Special Needs: A Bruce and Natasha FanFic

by DrRJSB

When Bruce left Natasha and the Avengers to go into hiding after the Fall of Sokovia, he vowed to get help working out his relationship with his alter ego, so he would be less of a danger to others, especially Natasha. However, his departure has widespread repercussions that will require help from friends and allies to set right. (New chapts posted bi-weekly. Please leave reviews!)

38. Chapter 38

Summary:

A biologist, a physicist, an engineer, and a psychiatrist sit around a table and mostly act like adults.

(I hope this is the Betty chapter you were looking for.)

Notes:

Sorry this is getting posted late. The site still hates my MacBook. I'm sad to say I need to take a couple of weeks off from writing our wee tale here, so I can get a much overdue piece of academic writing finished. It's killing me that the weekly streak is coming to an end at 38, but I will be back as soon as I can and do a better job on both this and the "serious" project. After that it's straight into a new streak, I promise (takes right index finger and crosses heart).

Because I was so late working on this, I did not get it to my wonderful beta-reader. Therefore, any errors or flaws are 100% on me!

- - -((0))- - -

"I knew Lee was on the program, but I can't believe you're traveling this late," Bruce said to Dr. Betty Ross-Sampson who was almost eight months into her second pregnancy. They were sitting at a table toward the back of a large commons space that opened up to a three-story atrium. The University Center blended classical Georgian exteriors on the west side with an ultra modern interior with massive windows on the eastern side and a glass ceiling that supported the original central clock tower with a steel interior superstructure glazed white. The tower seemed to float on a glass cloud while curving white staircases flowed upward in a zigzag layout to the third and fourth floors.

"This was our last chance to leave town before the little guy gets here, so when Lee's parents offered to keep Madeline, we thought, 'Hey, it's now or never!'" she explained genially. Bruce smiled back at her fondly. He thought she looked radiant, and as Lee and Tony made their way back from the bar through the crowd of mostly academic types, he could see how happy she and the tall, dark-haired psychiatrist were together just by the looks on their faces. As indifferent as Bruce was to many social cues, their body language was easy for even him to read. A few minutes ago, Bruce had to smile at the way Lee insisted on Betty putting her feet up and her playful resistance.

"Two ginger ales, one for the beautiful scientist and one for the lightweight," said Tony as he and Lee handed Betty and Bruce their drinks. The two men sat down on the opposite side of Betty from Bruce at the small round table. Tony pulled a palm-sized metallic device from his inside breast pocket and set it on the table. It looked like a lighter but none of them smoked; in fact, it was a smoke-free building on a smoke-free campus. "Just a little help to prevent prying eyes and ears from getting a clear read on our conversation," Tony explained with a raised eyebrow. "Is that okay, everyone?" The couple nodded and Bruce smirked and nodded his head as well. Yes, indeed, Tony thought of everything. "It's a distortion bubble that plays with light and audible sound," Tony added.

"Wow, just like a cone of silence on Get Smart," said Lee, and Betty gestured as if she was going to elbow him. "Hey, we're all old enough fossils to get that reference. It wasn't meant as an insult!" Lee responded with a chuckle.

Tony grinned, "None taken. I wish I'd thought of it first. Anyway, it should give us some privacy from anyone beyond about ten feet."

"I'm just glad you're making less destructive things, Tony, and not working so much with the military," said Betty. "My father has enough toys as it is."

"We've shifted away from conventional weapons making and toward clean energy, so I do sleep a little easier . . . at least when I do sleep," said Tony with a doleful smile.

"Which Pepper would tell you still isn't enough," added Bruce with his own lopsided smile.

"And Nat would confirm you're the pot calling the kettle black," snorted Tony.

"Well, getting pregnant and having kids pretty much solved that problem for me," laughed Betty.

"That's true for the both of us," said Lee with a grin. "I guess that just comes with the territory."

After the chuckling died down, Bruce cleared his throat, "Not to change the subject too much because I want to come back to it, but I need to thank you both for giving testimony at the World Court Hearings and for Lee being a consultant to the Agreements Oversight Committee last summer. It meant a tremendous amount to me, and so did helping us find Major Sparr. I think Kat really changed some key opinions with her testimony about the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project and Gen. Ross's keeping its true purpose a secret from us until after the accident. I can't thank either of you enough for your support," Bruce told the couple.

"That's not a problem, Bruce. I'm glad we could help," Lee said with his arm around Betty. "I felt so bad about what happened when you were attacked at Culver. I had no idea that the General held such an epic grudge for you. I'm sorry. I was just trying to look out for Betty, and I let my insecurities get in the way. I hope that now I've helped to set some things right between us. I sincerely want you to get the help and support you need."

"That's okay, Lee. It seems like a lifetime ago. I certainly understand your motivations," Bruce acknowledged. "I probably would have done the same thing in your place."

"Anyway," said Betty, bringing the subject back a more comfortable topic, "we were both really happy to do what we could, Bruce. Your cousin Jenn and Tony here made it easy. We're just really glad things turned out as well as they did."

"Yes, all things considered, it did turn out mostly for the better," Bruce conceded with a small smile. "It's been a very humbling experience, but well worth it on multiple levels. Some of the requirements and restrictions have been a pain in the ass, but we've all learned a great deal, especially from experiencing the Reconciliation Process."

"We watched some of the live streaming of the public meetings. That had to be very stressful," said Lee.

"To tell the truth, listening to people's stories was very important to me and, frankly, to Hulk as well. It was hard for him to sit there in my head and not do something because he wanted to show he was sorry and not just say it. I kept him as close to the surface as I could, but it was pretty taxing for both of us, especially by the third day of the listening sessions. Not that many people wanted to talk to Hulk in person as opposed to me, but the ones who did were very kind and forgiving once they met him."

"They didn't release the video of him with the participants till much later, but it was very moving," Betty said. "I think he was surprised by Ms. Maximoff, but he handled it quite well. Are you still working with the foundation that was formed as a result of the process?"

"Oh, yes, the Johannesburg Reconciliation Foundation is healthy and active and ongoing. I, uh, we've been returning at the beginning of each month for three- to five-day projects. There wasn't a lot of clean up left for us to help with by the time we were cleared to travel there, but Hulk enjoyed working with the memorial gardens and constructing the earthen works. We're scheduled to help with the rain garden section when we go back next month. As long as there's work and they want us, we'll probably keep going down long past what is required since we've made connections and friends there now. Tony and I also have some long-term infrastructure projects the local community has identified that are still in the planning stages."

"Hold on a second," said Lee, "I'm just amazed at how you're working with your alter ego. You seem like you're getting along well and cooperating with each other now. Is this a new development or am I missing something?"

Bruce laughed, "I thought you meant Tony for a second."

"So did I," smirked Tony.

"No, sorry, the Hulk."

"All right," Bruce said after a moment, "since last May, Hulk and I have had a truce and things have been improving ever since. We've gone from being in constant conflict to learning to communicate and finally to existing together and coordinating our efforts. Honestly, it's been a huge relief. Also, Lee, I should thank you for recommending Cecily. She has worked out really well as our therapist."

"I'm glad to hear that," the psychiatrist replied as he continued to study Bruce. "Considering her brother's case, I thought Cecily might have some insights that would be helpful to you and Hulk."

Bruce nodded in agreement. Cecily's brother had manifested powers and the complications were so serious that he died. They had talked about it during one session when Bruce had brought up his suicide attempt after his initial accident when he had realized his condition was chronic. He'd had some low days since Johannesburg and Sokovia, too, but he'd worked through them and asked for help when he needed it. It wasn't clear if mental illness or depression was the case with Cecily's brother, but his death had led her into specializing in the treatment of so-called "enhanced" individuals and other difficult clients.

"Fortunately, the whole therapy team has been wonderful," Bruce said. "Sometimes the progress has been sideways or backward instead of straight forward, but both of us enjoy working with the team during sessions, and Maggie has really made a connection with Hulk. He's very fond of her." Bruce paused a moment to consider his next words. "I think getting us both diagnosed on the autism spectrum was really crucial. It explained so much of our behaviors and that's really helped inform how to work with Hulk and me as well."

Tony had been silently watching the interactions between Bruce and the couple. He'd been tempted to nudge his friend under the table, but he'd stopped himself when he realized this was a conversation Bruce and probably the other two people needed to have. In fact, this might be the only chance Bruce would ever have to talk to Betty or her husband this frankly, so Tony thought he should take it. If Bruce were going to get confessional, these were probably two of the safest people he could have for an audience. Jenn and Tony had spent several hours with the couple prepping parts of the defense to counter Ross's arguments for turning Bruce over to the Army or a coalition of private firms, which had covert ties to AIM.

Jenn had initially contacted Betty, but they had quickly involved her husband as well. Dr. Leonard "Lee" Sampson had turned out to be a valuable resource as both an expert in his field and as a witness to what had happened at Culver University since he had been the one to contact the General when he first suspected Betty had been in contact with Bruce. Once he met Bruce and they'd had a chance to talk, Lee knew he'd made a mistake, but no one understood how big of an error it was until the Army showed up the next morning. His actions had initially broken up his relationship with Betty for several months, but his contriteness and persistence had eventually won her back, and they had married the next year. The General had not been invited to the wedding.

"Do you really see Hulk as something separate from you?" asked Betty.

Bruce scratched the back of his head before he replied. "I can't exactly give you a yes-or-no answer on this because it's more complex than that and I really only have theories, not a definitive answer. It's like trying to hit a moving target because we're often in flux."

"Well, what's your theory then?" asked Lee.

Bruce looked over at Tony.

"It's up to you how much you want to share, Bud, but I don't think you'll find two more knowledgeable or empathetic people outside the tower," Tony reassured him.

Bruce took a long drink of ginger ale before plunging into the deep end of the theory pool. "We've gone through a number of theories from dissociative identity disorder to absorbed twins to chimerism to adaptive mutations and autism, and all of them seem to be lens for looking a different parts of the puzzle. In my head, Hulk is separate and he's always been there. I've explained him away as part of my imagination over the years and when the accident gave him a way to physically manifest, I didn't recognize him as being a part of me. As you know, I spent a good five years trying to destroy him and "cure" myself, before I accepted he was a part of me, one I might be able to use if I could control it. I kept the anger that triggered him close and ever-present just under the surface, so that he was effectively a weapon on a hair trigger. This worked well enough for a while, but then it started to wear us both down. The stress really took its toll, and I was starting to slip and blur. Something had to give, so with a little nudge from Stephen Strange, we quit fighting each other and started communicating. That was just after Sokovia last spring."

"Wow," Lee said as he nodded, "you think he's always been there?"

"Yes, I can remember him from as far back as my memories go. At least since I was in my crib," Bruce said. "Hulk says he was there from the beginning, but he didn't know he was separate from me."

"So you were unaware of him until the accident?" Betty asked.

"Right. As a kid growing up, I had imaginary friends who were as real to me as any sibling. I didn't know that wasn't 'normal.' My internal conversations as an adult have always been dialogues except for the five years or so after the accident. At that point I walled off or disassociated that part of myself because I thought it was the monster and I needed to destroy it, but I was really wrong about who Hulk is. The accident tore me apart down to a cellular level, but I tore myself apart mentally, emotionally, and psychically. We were both in a lot of pain and I actively suppressed him for years, so there was no real communication between us—just lots of unpleasantness and rejection. We feared each other and I dumped all of my anger and negativity on him. The physical transformation also overloads him with pain and sensory input. I didn't recognize him, and he couldn't communicate much less explain what had happened. We were both completely miserable."

"My God," said Betty, "you were locked into a death spiral."

"Yes, essentially we were. Natasha was the first one to really get through to Hulk since you had tried four years earlier," Bruce explained. "She connected with him and trusted him, but it took a bit of an intervention from Stephen Strange for me to grasp what I'd been doing and recognize whom I'd been fighting. Fortunately, Hulk is quite forgiving and was willing to work together. It's been much better for us ever since."

"You said years ago that after the transformation it was like an acid trip and you could only get a few impressions from it, but are you actually both in there. I thought I was finding you in him, but I feel like I may have met him."

Bruce smiled a little hesitantly, "You have. He remembers you, Betty. As he and I have been able to communicate again, memories for both of us have been coming back and filling in some of the gaps. We're both really happy for you and Lee."

"Thank you . . . to both of you," she said, clearly touched.

After a few quiet moments, Lee asked, "This is none of my business, but I'm really curious. Are you planning on reintegrating then? Is that something you want to have happen?"

"That's all right to ask," Bruce replied. "I was just talking about this subject with Tony on the plane this morning. I don't think Hulk and I have ever been unified, not completely, not in my memory or his, so no, I don't think integration is going to be a goal. What we're working on is communication and coordination. That's keeping us pretty occupied at the moment."

"Guys, I haven't even gotten to the biology questions," said Betty, "but it looks like they're showing people to the ballroom for the dinner."

Tony's phone pinged and he checked it, "Good, we'll be sitting together, so you can at least get a few of them asked, Betty." It was obvious Tony had been pulling a few strings.

The ballroom was just down a corridor from their current location, so they followed the other conference attendees down the hallway and checked in at the door. They all got some interesting looks. A few were for the statuesque couple with the very pregnant wife, but more were curious looks and whispers as people recognized Tony and then some surprised exclamations when a few finally recognized Bruce. Wearing an expensive designer suit didn't exactly help them blend in either.

Academics and scientists are an interesting bunch, Bruce thought to himself as he looked around, some of us are only at home when holed up in a lab while others, like Tony, are complete extroverts who love to strut and perform and show off their stuff. However, most of the people he was observing fell somewhere between the extremes. There was undeniably some tweed and frumpiness in evidence, but there were also smartly dressed couples and graduate students in their uncomfortable conservative suits that screamed, "Job interview!" He could easily pick out the biology and medical folks from the engineers because they tended to clump together in their groups; also, the engineers weren't getting buzzed and having to check their messages like the people with hospital connections were doing. Bruce wasn't sure how many physicists would be attending a conference on "Intersections of Science, Technology, and Ethics," but he had yet to see a familiar face from his field of study. Maybe it was just that the academic world had gone on without him?

As they were getting checked in at the ballroom door, a professional looking man with close-cropped hair and a conference lanyard reading "Dr. Myron P. Kim, Conf. Organizing Committee," approached them. "Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, let me welcome you to the conference. Since you missed getting checked in at the front desk, I've taken the liberty of bringing you your nametags. You should have received your programs electronically."

"It's good to see a familiar face, Myron," Bruce said as he stepped forward and shook the younger man's hand.

Dr. Kim beamed, "I'm so glad you remember me. It's been a long time."

"How could I forget one of my favorite lab assistants?" Bruce asked, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Dr. Ross is right here, too," he said as he stepped back and made room.

After more greetings and handshakes, Dr. Kim guided the four of them to their seats at one of the front tables. Although the table was big enough for six to eight people, there were only four place cards. Bruce started to slip his lanyard in his pocket. He would just as soon not tip anybody off if they didn't recognize him from last fall's television coverage.

"Hey, Bruce, let me see your tag before you put it up. Bruce handed his nametag over to Tony who read it and frowned. "Why are you the 'Keynote Speaker' and I'm a 'Featured Speaker'?"

Bruce sighed, "Because you get to talk about what you're doing and say what you want, while I have the assignment of highlighting the conference theme while confessing my sins and presenting them as a cautionary tale for the rest of my peers and the broader scientific community. I am, after all, the poster boy for science gone wrong while you are still mostly the success story, my friend." That pretty well shut Tony up for all of fifteen seconds.

"Not feeling too bitter, are we?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Sorry, not much. It's just starting to seem a little more real now, and my nerves are kicking in," Bruce said, wringing his hands.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tony asked, looking concerned.

"Yah, time to put some food in me and feed the beast," Bruce said with a reassuring chuckle.

Betty and Lee were seated beside them and Tony brought out the distortion bubble device once more. As she got settled, Betty dropped her clutch purse and Bruce caught it before it hit the floor. He handed it back to her and she touched his hand. "My, are you running a fever, Bruce? May I?" she asked but didn't wait for an answer. He held patiently still as she placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

"Don't worry. I run pretty hot," he said as she looked at him with surprise on her face as the extent of his elevated temperature became apparent to her. "You were wondering about biology. Well, this is one of the perks of running on gamma." Lee was looking a little alarmed now. "It's okay. At this point the radiation is sequestered in my bones until it's needed," reassured Bruce. "I just have a higher idle than most people. Here, let me show you." Bruce pulled his phone out and opened up the Geiger–Müller app and showed her the charted collection of readings.

"Wow, this is neat," Betty said as she scanned through the screens. "Did one of you come up with it?"

"Tony did the hardware and I did the software on this one, but the graphics are from a college design team that won a competition Pepper had Stark Industries sponsor. The next model of StarkPhone will have it available, right Tony?"

"Yah, we managed to get it crammed on there," Tony said. "We could get you one to beta-test if you'd like. We've been distributing them in Japan to people effected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster after the tsunami."

"Oh, she'd like to have it all right," said Lee. "The whole lab has been obsessed with radiation levels since Betty was pregnant with Madeline and then one of the assistants the next year when she became pregnant. We joked they were going to need a nursery."

"Okay, guys, don't change the subject. So if you are running this hot, Bruce, and it's normal for you, what else is going on?" asked Betty.

"Where should I start?" Bruce genuinely felt a bit flummoxed since he hadn't panned on sharing details and possibly endangering others by making them targets. "There are a lot of things I can't talk about because it's just too dangerous, but Helen Cho's team will have some reports coming out on my metabolism and changes that occur during transformations soon. Uh, I think it's safe to say I have a form of chimerism that we're relatively certain comes from an absorbed twin, but we've not been able to do a full genetic testing sequence because we can't find a secure lab that I won't endanger by using it. You know what Sterns did with just one blood sample. Imagine what a military or industrial entity with more resources and a real agenda might do."

"You're absolutely right to be concerned, so I won't push you," she said. "Let's slow it down a moment. You have two sets of DNA? How did you find this out?"

Bruce smiled and shook his head sadly, "We're going to run out of time if I go into any details, but in a nutshell, since the accident, my body has been slowly healing the damage from the radiation over the years and there have been some 'upgrades' as well. I've had a couple of episodes that were scary. During one last summer I passed out and my temperature flared though I recovered and even improved afterward. While I was out cold and scaring the crap out of Nat and Tony, they called in Helen, and we did some pretty exciting scans and gathered a lot of data over the next 24 hours. Unfortunately, what we found out included potentially dangerous information, so we've not followed up on them. We did do one test for markers that indicated the chimerism, but before long I need to get a full set of DNA tests. Regrettably, any lab that has a cellular sample of mine is in danger from some truly nasty parties. That's probably about all I should say."

Betty had been listening and studying him, taking in what he was saying and trying to read between the lines. "There's something else important that you're not telling me. I know because I can tell when you're excited and trying not to show it."

Tony sighed, "Has his poker face always been this bad?"

"Yes," Betty said without hesitation.

Bruce let his head fall backwards onto his chair's back and laughed ruefully, "You know I am not supposed to know about this."

Tony shook his head, "What he could tell you, but is too humble and embarrassed to, is that he had some exceptionally good news from the urologist this morning."

"Tony—TMI!" Bruce moaned.

Betty and Lee looked at each other and both caught on at the same time. "You've had a fertility test?" Betty asked.

Bruce nodded. There was no point in denying it now. "Yah, a fertility test."

"Well?" asked Lee.

"I'm in good shape," said Bruce.

"That's an understatement," Tony quipped.

"So are you and Natasha going to try and have a baby?" Betty asked. "That's wonderful!"

Bruce grinned sheepishly, "Well, I'm not supposed to know, but . . ."

Tony placed his phone on the table and slid it over to Betty and Lee. "No try. Do," he said in his best Yoda imitation.

"Oh, my," said Betty, starting to tear up as she and Lee looked at the sonogram images.

"Congratulations," said Lee, "this is wonderful. It's truly, uh, odds defying and wonderful."

After a few moments, Betty switched back to her professional mode, "Well, now I see one reason why you want to get the genetic testing done."

"Yah, I was hoping to wait out the Agreements before doing it, but we need to know what we might be facing as soon as we can now. I've been told everything looks good, but who knows what my mutated genes have brought to the party?"

"I'll tell you what, let me look into this," she said and she took his hand and gave it a brief squeeze. "We'll need to get a sample with a cheek swab, but maybe a very small blood sample for comparison wouldn't hurt. If we're careful, I can do this through a third party lab and effectively hide it in plain sight. I might even be able to do it."

Bruce made a very pained face, "I'm serious. This is potentially very dangerous, and you've obviously been seen here with me."

"We could have a very public disagreement to throw people off," she suggested.

Tony put his hand over his mouth but couldn't prevent a snort from escaping, "Sorry, I have to say that the only difference between you and Nat on this point, Betty, is you asked Bruce first while Natasha would have just done it and explained it to him later."

Bruce shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "As much as she would hate to admit it, Tony pretty well has Natasha pegged. She doesn't think I'm a good enough actor to pull it off if I know what's happening."

"She knows you," Betty said. "She knows you're honest, and she doesn't expect you to lie or compromise and not be yourself. I respect that."

"I do, too," Bruce said. "I just don't enjoy being slapped and yelled at, even though I've done it a few times now to advance a common cause."

"I don't think any drama will be necessary, and the cat is out of the bag as far as getting you to react with a natural performance anyway," said Tony.

Bruce gave an audible sigh of relief. Explaining things to Adam would have been a pain if they had gone that route. "How quickly can we get a swab sample kit?" he asked Tony.

"Give Mal's people about 20 more minutes, and it will be in place in the men's restroom for you to use and Lee to pick up," Tony said.

"Your timing is perfect," Lee said, not batting an eye at his involvement in their little conspiracy. "Dinner is finally here and we should be finishing up with it and listening to the speaker's opening remarks."

They all nodded or smiled in agreement and waited as the servers efficiently set the plates and amenities on the table.

"So," Bruce asked, "now that you've seen Tony's pictures, did either of you bring pictures of your Madeline?" Bruce asked.

"We've both taken a phone full," laughed Lee.

"I want to see some pictures of Natasha and you," teased Betty. "Does she ever smile when she's not around you?"

"I can answer that," said Tony. "No, not unless she's working someone."

"Say that again, so I can use it as blackmail material," Bruce said.

They passed around cell phones and looked at pictures and added cell phone numbers in each other's contacts as they ate. Lee joked they were as bad as his graduate students, which inspired a round of selfies. Bruce and Tony both gushed over the pictures of a cherubic three year old with dark locks who apparently was fond of wearing blues and purples. Bruce noted her blue eyes and full lips favored Betty, while he could see Lee's features echoed in her nose and chin.

"Oh my gosh, this is you on a Harley," said Betty as she pointed out a set of photos on his phone.

"Yah, it was the first day trip the Oversight Committee let us take on our own. I borrowed Steve's bike and Nat picked up her new replacement for the electric one that got trashed in Seoul last spring chasing Ultron. We went to the Delaware Water Gap," Bruce explained.

"The foliage is beautiful, and ah, here's some smiles from both of you," Betty said.

"You bet, that electric is so unusual it drew people in every time we stopped to look at the scenery, so it was easy to get pictures taken. Nobody gave us a hard time. It was pretty nice. We hiked some of the upper trails too. What Bruce didn't add was that they'd purposely picked the least used and most secluded path to follow to its end where they had stripped down and made love in the afternoon sunshine. He had to pull himself out of the memory because it was one of his favorite reminiscences to lose himself in on a loop.

As they finished up dinner and desert was being served, Bruce checked his watch and quietly slipped out to use the men's room. A new text from Mal instructed him to use the far stall and retrieve the kit from behind the bowl and replace it. No one else was in the restroom and everything went as planned. The kit had two sample tubes so he left both a scraping and a blood sampling. As he returned, Lee passed him in the hall and gave him a quick smile.

As Bruce approached the ballroom doors, he heard someone call his name, so he cautiously turned to see who it was. He didn't recognize the thin angular man approaching from down the hall.

"Dr. Banner? Could I have a word with you?" he asked.

Bruce noticed the stripe on his official-looking lanyard that said, "Press," and frowned slightly. "Pardon me. I really need to get back inside and listen to the speaker."

"I'm Jack McGee and I work for the Enquirer. I couldn't help but notice you were sitting with Gen. Ross's daughter. Any comments?"

"We're former colleagues and old friends. Now, if you'll excuse me, it sounds like I'm missing all the good science jokes. Enjoy the conference, Mr. McGee."

Bruce waited until the door was closed behind him before he texted Lee to warn him about the reporter. He then took his seat between Betty and Tony just in time for the speaker, an enthusiastic woman in her sixties, to recognize Tony, himself, and an ebony-complexioned woman he didn't recognize as featured speakers for the next three nights. They each stood and waved in turn to acknowledge the enthusiastic applause. Although they apparently preferred to keep their distance, it seemed most people were looking forward to the actual presentations.

Lee quietly slipped back in from a side door and sat back down on Betty's left. He whispered to Bruce, "The reporter is still out there. You might want to leave by the side door." Bruce gave him a thumbs-up and nodded his thanks.

As the speaker was winding down, Tony touched his arm and pointed to his watch. They had about fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet Joseph at the circle drive, so they quietly stood and slipped out the side door. Betty had followed them out while Lee had stayed at the table.

She took Bruce's left hand in hers and held it. "I've missed you, but I'm so happy to see how well you're doing now," she said.

"And I'm really happy you and Lee have made a good life together. Thank you for everything. You've been there when I've needed you most, and you've stood by me when I've been at my worst." He brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed her fingers.

As he let her hand go, Betty stepped in as close as her pregnant belly would allow and whispered, "Next time, we're going to talk about your black out episodes and the pluripotent cell clusters, so be ready to do some kickass science once this Agreements shit is over. Lee and Nat can watch the kids."

Bruce almost snorted, but managed to bite his lower lip and just smirk. "Take care. I'll wait to hear from you about the other 'stuff'."

"Yes, you will," she said and disappeared back into the ballroom.

"Let's move it, you smooth operator. We'll have to grab the coats at the front hat-check," Tony said.

"You told her, didn't you?" Bruce said.

"Someone had to. We are going to get out from under the Agreements at some point, and we need her on our team." Bruce nodded his head in acknowledgement. It complicated things, but there was no one better in her field of study.

For once they managed to get their coats and exit the building as planned, and they jogged up to the top of the hill and the circle drive. Joseph was already waiting for them and he stood in front of the behemoth chatting with a campus police officer. "Neither of you lost a shoe or anything?" he boomed out with a laugh.

"No shoes lost. No hearts broken that weren't that way before," said Bruce.

"Good," the large man replied as he opened the Hummer's back door for them, "because you have a Skype date, and I have money down on you getting a yes out of that beautiful baby-mama, Doc."

Bruce wasn't sure if he should laugh at that or cry. Tony was already rolling on his side on the seat laughing when Bruce stepped into the vehicle, so Bruce let it slide and listened to Adam checking off a list of baby names in his head.

"Adam Anthony . . . not bad. Bruce Lee . . . now that has an interesting sound . . ."

End Notes:

I hope I've done sweet, strong, wonderful Betty a little justice here. I have always been saddened at the way she was dropped out of the MCU, but I wanted to give her a happier fate and the possibility of a return at some point. She's a great character who deserved better.

This chapter is also for John who really wanted Doc Sampson to show up. I know Lee is no Doc Sampson post gamma exposure, but I hope I've written a solid guy who could come back from making some mistakes, learn from them, and earn back Betty's trust and eventually her love as well.

Well, it's time for a two-week break, but I won't be far. Please let me know what you think. I live for the comments-I really do!

When we get back, the looooooooog awaited Skype conversation. Is Bruce really the last to know? Will the ring get there? Is the apartment still overrun with Scott's little buddies? Did they get the spider? Oh, will we even make it to Nat's answer? We'll have to find out in two weeks!