The not so good, very bad plan
The flight back to DC wasn’t very long, but the girl shifted in her seat the whole time, glancing around as if someone was going to jump out at her. Maria tried to give the child the tablet with cartoons on it but it played in her lap as she continued tightening her grip on the seatbelt.
The older woman used the time on the flight to send off a quick email to the Children’s Center, explaining the situation briefly. She received an email back within a few minutes letting her know that they would need her to fill out the information once she got there, but she hadn’t been the first agent to go on a mission and come back with a child. It both relieved her and saddened her to know that. She looked down and saw that Ellie still had the belt clutched in her hands.
“Do you get nervous on airplanes?” The Commander looked up from her work and asked the girl who stared at her, “up high, scared?”
“Not scared,” the girl furrowed her brow tightly, “do not get scared. You fear, you die. I am strong. I do not fear.”
Maria nodded and listened to the girl rattle off the mantra in both English and then Russian. She thought about how the last time she was on a plane with her, she had been unconscious. There was a twist in her stomach at the thought of why the girl was so nervous as she sat next to her.
“It’s okay to be scared,” the older woman started as they hit a small amount of turbulence, causing the child to tighten her grip on the seat belt even more, “I get scared too sometimes, so does Natasha, and May, even Fury and… and Phil.”
She let out a breath, Phil would be handling this much better than her.
The thought sat in her chest like a rock even after she tried, repeatedly, to push it away. She sat there and read the first four lines of a report 12 times before they started their descent into the landing strip next to the Triskelion. The feeling was still heavy in her chest as she unfastened her seatbelt and helped the child next to her.
Ellie seemed to be a little less nervous now that they were planted back on the ground, her hands were clasped in her lap rather than on the seatbelt as they waited to deboard. Another step toward the building would hold the start of the girl's new life. The commander kept her face neutral as she thought about it, another thought for her to push down.
“The extra bags, Commander Hill?” An agent seemed to be repeating to her.
“Everything in my office,” she stood up and motioned for the child to follow her out of the aircraft.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She could bring them back to the children's center after she got everything with Ellie situated, there was no reason to bring alarm to the girl now. It was going to be hard enough once she got there, she didn’t want to start that painful process now.
The two of them walked onto the tarmac which was bright and windy in the late spring sun. She glanced down at the girl who kept one hand on the strap of her backpack and the other one over her face to try and shield some of the sun's rays. In the direct sunlight, Maria noticed more of the features of the child.
Her hair was a deep chestnut color, her skin had an olive tone to it but was riddled with small white scars- Busted.
Ellie turned and stared at Maria as she watched her, the girl's face scrunching up as she continued to squint against the sunlight. The Commander just nodded for her to keep walking towards the massive building.
The closer they got, the slower the child walked. If it was from nerves about a new location or a sneaking suspicion of what was going to happen once they got there, Maria didn't know. She did, however, know that they were now walking slow enough to have been some of the last people still on the landing strip despite being one of the first groups off the plane.
“Just a little further and then we can have a snack and a break,” she tried to coax the child into the building that they were close to approaching.
Ellie didn’t seem to pick up the pace anymore but she did continue to walk towards the doors that Maria swiped her card to open. It was a weekend and so the building wasn’t as loud as it normally was, something the brunette was grateful for as she walked down the familiar hallway that connected to a set of elevators.
“This is the side of the building, it’s not as pretty as the front but it’s the fastest point to the tarmac,” she wasn’t sure why she was telling the girl this, the information wouldn’t be useful. But still, she wanted her to have it, just in case she needed to use it one day, “the main building is right there, the big circle-looking one. That’s where my office is, and Fury’s,”
The girl continued to walk next to Maria and look out of the building, only tilting her head at the last sentence.
“Fury is the man you met with one eye,” the commander covered her left eye with her hand which led to Ellie nodding, “40th floor on the side that overlooks the water and the security gate. It’s a pretty nice view, Phil thinks his is better but…” the sadness crept back into her chest, “but I guess they are both nice. Do you want to press the button?”
They had gotten to the elevators and she had hesitated to press it, giving the girl the opportunity. One that she took, hitting the up button with more force than what was needed but giving a small smile as it illuminated.
Maria watched as the far left elevator dropped in the sequential pattern before getting to their floor and dinging softly. She approached the elevator first and walked in, holding the door open for the girl to join her.
“Floor two, please,” the Commander nodded at the array of buttons on the wall.
After a few moments of studying, the girl clicked the one labeled “2” and turned to see if it was correct. Maria nodded and watched as the child placed her hands on her backpack straps before returning to her side.
They rode the short trip in silence, exiting as the doors opened onto the second floor. The space was vibrant and smelled like crayons and disinfectant. At first, it had only been a small section of the second floor, but after more and more children were dropped off and picked up from the location, it had been expanded.
The children's center took up 80% of the second floor and had everything from classrooms, to play areas and sleeping rooms for children who had parents that worked the night shift, or missions that took longer than expected. The brunette hadn’t been in over a year but knew where the front desk was located and started walking in the general direction.
She had made it a few steps before realizing that she no longer had a child next to her. Ellie was still taking it all in, her green eyes wide, her mouth shaped in an o.
“It’s a lot, huh?” Maria looked down and extended her hand which was taken immediately, “we can take it slow.”
They kept walking at a slower pace, the Commander started explaining what she could, noticing that much like the medical environment, the girl was more comfortable when she was being talked to about what was happening.
“This part is mostly for the older kids, it’s in the back and closer to the elevators they can use. I think that is a classroom for them to do their work, this is just a social area, and that over there is their snack area,” she continued to guide them towards the front, “this is for the really little kids, I think infants to 3 years old.”
“Babies. Not me,” the little girl spoke for the first time.
“Right, you’re older than that so you would beeeee,” she elongated the word until they were in the 5-8-year-old section, “right over here.”
Ellie looked around, stopping completely.
“That’s the work area for the kids who go to school before this, and that area with the big curtains in the window is the sleeping area, that is the play area, and the snack area is right behind that little wall,” Maria continued to point, bending over so she could see what the child was viewing from her vantage point, “it's connected to the 9-12-year-old section but I don’t know too much about it. That’s a newer section.”
They kept walking, the few children that were at the center on the weekend played quietly, mostly with each other as workers facilitated. Ellie kept a nervous eye on all of the children that she came across, looking at them intensely if they had their back to her. Maria noticed the behavior and guided them through the few steps still needed to get to the front of the building and the center.
“Commander,” a young woman, presumably the one who responded to her email, greeted her, “and you must be Elizaveta.”
The girl cowered behind Maria’s leg, trailing her finger down the seam on the side of her pants and staring at the floor.
“My name is Grace, I get to work here at the Children's Center, that’s pretty cool don’t you think?” The blonde tried her best to engage the girl who continued to not make eye contact.
“She gets a little shy around new people,” Maria instinctively went to place her hand on the girl's head before hesitating balling it up instead.
“That’s okay, how about if I give you this sticker and you hang out at that table right there while Commander Hill and I talk for a little?” the woman pulled a sticker out from her apron and handed it to Ellie before motioning over to a nearby table.
“I’ll get your snacks out and your tablet,” Maria walked over to the table and helped the girl out of her backpack, “here you go, if you need something we're just right there okay?”
The girl stared at her and sat down at the table, pulling the juice box closer to her. Maria stood back up and made sure she was settled before returning to the front desk.
“She’s very cute,” the blonde stared for a moment longer.
“She is,” the Commander nodded and stared as well.
“You said she's Russian, does she speak English or did I just make a total fool out of myself?” The younger woman blushed slightly.
“She is but she speaks English, a little broken, but she understands what’s being said to her even if she doesn’t respond.”
“I read over the email a few times but I think there are things that we need to discuss before we assign her an official case number,” Grace gave a small, albeit sad, smile, “Let's go over history first, then medical, then anything else we should know, after that you’ll fill out this form and sign the bottom and that’s it.”
It sounded simple in theory, but in practice, it took over an hour to explain her medical history, her teleporting, and her history from the Russian police report. By the end not only was Maria physically exhausted but emotionally as well. She hadn’t realized how much she knew about the girl she had only met a few days prior. But there she was, explaining it all, describing the food she liked to eat, the two-month follow-up that needed to be scheduled, how she may not do well with other children who she sees as a threat, and how she liked space. It all just came tumbling out.
“Thank you, most agents just give us a name and drop the kid,” the blonde shook her head, “this will be great as we get her into the system.”
Maria’s stomach coiled and her mouth went dry, “Glad I could help.”
“This all looks right, so just go ahead and sign at the line and you’re free to go, Commander Hill,” the woman handed Maria back the form.
“Can I- is it okay if I just talk to her before I head out?” She looked over to the girl who was still sitting at the table, empty juice box in hand.
“Of course,” Grace stood back up and walked behind the desk.
The Commander sat down in one of the comically small chairs to have a conversation that was far from funny.
“Hey kid,” she watched as the girl closed the tablet and stared at her.
“Hi, go now?” her voice was little and timid still.
“Yes but- It’s about that,” she swallowed and looked at a spot above the girl's head, unable to make eye contact. Do it Hill, come on, put the ice wall up, and get it over with.
“Leave?” the girl asked.
“I’m going to leave but you’ll stay here with Grace,” she breathed out and tried to keep her emotions locked away.
“Then later come?” Ellie reached out and trailed her finger down the seam of Maria’s uniform once again.
“You’re going to stay here and a new family is going to come and pick you up, one that will love you and care for you and they will be so much fun,” the brunette looked down at the child finally.
The girl had furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side.
“You might have to spend a little time with some other kids but a family will come one day and you’ll be so happy with them, I know it.”
“Want to stay,” the little girl’s eyes started to shimmer with unshed tears.
“You’ll stay here for a little while,” Maria tried to reassure her.
“Want to stay you,” her voice broke.
“No, no I’m not any fun. I wouldn’t be a good family for you, there are much better ones out there,” the brunette had to force her own feelings away.
“Want you,” the girl started to cry fully now.
“I know but you’ll see, someone will come that’s much better than me,” she tried to not feel how the girl gripped her uniform.
“Do not go, want you,” she sobbed, Grace started to walk over.
“How about we play a game, wouldn't that be fun?” the blonde asked the girl who just cried harder and clutched the fabric more frantically.
Maria stood and pried the little fingers off of her, tears fell from her own eyes as she did it, “it’s going to be okay Ellie, it’s going to be okay.”
The girl cried in broken gasps as Maria walked towards the doors, opening them she heard one final plea from the child in the form of her name.
“Ria!” the girl’s voice broke through as the doors closed behind her.
The Commander walked down the hall as quickly as she could, pressing the button for the elevator repeatedly as she felt the pain of what just happened hit her like a tidal wave.
What the fuck are you doing Hill?
No, you don’t know anything about raising a child.
But you could learn.
Learn to be terrible like your father?
Or great like Abuela?
She heard the elevator ding as she turned the other way. Sprinting back through the doors to a sight far from what she expected.
Grace’s eyes were wide as she watched the scene unfold while on the phone.
Ellie's body fell through portal after portal, unconscious as her limbs got closer and closer to the edge. Already unconscious, she was gaining speed at an alarming rate.
Just as she did the first time, Maria acted first and thought second, throwing herself through the side of the portal, grasping the girl on the other side. The sheer speed at which the girl had been traveling was enough to leave Maria with a busted lip and bruised jaw from where a rouge limb had hit her. Serves her right for trying to leave the girl .
“Yes, the second floor,” the blonde was still talking into the phone as she approached Maria, “are you okay? What can I do?”
“Throw away the paperwork,” Maria breathed out.
Face claim for Elizaveta: Ava Caryofyllis
somewhat simple way of explaining the portal system (that will be further explained later): Under high stress/emotional times, two portals open (one under, one over her) she falls through space faster and faster due to the downward trajectory and lack of gravity/friction until she is pushed out. Please enjoy my artistic representation of this brought to you by screenshots and terrible editing