Tessa returned to work and continued to act as if nothing had happened. Which wasn't easy, when her co-workers kept coming up to her asking if she was okay. Or worse ignoring the fact completely and offering her the sympathetic "we feel so sorry for you" kind of look. Despite the constant reminders, the Doctor had a lot of work to catch up on, cataloguing session recordings, filing reports and responding to emails. Most nights she would still find herself in her office late into the night, and didn't have much time to worry about it. She had only been away for a week and yet it seemed like her section couldn't function without her. On the rare occasion that she was afforded a break at lunch, the young woman decided to spend it in the canteen with her co-workers. It was a great place to socialise and network. Most people tended to eat in there and conduct some form of informal business meetings or another.

One day as Tessa picked up her food tray from the conveyer belt and looked around for a spare seat, she was lucky and able to find one outside on the balcony. The hungry woman placed her tray down on the table and began to pull her seat out when she realised she had left her cutlery at the cashier desk. Tessa turned quickly not looking where she was going and bumped straight into Simon,

"Easy Tess!" He chuckled.

"Sorry." The shocked doctor shrieked. She looked down at his white pressed shirt and realised she had spilled coffee all down it. Tessa grabbed wildly for a napkin off her tray and thrust it into her ex's hand.

"Don't worry about it. How are you?" Simon asked seemingly concerned.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" She fussed.

"Yeah no problem, I have another shirt in my office. Can I join you?"

"Oh! Of course."

The former boyfriend sat down at the table and Tessa couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. Simon had shown zero interest in her since their split and here he was, drenched in coffee sitting with the klutz that spilled it on him.

"What's up?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, can't a guy sit down to lunch with a colleague." Simon replied charmingly.

"Sure, I'm sorry."

"Tessa? Come on tell me honestly, how are you?" The Doctor lowered his voice staring at his ex sincerely.

"I'm fine." Tessa softened. She couldn't believe how kind Simon was being. He seemed to show her genuine concern and it made her warm to him. She had no doubt that he would have heard about the altercation between her and Bucky and it did him credit that he was looking out for her well being. Despite all his pomp and circumstance and complexes, Tessa would have been remiss to forget that Simon Turner did have his good points. For a Beta he could be well in tune with people, which made him a good Doctor.

"You're a reckless one, Tessa Martin." Simon joked playfully.

Tessa cocked her head at his statement as she began to unfold another napkin into her lap.

"I told you not to trust that one didn't I?"

That warm fuzzy feeling vanished immediately from the pit of Tessa's stomach, and she grabbed at the plastic wrapping of her tuna sandwich.

"Is this the I told you so conversation Simon? Because believe me there's no need."

"Not at all!" He attempted to sound honest before taking a sip of what was left of his coffee.

"That's a lie." The Doctor thought. She continued to tear through the packaging of her lunch and then pierced the top of her diet soda before bringing it to her lips.

"I hope Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark have decided to finally give Barnes his marching orders?" Simon carried on scathingly.

Tessa hesitated before she responded and her ex eyeballed her in amazement.

"You don't intend on working with him do you? Not after what he did? That shows a clear lapse in judgment on your part,"

"Actually, I've already recommended that you take over his treatment." She interrupted. Tessa knew the moment he heard the news, his ego and own self-admiration would swell, ending his lecture.

"Me? Why?"

"Despite the fact your head is so far up your arse, I don't think even you can fuck this one up." She thought but replied more tactfully,

"I think you'll do a good job."

"Well, it would mean a lot of extra work and any preliminaries you've done will have to be repeated of course."

"Of course." Tessa replied sarcastically. The man was unbelievable.

"Right, I better... you know." The inflated man gestured to leave with his head.

"Good Day, Doctor Turner."

Simon left his ex exhausted at the table. Any interaction with that man was hard work, even giving him good news. However glad Tessa was the conversation was over, there was still one more to be had. She bit into her sandwich and tossed it back onto the tray as her appetite was suddenly gone.

The Doctor walked nervously into the "Avengers" living area that evening. Her security clearance and pass granted her access to any part of the tower, but this was one place that she rarely visited. She had been invited there before obviously, for one of the many parties and gatherings that the team threw every now and then. But this was the first time Tessa had been there without a formal invitation. She had spoken to Tony that morning, about her making an unscheduled visit and he suggested meeting there may have been the best place. She learned from Natasha that Bucky would most likely be found by the pool table, ever since his reappearance in the tower he spent a lot of time hanging out there, whether by himself or with a willing opponent.

Bucky hadn't flinched when the melodic and mechanical whirring of the living room doors filled the air as Tessa walked in. People were constantly coming or going from meetings, training and missions that the place was usually a hubbub of noise and movement. He hit the cue ball and watched it as it cracked into the pyramid of coloured balls sending them across the table in different directions. Tessa announced her appearance with a small cough and watched as Bucky's face changed from curiosity to concern when he saw whom it was standing at the bottom of the steps. The soldier leant on the cue as he cautiously watched the Doctor walk up the glass steps to the maisonette.

"If you're looking for Steve, he's out." Bucky said guarded.

"I know. I was looking for you actually. Do you have a minute?"

Bucky placed the cue on the rest and leant back against the table edge, folding his arms over his chest as the Doctor walked carefully toward him. Tessa couldn't help but notice how his slub top seemed to strain over his chest as he crossed his arms and mentally removed the image from her mind.

"I wanted you to know that I've been taken off your case." Tessa said stoically, "Tony and Steve think it would be best if you were handled by a different case worker, another Doctor."

"Handled?" The soldier said suspiciously.

"For your assessments."

"Oh? Well I suppose I should have expected that. When will that be?"

"I'm not sure. I just thought It'd be best if I were the one to tell you. I didn't want you to think that this is because of what happened...the other night."

"It's not?" He said curiously.

"Okay, it is. But I wanted you to hear from me rather than some lab coat." Tessa came to stand next to Bucky har hands resting on the edge of the pool table.

Bucky looked at the Doctor from the side and relished the way her back arched as she leant on the table. Tessa could sense he was looking and so turned to face him straight on, mimicking his stance. She breathed in deeply whether to steady her nerves or to smell him more clearly she couldn't tell. Perhaps it was a little of both. The young Omega was glad that Tony had suggested the living room for their impromptu chat, as the scents of the dozens of people that frequented the space helped water down the super-soldiers pheromones. Bucky thought the same, but couldn't quell the pang in his stomach when he couldn't pick out her delicious scent from the lingering smell of old takeout, beer and body odor. As the case was, bottom line he knew it was a good thing.

"I am sorry Doc', about the other night." Bucky said softly and sincerely.

"I know." Tessa- despite Tony's advice- was still being hard on herself for her own bad judgement that night.

"You do?"

"It's not just Alpha's that can sense things you know. Us Omega's are pretty good at reading people to." She said confidently.

"I bet you are." Bucky said whilst flashing her a gallant smile. He coughed himself back to his senses and asked, "So who will I be working with from now on?"

Tessa walked away from him when he asked that question, for in the back of her mind was Steve's confession about Bucky's feelings for Simon. She thought carefully how to put it,

"It's a man. Graduated top of his class, an excellent practitioner and will review your case thoroughly," She began as if listing of his qualities would assuage her mind.

"Who is it?"

"Doctor Turner." Tessa rubbed the back of her arms as goosebumps prickeld over her skin as she spoke, "He's the best on my team, a fair mind. He will be good for you,"

"Oh Tessa please! Let it be anyone, someone else. Not him." Bucky turned away from the Doctor and balled his fists at his sides.

Not liking his hostility towards her and the way he over familiarly used her name Tessa shouted back, "Mr Barnes,"

"Bucky! My name is Bucky. Why him?"

"Simon is,"

"A asshole." Bucky spat.

"How could you possibly know that?" The annoyed woman argued just as angrily.

Bucky walked away from the Omega, her scent changed enticingly as she began to get wound up. He leant on the pool table with his hands, the way she had done moments earlier but found that his fingers gripped the polished wood more tightly than before.

"God you only have to look at him to get the measure of him. With his fancy suits and accent and the way he struts about this place."

Talking about this Omega's former "mate" grated on Bucky's nerves. To think that at some point he had put his hands on her, touched her intimately and lain with her.

"How could you have dated that jerk?" Bucky said incredulously.

"Excuse me?" Tessa replied indignantly.

"He's a Beta for christ's sake."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Doctor refolded her hands and stuck out her hip and head to the side. A stance of utter annoyance.

"Your an Omega, you're meant to be with," He stopped but wanted so desperately to say, "me".

"Look we are not having this conversation. You have no right to judge whom I see. You are not my father or brother and definitely not my,"

Tessa had closed the gap between them in her frustration and was pointing an accusatory finger to Bucky's chest.

"Your what?"

"Just forget it! I only came here out of professional courtesy, clearly that was a mistake."

"Clearly!" Bucky mimicked.

Tessa left the Avengers living room more confused and flustered than when she arrived. She didn't exactly expect the conversation with Bucky to be an easy one, granted but certainly not for the reasons she was leaving now. When she had walked into the living space she had thought there would be an uneasy tension, or embarrassment between them after what happened in her bungalow. The truth was there seemingly wasn't and the Doctor was almost certain Bucky had been flirting with her, and she back. However, when she had mentioned Simon and his soon to be working relationship with the super-soldier, she couldn't be sure but thought she had sensed jealousy permeating from Bucky. Why would he be jealous? Tessa and Simon were long over and she and Bucky meant nothing to each other. The Doctor was perplexed and painfully annoyed