A/N: Hello, everyone! Okay, this one is a BIG chapter, or at least it is compared to the others previous. I feel like there was something I wanted to say, but I can't remember now (of course). Well, if and when I do happen to remember, I will let you guys know. Anyway, I want to say thanks to my reviewers, favers and followers! You guys/gals are wonderful. Also, please excuse my bullshit techno-babble. I don't know the names of all the weaponry, gadgets and other things of that nature in the GOTG/Marvel universe. If you guys have more info on stuff like this, please feel free to let me know!

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

"Groot!" Carlin gasped.

She went to turn to face him completely, but the action was too fast and her head pounded and she nearly toppled over yet again. Thankfully, Groot caught her before she could. He held her arm and scrutinized her with a questionable expression.

"I am Groot?"

"If you're wondering if I'm fine, I am. I just need to..." Carlin craned to look over her shoulder. "I need to go find someone."

"I am Groot?" he pressed, not letting go of her arm.

Carlin's head snapped back to look straight up at him. "Seriously, I'm fine. I just got a-a tiny bit of a hangover. That's all."

Groot's brow rose and he smirked at her. "I am Groot!"

"Groot, Sweetheart, please, let me go-"

"Groot! Grooot! Groot?!"

It was the raccoon stomping over to them, looking pissy as usual. Carlin groaned, shutting her eyes tight. Groot glanced back at his approaching friend, then presented the woman to him. The raccoon's watery, black eyes widened momentarily in surprise, then quickly narrowed and he crossed his arms.

"Groot, what the hell are you doing?"

"I am Groot." Groot indicated Carlin with one of his many vines.

Carlin grimaced at the raccoon. "Hi."

The raccoon scowled at the two. "I'm over here trying to find us a table and here you are playin' with some Terran broad!" he cried, throwing out his arms in exaggeration.

"Calm down, he only saved me from cracking my skull open." Carlin explained shortly, grinding her teeth at the pain in her head.

"Cracking your skull open?" the raccoon echoed incredulously.

"I am Groot."

The raccoon looked to his tree friend. "She's hungover? Well so am I, but you don't see me falling all over the place like an idiot."

"Hey!" Carlin cried, offended.

"I am Groot?" Groot went on asking.

"No! She ain't my problem," the raccoon started to turn away. "Come on, Groot, I'm freakin' starving! Let the chick go and let's eat."

"I am Groot?" he seemed to be pleading.

Carlin gripped her head with her free hand, wishing that Groot would just do as his friend had said and let her go. She needed to find the Kree man before he decided to go off planet, and as nice a guy Groot was, he was being really annoying. Not to mention she really could not stand to hear the raccoon's obnoxiously loud voice right now. Not while her head felt about ready to explode and her stomach churned, threatening to blow chunks again.

"No!" the raccoon said, his back to them.

"I am Grooooot?"

Carlin could see the furry animal's shoulders tense, arms becoming stiff at his sides, then he spun around and snapped at Groot.

"Fine!" he shot Carlin a detestable look.

"I am Groot." Groot answered cheerfully.

He freed Carlin's arm, beckoning her to follow him and the raccoon, elation painting his earthy features. Carlin threw one last longing look over her shoulder at the entrance doors that the Kree had run out of, then sighed with defeat, submitting to Groot's wish and followed after them. They led her back through the noisy heart of the cafeteria, to a vacant table at the end of a row. The raccoon hopped up onto a stool, setting his clawed paws atop the table, grumbling under his breath. Groot took a seat across from him and Carlin slowly sat down on the same side, moaning a little.

"Suck it up!" the raccoon barked at her.

"Shut up." Carlin retorted weakly, rubbing her forehead.

She felt a large hand rest on her upper back. "I am Groot?"

"No, I feel awful." she replied, covering her face with both hands.

The raccoon straightened, looking at her in shock and disbelief.

"You can understand him?"

Carlin shook her head, dropping her hands onto the table with a slap. "No. I just guessed by his delivery. Was I right?"

Groot nodded in affirmation, grinning his wooden head off.

"Lucky guess." the raccoon muttered.

"So, why am I here again?" she was looking back and forth between the two.

"Idiot here has some sort of infatuation with you-God knows why-and insists I help you with your hangover."

Carlin lifted an eyebrow, skeptical. "How are you suppose to do that?"

"Well, I have a secret cure, you see," the raccoon spoke low, his eyes glittering. "One that I've only ever shared with Groot."

He then reached inside his orange jumpsuit for a few seconds, withdrawing a tiny test tube filled with clear, yellow liquid and held it aloft between his claws. Carlin eyed it with suspicion.

"What the hell is that? Your piss?"

"No! It's my hangover miracle cure." he snapped defensively.

"Looks like piss to me."

"Hey! You better shut your ugly mug or you ain't getting any of this magic potion! Groot wanted you to have it, so I'm being uncharacteristically nice right now in even letting you sit with us, let alone sharing my precious secret elixir. So, do you want to try it or not?"

"I am Groot." the tree man coaxed her gently.

Carlin had her doubts about this so-called 'miracle cure', regardless of how much Groot pushed her. Who was to say he really wasn't so nice a guy and they weren't both out to poison her or something? They could have been bounty hunters too, now that she thought about it, and were after the same man as she. They would want to eliminate any competition if that were the case. Or at least she would anyway. The prize was a hefty one after all.

She glanced over at Groot, whose big, sweet brown eyes pleaded with her to try it. She buckled under him. That was a face she simply could not say 'no' to. Not in a million light years. She turned to face the raccoon, who was still holding the tube of urine-colored liquid, and sighed.

"Give it here." she put out her hand.

He set it in her palm with obvious reluctance. Her fingers curled around it and brought it close. She plucked the stopper from the top of it and took a sniff at the opening. Oddly enough, there was no odor. She narrowed her eyes at it, paranoid of being tricked.

"It only takes one sip. No more." the raccoon informed.

Carlin hesitated, then tipped the tiny glass tube to her lips, taking one sip as she was told. If it was indeed poison, she found it both funny and pathetic that she was going to be taken out by a tree and raccoon. The liquid glided into her mouth and she pinched her lips closed, swallowing. She was not sure what she was expecting it to taste like, but she had not thought it to be good. On the contrary, it was as tasteless as it was scentless. Like drinking water. She blinked, pulling the tube away from her mouth, puzzled. The raccoon thrust out his paw towards her expectantly, clearly wanting his elixir back. With a boggled mind, Carlin put the plug back in the top of the tube and handed it to the raccoon, who swiped it away and stashed it in his suit once more.

Groot nudged her shoulder. "I am Groot?"

"Well," Carlin licked her lips, contemplating. "I don't think it was piss."

The raccoon huffed, shaking his head down at the table. As Carlin sat there seconds after ingesting the miracle cure, she was more than surprised to feel her throbbing headache fade away and her stomach settle back to a more docile state. She could not have been recovering that fast on her own. She had been hungover dozens of times and never experienced such rapid convalesce.

"What the hell was that stuff you gave me?" she demanded anxiously.

"I told you! It's my secret hangover miracle cure!" the raccoon retorted.

"Yes, but what's in it?" she clarified her meaning.

The raccoon crossed his arms, his pointy teeth revealed by a wicked grin.

"It's secret for a reason, humie." he said darkly.

Carlin bit her lip, breathing hard through her nose. Even in just the last few moments of tossing words with the raccoon her entire body seemed to become much lighter, her senses sharpening and mind clearing. Whatever the hell he'd given her, it was working like magic and she could not help but be frightfully amazed. Next to her, Groot inquired again.

"I am Groot?"

The woman turned to look at him, her features lined with perplexion.

"I feel pretty good, which is freaking me out. But since Sneaky Sullivan over there won't give me any hints on the ingredients, I guess I'll just have to take it as is," she paused, studying the giant for a moment. "Thank you, Groot, for being so considerate towards me. Usually I'm just chastised for stuff like that."

Groot shook his head, eyes smiling. "I am Groot. I am Groot."

Carlin made a confused face, then looked to the raccoon for assisstance.

The raccoon sighed with impatience. "He says don't mention it. He wanted to repay you for helping him out at the bar the other night," he leaned on the table, staring Carlin down. "You good now? Great! Have a nice day!"

Carlin ignored him, returning her attention to Groot. "Seriously? Groot, you didn't have to repay me! I did that for you as a kind gesture and I expected nothing in return."

Groot gave a little shrug of his broad shoulders. "I am Groot."

"He knows that, he just wanted to do it anyway," the raccoon swiftly translated. "Now, we've spared plenty of time with you already. Scoot along, lady."

Groot shot his friend a displeased look, but Carlin did not oppose. She stood from her stool, steady on her feet, and turned to Groot, their eyes meeting perfectly as she now matched his seated height.

"Dare I say, see you around?" she said to him, her words carrying a hopeful undertone.

"I am Groot." was his firm reply.

Carlin grinned, turning to bid the raccoon good bye as well.

"You should patent that 'miracle cure'," she advised. "You could make some serious cash, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," he was shooing her off with his paws. "Hit the road!"

Carlin chuckled to herself as she walked away from them, not noticing the sad little look on Groot's face. Her mind was funneling down to one focal point at that moment: to find that Kree and get her reward.

"How the hell did he get away from you?! He was right there and you could not have simply paralyzed him or something?"

It was probably nearing ten O'clock at night in Earth time and Carlin sat on a chair on the balcony connected to her room she had bought for the night at a lavish hotel, communicator in one hand, a glass of water in the other. She wore her beige tunic and brown trousers still, sans the vest and boots. Her legs were propped up on the sleek, chrome railing that lined the balcony, one crossed over the other.

"I was in a public place. A very, very crowded public place." she took a drink of her water, being careful to leave out the details of her hangover situation from earlier that day.

"I'm sure you could have found a way to do it without being seen. You're a bounty hunter, for shit's sake! You should be chock-full of tricks!" her client's voice rang through the speaker.

Carlin watched her bare toes wiggle with dull amusement, debating on whether she should go to the bar again tonight or not in her mind.

"He hasn't left. I checked with the outbound flight security and they reported no Kree male went through their system. I'll find him tomorrow and you'll have him by the day after, don't worry."

"You are starting to sound repetitious and I don't like it."

"You need to calm down and stop doubting me."

"I will do just that when I have that Kree back in my hands. Your week is running out, so you had better wake up and do your damn job!"

The beep signalled he was gone and Carlin heaved a sigh, setting the communicator on the side table by the chair she was lounging in. She let her head fall back to rest on the chair's back support and shut her eyes, relishing the cool, night air. A slight breeze whipped over her face, ruffling her short blonde hair. Below and beyond she listened to the steady hum of speeding vehicles, people laughing, screaming, calling out, a concert hall somewhere thudding with faint music, the ceaseless cacophony that was the city.

She got a sudden itch then and her eyes fluttered open. Swinging her legs down from the railing, Carlin got to her feet and swept in to the hotel room. She pulled her boots back on and grabbed her trusty stunner gun, sticking it into the holster on her belt that was hidden by her tunic. Carlin decided she would give the bar another visit that night in the hopes that she could mollify her internal anger at having failed once again, byway of booze and perhaps some hot sex. It was irresponsible and dumb, but she could not just sit here and brood all night over Darnek's words.

"So, you're just visiting Xandar? You got family here or something?"

"I'm here on business."

"Oh, what kind of business?"

Carlin grinned coyly at the man sitting next to her at the bar.

"It's top secret business."

The man lifted a sharp, black eyebrow, his full lips parting a bit. Carlin giggled, knowing she had hit the jackpot with this guy. It had not taken long to hook up, as she had spotted him straight away upon entering the hot and crowded cantina about twenty minutes ago. She seen him sitting there, alone, stirring his mixed beverage, his golden eyes fixated on one of the huge entertainment screens hung up behind the counter, mouth agape with the intense focus he kept on the sport playing on it. Carlin had licked her lips like it was dinner time and strutted with overblown confidence towards him.

He was a handsome Kruwekan male, with a wavy mane of ebony hair that just brushed his shoulders, large, almond-shaped amber eyes, luscious lips and a tall, muscular frame. Carlin loved all men, but she certainly had her standards, and he topped that list. The Kruwek people were by nature a gorgeous race with their black hair and lavender hide, but this one here was most definitely model material.

"Top secret?" he echoed, mystified. "What? Are you like some sort of spy?"

Carlin tittered, shaking her head. "No! Though, even if I was, would you think I would tell you?"

The Kruwekan smiled slowly, his perfect white teeth showing.

"No."

"No," she agreed, taking a drink of her wine. "So, do you live here or are you visiting as well?

"I live a few blocks away," he answered nonchalant, but his eyes sparkled. "High-end apartment complex. Classy penthouse suite. Everyone who visits never want to leave."

Carlin's heart beat a tad faster at the very real prospect of going home with this man and doing all sorts of things with him; however, she maintained a cool facade. She was good at that, thank goodness.

"Huh, high society?" she stuck up her chin, peering at him down her nose.

"Very high society." he leaned towards her, eyebrows up, eyes half-lidded in a sensual manner.

Carlin very nearly squeaked with excitement, which she quickly reprimanded herself for in her mind. Though he didn't say it outright, it was plain to see he wanted her. He wanted her now. She pushed away her eager feelings and took the flirtatious attitude up three notches.

"Sounds nice," she set her glass down on the bar top, half-smiling. "I've always dreamed of living in a fancy penthouse apartment in a fashionable city somewhere." she yawned and stretched her arms above her head, making sure to push out her breasts as far as she dared without looking too obvious.

"Well," the Kruwekan tried not to stare, wetting his lips. "If you'd like, I could show it to you."

Carlin stretched her smile, extending an arm to touch his hand. "Really? I would love that."

"Hey! What the hell? Let me go, you assholes! What the hell are you doing? Hey! Stop!"

Both Carlin and the Kruwekan man looked around at the voice that suddenly rose above the din. Across the way there were three men of varying species making haste towards the entry doors and two of them carried something small between them. It was squirming and shouting all kinds of profanities the whole way out the door. Carlin's heart, which had been pitter-pattering with a thrill literally three seconds prior, was now dropping to her toes. She knew the bad-mouthed creature, but she did not know those men whom had just toted him out of the tavern. By the way it sounded, they were not friends either.

"Hmm, that didn't look too good." the Kruwekan commented thoughtfully.

"No, it didn't." Carlin was rigid, staring at the entry doors.

The Kruwekan looked at her, noting her change in countenance. "Are you alright?"

"No," Carlin started to get off her stool. "Look, I'm sorry, but, I think I may need to take a rain check on that tour."

"What?"

"Maybe I'll catch you another time?"

"Wait, where are you going?"

But it was too late. The blonde Terran was already striding fast towards the entrance where people drifted in and out of at a consistent rate, hoping against hope she was not making a dumb mistake.