Just for reference, I know it's been a while but what happened between Kari and Greg was in chapter 60, right before the mission in Odessa for those who wanted a refresher.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to run from the room or get up and smack Greg in the face. The pure shock of seeing him again kept me firmly rooted in place on the bed. All the colour disappeared from Greg's face as he stared at me. He recovered quicker than me, shaking his head as he walked over to the bed.

"Hey Alexi," Greg said gently, putting his hand on Alexi's back. "Remember me?"

Alexi sniffed loudly as she looked around. She frowned at Greg then looked back up at me.

"Brownies?" Alexi questioned. Her confused statement shook me from the horror of seeing Greg again.

"That's right, Greg used to make us brownies." It was surprisingly hard to keep a level tone. I plastered a fake smile on my face. "And ice cream."

My mention of ice cream nearly made the cool, professional demeanour of Greg slip. This must have been as uncomfortable for him as it was for me. After all this time, I couldn't believe it was now that I had to run into him. The wound of Greg's rejection hadn't quite closed over yet.

"Can I have a look at your head?" Greg asked patiently, his own smile looked as fake as mine. He glanced up at me as I finally managed to pry Alexi off my shirt and turn her around in my lap. "How did she do it?"

"She's a little monkey and thought she could jump from one lot of play equipment to the other." I could deal with telling Greg the facts. As long as we could keep to the facts then this might not be completely awkward and horrible. "She missed."

"Yeah," Alexi said with a loud sniff. Her face was red and blotchy from crying so much. "Missed and went oh fuck. Hit the ground."

"I see your potty mouth hasn't improved," Greg looked like he was having a hard time keeping a straight face at Alexi's honest statement. He grabbed a pair of gloves and went to the dressing on Alexi's head. Her face scrunched up in discomfort before Greg even touched her. I knew there were about to be tears again. Greg paused, pulling away from her with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Munchkin, this is going to hurt. Can you be a brave girl for Kari?"

It was a clever move on Greg's part. Alexi would never agree to be brave for herself. Adding me to it would give her an incentive not to cry. Or at least try not to cry. Alexi nodded, though her little face still stayed scrunched up in displeasure. She must have been in so much pain. I felt terrible for her being hurt.

Greg didn't waste any time in getting the dressing off. Alexi whimpered in protest as he pulled it off in one swift motion. Alexi gripped my arms as hard as she could as Greg gently examined the gash on her forehead.

"She did a good job of it," Greg said, looking up at me with a wince. "It needs stitches and I'd want an x-ray and CT scan as well, just to make sure she didn't fracture anything. Are you babysitting?"

"I was and I just ruined date night." Part of me wanted to ignore the small talk. Greg didn't have any right to know what I was doing in my life. He could have also turned around and walked out when he saw it was me. It was odd that he was even in the emergency room right now. I never thought he'd come back to emergency willingly. Despite myself, I started explaining the whole story. "I took Sam and the kids to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch and we were at the park when it happened. You know the one near the burger joint?"

"Lucky you were close by."

I could have sworn Greg's cheeks had gotten a red shade before he turned away. He rummaged around in the supply cabinet next to the bed so I couldn't see his face clearly. I hadn't meant to bring up that burger place. It had been where Greg brought dinner over that night before he walked out.

"I know," I said, feeling awkward again. "Sam has a broken arm, so he told me to go with Alexi and he'd get someone to help him with William and Evans got there."

Greg's face was a normal shade when he turned back around with his hands full of stitching supplies. Alexi whimpered in my arms, squirming away from the scary look instruments on the tray. For once, I was glad for her distraction to the minefield of a discussion I just put out there.

"It's okay Munchkin," I quickly reassured her. "Remember when I had stitches? It'll be like that. We can match."

I didn't miss Greg's questioning look or his eyes roaming over my body like he was checking for visible injuries. I ignored his lingering gaze as I tried to stop Alexi from squirming. My words had done nothing to reassure her at all. I could feel a tantrum about to happen.

"You know," Greg spoke up before Alexi's squirming could turn into a full-on tantrum. "I think I have some brownies in the fridge. How about once I finish your stitches, we go get the brownies while you wait for that x-ray?"

Alexi loved anything Greg used to bake. His brownies had been the things to finally win her over. She stopped squirming, her little face a mask of concentration as she sat there debating her choices.

"Can we have ice cream for dinner and brownies?" Alexi asked, her voice still thick from the tears.

"All the ice cream you want," I reassured her. I'd deal with her sugar high all night long if it kept her quiet and still right now. "How about you close your eyes? It will be over before you know it."

The extra bribery of brownies seemed to work. Alexi nodded as she closed her eyes. She lent back into my chest, her hands gripping my jeans.

Greg didn't stop to reassure either of us. He took Alexi's closing her eyes as a quick acceptance of what was about to come. He moved in with the local anaesthetic and set to work. Nothing was going to prepare Alexi for the sharp sting of the needle. She jerked in surprise, a cry piercing the air as the needle injected her. She flung herself back, trying to get away from it. Unluckily for me, her elbow landed directly on my broken rib.

I saw stars and I couldn't breathe. I barely stopped myself from dropping Alexi as the pain radiated through my side. Fucking broken ribs were the worst. Strong hands steadied me on the bed as I tried to breath through the pain. I vaguely felt Alexi tugged at my shirt, no doubt apologising for what she just did. It took a long minute before I could gain enough breath in my body again. I found Greg bent down in front of me keeping me steady on the bed.

"Which rib did you break?" Greg didn't beat around the bush with his question.

"Sixth." There no was point lying. "Crashed a Quinjet three weeks ago."

"Can I poke it to make sure Alexi didn't do any major damage?" Greg asked, his tone cautious. I could see it clearly on his face that he wanted to ask me more questions. "After I finish doing her stitches."

I nodded my consent, straightening myself on the bed again. Alexi crawled back into my lap, giving me a pitiful look.

"Sorry." Her bottom lip stuck out and she looked ready to cry again.

"It's okay Munchkin." I gave her a hug. A very gentle and tentative hug so I didn't disturb my now aching side. "Just try and sit still this time?"

Alexi nodded and turned back around. She closed her eyes shut and had her face scrunched up in concentration. Without wasting any time, Greg tried again. The local anaesthetic made her cry but she sat still while Greg did it.

"You're so brave," Greg praised her when he was done. Alexi looked up at him with a watery smile. I didn't doubt there'd be more tears to come. At least her head wouldn't hurt quite as bad in a minute. "That definitely deserves brownies and ice cream."

At the mention of brownies and ice cream, the tears evaporated quickly. Alexi looked back at me with a more genuine smile. She was such a mess. There was blood all down the side of her face. Her eyes were red from crying so much. But her smile made a very shitty situation a lot better.

I had to give it to Greg. He got the gash stitched up in record time. The tiny and neat stitches made me slightly envious. Alexi's gash would probably barely scar with how nearly Greg sewed it up, unlike my side. Then again, three stitches were easier to do than the ridiculous amount I had closing me up. I'd tried counting them and gave up after 45 when it got too hard to see them.

"You've been my best patient all day," Greg said to Alexi brightly. "How about I look at Kari and make sure she's okay? Then I'll get the brownies."

Alexi quickly climbed off my lap, leaving me no choice but to lift my shirt up obediently. I didn't miss the sharp intake of breath from Greg as he got a full look at the scar. My entire torso was still discoloured from the extensive bruising. Most of it had faded to a ghastly yellow now. It still stood out plainly against my pale skin.

"Is that?" Greg couldn't even finish the sentence.

"A long story?" I skirted around the subject. "Yeah, a very long one."

One I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him. Greg took the hint immediately and gently probed around my broken rib. It hurt like hell, but no more than usual. Alexi hadn't done any lasting damage.

"Nothing is out of place," Greg said as he pulled away. He hesitated, his eyes locking onto the scar again before I covered myself with my shirt again. "That looks like it was a near miss."

"You have no idea how much of a near miss it was." I wanted to be angry with Greg and tell him to fuck off. He'd really hurt my feelings when I was vulnerable. I couldn't bring myself to be angry with the person who'd just helped Alexi out. I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable at Greg's close proximity. "So, do I get a brownie too for being a good patient?"

"Kari…" Greg started, blowing out a frustrated sigh. He didn't get to finish the sentence. The curtain got yanked open and Abby rushed in. Evans wasn't far behind her, limping along on his crutches.

"Oh my god, Alexi you silly goose," Abby sounded close to tears. She picked up Alexi, hugging her close. Alexi squirmed, wrinkling her nose in displeasure at Abby's affection. "You scared the life out of us. Are you all right Kari?"

Abby spoke in such a rush I barely understood her. She pulled me into a hug as well, making me grunt in discomfort as she hit a tender spot.

"Sorry, sorry." Abby quickly apologised, pulling away. She turned around to face Greg, probably to thank him. But she stopped short, blinking in surprise. "Oh. Wow, this is awkward."

Thank you, Abby, for being Queen Obvious. It was the understatement of the century. Evans was standing back, leaning against the wall looking less than amused at who was in here with me. They both knew the story behind Greg and had similar opinions to Natasha. That he was an asshole for doing what he did and I deserved better.

"I'll go get those promised brownies," Greg seemed to fumble for the excuse. He could barely look Evans in the eye. The silence that followed him out of the room was incredibly awkward. Evans didn't bother to cover the glower he sent in Greg's direction. As much as Greg was trying to pretend he was ignoring it, I'd be shrinking under Evans stare as well. Just before he left the room, Greg straightened up and turned around. "Actually, can I talk to you for a minute Kari? In private."

I had to give it to Greg, it took a lot of balls to stand up and ask that right now. Especially in the company he was in. I wanted to say no. To let that part of our friendship be done and dusted. But I was too curious for my own good. I wanted to know what I'd done so wrong to make him walk out like that.

"Lead the way." I had nothing clever to say. I could have been a bitch and told him he could say whatever he needs to in front of everyone. However he'd just helped Alexi and I owed him for that if nothing else. My own curiosity wasn't going to be satisfied to let this go now.

I followed Greg through the twists and turns of the hospital. We finally came to an empty office which Greg let me into. He locked the door behind him, further raising my curiosity. Greg walked around to stand in front of me, looking awkward and nervous.

"I have no idea where to start," Greg said nervously, twisting his hands in front of him. "I imaged this to be a lot less awkward when I kept playing this scenario in my head. When you didn't return my calls I…"

"You never called." There was no keeping the hurt out of my voice as I threw the accusation at him. "When I finally got my phone back on you were the first person who I looked for and there was nothing from you. Not a fucking text or anything."

The silence that followed my angry statement was deafening. Greg stared at me with a look of horror on his face.

"I called you about thirty times over the next two days," Greg said quietly, swallowing hard. "Then I ran into Laura who said you were on a mission and probably wouldn't be back for a week or so. I left a few voicemails for you to call me back. Here."

Doubt gripped me as I stared at Greg. There was a small part of my mind telling me to believe him. When I thought about it now, Gareth's phone calls hadn't shown up on my new phone either. His text messages had. I didn't have any voicemails with my new phone. Greg's hands shook as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his cell. His fingers fumbled across the screen until he came upon whatever he was going to show me. He turned the phone screen around for me to look. Sure enough, the call history was there. Next to my name, there were the numbers telling me that Greg wasn't lying. He really had called. A lot.

"I didn't want to send you a text," Greg admitted with an attempt at a smile. The blank look I gave him quickly wiped it off his face. "I wanted to explain to you in person why things happened. When you never called or texted back, I thought you were too mad at me so I never reached out again."

Fuck me, this had been one big misunderstanding. If I'd taken Mom's advice at Thanksgiving and reached out to him, I would have had some closure instead of letting this wound fester. Though, this still didn't explain why he walked out on me in the first place.

"So, why did you do it?" I wasn't even close to forgiveness yet. I needed answers to why everything went to shit between us that night.

"Did you know I was discharged from the Army because of PTSD?" Greg asked hesitantly.

"Greg, my best friends are spies and the biggest snoops in the world." I barely refrained from rolling my eyes at him. "Of course I knew that. "

"Right." Greg looked extremely uncomfortable. Whatever he was about to tell me, he looked ashamed of. He took in a few deep breaths through his nose before he kept speaking. "I was out on patrol when the car in front of us was hit by an IED. The two medics with me ran out to help them and I'd forgotten my trauma pack, so I ran back to grab it from the Humvee."

My gut twisted at the haunted look on Greg's face. I had a fair idea of where this story was going.

"The two medics were killed by another IED. If I hadn't of forgotten my trauma pack, I would have died with them," Greg's voice dropped as he looked away from me. "I couldn't do it after that. Every time I had to step out of the car, I froze. All I kept seeing was my friends die over and over again in my mind. The Army worked out pretty quickly I was fucked and discharged me."

I knew the exact pain Greg was going through. I took a tentative step forward and wrapped Greg into a hug. He stiffened in my arms before relaxing and ever so gently returned the hug. It was only brief but it seemed to give him the courage he needed to continue.

"Going to college was meant to be a good distraction for me," Greg said with a scoff, shaking his head at whatever memory was going through his mind. "The stress of it all only made me find ways to cope. Very unhealthy ways of coping. Mostly drinking and mixing prescription drugs."

My mind went back to that night Greg came over to my place. He'd had an accident off his bicycle and had some serious road rash on his arm. I remember him saying he'd taken a handful of codeine and I'd joked with him about being a bad patient when I gave him a beer.

"I used to do some really stupid shit when I was drunk or high, it depends on what I was mixing with my alcohol." Greg looked so ashamed. He wouldn't look me in the eye again while he spoke and kept wringing his hands as if it was distracting him. "One of them was sleeping around. I'd fuck any girl who showed me half an interest. I wasn't always smart about it either."

The piece of the puzzle that was Greg were rapidly falling into place. No wonder he freaked out when we were making out. He'd had a few beers that night and combined with his painkillers it would have brought back some horrific memories.

"What made you stop?" I asked tentatively. "You seem to have your life together pretty well now."

"My fourth, or fifth visit for STD testing in as many months at the college clinic," Greg said with a defeated sigh. "The doctor there sat me down and told me I needed to start making some better choices in my life or I was going to self destruct. She knew exactly what I was doing and gently pushed me in the direction of some help. I hated all the self help and groups bullshit but I managed to find a healthier distraction, cycling actually, and started to pull my life around."

"So, that night?" I didn't know how to phrase the few hundred questions that were going through my mind.

"That night was something I want to apologise for freaking out without an explanation," Greg said quickly. He then stopped, hesitating on what was coming next. "But what happened before the freak out was unexpected but not unwanted. I know…"

Greg had to catch himself, swallowing hard at whatever he was trying to say got stuck. I waited patiently for him to find the words for what he was going to say.

"I know about Riley and I also know I could never come close to the expectations you'd have after someone like him," Greg continued. "It didn't stop me getting feelings though. I have so much baggage you don't need that complication in your life. When I thought you weren't talking to me out of anger, I decided it was probably for the best. I'd probably only end up disappointing you. Or things would crash and burn very spectacularly."

"You aren't a disappointment," I said to Greg, as gently as I could. This was complicated because I knew he was right in that things would probably crash and burn in a spectacular way. We were on different wave lengths and there was no changing that. The whole him not living up to someone like Riley was a subject I couldn't even begin to touch on. "We're just two ships passing in the night I guess."

There wasn't going to be any fixing this. My heart sunk as I realised it. It had been too long and things had festered beyond the point of repair. Greg's disappointment was clear but there was also relief on his face. As much as getting some closure was hurtful, it was good to finally put this to rest.

"Still, I'm sorry for how things ended. I wish I could stick around to fix this." Greg said, this time he was able to give me some kind of smile. I tilted my head, looking at him curiously. "I passed my surgical exams and got a residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. I leave at the end of next week."

"Hey, that's awesome news." There was no faking my excitement for him. It was the same hospital that fixed Jared's ankle. Being the leading orthopaedic hospital in the country was going to do wonders for Greg's career. "You'll be an orthopaedic surgeon in no time making your fortune."

"I still have to make it through the residency first then pay off my student loans," Greg said dryly. His smile was looking more genuine as he spoke. His expression turned shy as he smiled at me. "I'm glad I ran into you."

"Me too." Even though the outcome was still losing a friend, I had closure now. It was only a small bit off my current emotional load but it was better than nothing. I could have been a bitch and held this against him. What was the point though? I was only hurting myself if I kept being bitter and angry over a situation that wasn't going to change. "And thank you for helping with Alexi. I would have understood if you'd walked away."

"You're welcome." Greg relaxed even further at my easy acceptance. "She's grown up so much. Tell the little Munchkin to stop being a daredevil."

"Yeah that will never happen," I said with a small laugh. "She looks up to me far too much."

"There are far worse role models out there than you," Greg laughed with me. "I'll go grab her brownies. Hopefully, her scans won't be too far away. I'll also see if I can charm the radiographer to move her up the list if it's going to be a while."

"Thank you. Again." I said, putting as much gratitude as I could into those two words. Despite everything going on between us, Greg was still a good person. Maybe in another time and life, things might have been different between us.

There wasn't much else to say. Greg left and came back with the promised brownies. They were still as good as I remembered them and it took all of my self control to leave some for Alexi. I filled him in on some of her antics while we walked back to her room. It was a safe enough subject and kept the conversation from straying to anything too awkward. As we got back, Alexi was ready for her x-rays and scans. Greg had done wonders to get her through in record time considering how busy the emergency room was. Greg left me alone to make sure he could look at the results as soon as they were done. Alexi's x-ray and CT scan were both clear and she was cleared to go home. Alexi was delighted to have her promised brownies and thanked Greg sweetly through her mouthful of chocolate. After only an hour in the emergency room, we were going home.

This time Greg didn't have to ask to speak to me in private. Abby pushed Evans out of the room before he could argue about Greg and I having a moment alone. The only thing taking the edge of Evans glare was the fact Greg helped Alexi. The awkwardness of this goodbye didn't need an audience.

"Take care of yourself," Greg said to me as soon as we were alone again. "Don't be one of my patients in New York."

"Believe me, I've already had enough injuries for this year," I said dryly, though I was smiling. "Have a good move and good luck with everything."

Greg reached forward and gave me a brief hug. I closed my eyes, returning the hug. Goodbyes sucked. I was glad to put this all behind me though. There wasn't anything else to say to each other. Nor was there any point of drawing out the inevitable. As soon as we finished embracing, I said my final goodbye and left.

I didn't have the heart to look back. Losing a friend really sucked sometimes. No matter how much closure you got from it.

There wasn't much time for me to dwell on it. Alexi was extra clingy to me after her little mishap so I spent the week in DC with her. Sam surprised me by spending the entire time with us as well. He spent the nights in the spare room and I'd sleep on the pullout couch. Or try to. No matter how exhausted I was, sleep kept eluding me. The constant barrage of nightmares would jolt me awake every single night. During the night Sam would come downstairs and find me sitting up watching TV. Neither of us would say anything, I'd simply scoot over to make room for him. He wasn't the only one to join me on the couch either. Evans would come down some nights and sit in the recliner until his absence would rouse Abby's from sleep. She'd either come down and take him back to bed or join us by falling asleep in Evans lap while we all sat up watching terrible late night TV. None of us would talk about our nightmares. There wasn't much reason to, we'd all seen with our own eyes what we dreamed of. There was no reason for me to be back at work just yet so I spent my days with Alexi and William. The only time I went in was for a session with Andrew which went nowhere, despite his careful prodding. I felt bad for Andrew, I normally wasn't a pain in the ass but this session had me clammed right up. My only saving grace was at the end of the session I apologised to Andrew for being a pain in the ass. My apology was probably the only thing saving me from a padded cell right now.

I was exhausted and not in the mood for a party. The only thing keeping me going for the opening of the new Stark Tower in New York was that I hadn't seen Pepper in a long time. She'd even offered me a room to stay in for the night and a lift from my parents to make my life easier. I simply couldn't say no to her after she as going out of her way to help. My semi-good mood today was the two people sitting on my bed helping me pick out a dress. Natasha and Jared had finished their mission this morning. Both were very hyped and looking pleased with themselves. It was good to have their energy around. Even if Natasha had just scrunched up her face for the fifth time I showed her a dress.

"What's wrong with this one?" I asked, sighing in over exaggerated exasperation.

"It makes you look even more flat chested than you already are," Jared piped up first, being extremely unhelpful. He was hanging upside down over the edge of my bed as he watched me rummage through my closet.

"I am flat chested," I pointed out with a barely contained snort of laughter. It had been such a weird week. I kept thinking each day was going to bring on an emotional breakdown. Here I was, still trudging through life one foot in front of the other. Natasha gave Jared a kick for his comment but didn't say anything to disagree with either of us.

"Yeah but that makes it look worse." Jared's face was started to turn red from him being upside down. He looked ridiculous but it was keeping a smile on my face. "What's wrong with that sparkly blue cocktail dress next to it?"

I wrinkled my nose as I looked at the suggested dress. I wasn't even sure where it came from, I had no memory of buying it. The midnight blue dress with glitter embossing over the top was very pretty. I was worried about the last yellow tinges of bruising being visible around my shoulders and chest with the thin straps. I pulled the dress out and had a good look at it. The dress was too skimpy to be one of Natasha's that I might have borrowed for some reason. I had a nagging feeling that it had been planted there by one of them.

"I don't remember buying this dress." I glanced at the two innocent faces on my bed. My nagging suspicion became louder as they both shrugged at the exact same time.

"I think you brought it when we went to the racing carnival after our 21st birthday?" Jared suggested looking far too innocent in all of this. "Remember?"

My mind stretched back to the last time I'd been to the races. It had been Belmont Stakes race that year for some weird reason. We'd gotten incredibly drunk off champagne and somehow managed to get into the VIP area. It had been a fun day even if I did have my suspicions Jared had been there for work. I had no idea what horse run that year, or even if I'd watched any of the races. There was a vague recollection of buying two dresses that year before I settled on a skimpy silver dress on the actual day.

"I'm pretty sure I was going through a red phase then." I shot Jared a suspicious look. "Not blue. What are you planning?"

"Nothing." Jared's beaming smile did nothing to erase any suspicion. Neither did Natasha's knowing smirk. "I like the blue dress. Don't you Tasha?"

"I vote the blue dress too," Natasha nodded quickly. "Wear some sparkly makeup with it too. You'll look amazing."

I smiled despite knowing I was being led to something they were plotting. It was good to have them home. Especially after running into Greg and having a shitty week with the never ending onslaught of nightmares. Both of them had been surprised at the story about Greg, but supportive. Natasha reassured me I'd done the right thing by walking away and not trying to make the friendship work again. Greg admitting he had feelings was only going to make things too complicated and it wasn't worth him getting hurt over. The only thing that would make this perfect if Clint was with us. He was spending some time with Lila and Cooper while Laura had to go into work for a few hours.

"Blue dress it is." If there was one thing I trusted Jared with, it was his impeccable taste in clothing. "What else have you snuck into my closet in the hopes I wouldn't notice?"

"Nothing but I did sneak in an invitation to the party tonight," Jared said smoothly, if he was he was saying wasn't going to get a reaction from me. "I'm wearing a navy suit, so we'll look nice together."

"Why are you coming to the party with me?" I said sharply. I knew I shouldn't bite because Jared was trying to poke a reaction out of me. He'd been very successful in doing it. "And how did you manage to work that?"

"Because I want to drink expensive champagne and have fun." Jared wasn't the least bit perturbed about my snappy tone. "I went through your phone and got Pepper's number. She thinks I'm charming and would love to meet me."

"You're an asshole." There was no arguing with Jared about this. Judging by Natasha's silence I had a feeling there was more to this than Jared was letting on. I had a nagging suspicious there had been some concerned parties speaking with each other and it had been decided I shouldn't be by myself. The longer I went without processing anything that had happened on that mission meant I was at risk of breaking down big time when it all came to head. I may as well roll with this instead of getting upset over it.

"Yeah but I'm an asshole who loves you." Jared flashed me a charming smile. It only made me roll my eyes at him. "Besides, who else would dress you if I wasn't around? You'd wear sweatpants to events like this if it wasn't for me."

"My clothes collection says otherwise," I replied dryly, eyeing off my wardrobe. It was bursting at the seams due to me being lazy and not doing my usual clean out. I had a bad habit of buying new clothes for special occasions rather than re-wearing the things I already had. Especially now I made more money than I ever did in the Air Force. I really needed to stop buying so many clothes. "Since you're both dressing me. What shoes am I wearing?"

Natasha jumped off the bed, looking happy at my easy acceptance. She went straight for my shoe rack and started rummaging around. She'd been very quiet today, letting Jared do most of the talking. I couldn't tell if something was on her mind or she was simply tired.

"These ones." Natasha's rummaging didn't take long. She produced a simple pair of silver heels. "And I'm borrowing these."

The pair of red pumps in Natasha's hands were ridiculously high. I could barely walk in them but I loved the look of them. I used them more for bedroom shoes than anything else because of how impractical they were to wear. With the mischievous twinkle in her eye, I knew Natasha's plans for tonight.

"Tell Sam if he breaks them he buys them." I took the offered practical shoes for me. "Other than that, I don't think I want to know."

I hoped whatever Natasha was planning tonight would cheer Sam up. Due to her mission, her text messages to me had been sparse and near non-existent to Sam. While he understood she was busy, I'm sure it wasn't helping his mood right now.

"Yes, please keep the details to yourself," Jared said with a disgusted look on his face. He glanced down at his watch to ignore the dirty look Natasha sent him. "I'm going to go pack. Get your shit together Kari so we can go."

I glanced at my own watch as Jared teleported to his room. He was right, as much as I hated him being right. If we didn't leave soon, I'd have no time to get ready for tonight.

"I'm going to go too." Natasha got up off the bed, stretching as she stood up. "Have fun tonight."

There was definitely something going on. Natasha looked very pleased with whatever she and Jared were plotting. Despite the knowing look she gave me, I went over and gave her a quick hug before she could leave. I had missed her a lot over the last few weeks.

"You too," I couldn't keep the mischievous tone out of my voice. "I'll see you when we get home on Monday."

Natasha hugged me a little tighter, lingering in the embrace. She'd never come outright and say it but I knew she felt guilty for not being there on the mission. It's why she and Jared had spent the last few weeks tracking down some of the responsible parties for supplying Aldon. Even though it was sanctioned hits, it was still revenge. Something I wasn't going to deny her or Jared. If I was less injured I would have wanted to be in on the action too.

When Natasha left, I finished packing for the weekend. Mom had told me to pack something nice for where ever we were going to dinner tomorrow night for our birthday dinner. Something nice left my options far too open so I ended up throw in a few different changes of clothes. Jared came back into the room just as I was zipping my bag up.

"Ready?" Jared asked, offering me his elbow. He had his hands full with his own suit and clothes bag.

"As I'll ever be." I quickly picked up my belongings and took Jared's offered arm. In the next second, we were standing in the lounge room of my parent's house.

There was always something nostalgic about coming home. We'd lived in the same house all our lives and not much had changed over the years. Mom had the occasional bouts of redecorating and getting new furniture but things still stayed in the same place. The house was quiet, as it usually was at this time of an afternoon. Mom would always get home before Dad but it was rare to see her home before 1730. It was a good thing I was always a well behaved kid throughout high school. There had been so many opportunities for me to run wild in those few spare hours after school without my parents being around. I never did. I'd catch the subway and bus home, then do my homework before either of them got home.

"Come on, let's get ready," Jared said, jolting me from my thoughts. "I can't wait to see what kind of a party Stark throws. Dibs on the ensuite."

As tired as I was, Jared's excitement was starting to rub off. It would be good to see Pepper again and the free food and booze for the night should make up for dealing with Tony. I rolled my eyes at him calling dibs on my parent's bathroom. There was no use arguing about things like that. He'd be up there and have the door locked before I could reply. Like the mischievous child he could be, Jared was gone before I could open my mouth.

I made my way upstairs to my old bedroom, dumping my clothes on the bed and hanging up what I needed to before heading to the bathroom. My room hadn't changed since I moved out of home. There was still fighter jet posters plastered on the wall, along with the occasional boy band and male celebrity posters. My bookshelf had framed certificates and the occasional trophy as well. It was like any other teenagers room. It's funny to look back at how innocent life was back then. When my biggest worry was my grades and not embarrassing myself during PE. Life was a lot different now.

There wasn't much time for me to linger on my childhood memories. I grabbed my make up bag and went to the bathroom to get ready. At least Natasha's suggestion of sparkly makeup had given me a vague idea of what to do. With the help of some YouTube videos, I was happy with how I looked and set on the task of wrangling my hair back into something respectable. I was halfway through straightening it when a knock came on the door.

"Are you respectable?" Jared's voice was muffled through the door. "We really need to get moving."

"I have a robe on." I ignored his non too subtle way of telling me to hurry the fuck up.

The door rattled and I heaved a huge sigh. I turned around, ready to snap at my asshole of a brother for interrupting me. When the door opened, it wasn't Jared poking his head in.

It was Gareth.

I stood there gaping like a fish out of water at the sight of him. He was wearing a sharp navy blue suit, one that complimented my dress perfectly. He was normally a cologne guy, but whatever he had on tonight smelt divine.

"Surprise?" Gareth said hesitantly.

My brain wasn't working well enough to respond with words. I crossed the room and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him hard. Gareth hugged me back gently, rocking me as I held onto him tightly.

"Best surprise ever" I smiled, glancing up from where I'd buried my face into Gareth's neck. I could just see Jared outside the door. Instead of the smug look, I thought he would have, he was smiling gently. The plotting from before all made sense now. I swallowed back a lump in my throat and mouthed a thank you to Jared. I had no idea how he'd manage to organise this on such short notice, especially with him only coming home today. Jared smiled at me and teleported away, leaving Gareth and I alone. "How did you plan this?"

"Jared gave me his number back at Camp Cookie," Gareth explained, pressing a chaste kiss on my cheek. "I knew your birthday was coming up and I asked him for ideas for a present last week. He said that you were having a bit of a rough time so me being tied to your bed naked might cheer you up."

I snorted with barely contained laughter. Trust Jared to say something like that. He may act disgusted about me having a sex life but he certainly didn't shy away from it either.

"Then he said you were going to this tonight so he got me an invitation as well. I owe a few people some really big favours for getting leave tonight." Gareth hugged me a little tighter. "I have to be back first this in the morning our time, but I hoped it would be enough."

"This is more than enough." It really was. I couldn't ask for better friends for organising this for me. It had just made a shitty week so much better.

Authors Note

This chapter was being very uncooperative. But it's here now. The minor calm before the storm. Thanks for your patience everyone. Only one more assignment to go for this semester. I will be happy to see the end of Public Health that's for sure.

Thanks for all of your support as always everyone. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks and writing is my escape from everything. In saying that, I've been asked a few things and realized that I really need to go back and do a huge edit of Crystallize. I had Alexi's age at the moment around 3 years old, but judging by my notes she's more like 2 1/2 which deosn't really fit her current development. I did start writing Crystallize a few years ago now and no doubt still have a few more years left to finish on it at my current rate. I want to get to the Avengers and then I'll probably have a big hiatus and do the big editing job on it.

So, Infinity War is here. I saw it opening night and I am blown away by how everything has come together. I cried, laughed, cried some more and then nearly died about the cliffhanger. For once, I have no idea where Crystallize would fit into it. I'm sure that will change once I've seen it a few more times. There was SO much to take in the first viewing. I need to see it another five times to really soak it all in.

Until next time.