Hey guys, so I'm going to be posting a couple chapters a day :) Please review! ;)

4.

The trip back seemed to take longer. And it was even more quiet than the first. Anne had put one of her father's sweatshirts on and buried herself in the smell of it. It still had his scent.

When they got back to New York, it seemed like a decade had passed since they had left it. Nothing had changed and yet everything had. She had faced her past and could start moving on now. Best of all, she was about to meet all of the Avengers and work by their side! What else could she possibly ask for?

They arrived at Stark Tower in the late afternoon and got on the elevator.

"Nervous?" Asked Clint noticing that she was a bit shaky.

"Kinda..."

"Don't worry, but I wouldn't make Banner mad. He can turn green sometimes."

Anne knew that that wasn't a joking matter, but she couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh, but watch out for Tony, he can be... A bit...Tony." And he sighed.

This made her laugh even more. Somehow, that man, despite whatever horrors he had had to endure in his past, was able to make her feel better.

The elevator opened and Anne found herself in front of all of them.

"Welcome!" Said a woman standing next to Tony Stark.

"You must be Anne!" And she shook her hand. She was a tall, beautiful, red haired woman. This made Anne laugh. Confused she just stared back.

"Sorry!" She said still giggling.

"I'm just trying to understand why they say that red heads are rare! Or are all of us just standing in the same room?"

Barton burst out in laughter and Anne heard Tony say sarcastically: "Well... I like her."

Pepper, the woman, elbowed him in the stomach and smiled again, more openly. Anne already liked her.

"Anne, this is Pepper, Tony..."

Tony just gave her an annoyed look and made a comical remark on her last name, asking if due to her situation it had been given to her.

Pepper elbowed him in the stomach again.

"This is Bruce Banner..."

A very quiet man who had been sitting on the couch stood up and came over to shake her hand. He seemed desperate and nervous at the same time. Anne could see he was young, but he was aged by fear of what he had become probably.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"And me you."

The man sat back down quietly.

"Captain Steve Rogers..."

Now this was a surprise. She had been told he was from the forties, but she found herself shaking hands with a very young man, tall and strong, with deep blue eyes and blonde hair. Anne's cheeks turned red as he said:

"How do you do, ma'am?"

"I do quite fine, thank you."

He had so many muscles, yet not too many to look weird. Just the right amount. She immediately thought him very handsome, but that was not the only thing that captured her about him. Anne realized almost immediately. She couldn't READ him. Not from his expression, not from his eyes... Nothing. Was he just an open book or was he just really good at hiding his true identity?

"And this is the guy in the leo... Oh, I mean, Thor."

If Captain America had caught her eye, Thor did ten times more.

But not because he was handsome, though he REALLY was, but because of how he was dressed and how he talked.

"It is a true honor to make your acquaintance, my lady."

And he bowed and kissed her hand, making her blush once more.

"Oh! So You're the guy in the leotard!"

This time, Tony and Barton burst out laughing with much disapproval from both Pepper and Steve. Thor didn't seem to understand and asked repeatedly what a "leopard" was much to the satisfaction of Tony and Clint who just kept laughing.

"Well, I guess that's all of us. Barton, we have to go."

Natasha, who had been standing behind them, came out and urged Clint to regain composure. For a moment she looked annoyed, but after a few seconds even she couldn't but smile at their childish behavior.

"Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow Anne. Don't worry, we're leaving you in good hands."

She smiled once more and dragged an almost half dead Hawkeye behind her.

He just nodded still laughing and they both disappeared in the elevator.

"Well, that was interesting. Would you like me to show you to your room, ma'am?" asked Steve smiling.

"Yeah, but you can call me Anne."

He nodded and they left the living room, Thor still asking why everyone was so "diverted" and Tony exclaiming that he and that girl were gonna get along just fine.

"Tony had it prepared, I don't know where he got the idea, but Barton and Romanoff said you would feel right at home."

Steve smiled and opened the door revealing a huge room with a fireplace and walls covered with bookshelves.

Anne walked in, almost hypnotized. She walked right up to one of them and picked up the first book she saw and recognized it immediately. It hadn't been one of her father's but it was one of his favorites.

"I can't believe it..."

Anne kept looking around herself until her eyes filled with her tears. They weren't her father's books, but they reminded her of him and made that room feel like she was home again.

"And we made a few calls and found a Tenant for your house. Someone who will take care of your father's books. I picked her out myself and gave her a fair warning that if anything happened to them, there would be consequences."

Anne's first urge was to go right up to him and hug him, but she held herself back. Having just met him, she thought that would seem a bit weird. So, with tears falling gently on her cheeks, she smiled.

"Thank you."

Steve smiled and left her alone. Anne couldn't believe how nice they had been even if they didn't know her at all.

Suddenly, she felt that everything was finally going to be all right. She pulled the sweatshirt even closer.

Yes, everything was going to be alright.