Disclaimer: Not mine obviously

A/N: So I'm totally sorry that it took forever for this to come out but I was having writers block and then nothing was flowing the way I wanted and then life happened. So, sorry.

Chapter twenty-seven

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Norah : Tony's Lab ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

For the most part Norah was usually calm as a cucumber, as the saying goes, and barely ever panics. But today was definitely not one of those days where she was calm as a cucumber. Today was the day that she would be seeing her birth family for the first time in nearly eight years and to be completely honest she was freaking the fuck out at the moment. Norah had known for a good week at the least that today was the day that she would be seeing her family again; that she would be seeing her mother, her older sister and her…father again, she's talked to Tony about, to Steve, to Wanda and Pietro but mentally preparing yourself to see people that you haven't seen in such a long time and actually seeing them again were two very different circumstances. Now Norah was in Tony's lab and was pacing back and forth in front of where Tony, Pietro, Wanda and Vision were standing, her self-appointed father perched on one of the tables eating whatever dried fruit he's gotten his hands on this time and they were all watching her have a mini-freak out over seeing her family once again. Norah could only assume that her freak out was like watching a car crash – the only thing you can do is watch mesmerized as it happens.

Norah thought that she was ready for this, she really did but now, now she realized that she really, really wasn't. Not in anywhich way that you looked at it was she ready to do this. Okay, yes Norah definitely wanted to see her older sister Niki again, she wanted to reconnect with her and have the sisterly relationship that they used to have with one and another when Norah had been fifteen years old. Niki and Norah had been there for one and another through the hard times of life; they were there for each other during the stressful time of when their parents got divorced, for when their father started drinking and drug dealing even moreso than usual and they were there for one and another when they got disappointed by their father not showing up to a school event once again. They had always been one and another's rock no matter how angry they could get at one and another. Seeing Niki again was different than seeing her mother and her dad, her dad Norah definitely knew she didn't want to see again even though he did end up flying all the way to New York to see her – she doubted he did it all that willingly – but seeing her mom kinda scared her. The last time that Norah had seen her mother she had wanted to take Norah to the doctors so that she could get 'fixed' of her Mutant problem as he mother had put it.

"Ms. Norah," the Irish accented voice of Friday said throughout the lab that Norah and the others were in, waiting for Norah's family to arrive at Stark Tower. "Ms. Potts has informed me that Happy will be arriving at the tower with your family in less than forty minutes."

When Friday had voiced that little bit of information Norah did not respond all that receptively, in fact she had instead given a dread filled groan and then threaded her fingers through her massively curly hair and tugged at her roots making her hair look even messier than it usually did. "Awe shit, shit, shitty, shit." She said to herself as she continued pacing back and forth in front of Tony, Pietro, Wanda and Vision.

At first Tony had found Norah freaking out over seeing her family again completely hilarious, he may have even poked a bit of fun at her for how badly she was reacting which in turn only made her freak out that much more. But now, after almost an hour of her deteriorating slowly from her usual self and into 'freak mode' as she called it, well, it was definitely not nearly as amusing as it had first been almost an hour ago. It disgusted Tony that Norah would break down so completely and thoroughly at the news that today was the day that she would be seeing her family again; Tony may be an asshole a good portion for the time and have an unconventional way of showing that he cared for people but he truly would do almost anything for Norah. If Norah wanted the moon and the stars he would find a way to get them for her, if she wanted a Stradivarius violin he would buy it for her, if she wanted to move to the most remote place in the world but still have internet access he would make it happen. But taking how Norah felt about her family; the fear, the anxiety and the uncertainty…well those were things that Tony couldn't cure Norah of no matter how much he wished he could.

Norah was definitely a whirlwind of a person, it was like she was a flame and everyone was a moth and they couldn't help but be drawn to her and her personality. She was stronger than most people gave her credit for, she was willing to help those she cared for without a thought to herself which she proved when she helped Tony and the other's take out Hydra bases and then again when she had gone with them to Sokovia to take Ultron down. But seeing Norah who was usually strong, beyond stubborn, sarcastic, confident and painfully blunt revert into someone that Tony barely recognized made his stomach turn. He absolutely despised seeing Norah acting insecure with herself, he hated seeing her be much quieter than her usual self was and he hated that she hasn't tried to joke or make some sort of sarcastic comment to ease the stress of the situation like she would have done any other time. This….this doppelganger was not his daughter, not in the least, this was not the Norah that he knew and loved and all he wanted now was for his Norah to come back rather than the one that was pacing back and forth in front of him. He wanted the one who wasn't afraid to tell it like it is, the one who wouldn't take anyone's shit and he wanted the Norah that would call Nick Fury 'Patchy' right to his face without fear of retaliation or bodily harm.

"Norah!" Tony yelled in frustration at his daughter, startling Norah from her continuous pacing and making her jump a bit and look at Tony rather than the ground where she was pacing. "Kid," Tony began as he looked intently at Norah who was definitely looking more frazzled as the minutes passed by. "I love you, you know that and I get this whole freak out thing that you are doing which you really are taking to the next level but you gotta stop with the pacing. You're starting to make me feel drunk without the fun part of getting there. Relax, will you?" he asked, attempting to be soothing to her. "Everything is going to be fine." He stated and hoped against hope that what he said would help calm Norah down – at least marginally.

Wanda, Pietro and Vision were watching as Tony tried in his usual Tony way to comfort Norah from all the worries were feeling but each of the three onlookers knew the moment Tony told Norah to relax and to stop worrying so much that the blonde haired Mutant was definitely not going to take that well. It definitely wasn't going to make her relax or stop worrying.

Wanda looked from Norah, to Tony who she shook her head at for the comment he made and then glanced over towards her older twin brother. "He should not have said those words to her, she is already feeling much worry at moment. Telling her to relax does not help." She whispered to Pietro so that Norah could not hear her, Wanda may have powers to protect herself from any anger Norah may feel but that does not mean that she would want to be on the receiving end of her blonde haired friend's ire.

"No," Pietro agreed with his sister. "But she does need to hear it." He murmured as he kept his eyes trained on his girlfriend who he only wished to go to and envelope within his arms to try and comfort her but when he had first tried to do just that Norah had narrowed her eyes at him and stepped away from him, she had told him that she was too worked up to be comforted at the moment. "She is panicking and worrying more than should, she is going to force self into panic attack and that will not help situation." He said quietly as he gazed towards Norah with worry in his blue colored eyes.

Norah was a stubborn one, something which everyone who knew her could attest to and sometimes she didn't like to ask for help even though she knew she needed and wanted it.

When Norah had heard Tony say those words to her she slowly turned towards him and glared at him harshly, crossing her arms under her sometimes annoyingly well-endowed chest. "Relax? Is that what you just said to me Tony?" she questioned him incredulously, hardly able to believe that he had just said that to her even though he knew how she felt about her family coming to New York to see her after not seeing them in however many years.

Tony realized a little too late that maybe he should have worded things a tad bit differently than he did, with the sort of mood that Norah was in he knew without a doubt that he was about to be chewed up and spit back out again. Sometimes, he really did need to think about what he said before he said it, but then again if he did that he wouldn't be Tony Stark would he. Considering he already dug himself a hole Tony figured he might as well finish what he had been saying to his daughter.

"Yeah, I kinda did." Tony responded with his usual blasé attitude that he tended to hide behind at times. "You need to relax Norah, you're going to give yourself a condition if you keep going like you are." He pointed out to her as he chewed on some of his dried fruit.

The man had a serious addiction to his dried fruit that no one could really fully understand.

Norah put her hands on her hips and looked at Tony with a scowl, "I think I have a damn good reason to not be calm right now Anthony," she said making Tony cringe when she had used his full first name rather than the usual Tony. "I'm about thirty minutes or less away from seeing my family again who I haven't seen or made contact with in over seven or eight years. On top of seeing family that I estranged myself from I'm about to see my sad excuse of a father who I doubt even wants to be coming here, I'm going to be seeing my older sister who've I've missed more than anyone from back home in Minnesota, and I'm also about to see my mother. A mother who the last time I saw had been all gun ho about Mutants, was probably wanting to join the cheer squad for the anti-Mutant movement and had wanted to take me to a doctor to get fixed from my supposed Mutant problem." She said a bit snidely and used air quotes when she said supposed Mutant problem – she's still a bit bitter about her mother wanted to fix her of something that was definitely not wrong with her. "I have all of that to deal with Tony, do you understand. I am dealing with all of that, still recovering from almost dying from Ultron and yeah, sure, I may act like I'm fine and back to being the old me but I'm not there yet Tony. I am so not there. So excuse me if I'm having a bit of a freak out." She said breathing heavily and then groaned to herself and pulled at her hair a bit. "I don't even know how to feel right now Tony, do you get that. I have no fucking clue how to feel and I definitely have no idea how I am supposed to act around my family once they are finally here or what I am supposed to say. I have no idea if they came because they genuinely care about me, or if they came to see if I am still alive or maybe they decided to come all this way just to tell me that they hate me or something." she said in a melancholy tone of voice, her eyes downcast to the floor of Tony's lab and did her best to keep tears from forming in her eyes.

Okay, so Norah would admit that she was probably being a bit (very) dramatic and exaggerating things a tad bit but she couldn't seem to help herself. The thought of her family coming to see her and being around her again and being in her environment terrified her – irrationally – and it was making her feel like she was thirteen/fourteen years old again which was the exact opposite of the person she was nowadays. She had been quiet, meek, barely spoke, was definitely not all that confident and hated confrontation. Not something she wanted to reminisce or become once again.

"Awe, Blinker," Tony said fondly to his daughter as he hopped off of the lab table and walked the few feet it took to get to where Norah had stopped. "You're family loves you and cares for you, trust me, they really do. Your sister especially." He told her sincerely as he cupped her face and pressed his forehead to hers.

At that Norah gave a shaky breath, her emotions beginning to really get to her. "How do you know?" she said in a shaky tone of voice. How do you know they love me and that Niki especially does. You've barely even talked to any of them." She said to him.

"I'm Tony Stark." Tony said, a smirk tugging at his lips as he pulled back from Norah and looked down into her brown colored eyes. "Just because you didn't want to know anything about your family or keep tabs on them doesn't mean that I didn't." he said and gave a slight embarrassed look and rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure of what she would think of that tidbit of information. "I figured you may want to know how they were or what they were up to so I kept tabs on them for you…..for in case you changed your mind. Your sister, Niki, she searched for you. She started searching for you not even a year after you had ran away. Xavier and the rest of those leather obsessed X-Men must have made it so you weren't traceable or something, or never used your birth name once you joined your school because she never had much luck looking for you no matter how hard she tried." He explained to her.

Hearing that information made the strong hold that Norah had on her tears break, she always missed her sister and desperately hoped that she wanted to see her again but she's never been brave enough to actually find out if Niki wanted to see her. She'd rather fantasize about her sister wanted to see her again rather than actually finding out whether or not she wanted to and then ending up disappointed and heartbroken in the end.

Stepping a bit away from Tony, Norah tried to desperately wipe at the tears that were forming in her eyes and rolling down her face but she wasn't having any luck really. The more she thought about her family and about the fact that her sister has been looking for her almost since the moment she left, well it made her feel so many different emotions but the two most important ones being relief and love.

"Moj mali bik," Pietro said as he appeared in front of her, unable to take her tears and not able to resist comforting her any longer. "I tell you that your family will want to see you, you see." He said to her gently as he cupped Norah's face and wiped the tears that were falling down her face with the pads of his thumbs and smiled softly at her before he leant down and kissed her on the forehead in a loving fashion. "You will see they want to see you, we know your sister has wanted to see you and I know your mother and father will too." He told her with confidence.

Norah gave a tight smile at that, she hoped her mother would want to see her and hoped that maybe she's changed her views on Mutants, because really what reason would she have come to New York to see Norah if she hadn't changed her views on Mutants but her father was another thing all together.

"Sure they will." Norah said to him a bit bitterly, still not so sure that her mother and father really wanted to see her and not able to push aside her insecurities and fear about seeing them again and them telling her that they hated her and hated that shew as a Mutant.

Giving a sigh Pietro looked down at Norah who was now resting her head on his chest – she was short so was unable to rest it in the crook of his neck like she wanted to do – and decided against saying anything to refute what Norah believed. Pietro has known Norah only a short time but he knew her well enough to know that she was stubborn and that almost nothing would change her mind when she had it set on something and she was determined to believe what she believed about her family, the only way to change her mind was to have her see them and talk with them and realize that they did love her – Mutant abilities and all.

For a good ten or so minutes the five of them just sat there in silence; Tony going back to sitting on his lab table while staring off into space, Wanda looking towards Norah in concern, Pietro and Norah staying in one and another's embrace and enjoying the feeling of being near one and another and Vision just observing all that was going on with the humans that he was surrounded by.

It was then that Vision, who was normally quiet and reserved decided to speak up. "Norah," Vision said gaining Norah's attention who lifted her head from Pietro's chest and looked towards the android like creation. "I may be young and I may not know much about human customs and relations but I have observed all of you that live here and have watched…..T.V. and done research to be able to tell that your family does care for you. Your family here in New York as well as the one in Minnesota. I do not believe that your family would go through all of this work to come here just to throw insults at you and degrade you for being a Mutant, it's a lot of work for some small moment of feeling superior." Vision pointed out to her as he walked forward and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder to which she turned her head so that she could see him a bit better (she swore everyone was a giant compared to her short height). "I have seen in this short month of being alive that families make mistakes – Tony proved that to me." He said earning and indignant "Hey" from said mad scientist. "Families make mistakes; it is a part of being human. Sometimes those mistakes are horrendous and hurt us in unimaginable ways but all we can do is accept that our family is human and that humans make mistakes. Often. What we must do is try and accept them and move on with life."

"But-" Norah began to say but was interrupted by Vision before she was able to say much.

"I do not mean that you must forget what they said and did, but you need to accept what happened to and move on so that you can have a fresh start with your family. So you can have a healthy relationship with your family." Vision told her knowingly, giving her a look that a school teacher would to an outspoken child.

Giving a sigh Norah turned her face into Pietro's chest and pressed her forehead as close to his warmth as she possibly could and just breathed his scent in for a few moments, hoping that it would help her mind calm down which seemed to be thinking so many different sort of scenarios at the moment. Closing her eyes, Norah reached up and grasped a bit of Pietro's shirt and just breathed in and out as a way to clear her mind, she was definitely going to need a clear mind in order to deal with seeing her ma, older sister and her father once again.

Pietro looked down at Norah and gave a sad smile, wishing he could take her worry away and the memories that she had associated with her family but he knew that he couldn't and hoped that in the end everything would be okay. Wrapping his arms around Norah tighter, Pietro leaned down and kissed Norah on the forehead or rather what he could reach of her forehead with her having her head burrowed into his chest, and then gently leant his cheek against the top of Norah's head and looked towards his sister who was staring at the both of them with a soft smile.

There was silence in the lab for the next few minutes but soon enough it was interrupted by Friday's voice once again, "Mr. Stark, Ms. Norah. They have arrived." Her disembodied voice said throughout the lab. "Mr. Happy is bringing them to the living room and Ms. Potts said that she will meet them there."

Hearing that her family was finally there Norah suddenly pulled away and out of Pietro's arms and gave Tony a near frantic look, "Don't make me see him, I can see ma and Niki but…but please Tony, please dad, don't make me see him. I don't want….I can't see my father yet. Just, just Niki and Ma. Please." She said as she looked at Tony desperately, her brown eyes wide and pleading with Tony to keep her father from seeing her which was something Tony was more than willing to do for her.

"Hey, Blinker. Everything will be fine." Tony said soothingly as he walked towards Norah and carefully ran his fingers through her hair. "If you don't want to see your sad excuse of a father then who am I to deny you?" he asked, a playful smirk on his face. "I'll have Friday contact Pepper and tell her that you only want to see your sister and your mom and to make sure your father doesn't go with them, and if he insists and tries to force his way to see you. Well, I am Iron Man after all and we have Capsicle and Thor here to help if things get out of hand." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"All right," Norah said with a small nod of her head and closed her brown colored eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and then opened them once again to look at Tony with determination. "All right." She said resolutely. "I can do this, I can face them and I will not, absolutely will not break down or freak out anymore." She stated, the last part more so to herself than anyone else in the room.

Hearing that Wanda gave a small laugh and approached Norah, "Yes, you will be fine Norah." She told her with a smile. "You will see them again, you will talk and realize that they still love you and all will be well." She told her encouragingly. "Now come, let's go and see your family. Friday?" Wanda questioned.

"Yes, Ms. Wanda?" Friday questioned throughout the lab.

"Where is Norah's family meeting at?" Wanda asked.

"Ms. Potts has directed Ms. Norah's mother and sister to the lounge on the fifty-third floor." Friday had answered.

The said lounge was one that had windows on one whole wall, there was a balcony, a small mini bar and it also overlooked down into the room that Tony had his party at….the party where Ultron had tried to kill them all.

"Let's do this." Norah said as she cracked took a deep breath and cracked her neck and then looped one arm through Pietro's and the other through Wanda's. "Are you coming dad?" she asked as she looked over towards Tony with a curious brow raised.

At that Tony gave a small smile, every time Norah called him dad with such sincerity he couldn't help but smile and feel as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest from the warm feeling he got from those words. He never thought he'd enjoy being called dad, especially after the father that he had had but Norah made him enjoy it and love it.

Tony shook his head, "I think this is something you need to do by yourself kid, besides, if I go there with you and you and the family start arguing I might rush in there and do something stupid and very asshole like. So Pepper has told me." He said with a wry grin on his face which made Norah give a laugh. "Friday will keep me updated on anything that goes on if things start to snowball. But remember, you aren't Norah Sullivan anymore. You are Norah Sjoholm, my daughter, a powerful Mutant and stubborn as a bull. You can do this. You will be fine."

"I know." Norah said and then with that said Norah, Pietro, Wanda and Vision left Tony to his lab as they made their way up to the lounge that Friday told them that Pepper and Norah's mother and sister were waiting in.

Wilst Norah headed towards wherever it was that she was meeting up with her family to be reacquainted finally, Tony stayed in his lab even though he desperately wanted to go with Norah to see her family…..well to see Tom and size him up in person rather than just over a computer screen like he had done when Norah had first came to live with him and Pepper. So Tony decided to try and be the adult of the situation and stay in his lab for a while, at least enough time so that Norah could talk with her family.

Leaning against one of the tables in his lab and tossing a small wrench up and down in the air Tony thought about everything that has gone on in his life; losing his parents in a car accident, becoming a semi-alcoholic for a good long while, being a playboy and an asshole, selling weapons to whoever paid him enough money without caring what they would do with said weapons, turning a new leaf so to say, falling in love with Pepper, working to make clean energy, becoming a part of the Avengers, meeting Norah. So many things have gone on in his life and he's changed so much over the years – for the better. Tony will always be a bit of an egotistical, self-centered asshole at times but things in his life such as being kidnapped in the Middle-East and nearly dying changed things for him.

He became a better person, maybe not perfect because he is Tony Stark after all and he's never going to be completely without flaws and without being an asshole once in a while, but he was a better person. And yes, even after changing his ways a bit he still made mistakes…really, really bad mistakes. (Ultron was one such mistake). But he's doing his best to be the person that Pepper wants in her life and to be the father that Norah deserved to have from the start of her life.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Niki & Family : Stark Tower ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It seems in the last week or so Niki has been surprised by her sister more times than when the two had been younger and that includes finding out about Norah being a Mutant. Niki was beyond curious about how exactly Norah knew Tony Stark. Because seriously, not just anyone can get a Stark Industries private jet sent for their families and not just anyone is brought to Stark Towers by Tony Stark's former body guard and now current head of security of Stark Industries. Stark Towers held not just research labs and new technology that is being created by its scientists and by Tony Stark himself but it was also the home of Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and a good majority of the Avengers.

Niki desperately wanted to figure out this mystery but for now she was just content at the fact that in T-ten minutes she would be seeing her sister face to face for the first time in almost eight years and that in itself was making her feel overly excited and nervous at the same time. Back when Norah had ran away, or rather before she had ran away, the two sisters had a close bond and told one and another almost anything and were always there for each other but Niki would fully admit that she had been drifting from her younger sister. Niki was in her twenties and Norah was fifteen, and yes Niki loved her younger sister but they were at an odd age and so she ended up drifting from her a bit and now she regrets that she let that happen. Hopefully, hopefully Norah would be willing to start over and that they would be able to have a sisterly relationship again without the drifting part this time.

"Ms. Potts?" Cheri questioned, drawing Niki out of her thoughts and reminding herself that she was walking towards the common room/kitchen area of the living quarters of the tower with her husband, daughter, mother and father at the moment and was being led there by the famous Pepper Potts.

"Yes?" Pepper asked as she continued to lead Norah's family down the hallway in incredibly dangerous looking stiletto high heels.

Cheri looked a bit hesitant to say anything but soon found her courage, "Norah is okay?" she asked, looking at the strawberry blonde curiously. "You are absolutely certain?" she question, she needed to know without a doubt that her youngest and estranged daughter was all right and not on deaths bed after whatever accident she had in Sokovia.

For a moment Pepper looked back at Cheri and gave her a comforting smile, "Yes, I am absolutely certain that Norah is all right. I saw her when she arrived here after her accident when she was still horribly wounded and I have seen her wounds personally and can tell you that they are basically all healed up. Though she is on strict orders to not do anything too strenuous, which includes using her powers." She said and then gave a small amused shake of the head. "I'm surprised she's been listening as well as she has, she's downright stubborn as a mule when she wants to be."

Hearing that made Cheri give a serene smile, she was happy to know that in the years that she hasn't seen her youngest child that though she knew she would have changed quite a lot in the years that the stubbornness of her daughter was something that didn't change. It was a small comfort to her to know that.

"She always was, from the second she was born she was a stubborn one." Cheri said reminiscing about Norah when she had been younger.

Within a few minutes, a cramped ride in an elevator and a short walk down the hallway, Niki and the rest of her family were finally led into the living room/kitchen that was a part of the living quarters of Stark Tower. Niki looked around curiously and saw a ginormous TV against one wall with a few couches and chairs spread throughout the room and shook her head at the size of the TV, she liked a decent sized TV but that one just seemed excessive. Then there was the kitchen which looked nice sized and open, but that wasn't what made her stop and just stare like a weirdo. No, sitting on a few barstools at the kitchen island were a few of the Avengers – Captain America, Hawkeye and the Black Widow but in normal clothes rather than their super hero uniforms.

"Clint, Steve, Natasha this is Norah's family." Pepper said taking charge and making introductions so that there wasn't any awkward silence. "Her mother Cheri, her father Tom, her older sister Niki, and Niki's husband David and their daughter Aurora." She said as she pointed to each person. "This is Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton." She told them, deciding against introducing them with their superhero counterpart title.

Rora, who was standing beside her mother was looking at the three superhero's in awe barely able to believe that she was near a rea life super hero and that her aunt she's never met knew them personally! "You….you're Captain America!" Rora said in excitement and then gave a sheepish look when her mother whispered her name.

When Rora had said that Steve and the other's smiled at her, "Yes. Yes I am." Steve said as he looked softly at Rora. "And you're Aurora." He said to her.

"Rora. I like Rora." She said to him nervously and looked away from his gaze nervously. "You're my favorite Avenger." Rora said quietly.

At that Clint groaned, "How come you always get the kids and I just get the old cat ladies?" he complained, a pout on his lips.

Natasha rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Because it's you, Clint." She responded monotonously.

Pepper shook her head at the antics of those two friends, Natasha who usually was very stoic and monotone and Clint who was serious but liked to joke around with the rest of the children. (AKA Norah and Tony). "All right," she said gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Cheri, Niki. If you two could come with me, I'll take you to Norah in one of the lounges." She said as she looked at them with a soft smile and then gestured to the hallway that they had just come from. "It's a few floors up, we'll have to take the elevator again."

Hearing that he wasn't invited to go with Tom turned to Pepper with a hard look in his eyes, annoyed that he was being kept from his youngest daughter. His ex-wife dragged him all the way from Minnesota to New York to see their daughter who he hasn't seen since she was fifteen years old; Tom didn't want to fly all the way out to New York in the first place. He wasn't fond of travelling, he didn't like big cities especially ones the size of New York City and he didn't like flying. He would have rather just waited back home in Minnesota where he could be at home and drink and watch whatever sports game was on and wait until Cheri and Niki brought Norah back home. But since he was here he should at least have the right to see Norah along with his ex-wife and oldest daughter.

"What? I'm not invited?" Tom questioned angrily as he shuffled forward a bit, the alcoholism was getting to him the older he got and he couldn't really move as easily as he used to. "I'm Norah's father, I want to see her." He demanded as he narrowed his eyes at Pepper.

Pepper looked at Norah's birth father and gave a sigh, it was obvious to anyone that looked at the man for more than a few moments that he had obviously drank the whole way from Minnesota to New York. He really was a sad excuse of a father.

Pepper gave a placating smile to the man, "I'm sorry but that isn't going to be happening." She told him simply. "I understand that you want to see your daughter, I really do but for now only your daughter and ex-wife will be seeing Norah." She told him.

"Why?" Tom demanded belligerently. "Why only them?" he asked once again.

At that Pepper gave an unnoticed sigh, "Because it is what your daughter asked for; she wants to see her mother and her sister. No one else." She said bluntly, not really caring for any feelings she may hurt of his. "Now if you excuse me, I am going to bring Cheri and Niki to see Norah and you," she almost growled. "Will stay here."

When Pepper had said that to him, Tom made to open his mouth to argue with her and to demand that he deserves to go with his ex-wife and daughter to see his other daughter but when Pepper narrowed her eyes challengingly at him he decided to keep quiet. Pepper was very calm and collected and could be very diplomatic with people when it was needed, she could deal with politicians and CEO's of big companies but knowing everything that Tom had done, or rather what he hadn't done for Norah and her sister and knowing the sort of childhood that those two had had made Pepper feel absolutely disgusted with the man that was in front of her. She didn't want him anywhere near Norah, she didn't want him in the building really but he was Norah's birth father and so she needed to be civil to him at least.

"Tom," Steve said gaining the man's attention. "Norah is pretty nervous right now, seeing you all again and probably just want to see her mother and sister right now because of something dame's do. I don't understand it." He said with a shrug. "But I am sure that you'll be able to see Norah later. She's probably excited to see you." He said, lying through his teeth which he hated to do usually but the situation called for it.

Before Tom was able to say anything to that Pepper turned to Niki and Cheri with an expectant look on her face, "Are you two ready?" she questioned.

At that Cheri nodded enthusiastically and turned towards Tom with a warning look on her face, "Don't do anything stupid and try to not embarrass yourself." She said to him and then spied the bar that was to one side of the living room. "You've already drank enough." She said and turned away from him and back towards Pepper.

Niki was excited and nervous about seeing her sister again and gave a sigh of relief when she felt David's hand clasp onto hers and squeeze it supportively, silently showing her that he was there for her if she needed him.

"You'll be fine Niki, everything will turn out okay." David said to her as he gently kissed her on the temple and then in the middle of her forehead. "Don't be nervous, this is your younger sister who you know." He told her.

"I haven't known her since she was fifteen, she's changed." Niki whispered silently, suddenly becoming even more terrified than she was before.

David gave her an amused smile and brushed some of her hair behind her ears, "You'll get to know her again, but she's your sister. You don't need to worry." He said supportively.

Niki took a deep breath, nodded at David before she looked at her daughter. "Stay with dad and be good, okay." She said and looked at Rora waiting for an answer.

"I want to come with." Rora said pouting a bit and crossing her arms, looking a lot like the aunt that she's never had the chance to meet.

At that Niki smiled, "I know, I'm sure Norah really, really wants to meet you to and to know all about you. But Mom and grandma need to talk to her first. We got a lot of things to talk about. Okay." She said to her.

"But-"

Natasha interrupted, "Hey, maybe while your mom and grandma do that Captain America can tell you about his adventures saving the world." She said an almost half smile appearing on her face.

For a moment Rora contemplated her options before she sighed and nodded her head, "Okay," she said and then pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to her mother. "Give this to her for me?" she questioned hopefully.

Niki shook her head, "How about you give it to her when you see her." She said with a smile. "Be good." She said and then left along with Pepper and her mother to go to whatever lounge it was that they would be meeting Norah at.

~_~_~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~.~_~_~_~

Norah, Pietro and Wanda arrived at a set of stairs that would lead Norah to the lounge that Pepper brought her mother and sister to and now she was even more nervous than before and felt as if she was going to throw up. On top of that she was freaking out about her clothes, which is completely ridiculous but she wanted to look nice for her family but she didn't want them to think she was trying to impress them or one up them. She had decided on a simple grey burnout t-shirt that had the different types of sharks on it, a deep green asymmetrical zipup hoodie and a pair of skinny jeans and her high tops. But now she was thinking maybe it was too casual, maybe it would make them think that she didn't care about seeing them, maybe –

Norah was distracted from her thoughts by a warm pair of lips kissing her lightly on her own, blinking a few times Norah looked up and saw Pietro who was standing a few inches from her a smirk on his face at how she was reacting at the moment. He reached forward and brushed a few strands of her curly hair behind her ear but most escaped his efforts – curly hair is not easily managed, especially Norah's.

"Moy mali bik, you will be fine, I promise you." Pietro said to her as he rested his hands on Norah's hips and stepped a bit closer to her so there was almost no space between the two of them. "Think of inner strength you have. You faced Ultron, you faced many things in life and you were shot many times and yet you live still. You are strong, and if you can do those things you can face family you haven't seen in long time." He told her, fully believing that Norah would be able to do this.

Norah was glad that Pietro felt that strongly about her and about what she was about to face but she was not so sure that she was strong enough to do this, she was nervous beyond belief and felt as if she was going to explode into tiny little pieces from how nervous she was feeling at the moment.

"I-" Norah began but closed her mouth and shook her head.

Wanda looked at her newest friend, a friend who she has grown to care for. "Norah, you must find your inner strength. You are an Avenger, you help fight bad guys, you do good in the world, you are stubborn, determined and if you are half of those things then you can do this You can go up the stairs and see family again. Reconnect with them again. Do not be nervous, they love you. They want to see you. They would not come all this way if they did not want to." She told her.

"But what if-" Norah began again but was unceremoniously pinched in the ribs by Wanda. "Ouch! What the hell?"

At that Wanda gave her a pointed look, "Do not act stupid, I know you are smarter than that. You will be fine, you will march up there and talk to your family." She said and crossed her arms. "You understand?"

Norah looked at Wanda and then up at Pietro and raised a brow, "When did your sister get so bossy?" she questioned rhetorically to which Pietro just laughed and laid his forehead into the crook of Norah's neck.

Wanda stepped forward and hit Pietro gently in the shoulder, "Pietro! Let Norah go, it is time for her to see family. You can have your way with her later. Now is time for her family." She said and pulled him away from Norah which he did reluctantly. "You will be fine Norah, everything will work out. Be brave." She said to her and then gently pushed Norah up the stairs towards the lounge where her family was waiting for her at.

"I will be waiting moj mali bik. Good luck." Pietro said and then with that both Pietro and Wanda were gone and out of Norah's sight before she had a chance to beg them to go with her to face the music so to say.

Giving a sigh Norah slowly made her way up the stairs to her family.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~ Author's Note ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

So there you go, we are almost to the part where she meets her family, sorry for being evil and leaving it a cliff hanger but I like to make you all wait apparently.

Translation:

Moj Mali Bik - my little bull