A/N: Next chapter, as promised. Tis now Christmas Eve, so I hope you enjoy|

Ruby was sitting at the table, a tea doused with sugar between her hands. She had Natasha sitting to one side of her, and Clint to the other, while Director Fury and his right hand man, Agent Phil Coulson sat opposite. They had let her out of medical after a day, they didn't really have much choice in the matter, since she was causing utter chaos trying to get out all the time.

"Romanoff and Barton were ambushed." Fury told her. "They were in position, overlooking the whole presentation. We don't know how they were spotted, but they were seriously out numbered. These men had Stark's weapons."

Ruby's heart dropped a little. She had been so focused on blaming them, making it all out to be their fault, she didn't think they could have suffered the same fate that her and her father had. "And who were these men?" She asked quietly, although she had a feeling she already knew.

Fury let out a sigh as he rubbed his head a little. It was difficult for him, having to explain it all to her, especially since he didn't really plan on giving her too much detail about it all. "You've met them before. The Ten Rings."

Ruby had to close her eyes and take a deep breath. "They took us as well. It was them who ambushed the convoy. They wanted Tony to make the Jericho, the one he had just demonstrated."

"By the time they had managed to get out of the situation, it was already too late. The convoy had been all but destroyed, and there was no sign of you or your father." Fury told her, wondering how much more she needed telling. He didn't want to tell her that he suspected that there was someone working within SHIELD who was relaying information to the enemy.

Luck for Fury, all she did was nod at him. "What's our next move, Director?" She asked, looking up and him, a firm look on her face.

"Our next move, Miss Matthews?" Fury questioned, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Yes, sir. Tony Stark is still being held captive by a terrorist organisation know as the Ten Rings. They also have a doctor called Yinsen, he's a good man. Stark is not making them their missile, he is planning to somehow escape." Ruby told him, keeping her eyes locked with his good one. "And it's Agent Matthews, sir."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Agent Coulson smirking a little. He had always told her that one day she would be back, that one day she would need SHIELD like they had needed her. "Are you suggesting that we rescue both these men?" Fury asked her.

Ruby didn't move, she was set in her stare and position. "No, sir. I am telling you that we are going to remove Tony Stark and Yinsen from the clutches of the Ten Rings. And blow them out of the water at the same time."

There was silence in the room, Clint and Natasha sitting there nervously while Fury and Ruby were locked in what seemed like a staring competition. Finally a grin spread across the man's face. "Welcome back to SHIELD, Agent Matthews. It's not been the same without you."

Ruby couldn't help but crack a smile as well, and the tension in the air quickly faded. "Thank you, sir. Now, our next move?"

"You're going Bagram Air Base. We got an agent in there already. If anyone can find your father, then it's you." Director Fury told her, knowing that she was going to be searching for him no matter where she was. "Colonel James Rhodes is still there, still leading the search for you and Mr Stark."

"Well, Uncle Rhodey is certainly in for a surprise." Ruby said, a smirk on her face.

"You are undercover, Agent Matthews. You know how this works. We have a cover story ready for you and witnesses in place. As soon as you're ready, you will be taken to the drop off point." He told her, knowing that she was going to be leaving as soon as possible.

Ruby quickly stood up from her chair. "I'm ready now, Director Fury."

"I thought you might be. Coulson, get to work. Barton, Romanoff, you will be taking her to the drop off point. Agent Goldstein will be waiting for you." The three agents nodded at him and left the room silently. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked Ruby, now that they were alone.

She simply nodded at him. "Yes. I am not leaving my father there. You're right, the only person that can find him is me, and I'm going to do it." Ruby said, her voice full of determination.

She was acting exactly how Fury and Coulson had anticipated, she was acting like a true agent. "Then get on with your assignment, Agent Matthews. I want regular updates, even if you haven't made any progress, you need to keep in contact. Understood?"

"Yes, Director." Ruby said to him, before heading out of the room and to one of the many docking bays.

Clint and Natasha were there waiting for her, along side Agent Coulson. "Agent Matthews, you're going to need to wear these again. Agent Goldstein has been informed of your arrival and is on route to meet you." He told her, handing her back the clothes that she had been wearing for so long. "You stumbled upon the village after escaping the shack. The villagers helped you, cleaned you up a bit. Major Goldstein was notified of your presence by the locals on a routine visit. He will take you on from there."

"Understood, Agent Coulson." Ruby replied, giving him a curt nod.

The man just smiled at her. "It's good to have you back, Agent Matthews." He said, before turning and leaving her in the hands of Barton and Romanoff.

Ruby looked down at the clothes in her arms, her torn cargo pants and her rather destroyed black top. Her boots weren't actually too bad, they were her boots from SHEILD in the first place. "You ready to go, Ruby?" A voice asked her softly as a hand landed gently on her arm.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's get this over with. The sooner I get to Colonel Rhodes, the sooner I can find my father."

"After you then, Red Cobra." Clint said, a smirk on his face as he stepped aside for her to enter the jet.

Ruby couldn't help but let out a groan. "Oh God, really? You really want to start all of that, Barton? Trust me, Hawkeye, I'm now pretty familiar with locations where no one will hear you scream." She told him threateningly, making him put his hands up in surrender. He could tell she was still in a pretty bad mood with him, and Natasha. But Natasha had kept her mouth shut, she hadn't done anything that would provoke Ruby. Clint, on the other hand, was really starting to push his luck, and if he wasn't careful, Natasha knew Ruby would lash out at him again, and she wouldn't stop her.

"You best start thinking of getting changed, Ruby. We should be landing soon enough." Natasha called over to her, as she sat in the back of the jet in a world of her own.

She let out a sigh, looking at the clothes once more. "Uh, yeah. I guess I should." She mumbled. "Keep your eyes on the sky, Agents." She commanded, even though she knew neither of them was going to try and watch her while she changed.

Then again, it wasn't like the pair of them hadn't caught her in a state of undress before. Clint had the shock of his life when he marched into Natasha's room one day to find both her and Ruby getting changed from their little workout session. Both the women chased after him, Ruby holding his arms while Natasha smacked him a few times. After that, he learned to knock on the door first.

Ten minutes later and Ruby was standing on the sand once more, looking at the military man waiting for her. "Agent Matthews, I'm Agent Goldstein, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." The man said, holding out a hand to her.

She looked at him with confusion. "Uh, whatever you've heard, it's not true." Ruby told him, taking his hand and shaking it.

Natasha saw that Clint was about to open his mouth and most likely say something stupid, so she swiftly elbowed him. "You look after her, Goldstein, or we will be after you." She said, giving him a threatening look.

The man nodded and swallowed nervously at her. "Yes, Agent Romanoff. The trip to base is a quick one, so you will receive a report of this within an hour of your departure." Goldstein told her.

"Good. Now Ruby, please be careful. We're still going to be here if you need us. Let us know if you find anything." Natasha told her, before forcing a gentle hug upon her. "And call me if you need me. No matter what the time." She added in a whisper.

"Thanks, I will." Ruby mumbled as she hugged her back. "Look after yourself and Barton." Clint looked at her nervously as the pair of women ended their hug. Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "You going to try to damage my ribs some more, Barton?" She asked him, getting him to shake his head at her. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as well. "Behave. And I'm… I'm sorry for attacking you like that, Clint."

He couldn't help but chuckle a little, knowing that she had forgiven him if she was deciding to call him Clint again. "Forget about it, Ruby. You had every right to want to kill me. And you behave as well."

A few minutes later, and Ruby's friends were gone, leaving her stranded there with some man she didn't even know. "Time to move out, Agent Matthews. And my cover name is Major Kenneth Goldstein, I work under Colonel Rhodes. He has some interesting things to say about you." He told her as they started driving towards a small village they could see in the distance.

"Oh dear lord, what did he tell you?" Ruby moaned, not really liking that fact that her Uncle Rhodey had been talking to his friends at work about her.

Kenneth chuckled slightly at her response. "That you hacked into your fathers highly secure and intelligent system because he was trying to track you."

Ruby couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Well, that is actually true. But, to be fair, I didn't actually know it was him at the time. I thought it might have been Fury until I found out the trace was coming from Malibu."

"So, are you as good as the stories say?" He asked, glancing at her and then the road before him. "That you're a genius who loves to hack?"

This time she didn't smile, she had a full blown smirk on her face. "Uh, have you ever been at base when suddenly all the computer systems decided to just… roar, with a cute picture of a lion cub coming up on all the screens?" She asked him, thinking back to one of her earlier little hacking pranks.

"Oh yeah, I've seen that. Fury was not impressed. He got on to someone about it straight away and started shouting and yelling at them. I would not have liked to have been…" He trailed off when it finally dawned on him. "Lions, Ruby Matthews and her lions trademark. It was you."

"Got me grounded for two months." She told him, groaning a little.

"From what I've heard, 'grounding' meant training with Black Widow and Hawkeye. That can't have been too much fun." He asked her, obviously curious to her life with SHIELD.

"It was great, I loved it. They started off easy on me, but the moment I started catching onto their moves, calculating what they were going to do next, they went harder on me." She said, remembering as clear as day how her training had been. She had a lot of built up anger and frustration, so it was a great chance for her to let it all out. "It soon stopped being a punishment, and more of a social meeting with friends. That was how I saw the pair of them."

After that, Kenneth asked her a few more questions, but this time about her life with her father, Tony Stark. Most of it he knew already, but it was a way for them to get to know each other a little better and to pass the time. Soon enough they were driving into the village, making Ruby fidget with nerves.

It seemed that Kenneth had picked up on that. "It's going to be fine, Miss Matthews-Stark. Once we stop, I'll contact Colonel Rhodes. It should only take him about ten minutes to get here."

"I just want all this to be over, Major Goldstein. I want to go home, with my father, and curl up on the couch and watch some movies. But more than anything, I want him back, alive." Ruby told him, her voice suddenly filling with emotion. She may have opted to work as an agent on this, but outside of SHEILD she was just Ruby Matthews-Stark, daughter of Tony Stark.

Ruby knew she could just be herself now, not because she was acting, because she certainly wasn't, but because she couldn't show them she was an agent. The way she behaved within SHIELD, and when she was in the real world, were two completely different people. And one of those was the person that she no longer wanted to be.

"Come on, time to call Rhodes." Kenneth said, stopping at one of the tiny houses and letting her step inside. There was a middle aged woman standing there waiting for them. "This is Samira, the woman who found you and has been looking after you."

Ruby looked at the woman and gave her a friendly smile, one that the woman returned. "You stumbled into the village in the afternoon heat. Poor child, you could barely stand, let alone speak. I took you in, tended to your wounds. My husband, his is a doctor, you know. For two days you slept, and when you woke up, you could remember nothing of how you got here." Samira told her, her English good but heavily accented.

"Thank you for looking after me, Samira. I hope one day I can repay the kindness." Ruby said, knowing that the woman had just given her the version of events that had happened.

"Right, I need to contact Rhodes." Kenneth said, happy with the way things were going so far. He pulled out his radio and checked the channel it was on. "Colonel Rhodes, this is Major Goldstein. Over" He called, before releasing the button on the side.

There was static before a voice came through, making a lump from in Ruby's throat. "Colonel Rhodes here, what is it, Goldstein? Over." Ruby could tell from his tone that he was stressed, and tired, and really not in the best of moods.

"Sir, I think you need to get here. And quickly, sir. Over." Kenneth called back, trying his damned hardest not to smile.

"Goldstein, I don't have time for this. I'm up to my eyes here. Over."

"Colonel Rhodes, you really need to get here. There's something you need to see. Over." He replied, not realising that it was going to be so hard to get the guy in a chopper and out to their location.

"What are you talking about, Major? Over."

This time he did let himself smile. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, sir. Over."

There was a moment of silence, clearly Rhodey was still debating about what to do. "Okay, I'm on my way, Goldstein. And this better be good. I've got two missing people to search for. A billionaire genius and his daughter. My best friend and his teenage daughter." Rhodey reminded him. "ETA eight minutes. Rhodes out."

While he had been convincing James Rhodes to come to his current location, Samira had pulled Ruby into the chair, since she looked like she was about to fall down. Her face had drained of all colour and her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't need to act, to pretend that she was in shock, because she genuinely was.

"Here, drink child." Samira said to her, passing her a tin mug filled with water.

Ruby smiled at the woman as she took it, spilling some of the contents due to the shaking of her hands. "Sorry, I'm a little nervous." She mumbled, before taking a small sip. She was actually nervous, nervous about seeing Rhodey, nervous about the questions that they were going to ask her, nervous about finding Tony.

"Everything is going to be fine, Miss Matthews-Stark." Kenneth assured her, keeping an eye out of the door and waiting for the arrival of James Rhodes. "We'll have you out of here soon, and before you know it, you will be back in Malibu with your father."

"You know, you can call me Ruby. At least until my dear uncle gets here." She told him, trying to calm herself down a little and not think of what was going to happen next. She had to just keep thinking positive, stop worrying about all the negative things, all the bad things that had happened, and focus on the fact that she was alive and out of that cave.

"Well, he should be here soon. Going to be a shock for him and everyone else, but it's a good shock, and a step in the right direction." Kenneth told her. "You'll have access to everything you need, Fury's orders."

Ruby looked at him, a smile trying to creep across her face. "All satellites?" She asked him, getting a nod in response. "Well, as long as I can get contact with SWAIN and JARVIS, I think I'll be fine."

"If you need anything at all, just ask me and I'll get it to you. Director Fury is going to keep your ass covered while you work, so you won't get into any trouble." He told her, a smile finally breaking through on her face.

"Not getting into trouble for hacking for once, I best make the most of it." She commented, taking another sip of the water in her hands.

However, Kenneth frowned at her. "I wouldn't recommend taking advantage of the situation, Miss Matthews-Stark. Your actions will still be monitored." He reminded her.

"I know. But I sure will be glad to have access to SWAIN again. I've missed the pain in the ass and his voice." The moment Ruby finished, the whipping sounds of blades could be heard, making her chest tighten.

"Colonel Rhodes has arrived." Agent Goldstein informed her, looking at the chopper that was getting closer. "I'll go meet him, you best stay here." He said, before marching out of the building and towards where he knew it would land and leaving Ruby there with Samira.

"Everything will be fine, you are one step closer to home now." The woman assured her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You will soon be back with your family."

Ruby's eyes started to fill up at that moment. "My dad is my family, and they still have him." She whispered, trying desperately not to let the tears fall from her eyes. "But I'm going to find him. I swear, I will get him home. No matter what it takes."

She sat there for a few more minutes, the woman busying herself around her tiny home. Her hands kept playing with the tin mug between her hands, as she waited for the moment when she would finally see a familiar face.

Ruby didn't have to wait long, as Goldstein walked back into the house with Colonel James Rhodes right behind him. The moment Ruby saw him she dropped the mug to the floor and threw herself at him. "Uncle Rhodey." She mumbled into his uniform, as she wrapped her arms around him, finally letting those built up tears fall.

"Oh my God, Ruby." Was all he could manage to say in his shocked state, as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "You're okay, Ruby, you're okay." Rhodey told her, holding her even tighter, making sure that she was real. "Everything's gonna be okay now."

"They've still got him." She breathed between her crying. "They've still got my dad."

"We're gonna find him, Ruby. I promise you, we will find him. I haven't stopped looking for you both since day one, and I don't plan on stopping now either." He told her, trying to give her some hope. "Come on, Ruby, let's get you out of here. You're a mess and the medics need to check you over." He said, knowing that she needed to be checked over.

"Thank you for looking after me, Samira." Ruby said, turning to face the woman who was helping her with her cover story. "I would have died if it wasn't for you."

The woman looked back at her and smile. "You are most welcome, child. Stay safe."

After that, she was lead out of the house by her father's best friend. She was still clutching onto him as people watched the pair head towards the chopper. Goldstein had been ordered to stay, to gather as much information from the villagers as he could about Ruby's appearance, not that he really needed to since it was all planned out already.

Even when they were sitting in the chopper, she still refused to let him go, not that he minded. Her grip reminded him that she was really there, and that there was still hope that Tony was going to be found alive and well as well. They were each other's hope, and for Ruby, he was the closest thing to family she had left with her father still missing.

By the time they had arrived at the air base, Ruby's tears had stopped and her breathing had finally calmed down. "We need to get you checked over, Ruby. You've been missing for a long time now." Rhodey told her, helping her out of the chopper and leading her into the base.

"How… how long has it been?" Ruby asked him, her voice quiet. She didn't really need to know, but she knew it would look suspicious if she didn't.

"Ruby… you've been missing for almost nine weeks." He told her quietly. "The media are saying that you and Tony are dead. Most of the world has given up on you both. There are only a few that still believe."

Ruby looked up at him with her blood shot eyes. "Who?"

"Me, Pepper, Liam, and SWAIN." He said, surprising her a little with the last one. "That damn system of yours has been a right pain in the back side. He's teamed up with JARVIS and they have been doing everything to try and find the pair of you.

She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "He's been doing what he was programmed to do, that's all. He wasn't doing it on purpose. SWAIN was programmed to keep track of me, and he has orders to do anything he can to find me if something happens or I don't send him a message within a certain time frame." Ruby told him, knowing that it was all completely true. SWAIN would have been waiting for her to get back to the jet, to have her earpiece reconnect to let him know she was fine. But that didn't happen, so his emergency programme took over.

"Well, I don't know if he has been a help or a hindrance. And he dragged JARVIS into it all as well. They kept making suggestions, I was getting phone calls in the middle of the night from them to tell me where to look." Rhodey moaned at her. "But now that you're here, they can bug you instead."

"Has Pepper been bugging you as well? And Liam? I mean, are they both okay?" Ruby asked him, slightly nervous. She had a feeling that Pepper was frantic while Liam was just pure angry that it had happened.

"Pepper is… well, she's been a complete mess. Blames herself for letting you go with Tony in the first place. Liam, he teamed up with SWAIN and JARVIS. That man sure is determined when he wants to be."

"Can we… can we not tell them?" Ruby asked him, getting a very shocked look from him. "I mean, not until we have my dad back. I'm staying here and helping you to find him, if they knew I was here then they would just demand I go home straight away. If I'm going home, it's with my dad." She told him stubbornly.

Rhodey knew that it was going to be pointless to argue with her, she was set on this, and he could already see that in her face. "Sure, but right now let's get you checked out." He told her, stopping as they reached the medical area. "You want me to stay?" He asked, getting her to nod her head.

An hour later, Ruby was lying once again in a bed that was more comfortable than those stupid cots she had been sleeping in. The medics had given her the once over, confirming all the injuries that she already knew about, and being taken by surprise when they realised she'd had a punctured lung. Ruby explained that Samira, the woman who found her, had taken care of her and that she must have dealt with it. So far, everything was heading in the right direction.

"They want you to stay here overnight, Ruby." Rhodey told her, coming over to the bed again with a doctor beside him. "You're blood glucose levels seem to be a bit too low and they want to keep an eye on you."

She nodded at him a little, having already worked out that she was still suffering a little and that they would want to keep an eye on her. "Okay, as long as they don't wake me up every few hours. I really, really want to go to sleep." She told him groggily. "And no more morphine, please." She knew they had been giving it to her, and she really didn't like it. "My body doesn't like morphine, check my medical records."

Rhodey looked to the doctor, who quickly rushed off to go and do what she had asked. "You going to be okay here tonight? I can stay if you want me to?" He asked her, not sure that leaving her alone was a good idea, but knowing that he had work still to be doing.

"I'll be find, Uncle Rhodey. I'm going to sleep, I'm tired." She replied, before letting out a yawn, as if to prove her point. "I want to sleep."

"Okay, well, good night, mini Stark. I'll be back first thing in the morning. And if you need me, just let the nurses or doctors know and I'll come running, okay?" He said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, watching as she started to drift into unconsciousness.

"Okay. Night." Ruby mumbled, before shuffling in the bed a little, making herself just that little bit more comfortable.

Rhodey gave her one more look before making his way out of the room she was in and back to report to his superior. The moment he had seen Ruby he had felt a wave of relief wash over him. They had been looking for her and Tony for so long, and hadn't had a single trace or clue as to where they were. But now they had Ruby, and she may not have been in the best of conditions, but she was alive, and she was going to be absolutely fine physically. He wasn't so sure if she would be fine mentally, not when her father was still missing. He knew that the next few days were going to be tough, but he was ready for it. James Rhodes was ready to do anything to help Ruby get her father, his best friend, back alive.

A/N: Well,there it is. I really do hope you liked the chapter, in fact, I hope you all have been enjoying the story completely. We haven't seen the last of Ruby's secret life, in fact, its going to come back and bite her in the backside.

I'm not going to drag out Tony's capture longer than necessary, because there are a few too many ideas that keep floating around in my head.

Anyway, for those of you who read my Doctor Who story, the poll is now up on my profile so please take a look and have a vote.

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas!

Pippa.