Clint was the first one to react. He covered the distance between us and Coulson and all but threw himself into his arms.

And he broke.

I'd only ever seen Clint lose control like that once before. That was when he and Laura had split up. Even back then wasn't anything compared to this.

Coulson had been the father Clint never had. I knew that of all the guilt that had been tearing him apart since Loki, this had been the worst. The part of not knowing whether Coulson would be coming back to us.

But here he was. Standing in the kitchen as nothing had happened. Right now he was hugging Clint hard murmuring something too quiet for me to hear.

My own tears were threatening. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. It wasn't for my sake. It was all for Clint's.

Then my phone rang. It was Rumlow's ringtone.

Natasha and Jared both threw me an incredulous look as I quickly pulled it out of my pocket. I had half the mind to send it to voicemail. But Rumlow never rang. This had to be something important.

I ignored the looks and quickly hurried outside, answering the call before it went to voicemail.

"What?" I forced my voice to stay level. The threatening tears had left a lump in my throat and I was struggling to swallow it back.

"You wanted something to get you away from Constance?" Rumlow didn't waste any time. "If you can get your shit together in the next 45 minutes I have something for you that'll take you away for the next few days."

"Are you fucking serious?"

I couldn't stop the snappy tone. Of all the timing in the world, this was the worst I had ever had.

"Hey, you wanted something." Rumlow didn't sound the least bit apologetic. "Do you want the mission or not?"

I sighed heavily, looking back at the half-closed door. Tears were threatening for another reason. This was my in with getting into Rumlow's good books. I had to start somewhere. I really didn't want to leave right now though. Coulson would be instantly suspicious. Maybe if I was lucky he'd be distracted enough with Clint that I could slip away without being interrogated.

"Yeah, sure." I pushed it all away. I had to do this. "Just give me an hour if you can? Coulson just got back."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. I could almost hear Rumlow's thoughts from here. He was quiet for long enough that I was sure he was about to deny the request. It felt so transparent on my behalf. I could have kicked myself for being so stupid.

"I'll make you the pilot so they can't leave without you."

Inwardly, I sighed in relief. Rumlow sounded cautious but he wasn't denying me just yet.

"You sure about this, Kari?" Rumlow continued. "I can give Copeland a call and he can back Tex up for this."

"No, I need to get away. From everything," I lied. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Meet us in my office when you get here. See you then."

Rumlow hung up before I could second guess myself. I reached up and rubbed my face tiredly. How the fuck was I going to break the news to everyone that I had to leave?

"What in the actual fuck, Kari?"

Apparently, Natasha was doing it for me. I shouldn't have been surprised that she was eavesdropping. She pushed the door open and stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"I asked Rumlow for a mission to get out of doing the interviews." I pushed past Natasha so she couldn't see my face. If she saw my face, I'd be done for already. "He has something. I seriously need to get out of here. I can't fucking breathe without anyone staring at me lately. I just want to go and so what I supposed to do. Not be a trained monkey smiling for the cameras."

My tone was snappier than Natasha deserved. I didn't need to be facing her to know she would be completely taken back by my attitude.

Jared was sitting on the couch as I walked past him to get to my room. Coulson and Clint were nowhere to be seen. I didn't stop at Jared's questioning look.

Natasha followed me into my room, closing the door behind us. I couldn't look her in the eye as I started to strip off to get dressed for work. Standing in my underwear, I rummaged around in the clean clothes basket neither of us had folded up yet for a uniform.

"I get it," Natasha said evenly.

This time I spared a glance at her. She didn't look pissed like I thought she might have. I couldn't escape her scrutinising look though.

"I was wondering if you were going to snap," Natasha continued, pursing her lips at me. "I suppose wanting to go and shoot someone is better than snapping."

Although her words sounded genuine I had the distinct feeling she wasn't buying it. Using my clothes as a distraction, I snapped the wrinkles out of my black work pants. It didn't do shit for the wrinkles but it made me feel a little better.

"I feel so off kilter," I grumbled as yanked the crinkled pants on. "I said it as a joke to Rumlow and now I just want to get back out there. Does that make me crazy?"

"No crazier than the rest of us," Natasha said with a shrug. "You did the same thing with Riley."

That was true. I'd gone begging Coulson for work otherwise I was going to go crazy. It had just been really bad timing on Tony's behalf that he had decided to announce himself to the world as Iron Man at the same time.

I sighed heavily, rubbing my eyes. It had been a long day and it was going to be even longer for the foreseeable future. As much as I needed to do this, I also wanted to stay home. I needed a hug from Coulson to make the world feel right again.

Natasha watched my every move as I got dressed. After I buttoned my shirt up, she stepped forward. It was a movement whether I wasn't sure if she was going to hug or punch me next. Luckily for me, it was a hug.

"Sometimes I think we trained you far too well." Natasha's voice was muffled against me. "Be safe out there. If you want to slip out I'll let them know so you don't get interrogated."

Natasha's easy acceptance made me suspicious. I nearly asked her if Fury had spoken to her as well. Then I remembered I was meant to be on my own. I couldn't say anything about what we spoke about.

"I will."

That was a promise I could at least keep. I knew Rumlow wouldn't send me on anything dangerous right up. I'd be lucky to see any action on this one. I probably should have asked what I was actually doing before volunteering for it.

"Give me a second and I'll distract Jared for you," Natasha said, letting go of me.

Before I could say anything she slipped away. Putting on a brave face, I gave her 30 seconds before stepping out of the door and going invisible.

Clint and Coulson were still nowhere to be seen. Natasha and Jared were making out of the couch. The surprise of seeing them being so openly affectionate stopped me in my tracks. Part of me wanted to scare both of them, making gagging noises at the heavy kissing they were doing. Then Jared pulled back and cupped Natasha's cheek, holding her gaze for a few moments.

The look reminded me of how Riley used to look at me.

Suddenly I was very glad for getting away. I couldn't deal with this. I didn't even want to put a name to all the emotions that were running through me right now.

I near ran out of the apartment, snatching my work bag up as I went. I was onto my Kawasaki in less than a minute and speeding down the still busy streets.

Weaving in and out of traffic, I did everything I could to get back to the Triskelion in record time. I pulled into the fast emptying parking lot and made my way up to Rumlow's office. He nearly fell out of his chair in surprise when I pushed the door open.

"How did you get here so quick?" Rumlow asked with an amused huff.

"I have a very fast motorbike," I said dryly, throwing my jacket over the back of the chair. "And I needed to get away. What have you got?"

"This guy." Rumlow didn't hesitate as he pushed a file across the desk from me. "Basim Husayn. Know him?"

I shook my head as I opened the file. The photo of an Arabic looking man was grainy and obviously taken from some distance away.

"He's your stock standard black market type guy," Rumlow explained as I skimmed the file. "Weapons mostly. Runs a lot of merchandise for a guy named Ulysses Klaue."

"Now that's a name I know," I confirmed with a nod. "South African guy, right?"

"Yeah, and we haven't been able to get anywhere near Klaue. But Husayn, we have. We got some intel that he's going to be just outside of Shirvan, Azerbaijan in the next 72 hours."

I nodded along while continuing to skim over the file. He seemed your typical arms dealer. The newest intel SHIELD had on him was he was trying to pass off some Chitauri weapons that had been stolen. I wasn't surprised that people were scrambling to get their hands on whatever was left over after New York.

"Intel points that he travels along this road." Rumlow turned his iPad around so I could see the map. He tapped his pen on the screen. "Along these mountain ridges is going to be the cover you and Tex use."

I took the iPad off Rumlow and enlarged the map on it. My earlier suspicion of this being a simple mission was confirmed. There was plenty of cover that gave us a good view of the road. Not having a set time was the only drawback.

"I'm guessing SHIELD want him dead?" I asked.

"Yeah, he travels with hired guns mostly. But when he travels in this area he's alone," Rumlow said easily. "We don't know what's at the safe house he has hidden along this routine but it's the only time he's ever alone. Otherwise, he has a small army with him. You good with that?"

"It may surprise you but I've been killing people by myself for a while now," I said smartly. "I don't even throw up anymore."

"Look at you, all grown up and shit," Rumlow said around a laugh. It didn't last. He turned serious a moment later. "I'm not going to regret putting you on this mission, am I?"

Probably. I was not ready physically or mentally for any kind of work to be thrown at me. But I had to do this. I did have a good excuse for this one though. Another lie I could easily pull off.

"My last lot of interviews were guy's asking me what I eat, or what I wear under my work gear." I huffed a frustrated sigh. "It's starting to wear me down. I want to remember that I'm not just a pretty face and I did get this job for a very good reason."

"The pretty face is debatable," Rumlow joked.

I lent over and smacked him in the arm with the paper file. He laughed and didn't flinch or bother to deflect it.

"I get it," Rumlow said with an easy smile. "But if you need to bug out at any second, I'm putting Royston on standby in Shirvan just in case."

I'm sure Charlie marksman was going to be thrilled at the idea of being my babysitter. At least Royston was a very easy going guy.

"Go get your shit." Rumlow made a shooing motion with his hand. "Your Quinjet is being prepped in the hanger. Tex and Royston will join you down there."

Just like that, I was done and ready to go on a mission. It was the worst idea in the world. But my feet took me to the armoury and on autopilot, I packed for the mission. All of my gear was there, clean and ready to go. It felt very odd to be strapping my vest on and slinging my sniper rifle over my shoulder by myself. I hadn't done anything by myself in a long time. Usually, it was Clint by my side, piling me up with far too much gear.

Inwardly sighing, I took myself down to the hanger. This evening it was a hive of activity. Our flight wasn't the only one going out tonight. After aliens dropping out of the sky, SHIELD looked busier than ever. I found my Quinjet on the whiteboard which had all the outgoing flights on it and took my time heading down to it.

None of this felt right. Natasha and Clint should have been here with me. I shouldn't have been jumping at the opportunity for this mission. Why did I say yes to Fury? I should be back in my apartment having a reunion with Coulson.

I found the Quinjet and the two pilots were walking around doing their pre-flight checks. I guessed they would be taking the Quinjet back when we got there. Both of them gave me some wicked side eye, making the offer of helping with pre-flight die on my lips. Without Evans there to buffer it I quickly decided against an argument or asking them what the problem was. Feeling useless, I walked up the ramp and stowed my gear as slowly as I could manage to pass the time.

Taking a seat, I looked at my phone. It had been strangely silent. I was half expecting something from Clint or Jared. A part of me had even hoped there may be something from Coulson. What I wouldn't give to get one of his scolding texts. Or even one reminding me to look after myself for the mission.

Tex and Royston both stomping up the ramp pulled me from my thoughts. They were laughing at whatever was in the conversation.

"What's so funny?" I asked as they came within earshot.

"Your face," Royston quipped with a cheeky smile.

"What are you, five?" I asked, the tension immediately draining out of me.

I liked Royston. He was a good guy and always seemed to have his shit together. Tex was an old friend these days. Not that we'd spent much time together. At least I was working with two people I knew and liked. It would have been awkward with anyone else.

"Seven actually," Royston shot back. "It matches my shoe size."

At least he said shoe size. I was half expecting something else.

We joked around while the pair of them stowed their gear away and got settled in for the long flight. It was nice just to talk shit and not worry about anything else. The easy mood carried over until we were ready to go. Sitting in the pilot's chair gave me a sense of peace around the internal war I was facing.

It had been a long time since I'd done anything with another team. More so what the blatant disregard I had for anything else as I ran out of the door.

Was it too obvious? Despite the bullshit I had fed Rumlow, now I wasn't so sure if this had been the right thing to do. Under normal circumstances, nothing would have kept me away from a reunion with Coulson.

I had to push all of that out of my mind at least until I got into the air. Although I could do this in my sleep, I at least had to half concentrate when it was this busy so we didn't crash midair. Once we were at altitude I kept the Quinjet off autopilot to keep my hands busy.

It didn't help my mind much. My mind kept racing about how stupidly obvious I felt like I had been with Rumlow. Then it went to Coulson. He'd see this all from a mile away and he knew when I was bullshitting far too easily. My phone felt obnoxiously silent in my pocket even as we got to altitude.

The other pilots swapped out with me halfway there. Heading to the back, I found both Tex and Royston asleep. Luckily for me, Royston left his book open in his lap. I had no problems taking it off him to keep myself occupied. The book was interesting enough to calm my racing thoughts and tick the time along. I was still white knuckled and feeling sick for the landing.

Time zones were such a mind fuck. We'd left the US at night and arrived in Azerbaijan at night as well. We landed cloaked five miles from town. The three of us were ready to go as soon as the Quinjet touched down.

It was really odd not having Clint or Natasha beside me as I strapped my sniper rifle to my back and put my P30 in a thigh holster. The nerves I'd managed to keep at bay came back at full force.

"Ready for a jog through hell?" Tex asked, flashing me a grin.

"Absolutely," I said sarcastically.

"Have fun with that," Royston said with a snort. "Check in every half hour?"

I nodded in agreement, adjusting my sniper rifle. We were travelling very light. Text tossed a small pack at me. It didn't feel heavy enough to have anything substantial in it. This was going to suck.

Following Tex, we jogged along in the brisk evening air. It took us an hour to find our spot. From there we set up in a small alcove of a cliff. We were far away enough from town that there was no light pollution out here. The stars were incredible. The moon gave off plenty of light over the barren landscape.

"I'll take the first shift if you want to catch some rack," Tex offered as we settled into position.

"I'm good." I shrugged off his offer. "I'm always a bit wired after flights. Especially when it's not me doing the landing."

"Suit yourself. Wake me up when you want to switch out."

Tex didn't argue. Instead, he laid back, pulling his cap down over his eyes.

I huffed in amusement as I turned my attention back to the empty landscape. There really was nothing out here. Why did these types of missions always happen in the middle of nowhere?

Nothing happened for hours. I did my half hour check ins with Royston. He wasn't very chatty about it either. It sounded like I woke him up for every single one of them. The last one I did I was sure he was barely awake enough to remember it. It wasn't until there was the barest hint of grey that anything moved near the road. A herd of goats meandered near the road, picking at the weeds. I lined them up in my scope, smiling as a few kids jumped around with the herd.

Dawn came quickly. Along with it came the sweltering heat. I could feel it trickling down my back as the sun beat down on our location. I'd finally had enough of staring at nothing and shuffled back enough that my foot made contact with Tex.

He woke up with a start.

"Your turn," I said, smothering back a yawn. "The most exciting thing that's happened is a herd of goats."

Tex grumbled behind me. It took him a few minutes before he came up beside me with his own M24. As he settled in beside me, he handed me over a bar of the ration pack chocolate.

"Thanks."

I didn't realise I was hungry until I scoffed it down. My body was reminding me that I hadn't eaten properly yet. Once my chocolate was finished, I shuffled back, retreating into the shade of the alcove. I opened up my bag and peered in it. I had some water, the tasteless ration bars SHIELD loved to give us and some chocolate. It was better than nothing.

Sipping some water, I sat back and watched Tex get comfortable. He looked exactly like me in the mornings. Slow and grouchy until the caffeine kicked in.

"You gonna sleep?" Tex asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

"Eventually." I shrugged. "I couldn't stand to look at nothing anymore. My eyes needed a break."

"Will I annoy you if I talk?"

"No," I said with a snort. "Have you ever done surveillance with Barton? He does not shut the fuck up. Ever."

"Yeah because I've definitely done missions with Barton," Tex said, throwing a grin over his shoulder. The sarcasm was heavy in his tone. "I think he might have spoken about five words to me in my entire SHIELD career."

I always forgot Clint was a completely different person around other people. He was aloof and sometimes downright arrogant with nearly everyone else. No one, except for Bravo team, went out of their way to be friendly with him either.

I could see the next question on Tex's face clear as day. I jumped in before he could ask.

"Yes, we really are fucking. No, it hasn't been going on that long. Yes, there was lots and lots of alcohol and skimpy underwear involved."

It was like my own little mantra I had these days. It cleared everything up in one neat little package.

"The words skimpy underwear has my full attention," Tex teased. "The rest I didn't really pay attention to."

I kicked out at him, landing a soft blow on his leg. It made him chuckle as he turned his attention back to the front. That went better than I thought. It probably helped that most people already thought we were sleeping together anyway. It shouldn't have been a shock to anyone.

"You've seen me and Natasha parade around the locker room in our underwear." I tried to keep a scowl on my face. But I failed miserably in less than a second. "You should know all about that."

"You parade around and none of us are dumb enough to look." Tex's tone turned to exasperation. "I'm terrified of Natasha and I'm pretty sure you could take me down in two moves despite being half my size."

"I'd at least let you get in a few hits to make you feel better about yourself before I dropped you."

At least Tex was making me laugh. It could be a lot worse company out here.

"Yeah, thanks," Tex said dryly. "You two sure know how to deflate a man's ego."

"And many other things too," I said around my laughter. "The last guy I was with before Barton always said he didn't know if it was a turn on or utterly terrifying."

"That was the Air Force guy?" Tex asked.

I racked my mind to think if Gareth and Tex had ever met. I couldn't think of any circumstances that they would have. But STRIKE were a bunch of gossiping bitches.

"Yeah," I confirmed, stretching my legs out. "He's got transferred to Hickam. He spent last Christmas surfing and drinking cocktails on the beach. I was ready to murder him for that."

Tex nodded along with everything I said. An easy silence fell between us as there was movement near the road. I lifted my own rifle up and peered through the scope. It was a lone car speeding along the badly maintained surface.

I waited until he was closer to get a good look at the driver. It wasn't our guy. Instead, it was a family with two children in the backseat. The parents were sitting up the front having a lively conversation judging by the hand movements from the man.

Both of us relaxed as the car went past. The dust settled within moments and again we were all alone out here.

"Can I ask you something a bit personal? That's not to do with you and Barton, I promise." Tex broke the silence first.

"Sure."

"How are you really doing after New York?"

Out of everything he could have asked me, that wasn't what I expected. Something felt off though. I didn't doubt there was genuine concern in his question. I also had a feeling this was going to be repeated back to Rumlow. I had to play this one right if I was going to get anywhere with my mission to get close to Rumlow.

"One foot in front of the other." I offered a strained smile as Tex looked back. "Not gonna lie but it's been a bit of a mind fuck. But I just want to go back to work. I need to remember the shit I do is real and makes a difference in the world. Not the bullshit interviews I've been doing and people want to know what I eat and what underwear I wear under my work clothes."

Tex snorted at that.

"I'm really grateful Rumlow trusts me with this," I continued. At least what I was saying was genuine. "I hate being treated like a fragile doll when shit goes wrong. It was the same after Riley died. The best thing I did was go back to work."

I pretended not to notice the small start of surprise from Tex when I said Riley's name.

"Same with every other fucked up mission. I've done my best work when I'm busy. I don't want now to be any different."

All I got was a nod. But the small action felt like I had passed a test. Tex turned his attention back to looking at the barren landscape through his scope.

"I feel that," Tex said simply. "By the way, all my cousins want your autograph. My family will not stop pestering me about it."

I laughed. It wasn't the craziest thing I had been asked. These days it was feeling like a normal request.

"Apparently we're all getting action figurines. I'll make sure I buy a heap and sign them for you," I said through my laughter. "You can be the cool relative for Christmas."

From there, our topics wandered on more casual things. I managed to get a few hours of sleep when the caffeine from the ration pack chocolate wore off. When I woke up I was hungry enough to polish off three ration bars. A grand total of five cars passed us all day. None of them were our guy.

It was boring but at least Tex was good company. I found out his sister, the one Clint had slept with just after he and Laura broke up, was engaged and expecting a kid by Thanksgiving. He told about his new girlfriend who was a florist and he met while out running one night. I teased him about it being some horrible rom-com movie plot.

The day was relentlessly hot. It was a relief when the sun started to go down. In the early evening, the weather was nearly bearable again. I'd taken over from Tex an hour ago so he could go find a spot to take a piss. While he was gone, another car was coming down the road.

Sighing to myself, I lined it up through the scope. The car was going ridiculously fast. Someone was in an obvious hurry. A few seconds later, I saw why.

He was being tailed by another car.

Frowning, I adjusted the scope to get a better look at the guy being chased. It was Husayn.

He was coming up fast. Too fast for me to get on the radio and let Royston know. I had no idea who else was in these hills so I wasn't going to call out for Tex. They were barely 200 feet from us now.

Gunfire came from the pursuing car. Husayn's tyres blew out a moment later and his car lurched. For a moment I thought it would stay upright but it hit the side of the road and flipped.

Footsteps came from behind me and I snapped around to look at Tex. He had his Glock out and was breathing heavily as he slid back down the hill towards me. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was just me.

"Someone else wants our guy," I said, pointing towards the wreckage.

"Fuck." Tex echoed my exact sentiment. He grabbed the radio and got to work getting a hold of Royston.

I looked back through my scope at the pursuing car pulling up near the wreckage. They were close enough I could make out the features of one of the men getting out. There was only four of them. They were wearing US military fatigues and I got a look at the first guy's face. There was a vague familiarity about him.

"SHIELD says to eliminate the target," Royston's voice came crackling over the radio. "There shouldn't be anyone else in the area that has this intel."

I continued to watch through the scope. Another guy had come into view and again the nagging familiarity would not stop bothering me.

"I think I know these guys," I said to Tex. "I don't know where from, but I'm pretty sure they're friendly."

Where the fuck did I know them from? The memory was so hazy but I trusted it.

"Fuck it, I'm going down." I made a snap decision. "Cover me?"

"Be careful."

I was very grateful for Tex not arguing. I took out my P30 and left my sniper rifle behind. If these guys were friendly I wouldn't need it. If they weren't, I trusted Tex enough to be able to take at least one of them down before I got into too much trouble.

Sliding down the rocky embankment nearly sent me face first into the ground a few times. I was purposely making a lot of noise so I wouldn't sneak up on the team down here. They weren't far from our position. My obvious noise had all four of them pointing guns at me in the dusk light.

Each of them were poised and ready. But there was no tension in a way that I would worry about any of them having itchy trigger fingers. I was dealing with a well trained group. The only question I had now was, who were they?

"Agent Lyngley of SHIELD," I said carefully, putting my hands up as I walked towards them. "That's mine."

As my hands were up, I pointed towards the car.

Four guns slowly lowered and there was a muted chuckle rise up from the group. I lowered my hands as well, relieved that my gamble had paid off. I wasn't getting shot today.

"Sorry to disappoint you Agent Lyngley, the better looking twin," the closest one said smoothly. "But this one is ours."

He was tall with a dark five o'clock shadow on his face. I couldn't see much else of him but his voice did jog my memory.

The mission with Aldon. The black ops team had come and gotten the wounded out with them. Cerebrus. Or something along those lines.

Fuck what was this guys name? I'm sure it started with R but I couldn't think of it. They were definite friendlies though. Everyone had relaxed in my presence.

"Come on, man, this is my first mission back," I said with a smile. "You have to give me something. At least let me shoot him if he's not already dead."

"We have orders to bring him in alive," he said, lifting his shoulders up in a carefree shrug. "Sorry, Agent."

I glanced over his shoulder to the body that had been pulled out of the car. Husayn wasn't moving but I could see the rise and fall of his chest from here. His hands were cuffed in front of him.

"And I have orders to kill on sight," I tried again. "No one else was meant to have this intel."

Frustration crept into me. I knew losing my temper wouldn't get me anywhere with this. But it didn't mean I wasn't already getting annoyed by the situation. So much for my simple in and out kill mission.

"How about you get your sniper up there to stand down?" The closest guy pointed up towards the ridge. "Then he can come down here and we'll talk."

He took a step closer to me. I was able to get a better look at his face. Dark eyes and handsome as sin. Even as scruffy as he looked with the unshaved face.

Russo. That was his name. Why did it always take me so long to remember people's names? Glancing around the faces of the other three, I remembered Castle as well. He was standing guard over Husayn.

I turned and waved in Tex's direction, motioning for him to come down here. I knew he was watching me. It only took him a minute for Tex to come down. He looked very annoyed as he came over.

"What's the fucking problem?" Tex asked, frustration blending into his tone.

"These boys have a capture order," I explained. "And don't want to budge on it."

"Look." Russo held his hands up in a placating manner. "How about we throw this piece of shit in the trunk and head back to our safe house? Then the bosses can fight over who gets what."

That sounded like a perfectly acceptable arrangement to me. Overriding our orders was not how I needed to start off trying to get into Rumlow's good books. Looking over at Tex, he nodded in agreement.

"I'll go get our shit," Tex offered. "Don't leave without me."

I nodded in agreement. The irony of this mission taking a more complicated turn wasn't lost on me.

As usual, STRIKE Team Delta ends up being a shit magnet.

Coulson and Evans were both going to be so pissed at me.

Authors Note

Okay I'm a bad author. I feel like I've been cheating on this story with the Mandalorian story I've also been writing. But that's nearly finished and some Agents of SHIELD gave me a fresh burst of inspiration on this. I had half the chapter written and came to a dead end with no way to connect the dots to where I wanted to go. I'm also hoping everyone's seen Punisher! If not, go watch it on Netflix. It's an awesome series.

As always, thank you for the amazing reviews. I love every single one of them. You're all amazing and I appreciate the support! As of tonight, Crystallize has over half a million views. It blows my mind that one little idea came to all of this. Through thick and thin, this story had seen me through some pretty crazy times in my life. It will be finished one day and then I honestly have no idea what to do with my life. Maybe finish my novels? That would be a good start. I do have a fighter pilot story featuring Kari in an original novel that I'm ticking along with. But that's a very long way from being finished. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Until next time.