Warning: This chapter contains discussions on the topic of physical and sexual abuse.

Thank you to Harliquinn for beta editing!

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Skye woke up the next morning and looked at the time. It was early, but she was awake and ready to start her day. She got up and dressed in some clothes to work out in. She went down to the gym and started to punch at one of the punching bags.

She was punching for a while before she was surprised by a loud voice.

"Hey! You're supposed to be wearing something on your fists to protect them," Sam reprimanded her loudly.

"Shit, Sam! You scared me," Skye said.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but you are supposed to be wearing boxing gloves," he said.

Skye took a breath. "Sorry. How was the Avengers' business?"

"It was fine," Sam said, going over to her and looking at her hands. "You are already bruising your fists. You are done for today. Let's go talk to your dad about this."

Skye groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Sam said as he led her upstairs.

"Hey, Skye," Steve said when he saw her come into the kitchen with Sam. "Where were you?"

"The gym," Skye said.

"Tell him all of it, Skyler," Sam said.

Skye sighed. "I was punching without gloves."

Steve let out a breath of frustration.

"Her fists are already bruising," Sam said.

Steve crooked his finger, signalling for her to come to him.

Skye went over.

Steve took a look at her fists and examined them. "You punch without gloves or some sort of protection again you will not be allowed in the gym without supervision. Understood?"

Skye nodded.

"I need to hear you say it," Steve said.

"Understood," Skye said.

"How was your night last night? I hope you didn't give Pepper a hard time," Steve said.

"It was good. We had a girl's night. We painted each other's nails and watched movies, ordered in burgers and fries," Skye said with a smile.

Steve nodded, "And no trouble?"

"I didn't get into any trouble, no," Skye said.

"Good," he said.

"There is something I need to talk to you about, but it can wait till later," she said.

"Okay," Steve said.

"You eaten yet?" Steve asked Skye.

"Nope," Skye said. "Have you?"

Steve smiled. "Not yet."

"I can make something for the both of us," Skye said.

"It's my job to take care of you, not the other way around," Steve said, smiling at her.

"So, I can't cook? Even though I enjoy it," Skye said.

"Do you actually enjoy it? Or do you just dislike my cooking?" Steve asked with a smirk.

Skye chuckled. "Your cooking is not that bad."

Steve smiled.

"I thought Skye couldn't lie, but she is lying pretty well now," Sam said with a smirk.

Skye laughed.

Steve shook his head.

Skye got up and started to pull stuff out of the fridge to make omelets. Soon the kitchen was full, and Yelena started to help Skye make omelets for everyone. Once they were ready, everyone sat down and ate. When they were done a few cleaned up.

Skye went to her room and showered and changed. Steve knocked on her door shortly after she was done.

"Yes?" Skye said.

Steve went in. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Um, yeah. At school yesterday the girl who has been scowling at me all week faked accidentally bumping into me and spilling a cup of coffee on me. She apologized and such to make it look like an accident. But I could tell it was all fake. I accepted the apology and didn't make a scene because it was after school outside and everyone was looking at us. I knew I would be the one who ended up looking bad," Skye told him.

Steve nodded. "Well, I'm proud of you for handling it maturely. Are you planning on talking to the Dean about this on Monday?"

Skye shook her head. "What good will it do?"

"Well, if she has a problem with you maybe mediation is necessary, so this doesn't get worse," Steve said.

"If it gets worse, I will handle it," Skye said.

Steve took a breath. "Skye, I think you need to make it known there is a problem so if something happens there is a record of what has been going on."

Skye sighed. "Why are you so concerned?"

"Because I'm your dad, and I don't want you being hurt," he said.

"So it had nothing to do with the fact that you had to convince the dean to let me into the school despite my record and if I screw up once I'm out?" Skye asked.

Steve took a breath. "How do you know that?"

"I heard you talking to him," Skye said.

"How? The door was closed," Steve said.

"Well, I have enhanced hearing," Skye said.

"Skyler, you're not supposed to use your abilities like that," Steve said.

"You know I can't always control it," Skye said.

Steve sighed. "Okay, well, yes I did make that deal with the dean because I know you are a good kid and you aren't going to get into any trouble."

"Do you realize how much pressure I feel because I can't get into any trouble? I have no intention of getting into trouble. But the pressure that I can't even make a little mistake or I'm kicked out isn't fair," Skye said.

"Skye, that's not what the deal was. It sounds like you only heard parts of it or misunderstood what the agreement was. You are allowed to make mistakes. They are a part of growing up. The school has a policy about drugs. I know you read it because you told me you read the code of conduct. Sometimes when a teen is caught with drugs at school parents will argue and bargain to keep their kids in the school. The deal was if you get caught with drugs or alcohol on campus or come to school on drugs or drunk, or if you get arrested for anything of that nature, I won't bargain to keep you in the school," Steve said.

"So, if I had punched the girl yesterday, I wouldn't get kicked out?" Skye asked.

"Well, you might, but I don't know any schools today that don't, at the very least, suspend a student for physical violence of any sort. And the school does have a policy regarding that. But it applies to all students, not just you," Steve told her.

Skye nodded.

"Did you want to punch her?" Steve asked.

"More like I wanted to yell at her and tell her I know it wasn't an accident," Skye said.

Steve nodded. "Well, using your words is always the better option, but you don't necessarily have to yell to get your point across."

Skye nodded.

"Okay, let's make a deal," he said.

"What kind of deal?" Skye asked.

"An adult at the school needs to know what's going on. I think it should be the Dean or guidance counsellor, but I will be okay with any adult. The deal is you get to pick whom you tell. If you don't, I will go to the school and talk to the dean about it," Steve said.

"Oh, come on, that's not fair," Skye said.

"I think it's very fair. Part of growing up is knowing when it's time to get help before a situation gets out of hand. It started as just scowling at you, and in one week has already gotten to the point where she dumped her coffee on you," he said.

"What if it was an accident?" Skye asked.

"Skye, you have a good gut instinct. So, if you think it was intentional, then it probably was. But even if it was an accident, it doesn't hurt for there to be a record so if it wasn't, and something else happens and she claims it was an accident again, it will be shown that it's not the first 'accident' she had around you," Steve said.

Skye sighed.

"You said there were other people who saw it?" Steve asked.

"Well, it was outside at the end of the day. There were a lot of other students and parents or whoever picks up other students," Skye said.

"Happy was there? Did he see it?" Steve asked.

"He was and did, yes. He came over to me after it happened and made sure I was okay," Skye said.

Steve nodded. "Is he the only reason you are telling me?"

"No, I had intended to tell you. But, yes, he asked if I planned to," Skye told him.

"Do you know if he saw enough to judge if it was an accident or not?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure. He asked me if the girl had been giving me any problems before today. I had told him about the scowls on the first day, so I told him it was the same girl. And, I asked him if he was asking because he could tell it wasn't an accident, too, and he never really answered," Skye said.

Steve nodded. "I will talk to Happy and get his view of things. But you need to tell someone at the school, or I will. It is not open for any more discussion."

Skye sighed. "Fine, I will talk to someone on Monday."

"Okay, thank you," he said.

"Now you told me I could read my file this weekend," Skye said.

Steve nodded., "Have you done your homework?"

"Not yet," she said.

"Do your homework first. I will email it to you," he said. "Remember I am always here if you need to talk about anything."

Skye nodded. "Okay, and I know."

Skye did her homework. When she was done, she opened up the email and started to read through her file.

When she was done, she went to find Steve, who was in the living room watching sports with Bucky.

Steve saw her and smiled at her. "You finished with your homework?"

"Yeah, and I have read the file," Skye said.

"Anything you want to clarify?" Steve asked.

Skye nodded.

Steve got up and went with her back to her room.

"Who has seen my file?" Skye asked.

"I'm the only one who has seen it. However, I did talk to someone about something in it," Steve said, wanting to be honest with her.

Skye nodded.

"No one you need to worry about telling anyone," Steve said.

"Okay. Well, I was never involved in any gangs, and, outside of fights that others always started, I've never done anything violent. I never just attacked anyone, and I've never thrown the first punch in a fight," Skye said.

"Okay, anything else?" Steve asked.

"The foster home that was shut down a few years ago because of sexual abuse, I was not a victim of it. I told my social worker that I wasn't, and she didn't believe me. She wanted me to get examined and tried to force me to do so. But I fought it, and no medical personnel would do it against my wishes," Skye said.

Steve let out a breath.

"Is that the thing you were telling me you would listen to if I wanted to talk about it?" Skye asked.

"I am here if you want to talk about anything you have been through. But that was something I was concerned about, yes," Steve said.

"Okay, well, I wasn't a victim of abuse at all in that home. Maybe it was because I was younger than everyone else," Skye said.

Steve nodded, "okay."

"There is a lot of exaggeration in the file, but those were the two major things I felt the need to clarify," Skye said.

"Okay, I know you're a good kid. You've just been through a lot and didn't know how to handle it properly," he said.

Skye nodded.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just don't like the fact that those things are in my file. And, there are a few things that seemed to have been left out," Skye said.

"What was left out?" Steve asked.

"One of the other homes I was in that I was abused in. I reported it to my social worker, but she didn't believe me," Skye said.

"Which home?" Steve asked.

"It doesn't matter. They aren't a foster home anymore," Skye said.

Steve nodded a little. "Okay, if you're sure."

Skye nodded, "I think I want to take a nap."

"Okay," he got up and kissed her head before leaving her room to let her nap.

Skye curled on her bed as the tears started to fall. She hadn't lied. In that particular home she hadn't been abused. But she had been in lots of the other homes she had been, and some of that was in the file. But the worst home she had been in, where the abuse was constant and the only home she had ever been sexually abused in, wasn't in her file. She had reported it to her social worker. But, for some reason, her social worker hadn't believed her. She hated that home more than anything. She had been so young when it happened. It had taken her years to even understand what had happened. So, by the time she was able to understand and tell her social worker, there was no way to prove it. Her social worker had told her she must have been remembering things wrong because that particular foster home had been fostering for decades and had fostered so many kids that there was no way if that was happening others wouldn't have come forward. Her social worker wasn't wrong about it having happened to other kids, and Skye didn't understand how no one else had come forward. At this point, that particular foster home had closed. Skye guessed it was because the couple running it had gotten too old to foster anymore. And at this point, Skye didn't want to talk about it. Why should she? She told someone, and she wasn't believed.

Some of the other things in her file were flat-out lies and exaggerations, saying she had been violent and uncontrollable. She never wanted to hurt anyone. no one she ever fought with came out with more than a few bruises, and she was the one who always ended up more hurt in those fights.

She took a breath to calm herself and wiped her eyes. She forced herself to stop crying and calm down. Once she was calm, she left her room and went back down to the gym. She didn't want to get into trouble, so she did put on a pair of boxing gloves before punching at one of the bags.

Nat noticed her going down to the gym and followed her a few minutes later.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nat asked when she entered the gym and saw Skye going at the bag like it had personally attacked her.

Skye stopped punching but didn't look up. "Talk about what?"

"I know you're upset about something," Nat said.

"Just more lies," Skye said.

"Lies?" Nat asked.

"About me," Skye said.

"Who is lying about you?" Nat asked.

"My official foster care files," Skye said.

"What does it say that isn't true?" Nat said.

"A lot of things," Skye said before she went back to punching.

Nat sat down on the bench that was against the wall and let the girl continue doing what she needed to do.

After she had tired herself out, Skye sat on the bench next to Nat and leaned against the wall.

"I know how hard it is when people assume things about you that aren't true, especially when you have done things that you aren't proud of in order to survive," Nat started.

Skye nodded.

"And when people who don't know why you did what you did ,and they twist the explanation in their head and paint you as someone you are not or someone you were forced to be, it hurts," Nat continued.

Skye nodded again.

"But the people who care will take the time to get to know the real you. Those are the people who will understand why you did the things you did and not hold them against you. They will understand that you did these things to survive and won't listen to the lies that are told about you," Nat finished.

"But what if those lies are told by people who are more likely to be believed than a 'juvenile delinquent who is violent and uncontrollable'?" Skye said, using her fingers to indicate quote marks around the phrase "juvenile delinquent who is violent and uncontrollable"

Nat let out a breath., "Skye, why do you want to train and strengthen your abilities?"

"So I can control them," Skye said.

"Why do you want to control them?" Nat asked.

"So I don't use them when I don't intend to," Skye said.

"To avoid hurting people?" Nat asked.

Skye nodded. "The last thing I want to do is use them and end up hurting someone who doesn't deserve it."

"That right there, someone who was violent and uncontrollable wouldn't care if they could control their abilities. They would want to hurt anyone who has ever hurt them, even if it's in a minor way," Nat said.

"I guess," Skye said.

"Skye, how much do you know about my past?" Nat asked.

"Not much," Skye said.

"I was recruited as a child by an organization that recruited children to train them to be assassins. Anytime I screwed up or didn't do what they wanted I was punished harshly. So I learned to do what I was told and not make mistakes. So I became a killer," Nat said. "And I became one of the best. I was held as an example to the other girls."

"Wow," Skye said softly.

"Because of that, and the things I had done, Shield tracked me down and sent someone to kill me. But when they found me, they couldn't do it. They saw something in my eyes. They could see I didn't want to do what I had to do to survive, so they instead convinced Shield to recruit me instead," Nat said.

Skye smiled a little.

"Now, I don't think anything you could have ever done can compare to the things I had to do. But my point is that you grew up in a crappy situation, and you did what you had to do to survive. No one here is going to hold that against you. If anyone here sees your file, you tell them that what is said is a lie or an exaggeration. We will believe you," Nat said.

"But if people outside of here see these things. I know my school has been told some things, and it paints me as very dangerous," Skye said.

"Well, you just have to show those who know that you are not that person. Do you want to tell me what it is that paints you as dangerous and violent?" Nat said.

"That I was involved in a gang and gang activities, that I have attacked others in homes I have been in and seriously hurt them, and that I attacked foster parents and such. None of that happened, not even once," Skye said.

Nat nodded.

"I have no knowledge of doing anything to seriously hurt anyone, even the guy who attacked me that night. I threw him, but he wasn't all that injured, I don't think. I have never fought anyone who didn't throw the first punch, and I always seemed to come out more injured," Skye said.

Nat nodded. "So they are lies. I believe you."

Skye smiled a little. "I know you have seen some things from before everyone knew who I am."

"I have. I have seen your criminal record. But those are just the things you did, they are not who you are," Nat said.

Skye let out a breath.

"And, I don't know everything that has been done to you, but I know that if I had access to marijuana when I was a teenager I probably would have used it, too," Nat said.

Skye nodded.

"That doesn't mean I approve of you using it, just that I believe that you needed something to get you out of your thoughts in what I know couldn't have been an easy situation," Nat said.

Skye let out a small chuckle. "Understood."

"And, I don't think any one of us here hasn't gone through something shitty in life," Nat said.

"Was it one of the Avengers who was sent to kill you?" Skye asked.

Nat took a breath. "Yes, but out of respect for them, I won't be telling you who."

Skye nodded. "I think I can guess, but I'll keep it to myself."

Nat nodded. "Okay."

"And thank you," Skye said.

Nat smiled. "I'm always willing to listen to anything you want to talk about. Your past, anything you're interested in, if you have a crush on anyone."

Skye chuckled and nodded.

"Now, do you want to want to train? I can train with you while Wanda is unable to," Nat said.

"Sure," Skye said with a smile.

The two of them went into the training room and trained together for about an hour.

When they were done, they both went up to the living quarters, where Steve was sitting in the living room. He seemed to be the only one around.

"Hey, I was wondering where you got to," Steve said.

"Yeah… sorry," Skye said, realizing she had forgotten she had said she was going to nap.

"My fault, I wanted to train and thought I could train with her since Wanda can't right now," Nat said.

Steve smiled and nodded. "You don't need to apologize for training Skye."

Skye nodded a little. "I think I'm going to shower," She said before she went off.

Steve waited until Skye was in her room and looked at Nat.

"Did she talk to you about anything in particular?" Steve asked.

"We talked about a lot of things," Nat said with a smile.

Steve sighed and put his head in his hands.

"What are you worried about exactly?" Nat asked.

"I'm wondering if I made a mistake in letting her read her foster care file," Steve said.

"Okay, well I won't go into details. But, yes, she talked to me about it, and I don't think it was a mistake. I think she had the right to know what was said about her. the lies and all. She will be okay," Nat told him.

Steve nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"Steve, you know she has been through hell. It's going to take her time to work through all that," Nat said.

"I know, I just don't know how to help her," Steve said.

"The way you have been - being there if she needs to talk about anything, not forcing her to talk about anything she's not ready to," Nat said. "Show her it doesn't matter what is in her past, that you're not going to judge her, and that no matter what she does, you're not going anywhere. Steve, you are doing everything right."

Steve nodded and let out a breath. "Okay, thank you."

"And be ready for the day she can truly kick your ass, because it's coming," Nat said.

Steve chuckled.

"Have you trained with her recently?" Nat asked.

"No, I've left that up to Wanda for the most part," Steve said.

"You should at least watch the next time she is training. Let her show off for you," Nat said.

Steve smiled. "You let me know the next time you train with her, and I will."

Nat nodded. "I will."

"And, thank you for training with her while Wanda can't," Steve said.

"I'm happy to," Nat said. "It's getting to the point where we are going to have to start getting the next generation ready to take over the fight. And, the more people who work with her. the better equipped she will be to defend against whatever is thrown at her."

"If she wants to be part of the next generation of Avengers that is," Steve said.

"Very true," Nat said. "I'm going to go shower too."

Steve nodded, and Nat went off to go shower.