Fated Marks

I walked into the house through the back door. Rebekah was talking to John in the kitchen.

“Hey Beks any chance I might be able to shower?” I asked.

“Of course, I have an entire closet of clothes I’m never going to wear again.” She said.

“Not so fast.” John said pulling out a chair. “Sit. Time for a check up.”

“I already had a check up, doctor said I was fine.” I said.

“Humor me.” John said.

“You’re worrying for nothing.” I said.

“Twenty fours hours ago you were in a coma.” Natasha deadpanned.

“Hales, Please just get looked over.” Clint said.

“We don’t know what your mom drugged you with.” Tony said and I shot him a glare.

“What are you talking about? Your mum’s dead.” Rebekah said and we all exchanged awkward looks. “She is dead right?”

“Apparently not…” I said.

“Bloody hell does anyone stay dead anymore?” She said before we heard screams from the barn.

“Hopefully that one sticks.” I said.

“Ehem…” John said.

“Fine.” I said sitting down as he started checking my vitals.

“Don’t cross your legs, I’m checking your blood pressure.” John said as he put a cuff on my arm.

“So you want to tell us exactly what happened?” Tony asked.

“Where do you want me to start?” I asked.

“Blood pressure’s normal.” John said taking off the cuff.

“What happened after you woke up?” Bruce asked.

“Pretty much what you’re seeing right now.” I said.

“Follow the pen. What’s your name?” John said.

“Which one?” I asked and he just gave me a look. “Hayley Elizabeth Adams.”

“Birthday?” He asked moving his finger.

“April fourteenth.” I answered.

“Name your soulmates from oldest to youngest.” He said.

“Thor, Bucky, Steve, Bruce, Tony, Clint, Natasha.” I said.

“And the Russian you tased?” Clint asked.

“Kidnapped us from the hospital.” Will answered.

“What?!” They all exclaimed.

“Squeeze my fingers as hard as you can.” John said. I did and he nodded.

“Russians sent a squad. I saw them through the security cameras and I got Will so we could make a run for it but Demitri intercepted us. Got the rest of them away and drove both of use to some dive bar in Jersey. He and his boss wanted us to help them find Hadrian because he’s apparently been causing trouble for them for over a year. I said no but they were very insistent.” I said.

“Pretty sure they were a few seconds away from shooting one of us.” Will said.

“They wouldn’t have shot us.” I said.

“She’s right… they probably would have broken a few bones to scare you.” Rebekah said. “Why do you think they call Demitri the bone doctor?”

“Honey, I think we should give them a minute.” John said.

“Of course. Will can you help me get some clothes for Hayley?” Rebekah said.

“Sure.” Will said getting up and following them out of the kitchen.

“So…” I started.

“You got kidnapped?!” Steve started.

“More like I hitched a ride and if that hadn’t happened I wouldn’t be here, Will wouldn’t have tased Hadrian and John would be dead. Not only that but I negotiated a deal to end a mob war that’s been going on for over a decade and I’ve only been out of the coma for less than forty-eight hours.” I said.

“You were in a coma for over a year.” Natasha deadpanned.

“And now I’m back.” I said. “Look, there’s still a lot to work through, I get that but it’s been a long day, I’m wearing an I heart New York tee at least two sizes too big, I haven’t had an actual shower in over a year and I smell like a hospital. I need a shower so I’m going to head upstairs.”

“We’re not done talking about this.” Steve said.

“We never are.” I said walking out.

Third Person’s POV-

“Did she seem… oddly calm about everything?” Bruce said.

“She’s… well adjusted.” Natasha said. “All things considered.”

“Hayley woke up, Adler didn’t die and as it turns out neither did her mom. And there’s a killer robot on the loose. What a day?” Tony said.

“I’m still working on believing she’s actually here.” Clint said.

“Same.” Tony said. “Where’s terminator?”

“Bucky’s keeping watch. Making sure Adler doesn’t get out.” Steve said.

“How did he even get away the last time? I thought Hayley…” Bruce said. “You know.”

“She never said she killed him just that he was taken care of.” Natasha said.

“Hey.” John said walking in.

“Hey was everything okay with her?” Clint asked.

“About that…” John started.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked.

“Hayley was in a coma for almost sixteen months. She lost weight and most of that weight was from muscle loss.” John said.

“Muscle atrophy.” Bruce said. “She wasn’t moving so her muscles weren’t used. That’s normal.”

“It is but nothing about Hayley is normal. She shouldn’t be able to stand let alone run around cutting deals with the mob.” John said.

“You think it might have something to do with…” Clint asked Tony.

“We’d need to get her to the lab to know for sure.” Tony said.

“Know for sure what?” Steve asked.

“Hayley called her mom and she mentioned something about injecting her with a serum.” Tony said.

“What?!” Steve and Bruce exclaimed.

“She also said it was temporary and that she could be back in the coma in about a week.” Clint said. “It was a bluff, Adler confirmed it.”

“And we’re actually taking his word for it?” Steve said.

“No we’re taking Hayley’s.” Natasha said.

“She hasn’t been wrong all day.” Will said as he walked in.

“She upstairs?” Clint asked.

“In the shower.” Will said sitting down exhausted. “It’s been a really long day. Still processing the fact that she’s up and walking around instead of…”

“She’s here, that’s what matters. We’ll figure out the rest later.” Natasha said.

Hayley's POV-

I felt the water fall onto me, each droplet streaming down my skin. Suddenly it was as if I was falling from that cliff again and the water turned cold. I gasped for a bit before I realized I had used up all the hot water and it was time to get out.

I shut it off and then quickly wrapped a towel around me to try and get warm. I wiped the fog off the mirror and noticed again how thin I was. My collarbones were a lot more obvious than before. I was also really pale but considering I didn’t get any sun for over a year that was the least of my worries.

I slipped on the underwear Rebekah hadn’t gotten a chance to wear after she bought because of the pregnancy before slipping on the dark grey jogger pants. I pulled on the white tank top before quickly putting the black cardigan on my sleeves.

Something caught my eye in my reflection and I lifted my top up a bit. There it was my scar and about an inch to the right of it another scar. Smaller and round like a bullet wound. Used to hate it… now it reminds me I’m not in a coma.

“Hales,” Clint said knocking on the door. I had left it open a bit knowing someone was bound to come and check up on me. Clint peeked his head in and saw what I was looking at.

“What’s up?” I said pulling my shirt down and pulling on the cardigan all the way. He didn’t miss what I was hiding and frowned. I walked out of the bathroom and into the guest room. I grabbed a hairbrush Rebekah had left for me and started brushing my hair.

“Just checking up on you.” Clint said walking closer to me.

“I’m good.” I said smiling at him. He gently put his hands on my waist and slowly lifted my shirt up so he could get a better look at the scar.

“I got hit when we were attacking the last Hydra base,” Clint said lifting up his shit. “It was pretty bad but Doctor Cho fixed me up with her cradle. I’m made out of plastic now.”

“It’s actually a bio polymer that your skin grows on and as it does it dissolves the simulacrum.” I said touching his skin. “Can barely feel the difference.”

“You’d know, you were patient zero.” Clint said looking at my hand.

“It doesn’t bother me as much anymore.” I said getting at what he was trying to tell me. “I didn’t have it when I was in the coma, so just reminds me I’m awake and that this is real.”

“What do you mean?” Clint asked confused.

“When I was in the coma I was in a dream… limbo actually. Basically lived another life. I didn’t have a scar there because Hadrian died when I was four. In that reality anyway.” I said.

“What was it like?” He asked.

“Essentially what I imagined a perfect life would have been like if my mother wasn’t a drug and human trafficking with occasional arms dealing backstabbing bitch.” I said.

“Sounds perfect.” Clint said.

“It sucked.” I said. “Like genuinely all around horrible.”

“It can’t have been that bad.” Clint said.

“Take my work for it, it was.” I said. “I mean you were all they’re just not the same as you are here.”

“So we weren’t together?” Clint asked.

“You were my best friend who was divorced living with his dog down the hall and pining after me who was too blind to notice you were in love with me. Also you hooked up with Nat.” I said.

“I was in your dream?” He asked.

“You all were. Some things were pretty similar and others…” I said thinking of the fake engagement and almost wedding. “Not so much. My life while not perfect and not always easy… I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” I said hugging Clint. He smiled as he kissed me before kissing my forehead and just holding me.

“I thought I was going to lose you.” Clint said.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I said and he sighed. “What’s wrong?”

“There are these kids…” Clint said.

“Kids?” I asked.

“Not actual kids. They’re around your age. Enhanced,” He said. “They’re working with Ultron, one of them is the one that made the Hulk lose it.”

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“They’re young. They can still change their minds but if they don’t…” Clint said.

“It won’t come to that.” I said.

“Hales they…” Clint said and I kissed him.

“It’s not going to come to that because you won’t let it. I know you, you didn’t give up on Nat, you didn’t give up on me. People make mistakes sometimes all they need is a push in the right direction and some guidance.” I said. “And if you’re even mentioning them its because your mind’s already made up.”

“You have no idea how much I missed you.” He said hugging me as he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

“Missed you too, even if I didn’t know it.” I said. We stayed like that for a minute before there was a knock at the doorway.

“Hey.” Tony said.

“I’ll let you two talk.” Clint said kissing me again before walking out.

“Hey you.” I said.

“Guess you want to know how bad I screwed up.” Tony said.

“Well you essentially created skynet with a terminator body so I’d say pretty bad.” I said.

“It was supposed to be a peace keeping program.” Tony said.

“Ultron.” I said. “I vaguely remember the idea being tossed around in one of our lab marathons before Bruce and I shot it down because it sounded impossible.”

“It was… until we got the scepter.” Tony said.

“Tony you didn’t… wait we already know the answer to that.” I said before sighing. Tony just stayed quiet. “Did someone give you the man was not meant to meddle speech yet?”

“Thor kind of implied it when he picked me up in a choke hold.” Tony said.

“Course he did… Wait, where is Thor?” I asked.

“He flew off. Said he had to figure something out. The Maximoff girl made him see something.” Tony said.

“What’d she make you see?” I asked.

“I saw everyone die.” Tony said sitting down on the bed. That explained everything. Tony could pretend to be self-centered and it’s not a complete lie but he does genuinely care about everyone.

I put the brush down and went to sit next to him.

“Hey, that’s not going to happen.” I said.

“I created a robot that wants us extinct and is doing a pretty good job of staying ahead of us.” Tony said.

“Yeah, but he had to get his genius from someone and you made him. If anyone can beat him at his own game it’s you.” I said. “You’ve faced bigger foes, dug yourself out of bigger messes and carried a freaking nuke through a wormhole into outer space.” I said and he smirked at that last one. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

“You have no idea how much I missed you.” Tony said.

“I missed you too.” I said hugging him before pulling away. “You should get some sleep.”

“I need to think of a way…” He started.

“No. You’re taking a nap. I’m guessing you haven’t slept in days and you went head to head against the hulk. You need to recharge.” I said.

“I don’t want to.” He whined.

“Come on. I’ll nap with you.” I said kicking off my slippers.

“Hales…” He started.

“Just for an hour or two. You’re exhausted.” I said.

“You going to be here when I wake up?” He asked. I leaned over and kissed him.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I reassured him. He kicked off his shoes and lied on his back while I curled up to his side with my head resting on his shoulder. I draped my arm over his chest to hug him a bit and he exhaled kissing my forehead before slowly drifting off to sleep. I dozed of for bit but I started dreaming about the other life without any of them and I woke up gasping. Tony was still knocked out. I sat up and noticed something peeking up from the corner of the bed. I moved closer to get a better look when I heard giggles. 

I smiled before leaning over. “Hey you.” I said.

“SH!” Adam shushed before pointing at Tony who chose that exact moment to let out a loud snore. I got off the bed and kneeled next to him to see what Adam was playing with.

“Is that a train?” I asked.

“Thomas.” He said. “Choo choo.”

“And what’s the other one’s name?” I asked.

“Enri.” He said.

“Henry… huh.” I said before he picked up his toys and got up. He stood up and took my hand pulling me with him. I looked at him curiously but stood up and followed him. He led me down the hall to his room and there was definitely a theme going on. “Wow that’s a lot of trains.”

He ran to his table and started moving around some wooden blocks before running over to me and handing me a paper. I looked at it and saw that they were instructions to a train track.

“Need me to help build it?” I asked.

“Pleeese.” He said.

“Okay.” I said walking over and sitting by the table and looking at the wooden pieces. I started piling all the pieces that were the same together. Adam immediately did the same and just watched me work. He was quiet as he watched me put all the pieces together. About half way I asked him to start passing me pieces and he started talking. It was just little things but he didn’t stop smiling. “Okay last piece kiddo.” I said handing it to him.

He reached over and connected the tracks.

“Yay!” He cheered.

“Way to go buddy!” I said lifting my hand up for a high five that he met enthusiastically.

“Train.” He said quickly getting the trains on the track. He pulled out a wooden block.

“All aboad!” He exclaimed before blowing into the block, which I realized, was a train whistle. He turned them on and the trains started moving on the track.

“What’s going on in here?” Tony said leaning on the doorway.

“Hey did we wake you up?” I asked.

“Uh you just weren’t… next to me.” Tony said.

“Sorry, this little guy was playing on the floor by the bed.” I said. “You needed your sleep.”

“Yeah.” He said.

“Oh…” John said popping in. “Just coming to get Adam for his snack.”

“Apple?” Adam said.

“Your mum’s waiting for you downstairs.” John said.

“Okay.” He said getting up and running to his dad before stopping and running back to hug me.

“Oh.” I said surprised.

“Thank you Aunie.” He said before running back to his dad.

“You should probably come down and eat something." John said.

“Be down in a minute.” I said turning to Tony. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” He said nodding. “Needed that nap more than I thought I did.”

“I told you.” I said walking up to him. He smiled before hugging me.

“I was… I thought you’d be next to me when I woke up and when I didn’t see you I thought I was dreaming.” Tony admitted.

“Sorry.” I said. “Didn’t sleep for long, just couldn’t. You needed your sleep.”

“Come on, I could probably use a bite and so could you. When was the last time you ate?” Tony asked and at that moment my stomach growled.

“Uh… probably over a day ago.” I said not mentioning the shot of Vodka Anatoly made us all take.

“That settles that.” He said leading me downstairs.

The sun was starting to set and Clint, John and Bekah were moving around cooking dinner for everyone.

“You look better.” Rebekah said.

“Shower and a change of clothes does miracles.” I said. “What’s for dinner?”

“We’re having spaghetti and meatballs with a side salad and breadsticks.” Will said.

“Yum.” I said my mouth watering at the mention of food.

“You’re having vegetable broth.” John said putting a bowl with said broth in front of me.

“I am?” I asked confused.

“You haven’t had solid food in over a year, you have to work back up to solid foods first.” Bruce said. “Or you’ll make yourself sick.”

“She didn’t have a problem eating tacos.” Will said.

“You had tacos?” John asked.

“He snuck them in.” I said pointing at Will accusingly.

“After you asked me too.” Will said in his defense.

“I felt totally fine afterwards.” I said.

“Eat your broth and if you’re still hungry you can have a bit of salad or pasta.” John compromised.

“Deal.” I said blowing at my soup. Just as I was about to take the first spoonful the kitchen door opened and Demitri walked in covered in dirt and blood.

“Da.” He said before offering me his cell phone. “It’s for you.”

I took it before putting it on speaker and putting the phone on the table.

“Yes?” I answered in Russian.

“We had a deal, you kept your end of the bargain and we shall keep ours.” Oleg said.

“I want your word.” I said.

“Calliope Adler, you kept your end of the bargain and delivered your brother to us. Your debt and that of the Mikaelson family’s including Marcel’s debt is forgiven. You have my word that no harm shall come to them from us. You have my word.” Oleg said begrudgingly. Rebekah just looked at me with wide tear filled eyes.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Until the next time.” Oleg said.

“I’m officially retired.” I said and he chuckled.

“We’ll see about that.” He said before the line went dead.

I handed the phone back to Demitri.

“You have my gratitude as well. My family has justice for my uncle’s death. Hadrian died a long painful death before I disposed of him and pissed on his grave.” Demitri said with a smile. That’s when I noticed the sack in his hand with red blotches on it. I gave him a look before looking at him. “We needed more than just a picture to justify forgiving your debts. Figured his head would do nicely.”

“Yeah that’ll do the trick.” I said pushing the broth away.

“And no need to worry Rebekah, the barn is spotless.” Demitri said.

“Never worried about that.” Rebekah said with a grimace. “But thanks.”

“And the video?” Demitri said.

“Deleted along with the original.” I said and he frowned. “If I got into it do you think it’d be that hard for someone else to do it. And wait.” I said taking his phone and putting in a number and address for Delilah and Kol’s forger contact in Miami.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“It’s the contact info for a forger. His name’s Miguel. He’s a bit of an airhead and has a tendency to be very touchy if you’re a woman but he is the best at helping people disappear and start over.” I said. “It was almost impossible to find Delilah.”

“Why are you giving me this?” Demitri asked.

“Because despite everything you’re a good guy and you have a kid on the way.” I said and he sighed. “Don’t even bother trying to lie. You can’t honestly try to say that you’re okay with Anatoly raising them.”

“Bratva is for life, only way out is death.” Demitri said.

“Then fake a car accident, grab Magda and run.” I said. “Don’t be an idiot, take the out while you still can.”

He didn’t say anything just put his phone in his pants pocket.

“Stay out of trouble.” Demitri said.

“That’s the plan.” I said before he walked out.

“I’ll go drop him off a few states over. Shouldn’t be more than an hour.” Fury said walking out.

“So Hadrian’s dead, like for real this time?” Will asked.

“With all the blood on his clothes and the… head. Yeah.” Natasha confirmed.

“No more looking over our shoulders.” Rebekah told John. “For any of us. I need to call Kol! And Nik and … Oh I need to tell Marcel you’re awake!”

“Beks you might want to hold off on that while we’re still figuring things out. Though you should probably tell them there isn’t a price on their heads anymore.” I said.

“We’re back to nothing with Ultron.” Steve said.

“How exactly did you guys create him? It’s a pretty big jump from an AI like Jarvis to Skynet.” I said.

“It started with the scepter. After we ran analysis on it we realized it worked like an AI just more sophisticated.” Tony said handing me his phone.

“It looks like a neural synapse.” I said zooming in on it. “Was this a live feed?”

“Yeah.” Tony said.

“I thought so too except when we tried to replicate it by combining it with Jarvis’s analysis programs and interfacing it wouldn’t work. It was nowhere near what ultron is.” Bruce said.

“Well there’s your problem.” I said looking at the programming. “Computers are fast but they don’t adapt, a human brain on the other hand, it’s the fastest processor there is. It stores information receives information and outputs a response in nanoseconds. All the programming and coding you were giving it was way too simple and slow in comparison. It was reading it so fast it adapted and reacted. And you… of course you were throwing threat analysis programing.”

“It was supposed to be a peacekeeping program.” Tony said.

“So were the three insight Hellicarriers Hydra was planning on using to take out over twenty million people on the eastern seaboard.” I said. “I’m not saying what you were doing was wrong Tony, I’m saying how you went about it was wrong.”

“I’ll say.” Fury said walking back inside.

“So It took about a mid sized server farm to keep Jarvis running, say… about five hundred data banks worth of servers?” I asked.

“Five fifteen to be accurate.” Tony said.

“Each running at about a thousand terrabytes a minute… 16.7 terra per second… 8,583 terra per second with all servers total… wow he’s moving fast.” I said.

“You did that in your head?” Bruce said.

“Yeah, basic math.” I said with a shrug and everyone looked at me incredulously.

“Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing.” Fury said.

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve asked.

“Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though.” Fury said.

“He still going after launch codes?” Tony asked. “Hales, square root of 326,789.”

“Uh, 571, point 6546 ish.” I said.

“Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway.” Fury said.

“I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare.” Tony said.

“Middle school for me.” I said as Adam poked my arm to get my attention. He handed me a drawing of a butterfly from one of his stories he had mentioned earlier. I smiled and kissed his forehead before he ran off.

“Integral of sin to the fifth x times cosine x?” Tony asked and I arched an eyebrow confused about what math had anything to do with anything. The answer just came to me in seconds.

“Negative cosine squared over two plus cosine to the fourth over two plus cosine to the six over six plus C” I said.

“Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that.” Fury said ignoring the math talk.

“NEXUS?” Steve asked confused about both my answer and what the Nexus was.

“It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth.” Bruce explained.

“So what'd they say?” Clint asked.

“He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed.” Fury said.

“By whom?” Tony asked.

“Parties unknown.” Fury answered.

“Do we have an ally?” Natasha asked.

“Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is.” Fury said.

“I might need to visit Oslo, find our "unknown."” Tony said. “Limit of x to infinity of x times the natural log of x minus one minus the natural log of x”

“Tony.” Steve started.

“Negative one.” I said and Tony just exchanged concerned looks with Bruce.

“Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that.” Natasha said.

“I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.” Fury said.

“Steve doesn't like that kind of talk.” Natasha teased.

“You know what, Romanoff?” Steve retorted while Nat smiled mischievously at him.

“So what does he want?” Will asked.

“Well, if we’re going for the obvious. You guys made him to be a peace keeping programming so I’m guessing you included variable and threat analysis and based it on previous events?” I asked.

“Just a start. Told him to protect the planet.” Tony said.

“What’s the biggest threat to the planet? I’ll give you a hint, there’s over seven billion of us.” I said.

“Ultron is a computer but that’s too literal. That might be the endgame but there’s something else we’re missing.” Tony said.

“He wantsTo become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies.” Steve said.

“Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outdated. But he keeps coming back to it.” Tony said.

“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.” Natasha said.

“They don't need to be protected,” Bruce said reaching for the drawing. “They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve.”

“How?” Fury asked.

“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?” Bruce asked.

“The cradle along with the vibranium, and the scepter. He’s going full on terminator.” I said.

“I’ll give her a call.” Tony said.

“Either way we know where he’s headed. We can grab a few hours of sleep but we’re heading out before sunrise.” Steve said.

“Cubed root of 792345?” Tony asked and Steve gave him an annoyed look. Bruce kept his eyes on me for some reason.

“Aunie?” Adam said tugging my sleeve.

“92.5347 and then some.” I said before turning to Adam. “Yes sweetie?”

“Can you wead me a stowy?” He asked.

“Sure. Why don’t you go get ready for bed and pick out a story? I’ll be up in a bit.” I said he smiled before running to his mom and heading upstairs.

“What’s with the math homework?” Natasha asked but Tony stuck a hand up to get her to wait a minute.

“Left hand Reiman sum of x cubed plus pi over two with the interval of zero to twenty using twenty rectangles?” Tony asked.

“Tony what are you…” Clint said.

“10031.416.” I answered.

“Uh… Is that right?” Bruce asked and Tony flipped his phone screen to show that exact answer on his calculator.

“I’m good with numbers.” I said with a shrug before standing up. “Well I have a story to read. Let me know how we’re doing sleeping arrangements.”

With that I headed upstairs. I got there just as Adam had finished brushing his teeth.

“Just one story okay? Your aunt has an early day tomorrow.” Rebekah told Adam.

“Okay mommy.” Adam said. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She said kissing his head. I couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. “Got here just in time.”

“I sure did. You pick out a good one kiddo?” I asked as I walked to sit at the edge of the bed.

“Mhm.” He said handing me a thin book.

“Jack and the beanstalk. Good choice.” I said moving to sit next to him so he could see the pictures. “Once Upon a time there was a boy named Jack who lived in a small cottage…”

“And they all lived happily ever after. The end.” I said closing the book. Adam was knocked out leaning against me.

“You’re good with him.” Clint said. I looked up surprised.

“He’s a great kid.” I said gently moving Adam so he was lying down on his bed before tucking him in. I turned on the night-light before shutting off the lamp and quietly walking out of the room and closing the door only leaving it open a crack. “Where am I bunking?”

“Down the hall, guestroom.” Clint said “With me and Nat.”

“Great.” I said heading that way. Nat still wasn’t up here yet so I guess she was going over mission logistics downstairs with Steve or people were still trying to figure out sleeping arrangements. I brushed my teeth with on of the spare tooth brushed Beks left for us. When I got out of the bathroom Nat was whispering something to Clint who had a frown on his face. They stopped talking as soon as they saw me.

“Hey.” Nat said smiling.

“Hey…” I said.

“I’m gonna hit the head.” Clint said smiling at he as he walked past me to go into the bathroom.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, Just mission stuff.” Natasha said.

“Sure.” I said not believing her but not pushing the issue.

“You feeling okay?” She asked.

“Yeah. It’s been a long day.” I said sitting down next to her. She laid down on one side of the bed leaving room for Clint and me. I followed he lead and moved next to her lying down on my side facing her. “Are you okay? It was a bad mission.”

“She didn’t show me anything that wasn’t real, The red room.” She said and I frowned. “I’m okay. Better with you here.”

I smiled and kissed her cheek. Nat smiled before moving closer to kiss me. I put an arm around her waist and held her as we kissed.

“Didn’t think I’d get to do that again.” She whispered in Russian.

“I didn’t think so either.” I answered and she stared at me in shock.

“You… You speak Russian?” She asked in shock.

“I picked up a few things in the coma. There was this incredibly gorgeous red head I became friends with, she was a great teacher.” I said smiling at her.

Natasha stared at me looking concerned as Clint walked out of the bathroom.

“Hayley speaks Russian.” Natasha said.

“What?” Clint said.

“Don’t know why you’re so surprised, I did tell you I was going to learn it.” I said.

“You can speak Russian.” Clint said.

“Yeah.” I answered. “Comes in handy.”

“Okay…” Clint said looking at Nat. I could tell they were having one of their silent conversations. They stared at each other before Nat tilted her head and Clint sighed before shaking his head. Clint slid in next to me while Nat got out of bed to use the bathroom.

Clint moved on his side facing me. I moved closer, putting and arm around his waist to hug him while he did the same to me.

I tilted my head up and kissed his jaw making him smile before he kissed me. When we finally broke apart for air he leaned his forehead against mine as he tried to catch his breath.

Just thinking about how close I came to losing being able to share moments like this with everyone made me tear up.

“Hey.” Clint whispered. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just really glad to be back.” I said hugging him tight. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Clint said kissing my forehead as he held me.

I grabbed onto the back of Clint’s shirt and grasped it tight. I’m never going to take a single one of these moments for granted. I listened to his breathing slow down and he started falling asleep. I looked up and saw his eyes were closed and there was a faint smile on his face. He looked so peaceful.

Nat came out of the bathroom and slipped in behind me before shutting off the lights. She curled up behind me. I could feel each of her exhales on the back of my neck.

I listened to both of them drift off to sleep but as much as I tried to get some sleep myself, I couldn’t. I’ve been a sleep for over a year, guess I don’t need anymore.

I slowly started untangling myself from Clint’s grasp. I started with my legs but that just made him hug me tighter. I rubbed his back before slowly starting to move his arm so I could slip out.

He groaned before mumbling something I didn’t really understand.

“Sh.” I shushed softly. “I’m just getting some water.”

I don’t think he understood what I was saying but it was enough that he loosened his grip enough for me to slip out. I crawled out of bed and slipped on some slippers before quietly walking out of the room. I went downstairs and considered going to the living room when I remembered that there was probably someone bunking down there.

I headed to the kitchen and saw that I wasn’t the only one that couldn’t sleep.

“Hey.” I said and Bruce jumped a bit.

“Oh hey.” He answered.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked as I poured myself a glass of water.

“Not really.” He said.

“How’s the big guy doing?” I asked.

“He’s… angry, guilty… he is happy you’re back though. Mostly brooding.” Bruce said.

“Is that what you’re doing?” I asked.

“I was doing good Hayley. Me and the other guy were in a good place and I ruined it. I should have stayed on the jet.” Bruce said.

“Hey.” I said going to hug him. “It wasn’t your fault. Either of you guys. That girl got in your head. There was nothing you could have done.”

“It doesn’t feel that way. No matter how much I try or all the good I try to do it always ends the same.” Bruce said. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?” I asked concerned.

“Take my hand off the steering wheel. Let him out.” Bruce said.

“You have the same problem I do.” I said.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“We blame ourselves for things that are out of our control and punish ourselves for it.” I said. “We’re not perfect Bruce, no one is.”

“Yeah but most people’s mistakes don’t end with people dying or destroying a city.” Bruce said.

“I’m part of the reason the Maximoff twins volunteered for Strucker’s experiments and are working with Ultron.” I said.

“What?” Bruce asked.

“I looked up them up after Clint told me about them. They lost their parents in the Sokovian civil war when a shell hit their building. Black market weapons, deals I helped with when I was still working with my mother in Hadrian. This is on me too.” I said.

“You didn’t know. You were a kid.” He said.

“And you and the other guy were controlled but you’re still blaming yourself.” I said. “Take it from someone who spent the last year learning this the hard way, you can’t blame yourself for everything that goes wrong. We’re human, we make mistakes and we can be steered in the wrong direction sometimes but at the end of the day we’re in control of our own lives. Even when you take one hand off the wheel you’re other hand’s still on it.”

Bruce stayed quiet for a bit before his eyebrows furrowed together. “You learned this over the past year?” Bruce asked confused.

“Yeah, things got a bit weird.” I said.

“Weird how?” He asked.

“I’m going to have to everything that happened in my coma dream?” I asked before telling him everything.

“Coma dream?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah.” I said. “It was essentially my life except Hadrian died when he joined the army, and my mom wasn’t a criminal as much as an eight time divorcee. At least I think it was eight, I lost track at one point…” I started before telling him everything and I mean everything.

“Huh that’s… wow.” Bruce said. “That’s a lot to process.”

“Same here and I lived it.” I said.

“Do you regret it?” Bruce asked. “Leaving it behind?”

“What? Of course not.” I said. “The whole point of that dream was that it didn’t matter how I got to that point or how I grew up, at my core I am still the same person and no matter what marks or no mark, Criminal record, psychopath older brothers, or ideal childhood and boyfriend I would choose this life in a heartbeat. The good, the bad, It’s worth it if means I get to be with the people I love, all of them.”

Bruce smiled and put an arm around me before kissing my temple.

“I uh… I’ve been holding on to this for a while. I think you should have it back.” He said offering me my necklace.

“I kind of forgot about it.” I said.

“Here.” He said helping me put it on.

“Thanks.” I said

“Hey.” Steve said walking in.

“Hey.” I greeted.

“Did you two sleep at all?” Steve said and for the first time I realized the sun was actually starting to rise.

“Wasn’t really tired.” I said. “I should go wake up Clint and Nat and get dressed. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day.”

I gave Bruce a quick kiss and hugged Steve before heading upstairs. I quietly snuck into the room. Natasha was already in the bathroom and was sitting up on the edge of the bed.

“Morning.” I greeted.

“Hey.” He said looking relieved. “How long have you been up?”

“A while.” I said.

“Hales…” Clint said.

“A year in a coma didn’t really help my insomnia.” I admitted. He looked at me concerned before reaching for my hand and tugging me closer.

“I’ve been working on the house.” Clint said.

“How’s it looking?” I asked.

“Better than the first time you took me there.” Clint said making me chuckle. “It’s going to be ready to move in soon. Just need to finish re-flooring the sunroom.”

“Then we’ll just have to wait for some other part of the house to fall apart to rebuild that.” I said.

“No that’s the last of it.” Clint said

“I don’t think you can promise that. It was a big fixer upper.” I said.

“Yeah I can, that was the last project.” He said.

I looked at him confused. “You’re not talking about the house are you?” I asked.

“After Ultron’s taken care of I’m done hales. One last job and I’m done.” Clint said.

“Are you serious?” I asked still not believing what I was hearing.

“I want more than just living in the moment waiting for the next fight. It’s time.” He said. I put my arms around him and kissed him with everything I had.

“Retirement just keeps getting better and better.” I whispered.

We held each other for a few more minutes before Natasha came out and let Clint go get ready. I slipped on a grey knit V-neck top and some dark jeans leaving my hair down.

I headed downstairs where Will was standing by the kitchen talking to Rebekah.

“Hey, you should be resting.” I told her.

“Get plenty of rest.” She said. “I wanted to see you all off and to remind you to go back to the hospital for a full check up.”

“As soon as this is all over I promise I will.” I said.

“Good,” Rebekah said before turning to Will. “Look after this one.”

“I plan on it.” Will said.

“Expect a huge delivery of onesies and toys for the kids.” I said.

“I figured.” She said smiling.

“Hey, we’re about to head out.” Tony said. “You’re heading home with Bruce and Fury.”

“That’s the plan.” I said.

“Think you can stay out if trouble for a few hours?” Tony said.

“I’ll try.” I said.

“Will.” Tony said.

“Where she goes I go, don’t worry.” Will said.

“Guys I can take care of…” I started.

“Coma.” Will and Tony said at the same time.

“I’ll stay safe, Promise.” I said.

“Good.” Tony said hugging me. “You know I was thinking, after all this is over we should go away for a while. Finally visit Bali.”

“Sure you can handle the lab withdrawl?” I asked.

“I think I’ll live.” Tony said before kissing me.

“Stay safe.” I said.

“I’ll try.” He said.

I headed towards the door before Natasha took my hand.

“Go home and get some rest. And stay safe.” She said in Russian.

“I should be the one telling you that.” I retorted.

“Hayley.” She started before I kissed her.

“I’ll be at home, safe and away from the fight waiting for you all to get home.” I said.

“Good.” She said hugging me tight. She walked out to talk to Steve about something when I noticed Bucky standing away from everyone.

“Hey.” I said and he jumped a bit.

“Hey.” He said softly.

“Stay safe out there.” I said and he just nodded. “We should go see a movie. I probably missed a bunch while I was out.”

“Steve said you liked Star Wars.” Bucky said.

“Have you seen them?” I asked.

“I saw Star Trek.” Bucky said.

“Star Trek? Seriously Steve?” I said. “Have I taught you nothing?”

“I thought they were good too.” Steve said.

“I promise as soon as this is all over I’ll show you all the good ones and I’ll make you a batch of cheesecake brownies to make up for the torture Steve put you through.” I said.

“Brownies?” Bucky said with a slight grin.

“From scratch.” I said.

“I’m looking forward to it doll.” Bucky said.

“If you’re done flirting we should get moving. It’s not like the world’s depending on us or anything.” Fury said.

“See you later.” I said before following after Fury and Bruce to the jet.

A Few Hours Later-

We had just touched down in New York and were greeted by Maria Hill how was shocked to see me.

“That explains the hospital calls.” She said.

“We probably freaked them out when we never came back.” Will said.

“You should really go back and get checked out.” Bruce said.

“I should.” I said.

“Actually we could use your help.” Fury said. “You’re the best hacker we know.”

“No.” Bruce and Will said.

“It’s an all hands on deck situation.” Fury said.

“One last job.” I said.

“That’s what you said about the Russians and Hadrian.” Will said.

“Hayley, you promised.” Bruce said.

“I said I’d stay safe and I will. We’re not going into a fire fight right?” I asked.

“You’ll be behind a computer the entire time.” Fury said.

“Bruce.” I said.

“We just got you back.” He said.

“I know and you’re not going to lose me.” I said hugging him. I pulled away and took off my necklace and giving it to him. “I always come back for this. Keep it safe for me?”

“Stay safe.” Bruce said.

“I will.” I said kissing him. “I love you guys.”

“Love you too.” Bruce said kissing me.

“Let’s get this over with.” Will said.

“You don’t have to come Will.” I said.

“The last time I left you alone you ended up in a coma.” Will said. “Where you go I go.”

“Okay.” I said before turning to Fury. “Lead the way.”