JESSICA GETS SCARED

TRIGGER WARNING: PANIC ATTACKS

Natasha Romanoff had been on her mission for precisely three weeks now. A mission that was scheduled to have ended two days ago.

The super spy was late. She was never late.

Jessica paced Natasha's room, where she had been waiting all night, hoping the woman would waltz in at any moment. She had her arms folded and her bottom lip caught between her teeth, nibbling furiously. She tasted blood, but the flavour had become so familiar in the past several hours that she just ignored it at this point.

Where are you?

"Miss Stark, your father is asking for you."

"Tell him I'm out."

"But you aren't out."

"I know that. Tell him anyway."

"But that would be lying to Mr Stark. Protocol prevents me from lying to Mr -"

"Override code 7742983," Jessica sighed; a nifty little piece of coding she'd inputed into JARVIS's system when she was fifteen. "Tell him. I'm. Out."

A pause. Then, "Very well."

About fifteen minutes later, Jessica still walking the length of Natasha's bedroom up and down with her folded arms, bloody lip and deep scowl, Tony Stark reached the the open door. He leaned against the doorframe, waiting for him to notice her. So caught up in her worrying, Jess didn't realize he was there until he cleared his throat.

Her head snapped sideways. When she saw it wasn't Natasha, her heart sunk. "Oh."

"Nice to see you too, sweet cheeks," Tony said, drifting into the room.

"How'd you even know I was here? I told JARVIS -"

"Override code 7742983. I know."

Jessica's eyebrows went up. "You know? The whole point of that code was to keep you from knowing."

He shrugged. "I found it in the database last year, rewired the system so JARVIS would tell me if you tried to use it."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "And give you my location, I presume?"

"Don't like when my little girl keeps things from me."

"Then I suggest you do a lot more digging into that database."

Tony took a moment to consider this, eyes narrowing on his daughter, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. Whether she was capable of actually hacking his Just A Rather Very Intelligent System was debatable for about a second before he came to the conclusion that yes, she absolutely could have hacked it. No one knew more about his technology than Jessie Stark. But that was a problem for another time.

He sat on the edge of Natasha's bed and patted a spot for Jessica to join him. When she declined, too edgy to relax, he sighed.

"We're missing you down in the lab."

Without even realizing it, Jessica started to pace again. "I'll make up for the time I've missed."

Tony waved his hand. "I don't care about that." He pursed his lips. "I care about my baby girl losing her mind worrying over something."

Jessica stopped pacing for half a second to glare at the ground before she got back to moving. "I'm just waiting."

"Cooping yourself up in here isn't going to bring her back any sooner, you know."

Thinking about Natasha; about her getting lost, or hurt, or killed, or a thousand other things that kept her from coming back home; Jessica couldn't take much more before she snapped. "I told you. I'm just waiting."

"Could wait with the rest of the team," Tony suggested. "I don't like the idea of you being alone right now."

"Enough," she spat out at last. "I'm waiting here for Natasha to come home and I'm not leaving until she does. Not for anything."

"Baby…" Tony murmured, knowing he was on thin ice now, "we don't know how long that's gonna be."

She shook her head. "I don't care. She told me she'd be back, so she'll be back. She has to be." Trying to suck up some air, her breath caught, and she had to splutter it back out. "She has to be."

"She will be," Tony assured her. "Just give her time."

"How much time?" Jessica demanded, her voice finally breaking and tears gathering by the bucketload in her eyes. "How much time, Dad? I have to know - I mean I can't not think about -she's never late - I can't stop seeing her - worrying about her - I-I can't not - I-I can't -"

At the first tear that sliced down the side of his daughter's face, Tony was off the bed. He wrapped Jessica up in his arms and pulled her tightly into his chest, tucking her head under his chin as he stroked her hair and rubbed her back. She shook against him with shallow, shuddering breaths, soaking his shirt through.

"Shh…" he whispered. "It's okay. It's all gonna be okay."

"I don't know -" Jessica sobbed, "h-how to live without her."

"She's coming back," Tony promised. "Trust me, baby. Okay? She's coming back."

"I-I can't -" she gasped out, "breathe. Can't - breathe."

At that, Tony pulled away. He examined his daughter, who was rapidly turning to dead weight in his arms as she got lightheaded from hyperventilating. He gripped her tightly by her forearms, trying to keep her stable.

Panic attack, he realized, she's having a panic attack.

It wasn't the first time Tony had caught his daughter panicking like this. Once he recognized what was happening, his instincts kicked in. His training as a father over the past twenty-one years.

"Let's get you sitting down, huh?" he said, gently escorting her to the bed. Once she was safely seated, he got to his knees on the floor in front of her, and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey," he said, "hey. Everything is going to be okay. Nat will come home, just like she promised, and the rest of us are all gonna be here for you while we wait. You're not alone, baby girl. You've got us. You've got me."

Jessica met his eye, still hunched over and tugging down short, sharp breaths in between violent trembling, but couldn't hold his gaze for long before the panic started to take over again.

Tony squeezed her shoulders a little tighter. "I need you to breathe for me, Jessie. Can you do that?"

Jessica shook her head, unable to speak.

"That's okay, you're gonna try it with me. We'll do it together. It'll be fun. Here we go." Tony pulled back one hand to imitate the gesture for inhaling. "In for one, two, three, four, five. Hold it." He paused. "And back out for one, two, three, four, five. That's all there is to it. Let's try again."

He went through the same motions, waiting several times before Jessica could properly follow suit, smiling widely with her progress.

"That's awesome, Jessie. Keep at it, just like that."

They repeated the process a couple more times before Tony felt she was ready to move on.

"You're spiralling," he told her softly, "but it'll be over soon. Do me a favour, babe, put your head between your legs. Not a fan of those glossy eyes."

Without speaking, still not trusting her voice enough to do so, Jessica did as she was told. After a minute, her head seemed to clear up a little, enough to focus on regaining some sense of calm. Slowly, she sat up, eyes still puffy and cheeks still stained with tears, but okay. Breathing well enough. Aware of her surroundings again. Of her father sitting on the bed next to her and wrapping her under his arm. She closed her eyes, letting the final tears fall against his shirt, suddenly drained of energy.

"You did so good, baby," Tony whispered. He kissed her head. "So good."

Deciding she shouldn't be in Natasha's room for another minute, Tony gently helped Jessica to her feet and led her away. She didn't argue; too numb, too broken; and went along with Tony all the way into the communal area where the Avengers liked to hang out and talk, eat, watch T.V, and whatever else.

At Jessica and Tony's approach, Steve and Thor sprung up. Their eyes bulged when they saw Jessica, deflated and bleary-faced. Just as their mouths opened to speak and demand what was wrong, Tony held up his finger to quieten them. His expression was warning. The other men fell silent, their faces still contorted with concern.

Jessica allowed Tony to sit her down on one of the sofas while he ushered Steve and Thor into the hallway, knowing he'd have to placate their burning questions at some point.

"What afflicts our precious daughter of Stark?" Thor demanded.

"Is she okay?" asked Steve.

Tony sighed. His voice was low. "She's in a pretty bad spot right now, guys. Worried senseless about Natasha being late from this mission."

Thor and Steve's faces softened with sympathy. Steve glanced back into the communal space, his heart clenching at the poor sight of a terror-stricken Jessica, unmoving on the sofa.

"Oh, Jessie," Steve whispered.

"Look," Tony went on, "I just managed to steer her out of a panic attack, but she's clearly still shaken up, and scared out of her mind. I think it would really help her right now if we could all put in some extra time. Try to keep her spirits up."

"Absolutely," Thor said.

"Anything for Jess," Steve agreed.

Tony nodded. "Thanks. I'm gonna fix her a drink, calm her nerves. Steve, you're on blankets and snack duty. Thor." He smiled. "Give her the hug of her life. She needs it."

"Consider it done," Thor grinned. As he was about to bolt back to Jessica, Tony put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Just try not to break anything."

Thor nodded, recognizing Tony was only half-joking, and got to work. Rather than sitting next to her, he plucked Jessica off the sofa cushion and lifted her up against his chest so she could get her chin over his broad shoulder. He was too tall for her to get above collarbone-height most of the time.

Thor's arms snuggled around Jessica's form, squeezing hard. He kissed her cheeks, both of them twice, and nestled her against him like she weighed nothing more than a bundle of tissues.

"Thor," Jessica managed to get out, "can't breathe."

Thor stopped. "Are you panicking again, my dear?"

"No. You're holding me too tight."

"Ah." Immediately, Thor loosened his grip. "My apologies."

Carefully, he placed her back on her feet and smiled down at her. She tried to smile back, but her face was still sore from all the crying, and she could only keep it up for a second before it fell away again. Thor smoothed her hair out as much as he could, tucking it behind her ears.

"I have a suggestion," he told her, "if I may."

Jessica nodded.

"I'd like to braid these lovely brown locks for you. Perhaps steal a couple of flowers from Dr Banner's greenhouse. Just to ensure a fair maiden such as yourself is looking her finest when her lover returns."

At that, Jessica did find her smile, not caring how much it ached. "I'd like that too."

So, while Thor tidied Jessica's hair, entwining small white flowers in the braid, Steve returned with a mound of fluffy blankets under one arm and an assortment of candy and other snacks in the other.

"Fattening me up, Cap?" Jessica joked, making space for him on the sofa.

"That's the plan." He smiled, and gave her wiry arm a soft pinch. "You could certainly use it."

"Hey," Tony warned, emerging from the bar behind them with a couple bottles of spirits. "No body-shaming my daughter, Rogers."

The super-soldier held up his arms in surrender. "Just want my favourite Stark healthy."

While Thor cracked a couple anecdotes with his arm over Jessica's shoulders, and Steve held her hand, trying to be subtle about how often he examined her face for signs of another impending panic attack, Tony called up Bruce and Clint. Bruce was there in minutes. The archer, sweaty from training, took a quick shower, and arrived shortly after. The group of them - Tony, Steve, Thor, Clint, Bruce and Jessica - shared snacks and laughs while the T.V played some lighthearted comedy softly in the background.

Jessica couldn't deny that the presence of these Avengers helped her feel more at ease. If nothing else, she embraced the distraction. Moreover, she wanted to feel okay. For them. She knew how hard they were all trying to cheer her up, from Thor's booming laughter to Steve squeezing her hand to Tony aiming pieces of popcorn in Clint's mouth and Bruce blushing at the occasional dirty joke. Jessica could hardly go two seconds without the cautious sideways glance in her direction, making sure she was still okay, for now.

She wasn't sure how exactly it happened. Maybe it was something on the T.V - a joke or statement or scene that somehow reminded her of Natasha - but out of nowhere Jessica could feel her breath catching again. She tried not to let on, keep the Avengers from worrying, but the group of perceptive and concerned men picked up on the spike in her anxiety pretty fast. Thor felt it in the tightening of her shoulders. Steve felt it in the withdrawal of her hand from his. Bruce felt it in the shortness of her breaths. Clint felt it in the sharp flicker of her eyes. And Tony - Tony felt it through all of that combined.

"My dear one." Thor lifted his arm a millimetre above her shoulders. "Have I hurt you?"

Jessica shook her head, but couldn't assemble the words to respond.

Working hard to keep his voice soft and smooth, Tony rose to his feet and instructed Thor, "Move away from her. Slowly."

"Of course," Thor obliged, all traces of mirth gone.

"It's okay," Jessica managed to say, but it came out as a wheeze.

"Shh, shh," Tony said, "don't try to speak." He looked to Steve. "Cap, you'd better back off too."

Steve tried to meet Jessica's eye, reluctant to leave her. In a low voice, he asked, "Jess, is that what you want?"

"Steve," Tony warned.

But Jessica shook her head again. "No," she gasped. She returned his look, struggling to discern his expression through the mist in her eyes. "Stay. Please."

Steve couldn't tell if his heart wanted to split in half or burst with fullness. He gripped the girl's hand tighter and gave her fingers a quick kiss. "I'm not going anywhere, doll."

Tentative but genuine, Bruce patted Jessica's thigh. "We're all here for you, Jess."

"You're gonna make this panic your bitch," Clint added.

Steve flashed him a smirk. "Language."

Somewhat surprised by how positively Jessica responded to the men's presence, but not at all disappointed, Tony took a seat on the sofa next to her. He gave his daughter a kiss on the temple and put his arm around her just as Thor had, but with the added familiarity of a father's embrace.

"You hear that, baby? Everything's gonna work out just fine."

She closed her eyes, doing her best to trap the tears. "Y-you don't know that."

"No," Steve admitted, "he doesn't. But we know Natasha loves you, and that she'll do anything to come back to you."

"We also know," Bruce put in, "that this feeling won't last forever. All you have to do is take a few nice deep breaths."

Jessica opened her mouth, presumably to say something like 'I can't do that', but she was so choked for breath the words didn't come.

"Doc's right, Jessie," Tony murmured. He pulled Jessica against his chest and rested her head against his shoulders. "Just gotta breathe for us."

"I know you can do that," Thor said with a grin. "If I, the great oaf that I am, can remember how to breathe, you certainly can too."

"It's h-h-hard to breathe," Jessica stammered, "when I don't know if N-Natasha is doing the s-s-same."

"Hey," Clint said. "She is. Don't let yourself think for a second she isn't. Nat's a badass. She's gonna be okay."

"And so are you," Tony swept in. "If you can just try out that breathing."

"You don't have to do it for us," Steve told her. "You can do it for her. It's what she'd want you to do."

"God help the sorry soul who has to tell Natasha Romanoff we let Jessica pass out on our watch," Clint muttered.

"Hey," Bruce reached for Jessica again, seeing her eyes pop at Clint's comment. "Hey. Listen to me. You aren't going to pass out. I promise."

"Please, Jessie," Tony said, "just breathe. That's all I need you to do."

Seeing the group of male Avengers share a nod at Tony's words, Jessica forced the following sentence through her head, regardless of the whether or not she believed it: Nat will be okay. Nat will be okay. Nat will be okay. If they could all believe it, why couldn't she?

It took Jessica longer to calm down this time than it had earlier. She had a harder time swallowing the promises they made her and keeping them down long enough to steady her heart rate. By the time she had gotten back to breathing like a normal human being again, God only knew how long the other had waited. She sunk into the sofa, melting in Tony's embrace, and eventually even her hand going limp in Steve's as exhaustion won out and carried her into unconsciousness.

Sensing her breaths deepen, the male Avengers all shared an expression of relief.

They had a short debate regarding where Jessica would sleep that night, but decided to leave her on the sofa to reduce the risk of waking her. None of them knew when she had last slept, and figured that was priority number one. They left her with the blankets Steve had collected and the lights dimmed before quietly exiting the room to give her some peace.

When Thor and Clint asked if there was anything more they could do to help, Tony insisted he could take care of it from here. But that didn't stop Steve and Bruce from lingering in the doorway, both volunteering to 'take watch'.

Tony folded his arms. "Jessica's asleep on one of the top floors in the Avengers Tower. Why would you need to take watch?"

Steve and Bruce returned a meaningful glare.

Bruce asked, "So I guess that means you had no plans of keeping tabs on her?"

"That's different. I'm her dad."

"Yeah, well," Steve said, "we want to look out for her too. You're not the only one who worries."

Somewhat grudgingly, Tony eventually nodded. No harm in having a bit of back-up in case Jessica had another breakdown. All three of them knew it could happen, any time and any place, until Natasha Romanoff got home safe.