Not An Avenger

Treading Cautiously

74, Utopia Park. Yup, that was the correct address. I knocked on the door. I hadn't expected the founder of SHIELD to have such a humble abode.

A nurse answered the door.

"Hi, I am Amrita Ray, Ms. Carter's new doctor." I told her.

"Yes, of course. She would like to meet you. But, she has a visitor, right now. Would you mind waiting?" she asked gesturing towards the sitting room.

"No. Just tell me when she's free." I told her, sitting down.

I laid back on the sofa and relaxed. This was one of the reasons I had taken up this job. It wasn't stressful. In the past month I was assigned to the trauma department in hospital and there were several incidents when I had lost my calm and the energy I had absorbed from the Tesserect last month had almost resurfaced. Thankfully, no one noticed the blue streaks of light escaping my fingertips.

I hadn't told anyone about it, not my parents, not Tony and especially not SHIELD. I was completely freaked out by it and didn't know what to do. Moreover, I was so busy and exhausted working at the ER that I didn't even have a chance to figure it out.

Therefore, when I was offered the boring, laid back job of the critical care of an ex-SHIELD head, I took it at the first chance.

However, living alone in Washington was not easy even without the hectic ER duty. It was like starting all over. I knew no one here, even at the SHIELD Headquarters. And I was completely out of touch with the people I had known in New York. I left abruptly, as soon as I got discharged from the hospital. Even Tony didn't call these days. He was suffering from PTSD after that incident in New York. At least he had Pepper with him.

I think even I was suffering from PTSD. But unlike Tony, I didn't have anyone here with me. Maybe it was a good thing. God knows what would be the consequences of absorbing that much Tesserect energy. For all I knew I could be ticking time bomb.

Maybe I should tell someone about it.

My musings were interrupted by footsteps coming from the hall. It seemed Ms. Carter's visitor was leaving. Just out of mere curiosity I peeped out to see who it was. To my immense surprise, I saw Steve Rogers putting on his coat in the hallway. I really hadn't expected to see him here.

As if moving subconsciously, I walked to the hall.

"Hi." I said awkwardly.

He looked at me, surprised.

"Amrita! Where have you been?"

"I got transferred. What are you doing here?"

"I…...um…... Peggy, she's an old friend."

"Oh!" was all I could say. I understood what he meant by 'friend' of course. The 90-year-old lady I will be treating was Captain America's old flame.

We were interrupted by the nurse. "Ms. Carter is ready to see you, doctor."

"Will I find you at the hospital?" Steve asked me.

"In the clinic." I corrected him.

"I'll find you there tomorrow, then." He said, walking out of the door.

I stood there in the hallway, for about one minute, contemplating. He had a new haircut. It looked nice.

I gave myself a kick (internally, of course). Why was I thinking about his hair, standing there in the hallway?

I collected myself and went to Ms. Carters room.

She turned out to be a nice old lady, in the best condition a 90-year-old could be expected to be in.

"Don't you have better patients than me, dear? Such a young, ambitious doctor. How did you get stuck with me?" She had a thick British accent.

"I didn't get stuck, Ms. Carter. I volunteered.

"That's odd." She said, closing her eyes.

After 5 minutes, I was sure she was asleep. I debated whether to wake her up or not. I had to complete the physical examination.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. "What's your name, dear?" she asked, casually.

"Amrita." I repeated, continuing the exam.

She simply nodded and it kind of creeped me out. Her nod was quite meaningful, as if she had known my entire life story just by my name.

…

I reached the clinic the next morning earlier than I was supposed to, and happier than I usually was. I knew the reason for this, but refused to accept it.

The good mood, however, didn't last long.

I had gone to submit a patient's file at the nurse's station when I noticed the familiar face of Tony Stark on the television screen. There had been a terrorist attack in Miami and someone from Tony's personal staff had been seriously injured. The media was badgering him for a statement, and he gave the most idiotic one possible.

'If you're not a coward, Mandarin, or whatever you call yourself, meet me man-to-man. Address is 12, Malibu Point. I'll leave the door open.'

I called him as soon as I recollected myself from his outrageously dangerous statement. The feed was live. I clearly heard hid ringtone from the TV, saw him take the phone out of his pocket and look at it. And I also saw him reject the call and put the phone back inside.