A/N: Hello everyone! New chapter, and its fluffy. But that's typical of me though. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney or the Avengers. Just Mia.


All I could feel as I woke up was a wet tongue licking my nose and neck, working to lick my ear. Groaning I heard a soft chuckle. Opening my eyes, I noticed an adorable puppy content to walk all over me while licking various facial features. Looking to the source of the laugh, I found Steve smiling at me.

"Who is this?" Steve said, holding out a hand to the puppy, which playfully attacked it.

"Athena. Tony had her waiting for me last night. This was before he decided to be a dick." I said, getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom. Washing my face and fixing my hair, I strolled into my closet to pick something out for the day. Steve was busy playing with Athena, so I didn't bother with closing the door. He's seen everything.

"So what are we doing today? I'm assuming you aren't going into work," he said looking up as I emerged form the closet fully clothed in jeans and an off-white, lace babydoll.

"Well I need you to watch her this afternoon, as I have 3 consults that I cannot push. But this morning I want to go get everything I need for this sweet girl."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," he said, standing up with Athena in his arms, kissing my cheek.

"We are going to need to grab something for me to eat along the way. I'm starving, and she needs to use the bathroom before going in my car." I laughed.

"So, she's up to date on her shots, and she's tagged, in case she ever gets lost. Next we need to get food, a bigger bed, and a few toys to keep her occupied while I'm at work." I said as Athena trotted along beside us in the pet store. She enjoyed smelling every stand, and people's shoes. She was very taken with Steve, and I knew that meant I made a good choice.

"So you're playing hooky to buy dog toys," Steve said, winking at me. Chuckling I said, "Hey, I can't help it if she's already got me wrapped around her paw."

"So when is our next date Mr. Rogers?" I asked, linking our arms as we shopped.

"I was thinking tomorrow night. I want to take you somewhere that meant a lot to me growing up." He said, picking up a toy and showing it to Athena before putting in in our basket. The golden retriever was so excited when she met another dog. She didn't even care that it was four times her size.

"I would love that," I said to him, kissing his cheek sweetly.

"We should probably get her a better leash," I said looking at the selection. I noticed that we could make a personalized ID tag for her, and quickly chose a bone with four rhinestones. The machine worked before our eyes, engraving her name and a contact number for myself and then for Steve on the back. I highly doubted I would let her out of the Tower, but it was a precaution.

"Are you going to thank Tony?"

"When he isn't being a prick about us. He'll realize it sooner or later. I have been through this a couple times." I sighed, putting my purchases on the counter for the cashier to ring up.

"First dog?" She asked, noticing how excited Steve and I were.

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed pets growing up." I said pulling out my credit card, and picking up Athena to show the cashier.

"She's adorable," she said, handing Athena a small treat. The puppy yapped playfully when she noticed a bird sitting next to the cash register.

"You're funny looking," the bird said, making Steve's eyes widen in surprise.

"Marco, be nice." The cashier said, sighing at the bird's rudeness.

"Marco?" Steve asked, and was about to continue his question when the bird yelled out "Polo!"

"Oh that's the greatest thing I've ever heard," I laughed, holding my stomach.

"I was about to say, that's a peculiar name for a parrot," Steve continued, looking like he was regretting asking.

"He named himself. He's kind of the store mascot, thinks he's the boss." The cashier, Wendy her nametag read, said making the crazy sign with her finger where Marco couldn't see. Athena barked playfully, as we paid, eyeing Marco.

"Well good luck. We have a training class every Tuesday afternoon if you're interested."

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you!" I said as Steve picked up the bags, while I set Athena down to walk out. Athena wasn't scared of the sounds of the city as we walked back to the car, in fact she was so eager to explore, she just about wriggled out of her collar.

"Not so fast missy," I said, picking her up as we reached the car. Steve suggested the park, to let her play. Quickly finding the location of the dog park in Manhattan, Steve drove us, switching between petting Athena and holding my hand.

"She's gonna like you more," I pouted.

"I doubt that," Steve said, pointing out the wagging tail whenever I pet her.

"She likes my nails, they scratch her just right. She needs a bath after the park," I said as we came to a stop. Steve got out to help me out, and I tightened Athena's collar before putting her down. She wasn't too pleased that it was tighter, but got over it once she saw another dog. Pulling as much as she could, she tried to run up to meet another dog, which looked much older. She was gentle as she sniffed, and playfully swatted at the other dogs back. The other dog was basically ignoring Athena, but she was persistent.

"She kind of reminds me of you," I said, laughing as we crossed the road to the park.

"What?" Steve asked confused.

"Think about it, she's a Golden Retriever. You're shield looks like a giant Frisbee. If I could liken you to any kind of animal, I would say Golden Retriever, or a Lab," I laughed at his indignant look.

"Alright then," He said, dropping it. Laughing at Athena's pulling, I let out her retractable leash a bit. She was all too thrilled to walk farther ahead, smelling the grass.

"You need to drop me off at work for 12," I sighed, as Steve and I sat down. Athena was adorable about wanting to be held.

"I will watch her. You're only in for what, six hours?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's half a shift, but I am basically only doing consults right now. I'm booking my major surgeries for next week, so I won't be home as much. One is looking to be about 17 hours in the OR."

"Ouch, so I'll have food waiting for you when you get home afterwards." He joked.

"I'll have to wait for the patient to be stable before I can leave. Plus, it's also a teaching day for my residents. I have to walk them through the procedure as I make sure not to leave my patient without any motor function or the ability to talk. I'll show you the scan tonight, so you can understand just how big this tumor is."

"I'll be waiting with lotion for a foot massage then," he smiled as Athena introduced herself to another puppy.

"That would be glorious," I groaned, already dreading the consult.

"Why is the surgery so long?" Steve asked, sneakily feeding Athena a treat and making a bowl of water for her.

"It's what some would call an inoperable tumor. It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't know anatomy as detailed as doctors do. It starts right behind the right eye, and has mushroomed out to reach near the brain stem. If I'm not careful, I could not only paralyze him, but he could not be able to talk, or see."

"And this guy understands these are the risks?" Steve asked incredibly.

"We've gone over them several times. He has signed statements with previous doctors that were too scared to try. I told him I would. I'll be using quite a few methods, and I have to show him exactly what I'm doing."

"Wow," Steve said impressed, before looking at me proudly.

"What?" I asked, blushing.

"My girlfriend is a brain surgeon." He chuckled, kissing my temple. Before blushing, and saying, "Sorry, I'm assuming."

"My boyfriend is a superhero," I whispered in his ear sweetly. He laughed nervously, and Athena barked at us, as we were not paying attention to her.

"I'm sorry sweet girl," I said gently scratching behind her ears.

"You need to physically lift her from my arms," I said to Steve as we stood in the entrance to the hospital. Nurses were passing us, cooing at how small Athena was.

"But," Steve asked confused.

"Wait… I have an idea. I just need to run it by the head of Peds first," I said pulling out my phone and sending Gwen a quick text. She responded with, "HELL YEAH! The kids will love that. Plus I need to meet this hottie that your assistant told me about."

Laughing, I showed Steve, only for him to blush. Quickly walking inside and explaining things to the security guards, I showed Steve to the Peds floor.

"What is Peds?" He asked on the elevator ride.

"Pediatric surgery. From neo-natal to the age of 18, kids have their own floor." I said as the doors opened to one of my favorite floors.

"Wow," Steve said as I set down Athena. She sprinted forward, only to be pulled back by the leash.

"This isn't nearly as crazy as it gets." I laughed as Steve watched the remote controlled helicopters and blimp fish fly through the air. Some of the nurses were rolling patients to their rooms, and some down the hall. I followed the masses down the hall, with Steve right behind me. Hearing Gwen's voice I picked up Athena, allowing her to wriggle in my arms as we waited for the right moment to walk into the children's lounge.

"Some of you know Dr. Stark, our brain surgeon. You know our meat computers that reside in our heads? She fixes those around here, and today she has brought you all friend of hers to play with for a bit. Her name is Athena. She's soft, small and really likes to run. What kind of animal is she?" Dr. Gwen Diaz said, before all the kids yelled out their suggestions.

"Maybe if we heard the sound the animal makes, we can better guess what she is." Gwen said a little louder, knowing I was around the corner. I had told one of the nurses to tell her as the kids were yelling.

"Maybe if we call her name, she might talk to us!" One child suggested.

"Good idea Carlos. On the count of three we say "Athena!" One… two… three!"

"Athena!" they chorused. Athena of course responded back with a bark, before I set her down to run into the room. She took the freedom of being off her leash very well, running up to greet the kids.

"She's so fluffy!" One little girl giggled.

"Dr. Stark, she's yours?" One of the parents said.

"Yeah," I laughed, noticing how Athena was licking a lot of people.

"Mia, are you gonna introduce me to your friend?" Gwen said from beside me. Laughing I turned her to face Steve.

"Gwen this is my boyfriend Steve. Steve, this is Gwen Diaz, head of Pediatric surgery." I said as Steve held out his hand for Gwen to shake.

"Mia, you wouldn't be able to tell me if the Avengers could swing by one day to say hi to the kids. I know it would mean a lot to them." Gwen said sweetly, smiling expectantly at me. Hiding my smile behind my hand, Steve looked a little confused.

"I already promised one of my patient's that Hawkeye would come at her next check up." I said, not giving her hope, but making it seem like I would try. I didn't really want to discuss this here, especially in front of the kids that could overhear. Steve went to make sure that Athena wouldn't escape the room, and I was content to watch as he talked with some of the older kids. Athena was adorable with the kids, and when I noticed the time, I called her to me. She came running, waging her tail.

"Okay, Athena has to go home now. She needs a puppy nap," I said, clipping her leash on, as the children groaned.

"Hey, next Wednesday I might have an extra special surprise for you guys," I said making them smile. Looking up at Steve in a silent question, he nodded, mouthing, "I'll ask."

I saw Gwen's eyes widen and her mouth form an "O" as she saw the interaction. I shook my head and mouthed, "Don't' breathe a word." Getting my meaning that I would explain later, not in front of patients and the nursing staff, she nodded goodbye to Steve and followed another doctor down the hallway. Making her paw wave goodbye to the kids, I carried Athena out towards Steve.

"Can you make it back to the lobby from here? I can show you, I've got time."

"I can get there. Go save lives, be the brilliant, gorgeous doctor I know you are." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me towards himself.

"Well, take care of ou- I mean my girl." I said before mentally face palming myself.

"I will," he laughed, taking her from my arms, and kissing me sweetly.

"Bye sweet girl," I said, petting her head, and rubbing her ears.

"Say bye to mommy," Steve said to her as he backed away. She wiggled and whimpered as I backed away, breaking my heart. I waved one last time before turning to head and walking to my office. Gwen startled me by coming out of nowhere.

"Are you banging Captain America?"

"What?" I asked, unsure if Steve was keeping his identity hidden from the general public.

"You looked like you were asking him, which made me think he has to be one of the Avengers. I know he's not Ironman or Thor, which made me think he is either Hawkeye or Captain America. But Hawkeye is shorter, and has darker hair, so it must be the Avenger we haven't seen the face of, Captain America," She said conspiratorially.

"If you must know yes! But do not tell anyone. He likes his privacy, and I'm pretty sure there are secret agencies that can make people disappear if they found out too much. Like the Mafia, but more cloak and dagger." I said quietly as we entered the empty Attending's lounge.

"I'm so telling Gabby though. This is juicy stuff. How long have you been banging him?"

"If you must know," I whisper yelled, "When I first got to New York I went clubbing because my brother forgot to pick me up at the airport. The next morning I wake up with him in my hotel bed. He gives me his number and we part. I didn't see him for almost a month, until he showed up here at the hospital looking for me, yesterday. So I haven't been banging him since I first got to New York."

"Not even last night?" Gwen said, looking appalled.

"Funny enough, there are things to do other than sex. We talk. We aren't rushing things, which I'm grateful for." I said as I quickly slipped on my lab coat.

"Ready for today Dr. Stark?" Gabby said popping her head in the door.

"Yes I am. You just missed Athena. I'll meet you in the consult room Gabby." I said, smiling at the younger woman.

"I hope you have a picture," She said, before closing the door. I turned back to Gwen who said, "Please tell me he has a cute friend."

"You know what, I'll ask him for you," I laughed, before dashing from the room.