Greetings once more, dear readers. I'm hoping this new chapter finds everyone well. I know it's been a while, and I apologize (again). It's been a busy time of year, with vacation and trying to get the kids ready to head back to school. I'm hoping that others have been equally busy and that that is the reason reviews seem to have dropped off and not that readers have lost interest.

For those who missed it, I recently posted a Chapter 25.5 of this story (plain and simple smut) at the request of BlackHawk's Child. If you're interested in that sort of story, please check it out. If not, don't worry. It doesn't include much in the way of plot development. It's just fluff and sex.

keamlkntl: Always glad to make someones morning. The Muse finally talked me into posting her idea (Secrets in a Cardboard Box) and is now bugging me with another idea. Glad you liked 25.5 as well. Here's more Risks. I hope it was worth waiting for.

BlackHawk's Child: Thank you. I had actually been considering another .5 chapter here but wasn't sure if there was any interest left. Thanks for the encouragement and for the review for it as well.

Jokerang: I'm glad they're working as a couple for you. I had some reservations as first myself, but like them better the more I write them. She's such a fun character to write and a challenge to write a relationship that preserves her strength and toughness. Though I'm not telling you anything you don't know. Any readers interested in Maria and a interesting OC, check out this author. Well worth the read.

sailorraven34: Thanks. I really enjoyed writing the scenes with out little spy group.

Guest: Thank you, kindly. Your kind words are food to a writer's soul. I try to make a special effort to keep the character personalities true. There are few things I find more annoying than stories where you recognize nothing about them than their names.

Funkpen1: Next chapter ready to go. I hope it was worth the wait.

Risks 26

Maria Hill listened to the report of the agent walking next to her as she skimmed the information on the data pad. She nodded, asking a few questions, then signed off of the report and sent him on his way.

As she continued down the corridor, her mind went to Nick, wondering how he was faring in his meeting with the council. The call had come in early that morning.

His presence was expected in council meeting room immediately. Absolutely no interruptions under any circumstances. He handed her his phone. Most calls would go to his secretary or his voice mail, but she would need to deal with the most important ones.

"Come get me if World War III breaks out," he told her.

"Not entirely sure they'd consider that reason enough," she replied.

With a grunt that didn't disagree, he had headed out.

Nick's phone vibrated and she took it out, glancing at the screen.

Ronnie.

She wondered what Nick's daughter was calling about. She knew that his family had two different numbers for him. One for normal use, one for emergencies only. If she was calling this number, it must be something urgent.

Taking a deep breath, she answered the phone.

"Hill."

There was a brief silence on the line. "I'm trying to reach Nick Fury. Is this the right number?"

"It is," Maria assured her. "Unfortunately, Director Fury is unavailable at the moment."

"I see. Do you know when he might be available?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really sure." She decided to reach out. "Is this his daughter?"

"Yes," the woman admitted hesitantly.

"My name is Maria Hill. I'm the Deputy Director. Is there something I can help you with?"

She could almost hear Veronica considering. "It's a personal matter," she confessed.

"Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

She had a son, right? What was his name?"

"Is Jake okay?"

She heard a sharp intake of breath.

"The doctors think so, but I'm not so sure."

Maria waved off the agent waiting for her and headed for her office.

"What happened?"

"He was riding his bike with some friends, doing tricks and stuff? Somehow, he fell. He got pretty scraped up. What really worries me, though, is that he hit the handlebars pretty hard on his stomach. The doctor in the ER checked him over and said that he doesn't think there are any internal injuries."

"That's good," Maria said.

"Do you have children, Ms Hill?"

"No. No I don't."

"I just have this really strong feeling that something is seriously wrong. The doctor just checked manually and I think they need to do a scan."

"Will they not do one?"

"The problem is that we're on vacation and the hospital they brought him to is out of network so our insurance won't pay for it here. They said that he would need to be transported to another hospital about an hour away for them to cover it since it's not an emergency. They'll do it here, but they need payment up front," she explained.

"How much do you need?"

Veronica told her. "We have the money, it's just tied up right now and it will take a couple of days to free it up. I tried to call Kyle, but he and his family are traveling right now. I don't know if my dad has that much available for a loan, but I just didn't know where to turn."

Maria wasn't sure about Nick's finances, either. They had never really discussed their financial situations. She could probably hack his accounts, but it would take time that didn't need to be wasted. Besides, whether he had it or not, she knew she had it.

She sat down at her desk and pulled up her banking information. "What do I need to do to get the money to the hospital?" she asked.

Veronica passed her phone to a woman from the accounting department who gave Maria the information to get the funds transferred. Once the transaction was completed, she handed the phone back to the other woman.

"Please let my dad know how much I appreciate this and that I will get it back to him as soon as we can get the money freed up."

"Don't worry about it, Veronica. Just focus on getting Jake taken care of and keep your father updated on how he's doing," she told her.

"Will do," she promised, thanking her again before ending the call.

She returned to the business of the day, hunting down the agent who had been waiting for her earlier and listening to his report.

It was another couple of hours before Nick called her to his office.

"As much fun as you anticipated?" she asked, taking in his irritation.

"More so," he told her. "Just more of their nonsense. Trying to focus on the wrong things." She could tell her was frustrated. "Nothing to worry about. Anything important happen while I was holding their hands?" he asked.

She quickly brought him up to date on SHIELD business, then told him about the call from Ronnie.

"You haven't heard any more about how he's doing?" he asked.

Maria shook her head. "I'm sure she'll let you know."

He nodded, his face still showing his concern. "So, you managed to get into my account to get the money for her?"

"I figured that would take time and they needed to get started as soon as possible. Besides, I wasn't sure that you would even have it readily available" she told him.

"Where did you get it, then?" She knew his mind had gone to the SHIELD discretionary funds that she had access to.

"Don't worry. I didn't have to resort to anything that could cause me problems," she told him.

"I wasn't worried," he said, but she could see that the thought had crossed his mind. "Where did you get it?"

"One of my own accounts."

"Yours?"

"Much easier than trying to find it somewhere else."

He studied her. "You have that kind of money just sitting there in 'one of' your accounts?" he asked.

"I like to keep a pretty good amount liquid in case of emergencies," she answered with a shrug. When he continued to stare at her, she sighed.

"Back when I was a teenager, I hired an attorney to go to court to be granted emancipation and to change my name. He did some research and found that my mother had set up a college fund for me as well as a pretty substantial trust fund. He was able to get that released to me as well. I started playing around with it...investing in the markets. Did pretty well."

She snorted and shook her head. "Apparently, I inherited some of Walsh's instincts in that area."

Nick nodded.

"Anyway, the end result is that I have a pretty decent amount of money set aside. Several investment accounts, savings in different banks around the world, as well as a stash of cash and valuables hidden away somewhere."

"Got myself a rich woman, huh?"

Shrugging, she answered. "I'm not in Tony Stark's financial circles, but we'd be okay if we wanted to quit our jobs and run away to hide in some quiet little corner of the world."

"Good to know."

She eyed him speculatively. "Should I be worried that you're interested in my money?"

"Nah. I'm much more interested in your body," he told her with a leer.

He got the laugh he wanted, then turned serious. "Really. What's yours is yours. I'm fine with keeping everything separate. Though it would probably be a good idea to set things up so you can deal with things like this, should the need arise again."

She nodded. "Probably a good idea. Phil has my financial power of attorney, but it makes sense to put you on there, too."

It was only a few minutes later when Nick's phone rang.

"It's her," he told Maria, putting it on speaker as he answered.

"How's Jake doing?" he asked.

"Recovering," she told him. "We had a close call, but he's going to be okay."

"Thank goodness."

"They did the scans and found that his spleen and bowels were injured. There were some small perforations. They took him into surgery immediately and were able to get them repaired." She choked back a sob. "We could have lost him, Dad. If we had tried to transport him, there's a good chance that all the bouncing would have caused a rupture. If we hadn't insisted they do the scans..."

"But you did, Ronnie. You stood up for him and they found the problem and fixed it. You can't think about all the things that could happen or could have happened or you'll go nuts."

"I know. But if you hadn't been able to loan us the money, I don't know what would have happened. I just don't think I could bear it. Thank you so much."

He smiled at Maria, but before he could explain, Veronica continued.

"Oh, and the lady from the hospital said that since it turned out that it really was an emergency, the insurance should cover everything at the preferred rate, so we should be able to pay you back soon."

"It's not urgent. Focus on your son right now."

"Speaking of the money. It worked out really well, but do you think it's a good idea for one of your coworkers to access your money?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"We were actually just talking about that. At present, she doesn't. Nor does anyone else. This let me know that I need to remedy that."

"So, then where did the money come from?" she asked, puzzled.

Maria shook her head, but Nick ignored her.

"From Commander Hill."

There was a brief silence. "Let me get this straight. Someone who works for you loaned a large sum of money to a total stranger just because I'm your daughter. Is she bucking for a promotion or something?" she asked.

"I hope not," he answered with a laugh. "The only job above hers is mine."

"Except..." Veronica pondered. "I'm not a total stranger to her. She knew who I was. She knew I was your daughter. She knew about Jake. When Kyle was there a few months ago, he mentioned meeting your new girlfriend. Is that her, Dad?"

"What did he say?" Nick asked guardedly.

"Just that you have to keep it quiet because of work, but that she's tough and dedicated to her work, seems to love you as much as you love her, and that you're happier than he's ever seen you," she told him, a smile in her voice.

Fury smiled softly at the woman across the desk from him and she responded in kind.

"I'd say that's a pretty accurate assessment," he replied.

"So, that's her? Commander Hill?"

"Maria Hill. And, yes, that's her."

"Sounds like it's pretty serious."

"Definitely."

"And when are we going to get to meet her?"

Nick saw Maria's expression turned panicked. He smiled reassuringly.

"I don't know. You know the risks. I have made a lot of enemies over the years and I don't want to put my family in danger from people looking to get back at me."

"I know, Dad, and I understand. What you do is really important. I appreciate all you do, for the country and for us. I just wish we could spend a little more time with you."

"Me, too, baby girl."

Veronica sniffed. "Sorry, dad. I guess this close call has gotten me thinking about how fast time is passing and how we never know what's going to happen."

Maria sat silently, watching and listening. She had seen Nick interacting with his son several months back, but this softness with his daughter was something new and different. It tugged at something inside of her.

Somehow, she just knew that this was the way it should be.

"I'll do my best," he promised softly. "I miss you, too."

"Thanks, Dad. For everything. And, let Maria know that we'll be getting her money back to her in a few days."

Maria waved dismissively, indicating that she wasn't worried about it.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I'll square up with Maria. You just focus on taking care of Jake."

"Will do. Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, Ronnie Roo."

He disconnected the call, looking over at his fiancee and watching her reaction.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "There' no worry about the money. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, they can keep it for college or whatever. I certainly don't need it."

Nick laughed. "We're not even married yet and you're already spoiling the grandkids, Grandma."

She looked up, startled. "Grandma?"

"I'm a father and a grandfather, so when we're married..."

He watched as she processed the thought.

"You knew that, right?"

"I guess I hadn't really thought about things beyond you and me. But they're still a part of you, even if you don't interact on a daily basis," she commented.

"Does that bother you?"

She took a deep breath and looked at him. "It scares me," she admitted. "I met your son and have talked to your daughter. They're all grown up, and I think we can deal with each other okay. The grandkids, though. They're kids. I don't know the first thing about being around kids. And grandkids? What does that involve? What are grandparents supposed to do?"

"I'm guessing you didn't know yours?" he asked.

She shook her head.

She had been working on a family tree project for school and had questioned her father. He had sat there studying her without speaking for several moments.

"Of course you have grandparents, you stupid little bitch. But you can't imagine that they'd want anything to do with you after you killed your mother, can you? You're lucky that I'm taking care of you when what I really wanted to do was drown you."

In the end, she had made up a few names and some background to fill in the blanks and left it at that.

"Me either," he told her. "I met my dad's father once. He was a nasty old man. My sister, Anne, is the only grandparent I've really seen in action and she's more of a parent."

"What do you do with Jake and Kyle's girls?"

"I see them every few months. Occasional calls and e-mails. Send a little something on their birthdays and Christmas. Actually, I send some money to their moms and ask them to pick out something. In other words, not much. I'm as bad at being a grandfather as I am at being a father."

"You've go my father beat by a long shot."

"Small comfort there," he responded. "Why are you asking? Are you thinking you might want to meet them all?"

"I suppose I should. Sometime. That night when I met Kyle? He was talking on the phone to his wife about meeting me. He said something about me not really being grandmother material. That I'd be more likely to take the kids to a gun range than shopping and to teach them to kill a man barehanded than I would to teach them to knit."

Nick considered a moment. "Actually, I'm thinking that might be a good thing. I kind of like the idea of them knowing how to take care of themselves."

Maria laughed. "That's what he said, too. I just kind of want to know what I should do and how I should act when I do finally get around to meeting them."

"Just be yourself, Maria. Treat them like normal people."

"I don't know any normal people," she reminded him.

"True enough," he conceded. "Just listen. Like when you're out in the field and trying to get close to someone to get information from them. Learn about what's important to them."

"I could do that."

He continued. "After all, they're old enough to interact. It's not like they're infants and need to be taken care of."

"That's good. I might be able to deal with older kids, but absolutely no babies."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to one soon enough."

She looked up at him. "Why? Are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?"

Laughing, he shook his head. "No, but Pepper is. Which means that there's a very good chance she's going to be having a baby in a few months."

"So?"

"It will be living in the Tower. We spend time there."

"Yes, but don't people usually hire nannies and keep them tucked away in a nursery or somewhere away from real people?"

Remembering what she had told him about her childhood, he wasn't sure whether she was joking or not. "No, Maria. Normal people don't do that. And even though Stark isn't exactly normal, I'm pretty sure that he and Pepper are going to be very involved, hands-on parents, considering their own childhood experiences."

"Probably so."

"Meaning that the kid will probably be there some when we're all together in the common areas. Having parties. Decompressing."

"You don't think they'll try to make me hold it or anything, do you?" she asked.

He chuckled.

"I could drop it. Or hurt it somehow. And they're messy, aren't they? Fluids from both ends?"

"Maria. You've handled hair-triggered explosive devices with steady hands. You've been in battles where you've crawled through mud and slime and...other stuff..."

"Yeah," she agreed, "but that was different. I've been trained for that. Most of that. And what I wasn't trained for, I just did because I had to."

"And you would do the same if you had to with a baby." She started to protest, but he held up a hand. "However, I currently cannot imagine any scenario where you would be called on to take responsibility for baby Stark. He or she will have it's parents. There will most likely be a full time nanny and probably one or two part time or on call nannies as well. And other members of the household would probably step in to help if needed."

"You think I can get away with an occasional 'cute kid' comment and never have to actually touch it?"

"No guarantees," he told her. "A lot of things that I thought were absolutes a few years have proven otherwise, so I've decided to put nothing outside the realm of possibility."

"Like us being together?" she asked.

"Definitely would not have predicted that a few years ago," he replied with a smile. "Or talking about introducing you to my family."

"Or having someone call me 'Grandma,'" she added, glaring at him.

"Did I neglect to mention 'the sexiest, toughest, smartest, most drop dead gorgeous bad ass grandma ever to walk the face of the earth?'" he said quickly.

"Yes, you did neglect to mention those words. Nice save, though."

He shrugged. "Hey. In this line of work, you don't live to be as old as I am by being stupid."

"You're not old and not stupid," she protested.

"Certainly not stupid anyway."

"No. I have heard you called many things, Nick Fury, but 'stupid' had never been mentioned."

"So. Family," he stated. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath and looked at him.

"I'm not suggesting we jump on a plane today, but the next time we have business in that area. Hopefully fairly soon."

There was a glimmer of hope in his eye.

Finally, she nodded. "Soon," she agreed.

And that is another chapter wrapped. Thank you for taking the time to read. Please let me know me know what you thought about it. Reviews equal motivation for this writer. I love hearing what you think about my flights of fancy.

Let's see what my Muse wants to work on next. My mind is working on birth stories, death stories, funerals, and weddings, for different stories, but all of them are down the road a ways. Stroll is fighting me a bit right now. There are a couple of different ideas on where to take Alternative. The last chapter of Complications didn't seem to go over well, so that may need some major rethinking or just drop it. Secrets in a Cardboard Box was conceived as a one shot, but I've had an idea or two about expanding on it if I can decide on a pairing. Or there's that other one shot idea that's been fermenting in a dark little corner of my brain.

Sorry. I can't seem to help rambling. Again, thanks for reading.