Chapter 2
The first rays of morning light have hardly risen in the sky when Natasha turns over in bed to find Clint's side cold and empty. Trying in vain to rub the sleep from her eyes, she looks to the clock to see it read ten minutes to six in the morning. From somewhere on the back porch, she can hear what sounds like a saw cutting into plywood. If history stands consistent, Clint has probably been out there since she fell asleep. Wrapping herself up in a robe, she begins to make her way out of the room. She pauses at the top of the stairs however, in front of the nursery.
The walls had all been painted in a warm yellow. Clint and Bucky had bet Steve, Sam, and Thor that they could paint two walls quicker than the three deputies, resulting in words probably not fit for the future home of a newborn, but the room was painted in record time, so she chose not to scold the boys. The rocking chair that sat beneath the window was her favorite part of the room, though. She, Jane and Maria had spent weeks searching flea markets and mom and pop furniture stores for the perfect crib, and found the gem along the way. They reupholstered it together, and in the end, the bright colors and sleek lines were the most captivating thing in the room.
She doesn't know when she starts to absentmindedly rub small circles on the top of her stomach, but smiles nonetheless once she realizes what she's doing.
As expected, Clint is on the back porch cutting away at what looks like siding for the shed. Funny, she thinks, because Clint has a list of jobs that need done around the house, and if her memory serves her well, the shed fell at sixteen or seventeen. She has to hold back the urge to ask if he had been up all night checking off items on the list and had already made it that far.
Instead, she settles for laying a comforting hand on his back, and is pleasantly surprised when he immediately melts under her touch. It's good to know she still has this type of affect on him after all this time.
"Clint. Love, you did the right thing."
She wishes she can say the lingering silence following her words surprises her, but it is exactly the response she had been waiting for.
"Listen to me, Clint. The man had a gun at a baseball game. There were how many kids on that field? How many people in those stands that he could have hurt........ Or killed."
More silence.
"You did the right thing."
He doesn't say anything still, but at least turns to face her.
His left hand comes to rest on her stomach. This silence is a bit more comforting. Clint's presence in and of itself is always as such for Natasha. He makes her feel safe. Always safe.
"My dad used to say I was a coward because I WOULDN'T defend myself. How then, does shooting a good man, who was my friend, in self-defense make me feel like the weakest piece of shit on the planet?"
She flinches at the severity in his voice. She knows empty words of comfort won't work. She tries a different approach of speaking to her husband.
"Say you hadn't done it. He would have killed you."
"Tasha."
"No. Just listen to me speak. He would have killed you, and then what? Steve was on the field behind you. He would have been burdened with taking the shot. Now, his best friend is dead, and he has to live with that choice. He's about to get married, Clint. Would you have wanted that?"
"You're not seeing the whole picture honey, I....."
"Stop. I'm not finished. Say he shoots you. Darcy then has to live with the fact that her father murdered a man that she has known since she was a little girl. In time she'll understand why you did what you did."
He is just staring out at the horizon now. Natasha keeps at it.
"What about me? You would have left me behind to raise a child by myself. Is that a better scenario?"
He places both his hands in her's. They are the hands of a man who is rebuilding a house full of old demons. Together, they are exorcizing the past and building a home, and a life. Hands that will now and forever feel the kick from his pistol as he took Erik's life. She holds tight to them, wanting him to feel something, anything, other than that.
"Doesn't make it hurt any less."
She doesn't hesitate to place a soft kiss on his lips.
"That's what I'm here for."
"No ma'am. The sheriff hasn't gotten in yet."
Maria looked up from where she was standing at the counter to wave at Clint just entering the building.
"Well, that's an ongoing investigation. Deputy Wilson and myself will be here all day if you have any further questions."
She smiles at the sheriff as she hangs up the phone and hands him the incident report they filed after the game.
He's much happier to receive the cup of coffee in her hands next.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be drinking coffee anymore, Chief."
It's still early in the morning, so he can't be blamed for the labored sigh at her words.
"You're all traitors. Every last one of you."
The phone once again starts to ring, and Hill makes a show of rolling her eyes before taking the calls once again.
Clint is no sooner sat behind his desk before Hill is calling over to him.
"That's Barnes on line two."
Thank goodness. Clint can get the final word from Bucky about the cause of the incident, and maybe then the whispers around town will stop.
"Hey, kiddo. What's the verdict?"
He hears a faint intake of breath and then the line is silent for a few moments.
"There wasn't any alcohol in Selvig's system, Clint. He was completely sober."
Needless to say, that was not what the sheriff was expecting to hear.
"That can't be right."
He doesn't know why the last line comes out in a whisper. Maybe because he has no other explanation for why Erik carried a damn shotgun onto a crowded baseball field and tried to shoot him in the head.
"I've got a few more tests I want to run, and I'm currently following a hunch. Bobbi even came down here to help me out. We'll figure everything out, pal. Don't you worry."
He hesitates before sprawling out the 0.0 next to Erik's BAL.
"Thanks, Bucky."
"You're not gonna tell him about the rhabdovirdae?"
Bucky hangs up with Clint, then finishes typing up the e-mail he plans to send to Helen Cho, the head of biology at Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids.
"Not yet. We both examined that body at least seven times each. There were no bite marks, claw marks, anything. I want to be completely sure before I give him an answer."
The music from the front of the building becomes increasingly louder. The sounds of Johnny Cash's "When The Man Comes Around" fill the room.
"Don't mind him, Bobbi. The Reverend always gets like this when I've got a body back here."
She just laughs. She takes off her lab coat and hangs it on a hook before making to exit the room.
"I used to think Phil's mother hen act was bad. He would always slink in here when I would stay late and wax poetic about every job being of equal importance in God's eyes, all the while I was cutting into a dead body. On especially late nights, he'd call his wife Melinda down so we could all have a glass of scotch. Then he'd say a prayer begging for forgiveness for drinking the damn stuff in a morgue. I'm kind of glad we both found new employment. I always end up back in this damn morgue, though."
Bucky knows the grin he's sporting is a guilty one, because Bobbi pats him on the shoulder as she exits the morgue.
"If it gets too late and you realize you and Steve have no plans for dinner, Lance and I are having stuffed peppers tonight. The two of you are more than welcome."
Bucky just smiles sheepishly and breaths out a small laugh while giving his thanks. He leans back over his computer to continue reading the article that Dr. Cho had written a few years earlier on severe cases of rabies in humans, when he hears soft footsteps falling on the tiled floor.
"What'd you forget?"
"So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation."
Bucky is startled by the new voice, and whips around to see Sitwell standing at the foot of the examination table, staring ominously at Erik's body. The man has always been a stoic type, but there was always warmth in his eyes.
Not now.
Bucky feels a chill enclose around him as the reverend starts to walk slowly toward him.
"This world is wrought with evil, James. It hides away in happy homes and cheerful gatherings and silent moments with loved ones. It slowly consumes beings that used to be wholesome and pure, corrupting them and mutilating them until they are a grotesque shadow of what they used to be. So, let me ask you. Do you know the face of evil, and are you willing to protect yourself and those you love from it?"
Sitwell is so close, Bucky could lift his hand right in front of him and have a fistful of the man's shirt. He's staring into Bucky's soul, it seems, waiting for him to give the wrong answer.
Bucky is surprised at how small his voice sounds, and wishes he didn't sound so terrified in front of a man he has known and worked with for four years.
"I..... I hope I never have to."
The tense situation dissipates as quickly as it started, however, as Sitwell looks back up at Bucky and smiles.
"I'm sorry, son. Everything that's been happening must be getting to my head. I'll leave you be."
It takes several minutes after Sitwell leaves the room for Bucky's heartbeat to return to normal.
The baseball field looks straight out of some post-apocalyptic scene this morning. The clear blue skies would normally be a beautiful sight, but the absence of all the laughter and cheers that filled this field the day before makes everything feel ominous.
Clint has been standing in the same spot for the past twenty minutes, and is starting to get consumed in the silence.
"Aw, coffee. No."
He reaches down to grab the abandoned cup, and pours what's left of it into the gravel, then turns to leave.
Happy must have snuck in while he was lost in thought, because the man is also staring out at the field from his perch in the stands.
"Happy?"
No response. Clint repeats himself, this time a little louder.
"Happy. Hello? Happy."
The man just continues to stare off into the distance. Clint slowly starts to inch toward the man. He doesn't know how much more of this Jason Vorhees act he can take. Happy had gotten his nickname for a reason. Ten seconds with the guy, and you were doubled over with laughter. Now, he's wearing the same look that Erik had been holding the day before. The exact same damn look.
"Happy! Are you going to answer me or do I have to hit you upside the head?"
Something breaks through to the other man, because he slowly comes into the moment. His expression now looks lost.
"I can feel it to sheriff. Something in the air. It's descending on us with each passing minute. What does it all mean?"
Clint doesn't have a chance to respond, as a bell off in the distance at the school summons Happy away.
"I have to go. Just.... Be careful, Clint. The Devil himself is alive in this town."
"Hope, Cassie! Scott, good morning! What can I do for you?"
Hope Van Dyne was a strong woman. She helped Scott wrestle through the ghosts of his criminal past to build a stable environment for his daughter. So the look that she is giving Natasha now is worrisome, because there is nothing but fear in her eyes.
"Can you please take a look at Scott?"
"Sure I can. What's wrong?"
"He's..... not right."
"How are you feeling, Scott? Any pain or discomfort?"
Nothing.
It's been this same act since Natasha walked in here with him a few moments ago. He is holding a void stare, and it is setting her nerves completely on edge.
"Scott? Did you hear me?"
The hand she places on his shoulder must be enough to awaken something inside of him, because he gives her a soft smile.
"She worries too much is all. I'm fine. Just a little tired."
Nat returns his smile, then turns to write down her final observations.
"Any big plans over the weekend? Clint and I are going to finally renovate the upstairs guest bathroom if you have some free time."
The man she knew would have been cracking up at the joke, but this man. This lifeless man sitting across from her is not the Scott Lang she knows.
"Scott?"
"She worries too much is all. I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"His vitals are fine, he just had a slight fever. I'm seeing a patient in Cedar Rapids on Monday. I'd like to take him with me to have a CT-scan done. Just to make sure it's nothing serious."
Hope looks conflicted. Natasha follows her gaze to see that she's staring at Cassie, not Scott.
"I love her like she's mine."
Natasha wraps Hopes nearest hand in both of her's.
"She might as well be! You changed her life, honey. His too."
Hope finally, finally smiles.
"Thank you."
As Natasha waves them off, the wonderful aroma of caramel iced coffee fills the air. Bucky. He is a saint.
"I love you, you know that?"
"Aaww, Natalia. You're so sweet. So is this coffee. Clint's pissed you ordered him off the stuff."
"He's been drinking it, and your fiancé has been covering for him."
Bucky just laughs. Steve can be such a little shit. He has a purpose for coming other than dropping off the treat, so he clears his throat and begins to speak.
"Have you ever dealt with any cases of rabies in humans before?"
The face she is giving him would be comical under any other circumstances.
"Not personally, but it never ends well. It's almost always fatal."
Bucky shutters at that. It was definitely fatal for Erik Selvig.
"Is it only contracted through a bite?"
She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Why the sudden interest in rabies?"
"I ran a screen on Erik's saliva, and it showed traces of rhabdovirdae."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah. That's what I said."
"Well, the fully incubated disease can only be spread through a bite, but the virus itself is primarily waterborne. Saliva based. He very well could have had rabies, if that's what you're asking."
"I'm not so sure. He was with Thor, just.... two days ago? The infected, especially humans, don't deteriorate that fast. I couldn't find a bite on him either, so how did the virus find its way into his system?"
She looks stumped.
"Well, let me ask you this. What are some of the symptoms?"
"Early symptoms are a slight fever, confusion, exhaustion....."
She drops her coffee onto the pavement.
"Nat, what the Hell!?"
Bucky chases her back into the building as she grabs for her phone and starts dialing frantically.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up."
"Want to tell me who you're trying to call?"
"Hope! Scott was just here. God dammit, it didn't even register until you showed up."
No answer.
"Shit."
Bucky grabs both her shoulders and makes her meet his eyes.
"What is going on?"
"Scott showed every damn symptom I just named in his check-up just now."
"Keep trying to get a hold of her, I'm gonna run over to the station and tell Steve what's going on."
As Bucky runs out the door, Natasha's heart sinks even further into her stomach, when once again, Hope doesn't answer.
"Steve!"
"Buck, what's wrong?"
Bucky grabs ahold of his fiancé and catches his breath, then meets his eyes.
"Natasha thinks that Scott Lang is infected, possibly rabies. We need to get over to his place right now."
Sam, the asshole, actually starts to laugh.
"Of all the excuses to pull him away from work to have sex, this is the lamest one yet."
Bucky holds back the urge to punch his best friend in the face.
"I'm serious."
"Wait, babe, weren't you saying that Selvig had the virus too?"
"Yes. And he carried a shotgun onto a baseball field. Let's go!"
All three men exit the building and hop into a cruiser.
The car hasn't even come to a complete stop, when both Steve and Bucky begin running toward the house.
"Hope! Hope, are you here!?"
Steve feels relief flood over his body when she comes rounding the corner into the main hallway.
"Steve, what are you doing here? Oh God, is Scott alright?"
"He's not here?"
"No, he left as soon as we got back from our visit with Natasha."
Bucky steps around Steve to speak to her as Sam also enters the house.
"Hope. Hun, where is Cassie?"
"She's upstairs, just, what the Hell is going on?"
Bucky is already halfway up the steps before Steve can formulate a sound answer.
"Natasha has reason to believe that he has contracted rabies. It's best that we find him and get him out to Cedar Rapids to get a solid diagnosis."
Hope is staring at Steve with a very unreadable expression. She shakes her head as if to reign in her emotions, then starts to exit the room.
"I'll grab my cell, try to give him a call."
Steve allows a small smile at the sight of Bucky walking down the steps, his hand wrapped around Cassie's.
"She's taking me to see her new princess castle!"
Steve places a soft kiss on his fiancé's cheek as he lets the little girl lead him out back.
"Steve, Steve come here!"
He and Sam bolt into the kitchen when they hear the fear in Hope's voice.
They stop just in front of her, standing above the shattered remains of her cellphone on the kitchen counter.
"He must have done this."
Her voice is barely a whisper. The woman is absolutely terrified.
"We're gonna find him, don't you worry."
Sam is already at her side, when Steve starts dialing Clint's number, stepping out of the room all of a sudden, needing to see Bucky. Know that he's alright.
"Clint. Okay, okay, stop yelling. I assume you've talked to Nat. I'm calling you now, that counts for something, doesn't it? Sam and I are with her now. Gotcha. Bye."
He finds Bucky and Cassie in the back parlor. Cassie circling around Bucky, who is smiling and laughing while pretending to be tied to the chair.
"Uh-oh, Cas. My knight in shining armor is here to rescue me!"
"Are you a prince, Bucky? Is that why he's rescuing you?"
"He's my prince, Cassie."
The girl gives them both a wide grin before leaning down to whisper to Bucky.
"I think Mr. Steve likes you a whole lot."
Bucky just wraps the girl in a hug.
"I think you're right, sweetheart."
She runs along out of the room, and Steve places a soft kiss on Bucky's lips.
"My hero."
"Shaddup, Buck. We put out an APB on Scott. Clint wants someone to stay posted here, just in case he comes back. I'm going to have Sam drive you and Cassie to Hope's mother's house on the other side of Cedar Rapids."
Bucky doesn't seem to keen on the idea, so Steve gives him another kiss before clutching him to his chest.
"She adores you. Just tell her it's for tonight, and by the time you get back my watch here will be over. I'll make something nice for dinner, and we'll forget about all this crazy shit that's been going on."
"Yeah, okay."
A few minutes later, finds Bucky loading the young girl into the back of Sam's cruiser, and Steve sitting with Hope, praying that Scott doesn't try anything like Selvig did.
"Cream and sugar?"
"Yes, please."
Maria had just gotten to the house about five minutes ago. Hope looks like she's been to Hell and back, the events of the day absolutely draining her.
Seven hours later, and Scott still hadn't shown up anywhere. Thor and Clint had resorted finally to knocking on doors, just on the off chance someone in town had seen him. Natasha had brought over cookies earlier, and Steve had sent a text saying, 'call me if you need me, but don't need me', allowing her to imagine what is going on over at the Rogers-Barnes household.
Hope places the mug in front of Maria, then takes the seat opposite her, and just stares down into her cup.
"I'm so scared, Maria. He's never done anything like this."
Maria reaches over to grab her hand.
"Everything's going to turn out alright. That man loves you and Cassie. He'll turn up, and when he does, we'll get him some help."
Hope allows a small smile, when suddenly, light comes flooding in through the kitchen window.
They both leap out of their seats, and Maria very slowly pulls back the curtain to reveal the barn out back to be the source of the blinding light.
"That's the thresher. He's gotta be out there."
Maria hardly catches the words, as they just barely ghost over Hope's lips.
She immediately grabs for her radio.
"All available units to 1715 Milgrom Court, possible hostile."
She just as quickly unholsters her gun.
"Stay here, I'm going to check that out."
The thing is massive. And terrifying. Hill has her gun raised the entire time. Very slowly she begins to creep up to the operator's seat. She almost breathes a sigh of relief to find it empty. Reaching down to the key to shut the thing off, she feels every nerve in her body tense. If Scott isn't in here, then where the Hell is he? She exits the barn, and begins to circle the perimeter. Maybe if she hadn't been so lost in thought, she would have heard the man creeping up behind her.
Steve is awoken by the sound of his phone buzzing madly on the bedside table. He tries to reach for it, but finds that he is pinned underneath Bucky.
He looks to the clock to see it read ten after three in the morning.
Whoever is calling him must have a damn good reason.
He decides that the smack he gets when he wakes his fiancé is worth it, then answers Thor's call.
"Hello?"
"Steve, get down to Scott's now. The entire fire department just headed out that way, I guess the whole place is in flames."
"I'm on my way."
Bucky grabs a hold of his hand before he can move.
"I'm coming with you."
"The Hell you are."
"Steve, I just sat in a car earlier today, and explained to Cassie that she had to leave her parents, and didn't even have a reason as to why. I'm going with you."
"Fine. But you're staying in the car."
Steve's not surprised when Bucky hops out of the car as soon as it stops.
"Clint what the Hell happened?"
Clint looks like he's seen true evil, and then Steve sees him. Scott is sitting in the back of Sam's cruiser, whistling some church tune. Sam has Maria wrapped in a blanket in the open back of an ambulance, and Steve sees blood on the side of her head. She too looks like she has seen the face of the Devil. Bucky is standing with Natasha wrapped in his arms, the woman's entire body shaking with sobs.
"Clint, what the fuck is going on!?"
He keeps staring at the burning house.
"He torched the place. Hope was in there, Steve. She didn't make it out. He fucking burnt her alive."
Steve feels the air rush from his body, and he has to grab onto the side of the nearest cruiser to keep himself upright.
From somewhere nearby, he hears a few bars of "All Things Bright And Beautiful" whistled in the back of a police cruiser.