☆

WHEN TALIA HAD FIRST DISCOVERED she was pregnant, Talia had hidden away in shock, unable to process the news. It had never been planned nor even spoken about; for Talia, it had taken her all this time to let herself love Stephen Strange and to finally move in with him.

And now she was locked in their bathroom, staring at those two positive lines.

When Stephen came home from work, he found Talia with her head in her hands, sitting on the edge of their bed as she waited for the inevitable. There was a series of thoughts going through Talia's head: how could she raise a child, but this would also be the reason needed for Stephen to leave her.

Talia was terrified, but underneath all that, she felt the flare of joy.

"Talia, Darling?" Stephen sat down next to her, placing a hand on her back. "What's wrong?"

"You will hate me," Talia told him.

"That's not possible," Stephen reassured her. "You know I could never hate you."

Talia's head turned, eyes locking with the man she loved. His eyes were soft and loving, caring about Talia enough to worry about her. "I'm pregnant."

Stephen fell silent, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"We were safe," Stephen insisted. "We've always been safe."

"Apparently not safe enough."

Stephen shook his head. "No," he decided, standing as his fingers pressed against the corners of his head, clearly stressed. "Now is not the time for a baby."

"I know that, but—"

"My career is starting, Talia," Stephen reminded her. "I am finally saving lives."

Talia frowned, staring at him. "You don't want this baby because of your career?"

"I've worked hard," stated Stephen. "I don't have the time to fit raising my child in."

"We'll find a way to make it work," Talia insisted, realising then that her mind had been made.

Either way, Talia was keeping the baby.

And realising that, Talia felt her heart spark to life.

"No," Stephen said again. "Now is not the time." Then, he was stepping forward as her head tilted upwards to look at him with his hands cupping her cheeks. "Darling, one day we will have a family together, but right now is not the time."

"Stephen," Talia told him. "I'm keeping the baby."

The words had caused Stephen to pull away with Talia seeing the cracks appear between them, knowing this was not what Stephen wanted. But, for Talia, while she was frightened, she knew that she loved her baby more than anything.

It had come between the two as Stephen had left Talia, not wanting to be a father. Even though he was arrogant enough to choose his career over them, Talia had still tried to find a way to make it work. When the three-month scan had been booked, Talia had invited Stephen, wanting to give him the chance to be there.

Seeing the first sign of her baby on the screen, Talia's heart stuttered to a stop. Stephen had come too, where Talia witnessed the change inside them: for more than a month, Stephen had been in denial about the baby and now he had melted, surrendering to their baby from simply seeing a tiny photo.

And then Stephen's doctor side had kicked in, pushing the nurse out of the way as he checked everything out himself. The poor nurse had scurried away, searching for a higher authority to deal with Stephen.

"Stephen, you can't do that," Talia told him after.

"It's my baby," said Stephen. "And it's you. So, of course, you'll get the best care."

"We don't need a neurosurgeon," Talia reminded him, smiling as this was all she had wanted. "I just need someone to tell me that my baby is growing healthy."

"I can tell you that myself," Stephen said. "Our baby is healthy and just under three months, so we'll have a July baby for sure," then he paused, pulling himself away from the tablet the doctor had been filling in with Talia's details. "Darling, I'm so sorry."

Talia stopped breathing at that. It was so rare for Stephen to apologise or even admit when he was in the wrong, so now Talia was certain she had misheard the words.

"You are sorry?" Talia repeated, stunned.

Stepping closer to her, Stephen took Talia's hand that rested above her belly. "I shouldn't have run at the news of our baby," he told her. "I shouldn't have even seen our baby as a burden. I was scared, Talia — terrified actually."

"Just because we are having a baby, doesn't mean you can't have your career," Talia reminded him. "But, Stephen, there's more to life than just surgery. Can't you see it? We're having a baby. We're starting a family."

"I see it now," Stephen admitted.

His hand moved, tugging Talia's hand gently upwards as his lips brushed a kiss on the back of her hand. Though, while Talia was still angry and frightened that he had run, she still felt her heart swell. Somehow, Stephen had still found his way through her defences.

"Just, please don't leave me again," Talia whispered to him. "I can't cope with going through that again."

"It's been the worst month of my life," Stephen confessed. "I could never leave you again, Talia. You are everything to me."

Talia smiled at that, feeling the tears spill from her eyes. "You are lucky that I do love you as I'm not good at this."

"I know," said Stephen. "Darling, I'm so sorry. Leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Then don't make it again," Talia's words were firm. "I mean it, Stephen, as I won't be letting you back in my life for a third time."

Maybe it was harsh, but it was the truth. Thinking about it, maybe it was Talia's fault too for letting her defences down around Stephen — for thinking that he would not do what everyone else had done. But Talia had found a home in Stephen that she did not want to lose, so for the first time, she was listening to her heart.

The next time he left, Talia would be the one to leave first.

That was a promise to herself.

"I never repeat the same mistake twice," Stephen told her, confident at that, but his eyes held onto her stare, knowing that he had failed her in more ways than she could confess. "I do love you, Talia, and I'm so lucky to have you. We'll figure this out together."

"We have six months," Talia reminded him, not quite forgiving him. "I'm sure that's enough time for me to forgive you, though I'm expecting you to grovel a bit more first."

There was a hint of a smile at that on Stephen's face. "Gifts too, I bet?"

"I'm happy to accept gifts," said Talia. "Maybe some attention too or even some food. I really want some fries right now."

Stephen laughed at that. "So, the cravings have started?"

"Oh, yeah," Talia said. "Baby and I want some fries."

"Then I'll get you some fries."

Talia smiled at that with a little hope that they could figure things out.

☆

The time had passed with Talia switching from white to crimson robes, finding more control in her power. Each time the purple magic flared, Talia felt connected to it, starting to believe that maybe it was truly a part of her.

But, as Talia trained, her eyes kept finding Stephen Strange, already noticing a change in him. Even with Talia still ahead of him, Stephen had found his crimson robes too. The main change had been his appearance: the beard was shaved, and his hair had been trimmed.

While Talia was avoiding bumping into her ex-husband as much as possible, the two could not stop locking eyes across Kamar-Taj. For Talia, every time it happened, it felt as if the world had stopped, and her heart had sparked back to life.

"Stephen is not your concern, Talia," the Ancient One reminded her. "You must focus on yourself and your training."

So, Talia averted her gaze again, heading into the training room that they used with Stephen's gaze lingering on her. But, of course, word had spread about the divorced couple within Kamar-Taj, adding to the mystery of Talia. While no one dared to question the secrecy surrounding her, they were all too engaged with the drama.

"I met your husband," Wong had told her.

Talia had sighed, pausing to speak to Wong before she headed into the library to study. "Ex-husband, Wong."

"Did you tell him that?" Wong questioned. "Strange still believes he's a married man."

Hearing that, Talia had frowned, always being observant of the fact that Stephen still wore his wedding band. But, if Stephen still wanted to be married, then he would have fought to keep his family.

And he had failed them. Repeatedly.

That night, Talia had returned to the New York Sanctum with Mordo. Introducing Sienna to him as a friend from work, Talia felt ashamed of lying to her daughter. Sienna, though, was just like her parents thriving under attention.

Tucking Sienna into bed later that night, the child's arms were wide with Talia hugging her daughter, peppering her with little kisses until she giggled. Sitting close to her, Talia smiled at Sienna, who was laying back against the mountains of pillows on the too large bed for her.

"Mommy," said Sienna. "Why do Daniel and Karl wear those costumes?"

"It's to do with work," Talia replied.

"Do you have to wear a costume?" Sienna asked.

"Yes," Talia answered, nose crinkling. "Mommy looks silly."

"Do you work for the Avengers now?"

Talia was struck by the question; while it wasn't the Avengers, they were still similar in their own way to the superhero team. After everything Sienna had been through, keeping her daughter here while lying to her, didn't seem right — not when it had already been months.

"No," Talia replied. "If I told you why mommy's working with them, it's got to be a secret, okay?"

"Can I tell Nicole?"

"No."

"Julie?"

"No."

"What about bunny?"

"You can tell bunny," Talia said. "But it has to stay between the three of us."

"Not daddy?" Sienna questioned, clutching onto her pink bunny.

"No, daddy can't know," Talia told her daughter.

"Just us three," said Sienna with the words causing Talia's heart to break, not finding it easy to see her daughter's acceptance that her father was not in their life anymore. "What is it?"

Talia pressed her lips together, feeling her heart thunder to life. Opening her hand between the two, Talia called on the power as a violet orb appeared. Sienna screamed — more in excitement than from shock.

"Mommy you—you..."

In her reaction, Sienna's eyes had popped wide, unable to speak with her excitement. Talia had smiled, using her magic to shape the orb into a purple bunny that crystalised. Once it had formed, Talia gave it to her daughter.

Sienna held it in her tiny hands, shocked.

"It's magic..."

"Mommy has magic," Talia confirmed.

Gasping, Sienna looked up with her eyes glistening. "Does this mean I get to meet Iron Man?" She spoke too quickly. "And—And Supernova!"

Talia laughed at her joy. "I don't know them, Sweetheart."

"Could you be a superhero?" Sienna questioned, holding the purple bunny close to her chest, beaming with joy and pride.

"My only job is protecting you," Talia told her.

"And daddy?" Sienna asked. "Can you fix his hands?"

"I wish I could," Talia answered honestly. "If I knew how, then I would, Sweetheart."

"I miss daddy," Sienna confessed.

Talia's heart broke. "I miss him too."

A few nights later and Talia found herself sitting at the piano that Mordo had gifted her to have at the New York Sanctum. It felt wrong, even before Talia's fingers had touched the keys.

Sienna was at school and Talia had made it very clear that she would not be training today.

So, Talia had sat at the piano, staring down at the keys. On this day four years ago, Talia had married the love of her life — only it hand ended with Talia's heart in pieces.

As her fingers moved to the keys, Talia's ring finger remained empty with just the ghost of the memories lingering, causing her heart to ache that little bit more. They trembled as Talia played the familiar tune of the song they had first met too; back when Stephen had tried to steal her spotlight, which had ended up being a competition between the two. That song had ended up being their song, where Talia had walked down the aisle too and was the first song the two had danced together as husband and wife.

Back when Talia thought that they would never fall apart again.

Now, the song felt too hard to play. Remembering her husband, Talia's heart ached, wanting to fall into the trap of him again.

Maybe Talia still loved him, but she loved their daughter more.

Talia would not let herself be hurt again —. she had survived too much for that. Plus, she had promised herself too that she would not let him back in her life again.

But, on their wedding anniversary, Talia let herself fall apart as she missed him.

"Talia?"

Quickly, Talia wiped her tears before Daniel Drumm could even see that they had fallen. As she turned, her eyes spotted the bouquet of red roses in a vase, but his eyes were sad, seeing the pain that Talia was in.

"A delivery from Kamar-Taj," Daniel told her.

Talia frowned at that. "I don't want them."

Daniel placed them on top of the piano, offering Talia a look of sympathy. "I thought not," said Daniel. "Still, I promised that I would deliver them. There is a note for you too."

Then, Daniel left Talia alone after that.

Talia's eyes remained on the roses, finding them another reason for her heart to crack. A small card had been left with the vase as Talia's eyes lingered, unknowing if she wanted to read it or not.

If Talia listened to her heart, then she would give in to Stephen. But her head was constantly reminding herself that Stephen had left them. Worst of all, Stephen could never overcome that Talia had survived the crash without a scratch when he had lost his hands.

But, on their anniversary, Talia's heart craved for something.

So, Talia briefly stood as she reached for the note. It was tiny with Talia's breathing still, turning the note over as she read the four words: I love you more.

And Stephen had found a way to break Talia that little bit more.

☆

The next day, Talia was preparing herself for combat training with Mordo when she spotted Stephen across the courtyard. Stephen looked more hopeful than sad, thinking that maybe the roses and note had been enough to fix the pieces of their marriage back together.

"Talia, are you ready?" Mordo asked.

Breaking the gaze she held with her ex-husband, Talia's attention returned to Mordo, forcing a smile on her face. "As always."

Heading away from the other sorcerers that were training, the student and their mentor disappeared into a private room to practice. Talia had a lot of anger inside her that helped her training as Mordo was quick to start things between them.

The two used magic: amber against purple. Talia had conjured herself a sharp violet blade that came down against Mordo's shield.

Then, Talia moved backwards, watching as Mordo created fiery lines that crackled with the magic. As Mordo attacked, Talia blocked him this time with a shield flaring from her hands. But Talia never anticipated a second attack with Mordo knocking her to the ground as Talia stared upwards, frowning with disappointment.

"Well done," said Mordo, offering Talia his hand.

Talia accepted it, standing. "You knocked me down. I failed."

"Maybe so," Mordo agreed. "But you have come so far. Remember, you first came here and could not even call on the power. Now, you call on it as if it is a part of you."

"Do you think there is a purpose to me having this power?" Talia asked, still struggling to understand it the more she used it.

"There is always a purpose, it just depends on what you choose to do with that power," Mordo told her.

"If there are infinite versions of ourselves," said Talia, recalling what she had learnt from library books she had studied. "Then does that mean every universe has a me that has the potential to travel the Multiverse?"

At that, Mordo frowned. "Talia, if you were born from the Multiverse, then there might not be another you."

Talia felt the words sink deep. "So, I'm not supposed to exist?"

Now, Talia felt like a malfunction — someone who was not supposed to be here.

"You exist for a greater purpose," Mordo reassured her. "Right now, your purpose is here with us, and we are very fortunate to have you. I am happy that you are here."

Talia tried to smile, but it was hard to feel like she had a place anywhere. The only place that had felt like her own, had been the home Talia had built with Stephen — and now that was gone.

Instead of replying, Talia had started up their training again, focusing on getting herself through it. The truth was that Talia adored the power and thrived under her developing control. Sienna now looked at Talia as if she had presented her with the stars, where her daughter was completely mesmerised by what her mom could do.

But Talia also wanted to complete her training to get her daughter's life back on track. If Talia had one purpose, it was being a mother. Once she had finished, then Talia would find the two a new forever home and get Sienna back into a routine — one that she felt comfortable and happy with.

Right now, though, Talia just had to get through her training.

And avoiding her ex-husband as much as she could.

"How is Sienna doing since I last saw her?" Mordo asked once the two had headed back out to the courtyard area, where training had paused.

"I'm certain she thinks I'm an Avenger now," Talia confessed as Mordo laughed. "All she keeps asking is when she gets to meet Iron Man."

"Has it brought you peace to no longer lie to her?"

"Yes," answered Talia. "It feels easier now."

"Good, I can notice," said Mordo. "Once we accept who we are, that's when we have the greatest control of ourselves."

For Talia, it was everything to see how much Sienna adored her mother now that she had powers. Of course, Sienna had loved her mom before, but now she smiled more.

After training that day, Talia had picked up her daughter from school as Sienna had ran into her arms. Holding onto her daughter, Talia reminded herself that this was why she existed.

Not for a husband who did not love her enough nor for a power that was a mystery.

Always, for her daughter.

So, with the weather crisp in the middle of autumn, the two had gone out for their weekly ice cream treat in search of new flavours to try.

"Sienna?"

The child looked up with the white and pink birthday cake ice cream on her face as Talia smiled, reaching for the napkin to clean her face.

"You know I love you, right?" Talia told her.

Sienna smiled. "I love you more, mommy."

Talia's heart swelled at the words, but a crack was still rooted deep.

☆

Perhaps a month later, the mother and daughter were running late for the day. Grabbing the Avengers backpack, Talia headed out into the hallway with her free hand holding onto Sienna's.

"Mommy, we're painting today," Sienna told her.

"Are you?" Talia replied. "That's exciting."

"Can we paint Daniel's house?"

Talia smiled at that. "What colour shall we paint Daniel's house?"

"Pink and purple," Sienna decided. "Oh, and red!"

"I'm sure he'll love that," Talia reassured her daughter. "You can ask him tonight."

"Talia?"

Hearing her name, Talia froze as if her body became ice. Talia's eyes had widened with Sienna's hand tightening on Talia's, reacting to the voice too. The two turned, seeing Stephen down the hallway from where they had come from. Only, Stephen looked a little dusty with a few cuts; his new blue robes already damaged.

"What are you doing here?" Talia questioned, angrily.

Worst of all: had something happened?

But it was too late: Sienna had reacted, letting go of Talia's hand as she ran towards her father. While Talia could not blame her, Talia was afraid of the aftermath when Stephen left again. This was not fair — it was cruel.

Stephen crouched down onto one knee, opening his arms for his daughter as he held onto her. To Talia's relief, there's guilt on Stephen's face that only increased as his hands run through Sienna's hair, looking at his daughter.

"Sienna, you've gotten so big," Stephen told her, voice breaking at the realisation of the time he had lost. "I'm so, so sorry, Sweetheart."

"You missed my birthday party," Sienna said.

"Did you have fun?" Stephen asked.

Sienna nodded, joy evaporating, but she did not pull away from her dad's hold. "I dressed up as Supernova."

"Not Iron Man?" Stephen questioned, shocked.

"You are wearing robes like Karl and Daniel," Sienna noticed. "Do you have magic too?"

Stephen was surprised, eyes briefly looking over at Talia. "Sienna knows about all this?"

"I've had to raise Sienna here," said Talia. "And I couldn't keep it from her forever."

But Sienna had captured Stephen's attention again as her tiny hands had taken her father's hand, bringing it closer to her face to inspect. This time, Stephen did not flinch at the touch.

"Do your hands still hurt, daddy?" Sienna asked.

"They are starting to feel better," Stephen answered.

Then, Sienna's hand rose, touching his head. "But your head..."

"I love you, Sienna, and I will make everything up to you, but I have to talk to mommy," said Stephen with Talia fearful, already concerned with the state Stephen was in. "It's to do with magic."

Talia held his stare, knowing Stephen's slight nod answered the question she had been thinking: something had happened that was too dangerous for Sienna to know.

Though, downstairs, a rumbling echoed. Out of instinct, Talia ran straight for Sienna, moving her daughter behind herself as the child clutched to her side.

"What's going on, Stephen?" Talia demanded.

"Just get Sienna away from here," Stephen told her.

Then, his hands rose, hands shaking as a portal started to spark. It took Stephen a little longer than it should, but the rumbling echoed, becoming louder. On the other end of the portal, Nicole appeared, where her scream overshadowed the chaos that was brewing at the Sanctum.

"Go," Stephen shouted of them. "Get out of here."

Talia picked up Sienna, who was quiet in fear as she buried her head in her hands. As Talia stepped through the portal, Nicole was there, ushering them in with Talia passing her daughter over.

"I'll expain everything when I'm back," Talia promised Nicole.

Nicole stood in shock, mouth hanging open with a five-year-old in her arms.

"Mommy, no!" Sienna wailed, reaching for her with Nicole holding her back.

"Sienna, I'll be back," Talia promised. "I love you, baby."

As she turned, Stephen had closed the portal.

And Talia could have blown with her anger.

Instead, Talia's fists had curled, energy sparking deep inside her as her body felt as light as liquid. As if she was floating, Talia found herself shifting from one place to another.

One moment she had been standing in Nicole's living room with Sienna hysterically crying, and the next, Talia was back at the New York Sanctum standing before Stephen again.

"You..." Stephen was speechless. "How did you do that?"

Talia was not sure and they did not have the time to figure it out right now.

"If you do that again, I will kill you, Stephen," Talia snapped at him.

"What, for protecting you?" Stephen questioned.

"I don't need your protection," Talia told him.

From her hands, two purple blades had sparked, surprising the man opposite herself, who had been completely clueless about the months of training Talia had endured.

But, downstairs, Daniel Drumm was facing intruders, and Talia would not leave him to defend the Sanctum alone.

As much as she never wanted to be dragged into this world, here she was now. Funnily enough, with Stephen by her side.

So, Talia did not hesitate to do what was right.

☆

so, so excited for Talia and Stephen teaming up together! I also want the family back together but Stephen's got to work for it.