Hey everyone, Thank you so much for all the support. The last chapter I posted was the most reviewed chapter I've ever posted. You guys rock. I've been working on this chapter all day and I hop you guys like it. Let me know what you all think. Enjoy.
Manhattan, NY- Third Person POV
"Stark, do you hear me? You have a missile headed straight for the city." Tony heard Fury say over the coms.
"How long?" Tony said finishing off the last few fliers that were on his trail.
"Three minutes, max. The payload will wipe out Midtown." Fury said.
"Jarvis put everything we got into the thrusters." Tony yelled out. His anxiety was at an all time high.
"I just did." Jarvis answered
Meanwhile Thor and Steve were fighting on the ground. They were both tired. One of the aliens had managed to hit Steve and he was on the ground. Thor took him out and flipped a car onto the aliens that were heading in their direction. He then went over to Steve and offered him a hand up.
"Are you ready for another bout?" Thor asked.
"What, are you getting sleepy?" Steve panted.
Back at the tower, Natasha had gone down to get the scepter and was now trying to close the portal.
"Right at the crown!" Erik told her.
"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down." She alerted the rest of the team.
"Do it!" Steve said wanting to end the fighting once and for all.
"No, wait." Tony said.
"Stark, these things are still coming." Steve reminded him. They couldn't keep this up forever and it was only a matter f time before they couldn't contain them anymore.
"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it." Tony said holding said nuclear bomb.
"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip." Steve said realizing how wrong he was about Tony. Now he knew why Nora spoke so fondly of him.
Tony hesitated for a moment before he shook it off and said, "Save the rest for the turn, J."
"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts or Miss Stark?" Jarvis asked.
"Might as well return Nora's call." Tony answered.
He made the call but was sent straight to voicemail.
"Hey it's Nora, you know what to do." Her recording said followed by the beep.
"Hey kid it's me just wanted to check up on you. I know I've been busy but I want you to know that I'm proud of you and no matter what you do I'm with you." He said not wanting to end the message but not knowing what to say. "I'm proud to be your Dad, I…" And the call cut off as he entered the portal.
The lack of oxygen in space made Tony pass out. He was conscious long enough to see the missile hit the Chitauri ship and explode. After that he passed out and his body was free falling.
Down on the ground everyone was looking up waiting for him to fly back down.
"Come on Stark," Natasha muttered.
After the aliens stopped attacking Steve had no choice but to call it. "Close it." 'I'm sorry Nora.' He thought.
Natasha did as he said and closed the portal. Just as the portal was closing Tony fell through it.
"Son of a gun." Steve said relieved.
"He's not slowing down." Thor said swinging his hammer ready to go catch him but Hulk beat him to it.
Hulk jumps to them and put Tony down. And everyone ran to make sure he was okay. Thor reached down and pulled off his faceplate.
"Is he breathing?" Steve asked. Everyone was quiet until Hulk roared and Tony woke up gasping for air.
"What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Tony said a bit disoriented.
"We won." Steve said exhausted.
"All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried schwarma? There's a schwarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it." Tony said trying to cheer everyone up a bit.
"We're not finished yet." Thor reminded him.
"And then schwarma after." Tony said.
It didn't take long to get Loki into SHIELD custody. After the Hulk had beaten him to a pulp he knew it was over. He was taken to SHIELD Headquarters in Manhattan until the following day when Thor would take him back to Asgard along with the Tesseract. He was hoping he would have a chance to see Jane before leaving but duty called.
Tony got on the phone and assured Pepper and Rhodey that everything was fine. Pepper would be arriving in a few hours so until then he had nothing to worry about. He was in the lab making calls, specifically to Nora hoping she'd answer. She was probably busy Tony thought.
"Hey." Steve greeted.
"Hey yourself." Tony said making Steve get the chills.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry about before, I was wrong about you." Steve said.
"Don't I was kind of wrong about you too. You are more than just the serum and the suit." Tony said begrudgingly.
They were quiet for a bit until Steve finally decided to ask the million-dollar question.
"I wanted to ask you…" He started.
"Can it wait, I really want schwarma." Tony said. Putting his phone in his pocket and looking towards the door.
"Uh yeah." Steve said following him out of the lab. "Another time." Steve muttered under his breath.
Kandahar Airfield- Nora's POV-
Holy freaking shit my soul mate's alive and I'm on a plane flying in the opposite direction he's in. That was the first thought that popped into my head after I calmed down. After over twenty hours on a plane, Eighteen hours twenty four minutes and thirty two seconds after I found out Steve was alive, I had decided I was taking the first flight back to New York and going to find him. There was no way I was leaving him alone in the twenty first century. No way I was leaving him alone with Dad. Oh crap Dad! Yup, I was definitely going back to New York. I'd never been before and visiting after an alien invasion, they were going to need all the doctors they could get.
The plane landed and everyone got off the plane and went to retrieve their things. I wasn't the only one desperate to get back to New York. I went to go talk to the program coordinator and find a way to get home when everything stopped, literally. Everyone was frozen mid step. Birds were still in mid air; hair was up in the air as it had been when the wind was blowing through it. Everyone was frozen in time.
"What the hell?" I said. I was the only one unaffected.
"Hello to you to." I heard the stone say I turned around and I freaked out. The stone looked different it was no longer taking Nana's form instead it looked like me. "Thought it was time for a change. Looking like your dead Nana was a getting a bit too morbid."
"No shit." I said. "What's going on?"
"Oh the temporal field? I thought it was time for one of our chats." It said, "You're doing a lot better than the last time I saw you."
"Yeah, I stopped trying to kill myself around eight or nine months ago." I retorted.
"Yet that did nothing for that sarcasm of yours." It said shaking its head.
"Not that I don't enjoy these conversations of ours, well who am I kidding, I hate these chats but what's this about?" I said. "The temporal fields a bit of an overkill don't you think."
"Maybe but it's necessary. Some things are better said face to face." It said.
"You mean my face to my face?" I said.
"You have a tendency to only listen to yourself, figure this would help get my point across."
"And your point is?"
"You can't go to New York."
"What?!" I said shocked and a bit mad. "Why the hell not?"
"It's not where you're meant to be." It said simply.
"I'm supposed to be wherever my soulmates are. Bucky's gone but Steve's in New York and that's where I need to be." I cried out.
"I'm sorry Nora but I can't let you do that."
"Why the hell not?" I said angrily.
"Remember why I sent you back to 1943? It was to get you ready."
"Yeah to get me ready for something that's years away from happening. I can be ready. I can get ready with Steve." I cried.
"I'm sorry Nora but I can't let that happen. This is where you're supposed to be. This is where you continue your preparation. Steve needs to be on his own. He needs to grow just like you do and if you two were to be together any progress you make would be hindered." It said.
"He's alone in a world he has no clue about." I plead.
"He's not as alone as you think. Steven Rogers has a part to play as well the only difference is his role starts earlier than yours." It said emotionlessly.
"I don't care, you can't stop me from going to him." I said.
"But I can. If you so much as think of going to see him or even telling your father I will send you so far back an so far away, I might not even be able to get you back." It threatened.
"Then you better zap me there now because I'm not leaving Steve alone." I said.
"It's incredible, he chose to leave you behind without a second thought but you are so willing to forget that and follow him to the ends of the earth." It said.
"People make mistakes. He was heartbroken so was I. He crashed a plane in the ocean I tried to kill myself three times. Shit happens."
"Be that as I may this is where you belong. Try to leave and there will be consequences." It warned.
"I'm sorry but you don't leave me any other choice." It said before I started glowing.
I closed my eyes and waited. I opened them and I was in a lab. I didn't recognize it. It wasn't in the ranch or Dad's in Malibu.
"Nora." I heard someone say from behind me.
"Dad." I said relieved to see a familiar face.
"Friday call a code Cronus." He said before turning to me. "How old are you and where are you?"
"Nineteen and I'll tell you but don't get mad." I said.
"Nineteen and judging by what you just said I'm guessing Kandahar, Afghanistan." Dad said.
"Really accurate." I said. He must be getting a lot of practice with me appearing out of the blue.
He took a deep breath before saying, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Afghanistan Nora? Do you not remember that incident where you know I got kidnapped and was held hostage for three months? What on Earth made you think that was a good idea?!"
"Dad I want to be a trauma surgeon and it was the best place to get hands on experience. Plus it lets me finish my residency in half the time." I argued.
"You're nineteen you have all the time in the world!" He exclaimed.
"You know I told the time stone the same thing then it called me a moron." I said he didn't look amused. "For the record I didn't know I was being sent to Kandahar and I'm not using my real last name. Everything's good." I said.
"No, everything's not good. You left to a fucking war zone without telling anyone. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I fought aliens and almost died flying a nuke through a portal then you disappear and I have no idea where you are?"
"You almost died! You flew a nuke into a portal to outer space?!" I exclaimed.
"Oh you didn't know about that?" Dad said sarcastically
"What the fuck dad why the hell did you do something so stupid?!" I shouted.
"I'm the dad here, you don't get to lecture me." He shouted.
"I can when you act like a moron!" I scream.
"Oh I'm the moron! I'm not the one that tried to off herself three times!" He shouted back.
"Tony!" Rhodey shouted and he and Vision walked in.
"How do you know about that?" I say shocked.
"Vision get her outside now." Rhodey said and Vision came up next to me and led me outside.
"Vision how does Dad know about that?" I said.
"It is not something I am at liberty to discuss." He answered as we walked into the common room.
"No one knew about it except Gramps and Peggy, oh and original Jarvis. How mad is he?" I asked.
"I wouldn't know." Vision answered.
"Nora." Wanda greeted happily as I entered the common room.
"Hey Wanda." I said with a small smile.
"Are you okay I heard shouting?" She asked.
"I'm fine, Dad and I had a small argument." I said.
"Small, I've never seen Stark that mad." Natasha said as she walked in.
"In my defense he was a bit busy averting an alien invasion to drop a bomb on him." I said.
"Making bomb jokes already?" Rhodey said.
"How is he?" I asked.
"He's waiting for you in the garage. Come on." He said. I sighed before following him.
"How bad?" I said.
"How bad what?" Rhodey answered.
"How bad did I screw this up and how bad is this going to be?"
"You joined the army, got shipped off to Afghanistan without telling anyone, along with everything else he's found out about you recently. So pretty bad."
"Man I am screwed."
"You got to own up to your mistakes kid. No matter how this goes he still loves you."
"I know, I hate time traveling." I say.
"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes that's for sure," He said opening a door. Dad was leaning against his car with his arms crossed looking right at me.
"Good Luck." Rhodey said before closing the door leaving me there.
"So…" I said awkwardly.
"Let's go for a drive." He said opening the car door.
"Okay." I said before getting in the passenger side.
The drive was quiet. Dad didn't even look at me; he just kept his eyes on the road. Finally we pulled over and walked on a short trail. At the end there was a picnic table over looking the compound.
"I'm not mad." Dad said.
"You're not?" I said not expecting that answer.
"I'm disappointed." He said. That's worse.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm disappointed I didn't notice something was wrong sooner." He said. "Your entire life I wanted to keep you safe, I wanted to protect you but all I did was push you away."
"It's not your fault, you had a lot to deal with and I didn't make it easy for you either."
"You're a kid its not you're job to make it easy for me." Dad argued. "Though I would have preferred to hear what was happening to you directly from you and not the time stone." Dad said.
"It talked to you?"
"When I found out about everything It kind of took over and told me everything. It really lacks tact doesn't it?"
"After I… tried that, It appeared and told me I was a moron, when Bucky died it told me to get over it, When Steve crashed the plane it said it was meant to happen and when I tried to go back to New York after the plane landed in Afghanistan it said I couldn't. We argued and it threatened to send me so far back in time there was a chance it couldn't get me back. I said go ahead, and it sent me to your lab. I don't know how much more I can take dad. I'm tired and it doesn't stop." I admitted.
"I know you are." Dad said putting his arm around my shoulders. "How'd your grandfather react to seeing you throw up pills?"
I know he didn't want to ask that question but I've lied to him enough, "He wasn't happy. Staged an intervention of sorts."
"So he did care." Dad said sarcastically.
"He didn't always seem like it but he's a decent guy. At least I thought he was. We had a bit of a fight last time I saw him about some lies he told though now that I think about it I can't really blame him for it. It'd be the pot calling the kettle black." I said.
"Why are you telling me this and not past me?" dad said rethinking it just to make sure he phrased it correctly.
"Altering time lines, You can't tell me about things that haven't happened yet and the stone won't let me tell the you from my time all of this because you know Steve and it could alter any decisions you made, or so I think." I said.
"So you're stuck in Afghanistan?" Dad said.
"I'm stuck in Afghanistan. I could try to go back to New York but you tell me, do I ever actually make it?"
"No, you don't."
"And I'm guessing from the conversation we had earlier, it'll be a while before we talk again."
"Looks that way" dad admitted.
"I'm sorry." I said again.
"So am I." He said. "I shouldn't have brought it up."
"You should've found out from me and not the stone." I apologized.
"I shouldn't have yelled or put my problems with someone else on you."
"Everything Okay?" I asked getting a bit concerned.
"Yeah, just dealing with some of my more recent screw ups."
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I said.
"I disagree. You're a thousand times better than I am."
"I'm not." I argue.
"You are, I could never deal with half of the things you've been through, and you've been doing it on your own this entire time."
"Only because I had an awesome Dad." I said making him smile.
"Come on, it's getting cold and I think there's someone you should see." Dad said getting up.
He drove back to the compound and walked through the compound. We came up to this sort of terrace that over looked the training area. Wanda, Vision, Rhodey, Sam and Natasha were sparing. They all broke apart when the doors opened. There was someone wearing a Blue suit with red and white stripes and a star on his chest. On his back was a circular shield.
"Steve?" I said.
When I said that he turned to look at me. "Nora." He said shocked.
"She just found out you didn't die in the plane crash." Dad said. As soon as he heard that Steve ran out of the training room.
"I guess he isn't too happy to see me." I told dad.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Dad said. I heard footsteps and I turned around to see Steve standing in the doorway. He was out of breath after probably running up stairs.
I couldn't help but smile and run over to him and hug him. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me into a hug.
"You're here." I said tearing up.
"Yeah I am, and so are you." He said putting me down and pulling apart so he could look at me.
I put my hand on the side of his face and looked into his beautiful blue eyes. "You're real." I cried. Leaning my forehead against his.
"Yeah, I'm real." He said before kissing me. And then it happened.
I started getting the chills. "No," I said crying.
"Nora?" Steve said getting worried.
"It's happening again. I don't want to go. I just got you back." I cried.
"Shhh, It's okay baby, we'll be together. I promise." He said tearing up as well. He kissed me one last time before I started glowing and I was gone.
When I opened my eyes I was back in Afghanistan. Everyone was still frozen in the temporal field.
"This has to happen Nora." The stone said.
"Why did you send me there?" I asked.
"You needed to talk to your father and you wanted to see Steve. You felt guilty for leaving without telling your father but you can't see him, not yet. Steve you will see again eventually but until then you have a job to do and so does he." The stone said.
"I hate you so much." I said.
"That may be true but you'll understand one day soon. Until then, get to work." Then it glowed and it was gone. The temporal field was lifted and everything went back to normal. I took a deep breath and went to go get my housing assignment.
The Next Day-
I got dressed in the camouflage print cargo pants, boots and shirt we were all given when we arrived. We had all received assignments of who we were going to be working under. I was assigned to a Major Spencer. I had to eat breakfast and then I had to report to infirmary three.
I drank my black coffee and ate my powered eggs before I reported to the infirmary. I left early because I still didn't know my way around the base. After walking into one of the barracks and Infirmary's one, five, and six, someone finally took pity on me and walked me in the right direction. Apparently we had so many infirmaries because occasionally civilian casualties are taken in as well.
"Who were you assigned to?" One of the medics asked.
"Major Spencer." I said and the look on her face was somewhere between wanting to laugh at me and being scared for me. "What's wrong with him?"
"Oh nothing its just he's not the easiest person to get along with." She said.
"He can't be that bad." I said.
"What the bloody fuck is wrong with you. Did your mother drop you on your head as a tot?" I heard yelling followed by two grown men running out the door in tears.
"Good luck." She said going to check on the to guys that had left the infirmary.
"I can do this, I can do this." I said mentally preparing for this.
I walked through the door and walked toward the desk where a man around six feet tall with slightly reddish blonde hair stood looking over some charts.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Martell reporting for duty." I said. He turned around and the only thought that passed through my head was 'Oh shit'.
"Something the matter?" He said. Oh crap I said that out loud.
"Um no sorry, you just look a lot like a friend of mine." I said.
"Well, I'm Major Wren Spencer of the British Armed Forces Medical Corp and apparently you've been assigned to me." He said looking me over. "I thought you'd be older."
"I skipped a few grades." I said shrugging.
"Follow me," He said He said walking past me and not bothering to look back to see if I was following. "I run a tight ship, I expect you to do as you're told and not argue. Those two worthless idiots you saw running out of here didn't make it a full week. Since you come highly recommended and your resume speaks for itself I expect you to last a day more than they did. Do you have any hands on experience with trauma?"
You mean the year and a half in the frontlines during World War II, 'Yes' I thought.
"We had a few cases in the community clinic I interned at back in Boston but it isn't much compared to what you deal with here." I answered.
"Level-headed and no inflated ego, you sure you went to Harvard?" He retorted.
"I worked my ass of to get there so yeah, I'm pretty sure." I answered.
"I spend half of my time here and half of my time in the field. The first few weeks you'll be working here full time until you get a handle on things and I'm sure you won't crack under the pressure. If you make it through that then you'll be coming along on calls when we're needed. Any questions so far?"
"Umm yeah, it doesn't have to do with you just said you were clear but I'm curious what did those two guys do that made you go off on them? I just want to know so I don't get on your bad side." I said.
Wren gave me a glare before he cracked a smile, "Make it through your first day and I might tell you."
He didn't mean it as a promise me meant it as a dare. The jerk didn't think I'd make it past the first hour let alone the first day. How the hell do we end up becoming friends?
"Quit dilly dallying, at the moment we have fifteen patients admitted in this ward. I expect you to have all their names and information memorized by lunch. For now go around and check if any of them need to have their bedpans switched out." He ordered.
"Sir yes sir." I said saluting him before going to check on the patients in the ward. Most of them were completely sedated others were a bit awake.
By the time I was done checking on all of them I went to go check in with Wren. He was doing a crossword at the desk.
"Well?" He said.
"Colonel Jacobs wants to talk to you about how soon he can get out of here. I told him another three days so he can recover from his knee surgery but he answered with thanks sweetheart but I'd like to talk to a real doctor.
Lieutenant Osaka drank 0.3L of water and peed out clear urine, 0.35L I recorded it on his chart and I checked Private Lawrence's breathing levels he managed to get it all the way up in both meanings of the word." I said with a tense smirk.
"Did you change Sergeant Lee's and Private Roark's dressings?" He asked.
"I did both of theirs and Lieutenant James' dressings. Though with her I had to redo her stitches because she somehow pulled three of them out." I said.
"Okay if that's all." He started.
"Actually Rita needs to have her burns treated I was going to do it but she said she'd strangle anyone but you if they tried to so, she'd waiting in her bed." I answered.
"You're on a first name basis with her?" Wren said.
"Yeah she was a bit bored, got her an Entertainment Weekly. Said if I wasn't going to order her around I better not call her Private Reynolds." I answered.
"Is that all?" Wren asked.
"Yeah." I answered.
"Then go to the mess and grab a bite to eat." He said. "And grab me a plate on your way back." He called over his shoulder as he headed over to treat Rita.
Wren's different than I imagined him being. I was expecting a slightly less uptight and frigid exterior. I mean the guy's consoled me when I fought with Steve and Bucky and I wasn't even the Nora he knew at that point.
He did just meet me and its not like I expect him to be all 'hi Nora I'm Wren and I can teleport, lets be best buddies'.
I went to the mess hall and grabbed a plate of some meat with mashed potatoes and gravy. I finished mine pretty quickly. I grabbed Wren a plate like he asked and went back to the infirmary.
He wasn't at his desk so I put the food down and started reading through patient charts. I heard some moans and grunting followed by a loud moan from a woman yelling 'Wren' over and over again.
About five minutes later a nurse from one of the other infirmaries comes out of the broom closet with her hair all messy and clothes all wrinkled. She briefly looks in my direction before rushing out of there.
Wren followed after her a minute later and walked toward his desk but stopped when he saw me. "How long have you been there?"
"Not long just reading through patient histories." I answer still not looking up.
"Did you uh, hear anything?" He asked awkwardly.
"I didn't hear or see anything you didn't want me to." I said not bothering to look up.
"Where are you from?" he asked. This is new.
"Went to school in Boston but I grew up in Texas." I answered. "What about you?"
"I'm English as you can probably tell from my accent. Moved around a lot as a kid." He said simply before things got quiet. Well that's something I guess.
"You did a good job with James' stitches. Very neat and well done." He said.
"Thanks," I said.
"Who taught you that stitch?" Wren asked.
"No one, I saw it in a book at the Harvard Library and I practiced until I got it right."
"Practice does make perfect. What did you practice on?"
"Bananas." I said with a smirk.
"I did the same thing when I was in school." He said.
"Where'd you go?" I said.
"Oxford." He said.
"That explains it." I muttered.
"Explains what?" He said.
"Nothing."
"Oh no you said it now you answer."
"Fine but don't get mad." I said.
"Everyone gets one. No answer the question."
"You give off an uptight and pretentious image when you first meet people." I said.
"Uptight and pretentious?"
"You act like you're above it all, and yes I know you're in charge and I report to you but when I asked you about what those to guys did you answered with 'if you make it through the day I might tell you' it kind of came off as if you expected me to break down crying at the first festering wound." I said.
"Honestly, I didn't think you'd make it this long but you did a better job than all the other recruits I've been assigned too. In the past two months I've had fifteen residents assigned to me. None of them have lasted as longer than a few days." He said.
"Why's that?" I asked.
"Because they weren't cut out for this. Trauma is gory and brutal especially in a war zone. You have to be able to think faster that the body can react. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. People die all the time and as one person dies another one's ready to go under the knife. If you can't keep up than you can't do this." He said.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"I asked you to change their bed pans, instead you did that, memorized their charts, redressed wounds, redid sutures, measured fluid intake and urine excretion and got one of the most stubborn patients in this ward to stay calm and actually open up to you. You thought ahead and acted accordingly."
"Okay?" I said.
"You have the skills and potential to be a Trauma Surgeon. I think I'm going to like working with you." He said simply.
"Uh, I don't know what to say, thanks Major Spencer." I said before getting up to do rounds.
"Doctor Martell, Just Wren." He said with a grin.
"Nora." I answered before going back to work.