Elements Of Trust (September 2002)

The next morning Isabella woke but when she felt Tony’s side of the bed, he wasn’t there and the sheets were cold. He hadn’t even come to bed. Tony had been in the lab but now he was in the kitchen and waited for his children to get up for school. If Natalya found a way to unlock the thick, metal door then he wanted to be there to protect the kids.

He watched James cross the large, open space to Natalya’s door. He plugged in the door code, it was completely silent incase she was listening, and the door opened. It also scrubbed fingerprints and body heat so she couldn’t learn the code by touch. He saw James duck inside.

Steve had gone down to see Kate earlier. He had not come back up yet. Usually Isabella was up before the kids and he expected her at any moment. He didn’t want to fight anymore about this but Phil Coulson was going to want to know what was happening. Natalya and James being here, considering how many agents they’ve killed is going to set a precedent. One that Tony doubted they could deny with any sort of certainty of trust.

James went into Natalya’s apartment. He was dressed in a simple, black t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots.

Isabella had finally fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion, but when she awoke in the morning she found Tony’s place empty and cold. Clearly, he had not come to bed. She sighed and got up and got dressed. Then, she made the call to Nick. She couldn’t let this destroy her family and her marriage.

After the call had been placed she walked into the kitchen and found Tony there looking intently at Natalya’s room.

“I called Nick this morning. He’s going to come pick her up today. He won’t be able to get here until this afternoon so we’ll have to hold her until then.”

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Natalya was awake when she heard the door unlock. She clearly hadn’t slept by the dark circles under her eyes. She was just sitting in the floor with her back against the bed. The bed was neatly made, indicating that she had never even laid down on it.

She glanced at James and saw him looking at her. “I’ve been having horrible nightmares recently.”

James sighed then came to sit beside Natalya on the floor. He removed from his pocket a candy bar and handed it to her. “I have them too, sometimes. Not so often now and the longer I am...here, the less I seem to have them. “I bet you haven’t eaten either. I can cook a few things and your fridge, freezer and cupboards are stocked. You can eat that though, its one of my favorites...I think,” James said. His tone and voice were flat but it seemed to change a little when he spoke to Natalya. And when he looked at her, something inside of him stirred.

“I could sleep here, next to the bed if you...want. If I hear you fretting, maybe I can stop it,” James said. He wasn’t at all certain about that but when you were not certain about anything, trying something, anything could be the thing that worked.

“I have more tylenol, for your wrist too,” James said.

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Tony just looked at Isabella after she said Nick was coming. He was about to say more when Theo appeared, dressed and ready for school. He looked tired and by the way he yawned, he was tired. He moved toward his parents and set his backpack on the corner of one of the chairs and then settled up into it. The kids normally had cereal on school days. Theo liked Frosted mini-wheats.

Just then both Tony and Isabella got a call from security. Nick was already there and they had let him into the elevator. Tony looked at Isabella and it wasn’t a pleased look. It was more of a look of aggravation as if she had done something wrong...which she did. In her sudden reversal she did not consult with him. She just ‘did it’ and this was the result.

“Nice going,” He murmured as he moved around her and headed toward the elevator to receive him. Theo ofcourse noticed the oddness between his parents and he sighed wishing his parents didn’t fight.

Natalya accepted the candy bar and looked at James. No one had ever been nice to her or cared about her well being before. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond. As she looked at James, she felt something deep inside of her stir. She tried to remember, but she couldn’t. It was frustrating to her.

“I wish I could remember you. I know I know you and I believe I can trust you, but I feel there is so much more. Do you...do you remember me?”

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Isabella was upset and when Tony gave her that look that suggested what she had done was the wrong thing, she became angry and even more upset. She just couldn’t win with him. Why did he have to be a stubborn asshole most of the time? She had asked him what they should do and he had never answered her, but she believed he didn’t want her there. They couldn’t turn her out onto the street though. This had been their only real option.

Serena walked out wearing jeans, flats, and a t-shirt with a lightweight sweater over top. Her hair was pulled up into a sleek ponytail. As soon as she entered the kitchen she could sense the tension. She put down her backpack and looked at Theo.

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

Theo watched as their parents moved toward the elevator. He leaned toward Serena. “Dad is pissed at mom, I’m not exactly sure why and mom is upset with dad...I don’t know that either,” Theo said under his breath.

Nick Fury came out of the elevator. He was dressed as he normally was, black leather and an eyepatch. He didn’t look all that enthused.

“Well, you two certainly seem to be making the rounds. Two murdering terrorists, Tony, you running outta things to collect?” Nick said sarcastically. His gaze shifted toward Natalya’s door but he continued toward the kitchen.

“We ofcourse already knew you had James and Natalya. I could take em both off your hands this afternoon. Just say the word,” He said as he moved into the kitchen. He removed a black coffee mug from the cupboard then filled it. The kids were both looking at him. Theo smiled. He had always wanted to meet Nick Fury. He sighed as Tony and Isabella stepped up to them and moved to greet the children.

“You must be Serena and you, you must be Theo,” Nick said as he shook their hands.

Isabella just stood there quietly as Nick made his way towards the kitchen. She saw him glance towards Natalya's room. It was easy to tell which room she was in by the locking mechanisms on the door. She didn't look at her husband as Nick got down a coffee mug and filled it. She was still angry and upset with him.

"James stays here," she said to Nick.

Serena had heard about Nick Fury and had seen pictures of him, but seeing him in person was quite impressive. He was every bit as intimidating as she had heard about, although both of her parents seemed fine around him. She wondered how he had lost his eye and wanted to ask him about it, but she thought better of it. She smiled and shook his hand when he offered it to her. Beside her, she felt Theo stiffen slightly as he shook Nick's hand. He didn't say anything, but she could tell something was wrong.

Nick took a sip of coffee as he looked at Tony and Isabella. “Phil would like his agent back, is she seriously hurt? I assume she’s here? Maybe someone could give him a call, he tends to worry when one of his best agents hasn’t called in,” Nick said plainly.

“I’ll send a team for the woman later this afternoon,” Nick said as he set down the mug. “Cya around,” he said as he headed back out to the elevator. He gave them a very serious look as he got inside and the doors closed.

Theo looked at his father with a troubled look. “Father, what the...Super Soldier Serum?” He asked. Tony’s eyes drew up and he gazed at Isabella briefly before he turned back to Theo.

“It no longer exists Theo, its nothing anymore,” Tony answered trying to give Theo an answer he could be satisfied with.

“Well, I think Mr. Fury intends on...finding out how to make it again by experimenting on Natalya Sokolova?” Theo said questioningly as if he was relaying something he had heard or read and was both troubled and uncertain about it. “It sounds...it felt...Dad, people don’t experiment on humans do they?” Theo asked worriedly and it looked as if he was about to cry. Tony frowned at what Theo had said and looked to Isabella for help with the children.

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James wanted to say that he did. But even as he spoke to her, he didn’t. “I knew someone that looked like you but i can’t be certain it was you Natalya. I see her in my memories...I see you,” he said and then he thought about something.

“There is something I wanted to try though. Something this woman and I shared once. Well...more than once I think. A kiss,” James said. “I can feel her lips on mine, sometimes in those dreams. Like muscle memory but distant,” James said. And then he smiled. For the first time since he had come to the tower he smiled. It was clear that he thought about kissing Natalya but he didn’t say it outloud.

Isabella watched Nick leave. She knew she needed to call Phil, but right now she needed to get everything sorted with Natalya. She started to walk over to the sink to clean out the mug that Nick had used when suddenly Theo spoke up and asked about the Super Soldier Serum. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked over at her son. She got an odd feeling from his question and that feeling was justified when Theo indicated that he believe Nick was going to be experimenting on Natalya to get the Super Soldier Serum in her body. She could see Theo was getting upset. She also knew that he and Serena needed to get to school. She saw Happy had arrived to drive them. She walked over to Theo and hugged him and then looked at him. "Your father and I are going to make sure that doesn't happen. Ok?" He nodded and she watched as he and Serena got their backpacks and headed into the elevator with Happy.

Isabella looked over at Tony after the elevator doors had closed. "So, what are we going to do about this? I'm not going to allow Nick to experiment on her. I don't care what she's done in her past, she doesn't deserve that...no living being does."

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Natalya looked at James when he talked about remembering kissing the woman he had known. "Are you saying you want to kiss me?"

“We ask Natalya what she wants. I won’t anyone here against their will and I’m not certain she was asked. If she asks to remain here with us, she will agree to our rules or she will not stay here. If she agrees to stay here and follow our rules she will need to have a purpose, something to do. Do you agree?” Tony asked. He still was upset with Isabella, with everything that’s been happening. This was not what he had intended for his family, especially his children.

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James wasn’t looking at her just then but, eventually he nodded and he did look at her then. He remembered her eyes but he didn’t tell her so. He also didn’t expect her to want someone, essentially a stranger to kiss her. But he thought it was good of an idea as any. And a part of him remembered kissing women. And that same part of him remembered he was good at it and enjoyed it.

Natalya looked up at James and her eyes met his. She found that she wanted him to kiss her. There was just something about him that was familiar and comforting. Neither one of them said anything. She saw James start to lean in close and she began to close her eyes....Just then they heard the door unlock. They both jerked away from each other just as the door opened and she looked over to see Tony, Isabella, and Steve.

After it was determined that Natalya wished to stay, rules were gone over with her. She did not yet have their trust. She would have to earn that. She would continue to remain in the locked room, but would gradually be given more and more freedom. However, she would not have access to the lab or to any areas where weapons were stored or to the hanger where the jet was. She would also not be allowed near Kate for quite some time. After her wrist had healed, they planned on having her come up with training exercises for the team. They all had seen video of her fighting and believed they could learn something from her.