I'm gonna get to my point, just bare with me a tinsy bitsy longer. Would love to hear what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the Avengers or any of the characters.


Chapter 5: Dr. Ross

Bruce also had a Cinderella clause, and was slightly terrified of going to downtown in the city that has the highest aggression rate in the country. Still, he was sure it'd help him loosen up a bit, test his focus.

Also, Tony was away and the closest thing to his science buddy was Penny, and she definitely needed some time out. And there was the Captain, who was about to develop a disorder if he couldn't leave the facilities.

He felt like the designated driver all of the sudden, which was funny if you think of it, and good. These two people trusted him with their lives (and the rest of the city's). Steve wasn't in Capt America character and there was no way Penny could remotely stop him if the other guy decided to took over him and bring havoc.

While waiting for her to come out of the restricted section, he kept a steady loud breathing "Are you OK Banner?" Poor Captain always worried about everyone else. "Yes, yes, just hadn't been out in a while. I wonder what she's doing there." They looked through the round glass window in the door. She was standing really closed to a locked door, hitting her head slowly and repeatedly. Steve knew the feeling all too well. Then she dried tears and came back to the door "Whatever it is, means a lot to her."

"You think her boyfriend is there?" Steve hadn't thought about that approach. But it'd make sense. However… "I don't think she is with someone. I had the feeling she was interested in you" Bruce denied it with shaking his head "Nah, we're just working together." Steve remembered what she said to Clint earlier "She mentioned liking dark-looking nerds, that sounds like you Banner." Bruce laughed "Not happening in a million years Steve. We're working on her new formula, that's all."

He looked puzzled "New one? Not Dr. Erskine's? Why does she get my blood samples every week then?" Bruce frowned "It's a different version of your formula. Either way, I think the samples are standard procedure, because she gets mine too. Don't think Natasha's or Clint's though." She opened the door and asked what she missed.

"Are you alright Doc?" she sighed. "Yeah, patient is not well, that's all. So, where you guys wanna go?" They talked about different restaurants where to get food from and they decided on one near the ferry station, less people than downtown. "Want me to drive Bruce?" He gave her the keys without hesitation. "Good call." She smiled.

It was a standard-issued SHIELD vehicle, grey, boring to anyone on the street. However, it was filled with weaponry and bullet proof. Not Hulk-proof but it was as good as they'd get. She went to the driver's seat and Bruce sat on the passenger's one, leaving Steve on the backseat. He wasn't familiar with the concept of "Third wheeling" but after 5 minutes, he feared he was intruding.

Bruce and Penny locked up conversation on formulas and science talk until she saw him on the rear-view mirror. "Sorry Cap, what do you wanna see? We still have 1.5 hs to get back so." His eyes shined at the thought "I don't know, but I think we should avoid downtown, too many angry people there." He pat Bruce on his back and they avoided big avenues.

"So, what do you guys think of Spider man?" Steve looked confused. "Hadn't heard much of him. He stopped a giant lizard guy from turning the city into an army of reptiles. I guess it must count for something." He paused for a second "I can't believe we did nothing about it." She sneered "Well, Fury wouldn't want to call attention onto the Avengers after last year I guess."

She saw Steve's frustration in his eyes and decided to enlighten him "A kid dressed up with a spandex suit calls himself Spiderman. He seems to have some sort of mutation. A lot of those lately... Anyhow, he's not using it for bad things, he's like a vigilante."

"And what do you think about him Penny?" Bruce already guessed the answer but he wanted to hear it from her "I think he's smart, a bit of a wild card. I'm sure Coulson wouldn't have wanted him to join you guys." There was a short silence in the car. "But you disagree."

She grinned "I think that with the right motivation, in time he'd make a great Avenger."

They reached a small family restaurant and ordered the ribs to go. The place was nice and they seemed to know Penny. She was apparently polite and smiled a lot outside of the office. "Here you go sweety, extra barbecue sauce." She grabbed the food bags and handed them over Steve "You're spoiling me Mirna, thanks and have a good weekend."

She drove them near the Pier 17, to a small clearance that wasn't too jam-packed. They sat on the hood of the car, it was a bit crowded but sitting between them she wasn't chilly anymore. After a few jokes and Steve stories about how this looked back in the day, Bruce mentioned this little restaurant he used to hang out in all the time with Betty.

"You miss her, don't you?" He nodded "But it's not safe for her so." Steve suddenly felt bad for him. "When was the last time to talked to her?" It had been a really long time and remembering her was painful.

"Have you thought of telling Fury to hire her? I mean, she's a smart cookie, I'm sure SHIELD can replicate whatever she has on her research offices..." Bruce got off the hood and started pacing in front of them. Steve and Penny shared a concerned look while she kept on chewing a particularly barbecue-sauced rib.

"I want to let her go. She deserves to have a normal life, away from all this." Penny cleared her throat "But what if she doesn't want to? I'm pretty sure she loves you Bruce, and I don't think she's given up on you." He looked up to them, Penny had moved closer to Steve because of the cold. "She was with someone when I showed up in her life again, she could've moved on and be happy."

"Dude, she chose to run away with you, I think that's a pretty clear sign about her feelings for you, don't you agree?" She aimed for support from Steve, but he may not have been the best person to ask "Sure. I mean, you have a steady job at a government agency, sure her army father would need to back off."

They all seemed to know an awful lot about his life. But I guess it made sense, considering she was the team's physician and he was the lead of their team. "So what do you think I should do?"

Penny looked at Steve "Can I have my phone back please?" Bruce rushed towards her, "Oh no Penny, you shouldn't, no, we're gonna get tracked and and..." Green lines around his pupils… Steve got up and got in between them, shielding Penny from any potential Hulk-rage. She hit him slowly in his arm "Hey! What was that for?" She glared at him and placed her hand on Bruce's arm. "Hey, Hey. listen to me. You're gonna breath in and breath out. You're both there in your head and you both need to calm down OK?" He looked at her again and his shallow breathing started slowing down. "Okay."

"Plus, c'mon, we all have geotags. There's no hiding our location to the big brother." She saw Steve's puzzlement "Sorry, book reference. Yeah, you prolly didn't know about the tags either. Well, we all do. Tiny chip somewhere in our body. Anyway, let's say I call Dr. Ross, a colleague, from my cell phone and you just happen to be around..."

"They're monitoring her calls." She looked annoyed "So what? You can just check on her, see how she's doing, tell her you're fine. That's it. Worst case scenario, Fury gets upset with me. Big deal." She unlocked her phone and went through her contacts. "There, up to you." She handed over the phone to Bruce and resumed her seat in the hood of the car, patting next to her for Steve to join her.

Bruce stared at the iPhone for 3 solid minutes. Then he dialed. A sweet female voice on the other day said "Hello Penny?" He remained silent. Penny and Steve kept their distance and started whispering "You think that's a good idea?" She sighed "They have unfinished business, they need to sort it out."

"Do you have unfinished businesses Doc?" She grabbed another rib and offered the last one to him. "Don't we all?" He remembered Peggy and their date that never happened; how he never got the nerve to check what had happened to her, before they shut down all his accesses.

She checked the time, only 30 minutes to get back to the headquarters.

"Cinderella clause, right." he threw the bone into the bag and told Bruce they had to head back and he nodded while talking over the phone "I'm not sure we'll be able to drop you home, don't think we have enough time to get back."

"Don't worry about it. Had a good time Cap?" he nodded. "Maybe next time we can go to downtown, I'd like to see those streets lightened up." She came closer to him again, it was chilling and he was always very warm "I'll check with your liaison. I think you'd like Greenwich Village better though, seems more you." He liked feeling someone knew him. Bruce joined them a second after that, smiling and looking alive and younger than they'd ever seen him before.

"I guess that call went well?" she raised her eyebrow while grinning at him. "It did, but I'll get you in trouble." She jumped off the hood and headed to the driver's seat "Nah, don't worry about it, I'm used to it."