"Steve! Steve!" I called out, walking around the house. I was soon joined by Sarah, who was rubbing her eyes as she sluggishly walked out of her room.

"Where's dad?" She asked, looking up at me with question in her eyes. I bit my lip. I can't tell her the truth.

"He's out for something important, Sarah," I replied. "He'll be back soon. You go watch some TV for a while." Curse you Steve, where did you go?

I picked up my phone to call him when my phone started buzzing. Steve. I narrowed my eyes and pressed accept.

"Steve, where are you?" I said, quiet but demanding.

"Natasha, this is Sharon. Steve got hurt while he was doing... something. I'm driving him to where you are right now, and I just wanted to give you a heads up." I was taken aback for a moment as I realized the person speaking to me was Sharon.

"I swear to God, Carter, if you did something to him I will kill you -" I threatened, only to be cut off as Sharon ended the phone call. I groaned and threw my phone at the couch, wincing and immediately regretting it as it landed merely a few inches away from Sarah.

"Sarah, your dad is coming in just a few minutes, so be patient, alright?" The girl looked up from her TV and nodded, turning back to her Disney Channel show when I received her reply. I sighed and clenched my hand into a fist. Where did Steve even run off to?

Five minutes later, a barrage of knocks came sounding on the door. I opened it within in three seconds to come face to face with a concerned looking Sharon, Steve's arm hung over her shoulder. Steve was slumped over, half-conscious, his head hanging down. His body seemed fine, but his head...

"What the hell did you to Steve?"

I stared at Sharon, my eyes demanding answers, as she handed me Steve's half-conscious body. I brought him over to the couch, and cradled his head in my arms. There was a bad cut on his forehead, where it looked like he had been hit with something hard. Sarah quickly jumped from where she had been watching TV and gasped when she saw the state her father was in.

"What happened to Dad?" Sarah's eyes had widened in fear, and they held, like mine, that desperation for answers.

"Ask Sharon over there," I grumbled, ripping off a piece of my shirt and pressing it to Steve's head. "Sarah, there should be a first-aid kit in that cabinet over there - do you mind getting it for me?" The young girl curtly nodded and ran over.

"Nat..." Steve grabbed the hand that was cupping his face. My hand. God his head looked so bad.

"What happened Steve? What did they do to your handsome face?" I looked at him worriedly while fussing over him.

"You think I'm handsome?" Steve chuckled, earning a light whack from me on the arm. He gave a grimace and a quite loud "ow". Apparently it wasn't a very light whack.

"Not the time to joke, Steve," I said. "You're hurt." It was then when Sarah came over with the first aid kit. I worked swiftly, dealing with the blood first, then carefully stitching the wound. By some miracle, I was able to keep my shaking hands steady enough to give him a proper stitching.

Finally done, I kissed his forehead on the stitches. "Now rest. That's an order." It's not like he could hear me anyways. It seemed as though he had passed out sometime during when I was doing the stitches.

When I turned, I was facing Sarah. Her concerned face mirrored mine and it was only seconds before she wrapped her arms around my waist. Though taken aback at first, I returned the embrace, trying to send my warmth into her body, as if it could reassure her just a bit more. A lump formed in my throat as she said, "Dad's going to be okay, right? Right?"

"Yes, yes he is," I patted Sarah's back, aware of the wetness forming on my shirt from Sarah's tears. Looking up, I made eye contact with Sharon, who had - were those tears? - brimming her eyes. I took a light step back from Sarah, crouched down so I would be eye-level with her, and held her by the shoulders.

"Look, your dad is going to have to rest right now, and the best thing for you to do to help him is to stay put and stay safe and make sure your brother is safe too. Can you do that for me?"

Sarah nodded with a hiccup that resulted from her crying. I reached out and swiftly wiped the tears from her cheeks, standing up after doing so. I have her a quick squeeze of the hands.

"Look after James for now. I'll tell you when Steve wakes up." And with that, Sarah was out of the room. That was done. Now, to deal with Sharon...

"You make an amazing mom," Sharon said as I approached her. Looking into her eyes, I saw there was sincerity to her words and I looked down at the floor for a moment, as I felt an unfamiliar warm feeling in my chest.

Focus Romanoff. I looked back up.

"I'm flattered Sharon, but cut the crap. What happened back there? Who did this to Steve? Why were you guys out anyways?"

Sharon was quiet for a long time, avoiding eye contact and fidgeting with her fingers. She looked up then down then to the side, and I think if I hadn't thrown my fist against the kitchen counter, she would've stayed quiet the whole time. Sharon jumped at the thud my first made from the contact with the marble surface.

"Tell me what happened."

Sharon sighed. "You might want to sit down."

———

"A few months ago, Steve and I had a really big fight. It was mostly about what to do with Sarah, because, as you know, I wanted her to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Which I later realized it was wrong of me to push her like that. It was also because Steve was always talking about you. He'd justify it by saying that you're a big part of the team and everything, but... I always knew there was something between you two. It made me crazy jealous when I was still really into Steve. But anyways, Steve and I were in a really bad place, and it was our worst fallout. Naturally, I found myself at a bar... drinking and drinking and drinking... and suddenly, this man comes up to me...

"Sharon Carter?"

I turned around to see an unfamiliar face. It was a tall man who had spoken to me. Maybe around 6'3. He had dark ebony hair with equally dark eyes and broad shoulders. There was a lumberjack kind of feel to him. I squinted and put my drink down.

"Do I know you?"

The man chuckled and pulled out the bar stool to my right, sitting down next to me. "No, but I do know your husband."

*In a dramatic voice* To be continued...

If you were confused about the italics part, I just switched the POV from Nat to Sharon to make it easier - since Sharon's telling the story. So it'll be like she's reliving the events.

So sorry for the long wait! It's been a year 😩. Clearly, I am a big procrastinator and not the best at keeping up with any sort of schedule. 😅 These qualities in me really are a pain in the butt when I go to school, but I think it's just as bad here too. So I really am so sorry.

To make up for it though, today's a multi-update day, so you will be getting multiple new chapters. 😊 I hope you like them!