by as Max waited for Steve to do or say something, anything. She was growing anxious as the time passed and she started to clean to keep herself from going crazy. When the room was spotless she fell back down on the couch and got comfortable, figuring they would be here a while longer.
Max was drained from the long, emotional night and was finally ready to sleep. She laid her head back on the top of the couch and closed her eyes. It didn't take long for her to give into her exhaustion and fall asleep.
"That explains why Fury was so peeved last night," Steve said and looked over at Max. He smiled as he took in the sight of her passed out next to him, her right hand subconsciously resting on her midsection. It was so strange to think that a baby, their baby, was growing in there. It was both exciting and utterly terrifying to think that he was going to be responsible for another human being's life, especially when his own life was far from safe.
He reached out carefully and laid his hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprised and pulled away from his touch. "Sorry to wake you but I think we should head out."
"Oh, umm…yeah, I'll text Fury and let him know we're on our way," she told him. "Do you know where the apartment's at?"
"Yeah."
They closed up the building and walked out to the street. Parked out front was a brand new blue Ford F-150 sparkling in the morning sun.
"Fury didn't think it was a good idea for me to make you ride on the back of my motorcycle," he explained. Steve walked up to the passenger door and opened it for her, making sure she climbed in without a problem. Racing around to the other side, he hopped in and they took off towards their new place.
So that's Chapter 4. Like I said, nothing too important other that the "Fury's my father" stuff. I hope you guys are still liking the story. We're starting to get on the track that leads up to The Winter Soldier. Yay! And soon I'll start building the fluff for our lovely Captain and his baby mama. :) Thanks again for reading! See you all in the next chapter! -KAITi
