A/N: In another thrilling turn of events, I continue to not be dead, so much so that I managed to churn out another chapter right before school starts back up. My longest chapter yet! Plus I have the first couple paragraphs of the next chapter done (a really good strategy for keeping up writing momentum) so I'm feeling good.

There will be a couple more of these kind of "day-by-day in SHIELD" chapters to get Adina fully settled, and then I'll probably start jumping a bit farther for each one - skipping weeks or months in some cases – until we hit other movie timelines. I will let you know when to really keep an eye on the dates though!

Disclaimer: Still don't own MCU or X-Men, just Adina and other OCs.

Please Review! :D

Calling Dr. Halloway

…When you decide not to be afraid, you can find friends in super unexpected places. ~Ms. Marvel

June 2011
S.H.I.E.L.D. Central
New York

Hello Dr. Halloway,

Thanks for your quick response, I'm relieved to hear that. I appreciate you and the team at S.H.I.E.L.D. looking out for Tony.

P.S. If he keeps something like this from me again, he won't live that long.

Regards,
Pepper Potts
Stark Industries, CEO

Adina smiled at the last bit of Pepper's e-mail in response to her message that had assured her Tony's blood work was clean and he would "live a long, healthy and hopefully uninterrupted life". She'd spent most of her morning answering e-mails and archiving serum variations that she'd marked "useless" or "dangerous", making sure to copy any valid information into her own personal files. It was a habit she picked up after the disaster that was the Bio-Force Enhancement Project. When the Hulk was created, the government and military seized nearly all of their research, leaving several scientists with no answers. It was a vulnerable position Adina never wanted to find herself in again, so ever since she had made a point of keeping her most important research close.

A loud beeping noise emanating from the new phone Coulson had given her interrupted her work. Jumping at the sound, she scrambled to answer it, finding instead a message notification flashing on the screen:

S.H.I.E.L.D. Central
Report to Infirmary
Patients: 1
Condition: Serious but stable

In all honesty, her position as medical specialist had somewhat slipped her mind. Tony Stark's house call was a mild and isolated incident miles away from the base, and tending to Clint a week prior felt more like a check-up. It had been at little over a year since she had been needed as an actual surgical doctor in any capacity, but she still sprung into action quickly, speeding across the hall to the infirmary.

The infirmary was essentially another hallway in itself. Beyond the automatic doors there were a couple of desks with computers and monitors mounted on them. The beginning of the hallway resembled an emergency room, with several beds lining the walls and curtain separations hanging above them. Farther back were two spacious operating rooms outfitted with what she could only assume was some of the best technology the world had to offer. The end of the hall held several private recovery rooms, continuing around a corner.

Upon entering the infirmary, Adina was met by three medical staff members, none of whom she recognized. Her movements came naturally as she went through the motions of the operating room, scrubbing up at one of the stations.

She turned to the nearest medic. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Two agents returning from a field assignment, they're on their way down now," the woman she'd asked responded in a clear, confident voice. She was tall and thin, with short blond hair somewhat visible through her sheer white scrub cap. She turned her attention to a holographic screen that appeared to be receiving live information about the incoming agent's condition. "One reported uninjured, the other suffered ballistic trauma to the right shoulder and leg, blunt trauma to the head."

Adina nodded. A couple of bullet wounds and a knock to the head were pretty basic to her. One of the assistants, a Latino man who couldn't have been much younger than herself, helped her into a sterile gown and cap. The infirmary doors opened just as she finished pulling on her gloves.

Two agents wheeled in the injured man, a third following by his side keeping pressure on his shoulder wound. He was quickly moved into the operating room and onto the table, groaning at the pain.

Orders were flying out of Adina's mask-covered mouth the moment he was down. "Clothes off and get him under anesthesia," she paused to check his head wound, "no hard sedatives, he might have a concussion."

She addressed her patient. "Can you tell me your name, sir?"

"Dan Monroe," he said easily, aside from a loud grunt when her fingers applied pressure to his head. "Watch where you're poking there, Doc."

"Just doing my job, Agent Monroe," she replied calmly.

Two of her medics got to work cutting off the man's sleeve and pant leg while the third prepared the anesthesia. Adina dismissed the agents who had wheeled him in with a quick nod, but the third man stayed by his side, still keeping pressure on his shoulder wound. A young Black man with a slim but muscular build, he gave off waves of concern for what was clearly his partner laying on the table.

"You're gonna be fine, man," he said, trying to comfort the man.

"Yeah, yeah, just another day at the office right?" Agent Monroe joked as one of the medics put his mask on and the anesthesia started to kick in.

Deeming it safe for now, Adina came away from Monroe's head wound to look at his shoulder, turning to his partner. "I'll need you to take a step back, Agent."

He did as he was told and Adina replaced her hand where his had been. She removed the wet bandage he'd been holding to Monroe's shoulder to find a bloody but uninfected wound. She concentrated and allowed herself to sense the man's injuries while still focusing on his shoulder, mentally reaching across his nervous system to find nothing intrusive in his leg wound either. "The bullet's been removed," she noted.

"Yes ma'am," the agent behind her responded quickly. "Didn't have much to clean the wounds with though."

"That's alright, it's still helpful," she replied, somewhat surprised that he'd tended to the man himself. "You can wait outside, Agent, we've got it from here."

The man nodded and left the operating room. Adina quickly set to work on Monroe's shoulder wound while she had the other medics clean the small abrasion on his head and prepare his leg for stitching. They conducted themselves professionally, taking her orders without question while still giving her space to work. Her lack of familiarity with the staff surrounding her was inconsequential, she could heal a single patient easily on her own, it wouldn't have mattered if she was given an assistant who was missing both his hands. But she chose not to use her abilities, and not because the small paranoid voice in the back of her head told her to keep them on the down low. Well, not entirely. Truthfully, she enjoyed moments like these where she could use her genuine intellect to heal people, and not just her powers. She was naturally a healer, but really working at it meant something to her, and she could use the practice. Agent Monroe was by no means dying, and she was an excellent doctor – she was sure even if he knew about her powers he could forgive her for doing things the traditional way.

Besides, she was only treating the superficial stuff by hand. Adina's quick mental investigation of his body told her that he did suffer a concussion, and his humerus was fractured from the bullet wound in his shoulder. The post-OP x-rays would tell them that, but she intended to take care of those herself.

She talked to the three medics intermittently as they finished working several minutes later. Donna Reiner, the tall woman who had briefed her earlier, was a certified medic like the young man cleaning Monroe's head wound, who had introduced himself only as "Perez" (what she assumed to be a last name). The third assistant monitoring the anesthesia, Carter Yuan, informed her that he was actually a technician and communications officer, but had chosen to assist in medical simply because he preferred it. All three stated they had Level 5 clearance like her.

"A lot of the scientists and mechanics are Level 5," Donna explained, "it's usually the highest rank we can get, with some exceptions."

"I'm glad for it, honestly," Carter added, removing Monroe's gas mask. "I'm comfortable where I am."

Adina nodded, switching topics back to her patient as they finished. "Let's move him to recovery so he can rest. He'll need a blood transfusion, do we know his type?"

"Personnel file says AB positive," Carter replied.

"Alright, I'll check with his partner. Can you three handle moving this guy?"

"Not a problem, Dr. Halloway," Perez replied, the others nodding in agreement as they brought up a gurney to lift Monroe onto.

Adina left the operating room to find Monroe's partner waiting patiently in a nearby chair. Upon seeing her he rose quickly to meet her halfway.

"What's the word on him?" he asked.

"He's fine," she answered with a smile, removing her bloodied gloves and mask. "We're taking him to recovery now, but he needs a blood transfusion. AB positive is a universal recipient so—"

"Yeah, I can do it," the Agent was already shedding his jacket to give access to his arm. "I'm O negative anyways, universal donor."

"That must come in handy," Adina commented, leading him to one of the open beds in the emergency room.

"Sure, until I'm the one who needs the transfusion," he joked, "then try finding a compatible volunteer."

"Yeah, it doesn't work both ways unfortunately," Adina laughed, sitting him down on the bed and preparing her tools. "You seem to be doing a good job of not getting hit though Agent…"

"Antoine Triplett," he introduced himself, shaking her hand before she put on a new pair of sterile gloves. She let her hand linger a moment as she tried to sense any signs of injury, but aside from a few aches and bruises he was fine. "You can call me Trip."

"Nice to officially meet you Trip. I'm Dr. Halloway." Adina inserted the needle and hooked the IV into his arm. "You did a good job extracting those bullets from your partner."

"Med-tech training pays off in the long run, am I right?" he said proudly.

"Couldn't agree more."

"I wish I wouldn't have had to patch him up in the first place, though. I don't like sending him home all beaten up like that, you know?"

"Trust me I know, but you did what you could and he's gonna be fine." After several moments Adina removed the IV from his arm and prepared the bag while he stood. "Does he have any family? Anyone we need to contact?"

"Yeah, but I'll take care of it. His son's visiting the grandparents, I'll look in on them after my debrief."

At the mention of Monroe having a child, Adina felt a small pang of guilt for having left the man with simply sutured wounds that would scar. It's fine, that's normal medicine. That's what people expect: you're wounded, doctor patches you up, you have a few scars. Don't dwell on it.

Carter arrived briefly to take the blood back to the recovery room and hook it up to an IV. Trip gave him a curt nod as he put his jacket back on.

"I'm supposed to ask you to stick around for a few minutes in case you pass out or something," Adina told him.

Agent Triplett rolled his eyes and groaned. "C'mon girl…"

Adina laughed at his reluctance. "But I suppose if you promise to at least stay within the facility for the next 30 minutes, I can let you go start on that debrief."

Trip smiled and pointed at her. "I like you, Doc. I'll be back to check on Monroe sometime soon."

She smiled and waved at him as he left the infirmary.

An hour later, Adina stood in Monroe's recovery room watching him rest. She had thanked her team for their good work before dismissing them to their regular duties, assuring them that she would check in on the patient by herself. A quick look at Monroe's personnel file elaborated on what Trip had already told her – he was a single father with a 3-year-old son at home. Her soft spot for children made her feel pathetic sometimes, but she wanted this boy to have his dad back as soon as possible. She had scheduled Monroe for x-rays in a few hours because that was the protocol, but if they found the concussion or fractured bone he would surely be stuck in the infirmary much longer than he probably wanted. So, she took matters into her own hands.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, Adina leaned over him to rest her hands on either side of his head. Her mind focused as she carefully eased the pain in his skull. The human brain was fascinatingly fragile yet complex, and she was thankful that the injury was something simple. She'd tried rewiring part of a brain once, but after several tries she made little progress and had to give up or risk hurting herself in her efforts.

When she deemed the head trauma sufficiently healed, she moved onto his shoulder, mending the bone with practiced precision. It was exciting to find that, once finished, she wasn't left drained or shaking and still had energy to continue. Which left her with the conundrum of whether or not she should heal his bullet wounds or leave them be. Hesitant, Adina moved her hand back to his shoulder wound, but drew back quickly, conflicted.

"Go ahead," an unwelcome male voice encouraged, "I, for one, would love to see how it works."

Adina turned and stood abruptly from her spot to find Director Fury standing in the doorway in all his dark, ominous glory. Most of her encounters with the Director seemed to involve him popping up out of the shadows or calling on her unexpectedly, usually adorned in his trademark black trench coat that was surprisingly not part of today's ensemble. She wasn't so much frightened or intimidated this time around as irritated.

"Well?" he asked, entering the room and letting the door close behind him.

"Maybe I don't want an audience," Adina said, crossing her arms and watching him coldly.

To her confusion, Director Fury let out a sigh and took a seat in the nearby visitor's chair. "I think you and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot, Doctor."

"What gave you that idea?" she asked sarcastically. No, she didn't like the Director much. He'd made her watch the Hulk's destruction and tried to have her interrogate Dr. Sterns, she wasn't sure how else to react to his manipulation tactics other than with distaste.

"Call it instinct," Fury replied. "The point is you don't trust me."

"Where's this little revelation coming from?"

"Agent Coulson briefed me on your visit with Mr. Stark – congratulations on making it through that, by the way. He told me about your little chat on the plane, how you feel like S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't give you all the answers you need, that you figure you 'can't hide away forever'? I need you to understand that you don't have to, not here. You've taken precautions to protect yourself and I respect that, but we're the good guys Dr. Halloway, you don't need to hide from us."

It was a tough idea to swallow, because hiding had always proven itself to be a good strategy. Xavier's had taken her in as a child, and she'd lived in that haven for years. But in all her adult life she had never come across a place where she felt safe to use her abilities without being discriminated against or attacked or experimented on. Now the offer was just sitting there in front of her.

"You have to know that it's hard for me to just accept that things are different here. I mean, I know you know about my mutation but how can I be sure that—"

"I'm gonna stop you there, Doctor," Fury interrupted. "The knowledge of your… healing abilities? Those are on file, clearance level 5. Any agent level 5 or higher could access it if they wanted to. Some probably already have - your medical team, for example. You're trying to keep a secret from people who already know. I know who to trust, and I can assure you that S.H.I.E.L.D. is secure - nothing is so much as whispered outside this organization without my say so."

Fury stared her down with his good eye, waiting while Adina digested the revelation he'd just thrown at her. Her secret wasn't his to tell, and her privacy felt violated. Fury was a strategist - he was pushing her into unknown territory, but perhaps the push was what she needed. She never would have told all these people on her own. Now, some of them already knew, and yet so far no one had said anything. There was a hierarchy here, order that was being maintained through respect – people knew about her and weren't treating her differently. They let her do her job in peace.

After considering Fury's words, Adina turned back to her patient and unwrapped his shoulder bandage to reveal the stitched wound. Fury leaned forward for a closer look as she removed the stitches and focused on healing the damage. She watched the muscle and skin weave itself back together as she ordered it too. Eventually Fury's one-eyed gaze landed on her face, no doubt watching her violet eyes brighten with an unnatural glow as she used her power freely.

"I told Agent Barton that 'empathic regeneration' is what I like to call it," she explained while she worked, "but the technical term would be vitakinesis – the ability to manipulate the human body's regenerative cycle." She finished Monroe's shoulder and moved to his leg.

"Can you heal anything?" Fury inquired.

"I have my limits," Adina replied, mending her patient's leg wound. "Cancers and diseases can be very difficult, and severe brain injuries. As far as I know I can't regrow entire limbs, and the person has to be the least bit alive for me to be able to heal them. To be honest though, I've never pushed myself any farther than I need, and I hope I never have to. I don't want to find out…"

"You don't want to know how powerful you are?" Fury asked carefully as she pulled away from her now healed patient.

"I don't want to kill myself trying," Adina said quietly.

Fury looked over the agent in fascination, his wounds now seamless patches of healthy skin. If it weren't for the occasional bit of dirt marring his skin, you wouldn't have known he was in a fight at all. He eased back in his chair. "Well it looks like what you can do is still quite impressive."

"Sometimes I think I got pretty lucky in the mutation department. At least it lets me help people."

"And what about the other one?"

Adina straightened and looked at the Director. "I was wondering how much you knew about that."

"From what I've been able to tell after interviewing Agent Damais," Fury continued, "you have another ability that involves persuasion of some kind. When I asked him why he led you to my office he told me – and I quote – 'because she asked me to'."

Adina nodded, remembering the young agent she had taken advantage of to get an audience with Fury during the Hulk incident. "It's not exactly persuasion. Though if I use it a certain way it can certainly appear so."

"What then?" Fury asked.

"Pathokinesis: empathy. Sensing and manipulating emotions."

"You can control what people are thinking?"

Adina shook her head. "No. What they're feeling."

Fury seemed to consider her words. Adina spoke again before he could make any decisions.

"I'm willing to give this trust thing a chance with S.H.I.E.L.D., but my empathy is something I'd rather keep as quiet as possible."

"And why is that?" he asked suspiciously.

Adina took a deep breath and continued. "People tend to be pretty wary about a person they think can 'control their minds' or 'hear their thoughts', no matter how much I explain it to them. I want to be able to do my job without people being constantly suspicious of me. I'm asking you to trust me too. I won't endanger anyone with it but I'll be more comfortable if it's left off my file."

Fury watched her as though trying to detect any sort of deception in her words. After a few moments, he spoke. "S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have a lot of belief in psychics, Dr. Halloway. The potential ones we've encountered have never been confirmed. Frankly if I did add it to your file, the majority here would probably dismiss it as another false or unproven case."

He stood from his chair and she followed suit. "For now, it stays between you and me." He extended his hand for her to take.

She knew it wasn't kindness, knew it was some kind of strategy on his part, but still Adina felt relieved and released the breath she realized she'd been holding. "Thank you," she said, shaking his offered hand.

Fury gave her patient one last look. "It's good to have you here, Doctor. You're quite the asset."

Adina left the infirmary only to find someone standing at her office door. Despite his back being turned towards her, she recognized Clint immediately, his light brown hair spiked up towards the front and a S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical jacket covering his back. She watched from her spot across the hall with amusement as he raised his hand to knock on her door for what clearly wasn't the first time.

"Doc, you in there?" he called, straining to hear a response.

"I don't think she's in right now," Adina answered in a mocking tone. Clint spun around to find her watching him.

"You sure?" he asked without missing a beat, looking back at the door. "Cause she rarely leaves. I'm 90% sure she lives in there." He turned back to her with an amused look.

Adina deadpanned, walking the small distance across the hall to meet him. "Very funny. Except you've driven me home before."

"Ah, but how do I know that wasn't just a safe house?" he asked almost seriously, if it weren't for the smug smirk he couldn't quite keep off of his face.

She rolled her eyes. "Is there something you need, Clint? You know, the reason you were knocking on my door?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see how your vacation went," he replied.

"Well considering it was – and I believe I mentioned this before – not a vacation, it was awful. But thanks for asking." Adina moved to return to her office but Clint caught her arm.

"No, hey, you're not disappearing back into the void right now. Come on, take a break." He pulled her gently away from her door, leading her down the hall instead.

"I have work to do, Clint," she voiced, though she didn't resist his hold.

"I promise it'll be there when you get back," he said, giving her a look of fake reassurance before breaking out into a smile. "It's fine, we'll find something fun to do. I'll give you a tour, how's that?"

Adina sighed in defeat, falling in step beside him. She'd hate to admit it but a tour was probably a good idea considering how easily one could get lost in this building. Though she had to wonder if Clint's offer was genuine or just an excuse to let him drag her around with him. (Likely the latter.)

"Don't you have some kind of job you should be doing?" she asked.

"Probably. But tour first."

A/N: On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of knowing about medical stuff I rank somewhere around a 2 so I'm pretty damn proud of myself for making it this far. High five for research. Also shout out to my friend who has broken so many bones that I know what a humerus is (it's the long bone that runs from your shoulder to elbow by the way.)

Marvel Notes: A few Agents of SHIELD refs in this one again (because yes this fic will involve AoS territory what with all the SHIELD stuff). Trip is another fave of mine and I love that I can kind of develop him in this fic. Also I get to use "c'mon girl…" and it gives me feels. His partner Dan Monroe (and Dan's kid) and his medic training are all canon, but the 3 other medics are my OCs. And Agent Damais. Poor kid. I should bring him back sometime so he can redeem himself from being "that one guy who got manipulated". Tough luck, buddy. :P

Also yay Clint is back and next chapter is lots of Clint yayyyyy. :)

As you know I love reviews! And thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! :D