Hope aimed up her shot. She was a little hesitant from all her previous trials but still felt more confident than before. She squeezed the trigger of her particle blaster and hit the lab rat that was in front of her on top of the lab table. The white rodent instantly grew to the size of a German Shepherd. She stared at it where it peered back at her. She then cocked her head as if she were waiting for it to literally blow up in her face, but it didn't. Hope's face split into a grin as she turned to her dad who was standing right beside her.

"It worked!" she cheered as she lunged at him, giving him a hug as he instantly reciprocated it.

He soon pulled her back, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Now try shrinking him back." He smiled in excitement.

She nodded before she turned and did as instructed as the rat quickly shrank back down to size, with one blast of her weapon.

Hope was ecstatic, they had been tinkering with her blasters for nearly two weeks, having no luck, when they'd finally had enough and decided to start from scratch, building a completely new one.

She actually had a pleasant time engineering the tech with her dad. They had fallen back into their previous rhythm like they had when they were building the quantum bridge together. They actually had a great working relationship as long as they stayed focused on the project at hand. It was only when they deviate onto sensitive personal matters did they find trouble. That was the very reason why Hope had been avoiding telling him about her and Maria.

She kept rationalising to herself that she was waiting for just the right moment to bring it up. But it had become abundantly clear that she was just being a chicken, since it'd been three weeks since her and Scott had gotten back from New York and she had yet to even try breaching the subject.

Though, it didn't help that Hope was still waiting on Maria to contact her. She'd promised to call, but Hope had yet to hear from her. She tried desperately not to think about for It made her uneasy. She didn't know if Maria was okay or not. Something bad may have happened to her. Or possibly, she was totally fine but, for some reason, had a change of heart and didn't care enough to reach out to her.

She didn't want to be 'that girl'. The one who was paranoid that her significant other didn't truly care for her. But the irrational fear was still there, deep in the back of her mind, trying to push itself forward into her forethoughts. The two, afterall, never did have 'the official talk' to discuss their relationship status. However, Maria did assure her that there were no other women in her life, that it was just her. But even then, she needed some reassurance. She didn't think Maria was lying to her or anything, it was just that their relationship was so new and she missed her so much that her brain was involuntarily cycling through various worst case scenarios in reaction to Hope's fear. The fear that she would lose the woman she loved.

"Hey, guys. I heard happy cheering." Scott approached them in their lab, gesturing to the blaster. "Did you finally get it to work?" Hope smiled at him as she turned and shot the rat, shrinking him down to the size of a thimble. "Sweet!"

"What brings you by?" Hope asked while she removed her blaster from her wrist just as her dad was quick to take it from her, wanting to start fashioning its plating.

"Oh, I'm on my way to a new client." He referenced his, and his best friend Luis's, security company. "But Cassie gave me these this afternoon and insisted I deliver them today." He pulled out a couple cards from his bag, looking at them before he handed one to Hank and the other to Hope.

Hope looked down, chuckling at the birthday party invitation with Captain America on it. She opened the card where it read:

I'd be Super Excited for You to Attend My 9th Birthday Party.

But what had really struck her interest was Cassie's messy writing at the bottom that simply said:

Hope + Maria

She had to bite down a smile, she'd never seen their names together like that, it sent a tingling sensation up her neck.

Just then her phone started to ring. She grabbed it out of her pant pocket, seeing an unknown number on display. "Hello?" she answered it.

"Hey." Came a familiar voice. "It's me."

Hope beamed as she nearly cried. "Maria." It was like Cassie's card had somehow summoned the other woman. "Ah" – Hope glanced up at both Hank and Scott who were looking at her – "just give me a sec. 'Kay?" she muttered into the phone before swiftly moving to the end of the room, entering the stairwell where she sat down on the landing with her feet resting on a lower step. "Okay. Hi." She smiled while pulling Cassie's card into her lap.

"Hi." She could hear the warmth coming from the other woman's voice. "I'm sorry it took so long to call. This has kinda been the first opportunity I've had, believe it or not."

In hearing her words, all of Hope's fears that Maria had been purposely avoiding her had dissipated. "It's okay. I get it." Hope dropped her head to the side, resting it against the wall before she'd asked, "So, how are you?"

"Honestly, a lot better now that I'm talking to you."

Hope felt her cheeks warm in response to the woman's answer. "Are you not having fun out there?" she asked light-heartedly.

Maria sighed. "Fun is definitely not the word I'd use." She sounded tired.

Hope responded a little more seriously. "I guess you can't tell me where you are or what you're up to."

"No," she said softly. "But can you tell me things about yourself? Like how is your recovery coming along?"

Hope proudly smirked. "I successfully took Scott down for the first time while sparring last week. And he has yet to land a hit since. So I'd say I'm pretty much back to normal."

"Good, I'm so glad to hear." Maria sounded like she was talking through a smile, which made Hope grin.

"Yeah." Hope continued. "Now the only thing I'm left recovering from is my goofy hair. It's truly fantastic at the moment," Hope said sarcastically. "That patch of hair is just at the right length that it's sticking upright. Scott has called it my mini putting green, and if I don't conceal it properly, he very annoyingly pokes at it."

Maria chuckled. "I would very much like to see that."

"See what? My hair? Or Scott poking at my hair?" Hope giggled.

"Both."

"Well if you hurry up out there, then you can."

"Trust me." Maria sighed. "I'm working on it."

"Good." Hope bit her lip, a happy warmth traveling through her body.

"Tell me what else you've been up to."

"Well, my dad and I managed to make a new blaster. Which means – as of now – I can successfully manipulate organic structures," she said proudly. "So the next time you decide to jump out of an exploding helicopter, I'll be able to shrink you down before catching you."

"You're saying you'll be able to fly me to safety without having to act as my own personal crash pad again?" Maria teased.

Hope giggled, "Pretty much. Yeah."

"That would definitely be preferable 'cause you suck to land on top of. You're definitely not squishy enough." She could hear Maria holding back a laugh, but Hope didn't have her strength as she audibly chuckled. "Hey, speaking of your blasters. You threatened to shoot me with one. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. So I could throw you further." Hope recalled back to their evening rendezvous at the park when Maria was trying to gain her trust.

"Exactly. Except you would've killed me with one of those at the time. That was – straight up – a death threat!"

"I didn't mean for it to be!" Hope laughed. "I thought I'd have them able to shrink living organisms by then. Okay!"

"Still doesn't change the fact you threatened to shoot me with a deadly weapon."

"Well, I'm sorry. I hope you'll be able to find it in your heart to accept my apology." Hope smiled as she began twisting the ends of her hair around her finger, but Maria didn't respond. Hope pulled her hand away from her hair as her back straightened in alarm, "Maria?" she spoke after a few seconds of dead silence.

"I miss you," Maria responded softly, straight after Hope said her name.

Hope almost whimpered out, "I miss you too." She pulled her knees into her chest and hugged them as if she were hugging Maria. She then wiped her eyes which instantly started to tear up. In that moment she felt so scared for Maria. It sounded like something dangerous was happening where she was and it was affecting her negatively.

"Tell me more things." Maria softly requested.

Hope nodded, trying to pull herself together for Maria's behalf as she complied. "I was talking about you yesterday with Cassie – ah – Scott's daughter." Hope tried to tell her as light-heartedly as possible. "And after she learned you were the boss of the Averages, she instantly became your biggest fan."

"You talk about me to people?" Hope could hear a bit of a tease in her tone, which made Hope smile.

"Yeah, but mostly just to intimidate them. Like, I tell them if they cross me I'll get you to sick all of S.H.I.E.L.D. on them," she joked. "You would use your power like that, right?"

"To intimidate those who have wronged you? Absolutely," Maria said with conviction. "But were you intimidating Scott's daughter? 'Cause I would never scare my most devout and beloved admirer, Cassandra Lang," she said in a goofy yet protective way.

"No, I wasn't intimidating the president of your fan club." Hope laughed out before sighing. "She actually invited you to her birthday party next Saturday. But I already told her you were really busy with work – A.K.A. bossing everyone around – and that you probably wouldn't make it. She was pretty disappointed to hear, but that didn't stop her from putting your name on one of her birthday invitations."

"Aw." Maria sounded flattered. "Are you going to the party?"

"Yeah. After the kids leave in the afternoon they're having a dinner with the family. So I'm invited to that, along with my parents, and Scott's best friend, but it sounds like he might miss it for work. And then – of course – you."

"Next Saturday?"

"Yeah."

"What time?"

Hope's head jerked up as she asked, "Wait, are you..."

"I mean." Maria interrupted her. "You're probably right, the chances of me making it are slim. But I can always try."

Hope's whole body felt warm like her nerve endings were all dancing in excitement. "Six o'clock at one-seventy-two Greenview Drive."

"Okay. Date, time, and location are memorised."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Hope was quickly learning that Maria's memory was far superior to the average. "Oh – ah – I gotta go." Maria suddenly sounded distracted as Hope could have sworn she heard commotion from the other end of the line.

"Okay. Yeah," Hope said, not ready to say goodbye but understanding that she must.

"I'm sorry," Maria said quickly.

"Don't be sorry just stay safe. Okay?" Suddenly she heard a click. "Maria?" Hope asked, realising that their call had ended. "Damnit," she muttered in aggravation as she pushed the edge of her mobile phone into her chin.

She closed her eyes, hoping everything was okay before she slowly stood up, sliding both her phone and the invitation into her pocket and made her way back into the main lab where she had abandoned the boys.

Scott was standing on the far side of the table from Hank with the lab rat (who was brought back to his normal size) in his hand as he watched the older man tinkering.

"Okay, but I just think it makes sense that my backside should be armoured a bit better," Scott said to him.

"So you want padding on the butt of your suit?" He looked up to him with the most annoyed expression as Hope couldn't help but smirk.

Scott turned to her as she approached. "Hey, so I was totally not asking what you think I was asking." He flashed her an innocent smile.

Hank looked up at Hope with a scowl before dropping his head to focused back onto his task at hand. "Well aren't you going to relay the message to Scott?" he asked gruffly. "Or do I need to leave because it's classified?"

"What message?" Hope shook her head in confusion.

"I don't know." He raised his head to look back at her. "Whatever the deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. called you about."

"We didn't discuss business."

"Then why did she call?"

"Just to talk."

"Oh right, I forgot," he scoffed, looking back at the blaster in hand. "You two are best buddies."

His attitude and remark towards Maria came at the wrong time. She was so fresh off of her conversation with the agent and her emotions were piqued that she couldn't stay silent. "Seriously, what is your deal with her? You have like this irrational disdain for her." Her words came sharply.

"She is personally being groomed by Nick Fury himself to become the next leader of S.H.I.E.L.D." He pointing his skrewdriver at her in an accusatory way. "And I can see you have misguided faith in that organisation. You made that abundantly clear when you joined the Avengers and then proceeded to risk your life for hers." He put his tool down before placing his hands on the table, leaning towards her. "But what you need to know is S.H.I.E.L.D. is insidious. It's truly the brainchild of Howard Stark in every way."

"She went behind Fury's back for us so we could save mom." Hope shot back. "So, even if you have a problem with both him and S.H.I.E.L.D., it's unfair to extend it to her."

"Oh, don't be so naive. Fury knew what she was doing. She didn't just secretly help us out the goodness of her heart." He picked the screwdriver back up as he began working again, muttering under his breath, "Not that a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could ever have a heart."

"Oh, someone clearly doesn't have a heart here and it's not Maria," she practically laughed out in irony.

He jerked his head back up to glare at her. "You're really still trying to defend her to me?"

"Defend my girlfriend? Yeah, I am." Her words came out so abruptly with such force, it'd taken even her aback. She'd just openly called Maria her girlfriend for the first time, and it was to defend her honour in front of her dad, the one person in the world whom she truly feared.

"Your girlfriend?" he scrunched his face in utter bafflement.

"Yes, my girlfriend." Hope's voice came out strong. "We're in a relationship together." She doubled down, not backing out now.

"No you're not," he said angrily. "You're with Scott." He flailed his hand at her partner. "And besides, you're not gay."

"We – ah – actually broke up like a month ago," Scott spoke up timidly.

"What are you talking about?" Hank looked at him. "You guys have been acting exactly the same as usual," he spat as if he was grasping at straws to try and build a case against what they were telling him, wanting to disprove it.

Scott turned to Hope as he tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe we really were destined to just being friends since – apparently – people can't even tell the difference from when we're dating or not."

"Wait." Hank looked away from Scott to fix his gaze onto Hope. "Are you being serious with me right now?"

Hope nodded with conviction. "Yes."

"So what" – his tone revved up even more now – "you're telling me you're a lesbian now?"

"No, it's called being bisexual and I've always been this way," she shot back.

"Please." He looked at her like she was a stupid child. "I've known you your whole life. You're not like that. You're just confused. She's got you all confused. She's manipulating you to control you." He then started attacking Scott. "And what the hell did you do?"

"Me?" Scott asked in terror.

"Yeah, you obviously did something and now Hope's with her."

"Oh my god, stop!" Hope snapped. "He didn't do anything to me. And neither did Maria. Just stop!" She growled through clenched teeth, "This conversation is over."

"What's going on over here?" Janet came down the stairs and over to them from the quantum bridge's control room. She looked to both her husband and her daughter, easily reading their body language. "You two have been getting along so well lately. What happened?"

Hope turned to her as she huffed, "I told him."

"Told him? Told him wha—" She cut off her own words as her eyes grew in realisation. "Oh."

"Wait, you knew our daughter was with that woman and you didn't tell me?" His pissy mood quickly shifted onto Janet.

"It wasn't for her to tell." Hope defended her.

"Hank, don't be so upset," the older woman said, "Maria is a lovely soul. You should be happy for them."

"Are you kidding me?" He threw both his tool and the baster on top of the table which made Hope jump. "It's like you people have all lost your minds." He started trudging towards the elevator. "I'm getting out of this loony bin," he angrily muttered as he disappeared into the lift.

"What the hell is his problem?" Hope turned to her mother in a heated tone. "I mean, I knew he wasn't going to take it well. He barely tolerated Scott at first, but still!"

Scott spoke up. "I think it's fair to say he still barely tolerates me now."

"Fair point." Hope agreed with him.

"He's not good with change, never has been," Janet said in a calming manner. "You know he takes awhile to come around to things."

"Mom," she scoffed. "He's literally still mad at Howard Stark, so much so, that after he died, he just transferred that hatred onto his son and everybody associated with S.H.I.E.L.D." She said adamantly, "He doesn't take awhile to come around. He never comes around. The man is unmovable."

"I'll talk to him." She tried to assure her daughter.

"What's the point?" Hope couldn't see him ever changing his views. "It's not like he's just gonna accept her. To him, she's a heartless S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who's confused me into thinking I like women" She felt her eyes welling up, surprised by how much her dad's disapproving words had affected her. "Because – apparently – he's not very keen on having a gay daughter."

"Oh, Jellybean, he loves you."

"Mom, please don't," she said sharply as she was trying her damnedest to hold herself together while covering her hurt with anger. "That justification is wearing pretty damn thin." She noticed that she also held some resentment towards her mother in those last words too. She hated how the woman constantly told her, ever since a young age, that her father's behaviour was dismissible for the sheer fact that he still loved them.

Hope abruptly spun on her heels and stomped towards the stairwell as she huffed, "I'm hitting the gym." She then forcefully pushed the stairwell doors open and exited.

Within ten minutes, Hope was on the second storey of the building. The floor was wide open and had a huge sparing mat and various gym equipment that took up about a third of the space. Her hair was tied up, workout clothes on, and her hands wrapped with boxing gloves over top as she was beating at a heavy bag with various strike combinations while Linkin Park was blasting through the speaker system.

"You okay?" She heard Scott's voice as he entered the space, slowly walking towards her.

"Peachy," she grunted through a jab, hook, jab, kick combination.

Scott moved to her, grabbing the swinging bag, holding it steady for her as she continued to beat at it. "How was Maria?" he asked.

"She sounded tired." She punched the bag. "And seemed busy." She then kicked it, wishing that she was there with Maria now.

"Did you at least have a nice chat though?" he asked like he were concerned that the phone call didn't go well.

Hope punched again at the bag, but was losing both the energy and the heart to keep wailing at it, especially after she started recalling back to their phone conversation. "Yeah." She stood back to look at Scott, softly smiling as she informed him, "She told me she was gonna try making Cassie's birthday."

"Oh that would be awesome." He gave her a lopsided smile as he said, "Cassie would flip if she showed up."

The fact that Maria was probably not going to make the party made her mood instantly dropped. "Yeah," she said in a small voice before she started aggressively beating the bag again, finding her second wind and a new purpose to punch.

"Hope?" Scott's voice sounded cautions. "You don't seem very peachy."

"I'm just worried about her." She finished her combination before taking a breath. "I have this feeling that something's off with her mission." She started doing side kicks on the bag. "And then there's my dad," she growled through strikes. "I don't even want to talk about him."

"Then we won't." Scott moved in front of the bag, stopping her from delivering any more strikes to it. Hope took a step back, allowing him to stand the ground that he'd just claimed. "But, I have to say" – he locked his gaze with hers – "I think Maria will be alright. She's – like – super smart and badass, she's probably three steps ahead of whatever she's dealing with right now."

Hope dropped her head as she allowed his words to sink in. Maria was indeed very smart and very resourceful.

She nodded before raising her eyes to the ceiling, throwing her gloved hands on her hips while catching her breath.

"Do you want to spar? Punching me in the face always seems to cheer you up."

Hope started to laugh as she looked to the dopey smile on his face before asking, "Don't you have to go meet a client?"

"Yeah, but I could always send Luis."

She smiled at him, grateful for his kindness. "No. It's okay. I'm okay." She nodded. "But thanks for offering to sacrifice your face for my benefit."

"Well, it's the right thing to do." He nodded with a grin as he started to make his way to the elevator.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Hope referenced their daily morning training as she turned to watch him load into the lift.

"Yeah. see you then." He waved before the doors shut.

Hope turned back to the heavy bag as she suddenly didn't feel like punching it anymore. Instead, she took off her gloves and started slowly unwrapped her hands as she aimlessly walked around the room.

She was deep in thought, imagining all the horrible ways in which her father might react to meeting Maria. She sighed. As much as he could be an asshole, Hope wasn't prepared for him to be estranged from her again. But if he couldn't accept her sexuality and her girlfriend, she might not have a choice. She prayed that he'd be better than that. She needed him to be better than that. Because, at the end of the day, she still loved him and wanted him in her life.