Marvel, Avengers, Nick, Maria, etc still do not belong to me. I'm just having a little fun with them.

I'm so sorry that this has taken so long. And that it's so short. It was going to be longer, but the next section is still pretty rough, so I finally decided to just post this as a chapter and polish up the rest as another chapter since they didn't really need to be together. I just felt like it needed to be a little longer. Oh, well. Hopefully, you still love me...Smiles. Bats eyes.

ReadPaxJoy: I get a kick out of writing scenes between the ladies. I admire all these strong women and love showing them supporting each other. I'm glad you liked it.

Elfreda3699: Thank you. I hope this chapter was worth the wait as well. I do plan to continue to utilize Melinda. I think she and Phil are an interesting couple.

All For Jesus: Thanks. The boys are awfully cute, aren't they? Glad things are going better for you and that you're doing some writing again.

Sandy-wmd: As always, thank you so much for your comments. I always love hearing from you. I'm glad you like the new additions. I'm always leary about creating OC's because I've seen too many take over stories. Oops, indeed. Sigh. Hate missing things like that.

Ella: I love the girl talk, too. I've got another scene with the ladies in mind, but I'm concerned about moving too much from the main focus of the story...

Lee Victoria: You have no idea how happy your comments made me, dear reader. I really enjoy writing this pair and it's always great to know that people are enjoying reading.

Guest: Yup. I like to slide in those little tidbits from time to time...see if anyone notices, maybe gets a giggle.

Thank you kindly and welcome to all new followers and favoriters and most especially, reviewers. You delight me. Hopefully, this can be considered a reward.

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Risks 22

Maria shivered slightly as the draft from the air conditioner chilled the light sheen of sweat remaining on her skin. Nick pulled her close as he grabbed the sheet that had been kicked to the foot of the bed during their frenzied activities.

"Better?" he asked softly.

She nodded, snuggling close and sighing in contentment.

They both reflected on how nice it had been to be able to spend time together as a couple in the presence of their friends, to hold hands and sit close. To be able to leave the party together, arms around each other as others gave them knowing looks.

"Pepper seemed to be in a better frame of mind after your talk," he commented. "She actually smiled at Stark."

"We made some plans," she told him.

"I hope those plans didn't involve Stark's demise," he probed.

When she didn't answer immediately, he lifted his head to look at her. "Maria?"

"If I don't tell you anything, you can't testify about it," she told him.

When he raised an eyebrow, she laughed. "No, we didn't plan his death. Just let her know that we could if she wanted us to." He shook his head. "By the way, I hope it's okay if Nat and I take some time off Saturday afternoon. We offered to teach a self-defense class."

"You? And Natasha?"

"Yes. Nothing we haven't done before."

"You generally teach an advanced class and she works with those who survive that. Are you sure you can scale it back for a group of beginners?" he asked.

"I think we can manage. Besides, Pepper and Darcy have already had some basics, so it's really more of a refresher. Being aware of your surroundings, how you carry yourself. Knowing what to do if something does happen. Using what you have on you. Basic moves."

"That might ease Tony's mind somewhat, I suppose," he commented.

"It helped that he backed off a little bit," she replied. "I'm assuming that you guys had a bit of a talk with him about that."

Nick grunted noncommittally and Maria raised her head to look at him.

"What's that supposed to mean? Did you talk to him or not?"

"Of course we did," he assured her, "but it's difficult when we all know exactly how he feels." He shifted his position so he could look her in the eye. "You can't understand how hard it is, knowing the woman that you love could be in danger."

She propped herself up on her elbow to give him an incredulous look. "I can't understand? Do you think that feeling protective of the people that you love is the sole prerogative of the male of the species?"

"Of course not."

"Can you imagine how Pepper felt watching Stark manhandle a nuclear missile into a portal leading to alien space? A nuclear missile, Nick!"

"I know."

"And Nat. Do you know that when Loki had control of Clint, I had to threaten her to make her eat something? If things had gone on much longer, I would have been requisitioning a tranquilizer gun to get her to rest for a few hours."

"What do you have to threaten her with?" he asked curiously, propping himself up to look at her.

She hesitated a moment, then shook her head. "That's not the point." She continued her narrative. "Then there was May's reaction to Phil's death. I know you saw a whole lot of damage reports after the battle, so you probably didn't realize that one of them was miles away from the action. She completely destroyed one of the work out areas at the base where she was stationed. And I don't think you want to know what she threatened to do to you when she found out the truth."

"She told me a few of them," he told her.

"Not everything, or you'd be wearing a codpiece," she replied.

"That would put a damper on our recent activities," he said.

"What she had in mind would have made it pretty much impossible," she answered.

"Ah."

"Exactly." She reached out, her fingers lightly tracing the bullet scar on his chest. "And this..." She looked him in the eye. "Nick, you have no idea what a basket case I was when you got shot. Phil can tell you."

"From the all the reports I read, it seems like you handled everything just perfectly."

"I had to," she told him. "Focusing on the details of what needed to be done was the only thing that kept me from completely losing my mind with worry. I kept telling myself that you'd have my ass when you recovered if I messed up."

"Actually, the thought of having your ass was a big help in my recovery," he remarked with a leer, lightly smacking at the aforementioned anatomy.

Irritated, she reached back and grabbed his hand. "I'm serious, Nick. When Phil told me that you had a gunshot wound to the chest and were unconscious, I felt like my heart stopped and I couldn't breathe. I kept thinking about how much you had changed me life and about all the things that I had been afraid to admit to you...to myself."

Hearing the tears threatening in her voice, he pulled her onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her. He held her close, gently kissing the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he whispered softly. "I had no idea."

"No idea?" she repeated, raising her head to glare at him. He expression was angry. "Do you really think that I wouldn't be affected by what happens to you? Do you really think that I could lose you and just shrug my shoulders and go on with my life?"

She pushed away from him, sitting up on the bed to stare down at him. "Is that what you'd do if something happened to me?"

"Of course not." His stomach clenched at the very thought and his face reflected that emotion.

"You think that you mean less to me than I mean to you?"

His response was to pull her back to him.

"We've both attended too many funerals, written too many condolence letters to families to know that it's not outside of the realm of possibility that one of us could be killed in the line of duty," she mumbled into his chest.

His arms tightened around her.

"Yeah, I know."

She raised her head to look at him again. "When that really hit me, I almost walked away from you. I thought ending it then would hurt less than losing you at some point down the road."

"Why didn't you?" he asked, running his fingers through her silky hair.

"I realized it was already too late," she told him with a tremulous smile. "Even if I walked away from you, it would still hurt if something were to happen to you. I figured I would focus on enjoying the time that we have."

"I guess that's all any of us can do," he agreed.

"The risks we face are a part of the lives we've chosen. As much as I might worry less if you sold insurance or something, you wouldn't be happy and you wouldn't be you."

He nodded agreement. "Likewise. Besides, there's always the possibility we could beat the odds, die in our beds of old age."

"Like I said, I'll enjoy whatever time we have." She grinned cheekily. "Even if it is only a few years, old man."

"Oh yeah," he countered, quickly rolling over and pinning her underneath himself. "I didn't hear any complaints about the old man a few minutes ago."

"No," she concurred. "I don't think any of the noises I was making were complaints." She pulled his head down for a deep kiss. His hands moved down her body, eliciting more noises.

Those were definitely not complaints, either.

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Thank you so much for your time, readers. I know it was a bit short, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please take a moment to drop me a review, it you're so inclined. I appreciate you all. You're the dryer-fresh sheets on my bed!