Hi everyone, thank you for the interest in the story! :) This is a long one that I had to cut in two, so we're having a coffee break at half of the session.

File ID: 90472 - June 25, 2012

Name: Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Date of birth: November 22, 1984

Place of birth: Soviet Union

Citizenship: Soviet, Russian, American

Occupation: Spy

Family status: Single

File ID: 58123 - June 25, 2012

Name: Steven Grant Rogers/Captain America

Species: Human

Date of birth: July 04, 1918

Place of birth: United States of America

Citizenship: American

Occupation: Soldier

Family status: Single

File ID: 81310 - June 25, 2012

Name: Anthony Edward Stark/Iron Man

Species: Human

Date of birth: May 05, 1970

Place of birth: United States of America

Citizenship: American

Occupation: Consultant, SHIELD

Family status: In a relationship

I hand two files back to Coulson. "I only have a session with Romanoff, thank you," I say. Before he could reply I enter my office. Natasha, Tony and Steve sit on my couch looking exhausted and mightily pissed off.

"Just a moment," I smile as I back out and close the door. "What is this?" I ask Coulson.

"Something went wrong during the mission."

"Yes, I know. Rogers got compromised. I remember."

"No," he explains. "Something went wrong during the rescue mission." I raise my eyebrow. I swear I know what's coming now. I was an idiot letting Fury refuse my resignation.

"Give me the mission report then."

He shakes his head. "We don't have it. They don't speak."

I roll my eyes. I call bullshit. "Every time the Avengers return to SHIELD they immediately have to submit a mission report. That's the protocol. We both know it, Phil. So if you guys want me to give you anything useful, you have to give me something first. Where is that damn report?"

"It's classified, for one, and it does not contain anything about the apparent conflict."

"What conflict?" I ask. It's 9:30am on a Monday and I am so tired already.

"Romanoff, Stark and Rogers were collected in Moscow Saturday evening. STRIKE Team Tango was responsible for picking them up. They decided to cuff Rogers and Stark because they were in such a heated argument the leader of the team worried they might jump on each other."

I stare at Coulson. "Is there any chance the leader overreacted?"

"Hardly. We have AV recordings. I would have done the same." I rub my forehead.

"What about Romanoff?"

"She doesn't engage in the drama. She and Barton have been spending all their time together since she got back."

"Did you ask Barton then? Natasha probably told him everything already."

The look he gives me is rather amused. "Yeah, because Barton gives out any info on her ever."

"I thought you two were friends," I remark innocently.

"Not when it comes to her precious Widow." He sounds bitter, but I don't have the time to think about that right now.

"What is it you want me to do exactly? Besides wasting a whole session with Natasha?" I ask.

"I want my team back."

I raise my eyebrow. "Is that all or should I have them make friendship bracelets too?" He doesn't reply. Amazing.

"I just want you to know that—"

"You don't particularly like your company at the moment?"

"Something like that."

"Duly noted. Good luck." Phil does not move until I enter the office again.

This time Natasha sits between the two men which could mean there was an argument while I was out with Coulson. I smile at them which only Romanoff returns. Great.

"I apologise," I say taking my place in my beloved armchair. "There was some complications with the session. Just like with your mission, I hear." None of them answer.

I take a moment to look at them closely. Natasha is unscathed except for a busted lip and seems relaxed. Steve has a bandage over his right shoulder and a deep cut on his left cheek. It runs down on his neck too. Tony has a weirdly swollen looking nose and a black-eye as well. He wears flip-flops and his left ankle is in a brace.

I sigh and pinch my nose between my index finger and thumb. It is going to be a long session. "At least you were all tended to, right?" They are still silent. How wonderful. "Guys, this is a yes/no question. Can we at least pretend to try to achieve something here?"

"Yes," Steve finally replies.

I nod. "Great. Now Steve, tell me about that mission. I understand you got compromised."

He shrugs. "I did. There were already twelve people in the warehouse when I got there."

"So SHIELD didn't know about the dozen Russian criminals waiting for you when they sent you in?" I ask. I know as much about the company's operations that it seems unlikely. They usually know what you eat for breakfast before you even get hungry.

Steve opens his mouth but Tony snorts so he doesn't say anything. Natasha looks at him amusedly. "Tell her, Cap."

Steve takes a deep breath. I realise he is going to tell me the truth. Finally, after weeks and weeks of uncertainty this is literally my first therapy session during which I am sure my patients will be honest with me. Solely because the other two want to hear the story as it is for fun and won't let the third one get away with anything. Perhaps the idea of group sessions is not even that bad.

Steve clears his throat. "I might have started the mission without waiting for the security scan." He looks embarrassed but Natasha is clearly having the time of her life.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I get what you're—"

"He barged in that damn warehouse without making sure there aren't a dozen angry Russian spies waiting for him. Surprisingly there were," Tony cuts in. His sarcasm is well perceivable.

I can feel my jaw drop hearing about such a stupid move and Steve's face gets… is that blush creeping on his cheeks? He shifts on the couch and takes over the story again. "I went in, I got captured, but I was totally in control. I am telling you Stella, it would have gone all so much easier without Stark's interference."

"I'm sorry, what?" Tony snaps. "I was sure I just saved your bloody life, Rogers. Interference is not the expression you're looking for. Thank you is."

"Right. Thank you for blowing my whole mission. Thanks for making all of it about you once again. And I'll be eternally grateful for every time you had to rub it in my face."

"Well, I should have not flown to Moscow in the first place to save your ass if you hadn't been such an idiot to disregard vital information you would have obtained easily had you waited five more seconds, Rogers, for God's sake."

Tony stands up at the end of the sentence which quickly results in Natasha and Steve doing the same. It's interesting to see how Natasha always moves so she is between the two men. I wonder if she would partake in the fight if those two started one again.

"Alright, could you please just sit back?" I ask. Captain America and Iron Man staring down each other would be pretty intimidating if Loki hadn't scared me so much just a week ago. "Please. I hear you almost resorted to a fistfight to handle your conflicts back in Moscow. What happened there?"

Steve turns away first. He sits down and fixes his gaze on me. "I suppose you have never been caught by members of the Russian mafia before?"

I shake my head. "Never. You will have to walk me through it."

"May I," Natasha says when Steve is about to answer me placing her hand on his thigh for just a moment. He nods and sits back. Tony takes his place on her other side.

"Stella, I was kidnapped and held captive and tortured more times than I can count. They started it during the Red Room training, as part of the fun. I was taken in Paris, in Budapest, in Nairobi, in Saudi Arabia, in India, in Canada - yes, it happens even there -, also in Peru, just to name a few." Natasha doesn't seem upset talking about all this. Obviously for her getting kidnapped and tortured is just a regular Wednesday.

"But I digress," she adds. "My point is that as an expert on the topic and as a used-to-be-Russian person myself, It's one of the worst places to get captured in. Simply because Russian criminals don't care. They don't usually care about what you can offer them for freedom. They have either acquired it already and now just want to have fun and enjoy their dominance or they do need the information or whatever you possess, but letting you go in exchange never was an option in the first place."

I raise my eyebrow. "So if I understand correctly, you are saying Russian torture is pointless?"

"Pointless, endless, careless," Natasha nods. "They will hurt you without any concept with anything they can find until your body just gives up. You barely find actual people down in those basements, you see. They are machines."

"No," Steve says.

"Yes," Tony says at the same time. He huffs and rolls his eyes at Steve. "Captain, will you listen to the master assassin? They are machines. Cold, heartless, indifferent."

"No," Steve repeats. "They are people. At least some of them."

I feel this conversation drain me already. Group sessions might not work very well after all. "What happened, Steve?" I repeat the question.

He takes a deep breath. "Well, Romanoff is right. When they caught me they were totally open about wanting to kill me for their entertainment, even though at this point I could have been just someone accidentally entering the warehouse."

"Didn't they know you are Captain America?" He narrows his eyes at me for a second.

"Course not. It was not that kind of a mission. No uniform, I didn't even take my shield."

I wonder why it wasn't Natasha or Clint sent on the mission, but I just motion to him to go on.

"They took me somewhere and started beating me while asking some questions but without actually being interested in the answers. Or so it seemed."

"Did they figure out your identity by that time?"

"Yes. They watched some videos of the New York battle." He pauses. "There was a young boy. He brought me food. He sometimes patched me up a little." He looks briefly at Tony's direction, but he just stares at his shoes.

"In ten or eleven days I managed to get a little more confident with him. I—" Steve pauses and only continues after taking a deep breath. "I could have convinced him to help me escape. I was this close," he says holding up his index and thumb almost touching. "And then Stark killed him."

In the deafening silence facing three deadly Avengers on my couch all I can think about is that I truly wish I could practice card tricks with Loki once again instead of being here right now.

So this is where the next chapter will pick up from. I will try my best to update it so fast it truly feels like a coffee break ;)

P.S.: I have a friend to thank for the inspiration of this session, so thank you! :)