Chapter 29

Thanksgivings

Tony arrived back first with medicine. He handed some pain meds out to Steve whose leg was aching. "Thanks, Tony. Thanks for coming to look for us. I'm sure Taryn was pretty insistent…"

Stark laughed. "You could say that. I'd hate to be on her bad side."

Taryn came out of the bathroom. "Oh good, you're back. Hand me some of the supplies." She took what was needed, got Tasha out of the tub, and dressed her leg. Once Rhodey was back with some clothing, she helped Tasha into a sweat suit and got her into bed.

"There. You try to get some rest, okay?"

Tasha smiled. "Yes, Mom. By the way, thanks."

Taryn chuckled. "Any time, Tasha. Any time. Get some sleep." She turned the light off and closed the door. Taryn then went down to the room where Steve was and knocked softly. "It's me," she stated quietly.

"Come on in," he answered.

She opened the door and locked it behind her. "How are you feeling?"

He sat up on the bed and stretched. "Better, thanks. I've taken the brace off and walked around a bit while you were taking care of Tasha. Tony and Sam headed off to their rooms, and barring any issues, we'll get a flight out of here in the morning."

"Good. I'm beat." She sat next to him on the bed.

He took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you."

She smiled, setting her head on his shoulder. "You're welcome, but it wasn't all me. If it weren't for Tony and Rhodey…"

"Tony had his own agenda, I'm sure. But I'm glad you all got us out of there. No telling when HYDRA was going to find us and the jet."

"Well at least it's gone up in smoke so they won't find a trace of it. Did Sam say anything about the location of their ship?"

Steve shook his head. "No. After he took a hit, he had to land and lost track of them. He seemed to think that it may have been a submersible. Tony said he's running some satellite programs to see if he can put tracers on it."

Taryn nodded. "The quicker we're out of Peru, the happier I'll be. Not that I wouldn't mind sightseeing here someday, but just knowing that HYDRA is around does not make me comfortable."

Steve nodded. "I agree. If we can get out of here before first light we'd be better off."

"I don't know about you but I could use a shower… gets awfully stuffy in those suits, even with the coolant system."

Steve chuckled. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty grubby. I may need some help though…"

Taryn grinned. "I can think of a few things to help you with.

"You're incorrigible."

"Always," she laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Taryn helped him to his feet and he unbuttoned his pants. Sitting back down, she pulled them off from the bottom. He winced then noticed that his left leg was severely bruised from mid-thigh to his ankle. "Well you certainly did a good job on it… It's a wonder nothing is broken. But then again, you may have healed quicker too. I don't see any cuts, just some brush burns."

Taryn got him into the shower and removed the bandage he had placed on his forehead. She removed her clothing and stepped in behind him and grabbed a washcloth. Steve stood under the showerhead letting the hot water run over him and relax his sore muscles. Taryn scrubbed his back and he sighed happily, bracing himself against the shower wall. "Ugh that feels good…"

Taryn chuckled. She then filled up the tub and sat him down in front of her so she could wash his hair. "You're spoiling me…" he murmured.

"I'm just thankful to have found you." She rinsed his hair and she leaned him back against her so she could clean up the cut on his forehead. It was healing very well, just crusted over with some dried blood.

Steve settled in against her, enjoying the feel of her bare skin against his. "I'm thankful to have been found. And I'm very thankful that you're stubborn and don't give up."

"As long as we're together, I never will. I'm a pain in the ass like that."

"I'd call it tenacity."

"I'm sure that isn't what Tony would say."

"Yeah well…"

Suddenly the door flew open. "Somebody say my name?" Tony was hoping he'd catch Taryn to tease her, but instead got an eye full of Steve sitting in front of Taryn in the tub. "Aw, jeeze… I need eye bleach…"

"Stark, what the hell are you doing?!" Steve cursed nearly tearing down the shower curtain.

"I just wanted to tell Taryn about the flight tomorrow at 04:30. I really didn't need to see Cap's family jewels…"

Taryn tried to keep a straight face. "Maybe knock next time, Tony. Okay, we'll meet at 4 am. Got it. We'll see you then." Tony left the room muttering about blindness and bleach.

'That man has no couth or boundaries."

Taryn laughed. "C'mon. Let's get out, the water's gotten cold." She helped him dry off and got him into some comfortable lounge pants. "Better?"

He nodded. "Yes, thanks." Rogers pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. "And thanks for finding us before HYDRA did."

"MMmm, you're welcome." She pulled a tee shirt on and slipped into bed next to him. "We should get some sleep if we're leaving that early." He nodded, kissed the top of her head and turned off the light.

Two hours later, Taryn snapped out of a sound sleep. She sat straight up and knew something was wrong. She nudged Steve and he rubbed his eyes. "What? What's wrong?"

"HYDRA. I think they've found us." Steve scrambled out of bed and limped over to the chair to don the rest of his clothing. Taryn instructed him to get Tasha while she ran down the hall for Tony and Sam. She explained to them what was going on and they donned their suits they had hidden in the closets. She ran back down the hall to get her own, and Steve was helping Tasha out of her room.

They all ran for the exit when the door on the opposite end of the hall burst open, followed by men in tactical gear and highly armed. Taryn brought up a mental shield and pushed everyone behind her out the door. "Go! I don't want to see this hotel destroyed!"

The men open fired and she deflected the shots back at them, pushed her shield out at them and knocked them all to the floor. She then took off out the door and down the stairs. Once outside, more armed men fired on them and Tony took them out with a few shots. They dashed off into the trees, Rhodey grabbed up Romanoff and took off with her. Taryn surrounded the others with shielding until they could get off the ground. Sam took off next, his wing apparatus repaired. Tony provided cover for Taryn and Steve, and she took off into the sky with Rogers under her arm.

She continued the mental scans and asked FRIDAY to actively scan the skies to avoid any incoming activity. They headed north, keeping low to the ground and didn't stop until they arrived at a Florida beach. They set down to regroup and to make sure everyone was okay. Taryn set Steve down and flipped the face plate up.

"You okay?"

He nodded and shivered a bit. "I'm okay. How's Natasha?"

"I'm okay," she called. "Where's Sam?"

He landed moments later. "Here. Just checking our tail. We gave them the slip over Costa Rica. They couldn't track us after that, not even in the chopper they had."

McKenna nodded. "Well before the sun comes up, we should get off the beach and get back to the compound."

They flew in relative silence back to New York and Tony dropped off at the Tower. "McKenna, bring the suit back sometime for maintenance, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks again Tony, for everything."

"Yeah, yeah… you're welcome."

She could see the grin behind the mask, but didn't tease him. The sun had been up now for about an hour and Rhodes offered to settle Romanoff into her quarters and she tiredly accepted. Sam vowed to check in with everyone later in the day and went to crash in his own quarters.

Taryn and Steve made their way down to his quarters and she stepped in to get him settled. He tossed his gathering of clothes and uniform on to the couch and turned to Taryn. "You need some help getting out of that?"

"No, it's pretty easy actually. Try to get some more sleep and I'll check on you later…"

"Hey!" he grabbed her arm. "You need some sleep too. You must be exhausted."

She chuckled. "Yeah I am. I'll head down to my room and…"

"Why don't you stay?" He stepped close to her. "You're drained both mentally and physically. C'mon, no arguments."

"Okay, okay." The suit folded away from her and stood itself in the corner by the door. Steve took her hand and led her off to the bed room. He tossed her one of his tee shirts and she went into the bathroom to clean up a bit.

Taryn looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was sweaty, tired and happy they were all okay. She cleaned herself up, pulled on his tee and stepped out into the bed room. Steve was already in bed, reading. "It feels very good to be in my own bed again."

She smiled. "Well it feels pretty good to be in your bed again too," she winked.

He laughed and pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. "Thank you again for coming to get us."

"Well I knew something was wrong before they told me the jet was shot down. Rhodey didn't have much hope that there were survivors, but I knew at least you were still alive."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

She shrugged and settled in beneath the covers. "I'm just finally using my powers how they were meant to be used."

Steve set his book down and turned off the light. He settled in next to her, kissed her lips softly and realized she was already asleep. He smiled to himself and fell asleep beside her.

October came and went without much incident. Missions were completed, small cells of HYDRA were eliminated or captured. With things slowing down a bit, Coulson had contacted Rogers and Stark for a unique assignment.

"The Children's Hospital Association has reached out and asked if some of the Avengers are willing to go on a tour of some of the nation's hospitals during the holiday season. They specifically requested Captain America and Iron Man for the job. These are apparently the most popular Avengers with kids."

Rogers raised his brow. A charity tour? Now? With Tony? "I don't know, Director… I didn't think that the Avengers was looked upon in such a good light, anymore?"

"Well, that's the thing. This would help shed some positivity on the program, and we're not making any money on that, so the government wouldn't have anything to say about it. And it's for a great cause, especially this time of year."

Rogers sat thinking about it and wondered if Coulson was receiving some sort of pressure to show this group in a better light. Ever since the Battle of New York, and what happened in Sokovia, the Avengers were seen as a threat to peace and safety, not the saviors. Before long, he suspected more regulations would come down from Washington about the group and SHIELD altogether. But then he imagined the kids. He had looked up to characters like Tarzan, Sky Ranger and Flash Gordon growing up. He would have given anything as a kid to meet them. Then he got old enough to know they weren't real, but Captain America was real.

"Alright, Phil. I'll do it. I can't speak for Tony though, you'll have to contact him."

Phil nodded. "Already did. He thought it was good for his image and publicity."

Steve rolled his eyes. Figures. "Okay, just send me the details."

"You're sure you can part yourself from Agent McKenna long enough?" Coulson half-joked.

"Er… yes… yes I'm sure that it will be fine."

Taryn stepped out of the shower, cleaning up after a hard work out. She had been on assignment this morning, working undercover to gather information on HYDRA. She'd then come back to work with some of the SHIELD trainees, teaching them safety and self-defense. Just as she had finished dressing, she sensed Rogers at the door. She let him knock and then opened the door as she walked into the room.

"Hey."

He smiled. She'd just come out of the shower, he could see as her hair was still wet. "Hey. Just got a call from Coulson."

She made her way over to the kitchen. "Care for some coffee? So what did Coulson want?"

"Sure, I'll take some. He called to ask me to go on a sort of charity tour." Rogers walked over to the counter and sat.

"Oh? Let me guess, trying to make SHIELD look good and non-threatening?"

Steve chuckled. "Something like that. He wants Tony and me to tour some Children's hospitals throughout the country for the holidays."

Taryn set the mug of coffee in front of him. "Oh, Steve, that sounds wonderful! Think of how much joy you could bring to those kids that are stuck there for the season."

He nodded and smiled. "It would be nice to see their smiles… Make them feel like there is a bit of specialness in their lives if only for a little bit."

She smiled and rested her hand on his. "I think it's a great idea. How long will you be gone?"

"It looks like at least four weeks according to the schedule. We'll start in Western New York, then work our way across country, then back again finishing up in New York City."

Taryn took a sip of her coffee. "Wow, that's quite a tour."

"If you think it's too long or…"

She brought up her hand. "No, I think that is great that you try to see as many children as you can. I'll miss you for Thanksgiving, but we can have our own little party after you get back."

Rogers smiled and pulled her around the counter to him. "Thank you. I'll miss you too, but I agree that it is great for the kids that can't get out of the hospital for the holidays."

Taryn kissed him and wrapped her arms around him. "I can't hold my hero back from making the kids smile."

Taryn had seen Steve and Tony off on the start of their hospital tour. A few days later, it was a crisp November day and Taryn had decided to go for a run around the outside of the compound after they left. She breathed in the cold air and let it fill her lungs before she released it. It was her third lap around and she slowed it down to a walk. She eventually stopped by a bench and stretched to cool down. On her walk back to the building she noticed a jet landing. She wondered who was visiting this time.

Taryn showered and made her way down to the café for some breakfast since she didn't feel like cooking. She was sitting in the sun reading her Kindle when she felt Tasha approach. She looked up and saw Clint Barton with her. She'd not met him yet as he had been home with his family, but she was familiar with his file.

"Taryn."

"Hi Tasha," she said with a smile.

Romanoff nodded and smiled. "Taryn, I'd like you to meet Clint Barton."

Taryn stood. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Clint. I've read your files. Nice to meet a fellow Avenger. I'm Taryn McKenna."

He smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. I've been keeping up with the team. Nice work you've done."

"Thanks," she felt herself blush. Quite a complement coming from one of the greatest archers she'd ever heard of.

Taryn offered for them to sit, and they joined her for coffee. They chatted for a while, then Clint extended an invitation to his home for Thanksgiving.

Tasha laughed. "You sure Laura is alright with that? That is a lot of people!"

"It was her idea. She knows that a lot of us don't have families so she's extended the invite."

Later on that day, Tasha caught up with Taryn. "So do you think you'll go to Barton's for Thanksgiving?"

"I don't know... I don't want to impose…"

"You shouldn't spend the holidays alone, either. Consider it? I'm planning on going."

"Okay, I'll consider it."