They did what they could and went back home. In the jet, Chris got a chance to look over her wounds. There was a large bump on the back of her head where Rumlow had slammed her down, and a large gash on the inside of her thigh where the blade hidden in his gloves had cut her. She pulled out the bandages and began wrapping her leg.
"You know you should clean that out first." Steve said quietly.
"I will when we get back to base." She said without looking up at him.
"What about your head?"
"I'll have the on-site doctor check for a concussion."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Now I know something is wrong."
"We can talk about it later. I'm exhausted."
"Well, you aren't falling asleep until they check you for a concussion."
"I know."
They finally made it back and Chris didn't talk to Steve or anyone before going to the medical bay. They checked her for a concussion and then cleaned out the cut on her thigh before wrapping it. She pulled on a pair of sweat pants and made her way back to her and Steve's room. Chris laid down on the bed and looked at her wedding picture on the bedside table.
"Wanna talk about it yet?" Steve asked from the doorway into the room.
"There's nothing to talk about. The mission was a failure. We got Rumlow, but we killed all those people." Chris said refusing to look at him.
Steve walked over to her side of the bed and sat down. He rubbed her side as he looked down at her.
"We did what we could. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I never saw the bomb. He said 'Bucky' and I froze. I couldn't think straight. Next thing I knew he was blowing himself up."
"This isn't Wanda's fault. She has to know that. She was trying to save all the people in the market. Including you."
"I know."
"She just isn't strong enough yet. I failed her. I don't know how to train her. I can give her meditation and strength and hand to hand, but I don't know her abilities and I don't know how to teach her to use them."
"None of us do, but you're her mentor. She trusts you. You can't give up on her. And you can't beat yourself up over this."
"None of us can. We did what we could." Chris said and grabbed his hand.
"I love you." Steve said and leaned down to kiss her.
"I love you too." Chris said and squeezed his hand.
Steve got up to walk out.
"Wait, come back here. Come cuddle with your wife while she naps." She said giving half a smirk.
Steve gave a small smile and laid down behind her wrapping his arm around her waist.
"What did they say about your head?" Steve asked before she fell asleep.
"I'm fine. But I should probably not take another blow to the head anytime soon."
"Well, we'll try to avoid that." Steve smiled and kissed the top of her head.
After waking up Chris turned on the news hearing about the Wakandan people who had died during an outreach program in Lagos. She quickly turned off the TV, but still heard it playing is the other room.
Chris walked out into the hall and saw it playing on Wanda's TV as she watched it. Chris reached out and grabbed her remote turning off the TV and she sighed.
"It's all my fault." Wanda said not looking at Chris.
"You know that's not true." She said walking in and sitting next to her.
"They're all blaming me."
"You're blaming yourself, Steve is blaming himself, I'm blaming myself. The real person to blame is the man who blew himself up. You saved all those people in the market, and they would be blaming us if you didn't do what you did. But, you saved my husband and that's what is important at this moment. People died and it's on all of us, but we are all safe and we saved as many as we could." Chris said rubbing her back.
Wanda nodded and Vision came through the wall.
"Vis, we talked about the door." Wanda said to him.
"Yes, but I saw the door was open so I just assumed it was okay. Captain Rogers wanted me to tell Mrs. Rogers that Stark was here." Vision said looking at Chris.
"Okay, I'll be right there." She said and smiled at him as he walked out.
"I will use the door." Vision said walking towards it.
"Oh, and he brought a guest." Vision said turning back to Chris at the door frame.
"Do you know who it is?" She asked.
"The secretary of state." Vision said and walked out.
Chris sighed and looked at Wanda.
"Come on, he'll want to talk to you too." She said standing up and walking out with Wanda behind her.
Chris walked into the conference room and saw Steve, Tony, Brody, and Vision sitting there.
"Secretary Ross, it is good to see you again." Chris said giving him a handshake and a smile.
"You may not think so here in a few." Ross said gesturing to the seat beside Steve.
Chris sat down and looked at Steve, giving him a small smile.
"You know, five years ago I had a heart attack. Was playing golf and I dropped mid backswing." Ross said demonstrating his swing. "I was the best round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass I found something that I had never had before. Perspective. The world owes the avengers for everything you have done for us, but while many see you as heroes' other see you as vigilantes."
"What word would you use to describe us, Mr. Secretary?" Tash asked.
"Dangerous. Isn't that what you would call a US-based group of enhanced individuals who ignore sovereign borders who inflict their will on whoever they choose, and seem unconcerned with the damage they leave behind?"
Ross stepped aside, and the screen began showing all the damage that had been left by the avengers in the last few years.
Last was Lagos and Steve looked over at Wanda before kindly telling Ross to shut it off.
"For the past few years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. And the governments of the world will no longer tolerate it. Our solution is the Sokovia Accords. It is approved by 117 countries and states that the avengers will no longer be a private organization, but instead will operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel and only when and if that panel deems it necessary." Ross said.
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place, and I believe that we have done that." Steve defended.
"Where are Thor and Banner now? If I had lost a couple thirty megaton nukes you can bet your ass there would be consequences." Ross said to Steve.
"But these aren't nukes we're talking about. These are people. One happens to be a god that has his own realm to run. You wouldn't make the president live in the middle of the Sahara Desert and tell him to run his country from there." Chris defended.
"And Banner?" Ross asked.
Chris looked at Tash and then looked down at her hands.
"The world runs on compromises and I promise you that this is the middle ground." Ross said to everyone.
"There are contingencies, right?" Brody asked.
"In three days the UN will meet in Vienna and there they will ratify the accords. You can talk it over." Ross said and began to leave.
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Tash asked.
"Then you'll all be forced to retire." Ross said and left.
They moved the meeting out of the conference room and up to the living area where everyone would be more comfortable.
Everyone began arguing while Steve read over the agreement and Tony just sat there in silence.
"I have an equation." Vision suggested silencing Sam and Rhodey.
"Oh great." Sam sighed and everyone turned to look at Vision.
"In the eight years since Mr. Stark decided to tell the world that he was the Iron Man the number of known enhanced persons has grown at an alarming rate. The number of world-ending events has also increased." Vision says looking at everyone
"So, you think it's our fault?" Steve asked.
"I'm saying that there is a possibility of causality. Our strength invites challenge. Those challenges lead to conflicts and in return those conflicts lead to catastrophes."
"Case closed." Rhodey says and looks at Sam.
"Tony, you're being awfully quiet." Natasha pointed out and Tony looked at her.
"He's already made up his mind." Steve said with a slight sigh.
"You know me so well." Tony said and stood up to walk into the kitchen. "Actually, I've just got a headache. That's all, just pain." Tony said and tried to get a cup of coffee.
Chris sighed and placed her hand on Steve's knee trying to comfort him no matter how much she agreed with both sides of the argument. Tony placed his phone down and it projected a picture of an African American boy.
"That's Charles Spencer. Great kid. Computer engineering degree, with a 3.6 GPA, he already had a job lined up for after graduation. But before he started, he wanted to see the world a bit. He didn't want to go to Vegas or Cancun, which is what I would have done. Instead he went to Sokovia to build sustainable housing for the poor. Maybe he was gonna make a difference, but now we'll never know because we dropped a building on him as we kicked Ultron's ass. There's no decision to be made. We need to be put in check! If we don't then we're no better than the guys we use to justify our actions." Tony lectured and everyone looked at him.
"Tony, we can't give up because someone died." Steve tried to reason.
"Who said that is what we're doing?"
"If we don't take responsibility for our actions then, we are. This document shifts the blame."
"That is so arrogant. This is the U.N. we are talking about. Not HYDRA, not SHIELD, not the World Security council." Rhodey said.
"No, but it's run by people with agendas and those agendas will change."
"And that's a good thing. I shut down my manufacturing of weapons after I realized what they could do to people if they fell into the wrong hands." Tony injected again.
"Yes, but you made that choice by yourself. If we sign this then we are surrendering our right to choose. What if the panel sends us somewhere we don't believe we need to go? Or worse, what if they don't send us somewhere we need to go? We are not perfect, but I believe that the safest hands are still our own."
"If we don't agree to this now then they will force us later, and that will not be a pretty experience." Tony said and looked at Wanda.
"You think they'll come for me." Wanda said.
"You know we'd protect you." Chris said looking at her.
"Maybe Tony is right, Steve. If we at least have one hand on the wheel, then we have some control." Chris said looking at him.
"What?" Steve said unable to believe that his own wife wasn't agreeing with him.
"I'm just saying that we have made some very public and destructive mistakes. We need to regain the world's trust, and this is the best way to do that."
"I'm sorry, did you just agree with me over Mr. Perfect." Tony said pointing to Chris.
"Now I really want to take it back." Chris said cringing at the thought of agreeing with Tony.
"Nope, no retracting."
Chris' phone buzzed and she looked down to see a text from the nurse that looked after her Grandma Peggy.
She's gone. In her sleep. Chris read and looked at Steve who had just received the same text.
"Excuse us." Chris said and got up and walked out with Steve following her.
"Chris," Steve started, but she just held up her hand.
"No, I cannot break down right now. I need to plan." Chris said quietly and walked into the bedroom to begin packing.
"I'll help you." Steve said and came up behind her to hug her.
"I can't believe she's gone. She was the only family I had left and now I'm all alone." Chris said beginning to tear up.
"You're not alone. I'm here with you. Always and forever, my love." Steve said and kissed the side of her head.
Chris turned around and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
"I can't lose you, Steve. Not to the bad guys or the good guys." Chris said.
"You never will. I'm with you until the end."
"We need to go. She wanted to be buried in London. I need to be there to make the preparations." She said letting go of him and wiping her eyes.
"Okay." Steve said quietly and packed himself a bag with a suit and other things.