Tony stepped toward the kitchen. He sighed heavily. There was an alarm going off.

"Stark!" Clint yelled as he jabbed buttons on his coffee machine.

"What didja do Feathers?"

He walked forward quickly. His foot came down at an odd angle and there was a sudden yowl. The footing gave way with a crack. Tony slid back as the dog scrambled forward. He hit his head against the wall and sat up quickly.

"Tony! Peggy!" Steve ran over.

Tony shook his head out. Ouch. Steve knelt next to the dog. She was trying to sniff Tony carefully as if checking for injuries. Peggy hobbled to him asking with her eyes if he was ok.

"Peggy." Steve called.

She hopped over not using her back leg. The soldier ran his hands over her lower leg. Bruce knelt down with him.

"It's definitely broken." He diagnosed.

Tony scrambled to his feet. "Shoot. Wolfie. I'm so sorry."

She barked and panted. She didn't blame him but that didn't change the fact that she was hurt. Steve picked the dog up in his arms.

"Where?"

Tony cut him off. "Come on I'll drive."

He hurried toward the garage and Steve had to jog to keep up. Tony picked up a pair of keys and unlocked a wide luxury car. He held the door open while Steve awkwardly slid the dog into the car. The soldier sat back with her. Tony sped to the veterinary clinic a few blocks down.

Steve carried the dog in. "Excuse me ma'am?"

"Good morning sweetheart, hello pretty dog." The lady was cheery as could be.

Peggy wriggled a bit wanting to greet this new person. Steve tightened his grip a bit and she settled down to hang limply again.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No." Steve answered.

"Come on." Tony stepped up. "Her leg's busted can't you just throw us in?"

The woman looked with concern at the hound then at the two people in the waiting room.

Both were older women holding a cat and a cage with a small rodent. "Go ahead; we're here for check –ups."

The woman ushered them through a set of doors. Steve carefully maneuvered Peggy's bulk so as not to jostle her legs.

"Wait here please." The woman waved a hand at a room.

There were three chairs and a table with a cold steel counter top. Steve gently lay Peggy on it and pulled a chair up close to her head. She flopped her tail making a sound like a gong on the table. Tony sat down. They didn't speak. Tony started drumming his fingers. Then he huffed and stood to pace back and forth. Back and Forth. Back and

"Tony." Steve said suddenly.

The inventor looked startled.

"You're making us nervous." He said. "It was an accident."

Tony sat down heavily and gazed at his hands.

"Good morning folks." A man with greying hair and smile lines cracked the door like he was expecting an animal to try and escape.

He smiled at the big dog on the table. Peggy leaned forward a bit. Steve put up a concerned hand to keep her from falling. She whimpered with pleasure at the new arrival.

"Hello big girl." The doctor patted her head. He shook hands with Steve. "I'm Doctor Grey."

"Steve Rogers."

The doctor's mouth opened.

"Tony Stark."

The man sat down heavily working his jaw. "Iron Man and Captain America?"

Tony nodded. "Yes and this is our new sidekick who got herself stuck as a canine and then broke her leg trying to fly on Thor's back."

"Tony." Steve groaned. "My pup, Peggy, broke her back leg we're pretty sure. Can you fix it please?"

Dr. Grey shook his head out. "I don't have any healing powers but I can set it at least."

He swiveled the stethoscope around his neck. "Hey pretty Peggy." He checked her heart and her stomach and very gently probed her leg. "I'd like to get a quick Ex-ray. If that's alright. It will cost a little extra though."

"Is a little extra less than a million?" Tony asked impatiently.

Dr. Grey remembered who his patient belonged to. "Yes sir. Quite a bit less."

"Then do it." He was irritated.

The man quickly Ex-rayed and wrapped the leg. He put a hard cast on top of the two broken bones. Steve chatted with him lightly. Tony sat in the corner and fumed feeling intensely guilty. He did listen though. Steve never once mentioned that he had broken the she dog's leg, that it was all his fault. He kept waiting for some deadly consequence to his actions like she would never walk again or amputation but soon enough they were in the car driving home. Tony walked in the door first.

"Is mother of paws taken care of?" Thor, who had been around increasingly frequently, asked.

Tony stormed passed without answering. The two assassins and Bruce watched him curiously but their attention was soon back at the door.

"She's all right." Steve said.

He set the dog down and she panted. Her back leg was one big solid rod of purple cloth. She had pills to take every morning and night as needed. Peggy looked after the receding form of the inventor and gave a nearly inaudible whine.