Chapter Fifteen

As Clint brought a surprised Steve up to speed, Sharon paced the length of the Command Center, Rocky at her heels, as she mulled over Hawkeye's bombshell.

"How could Peggy's own son be responsible for poisoning her?" Steve asked, echoing the same question Sharon currently wrestled with.

She sat, finally, but her posture was still agitated as she balanced on the edge of the chair with her hands braced on her knees.

"Trent and Patricia have resented their mom for years; blamed her for missing out on their childhood," Sharon explained. "They both moved out west - Trent to Nevada and Patricia to California - to get as far away from her as possible after their dad died. Peggy visited a handful of times but...over the years I think they've convinced her that she was the bad mother they remember and she eventually stopped trying.

"She has grandchildren she's never even met," she continued, standing again to resume her pacing. "I think that's part of why she and I are so close. I was born after Peggy retired from SHIELD and I think I filled the void they left behind."

"I'd think it would take a lot to go from feeling neglected as a child to poisoning your own mother," Steve said, unable to imagine it.

"Hydra's been able to turn people for less, Cap," Clint pointed out.

That had Sharon stopping, facing them. "And you think my cousin is Hydra."

"Or at least serving a purpose," Clint clarified. "It's taken time but I think I've figured out what they wanted so desperately from your aunt, why they kept her alive instead of just killing her off like they did Fury and the others."

Both Sharon and Steve looked at him expectantly.

"It's been rumored for a while that Dr. Erskine had a missing journal, one that didn't stay with his research when the SSR took it after his death. And, rumor has it, this journal contains the missing key to the super soldier serum. Somehow, Hydra thinks your aunt not only has the journal but knows how to translate the code Erksine used in his research."

"Does she?" Steve asked, his jaw suddenly tense. "Does Peggy have the journal?"

Clint hesitated at Steve's tone. "Yes, but not because she kept it from you, Steve. She only has it now because Tony Stark found it hidden in the rubble of his Malibu mansion. Apparently Howard Stark had it buried in the foundation and when Tony inherited the old house, he simply built over it."

"Peggy never did tell us why Stark wanted her in California back in November," Steve reminded Sharon.

"Probably to keep the discovery of the journal a secret," Clint said in Peggy's defense.

"But from us?" Sharon asked, unable to help the sting she felt. She knew the importance of secrets, had kept them from her own family - including Aunt Peggy - as a SHEILD agent. But to have Peggy keeping secrets from her now, to keep something so vital about his own origins from Steve...

"She's always been a spy first. I'm sure she felt her reasons were justified but it doesn't make me hate it any less," Sharon admitted, to herself as much as to the others. "Does she know about Trent?"

Hawkeye nodded. "I don't think she was surprised. Disappointed but not surprised."

"Can Peggy translate the journal as Hydra suspects?" Steve asked.

"If she does, she's not telling me," Clint said, a little too quickly.

Both Steve and Sharon gave him a hard look.

"Okay," he conceded. "I think she can but she doesn't have all of the pieces of the puzzle. She thinks whoever poisoned her does and she wants what he knows."

Dissatisfied with that answer, it didn't take much more pressing on their part for Sharon and Steve to get Clint to finally share all that he knew, including his evidence against Sharon's cousin and his connections to someone called the Clairvoyant.

They poured over Hawkeye's information through the dark hours of the morning, Sharon digging through her own files when something Clint said rang familiar.

"Hey," Steve said, as Sharon quietly reviewed everything Clint had on her cousin. "You okay?"

"Not really," she said flatly, her eyes on a picture of Trent and a former SHIELD agent she vaguely recognized but had never actually met. She looked up at Steve, saw his concern for her only masked the turmoil he himself felt. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"And everyone thinks Captain America doesn't lie," she said with a sad smile. She looked over at Hawkeye, stretched out on the floor with his eyes closed and Rocky's head resting on his leg. "It might be time to call it a night and tackle this in the morning."

"It's been morning for five hours," Clint pointed out, opening one eye to regard her. "Which makes it the third morning I've seen since the last time I got any sleep."

"You're welcome to bunk in my apartment," Steve offered.

"I was fine sleeping here until you two started chatting." Clint sat up, disturbing Rocky who merely stared at him with those big brown eyes that seemed to seduce every man she met. "But I'll take something other than the tile floor if you're offering."

"I am," Steve said, turning to Sharon. "I'll get Hawkeye settled and then come check on you."

As Clint followed Steve up the stairs, he commented, "This is a heckuva set-up you've got here, Cap."

"It was mostly Sharon's doing, her vision and her proposal to Stark Industries."

"I've missed a lot being underground for the better part of the year," Clint admitted. "For instance, how long have you and Sharon been a thing?"

They reached the top floor and Steve led Clint to his apartment as he answered, "Seven months."

"I always liked Thirteen, even though I only worked with her the one time." Clint followed Steve into his apartment, gave a low whistle. "Nice digs."

"Thanks."

"Did you know her aunt's the one who actually recruited me?"

The surprise on Steve's face answered Clint's question.

"She wasn't director of SHIELD anymore but Peggy Carter was only ever semi-retired as an agent." Clint waited while Steve gathered blankets and a pillow for the couch. "I've always been fond of the old gal and I suppose that's extended to Sharon."

"Why do I suddenly feel like you're about to tell me that if I hurt Sharon, I'll have you to answer to?" Steve asked, setting the bedding down.

"Because you will," Hawkeye said. "I respect the crap out of you, Cap, and I know it wouldn't be easy but, if you hurt Sharon, I'll make sure you hurt a little bit, too."

"I don't doubt it," Steve said. "And, if I ever hurt Sharon, I'll let you."

Even though Steve deliberately gave Sharon alone time with her thoughts, she spent the time trying not to think and took care of her unused wine, stale popcorn and forgotten novel.

By the time he let himself into her apartment, Sharon had cleaned the kitchen, changed into a pair of sweats and tank and had just draped a blanket over a sleeping Rocky who'd decided that her job as a distraction earlier had earned her a night on the couch.

Wordlessly, she left Rocky where she was and walked into Steve's arms, heaving a sigh.

"How are you doing?" he asked, kissing the top of her head softly.

"Not great," she admitted, pulling back to look up at him. "A part of me isn't surprised that Trent would do something like this. He always had a mean streak."

"I didn't think you knew him very well," Steve said, his hand absently stroking Sharon's back.

"I was just a baby the last time he visited Peggy but I've seen the videos of him and Patricia as kids. Uncle Patrick shot home movies because Aunt Peggy was gone a lot for SHIELD. When she was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's we watched a lot of them. I've seen Trent steal birthday balloons from his sister, taunt the animals at the zoo and make the lead in his school play cry so he could be Peter Pan."

"So he's a bully," Steve said.

"If you want to make it that simple, yes, you could say that." Sharon played with the hem of his shirt, giving her hands something to do even as they curled into useless fists. "I could see a skilled Hydra agent feeding on that dark streak, enough to make him hurt his own mother."

Steve stilled her hands by covering them with his own. "We'll deal with him, Sharon. After you get some sleep."

"I don't want to sleep, Steve," she protested. "I want answers. Not just from Trent but from Aunt Peggy."

"I know you do," he said gently, kissing her on the forehead. "But you're exhausted. We could both use a good night's sleep first."

She leaned into him, her rock. "Are you just trying to talk me into bed?"

"I might be," he admitted, leading her down the hall and turning off the main lights as he did.

She allowed him to fuss over her, folding back the covers and making a show of fluffing the pillows. She crawled in at his instruction and he pulled the blankets back up, tucking them around her.

Sharon gave Steve an expectant look and he kicked off his shoes and dropped his jeans to the floor. She scooted to the middle of the bed and opened the blankets back up and he slid into the bed behind her, pulling her to him until she relaxed against his chest.

"Given the circumstances, this could sound wrong," she said softly as the warm strength of him helped to relieve the tension she felt and she slowly drifted to sleep, "But I could get used to this every night."

"Me, too," Steve admitted, turing off the lamp and settling into the pillows. He closed his eyes as he held her to him. "Me, too."