Sorry for the long time between updates! I was on holiday and trekking around Europe!
As always, please leave a review below. They make my day and keep me going when I feeling like giving up on these stories.

I walked the hallways, looking for my bag to change into my catsuit. I was tempted to pull out my phone and call Daniel before I left but I decided against it. He would still be at the hospital and calling him now would just be a distraction for both of us.

Being away from him for long periods of time is one of the hardest things that came along with the job at S.H.I.E.L.D. But I am so glad that he came back into my life again.

After dad consented to me having the surgery I was moved from the hospital in New York to a S.H.I.E.L.D medical centre in California. Being so close to home meant that Dad and Pepper could finally go home and sleep in their own beds (although both spent most of their night sleeping at the medical centre with me). It also meant that Daniel could visit me regularly.

After a few days of preparation it was finally time for the surgery. Lying face down on an operating table about to be put under an anaesthetic so someone could insert a new piece of technology into your spine was incredibly terrifying. But as I counted backwards from ten, my mind getting progressively foggier with each number, Daniel's hand was reassuringly squeezing my own. I had stipulated in my agreement to be S.H.I.E.L.D's guinea pig that Daniel had to be allowed to be present during the surgery. One, it meant that throughout the 13 hour procedure I would have someone I knew watching over me, and two, it was a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for him as a doctor.

The surgery went as planned, although I was warned that it could take up to 2 months before I could begin to regain the feelings in my legs and many more months after that before I would even start walking again. Every morning and night a nurse would come into my room and run me through a series of tests, all of which I would fail. Dad and Pepper would stare intently at my toes while the nurse encouraged me to wiggle them. Day after day nothing was happening.

I tried to remain upbeat and optimistic, mainly for Dad's sake. Every time he saw me being upset about not being able to do something as simple as wiggle my toes the guilt came flooding back into his face. Even though I had told him time and time again that what happened to me was not his fault, he still felt responsible for my injury. It was my decision to run into the middle of war zone and there was no one to blame for the end result except for Ivan Vanko. The bastard was now dead, which is what he deserved, but the repercussions of his actions were still present.

Having Daniel visiting regularly helped to pass the time while I waited to see if the surgery was successful. Whenever he wasn't at work, he was coming to see me. We would spend our time talking, playing board games or watching movies together. It was killing me that we couldn't go out and date like normally people. Spending the first month of our relationship together in a hospital is not what I would have wanted. Daniel obviously sensed my disappointment because one night he wheeled me up to the roof of the S.H.I.E.L.D hospital, which he had decorated in fairy lights, for our first 'real' date. He had set up a sushi making station (he had bragged about his ability to make the best sushi on Earth), an ice cream sundae bar, and a projector to watch one of my favourite movies, Forrest Gump, under the stars. After proving he was indeed a master at making sushi, he gently lifted me from my wheelchair and laid me down on the blankets and pillows set up in front of the projector to watch the movie. I saw from the corner of my eye during the movie Pepper and Dad pop their heads briefly around the corner.

I think that was the moment Dad finally accepted Daniel. Before then he had been cold and unfriendly whenever Daniel had come to visit. And I completely understood where it had been coming from. His only daughter just got her first boyfriend. That would be enough to freak any father out, let alone having the added stress of worrying if he was just using me for our money. The only time I'd had to really worry about people liking me for me or for my money was during college. Dad had been dealing with that for a lot longer than I had, which meant he was a pretty good judge of character. Which is why I knew he would eventually warm up to Daniel. Daniel was one of the most genuine, loving, selfless person that I had ever met and I knew his feelings for me would be the same even if I was broke and homeless.

They starting chatting more and more, and thankfully Daniel was amazingly smart and could keep up with dad. 18 days after the surgery when I wiggled my toes for the first time since the accident, they cheered so loudly and practically leapt into each other's arms to hug one another.

My progress was slow but steady. Once I regained the feeling back in my legs I was able to start physical therapy. Learning to walk again was so much harder that I could have ever expected. Going from a physically fit 17-year-old to not being able to take a step without the help of a walking frame was a huge adjustment. It was also terrifying to realise the only reason I could stand upright on my own two feet again was because of a piece of technology in my spine. Before the surgery I was plagued with doubts about if it would even work. Now I was plague with doubts and worries about if it would continue to work. What if it just stopped one day? I would be walking along and then suddenly not be able to feel my legs. It was a horrifying thought that wouldn't leave my brain.

Not only did the attack take its toll on my body but it also affected my mental health. Being stuck in a body that didn't feel like your own anymore was horrible. I felt trapped. I felt like a burden to my father and Daniel. I put on a brave face whenever they were around but I cried into my pillow at night more times than I could count.

It felt like I would never get back to the place I was before the attack, but slowly over a few months I went from walking using a frame, to using crutches, to a walking stick, to finally being able to walk unassisted. The day dad walked into the physio room to see me walking towards him, he had tears running down his face. I walked up to him and wiped away a tear before wrapping my arms around him.

"See, I told you everything would be okay," I whispered into his ear.

I decided not to call Daniel but there was someone else I did need to call.

Pulling out my phone, I dialled dad's number and wasn't surprised when it went straight to voicemail. "Hey dad. I don't know where you are since they've told me you haven't turned up at S.H.I.E.L.D but they've located Loki. He's in Stuttgart, Germany. Some agents are heading there now."

While it wasn't unusual for dad to arrive late to anything and everything, it was unusual for him to miss the opportunity to don the suit and kick some ass. It was concerning that he hadn't showed up yet, but unfortunately I had bigger things to worry about. After changing into my catsuit, strapping my gun to my thigh and slipping into my combat boots, I headed to the hanger. I swept my long blonde hair up into a ponytail.

I entered the awaiting jet to find Natasha already situated in the pilot's seat, readying to take off. Steve, now clad in his Captain America outfit, was buckling himself into one of the many passenger seats that lined the walls of the jet. He looked up as I boarded and I watched his eyes widen as he took in my change of outfit. I guess no one really believes I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D agent until they see the gun on my thigh.

"You ready Steve?" I asked him. I sat down in the seat next to Natasha, watching from the corner of my eye as Steve lightly traced his fingers over the star on his shield. It would be his first mission since coming out of the ice. I wondered what thoughts were running through his mind. Was he wishing he'd stayed frozen? Was he hoping he could be anywhere else in the world right now? Or was he looking forward to getting back to doing what he does best?

"Yes ma'am," he called out.

"Please don't call me ma'am," I said with a laugh. "It makes me feel like I'm 6o years old."

"Sorry, force of habit."

Beside me Natasha began flicking on various switches and the sound of the jet powered up hummed throughout the hanger. I had yet to be taught how to fly the jet so I tried to study and memorize her actions. She gently pulled up on the controls, lifting us from the ground before pushing them forward, sending us flying out of the hanger into the cloudless blue sky. Thankfully the helicarrier had been flying over the North Atlantic Ocean, meaning we were not too far away from Europe. With the close location, and the advanced technology the jet possessed, we'd be arriving in Germany in under an hour. But that still gave Loki time to disappear. I hoped whatever he was there for kept him occupied long enough for us to get there in time.

"I guess you're hoping your dad's decided to sit this one out?" Natasha smirked at me.

I groaned and threw my head back against the seat. "Come on Nat, you know dad. How do you think he's going to take it when I tell him his only child is a S.H.I.E.L.D agent who gets attacked and shot at on a regular basis?"

"Well it was never going to be an easy conversation but it might have gone down a bit smoother if you'd told him 6 months ago, like when I told you to."

"Tell me you've never put anything off until the last minute. He's always been protective of me but ever since the incident at the expo, he's gone into overdrive. He still watches me walk, as if I'm suddenly going to go back to being paralysed again."

"You were paralysed?" Steve suddenly asked.

"Uh, yeah." I swung the seat around to face him. "Some crazy Russian guy was trying to kill my father and I. I got hit by one of his explosions and was paralysed from the waist down."

"How...uh, how are you walking now?" he stuttered, as if he was asking a deeply personal question.

"I have a bio-chip implanted into my spine that lets me walk again. It was designed and produced by S.H.I.E.L.D researchers. It's still experimental but it's going good so far."

"Wow. It sounds like you and your father have been though a lot."

"You have no idea," I said with a half-hearted laugh. "Part of the reason I agreed to undergo S.H.I.E.L.D training was because after all the shit I'd been through, I wanted to be able to protect myself."

"And now you can do that, and plenty more." Natasha smiled. I could see the pride in her eyes. Never in a million years had I thought I'd be trained as an agent by the women who'd posed as dad's assistant, the women I'd disliked from the moment I'd laid eyes on her. Nor had I ever imaged that we'd get along, let alone become great friends, but that's exactly what had happened. I counted the woman sitting beside me as one of the greatest friends in life. She'd trained me, taught me, and eventually trusted me with her life.

I can still clearly remember some of our first training sessions together. I was more than ready to give up and anyone else might have let me, but Natasha didn't. She pushed me and showed me I was capable of more.

For what felt like the hundredth time that morning, Natasha threw me down onto the padded mats in the S.H.I.E.L.D training room. I groaned as my muscles screamed in protest. My whole body felt on fire, the pain going deep into my bones.

"Again," Natasha commanded.

"I can't," I puffed out. I sucked in deep breaths, trying to get enough air into my lungs. I was tired, exhausted and just about ready to cry.

"Excuse me?"

Somehow I managed to use what little energy I had left to push myself up from the mats. "I can't do this! Look at me, I'm not strong enough! You've got the wrong girl. Go find some strong, muscly girl who can actually fight. Because I can't!" I turned on my heel and quickly strode over the doors that led to the locker room.

S.H.I.E.L.D had obviously made a mistake in hiring me. Why on earth did they think I could do this? I can't fight. I have no strength and ability to fight. I might have aced the weapons parts but from what I'd seen, the most essential part of being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent was the ability to defend yourself with nothing but your bare hands. Something I certainly couldn't do.

I always hated giving up but sometimes you have to know your limitations. I was suddenly glad I hadn't told dad I was becoming an agent. He'd have told me it was a stupid idea, and he'd be right. Plus I wouldn't have been able to stand seeing that smug 'I told you so' smile on his face.

I collapsed onto the bench in the locker room, still taking wheezing gasps. As soon as I caught my breath I'd change out of this stupid and ridiculously tight catsuit and get the hell out of here. I pulled out my phone to call the one person I wanted to talk to, Daniel. Just hearing his voice would calm me down.

The door swung open. I looked up, expecting to see a disappointed Natasha staring down at me. Instead I found Agent Coulson gazing at me. After a moment of silence he sat down next to me.

"I hope you're not here to tell me to pick myself up, dust myself off and get back in there," I said.

"Not if you don't want me to."

I looked over at him and sighed in exasperation. "I can't do this. I thought that I could. I wanted to be able to, but I just can't. This isn't me."

"S.H.I.E.L.D has trained hundreds of agents. Do you think they all just woke up one day and could do it all? That this all came naturally to them?"

"I'm pretty sure it did for Romanoff in there."

"No one is born a fighter. They have to work for it, earn it. Even Natasha. It's the same with you. Give yourself some time and stop being so hard on yourself. You'll get there in the end."

I digested his words. Maybe he was right. I was being too hard on myself for not being good at this instantly. Being a young woman with a genius level IQ, I'd always found myself naturally excelling at most things. I flew through high school without trying and my time at university hadn't been the stressful experience most college attendants have. I'd been great at everything I'd tried, up until now. And that was obviously disheartening. But Coulson was right. Just because you don't excel at something straight away doesn't mean you should give up on it. I needed to persist, to train and develop my skills. Who knows how long that will take, or if I even have any skills for this, but I wont give up. Not without trying first.

"Thank you."

Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up off the bench and walked back into the training room. Natasha was standing in the exact spot she had been before I'd stormed out. I expected her to yell, to say how disappointed she was, to tell me I didn't have what it takes if I give up that easily. Instead she smiled at me.

"I see Coulson gave you one of his motivational speeches. He's good at those. He gave me one not long after Clint bought me into S.H.I.E.L.D and I thought he'd made a huge mistake. I didn't feel like I belonged. I felt like an outsider. Then Coulson sat me down and talked me through it. We all have doubts Morgan. You just have to push past them."

I nodded. "I know."

"Good," she smirked. "Now, again!"

I thanked Coulson and Natasha every day for not giving up on me. I wouldn't be where I was without either of them. My friendship with Natasha had even grown to extend beyond our working relationship. At the end of a hard day we'd get a drink together, we confined in one another, she was even the one I called when Daniel and I had one of our rare fights. She was the sister I never had. Cliché, but true.

"I don't know what Dad is doing but I know that conversation is coming."

"He should be proud about what you're doing," Steve said. "You're saving lives. That's a noble thing to do."

I snorted with a huff of laughter. "He's not going to see it that way."

"He will eventually," Natasha promised. "Heads up. We're almost there."

Please leave a review if you would like to read more.