When she opened her eyes again, Jak was staring at the ceiling of the infirmary. She heard voices nearby and closed her eyes again so that she could listen.

"...situation under control," Steve was saying, "It won't happen again."

"Under control? So you caught the guy? Because last I checked, he's nowhere to be seen," Tony Stark retorted, "If he really is who you think, then you'd better get to him before I do, Cap."

"He's not himself. I need to talk to him, to snap him out of it. I just need-"

"I need to keep my people safe," Tony said, somehow managing to sound serious and snarky at the same time, "If I see him again, I'll put a blast right through him. He is not getting away with trying to kill my janitor."

"He wasn't going to kill her," Steve replied, sounding tired.

"How do you know? He gave her a concussion, didn't he? What's to say he wasn't going to cut her throat next?"

"If he wanted her dead, we'd be planning a burial right now, not rescheduling her parole hearing."

A shiver ran down Jaklyn's spine, even though the attacker had told her plainly that he wasn't going to kill her. Whoever the man with the metal arm was, it sounded like Steve Rogers knew him. Worse, it almost seemed like he was defending him.

"Fine. He wasn't going to kill her. But he wasn't sitting down for tea with her either. If he shows up, you'd better get to him first," Tony warned again, "Because if I don't end him, Loki will."

The green blast of energy… it must have been Loki, Jak decided. Perhaps he'd been nearby and heard her calling for help. Or maybe Friday hadn't been as disabled as the intruder thought and sent word of the danger. Jaklyn wondered where Loki had gone if he'd actually been the one to save her. Why wasn't he there, arguing with Steve and Tony?

"He was here earlier," Wanda's voice whispered from nearby. Jak's eyes flew open and spotted the other woman at the foot of the bed, a small smile on her otherwise worried face. "Dr. Cho made him leave because he kept getting in the way."

"Jaklyn," Steve stopped fighting Tony for a minute and hurried to the bedside. He put his hand on the headboard and smiled tiredly down at her, "You gave us a scare."

"Hey kid, don't even worry about the parole board hearing, okay?" Tony said, "I explained what happened and it's all rescheduled. Are you feeling alright? You want something to eat? You ever tried shawarma?"

"No food for her yet," Dr. Cho stepped into the scene, tablet in hand. "Give her some space to breathe, she is probably confused."

"Right," Tony nodded and took a step back, "Sorry kid."

"Mr. Stark, I'm more than two hundred years older than you," Jak laughed, though it sent a splitting pain through her head, "I'm not a kid."

"Yeah, yeah, you're ancient," Tony dismissed, "How do you feel? Do you remember your name? Your birthday? Who is the president?"

"My mother never let me get involved in politics," she sighed, pressing her palms to her eyes, "After the excitement of George Washington, I never really knew who the president was."

Wanda laughed at this and Dr. Cho seemed impressed.

Jak supposed her statement wasn't entirely true. She remembered hearing her father's associates curse the name of Franklin Roosevelt. And she'd heard about the Kennedy assassination… well before it actually happened.

"We've got to get you registered to vote," Steve muttered, "It's your civic duty."

"At this moment, we need to get her healed first," Dr. Cho leaned forward and gently pressed the back of Jak's head. "It is not a serious concussion, but I want to monitor you for a few days before you get back to work. No climbing on ladders."

"I've already got a temp in for you," Tony piped up, "You can take as much time as you need."

"Loki will want to know she's awake," Wanda said, giving Jak a sly wink, "I will go tell him."

"Tell him, but do not let him back in here," Dr. Cho frowned, "He keeps trying to cast a spell on her even though I told him that she will heal on her own."

"What… what did he do to the intruder?" Jak asked, "I saw magic."

"We're not really sure what he did," Tony put his hands on his hips, "But it scared the guy off and made him drop you. The cameras were out in that room and Friday's speaker's were disabled so all we know is what Loki told us and for once, he's not being chatty."

"Can I see him?"

"No," Dr. Cho said firmly, "In fact, you should not even be talking to these others. You need to give your brain a rest from stimulation while you heal. Everyone out."

Tony nodded and gave Jak one last pitying, worried look before he left. Wanda was close behind, waving goodbye. Steve lingered at the bedside for a moment longer. Before he left, he reached down and gently squeezed her hand. Then the doctor shooed him away and began checking Jak's vitals.

.

It was another day before Jak saw anyone besides Dr. Cho. Eventually, while the doctor was off at some virtual meeting with her team in Korea, Loki snuck into the infirmary, disguised as one of Dr. Cho's assistants. He dropped the glamor once he was sure they were alone and then smiled toothily at Jak, who was enjoying a sandwich when he appeared. She nearly choked on her food when he revealed himself and had to spit out the bite of bread, lettuce, and turkey in what she was sure was a very attractive fashion.

"I know you've been dying for my company, but please don't actually die after I went to all that trouble to save you," Loki offered her a silk handkerchief that she used to wipe her face of crumbs and mayonnaise.

"You scared me," she accused, "You're not allowed in here."

"The places I am not allowed are generally the best places to be," he swept closer to her and sat gracefully at the foot of the bed, long fingers fiddling with the stitching on the hem of the sheet. "Helen Cho said it would be an entire week before she let me see you."

"I'm supposed to be resting," Jak replied, though her head had stopped hurting after the last time she slept and she was beginning to feel restless. She'd had a few concussions in her long life, but she'd never been so thoroughly coddled before. It felt infantilizing. And boring.

"Yes. And you will continue doing so until the doctor clears you to do anything else," Loki replied, turning to stare at her, "But I don't think one visit from your daring hero will set your healing back too much, do you?"

"Daring hero indeed," Jak set her sandwich and the handkerchief to the side and crossed her arms. "Thank you, by the way."

"My pleasure," he gave a small bow from where he was seated, "And of course now that you owe me a life debt-"

"Ha."

"Well, can I at least convince you to have that picnic with me once you are well again? That is all the thanks I require."

"I already said no. The concussion didn't make me forget that."

Loki sighed dramatically and gave her a withering look. "If I weren't such a gentleman, I would say that I should have let that intruder take you. But as I am so well rehabilitated, I will accept your decision with decorum."

"I wonder what he wanted," Jak murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest, "Steve thinks that if he wanted to kill me I'd be dead."

"He didn't say who sent him I suppose?" Loki's fingers began tapping rapidly on the mattress, "I nearly had him, but he was a wily one. I only managed to leave my knife in his shoulder."

"You stabbed him?" Jak asked, impressed.

"Yes, and he stabbed me right back," Loki lifted his shirt to show a bandage stuck to his side. Jak leaned forward, holding her breath at the sight of his exposed skin, but trying to focus on the wound.

"Are you okay? It must not be very deep if you're walking around like normal."

"Oh it was," Loki tucked his shirt back in and smiled smugly when he noticed the disappointment on her face, "I heal much faster than you humans do. It's nothing more than an inconvenience."

"Too bad," she tsked, "If it were a really bad wound, I might be guilted into going on that date with you. But if you are so powerful, I'm sure you were never really in any danger at all."

He frowned at her and crossed his arms. After a few moments of silence, he smiled again.

"Your hearing has been rescheduled. It won't be long now before we can begin with your lessons," he leaned in closer, hands on either side of her. "Won't that be fun?"

She felt her cheeks burn red, but she didn't break eye contact with him, despite the chill that ran through her veins whenever he got this close. Her tongue felt like a dry sponge and her brain, though abuzz with activity, could not process a coherent thought.

"Fun," she nodded, finally. She was gathering enough cognition to speak again when one of his hands left the bed and traced up and down her arm.

"We'll be spending lots of time together once this wretched dampening cuff is off," his fingers wrapped around the device and squeezed. He could have broken it if he wanted to. Jaklyn knew how strong he was. It would have been like cracking an egg to him. But he let go and resumed lightly trailing his hand along her arm until she was able to force herself to pull away from him, breath catching in her throat. His smile widened and he leaned back again.

"And, of course, with this maniac out to get you, I just wouldn't feel right leaving your side," he looked down his nose at her, beautiful eyes piercing into her, "I'll be your tutor and your bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard," she said. She wasn't sure she could survive him following her everywhere she went all the time. Especially because, when he wasn't making her flustered, he was irritating her.

"Oh certainly not," he said, voice heavy with sarcasm, "And I'm sure the assassin will just leave you alone now."

"Well," she crossed her arms and raised her chin, "If you scared him off as well as everyone thinks, then maybe he will stay away. Besides, he's not going to be able to break into the Compound again. Mr. Stark will make sure of that."

"And what of when you leave the Compound? Your hearing is going to be in Manhattan after all. In a city like that, anything can happen. I'll be going with you to make sure nothing does."

"You really think my parole hearing will go more smoothly if I have an alien warlord there with me?" She scoffed, "Maybe Dr. Banner was right. You are crazy."

Jak felt a pang of sadness when she remembered that Bruce Banner had disappeared almost two years ago, after fighting Ultron. No one had any idea what happened to him or the Quinjet he'd been flying. It was as if he simply vanished from existence.

He'd always been kind to her and kept her in the loop about all of the latest Avengers gossip.

"I'll go in disguise."

"That will make it ten times worse if you're caught! You aren't going."

"I am never caught," he said in a dangerous voice, "I am the god of tricks, lies, and mischief. The only times I have been caught it has been because I mistakenly trusted the wrong people."

He stood and towered over her, but his voice still slithered in her ear as if he were a devil on her shoulder.

"Are you saying I can't trust you, my dear janitor?"

The word "janitor" should never have been used as a pet name in the entire history of the world. But somehow, it still sent a shiver down Jak's spine.

"Well," she cleared her throat and did her best to channel the cold confidence her mother always possessed when speaking with people she considered beneath her. "Since it's my neck on the line, it doesn't really matter, now does it? If you present at my hearing, it is I who will have to trust you. And the fact of the matter is that I don't, my dear prince."

"So you are as wise as you are beautiful," he laughed, sounding like a true villain, "Very well. I will not accompany you to the hearing, but neither will Captain Rogers."

Jak thought of how it sounded like Steve was defending her would-be kidnapper. She frowned.

"That's fine by me."

"Good," Loki purred, "As much fun as your stubbornness is, Jaklyn, it is nice to see a bit of accommodation as well."

"I think instead of Steve, I'll ask Thor to go with me," she replied and then discreetly hit the button on her bed to summon one of the infirmary staff.

Loki's face twitched in annoyance, but just as he opened his mouth to make a retort, Dr. Cho herself entered the room and shooed him away, angrily scolding him in Korean.

"Neon choeag-iya! Jal-ga!"*

To the surprise of both women, Loki replied: "joesonghaeyo".*

Dr. Cho blinked in surprise and then a small smile graced her lips.

"Does Thor speak Korean too?"

"Not as well as I," Loki gave an exaggerated bow and then looked at Jak, "There are a great many areas where my brother is inferior to myself."

"Hmm, but he is more handsome," Dr. Cho decided and closed the door to the infirmary in Loki's face. Jaklyn couldn't help but laugh at that.

*(You are the worst! Bye!)

**Sorry

A note from the author:Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it! If anyone is curious about the timeline of this story, it takes place several months before the events of CACW.

Special thanks to kimmieg1018 for your review! :)

Until next time!