Authors Note: contains discussions of sexual assault

Thank you to Harliquinn for beta reading and editing

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It was a few days before school was to start, and Skye was outside on a training field waiting for her dad to come and work with her to try and figure out any abilities that might be hiding in her.

Steve came out onto the field. "Okay, for this to have any chance of working you are going to have to tap into the big feelings. You probably will have to bring up memories of the worst times in your life. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Skye nodded slightly.

"Are you sure, Skye?" Steve asked.

"I need to know if I can do this," Skye said.

"Okay," he said.

"So, do I just think about a bad memory and something is supposed to happen?" Skye asked.

"I honestly don't know. But it was fear that triggered your other abilities at first, so we just need to figure out what your trigger is for this," Steve said. "But I do think it's going to take more than just thinking about it. You will probably have to put yourself back into that situation in your head. So why don't we start with a good memory." Steve said.

"I don't know that a good memory will work," Skye said.

"Why not?" Steve asked.

"The bad one outweighs the good ones," Skye admitted.

Steve let out a breath. He hated that she didn't have any happy memories that she thought would be strong enough to tap into to make this work.

"I can try tapping into a bad memory and see what happens?" Skye asked.

"Okay, but if it's too much, you stop, understood?" Steve asked.

"Got it," Skye said.

Skye tried to remember some of the bad memories and tried to mentally put herself back in those situations. But nothing happened, and Steve could tell she was having a hard time with whatever memories she was thinking about.

"Okay, Skye, stop," Steve said after a while.

Skye ignored him and kept trying.

"Skyler, I said stop," Steve said sharply.

Skye stopped and took a breath.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

Skye nodded. "I'm fine. I didn't need to stop."

"Skye, you looked like you were about to cry," Steve said.

Skye sighed. "No, I wasn't."

"Was it a sad memory?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Skye said. "But you didn't give me much time to try."

"I think I did," Steve said.

"Can I try again?" Skye asked.

"Fine, but listen the first time I tell you to stop," Steve said.

Skye sighed and nodded.

Skye forced herself to think about one of the saddest memories from her past, and Steve could see on her face that she was not okay.

"Skye, this isn't working," Steve said.

"I'm fine," Skye said while still trying to keep her mind set in her memory.

"No, Skye, you're not," Steve said.

"Why doesn't anyone listen to me!" she snapped, triggering a memory from care when she told her social worker about the abuse she had gone through when she was young and being told that she was remembering wrong and that it never happened. It had made her angry at the time, but she had been in a situation where she couldn't act angry. The anger in her was building more because she was being told she wasn't okay and she was handling it okay. Her hands suddenly felt very warm.

Steve was watching her. He could see her face was changing from being sad to being angry. Suddenly her face went blank, and he saw sparks coming from her hands.

"Skyler, I know you're angry, but I need you to take a breath and come out of that memory, now," Steve said. He was calm but stern.

Skye whimpered and snapped out of the memory and sank to the ground. The sparks coming from her hands had stopped.

Steve got down with her and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. Steve took his hand away quickly.

"Skye, it's just me. It's Dad. You're safe," he spoke to her softly. "Just take a deep breath for me."

Skye took a deep breath and looked up at her dad.

"Good, now let the breath out," he said.

Skye hadn't even realized she hadn't let her breath out, but she did when instructed to do so.

"Good, another breath in and out," he said.

Skye did as she was told.

"Do you realize you had sparks coming from your hands?" Steve asked.

"I know it felt warm, but I didn't really realize," Skye said.

"You were angry?" Steve asked.

"Really angry," Skye said.

"Because I told you to stop?" Steve asked.

"Not exactly, I was angry you told me to stop when I was okay to keep going, but it triggered a memory of when I told someone something and I was told I was remembering wrong and that it never happened. I was not believed. I was angry at the time, but I didn't feel safe enough to be angry. So I kept it bottled up, and it just kind of came out when you told me I wasn't okay when I knew I was okay to keep going," Skye said.

Steve nodded, "Okay, do you want to tell me about what it was that you told someone and they told you it didn't happen?"

Skye took a breath and looked down at her hands, "when I was really little, like two or three, I was in a foster home. It was one of the most praised foster homes because they were willing to take in just about anyone. In their time as foster parents they probably took in hundreds of kids. I was abused in that house," she started, taking a breath before continuing, "sexually abused. But I was too young to realize what was happening wasn't okay, I was told by my foster father that it was normal, and I believed him. It wasn't until I was maybe eleven and things were coming out about that really bad foster home I was in where others were abused but I wasn't that I realized that what had been done to me was abuse."

"I told my social worker maybe a year after that. She told me that I was remembering wrong, that those foster parents were some of the best, and that I couldn't tell anyone else that because even the accusation of something like that could destroy the lives of good people," Skye said.

Steve listened to his daughter, his fist tightening as she told him more. "The social worker was Ruth?"

Skye nodded, "I've only ever had the one."

"The foster father wouldn't happen to be the one you ran into at the store with Bucky?" Steve asked.

Skye nodded. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong. Nothing that happened was your fault," Steve said.

"I didn't tell you about it," Skye said.

"You are under no obligation to tell me anything from your past until you are ready to. I know you have been through hell, and I always want you to know you can tell me about any of it. But when you are ready," Steve told her.

Skye nodded a little, still looking down at her hands.

"Can you look at me, Skye?" he asked.

Skye looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"I believe you, and, if you want, when you are ready we can go to the police about this. I don't care how much time has passed. I will fight to make sure you get the justice you deserve," he told her.

A few tears fell from her eyes.

Steve opened his arms, and, when Skye moved into them, he wrapped her in a tight hug.

Skye sank into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder. Steve just held her as she sobbed, reminding her that she was loved and she was safe.

When she calmed down she pulled away, and he let her go.

She wiped her eyes and looked at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" Steve asked.

"For believing me," Skye said.

"I will always believe you, Skye, always," he said.

Skye nodded.

"Now, I think you are probably done for training today. Do you feel the same way?" He realized telling her how she was feeling before wasn't fair, so he wasn't going to do that again.

Skye nodded. "I'm exhausted."

"Okay, but hey, you did it. That power is in you somewhere, and we will work on it more another day," Steve said.

Skye smiled a little.

Steve got up and put a hand down to her. Skye took his hand, and he pulled her to standing. "Come on, I think there is some mint chip ice cream in the freezer."

Skye smiled, that was her favorite kind.

The two went inside to find their treat to try and help Skye feel a little better.