Tony's POV

Once help arrives, we load the children onto the jets and they're on their way back to either their houses or SHIELD protection programs.

"Good work, team." I say, my mask lifting to look at everyone. "Where's Cap?"

"Is nobody going to acknowledge the fact that the Shadow girl sacrificed herself for these kids?" Natasha asks, interrupting the multiple conversations.

Moments later, the star spangled man himself appears with a body in his arms. Everyone looks at him in shock.

"Is that..?" Bruce asks, wondering if the body belongs to Shadow. Steve nods. Bucky walks over to him and I can hear soft cries.

"What are you soldiers crying over? We didn't even know her." Strange says.

I feel an unsettling feeling in my stomach as I make my way over to them. "She saved my life." I speak softly, looking at her limp body in Steve's arms. "I should've been here."

"It's not your fault, Tony." Steve says through his sobs. "She.. She wanted you know that it's not your fault."

I furrow my eyebrows. "She said that specifically? Why? We don't know eachother." I continue to ramble until Bucky places a hand on my shoulder. I look back at them as Steve reaches for the girl's mask.

I feel my heart drop to my stomach as I look at my daughter's face. I clench my jaw, feeling as if I can't breathe, and look at the two super soldiers.

"You knew?" I ask, tears rolling down my cheeks. "You knew and you let her do this?!" I grab Steve by the collar of his suit.

"You think I wanted this to happen?" Steve argues back. "I'm in love with her." He cries. I notice Sharon shift awkwardly behind us. "I tried stopping her.. She's too stubborn."

"Just like her father." Nat says, trying to lighten the mood in any way possible.

I let go of Steve and shake my head as I walk away. "I should've known." I hold my head in my hands.

"Tony." I feel a hand on my shoulder and shrug it off. I hear coughing and gasping from behind me and quickly turn around to see everyone huddled around Steve.

I look to my side to see Bruce looking at me. I push my way through the small circle of people to see Alex on her hands and knees, coughing up blood as Steve rubs her back.

"Alex?" I ask, kneeling beside her. She stops coughing long enough to look at me. "Oh my God, I.. I thought I lost you." I cry, wrapping my arms around her. "I'm so sorry. I should've been here, I-"

"Stop." She speaks softly. "It's.." She coughs. "It's not your fault."

"We should get you to the compound's medical bay so they can take a look at you." Bruce interrupts.

"No, I'm fine, I-"

"Alexandra, you were just dead. You're coming whether you like it or not." I say, father instincts kicking in.

Ally nods and I stand before scooping her up in my arms.

"We'll meet you guys there." I say, my mask covering my face before my jets start and I fly us back to the compound.

Steve's POV

"In love, huh?" Sam teases as we get back on the jet. "Since when?"

"I'd also like to know." Sharon speaks up. "Is that why you'd never go further than kissing me?" She crosses her arms.

"Just get us to the compound, Agent Carter." Nat speaks up. Sharon rolls her eyes and sits in the pilot seat. "You're welcome." Nat winks at me.

Once we get to the compound, I run inside and to the medical bay. "Where is she?" I ask the first person I see.

"Captain." I hear a deep voice and turn to see Nick Fury. "I take it you knew all along?" He asks, I nod. "So then you knew about her injuries as well?" He crosses his arms.

I furrow my eyebrows and he motions for me to follow him. Once I step into the room, I see Tony crying in one of the chairs with Ally hooked up to a bunch of machines.

I look at Fury and he steps to the side, giving me a clear view of Ally. That's when I see the large, dark purple bruise covering the majority of her torso along with similar but smaller spots on her arms, neck, and legs.

"I.." I stare at her fragile body, tears forming in my eyes. "She told me she would get it taken care of."

"Well clearly she didn't." Tony speaks up from behind me. "She's been bleeding internally for months. How could you keep something like this from me?!"

"Tony, I-"

"Save it, Rogers." He cuts me off. "You knew she was risking her life out there every single night. You knew she almost died to save my life in Venice."

"It wasn't my place to tell you. That was up to her." I defend.

Tony stands from his seat and walks out of the room, anger radiating off of him.

"Nick?" I hear a quiet croak and all attention is turned to the woman on the hospital bed.

"Good morning, agent." Fury smiles at her.

She coughs and holds her side. "I think I might need a few weeks off." She winces.

Fury just laughs in response, making her smile. "You've got it." He winks. "There's someone else here waiting to talk to you. I'll time him to make sure you're able to rest."

She stifles a laugh and nods at him before he leaves the room. Her head turns to face me and she sighs. "Hi."

"Hi." I smile softly, carefully sitting on the edge of the small bed. "You weren't supposed to be there. You had dinner plans."

I see tears forming in her eyes and my heart breaks. "Hey, no, don't cry." I move closer to her and hold her hand. "It's okay, you're okay. That's all that matters."

"I'm so sorry." She fights her tears. "After dinner with Tony I realized that I should've been there with you guys." She admits. "It didn't go down the way I expected it to but that's the way things work in this business I guess." She sighs.

"Ally.." I sigh, looking down at her.

"I'm just glad all of you are okay. If someone else had-"

I press my lips to hers to shut her up. It doesn't take long for her to kiss back. After a few moments, I pull away with a smile on my face.

Our gaze is broken by someone clearing their throat. I turn to find Tony and Sharon in the doorway. Sharon scoffs before storming off and I jump up from the bed. I look back at Ally to see her watching intently.

"I'm so sorry, I'll be right back." I say before running after Sharon.