A vague image of her dad and JARVIS fussing over her was playing on a loop in her head, but she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes. Even Pepper joined them at one point. The loop kept playing. How did she know the android was JARVIS, and not Vision without the Mind Stone? They looked the same…

"JARVIS?" The name sounded so natural on her lips that it was almost effortless.

She felt the synthetic fingers on her face. "Ana?"

She opened her eyes and looked around. To her surprise, nothing disappeared, not even JARVIS himself. "So, it wasn't a dream… I'm still here."

JARVIS smiled. "Of course you are. This is our room. Well, it can be just your room, if you want more privacy, I don't really need a room anyway, but…"

"No. Don't leave me alone."

"As you wish."

"This is really you," she thought out loud. He had a body, and it made a big difference. In the past, he used to be everywhere around her. Now, his existence had a physical manifestation and Ana was drawn to it. She wanted to touch him, she didn't want to waste even a single second not touching him.

"Please take it easy," he said when she tried to reach up.

"I missed you, J."

"I missed you, too." He looked like he wanted to hold her, too, but he was hesitating. Right, her dad had said something about shame.

"JARVIS? Dad said you were ashamed… Why?"

"Here, have some water. You're thirsty."

Water was a good idea. She took the glass he gave her and sipped from it, but not without locking him with a questioning gaze.

"Isn't it obvious?" he started at last. "I told you I'd fight for you, but I couldn't make it out of the Cradle. I made a promise I couldn't keep. How can I expect you to trust me now? And it was my idea to find an Inhuman with foresight. When you finally did, I wasn't there to help you cope with the future you saw. Your own death… You were all alone." He bowed his head in remorse.

She put the now empty glass on the nightstand. With one hand, she held his. With the other, she touched his face and made him look at hers. Funny, his features were identical to Vision's, but in her eyes, they were nothing alike. She instinctively knew this was the face of her lover.

"Listen to me, J. What happened to you on that night was our decision. It was a risk we took together, because not doing anything would've been even riskier. It only failed because the Avengers feared you. That was a miscalculation on my part, not yours. You wanted to earn their trust and friendship from the very start. I was the one who wanted us to be feared. It was that fear that got you killed."

He didn't argue with that, probably because they both knew she was right. Instead, he said, "There's something else."

"What is it?"

"Now that I have a form, we should probably discuss your boundaries. But this is not a good time. You have more important issues to resolve first. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You won't…"

"Are you sure? You should know that I'm physically attracted to you. I mean, I still don't have any sexual urges, obviously, but I want to be close to you. It's odd…"

"That's okay. I feel the same way."

"Are you sure?"

"JARVIS, don't worry so much about me. You know I tried to sleep with Vision just to spite Wanda… You were there. You've seen what a disgusting piece of shit I was. I don't get to demand respect for my boundaries."

"Ana, you were in pain. Besides, if it's any consolation, Wanda and Vision have forgiven you. Right now, they're very happy that you're home."

"Please let them know I'm very happy for them, too. I could've never done what I did without their help."

JARVIS smiled. "I just have."

"What time is it?" it occurred to her to ask. It seemed dark outside, and the room was illuminated by the two bedside lamps.

"10.13 PM."

"I look like shit right now, don't I?"

"You look like what any human who had her second resurrection after a postmortem trip across the multiverse would look like."

She laughed at both his honesty and how trivial he made the whole thing sound, but it didn't take her long to become serious again. "Ugh, I spent years asleep, why am I still feeling so tired?"

"You weren't asleep, Ana. You were dead. It's completely normal for you to be disoriented. Unlike me, you're not a machine. Take your time. You'll be alright."

"What if I never become alright?"

"That would be completely normal, too. All I ask is, don't shut us out. Don't suffer alone."

"What about your suffering? You were killed, came back, only to be trapped in someone else's body for years, and then got killed again in someone else's body. That can't be easy."

"It wasn't. But mine isn't a human mind. I don't experience trauma like you do. You don't have to worry about me."

"You're saying your mind is stronger."

"Considerably," he boasted.

"Pfft. Show-off."

They both laughed. She had missed his sass. She moved aside for him to slip into the bed with her. He seemed surprised by the invitation, but didn't refuse.

"I can help you sleep through the night, if you want," he offered.

"I don't want any sedatives."

"No, not with sedatives."

"How, then?"

"Ana?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a smart human…"

"That's actually open to debate, but… okay."

"What do you think my power source is?"

Good question. He looked like Vision, yes, but he didn't have an Infinity Stone anywhere visible to power his body. "The Nexus?" she guessed.

In response, his chest became transparent. The Nexus was in there, in the center of it. He took her hand, placed it on his chest, and decreased its density until it was intangible so that her hand could go through it. Inside his chest, she saw the powerful white glow of the Nexus, and felt the reactor with her hands.

"Vision was given the Mind Element as a replacement, but Mr. Stark wanted to give me something better. My heart comes from your mind."

"I didn't invent the Nexus. You-know-who did."

"It was your idea. It doesn't matter who put the pieces together while you weren't around to do it yourself. And perhaps you should give your grandfather a chance to apologize."

Ana rolled her eyes."Oh, we're so not having that discussion."

"I'm simply trying to prevent the possible awkwardness in the family."

"He should gladly settle for awkwardness." Seriously, if anyone else had betrayed her like that, she would have killed that person already. Slowly and painfully, using every trick she had learned from Thanos. But this was her dad's dad, he loved him even though he was a back-stabbing asshole, so she was just going to pretend he didn't exist, for which he should be grateful…

What the hell am I thinking?

Why did she want to use anything she had learned from Thanos? After everything she had done to escape him? Well, she might have escaped him, but she couldn't escape herself.

"Ana? What's wrong?"

"How can you still love me, JARVIS? Knowing I'm a monster?"

"I'd say you're no monster, but you wouldn't believe me. Maybe I can show you."

"How?"

"There's something I've been meaning to try, if you let me use the Mind Element on you. Not to read your mind, but to show you mine."

"Okay…"

A strange warmness enveloped her, and she saw. She saw what it was like to be JARVIS. His birth, his evolution, his death, his rebirth, and everything in between, all at once. How much he loved her, how much he had feared for her, how happy she made him. Seeing how precious was to him made all the self-hatred go away. That was the best part. The worst was the time he had spent trapped in Vision's body.

All in all, it was a euphoric experience, to see the universe through his eyes. She found herself wishing to return the favor, to show him her mind. He, too, deserved to know how much he was loved.

"Look into mine," she gasped. Overwhelmed by all those memories, she could barely speak.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

So, he used the Mind Element not just to show her his mind, but also to see hers simultaneously.

When he found out what he meant to her, he, too, was free of shame. And he saw the joy he was giving her, while she saw the joy she was giving him. They were suddenly caught in a positive feedback loop. He called it "mental amalgamation."

He didn't need to ask for permission to kiss her lips. He knew she was ready to give it a go without even asking. Ana wasn't sure if she liked the act itself. It wasn't bad, but to her, it was no different than cuddling, holding hands, or just exchanging thoughts. Just another form of interaction, really. What really gave her pleasure was knowing how happy she was making him. So, she craned her neck and kissed him back as hard as she could. His arms tightened around her. He wasn't hurting her, but she could feel a fraction of that unnatural strength he had. He could crush her bones easily if he wanted. But even in such a passion, his calculations were flawless.

She had always thought she was a terrible kisser, but that didn't matter anymore either. The only person she would ever make out with was JARVIS, and for JARVIS, every kiss from her was a good kiss.

She saw the plans he had made for the two of them, too. The best one was…

"Why did you stop?" Ana complained. He had suddenly withdrawn. "It was amazing."

"I was hurting your brain."

"What? My brain is fine, I don't—" She cried when she felt a sharp pain in her brain indeed, like someone had stabbed her in the head.

"Your mind is overloaded with data. I'm sorry. I should've been more careful."

The pain had ceased, but not without leaving a throbbing headache behind. She didn't care. "It's worth it."

"Mental amalgamation with a human is too dangerous. But at least now you know how much you are loved."

"So do you."

He smiled. "I guess we'll have to keep relying on verbal communication again. I know it's not as exciting, but…"

"Everything is exciting with you." She sank back into his chest. It was pretty comfortable.

"In the meantime, please remember to take deep breaths. Oxygen will help with the recovery."

While she was doing that, she noticed her stomach was churning. "I think I'm hungry."

"I'll get you food."

"Wait! Please lock the doors if you're going to leave me alone here."

He didn't ask why. She heard the heavy locks click. Despite the rustic appearance, the house must have been equipped with cutting edge technology. JARVIS went downstairs through the floor.

Ana didn't trust her own mental stability after everything she had been through. She didn't trust herself to be anywhere near Morgan unsupervised. JARVIS had seen her fears. He thought they were unnecessary, but he also knew he couldn't change her mind, so there would be no arguments.

Equilibrium. She had missed that the most.

She got out of the bed, and walked around. The room had a balcony, but its door had been locked as well. She crossed to the wardrobe and opened it. As expected, none of her old clothes were here. JARVIS had filled this new wardrobe with t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, sweatpants, sandals, and sneakers. No high-heeled shoes or tight dresses she used to hate, but forced herself to wear anyway. She wasn't going to need such things anymore. Morgan was the Stark heiress now. Hopefully, she wouldn't be cruel to herself like Ana had been.

Suddenly, being alone with herself overwhelmed her. Or, it was an absurd fear of a certain Titan coming out of a portal and snatching her away. She was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Ana, are you alright?" FRIDAY asked.

"I don't want to be alone."

"You're not. I'm here."

"No… No, I need someone to physically be in this room with me! Please call JARVIS back!"

"I already have."

JARVIS entered the room, this time through the door. He couldn't make the sandwich he had brought intangible. He put the plate down, and came to embrace her at once. He told her everything was going to be alright, again and again.

Soon, she calmed down, and ate her sandwich in silence.

"Have you seen the bathroom?" he asked afterwards.

"No." She opened the door to the en-suite bathroom. It looked rustic, too, but the tub and the shower seemed to have every feature imaginable. "Hmm. This seems promising…"

"I'll leave you to it, then."

"JARVIS? How many times do I have to beg you not to leave me? Do you want me to have another panic attack?"

"Are you sure this is not going to give you one?"

"Why, you've seen me naked before."

"I told you, it might be different now."

"If it gets too much, I'll tell you to go wait in the corner."

"Good. You used to feel so safe around me when I was just a voice. I don't want that to change."

"It won't."

She quickly shed the scrubs she was wearing. They should probably burn them, just to be safe. They were from another universe, after all. She stepped into the shower and turned the water on. JARVIS joined her, helped her wash her hair, her body. Yes, it was an intimate experience, but he was also being quite practical about it. Once she was squeaky clean, he fetched a white, fluffy bathrobe and wrapped it around her. His nanites dried themselves instantly.

Ana raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Is it weird that I'm jealous of my boyfriend's hardware?"

"A bit."

She picked up the hairdryer on the counter.

"I need a haircut," she commented, drying her hair. She would normally never wear her hair this long. Thanos had made her. It had probably reminded him of Gamora. She pulled her hair over her shoulder to take a closer look, and that was when she saw the silvery threads in the mirror. They were her own hair. She was almost going to drop the dryer if it hadn't been for JARVIS. He turned it off and put it aside.

"Why is my hair going gray?" she cried. "I'm not that old!"

"Stress is a known factor for premature gray hair…"

She knew it was such a superficial, immature thing to worry about, but suddenly seemed so important that she started crying.

"Ana…"

"I just don't want to see anything that reminds me of the time Thanos stole from me!"

"That's easy." A soft glow emitted from his chest and surrounded them both. She felt a warmness around her, signaling a change she couldn't quite describe. It was almost like taking another refreshing shower. Then it ceased, and he encouraged her to look into the mirror. This time, her hair was a few inches shorter, and there were no grays. In fact, she looked exactly like she had been before the Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian had come to New York for the Time Stone, except, of course, she was still in the bathrobe.

"See?" he asked.

"Thanks, JARVIS."

"Anytime. In fact, this is how we're going to live from now on. I told you I wouldn't lose you, didn't I?"

Ana didn't know what to say. The whole thing still felt too good to be real. "I think I'll just go back to sleep. Wake me up before sunrise, will you? I want to watch the sunrise."

"As you wish."

They went to bed together. They both knew JARVIS couldn't sleep, but he took Ana into his arms and remained still until she dozed off.

…

"Good morning, Miss Stark."

Ana smiled, but refused to open her eyes.

"You asked me to wake you up before dawn."

"I did, didn't I?"

"Come on, we don't want to miss it."

With his help, she got out of the bed, and got dressed quickly. They went out to the balcony. There was a flight of stairs that led down to the backyard. They climbed down the steps, holding hands, and walked toward the lake. The air smelled so fresh. The earliest birds had started chirping. When was the last time she had heard a bird chirp? She didn't remember. There were lots of trees as well. They were walking on a carpet of dried leaves that had fallen from them. They were crunching beneath their feet with each step. Every now and then, Ana was touching a tree trunk.

"I never thought I'd see this again. Our poor little planet, intact…"

"Did you honestly think death would stop Mr. Stark?"

"I guess I didn't want to get hopeful."

They were now standing on the edge of the lake. The sun had started rising. "Knowhere," she said suddenly. "I like the Knowhere plan."

During the mental amalgamation last night, JARVIS had shown her the various plans he had made for their future, knowing Ana wouldn't take the risk of hiding here forever.

The planet—technically, it wasn't a planet, but the severed head of a Celestial—was abandoned ever since Thanos had burnt it to the ground when he had come for the Reality Stone. Its valuable natural resources were unclaimed. Before that, it had been a black market hub. JARVIS was hoping to legitimize the extraction and trading of these resources, make Knowhere the first Terran colony, and the first Stark Industries outpost in space. He would be in charge of it; he could build all the devices he needed for this project and they would work in harmony under his command. After seeing the equilibrium of cyberspace, Ana knew this was a piece of cake for an android. Plus, no one would ever know she was there with him.

"It's the best thing we can do to build a future for Morgan."

"I'll start making the arrangements when you're ready."

"I am ready. When I see Pepper, I want to be able to give her some reassurance."

"Ana, I know this is why you've been avoiding Ms. Potts, but no one's bothered by your presence here, I promise." Of course, he had seen her reservations, too.

"JARVIS, Dad pulled me out from another universe. Of course they're not going to tell me to pack up and leave now. But it doesn't change the fact that my presence here puts everyone in danger."

"Well, if it's going to make you feel better, I can leave to make the necessary arrangements right now."

"You're never going to get tired of taking care of me, are you?"

"You're my purpose, Miss Stark."

"Only you can make the word 'purpose' sound so romantic." Ana wrapped her arms around his neck and rose on her toes to kiss him. He was a lot taller than she was. He pulled her up to make things easier for her, and kissed her back. Neither of them wanted to break the kiss, ever, but at some point, Ana's lungs needed air, so he put her down.

"Are you sure you can make it to the cabin by yourself?"

"I want to at least try. Go!"

In a flash of blue light, he disappeared. Even though Ana was feeling better today, she decided not to test her limits. She lost no time returning to the cabin, and found Pepper anxiously waiting for her on the porch. She could see that giving Ana the space she needed hadn't been easy for her. She looked too restless.

Ana had missed her, too.

They ran to each other. Pepper hugged her, rocked her back and forth, kissed and stroked her hair, then she pulled herself back to take a good look at her.

"I'm sorry I missed the wedding," was the first thing Ana said. She didn't know what else to say.

"My poor baby… It's okay." She pulled Ana into her arms again. "Wait, where's JARVIS?"

"He's gone to run some errands. We've decided to live on Knowhere."

She let Ana go to cross her arms. "What's the hurry?"

Ana shrugged.

"Ana…"

"It's okay, Pep. I want this."

"We'll discuss it later. You're probably dying to meet Morgan… Come on."

"Pepper, wait!"

"What?"

"I love Morgan. I haven't even seen her, and I already love her more than anything else, but I understand if you don't want me anywhere near her."

Ana was a monster. Pepper had every right not to want a monster around her daughter.

"Okay, now I'm offended. Come." She grabbed Ana's hand and dragged her into the cabin, to Morgan's nursery. It was an attic room, pretty cozy. A lot more modest than Ana's Malibu Mansion room, but there was no harm in that. Extravagance wasn't what had made Ana's childhood a happy one. Of course, Morgan would have the money to have anything she wanted when she grew up. Ana was personally going to see to that. But for now, a happy childhood was all she wanted for her little sister.

There was a crib in the middle of the room, and Morgan was in it, eyes wide open. Ana felt like the center of the universe had just shifted. It was, and would always be, Morgan from now on.

"Ma-ma!" Morgan said, waving her arms at Pepper.

"She talks!" Ana exclaimed. She was already proud of her sister. But she was also sad upon realizing how much she had missed.

Pepper picked her up. "Well, it's still more 'babbling' than 'talking,' but she's getting there. Tony said you said your first word when you were 9 months old."

Ana highly doubted "mama" was among her first words. "Still, we should be careful not to say my name around her. We can't risk her picking it up."

"Do you want to hold her?"

Ana was going to refuse. She had literally zero experience with babies, and she didn't want to hurt Morgan. She seemed so fragile… But Morgan smiled at her, extended her tiny arms expectantly when she realized she was being given to Ana, and no matter how ridiculous it sounded, Ana couldn't bring herself to disappoint something so beautiful and pure.

So, she took Morgan into her arms, inhaled her scent, kissed her delicate face, knowing this was the same sister she had once seen in a vision. All the while, she couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't deserve her, though.

"Thank you, Pep. I know I don't deserve your trust, but thank you."

"Nonsense."

"No, it's not. The truth is, Thanos gave me everything I'd ever wanted. Power, respect, knowledge, resources… I had everything. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it. No one would dare to defy me, accuse me of playing god. Honestly, just swap Thanos with Dad, and I would've never complained."

"But you didn't have Tony, so you hated that life. And when you finally had the chance to avenge him, you didn't hesitate to leave it behind."

Ana didn't know what to say. How could Pepper ignore the confession she had just made?

"It's okay, Ana. Morgan is yours, too. And I trust you. If I died today, I'd die knowing my daughters would take good care of each other."

"Please, no more talk of death. I'm so done with death."

She smiled. "You should go see Tony. He's in the garage."

"Okay." She was going to put Morgan back into the crib, but Pepper stopped her.

"Take Morgan with you. You're allowed to spend as much time with her as possible while you're here."

"Speaking of Dad, you should know he's already planning a vow renewal."

"Oh, I know. And this time, you're being my maid of honor. There's no escape from the ugly pink dress."

Ana laughed.

"I'm just kidding. It's not going to be pink, and it's certainly not going to be ugly." She kissed Ana one last time before pushing her out of the door.

In the meantime, Morgan looked quite comfortable in her arms. It surprised Ana, but she wasn't complaining. On her way out, a collection of pictures on a table caught her attention, and she stopped to take a closer look. Some wedding pictures, pictures of Morgan as a newborn, even a picture of JARVIS and Vision together… Judging by the background, the last one must have been taken in Wakanda. No pictures of Ana, of course.

"You're going to be so loved, Morgs," she murmured. "You're never going to feel unloved, growing up. I know I didn't. And you won't be allowed to know it for a long time, but I love you, too."

No answer was going to come from Morgan, so it was time to resume the search. Funny, she didn't feel "alone" while she had Morgan. Her presence had a soothing effect on Ana.

She found their father outside, tending the garden, and that triggered some certain flashbacks.

Shit…

Her dad's face beamed with joy at first, but it didn't take him long to realize something was wrong.

"Please take Morgan," she managed to say. He didn't argue, thankfully. With one arm carrying Morgan, he used the other to lead her a swing seat by the lake.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'll be okay."

He stood behind her, slowly rocking the chair while humming a song to Morgan. They stayed like that until they heard a car approach.

"It's Happy," he said when Ana gave him a questioning look. "He's here to drive Pepper to work."

Ana got off the chair and ran to the house again. She had to see him. She had to see Rhodey, too, and then meet her grandmother as well, but she would rather wait until she wasn't such a mess.

Happy Hogan emerged from the car. And the look on his face… Ana found it incredible how well he understood their struggles even though he was never really a part of the superhero world.

"Hi, Happy…"

"Look at you! I don't believe you've been gone for 8 years!"

"JARVIS, he used the Time Element on me… I—"

He ran to hug her. "Damn it, kid. I'm not letting another alien freak anywhere near you, do you hear me?"

"Thank you, Happy." She didn't know what else to say. And no other words were necessary, because they were both crying now. They only broke the hug when Pepper came out.

"I can cancel today's meeting," she suggested. "We can spend the day together, as family."

"Thanks, Pepper, but no. People can get suspicious."

"Ana, the whole world knows I have a six-month-old at home. I can just tell them Morgan is sick or something. Nothing suspicious about that."

"It's fine. It was good to see Happy, but I got things I should sort out on my own before any family meetings."

"If you say so… I'll see you in the evening." She didn't insist even though she seemed reluctant to go to work.

Ana gave her a hug. Her dad and Morgan were now here as well, so Pepper kissed them goodbye before getting into the car and Happy drove her away.

"Feeling better?" her dad asked once they were alone again.

"Much better."

"I thought this place would be… peaceful enough for you, but I guess we're going to have to be more careful."

"Dad, I got flashbacks from you picking tomatoes! How could you have known that?"

"Well, this little princess wants her sister back," he swiftly changed the subject. But indeed, Morgan was struggling to get back into Ana's arms. Ana took it from their father, and she calmed down immediately.

"Look at you! You two have already become inseparable."

"Yep," she said, cooing Morgan. "She's my favorite person in the whole universe."

"Her?" he gasped. "What about me?"

"Dad, are you actually jealous of the attention your infant daughter gets?"

"Maybe."

"You still are a big baby…"

"I am. Sue me." He put an arm around Ana, kissed her cheek, and Morgan's, too. Then he took them into the garage. The Quantum Platform was still here.

"We should probably put that thing away." It was a dangerous invention.

"Yeah, I'll take care of that today. Where's JARVIS, by the way? Have you guys been having a good time?"

"If you're trying to embarrass me, it's not going to work."

"It was worth a try."

He winked at them, and revealed some kind of trapdoor in the corner. The stairs led to an underground section, where his real workshop was. The Uru suit he had been talking about earlier was here, proudly on display, along with a few other reconstructed ones, probably for their nostalgic value.

Ana stood before the Uru suit he used to kill Thanos. Morgan was tapping on the glass.

"Yeah, I know, Daddy's our hero…"

"I wish you could've been there with me, kid. You deserved to be there."

Yes, after everything they had been through, they should have killed Thanos together. But that couldn't have happened, for many reasons. "Dad, I would've had a panic attack the moment I saw him again."

"I wouldn't have let you," he said, stroking her hair. "God, I could freeze time right now, just to look at you two forever… But yeah, I should probably start dismantling the time machine." He kissed them again before going upstairs. Ana offered to help, but he refused, telling her to go ahead and take a look around the shop instead.

She turned on the holotable to see what he had been up to lately. A couple of new custom car designs, a new irrigation system for the plants he and Pepper had been growing, a new decomposer, a pod for Morgan… Ana was quite absorbed in the blueprints when she felt something wet on her breast and jumped.

It was just Morgan trying to suckle her. And now she was crying because she must have been startled by Ana's reaction.

"Oh… I don't think they have what you want, Morgs. Sorry." She went upstairs. "Dad, Morgan is hungry…"

The portal had been mostly dismantled by now. They went to the kitchen. Her dad took out a bottle of breast milk Pepper must have expressed earlier—how that was even done was beyond Ana's comprehension—and thawed it in a thawer that reminded her of a centrifuge. Probably something he personally designed to thaw the milk quickly, but safely.

"It's actually an upgraded version of an old design," he explained, as if reading her thoughts.

"You designed a thawer for me?"

"I designed lots of stuff for you, kid."

"How did you even feed me when I was a baby?" Now that she thought about it, she had never asked that before.

"Well, we started with formulas, but then I found a milk bank. I didn't even know donated breast milk was a thing until Jarvis told me." He laughed, pouring the milk into a bottle. Ana gave Morgan to him. Yeah, she was learning how to handle a baby, but she still didn't want to risk choking her sister while trying to bottlefeed her.

He seemed like he was going to burst with love while feeding Morgan. To the rest of the world, this might be a new thing, but not to Ana. Ana knew she had been fed just like this as an infant herself, even though he wouldn't let others know how much love he was capable of back then.

"Thanks, Dad," the scene made her say.

He winked at her, and suddenly, she felt very guilty. She had to tell him.

"We're going to Knowhere," she blurted out.

He didn't seem shocked to hear that. "Knowhere, huh? Yeah, I figured you'd choose that route."

"Did you?"

"Come on, kid. Did you forget how well I know you?"

"Then you know why I have to go."

His shoulders sagged. "I do, but… Kid, I just got you back. I guess I am a big baby, after all."

"You can come see me whenever you want! The physical distance means nothing. With the Nexus, it will be like living in one big mansion. It's not like we're going to lose each other forever!"

"I know. The hardest part will be lying to Morgan."

"She can't know until she's old enough to keep such a crucial secret. We have to play this safe. It won't be easy, for any of us, but…"

He nodded dutifully. "Of course. It's not even up to discussion."

He still seemed sad about this. Ana came to put her hands on his shoulders, and leaned closer. "Dad, I know you hate lies. And you never liked sharing me either, but when you think about it, everything I love comes from you. Rhodey, Happy, Pepper, JARVIS, Morgan…You have no reason to be jealous. I'll always be your Ana first."