Chapter 100
Well Here it is, the one-hundredth chapter of Time Traveling is Complicated. I never thought I'd make it past twenty let alone to one hundred but here we are. Normally most stories would try to end it but rest assured the Story of Nora Stark is far from over. Thank you so much to everyone who read from the beginning and to everyone who read after. A special thanks to everyone that let me bounce ideas off of them, this story wouldn't have made it this far without any one you. So without further ado here it is. As always I look forward to hearing what you think.
Third Person's POV-
"Sam did you find anything?" Steve said walking into the common room at Avengers Tower.
"I'm sorry man, Dallas was a dead end." Sam told him.
"But the footage was clear." Steve said.
"Or maybe he led us there on purpose." Sam said.
"What do you mean?" Steve said.
"Steve the guy was Hydra's puppet for over seventy years. He knows they're still around and he knows what'll happen if they find him again. He knows how to stay hidden. You really think that after all this time he's going to start slipping up?" Sam said.
"Are you telling me to give up on him?" Steve said.
"No, I'm saying this is going to harder than you think it is." Sam said.
"Then what do we do now?" Steve said.
"We wait. I'll make calls and check if any more leads come up but for now were at a dead end." Sam said.
"Maybe we should go back to DC, he could still be there or there was some thing we missed."
"Steve we checked everything, he's gone."
"Then we keep looking."
"I think you should take a break from the search." Sam suggested.
"No I can't leave him out there." Steve argued.
"I'm not saying we end the search. I'm saying you take some time off and focus on some bigger issues. I know you got a call from Natasha, you getting the band back together?" Sam joked.
Steve sighed. "Fury's search panned out some leads. Stark wants us to start taking them out one by one."
"That sounds like a great idea." Sam said.
"I can't go not until I find Bucky." Steve said.
"Steve, you've seen it yourself. There are no leads. There's nothing left for you to do and you can't sit around and do nothing. You're crawling up the walls here man."
"What about Bucky?" Steve said.
"I'll keep looking. You go be captain America, fight the good fight." Sam said. "Hell go visit that girl of yours. I'm sure she misses you."
"She calls all the time. She got an apartment in Brooklyn and wants me to move in with her." Steve said.
"That's good. You always said you wanted to go back." Sam said.
"Yeah, just not sure this is how. It doesn't feel right now that I know…" Steve started.
"Are we talking about you moving in or the entire relationship?" Sam asked.
"I don't know." Steve said.
"You need to talk to her."
"I know, I just feel guilty." Steve said. "She called in some favors with a friend in Langley to see if they had any leads but they didn't find anything. Sharon's great and I care about her but its not what I had with Bucky or Nora."
"Knock Knock." Sharon said knocking on the door before letting herself in. Unbeknownst to Sam and Steve she had heard the entire thing and she was not happy.
"Hey." Steve said getting up.
"I got a couple of days off and thought I'd come surprise you." Sharon said leaning up to kiss him.
August 2014- Nora's POV
It's been a few weeks since Bucky left. Wren told me that he gave Bucky a phone with both of our numbers in case he ever wants to call us or if there's an emergency. I know Bucky and he's as hard headed as Steve. He won't call even if it's an emergency he'd rather suffer in silence than swallow his pride.
I didn't want to talk about it and when I teleported to Italy to talk to him he was already gone. Things were back to normal. The routine was back as it was before. We went to work we came home we trained we slept and we did it all over again.
At the end of the month it was Wren's Birthday. Sam, Jess and I decided to throw him a surprise birthday party. He never had one and we figured why not. We invited all of our friends and co-workers.
That morning I work up extra early to pop over to New York and got him his favorite bagel with salmon and cream cheese for breakfast. I was waiting in line when someone tapped my shoulder.
"Clint?" I asked.
"Hey Nora, what are you doing in New York? Visiting Tony?" He asked.
"No actually, I'm getting Bagels for breakfast. It's Wren's birthday and he loves them from this shop so I figured I'd stop by." I said.
"Oh, where is Wren?" Clint asked.
"Back at the hotel, we got in pretty late last night." I said.
"You got him on a plane?" Clint asked chuckling.
"No I meant we were out celebrating pretty late, he's probably hung over right now." I said.
"That sounds more like Wren. Well I'll see you around." He said.
"Bye Clint." I said stepping up to give my order. After picking up the bagel I stopped by a coffee shop in Florence and got a double espresso before heading back. I was getting the tray ready to take it upstairs when Wren teleported in.
"What are you doing?" Wren asked.
"I was about to bring you breakfast in bed." I said.
"Why would you do that?" Wren asked.
"Because it's your birthday and I wanted to start it off right." I said.
"I don't see the point of birthdays, it just means you're one year closer to dying." Wren said.
"Morbid much?" I asked.
"You know it's true." Wren said.
"Is this you having a mid life crisis or something because it sounds like it?" I asked.
"It's not a mid life crisis, at least I don't think so. I just don't want to make a big deal out of today." He said.
"Then I guess you don't want the special birthday breakfast I got for you?" I said
"Is that a bagel from that place in New York?" He asked.
"And espresso from Florence." I said.
"I'll take the breakfast but other than that it's just a normal day." He said.
"Wren…" I said but was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
We both turned to look at each other.
"Did you invite Sam and Jess over?" Wren asked.
"We're not seeing them until tonight for dinner." I said. Wren signaled for me to stay quiet he pulled a gun out from under the table and I got one out from the drawer. We slowly made our way over to the door.
"Anyone there?" Wren called out. There wasn't a single sound. Wren slowly reached over and opened the door. Wren stepped out into the porch and looked around. There wasn't anyone in sight.
"Hey did you see this?" I asked. Right at the bottom of the steps was a gift box and I could have sworn it was moving.
"Is this supposed to be part of my birthday?" Wren asked.
"Not that I know of." I said and the box started moving again.
Wren reached over and pulled the top of.
"Caw caw caw!" I crow flew out and inside the box was a severed head.
"Is that…" I started but stopped when I had to throw up.
Apparently Wren had to thro up as well. When we finally finished he looked back inside the box and pulled out a note.
"Fuck." Wren said.
"Who's it from?" I asked. Wren handed me the note and I read it.
Happy Birthday Brother, Hope you have a good one because it'll be the last one you ever have.
See you soon,
Aiden.
"That's not possible." I said. "Bucky snapped his neck, you buried the body."
"I know." Wren said.
"Do you know who it was?" I asked looking at the box.
"It's the same face from my nightmares. It's Mary Eunice." He said.
"We need to get rid of this." I said. "It could implicate us."
"I wasn't notified she died." Wren said.
"She was murdered, not something that's advertised, or maybe they haven't noticed." I said.
"I'll deal with this. Get inside shower. Everything you're wearing, clothes shoes underwear, bag it and leave it in the hallway. No evidence." Wren said.
"Don't have to tell me twice." I said teleporting to my bathroom. I did as Wren said and bagged my clothes. I got dressed in shorts and a sage ruffled sleeve top.
When I arrived downstairs wren was making coffee.
"Do I even have to say it?" I asked.
"It couldn't have been Aiden, you said it yourself Bucky snapped his neck and I buried him." Wren said.
"Is there any possibility he could have been alive?" I asked.
"Nora, the guy's neck was broken."
"He wasn't just an ordinary guy Wren, he was a shape shifter. He turned his hand into a knife and killed him. Could he have maybe altered the density or shape of his thorax?"
"There's only one way to know." Wren said teleporting out of the house.
I looked out the door and saw Wren stepping into the barn. I teleported out there and saw him grab a shovel.
"Please tell me you're not thinking of doing what I think you're doing." I said.
"It's the only way to know. If you don't want to see don't follow." He said walking out. The thought of uncovering a decomposing body made me nauseous but at the same time I would probably sleep better knowing that Aiden was dead. I grabbed a shovel and followed Wren.
"Nora…" Wren said warning me.
"Good times and bad." I said as I started to dig. I don't know how long we were at it but when Wren finally stopped I knew we had our answer. There was only one body buried and from the clothes it had on it was obviously the assassin I had killed.
"We're in trouble." I said sitting down on the ground next to Wren.
"We're fucked." Wren said.
"Your brother's a zombie." I said.
"I wish it were that simple." Wren said.
"He's coming, and with a vengeance." I said.
"I know." Wren said.
Two Weeks Later-
On one of our rare days off Sam and Jess both had work to do and Connor's preschool was closed for the day. Wren and I decided to spend the day with Connor spoiling him, just the three of us.
We took him to the park along with Axl. Connor was on the jungle gym while Wren and I were sitting on a bench watching him.
"Any word from your contacts on our zombie problem?" I asked.
"Radio silent. I called Natasha to see if she had heard anything but she has her hands full with taking out Hydra. Any movement on his bank accounts?" Wren asked.
"Nothing he must have another cash store or other bank accounts under a different name." I said waving at Connor who was climbing up to the tallest slide.
"I can try shaking some trees, see if that works but that might just make him more angry." Wren said.
"Angrier than breaking his neck and apparently burying him alive would have? We're just wasting our time." I said.
"Then what do you suggest we do, we can't keep this up? Sleeping in shifts? Keeping guns under our pillows and under our mattresses. Nora I know you have a gun and at least three knives on you right now." He said whispering harshly.
"And you aren't? Aiden wasn't afraid to throw grenades at us inside our own home, you really think he isn't below attacking us in public?" I whispered back. That left him quiet. I looked over at the jungle gym to check up on Connor but I didn't see him. I looked over to the swings and couldn't find him. "Wren where's Connor?" I asked.
He looked confused he looked around and then started panicking. "I don't see him." Wren said.
"What?" I said.
"I don't see him! Connor!" Wren called out running to the play ground to get a closer look.
"Connor!" I yelled checking the opposite side.
"He's not at the slide." Wren said.
"He's not at the swing either." I said freaking out. "How could we lose our nephew Wren?!"
"He's not lost we'll find him." Wren urged.
"Auntie, Uncle?" Connor said from behind us.
"Connor!" I cried pulling him into a tight hug making him drop an ice cream cone he was holding.
"Auntie my ice cream!" Connor exclaimed. Wren wrapped him in a hug sandwiching Connor between us.
"Where were you!?" I asked.
"I-I wanted Ice cream and a nice man bought me a cone." Connor said getting scared with out yelling. "He said he wanted me to give you this." He said pulling a folded up paper from his pocket and handing it to Wren.
"What did the man look like?" Wren asked.
"He was tall with black hair and he talked like you." Connor said hugging me tightly.
"Okay bugger. I want you to listen to me okay. Never under any circumstance leave with a stranger. No matter what. There are some mean people out there that could hurt you. You really scared your aunt and I. We couldn't find you." Wren explained.
"I'm sorry auntie. I'm sorry uncle." Connor said tearing up.
"Hey it's not your fault buddy, you didn't know. Next time just find us first okay?" I said.
"I promise." he said hugging me.
"How about we go get ice cream?" Wren said trying to cheer Connor up.
"Okay." He said with a teary smile.
That Night-
We spent the rest of the day distracting Connor from the incident at the park. We took him to Coney Island for a couple of hours. By the time we dropped him off he was knocked out. When we got in the car I finally addressed the elephant in the room.
"What's the note say?" I said.
"Nora…"
"No, don't bullshit, don't try to protect me because that ship has sailed. What was on the note?" I said.
Wren sighed and handed me the note. I unfolded it and realized it wasn't just a simple note. There were multiple pages. On the first page was a printed photo of Jess and I from a few days earlier when we had gone baby shopping. The next page was Wren and Sam at a sports bar they had gone to when Jess insisted she needed some alone time. The last picture was of me and Wren picking up Connor from preschool the week before. There was a caption under the photo.
Looks like I'm not the only one that can't stay dead. You're not safe and neither are they. I'm closer than you think. See you soon brother
-Aiden
I teleported the car to the ranch and We sat there in silence.
"He's watching us." I said.
"And the people we consider family." Wren said.
"He was with Connor, he could have…" I said starting to have a hard time breathing.
"Nora…"
"He could have hurt Connor or worse!" I shouted.
"That's not going to happen." Wren said.
"Damn right its not." I said getting out of the car.
"Nora what are you going to do?" Wren said.
"Don't worry about it." I said teleporting away.
I went to my apartment in Boston and pulled out my emergency bag from the coat closet. I opened it and pulled out all the money in the bad. About fifty thousand dollars. I'd have to come back later on and replace the money but it wouldn't be a problem. I put the money in a small leather duffle and teleported away to my next stop. Lucky for me I was wearing a band tee and dark wash jeans topped with a leather jacket so I wasn't sticking out like a sore thumb.
I walked in and sat at the bar. Finally I spotted the very familiar dirty blonde locks and thick glasses of the bartender.
"Just the man I was looking for." I greeted.
"Uh, hi." He said surprised. "What can I get you?"
"I'll have a long island Iced tea and one of those gold cards you give to people who put out hits." I said.
"Uh, come again?" He said.
"You heard me." I said.
"I'll go get you that drink." He said.
I sat down and watched the news. Nothing out of the norm.
"So, where's that husband of yours?" Weasel asked.
"Back home." I answered.
"And that hit you're planning on putting out, how much were you planning on offering." Weasel asked.
"Not sure, I was thinking fifty grand outta do it." I said.
"F-fifty grand? Like a five and four zeroes after it?" Weasel said
"Unless I failed math and I've been writing it wrong all these years then yes." I answered.
"What would the job entail?" Weasel asked.
"I want Aiden Mathis' head on a silver platter." I said.
"Aiden Mathis? The guy your husband was looking for a few weeks back?"
"The very same. Now can you put the hit out or direct me to someone who will because I'm on a tight schedule." I said.
"Uh yeah, you leave the payment here and I'll give you a gold card. Whoever does the job will check in with you with proof the jobs done, You give him the card and He'll cash it in here." Weasel explained.
"Works for me." I said putting the duffle on the bar.
"Oh wow, you carry this with you. It's heavier than it looks." He said falling when he picked it up.
"Your card milady." He said faking a british accent.
"Thank you kind sir. Oh and one last thing." I said.
"What, ah!" He yelped as I pulled him forward and slammed his head on the bar.
"If you try to screw me over, I'll tear you apart starting with your toes and ending with your head. You understand?" I said.
"Y-yes." He said.
"Good talking to you weasel." I said letting him go. I put down a twenty for the drink. "Keep the change."
I walked out of the bar and went into an alley. I teleported back to my room and put the gold card in my nightstand drawer. I changed into my pjs and went to sleep.
September 2014- Nora's POV
Jess was two months away from giving birth and as her best friend, planning her baby shower fell to me. I decided to make it a coed baby shower because as she pointed out She was pushing a watermelon sized human out of her the least Sam could do was show up to a party in their daughter's honor.
Juggling planning a baby shower, work and the possibility of an assassin showing up to kill us was stressing Wren and me out. We needed this shower to go off without a hitch. It didn't seem important in the grand scheme of things but it meant a lot to us.
Wren reserved the patio of the restaurant at the botanical gardens. We decided to have a rustic boho theme shower.
I was in charge of everything and Jess was just relaxing at home. She was starting to get really self-conscious about how much weight she had put on. She wasn't happy with any of her outfits so I surprised her by having a custom dress made from her. Haley had her measurements and came up with a gorgeous white lace boho style dress for her.
.
The day of the shower Wren and I had just gotten off a double shift. We had slept all of five hours before we had to get up and set everything up. I wore a light blue halter dress with a slit.
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Wren and I had the decorators set everything up including the picnic lounge area, the tipis so any kids that came could play, and the desert table. By the time Jess and Sam arrived everything was set up.
"Oh my gosh…" Jess said when she walked in.
"You like it?" I asked.
"It's so pretty, you guys shouldn't have." Jess started.
"Of course we had to, it's for our future goddaughter and best friends." Wren said.
"Hey Connor I got you some of your favorite cake pops." I said.
"Cake pops!" He shouted running over to the desert table.
"He's not going to sleep tonight is he?" Sam said.
"We'll tire him for you, don't worry." Wren said.
The party went off without a hitch that is until a hitch came up.
"Nora, look who I ran into." Jess said. I turned around and I felt my blood run cold.
"Hello Love." He said coming over to hug me. "I hear you've been looking for me."
"Aiden, what a surprise." I said through clenched teeth and a forced smile.
"Turns out he's here checking out the venue for a charity event. What did you say the event was?" Jess asked.
"It's a charity cocktail mixer to raise money for an orphanage, St. Mary's in London." Aiden said.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to hold this event in I don't know London?" I said.
"Normally I would, but I am kind of on a tight schedule and it's been hard for me since a dear friend of mine passed away." Aiden said. He wouldn't dare…
"I'm sorry for your loss." Jess said. I pulled my phone out and texted Wren.
Aiden is here giving Jess and I a sob story!
"Sorry about that, had to check up on a patient." I said when Jess gave me a pointed look. "Isn't that your boss?"
"Oh, yeah that's Mayra, I gotta go say hi, Aiden stick around have some food." Jess said.
"Thank you very much." Aiden said before Jess walked off.
"So tell me who's bright idea was it to call a hit on me, your's or Wren's? I'm only asking because I have three rotting bodies in my trunk I have to drop off at my cleaners and I wanted to know who I should forward the bill to?" Aiden said with a smirk.
"No idea what you're talking about." I said grabbing a chocolate covered strawberry.
"Of course you don't, You may want to increase the reward, I'm having the bodies shipped to that hole in the wall pub in New York, doubt anyone will take the job after that. Have a nice day." He said walking away.
He bumped into Wren and gave him a smile before walking away.
"What happened?" Wren asked.
"I think I poked the bear." I said.
"What?" Wren said.
"Tell you later." I said going to help guests find their seats and playing host.
At the end of the day, Sam and Jess were going to have to a new house to be able to fit in all the new things for the baby.
After we had finally dropped everything off at the house Wren and I got in the car.
"What did he say?" Wren said.
"Wren…"
"What did he say? Don't think I haven't noticed how you're nervous you get anytime I've asked you the past couple of hours. So I know it wasn't Aiden, not entirely anyway. What did you do?" Wren said.
We were at a stoplight. I had to go into work and Wren was riding with me until he decided to teleport back home. Normally I would have teleported to work but we needed to keep up appearances. I reached into my purse and pulled out the gold card and put it on the dashboard.
"Please tell that isn't what I think it is." Wren said.
"Considering it cost me fifty thousand dollars yeah it is." I answered.
"What the fuck Nora?!" Wren yelled.
"What was I supposed to do Wren?! He went after Connor. You really expected me to just stand by and not do anything?" I retorted.
"You put out a hit on Aiden! Do you have any idea how stupid that was?! Do you have any idea how dangerous mercenaries are? These people will do anything for money." Wren started.
"I know that was the point. Our search was going nowhere; I knew a place filled with assassins that do this for a living I figured why the hell not." I said.
"How's that working out for you?" Wren retorted.
"Well pretty damn bad considering the three assassins that managed to get close to him are now dead and their bodies are being shipped back to Sister Margaret's."
"Not to mention you pissed him off enough to show up at our best friend's baby shower!"
"Oh like you can do better! What have you been doing?!" I yelled.
"Trying to make sure you don't end up dead again!" Wren yelled.
"It was once it won't happen again." I said.
"Not with how reckless you're being right now! You don't know how dangerous he can be Nora."
"I know very well Wren his hand sticking out of my stomach made that point fairly clear."
"Call off the hit Nora!"
"I will when Aiden's gone!"
"You're just going to get people killed or pissed off!"
"I'm already pissed!" I yelled.
"Then I'll do it." He said grabbing the gold card and teleporting away.
"Arghhh!" I grunted angrily. There was a honk behind me I drove off and got on the freeway. It was pretty empty at the moment, which was pretty surprising. I got on and everything was good when out of nowhere there was a truck with its high beams on. It was blinding and it was making it very hard to see. The truck started getting closer and closer until it bumped the car's bumper.
"Watch it asshole!" I yelled but the car kept getting closer and closer. Sports car getting rammed by an SUV… The movies did get the flip right. The car clipped my car and I lost control. I rammed into the concrete barrier. The car flipped over and spun around. When the car finally stopped spinning I undid my seatbelt and slipped out.
"Argh!" I groaned in pain. That was a bad idea. I was on the ground sore and bleeding. I looked down and saw a shard of glass jammed into my side. "Shit." I said putting pressure on the wound.
I heard a car pull over and then someone walk over to me. I saw their work boots. I looked up and saw him kneeling. He looked a lot like the assassin I killed before.
"That was for my sister. Aiden sends his regards." He said before putting his hands around my neck. I couldn't move or breathe. Slowly my vision started fading when I saw a flash of green and suddenly I could breath. I saw an older version of me standing over me before everything went dark.
Third Person's POV-
Wren walked into the bar and everyone was glaring daggers at him.
'Must have gotten the news' Wren thought. He walked in and sat at the bar. He saw weasel at the end of the bar and he waved the gold card. He nodded and came over to him.
"Wasn't expecting you again." Weasel said.
"Wasn't planning on coming back. I'm here to clean up my wife's mess. The hit she put out on Aiden, I'd like to call it off." Wren said.
"Uh, That's going to be kind of tricky…" Weasel said.
"You can give the money to the families of those who died just tell people the hit's off." Wren said.
"I'll try but a lot of these guys are pretty mad." Weasel said.
"Do what you can and tell them if they come near me or my wife in vengeance they're as good as dead. Good chat." Wren said walking out of the bar.
Wren teleported back to the house and let Axl out. He was checking on any notifications Friday had for him when his phone started ringing. It was the hospital.
"Go for Wren." He answered.
"Wren, it's Chief Matthews you need to get down here right now." He said.
"What's going on, last I checked all my patients were stable." Wren said.
"There's been an accident, Nora's in surgery." The Chief said.
"I'm on my way." Wren said. He quickly got Axl inside before teleporting to the hospital. He saw the Chief at the nurse's station. "What happened?"
"How did you…" He asked.
"I was in the area what happened?" Wren said panicking.
"Nora was in a car accident. She's in surgery to repair a small tear in her gut other than that some cuts and bruises and a minor concussion she's fine." He said.
"Shit." He said feeling slightly relieved.
"She was really lucky the car was a complete loss." Chief said.
"How long until she's out?" Wren asked.
"Probably in an hour if there aren't any complications."
"Thank you, I guess I'll go wait in the lounge." Wren said.
"Someone will come get you when Nora's in her room, I'll get her a private room." The chief said.
"Thank you." Wren said before walking into the lounge. Nora never got injured and if she did Aya could have healed it by now. How did this happen? His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He answered it without checking who it was.
"Go for Wren." Wren answered.
"How's Nora doing?" Aiden greeted.
"You son of a bitch what did you do?!" Wren growled.
"Oh I didn't do anything, I delivered a warning. Simon on the other hand was still angry about his twin sister's death. Of course I'm standing over his mangled body a friend of mine found on the side of the road so I guess that ends that dispute." Aiden said.
"This is between you and me. You killed Nora once she's not a part of this anymore." Wren said.
"Haven't told her you love her yet have you? I'll see you soon." Aiden said before hanging up.
"Uh!" Wren yelled throwing his phone against the other couch. He was starting to understand why Nora thought calling the hit on Aiden was a good idea.
Nora's POV-
I was back in the yard behind the house wearing my favorite red maxi dress. I saw a flash of green and saw Aya dressed as me in the same version of my dress but in a dark green.
.
.
"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" Aya said.
"What would you have done?" I said.
"Not piss of the brainwashed assassin that's what." Aya said.
"You mean insane assassin?" I asked.
"Didn't you look over the blood samples I made Wren grab for you?" Aya asked.
"I've been a bit busy." I pointed out.
"Well look over those when you get out of the hospital." Aya said.
"Hospital?" I said confused then it all came back to me. The fight I had with Wren the Suv Ramming into the car and the man strangling me. "Oh fuck."
"Yeah, Wren's been at your side since you got out of surgery. Say what you want about Wren but he's definitely a good one." She said.
"Is this you trying to set us up like Dad tried?" I teased.
"Of course not, you know I don't interfere." She said making me laugh.
"You not interfering is like the sky not being blue," I said.
"Are you calling me nosy?" She said.
"Nosy would be too subtle, I'd go with intrusive." I retorted.
"Funny," She said. "Well nap time's over, time to go face the real world." She put two fingers on my forehead and everything got bright.
I heard a very annoying beeping accompanied with a familiar smell of hospital disinfectant. I opened my eyes and everything was too bright.
"Mhm." I groaned. "AH."
"Mhm, Nora." I heard Wren sleepily say.
"Too bright and sore." I winced.
"Hold on a sec." He said squeezing my hand to reassure me.
"You called?" A nurse said.
"She's awake." Wren told her.
"Doctor Spencer can you open your eyes for me?" The nurse asked.
I opened my eyes but she was flashing a light.
"Ow that's bright." I said.
"Do you know where you are?" She asked.
"Dallas Presbyterian recovery room judging by the wall paper and fluorescents." I said.
"The concussions gone." She said. "On a scale of one to ten how's your pain?"
"About a four." I answered.
"I'll fix that." She said. "Any dizziness or lightheaded ness?"
"Nothing that isn't caused by all the meds." I said.
"All righty then you're looking good, your doctor will be right in to check on you later. I'll bring by some ice chips in a bit." She said.
"Thank you." I said.
"How are you feeling really?" Wren said.
"Tired and like a huge idiot. You were right calling the hit on Aiden was a dumb move." I said.
"Hey, you were just doing what you thought was right to protect everyone. I shouldn't have yelled." Wren said.
"I know this is probably the last thing I should be worried about but you didn't call dad right?" I asked.
"Of course not, you're going to call him yourself. It was bad enough I had to call Sam, he started interrogating me." Wren said.
"Yeah, It wasn't that bad of an accident Dad doesn't need to know. It'll just distract him from his crime fighting." I said.
"If he finds out you didn't tell him he's going to be pissed." Wren said.
"Which is why he won't find out." I stated. "Any way I can be released early?"
"I'll see what I can do." He said with a smirk.
I got stuck in the hospital for one more night and after that I managed to talk the chief and my surgeon to discharge me early. Of course Wren had to promise he would oversee my recovery for the next week. The second I walked in I had Aya speed up the recovery progress. Hello one-week vacation.
I was in the kitchen one day making soup when Wren walked in.
"So we need to talk about Aiden." Wren said.
"What's there to talk about? He's hell bent on killing us, we don't know how to track him down and we're stuck waiting here until he finally walks through that door and tries to gun us down again."
"Don't you think you're being a tad melodramatic?" He said rubbing his temples.
"You alright?" I asked.
"Yeah just a headache." He said.
"How about you go lie down? I'll wake you up when food's done."
"Don't try to change the subject." He said.
"I'm not I just have a feeling we've been going about this all wrong." I said.
"I'm not going to argue about that. Calling a hit and sending mercenaries out to be cannon fodder was not one of your best choices." Wren said.
"Not that, there was something Aya said when I was knocked out in the hospital that's bothering me."
"What did she say?"
"Something about Aiden being a brainwashed assassin." I said.
"That's impossible. I personally saw the people responsible for us burn Nora." Wren said.
"But you said it yourself that was only the recruitment branch." I said.
"And Natasha helped take down the rest." Wren said.
"Natasha worked for SHIELD and as we now know SHIELD was actually HYDRA." I said.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying a lot of the work Natasha and even Steve did was actually HYDRA's dirty work you think there might be a possibility HYDRA may have covered up you're former boss's organization and maybe it can still be running?" I said.
"Nora that's insane? Those people wouldn't have let me go just like that. They would have tried to get rid of me." Wren said.
"Isn't that what Aiden's been doing? Wouldn't that also explain the assassin that could turn invisible that was here with Aiden or the guy that caused my crash? You said it yourself Wren, Aiden doesn't have friends or play well with others." I said.
"That can't be true." Wren said.
"There's one way to know. You remember the meds and chemicals they used on you?" I said.
"Yeah I have a copy of the blood work Natasha had a doctor run on me. Why?" He asked.
"Because I still have the blood samples you took from Aiden and Simone downstairs." I said. "I just need something to compare them to."
"And if they don't match?"
"Then I'm just being paranoid." I said.
"Run the damn tests," He said. He got up and wobbled for a minute.
"Wren, you okay?" I asked.
"Uh yeah just got lightheaded for a minute." He said.
"Okay that's it, you're going up to your room, getting into some pajamas and taking a nap, I'll deal with all of this."
"But…"
"No buts, you're exhausted, you're stumbling over your own feet. Let me worry about you for once. Go to bed." I said pointing at the stairs.
"Fine. But if you need me have Friday wake me up." He said kissing the top of my head before teleporting off. I finished the soup before going downstairs and getting to work.
A Few Hours Later-
Wren walked into the lab with an envelope in his hand.
"Here are my results." He said.
"The analysis just finished." I said. "Friday what do we have?"
"There seems to be a high presence of hallucinogenic drugs along with a high presence of narcotics." Friday answered.
"Can you bring up a list of every compound found?" I said,
"I just brought it up." She said.
Wren took a closer look and his face paled.
"Wren?" I asked.
"It matches." Wren said quietly.
"All of it?" I asked.
"Everything except the narcotics those are new." Wren asked.
"Must be used to keep him hooked. Might explain his behavior too." I said.
"So not only is my brother brain washed but he's also a drug addict?"
"He probably doesn't even know he is."
Wren pinched his eyebrows together and let out a frustrated sigh before he teleported to the wall and punched it, cracking the dry wall.
"Wren!" I yelled.
"What the fuck?!" He yelled. "It's one thing to have to take out your older brother who's trying to kill you it's another thing to find out I left him in those asshole's reach and they drove him mad. This is my fault." He said tearing up.
"It's not your fault, you didn't know." I reminded him.
"I could have let Beth go, They could have run away and lived their lives." He sobbed.
"You weren;t yourself and even if you had been the people you worked for would have used you instead or maybe worse. What's done is done what matter's now is what we're going to do." I said.
"And what do you saddest we do?" Wren said looking up.
"We save Aiden. Natasha managed to snap you out of your trance let's do the same to Aiden." I said.
"He won't be the same as before." Wren said.
"People change, that's life. The people who sent him after you won't stop. And if they manage to kill you Aiden's next. Are you going to let that happen?" I asked.
"No, let's go catch an assassin." He said getting up and grabbing a tablet.
October 2014- Nora's POV
After weeks of searching we still had nothing on Aiden. He hadn't made a move on us since my car accident so we were enjoying a few weeks of peace. I had updated the security system and there were motion sensors all over the property now so I'd know if any one set foot. Even Bucky wouldn't have been able to sneak back in.
I was at work one day when a very familiar blonde came into the ER.
"Jess?" I said running over to her gurney.
"Nora!" She said happily.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" I said grabbing a cart out of the interns hands and checking myself.
"I'm fine, I just started having contractions at my check up and as it turns out I'm having a C-section a bit earlier than expected." Jess said obviously being very uncomfortable with the needles she was being stuck with for the IV.
"Can one of you page Doctor Spencer and Doctor Milioti?" I said.
"Yes ma'am." One of the interns said before running off.
"What did you do to them?" Jess said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The guy is at your beck and call. He practically asked you how high you wanted him to jump." Jess said laughing.
"He's new and he's in my service. His first day here he called me a nurse and I made him spend the day giving prostate exams. Never made that mistake again." I said. "How are the contractions?"
"Not too bad, they're just starting." She said.
"Hey you paged?" Wren asked. "Holy crap are you okay?" He said looking over the chart in my hands.
"I'm fine you two are worrying over nothing." Jess said completely calm.
"Did you call Sam?" Wren asked.
"I did on my way here. He went to go pick up Connor and he should be here…"
"Jess!" Sam said running to her side.
"Sam, I'm okay, calm down." Jess reassured him. "Sam where's Connor?"
"He's right… oh shit." Sam said.
"Okay, chances are he's at the nurse's station down the hall. I'll go get him. Sam stay here with Jess. Wren go flirt with Nancy, the head nurse to get Jess a private room. I'm on break so I'll go get Connor and get something to eat." I said. "Everyone good? Great!"
I walked out of the ER and went over to he nurses station where Connor was currently laughing at a joke Sophie, one of the pediatric nurses was telling him.
"Auntie!" Connor cried out before running over where I picked him up in a hug.
"Hi buddy, your dad's with your mom right now. How about we go downstairs and get some lunch? We can get some chocolate cake." I said.
"With ice cream?" He asked.
"Of course." I said with a smile. "Say thank you to Zoey."
"Thank you Zoey." He said giving her a hug.
"You're welcome buddy." She said.
"Thanks Zo," I said.
"Anytime Nora." She said.
Connor and I went down to the cafeteria and grabbed lunch. I got him his ice cream and chocolate cake.
"Auntie is my little sister going to come out of mommy's stomach?" Connor asked.
"Looks that way sweetie." I said.
"How did she get into mommy's tummy?" Connor asked.
"Uh come again?" I asked. I really didn't want to give my three and a half year old nephew the sex talk.
"How did my sister get into mommy's tummy?" Connor asked.
"Uh… um… oh look it's Uncle Wren." I said happy I wasn't going to have to explain that one.
"Uncle!" Connor said forgetting about the previous question.
"Hey bugger." He greeted.
"They take her into surgery already?" I asked.
"Yeah, I told Sam to come and find us when she's out." Wren said. Then my pager went off.
"I have to go, cardio consult in OR 3. Text me if you hear anything." I said. I ruffled Connor's hair before walking away.
A minor tear in an Aorta later I finally got out of surgery I went to notify the family. Then I felt my phone rang.
We're in Room 306- Wren
I quickly teleported to Jess and Sam's place to pick up the go bag he had probably forgotten and then back to the ranch to quickly pick up my gift. I was going to get the baby a beanie with her name embroidered but Sam and Jess still hadn't decided on a name. I could have gotten one embroidered with Ellie but I promised not to use any spoilers to my advantage. When I had gotten everything I teleported back to the hospital.
I took an elevator up to the third floor and looked for the room.
"Knock Knock." I called out before walking in.
"Hey." Jess said quietly. She looked tired but happy. There was a little pink bundle in her arms. Sam was sitting next to her and Connor and Wren were standing on the opposite side.
"What took you so long?" Sam joked.
"I was sewing a guy's heart back together, I stopped by the house to pick up the go bag you forgot, and I stopped by our house to pick this up." I said showing her the light pink beanie with a bow on it.
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"That is so cute." Jess said.
"It would have been embroidered but you two haven't settled on a name so…" I started.
"Like you don't know already." Wren said making me slap his arm.
"I did promise no spoilers, so what's this cutie's name?" I asked.
"Well, we decided to name her after the three most important women in her life, some currently with us and others not so much any more. So everyone say hello to Elenora Jessica Winchester." Jess said.
"Or Ellie for short." Sam added.
"You're naming her after me?" I said tearing up. I always thought Ellie was short for Elizabeth or Ellen.
"Of course, you're going to be her hero one day. She should have something of yours." Jess said.
"That's one of the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Well that and the time Wren teleported me away from a grenade." I said.
"Why don't you guys go down to the cafeteria and get us some of that chocolate cake Connor was talking about." Jess suggested.
"You just had surgery." Wren reminded her.
"And you're head of the ER I'm sure you can make an exception for you." Jess said batting her eyelashes.
"I could use a coffee. Nora I'll grab you your usual?" Wren asked,
"Yes please." I said. The guys went downstairs and left the girls alone. "Hard to believe that a few hours ago we were outnumbered and know we're evenly matched." I chuckled.
"Tell me about it. The kids and adults in my house are now tied." Jess said.
"She looks so much like you." I said.
"All kids look the same at this age, and she's bald as a cue ball." Jess said.
"She's not bald she just has really short blonde hair." I said letting Ellie grasp my fingers.
"You mind holding her for a bit, my shoulder's cramping up?" Jess asked.
"Of course" I said. "I forgot about new baby smell. The last baby I held was Connor."
"The next one will probably be your own." Jess joked.
"Don't think that's happening any time soon besides, I could see you having another kid, break the tie." I joked.
"Don't even kid about that. I think I'll stick to two. Maybe in a few years I'll change my mind but until then two is enough." She said. "I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" I asked. She seemed to get serious really fast.
"Sam and I were talking. He said that we should start making plans in case you know anything ever happened to us because he didn't want Connor and Ellie growing up the way he did moving from foster home to foster home."
"Jess don't…" I started
"No Nora you need to hear this. We started setting up our estate and we need to name guardians in case anything happens to us. Sam doesn't have any family and my mom's gone so there's only two people we could think of. Regardless of what happens with you two we know you're the only ones that we could trust with our kids. So if anything happens would you look after Connor and Ellie?" She said tearing up.
"You don't have to ask Jess. Connor and Ellie will never go through that, I'll raise them as if they were my own kids which I already consider them anyway. I'll make sure of it. I never told you this but a couple of years ago when I went through that rough patch and I considered ending things I set up my will. Connor, Ellie and any other kids you may have would be looked after. Hopefully it will never come to that and I know for a fact Wren updated his will to make sure of that as well. Don't worry. And in case all four of us kick the bucket I asked my dad to look after them and Axl." I said.
"Your dad? The phantom father I've only heard of but never actually seen?" Jess said.
"Connor met him a year ago. He was pretty happy to meet his hero." I said.
"Your dad's his hero?" jess said confused.
"Jess my real name is Nora Eliana Stark." I said.
"What?" She said shocked. "Tony Stark doesn't have any kids."
"None that any one but you and Wren know of." I said. I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of me and Dad in New York.
"Holy Shit, He's your Dad?" She said.
"Yup." I admitted awkwardly.
"Why are you telling me now?"
"Because I wanted to make sure that you knew that no matter what Happens Ellie and Connor will be taken care of." I said.
"What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?" She cried.
"I ask myself that all the time." I said crying.
"Okay no more crying, this is a happy day damn it."
"Nora!" Jess exclaimed.
"She didn't here me she's sound asleep." I said. I looked doesn't and Ellie had her eyes wide open and looked like she was cracking a smile. "Never mind."
"I swear." Jess started sleepily. "If… Ellie's first… word …"
"Jess?" I asked and suddenly all the monitors started beeping. "Somebody get a crash cart in here Now!" I shouted making Ellie cry.
"Nora you need to leave." Chief Matthews said.
"But…"
"Take the baby outside now!" He shouted. I hesitated before doing as he said.
I walked outside and kept the baby in my arms trying calm her down.
"Charge to two hundred." I heard the chief say. "Clear."
The shocked her and her body jumped but no response.
"I'll take her back to the nursery." Zoey said. "Nora?" She said getting my attention.
"Right." I said handing her over.
"Come on Jess." I said looking in. "Don't do this sis."
"Nora?" Sam said running over. "What's going on?" He said panicking.
"We were talking and then her heart rate dropped." I said tearing up.
"Charge to three hundred." I heard them say. "Clear."
"Don't do this baby." Sam cried.
"Damn it." Chief Matthews said. "I'm calling it. Time of Death 7:46pm."
Sam fell to his knees and cried. I couldn't see from all the tears.
"Why?" Sam cried.
"I'm sorry Mr. Winchester. We lost her." Chief Matthews said. "Some one will be by soon to take the body the morgue."
"can…can I see her?" Sam asked.
"Of course." Chief said. He gave me a sympathetic nod and pat me on the shoulder before walking away.
I walked in with Sam. He took the sheet off her face and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He took her hand and cried. I sat on the other side of the bed and took her hand. It was still warm but that wouldn't be for long.
"I have to tell Connor." Sam finally said.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"He's with Wren down stairs in the day care. He was getting bored." Sam said.
"I'll go get him. He should find out from you." I said looking at him. "I'll let Wren know. Send me a message when you're ready."
"Ellie?" He asked.
"She's in the nursery. Zoey's looking after her." I said. "I'll give you some time."
"Did she ask you, about guardianship of the kids?" Sam asked.
"She didn't have to, you know my answer already. Whatever's going through your head right now, don't even think about it. It feels like your heart's been ripped out of your chest and there's no point in going on. You're not me Sam. You have a lot going for you and you have two kids that are going to need you now more than ever. Don't go there Sam." I said.
"Can you go find Connor? I'll let you know when I'm ready." Sam said.
"Okay." I said I said standing up. Walked out of the room. I signaled to Ruth to keep an eye on Sam. She nodded. I go in the elevator to the first floor, It was completely empty. As soon as the doors shut I started sobbing. The doors opened at the second floor. I looked up and saw Wren.
"Nora?" He said getting in and shutting the door. "What's going on?"
"J-Jess is… she's d-dead." I cried out.
"H-how?" He asked his voice cracking. I just shook my head. Wren held me as I cried and fell to the ground. "Where's Sam?"
"He's making arrangements. He wanted me to stay with Connor until he's ready to tell him." I said.
"You left him alone?" Wren asked.
"Yeah but I'm having Ruth keep an eye on him." I asked.
"Good call." Wren said. "Ellie?"
"Nursery getting checked out by Zoey." I said. "Connor?"
"I got called up to check in on a patient that just woke up. I left him at the Daycare. He was making friends." Wren said. "He was telling them about his sister."
"And now we have to walk in there and take him to get the worst news of his life." I said crying.
"You can't go in there crying. Go shower and change then meet up with us. I'll keep him company." Wren said turning on the elevator.
"Okay." I said. When the elevator doors opened we split up. I went to the locker room and he went to keep Connor company in the daycare center.
I got dressed in my white-collar long sleeve button up shirt under a grey fitted heather grey dress. I slipped on some leggings and heels before going to find Connor and Wren.
.
I walked in to the day care center and as soon as Connor saw me he ran over and gave me a hug.
"Auntie look what I made for Mommy." He said showing me a picture he drew of him, Sam and Jess holding Ellie.
"I'm sure she'll love it sweetheart." I said choking a sob back. I felt my phone buzz. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was from Sam.
They took the body. Bring him up –Sam
I looked over at Wren and Nodded.
"Hey bugger your dad wants to see you." Wren said.
"Okay, I want to show him the drawing I made for him." Connor said running to grab another piece of paper and running over pulling Wren and I out. We got in the elevator.
"Auntie why are you so sad?" Connor asked.
"Uh, it's been a long day sweetie." I said.
"Can I sleep over?" Connor asked.
"How about after you talk to your Dad you ask?" Wren said knowing that I was on the verge of breaking down crying.
"Okay." He said. The elevator doors opened and we walked out. Sam was waiting At the nurse's station signing some paperwork.
"Daddy!" Connor said running over to hug him. Sam looked over at us and pointed to the now empty room. I walked down the hall to the nursery. I looked out and saw Ellie sticking out like a sore thumb with her big pink bow.
"You all right?" Wren asked.
"Aneurysm." I said.
"What?" Wren asked.
"Checked out the progress on the coroner's report. Aneurysm that bursted with the strain caused by childbirth. I made sure Jess never missed an appointment because I didn't want Sam or Connor to have to deal with what my Dad did. I didn't want her to grow up like I did. Never considered an aneurysm" I said.
We stood there in silence until we finally heard it.
"No! I want to see mommy! I want to see my Mommy!" I could hear Connor yell out.
Future me said I would have to go through nine months of hell. If I had to choose between getting tortured by Zola again or going through this, I would rather get tortured a thousand times if it meant this was all just a twisted nightmare.
Two and a half months down. Six and a half left.
Three Days Later-
The three days that followed were filled with people coming over to Sam's house with food and condolences. We made sure Ellie was given a full work up before it was even considered she would be discharged.
To say Sam was struggling would be an understatement. He hadn't slept in days. Planning a funeral and juggling two kids, one of who was a newborn wasn't easy. Wren and I helped out as much as we could. Sam could barely stand to be in the same room as Ellie. Connor was throwing tantrums and crying.
Then came the dreaded day. The day of the wake and burial. It just so happened that for the first time in almost a year it started raining. I got dressed in a black dress and a black trench coat.
.
.
I waited for Wren to come out. When he finally did his eyes were red and he was wearing a black suit along with a black wool coat. He was about to say something when blood started dripping out of his nose.
"Shit." He said grabbing a kleenex.
"Pinch your nose and tilt your head back." I said. "you feeling dizzy?"
"No, it's probably the change in weather. It really dries my nose." He said.
"You sure?" I ask.
"Yeah I'm fine." He said.
"Okay but you should get checked out just in case." I said.
"Nora." Wren said. "What happened was a one in…"
"I know the stats, I just … Just ignore me." I said.
"I have my check up next week. Need to know what's causing the migraines." Wren said.
"Okay." I said.
"I got your six, you got mine right?" He said.
"Always." I said taking his hand. I grabbed an umbrella and we were off.
We got to the house to help Sam get the kids ready. Sam was struggling to get Connor into his suit and he wasn't dressed himself.
"I got Connor." Wren said chasing after.
Ellie started crying and I walked into the nursery to see Sam struggling with a diaper.
"Sammy, I got her. Go get dressed." I said. He left without a word.
"Hi princess." I said wiping her bottom. I put on a diaper before putting on her onesie along with a fleece beanie and all the warm blankets I could find. I also unpacked the rainproof carrier cover so Ellie would be nice and dry.
I gave her a bottle and she knocked out. I put her in the carrier, grabbed a diaper bag, and we were off.
We got to the church for the service and the five of us sat down in the front row. All of Sam and Jess' closest friends along with some of ours ended up showing up. It was a full house.
The service was the usual, that is until it was time for the eulogy. Sam was going to be the only one that spoke but when he was called up he didn't move.
Thankfully Wren took over.
"Uh hello everyone, I know most of you but for those of you that don't know me, I'm Wren. I met Jess and Sam almost three years ago. I was actually a plus one to breakfast one day. The second I walked through that door I was a part of the family. Jess had known me all of five minutes before she gave me a hug and told me that if I dared miss Christmas dinner she would track me down and drag me to the table. Never knew a woman wearing an apron and snoopy footie pajamas could be so terrifying." Wren said making everyone laugh
"A few months after I moved to the States My housemate who is now my wife got called in to work and Sam was pulling an all nighter at the library preparing for finals. I showed up to drop off Connor and she tells me just because Nora and Sam can't party doesn't mean we can't have fun. She dragged Connor and I out to that putt putt mini golf place off the interstate. We spent the entire night playing through all eighteen holes even the rigged ice cream mountain. She black mailed the manager into giving us each an ice cream sundae. Connor didn't have the flu, he just had too much sugar. Sorry Sam. But that wasn't the point of the story Jess was so full of life and she taught me that even when things are down in the dumps it's important to enjoy the little things whether it's a round of mini golf or spending time with those most important for you. I was honored to call her my friend and I'm going to miss her." Wren said tearing up. Every one clapped as he got off the stage.
"I'm not ready." Sam whispered as he cried.
"It's okay." I told rubbing his back lightly before getting up.
"Hey everyone, I'm Nora as you all probably know considering Jess and I were practically attached at the hip. So you've all probably heard the story about how we met right? Well that's actually a lie. But before I get to that point I have to back track a bit. I never really fit in anywhere. I graduated High school at thirteen and MIT at sixteen. I never made any friends because it was kind of hard considering I was years younger that everyone else in my classes. My senior year I got bored of Boston and decided to do a semester abroad. Two weeks before I left I got into a huge fight with my Dad, who at the time was also my only friend. I know, that's really sad."
"So when I showed up in Dublin things weren't much different. I would go to this one coffee shop in campus, order a large mocha with a carrot muffin and sit at the same table every day in between classes. One day it just so happens that the cashier that was always on duty had the day off and instead of going out and doing something she sat down in front of me and said I've seen you here everyday for the past three weeks doing the exact same thing. I have the day off and you're coming with me, I'm going to teach you how to live. She said this as she grabbed the book out of my hand and pulled me out of my chair. At first I was like, who is this weirdo and why is she holding my physics textbook hostage? Then she said, Come with me if you want to live in the terminator voice and I said to myself well if she ends up being a serial killer at least she has good taste in movies. So I went with her around town. She took me to her apartment gave me a change of clothes and then took me to get a fake ID. Throughout all of this she still hadn't told me her name and I didn't really care. We ended up at a bar where I had my first alcoholic drink. She taught me how to take a shot like a champ so it's no wonder when fast forward to the next morning when I wake up in my under wear on my couch with no memory of the night before and my only clue as to what happened the night before was my fake ID and a post it note with How to live 101- A+ written on it. I never got her name well not until a week later when a friend introduced me to his best friend and his soul mate Jess. I didn't just meet my best friend that day. I met my sister. My sister from another mister." I said crying. "I miss her so damn much." I sobbed. Wren came up to the stage and walked me back to my seat.
"Thanks Nora." Sam said hugging me before getting up on the stage.
"I want to thank everyone for coming. The past few days have been hard and I don't even want to imagine what it's going to be after today but I wasn't the only one that lost someone. Jess touched so many lives and the fact that we all barely fit in this church is proof of that. I don't have a story to tell you all about Jess because there's so many to choose from. Jess was my soul mate, she was a part of me and just having her in my life made everything brighter and everyday from now on will be darker in comparison. She was the love of my life and she was taken from us way too soon. It's not fair but the fact that we even got the chance to know her is a gift I will always be grateful for. I love you baby, always have always will." Sam said ending his speech.
After the ceremony we all moved to the cemetery where the body was going to be buried. It took a lot of negotiating and bribery to get the spot next to Jess's mom but we pulled it off.
It started raining and we all huddled together under the umbrella as the casket was lowered. People slowly started to leave after giving their condolences. Finally it was just the five of us.
"Connor needs to use the restroom and Ellie needs a diaper change I'll give you two a moment." Wren said taking the kids inside.
We were quiet just staring down at the casket and listening to the rainfall.
"I need to ask you a favor." Sam asked.
"Anything." I answered.
"I need you to take the kids for a while." He said.
"Sam…" I said picking my next words carefully.
"Not like that. Nora I'm a wreck. I'm barely keeping my self together and I can't put Connor and… Ellie through that. I don't want them to see me like this." He said tearing up.
"Sam you can barely say your daughter's name. You only pick her up when you absolutely have to." I said.
"What do you expect me to do Nora?! Jess is dead. I don't want to live without her. Everytime I see Connor or Ellie I'm reminded of her and how she won't be there for Ellie's first steps, or the first time Connor loses a tooth. I can't look at them without falling apart and I know they're suffering and that they lost their mom but I can't help them, not right now." He cried.
"I'll take the kids but I want you to listen to what I'm about to say. I've been where you are Sam and you saw how low I got. Don't you dare leave me too. I've already buried my sister I can't lose a brother too. And I know you need to go, I get it but don't stay away too long because you'll turn Ellie into me and she doesn't deserve that. The kids need their Dad." I said.
"I know. It's just for a little while. I'm going to talk to Connor and Wren tomorrow and I'll have the temporary guardianship papers signed and notarized." He said.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Not sure yet. When I decide I'll let you know." Sam asked.
"You're not alone Sam, don't forget that." I said hugging him. He softly hugged me before letting go.
"Can I get a minute?" He said.
"Yeah, Wren probably needs help with the diaper." I said walking inside. As I walked in I saw Wren walk out of the rest room with Connor and Ellie. Wren looked tired and he was swaying a bit. Then I saw him start to lose his footing. I quickly teleported over and grabbed the carrier out of his hand before breaking his fall.
"Wren hey," I checked him over.
"The room's spinning." He said.
"No you're just having a dizzy spell. I'm moving you're appointment up." I said.
"Yeah, might be a good idea." He said sitting against the wall. I put the carrier down in front of me and Connor was sitting on Wren's other side. We stayed there sitting down quietly watching the rainfall.