When you opened your eyes a few hours later, feeling rested but uncomfortably groggy yet, you had expected to see Steve at your side waiting for you, or at the very least Tony and his famously worried stare. Instead, as your pupils adjusted to the lights overhead and as your mind pushed through the medicated haze that had gripped it, you saw Clint in a chair next to your bed, his head down with the sounds of gentle snores being just barely audible.

"Barton."

"Hmm?"

"How long have I been out?"

"Three and a half weeks," he groaned as he woke, leaning his head back with a grimace from the stiffness that had gripped his muscles in the awkward sleep he had just taken, "thought you were dead."

"Seriously," you warned, "how long?"

"Couple hours."

"Ugh...I feel all loopy..." you sighed, pushing yourself up on your elbow to face him, "but not a good loopy. What did Banner give me?" The room started to spin just slightly at your change in position, and rather than tempt fate and a firm face-plant on the unforgiving floor if you fell from the gurney, you rested back on the pillow to try to wait it out.

"How am I supposed to know? Starts with...a V...I think? I wasn't here when he knocked you out, but I saw the vial on the table over there," he pointed to Bruce's desk. "With your metabolism it was probably a horse tranquilizer or something."

"You're so kind," you huffed, trying again to sit up slowly. This time he was more awake and jumped to his feet to help you, taking your arm gently when you reached out for him to steady yourself. "Have you seen Steve? Or Dad?"

"I had Sam come by and grab Steve a bit ago. The guy was looking pretty down but said he didn't want to talk about it, so I brought in the big guns. If anyone can get it out of the guy, it's Wilson."

"Buck would've been the stronger play."

"I've got him working on your dad."

"Really? I nap for what, five minutes, and it all goes to shit," you hissed, pushing up onto your feet with an uncertain wobble. "Let me guess, it's all Dad's fault and Steve didn't protect me from something."

Clint let go of your arm with a loud gasp and a slight push away from you, turning his body to face you head-on with a look that didn't come close to how appalled he felt at your comment. When the rapid shift in support left your equilibrium spinning, you tried to reach out for him again but he hopped back and out of your reach; you were left to grip the rails of the gurney in a last-ditch effort to stay upright. "What the hell, Barton?"

"Since when are you such an ungrateful bitch? That had better be the drugs talking."

"And that had better be a head injury making you so damn stupid," you snapped back, the surge of adrenaline being a welcome cure to your vertigo. "I'm not ungrateful. They're just predictable even though I've told them over and over that this isn't on them."

"No, of course it's not," Clint shrugged in defeat, his gaze slowly dropping to the floor and taking another step back in anticipation of the reaction that he was about to incite, "it's on me. This is completely my fault. We both knew that this could happen again, but did we stop to really understand the risk? No, we didn't," he quickly answered his own query, "because you wanted to help us and we wanted you to so badly. How goddamn selfish am I, huh? You have your own kids and a husband, and I let my own wants become more important. I've done this to you twice now, (Y/N)."

"Twice...? What was the other..." you faded away, searching your mind, "oh, right. The unfortunate incident that we swore to never speak of again. But Clint, come on, that was a mistake. This was my choice, and I wasn't ready. If anything, I own this, and I should be the one apologizing. So please, quit making it about you, ya big drama queen."

"Drama queen?! Me?!" he scoffed loudly, gripping his chest in mock offense. "Oh, okay, so says the girl who had to get sedated..."

~~~

"Here, drink this," Tony encouraged, all but shoving the glass of amber liquid into Bucky's hand as it sat open on the bar. "You have to at least get a buzz off of this one."

Bucky willingly took the drink and slammed it back in one swallow, setting the glass down on the bar top with a hard slam, his face contorting into a pained expression at the burn that now ran down his throat and into his stomach. "Did I just drink gasoline?"

"Of course not, what kind of a guy do you think I am? Although..." he paused, rubbing his beard thoughtfully, "do you think that would work? Can't kill ya, right?"

"I'd rather not find out, if it's all the same to you. I'm a fan of science too, Stark, but even I have my limits. Experimentation isn't exactly a favorite pastime of mine." Bucky leaned back slightly to watch Tony take inventory of the remaining bottles left that he hadn't tried yet; he was avoiding the conversation under the guise of science, but Bucky wasn't about to let that fly for much longer. Not only was he not getting drunk in the least, but now they were just wasting really expensive liquor. "Tony? You okay?"

"Always."

"Say that again, but try to mean it this time."

"Seriously, I'm fine. I was talking to Steve and have just come to some realizations, is all."

Bucky sat with an expectant posture, his hands up questioningly as he waited for an explanation that wasn't about to be voluntarily forthcoming. "Okay...elaborate?"

"That he's let go of the idea of having any more kids, what with how hard it is on (Y/N). Seeing it happen again made him realize that the first time wasn't just an isolated issue. He's having a tough time with that, I think," Tony sighed, finally turning back to Bucky, "but I'm...I'm okay. Having three grandkids is three more than I ever expected in my entire life, so hey, I'm winning. And to have them be those three? I'm the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet." With a sharp snap of his wrist, Tony removed the top to yet another bottle, grinning wearily at his teammate as he poured it into his glass, "this is my last shot. Strongest stuff I've got."

"Why are you so determined to get me drunk?"

"I told you. Science. I don't have any projects right now, Bruce left for some boring immunology conference this morning, and Pepper's out at our HQ in California. You're all I've got to keep me busy for the next week, Barnes, so shut it and drink your gasoline."

"Oh, god," he groaned, "I'm gonna need a hell of a lot more liquor for this." This time the grimace was much more profound as he took down whatever it was that Tony had given him. He tried to shake the burning sensation away, his face contorting as he coughed and sputtered, finally needing to get up to retrieve a bottle of water from behind the bar to drink it with frantic desperation. "Experiment over," he gasped, "what the hell was that?"

At that moment, Steve and Sam had entered the room to join them, Steve moving to his friend's side with a concerned look and a slap on his back to try to quell his cough, "you alright, man? Sounded like a dying horse in here."

"Hmm, that's weird."

"What?" Sam turned to Tony. "What's weird?"

"There's no label on this." Tony brought the bottle up to his nose and took a quick inhalation, thrusting it forward and away when the sharp and biting odor stung at his nostrils and filled his throat with a burning wave into his lungs. "Oh shit, I think I screwed up. Barnes, you're really hard to kill, right?"

"Stark?" Steve asked in a warning tone with an equally serious glare. "What did you do?"

"I may have given him something caustic...and a little poisonous. Or...a lot poisonous."

"I'll be alright..."

"Come on, we're going to the hospital," Steve urged, pulling on Bucky's arm but finding resistance. "Buck. Let's go."

"Nah, hold up," Bucky waved him off, "I've had worse and it didn't kill me." He opened his mouth to say more, but he paused, a lop-sided grin growing across his lips and a quiet giggle growing in his throat. "Hey, check it out, Stark. I think you did it. I haven't been buzzed like this since the war. Steve, you gotta try this, man."

"Yeah, thanks, but no thanks."

"Captain Rogers, you have a visitor in the main foyer," FRIDAY interrupted, leaving the four men to look at each other curiously with a hint of deserved skepticism. Bucky's giggle quieted slightly when Sam stepped forward to help hold him steady in place of Steve, but even Sam's look of warning didn't keep it silenced for long.

"You expecting anyone?"

"No," Steve answered cautiously, pushing his bar stool back with a quick shove. He peered over the railing of the balcony that overlooked the foyer, making sure to not draw attention to himself to get the first look, but when he was able to have the visitor in his sights, the man was looking right at him as if he fully expected Steve to be in that very spot. "Can I help you?" he asked, skipping any formal pleasantries.

The man wasn't wearing civilian clothes, but rather some sort of cloak...or cape...or something, leaving Steve that much more on guard by his unusual appearance. The sharp lines of his features, accentuated by his immaculate beard and striking blue eyes only made him seem that much more distant, as if he were something beyond anything that any of them had ever known; something leaving far more questions than answers.

"Look at that awesome facial hair," Tony mumbled, reaching up to rub his hand over his beard. "I don't care who he is, I like this guy already."

"I believe that I am the one who can help you, Captain," he began. "Normally I wouldn't concern myself with the business of the Avengers, as we all know full well that you're more than capable of handling Earth-bound threats. Your reputation precedes you."

"Earth-bound?" Sam finally joined in. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I thought it to be rather intuitive, actually. Threats that stay on the planet Earth."

"Well, I don't like this guy, Stark. Maybe you two awesome facial hair bros can compare grooming tips when you toss him out."

"Actually, yes, I need to talk to Mr. Stark as well, given his relationship to the children."

An odd mixture of both fear and protectiveness washed over Steve in that moment, his jaw now firmly set and every muscle in his body tensing at the mention of his children. The others could sense the shift and took a step closer to him to prove their allegiance, the four men now looking down with a dare shining in their eyes, almost challenging their visitor to push them; even Bucky had grown immediately sober with the shift in the tone around him.

"Alright, why are you here? Who are you?"

"Captain, please, I'm here to help, and I think that I'm the only one who can. Your children possess gifts that they have yet to even realize, and under the tutelage of Vision and Miss Maximoff, they may never see their full potential. I am here to make certain that they do."

In the library, on the farthest side of the building from where the men stood, Vision dropped the book that he was reading and sat alert, his eyes widening at the realization of who was visiting as he sensed his presence. "Wanda, come with me please," he invited quietly, wasting no time to make his way through any wall that tried to slow him.

"Listen, my family has been through hell and back, and I'll be dammed-"

"Doctor Stephen Strange," Vision interrupted with a booming voice, pushing past Steve to lower himself to the ground level below, with Wanda at his side, "though your intentions may be considered honorable, they have no place here. We are caring for the children and providing them with an exemplary education. Your teachings are not necessary."

"Remarkable," Strange gasped, taking steps towards Vision with a guarded hand extended, "I've studied the mind stone in great depth, but to be a witness to it in person..."

"Yes...well..." Vision stammered uncomfortably, "that is of no consequence." He clasped his hands nervously behind his back to deny the doctor his greeting, glancing at Wanda to gather a sense of stability within himself before continuing. He gave her a slight nod, a wordless communication for her to go get you, which she followed readily. "I would discuss anything you wish to know about the mind stone in further detail at a time of your choosing, but broaching the topic of the Rogers children is not recommended."

"My teachings are beyond rudimentary mathematics and sciences," Strange argued vehemently now, with a condescension in his tone, "they will open their minds to a potential like none you have ever seen. They were given their abilities for a greater purpose, and you're denying them. You have no idea what it is that you're dealing with, because you don't understand it like I do."

"Alright, I'll bite," Steve called down to the doctor, "what greater purpose?"

Stephen turned away from Vision and lifted himself from the ground, floating up to look at Steve at eye-level so that he would see that he was being truthful if nothing else. He knew it was a possibility that he would leave today without a win, and the children would continue on as they were; he also knew that if that were allowed to happen, the result could be catastrophic.

"Helping to save the world, Captain."

"I'm sorry," you added from the doorway as you just crossed over its threshold, "but the world is just going to have to save itself this time. No one asked for your help, and it isn't wanted."

"Ma'am," he persisted, "I don't think you realize what you're saying. There are threats to our dimension-"

"I don't think you realize what I'm saying." You pulled away from Wanda and closed the gap between yourself and Strange as he lowered himself to the ground in front of you. "No one in this building is going to let you so much as look at my children, and believe me when I say, whatever threat you think that we're facing is nothing in comparison to what you'll see if you push us.," you snapped, pushing even closer to him now, holding yourself steady despite the fear that was growing in the pit of your stomach as you held his gaze. He was intense to say the least, but it was a challenge that you were ready to meet if it meant keeping him away from your family; his intensity paled next to your resolve.

"It will be nothing in comparison to what will happen if you push me."