A/N - I know there have been views, and in case I missed a review, THANK YOU. If I didn't miss one and it just hasn't been done yet - what are you waiting for? Anyhow. Things are starting to get interesting now ...
Chapter 124 - Kate's Warpath
Nate had known that, at some point, Kate's parents would track him down and make sure to put the fear of God into him. What he hadn't realized - but, in retrospect, should have known - was that Natasha wouldn't be the one to do it.
Instead, what happened was that at the next Avengers team practice after Kate had broken the news, Clint had pulled Nate aside before the training had even started. They were nearly the same height, but Nate had him by a few inches. But that didn't seem to matter to Clint once he had enough weight on Nate's shoulders to pull him down so that Nate's head was lower and they could talk at that level.
"You understand, right, that your punk ass is on thin ice?" Clint said in a whisper that was so dangerous it sounded odd coming out of his mouth. Even facing bad guys, he was usually a lighter touch.
So he really wasn't happy - and a brush of his mind confirmed to Nate that, yes, Clint was ready to throw down with him, but he didn't want to upset Kate, so he didn't.
And, honestly, Nate understood and had expected that reaction. He wanted to protect Kate, too, and she was so upset that he'd want to hit the problem if he could. As it was, he was already beating himself up over the absolutely dejected look on Kate's face when Steve had benched her from the practice. Kate loved being a hero; he didn't like that this was hurting her already.
And he didn't want to hurt her more by getting into a fight with her parents, so he simply nodded. "Yeah," he told Clint. "I got that."
"Good." Clint released him from his grip, stepped back, and then slipped into his usual grin as he headed back to the rest of the team for practice.
And, Nate noticed, Natasha had been watching the whole thing. And when he met her gaze, she simply smirked and projected, I've had a plan since the minute you two started dating for what I'll do if you hurt her.
I know, he said simply.
I'm sure you do. She paused, smirked, and kicked off of the wall to catch up to Clint. Let me know when the wedding is.
But that, of course, just had Nate sighing, feeling more dejected than before, all things considered. He knew everyone wanted him to step up - and he wanted to. But he had to do it on Kate's terms. And he would have appreciated it if everyone would, in the meantime, back off.
But Kate was upset, so they were protective, and he got that. He did.
He'd just deal with it. Nothing else for it.
"I feel like I'm supposed to grab a shotgun or something," America said easily, leaned back on the couch where she, Kate, and Billy were hanging out. It had been two days since Kate had told Nate about the pregnancy, and seeing as things were still awkward between them, Billy had called an emergency meeting of the "Dating a Summers Support Group," as Billy had dubbed them. They had plenty of snacks on top of the pizza they had ordered, they had music playing in the background, and Billy was in charge of Kate's phone so that she wasn't totally overwhelmed by the well-meaning people trying to check in on her ever since the news had spread.
He glanced at the messages to make sure she wasn't missing anything important, obviously. And any time Nate texted her, he made sure she had the option of responding - and she usually did, so that was a good sign.
He was genuinely worried about them. He knew they'd get through it, but right then, in that moment, neither of them knew how to act around each other. Nate was trying to give her space, and Kate was obviously flailing at the sudden loss of her support system - but also wasn't sure how to ask him to be her support system when she'd shut him down so hard despite the fact that they had both discussed wanting to get married and had been on the same page until the baby situation.
"Pretty sure you don't need a shotgun to threaten anyone," Kate teased, munching happily on some chocolate-covered pretzels. "Besides, Mom's already ahead of you."
"Yeah, but my way's more fun," America pointed out.
"Pretty sure Rachel would be annoyed if you shot her brother."
"It wouldn't be fatal."
"I'm not sure that's comforting," Kate said, though she was smirking hard.
Kate's phone buzzed, and Billy glanced down at it. "Jan's sent, like, ten texts in a row now," he said.
Kate tipped her head at him. "Okay, I'll bite," she said, holding her hand out for her phone - and Billy made sure to pull up the right thread so she didn't have to see all the others. There were a lot, and even he thought it looked overwhelming. Once Kate read through Jan's messages, though, she started to smile. "You know, Jan's probably my favorite Avenger. She's the only senior member who hasn't gotten on my case about being too young or about birth control or whatever."
"She's practically been waving pom-poms at you since the day you were born. I don't know why you're surprised," America said dryly.
"True," Kate admitted as she read through Jan's multiple texts outlining options for a baby shower. "She wants to throw me a party."
"Of course she does," America said. "Why are you surprised?"
"I don't know," Kate admitted, flushing brightly. "I just… everyone else - all the senior members, anyway - is treating this like… I don't know. Like an inconvenience? A mistake? And, I mean, I get that this is faster than we meant to do it, but this was actually what I wanted. I want to be an Avenger and raise a family with Nate - that's, like, my whole life plan."
"Well, you did skip an entire trimester before anyone knew, so it's an adjustment, I guess," Billy teased. "But hey, I get it. I've got more or less the same life goals."
"You mean besides the part where you're going to be king one day?"
"Yeah, besides that part."
"Small details."
"Easy to slip my mind," Billy shot back, grinning.
"What's Jan got planned for the party?" America asked.
"Um, everything."
"Great. I'll help," she said, snatching Kate's phone out of her hand to start texting Jan.
"America-"
"I'm going to give your baby the sparkliest damn pair of shorts ever made for babies," America said, grinning steadily wider. "You can't stop me. I'm going to give Jan full permission to go overboard."
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yep." America grinned over the top of Kate's phone. "And you're going to love it, because you love parties, and you're teetering dangerously close to your dad's levels of moping and second-guessing yourself. So… party."
"Can't argue with that logic," Billy pointed out.
Kate looked between the two of them, but when neither seemed to be willing to budge, she laughed and threw up her hands. "I guess this is my life now."
"Yep. And considering who your godfather is, I'm pretty sure you'll be spoiled rotten. The horrors," America said with real relish in her tone.
Kate laughed and threw some pretzels at America. "You guys have the weirdest ways to cheer me up; you know that, right?"
"Yeah, but they work," Billy pointed out.
She threw pretzels at him too. "Yeah, yeah. Love you both."
Things were a bit awkward between Kate and Nate, even though both of them were doing their best not to let it be too weird. But Kate did feel bad that she'd freaked out so badly that Nate looked like he was walking on eggshells around her, and she did want him to be involved in this part of things. They were going to be parents together, after all.
So she took him aside after a team practice - which was itself frustrating for her because Cap had benched her - and grabbed his hand.
"Okay, so," she said, biting her lip, "I have to go to the doctor for, like, all these checkups and do you think maybe you want to come with me?"
Nate had been exceedingly careful about keeping well away from her thoughts - paranoid himself about knowing too much if she didn't want him to, or saying something without making it clear he was listening to her, but that also left him a lot more awkward than he usually was. "Absolutely," he said quickly, then lost his usual edge of confidence as he second guessed himself hard. "If … you want me there, I mean."
"Yeah, I do," she promised quickly.
"I mean, I get it if you don't," Nate said.
"Nate, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you there," Kate promised, squeezing his hand.
"Okay," he said, still half-holding his breath. "Okay. Yeah."
"Are you gonna be okay, big guy?" Kate asked, desperate to dispel the awkwardness, even though she knew that was impossible, because she didn't feel like she was on solid ground either.
"That's like … my fourth middle name," Nate said. "Obviously, I'm fine."
"Oh, I forgot who I was talking to," Kate said dryly, then took his arm as they headed out. Once they got in her car, she glanced over at him and swallowed. "Really, though… I, um, I don't want to do this by myself…"
"Katie, I meant it when I said I'd do anything you want me to. I don't know where I fit in yet - and that's up to you, and there's no pressure, but I'll do whatever you want me to."
Kate let her shoulders drop, and she leaned over to kiss him. "Well, let's start with getting used to 'mom' and 'dad', huh?" she said.
"Okay," Nate agreed, nodding a couple too many times.
Kate fell back into silence, which she hated, because she didn't want it to be weird. But it was weird. And it was weirder still once they got to the OBGYN, because, well, it was obvious that they were teenagers and that they were lost, and Kate was suddenly very aware of that fact.
They weren't in the waiting room for long before Nate turned her way and quietly offered her his hand while signing with his other hand that she could start breaking fingers if she needed to.
Kate smiled at him for that one. Let's save that for when the baby gets here, she projected to him. That's how it goes, right? Dad says Mom nearly broke his arm when Jimmy came.
I mean, that's one way to go, Nate replied, though he didn't point out that he - or Rachel - were perfectly capable of blocking that entire section of the brain that registered pain.
Kate nodded. Should be a boring visit, sorry. Last time was just 'yes, you're pregnant' and this time is tests and general checking in…
Nothing is boring with you, Katie. Ever.
Love you too, Kate said, blushing with pleasure.
She'd been right, of course, that it was a basic visit this time around, though the doctor did go over with them the possibility of doing some genetic tests - which would also allow them to find out early the gender of the baby.
As the doctor talked, Nate found himself caught up on the idea of genetic testing. Kate was listening carefully, but Nate had his focus on the man's shoes while he halfway unfocused his eyes and started to very gently sift through every single thought the guy had ever had in his life. There were a few things that had Nate a little less than comfortable, too. Like the testing that he planned to order that wasn't on the recommended lists. But the doctors and the midwives there had stellar reputations.
But more importantly, he didn't want to put Kate through the turmoil of looking for services elsewhere because of the possibility of what Nate had brought to the table, genetically speaking. So, instead of inconveniencing Kate at all, he just … changed a few things.
Kate squeezed his hand, and Nate turned her way only to put on a smile that he felt a little bit better about wearing even as he decided to start going through the whole office of providers, all while nodding along with Kate and half-enjoying the momentary look of confusion on the doctor's face while his brain rebooted.
Kate glanced at Nate. Something I should worry about or just being protective and scanning? She asked, knowing from his expression that he'd been using his powers.
Absolutely nothing to worry about, Nate said, not elaborating because he was still, technically working. He hoped she didn't pick up on his concentration level just yet, either. I've got your back, Katie.
Kate smiled. "So, what do you think, babe? Do you want to find out early or sweat it out?"
"I want whatever you want," Nate said.
"That's very cute. You have opinions too, babe."
"Um, no. No I don't," Nate argued. "I want to do whatever it is you want to do. As long as you're healthy and safe, the rest is like … frosting."
"Okay… then I say we try it," Kate said, nodding to herself. "I feel like we came late to the game, so we should find out as much as we can early to make up for it."
Nate nodded quickly. "Sounds good to me."
Kate grinned, genuinely excited about it. Or she was, until she saw the doctor's setup and all of the glass vials for the blood draw to run the tests, and all of a sudden, her hearing fuzzed out, and she just started to shake her head before she could even verbalize what was going on.
Nate saw it happening and took a hold of her hand before she could get too far. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to." He looked toward the doctor. "Right doc?"
"Right," the doctor said without missing a beat. "No sense in raising your blood pressure needlessly." The doctor shrugged. "A lot of these tests aren't entirely definitive anyhow."
Kate nodded, though she wasn't actually processing what he was saying, either. Not until the doctor started to gather his things and leave. And then she felt like everything was suddenly too loud instead of too fuzzy.
"Kate?" Nate said, trying to get her to focus on something. "Hey. Are you okay? You look a little … pale. I'm not carrying any chocolate with me."
"Yeah," Kate said in a bare whisper and then swallowed and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I - I'm okay." She bit her lip. "Sorry."
"No, no," Nate said, shaking his head. "You're fine. You just … are apparently terminally low on ice cream."
"Yeah. Chocolate chunk, I think," Kate agreed.
"You got it," Nate agreed, though he stayed right where he was, watching her carefully until she was ready to move.
Kate took a deep breath and let it out through her nose. "So… I guess we'll do it the old-fashioned ultrasound way," she said, trying hard to get it back.
"That's fine with me," Nate said. "No one will give you any hassle, either."
"Always looking out for me," Kate said, wiping her eyes with her thumb. "God, that was - I didn't even think about that being a problem…"
"It's not like you have extensive experience there," Nate pointed out.
"No, not at all," Kate said.
"So how could you preempt it?" He dipped his head to catch her gaze. "Did you go precog on me and not tell me?"
Kate laughed. "No, nothing like that," she said. "No, I just… okay, so, now I gotta figure out how to be okay with this, because having a baby is, you know, a thing you do in the hospital. As a medical procedure. That's - why I didn't think about it that way is just… this is a thing. Gimmie a minute."
"Take all the time you want," Nate said. "I'm not rushing you."
"Yeah, just talking out loud," Kate said. She took a deep breath, let it out, and got to her feet. "Okay. Ice cream. And then can we please curl up at my place?"
"Yes." Nate's answer came on the heels of her question so quickly, it was clear he was just waiting for her to finish.
Kate blinked in surprise and then laughed. "I think it's cute that you're this… it's cute. I don't even know what to call it but it is." She leaned over to kiss him. "Let's get lost."
"Yes, Cap'n Hawkeye," Nate teased quietly.
Recovery had been a lot faster than James had thought it was … he had no idea exactly how impatient he really was until he had to slow walk himself into … pretty much everything. He'd been pushing himself too hard from the start all the way up until he'd started binging sleep and food, and then he felt like an idiot for not realizing that was exactly what he needed. His memory was coming back in leaps and bounds, and his muscle memory was also getting on a fast track, too. He was even tooling around, getting reacquainted with his lab in the tower.
So it was time to find a place to live if he really planned on going to college again.
The thought had crossed his mind to simply not. It would be easier, and it wasn't like he hadn't earned a break, but almost as soon as he mentioned it to Billy in a text, he got pushback that he was not expecting. Especially since Billy had been right there with Nate on continually telling him it was okay to go slower. And his response wasn't via text as Billy stalked into James' lab a few moments later. Which was a bit of a surprise for James, who hadn't realized Billy was already at the tower with Kate.
"Oh, no you don't," Billy said, looking somewhere between crestfallen, panicked, and confrontational. "I don't want to go to school alone - you're back up to playing in your lab! Come on!"
James had frowned to start, but then he got hung up on something that seemed important. "Wait, what do you mean you don't want to go alone?"
"You don't think you're the only one that was planning to go to Harvard, do you? Because I thought … it is a great school, and I want to try it out, and I thought it might be nice to at least be on the same campus for a change."
James started to smile at that and pulled Billy over for a kiss that went on for a long while. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you were on the fence for so long? Maybe because as soon as you made a choice someone tried to kill you?" Billy let his shoulders drop. "It's been a really bad month or so, and I would like to keep going forward."
James kept smiling at him for that, though. "And you're not worried about something else going wrong?"
"At this point, I'd be stupid not to think something horrible was going to happen down the road." Billy shrugged. "Besides - I'm sure you and Tony and your dad and mine will have all sorts of things in place to protect us … but we're going to need to pick a spot first."
"Dad has a list."
"So does Mom."
"Then we should probably figure that out."
The two of them were just starting to get a little wrapped up when there was a light knock at the door and Kate cleared her throat, announcing her intentions. "Hate to break it up, but … we were just headed out when you tried to give poor Billy a heart attack," Kate said.
"Hey stranger," James teased lightly. "Am I in trouble with you, too?"
"Hey yourself," she said with a crooked smile. "You're not in trouble with me, promise." She paused, bit her lip, and bounced on her toes as she considered something else. "Actually… I've been meaning to find you and, um, well…" She gestured outward from her hips with both hands. "So… you knew before I did. And… thanks."
"You must be concussed. Wasn't me."
"Ha ha." Kate shook her head, though she was still smiling. "I meant, you know… thanks for not telling me. I probably would have been a wreck if I'd known what I know now when all the crazy was happening, you know?"
"Not really, but I'll take it," James said and waved her over. "I haven't seen you to congratulate you, dork."
Kate beamed and crossed the room quickly to throw her arms around him in a hug. "Billy's taking me out shopping," she said into the hug. "Sorry I'm stealing him, but not that sorry."
"It's fine. I wasn't trying to screw anything up," James promised as he pulled her in as tight as he thought was smart. "I wasn't expecting him to come in all … like that, either. If you need anything special …"
"Nah, just wanted to make sure I got a hug," Kate said and kissed his cheek. "I was, like, yelling at you and giving you a hard time and then you forgot who I was, so, like… the hug is very needed."
"I don't remember it, so it didn't happen," James decided. "Wasn't me as far as I'm concerned. But I'll always give you a hug if you need it."
"Well, when you remember it, please keep in mind that I didn't know you were protecting two people when you literally put your body on top of mine to prevent me getting hurt."
"Kate, I can't imagine being mad at you anyhow," James said. "And Hank said I might not get that back, so … don't worry about it. Please."
"Okay." Kate gave him another solid squeeze. "Oh, you should ask Nate about the doctor visit next time you talk, because I'm about niiiiiinety percent sure he was tweaking the doctor."
"Probably had it coming," James said. "Wouldn't worry about that either."
"He got a little nervous about genetic testing," Kate explained. "Which, in hindsight - totally legit."
"Fair, considering the tests that are available," James agreed.
"Yeah, well, I wanted to find out what we're having is all."
"You're having a baby. Duh." James couldn't help but tease her a little bit - just because she looked like she needed it.
"I am?" Kate did her part pretending to be shocked.
"Oh, shit, I shouldn't have told you."
Kate laughed and shoved him in the shoulder. "You're such a dork. I love you. Missed you too, by the way."
"Love you too," James replied with an almost distant smile. "But I still don't feel right, so don't count on much, huh?" He tipped his chin up. "You and me are good. Don't worry about any of that, okay? Just have some fun."
Kate grinned, though all of a sudden, her lip was trembling. "Yeah, thanks. Sorry, I know I'm - I just get-"
"Oh, no. Come on, Katie," he said quietly before pulling her back into a bear hug.
She tucked tightly into his hug and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I can't stop crying over stupid things."
"Just tell me who you want killed," James teased, even if it didn't sound like a tease entirely.
Kate laughed. "I totally lost it crying because I dropped my ice cream cone when Mia startled me. You'd be way too busy if you tried to avenge all my emotional outbursts."
"Valid reason," Billy said, perfectly happy to watch the make up.
"It is, this is true." Kate straightened up and wiped her eyes. "Yeah. I … I may cry on you pretty often for the next few months. I'm not sick or anything, just crying all the time. It's horrible."
"Thats what I'm here for," James said with a little shrug. "Been getting that reaction a lot lately, so you're not alone."
"You should have seen your dad when I started crying earlier." Kate shook her head, laughing to herself. "I could have asked for the moon, and he and Nate would have brought it to me."
"Well … yeah."
Kate smiled and pushed her hair behind her ears. "Anyway." She cleared her throat. "Thanks, you know, for the shoulder. And for not being mad at me. I'm going to go baby clothes shopping, because that makes this feel real, and I'm trying very hard to wrap my head around it."
"So … do you know what you're having, or …"
"What, you think any son of mine can't pull of a pretty princess dress? Or any daughter a dinosaur suit?"
"I think they absolutely could," James said. "But I guess I thought you'd have peeked at the answers by now."
"Oh, well." Kate blushed. "I kind of had a panic attack in the doctor's office…."
"So that's the only way to find out?" James asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Well, I do a little better with ultrasounds, and Dr. Blue has one in the lab because of all the internal injuries we get…"
"There is a giant blonde doofus following Uncle Blue around like a puppy dog. I would bet you a mocha that he could tell you if you halfway breathed that you wanted to know. And if I'm wrong, I'll buy you a mocha. Or mocha ice-cream if the caffeine is making you too Summersy."
"I thought he was more about injuries. Which this is not."
James sighed. "Bet."
"Okay, well, I'll try it out when Nate's around. I don't want him to miss out…"
"If only you had a handsome best friend who could make that happen with a wish," James teased.
"Oooh, yeah, that sounds super handy," Billy said, grinning crookedly. And then, when Kate rolled her eyes at him, he grinned and wished both Nate and Ty into the lab.
"This is …. New?" Tyler said, looking as if he simply wasn't ready to be wished anywhere. "Is everyone okay?"
"No, Kate's dying," James said. "Actively. Dramatically."
"I am. This is true," Kate said.
"Are you…" Tyler shook his head, sure that he was missing a joke somewhere.
"James thinks you might be able to check me over and make sure, you know, everything's okay?" Kate winced. "I'm not really doing great with actual doctor's offices."
"Oh! Yeah, I can do that," Tyler said, nodding lightly, though the smile was slowly growing. "I didn't think you needed that kind of insight, but … yeah, no problem."
"Yeah, I… literally can't do the blood tests and stuff without freaking out. And maybe… if you can… we could find out if it's a boy or a girl? Pretty please?"
"My pleasure," Tyler said, then he made his way closer to offer Kate his hand. "Did you want to sit down first? It shouldn't bother you at all, but …"
"Yeah, maybe a good idea," Kate said, waving Nate over so he could sit next to her, since she really badly wanted him there for all of the big stuff like that.
Once she was settled in, Tyler got situated and took her hand in both of his before he tipped his head down and concentrated hard, smiling to himself before hardly any time had passed at all. "Well, you're a little dehydrated," Tyler said. "But otherwise healthy as can be, and so is the little guy."
"Okay, is that a gender-neutral 'little guy' or, like…" Kate was biting her lip, her eyes wide.
"No, its a little guy-little guy," Tyler said with a grin. "Congratulations."
Kate let out a squeal of delight and then practically tackled Nate in a hug - though before Tyler could leave, she all but threw herself away from Nate to grab him in a hug too. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
"No problem," Tyler said as he very gently returned the hug. "That's easy to see, and a lot less stressful than looking for injury. Really. Nice change of pace from you guys."
"Thank you again," Kate said, beaming at him before she tackled Nate again, still delighted.
"Don't run off, Ty," James said. "Kate's off to shop, so Nate and I can get you started on a uniform."
"Oh. Uh. I thought that was going to wait until after I finished my medical training…?"
"You don't have to go into the action," James said. "But if you end up going with us for anything, the new deal is that everyone's getting bullet proof gear." He gave Tyler a once over. "And I don't think you'd fit a standard spare."
Tyler laughed as he gestured to himself. "Yeah, definitely not," he agreed.
"You should loop in Jan," Kate suggested. "She was fully on board with Ty joining up, like, the day we met."
"I'm sure if you mention it at louder than a whisper on your way out, she'll be down here all riled up that we're working around everyone," Nate said. "Seeing as I know Cap wasn't consulted on this."
"More fun that way," Kate assured Tyler as she looped her arm through Billy's.
"Not for the Avengers to worry about anyhow," James said. "Loophole. Other team."
"Well…" Tyler was starting to grin wider and wider. "Sounds like it's already decided anyway, huh?"
"You wanna fight for it?" James challenged with a straight expression on his face.
"Nah, Billy'll get jealous again," Tyler shot back without missing a beat.
"Only if you can't keep your lips to yourself for round two."
"I'm not the one to watch," Tyler laughed.
"Sure. That's what you say now in front of everyone. You know what you're missing though."
Kate grinned and pulled her arm tighter in Billy's. "Let's go," she whispered. "They're just gonna be ridiculous for forever. Like the lovable dorks they are."
Although both Scott and Steve had benched Kate from any physical aspect of being on the team, both of them had been more than willing to let her work more in the intelligence side, because she was going to go out of her mind if she didn't have something to do. She knew from Billy that Genosha was starting to get tired of waiting, and she wasn't thrilled about the fact that her boyfriend was going to have to stand trial soon. While she was pregnant.
Yeah, that was still hard to wrap her head around.
And thinking about the pregnancy, thinking about Nate's family's latest drama, thinking about all of it was stressing her out, so going to work was totally, absolutely necessary for her mental health.
And besides, it meant she got to spend a lot more time with her mom, who was giving her all sorts of refresher courses on code breaking, criminal shorthand, and that kind of thing.
Kate honestly didn't know how she would have survived all this without her mom. She always knew when Kate needed space and when Kate needed to fall apart in a puddle of stress and tears, and that was a hard line to walk. Even Nate had to cheat to do it.
They'd just walked into the living room to take a break and grab some lunch together when they saw the breaking news banner on the tv. Steve was watching the news, and he scooted over so that Kate had plenty of space when she came to join him.
She thought that was weird, too - the fact that everyone was treating her even more like she was breakable. She hadn't liked it when it was just because she was the only human on the team, and she liked it even less now.
But she stopped thinking about how weird Steve was being when the anchor showed a picture of Viper on the screen… and then immediately launched into the breaking news that new leaked information had established who, exactly, had put an end to the head of Hydra.
Kate went still, and she heard her mom swear in Russian under her breath. Especially because as soon as the anchor identified Scott, she started talking about the Genosha trial.
"They're painting it up like he's-"
"A terrorist," Steve finished for her. "It's what they always called the X-Men before."
Kate narrowed her eyes, flexing her hands against her knees. "The only people who knew about this were us and SHIELD," she said through her teeth. "And they've been practically yelling at me and Billy and James for even thinking about-" She cut herself off and got to her feet. "This is stupid. I'm taking a walk," she said. She didn't know where she was going - not yet - but she already had her phone out.
Her first instinct was to call Nate, but… a slow smile spread over her face. No, it would be better if she called him with some ammunition in hand. Cheer him up. Things were still awkward between them, and she liked it better when she could make him laugh.
And screwing SHIELD over… that sounded like fun.
So, she redirected and burst into Hank's office - which, considering her condition, nearly startled him out of his skin.
"How classified are medical records?" Kate asked. "Yours specifically."
"You needn't worry about someone prying, Kate-"
"No, that's not what I'm worried about," Kate said, waving him off. "I want to know if SHIELD has put any of my medical records in lockdown."
"No, they'd need access to them and that would require me handing them over - which I will not."
"Perfect!" Kate said, her smile pointed and so much like her mother's in that moment. "Okay, I need everything you have from when you rescued me and Billy and James from Viper. All of it in my file. Pretty please."
"Is there something I should know about?"
"Yeah, I'm formulating a plan. It's happening in the moment," Kate said, hopping up onto his desk - with a little less oomph than usual; she felt like the second she'd learned she was pregnant, she was suddenly way too aware of her body. "SHIELD just leaked that Scott was the one who killed Viper," she added, because he deserved to know one of his oldest friends in the world was in trouble. She'd have wanted to know if it was Mia or somebody.
"Kate, I'm afraid I can't endorse this plan of action - whatever it is," Hank said as he opened up his file cabinet that was locked with a DNA encoded pass. "However, I cannot stop you from looking at your own file whilst my back is turned."
"Dr. Blue, you and I both know that SHIELD leaking that Scott killed her when Genosha is chomping at the bit to extradite him for killing Magneto is not an accident-"
"I also cannot tell you that the copy machine code is the same as the address in Westchester."
Kate grinned widely and jumped down from the desk to rush over and kiss his cheek. "You know I love you, right? Favorite doctor ever?"
"I have to take that with a grain of salt considering how few doctors you know."
"Fair, fair, but I still adore you," Kate agreed, already slipping over to the cabinet. She was nodding to herself, almost psyching herself up for her plan. "Mom's so mad already. The words she was saying in Russian are even worse than usual, and I'm absolutely not allowed to repeat them," she said, only half a smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Balderdash. I believe you're old enough to say whatever you please."
"Yeah, but I was also raised to be polite," Kate said with a winning smile as she pulled out her file and started to thumb through it for the right records. "Anyway, I'm already expecting to hear that Mom's hanging Fury outside the helicarrier by his manly bits."
"I'd check with your security experts who have been monitoring SHIELD's activities to see for sure."
"Yeah, James needs a good laugh," Kate said. She glanced up at Hank. "You know I can't let this go, right? I need Scott around when Nate and I become parents, and Fury's - this feels like he's trying to get Scott locked up for good, painting him up like this," she added, a bit more openly. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check lately.
"That," Hank said as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "or someone else entirely is attempting to show the kinds of attacks our so-called terrorist leader has led."
"Yeah, I mean, we know that Magneto and Viper crossed a bazillion lines, but-"
"And you think that Viper has a following here?" Hank said with a smirk.
"In New York?" Kate teased. "Yeah, I know it actually; they wolf whistle at me when they try to kidnap me."
"Ah, you speak of Hydra low lives … that's not what I'm referring to. I mean those that aren't simply hiding in a shadowy organization to compensate for their mis-deeds. I mean even those within Hydra … who follows her out of loyalty? I believe you'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful."
"Just the ones she liked enough to not kill," Kate said, pulling a face as she thought of what Daniel had said about how Viper could be good to work for, when she wanted to be.
"So only two or three, world wide."
"Maybe." Kate let the sentiment drop and pulled out the large section from her file that Hank had written up after the rescue. She made a face at it but headed to the copier all the same. "If someone's trying to point out that Scott only goes after the worst of the worst, I'm going to help him. Because damn it, I can't do much else right now."
"Just be careful in who you trust, my dear," Hank said.
"Don't worry. I know exactly who to talk to."
J. Jonah Jameson nearly startled out of his skin when Kate had Mia teleport her right to his office, though when Kate - teleporting for the first time in a while since she'd found out she was pregnant - immediately went a bit sideways, he couldn't quite start ranting, either. Not when she looked green.
"Ooh." Kate grabbed the back of the nearest chair and dropped her head lower than her shoulders. "Mia, I love you, but let's not do this again for a little bit, okay? I think I'm gonna hurl."
"Not in my office-" JJ started to say, but Kate waved him off with one hand.
"Shush, JJ; I've brought you an exclusive. Just shush until the world stops spinning."
"What kind of an exclusive?" Jameson asked, frowning as he leaned forward.
Kate was still trying to get her bearings, but Mia just shrugged with her palms outturned. "Don't look at me. She just said she wanted instant transport."
"Looks like you're going to need a cab to get back to wherever you were," Jameson said in an undertone.
"Want me to grab Nate?" Mia offered, and when Kate nodded, Mia teleported away again.
Kate took another few seconds before she looked up again. "Sorry," she said and pulled herself into the seat across from him, sliding him the file she had clutched to her chest. "Okay. Before you look at that," she said, trying to regain her composure to look more imperious and less green, "you have to understand this is the most vulnerable I have ever been with a story. But…" She took a deep breath and let it out. "SHIELD didn't classify everything about what happened with Viper. I can't actually tell you what Viper did, because technically, all the stuff I debriefed on is classified. But that-" She tapped the file. "That is a copy of my medical record immediately after I was rescued. Because I'll be damned if I let SHIELD leak stuff about Viper and I don't have anything to say about it." She made a sharp gesture with one hand. "When Scott kills the head of Hydra, they can leak it, but when I want to complain about their handling of my own experience… screw them."
"You do realize that they may still try to come after you - loophole or not," Jameson pointed out. "Are you sure you want to poke that bear, young lady?"
Kate took a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you something off the record, and I need you to agree we're off the record right now, because it's really personally important to me."
Jameson ruffled, but nodded. "Of course."
"I'm pregnant."
"That would explain the whole .." he gestured with both hands to indicate her reaction to Mia's teleportation.
"Yeah, no kidding." She grimaced. "And I can't - I can't - let SHIELD use the story of how Scott protected us from someone who did this-" She tapped the file again. "I can't let them use that against him when he's about to stand trial for protecting us from Magneto-"
"Us."
"Yeah, well, I only have access to my file, but I'm sure a reporter like you can put two and two together," Kate said. "Just… just take a look. My file alone should tell you why Scott knew if she got her hands on us again… on any of us… God. It would have been bad, JJ."
Jameson took a long moment to weigh it out, tapping the folder with the end of his ballpoint pen. "How do you see this story going - what's your involvement besides handing off a stack of medical records?"
"Honestly?" Kate said. "Whatever you need from me to establish that SHIELD did shit to keep me safe, and Scott had to step out of futzing retirement to make sure this-" She pointed at the folder. "-didn't happen again."
He was once again quiet - and Kate couldn't tell if it was a very good sign or a very bad one. "And SHIELD has a muzzle on you to keep you from talking. This … even with the records, this is going to be hard to corroborate."
"I know, but it's all I can give you," Kate said in a breath.
He nodded and blew out a breath. "I'll work on it and let you know if I can do anything with this."
"Thanks." Kate bit her lip. "I'll just… my ride won't be here for a bit, so if you want to… if you have questions, I guess…"
Jameson took a moment to start going through the file silently, looking more and more irritated the further he got, and he didn't even get all the way through before he closed the file and looked up at Kate. "Are you sure you want to go forward with this?"
"I already told you-"
"I heard what you said, but …" he sighed, letting it fall and looking as if he wasn't sure he wanted to yell or dive into the work.
"That's what SHIELD doesn't want me talking about. As if it's not my story."
"Tell you what," Jameson said. "It is your story, but it's not just your story. Clear it with your other friends before you push though this. I'll absolutely report it, but those boys … the implications will come around to hit them, too, and as much as I want to hit SHIELD with something like this, ... They should be warned at minimum."
Kate let her shoulders drop. "Yeah," she agreed. "But, I mean, I'm the only girl in the group. Was kinda hoping-" She let it drop.
"There is so much more than just that angle, Barton."
"Yeah," she agreed, getting quieter and looking down at her hands. When she glanced up again, she could see him watching her keenly. "I'll talk to them," she said at last. "But… please, just…"
"I'll wait to hear from you," Jameson said. "It'll take me some time to sift through this and make it reportable."
"I was sort of hoping you'd be keener," Kate said with an attempted smirk.
"Don't get me wrong," Jameson said. "I would love to run with this for a few reasons - but considering that we know where that murder happened, and all that your group of friends has been dealing with lately - I just want to avoid getting hammered from the other angles before I go forward. Now … if you want to press and you think they'll fight you on it - I can push and let them know they need to suck it up."
"Can you do that anyway?" Kate asked, smiling.
"I've only got a number for one of them, but sure," Jameson replied with a smirk.
"Thanks. As you can imagine, this is the one thing I'm really, really bad at standing up to them about."
"I'll wait to hear from you before I get assertive," Jameson promised.
Kate smiled and got to her feet. "I have a few phone calls to make, then," she said, though she paused at the doorway. "You know something? You're alright, JJ. Don't worry; I won't spread it around."
"You better not," he said gruffly, in a loud enough tone that he could be heard outside.
Kate smirked to herself and then let herself out, already calling Billy. "Hey, heads up," she said once Billy picked up. "News story in the works. I'll tell you more when I can, but it's about our shared summer camp experience."
"Oh, no. What now?" Billy grumbled.
"No, I did this one on purpose."
"You what?"
"Just…" Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. "Did you see the news?"
"Yeah. Mom says once it hits Genoshan news, they'll want to throw Scott a parade. Not like Hydra was known for being pro-mutant."
Kate paused and then couldn't help but smirk. "Fair. He should get one, too."
"I'll wish him one," Billy teased. "So what's the story?"
"Well, I kind of wanted to give some context for why-"
"I thought we weren't allowed," Billy put in. "And I don't think we could handle anyone else being in any legal trouble right now."
"Yeah, well, Hank's notes aren't classified," Kate said.
Billy was quiet for a long time - way longer than usual. "Kate…"
"I know. And I won't ask you to make yours public. But it is going to bring up some questions, so I wanted to give you a heads up. But like you said, Genosha is probably going to think it's a good thing - but he's already getting labeled a terrorist, and - and he deserves a break, you know? And I think it's stupid SHIELD won't let us tell our own stories, and-"
"Hey, Kate, slow down," Billy said as she started to pick up speed. "I'm not- listen, if you're okay with it, you're okay with it. And I can always wish myself away from reporters if I don't like what they're asking me. But are you sure you can handle all the questions you're gonna get?"
"That's literally all I can do, since I'm not on the team and SHIELD won't let me do anything else," Kate said bitterly.
"Have you talked to James?"
"Not yet."
"Okay. Talk to him, okay? Because you know he's going to get questions too."
"Yeah, I sort of stormed out halfway through the news report, so I didn't realize they'd announced she was in James's house when she died. I kind of assumed they wouldn't release that information. I mean, it's been hinted at but official SHIELD corroboration? That actually makes Scott look like a hero?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is a lot."
"Yeah, no kidding. Understatement of the century."
"Yeah, story of my life," Kate teased him right back. "Okay, I'm going to talk to James. But you're okay if I put this out there?"
"Like you said, it's your story. I mean, I'm not thrilled with the questions I'll get, but… I'll manage. I'm not going to tell you what to do."
"That's … about as strong an endorsement as I can expect under the circumstances," Kate said. "Thanks, Billy."
"Good luck."
Kate had stepped out into the stairwell to finish the conversation, and she leaned against the railings for a moment, closing her eyes. Then, she bit her lip and called up James. "Hey," she said, already nervous. "So, uh, don't freak out."
"If you name that kid after Clint, I'm going to disown you," James said, half distracted when he had two of the new guys in his lab checking the place out and alternating between asking questions and freaking out over what they were finding. "So you know…"
"Dad has already made us swear to pick normal names, so he is safe, I promise."
"Normal like Boris?" James said dryly in a very bad, Rocky and Bullwinkle accent.
"You're hilarious. Listen, I actually called for a reason."
"Okay, well … get it off your chest already," James said. He'd never been too big on phone calls, but he was definitely worse now when it came to patience. And doubly so when she could hear Miles in the background freaking out in geek-speak over the new armor James was printing for Tony.
"I'm going to give Jameson my medical record from right after Viper."
"What's that supposed to do?" James asked as he turned away from Miles' excited ramblings to focus on Kate better.
"Have you seen the news or are you holed up in your lab right now?"
"Holed up, obviously. Amadeus and Miles stopped in to check on me and let Tony brag a little. Trying to snipe them now, you know?"
"SHIELD leaked that your dad was the one who killed Viper, but they won't release any information on the lead-up."
There was a long pause, though not as long as when she was waiting for Billy's reaction. "Oh, did they now?" James asked in a much more interested tone.
"And I say screw them and their gag order. It's my story, and frankly, your dad is my hero for putting her in the ground, and I think the world deserves to know that," Kate said, nodding to herself as she affirmed her own decision.
"So … what? You need back up or something?"
"I just - JJ pointed out that if he publishes this, people are naturally going to start asking questions of you and Billy, and I didn't want you to not know."
"That's all you're worried about? Because … if that's all, you know … whatever. But if you're giving SHIELD a reaming, I want in."
"Consider yourself in, then. I want SHIELD to regret every decision they made about that whole situation."
"Great. When's the interview?"
"The what?"
"Interview, Kate. They usually go hand in hand with big stories." He sighed. "You know what - I'll just text JJ and find out. You get a green light from Billy yet?"
"Yeah. He's not thrilled, but he also thinks that your dad being outed as Viper's killer is a good thing, so he might be wearing rose-colored glasses."
"It is a good thing," James said. "Big, bad Cyclops handing out justice. But it's not enough."
"Which is why I'm trying to make sure the world knows he was protecting us," Kate said. She paused. "And… I might be biased. I'm terrified of what'll happen when you guys go to trial, and-"
"Nate will be fine," James said. "The case they have on him is weak."
"I know, but I want you and Scott to be in this kid's life too, you know," Kate admitted, more emotional than she'd meant to be.
"Don't worry about it, Kate."
"Yeah, sure, I'll just turn off the anxiety that's been plaguing me."
"Hey, when you figure out how to do that, teach Nate and Dad, would you? Probably Rachel too - she's been a little off balance lately."
"I'll pour the cure directly into their brains," Kate teased. She leaned back. "Seriously, James, thanks."
"Don't thank me yet," James said with a wicked laugh.
"Gonna do it anyway. It's nice to have my partner in crime on my side facing SHIELD down."
"SHIELD can suck it." He shifted gears and she heard him snap his fingers. "Forgot to tell you, I'm officially not an Avenger now."
"What? Why?" Kate asked - and she could hear Miles almost echoing the same sentiment in James' lab.
"Ah … just trying to keep the reputation of the club stellar," James said.
"So you'll rejoin once you're cleared," Kate said in a tone that wasn't a question.
"We'll see."
"Yes, we will." Kate felt her phone buzz in her hand and looked down. "Hey, Nate's here to pick me up. Turns out teleporting makes me want to puke, by the way."
"I can go along with that when there are a bunch of jumps, but hey. You're the first to know about the whole … one team only thing. Well, you, Miles, and Amadeus. Eavesdroppers. Share if you want, but …"
"Nah, it's your story," Kate said. "And besides, once Tony knows, everyone will know. So…"
"Well, Tony and Steve already know. They're not exactly happy or fully accepting it. Tony seems to think I just need to heal up a little more."
"Nah, you just need to get through this trial. But before that, we'll spill as many of SHIELD's screw-ups as possible, right?"
"Oh, I've got that covered, Katie."
"Love you too," Kate said before they signed off and she slipped out of the stairwell to take the elevator down to where Nate was waiting for her.
"Hey gorgeous," Nate said - standing outside of his car and ready to hold her door open. "Something going on I should know about?"
"Yeah, I'm on the warpath," Kate said, though she paused, grinned, and stole a quick kiss.
Nate smirked and kissed her back; the awkwardness that had lingered between them was starting to go away, and he was glad for it. "Anything I can help with?"
"Not really. It's intelligence warfare."
"Oh, that sounds fun." He grinned, glad to see her in her element. She'd been missing hero work; this was good for her. "Who's the target?"
"The general public." Kate bit her lip, holding her breath and almost wincing away from him. "I… sort of gave JJ my medical files from after Viper."
Nate went entirely still and even stiffened up without meaning to. "Kate…"
"I know," she said quickly. "I know. Billy already-"
"Kate, this is a bad idea," Nate said, shaking his head. "You're opening yourself up to so much-"
"I know that too," Kate said sharply. "But SHIELD leaked all that stuff about your dad killing Viper, and I'll be damned if our son grows up with his grandfather behind bars!" Despite the height difference between them, she was drawing herself up taller with every single word. "What am I going to tell him, huh? That I didn't do everything I could to make sure his grandfather's name was cleared?"
"Dad would never ask you to-"
"Your dad doesn't know how to advocate for himself, and you know it, so don't start," Kate said. "This is my story, and I don't need you trying to rescue me from it." She didn't say it, but Nate heard her projecting how much she'd been hurt when he had gone with James and Clint to Madripoor to kill Viper's guards.
And that - that memory of how upset she'd been when he'd left her out… that was enough to give him pause. He still didn't think this was a good idea, and he was sure she wasn't thinking clearly about the many, many ways this could backfire on her, but…
Well, he had a hard time telling her no as it was. So, he let his shoulders drop and pulled her into a kiss. "I just worry about what happens when people start drudging up everything you don't want to relive," he explained, trying to temper his argument into an explanation. "It was bad enough at the doctor's office. Think about some of those sleazy reporters coming at you with the gross questions you know they might ask."
Kate swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. "You're right."
He smirked, but before he could say anything else, Kate went on:
"But I still want to try. It's worth it to me, Nate. I don't think I'll be able to handle it if something bad happens to your dad and I didn't do everything in my power to help."
Nate reached out lightly to brush her mind, finding only a deep, burning desire to do something useful. And a terror over the upcoming trial, which still loomed large over his family even if they hadn't been extradicted.
"If you're sure," he started to say, and she seized his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm not. But I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't give it a shot. I know that for sure. So it's really the only option, you know?"
Nate shook his head and leaned in to kiss her. You need to take care of yourself, too.
You knew I was a hero when you proposed to me. You must like me enough to marry me, right?
Yeah. I still want to, by the way.
For a brief instant, Nate saw in her mind that she had responded positively, but what she actually said in response was: I know. And I love you too.
He sighed and kissed her deeply. They weren't quite as back to normal with each other as they wanted to be. But they were getting there.