A/N: Real talk, I didn't get to edit this one as carefully as i usually do so sorry if you run across like a typo or something. Also, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, I started a Tumblr for marvel stuff! It's filled with drabbles and one shots and some short series.

The username is: lostinthemcu

Chapter #11:

Knock Off Harley Quinn

"If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together

There is something you must always remember

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think

But the most important thing is even if we are apart I'll always be with you."

-Winnie the Pooh

Sam groaned as he knelt down to pick up the picture Aj had tossed aside. He struggled to uncrumple the image and smooth out the wrinkles. It was a photo of Aj as a kid with her sister. Aj couldn't be older than 11 here. It was a cute picture. They looked genuinely happy in it. His phone rang loudly, and it startled him. Sam cursed lightly, set the photo on the kitchen counter, then answered it.

"How is she?" Bucky's voice asked.

Sam sighed, "Pretty messed up."

"Sam—"

"Look, she's processing right now and her usual way of doing so ain't gonna cut it." Sam explained. He leaned against the island, "Aj blames herself. Her sister literally led HYDRA to the front door, but somehow Aj still manages to pin it on herself." Bucky cursed over the line. "I don't…I don't even know what to do. I've seen her take blame before, but this… She's on a warpath and I don't know where this one ends."

Bucky hummed to himself, "Lemme talk to her."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "You think you can talk her down?"

"Well, I gotta try, don't I?" Bucky snapped gruffly. Sam had seen firsthand how Aj could talk Bucky down. Maybe it went both ways. It was honestly worth a shot. He pushed off the island, ready to go upstairs and pass along the phone, but the beeping in his ear told him he had an incoming call. "Well?"

Sam glanced at the screen, "Bucky, I'm getting a call from Stark. I gotta take this."

"Sam—"

"Aj doesn't have her phone on her, but as soon as I'm done talking with Tony, I'll have her call you back." Sam said. Bucky argued, but he switched the call. "Stark?"

Tony's voice replaced Bucky's, "Sam? What the hell is going on?!"

"So, I guess you heard we took a detour to Alabama?"

"Rhodey told me." Tony replied. "What's—"

Sam answered the question before he even asked, "Rosie is doing alright. They're moving her out of the ICU in a few hours. Aj and I are checking out her old place here in Summerbrooke. Things aren't going well…"

"I can imagine." Tony sighed. "Things aren't going so hot on our end either. Cap and them went to find Rumlow. I'm at the Playground working on trying to unbury a file with Vision and Daisy."

Sam narrowed his eyes, "What file?"

"Something about mutants." Tony replied. Sam began to ask something, but Tony cut him off, "It's a long story. When we all get back home we need another family meeting."

"Great." Sam muttered. As he spoke, he noticed movement in the reflection of the window in front of him. A second passed, Tony was still talking, but Sam needed to act. The man in the reflection took one step closer and that was close enough for him. Sam whipped around, throwing his phone at the face of the man, to startle him then lunged forward to attack. Sam grabbed the end of the man's baton, thanked God the agent didn't have a gun for some odd reason, and then went to town. He ripped it from his hand and kneed the man in the chest. Before he could lunge forward and knock him out, somebody tackled him from behind and he hit the ground hard with a grunt.

"Aj!" Sam yelled as a warning before rolling out of the man's grip. He kicked the man's knee out and rolled onto his feet. Sam wasn't sure how many agents had dropped down onto the house, but there were two in the kitchen with him now and he was sure he heard someone going up the stairs. Sam slammed the baton he still had in his hands into the agent's face.

The man dropped to the ground, but two more agents ran into the kitchen. Sam yelled again, but he could barely get her name out before two standing agents grabbed his arms and shoved him into the wall. Sam grunted in pain and tried to wrestle out of their grasp. A third man lunged forward, and sucker punched him in the gut forcing him to hunch forward. When he lifted his head, he was immediately punched in the face.

Sam heard a heavy thud from upstairs and he grit his teeth. He kicked out, slamming his foot into the gut of the man hitting him, and the agent stumbled back in pain. Sam tried to yank his arms out again, but the man holding his left one swung out and punched him in the face again.

"Falcon ain't much without his wings, huh?" The agent in front of him taunted.

Sam yanked on his arms again without avail, "Get a little closer and say that again."

The agent marched forward, and Sam tensed, ready to lash out, but a new voice cut in, "Unless you want your teeth knocked down your fucking throat—" Sam's eyes snapped to the doorway where Aj stood with a glare and a baseball bat in one hand. She roared, "Let him go."

A new agent came up behind Aj and wrapped his arms around her to trap her. Sam yanked on his arms, calling out to Aj, and he watched as she struggled to free herself as well. When she couldn't break free by squirming, she took the bat and jammed it under the man's hands, grabbed either end, then twisted hard forcing him to drop her. Aj spun on her heel and slammed the bat into the side of the man's head. This distracted the men in front of him enough for him to kick the knee out of the man on his left. It loosened the grip on him enough to break free then he used his left hand to punch the man holding his right.

Sam heard Aj grunt and glanced over to see her stumble back holding her nose. He flipped the man on his right onto his back, kicking his heel into the man's chest, then turned to help Aj. He looked up just in time to watch Aj swing the bat upwards catching the man under his jaw. The agent collapsed motionless.

He stepped over the man to reach Aj who was staring down at the guy. Her eyes were cold and distant. Her nose didn't look broken, but it was busted enough to cover her lower face in blood. Sam thought for sure she'd end up with another black eye, but he was more concerned with her demeanor.

Sam set a hand on her face and forced her to look at him, "Hey. You okay? Did they hurt you?"

Aj blinked once then slowly shook her head, "No. I'm fine." She blinked a few more times and Sam watched as her eyes became clearer. Sam could physically pinpoint the moment she came back into herself. She reached out and grabbed his arm, "Are you okay? You got hit pretty hard."

"It's fine. Come on, let's get out of here." Sam said. He took her hand and began to drag her out. He gave her another glance over. Aj had a pair of dogtags on, weirdly enough, and a white-knuckle grip on the bat she still held. "All this time we've been looking for a weapon to train you with and it turns out you're deadliest with a baseball bat."

Aj shrugged, "I used to bat clean up."

The moment they got onto the porch they were met with the flashing red and blue lights of two police cruisers parked out front. Aj slid over to stand in front of him just as a PA system began to tell them to drop any weapons and get on their knees. They followed instructions and Sam bit back a groan. His face hurt, he was tired, and today was officially a day straight out of the depths of hell.

Tony pulled the phone away from his ear in confusion. Had Sam Wilson just hung up on him? That was concerning. Daisy breezed back into the room with her own phone in her hand. She held it up casually, "Coulson just checked in. They, uh, ran into the X-Men again."

"We don't hear about this little merry band of misfits since the 70's, and suddenly we hear from them twice in one day?" Tony scoffed. "Why do I feel like we should've kept them on ice?"

Daisy chuckled, "It was an accident. They were going for Rumlow and—"

"Lemme guess. We got into each other's way again?" Tony questioned. Daisy nodded and he sighed, "Maybe now they'll see we should work together."

Daisy grimaced, "Actually, Roberto da Costa made a comment about Aj then Steve punched him in the face and then it kinda dissolved from there." Daisy scrunched her nose in pain as she went to sit down. Tony could see her bandages peeking out from the edge of her tank top. "Basically, we're still not friends. In fact, we might be even less friendly now."

"What did the rich bastard say?" Tony narrowed his eyes.

Daisy twisted her lips in confusion, "The X-Men…wanted her? They said that they'd let us take Rumlow if we gave them Aj, but they called her Aimee. And… they kind of acted like they might know her?"

"Do they think she's a mutant too?" Tony questioned.

"I guess so. They didn't clarify on that." Daisy shrugged.

The moment they were all back on the Compound, Tony was gonna run every blood test he could think of. For the millionth time since Sokovia, he wished Bruce was around. This was right up his alley. Tony didn't even know what he was supposed to be looking for.

Tony shook his head and went back to his phone with the plans to call Sam back. Something weird was happening in Alabama, but before he could Vision made a sound akin to clearing his throat in order to get the room's attention. Daisy and Tony glanced over at the him and watched as Vision motioned to the screen in front of him.

"I believe I may have found what we are looking for."

Tony tossed his phone aside and hurried to Vision's side along with Daisy. They both looked over his shoulder to his screen which was filled with various files and folders. Tony pointed to it, "This is Project Omega?"

"Yes." Vision replied. "It seems to be…a lot."

"Talk about an understatement." Daisy mumbled.

"Let's get digging." Tony nodded and tapped the tabletop under the laptop Vision had been working on. The files downloaded there, and he sat back down in his own seat to dig through what he could. "Daisy you take 1970 to 1975, Vision you got 1976 to 1981, and I'll grab everything else."

The room hummed in agreement before falling to silence as they went back to work. Tony picked up his phone and shot a text out to Steve and the crew. They'd probably be heading to the Compound soon, but it'd be nice if they could swing by Alabama and see what the hell was going on. Tony clicked on the first file labeled, 'Weapon X'. Here went nothing.

Sitting in my hometown police station handcuffed to a desk was awfully familiar. Been there, done that. Yet, here I was again. This time I had Sam sitting next to me though so that was kind of new. My eyes glanced down at a splatter of blood on the back of my hand. It wasn't mine. When I hit the guy in my old bedroom with the bat it had broken his nose. This was his blood.

The last time I had been in a fight my brain had been riddled with cocaine. It had been miserable. The worst experience of my life and I thought for sure that would be enough to curb my blood lust. Today though… Feeling that burning rage and then just unleashing it on the HYDRA agent had been a cathartic moment for me. It was like I had forgotten what it felt like to find that release, and I absolutely hated that I enjoyed it.

"Aj."

I turned my gaze up from the blood to Sam. He nodded at me, "You alright?" I gave him a tight-lipped smile. Sam returned it then bobbed his head to the side, "Is there a reason why the Sheriff is staring at us so hard?"

"Because we're Avengers who got arrested in small town Alabama?" I replied dryly while turning to look at where Sam was motioning to. My entire body froze when my eyes landed on a very familiar face. The Sheriff was leaning in an office doorway staring like Sam had said. He had on a light blue button up shirt, brown leather jacket, and jeans. His badge was clipped to his belt. The guy's hair was really short, nearly shaved, and dirty blond. His eyes were a pretty greenish-blue, but it wasn't until he smirked at me that I recognized him. "Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me."

Sam's eyes widened and I ducked my head down as if I could hide now. My friend gave me a questioning look of amusement, and I furrowed my brows in embarrassment, "You know him?"

"That's, uh, Josh Thompson." I answered with a grimace.

Sam blinked in shock, "Josh Thompson. The Josh Thompson you claimed to be talking to when you were actually talking to Bucky? The old high school friend?" I opened my mouth and Sam chuckled, "He's walking over here."

"No, he's not." I argued. "There is no way this is actually happening—"

"Aimee?"

I quickly turned with a bright, greeting smile that probably didn't look very convincing since I had dried blood on my face and was still handcuffed to the desk. Josh stood in front of us with a warm smile of his own, his hands on his hips, and I nodded once, "Josh Thompson. Wow. How long has it been?"

"About 8 years." Josh chuckled. "Please tell me you didn't come down here to get arrested for old times' sake."

I shrugged, "I gave the New York handcuffs a try, but nothing compared to that hometown feel." For emphasis, I shook my wrist. Sam cleared his throat and I wished more than anything he wasn't here to see this. "This is my buddy Sam. Sam, this is Josh."

Josh gave him a nod and then fished out a pair of keys from his pocket. He reached forward and unhandcuffed the both of us. Sam gave him a grin, "Thanks, man."

"Anything for an Avenger." Josh nodded, then turned to me. "And an old friend."

"How have you been?" I asked. "I see you're sheriff now. That's—wow. Congrats."

Josh nodded, "Thanks. I'd ask how you're doing but it doesn't look so great."

"Life has been a kick in the teeth, thank you for noticing." I replied with a grin.

"I heard about Rosie. I'm sorry, Aimee." Josh said softly. We hadn't been super close in high school, but there wasn't a person in this town who didn't know what the woman meant to me. We were the notorious duo back in the day. Sweet, little old woman who would say 'bless your heart' and delinquent child that would spit at you if you looked at her too long. We were real adorable. "How are you handling it?"

Well, I just beat the shit out of a bunch of HYDRA agents with a softball bat so honestly, I was doing much better, but it would sound psychotic if I answered with that. Instead, I shrugged, "About as well as anyone would assume I would." My head slowly turned to Sam who was just smirking at me. "You wanna give us a minute to catch up or…?"

"Oh, no." Sam shook his head. "I'm fine right here." He immediately turned to Josh. "So, the two of you were close in high school? Best buddies? Aj talks about you all the time."

Josh opened his mouth, but I cut in, "Hardly. We knew of each other. Talked in the halls sometimes. And I—I—" I smiled sheepishly at Josh, "I did not talk about you all that much, he's exaggerating to embarrass me." Josh smirked and I scrunched my nose up. "Not that me talking about you would be embarrassing. I mean, you're just the guy I had a crush on in high school." I could feel Sam holding back laughter beside me as Josh raised both eyebrows in amusement. Even though I had already dug myself into a pretty deep hole, I kept going, "Not that I—I had a big crush. It was—I—Who didn't have a crush on you back then, am I right? You were Summerbrooke's own personal prince charming! I half expected you to ride a white horse down the halls 'Disney' style and—God, why am I still talking?"

Sam was literally shaking from holding his laughter in, and though Josh looked amused he also had a light blush warming his cheeks. Great, I was making the sheriff uncomfortable. Josh cleared his throat, "I'm gonna go check on a few things while y'all sit tight, okay?" Sam gave him an affirmative while I just held up a 'thumbs up' sign. Apparently, nothing good happened when I opened my mouth. "And, Aimee? Don't worry. I had a crush on you too."

Josh bit down on his lower lip briefly before turning to go do his job. I felt my own face heat up and it didn't help that Sam was without a doubt staring at me right now. I shook my head and held up one hand toward him, "Don't you dare—"

"Wow." Sam whistled. "Sparks were flying there."

"Shut the hell up."

"That was actually adorable."

"God, I wish HYDRA had succeeded in kidnapping me." I mumbled. Sam snickered and I turned to him. "Shouldn't that be our chosen conversation topic? The fact that HYDRA definitely followed us to the house in an attempt to steal me away."

Sam shook his head, "I used my one phone call to reach out to Steve who was already on his way here to pick us up. Tony tipped him off when I suddenly hung up on him because of the attack. Coulson's coming with him. It's all fine. Going back to the Josh thing…"

I groaned, "It was a school girl crush. He was the cute, smart, high school quarterback with golden blond hair and pretty blue eyes."

"Is that what you're into? Blond hair and blue eyes? Because I actually know a guy…" Sam replied. I sent him a glare that didn't even seem to faze him. Sam continued, "I'm just curious, okay? We've never talked about your past and/or current crushes."

"That's because I am a heartless bitch whose only true emotions are rage and vengeance."

"Yeah, okay, little miss 'I cried at the end of Marley & Me'." Sam scoffed.

"The dog died, Sam!" I argued loudly. "And you cried too!"

Sam shook his head, "Uh, I never claimed to be a heartless bitch of course I fucking cried." He pointed at me. "Come on. Be real. Was he your last real crush?"

"You know I knew him 8 years ago, right? Like I went to college after that." I replied dryly.

He shrugged, "Mhmm, but I'm following a hunch. And that hunch is, I don't think you had a crush in college or any actual relationships."

I twisted my lips looking for something witty to reply, but I came up empty. Sam wasn't wrong. He seemed to never be wrong when it came to these kinds of hunches. During college, there were guys I thought were cute, but never crush worthy and definitely never relationship worthy. I barely interacted with humans enough to have friends let alone a boyfriend.

"Not in college no, but I had a crush after college." I crossed my arms. Sam raised an eyebrow at me, and it took a lot of self-control to not vomit as I admitted this, "I had a crush on Kyle."

Sam blinked at me, "The motherfucker who led you to Boss? Then framed you? Then—"

"Yes." I interrupted. "The guy who did a lot of terrible things to me. Him."

"Did…Did anything happen between the two of you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, we went out on a few dates and then he trapped me in bloody, illegal underground fighting ring."

"That's not what I meant." Sam argued.

I shrugged and left it at that. We were edging in on a conversation topic that I refused to think about let alone discuss. Thankfully, Josh chose this time to walk back over, but the smile he had on his face had swapped out for a sad frown. Sam and I stiffened, and I was surprised when Josh knelt down in front of me so we were closer to eye level.

"The men we picked up at the crime scene are in custody here, three of the five are still out cold and to be honest I'm not really sure what to do with them." He glanced at Sam. "I figure y'all have a better plan there?"

Sam nodded, "We got some guys coming down that can deal with that. Just keep them separate and detained."

"That we can do." Josh said. He turned back to me, "I also got a call from the hospital. Rosie is completely fine," He said the words before I could even begin to panic, "She's awake now. They wanted me to pass the message along."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "How'd the hospital know we were here?"

"It's a small town." Josh and I answered at the same time.

Josh stood up and the two of us followed his actions. He crossed his arms, "You should head over there. I'll give you an escort. Just in case."

"We'd appreciate that." Sam smiled. I nodded in agreement and Josh motioned for us to follow him after scooping up a pair of car keys from a desk drawer. It was weird walking beside Sam Wilson, an Avenger, and Josh Thompson, my old high school crush. The combination of my new world and old world wasn't exactly ideal. It was just weird enough to distract me from the fact that I needed to talk to Granny. I wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Sam nudged me and I glanced at him, "What's with the tags?"

I glanced down at my chest. To be honest, I had somehow forgotten about the dogtags entirely. I held them up, "I don't know. I found them in my dad's old leather jacket."

"Your dad was military?"

"Not that I knew of." I shrugged and held them up for him to see, "Plus, it's not his name. These belonged to 'Frank G. Castle', and before you ask, no, I have no idea who the hell that is. Dad never mentioned him before."

Sam looked curious, but I tucked the necklace under the collar of my shirt. When I got back to the Compound, I could have Tony do a worldwide search on this guy. It'd be a lot better than googling his name.

When Josh offered us a ride, I had assumed he met he was gonna take us in a police cruiser, but instead he led us to a large blue truck. Josh opened up the passenger door for me and I climbed in nervously. I tried to figure out what I needed to say to Granny. How could I express how sorry I was for everything in words? There weren't enough words in the English language to say how sorry I was right now. I could feel my hands trembling, the excess energy still running under my skin, and I balled my hands into fists and pressed them down on my thighs.

Tony Stark's legal team consisted of three main people it seemed. That's how many Bucky had met today at least. One of the lawyers was still in the room talking, but Bucky was finding it very hard to concentrate right now. Nobody was answering their goddamn phones. Sam was supposed to call him back, but he never did. Then when Bucky called him repeatedly it always immediately went to voicemail. Aj wouldn't pick up. Steve wouldn't pick up. Tony wouldn't pick up. It seemed like everyone was busy. It was fine if they were busy with a mission or taking care of Rosie, but Bucky's mind always seemed to go to the worst place possible.

"Mr. Barnes, are you listening to me?"

Bucky's eyes lifted from his phone to look at the man sitting in front of him. A lawyer named Mark Jones. He was a tall, thin man with sharp features. Based on the first twelve seconds of them meeting, Bucky knew the two weren't going to be friends. He didn't like the tone of voice the lawyer took when speaking or the constant irritation in his eyes.

"Sorry." Bucky nodded. "I'm waiting for a call."

"And I'm waiting for you to take this seriously, Mr. Barnes." Mark replied in that same tone. The man tossed a tablet down onto the table and the noise resonated throughout the room. Bucky's jaw clenched in aggravation. He knew this was important, he knew the others wanted him to deal with this, but right now this was the last place Bucky wanted to be. "Have you seen what they're calling you? Murderer. Assassin. Psychopath. Killer. Unworthy of forgiveness. Unworthy of repentance. A monster wearing a pretty face."

Bucky knew all of that. He had watched a few clips online, read a few articles, but only a handful. It was hard to digest all of it. As pathetic as it probably sounded, Bucky didn't think he'd be able to stomach anymore without someone there to be his voice of logic. Otherwise, he was going to do exactly what Muneeba told him not to do.

"I've been looking through what we have on the table in front of us, our options, and I have to say it doesn't look good, Mr. Barnes." Mark scoffed. "I think our best case scenario is pleading guilty. It will allow us to avoid the death—"

Bucky blinked in surprise, "W—What?"

"Plead guilty." Mark said again firmly. There was an awkward pause before the lawyer began to chuckle, "Did you want us to try for not guilty? Do you think you're not guilty?" Bucky opened his mouth, but he found no words to say. Mark nodded, "Look, I'm sure you had a rough go of it, but we need to be realistic here. The goal isn't for your freedom, you need to understand that now…the goal is to stave off the worst possible sentence."

Bucky swallowed the lump in his throat. Could he argue otherwise? Could he use the words 'not guilty' to describe himself? If he even tried he felt like he had to add an addendum to the statement, and Bucky figured… if you had to put an asterisk next to the phrase 'not guilty' then maybe you weren't so not guilty.

"If you need anything at all… Give me a call, okay?" Josh said. "You still have friends in Summerbrooke."

I thanked him sincerely, and then Sam and I were making our way from the hospital parking lot to the third floor where Granny had been moved. With every step, it felt like my entire body got heavier and heavier with dread. Apologizing when she couldn't hear me was one thing. Having to look her in the eye and do it?

We got to the room too soon and I stopped in the hall. Sam set a hand on my shoulder. His cheekbone was discolored from where he had been hit. Things had happened so fast today. It was like we went from one disaster to the next. He gave me a tight-lipped smile and nod.

"She's gonna be happy to see you." Sam said.

"She's in a hospital bed, Sam." I said softly. He nudged me toward the room, and I took in a shaky breath. All my anger was turning cold. Turning to just anxiety. Hesitation wasn't my signature move though. I pushed the door open and walked in with firm strides. When my eyes landed on Granny in the bed it felt like the air had been knocked from my chest. She looked like she had before, but her eyes were open now. "Granny…"

Her bruised face broke out in a relieved smile, "Oh, Aimee Jane, thank God you're alright." And that's all it took. Hearing her concern for me… Granny was lying in a hospital bed, she could've died, and all she had inside her was concern for me. I felt heavy tears build up in my eyes again. I stumbled to her bedside and she reached out with her left hand to grab at mine, "What's wrong, dear?"

"I'm so sorry." I blurted out with a matching sob. "I'm so sorry, Granny. I'm so sorry—"

"Hush." Granny squeezed my hand, "Oh come here, you silly girl."

As if I were a small child, I crawled into the bed beside her, careful not to touch any of her injuries. Still, Granny pulled me in close to her side and ran her hand through my hair. I bit down on my quivering lower lip and tried to gather my bearings before speaking again, "Granny, I'm so—"

"Don't you dare apologize again." Granny said firmly. "What on God's green earth do you think you're even apologizing for?"

I pulled my head back to look her in the eyes, and the sight of her swollen features made me wanna throw up, "This. All of this."

"This isn't your—"

"Who attacked you?" I interrupted her. "I know you didn't fall down the stairs."

Granny hesitated, "Two men. They were wearing all black, like military clothes. They caught me by surprise and…"

"And?" I pressed.

"They asked about you and Aubrey." She whispered. "She came this morning. She came and picked up the kids. Did the men get to them? Do you know?"

I shook my head, "Aubrey is in the wind with the kids. I haven't heard from or about her so it's safe to assume they slipped away." Granny let out a breath of relief, but she flinched at the movement. I bit back another wave of tears, "They came after you because of me. It was HYDRA." Granny opened her mouth, but I didn't let her speak. "I knew they were after me and Aubrey. I knew it and I didn't do anything. I should've warned you or—or brought you up to New York—"

"The only person to blame are the men who broke into the house, Aimee Jane." Granny shook her head. "Why in the world would you get that stuck in your head? You could never hurt someone you loved."

"I hurt everyone I love." I retorted, tears falling again, "All you did was help me, take care of me, love me, and I—I abandoned you."

"Aimee—"

"You had a heart attack." I snapped. "And I'm not talking about today. The Battle of New York?" Her face fell in disappointment and it killed me. "I wasn't here for you. I didn't even call. I just—"

Granny set her left hand on my face and the words I had left died out. She shook her head slowly, "Bad hearts run in my family, and it was hardly your fault that aliens decided to descend to Earth."

"Tell me I had nothing to do with it then." I replied. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you having the heart attack had nothing to do with me being in New York at the time."

She paused, "I was worried. Terrified. But I do not blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself either. Aimee Jane, someone convinced you that you're poison. Maybe that someone was yourself, but… you are the most loving—"

I let out a laugh, "Loving? Granny, I'm dangerous. Sam and I were attacked in the house about an hour ago," Her eyes widened, but I didn't stop, "And you should see the condition I left some of those men in. I knocked them cold with a softball bat and I almost didn't stop. Granny—" I swallowed the lump in my throat and admitted the thing I never wanted to admit aloud, "I didn't want to stop."

Granny was quiet, her eyes tracing my features, and finally she gave me a warm smile as she spoke, "You know… I lost count of all the nights you came home with bloody knuckles and bruises littering that pretty face." She tucked some of my hair behind my ear and let her hand rest on my cheek. The side where I knew I had a bruise forming from the fight earlier. "And every time, I always knew that no matter how bad you might look, no matter how bloody these knuckles got… you always gave out as much as you took if not more. Deep down, I always knew that there was someone out there in the same condition or worse." She dragged her hand down from my face to hold my hand again. Granny's smile was blinding, "But I also knew, that these hands…" She glanced down at them, ran a thumb over a knuckle, "…these hands could never intentionally hurt someone you love, Aimee Jane. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that there is something so good in you, so pure, that you could never, ever hurt someone you love."

"You don't know…" A sob devoured my next words.

"You are not some street delinquent. You are not some—some destroyer. You are not a blood thirsty monster." Granny shook her head. A firm line of determination drawn in her lips, "You are a protector." I opened my mouth to argue otherwise, to point out examples that proved her wrong, but she cut me off. "I know, I know. There were a few years there where you got a little lost. But look at you now. You found yourself again. You found yourself with the Avengers and look at you now. That's the core of you are, Aimee Jane. A protector. That's what drives your every action and that's how I know you could never hurt someone you love."

There was a break of silence where Granny just let her eyes trace over my features while I simultaneously took in every bruise on her face. I knew what those felt like. I knew exactly what she had to go through, but it was ten times worse because Granny didn't live that life like I did. She didn't deserve it.

"I chose not to call you after I had the first heart attack." Granny said softly. So softly in fact that I almost didn't hear her. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I mulled over the words. I must have heard her wrong.

"You what?! Why?"

"Because I knew you'd be down here within the second, and I didn't want that for you." Granny explained. "You're too big for this small town, Aimee Jane. You always have been. There was nothing here for you."

"You're here." I said firmly. That would always be reason enough for me. Questioning, I shook my head, "And how do you even know I would've come down?"

Granny gave me a deadpanned stare, "Aubrey could've called you and you would've been down in a heartbeat. It's who you are." I opened my mouth to argue, but she didn't let me. "For some Godforsaken reason, you've made it up in your mind that your life isn't worth anything. It's why you always put everyone around you first and you always come second. I don't want that of you. I want you to choose yourself. For once, put your needs first."

"I am not crazy about the sound of that." I mumbled to myself.

This was the woman who chose me. After bouncing from house to house in the area, alone and bitter, I had been so convinced that I was a throwaway of a human being. Something that sat in the corner and collected dust. My self-worth was trash, and with every new foster parent I got it fell even further.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Granny hummed. She leaned back in the angled bed. "They told me I'd be getting a new kid—"

I shook my head with a tiny smirk, "That is not the phrase they used for me. I was not a new kid. I was 'difficult delinquent'."

Granny scoffed, "I never liked the phrases the system used."

"Yeah, well they were accurate." I chuckled. "Two officers dragged me to your front door. I remember because you opened the door and screamed."

"You were covered in blood!" Granny replied. "And they were just toting you around like that instead of cleaning you and your wounds up!"

I swallowed a lump in my throat. There were many reasons why I remembered that night so clearly. One of it being a single phrase that Granny had said to me while trying to wrestle me down to clean the blood off my face. It took me months to really let the words hit me, to truly believe them and take them to heart, but I'd never forget that moment.

"Do you remember what you said to me that night?"

Granny thought for a moment, "I just showed you the house. Explained the house rules. That's all I can remember, at least."

"We were in the bathroom and you were trying to wipe the blood from my face, patch my wounds, and I was throwing a bitch fit. I yelled, cursed, shoved anything on a shelf or countertop to the ground. Basically, woke up the rest of the house." I smiled to myself. Granny tilted her head slightly as if the memory was coming back to her. It didn't surprise me that she didn't immediately remember. She had said it in such a passing way. So simply. "You stopped, set your hands on your hips, and in the most bored tone you said, 'Throw as many temper tantrums as you want, dear, because I—"

"I'm gonna love you whether you like it or not." Granny finished with a small, quiet laugh.

I nodded with a watery smile of my own, "That was the first time since my dad left that anyone had used that word directed toward me. Love. Even Aubrey never—" I cut myself off and tightened my smile, "You could've slapped me, and I would've been less shocked."

"I do love you, Aimee Jane." Granny said softly. "I was never blessed with the opportunity to have a child of my own. It's why after my husband died I became a foster parent, but… even in my wildest dreams, I never pictured a daughter as strong and kind and as lovely as you are, and I hope you know how infinitely proud I am of you."

"I love you too." I replied. "And I'm sorry I wasted so much time between us. I should've called more and been honest with you and—"

Granny gave me a flat look, "This was your journey. Besides, I always knew you'd be back one day." She gave my hand a pat. "I had faith." Everything she said brought me comfort, but the voice nagging at the back of my head wouldn't let anything go. It yelled, screamed, that if I had been around more this wouldn't have happened. That I should've protected her better. I owed her more than what I'd given her thus far. Granny, as always, seemed to be able to read my mind, "Aimee Jane, talk to me. Tell me what I have to say to you in order to convince you of the truth. That none of this is your fault."

"I don't think—"

"That's not the right answer." Granny replied. She gave me a hardened look, "Just like before. Walk me through your thought process and I'll point out all the obvious things you tend to miss."

I sighed, feeling like a kid again, and nodded once before summarizing the thoughts for her in one solid bullet point, "I used you."

"Excuse me?" Granny raised an eyebrow at me.

"Look at everything you did for me." I said quickly so I could get my point across, "If it weren't for you, I would've never made it out of my teenage years. You stitched me back up, made me whole again, and I repaid you by running away and never looking back. I wasn't there for you when you needed me most."

Granny laughed, she actually laughed at me, "The only reason you weren't here was because you didn't know. I didn't tell you." She waved me off. "And as for the rest of that preposterous nonsense, I did none of that, Aimee Jane. I never stitched you together or made you whole."

"Granny—"

"You did that yourself." She said firmly. "All I did was love you. You did the hard work. You pulled yourself off the ground, just like you always do. Aimee Jane, that was all you." I gave her a smile and when she cupped the side of my face again I leaned into the touch. Granny's voice was always so much louder than the one in the back of my head. I wished she could be my permanent internal monologue. Granny lightly tapped my face, startling me, "And if you so much as mention any of this being your fault again I'm gonna swat you."

I chuckled and leaned back, "You just swatted me two seconds ago."

"Yes, because you were being dumb, and I know my Aimee Jane is much too smart to believe in foolish, idiotic ideas like that." Granny pointed at me in stubborn determination.

Carefully, I nestled my head down on her shoulder, careful of any wounds, and kept my mind empty as she dragged her fingers up and down my arm in comfort. Today was as hectic as it was long, but a sense of peace washed over me while lying beside the woman who truly raised me. If I could manage to be even a quarter of the human she was, I'd be honored.

Steve had nearly rushed into the hospital in his full gear, shield on his back and everything. The only reason why he hadn't was because Natasha yanked him back by the ear and forced him to change into something less eye catching. As he hurried through the lobby and toward the elevators he didn't think it helped much. Every person he passed seemed to freeze in shock and stare at him. That didn't slow him any though. Coulson kept on his heel the entire time and didn't complain once about the speed he had chosen even though it meant the agent was nearly running.

When he got to the correct floor, he didn't have to search for long because Sam was leaning against a wall across from a door casually twisting a baseball bat in his hands. He caught sight of them and raised a hand to greet them.

"What's going on?" Steve questioned first.

"We're good. Rosie is doing great, she's awake and talking. Aj is…" Sam hesitated then shrugged, "She wasn't so good when she first walked in, but she's been in there a while. I'm hoping Rosie has talked her off the ledge. The HYDRA guys—"

Coulson nodded, "Clint and Natasha are dealing with them right now. They're going to help put them in custody of the agents I called down here and then they're heading to the house to look for anything out of the ordinary."

"Good." Sam gave them a tight smile. "How're things on your end?" Steve gave his friend an exasperated look, unable to convey in words how his day had gone, and Sam let out a low whistle in understanding. "That fun, huh?"

Steve shook his head, still a little sore from where Roberto had gotten a good hit in, "I really didn't think that the easiest thing to deal with today was going to be Bucky and the media." He missed the hour in which he thought that was going to be today's biggest problem. Coulson gave them a nod before slipping into the room, and as much as Steve wanted to check on Rosie too he knew the agent needed time to talk to her. Steve's eyes finally took in the sight of Sam's minor injuries, "How's your face? The attack?"

"I'm fine. Wasn't nothing." Sam shrugged. "Honestly, HYDRA picked the absolute worst time to try and make a move on us."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, "How so?"

"Aj burned through a lot of rage. She was brutal." Sam shook his head. Steve couldn't find it in himself to pity the men she attacked. Hell, he'd love to take a go at them as well. This had a happy ending, but it could've gone badly so easily. They could've lost Aj to HYDRA today. "We know she can fight, we've seen her and we've sparred against her but… Holy shit, Steve."

He motioned to the baseball bat, "Is that what the bat's for?"

"Listen," Sam stepped toward him, "Nat and I have been arguing and going back and forth on what kind of weapon we should train Aj in next, but now I'm thinking we shouldn't even waste our time. Put a damn bat in her hands and she turns into freaking Harley Quinn."

Steve shook his head, "I don't know who that is."

"From the comic books? Superman, Batman—"

"I recognize those names."

Sam was going to mock him, he could see it in his eyes, but the door in front of them swung open and Aj came into view. Steve felt his heart ache at the sight of her. Her cheekbone was in the process of bruising and it looked like she had been crying. Her eyes widened when they landed on him and when she rushed forward, Steve's arms were already outstretched to catch her in a hug. He squeezed her tight to his chest, but she didn't complain. Aj only held on tighter.

"I'm so sorry." Steve mumbled.

She pulled back and gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Rosie is okay. I'm okay."

Sam held his own arms open and Aj stepped into his embrace as well. As exhausted as she looked, she was still standing. She was still putting a smile on her face despite it all, and Steve admired that. As if needed a reminder that Aj was strong. He just wished she didn't need to use that strength so often.

"How, um," Aj pulled away from Sam and rubbed her face once, "How was the mission?"

"It was… something." Steve gave her a sheepish smile. "We got Rumlow."

"That's good!" Aj nodded.

Steve stared at her for a moment, his mind pulling him back to that moment with the X-Men. The offer they had given. Did they really think they could keep Aj safe? They seemed so sure that she was a mutant, and again if the system they had actually existed then that confirmed it. Since they were also mutants did that mean they could help her through this next phase of her life better than them? Steve just wanted what was best for Aj. He just wanted her safe.

His next thought lingered on the anger in Roberto's glowing white eyes when he went up in flames. The man acted like this was personal in some kind of way. Roberto didn't act like a mutant trying to protect some fellow mutant. He acted like he had known her. Steve reached out to set a hand on Aj's shoulder, "Hey, do you know someone named Roberto da Costa?"

"Yeah." Aj nodded casually and Steve's eyes widened in surprise. "He's the millionaire guy. CEO of Costa International. Back when I was Tony's PA his name passed across the desk a few times."

Steve shook his head, "Have you ever met him though?" Aj shook her head. "What about Scott Summers or Jean Gray?"

Aj shook her head again, "Nope. Doesn't ring any bells. Why?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's focus on Rosie right now." Steve replied. If it were any other day, he felt like Aj would've put up a fight at that statement. She never liked being out of any loop especially one that involved her. It was part of her fear of losing control. Right now, though, Aj just gave him a small smile. Steve pulled her into his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"How is Bucky doing? Have you heard from him?" Aj asked. She twisted her lips, "I feel so bad that I'm not there to help him out."

"Bucky understands." Steve replied.

Coulson suddenly stepped out of Rosie's room and all eyes drifted to him. He offered a reassuring smile, "She's getting some rest right now." His eyes snapped to Aj. "Aj, do you mind if I steal you away for a second? Buy you some coffee?"

"Yeah, sure." Aj replied and pulled out of his grip.

She turned to meet his eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but Steve spoke first, "Sam and I will stay here and keep an eye on her."

"Thanks." She mumbled, her eyes drifted to Sam, "Hey, do you still have my phone?"

Sam fished around in the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to her, "Give Wanda a call." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but Sam just smiled. "Trust me."

Aj gave both of them a tired smile before walking down the hall with Coulson. At this rate they wouldn't get back to the Compound until well beyond midnight. That seemed fitting though. This day didn't seem like it would ever end.

I sat down at a small table outside the cafeteria, keeping my hands wrapped around the coffee cup Coulson had bought for me, and just breathed in the comforting smell of the drink. Coulson sat down across from me with a smile as warm as the drink in my hands. It had been a while since I had seen him, and it was kind of a bummer that this was the circumstance that brought us together. Coulson had a comforting presence about him.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"All things considered, I guess I'm doing okay." I shrugged. "Definitely could be worse. You? I haven't heard much about the mission y'all had today which probably isn't a good thing."

"It's probably best we talk about that tomorrow at the Compound with the others." Coulson said. Yeah, that wasn't a good sign at all. I just didn't have the energy to prod at this subject like I usually would. Coulson took a sip from his own drink before speaking again with eyes curiously narrowed, "Are you wearing dogtags?"

I lifted a hand to hook a thumb under the chain and pulled them out from under my shirt. Rather than showing him directly, I just stared down at the name again. At first glance, it had been unrecognizable, but the longer I stared at the name the more and more familiar it sounded. The familiar it felt to have the weight of the dogtags sitting in my hands.

"I found them in my dad's jacket." I answered. Frank Castle. Frank Castle. There was something sitting at the tip of my tongue, at the edge of my mind, but just out of reach from me. "They aren't his though." It was beginning to bother me again so I shoved them under my shirt. "I don't know if we can leave SHIELD agents here to keep an eye on Granny or… maybe she can come live up at the Compound with us. I still don't like that because if something did happen at the Compound—" I let my thumb brush the rim of my cup, "I thought about staying down here with her, but she'd pitch a fit."

Coulson nodded, "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I have a solution." I raised an eyebrow at him. "It would be similar to witness protection. The plan is to put her in a safe house."

"How safe is that safe house though?" I asked skeptically. The thought of her being out of sight, away from me, was terrifying. What if something happened and I wasn't there for her again? Plus, HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD once before.

"Very." Coulson replied sincerely. "It isn't in the SHIELD books. It isn't on any books actually because it isn't a government sanctioned safe house. It's a personal place of mine, and I'm the only one who knows it's location."

I shifted in my seat, "I wouldn't be able to talk to her, huh?"

Coulson shook his head, "It would be better if you didn't. Safer."

That made sense. It was logical. My brain wanted to make it sound like some form of abandonment, but I knew better. This was the only for sure way to keep her protected from HYDRA. Once we dealt with why they wanted me and Aubrey then she could come back into the world.

"This is the best option." I said slowly. Coulson nodded in agreement and I took a long drink of my coffee. "Thank you. I'm not sure how she's gonna take this. Granny's real independent."

Coulson smirked, "Is that where you get that personality trait from?" I chuckled and he shook his head. "Don't worry. I already talked to her about it. She thinks it's for the best too."

I leaned back in my seat with an amused smile, "Of course she thinks that. Granny knows I was gonna suggest something like moving in with her."

"She actually did mention that." Coulson replied. "Rosie seems to know you pretty well." I took another sip of my coffee. He was right. The old lady had gotten real good at guessing my reactions to things. "Have you ever heard of 'Project Omega'?"

I blinked in surprise at the sudden change of conversation topic, "Um, no? I don't think so. Does this have to do with Roberto da Costa and friends? Steve was asking me about them."

"Maybe." Coulson chuckled. "That's a tomorrow problem."

I grinned, "I can get behind that kind of thought process." I motioned to him with my cup, "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Other than checking on you, yeah." Coulson nodded. "I'm gonna get this ball rolling and it's gonna roll fast, Aj. The sooner we get Rosie to the place I have in mind the better." I nodded in agreement. "When you speak to her next… you should say good-bye."

The words made my heart drop. Getting her to the safe house was the number one priority, and I knew it was the right thing. I knew that. Plus, this wasn't the first time I've said goodbye to Granny, but the last time I said a good-bye like this I didn't see her for nearly ten years. Granted, that was all my own fault, but I had swore that I'd never do that to her again.

Coulson stood, mumbling that he'd give me a minute alone, then walked away. I took a sip of my coffee and just tried to relax. It felt odd that this morning had started so happily. Things had been so good and in one moment it all went downhill. Tragedies came in threes. Hopefully, that meant today was done with beating us down. I took another sip of my coffee then pulled out my phone to call Wanda.

I brought it up to my ear and listened to the ringing.

When the call was answered though, it was a familiar, deep voice that greeted me.

"Hey, doll."

One little phrase, one tiny greeting with a tiny term of endearment, shouldn't have hit me so hard. If I had been standing I think my knees would've given way. With a shaky breath, mingled with a relieved laugh, I replied, "Hi, Bucky."

"How're you doing?"

"I'm better now." I chuckled and swiped at my face. "Is everything ok—"

Bucky answered before I even finished the question, "Everything is fine. Don't worry about me." That was easier said than done. He followed it up with a small chuckle of his own, "I even found time to give Wanda and Pietro the homework assignments you had planned for them. Pietro wasn't so happy about that."

"Good." I laughed. "Thank you." There was a pause of silence, but it was the kind that felt comfortable. I leaned my elbow on the table and smiled, "You know, this seems really familiar. I'm getting a sense of déjà vu."

Bucky hummed, "Yeah. Except now, I can do this…" I narrowed my eyes in confusion, but it was replaced with understanding when the beeping of a facetime call rang in my ear. I pulled the phone away from my ear and held it in front of me as I answered it. Bucky's face came into focus, and despite the shitty day I'm sure he had, his lips curled up into the charming smile that always seemed to make me feel better, "Hi."

"Hi." I replied and rubbed at my face again. "Who the hell taught you to work FaceTime?"

"Alex did, actually." Bucky answered. "Apparently, I was a heathen until they showed me the light." He nodded once. "If I had known this was a calling option, I would've invested in it a while ago. This would've been much nicer than that burner phone I sent you."

I bit down on my lip to hold back another laugh then shook my head, "Hey, I loved that burner phone. You sound like Tony with that kind of talk." My eyes drifted to the corner where my own picture sat and I groaned, "Wow, I look rough."

My eyes were rimmed red along with the tip of my nose from all the crying I had done today, and my right cheekbone was bruised. I quickly ran a hand through my messy hair to try and fix it a little, but the only solution here was going to be a hot shower.

"You've never looked better." Bucky said softly.

I raised an eyebrow at him and jokingly replied, "Are you saying this is my best? This is where the bar is for me?"

"What? No!" Bucky said quickly, mild panic flashing across his features. "I meant—You are…always…" He scrunched his nose awkwardly and I laughed. "You're doing this to me on purpose."

I nodded, "Yeah. No matter what my mood is, it seems like I never get tired of teasing you. Funny, huh?"

"You're lucky I've grown so fond of you, doll." Bucky replied with a chuckle.

"I know." My words came out softer than I meant them to, and his smile faltered to give way to a flash of worry. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't find the words. Bucky didn't speak though. He just sat with me, in a comfortable silence, until my tired little mind could string together a coherent thought. "Coulson is gonna take Granny somewhere safe, and I'm so thankful for him and I'm so happy she's okay…"

Bucky still stayed silent.

I took in a slow breath to try and calm myself. Like hell I was gonna cry again. Once I felt steady enough, I picked up where I left off, "He said I need to say good-bye to her. We can't keep in contact and that makes all the sense in the world, but—but the last time I said good-bye to her I followed it up by dropping off the edge of the world. What if that happens again?"

"Aj…"

"What if not being able to text or call her everyday makes me forget her like I did before?" I had shoved the guilt I felt from leaving her all those years ago so deep down that they never even had a chance to resurface. Even when Steve invited her to Thanksgiving, I didn't dwell on it. I refused to even think of it for longer than a second. Now though, it was overwhelming.

"That's not going to happen." Bucky replied softly. "That won't happen again because you aren't the woman who made that choice nearly a decade ago. I didn't know you back then, but I know you now and... The Aimee Jane I know wouldn't ever leave someone she loves behind." His warm smile made my shoulders relax marginally. There was always the chance I backslid though. A relapse. As if he could hear my thoughts, Bucky followed his statement up with a shrug, "You won't need it, I know it, but… if it makes you feel any better, I swear I won't ever let you forget. It's the least I can do. You help me remember who I am, and I'll never let you forget who you are. Deal?"

I nodded with a tired laugh, "Deal."

It was only a few minutes to midnight. Rosie had told the young woman to go home, but Aimee Jane had never been the kind to listen to logic. Not when it stopped her from being around someone she loved. Rosie knew she didn't look so good right now, and she knew once she was weaned off the pain medications that it would be a whole lot worse, but that was so far from her mind right now.

Aimee Jane was in the doorway whisper arguing with Agent Coulson desperately. The few words she was able to hear told her that she was telling the man to be sure. To be safe. To do everything he could to protect her. Rosie smiled to herself as the agent just set a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Aimee Jane's eyes drifted across the room to make eye contact with her and Rosie felt her tired heart ache when her daughter's eyes began to water.

"Oh, don't you start that." Rosie hummed and held her one good arm out. "You start crying now and I'll be a blubbering mess."

Aimee Jane crossed the room and crawled onto the bed, into her arms. Rosie wrapped her arm tight around her small frame like she had so many times before. The older woman rested her head on top of hers and tried to blink back her own tears. Everything was going to be okay. This wasn't good-bye forever. As soon as this awful organization was dealt with then she'd be able to see her child again. Rosie just couldn't hold back the fear bottled in her chest. The terrifying thought of this being the last time she saw her Aimee Jane tried to grip her tight, but Rosie pushed it away.

"I shouldn't have ignored you like I did. I should've called you every day back then." Aimee Jane sobbed. "I shouldn't have ever even left you."

Rosie shook her head against her soft hair, "Hush, you silly girl. Leaving this town was the best thing for you. You need to spread your wings."

"No." Aimee Jane shoved herself up to look her in the eyes, "It ruined me. You did all this good, brought me back from the brink and I—I—I just threw it all away. The second I was tempted by the fight, I threw myself back in. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize." Rosie said firmly. Aimee Jane only ever saw the worst in herself. She wished, more than anything, that the woman could see herself though her own eyes because Rosie saw her for who she really was. "Listen to me, young lady." Rosie cupped her face to swipe away a couple stray tears. "What you went through, all those obstacles, have brought you to where you are today. This was the path you had to take, and I truly believe that this path would've eaten anyone else alive. Aimee Jane, I've never for one second ever been shamed of the amazing person you are."

"Granny—"

Rosie shook her head, "Every time you tried to tell me that you were broken or damaged, I never believed it. I never believed it because I've never seen anyone love with their whole being the way that you do, Aimee Jane." Rosie took in a slow breath, exhausted but unwilling to leave it here, and gave Aimee Jane the firmest look she could muster. "Now, I need you to remember this. I won't be there to remind you so I need you to take this to heart."

"Okay." Aimee Jane whispered.

"You are not alone. You are not a monster." Rosie said. "You are loved. You are so dearly loved, and I am so very proud of you. I have always been proud of you, and I always will be."

Aimee Jane wrapped her arms around her carefully, and Rosie pulled her in tightly. She spoke in her shoulder, but Rosie was still able to make out the words, "Thank you. I love you, Granny."

"I love you too, honey." Rosie whispered.

Rosie's eyes lifted to look at Agent Coulson, Steve, and Sam standing in the doorway with various looks of concern. Words couldn't describe how happy she was that Aimee Jane had the Avengers to call family. The young woman had come so far from when Rosie first met her, but she still had scars. Aimee Jane had scars on her heart, and it kept her scared. She had been so scared to open herself up to people, yet here she was with a family of superheroes that she allowed into her life. This was all Rosie ever wanted for her. People to love her as strongly as she did.