Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cassie heaved in a breath before bending over the toilet again and emptying her stomach.

They almost didn’t make it. Hope and Dad almost didn’t make it. She would have lost them. Again. 

Inhale. Cough. Puke.

The teenager clutched at her stomach and hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks as she stared at her hazy reflection. The shining porcelain of her grandparents’ bathroom reflected a girl Cassie barely recognized. 

She tried to paste on her trademark cocky grin - born of an uncertain childhood and a talent for making her mom laugh instead of cry. 

It’s okay Mommy. I didn’t get hurt! Annnnddd look my cartwheels are getting even better!!

Cassie doubled over on the toilet again, heaving against her straining stomach muscles as nothing came up.

It’s just the ooze. That’s it. I’m good. You’re good. You’re Cassie fucking Lang. Get it together.

A knock sounded on the bathroom door and Cassie’s head whipped up. They were all supposed to be down in the lab. Grandpa wanted to archive her tech. Something about scholarships and the Nobel prize. Cassie had barely listened through a haze of what if what if what if before slipping upstairs. 

“Cass?” The teenager was surprised to hear Hope at the door instead of her Dad. “Honey, are you okay?”

Cassie tried to drum up a sufficiently sincere yet sarcastic answer to put her stepmom at ease. Was Hope her stepmom? She wasn’t married to her Dad yet but Cassie loved her. Did Hope love her? She thought so. But maybe not anymore. Not after what she did. Sending grandma back to the Quantum realm after everything she’s been throu-

“Cassie. Breathe sweetheart.”

Hope’s voice was clear and calm, right next to her this time. Cassie vaguely wondered how the woman had gotten into the bathroom. 

“Cassie.” Hope’s voice was more serious and Cassie dragged her eyes to meet the older woman’s. “I need you to breathe with me okay.” 

Hope’s eyes were gentle and full of concern. Cassie nodded slowly. “O-okay. S-sorry..I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She tried to force out a laugh. A smirk. Anything. Instead, to her unending horror and disappointment, a sob crawled its way up her throat. 

She shook her head frantically. You will not cry. Come on Cassie. You’re tough. 

Then the gentle hands of a woman who had been on her side since she was six and scared and just wanted her Dad were pulling her into a fierce hug on the floor of the bathroom. 

“It’s okay honey. You did it. We’re so proud of you. I’m so proud of you.” 

Cassie shook her head against Hope’s shoulder. “No..you shouldn’t be proud of me. I-I keep fucking up. And you guys have so much to deal with. You keep having to bail me out and I’m not even your daught-”

Hope pulled back with an intensity in her eyes Cassie had never seen directed toward her before. “Cassie Lang do not finish that sentence.”

Cassie’s mouth snapped shut.

“Cassie, I have known you since you were just a story your dad told me about a little girl he loved more than anything.” Cassie smiled despite herself, wiping tears (and oh god was that snot) off her face with the back of her hand. 

Hope gently cupped her face then and took over with the side of her sleeve, wiping away tears as they fell. 

“You are an amazing person Cassie. You saved us. I’m honored to take any role in your life that you want. You will always be my daughter. Okay? No matter how many times I have to bail you out of county jail.”

Hope winked and Cassie huffed a laugh out  before crawling forward and fitting herself back into the woman’s arms. 

“I love you Hope.” She felt the older woman grip her protectively.

“I love you too Cass.”

Chapter Text

Cassie hadn't meant to get drunk this time. Really she hadn't. She just didn't really want to feel anything either. 

Now she was getting a little bit dizzy and her friends had all taken an uber from the party. Well acquaintances. All of her friends had been blipped and gone off to college without her. After that, she hadn't been much for close relationships.

Home was this way right? She stumbled over her feet a little and squinted into the inky dark just as another thought hit her. Her mom was going to be so mad. She'd been giving the poor woman a run for her money ever since the Quantum realm. Drinking. Staying out late. Tanking in school. But her mom just didn't get it. No one really did. It seemed that everyone had moved on emotionally except for her. 

Cassie was just so lonely. Lonely in this pain. Lonely in her head. She didn't know how to tell her sweet, gentle mother that she could still feel Kang wrapped around her body. That he had never really stopped squeezing her to death. That maybe somehow he had forever taken away her ability to suck in a full breath. 

Her ribs had been bruised for months after, only somewhat returning to normal in the past two weeks. It had been three months. Three months. Cassie could tell everyone was worried about her. About the way she was so obviously sinking uncontrollably in a ship full of holes. That she didn't know how to ask for help. That she was getting drunk or high just to forget the way her father's voice had been filled with fear for the first time in her life in that prison. 

Cassie stumbled on a rock and fell to her knees, jeans ripping in an instant. She rolled back on her feet to inspect the damage right before she felt hot breath on her neck.

"Hey little girl...you look hurt."

She sprang up from the ground, whirling on the man behind her. He looked nothing like Kang but her body screamed and her vision went white as she stumbled back a few steps. 

"L-leave me alone. Leave me alone!"

He chuckled a little and advanced to grab her wrist and Cassie reacted. The suit crawled across her body in a matter of moments as she whirled on him and  began punching. He grabbed her wrist and she definitely felt something snap - both bone and emotion - as she let out a gut wrenching cry and and heard her father scream for her life at Kang and he was squeezing her to death and - 

The man was unconscious below her. Cassie retracted the suit and scrambled back, belatedly remembering her wrist and crying out. She needed to...to call someone...

Her phone fumbled in hand as another passerby seemed to notice her and approached. "Hey you okay?"

"Stay away from me!!" The person backed up a bit, hands raised, still seeming to assess the situation. "I'm just gonna call for some help okay?" 

Cassie tuned them out, instead dialing the only number she could think of for someone who maybe wasn't irrevocably disappointed in her.  It rang twice before hurriedly being picked up. Cassie sobbed in relief as she heard Janet's voice. "Cass?" 

"G-grandma...I-I"

Her grandma seemed to lean away from the phone for a minute and she vaguely heard her say "I've got her." Then she was back. 

"Cassie, baby, where are you? Are you okay?"

Cassie sobbed again. "N-no. Grandma I need help. I hurt him. I think I hurt him. And everyone's gonna be so mad. I-I..." she dissolved into tears as her grandma's calming voice came back over the phone. "Hey, no you're okay baby girl. No one is mad. We all got pretty worried when your mom called and said you weren't home yet okay? Breathe sweetheart. Hope and Dad are gonna come pick you up. They're out looking for you right now."

Cassie shuddered another breath. "I-I had too much to drink grandma. I don't know where I am." 

"Breathe sweetheart. They got a location as soon as you engaged your suit. They're almost there. Can you take a big breath for me?"

Cassie nodded before remembering that Janet couldn't see her and sucked in a breath.

"Good girl. I love you darling. Scott and Hope will be there soon okay? I'll stay on the phone until they are."

Cassie shuddered. "Are...are they mad?"

"Cass, honey, they're just worried. Everything will be okay." 

Paramedics and police were starting to arrive and Cassie's breaths were getting sharper again when she registered two people hurriedly approaching. No no no, no one else could touch her. She scrambled back, eyes closed and hands shaking before two strong arms encased her and she inhaled the scent that was only Dad. 

She looked up to meet a soft smile and dissolved into tears again. "Daddy he..he was going to try to.."

"It's okay Peanut. I got you. I got you."

Hope was right in front of her then and quickly took her phone, one hand gripping Cassie's shoulder gently as she updated Janet.

"Thanks..okay..see you soon. Yeah call Maggie and Jim please. Okay love you Mom. Bye" 

Cassie closed her eyes, leaning back into her Dad as Hope pocketed her phone and cupped her face, thumb brushing softly over what was probably going to be a nasty bruise. The guy had gotten in his fair share of good hits.

Cassie opened her eyes slowly, getting more exhausted by the second. "P-please don't hate me. I didn' mean to hurt anyone." 

Hope pulled her into a crushing hug. "Baby we were just so worried. You can't disappear like that. No one hates you."

Cassie felt her Dad join the hug. "We won't hate you ever Peanut. No matter what."

After getting checked over by the paramedics and having her wrist set and wrapped for the night, Cassie had been quickly interviewed by the responding police before being turned over to the care of her waiting parents. Her dad had simply scooped her up in his arms and engaged her suit for her before he and Hope had donned their own and begun the trip home (on ants, what else). 

Now Cassie was showered and bandaged and laying on her bed in Hope's arms. Dad was talking to her Mom about picking her up in the morning - it had been a long night for all of them. Maggie had frantically called and told Cassie how much she loved her no less than ten times when they'd gotten to Grandma and Grandpa's. Cassie had spent the phone call crying and apologizing pretty much the same amount. 

Hope brushed some hair from her face and squeezed her a little extra. "Cass...what's been going on with you hm?

Cassie shook her head. Her voice came out in a whisper. "I just...I feel like I never left the Quantum realm."

Hope hummed in understanding as Cassie felt herself wanting to keep talking. "I just...I don't want to tell Mom everything because she's been through so much and she's always worried. And I can't stand how guilty Dad looks whenever I'm struggling and Jim is awesome but he just goes all motivational speaker on me." Cassie sighed. "And I can't shake the feeling that I've caused more pain to you and Grandma and Grandpa than anything else."

The admission came out quieter than the rest and Cassie sucked in a breath, waiting for confirmation. 

Hope's hand had stilled in her hair and suddenly Cassie was being gently rolled over in the older woman's arms so that they could make eye contact. "Honey...that's...that's not true even a little bit." The woman's voice sounded choked up. "Baby you've done nothing but improve our lives. You know it used to just be me and Grandpa? We were both so angry and hurt and...alone. We were lonely even with each other. And then your Daddy came along like a nuclear bomb." She chuckled and Cassie found herself smiling despite herself.

"I was really starting to like him and then of course your dad had to be a raging idiot and take the suit to Germany." Hope huffed and Cassie laughed for real this time, fears momentarily forgotten.  "But we figured it out and suddenly we had a reason to be a family again because we knew how to get your grandma back. You were so tiny and cute and I couldn't help but fall in love with your dad and you." 

"And right when I finally got you both back and had a family all in one piece, the Blip happened. Baby, seeing you all grown up when we got back, I just....I couldn't be anything but proud and grateful to be your family. You amaze me every day. And you made me a mother. How great is that?"

Cassie felt tears pouring down her face as she burrowed into Hope's arms even more. "I love you Hope." 

Hope gripped her back. "I love you too. Cass...you don't have to keep this all in. We all want to help okay? You-you went through a lot. And I think maybe we all moved on a little quickly honey. I'm sorry you've been carrying this all around."

Cassie squeezed her eyes shut. "I-please don't feel guilty Hope. I'm the - the fuck up."

Hope pushed her back a bit, fire in her eyes. "Don't you ever talk about my daughter like that."

Cassie gulped a bit as Hope softened. "You are kind and brave and so so smart you give grandpa a run for his money. You're dealing with everything in the best way you know how and we're going to do better at helping you from now on okay? No more crazy parties. No more numbing. Got it?"

Cassie nodded as Hope searched her face for a moment. "Okay...want to watch Criminal Minds?"

Cassie felt a small grin appear on her face. "Yeah."

They settled back as Hope turned on the TV. Scott entered then and sat on the bed on Cassie's other side. 

"Thanks for coming for me dad." Cassie yawned. 

"Always Peanut. Always." 

"I'm grounded right?"

Scott chuckled and pulled her closer.

"Oh yeah."

Chapter Text

Hi Friends!

Here's the place for you to comment any prompts or requests you have for this little fic. I'm planning out the next few chapters and would love to have some inspo. Thanks for your interest in this story! 

Chapter Text

It was not going to be a getting out of bed kind of day. Cassie’s therapist had told her this was a normal part of the process when one goes through a trauma like she did. Cassie could only find it weak. She rolled over in bed and pulled the covers tighter against her shivering body as she tried to forget everything.

It had been two months since Hope and Scott had pulled Cassie, limp and bleeding, back through the Quantum Portal. Hope could barely think about it without feeling nauseous. When she did she could only hear Scott’s screams for help and the way Cassie’s groans of pain had cut her to her core. 

Kang that fucker. He should have gotten worse. 

Cassie had saved their lives that day. Restarting the portal and jumping back through. Hope had never been so scared as when she saw Kang lift Cassie from the ground and begin to squeeze. Kang had been distracted in his quest to break their daughter - he hadn’t noticed as Scott scrambled up behind the man and delivered the final blow. But Cassie had fallen to the ground like a limp doll and all Hope could do was skid to a stop and pull her child into her arms. 

The hospital was a mess of clinical words and heart monitors and the terrifying feeling of watching your child get brought back to life - twice. Internal bleeding they said. The doctor might as well have been speaking to them through a can with a string for how garbled it sounded amidst the noise in Hope’s head and Scott’s desperate cries.

But Cassie had made it. She had made it through surgery and was healing at the rate they all expected. She was okay. But they all knew she wasn’t. Returning to school in person hadn’t been an option for the girl’s fragile mental state so she was spending every other week oscillating between parents while she did online school. But the light hadn’t returned to her eyes and Hope couldn’t shake the feeling that Kang had done more to her little girl than physically break her. He had pushed her so deep within herself  that no one knew how to help her back out. If only Hope could become small enough to fit inside the girl’s brain with her and process the trauma for her child. But she couldn’t. 

Hope had been overjoyed to become a parent when Cassie came into her life. It had changed her in so many ways. But never in her life had she felt this powerless. Watching Cassie go through this pain and not being able to build a suit to fix it…it was torture.

Hope shook herself from her thoughts and filled a glass with tap water. It was nearing 10am and Cassie had yet to emerge from her room. Scott had left for a meeting an hour ago after being assured multiple times that Hope would call if anything went wrong. He trusted his partner completely but he was going through some separation anxiety of his own with their daughter. Every week that the girl stayed at Maggie and Jim’s, Hope was on a constant vigil to help Scott through nightmares. She would wipe his tears away and assure him that Cassie was safe with her other parents. He would only stare at her glassy eyed as she pulled him into her arms and tried to coax him back to sleep. 

Hope’s coping mechanism had been to take control - to take the lead for Scott and Cassie. She could be strong for them both. And if she woke up sobbing sometimes and had to go for a quick flight outside until the world stopped spinning? So be it. 

Hope crossed the hallway of their San Francisco apartment, staring quickly out the window at the clear blue sky. Maybe Cassie would be up for a walk. Probably not. 

She gently approached the girl’s bedroom door and pushed it open. A shivering lump resided under covers pulled tight like armor. Hope sighed internally before approaching slowly and placing the glass of water on Cassie’s bedside table. She knelt by the girl’s bed and gently peeled her covers back from her face. Instead of a sleeping teenager, she was met with the blank stare that meant that Cassie was stuck in her head. Gently, Hope brushed some hair away from her girl’s forehead and pressed a kiss there. 

“Hey baby girl. Scoot over would you?”

The girl blinked a bit and slowly met the older woman’s eyes before nodding almost imperceptibly and scooting toward the wall. Hope crawled into bed after her and pulled the teenager into her lap. She retrieved the water and handed it over. “Drink some water hm?”

Cassie obediently drained the glass and handed it back before settling down closer to Hope. They sat like that for a long time before the girl finally croaked out. “S-sorry.”

Hope squeezed her gently. “Nothing to apologize for.” 

Her ribs were breaking again. One by one. Distantly, Cassie wondered if her actions had bought enough time for Hope and Dad to escape. She hoped so. 

Crack. Another. Another. It was never going to end. Then, abruptly, the hand released her.

She fell to the ground, limp and useless and stared in horror as this time her father was pulled into the air. He stared her in the eyes as Kang closed a hand around his throat.

“NO! DAD! Don’t touch him!! Please!” She was sobbing and begging, barely able to move. Kang laughed, booming and cold. “You failed Cassie. You lost.”

“Cassie.”

No. She failed. Her dad was dead. Hope was dead.

“Peanut wake up.”

Hands grasped at her forearms and Cassie thrashed away from them. Not again not again not again. 

Then they were pulling her against a warm chest. A beating heart. Her eyes flew open and she breathlessly met her father’s eyes. 

“Hey baby you’re okay. You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.”

Cassie wildly looked around before slowly coming back to herself and sinking further into her father’s arms. He kissed her temple and she burst into sobs. 

“H-he k-killed you.” 

Scott gripped her tighter and shushed her gently. “No he didn’t honey. I’m right here. We’re okay.”

“Daddy…don’t leave me.”

Scott pulled them down onto the bed and Cassie took in a deep breath as she cuddled into his arms. “Never ever Peanut.”

Hope took to picking Cassie up when it was their turn to have her at their apartment. Sometimes the girl would enter the car, glassy eyed and barely there. These were the days that Hope would  drive for a long time out of the city and down the coast. 

The first time she stopped at the little beat up diner that looked over a breezy seaside cliff, Cassie looked at her with a small spark of her usual sarcasm. 

“Uh Hope? What’s this?”

“Our lunch spot, duh.”

Cassie stared at her incredulously, laughter in her eyes like it used to be. Before the Quantum Realm. Before Kang.

“I would prefer not to get food poisoning today.” 

Hope only laughed and pulled the girl into a side hug across the car console, pressing a fond kiss to her temple. “I promise you won’t. Your grandma used to take me here. She’d call me out for a ‘sick day’”, Hope chuckled a bit, “And we’d drive here to have lunch. Just the two of us.”

For some reason this made Hope choke up a bit. Maybe it was the years of lost time with her mother, when she would sit in a booth alone and cry. Maybe it was that her mother was back. Or that Hope finally felt okay enough to share this with someone else. With her daughter. She blinked back tears and found that Cassie was as well as the girl simply said, “Oh.” and burrowed into her further.

They split a strawberry milkshake and Hope managed to get a dollop of whipped cream on Cassie’s nose while they were both leaned in to take a sip. The girl laughed lightly. “Oh it’s on.” By the time their server came back for their food order, their faces were both covered in whipped cream. 

After lunch they found themselves sitting in the grass on a bluff just off the highway, watching waves crash on the beach below. Their car was parked a ways off and Hope was content to hold Cassie against her and gently thread her fingers through her daughter’s hair. It had been a good day. One of their first in a long time. She threw a quick thank you to the sky for being clear, to her mom for finding that rusty little place with the best fries so long ago, to Scott for bringing this girl into her life. She pulled the blanket closer around their shoulders as they watched the sun set.

“Thank you Hope.”

The older woman looked down to find that Cassie was picking at her hands nervously. Hope gently pulled girl’s fingers apart and clasped them in her own. 

“For what?”

The girl swallowed. “Um..for taking care of me. For like…for being my mom.”

Hope’s breath caught a bit in her throat. They both knew where their relationship stood but Hope realized that they rarely vocalized it. 

She turned and pulled Cassie fully into the tightest hug she could and wished she could keep the girl there forever, safe.

“I’m proud to have you as my daughter.”

Five months after the Quantum realm, Cassie took up running. She had been physically healed for a while now and yet she hadn’t gotten back the active streak she was used to. Her therapist told her she had mental hurdles to overcome. That it wouldn’t hurt to find a hobby.

So Cassie did. She dragged herself out of bed, tied some old shoes on her feet, and kissed her mother on the cheek with a promise to share her location the entire time. Maggie had smiled at her in that soft way that made Cassie feel like she could do anything and sent her on her way. 

Cassie loved it. Her breaths were raw in her throat and her calves were sore and she was sweaty but she felt alive. Finally she felt alive. Kang couldn’t take this from her, he couldn’t stop her. She was powerful. She was strong. She was free.

The first slip up in Cassie’s tentatively stable mental state came on the year anniversary of her injury. She was watching a movie, settled comfortably between Hope and Dad - one of the places that made her feel safest. They had been on a Lord of the Rings binge all day and no one had thought to check the time. Her Dad was telling them very confidently pieces of trivia that they both already knew (“Did you know right there is where he actually broke his toe.” “Ugh yes dad, everyone knows that.”) when Cassie happened to glance at her phone and see that it was 1am. 1am on the day.  

Suddenly, everything tunneled. Her throat closed up and she felt like she was drowning. It had only been a year. How had it only been a year? Phantom pain clutched at her ribs as she shakily stood and excused herself to the restroom, avoiding her parents’ confused stares. “Cass, honey, you okay?”

She stiffly made it to the bathroom and swiftly locked herself inside. The room was crumbling. No longer was she staring at porcelain but futuristic metal bathed in red. She fell to the ground heaving one breath, then two. He wasn’t touching her but he was. He wasn’t squeezing her and yet her ribs were breaking. Her dad was screaming. Hope was screaming. Kang was laughing. Why was he fucking laughing?

Suddenly, Cassie needed to know that everything inside of her was still in one piece. She was down to her sports bra before she knew it, scratching at phantom hands along her sides. There was going to be blood. There had to be. She couldn’t be in this much pain and not find any injuries right? When she saw the blood trickling down her side, Cassie realized that maybe she had never left the Quantum Realm after all. Maybe this entire year had been a dream. Maybe Kang had turned back time and he was here to kill her. 

The bathroom door busted off its hinges. Wait bathroom? Cassie blinked in confusion, breaths ragged in her ruined throat.

Scott slid to her side and immediately restrained her hands. She felt foggy as she watched. Why was he doing that?

Hope was there too, a hurried sense of urgency shining in her eyes as she dug around in the cabinet and found a first aid kit. Cassie watched in a daze as Hope’s nimble hands pulled out antiseptic and bandages. Her stepmom winced in apology before dabbing the antiseptic onto long cuts on Cassie’s abdomen and the pain immediately brought her back to her surroundings. They were in San Francisco. In the bathroom. Kang had squeezed the life out of her a year ago today. She had…she had…what had she done?

“Wh-what…I…I didn’t mean to.” Her voice sounded like glass. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” She shuddered a sob. Then another. “I’m sorry. I-I d-di-” 

Scott pulled her back against his chest, releasing her hands in favor of holding her close while Hope worked. “We know Peanut. It’s okay honey. Let it all out. It’s okay.”

Cassie sobbed, dissolving in tears as Hope finished cleaning what she now recognized as self inflicted wounds. She had been so sure that Kang’s hands were on her.

As soon as her stepmom was done, Scott deftly lifted Cassie off the floor and carried her in his arms to his and Hope’s room.

 He left for a minute as Hope quietly helped Cassie into one of Scott’s large shirts and a pair of the girl’s clean sleep shorts. When she was changed, her stepmom settled her gently under the big duvet and changed into her pyjamas as well before crawling in next to Cassie. Scott returned with a few gently steaming cups of tea and settled one into Cassie’s hands before disappearing into the attached bathroom. Cassie watched it all in that haze that came post panic attack as she sniffled and tried to take a deep breath. Each sip of tea brought her slowly back and by the time her father had returned to the bed in his sweatpants and tshirt, her heart had stopped trying to rip itself from her chest. 

Neither Hope nor Scott asked her what happened. They all knew what day it was. She appreciated that they didn’t force her to explain. Her dad simply found their place in the movie on their bedroom TV and turned it back on. Cassie finished her tea and Hope settled it on the side table before tilting the girl’s chin to meet her eyes. “We love you so much sweetheart. It’s okay for this to be hard alright?”

Cassie sniffled and nodded, unable to find words just yet. Hope seemed satisfied by what she saw in the girl’s eyes. The older woman smiled softly and leaned their foreheads together for a moment before pulling the girl down to snuggle into her shoulder. Scott took up scratching her back softly and Cassie fell asleep in her parent’s arms to the sounds of Middle Earth.

“I’m going to college.” Cassie looked indignantly back and forth between all four of her parents. 

Maggie piped up. “We know that baby and we all want you to do what you want it’s just-” The woman looked helplessly to Scott.

“We just think it might be smart to take a gap year first Peanut.”

Cassie huffed, frustration rising. “You guys don’t think I can do it. You look at me and all you see is broken little Cassie.”

Hope shook her head, always the one who could meet Cassie’s fire with her own. “You know that’s not true Cass. We’re all so proud of you.”

Jim butted in, much to all of their chagrin. “But sometimes you gotta slow down kiddo. There’s a great book on this I read once. About knowing your limits.” Hope groaned. Jim meant well but he didn’t always know how to talk to Cassie. 

The girl’s eyes flashed. “What is this? Some kind of fucking intervention? Because I don’t need it. You all keep trying to fix me!” Cassie could tell she was losing control of her temper but she couldn’t quite find it within herself to stop. “And you know what? I don’t need you to! I’m not some little girl anymore. I don’t need to be saved. I don’t know if you noticed, but I actually saved you!” 

Scott tried to respond, “We know sweethe-”

“No. No you don’t.” Cassie was reaching the point of no return and for the first time in a long time, she felt a little giddy. She felt powerful, in control. She was seeing red and she kind of liked it. The real her, pushed deep down, was screaming at her to stop. But her parents weren’t listening, they weren’t trusting her. All they saw was a broken little girl. Well..two could play at that game. 

“You know what Jim? I’m tired of your shit okay? It’s not helpful. No one wants your self-help bullshit. And Dad - what you think you can be gone most of my life and then suddenly swoop in to save me? I don’t know if you noticed but I did just fine without you for five whole years-”

“Cassie, stop, this isn’t fair.” Cassie turned on her step mother now. “Hope stop it. You aren’t my mom.” Cassie stop talking. You don’t mean any of this. “And my real Mom is too scared to even look me in the eyes! You all think I’m glass or something. Well I’m not. I’ll do just fine all alone. I’ve done it before.”

Cassie registered the pin drop silence, the slight hurt in all of their eyes as her temper slowly faded. No one yelled. No one said a thing. She hated it. She wanted them to be angry. Wanted them to hate her. Wanted to have someone to yell at, to hurt back. But they all knew her too well. 

Hope stood. “Cassie stop this right now. None of us deserve this okay? We know you don’t mean it but you need to stop.”

Shame flooded Cassie as she found disappointment in her stepmom’s eyes. What had she done? Why had she said those things? She needed to leave. Needed to get out of here. None of the adults had time to react as Cassie hit the button on her chest engaging the suit she almost never took off anymore and shrunk down to microscopic size. In a second, she was gone.

Cassie reached her grandparents house before the tears fully consumed her and hesitated for only a moment before knocking on the door. She could tell her phone was exploding with calls and texts in her pocket but she couldn’t face it right now. Couldn’t face them. God, she was a piece of shit. All they had been trying to do was help and she’d thrown it in their faces. 

Her grandmother was the one to open the door and Janet took one look at Cassie’s tear streaked face before pulling her inside gently and shutting the door. She rocked Cassie back and forth for a moment as waves of guilt crashed over the girl. She had told Hope she wasn’t her mom. God why would she do that. She shouldn’t even be here. If Janet knew…

And throwing those five years in her Dad’s face? Insulting her mom and Jim? What the fuck was wrong with her. 

Cassie began to try to extricate herself from her grandma’s arms but Janet only pulled her in tighter. “Hey hey I know baby. I know. You’re okay.” Janet seemed to hesitate before she continued. “I just got a call from Hope. She seemed pretty upset. She said you might head here.” 

Cassie felt like ice had been dumped over her head. Grandma must know what she had said. Must hate her.

“I’m sorry.” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I d-didn’t mean it…I’ll go. I’m sorry.”

Janet tightened her grip. “Oh honey shhh. It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. They know you didn’t mean it. You’re hurting. That doesn’t mean you can hurt other people though.”

Cassie buried her head deeper in her grandma’s shoulder. “I-I know. I..I just want to feel like myself again. And I-I can’t even make it through the night without people o-or go to school and I just wanted to look forward to something. To know I could do it. College I mean.” 

Janet maneuvered them to the living room and sat them down gently on the sofa. “I know sweetheart. And we all know you can do it okay? But….it’s also okay to know your limits.”

Cassie let out a slightly hysterical laugh as she pulled her face out of her grandma’s shoulder and winced at the damp spot she had left. “That's what Jim said.”

Janet rolled her eyes. “Oh god, from a self help book no doubt.” They both chuckled fondly and Janet used her sleeve to mop tears and snot from Cassie’s face. Cassie winced but Janet simply smiled at her. “Darling, this is what grandmas are for. Now, why don’t you explain to me what happened from the beginning. And then we’re going to make some hot chocolate and take it to your grandpa in the lab and you two can tinker on god knows what until you’re ready to have a conversation with your parents. I’ll hold them off until then.”

Cassie felt tears spring to her eyes again. She didn’t feel like she deserved this kindness but god was it everything she needed.

By the time Cassie felt ready to meet her parents’ eyes, she and grandpa had built an entirely self sufficient AI vacuum cleaner and two different variations of a 3D projector. They had moved on from hot chocolate to whiskey for him and lemonade for her as they tinkered and laughed at each other’s antics and weird ideas. He had even done some touch ups to her suit. 

Finally, Hank broached the subject. “You know kiddo, I think I know a compromise that might help with the whole college thing.”

Cassie tightened a loose screw on the vacuum as she listened. “Yeah?”

“Well, what if you start online your freshman year and intern at Pym Technologies? You’ve got an amazing eye for this stuff. I’m sure Hope would love to put that talent of yours to use. And then…well with your old grandpa’s company on your resume…I bet MIT would take you in a heartbeat. Or anywhere else you want. Your parents keep you close for a year, you get out of the house and use that brain of yours. Everyone wins. What do you say?”

Cassie thought about it and realized that what her grandpa was saying made a lot of sense. She loved working in the lab with Hope. Being in a cohort of interns would allow her to make friends. And she didn’t really want to move away…she just didn’t want to sit in her room anymore staring at the wall. She knew deep down that her parents were right. She wasn’t quite ready for the type of separation that came with moving across the country…or even the state. But online school? She was pretty good at that by now. 

She sighed at herself. If she had only been willing to listen. Then again, she probably only really would have listened to her grandparents right now. “Yeah…I think..I think I’d like that. Could we also work here? You and I? I know you took a step back from the company but I’d like to learn from you. I-if you’ll teach me.”

Hank simply kissed her forehead and winked at her. “You got it kiddo.”

Everyone was waiting in the Parlor when Cassie emerged upstairs. She nervously shuffled her feet a bit and Janet squeezed her hand as they passed each other in the doorway. 

Cassie couldn’t quite look at her parents as she entered, instead choosing to stare intently at the light fixture. “I’m…I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean any of it. I was…scared. But that’s not an excuse and umm…I understand if, you’re mad or or hate me or whatever.” 

“Come here Cass.” 

She looked up to find her dad smiling at her gently and beckoning to the empty spot on the couch in between them all, nestled between him and Maggie. She gingerly sat and stared at her clasped hands, waiting for a verbal lashing.

Instead, they pulled her into their arms and held her close. “Listen kiddo. You’re really struggling. And it’s not okay to hurt people because you feel out of control,” Scott began, “But god knows most of us on this couch have done it. We all forgive you and we all love you…no matter what.” 

Maggie echoed him. “Baby girl I could never hate you okay? No matter what.” 

Cassie swallowed down a sob, overwhelmed at their forgiveness. “I’m so so sorry. I’m so sorry.” They simply enveloped her in a hug. 

When they pulled away, Scott held out his hand and she clasped it tight. “You will however, be writing a 1000 word essay on healthy communication skills with at least two peer reviewed sources. And meeting with your therapist tomorrow to debrief.” 

Cassie’s mouth dropped open and Scott laughed, completely serious. She figured it was a fair punishment and the least she could do.

…

Cassie found Hope later out on the porch swing. She had just finished apologizing to Jim for the third time and he had simply ruffled her hair and kissed her cheek before sending her on her way. Now she gingerly stopped in front of Hope and took a breath. “You are my mom Hope. I - I would understand if you didn’t want me though…like as a kid. I - I know I’m not your bio daughter or anything and I’m kind of a pain in the ass-” 

Cassie lost her train of thought as Hope pulled her across her lap on the swing and tucked the girl’s head into her shoulder. Cassie giggled despite herself. “Hope I’m too big for this.”

Hope shook her head. “Nah. You’ll always be my little girl.”

Cassie sucked in a breath and tucked her face against Hope’s neck to hide her tears. “I’m so so sorry.” 

Hope shook her head. “Cass. Listen. When my mom came back from the Quantum Realm…god I think I hated her. I felt like she abandoned me even though she didn’t have the choice. I lashed out so many times. Sweetie, we’ve all used anger to feel in control. But I’m going to tell you right now that it won’t ever work. Okay? Pushing people away will only bring more pain. But I can speak for all four of us when I say we’ll never stop loving you.”

Cassie nestled further into her stepmother and the two of them looked past the light pollution of the city to find the stars that were beginning to poke through.

Kang had taken a lot but he couldn’t take this. 

Cassie graduated from online high school on a sunny day in May. Her family threw a silly little graduation for her in her grandparents back yard - complete with a commencement speech from Jim and a diploma they had ordered for her with a fancy case and everything. Cassie laughed as they all pulled her into a group hug and cheered. 

She still felt phantom hands on her ribs some nights. She still got lost in her head. But her therapist was helping her with processing emotion and she was going to do her first half marathon in the fall. Her internship was starting at Pym Technologies in June and her family was by her side. The sun was shining. And Kang would never take away that warmth. That love. 

Chapter Text

Cassie's head was pounding beyond anything she had ever experienced. Not the I'll get by with an Advil kind of headache. No, this was a full-scale, seeing stars, honest-to-god migraine. 

The girl pulled herself out of bed and stumbled a bit getting to her bathroom. Her reflection blurred in front of her and she blinked a few times to clear the unfamiliar face of a girl she barely knew. 

Being tucked gently between Dad and Hope as they all cried had been the moment a month ago when the teenager had dreamed that things might be fixed. Her dad's strong arms were around her. He was telling her he loved her. It was all she had thought about for five years of abject agony. 

What Cassie hadn't expected was the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach whenever her parents weren't in her sight. It was a raw, pulsating mass of fear. It felt like it was trying to eat her every day as she sat in a different class than the best friends she had left behind in middle school. It tried to rise up and consume her as she listened late at night to her Mom and Jim whisper about therapy and antidepressants. It swallowed her whole when customers walked into her coffee shop and recognized her from paparazzi photos of her reunion with her father. 

Unless she was sitting directly next to her Dad and Hope, it was almost as if nothing had changed for the better. They were still gone and she was still broken. 

And she couldn't - she wouldn't - talk to them about it. It wasn't the right time. They were still coming to terms with all of the time that they'd lost. Her problems weren't going to help. But the constant stress was taking it's toll - a toll that wouldn't long be able to be covered by foundation and blush. Pasting cream under her eyes wasn't going to hide the hours of missed sleep and it certainly wasn't going to solve the way her throat scratched and her body felt like it was actively on fire. 

The realization hit Cassie as she tied on her barista apron with trembling hands - it wasn't just a migraine. She was fucking sick. Fumbling with her phone, Cassie shot a quick text to her manager apologetically asking for a cover. No way was she going to be able to make coffee like this. The LED lights on the ceiling would kill her if corporate didn't first for sneezing in a latte. 

Cassie sighed. Mom and Jim wouldn't be home for another day and a half. They had accompanied her dad to a court hearing in DC regarding shared custody. Turns out there wasn't much precedent for a parent coming back from the dead. Well not before now at least. Now, they were one family in a long list of people trying to reinstate the most important aspects of their lives. And only a few places were equipped to handle the case load. Cassie knew lots of families would have it worse - unexpected custody battles and the like.

Maggie and Jim were operating more like moral support than anything to Scott. They all wanted the same thing - for Cassie to belong to three loving parents. Four, Cassie corrected in her head. Hope had made it clear, even though it wasn't on paper, she wanted to be a part of Cassie's life. Wanted to be a parent. And Cassie desperately wanted that too. She just didn't know how to ask for it. 

Cassie loosed a cough that would make a seasoned nurse grimace and stumbled back toward bed, apron abandoned on the ground and phone clutched like a lifeline.

Her skin was starting to break out into a cold sweat in places as she shivered and she was starting to feel a bit worried about how rapidly this sickness had taken hold. Her mouth was impossibly dry and her stomach was doing somersaults like a cement mixer. Cassie knew, somewhere deep down, that this was kind of bad - that maybe she needed help. But she couldn't bring herself to make the call. 

Hope had promised to check in with her tomorrow and the two had plans to drive out to a little spot by the beach for lunch. Cassie had been absolutely thrilled by the offer. She had always had a child-like hero worship for Hope but ever since losing the woman and then gaining her back, it had been morphing to something else. Hope wanted to be with her father for the long haul. Hope wanted Cassie for the long haul. And Cassie wanted more than anything for Hope to stay and love her and be...well...another mom. 

But she would never ever say that to the woman. Even the thought of the conversation made her stomach twist more than it already was. She wouldn't be able to handle it if Hope didn't want her, didn't actually like or love her. It would be the nail in the coffin of her abandonment issues. And Cassie certainly wasn't going to jeopardize their relationship by being a needy step kid. Hope was a CEO for godsake. She had better things to do. Cassie would just have to find a sneaky way to cancel tomorrow, as much as it pained her. 

The girl gripped her phone tightly in one hand and scrolled through contacts until she found Hope's. She opened the messenger app and quickly typed out something she felt was convincing. 

Hey Hope! I got scheduled for a double tomorrow. ugh. I really wanted to go to lunch with you so let's do it next week! No need to come over. I'll be gone all day.

Cassie smiled to herself. That was smooth. Hope wouldn't suspect a thing. The teenager flipped to Spotify and turned on the first podcast she could find. A comedy. Good. Within minutes, she was asleep.

Fire. The earth was on fire. Thanos was stomping through San Francisco larger than life. He snapped his fingers and the whole city blinked out of existence. Cassie watched from the sky as row by row of houses crumbled into the darkness. Her friends yelled to her from street level. They were still twelve year olds - children. They crumbled too. 

Cassie screamed for them and Thanos looked her way. He paused in his destructive path and smiled at her. "Ah. Girl with no father. I am a father with no daughter. You and I...we are the same. Too destructive to hold onto anything for long." 

Cassie woke up with a gasp. Her mouth was on fire and tears were streaming down her face. That had been one of her most vivid nightmares yet. Her dad couldn't be gone again. He couldn't. Stumbling over the numbers Cassie dialed Scott's phone and waited as the call rang.

"Cassie?"

Scott's voice carried the tinny quality of a phone with poor connection but he was there and Cassie heaved out a sob. "Dad." She wheezed. 

"Cass are you okay?" Scott sounded a little frantic now and Cassie quickly moved to calm him. "Y-yeah." A cough overtook her for a moment and she cursed. "I just wanted to make sure..." She couldn't finish the rest. It was too pathetic.

Scott hummed sympathetically on the other end. "Make sure of what Peanut?"

The term of endearment that she was only just getting used to again after five years of not hearing it from her dad made Cassie's carefully gathered facade break down immediately.

"I h-had a nightmare Dad. You were gone again." Wheeze. Cough. The room was blurry and it wasn't just from the force of her tears. Her head felt too hot and her mouth felt too dry and she could hear her dad but she couldn't see him. She couldn't see him. What if he wasn't there? 

"Cassie, baby girl. Breathe." Cassie heard a muffled intercom in the background of the call and Scott cursed. "Fuck, not now. Okay..Cass listen to me baby. I'm texting Hope right now. She's coming over okay?"

The alarm his words caused broke through Cassie's spiral. "N-no. Dad. No. It's okay."

She could almost hear his frown on the other end. "What? Why? What is it Peanut?"

Cassie frowned. "I just...she has more important things to worry about." Her voice hitched. "I'll be fine." 

Cassie heard a deep sigh from the other end. "Baby, she loves you and she's almost there okay? I have to go into the court room now but I'll call you as soon as I can. She's a minute out okay. You need to go unlock the door for her."

Cassie breathed in a half breath and sobbed out a quick, "O-okay." 

Scott seemed to listen for her movement so she robotically got out of bed and began to stumble her way down the hall. Only when the lock clicked did her dad bid her goodbye. "I love you Peanut. I'll call you later."

"L-love you. Bye Dad."

Cassie leaned back against the wall, breaths coming in gasps as her phone fell to her side. She was starting to spiral if the metallic taste in her mouth and sweat on her fingertips were anything to go by. Panic was fighting for dominance with a flu and Cassie knew her breaths weren't near deep enough. Hope couldn't see her like this. She couldn't she couldn't. 

The door slammed open and Cassie squinted at the intrusion as, suddenly, cool hands were framing her flushed cheeks and wiping sweat from her hairline. Hope's worried face swam into view and Cassie's panic hit it's peak. Hope was seeing her like this. Hope wouldn't want her anymore.

"I'm sorry!" Cassie slid to the ground and began to sob into her knees. Hope seemed a bit taken aback at first by the reaction but soon enough Cassie felt the older woman kneel next to her and pull her into a crushing hug. 

"Shhh honey. It's okay. You're okay. Just breathe." Cassie tucked her face against Hope's shoulder despite her brain screaming not to and tried to suck in a deep breath. Her forehead hit Hope's neck and the woman gasped. 

"Oh god, baby you are burning up. Come on, we need to figure this out." Cassie continued to sob and gasp and Hope seemed to fight off her own panic at the moment - torn between Cassie's mental and physical needs. 

Slowly, she pulled the girl back into her embrace. "Okay. We're going to breathe together for a minute. Okay?"

Cassie nodded helplessly. 

"Alright, big inhale. Big exhale." Cassie emulated the rise and fall of the older woman's chest. One. Two. Three. A hand rubbed along her spine. Four. Five. Gentle words whispered in her ear. Slowly, her chest began to release.

Her breaths were coming a bit more naturally even if the anxiety hadn't subsided. 

Hope seemed satisfied by the change and hauled the girl up by her upper arms. Cassie wobbled a bit on her feet but Hope tugged the girl into her side. "Okay...okay. You're doing great sweetheart. Let's do step two yeah? We need to get your temperature down."

Before Cassie knew it, she was in her bathroom and her bath was running. It should have concerned her more - the way time seemed to be jumping. But her head was swimming and she was so so tired. 

Hope was in front of her as the bath filled, eyes clouded with worry as she propped the girl on the closed toilet seat and mindlessly stroked her hair. The woman was frowning a little and Cassie wanted to ask why but words weren't forming in the way she wanted them too.

With the bath done, Hope slowly maneuvered the girl over and paused. "Okay honey we need to get you out of these clothes. I can leave if you want me to or-"

Cassie knew it was a lost cause as she timidly interrupted. "I..I can't do it."

Hope eye's softened. "Okay. Okay that's alright. We'll do it really quick together okay?"

Cassie would be more embarrassed if she could actually form thoughts as they quickly shed her of her clothes and she was all but hauled into the lukewarm bath. Hope went about the bathroom grabbing a towel and supplies from the shower before she came back to the girl and crouched down, nothing but love and warmth in her eyes. 

"You're feeling really shitty huh?"

Cassie felt a small smile form, despite herself. "I...guess there's not point in lying."

Hope smiled sadly. "Definitely not....There's also no double shift tomorrow is there?"

Cassie looked down at the porcelain in shame. "...No." This was the moment. Hope was going to pick up and leave her here.

The teenager felt gentle fingers tip her chin up to make eye contact. Hope sighed, seeming to consider her words. "Baby...you know I love you right?" There it was. Hope had cut right through all of the bullshit. The lies and deflection. She saw right through to Cassie's biggest fear.

Cassie's eyes widened and her bottom lip quivered. Hope seemed to see the surprise as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Cassie's forehead. Silent tears tracked down the girl's cheeks and words got stuck in her throat. 

Minutes passed as Cassie grappled with the shock of Hope's words while the older woman set to work combing conditioner through her hair. The gentleness of it all hit Cassie like a freight train and she bit back another sob as she cried. A warmth completely different from the burning inferno of flu began to fill the girl up for the first time since she was twelve and half of her support system had ceased to exist. 

Hope wordlessly grabbed a towel and offered her hand to the crumbling girl, gently removing her from the water and wrapping her up. They made their way into Cassie's room together, the teenager still reeling. Hope loved her. Why was it so hard to believe? Why was it so shocking to hear?

Before long Cassie was in fresh sweatpants and a tshirt she had taken from Scott's things during those five years of torture. She stood uselessly by the wayside as Hope made quick work of putting fresh sheets on her bed. The older woman helped Cassie lay down before kissing her head again in a way that Cassie was finding might be one of her favorite things on the planet. 

"I'm going to go get a few things okay? Stay put." Hope winked at her and Cassie smiled softly as she wiped at her eyes and snuggled down under the comforter. The panic she had felt only an hour or so ago was now slowly being replaced by a deep sense of peace. She closed her eyes and felt for the first time that things might just be okay. 

Water. The ocean. Her dad was tossing her into a wave. She squealed, her little arms scrambling for his hands, even though she knew he would never let her go. "Don't drop me Daddy!" He went into the wave with her, both of them popping up with unbridled laughter as he kissed her cheeks and her head in that way that always made her laugh. "Never baby girl."

The sun was bright and the waves were gentle and the earth was whole. Cassie felt the salt dry against her cheeks in the gentle wind. A different voice called from the beach. "Hey you two! I'm not waiting to eat lunch forever." Cassie giggled as her dad swung her in the air the whole way back to Hope before depositing the little girl in her stepmom's arms. She would never grow tired of this warmth. This love."

"Cassie. Hey honey, I need you to wake up." Cassie woke gently, not the gunshot upright blast into consciousness she was used to. It was a gradual swim toward the surface as she was pulled back into wakefulness by the hands scratching her back.

"Okay honey I need you to drink some water." Cassie blinked at Hope, settled next to her on the bed with a glass. Cassie obediently took it and drank greedily, the water cooling her throat in a heavenly way. Hope chuckled and gently made her relinquish it. "Whoa slow down a minute. It won't help you if it comes back up." Cassie handed back the glass sheepishly and sat up a bit as Hope handed her cold medicine and a warm cup of tea. The next few minutes passed in silence as Hope patiently waited for her to drain the cup and gather her bearings post-nap. Once she was finished with the mug, the woman took it and deposited it on the bedside table before maneouvering them both into a more comfortable position on the bed. A sitcom was playing softly in the background on the little TV on Cassie's desk and the window had been opened to blow a soft breeze across the room, cooling her skin. 

Cassie laid on her back, twiddling her fingers together while Hope rested on her side, one hand propping her head up and the other soothingly stroking Cassie's hair. Finally, Hope broke the silence. "Cassie...why did you lie to me? Your dad called me in a panic an hour after you texted...You could have called." For the first time since Hope had come to the rescue, Cassie registered insecurity in the woman's voice. 

Cassie winced and closed her eyes briefly. She didn't want to cry anymore. She should just come out with it. Tell Hope the truth. Rip off the bandaid. "I didn't want to be a burden. I thought...if you saw me like this," Cassie paused and looked up at Hope, the woman's face open and encouraging. Cassie sighed. "I thought you wouldn't want me or like want to hang out with me....anymore." She trailed off, scared to look at Hope and find that her words had been the truth. But before the older woman could say anything, Cassie started violently coughing. Whatever Hope had been about to say was abandoned as she went to work coaching Cassie through her coughing fit. Alarm entered the girl's eyes as she felt the first heave of her stomach. This was more than a cough.

Hope seemed to sense it to. Somehow, they symbiotically made it to the bathroom again before Cassie was expelling everything she had eaten recently into her toilet bowl. Her eyes watered as she heaved and Hope never strayed from her side, holding her hair back and whispering encouraging words. "That's it baby. Let it out."

Cassie slowly recovered and pulled herself back, stumbling a bit before Hope did the rest of the work for her and pulled the girl backward into her arms. Cassie leaned fully into the woman, closing her eyes as she willed her stomach to calm. After five minutes, Hope got them off the floor and leaned against the counter as Cassie slowly brushed her teeth. She felt the older woman's piercing stare and spit in the sink before turning to look. "What...why are you staring at me."

Hope felt her forehead, seemingly reassured, before ushering Cassie back to the bed and having her take more sips of water. Finally, when they were back to laying down, Hope began to speak. 

"You know...you're a lot like your dad. So so smart and so so stubborn." Cassie smiled softly. "Cassie..." Hope sighed, almost at a loss. Cassie felt shock hit her as she saw that tears had now gathered in the older woman's eyes. "I know us being gone was so hard on you. And...my biggest regret is that I didn't tell you how I felt before it was too late. But baby, I love you so much. I have since I met you. Your dad got some real brownie points for his cute kid you know?" Cassie giggled a little and felt that comfortable warmth spread through her as she regarded Hope. The older woman loved her. She actually wanted her. Cassie couldn't help herself as she tucked her head against the woman who had always been her second mom - even if neither of them had put it to words. "I love you too Hope. I was just so afraid...that you wouldn't want me." Cassie shuddered against a new wave of tears. "It's uh...been a long five years. I'm not that cute little kid anymore." 

Hope tutted in a way that was so maternal Cassie almost laughed. "To your mom and Jim and your dad and I, you'll always always be our kid okay?" 

Cassie looked up at Hope and finally felt her heart mend as she felt the truth of the woman's words. Five years of grief caught up to her in that moment as she through herself into the woman's arms and held on tight. "I missed you so much."

And if Hope had to send an ant with a wad of cash strapped to it's back to get enough gatorade to recover from a two person, hour long cry session, so be it. Cassie had her parents back and even the flu couldn't ruin it for her. 

Two weeks later, Hope and Scott took Cassie to that lunch spot on the coast. They were sitting on the beach, unwrapping their sandwiches as Scott looked over at his daughter, that mischievous glint in his eye. "I'll race you to the waves!"

His sentence wasn't even finished before Cassie had taken off, the two laughing so hard they could barely run as Hope huffed out a laugh and called after them that she wasn't waiting to eat.

And for that moment, the world wasn't on fire anymore.

Chapter Text

Cassie is ten when her father disappears.

She’s ten when her friends turn to dust all around her during a game of monopoly, her babysitter along with them.

She’s ten and curled up in a trembling ball on the floor wishing and wishing for her mom when a social worker from the hospital knocks on the door. 

She’s ten and scared and alone in the world as a sad looking, frazzled woman informs her that her mom and step dad are dead. Their taxi driver turned to dust on the highway. 

She’s ten when she’s dropped off at a group home - no foster parents left to take her. 

And no one, not one single person, thinks to inform Hope van Dyne. 

Cassie is ten and all alone and the only person left in the world to love her doesn’t know she’s alive.

She learns early on that it’s good that she’s so small. She can slip by unnoticed at dinner, grabbing just enough to keep her stomach from growling too loud at night. While the bigger boys push and shove each other, she scampers back to her bunk bed where it’s safe. 

She learns that being small means she gets the most threadbare clothes. But that, again, is a good thing. No one is gunning for what she has. Her sneakers have been through so many kids, they’re wearing at the seams. But they’re hers and no one will take them.

She’s also the youngest in the group home by at least three years. Another advantage. No one gives her a second glance. And really, she’d much rather be left alone than participate in whatever cut throat hierarchy is being established amongst the older kids. 

So really being small is to her advantage. Until one day it isn’t. 

Thomas, the oldest boy and the one who’s gaze sends shivers down her spine, is home early from school. This would not be unusual except Cassie also happens to be home early from school. And never, in her three months here, has that happened. She can usually go unseen and unheard but today, as she toes off her shoes near the front door, she immediately senses that something is off. 

“Hey you little shit. Get over here.” His voice is a low growl, angry already. Though Cassie isn’t sure at what. 

The girl grimaces, fear shooting through her as she debates what to do. But before she can decide to run out the door, he’s there, right in front of her. He’s a lanky boy, lean like the rest of them - lack of nutrition eating away at their baby faced youth. His hair hangs long near his eyes, tucked back behind an ear. A sheath of dark obscuring the cold crystal blue gaze of a predator. 

Cassie knows his type. She’s been here long enough to see them come and go. But Thomas. Thomas has always been there. She’s been counting down the days until he ages out of the home but now, here he is, leering down at her. 

“Little baby Cassie. Always so innocent right?”

She squares her shoulders and knows that it comes off laughably weak. Like a toddler trying to take a fighting stance against a grown adult. 

“What do you want, Thomas?” Her voice shakes.

He chuckles before the grin drops and he’s slamming her tiny frame up against the wall. She cries out in pain and struggles against his forearm as he pins her there, laughing. 

“Not so tough now huh? No mommy and daddy to come save you?”

And Cassie can’t help it. She cries. She hates it as tears start slipping down her cheeks but she’s scared and tired and so alone in the world it feels like she might never be warm again. 

Thomas shoves her one more time. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

Then he’s gone, stamping up the stairs. And Cassie is left to slide to the ground and hide her face in her knees, sobbing so hard she doesn’t know if she’ll ever stop. 

The day everything goes to shit, Hope is on a rooftop. She’s on a rooftop as she watches Scott turn to smile at her, a cocky thumb’s up aimed in her direction, just as his legs begin to disintegrate. She barely hears herself scream, begging her parents to do something before she turns and sees her mother on her knees staring wide-eyed at the spot where her father had been. 

In the days that follow, she learns that Maggie and Jim are gone too. A car crash. A tragedy amongst billions of tragedies. Humanity, a pile of dust on the surface of the earth. And even as she hears the news, and begins to process her grief, she begs the nurse at the hospital to tell her one good thing. 

“Cassie? Was Cassie in the car?”

The nurse shakes her head. “No, there wasn’t a Cassie that came in with them.” 

“Cassie is their daughter. Do you know where she’d be? She needs help, she’s going to be all alone-”

“Miss van Dyne are you a family relation?”

Hope stumbles to a stop. “N-no.”

The woman sighs. “I know this must be hard and I’m sorry, but I can’t inform you of any further details regarding any minors connected to the situation.”

“But..please just-”

“Miss van Dyne I’m sorry but I have a waitlist of callers. Goodbye.”

The phone goes quiet and Hope doesn’t have to say anything to her mother before they’re both getting into the car and driving to Maggie and Jim’s. 

The door, as it happens, is unlocked.

Hope stumbles inside, not sure what she wants to find. She yells Cassie’s name before she sees the piles of dust around the coffee table, monopoly board paused mid-game. 

She falls to her knees and sobs. 

Cassie turns eleven without much fanfare. Sarah, her social worker, hands her a drug-store card. It’s generic with childish little bears on it. She can’t help but feel jaded as she looks at it. 

Her teachers tell her Happy Birthday, ask her what her plans are. They should know better than to ask kids these types of questions after the snap. Cassie imagines her dad would tell them to go fuck themselves. And no one’s around to scold her now for swearing. Still, something inside of her lurches at disobeying her parents. Even though they’re gone, she can’t shake the hope that maybe, somehow, they can still see her. 

She wants to be good…just in case.

Hope’s mom is worried. This much she knows. Janet van Dyne tells things like they are and she’s had a lecture on the tip of her tongue for months. 

And it’s not that Hope doesn’t know that she looks like shit - because she does. And it’s not like she doesn’t know that Cassie is probably dead and gone. But there’s a chance. Because the hospital wouldn’t answer their questions which means that maybe just maybe Cassie really had been picked up from that house. 

Was it invasive to design a search parameter that would identify the little girl’s face anywhere within the city? Maybe. Had it taken way too long to figure out how to hack the city’s CCTV? Yeah, but she isn’t exactly operating at full mental capacity these days. 

“Baby just…take a break for a minute. Come let me make you dinner.”

Hope sighs into her hands. “Just…I’ll be up in a few, mom.”

The woman feels hands on her shoulders, rubbing up and down gently just like when she was a little girl. “Hope. Take a break.”

Hope lets out a huff. “I can’t mom. I need-I..I need to do something.”

Tears seep out of the corners of her eyes and she angrily brushes them away. Janet wraps her in a hug from behind. “I know honey, I know. And I will tear apart every corner of this city with you looking for her if that’s what you want to do. But right now, I need you to come eat some dinner.”

Hope turns to look at her mother. “Mom. I can’t fail her. Fail him.”

And then she’s sobbing again which seems like all she’s good for these days. 

Janet catches her in a hug right before the search parameter lets off a long, low beep. 

Hope stumbles back in shock before pulling up the window on her computer and sucking in a choked breath. 

There on her screen is a black and white freeze frame of little Cassie Lang, backpack in tow, walking down the street. 

Cassie knows someone is following her home from school. She keeps turning around to try to catch them only to find the usual random passersby on the busy city streets. 

It’s only when she turns down a more secluded block that a low whistle lets out from behind her. She spins around, fear shooting down her spine as she takes in not only Thomas but two other boys. They advance on her slowly and the girl stumbles back, tripping on a shoelace. 

Thomas grins at her struggle, a dangerous look on his face that clue’s Cassie in. Something is different this time. “Cassie Cassie Cassie. I’m aging out next week. Bet you’re happy about that huh? See, the thing is, I’ve got nowhere to go but up now. And my first order of business is to finally get a little payback.”

Cassie holds her backpack to her tightly, her voice trembling. “But I haven’t done anything to you!”

He gets right in front of her and throws her to the ground. “Want to know how I ended up in foster care? I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t the snap. My parents weren’t dusted.”

The other boys surround her too and now she’s really got a bad feeling in her stomach. 

“See Cassie you never asked me my last name. And you should have.”

And then time seems to slow as he aims a foot at her and kicks. Hard. She groans and pulls her backpack up to shield herself. The other boys laugh. Another kick lands and she cries out, rolling to try to get out of the way. The others haul her up and hold her in place. Thomas advances and slaps her. She feels blood pour out of her nose.

“W-why?” She sobs out. 

He grips her by the hair and pulls her head up to meet his eyes. She strains against the arms around her. “Na-a ah. Not done with you just yet.” Thomas pulls a photo out of his pocket and flips it around to show her. It’s a man holding a little boy up in the air. The boy is Thomas. And the man… the man is…

Cassie’s stomach drops. “Your dad tried to kill me!” Thomas’s smile flips in an instant and he seems truly furious now. “Yeah well, your dad killed him you little bitch. I have no one now and it’s all your fault.” 

She has to get away. She knows it. She has to. Thomas is going to kill her. She watches him pull a switch blade from his pocket. 

“T-tom you said we were just gonna scare her.”

The boys holding her twitch nervously. Thomas scoffs and advances anyway. 

“You know what, no. I’m not going to juvie.” The two holding Cassie, drop her unceremoniously to the ground and take off. She’s alone now, in this dark alley. Alone with Thomas. 

He lunges at her with the blade and she scrambles away. It makes contact with her cheek anyway and she cries out as she feels blood pour from the wound. He grins, laughs, lunges again. 

She’s going to die. She’s going to die. She’s - 

She’s being yanked back into strong arms and a warm body. Cassie momentarily struggles. The other boys must have come back. They’re gonna help him. She going to die-

“Sh sh sweetie it’s okay.”

Cassie’s head snaps up to look at the owner of the arms wrapped around her and the world slams to a stop as she processes her shock.

Because there, like an angel dropped out of heaven, is the face of Hope van Dyne, tears in her eyes as she stares down at Cassie like she’s the most important thing in the world. 

Cassie barely notices Janet van Dyne advancing on Thomas, yelling at him while she dials her phone, before the girl is dissolving into heaving, relieved sobs. 

Hope gathers her up, lifting the girl into her arms and holding her so closely it’s like they meld together. Cassie wraps her legs around the woman’s waist and clings to her sweatshirt as she pushes her face into Hope’s neck and cries. 

Hope paces with her, tears leaking from her own eyes and what feels like the weight of the world lifting from her shoulders as she finally holds Cassie close. “Sh sh baby it’s okay. I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be okay.”

They pace like that for a long time. Eventually Cassie registers that the police are showing up. She lifts her head slightly to see Thomas Cross being pushed into a car. She shudders as she sees him look in her direction but Hope tightens her grip and Cassie hides away again in the safety of the older woman’s hold. 

Soon, she feels a hand rubbing gently on her back. Janet. Cassie’s met her a handful of times and had always felt like she might be one of the coolest people ever - she ranked just under the reverence she held towards daddy and Hope and her mom and Jim. Gone gone gone gone. Hope. Not gone. 

Sarah shows up not long after the police and Hope’s grip tightens even more as the woman begins asking questions - telling them Cassie needs to get back home. 

“What she needs  is a hospital. And she’s coming home with us.”

“Miss van Dyne-”

Cassie can picture the look in Hope’s eyes. The hand she must be holding up, commanding silence and respect.

“Sarah is it? Sarah, you’ll find that we’ve conducted all home visits and finalized the paperwork to foster within the last two months. We’ve also petitioned the court at the behest of our lawyer to honor documents signed by both Scott and Cassie’s mom, Maggie, stating that I am her next of kin. Why those weren’t considered in the first place, I don’t know. But I’d bet that something like that slipping through the cracks will not reflect kindly on you or your agency.”

Sarah splutters and huffs. The conversation continues but Cassie feels so utterly safe and warm that she simply tunes it out. 

She’s going home. 

The paramedics had taken care of putting stitches into Cassie’s cheek soon after Sarah left and they’d sent her home saying to ice her ribs and take it easy. 

Now she’s in the back seat of Hope’s car, Janet driving so that the two can sit together. Hope had tried to belt the girl in but thus far, Cassie would not let go of the woman’s neck, seemingly in shock at the situation and afraid that it might all be an elaborate dream. 

They pull up to the house and Hope places a quick kiss to the side of Cassie’s head before maneuvering the two of them out of the car and up the steps through the front door. Before she knows it, Cassie is being set down on a big fluffy bed. 

She grasps desperately for Hope’s hand but the woman simply kicks off her shoes and crawls in right next to the girl. 

“I’m right here baby girl. Just sleep okay? I’m right here.”

And Cassie does.

“How’d you find me?”

It’s been a few hours and evening has descended on them. Cassie woke up earlier from her much needed nap and had been quickly ushered into a warm bath by Hope. Now she’s leaning against the porcelain, staring up at the older woman as the hot water and bubbles slowly relax her. 

Hope gives the girl a watery smile before dragging a stool up by the tub and taking a seat to begin washing her hair. “Cassie I…I’m so sorry it took me so long. I was searching the city but…it was hard to get information.”

Cassie leans into Hope’s touch as the woman lathers her scalp. “It’s okay. Thanks for coming for me…” She pauses. “Mommy and daddy are gone.” 

It’s a whispered statement. They both know it’s true. Maybe when she was younger, Cassie would have asked Hope if there was any way to get them back. But Cassie is eleven and she is tough and she knows better. They’re gone. 

“Yeah honey.” Hope’s voice is heavy with grief. 

Cassie lets out a sob. “I’m all alone.”

Suddenly arms are encircling her from behind and a gentle kiss is being pressed to the side of her head. “Cassie Lang, you are not alone. As long as I’m here, you’ll never be alone again. I love you baby.”

Cassie shakes her head. “But daddy..he’s gone now. You don’t have a reason to keep me.”

Hope makes a pained noise in her throat. “Cassie, that’s not true honey. I miss your dad so so much. And I loved him - love him so much. But baby, I love you too. And you’re mine for as long as you’ll have me.” 

They’re cuddled up in bed, Cassie leaning against Hope’s front as the woman holds her close, when Janet pushes into the room with a tray of steaming tea. She smiles gently at them,beyond happy and relieved to have them both here, safe and warm. Alive. 

“Thought maybe you two could use a little pick me up.” Hope smiles back at her, hoping her thankfulness is conveyed to her mom. For being there consistently. For helping get Cassie back. For helping her find her little girl. 

Janet almost laughs at how much of a helicopter parent Hope already seems to be, as she takes Cassie’s tea and blows on it for the girl before handing it to her. It’s sweet, watching her daughter, who’d grown up so very much while she was away, become a mother. Janet’s eye’s get a little misty and she blinks them clear before leaving to grab them a snack. 

She has to laugh at herself too. Making tea and snacks. Hovering. She’s already a doting grandma and she’s only had this girl back for three hours. 

The approval for Janet and Hope to keep Cassie comes through within a day. The courts are pushing things through at a record pace. There are too many children and not enough homes. They’re all too happy to open up a bed in the group home. 

Hope tries to not think too hard about all of the unsavory homes that might be going through the same process as her, just thankful that she’s got her little girl back. Still, she makes a mental note to reach out to Natasha Romanoff and see what the Avengers might be able to do about all of these kids. 

Hand in hand, Cassie and Hope go back to the girl’s home. There are things she needs there - things that Sarah never deemed important enough to take time to get. Hope kneels in front of the girl before they open the front door, gently pushing hair out of her face. 

“You don’t have to go in honey. I can grab whatever you need.” 

Cassie shakes her head, leaning her cheek into Hope’s hand subconsciously. The woman smiles gently at her and rubs her thumb up and down her cheek. 

“I wanna go. I wanna…say goodbye.” 

Hope immediately tugs her into a tight hug. “Whatever you need to do Cass. I’m here.”

Cassie avoids the living room like the plague, instead venturing up the stairs towards the bedrooms. 

She packs a bag in her room, grabbing the stuff she wants most. Janet told her she’s hiring someone to pack up the rest of the house. They’ll drop off Cassie’s clothes and anything else she wants, the rest going into storage. 

The weird little bunny that dad gave her when he came to her birthday party so long ago still sits in its place on her bed. She gingerly picks it up, holding it to her nose and breathing in the familiar, comforting scent of home. It goes into her backpack along with books and a sketchbook and other knick knacks from around her room - things Jim had found in gift shops on their travels or funny little figurines her dad had found. 

Look Peanut, it’s a figurine of Ant Man! 

Daddy…it's the wrong color. Your suit is red.

Okay, so it’s a figurine of Wasp. Don’t tell Hope. 

I want you both. Then my collection will be perfect!

Cassie shoves everything into her bag and then takes a deep breath before venturing into her mom and Jim’s room. The bed is still made, blankets neatly in place.The sheets are a bit stale from months of disuse but Cassie doesn’t care as she throws back the duvet and crawls in. Her mom’s side envelops her with the familiar scent of floral perfume and suddenly she’s sobbing so hard she can barely breathe. 

When they leave the house, Hope doesn’t question why Cassie is bringing a bed pillow. She simply lifts the girl into her arms and carries her to the car like she’s six years younger than she is. Cassie leans her head into Hope’s neck and lets herself fall asleep. 

When Cassie turns twelve, it’s much different than the previous year. She’s taller now and all of her baby teeth are gone. She thinks it’s funny that it took aliens invading earth for her to find out that the tooth fairy isn’t real. She wonders if kids still get told about things like the tooth fairy. Or Santa. She wonders if now, it feels different, hearing about a magical man with that much power. She wonders if Thanos didn’t just take people but stories too. 

When Cassie turns twelve she is surrounded by love. Hope has an arm around her and Janet holds a homemade cake out as they sing and then yell “Happy Birthday!”. She blows out all twelve candles and they cheer as she smiles widely at them. Her family. 

“I’m so proud of you, you know?”

Cassie snuggles deeper into Hope’s arms in her bed. They painted her room again last week. It’s a muted forest green now, with fairy lights all strung up, emitting a soft glow over her fluffy white bed. She and Hope are mindlessly watching TV, content to relax with one another on a rainy Saturday. 

“What for?”

Hope kisses her softly on the forehead. “For being you. For being so strong this year. You amaze me.”

Cassie blushes at the praise. “Hope?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Hope holds her close. “I love you too honey. So so much.”

The bed dips a few minutes later as Janet sits down beside them. “What are we watching, girls?”

“Greys Anatomy.”

Janet leans back. “Aren’t you a little young for the…you know..”

Hope gasps dramatically. “As if you didn’t have me watching the trashiest TV when I was even younger.”

Janet laughs. “It was the eighties dear, it couldn’t have been that trashy.” 

Two characters on TV kiss and suddenly Janet is playfully covering Cassie’s eyes. 

Cassie giggles and swats her hand away. “I know what kissing is Grandma!”

The room freezes for a beat. Grandma . Cassie hadn’t even seemed to notice that she said it. But Hope is looking at Janet with happy tears in her eyes. Janet recovers quickly before she’s tickling the girl’s sides, reveling in her sweet laughter. 

Hope is down another aisle in the grocery store, Cassie wandering aimlessly through the produce, when she spots Thomas. 

He’s joking around with someone a few feet from her and she stumbles into a basket of tomatoes, sending them cascading to the floor. 

He glances up at the commotion and locks eyes on her, a wolfish grin taking over his face. She stumbles back, squishing tomatoes under her feet before she’s running, barely thinking about where she’s headed. She makes it out to the parking lot before she realizes that she should have found Hope instead. 

Now she’s alone and Thomas has followed her. “Ready for round two Cassie Lang? Maybe this time I’ll just drag you into the woods and enjoy myself first. I could you know. And no one would find you-”

He falls to the side as he’s punched in the face. 

“Stay the fuck away from my daughter.” Hope rushes to Cassie and pulls her up into her arms - the girl not yet too big to wrap her legs around the woman’s middle. 

Cassie is shaking so badly she can’t speak. Her eyes have taken on a faraway look and Hope knows she’s descending into a panic attack. 

Hope glances back at Thomas and glares with so much venom on her face he seems a bit taken aback. “You’ll be hearing from our lawyers and the authorities.”

Then she turns on her heel and takes Cassie to the car. She buckles the girl in quickly and drives as fast as she can safely manage back home, groceries long forgotten at the checkout stand. The moment she’d looked out the front windows and saw her girl being cornered by that boy she’d been sprinting. 

She throws the car into park and quickly makes her way around to Cassie’s door, once again lifting the girl into her arms and carrying her inside and up to her bed. She settles them both there before she takes Cassie’s cheeks in her hands and rubs her thumbs back and forth. 

“It’s okay baby. Breathe. You’re okay. I won’t let him hurt you. In one, out one.” Hope models her breathing for Cassie and soon the girl is heaving in and out, her trembling beginning to subside in Hope’s arms. 

“Mama.” Cassie chokes out, eyes squeezed shut against the world. 

Hope sighs sadly. “I know sweetie. I know you want your mom.”

Cassie shakes her head. Of course she wants her mom. But that’s not what she meant. 

She throws herself into Hope’s arms to convey her meaning as she shudders out. “Mama.” 

Hope sucks in a breath. “Oh. Oh. Mama’s here baby.” Tears pour down her cheeks. “Mama’s got you.” 

“Don’t let him hurt me.”

Hope pulls back from Cassie and looks steadily into her eyes. “He will never lay a hand on you. I promise you that.”

Hope tucks her baby in that night, staring reverently at her little cheeks and eyes and nose and mouth. She throws a prayer to Maggie and Scott, in case they can hear her wherever they are. “I’ve got our girl. I’ll love her forever. I promise. Thank you for her.”

That night, Wasp drags a man begging and crying into the police precinct and deposits him on the floor. 

“He threatened a minor with violence and sexual assault today.”

“Wasp, we appreciate your help but there’s-”

“Not much you can do? Like hell.” She tosses a folder on the counter. “Did some digging. You’ll find plenty in there to charge. Seems this little girl isn’t the first.”

Thomas whimpers on the ground as Hope exits the building.

Hope adopts Cassie right before her thirteenth birthday. They stand in court together, side by side. As the gavel comes down, Cassie bursts into tears. Hope catches her, as ever, and they hug each other tight. 

That day, they visit Maggie and Jim and Scott, laying flowers at each grave. Scott’s is more of a memorial - the type that many families have erected for their lost loved ones. Cassie, Hope, and Janet sit together in the grass and share a peaceful lunch amongst the flowers and tributes to people long gone. 

But here in the sun, with her grandma and mama, Cassie feels closer to those she’s lost than ever before. The strength of the love she feels now has opened up space, like it’s finally safe to be sad. So she sits with her mom and her dad and Jim and for the first time in nearly three years, Cassie feels like she can rest in their memories. Like she can learn to keep living even though they’re gone.

Cassie begins to help out around the Avengers compound when she’s fourteen. Tony Stark is searching for young talent to begin the next generation of Stark Industries and she’s ecstatic to get some practice. Her grandpa’s journals have lent some insight but she yearns to create and invent and study. 

Hope tells her to slow down and Cassie chafes at it a bit, the restraint. She knows Hope means well, is worried that Cassie is throwing herself into work instead of processing the upcoming anniversary of her parents’ deaths. But Cassie has told the older woman over and over that she’s fine. She’s fine.  She needs this - needs to feel useful for once in her life. She’s done being Cassie, the little girl that needs to be saved. She wants to be Cassie the inventor. Cassie the scientist. 

“You’re growing up so fast. It’s okay to take it slow honey.”

“ Mama, I’m gonna be late.”

Hope smiles softly and shakes her head as she hands the girl her lunch and watches her head out the door. “I love you!” She calls. Cassie turns back, a smile on her face. “Love you too.”

Janet stifles a laugh from somewhere nearby. “So stubborn. Wonder where she gets it.”

Hope rolls her eyes. “Ha. Ha.”

Janet raises her hands in surrender. “It’s just cute is all.”

Hope narrows her eyes. “What?”

Janet laughs. “Watching you get a taste of your own medicine.”

The older woman has to duck to avoid being splashed with water from the sink as Hope pulls the sprayer on her. 

“Oh so that’s how it is huh?”

Hope grins. “Yeah, you want to see me be stubborn?”

The kitchen is soaked and so are the two of them within fifteen minutes. Janet and Hope are collapsed from laughter in a puddle of water on the ground as Janet reaches to take her daughter’s hand. 

“I’m so proud of you Jellybean. You’re an amazing mother.”

Hope smiles, tears in her eyes. “I learned from the best.”

When Cassie is fifteen years old, her father returns. 

A knock sounds on their door, interrupting a Greys Anatomy marathon. 

“I’ve got it!” She calls over her shoulder as she swings the door open and just…stops. 

There, directly in front of Cassie, is her father. Scott. Her dad. Alive. Breathing. Cassie thinks she might be hallucinating. She hasn’t even tried the weed hidden in her backpack yet. This can’t be real, this can’t be…

“Oh my god. Scott.”

Hope is standing behind Cassie, a stricken look on her face. He’s smiling at them both, tears pouring down his cheeks and suddenly the frozen spell is broken. The three of them crash into each other with the force of a shattered world becoming whole, a reborn star bursting from the darkness. 

“Daddy.” Cassie sobs out between cries. 

“Peanut.” The whispered confessional of her childhood nickname only makes her cry harder. 

They land in a heap on Cassie’s bed, she and Hope taking turns to fill him in on the five years he's missed. When she calls Hope 'Mama' in passing, he looks at the woman with such reverence, Cassie thinks he might melt into a puddle. 

She’s safely tucked in between them later that night, when she hears them talking quietly to one another, their whispered conversation rousing her from sleep. 

“Thank you Hope. I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Scott..you never have to thank me for this. I love her so much. I love you so much.”

“Still…you adopted her. You kept her safe. You’re…you’re her mom. I just…thank you for loving my little girl.”

“Our little girl.”

“Our little girl.”

She hears them kiss and scrunches up her face, blowing her cover. “Gross. Get a room.”

They both look down at her in shock and then burst out laughing. Hope pokes her side. “Go back to sleep you little eavesdropper.”

“You guys are in my bed.” Even as she says it, she snuggles in more tightly between them. 

Things aren’t perfect. She misses her mom and Jim so terribly some days she feels that she might cease to exist under the weight of it. But she has Hope. And Janet. And now, against all odds, she has her dad. 

She falls asleep that night feeling so completely safe and loved - so different than the ten year old crying herself to sleep in a bunk bed. 

All because her mama found her.