Lainey remained on the floor, curled into herself, hoping that her mother would just leave her be.

But it seemed like with every hit the woman landed, the angrier she became.

Lainey didn't know how much more she could take.

Her throat was sore from all the screaming she had done and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from all the tears that she couldn't stop from spilling over.

And to top it all off, she getting tired. Her eyes just wouldn't stop fluttering closed no matter how valiant her attempts were to keep them open.

Just ride it out. It'll be over soon. Everything will be okay….It'll be okay.

Lainey's eyes fluttered close for the last time as the pain in her body reached a peak, and she knew no more.

Chapter Four: Promises Are Made To Made to be Broken

It took Allison a few minutes to realize that Lainey had slipped into the realm of unconsciousness.

She had been releasing all of her anger and frustration out on the girl without ever thinking of her wellbeing.

Not that she truly cared anyway.

She was too wrapped up in her own little world to ever notice what was going on with Lainey. She wallowed in her own misery at work, came home upset, and drank her time away.

And once she was drunk, she'd find something, anything that was wrong and blame Lainey for it. She would insist that she pay the price.

Today's problem was the fact that her boss treated her like a gopher.

She felt completely and utterly humiliated, deciding that it was her daughter's fault that no one respected her.

How could anyone give her the respect that she demanded at the workplace if her own kid didn't respect her at home?

Lainey's limp form was slumped up against the pale white wall of the living space, still tense from the ordeal.

"Why can't you just listen to me?" Allison yelled at the girl. "None of this would be happening if you would just listen! I'm trying my best! Don't you understand that?!"

"With all due respect ma'am, which is none at all, most people who are trying their best with their children don't beat them to a pulp." A new voice spoke in the unusually quiet apartment.

Allison whipped around in the direction of the voice and found someone she wasn't expecting.

Captain America himself.

Her jaw dropped at the very sight of him.

She didn't know how to respond to his presence.

So she put on a fake smile and decided to play it cool.

"This isn't what it looks like. She pushed me to my limit. I had to stop her."

"Then why didn't you just talk to her?" Steve kept his eyes trained on Allison as Natasha expertly picked the lock on the front door and slipped in.

The redhead glared steadily at the woman before making her way over to Lainey.

She made sure the kid's breathing wasn't labored and checked to see if she didn't have any apparent broken bones before scooping her up in her arms.

"Hey!" Allison snapped, sensing she was being set up. "What do you think you're doing with her?"

"Getting her to a doctor." Wanda floated in with Sam in tow, fingers ready to manipulate the woman should the need arise.

"Give me back my kid! You have no right to take her!" Allison took a threatening step towards Natasha.

Big mistake.

The redhead gently handed Lainey over to Sam, shushing her once she heard her groan in pain, before turning back to Allison.

"Natasha-" Steve cut himself off knowing that it wasn't in his best interest to stop the assassin from acting on what she was feeling.

"Get her on the quinjet. Now."

"Don't you dare take my kid from me!"

The commotion seemed to rouse Lainey to the point of consciousness.

The brunette opened her eyes and looked around, very confused by what was happening.

A few minutes ago she was alone with her mother.

Now she was in the arms of an Avenger?

"Put me down." She squirmed in Sam's grip despite the immense amount of pain it was causing her.

"Kid, I don't think you're up for it."

"Put me down!" She stressed.

She needed to get down.

Natasha was going to kill her mother.

And as much as she disliked the woman, she couldn't let that happen.

"Get her to the quinjet Sam. Have Bruce take a look at her." Natasha spoke firmly, this time staring Lainey down to stop any arguments before they started.

"On it."

Sam walked to the fire escape and jumped off, activating his jets before flying up to the awaiting quinjet.

"We got her out, but she's hurt pretty bad." He told both Bruce and Tony. "Nat, Steve, and Wanda are still down there taking care of things."

"Lay her down right here for me." Bruce pointed to an examination table as he gathered a few supplies from a medical bag he had brought with him.

Lainey didn't go down without a fuss.

She hated doctors with a passion.

She didn't care how much she liked Bruce, he was a doctor.

And doctors always poked and prodded at things they weren't supposed to.

"Lainey I need you to calm down for me, okay? I know you're scared, but you're really hurt and you might make it worse by moving around." Bruce spoke gently.

That did nothing to calm the kid down.

All she did was scoot as far away from him as she could without falling off the table.

"Lainey. Are you in pain?"

Lainey nodded, not sure why he even had to ask.

Of course she was in pain!

"Do you want to feel better?"

Another nod.

"Then you have to let me help you. I can't do that if you're moving around honey. If you keep it up, I'll have to sedate you. I don't want that to happen, do you?"

There was something about the gentle way he spoke that finally caused Lainey to relax, just enough for her to stop wriggling and shake her head.

"Good. You just lie down just like you are now."

"Will it hurt?" Her voice came out just above a whisper.

"I'll be honest with you. It will. But I'll try my best to take it easy."

"Okay."

Lainey's muscles unclenched and she allowed Bruce to look her over, wincing as he gently pressed down on her ribs.

"Does that hurt?"

"Mmhmm."

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and pressed on another area, eliciting a whimper from the kid.

"Your ribs are badly bruised, but they're not broken. You'll have to ice them later on."

He watched as Lainey squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could while his hands traveled down to her legs to make sure that they weren't broken.

Sure enough, he did find a break.

Right in her left leg.

"Your left leg is broken. I'm going to have to set it."

As Lainey's eyes widened, Bruce knew he was going to have to get some help, or sedate the girl.

"No no, don't look at me. I can't. I get antsy." Same raised his hands up in surrender.

Tony couldn't help either, he was in the pilot seat of the quinjet, waiting for news from the rest of the team.

So very reluctantly, he pulled a needle from his bag and took a deep breath.

"No...no...no." Lainey whimpered, trying to move away from the large needle.

"Sam, you don't have to help me set the bone, but I need you to hold her."

"Now that I can do." He replied, gently grabbing ahold of Lainey, stilling her so to make it easier on Bruce.

"Lainey, I'm going to put the needle in now. Stay very still, alright? It'll all be over soon. I promise."

Lainey let out a sob as she watched the sharp object make its way over to her and pierce her skin, allowing the sedative to course through her veins.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Of course it was.

He just stabbed her with a needle the size of a knife!

She just wanted to go home.

Why wouldn't they let her go home?

"How long does it take to set in?" Sam asked, watching Lainey try to fight the drug.

It was a losing battle.

"Not much longer." Bruce took ahold of Lainey's leg, preparing to set it.

Once her eyes glossed over and her body relaxed, Bruce allowed Sam to let go of her and turn away.

He had given Lainey enough of the sedative to relax her, but not to put her to sleep.

He didn't want to put her to sleep after all that had just happened.

"Nat, Wanda, and Steve are on their way up." Tony informed them.

"Good. Maybe they can handle this, but I sure can't." Sam muttered, pacing nervously.

He hated looking at broken bones. He had to set enough of them back in his days in the force. To this day, the sight of a bone out place and the sound of it popping back in made him cringe.

"How's she doing?" Steve asked, climbing in with Wanda and Natasha.

"I was just about to set her leg."

"Is she asleep?" Wanda asked, stroking the kid's hair.

"No, I sedated her. She's still awake, she's just calm." Bruce smiled in thanks as Steve held the upper part of Lainey's leg still.

"How bad off is she?" Natasha didn't even blink as Lainey's bone was cracked back into place.

"Well other than what you can see, she's got a few bruised ribs. Physically speaking, she should be okay in a few weeks, the break wasn't too bad." Bruce explained while wrapping the child's leg.

He didn't have all of his equipment on hand, so they would have to bring her into Dr. Cho's lab for a cast and crutches.

Lainey slowly opened her eyes and raised her hand to bite her nails.

And Steve, being the mother hen he is, gently pulled her hand away from her mouth and rubbed her knuckles.

"What kind of mother beats the crap out of their own kid?" Tony wondered aloud from the pilot seat.

Nobody had an answer.

No one could come up with anything close to an acceptable answer to his question, so they all sat in silence.

Once in a while, one of them looked at Lainey to make sure she was alright.

She looked so small.

If only they had kept her at the Tower instead of letting her go home.

She would have been safe.

She would have been safe and she wouldn't be in any pain.

There was nothing they could do about what happened to her now.

But there was something they could do for her in the future.

As they got closer to the Compound, they all vowed to keep Lainey safe.

No one was going to hurt her again.

Not if they could help it.

A/N: This chapter was a little slower in pace than I wanted it to be, but it's moving along! There's still a whole lot of angst ahead, but I promise, it gets better!