You stood outside of the lab and looked down each direction of the hallway, making sure that you weren't seen, even though FRIDAY had assured you that you were alone and that Tony was off the grounds with Clint and Natasha for most of the afternoon. The two of you had barely spoken since your return from London only a few days before, and you had become desperate to think of a way to reach him and to get him to see what he was doing to himself. If you and Steve could have a breakthrough to get talking started, then there had to be some way to get that with Tony, even in the worst fracture that your relationship had ever faced.

"FRIDAY, you have my back, right?"

"Yes, (Y/N). I'll let you know if Mr. Stark returns."

"Thanks."

Pushing the doors open a little reluctantly, as if you were doing something wrong, you felt like the little kid that Tony had taken in so many years ago, sneaking into his lab when he wasn't home so that you could see all the things that you were forbidden from knowing about. That wasn't the case this time, but it felt very much the same as you approached the large case that he had carelessly shoved under one of the workstations; it was the box of SHIELD archives from Howard that Nick had brought in almost a year ago, untouched since those very first days. At least you had thought that it was untouched until you lifted the lid away and saw the first item resting on top of the others. It was the small and worn teddy bear that he had given to Maggie right after she was born.

"Oh, Dad..." you sighed, clutching the toy to your chest. "How do I fix this?"

"Are you speaking to me, Miss?"

"No, FRIDAY, but thanks," you smiled, setting the bear aside and returning to your search. There were a few documents that looked too official to be of any real use to you, including one that was marked SSR with Steve's name on it; maybe you would have to come back to that one later. There were a handful of tools that caught your eye, but made no sense when you tried to envision them together, and an envelope with Tony's name on the front that looked to have been carefully placed in the back and away from the other items. "FRIDAY, can you update me on where Dad is?"

"He hasn't returned yet, but Mr. Barton's vehicle is travelling in this direction."

Very carefully and slowly you took the visibly aged paper from the envelope and opened it, but you couldn't shake the guilt in reading something that wasn't meant for you; you felt as if you were breaking Tony's trust, but quickly rationalized it away as doing it to help him, which he desperately needed you to do. The words written with measured choice by Howard struck you much as they must have done to Tony, being not what you expected and carrying a personal message that your dad had led you to believe that Howard was incapable of saying. It became very quickly evident to you that Tony was drawing an unfair parallel to his own father; Howard spoke of failing him and how he knew that Tony could be better than he was, and your dad was caught in seeing himself the same way.

"Miss, he's approaching the building."

"Okay," you nodded, now resolved at what you had to do. "Could you ask him to meet me here please?" Putting the letter back where you had found it, and returning the bin to the floor, you kept the bear where it was and grabbed your phone, scrolling as quickly as you could through your photos to find one that Steve had sent to on the day that Maggie was born. "FRIDAY, I need you to print something out for me, and call Wanda please."

~~~

"Boss, (Y/N) asks that you meet her in the lab as soon as you can."

"Great," Tony grumbled from the backseat of Clint's car, absentmindedly watching the door to the compound garage open for them, "I wonder what she's locked me out of now. Didn't know there was anything left. Maybe she's found some crazy way for a microscope to be a risk."

"Tony, knock it off," Natasha warned quietly, turning in her seat to look back at him. "We just spent the last two hours talking about this and it's like you didn't hear a word that we said. Pull your head out of your butt and go hear what she has to say. If you want to be trusted again to not do stupid shit, then you have to prove to her that you deserve it."

"I'm the dad, Nat. Last time I checked, dad's make the rules."

"Ha! When's the last time you checked?" Clint scoffed, joining in. "I haven't been able to make one rule yet!"

Nat turned sharply and shifted her focus to her husband with a look of disbelief, slapping him firmly on the arm, eliciting a wince of pain from him. "That's not true! You make rules for Allie all the time!"

"Name one."

"If it's not yours, don't touch it without asking first."

"That was me," Tony added, raising his hand nervously.

"Really?" Nat questioned confusedly. "Okay, how about no drinks on the couch?"

"That was me too. More of an overall house rule for everyone after Scott spilled grape juice on the white one, but yeah, still me."

"Alright, but Clint, you totally shut her down when she said "crap" the other day. You were absolutely in dad mode for that."

"Actually," Tony coughed, "that was Steve."

"Wow," she finally gave in, slumping in her seat with a huff to face forward, her mind racing for anything that could try to prove her argument, but she was coming up with nothing. "Seriously, Barton, what is it that you do around here?"

"Apparently, I follow everyone else's rules," he groaned, putting the car into park with a jolt. "But I think that I'll give it a go on making one right now. Tony," he paused, turning to face his friend, "you're going to go in there and talk to (Y/N) and actually listen to her. None of this 'I'm Tony Stark so I already know everything' bullshit, you got me?"

"But I do-"

"Like that."

"Fine," Tony sneered, hitting the seat in front of him with his hand until Nat relented and jumped out to move it up and release him, "but I don't think you all really appreciate how much I actually do know-"

"Just go!" Natasha snapped, pushing him towards the door with a firm shove, making him stumble just slightly. She stood steady and watched him walk away, a sadness beginning to fill her even after the few lighthearted moments that they were able to find just now. Even when she couldn't see his expression, she could tell that he wasn't the confident Tony that she had known for so many years, and she began to worry if she would ever see him again. All any of them could do now was to put their faith in you that you would be able to reach him, because they all knew that there was no one else who stood a chance.

~~~

When Tony entered his own lab, he couldn't help but get the feeling of being ambushed, despite there being only you and Wanda waiting for him. He had been living in a state of paranoia lately that more and more would be taken from him after he had broken down so spectacularly, and it wasn't a way that he was used to, having his own babysitters at every turn. He had been carrying the most anger towards you for challenging him with every move, and even though he knew deep down that you were only looking out for him, his mind wouldn't accept it in any way.

"Ah, you've brought reinforcements," he scoffed, stepping in and walking past you without so much as a glance, "this must be good."

"Dad, you're not Howard."

His stopped cold and his head snapped towards you with his face immediately paling at the sudden heavy insinuation, "damn, kid. Don't mince words."

"I, uh...I read what he wrote to you," you admitted sheepishly, casting your eyes away from him, "and I know that's what you're thinking. That you're failing me...failing us...but you're not. Not even close."

"You know, Barton just told me to come in here and listen to you, and to not act like I know everything, but it sounds to me like you've taken over that role from me pretty well. Is there anything left of me to take away, (Y/N)?"

"Actually, I would like to give you something, Dad."

Wanda stood up and made her way towards the two of you, but Tony took a reflexive step back with his eyes widening just slightly as she got closer. "Woah, what are you gonna do?"

"(Y/N) asked me to show you something that might help you, Tony," Wanda answered gently. "She wants you to see Maggie as she was supposed to be."

"No."

"Dad, I put this on you, okay?" you urged. "I told you to fix it, and you knew what that actually meant. You did the right thing. This was always going to happen, and I'm so sorry that I put you in that situation. I'm sorry, Dad. This is my fault."

He shook his head emphatically, the color returning to him slowly as he came back into himself; even despite the distance in the chasm that had opened between you from everything that had happened, he wouldn't hear that any of it was actually your fault. He may have been pissed that you had taken so much control, but that wouldn't stop the protective side of him from fighting back now. "No, sweetheart, don't do that. You've been through a hell of a lot more than I have here, and I'm just being childish about it. I've always been great at temper tantrums."

"I want to show you this, please. Wanda explained to me that Maggie was there in what were supposed to be my last moments because she was already with me, but I didn't know that. There was no reason for me to see her other than that she was always going to be there. Maggie was helping me, Dad. Let her help you. See her be happy..." you stopped, closing your eyes to envision the moment as best as you could, "she was with you when I saw her."

"She was?" he asked, his voice cracking at the thought. "What do you mean?"

"I saw Steve with the other three, but you were with her. I didn't know who she was, but she looked happy, and now it all makes sense." You turned and walked to the other side of the lab where FRIDAY had completed the task you had asked for, taking the picture in hand and returning to his side, "here, look."

With a tremulous hand, he took the picture from you and held it out to see, but the rim of tears building left his vision hazed. He took a quick swipe of his sleeve over his eyes and tried again, sucking in a pained breath with a gentle whimper at the sight of Maggie on his lap, looking up at him as he smiled back, sitting next to her hospital crib. "Where..."

"Steve took that before you saw him. She was yours even more than she was mine, Dad."

"Oh, baby..." he sniffled, unable to take his eyes off the image, "thank you."

"Can I show her to you? It will only be the memory of what (Y/N) saw, Tony," Wanda added. "It will be as if you were watching a movie, that's all."

"Yeah, okay...I think I'd like that," he finally gave in, reaching out for her offered hand. When he felt her connect to his mind, he closed his eyes and allowed you to rest your hand on his arm to hold him steady when his stance wavered from the jolt. It only took a few seconds for her to share the images with him, but in his mind it had gone on far longer, and you could feel his muscles relax beneath your grip. A slow smile grew across his lips, his breathing slowed and his tears dried. He was seeing her, and she was healing all of the hurt that he wasn't letting go.

When the scene had played out, Wanda released him and his eyes opened with a new light behind them, and for the first time in weeks, you felt like you were seeing a glimpse of the real Tony again. "Dad? Are you okay?"

"Always," he answered softly, "and this time I think I actually mean it."