Not dead but thank you all for your concern

"If you don't mind me asking, Director, why are you so against the Avengers Initiative being activated?" Hill questioned as I flipped through the information the others were given.

I glanced up at her before letting out a sigh. "It's not that I'm against the initiative itself it's the fact that he didn't even consult me on it," I told her.

"I think we can both agree that the last thing he wanted to do was consult you," she state. "He's been undermining your authority for years."

A humorless chuckle left me. "I am well aware of that," I stated.

She watched me for a moment before a knowing look swept across her face. "It's Captain Rogers, isn't it?" she asked.

My jaw clenched at that. "It's not only Steve. It's all of them," I said, turning my attention back to the profile. "It's my family."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You count Dr. Banner as family?"

"He saved my son, Hill, of course he's family," I stated before realization swept over me. "Oh God, Bruce is going to meet Tony."

"I wasn't aware that was a bad thing," Hill mused.

I groaned and slumped a little further into my chair. "He thinks Tony is a little kid."

"You lied to him?"

"No, didn't lie!" I defended, pointing a finger at her. "He assumed and I didn't want to take the time to explain how a middle aged man is my son."

"You don't have much of a choice now, do you?"

"No," I groaned, rubbing a hand over my forehead. "Not looking forward to that conversation."

She chuckled lightly. "I don't think anyone would look forward to a conversation with the Hulk."

I shot her a slight glare. "Bruce and The Other Guy are not the same person," I told her. "Think about it as a split personality."

"And are we sure that we want someone with a split personality on-"

I let out a scoff. "If you think that a split personality is our biggest problem then you are clearly not grasping the big picture," I told her, sitting up straight. "Do you know what kind of shit storm Nick's gotten us into?"

She nodded almost hesitantly. "I've read most of your research on Asgard."

That surprised me. "You have?" I asked.

She nodded again. "After the New Mexico incident I thought that it would be a good idea to know what we're dealing with," she explained. "There wasn't a lot of information on Loki, however."

I let out a sigh and shook my head, tossing the tablet onto the counter. "Yeah, well, I didn't actually meet the man till last night," I told her. "And I highly doubt any of the old legends are anything to go off of. We're in the dark about this and I don't like it."

She gave me a concerned look. "Director Creed-"

"I know, Hill," I interrupted.

She let out a soft sigh before nodding and turning back to her post.

I pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, once again slumping back into the chair, my eyes slipping closed.

"Is this….?" Steve questioned, his voice soft as he looked the building over.

I let out a soft sigh as I killed the car. "After…after I came back I needed a place to stay and, uh, well, you didn't have a next of kin so I just sort of…." I trailed off with a weak shrug. "Bought the building."

His head snapped over to look to me. "Bought the building?"

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Yep," I answered, opening the door and getting out.

"Ellie, why did you buy the building?" Steve asked, looking at me over the roof of the car.

"Because I figured that you would want somewhere to go when we found you," I told him, hating the look of pain that crossed his face. "Come on, you'll like this," I told him, closing the car door and walking to the building.

He followed behind me, his eyes taking in the familiar neighborhood.

I unlocked the front door and stepped in, holding it open for Steve before heading up the stairs to the second story. I glanced back at him before opening the apartment door and flicking on the light.

Steve's jaw dropped as he slowly stepped into the room. "Ellie," he breathed, moving in a slow circle to take everything in.

I closed the door behind me and tossed the keys onto the side table. "I kept everything the way it was," I told him. "Except for a few modern advancements," I allowed, looking to the entertainment center.

He looked over to me. "Y-you're living here?" he asked, his eyes still wide.

I shrugged and shuffled a bit. "I stay here when I'm not at S.H.I.E.L.D. or at Xavier's," I told him.

"You're living in my apartment?" he asked.

"You were gone and I wanted to keep every part of you that I could, is something wrong with that?" I defended, finding it a little odd that he was having an issue with this. Back during the war he often talked about how I could move in with him after it was over, start a life together.

He shook his head quickly, taking a few steps towards me. "No, Ellie, there's nothing wrong with that," he told me. "It's just…."

"Just what?"

"You weren't supposed to be living here without me," he explained, his voice bitter.

If it was possible my heart broke even more. "Well, I won't be anymore, will I?" I asked before realizing what I had said. "I mean, that is if you want to. The other apartments are empty I could move into one of-"

Steve cut me off when he took the last few steps forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

Still not used to the affection it took me a moment to wrap my arms around him.

"There is no way I'm letting you out of my sight, Ellie," he stated. "Not after all of this," he breathed.

I pulled in a long drag of his scent as I buried my face in the crook of his neck.

"Director Creed?"

My eyes snapped open to find Hill standing in front of me. "Yes?"

"Captain Rogers and Dr. Banner are here, Ma'am," she told me.

I nodded slightly and glanced to the windows. "Take us up," I told her.

She gave a nod and turned to the agents, giving out the orders that would take us into the air.

The engine noise suddenly picked up and soon we were lifting into the air.

"Not going to run off and attack Rogers on the launch deck?"

A growl ripped from my throat at the sound of Nick's voice. I turned in my chair and looked at him, my arms crossed over my chest. "No, I'm not going to attack him on the launch deck because you have Bruce Banner out there," I stated.

He raised an eyebrow. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"He thinks that Tony is a child," I admitted.

"And he thinks that why?"

A frustrated sigh left me. "Because I knew that if I told him that I was a 163 year old mutant whose son is Tony Stark he wouldn't help me," I explained.

He chuckled at that. "He's in for a rude awakening, isn't he?" he asked.

"That is one of many conversations I'm not looking forward to," I sneered. "Conversations I have to have because of you," I accused, pointing a finger at him.

"I didn't ask you to come-"

"Stop before I hurt you again," I told him before gesturing to the Command Deck. "Get us gone."

He gave a small nod and stepped forward to converse with the agents as they worked to get us in the air.

I let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair, the dread filling me when I saw Steve and Bruce step into the room. A small smile touched my lips as Steve failed to notice me and walked towards the Command Deck, eyes wide as he took it all in. Bruce, however, was as observant as always.

"Eleanor?" he asked, his voice quiet and mouth agape.

I gave him what I hoped was an easy smile. "Hello, Bruce," I greeted, looking him over. "You look good."

He shook his head slowly as he stepped towards me. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"I work for S.H.I.E.L.D., remember?" I asked before getting out of my seat and taking the few remained steps between us. "I'm sorry that you've been dragged into this," I told him, my hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. "If I had known about it sooner I would have put a stop to it."

His eyebrows shot up at that. "You have the authority to do that?" he asked, his tone teasing.

"Yes," I answered honestly. "Yes I do."

He lost his smile and gave me a tired look. "You never did tell me what you do for S.H.I.E.L.D.," he realized.

"You didn't need to know," I told him.

"I think I do now," he stated.

I pulled in a deep breath. "I'm a Director."

He watched me for a moment, seeming to decide whether or not he was going to punch me or pass out.

"I'm sorry, Bruce, but I was desperate and I knew that you wouldn't help me if you knew who I was," I explained. "I was serious when I told you that I could make you disappear, even to S.H.I.E.L.D."

He pulled in a calming breath and let it out slowly. "Makes sense, I guess," he allowed. "I mean, you're….you," he said lamely, gesturing to me.

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not," I mused before shaking my head. "How are you, Bruce, really?" I inquired, my tone going worried. "Our last conversation didn't end very optimistic."

The tired look swept back over his face again as he visibly slumped. "I-I'm trying, Eleanor," he stated. "I haven't had an incident since Harlem but he's always there; waiting."

"He always will be," I told him. "He's a part of you, Bruce, and there's no getting rid of him."

He nodded slightly. "And I've come to an acceptance about that," he said, the smile twitched at his lips. "At least I've got a few years of rest."

"I wish it was more," I muttered, squeezing his shoulders. "The Tesseract wasn't even supposed to be-"

"Ellie?"

I instantly looked over at the name, the giddy feeling that had been absent for a month rising once again. I couldn't help the bright smile that pulled at my lips as I took him in, pleased that he hadn't changed since the last time I saw him. "Hello, Steve," I said, letting my hands fall from Bruce's shoulders as I turned towards him.

A bright smile pulled at him lips before he lunged forward and pulled me into a hug, his arms tight enough around me to lift me from my feet.

A startled laugh left me as my arms wrapped around his neck on instinct.

"I didn't think you would be here," he stated, setting me back down but not letting me go.

I let out a scoff. "Like I would sit this out," I said, my arms tightening around him. "I missed you," I breathed.

"I missed you too," he told me. "I know I said I would be fine by myself but honestly, Ellie, I was going out of my gourd."

I chuckled and pulled back, my hands coming up to cup his face. "I flipped my wig too," I assured him before remembering who was behind me. "Oh, uh," I muttered, looking over to Bruce. "Couple more things I didn't tell you."

He gave me a rather impressive 'no shit' look.

That's when Nick decided to make an entrance.

"Doctor, thanks for coming in," he said, holding his hand out to Bruce.

He watched him for a moment before letting out a sarcastic scoff. "Thanks for asking nicely," he said, shaking the bastards hand. "So, uh, how long am I staying?"

Nick shrugged. "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind," he told him.

"And this time I will make you disappear," I promised, giving him a reassuring smile.

He gave me an appreciative look before turning his attention back to Nick. "Where are you with that?" he asked.

Nick gestured over to the task force to the side of the Command Deck.

"We're sweeping every assessable camera on the planet," Phil told him, his arms folded across his chest. "Cellphones, laptops, if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

I glanced over when Tasha crouched down next to a monitor, my heart dropping slightly when I saw Clint's picture.

"It's still not gonna find them in time," Tasha stated.

Bruce nodded in agreement. "You have to narrow your field," he told them, his mind already working. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Nick asked.

"Call every lab you know," he started, slipping his brown jacket off. "Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, a basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

Seeming impressed with the scientific ramble Nick nodded.

"Do you have somewhere for me to work?" he questioned, his tone a little sarcastic.

Nick looked over to Tasha. "Agent Romanoff!" he called. "Would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

She walked over, a small smile on her lips. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys," she told him, leading him off.

I watched them leave, a little interested in the slight comfort they had towards each other. "You sent Tasha to get Bruce?" I asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Nick sent me a look. "She was the most capable in handling him if the situation went bad."

I let out a snort. "You sent the most stubborn woman after the most stubborn man, what the hell did you expect?"

He sent me a cocky smile. "Exactly what happened."

I glared at him. "You don't get to smile," I told him. "You don't get to smile till this is fixed."

His lips dropped instantly and a sour look replaced it as he walked off to bug some poor agent.

"A little harsh don't you think, Ellie?" Steve asked, looking down at me with sorrowed eyebrows.

I let out a sigh. "All of this is his fault," I stated. "I will be as harsh as I want to be. I'm surprised you're not more upset about this," I noted, looking up to him.

He shook his head. "Being upset about it isn't going to change what happened. At least he's trying to fix it."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, assembling a team of superheroes is exactly what this situation calls for," I grumbled. "The Avengers Initiative isn't even a complete plan. It was a conversation me, Phil, and Nick had on a late week."

He wrapped his arm around my waist again. "What happened to the hope you used to have about schemes like this?" he asked.

I pouted slightly. "I was always the one who started them."

He chuckled at that and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "I'm sure you'll have an arm and a leg in this pretty soon," he mused.

I couldn't help but smile at that, leaning into him as I looked back up at him. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this," I told him.

"Nobody dragged me into anything," he said. "I wasn't doing anything useful so….why not?" he shrugged.

I shook my head. "That is a horrible excuse," I stated. "You're trying to distract yourself."

He was quiet for a moment. "Maybe," he allowed.

"That's not exactly healthy," I told him.

"Probably not," he agreed before kissing my head once again. "But how about we just let this one slide? I mean, given the current situation."

I hated the idea of him repressing things but I knew that he was right. "Fine," I gave in. "But as soon as this is over you and I are going to have a talk."

"I know, Ellie," he sighed before a small smile pulled at his face. "God, I missed you. I missed seeing you in the morning with your messed up hair. I've missed your singing when you got ready. I missed that good morning kiss you never failed to give me."

I giggled, figuring out what he was getting at. "I guess I have a months worth of good morning kisses to make up on," I said, pressing myself up onto my toes to do just that.

A content moan came from the back of his throat as he leaned into the kiss, his other arm coming around to join his other.

"What did you do while I was gone?" I asked once we separated.

He let out a sigh and rested his forehead against mine. "Mostly the gym but I drew a couple of times."

Excitement sprang up in me at that. "Really?" I asked.

He nodded the best he could. "It was just random places but I, uh, added you to all of them," he admitted, a slight blush crossing his cheeks. "It took the edge off a little."

I all but cooed as I pressed another kiss to his lips.

I sat huddled up against the head board as I stared at the bedroom door. My knees were pulled up to my chest, my arms wrapped tightly around them as I struggled to keep myself from leaping up.

When I had told Steve that there was only one bed and that I didn't mind sharing he had gone as red as a tomato and insisted that he slept on the couch. I had resisted the urge to tell him that 63 years ago he had asked me to stay with him. I had woken earlier than he had and left before he was even slightly aware.

I shook my head as I leaped off the bed, opened the door and padded down the hall to the living room. I peered over the back of the couch and was slightly startled to find him staring up at me. "Hi," I chuckled out.

A small smile pulled at his lips. "Hi," he greeted back. "What are you doing up?"

I pulled in a deep breath and watched him for a moment. "You're here," I said, poking the couch, "I'm there," I continued, gesturing behind me to the bedroom, "do you see what's wrong with that?"

"Ellie," he sighed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I don't want to put you in a-"

"Oh hush," I said, rolling myself over the back of the couch and landing on him.

He let out a grunt as his arms wrapped around me instinctually, curling up at my weight. "Ellie-"

"I used to have these dreams where I would wake up and you'd be there, making breakfast or drawing or something normal. We'd spend the whole day together and then we'd go to bed but when I wake up next time you're not there; you never were," I told him, hating the words as soon as they were out. "I want to wake up with you here just once," I all but pleaded, my eyes closing as I leaned further back into him. I knew I shouldn't have told him that, that I should have just left it alone. Steve had been rather adamant about being held responsible for the decision he made all those years ago, how all the suffering I had gone through was his fault; his guilt. I knew he would add that to the pile of things that weren't, in fact, his fault.

He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his arms tightening around me. "Ellie, I am never going to leave you again," he promised, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of my head. "Never."

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

I blinked out of my thoughts and looked over to find Phil standing next to Steve.

Steve gave him a small smile and a nod. "No, no, it's fine," he told him.

Phil did a happy dance in his head. "It's a vintage set," he said. "It took me a couple of years to collect them all," he rambled before glancing back at me. "Liz gave me a my first one when I was a kid."

Steve's eyebrows raised as he looked back to me also, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Did she?" he asked.

Phil nodded. "Yep. Happiest birthday of my-"

"We got a hit!" Sitwell suddenly called, turning to me. "A 67% match."

I dashed forward and looked at his screens. "Cross match is 79%!" I exclaimed. "That's definitely him," I stated, watching the security feeds.

"Location?" Phil asked, coming over as well.

"Stuggart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse," Sitwell told us as he narrowed down the location. "He's not exactly hiding," he noted.

"Captain," Fury said.

Steve looked over to him, a slight hesitant look on his face.

"You're up."

I frowned at that and looked around the room before I spotted Tasha. "Romanoff you're piloting!" I called. "Wheels up in 15!"

A knowing look crossed her face and she nodded before walking off.

"Wanna show him his uniform?" Phil asked, that childlike excitement back in his eyes.

"Sure, Phil," I said, patting on his shoulder before walking back to Steve. "Come on, I want to show you something," I told him, grabbing his hand and leading him to where we had put his new uniform. I punched in the code by the side of the door and looked to Steve as the doors slid open.

His eyes widened slightly as they landed on the new suit. "That's my uniform?" he asked.

I grimaced slightly. "Phil and me may have watched too many seasons of Project Runway," I told him.

He gave me a confused look.

I groaned. "Don't ask," I told him before gesturing to the suit. "Go look at it."

He hesitated for a moment before stepping into the room. "It's different," he mused.

"It's modern," I sighed, following after him. "It's almost as indestructible as you are."

"And you and Phil designed it?" he asked.

"We designed all the new uniforms," I told him, reaching out to grab the helmet off the stand. "But yours was the most fun. I'll have to show you some of the other designs. One of them had you running around in a mini skirt."

Panic swept across his face as he looked to me. "What?"

I gave him a reassuring smile and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Suit up, Captain," I told him before leaving to let him do just that.

"Did he like it?" Phil asked as soon as I walked back into the room.

I chuckled lightly and nodded. "He liked it," I told him.

His smile split his face before he walked off with a skip in his step.

I shook my head and walked over to Sitwell's desk, looking the monitors over.

"Eleanor," Nick started, coming up behind me, "I think it would best if you-"

"Sat this one out. You want to see if Steve's still capable of being a leader and he can't do that if he has me to look to," I said, turning to face him, my arms crossing in front of my chest.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not hearing any objections," he noted.

"You won't," I grumbled. "As much as I hate it he needs this, he needs the distraction and if this turns out well then the validation that he's still needed."

"And you were upset with me for calling him in," he said, starting to sound a little satisfied.

I took a step closer to him, my jaw clenching. "If you think for one moment that I am not going to disembowel you when this is over then you have a very big surprise coming for you," I told him, making sure to keep my voice as indifferent as I could before walking over to the station that was dedicated to Clint.

I got a couple of reviews saying they wished they could see more of what happened after Ellie brought Steve home. I was thinking of having the flashbacks all through out the Avengers chapters; let me know if you like the idea or if you want me to scrap it. As always, thank you for reading!

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