Till the End of the Line

Chapter Five

The next morning I woke up early and laid in bed for a while. I knew the boys would be leaving soon and I just couldn't bring myself to see Steve at the lab. I would break my heart all over again.

After laying in bed for a half hour I finally decided to get up and get ready for the day. I showered, brushed my teeth and pulled out a pair of blue jean overalls with a blush red undershirt. I took my hair out of my shower cap, brushing my curls out and pinning a section up and out of my face. I took a deep breath as I finished getting ready and walked out the door to the car that was waiting for me. I had gotten used to it now, Stark sending a car for me every morning. He was quickly becoming a close friend and I was glad I still had him while Steve and Bucky were gone. Once I got to the lab people were bustling around. I walked around until I saw Stark.

"Hey, Betty," he said as he turned and looked at me, "How are you this morning?"

"I'll be a lot better when I'm not thinking about my two best friends across seas," I told him with a smile.

"Then let's get started."

...

It had been several days since Steve and Bucky had left and they were doing more than what was expected. To say they were good at their jobs was an understatement. Hydra base after Hydra base was being taken down like dominos.

I had spent most of my time with Stark, helping him in the lab or even just being there for him to bounce ideas off of. He had been working a lot with the piece of equipment that Steve had taken when he rescued his team. Stark was determined to figure it out and how to harness it. But there was something about it, something that just sat in the back of my mind. I couldn't pinpoint it and as soon as we were done for the day the thought would be gone again.

But today was a new day. Today, we would be in the lab for most of the day, even though he hadn't really told me what we would be doing. I had been sitting in my normal seat, next to Stark's workbench, still waiting for him to show up. He was rarely on time in the morning, but even this was a bit of a stretch for him. I sat there, doodling in my journal when I heard the door open.

"Betty," I heard a man say before I even had a chance to look up from my work.

"Oh, Jarvis," I said with a smile, "Nice to see you again."

"You as well ma'am," he said, "Stark wanted me to inform you that he would be out most of the day and that I was to take you home if that is what you wished to do."

"Oh," I said as I sat up a little straighter, "Well, might as well. Let me put my things away and I will meet you at the car." The man in front of me nodded his head as he walked out of the room. I looked around, not that I had brought much with me but I quickly threw away the page I had been drawing on and cleaned up my small corner of the desk. I grabbed the door handle to leave when I heard something behind me fall. I turned, not seeing anything that was out of the ordinary.

"Hello?" I asked, but no one responded. I turned back to the room and walked back around the desk. But I still didn't see anything on the floor. I was about to give up again when I heard something small hit the floor again. It made a small tink on the floor that sounded like glass. I heard it behind me as I turned around towards the glass window that Stark had used on multiple occasions. And that's when I noticed it. It was the little blue, glowing shard that Stark had been working on for some time now. I stared down at it for a moment, wondering how it could have fallen on the floor there. I slowly walked over to it, not being able to take my eyes off of it the whole time. The closer that I walked to it it was like someone was whispering in my head. The thoughts that were normally in the back of my mind where now getting more and more clear. It felt like something was sitting on my chest, weighing me down.