A/N: Don't own anything Avengers….Good Team fluffy feels. Enjoy

I'm Not Sick

Katherine worked quietly at her station alongside Dr. Bruce Banner, even though she is only an intern she has made some great strides forward in her own research along with assisting Dr. Banner and sometimes even Mr. Stark when he drops by to check on Bruce and snoops around in her research as well.

Quiet often Katherine and Bruce, as Dr. Banner insisted she call him, would take lunch together or Captain Rogers would slip into the lab with dinner for the both of them reminding them to take a break, eat and sleep. But much like the other two scientists Katherine tends to forget, especially when she is deep into her projects.

Today though, Katherine is not feel so hot, or rather that's the problem she's very warm, her head is pounding and she's been coughing and sneezing, enough that Bruce has taken notice and asked if she needs to head to her apartment for the afternoon, which Tony set up for her in one of the spare floors so she wouldn't have to travel back and forth while working at the Tower. Katherine new it was only temporary while working here but the gesture was really nice of Mr. Stark all the same, so she tries her best not to ruffle any feathers or make too much of a fuss around the Tower, sometimes if she feels inspired Katherine will cook a big meal for the Team so they don't overdose on take out, but for the most part she prefers to do what she does best, being a wallflower buried in her work.

Unfortunately, when you work and sort of live with two spies, a military man out of time and two scientists who are all trained to silently watch and observe their surroundings, it's really hard to go unnoticed no matter how hard Katherine ties.

Katherine sneezes into her elbow again, god she feels like crap.

"Kate, why don't you shut down for the afternoon and get some rest" Bruce calls out from the other side of the room, "you're no good to anyone if you are sick"

Katherine waives him off, "I'm fine Dr. B, just want to finish running this test first" and continues on working, even though Katherine can feel her temperature rising and the room is beginning to spin.

It was twenty minutes later the Bruce hears a thud and glass shatter in Katherine's corner and comes rushing over to find Katherine laid out on the floor pulling on the neckline of her shirt like it's choking her.

"Kate" Bruce calls but receives no response.

"Jarvis, scan Kate please" Bruce calls out as he sits down behind Katherine and pulls her into a upright position leaning her back against his chest pulling her long thick hair off her neck and over her shoulder noticing it was damp with seat and Bruce can feel the heat of her skin through her shirt and lab coat.

"Dr. Banner, Ms. Katherine currently has a fever of 102.3, her head and chest are congested causing the reduced breathing and the beginning of a panic attack" Jarvis calls out.

Bruce begins rocking Kate slowly now trying to help slow her breathing whispering her to take slow calm breathes, "Jarvis is anyone available"

"Captain Rogers is in the kitchen along with sir, do you require assistance Dr. Banner?" Jarvis asks.

Bruce looks down at Kate; her breathing is still labored, her skin is flushed with fever, beads of sweat are forming on her forehead and he can feel her body trembling.

"Yes please Jarvis" Bruce calls out.

"Of course sir"

Within five minutes Steve and Tony are rushing into the Lab and over to Bruce and Kate. Steve keels down in front of the pair, her breathing is shallow and Steve's sensitive hearing is picking up wheezing from Kate's lungs as she continues to struggle with her breathing.

"What happened?" Tony asks not liking the situation and the stress it's putting on Bruce.

"I don't know. She's been coughing and sneezing a bit here and there today and I told her to close down for the day and head off to her apartment to get some rest which of course she was being stubborn and just wanted to finish her project testing. The next thing I know she on the ground gasping for air, Jarvis ran a scan; she has a fever of 102.3" Bruce fills Steve and Tony in.

Steve reaches out and gently places his big hand on Kate's forehead then down to cup her cheek, "Bruce we need to get this fever down quickly and her congestion is causing her to lungs to wheeze"

"What?" Bruce asks in panic not realizing how constricted her breathing had become as Katherine starts a round of rough hacking coughs, stealing what air she has away from her.

"Easy Green Bean, we'll get her to the Med Bay and get some fluids and anti-biotics into her, she'll be okay" Tony replies hoping to keep Bruce calm.

"Kate" Steve tries to rouse Kate still recovering from the harsh coughing, by tapping her cheek with his finger, "Katie sweet heart can you hear me?"

"mmmmm" Kate hums out trying to open her heavy eyes lids, but Steve and Tony both can clearly see they are glazed over with fever.

"Wha?" Katie slurs.

"You past out science girl, scared Brucie Bear something awful, how you feeling" Tony replies.

"Hot...hurtssss" Kate tries to say but her words are slurred, her tongue heavy in her mouth.

"Okay doll, let's get you up and into Med Bay" Steve says when Kate pulls back from Steve's hands.

"No…r-roooomm….no safffffe" Kate slurs out again her breathing becoming labored again.

"Kate, your room doesn't have the medicine we need for you and it's perfectly safe" Bruce whispers to Kate causing her to thrash in Bruce's arms and if they didn't know any better they think she was having some kind of seizure.

"Kate" Tony calls out helping to hold her legs as Steve grabs her wrists while Bruce tightens his arms around her shoulders and begins rocking her again.

"Kate…..Katherine" Steve says gently not understanding her aversion to the Med Bay, but they don't have time for it right now, it's the best place to take her and all three men know it.

Katherine feels like someone lit her body on fire and is so exhausted that she can't control herself anymore and begins sobbing.

"Oh doll, it's okay….it's okay….don't cry we'll fix this, okay…someone will stay with you okay….shh don't care darlin'" Steve says placing his hand on her cheek, her skin feels like she's boiling.

"Jarvis run a scan please I think her fever is climbing" Steve calls out.

"You are correct Captain Rogers; Ms. Katherine's temperature has climbed to 103.6. I'd advise that medication be administered immediately to prevent a damaging seizure or internal organ failure" Jarvis advises.

"Okay that's it, Med Bay it is let's go, we'll figure the rest of it out later" Tony orders not wanting to take any chances with Kate's life, she can be mad at them later.

Steve gently pulls Katherine from Bruce's arms and lifts her up to carry her bridal style while Tony helps Bruce up off the floor. All three men quickly make their way to the elevator and head down to the Med Bay.

"Jarvis, please save all working files for Katherine and myself and lock down the lab please" Bruce calls out in the elevator.

"Of course sir" Jarvis quickly replies.

When the elevator doors open the three men quickly step out and walk down the hallway to enter Med Bay 1, "Lay her down on the bed there Steve" Bruce instructs Steve as he starts digging through the supplies to set up a saline drip along with a strong dose of antibiotics.

"Tony we need to try and get her fever down till the medicine can get into her system and start working. Grab some cold compresses wrap them in towels and lay one on the back of her neck, under her arm pits and in between her legs about mid-thigh. Steve grab a wash cloth wet it down with cool water and wipe down her face and neck." Bruce orders now in his element even though he constantly tells Tony he's not this kind of doctor, he is feeling less panicked as he busies himself by inserting the need for the IV and getting Katherine as comfortable as possible.

Steve, Bruce and Tony took turns staying with her the entire night only leaving to use the restroom or grab something to eat then Clint, Natasha and even Pepper would sit in and watch over Katherine for a few hours allowing the guys to try and catch a quick cat nap. Several times throughout the night Katherine would wake in a fevered haze, confused, achy and panicked when she got a quick glimpse of the Med Bay then pass out again, which concerned the team but at this point couldn't do anything put stay close so Katherine knew she wasn't alone.

Natasha and Pepper, when it was their turn to watch over her carefully changed Katherine out of her now sweaty work clothes, giving her a quick by efficient sponge bath before getting her into a comfortable t-shirt and shorts then covering her with a blanket to keep her legs warm but not over heat her.

When Clint came in to check on Kate and tap Pepper out so she could get some rest before heading to the office, he gently placed a stuffed puppy next to her hoping that would give her a little comfort when she wakes and sees she's still in the Med Bay, causing Natasha to give Clint a rarely seen soft smile.

"What I thought it might help keep her calm till we can get her out of here. How's she doing anyway?" Clint whispers to Natasha.

"Better, fevers slowly coming down, still congested but the anti-biotics are doing their job, should be up and around in a few days or at least well enough to be moved to her room" Natasha fills Clint in.

Clint nods his head at the report, "Nat why don't you grab a nap, I'll stay with her a bit"

Natasha gives Clint another quick grin and heads out and up to her floor to crash into her bed still fully clothed.

Clint's time with Kate is quiet and uneventful so it was easy for him to drift to sleep which is how Bruce found him at 4am as he was coming in to check on Kate, sitting up arms crossed and chin on his chest, out like a light.

"Clint" Bruce whispers shaking his shoulder gently.

"Five more minutes Nat" Clint grumbles causing Bruce to chuckle.

"Clint, Steve wants to go on a ten mile run with you this morning" Bruce says a little louder again shaking his shoulder just a little harder, when Clint pops up, eyes wild looking around the room for the super soldier.

Bruce stands there chuckling, "Not funny big guy, not funny at all, I hate running and you know it" Clint whines as he runs his hands down his face, releasing a jaw cracking yawn, lifting his arms above his head to stretch out his back. Bruce walks over to Katherine's bedside, checking the IV bag and removes the washcloth on her forehead to check her temperature.

"How's she doing doc?" Clint asks now standing at the foot of the bed doing some leg exercises to wake his butt up from sitting on a hard chair for several hours.

"Better, seems the medicine is working and her temperature is coming down finally" Bruce states as he puts a fresh cloth back on Katherine's forehead, "why don't you head on up to the kitchen and get some breakfast, I'll stay with her for a while, I expect her to hopefully wake soon" Bruce tells Clint who straightens out the stuffed puppy so it's tucked underneath Katherine's arm causing Bruce to silently raise an eye brow at Clint.

"What?" He says with a huff and walks out of the room to the sound of Bruce's chuckles.

Later that morning Bruce was finishing off the cup of tea and toast that Steve had brought down to him when Katherine began to stir, releasing a round of coughs that made her try and sit up to get more air into her lungs.

Bruce was right there supporting her and rubbing her back to hopefully help her in some way before laying her back down on the bed placing the cloth back on her forehead that fell off when she tried to sit up and took a seat next to her hip.

"Hey Katherine, how you feeling?" Bruce asks quietly.

Katherine tries to open her heavy eye lids but they felt like they were weighted down with led, "tired, chest hurts" Kate moans out turning on her side trying to get comfortable not realizing she pulled the stuffed puppy in her arms close to her chest making Bruce smile.

"You're very sick, but we were able to get some medicine into your system quickly, it was the fever that had us all scared, it peaked at 104.2 before it broke, you were not a fan of the cool water baths we resorted to too get it down" Bruce tells Katherine unsure of how much she is really hearing.

"Sorry" Katherine coughs out as Bruce notices her lower lip begins to quiver.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm just glad we were able to help, there was a great debate if we should ship you to the hospital, of course Tony boasted that the Med Bay is just as equipped as any high end hospital, plus a hospital doesn't have one important thing that the Tower does"

"Wha tha-t?" Katherine asks trying to follow the conversation but her minds is still so muddled with congestion.

Bruce chuckles, "Us…the tower has us. Now go back to sleep, next time you wake I want to see if you can hold some broth down"

"M'kay" Katherine says around a cough.

Bruce begins to gather up his tea cup and plate to return it back to the kitchen and report in to the Team that Katherine's fever has broken and if she doesn't have any relapses she is on her way to getting better.

Right before Bruce walks out of the room Katherine call out to him, "Bruce….(cough, panting)…thank you" Katherine says roughly her voice still so sore and achy.

"Don't worry about it Kate, just rest" Bruce replies.

"Bruce, what is this thing next to me?" Katherine asks as she stares intently at the stuffed puppy not sure if it's real or not and Bruce can't help but laugh.

"Oh that's from Clint; named him Milo I believe much to Tony's disbelief" Bruce chuckles.

"Birdbrain" Katherine mumbles under her breath but Bruce still hears it as he watches Katherine pulls it back close to her chest and drifts off to sleep.

"Jarvis take a picture of that and send it to Clint please" Bruce calls out as he enters the elevator to ride up the Team kitchen area. When Bruce walks into the kitchen it's to see everyone standing around Clint looking at his phone.

"Really….that's just adorable" Steve says smiling down at Clint then looks up when he notices Bruce has walked in and before anyone can ask Bruce gives them an update on the Katherine progress. It amazed Bruce that she tried so hard to be invisible but instead has easily maneuvered her way into each of their lives and hearts, God help her as Bruce smiles around a fresh cup of tea while watching his friends and dare he even say family sit around the table, talking, laughing, Tony starting a food fight with Clint while Steve frowns at their behavior.

Yep wouldn't give this up for the world.

A/N: Hope you like this one…just a bit of Avenger fluff….Please review…it's like getting a present all year round...