Carmen here.

We found out Ivy was at the hospital six hours after... it happened. We were allowed to see her two days later - two long days of questions and dealing with bureaucracy. Which, by the way, is one of the most annoying things in the world.

Ivy lay in bed, skin unnaturally white, staring blankly at the wall.

Rocket sat on a chair next to her. "Hasn't moved or said anything since she stopped screaming."

Edward reached across and took her hand.

No reaction. She didn't pay any attention to her son in the crib, either. The blanket I had given her covered the baby, who lay quiet.

"See if you can get her to talk," said the nurse watching her.

"Hi, Ivy," I said. "How are you feeling?"

No words. Not even a blink.

Edward released Ivy's hand and stared at her.

We sat there for an hour or two. Ivy didn't even seem to notice us. She just stared at the wall.

It was disturbing to see. Under any other circumstance, Ivy would have been talking with us. Maybe not saying much, but at least acknowledging us.

The baby started crying.

Ivy didn't move.

"I think he's hungry," I said. I should know – I'm from a family of seven and helped raise three of them. "Why don't you feed him?"

No comment.

"What did you name him?" asked Edward.

A tiny tear squeezed out of one eye. "Natalia..." her voice was hoarse.

The nurse appeared and gave Ivy her son and a bottle. Ivy began to feed the baby without even looking down at him.

"You can't do this to us," said Edward.

Ivy blinked.

"You can't do this to us," he snapped. He stood up, grabbing her shoulders. "You can't do this to us, and you can't do this to him. I thought you knew better."

Ivy blinked.

"I get that a lot of horrible stuff happened to you in the last few days. I understand. I heard everything, and I don't blame you for being really upset. But there's a time for mourning, and now is not the time!"

Ivy jerked suddenly, shoving him hard. Edward's hands released her and he staggered back, hitting the wall.

Ivy stared at him for a moment.

So did I. Was that Edward? Was that really Edward? The gentle guy who never raised his voice at anyone? "I didn't know you had that in you, Edward."

"I'm going to feed him now."

She covered the baby in a blanket and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Edward stepped outside for a minute.

The nurse just kept staring at her.

"Didn't think Edward had it in him," said Ivy. "Did you?"

"No. Are you sure that's the same person?"

"It must be."

"What did you name your son?" I asked.

She thought for a moment. "His name is Phillip. Phillip Steven James Williams. A bit long, but I like it."

He had her eyes.

"Ivy... I hate to ask... but who was the father?"

A vulnerable look crossed her face. "James Barnes. When I went missing, I was at HYDRA. They..." she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "I lost my memory of it for a while, but it's coming back. All of it. Everything."

My stomach turned.

"Hence why one of his middle names is James," she said quickly, clearly trying to steer the subject elsewhere. "And... her name was Natalia."

Just saying that made her look more vulnerable than I'd ever seen her. My image of Ivy had been of the toughest girl I knew. No matter what she took, she could deal with it. I'd first met her when we were both ten, when I joined her ballet class after moving to America. I had immediately recognized her from my little brother's karate tournament – she had won several trophies and had been referred to by my brother's coach as "a promising student". In class, for the many years we'd trained together, she had been the tough girl who didn't take nonsense from anyone. It had never occurred to me that she could be hurt by anything.

There was a long moment of silence.

She took the blanket off and smiled at her son.

"How is everyone at home?"

"Jack's going to college, and Miranda and him are dating."

Her face lit up bright. "Are they? I hope they're happy."

"I don't doubt they are. I've never seen either of them as happy as they are. Jack's mom is taking them on a trip to England – I think she's always hoped that they'd get together eventually. May I hold Phillip?"

Ivy shook her head and pulled him slightly tighter against her.

Edward came in again and stood quietly against the wall.

"And how about Sharon?"

"Sharon is... Sharon. Crafting, fangirling on Tumblr over attractive and angsty fictional characters. Last I heard she was really into Star Trek. She moved away, but I stay in touch."

"And Ariel? Has she had her Broadway debut yet?"

"Ariel's starring in some new musical that they're opening somewhere – not Broadway, not yet. It's called Phantom. All I know about it is that whenever I see her she's humming or singing this song she calls 'Melodie de Paris' and if I hear it one more time I'll scream."

Ivy laughed.

This laughing, smiling Ivy was a complete turn around from the one I'd seen a few minutes ago. It was almost creepy.

"I think she has a boyfriend, too. She won't tell us about him, but she's never around, even in her free time. Keeps saying she's meeting with family, but no one believes her."

"What are you going to do about Natalia?" I asked.

Her face darkened and I wished I'd kept my mouth shut. "I'll find her. I'll find whoever took her. I can travel through time and through universes, and I will if I have to. If it takes the rest of my life, I will find Natalia. I'll figure out what scum thought it was a good idea to swipe my little girl from her crib. I'll take her back. And then I'll make him wish he'd never heard my name or the name of my daughter."

That's... dark.