A/N: Here is the longest chapter yet, a day early, to make up for how short that last one was. I'm aiming for about 2000-3000 words a chapter, and have been doing well with that so far. And trust me when I say, there are plenty more chapters to come.

Enjoy!

Chapter Four

I Swear to God

There was a pretty Korean woman waiting in the med bay, and I instantly recognized her from the Ultron movie. She was wearing some blue and white scrubs that definitely looked too sci-fi for real life.

"Hi, I'm Dr Helen Cho." She gave me a polite smile, then glanced at the super soldiers. "If you two could please place Beth on the examination table."

They complied, and soon I was sitting on the cold leather table with my legs dangling over the edge. With nothing to support my back, the pain in my torso suddenly sharpened, and I let out an involuntary whimper.

"I'm fine!" I told the boys before they could hover over me.

Still, Steve raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "That didn't sound like you were fine."

"Okay, so I'm still in a little pain…" I said, causing Bucky to roll his eyes. Though I also noticed him shift closer to me. "But seriously! It's much better than when I arrived!"

"Jarvis explained to me what happened, so I'm not going to ask either of you to leave." Dr Cho told the soldiers, coming over with a few pieces of equipment. "But I am going to ask you to give us some space."

"Yes, ma'am." They replied at the same time, and instantly moved to sit at a nearby examination table.

There was another one, further from us, that had a strange contraption arching over it. "Is that the Cradle?"

"It is," Dr Cho replied happily, a hint of pride in her voice. Her smile was warmer than before. "Okay, eyes and ears first."

With a nod, I sat still while she checked me over. After my eyes and ears came my heartbeat, and then blood pressure.

"Everything seems normal so far." Dr Cho said when she was finished with those basic tests. "Tell me, how do you feel? You mentioned pain before."

I pursed my lips and figured telling her straight would be best, even if it meant Steve and Bucky would know how much pain I was really in.

"Honestly, I feel like shit." I gave them all a small smile, hoping to show that I didn't want anyone to get worked up over the confession. "My body aches like I'm just one big bruise, and I have a mild headache on top of that. Moving hurts and at first I couldn't; it was like my muscles just wouldn't cooperate. I couldn't even sit or stand on my own. But I'm definitely regaining control over my body, which is nice."

Dr Cho nodded. "I can only conclude that the pain is due to travelling through the portal. Because it's fading, and quite rapidly from what I gather, you should be better in no time."

I let out a relieved sigh, figuring I also got to leave in a second. The doctor had turned away and I was getting ready to hop off the table, when she turned back with a syringe.

"I still have to take a blood sample." The apology could be heard in her tone. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Um, like four or five hours ago." I groaned, knowing what this meant. I pushed the sleeves of my hoodie up over my elbows, laid back on the table, and waited.

The first time I ever had a blood test, I'd been feeling ill and not eaten lunch beforehand. The nurse couldn't find a vein the first three times. And then she'd told me that if I'd have been sitting up, I would've probably passed out.

Needles were a bitch.

While Dr Cho looked for a vein, I glanced over at Steve and Bucky, who were watching us quietly.

"Who wants to hold my hand?" I grinned, hoping there'd be some sort of fight or argument. Instead, the two men just met each other's eyes in a silent conversation, before Steve got up from his spot and came over.

Dr Cho had chosen a vein in my left arm, so Steve grabbed hold of my right hand. "Not a fan of needles?"

"What gave it away?" I grimaced when a cold alcohol swab was swiped over the crease of my elbow. I looked over at Bucky. "Help distract me?"

He grinned, coming to stand beside Steve. "Anything for you." His flesh hand started drawing patterns on my wrist, and I smiled contently. This was nice. Really, I could get used to the attention.

"Ow, fuck!" A sharp sting in my left elbow totally broke the moment of bliss I'd fallen into. I sent a glare to Dr Cho, before turning it on Bucky. "You suck at distracting people."

He leaned in dangerously close, the grin on his face somehow widening. "Guess I'll just have to try harder next time."

When he moved away, I let out a breath I'd apparently been holding. Okay, wow, that was a little more intense than it should've been. I looked to see Steve looking like he was holding back laughter, and pursed my lips. The needle was pulled out of my arm, so I removed my hand from Steve's.

"Assholes." I muttered, hopefully too low for them to hear. Though, right now, I wouldn't care if they did.

Dr Cho pressed a cotton pad to the small spot of blood left by the needle, holding it down with some tape.

"Almost done." She'd already placed the vial of blood somewhere, and was now holding two little pills and a glass of water. Where the fuck did she get the water from? "Just take these for the pain. They should be enough, but if the pain comes back, you know where to find me."

"Thank you." I smiled gratefully, quickly taking the pills. It wasn't until I drank the water, though, did I realize just how thirsty I was.

The door to the med bay opened and Pepper walked in, a small bundle of clothes in her arms. "I hope these fit. Tony wants to get a look at that sweatshirt as soon as possible, so I didn't have much time to find much else."

I took the clothes from her and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, it's better than nothing. And honestly, I'm glad I'm even being treated so well."

"Why do you think you wouldn't?" Pepper frowned, taking a step back to give me space.

"Well, I know you're all the good guys," I shrugged. "But considering the circumstances of my arrival, I'm surprised I wasn't shoved straight into an interrogation room."

Pepper's smile was bright and reassuring. "There are many confusing things surrounding your current circumstance," she shot a look to the super soldiers. "But you've given us no reason to believe you're a threat. Now go get changed. There's a bathroom through the door just over there."

Returning the smile, I thanked her and actually managed to find the strength to hop down from the examination table, slowly but surely making my way to the bathroom she pointed out.

And thank fuck for that, because Steve and Bucky looked ready to coddle me again if I so much as stumbled a little.

They meant well, I knew that, but it was so much all at once. Not to say I didn't like it… it was just so overwhelming. I went from having not even one basic guy stay interested in me for more than five minutes, to having two fucking super soldiers not wanting me to leave their sides.

What the fuck is my life right now?

Okay, breathe. I let out a long sigh, before removing the hoodie and putting on the clothes Pepper gave me.

The navy blue lounge shorts were a little loose, but had a drawstring so I needn't worry about them falling down. The matching long-sleeved top was a bit thin, though, and left me feeling exposed without a bra.

There was a black tank top as well, which I wore under the long-sleeved top, but it didn't stop the sudden anxiety I got. I was fine going braless, but only when I was wearing the right clothes.

These were definitely not the right clothes.

Okay, fuck it, I just needed to get out there and try not to draw attention to my chest. With my wonderful hoodie over my arm, I came out to see that Pepper was gone and the soldiers were waiting for me.

I thrust my arms out, holding the hoodie up like an offering. "Someone just hurry and give it to Stark before I change my mind."

The elevators at Stark tower were weird as fuck. Instead of buttons, there was just a little touchscreen that looked like Tony had stuck an iPad in the wall. And instead of floors and names displayed on the screen, there were symbols that looked identical.

"Am I supposed to remember what you just pressed?" I frowned at Steve. "Because if I'm heading to the apartment on my own, I'm gonna have some trouble."

Bucky smirked down at me. "Guess you'll just have to stick with us, doll."

"You wish."

Oh, God, he called me doll. I wanted to fucking melt into a puddle on the floor. Not that I would ever let him know. Steve looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes at Bucky.

"If you need help, Jarvis can take you anywhere in the tower." He explained, his smile so warm it almost hurt.

That, too, made my heart skip a beat. Damn beautiful fucking super soldiers that looked too damn gorgeous for their own damn good. Fuck.

"That's right, Miss," Jarvis began, his voice still eerily seeming to come from all around me. "Just ask me where to go, and as long as you have the clearance, I'll take you there."

The elevator stopped with a ding, opening up to what was probably the biggest ass apartment I'd ever seen. I looked around in awe at the huge space. I mean, seriously, this apartment must've taken up the whole damn floor.

It was mostly open plan, which was nice. There was a large kitchen to the left, a breakfast bar separating it from the dining room, which boasted a long dining table that seemed extreme for just two men… and now a petite woman. On the wall beside the dining table was a glass sliding door that lead to a balcony, and behind the table was an open door to a room that seemed to have a washing machine in it.

No communal laundry room with the rest of the Avengers? Score.

To my immediate right was a little den with two overstocked bookcases, a retro lounge, and a record player sitting on a little side table. There were dozens of records, old and new, stacked around it. Just passed the den was the living room, with a couple of armchairs and another lounge, facing towards the large TV mounted on the wall.

The apartment itself was clean but cluttered, showing that it wasn't just a place to sleep, but a place to live. And unlike the ugly slate gray of the rest of the tower, this place actually had color. From the cream walls to the dark wood tables to the faded red couches.

"It's perfect."

When Steve and Bucky beamed at me with pure happiness, I went weak at the knees. I mean that literally. When they saw me about to fall, they figured it was because of my muscles once again giving out and helped me back up.

"Do you want us to take you to the couch?" Bucky asked, his brows furrowed with concern.

I shook my head. "Um, actually, can you please take me to my room?"

"Sure thing, doll."

Fuck a duck. Good thing I was about to get some time alone, because these boys were going to be the death of me.

They started leading me further into the apartment, arms around my waist and shoulders like earlier, but I slowly started to pull myself out of their grip.

"I think I'm fine to walk on my own."

Steve looked like he didn't believe me. "You almost collapsed less than a minute ago."

"Yeah, that was then." I shrugged. "This is now. I'm fine."

To prove my point, I moved myself completely out of their hold and turned, grinning triumphantly.

"Okay, you win." Bucky laughed, starting to walk towards a hallway at the back of the large apartment. "For now."

"I'm good with 'for now'." I laughed back, following him down the hallway, Steve right behind me.

The first door we came to was open to show a clean bathroom that looked far too fancy to be real.

"That's the main bathroom that we save for guests." Steve explained. "You have a personal bathroom in your own room, as do Bucky and I."

Seeing my look of relief, thinking for a moment that I had to share with two boys, Bucky smirked. "That's right, darlin', none of us have to share."

"My room," Steve said. He inclined his head towards the only other door on the left.

Bucky pointed to the first one on the right. "And mine. You're welcome to come in any time you want."

"Nice try," I said, ignoring his wink.

There was only one door left, at the very end of the hallway. "So this is my new room, huh?"

"Sure is," Bucky opened the door for me, spreading his arm out. "Viola!"

I went inside, immediately inspecting the large room. It was definitely a plain guest bedroom, lacking an personal touches, but I couldn't deny how nice it was. And how very Stark. The whole wall opposite the door was one giant window, overlooking the city.

Privacy? What privacy? That glass better be goddamn tinted.

To the left was a huge bed with champagne-colored sheets, flanked by dark wooden bedside tables, which were bare but for a single digital alarm clock. To the right were two floor-to-ceiling mirrors set into the wall, and I assumed they hid a built-in closet behind them.

The door to what must've been my personal bathroom was between the main door and the bed. Everything else in the room was bare.

Hmm, that bed looked mighty inviting right now. I went over and hopped on it, flopping back and this time not getting sucked through some random portal of pain.

Speaking of pain, my aches had finally gone away. The painkillers Dr Cho gave me must've kicked in.

"Thank you," I told the super soldiers, who'd both followed me into the room and were watching me with amusement. "But can I please get some alone time? I'm still a little overwhelmed and need some space so I can think properly and process all of this."

"Not a problem," Bucky said, looking like he was holding himself back from another remark.

"We'll come get you when it's time for dinner." Steve added, he gave me another smile before turning to leave. "Come on, Buck."

"Right behind ya, Stevie."

The brunette closed the behind him with a soft click, leaving me to my own thoughts. I let out a long sigh, not knowing where to start.

Well, first of all, I knew it was 2015. The MCU movies lined up with the release dates, so Ultron was in April or May, I couldn't remember what month exactly, and Ant-Man was sometime later in the year. So which movie had already happened?

"Jarvis, what's the date?"

"Today is Sunday the 19th of April, Miss." Jarvis replied, his pleasant voice filling my new room. I looked to the clock, seeing I had just under an hour until dinner.

"Thanks Jarvis," I replied, before realizing that he only called me 'miss' because he didn't know my full name. "For the record, my name is Bethany Clark."

"Thank you, Miss Clark."

Trying to gather my thoughts was proving difficult. The more I thought about this situation, the more I came back to the same conclusion that it was a dream. I mean, it was impossible!

Portals and other fantastical things existed in this universe, but not in mine. Magic and science fiction was simply that - fiction. We made it all up because our world was boring as shit.

But, say I did actually go through a portal from my world to another, then why was it the MCU? It would be easier to believe that happening if this was a universe that didn't already exist as a series of movies in my own. And the whole soulmate thing was just so far-fetched and definitely something my stressed out brain would make up.

Groaning, I got up from the bed. I needed a distraction before all these thoughts drove me insane. If it was a dream, I was just going to have to enjoy it. No point in fighting, really.

Deciding to look around, I quickly made my way to the bathroom door and took a peak inside. Holy shit, it was so damn white. And that glass was back.

There was a free-standing bath, and a shower with glass walls, both larger than I was used to. The main bench was a light marble, and held a fancy sink with an expensive faucet. There was a glass toothbrush holder, and a glass soap dispenser.

I'd be pissed off if it wasn't so damn nice.

I backed out of the bathroom and turned to the large mirrors on the walls. Taking a chance, I pressed against the glass and let out an involuntary yelp of surprise when it slid to the side, revealing a closet.

Knew it.

The closet was empty, unfortunately, but that just meant I had the opportunity to fill it sometime in the future.

Even in a dream, I couldn't wait to go shopping.

A/N: I usually reply to reviews with a private message, but if a guest asks a questions or anything, I'll put it at the end of the chapter like this!

Rebel-love: Thank you for reviewing all the chapters! I'm glad you like Beth, but no, her name is actually short for Bethany :) Tony calling Bucky 'Terminator' is the greatest, and I'm definitely gonna use that, so thank you. Especially when he's in a bad mood haha I hope you enjoyed this update!