Chapter 56

We've been out in the sun for the whole fucking day and I'm tired and exhausted from all the rides that the three of us went through, mostly in Fantasy Land, where we spend  most of our time in, with Rose going back and fort and getting pictures with all the princesses and not to mention, even with the cap and sunglasses on, my girlfriend got some attention from the crowd having to stop and take photos and sign autographs. She wasn't annoyed with it though, maybe because she has a good reason to eventually run away so she could caught up with Rose and keep an eye on her, even though I'm right there with her.

"Okay, next stop. The Avengers campus." I say glancing up to Elizabeth who just rolled her eyes on me as she lets Rose drink some water after just finishing our lunch that she packed and it is the bomb.

"My mommy is an Avenger." Rose says thoughtfully and I smiled and says.

"Well, my girlfriend is the strongest Avenger beat that! Ha!"

"Shannon" Elizabeth warns giving me a look before shaking her head. Rose giggles.

"No, my mom is!" She responds standing up on the bench with her hands in her waist stomping one foot down. Oh its on.

"Nope, your mom is strong but my girlfriend is the strongest."

"Shan" Elizabeth sighs giving me a playful slap on the arm. Rose doesn't backs down and still tries to argue with me saying the words. "No my mom is" repeatedly until it was a banter of "No my my girlfriend is" and "No my mom is"

"Alright alright. Stop that now." Elizabeth says making us do so. "Both are strong and in some time they really needed each other so stop your arguing and let's go." Rose stuck her tongue out to me and I gasped dramatically pretending to be offended by that she then rolls her eyes and turn to Elizabeth holding out her arms and without hesitation, she pulls her close, gives me our bags and the camera and carries Rose in her arms before we start to walk again under the fucking sun. Just be patient Shannon. Anytime now it will disappear since its going 2 in the afternoon already and its seems like our pumpkin is slowly feeling the exhaustion.

As we get closer and closer to Avengers Campus, Elizabeth slows down and I can hear her breathing heavily, so I glanced at her and saw having some trouble carrying Rose, I think she's tired. Jake catches up with us and grabs the bags from me and gestured to Elizabeth. She is tired.

"Hey, sweetheart." I say stopping her in her tracks. "Let me." I take a sleepy Rose from her and carry her instead, her head automatically rests on the crook of my neck but still trying to stay awake to witness our next stop.

"Thank you honey, I think she's tired. Maybe this could be our last stop?"

"Yea, but can we go to the gift shop please" I say as we start to walk again and she rolls her eyes and quirked an eyebrow giggling.

"What for?"

"I want to buy some of my girlfriend's merch if you don't mind. She is the strongest you know." She chuckles again and shakes her head.

"Nope, mom is" Rose says raising her head from my shoulder like what I just said just woke her up again.

"Yea yea" I mutter gently guiding her head back to my shoulder hearing her soft giggles while Elizabeth scrunches her nose and takes her hand and rest them both on my arm and somehow that made me smile and wishing that I have a fucking third hand to take a photo of it but I don't and all I can do is capture it with my memory and hoping it won't be forgotten that easily, again.

"This is so weird." Elizabeth says as we enter Avengers Campus. "Last time I was around in this type of surrounding is back in 2018 while shooting the Infinity War. It feels odd to see people in costumes." I let out a smile as she moves closer to me and adjusts her cap. Kind of hiding from the public. Well, this is like her territory and people can easily spot the real Scarlet Witch walking with a lesbian dude carrying a six year old who looks like a princess just vomited on her, with all the pink sparkly tutu and the disney princess ears she has on.

"Would it be more weird if we came across a cosplayer of Wanda then she would recognize you and that would be so—"

"Awkward" We say at the same time making us both laugh, Rose giggles with us so I nudged her a bit and say. "You tired?" She nods her head before raising it up to look at us.

"Is mommy here?" She asks

"Nope pumpkin, Mom and Dad are in New York, they're gonna be home in two days don't worry—"

"There she is!" She points to a direction so we turn our heads and saw a woman, not Scarlett, in a Black Widow costume.

"That's not mommy Rose, she's just wearing her costume."

"But can I see and take a picture then I can show it to Mommy and Daddy when they get back." She giggles and I sighed in somewhat relief that we're not going to have a banter or a tantrum of her missing her mom already. "You can put me down now please." She says adorably so I smush her with kisses before settling her down to walk. She takes our hands clasped in each of her own and slightly pulls us to their direction.

"Rose, slow down" The woman dressed in Black Widow along with Captain America turn to us at the same time Rose stops and stands a foot away from her and says the most adorable "Hi! You look like my mom."

They both looked at at her with huge smiles on their faces. The Black Widow or I'm just going to call her Natasha crouch down to Rose's level while Steve glance up to us and froze seeing Elizabeth leaning to my side with her arm clinging into mine and somehow a smirk found its way to my lips.

"Oh hi there! What's your mom's name?" Rose is not out a lot and whenever she's photographed by paparazzi, its either she has her face hidden in Colin's shoulder or she's facing away from the camera so she's really an unfamiliar kid, which is a good thing at a young age. Paps are fuckers.

"Scarlett and my Dad's name is Colin, he's not my real dad but he kinda is. You look like her, she wears that too." A slight frown before a smile appear on Natasha's face and then Steve decides to nudge her slightly making her look up to our direction.

"Hi" I say as Natasha slowly stands up looking at us wide eyed like they've seen a ghost or something. "I'm Shannon and I'm with my girlfriend, she really looks like Wanda don't you think?" They let out a soft chuckle as Elizabeth playfully slap my arm before saying the sweetest "Hi"

"Can I take a picture?" I say taking hold of my camera and raising it up. They both nodded and posed with Rose in the middle, a full smile on her face. I snap a photo.

"One more" I snap once again before standing up walk towards them letting my camera hang around my body.

"It was nice meeting you, Rose what will you say?" Rose turns to them and says 'Thank you' before running towards me holding her hands up. So I lift her up in my arms again carrying her. I bet you, she's going to pass out by the time we even get to the gift shop.

"Thanks guys, you both are so cool." I say as we shake their hands. Elizabeth smiles and also shakes their hands which was the sweetest of her really.

"Really big fan" They both say.

"Thank you, you two are really cool by the way." She softly giggles taking hold of my arm again. "We'll see you around yea, its really nice meeting you." We said our goodbyes and with that we walked away.

"That was something." She says and I chuckled earning a little nudge from her. We continue our walk and perfect timing for Spider Man to have his show on top of the headquarters.We stayed a bit so we could watch it and it somehow woke up Rose a bit but by the end of the show, her head is back on the crook of my neck. Any minute now.

We walked around again just stopping for a while to watch some shows and right now Rose is definitely passed out on my neck.

"Babe" I say and she turns to me. I gestured to Rose and she smiles and shakes her head.

"She's asleep" She giggles. " And look, she's still holding my hand how adorable is that." I looked at the hands resting on my arm and I can't take it anymore. I need a fucking picture of it.

"Take a picture." I say. We stopped for a while and she moves a bit so she can take the camera and snap it off from the body strap letting it fall from my body. She then turns it on and snaps a photo of their hands on my arm and knowing she had captured it gives me some kind of satisfaction inside.

"I love you sweetheart." I say after Jake helped her putting back the body strap on the camera and hang it around hers instead. She looks up to me and smiles.

"I love you too honey." I lean down for a quick kiss and smile.

"Can we go to the gift shop now?" I say more enthusiastically than I intended to and she laughs nodding her head. A huge smile spread across my face while I waggle my brows at her.

"I'm buying your merch and I'm going to wear it at work." She laughs and shakes her head.

"I would love to see that"——————-Sirens

I can hear sirens from a distance. I can't feel anything. I can't fucking move. What happened? I hear faint voices, so far I can't make it up what they were saying. There's ringing in my ears and I can taste something metal in my mouth. Is it blood? What the fuck happened?

Rose, Elizabeth.

With all my strength I open my eyes and it takes so much effort to do it. Broken windshield, Airbag, Red tinted glass everywhere. Did I drive? Where's Jake? It fucking hurts to breathe but I didn't care at the moment as I desperately turn my head to look at the passenger side a sharp pain shooting through my body. Empty

"Elizabeth" I was screaming in my head but my voice was a whisper. I squint my eyes trying to adjust my vision. "Rose. Pumpkin." I moved, burning pain in my insides, I coughed and I taste metal. I didn't care.

"Baby!" I tried again. I take in a sharp breath as I try to move my arm but I can't and pain on my right shoulder. I blink towards it and saw a big chunk of glass embedded on it. Fuck! I didn't care. I don't care. I used my left arm and unbuckle my seatbelt.

"Elizabeth! Rose!" I yell once again my heart beating through my ears. I moved again, I can't. I need someone.

Voices coming, Sirens. I'm losing it. It gets harder and harder to breathe like something's clogging my chest. I need help. I need to see if Elizabeth and Rose are okay. I turn to look up at the rear view mirror but all I see is nothing, its been shattered down the passenger seat.

"Hey Miss, we're going to get you out okay?" I don't care about me, I need to know where's Elizabeth but I can't speak no more my voice isn't working and I cough again, Blood red fluid splatters on my shirt. I feel so light and heavy at the same time. I didn't care.

"Elizabeth, Rose" I say at least that's what it sounded in my head. I can't slip out. I hear voices but I just hear them, I don't have a clue what they were saying. My eyes feel heavy. Are they gone? Was I the one driving? Its all my fault maybe— I breathe, a sharp one. I didn't care, they're gone and its all my fault

"Hey!" A tap on my cheek. I slightly open my eyes but my vision is blurry. I blink, a man in a brown suit and a helmet on but I couldn't see his face. "Miss I need you to stay with us. Hang in there, we're going to get you out." It seems so distant, his voice. I cough once again fire burning in the pit of my stomach warm blood comes up again. I'm dying, I can feel it. Dark spots in the corner of my eyes as I scan around.

Elizabeth, Rose.

A loud crash rings in my ear and a bright burning light shines from my side, I turn. Passenger side, gone. I closed my eyes and rest my head back on my seat. I'm tired, exhausted. I think I slipped out of consciousness. because next thing I knew, I was being strapped on a stretched my body on fire.

"Hey miss, I need you to stay with us." I hear another man say but this time he was wearing a green suit. I blink and close my eyes again.

"Hey, honey" Elizabeth? I open my eyes and there she was. "I need you to stay awake for me. Its going to be alright." She says a sweet smile on her face matching the bright light behind her, my eyes automatically filled with tears in relief but where's Rose. "We'll be alright okay." I blink but everything fades and all I see is nothing falling deeper and deeper.

I jolt awake and I'm back at the van breathing heavily, my heart racing a hundred miles per hour. Natalie Cole's This Will Be playing on the radio. What the fuck just happened?

"Honey?" I snap my head to my side and saw Elizabeth rubbing her eyes. She's here, That was just a dream, a nightmare.

Rose.

Suddenly I felt movement on my chest making me turn to look at it and saw Rose cuddled up sleeping peacefully in my arms her head on my chest holding Elizabeth's hand. I let out a breath out of relief and pulled Rose closer in my arms placing a kiss on top of her head and felt the familiar sharp pain on my right shoulder. The picture of the huge chunk of glass flashes in front of me as I looked at it.

"Are you okay?" I hear Elizabeth says with her hand at the back of my neck. I turn to her and a picture flashes in front of me

We'll be alright okay?

A sharp pain shoot through my head like lightning making me flinch scrunching my eyes through the pain, red and blue lights flashing.

"Hey, baby you're scaring me. Does your head hurt?" I nod slightly biting my lip hard. Warm hands on my cheek as I feel hot tears behind my eyes and the next thing I knew tears were falling dropping on Rose's dress. I can still hear it, the voices and the sirens. Pictures flashing right in front of my eyes.

"Shan, hey baby. What's wrong?" Elizabeth turn my face towards her and her face instantly falls worry, fear and confusion lace in those eyes. I can feel her, she's real. It was just a nightmare. Was it?

I dropped my head on her shoulder as she wraps her arms around me releasing the tears of relief I needed to let out. That was fucking sick, it was too real to be just a nightmare. The glass on my shoulder, the rear view mirror shattered on the passenger seat, red tinted glass scattered everywhere, the shattered windshield, blood on my shirt— Blood everywhere.

I shot my eyes wide open burying my face further into Elizabeth's shoulder. She stays quiet pulling me closer, gently stroking my back and the back of my neck and placing soft kisses on my neck and shoulder as I silently cry on her shoulder. When I calmed down, she whispers to my ear,

"Did you had a nightmare?" I nod and she squeezed me one last time before pulling away but kept her hands on the side of my face wiping the tears away. Rose moves in my arms so I look down on her letting Elizabeth's hands fall on the side of my neck, the pain in my shoulder getting worse so I fixed her position moving her slightly closer to my chest so that my right arm could rest for a bit and fortunately she doesn't wake up.

"We were in a car accident." I whispered and I felt her froze. I sniffed and place a soft kiss on top of Rose's head. "At least that's what I thought, I was driving. I keep calling you and Rose but you weren't in the car. There's glass, blood everywhere." She gasps her hand covering her mouth as her hand on the side of my neck runs cold.

"I was yelling your name and Rose hoping you'd somehow answer or just let out a noise so I'd know you're okay and you're both still alive because I couldn't move and everything hurts and when I do, blood—" I stopped, I'm not putting that in her head. Its too much.

"Men came in and sliced half of the car to get me out. I was out of it, I couldn't go on much further. I was thinking about the both of you and where you were and its all my fault and everything. For a second I thought you were dead and I wish I would too. But I saw you." She drops her hand from her face and holds my arm and that's the only time I had the courage to look at her remembering that sweet smile and the bright light behind her.

"I don't know where was I but you were there. You told me, I need to stay awake and that it will be alright. That we'll be alright. Then nothing." She's quiet and stares at me. I don't know what's going through her mind but I maybe have an idea.

"Maybe it wasn't a nightmare—"

"It was the crash." She whispers filling up my sentence. Another pain shoot through my head and I winced. Freezing shaky hands on my cheeks. I look up with a sigh and I see tears sparkling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I-I don't know what to say. Oh God" Her eyes turns dark and this is why I don't want to tell her. We're back at it again.

"Baby—" I say and she withdraws her hand from me before sitting back on her seat creating a gap between us. I sighed. "Elizabeth, I know what you're thinking and its not—"

"It kinda is." She whispers. I look at her and slowly held her hand intertwining our fingers together and placing a kiss on the back of her hand, she turns to me with tears still hanging down her cheeks like diamonds.

"No, its not."

"Shan—"

"I just realized. If it was a memory, I was ready to die." That statement made her flinch but I squeezed her hand and continue. "Right at that moment where I could've just slip out. I saw you, and what you said maybe kept me going. Maybe that's the reason I held on . You were the last one I saw—"

"Before your heart stops, that's what your Dad said." I sigh, and to be honest I don't know how to answer that. But I need her to believe me that its not her fault. I slowly lift her hand to my lips again and place it to my chest where my heart is, next to Rose's peaceful face.

"Feel that?" She stares at her hand on my chest. "Loud and clear, and its because of you." She looks up into my eyes giving me a chance to stare into hers and I'm just lost. The way she smiled to me on that stretcher, I keep seeing it.

"And you were right all along. We're alright."