His words echoed in her head. Though not unpleasant or harsh as they had been before...there was something wrong about them. They sent shivers up her spine, pushing a button that set off alarms in her head. How could she trust any of what he said after he tried killing her?

Killing everyone...anyone.

"Helloo"

Maybe if I just listen to what he has to say? But still, what if he tries escaping? Or worse?

"Earth to Donnie?"

I don't know...i should probably just-

"Hey, you good there space cadet?"

A sudden tap to her shoulder made her leap out of her skin, shrinking into her chair. Tony's face seemed to stretch as surprise and concern brewed uncertainty in his mind. "What's going on, kid? You've been acting weird ever since you walked in those doors." "Uhm...i guess I've just been weird since I was born? Heh.." Smooth going. Isn't your last name supposed to be Charm? "Look, im just gonna come out and ask, " he cut into the awkward as it seemed to float around them like fog on a hot day that lingers just a bit too low.

"What happened to you?"

She was puzzled by the question. "Whatdoyoumean?" That father-like smirk smeared itself right back onto his face and he took a seat. "I want to know who you are. Not what you're doing here or what you're thinking right now about this place." Feeling as though standing would be rude to Mr. Stark, she sits across from him. As Loki was out cold after another... 'mishap', you could call it, she had until he came-to to just relax. However, the anxiety of the camera monitor and now the attention of the richest man in the world left the young woman feeling as though splitting in half would be easier to deal with than staying in the tower.

Just breathe, the small voice says again. Please calm down...

But it's a bit too late. Her chest constricts and she is left without air. Her lungs feel on the verge of collapse. She immediately rises to her feet and begins gasping. "Donnie?!" Stark rushes over, taking her by the hand and leading her to a window. "What happened? Are you okay? Do you need to throw up at all? Does anything hurt?" In a matter of milliseconds, his questions went from those of curiosity to those of worry. Once she finally caught her breath...all she could do was cry.

It wasn't the dainty, teary-eyed crying you see so often. It was the type of crying that started seemingly out of nowhere. Unstoppable tears, ugly, stomach-aching sobbing. And all Tony could think to do was sit in silence and hold her tight. "I'm sorry, " she cried. "I didn't mean- I didn't..." Her tears soaking into his shirt. He only knew her a few days. Hell, barely a week. But he knew that she had a lot going on. "You did fine, don. You did fine." It seemed to take forever before she finally calmed down. Stark's voice remained calm. "Did I say something?" Her head shook slowly. "No, " she whispered. "Do you know what started it?" Another shake. His fingers gently tapped his knee, thinking of himself. "Do you think you could answer my question? If not, that's all fine and dandy. I just want to know you better is all, kiddo." Her eyes shut.

Take some deep breaths, dee. You need to keep calm.

She nods. "Paper?" Another confused look appears on his face. Her breathing starts getting quick again. No, no, no. Please don't start this again... She chokes back another attack, using her hands to motion writing on paper.

Something must've clicked because he jumped to his feet. But when the tears started back up again, he placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "Hey, " he started, the soothing tone making her wince a bit. Reminding her of her mother. "Hey, it's okay don... We can do this later. Okay?" He took a step back. She closed her eyes and nodded, feeling the streaks on her face drip onto her lap. As a gluttonous silence filled the air, an idea popped into his head.

"What do you say to a bit of learning, kid?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cap's POV
"When you said 'learning', I didn't think i had unrealistic expectations, " I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow at her and Stark. "Well, what were you expecting?" "I dont know, " she gasped, "but it wasnt to get beat up by the star spangled man and a billionaire." I walked over and helped her up. "Not beating you up, just trying to get you in shape is all." I smiled. "But i'm sure we could get Nat to help. Kinda disappointing that you got beat up by a 90 year old and a wreck with heart issues." I could tell Stark was rolling his eyes without even looking near him. I just chuckled as the new girl's joints seemed to pop like a toy gun. Its going to be tough for her here. But hopefully she has some fight in her thatll keep her from leaving. We could use the help.