"Nickolas J. Fury you son of a--!" I snap and plant my feet, inches shy of the lake shore. My hands find my hips as I look back towards Carter's house with my lips pressed tightly. I slowly turn my head and look at Nick before shaking my head and looking back towards the wooded area.

"My my, Iris. What would the Captain say about your language." He teases from where he stands inches from the lapping waves. Charles flashes me a shy smile as he heads towards the shore.

"You knew I was alive, that I was here, this entire time, didn't you?" I accuse and point my finger at him. He chuckles and holds his arms out at his sides. I scowl to myself.

"You knew Carter was here, didn't you?" I turn to fully face the ex-SHIELD director with my right hand still on my hip.

"I did." Nick says casually. My foot impatiently taps against the pebbles as I consider what I want to do.

"And you didn't say anything, to anyone?" He shakes his head in response to my question. I sigh loudly before I start coughing loudly. "You are something else, Nick. You know that?" The one-eyed man just laughs and motions me towards the seaplane.

"We can talk on our way out of here." He offers. I hesitantly leave my position and walk towards the water. "It's good to see you again, Iris." I roll my eyes as I fail to stifle a smile.

"I missed you too, Nick. Even if you are a paranoid dude." Once I'm close enough he gently clasps my shoulder and gives me a small shake. Within his eyes are a deep relief. I sigh and move into his side, giving him a one-armed embrace that he returns.

"I apologize in advance for you guys having to get your feet wet in order to get to the plane." Charles draws our attention away from each other. I give him a quizzical look.

"Nonsense, Charles, my friend." I pull away from Nick and approach the edge of the lapping waves. As I begin to place my foot down over the water, a small walkway of energy erupts under my shoe. The entire course of the energy path leads right to Charles' plane. I smile over my shoulder at his shocked expression. "Come come!" I call as I continue towards the aircraft.

"Okay, that's officially cooler than Iron Man." Charles breathes.

"You hear that, Nick? I'm cooler than Tony Stark!" I exclaim with glee. I hear him laugh behind me as he leaves the pebbled shore and walks along the energy I've created.

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"Since I'm not having you work the traps, you'll be grooming Apollo for me. That should be easy enough for you." Carter says while turning away from his clean kitchen to the back door where I stand.

"Sounds like fun." I shrug my shoulders. A wincing pulls at my lips as I feel the bandages wrapped around my torso tug uncomfortably. I may have a certain affinity for quick healing, but in order for the healing to be complete and correct...well, the bones need to be in the right position to do so.

"Until you have to pick his hooves." Carter chuckles and pushes past me to walk out the door, leaving it open for me to follow.

"Does that require bending over?" I hold my hand up to block the sun from getting in my eyes as I follow the older man down the gravel pathway toward his barn.

"Have you ever groomed a horse before, Iris?" He questions as he hobbles along merrily.

"Pfft, sure!" I say with as much false confidence I can muster.

"That means no, right?" He chuckles. My lie is as transparent as glass to Carter. I can't say I was ever a good liar. It was one thing Alissa never taught me.

"Yup." I sigh, my smile turning into a frown as I follow him.

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"For somebody who is afraid of heights, you sure do seem to be enjoying your flight." Charles comments over the fancy aircraft earmuff system.

"Yeah well, you're flying it and I'm literally in the clouds so...this isn't so bad. Plus you know what you're doing." I chuckle while I look out the window. At the moment, we're flying over the fluffy white clouds.

"I'm glad you have so much confidence in me." He says with amusement.

"I better, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten in this flying tin can." I turn from looking out the window to where Charles is piloting. I offer him a kind smile.

"Careful, Iris." Nick laughs.

"She is not a tin can!" He exclaims, feigning hurt.

"Oh, right sorry. My mistake. A steel can." I smirk, happy that my sarcasm is still intact even after being in a cabin in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere for over a month.

"Is she always like this?" Charles questions Nick as he lifts his brow and huffs at me.

"I've never seen her any differently." Nick jokes.

"Only on the weekdays and Saturday." I cut in and turn to look back out the window again.

"Why not Sunday?" Charles inquires with curiosity.

"Because Sunday's are the days where all I do is eat and sleep." I laugh. Charles looks at Nick, who simply holds his hands up in surrender.

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"No, no, Iris. You brush with the hair." Carter takes the brush from me and demonstrates how to brush Apollo for the third time.

"But I was rubbing in circles with the last one!" I whine as I watch Carter. I'm not too proud to admit I'm totally confused by all this horse stuff.

"That's what you're supposed to do with a curry comb." He states and offers the normal brush back to me.

"Why??" I ask and take the brush back before continuing with my work. I notice Carter watching me closely.

"To get all the loose dirt and hair up so you can brush it off." He turns and sits down on a fresh bale of hay with his cane between his legs.

"Oh. That makes sense." My mouth forms an 'O' before I start brushing again, correctly this time.

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"So, from here Nick will be taking you back to New York." Charles comments after we land at the nearest airport.

"Oh dear." I sigh and sit back in my seat while Charles pilots the plane down the runway. Nick shakes his head at me.

"Yeah. I don't think you'd have any chance of getting out of here without him." He winces with an apologetic tone. "Ever since the Avengers dropped the city, there were major concerns...mostly health concerns...but they're also looking for people to blame. Country officials would be all over you if you tried to board a normal flight."

"I can believe it. Besides, I don't have any credentials with me. No passport, no nothing." I admit. I turn in my seat to look at Nick shyly.

"It's not going to be a big deal. I've still got a Quinjet, which we'll be using to get you back to the States." Nick tells me confidently. I nod as Charles pilots his plane towards one of the hangers on the edge of the airport. Once we've come to a halt, Nick opens the door to the seaplane and hops out. He then folds the chair down and holds his hand out for me to take as I follow in exiting. Charles also exits the plane on his side. Once my feet hit the concrete, I take in a shaky breath and look around. I feel so odd being in a civilized area after living in the woods with Carter for a month. "This way, Iris." I nod and follow Nick after placing my headset back inside Charles' plane.

We enter an enclosed hanger where lo and below a single Quinjet is parked. I never really did take the time to let how large a Quinjet was compared to me settle in my mind. But now looking up at one, without being in a rush to get somewhere, I realize just how tiny I am compared to it. "Wow." I whisper to myself before shaking my head. Nick has turned to shake Charles hand and offer him thanks. I approach the two of them and smile at Charles. "Thanks, for everything, Charles." I rock back and forth on the balls of my feet. He nods his head once and offers his hand. I clasp my hand within his and shake it. "Keep an eye on Carter?" I ask.

"Of course, Iris." And then he offers Nick and I a farewell before leaving the hanger.

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"Carter! THE HORSE SNEEZED ON ME. I'M INFECTED." I drop the softer brush and shout while backing away from Apollo's face, which up to that moment I had been brushing carefully.

"Iris you are not infected. He sneezed because he probably had some dust in his nose." Carter looks at me, exasperated, and then looks to his four-legged friend.

"BUT HE SNEEZED ON ME!" I look at Apollo with wide eyes. The large equine returns the look with perky ears.

"Do you want me to give you some herbs?" Carter muses.

"Do they taste nasty?" I look over at him with a concerned look.

"Yes." His voice is flat.

"Oh, look at that! I'm-I'm feeling so much better! I'M NOT INFECTED ANYMORE! IT'S A MIRACLE!" I touch my cheeks and then throw my hands up as if a miracle has just occurred.

"That's what I thought." Carter chortles from his seat on the hay bale.

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"Why didn't you ever say anything about Carter?" I ask Nick from where I sit in the jet, my bag of things in my lap.

"You had just gotten over your burning rage to take down HYDRA." Nick tells me solemnly from where he sits across from my position. "I didn't want to reignite it by telling you what had happened. And I didn't want Carter's new position to be uncovered, just in case. He and I were the only ones who knew about it. Besides Charles." I sadly look at my hands.

"I thought you were going to protect them?" I inquire, looking up through my lashes. He gives me a pained look.

"There's nothing I can say that will make up for what had happened. I messed up. That's all I can really say. I made a bad decision in pulling my men out of the camp when I thought that when nobody came looking for you..." He breaks and sighs deeply. "I'm sorry Iris." Nick leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees.

"I forgive you, Nick. I thought the same. I thought I had destroyed that facility to the point that they'd never even realize I wasn't among the dead. I was wrong." I sigh and lean my head against the headrest. "So, where are we off to now?" I quickly change the subject before my heart gets any heavier. Before Nick can begin speaking, a harsh coughing fit overtakes me. I hold my finger up in a universe signal of 'just a minute' as I clear my airway. "Sorry. Been fighting the water in my lungs. Carter says its non-infectious pneumonia." Fury slowly nods his head, although he doesn't look like he quite believes me.

"We're headed to Upstate New York. We've got a new facility for the Avengers there. It's rather nice, if I may say so." I smile.

"If it's up to your standards, well, then I can't wait to see it." I cross my legs before looking around the aircraft's structure.

"We'll be arriving in a few hours. Get some rest." Nick tells me before getting up and heading to the empty cockpit. Ah, the joys of autopilot. I smile to myself and take his advice. Leaning my head back, I close my eyes and drift off into a calm slumber.