Chapter 41
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The next morning when everyone wakes up at their usual times to do their various morning activities, but to the confusion of everyone but Melinda, Skye, Phil, Maria and John there is no sign of Clint and Natasha.
"So where are they?" Tony asks during breakfast.
"Who?" Melinda asks pretending to be confused.
"Natasha and Clint." Tony answers, "There is no sign of them and you, Skye, Phil, Maria and John don't even look surprised by it." He points out, "What are the rest of us missing?"
"Today is the anniversary of Clint's brother's death." Phil explains, "He spends the day away from people." He explains.
"Oh." Tony says, now that he completely understands he wishes that he didn't ask.
"If he spends the day away from people then why is Natasha with him?" Sam asks curious.
"Tasha is the only one he let's be near him today." Melinda explains, "She helps him, keeps him from loosing it completely." She explains and a sombre feeling takes over the room.
"What did his brother die of?" Pepper asks curious.
"Not our place to say." Skye answers, "They'll be back in the early hours of tomorrow morning. There is nothing we can do to then." She admits.
"Thanksgiving is next week." Pepper says to everyone, changing the subject.
"It is?" Several confused voices around the room say.
"Yes, it is." Pepper says, "And I was thinking that unless something that we have to deal with comes up we should have a very nice thanksgiving dinner together." She tells the group.
"That sounds good." Phil comments, "I'll cook." He offers.
"I assumed you would say that." Pepper tells her friend, "I will be more than happy to help." She offers and Coulson nods.
"So would I." Jemma offers.
"That would be good thanks." Coulson tells her.
"Wow, I don't remember the last time I had thanksgiving dinner." John comments.
"What about last year?" Sharon asks curious, "Didn't you do something then?"
"No, we were dealing with the fallout of Hand and Quinn, we completely forgot about it." Coulson explains.
"Ah right." Sharon says understanding.
"What about you, what did you do last thanksgiving?" Skye asks her cousin curious.
"Worked, we're SHIELD remember, we don't get holidays." Sharon points out
"Then why did you ask what we did?" Simmons asks curious.
"Because I thought you might have gotten a chance to enjoy it." Sharon explains.
"So everyone agreed that we do thanksgiving properly?" Pepper asks.
"As long as nothing big comes up I cannot see why not." Steve comments and everyone else nods.
A few hours after breakfast everyone is spread out throughout the Tower. Coulson who realises that he hasn't seen Melinda since she left the War Room a while ago decides to go in search of her.
Phil hasn't been searching long when he finds Melinda sitting on the roof.
"Hi." Coulson says walking over and sitting next to her. Melinda doesn't say anything in response though she looks over at him when he sits down.
"I'm here." Coulson says simply as he sits down and reaches over and grabs her hand, "I'm here Mel." Coulson promises her.
Ever since he found out that Skye's birthday is coming up Bucky has been trying to think of the perfect gift, but the only idea he has come up with he isn't quite sure whether or not it would be possible. Needing to know whether it would be possible Bucky heads up to the War Room hoping to get a chance to talk to Maria as considering the position she held with old SHIELD she is likely the most likely person to be able to help him.
When he gets up there he is thankful to see that Maria is the only one present.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Bucky asks curious.
"Of course." Maria responds, "What's up?" she asks curious.
"I was hoping that you would be able to help me with something." Bucky says as he sits down across from Maria.
"Depends on what it is it." Maria responds.
"Well I found out yesterday that Skye's birthday is coming up and when we were out she mentioned that when she joined SHIELD she was forced to leave her van which was her home in a base in LA, and I was wondering if there was any way to know if it was still there, or to know whether it is in one piece." Bucky explains, "Can you help me figure that out?" he asks curious.
"I can try." Maria responds, "If we start with going through all information we have on known bases them we can determine whether it's still in once piece then figure out where to go from there." Maria tells Bucky.
"Where do we start?" Bucky asks and Maria stands up and walks across the room to the back wall which is lined with filing cabinets.
"With this." Maria says putting her hand on top of the filling cabinet closes to the door.
"Then let's get started." Bucky says getting up and walking over to the cabinet.
For over half an hour Coulson and May have been sitting on the roof in silence. Coulson can feel himself starting to get cold, not surprising considering its November in New York, and when he looks over at Melinda he realises that she doesn't seem to be affected at all even though she is wearing thinner cloths than he is.
"Talk to me Mel." Coulson requests in a kind voice, "Tell me what's going on with you."
"I can't." Melinda admits.
"Why not?" Coulson asks.
"Because I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling." Melinda admits.
"That's because there isn't a way." Coulson tells his wife, "The words don't exist to explain what you are feeling." He tells her, "I know that, I've been there. Which is why I'm not asking you to talk about that, I'm just asking you to talk to me, to talk about what you can talk about." He tells her.
"I miss her." Melinda says quietly, "And I keep thinking about all the things I wanted to say."
"That never goes away." Coulson reveals, "Neither does the expectation that she's just going to walk through the door." Coulson adds, "Let me help in whatever way I can." He asks.
"I never felt like an orphan." Melinda admits, "After my parents died I had Grams and Grandpa, after Grams died I had Grandpa and Peggy, and after Grandpa I had Peggy. Even in the last few years with her dementia I still had Peggy." Melinda reveals, "Even if she didn't always remember me she was still Peggy, the one I knew." Melinda explains, "I miss her and it hurts all the time." She reveals
"I know it does." Coulson tells her, "And there is nothing I can do to change that but I'm here Mel, always." He tells her, "It might seem impossible now but the day will come where it doesn't hurt as much."
"Promise?" Melinda asks.
"Promise." Coulson assures, "Now why don't we go inside and I'll make us some hot chocolate." Coulson suggests standing up and sticking out his hand for Melinda
"I'd like that." Melinda says grabbing his hand and standing up. Once she is standing she leans over and the pair exchange a kiss before heading inside.
Far away from the tower in the middle of nowhere Clint is drinking a large bottle of scotch and walking around a large clearing while Natasha watches him to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself.
"He was an idiot." Clint says as he walks around the clearing, "He should have known better." He says, "Why did he do it? Why would he do it?"
"I don't know." Natasha says though she is pretty sure that he isn't expecting an answer.
"Why did he do it?" Clint asks as he falls to his knees, "Why?" he asks and Natasha walks over to him.
"I don't know." Natasha repeats kneeling down next to Clint.
"He wasn't supposed to practice alone." Clint says as tears roll down his face, "He wasn't skilled enough yet, I should have stopped him."
"You couldn't have stopped him, you didn't know." Natasha tells her partner.
"I should have, it was my job to know." Clint says through tears.
"It's not your fault Clint, what happened wasn't your fault." Natasha tells him.
"Yes it was." Clint says, "I killed my brother."
"No you didn't." Natasha says putting an arm around him, "You told me what happened. Barney was learning how to juggle knifes and he snuck away to practice and he had an accident, it wasn't your fault. You've got to stop blaming yourself." Natasha tells him.
"I can't." Clint responds as he downs the rest of the bottle of scotch.
Knowing that now he has drunk two bottles of scotch there is no getting through to him Natasha just holds her partner as he falls apart.
Back at the tower Steve is sitting on the couch in the main living room when the doors open and Pepper clearly angry storms in.
"Pepper?" Steve ask concerned but Pepper doesn't respond she just walks down the hall and as he stands up Steve hears the door to, what he assumes is Pepper's office slam.
Wanting to make sure that she is okay because he can't remember a time, apart from when she was angry at something he, Tony or Bruce did, that Pepper slam a door Steve heads down the hall.
"Pepper?" Steve asks knocking on the door as he opens it. When he does he finds Pepper sitting at her desk with her head in her hands.
"Steve?" Pepper asks looking up, when she does Steve notices that she looks upset.
"What happened?" Steve asks concerned crossing the room, "Are you alright?" he asks concerned.
"Yes, no, I had a bad day." Pepper explains.
"What happened?" Steve asks leaning against the desk next to her.
"A lot of meetings with sexiest jerks, I don't usually let it bother me, there was just a lot more than usual." Pepper explains.
"I'm sorry." Steve says knowing that it probably won't help but wanting to say it anyway, "Is there anything I can do to help?" he ask curious.
"No." Pepper answers, "I'm always going to have to deal with people who think that a woman shouldn't be CEO of a multimillion dollar company, I've just got to not let it show that it gets to me." Pepper says.
"That's not fair." Steve says angrily, "You can do the job just as good as any man, better I would say, you shouldn't be treated any less because you're a woman." He says, "They shouldn't get away with it."
"There is nothing that can be done." Pepper tells him, "I've just got to deal with it."
"No you shouldn't' have to." Steve says angrily, "Pepper you are amazing and smart and do an incredible job at running Stark Industries and no one should tell you differently." He tells her.
"Thank you Steve." Pepper says standing up and kissing him.
"No need." Steve responds, one they break apart as he pulls her in for a hug.
For several minutes Pepper and Steve hug in silence until the ringing of Pepper's phone breaks the silence.
"I should get this." Pepper says looking down at the caller ID, "I've been waiting for this call for several hours." She explains.
"Okay." Steve responds, "Don't let anyone make you feel like less than you are." Steve says to Pepper before giving her a kiss on the cheek and leaving the room.
"Potts" Pepper answers as Steve leaves the room.
After he leaves Pepper's office Steve takes the elevator down to the lab where he will find Bruce and Tony.
When he enters him finds them working on something that he is pretty sure if he asks about he won't understand.
"We need to do something nice for Pepper." He tells the pair as he walks over to them.
"Why?" Tony asks and he receives to identical looks from Bruce and Steve which say 'Did you just say that', "I mean did something happen?" he asks
"She had a bad day at work." Steve explains, "Apparently she had a lot of meetings with sexiest Jerks today and she's upset and angry." Steve explains, "We should do something nice for her."
"Damn it." Tony says angrily, "J, who did Pepper have meetings with today?" Tony asks.
"What exactly did she say?" Bruce asks curious.
"That she had a lot of meeting with sexiest jerks, that she can usually deal with it but there was just one to many today." Steve explains.
"Miss Potts had a meeting with the head of development and several meetings with the CEO's of people Stark Industries have contracts with, the names aren't in her public schedule would you like me to check her private one?" Jarvis asks.
"She'd be pissed." Bruce tells him.
"No, it's alright J." Tony says, "What are you thinking?" He asks Steve.
"Her favourite Take out and something relaxing." Steve suggests, "It's been a while since we've had date night so that could be a good idea." He comments.
"Yeah, I think it could be." Bruce says as Tony nods.
"I'll tell the others not to expect us for dinner." Steve says.
"Good idea." Tony comments, "How exactly did she seem?" he asks.
"She was angry, slamming doors angry and she was upset." Steve tells Tony and Bruce, "I only left her office because she got a call from someone." He explains and the three drift into silence, all of them thinking about the woman that they love.
Down on the Gym, Sam, Skye, Sharon, and Tripp are having a makeshift sparing competition. Each of them seeing what the others can do.
The current match that is going on is Sharon and Sam. While Skye and Tripp watch on from the side.
"They're both pretty good." Skye comments.
"Yeah they are." Tripp responds.
"Who do you think are going to win?" Skye asks curious.
"Hard to tell." Tripp responds.
"How you doing?" Skye asks her cousin curious.
"Better." Tripp responds, "Not great, but better." He admits
"That's good, I'm glad." Skye tells him.
"Yeah." Tripp responds.
"I want in." He says in a quiet voice.
"Huh?" Skye asks curious.
"The bet that is going with you Tony and Bucky about when Sam and Sharon are going to get together, I want in." he explains.
"How do you even know about that?" Skye ask surprised.
"I heard them talking about it before Tony left DC." Tripp explains, "And I want in." he tells her.
"Talk to Uncle Tony." Skye says as Sharon knocks Sam to the ground.
"So who's next?" Sharon asks curious as she helps Sam up.
"Me and you." Skye says walking over to her cousin.
"Sounds good." Skye responds as she prepares to spar against her cousin.
A couple of hours later, just before the usual dinner time of the tower Steve has informed everyone that he, Pepper, Bruce and Tony won't be at Dinner and Tony is on his way to get Pepper and bring her to the surprise that he, Bruce and Steve have organized.
"Come on, it's time for dinner." Tony tells Pepper when he finds her sitting at her desk working on something.
"Dinner's not for another half an hour." Pepper tells him looking at the clock.
"We're not having dinner with the group tonight." Tony explains.
"We're not?" Pepper asks putting her pen down.
"No, we're not." Tony says walking over to behind her desk and pulling out her chair, "Come on." He says sticking out both his hands for her to grab.
"How worried should I be?" Pepper asks curious as she stands up.
"Not at all, honest." Tony tells her as they walk across the room.
"Really?" Pepper asks.
"Really." Tony responds.
Pepper continues to look at Tony suspiciously but she doesn't say anymore.
When they reach their bedroom a minute later they find Bruce and Steve waiting.
"Okay, what is going on?" Pepper asks curious.
"Steve told us that you had a bad day and we wanted to do something to help so in the bathroom, there is a hot relaxing bath waiting and we've arranged your favourite Mexican take out for dinner." Bruce tells her.
"You did?" Pepper asks and the three nod, "Thank you." She says giving each of them a kiss, "While a relaxing bath sounds soo good right now, it would sound even better if you three joined me." Pepper tells her boys.
"Guess it's a good thing we've got a big bath." Tony comments.
"Yeah it is." Pepper says, "What are we waiting for?" she asks she heads to the bathroom, Tony, Bruce and Steve following behind.
Many hours later everyone with the exception of Skye is asleep, or at least in bed. Skye on the other hand is sitting in the main lounge room, under a blanket waiting for Clint and Natasha to get back so that she can see for herself how her Uncle is doing.
It is about three am, when Skye can feel herself getting tired and when the knowledge that she is going to regret this when she has to get up in a couple of hour hits her when the elevator doors open to revel Natasha, basically carrying Clint.
"What happened?" Skye asks racing over to her Aunt to help her.
"Several bottles of scotch." Natasha answers, "Can you help me get him to our room." Natasha requests.
"Of course." Skye responds and she goes on the opposite side to Natasha and helps her with Clint, "So it was bad." Skye comments.
"Very." Natasha answers, "I know he doesn't do too well today but he was worse than I've ever seen him." She explains as they walk down the corridor.
"Where did you go?" Skye asks curious.
"Where it happened." Natasha answers.
"You didn't?" Skye asks and Natasha nods.
"I couldn't exactly talk him out of it, I tried, he wanted to." She explains.
"Why did he do that to himself?" Skye asks.
"I don't know." Natasha responds as they reach hers and Clint's room, "He still feels guilt about what happened, did you know that?" Natasha asks curious and Skye nods, "Is there anything I can do to help him with that?" She asks curious.
"Just be there for him." Skye tells her Aunt as they put him on the bed, "It's the best and only thing you can do." Skye explain as they put Clint on the bed.
"You should get to bed, I'll look after him." Natasha tells her niece.
"Night тетя Наташа." Skye tells her Aunt as she gives her a hug.
"Night Ребенок." Natasha responds as they break apart and Skye leaves Natasha to help Clint, because she knows that Natasha is who he truly needs.
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