A/N: Thank you for reading my story! I wasn't really planning on publishing it until my friend read it and was so impressed she persuaded me to publish it. So here's the second chapter! Enjoy!

Updated 4/28- Hey! I've made just a few simple changes which I really needed to make for the sake of the story later on. I just changed a few things, mostly putting Friday in instead of Jarvis.

Chapter 2

I stood up and set my bag on the floor, just hoping my laptop wasn't broken. I shut my eyes and massaged the area between my eyes. A moment later, I heard a low groan from the floor in front of the door. My eyes darted up as I remembered there was another person on the jet. The man was tall and muscular with blue eyes and light brown hair. Again, I had that faint feeling of recognition before the realization hit me.

"Hawkeye. You're Hawkeye."

He smirked at me and nodded. "Clint Barton," he said, offering his hand for a shake.

"Stephanie Hayes," I said, shaking his hand.

Steve groaned again and I looked down at him, almost immediately wishing I hadn't. His jacket and t-shirt were torn and in a particularly bad spot… was that a…

I blanched. "Is tha-a-at a bu-u-ll-et?" I asked, cursing how scared my voice sounded.

Clint cursed quietly under his breath. "You sure know how to get yourself into trouble, Cap." Clint looked to me and must have seen my fear and distraughtness because his features softened a bit.

"Hey, you don't have to stay in here. Go sit in the co-pilot's seat next to Nat."

I nodded my thanks and headed over to the seat. I curled up in the seat and looked at the woman in the pilot's seat. Her dark red hair was short and slightly curled at the ends, and she had really pretty greenish-gray eyes that constantly flickered back and forth from the numerous controls. After a few moments, she spoke up without even allowing her eyes to leave the panel.

"Are you boys ready to fly?"

Clint gave her the okay, she flipped a few more switches and we began to move. I took my phone out of my pocket and began to play a game, hoping it would calm my nerves. I suppose it kind of worked, and about ten minutes into our flight, the woman turned to me.

"So you're Stephanie Hayes."

I looked for any hint of judgment in her expression and tone, but she just seemed curious, so I nodded.

"And you're the Black Widow."

She gave me a small smile. "Yes, that's true. But, just call me Natasha."

I looked back to her. "Can I ask you a question?"

Her smile disappeared and she sighed. "I know what you're going to ask, and the thing is, we don't know. We don't why you're here, other than that we got tipped off that Hydra wanted you. We knew that we couldn't let them get what they want, so that's why we came to you. As for why Hydra wants you, I hate to admit it, but we just don't know."

I gulped as I took in this information. Natasha looked to me, nothing but cool, measured calculation on her face. I gave her a small smile.

"I honestly have no clue what to think. This is a lot to take in, and it's all happened so fast. I'm really just quite confused."

Natasha didn't say anything, but the look she gave me said it all. Man, you don't know anything yet.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. I didn't really have anything to talk to Natasha about, but the silence wasn't really that awkward. In fact, it was quite comfortable and companionable. I enjoyed the aerial view of England, but most of the ride was crossing the ocean, so there wasn't much to look at. But now, I could see the lights of New York City. We flew silently over the city until we were over the landing pad at the Avengers Tower. I was familiar with the building, previously one of Tony Stark's buildings, but after the invasion of New York it became the headquarters for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. I couldn't believe I was actually about to go inside.

Once Natasha landed the quinjet, I looked to her for instructions. She gave me a slightly queer look and then stood up. I followed suit, stretching out for the first time in quite a few hours. Clint helped Steve hobble off the jet, and Natasha turned to me.

"So, you're going to be staying here, obviously. It's the safest place for you to be while we figure out what's going on. Steve offered the spare bedroom on his floor to you, so I that's where I'm going to be taking you."

I nodded to show I was following her. I couldn't help but think that some of the things she said could have sounded really mean, but they were soft enough that they didn't. I pushed my various thoughts away and followed Natasha inside.

I noticed the truth in Natasha's words (this is the safest place for you to be) within a few seconds out of the jet. As soon as I stepped out, two agents grabbed me, roughly patted me down and scanned me. They nodded curtly at Natasha and gestured for us to enter in through the doors, except for the fact that one of the agents had to scan his hand and input a code to open the doors. After an almost five minute process, we were ushered in.

"Good evening, Agent Romanoff."

I jumped at the voice, but Natasha just gave me a knowing smile.

"Oh, sorry about that. Stephanie, meet Friday. She's the AI Tony Stark invented to run the tower and really everything else after Jarvis was uploaded into Vision."

"Agent Romanoff speaks the truth, though I am always happy to help. Welcome to Avengers Tower, Miss Hayes"

I turned to Natasha. "How does she know my name?"

"You were scanned the moment you came in. Nothing serious, but just enough to allow Friday to recognize you."

Natasha then headed to the elevator. I followed, and it was by far the nicest elevator I had ever been it. We swiftly traveled down, and after a few moments, the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a soft ding. We stepped out of the elevator and were in a tiny hallway with a door at the other end. I followed Natasha inside and was thoroughly shocked as I stepped in.

The main room was amazing. There was a large white couch and a few armchairs situated in front of a low coffee table. A huge TV was placed on the wall over a fireplace. The rest of the wall the TV was on was taken up by huge floor-to-ceiling windows, currently covered with blinds. Everything had a very comfy, lived-in feel about it, and a small smile crept onto my lips.

I was jerked out of my admiring with Natasha clearing her throat.

"Do you want to see your room?"

I smiled sheepishly and followed her into another room, which was just as breathtaking as the last. A huge bed, probably a queen, was built into the back wall, surrounded by shelves. There was a dresser, desk, bookshelf, vanity and armchair, all cream with gold trim to match the room. The walls were a beautiful bright blue, with a golden trim around the top. The floor was cream colored and very plush. I turned to Natasha in shock. She just shrugged and smirked, leaving me staring at her incredulously.

"So, bathroom's there," she said, pointing to a door. "And that's a closet," she said, pointing to a second door. "And, something you might like to know is how complicated Stark likes to make things." She grabbed a remote off the shelf by the bed and pressed a button. A TV came down, right in the perfect place for watching in bed. "If you want it to go away, just press the button again."

I nodded my understanding, and Natasha gave me a small smile.

"I'm going to go check on Steve. I'll come back up and let you know how he is in a bit. In the meantime, you may want to unpack and shower. Just, make yourself comfortable. You'll be here a while."

I gulped and nodded. Natasha turned to leave, but I spoke.

"Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She turned back to me and smiled. "Don't mention it. You need one good friend here, and I've got your back."

About 20 minutes later, I was in my pajamas, perched on the edge of my bed. After the best shower I had ever taken, I was feeling a good deal better. I heard the door open and was unsurprised to see Natasha come in.

"How's he doing?" I asked

"Cap? He's really not that bad. Due to his accelerated healing, if he spends tonight and half of the day tomorrow on bedrest, he should be fine."

I smiled. "That's good. Thanks for letting me know."

Natasha smiled in return. "No problem. If you need me, Friday will know where to find me."

I gave Natasha my thanks and she left. The events of the day caught up with me, and I fell asleep with minimal effort.