Thank you to Harliquinn for beta editing!
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Skye was sitting in the Deans office, her leg shaking. She was terrified. She didn't know what was going on. She had been called to the office and told to have a seat that her dad had been called. She had been at the school for a few months and stayed out of trouble. She didn't know what she could have done, but past experiences were making her very nervous.
Steve had been having lunch with Bucky when he had gotten the call. He made his way to the school and into the office. He saw Skye sitting there and could see how nervous she was. He told the administrator who he was and was told to have a seat. She would let the Dean know they were both there.
Steve sat next to Skye and leaned over. "Did you do something wrong?"
Skye shrugged and shook her head. "Not that I know of."
"You sure? You tell me now, and I can work with what I know," Steve said.
"I promise. I don't know anything I did or could have done," Skye said.
Steve nodded "Okay."
The Dean came out of his office.
"Mr. Rogers, Skyler you can come in now," he said.
The two of them got up and went into the office.
"Have a seat," Mr. Fields told them both.
Both Skye and Steve sat down.
"Skyler, do you know what this could be about?" Mr. Fields asked.
"No, sir," Skye said softly.
"We do random locker searches a few times a year," Dean Fields said.
Skye nodded. "I remember reading about that in the handbook."
"Anything you want to admit to before I show your dad?" Mr. Fields asked.
"I don't know what I could have in my locker that could get me in trouble," Skye said.
"It's not something you would necessarily be in trouble for," Mr. Fields said as he opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a folded piece of lined paper.
Skye sighed. "I get having to check lockers for things we shouldn't have. But reading personal property seems a bit far."
Steve looked at Skye. "What is it?"
"A note that I received, I don't know from whom," Skye said.
Steve looked at Mr. Fields. "May I?"
Mr. Fields handed him the note and Steve read it. It was a note threatening her that if she didn't prove to everyone she had superpowers they would beat her up for making it up.
"Skye, why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Steve asked. His voice was laced with concern.
Skye shrugged.
"When did you receive this note?" Mr. Fields asked.
"A couple of days ago," Skye said softly.
"Were you going to prove it?" Steve asked.
Skye shook her head. "No. I figured it was someone just trying to get me in trouble so if I ignored it, it would go away."
Steve sighed. "Skyler, even if that's the case you should have told Mr. Fields or someone else here, and you should have told me."
Skye nodded a little.
Steve looked up at Mr. Fields. "What is being done?"
"We are trying to figure out who wrote it. Skye, any ideas?" Mr. Fields asked.
"No," Skye said.
"I know you had a few issues with another student the first week you were here. Has there been anything else more recently?" Mr. Fields asked.
"No, she seems to be leaving me alone. We haven't interacted at all," Skye said.
Mr. Fields nodded. "Any trouble with any other student?"
"No," Skye said.
"What exactly would you have done had some student or students backed you into a corner and tried to force you to use one of your abilities?" Steve asked.
"Let them beat me up," Skye said.
"How is that a better option than coming to me or a teacher?" Mr. Fields asked.
Skye took a breath. "I was afraid that you would find out something else if I did…"
"What?" Mr. Fields asked.
Skye looked up at her dad.
Steve sighed. "Tell him."
"I tried to use one of my abilities a month ago while in the cafeteria," Skye said.
Mr. Fields nodded. "Was it something that could have hurt someone?"
"No," Skye said.
"Who knows you attempted this?" Mr. Fields asked.
"Um. I'd rather not answer that," Skye said.
Mr. Fields raised an eyebrow.
"It's not anyone who would do this," Skye said.
"Would they tell others you could and tried?" Mr. Fields asked.
"I don't think so," Skye said.
"So, I'm guessing Miss Campos and the two Miss Hayes's?" Mr. Fields asked. He always made sure to keep an eye on new students, making sure they found friends and were fitting in. So he was aware of who her friends were.
Skye looked down.
"It was Mrs. Hayes who called and informed me when she heard her daughters talking about it," Steve said.
Mr. Fields nodded. "Okay. Good to know."
Skye sighed. "But I don't think they would tell anyone intentionally."
"But if they were talking about it, and someone else overheard," Steve said.
"I told them to stop talking about it the day after," Skye said.
Steve nodded.
"Is there any other reason you chose not to come forward about this?" Mr. Fields asked.
Skye took a breath. "I didn't want to make waves. I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I just want to blend in… and stay out of trouble."
Mr. Fields nodded. "I'm going to guess either you figured out, or your dad told you, that before you came to this school I spoke to your previous schools and former social worker. So I do know about some of the things you have done in your past. And, I'm glad you want to stay out of trouble. But part of my job, and the job of the other members of the staff here, is to ensure your safety and the safety of the other students. Sometimes, for me to be able to do my job, students have to come forward if there is an issue going on that I have no way of knowing about."
Skye nodded.
"Okay, well I'm going to look into this. If you get any more notes or find out anything about who did this, you will let me know?" Mr. Fields asked.
"Yes, Sir," Skye said.
"You can head back to class," Mr. Fields said, handing her a note to give to her teacher explaining why she was late to class after lunch.
Skye took it and got up and headed out of the office.
Once she was gone Mr. Fields looked at Steve. "Are you aware of any issues you might have with the parents of any of our students?"
"No, I don't know who most of the students at this school are. There is no way for me to know who the parents are," Steve said.
"Well, that just means we are doing our job," Mr. Fields said.
Steve smiled and nodded.
"Okay, I will figure this out. I have also informed other members of staff, who will be keeping a close eye on Skye. We will keep her safe," Mr. Fields said.
"Okay," Steve said.
"Do you have any questions for me?" Mr. Fields asked
"This girl Skye has had an issue with, there has been nothing that has been noticed since she spoke to her guidance counselor about it?" Steve asked.
"No, they have been watched. They have had no interactions that have been seen," Mr. Fields said.
"All right," Steve said.
"I promise you that this," he said, holding up the note, "is not being taken lightly, and your daughter will be safe."
Steve nodded. "I'm going to trust that."
"Thank you for coming in," Mr. Fields said.
Steve got up, and they shook hands before Steve left.
/\/\
At the end of the day, Skye went out of the school and saw Steve waiting, leaning against his car. Skye went over.
"Hey, no Happy today?" Skye asked.
Steve smiled. "What? Do you prefer Happy to me?"
Skye chuckled. "I'm just used to it being Happy picking me up."
Steve chuckled and nodded. "Well, I thought maybe coming to pick you up might help whoever thinks you are lying see that you are who you say you are. Plus, you're my daughter. I want to pick you up when I can."
Skye nodded. "Fair enough."
They both got into the car and started for home.
"Am I in trouble for not telling you?" Skye asked.
"No," Steve said. "But we do need to talk about why you didn't tell me."
Skye let out a breath. "I'm the new kid in a school full of kids with important parents."
"Yes, but that doesn't explain why you didn't come talk to me," Steve said.
"If I told you, you would contact the school, and a big deal will be made of it, like is happening right now," Skye said.
"That's because it is a big deal, Skyler. You were threatened, and you planned to let someone beat you up instead of talking to me," Steve said, frustrated.
Skye didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to say.
"Skyler, I just don't understand why you would rather be hurt instead of telling me what is going on so I can help you," Steve said.
"I already explained that. I didn't think someone would actually beat me up, that they just wanted me to use my abilities," Skye said.
Steve nodded. "But what if the intention was actually to hurt you if you didn't? And if you were backed into a corner, could you have controlled it enough not to use your abilities to get away from being hurt?"
"I have before, at the group home," Skye said.
Steve let out a breath. "Okay, but, Skye, I still don't understand why you think possibly being hurt is a better option than talking to me about it. Even if you didn't think it would happen, there was a possibility that it could."
Skye shrugged.
Steve pulled in at home and parked.
"I'm sorry," Skye said softly.
"I'm not angry with you, Skye. I'm just concerned," Steve said.
"If something like this happens again, I will tell you," Skye said.
"I'm glad to hear that. But I still would like to know why you didn't this time," Steve said.
"I really just didn't want to make a big deal out of something that I didn't think was a big deal," Skye said.
"Well, for future reference anything that involves a threat to your safety, real or not, is a big deal, and I need to know," Steve said.
Skye nodded, "Okay."
They got out of the car and went inside.
"You're back to training with Wanda today?" Steve asked.
Skye smiled. "Yes."
"Go get ready then," he said.
Skye went off and got ready for training before heading to the training area where she met Wanda.
Shortly after that, Steve came into the room to watch. He had been making it a habit to come and watch Skye's training at least once a week since Nat had suggested that he check out how far she had come.
After training for a while, Wanda told her to take a break and get some water.
Skye grabbed her bottle from the side of the room, and Wanda went over to Steve.
"Just coming to watch?" Wanda asked.
Steve nodded. "She has come a long way."
"She has," Wanda agreed. "Can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure," Steve said.
"Next mission we go on, let her come," Wanda said. "She mentioned you discussed waiting six months, and I know it hasn't been six months yet. But she has come so far, and I think seeing firsthand what it's really like will help her improve even more."
Steve let out a breath.
"I get it. You want to keep her safe, but she is ready. Give it a chance, and if it doesn't work out, then you don't have to let her again," Wanda said.
"I'll think about it," Steve said.
"Okay," Wanda said.
"But I need to see you not going easy on her," Steve said.
Wanda chuckled. "You want me to actually hurt her?"
Steve chuckled. "No. But I think you can throw harder things at her without hurting her, especially if you are advocating for me to let her go on a mission. Others won't hold back on her."
Wanda nodded. "Okay." She also took a drink before going back to training with Skye. Now going harder on her.
Skye noticed Wanda was being harder on her. She was able to keep up for the most part. The session ended when Skye was thrown across the room harder than intended.
Skye yelped. "Shit, what the hell, Wanda?!"
"Okay, take a breath," Wanda said. "Are you okay?"
"No!" Skye said, rubbing at her elbow that had hit the wall.
Steve went over quickly. "Let me see it."
Skye let him look at it.
"Okay, let's get Banner to take a look at it," Steve said helping her up.
"Skye, I'm sorry. I thought you would be able to resist it more than you did," Wanda said.
"Well, clearly I didn't," Skye snapped.
Steve took a breath. "Skyler, these things happen when training."
"Whatever," Skye said.
Steve sighed and led Skye to the lab where Banner was.
"She got slammed into the wall, and her elbow is injured," Steve told Banner.
"Okay, Skye, come sit. Let me take a look," Bruce said.
Skye went and sat down, and Bruce examined it.
"How did it happen exactly?" Bruce asked.
"I was training, and Wanda threw me against the wall," Skye said. "I don't know what the hell happened, but she was going harder on me."
"Because I asked her too," Steve said.
Skye looked up at him.
"She was advocating for you going on the next mission with us, and I wanted to be sure you could handle it. I asked her to go harder on you. What she did is nothing compared to what has been done to any of us, and would be done to you, if you when and if you come on a mission with us," Steve said.
Skye looked down.
"And the way you reacted proves to me that you are not ready," Steve said.
"She should have warned me," Skye said.
"You get no warning in the field," Steve said.
"He's right, Skye," Bruce said as he x-rayed her elbow.
Skye let out a breath.
"You owe her an apology for the way you snapped at her," Steve said.
Skye nodded. "I will."
"Good," Steve said.
Bruce looked at the X-rays.
"Not broken, but it is swelling," he said. "Since you heal faster than average it will probably be sore for a few days. Ice it fifteen minutes every couple hours for the next couple of days."
"Okay," Skye said.
They left the lab and went upstairs. Skye found Wanda in the kitchen, helping Pepper with dinner.
"Wanda, can we talk?" Skye said softly.
"What's up?" Wanda asked, looking up at her.
"I'm sorry," Skye said. "I know you were just trying to make me stronger. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"It's forgiven. I know sometimes when we get hurt, we just react," Wanda said. "It's not broken?"
"No, it's just swelling. I need to ice it for a couple of days," Skye said.
Pepper went into the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. She wrapped it in a thin cloth before handing it to her.
Skye took it and held it against her elbow. "Thank you."
Pepper nodded. "Of course."
Skye looked up at Wanda. "And thank you for trying to get Steve to let me go on a mission with you all."
Wanda nodded. "I think you will learn far more from hands-on experience, but maybe you're not quite ready."
"I think I might have added on to the six months," Skye said.
"I don't know about that," Wanda said. "We will work on getting you ready for then."
Skye nodded. "Can I help with anything?"
"You should be sitting and resting your elbow," Pepper said.
Skye nodded and went and did so.
At dinner, Steve noticed Skye was just pushing the food around on her plate, but he choose not to say anything at that moment.
After dinner, Skye went to her room and sat on the window seat, and looked out the window.
Steve knocked on her door.
"Come in," she said softly.
Steve went in. He was holding an ice pack.
"How's your elbow?" he asked.
"Sore," she said.
Steve handed her the ice pack, and she held it to her elbow.
"Is that why you didn't seem all that hungry at dinner?" Steve asked.
Skye shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked.
"I let you down," she said softly.
Steve sat down on the other side of the window seat. "Why do you think that?"
"Because you were going to give me a shot at a mission, and I couldn't even fight off Wanda, who wasn't even trying to hurt me," Skye said.
"Skye, you haven't been training for even a year, and you've had less than three months of training more than an hour or two a week. Plus, you are only fourteen. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I know you're not ready. I didn't think you were. But I thought I would give Wanda the benefit of doubt, being that she is the one who has been training with you," Steve said.
Skye nodded a little.
"Skye, you didn't let me down. You have been through so much in the short life you have lived so far. The fact that you are the person you are despite that, I'm proud that you are my daughter," Steve said.
Skye smiled a little.
"Just because you aren't ready to battle those we have to face doesn't mean you let me down. It never will," Steve said.
Skye nodded.
"Come here," he said, opening his arms.
Skye hugged him. Steve wrapped her in a tight hug. "I know you will be ready to fight eventually. I'm guessing it will be long before I'm truly ready for you to do so. but it doesn't matter how long it takes. You won't be letting me down."
"Okay," she said.
"I love you, kid," he said.
"Love you too, Dad," she said softly.
Steve took a breath. That was the first time she had called him dad, but he figured it was better if he didn't comment on it.
The hug was broken.
"You didn't eat much at dinner, you sure you're not hungry?" Steve asked.
"I'm sure," Skye said.
"Okay, well you know the kitchen is always open if you are," Steve said.
Skye nodded and smiled. "I know."
Steve kissed her head. "You have homework?"
"Yeah, I should probably get to it," Skye said.
Steve nodded and got up. "I'll leave you to it," he said before he left her room and closed the door behind him.
