~:~

A FEW MONTHS LATER

"Open it."

"Okay…." I opened the envelope and pulled out the card. "Thank you for putting up with me when I thought no one else would. Maybe you can put up with me longer than you thought."

Marcos handed me a folder. When I opened it, I looked right back up at him. "You….you want me….to adopt you?" He nodded in reply.

"All the papers are ready. You just have to sign them."

"I don't know what to say….I…." I blew out my cheeks, "Where do I sign?"

~:~

"You're what?" Logan exclaimed.

"I've been gone the past year anyways. I think it was inevitable."

He shook his head. "Forget that. You have one other thing to think about: you have a kid involved. What are you going to do? Leave him here?"

"I did think about that, and we talked about it. He's going to stay here during the week and then come and visit on the weekends. Phone calls everyday."

"Did you even tell Tony about him?"

"I'm…. getting to it."

"Angie!" he exclaimed.

"What am I supposed to say? Hey, Tony! I adopted this kid a couple months ago without telling you. Can he come stay with us when he's not in school?" I glared at him. "Get realistic!"

"I am being realistic." He took a deep breath. "You can't keep him hidden forever."

"Hold on a second, Logan," I snapped, shaking my head. "I'm not keeping him hidden; I'm keeping him safe. I-" I looked over and saw Marcos in the doorway. "Marcos, I-"

"Mom, it's okay," he replied.

Mom….That's gonna take some time getting used to….

"We're on the same page, remember?" I nodded in reply and grabbed my bag.

"Goodbye, Logan." I walked out the door, planting a kiss on Marcos' head.

Marcos followed me down to the garage and gave me one last hug. "See you soon."

"See you soon, buddy."

~:~

SOME TIME LATER….

"So, what's the plan?"

I shrugged. "Don't know yet. Just take it one day at a time." I took his hand. "That's the only thing we can do."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Smiling in reply, I said, "There is nothing else I want more right now."

"Well, then, Angie Jarvis, what do you want to do?"

"Your pick, Grant Ward."

~:~

I sat in my bed finishing the last journal. Tears streamed down my face as I read her last words.

'This is my last entry, Angel. I love you so much. Take care of your uncle. He needs you. Some days may be hard, but take it one step at a time. If you find your father, bring him back. He may not be the same but bring the good back in him. And whatever you do, guard your heart and wait for that one person who will love you for who you are.'

My phone began to ring. I wiped my tears.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Jarvis, we need your assistance."

"What do you got?"

"Meet us at the coordinates we're sending you. And we'll debrief you more."

"Aye aye, captain."

~:~

SHIELD BASE: LOCATION UNKNOWN

"Whoa…Is that..."

Fury stood next to me with his arms crossed. "Yep, this is your consultation."

"But, he's…." I stammered.

"I know." He turned to look at me. "That's why we need you."

"You have Coulson here. Why me?"

"We both know why. He's your responsibility."

'One day, I hope you meet him. Bring him back to the light, you are his only hope. There is a slim chance the Captain will ever come back. If he does, guide him in this crazy world.'

~:~

Me and Tony ate in silence.

Things had been tense since the Expo. I didn't know what to tell him anymore. And on top of that, the fact that he was lying to me about Mom….What was there to say?

"You okay, kid?" he asked, breaking my trance.

I opened my mouth, quickly shutting it, and shook my head.

"It must be important, if you're reacting like that."

"Fine, then…." I dropped my fork on my plate. "Answer me this: When were you going to tell me Mom was kidnapped?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Fury-"

"Fury told you!" he exclaimed. "Of course he did, I mean he's the King of the Spies."

"He didn't tell me anything. Mom did."

He raised his brow. "This isn't some New-Age crap, is it?"

"No," I replied. "He gave me all the journals she kept when she was pregnant with me."

"Kid, I….How could I tell you that when I myself don't know what happened?" He sighed, "She told me some things, things I couldn't listen to. She begged me to forget it happened, for your sake. And Angie, I tried. Everyday I tried to cleanse it from my mind, but when I saw you…."

"Everything came flooding back."

Tears brimmed his eyes. "How could I tell a little kid that some random…."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Tony."

"No, you're not," he replied. "But you're still my kid. And I didn't know how to tell you that." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Anything else you need to say?"

"Just that she asked me to keep you in check."

He snorted. "Even from the grave, she still delivers some sick burns."

"Yeah," I smiled. "Yeah, she does."

~:~