"Alexi, stop fussing," I tried to scold the wriggling toddler as I attempted to put a ribbon in her hair again. She wasn't having any of it. As soon as I put it in, she'd yank it out again and throw it across the room. She was grumpy this morning on a whole new level of Alexi grumpiness.

"No," she whined, squirming out of my reach. I sighed and let her sit on the floor. She picked up one of her teddy bears Riley had given her and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

It was William's baptism today. I'd been home for a bit over a month now, cherishing the peace and quiet of doing nothing. Well, it wasn't nothing. With Natasha being back, training had certainly kicked in. She was feeling very out of shape since being on her undercover mission so we hit the gym very hard and trained even harder. I was finally starting to put some muscle back on after Pripyat. The lingering fatigue that had plagued me for months seemed to finally be loosening its grip on me. I was feeling and looking better than I had in months.

I'd never been so sociable in my life since I'd gotten back from New Mexico. Greg and I had caught up for lunch a few times now. I seemed to be going out every second night to somewhere for dinner. If I wasn't at Clint's, I was at Evans' place. I'd ever gone out drinking with Alpha and Bravo team at JoJo's a few times for beer and wings night. Last week I'd stayed in New York to celebrate my Dad officially becoming head of R&D. It'd been quite the wild party. I don't think I'd ever seen my Dad as drunk as he was. Even Mom got drunk with him, though she contained herself a little better. Jared came home with me, switching his physical therapy to a place in DC now he was finally out of a moon boot. He was still limping and couldn't walk long distances without crutches, but he was thrilled with how better his ankle was feeling. He'd even started swimming, taking full advantage of the heated pool at the Triskelion now Autumn was well and truly here. The year was flying past. I saw Christmas decorations start creeping into the stores the other day, even though it was only the start of October.

I hadn't been this happy in months. It was such a nice feeling. It was probably why I was dealing with Alexi's little meltdown this morning so well.

"Alexi, if you wear the ribbon I promise we'll go to the park tomorrow and play on the swings?" I tried to bribe the little monster sulking at my feet.

"Now." Alexi demanded as she stuck out her bottom lip in a seriously cute pout.

"We can't go now Munchkin," I said gently, sinking down on the floor next to her. "But I promise we'll go tomorrow."

There was a STRIKE keg party tonight. I was probably an idiot for promising a park visit tomorrow because I was going to be severely hungover. But right now I'd do anything to keep Alexi happy throughout today. I swear the kid had a sixth sense and knew today was about her baby brother and not her. She really hadn't taken to being a big sister at all. At least having me back took some of the burden off Abby. I was more than happy to run Alexi around to playground or gymnastic lessons whenever she needed me to. I'd taken Alexi to her gymnastic classes so much over the last month, I was sure people thought I was actually related. I was always referred to Aunt Kari over there.

"I don't want to go," Alexi sniffled, tears welling up in her big blue eyes. She was getting very articulate when she spoke. It was a hell of a lot more advanced than some of the kids her age. I could understand everything she said now. There was no more baby babble. It was all real words.

"But afterwards there'll be cake." I went for bribery because I sucked at negotiation. "Which I promise we can eat as much as we want. Then tomorrow, we'll go to the park and have ice cream. How does that sound?"

Alexi sat there pouting for a long minute. She finally nodded and I sighed in relief, putting the ribbon back in her hair. At least it was only the ribbon she was being fussy about. Some days she didn't want to wear any clothes at all. After I finished, Alexi stood up and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled her into my lap and gave her a big cuddle.

"Don't go." Alexi sniffed again as I hugged her.

I pulled away a little so I could look at her properly. She had tears welling up in her eyes again as she tried to cling to me.

"I'm not going anywhere Munchkin." I hugged her again. "I promise."

"Daddy went away," Alexi's voice was muffled as she burrowed her head into my shoulder. She was hugging me as hard as a toddler possibly could. Evans had been away for 2 days on a quick mission last week. I'd stayed the night to help Abby out. Alexi had been a bit of a nightmare all night, wanting to sit up and wait for Evans. Exhaustion finally made her fall asleep just after 0200. "You went away. Riley went away."

My heart skipped a few beats and I closed my eyes, feeling a little misty eyed myself. Evans had told me about her meltdown the night before Sam got in trouble on the range. Every time I felt like I was healing a little from Riley, something else would break my heart all over again. Right now it was his precious god daughter missing him. She was too young to remember him, but somehow she knew. But she was too young to comprehend he wasn't coming back.

"I miss Riley," I whispered to Alex while hugging her a little harder. "Very much. Nearly as much as you do."

"Love you," Alexi's words were muffled, but clear enough for me to make out. "Always come back to me?"

That was a promise I'd never be able to make. But I stupidly found myself saying it anyway.

"I will always, always come back to you because I love you too."

My heart swelled at the smile on Alexi's face as she pulled away to look at me. It helped my broken heart a little that someone else could love me as much as Riley did. I'd never heard Alexi say she loved me before. It was definitely a new one.

"Come on ladies, we have to go," Evans voice drifted up the stairs.

"All right, remember cake later and park tomorrow? Only if you're a good girl though," I said with a smile. Alexi nodded vigorously and jumped to her feet, running out the door. I sighed in relief, glad there was now a minor chance she'd be on her best behaviour today. It was better than none at all. She was in Evans arms at the bottom of the stairs as I walked out of her bedroom, chatting his ear off going to the park tomorrow. Evans threw me an amused look as I came down the stairs at a sedate pace. I was stiff and sore from Natasha's brutal ass kicking yesterday. It was definitely showing in my gait.

"Well, you better make sure Kari definitely takes you to the park tomorrow," the amusement was clear in Evans voice as he looked up at me. "I promise I'll ring her every 5 minutes until she gets here."

Evans was't coming to the keg party tonight. He'd sworn off them, saying he was far too old for that kind of shit now. By the knowing look on his face, I felt like I may be biting off way more than I can chew tomorrow.

"Yay!" Alexi cheered, throwing her arms around Evans neck giving him a big hug.

The look on Evans face as his daughter hugged him made me feel torn. He looked absolutely blissful cuddling his daughter. His perfect little miracle as Abby and Evans both called her. She really was too. For how premature she was, Alexi was more advanced at all her milestones than kids that weren't born premature. It made me happy to see her and her Dad looking lost in a perfect moment.

But it made me miss Riley like crazy. This could have been us with our own daughter in a few years. Hell, that could have been Riley that Alexi was hugging instead of Evans if he was still alive. I had no doubt Riley would have the exact same look on his face. Life was a fucking bitch sometimes. Today was going to be harder than I expected. I forced a smile back on my face and pushed those thoughts away for now.

"Why don't go find Mom?" Evans put Alexi on the ground. She nodded and scooted off towards the kitchen, hollering for Abby. She'd unfortunately gotten very good at drawing out her vowels, so she could yell for quite a long time.

"I was going to ask if you're okay, but I'll give you a hug instead," Evans turned to me. Before I could protest, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a firm hug. I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder. "Abby cried for 20 minutes in the shower this morning. I wasn't much better. It's going to be a rough day without him."

I nodded, swallowing back the lump in my throat that had suddenly appeared. This wasn't how I expected the day to turn out. At least there was going to be copious amounts of alcohol at the end of it.

"I was doing all right until Alexi told me Riley went away." I tried to smile, but it came out wobbly as hell. I really didn't want to cry. I'd even put on make up for today. "Then I had to promise her I'd always come back."

"You better," Evans said, his tone light. "Otherwise I'll go another 18 years without her sleeping."

That made me laugh a little, lifting my mood a fraction. Today was going to be hard but at least I had support if things got rough. Jared would be at the service, so I could lean on him if things got too hard. Sam was probably have a hard day as well. It would give me a day drinking buddy at least.

"He would be so, so proud of you," Evans said softly, giving me another squeeze before releasing me. "Always remember that."

After New Mexico Clint and I had become kind of bigger legends within SHIELD for going up against an alien robot. While the rest of the world was still talking about what happened at the Stark Expo, SHIELD was going crazy about the real proof of aliens. The attention I was getting was getting a bit unnerving. If I didn't want to be seen, I'd taken to ducking down corridors while I was invisible. I really hoped it'd die down soon. I did not enjoy being the centre of attention. At least after the first week, most of the STRIKE members were over it and treated us normally.

"Thanks Troy." This time my smile didn't feel quite as wobbly. When I swallowed the lump in my throat went away. I hoped I'd be able to hold myself together for the rest of the day.

"Come on, lets get going."

Alexi came out of the kitchen, holding Abby's hand. William was fast asleep in his car seat already, making me smile. He was the complete opposite of his sister. He was so quiet and loved his sleep. Without me having to say anything, Abby came over and gave me a tight hug as well. I managed to keep my shit together enough to hug her back and not tear up. I was strong, I could get through today without Riley, no matter how much I wanted him here.

It was a bit of a drive to get to the church where William was being baptised. Despite being squished in the backseat between the 2 kids, it was a fun trip. Alexi was allowed to bring 2 books which I happily read to her. I made it dramatic enough with plenty of sounds, than William laughed along when he woke up. 2 giggling children was hurting my ears and I'm sure Evans was cringing when Alexi's giggles turned into shrieks. But it was much better than one or both of them crying. Alexi seemed to be taking her bribery about cake and park very seriously because she was a perfect angel all the way into the church.

There was a ridiculous amount of people at the church already. Abby and Evans knew far too many people. The sight of the crowd made Alexi instantly cling to me and bury her head in my shoulder as soon as I got her out of the car. There was no prying her off me. Instead of arguing with her, I let her cling to me. I was feeling a little overwhelmed myself. Thankfully I found some of the Bravo team guys straight away. Jared arrived only a few minutes after us, cheering up Alexi right up. She relinquished her death grip on me and went over to Jared for a hug and to talk his ear off.

I was smiling at the pair, ready to jump in and get Alexi to tease Jared when Abby said my name from behind me. I turned around to see her walking up with another man. Judging by their similar looks, it would be her brother who lived in California. I couldn't for the life of me remember his name though. He was going to be William's god father.

"Kari, this is my brother Seb," Abby introduced us. Her eyes flicked over to Jared with a small smile at the sight of him chatting and hugging Alexi. "That's her brother Jared and the rest of Troy's boys can introduce themselves."

"Hi," I smiled, but didn't move to greet him in any other way. He didn't look like the type to be shaking hands with a girl. Seb looked so much like Abby, except taller. He was a software engineer in California. He looked like the typical to be working in Silicon Valley. Tanned, fit and dressed in an expensive suit. The smell of expensive cologne clung to him. Abby had already pre-warned me he was a very big flirt and I had her permission to smack him if he got out of hand. Judging by the way he was very obviously checking me out, it may be sooner rather than later. Abby gave her brother a warning look before melting back into the crowd.

"Hi everyone." Seb's smile was easy and charming. In a way he kind of reminded me of Jared with his easy smile and good looks. "Hey little Munchkin, can Uncle Seb get a hug?"

Alexi scoffed in a way that reminded me far too much of Natasha. She turned away from her Uncle and hugged Jared instead.

"Nothing has changed," Seb said with a small laugh, not looking perturbed by Alexi's complete lack of interest. He turned his attention back to me. "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"All good things I hope," I said smartly. Alexi giggled and reached out for me again before Seb could reply.

"Kari's mine," Alexi declared boldly as she came over into my arms. To prove her point she hugged me. It made me melt a little as I hugged her back. She was being utterly adorable today when she wasn't talking about Riley. It made the group around us laugh.

"Yeah I've heard that too," Seb laughed with us. I didn't miss him casting another appreciative look over my body. I fought back the urge to roll my eyes at him. He wasn't being subtle at all. Thinking back to Abby's words, I opened my mouth to call him out on it.

I was cut off by someone announcing that it was about to start. Being the god mother I was actually going to be up front with everything happening. I actually had no idea what went on at a baptism. None of my family were religious. I felt a little weird being in a church after finding out Norse gods were real.

"Can you go to Jared and behave for me?" I asked Alexi, hoping the earlier promised cake would keep her quiet throughout the ceremony.

"Yep." Alexi grinned at me before wriggling down out of my arms. Much to my relief she went straight to Jared, holding his hand and smiled up at him. Jared was down to only using his crutches for balance if he had to walk any great distances, so he should be able to juggle her well enough. Jared looked very pleased to be the cool Uncle as well.

"Shall we?" Seb asked, motioning towards the front of the church.

I smiled at him and led the way. I ignored the snickers coming from behind me. I had no doubt I was going to get some serious teasing about Abby's brother tonight. I could feel him staring at my ass in the tight dark blue jeans I was wearing before he caught up to walk side by side with me.

"I have to admit, you aren't quite what I pictured," Seb said with a small chuckle. "When Troy talks about a female STRIKE member I kind of pictured a 200 pound woman covered in tattoos, smoking a cigar with a mini gun."

"And instead you get a skinny blonde who likes pretty shoes and handbags, but carries around a sniper rifle." I had to laugh at the mental image of me as Seb described it. It couldn't be further from the truth. "Sorry to disappoint."

"I can't say I'm disappointed at all. I don't see your sniper rifle here and I really love your boots." Seb gave me a flirty smile.

"Sniper rifle is in the car, but thank you I like these boots too." I smiled back, trying not to encourage the flirting. Though like was an understatement. I loved the knee high brown boots I had on. I was going to wear a skirt today but I thought it might be a little inappropriate at the church. I was wrong on that. Most of the women were wearing dresses or skirts. I looked a little out of place in my jeans and nice blouse. But Abby and Evans hadn't said anything. They'd be the first to tell me if I wasn't dressed appropriately.

"Abby and Troy really appreciate you being around to help with Alexi," Seb said, almost a little unnecessarily. I already knew that. They both told me that on a near daily basis. Besides, Abby kept me as well fed and not living off takeaway. Watching Alexi was the least I could do.

"Believe me, I was glad to be home after being away for over a month." I couldn't think of much else to say. We'd come to the front of the church, so all I could do was stand here feeling awkward and out of place.

"Yeah, Stark sure knows how to make the world go crazy," Seb laughed as he stood next to me. Probably a little closer than was polite. "Were you around when it all went down?"

"So classified I can't even speak about it," I deflected politely. At least that wasn't a lie.

"Ah, that's boring." Seb didn't look deterred. "How about after a few drinks? Will it still be really classified?"

"Very." I moved away an inch, not enough for him to notice but enough for me not to feel crowded anymore. "Like you'll die and I'll got to jail for the rest of my life classified."

"What are you going to jail for now?" Evans spoke up. He was coming up the stairs with William in his arms.

"I've never been to jail, I'm a good girl." I sent a beaming and what I hoped to be innocent smile in Evans direction.

"The 2 speeding tickets in 2 weeks says otherwise," Evans teased me.

I rolled my eyes at that. I may have missed my bike a little bit too much while I was away. I'd been a little too careless about where I'd opened up my Kawasaki a few times. At least I still had my license. Natasha was being as reckless as me. She was one more point off actually losing her license because she loved her Corvette's gas pedal a little too much.

"Because you drive a crazy sports car?" Seb asked me.

"No, I have a crazy sports bike," I corrected him. Technically I owned a nice sports car as well. Riley had left me his BMW. But it was still sitting in the garage at his apartment. One of the Bravo boys would take it out for a drive every other week to keep it running. But like everything else over there, I still wasn't brave enough to visit that stark reminder of Riley. Everything was a reminder of Riley today. I was so lucky to have incredible support that had let me still avoid that even 6 months down the track.

"Here, go cuddle Aunty Kari." Evans seemed to sense my shift in mood and handed the smiling baby over to me.

That helped. With William in my arms gurgling and smiling up at me, I felt better. I could even get in a proper cuddle without Alexi hounding me for attention. I glanced to where Jared was sitting with her. Alexi was sitting in Jared's lap following something on his phone very intently. She wasn't paying attention to me at all. To my surprise, Natasha was there was well. She caught my eye and gave me a little wink. Sam had sat next to her and though they weren't talking, they were sitting very close together. Jared and Natasha were talking quietly about something while Alexi stayed amused on Jared's phone. It was kind of a cute picture.

My attention was pulled back to the front as the priest arrived. I handed William back to Evans and went off to the side with Seb, making sure I kept a good distance between us.

The ceremony itself didn't take too long. William cried as the water went over his head, but otherwise it was all smooth and straight forward. Seb kept inching towards me until Abby shot him a dirty look halfway through it all. It worked until it was time for a few photos. Everyone wanted photos with Seb and I with William. It felt like an eternity with Seb being quite happy about having his arm around me. It wasn't until Alexi finally got sick of behaving herself and ran over to me, throwing herself at me and not letting go until I picked her up.

"I've been a good girl," Alexi declared through her giggles as I hiked her up onto my hip. "Cake time?"

"Soon." I smiled at her. She looked utterly adorable how she was grinning at me right now. "Did you behave for Jared and Nat?"

"Tasha," Alexi corrected me, looking serious as she nodded solemnly. "Tasha said time for cake."

Of course she did. Natasha wasn't above filling up anyone's kids with sugar. Evans and Abby had rented the hall attached to the church and gotten in caterers for the lunch. Considering how many people were here, I'd hate to think how much it was costing them. But I was starving and ready for food.

"Fine, we'll go find cake," I promised, hiking her up on my hip a little higher. At my words, Alexi grinned and gave me a kiss on my cheek. There was way too much spit in it, but it was adorable. She hugged me a second later.

"She's so damn cute with you." Seb appeared at my side again as Alexi hugged me. I could feel rather than hear Alexi's sigh of annoyance against my skin. She really didn't like her Uncle. According to Abby, Seb had only seen her a handful of times since she was born.

"It can change in a heartbeat," I said dryly. I looked over towards Jared and Natasha, hoping one of them would get the message that I needed a wingman. A second later, Natasha caught my eye and headed straight over to me.

"Do you want me to beat his ass?" Natasha asked in Russian, smiling brightly.

"Not just yet. It's getting close though," I replied back in Russian, smothering a laugh. There was a definite advantage of being able to speak another language. You could have a conversation about murdering someone while smiling and no one would be any wiser.

"Natasha," she introduced herself to Seb and back in English. "You know you aren't being subtle in the slightest. The entire room could tell you spent more time looking at Kari's ass than paying attention to your god son."

I didn't know whether to laugh or be mortified at Natasha's declaration. Then again, if I wanted subtle I shouldn't have looked to Natasha for help.

"I'm not…" Seb started, looking embarrassed. But Natasha cut him off quickly.

"Didn't we promise Munchkin some cake?" Natasha turned back to me, completely ignoring Seb. He was standing there gaping and looking bright red. If it wasn't over his flirting already, I may have felt a little sorry for him. Natasha hooked her arm through mine and walked off. Alexi giggled, while nodding vigorously at Natasha's promise of cake.

"Thanks," I said, huffing a small sigh of relief as we got away. People were starting to filter out of the church, so it was a perfect excuse to get lost in the crowd.

"You have more self control than I do." Natasha shook her head, looking mildly disgusted. "I would have punched him 20 minutes ago when he couldn't stop grabbing onto you for photos."

"Fingers were about to be broken." I scanned the crowd looking for Jared. We'd lost him along the way. Alexi had gone quiet, drooping against my shoulder with her thumb in her mouth. No doubt the cake would perk her up soon though.

"It's a little creepy." Natasha wrinkled her nose. "Surely he knows the history, yet he tries anyway."

"Some guys are desperate like that." Not that Seb looked like he'd ever be short of female company if he wanted it.

"Desperate like what?" Jared suddenly appeared next to me, wobbling a little on his crutches. Even Alexi jumped at his sudden appearance. No one around us was gawking so he must have snuck up like a normal person for once in his life.

"Seb." Natasha filled in, scowling at my twin. He'd made her jump as well. "You're getting sneaky on those crutches."

"Are we making him disappear?" Jared's face lit up ignoring Natasha's little grumble at him. "Mojave or Gobi desert?"

"Neither, stop it." I quickly stomped on their plans. No matter how annoying Seb was being he didn't quite deserve Natasha or Jared's wrath.

"What are we stopping?" Sam piped up from behind me. "I heard Gobi desert. Who's body parts are we spreading around?"

I groaned. Of course someone would over hear us.

"Seb," Natasha supplied for him as Sam fell into step with us. "Because he won't stop staring at Kari's ass."

"Oh excellent, I was plotting that myself." The grin on Sam's face was nothing short of feral. "I'll help hide the body. Where's Barton?"

Lila had ballet lessons and Cooper was playing baseball so he wasn't able to make the baptism. He'd be at the keg party though.

"He had something on," Natasha lied with an easy shrug. "He'll be at the keg party later. If we need something quiet to kill Seb with, I'm sure between the 4 of us we can manage." "Me too," Alexi piped up, lifting her head off my shoulder. I'd thought she had dropped off to sleep because she'd gone so quiet. We all laughed at her declaration. Evans would kill us all for corrupting his daughter so young. The mood instantly lightened and Natasha changed the subject to asking if Sam was coming to the keg party. Their conversation made me want to roll my eyes. Of course Sam was going to be there and Natasha already knew that. He'd been sleeping at Natasha's place more than this own lately. Natasha had made the comment the other day that she needed to stop having him around so much. Someone was going to get their heart broken if things kept going the way they were.

Somedays I was pretty sure she wasn't talking about Sam getting hurt. This was one of those days.

Lunch was set up as a buffet so I was able to pile my plate obscenely high. Alexi shared everything with me, giggling and chattering away the entire time. After she got her promised cake, she went off with a group of children outside. Despite her young age, she was definitely the leader of the pack. When one of the boys dared to question her, she sent him a glare that made Natasha very proud and got her own way. She was going to be a force to be reckoned with when she was older.

As usual with social functions, Bravo team gravitated together throughout the afternoon. Cobb wasn't there so it made for a blissfully peaceful afternoon as we ate and drank together. I even managed to avoid Seb and sneak in a few cuddles with William while Alexi was occupied. Despite the rough start to the morning, it'd be a near perfect day. The lunch was winding down and I'd gone to grab another piece of cake for the road when Seb found me again.

"Are you heading off already?" He asked, looking mildly disappointed.

"Yep." I licked a bit of stray frosting off my finger. "Keg party tonight."

"I was hoping we could grab dinner together before I go back to Cali?" Seb didn't dance around the subject. "I'll be here for another week."

I raised an eyebrow. I had to give it to the guy, he had some balls to come right out and ask.

"No, thank you," I said in what I hoped to be polite, but firm. "No offence but I'm really not interested."

"Look, I know all about Riley," Seb started. His tone instantly put me on the defensive as I bristled at his condescending tone. "The first steps of healing are to start moving on. Riley and I got along really well and I know he'd want you to be happy. I could take good care of you."

"Wow." I was speechless for a few seconds as I blinked at Seb. He was completely fucking this up if he was trying to get in my pants. Some girls might want a knight in shining armour to come up and save them. But I definitely wasn't one of them. "Do I look I need someone to look after me?"

I had nothing else to say. I spun on my heel and went to storm off. Seb grabbed my arm before I could get too far.

"Kari…" He started. I didn't let him get too far. I twisted his wrist so I was out on his grip, before effectively locking his hand and pushing his wrist back in a painful position. He immediately winced as I put just enough pressure on it to render him speechless with pain.

"I didn't give you permission to touch me." I couldn't believe this guys nerve. I let go on his wrist as quickly as I had gripped it. "Next time you won't get out of it so easily."

This time he didn't touch me as I walked off. Our little altercation hadn't gone unnoticed as I walked back to the group. There were plenty of barely contained snickers of amusement and a few proud looks thrown my way. Seb wasn't spared from Jared or Natasha's laughter. I even got a hug from Jared. I was feeling very smug with myself. It was funny to think just over a year ago, I'd never be able to do something like that. I had grown a lot as a person. After doing the round of good byes from the team, I found Evans and Abby to say goodbye.

"I'd apologise for my asshole of a brother, but I think you put him into his place," Abby said, laughing as she hugged me. "You do your STRIKE team proud. You have my permission to kick him in the balls for his out of control ego next time."

"I'll keep that in mind." I laughed with Abby. "I didn't want to make a scene, but he was being really annoying. Sorry if I was out of line."

"Nope, I know what he's like," Abby said with a frustrated look. "Have fun tonight. Ring if you need anything. Don't drink too much and don't even think about driving."

"Yes, Mom," I said playfully. I doubted I'd be in the right mind to ring them later on if I needed something. We were watching a cab from Clint's place and going back there afterwards. Well, that was the plan. Anything could happen between leaving and the stupid amounts of alcohol that were consumed at keg parties.

It took another 20 minutes to pry Alexi off me. It was only another piece of cake and multiple promises about the park tomorrow that got her off me. She gave me the most pitiful look, waving sadly as we drove away in Natasha's Corvette.

Clint was ready to go and already had a cab at the kerb as we pulled into the driveway. With a hollered hello to Laura and the kids, we all squished into the cab.

The keg party was being held at Rumlow's house. He lived on the opposite side of Silver Spring from Evans. I'd never been to his place before so I was really surprised when we pulled up in front of a very large 2 story house with a perfectly manicured garden and lawn.

"I would have never picked that," I said, looking around gawking at the gorgeous brick home and surrounds. STRIKE was well paid, but this looked a little more than something you could get a STRIKE salary.

"Wait until you see his pool," Natasha said, reaching over tugging my hand to keep walking. "Its like the ultimate bachelor party pad."

That I didn't doubt in the slightest. I followed Natasha through the house, trying not to gawk at the nice interior. Either Rumlow had a secret talent for interior decoration, or he paid someone really well to do it for him. We walked out the back, onto a large entertaining deck. Natasha had been right about the pool. It looked like it'd been carved into the hill of the backyard. The rock formation around it made it look like a natural waterfall into the oversized pool. It looked amazing. I was very glad I listened to Natasha and brought a bikini with me. Even if it was going to be freezing.

"Ladies." Rumlow came up from behind us, draping an arm over both Natasha and I while I gawked at the pool. "What can I get for you?"

"Vodka."

"Scotch."

"Should have guessed," Rumlow's tone was teasing at our drink choices. He didn't bother to take his arms off us as he started to steer us to the side of the deck. "Follow me to the bar. You're welcome to help yourselves. Everyone else can use the keg."

"Wow, you're feeling generous." Natasha looked over to him with disbelief all over her face. "What are you plotting Brock?"

"Nothing at all." The smirk on his face was anything but sincere. I had a terrible feeling I was being set up for something later. "Have fun and don't break anything back here."

Rumlow's bar was just inside the house off the deck. It was very well stocked including some quite expensive bottles of liquor. Without another word he left Natasha and I alone. I went straight for the top shelf scotch and handed Natasha a bottle of good vodka.

"Am I going to regret this?" I asked, turning to rummage through the fridge for some ginger ale. The fridge was stocked very well with cans of ginger ale. There was even 2 bottles of apple juice for Natasha. It was her new thing to do with vodka. It seems Rumlow was well prepared for us.

"Deeply."

There was already quite a crowd here. It took us ages to get back to Clint and Jared because everyone wanted to stop and say hello. A few of the guys must have been pre-drinking pretty hard, because there was some slurred words already. There were a few new faces around that I didn't know thanks to some shuffling around of teams. It wasn't anything unusual. Guys got hurt, guys got transferred to other STRIKE teams around the country and Echo team had lost one of its members in a car crash a few weeks ago.

We found Clint and Jared by the snack table, deep in discussion about whether green Skittles were better than red ones.

"You two are idiots." I snagged a handful of Skittles from the bowl. "It only makes a difference when you're making Skittle flavoured vodka."

"Speaking of vodka," Jared said, looking at Natasha's cup. "Why do you have vodka? And why do you have scotch?"

Jared's gaze turned to my near empty cup. The scotch had gone down a little too well. I was nearly ready for a refill.

"Rumlow said we could," I said. There wasn't anything else to say about it. "That what happens when I use my attractive face and body to get drinks."

"Ugh Kari, if you need to use your attractive face to get drinks off Rumlow, we're going to have a very long discussion in your taste of men." Jared pulled a disgusted face at me. "Even Seb would have been better than that."

"Funny." I scoffed, feeling irritated thinking back to what happened earlier. "Treat me like a fucking damsel in distress. I could snap his neck with my thighs."

"Who's neck are we snapping with your thighs?" Rumlow joined in the conversation, reaching over and grabbing a handful of Skittles. I had to give it to him, the man knew how to put on a party. The snack table was very extensive. Apparently there'd be pizza coming later as well.

"Abby's brother, Seb," I explained, screwing up my nose in disgust. "Tried to do the whole Prince Charming, ride in on a white horse bullshit with me to get in my pants."

"Aww Kari's got an admirer," Rumlow teased. "Let me guess, if he shows up on your doorstep with chocolate and roses you'll shoot him?"

"After I take the chocolate," I said seriously, trying not to laugh at the tease. "Like I told Riley, I'm a come over naked, bring beer and pizza kind of girl. Not chocolates and flowers."

Someone behind me choked on their drink. I turned around to see one of the new guys on Rumlow's team currently spluttering and turning bright red as he gawked at me.

"Like that image did you?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. Without waiting for an answer I turned back to Rumlow. "I need another scotch."

"Me too," Rumlow laughed again, looking over to his still red teammate. "Down Tex. That's one pair of thighs you don't want to be climbing between."

The poor guy was still bright red and gaping like a fish out of water as Rumlow and I walked off towards the bar. I waited until we were out of earshot before I asked.

"Please don't tell me you call him Tex because he's from Texas," I asked with a small laugh. I'd seen the new guy around, but hadn't learnt his name yet. If my memory served me correctly, there was a Southern accent attached to him though.

"Yes, he's from Texas and he said to call him that," Rumlow said, laughing with me. "He's an ex Ranger and you know how it is when nicknames stick. He's my fill in marksman until Gibson comes back."

"What happened to Gibson?" A month home and I still hadn't caught up with everything that was happening. I'd noticed the Alpha team marksman had been absent, but I had no idea why.

"He…" Rumlow started, before trailing off looking uncomfortable. He scratched at the stubble on his chin before he answered. "Gibson tried to kill himself while you guys were in New Mexico. Slit his wrist, but missed anything major."

"Fuck." That news made me stop in my tracks. Gibson was one of the most down to earth guys in STRIKE. He was one guy who seemed to have his shit together. I never would have picked that. But then again, with our stressful jobs it sometimes didn't take much to make guys snap. "What happened?"

"We had a bad mission," Rumlow shrugged, looking a little helpless. "He had to take out a kid that had a suicide vest on. It fucked with him pretty bad. He kept it bottled up until he couldn't take it any longer."

Unfortunately it wasn't a rare occurrence in Enforcement within SHIELD. He wasn't the first guy I'd heard of who'd done something similar. He certainly wouldn't be the last. I knew what it felt like to hit rock bottom and want it all the end. I was thankful that I scared that out of myself that night.

"Poor Tommy." I smiled sadly, calling Gibson by his given name. "Where is he now?"

"Still at John Hopkins." Rumlow returned the sad smile. "Doing better now though. He should be out soon."

I'd have to visit him and take something good. Maybe I could bribe Greg into making me some brownies to take up. Thinking of Greg, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. He had the night off, again, by some minor miracle, and was heading out drinking with friends as well. There was no texts from Greg. Only a very pained one from Gareth asking me to kill him now. I snorted with laughter as I tapped out a reply. Gareth was visiting his family this weekend in Utah. It was his Dad's 60th birthday party and he hadn't been looking forward to dealing with his family for the entire weekend.

"Who's that?" Rumlow asked, trying to peek over my phone.

"None of your business is who it is," I said smartly, shifting the screen so he couldn't see. We'd come to the bar and Rumlow made himself busy making me another drink.

"Fuck buddy or still too soon?" Rumlow couldn't seem to help himself as he poured me a double scotch. I looked up at him, judging his expression. It didn't look like he was asking just to be an asshole. He looked genuinely curious and concerned with his question.

"Eh, still too soon," I said truthfully, eyeing off my cup warily. That drink was going to hurt no matter how much of a nice blend the scotch was. "Why do I have a feeling you're getting me drunk for a reason?"
"You'll just have to find out, won't you?" The mischievous smirk on Rumlow's face melted away the serious conversation from before. He topped up the scotch with ginger ale and slid it over to me. "You should jump in the pool before you get too drunk."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Where can I get changed?" I asked, taking a sip of the drink. It was so strong my eyes watered at the tiny sip I took. I forced down the cough that nearly came up. Maybe strong was too nice of a word for the drink.

"Where ever you feel like it, I'm sure no one will mind," Rumlow's mischievous smirk only grew bigger. I shot him a dirty look and he quickly changed his tune. "Bathroom is that way."

"Thanks." I took my drink and went to find the bag contained my bikini. I didn't get far, Natasha was rounding the corner as I stepped back out onto the deck with the bag in hand.

"Great minds think alike," I said with a small chuckle. I took another tiny sip of my strong drink, wincing at the burn. "Apparently I need to swim before I'm too drunk."

"The boys are setting up the volleyball net." The gleam in Natasha's eye was a little scary. "Lets show them how its done."

My skimpy bikini was not meant for anything more than lounging around beside the pool. This was going to be a disaster. I should have thought my swim suit choice through a little harder than throwing in the little black string number that was in my bag. I shrugged off the feeling of dread and followed Natasha into the bathroom to get changed.

The volleyball game was well into the swing of things by the time we got out. It was getting a little ferocious by the amount of cussing and splashing going on already. Against my better judgement, I took a huge swig of my drink and jumped in, splashing Jared and Clint.

"Oh fuck no, you can't have both the girls on your team." One of the Alpha team boys complained right away. "We get Kari."

"That's fair." I didn't argue about it. I felt a little gleeful at them wanting me instead of Natasha. I was never picked first for sports in school. It made me feel like a popular kid for once in my life.

I swam under the net, emerging on the other side. I barely had time to stand up before the ball was flying at my head. I barely managed to send it flying back, my bikini bottom riding up my ass as I did it. Judging by the evil smirk on Clint's face, it was done on purpose to. Jared was laughing so hard he missed sending the ball back.

"You're so dead Barton." I scowled at him, trying to discreetly pick out my wedgie. There was no graceful or proper way to do it. I was well aware of 6 pairs of eyes now glued to my ass.

"Bring it on," Clint taunted back at me. He had the ball again and was casually tossing it between his hands.

I barely had time to react, Clint smashed the ball towards me so quick. It was only the reflexes I've developed over the last year that saved my ass. From there, the game dissolved into some weird kind of dodgeball. One of the Echo team guys ended up with a bloody nose and when the booze wore off, I'm sure there'd be more than a few bruises. I'd have an impressive one up my ribs from where Jared got in a beautiful hit. As much as it hurt, I had to admit it was an impressive throw.

My cup getting mysteriously topped up while I was in the pool. I was starting to feel a little drunk already, despite the early hour. The sun was just starting to go down, leaving the night air chilly. It was more than time for me to get out of the pool and get some food. Pizza had arrived not too long ago and if I didn't hurry there'd be none left. Feeding 5 STRIKE teams was like feeding a small army. Fortunately for me I found a meatlovers on top of the first pile I went to. Being starving, despite my huge lunch, I took the whole thing with me.

"I will pay you $50 if you can finish that entire pie," The drunken declaration came from one of the Charlie boys. He must have been one of the newer guys because I didn't know him.

"Done." I was drunk and hungry enough to not back down from that challenge. I kicked Marks' leg, so he'd scoot over on the couch for me.

"You're dumb," Marks scowled at the Charlie team guy. "Have you ever seen her eat?"

Ever since our training had kicked up, I was always hungry. It was ridiculous the amount of food I could put away. It was a small blessing from the on and off appetite I had for ages. I was very glad the other Mom's in my life were more than happy to keep me fed. I'd be very fat living off the amount of takeaway I'd need to put away to satisfy my current appetite.

I shovelled the pizza into my mouth with no grace or style. I really was starving. It wasn't until halfway through the last slice I was stuffed. Still, I soldiered on and made sure the entire thing was gone. The conversation around me had died off while I finished my last few bites. I made a show of stuffing the last bit of crust in my mouth, chewing a lot louder than was polite and swallowed very obviously.

"Where the fuck do you fit all of that?" The Charlie team guy looked impressive and disgusted all at once. He grumbled under his breath while putting his wallet out. "Can I shove the money down your bikini bottom."

"Absolutely not," I scoffed, snapping my fingers for the promised money. "Despite the story, I never actually stripped that night."

Once I'd agreed to coming to this keg party, someone had spread the story about the time before SHIELD when I picked up Jared from one. Apparently I was going to go down in STRIKE history for pretending to be a stripper and walking out with they money.

"I have a few more hundreds…." the Charlie guy started and was very quickly cut off by Marks.

"No." He said firmly, shaking his head. "Unlike some of the other guys here, Bravo team does not need to see Kari naked."

The Charlie guy pouted, but handed over the promised $50. I tucked it into my bikini top, feeling very pleased with myself.

"I thought you'd like my itty bitty bikini," I teased Marks, turning so I could face him on the couch. I was grateful for his intervention. Someone might have gotten a beating before the night was over otherwise.

"I feel like that's way too much of a loaded question," Marks said dryly, though he was smiling. "I'm going to get in trouble no matter how I answer it, aren't I?"

"Quite possibly," I laughed as I stood up. I needed to put some more clothes on before I froze to death. I took another swig of my lethal drink. It wasn't burning quite as badly now. That wasn't a good sign. "I'm gonna get dressed so people stop staring."

I was a bit wobbly as I went back to the bathroom and got redressed. I took a few more drinks as I struggled back into the tight jeans. The food belly from the pizza wasn't helping me get them back on. Neither was my lack of coordination. But I managed to get dressed without breaking anything. For my reward, I downed the rest of my drink.

I only made it 3 steps back into the bar when Rumlow thrust a new drink in my hand. This time it was a lethal looking cocktail.

"Long island iced tea," Rumlow had to raise his voice over the music that was now playing. "Romanoff is on her third. You better catch up."

This was going to hurt. I didn't bother with the straw, I started chugging down the cocktail and was finished the first glass before Rumlow could make another one. Things started to get very fuzzy after that.

I woke up to the sun shining in my face in a puddle of my own drool on a very hard pillow. I groaned as I opened my eyes as a pounding headache made itself know. It felt like I'd been chewing on Clint's gym socks. It wasn't a hard pillow I was lying on. It was Clint's chest. I'd been sprawled across him. I could clearly see my puddle of drool on his chest. It might have made me laugh if it wasn't for my hangover. I had no idea who's room we were in. Probably one of Rumlow's spare rooms

I dragged myself out of bed, thankfully still fully dressed, and blindly fumbled for my phone. It was nearly midday. I squinted at the lone text message on the homescreen. It was from Gareth.

Thanks for the drunken phone sex. Again. We should try it when you're sober one night.

Ugh. Fuck my life and my poor life decisions when I was drunk. I threw my phone down in disgust and got up. The room spun around me, but thankfully the pizza and whatever it was I'd drunk last night stayed firmly down. Now I was upright, my headache didn't feel quite as bad. Seeing the 4 empty Gatorade bottles on the floor means someone was sober enough to make sure I didn't die this morning. Clint was snoring was no signs of moving as I slowly made my way across the room.

My body ached as I shuffled to the bathroom. The room had an ensuite off it which was a small mercy. I collapsed on the toilet, feeling like I'd been throw a meat grinder. There were bruises all down my legs which I had no idea where they'd come from. I could feel a very tender patch on my ribs, no doubt where Jared hit me with the ball. It felt like I'd been wrestling none stop with Natasha for hours. Judging by the bruises and the few long fingernail scrapes up one side of my leg, it was quite possible that it what I'd been doing.

Still, a few bruises was a small price to pay for my first keg party. It could have been worse. I'd heard all the stories before. I wasn't in hospital and I could feel all the hair still on my head, so this was a very good start to my keg party life.

Once I was finished on the toilet, I got up and splashed some water on my face. Looking in the mirror made me take a second glance at my reflection.

It wasn't the black eye that made me look twice. It was the pink hair I was now sporting. The very, very fluorescent pink that was so bright it made my eyes hurt.

Rumlow was a dead man.

Authors Note

I know, I know. Another update! And it's not a month apart from the last one. I was determined to get another one in before the end of the month and here we are.

This was fun to write. It's a nice break getting out of the movie timelines and onto some more original stuff. A breather from all the action and serious stuff was much needed. I hope the longer chapter made up from the last few shorter ones I've been doing.

Thank you for all of your support and patience while I get through this. Your reviews make my day and keep me motivated to write.

Asexual Waffle (I love your name btw) asked me does Kari have a face claim. One of my lovely readers, svetlanaabril, made a banner which is on my Facebook page, IceDragoness1, that has Kari on it. I can't remember the models name, but svetlanaabril got it very right. Jared is based on a model/personal named Thor Bulow who's from Denmark. Check out his Instagram. This guy could not be more perfect as Jared.

Until next time!