𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 to her apartment and leaned back against the door with a quiet sigh. She slowly slid to the ground and sat, reveling in the silence. The moment was broken as John entered the room. Even though her eyes were trained on the ground, she could tell he was upset just by the way he walked in on her.

She brushed a few stray hairs out of her face and looked up to meet his eyes. "I thought you would've gone home by now?"

"And left the twins alone?"

It was a fair point. They really couldn't even be left alone a second without finding trouble. She slowly nodded her head in agreement then pulled herself back up to her feet.

"Maybe now would be a good time to talk about moving in together?" John suggested. Julie immediately shook her head. However, John wasn't content with the answer that he'd received for the second time that week. "Why not? I've already said I wouldn't mind having more company around my place, not to mention you could clearly use some more space than what this apartment is offering. We both know you could own a penthouse or a mansion if you really wanted to—"

"I'm fine with living where I'm at," Julie protested and pushed past John to enter the adjoining living room. She plopped down onto the couch against the wall before throwing her feet up onto the armchair. "I've got my kids to think about, John. I don't need a thousand reporters spying on us at every waking moment."

There were also the other aspects of her life that she needed to keep quiet and parading around the town with the Stark name wouldn't help keep her cover. It was important for her own safety and the safety of her family.

John moved her head onto his lap as he took a seat on the couch. "I understand that you feel the need to take precautions, but I've offered other suggestions as well—"

"Which I do appreciate," Julie interrupted, "but I still don't feel like it's the right fit for my family."

"And what about me?" John asked. "Do I not fit into the elite Stark circle?"

"That's not what I meant," Julie protested.

John shook his head. "You've been coming home later and turning off your phone... either you're avoiding me or you're hiding something."

"We've just had more work around Stark Industries," Julie replied, rolling her eyes, "My brother was abducted and held hostage for over three months. Remember? Hollyn and I have had to take over for him while he recovers."

John crossed his arms and bit the side of his cheek. "If that's true, how come you've left the office every evening around seven?"

"You're spying on me now?" Julie asked as she quickly sat up and moved to the opposite side of the couch.

"I'm worried about you, Jules," John corrected as if there was a difference, "I may have asked Lydia to keep tabs on you, but clearly my reasons were valid."

Julie stood from the couch, scowling, and headed back toward her room. "Goodnight, John. I trust you know your way out?"

"Jules," John stood to follow her, but she slammed the door in his face, "Jules!"

Julie kept her back pressed against the door. She had no intention of letting him enter the room; however, she made no effort to actually shut him out as the door remained unlocked.

There was a gentle knock. "Jules... Let me in."

"Why?"

She tried to keep her voice in check but failed to stop it from cracking. She could feel that tears had begun to well up in her eyes and she was on the verge of breaking down.

She was the oldest of the Stark clan. Mother. Oldest Sister. Protector. These were only some of the hats that she had to juggle. She was starting to crumble under the weight of those that had started to apply more pressure lately: Spy. Partner. Caregiver. Leader. Businesswoman. Etc.

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out."

It was as if he knew just the right thing to say. Any other moment she might have rolled her eyes at the sappy quoting of Shakespeare, but she was tired, and it was just enough for her to realize that she didn't really want to be alone.

She opened the door, but the lights remained off. By the time John entered the room, Julie had already crawled into her bed. It wasn't long before he was lying beside her with his arms wrapped around her.

At his contact, she broke. Her chest heaved with each sob. He kept her close with one arm while running his fingers through her hair with his other hand. She buried her face deeper into his chest.

Her voice was muffled by his shirt as she asked, "What am I doing wrong?"

"You're spreading yourself too thin," John quietly replied. "You're too hard on yourself and don't trust anyone to help. You don't always have to be the one in control. There are some things that you just can't control."

She was quiet as she processed his words. Slowly, she looked up into his eyes. As neither of them had turned on the lights, she wasn't actually able to see his expression. "Will you stay?"

"Of course," he agreed, "you can't get rid of me that easily."

He kept his arms tightly wrapped around her until he was certain that she'd fallen asleep. Only then did he relax and allow himself to drift off. Neither were aware of the little eyes watching from outside through the cracked door.

"She was crying again... wasn't she?"

"Shhh," Maria gently shushed her brother and motioned for him to follow her back to their room.

"You're the one who woke me up," Phillip complained, crossing his arms at her hypocritical action.

"It's only fair since mom woke me up," Maria quietly retorted as she continued to tiptoe.

"She cries a lot more."

Maria stopped and turned to face her brother. "It's not our fault."

"Are you sure?" The concern on her twin's face was poorly concealed. "We have been causing more trouble around school."

"Yes, I'm sure," Maria huffed under her breath. "She's just stressed out about Uncle Tony and her job, and John keeps coming around too."

"You really don't like him."

"He's not our dad." Maria crossed her arms.

"You've never had a dad," Phillip contradicted.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh." Phillip frowned. "He died before we were born. You never knew him."

"That doesn't mean I don't miss him." Maria quietly closed the door behind Phil as he followed her into the room.

"How can you miss someone you've never met?" Phillip questioned as he slid under the covers of the bottom bunk.

Maria thought about how she might answer as she climbed the ladder up to the top bunk. It didn't take long for her to give up. She shrugged. "You just do."

"It doesn't make sense," Phillip countered, "It's illogical."

"You've been watching Happy's Star Trek recordings again, haven't you?" Maria asked.

"It's the only fun thing to do when mom asks him to babysit us at his house," Phillip defended himself.

"I don't think you know what the word 'fun' means," Maria retorted. "You could always hang out with Tobias and me."

"I've been hit in the head with every ball known to man." Phillip crossed his arms beneath his sheets. "I want to keep the brain cells that I have left... Now leave me alone. I'm tired."

Maria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms but heeded her brother's request. She knew how irritated he'd be the next morning if he didn't get some decent sleep. A minute later, he was softly snoring, and she was the only one left awake in the apartment.

She didn't understand how he fell asleep so effortlessly, especially when learning that their mother had been in distress less than ten minutes before. However, her brother was also more in tune with the calibrations of robots than the emotions of humanity. They were only ten years old, but they were bright, like the other Starks to come before them.

They weren't exactly geniuses, but they were more observant than other children, which meant they had noticed the change in their mother's behavior from before her trip to Afghanistan and after. She'd never explicitly told them what had happened, but they knew it hadn't been good.

Their mother wasn't the only to come back a different person though. Their Aunt Hollyn seemed to pay more attention to the world around her, acting cautious at times as if scared something bad would happen around every corner. The security guard, Mr. Potts, seemed to be acting a bit unusual, but Maria was unable to determine what exactly had changed.

However, it was their Uncle Tony who had changed the most. Normally, he wouldn't hesitate to allow the kids to see him work, but after Afghanistan, he wouldn't even let them set foot on the top stair. Miss Potts seemed pleased though, she never did like that the twins were able to roam free around the dangerous workstation.

But in Maria's eyes, 'dangerous' was just another word for 'fun'. At least it used to anyway. She was starting to realize that the word 'dangerous' could be used to describe people. It was the first word she thought of when describing her mother's boyfriend.

John had been coming over to their apartment more frequently ever since Afghanistan. Although she initially didn't have any problems with him, an uneasy feeling had developed in the pit of her stomach over the course of the last three months. There was just something about him that she didn't trust, but her mom really liked the guy, so Phillip was left to deal with her complaints. All hope wasn't lost yet though. There still wasn't a ring around their mother's finger, so there was still a chance to scare him off.

A mischievous giggle escaped her lips. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep while creating a scheme to get rid of the invader she believed threatened the stability of her family. There was no way he'd be prepared for team double trouble.