A/N: This chapter has been expanded upon.


Cara saw Steve looking down at her in concern as she leaned over her knees and started to breathe in and out deeply. "You…really should get out of here, just until we can tell him the-"

Cara snarled as she straightened her back up, any dizziness being pushed through for this was too important and her news. "No, you don't tell him anything!" she snapped. "I'll tell him myself."

Steve looked conflicted now. "Is that really a good idea?" he asked and though there was a part of Cara that could have appreciated this concern, it was a part of her that was very small now.

Cara glared at him, knowing that if she didn't keep putting her foot down then it really did look like she was letting them dictate how this was going to go. "He is not him, and aside from my…panic attack," she grimaced at showing weakness in front of this man, "I am perfectly capable of going up to him and telling him I will not be doing missions from now on because I'm pregnant-nothing else; he doesn't need to know anything further."

"You don't honestly think that'll work, do you?" Steve asked incredulously.

Cara looked annoyed now. "It doesn't have to work; I can just make something up to fill in the rest."

"Yes, I have noticed stalling is what you're good at." Steve replied lightly.

Cara froze and slowly looked up at Steve, her eyes alight with anger and she gritted her teeth to keep her temper under control. "You don't get to assume anything about me so can it, soldier boy." She hissed and for a moment Steve looked startled before his eyes narrowed as she continued, "And it's not as if we really know you because obviously at first glance you don't seem to be the type of person who'd force someone else to tell something highly personal."

"You could have gotten hurt on a mission, you did get hurt on a mission." Steve retorted heatedly.

Cara's pride wouldn't let her back down; not this time. "I am a capable woman and can protect myself; I don't need someone else to do it for me."

"Well if you were more capable then this wouldn't have happened!" Steve shouted and like that there was complete silence.

He looked shocked at what he said, and Cara felt something snap inside her; the building tension that had been between the two was now at its highest point with that one thoughtless comment and Cara felt her shoulders shake, all sorts of emotions coursing through her. She lowered her head for a moment before she sent her free fist rearing across Steve's cheek, all her anger and hurt being sent into that one punch.

Cara felt some of the bones in her hand crack and let out a startled gasp before she pulled her hand to her chest and cradled it while she glanced up at Steve. His head was bent slightly to the side, the fact he looked stunned by this the only reason he'd turned his head or Cara thought her whole arm would have a fracture. In the after moments of rush, she felt stupidity set in for what she had just done; but it had been done, there was nothing else to it.

Steve blinked as he seemed to bring himself out of his stupor and saw Cara holding her hand and his expression gave way to concern once more. "You…you should get Bruce to look at that." He mumbled.

Cara avoided eye contact and nodded. "Yeah." She muttered and as she turned, she saw Steve open his mouth but shut it and turned in the other direction and went back down the hall. Cara continued down the staircase, glad to see that the others had already gone, but that just meant she'd find Banner with them or he'd be down in the lab. This just added a whole other layer of strain on them because of what just happened and things were going to be quite awkward, she thought.

Not quite feeling up to going to the lab first because if Banner wasn't there then it just meant going back for a second trip, so she went to the kitchen first and found the four of them at the island in the middle of the place. She coughed to catch their attention before she spoke. "Banner, I need your help." She said in the most neutral tone as possible.

Banner turned in his seat and his eyes widened at seeing her hand. "What did you do?"

"I…punched a wall." Cara said nonchalantly.

Stark raised a brow at this looking like he clearly didn't believe this. "Really; where's Steve then? You two have a spat?"

Cara narrowed her eyes. "We…did have a disagreement." She admitted though calling it that was an understatement. She purposefully looked kept her gaze on Banner. "Can you look at this then?"

"Yes…" Banner said warily. "You know your doctor is going to question this, right?"

"Leave my doc to me, Doc." Cara replied. Then with deliberate precision, she looked over at the newcomer. "Hello Thor, I…didn't notice you there." She said and heard Stark snort but she ignored it.

The blond looked at her in confusion. "Why did you punch a wall?"

Cara sighed. "I didn't really punch a wall, it's a metaphor." She said and grimaced at how Thor still didn't get it. "I punched the Captain in the face because of our arguing. My emotions got the better of me because…" she took a moment to breathe as this confrontation genuinely made her nervous, "…I'm pregnant."

Thor looked at her stomach. "You are…with child?" Cara nodded and he grinned before clamping a hand down on her shoulder and she fought the urge to jerk away at the contact. "Congratulations! What of the father?"

Cara noticed how the other three were watching for her reaction. "The father isn't around." She said shortly.

"Barton's got us after all." Stark said like it was a good thing.

Cara didn't add anything to this, and while she knew glossing over about the finer details about her pregnancy were probably going to be asked, she wanted to keep this very quiet as she didn't know what kind of reaction to the fact her baby wasn't exactly human. But, Cara conceded with another grimace, she didn't exactly know what would happen either.

But right now, she pushed those thoughts back.

"Banner, my hand?"

Banner nodded as they both walked down the hall. "Might I make a suggestion? Perhaps you should make a list of things to do, so then when you think of hitting someone you can just see you don't have the time for it."

Cara wanted to snort at such a suggestion, but you know what? "Heh, I think I'll take you up on that; I do have a bad habit of threatening people don't I?"

"You said it, not me." Banner retorted.

Cara grinned slightly. Even with all her issues with men, she couldn't deny that sometimes they seemed alright, even Stark with all his misguidance with how this was going to work.

Though catching Natasha's eye before she left, she realized that the other matter wasn't going to be forgotten so easily.


Cara had just set her bow down when she turned around to find the redhead walking into her room. "You, not one of the guys?"

"We both know you'd never go without losing your temper if a man was the one talking to you about what happened earlier." Natasha stated.

Cara could concede to that point. "What happened still happened."

Natasha idly glanced at the mirror in the room and when she was in reach she took Cara by the arm and pulled her to stand in front of it. "You told me things once you said you'd never told anyone else; not Fury, and not Phil, because you said trusting a man just ends with hurt. Though some of his views may seem old-fashioned still, he isn't like every other guy you knew."

Cara looked at Natasha. "He still implied I deserved what happened to me."

Natasha took this in stride as she continued. "And you struck him in anger, though because you're pregnant he wouldn't have hit you back. What does that situation remind you of?"

Cara's face paled as she thought of her childhood and all the yelling and punches that came with it. "I...I'm not like him," she said to herself and looked back up at the redhead, "am I?"

Natasha's expression closed off. "You tell me."

Cara looked at her reflection and her lips thinned as she knew what a slippery slope just one punch could bring. "I need to go." She said abruptly and made her way swiftly into the hall. 'I will not become my father.' she thought determinedly and walked to Steve's room, and he answered after she knocked several times.

"How's your hand?" he asked after seeing who it was.

"It'll heal." Cara said shortly and her face was torn between guilt and anxiety. "I know it isn't much considering I still attacked you, but I'm…I'm sorry."

"Seeing as you injured your hand, and you can't use your bow, I think that's punishment enough for me," Steve said and Cara let out the breath she'd been holding, "but," he continued and Cara tensed up, "as a team leader, that will be pending."

Cara relaxed for now. "I understand, Captain."

"And enough with the Captain stuff, my name's Steve, remember?" The blond asked.

The woman knew that this was what others called 'progress' and was willing to give Natasha the benefit of the doubt about Steve being different. "And I'm Cara."