HIATUS

After Hela cried her eyes out, Ethan teleported her back to her room. She wasn't in any mood to eat, she was too emotionally exhausted to do anything else. So Ethan let her sleep for the night.

Ethan then went to his room and poured himself a cup of alcohol. He drank the liquor and he could feel the heat of the alcohol as it travels through down his throat.

"What a night", Ethan said as pour himself another cup. Today's event just showed how truly damaged Hela was. He saw just a fraction of the emotional pain that she went through and he knew that if he wanted Hela to recover from it, it will be a long road ahead.

"How should I go about this?", Ethan said out loud. He was still quite unsure of what to do. He couldn't just find a therapist and tell that person to help Hela. Imagining the introduction alone would be both hilarious and scary at the same time. No, this required a unique approach, an approach which he doesn't know how to handle.

Due to him thinking too much about this matter, he didn't realize that he had already finished drinking the bottle of liquor. The reason he wasn't drunk was because of his chakra circulating in his body. If any man drank the same amount of alcohol with the same amount of time that he did, then that person would have already fallen asleep by now.

He looks at the empty bottle of alcohol in his room and suddenly a distant memory came to his mind. He remembered his past self when his wife died. He can remember the amounts of alcohol bottles in the room, he could remember the pain and helplessness of that memory. He suddenly could remember the love that he grief back then.

He then rubs his face and said, "Damn it, the Ancient One was right. I freed her, and now I am helping her state of mind... If this is not love, then what is?" He then decided that he should just probably sleep for the night and hope that maybe he could have a unique idea to help Hela in the morning.

The next day, Ethan and Hela were in front of an orphanage. The Orphanage was something that was built after the death of his grandfather. He had rarely visited the orphanage due to the fact that he was busy. The last time he went to the orphanage was probably when he was still in college, yet he just sent a clone during that time. So back then it wasn't much of an importance for him but the moment he woke up he thought this idea might just be the unique approach he hopes would help Hela.

"Where are we?", Hela said.

"This is an orphanage. My grandma built it on behalf of my grandfather when he passed. This is mostly run by grandma in her spare time as well", Ethan replied.

"Why are we here?", Hela asked.  She looks at the surroundings and she could see children running around and playing with themselves. Yet another reminder of a past that she did not have. She doesn't envy them though, far from it. She was just curious that even orphans could be happy even though life has dealt them a bad hand.

Ethan looks at the children in the surroundings and said, "Life is hard, that is a universal fact. For you, you had your father but he is the cause of most of your pain. But these children, in this orphanage, their pain are their parents being taken from them at such a young age..". Ethan suddenly became quiet. Hela looks at her companion's face, she felt like Ethan wanted to say something but was unsure of how to phrase his sentence.

"What's on your mind?", Hela asked.

"Look, I'm not sure if this will help alleviate the pain that you feel inside of you...but I brought you here in hopes that perhaps being with children will make you...happy... I just hoped that what I'm doing is right", Ethan explained as she looks at her straight in the eyes.

"I see...", Hela said as she took Ethan's hand and together went inside the orphanage.

The days then turned into weeks, Hela became more accustomed to helping out in the orphanage. At first, it was hard, the woman was made for battle after all. But the longer she did it, the easier the job became. She played with the little girls, she ran with the boys, and she even helped the children who were bullied in school. She taught them some fighting moves, like where to aim your fist and whatnot. In her visit, Ethan would always be there and watch her, not a clone but the real Ethan. He secretly likes watching the happy smile that Hela would occasionally give from time to time.

Today was a normal day in the orphanage when suddenly he received a call from his phone. The moment he knew who it was, he was quite curious why he would call him.

"What's the matter Enoch?", Ethan asked.

"I believe that something happened that needs your attention", Enoch replied. Still with the neutral robotic voice that could barely pass as human.

"I'm sure you can handle it, Enoch. If you can't then Howard is there anyway. Why don't you ask him to handle whatever problem that came up", Ethan said. He really didn't want to leave Hela or even leave a clone for that matter. He likes his time with her, be it even if he was only on the sidelines watching her smile. For Ethan, that has completed his day.

"Actually sir Ethan, I would have done that if not the problem lay with Howard himself", Enoch replied.

"What? Explain it to me", Ethan said with curiosity in his voice.

"Howard had placed, Tony, inside the Lighthouse", Enoch said.

"What!", Ethan was shocked at what he heard. For Howard to place Tony inside the Lighthouse was something he never thought the elder man would do. He knows the stakes that we are up against, and yet to do something so foolish....foolish?...The thought of Howard being foolish was removed from his mind, it was erased as quickly as it came.

Howard is a smart man. For him to place Tony in the Lighthouse without reason is something he wouldn't do. It doesn't matter how he misses his son, no way would Howard ruin years of planning just so he can spend time with his child.

".... I'll be there", Ethan said reluctantly as he ended the call. He then went to the restroom and made a clone of himself. The clone would remain in the orphanage while the real Ethan would head to the Lighthouse.

Ethan didn't know it but the moment his clone walk out of the restroom, for a moment Hela glance in its direction.