Grass doesn't try to grow, it just grows. Flowers don't try to bloom, they bloom. As Yoda says, "Do or Do not. There is no try" or the Vedic principle, "Do less, accomplish more."
Nature is the real teacher when it comes to the law of least effort. Least action and no resistance.
Least effort is expended when your actions are motivated by love because nature is held together by the energy of love. With love as the motivation, no energy is wasted, but rather it is multiplied and accumulate. The surplus of energy you gather and enjoy can be channeled to create anything, including wealth.
To move the energy away from the ego and channel into least effort, here are three steps:
Acceptance - Accept the moment as it should be. Accept people, situations, circumstance, and events as they are - not how you wish they would be. Don't waste energy struggling against the moment. If you are frustrated with a person or situation, those are your feelings and not someone else's fault.
Responsibility - Do not blame anyone or anything for your situation, including yourself. Address every problem as an opportunity in disguise. Reality is an interpretation. Develop the ability to create a creative response to the situation as it is now.
Defenselessness - This one is a biggie for me. Relinquishing the need to convince or persuade others of your point of view. So much energy is wasted fighting or resisting. If you relinquish this need, you will gain access to an enormous amount of energy previously wasted. I feel exhausted when I'm standing rigid, trying to get people on the same soap box as me. To surrender to the moment, be flexible, you. will experience the present moment and drop the terrible burdens of defensiveness, resentment, and hurtfulness.
I am going to be consciously working on this law and making a real effort to choose the path of no resistance.
synopsis - steve and the avengers break up a sex trafficking ring. steve finds one of the survivors barely hanging on and decides she needs him.
warnings: mentions of abuse, mentions of death, extremely sick reader, mentions of malnutrition, mentions of sex trafficking/sex abuse, moral!steve rogers, if i am missing anything please let me know!
a/n - i really loved writing this and i can absolutely seeing this becoming a series or at the very least having a couple more parts. give me all the feedback you can!! thanks sm for reading :)
wc: 3k
“On my signal,” Steve commanded the men behind him. This mission had been six months in the making, there was no way he was letting rookies fuck it up. He had instructed them before they even stepped foot outside of the compound that his word was law and they were to listen to every syllable that dripped from his lips.
He pressed his right hand against the steel door while his left went up swiftly. His hand told the man to rush the door. Steve’s fist broke the door open expecting to see strippers and mobsters dancing underneath flashing lights, instead he was met with the grizzly sight of men and women in miniscule cages sitting silently.
His rookies stopped abruptly, looking to the older Captain for guidance. Steve couldn’t offer any due to his shock. He had never seen something like this before, and he had been around for a long time.
They all looked so defeated, sitting silently in their prisons without so much as a flinch towards the men dressed in tactical gear in front of them. They didn’t seem alarmed, but they also didn’t show any signs of relief.
Steve looked behind him at the people who were meant to be following his lead, at first he was perplexed at what to do.
“Civilians have now been moved to top priority,” he said loudly into the comms attached to his Captain America suit.
“I want everyone on the basement level getting them out of the cages. Avengers, upstairs and we’ll take down the men behind this operation.”
His command was heard through the comms and Natasha was the first to copy. Steve turned his attention back behind him to the men who didn’t seem to know what to do without him holding their hands. He almost rolled his eyes but reminded himself of the time he was once in their shoes, scared and confused in the line of fire.
“I want them all out. Now. Get Fury to send a shuttle and take them to the compound.”
They shuffled in front of him and he watched as they broke the locks that confined the poor victims. Steve let out a sigh and felt his heart crack. He had always been a sensitive guy but even the most coldhearted man would feel a bit of sting seeing the conditions these people were being held in.
He shook the feeling off knowing he had a job to do. He ran up the stairs to the top level where he already knew Nat and Clint were waiting for him.
Once at the top floor he saw them crouched behind the wall with their weapons loaded and ready to fire.
“On your go, Cap,” Nat muttered while watching several men cluelessly smoke cigars in leather office chairs, completely oblivious to the people they have been sex trafficking being freed.
Anger filled Steve’s chest. How could they be sitting here happily while hundreds of people were in cages? Steve let the feeling wash over him, a feeling he could use when taking these assholes to prison.
“Now.”
Nat was the first to act, a warning shot to let them know what they were in for. That’s how she’s always been, never one for efficiency, she wanted to see the look on their faces when they realized they were paying for their crimes. Steve always had an inkling that quirk came from her time in the Red Room, but he never dared to bring that up to her.
Clint stayed behind the wall, silently shooting arrows at the men that had now erupted into chaos. Clint wasn’t aiming for vital organs, though they all secretly wanted these men to be killed, preferably by their own hands.
Natasha skillfully blocked their every move while simultaneously disarming each of them. Steve didn’t step in until one of the assholes had Nat in a full nelson, restricting her movement.
Steve knew that they didn’t stand a chance against three Avengers with a mission. It didn’t take long until every one of them, seven men in total, were either unconscious or in some form of handcuffs. They spit obscenities at the trio but they all ignored their screams.
“Get any information you can off of their computers. I want names, client lists, business associates, and anything else you can find,” Steve barked another order while preparing the compound for the influx of people.
“On it.”
“Clint, get someone to take these pricks to jail.”
Steve went back downstairs to do a final walkthrough of the sex trafficking ring disguised as a casino. He always double checked. Making the mistake once was enough for him to learn his lesson.
The basement was his last stop before he could head back to the compound and help out the recently freed victims.
He already had plans to put them in apartments and hire social workers to take each of their cases, with Tony’s money of course. There had to be hundreds of them freed now that he looked at the cages they once occupied. The basement was empty without their presence.
Steve walked to each corner of the room and checked thoroughly for any remaining people in need of his help. His blue eyes scanned every inch of the filthy space.
As he was walking he almost tripped over a ratty blue blanket. Steve could clearly tell there was a body under it, but wasn’t sure if whoever it was could possibly still be alive.
It didn’t matter how much death or sorrow he saw in this world, he would never get used to how it made him feel.
He mentally prepared himself as he slowly touched the corner of the blanket to unwrap the person tucked inside of it. He pulled and the blue blanket slowly unraveled to reveal a tiny girl. She was clearly malnourished and her brown hair was thin. Her boney arms were wrapped around her torso in a last ditch effort to keep herself warm. Her eyes were squeezed shut and there was no color on her face, she looked like a ghost.
Steve’s heart squeezed as he came to the conclusion she must be dead. He was almost sure she was gone but he was trained to always do a medical assessment on victims, even if you thought they were deceased. He pressed two of his fingers against her cold neck to check for a pulse. Steve unexpectedly felt a slow, faint heartbeat.
He jumped into action picking up the girl who couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds. He could feel her rib cage against his chest when he pulled her against his body. She was clearly freezing cold and her small body shivered without the blanket that she was previously covered with.
Steve had no choice but to pick up the disgusting blanket she was once swaddled in. He wrapped it tight around her body and hurried out of the basement she resided in.
He walked as quickly as he could to the black SUV that was going to be taking him, Natasha, and Clint back to the compound.
Nat and Clint were already there waiting on him. As he slipped inside with the tiny girl in his arms the pair both looked down at her curiously.
“Is she alive?” Clint was the first to break the silence as the car sped off to the other side of down.
“Barely. She’s holding on but her heartbeat is faint and she’s practically frozen,” Steve answered, concern etched on his handsome face.
“I have some emergency blankets and hand warmers in the back,” Nat remembered. She didn’t even wait for a response, she just jumped over the seats and came back with two shiny blankets and a package of hot hands.
Steve replaced the torn blue blanket with two shiny silver ones. He activated the hot hands and placed them on her neck and stomach.
“She’s tiny. Her ribs are poking out and it looks like she hasn’t been fed in weeks. The guys that took the prisoners out missed her,” Steve explained as the SUV turned harshly in the New York traffic.
Steve tried not to be furious that his rookies missed her small body, but how could he when he almost did the same?
“There’s no way she makes it through the night. The girl is practically dead,” Clint commented leaning back against the black leather seating.
Steve’s face turned angry, “She’s not an animal. Don’t speak about her that way.”
His oddly protective nature was no surprise to anyone in the car. He had always been a fiercely protective man, which is most of the reason he saves lives.
“I’m just saying not to get your hopes up about her.”
“I’m taking her to medical and they’ll get some food and water in her and it will be fine,” Steve didn’t know if he was reassuring Clint or himself.
There was no way in hell he was letting this girl die. He would do anything in his power to prevent a civilian casualty. Especially for a defenseless young girl barely holding on.
The car eventually made it to the compound and the girl’s body had become a bit warmer since the beginning of the ride. Steve rejoiced but he knew they weren’t out of the woods yet.
He scrambled to get her to the medical wing and have Banner and one of the doctors look at her.
As soon as the doctors saw her they immediately hooked her frail body up to an IV. He could tell by their expressions that they weren’t very hopeful for her recovery.
“We are getting a feeding tube in her as soon as possible. It seems she has no underlying disease. She’s just severely malnourished and dehydrated,” One of the female doctors explained to Steve.
“Is she going to be okay?”
The doctor’s mouth went into a thin line and her eyebrows lowered in sympathy, “I’m afraid it’s just a waiting game now, Mr. Rogers.”
Steve’s heart dropped. He imagined in his mind that this young girl spent her life in the underground facility she was kept. She had probably never felt a summer breeze through her hair, or the sun on her skin. He wanted more than anything for her to be okay so she could feel those things.
It pissed him off that she wouldn’t get to have those simple pleasures in life. She deserved those things. He had never even heard the fragile girl speak or even seen her open her eyes for that matter, but Steve was fighting for her. He was going to stay there and he was going to be an advocate for her and root for her because it’s likely no one else had ever done that for her before.
“Banner,” Steve barked out, “I want you to do everything you can for her. I mean absolutely everything. I’m counting on you to keep her alive.”
Banner’s eyes widened, “Cap..”
“No,” Steve stopped him, “No excuses. Just make sure she makes it through the night.”
Banner just sighed and nodded, he knew there was no arguing with Steve.
There was no way Steve could just go to his bunk without knowing what was going to happen to her. He sat down on one of the black vinyl seats stuffed in the corner of the room. He was not going to take his eyes off of the girl layed in the hospital bed. He felt like if he did she might disappear or waste away.
He knew she was strong, she had to be. She had spent her life in that warehouse afterall. He prayed she was still holding onto that strength.
Steve tried not to think about the horrors she must’ve gone through before ending up in his arms, but he almost couldn’t help it. Those thoughts intruded into his consciousness until he felt like it was eating him alive.
Doctors and nurses filtered in and out of the room but Steve’s presence was a permanent fixture. Eventually Bucky stepped into the room to check on Steve.
“You know you’ve been in here for hours watching a girl get fed through a tube, right?”
Steve sighed at the simplicity of that statement. It was so much more than that. He almost felt as if him being there was passing on his fighting spirit to her. He didn’t know if that was true or not, but what if it was and he left her to fend for herself?
“I know.”
“Wanda made lasagna, do you want me to bring you some?”
Bucky was sympathetic to Steve. Bucky could remember the first time he himself had lost a civilian, and it hurt like hell. They were supposed to be the guys that saved everyone, and when you can’t it’s a shitty feeling.
“No thanks, Buck. I think I’ll just stay right here,” Steve answered without taking his eyes off her sleeping form.
Bucky knew there wasn’t much else he could do for his friend so he just got up from the seat and left him to his thoughts.
Steve was relieved to be alone once again. He felt like he was there for hours upon hours, but he didn’t care. He would sit in this vinyl seat for the rest of his life if that kept the poor girl alive.
“Mr. Rogers,” the doctor’s voice knocked Steve from his thoughts.
He looked up at her with hope in his eyes.
“She’s taking her feeding tube very well and the intravenous fluids have hydrated her well enough that her heart rate is back up. I’m confident she’ll wake up in a couple of hours.”
Both Steve and the doctor had huge smiles on their faces, “Thank you so much Dr. Lim. What’s going to happen when she wakes up?”
“She’s going to be incredibly weak. I want her to stay in the medical wing under my supervision for at least a couple of days after she wakes up. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her but I’m confident.”
Steve almost started celebrating right there in front of the entire medical staff. He kept his composure but the smile on his face seemed to stay in place. He still didn’t want to leave her but he was so happy she was fighting.
For the first time since he had brought her back to the compound he stood up and walked over to her bed. Her eyes were still shut and she was still asleep but there was a red tint on her cheeks that made Steve’s chest feel like there were fireworks going off inside of him. He could remember a mere ten hours ago when her face was completely void of any color.
He stood next to her bed and took her hand in his. Her skin wasn’t quite as warm as his, super soldier serum and all that, but it was still significantly better than the way he had found her.
Stever rubbed his thumb across the smooth skin on the back of her hand. He smiled down at her. He wished she would wake up so he could tell her how brave he thought she was.
As the thought crossed his mind her eyes slowly fluttered open. Steve quickly dropped her hand and looked down at her. He pressed the button above her head that called for the doctor.
He watched as she took in her surroundings and finally him.
The girl opened her mouth to speak, “Stop,” he said quickly, “Don’t speak, you’ll strain yourself.”
He could tell she was scared out of her mind but she obeyed anyway.
He heard the footsteps of Dr. Lim run into the room. Both Steve and the girl looked at the doctor’s frantic expression. Dr. Lim realized nothing was wrong and put her hand over her heart.
“You scared me so bad,” she spoke breathlessly, “I thought she had coded.”
Steve shook his head, “No, she’s okay. She’s awake.”
“I’ll call the nurses to take your vitals and bring you some water,” Dr. Lim turned and walked out of the room.
Steve’s attention was back on the girl in the hospital bed.
“My name is Captain Steve Rogers. I found you in the care of some very bad people. I’m here to help you,” he tried to speak to her as gently as he possibly could. He wanted her to be comfortable.
“You are such a fighter,” he praised her, “All you have to do now is rest. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”
He watched her muscles lose their tension when he reassured her that he was going to keep her safe. He felt the girl’s trust in him without her having to say a word.
It was clear that even though she was awake, she was weak and tired. Steve put his hand against her forehead and pushed the hair out of her face.
The nurses came in shortly after and handed Steve a cup of water with a straw sticking out of it. The nurses explained to him that she would be using a feeding tube for a while before she could eat solids again but she still needed to drink a good amount of water.
It seemed that the hospital staff had deemed Steve as her caregiver and he was tasked with helping her drink water as well as keep her company and hold her gaunt hand.
Steve held up the straw to her lips and entertained her with the plots of the movies he had seen recently. He told her in detail about Star Wars and Cinderella while she tried to push the straw away from her mouth.
He sat and spoke to her for hours, even at one point making a nurse bring him chapstick to put on her dry lips. He continued to talk to her softly even after she had drifted off to sleep.
During the night, he sat next to her hospital bed with his head propped on an extra pillow the nurses had given him. Steve never slept though.
Every time his eyes shut he was scared she would stop breathing. Somehow, at around 3 a.m. the next morning he finally found peace with his head layed on the hospital bed. Steve drifted off into sleep with his hand over hers.
