A/N: Here's the next chapter. There's a lot of tension and some argument in this chapter.
About half an hour later, everyone sat at the dinner table. The adults had their own table while the children had their own.
"So, I must ask, Steve, what_" David started, only for Maria and Jaqueline to grown in response.
"Please don't ask, Uncle David." Maria begged.
"He's gonna ask anyway, whether you're in the room or not. He asked Kyle the same question."
"So, what I was going to ask before I was so rudely interrupted; what are your intentions with my niece?"
Maria covered her face with her hands like an embarrassed teenager.
"You don't have to answer that, Steve." She said, still covering her face.
"Well, obviously i'm going to marry her, and we'll see how everything goes from there. We're not really rushing into anything." He answered, giving David a friendly smile.
"When will mom and Diana's side get here? I know Erin and Brinely are here, but where are the others?"
"They got a later flight. They'll be here tomorrow morning. Erin and Brinely got on the earlier flight and we picked them up from the airport on the way here." Danny said, gesturing between him, John, and Anna.
"So, what is it you do, Maria?" Cathy, a woman in her early fifties with greying blonde hair, David's girlfriend, asked.
"I work for the government, and that's actually how I met Steve." Maria explained. It was partly the truth. The other members of her family could never know she worked for SHIELD. Only her father, Danny, Emily, and Anna knew and she was intending to keep it that way.
Maria turned to look at John, noticing that he had barely touched his food. She looked at Danny, who gave her a look, urging her to keep her mouth shut, a look that Maria was wise to heed.
Someone tugged on the sleeve of her shirt, making her look down to see Alexa's green eyes staring up at her.
"Yes, Alexa, what is it?" Maria asked, sighing.
"Oh just ignore her. She just wants attention." Shawna said, glaring at Alexa.
"Just like she wanted attention when she broke her arm?" Maria said, making everyone's jaws drop.
They hadn't been expecting for her to go there.
"Yes. She decided I wasn't paying enough attention to her, so she went and climbed that tree."
That's bullshit Aunt Shawna and you know it."
"It's the truth."
"The truth? Alexa was eighteen months old! She didn't even know how to walk, let alone climb trees!" Maria snapped, getting up from the table and picking Alexa up before she whispered something into Steve's ear.
"Where are you going?" Shawna asked, about to get up and follow when she saw the other woman head to the stairs. It was silent until they heard the sound of running water.
"Is she going to drown her!?"
"I believe she's going to give her a bath, ma'am." Steve answered, trying to be as polite as possible."
Maria took off Alexa's white t-shirt and jeans, noticing the red welts on Alexa's legs and back. There was a bruise on her upper arm, indicating that Shawna must have grabbed her hard.
The SHIELD agent wanted to throw up. Seeing the welts that Shawna leaves on the little girl when she 'punishes' her brought back memories for Maria. Memories of her own father and Diana's abuse. Remembering the smell of alcohol on their breath as they would kick, punch, and choke her.
She sighed and began to wash the little girl. It was obvious that she hadn't had a proper bath in awhile. Dirt was coming out of the child's hair, making the water turn brown. When Maria's father neglected her, she at least had Danny to take care of her. Alexa had no one.
She had Jaqueline, but Jaqueline was a critical care nurse in the city, which meant that she had a hectic schedule and often wasn't home when Shawna claimed to have given Alexa a bath.
"When I try to give her a bath or feed her, mom yells at me and tells me that it isn't my job to take care of Alexa. I seldom get away with being nice to her and giving her proper care," Jaqueline said from the doorway, "When mom isn't around and i'm not working, I try and give Alexa the proper care that she needs."
"Isn't social services supposed to check in?"
"Mom is a master manipulator just like John and Diana were. On those days, she's overly nice to Alexa."
Maria sighed, choking back tears that threatened to fall, "It doesn't make sense. She treated all her other foster kids like they were her own. Why is Alexa any different?"
Jaqueline sighed, "I don't know. She was a great mother to me and Melanie. She and dad had already been having problems for several years. They started when Lilith came along several years ago."
Maria's head snapped up at the mention of Lilith, "Lilith?"
"Yeah. Blonde hair, blue eyes, was always happy and hyper, she came as a baby too. When she was three, they took her to another foster home. It wasn't long after that that Alexa came to us. I always wonder how she's doing."
The woman briefly looked at Jaqueline as she continued to bathe the two-year-old, "She's doing well. My co workers actually adopted her last year."
Jaqueline's brown eyes widened, "Really?"
"Yeah. The orphanage she was in burned down, then she came to live with us." Maria answered as she finally finished bathing Alexa and took her out of the bath tub, wrapping a towel tightly around her and carrying her down the hall and putting her to bed.
Steve found Maria sitting on the bed in their room with her knees up to her chest.
"Where's Emily?" Maria asked, not looking at him.
"She's sleeping on the third floor. Are you okay?"
Maria tried to choke back a sob, but failed, "No."
Steve was taken aback. Throughout their whole relationship, he had only ever seen her cry once, and even on days where she was on the verge of tears, she always insisted that she was fine.
"What's wrong? He asked, sitting down beside her.
"I was giving Alexa a bath and she was so filthy. She obviously hasn't been given a proper bath in awhile, and there were welts on her legs and back. She can't stay here any longer."
Steve sighed, "I know_" He started, only for his fiancée to cut him off.
"I know when we talked about it last month, even a few days ago, I was hesitant because part of me held onto the thought that maybe Shawna has changed. It's clear now that she hasn't."
"So, you still actually want to adopt her?"
"Just as bad as I wanted to when Shawna broke her arm. And now I want to just as badly after finding out that she was also Lilith's foster mother, and Shawna treated her just the same. She needs to get out of here."
"Okay."
"She'd be safer with the rest of us at the tower. I actually love her like she's my own, even if I only did just meet_wait, did you just say okay?"
Steve nodded, "Yeah, okay. She'll come home with us because I agree one hundred percent that she isn't safe here." He said, holding up a folder of papers.
"How did you get adoption papers?" She asked, taking them from him.
"Emily got them. Remember last month when you were in the hospital? You told Emily that if she didn't call the social worker to get the permission to adopt Alexa that she couldn't be in the wedding? You also used her crush on Sam against her."
Maria nodded.
"That's what Emily did. The social worker hates Shawna now, too. She just never had tangible proof that Shawna's an unfit foster parent. So, I figured we'll fill them out tomorrow and give them to Shawna to sign over her rights. Either tomorrow night or Christmas morning. A Christmas present of sorts."
Maria was speechless, "Steve, I_ have I told you how much I love you?"
Steve laughed, "You tell me a lot, but I wouldn't mind hearing you say it again."
Maria rolled her eyes and got up, pulling Steve up with her so she could wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss.
Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)