Kasey was still fast asleep, her arms wrapped around Matt's torso as she snuggled, her head pressed against his shoulder.

"Hey, I can still hear you laughing." Matt teased Claire, faking a pout. He kept his arms around Kasey.

"It's just so unlike you to get spooked by anything, let alone did I think I'd ever see you let a kid snuggle you like this." She teased back. She went quiet for a moment as she thought of something, furrowing her brows. "Hey... This is just... just a theory- but... If you were her legal guardian then he couldn't prevent you from seeing her, right? Even though she's a legal adult?" She asked him.

"Cause she's made it pretty clear that she wants to be here, with you, Matt. And if you legally became her guardian and you're fine with her staying with you too despite her being able to be on her own, then there's nothing legally Stark could do about it, right?"

Matt thought over the idea, and the implications of the idea. While that could work, they still had the issue of Kasey's documents.

"If we can get her some documents, then we can mutually file for me to become her guardian." He thought aloud.

She nodded. "I forgot about her not having documents... That certainly adds another layer to an already complicated situation..." She sighed. "Which will take longer than a week."

Matt groaned softly. There had to be a way around all of this, didn't there? People were born in places without birth certificates all the time... "This is ridiculous. Jumping through all these hoops."

"It really is." She sighed. "Wish we could tell him to back the hell off and have that be that."

"Tony's ego is bigger than any of the toys he builds. If he wants something, he's not one to back down easily." Matt shook his head. Not to mention, if Tony took them to court, he could easily bankrupt them. But then again, he'd need something to take them to court for, which was highly unlikely.

"Yeah..." She leaned back in the chair. "I'm just worried how far he'll take this..."

"Hopefully not too far. But knowing Tony... I wouldn't get my hopes up." He responded, a bitter taste in his mouth. He really wished this all could just work out.

"Doesn't help that he has a lot of influence in a lot of places..." She sighed.

Kasey shifted a little bit and her grip tightened around him a bit, a small whine coming from her.

"Unfortunately. He could do some social damage if he really wanted to."

Matt stilled, his attention now on Kasey. He didn't know if it was because they were talking too loud, or if she was having a bad dream.

She whimpered a bit louder and her grip tightened more as he felt his shirt grow a bit wet as she started crying, mumbling but it wasn't very coherent.

Claire frowned. "Is she dreaming?" She asked.

Matt frowned, keeping his arms around her, hoping to somewhat comfort her. "I don't know if it's a bad dream, or more of a nightmare. She's crying again."

Claire's eyes softened as Kasey whined, burying herself against Matt.

"N-No- D-Don't-" She mumbled as tears flowed down her face. "Don't wanna leave-" She clung to him desperately. "D-don't take me-"

"Kasey-" Matt started, beginning with his voice slow and steady, hopefully not to startle her. "Kasey, you're still here, in my apartment." He nudged her lightly. "You're still home."

Kasey didn't seem to hear him, her heart rate was rapidly picking up speed, becoming dangerously fast sounding, as she grew more distressed. She started to hyperventilate as she panicked. "N-No-" She shifted a little bit but kept her grip on him as she trembled and cried. "W-won't go- Won't let y-you ta-take-" Her voice was broken and almost... distorted?

Claire creased her eyebrows in concern as she watched Kasey. "Kasey-?" She tried but she didn't respond.

She swore she saw her twitch?? Almost more of a glitch?? for a moment, a small distorted cry of pain coming from her. "Matt, I think there's something more happening here than just a nightmare-" She sounded uncertain and cautious.

Matt tilted his head, listening to her. It was strange, different almost. A sort of vibration changed in her voice. He felt her shift in his arms, and yet, it felt like she hadn't moved at all.

"Something's wrong here. This isn't like anything I've heard from her before." He spoke, worry laced in his voice. He nudged her again, a little harder this time. "Kasey, you need to wake up."

Kasey startled awake and gasped for breath, nearly headbutting Matt but she managed not to. She "looked" around a bit wildly for a minute before crying in pain as she glitched again, pulling away from Matt to wrap her arms around herself, her voice distorted when she cried. "M-Matt??" Her voice sounded wrong.

"Wh-What's h-happening?!" She cried, tears flowing down her face as she shuddered again, crying out in pain, her voice fading in and out and breaking up like they were talking to her on the phone.

Claire was quickly standing up, her eyes wide when she saw the glitch again. "Kasey?!" Her own heart was starting to race.

Shit! Was this what Tony was so worried about?!

Matt sprung to his feet, which might be regretful later, and focused his attention on her. She sounded so strange, as if he was hearing her through a radio.

"Kasey, you need to try and calm down. I'm not sure what's happening right now, but panicking might make it worse." He wouldn't admit he was panicking, afraid that Tony's predicted paradox was coming to fruition.

Kasey let out another cry of pain, wrapping her arms around herself tighter as Claire came over.

She focused onto Kasey, letting Matt be for a moment, only lightly squeezing his good shoulder as a warning as she knelt in front of Kasey.

"Kasey, I want you to take a deep breath and hold it okay?"

Kasey was hyperventilating but turned towards Claire and did as she requested. She forced herself to stop and hold her breath before Claire told her to release it.

She gasped slightly but it had stopped the hyperventilating, now she was just panting a bit.

She cried when she glitched again but it didn't seem nearly as bad this time.

"Good, just keep taking deep breaths, alright? In... and out." Claire guided her.

Kasey followed her guidance and the shaking slowly started to calm down and the glitching seemed to stop all together. "I-Is it over?" She asked, hesitantly.

Her voice still sounded a little distorted but it was quickly evening back out.

Matt listened, trying to determine if it had stopped or not. He held his breath, listening carefully as it seemed to fade. "I think it's going away." He let out a sigh.

At least they knew now what Tony had meant. And they knew now how to deescalate that sort of situation. That didn't make it any less terrifying, however. "Just relax, I'll grab you a blanket." He told her, moving carefully to get one before wrapping it around her shoulders.

Kasey carefully pulled it around her, still trembling a bit but it seemed more from shock than whatever the hell that had been.

"W-what was that??" She asked, her voice fearful and small.

Claire sighed. "I... I don't know." She replied. "But it was almost like you were... glitching. Like... visually." She explained.

Matt shook his head lightly. "I've never heard anything like that before."

Matt sat down on the couch again, running a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid that might be the issue Tony was talking about..." Now he could see why Tony was so desperate to send her back.

Kasey turned to him, rubbing away the tears running down her face. "Th-that's what he's been so worried about?" She asked before letting out a small sob.

"It hurt so much... L-like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions..." tears dripped down her face again as Claire moved to sit in front of her, gently rubbing her hand over her knee.

"I think your nightmare triggered it somehow. So it was good that Matt was able to wake you up quickly."

Matt frowned, pulling her into another embrace. It killed him to hear her be so upset, and hurt. This whole situation was just screwed up, and he couldn't stand it. When it was himself on the line, sure he could, but this was different. Damn it, she was just a kid. "I'm so sorry Kasey."

She pressed against him, shaking a little bit as she shifted to sit in the embrace easier, keeping the blanket around her shoulders.

"N-not your f-fault..." she mumbled as she quietly cried.

Claire sat on the other side of her and gently rubbed her back, making Kasey melt against Matt with a faint hum.

"We are going to figure this out. We are going to. We have to." Claire told her. "We will do as much as possible to help. I promise."

"Claire's right. I'll put everything I have into helping you. Whether that be finding a way to stabilize you, or keep Tony off your back. Name it, and I'll help you with it." Matt told her, just wanting to hold her. He was afraid that if he didn't, she would slip right through his fingers.

She nodded as she clung to him, just as scared that if she let go she'd fall apart at the seams.

"Th-thank you-" She whispered, letting Claire keep rubbing her back. "I don't... I don't remember anything like that happening before..." She explained. "...I just wish things could go back to normal..."

"Believe me, if I could fix that with a snap of my fingers, I would." Matt said, resting one of his hands on the back of her head. He hated that she felt like this.

She sat in his embrace, her tears slowly coming to a stop as she couldn't seem to cry anymore. She'd been crying so much lately....

She was silent as she just let them love on her and let herself try to relax but was still a bit tense.

Claire sighed softly, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Take all the time you need, okay?" She told her softly. "There's no need to push yourself."

Kasey didn't acknowledge her as she just sat in their embrace, her mind numb and distant.

Matt contemplated what this would mean for the rest of the week. If this was Tony's issue, then Matt wasn't so sure he could keep him at bay forever. Matt had been working under the assumption that Tony was overreacting over possibilities, and Kasey's instinct was the issue. He never imagined something like this.

"We'll be right here for you, remember that." Matt spoke softly.

"Okay..." she whispered quietly, still out of it as she sat there.

After a minute she slowly climbed back into his lap like she had been and curled up against him, Claire scooting a bit closer to keep rubbing her back.

She felt like a child, wanting to be held and loved on like this but... right now? With everything that was happening?

She was just a scared little kid, desperately seeking the safety of her parents' embrace.

And she was fine with that.

It took awhile but she eventually drifted off again, reassured by the consistent presence of Matt and Claire.

Her family.

Matt was glad that she felt safe enough with them, especially now that she had fallen asleep again. It was a new feeling, but it felt like they were a small family, even if they technically were just a group of misfits. Matt didn't mind one bit.

"I think she drifted off again." He was speaking towards Claire this time, keeping his voice soft.

"Good... Maybe she'll actually get some proper rest without any trouble this time." She replied, leaning back slightly. "...I know telling him would make him come get her but... He needs to know at some point."

Matt nodded, knowing she had a point. While he hated the thought of even messaging Tony, he knew he'd have to tell him eventually.

"I'll tell him eventually, just... not right now. If I do, he might escalate things and make it worse for her." Matt had to put her first.

Claire nodded in agreement. "I agree. Maybe when he comes for her unless it gets worse."

She sighed as she looked at Kasey who was sound asleep, cuddling Matt. Her heart beat steadied out and she seemed peaceful now.

Matt thought for a moment before an idea struck him. "What if we didn't try to send her back, but instead try to cure her? What if we asked Tony to stabilize her somehow?" Matt wasn't very scientific, but he wondered if that'd work.

Claire blinked in surprise before humming softly. "I mean, if anyone could figure it out, it'd probably be Tony." She agreed. "It's worth a try, right?"

"I may not like the guy, but I can admit that he's a genius. Hell, the guy makes flying nanotech suits." Something Matt knew he'd have no idea how to do.

"When I tell him about the glitching thing, I'll ask him about a cure." He decided.

"Sounds like a plan." She agreed before stretching and standing up. "Unless she wakes up and feels up to it, I doubt you'll get much more training done today and it's barely noon." She chuckled.

"I don't think I'll make her train anymore today anyway. She's been through enough for one day, let alone the first half of one." Matt admitted, turning his head towards Claire. "You can rest some if you'd like, I'll be up while she's asleep."

She turned to him. "You sure?" She sounded uncertain. She didn't know if she'd have another episode.

"Yeah, if anything happens I can wake you, but I think I can handle her being asleep." Matt reassured her. He wouldn't have her constantly up and helping them without resting herself. She surely had enough of that at her job.

Claire hesitated before nodding. "Alright. But you better wake me if anything happens." She told him.

"I will. Promise." Matt told her. "Since we've got the couch right now, you could take the bed if you'd like."

She sighed. "Alright but let me know if anything happens." She told him before disappearing into the bedroom.

"Will do." Matt responded simply, listening as Claire left the room. After that the room grew quiet, the only sounds available being their shared heartbeats, and the shallow breathing of sleep.