(Warning, this chapter has minor feels.)

"Love, I missed you." A voice said as she looked up and saw Conrad sitting at what looked to be a park bench. Vera noticed then that it was Central park, the park they had there first date at, and frequently visited. Vera slowly walked over to him as she noticed he held a baby in his arms that had copperish brown hair, a mix of both of theirs.

"I missed you too." Vera spoke quietly as she lifted her hand to lay it on his chest. She lowered her head to look at the baby, Mina. She gave Mina a watery grin. "You're so beautiful, just like I imagined." She whispered as Mina cooed back at her. Vera felt Conrad wrap his arm around her waist as he pulled her into the crook of his arm.

"You don't know how hard this is for me." He whispered out quietly as she looked up at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, my mousy haired boy?" She asked him. Vera's nickname for Conrad had been mousy hair boy due to his voluminous chocolate colored locks that he refused to cut. It had always been his pride. Conrad grinned sadly as he looked at her.

"I want to be selfish and keep you here.. but you're not meant to be here, not yet anyways.." Vera gripped his sweater then as her expression faltered.

"No, what do you mean? I'm meant to be here with you, you and Mina." Vera quickly said, shaking her head rapidly as she blinked away oncoming tears.

"No love, no you're not. You have to go back, your brother is waiting for you." He explained to her, his voice a calm warmth as Vera's bottom lip quivered.

"I don't want to leave you both, not again." Vera's voice cracked as he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"I know, sweetheart but.. there are still mountains you need to climb, the world has been spinning on without you while yours has remained still and I don't want that.. I love you evermore." He whispered with a soft smile as suddenly everything started fading from around her. Vera panicked as she tried to reach out for him but he was gone and so was Mina.

"No, Conrad.. Mina, Conrad!" She shouted.

"Conrad!" Vera yelled out as she threw her arm out, sitting up quickly and looking around. As Vera looked up, there in the corner sat Steve and Tony who looked worse for wear and Clint who sat next to her. Bruce quickly walked up to her and started examining her as Vera's lip quivered. "Conrad.." She muttered, tears streaming down her face as Clint grabbed her hand.

"Vera, he's not here." He told her soothingly as she looked at him. He looked tired, as tired as she felt.

"I saw him.. Him and Mina.. Oh Clint, she was as beautiful as I imagined." Vera told him as tears kept streaming down her cheeks. "He-he told me.. told me that the world had been spinning on without me. That my own world had been still. It's been still since the day I lost them." Vera told Clint broke my as he nudged her to the side and laid down besides her, putting her head on his shoulder as he held her hand.

"Oh, I know. Conrad knows too, and he never wanted this for you." Clint said softly as she sniffled.

"It's so hard sometimes." Clint squeezed her hand then.

"One foot in front of the other, V."

"I don't mean to interrupt, Ms. Barton, but can I ask you a few questions?" Bruce asked her as she nodded. "How are you feeling? In pain? Sick? Anything?" He asked as she shook her head.

"No, I feel fine actually." Vera put her hand where she got shot only to feel nothing. "Like I didn't get shot at all, actually. That's weird.." Vera muttered as Bruce nodded.

"Yeah, we used the same thing that was used to make Vision on your wound to patch it up." Bruce told her as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Speaking of, I'm assuming we won because we're not all dead." Vera said just as Tony and Steve walked up.

"We did. I'm glad you're doing okay, sparky. Would have been boring if we had lost you." Tony told her as he patted her leg for a moment.

"Tony's acting casual but he won't tell you he's been here for the past two days, only leaving to pee." Clint muttered to her with a smirk. Steve smirked too then.

"He's right, Tony's been here more then Bruce and he's your actual doctor." Steve told her with a side smile. Tony scoffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"It's not like I had anything better to do.." He mumbled. Steve patted Tony's back hard then turned to Vera.

"We're all really glad you're okay, Vera. I'll tell the rest of the team soon but in the mean time, I wanted to talk to you." Steve pulled up a chair and sat in it as she turned her head to give him her attention.

"Yeah, what's up?" She asked him.

"Look," he started. "I know you said you didn't want to be apart of the team, and I understand if you still don't want to be but I wanted to ask you officially if you wanted to. Pietro, Wanda, Vision, Rhodey and my friend Sam have all been recruited onto the team and I think.. I think we could use you on the team too. You're a friend now, family even. We fought alongside you and want to keep fighting alongside you." Steve finally stopped talking, looking at her in anticipation.

"Well.. Conrad did tell me he didn't want my world to stop.." she said quietly then went silent for a moment. "And I guess I have to respect that he was always right about the important things in our relationship." Vera smirked then as Clint nudged her with his foot.

"You're right, he was. He kept you levelheaded." He teased her as she grinned.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, I'll join the team Steve." Steve smiled and nodded then asked,

"Conrad was your boyfriend?" He asked her as she shook her head.

"He was my husband. I met him on one of my first missions with shield at just 16. He was 17 then and.. I don't know, he was persistent about keeping in touch. He moved to the US when he turned 18 and started going to Harvard, teased me mercilessly for going to Penn State." Vera smiled distantly then. "He proposed when I graduated which was a lot earlier then he did because as Clint likes to say, I'm a big idiot with a big brain. I teased Conrad for graduating earlier then him."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did he pass?" Steve asked as Vera sighed whole Tony watched her carefully.

"This is connected with what you told me in the jet.." Tony trailed off as Vera nodded.

"What do you mean what she told you in the jet?" Steve asked as Clint kissed the side of her hair in support.

"He died in the attack of NewYork back in 2012. I also miscarried at 9 months after trying to protect him during the attack."

"When you said Mina.." She finished for Steve.

"I was talking about my baby daughter that I lost. She was still born." Everything was silent for a second as they all took in this information. Bruce bowed his head, his eyes drowning in sympathy as he looked at her. Steve clearly looked distressed as he reached out and grabbed her other hand, squeezing it tightly.

"I'm so so sorry, Vera. I can only imagine how it was to go through that." He comforted her as she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Steve. It's gotten easier but the grief never fully goes away. Clint said it though, Conrad would have wanted me to stop mourning him and keeping myself holed up in my apartment." She told him. Tony stayed silent as he looked at her, his expression unreadable.

Steve let go of her hand then and got up. "I'm gonna let the team know that you're awake and that you're staying." He told her. "Also, you're at the new Avengers compound right outside of the city. Tony's apparently been building it for months but never said anything. We're using it right now to lay low after everything that happened but we're going back to the tower soon." Vera nodded as she took this in.

"I already talked to the press and Fury, it's being dealt with swiftly so we should be back at the Tower within a few days but I want continue using the compound for certain training days."

"Laying low from what? Didn't we save the city?" Vera asked in somewhat confusion. Tony and Steve glanced to one another as Bruce sighed before taking his glasses off and fiddling with them.

"Remember how bad we all looked at the farm and we explained what happened with Wanda?" Steve's asked as she nodded.

"Well," Bruce started. "Wanda especially messed with my head and.. the other guy got out and made a mess." He sighed as he rubbed his face. "Which is why I'm not particularly a fan of Wanda being on the team but.. I'll deal with it."

Steve turned towards him. "I understand where you're coming from Bruce but you should give her the benefit of the doubt. She's still so young and even though she wasn't in the right at first, I can tell she's trying to make up for what she did. Let's treat this as a fresh start." Vera glanced back and forth from both of them then looked at Tony who shrugged to her.

"I'll try. I'm gonna take a minute.. Vera just by the way, you'll be discharged in the morning." Bruce told her before swiftly walking out of the room as Steve sighed. Vera scratched the back of her neck then.

"It makes sense why Bruce was so volatile towards her when the confrontation went down now. I was taken off guard because Bruce is so calm and level headed." Vera muttered as Tony sighed and sat down in the chair where Steve had been sitting,

"It's gonna take some adjusting, that's for sure." Tony told her as Steve nodded in agreement.

"I'm not sure how we're gonna maneuver around this, honestly." Steve said as Clint chuckled at him. Steve looked to him, confused. "What?"

"You act like we haven't done this before. It will take time, yes, and maybe Bruce and Wanda won't become best buddies but they fought just fine together and that's the best we can hope for. Plus, I think Wanda will apologize to him, she's a sweet kid and Bruce knows she doesn't have ill intent." Vera nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't see Bruce holding a giant grudge, just give him time though. We can't push them to get along, they have to do it themselves otherwise we could create a mess." She told them as Steve gave a side smile then.

"It's almost annoying how wise you two seem sometimes." Steve told them.

"Oh we're dumbasses, just pulling this out our asses." Vera smirked as Clint snickered then got up.

"As glad as I am that you're okay V, I'm gonna go to the farm and visit with the family for awhile. Love ya." He leaned down and gave her a hug before leaving the room. Vera watched him go with sad eyes for a second before Steve spoke.

"And I gotta inform the team, I'll be back later though." As he walked out, it was only Tony and Vera left. Vera looked to Tony who just sat there quietly for a bit.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him finally as he glanced over to her.

"A lot, probably things you wouldn't like to hear." He told her honestly.

"Now I have to hear it." She said as he sighed.

"The way you looked at Clint when he said he wanted to leave and see his family.. You wish you were the one seeing your family." Vera nodded in agreement.

"I do, sometimes I get jealous of the fact that he has a family and I don't but it's stupid to think that way. I love Laura and the kids, it's just hard to see someone get what you had taken away. I think that's the nature of things though." Tony leaned closer to her and rested his chin on the bed as he played casually with her wrist band.

As Tony's fingers lightly grazed her wrist, Vera's cheeks warmed significantly but she tried to ignore it as she watched him. "You're coping better then I would have in your shoes.." He told her honestly as he glanced up to her face. Vera couldn't escape his chocolate eyes for a moment, staring back at him quietly. Neither of them said anything still as Tony got closer and closer, leaning his head towards hers.

Just as Vera glanced down to Tony's mouth, they jumped apart as Thor barged into the room. "Lady Barton! You're awake and not dead, amazing!" He boomed as he strode over to her and patted her shoulder. "I have much respect for you, it takes someone special to put there life on the line to save someone else." He praised her as she smiled at him bashfully.

"Honestly I didn't mean to get hurt at all, I threw up a shield but for some reason it must have faltered." She explained to him as Tony eyed him in what seemed to be irritation.

"Regardless, what you did was a selfless act. I'm quite happy you're here with us to stay, now we can be the Thunder and Lightning Duo." He told her as she laughed.

"Yes, we can." He grinned back at her then turned to Tony. "I'll be leaving today Stark, back to Asgard on unfinished business but I will return and hopefully with a new member of the team." He told Tony as Tony raised and eyebrow questioningly but didn't say anything. "You must see me off Lady Barton!" He exclaimed.

"I don't know if Vera can bud-" Tony was cut off as Vera got up.

"Let me get some clothes on Thor." She told him and he nodded then swiftly walked out.

"Uh, didn't Bruce say you weren't gonna be discharged til tomorrow?" Tony asked rhetorically as she shrugged.

"Yeah but I feel fine, sure my muscles are a little sore but I don't have a gaping hole in my stomach so we're good." He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Clothes are in that drawer over there." He pointed then took a few steps closer to her. "I.." Tony trailed off for a moment as Vera watched him, holding her breath. "I'm glad you decided to be on the team." Tony then turned swiftly and left. Vera watched him walk out dumbfounded as she blinked. What the hell was that?

One minute Tony Stark looked like he was about lean down and kiss her then this.. Vera didn't know if she should ignore that whole incident and chalk it up to her imagination or if she was sad that it didn't happen. For a minute she stopped and thought about it then came to the conclusion that she was glad nothing happened, realizing it would just make things weird.

As she quickly got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black v neck shirt, she made her way out barefoot, looking around the compound until suddenly ran into someone.

"Oh hi, you must be Vera. I'm Sam Wilson." He explained as she smiled politely at him. He was a relatively attractive man, a small mustache and goatee with kind eyes.

"Hey, yeah Steve told me that you were gonna be on the team, it's nice to meet you Sam." She shook his hand then asked, "you don't happen to know where Thor is, right? He wanted me to see him off."

"Oh, I just passed Tony, Steve and him. I think they were talking about if an elevator would go up if they put his hammer in it." Sam smirked as Vera laughed.

"Of course they were." She shook her head as Sam watched her.

"I can take you to them if you want." He offered her.

"That would be great!" She smiled at him as they set off. "So Sam, how did you and Steve meet?" She asked him, trying to strike up conversation.

"We actually met in the most mundane way. I was jogging at Lincoln Memorial and he passed me.. like 6 times." He told her. "That man can run, I'll tell you that. I helped him after Shield fell actually."

"Oh wow, I didn't know that. You must be pretty impressive to be on the team." She complimented as he side smiled.

"Yeah and my wings." He told casually as she looked at him in surprise.

"You have wings?" She asked.

"Not real ones but metal wings, I learned how to fly them." He explained to her.

"You are impressive." She said as he smirked with a shrug.

"I don't know, I heard about what you can do and I'd say that's about 10 times cooler then wings."

"Pffft." She waved her hands around. "I didn't do anything to have these powers, you got wings that can actually fly! Do you know how amazing that is?" She asked him as he bashfully grinned.

"Don't be complimenting too much, it's gonna go to my head." He told her as she smiled, walking outside where Tony and Steve were with Thor. "I'll see you later Vera, it was nice to meet you." He said to her as he smiled and she smiled back.

"You'll have to show me your wings sometimes." She said as he nodded.

"Sounds like a date!" He winked then walked away as Vera blinked as her mouth dropped open at that.

"A date, huh?" Vera swiveled as Steve smirked at her.

"Not like that Steve, I've known the man for less then five minutes. I'm sure he was just joking." Vera tutted as he simply kept smirking at her. Tony just eyed her as she walked up.

"Like I was saying," Thor started, I believe someone has been playing pawns out of us." He told them.

"Do you think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"Not alone, but yes. I'll be back one months time with hopefully an update and a new recruit." He told them. "And as for you Lady Barton, once I return, we shall be a completed duo once more!" Thor then threw his hammer up in the air as what looked like a rainbow engulfed him. Vera looked down at the mark he made with a raised eyebrow.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony said as Vera smirked. "I'm gonna miss him though. I gotta go back up to the tower tonight and set up things, get everything up and running over there again." He told him.

"Can I catch a lift with you back to NewYork? Gotta go to my apartment, water my plants." Vera told them.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Steve asked her as she shrugged.

"Eh, too antsy for that. Also I need shoes, no one gave me shoes."

"I have sneakers in my car." Tony told her.

"You're not gonna stay here and start training with us? Or at least start helping us train the new recruits?" Steve asked her as she shook her head.

"Not a very good teacher and I've done my fair share of training. I'll pop my head in at the Avengers tower once you guys get settled but.. I've got commitments to my plants, and my job which I'm hopefully not fired from.." Vera trailed off. "Don't worry, I'm not going back on my word, just need a little break after saving the world, cap." She patted his shoulder.

"Alright, fair enough. I'll see you soon." He gave her a quick hug as she waved to him and hopped in with Tony.

"I just realized, my motorcycle is still at Clint's farm." She said out loud with a groan.

"I can make you a new one, something cool." He said as Vera eyed him.

"Knowing you, you'll put on rocket launchers and I'll be dumb enough to accidentally press the button that launches it." Vera said wryly as he shook his head with a goofy grin as he drove.

"No nothing like that, just maybe something a little.. sleek, something that you could use with your powers in an emergency." Tony explained to her as she hummed in thought.

"Alright but nothing like a flying motorcycle or.. anything crazy."

"Crazy is fun, I can't promise you it won't at least float." He teased her as she rolled her eyes.

"I can take floating." He grinned at her as she said that.

"You won't regret saying that." He promised.

"I already do.." The rest of the car ride was filled with small talk about what the motorcycle might look like and how things were going to proceed from here. When they got in the city and pulled up to her apartment complex, Tony balked at it.

"You live here?!" He exclaimed in disgust as she let out a sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Oh hush, it's not that bad." She defended her complex as he looked at her incredulously.

"On the contrary, it's awful. I didn't know you lived in such a.. different neighborhood." She sighed in annoyance.

"My apartment that I had was destroyed in 2012 and I couldn't afford much after hospital bills, the funerals, and other expenses. I made due." She explained and again, Tony gave her a look of sympathy which she didn't enjoy. "Don't feel bad, I like where I live. My apartment is cozy and I don't work very far from here." Vera told him as he nodded slowly, very obviously not believing her.

"If you say so.. Come by the Avengers tower sometimes soon though and we can work on the bike together." Tony said as she got out of the car and looked at him for a moment.

"Will do. Drive safe and try not to need me to help save the world anytime soon." Vera smirked at him as he grinned.

"Oh but Ms. Barton, you do save the world in such a stylish fashion." He teased as she grinned.

"You bet your ass I do... I'll see you later Stark, don't miss me too much." Vera shut the door then and crossed the street to her apartment, turning back to see Tony still sitting there staring at her. He gave her another small smile then waved and finally drove off as she made her way upstairs.

As Vera unlocked her door and walked inside her apartment, she was alone once again. Slowly, she kicked off her shoes then sat down on her bed, staring at the ground as she really took in the last week of her life. For some reason, it hadn't felt like a week had even gone by since she left her apartment to save the world.

As the silence started to really sit in, a lone tear slid down her cheek and she roughly brushed it away. She then searched for her phone only to realize, she didn't know the last time she saw it. "Goddammit."