Awakening Quake

By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Chapter One.

Chapter Six: The New Girl

"Mr. Stark is on his way to see you, sir." JARVIS informed Steve the next morning.

"Thanks JARVIS." Steve said, he was making some coffee. He'd already been up and had a run, but Skye hadn't woken up yet and Steve figured she'd probably want some coffee. He also guessed that she'd be embarrassed when she woke up.

A moment later, JARVIS let Tony into the apartment.

"I heard you had an overnight guest," Tony told him, "I would make a bad joke, but I'm assuming it's not for the usual reason. Even I'm not that good."

Steve rolled his eyes. Sometimes Tony really was just like his father. "Skye had a bad nightmare," he told Tony, "she ended up breaking her bed. I guess, they've been sedating her."

Tony let out a curse. "Nice of Coulson to mention that." He looked at Steve. "What's your impression of her?"

"Skye?" Steve asked. "Nice. Sweet, very scared."

And very beautiful. He'd had a hard time sleeping last night, unable to get the picture of her in that skimpy sleep outfit out of his mind. Especially knowing she was just down the hall, sleeping in his bed.

"Pepper likes her." Tony answered. "And Natasha seems fully behind her. I think she could make a good addition to the team. Especially if she's a brilliant as Coulson says she is."

Skye had only been with the team one night, but they had offered her the invitation to come with them knowing that they would probably offer her membership in the Avengers. After all, they had all been strangers when they first worked together and despite everything, the fact that she was Coulson's protégé was a huge mark in her favor.

Just then Steve's bedroom door and Skye emerged. She was fully dressed, having thought to bring a change of clothes the night before. Steve was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to see the sleep outfit again, but realized it was probably for the best. Especially with Tony there.

"I made you coffee." He told her. He knew it was considered polite to make a woman coffee after she'd spent the night in your bed, even if you didn't occupy said bed. "I also made some toast."

Skye smiled. "Thank you, that's very nice of you." She turned to Tony. "Hello, Mr. Stark."

"Tony." He corrected with an easy smile. "Only JARVIS calls me Mr. Stark. We're on a first name basis around here."

"Well, I only have a first name, so I guess I fit right in." Skye joked, taking a seat at the island bar. There was no kitchen table in Steve's kitchen, just an island with stools. Which was perfect since he never had company and only really ate breakfast there.

"We're hoping so." Tony told her honestly. "I heard you had some troubles last night?"

Skye blushed. "I… My tremors broke my bed." She admitted, looking stricken.

"I'll have it replaced today." Tony assured her. "I've had some special beds manufactured for Bruce, I'll have one delivered to you ASAP."

"Dr. Banner needs a special bed?" Skye asked, shooting Steve a look and he had a feeling that she was thinking about his bed and Tony's thoughts about his 'requirements'. Not that they had actually been needed, last night was the first time a woman had slept in his bed and he had slept elsewhere.

"Bruce has transformed to Hulk in his sleep." Tony told her. "It only happened once, during a particularly rough night, but we like to be prepared."

"I'm going to ask Dr. Foster and Dr. Banner about administering a sedative." Skye said quietly. "So it won't happen again."

Tony and Steve exchanged a look.

"That is up to you," Tony told her, "but experience has taught me that it's better to work through these things instead of patch them up. There are a lot of people here who would be happy to help."

"Bruce swears by Tai Chi." Steve told her helpfully. "Says it helps the rage."

"I've done some Tai Chi." Skye said quietly.

"I'm sure Bruce would enjoy the company." Tony told her. "Why don't you talk to him today? Before that though, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?" Skye asked nervously.

"Since you were inside S.H.I.E.L.D until recently," Tony began, "which means you've probably had better luck at cracking HYDRA databases than we have. I've had some success, but not much."

"I have a few programs." Skye told him. "I deleted a bunch of intel before I left S.H.I.E.L.D, but the basic coding programs are still there. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"We're looking for Bucky." Steve told her. At Skye's startled look, he explained how they had discovered that Bucky was the asset known as the Winter Soldier. "He's out there, I know he is. We just have to find him."

"That's why you were surprised I was on this floor." Skye said quietly. "You wanted the apartment saved for Bucky."

"I didn't even think about that." Tony told him apologetically. "I can move Skye, if you like."

"No, it's ok." Steve assured them both. After last night, Steve had the feeling that Skye shouldn't be alone and he had been happy to be able to help her when she'd needed it and not just because she was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen.

"You want me to search HYRDRA and see if I can find Bucky." Skye said after a moment. "You said he was referred to as the Winter Solider?"

"Yes." Steve told her. "Natasha's been looking and so has Tony, but they haven't had much luck."

"I've had a few months of trying to crack HYDRA." Skye told them. "I'll do my best."

"That's all we ask." Tony assured her. "I see that you have a laptop and a tablet, but I'll set you up with more equipment. There's a computer lab on the same floor as the science labs, it can be your base."

"And I'll help in any way I can." Steve offered, not that he could do much. He was still catching up with technology and the intricacies of computers were beyond him.

"Sometimes I just need someone to read stuff out to me," Skye told him with a shy smile.

"Done." Steve promised.

"If you need anything, just ask." Tony told her. "I assume S.H.I.E.L.D was paying you?"

"Not much." Skye said with a shrug. "Especially not since the collapse. Mostly room and board."

"You'll have that here too." Tony assured her. "It's hard to figure out a good salary for superheroes, so mostly I just take care of expenses. JARVIS has set up an account for you and a credit card for personal use. Anything you want, anything you need, you've got it."

"That's not necessary," Skye said softly.

"I take care of my people." Tony told her. "I'll leave you to finish your coffee in peace. Oh and Skye, Natasha said to tell you she expects you in the gym by 8 and I wouldn't keep her waiting—she gets mean."

He nodded them both and then exited.

"I guess I should go get ready." Skye said, hopping down off the stool. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Anytime." Steve said quietly and meant it. He wouldn't mind seeing more of this beautiful and obviously very smart woman.

"So I hear you had a sleepover with Cap." Natasha teased when Skye arrived at the "Hulk Room".

Tony hadn't been able to resist sharing that information with everyone, even though Pepper had scolded him. Natasha assumed it was more to embarrass Steve, whose lack of a love life was well noted, and not Skye. However, she definitely looked embarrassed now.

"It wasn't like that," Skye said with a blush, "I had a nightmare and he rescued me."

"He's good like that." Natasha told her. "And there are worse things than being rescued by a superhero."

"I don't want to be rescued by anyone." Skye said flatly. "I need to depend on myself."

"I can understand that." Natasha told her. "And that's why we're going to continue your training. We're going to examine your reflexes and test your powers."

"I may not be aging at a proper rate either." Skye said quietly. "My mother, she didn't age. HYDRA killed her for it."

"And you look about 17, so it's possible you may have inherited the same powers." Natasha realized. "Did S.H.I.E.L.D not do a run-up on your DNA?"

"They did," Skye told them, "but basically, I'm no longer entirely human and they weren't sure what in particular they were looking for and since no one was willing to train me, we have no idea if the changes affected my strength or stamina."

Damn S.H.I.E.L.D. They had handled the situation all wrong. But at least Coulson had had the sense to call them and get Skye the help she needed.

"Well, don't worry, I'll put you through the ringer." Natasha told her. "If you're comfortable with it, I'll have Bruce do a full work-up, he might be able to spot something that the S.H.I.E.L.D experts missed."

"Ok." Skye agreed.

"Thor wants to check out your powers." Natasha reminded her. "But I thought we'd do a basic training session first. I have to warn you, I'm tough."

"I can handle it." Skye assured her.

"I know." Natasha told her. "I read your file. You trained under Grant Ward and Melinda May. They're both hard asses and would have expected everything you could give and then more."

"I learnt a lot from them." Skye admitted. "Ward… He was a good teacher, despite everything else."

There was a lot of pain in Skye's voice as she stumbled over the name and Natasha wondered if there was more to the story than Coulson had told them.

"Unfortunately being a bad person doesn't make you a bad agent." Natasha told her. "If it was true, we would have weeded out HYDRA a lot earlier. Still, what's important is to take what you learnt and channel it and forget everything else." She looked Skye in the eye. "Let go of the anger or at least channel it. Don't let it control you. He's not worth it. No one's worth destroying yourself over."

Skye nodded. "I still feel like an idiot." She admitted. "It was a good reminder that my taste in men is terrible though and that I should just avoid them all together."

So Skye had sworn off men. Well, if there was anyone who would teach her that not all men are scum, Natasha couldn't think of a better candidate than Steve Rogers. She had been trying to set him up for months and she couldn't help but think that Skye seemed like the perfect choice. She might not want one, but she needed a hero, and yet, at the same time, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Exactly the type of woman Steve needed.

Still, Natasha kept the thought to herself as she started Skye on some simple hand-to-hand combat drills. They'd take this one day at a time.