Steve led Jemma out of the common room and down the hallway past the elevator that she just stepped foot out of. Steve explained the layout of the compound; the fourth floor (the floor they were on now) was the living quarters and had the common room and each person's bedroom, the third floor functioned as both training floor where the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents went to do hand-to-hand combat training and as a small headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D., the second floor had all different types of labs, and the first floor was more training rooms that served as shooting galleries and gyms.

Steve and Jemma stopped in front of the second to last door at the end of the hall. The door was painted white and was plain, the only attempt at a decoration was the five black letters that spelled out "WANDA" that were stuck to the door. Steve took a step towards the door, leaned his head against it, and gave a gentle knock hoping he didn't startle her.

"Wanda? It's, uh, Steve. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he paused a second, waiting, hoping for a response from the brunette. He cleared his throat and spoke again. "Anyway...Jemma's here. She wanted to see how you were doing. Maybe you two could talk?" Steve sighed when he again didn't get a response. Jemma placed her hand on his arm and gave him a sad smile.

"Let me try," she whispered to him. He stepped out of the way, giving her access to the door and she knocked too, a little louder than Steve. "Hey Wanda, it's me, Jemma. I don't know if you remember me. You probably don't since we haven't seen each other in a few months. I was hoping we could talk...you know, catch up and all that." After a minute of silence, Jemma heard a light click. She cautiously reached for the doorknob and turned it, finding it unlocked. Jemma entered the room slowly, not knowing what she was about to walk into. Steve nodded to himself and left them alone, walking back down the hall. She'll talk to me when she's ready.

Wanda laid on her bed, face down in the many pillows that surrounded her. Her long brown hair was tied up in a messy bun and looked greasy, her face and eyes were red and puffy and she had dark circles forming under her eyes. She was dressed in a black jacket with white arrows running up the arms that seemed too big for her and grey sweatpants. The lights in the room were off, the only source of light coming from outside, but she had the blinds closed, leaving the room dark. Wadded tissues and an empty tissue box littered the floor, having been thrown around carelessly. Wanda's body laid still in her bed, still not speaking, but every couple seconds, she would inhale sharply. Jemma's heart broke as she looked at the young girl before her. She slowly walked over to the side of her bed and knelt in front of her face, trying to get her to look at her.

"Oh, Wanda," she said softly as she tucked a strand of her hair that fell out of the bun behind her ear. The girl shifted her eyes to look at Jemma and they started to water again. Jemma ran her thumb across the girl's cheek, catching any fallen tears. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, honey, it's okay."

"Why are you here?" Wanda asked her in a raw voice that cracked and wavered after each word. She hadn't spoken to anyone in months, no wonder she sounded like this. Jemma saw a glass sitting on the little table beside her. She picked it up, took it into the jointed bathroom and filled it with water, then she walked back over to Wanda and handed it to her. The girl took the glass and chugged the water, looking at Jemma with thanks. When she was finished, she placed the glass back on the table.

"I just wanted to talk to you, see how you were doing. Everyone's really worried about you; especially Nat." Wanda looked down; she didn't believe that they were worried about her.

"They're not worried about me. They don't care about me. They just want to make sure I won't blow up the building." Wanda's Sokovian accent came through as she spoke.

"They do care. Steve's all upset that you won't talk to him. Sam and Rhodey too. And Natasha, Natasha came all the way into the city to beg me to come here to talk to you because she figured that you would talk to me. She's the most worried of all." Wanda scoffed. "I don't know everything that you've been through, and you don't have to tell me, but Wanda, you need to learn to accept when people want to help you. You need to learn to let people in. Everyone can always use help."

Wanda froze at her words. She thought of Lily, she thought of the battle when she said that to her in the church after refusing to leave her side. She thought of her dying in her arms. Scrambling in bed, Wanda sat up suddenly, letting out a scream as her hands flew up and covered her face and ears. Her eyes were closed tight but tears still leaked out. Jemma ran around to the other side of the bed and jumped on, taking the girl in her arms. She rested her chin on top of her head, ran her hand up and down her back, and rocked her back and forth.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay, shhh." Jemma wasn't sure what to do to help her, but she would stay as long as she needed. "What's wrong, Wanda? Talk to me, let me in."

"I...I can see her. She said those same words to me before...before..." Jemma heard her struggle and didn't make her finish; she understood what she meant.

"It's okay," she whispered as she gently lifted the girl from the soft mattress and into her lap. "It's okay, Wanda. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise you. It'll get better."

"I see him too; he comes to me in my dreams. He calls out to me, asks me to come with him, and when I do, I see the bullets, and he bleeds out in my arms. I couldn't save them," Wanda sobbed into Jemma's chest. Jemma understood who she was talking about; her twin brother Pietro. She knew the story, thanks to Clint, how the boy saved his life by sacrificing his own. It sounded much like Lily's story; a selfless act for a stranger.

A red mist floated harmlessly through the air. The beauty of it amazed Jemma who hadn't seen Wanda's powers before, but she turned her attention back to the broken girl. She reached up and undid the messy bun, allowing Wanda's brown curls to flow down against her back. She allowed her fingers to run through her hair, undoing any tangles that they ran into on their way down. Wanda's sobs softened to quiet whimpering.

"Wanda, look at me," the girl lifted her head and looked at Jemma. "It is not your fault that Pietro and Lily died. They chose to do a selfless act that benefitted others instead of themselves. They died heroes, and we cannot take that away from them. I know you feel guilty, believe me, I feel the same way, but listen to me Wanda, you need to know and believe that you are not at fault for what happened. I need you to fully understand that. You may be an enhanced person with capabilities that no ordinary person possesses, but you are still one person, Wanda. You are one person and you shouldn't have to feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."
Wanda stared at Jemma, processing her words. She felt grateful that Jemma came to talk to her. She really needed her, and Jemma, though she didn't know it, needed Wanda.

"What do I do now?" she asked, her green eyes red and bloodshot. Jemma let out a little chuckle.

"First, we're going to go into the bathroom and clean you up, then, if you want, we can go out and sit with the team. But if you don't I'll stay here with you for as long as you want me to." Wanda nodded her head, and she and Jemma got off the bed and walked into the bathroom. Jemma got the washcloth that sat hung up on the wall by the sink, wet it with cold water, and started to wipe Wanda's face, hoping to clear away the redness and make the puffiness in her eyes go down. She then instructed her to take a quick shower to wash her hair, saying that it would help her feel better.

Jemma walked around Wanda's room picking up the used tissues and placed them in the trash. She spent the time that Wanda was in the shower fixing up her room, trying to refresh it. She made her bed and opened her curtains and windows to let in some more natural light and fresh air. After about fifteen minutes, Wanda stepped out of the shower and timidly walked into her room to grab some fresh clothes, before once again entering the bathroom. Wanda did feel better after taking a shower and felt even better after having talked with Jemma. Wanda changed into a clean red short-sleeve t-shirt and black shorts. Walking back into her room, she tied her long damp hair into a ponytail, and slipped on the large sweatshirt she had on earlier.

"Don't you want to put on a clean jacket?" Jemma asked as she held out a different sweatshirt for Wanda to put on, but the young girl shook her head.

"No, this...this was my brother's. It's all I have left of him, and I want to keep him close." Jemma gave the girl a soft smile and put the hoodie that she held back in its drawer.

"Now, what do you want to do?"

"I...I want to go and be with everyone, but," Wanda tugged on the sleeves of her jacket, trying to hide. "But what if they don't want me there?"
"They definitely want you there. You're a part of their family now, and I can promise you, that when they see you, they will be so happy." Wanda smiled at the thought and before she could stop herself, she ran forward and threw her arms around Jemma engulfing her in a big hug, burying her face into her long auburn hair.

"Thank you," she mumbled. "For everything." Jemma smiled brightly. She was unbelievably happy that she could help the girl. Before they pulled away, Jemma remembered some of the things that Wanda was doing to herself.

"Before we go, I need you to promise me one thing," she said, trying to approach the subject gently.

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll try to eat more? Nat and Rhodey told me that you barely eat whenever they bring you food. You need to eat, Wanda." Wanda was silent for a moment, and at first Jemma thought maybe she had crossed a line, trying to tell the girl what to do, but she relaxed when Wanda agreed to her demand. Jemma smiled, released the girl, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before leading the two of them out of the room.

It felt weird for Wanda to be outside of her room. She hardly ever set foot out of it in the past few months, and when she did, it was only for a little while to grab something and then she went right back. She felt anxious as she and Jemma walked down the hall back to the common room. She could hear the sounds of Sam and Rhodey's yelling at what she could only guess was that stupid game they were playing. As they got closer, she could hear faintly hear the conversation happening between Natasha and Steve, but she wasn't paying enough attention to hear the exact words. Wanda felt her pace slow to a stop the closer they got. She didn't know why she was so nervous. Maybe it's because I avoided them every day for six months. It's a miracle they even remembered that I still lived there. Jemma noticed her hesitation and stopped beside her.

"Hey, what's the matter?"
"What...what if they're mad at me? For avoiding them?"

"I'm sure they're not mad. When I last saw them, they were just really concerned and worried. I'm sure everything will be fine. Do you want me to go ahead and kind of soften the blow?" Wanda nodded her head and stood in her place while Jemma walked on ahead into the common room.

Steve was immediately up and walking over to Jemma when he saw her come back in. He couldn't help the sad look that appeared on his face when he saw that she was alone.

"How is she?" he asked quickly, not wanting to wait for an answer. Jemma held up a hand, telling Steve to calm down.

"She's okay now. I got her to talk, take a shower and to come out of her room. She's a little fragile right now, so I need you to calm down. We don't want to over excite her. Okay?" Steve nodded his head in understanding. She saw Natasha give her a curt nod from the bar before she turned to walk back out to grab Wanda.

Wanda's hands trembled slightly with each step she took towards the common room. Jemma grabbed her hand and held it tightly, effectively stopping it from shaking before giving her an encouraging smile. Walking into that common room was the hardest thing that Wanda had done in a long time. When she and Jemma entered the room, all conversations stopped. Sam and Rhodey paused the game they were playing and looked over at her, and Steve was standing next to Natasha over by the bar staring at her with concern. Wanda walked over to Steve until she was directly in front of him, leaving Jemma by Sam and Rhodey. She sighed deeply as she brought herself to look into Steve's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out quietly. She wasn't even sure if he heard her, but her thoughts were settled when he reached out and lightly pulled her into a hug, his big arms circling around her small body. He leaned his head down on her freshly washed and damp hair and placed a gentle kiss. He sniffled quietly, trying to mask his crying; he had been really worried about her.

"It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry about." Wanda smiled into his chest, happy that he didn't hate her for what she had done.

After a minute,Natasha stood up from the bar and walked over, joining the hug. She too placeda kiss on Wanda's head as tears of her own came to her eyes. Before long, bothSam and Rhodey also joined in the group hug. Sam tried to lighten the mood bymaking jokes about Natasha being affectionate, which earned his a sharpstabbing pain of her elbow in his side, causing everyone including Wanda tolaugh at Sam's misfortune. Natasha was the only one that noticed that Jemmahadn't joined the hug. She felt like she shouldn't, that she would intrude on aspecial moment between the Avengers, but those thoughts left her mind whenNatasha looked over at her and said, "Get in here, Barnes." Jemma smiled as shejoined the hug.