Alright, my fellow readers and writers...I do apologize for not updating for nearly a month. Work absolutely sucks and I've been so sick it's pitiful. But I FINALLY have you a chapter I hope makes up for my absence.

I hope everyone enjoys and reviews! Thoughts are appreciated and if corrections need to be made, let me know so I can fix them.

Enjoy!

She wakes up to the sound of beeping.

Tessa opens her eyes slowly, the mere action seeming to drain her of energy. She's met with the dim lights of a sterile, white room and she can smell disinfectants.

She picks her head up, aware of plastic beneath her nose. Reaching up, Tessa pulls away the plastic piece feeding oxygen into her and she feels an uncomfortable tug at her hand and she sees an IV taped down to her. With a trembling hand, she discards the IV and ignores the blood welling out of her hand- Wraith would heal it.

Swinging her feet over the bed, Tessa sees that her clothes are missing. Instead, she's dressed in dark sweat pants and a white T-shirt. "Wraith? Are you okay?" Her voice is rough from disuse and she can hear Wraith beginning to stir, groggy from their time under.

"Tessa?" She hears the familiar, comforting grumble from the Symbiote and she sighs in relief. "Where are we? Are you hurt?"

Tessa shakes her head. "I'm fine- promise." She looks around the room, taking in a hospital-like vibe and she frowns, her heartbeat spiking as she thinks they've been captured. "I...I don't know where we are." The events from last night plays over and all she can see is her dead mother and see the red lasers focusing in on her. God, she can hear them screaming for her to stop...to surrender herself over.

Wraith makes a noise. "We're going to get out of here safe. I swear it."

She believes him, too.

So, she staggers to her feet and shoots for the door. Her legs wobble from not using her limbs for God knows how long. She grabs the door handle, wrenching the thing open and she peeks down the hallway, the corridor long with several doors on each side and another hall leading to the right.

This is gonna be fun.

Tessa creeps out of the room, ignoring the ringing machines that signal she's disconnected. They're but background noise as she darts out into the hall, her bare feet slapping against the tile. She passes the doors with success, the rooms being completely dark with no one inside...so she hopes.

Then, she's turning the corner when she sees a blur of color and a loud gasp. She scream echoes through the empty hall and she scrambles backwards, falling on her butt in the process. She can already feel Wraith bubbling under her skin if needed to lash out.

"Hey! It's okay, kid. You're okay!" The voice is distinctively male and Tessa makes out a man with dark hair and dark eyes. He swears a white doctor's coat and she shakes all over as she backs herself into a corner.

Tessa tries to ease her racing heart. "Leave us alone!" Her vision blurs during her panic and she feels Wraith begin to come out with the rise of her emotions.

"You're okay. I won't hurt you," soothes the man. "You need to calm down, okay?"

It takes a moment, but Tessa's breathing slows and her vision clears so she can get a good look at the man. This time, his figure his clearer and Tessa can make out his form besides his dark hair and his eyes and the doctor's coat. Familiarity settles within her as she finally realizes that the man is someone she knows well- someone she's learned about during school.

Tessa sniffles. "You… You're Dr. Banner- the Hulk?" She studies the man, still trembling all over.

Bruce smiles a little, his smile kind. "That's right- but you can just call me Bruce, okay? You've been here in the infirmary a few days. The Captain brought you in the other night when he found you in Brooklyn."

Tessa frowns a little, choosing to remain silent. Bruce breaks the silence, though, trying to ease Tessa into speaking. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Teresa, but I like to be called Tessa."

Bruce nods in acknowledgment. "Tessa. Well, we've ran some tests while you've been out and it looks like you're pretty sick. Blood work showed all sort of vitamin and mineral deficiencies; you have anemia. Your blood sugar was bottoming out and the liquid nutrition was doing nothing for you." Then, he frowns a little and his brow furrows in concern. "Your blood tests showed you have a nasty bug, too- a parasite. I ran some antibiotics in hopes of kicking the critters out of there."

Inside of her, Wraith makes a sound and Tessa struggles not to laugh. "Did that man really just call me a 'critter,' Tess? I can live with parasite, but critter makes me sound cute. I am not cute."

"Since you're awake, would you like to go with me upstairs? You look like you could use some company and we're making breakfast," Bruce offers.

Tessa nods. "I...I'd like that a lot. I'm hungry."

"Excellent. C'mon; I think that Pepper is making waffles."

Tessa follows after Bruce, staying a few steps behind him as they walk. He leads her towards an elevator to take them up to another floor, carefully herding the teenager inside.

Then, she comes to a quiet realization. Holy shit, I'm meeting the Avengers. Wraith, we get to meet the Avengers!

The symbiote scoffs at her enthusiasm. "The Avengers? You mean that Tony Stark fellow you drool over all the time."

Yes! And Captain America and Black Widow and Hawkeye…

"Hmmm…I like this Black Widow," says Wraith in his low, rumbling voice. "She's the Russian, isn't she?"

Yes. What is it to you?

"I wonder what Russian tastes like."

Tessa scowls at the symbiote- she scowls even more when he starts chuckling darkly. During their ride up, Bruce coughs lowly and Tessa looks up at him, her brow furrowed.

Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Are you okay? You're making faces. If you're in any pain, I can give you a mild painkiller."

"No! I mean- no, I'm fine. I was just deep in thought," says Tessa, wishing that there was some way she could strangle Wraith.

Bruce only shrugs, dismissing the matter as quickly as it occurred. He doesn't say anything else until the elevator comes to a stop and he motions her forwards.

"The guys will be a little intimidating at first- especially Nat and Tony. I'm sure you'll get along great with Cap and Pepper and Clint, though," Bruce says, the two of them stepping into a living space where she can hear people cackling from the kitchen.

Tessa smiles a little. "That's comforting, I guess."

Once they step into the dining room, dread takes over Tessa. All eyes fall on her and she looks everyone over. Despite their familiarity to Tessa, she doesn't truly know any of these people outside of whatever she was told in school or what she seen on TV.

Tony gives her a once-over, lifting an eyebrow. "So you're the kid I've been told about? You have a name?"

"Teresa Travis," Tessa answers. "I go by Tessa."

"It's a lot better than Little Girl Lost," says Clint with the roll of his eyes. He narrows his eyes at Tony who obviously came up with the nickname. "He's called you all sorts of stuff the last few days."

Tony just rolls his eyes. "That's besides the point. It's very nice to meet you, Tessa." The man pats the chair next to his, offering a lopsided smile. "Breakfast will be done shortly. Sit down and tell us some stuff about you."

So, she sits down next to the genius per his request. She chats quietly with the group, steering clear of certain topics. All the while, she feels Wraith coil inside her comfortingly- he circles around her stomach and travels up her back; finally, he settles in her chest close to where her heart is.

Natasha gives the teen a look. "So, how long have you been on your own?"

"It's been us- I mean me- for a while. I've been alone for a long time," Tessa replies. What she says isn't necessarily a lie. She closes her eyes, blurred images of her mother's body and the stench of blood invading her senses. She shudders. "My mom's dead, never met my dad…"

There's a small cough from Steve who gives her a concerned look. "Why were you by yourself on the streets? Isn't there a program for kids without parents?"

Tessa shrugs, twiddling her thumbs. Then, Steve asks another question. "Were you in trouble when I found you? You can tell us the truth."

The teen shakes her head quickly. "It was just a really rough night. I've just been so tired and hungry and it's hard to stay away from the wrong people. Bad things like to happen to me."

Steve reaches across the table, his large hand dwarfing Tessa's. The teenager is mesmerized by human touch, not having felt it in so long. Her constant companion was the symbiote who was all she needed- all she ever needed. He's all she still needs.

"We're gonna make sure nothing bad happens to you, okay?" Steve reassures, squeezing Tessa's little hand. Inside of her, Tessa can feel Wraith begin to carefully move through her, his tendrils branching just under the skin of her palm as though to feel Steve himself.

Tessa nods, smiling weakly. "Thank you, Mr. Rogers."

"Call me Steve, Tessa," says the Captain. He releases her hand and their wait on breakfast is ended when Bruce and Pepper comes to the table with their arms laden with platters.

Wraith perks up a little inside her. "What are those, Tessa?" Tessa takes in sight of the mountains of fluffy waffles stacked high on three plates- enough to feed a hungry genius and his girlfriend, a raging green fellow, an assassin, an excellent marksman, and a super soldier.

Enough to feed a host and her hungry symbiote.

They're waffles. You'll like them- promise.

"I'm holding you to that. And make sure you get the strawberries- I love strawberries."

Tessa smiles a little, looking down at the plate that Pepper tucked into her hands. Your wish is my command.

Then, once she has approval, she begins to fill her plate with food she hasn't had in a long time. If it wasn't for her self control and Wraith's, the food would already be gone along with the plate...and half the table.

And maybe someone's limbs if Wraith happened to get his way.