Theo once again found herself walking into Stark Industries at eight o'clock in the morning. She had a tray in her hand, as she usually did, with three coffees for Tony. Except today she had one extra drink, another Calm Brewed Tea, for Bruce Banner.

Her sleepover at Stark Tower the other night had been interesting to say the least. She spent most of the time lying in the way-too-comfortable bed on a floor that she and Bruce had been given. She wasn't happy that she was going to be on the same floor as Bruce – alone – but it had been insisted upon by Tony since Bruce was a doctor and the one who would wake her up every two hours to make sure she was okay. But they didn't speak to each other at all past that, so it wasn't too bad for her.

Theo wasn't quite sure what to think about Tony's friend. She was a little weary of the fact he was a wanted man – she had done her research on the doctor – and that Tony was aiding him. She knew that the general that was looking for Dr. Banner, if he found out that Tony was helping Bruce, then that would cause Tony some problems. Not that Tony wouldn't be able to handle it, he was Iron Man after all, but even Tony Stark's influence and power had a limit. That was proven enough with Aldrich Killian. They had almost failed, Tony most of all.

Another thing that made Theo nervous about the doctor was his powers. If he got his heart rate going too fast even for a moment, he would erupt into a huge green monster. That wasn't good. What if he accidently slipped in a puddle? Would he just shift into the rage monster?

And then there was the little fact that Theo knew a lot more about him than she should. She had felt his pain, his happiness, and his sorrow. A part of her did empathize with him against her better judgment, but she wouldn't let herself get near him again. She didn't want to creep him out. All she could hope for was that Tony was smart enough not to go blubbering about her "gift" to the doctor.

Theo showed her badge to the front desk before continuing to the stairs. She never took the elevators because they were too confining for her. However, she felt her stomach drop as she approached the door to the staircase. It was blocked off with construction tape and sounds of a jackhammer and saw came from the other side of the door. She felt her breath caught in her throat. What was she supposed to do? She wouldn't – no, couldn't – take the elevator.

Balancing the tray on one hand, Theo pulled her cell phone out. She hadn't even had one before she started working for Tony, but he said he would need to get in touch with her so gave her one despite her initial refusal for one. It had taken her months to get adjusted to the thing, and while she did still loathe it along with any computer she came in contact with, she would begrudgingly admit it was useful.

"Why, you actually are using your phone, Theodora!" Tony said as he answered the phone.

"You scheduled construction on the stairs on purpose." Theo immediately stated, trying to keep her voice as even as possible, but she had a feeling it was a bit shaky.

"What? No, why would I do that?" His tone gave enough away to let her know he indeed did it on purpose. Theo felt her heart beating quickly in her chest and tried to think calming thoughts. "Now, I've got a Captain up here and I should really—"

"Because you are an evil man." Theo interrupted before she hung up on her boss and stared at the doors to the stairs. She wondered briefly if she could somehow squeeze past the workers and make her way up that way. Finally she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to take the elevator.

Every step she took to the elevator made her heartbeat become louder and louder in her ears. Since she was an employee, Theo would be able to ride on the faster elevator. Since she was Tony's personal assistant, she would be able to ride on the Tony's elevator, which would bring her to any floor in the tower. Hurrying over, she smacked the button and stared at the numbers as the lit up with the passing elevator.

Theo did her best to keep her mind off of it. She instead thought of all the work she would need to do today. Schedule Pepper's appointments for next week and book her hotel for her trip in Paris later this month.

Ding.

Nobody was in the elevator as expected, so Theo took her time stepping into the cramped space. She turned to face the doors and clenched her fists as the doors slid close. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heartbeat.

"Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…" She whispered to herself.

"Miss Carlyle, should I send you to Mr. Stark's floor?" JARVIS's voice came over the intercom.

"Yes." She said through her nose. She felt the elevator began to move and an involuntarily flinch escaped from her. Damn Tony.

"Miss Carlyle, are you alright? Your heart rate is—"

"I'm fine, JARVIS." Theo snapped at the voice. Her fingernails were digging into her palms and her body shaking. She could feel the condensed area around her, feeling like it was closing in on her all at once. Why couldn't this be over? Why did Tony have to put her through this?

Theo heard the doors open after what felt like an eternity. Unfortunately, it was to let another passenger on.

Bruce Banner's eyes widened slightly when he saw the redhead looking like she was about to break the tray she held in one hand. Her eyes were crazed, as if she hadn't gotten any sleep. Her face was crinkled in stress and her shoulders sagged down. He wondered if he should wait until she got off the elevator to get off.

Theo was surprised more than she should've been at seeing Bruce Banner there. She stepped towards the left side of the elevator, not wanting to accidently touch him or the walls of the elevator. He seemed hesitant to get on the elevator at first. She could feel his eyes on her, so she gave him a nasty look, trying to get him to get on the elevator so she could get this ride over with. Seeing her expression must have influenced his decision because he hurried into the elevator.

"Hey," Bruce said to her, a lightness to his voice. Theo simply nodded in acknowledgment to him before facing forward again. She closed her eyes and resumed her breathing.

"I assume you want to be brought to Mr. Stark's level as well, Dr. Banner," JARVIS said over the intercom, but it sounded as if he was far away to Theo. Her heartbeat was going much faster than she thought was healthy. She heard Bruce say something but it was muffled. Her heart sounded like a war drum in her ear. Another sound that seemed like it could not get any closer was the sound of breathing. She wasn't sure if it was hers or Bruce's, but it was deafening nonetheless.

Then she heard Bruce's voice again, and she turned her head in his direction, but he was just a blob. She felt a hand on her arm and then her mind suddenly was in another place. A small shack. A teenage boy with light eyes. The boy winced in pain as he was being stitched up. His wound was long and deep. This poor boy had gone to school and then was attacked on his way home. "You don't need to walk by yourself again, not when it's dark outside," I say to him as his mother rubs his arm soothingly. He more than likely doesn't speak English, but the tone of my voice got what I was saying across. The boy looks up at me with a half-hearted smile and nods as he responds, but I can't understand. Still, his tone was light-hearted, so I gave him a small smile in return before I continued stitching him up.

A ding brought her back to the real world, where she saw two brown eyes watching her with worry. Theo instantly pulled her arm away and felt relief flood her when she saw the elevator doors slide open. She hurried through it and went straight for the balcony rather for the door to Tony's lounge. She sat the drinks down and hurried out the doors. She gasped for air as soon as she walked through the door, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She leaned herself against the railing and tried to calm herself down. Last thing she needed was for Tony to find out she had a near breakdown just because she had gotten into an elevator.

"You okay there?"

She fell over the railing, turning around to see Bruce Banner standing nearby. He had his glasses in his hands, turning them over nervously. Immediately she forced herself to be composed. Straightening her attire out, she looked at him with a blank expression.

"Yes, Dr. Banner. Everything is perfectly okay. I appreciate the concern." Theo said coldly as she gave him a short nod before heading over to the drink tray. She hadn't wanted him to see her like that.

"You feel like the walls are going to cave in any moment," Bruce observed aloud, causing her to pause in her movement. "Like at any moment they're going to crush you, that there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." There was an awkward pause. "Uh, I only know because I used to be…"

Theo turned to look at him with an unchanged expression. "Mr. Stark ordered construction on the stairs. I enjoy the exercise, even if there are a lot of flights." She insisted, though more to herself than him.

Bruce looked away for a moment. "Sorry for touching your arm back there… Tony mentioned you didn't like when people touched you."

Theo's eyes briefly flashed with annoyance. "Don't worry about it, Dr. Banner." She said before she turned back around. She grabbed the drink tray and continued forward, acutely aware of Dr. Banner's gaze as he followed after her.

"Miss Carlyle?" Bruce called out to her.

"Yes, Dr. Banner?"

"Are you sure you're fine?"

Theo stopped walking and turned to look at him with a blank look. "Yes, I am perfectly fine. I simply had an overreaction to a little thing. I will survive, Dr. Banner. While your concern is duly noted, it is completely unnecessary and unwanted." Theo continued walking, a bit agitated that he wouldn't just drop the subject. Anyone else would've, especially with the way she was rude to him.

"Ah, the lovers return!" Tony said as Theo entered the room with Bruce right behind her. She glared at him as he sat his tools down. He took his drink from the tray. Then Theo got Bruce's tea from the tray and held it out to him, making sure to look at him with a bored expression before looking back at Tony. "I was wondering when you two would get here. I was afraid you two started sucking each other's faces off in the elevator." What was the point of insinuating such a dirty thought? Theo asked, her mind going over the words. Since when had she shown any interest in Dr. Banner whatsoever? They were somewhat civil to each other and never said more than six words to one another. Never would she say she would be "sucking his face off"; the mere thought was enough to creep her out.

"Tony," Bruce chastised before Theo saw him look in another direction. Finally Theo took note of the other man in the room… Another unfamiliar blonde. Who was he? "Captain, nice to see you again."

"Likewise," The stranger responded with a nod. "I didn't know you were in town."

"Yeah, it was a surprise for me also." Bruce said, a pointed look towards Tony.

"Hey, I am just playing matchmaker," Tony said, then looked over at Theo. When she didn't laugh, he frowned. "Oh, come on! I don't even get a blush?"

Theo rolled her eyes and looked at Tony with a blank expression. "You are the most aggravating, persistent, and unoriginal man I have ever worked for." She told him as she sat the extra coffee off to the side. "I don't find you amusing and I am not embarrassed no matter what you say, so you can keep trying in vain if you wish so."

Tony shook his head. "Tough crowd." Theo turned her head slightly and noticed Bruce had chuckled at her words. He was cleaning off his glasses, however, and didn't notice the scrutiny she was giving him.

She supposed Bruce was handsome. Theo wasn't really sure, since she had never handled anything of the nature. She wasn't the kind of person to trouble herself with the attractiveness of another. Now seeing Bruce laugh at her words confused her slightly. Her words had been mean, rude, and completely uncalled for. Why had he laughed? She had not meant for her words to cause laughter.

"Ah, you two haven't met," Tony said, catching Theo's attention. She noticed the mystery man had been studying her as she scrutinized Bruce. "Theo, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Theo Carlyle, she can touch you and know everything you ever have gone through in your entire life. She hasn't got a codename yet. Isn't that right, Merida?" Tony asked as he clapped Theo on the back. Her vision blurred for a moment as she yanked away from her employer.

"Mr. Stark," Theo said with irritation in her voice. Why would he tell a man she just met that personal information about her? Working for Tony was really made your secrets be revealed to God and everybody. "You can't just go around telling people what I can do!" Not to mention Dr. Banner heard that… Theo added silently, looking at the man from the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, it's fine. He's Captain America."

Theo started to respond but stopped, caught off-guard by Tony's sentence. He was… Captain America? She looked over at Tony, her brow furrowing ever so slightly once again. She wanted to ask so many questions, but she didn't want to seem rude to the man who saved the world. She didn't know much about the outside world, just the little stuff she had read in her books and such. She had heard a little about the incident with Loki, but that happened a year before she began working with Tony and while he did have her call fellow Avengers, she had never met any (besides Bruce and Clint – which was a bit odd meeting that Avenger but that is a story for a later day) so she didn't instantly recognize him.

Theo was surprised when the Super Soldier walked over to her, outstretching his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, ma'am." He said with a kind smile.

"Likewise," Theo answered in a small voice, staring at Steve's hand for a moment. She didn't want to be rude and reject the human contact. She loathed all forms but didn't want to disrespect the Captain America. Many would never get this opportunity. "Uh, er, are you sure you comfortable with…?"

"With…?" Steve repeated, uncertain what she meant.

Theo exhaled and glanced up briefly to meet his gaze before she focused on another point in the room as she spoke. "You heard what Mr. Stark said about my powers, correct? I'll see all the personal things and feel all the emotions you have ever felt. There isn't anything I won't know about your past." She admitted, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh," Steve said, dropping his hand. She had to hold in a sigh of relief. She had heard about the man out of time and knew he probably had a lot of pain. She knew after the effects Bruce's past was having on her these last few days that she definitely didn't need to touch anyone else for quite a while.

"Yeah, Theo's not huge on human contact," Tony said as he put his arm around Theo's shoulders. Theo involuntarily flinched at the contact. "So brownie points for not accepting it, Cap."

"Then why do you have to keep doing that?" Steve asked as he stepped closer to Tony and swatted his arm from her. "She doesn't enjoy it, so leave her alone." Theo looked in confusion at him. Why would he do that for her? They just met. Unless he was doing it to annoy Tony, which she could actually understand if he was.

"Well, how about you—" Tony started to argue back but Theo stepped in between the two. She didn't want to hear any fights.

"Mr. Rogers, Mr. Stark, both of you need to calm down. There's no need to fight, not over something as silly as this. Please, not with Dr. Banner in the vicinity. I do not want an accident to occur," Theo said as she glanced between them. She sighed in relief when Steve backed off and walked over to the window. She knew that Tony would get his ass whipped if he went up against Captain America, so she wanted to most definitely avoid that.

Unfortunately, when Steve moved past her towards the window, he brushed against her ever so slightly. And that was all it took.

Pain. Guilt. Depression. Why couldn't I save them? Why couldn't I save Bucky? Why couldn't I just have been left in the icicle? Why couldn't I save her? Such an innocent person, sacrificing themselves for a child… And I couldn't even do the decency to save her. I should've fought harder. I should've saved them all.

"Where are you going?" Tony called out, breaking Theo from her thoughts. Looking up she saw Steve was walking away, making a beeline straight for the door.

Steve paused and turned towards the billionaire. "I'm going to go save Scottlyn's life. She doesn't deserve to die like this. You wouldn't understand." Steve said to him before turning his back and rushing out.

Theo turned to Tony, her expression serious and grim. "What was he asking you for?" She demanded.

Tony looked at her, his eyebrows raised slightly as he continued working on whatever it was he was doing. "Wanted me to make a call to save his girlfriend's life. Scott West or something like that." Tony waved his hand in dismissal.

"That girl from the burning building? It showed her on the news." Bruce said as he moved to his lab station nearby Tony's but still not too close.

"Who is she? What happened?" Theo pressed, moving towards Bruce with urgency. He looked slightly surprised at her persistence, and swallowed slightly before speaking.

"She, uh, went into a burning building. She helped evacuate almost a whole floor of people but had to return because one boy was unaccounted for. That was when Steve showed up and saved the day…" Bruce paused, glancing down at his hand. Theo continued staring at him intently, edging him to move forward with his explanation. His brown eyes looked up and saw she was waiting for him to continue. "He saved the boy, but not her. She got burnt pretty badly, and got hit in the head by something. She's in a coma now in the hospital. At first they didn't know her name, but I guess they figured it out." He looked over at Tony now.

"What did he ask you for?" Theo asked as she turned towards Tony again.

"To call her father. Apparently he doesn't give a shit about his own daughter, so he's going to get them to take her off of life support. Cap is freaking out because he thinks it isn't fair," Tony turned towards her completely now. "Why are you curious anyways, Theodora?" Tony questioned. "Thinking about bringing dishes of food to help Cap get over it?"

"No, because you're going to call her father as soon as JARVIS finds his information," Theo looked up at the ceiling. "JARVIS, do a search on Scott West."

"Yes, Miss Carlyle. All the articles say that her name is Scottlyn West."

"Well, search her name then. Find her father's information." Theo looked back at Tony. He didn't look too happy. "What is it?"

"Why do you care if she gets life support cut or not?" Tony asked her, his brown eyes filled uncertainty and a slight pout on his face. "And who says I have to do this?"

"I say you are going to do it because that girl doesn't deserve to die," Theo said as she folded her arms across her chest. She brushed a couple strains of hair behind her ear. "And I care because Mr. Rogers has nothing else keeping him going. If Scottlyn dies, he'll feel like he feel and will sink further and further away until he is no longer the man you know. Trust me, I would know." Theo said, her tone light and small. She exhaled and looked back up at JARVIS, missing the fact that Bruce was watching her. "JARVIS, found anything yet?"

"Yes, Miss Carlyle, I believe I have. Scottlyn West's father – her only remaining relative – is Henry West, a lawyer on the board for Oscorp."

"Well," Tony said as he looked over at Theo. "She's the daughter of a man who is high up at my competition. If she wasn't before, irony is definitely a bitch now."