I casually weaved my Kawasaki back and forth as the traffic inched along. If I was in a hurry, I would have gone straight up the middle of the slow moving traffic. I had no reason to rush this afternoon though. I got called back into work to do a supply drop. I only had to go to a SHIELD base near Atlanta and back. It would take me less than three hours to do the entire trip. For some reason, SHIELD was desperately short on pilots at the moment and one of the logistics people had begged Coulson to get me to do it. It had been such a long time since I'd done something so mundane as a supply drop, I was actually looking forward to it.

Not only that, Gareth was coming straight from work for a visit tonight. I was already impatient to see him so this would kill some time nicely until he got here. He'd sprung it on me this morning, making the day drag by so far. We had nothing to do at work so it had been an early day. Natasha and I had gone shopping out of sheer boredom and I came home to find Clint baking. Something he usually did when he had nothing else to do. I personally thought it was ridiculously early for him to be making pumpkin spiced cupcakes, but I wasn't going to complain about them either.

The car in front of me slowed down, even more, snapping me from my thoughts. I'd been following the car a little too close for comfort. I glanced around the car, wondering why we were going so much slower. A few cars ahead, someone had pulled over to the side of the road with their hazard lights on. Everyone was trying to merge into the other lane of already congested traffic. The slow traffic was about to come to a standstill on the bridge.

If it was any other day, I would have thrown caution to the wind and weaved through the traffic. I wasn't that far from the Triskelion now anyway. A few minutes of being patient wasn't going to hurt me. A movement from the car that had its hazard lights on made my attention pull back to it. A woman was getting out of the driver's side. Poor thing looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her car must have broken down. Instead of going to the front of the car like I thought she would, she started heading towards the railing of the bridge. My stomach twisted uncomfortably at the weirdness of the situation. It only took me half a second to make up my mind and ride up over the gutter.

By the time I got the kickstand of the Kawasaki down, the woman was leaning dangerously far over the railing. I yanked my helmet off, nearly tangling up my feet in haste to get closer to her.

"Hi," I called out, raising my voice to be heard over the traffic, hoping like hell I wouldn't startle her too badly.

The woman looked back at me. She didn't look much older than me. Her dirty blonde hair was whipping around her face, sticking to the tear streaked skin. Whoever she was, she looked haggard, like she hadn't slept in weeks. Her clothes hung off her skinny frame.

"Go away." Her voice was hoarse. "Leave me alone."

My heart leapt in my throat as she started to climb onto the railing. I took a few hurried steps forward so she was in reach.

"Don't."

The warning made me stop dead in my tracks. She was half straddling the railing now, looking down at the Potomac below us.

"My name is Kari." It took a lot of effort to keep myself calm. If she decided to tip herself a few inches, she'd be gone. I had to keep control of the situation. "What's your name?"

I hoped my hostage negotiation training was going to do well here. Or give me enough time to stall until someone way more qualified could come to the rescue.

"Libby," came her tearful reply. "Go away, I don't want anyone's help. I just want it to be over."

The fact she was talking and hadn't moved was a good start. I could work with that.

"I thought you broke down so I pulled over to help, it's easy to for me to pull over rather than someone with a car." I pointed over towards my very illegally parked Kawasaki.

Libby's eyes followed my finger towards the Kawasaki. She reached up and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her t-shirt.

"Nice bike."

It was better than nothing. I could work with this.

"It's a beast." I gave her a small grin. "The guys at work are all jealous of it."

I was wearing my SHIELD flight suit. It was warm enough I hadn't bothered with my motorbike jacket over the top. As I mentioned work, I tapped the SHIELD logo on my sleeve. It seemed to keep Libby's attention on me.

"You're a SHIELD pilot?" Libby asked. Her bottom lip was trembling and I could tell tears were threatening again. Fuck I hoped she wasn't going to just tip over while we were talking.

"Actually I'm STRIKE," I said, shuffling forward a little more. "Do you know what that is?"

Libby shook her head. Her body weight shifted and I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't tell if she was really thinking about jumping, or her body was getting fatigued by sitting on the railing. She was in such an awkward position straddling the railing. A strong gust of wind could knock her sideways very easily.

"STRIKE stands for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies," I explained, giving her a small smile. "Basically a very long name for a paramilitary unit specialising in counter-terrorism. We're the group where all the top Special Force's guys come to."

"But you're a woman," Libby said, giving me a dubious look. "You look too pretty to be anything like that."

"Believe me, I get that a lot."

There were a few seconds where Libby's attention was pulled away from my feet. I managed to shuffle forward about half a pace before I felt like I couldn't go much further. I was still too far away from her to reach out and grab her.

"Funnily enough, there's only one other woman in STRIKE and we're on the same team. We are the epitome of girl power." I had no idea what else to say so I decided to ramble about my job. At least that was keeping her attention. "There's only three of us on the team. We're a very specialised unit because we're so versatile."

"How so?"

Inwardly, I sagged in relief at her interest. I didn't dare take my attention away from her to see if there anyone else pulled up. I really hoped help was on the way.

"My female co-worker, Natasha, is also trained as a spy," I explained. "My other co-worker, Clint is a sniper. So between them, they've trained me to be both of them. I can be a pretty face in a room working a target, or I can be put in the middle of a war zone taking out targets from a mile away."

It sounded unbelievable, even to me who was living this life. I didn't blame Libby for the disbelieving look she gave me. Still, she didn't argue either. That had to be a good thing.

"How did you end up in a job like that?" Libby asked, much to my relief.

"Through a set of very shitty circumstances," I said honestly. "And something that wasn't my fault either. I used to be a fighter pilot and I was stationed at Langley Air Force Base. Two of the guys there decided to slip something in my drink one night."

I put the palm of my right hand facing upwards and idly made a ball of ice with my powers, giving Libby what I hoped was a reassuring smile. She stared at the ball of ice gathering form in my hand, thankfully in fascination instead of horror.

"Unluckily for them, I have an inbuilt defence mechanisms, which killed them both." I let the ball of ice drop from my hand. "SHIELD tend not to be very happy when Enhanced people make a mess so I got the choice of joining for a year. I thought my life was over at the time. Besides some pretty major bumps in the road, it turned out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me."

Libby looked away from me, fresh tears trickling down her face. The silence that stretched between us felt like hours. I had no idea if I'd said the right thing or not. In the distance, I could hear the sounds of sirens. I hoped they were coming towards us. I had no idea how much longer I could bullshit my way through this.

"My boyfriend threatened to take my daughter away," Libby's voice was barely above a whisper. "He says I'm not a good mother and I don't deserve her. He's right, I don't deserve her and they would be better off without me."

"Why did he say that?" My heart broke for the poor women in front of me. If this was the end of her tether, I dreaded to know what else had been going on in her relationship to push her to the edge.

"Because I'm sick and we can't afford the treatment for it." Libby's tears started to come down her face faster. "There are days where I can't get out of bed even to get Annie to school."

"Is that your daughter, Annie?" I had to rack my brain to think of anything to say. I wanted to tell her that her boyfriend was a piece of shit for even considering leaving her if she was sick. That wouldn't help in this case though. It would probably tip her over the edge. "How old is she?"

The sirens sounded like they were getting closer now. There was a distinct whump of a helicopter flying close by. I didn't dare to take my eyes away from the woman in front of me to see exactly where it was. My nerves were starting to fray the longer this went on. All I wanted to do was to lunge forward and yank Libby off the railing. I was still too far away from her to be able to do it safely.

"She's seven," Libby's voice trembled. "I love her so much."

"She loves you too." I tried to keep my smile reassuring. "I don't have kids but I have a goddaughter who I love very, very much. I have my moments of where I wish she'd give me three seconds of peace and quiet though. Please tell me they grow out of the wanting they come to the toilet with you stage sooner rather than later?"

Libby shook her head, there was a barely there choked laugh though. It was something. It also gave me another chance to shuffle an inch forward while she was shaking her head. There was no tension in her posture to give away that she noticed me creeping forward again.

"You know," I had to keep talking. I was about to put something out to a complete stranger than not even my closest friends knew. "I've been in your shoes before. I've been in this exact position where I was standing on the edge, wondering if I should end it all."

Libby looked over at me, doubtful again, but there also looked like there was a glimmer of hope. This was a person who didn't want to die. She just had no other way to solve her problems right now.

"My boyfriend, his name was Riley." I had to stop to let the tightness in my chest dissipate before I could continue. "He was STRIKE as well. He was my rock in a very shitty time of my life. He was KIA on a mission and I was right there with him when it happened. I didn't think I could live through that. In fact, there was a time where I really didn't want to keep going through it."

Standing on the ledge of my apartment building that night was a memory that would never leave me. Even though at the time I thought my heart was so broken it would never mend, I was very glad I scared myself off the edge.

"I had a moment where I thought I was about to tip over the edge." I kept going even though Libby didn't say anything. "At that moment before I didn't think my balance would catch me, I was terrified. It made me realise that I didn't want to die. At the time I just didn't know what to do with myself."

Libby looked back out over the water. The afternoon rays were starting the catch the water making it sparkle like a million diamonds. A light breeze had picked up, blowing Libby's untamed hair away from her face. If the scene wasn't so dire, it would be peaceful.

"It is really, really fucking hard some days," I said to her gently. "Harder than it should be. But you keep on trudging one foot in front of the other. There will be a moment where it makes it all worth it."

"Then what?" Libby's voice was choked up with tears. "What do you do after that moment is gone?"

"Then the next one comes along, then another one after that."

There was a lot of noise around us now. The helicopter was hovering in the corner of my vision. There were sirens right behind us now, even though I couldn't see the commotion, I could certainly hear it.

"I promise that things will get better. I will do everything I can to help as well." I knew I could keep that promise. I didn't care if I had to pay for her surgery myself and find her somewhere to live. "Just, please come back over this side. I will buy you dinner and we can both drown ourselves in alcohol. Who cares if it's a school night?"

That got a choked bit of laughter from Libby. She looked back down at the water. Her entire body was shaking now. My own heart was hammering and my mouth was dry. We were at a tipping point now. This could go either was in the blink of an eye.

"You've got this," I added for gentle encouragement, holding out my hand. Even though I was too far away for her to grab it, I hoped she would take it as a gesture of encouragement.

The world slowed down as Libby looked at me. I held my breath as it seemed to take hours before she gave me the smallest of nods. My entire body sagged in relief as I took a few steps forward so I could reach her if she needed me to. She leant forward and awkwardly lifted her leg to come back over the rail. She was nearly there when her trembling and sweat covered hands slipped on the railing. Her weight was positioned awkward and she pitched the wrong way towards the water.

I crossed the last step in a frantic leap and managed to grab onto her wrists before she went completely over. Her scream of terror was eardrum splitting. Her weight was pulling us both forward, I could feel my feet sliding as I struggled to gain any traction. Her sweaty skin made any kind of grip nearly impossible to maintain. I could feel her sliding through my hands at an alarming rate. I gritted my teeth and did the only thing I knew.

My power wound down from my fingers, the ice quickly taking over the sweat on her skin. It instantly stopped her from slipping through my hands.

"I've got you." I could barely hear myself over the noise of my own pounding heart. "Stop struggling, I've got you."

The more she twisted in my grip, the more my precious lean over the railing was becoming dangerous. I was only an inch away from us both going over the railing.

"Please don't let go." Libby's shriek was high pitched and filled with terror. She was looking up at me. The fear in her eyes was something I'd experienced before. Except for the time I was falling I knew there wasn't going to be anything but the ground to catch us.

"I've got you," I repeated once more. I hooked my toes under the bottom railing, hoping it would give us a few precious seconds before I could get some sort of grip.

Strong arms grabbed me from behind and gave me some stability. There were voices yelling behind me but I was too focused on Libby's terrified face to hear any of their words. Another set of arms joined the first and started to pull me back from the precarious dangle over the railing. Inch by inch, I was pulled backwards and Libby came up with me. As soon as she was within reach, even more people came forward to help bring her back over to safety. It only took seconds but it felt like a lifetime until I was firmly back on the ground. My own legs shook uncontrollably and I was extremely grateful for whoever it was behind me supporting me.

Libby was crying uncontrollably. We were still stuck together thanks to the ice wound her arms. It took me a few seconds to have the breath and attention span to shatter the ice. As soon as I did, she fell into my arms, clinging onto me like her life still depended on it. As I stood there hugging her back, the noise around me finally hit my senses.

The sounds of sirens were near deafening. People were shouting all around us to be heard over the noise. I glanced back to see a huge crowd of people trying to push past each other. Overhead, what I thought was one helicopter was several hovering around. All news helicopters. I grimaced and ducked my head, hoping no one had got a good look at my face. Coulson was going to have kittens seeing my face plastered all over the evening news.

"Ma'am?"

One of the police officers closest to me got my attention. Some EMT's were squeezing through the crowd and coming for us.

"Libby." I had to raise my voice to be heard over all the noise. "There's some EMT's here for you. You're going to have to let go of me. I'll be right here with you though, okay?"

Thankfully, Libby nodded and let go of me. With the way she was shaking, there was no way she'd be able to support her own weight so I kept a hold of her. One of the EMT's threw a shock blanket over Libby's shoulders as they came up.

"Can I borrow a cap of someone?" I asked the group of emergency responders around me. "My handler will kill me if my face is all over the news."

Whoever the policeman was closest to me knew exactly what I was talking about. He took his own cap off, quickly jammed it down on my head and snatched another blanket off the EMT's and shielded my face. I was extremely grateful for not having to explain it to him. Most services around DC knew about SHIELD and how we had clandestine roles. This policeman seemed to be very switched on in regards to SHIELD and the type of people who needed a handler. Then again, I also did just use my powers in broad daylight. It wouldn't take a genius to work out SHIELD would be all over that as well.

I shifted the blanket on Libby's shoulders and stuck by her side as we were directed to the back of an ambulance. Her tears were slowly subsiding but her grip on me never faltered. It was awkward to get into the back of the ambulance together.

"Which hospital are we going to?" I asked the EMT as they got both of us settled onto a stretcher. At the mention of a hospital, Libby's face went even paler than before.

"I don't have insurance," Libby's voice trembled again. "I can't afford it. Please don't take me."

It was moment's like these that made me realised I was a lot luckier than most people. SHIELD medical insurance was exceptional for its worker's and their families. Growing up, things like doctor's visits, dentists and anything else we needed were never a problem. SHIELD covered everything. I was still covered under my parent's insurance until I joined SHIELD because they covered children until they were 25. SHIELD also had a very generous policy involving anyone injured in the line of fire with SHIELD's activities. That gave me a quick solution to this problem.

"Because you're with a SHIELD personal, SHIELD will cover the bill." It was half a lie. I didn't know the extent on how SHIELD covered these things. Even if they didn't, I'd still pay for whatever Libby needed. "There is nothing you need to worry about right now, Libby."

That was a lie too. There was going to be a lot to worry about very soon but I was going to make sure I kept my word. Libby nodded her consent, reaching up to wipe her face.

"Okay." Her voice was so small. She huddled under the blanket even more, despite the warm day. She was still shaking terribly.

Not that I was much better. The last surges of adrenaline were leaving me and I felt exhausted. This was not the way I ever imagined I'd be spending my afternoon. So much for my nice relaxing and boring supply flight.

"We're going to GW Hospital," the female EMT closest to me supplied helpfully. "Agent?"

"Lyngley, Kari."

"And Libby wasn't it?" The EMT asked kindly. "Are you up to answering some questions, Libby?"

Libby nodded again, fiddling with the edges of the blanket. I felt so sorry for her. This scrutiny she was going to be placed under now was going to be daunting. The EMT was brisk but kind with the questions. It wasn't anything beyond the usual questions of a name, date of birth, next of kin and all of those things. A small part of me was very glad she didn't name her boyfriend as next of kin. She said it was still her parents which was a relief.

The ambulance made good time through the traffic despite having no lights or sirens. Once the EMT finished, Libby huddled into her blanket. I had no idea what to say here, so I took her hand instead. Her grip was near crushing as she squeezed my hand all the way to the hospital. We got a room very quickly too. I think that was more to do with the reporters hanging around the outside of emergency than this being an actual emergency.

"You know." I needed to break the silence before I went crazy. "Last time I was here, I ran into a sort of ex. It was unbelievably awkward."

Libby had a weak attempt at a laugh. It was something at least. I was doing a lot of talking today.

"My goddaughter decided to jump from the play equipment onto the ones next door," I explained. "She missed and cut her head open. I hadn't spoken to him in months and he was the treating doctor."

"Why did you break up?" Libby asked. I was so happy she was slightly interested. We could be in for a very long wait.

"We didn't really date." I couldn't stop myself pulling a face thinking of the clusterfuck with me and Greg. "We were friends and one night we had a few beers and kissed. He freaked out. I ended up going away for work and we didn't talk for months until we ran into each other at the hospital."

"So awkward." Libby's laugh didn't sound as forced this time. She looked down, tracing the pattern on the blanket. "Are you going to get in trouble?"

"Not in the least." I could be confident of that at least. "In fact, my handler is probably on his way right now."

As soon as I said it, the door to the room swung open and Coulson made his usual theatrical entrance. He was really good at that. I swear it was part of handler training, learning how to use dark corners and swinging doors to your advantage.

"Hi, Coulson," I said brightly and probably way too fast. "This is Libby. Sorry about missing my supply flight. I swear I was looking forward to it."

"Don't worry, I gave it to Barton," Coulson said with a small chuckle. "Libby, I'm Agent Phil Coulson. Nice to meet you."

Coulson held out his hand for Libby to shake. She looked at him hesitantly for a few moments before moving to shake his hand. It was times like this I was very glad to have Coulson as a handler. He was open and friendly to everyday people. His unflappable nature could soothe anyone in any situation.

"Hi," Libby said shyly. "I'm sorry for causing all this fuss."

"Believe me, working with Kari and the rest of her team, this is the least amount of fuss I've had all year," Coulson said smoothly.

It made Libby laugh a little. I gave Coulson a beaming smile to try and prove my innocence. Judging by the dry look Coulson gave me, I failed. Miserably.

"Can I steal Kari away for a few seconds?" Coulson asked when Libby didn't say anything else. She nodded her consent, drawing the blanket around her shoulders tighter.

I jumped down from the bed and made my way out of the room while Coulson gave Libby some more reassurance. The hallway was mostly empty so I simply lent against the wall, letting out a long breath. I was suddenly exhausted. Every muscle in my body ached and I didn't feel like I could keep my eyes open for a second longer. Luckily, Coulson was on a few moments after me so I didn't drift off to sleep.

"Are you okay?" There no hiding the concern in Coulson's voice as he came over to me.

That was a good question. The gravity of the situation I'd just been in hadn't quite sunk in yet. No doubt my mind was going to give me some pretty horrific nightmares of the moment where Libby slipped.

"I'm going to hurt tomorrow morning," I said with a breathless laugh. "I could do with a hug though."

Before me, Coulson would have never had to deal with crying or having to give someone a hug. I had to give it to him, he took my tears and need for physical support very seriously. He reached over and pulled me into a tight hug. Coulson gave me really good hugs. It made the world feel right again.

"You're an exceptional person, Kari," Coulson said to me quietly as we hugged. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, Phil." It was hard not to get a little teary at that. I pulled away from him, reaching up to wipe my nose on the sleeve of my flight suit. "What's going to happen now?"

"Andrew is on his way over now," Coulson explained. "I did some quick digging. Libby has a cousin who works in SHIELD. He's only a low level admin, but it's enough of a connection that SHIELD has to help out now."

"Thank you."

There wasn't enough gratitude in the world that I could put into those two words. Coulson really was a miracle worker. He'd move heaven and earth for anyone who he deemed worthy.

"I've got people contacting Libby's parents." Coulson waved off the thanks. A sudden smirk appeared on his face. "I may have also found a domestic violence report about Libby's boyfriend from a few months ago. She dropped the charges. I asked Natasha to look into it for me, as well as Jared. Both of them wanted something to do."

What Coulson said about the boyfriend was said with such innocence. Only Coulson could get away with something like that.

"You better tell them I'd like to help before they do anything." It was really hard to say that with a straight face. "I may need to be a mediator between those two being in the same room together."

"Maybe."

There was something about Coulson's smirk that told me none of this was done by accident. He'd never said anything about his opinion of the shit going on between Natasha and Jared. This felt like a sneaky plan for them to start getting along again. I gave Coulson a curious look.

"They asked," Coulson said with a shrug. "I'm sure they are professional enough to work together without killing each other on something like this."

If there was something we all hated, it was anyone who laid a hand on their partner. I had no doubt Jared and Natasha would work together on this.

"Fury is spitting fire about one of his clandestine agent's having her face splashed all over the news," Coulson's tone turned apologetic. "As soon as we're finished here, he wants to see you."

Of course. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to weasel my way out of this one. My meeting with Fury after everything that happened with the mission with Aldon had never happened. With my little mental break down and the Helicarrier launch, there hadn't been a spare moment. I was relieved to have gotten out of it. While I was doing much better about that mission, and everything else, I still really didn't want to talk to Fury.

"Fury said no excuses this time," Coulson added before I could make a joke about having another mental break down. "He said he doesn't care if you're a snivelling mess. You will be there tonight."

"Fuck it," I muttered under my breath. There was no point being a pain in the ass about this. It wasn't Coulson's fault I was being dragged up in front of Fury. "Can we get coffee before I have the meeting?"

"My shout, I'm guessing?" Coulson laughed at me, nodding his consent for coffee. I didn't miss the look of relief flitting across his face at my easy acceptance.

"Of course, it's a week out from payday. I'm broke," I said with a cheeky grin.

Coulson rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of his skull. It was becoming quite the joke about me saying I was broke. My first payment from my body armour had come in. I was back to having way too much money again. I asked Rodney for more things I could use for investments. Not to mention I sent the entire team working on the project out for dinner and drinks one night, picking up the tab for the entire thing. I had fun doing things like that. Like some days I'd randomly send chocolate and cookie hampers to them. Rodney joked I was spoiling them far too much and they'd never want to work for anyone else.

"And I don't know where my backpack is," I added as the thought hit me. I'd been so wrapped up in the situation, I hadn't given my backpack or Kawasaki a second thought.

"I've got your backpack in the car and Barton rode your Kawasaki back to work," Coulson said, a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Gareth was coming up tonight, wasn't he?"

"Yep." I glanced at the clock on the wall. Gareth wouldn't be far off leaving work. "I'm sure he'll understand. He has a key to get in."

"I'll let him know for you," Coulson said, shooting me a sympathetic look. He knew how hard it had been for both of us to have time to see each other lately. Coulson was in the same position at the moment. Audrey was travelling for her work and they didn't get much time together. "Go back in with Libby. I'll sort everything else out."

I hugged Coulson again. I was very lucky to have him in a situation like this. I had no doubt that there was nothing I had to worry about right now. Except my impending meeting with Fury. I did as I was told and went back into the room with Libby. She looked miserable sitting on the bed. I didn't know how to fix whatever was going on in her head right now. I could give her something to laugh about at least.

"Do you want to hear the story about my goddaughter throwing up on me before a date with the guy I told you about before?" I asked, pulling a chair over to the bed so I could sit close to her. "Or the time I let off a smoke bomb and flash grenade in the men's shower at work?"

"Both," Libby's reply was soft. But at least she looked interested enough that there was a ghost of a smile on her face.

My stories kept us both entertained until Andrew arrived. From there it was a flurry of activity for the next few hours. Libby's parent's arrived with her daughter. Her Dad hugged me so hard I'm sure he bruised a rib or two. While Libby's parents were there, Andrew pulled me aside and did a quick check up on me as well. I was so tired by the end of it, the promised coffee and doughnuts did nothing to keep me awake as Coulson drove to the Triskelion. I grumbled heavily at Coulson prodding me awake once we were in the garage.

"Come on," Coulson said firmly. "Once it's over and done with, you can go home. Gareth said he has dinner and some really good whiskey waiting for you."

I sighed tiredly. Coulson was right. There was no point dragging my ass getting up to Fury's office. I was only delaying the inevitable. I pulled myself out of the car and tiredly dragged myself along after Coulson. I let him deal with the elevator and leant against the railing with my eyes closed until the doors opened up again. We walked down the hallway until I came to the imposing doors of the Director's office. Coulson wasted no time in knocking.

"Enter."

Coulson opened the door for me and stood back. I shot him a confused look. Normally Coulson was always present for things like this. Him standing back meant he wasn't coming with me.

"I'll wait outside." Coulson's soothing tone did little to soothe the sudden butterflies tap dancing in my stomach. "You aren't in trouble, I promise."

I nodded though I didn't feel at all reassured. A visit to Fury nearly always meant someone was in trouble. I was half expecting this to be some sort of retaliation for my little stunt of burning the resignation papers months ago. I squared my shoulders and put on my best indifferent expression and marched into Fury's office.

One thing I would never get used to was the view from Fury's office. During the day, it was beautiful. At night, it was spectacular.

"Sit."

I snapped my attention away from the beautiful scenery behind my boss and quickly did as I was told. Fury looked the way he normally did. Intimidating as fuck in his black leather trench coat. I never knew where to look when I spoke to him. The one eye always threw me off guard. My eyes were drawn to a file on his desk. It had my name on it and it was a lot thicker than I thought it would be.

"Do you remember what I said to you the first time you sat across from me?" Fury asked as he sat down across from me.

I nodded slowly. That wasn't at all what I was expecting to be asked. I was bracing myself to be yelled at for putting my face all over the evening news. I remember Fury telling me he thought I could be a valuable asset for SHIELD. At the time I didn't think it. Funny how things could change.

"I can count on one hand the number of times I've had people breathing down my neck about the decisions I've made," Fury continued, holding up a hand and tapping on one finger. "One was when Agent Coulson brought in an angry 16 year old boy who could shoot better than anyone I had ever seen. Coulson wanted to make this angry child assassin an agent. It was only by the insistence of ex Director Carter, that I didn't get my ass fired for saying yes to him."

My eyebrows lifted before I could suppress my surprise at how honest Fury was being right now. My tongue was still too tied to say anything yet.

"Two." Fury's second finger raised. "When that same angry boy brought in a Russian assassin he was meant to kill. That angry boy had grown into an exceptional man and the best agent SHIELD has ever had. He came into this room, still soaking wet and covered in blood, begging me to give her the same chance he'd been given. This time it took ex Director Carter and your Grandmother to get my ass out of the firing line. Again."

There were a few smart ass comments pop into my head about Fury always needing a woman to save him. I didn't think it would be well received so I swallowed them back quickly.

"Three." The third finger on Fury's hand came up. "A young First Lieutenant sat across from me calm and composed like her entire life just hadn't been ripped out from underneath her. She was put in a situation that no female should have to deal with, apologising for the mess she caused. I was told to give her a desk job and keep her out of everyone's hair for a year. Instead, I took another chance and put her in STRIKE, despite the lack of experience. There was something about her that made me think she could complete the crazy pair in Delta. Since Coulson had already taken a special interest in you, it wasn't hard to get him to take you once he was sure you'd fit into his team. I had to sleep with a gun under my pillow for a month thinking your Grandmother would come after me in my sleep for that decision."

My entire face was burning with embarrassment as Fury talked about me. I couldn't stop the bit of choked laughter that managed to escape at the mental image of Fury in a pink dressing gown, bunny slippers and a gun under his pillow. Big bad Director Fury scared of a little old lady. It was hilarious.

"Pierce asked if I'd lost my mind when I assigned you to STRIKE Team Delta, he was furious." Fury had the hint of a smirk on his face. "When I was adamant about putting you in STRIKE, he wanted you in Alpha team. Mostly so he could have a reason to get rid of you quickly if anything went wrong."

"Asshole," I muttered under my breath. I was still angry that Pierce tried to order me onto Alpha team that day. My friendship with Rumlow hadn't been the same since.

"Then, little by little the quiet First Lieutenant started to shine," Fury ignored my muttering. "I was right in the fact she completed STRIKE Team Delta perfectly. Despite one minor disobedience, her record looks impeccable."

To make his point, Fury was slowly thumbing through my file. It was agonising how slowly he was doing it. The only thing that saved me from dying of boredom was my inward chuckle at his mention of Pripyat being a minor disobedience. We were so lucky none of us got into more trouble over that. Almost dying was punishment enough.

"People in her line of work sometimes lose their humanity because of the things they see and do." Fury came to stop at one of the pages towards the end. No doubt it was the mission report from the mission with Aldon. "Agent's become immune to the horrors they see and part of them switches off. Or they throw themselves off a building, blow their brains out on the range one day. It's a hard life we lead. The things we see and do."

There was a very good reason SHIELD had installed 10 foot high barriers around the roof of the Triskelion. Barriers like that would have come in handy today.

"Why did you stop and help that lady today?" Fury asked. There was nothing in his tone or expression to give away how this was going. "You could have kept driving. It's a civilian problem, not SHIELD's. The police would have come to her help eventually."

"Because, civilian or SHIELD, she needed help." I fought to keep my voice even. I wasn't sure if I should be getting pissed off about this discussion, or upset I was even being questioned over saving someone's life. "To me, it's no different than carrying Barton out of that Quinjet when we crashed or dragging Natasha off the cliff when our tyres were shot out. I don't even need to mention Pripyat."

I was surprised at my own tone. Where did this passionate person come from? I usually wasn't this outspoken to any authority figure, let alone my boss.

"I will do anything I can in my power to help people, whether SHIELD thinks it's right or wrong," I continued while I still had my bravado. "The horrors I've seen and done, none of that means shit if I'm not a good person to those who need my help the most."

Fury leant back in his chair, his fingers coming together to form a steeple. The room was eerily silent as the seconds ticked by. I didn't back down though. I kept my gaze firmly fixed on his one eye. Where the fuck was this all going?

The chair creaked, breaking the eery silence as Fury lent down and rummaged through his draw. I stubbornly held his gaze while he fumbled around for whatever it was he was looking for. He finally pulled something out of his drawn and slapped it down on the desk in front of me.

The white folder had a SHIELD logo on it. Underneath it was the words in bold heading.

Avengers Initiative.

"I think it's about time we had a chat about the Avengers Initiative," Fury said leaning back in his chair. "And your part in it."

What the fuck?

Authors Note

I am ridiculously excited to finally get to this point. I know it's been a slow couple of months with updates. But here we are on the trip towards some really big moments in the story right before the Avengers.

Thank you so much for your patience everyone! I appreciate that you've stuck by me with the spotty updates and slow going of the last few chapters.

Until next time.