Another week, another update. I can't promise to keep it up, but I'm mostly managing so far, even though Marvel and company won't let me keep the character. As alway, just borrowing them and returning them.
Also, as always, very appreciative of the reviews.
Princess Pretty Pants: You'd think he would know better, don't you? And Stephen King? Wow. High praise, indeed.
Sandy-wmd: I actually did some rewriting right before I posted because I realized that someone used to moving silently would have to make a special effort not to be quiet. Glad you liked the rats. Well, their use in the story, anyway. And I figured it was time for Nick to be the one needing comfort and support.
Nom de Plume: Thank you. It's kind of fun figuring out ways to terrorize someone. Wonder if I should be worried about that? It's harder, though, writing about her abuse. Fortunately, that's very foreign to me.
ShadowBeats22107: As always, you are so kind. I really appreciate your feedback. I liked using Clint here. This just seemed like something he would come up with. (By the way, still waiting for more 'Office Fling' Not enough Hury stuff out there)
avngstories: Thank you. I'm certainly trying to keep things fresh. Sometimes there seem to be so many stories that are so similar. I enjoy it when I find something different
Unaligned fae queen: Thanks. I like to keep readers on their toes. Here's your update. Hope you enjoy.
Ella: Thank you. Rats are always good for terror, aren't they? And I clearly enjoy those little moments, too. Hopefully, here's some you'll like as well.
To all reviewers, faves, and followers, my deepest thanks. You are the reason I do this. Now, on to the story.
Risks 17
Maria stretched slowly, rolling her head around to ease the tight muscles in her neck, then glanced at the clock on her phone.
2 am, and no word from Nick. She pulled up his name on her contact list, debating whether to text him or call him. Finally, she exited out and placed the device back on her desk. Their relationship had progressed, but she was still a little unsure about where certain lines were drawn. On of those lines was the one between concern and being overbearing.
She was glad that she had pushed him a few days before, getting him to open up about the death of his friend, but she also knew that neither of them had much experience with trusting someone else with the things held deepest. Both were aware of their natural tendency to push away when someone tried to get too close.
She had told him she would be there at her quarters in the Avenger Tower if he needed her. She would have to trust that he would let her know.
Spider Robinson had been cremated, per his final request, and the ashes released to his former CO, as his family had explained that they had no more interest in his remains than they had had in the deeply troubled man. The surviving members of their unit had gotten together last night for a wake to celebrate the man they had known and to release his ashes. She had decided to spend the night at the tower, working her way through the never ending reports.
Finally, about 3 am, her phone rang, the caller ID showing an unknown number.
"Hill," she answered.
"I'm sorry. Did you say 'Hill'?" a woman's voice asked.
"Yes. Who is this?" Maria asked, trying to push back a panicked fear. Had something happened to him?
"My name is Jessica Sanchez," she answered. "I came over to check on my dad and found a room full of drunken old men. When I asked if anyone needed me to call someone to come get them, one of the guys gave me this number."
The fear she had been repressing suddenly turned to anger at the woman on the line. "By 'drunken old men,' do you perhaps mean a group of war veterans who got together tonight to say goodbye to one of their comrades in arms?"
She heard a heavy sigh on the line. "That's right. I had forgotten that that was tonight."
"Don't worry, I'm on my way to get him," Maria told her tersely, pulling her tennis shoes on before grabbing a jacket and her bag. The tank top and sweat pants she had put on earlier would suffice for the short trip. She slipped into the jacket, pulling the zipper to the top to conceal her necklace.
The other woman sounded apologetic. "You don't have to do that. He can stay. I just thought that someone might be worried about them."
"It's not a problem," Maria told her. "I'll be there shortly to get one of them anyway."
"Do you need the address?" the woman asked quietly.
Maria quickly pulled up the information from the GPS on Nick's phone and read off the location it showed. "Is that right?"
"Yes."
"On my way," she repeated, then disconnected the call.
Even at that hour, traffic moved slower than she liked, but Maria soon pulled up in front of the well preserved old brownstone building. She climbed the steps and knocked lightly on the door. When the door opened, she looked coldly at the woman standing there.
"I'm Maria Hill. I'm here to take a drunken old man off of your hands."
The woman winced slightly, then opened the door wider in invitation.
"I'm Jessica Sanchez. I apologize, Ms Hill. That was an extremely rude comment for me to make. Not to try to excuse myself, but please understand. I work in the ER and just finished a double shift on a very busy night."
Maria noted the other woman's scrubs and nodded. "Full moon." She recalled noticing that earlier in the day after dealing with a few more disciplinary incidents than normal.
"Yeah." Jessica ran her fingers through her hair. "My dad has some medical issues and he usually calls or sends me a text when he's turning in for the night. When I didn't get one and it was well past his usual bedtime, I called him. He didn't answer, so I got worried. I raced over here as soon as I got off and found this," she said, waving her arm to indicate the half a dozen men draped across various pieces of furniture, most snoring loudly. "I figured he had been out drinking, picked up some new 'buddies' and brought them back here."
She looked at Maria. "He's done that before and ended up getting robbed and beaten up. I had completely forgotten that they were doing the wake tonight and was angry that I thought he had been irresponsible and worried me again." She shrugged. "I guess we get payback for the way we worried our parents when we were growing up, huh?"
The agent shook her head. "I wouldn't know. I don't worry about my father any more than he ever worried about me. This one, through," she nodded her head towards Nick, "is a whole different story."
The other woman seemed at a loss for words for a moment, then gently touched Maria's arm. "I do know that they're veterans. Heroes. And I do respect what they did, even if I don't know a whole lot about it. I'm just tired and let my worry for my dad affect what I said."
Hill finally smiled slightly. "I understand. I probably overreacted a bit, but I know a bit more about what they did and tend to be kind of protective of those who've served."
Jessica nodded. "That's good. I've seen the things some of our veterans have gone through to get medical care. They're going to need people to stand up for them."
Maria crossed over to where Nick was sprawled in a recliner. "But right now, this one just needs a little help to stand up and get to his own bed." She leaned over him, shaking his shoulder gently and calling his name.
His eye opened slowly and he looked around, his lips turning up when he noticed her.
"M'ria," he mumbled, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her down to his lap. He lowered his lips to her neck, breathing deeply of her scent. "Mmmm. Smell good. Like soap 'n water 'n clean."
"I just had a shower," she told him. "Which you could certainly use, 'cause you smell like whiskey and cigars and sweat."
"We were celebrating Spider," he clarified, "and he loved good whiskey and a good cigar." He thought for a moment. "Course, he also loved cheap whiskey and bad cigars, but when ya' got the choice..."
"Go for the good stuff," she finished for him. "And the sweat?"
"Arm wrestling," he told her.
"Did Spider like to arm wrestle, too?"
"Not so much," Nick told her. "He was the runt of our unit, but he could out climb or out run any of the rest of us."
"We arm wrestled 'cause we're guys and guys have to do feats of strength," slurred a voice from across the room. "Specially when we're drunk." She looked over to where a swarthy man roused himself from another chair. Jessica hurried over to him.
"What do you need, daddy?" she asked.
"Need to take a look at Nick's lady," he told her, studying Maria through narrowed eyes. She held his gaze until he finally nodded, leaning back with a laugh. "Said he had found hisself a beauty. Thought you were exaggerating, Fury."
"Nope."
"All right," Maria said, pulling herself from his embrace and standing up. "Time to get you back to the tower so you can sleep it off. You have a meeting scheduled in about 12 hours." She pushed the footrest down and grasped his arm, struggling to pull him to his feet. Jessica stepped over to assist.
Before Maria could protest, the nurse looked at her. "At the hospital, they always tell us to team lift."
With the other woman's help, she got him down the stairs and into the passenger seat of her car. As she buckled him in, Jessica ran back into the house and returned to hand her a small plastic bucket.
"Just in case," she said, looking at Nick.
Fortunately, the motion of the drive put him back to sleep rather than giving him motion sickness. That, however, created a whole new problem when she parked in the tower parking garage.
She was standing next to the opened passenger door, wondering how to get the sleeping man upstairs, when the sound of an engine drew her attention. She looked up to see Captain Steve Rogers pulling his motorcycle into the garage. He nodded to her.
"Is there something I can help you with, Agent Hill?" he asked.
She looked at him, then back at Nick, debating. Finally she sighed. The barely conscious man was simply too heavy for her to maneuver on her own.
"I would certainly appreciate it, Captain Rogers," she answered.
He crossed to her and looked into the car, then back at her, an expression of concern on his face.
"Is he alright?" he asked. "Do we need to have Dr. Banner meet us in the medical facility?"
"Self inflicted, Captain. He just needs to sleep it off," she assured him. "I'm sure I can trust your discretion," she added.
He looked at her and nodded. "Absolutely, ma'am." He gently reached into the vehicle and turned the other man, carefully leveraging him to an upright position and ducking under his arm. Maria closed up the car and followed them to the elevator, sliding under Nick's other arm. For some reason, she felt the need to explain.
"He got word a couple of days ago that one of the guys in his combat unit had died. Several of the men who are left got together to say their goodbyes."
Steve looked with compassion at the man he was supported between them. "Understood, ma'am."
When the elevator discharged them onto the proper floor, Maria went ahead to open the door to Nick's quarters, then to his room to turn down the bed. After Steve eased him down onto the mattress, she removed his shoes and pulled the covers up over him, reminding herself to keep it professional.
No kissing him with Steve standing right there. She walked to the doorway where he waited.
"I'll stay with him tonight," the soldier volunteered quietly.
"That won't be necessary," she replied.
"He probably shouldn't be left alone," he told her. "Just in case."
She looked at the man in bed. "That's okay. I'll stay."
Steve looked down at his feet, seeming to search for the words he wanted. Maria smiled and reached over to touch his hand.
"You really don't need to worry about my reputation, Captain."
He looked up at her. "It's not that, ma'am. Well, not just that." He pondered another few moments. "I wouldn't want to put you in any danger."
"Danger?"
"It's just that some people can be a bit...combative when they're drunk, Agent Hill, and I know he would hate himself if he harmed you."
"It's alright, Steve," she reassured him. "He's not like that."
"M'ria?"
They looked over to the bed where Nick was struggling to sit up. When she reached out to steady him, he grasped her wrist. Steve moved quickly to her side, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Love you," he mumbled.
She glanced over at Steve, grinning at the surprised look on his face. "Love you, too, Nick," she answered.
"Told the guys that I had the best girlfrien' ever," he continued.
"That's very sweet of you," she told him, trying to direct him to lie down again.
"Smart an' sexy an' so beauiful," he commented, reaching up to stroke her cheek. He looked over at Steve. "Isn't she beauiful?"
"Yes, sir, she is," Steve agreed.
"I'm so lucky," Nick said, finally dropping back to the mattress and allowing Maria to cover him again. He was snoring before the other two made it out the door.
She turned to Steve.
"That's for real, isn't it?" he commented. "Not just drunken rambling."
She nodded. "As real as it gets, Steve. As I said, I'm trusting your discretion."
"Yes, ma'am," he agreed.
She handed him a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and opened one for herself.
"Thank you for your help, Captain. What had you out at this hour of the morning? Might one speculate that Miss Matthews is somehow involved?"
"Yes, ma'am," he acknowledged, sliding onto a barstool. "She had to work a late shift so I decided to keep her company."
"That's very kind," the dark haired agent told him.
"I just don't like the idea of her working those kinds of hours. This city can be a dangerous place."
"Yes, it can," Maria agreed.
Steve studied his water bottle for a few moments, then looked up at her. "May I ask your advice about something, Agent Hill?" he asked.
"Okay," she said cautiously.
"I was thinking about asking her to move in here," he said, "As long as it's okay with everyone else."
"You want her to move in with you?" Maria asked in surprise.
"Not with me," he hurried to explain. "In the tower. And bring her grandparents along, too."
"That would be a pretty long commute for her," she brought up.
"She could find something closer. If she wanted to. Or she could just focus on going to school and not have to work."
Maria raised an eyebrow. "You'd support them?"
Steve shrugged. "I could easily. With all the back pay I have and as few living expenses as I have, it wouldn't be a problem."
She considered. "You realize, I don't really know her very well. I've only spoken to her a couple of times. Most of what I know about her is from the background check."
"You did a background check on her?" he asked.
"She attended a UN function attended by some of the most powerful and influential people in the world, Steve. Of course she had a background check."
"Of course."
"I don't think you should."
He looked at her curiously.
"I think she's where she wants to be. She's where she grew up, around people she knows and cares about. She's had opportunities. She had scholarship offers when she finished high school. She's had a couple of job offers from other places in 'better' neighborhoods."
"That was a pretty thorough background check," Steve commented.
"SHIELD? The UN?"
"True."
"When she talks about work, does she complain about the difficult customers or does she talk about nice ones? The ones she worried about? Felt bad for?"
"The good ones," he admitted. "Or the ones that she's concerned about."
"Because she cares about them. Those people matter to her. And her grandparents," she continued. "They've lived there since they got married. Raised their children there. Raised Beth there. I'm sure things have changed a lot for them, but it's still their home. Their neighborhood. Moving them away from that would eat away at their independence."
Steve nodded.
"Besides, you were drawn by her strength and determination, right?"
"Which is a strong indication that she wouldn't take kindly to my offer."
Maria shrugged. "As I said, I don't really know her that well, but I'm thinking stick with smaller gestures for now. Little things to show that you care, that you notice."
"Like what? What sort of things does he do for you?"
"After a long day on your feet, a foot rub can be heavenly," she told him with a slight smile. "You're a perceptive, intelligent man, good man, Steve. I'm sure you already do more than you realize."
"Thanks, Agent Hill," he answered. "I'm just a little unsure about this relationship stuff, particularly in this century, so I thought a modern woman might have some ideas."
She shook her head with a laugh. "I'm certainly not the one to be advising about relationships, but I don't think you should base yours on anyone but you and Beth. You're both unique individuals and you need to do what's right for the two of you."
He got up, putting his water bottle in the recycle bin. "I think that was excellent advice, ma'am. Director Fury was right. He's a lucky man." He turned to leave. "I'll be in my quarters, so give me a call if either of you need anything else."
"Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your help. And your discretion."
"My lips are sealed, ma'am."
Shortly after the door closed behind him, she heard a voice from the bedroom doorway.
"Thought I heard voices," Nick mumbled.
Maria hurried to his side and tried to guide him back to the bedroom.
"Need something," he protested, pointing towards the cupboard where he stored his medications. She perched him on one of the bar stools, then handed him a couple of ibuprofen and a glass of water.
"Yeah. Captain Rogers pulled up in the garage shortly after we did and he helped me get you upstairs," she explained, refilling the water glass and handing it back to him.
He frowned at her. "He wasn't curious as to why you were the one dragging my drunk ass home?"
"Didn't seem to be," she told him. "Remember, this is a man who would go anywhere at anytime to help one of his teammates. He wouldn't question anyone else doing the same thing."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's not suspicious of us."
"No," she replied. "At least, he wasn't. Until you told me that you loved me."
He looked at her, his eye going wide. "I didn't."
"And that you told your buddies you had the best girlfriend ever."
Nick shook his head, wincing.
"And that I was smart and sexy and beautiful," she continued with a smile.
"With him standing right there?"
She nodded. "You even asked him if he thought I was beautiful."
He groaned. "Seems I'm becoming a talkative drunk in my old age."
"Only because you felt safe," she assured him.
"So what did he say?" Nick probed, "when I asked him if he thought you were beautiful? He did have the sense to agree with me, didn't he?"
"Yes," she laughed. "He agreed with you."
"Wise man," he mumbled, rubbing his temples.
"He is," she agreed, wrapping her arms around him to direct him back to the bedroom again. "Wise enough to know that what goes on between us has nothing to do with anyone else."
"Good," he commented, crawling back into bed. He took her arm and pulled her in next to him, wrapping his arms around her as he rested his head against her chest. She pulled the spread up over them. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Spider didn't have anyone but the guys that he served with over 30 years ago. Some of the other guys said the same thing. Too broken for anyone else."
He raised his head and kissed her tenderly. "I'm lucky to have found someone who will put up with my brokenness," he murmured softly.
"I'm broken, too," she told him. "I'm just lucky to have found someone who's broken pieces match mine."
"Love you, Maria," he mumbled as he drifted off.
"Love you, too," she whispered back softly.
Thanks for reading, my friends. Someone else is now in on their secret. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that is wasn't too soon to have another one with Nick the one needing to be taken care of. Looks like I may be going back to torturing Maria for the next one. Please let me know what you thought. I SO love hearing from you. I have the next chapter of 'Complications' ready to post (basically) and the next 'Stroll' underway. Hope to finish that and get another chapter or so of each underway before I have to go back to work next week. Happy day to all!
Also, just out of curiousity: I have a couple of stories that are becoming fairly long. Are you generally alright with that? Is it okay to just continue adding or would it be better to wrap up and then maybe start a sequel? I'm inclined to just keep adding, but I know sometimes it's discouraging to start a new story when it's 50 chapters and 100,000 words or so. I should probably do this as a poll, but I'm too lazy to try to figure that out. You can PM me with an answer or post it with a review.
Thanks again for your time. Until next week: Excelsior! (not comparing myself to Mr. Lee, just trying to make you grin!)