Hey, all. I am sorry that I took so long. Here you go. I hope you enjoy.

And I hope you don't find Toni too annoying in this chapter and the next. She is going to be Guilt Ridden in the next couple of chapters.

Thanks for Wintersupersoldiers, who puts up with me and my crazyiness.

Chapter 28:

Rising Guilt

Toni didn't know when she came to as it was a never ending nightmare to her. Even in her drug induced coma, the nightmares didn't stop and seemed to tire her out even more. Sure, she felt somewhat rested, but it felt like she hadn't slept in days. When she came to, she just blinked for a few seconds as she stared up at the ceiling.

Her body felt stiff and heavy, taking everything she had to move. Toni groaned softly as she pushed herself up using her elbows. She paused, being out of breath, and rested on her elbows. She struggled to keep herself up, but the cold air felt nice against her skin. She felt like she was on fire, like she was going to burst from the heat.

Unable to hold herself up anymore, she fell back onto the hard bed and reminded like that for a few minutes before she kicked her feet. She had to get the itchy, heavy blanket off. Leave to them to give me an itchy blanket, she thought to herself as the blanket fell to the ground. It was like she could breathe again as it fell.

For a while, Toni just laid there as she stared at the ceiling mindlessly, not paying attention to anything besides the dirty ceiling. The only thing in her mind was the cool breeze of air hitting her, reminding her that she was still alive. When she was in the coma, she had thought she was dead and had gone to hell, which was where she thought she belonged. She had sat back and allowed two people she cared about to die or be hurt. She allowed everyone to suffer, because she did nothing. She did nothing when Rogers came to her in tears, sobbing over the death of his best friend. She was the reason why he was hurting and why Peggy was hurting. She knew where Rogers was. She knew he was still live-frozen but alive-, and she did nothing. All she did was whine and drown in own guilt.

Starks are good at the guilty trip, she thought with a deep breath. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to relax. She was a Stark, and they didn't (or rather not supposed to) let people see them sweat. She had an image to protect and that did not involve looking weak, which was what was happening.

"T-oni."

Said genius flinched at the sound of her name, realizing that she wasn't alone. She slowly pushed herself up onto her elbow again and turned toward the voice. Struggling to remain up, her eyes twitched as she noticed her father sleeping awkwardly in a small arm chair. He was leaning back with his elbow bent so he could use the back of his hand as a head rest.

For some time, Toni just watched him sleep, looking for any sort of movement or clue that he was going to wake up. She found herself wondering how long her father had been sleeping at her bed side. Had he been here the whole time that she had been out? He couldn't have been there the whole time, right? That was not the father she remembered growing up, but then again, she had been learning that since she arrived in this time. This was not her father.

And though she hated to admit it, it warmed her heart to see him there. She could imagine him sitting at her bedside, even if he never had. She could imagine this man doing a lot of fatherly things, unlike the man she grew up with. However, she didn't have time to ponder that. She had to get out of here and back to her time, where she hoped would free her from the nightmares. Moving slowly, she swung her feet over the bed and pushed herself to her feet. She wobbled for a minute before gaining her balance.

To Toni's joy, she wasn't wearing a hospital grown, though she wasn't wearing shoes. Trying to be as quiet as she could, she looked for her boots; however, with each step she took, she thought her father was going to wake up. The man she knew was a light sleeper, and she always had a bad habit of waking him up when she was a child… which he hated. He was a beast when awoke.

A beast.

Shaking her head, the genius focused on finding her shoes, which wasn't too hard to find. They were at the end of the hospital bed, but as she reached for them, the door to the room creeped open. Ignoring her fear, her third thought was that it was Colonel Phillips, coming to yell at her, but the footsteps were too light to belong to him.

"What are you doing, Toni?"

Toni let out a sighing smile as she recognized that British accent. "Geez, Peg. Keep it down. We don't want to wake Stark. We'll never hear the end of it, if we do," she replied, back stepping to the bed to sit. She didn't have the energy to put her shoes on standing up.

"You seem to know him well," Peggy said, stepping into the room. Her heels tapped lightly with each step.

Toni kept her gaze on the heels, hardly seeing Aunt Peggy not wearing them. Usually, whenever she heard the soft clicking of heels, it was a calming, knowing her favorite Aunt was there to see her. With Peggy, there was no judgement, and the genius loved that. She loved that she could talk to the Agent about anything. "I don't know if I agree. I feel like I don't know him at all," she said, slipping her right foot into the boot. It was a struggle with the laces still tight.

"Do you want to know him?" the Agent asked, softly.

Before this all happened, Toni knew the answer to that. It was no. A big fucking no, but now, she didn't know. That man in the chair was someone else, and she found her wondering who he was. "I want to get out of here."

With a sigh, Peggy turned slightly and stepped to the sleeping Howard, who was snoring softly. "I never realized he snored," she replied. "Might have to record this and tease him with it later."

Toni glanced up at the smile on Peggy's face, which was nice to see. She hadn't seen the Agent smile, since Rogers went down… My fault. That's my fault, she thought sadly. She could tell them where he was, but she wouldn't. Instead, she was going to allow everyone to suffer just like she always did. It seemed like she would never change. Still Heartless.

"Toni."

Said Time Traveler could barely comprehend her name as Peggy said it. Everything felt distance to Toni as she slipped the other boot on. It wasn't until Peggy placed a hand on Toni's shoulder that she snapped back to the Agent, who was looking at her worried. "Peg," she replied.

Peggy's hand dropped from Toni's shoulder as she took a seat next to her. "Howard's the only one who calls me that."

"I'm aware," she replied, thinking back to her childhood. Whenever her father spoke to Peggy, it was always Peg with the rare Peggy. Her mother wasn't a fan and always making a face whenever he called Peggy that. Toni was aware why her mother made that face, not trusting her husband with Peggy. However, even as a child, Toni knew there was nothing to worry about.

The Agent scouted closer to the Toni, who was now hunched over. "I don't think I had ever seen him like this. He isn't the type to sleep at a woman's bedside. You must be important to Howard."

Toni groaned as she looked her father over. She wanted to forget that Howard knew that he was her father, because it would be easier. "Peggy," she said, straightening up. "I have things to do. If you don't mind, I better be off."

Peggy let out a sigh, letting the brunette slip out of her grip. "You should be resting. You need to. Neither Barnes or Steve would want you to go on like this."

With that, Toni felt sick. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be gone soon," she replied, thinking back to what her father had said by using the Tesseract. He might've been on to something, as the Tesseract could open portals, which was what time travel was. "Besides, I'm not the only one in pain. How are you, Peggy?"

"Better then you, Toni. I didn't faint from exhaustion," she replied. "Also, hadn't been kidnap as many times either."

Toni let out another groan as she started to count the number she had been taken. If Clint ever found out, he really would have a field day. "Rub it in why don't you," she said, annoyed.

Peggy let out a sigh as she got up to follow Toni. "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

"We're going to woke Stark," She replied.

"Toni."

"I got to go," she said, stepping to the door.

"Talk to me," Peggy demanded, sternly.

"NO," Toni yelled. She couldn't- wouldn't talk to her, as Peggy wouldn't understand. Besides, Toni had no right to talk to her, after everything. "You-"

"Toni."

Toni froze at the sound of Howard's voice. She glanced ever so slowly to the man and felt her heart skip a few beats as she hoped not to find him staring at her. To her joy, she found herself staring at his eyes lids. He was still sleeping, only having shifted in the seat. "No," Toni said, quietly.

Peggy glanced back at Howard before following Toni out of the room. It was clear that she wasn't going to take a 'no' for an answer. "Why don't you want Howard to wake up? What aren't you telling me?"

Her body felt strange to her, feeling like she wasn't even in her body, but Toni willed herself forward. "Nothing. I'm not hiding anything," she replied.

"I know Howard Stark, and he doesn't care easily. I can count on one hand the number of people Howard genuinely cares about," Peggy said.

Toni knew how that was, as she was the same way. She didn't care easily. "And your point?" she asked as she started to step down the hall.

"You should be resting," Peggy said, eyeing Toni's sluggish movement.

"I need to go," Toni replied. She couldn't be here anymore; the guilt was getting to her.

"Go where, Toni?"

Toni couldn't take it anymore. Why couldn't Peggy understand that she didn't want to talk? She wanted to be left alone. "I want to go home, okay? I don't want to be here anymore." She was sick of this time, and even if she would have to deal with all of the lectures from the Avengers, she wanted to be with them.

"Home where?" Peggy asked.

At this point, Toni didn't care if she spilled the beans; she just wanted her to shut up. "The future."

Peggy's face crunched, not believing it. "Fine, don't tell me, but I'm worried about you."

The Engineer didn't blame her for that, and Toni wouldn't believe herself if she didn't experience it firsthand. Why would anyone in the right mind believe her? She still had no idea why Howard or Phillips did. "I don't care if you do or not. Why don't you talk to Howard? He'll confirm it for you," she said, turning from her.

"Toni!" Peggy called as Toni turned and ran.

*O*O*

The first thing on Toni's mind was finding a place where she could use her device. She had to pick a place that would be safe. If this time was anything like the last time, it would be a painful experience for her and anything or one around her. She needed a place far away from people, and this base wasn't the answer.

However, there was a problem with that. She knew well enough that the Colonel Phillips wasn't going to allow her to take the Tesseract off base or even use it, but she would have to try. If he did, she had to find a place that was stable enough to withstand the waves. But first, she needed her device.

To her luck, it was in the science lab, mixed in with her father's equipment. It was neatly in its case and stacked on top of a few metal cases, which brought a smile to the genius' face. This was one of the few things that she didn't share with her father. Though she wasn't generally a messy person, her labs were never straight or neat. Her blueprints and tools were usually scattered a crossed the work bench, or sometimes, the floor. However, she knew-

"I do enjoy watching you work."

Toni tried her best to suppress her flinch, but she jumped at the voice. She knew who it was before she turned around; however, his presence still surprised her, even though she expected this. He was after something after all. She wished the murderer would just leave her alone as she wasn't going to give in, even if she went crazy. "Anyone would," she replied as she turned around to face him.

"You know how to get me all crazy, if you know what I mean," Loki said, smirking. His clothes, though still dainty, fit his frame better, which made it seem like he was taking care of himself.

Even if she was exhausted both mentally and physically, she would never agree to go with him, and he was getting on her last nerve, which was probably a normal thing for her. Everyone got on her nerves. "The answer is still no. I have a dress code for my dates. I require at least a Westmancott, but I prefer an Amosu on a man. You are wearing none," she replied as waved at his clothes. "So my answer is no."

He gave her a long look as he stepped to the metal equipment cases of all different shapes. His fingers traced the Stark Industries logo on the top of the cases as if he was trying to memorize it. "Those names mean nothing to me, and if you agree, they will mean nothing to you as well," he said.

That struck Toni as odd, because she didn't understand why those names would mean nothing to her soon? Did he want her memory or something? However, what would her memories give him? Maybe, he wanted her brain? But she didn't understand that ether. She knew she should find out, but to be honest, she was too exhausted to care as she had already put too much thought into this game, and she just wanted to get home to her own bed. "What is it that you want? I'm tired of this game."

"So why don't you agree? And this can all over," he said as his fingers left the case. "You won't have to be in this time anymore. I can make the pain stop and this can be over with. No more guilt, Stark. I can save you."

Maybe, if she ignored him, he would go away. With a deep breath, she picked up the case and stepped to one of the work benches. She didn't know if it was her or not, but the case felt light in her hands. Just tired, Stark, she thought to herself as she lifted the case onto the table. She snapped opened the case, trying not to pay any attention to the 'god'.

"That device won't help you," he replied.

Toni glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before she looked down at the device. For a few seconds, she found herself staring at the device.

Loki stepped to her left, getting within inches from her. "You have nothing to fear. Agree and I can save you from this hellhole," he replied.

"I know how to get home. I don't need you."

"And how is that, Stark?"

As she started to exam the device, she realized a component was missing. It was the core that was missing, and she couldn't help but blame her father, though she knew it might not be his fault. "When you put two Starks together, magic happens." However, even with the 'magic', she was going to kill her father if he took the core. What was he trying to do? Stop her? Help her? Just being an ass?

"Magic?"

"Too bad it isn't strong enough to mute you. Your voice's like nails on a chalk board," she said as she leaned over the table.

"My voice-" Loki started but was unable to finish as the door to the lab opened silencing him. Out of habit, Toni's heartbeat raced as she glanced up, expecting Madame Hydra to walk through the door. Yes, she knew it was highly unlikely and it couldn't be her, but she couldn't help it. Her stalker was also still out there and there was no doubt that they were still after her to give her to Loki, who was right there. This could all be a trick to get her where he wanted.

However, it wasn't the Commander, which was what her brain had told her the second she heard the door. It was Colonel Phillips and he was staring at her with his normal frown. "Hello, Colonel," she said, trying to get her heartbeat down. She hated how jumpy and depressed she was lately. Even a glass of water could send chills through her.

"So no calling me Salty?" he asked as he stepped into the room.

"Nicknames are for friends," she replied, looking back to the device. It was his order to put her under, and for that, she was mad at him. He didn't care about her nightmares, that she couldn't sleep, or that she was haunted by the death of everyone around her. He just didn't care. He didn't care what he had done to her.

"So I just needed to make you angry to get you to drop the Salty? I should've done this sooner," he said with a smile. He stepped closer to the table.

Toni glimpsed toward spot that Loki had been standing. Like always, he was gone as if he was never there, and it unnerved the genius, but she let it go. She had other things to worry about. "The core is missing."

"When Howard wasn't at your side, he was messing with this device," he replied. "He believes the Tesseract will help you get to your time."

She glanced up at him as he finished his sentence. "So he told you," she said slowly. She wasn't surprised that Howard telling Phillips, but she was surprised at Phillips' calmness. She expected him to be mad that Howard knew but nothing.

"He did, and let me tell you, he gave me an earful. Wanting to know long I knew and what I was thinking sending his daughter behind enemy's lines. He was very protective and I thought he was going to hit me for a second, but that would have ended with him eating dirt," the Colonel said, putting on a smile. "However, I never agreed or denied that you were in fact his daughter, but nevertheless."

Toni glanced up at him as she kind of wanted to see that fight. "So are you going to let me use the Tesseract?" she asked.

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Can I use it? I don't need it for long. Just need long enough to tap into its energy," she said, silently thanking her father for the theory. However, she doubted that she would ever tell her father that.

Phillips eyed her as he stepped to her side. "How do you plan to use it?" he asked.

Needing some breathing room, she side stepped away. "How is not important," she replied, not having any interest in explaining what she was planning. "However, I do need the core back as well."

For a few minutes, he watched her as she crossed back to Howard's equipment and eyed the metal cases. He observed her as she opened a random case and looked in. He perceived how her expression change as she stared at the equipment inside. "Going back to your time isn't going to fix everything. The pain won't just go away."

Toni knew that, but denial was her best friend and it would help her hide, which was something that she was good at. "Only people with nicknames can lecture me," she replied, as she shut the cases.

"You're impossible," he replied.

"In my DNA," she said with a smirk.

"Remind me to slap that gene out of your father before you're born," the Colonel said, with a smile.

It was clear that he was trying to get some kind of smile from her, but Toni was in no mood. She especially wasn't in the mood to deal with him. "I-"

"Hey, I love that gene," a voice said from the doorway.

Toni let out a sigh as she glanced toward the doorway to see her father and Peggy. For losing Rogers, Peggy looked like she was functioning well unlike Howard, who looked like a mess from his hair to his clothes. It reminded her of the long nights that her father would spend in the labs after her mother's death. It was disheartening to see him like that. "I think you need more beauty sleep, Stark," Toni replied.

He made a face at the sound of his last name. "I had enough beauty sleep, and I'm glad Peg woke me. Didn't want to you to leave without saying goodbye."

Toni glanced between the three of them before her eyes rested on the door. "So you did take apart my device and took the core?" she said, slowly as she tried to calm herself as she said it.

Phillips stepped forward as he rubbed the corner of his eyes with his hand. "Does this mean Agent Carter knows?" he asked, before Howard could open his mouth. "Can't anyone in this damn organization keep a secret?"

"So you are admitting it now?" Howard asked.

"Nope, I admit nothing," Toni said, quickly. "However, that's was why Fury never let me join his super-secret boy band." She said, still not looking up. She hadn't meant to tell Peggy the truth; it just came right out in her frustration.

"Isn't that admitting it?" Howard asked, stepping toward with his eyes trained on her. "And who's Fury?"

"A scary pirate," she replied. "And it is not an admittance of anything."

"A what?" Howard asked, clearly confused but yet still wearing a smile.

Phillip let out a groan. "Don't answer that," he said to Toni, who was eyeing her device.

Peggy stepped passed Howard to Phillips. "You all expect me to believe she's from the future? I have seen a lot of things, but that's a bit extreme."

Toni took a deep breath as she pushed away from the table. "Can we just skip this part and someone- hint, hint, Stark- gives me back my core, so I can go home? I so need some Shawarma," she replied, looking at her father.

"She keeps calling me Stark. It is bothersome," Howard replied with a pout. "However, Shawarma?"

"You two aren't seriously believing this? That she's Howard's Daughter? For one, I don't think Howard would ever settle down," she replied, irritated. "However, if I think about, I'm surprised that Howard doesn't have ten children with ten different woman already."

"Hey, Hey," Howard protected, waving his hands. "Not in front of my kid. She doesn't need to know this…However, I know how to protect myself."

Toni's eye twitched as there were a few things that she never wanted to know or think about. Her father's sex life was at the top, followed by Fury's sex life. However, if she thought about, she wouldn't want to know about Romanoff and Clint's either…or Bruce's with anyone. "Can I go home?" she asked, rubbing her forehead. "So don't want to hear this."

"Hints, why I took the core, so you wouldn't leave without saying bye… Well, also I wanted to give my hand at, since I now know what it does," he said.

The genius from the future let out a chuckle, because she should've expected that from her father, who would always seem smarter than she. However, she also smiled because of what she had said to Loki before. It was like magic when her father and she put their minds together.

Phillips let out sigh. "I guess I should be happy that my base is still in one piece."

Peggy looked between the three of them, just observing the three of them as they talked. It was clear that she was scrutinizing and analyzing every word that they were saying.

"Just as long as I get to go home," she replied, realizing that she kept saying home. Before the avengers, she never thought she would consider any place home. "And away from you people."

Howard raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't mean you'll get away from me. I'll probably hug you or something once you returned."

Toni could feel Phillips' eyes on her as Howard spoke. Though she didn't tell Phillips very much about her relationship with her father, he had a pretty good idea of how it was like. It was no secret that she hated the guy, though she supposed she couldn't still say that she still hated him. It was a mild dislike. "Who says? I could be the one of ten kids you don't know about," she replied. "…Ten? Maybe more? Seriously, think about."

"Geez, does everyone think as me as the town-"

Toni cut Howard off before he could finished. "Join the club," she replied, closing the case.

Howard turned to her and gave her a sharp look. "What does that mean?"

She let out a laugh as she never had an overly protective father growing up, worried about her womanhood like other kids. "It means what it means," she said.

Both Peggy and Phillips laughed. "You know what they say about a daughter?" the Colonel inquired. "A punishment to the father for all of his sins."

Howard's eyes widened. "No," he protested. "Never! I'm never letting you out of my sight." He reached for Toni and pulled her toward him into a hug.

Toni struggled against her father, who seemed to have a death grip on her. "Hey! You can start with mini me, and not adult me. I can protect myself."

"What?" Howard uttered, shocked. "Who would…Who do I need to…?"

"No, I need to protect you from all of those delinquents, and let me tell you, this camp is full of them," he replied.

Phillips laughed. "Not all of my men are delinquents," he replied, sharply.

"I disagree," Peggy interjected. "Some of man are. And besides, aren't you calling the pot black, Howard, with the number of sexual partner that you had?"

Toni eyed him. "Yea, so it is okay that you sleep around but not me? Geez, double standard."

Howard gave her a look. "That's different."

"How so, Father?" she asked, stressing the word, while narrowing her eyes at him.

Her father glanced at her before looking at Peggy, who was also staring at him. "Because I'm a bloke."

Toni knew that was the norm for this time, but it annoyed her. "Oh, I see. So you can be-what do they call it now?-a Lounge Lizard or a horny dog, but I can't?"

Phillips chuckled. "Don't think you get think you are getting out of this one, Stark."

The Elder Stark glared at the Colonel before he turned to Toni. "That's isn't what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Peggy asked.

"I'm changing my answer," Howard said loudly. "She's my daughter. That's why."

"But she would be taking after you!" Peggy replied, with a chuckle.

"No! Only man that I approve of, and let me tell you, I have high standards for any child of mine."

As this conversion went on, she was still angry – she wasn't the property of her father! – but she wasn't as angry as before. This conversion had turned into a fun game and Toni did find herself enjoying it, but she had enough. She just wanted to get her device and go home. "Can we all stop talking about my sex life, geez?" It made her wished that she had one, as she couldn't remember the last time she had sex, which was pretty bad. She did not go through dry spells like this. "Besides none of those guys are kinky enough for me."

Both Howard and Phillips' eyes widened at the words sex and kinky as if a woman did not say those things. Peggy let out a sigh. "Okay," she said slowly. "She's definitely your child."

Before, Toni would've taken insult to that; however, she couldn't find it in herself to be insult, not after all of the time that they had spent together. Howard still annoyed her though. "Geez, you know how to insult a person." She glared at her before she turned to Phillips. "Can I get the core and Tesseract so I can go home, where I won't be insult? Plus, I would enjoy sleeping in my bed," She asked, struggling against Howard, who still hadn't let go. "And can you let me go?"

"I don't know if I feel comfortable letting that cube out of my sight," Phillips said, eyeing Toni. It was clear that she was fighting to stay steady on her feet, even with Howard helping to support her.

Toni may not like working with her father or even talking to Phillips right now, but she was willing to do both if it meant going home. "I would suppose you and Stark would be there to make sure nothing explodes."

"Oh, so you will let me help?" Howard asked, eyeing Toni as he let her go.

"Well, you worked hard on the device. It would be a waste for you not to help," she replied. "Plus, I doubt you would give it to me if I don't accept your help."

Howard laughed. "Probably."

Toni let out a sigh. "How did I know?" she asked, jokingly.

Peggy chuckled. "I think Steve would've had a kicked out of this," she replied looking between the two. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but there was a smile on her face.

However, it was a kick to Toni's stomach as it was a reminder that their pain was her fault. She was allowing this to go on, and she didn't deserve to kid around while they suffered. She hated herself right then.

"Toni."

Her fists balled at her side as she thought about all of the pain that she had caused. It was sickening to think of how many people she could've saved, while she did nothing and allowed them to die. She had allowed Bucky to die, without even warning him. How could she do that to a supposed friend?

"Toni."

Said genius jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her heartbeat raced as she glanced up to see Peggy, trying to offer some kind of support. It shocked Toni how comforting the Agent was, when she was in so much pain after losing the Captain, a man that she loved. "I'm fine," she replied, stepping out of Peggy's hand.

"Toni." Peggy said again.

"I'm fine, Peg," she replied. "Let's just do this. We'll need an isolated spot in case this reacts like it did the last time."

Howard exhaled slowly. "That ten foot range of the device is very stable, so we just need to find a place away from the prying eyes."

Phillips stepped passed Howard to the open metal case. He reached for the device and slowly started to put it away. "I have a place in mind," he said, catching a look from Toni. "However, I would supposed it would be best for Stark to rest first."

Howard laughed. "Got to get use to someone else having out my last name."

Toni let out a sigh, not used to Phillips calling her Stark in front of people; however, she rather enjoyed hearing it instead of Sark. She missed her last name, which had opened so many doors for her. "I don't want your kind of rest," she replied, coldly, as she glared at him. She also didn't like him touching her device, but she didn't make any move to stop him. It was useless without the core anyhow.

"We needed you to rest as you were-are running yourself into the ground, and I knew it was the only way to get you to rest," he replied.

"Trust me, that isn't how," she snapped. "Just tell me where you want to do this, and I'll meet you there." She said as she turned to the door. She needed to get out as she was ready to snap at the next person who tried to tell her what to do. Her temper was getting the better of her, and her exhaustion was making it all worst.

"Toni," her father called as she took a step out of the room. As she stepped down the hall, she was surprised that no one chased after her. She would have surely thought the Howard of time would have chased after her, though she would have to guess that Peggy stopped him. The Agent always knew what she needed.

Anyhow the end for now. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think.