"Tony, is everything alright?" Pepper asked as he settled back behind his veil of screens when he returned.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. He passed out from blood loss from a bullet wound. Bruce got the bullet out, patched him up, and dumped a couple units of blood into him."

"Did we have enough ready?"

"Yeah. He's O positive, so we're good."

"Do we have enough overall? I know we've been storing up, but it takes hours to thaw blood from frozen. Should we keep some unfrozen?"

Tony was quiet for a moment. "I'm not going to thaw any at the moment. It only lasts 42 days in refrigeration. I don't know how long we'll be here, but it'll probably be more than 42 days."

"But if a fight or something happens..."

"We can always pull from any healthy people. The triplets are all O positive, which is pretty much the universal."

"I know, but if they're the ones injured..."

He let a sigh slowly slip out as he stared past her. Finally he said, "Fair." He sat forward. "Jarvis, show me our current blood stock." A new screen popped up. "We can replenish as necessary... Okay, Jarvis, give me a total of three units O positive at the ready. In twenty-one days, add another three units." He looked back at Pepper. "Sound good?"

She smiled and bent to kiss him. "I think that's perfect. We'll have six units at the ready at all times, but we won't be wasting it quite so fast."

He pulled her into his lap, lingering on her lips for a moment, and then leaned his head against hers. "We're going to be okay. I promise."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around him. "We have everyone here now. That was the most dangerous part."

He gave a harsh laugh. "I wish I could agree with that."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Not yet," he said, kissing her again. "I need to finish getting the information together."

"Anything I can do?" Pepper ran her fingers through his hair.

A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "If you wouldn't mind checking if Arriana's got food ready and maybe figuring out some coffee for us. This isn't going to be a quick meeting,"

She smiled and kissed him again. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

He groaned softly. "That'll be all, Ms. Potts."

She got up and headed for the coffee maker at the bar. Tony sat staring after her for a few moments, and then shook himself and returned to his screens.

Steve wandered over to the bar. "Is there anything I can help with, Ms. Potts?"

She gave him a smile. "You can call me Pepper." She put a large thermos pot under the spout of the coffee maker. "I don't think there's anything I need help with. Do you know if Arriana was cooking?"

"I, uh, I think so. I know she went downstairs with the intent to make food."

"Didn't you go down with her?" She glanced over at him in between selecting options on the coffee maker.

"Uh, no, ma'am, I didn't."

Pepper frowned slightly. "Oh, okay. Jarvis, did Arriana make anything?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jarvis said. "There will be chili and cornbread, pot roast and fresh baked bread, as well as two-layer chocolate espresso cake."

She laughed. "You had to restrain her, didn't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is she on her floors?"

"Not yet, ma'am. The triplets are still assisting Dr. Banner."

"Let me know when she's available, please."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, Jarvis." She glanced over at Steve again, who stood with his hands behind his back looking from one side of the room to the other. "Actually, Captain Rogers..."

"Steve, please."

She nodded. "Steve, would you make sure there's enough places for everyone to comfortably sit? We'll have thirteen if Director Fury comes up."

"I believe he intended to. I'd be happy to help."

"There are more couches and chairs spread out around the floor."

Steve nodded and turned to find another couch or two.

Natasha dropped onto the bench, arms resting on her knees and staring intensely at the floor.

Clint sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. "He'll be fine."

"I know, but if something happens to the director, the triplets are left entirely to us to take care of."

"They're not little kids anymore, Nat. SHIELD at this point is of no use to us or the triplets, so there's not a chain of command to worry about."

"No, just keeping them alive," she said, leaping to her feet and pacing back and forth. She looked down. "Oh, dammit. I'm covered in blood."

"Well, let's stop at your floor. You can take a shower. Fury won't be let out of the infirmary for at least half hour or so." She gave a single nod. "Jarvis, take us to Agent Romanoff's floor, please."

"Yes, sir."

They sat in silence as the elevator rose through the tower at a normal pace again. It slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. Natasha got up and started out the doors.

"Do you want to be alone?" Clint asked, still sitting where he was.

She stopped and stood silently for a moment. "No," she whispered.

He got up and followed her. She slowed to a stop as they came to the fountain. The splashing water echoed off the gilded walls and ceiling high above.

She looked around for a moment. "Chto delayet krest'yanka-sirota vo dvortse iz zolata?" she whispered. (What does an orphan peasant do in a palace of gold?)

Clint watched her for a moment and then said, "Ona delayet imenno tak, kak yey nravitsya." (She does exactly as she likes.)

With a soft gasp, Natasha spun around, grabbed the vest of his suit, pulled him to her, and devoured his mouth. She pressed hard against his body, desperate to feel real, to feel anything – pain or pleasure – so long as the screaming emptiness was quiet for a moment.

Clint groaned and wrapped his arms around her, letting his hand slide up and tangle in her short, silken hair. Feeling what she needed, he tightened his hand and pressed his tongue deep into her mouth. She moaned softly and reached up, grabbing him by his hair and yanking his head back. A groan tore through him as her hot mouth dropped to his neck, vacillating between soft kisses and sharp nips, dragging her teeth across his skin over and over again.

His hands slid down, gripping her hips and forcing her hard against him. She released her grip on his hair and began yanking at his clothes, fighting to undo the straps of his bulletproof vest and get to the zipper of his suit. He ducked his head and captured her mouth, desperate for the softness of her lips.

Natasha pushed him back to the wall. He groaned as she pressed against him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Finally releasing the last strap of his vest, she shoved it off his shoulders and yanked the zipper down, her hands instantly leaping to his bare chest.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Clint vaguely recalled she needed a shower. He slid his hands back, gripping her ass, and lifted her. With a soft growl, she wrapped her legs around his waist as she forced his suit down, trapping his arms.

He laughed softly through their kiss and shifted her weight onto one arm, slid his arm out of his suit, and then did the same with the other as he began stumbling toward her bedroom. She gripped his hair again and dragged her teeth over his lower lip.

Clint groaned as he staggered into the bedroom door, which swung open with ease. He pushed them away from the wall, inwardly cursing Stark for how far away everything was.

"How long do we have before they're done in the infirmary, Jarvis?" Clint asked, rubbing a towel over his hair.

"Approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, sir."

He grinned at Natasha. "Still counts as a quick shower."

She laughed and slapped his ass. "Fair enough." She wrapped a towel around herself and another around her hair. "Jarvis, where do we put dirty laundry?"

"The basket to your left, ma'am."

"Thank you." She gathered up both their suits and tossed them in.

Clint wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed their boots. "I'm gonna go throw on some clothes," he said as he handed her boots to her. "I'll be up in a couple minutes."

"That's if you can figure out the closet."

He stopped short. "Aw, shit." He rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll be up as quick as I can."

"We should probably see if we can find some clothes for the director. I don't think he wants to go upstairs in the teddy bear paw hospital gown."

Clint snorted. "Oh, god, I'd pay big money for that."

"I don't feel like getting shot today," she said. A smile crept over her features. "But I can't deny I'd give almost anything to see that."

"I'll see what I can find."

"Excuse me, sir," Jarvis said.

"Yeah, Jarvis?"

"I have clothes available for Director Fury on Storage level 5, sir."

"Perfect. I'll go grab them when I'm done getting dressed."

"Yes, sir. I shall have them waiting."

Natasha pushed her closet doors open. "You might as well take our private stairs." She put her hand on the glass and rattled off the access number.

"Perfect." Clint grinned. He paused as he passed her and slid his arms around her. "You feeling a little better?"

She smiled. "Well, you're always pretty good medicine."

"Remember the prescription says take at least twice per day or as needed."

She managed a laugh. "I think it was more along the lines of use whenever convenient."

"That too." He leaned down and brushed a kiss to her ear. "Ya lyublyu vas." (I love you.)

For one moment, she leaned against him and buried her face in his neck. Then with a sigh, she pushed him away and slapped his ass. "Ty by luchshe." (You had better.)

He chuckled as he jogged into their hidden room and disappeared down the stairs.

She shook her head as she watched him, a smile lifting one corner of her mouth. "Jarvis, I need underwear, jeans, and a tank top."

"Yes, ma'am. Options are coming up on the menu now."

"Can I get anything for you, Director Fury?" Pepper asked as Bruce and Lizzy settled him on one of the couches with his legs elevated.

"I need a stiff drink."

"One drink," Bruce said. "So you better enjoy it."

Fury glared at him for a moment and then rolled his eye.

"What would you like?" Pepper said, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Whiskey, straight up."

She nodded and headed to the bar as the elevator dinged.

"I have food," Arriana called as she and Michael pushed carts out of the elevator.

A general cry of joy filled the room, and everyone except Steve moved to help her set the food out on the bar. He had returned to his place staring out the windows and hadn't budged since.

"Are you done, Tony?" Pepper asked. "Everything else is ready."

"Yup!" He clapped his hands and the screens vanished.

The 3-D map of the tower still sat in the center of the sitting area.

"Everyone grab food and drink and we'll get started," Tony said.

"Stay there, Director," Lizzy said. "I'll get you some food."

"Get me all the food. I haven't eaten since dinner last night." He leaned back on the couch.

"It's a good sign you have an appetite," Bruce said.

"You can't make me sick enough not to eat Arriana's cooking when I can get it."

Arriana smiled and dished up a heaping plate.

"Get some food and sit down," Michael said, giving Arriana a shove.

"I will," she said. "Just let me make sure..."

"No, no just." Lizzy gave her another shove. "Go. We'll make sure everyone gets food."

Arriana stood looking between them for a moment. What about Steve? She asked in their minds. And Loki.

I can't eat yet, anyway, Loki offered, stepping up behind her and running his hands down her arms. Floating food won't go unnoticed right now.

I'll get some for Steve, Michael said. Don't worry.

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and plunked herself down on a couch, arms still crossed over her chest.

The room buzzed as they gathered sustenance and each found a seat. Loki prowled invisibly behind the couch Arriana claimed for them.

Michael loaded a plate and headed for Steve. "Here you go, Cap."

"Oh, I'm not hungry, but thank you," he said, only glancing at him.

With an epic eyeroll, Michael shoved the plate into his hands. "I wasn't asking. Eat or I'll force you to." Steve opened his mouth to speak. "And I can force you." He spun on his heel and headed for their couch, where Lizzy handed him a plate filled with what looked like half the pot roast. "Oh, yeah!"

As everyone settled onto the couches, Fury glanced over at Steve. He shook his head and sighed. "Captain Rogers, please join us. I don't want to have to go over everything twice."

There was a pause. "Yes, sir." With a soft sigh, Steve turned and found an empty spot. The food smelled better than anything had in over a month. His stomach rumbled.

Thor chuckled. "You'd think I'd conjured a storm." He clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Feast, Captain. Everything is delicious. My compliments," he said, raising his glass to Arriana.

"Yeah, fanks, kiddo," Clint said around a mouthful.

She laughed. "You're welcome."

"Alright, down to business," Tony said, perching on the back of the couch beside Pepper. "We have a number of things to talk about. I want to lay down ground rules now, that everyone, and I do mean everyone, is expected to keep calm as we discuss. The last thing we need right now is to be trying to kill each other."

They all looked at each other, frowning. All except Steve, Thor, and the triplets.

Fury watched him closely. "What are you talking about, Stark?"

"Now that would be ruining the surprise, wouldn't it?" He took a long drink from his glass. "If anyone needs to step away to calm down, you're more than welcome to. You've all been shown your private floors. Director, you'll be staying on Guest level 5."

"You telling me everybody else has their own floor and I've got a guest room?" Fury asked.

Tony gave a short laugh. "Yeah, sorry, I didn't know you were going to invite yourself to our slumber party."

"Stark, get to the point," Steve said.

Tony opened his mouth to answer back, but Pepper subtly put a hand on his thigh. He took a deep breath. "Okay, there's three main things we have to go over. We obviously know the seven-eight code was called this morning. We'd like to know what you know, Director."

"It was about two hundred hours yesterday I was woken up by an alarm I set. Twelve agents rushed my room and tried to shoot me. I got out and headed for my first emergency bunker in Brooklyn."

"Why are you telling us where it is, sir?" Clint asked.

"Because you probably already knew about it, for one," Fury said. "And two, they know about it. So it's useless now."

"How many emergency bunkers do they know about, sir?" Natasha asked.

"At least half a dozen. At the Brooklyn bunker, I hacked into their systems to find out what I could. When I realized they knew about the bunker, I couldn't stay, I knew they wanted me dead, so that meant they likely wanted all of you dead, but I needed to know for sure. It was possible they were against me shooting down one of the jets that carried the nukes during the battle of New York."

"One of the jets?" Steve asked.

Fury nodded. "They scrambled two. I managed to shoot the first down, but I didn't anticipate the second, nor have the time to do anything about it."

"It appears it was by yet a narrower margin that we prevailed than even we thought," Thor said. "It is unfortunate you weren't able to stop the second."

"Would a nuke have stopped the aliens?" Steve asked.

"No," Thor said. "The Chitauri are veritably innumerable. It would have destroyed those in the city when the blast went off, but more would have come. And without us, the world would have been overrun in hours."

"Good to know," Fury growled. "I moved to the Bronx bunker and hacked into their systems again. Since the bunker was still unknown, I had time to dig around. They weren't just out for me. They want you all dead. And it goes deeper than that."

"Sir?" Natasha said.

Fury ran a hand over his face. "Captain Rogers, are you still familiar with the organization known as Hydra?"

Steve frowned. "Yeah, they were the organization I fought in World War Two. Schmidt was leading them. He was using the Tesseract to build weapons in an attempt to take over the world." He paused. "But I thought they were defeated."

"You stopped Schmidt, and that attempt. We thought they were gone."

"But?" the triplets said at once.

"But we were wrong. They've laid low. Moving in secret, and if I'm right, infiltrating SHIELD itself. Potentially from the very beginning."

Silence gripped the room.