A/N: Hey everyone! Hope your week was good. Here's two chapters to get you through your work/school week. Love you all. Reviews are appreciated but not mandatory :P
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera.
After a great lunch and a quick tour of the house, and it's many amenities, I told the girls to throw on their best dresses, and took them back out to the yacht. We were going to party on the ocean for the rest of the day, as I toured them around the islands. The girls were drinking and dancing, as Rosalind prepared us food in the kitchen on board, and Nat came up to enjoy the views with me. Her quietness prompted me to show her how to drive the boat, and let her enjoy the silence for once. Her eyes purveyed a peace that I knew wasn't from the lack of 'work'. It was the lack of stupid boys, and idiot super villains to fight, and government bullshit. She was on vacation.
It was a look I hadn't seen on her yet, and I was happy that only I could see it. Otherwise, she would have clammed up and retreated back into her Black Widow shell.
Wanda was carefree, and that was my main goal. I didn't want her stressing about the wedding on this trip. We basically had everything planned, and all we needed to do was show up. In one week, my cousin and my 'sister' would tie the knot. In a month and a half, I would be in Vienna.
The week was about loosening up, and that's exactly what I was going to do. Bucky said I had too much stress, but I created the stress for myself. So, I stopped the boat, dropped anchor, took one look at Natasha and said, "Race ya."
"Oh it's on," She said, as we both took off down the stairs, stripping our clothes down to our bathing suits, and jumping off the end screaming into a cannonball. As the cool water rushed over my head, I smiled to myself underwater, paddling back to the surface. As I breached, I saw Natasha doing the same. We both giggled to ourselves before I heard the sound of feet running on the deck, and shrieks as more of the girls jumped in the water.
An afternoon of splashing, making use of the skidoo's suspended on the sides of the boats and lounging in the Bahamian sun, everyone was starting to realize the vacation from everything that this could be.
"Sunscreen Sera, you've got a little one to think of!" Pepper yelled, making me groan.
"Yes Mom," I said, with sass and a smirk, as I used the boat's ladder to re-board.
"ARSENAL just asked if you were available. Your husbands want you," She smiled, handing me my phone.
"A, please call the super husbands." I said, as I reapplied my sunscreen. As I started my legs, the TV turned to show my husbands on video chat.
"That's the view I like to see. You lotioned up and enjoying the sun. How's everything going?" Steve smiled, entertaining Callie with crayons and one of her many coloring books.
"Bring some sun back for us. The temperature dropped again," Bucky said, looking grumpy.
"Everything's fine. Can you guys deal without me for a whole week?" I teased.
"We are gonna have to. The President called again, saying the time frame has moved up on you being added to the GA. Whatever that means." Steve said
"General Assembly. But I am part of the 1st Committee, which doesn't convene until January."
"He said to tell you to call his office. He wasn't very forthcoming with details."
"For a reason. Did he say anything out of the ordinary?"
"He asked how the weather was, and if we found any snow yet. That's about it."
"He used the word 'found'?" I stressed.
"Yeah, does that mean something?" Bucky asked,
"Code. He wants to know if we have anything yet on Ross. He can't trust his own phone lines, which tells me he feels like there is a bug. If Matthew Ellis can't trust his own government, who can?" I said, looking out to see all the girls enjoying the down time.
"I'll ask Daisy to keep looking. She can hack circles around my father, but not around me. And I'm meant to be not stressing myself out." I said, rubbing the sunscreen into my chest. I heard Bucky's low groan and smirked.
"Now, now, I will be home soon. Just be patient, and if he calls back tell him "We haven't received any snow yet, but praying for a sign.""
"Got it. Oh and the kids wanted to say hi, and goodnight. It's almost 6pm there, right?" He said, as I noticed how much the sun had set.
"Yup, and I'm gonna call the girls in for dinner. Love you two, be good for your Daddies. Goodnight my angels," I said, waving to my kids.
"Love you Momma!" The said, almost in unison, as Joey jumped up onto the couch.
"Feed my kids, and dog."
"Yes ma'am," Steve joked, saluting me. As the feed started to cut out, I blew them all a kiss, and waved goodbye. I turned to call the girls in, as Rosalind came around the corner to tell me that dinner was ready. As they started re-boarding the boat, I contemplated another way to get proof about Ross. Grabbing my laptop, I fired it up to start hacking my way into the SSR's old files about Dr. Werner Reinhardt and his stay in prison. The girls were giggling about something but my focus was razor sharp as I started backtracking on his stay.
Ross's birthday was March 20th, 1950, so I backtracked to the conjugal visits Werner was allowed around June of 1949. Scanning through files of the Rat was difficult as everything had been paper copy until Fury took over as Director and they scanned everything in to preserve the documents. They were transferred to Peggy's old base, the current SHIELD base, in a secure room for anyone without Director clearance.
"Gotcha," I smiled to myself as I found the file I wanted.
"Now, to trace back to his birth records…" I whispered, typing furiously into the laptop, making someone lean over my shoulder.
"YES!" I said, matching Ross's mother's name to the one on the conjugal visit for Dr. Reinhardt.
"What is it?" Jemma asked.
"Oh, I just found snow. Now I'm gonna follow that damn white rabbit," I smiled as I found information that Werner was told of his fatherhood, and had to disclose it to the SSR at the time. The mother sent letters to the SSR, asking if she could bring the child, Ross, to meet his father. They were denied for some time, but Werner started writing more and more letters to the mother. I vaguely remember Natasha feeding me as I continued to type, unashamed that I was being force-fed.
As the girls finished eating, I could hear them saying they were going to just watch the sunset, so I wasn't terribly worried about entertaining them. Rosalind was bringing out dessert and Jamal was right behind her with the girls drink orders. I chugged my water, barely breathing, before starting another profile on Ross, whose communications evolved as he grew up. He was soon coming to visit his father in earnest, and they had several longs visits as Thaddeus began his military career. When Werner was released in 1989 on medical parole by order of Pierce, Thaddeus was the one who supplied him money to get his operations back up and running.
"He… he was the one who turn over Jiaying," I thought, noticing a pattern. Cross referencing the military records of Ross's time abroad in the few years after Werner's release, and known Hydra files, I found exactly what I needed to convict Ross.
"Okay, we are dropping this all off on our way back to base next week." I said, suddenly, getting up quickly, and shoving my laptop into my bag.
"Where's the fire?" Wanda asked as I quickly called the guys back on the video feed.
"Babe?" Bucky answered.
"I found snow," I smiled, "Enough to put him away."
"Perfect, so why don't you tell the President?"
"Because I'm on vacation now. And I don't plan on giving him this information over the phone. Keep up," I joked.
"Okay. So if he calls, tell him I found snow, and it was perfect." I smiled, as I heard my children laughing in the background.
"Sure thing. Go enjoy the beach. I love you."
"Love you both too," I chuckled as I shut off the feed. I turned around to find Maria giving me an eyebrow raise.
"What?"
"That could have waited," She said.
"Yeah, well now it doesn't have to." I sassed, going and joining the girls in celebrating.
