Time passed, and quite a bit. Winter made its way into spring, and now it was a week or so into June, so summer was on its way. Nothing was really out of the ordinary. The two couples were hard at work. Scott and Hope kept an eye on the news channel quite often to see if there were any crimes to stop, while also balancing work. Jack was continuing with his hard work at Pym Tech. Becca was working, too, but not nearly as much as usual. She was thirty-six weeks pregnant and basically on baby watch… and boy, was she uncomfortable now.

Within the last week, her frequent urges to run to the bathroom returned, much to her dismay. Her belly was enormous, now, and Porter moved nonstop. No longer were his movements those cute little flutters. Now they were punches and kicks to her ribs, even putting her out of breath sometimes. On the bright side, she and Jack had finished shopping for baby things, getting him a crib, a car seat, among other things. It was nice to know those things were done and out of the way. All they wanted now was to have their son in their arms. Only a month left.

Meanwhile, Scott and Hope visited Hank and Janet often, usually for lunch or for training practice for the former couple. Today wasn't any different. They sat around the living room, drinking tea and making small talk, when something strange happened. A knock came to the door. The four looked at each other weirdly, and then there was another knock. Scott, since he was closest to the entrance to the foyer, got up to go answer it. Nothing could have prepared him for who was on the other side.

There at the front door stood a man and a woman. And not just any man and woman. Scott recognized these two. He couldn't place the names, but he knew the faces. However, there was only one thing on his mind. Avengers.

The man spoke first. "Scott Lang?"

Scott couldn't find his words. "Uh, nope." Seriously, Lang?

"Liar," the woman said right off the bat.

The man, Clint Barton, glanced at the redhead for a moment before he looked back at Scott, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "You're not gonna pass out, are you?"

"Nope," Scott said again. God, why was that his only coherent word?

"Okay, good," Clint nodded, still giving him a strange look. "Listen, can we come in for a second?"

"Nope."

The woman started getting impatient. "Is this seriously the guy that Sam sent us to find?"

"Be nice, Wanda," Clint said.

That was when Scott could speak a full sentence. "Wait, the Falcon sent you?" Oh, no, that wasn't good.

"Oh, he can speak!" Wanda fake-gasped.

Hearing everything, Hope stood up, immediately on edge hearing the Falcon mentioned. "Shit," she whispered. "Mom, go downstairs, just in case."

Janet nodded and went to sneak downstairs, Hank going with her at first. While they were going, Hope went to the front door, shocked to see that Clint Barton and Wanda Maximoff standing there on the other side. She stayed out of sight at first.

"Look, I'm sorry about the whole break-in at the base, okay?" Scott quickly tried to defend himself.

Clint held up his hands. "Don't worry, that's not why we're here."

"Well, it sort of is," Wanda corrected, making Scott's heart leap into his throat for a split second.

"Look, we need you for a mission. Today." Clint decided it was enough of beating around the bush, so he got to his point.

Scott only stared at them. No words left him.

Wanda pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, not this again."

"Am I being punked, or something?" Scott finally spoke up.

"What?" Wanda raised a brow.

"Don't worry about it, Wanda," Clint assured her.

That was when Hope came into view. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Clint and Wanda were not expecting to see someone else there. Scott gulped. "Yeah, everything's fine," he said.

"Okay, well, do you want to come in?" Hope looked to the other two. She didn't trust them whatsoever, but she wanted them to lower their guard at least somewhat. She even opened the door wider for them.

The two nodded, and they entered the house. As they did, Hank was coming back from the training room. The second he saw who the guests were, he fumed.

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "No, no Avengers in here." He started to shoo them out.

Wanda growled. "Are you fucking serious? Now we have to deal with him, too?"

"Wanda, be polite," Clint said calmly. "Dr. Pym, we're here because we need Scott for a little."

"Hell no," Hank shook his head, continuing to lead them out of the house. "I don't want any of my work anywhere near the Starks. No. No, way."

Clint remained calm. "Well, the thing is, we need Scott because Captain America needs him. We're fighting against the Starks."

This caught the old man's attention immediately. "Wait, seriously?"

Both Clint and Wanda nodded. Hope didn't like where this was going, but Scott was really excited upon hearing that Captain America needed him. Holy shit, Captain America needed him!

Hank sighed after a moment and glanced to Scott. "Kick some Stark ass, Scott."

"What?" Hope gaped.

"Thank god," Wanda spoke under her breath.

"I'll go get the suit," Scott began, but Hope grabbed his arm. "What?"

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked him. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Wait, what's the problem?" Clint wondered.

Hope glanced at him with determination. "If he's going, I'm coming, too."

"What?" Wanda raised a brow again.

"Yeah, she has a suit, too," Scott explained.

"Well, she doesn't have clearance," Clint said.

Hope glared. "Look, I've been the Wasp for months and have been able to kick Scott's ass for an even longer time," she proclaimed.

Wanda let out a groan. "We don't have time for this. He's coming, you're staying." She then glanced to Clint. "Can I wipe her memory, or something?"

"There's no need for that," Clint had her stand down.

"No, no, no brain-wiping needed!"

Hope glowered at Scott. "What the hell, Scott?"

"Trust me, babe, you don't want to mess with her. She's got crazy weird mind-magic powers and could take us out from across the state."

"I can just take you out now and drag you with us if you want," Wanda added. "But I'd rather have you walk so your weight doesn't slow us down."

"Wait, how do you know so much about them?" Hope shot another glance to her boyfriend.

Scott gulped. "They're the avengers! Of course I learn everything I can about them… for uh, research."

She grumbled. "You're such a fanboy."

Then, she felt Hank's hand take hold of her shoulder. "Hope, let them go," he ordered. "Scott, go get the suit."

The younger man nodded and went down to get the suit as told. Clint and Wanda went to go wait in the van they had parked outside. Hope slammed the door behind them and huffed to the living room, glaring at Hank.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she hissed.

"Hope, I wouldn't worry about it," her father tried to calm her down.

"I can't help it! He's about to get his ass into a world of trouble! How can you let him do this?"

Hank shook his head. "Look, they're fighting against Stark. If it means defeating them, then I'm all for letting him go."

"Dad, he's going to lose his life!" Hope shouted. "He has no idea what he's getting into. We're talking about the damn Avengers, here!"

Before Hank could say anything else, Scott came back into the room. He saw Hope's distress and felt bad. He wanted her to go with him, but he also didn't want her getting hurt. Better him than her.

Scott glanced at Hank. "Hank, can you give us a moment?"

The old man nodded and walked out of the room, going down to see Janet. Hop refused to look at Scott.

"Hope, please…" he tried being gentle.

"Scott, this is probably the most reckless thing you've ever done. You've done some stupid things, but this may top the list."

He sighed and stared at the ground for a moment. "I'll be fine, Hope, I promise."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" she finally brought her gaze up to meet his.

"Hey, Captain America needs me. If it's him against Stark, I bet it's to keep the world out of danger, and that means keeping you and Cassie and our friends safe. I'm doing this for you."

She ran her hands over her face. "Good god, Scott, you say that before every reckless thing you do."

He sighed. She was right. "Look, Hope, I really mean it. I want to keep the ones I love safe. I promise I'll be fine."

"I don't believe you," she replied. "But I guess I can't stop you."

Silence came over them as he watched her. Again, she wasn't looking at him. So, without anything else to do, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Thankfully, she returned the embrace, but she did so a bit slowly.

"I swear to god, Scott, you be careful out there," she whispered to him.

"I'll do my best," he assured her. "And I'll be sure to tell them about you and how amazing you are. So next time, they'll call us both."

She couldn't contain her small chuckle then, and then she pulled away to kiss him softly. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you, too," Scott replied, and he had to reluctantly let go of her so he could leave. "I'll be back soon, Hope."

"You better," she whispered.

Scott nodded, and he turned to the door leading down to the training room. He made sure to tell Hank and Janet goodbye before leaving with Clint and Wanda. His heart ached as he left, though. He didn't get to tell Cassie goodbye. As he rode in the van, he could only think of his goodbye to his little girl. I love you, Cassie. Daddy will be home, soon, I promise.

Hope unhappily watched as the van peeled out of the driveway and disappear into the distance. Envy filled her veins. She wanted nothing more than to join him in the fighting. But no, she "wasn't cleared" to go with him. The thought made anger bubble up in her, her blood boiling, and she whipped around and hurried to the training room. She began violently hurling punches and kicks to the punching bag, taking her fury out on it.

Janet watched her daughter sadly. She'd seen Scott retrieve his suit and leave, and she knew Hope was livid about the whole thing. But Janet didn't say anything. She only watched. There weren't any words that could fix this, that could make her feel better. Distance was best.

It took several minutes for Hope to finally calm down. Sweat covered her forehead. She was out of breath. Her knuckles were reddened from the impact on the punching bag without gloves on. But the anger was still there. Not quite as much, but still there. She went to grab a water bottle and guzzled about half of it all at once before catching her breath. Janet was still there.

"You going to be okay?" she asked.

Hope's gaze dropped to the floor. "I have no idea. God, I can't believe he went with them. He's going to get himself killed, and I'm not allowed to do anything about it."

"He'll be okay," Janet assured her.

"You can't know that," Hope sighed, taking another sip of water. After she finished the bottle, she threw it away rather heatedly, and then she wiped her forehead. "I need to go home." She started to make her way out of the training room, Janet following after her. The two went to the living room, where Hope picked up her purse. Without a single word to either of her parents, she hurried out of the house, heading home. Janet and Hank just watched in silence.

Hope got home and immediately took a shower, cleaning herself of the sweat and grime while also trying to calm down some more. Her heart ached. The house felt so empty already. She'd have to sleep alone for god knew how long. While only in a towel, soaking wet after her shower, she sat on her bed, unable to really comprehend the situation. Scott was really gone. She was alone. Again. God dammit, Scott.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She didn't want to look at it at first, but she felt bad for ignoring it so she glanced at whom the message was from. It was from Becca.

You and Scott up for coming over for lunch tomorrow?

Hope sighed before sending her reply. Scott's not here.

Wait, what?

Hope didn't know how to answer. Since it took a while for an answer, Becca had decided to call her friend.

"Hello?" Hope answered.

"What do you mean he's not here?" Becca didn't waste a second.

"He just left. He's going with the Avengers to god knows where."

There came a long pause. "Are you serious? Why the hell aren't you with him?"

"I'm asking myself the same thing. They wouldn't let me go with him."

"Who's 'they?'"

"The Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye."

"Shit," Becca breathed. "Why couldn't you go?"

Hope rubbed her face. "I apparently wasn't cleared. God, he's an idiot."

"I didn't think he was this reckless," Becca admitted.

"Yeah, neither did I. God, Becca, I don't know what'll happen to him."

"Okay, just take a deep breath," the woman on the other line tried to keep her friend calm. "I'm sure he'll be okay. He learned how to fight from you, so I have no doubt he'll do just fine."

"I know, but still…"

Becca let out a sigh. "How about this: you come over for lunch tomorrow. Maybe it'll get your mind off things?"

"I don't know, Becca…"

"Come on. Just come over tomorrow. We'll keep you entertained. Okay?"

Hope didn't even feel like arguing. "All right. I'll see you then."

"Good. See you tomorrow." Becca then hung up the phone, leaving Hope to slump back on her bed.

Her mind ran wild with thoughts of Scott all night long, so much so that she barely slept. The bed was too empty. The house was too quiet. God, what was she going to do just sitting around? She was already antsy, and Scott hadn't even been gone but a few hours. This was going to be a long wait.

The next day, Hope found herself at Becca and Jack's place, sitting on the sofa with them for a while before they ate pasta Jack was cooking. She didn't really say much. She tried to keep her mind off her reckless boyfriend, but that was nearly impossible. What did get her attention was when Becca groaned slightly next to her. Glancing over, she saw Becca holding her belly on her side.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked.

"Porter's new favorite thing is kicking me in the ribs. He's running out of space in here, for sure." She rubbed the spot on her side while her son rolled around restlessly within her.

Hope watched her, and she could see the baby moving around. She even saw a foot stick out. Becca tried to gently grab it.

"There's a foot," she painfully giggled. Porter responded to his mother grabbing his foot and he pulled it away.

"That doesn't look comfortable," Hope stated.

"It's not," Becca let out a huff. "I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore. Don't get me wrong, I liked it about halfway through, but I feel like road kill, or a beached whale. I'm out of breath just sitting down. Not to mention I waddle around like a duck."

Jack bent over the back of the sofa to press a kiss to Becca's cheek. "A very cute duck," he pointed out confidently.

She giggled and kissed his lips. "Liar."

"Absolutely not," he shook his head. "I'm sticking with that story."

"I'm just ready to meet him and hold him and kiss him," Becca said. "I want him here."

"Aww, I bet," Hope understood. "Not too much longer, now, though, right?"

The other woman nodded. "Yep, not too much longer. But he can't get here soon enough."

Soon, Jack brought the two women bowls of pasta before bringing his own and joining them on the sofa. Becca used her belly as a table while she ate, and the three of them watched the news. For a while, there was nothing interesting, but a breaking news story soon changed that.

"In the middle of a feud regarding the Sokovia Accords," a news reporter said. "A fight between the famous Avengers has broken out at a German airport…"

Hope almost dropped her fork. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Sure enough, there came camera footage of the Avengers fighting amongst themselves. It was chaos already. Her eyes searched frantically for Scott. What kind of trouble was he in? She eventually found him… fighting against the Black Widow.

"God, Scott, what the hell are you doing?" she nearly shouted at the TV. "He's going to get himself killed."

They watched in horror and amazement, and then they got the shock of their lives. During the massive brawl, something absolutely unbelievable happened, and the next thing they knew, they were watching with gaping mouths as Scott suddenly appeared… at nearly 50 feet tall! He crushed an airplane with one step of his foot. He held War Machine by the leg. Hope just couldn't believe this.

"Holy shit," Jack choked on his food.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about him being able to grow, Hope," Becca stated.

"He's a fucking idiot!" Hope seethed. She couldn't take her eyes off the screen, and she watched in bewilderment as Scott was tied at the feet and came crashing down, returning to normal size on the crushed wing of a nearby plane. She tensed, praying he wasn't hurt too badly.

Becca cringed when Scott fell. "Jesus…"

Hope couldn't even speak anymore. She could only watch. Soon enough, the fight ended as authorities came to arrest those on Captain America's team… including Scott. Great. As if things weren't bad enough. She also noticed that Captain America and two others were missing.

That was it for her. Hope couldn't take it anymore. She shot to her feet. "I'm going to help him."

"Wait, what?" Becca sat up as best she could. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," Hope nodded. "He's getting thrown into jail somewhere and he won't have his suit. Not only will I have to rescue Scott, but I'll also have to make sure no one gets hold of his damn suit. My dad will flip his shit. I have to go."

Becca knew she wouldn't be able to stop her friend. "God, Hope, please be careful. Come home in one piece."

"No promises," Hope shook her head. Without another word, she was gone.

Hope raced to her father's house and let herself in. "Dad!" she shouted for him.

Hank rushed to the front of the house. He looked flustered. "Your boyfriend is an idiot."

"You think I don't know that?" Hope was nearly shouting. "I need you to be stealthy and find out where Steve Rogers went."

"Hope, wait—"

"—Dad, Scott is going to jail and Steve Rogers is not, he has to know something!"

"Hope!" Hank barked to get her to stop. "Hope, it just happened. We can't find find him or anyone else right away."

"What? Why not?"

"Because they're on the move," Hank tried to explain. "What we need to do is wait a few days until we can get an exact location."

Hope grumbled impatiently. "Jesus Christ, I knew this was a shitty idea."

"Hope, just calm down—"

"—I can't just calm down!" she snapped. "My boyfriend is out there going to some prison somewhere, I don't know where he is, and he probably lost the suit. I can't be calm about this!"

Hank held up his hands to quiet her. "We just have to wait it out, Hope," he told her. "That's all we can do."

Hope scowled and sat on the sofa, burying her face into her hands in pure frustration. Janet went to sit next to her and kept close for support. Hope, not knowing what else to do, just leaned against her mother, who wrapped her arms around her daughter.

Hope didn't speak while her mother tried to comfort her. She could only think of the madness. Her heart ached for the fact that Scott never got to see Cassie before he left. Now he's gotten himself arrested again, and who knew how long it would be before he'd be released. She knew Maggie and Paxton had probably seen the news footage, too. What an awful way to find out Scott was on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Cassie was probably devastated if she knew. Hope grumbled again. God, what was she going to do?

She did know one thing, though. She wasn't going to sit around anymore. If she wanted Scott home, she was going to have to do things herself.