Can you believe we're in book 4!? It's amazing that we're here and getting through to the next part in the series. In my head, this is the 4th story but the second arc of this series. I hope you continue to enjoy it as much as I am!

I have a proper writing schedule set up now, so it will be my aim to upload chapters on Fridays.

...

January 13th, 2015, Avengers Tower, New York

It started off with a bang and continued from there. Beth narrowly avoided drawing her gun as the sound of something exploding ricochet through the tower, instead pausing to take a breath and pad down to the kitchen, following the sounds of swearing and the tendrils of smoke now filling the hallway. She was almost afraid to peer into the room, but when she finally summoned the courage to do so, the sight in front of her made her want to laugh at the same time as hug someone.

Steve stood holding a handcloth, batting away the smoke as Tony used one of the arms of his Iron Man suit to extinguish the flames coming from the oven. She could just about see a blackened lump in the once silver machine through the flurried movements of the two men.

"We have to hurry this up Tony. No way did Beth not hear that."

"I'm going as fast as I can, Cap. It wasn't my idea to make her a cake, you know."

"I know, but it was you who thought it would cook quicker if you used your suit's flamethrower on it!"

She couldn't hold back her chuckle any longer and stepped into the room as both men turned to face her with looks of dismay and surprise.

"Do I even want to know?" she asked, motioning to the smouldering cake remains.

Steve was the first to respond, walking up to squeeze her in his arms.

"We wanted to make you a cake for this evening, but as you can see, it didn't go so well. Happy birthday little sister."

She chuckled, returning her brother's hug and smiling broadly at her godson as he continued cleaning up the mess they'd created. It was the first time in forever that she'd actually wanted to celebrate a birthday, and it meant more than she was able to express to see two men who couldn't usually be left alone for more than five minutes actually coming together to make her smile. And make her smile they did, her cheeks smarting an hour later as the smell of burning once more wound its way to her nose.

"What is that awful smell?" Natasha asked, stepping into the living room looking like a model who'd just stepped off a runway.

"Steve and Tony are cooking." Beth replied, standing up to greet her friend, the embrace only slightly tighter than normal.

Since the whole 'SHIELD is actually HYDRA' fiasco on Capitol Hill, Natasha had kept her distance, despite Beth's please for her to return. On one hand, it made perfect sense to keep the redhead safe. On the other, it gnawed at Beth that her closest friend wasn't there with her after discovering the love of her life wasn't dead and was now living who-knows-where. It had been so hard for her to adjust after Bucky had found her at Clint's, but Natasha had disappeared shortly after and the calls had been far and few in between. Beth had expected to feel more resentment but seeing how exhausted Nat looked as she sank into the nearest chair with a sigh, she realised she didn't care. She was just glad to see her.

"You know I'm jealous of you, right?"

Nat's eyebrow quirked, her face clearly telling that she was needing Beth to elaborate.

"You're gone for months, probably risking your life tracking down HYDRA cells, yet you turn up and still look like that. Would it kill you to look unattractive just once?"

Nat let out a husky laugh, finishing with a pout that would make any man swoon. Beth couldn't help but laugh along, acutely aware when Bruce walked in, almost walking into one of the posts as his eyes landed on Nat. sensing there was going to be a moment that she didn't think either of them would appreciate witnessed, she slid out of her chair and made her way towards her quarters, patting Bruce's shoulder with an encouraging smile. She glanced back to see Nat's face settle into something gentler than she'd ever seen on the other woman's face before and couldn't help but snigger at the expression on Bruce's face before the door closed behind her.

The first thing she did when sitting at her desk was power up her laptop. People tended to assume that because of her youthful looks, she was a whiz with technology like the other twenty-somethings of this generation. Those were typically the people who didn't know her true age. The people who were blissfully unaware that even as time evolved and technology grew more complex, she was still more comfortable working a radio than she was an iPod. Not that she'd ever tell anyone that.

2 new emails and 1 new message.

She chose the message first, smiling as Lila and Coopers faces grinned from the screen, holding up a sign saying, "Happy Birthday Auntie Beth from the 5 of us!"

Her brow creased in confusion as she mulled over the words on the banner. There were only four members of the Barton…

She squealed, reaching for her phone and dialling Laura's number before she'd fully finished processing the news.

"Hey, birthday girl." Her friend greeted.

"You're pregnant!?"

From the laughter, she gathered she was on speaker phone to the whole family and couldn't help but laugh along with them. while she talked with the family, she checked the two emails, one from Dum Dum apologising again for not being able to visit, the other from Nick Fury with his usual one sentence greeting.

By the time Steve tapped on her door, her heart felt full. After speaking with Clint and the family, she'd then called the remaining commandos and rounded it off with a call from Thor just as she hung up from the call with Jones. The man may be a god, but he still had no idea how to properly use a cell phone. She was sure that even holding the device at arm's length, the hearing in her left ear was temporarily dampened from his booming voice.

"Lunch is ready if you're hungry. Pepper took over the cooking with Sam and we weren't allowed back in. Tony's still sulking."

"That's because Tony is the world's biggest baby. When did Sam arrive?"

"About an hour ago. I came to tell you but could hear you were on the phone and didn't want to interrupt."

'You can take the man out of the forties, but not the forties out of the man' she thought to herself, following him towards the sound of voices ahead.

Sam wasn't the only one who'd arrived in her absence. Rhodey sat on one of the couches, a beer in hand. Next to him, Maria Hill was watching whatever game was on the TV, only half paying attention to him as he regaled her with his adventures being the Iron Patriot. She still thought it was a ridiculous name. as Hill noticed her, the relief was palpable, and she was quick to hurry over and hug her friend. Beth had been careful not to become overly close to anyone in the past six decades, though occasionally the odd one or two slipped through. There was no doubt that Clint and Nat were practically her siblings by this point, but Maria Hill and her collected, calm demenure had gradually wormed into her heart, the pair sharing a friendship that was close, even if not the pyjama party every Friday night kind of relationship.

"I got you a gift card for Barnes and Nobles, I hope you don't mind."

Beth hugged her friend again, not bothered at all. She loved reading. She just never had time to actually do it very often, which annoyed her more than she liked to admit. Especially when her nearest and dearest continued to fill her shelves with books she would only look at with dismay. This year, she told herself. This year, she was going to read every day.

The afternoon was filled with laughter as one by one; their guests gave Beth various cards and gifts that were as varied as those presenting them. she was now the proud owner of a deadly set of ninja stars curtesy of Nat, much to Steve's horror when he caught a glimpse of just how sharp they were. Sam had made her flashcards with his 'most famous' recipes. Luckily for her, she was passable in the kitchen, and had no doubt his advice would help her. Bruce awkwardly gave her a gift card for a local department store, with the admittance that he'd forgotten it was even her birthday until that morning. She'd hugged him extra tightly, loving him even more for his thought. A bottle of scotch from Rhodey that she knew she wasn't going to drink, and an upgraded cell phone from Tony that she tried hard not to wince at, the thought of learning the new tech one that made her want to groan.

"Steve's turn." Tony prodded, nudging him forward.

Steve looked for a moment like he wanted to be anywhere but in front of everyone, his feet fidgeting as he stood in place, hands reaching into his pocket.

"it's nothing too much, just something I thought you'd like."

He handed her a small jewellery box. One with a very iconic pale blue colour. One that was definitely NOT 'not' too much. She opened it, gasping at the silver bracelet inside. Not just any bracelet. Small charms dangled off it, glinting in the light.

"each of the charms represents someone close to you. Your family."

Tears unashamedly sprung to her eyes as she looked in closer detail to work out who each was. Thor was easy enough, a tiny lightning bolt. Steve's charm was a shield, Tony's a screwdriver, and Clint an arrow. With the help of Steve, she discovered Bruce's was a pair of glasses (Tony's suggestion apparently), Sam's a pair of wings, and Natasha's a gun. There were even ones for the commandos, with a lipstick for Peggy and an insignia of their group she had no idea where he even found it. The last charm was one that made fresh tears well, for once from joy rather than heartache.

A ring. One eerily shaped like her engagement ring.

Bucky.

She stroked the charm, unable to stop her thoughts from straying to the possibility that one day, maybe she and Bucky would get their chance again. It would seem Steve felt the same way too, his arm snaking round her shoulders to draw her into the comforting scent of his cologne.

She was exhausted by the time everyone had either gone home, moved to their room, or over to one of the any rooms set aside for watching TV. For Beth, it was the perfect time to sit out on her balcony, a book in one hand, a gin and tonic in the other, and a sign on her door telling the world she was not to be disturbed for the next hour unless somebody was dying. She flipped the switch to the fairy lights and lamps she'd installed, the glow illuminating a small pot of peach coloured lilies on the side table next to her reading chair. She moved out onto the deck, cautiously placing her drink down to reach for the card attached.

I may not remember much, but I do remember this. Happy Birthday Bethie.

There was no signature. No evidence anywhere to his presence other than her favourite flowers in her favourite colour sat innocently in front of her, yet she knew they were from him. She also knew better than to question how he'd managed to avoid detection from Tony's sensors. Instead, she placed a kiss on the card and rested it back against the pot slid into her chair and opened her book with a contended sigh.