"That crowd is looking really big out there," Clint said, glancing out between the cracks of the hanger door. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I shrugged feeling completely nonchalant about everything going on around me. There was no nerves, only excitement. It was finally happening. I was about to be the first person to demonstrate a working F-35. So many pilots would happily kill me for this opportunity. I was going to go down in the history books. Well, kind of. SHIELD wouldn't release my full name in the public for security reasons. But I'd never forget this day. I sat in the cockpit, enjoying the quiet before the storm. It wasn't long before I'd be ready to go out.

The last few days of practice had flown by. I'd been so busy I barely had time to eat and at night I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. As exhausted as I was, I hadn't felt this alive since before Riley died. It was a nice feeling. I'd done a few more dog fights, all with the same result as the first. It felt so good to hone these skills I'd worked so hard to get. It was nice to see I still had the edge. If anything my new found confidence after joining SHIELD had given me a sharper edge. I wasn't afraid of anything in the air and it showed in my aggressive flying.

"Do you need anything before you go up?" Clint asked. He was being so helpful this morning. He'd been my shadow the second I stepped out of my room. He looked as excited as I felt about today. He'd been allowed to go up in a T-38 yesterday and loved every second of it. The feeling that came with being in a fighter jet could get very addictive. I wouldn't be surprised if Clint didn't start bugging me on how to pull off some fighter manoeuvres in the Quinjet when we got back.

"No, I'm good," I smiled over at him. He'd perked up considerably after his flight yesterday. I just hoped whatever was going on between him and Laura was going to sort itself out soon. I hated seeing Clint moping around with a kicked puppy look. It was worse than a sulking Jared.

"I really, really wish this thing came in a double seater," Clint grinned while looking over the cockpit. "Or that I was allowed to take it for a spin."

"That would be like trusting a teenager with a Lamborghini," I laughed. "Maybe when SHIELD has them in production you can have one then. Until then, you'll just have to go green with jealousy while I get to fly it."

"She's such a beauty," Clint sighed in appreciation, running his hands over the metal. "I can't wait to see you pull some crazy pilot shit in the demo."

"I can't wait to do it," I couldn't help but grin. I had some intense things to show off for this demonstration. All of it was pushing the edge of my skill and the capabilities of the jet. So it'd be a good show for those on the ground. I had even more cameras set up than before all going back to screens on the ground. Thankfully there was no audio being played back so I didn't have to watch my language.

"Do you trust Jared to pick you out something suitable for tonight?" Clint's face turned serious. "I can go back with him to make sure you look gorgeous but appropriate."

There would be a formal dinner tonight for the VIP guests. There was no getting out of it for me. At least I could start drinking once I was finished this afternoon. Gareth still owed me drinks for kicking his ass. It'd actually been several times now. He was a sucker for punishment that one. I planned on making him feel very broke before the weekend was finished.

"I trust him," I chuckled again. "He does have rather impeccable taste in clothing. Will you do my make up though?"

"Of course," Clint looked mildly offended that I even asked. "Gotta have you looking hot for Gareth."

I rolled my eyes at Clint's teasing. Gareth was being a big flirt when I wasn't kicking his ass in training. In return I teased him mercilessly, swinging being flirting back and being a smartass. He never knew what he was going to get when I opened my mouth. It was a little bit flattering though. I hadn't had anyone openly flirt with me like he was in a very long time. Whats more, I was actually enjoying flirting back. These last few days had given me a much needed boost in my ego.

"Kari?" Coulson's voice crackled to life in my ear. "The doors will open in 5 minutes."

"Copy that," I nodded in the direction of the GoPro mounted in the cockpit.

"See you after," Clint grinned, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "Knock em dead Knuckles."

I waited for Clint to climb down before starting up the jet. I still got the same thrill as the first time I did it. This time there was no extensive pre-flight. The F-35 had already been started and checked about 5 times this morning. Now it was show time.

Everything was being done on ground signals for me until I was in the air. I'd have complete radio silence, so I'd brought along my iPod so I could listen to music while I did the routine. I would have never been allowed to do that while in the Air Force, but Coulson told me I could do whatever made my happy. So it was my strange mix of music from Limp Bizkit to Pink. Just as Rollin' by Limp Bizkit started to blast into my ears, the hanger doors opened.

There was a huge crowd. Much bigger than I'd ever expected. It startled me for a moment before my brain kicked into gear. I was on a tight schedule. I eased the jet out into the morning light, doing a slow circle around the tarmac. It was nothing more than to show off the jet and give everyone on the ground a good look up close. As close as most of the people were ever going to get to it. The announcer would be talking about all the non classified features of the jet, but all I had was Limp Bizkit blasting in my ears. I made sure I wasn't bopping along to the music as I went. There was a camera in the cockpit, even if there wasn't audio. No one needed to see my dance moves.

As soon as I got back to the centre of the tarmac, facing the crowd, the ground crewman discreetly twirled a finger around. It was my signal to kick off the vertical takeoff. It was just like the Quinjet, except this was a touch of the screen instead of flicking a switch. The jet steadily climbed into the air a few seconds later with a little bit of input from me. I hovered to 50 foot off the ground, making a show of doing a full 360 degree turn at slow speed to get an impressive view of the jet in the air.

Crawling by Linkin Park came on as I increased the throttle. I grinned to myself, flipping down my visor. The song had near perfect timing. As the loud music blared, I tipped the nose up and went up vertical at full speed. My body forced back in the seat as I shot off, easily climbing to 500MPH and shooting in the morning air. As I hit 600 feet, I looped back over into level flight.

I wheeled back around so I was nearly over the top of the crowd. If everything was going to plan, everyone would be squinting up in the morning sun to see me. SHIELD had me doing a complicated move called Falling Leaf. It basically made the jet look like it was falling to the ground, like a leaf coming off a tree. I pulled my power back to the bare minimum I needed to keep the jet from stalling and rolled over. As soon as I was inverted, I gave the control for the tailerons a hard yank. The jet pitched sideways, almost spinning in the air. I let go just as quickly, making it look like the jet was really unstable and pitching sideways to the ground. I watched the altitude carefully and at 100ft, I levelled out. My heart was pounding from the excitement of teetering on the edge of no control.

I didn't have time to enjoy the feeling. I pulled back up into the air, climbing into a high speed J turn. My head felt like it was going to fall off as I climbed into the tight turn at Mach 0.9. I was going faster than I was meant to. Story of my life really. But compared to the falling leaf, it wasn't a hard manoeuvre to pull off. As I levelled out again, I went back closer to the ground, twisting and turning to show off the agility of the jet. I did a few backflips just to show off. It wasn't a hard move to do in a Raptor. In the F-35, it was like doing a simple turn. I came back in front of the crowd, about 100 feet off the ground. I kept my eye on where I was in relation to everyone. Just as hit the sweet spot, about in the middle of everyone, I pulled the nose up hard, making the jet stand up vertically, looking like it was almost skidding across the air. I glanced down to the crowd and even from my height I could see them clapping. The Cobra manoeuvre was always a popular one.

Trouble by Pink started playing as I made a tight turn and headed away from the base. I needed the run up to do my last pass. I was a little disappointed it was over already. Even though I'd been flying for a good half an hour, it felt like seconds had passed. I'd barely heard my music playing because I was concentrating so hard. As soon as I hit Chesapeake Bay, I was turning again. I climbed back up to 400 feet and gave myself a few seconds to appreciate the opportunity I'd just been given. I don't think I'd ever be back in the F-35. Even if SHIELD gave me the chance to fly one full-time, I wouldn't give up Clint and Natasha. But it was still one of the biggest thrills I was ever going to have in my life. It was going to take something pretty big to top this feeling.

I pulled back on the throttle, watching my airspeed carefully. It climbed easily and I kept it just below the speed of sound as I came back over the base. As soon as I had the crowd in sight, I pulled back the throttle some more. As I came over the crowd, I broke the sound barrier. I could feel the sonic boom for it right down in my bones. It should have been a spectacular sight from the outside. The high humidity of today should have made an impressive cone around me as I smashed through the sound barrier.

I climbed back to a higher altitude so I could come back and land. As soon as I was in position, I engaged the hover. The jet steadily descended back down into the same spot where I'd taken off. With a gentle thump, I touched down.

It took all of my self control not to do a victory dance. I was so pumped. I'd nailed the routine perfectly. I could hear the applause over my music and through the canopy. This was the boring part. I was still shaking from excitement and adrenaline and sitting here while the announcer went through the last of the speech wasn't fun. It was hot out here on the tarmac. Even with the protection of the canopy I could feel it blazing down. While the announcer droned on, I cranked the music and the climate control up so I didn't bake or get bored to death. It took all of my self control not to fidget or start bopping along to Run DMC and Eminem.

It took another 15 minutes before I finally got the signal I could head back to the hanger. By the time I'd parked and shut down, there was a small group hanging around at the entrance. Whoever it was must have been important. Not even the MP's were allowed in the hanger without express permission from SHIELD. I'd forgotten my badge and ID yesterday and had to run back to my room to get it before the SHIELD guards would let me in. The group were keeping everyone busy. So busy that I didn't actually have a ladder to get down anywhere in sight. The 6 cups of coffee I'd slammed down this morning were starting to make me feel very uncomfortable now the adrenaline had worn off.

I sat in the cockpit, impatiently drumming my fingers against the sides waiting for someone to appear. But no one did. Whoever the group was in the hanger was keeping everyone occupied. After a few minutes I yanked one of my gloves off, putting my fingers to my mouth. If there's one thing I could do well, it was whistle. Really, really loudly. The shrill sound echoed around the large hanger. It was loud enough to some people cover their ears.

"I need a fucking ladder," I called out, not caring if I offended anyone. I nearly added that I was sure no one wanted me to piss in the 1.2 billion dollar jet either, but I managed to keep some kind of manners.

My words had an instant effect on people. It didn't take long for one of the ground crew to bring the ladder over to me, mumbling apologies. I gave the young agent a glare that would have made Natasha proud. I was on a tight schedule today and having to basically get undressed to go to the toilet was going to chew into my little bit of free time considerably. Now I'd stopped I was ravenously hungry as well as desperate for the bathroom. My legs ached from the flying and sitting in the one cramped position for over an hour. My toes had gone numb and my feet weren't far off being numb either. It was always awkward to climb out of the cockpit, there was never anything graceful about it.

As I clambered out of the jet, Clint and Coulson both discreetly moved to me and managed to shuffle me out of the hanger with minimal fuss. The crowd hadn't quite reached me, but I swore I caught a glance of Colonel Rhodes amongst them. It'd make sense he'd be here. I had no doubts he'd be at the VIP party tonight and I'm sure he'd corner me. I didn't dwell on it for too long. Coulson had a car waiting for me, along with a still warm toasted sandwich and chicken salad.

"Where's Jared?" I asked, shoving an overly large forkful of salad into my mouth as I settled into the backseat. "I need a bathroom, like 20 minutes ago as well."

"He went back to get you clothes for tonight after you finished," Coulson explained. He took off a little faster than normal in the car. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror with a genuine smile. "You did good today kid. There was lots of praise being thrown at you for it."

I could only grin in response, my mouth was too full of food to respond. Thanks to Coulson's defensive driving skills, I was back at the Squadron compound in minutes. I abandoned my food in favour for sprinting for the toilet. It was an awkward sprint with my aching legs and extra flight gear. Anti g suits were not made to run in. In fact it tightened around my legs, making it an awkward stumble into the building. I had to get nearly completely undressed to use the toilet and it took an agonising amount of time to get all the gear back on again.

By the time I was finished in the bathroom and dressed again, I only had enough time to finish eating and get back to the hanger. No doubt Coulson was still waiting outside for me. Or he'd gone to get me more coffee. More coffee would be really good. I was still pondering over coffee when I walked out of the bathroom and straight into a hard body.

"Fuck." It was Gareth. His face was drawn in an angry scowl, which immediately softened when he looked at me. "Sorry Kari."

"Its fine," I said quickly. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Gareth trailed off with a frustrated sigh. "No, I'm angry actually. My ex is being a bitch. I don't even know why I bother to try and be polite anymore."

"Ouch," I winced in sympathy.

"Yeah, the guy who replaced you is fucking her now," Gareth raged on, looking more and more pissed off with every passing second. "She told me not to bring anyone tonight because it'd be embarrassing and awkward for her."

Double ouch. What a fucking bitch. Those exact words nearly fell out of my mouth but I managed to keep them from tumbling out. I hadn't asked Gareth about his divorce and I didn't really want to know the details either. But it sounded messy.

"You know this just means you're going to have to find someone to hook up with tonight, don't you?" I was so bad at relationship advice. But I knew how to get under people's skin, mostly thanks to Natasha. The talking my way around things was definitely thanks to Clint. "Make a big deal of flirting and being all over her. Then your ex can't accuse you of bringing anyone."

Gareth's face turned from stormy looking to thoughtful and relaxed into a smile all within the space of about 2 seconds.

"Clever," Gareth said with a nod. An almost shy smile crept onto his face. "Wanna make it even easier and you be the one I flirt with?"

"I will make sure I look smoking hot," I grinned at him. That certainly would make life easier. Besides, it's not like we hadn't been flirting constantly over the last few days. "Not that I need much help in that."

"Oh god, here we go with you running off your big mouth and ego," Gareth rolled his eyes playfully. The shy smile was gone and was replaced by the exasperated look on his face. It seemed to be permanently stuck there when he was talking to me. He glanced down at his watch and winced a little. "I have to get dressed, I'll see you up there."

"I look forward to kicking your ass again," I said smartly before turning away. Before I could get more than a step away, Gareth grabbed my hand.

"Thanks," Gareth smiled at me. "I really appreciate it."

Gareth's thumb casually ran over my knuckles, sending a small shiver through my body. It was the first human contact I'd had since Riley, besides my family or close friends. It was odd, but thrilling at the same time. I wasn't sure if I wanted to break his fingers or have him touch me more. Touching me more was starting to win the longer he held onto my hand.

"You're welcome," I smiled back. There was an awkward pause where we both stared at each other, not sure what to do. I cleared my throat and inclined my head towards the door. "I have to go."

"Sorry," Gareth looked embarrassed as he quickly dropped my hand. "See you soon."

I didn't have time to ponder over what just happened. I was about to be late if I didn't get myself moving. As I headed out of the building, Clint was climbing out of the car. No doubt being sent in to check on where I was. I got back into the car and shoved the rest of food in my mouth, ignoring the curious glances I was getting.

The rest of the day went by quickly. The dog fight portion of the exhibition was over quicker than it should have been. Gareth's head was not in the game today. I had him in 30 seconds flat. Stingray and Helix weren't too long after him. We were meant to have an hour in the air, but it was all done within 25 minutes. It gave me an entire hour and a half spare extra to get ready after I'd gone through debrief. I made good use of it by spending an extra long time in the shower. The room we'd been provided were the newer ones with a small ensuite attached. It'd been a blessing to have some privacy. The hot water felt like heaven on my sore muscles. Now all the excitement was over, I could have easily fallen asleep in the shower. I may have been dozing when a knock on the bathroom startled me.

"It's only me," Jared's voice carried through the door. "Did you see what I got you to wear tonight?"

I smiled at the excitement in Jared's voice. I hadn't peeked in the garment bag yet. But he had brought me the glitter Jimmy Choo pumps I'd brought Natasha for Christmas last year. The dress choice should be very interesting.

"I'm still working on the whole not smelling like aviation gas and sweaty nylon," I called back. The water was starting to become luke warm instead of hot. "Thanks for getting it."

Jared had been in a surprisingly good mood the entire time we'd been here. He helped when he could and stayed out of the way where he couldn't. I also had a feeling he'd found someone to hook up with. His room was right next to mine and I heard some very distinctly female giggles coming from there early this morning. Clint was on the other side of me, so it wasn't him. No doubt that had helped his continuing good mood.

"Hurry up, I want to see what you think," Jared's excitement became contagious. I turned the shower off and pulled my robe on, limping a little as I walked back into the bedroom. My injured leg really wasn't feeling the best after some seriously long flights over the last few days.

Jared was sitting on my bed with his busted ankle resting on a pillow. He was practically vibrating as I walked over to the garment bag, slowly unzipping it. I blinked at the very bright red dress staring back at me. I certainly didn't own anything like that. It was more of a Natasha type dress than me. I definitely didn't own a Prada cocktail dress either. My expensive taste usually stayed limited to my shoes. But it was gorgeous. Simple halter neck, mid thigh length but it looked like it would hug me in all the right places. Jared had done very, very well.

"It's stunning," I felt a little breathless as I reached out to touch the potentially very expensive dress. I thought better of it and turned to face Jared instead. "Is it Tasha's?"

"No, I went to the SHIELD clothing department and borrowed it for the night," Jared's grin lit up his entire face. He looked very pleased with himself. "So make sure Gareth doesn't tear it off you, otherwise I'll be paying for it for the next year."

"I don't think Gareth would have Riley's strength to actually rip clothes off," the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. The disgusted look on Jared's face was well worth the slip of the tongue. I bit my lip to hide my triumphant grin. Apparently I could still disgust my brother. I'd also said Riley's name without tearing up or getting a lump in my throat. Before I could dwell on that last thought much further, Jared started speaking.

"I really didn't need to know that. I'm going to have a shower and get dressed, possibly bleach my brain while I'm at it." Jared carefully got to his feet. He must have overdone it today, as he was keeping his injured ankle in the air. "I'll come harass you when its time to go."

"See you soon." I needed to dry my hair and wrangle it into something reasonable for tonight. It'd been in a tight braid, mostly thanks to Clint's superior braiding skills, the last few days. Right now it was a very messy pile of frizz. I sighed at my reflection in the mirror and got to work. This was going to take a while. I scrunched up my nose at my reflection before turning around and digging out my iPod. This hair taming session needed some girl power music. I put on the girl power playlist that had appeared on my iPod one day, and got to work. Once Pink was blasting as loudly as it could, I got to work.

I nearly had my hair back to some semblance of normalcy when my phone interrupted me. The message was from Greg.

How did today go?

I smiled at the phone screen. He'd been so talkative over the last few days. I felt a little bad that I didn't have the time or energy to have a proper conversation with him. At least we could have a proper catch on Tuesday.

I was so awesome. I'm just getting ready for the VIP dinner tonight.

Greg's reply came back within seconds. He must have been bored at work, or not at work.

That sounds like it could be fun with free booze? I'm getting ready for a bucks party. Guess where we're going?

The end of the text had the eye roll emoticon with it. I grinned, tapping out my reply quickly.

Not a fan of strip clubs? But I do get free booze. I plan on deeply regretting that in the morning.

I never got the appeal of going to a strip club. It seemed like you just went there to get turned on and frustrated. If you were that desperate for a pretty woman to pay you attention, it'd almost be cheaper to get a high end escort. I'd heard plenty of locker room stories about guys blowing nearly their entire pay on strippers. Greg really didn't come across as a party animal either.

A knock on the door made me drag my eyes away from the phone while I was waiting for a reply. Clint poked his head in the door without waiting for me to answer.

"Ready to look amazing for tonight?"

"I already look amazing," I said smugly. "You just make me look even more amazing."

"Is there room in here for me and your ego?" Clint laughed at my reply. "Get your skinny ass into the bathroom and lets get started. This will take me a while."

The hour it took was well worth the effort. Clint gave me a very vintage 40's make up look that just fitted the dress so well. I could barely believed the reflection staring back at me. I even felt confident enough to snap a picture and send it through to Greg. I wouldn't know his reply until much later though. There was no room in the purse for my phone, only my lipstick. I'd have to wait until I got back to see Greg's opinion of how I looked.

The VIP function was being held at the Officers Mess. It was within walking distance, but we took a car. As comfortable as my shoes were, walking any great distance in 4 inch heels could get painful. Thanks to Jared being crippled still, we got a park right by the door. I smoothed the dress over, pulling down the hem as we walked to the door. I felt a little weird walking into the mess in a dress like this. Every time we had a dining in night or formal function in the Air Force, I was in uniform. It was quickly stopped by Clint smacking my hands away. He didn't even have to say it, I could tell by the glare levelled at me I needed to stop playing with it.

As soon as I walked in the door, I was taken back by how many people were actually at the function. The front room was fairly packed with people milling around, both in uniform and civilian clothing. I made a beeline for the bar. I needed a scotch so badly after such a big couple of days. I only made it 7 steps before I was stopped by a Navy Captain wanting to congratulate me. The congratulations quickly turned into a mostly one sided conversation with me smiling and nodding in the appropriate places. Once he was finished I turned, only to be accosted by some big wig from Lockheed Martin gushing over my flying.

This went on for what felt like forever. Every time I thought I was finished with someone, there was always a new person to take their place. No one even had the common decency to buy me a drink before talking my ear off. If it was young, attractive men I don't think I would have minded as much. But the middle aged CEO or Officer who hadn't seen the inside of a gym for a decade really didn't appeal to me. Their ogling was starting to get old very quickly as well. As gorgeous as the dress was, I think I needed a longer hemline than mid thigh. I was in the middle of a very boring conversation with a Marine and 2 other people who I'd forgotten as soon as they introduced themselves. A throat being cleared behind me got my attention quickly though.

"Excuse me, may I steal Agent Lyngley away for a second?"

I turned to come face to face with James Rhodes.. I had never been so glad for the interruption. I'd zoned out so much from the current conversation, I really had no idea what we were talking about. Rhodey was even holding a bottle of beer out to me.

"Thanks," I said gratefully, taking the offered bottle. The men who I'd been talking to politely excused themselves.

"So this is why I never got your call?" Rhodey asked with a small smile. "SHIELD had you pegged for their own F-35 program all along?"

"Not even close," I chuckled briefly. "I was their last option. I only found out on the flight here a few days ago that I got to do this."

"Really?" Rhodey looked surprised. He recovered quickly, his face smoothing back into one of polite reserve. "If you were their last choice, I'd hate to see how good the first choice was."

"I'll be sure to let Agent Browning know you said that," I smiled at the slightly backhanded compliment. Browning had flown just about every modern fighter jet out there. I don't think I'd stand a chance against his skills as a pilot.

"Then again, I did hear through the grapevine you spent some time in hospital lately," Rhodey said smoothly. I forced back an irritable sigh. Of course he did. Pepper and I kept in touch on a very regular basis, either via text or email. The gift basket she sent me while I was still in hospital had been a god send. From the chocolates to the luxury hand cream, I'd used all of it. I don't know where she'd gotten the bathrobe from, but I'd never had anything so soft and fluffy.

"And what did you hear?" I smiled innocently while taking another sip of beer. I could play the dumb blonde card very well when I wanted to.

"That there was a little mishap in Pripyat which got the school blown up," Rhodey looked rather amused. "Word was, SHIELD was involved with it and something to do an ex KGB assassin."

"I'm just a lowly STRIKE operator," I shrugged. "I wouldn't know these things. That's above my pay grade."

"And this is where I call bullshit," Rhodey laughed, his face breaking into an easy smile. "I know your STRIKE Team Delta. There's nothing lowly about that unit. Did I happen to catch sight of the legendary Hawkeye mingle around before?"

Nice change of topic there Rhodes. It hadn't taken him long at all to figure out he wouldn't get any information out of me.

"That's him. No doubt he's at the bar knocking back the most expensive scotch he can find." I found myself smiling back, just as easy. "He's just being a bad wingman and not getting me one."

"And leaving you with the boring old CEO's and brass," Rhodey laughed again. "I never would have guessed scotch. I figured beer was the safest choice."

"I appreciate anything alcoholic tonight to be honest," I laughed with him. "Its been a long couple of days."

"Well, if its any consolation, you pulled it off very well," Rhodey raised his beer to mine. "Very nice demonstration. You made it look like you've been practicing for months. You sure I can't persuade you to come back to the Air Force?"

The smile on my face faded at the question. It was something I'd be wrestling with myself over the last few days. This had been incredible. I'd chew my own arm off to have an opportunity like this again. But I also knew the reality of being a fighter pilot. I could easily remember weeks where I'd be sitting around doing absolutely nothing because there wasn't spare flying hours for me. For a 5 minute thrill, there was also a lot of waiting around. I'd made my decision the week after Riley's funeral. The only way I'd be leaving SHIELD now is probably the same way as him.

"I can see the answer already, I guess there's no substitute for being STRIKE Team Delta," Rhodey smiled at me looking very understanding. "Come on, lets get you that scotch. You look very nice by the way."

"Thank you." There wasn't anything else much to say. With Rhodey by my side no one else disturbed me on the way to the bar. I was even able to snag a handful of canapé's that were starting to make their way around. The scotch Rhodey ordered for me was gone in one long swallow, much to the amusement of the Colonel. The second one I nursed a little longer. These heels were way too tall to be getting messy drunk in. After a few more minutes with Rhodey, I was caught sight of Gareth sitting on the opposite side of the bar. He was knocking back a drink, scowling heavily. I guess it was time to intervene.

"Now its time for me to go and be a good wingman," I smiled apologetically, motioning my head towards Gareth. "I promised Captain Hughes something earlier. It was good to see you again."

"Likewise," Rhodey said, holding his hand out so we could shake. "Are you heading up for the opening of the Stark Expo next weekend?"

"Not that I know of." I took Rhodey's hand and shook it. I couldn't think of anything more boring than going and seeing Tony Stark's overblown ego on display for the world.

"Then I'll see you next time we run into each other," Rhodey's handshake was a firm grip. There was none of the limp wrist bullshit that men often did when they chose to shake my hand. I smiled once more and then left to go and save Gareth from his foul mood. Gareth was still moodily staring across the room when I sidled up to him.

"Hey there pilot," I said with what I hoped to be a seductive purr. I slipped my arm around his waist and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I thought I'd come over here and cheer you up."

Gareth looked at me like he didn't recognise me. I thought he was going to push me away, but he did a double take. His mouth fell open as a look of shock plastered over his face.

"Kari?"

"No, the other hot blonde you know and offered to be your pretend girlfriend tonight," I snickered. His surprise was a big ego boost. The way he was currently looking me up and down made me feel very attractive. The effort Clint put into my make up was well worth the sitting still for an hour.

"You look fucking amazing," Gareth's chuckle was breathless as his eyes finally came back up to my face. "Wow, a dress and everything."

"It may come as a surprise to you, but I am a girl," I said dryly, taking a sip of scotch. I was still smiling though. "And I do know how to dress like one."

"Yeah but I've never seen you look like a girl," Gareth chuckled again. "God, I'm speechless at how good you look."

"That was the idea," I grinned at him. "Come on, I'm starving. Lets chase the canapés around."

We didn't get far, without Rhodey protecting me, we were both accosted by more people wanting to talk to both of me. Gareth managed to stave of some of the insanity and he was much better at excusing us before the conversations got too boring. Clint and Coulson both came over at random intervals, but as the night wore on Clint's visits became scarcer. Jared had found himself a table and had a gaggle of women surrounding him for most of the night. He definitely didn't need me cramping his style, so I kept my distance. Coulson introduced me to the Air Force liaison he'd been dealing with over the last few days. She was an attractive brunette around Coulson's age. Gareth knew her quite well, so there was a good period of fun banter between our little group before we separated. As the night wore on, us pilots congregated together and the usual stories started to come out. I even had plenty to add to the mix. The boring part of the evening was soon forgotten as we drank and laughed our way through the hours.

It was nearly 1am by the time I was done. My feet were killing me. I was very tipsy from all the scotch Gareth kept handing me. He'd stuck by my side the entire night. Any time his ex wife was in sight, he slip his arm around my waist and pull me in close. The more drinks we had, the more handsy he'd been getting. I wasn't being entirely innocent either. I wasn't shy about slipping my pant in the pocket of his pants and grabbing his ass. I'd made a good show of brushing up against him in a very obvious way. It'd worked very well. She'd kept her distance and besides the dirty looks she kept shooting at me, nothing else was said.

"I'm done," I announced after I finished my glass of scotch. I don't know what brand it was, but it had been a very nice drop. "And I think my ride is gone."

I hadn't seen Coulson, Clint or Jared for a few hours now. I was drunk enough not to care about the half a mile walk back to the accomodation block.

"Yeah I'm done too," Gareth smiled as he put his empty glass down. "Since I live one floor above where you're staying, I'll walk you back."

That was a surprise. But typical of me not to realise something like that. It'd make sense he was living on base. It wasn't a cheap area to live in and single apartments could be really hard to find. I'd been lucky to have my crappy little one bedroom apartment when I lived here.

"Lead the way Captain," I gave a flirty smile.

It took another 20 minutes to say goodbye to everyone. It'd been a very fun night, a lot better than I anticipated. Gareth and I stopped outside so I could take Natasha's shoes off. It'd rained sometime during the evening and there was no way I was getting them dirty. To his credit, Gareth didn't laugh or mock me. He held his hand out to take the shoes off me. As we walked along, his free hand slipped into mine. The conversation was casual, mostly Gareth asking about everything I'd been doing at SHIELD. By the time we got to the accomodation block, I felt a little flutter of nerves kicking in.

Gareth hadn't been shy about flirting over the last few days. Tonight, though mostly staged, he'd barely taken his hands off me The times I purposely brushed up against him, I could feel a definite reaction in his pants. There'd been more than a handful of times where he'd let me go and walked around with his hands in his pockets. I'd worked with guys long enough to know when someone was trying to hide a boner. If I was ever going to jump back on the horse, now was my perfect opportunity. This would be no strings attached, no feelings involved. Just a nice casual and hopefully half decent fuck. I used to do this all the time. Why should now be any different?

I was also a sucker for a man in uniform. It may just be the scotch talking, but Gareth looked really hot in his formal uniform. Part of me wanted to grab his tie and yank him in close for a kiss. But my nerves got the better of me.

"So I have your promised bottle of scotch in my room," Gareth looked tentative as we got to my door. "If you still want it."

"Of course I still want it," I said smartly. I didn't miss the double meaning behind his words either. Mine probably could be taken the exact same way. Judging by the look on Gareth's face, he definitely took it the dirty way. Fuck it, I'd give myself until we walked up the stairs to make a decision.

The walk up the stairs took a lot more coordination than I had after a night of drinking. With a tight dress, there was a few giggles as I got up the long flight of stairs. Then I was at Gareth's door. I still had no idea what to do. After unlocking the door, Gareth stood there, hesitating as he turned towards me.

"So, am I bringing it out to you, or are you coming in?"

Authors Note

So, I promised a chapter before the end of the New Year. Here it is. Sorry and not sorry!

Happy Holidays and I hope everyone has a wonderful 2017. Thank you from the bottom of my heart from everyones continued support and love for this. Its grown in ways I only dreamed of and I'm so excited for the future.

Until next time.