well, it's been a long time. and it's been a loooooot of veterinary rotations, and it's been one really huge board examination, but finally I'm back to writing. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and patient (as well as impatient:). Knowing you're out there so excited for this to come has been wonderful!

jaguarspot: you caught Agent Daniels! LOL. nicely done! (oh, and here is a proper welcome to the Hawkeye series! I can't believe you read so much so quickly! I am very happy you have loved all the moments)

tlyxor1: Here we are again! Get excited:)

WestonFollower: Prepare to be amazed! And, i do love adding those humorous scenes. I can't help it:)

Shannon K: Another one who loved that scene! thank you:)

Guest: Ohhhh Tony has plans of his own, rest assured...

Casey Storm: Steve was never a silly know-nothing. I mean how many false IDs did he make to try and get in the army? He's fantastic:) I'm so happy you like seeing him that way too. Thank you for all the support!

m klindt: 3 hours post NAVLE, and here we are! me and Clint together again:)

khaitosfren: HAHAHA, yes, yes. I went there. Toilet humor. Not common, but somedays totally necessary.

amy. .9: You've been waiting so long, and here it is!

Qweb: Awe, everyone loves Steve's brains:) That really makes me smile!

AvengerOfFiction: It is sooooo rare for me to end a chapter on a happy note. Occasionally I'm merciful though:) And thank you for all the compliments! it was really wonderful to read!

Niom Lamboise: Just wait until Tony finds out...unless he stays behind that is...hmmmm:)

discordchick: Thank you for all the fantastic support! I hope you love it!

Black' Victor Cachat: Yes, poor little Sam stuck in the crazy world! Welcome to the big leagues!

The Spoiled Duchess: hahahaha, crappy, :)

Batghost: Thank you! Let's get back to this thing! LOL

The bathroom scene is so hilarious! Great job in easing off the tension.

The Aftermath

Chapter 9

I couldn't believe my eyes. Steve walked into the room with his hands full of items, the smell of cheeseburgers floating in behind him. It was hard to tell whether I was hungry or deplored at the thought of food. Mostly I just hurt. My side hurt, the swollen knot on my face, where the big guy slammed into me hurt. I could see a purple and red bruise covering half of my wife's face. The sight alone got me struggling to rise. It hurt worse to get up, and the others heard it loud and clear. Steve tried to inspire me back down but I don't have a good track record with listening, usually when it was related to sound medical advice.

Laura stole the few stacks of pillows from the free bed and arranged them at my back. I had to sit sort of sideways, letting my shot through hip have less pressure than the other. I broke my tailbone once years back slipping on a patch of ice. I was just a kid at the time, but some pains you never really forget.

"Steve, I thought I was dreaming. When did you get here? How long have you known?" I asked. To my side, Laura punched a pillow into submission and slid it beneath my right butt cheek. It honestly felt so much better. I just wish she wouldn't strain like this over me.

"I came in about half an hour ago. Laura caught me up. Look, I had to bring in—"

My attention shifted. For some reason I was having trouble focusing. "Laura, stop dancing around. I'm fine. Did you sleep last night? Have you slept at all?"

She gave me a strained expression. A lashing was on its way. "Yes, I did. For about two hours right before I ran off in the woods to pee, shot at a man, went escaping in the dark with you, got into a car accident, watched our truck explode, kept you from bleeding to death as we shivered in the forest together, and hitchhiked here." Her look attention shifted from me to the captain. "I sure hope something in that bag is mine."

Steve smiled. He picked a Styrofoam box out of his bag and it exchanged hands over me. Laura popped the lid open and I watched her eyes expand happily. Sometimes it took a few weeks for her to stop eating for two. I reached out to Steve's arm and tugged his shirt sleeve.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"Remember that when you see-"

For a second time, Steve didn't get to finish. In that same moment, I noticed Sam for the first time. My mind was still fuzzy, and it took me a while to realize it might be because the meds Laura fed me. The second I saw Sam Wilson, I'll admit to losing it a little. I had one rule. All the Avengers knew it. My family is not put in jeopardy. No one knows about them that I don't bring in, personally. I was set and ready with hackles raised like a snarling dog to tear Steve a new one for letting Sam into the life that was decidedly mine, not his. Steve saw all of those emotions welling up and instantly cut me off before I even had a chance to open my mouth.

"I had no choice, it was either bring Sam in, or let him stay behind with HYDRA, exposed, and alone. So shut up, sit there, and stop moving around before I tie you down."

Finally I stopped. My eyes narrowed at the captain. "You know, if you didn't shoot at people, I'd be fine."

Steve smiled again. "You know what, you shouldn't run from crime scenes in the middle of the night and set your truck on fire."

He had me on that point. I considered laughing, but the potential pain of it prevented me from trying. "From now on, forever, I handle the Barton family secret, ok? Is it just the two of you?"

Sam figured I probably didn't have the strength to actually attack him. He came out of the little hallway and stood by the foot of my bed. I had nothing against Sam per se. He was a great guy, a solid friend, and one I trusted when situations got hairy. Sam even helped Natasha on that mission when the Triskelian fell, and she isn't exactly the friendliest flower in the pot. I'm just a control freak for some things. I watched as he stared at my wife in a curious, analytical way, then around the room. I waited for him to finish his assessment before addressing him.

"Jealous?" I asked.

Sam's eyes dropped on me. "That you got a normal life and us bozos are stuck picking up the pieces of ours? I can't keep a girlfriend interested for more than three weeks. You got a hot mama? Yeah, I'm a little jealous. Then again, a guy like you getting a girl like that, I think it gives hope to the rest of the world."

Laura almost snorted a French fry out of her nose. She held her hand over her mouth, smiling and chewing. "I have nearly tamed the savage beast. He learned to make ravioli."

"In a can," I added. "We can't stay here. Not with those men. Can you count out the HYDRA members?"

"There's one I'll vouch for," Steve said. "Name's Daniels. He worked with Sam and me when SHIELD fell. The entire team has assembled at a new base in Wyoming. Coulson has some enhanced beings out there. Inhumans he calls them."

This was a development I didn't expect. Working against SHIELD agents who were actually HYDRA I would understand, but dealing with enhanced was an entirely different matter. I'd seen the things that Wanda could do, and I knew full well how another Pietro might work out. If Coulson amassed a number of these individuals all under one SHIELD controlled roof, then I was going to start getting antsy.

"Why did Phil call you here?" Laura asked before I could.

"That's where things get interesting," Sam said. He folded his arms across his body and leaned to one side. "See, I took the call myself. Coulson was losing it. Freaked out of his mind. Said someone had attacked the base and if we didn't get out there in an hour, we'd have nothing left to find."

"Then how'd you get here?"

"That's where things got even more interesting. We showed up and the whole world is fine. Coulson says there is no problem. He lied to get us out here for some team bonding. I guess a lot of people didn't take too kindly to the Ultron stunt and he wanted Tony, and the rest of the Avengers, out of the limelight."

Laura looked sharply at me and I knew the exact reason why. On the surface it appeared as a legitimate excuse and something that Coulson, of all people, might pull. He had an unnatural sway with Tony, Steve and the rest of us and that made us indulge him more often than we probably should. How Tony Stark ever got into a car and agreed to a trip through nature didn't make any sense to me. It was against Tony's every principle. It only took five minutes of being in my house before Tony started a wood chopping competition with Steve and nearly brought my tractor to life. Nature and Stark did not mix. So why did he even agree to come?

Then there was Natasha. Where the hell was she? I get we had a little tiff when I left and she didn't come, and when my baby was a guy instead of a girl, but we were still best friends. At that, she held great respect for Phil though not as much as Fury. Where Coulson was involved, Natasha was too. So where was my best friend?

The biggest question I had of all was the one glaring issue Sam and Cap seemed to not even realize stood in front of them. Laura and I had just messaged Phil not four nights ago at a truck stop south of the state border. We arranged for him to drop by Laura's parents and check on the kids. We liked his impartial view on the state of our children's well being over what Jackson Jamison Smith allowed us to know. Before I lost my cell phone in an unscheduled fiery truck explosion, we had called Coulson to check in. He was in Columbus and passed the phone to Lila so she could tell me all about how she planned to teach Odin how to rider her new pony Sleiphner. How my six year old knew the name of an eight legged horse of Asgard, I don't can't even fathom. Cooper enjoyed his summer vacation by going fishing every morning with Grandpa Smith. Phil held my baby when we talked, I could hear Nathan's happy, healthy, coo through the earpiece.

Phil Coulson was not in Wyoming.

And if Phil Coulson did not call the Avengers to the base in Wyoming, then who did?

annnnnd

there's your cliff hanger:)

hopefully I'll be able to start pumping out more chapters son! i legit have NOOO idea how this story is ending. yet.