I tapped my fingers against the control stick irritably as I was held up yet again to be cleared to land at Edwards Air Base. Even having Coulson get on the radio and get a bit snappy with the air traffic control wasn't helping. Having Tony Stark flying in from Afghanistan seemed to make the air traffic crazy in the area. Helicopters were hovering just outside of the restricted air space, all trying to get a view of the missing billionaire. I'd already had an argument with a news chopper over the radio as the idiot fly right up close to the Quinjet trying to see if we had Stark on board.
"We're going to miss him," for the first time I'd seen him Coulson actually looked pissed off. I didn't blame him though. He'd been sent to grab Stark before he got off the plane for a debrief. Now it was looking more and more like that wouldn't happen.
"SHIELD, 629 Bravo you are cleared for landing," the bored sounding air traffic controller finally said over the radio. He then rattled off the runway I needed as I made a large sweeping turn. I wrinkled my nose as I always did at the designation SHIELD had given me. Apparently SHIELD didn't like their pilots having callsigns so you got a random designation instead.
"About time," Coulson grumbled as he pulled his phone out. He stared at the screen for a few moments while I lined up our landing. "We're going to have to park. Stark has called a press conference."
"Why would he call a press conference?" I didn't take my eyes off the runway as we descended. "He's been missing for 3 months now? Surely he'd want to go home and get some rest."
"This is Tony Stark we're talking about," Coulson sighed in annoyance. "I don't know why he's done it. We'll just play it by ear. I want you to hang in the background as the pretence of being a bodyguard. Cross your arms, look tough and all that sort of thing."
I shot a dirty look at Coulson for the last part of his sentence. He was a terrible tease when he wanted to be. At times I'm not sure if it was Clint rubbing off on him. Or that's where Clint had gotten that side of her personality from. I'd been told to wear a nice business suit for this one instead of my usual black pants and shirt that was the norm for us. I quite liked how I looked in the sharp grey skirt suit with a pale blue blouse underneath. Coulson had eyed off the not so sensible 3 inch black strappy heels but hadn't said not to wear them. I was barefoot while I was flying so I'd only need to pull them on when I got out of the car.
We hit the runway with a small bounce and decelerated quickly. Unlike the wait in the air, I actually got to the designated parking spot fairly quickly. I don't know how Coulson managed to organise things so quickly but he already had a car parked and waiting for us next to the hanger. I felt very strange being on Edwards base in a Quinjet just parking it near an unused hanger. I felt like I needed a set of keys to make sure it was locked so no one took it for a spin while we weren't there.
Compared to DC, California was so warm. I was almost too hot in my suit as we left the Quinjet. With my shoes in my hand I had to tiptoe across the concert which was hot under my toes.
"Where are we going?" I went straight for the passenger seat. Coulson always drove. Always. No matter who was in the car with him. We both slid into the SHIELD car and were off before I'd barely gotten the door closed. Coulson was driving fast to get where ever we needed to go. I clutched at the door handle for support and a small amount of fear. Maybe this is what it felt like when I was flying and being a bit reckless.
"To the press conference," Coulson glanced over to me briefly. "Shoes on."
I didn't argue. I just pulled my heels on quickly and looked to Coulson for some guidance. I knew I was asked here to be a pilot. But to tag along to a debrief was something very new for me.
"If we can corner Stark and get him to debrief," Coulson explained as soon as my second shoe was fastened. "I just want you to take notes. Make note of every minor detail no matter how insignificant it may seem. Be seen and not heard. This will be good experience for you."
"Must be the week for it," I couldn't stop my cheeky reply slipping out. Thankfully Coulson just shot me a small grin in response. Seeing me bounce into work and excited to be taking him to California must have put his mind at ease on how I coped with yesterdays situation.
"It'll do you the world of good to do something a little bit more normal than you've been doing lately," Coulson continued. "We're really cramming everything into you at the moment aren't we?"
"I'm not complaining," it was my turn to send a grin over to Coulson. "One might even say I'm enjoying my time at SHIELD. This wasn't quite the way I saw my year playing out, but I have no complaints."
"Good," though the reply was brief. The look on Coulson's face gave his emotions away. He looked relieved, proud and happy all rolled into one. It took a lot to see those emotions come through with Coulson. My christmas present for him seemed to be the ultimate ice breaker between us. Before he was slightly guarded around me. Now I was seeing the real Phil Coulson slip through more and more.
"So are you sure we can't drug Stark and drag him away if we can't get hold of him?" I tried to keep my face smoothed into a perfect emotionless facade. It was hard to stop the corners of my lips twitching in effort to hide my humour though.
"You just sounded and looked eerily like Nat right then," Coulson laughed at me without confirming or denying my plan.
"That wasn't a no," I prodded gently to see if that was actually on the cards.
"That's a no," Coulson shook his head and laughed at me again. "Just be a normal person for 20 minutes. You were normal once. Just try it again."
"I don't remember what normal is anymore," I put my feet up on the dash, crossing my ankles over and sliding down into the seat.
"Down," Coulson gave me a stern look.
I quickly complied putting my feet back down on the car floor. That was one thing I could get away with Clint. I guess Coulson disagreed strongly. I was usually relegated to the back with Natasha if Coulson drove anywhere. We'd drive out of the air base and Coulson was really putting his foot down to get to where ever the press conference was being held.
"Thanks for letting me tag along today," I smiled sweetly to Coulson. It softened his stern look straight away. "The weather is much nicer here."
"You're welcome," Coulson smile was easy. "Was Riley grumbling in the background when I called you?"
"A little bit," I shook my head with a wry smile. "He has a week off and I think he had plans."
"Oh to be young and sickeningly in love," Coulson teased. "I promise you this won't take more than a few hours and you can get back whatever you have planned."
As much as I tried to hide it, I couldn't stop the silly smile on my face. I knew exactly what Riley had planned for us when I get home. After him being away for 2 weeks I was more than looking forward to it. I thought after all these months our sex life might start to settle down a bit more, but the novelty definitely hadn't worn off yet.
"And we're here," Coulson pulled in front of the large building. I had no idea where we actually were. But it was jammed packed with cars and reporters vans. I could see a group of people clustered around the entrance. Even in the light of day the cameras flashes could be seen as a black limo pulled up to the kerb. I only just caught a glimpse of Tony Stark as he into the crowd. Judging by the balding head my guess he went straight to Obadiah Stane. The crowd of reporters swamped around him as they followed him into the building.
"Shit," Coulson swore softly under his breath. "Come on, we need to move."
I didn't give him any attitude as we both scrambled out of the car and into the thick crowd. Just as we hit the door, 2 security guards quickly stepped into our path.
"Thank you," Coulson didn't give them time to speak. He simply whipped his badge and ID out. "Agent Lyngley is with me. Do you have our visitor passes?"
I had to give it to Coulson. He could get the impossible done in any short amount of time. Here we were landed and only out of the Quinjet for 10 minutes. He'd already organised a car and security passes for us to be in on this conference. All while just typing away furiously on his phone while I was landing.
The security guard mumbled an apology before quickly getting on the radio. In a few seconds we had our visitors pass and were hurriedly walking down the hallway. It wasn't hard to find where we were going. It was just a case of following the crowd and what was left of the stragglers. Coulson caught the door just as it was closing behind us.
The room was packed. Not just with reporters but at a second glance there was a lot of security. It almost felt like Bagram all over again with the amount of government agencies packed in there. It wasn't just SHIELD. To my left 2 FBI agents were standing by themselves. Just in front of them were CIA. I had no doubt Homeland Security and DOD wouldn't be far away either. Everyone was going to want to hear what Stark had to say for himself after 3 months of disappearance.
"Kari," Coulson tapped my arm lightly to get my attention. He motioned his head towards a tall, pencil thin woman standing in the back of the room by herself. She was dressed in a chocolate pant suit with her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Coulson didn't wait for me to respond. He began walking over towards her. I quickly made sure I was a step behind him.
"Miss Potts?" Coulson's voice made her turn to face us both.
Tony Stark's personal assistant, Pepper Potts, looked at us both with a small smile. Under the make up and practiced poised she didn't look like she'd slept terribly well. Her eyes were still red rimmed, no doubt from tears that she hadn't managed to cover up.
"Yes?" Pepper looked at both of us.
"Can I speak with you for a moment," Coulson didn't waste time to get to the point.
"Oh, I'm not part of the press conference," Pepper said with her eyes darting to the front of the room. "It's about to begin right now."
"I'm not a reporter," Coulson looked a little amused at her brush off. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"That's quite a mouthful," the corners of Pepper's lips quirked up at her own small joke. I bit my lip to cover my own amusement. She wasn't wrong there. Coulson handed her one of his standard business cards, which she quickly tucked it into the book she was carrying.
"I know, we're working on it," Coulson sounded like it wasn't the first time he'd heard that. I rolled my eyes at his half turned back.
"You know we've already been approached by the DOD, FBI, CIA" Pepper started sounding a little exasperated.
"We're a separate division with a more specific focus," Coulson cut her off gently. "We need to debrief Mr Stark about the circumstances of his escape."
"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper seemed to be wanting to have this conversation over in a hurry. She glanced over towards me like she was only noticing me for the first time. I gave her my own small smile which she returned.
"Thank you," Coulson took his dismissal and walked away about a dozen paces.
"Well, she didn't seem to happy," I murmured to Coulson as we stood at the back of the room.
Obidiah Stane was standing at the podium looking around the room. I frowned and it took me a second to actually locate Stark. He was sitting down on the ground, pulling a cheeseburger out of his jacket.
"Hey, would it be alright if everybody sat down?" Tony waved his cheeseburger around as he took another big mouthful. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me and I can…."
Tony trailed off looking around. Everyone in the room was slowly crouching to the ground. I looked over to Coulson who gave me a small shrug as we both sunk to the ground.
"What's he doing?" I whispered to Coulson. Obadiah came to crouch beside Tony, a few murmured words were spoken between them that was too quiet to reach the back of the room without the microphones. Obadiah reached over and gave Tony's shoulder a firm squeeze.
Tony looked terrible. As would anyone after 3 months in captivity. He'd lost about 40 pounds and he looked grey and haggard. It looked like he hadn't seen the sun in a very long time. It was a stark contrast from the man that was flirting with me at the gala all those months ago. No one but him knew what he'd actually gone through. By the looks of him it hadn't been pleasant. At least he looked like he'd had a chance to shower and shave. His immaculate navy suit hang off his now thin frame.
"I never got to say goodbye to my father," Tony finally spoke up addressing the room. He turned so he was facing everyone. "There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had any doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the news reels."
The haunted look in Tony's eyes made me shudder slightly. Now his burger was finished he'd gone to fiddling with napkin in his hand. It was a small motion. Not something everyone was going to pick up on. But his face aged another 5 years before he got the next words out.
"I saw," Tony had to swallow hard before he continued. "Young americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them."
The image of the fragment bomb landing right in front of me sent a cold chill down my spine. So it wasn't sheer luck that the group who had Stark had his weapons. That must have been a very complex plan set into motion by players unknown in the background. Coulson reached over and gave my arm a small squeeze bringing me back into the conference room. I blinked a few times to get that image out of my head.
"And I saw that I had become part of a system that was comfortable with zero accountability," Tony's voice shook slightly.
"Mr Stark!" one of the reporters quickly jump in to ask a question as Tony paused.
"Hey Ben," Tony's familiarity made the reporter hesitate for half a second with his question.
"What happened over there?"
"I, ah," Tony stumbled over his words before a look of hard determination set across his face. He climbed to his feet and started to pace to back behind the microphone podium. "Had my eyes opened. I came to realise that I have more to offer this world than just making stuff blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries."
The room all got up and starting shouting question at Tony. My mouth dropped open at his bold declaration. Tony himself got to his feet with Stane right by his side. The noise was absolutely deafening as people were shouting in excitement and questions.
"Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be," Tony's grim look didn't falter. Obadiah came to stand beside him and was trying to steer him away from the microphones. It didn't deter Tony. He just raised his voice to be heard until he'd said his piece.
"What direction it should take, one that I am comfortable with," Tony began to move away and walk through the crowd. "And is consistent with the highest good for this country as well."
"Well fuck me," Coulson's words were barely heard over the noise. Tony's personal security were muscling their way to get towards him as the reporters tried to swamp him. Pepper had discreetly slipped away during the ruckus.
"I'm going to the bathroom," I couldn't deal with the noise and commotion anymore. The crowd of people were closing in fast around us and I wanted to get out. Coulson just gave me a small nod to let me know he'd heard me. I ducked and weaved through the people until I was clear. I let out a small sigh of relief to be free from the masses.
It wasn't hard to find the bathroom. It was only just down the hallway. I didn't actually need to go so I went to the basin and just washed my hands and splashed some water on my face. The excitement of coming today was fast wearing off and I was still feeling tired from yesterdays mission. I even looked tired. I had dark circles under my eyes despite the good night sleep I'd gotten. At least I wasn't looking too terrible in any other way. My hands were scraped from hitting the ground yesterday. My poor knuckles and hands were looking as rough as Riley's these days.
A toilet flushed and the stall behind me opened. To my surprise, Pepper stepped out of it. We both startled seeing each other standing there.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I gave Pepper a small smile. "Just needed to get away from the crowd."
"You and me both," Pepper returned the smile. "You were with Agent Coulson, but he didn't introduce you."
"Kari," I stuck my hand out. "Agent Lyngley if you want to be really formal. I'm just Agent Coulson's pilot today and tagging along for the ride."
"Pleasure," Pepper shook my hand. I inwardly cringed at her lovely smooth and perfectly manicured nails against my grungy hands. "I needed to get away from the crowd too."
The small confession came with a shy smile from Pepper. It melted away the stress lines on her face that she must have been holding there for the last 3 months. Beneath her professional exterior there was still a normal person. From what I knew she'd been Tony's personal assistant for a very long time. He was probably like family to her. Seeing him home must have been an enormous relief. Before I could say anything else, a blonde female reporter walked into the toilet. She looked between the two of us, her face lighting up in absolute glee at seeing Pepper standing there. She opened her mouth, ready to barrage out a million questions.
"Miss Potts if you'll follow me please," I quickly cut in with a crisp authoritarian voice. I placed my hand on Pepper's hand and gave her a gentle push. "The rest of the security team is waiting for you to exit with Mr Stark."
"Miss Potts if you could," the blonde reporter started.
"Sorry Miss Potts we have to go," I cut her off. "The car is waiting."
With my hand on her back I quickly steered her away from the reporter. The reporter glared daggers at our retreating backs but didn't make a move to follow or thrown any questions after us. As we walked away I couldn't help but feel smugly proud of how quickly I just thought on my feet. Then I hit a snag in my plan.
"Do you actually have to be somewhere?" I whispered to Pepper. I had no idea where I was walking to. For all I knew I could be walking Pepper into a boardroom with more reporters.
"Turn left," Pepper whispered back. Her voice was strangled trying to contain her humour in this situation. We both made a sharp left turn and ran straight into the person I'd done so well to avoid for the last few months. Rhodey was standing there dressed in uniform hurrying down the hallway. I hadn't seen him at the press conference.
"Pepper," Rhodey simply raised an eyebrow at seeing the two of us standing together. "Happy is out front waiting for you."
"Thank you Agent Lyngley," Pepper just smiled at me. "Hopefully you'll be with Agent Coulson next time we meet as well."
Without waiting for my reply, Pepper ducked off and hurried towards the exit. Leaving me standing there anxiously picking my nails as Rhodey stared at me.
"You have no idea how hard you are to corner First Lieutenant Lyngley, sorry that's Agent Lyngley now isn't it?" Rhodey looked more amused than pissed off. "How are you? I see SHIELD finally sank their claws into you."
"Yes they did. I'm halfway through my year probation," I shifted my weight uncomfortably. These heels definitely weren't meant for standing for long periods of time. "I'm good thank you. You look relieved to have Mr Stark back on home soil."
"I don't think relieved quite covers it," the smile on Rhodey's face gave away what he wasn't saying in words. "How are you enjoying your time in SHIELD?"
"Loving every second of it," I said smoothly. I glanced around hoping Coulson was somewhere close and he'd come and save me. No such luck, it was just me and Rhodey standing here. I'd done so well to avoid him in Afghanistan. Of course I wasn't so lucky that I could avoid him forever.
"I read about what happened in the canyon that night," Rhodey wasn't mincing words with me. He seemed to know our time was limited and was getting straight to the point of what he wanted to talk about. "Thats some hardcore action even for the experienced guys."
"I managed," I shrugged looking past Rhodey. This conversation was making me feel quite uncomfortable. I don't know why he felt the need to talk to me about this. Or why he felt the need to even speak to me. I'd only seen him once or twice in passing in my time in the Air Force.
"And if you find yourself not managing in your probation what are you going to do after its over?" Rhodey persisted.
"I have no idea," I shrugged again finally bringing myself to look Rhodey in the eye. He was watching my every move intently.
"From what I heard from your old squadron you were one of the most promising young pilots to sit in a Raptor," Rhodey's eyebrow raised slightly as we locked gazes. "It would be a shame to waste that all because of 2 idiots."
Rhodey reached into his jacket and pulled out a card. He handed it to me while still watching me very carefully. With a small frown I took it from his hands glancing down at the small white card. It was nothing fancy, just his name and several numbers to reach him on.
"If you decide SHIELD isn't for you, ring me," Rhodey said firmly. "While I can't guarantee you'd make it back to your old Squadron, I can definitely guarantee you a position here in 461st as a test pilot."
461st? What the hell was the 461st? I tried to rack my brains quickly so I didn't sound like a complete idiot. Then it hit me like one of Natasha's punches. The 461st had been assigned the F-35's. I would be one of the first people to be flying them when they actually came out of production. Test pilots were often assigned to new squadrons when the aircraft went into service as well. This wasn't just a step up from flying a F-22. It was like leaping over the Grand Canyon.
"Thank you Sir," I quickly tucked the business card into the pocket of my jacket. I didn't know what else to say. Rhodey was dangling the golden goose right in front of me just as I thought I was settled here at SHIELD.
"I hope to hear from you soon," Rhodey stuck his hand out. I numbly took it and shook his hand firmly. "Have a good think about it Agent Lyngley. Those Captain stripes wouldn't be too far away either."
Without another word Rhodey dropped my hand and left me standing there in the hallway. It took me a minute of staring at the spot he'd just been in before I could make myself move. What the actual fuck just happened? Did I really just get a chance to have my entire life back with a snap of my fingers if I wanted it? A second later Coulson rounded the corner and called out to me bringing me back to reality. I strode over towards him, ignoring the temptation to finger at the business card in my pocket.
"Lets go," Coulson looked at me curiously. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah," I quickly plastered a smile onto my face. "Lets go home."
The flight back was quiet. Coulson had phone call after phone call to deal with so he sat in the back talking quietly. The 3 hour flight gave me more than enough time to replay the brief conversation with Rhodey a few thousand times over in my head. It was an offer almost to good to be true. Didn't I just say to Coulson before we landed how much I was loving my time here in SHIELD? Why the hell did Rhodey have to come and throw something like that at me to make everything complicated? Part of me wanted to say yes so badly to that offer. Flying a F-35 would be more than a dream come true. Especially being a test pilot. I'd get to play with everything before anyone else.
There'd been a light dusting of snow by the time I landed back at the Triskelion. Compared to the balmy weather in California, it was absolutely freezing. After saying a quick goodbye to Coulson I practically ran as fast as I could in my heels back to the locker room. I got changed and was heading out to my Kawasaki in no time. According to the talk in the locker room there was a snow storm coming in. Most people were going to be in a rush to get home before it hit. As I headed to the garage I sent Riley a quick message letting him know I was on my way home. Neither Clint or Natasha came into work this morning. It was just Coulson and I. Riley told me to take the car this morning because of how shitty the weather was. I just shrugged and said I'd be fine. I thought he was going to argue about it, but he just shook his head instead. His over protectiveness drove me a bit crazy sometimes. We never really had proper arguments, sometimes just the occasional snarl and then an instant apology at each other.
There was already a line up of cars heading out of the garage by the time I was on my bike. It was frustrating having to sit behind the heavy traffic as we crawled along the bridge at a snails pace. The snow had started to pick up as soon as I was outside. I shivered and hunkered down in the few layers of clothes I had on. It was times like this I wish I'd been smart enough and taken Riley's car this morning. In the slow moving traffic my mind kept replaying the conversation again that I had with Rhodey. Just moving to California alone had enough problems in itself. What would Riley say? Would he follow me there or would we have to try for a long distance relationship. How would I ever tell Clint's kids I was moving away and probably not coming back for long periods of time? Shit, how the fuck would I even tell Clint and Natasha. The two people who have gone out of their way to let me into their private lives without any fuss. The people who had become my best friends when I needed them the most.
I snapped my attention back to the road just as the car in front of me slammed the brakes on. I was following far too closely for slippery conditions and jammed my own front brake on. The bike skidded and wobbled precariously as I gently touched the back brake to keep my balance. I blew out a small huff of relief as I stayed upright and didn't slam into the car in front of me and nearly came to a complete stop.
Until the car behind me hit my back wheel. I was still moving so the momentum of the none too gentle nudge of the car sent both me and the bike skidding sideways. My leg got trapped under the bike as I skidded a few feet along the icy ground. My jeans instantly ripped and I could feel are skin being ground off against the asphalt. Then pain, just lots and lots of pain as I lay there trapped under my heavy bike feeling blood pouring down what was left of my jeans. The world around me was silent except for the ringing of my ears. Motherfucker this wasn't going to be pretty.
The weight was suddenly gone off me and my helmet was gently removed from my head. It was only then the ringing in my ears stopped and I could hear what was going on around me.
"Kari?" Can you hear me?" it was Rumlow hovering above me. If he was the one who hit me I was going to beat him within an inch of his life.
"Ow," I responded clutching at my leg as I sat up. "Ow, ow, motherfucking ow."
Looking down to my aching leg, I'd taken off quite a few layers of skin. Road rash was never fun. When it was bleeding profusely like mine was, it was even worse. When I glanced up again from the mess I'd made of my leg, I jumped in surprise at who else was hovering over me.
"Fuck I'm so sorry Kari, I tried to miss you," it was Rollins crouching next to Rumlow. "I didn't mean to clip your tyre."
I was in too much pain to respond. I just shook my head while fighting back tears as I clutched at my leg. It felt like it was on fire. All the exposed nerve endings just set my entire leg alight. More running feet came towards where I was sitting. Wasn't this just going to fuck everyone's afternoon commute up? My little accident had just blocked off one lane of traffic with a fast approaching snow storm on the way.
"Alright lets get you up and to medical," Rumlow looked at me sympathetically. "For fuck sake Kari, can't you keep out of trouble for 5 seconds?"
I gave Rumlow a weak smile forcing myself not to cry. My leg hurt so damn badly. I couldn't even focus to see if anything else was broken or hurt.
"It had to be you, of all the fucking people it had to be you," Rollins muttered under his breath as he stood up from his crouch near me. "How are we doing this?"
I didn't hear Rumlow's response. As I sat there clutching at my leg with tears in my eyes another 2 sets of feet came into view. One had combat boots on and the other was wearing dress shoes. Knowing the dress shoes as Coulson's it made me glance up.
"I've got Agent Kari Lyngley here," Coulson already had his phone out and was speaking on it rapidly. He was looking over me as if he was assessing me for any other injuries. "Motorbike crash, bringing her up now. You boys right with her?"
The second person was Sam, on the phone as well. He looked a little white as he was staring down at me. It was strange to see him here at work. He should have had the week off, the same as Riley.
"Yeah you might want to come and pick your girlfriend up," Sam shook his head at me. "She just left half the skin of her leg on the road."
"Ready?" Rumlow's voice brought me back to what he was doing. He was crouching down beside me again, Rollins on the other side doing the same. I shook my head. I was definitely not ready to be moved. I was in enough pain just sitting here clutching at my leg.
"Tough," Rumlow's sympathy seemed to have worn out quickly. "Ready Jack?"
Weird. I didn't know Rollins first name until now. The minor distraction was enough for both of them to link arms and slip them underneath me, quickly lifting me up. My free hand went to digging into Rumlow's shoulder for support. I felt unsteady and not happy about being picked up at all. It got even more embarrassing as both of them carried me the entire way back to medical. I'd only made it about 40 feet from the garage entrance. So at least I didn't have a mile of cars to go past and everyone to gawk or shoot dirty looks at me. Coulson was beside one of them and a quick glance over my shoulder showed Sam not far behind. Sam will still on the phone talking quietly enough that I couldn't hear his conversation with Riley. Judging by the frown on Sam's face I don't think the conversation was going the way he planned.
My leg had at least stopped bleeding by the time I was gently sat down on the bed in medical. This was one place I really hoped I wasn't going to be spending a lot of time in. It was set up like a small hospital, an entire wing onto itself on the 3rd floor. It had its own trauma centre, which I thankfully hadn't seen yet. Jared had told me it could cope with just about any emergency surgery that couldn't wait for the local hospital 20 minutes away. Where I'd been taken to was the non emergency centre. It was a large room with a doctors station in the middle. Fanning around it had private rooms in a large circle. The room wasn't anything special, just a bed in the middle of the glass was one way so you could only see out and no one could see in. Rollins and Rumlow both left the room as soon as I was put down on the bed. I could see Sam standing outside, now off his phone shooting nervous looks towards the entrance. While I was alone for a few minutes I quickly stripped off my jacket and sweater I had on underneath it. It was hot in this room. I'd melt if I left all my layers of clothes on.
It didn't take long for one of the doctor's to come out. He was the one who'd looked at my ribs after the sniper took our car out in Germany. He had messy black hair and bright green eyes. Thats's what I'd noticed the most about him. His eyes were nearly the same shade as Riley's. What I'd noticed the most about him last time was he barely looked older than I was. He definitely looked far too young to be a trained doctor.
"Ouch," were his first words as he took one look at my leg. He was close enough that I could read his ID clipped to his belt. Max, such a simple name that I couldn't remember. I was so bad with names. "Ok Agent Lyngley, I hope you aren't too fond of those jeans."
"Not really," I grimaced as I looked down at my leg again. I'd taken most of the skin off from mid thigh to mid calf on the outside of my leg. Even through the dried blood I could see bits of road stuck in it, along with some fibres left from my jeans. This wasn't going to be fun to get clean.
"So," Max began as he pulled reached over to the trolley which held medical supplies near the bed. "I'm not a great seamstress, but I can make those jeans into some pretty hot shorts. Sound good?"
"Sure," I gave him a weak grin.
He quickly cut away what was left of my jeans and then gently pried what was stuck to the edges of my leg off. That was enough to make me grip the edge of the bed, my knuckles turning white from gripping so hard.
"Sorry," Max flashed me a small smile. "It sucks, I know. Do you want the bandaid approach instead?"
"Please," I gritted my teeth knowing what was about to come. The last time I did this I was in my teens and had come off the quad bike. It'd been my poor Dad was who was very squeamish about injuries having to rip the jeans off my leg and patch me up.
"I'll count to 5, ok?" Max looked up at me waiting for confirmation. I gave him a tight nod and looked up to the ceiling. "Alright, 1, 2."
I didn't get a 3, 4 or 5. At 2 Max ripped the rest of my jeans clean off my leg. I couldn't stop the tears leaking out. But I did manage to muster enough energy to cover the yelp that was going to escape. In his efficacy Max didn't falter. He just threw the now ruined fabric on the ground and gently wiped away the new blood that started to leak from the edges.
"So what I'm going to do," Max looked back up at me without any hint of apology on his face. "Is get in there and scrub that wound out because its full of debris. I'll numb your entire leg so I'm not giving you about 20 local injections. Sound good?"
"Yeah best way to spend the afternoon," I said sarcastically to cover my discomfort. Dammit, why couldn't I ever do something simple? It was so typical of me to get road rash this bad that I needed minor surgery to clean it up.
"Fantastic," Max smiled brightly and gave me a wink. "Now all we need is a beer and we're both set. Throw on a hockey game, couldn't think of anything better than digging gravel out of a sexy leg while having a beer and watching hockey."
I laughed weakly as his poor attempt at flirting. His humour was very appreciated though. I had this horrible feeling Riley wasn't going to be too happy about this. I didn't need to be able to see into the future to know that this would probably cause an argument about me not taking his car this morning. The way Sam was now pacing the hallway wasn't giving me much hope either. I may as well enjoy the light mood from someone while it lasted.
Max got up and left the room to get whatever he needed for my leg. Just as the door closed to the room, Rollins slipped in. I raised an eyebrow in question at him as we both stared at each other uncomfortably.
"I'm really sorry I hit you," Rollins spoke first. "I was fiddling with the radio and not paying attention."
"Neither was I," I admitted shifting trying to get more comfortable. It only ended in me staying in the same position after shooting pains down my leg kept me put. "Its fine, you didn't hit me on purpose."
"No, but still it doesn't look great after all the shit I gave you when you first joined," Rollins cleared his throat. "Which I'm also sorry about."
That caused both my eyebrows to raise in surprise. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I wasn't one to hold onto a grudge forever. I'd let his shitty attitude and bad behaviour go as soon as I was assigned to Clint and Natasha. As fucked as his reasons were for not liking me, I didn't let it get to me. As soon as I wasn't training with him any longer it didn't have an impact on my life. What was the point of going through and hating someone forever? I'd barely seen him besides the occasional passing in the locker room or the halls. We both ignored each other and that was fine with me. He was STRIKE Team Echo which I had very little to do with.
"It was immature and idiotic, not to mention unprofessional of me to act the way I did," Rollins kept talking when I didn't answer. "You ended up accomplishing something no one else has ever done even with me being a complete jerk."
"Its fine," I gave him a small smile as I repeated myself. "Yeah it sucked at the time, but I let it go as soon as I got handed over to Clint and Nat. They keep me too busy to have the energy to hold onto a grudge."
The smallest smile slipped onto Rollins face at my honest confession. It was a definite change from the serious guy who I don't think ever wore any other expression. His default expression seemed to be set to a constant resting bitch face.
The door swung open making us both jump in surprise. A second later a furious looking Riley stormed in with Sam hot on his heels. Riley looked ready to murder somebody. He was too fast for Rollins to get out of the way. Even too fast for Sam tog ran his arm and stop the punch he swung at him. Riley's fist connected with a sickening smack across Rollins' jaw. It was enough force to make Rollins spin around and it was only the wall that saved him from falling on the ground.
"Riley!" Sam grabbed his arm and yanked him back a few steps. It didn't simper Riley's temper at all. I'd never seen Riley so pissed off in all our time together. His face was drawn in a heavy scowl and his fists were white from being clenched so tight.
"If you ever come near my girlfriend again I will fucking kill you," Riley seethed as he pointed at Rollins. "There won't even be enough left of you to identify. I'm sure Romanoff still hates you enough to help me."
To my surprise and horror, Rollins laughed as he pushed himself away from the wall. His mouth was bleeding from where his lip had split. He casually wiped it away with the back of his hand and just stared down at Riley. Rollins was a big guy. I had no doubt he'd do some damage if he decided to take a swing at Riley.
"I was in here apologising you fucking asshole," Rollins shook his head. I don't know if it was in amusement or just sheer disbelief. "But if you want it to be like that, first hit was free pretty boy. Take another swing and see how lucky you get."
Riley wrenched himself from Sam's grip and nearly made it to Rollins. Through watching the scene unfold before my eyes with growing horror, I didn't see Rumlow or Coulson come running in. Both were at Riley before he could get close enough for another swing. It took all 3 of them to pull him away far enough so he couldn't hit him again. All three of them were speaking so rapidly to Riley I couldn't make out what was being said. They managed to push Riley out of the door and kick it shut again. I couldn't hear what was being said but I could see Riley was yelling at both Rumlow and Sam. If only Clint was here so he could read lips and tell me what was being said. Whatever it was, it didn't look like it was going to end well for Riley. Coulson quickly cut into the conversation and with only a few words, Riley stormed back out of sight. Rumlow put his hands on his head and let out an obvious big sigh of relief watching my boyfriends retreating back. Sam hesitated for another few seconds before quickly walking off in the same direction as Riley had left.
Could this day really get any worse?
"Sorry again," Rollins quickly slipped out the door before I could apologise for Riley's behaviour. I just stared at his quickly retreated back completely lost for words. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Riley would lose his shit like that. He didn't even give Rollins or me a chance to explain what happened. My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Max stepping back into the room, pushing a small trolley. I eyed off the amount of supplies he had sitting on it. Yep, I had to ask didn't I. Today really could get worse judging by the what he was about to do.
"Remind me never to flirt with you again if your boyfriend is within a 20 miles radius," Max joked as he came to stand beside my bed. "Ok, lets get you on your side and get this started."
It took an hour and a half to get everything out of my leg. Despite the initial injections to numb my leg hurting like hell, there wasn't much else to do except stare through the window. Or occasionally look down as Max would pull an impressive size piece of gravel out of the wound. Coulson had pulled up a chair outside the room and hadn't left the entire time. Staring at the back of his head got boring very quickly. Rumlow came and went a few times after a brief conversation with Coulson. Neither Sam nor Riley made an appearance the entire time. Once I was bored I quickly got angry with Riley and his reaction about this. If he had just taken 2 seconds to listen to what happened there was no need for him losing his shit. There wasn't even any need to come in here and punch Rollins either. There was overprotective and being a dick. Today he proved to me he could really be a typical Black Ops dickhead and get worked up over nothing.
Max finished doing the last bandage on my leg and threw all the rest of the supplies on the trolley with the promise to bring back some more painkillers. Just as he left Coulson grabbed the door and came in. He gave me a wry smile and a sympathetic look.
"Ouch."
The simple statement made me laugh shortly. Ouch really did cover it well.
"Next time it's snowing and icy I might ask for a lift," I winched as I rolled back onto my back. The feeling was slowly returning in my leg and I wasn't liking it at all. I opened my mouth to ask where Riley was. But Coulson quickly beat me to it.
"He is in Evans office, probably still being yelled at," Coulson filled in. "I have to say, I didn't pick him for the type to lose his temper over this."
"You and me both," I admitted. "Can I trouble you for a lift home?"
Just as I asked Coulson that, Riley came striding down the hallway. Seeing my attention pulled away from him, Coulson glanced over his shoulder.
"I think its best if you two talk about this," Coulson's gaze turned back towards me. "Piece of advice, don't lose your temper with him. As angry as you might be, his feelings are justified too. Just not his actions or how he went about it."
"Thanks Coulson," I offered a small smile. He sounded like he was speaking from experience on this one. It would do me the world of good to listen to it.
"Enjoy an extra long weekend," although his tone was slightly teasing, I knew I was being given an order. Coulson didn't give me a chance to reply as he quickly left the room just as Riley reached the door. They had a brief exchange before Coulson left. Riley stood at the door, with his hand on the handle and hesitated for a good 15 seconds before actually opening the door. He looked extremely cautious as he stepped into the room, offering me a tight smile.
"Ready to go?" Riley only moved into the room enough to actually shut the door. Despite Coulson's words, my anger from earlier was making itself well known again. I could feel it welling up in my body. I wouldn't be able to keep it squashed down for long.
"As soon as my drugs arrive," I said tightly crossing my arms in front of me.
A look of irritation flashed across Riley's face as we both stared each other down. Thankfully in less than a minute Max was stepping back through the door. Much to my dismay, he had a pair of crutches tucked under his arm.
"They're just to help you to the car," Max rolled his eyes at me. He moved towards the bed and handed me a bottle of pills. "These will make you pretty drowsy so only use them when you need them. The pain should be manageable with just normal paracetamol, but these will help you sleep as well. Stay off it as much as possible. Come back in 2 days for a dressing change and we'll go from there. You don't need to use the crutches all the time, but the anaesthetic block wouldn't have worn off completely yet and I'm sure you want to get home."
Riley had gathered my jacket and helmet while Max was speaking. I shoved the bottle of painkillers in my pocket and wobbled to my feet with the help of the crutches. Max was standing there by my side but didn't interfere unless I needed it. He stayed by my side until I made it out into the hallway and quickly said his goodbye. Riley was silent next to me as I hobbled unsteadily all the way to the elevator.
"I'll bring the car up close so you don't have to walk far," Riley said quietly, not looking at me while he did as the elevator carried us downwards towards the garage.
"Where's my bike?" It hit me so suddenly that I had no idea what actually happened to my Kawasaki.
"Barton came and picked it up," Riley said shortly. "Its at his place. I'll be back in a minute."
The elevator reached the garage and Riley stepped out. I stared after him, my temper only growing by his snappy response. By the time Riley brought his car to me, I was fuming at his attitude. I can't believe he acted so immaturely and rashly over something that was so minor. In our jobs we could be killed in an instant. Yet he cracks the shits over me coming off my bike by something that was just an accident. By the time I slammed the door shut I was ready to give him a piece of my mind. Sadly he beat me to it.
"I'm buying you a car," Riley's jaw was tight as he stared ahead shifting the car into gear. "And you're not going to argue about it and you'll damn well take it when the weather is shitty."
"Oh really?" I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice as I scoffed at him. "And who died and made you king over all the decisions on my life?"
"Because you don't seem to be capable enough to make a smart enough decision that when a fucking snow storm is going to hit you decide to take a motorbike to work," Riley was quick to snap at me. "As if our job isn't dangerous enough, you seem to perfectly fine with making stupid calls on your own safety."
"You're not buying me a car," I said through gritted teeth. "And you don't need to come storming in and throwing punches around when someone hurts me by accident. How fucking stupid can you be? All you had to do was ask what happened."
My voice was growing louder with each word I spoke. Riley's attitude was making me so angry. I'd been looking after myself for a long time without any help. I wasn't about to let him waltz in and take over my life.
"He hit your bike," Riley argued back, his voice growing louder too.
"It was an accident," I couldn't emphasise the word accident anymore if I even tried. "For fuck sake Riley. I don't need you to be my knight in shining armour and come and rescue me every time something happens."
"He should have been paying attention," for the first time since we started the conversation Riley glanced over at me. He looked just as angry as I felt. But for the first time I'd ever seen, he actually looked scared. Not just worried, but scared at what might have happened. My anger melted slightly.
"And I should have too," I rolled my eyes with a huff of frustration. "I was too damn wrapped up in the conversation with Rhodey today…."
"What?" Riley frowned at me.
I shut my still open mouth with an audible snap. Shit I hadn't meant for that to slip out right now. I wasn't even sure when I was going to bring that conversation up. Or if I was going to at all.
"I ran in the Colonel today," I began begrudgingly. There was no escaping it now. "He asked me how my time in SHIELD had been treating me."
Riley was silent. He just faced the front, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. A small indention appeared in his cheek from him obviously biting the inside of it. He looked like he was dying to throw questions at me about how it went. The anger from before had quickly vanished at my new revelation.
"And then he offered me a job in the 461st as a test pilot," I started to pick at my nails at my discomfort in the sudden change in this conversation. "Gave me his business card and told me to ring him if I ever didn't want to be in SHIELD."
If I thought the silence was uncomfortable in the elevator, I was wrong. The silence that stretched between Riley and I now was even worse. His face was a blank mask, giving absolutely nothing away to his thoughts. It took Riley another long minute before he spoke again.
"Whats the 461st?" Riley asked quietly.
"That is the Squadron which has been assigned the F-35's," I explained trying to keep my tone neutral. I was still a little bit angry, but nothing like before. "Its based at Edwards Air Base in California."
"At least the weather is better down there," Riley glanced over at me with the barest of smiles half tugging on his lips. "What did you say?"
"I said thank you," I wasn't ready to smile yet. "And his business card is still sitting in my locker."
Riley blew out a long breath and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
"If thats what you want, I won't stop you," Riley said quietly. "You'd pretty much have your old life back."
"Not quite," I tilted my head looking at Riley curiously. He looked so sad and defeated all of a sudden. Like my piece of news had just ruined his entire world. The look he had on his face made me feel like I'd just kicked a puppy. "I said to Coulson on the flight over there how happy I was in SHIELD right now."
"But you worked so hard to become a fighter pilot," Riley argued back weakly. It wasn't hard to tell his heart definitely wasn't in this argument.
"And I've worked even harder to become part of STRIKE Team Delta," I really wanted to stay mad at Riley. But he was making it impossible right now. "I have a new life that I'm pretty happy with too. A lot happier than I ever anticipated. Even if my boyfriend is an asshole when he wants to be."
Riley let out a short laugh and shook his head at my terrible joke.
"And I don't need him to come to my rescue like I'm some damsel in distress," I gently chided him now my anger had fizzled out. I reached over and took Riley's hand that was resting on the gear stick. "If he'd done it on purpose I would have killed him myself. You, Natasha and Hawk would have to wait in line."
"All I could think of was you lying in that bed seriously hurt," Riley confessed as he squeezed my hand. "Our jobs are dangerous enough without you getting hurt outside of work."
"But I'm fine, missing a few layers of skin but fine," I squeezed his hand back. Well this conversation was taking a different turned than I thought out while I sat there earlier. "But if something did happen to me, I want you to move on with your life."
I'd be wanting to have this conversation ever since Grams brought it up at Thanksgiving. There was just no way I could bring it up in casual conversation. It was such a heavy topic, but right now was the chance I was going to get. The sharp glance Riley threw at me made me quickly keep speaking.
"I'm being serious," I hated those words but they needed to be said. "If I was killed in this job, or even if I went back to being a pilot and something happened. I'd want you to move on and be happy."
"I don't know if I could," Riley looked vaguely sick at the notion behind those words. "God Kari, thats heavy. Have you thought about this a lot?"
"Grams brought it up," I admitted. "It's not something you can exactly bring up over dinner. After yesterdays mission, it kind of gives me a pretty fresh perspective on it. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it?"
"I have thought about it," Riley took a few seconds to reply. "I don't like thinking about it, but I have."
I raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. He took a few deep breaths as if to steady himself for what he was about to say.
"I'd want you to be happy," Riley said quietly squeezing my hand hard. "I wouldn't want you to mourn over me for the rest of your life. But I don't think I could ever move on from something like that. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
Those words were being spoken right from the bottom of Riley's heart. It made a lump stick in my throat briefly at all the emotion weighing heavily behind them.
"You want a family," I started trying to soothe him.
"I want a life and family with you," Riley interrupted. "Not with anyone else."
"I want the same with you," I gave Riley a small smile. "I just, fuck it, I needed to get this off my chest. I'm not saying this to upset you. I just want to make sure there's nothing left unsaid between us if anything did happen."
"I just don't like thinking about it," Riley had a sad smile on his face. "Kind of like I don't like the thought of you moving to California without me. You know I can get a transfer to a SHIELD office there don't you?"
Smooth change of subject there Riley. Very smooth. It'd been a stressful afternoon so I was happy to let it slide. It also made me happy that Riley would follow me without question.
"I didn't say yes to the job," I pointed out.
"You didn't say no to it either," Riley's thumb started to run over the back of my hand. "I want you to be happy."
"I'm happy here," I said with a gentle smile. "Unless of course you plan on punching everyone who hurts me. Then I might get annoyed a lot more."
"Funny," Riley rolled his eyes at me. He started to look a little happier at my now joking tone.
"How much trouble are you in?"
"A lot," Riley grimaced. "I've been suspended from field duties and lumped with teaching the sniper class that comes through the week after next. And I have to apologise to Rollins."
"There is a bright side to this," the mention of the sniper class suddenly made an email I glanced at briefly this morning come to the front of my mind. The only reason I looked at it because it'd been CC'd to Clint as well. The sniper course was for new agents, and other agents to keep their sniper qualifications. Something I didn't know actually existed. Attached was a note from Hill reminding Clint that this was not optional this year. In very angry shouting capitals.
"Whats that?" Riley asked.
"I have to take that sniper class," as much as I tried to hide it, a grin started to spread on my face. "So does Barton to keep his sniper qualifications."
Riley looked very torn between bursting out laughing and wanting to bash his head against the steering wheel for the amount of trouble that this was going to be. Thankfully he chose the former option. I joined in with him. What a roller coaster of a day. I was glad to be heading home in a much better mood than this car ride had started. Why did all our serious conversations seem to happen in this car?
AUTHORS NOTE
I'm so sorry about how slow the updates currently are! Life is pretty full on at the moment. Competition season has started and I have students competing nearly every weekend. I'm looking for a new job so my afternoons have been spent at interviews lately. Plus I moved my top horse to a new place 40 minutes away, so on top of that extra travel and gym time, life is really busy. This whole being an adult thing sucks sometimes. So I hope this really long chapter makes up for that.
I will never, ever abandon this story! Fear not for that. Updates may only happen once a fortnight right now but they will happen. I have this entire story planned up right up until after Age of Ultron right now. I even have chapters written for those plots. Like most of Avengers I actually have written already. I'm stupidly excited for Civil War, so I can't wait to see where that takes us. I have another tie in story to compliment this one but that's a long way down the track yet. Its horrid having so much going on that you want to write, but not actually having the time to write it.
The last few chapters have been kind of heavy emotionally. So the next one should be a lot of fun.
There are so many new followers and reviewers. I just cant thank you guys enough if you're sharing this around, or just randomly finding it. My day is always made by reviews and new favourites/followers.
