Alright, so I've only got about one more chapter before I transition into Iron Man 3.

gamergirl28: Thank you hon! I'm glad you like it!

Stargazer1364: All I can say is...you will see. I'm not giving away too much.

Enjoy!

It had been almost two months since the Battle of New York, and my dad had started burying himself in his work again. I knew he wasn't doing well, any sane person could see that. I finally had gotten him to spill what had happened after I had been stabbed, which he admitted to flying a nuke out to space, and almost not making it back. I knew that had affected him in more ways than one, as all of the time he didn't spend with me, he spent working on the tower, and making suits.

It was a nice change, having my dad back again. We went out all the time, he took me shopping, we went out for lunch, sometimes he'd even just fly us around New York.

He and Pepper, well mainly Pepper, had been doing lots of press coverage, since the giant hole in the sky that brought aliens to Earth did open over Stark Tower, which had promptly been renamed Avengers Tower as it was being reconstructed. And, of course, my dad with his new sidekick Rhodey, also helped defend New York City, and the Stark name since he still had a lot of enemies.

I hadn't seen Steve since the battle. He'd moved to D.C. to be closer to SHIELD's headquarters since he was now acting as an agent for them. I knew it was far fetched, thinking we could actually have something together, but a girl can dream, can't she?

I wasn't doing so great myself. Most of the time I spent with my dad involved talking during the early hours of the morning. Neither of us were sleeping well. I kept having nightmares. Some were about things that had already happened, and some I couldn't quite make sense of. Sometimes I was lucky and had a nice dream, but those were few and far between. I knew the sleepless nights were not good for my health, but diving deep into my worst fears every time I closed my eyes...they were worth it.

...

I was, sitting on the edge of a bed, the sheet wrapped around me.

'I should get back.'

A warm hand ran down my bare back, tracing down the back of my arm, grasping my hand.

'You could stay.'

I sighed, pulling my hand from his, putting my clothes back on.

'It's better this way.' I said, pausing in the doorway before turning and walking away. I ignored his calls, knowing the only thing waiting for me down that line was pain as tears fell down my cheeks.

"Skye!" I jolted awake, gulping down air. "Hey." A warm hand touched my cheek, wiping away the tears I didn't know were actually falling. "Look at me."

I looked up to see the concerned eyes of my father. I gulped down air, still feeling the sadness from the dream. I leaned forward, resting my head against my dad's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, resting his cheek on my head.

We stayed that way for a while, the steady beating of my dad's heart and the soft hum of his arc reactor calming my frantic breathing.

"You wanna talk about it?"

I pulled away, sliding out of bed. "I'm fine." I began walking to the bathroom.

"No, Skye, you're not." He stood from his spot on the bed. "Neither of us are, but you're not going to get any better just holding everything in. Eventually it's all going to come out and it's going to be ugly when it does."

"Says the man who never wants to talk to me about what he's going through. Where do you think I get it from? I'll tell you what I dream about if you tell me what your deal is. Until then, don't worry about me. Worry about more important things like your suits." I turned, walking to the bathroom.

He didn't say anything, just left the room, the door slamming closed behind him. Yeah, we talked more, but most of the time, it wasn't about happy things.

I turned the shower on, knowing I probably wasn't going to sleep again that night. Or, well, morning. I might as well get ready for my day of doing nothing. Well, on the outside it seemed like I was doing nothing. I had been practicing with my powers more and more, trying to get better control over them. I still had slip ups occasionally, but I was learning more and more as I practiced. I tried to exercise them more and more, like levitating my shampoo to my hand in the shower. Sure it was good to work my powers, but in turn it made me more lazy.

After I got out of the shower, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt before heading back to my room. I was contemplating heading out to the kitchen to grab something to eat when I suddenly became very dizzy. My world was spinning, and I reached a hand out to grab something before I hit the floor, but all I met was air. My legs gave out under me and suddenly I was falling, my world going dark.

...

My head was underwater, my lungs burning as I tried to hold my breath. Something pulled me up forcefully, making me gasp in precious oxygen as water splashed everywhere. I wanted to wipe the water from my eyes and move my hair back but my wrists were tied behind my back with a zip-tie.I was forced back down on my knees, water soaking into my jeans.

A rough hand grabbed my chin, tilting my face up. I tried to get a look at him, but I couldn't with the wet hair stuck to my face.

'Where is the soldier!' A rough voice demanded.

'I don't know.' I gasped out.

Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer because I found myself being forced back into the water, barely having enough time to draw in a breath before I was submerged again. I was dropped on my knees again, the two pairs of hands holding me still as I tried to fight them.

'I'm only going to ask once more. Where is the soldier!'

I could barely think with the lack of oxygen I was taking in. 'I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know any 'soldier'!' I gasped out, tears mixing with the water dripping down my face. It was silent for a moment, aside from footsteps that echoed around me. A body crouched behind mine, the other hands holding me still as warm breath fanned over my ear.

'You should have told me where the soldier is.'

I was forced into the water again, but this time, the hands held me down, my feet slipping on the wet tile as I desperately tried to find a way to keep myself from drowning.