Fliss grinned, rubbing her free hand through Alex's hair. "See" I told you Uncle Tony would sort something out," she teased her brother fondly. "I bet he tested it on himself too."

Johnny wasn't really sure whose idea it had been anymore, nor did it matter. All that mattered was that the children would be able to communicate with their comatose mother and be assured that she wasn't going to leave them. "I don't know about that," Johnny said, kissing Maria and then Alex on the cheek, even if they were getting a little old for it, before moving to his feet. "How are you holding up, Fliss?" he asked, knowing he'd thrown a lot on her shoulders when he rushed off to New York to be with Liv.

One thing he could be sure about with his eldest was that she didn't lie. As Bess lunged toward their father, Fliss summoned up a weary smile from somewhere. "I'll live," she told Johnny quietly. "I've got Luc - who pretty much apple-pied me into the bed last night after your call so I'd sleep, by the way. How about you?"

Johnny smiled, reaching to take Bess from her as the toddler lunged his way. "I'll have to remember to thank him later," he told her. "And how's my little Bessie today?" he asked, tickling the toddler under the chin as he balanced her against his hip.

"Dada scratch," the toddler informed him, rubbing her palm over his stubble and cackling. Not much derailed Bessie for long. Fliss snorted with laughter, absently hugging Alex and Mo as their little sister demanded - and got - Johnny's attention for the time being.

"I forgot to shave," he said, looking a little abashed to have the toddler point it out, but that was hardly important right now. He gave her a kiss, careful not to scratch her with the stubble that had grown on his cheeks and chin. "Are you all ready to see Mummy?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

Maria nodded with enthusiasm, Bess looked around as though hoping to see Liv come walking out from behind a door. Fliss just smiled tiredly in answer. "As ready as we'll ever be, I guess," she said, reaching down to take hold of her siblings' hands. "And don't forget she can hear us, so mind your manners, Mo."

Maria snorted, her mouth opening in her silent laughter as she swung her hand back and forth cheerfully.

Alex nodded eagerly but nervously as Fliss took his hand and answered for them all. "I want to see Mama," he said simply, reaffirming his elder sister's statement.

"All right, my children," Johnny said. "Just remember what I said about how Mummy looks. And be careful of the tubes and things. They're there to help her get well."

Even forewarned, it was something of a shock to see their usually bustling and vibrant mother lying pale and still in a medical bed, surrounded by machines. Thankfully, the blood transfusions were over - the only drip still up was fluids to keep her hydrated, nowhere near as traumatising as the sight of a bag of blood hanging next to her bed. Fliss had to swallow hard not to cry; she'd never seen Liv as anything less that fully capable of whatever she set her mind to. It was so difficult to see her like this. And there was a stranger there, too - Aleksandra Solova was chatting quietly to the comatose woman as she adjusted the settings on a curious machine beside the bed.

From just the look on Fliss' face, Johnny wasn't too sure this was a good idea, and yet, maybe they'd find some comfort once Liv was able to communicate with them. "I know it's upsetting," Johnny said, knowing that was an understatement. "But she needs to know you're here."

Fliss nodded, swallowing hard once more as she squeezed her siblings' hands. "So you guys, we gotta talk to her, okay?" At the worried look on Maria's face, she summoned a smile from somewhere. "She'll know you're here, Mo. We'll make sure she does."

"Here," Johnny said, gently lifting Liv's hand, while still balancing Bess in his other arm. "Take her hand, Mo. She'll know it's you," he said, focusing on Maria a moment, noticing the worried expression on her face.

Maria glanced between her father and sister for a moment, worried that she was going to be left out. But with their encouragement, she moved to the bed, taking Liv's hand between her own small palms to kiss her mother's knuckles affectionately.

Johnny turned to find Aleksandra standing nearby, but not saying anything, and he smiled a little in hopes she now understood why this was so important to him. "Can she hear us, Papa?" Alexei asked, though Johnny had already explained that she could.

"I think so, Alex," Johnny replied. "I wasn't so sure at first, but last night she talked to me in my head ....like you do sometimes."

"Remember what Aunt Lucy told us?" Fliss offered, wrapping her arms around Alexei fondly. "About people being able to hear you, even if they can't move or speak" It's like that, peanut."

Across from them, Aleksandra was silent, watching as the little girl who had yet to say a word rubbed her cheek into the motionless curl of her mother's fingers.

"If we can talk to Mama in her sleep, will Maria be able to talk to her, too?" Alex asked, curiously. He didn't have any problem talking to Maria, but he knew not everyone was like him. Would this machine of Uncle Tony's help Maria speak to her mother without having to use her fingers to do so"

At this, Aleksandra realised she could probably answer the questions more easily than the childrens' father. "If you can think, then you can use the machine," she said quietly. "And we tested it, to make sure that it will not give you or your mother a headache."

Fliss frowned curiously, glancing at Johnny.

"You can talk to Mama, Maria!" Alex exclaimed, suddenly excited for his sister, despite the upsetting sight of his mother so still and quiet and hurt. It wasn't immediately obvious to the casual observer, but this was a very special family. Except for Bess, they were a family made up of orphans, connected together by love.

"Maria should go first," Alex said further, willing to wait so that his mother could finally hear his sister's voice for the very first time, even if it was only inside her head.

With the lack of verbal response from the child, Aleksandra made a guess, bending to raise her hand and sign as she spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Maria," she said. "My name is Aleksandra. Would you like the try the machine?"

Maria's little face was lit up in a hopeful grin, but she still looked to Johnny for proper permission.

Johnny smiled at little Maria, glad to see her hopeful, and not in tears at the sight of her mother. "Go ahead, sweetheart. You deserve first dibs," he told her.

"We have almost the same name," Alexei piped up, once Aleksandra had introduced herself. "I'm Alex," he said, pointing to himself. "And that's Maria and Fliss and Bess," he said, pointing to each of his sisters in turn.

"Ah, well, Alex is one the best names," Aleks told him, not bothering to point out that she could hear the difference in pronunciation. "Sit on the chair, Miss Maria, and I will put these sticky pads on your forehead, just like the ones on your mother's head, see?"

Maria nodded, wriggling up onto the chair and sweeping her hair out of her face with both hands.

Fliss chuckled to herself, still hugging Alexei. "And you go next, so no trying to break in, okay?" she warned her brother.

There was a very slight pause, exactly the same pause he would have received if they had been talking on a normal day. "Not anymore, sweetheart," Liv assured her son mentally. "It hurt a lot before they gave me medicine to take the pain away. I can't feel some places on my body because of the medicine, but that is a good thing. And I can feel your fingers on my cheek. Just you wait, when I'm all healed up, I am going to shower you in kisses."

Alex smiled and even blushed at his mother's promise. Though pleased with her promise, he was old enough to be embarrassed by her affection and glad no one else could hear what she'd told him. He glanced momentarily over at the others, as if to make sure they could not hear what was being said between them, before looking back at his mother. "I miss you, Mama. Will you be home soon?"

"I miss you too, peanut, so much. The doctors want to make sure that I really am starting to heal before I can come back to Rhy'Din and be healed magically, but that won't take long. A couple of days, maybe." Somehow, she managed to convey the sensation of being hugged, even if she couldn't move at all. "I love you so much, Alex. I'm sorry I scared you, but I am going to be fine. I will come home, and everything will be the way it was, I promise. Okay?"

"I love you, too, Mama," Alex found himself whispering out loud, almost forgetting that he wasn't alone with her. There were tears in his eyes, but they weren't sad tears, believing at last that it really was her he was hearing in his head and that she was going to be okay.

"Would you like to have a job to do, until I'm home again?" And that was Liv, too, knowing that the people who loved her needed to have some purpose beyond just hoping and getting upset about it.

"A job?" he echoed back at her in his head. While he wanted to be helpful, just the sound of the word "job" made him doubtful. Still, he wanted to be of help to his father and his siblings, but most of all to his mother, who it was no secret, he adored.

"Yes, darling. I would like you to look after Fliss for me. I know she's looking after you and Maria and Bess, and she has Luc there helping, but sometimes she forgets to look after herself. She needs to eat and sleep and laugh, too. Do you think you could do that for me?"

Alex turned a glance at Fliss, hoping she couldn't read his or their mother's mind. It wasn't what he'd expected her to ask of him, but he nodded his head in reply before remembering she couldn't see him do it. "Da, Mama, I can do that." He paused a moment before continuing, frowning a little in concern. "I heard her crying last night in bed," he told her, a little reluctantly, feeling as though he was sharing some unpromised confidence.

There was no way Liv could hide the guilt she felt for that, but she was quick to smother it with reassurance for her little boy. "She's allowed to cry, peanut, just like you are. It's been a horrible shock, and it was very scary for a while, but I promise it will get better. Fliss thinks she has to pretend she isn't as upset as you and the girls are, because that's how to protect you. All you have to do is talk to her about it, and I'm sure she'll tell you she's just as scared and upset as you are."

"I know, Mama," he told her, knowing his sisters pretty well. "I just don't know how to help," he admitted, though she had given him a suggestion there already.

"Yes, you do, peanut," Liv assured him fondly. "You're my brave boy with your big heart and your funny smile. Cuddles can do magical things sometimes."

"Okay, Mama, I will try!" he promised enthusiastically. She wasn't asking much of him really, but what he was ready and willing to do already. "Can we come see you again?" he asked, unsure if they were going home after this or staying until she came home with them.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. And I'm sure Uncle Tony has lots of things he can show you if you get bored." Again, there was the imperceptible sensation of being hugged without arms and the feeling of his mother's smile filling his mind.

He sighed at the perception of being hugged, a small smile flitting across his face. "Can I hug you for real, Mama" I will be very careful," he asked her, needing that physical touch between mother and son.

"Of course, peanut. On the side where there aren't any wires. And I will smother you with hugs and kisses just as soon as I can, I promise." It was all Liv could offer for now, but she was hopeful that time wouldn't be too far away.

Alex paused a moment as he examined her bed, frowning at all the tubes and wires and the very still body of his mother, before very gently, laying his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her as carefully as he could. "I love you, Mama," he whispered again, closing his eyes against the threat of tears.

"I love you too, baby."

And if any of the others were paying close attention, they might have noticed one forefinger twitching. Liv desperately wanted to reassure her little people that everything would be all right.

"Did ..." Johnny started, his voice sounding uncertain. "Did she just move a finger?" he asked, brows furrowing as he gazed over at Alex and Liv.

Fliss' head snapped up from where she had been in silent conversation with Maria, glancing at her father before focusing her gaze onto Liv's hand. "I didn't see ..." But there it was again. Just one finger, just one twitch, but Liv was definitely moving.

"Liv, lift one finger if you can hear us," Johnny urged, moving to the edge of his seat with Bess balanced against his lap.

Alex lifted his head to look down at his mother's hands, brows furrowing, like his father's. "Mama, was that you? Do it again!" he echoed, in her head.

This time the pause was longer, but there it was. Still just one finger, just one movement. "Goodness, that's hard work!" Liv informed Alex, but she seemed happy. "The doctors will want to do tests on this, darling. You should tell them."

"Yes, Mama!" He turned toward his father and the others. "Mama says it's hard work for her to move her fingers, but that we should tell the doctors," he informed his family.

"Jarvis" Did you hear that?" Johnny was quick to ask. "Can you pass word along to Tony please?"

"Certainly, sir."

The computer's voice made Maria jump - she wasn't used to disembodied voices coming from everywhere at once, looking around wildly.

"It's a computer, Mo," Fliss explained gently. "Jarvis looks after everything here so Uncle Tony doesn't accidentally fry the whole house trying to make hot dogs."

"Succinctly put, Miss Felicity."

"He's a little more than a computer," Johnny added, though he wasn't too sure how better to explain that disembodied but calming voice.

Meanwhile, Alex seemed satisfied with his visit with his mother and after telling her again that he loved her and to get well soon, he straightaway went over to Fliss to tug on her sleeve. "It's your turn to talk to Mama, Fliss."

"Could throw Cap and Cap Jnr a birthday party right here at the mansion," Tony agreed with a grin, tilting a look toward Lucy while secure in the knowledge that bringing it up in front of the children meant she was unlikely to be able to say no.

She rolled her eyes at her brother. "I'll ask him," was all she'd say, shaking her head in amusement. "You okay there, Johnny' Kind of quiet."

Johnny mumbled a response around a mouthful of hotdog, looking a little confused by Lucy's remark, since it was him who'd suggested coming back in July. He paused a moment to swallow before speaking semi-coherently. "Remember that first year we celebrated Steve's birthday?" he asked, with a grin. "I almost decked you," he said, poking Tony's shoulder with a too-warm finger.

Tony winced, rolling his eyes. "Can't say I haven't improved," he pointed out. "I haven't made anyone go into labor just to make me shut up since then."

Johnny couldn't deny that Tony had grown on him - or maybe they'd just gotten used to each other. "Like it or not, we're a family now, bro," Johnny said, play-slugging Tony's shoulder.

Maria tugged on Tony's slacks with one sticky hand, waiting to get his attention. "When are you getting married, Uncle Tony' I like Pepper, she's pretty and funny."

There was a pause as Lucy took in the cornered look on her brother's face, and she guffawed with laughter, clutching at her aching stomach as she rocked back on the couch.

Johnny snickered at Maria's question. "She's got a point, Tony. Gotta make her an honest woman sooner or later," he teased, glad it was Maria who'd brought it up, as the man wasn't likely to get angry at her.

Tony rubbed at his neck awkwardly. "I gave her the damned rock -"

"Language," Lucy interjected.

"Uh ....the shiny ring," Tony corrected himself with a wary glance at his sister. "I thought the rest of it just happened. Women's stuff, you know?"

Maria grinned up at him. "Can I wear a pretty dress when it happens?"

Tony's eyes widened. "You know what, munchkin" I'm going to make Pepper have lunch with you girls and you can make all the arrangements yourselves."

"Holy shit," Johnny murmured, forgetting Lucy's warning against bad language. "Did I just hear Tony Stark agree to get married?" he asked with another grin. "Did Hell just freeze over?"

"Shut it, Pyro," Tony warned. He'd technically been engaged to Pepper for several years now, but technically was apparently not enough for the little girl now wiping her sticky hands on his pants. "Munchkin, I love you, but not the Ford pants."

Johnny smirked, wondering what Tony would be like with kids of his own - but first things first. It was nothing short of a miracle getting him to admit that he actually wanted to get married. He handed Bess off to Tony and crouched down to wipe Maria's hands clean with a napkin. "Fliss has been in there a while. Think everything's going okay?" he asked to no one in particular.

"You left her talking to Liv?" Lucy asked, doing the same to Alexei's hands now the boy had finished shoving what looked like half a cow down his throat. "She's probably doing better now than she was when you left. She'll be out in a little bit, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I thought she needed some privacy," Johnny explained, showing he wasn't a complete idiot when it came to his children's feelings.

"Maria and me talked to Mama!" Alex was quick to share.

"Maria and I," Johnny corrected quietly. "Oh, God. I'm turning into an English teacher!" he bemoaned.

"Well, you are married to an English woman," Tony pointed out in amusement, only mildly distracted by the fact that Bess was very seriously trying to undo his tie while simultaneously making it tighter.

"I bet she was so happy to talk to you guys," Lucy smiled at her niece and nephew.

Maria waved her hands. "She moved her finger too!"

Alex nodded enthusiastically in agreement with his sister. "We all saw it, didn't we, Papa?" he asked, looking to Johnny for confirmation. Well, that was one reason the little family looked so much brighter than they had the night before.

"She did. More than once," he confirmed.

Lucy's expression brightened almost instantly. "That's amazing news," she exclaimed, the one medical doctor in their midst knowing what that meant better than the rest of them. "Seriously, that is ....such good news, I don't even know how to describe it. No wonder the doctors are so optimistic!"

"Aleks ....the lady with the machine ....said we should tell the doctors, but you're a doctor, too, Aunt Lucy," Alexei reasoned, wiping the stickiness from his hands on his pants. "Does that mean she'll get better?" he asked hopefully.

"JARVIS passed it on," Tony put in, finally intervening in Bess' tie shenanigans to prevent himself being strangled in the name of uncle-hood.

"It's a very good sign, Alex," Lucy assured the boy, reaching to help him wipe his hands clean on something that wasn't his clothing. "Often when people hurt their heads, the first two days after it happens are very important. The sooner they start reacting to things around them appropriately, the better it looks for their recovery. No one was expecting your mum to start moving for at least another ten hours, so this is a very good sign."

"Did Uncle Steve get rid of Hydra?" Alex asked next, knowing more than the adults around him might give him credit for. He knew his mother had been attacked by Hydra, and he knew his Uncle Steve was angry about it, but he wasn't too sure what was being done about it.

Johnny looked from Lucy to Tony, as if not quite sure how to answer that question. He didn't really like the children knowing about these things, but these children knew firsthand the evil Hydra was capable of.

"He got rid of the people from Hydra who thought hurting your mum was a good way to distract us from what they were doing," Lucy said smoothly. She'd already had to explain this to her own children, after all. "And in a little while, Uncle Steve and Uncle Tony, and you dad and Aunt Sue, and all their friends ....they will make Hydra hurt for trying to hurt us."

Alex silently accepted that with a nod before replying. "Someday I'm going to be an Avenger, too," he stated matter-of-factly.

Johnny frowned. "Let's just hope Hydra is defeated by then," he murmured.

"And what else are you gonna be, Alex?" Tony asked. "No one is just an Avenger. Your dad fights fire, I have a whole business to run ....what else gets you interested and happy?"

"I think they might have heard me crying last night," Fliss confessed, ashamed of herself for having let her siblings hear her. "I tried to be quiet. Gods, Dad, Luc was beside himself. He didn't know how to help me. I felt so bad for him."

"I'm sure Luc has had his moments," Johnny remarked, though that wasn't the point really. "Fliss, give yourself a break. You are allowed to cry. You have a very good reason for being upset. We all have," he said, brushing her hair back from her face, a warm smile for his eldest. "I'd be more worried if you weren't upset, to be honest."

She managed a weak smile for him. "I just, I don't want you to worry or think that you need to be everywhere because I can't cope," she told him. "I can cope. I just, I miss her, and it's worse because she's right there."

"And it might take time for her to heal, but she's gonna be back," he assured her, refusing to give up hope. "I bet she told you as much, didn't she?" he asked, though he didn't want to pry too much into their conversation.

"She keeps apologising," Fliss told him guiltily. "Like any of this is her fault." She did offer up a faint snort of laughter, though. "Apparently we're having a girl's day out when she's better."

Johnny smiled. "I suppose that leaves me and Alex out," he said, though he wouldn't begrudge his favorite girls a day to themselves. "I could use a good pedicure," he teased, happy to hear Fliss' laughter.

The teenager snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes. "You can have a boy's day in," she suggested with a grin, almost back to her usual self. "I'm good, really I am. I just ....wobbled a bit, that's all."

"You're allowed to wobble, Fliss," he told her, reaching over to trace her cheek with a too-warm fingertip. "I'm so proud of you, but you don't always have to be the strong one, you know. You have me and-and your mom and Luc and everyone here and back home on Rhy'Din." He faltered just a moment at the mention of Liv, but only because they were both all too aware of her lying too quietly nearby.

"I know," she promised with a faint smile. "But you gotta let us look after you sometimes, okay' Because you don't have to be the strong one all the time, either, and-and neither does she."

"Yeah, well ....It's kind of expected of us as parents," Johnny argued. He'd had his breakdown and was trying very hard to keep things together, not just for the sake of the kids but for Liv, too. "Anyway, everyone seems to think she's gonna be okay. Once she's stabilized, we'll be able to bring her home, and then the healers can finish making her all better." And then, woe to anyone working for Hydra.

"That's good," Fliss nodded, relieved to hear that. Then JARVIS spoke.

"My apologies for the interruption, Mr. Storm - the doctors are on their way to assess your wife's condition."

Johnny lifted his gaze upwards at the sound of Jarvis' voice, though he wasn't quite sure why. "Okay. Thanks for the warning, Jarvis," he replied. "Can you let Tony and the kids know?"

"Of course, sir."

Fliss rolled her eyes at the polite exchange. "I have no idea how you get used to that," she commented, shaking her head. "It's weird, not having a face to look at when he's talking."

"It's a little weird, but you get used to it," Johnny remarked, though he couldn't really explain how you got used to it. His expression sobered as he looked over at Liv. "Do you think they'll let me stay?" he asked, reluctant to leave her even for a little while. He'd left so that Fliss could visit in private, but he had promised Liv and himself that he wouldn't leave her side until she was well, which was probably going to prove a little difficult.

"Do you really want to stay while they're poking and prodding and doing things with needles?" Fliss countered. She knew her father had an aversion to needles, and she very much doubted he would be comfortable to watch as blood was taken from her mother. "Besides, they're assessing her, right' So you'll kind of be in the way a bit."

"I guess," Johnny replied a little reluctantly. There were times when he wondered who was the adult - him or Fliss - but then, she'd been forced to grow up quickly, before they'd welcomed her into their home and adopted her.

"C'mon," his eldest cajoled him. "She'd kill you if she knew you hadn't been outside in, like, twenty-four hours." Which, of course, Fliss had just told her mother. Liv was comatose, not deaf.

Johnny was frowning again. He hadn't had a chance yet to hook up to Aleks' machine, and yet, he had already talked to Liv the night before, thanks to Alyona, and there would presumably be time for that after the doctors were finished with their assessment. And Fliss was right - he couldn't stop taking care of himself or the kids because Liv was hurt. He hadn't even bothered to shave today, which was not like him at all. "I don't-I don't wanna leave her," he murmured aloud.

"You're not leaving, Dad," Fliss reminded him. "Taking a little time to shave and stretch your legs isn't the end of the world. You know what she'd say if she could."

"Yeah, she already did," he said, remembering what Liv had told him the night before. And Maria had already had a good albeit silent giggle at his day-old stubble. "Shave, huh' What's the matter" You don't think I'd look good with a beard?"

"You could totally rock a beard," Fliss assured him with a grin. "Just thinking, you know, she might not appreciate you growing hair somewhere new when she's had some of hers hacked off. I'm only thinking of your sex life, Dad." And this was almost uttered with absolute sincerity, but for the glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

"Should I shave my head in a show of solidarity?" he asked, only half teasing. Liv's hair was the least of his worries right now. "She can hear us, you know," he whispered, leaning close.

"Mmhmm." With a wicked flicker to her grin, Fliss raised her voice just a little. "So you probably don't want me to talk about how you look like you got dragged through a hedge backwards and sat on by an ogre, huh?"

"What?!" Johnny exclaimed, eyes widening in shocked disbelief at what she was saying. "I do not! Take that back, young lady, or I'll ground you for a year!" They both knew it was an idle threat, especially given the fact that she was practically living at Luc's now.

She snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes again. "I'll take it back after you shave," she told him, turning to gently squeeze Liv's hand. "We'll be back in a little bit, Mom. See you soon."

At least, he'd made her laugh, and that was all that was important. Johnny paused a moment near Liv. "I have to step out so the doctors can come in and check on you. I'm not sure if Lucy will be with them or not, but she's here, and I'm sure she'll be in to see you soon. I'll be back as soon as they're finished," he promised, leaning close to brush a kiss against her forehead. "Love you, Livvie. Always."

Under his hand, that finger twitched, the closest Liv could get to an answer in kind without the machine right now. But it was an answer, and it was proof that she was still there. Fliss smiled, hugging herself as she stepped away to wait for her dad outside the room.

There wasn't much else that needed saying right now that Johnny hadn't already said or wouldn't say as soon as he was hooked up to Aleks' machine, but there was one thing. "Don't worry about Fliss," he told Liv quietly, once they were alone. Of all their children, he knew she worried her mother the most. "She's gonna be okay. Promise," he told her, touching another kiss to her forehead. As close as they'd come to losing her, Johnny was confident Liv would be coming home soon. "I'll be back in a bit," he promised further, lifting her free hand to press it first against his cheek and then his lips.

Johnny frowned, not because he was worried about Steve so much as he was about how Steve might react to another attack on his family, especially considering that Lucy had been the intended target. "Honestly' I don't blame him. But Steve's a smart guy. He'll figure it out. Besides, Hydra deserves everything they get." The problem was that there were innocents even inside Hydra.

"Yes, they do," Lucy agreed. "And they can't be allowed to think they can have a base in America, or anywhere, without us finding it and obliterating it."

"Do they have a base here" Did we find it?" he asked. He might have been told that information already, but considering the fact that he hadn't had much sleep and his focus the last twenty-four hours or so had been on Liv, it might have slipped his mind.

"That's what Clint and Natasha got out of the Hydra agents that were captured," Lucy told him quietly. "Somewhere in the data they got out of Murmansk is the location of a Hydra base on American soil. That's why Liv got hurt - they didn't want us to find it."

"But we're going to, right?" he asked further, knowing Steve and probably everyone else involved with A.E.G.I.S. wouldn't stop until they found the Hydra base and destroyed it.

Lucy nodded fiercely. "Yes, we are," she promised him. "And the whole team is going to take it out - Reed and Sue are joining for this one time, Bruce got in contact and says he's on his way, and Thor is expected anytime now. It's so easy to forget they all know her, isn't it' Hydra made this personal, Johnny. A.E.G.I.S. isn't going to let it stand."

"Banner's in?" Johnny asked, blond brows arching upwards at the news of that. "If Banner's in, I'm in," he said, though he wasn't sure he wanted to leave Liv's side just yet.

"No one's expecting you not to be," his sister-in-law assured him. "They haven't got the location yet, but as soon as they do, you'll get a call. So you have to remember to sleep, Johnny. You can't go on a mission if you're already dropping."

"Yes, dear," he said, with the hint of a smirk on his face. "Do you pester Steve this way?" he asked, though he knew she meant well. Though they'd had their disagreements, that was all in the past.

She snorted with laughter. "He accepts it with better grace than you do," she informed him in amusement. "Shall I get Aleks to show you how to use the machine" She's been up far too long."

"Aleks or Liv?" Johnny asked a little confused as to her Lucy was referring to. "I'd like to hear her voice again, if no one minds," he admitted. And why would anyone mind" Liv was his wife, after all.

"Aleks," Lucy clarified. "I don't think she's had more than an hour's sleep since yesterday morning." She smiled at his shy confession, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "Ask, and ye shall recieve," she told him. "I'll ask Aleks to show you how it works, then you can patch the kids in when it's time to say goodbye for the day, and she can finally get some sleep."

"Okay, thanks, Luce!" Johnny said, ducking his head boyishly at the hair ruffling and pushing her hand away with a chuckle, much like Alexei did when they tried to ruffle his hair. "How are you holding up, by the way?" he asked, not forgetting that all this had to be hard on Lucy, too. He knew how close the twins were and how much this must be tearing Lucy apart.

"Better now," she said easily. "I'll fall apart, just not yet. Someone has to hold everything together for a little while longer. I may not be the World's Best, but I can do a pretty good impression of her while she's out of action."

"You're pretty awesome, too," Johnny told her, giving his sister-in-law a very light mock punch to the arm. It was meant as a form of affection between them, both of them a little awkward with that when it came to each other.

"No one's as good as Liv," she grinned, easing down off the bed to bend and kiss her twin's brow affectionately. "Hear that, twiglet' No parkour when we're not looking. I'll see you later." She winked at Johnny before slipping out, much more herself than she had been before knowing her sister prognosis.

Johnny chuckled a little at Lucy's farewell to her sister, before turning to take Liv's hand between his own. "When you're all better, we should really do something nice for her. Buy her a pony or something. I don't know," he said, half joking. While Liv usually got all the credit for being fantastic at keeping everything and everyone organized, he knew Lucy was just as awesome in her own way.

Just as before, Liv's finger twitched, and so did the others - not so much a twitch as a squeeze. Clearly the doctors had got more out of her than a single twitch of one finger, and she was determined to keep it up.

Johnny had good reason to smile. Liv's recovery was nothing short of a miracle. She'd be going home to Rhy'Din tomorrow, where her healing would be completed. Home to family and friends who loved and cared for her. And then, once Liv was out of danger, Johnny and the rest of the Avengers would make sure Hydra would come to regret ever having messed with one of them.