"Oh oh the night comes down
And I get afraid of losing my way"
— night comes down, queen

☆

"HAVE ANY THREES?"

"Go fish."

Freddie peeked over the top of her cards, her eyes flitting towards her father as he picked up another card. The faint lull of music filled the small room as the two sat in their pyjamas, their tea slowly going cold beside them. The girl glanced at Oliver who stood behind the man, his eyes focused on Dominic's cards as he held up two fingers.

"Got any twos?" She asked, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

Dominic shot the girl an incredulous look as he handed her his card. Freddie placed down yet another pair of cards on the table with a smug smile, earning a loud groan from her father.

"You're cheating!" Dominic accused, slamming his cards down onto the small table.

"No, I'm not!" The girls offer defensively, her eyes subtly moving to Oliver, who was watching them with a faint smile. "If anyone here is cheating it's you, 'Mr Spy'!"

"Hm..." He shook his head in disbelief as he stood up, grabbing the two cups and placing them by the sink while Freddie emitted a loud yawn. "You've had a long day Fred, I think it's time for you to get some rest... and I'm not on duty until eleven tomorrow morning, so you-" He patted her head as he walked past her to go to the bathroom, "You get to sleep in."

Freddie nodded with a brief smile, stretching her arms above her head with another elongated yawn. Without any complaints, she slowly dropped down onto the bed, her hand latching around her headphones and iPod in the process. She slipped under the bed covers, pulling the blankets up to her chest as she scrolled through the copious amount of songs.

Dominic reemerged from the bathroom minutes later, approaching the bed as the girl put in a singular headphone.

"I'm turning off the main lights, but I'll leave the lamp on," He informed the girl as a small grin spread across his face. "Night, Fred."

"Night." The girl answered, sinking back further into the bed, letting the music calm her growing nerves.

She could see Oliver slip into the bathroom- a habit he had gotten used to over the years. He said it was creepy to watch and stare as she slept and Freddie had to agree. So he'd gotten used to leaving the room during the night, something she was grateful for.

The girl turned to face the lit lamp while her eyes slowly began to droop shut as her music still flowed steadily through her headphones.

And so the night came down.

☆

THE DARKNESS STABBED AT THE GIRL like millions of needles poking and prodding at her flesh as they embroidered the names of the damned into her skin. The horrid thing about having a fear of darkness is that you aren't afraid of the dark itself, you're afraid of what its tendrils are concealing, afraid that something can be standing right ahead of you, yet you remain naïve to its presence. She knew she wasn't alone, and even something as ominous as darkness was failing to hide it. She could feel the darkness ebbing and flowing as it weaved its way towards her until there was no way for her to escape.

"THEY TOOK MY BABY!"

"MY SISTER- I HAD A SISTER!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"

"I WAS ONLY HIS FRONT GUY!"

"IT WASN'T ME!"

"I REFUSED TO SURRENDER!"

"I BEGGED FOR MERCY!"

"I WAS ONLY PAYING OFF MY DEBT!"

"IT WASN'T MY CHOICE!"

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME!"

Freddie Walker shot up with a loud gasp, her eyes snapping open in horror. She was covered in a cold sweat while her body trembled. Fumbling to push back the covers, her hands scrambled to grasp her iPod which was nowhere to be seen. In a panic, she brought her knees to her chest trying to suppress the bile rising in her throat.

Dominic Walker was a known light sleeper, something he'd found himself adapting to while working for SHIELD, so upon hearing the noise, he bolted upright, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun he'd strategically placed on a coffee table. His eyes immediately scanned the room, but his defensive gaze faltered when he saw Freddie hunched over, her arms clutched to her chest.

In an instant, the man was crouching beside the bed, his hand reaching out to rub her back reassuringly as she shook.

"It's okay, it's okay," The man whispered soothingly, he was no stranger to her nightmares, but the sight never failed to tug on his heart. "You're going to be okay, come on, focus on my breathing." The girl's chest heaved heavily, as she tried to focus on her dad's steady breathing.

"That's it, that's it, you're okay."

Freddie let out a small, frustrated sigh as she wiped the stray tears from her eyes. She hated feeling like this.

"I'm sorry, god, I'm so sorry." She croaked miserably, the heels of her palms pushing against her eye.

"Hey, hey, hey—" the man took her two hands away from her face, his fingers wrapping around her wrists gently. "You've got nothing to apologise for."

The girl didn't respond, so the man stood up from the floor placing a hand on her shoulder, his eyes never leaving the girl's shaking figure. He sunk into his thoughts, his mind spinning as he tried to think of a more effective way to calm the girl down until it hit him.

"Hey, Fred?...go throw on a hoodie and some shoes, yeah? I want to show you something."

☆

THE GIRL HAD THROWN ON A PAIR OF shoes along with one of the biggest hoodies she owned while her father had changed out of his pyjamas into a pair of actual trousers and a t-shirt. He stood at the door to the room, shrugging on a jacket, as Freddie located her headphones and the device she'd lost earlier.

"Ready?" Dominic asked, earning a feeble nod from the fatigued girl.

He led her through a set of long hallways, subtly nodding as he passed any agents on duty. Freddie wrapped her arms around herself tightly, as she looked down at the floor. Her shaken up nerves were starting to ease as she listened to the music. She had no idea what her dad had planned or where he was leading her, but she was too tired to question it.

"Okay, it's right up here," Dominic spoke up, opening a door, and stepping through it. The girl glanced around hesitantly before following her father.

Freddie's jaw dropped at the sight ahead of her. Above her, thousands of scattered stars glittered and sparkled in the night sky. The wind nipped at her nose as she crept towards her dad who stood over a supportive railing.

Although the girl may not have fond feelings for the night, she discovered that nothing could stop her from being enthralled by the stars. I mean, how poetic it was to fall in love with the heavenly bodies that danced their way across the realm of darkness after dusk, the same darkness that instilled the worst feeling of fear.

"We haven't done this in a long time," Dominic remarked, glancing towards Freddie.

"Nashville." She whispered, taking out one of her earbuds. "We haven't done this since Nashville."

"Well, that's a long time isn't it?" His elbow nudged her side as an amused smile graced his face. "What were you? Ten? Eleven?"

"Eleven...it was after the first time you'd left me for longer than three weeks."

"Of course," Dominic said, grimacing at the memory, "When I left you with your aunt and came back only for you to cling to me while Carla ordered for me to send you away to a retreat she'd heard of online."

"She kept yelling at me, telling me that my 'illness' could be resolved if I went outdoors more." Freddie's eyebrows furrowed as she talked. "I was so scared you would listen to her."

"And why would I ever listen to a woman who only ever insults us, aye?"

"She also liked to go on and on about how mom deserved a man that was capable of raising a normal kid."

Dominic was silent.

Freddie instantly cringed, regretting her words as her eyes traced the sky. She allowed her eyes to travel towards her father, who was staring into the openness.

"Dad-"

"Carla's a witch," Dominic stated, his hands interlocking. "She always hated me."

"She hates everyone," Freddie said, her lips quirking into a smile. "Pretty sure she yelled at a pastor once for not including her favourite prayer...and if she doesn't like you then she definitely doesn't like me."

Dominic chuckled lightly, his eyes flitting towards the girl. "Well, it's Carla's loss." He spoke. "She'll never know how incredible you are."

"Mhm..."

Freddie stared down at the floor, her eyes glancing towards Oliver. The boy raised an amused eyebrow at her, yet his eyes held an unfamiliar, clouded look. The girl shifted on her feet, her head tilted up as the wind splayed strands of her hair across her face.

"Do you think Mom would like me?"

Dominic froze as the girl's words left her mouth. His heart rate picked up as the thoughts of his wife swirled their way through his mind.

"Do you think of her a lot?" He questioned.

"Sometimes," Freddie answered briefly, turning her head. "Sometimes the thought comes and goes and other times it lingers. I don't remember a lot about her, y'know?"

"I wouldn't expect you to, after all, you were young enough when she..."

"Sometimes I have these memories, but it's more a dream of a memory rather than a real memory." Freddie's voice was small as she continued. "It's as if my brain can picture her and a few, small moments, but the rest are figments of my imagination. Sometimes I wish I had more."

"That's fair," Dominic nodded, "– and to answer your question, yes, your mother would like you, and she'd be so proud of you...but obviously not as proud as I am."

Freddie's lips quirked into a smile. "You're getting sappy." She opined, causing her dad to laugh heartily, his shoulder nudging hers playfully.

"I've always been sappy." Dominic joked, "It's all a part of being a dad, munchkin."

"Munchkin, really?!"

"Used to call you that all of the time when you were a baby." The man wistfully reminisced. "When you were born, you reminded me of those ugly, blonde munchkins from the wizard of Oz."

"Dad!"

"What? You were an ugly baby, there's no denying it."

"You're not supposed to admit it!"

"But then I'd be lying."

"Your job consists of you lying!"

Dominic chuckled, "You got me there," He admitted, while his eyes flitted towards the girl whose teeth had begun to chatter from the bitter wind. "Cold?" Freddie shook her head but her body gave her away as a wave of shivers overcame her, earning a knowing smile to cross the man's face. "I think we better go back inside."

A wave of exhaustion swept its way through Freddie and she didn't have the energy to disagree this time. Together, the two retreated through the door leading into Helicarrier. She was no longer shaking —something Dominic noted as his hand rested on her shoulder, guiding her back to the room.

Suddenly, a large group turned the corner, guards marched along with their heads high as they escorted, what Freddie could see to be a man in green and black. Dominic pulled her out of the hallway, and into a doorway as the guards grew closer, his grip tightening as they began to file past.

Freddie watched in curiosity as they strode. The buzz of noise had increased tenfold and seemed to be growing louder by the second. The world fluttered and swirled as the guards continued to pass. The whispers turning to a lucid screaming in a matter of seconds. The girl's fingers instinctively gripped the material of her sleeves, her vision blurring as a flurry of technicolour waves swarmed. She fought and struggled against the black dots that had begun to creep their way into the line of vision as she leant back into her father for support.

The last thing Freddie could distinguish was a tall figure passing the doorway, his green and gold outfit burning its way into her mind before she slipped away; giving in to the pain and exhaustion of the night.

☆

I would just like to point out that I literally adore Freddie.

In saying this, she's only 15 in this book, so of course, she's a lil unstable because her powers are sort of at an all-time peak. Freddie is still trying to navigate how to use her powers and she has to do it alone because there's no one else quite like her.

Anyways, my point is, Freddie may come across as weak during this section of the book. She will be drained, she may pass out and she may lose her mind at some point, but this is all a part of the process of learning and coping.

Anyways, that's it I guess, goodbye and I love you <33

ALSO BEFORE I GO, THESE ARE THE MUNCHKINS I REFERENCED :))