Falling for the Captain

Playing Catch Up

Tony's POV

When I heard Faye say she was hit over the coms, I run to the garage. Nat trails behind me as we see Faye pull in. I feel the heat rise up in me. How could she get shot on her first day back? This girl will be the death of me, I think. She gets up from the bike and forgot she was wearing heels, but Cap caught her just on time before she fell.

"YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING DIED!" I yell at her. Her face turns red and lets out a frown.

"ALL THIS YELLING ISN'T MAKING ME FEEL ANY BETTER!" She turns and yells even louder than all of our voices combined. It takes a lot for us to piss Faye off, but the fact that she felt the need to yell really shocked us. I guess we were annoying her a little too much. Cap carried her to the infirmary while the remaining of us attempt to digest what happened. I knew the remaining Avengers would have questions. I turn around and face the rest of the team. The kids' faces turn pale while Rhodey, Wilson, Barton, and Bucky stare at me with confusion. I look at Nat and we both take a deep breath. How are we going to explain this?

"Tony, who the hell was that?" Rhodey demands. He crosses his arms and stiffens his back.

"Relax Rhodey. You don't want to give yourself another heart attack," I try to joke. He sends me a death stare and I wave my hands up in the air like I'm surrendering.

"Tony she's not going to let us visit her when she's pissed off, which we just did," says Griffin. I face him and grab his shoulder. These kids have been through a lot, especially Faye. Maybe that's why I have a soft spot for her. She has always been the daughter I knew I needed.

"She'll be okay, kid. She's got Dr. Cho and Cap right next to her. We'll visit when we can," I reply back as calmly as I could despite being tremendously nervous. What if she gets worse? I shake the thought out of my head and signal everyone to sit at the conference table. Instinctively, Nat stands next to me.

Here we go.

Everyone takes their seats and I pull up a screen behind me and Nat. I pull Faye's file and display it all over the screen. Rhodey, Wilson, Barton, and Bucky's face go blank when they realize who she was.

"No fucking way, dude," Wilson blurts out.

"Careful Wilson, Steve doesn't like that kind of language," Bucky jokingly says in attempts to ease the tension. I could tell he was in shock as well, just attempting to hide it a little better. I pull out the professional photo of Faye and display it on the table.

"The woman who just walked in is Lieutenant Commander Faye. As you know, she's the highest ranking officer in the building. So, whatever she says, we do." I say.

"Well that's going to be hard for you, Tony. You don't listen to anyone but yourself," Clint says. I'm not shocked when he says that, because you know, I am Tony Stark.

"You're not wrong, but for her, she's the boss. Anyways, she's been working with SHIELD for a majority of her life, but she took an LOA a year ago. Today was her first day back and here she is already saving all of our asses. I wouldn't mess with her. She's the best of the best OF THE BEST." I say with a heavy emphasis on the last "of the best".

"Why did she keep her identity a secret?" asks Bucky.

"Because she wanted to protect those goons sitting across from you," replies Nat as she points to Faye's family.

"What is up with everyone calling us 'goons' in the last 24 hours? I think we're pretty cool!" exclaims Sam. The four of them laugh at his comment.

"Not when you say it like that, dude," replies Kris. The guys across the table look even more confused than ever.

"They're all family. One, big dysfunctional, chaotic family," I tell them. Their faces go blank while the four goons laugh even harder. Something about their laughter puts me at ease. However, the voice in my head repeats Faye's name, causing me to become even more nervous than I already am. Nat stares at me and I know what she's saying without her even saying anything.

She's going to be fine.

"Anyways, her file is now accessible to all of you and I got her permission for you guys to read it. It's been a long night already, so I'm going to bed. Have fun playing catch up! She has a long file," I say to the team before walking into the elevator back to my floor.

I take a deep breath and anxiously wait til I hear the ding. The doors open and I see Pepper sitting on the couch. This woman, she just knows me.

"Tony, come here," she embraces me in a hug. I hug her back even tighter, not realizing that I had this frustration in me. "She's going to be okay. She's a big girl. She can mend for herself. Plus, she's got Steve. What more could you ask for?"

It's weird to think that something may have happen or will happen between the two. I can't argue tho, because I know Faye is in good hands with Capsicle.

"I know, I know. I just feel responsible for her. She's like the daughter I never knew I needed. She brought out the good in me and I don't think she realizes that." I say to Pepper. She looks at me with soft eyes and runs her hand through my hair.

"Honey, she knows. Don't you ever think she doesn't know," replies Pepper. "I'm glad you said that last thing because I've been doing some research..." she says as she grabs a packet. I open it and read the giant title.

ADOPTION PAPERS

"Pepper, she's a grown woman. We can't adopt a grown woman," I say. Is it possible to adopt someone if they're older than 18?

"I talked to some friends and lawyers and they said we can legally become her parents. Obviously, we can't tell her what to do, well it's not like she would listen to us anyways," Pepper laughs, "but, we can be her parents officially. She'll legally be part of our family."

I can't help but smile. Not gonna lie, I may have shed a tear. Just a teeny tiny one tho. Stupid allergies! I hold the papers and bring Pepper in even closer.

"Thank you, Pep."

I was ready for this big step. I knew Faye was always my daughter. Now, I get to make it official.