Of course date night ended up getting cancelled because stupid Rumlow decided to highjack a train somewhere in South America. I wasn't exactly up to date on the details but that dude was seriously the worst cockblocker ever. If Aya wasn't giving me the silent treatment right now I would have personally gone with them to kick his ass.
Either way I ended up moving back to Dallas temporarily, living at the ranch and it almost felt as if no time had passed. I mean I felt like I was going to see Wren every time I walked into a room and I was slightly disappointed every time he didn't but it was okay. There were a lot of good memories in that house both in the past and the future so that's what I focused on.
My first day back at the hospital was a different story.
I arrived early and stood outside the building for a good twenty minutes. I hadn't moved and didn't snap out of my trance until I got a call from Sam.
"Hey you how's Dallas? Sick of the barbeque yet?" He greeted.
"Haven't actually had any yet." I said still staring at the door.
"You okay?" he asked knowing me well enough that just by the sound of my voice he could tell there was something wrong.
"I'm outside of the hospital." I said. "I've been standing out here for 20 minutes and I can't make myself move."
"You've been in there before." Sam said. "You were there two weeks ago."
"I met with Doctor Matthews at the bistro a few blocks away. This is the first time I've been here since… you know." I said.
"Oh." Sam said. "Do you want to come get me? All of my meetings aren't until later so I can go in with you. Stay with Wren while you handle your presentation so you have a friendly face in the audience."
"No it's okay I just… I think it's finally hitting me that I'm really doing this." I said.
"You can do a bypass blindfolded, and that's the hard part, everything else is…" he started.
"Walking through a radioactive wasteland of the memories of the love of my life?" I said.
"Yeah, you should come get me." Sam said.
"No its okay." I said. "Though we are definitely getting a sitter and getting hammered this weekend."
"Agreed. We'll even go drunk serenade my wife at the graveyard." Sam said. "I'm also staying on the phone with you until you're inside."
"You're a good brother." I said.
"And you're an even better sister." Sam said and I was quiet for another minute or two.
"Okay. I'm doing it. I'm going in." I said looking down at Wren who was just smiling up at me.
"You got this." Sam said as he distracted me by filling me in on the work gossip. I felt like I knew his coworkers with how often he updated us on the daily gossip.
I went up to Doctor Matthews office because we were keeping my surgery a surprise until after my presentation to the residents, fellows, and pretty much anyone who was interested in hearing my crazy ideas.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as I walked into his office. "Is it good to be back?"
"I'm okay I think. It's good to know everything is still the same." I said.
"Well almost." He said.
"Almost?" I asked confused.
"There have been some staffing changes." He said.
"I figured there's a new chief of cardio since Richards is at Mayo now if not he'd be here and not me." I said.
"We also have a new head of neuro. Well not new… new to the position." He said.
"Well I'm not working with Neuro so I don't think it really applies here." I said snapping a bit.
"Guess not." He said eying me concerned.
"Sorry I didn't mean to snap. I just… Being back here… I haven't been here since that night." I said.
"Oh… Oh!" he said in understanding. "Are you okay? If you want to postpone."
"No I'm okay. I just… As long as I don't have to go down to the morgue and I keep this little monkey close by I can remember that while Wren isn't here a part of him is and I won't break down." I said.
"Then I will do my part by looking out for the little guy while you amaze everyone with your surgical brilliance." He said encouragingly.
"We should head downstairs." I said standing up to push the stroller.
The auditorium was already full, everyone chattering and complaining about having to sit in a lecture instead of actual surgery or medicine.
"Alright everyone. Thank you for coming in early this morning. I'm sure you'd all rather be sitting in the ambulance bay or doing rounds but believe me you'll be thanking me by the time our guest lecturer is done with her presentation." Chief Matthews said. "Today you will potentially be witnessing medical history. One of our former fellows, attendings and arguably one of the best teachers to have ever worked here has returned for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Please give a warm welcome back to Doctor Nora Stark."
I stepped up to the podium as everyone clapped.
"Good morning everyone and thank you chief for that extremely flattering and overwhelming introduction. Let's hope I can live up to it." I said. "Now let's get right to it. The patient is a 13 year old female with a rare congenital heart birth defect. So rare in fact that it wasn't detected and diagnosed until two years ago when she was brought into the ER with a leg fracture and an EKG was performed. So pop quiz if a 13 year old kid with no prior history of heart disease comes in with a broken leg, why would an EKG be performed?"
Instantly five hands rose up in the air.
"Doctor Andrews." I said recognizing one of my previous residents.
"If it was a femur fracture she could be throwing clots which causes respiratory problems." He answered.
"Compromised breathing wouldn't necessarily call for an EKG. A chest x-ray would be faster and could diagnose a tension pneumo faster but A for effort. You get skittles." I said tossing him a pack of candy making him smile.
"Doctor Johnson." I said pointed out.
"An irregular sounding heart beat." She said with a smile.
"And why would you listen to the patient's heartbeat?" I said.
"Standard triaging protocol. You always listen to the heart because that's what keeps them alive while you get the patient where they need to be." She said.
"Someone had a good teacher." I said tossing her a bag of M&M's. "And the heartbeat sounded something like this."
I played about ten seconds of audio recording of the heartbeat.
"Who heard it?" I asked but no one did. "No one?"
"It just sounds like a heartbeat." One of the residents said.
"Okay let's try this." I said playing a regular heart beat and then the same recording. Still nothing. "It's alright if you don't. It's just a slight minimal difference but it's because of that tiny little difference that we're here today. It takes cardio thoracic surgeons decades to be able to detect differences in heartbeats with just a sound or in the case of most army trained medics, desperate circumstances where you have to make do with what you have. It's also why it's important to never skip steps in patients work ups."
"So back to where we're all here. Patient 13 year old female with a congenital heart birth defect that was undetected for 11 years. For eleven years the patient lived her life while her heart was unknowingly damaging itself." I said using my phone to shut off the lights in the room before I brought up a hologram of the heart. "This is a working model of our patient's heart. As you can see the discoloration here here and here resulting from cell death. As of two weeks ago our patient's heart was only working at slightly above 50% effectiveness which means that her kidneys have started to shut down."
A resident raised their hand.
"Has the patient been placed on the transplant list?" they asked.
"They have but as you all know finding a heart under normal circumstances is hard enough, add to that her age, and her rare blood type…" I said activating the screen behind me to show her blood type. "It's nearly impossible to find her a heart. Which is where we come in. If we had caught the damage six months ago this could have easily been resolved with a pulmonary valve transplant where a section of the patients respiratory tract is transplanted to the heart to create a new valve but that wouldn't help damage to the rest of the heart. Which is why I proposed the idea of two part procedure. The pulmonary valve transplant replacement and an artificial chamber made out of a 3D printed mold so that as the patient grew not only would the valve grow into the vein but also grow into the mold essentially creating a new heart."
"Wow…" The residents said whispering amongst themselves.
"Has a 3D printed mold ever been used like this?" One of the fellows asked.
"It's been used to create portal veins in the liver and kidneys but not in the heart." I said. "This surgery if successful would be the first step in potentially creating a fully functioning heart and maybe later on livers, kidneys… etc. The surgery will take place here in three weeks, our patient should be admitted in later today so she can be monitored until the day of so there's only one last detail I need to figure out. Who wants to scrub in with me?"
Everyone instantly raised their hands.
"That's good. Because for three weeks you will all be competing for the chance to scrub in with me." I said. "Hope you all didn't have plans because you're about to get a whole lot busier. I'll see you all in the skills lab in an hour. Don't be late."
With that I turned off the projection and turned on the lights as everyone exited the auditorium leaving one a few residents I had worked with before, some of my colleagues but I ignored them and went to go check on Wren who was starting to get a bit fussy.
"How was it?" I asked Doctor Matthews.
"You have not lost your touch." He commented as I picked up Wren who was in real need of a diaper change.
"And looks like I finished just in time." I said as the dirty diaper smell hit me. "I'm going to take care of this before I drop him off at daycare if that's okay."
"Of course. I already let them know you might be stopping by today." He said.
I teleported to the nearest restroom with a changing station and quickly got Wren settled of course just as I was walking out of there I ran into the last person I ever wanted to see again.
"You." She snarled before her eyes widened as she noticed the stroller.
"Kate." I said in greeted before stepping out of the way so she could go into the restroom. "Well I guess we just met the new head of Neuro."
Wren blew a raspberry.
"You have no idea kiddo." I said.
"Nora!" Zoe cheered running from the nurse's station to hug me.
"Zoe!" I said hugging her back. "It's so good to see you. Are they treating you right? Because I know a hospital in New York that could use a nurse like you."
She laughed.
"They can't afford me." Zoe said before she looked down at the stroller. "Oh my gosh is this him?"
"The one and only." I said. "Wren Spencer-Stark."
"Oh cutie pie. He looks just like his dad." She said.
"He really does." I said as the door behind me opened and she saw who it was.
"So you bumped into the wicked witch of Seattle?" She said.
"I did. Guess that's what Doctor Matthews meant by staffing changes." I said.
"It's not all bad. You're back." She said.
"Temporarily. Speaking of our patient should be coming in pretty soon... can you…" I started.
"I get her settled in and page you when she's ready." Zoe said.
"You're the best." I said.
"I know." Zoe said before she went back to work.
Once Wren was set up in daycare and I bribed one of the workers there to send me hourly photos of he was doing I went out to hunt the only decent coffee cart in the whole place. Of course once there I was ambushed by residents wanting to get into my good graces. I chatted a bit wanting to catch up one how things were going, see if there were any who had already decided on their specialties I should focus on before we headed to the lab to start scouting out the talent.
Back in New York…
Tony had spent the week after his fight with Nora locked up in the tower. He was either drinking or tinkering in the lab working on a new suit. He had given up being Iron Man for Pepper but seeing as he no longer had her or Nora he figured it was okay to slip into some old habits.
"Wow you look like crap." Rhodey said as he walked in.
"Look who's talking." Tony said putting his pliers down. "Is this my intervention?"
"I don't know do you need one?" Rhodey retorted.
"Well apparently I have a problem with obsessively trying to fix things that don't need to be fixed." Tony said. "First I wasn't around and involved enough and now I'm too involved and over stepping? I was stepping up and taking responsibility."
"Tony, Nora's a grown ass woman, She might even technically be older than you." Rhodey said. "The time to step up and take responsibility was maybe 20 years ago when she needed someone to take care of her."
"You too?" He said.
"Just listen." Rhodey said. "Not once in the last 23 years did I butt in. Not when you chose to make the world think she died and you left her in Dallas with Anna. Not when you ignored her for 5 years or when you decided not to show up to her wedding."
"I know I've screwed up." Tony said.
"Yes you have but that's not what I was getting at. You and Nora have never had a normal relationship." Rhodey said. "You remember when she didn't tell you she got into MIT because even though even though Anna had just died and she was a wreck she was still worried about how badly you were spiraling. And it's not just then when you needed to get away from it all she would drop everything to be there for you?"
"Okay now you're just rubbing it in." Tony said.
"No. You have never taken care of her. Nora takes care of you and herself and everyone around her. She's done it her whole life. She did it for you when you were a kid." Rhodey said taking a photo out of his pocket of Tony as a kid with Nora and handing it to him. "We've seen her do the impossible and I'm pretty sure it's not even half of it all. She doesn't need someone to fix all her problems for her."
"You think it's completely normal that out of the blue she just up and quits a job she loves. She's not okay. She hasn't been okay since she came back from the future." Tony said.
"Are you sure you're not just projecting your own problems onto her?" Rhodey said.
"I know her better than anyone. I know a spiral when I see one. It's classic Stark behavior." He said.
"I don't think a career change counts as spiraling but there is one way to be sure." Rhodey said taking out his phone.
"Who are you calling?" Tony asked.
"The person that actually does know Nora better than anyone." Rhodey said.
Less than an hour later Tony and Rhodey were at a café patio not to far from the tower when a rather disheveled Aiden pulled a chair out and sat down. He was wearing shades and by the looks of it he had a rather late night. Multiple in fact. He had some stubble and was obviously hungover.
"You rang." Aiden said taking off his shades.
"You're late." Tony said.
"I wasn't even going to come but someone insisted I come." Aiden said as in a less than a blink of an eye Nora was sitting down next to Aiden.
"Kid!" Tony said jumping a bit. "I-I didn't know you were…"
"Uh." She sighed in annoyance.
"Not Nora." Aiden and Aya said both slightly annoyed. And for added effect Aya made her eyes glowed.
"You." Tony snarled.
"Well you wanted to talk to the person that knew Nora better than anyone." Aya said. "And that's currently a tie between this one, me and Sam."
"Sam had a parent teacher conference." Aiden said.
"Now that's a good father. You should take notes." Aya taunted.
"You're the parasite that lives inside my kid and kept me away from her for years." Tony said.
"Oh this again? You know I stopped Nora from going to find you, American Pie and Bucky but I never stopped you three idiots from going to her. For once in your life take some damn responsibility for your screw ups." Aya said. "And by the way, I met her when she was 18 so who are you blaming for the 18 years before me."
"Hi can I get a bloody Mary. Easy on the blood heavy on the Mary." Aiden said.
"He'll have coffee, the strongest you have." Aya said.
"Buzzkill." Aiden said.
"Manchild." Aya said.
"Okay what is this? This is weird." Rhodey said pointing between Aiden and Aya.
"It's called a rapport, we're roommates it's normal." Aiden said.
"And you're drunk at 11 am on a Tuesday because…?" Tony said.
"I'm taking advantage of the fact that Nora's away to have some me time." Aiden said and Aya cleared her throat giving Aiden a pointed look.
"Nora's away? Where is she?" Tony said. "Did you lose her in time again? And you are you watching my grandson while you're drunk?"
"No you bloody wanker. You really think I'd drink around my nephews and niece or let anyone look after them in that condition?" Aiden said. "Like I said I'm taking some me time and blowing off some steam."
"Where's Nora?" Tony asked again.
"Dallas." Aiden and Aya said.
"Dallas?" Tony and Rhodey said.
"She moved back to Dallas?!" Tony said. "You still think she's not spiraling? She goes off on me and then picks up and moves without telling anyone?"
"You think Nora's spiraling?" Aiden said before he and Aya started laughing.
"Has anyone ever told you, you have an inflated sense of self importance?" Aya said.
"Or that you're a self-centered, egocentric narcissist?" Aiden said and Tony gave him a dirty look. "As a recovering narcissist let me tell you the first step to overcoming it is admitting it."
"Why the hell does my kid keep you around?" Tony said.
"Because I'm free childcare, I wash the dishes without complaining, I'm a joy to have around… the list goes on but mostly because Nora is a good person. Arguably too good for me and you." Aiden said sipping on his coffee.
"How are you two not concerned with everything that's happening. She's off. This is spiraling behavior." Tony said.
"I don't think her deciding to do more of what makes her happy and prioritizing that is considered spiraling." Aiden said before turning to Aya. "That's actually pretty healthy behavior."
"I've seen Nora spiral. This isn't that." Aya said shaking her head.
"She's my kid. I know her." Tony said.
"I've known her longer than you. I'm around her more than you, we've been through more together than you can even imagine. I've seen her at her absolute best and I was there at her worst, when she was on the ledge of a roof debating whether or not to end it all." Aya said and Tony and Rhodey just stared at her in shock. "This is the complete opposite of that. This is her wanting to live her life to the fullest. The only reason this bothers you is because you don't know where you fit in it with her new priorities because you're not one of them anymore."
"That's not true." Tony said.
"You still see her as that as that kid that would spend hours sitting by the door waiting from you to show up when you told her you might stop by and visit her after months of ignoring her. That would jump into your arms and look at you like you were her entire world." Aya said shutting up Tony. "She's not your escape from reality, she's not your therapist, she's not yours period. She's her own person who can make her own decisions."
"Look even after all these years and everything I've seen her do, I still don't know how she does it or fully understand it all. I just know that when Nora does something or tells you to do something, it's usually for a pretty good reason. My judgement can be questionable at times but her's is never wrong." Aiden said. "You should never bet against a time traveler."
"Listen to him. That might be the smartest thing he's said all day." Aya said.
"Shouldn't you be in Texas with Nora?" Aiden snapped.
"I'm taking some me time." Aya taunted.
"What the hell is she even doing in Texas?" Tony said.
"Things." Aya and Aiden said with a smirk which just frustrated Tony even more.
"I think we're done here. I don't have Nora's patience or endurance for these things." Aiden said. "Thanks for the coffee, let's not do this again."
With that Aya teleported away and Aiden walked out.
"What the hell does Nora see in that guy?" Tony said.
"I think you missed the whole point of this talk." Rhodey said.
"I mean seriously…" Tony started making Rhodey groan.
Meanwhile back in Dallas…
I finished up a presentation and left everyone to give it a try. I walked around the room taking notes on anyone that showed potential and correcting and giving tips where needed. I never really had time to teach at my old job. There was more paperwork and actual medicine to do.
Half the class left once the lecture was over. A few stuck around to talk my ear off and try to ask me questions about the avengers by talking about surgery and then going on a tangent. Lucky for me I had an excellent espionage teacher who taught me how to redirect the conversation by making it seem like it was the other person's idea.
Those that stuck around to keep practicing, now those were the ones to watch. A few I had worked with before and even trained them with Wren, others were new and while not as skilled yet, had a good work ethic which was just as important. If they were willing to put in the work then I was willing to take the time to help them learn. Five minutes of one on one time each and learning their names before I headed to the lab to check on the 3D model I was going to use for the practice rounds and training. It was going to be hours before it was ready but it was coming along.
I stared into the printer for a while before my phone buzzed and Dad's face popped up on the screen.
"Uh not happening." I said sending it to voicemail.
"Why is it that when I suggest ignoring him it's mean but it's okay when you do it?" Aya said popping up.
"You're not ignoring me anymore?" I said surprised to see her. She had been way to quiet lately.
"You didn't need me." Aya said.
"And I'm guessing you didn't need me?" I retorted.
"I was with… her at Kamar Taj." Aya admitted.
"Ah." I said understanding what she was trying to say. The person Aya had known the longest was near her end and the ancient one was probably the closest thing Aya had to a friend or at least a confidant. "And she's…"
"Not the least bit bothered by the fact she's going to be dead soon. I guess 1000 years of time really does heal all." Aya said looking at the model of the heart. "Want to just… move that along?"
"No." I said. "This is medical science. If this surgery works it'll be a step towards growing organs and no longer needing organ donations. This needs to be done right which means no shortcuts."
"So much for retirement." Aya said.
"Is this you trying to tell me that I need to get back to work because if not I'll screw up time?" I said.
"No, there's literally nothing you can do that will mess with time as badly as I have." Aya said. "I just don't think you're one to sit still for very long."
"I don't think I've ever had a chance to sit still for too long." I said.
"True." Aya said. "I had coffee with your father."
"What?" I said surprised. "Is he in the hospital?"
"No Nora we just talked. Aiden was there too" She trying to reassure me. "He seems to be under the impression that you're spiraling."
"And let me guess he wants to fix me?" I asked.
"More or less." Aya said. "Don't worry. We covered for you or at least gave him a firm talking to."
"Now I'm worried." I said.
"He's fine. Ask Aiden if you don't believe me." Aya said. "You weren't wrong about what you said to him. It was a bit harsher than what he's used to but he needed to hear it. It was a long time coming."
"Yeah but doesn't mean I don't feel crappy about it." I said.
"It's hard to break old habits but easy to fall back into them and you've never been one to take the easy way out." Aya said. "The whole point of everything you're doing is to move forward not back. Remember that."
"Let me know if you need me." I told her before she disappeared.
"Same to you." Aya said teleporting back to whatever Sanctum she needed to be at.
Eventually I decided to call it a day and picked up Wren from daycare. It was still pretty early and a nice day out so I decided it was a good a time as any to visit an old friend.
I never thought I'd be one of those people who would have a picnic at a cemetery but I have more friends that are dead than alive.
So I pushed the stroller across the lawn until I got to my sister's grave.
"Hey sis." I said brushing off some of the dried leaves before putting the flowers I had picked up in the planted. "It's been a while since we've talked… well since we talked while I was still alive."
I carefully spread out the picnic blanket and took Wren out of his stroller.
"I know you've been watching over us but thought it was long overdue that you met your nephew." I said. "Wren this is your auntie Jess who loves you very very much and is always watching over you just like she watches over everyone else with your dad. Sorry I haven't stopped by more often but life got busy as you probably already know. I'm coming back this weekend with Sam but thought we could use some girl time so tell Wren to go to another room because its going to be really awkward if he hears this."
Wren chewed on his blocks as he picked them up and dropped them.
"So I went to the future and saw some things which you probably already know and I'm not going to repeat in front of this little guy but I'm okay. The kids are okay, and they stuck together through everything. They're amazing which we already knew but coming back knowing that I'm going to miss a lot I just want to be here while I can so I quit my job. I don't regret it, I'm happier than I've been in a while." I said popping open a bottle of wine. I poured myself a glass before pouring a pit onto the ground for Jess. "Now for the real reason I made you kick Wren out, I got back together with Steve and bucky…. Pause for your sarcastic shock and comment."
I stayed quiet for a minute.
"I was mad and they're idiots but they're my idiots and I love them. We started over, like getting to know the new us in this time and it works. For the first time in seventy years we're on the same page. Which is great because I really need to get laid Jess. Like you have no idea how hard it has been to not just climb those two and…" I started before Wren let out a cheer. "Fondue. So we were supposed to fondue last weekend but then some ex-hydra douche had to pop up and highjack a train. Worst cockblock ever. It should be a crime. A war crime. It's a true threat to world peace."
"But anyway I know I want to. And I mean I really want to but since we started over and are working on building on a foundation of trust I feel really bad that I'm carrying this huge secret and I'm not telling them. I can't tell them. I'm being selfish by pretending that it's all okay and that this is the beginning of the rest of our lives when I know that in less than five years I'll be dead. Add to that, that I somehow have to bring up to Sam that I'm updating my will and not naming him Wren's guardian in the event of my death." I said before taking a few gulps of wine.
"How much whiskey do you think Sam needs to be totally drunk but can still do the paperwork correctly and wake up the next morning and not remember a single thing?" I said before I paused realizing what I was suggesting. "I'm a horrible person. I'm actually considering slipping my brother a roofie. Though if I slip him an Asgardian roofie I'd have time to actually talk this all out with Sam while preventing a time paradox."
"Of course once they do the will reading and he doesn't remember filing it would it hold up in court if anyone contests the will? I mean not that anyone would… well maybe dad. According to future Aiden he was a train wreck for a while and if the past week is any indication… Yeah my options aren't great. And going to another lawyer would be like stabbing Sam in the back." I said. "Cheating on him with another lawyer, is definitely not an option. If you think of anything send me a signal of some sort. Either way I'll figure something out."
"And I guess since I told you this I should tell you I got in a fight with my dad. According to him he's going to fix me. I'm not perfect and I'm a mess but all things considered I'd say I'm doing pretty well with it all or as well as anyone can be knowing about they're going to get killed by a purple space dinosaur." I said. "I miss you guys. I keep wondering if things would be different if you two were still with us and obviously it would be and it would be impossible to pull one over on you two. It's starting to get late and someone needs a bath. I'll come back this weekend and Sam will fill you in on the kids. You're going to laugh when he tells you about the haunted Elmo incident. Love you sis."
I took Wren home and got settled for the night.
Early the next morning after dropping off Wren at daycare I headed up stairs to the pediatrics ward.
Zoe pointed me towards the right room down the hall where our patients was staying.
"Knock knock." I said.
"Doctor Nora!" Maisie cheered jumping out of bed interrupting the nurse who was taking her vitals.
"Hey kiddo. You got tall." I said picking her up and putting her back on the bed giving the nurse the okay to continue rounds while I took over here.
"John, Maggie." I said greeting them. "How are you guys?"
"Oh you know getting settled for another hospital stay." Maggie said obviously exhausted.
"You think we'd be used to it by now." John said.
"Some things you can't get used to." I said taking out my stethoscope. "Alright kiddo, mind if I take a listen?"
"Okay." Maisie said and I took a listen. The murmur and irregularity was more pronounced and it was obvious that her heart was working overtime to keep her going.
"Alright, how's school going? You're starting high school soon right?" I asked.
"At home. I'm homeschooled now." She grumbled.
"You want to know a secret?" I asked her and she nodded. "I was homeschooled too."
"Really?" Maisie said.
"Oh yeah, up until I was your age." I said.
"Then you started high school?" She said.
"No college." I said taking her pulse. "Let me tell you college is pretty much high school except with more people, you get to sleep in and the boys are cuter." I said whispering that last part making her giggle.
"Alright everything is looking good right now." I said. "You feeling okay? Anything bothering you?"
"I'm a bit cold." She admitted and I held her hand feeling her fingers and noticing they were cold not to mention her nail beds were pale.
"Do your toes feel cold?" I asked.
"A little bit." She admitted.
"Mind if I take a quick look?" I said standing up and she nodded as I checked her feet. It was the same. "Hey Maze can you feel this."
I took a needle and gave her a light poke which made her flinch.
"Ouch!" She said.
"Okay sorry about that. So with your heart not working as well as it should your circulation might not be what it should be normally which is why you feel cold. We're going to have to keep an eye on that but for right now I'm going to get you an extra blanket and some special socks which will help improve circulation and warm up your toes."
"But I can still walk around right?" Maisie asked.
"Are you kidding me, I'm encouraging you to get up and walk if you feel up to it." I said. "Just make sure there's someone with you and don't push yourself okay?"
"Okay." She said begrudgingly.
"And I got you a little something…" I said taking out a deck of uno cards. "If I remember correctly we were tied at 30 to 30?"
"Yeah before I won." Maisie said.
"I don't remember it that way. I got called into the ER half way through our game…" I said.
"That's a forfeit." She said.
"I didn't actually say I gave up so technically we're on a very long time out." I said. "How about I come back around lunch time and we can finish that game, give your mom and dad a break for lunch."
"You're not going to leave half way for another surgery again are you?" Maisie asked.
"No way. You're my only patient right now so there's no way I'll get called away." I said. "So I've got to go check on the 3D printer and your cells before I got teach some interns how to stitch a heart correctly but I will be back."
"I'll be here." Maisie said.
"Can the three of us talk for a sec?" I asked her parents.
"Sure." Maggie said.
"We'll be right outside." John told Maisie.
"Okay guys I know the past few years have been hard but I need to prepare you because the next three weeks are going to be even harder." I said.
"I thought you said you could fix this." John said.
"I said I would do everything I can to fix Maisie's heart but like I told you before a surgery like this has never been done before. There's are going to be blood draws and tests and scans that are going to be done over and over again for the next three weeks because Maisie's condition is changing every single day and we need to know exactly what is happening as it happens so there aren't any surprises once I get in there." I said.
"This is a marathon not a sprint and I know you want to focus on Maisie and only her but you can't do that. You have to remember to take care of yourselves too or you'll burn out. This surgery isn't a magical fix there's going to be weeks of recovery and PT after and she's going to need you for that too and your other kids need their parents too. Take breaks. Even if it's just five minutes to go outside for a walk or to find a closet to scream into a pillow because your sick teenager is lashing out because she's a teenager and it's what they do. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. You can ask any nurse to keep an eye on Maisie if you need to step out or you can call me." I said handing them a card with my phone number.
"Thank you Doctor Mar… Stark sorry I still get confused." She said.
"Don't worry. Sometimes I still do." I said patting her shoulder before heading down to the lab.
I looked in the lab to find a group of residents crowded around the 3D printer.
"Morning Doctors." I said.
"Doctor Stark!" they all said immediately stepping aside so I could take a look.
"I'm not an art fan but that is a masterpiece." I said opening it up to take a closer look. "An exact model of Maisie's heart. The before."
"It's so pretty." One of the interns said and everyone just gave him a look. "I mean it's…"
"No it really is pretty, but it'll be prettier once we fix it." I said. "Alright guys skills lab in ten minutes. We're going to take this thing apart and start working on initial cuts. Just a warning today's class won't be kosher sorry."
That got a chuckle from a few of the interns. I did a quick pop over at daycare to check on Wren before heading to class.
I decided to relax the lecture format of the class and made it a bit more casual opened it up to questions and bouncing ideas off of each other. It made the residents work together instead of against each other which was a rare thing. By the end of it we lost track of times until a very angry head of neuro stormed in asking where the resident that was supposed to be on her service was.
"Andrews!" She shouted. "Where the hell are my blood results?"
"Oh shit!" he said.
"You really think I'm going to let you scrub in if you keep slacking off?!" She shouted.
"Doctor Shepherd, It's not Doctor Andrew's fault. Class went on a bit longer than expected and I lost track of time. I apologize. He's a great student and as asset in the OR don't be too hard on him." I said.
"You can do whatever you want in your classroom but I decide what happens in my OR. Just because Matthews is kissing your ass doesn't mean the rest of us have to put up with you." With that she stormed off while Andrews gave me an apologizing look before running after her.
"Alright guys, Doctor Shepard does raise a good point and you all do have rounds and surgical hours to do." I said and they whined. "Same time tomorrow and we can pick up where we left off."
"The wicked bitch of Seattle strikes again…" One of the residents said as they all walked out.
"Good to know some things never change." I said before teleporting to the lab to get to work.
The weeks flew by and after postponing for a week due to a problem with the printer a month to the day after I started it was time for the operation.
I was in my favorite OR wearing my lucky scrub cap, Aiden was at the house with Wren. He had decided to come to Dallas about two weeks in claiming he missed Wren but by the looks of it he wasn't doing too well being alone.
Maisie's heart condition had gotten worse and she had been bedridden for the past week.
They had just brought her into the OR and the anesthesiologist was getting ready to put her under. She was nervous just looking back and forth as everyone focused on what they were doing.
"Hey kiddo." I said smiling and taking her hand. "You ready?"
"I'm scared." She admitted. The kid had been through hell and knew how much of a long shot this was.
"Don't be. You're just going to take a nice long nap and when you wake up you'll be back in your room with your mom and dad." I said. "And I'll be right here with you the whole time."
"What if I don't wake up?" She asked.
"I can't promise you that you will." I said honestly. "I also can't promise anyone that they'll wake up tomorrow morning or that a bolt of lightning won't hit the hospital and set the O2 containers on fire. There are no guarantees in life but what I can tell you is that everyone standing in the room is the best of the best at what they do and we are all going to do everything we can to make sure you get to see the sun tomorrow."
"I want to see the stars again." She said. "We were supposed to go camping."
"Well I can't take you camping but I can get you pretty close." I said taking out my phone and dimming the lights before letting the phone project a starry night sky over her as well as playing some sounds of nature to distract her while the put in her IV and started putting her under. Once her eyes were closed I let go of her hand and went to go scrub in.
The OR viewing area was packed. All the residents that weren't currently on rounds, as well as other doctors who just wanted to watch. I think someone even mentioned this surgery was being livestreamed in other hospitals in Dallas.
Elsewhere…
Tony after more than a month of not hearing a work from Nora finally manned up and went to go see her. Of course when he knocked on the door of the ranch he was greeted by Aiden who was holding his grandson.
"Oh look who finally showed up." Aiden said.
"You're here." Tony said.
"I'm babysitting." He said letting Tony in.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"The hospital, it's operating day." Aiden said.
"She's operating? You mean to tell me she actually took a job here?" Tony said.
"It's one surgery that's never been done before for a kid that's dying." Aiden said. "You're being overly dramatic."
"How am I the only one that sees the huge problem with her just dropping everything and running away?" Tony said.
"Did you really not hear a word Aya said to you?" Aiden said.
"No one is listening to me." Tony said.
"I'm done." Aiden said taking Wren.
"Where are you going?" he said.
"I'm taking my nephew to the park because I'm done listening to your ignorant shit." Aiden said.
"You can't just…" he said.
"Watch me." Aiden said slamming the door.
Tony heard the car drive off before he decided to go directly to the source. So he went to the hospital but no one would tell him where Nora was.
"Mister Stark." Doctor Matthews said.
"Doctor…" Tony started but completely forgetting the man's name.
"Matthews." He said. "Nora's in surgery."
"Okay fine I'll just talk to you. How much money do you want to fire my kid?" Tony said.
"Excuse me?" Chief Matthews said.
"She doesn't belong here. She has a life in New York, she's just here running away and hiding from her problems. So what's your number? A million? Two?" Tony said.
"What is wrong with you?" Chief Matthews said.
"What?" He said.
"You know in all the years I've known Nora I always wondered what that mysterious father of hers was like. I always thought that someone who had a daughter like Nora must be a great man because to raise someone who was as selfless and compassionate and noble as her had to have been an example to her but you are the complete opposite." He said. "Follow me."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Tony said.
"Shut up." Chief Matthews said leading him downstairs and then into the operating gallery where he kicked out almost everyone sending them to do rounds.
"Okay my offer might have come out wrong…" Tony started.
"Shut up and look." Chief Matthews said watching as Nora held the girl's hand as she was put under. "That young girl was one of Nora's first patients here. She found a congenital heart defect that in most cases is terminal because it's almost impossible to diagnose and is almost always missed by doctors. She was 11 when she came in and has been on the organ transplant list for 2 years with no luck and she is probably never going to get a heart because on top of a rare birth defect she also has a rare blood type."
"And you still think she should retire?" Tony said.
"I never said she wasn't a great surgeon. In fact she's probably the best surgeon I've ever seen in my entire career. She's also one of the ones that cares the most. See most surgeons are in it for the money, the glory, but not Nora she's does this because she genuinely cares. She came up with a new surgery that has never been done before, that's is history in the making and has worked nonstop to do this for that girl." He said. "She did it not for the money or the eventual Nobel prize in medicine she's going to win one day but so that that little girl will get to go camping again, so that her parents won't have to bury their daughter. There are more important things in life than money, fame and ego. You may not understand that but she does."
"And for the record I did offer Nora a job, I almost broke my hospital's budget getting a number high enough to make her the highest paid surgeon in the country and she still said no." Chief Matthews said. "Honestly if there's anyone that deserves an early retirement it's her. Now are you going to sit here quietly and watch or am I going to have to get security to escort you out?"
"Would a five million dollar no strings attached donation make this less awkward?" Tony said.
"Are you sure you two are related?" Chief Matthews deadpanned.
20 hours later…
After the longest surgery I ever performed in my entire career which set a hospital record I was done. Maisie was closed up and recovering in the ICU where she was going to be heavily monitored. As soon as the patient was wheeled out everyone started clapping.
"Okay guys this was a team effort." I said clapping for everyone else. "Now go home or find an on-call room and sleep if you're too tired. You've all earned it."
"I'm going to go tell the parents and fill out the surgical notes. Go home you're pretty close to going over your hours." I told Johnson.
"I can do the notes Doctor Stark." She said. "I'll start them you can finish them tomorrow. Go."
With that I headed to the waiting room. They were both practically asleep. I bent down and shook their shoulder.
"Doctor Stark!" They said jumping to their feet.
"The surgery's done and Maisie did well. We still need to run a few tests once she wakes up but the prognosis looks good." I said.
"She's okay?" Maggie said.
"You fixed it?" John asked.
"We did." I said and before I could say anything else they were hugging me tight and crying.
"Thank you. Thank you, thank you so much." They cried.
"Hey it was a team effort and we're still not done but for right now how about I take you to see your daughter?" I offered.
"Yes Yes." They said quickly grabbing their things before I took them to the ICU. I left orders for any medication and blood draws before after almost 21 hours I finally teleported home and sat down on the couch.
The exhaustion hit me like a bus and I knocked out hard. I woke up late in the afternoon the next day just in time to be there when Maisie woke up.
"Hey kiddo." I said.
"Did it work?" She said in a hoarse voice.
"Well the sun's up and so are you." I said. "But just to be sure how about we listen to your heart?"
I took out my stethoscope and carefully placed it around the incision. It wasn't a normal heart beat but it was a stronger and healthier sounding one.
"Here." I said putting it on her.
"It's louder." She said.
"Stronger." I said. "It's looking good. We're going to need to run a few more tests but the initial ones show that your blood O2 levels are within normal range and if that's not enough your hands are a lot warmer. We're going to give you an EKG in a bit just to get a closer look but it's looking really good."
"Thank you." Maggie said.
Two weeks later Maisie was out of the hospital and recovering at home. I was getting bombarded with calls to give lectures at hospitals and universities around the country which I had Friday politely decline on my behalf. The only reason I was going to even publish a report on the surgery was so that if someone wanted to try it they would have some proof it was even possible.
After two months it was time to go back to New York. On the plus side I didn't have to worry about packing everything and moving out. Perks of teleporting.
"It's good to be home." I said as we sat down in the living room.
"That it is. The ranch was nice but it was hell to get take out delivered." Aiden said.
"That's kind of the point." I said
"So are you really retired this time?" Aiden said.
"I always was but now I'm officially done." I said. "I'm all about the mom life well until the next crisis comes along."
"It always does. I-uh… I've been having a bit of a rough time the past couple of months." Aiden said.
"You don't say?" I said sarcastically but put a hand on his reassuring him that I was listening.
"I think I'm a bit lost." He admitted. "I spent my whole life following orders, living for the mission going after whatever target Abernathy put in front of me, then Wren and you and then deciding to go after Snow. Don't get me wrong I sleep a lot better at night knowing he is dead and buried but I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to go back to that but I need something because as much as I want it I don't think I'm ready for Argentina just yet. I have a lot of work to do on myself."
"Argentina isn't going anywhere and neither are we." I told him. "A while back Steve asked if you were interested in working with the team. I told him you weren't there yet mostly because I know how much you hate working in teams but I'm pretty sure if you asked there's an independent contractor position open for you."
"Independent contractor?" Aiden said.
"That's the official title but think of it more like intel gathering. There's no one better at it than you." I said.
"Sounds like a good place to start." He said. "I'll give him a call."
"Oh don't worry, he's bringing dinner." I said.
"Course he is." Aiden said as the front door opened and I heard footsteps. "Incoming."
"Auntie!" Connor said jumping on me while Ellie ran to Aiden.
"Oh look at you. I missed you." I said hugging him tight.
"Can I see it, can I see it?" Connor asked.
"He hasn't stopped asking for you since you mentioned it." Sam said.
"I still can't believe you kept it." Aiden said.
"Well I offered it to Maisie but she said already had a 3D printed heart in her and she didn't need another one. And if I left it in Dallas the residents would have torn each other apart fighting for it so I thought it was better just to bring it back. Not to mention it's a really good centerpiece." I said bringing it down from the shelf to show Connor. "Alright buddy hit me with hard question."
"What is…" Connor started. "And a printer made that?"
Sam just cleared his throat and shook his head signaling I should downplay how awesome a 3D printer was so Connor wouldn't ask for one for Christmas or his birthday.
"It's this cool printer that only doctors and engineers can get." I said.
"I'm going to be an engineer." Connor said.
"Just so that your Dad and aunt have to buy you a printer?" Aiden asked.
"No so I can build one." Connor said picking up the model.
"I bet you are kiddo." I said kissing the top of his head. "hey kiddo want to check if we have ice cream in the freezer for dessert if not I'll ask Uncle Steve and Bucky to pick some up on the way here."
"Can it be chocolate with brownies?" Connor said.
"Check if we have any in the freezer first." I said and Connor ran off. "Sammy before Connor gets back I was wondering if you were free Saturday for a brother sister day."
"Brother sister as in no me?" Aiden said. "That's harsh."
"I need to update my will." I said.
"I've been meaning to do the same. I have some new assets I need to put in there." Sam said.
"Seriously. You guys are blocking off an entire Saturday to talk about who gets your money when you die?" Aiden said.
"And our kids." Sam said.
"It's the responsible thing to do." I said.
"Guess I should probably have one down too." Aiden said.
"You don't have a will?" Sam and I said at the same time.
"I'm young and I didn't used to have anyone around to leave my assets to so I was planning on doing a lot of heavy spending before my last suicide mission." Aiden said.
"Dude." Sam said.
"That sounds like a horrible plan and also you were sent on a lot of suicide missions how would you know when to start splurging?" I asked.
"Really Nora?" Sam said.
"What it's a valid question." I said.
"If the suicide missions started getting closer and closer together that's spy code for they want you to go out the way old yeller did." Aiden said not the least bit bothered by the question.
"Okay not entirely sure what to say to that but as your brother and lawyer you really should have a will." Sam said.
"Or else the government gets it." I said.
"Oh fu…" He started.
"There's only the bottom part." Connor said coming in with a chocolate mustache.
"Fudge." Aiden corrected. "I could really go for fudge."
"Friday can you let them know please." I said.
"Already done boss." Friday answered as I wiped Connors mouth.
That Saturday after preparing the potion, prepping snacks, food and the hangover banana bags I picked up Sam and we headed to the beach house while Aiden took the kids for the day.
"Can't believe it's been a year already." Sam said.
"It's pretty much tradition at this point." I said sitting down. "So you want to start with whiskey or should we just go straight to taking shots."
"It's not even five yet. So whiskey just to rehash what exactly out assets are." Sam said.
"Alrighty." I said pouring us each a glass.
"Property in Texas." Sam said.
"I'm holding onto the ranch for now." I said.
"You sure? It's a pretty good market and you're spending a lot on upkeep for an empty house." Sam said.
"Yeah but it's the house I grew up in. There's a lot of good memories in that house and I'm not ready to let it go, don't think I ever will be and it's not like I can't afford it." I said.
"Our portfolios are looking great right now." Sam said.
"Aiden is a great investment manager." I said.
"Here here." Sam said. "He gave me some pointers and let's just say I don't have to worry about paying for the kids college anymore."
"You never had to. They all nice trust funds set up for them." I said.
"An extra cushion is not a bad thing to have." Sam said. "The condo in Dallas?"
"Listed it while I was there and I already have a few offers all above asking." I said.
"Condo in Boston?" He asked.
"I'm keeping it for now as a back up safe house. With Aiden going back to work you can never have too many of those." I said.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Sam said.
"Always the optimist Sam." I said.
"Funny I was thinking the same thing about you." Sam said. "We're keeping the same deal with our investments and stock portfolios?"
"Same equal division. The kids, you, and Aiden with you controlling it until they're 21." I said.
"Same for me and now there is one thing I need to talk to you about. And I don't want you to get upset." Sam said.
"Sam when have I ever gotten upset with you?" I said.
"Okay, uh so when you were trapped in the future I started thinking that it might be time to consider a back guardian to my current back up guardian." Sam said.
"That makes sense." I said. "I'm guessing your thinking… Aiden?"
"Yeah… I know he always says he's not good with kids but…" Sam started.
"He's amazing with the kids." I said. "And he loves them."
"They love him too. He's family and I know that if I were for whatever reason to not be around anymore that you and Aiden would fight for my kids just as hard as I would. So you'd be okay with it?" Sam said.
"Aiden's the right choice and you know that no matter what I'm always on your side." I said.
"Same." Sam said.
"That's good cause I also need to bring up guardianship of Wren." I said.
"Steve and Bucky?" Sam asked surprising me.
"Uh… before you say anything…" I started.
"Nora. It's okay. I saw this coming." Sam said.
"Can you at least hear me out first? I kind of need to get this out since I've been rehearsing this in the mirror all week." I said.
"Okay." He said. "But it's not going to change anything."
"You were right when you said that me going to the future changed things. I saw our kids and the amazing people they grew up to be but I saw how me being in their lives affected them. Wren used to say that his family name came with money and privilege but it also came with a lot of baggage and the same can be said of the Stark name." I said. "Dad has a lot of enemies just like Wren did and I do too. Add to that the fact that Wren is still in diapers and he can already teleport, there are a lot of people who will want to hurt him because of who his parents are."
"You know we would never let anything happen to him." Sam said.
"I know but I also made a promise to Jess to look out for you and the kids." I said. "The world is a crazy place to be in right now and the threats keep getting bigger and bigger and that is a world the kids are going to have to grow up in. If I'm not around he's going to need them to teach him how to protect himself but also how to be a good man in world where having powers makes that line between good and bad very unclear."
"They're not perfect but they are good that's never been up for debate." Sam said.
"That doesn't mean he's not going to need you too Sammy." I said. "I know for a fact that even if you're not his guardian that would never stop you from being in his life. No matter how crazy my life gets I can always count on you to be a shoulder to cry on, to set me straight when I need it or to just be there when I need you most. You're my rock buddy and You have no idea how glad I am to know Wren will have you in his life no matter what."
"You do the same thing for me too you know. You stepped up and took care of my kids when I couldn't be there for them. I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for you always pushing me to be what you always thought I could be." Sam said.
"I didn't think, I've always known who you are Sam. You're the guy that adopts a 16 year old kid as his sister because he knows what it's like to be alone in the world." I said. "You're a hard worker and you know what you want but you've never let that make you lose sight of the things that really matter."
"I learned that from the best person I know." Sam said. "Fuck we're not even done with our first drink and we're already crying."
"This happens every fucking year." I said.
"We're a bunch of saps." Sam said.
"No shame in it. But maybe don't do this with Aiden. He doesn't do touchy feely stuff." I said.
"We'll get him to crack at some point." Sam said. "Though if we do put in the changes into this will there is one person who will doubt try to stop it."
"Tony. I know but let me worry about it." I said. "Just make sure it's iron clad and I'll put in a little 'open just in case' letter."
"Or you could just talk to him." Sam said.
"I can talk but will he ever listen?" I asked.
"Never mind." He said. "Though if Steve and Bucky are going to be Wren's guardian we are going to have to rethink how you're going to split up your financial assets."
"And right back to lawyer mode. There's plenty to go around." I said.
The next few months sort of flew by. Aiden was gone more often than no chasing leads or gathering intel for the team though he did try to make it back for at least one week out of the month to make sure he spent some quality time with his niece and nephews.
In the meantime, Steve and Bucky were around a lot more. We had even had our first sleep over and from then on one or both of them were at the house. It was pretty domestic. It reminded me of back in the 40's when we were in London in between missions but somehow this was better.
It was early one morning when I felt something. Like something in the air, it was the same feeling I got when Aya used her powers but somehow this was different. Almost like a ripple of a shift in time. Steve and Bucky were asleep but they were too still and their breathing was too slow.
I slipped out of bed and looked out the window to notice the birds and leaves falling from the tree frozen in mid air.
"Aya?" I called out.
"It's not me." She said looking almost sad. "She's almost gone."
"Astral projection?" I asked.
"And then some." Aya said shifting uncomfortably.
"Should we…" I asked.
"No. We're not the ones she needs to talk to right now." Aya said. "It's alright Nora. Go back to sleep."
I looked at her as she looked out the window waiting for time to start again. I put an arm around her and leaned my head on her shoulder.
Aya didn't say anything, just kept looking straight ahead. I wasn't sure how long we were there. It could have been seconds or hours but when time started again Aya just pat my hand silently asking for me to let go.
I stepped away giving her some space.
"There's going to be a funeral tomorrow in Kamar Taj." Aya said.
"We'll be there." I said knowing what she was asking. "Steve and Bucky can watch Wren while we go."
She nodded before teleporting off.
"Nora?" Steve mumbled sleepily as he lifted his head noticing I was in bed. I smiled slipping back in between the two of them.
"Just checking on Wren." I said giving him a quick kiss. Steve sighed before wrapping an arm around me holding me close before drifting back to sleep.