The Aftermath (December 2004)

Serena's recovery was slow. The swelling and bruising on her face and around her eyes had slowly faded, but she still dealt with headaches and short term memory loss. It was frustrating, but the top doctors in the city had seen Serena and believed she would recover. However, they could not say what the long term effects of her severe concussion would be. Learning that her father had sent Bruce away was hard for Serena. She missed him terribly and hated that she didn't even get to tell him that she didn't blame him for what happened or say goodbye. She hoped that she would see him again one day.

The repairs on the Tower were coming along and the lab was almost back to normal. It was a few weeks out from Christmas and Steve and Kate were in the living room decorating the tree together while Christmas music played in the background. Isabella was with Tony in their room.

"I think we should make Kate a full fledged Avenger. She deserves it Tony. She saved Serena's life...she saved my life. She could have died. I think she has more than proved herself."