A/N: I own nothing except for my OCs!

*Late September, 2006*

I gazed out at the rolling hills of the family farm. There was nothing in the entire world more relaxing than the sound of a farm at night. Everything was so completely still and quiet, I felt like I would ruin everything if I were to breathe too loudly. The sound of one of the stallions egging the mares on reached my ears. Knoxville is probably up to no good again. I thought to myself. Crazy horse. A smile graced my lips.

"TeeTee? Baby? Where are you hiding at, girl?"

"I'm out here Momma." My returning call sounded weak. She rounded the corner of our house a few seconds later, to see me sitting on the edge of our porch, dangling my legs off the side of it.

"What are ya doing back here, all by your lonesome? Can't you see it's getting dark? You know how I feel about you being out here at night."

"It's too stuffy in that house, Momma."

"Well why didn't ya say somthin'? I can always just turn the heater down a couple of notches ya-"

"That's not what I mean and ya know it, Momma."

Understanding passed through Momma's clear brown eyes. She started to shift nervously, and twirled a strand of her chocolate brown hair around her index finger.

"Your daddy is gonna get better hun, he's just going through a real rough time right now."

"As if we aren't having a 'rough time' too? Momma, can't he see that he's not the only person who's hurtin' right now? Darren was my big brother, and I miss him just as much as you and Daddy do. It hurts me just as bad. Why didn't he make it? Why am I still here but Darren's not?"The porch was dead silent.

"Sometimes I think Daddy blames me for what happened. Sometimes I think he hates-"

"Now you stop that nonsense right now little lady. You just let your daddy have his space." Her eyes softened."Let him be, darlin'. He never has dealt with his emotions the right way, and it'll only make him worse if we try to make him face his grief."

"What are we supposed to do until he gets better?"

"Pray."

*Late August, 2012*

I stumbled onto the elevator in front of Thor and Loki. What in the world had brought up those unpleasant memories? Shaking my head I waited until both men were on the elevator, then pressed the button labeled 42.

"Miss Jackson, I have been asked to remind you that yourself and Mr. Rodgers have a late lunch date at 2:30 p.m. today, do you still plan on attending?"

Crap, I forgot that was today. I glanced at my wrist watch, 1:45.

Shoot, too late to cancel now.

"Yes I will be attending, thank you J.A.R.V.I.S. Will you ask Mr. Rodgers to meet me in the lobby at 2:15?"

"I most certainly will Madame."

"Thank you again, J.A.R.V.I.S."

"It is not a problem, have a nice time at your lunch."

The elevator had become stiflingly uncomfortable.

"I was unaware that Friend Rodgers was courting you, Lady Teeghan."

My face turned a rather interesting shade of pink.

"No, no, no it isn't what you think it is. Steve and I are going on a business lunch together."

Thor glanced down at me, not believing a single word I was saying.

"It really isn't like that at all, we're just friends."

One gold eyebrow rose at me, and Thor opened his mouth, paused and then closed his mouth again. Shrugging he stated simply,

"If he is not courting you, then he is not courting you. What you choose to do in your spare time is completely up to you, Lady Teeghan."

His implied innuendo sent my face spiraling into twelve different shades of red. I was gaping at him, trying to sputter out an explanation of how wrong he actually was when the elevator dinged and alerted us that we had reached our intended floor. I practically ran out of the elevator, barely missing elbowing Loki in the ribs.

"This way gentleman, please and thank you."

"Have I embarrassed you, Lady Teeghan?"

I was half tempted to lie to him, but chose honesty instead.

"Very much so, you misunderstand the relationship between Steve and I to a point where it is almost laughable."

We walked through the marble foyer into the large living space of the 42nd floor, greeted by the sound of an action movie almost immediately.

"You know that would never happen in a real gun fight."

Natasha's bored tone told me she hadn't exactly been chomping at the bit to watch a movie with Clint.

"Of course it wouldn't. This is why action movies are the best, we can sit down and analyze what people think we do for a living and compare it to what we actually do, all while getting a good laugh out of it. Oh, hey Quinnie. What are you up to on this fine day?" Clint glanced behind me casually, and seeing Thor, gave him a friendly wave, before sending a glare at Loki that made me want to hightail it back to the elevator and leave those two to have at it. Forcing myself to ignore my flight instincts, I replied to Clint's question.

"The usual, working my ass off for a billionaire who finds it fun to make me miserable. You?"

"Off of work."

"I can see that, any reason why you chose From Paris, With Love to watch? Besides the fact that you're secretly a John Travolta fan girl, of course."

He flipped me a certain one finger salute and turned back to his movie. Smirking, I sent a little wave at Natasha, who nodded in return, and then turned back to Thor and Loki.

"This way."

We turned right down the only hallway (if it can really be called that, the thing is ridiculously long, far too long for a hallway) on the 42nd floor. Three bedroom doors lined either side of the hallway, all evenly spaced out with a fair amount of walking distance between each door.

"Forgive me Lady Teeghan, but, you are acquainted with the Black Widow and the Hawkeye?"

I threw a smile over my shoulder at Thor.

"Yeah, we met about two months after the whole Chitauri fiasco."

"Ah, so you are aware of what happened to New York City in April?" I stopped at Thor's door, then turned to answer his question.

"I got here 'bout a month after that little adventure. I kind of do, I hadn't arrived in the city at that point in time, so I don't know the full story, only bits and pieces that manage to float around the office. "

We were stopped at the second door on the left. Opening the door, I made a sweeping motion with my arm.

"This will be your room, Thor. If you need anything, my extension number is-, never mind that. Just ask J.A.R.V.I.S. to contact me and I'll be down here in a jiffy."

"My sincerest thanks Lady Teeghan. I wish you luck in your courtship with Friend Rodgers." Turning from me, Thor sent a meaningful glance at Loki and he promptly slammed the door shut in my face.

"He's not courting me." I mumbled to the closed door. I glanced at Loki, who lips were still pressed into a thin line.

He acts like it's going to kill him to smile. I thought to myself.

"And you're just down the hall on the right," Stopping at the third door on the right, I opened the door, making the same sweeping motion."The whole J.A.R.V.I.S. thing goes for you too."

He stepped past me stiffly, inspecting the room with disdain. I turned and started to make my way back up the hall. An icy hand around my neck was swift to stop my progress. Effortlessly, Loki yanked me into his room, pinning me up against the crème colored wall with one hand, shutting the door quietly with the other. The hand around my neck came down with more pressure, and Loki crowded into my personal space. Emerald eyes swept over my face, searching, searching for something. I had no friggin' clue what he was looking for. I brought both my hands up to his one wrist, pulling on the appendage, trying, with no luck, to get him to back off. My heart started to hammer against my ribs at a break-neck pace. I was going through the list of what I could do to actually hurt him enough to allot me the time to escape. Slim pickins'. In other words, there was pretty much nothing I could do to defend myself; Loki was twice my weight and almost two whole feet taller than me. Not to mention the fact that he could probably crush my windpipe with one hand.

"Listen, I don't know what I did to make ya mad, but whatever it was, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it."

He glared down his nose at me, then easily pried both my hands off of his wrist, effectively pinning them above my head with his other hand.

"Whoa there, how about we talk this out?" I squeaked out, beyond terrified.

His grip tightened, and he seemed to sneer at me. Bending down to my level, he looked me square in the eyes. He peered even deeper into my eyes, continuously looking.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're trying to tell me right now."

A small movement in the muscle of his jaw let me know that I was treading on some real thin ice. I opened my mouth to try and redeem myself, then, thinking better of that, snapped it shut. Loki crowded into my bubble even further, shoving a leg between the two of mine, then easily slid me up the wall. The grey cardigan on my shoulders caught friction on the wall, causing some resistance in my shoulders. I was suddenly very glad that I had decided to wear slacks instead of the pencil skirt that I had first opted for. Straightening out to his full height, he brought me up to his eye level, my weight resting on his leg, my bottom very precariously placed on his knee. I began frantically scanning the room for some sort of a weapon, avoiding looking in his eyes. The hand at my wrists dropped before coming back up and finding purchase on the soft skin of my face. Gripping my jaw tightly in his hand, he brought my eyes back to his forcefully, the fingers in his hand digging into my flesh. His man-handling me was not doing anything good for my nerves, or my heart for that matter. Panicking, I managed to get a couple of words out.

"Can't we ya know, work out this little misunderstanding?"

He stared at me long and hard for what seemed to be an eternity, then, apparently, having not found what he was looking for, released (read: dropped) me. I landed on the floor in an ungraceful pile of Teeghan flavored goo. Shaking so badly I thought I was going to come apart at the seams, I frantically pried at the door. Loki reached out with his right hand and grabbed a fistful of my hair, painfully turning my face up to his. He brought his left hand up to his mouth, closed in a fist except for his index finger. The universal symbol for 'Shhhhhhhh'. That had to have been the single most terrifying gesture I had ever seen in my entire life.

"I won't tell anyone." I told him frantically in a hushed whisper, nodding my agreement. A pleased mixture of a smirk and a sneer rose to his lips. He released his grip in my hair and allowed me to stumble out the door. I began trying to fix myself, make myself look presentable again. Tugging on the grey cardigan I was wearing I looked up to find him watching me from his door blankly. I smoothed down the charcoal grey slacks I was wearing and adjusted the long strand of pearls around my neck, hanging them properly down my body. He was still watching me, and it was sending my already nervous brain into a meltdown. He reached out and tugged up on the lacy white cami under the cardigan, I froze, thinking only the worst things my brain could come up with, before I realized he was bringing it up to a more work place appropriate height, then moved his hand to my left side and fixed my name badge, hanging it properly again. He reached his hand up to my head, almost lazily, and smoothed down the blonde ringlets he had disturbed. There was nothing even remotely sweet in the gesture; he was just covering his own tracks.

I stared at him dumbstruck and he pointed down the hallway, motioning for me to get lost. He didn't need to tell me twice. I was down the hall and pushing on the elevator button so fast it made my head spin. I could feel his eyes still on me; a glance in his direction told me I was correct.

"Everything okay, Quinnie?"

Clint's question startled me and I noticeably jumped. He had turned the upper half of his body across the couch to peer at me, making me intensely uncomfortable in my already frenzied state.

"Yea, that Loki guy just gives me the creeps, ya know what I mean?" I sent what I hoped was a reassuring smile over my shoulder Clint and Natasha's way, still pushing the elevator button like a madwoman.

"Let me know if he gives you any problems Quinnie, I'll take care of it for you."

Clint's sincerity almost unglued the fragile control I had over my mouth. Almost. But I felt the glare coming at me from down the hall, and knew it would be a bad idea to say anything to the two master assassins.

"Thanks Clint, I'll keep ya updated, alright?"The elevator gods must have heard my prayers because the elevator in front of me mercifully opened its doors. I was in the elevator in less than five seconds.

"Alright, see you later, Quinnie."

"Bye guys. " I tossed the pair of assassins a half assed, fake smile. The elevator doors closed and I came unglued. Large, hot, wet tears, a product of being so scared and shaken up no doubt, poured down the sides of my face. I wrapped my arms around my middle in a form of self comfort. Shakes hit my entire body and I fought hard not to cry out.

"Miss Jackson, are you alright? You appear to be having a mild panic attack."I struggled for breath, taking huge gulps of air, too much at once , and still feeling like it wasn't enough. What was Loki's problem? I had been nothing but nice to him, and in return he gave me a panic attack.

"I'm okay J.A.R.V.I.S., thanks for asking though."My voice shook and was thick with unshed tears; I had given Loki my word that I wouldn't tell anyone.

I guess that includes the AI system. Fresh tears welled in my eyes, why had he stared at me like that? Shivers ran down my spine as I relived how dead his eyes had seemed.

"Are you quite sure Miss Jackson, your heart rate has accelerated to an unhealthy rate. Should I call for Dr. Banner?"

"NO! No. That won't be necessary. What time is it?" By this time, my throat was so clogged with unshed tears, that I was positively croaking out words. I was vaguely starting to remind myself of a toad.

"It is 2:05 p.m."

"Can you drop me off at the lobby, please?"

"Most certainly, Miss Jackson." We began our descent down to the lobby.

"And, J.A.R.V.I.S.?" I was desperately trying to calm myself down, Steve would know that something was amiss if I was a crying mess in the lobby.

"Yes, Miss Jackson?"

"Can you not tell anyone about this? Or show them the video feed from the last thirty minutes?"

There was a pregnant pause. I sniffed loudly and swallowed hard, pushing down the tears that kept threatening to rise.

"Please J.A.R.V.I.S., I won't ask you for anything for a really long time." I was literally begging a computer to not rat me out.

"This secret is safe with me, Miss Jackson." His wording did not escape my attention.

"Thanks, J.A.R.V.I.S."

The elevator doors opened and I propelled myself out into the lobby, practically sprinting to get to the restroom. Once inside I made a beeline for the powder counter. A large, angry, red handprint was marring my neck, a parting gift from Loki, no doubt. Taking my strand of pearls, I triple wrapped them around my neck, hoping they would cover the handprint. While it didn't hide the print from view completely, it was better than nothing. I haphazardly fixed my makeup, wiping away the smudges of eyeliner and mascara from underneath my eyes, then pinched my cheeks to give myself some color and I was back out the door, already looking for Steve's large frame. I can honestly say that I had never been more relieved to see Captain America.

"Steve!" My call across the lobby drew me more attention than I would have liked, but I was just so relieved to see him.

"Miss Teeghan, how are you today?" He must have noticed my red rimmed eyes, because his smile dropped and his eyes grew serious. His eyes flitted down to my neck, and I froze, not daring to move a muscle.

"Have you been crying Miss Teeghan?"

I tried to lie to him, but it just wouldn't come to me.

"No…..I…..I..I just..I just stubbed my toe on the way down here."

"You're not telling me the truth, Miss Teeghan." My heart fluttered in my chest, and not in a good way. It was like I could feel Loki's eyes on me, waiting for me to screw up and let something slip.

"Yea, I was crying. One of the guys in accounting was just so horribly nasty to me today. I didn't take it well." The lie fell from my lips much easier this time.

Steve visibly tensed. I waited, hoping he would spot the lie and make me confess to what was actually wrong. No such luck.

"Well Miss Teeghan, you just point me in the right direction when we get back from lunch and I'll set some things straight for you."

My smile was transparent and forced. My heart dropped like a ton of bricks.

"You don't have to do that Steve, he'll get his eventually."

Steve stood back and looked at me for a long while then shrugged.

"Alright Miss Teeghan," He held out his arm to me." Where would you like to go for lunch?"

"Anywhere is okay with me." As we walked out of Stark Tower, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.