I will try to make Sundays (Australian time) my regular upload day

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It was well past 3 in the morning before I walked through the door and arrived home. I was so glad to be back in familiar surroundings but it wouldn't last long, as tomorrow (more like today) I was heading to New York. I tried not to think about that, and the conversation I would need to have with dad.

"Hey baby."

My face broke out into an involuntary grin as I saw Daniel walking down the hallway.

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Waiting for you." He pulled me into a hug and I melted into his chest. I never got sick of feeling his arms wrapped around me. I stood up on my toes and planted a kiss on him.

He eyed me up and down as he stepped back. "Have I told you how hot you look in that catsuit?"

"Yes you have, you big perve."

He grinned. "Go change. I've got some pizza heating up."

"God I love you." I picked up my bag and made my way to the bedroom.

"Are you talking about me or the pizza?"

"Both!" I yelled down the hall.

As I practically peeled the catsuit off my skin, I couldn't control the smile on my face. I couldn't believe how much my life had changed in just 9 months. I had to pinch myself sometimes to prove that I wasn't dreaming.

Daniel and I had been together ever since we had met again at the expo. It was hard to believe the cute doctor who had taken care of me after Obadiah's attack was now the love of my life. We'd been too nervous to ask each other out all of those years ago but when we met again at the expo, we knew it was fate and didn't let each other slip away again.

We had been through so much together in just a few months but we'd always been there for each other. He'd supported me and never gave up after everything that occurred after the expo. Even when I had given up on myself, he never did. He was there after the surgery, attended every rehab session with me and put up with all my swearing and moaning.

Since the start he'd been supportive of me joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course he was concerned for me but he knew how much it meant to me to be doing something positive and making a difference. Unfortunately working for S.H.I.E.L.D meant I was away a lot but we made it work.

"How long have we been living together?" I shouted to the kitchen.

"4 months," he yelled back.

I pulled on my favourite pair of pink pyjamas and walked to the kitchen. "4 months later and you still can't remember to not leave your wet towel on the bed."

"Whoops." He slyly grinned at me. "Please forgive me," he said as he presented a plate of pizza.

"You know I can't be angry when there's pizza in the room." I gratefully accepted the plate and we moved into the living room to relax on the couch. While the last house I had lived in had been a hillside mansion, both Daniel and I had agreed that we wanted something more low-key. Together we'd purchased a modest 3 bedroom house in Santa Monica. Some might say we were moving too fast, having been together for less than a year, but we didn't want to waste any of our time together. We both knew we had found the one, so why waste time?

Dad hadn't been thrilled when I had announced that I was going to live with him. It had taken him a few months to just warm up to the idea of Daniel being my boyfriend, then he had to quickly get use to the idea of Daniel being my boyfriend who I lived with. Dad didn't have anything against Daniel, he was just being protective of his only child. Plus, with everything that had happened over the past 2 years I think he was worried that he wouldn't be able to protect me or that he was 'losing me'.

In order to ease his worries I'd promised that I'd visit him at home all the time. I'd also told him he could pop in and visit us anytime, which he'd obviously taken seriously as he came over for dinner at least 3 times a week whenever he wasn't in New York. And whenever he was here he'd always drop "little" hints about how empty the house was without me there. I think he was trying to make me feel guilty but I'd stopped feeling that a long time ago. Besides, he wasn't all alone in that big house anymore since he and Pepper has started dating. I love that they'd finally confessed what I'd known for a very long time. They were perfect for each other, although sometimes I had no idea how Pepper could put up with him.

"So what had you rushing out of here this afternoon?" Daniel asked in between mouthfuls of pizza.

"You know that object I told you about?"

"You mean kind of told me about," he corrected.

I pouted at him. "I told you all I could. I probably told you too much. If S.H.I.E.L.D found out I'd even mentioned it to you they'd probably send another agent to kill me. Literally," I mumbled the last part under my breath. "I went to do some more research on this object. Things went haywire and it was stolen. We have to get it back or there will be serious consequences. I can't even begin to describe the terrifying things that will happen if we don't get it back."

"Who stole it?"

"That's classified."

"You said things went haywire when this person stole this object. What happened? Are you okay?"

"Okay, don't freak out but I got shot in the back. I'm okay!" I quickly added when I saw the look on his face. "My vest caught it."

"Christ, that's still got to hurt. Show me." I lifted up the back of my shirt to show him the bruise already blossoming on my shoulder. His fingers lightly skimmed over my skin as he inspected it.

"See? I'm fine," I said, pulling my shirt back down.

"How did this happen?"

"It's-"

"Classified?" he said.

"I was going to say it's a long story, but yeah, that too." I could see a look in his eyes, one I'd caught before. "Look, you know I hate that I can't talk to you about my day like any other person. I wish I could tell you more, I do. But I'm not just keeping these things secret to protect S.H.I.E.L.D, I'm doing it to protect you. I know it's a cliché, but the less you know, the better. I don't want someone hurting you because you know something you shouldn't."

His expression softened. "I know you're protecting me. I get it, but who's protecting you?"

"I can take care of myself. You've seen me in action." I grinned as I winked at him.

He laughed. "Yes I have. So how do you plan on getting this thing back?"

"Because it's so valuable we need to put everything we have into getting it back. I'm going to New York tomorrow to talk to dad about getting his help."

"Are you guys putting the team together?"

I put my head in my hands. "Oh God, I've told you way too much." I sighed before nodding. "Yes, Fury wants to put the team together. God knows if this is even going to work out. My dad doesn't exactly play well in a team and I've never met most of the others." I put my empty plate on the coffee table and cuddled up to Daniel, resting my head on his chest.

"Are you going to tell your dad your real role in S.H.I.E.L.D when you see him?" he asked.

I let out a huff of laughter. "No. He'll kill me if he knew."

"He's going to find out eventually."

"I know." I sighed and sat up to stare at him. "You've seen how protective my dad is. If he knew what I was really doing, he'd be furious. Even after the Expo he still thinks he can protect me. I want him to believe that I'm just working behind a desk at S.H.I.E.L.D for a little longer."

"The longer you leave it, the worse it gets."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Shut up and kiss me."

So this chapter is quite short compared to the first one. I am very torn about whether to upload longer chapters or keep them shorter.
Please let me know below what you guys prefer to read: longer or short chapters.

As always, reviews are accepted and appreciated!

How Morgan is walking will be explained in a flashback in the next chapter so keep your eyes peeled for that.

I've also recently created a Wattpad account for these stories, so if you prefer that to this website, head over to my account, user/MorganStark1