I stretched as I climbed out of the cab, enjoying the feel of every bone in my back cracking and popping as I moved my stiff muscles. It'd been a long flight back, but at least Coulson had put me in Business class. I was so tired it only took a glass of scotch and I passed out until the flight attendant woke me up for the stopover in London. While at Heathrow, I took full advantage of the free alcohol in business lounge while waiting for my connection and caught up on the news.

Tony Stark had been attacked by some psycho wielding 2 electrical whips of all things last week. 2 nights ago, he trashed his own mansion in a drunken rage at his birthday party. TMZ were reporting that Rhodey had been there as well in one of the Iron Man suits. While TMZ wasn't the most reliable reporting source, the grainy video footage was hard to dispute.

Rhodey looked pretty bad ass in an Iron Man suit, even I had to admit that.

Then there was the senate hearing facade that I was meant to be at with Coulson. As funny as Stark was, I really wasn't amused by his antics. I guess neither was anyone else in SHIELD, given that they had Coulson baby sitting him.

I was feeling a little hungover as I paid for the cab, remembering to grab the receipt like Coulson would ask for. It was late evening here in California. Tony's Malibu mansion was stunning in the black night. Perched on the cliffs, the white mansion stood out against the night sky. It was far away enough out of town you could even see the stars out here. The only thing that could be heard was the crash of the ocean. After being stuck in the middle of the desert for the last 2 weeks, this was a refreshing and much needed change. The cool sea breeze made goosebumps stand up on my arms as I walked up to the door. Before I could knock, the door swung open.

"Ok, that's a little creepy," I murmured, poking my head into the expansive entryway. I was expecting Coulson to be waiting for me. But the mansion was empty and silent.

"Good evening Agent Lyngley," a British voice came out of nowhere. I jumped, dropping my bag in my fright. It took me a second to remember JARVIS. I'd completely forgotten about the AI who ran basically everything in Stark's life. "Agent Coulson is currently in the workshop with Mr Stark. He has advised you to get some sleep and he'll speak to you in the morning. Your personal belongings are currently in one of the guest rooms which I will direct you to."

I blinked at the ceiling, processing the information dump just given to me by a computer. Sorry an AI. I'm sure JARVIS would be offended being called a computer when he was so much more than that. In my silence, a glowing trail with arrows appeared at me feet. I guess I was going to the guest room and getting some sleep whether I wanted it or not. I'd grabbed Burger King at the airport, so I wasn't hungry. But after sleeping through most of my flight, I wasn't particularly tired either. I picked up my bag and began to follow the glowing line.

"In your room, there is an ensuite if you wish to freshen up," JARVIS spoke as I walked along, taking in the sights of the huge mansion. Everything was crisp and modern. Whoever his interior decorator was sure liked white rooms with the odd splash of colour and dark furniture. "You also have full wifi access for both your laptop and phone. Please help yourself to the kitchen in the guest wing. If you wish to have any food delivered, please let me know and I will organise it for you. Mr Stark has agreed to pay for anything you need during your stay."

"Thank you JARVIS." I felt like an idiot talking to the ceiling. But it seemed wrong to not thank the AI for being helpful. The information about Stark paying for everything was a nice little surprise. I suppose when you had more money than most countries did, you could afford for your guests to order pizza.

"You're most welcome," JARVIS sounded cheery. "You also have full access to the house. I will send your code to enter the workshop to your phone. Enjoy your evening Agent Lyngley."

I finally came to my guest room. The door was already opened for me and the lights on. It took me a moment of gaping and turning around to believe what I was seeing. If this was a guest room, I'd hate to see what the normal bedrooms looked like. My guest room resembled more of a luxury hotel room. I gleefully spent a few minute poking around the massive room. I couldn't decide whether the king sized bed or the sunken bathtub was calling my name more. After 2 weeks of showering in a cubicle I could barely move in, I went for the bathtub. I grabbed my phone and stripped off while I walked to the bathroom, waiting for my phone to boot up.

I got the tub running as my phone finally turned on. Damn iPhones could be so slow sometimes. I was thankful it was still on silent as the barrage of text messages started coming through. There was a never ending stream of them, my phone constantly vibrating for nearly a minute before it all stopped. The bathtub filled up at a ridiculously quick rate unlike the one at home.

There was the usual junk group messages from SHIELD. I deleted all of them straight away as I sunk into the bath. I'd dumped a ridiculous amount of shower gel in here so the tub was half full of bubbles. I sighed in contented bliss. The stress and strain of the last 2 weeks melting away in the warm water. It was so good being back in civilisation. As painful as Stark was going to be, at least I could be irritated at him in relative comfort.

I lay back enjoying the water as I went through my text messages. Most had been sent on the day or a few days after I'd left. The few constant ones were from Greg. He'd sent a text every day, some days even twice. There was one 4 days after I'd left that made me smile.

It must suck not having your phone on this mission. I have no idea how long you'll be gone, but I have to admit, I miss our conversations. I thought we might grab sushi for lunch when you get back? A few people at work have been raving about this place called Sushi Taro.

Despite the big greasy meal I had not too long ago, my stomach growled at the thought of sushi. That particular restaurant was really, really good. It was right up there as one of my favourites places to eat out, along with HeeBeen.

I decided to bite the bullet and send Greg a text before reading the rest of his messages.

So, I'm back stateside at last. Bad news, not in DC for the moment. But I have my phone back. I've missed technology so much. Sushi Taro sounds awesome by the way. Not sure how long it'll be before I get back to DC.

I hit send and went back to scrolling through the messages. I was halfway through reading another text from Greg about his change of rotations to the emergency department when my phone rang. Greg's ID came up, I answered it straight away.

"Hey stranger," I said, feeling a smile creep onto my face. "Long time no hear from."

"I wasn't the one who left the civilised world," Greg chuckled in reply. "How does it feel to be back somewhere that has things like running water and electricity?"

"I had both of them," I said, trying not to laugh. "Just no phone and internet. What are you doing up so late?"

It was nearly midnight here, so it'd be nearly 0300 in DC. Greg was a night owl, so it was a pretty stupid question to ask. He was probably on a break at work knowing his hours. He seemed to always be on late afternoon or night shift.

"Studying," the disgust was very evident in Greg's voice. "Trying to anyway. I keep getting distracted by YouTube and now I'm procrastinating even more by talking to you."

"I should hang up and make you get back to it." This time I did laugh. Greg had his entrances exams for the orthopaedic surgeon residency coming up in a few months. The amount of study he did was nearly a full time job in itself. "Are you sure it was YouTube and not RedTube?"

"Funny," the sarcasm dripped from Greg's voice. "How do you know what RedTube is anyway?"

"Girls can like porn too." I was glad Greg couldn't see my face. I was trying really hard not to laugh and keep my tone serious.

"God, why did I even ask?" Greg laughed. I could picture him shaking his head at me. "So how was whatever you were doing?"

"Crappy," I replied, wrinkling my nose. "I can't talk about it either. How's your rotation in the emergency department going?"

"Crappy," Greg echoed my statement. "I hate it. I really want it to be over already."

There was a definite change of pitch in his voice in the second part of his sentence.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked gently. Laura came home and locked herself in the shower for a good cry after some shifts. It could be an emotionally draining place to work.

"It's silly," Greg said, blowing out a long breath. "I've seen patients die before, told next of kin and everything. But in the emergency room its different, just so sudden. There was a little girl who'd been resuscitated after being found face down in the pool. She was sitting up and laughing at me when I examined her. 5 minutes later she coded and we couldn't bring her back."

How different our lives really are. I was sitting out in the middle of the desert watching someone being pushed to the edges of his mortality, all for a name. Greg was back here watching a little girl die through no fault of his own. I wanted to reach through the phone and give him a hug.

"Its easier in places like the ICU," Greg continued. He sounded very tired all of a sudden, like the weight of the world dropped on his shoulders. "The families know about the chances, they even expect it in some cases. But the emergency room is someone having the worst day of their lives and no one is ever prepared for the news that their loved one isn't coming back."

"I'm sorry," I said softly. I couldn't think of anything else to say. "If I was there I'd give you a hug and break out a good bottle of scotch,"

"Thanks," Greg let out a weary chuckle. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "I lied about studying. I'm actually awake because I can't sleep."

"Have you spoken to anyone about how you're feeling?" I asked carefully. I was the worst person to give advice on anything like this. There were some things I pushed into the deep, dark corner of my mind where I didn't want anything to be touched. But I at least spoke to Andrew on a very regular basis on the stuff that I couldn't put in that corner.

"I spoke to my mum a little," Greg sounded embarrassed. "I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a drag."

"You're allowed to have feelings and be upset about someone dying," I said, really wanting to reach in and give him a hug now. Male doctors must have it tough. On top of the social stigma of real men not crying, there was also the bullshit the some doctors believing that it was unprofessional to show grief. Laura had big arguments at work about that after a senior doctor yelled at her for crying over losing a patient.

"I know," Greg said, sounding like he was forcing himself to put on a happier tone. "So, can you tell me where you are?"

"Malibu." I decided not to push the subject. But I was going to send Laura a text message as soon as we got off the phone and ask her to keep an eye on Greg for me. "Enjoying a very nice bubble bath."

"I can almost guess what you're doing there." Greg's tone sounded more genuine this time. "But I'm sure I'll get the whole its classified thing. So, what's the house like?"

"Huge," I laughed a little. It didn't take a genius to work out what I was doing here. "I swear this tub is bigger than my entire bathroom. I can fully stretch out in it."

"What a beautiful luxury that is," Greg said with a small sigh. He was Jared's height, so he'd know my pain all too well. "Did you use half a bottle of shower gel for make it into a bubble bath?"

"Yes, I did," I said a little smugly. "I can send you a picture if you'd like. But you might want to see more of whats under the bubbles. Like my red dress."

"I saw your ass while you chased Alexi around your apartment," Greg laughed. His laugh made me relax again. "I think my imagination can fill in the blanks now."

"While you're watching RedTube?" I said cheekily.

"Your ass is much nicer than most of the ones I've seen on RedTube," Greg said with complete nonchalance. There was another long pause before we both burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, that was probably a little inappropriate. I'm tired, my brain isn't working."

"It was still funny," I said with a smile. "And it was a very tiny towel wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," Greg chuckled. "This is probably a stupid question, but do you have any idea how long you'll be there?"

"Not a clue." I shifted in the tub, letting the water splash around. "You probably know more about what happened than I do to be honest. I only stepped off the plane half an hour ago and I'm a little hungover."

"Yeah it's been quite the buzz." The phone rustled as Greg sounded like he was shifting around. "Wanna bring me back an awesome souvenir from Stark's house?"

"I don't think the tub will fit in my suitcase."

And just like that, our conversations were back to the usual talking about nothing and everything at the same time. The bubbles had long disappeared by the time I decided I really needed some sleep and got off the phone with Greg. As I made my way to the spacious bed I sent a few messages out to the people who'd want to know I was back stateside before falling into bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Something poking my side dragged me back to the land of awake far too quickly. I grunted, swatting at the offending object. My hand met empty air, much to my irritation.

"Don't be like that, you'll spill your coffee," Coulson's voice scolded me.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and rolled over to face where his voice had come from. Coulson was standing on the side of my bed, holding out a coffee mug. The sun was streaming through the huge windows, giving me a beautiful view of the beach.

"Good afternoon Sleeping Beauty," Coulson said dryly, though he was smiling. "Time to rise and shine otherwise you'll be awake all night."

"I just went to sleep," I groaned, reaching out for the coffee cup. Coulson had it just out of reach of my wriggling fingers. "It can't be afternoon."

"The time is 1423," JARVIS' voice informed me. "You've been asleep since 0215."

"Traitor," I muttered, rubbing my eyes tiredly. My body was not happy about the jet lag.

"Come on," Coulson urged, holding the coffee cup within reach again. "Have some breakfast and you can give me a quick debrief about your time in Egypt. After that you can go lie on the beach for a few hours."

"Wow, tough gig this one," I muttered, stretching my arms above my head. I was glad I'd thrown on an old shirt and boxers before climbing into bed. I took the coffee off Coulson, taking a small sip. The rich bend was definitely something I'd never had before. But it was incredible. I was going to have to raid Stark's coffee supply before we went home.

"Yeah, the worst," Coulson said sarcastically. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs," I quickly rattled off. "More coffee. Anything but pasta. That's about the only thing Rumlow can cook."

"At least he makes good pasta," Coulson chuckled. He grabbed the blankets covering my legs and yanked them off. "Lets go."

I grunted in annoyance, but got up anyway. Coulson would probably have JARVIS do something like make the bed explode if I stayed in it. I went to the bathroom and wandered out of my room in what I hoped to be the direction of the kitchen.

"Other way towards the guest kitchen Agent Lyngley," JARVIS quickly corrected me after one step.

"You're very handy JARVIS," I said, glancing up to the ceiling. Maybe Dad would help me create an AI for my apartment. But knowing my luck, it'd turn out like a bad horror movie. The AI would come to life and go on a murdering rampage.

"I know, Miss Potts often says that Mr Stark would not be able to function without me," the sass dripping from JARVIS's robotic voice made me laugh.

By the time I walked into the kitchen, Coulson already had everything on. I poured myself another cup of coffee from the pot and plonked my ass down on the table.

"Off," Coulson commanded, not turning around to see what I was doing. I rolled my eyes and obediently sat in a chair instead. I swear he had eyes in the back of his head. "You're getting more like Barton and Romanoff every day."

"Aren't you proud?" I asked sweetly.

"Not of your bad habits," Coulson said dryly. "Of everything else, I am. So tell me about your first T&I?"

It took me a second to realise Coulson meant torture and interrogation. I wrinkled my nose and half shrugged. There wasn't much I could say about it.

"Not something I really want to repeat in a hurry," I said honestly. "I didn't throw up though, or faint."

"It probably wasn't your best introduction to it." Coulson looked over his shoulder briefly at me. "Brock is one of the best, but his methods are brutal. Which is why SHIELD needs to send him to places where the Geneva Convention doesn't touch. He said you did well though, so that's good enough for me."

That was probably the highest praise I could ever get from Rumlow. He wasn't one for dishing out compliments.

"The other agent there didn't like me." I felt childish saying it, but Coulson deserved to know every detail. No matter how minor it was. "He thought it was Jared coming in, but he was still an asshole to me."

"Jared has that unfortunate effect on people," Coulson said, shaking his head. "I think there's some history there, so don't take it too personally."

"I didn't." I shrugged again. "He's not the first guy to be an asshole to me."

At least I was well liked within STRIKE. I didn't really care about anyone outside of my work circle.

"Still, we're not in high school," Coulson said, sounding slightly exasperated. "I get sick of the bullshit that goes on between STRIKE and Specialists. It's all done and over with now. What have you heard about everything happening with Stark?"

"Only whats on the news and in the papers. Most of the rumours are he's just being the alcoholic idiot everyone already pegged him for."

"Not quite." Coulson shook his head. "In that file on the table has everything going on."

I hadn't noticed the thigh folder in the middle of the table. I'd been too busy enjoying my coffee to really pay attention to anything beyond the mug in my hands and Coulson. Curious, I reached over and dragged it in front of me. I flicked it open and started skimming over the numerous reports.

Stark had been a busy boy over the last few months. He'd given away a lot of his private collections to various charities. While I was away Pepper had been made CEO of Stark Industries While I heartily approved of that decision, it'd come out of nowhere. From Personal Assistant to CEO was a huge leap. It would have pissed a lot of people off.

The guy with whips who attacked Stark in Monaco was Ivan Vanko. His father, Anton Vanko had worked with Howard Stark before it was found out he was selling classified information. He was tried for treason and deported back to Russia.

"Someone carried a grudge for a long time," I murmured, flipping through Ivan's file. He was a few different kinds of crazy. Though after being in Kopeisk prison for 15 years, I guess I'd be pretty pissed too. He was currently presumed dead after an explosion in his prison cell after attacking Stark in Monaco. SHIELD believed otherwise and had eyes and ears out for him everywhere. But so far, no luck in finding any trace of him.

The next problem was Stark's arc reactor in his chest. The palladium used to power it was slowly killing him. That's what Coulson and I were here for. To keep an eye on Stark while he figured out a way to replace what was keeping him alive but also killing him at the same time.

"Well this is all kinds of fucked up, isn't it boss?" I closed the file as Coulson slid a plate full of my requested breakfast in front of me. The smell of bacon and pancakes made my mouth water. "Where's everyone else?"

"Nat is still keeping cover at Stark Industries," Coulson said, sitting down across from me. I started to shovel the food into my mouth, feeling like I hadn't eaten in days. "Barton is in New Mexico keeping an eye on some things of concern happening there."

"Like?" I asked around a mouthful of bacon.

"Have you heard of Dr Jane Foster?" Coulson gave me the stink eye for talking with my mouthful, but didn't comment on it. I nodded, swallowing the salty bacon and chasing it down with a big mouthful of coffee. Dr Foster was working on astronomical anomalies, mainly the theoretical Einstien-Rosen Bridge. Or not so theoretical since that's basically how Jared teleported. Dad had spoken about her a few times about how good her work was and how close she actually was to finding unclassified solid proof of its existence.

"There's been some very interesting activity in Puente Antiguo which Dr Foster has gone to monitor," Coulson explained. "In return, we're monitoring her findings."

"Sucks to be Barton," I snickered between mouthfuls of food. "Any chance I can sneak in and see Nat?"

Coulson was already shaking his head before I could finish my question. I squashed down my disappointment quickly. I knew it might be the answer, but dammit I missed Natasha so much.

"She still needs to maintain cover," Coulson said gently. "But on the bright side, the sooner this is over the quicker you girls can get back together and do whatever it is you do in your spare time."

Drink, shop and gossip usually. Natasha and I weren't very different from many females out there. People were often amazed at how girly we could actually be. In this job, holding onto your feminine side was important. Just because I got treated like 'one of the boys' didn't mean I had to act like one.

It wasn't just Natasha I was keen to get back to. I missed everyone back in DC. It was hard having so many ties to people and having to drop off the face of the planet on such short notice. I wondered how Alexi and William were both doing. Cooper would be back at school now and Lila starting kindergarten. Jared should have a clear answer on what was going on with his ankle now. I had a lot of catching up to do.

I suppose lazing on the beach, attempting to work on a tan was a good way to catch up with everyone. I wasn't going to argue with Coulson if he was going to let me lie around on my phone for a few hours. I finished my breakfast with a thanks to Coulson and went back to my room to get changed. I had no idea who would have packed my bag, but there was one of my skimpier bikini's in there. I threw it on, grabbed a towel, phone and sunglasses then with a few directions from JARVIS, headed off for a lazy afternoon.

Stark owned the stretch of beach in front of his house for a mile in both directions, so there wasn't a soul in sight to disturb me. It was a beautiful day, warm at 84F but the wind blowing off the ocean cooling it off considerably. I found a patch of sand, threw my towel down on the warm sand and went for a quick dip in the ocean. It was satisfyingly chilly walking up to my chest, letting the waves crash over my body. It didn't take long for it to get too cold and for me to head to the warmth of the sand and sun. I flopped down onto my towel, stomach down. Reaching behind me, I undid the ties of the bikini to avoid getting some hellish tan lines. It was strangely freeing being able to lie on the beach half naked, even though no one would see anything with me being face down. I casually starting to flick through all the messages I'd gotten in return last night from the people I let know I was back.

Jared was the first message I read. The wall of text he sent was enough to keep me going for a few minutes. He had another operation on his ankle last week to adjust some of the screws and plates holding it all together. He was feeling a lot better nearly straight away, even with the swelling and pain from being operated on again. He was staying in New York for at least another 8 weeks to start some intensive physical therapy to get motion back in the ankle. My heart sank a little reading how long he'd be away. I'd gotten used to him being around all the time. The apartment would feel empty without him. Then again, I could be gone for that long as well. There was no telling how long this would all take.

Abby sent me some cute pictures and video of Alexi during her swimming lessons and newly started gymnastic lessons. Her adorable smile made me melt when Abby asked her to wave to Kari. I missed her and her little potty mouth so much. I never thought I'd take to playing aunty like I had with Alexi and Clint's kids. I didn't even like my own cousins as much as Alexi, Lila and Cooper. Laura had sent through some video of Lila at her ballet lessons as well, making me miss all of the kids in my life.

Clint was bored in New Mexico and had sent me a ton of texts, mostly babbling about how unexciting his day was. I rolled over and snapped a shot of the beach and ocean with my feet in the view as well to be a tease. On a whim, I sent the same photo to Greg complaining about how hard I was working. It should be enough to make him smile, or swear at me. I hoped it'd be a smile after his shitty night last night.

After replying to everyone, I put my phone down and laid my head in my arms. The sun felt so good on my back. It wasn't hard to let my eyes drift shut. It was peaceful out here. There was nothing but the waves crashing against the sand and the occasional bird to disturb the silence. The salty air felt fresh and clean, despite being so close to the city. I felt like I could finally breath again after the last 2 weeks. The last lingering bits of stress melting away as the sun warmed my back. It wasn't hard to be lulled into falling asleep again.

I woke up with a jump as my phone vibrated loudly right next to my face. A second later JARVIS' voice came over the speaker.

"Agent Lyngley, Agent Coulson asked me to inform you to either turn over so both sides of you are well cooked or come back inside. You appear to be a little sunburnt."

Only Tony Stark could program a sassy AI. But as I woke up properly, I found he wasn't wrong. I could feel the sunburn on my back as soon as I moved. Groggily, I fumbled for my phone, squinting at the screen as I looked at the time. It was nearly 1700. I'd fallen asleep for a few hours out here. I winced again as I reached around to tie my bikini back up. I could feel the burn on the back of my body even with the smallest of movements. The heat coming off my skin was incredible. That would teach me for lying out here in the sun with no sunscreen on. I wasn't made to be tanned. My shoulders were an angry red, even the skimpy strap of the bikini made the stinging skin hurt. I'm sure my back and legs didn't look much better. I slowly got up and brushed the sand off me before heading back.

I walked gingerly back up to the house, trying to avoid as much movement as possible. To make my walk of shame worse, my leg had stiffened up leaving me limping. As I walked, I sent a slightly pitiful text off to Greg.

I forgot sunscreen while lying on the beach. Help?

The messages had accumulated again during my sleep, so I flicked through them as I walked. Abby and Evans had both bombarded me with Alexi and William pictures. I'd gotten a picture of Clint's middle finger back in response to my beach photo. Jared was complaining about shopping with Mom. I laughed at that message. Mom was a pretty hardcore shopper when she wanted to be. Poor Jared was just in the firing line instead of me this time. Jared was a complete brand whore. No doubt there'd be arguments with Mom who was more of a bargain shopper about the money he spent on things. Natasha sent me a text complaining about the amount of work she was snowed under with. The only person who hadn't replied to my earlier text was Greg.

It felt like an eternity before I made it back to the mansion. As I stepped into the side entrance, a voice I'd never heard in person greeted me.

"Wow Coulson, thanks for the stripper. Usually they wear more clothes at the start though. But I'll take what I can get at the moment."

My head snapped up from my phone to see the one and only Tony Stark standing there staring at me. It was odd how utterly normal he looked in a grease stained AC/DC shirt and jeans that had seen better days. His normally immaculate maintained goatee was unkept and he looked like he hadn't had a shower or shave in days. But the trademark cocky grin on his face was defiantly the man I'd seen parading through the news for the last few months. Straight away I wanted to smack the smug look off his face. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot. I'd never had someone rub me the wrong way so damn quickly before. Even Rollins when I first met him hadn't been such a dick.

"This is Agent Lyngley," Coulson quickly spoke up before I could say anything. "She's here to watch you when I'm not around. Keep in mind that she's Natasha's protégée so I would be careful about what you say next."

I pushed my glee down at Coulson's quick retort back to Stark, instead by plastering the best resting bitch face I could manage. Tony wasn't deterred at all. He very openly looked me up and down with an amused look on his face. It was almost like he was challenging me to punch him in the face.

"You SHIELD people need to find someone who's first name isn't agent," Tony said with a roll of his eyes after he finished ogling me. "Want to go get me some coffee and donuts from Randy's hot stuff?"

"No," I said shortly. "JARVIS already told me you can get everything delivered here, so order it yourself."

Coulson looked very pleased with my quick answer. He quickly wiped a hand over his face to smooth out the grin that had appeared. I wondered if Tony had tried to pull the same shit with Coulson when he got here. If he did, I wanted to know whatever it was Coulson threatened him with.

"Traitor," Tony muttered, his gaze shifting to the ceiling to glare. "Fine, you know the order JARVIS and whatever Miss Agent Itty Bitty Bikini wants too."

"Vanilla latte and whatever has the most chocolate on it," I ignored Tony's comment about my bikini. If he was buying coffee I could be civil long enough to get my order in. "Make it half a dozen of them actually."

"You won't keep that figure for long if you eat all of them," Tony muttered under his breath just loud enough for me to hear. I chose to ignore him, sticking my head back in my phone instead as I brushed past him. Fuck this, I was going to go immerse myself in a cold shower to stop my back feeling like it was on fire.

"Aloe Vera is in your bathroom," Tony informed me as I walked out. "Want me to come and rub it all over you?"

"I'd rather chew my own arm off," I said snidely, not bothering to turn back. 2 minutes into our introduction and I'd already had enough of Tony Stark to last me a lifetime. I don't know how I was going to deal with him if we had to be here for a week or longer. Natasha might be called to help me hide his body.

"Still wouldn't turn me off," Tony called after me. I flipped him off and kept walking. He really didn't need any encouragement. Not that I'd want to encourage him, I liked my men tall and buff. He definitely wasn't either of those things. My phone vibrated as Greg finally replied.

How badly sunburnt are you? Are we talking rare or well done?

I pulled a face at the smart ass reply. I'd say well done, but then my back also looked as red as I liked my steak. There was only one way to really show Greg how bad it was. I waited until I got back into my room and found the mirror. I took my bikini top off and slid the bottoms down just enough to expose an inch of unburnt skin on top of my ass. After a bit of fiddling I managed to get a decent enough photo and sent it to Greg.

I'm this sunburnt.

Greg didn't disappoint. I had a reply back just before I was about to jump in the shower.

Jesus Kari. That's not sunburn, that's cooking yourself. The doctor in me says you should probably go get that checked out and get some lidocaine spray. But coconut oil and then aloe vera will work because I know you won't go to a doctor unless you're missing a limb or at death's door.

I laughed at his answer. He wasn't wrong there. I'd have to see if I could find a car and head into town to find coconut oil after I had a shower. I'm sure I could get it delivered but I didn't want to wait around for it. Maybe some lidocaine spray wasn't a stupid idea either, even if it was just over the counter stuff.

I jumped in the shower, making it as cold as I could handle. My teeth were chattering after a minute, but it felt so good on my sunburn. It wasn't until my toes started looking a little blue that I reluctantly dragged myself out of the shower. I didn't bother with a towel, I drip dried as I went through the bathroom cup boards trying to find the promised aloe vera. When my search turned up empty, I frowned up at the ceiling.

"Hey JARVIS?" I asked. "Where's the aloe vera that Tony said was in here?"

"There appears to be some on your bedside table," JARVIS responded instantly. "Along with your coffee and donut order."

"Thanks."

Why I didn't think of asking JARVIS in the first place was beyond me. I could really be a dumb blonde at times. I walked out to the bedroom and found the promised products, along with a jar of organic coconut oil. Coulson must have gotten onto Google and found some in the house for me. I eagerly grabbed both of the products and began slathering them on my back. Thank god for my good flexibility. I could reach every inch of my own back with some minor contortionist positions. The relief was instant. I'd definitely have to find a good bootle of scotch for Coulson for finding the coconut oil so quickly.

I sipped my latte and scoffed down 2 donuts while getting dressed. The massive TV was calling for me. Stark better have the best cable service I'd ever seen or I was going to be bitterly disappointed. Coulson was nowhere to be found, so I plonked myself down in front of the TV and started channel surfing. Before I could get too far, the home movie library popped up onto the screen. With a shrug, I opened it and started scrolling. At least Stark didn't disappoint in his home movie collection. The extensive library gave me far too many choices, but I settled on watching Labyrinth. There was nothing quite like the cheesy 80's movies for a good laugh. I finished the last of my donuts while trying to keep my hysterical laughter down at the sight of David Bowie prancing around in skin tight pants that left nothing to the imagination. Once Labyrinth was over, my mood swung to bloody and gory. Inglorious Bastards popped up on the screen and I happily hit play. Coulson, Clint, Natasha and I all loved this movie. I'd seen it at least a dozen times already and could watch it over and over again.

I was so wrapped up in the movie I didn't notice Coulson coming in halfway through the movie. It wasn't until he spoke that I nearly fell off the couch in surprise, quickly pausing the movie with a sheepish grin.

"Did you have dinner?" Coulson asked, eyeing off my now empty donut box.

"Nope." I sat up, wincing at the burn was felt in my back again. I needed to go put another layer of coconut oil and aloe vera on before it got too bad. That quickly reminded me of what Coulson had done earlier. "Thanks for the coconut oil earlier. Greg suggested it and it worked magic."

The look of confusion across Coulson's face made my stomach drop. I had a terrible feeling about where this was going.

"I left right after you went for a shower," Coulson said, looking like he was picking his words very carefully. "And I only just got back."

If Stark was readying my text messages somehow, I was going to kill him. The look on Coulson's face nearly confirmed my suspicion. But there was one other person I needed to ask. Well, AI.

"JARVIS?" I asked through gritted teeth. "Did Tony somehow get into my phone and read my text messages?"

The silence from above felt like it stretched out for an hour. JARVIS finally replied in what could only be described as a sheepish tone.

"Sir asked for full access to your laptop and cell phone." JARVIS paused again. If he was a person I could just imagine the nervous fidgeting that would be going on. "He may have taken your Doctor friend's advice and found Miss Potts supply of organic coconut oil for your use."

I was up and off the couch before JARVIS finished speaking. Tony Stark was a dead man.

Authors Note

Sorry for the late and shortish update everyone. Real life is kicking my ass at the moment. But I'm finally getting settled into my new job and daily routine and finding time for writing back in there.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to go over and read Shatter Me. It wont be anywhere near as long as this, but I'm hoping it'll be a fun journey anyway. I'll get that updated within the next week as well, so keep an eye out for it.

As always, you guys are amazing for all of your love and support for this fic. I'm posting this right before I go to bed and its always a thrill to wake up to your reviews in the morning. Its inching up to that 300 mark now. Something that I still can't believe when I look at my story stats.

I won't promise timeframes for the next update, but writing Kari and Tony interact is a lot of fun. So heres to my muse and little bit of free time sticking around to get it out ASAP!

Until next time.