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Ransom

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~9k

Summary: Little Natalya is taken :(

A/N: I know my timeline is all over the place and things might be confusing if you think too hard about it, but imagine this happening instead of/around the same time as Breach. If you have any questions let me know. I will probably have them too 🤣. Enjoy!

Warnings: angst, blood, death, violence, language (slurs, general assholery)

It was the third unanswered call that sent Wanda hurrying back home. She’d been visiting her brother because she hadn’t seen him in a while, and quite frankly she was getting sick of being holed up in her house. You had the day off from work, and you were staying with Natalya while she took a short trip to the compound. Her brother was the only one living there still, but he was on his way out. The transition of power to Strucker, of all people, was almost finished, and Pietro was surprising her by how well he was taking all of this. Initially he had been completely opposed to the idea when she’d brought it up to him.

It had been a major headache and then some to begin figuring out how to guarantee the safety of her family. She wasn’t sure how it was going to work because that required talking to Strucker about the details, but she hadn’t been able to force herself to do this yet. Delaying this; however, unfortunately meant delaying her family’s protection.

This is something that Wanda’s not sure she’ll be able to forgive herself for.

When she arrives home, she frowns in confusion. She can’t put a name to the feeling that overwhelms her, but it’s enough to get her out of the car and running inside.

“Y/n?”

The house is quiet which is the first indicator that something is wrong. She’d assumed that you hadn’t answered her calls because you were busy taking care of Natalya and your fur children. Usually when this happened, Wanda would find you in the living room with the trio, and at least one of them was crying. Sometimes you’d have the TV on because you both learned quickly that your daughter loved music and having it on at all times was the best way to ensure that she stayed calm.

Except Wanda doesn’t hear any music playing as she walks into the house. She doesn’t hear anything, and she hurries toward the stairs when she sees the living room is empty.

“Y/n?”

Wanda stops short of the stairs when something near the front door catches her eye. She stops short and then does a double take when she sees you lying face down on the carpet with a small pool of blood near your head. Wanda rushes over before falling to her knees beside you as she reaches out for you hesitantly.

“Y/n! Y/n, can you hear me?”

Wanda touches your shoulder and gently tries to roll you over, but she stalls when she sees the angry bruise on your temple and the blood that’s still dripping from the split skin beneath your hair. Wanda’s hands go to your neck and she feels for your pulse as she tries to wake you up. Tears fill her eyes when she realizes that you’re alive, and she gasps in surprise when you squeeze her hand.

“N-Nat-.”

You can’t say more, you feel as something is trying to break through your skull, and you squeeze your eyes shut to try and push the pain away. You feel as nauseous as Wanda looks when she realizes what you’re saying. She nearly leaves you there to go confirm her suspicions, but she just manages to take out her phone and call Steve. After a short conversation she squeezes your hand again as she watches you flinch in pain.

“Steve’s on his way, detka. He’ll bring help.”

You just shake your head and force yourself to open your eyes and try to meet your wife’s gaze. Luckily the pain in your head is distracting you from the overwhelming sense of failure and disappointment that you feel at letting this happen, and you barely stutter as you confirm Wanda’s worst fears.

“T-they took her, Wanda. They have Nat.”

Natasha arrives just minutes after Steve and the calvary do. She’s momentarily stunned by the number of people she sees in your front yard, but she shakes it off when she realizes that you’re on a stretcher and being loaded into an ambulance. A quick glance around tells her that Wanda is inside and she hurries toward the house as she watches the ambulance race down the street with its sirens wailing.

Nat’s greeted by a distraught Wanda which isn’t too surprising given the circumstances, but it still takes her a moment to make her own expression neutral. The other redhead is crying and talking to Steve as she explains what she’d found when she raced upstairs to look for her daughter despite knowing she wasn’t going to be there.

“It said to meet them tonight. Alone, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Wanda’s shooting Steve a determined look that he honestly doesn’t think he can discourage. Despite the circumstances, he knows that playing into the kidnapper’s hands and falling for their trap isn’t how they’re going to get everyone on their side out of this scot-free. If they really just wanted an audience with Wanda, why nearly kill you and kidnap Natalya?

Steve didn’t like it. He glances over to see Natasha standing by, and he’s not sure he’s ever been so relieved to see her.

“We need a contingency plan, Wanda. We can’t trust these people to keep their word.”

It’s only at this time that Natasha realizes Wanda’s holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. She assumes it’s a ransom note only a few seconds before her friend starts waving it furiously. Steve only looks vaguely uncomfortable to the trained eye, but to his credit he sticks to his guns when Wanda yells at him.

“I have a plan, Steve! It involves doing as they ask so I can get my daughter back! Nothing else is acceptable!”

Wanda was losing her temper and that only led to one of two things. She would either breakdown and let out all of her feelings, or she’d get so angry that no one wanted to be around her. She’d go on a war path and not let anyone stop her from what she wanted. In this case, that meant getting Natalya back which everyone wanted to do, but not at Wanda’s expense. Historically, only you had a lot of success at talking Wanda down when she became this upset.

Unfortunately, you were at the hospital being treated for a serious head injury. This left Steve and Natasha with their second-best option.

Pietro was already on the way to his sister’s when Natasha called. He’d had a feeling that Wanda would need to be talked off a ledge, and after hearing that you were hurt, he realized that he might have to do the talking. He’d heard about the ransom note where instead of an obscene amount of money, the kidnappers were demanding his sister’s presence.

This was obviously a trap and he’d be shocked if the ultimate goal wasn’t to kill his sister. For this reason, when he arrives to Wanda’s house, he’s prepared to argue against his sister walking directly into the line of fire. However, as soon as he sets eyes on her, he realizes it’s going to be more difficult than it ever has been.

“Sestra.”

Wanda turns to him with wild eyes, clearly prepared for a fight, so Pietro does the opposite. He didn’t want to fight with Wanda. She was hurting. They were all hurting from the loss of their little Nat, and everyone wanted to get her back. They all just weren’t willing to sacrifice Wanda to make this happen.

Pietro forces his expression to be more concerned than anxious as he speaks up and slows his sister’s fury in its tracks.

“How is Y/n?”

Wanda immediately frowns at the thought of you lying injured in the hospital. She hates that this happened to you, and she hates even more that she doesn’t know how you’re doing. You’d been raced to the hospital, and instead of her, Bucky had gone with you to keep an eye on things and make sure everything that needed to be done was approved. He’d texted her about you getting a CT soon, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond as she tried to keep her calm about Natalya being taken.

She was clearly failing, but in her defense, she could only handle so much.

Wanda shakes her head and takes a deep breath before offering her brother a small smile.

“Tests. They have to do some tests, but hopefully we’ll know soon.”

Pietro nods in response before he glances toward the backdoor at the sight of two dogs moving about on the deck. He wonders why they’re out there, and if they’d been there since you were hurt, but he doesn’t put too much thought into it now. Instead, he looks back to his sister before nodding toward the door with a questioning look. He thinks that some fresh air and a moment away from the house will help Wanda relax. He’s still not convinced that he can talk her out of whatever is on her mind, but he has to try.

“Want to step outside for a minute?”

Wanda is greeted by her concerned dogs with enthusiastic and worried barks and whines. She pets them both but doesn’t know what to say to them as she follows her brother toward the backyard. She looks around for clues of what happened, but most of the evidence was inside and already accounted for. A team was cleaning up the evidence of the break in and your injury, but none of that made Wanda feel any better.

She was without her wife as she grappled with the daunting task of trying to get her daughter back. She didn’t know what to do and it was causing her to be truly unpleasant. Who took Natalya and what did they want from her in return?

She follows her brother until he stops at the barebones garden that you and Steve had started to work on. Wanda had planned the entire layout and how many beds there would be and what they would grow seasonally. She was excited to start on building the fence, but that was something that you’d offered to help with. Gardening was going to be Wanda’s hobby, but you wanted to help out in any way you could.

Thinking of you as she stared at what was going to be a bed of one of your favorite vegetables brought tears to her eyes again.

“What am I going to do, Pietro?”

Pietro had considered his sister’s options on the drive here. He didn’t love them and he wasn’t sure which his sister would ultimately go with, but he knew they didn’t have a lot of time. The longer Natalya was gone, the worse her odds became, and on top of that, Wanda would only become more distressed as well. It seemed that the best way to get what everyone wanted was to try and set up a trap.

Wanda was undoubtedly going to be walking into one, but if she knew it was a trap, did that mean that she could lay one of her own? They didn’t have much information about the meeting other than the location and the flimsy promise that Natalya would be there as well. This ruled out a few options from the get-go including anything that caused collateral damage. Pietro was certain that his sister would rather lose an arm than cause her daughter any harm.

They couldn’t very well go to the location now. That was expected and it could anger Natalya’s kidnappers enough that they hurt her or change their minds about giving her back. Wanda doesn’t want to risk making the wrong move, and being as self-sacrificing as she is, she immediately decided to give herself up.

Pietro considers what you would do in this situation, and he can’t help but roll his eyes. You two are similar in so many ways, but just different enough to complement each other when it mattered.

Pietro didn’t realize that he’d released a huffed laugh under his breath until his sister was turning toward him with a vicious look. He met her glare with a sheepish expression before immediately caving. He knew better than to mess with his sister too much when she was in one of her volatile moods. Blood had been shed for far less than a laugh.

“I was just thinking about Y/n, and how she would also give herself up without hesitating.”

Wanda opens her mouth to argue, but she quickly realizes she has nothing to say in her, or your defense. Instead, she just presses her lips into a thin agitated line and stares down at her dog. He’s still trying to comfort her despite receiving no attention, and if she was a little less preoccupied, Wanda would find his behavior endearing.

“I think we can do better than that, Wands. I just need you to agree to something that you don’t want to do.”

Pietro was not lying when he said that she wouldn’t want to agree, but she had to admit that his idea had some merit. At least more than any other idea they’d come up with. She sighs heavily before letting her head drop back as she turns her attention to the sky. It was late afternoon. They didn’t have much time to prepare if they wanted to make sure everything was ready.

She was just going to have to be okay with the uncertainty of it all.

When you wake up next, your head throbs more than it did when Wanda first found you. You’re curled up in bed in a dimly lit room where you’re receiving pain medication that hasn’t started to kick in yet. At least you feel like it hasn’t. Unbeknownst to you, you’ve already had a CT and an MRI, and it was around dinner time when you finally started waking up.

You can’t bring yourself to look around the room to see if you’re alone, but when you force yourself to focus you realize that Bucky is with you. He’s silent as usual, but you’d recognize his smell anywhere. It sounded creepier than it was, but when you spent as much time with someone as you did with Bucky, you learned to recognize his distinguishing features, including his smell.

Like your other friends that worked with Wanda, most of the products they used were unscented or very toned down to keep them safe. This helps prevent them from giving themselves away because of a distinct shampoo or aftershave. They stuck to scents that would already be present wherever the job ended up taking them.

For Bucky, this was leather shoe polish, very faint cigarette smoke, and bourbon. The bourbon was a scent rather than the actual drink, but as you fight with your warring nausea trying to process your surroundings, you realize that all of the smells that are distinctly Bucky surround you.

It takes you a few more minutes until you try to speak. Your mouth is dry and you fear even shifting is going to aggravate your headache, but you have to ask. You need to know what’s happening with your family.

“N-Natalya. Is s-s-she…”

You trail off because your head throbs violently when you make the mistake of opening your eyes. For the brief time that they’re open, you’re able to confirm that Bucky is sitting at your bedside. You hadn’t been able to appreciate if he looked stressed or exhausted, but you hear him sigh in a way that tells you more than enough. Still, you wait patiently as he finds the words to explain the mess that Wanda’s walked into.

An hour ago, he’d received word of the plan and he was still wondering who the hell thought this was going to work out in their favor. Not only was Wanda doing exactly what Natalya’s kidnappers asked, but she was going without any weapons or backup? He didn’t see this ending well, but he didn’t know how to tell you that without worrying you. There was no way to do so and he didn’t want you to hurt yourself in an attempt to leave the hospital to help in any way you could.

Instead of burdening you with all of the concerning details, he tells you what he hopes is the truth.

“They’re going to get her back. Wanda will get her back.”

Wanda can only hear the blood rushing in her ears as she walks toward the decommissioned factory doors. She is vaguely aware of what’s on this side of town, but she can’t be bothered to put too much thought into it right now. Her priority is getting Natalya out of here alive, and she’s going to need to concentrate if she wants that to happen.

She makes sure to keep her hands visible as she walks up the dirt path to the rusted metal door. She barely looks around since it’s so dark and it likely wouldn’t help much anyway, but she knows that she’s being watched. It would be foolish not to have someone monitoring her out here. If she was enough of an asshole to put someone in a similar position, she’d make sure that she had her bases covered.

The sound of her knock reverberating through the night air makes her heart rate climb further. She listens for footsteps on the other side, but she’s surprised and hates to admit it, a little impressed, when there are none before she’s surrounded.

“Put your hands up.”

“Search her.”

There are at least three people standing around her, and as she raises her hands to put them behind her head, she’s grateful that they don’t seem to be in charge.

She’s roughly and thoroughly patted down before a bag is thrown over her head and she’s hauled inside. She bites down on a curse that’s on the tip of her tongue when she’s shoved into a wall only a few steps into the building.

“Here’s how this is going to work, Maximoff. We’re going to get you ready for the boss, and you’re not going to give us any trouble. Got it?”

Wanda’s lips curl into a snarl, but she resists the temptation to try and shake off the rough grip on her arm. She forces herself to take a breath and calm down. She needs to put aside her pride and focus on her goal. Natalya.

“Where’s my daughter?”

Her response is another shove before someone grabs the back of her head and leads her further into the building. She hisses in pain and then annoyance as she almost trips over something that clatters loudly underfoot. She’s about to protest when she hears it. A quiet cry that she’d recognize anywhere. She nearly falls again as she’s pulled to a sudden stop, but mercifully she’s kept from meeting the ground by the pair of hands that have a bruising grip on her.

“If we let you see her, will you cooperate?”

Wanda doesn’t hesitate to nod before she offers a verbal response that is far more polite than they deserve.

“Yes. I will.”

Suddenly the bag is ripped off of her head and she’s spun around fast enough to disorient her. Her hair is a mess and partially obscuring her view, but she immediately spots the bassinet that her daughter is lying in. She’s a little fussy, but she’s somehow asleep which Wanda supposes she’s grateful for. She also appears unharmed which is more than she ever hoped for. She opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn’t get the chance before something slams against the back of her head and everything does dark.

It took nearly half an hour, but you’re sitting up and glaring at your legs like they personally offended you for refusing to support your weight. You’d only tried to stand immediately, and if it hadn’t been for Bucky, you would have knocked yourself out falling to the cold, hard floor. Still, you were annoyed with yourself and him, and your wife for doing something so risky.

You’re not sure what the alternative would have been, but the fact that you know you can’t stop any of it is enough to make you angry.

Angry at yourself for failing to keep your daughter safe, and anger at the low life thugs who took her from you. You still aren’t sure what they want other than to hurt your wife, but hearing that she went in alone makes you question everyone’s sanity.

“How is this going to even work out, Bucky? How will they get out of there alone?”

Bucky was prepared for this question, and he’s very grateful to have an answer for you. Although imperfect, the plan was for Wanda to show up where she was summoned and collect enough intel for them to figure out how to send in back up. It would be risky of course, and they would have to rely on Wanda to keep herself alive long enough for them to arrive.

Bucky tells all of you this, but you’re still confused. It could be your concussion, but you fail to understand how your wife will be able to communicate without her phone. Bucky merely shakes his head before he whispers just loud enough for you to hear.

“She’s got a bug planted on her.”

You consider this for only a moment before you shake your head. You don’t want to think about the details, but how would they successfully do this without it being found? You imagine that they’ll search your wife for something like this, so it would have to be hidden somewhere they wouldn’t check. You can’t imagine where that would be, and you’re too tired to try, so you just shoot Bucky an apprehensive look.

“Planted on her, where, Bucky?”

Wanda wakes up to the sound of ringing in her ears. She is too disoriented to realize that it’s not anything other than in her head as she groans under her breath. Despite her better judgement, she can’t help but alert her captors that she’s awake because her head is throbbing from where they’d hit her. The bag had been put back over her head, so she couldn’t see anything, but she could tell a few crucial things right off the bat.

The first is that she’s been undressed, not completely, but enough to know that they searched her even more thoroughly once she was passed out. Her wrists are being held behind her back by ropes that are too tight to even entertain wiggling out of, and any attempt she makes is painfully obvious due to the loss of her jacket and shirt. She’s at least grateful that she’s still wearing her pants, and that she can tell that they didn’t find everything. She resists the urge to shift uncomfortably, her bare feet near numb against the freezing floor, as she wonders how long she’s been out.

The next thing she notices is that there’s a new smell in the air. It’s one that she’s familiar with, but it doesn’t stop her from scrunching up her nose in disgust. The thick stench of cigar smoke is intolerable for her, and she can’t help but worry about Natalya breathing it in for too long.

She eventually decides that despite the ringing in her ears and the pain behind her eyes, she needs to know what’s going on. She tries to sit up, but miscalculates and nearly takes the chair with her. She frowns when she realizes it’s not bolted down, but soon that’s the least of her concerns.

“Welcome back, Mrs. Maximoff. I hope you slept well.”

Wanda frowns at the unfamiliar voice, and her lips are still turned down when she’s finally allowed to see again. She looks around the room first to find that Natalya is still here, but before she can breathe a sigh of relief, she realizes how much company they have.

There are two men standing behind the one who must be in charge. The boss, as the one who greeted her at the door, had mentioned. He’s not someone that Wanda recognizes. He’s shorter than average, overly muscled with a buzz cut that only makes him look older. His nose is overly large, Wanda notes, as he looks down at her over it. He carries himself with an air of superiority that nearly suffocates her as much as his cigar does, but she goes to great lengths to keep her expression neutral. She can hear her daughter’s soft snores even if she can’t see her face, and that’s enough for her. For now.

There are at least three men behind her, and she has to resist the urge to flinch when one of them touches her. He grabs the back of her neck and squeezes it, and she nearly bares her teeth at him before she takes the hint and responds to the man with a receding hairline.

“It could have been worse. Thank you.”

Wanda watches as the older man’s jaw ticks slightly before he glances over her shoulder. She braces for impact, but instead she’s surprised and grateful for what he says next.

“Corporal, take two with you to secure the perimeter with the team outside. We’ll hold down the fort in here.”

Wanda’s frowning before she can stop herself because now, she’s wondering what the hell is going on. None of them are dressed like it, but they move and talk like they’re military which worries her more than any rival criminal would. She realizes she assumed correctly, and there’s only one person left behind her, when they retreat to the far wall just within eyesight. A smug chuckle has her turning her attention back to the men in front of her, and this time she doesn’t even attempt to hide her malice.

“I see you’ve figured it out. We’re not your average thugs.”

Since it seems like he wants to explain himself to her, she decides to go along with it. The more time she can buy herself the better after all. Not to mention keeping him talking means that he’s not hurting Natalya.

So despite her desire to not listen to this man talk down to her, Wanda merely nods in acknowledgement. She ignores the shiver that runs through her body and the goosebumps that appear over the skin of her arms and stomach. She sits up straighter to try and hide it, but from the lackey’s smug look, she failed.

“My name is Sargent Martin and I’ve been tasked with getting information from you.”

Wanda does not like the sound of this at all, and wonders what she was even hoping for, before her train of thought is derailed by what he says next.

“We’ve been watching you for a while now and realize you’ve stepped back, but we want you to reconsider.”

She’s not sure if it’s the minor concussion or just the day she’s had, but Wanda can’t wrap her mind around this. Why would anyone, specifically anyone in law-enforcement, want her to return to her job? It only caused more problems for them and kept crime rampant in the city. Surely, they didn’t want her to actually come out of retirement.

Wanda can’t help but turn toward her baby when she hears her start to fuss. It’s not an uncommon occurrence despite being a very calm 16-week-old. She must be cold and confused about being in a new place, and Wanda wishes more than anything that she could comfort her. Instead, she has to watch as the tall brunette standing behind Martin shoots her daughter a derisive glance before taking a couple of steps toward her.

Wanda’s about to warn him off, but Martin slams a hand down on the table in front of him with a loud bang. The flimsy fold out shudders ominously, and Natalya’s fussing becomes full-blown cries at the sound. Wanda clenches her jaw to stop herself from cursing as she tries to split her attention between the three in front of her.

“W-why would you want me to come back? I would think whoever you work for would be appreciative of my retirement.”

Instead of answering immediately, Wanda watches as the two men shoot her matching looks that she doesn’t like at all. Martin stands up but doesn’t tear his gaze away from her as he steps around the table to stand beside her. Wanda feels her skin crawl as he reaches out for her, and she can’t help but lean away from him as his hand almost brushes her cheek.

“Surely, you’re more than just a pretty face, and you know the answer to that. I can’t imagine you’d have been as successful as you were otherwise.”

Wanda scowls as she wrenches her face away only to have a strong hand grab her jaw and turn her back around. She grimaces at both the grip and how the movement agitates her headache, but it deepens when Martin practically spits her in face.

“Unless you are only good for being bred like a bitch. That wouldn’t surprise me when I think about what you looked like a year ago.”

It’s a surprising low blow that she hadn’t anticipated, and she can’t hide how she stiffens in anger. The sound of Natalya’s cries is making her head and chest hurt, but she can’t do much about it right now. She tugs at the ropes behind her back as she stares down the blonde who’s still far too close to her. She takes a deep breath before she speaks through grit teeth.

“What do you have against Strucker?”

Pietro has been grinding his teeth for nearly ten minutes as he listens in on his sister’s conversation. They have more information than they expected to get this quickly, but still not enough to confidently move in on Wanda’s location. While she was unconscious, he had to listen to the men’s commentary as they undressed and searched his sister before the boss arrived. He’s glad they hadn’t found the bug, but he almost wished they had given some of the things they said about the younger Maximoff.

He was; however, grateful that they were able to confirm that Natalya was in fact with them. They counted a total of close to 10 people if what Martin said was true. Figuring out where they were hiding and how to take them out was another story entirely. He ran his hands through his hair again as he looks over to where Steve and Nat were planning the rescue.

Bucky was still with you and last he checked, you were awake and not happy at all.

“What if we used the helicopter?”

“No that would be too loud. If we wanted to get close enough to take them out, there’d be no way they wouldn’t notice.”

Pietro is still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his niece was kidnapped by ex-military? He wasn’t sure, but they wanted to talk to Wanda to make a deal of some sort. They must want a way to regulate the organized crime in the city which truly sounded like a fool’s errand. It made sense, as much as he hated to admit it, to start with his sister though.

Her years in the business made her knowledgeable, and she had the connections to help them figure something like this out. Not that she ever would.

Or she would never have considered it if it wasn’t for the leverage, they now had over her.

He stiffens when he tunes back into the conversation going on over 20 miles away.

Wanda to her credit has maybe half of her attention on the blonde who’s finally reclaimed his seat. She wanted to wipe the grin off of his face that kept getting wider each time she looked at Natalya. She knew she should stop but she couldn’t help it. She could tell that her daughter was hungry, and she hadn’t fed in nearly 5 hours. She tries to stop thinking about her red-faced, teary baby, so she can get them both out of this.

“Your presence offered a level of stability in the criminal underground that we haven’t been able to observe anywhere else.”

Wanda considers this and decided that she would try to use any leverage she could get. She’d cling to any sort of advantage that she could at this point. So she made a thoughtful noise that honestly may not even be audible over Natalya’s cries before shaking her head.

“Strucker’s not so different than I am…was. I’m sure he won’t cause unrest just for the hell of it.”

Wanda is only half-convinced of what she’s saying, but she doesn’t let that show. She clings to the small amount of bravado that she can and hopes that it works enough to get Natalya out of this faster. She sincerely hopes that her brother is working out how to get to them because she has a feeling, she won’t be able, or willing to give these men what they really want.

You’re so angry that you’re shaking as you try to process what Bucky’s told you on top of listening to Steve’s voice through the phone.

“We aren’t sure how many there are, but our best guess is 10. If we can find a way to keep them out of the building long enough hopefully--.”

You stop listening because this is all so ridiculously risky. You don’t understand how this is going to work out without a lot of bloodshed. Oh, and in case they forgot, there is a 4-month-old and your unarmed wife to worry about. They likely have multiple guns and other weapons to contend with, and from what you overheard your wife is certainly tied up at this point.

You wonder if there’s another way to get to them without triggering a wave of gunfire. There has to be something, or someone that can appeal to these men more than your infant daughter.

Right?

The frown on Martin’s face tells Wanda that he found her weak endorsement of Strucker insufficient. There is a tense silence as they simply stare at each other for nearly a minute trying to figure out the other’s next move. The silence is broken by the only one in the room who’s oblivious to the mounting tension, and everyone’s attention snaps to her. Wanda mutters a curse under her breath as Martin’s eyes narrow at the infant before looking to the man beside him.

“Hand her over, Private.”

Wanda immediately jerks forward when the man goes to pick up Natalya. She feels her heart skip a beat as she begins to struggle in her panic to stop whatever is about to happen.

“No, don’t hurt her! Please, I’ll--.”

Wanda’s cut off by a boisterous laugh that does nothing to calm her raging anxiety. She watches helplessly as the brunette picks up her daughter, incorrectly, and hands him over to Martin. She’s equal parts horrified and surprised by how natural he looks holding Natalya, and she meets his smug gaze with a bewildered one.

“Oh, don’t worry, Mrs. Maximoff. I know how to care for an infant. I have three nephews after all.”

Wanda doesn’t know what to say to this, so she simply stares as her daughter is held and soothed by someone who isn’t her. She tries to think of something that she can offer him to get him to let her go, or better yet, let her hold her baby herself. She doesn’t manage to come up with anything before eyes are on her again.

“Has retirement been worth it? Can your family keep you happy, you think, or could anything tempt you back?”

Wanda doesn’t know how to answer this. It seems like any answer she gives will be used against her somehow. Of course, she knows the most honest answer, and that is yes that it has definitely been worth it. She has no doubt that her family is more than enough to keep her happy for years to come. She may occasionally miss the thrill of her job, but never the danger it put you in, or the stress it caused you both.

As Wanda looks to Natalya who has miraculously fallen asleep again, she can’t even pretend like the answer isn’t obvious. She merely shakes her head before steeling herself for what may come next for denying the one person who has the power to get her daughter out of this scot-free.

“No. I don’t want to go back.”

Pietro, Natasha, and Steve all freeze when Wanda says this. They’re all on their way to her now, but none of them notice how Steve’s foot lifts off the accelerator and they slow down slightly as they all wait with bated breath for Martin’s response.

They don’t see when the blonde gets up to put Natalya back in the bassinet. They only hear Wanda grind her teeth as Martin circles back around so he’s standing beside her. He crosses his arms as he stares down at her, and Wanda tries to hide her trepidation behind annoyance at this stereotypical intimidation display.

“Then you’re going to tell me everything I need to know to keep Strucker in line.”

Wanda doesn’t get a chance to ask what the hell that entails before she gets her answer. She feels all the blood leave her face and she’s already shaking her head at the mere thought of accommodating his demands.

“Starting with who his contacts are in Denver PD.”

Even if Wanda wanted to give names, which she could, she doesn’t know if they are actually working with Strucker. The officers and the retired commissioner that she’d relied on likely haven’t decided if they’re going to back anyone else now that she’s gone. They may view her retirement as a reprieve, a chance to break free, but she can’t know that for sure. She would have to talk to some people to figure this out, and that meant getting a phone which she highly doubted they’d let her have.

“I can’t…I can’t tell you that.”

Wanda’s barely finished speaking before she’s backhanded and thrown off balance enough to crash into the ground, chair and all. She curses under her breath as she lands hard on her arm, but she nearly screams as she’s pulled up and slammed back upright in her chair. Her head spins and she has to force down the urge to vomit as she squeezes her eyes shut to try and ground herself.

“Now, Mrs. Maximoff, since I’m not a monster, I will give you one more chance to be helpful before I start hurting the kid.”

Wanda’s breathing starts to grow ragged, and she’s not sure if it’s from the pain in her arm or her panic. It’s likely both.

She shakes her head before hurrying to offer an explanation that will hopefully satisfy.

“I don’t know their names. I’d have to check. Things changed after I left.”

Martin just shakes his head with an exaggerated ‘tsk’ sound as he reaches for something on his hip. Wanda freezes and her eyes widen when she sees the large knife that he unsheathes. It looks like it could run her through with very little effort, and she has to hold back her urge to squirm in her chair.

“I need names.”

“I can get you names.”

Everyone waits for Wanda to offer more, but when she doesn’t there’s a loud sigh that accompanied by the eerie sound of metal against metal. Wanda tenses as the knife is lifted toward her face before it’s pressed against her neck.

“Now how are you going to manage that, hmm?”

Wanda hisses in pain as the blade draws blood, but she doesn’t dare move as she tries to come up with a sufficient, relatively honest, answer. She desperately tries to ignore the feeling of her pulse thrumming against the knife’s edge.

“My brother can look into it.”

This seems to give Martin pause, and Wanda nearly sighs in relief when the pressure on her neck lessens, but it’s short-lived when she hears a scoff.

“Your brother… He in the know, huh?”

Martin lets out a contemplative noise as he pulls back to twirl the knife in his hand with a frown. His free hand falls to Wanda’s hurt shoulder, and she winces when he squeezes, hard.

“He the one who knocked you up?”

Wanda tries to jerk away but she only causes her chair to wobble dangerously as she shoots a glare at the leering man.

“Ew. No.”

Wanda’s still squirming and trying to get away from Martin when the blonde tilts his head with a look that absolutely means trouble.

“Hmm your wife then? Is there something we should know about her?”

Wanda uses all of her strength to pull against the ropes around her wrists, but all she manages to do is send pain shooting up her left arm. She practically growls at the older man as she shakes her shoulder out in frustration.

“Don’t you fucking bring her into this more than you already have.”

You honestly can’t believe you’d gotten yourself into this. You had a major concussion and you’ve left the hospital AMA only to barely be able to blink without pain. You’re off your IV pain meds and only have yourself to blame as you curse with each movement the car makes.

You try to take deep breaths as you squeeze your phone until it hurts. You don’t bother asking Bucky how far away you are because it wouldn’t matter either way. You’re planning to be there at the end of it all, but it wouldn’t hurt to know whether or not things are underway.

So far, you’ve only heard from Pietro that your wife is still alive. She’s holding strong and it doesn’t sound like they’ve hurt Natalya yet. When asked if they’d hurt Wanda, there’d been an audible pause before Pietro had muttered ‘a bit’ angrily under his breath. You hated the idea of this which is why you’d forced yourself out of your hospital bed in the first place. You wanted to see your wife as soon as possible. You wanted to be reunited with your family and apologize again for letting this happen.

You hope you’ll get the chance to do all of this and more.

Wanda’s unsurprised when Martin grabs a fistful of her hair and pulls her head back until there are tears in her eyes. She’s near blinded by the pain as he runs his knife across her cheek with a heated look. He mutters something that Wanda can’t hear before he takes a moment to wipe away a streak of blood from her temple.

“I don’t think you understand how limited your options are.”

Wanda’s slowly blinking herself back to awareness, but still, Martin’s voice sounds like it’s muffled. It’s not until he releases his hold on her hair that she can start thinking and breathing normally.

“It seems like you’re not motivated enough by your own pain. It’s time to see if you’ll be motivated by your daughter’s.”

Wanda can only struggle uselessly as Natalya is picked up and handed over to Martin. She watches in horror as he raised his knife and presses it against Natalya’s flushed cheek.

“No! Leave her alone. I’ll tell you wh-whatever you want, just don’t hurt her!”

Wanda feels like her heart is going to beat out of her chest, and she screams as she struggles against her bonds until her skin is raw. She wonders if she could throw herself at him without hurting Natalya, but that’s too risky. Not to mention, the other two armed men that would just shoot her immediately.

Martin is stopped short when the sound of gunfire outside draws his attention away from the younger Maximoff. The other two stand alert and the one at the far wall reaches for his radio. Martin turns toward him before carrying Natalya and placing her back down with a huff.

“Find out what’s going on out there, Duncan. Ask Re--.”

He’s cut off by the sound of a high-powered rifle going off, and Wanda jumps in surprise when she hears the loud thud of a body hitting the ground. Both men in front of her are ducking frantically, and Martin rushes back over to her with his knife held in a death grip.

“Come on. We’re getting out of here. Grab the kid.”

Wanda’s legs are cut free from the chair, but Martin doesn’t bother with anything else as he lifts her up and throw her over his shoulder. She curses and then winces as another series of shots go off, and she braces for impact. Instead of being hit, she sees Private fall face first onto the ground beside Natalya’s bassinet. A large pool of blood is starting to form beneath his head, and Wanda feels her heart soar.

That’s two down. Now if only she could just...

Her breath is knocked out of her when Martin trips and sends both of them crashing to the ground. Wanda lands on her bad arm, and she cries out as Martin’s trying to figure out where he was hit. He rolls over quickly and reaches for Wanda just as the door slams open. He’s got her in a chokehold and is on his feet before the trio rushes in with their guns raised, sights set on him.

Pietro didn’t realize how beat up his sister was until he, Natasha, and Steve made it through the firefight outside and to where Martin was holding the other Maximoffs. He nearly freezes up at the sight of her bloodied face and misses Martin draw his gun. Natasha and Steve don’t even flinch as they watch Martin bring the gun up against Wanda’s temple. The redhead’s hands are still tied behind her back, so she can’t do much more than try and elbow him in the gut. Even that brings her more pain than him, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

“Don’t fucking come any closer. I’ll kill her, I swear.”

Wanda’s gaze darts to her daughter when she starts to cry in distress. She feels Martin stiffen behind her, but his gun stays trained on her as he continues to hobble backwards. It’s then that Wanda realizes he’s been shot in the leg. He’s struggling to support both of their weight, and Wanda appreciates this might be the only chance she gets.

“Don’t worry about me! Just shoot him.”

Don’t let him hurt Natalya.

She doesn’t say this, but she knows that they all understand when the trio steal a glance at her baby. They begin to fan out, and Martin’s hold on her tightens when they begin to surround him.

“Give up, Martin. You’re not getting out of this alive.”

The threat doesn’t stop him from continuing to back up while dragging Wanda with him. She curses and gasps for breath at the same time that she’s pulled closer to the body behind her. It twists her arm painfully and she flinches so violently that it’s noticeable to the trio in front of her. She can hear Martin’s ragged breathing in her ear and if she weren’t in so much pain, she’d be able to appreciate the fact that he seems to be terrified.

“Neither will any of you! Even if you kill me, you’ll never make it past my men.”

Natasha shoots the blonde an unimpressed look as she adjusts her aim carefully with each step she takes closer.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Pietro’s nearing the bassinet where Natalya is fussing, and he’s tempted to rush forward and grab her. He thinks better of it though when Martin’s gaze falls on him and he takes his gun off his sister’s head, only to aim at him.

“Fucking Maximoffs.”

As soon as Wanda feels Martin’s gun disappear, she uses the last of her energy to push back against him as hard as she can. She hears his gun go off, and then two more shots from someone else before she hits the ground for hopefully the last time. She doesn’t bother to lessen the impact by turning toward her uninjured side, her priority was putting as much weight on Martin as possible to knock him off balance. She only has a millisecond to feel a sense of accomplishment before that searing pain in her head and shoulder returns.

She grimaces and curls into herself to try and offset it, but it only triggers more pain.

“Fuck.”

All she hears is ringing as she squeezes her eyes shut and tries to will her brain to stop vibrating inside of her skull. She doesn’t even realize that Martin is dead, that she’s still practically on top of him until someone reaches out for her. They grab Martin’s dropped knife and carefully free her wrists before trying to get her attention. Someone else brings her discarded jacket, and it’s only when she feels it gently being draped over her, that Wanda forces her eyes open.

“Wanda.”

The redhead blinks a few times before the person above her comes into focus. She thinks that she must be hallucinating because you’re supposed to be in the hospital, not looking at her like she’s the one who’s hurt worse. She manages to furrow her brow at you in confusion before the sound of Natalya’s screams pulls her focus away again.

“Y/n, what--?”

Natasha is holding the youngest Maximoff, and she’s quick to bring her over to the two of you. You sigh in relief and Wanda immediately begins to cry as she reaches out for her daughter. You let her have a few moments before you help her stand up slowly.

“Come on the car’s outside.”

You turn to Steve before returning your focus to your wife. She’s a little worse for wear, but even despite the blood dripping down her neck, she’s smiling at her daughter whose little arm she insists on holding. You feel your chest ache at the sight, and as you follow them unsteadily to the car, you can’t help but blurt out,

“I’m so sorry, Wanda. I’m sorry I let them take Nat, and that you got hurt. I really--.”

Your rambling is cut off as Wanda reaches out to grab your hand in a surprisingly firm grip. She shoots you a look that you’ve learned not to argue with before she shakes her head slowly.

“Don’t apologize, detka. You saved us both.”

You open your mouth to protest despite your better judgement, but Wanda cuts you off again by practically pulling you into the backseat of the car that’s idling outside. Bucky’s in the front seat, and Natasha is beside your wife still holding your daughter like the precious cargo she is.

Wanda pulls you toward her and plants a quick kiss on your lips before squeezing your hand again with a tired sigh.

“Let’s go home.”

You can only nod in agreement because you really want to sleep in your own bed knowing that your wife and daughter are safe. That said, as soon as you move your head, you grimace and realize that maybe you should all make a pitstop. You squeeze Wanda’s hand that’s still in yours before glancing over at both Nats.

“Um, maybe we should go to the hospital first?”

You can feel Wanda’s entire body stiffen in protest, but she doesn’t get a chance to voice any of it before Pietro speaks up from the front seat. He’d been scanning the area to make sure that every one of Martin’s people were accounted for, but he brings his attention to the backseat when he hears his sister’s suggestion.

Of course, she’d just want to go home despite having a concussion, broken if not severely sprained arm, and far too many cuts. He can see that she needs to pass out to get some stress relief, but he wouldn’t be a good brother if he didn’t get her to at least be looked over by a doctor.

“We also need to take out your bug.”

This catches your attention, and you look between the Maximoff siblings as Pietro smiles mischievously and Wanda groans softly.

“Oh yeah, I was wondering where that was.”

Wanda merely sighs before she pokes toward her left cheek with a slight grimace.

“It’s here.”

Your eyes narrow in confusion and you try to work out what your wife is saying. Other than the nasty bruise and the dried blood that’s caked along her cheek, you don’t see anything that would indicate that she has a listening device planted on her. Sensing your confusion, or at the very least realizing that you would have no reason to guess what she’s trying to tell you, she offers you a small smile before tapping her cheek again.

“In my mouth. It’s sutured behind my molar, and it’s itchy.”

You can’t help but laugh at this, and you don’t even bother to resist the urge to lean into your wife. You’re very careful and it’s very awkward given how you have to avoid most of her side, but Wanda only sighs and nuzzles into your shoulder.

“That’s hardcore, Wands. You definitely want a doctor to help you remove that though.”

You feel Wanda laugh and shake her head against where it’s resting against your neck. She thinks about making a joke and asking you to do it, but that would probably backfire. You likely wouldn’t trust yourself to do something like that, not to mention your motor skills are definitely suffering right now. Instead, she simply nods and shoots her brother a glare when she spots his smirk in the rearview mirror.

“I guess you’re right, detka. The hospital it is.”

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