I know I left you all with a small bit of suspense in that last chapter. I probably would have updated sooner, but it has been SO busy. With schoolwork and a lot of extra hours of work, life has been crazy! Trying to get it all done before some family visits on the weekend makes it even crazier! LOL But here's the conclusion of the last chapter. Be sure to tell me what you think! And thank you everyone for being so patient!
Chapter Thirteen
Clint's P.O.V.
It was a good thing I had come home early to stop that dangerous stunt of Hannah and Tony's. I couldn't believe everyone else had been involved and actually let her put on that contraption. She had almost died for crying out loud! I would have thought they all had more sense than that. I had immediately called Nat at work and she was furious. She had sped right over, armed with an attitude and looks that could kill. I had summoned a group meeting, much to everyone's displeasure, with Hannah still in her room. No one would look me in the eye, except for Pepper. She had no clue what was going on.
"I think you all know why I've called you here." I said coldly, arms folded over my chest.
"No. Why?" Pepper asked curiously.
"Your boyfriend over there," I pointed at Stark accusingly, "decided to let Hannah fly in a jet pack hundreds of feet in the air." She gasped and turned towards Tony, eyes narrowed into slits.
"What were you thinking?!" She nearly screamed. Tony cringed.
"I just wanted to test it." He murmured. He sunk lower in his seat as Pepper continued to stare him down.
"And Hannah almost died." Nat finished harshly.
"We took every precaution." Tony objected. "All three of us," (He gestured to himself, Bruce, and Thor), "were ready to come in and save her."
"And you almost didn't make it." I let the reality of the situation sink in. The group remained quiet for a moment.
"Friends," Thor started, "what is it that bothers you so?"
"What?" Nat asked in confusion.
"You two aren't usually this on edge." Cap explained for his friend.
"Like I said, this is family that we're talking about here." I replied.
"But you totally overreacted. That's not like you." Tony pointed out. "You knew I would catch her. So what's really wrong?" I sighed and looked to Nat. She knew to take it from there.
"We're afraid." She admitted, which must have brought quite a shock to our friends. Us, afraid? Not a very common feeling for two assassins. "The Dark Hand,"
"Those terrible fiends that tried to murder you?" Thor exclaimed, placing his hand on Mjolnir. "Have you found them?" I shook my head sadly.
"We're afraid that their next target will be here. And that Hannah will be caught in the middle."
"But she's with us, remember?" Tony reminded us.
"But she's not completely out of danger." I reminded them. "If they can sneak into the apartment of two master assassins, they can get in here."
"But we're always here." Steve mentioned.
"But what happens if we're not by some chance? What if she's alone? She'd be a prime target." And that's what she'd be. Young, defenseless and a beloved family member of two Avengers who just happened to take out important leaders of a terrorist organization. Hannah, unfortunately, was the the perfect option to exact revenge on Nat and I.
"We can be here more often." Pepper said. "I can move business here."
"We can escort her anywhere she wants." Bruce piped up.
"But there's something else, isn't there?" Steve, being ever so observant, asked. I hadn't told them about Director Fury's constant badgering.
"Director Fury thinks she'd be safer in foster care." I told them. The room was instantly filled with outrage.
"What?!" Tony said, suddenly lurching up from the couch in anger. "No way!"
"What is foster care?" Thor asked curiously, although from the looks and reactions of everyone else around the room, he was quickly understanding that foster care was a bad thing.
"It's not good." I answered him. "She'd be alone in some stranger's house without her family, and Nat and I are not about to let that happen."
"Neither are we." Bruce was filled with rage at the idea. It was surprising, considering he was usually so calm and quiet. He, as well as the others, had grown attached to Hannah in the short time we'd all been together. More close than I would have ever imagined. And now, as I looked at them seethe in fury over the possibility of sending Hannah away, I'd hate to be the sorry soul that tried to drive them apart.
"We are NOT going to let that happen." Pepper said fiercely, a fiery determination in her eyes.
"Then we have to keep a close eye on her. No less than one Avenger with or near her at all times." Nat announced sternly.
"Absolutely." Steve agreed. "We'll keep her safe. We promise."
"We'll try to keep our schedules to where we can be home more often. But for the most part while we're gone, we're expecting you to watch her." Nat said.
There was genuine agreement among the group. I could see how they really cared for Hannah and her safety. And for once, I felt completely safe leaving her in their hands.
"And no more dangerous stunts!" I could have sworn I heard Stark grumble, but it was cut off with a glare from Pepper. Problem solved.
Hannah's P.O.V.
It had been about an hour since the incident. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get out of here when someone knocked on the door. I was surprised when both my aunt and uncle came through the door. Uncle Clint must have thought what we did was pretty bad to call Aunt Nat in.
"I'm sorry." I said softly. "I didn't mean for the jet pack to break down."
"We know you didn't." Aunt Nat said, both her and Uncle Clint sitting on the bed beside me. She put her arm around me and held me close. It was sort of strange for her to show this form of affection, but somehow, I found it comforting, like it was Mom wrapping her arms around me again. "But you have to stop with the dangerous stunts."
"It was only this one time." She gave me this look that said 'yeah right.' She clearly hadn't forgotten the wheelchair event.
"Hannah," Uncle Clint said, "those times with Tony and the others are fun, but they're not safe for you."
"But they all get to do it. Why can't I?"
"Hannah, they're grownups and if they get hurt, it's on their own heads. But if you get hurt, it's an entirely different story." He explained.
"We don't want you to get hurt." My aunt said. "We love you too much for that."
Love. A word I hadn't heard in a long time. Dad always said "I love you" before dropping me off at school ever morning. And now I had an aunt and uncle that loved me. And maybe, just maybe, I could understand why they were so touchy about my safety.
"Alright." I agreed. "No more wild stunts." I could hear them both breathe a sigh of relief.
"But there is one subject that we need to address." I mentioned. "Tony did say that if I tried on the jet pack, I could use one of his Iron Man suits for a week and..."
"Absolutely not." Aunt Nat quickly.
"What?! But I risked my life for that suit!" At that moment, they both got up and started to make an exit out of the room.
"Hmmm...maybe you should have thought about that before you put on that jet pack." Uncle Clint said, poking his head out the almost-closed door, a small smirk on his face. "And by the way, you're grounded for a week." With that, he shut the door behind him before I had a chance to protest. I folded my arms across my chest in frustration.
"It was worth a shot."
Well, at least the whole team is on the same page now. Do you think they can keep Hannah safe? Hope you all liked this chapter. Be sure to review! I won't be updating this weekend because I have family coming over, so I hope this can hold you over for a bit. Have a great weekend!