A/N: Took an extra day to get this chapter done, sorry. Late shift always screws around with my schedule. .

So, there is this chapter, one more where we sort everything out (most likely a pretty big one knowing me and what I have to get through) and then the showdown is here! Pretty nervous about writing it because it's going to be a very complicated series of scenes which hopefully won't read that way if I get it right.

Never mind, that's a problem for another day, in the meantime, lets lay down a few more plot details, shall we? :D

Chapter Fifty- Five

Tony walked out from the elevator into the underground garage area and looked around. He saw Happy with his head under the hood of the Rolls and walked up to him.

Happy didn't look up as he approached. "I hear you took being a jerk to a whole new level today," he commented, still tinkering with motor.

Tony grimaced, he supposed he deserved that. "What version did you hear?"

Happy glanced at him. "Is there a version where you don't accuse Pepper of having an affair with another man and getting pregnant?"

Tony looked pensive. "In my head there is."

"Your head is not a safe place to be," noted Happy. "How could you think Pepper would cheat on you? Everyone knows you're the weak link in this chain, not Pepper."

"I guess I may have gone a little bit crazy," Tony admitted. He was still trying to come to terms with what had just happened and he was a mixture of too many emotions to possibly start naming them. All he really knew was that he'd hurt Pepper and the thought made his insides curl up and want to die.

"That's like Pompeii had a little bit of a volcano problem," said Happy wryly.

"I can't help it when it comes to Pepper," said Tony unevenly.

"So, that's what you're going with, temporary insanity?"

Tony sent him a hopeful look. "Do you think it'll work?"

"You can only use that excuse so often before it becomes just plain old permanent insanity."

"It was an honest mistake," Tony protested.

Happy sent him a judgemental look. "One only you could make."

Tony's shoulders sagged. "I messed up."

"Big time."

"I need to talk to Pepper," Tony sighed.

"She's not here," Happy pointed out.

"I wanted to talk to Lewis first, clear the air and at least show Pepper I'm trying to make amends."

Happy inclined his head, looking over Tony's shoulder. "Well, here's your chance, boss. Don't screw it up."

Tony turned around to Lewis walking up to them. "There you are, I was looking for you, Lewis."

"Why, are you planning on accusing me on getting Happy pregnant now?" asked Lewis dourly.

"I may have jumped the gun on that one," Tony admitted.

"Shark," interceded Happy, "he means jumped the shark."

"Shut up, Happy, you weren't there, you don't know," said Tony in annoyance. He looked back at Lewis. "Anyways, all I wanted to say was that things were said, faces were punched, who's to say who was really in the wrong here?"

"It was you," said Lewis without hesitation. "You were in the wrong."

"Sure," said Tony blithely, "that's one interpretation of what happened, one of many I might add but the important thing is there are no hard feelings."

Lewis looked at Happy. "Is this an apology? I can't tell."

Happy nodded. "It's Tony's version of an apology."

Tony scowled at Happy. "I don't need the peanut gallery."

"Agreed," said Happy easily. "It could be argued you've already got the nuts thing well and truly covered."

"It's Pepper's fault," Tony grumbled. "I can't think straight around her. Anything to do with her and I lose all of my faculties."

Lewis was looking at him intently. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes," said Tony unhappily, "you wouldn't understand."

Lewis half-smiled. "Before I met Greg I was quite the party guy. I was up for anything, anytime, anywhere and that was all I thought I wanted from life. Then I met Greg and everything changed. Here was someone I actually loved more than myself and it scared the hell out of me. I felt so out of control around him and yeah, I made some big, stupid mistakes when it came to our relationship."

"Did you ever accuse him of getting pregnant with another man's baby?" asked Tony hopefully. Misery, after all, did love company.

"Strangely enough that never came up," said a straight-faced Lewis. "But a lot of other things did, like all these trust issues and what I found out was that they were more about me then Greg. We worked through all of those things together, but yeah, for a while there, I was a jealous fool when it came to him. I get what you're saying about loving someone so much you can't see straight."

"Tell me it gets better," Tony begged him. "Tell me I won't keep screwing up like this."

"A good relationship can absorb screw ups," said Lewis philosophically, "because at the end of the day, neither one of you are going to be perfect."

That actually made sense to Tony. Damn, now he actually liked the guy. That was annoying.

"But Pepper is always going to be more perfect then you," Happy offered up.

"Obviously," agreed Lewis.

"This pep talk could have been peppier," Tony grumbled.

"Your way of getting to the bottom of things could be less punchy," Lewis countered. He touched his lip and grimaced.

Tony pursed his lips. "I can see that now."

"What are you going to tell, Pepper?" Happy asked him.

"I've discovered thinking about things when it comes to her doesn't work for me," said Tony decisively. "I'm just going to wing it. Go with my gut."

Happy nodded. "I'll get the guest room ready."

Tony pouted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. What makes you so sure Pepper is going to kick me out?"

"Law of averages."

"You're fired."

Happy looked unfazed. "Another day, another pink slip. I'll add it to my collection." He looked at Lewis. "I'm wallpapering my second bedroom with them."

Tony looked at Lewis intently. "I guess this wasn't exactly what you signed up for."

"I figured when you made me go two rounds with Iron Man's repulsor blasts for the job interview that this wasn't going to be a routine job," said Lewis dryly. "I'm staying, if that was what you're asking. I really like Pepper, plus the job security with a baby on the way is a big bonus."

Tony grinned, relieved to hear that. It might annoy him that Lewis and his team never took orders directly from him, but he didn't doubt their dedication to their job of protecting Pepper, and ultimately that was all that mattered to Tony. "You'll always have a job here, Lewis, no matter what."

"Unless he fires you," offered up Happy wryly.

"Don't make me re-hire you so I can fire you again," Tony warned him.

"Why are you here firing me every five minutes when you should be with Pepper?" Happy quizzed him. "You need to get your priorities straight, boss."

"Firing you is easier then talking to Pepper," Tony rationalised.

"Since when have you ever been about the easy way?" Happy returned.

Tony squared his shoulders. "I need to talk to Pepper," he said determinedly. He had to get this sorted out because he was going to be no use to anyone until he did. Plus the thought of Pepper being mad at him just had Tony in a panic. He needed to fix this and he needed to do it fast.

oooOOOOooo

After all of the drama upstairs, Steve needed to clear his head. He couldn't help but feel a little badly about the misunderstandings, despite his protestations of innocence to Tony. He'd known something was off about the whole thing, but he hadn't been able to work out what in time. Steve hoped that Tony and Pepper would be able to work it out. He didn't want to think about what Tony without Pepper by his side would be like. Not good seemed like the understatement of the century. He walked into the foyer just as Maggie walked through the sliding doors. Steve stopped short and smiled at her. "Hi."

"Hi," returned Maggie huskily, "going out?"

"Just for a walk."

"You and your walks."

"Yeah, me and my walks." He hesitated. "Ah, Maggie, about yesterday. I really hope you didn't take things the wrong way. I appreciate your zeal on my behalf, I really do. It's just I've already found where I belong."

Maggie walked up to him. "I can see that and I think it's great." She put her hands on his chest. "It's always a good thing to know what you want."

Unexpectedly Maggie leaned into Steve and went up on her tip toes, kissing him on the mouth. Steve made a little gasp of shock which allowed Maggie's tongue to find its way into his mouth. He stiffened in surprise, not knowing what to do as she attempted to deepen the kiss even more. This was nothing like his kiss with Peggy and the confusion of being kissed by a woman who looked like Peggy but wasn't had Steve pulling back. He looked down at her with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry."

Maggie dropped back down to the ground and looked uncertain. "Oh, I thought-" she hesitated, "I thought we were going somewhere with this."

Steve felt really bad now. "Maggie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on."

She frowned. "Is it me? I'm too pushy, aren't I?"

Steve quickly shook his head. "No, it's not you, it's me, Maggie." It seemed Maggie had this ability to put things in perspective for him. Kissing her had been nothing like kissing Peggy and Steve realised that despite his speech that morning, a part of him had still been holding onto the past, and more specifically Peggy. Maggie wasn't Peggy and Steve knew he had to except that he was never going to see the ballsy, take no prisoners, Peggy Carter again. It hurt, but he couldn't run from that fact anymore. "I don't want to offend you, Maggie, but being with you feels like I'm going backwards rather than forwards."

Maggie's eyebrows arched as she processed that. "Lucky me that you weren't trying to be offensive, I guess."

Steve grimaced. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out right."

"It's alright, Steve," said Maggie reassuring. "You know, I think we both got what we needed from this relationship at the time, brief as it may have been. Now we can just both forward. I think that's a good thing."

"Thank you for being so understanding," said Steve gratefully.

"No, Steve," said Maggie huskily, "thank you." She held out her hand to him. "Friends?"

Steve quickly took it and shook her hand. "Of course, friends."

As they shook hands, Natasha walked in from the street. She looked them over calmly. "Hello, Maggie, Steve."

"Natasha," said Maggie brightly, "it's good to see you."

Natasha's expression didn't change. "Is it?"

"Of course," Maggie laughed, "why wouldn't it be?" She glanced down at her watch. "Sorry, I have to go. I hate to kiss and run but I've got a meeting to get to." Maggie smile at them both. "Bye." She reached out and squeezed Steve's arm in a special goodbye. "Thank you, Steve, for everything."

Steve wasn't exactly sure what she was thanking him for. "You're welcome," he replied politely and then Maggie was hurrying off out of the foyer and into the New York hustle and bustle outside.

Natasha arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. "Kiss and run?"

Steve tried hard not to blush. "Um, yes."

"So, you're kissing Maggie now." It wasn't so much a question as a statement of fact.

"She kissed me," clarified Steve hastily.

"Is that important, who kissed who?"

Natasha was regarding him with those intense blue eyes of hers and Steve never knew what she was seeing when she looked at people that way. "Yes, I didn't want to kiss Maggie."

"Even though she looks exactly like Peggy Carter?"

Steve's eyes went a little wide. "How-you knew about that?"

"I made it a point to read everyone's files," she said simply.

Steve knew the same option was open to him, but he preferred to make his judgments on people based on who he saw in front of him, rather than notes on a page. Either way wasn't wrong, but just probably spoke more to the different kinds of people they were. "And I didn't want to kiss Maggie because she does look exactly like Peggy."

Natasha's sharp blue gaze was on him. "Then where does that leave things between you and Maggie?"

Steve suddenly realised something. "You don't like her, do you?"

"Let's just say I don't like coincidences," returned Natasha.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning when a woman the spitting image of Peggy Carter just happens to cross paths with you, it raises a few questions."

Steve frowned, already having had those questions but not willing to admit it. "They say everyone has a doppelganger in the world," he said a little defensively.

"They also say keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"That's not what I'm doing," Steve argued.

"I wasn't talking about you," she said pointedly.

"Do you think Maggie is playing me?" The thought unsettled Steve. He always dealt straight with people and expected the same in return. Maybe it was old-fashioned, but that was who he was.

Natasha moved her shoulders a little. "I think her timing is interesting."

"You know, you don't always have to think the worst of people."

"It's gotten me this far," she countered.

"You don't trust my judgement on this?"

She sent him a pointed look. "Do you?"

Damn, the woman was perceptive. "It doesn't matter now," said Steve quickly. "Maggie and I aren't taking things any further."

"And she was fine with that?"

"Yes."

Natasha looked thoughtful. "Mmm."

"What does that mean?"

"I guess we'll find out," she said simply. Natasha looked him over. "Are you coming in or about to leave?"

Steve glanced upwards and grimaced. "Ah, well, things are a bit tense upstairs right now."

"Why, what happened?"

Steve hesitated. "If I told you, I'm not sure you'd believe me. I was there and I'm not sure I believe it, plus, I'm not the best person to ask, because I've still got a lot of technical questions to ask."

Natasha was looking at him oddly. "Um, okay."

"I'm going out," said Steve decisively, suddenly knowing exactly where he wanted to be.

"Good luck with that," she commented, and continued on towards the elevator.

Steve smiled and hurried outside, heading to the outside entrance to the garage. Once there he headed directly towards his motor bike. As Steve climbed onto his motor bike, he was unaware of the microscopic nano-bots invading his blood cells. Delivered by Maggie's kiss, the nano-bots had been absorbed into his lungs before moving into his blood stream. The busy little bees flooded Steve's body, his heart pumping the infected red blood cells around his body as he started his bike. Steve drove out of the garage, oblivious to the new passengers hitching a ride with him and unaware of their deadly intent.

oooOOOOooo

Fury walked in on Agent Coulson as the other man was hunched over a computer desk, absorbed in the images in front of him. "Report," he demanded.

Coulson didn't take his eyes off the screen as he watched a speeded up version of CCTV footage. "Sir, I was thinking, seeing as all of this had to be planned well in advance of Hammer's release from prison, I thought that maybe he and Ghost might have met up while he was still locked up. I'm reviewing all the footage of Hammer during his eight month incarceration and seeing who he talked to, what visitors he had and maybe I can get a bead on Ghost that way."

"Long shot," Fury commented.

"At this point in time, that's all we've got when it comes to Ghost, sir," conceded Coulson in frustration. "This guy is good." He paused. "Which makes him bad."

Fury studied Coulson's profile, noting how tired he looked. "You know you don't have to be doing this, Agent Coulson, you're still on down time from your injury."

Coulson didn't look up. "I know, sir, but this is about the Avengers and I had a stake in them long before there was an Avengers, so I'm staying."

Fury hid a smile, admiring the other man's quite determination. Before he could comment though he received a phone call, answering it in his usual terse fashion. "Fury." He listened intently, jaw hardening. "Where... how long do we have... has this been confirmed?" Fury listened to the information and then hung up.

Coulson was looking up at him, clearly recognising the seriousness in his tone. "Sir?"

"We have a situation," said Fury grimly. His jaw hardened. "It's time for the Avengers to get off the bench."

Coulson smiled. "I think they're going to like that, sir."