Jared fumbled around on the bedside table for his ringing phone. He was too exhausted to open his eyes to actually locate it. His hand finally came into contact with the thin iPhone and he rolled onto his back to answer it.
"Lyngley," Jared grunted into the phone. With his free hand he rubbed his eyes and finally pried them open. It was still dark in his room. The only light was coming clock on the bedside table and the lone glow in the dark star pressed on the roof. The clock beside him read only a few minutes after 1am.
"Agent Lyngley," a voice Jared knew but wasn't expecting to be coming down the other end of the phone spoke. "This is Agent Coulson,"
That made Jared bolt upright in bed. Before his mind caught up with his body he had already thrown the blankets off his half naked body. His brain finally caught up with his actions when he nearly fell over his own feet trying to tug his jeans on.
"What can I do for you Sir?" Jared asked. He shoved the phone between his ear and shoulder as he yanked the pants up over his boxers.
"I need you in Fury's office in 5 minutes," Coulson said plainly. "I have a mission for you. But it also comes with a personal favour to ask."
"I'll be there in 2 minutes," Jared promised. The line went dead in his ear and Jared threw his phone on the bed. He quickly turned the lamp on and searched around for a shirt that was acceptable for work. The floor of his room was littered with 2 weeks of dirty laundry that he hadn't bothered doing yet. Work had been hectic lately so the housework took very little priority. He pulled a simple grey t-shirt up off the floor and sniffed it. It was acceptable enough until he knew exactly what he was getting into. Grabbing his phone, Jared simply teleported to the front door where he'd kicked off his shoes earlier in the night. A pair of socks still sat in the black casual Nikes which he hastily yanked on. His stomach fluttering with nerves and excitement he concentrated on a room he knew well enough over the last year and a half in his time at SHIELD. The feeling of the world dropping out from underneath came quickly and disappeared just as fast as he found himself standing in front of Fury's desk. The director sitting in his chair and the legendary Phil Coulson right beside him.
Both men jumped at Jared's sudden appearance. Rather than be smart and make a sassy comment Jared stood there silently waiting for what he was about to get given. For Coulson to be calling him in on a mission it had to be something big. Probably something a lot bigger than his current level 4 clearance. This might even be the step up he needed to push for his level 5 clearance. Nearly unthinkable for an Agent who was still classified as fresh out of the Academy. Fury's office was brightly lit up despite the late hour. Jared had been here many times before. The large office was sparsely furnished except for the massive mahogany desk in front of him. The night lights of Washington DC twinkled below them as far as the eye could see. It was an impressive view of a daytime from the 44th floor of the Triskelion. Of a night time it was just as amazing.
"A minute and 20 seconds," Coulson looked at his watch. "I'm impressed Agent Lyngley."
"Thank you Sir," Jared fought to keep a smug grin from slipping onto his face. Being able to teleport had its advantages. "What can I do for you?"
"Explain to me how you teleport," Coulson stood next to Fury with his arms crossed studying the young Agent in front of him. "Stick to the basics and plain English. And what you need to get there safely."
"If I can see or have a detailed pictured of where I'm going I can focus on that area and in pretty simple terms create my own wormhole to there," Jared looked between the 2 senior Agents hoping he'd get a clue to what was going on. "There's a bigger and smart explanation Dad has if you want to know."
"Can you teleport here by looking at this?" Coulson handed his phone over to Jared. On the screen was the picture of a room, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a pretty bare room with a kitchen table, 2 chairs and a TV sitting on the floor. A fireplace sat in the wall towards what looked to be the only entrance into the room.
"As long as that's recent so I don't accidentally teleport into a wall," Jared handed the phone back. "Can I ask what's going on Sir?"
"Currently we have 2 Agents holed up in a cabin just outside of Yellowstone," Fury spoke up for the first time. "They've been there for 6 weeks chasing down a lead on a suspect terrorist group who we think are planning on trying to make Yellowstone erupt."
Jared raised an eyebrow at that. An interesting concept for a terrorist organisation to do something that would cause such a global catastrophe. Most terrorist groups wanted to be noticed and praised for their work. Not wipe out the entire planet.
"Unfortunately there has been a lot of snow dumped there over the last week," Fury continued. "Both the agents are holed in up a cabin with a wall of snow around them and no way to get out. We believe that this group may be making their move soon."
"So you need me to get them in and out," Jared filled in the blanks trying not to sigh in disappointment. There goes to feeling of excitement. This was quickly turning into another boring night where he'd much rather be in bed. But, this was also Agent Coulson asking. He'd be stupid to turn it down.
"We need you to assist in their mission," Coulson corrected. "Not only are they snowed in, they're also out numbered from the scarce reports we've gotten through. You can get in and out of places without detection, take out guards and so forth."
Jared straightened up a little at the promise of some action. He patiently waited for Coulson to finish the brief. Maybe this wouldn't be so disappointing after all.
"This needs to be handled quickly and discreetly," Coulson emphasised the last word heavily. "We don't need things like this getting out into the general public and causing a stir. This is a level 6 mission so you're being given temporary clearance until this mission is over. Do a good job and you'll be level 5 by the time you get back."
Jared kept his face schooled into a neutral expression. He didn't want to give away the excitement he was now feeling. Coulson had just dangled an impressive reward in his face.
"Who am I working with Sir?" Jared asked. His fingers were already itching to take Coulson's phone back off him to get a good view of the room so he could be on his way. He'd have to do a quick trip home to throw some basics together and stop by the armoury to check his weapons out. But he could be on his way within half an hour.
"Agent's Romanoff and Barton," Fury spoke this time.
A manic laugh nearly slipped straight out of Jared mouth. He managed to swallow it back with great effort and very visible gulp. Jared looked between the 2 men, watching their faces for any sign this was a joke. Or perhaps he'd just heard wrong. There was no way STRIKE Team Delta could need his help. Those pair were legends here at SHIELD. A mission like this would be a walk in the park for them.
"I'm sorry Sir, run that by me again?" Jared asked trying to keep himself polite. He must have heard wrong.
"Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff," Coulson filled in. "Hawkeye and Black Widow. Don't look so surprised Agent Lyngley. I told you there was a personal favour attached to this mission."
Jared forced himself not to gape at Coulson. It was taking a few seconds longer than normal but it all suddenly fell into place. Coulson was their handler. Of course that was the personal bit attached to this mission. Coulson went to great lengths to help his team out because of the insane situations they always managed to wind up in. Right now Jared was his own chance at getting his team to complete the mission and get out of there alive. Jared suddenly wasn't sure if he was extremely flattered to be asked to work with such a high profile team. Or dreading what might come with it. Barton and Romanoff were infamous in SHIELD for a number of reasons. It was a well known fact neither of them were team players. A STRIKE team onto themselves. Truthfully they didn't need anyone else. The pair of them covered all the positions a team needed between the two of them. Jared had a small amount of hero worship for the pair.
"Communications are patchy due to the weather," Coulson kept going despite Jared's silence. "So I'm having to send you in without them knowing. Whatever you do, don't piss Barton off. You won't dodge what he aims at you. I'm told you can occasionally play nice so I suggest you try that."
Jared flinched at the small taunt from Coulson. Of course he didn't play nice, its why he was a Specialist. A very good one Specialist. He'd gotten top marks at the Academy and flew threw the ranks as soon as he was an Agent. It hadn't taken Fury long to notice him and start handing him harder and harder missions despite his inexperience. Jared was smugly proud of the fact he was doing things a lot of Agent's wouldn't see for at least 5 years out of the Academy.
"Pack whatever you need, I suggest warm clothes and meet me back here," the dismissal was clear in Coulson's voice.
"Sir," Jared nodded to both Fury and Coulson. Going back to his apartment was easy. These days it was just a thought that took him there with no effort. The feeling of the teleporting didn't really register in his brain going to such a well known place. One second he was standing in the office and the next back in his bedroom. Jared grabbed a bag and started throwing clothes in it without looking what was clean or dirty. It didn't really matter. A mission like this didn't dictate a dress code. As long as it was warm, comfortable and suitable for the freezing winter it'd do.
In less than 5 minutes Jared was back at the Triskelion, bag in hand waiting expectingly in front of Coulson and Fury yet again. Both turned to look at him with near identical raised eyebrows at how quick it'd been. Coulson had been sitting on the edge of Fury's desk. He handed a piece of paper over to Jared, along with his phone.
"Give this to one of them, so they don't think you're there to take them out," Coulson explained.
Jared felt the flicker of nerves touch his insides again. Here he was walking into what could be a very messy situation. Recalling Coulson's words from earlier he knew he wouldn't dodge whatever Barton shot at him. He probably wouldn't dodge anything Romanoff aimed at him either.
"I know Barton can be a little," Coulson trailed off trying to think of the appropriate word. "Abrasive."
Jared fought to contain the snicker of amusement that rumbled through his chest. He quickly swallowed and just nodded instead.
"You're likely to get more trouble from him than Romanoff," Coulson continued. "Just don't do anything to piss him off. They have enough weapons to arm a small army, so just use what they have there."
"Yes Sir," Jared had nothing else to say. There was too many variables to come into play to sit down and hash them all out. All that needed to be said was 2 Agents needed help and he'd go in there and provide whatever support he could. "Is that all?"
"Report back only if you have any difficulties," Fury spoke up from behind his desk. "We want to keep this one quiet and contained. Dismissed."
Jared took one good long look at the photo of Coulson's phone. He wasn't a fan of teleporting this way, but it would have to do. He handed the phone back to Coulson and then concentrated. Visualising it in his mind Jared could feel the pull of his power as it wanted to take him there already. Closing his eyes, a habit when doing an unknown teleport, Jared let his power take over. The world dropped away from underneath him and then nothing for a second.
His feet touched solid ground again. Jared pried one eye open, happy to find he was standing in front of the TV. The room was dark, the only source of light was the glow of the TV power light on standby. The red cast around the black room with an eerie glow. The cabin was otherwise quiet. Jared let out the breath he'd been holding and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension in them. The teleport had been a lot better than he expected. Sometimes if he didn't quite know where he was going it felt like the universe put him on a spin cycle and then spat him back out. The headache and few minutes of retching after it happened wasn't a step forward, Jared promptly ran his shin into the leg of a chair.
"Fucking bitch," Jared cursed under his breath at the now throbbing leg. Just as he reached down to clutch at it, something pressed into the back of his head. The unmistakable sound of a chamber being slid into the round of a sidearm made Jared freeze instantly. His hands went up in a show he wasn't armed. His bag hit the ground with a muffled thump.
"How the fuck did you get in here?" the deep voice seemed to vibrate around the small room, even though it was said quietly. Jared had only heard that voice a few times, but he instantly knew it.
"Coulson sent me," Jared said calmly. "Agent Barton, I'm Agent Jared Lyngley."
"Badge," Clint's voice was tight with suspicion.
Jared slowly lowered one of his arms and reached into his jeans pocket, pulling out the small black wallet that held his badge and ID. He held it behind him, not game to turn to face Clint just yet.
"I've also got something from Coulson for you," Jared felt the piece of paper crinkle in his free hand that was still held up. "Its in my other hand."
All Jared got was a grunt, which he hoped was going to be a yes to him hand it over. He moved the paper around in his hand until it was sticking out through his fingers. Clint snatched it from him as soon as the piece of paper was visible. Jared stood there trying not to let his nerves kick in any further. Barton still hadn't taken the gun away from head and he knew there was a round in the chamber. The paper crinkled a few times as Clint scanned over it. It seemed to take an eternity until the gun was pulled away from Jared's head.
"Apparently the head of HR would be upset if I shot her son," Clint's voice was a low grumble. "And I would never get another bow in my life. Make yourself at home Agent Lyngley."
The pressure lifted from Jared's head and he let out a small sigh of relief. Well, that was the first obstacle out of the way. He'd made it without getting shot within in the first 2 minutes. Footsteps walked a few paces away and the lights blazed on overhead. Jared grimaced and blinked in the bright light while his eyes adjusted to the sudden intrusion. Turning around he got a good look at the infamous Hawkeye.
His first thought was how much terrible Barton actually looked. The other Agent collapsed into a chair at the table, rubbing his face tiredly. Clint had huge dark circles under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't eaten properly in weeks. His face was covered in a least a week worth of growth. Jared hesitated, staying on his feet not wanting to intrude just yet.
"I won't shoot you," Clint's voice almost sounded amused as he glanced up at Jared. "Sit the fuck down, you make the place look untidy."
The small log cabin was already pretty untidy. Now the light was on Jared got a good look around him. It looked like someone had either ransacked the place, or they'd been having the time of their lives. Clothes were strewn around on every inch of the floor. Dishes were piled in the sink and beside it. Weapons cases sat underneath the table, discreetly hidden by a tablecloth. Jared hit his shin again as he hastily pulled himself down into the chair. This time he ignored the pain, keeping his eyes on Barton.
"So you're the crazy fucker that can teleport," Clint leant back in his own chair, watching Jared carefully. "I'd offer you something to drink, but 2 problems. One, I'm not that polite and 2 as you can see we're not that heavy on supplies here."
Jared opened his mouth to make a smart reply. It was cut off by the muffled sound of someone coughing. The coughing fit was so bad it sounded like whoever it was could barely breath. At the sound of it Clint shot to his feet and disappeared into the room off the kitchen. Jared slowly pushed the chair back and got up to follow. It was only a few paces away from the table. He hung back in the doorframe unsure what to do. The room had nothing but a queen sized bed in it. Clothes were strewn on the floor carelessly, not unlike his own apartment.
In the dimly lit room his next question of where Romanoff was, got quickly answered. She was curled up in a ball on the bed, coughing hard enough her entire body was in a spasm. Even in the dim light Jared could see how pale and drenched in sweat she was. Her clothes hung off her in a way they were definitely not meant to. Clint was sitting on the bed next to her, glass of water in hand, murmuring in Russian trying to get her to drink it. She was shaking her head while still coughing.
"Fuck," the curse slipped out of Jared's mouth, staring at the scene in front of him. This wasn't what he was expecting at all. "What happened?"
"She fell through a frozen pond, it was a long hike back here," Clint's voice was tight with worry. "She's had a fever for 4 days straight now and I don't have anything here to help. We got snowed in right afterwards and our communications got cut right after that before I could radio the entire situation in."
Jared looked over to Romanoff feeling very uneasy. She looked like she needed a hospital, not to be stuck here in the middle of nowhere with no medical attention.
"I can take her…" Jared began but was quickly cut off by a shake of Clint's head.
"She doesn't do hospitals very well," Clint loathed handing that small piece of personal information out. He sent a hard glare in Jared's direction to make sure he understood that was never to be repeated. Jared snapped his mouth shut and gave him a small nod.
"Can you…" Clint started but then trailed off himself. He looked up to Jared feeling uneasy about the question he was about to ask. "I have no idea how you do it, but are you able to go get what I need?"
Normally Jared would be pissed about playing errand boy. But this was a different scenario.
"What do you need?" Jared asked straight away.
"I have somewhere in DC that I can get medical supplies," Clint's uneasiness settled into a deep frown. "But this is completely off SHIELD records. I'm not lying that if you ever breath a word of this to anyone that your body won't ever be able to be found. Understand?"
Jared nodded vigorously. He didn't need to be told twice. Whatever Barton was trusting with him right now he would take to the grave. He'd much rather a grave of his own time and choosing than to never be found again.
"What do you need to get there safely?" Clint's hard frown levelled off into a controlled glare.
"A recent photo, make sure nothing has changed since then," Jared felt like a broken record repeating that piece of information again. "And a list of medical supplies you need."
"Just describe her symptoms," Clint said unhelpfully. "There'll be a contact at this safehouse. Tell her the password is Edith so you don't end up with a hole in your kneecap."
"Edith, got it," Jared nodded. "What's the safe house keepers name?"
"Laura," Clint said softly. A flicker of gentle emotion crossed his face. It was so quick Jared nearly didn't catch it in the dim room. "I'll get my phone. Stay here beside Nat."
Clint didn't give him a choice in the matter. He got up from the crouching position beside the bed and marched from the room. With an amount of dread and apprehension, Jared came to stand beside the bed of the famous Black Widow. She'd fallen back unconscious, her body twitching in the fevered dream. Jared crouched down beside the bed, in the same position Clint had been a few seconds ago. He tentatively reached out to touch her sweating forehead. Instantly he recoiled at how hot she really was. His hand felt like it was almost scalded from the brief touch.
"Your hands are cold Barton," Natasha's voice slipped out in no more than a forced whisper. Her eyes were still closed and body slumped. "Give them here."
Jared froze as Natasha reached out in her fevered state and grabbed his hands. She pressed it against her face, sighing in obvious relief. She then frowned, eyelashes fluttering as her eyes sluggishly opened. Green eyes took a few moments to focus on Jared's face.
"You're too pretty to be Barton," Natasha sighed and closed her eyes again. "Much nicer sight. Don't go."
"I won't," Jared's voice came out a lot stronger than he was really feeling. Seeing the cold hearted assassin in such a vulnerable state made him uneasy. His hands warmed up on her hot skin far too quickly to be of any use in cooling her down. He didn't dare move his hands even if Natasha had obviously slipped back into her fevered state.
"Here," Clint's voice came from behind making Jared jump. He instantly snatched his hand off Natasha and took the offered phone from Clint's hands in one swift motion. He looked down at the screen taking in the detail.
It was a bedroom. One that was obviously in the process of being renovated. Furniture was stacked in the corner with a sheet thrown over it. Different coloured stripes of paint littered the white walls. Polished floorboards shone in the morning light from when the photo was taken. Jared looked at the photo curiously. No safe house he'd ever been in looked that well loved.
"Anything else you need?" Jared didn't probe into any other details. It wasn't his place to ask, nor would Barton tell him any intimate details of his very carefully guarded safe house.
"Just get back here with was Nat needs," Clint suddenly looked exhausted, like all the adrenaline keeping him going had finally faded. "Once you get to the room, go into the hall and knock the S.O.S morse code out on the door 3rd to your left. Its at the end of the hall."
"I'll be back soon," Jared promised as he handed the phone back. He focused everything he could into that one picture and let his power take over. In another second he was standing in another dark room, staring at the wall where the stripes of paint were still there. Nothing had changed in the room from when the photo was taken. The streetlamp outside lit the room up brightly enough without any curtains over the window. Jared took a step forward, the floorboards creaking under his feet. He winced at the loud sound that seemed to echo through the quiet house. He paused, listening for any other sign of life. The house was quiet. It was early morning in DC, so not even the noise of the neighbourhood was present. There was just Jared and his own steady breathing to meet his ears.
Jared strode forward to the door. Without any hesitation he flung it open and walked straight into another person. He managed to contain his own yelp of alarm at the face full of brown hair flying in his vision. The feminine shriek echoed around the empty house as the body nearly crumpled to the floor. Jared flung himself forward and caught the woman before she could hit the ground.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Jared said quickly. "The password is Edith. Agent Barton sent me. I'm Agent Jared Lyngley Ma'am and I'm very sorry for startling you."
"How the fuck did you get in my house?" the woman's voice was high and shrill. She shoved Jared away with a lot more force than her petite frame gave away. Jared took a few surprised steps back and got a good look at the safe house keeper.
The first thing he noticed was within that petite frame and long brown hair was a very pregnant stomach in the way of everything. Jared tried not to gape or blurt out anything inappropriate. His first thought that ran through his head was wondering if Coulson knew Barton had knocked up the safe house keeper. Judging by the look on Clint's face when he told Jared her name, he didn't doubt there was something going on between them. For once in his life Jared kept his thoughts to himself and mouth firmly shut of any sass.
"I'm sorry, Laura was it?" Jared took another few steps backwards into the room where he'd appeared. "I can't explain too much unless I know your clearance level."
The look levelled at Jared was enough to make him want to cower in shame. It was the same look his own Mother gave him when he'd done something to really displease her. Laura's hands flew onto her hips as she glared up at Jared.
"Do I look like I have a SHIELD security clearance Agent Lyngley?" the small woman seethed at him. Jared was smart enough to know a rhetorical question when one was thrown at him. "You have 5 seconds to explain yourself before I call Phil and have you…."
"Natasha needs help," Jared let the words tumble out cutting Laura off. "Barton sent me here because he said I could come back with medical supplies. She's really sick and I need your help."
At the mention of Natasha's name, Laura's glare levelled off and was quickly replaced by an uneasy look on her face.
"What happened?" Laura asked briskly. The uneasy look was replaced by one of professional calmness.
"Fell into a pond 4 days ago," Jared supplied. "Running a very high temperature, by a quick feel my guess would be at least 103. She has a rattling cough and difficulty breathing."
"Follow me," Laura was all business now. She stepped off without a look thrown back to check if Jared was following. His own long legs quickly caught up with the shorter woman as she waddled away looking very uncomfortable. Laura's hands went to her back as she gingerly climbed down the stairs. Jared always stayed 2 steps backwards, keeping his distance feeling very unsure of how to take everything in. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Laura turned to face him and pointed towards the right.
"Kitchen is in there, sit and don't touch anything," Laura said firmly leaving no room for arguments.
"Yes Ma'am," Jared found himself replying without any thought process happening at all. He quickly walked to the room where he was directed and pulled a chair out from the table in the middle of the room. He wasn't even game enough to turn a light on, so he sat in the dimness of the room waiting for Laura to come back.
She didn't take long. Barely a minute had passed before the light was flicked on and Laura came back into the kitchen carrying a backpack. She set it down on the table before slowly lowering herself into the chair. Jared didn't miss the wince of pain crossing her face as she awkwardly sat on the chair.
"Are you ok?" Jared asked feeling concerned.
"Besides a visitor disturbing what little sleep I get," Laura grumbled as she unzipped the backpack. "Yeah 37 weeks pregnant is a lot of fun. I'm really enjoying my kidneys being used as punching bag."
"It could be worse," Jared tried to inject some humour into the situation. The dead panned expression of non amusement made him hastily spit out the rest of what he was going to say. "It could be twins like my Mom went through."
"One is more than enough, thank you," Laura said dryly. However there was the small quirk of her lips giving away at least the smallest amount of amusement. She rummaged through the bag while Jared sat in silence not sure what else to say. Laura began to lay the supplies out on the table as she pulled things from the bag.
"How old are you Agent Lyngley?" Laura glanced up to Jared briefly from what she was doing.
"20," Jared answered. He was waited for the typical spiel of how young he looked for his age. Thank god for SHIELD and their ways of creating many forms of fake ID. Jared hadn't been shy about using an alias when he wanted to go out drinking. Or he'd just teleport somewhere in the world where his age wasn't an issue.
"And would you be related to the same Agent Lyngley who's head of weapons development?" Laura didn't give the expected spiel. She just continued with the job she had her mind set on right now. Rows of vials and other medical supplies sat in neat rows on the table. The supplies from the backpack seemed to never end.
"My Dad," Jared said carefully. For someone who was a safe house keeper, Laura seemed to know a lot more than she probably should.
"So that's why Clint didn't shoot you on sight," Laura mused with another small quirk of her lips. "He would be a very unhappy man if he couldn't get a new toy."
Jared relaxed slightly at the smallest trace of amusement on his voice. The casual conversation was welcome at this crazy time of the morning as well. Just as he was about to reply a small childish voice came from the dark hallway.
"Mommy?" the young boy stepped into the light rubbing his eyes. "Who's that?"
If Jared thought his night couldn't get any stranger, he was very wrong. This just totally took the cake. Dark haired like his Mother but that's where the similarities ended. Jared couldn't stop staring at the miniaturised version of Barton himself.
"Cooper what are you doing out of bed?" Laura shot a nervous look in Jared's direction.
"Who's that?" Cooper asked. He ignored Laura's question and came toddling over to his Mother. He held up his arms to be picked up.
"I can't pick you up buddy," Laura sighed heavily. "This is Jared, he works with Daddy."
"Is Daddy coming home?" Cooper looked to Jared with a hopeful expression on his little face. Before Jared could answer, Copper walked over towards him and held his arms up.
"Umm," Jared looked down at the boy with a small amount of horror and fear. "He will be home soon. I'm just helping him and Romanoff out."
"Aunty Nat," Cooper wiggled his fingers up at Jared. "Is she coming home too?"
All of a sudden Jared felt the weight of the world come crashing down on his shoulders looking down at the young boy. Like everyone else in SHIELD, he always assumed Barton and Romanoff were a thing. Now that couldn't be any further from the truth. It's no wonder Coulson wanted his team back ASAP. Laura looked ready to burst any second. With a second young child in the house she was about to have her hands very full. Feeling out of place, Jared reached down and picked the boy up. He wrapped his arms around his neck and snuggled into his body. Jared felt his heart melt a little as he hugged him back. Jared didn't mind kids at all. As long as he could hand them back to their parent at the end of the day. What he had just been trusted with was sacred. He hugged Cooper a little tighter. He'd do everything he could in his power to get Barton and Romanoff back.
"Sorry," Laura mouthed quietly to Jared. "He misses his Dad. I'm going to pack all this back in this bag which you can take. Clint will know what to give. There's plenty of IV fluids in here because I know Nat won't drink anything when she's sick."
"Thank you," Jared didn't know what else to say. Cooper had fallen back asleep on his shoulder. He had a sudden idea. "Whats their favourite food?"
"You can't go wrong with anything pasta for either one of them," Laura zipped up the bag and pushed it across the table to Jared. She hesitated before speaking again. "How bad is the trouble they're in this time?"
"No trouble at all now I'm here," Jared's lie was only half of a lie. With his help they should be able to get home within the next few days. Providing nothing went wrong. He picked up the bag with his free hand and slung it over his shoulder.
Laura let out a short laugh at that.
"I think those two have just found a kindred soul," Laura smiled and looked a little more relaxed than before. "So I'm guessing you have some kind of powers."
"I can teleport," Jared always felt a little proud and smug of that fact. It made his job so much easier. He wasn't ashamed to show his powers off either. SHIELD was very happy to let him do so openly as well "It's a bit helpful."
"I can imagine," Laura rubbed her stomach, wincing. "Shouldn't you be heading back?"
"Right," Jared stood up carefully not to disturb the sleeping boy. "Wheres his room?"
"I can get him," Laura insisted. She stood up and as she did she visibly flinched in pain. "On second thoughts, his door is next to the room you came in."
"No problems," Jared stood up, holding the young boy close to him. "Thank you Laura."
"No need to thank me," Laura gave Jared a small smile. "Just bring them home for me, please?"
"Of course."
Jared walked up the stairs and put Cooper back to bed where he was instructed. The brown haired boy didn't stir as Jared tucked him in. With one last look at the precious secret tucked into the bed, Jared closed his eyes and blew out a breath. He focused on one of his favourite places in the world to eat. The time difference should put him there right at the early evening and pick up dinner before he went back.
Clint stilled as he heard a faint noise in the living room. Natasha fever had spiked again and he helplessly sat beside her. The only thing he could do was keep the sweat off her face. Even then the cool cloth wasn't doing much to help.
"Barton?" Jared's voice sounded from the living room.
Clint let out a relieved sigh. He checked his watch, it'd only been 45 minutes yet it'd felt like hours since Jared left. Clint prayed to any god who would listen that Laura wasn't too upset with Jared's sudden appearance. With such a short time left in her pregnancy, Clint didn't want anything upsetting her. He'd been hoping this mission would have wrapped up 2 weeks ago. But bad luck had kept them firmly rooted in this horrible cabin. Clint stood up, stretching as he walked back into the other room. On the table was his trusted go to bag with all the medical supplies. But the rest of the contents on the table was the bigger surprise.
"I didn't know what to get," Jared shrugged as an explanation. "So I basically ordered everything that tastes good. The leftovers can get thrown in the fridge."
An Italian feast was spread out across the table. Clint's mouth watered at the smell wafting up to him. Their supplies had run out to nearly nothing a few days before. All that was left was the stuff they hadn't eaten in the MRE's. Which was basically nothing but condiments and the odd piece of candy.
Medical supplies momentarily forgotten, Clint snatched up a still hot garlic calzone and stuffed it in his mouth. The dough burst in Clint's mouth, burning his tongue on the still bubbling cheese, but he didn't care. It was real food and hot. What made it better, was that is was really, really good real food. Clint savoured the taste of fresh bread, pecorino cheese and the burst of salt and garlic that came with it.
"My god this is amazing," Clint said around the mouthful of food. "Where the hell in DC did you get it?"
"Please, as if you'd get that in DC," Jared scoffed. "That came all the way from Rome. You're welcome by the way."
Clint paused for a second mid chew at the snark in Jared's tone. He hid the smile that was threatening to form by shoving the second half of the calzone into his mouth. The sass coming from the young blond man in front of him could have easily been Natasha's words. He'd heard plenty about the Specialist flying through the ranks. How he wasn't afraid of any job that came his way. His skills were as good as any of the top Specialists in the agency. Having people like Bobbi Morse and Melinda May speak highly of his abilities wasn't an easy task for anyone to accomplish. His smart mouth might not make him many friends. But his ability to get any job done under any circumstances earned him enough respect that no one dared to say a bad word about him. At first Clint had thought it was only his last name getting him through the ranks so easily. But Jared had proven himself time and time again that he was going to be as good as Romanoff one day. It might not be today, or tomorrow. But he'd be a worthy ally in the long run.
"I'll go pump Tasha full of drugs," Clint grabbed the medical bag. He took a few steps towards the bedroom door before a question popped into his mind. That question made him falter in his footsteps. He glanced over his shoulder to Jared, who was absently picking apart another calzone while reading something on his phone.
"She's fine," Jared said not looking up from the device in his hands. "Though I did wonder how the hell I was going to tell Coulson you knocked up the safe house keeper. Thankfully your son walked in and it's a pretty safe guess that Coulson already knows."
"Hilarious Lyngley," Clint grumbled rolling his eyes. Possibly ally or not, Jared might be lucky enough to live that long if he kept his snark up. Still, Clint was very glad for his honest words and the reassurance his very pregnant wife was fine. Jared came back minus any holes in his body so whatever he'd said to Laura must have been good enough for her to trust him. Clint felt a sudden stab of homesickness thinking of what was waiting back at home for him. He'd give anything to be home right now doing something mundane, like paint the nursery. Or be able to curl up with his head on his wife's pregnant stomach. Listening to his little girls heartbeat and feeling her move around.
"But I will do everything I can to get you home to your pregnant partner," Jared looked up from the phone briefly with a small smile. "And take this secret to my grave. She looks ready to pop."
"Wife," Clint corrected. It was a smug sense of satisfaction seeing Jared nearly fall off the chair in surprise. Leaving him to chew over that thought in his head, Clint walked into the bedroom. Natasha was still curled up in a ball hugging a pillow to her chest tightly. Clint sighed heavily and sat the bag on the floor. Natasha wasn't going to like this.
20 minutes later Clint walked out to the table where Jared was now absently eating through a takeaway container of pasta. He didn't even glance up from his phone when Clint sat down and pulled the first containers over to him. Lifting the lid off Clint greedily inhaled the aromas of various herbs assaulting his nose. The creamy white sauce looked inviting and he quickly snatched a fork up and shovelled as much into his mouth as possible. The pasta was still warm and the carbonara sauce felt like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.
The pair of them sat in silence. Jared still on his phone, occasionally wrinkling his nose at whatever he was doing. Clint got sick of the silence and finally spoke up after a few minutes.
"There's no phone reception here at all," Clint informed him. "Believe me, I've tried."
"Yeah I know," Jared lifted one shoulder in a half hearted shrug. "I downloaded all my latest emails while I was waiting for this. Mom and Kari have both written novels."
"Who's Kari?" Clint asked mildly curious. He didn't pick Jared for the type to be settled down with a girlfriend. Quite the ladies man and not one to be pinned down by anyone. If you listened to the rumours what swirled around SHIELD.
"My twin sister," Jared gave a small smile. His attention dragged back down to the lengthy email.
"She still at the Academy?" Clint racked his brain trying to think of what the other Lyngley sibling was doing in SHIELD. Granted, there were plenty of Lyngley's within SHIELD. It was easy to lose track of most of them. Especially since none of them were directly involved in the Enforcement side of SHIELD except for Jared. But Clint remembered Coulson vaguely mentioning something about Jared's sister about 2 years ago. He couldn't for the life of him remember what for though.
"God no," Jared laughed finally pulling his attention away from his phone. "She hates SHIELD. Never wanted anything to do with it. She's nearly finished her fighter pilot training. She's been assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Base. She's going to the first female F-22 pilot."
Clint's eyebrows raised in surprise. It seemed Jared wasn't the only overachiever in the family. After a moment of silence Jared turned his attention back to the email. Clint shovelled a few mouthfuls of pasta into his mouth before he spoke again.
"Is she like you?" Clint asked.
"Pardon?" Jared looked up again.
"Your twin sister, does she have powers like you?" Clint elaborated.
"Yeah but unlike me she doesn't like using them. Hence the reason she went for USAF and not SHIELD," Jared finally put his phone up on the table. "So, tell me about what we're dealing with here."
"Is that food I smell?" a feminine voice made both the men's head snap to where the noise had come from. Natasha wearily walked out of the bedroom, wrapped up in one of Clint's hoodies. She stopped dead in her tracks, now staring at Jared. "And whats that smart ass little shit doing here?"
"He's our backup," Clint explained. He pulled out the chair next to him and patted the seat. "Thanks for leaving your drip in for more than 5 minutes."
"Is that pasta?" Natasha inched closer to the table. She sniffed the air and completely ignored Clint's comment about her IV line. She'd ripped it out the second she was conscious enough to realise it was in there. "How did we get pasta?"
"It's from L'Arcangelo straight from Rome," Jared added with what he hoped was going to be a charming smile to hide his inner turmoil at the infamous Black Widow staring at him. "I hear the Gnocchi alla Matriciana is to die for."
As he spoke Jared pushed one of the containers over towards her. Natasha inched towards the table tentatively, eyeing off the white container like it was going to bite her.
"The real L'Arcangelo as in the one in Italy?" Natasha grabbed the chair and hastily sat down in it. Even though she was up and moving, she still wasn't looking the best. But the amount of drugs Barton just pumped into her was doing wonders for getting her up and moving again.
"The one and only," Jared's smile grew wider. On the inside he felt a small sliver of relief. Opposite him Clint had his hand covered over his mouth to hide his own amusement. Clint knew from experience that Natasha couldn't resist good Italian. The fact they'd been living off MRE's for the last few weeks would only make her even happier for the proper food.
Natasha snatched the container and a fork that was sitting near her. Opening the lid she didn't bother to wait to inhale the delicious scent. She dug her fork straight into the soft pillows of potato coated in a light tomato sauce with strips of guanciale and Pecorino Romano.
"Real food," Natasha moaned in delight as she chewed around the mouthful. "You're a lifesaver. Thanks for the food and drugs."
Jared stared at Natasha not sure if he'd just correctly heard what was coming out of her mouth. From what he knew of her reputation she as a hard ass bitch who didn't like anyone or anything.
"Don't get used to it," Clint quickly cut in, seeing Jared's expression. "She'll be back to wanting to beat you senseless once the drugs wear off. Lets go over the intel we have so we can try and get out of here ASAP."
"So I just hold your hand and we'll be back in DC?" Natasha arched a questioning eyebrow at Jared. He fought back his sigh of irritation as he stared down at the assassin.
"Yeah, straight outside of Fury's office at the Triskelion," Jared assured her. "I promise you, it doesn't hurt. You don't feel anything."
A few days later their mission had ended in a complete success. With Natasha and Clint's careful surveillance, it'd been a walk in the park for Jared to get in and secure the building. A SHIELD clean up and forensic crew were already on their way back. Instead of waiting for a Quinjet to take them back, Jared offered to teleport both Clint and Natasha straight back to DC. Clint hadn't hesitated in his acceptance. However Natasha was being the more difficult one.
"Come on Tasha," Clint grumbled from behind her. "I really want to get home."
"Fine," Natasha reached her hand out towards Jared. He smiled and reached out to take it. At the last second, Natasha pulled back with an insane little smirk. "Take me to Barton's instead."
"Fine," Jared reached forward and used his height to his advantage. He grabbed Natasha's hand and without a second of hesitation teleported away. The next moment they were standing in the spare room Jared had originally arrived in. Natasha swayed on her feet for a second, before looking around in amazement. She was so surprised by how easy that had just been. Hundreds of miles of travel over in an instant. No wonder Jared like to do it all the time.
"Does this mean you can get me gnocchi from L'Arcangelo anytime I want it?" Natasha fiery green eyes finally landed back on Jared. Her smile was warm and genuine. Something she would only reserve for people she liked. Despite her initial reservation with the young Specialist, Natasha had grown fond of him over the last few days. His quick wit and sharp tongue were a refreshing change from those who were always too scared to speak around her. Further more, he nearly single handedly took down the building they'd been trying to get into for weeks. Without him, both her and Clint would still be stuck in that frozen cabin trying to figure out what the hell to do.
"As long as you provide to proper wine to go with it," Jared flashed her a quick smile. "Be right back."
Before Natasha could reply he was gone. Natasha strode across the nursery and flung open the door. It was mid morning in DC. Laura and Cooper should both be here somewhere.
"Honey I'm home," Natasha called out the standard greeting as she poked her head out the door.
"Natasha?" a pained voice came from the bathroom. Laura head appeared from around the door a second later. "Oh thank god you're back."
"Whats up?" Natasha rushed to the bathroom, opening the door a little wider. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the soaked nightgown from the waist down. Laura was sweating heavily and a little wide eyed herself. "Oh. Shit."
"Shit all right," Laura grimaced and bent over in pain. Her fingers gripped the frame of the door so hard her knuckles turned white. "Where's Clint?"
A thump could be heard down the hallway. Both of the women turned to look in the direction of the unfinished nursery. Two deep voices came a second later. One sounding in awe and the other laughing quietly.
"CLINT!" Natasha screeched. "Get your ass into the bathroom right NOW!"
Loud footsteps came thumping down the hallway. Clint froze a few steps from the doorway, making Jared run right into his back. Both of them stared in slight horror and completely froze on the spot.
"Hospital. Now." Laura said through gritted teeth. "Unless you want our little girl to be born in the bathroom."
"Now?" Clint's voice became unnaturally high pitched as he stared at his wife.
"Now," Laura nodded in confirmation. She looked over at Jared who was standing there opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. "You better come too. I suppose you'll come in handy if I've forgotten to pack something."
"Me?" Jared pointed to himself suddenly feeling very out of place.
"Yes you," Laura rolled her eyes. "We need to go, like right now."
Jared found himself standing in the hospital room 9 hours later, exhausted but smiling down at the precious bundle of blankets and baby he held in his arms. Lila Alianovna Barton. A head full of dark hair like her mother but piercing blue eyes just like her Dad. Holding the tiny baby in his arms brought a fierce protectiveness Jared had only felt with his sister before. In the room next door, Laura was fast asleep. Natasha was sitting guard beside her, dozing off in the chair with Cooper asleep in her lap. Clint had been speaking with Coulson in the hallway so Jared took his chance for another hold of the little girl. He wasn't ashamed to admit he was completely smitten.
"Hey," Clint's quiet voice made him look up from Lila. Clint quietly closed the door behind him and strode over to the pair.
"Hey," Jared gave Clint a slightly lopsided smile. "She's beautiful. Congratulations Barton."
"Thanks," Clint's smile hadn't left his face she his little girl had come screaming into the world an hour before. "And thank you for getting us back here in time. If it wasn't for you we would have missed this."
"It's nothing," Jared felt proud and embarrassed at the same time from Clint's praise.
"Nothing," Clint chuckled briefly. "Yeah we'll go with that. So Thursday nights are pizza night at my place. We take turns in bringing the beer. It's your turn this week."
"What beer does everyone drink?" Jared wasn't going to knock back that offer. His own smile stretched onto his face as he suddenly realised he was just accepted into something very special.
Authors Note
I've been mucking around with this one for ages! I hope everyone enjoyed the story behind how Jared actually got to know Natasha and Clint.
This takes place about 3 years before Crystallize starts.