#thorthefallen1986

Relationship Theme: Thor and Sally

Song: "All About Your Heart"

Artist: Mindy Gledhill

Album: Anchor

"They see me floating, they hatin'"

[Text: Big Bro] He’s doing well. Just little by little.

Joe was waiting at the table, having ordered coffee and he waited for his company. He was reading the newspaper and sitting in a cafe outside in the sun, just enjoying the outside calm for a change.

"Got a nice tan going on there"

Joe looked up and nodded as company sat on the chair opposite the small round table.

"Well, it's the Florida air, it does something to you." he remarked, folding his newspaper as the waitress came over and poured coffee for them both. Joe straightened himself and grabbed the sweetener.

"Thank you for coming, I knew Captain Rogers wouldn't come."

"Yeah well, can you blame the guy? He's got enough on his plate right now" Joe remarked.

Director Nick Fury nodded, pouring milk into his coffee and passing it over to Joe.

"The last few weeks have been hard, I know" Fury went on, "Especially hard because of the support you couldn't fully get."

Joe shrugged again and poured some milk in his coffee. "You had to have us keep a low profile, I get it, there was still some leads to finish off."

"Still, last time I saw you, you looked like shit."

Joe gave a short laugh, "on the run for two weeks, my niece gets shot, how you expect us to feel?"

It had been horrific. Joe will never forget that day as long as he lived. Steve had been in such shock that Ellie had been shot and had stopped breathing that Joe himself performed CPR on the teenager as his fellow assassins rushed to help him, they literally had to carry him sitting aloft the girl as they rushed her to the tent area where more of their equipment was handy.

Several shocks with the paddles later and Ellie did come back again, nearly fifteen minutes had passed. William had called Fury and ordered him for help, the next hour was spent trying to keep Ellie alive whilst a helicopter came and airlifted her to the nearest hospital.

It had been heart wrenching and downright scary for several hours, until they were told that Ellie was in intensive care and needed surgery. What was worse was that the remaining Initiative members that weren't at the building at the time of their invasion was hunting them down, there had been a close scrapes before Caroline and Gavin intervened.

It was after three days that neither, Joe, Sally or Steve had slept or even really eaten that Fury finally had enough. He knew the Initiative needed to be finished off, and so he, and the assassins of WOLF decided to work together to finish off the job they had begun. He would not get the others in the team involved as Steve requested before hand, but it didn't mean SHIELD couldn't help William find the last of the stragglers.

He arranged for Ellie, who was still in intensive care and in need of further surgery, and still hadn't woken up to be taken to Orlando, Florida, to the best hospital there. Steve, Sally and Joe followed.

Joe had had William and Gavin follow, where they had brought OLIVER so Joe least could get them around, before they would return to their main base to start work immediately. Joe had wanted to help, but William had shaken his head, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Joe, let us take this torch now, remain with your family, they need you here, son. You have done all you can, and I am proud of you" he had said, "But now you are needed, so I give you this time."

After a week where they had practically lived in the hospital, and no contact still with their loved ones, who hadn't been told a thing, finally SHIELD arranged for some nearby living quarters for the adults across the road from the hospital.

In the nearing third week, Ellie woke up from her coma and they were still hunting down members of the Initiative.

In their sixth week now, things were better somewhat, someone was usually with Ellie around the clock, Joe had been there in the private room for a few hours, but left when Ellie was going to be helped with a shower unexpectedly. So he had left to go see Fury and go get Steve or Sally.

"I got some news for you" Fury said, after sipping some coffee, catching Joe from his thoughts. "We're down to the last three members, so I believe from there you should be able to come home."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "We can come home?"

"Yes sir, I could arrange a plane"

"If I recall, the doctors aren't recommending that Ellie make any flights so soon after her surgeries, besides she's getting physiotherapy"

"I see, makes sense" Fury nodded, "perhaps for caution as well it's better to drive."

Joe nodded, finishing his coffee, "probably take us two days to get from here to New York, but if we stop by the base to see William, add another day at most, and we'll have to get ready."

Fury nodded, finishing his own coffee, "Contact me when you're making tracks"

Joe got up and shook the man's hand, then took the file he had and then they parted ways. Looking at his watch, Joe left a tip and headed across the street to the plaza of apartments.

Letting himself into the small two room apartment, he moved to the doorway of the bedroom, where he found Steve and Sally flaked out asleep on it.

"Hey" he called, and both sat up quick. Steve was awake more than the rest of them, often taking the long shifts to look after Ellie, while Sally ran around to get her things, sometimes Joe had to force the parents to go take five away from the hospital and actually get sleep, so this wasn't the first time he had come in to swap over to find the parents collapsed on the bed together, fast asleep.

There was only one double bed really, and a sofa, so if Sally was over in the hospital, the boys usually swapped over the two pieces of furniture, though twice, especially in the early weeks, both had fallen asleep on the bed.

"Woah, she's fine, she's being scrubbed up" he commented, seeing the relief on their faces, he waved the file at them.