5:45am - May 17, 1998 – SHIELD Office – Lisbon, Portugal

Victoria gritted her teeth, reminding herself that she should not yell at John Garrett in the middle of the operations center. Why the hell did she have to deal with him? Ever since he came back from that cluster in Sarajevo eight years ago, he set her teeth on edge. She couldn't put her finger on it specifically, but there was something about Garrett that set her warning bells off. It almost seemed worse today, but that may be the fact that she was worried about Avery.

Elizabeth had been invited to go on a 2 week cruise, courtesy of a church group she had joined when they moved to Portugal 6 months ago. She was happy that her mother had made friends and was settling in after their latest move, but it meant that Victoria was solely responsible for her very mischievous 9 year old daughter for 2 weeks. And it wasn't like Avery was a baby anymore, able to be left taking a nap in her locked office with a state of the art baby monitor. No, she now had after school activities, playdates, homework, and her own interests. Interests that were decidedly not sitting in her mother's very secure office while quietly reading a book or doing her homework.

At least on this Sunday morning she had Felix in town to stay home with his goddaughter. Without school to distract her for a good portion of the day, Avery had gone a bit stir crazy the day before. Had they been at one of the main bases, it may not have been such a problem, Avery could have been shuttled off to the labs to ensure the scientists ate and didn't do anything too stupid. (Victoria had found the perfect barometer of testing the potential of a scientists work during her time at the Treehouse. If her 9 year old thought the idea was too stupid or dangerous, it didn't happen. She still got calls from some of the friendlier lab assistants who wanted to run their boss's ideas past Avery to see if they needed to shut it down or not).

But in Lisbon, that wasn't an option. The Lisbon office was based out of a majorly populated city, which meant that they had to be a bit more discreet. There were no labs here, only a basic medical facility, and very few military operations were run out of this office. Rather the Lisbon office was used to run their more mundane espionage work out of. It was a safe place to run some of their more long term undercover European operations out of and allowed them to hide in plain sight. After all, who looked for a spy agency in a run of the mill office building that had multiple companies in it? (Granted all the companies were actually shell corporations for SHIELD, but no one else knew that).

The point was, that Lisbon did not have the options for distraction and entertainment that Avery had gotten used to in the Treehouse and the Corner. There were no exciting labs, no grounded field agents, no top of the line operations center that her daughter could entertain herself with. And while she had loved getting to spend more time with her little girl (who was determined to remind her mother that she was not so little anymore), she also felt guilty for making her daughter spend so much time at the office with her. No matter what Stark suggested, she was not shunting her daughter off onto junior agents. Avery might cause them to have a mental breakdown (again).

"Hey Vic, what do we got?"

The sight and sound of John Garrett strolling into the operations center (an hour and a half late) brough Victoria out of her contemplative mood. They were supposed to have met at 4:15am, to go over the final pieces of the plan to extract a long term operative from an undercover assignment that had gone south. But of course, John Garrett worked on his own schedule. That or he knew that she would do the necessary work without him being there and he could sleep in. Bastard.

"We have an operative who is expecting a complete extraction plan within the hour. Were you expecting them to just walk out the door of one of the most violent human trafficking rings in Europe with a simple "good bye"? Or perhaps you would have simply told them to not show up, running the risk of blowing a 2 year operation in the final days."

Okay, maybe she was a bit bitter over Garrett pushing all the work onto her.

"Woah, who pissed in your Cheerios? So I'm a little late. Not like you weren't here to take care of everything right? Lighten up Vic!"

Garrett graced her with his smarmy smile, nudging her with his elbow. If she didn't have her professional reputation to maintain she may have taken Natasha's method of dealing with annoyances and stabbed him. Just as she was about to verbally fillet her least liked colleague, Felix strolled through the door, his cool disdain radiating from him like a calming balm.

"Some people actually understand the meaning of the word responsibility John. Perhaps you would like a dictionary for Christmas?" Rolling his eyes at the other man, Felix turned to Victoria.

"Thank you for letting me stay last night Victoria. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, but I've been recalled to London. Perhaps we will have time for that lunch next time."

Nodding his head, Felix turned to walk out of the door, looking utterly bored with everyone and everything around him. Dread pooled in Victoria's stomach. If Felix was leaving, where was Avery? She swore if he left her daughter home alone, at 6 in the morning, they were going to have words. Suddenly popping his head back around the doorframe, Felix frowned before saying,

"I left that paperwork you asked me to look at in your office. I'll give you a call in a few hours to go over it."

Relief flooded through Victoria's system. Of course Felix hadn't left his goddaughter home alone. And from his hint, she figured that Avery would be fine on her own for a couple of hours.

Most of her nerves settled, she turned back to the task at hand, only to grit her teeth when Garrett opened his mouth once more.

"You and Blake, huh? Can't say I saw that coming. What with the sticks that are rammed so firmly up both of your backsides."

Remind her why she shouldn't stab him again?

8:15am - May 17, 1998 – Victoria's Office - SHIELD Building – Lisbon, Portugal

Avery sat up and rubbed her eyes. She vaguely remembered Uncle Felix carrying her in earlier, but all she had wanted to do was sleep. Looking around, she saw a note on the table next to a box of cereal, and a bag of things for her to do. Scampering over to the table, she looked at the note.

Morning Munchkin,

I'm in a meeting with Agent Garrett most of the day. I'll be by for lunch around 12pm. Agent Michaels will be in at 9am to look after you. If you want to go see a friend or go somewhere, let her know. Please don't leave the office alone. You can use your laptop to talk with Mr. Stark if you want, but check with Aunt Ginny to see if he has work he needs to do first. I'm sorry we didn't get to spend the day together. I love you more than all the leaves in the Amazon.

Love,

Mommy

Avery frowned, her hand coming up to fiddle with the locket that she had gotten for Christmas. Inside was a picture of her and her mom on one side, and her and her grandma on the other. She almost never took it off. Only when she was playing in the vents, cause it tended to fall out and hit the sides when she was trying to be quiet.

Avery did not like Agent Garrett. He was mean to her mommy, and he made her feel grimy after watching him. She had tagged along with Uncle Clint one day when they were at the Triskelion, and one of the people they spied on through the vents had been Agent Garrett.

October 28, 1997 – The Triskelion – Somewhere in the vents

Avery giggled slightly as she followed after her Uncle Clint. They were crawling through the vents at the Triskelion to help her practice her "ninja skills" while her mom found out about where they were moving next. Avery was sad to be leaving the scientists at the Treehouse, but she was looking forward to having other kids around again. No matter what her mother said, the scientists did not count as children, even if she often listened better than they did. They didn't like playing dress up and often were more concerned with bickering over lab space than really playing with her. But she had learned a lot with them. Most of which she was sworn not to tell her mother about.

Since it was a few days before Halloween, she and Uncle Clint were setting up tricks to surprise the agents. Aunt Tasha had said that if they tried anything on her, she would make Uncle Clint regret it. She was considering setting one up on her own, since Aunt Tasha hadn't threatened her, but she hadn't decided yet.

~Alright Munchkin, we're above the Level 5 break room. This is where my boss comes for coffee, so we have to be really quiet, okay?~

It took Avery a moment to translate Clint's sign language, but once she had she nodded her head and clamped her lips shut tightly.

~Are we going to set up a scare?~

~No, we're going to go for the baby agents two hallways over. I don't want to accidently get [name sign that Avery didn't know]. He'd make me work all Halloween if we got caught.~

Horrified of not having her uncle with her when they went Trick – Or -Treating, Avery vowed to be really quiet, so as not to get him in trouble with the mystery boss. Just as they were slipping past the vent into the break room, they heard voices start below them.

"What's the stick in the mud doing here anyway? Thought Pierce had her shipped off to the jungle for good. At least there her anal-retentive shit has some use."

A tall man in a black turtleneck stomped into the room, tossing a file onto one of the tables as he made his way to the coffee pot. Behind him came a balding, ordinary looking man. The ordinary man had a blank look on his face, but Avery got the feeling that he didn't approve of how the turtleneck had been talking.

"Agent Hand is a fine agent who has earned this promotion. Thanks to the systems she instituted in Morocco and the Treehouse injuries are down and productivity is up. Her ops are always well run and clean, and she hasn't lost an agent under her command in eight years. Making her the second in charge of the Lisbon office is a good choice."

Avery had frozen when she had heard her mom's name. How dare the turtleneck talk about her mom like that!

"Oh please Phil, she was the one who sent me into Sarajevo to get blown up! I was just too stubborn to die. Unlike her precious protégé, Linda what's her name."

With a cruel laugh, the turtleneck slumped into a chair, taking a deep sip of his coffee. Avery was frozen, a ringing in her ears. Her mom had gotten this man hurt? So focused on the conversation in front of her, she hadn't even noticed that Clint had moved on and that she could no longer see him.

"You know that's not fair John. Victoria had nothing to do with your mission in Sarajevo. You were the one that didn't sign the vacation request. Fury was the one to run back end on the mission, and Anders was the one who got caught and wasn't able to back you up. All Victoria did was turn in the vacation form that you had left on her desk, like you had asked her to do. It was not her job to double check your vacation request. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just a case of bad intel and bad luck. I know you know that."

The man that the turtleneck, had called Phil was standing in front of his friend his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He almost reminded Avery of how her mom looked when she got in trouble at school. Or when she was scolding the scientists. Avery jumped when a hand came and covered her mouth, while an arm wrapped around her middle.

"Easy Munchkin, it's just me. Didn't want you to scream and give our position away." Uncle Clint whispered in her ear, before letting her go. Looking up at him, she could see his concern through the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to plan scares any more. All she wanted was to hug her mom.

"Agent Barton. You can come down now." The ordinary man, Phil she thought he was called, was now standing directly below the vent, staring up at them. She knew he couldn't see them through the metal, but he must have heard when Uncle Clint whispered to her. Motioning for her to stay put, Clint carefully climbed down, making sure that she wasn't seen. Knowing the drill, as he started talking, she slowly crawled her way back toward her mom's office to wait for him, her mind still stuck on the overheard conversation. She didn't understand most of it, but one thing she did know was that she did not like the turtleneck man.

She had only heard his name later when her mom had asked Uncle Clint what he had been doing in the vents spying on Agents Coulson and Garrett. After that, she and her mom had gone for a long walk, where Victoria had explained that Agent Garrett had been hurt in a mission, and that he was angry about it. He didn't mean anything by it when he was ranting about her, she just made an easy target, cause he couldn't yell at his own bosses. She knew her mom had said not to leave the office, but she wondered if she could do something to get back at him for his mean comments. Aunt Tasha did always say that some people needed to be taught a lesson. With a grin on her face, Avery turned toward the computer on her mom's desk. Had any of the adults in her life seen her at that moment, they would have recognized the look on her face as one she had learned from the scientists at the Treehouse. Slightly deranged, with a touch of evil.

11:33am – May 17, 1998 – SHIELD Building – Lisbon, Portugal

"Seriously, Iz. Why are we here instead of you know, a hospital? And what even is this place?"

Isabelle Hartley rolled her eyes as she limped along the hallway, one hand pressed tight to the cut on her stomach. It had been years since she had been in a SHIELD office, rather than meeting her handlers in out of the way restaurants or apartments while undercover at Interpol. But two days ago she had been dragged into the interrogation room at Interpol, and accused of being a traitor to the agency. Someone had found the bugs she had placed and traced them back to her. If it hadn't been for Idaho creating a distraction, she never would have gotten away.

Idaho was a junior agent for Interpol, that had been recruited by the agency under duress. He had gotten caught up in a sting operation, and rather than send him off to jail, the higher ups had offered him a deal. Join or go to jail. That fact made him a bit of an outsider, something she could appreciate. Once he had gotten her out of the building, she had told him the truth about everything. She had been afraid that he would leave her then, but her proved her wrong and simply said that he was sticking with her.

Two days later, they were limping into the SHIELD office, bloody and bruised, and she knew that she had found a brother in him, the way that Vic had found a brother in Blake. She only hoped that her ex-girlfriend wouldn't kill her for bringing Idaho along with her to the office.

"Because a hospital would ask too many questions. And they'd want to keep us for observation. As for this place, well, it's a way station of sorts. For SHIELD. I know one of the higher ups here, and after that cluster at Interpol, we'll need her help if we want to get off those wanted lists. Now quit whining. This is her office. See if you can pick the lock. I'd rather wait here than drag you through the building."

Inside the office, Avery heard the sound of someone at the door. Using her laptop, she peaked at the cameras outside of her mom's office door. Seeing two people she didn't recognize, she quickly, but quietly, shoved her things into her backpack and made her way over to the vent above her mom's desk. She knew the rules about strangers while in the SHIELD office. Unless they were introduced to her by her Aunt Tasha or one of her Uncles, she wasn't to be seen. Hearing the sound of the lock clicking, Avery made it into the vent just as the door swung open, revealing a pair of bloody and beaten agents.

"Come on. Vic usually keeps a first aid kit in her desk. And a bottle of the good stuff as well."

Avery narrowed her eyes as the unknown woman made her way to her mom's desk and started rooting around through the drawers. Whoever this woman was, she obviously hadn't known her mom in a long time. Victoria had stopped keeping grown up drinks in her desk when Avery turned 3. Watching as the man and woman started to patch themselves up, Avery quickly came to a decision. Whoever these people were, they did not belong here. And if there was anything her Uncle Clint and Aunt Tasha had taught her, it was how to deal with unwanted visitors.

SHIELD Loading Dock – Lisbon Office – 2:48pm

Climbing out of the SUV, Victoria rolled her neck sighing in satisfaction when the vertebrae popped as she made her way to the elevator. The mission had gone well, their agent had been retrieved and Interpol was happily cleaning up the remains of the trafficking ring. And thanks to her work earlier this morning, all that was left was a couple of after action reports, which shouldn't take more than a half hour. If she had let Garrett run things his way, they would have been stuck in the office for another 4 hours dealing with paperwork. Part of her wanted to say "I told you so", but as she was trying to teach Avery, sometimes it was more important to be the bigger person.

When the elevator doors opened, she drew up short at the sight of Breena Michaels Waiting for her. To most others, Breena's face would have been a complete mask, but Victoria could see the hint of amusement lingering in her eyes.

"You have a visitor ma'am. A couple of them actually." Breena quickly passed over the tablet she was holding, trading it for the rifle Victoria had been carrying. Breena efficiently cleared the weapon before putting it in the safe behind her desk, allowing Victoria to look through the information on the tablet.

"A deep cover agent was compromised 2 days ago during their time with Interpol. They have managed to make their way here, along with a stray with minor injuries. Rather than reporting to the SAC on duty or heading to medical, they elected to wait in your office for you. They are there now."

A funny feeling started growing in Victoria's stomach. She knew that if Avery had been seen or compromised at all, Breena would have burned the threat to the ground, but that did not explain her current amusement. If Avery had been following the rules, she should have used the vents to retreat to the abandoned (and locked) office 2 hallways over, to wait for Breena or Victoria to retrieve her, once the office was clear. There should be no reason for Breena to be so amused. Unless….

Throwing open the door to her office, she took in the sight of her ex-girlfriend and a stocky Latino man, currently bound to the office chairs with some sort of neon green adhesive, apples stuck in their mouths, and their eyes glued to Avery, who was sitting cross legged on top of her desk, some sort of jerry-rigged weapon cradled in her lap. There was a large pile of weapons stacked up next to her, including Izzy's favorite pair of knives. Looking closer at her two "Visitors" she could see that their hands had been taped inside of individual stuffed animals, and that the ropes restraining them looked suspiciously like the adhesive from the Treehouse that could be made out of common office materials, but left copious amounts of glitter everywhere and that required the use of spoiled milk to remove.

Spotting her at the door, Avery got the brightest smile on her face and popped off the desk waving. Victoria couldn't help but notice how the Latino man seemed warier of her daughter than Izzy did. Then again, Izzy had prior exposure to the craziness of SHIELD.

"Hi Mom! Look! I made some new friends!"

Victoria really had to stop letting Blake, Clint, and Tasha teach Avery how to make friends.