My life was filled with things I never thought would happen to me. Generally, it felt like one huge clusterfuck after another. At least this time the clusterfuck unrolling in front of me wasn't my fault. It was however sorely testing my patience. Standing next to Coulson, I could hear him grinding his teeth in frustration. A sound and sight I'd only ever heard twice from him.
By the time we'd go to the ice shelf in the Arctic circle, it was chaos. No one had any idea what to do with the frozen hero slowly thawing out on the floor of the Valkyrie under the bright lights surrounding his body. Coulson wanted him taken straight home for repatriation. This was one of the biggest discoveries of my time. However, there were arguments about keeping the Captain here in the aircraft. No one knew what state his body was going to be in and there was arguments about keeping his body as well preserved as possible until there were proper facilities to thaw him.
While Coulson was arguing with the other SHIELD agent, curiosity got the better of me. No one else was paying any attention to me. At the moment I was nothing more than Coulson's chauffeur and treated as such. I left them to argue and walked over to where Captain America himself was laying.
He was even more handsome in person. Most of the ice had melted off his face showing off the perfectly chiseled face. Grams wasn't wrong when she said he was the prettiest man she'd ever known. Remembering that comment came with a sad smile. Grams and Peggy were going to be heartbroken. I don't know how much relief bringing home Steve's body was going to be. Deep down, I think both Grams and Peggy still had a shred of hope Steve would come home alive one day. Even as unlikely as it sounded after all these years, it was still hope.
A lump stuck in my throat as I looked over the perfectly preserved body. Steve was still in his uniform, his famous shield stuck under a thick layer of ice not far from him. He looked as if he'd simply laid down and gone to sleep. His face was peaceful and the only thing out of place was a lock of hair. I couldn't help myself. He was too perfect to have his hair stuck to his forehead. Taking my glove off, I hesitantly reached across and pushed his hair back into place. As I did, a cold breath ghosted across my wrist.
I snatched my hand back in a hurry. Goosebumps crawled all over my body. That's what I got for playing with the dead's hair. His ghost creeping me out.
A small fog came above his lips.
That was impossible. I must have been seeing things.
I held my wrist over his breath again and waited. I held it there for a good minute and nothing happened.
My fatigue was making me imagine things. It was stupid of me to even consider the possibility. Still, my shoulders slumped forward in disappointment. I don't even know why I'd let myself consider such a crazy outcome. As I went to pull my wrist away, I felt it again. A small puff of cold air. This time I knew it was coming directly from Steve's mouth. I wasn't imagining it
"Coulson!" I screeched at the top of my lungs.
Every person in the room turned to stare at me like I'd grown another head. I didn't care though. Wide eyed with disbelief, I pointed to Steve as Coulson looked over at me.
"He's breathing."
Coulson looked like someone had slapped him. He completely froze.
"That's impossible," the agent who'd been arguing with Coulson scoffed at me. "He's been dead for 70 years. He can't breath."
"He's a fucking super soldier," I snapped back at the asshole agent. For fuck sake, where did SHIELD find these people? "I'm telling you, Steve Rogers is breathing. Come and see."
"Kari," Coulson began with a pained expression.
I was too tired to hear any bullshit. If Steve was alive, we needed a completely different action plan right now.
"Phil, why would I lie to you about this?" I asked with a pleading expression. "Please, just come and look for yourself."
The asshole agent opened his mouth to argue. A nasty look from Coulson quickly made him shut his mouth. Coulson only pondered my words for a few seconds before he tentatively came over and knelt beside me. As he did, a more prominent mist of breath came from Steve's mouth. The fog of condensation was easy to see.
"Holy fucking shit." Coulson scrambled to his feet and was pulling the radio out of his pocket. I'd never seen him move so fast in my SHIELD career. He pressed the radio button. "I need a sat phone and a line to the Director, right now. Send Barton down when you have the link established."
There was no cell phone reception here. Everyone was working off short range radios and satellite phones. Clint had stayed outside at Coulson's request. He wasn't happy about it. Despite it nearly being summer, the weather was still viciously cold right now. I was bundled up in so many layers I could barely move. Kneeling on the frozen floor wasn't exactly keeping me warm either.
The room had turned to another type of chaos. It was all a blur of moving body and the dull roar of noise as I knelt next to Captain America himself. The small puffs of air coming from his mouth were still drawn out and longer apart than any other normal person's breathing should be. But he was breathing. Against all odds, he was alive.
A few minutes ago I was thinking how Grams was going to take the news of taking home a body. Now we were taking home a living person. Whether he was still the same person, or even going to defrost unscathed was going to be the big question. I couldn't even begin to imagine how Peggy was going to feel.
Clint came jogging from the back of the aircraft where they'd made the hole in the roof. He shot me a questioning look as he handed the bulky satellite phone over to Coulson. I climbed back to my feet to get off the cold floor, shoving my hands in my pockets to warm them up.
"He's alive," I explained to Clint. "He's breathing."
"How in the fuck is he alive?" Clint looked as shocked as Coulson when I first told him. "The crash alone should have killed him."
I felt a chill run down my spine that wasn't due to the cold. Our plane trip back to the States wasn't pleasant at all. I'd spent most of it with a white knuckled grip on my seat in economy. Coulson was waiting for us at LAX with a Quinjet already powered up. Coulson had been more than understanding when I went straight for the pilot's seat. He silently handed over half the stimulant already in his pocket for me, along with a bottle of Gatorade and as many snacks as he could shove into a shopping bag. Being chemically wide awake and well fed went a long way to shaking off the nightmare of my last two flights. Coulson even had some lasagne Clint had made and frozen for a quick dinner and heated it up for us using an MRE warmer.
"It has to be the serum." I push aside my discomfort. "There's no other explanation."
Clint was silent next to me as he looked over at the now living legend a few feet away from us. People were crowded around him and you could barely make him out from the mass of people milling around. Nobody seemed to know what to do. Not that there was much anyone could do right now. He was still under inches of ice. It's not like anyone had a giant hair dryer handy.
Clint inched closer to me so our bodies were touching. It was a small movement. Nothing out of the ordinary for us. I could barely feel it through our clothes but it made me smile. I couldn't wait to get some undisturbed alone time together again.
"Do you know how much I fucking hate random teleports?" Jared's voice suddenly cut in over the noise. The irritation was clear in his voice. "Especially when I have a passenger."
I craned my head around to see over the agents around me. I didn't have far to look before I saw Jared and his so called passenger. Who looked very pissed off at being called a passenger. It was Fury. Jared was wearing a sharply tailored suit and instantly looked freezing, wrapping his arms around him with a heavy scowl.
"This is fucking bullshit, I nearly had my fucking mark and…." Jared's rant was cut off as he glanced over towards us. Even though there were people everywhere, Jared's height would have let him see over them easily.
Jared's mouth snapped shut with a click of his teeth. His eyes widened as he pushed his way through the people. He came to stand beside me and Clint. It was comical how shocked he looked right now. He looked at Steve and then back at me and Clint.
"Is that?" Jared asked breathlessly.
"Yeah," I confirmed with a small smile. "We were a bit surprised too."
"Has anyone told Grams?" Jared turned back to face Fury and Coulson.
Fury was moving towards us. The agents parted for him like the Red Sea. Even the ones working around Steve moved for the Director.
It was if Fury didn't hear Jared's question. His annoyed expression from before turned into one of stone right now. He simply stood there staring at the frozen body in front of him.
"No one outside this room knows what's going on right now," Coulson filled in for Jared. "It needs to stay that way."
Jared opened his mouth like he was about to argue. It was my turn to frown at Coulson as well. Grams and Peggy both deserved to know.
"No ifs, buts or maybes here Jared, I mean it," Coulson's tone turned stern. "We don't know what we're dealing with."
"Captain Fucking America." Jared wasn't done with his rant apparently. "You know, the man who my Grandmother spent most of her life looking for? Not to mention Peggy. Don't you think she deserves to know?"
Jared looked furious. I shared a glance with Clint. While I didn't disagree, now wasn't really the time or place to argue about it. I may not be allowed to do it now but there was nothing saying we couldn't do something later when there was a more solid plan. After all, having a Grandmother who could read minds was a good excuse to say it was nothing more than a passing thought and she latched onto it.
"What do you need us to do, Sir?" I purposely left it open to who I was addressing.
"An idea on how to defrost a human would be a great right now." Coulson looked over to Jared with a sudden quirk of an eyebrow.
Jared was standing there with flames glowing around his hands as he frantically rubbed them together for warmth. As he caught sight of Coulson looking at him, the flames instantly disappeared.
"And fortunately we have one giant heater standing here right now."
"It's not a party trick." Jared was still scowling. "Absolutely fucking not."
He really had his cranky pants on today. It was all for show right now though. A flash of uncertainty flickered around Jared's face too fast for most people to notice. I noticed it and I'm sure Clint did too.
I knew exactly what Jared was thinking right now. If he tried this and screwed it up, it was on his head that he'd killed Steve Rogers, or permanently maimed him.
"Jared," Coulson's tone was gentler this time. "I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think you could do it."
Jared kept the scowl on his face for the rest of the world to see. I knew him well enough to know that is was a well schooled act right now. While Jared was amazingly confident with his teleporting, his pyrokinesis was an entirely different matter.
"You can do it." I switched to Icelandic so no one else would know what we were talking about. "I have all the faith in the world you can do this."
Talk about some pretty heavy role reversal. Usually, it was Jared telling me I could do something with my powers. Jared set his jaw and looked back over to the frozen body.
"Fine. But I'm calling Grams the second we get stateside," Jared grumbled in Icelandic. "And you're standing with me to re-freeze him incase he goes zombie on us."
Clint snorted in amusement next to me. While his Icelandic wasn't great, he was getting better. He could usually get the general gist of what I or Jared was saying.
"In English for the rest of the class please, Agents Lyngley," Fury finally spoke up, his voice hard and firm.
"I told Jared to stop being a little bitch," I lied smoothly. At least I hoped it was smooth. It took all of my courage to not shrink under Fury's hard glare which quickly turned on me. "At least give my poor brother a jacket so he doesn't freeze to death before he does this."
Jared was looking an unhealthy shade of blue. He was fidgeting and had his arms wrapped around him in a bear hug. He'd rather freeze to death before admitting he was cold or otherwise uncomfortable.
Coulson snapped his fingers and a coat appeared in his hand in the next moment. Jared took it with a mumbled thank you.
As Jared put his coat on, his eyes never left Steve's body. Although his face was hard on the outside, I could still feel flickers of uncertainty. Once his jacket was zipped up, he strode over to Steve looking like he had all the confidence in the world. I was a step behind him with silent reassurance.
Jared knelt down beside Steve and rubbed his hands together. He didn't need to do it for his powers. It was more of a nervous tick when it came to using it. Jared always told me he could never burn anything unless he really wanted to. This was a moment where I really hoped he was right.
The fire glowed on Jared's bare hands. Jared's face was a mask of intense concentration as his hands moved towards Steve's body. The heat coming off them was enough to start melting the thick layer of ice. Jared swallowed heavily before laying his hands on the actual ice itself.
The ice melted rapidly, forming puddles on the floor. People around us hastily moved closer, putting down anything they could find to keep the puddles from running everywhere. The moments ticked by as the ice surrounding Steve gradually fell away. The entire room felt like they were holding their breath the whole time. Even I had to remind myself to breathe. As soon as the last piece of ice melted away, the room went eerily quiet.
Nothing happened.
It took the room a minute before anyone had the sense to take some action. As soon as that person came forward and starting hooking up Steve to medical equipment, the whole room jumped back into action.
Jared stepped back out of the way, coming to stand beside me. He was close enough that our shoulders were touching in a silent show of support. I took his hand, squeezing it briefly before dropping it. Not that anyone would have noticed the small show of affection. Everyone was too busy with Steve. Jared squeeze back nearly broke my fingers. I could feel the relief pouring off him that this had actually worked.
There was nothing for us to do except stand back at watch. All the medical monitors were confirming Steve was alive and everything looked strong and steady. Part of me thought he was going to sit up at any moment. It would scare to shit out of everyone and sound like the start of a cheesy horror movie. A thought that made me had to bite my lip to stop the laughter from bubbling out.
"Kari?" Coulson's gentle tone interrupted my musing.
I glanced over at him with a questioning look.
"Get the Quinjet powered up. Let's get the Captain home."
I was dead tired. I was going to need a lot of prodding to keep me awake on the way home. I had a feeling there weren't too many people Coulson would trust with this precious cargo. I was honored that he'd asked me. I nodded and did as I was told. Jared and Clint were hot on my heels.
With Clint's help, the Quinjet was powered up and ready to go in no time. Jared stayed with us, swinging around lazily in the chair behind the cockpit. He only stopped when Coulson and Fury stepped up the ramp.
Suddenly I felt like a teenager learning to drive all over again with Fury in the back of my Quinjet. I busied myself playing with things that didn't need to be touched. It was one good thing about being a pilot. If you make it look real enough, most people assumed you were doing it for a reason. Not just idly hitting things that really didn't need to turned on or off.
Coulson and Fury were deep in conversation, just far enough out of earshot I couldn't hear what they were talking about. They also had their backs turned to us, much to Clint's annoyance judging by the expression on his face.
Luckily, the people serving as the medical crew weren't far away. Steve's body was on a gurney and barely visible with all the wires hanging off him.
"Everyone who needs to be on board, is, let's get home Kari," Coulson called from the back of the Quinjet. "The private landing strip we have in New York."
I was more than happy to comply. It was fucking freezing in here, even with the heat cranked up. In less than a minute we were in the air. I could have us back in New York in six hours. I took the initiative to take us to a higher altitude so I could push for speed. I doubted anyone would mind considering the precious cargo we had. The last bit of my stimulant in my body was enough to keep me awake until we landed.
It was early afternoon now. My body had no idea what time zone it was in. All I knew what that I was exhausted. I was extremely glad to be put in the backseat of a car. I was asleep nearly instantly.
Unluckily for me, it didn't last long. Jared poked me awake as we pulled into the underground car park of the New York office. The near deserted carpark made me blink in confusion. As long as no idea of the timezone I was currently in, I had no idea what day it was. I'd crossed the international timeline far too many times over the last few days. The carpark being this empty could only mean it was a weekend. There was one familiar car though. Mom's burnt orange SUV always stood out in the crowd. It was one of the reasons she brought it. That and she would never lose it parked in a shopping center. At least that's what I said when she got it and got a smack over the back of the head for my cheeky remark.
Mom was out of the car and across the carpark before my tired brain could really process she was here. She pulled both me and Jared into a tight hug. Jared squirmed in protest but I was really happy for that hug.
"Do you want to use my office for a nap?" Mom asked me as I hugged her back. "You're exhausted."
The sofa in Mom's office was also a pull out bed. While she wasn't quite the workaholic Dad was, there were plenty of nights where that pull out had come in handy for her.
"Please." I looked over at Jared with a slight pleading expression. I was that tired I'd let him teleport me up there.
Jared caught onto it right away. He looked pretty damn tired himself. As Mom let go, Jared took my hand and the next moment we were in Mom's office.
"I'll get Barton," Jared said as he let go of my hand. "You get the bed set up."
I could live with that arrangement. Jared was gone a second later and I started setting up the makeshift bed. The pillows and blanket were in the closet as usual. I threw them on the mattress just as Jared and Clint came back.
"Bed," Clint said with a tired sigh. He fell down on the mattress face first, not bothering to take his boots or any clothes off.
I was civilized enough to work my boots off before flopping down next to him. Jared was right behind me as he shed the outer layer of his nice suit off. I cuddled up to Clint and Jared squished in beside me, his back facing mine. I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow.
"They look like a pile of puppies."
The funny remark and the following snigger of amusement half dragged me back to consciousness. I was warm, comfortable and nowhere near ready to be awake yet.
"Yeah, but I'd go with Cerberus more than actual cute puppies."
That was Coulson. The muffled laugh of amusement was definitely coming from my Mom. Next to me, Jared grunted in annoyance and yanked the edge of the pillow out from me. I was curled up next to Clint with my head on his shoulder. He hadn't moved a muscle during the exchange. Either he was really tired or he'd taken his hearing aids out.
"That would make you Hades then." Mom's amusement was coming through loud and clear.
"A title I really wouldn't mind," Coulson said with a laugh. "Come on, I know at least Kari is awake. Up. You're needed in the briefing you three."
Next to me, Jared groaned and I felt him shift again. Clint still hadn't moved underneath me. I grumbled heavily but started untangling myself from Clint. I blinked blearily up at Coulson and Mom who were both looking very amused.
"Clint." Coulson moved and grabbed Clint's boot and gave it a shake.
I was glad I wasn't still cuddled up to him. Clint shot upright in surprise, his hand going for where the nightstand usually was. A place I know where he kept at least one knife at all times. It didn't happen often, but Clint's awakenings from nightmares weren't always pretty. There were plenty of times he'd scared the shit out of me doing exactly this when either waking himself up, or being woken up.
Coulson and Mom didn't seem the least bit perturbed. He'd already taken a step back, giving Clint a wide berth. Coulson gave Clint a second to get his bearings before tapping his ear.
Clint gave Coulson a confused look before reaching up to rub his ear. A second later, Clint reached over the other side of the bed and came back up with his two tiny hearing aids. Sometime during our nap, he'd woken up and taken his boots off. He must have taken his hearing aids out as well.
Coulson was giving Clint an odd look while he fitted his hearing aids back in. Even I was a little surprised. Clint rarely took his hearing aids out in any kind of public place. He only did it when he felt safe.
"Jared was snoring," Clint said in a grumpy tone as he fiddled with his left ear. "It was pissing me off."
"I don't snore," Jared's snappy reply was muffled under the pillow. "Why are we awake already?"
"It's been six hours and we have a meeting," Coulson said with his never ending patience. "Come on, up. There is coffee and food in the meeting room."
That stirred some life into the three of us. Coulson always knew how to get us moving. The promise of coffee was enough to make Jared sit up. Clint started to get his boots on. I tiredly pulled my boots on. I could feel my Mom's eyes on my every moment right now. I hated that gaze of hers. It was like she knew something was different. I kept my eyes firmly fixed on my laces, tying them into the mess of knots.
"Come on. Frozen molasses moves faster than you three." Coulson tapped his watch. "30 seconds."
I got to my feet with a grumble. The three of us followed Coulson out the door and through the maze of the New York building and down to the first sub level. The old interrogation rooms had been turned into a medical suite these days.
The main room was crowded with people. Fury was at the head of the room looking terrifying as usual. He glared at the three of us as we entered. No doubt because we were late or just not early enough for his liking. It was anyone's guess. Next to me, Jared looked unimpressed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall like a sulky teenager.
"Now everyone has decided to grace us with their presence," Fury began, giving the three of us the evil eye. "Let's go through this. Dr Burke is leading the team in charge of Captain's Rogers waking up."
Clint and Jared both looked at me. Dr Burke was the psychologist who tried to mess with me back when I was on punishment for my prank war with Rumlow. I set my jaw as I looked at the back of the balding head who came to stand up next to Fury. I glowered at the fat middle aged man who was nervous fiddling with the bottom of his half untucked shirt.
"Good afternoon everyone," Dr Burke nasily voice grated on my nerves. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
Jared was already bored. He had his phone out, fingers flying over the screen. Coulson and Mom were both giving him a disapproving look. I was tired enough that the distraction was enough to miss what Dr Burke was saying.
"Bravo team will be on sight for security. All security concerns will go through Agent Evans," Dr Burke's voice brought me back to the subject at hand.
At least that was something. I scanned the crowd until I found Evans closely cropped hair. Jared wasn't the only one not paying attention. Evans was looking down at his phone as well. If I had my phone, I'd be sending him a text to distract him even more. As it was, I was already distracted enough I was missing more and more of Dr Burke's droning on about the current protocols for waking Captain Rogers up.
"No offense to you Dr Burke," Mom speaking up, made my attention shift back to the topic at hand. "But do we really think this is the best approach? Having him wake up thinking he's still in the '40s?"
That was the plan? I didn't have a psychology degree but even I knew that was really dumb. Steve was going to flip the fuck out when it became clear he wasn't in the '40s any longer.
"We believe it's the best course of action," Dr Burke's displeased tone was clear.
I didn't catch what else Dr Burke was saying. Jared nudged me and I glanced down at his phone. He had a text message to Grams.
You need to get to New York. I can't explain but please just trust me.
Jared hadn't hit send yet.
I didn't hesitate. I hit send for him. Grams deserved to know and be here. Not letting Steve wake up in a fake environment with no one there to help him.
"Thanks," Jared said under his breath.
I gave him a half smile. Coulson was watching us out of the corner of his eye. I had no doubt we'd get our asses kicked for doing exactly what we were ordered not to. But I also had a feeling Coulson might give us a tiny bit of leniency on this as well.
"All agent's code 13. All agent's code 13!"
A panicked voice filled the room. There was a moment of stunned silence before the room sprung into action.
I had no idea what a code 13 was. I followed the crowd and quickly found out the problem. Clint had stepped out in front of me first just as a shocked looking Steve came barreling around the corner. Clint immediately fell onto the defensive.
Unluckily for both of us, Steve was far too quick. He shoved Clint hard enough to send us both flying into the wall.
I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I was seeing stars as Clint rolled off me with a pained grunt. I rolled over onto my back with a wince.
"Ow," I said breathlessly, clutching at my chest. Clint's elbow seemed to have found the right spot and slammed into my sternum. It still hurt occasionally and this was a solid reminder about my injury earlier in the year.
People were running everywhere. We weren't the only ones who'd been knocked over in Steve's mad rush. Coulson made it to us first, kneeling down beside us.
"Anything broken?" Coulson asked. He looked more amused than frazzled right now.
"My pride and ego," Clint said as he sat up with a grunt. "What happened?"
"Captain Rogers woke up earlier than expected and some idiot had a baseball game playing that he had been to," Coulson explained, offering Clint his hand. Clint took it with a grunt and staggered to his feet. "He saw through it straight away and threw poor Sam and Andy through the wall before running off."
"Mom did say it was a stupid fucking plan," I grumbled as I pushed myself upright.
"Can either of you tell me where Jared is?" Coulson looked straight at me.
I was busted. There was no keeping the guilty look off my face. I knew exactly where Jared was.
"She deserves to know Coulson." There was no point lying to him now. "Grams should have been here waiting for him to wake up. Fuck Dr Burke and his stupid plan."
"While I share your sentiments." Coulson offered me his hand. "I also told you not to."
"Technically Jared did. Not me. It came from his phone." I took the offered hand and got to my feet. I winced as the pain in my chest flared. That flying trip into the wall had really hurt.
"Medical. Now." Coulson noticed it straight away. "I'll deal with the other thing later."
I wasn't in trouble just yet so I wasn't going to argue. I nodded and tried not to clutch at my aching sternum as I slowly started to walk back to medical. Clint put a supporting hand on my back and came with me.
Sam and Andy were both there when I hobbled in. Sam was holding an ice pack on his face. Andy was on a separate bed getting stitches in his hairline.
"Did you run into a star spangled truck too?" Sam asked as I walked in.
"Barton did. I was just the unfortunate idiot between the wall and him," I said with a laugh. It made my sternum hurt but it was worth the mental picture. "What happened to you two?"
"We were in the viewing room when the psychologist who was dressed up hit the panic button," Sam explained, shifting his ice pack. He had dried blood under his nose and two impressive black eyes already forming. "So we went in, fully armed in riot gear like we were told to. Rogers picked both of us up and threw us through the wall."
Both me and Clint made a sympathetic face. This was our life of being in STRIKE. Always getting beat up. Usually not in this way though.
I sat up on the bed and let the medical staff prod me. Andy and Sam kept the conversation flowing, both eager to find out what we knew. As usual, gossip spread like wildfire within SHIELD. Everyone who had the clearance to know about it knew it had been us and Coulson who'd been sent to get Rogers.
There really wasn't much else for us to do except sit around and talk shit. Coulson was nowhere to be seen, neither was Evans. A few of the others from Bravo team poked their heads in every so often. While Clint and Sam were talking, I dozed off on Clint's shoulder. It didn't last nearly long enough. A yell woke me up.
"What in the everlasting fuck were you thinking Nicholas?"
All four of us swiveled around to look at the source of the voice. I knew that voice extremely well. It was Grams.
"And what would you think would happen?" Grams loud tirade continued. "That he wouldn't wake up, freak the fuck out and knock four agents through a wall? Including my Granddaughter!"
A Grams came into view, trailing behind her was a very irate looking Fury. His answer to Grams was lost as he was speaking in a normal tone. I couldn't stop my snort of laughter.
"Really?" Grams' flat reply could barely be heard.
Whatever Fury said was lost again. He was at least looking chastised this time instead of irate. The pair had come to stop at the front of our door, obscuring us from view.
"This I have to hear," Clint said gleefully, jumping off the bed. He quietly walked over to the door, putting his ear against it.
The three of us all lent forward. I was eager to hear the rest of this conversation. I was very glad Grams was here to knock some sense into people. I couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling about all of this.
Clint made it one step from the door before it swung open. His fast reflexes were the only thing that stopped him from getting hit in the face.
"Stop eavesdropping, Barton," Grams said with a scowl as she marched into the room. "Let's go, Kari."
I felt lost. I knew better than to argue though, especially with the foul mood Grams appeared to be in. My confusion must have come through loud and clear because her face softened almost immediately.
"Me and your Mom are taking Steve back to DC," Grams explained. Though she didn't look as pissed she was definitely being impatient. "You're coming with us."
"Okay," I said meekly. "Let me grab my gear and say goodbye to Clint first?"
"Your Mom has got your bag." Grams was all business. "Make it quick. Barton, Coulson is going to come looking for you. You're off to PEGASUS."
Without me. As much as I wanted to help Grams with Steve, I also wanted to stick with Clint a while longer. Having some clandestine sex could have been a lot of fun. There was no time to complain about it. I went past Grams and gave Clint a quick hug.
"Don't have too much fun without me," I said sarcastically as Clint squeezed me tightly. I was going to miss those strong arms around me of a night time. And every other time I'd wanted it over the last few weeks. I forced myself not to think of all the fun positions we could do because of Clint's strong arms which could easily hold me up.
"Tell me everything," Clint said with a small laugh. "I'm going to need something to keep me dying of boredom."
"Me too." Sam came from behind and hugged me. I was squished between two mountains of muscle.
"Me three." Andy came in from the side and piled on in the hug too. "Keg party when we all get back."
"Sure," I said with a laugh. "No letting Rumlow dye my hair pink this time."
I had to push away the urge to kiss Clint before I let him go. I was already missing our little bubble of bliss of that uninterrupted time we had together. I knew it wouldn't last. At least I was going to be doing something interesting. Clint would be guarding a door for the unforeseeable future.
"We'll be your guardians," Sam said sincerely. "We'll let go now before your Grandmother murders us with the look she's giving us."
Grams cracked a smile at Sam's not too subtle dig that we were all hugging for too long. I reluctantly let go of Clint as Sam and Andy both detached themselves from me.
I didn't have time to do much except give Clint a smile before Grams turned on her heel and left. I had to hurry to catch up with her. Fury was waiting outside the door and he stepped aside as Grams stormed out. If looks could kill, Fury would have been dead on the spot. He made the wise decision not to follow us. Even I couldn't help but shoot him a look of pity. Fury didn't glower at me, for once. I think he may have even been relieved.
Nothing could prepare me for the moment of walking into Mom's office and having Steve Roger's sitting there, wide awake and turning to stare at me. Jared was leaning against the wall looking very awkward and uncomfortable.
"Steve, this is my granddaughter, Kari," Grams said as she breezed into the room. "Yes, you threw her into the wall but she's tough."
Not exactly the greeting I wanted. Neither did Steve judging by the pained expression on his face.
"Captain Rogers." I decided to go with the formal approach, stepping forward and offering him my hand. "It's an honor and pleasure."
Steve got to his feet, a plastered smile on his face. It looked very practiced and not at all comfortable. He shook my hand, the grip near bruising.
The man was glorious. 6'2 of all American boy, muscles bursting at the seams of his shirt. I forced myself not to stare at those incredible biceps. Clint's were magnificent but Steve's were something else.
"Steve, please." His handshake was only brief. He seemed lost for words and extremely uncomfortable right now.
While I didn't really expect him to be completely open and friendly, I wasn't quite expecting this either.
This really wasn't going to be fun as I thought it would be.
Authors Note
I made it! I finally made it to get this chapter written and out. I wanted to get it out before the month was done and I just managed to get it in. Not much happening in this chapter, but big steps towards some very important events now!
Thank you for all your patience while I worked what felt like a million hours of the last month. My husband did his very last day of placement yesterday and I feel like we can both finally breath again. I fell off my horse yesterday, nothing majorly damaged, but I am sore and sorry for myself so it was a good excuse to have a quiet day.
Thanks for your support everyone. I still can't believe it some days how much love I get from this story.
Until next time. Hopefully not another month this time!