| Always wear a smile, you never know who's watching|

2 Weeks Later

Hospitals have the worst tv programs ever- it's like in hopes of bringing health back into your body they drain the will the life with boredom. James felt like he's been in this hospital forever but his mom was having the hospital run every test that was none to man. No one dared deny her. She was the black widow after all. And if it would bring her any sort of peace, James would let her do her millions of test, even if things were tense between the mother and son duo. He just didn't know agreeing to these tests would lead to nothing but boredom. James decided that the only option was grey's anatomy, and it was an old episode from the looks of it.

With Steve absent, getting a drink with Bucky and Sam, Natasha was spending the day with James in the hospital as he was stabbed with all the needles in the world. James and his mother were trying to rebuild their relationship. He didn't hate her, it was just hard to accept what had happened. If he wanted to forgive her, he'd first have to learn to forgive himself and right now that seemed nearly impossible.

"What do you say I have burgers from that one place you like brought over her? I'm sure it will cheer you up," Natasha asked her son, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He may be tired of hospital food but that doesn't mean he's about to walk into a trap.

"Mom you said you hated that place," James said watching as McSteamy tried flirting with Meredith, he remembered Morgan gushing over the man once, he didn't see the appeal. McSteamy was at least more appealing than Derek, that man was just straight up toxic. Damn did I really just think that. James took a second to collect himself, he needed to get out of this room before he became obsessed with the show.

"What? No, I never said that" She tried defending. Natasha had that look on her face that she'd only ever get when she was talking to Maria, his dad would call it her loving defensive look reserved only for Maria. Everyone else, including his father, would get the 'you better stop talking' look.

"You said they give you more grease than anything." He shrugged. James knew what she was trying to do, and he had to say he appreciated the effort. He loved his mother and he hated how he had been treating her lately, it's just been hard to be upbeat during a time like this.

"Okay well yeah... I mean it's disgusting. I could never understand why you and your sister liked those burgers so much," Natasha could barely get the sentence out. She would never understand her children's fascination with the worst food on the planet. To be fair, they must have gotten that eating style from her, as once she was out of the red room, Clint took her to indulge in all the worst food imaginable, getting her hooked. It wasn't until Steve came along that she started preferring home cooked meals- or rather- his home cooked meals.

"We are kids mom, the worse it is for me the better it is," James said as if the answer was obvious and she had just not had been using her brain. Natasha sarcastically nodded her and rolled her eyes at her son's typical comment.

"Is that why you both ate your entire bag of Halloween candy in one night?" She questioned raising an eyebrow. James couldn't help but laugh recalling that memory. That had been a great night of messing with the Starks. Even with Elliot and Morgan being their friends, pulling pranks on them had been a past time of theirs. A tradition if you would.

"No," James said defensively, yet jokingly. "We had a bet, we heard the Starks had got twice as much so we told them we got the same amount, we told them whoever finished them first will get $100, we got the $100 and they got an entire night of food sickness, it was hilarious."

"Yeah until you and Sarah started throwing up as well." Natasha pointed out with a pointed look on her face. Despite her obvious disapproval Natasha was holding back a bit of laughter, remembering that night at if it were yesterday.

"Yeah well Sarah started going crazy," He laughed, as well as Natasha. "You and dad weren't supposed to be home for an hour and we thought it would be a fun way to push time." His laugh began to fade and Natasha looked at him questioningly. James got quiet very fast after recalling the memory. Worry almost immediately coursed throughout her body.

"What's wrong?" She asked him. She looked over his body to make sure there was no traces of pain, however she figured that the pain James was experiencing was something she couldn't remedy with medicine.

"I miss her, it's hard." If she looked closely, Natasha could see the smallest tear forming at her son's eye. She moved over to be closer to him, hoping her presence would help bring him comfort. She wanted to wrap him up and just protect him from the world, why couldn't she do that?

"Oh sweetheart, I know that I know how you feel believe me-"

"You don't-" James said almost immediately. The tear fell down followed by many more. Natasha looked at her boy with a broken heart, taking a deep breathe bore interrupting him as well.

"Stop. You didn't kill her do you understand me? Your sister loved you, Okay?" Natasha held her boy's face so he could look at her. "No one could have estimated that witch's power. Unfortunately, this wasn't preventable." She hoped her words were getting through to her boy. There wasn't much she or anyone else could really do at this point. All she could do is be there for her and that she would.

"It was though, if Morgan, Torunn, and Thor would have said something- I swear to god." James let out a sob, and Natasha pulled him in. "How are we gonna get over this mom?" He asked, the words muffled into Natasha's shirt. She held him closer taking a moment to think. What would they do? She couldn't exactly take his pain away, she wanted to. She didn't know what to do, she wished the answer would just come to her.

"Time. Together." She held her boy tightly and reminded him how much she loved him. That was all she could do, and maybe that's all that mattered at the moment. They did end of having those burgers. They were nasty.

|~|

He was messing with things he shouldn't be messing with- gone back to the vault they all dared not to open. About fifteen years ago, Doctor Strange came to them, with these stone, special stones, from all over the galaxy. He wanted them protected- he couldn't guard them as he raised his daughter. So he formed a group of heroes, with different skills and ideals, brought them together for a single purpose, protecting the reality.

Tony created, along side some of the greatest minds in the world, a safe in a part of the world that excluded many different radio waves that could be used to find any traces of the stones. There were six keys given.

Doctor strange kept the first one to uphold his side of the protecting the time stone. Tony held the second- giving him access for reservations. Gamora, a member of the guardians of the galaxy held another. Thor held one, Carol held the other, and the last one was kept by Steve himself.

Steve looked down at his key in his hand slowly turning it over to watch his gaze toward the stair case that was the first of many turns he'd have to take to find his destination, to bring back a part of his heart, a part of his family. He sighed and began walking toward the stairs. This was the only way.

|~|

Natasha sat watching as James slept, his chest rising up and down brought her comfort. They would be able to head home tomorrow. Every single test, he passed with flying colors, the nurses insisted to her James was well enough to go home.

She was ready for her husband to return, she wanted to tell him the good news in person. Of course he'd want to be there when James went home. She was actually excited since the day of the accident.

A soft knock drew her attention. Natasha tore her gaze away from her son to look at Maria who walked in, a shake in her hand. "That's gonna make you fat." Natasha said, Maria looked down at her Oreo shake. It was a joke between them, insulting one another, they only did that when their husbands were away. When they were all together, Maria and Natasha would act lovingly, it annoyed the hell out of Sam, which was probably why they did it.

"Bet I'd still look better than you." She smirked bringing the straw to her lips. Natasha rolled her eyes at that.

"If that's what you want to believe," she gave Maria a look that said she was teasing and Natasha tried reaching for the shake.

"You're lucky that this is actually for you," She said giving Natasha a teasing smirk and handing her the shake. "Because even after two kids you still somehow look like a babe," There it was, their playful flirting. During her early days at shield, many people thought Maria and Natasha were a couple, it didn't help that Clint was running around telling people that they were, you eat the last slice of pizza and suddenly you're a villain.

"What did your husband say about flirting with me Hill?" She said rolling her eyes. "He's gonna think you love him just a little bit less. What are you doing here?"

"Came to talk. Can't we talk? I thought that we were friends." Natasha rolled her eyes again at Maria's words. Maria was many things but a cuddly, let's have a sleep over and talk was just not her, not even for Natasha...well sometimes. Maria was adaptable to say the very least.

"Spit it out, what do you want?" Natasha could practically hear the gears in Maria's brain turning as if trying to figure out how the red head would react. Which was pointless considering she was never able to probably guess before.

"Fine. Laura, Hope, Pep, and I are going to the bar with weekend, we thought you would want to come." Maria watched her face and Natasha took a sip of the shake, almost laughing at the invitation.

"And what would make you think that."

"Because once upon a time- you were fun" Maria laughed pushing Natasha a bit on the small chair so she could sit beside her. "When did you become so boring Romanoff? Remember when you used to drink me under the table-"

"I don't know idea what you are talking about. I would never indulge in such things. I am a proper woman, always have been always will be." Natasha said, glancing at Natasha to make sure that he was still asleep and wasn't hearing these absurd that Maria was spitting out. Maria gave her a pointed look. "I will think about it okay? But I give no promised to your suicidal weekend night out."

"See that was all I ask of you." Maria said with a victorious smile lacing her face.

"Now why are you really here?" Maria was about to come up with a lie but Natasha quickly stopped her. "And please don't say that was all because we both know you could have done that over the phone.

"Natasha." She should have known that she couldn't hide a thing from her friend. Natasha moved her legs to put on top of Maria's lap. "Careful your husband could walk in and get jealous."

"Steve is out with his boyfriends Bucky and Sam. I doubt he'd care" She said taking a drink of the shake. Maria looked over at her and sighed.

"So here's the thing. I know that Steve told you that he, Sam and Bucky were going to go get drinks...but Natasha, Bucky says he hasn't seen our idiot husbands all day." Natasha frowned quickly looking up at Maria with worried eyes. "hey now there is nothing to worry about, if they are together they aren't stupid enough to do something. They should know at this point that we would kill them."

"At least Bucky isn't with them, then they'd for sure be doing something with stupidity written in capital letters all over it." Natasha placed her head on Maria's shoulders. "Thank you for being here."

"Of course. I could never seem to get rid of you anyways." Natasha snorted at that comment and the two took to watching Mc.Dreamy stupidly race his car down the highway. Foreshadowing at it's finest.

|~|

"Something's wrong." Morgan sat up in her bed, her stomach felt odd, like something was changing. She looked around carefully, her room stood still nothing moving. But then something ran across her line of vision. "Who's there?"

She slowly reached over to nightstand reaching for her watch that she and her dad had rigged with a suit but before she could get her hands on it someone stopped her. The cold hand held her still, Morgan slowly looked up the arm to see Torunn staring darkly back at her.

"What the hell Torunn! There is something called a door!" Morgan reached over grabbing her glasses, embarrassed, cause she normally wears contacts. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I am sorry to wake you up so early, my friend. But I come with troubling news." She looked at Morgan slowly sitting on the side of her bed, Morgan sat up backing up a bit at how close the girl sat to her. "Someone is about to reverse time"

"What? What do you mean? Is that even possible?" Morgan asked, quickly fascinated with the idea.

"Morgan you have to stop them."

"Me? What- Torunn I don't even know what you are talking about!" She turned around to turn on her lamp. "Who is gonna reverse time-" when she turned back around Torunn was gone and she was left with a cold chill in the air.
"What the actual hell."

I appreciate those who aren't messaging asking me when I am going to post- those comments only discourage me. I am full time college student in the middle of midterms. I am writing at my own pace, I have drafts done but none are nearly ready to post, so please be patient with me toward the end of the year, it's a busy time. So please don't comment "please update"

Love you all, XO Sierrea