Alexis sighed but headed back to the tower. Some of the others would be up by now, she figured.

And when they got inside, she absently shifted to keep Steve between the rest of the room and herself.

Steve didn't mind acting as a buffer. He just walked with her into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. It smelled like Bruce had cooked, and that was always good.

It did smell good in the kitchen, and she could even tell who was in the kitchen just by sniffing. Which was odd and new and freaked her out a bit, and she ended up sitting close to Steve trying to absorb everything and not freak out.

Steve just let her cope however she wanted to, and thankfully everyone else just left them alone for the time being. Even Clint, although he looked like he really wanted to go to Alexis and do whatever he could for her.

After breakfast, Alexis settled herself in her room to relax for a bit, write up a mission report, and then take note of all the changes she'd seen in herself so far. It was hard, the last part, but she knew it was necessary, and it would make things easier in the long run.

Steve just made sure the others left her alone for a while. He knew she still needed time to figure herself out again.

By the next morning, Alexis looked tired. She'd gotten her report done and sent all the information off to Coulson, and she'd spent the rest of the night panicking and then taking the longest shower in history to hide the evidence. So she sat at the table next to Steve, looking worn out.

Steve nodded to her in sympathy.

"It gets easier," he said, handing her a coffee.

"I hope so. I sent off all the information to Coulson last night, so he's caught up on everything." Alexis sipped at her coffee, barely even tasting it. "Haven't heard back yet but I'm guessing I will soon."

"Possibly," Steve said. "He's probably busy, now that he's director."

"He is, but he also sent us on that mission," Alexis pointed out. "He tends to keep a closer eye on the ops he supervises, and he's good about getting back to people in a timely manner." She yawned briefly and downed the rest of her coffee.

Steve nodded.

"Speaking of the mission, you said Autumn was with you too?"

"Yeah, she was. She also seems to have gotten a version of the serum. She wanted to head straight back to the mutant mansion, though, and I'm sure she settled in there." Alexis shrugged. "She wasn't holding together quite as well."

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to check on her," Steve advised. "They may not know anything about the serum, and won't be able to help her if something isn't quite right."

"I was planning on checking in with her today. I was just hoping she's been sleeping more than I have." Alexis smiled humorlessly, since she was going on three days without sleep.

Steve nodded.

"If you need to, someone can take you out to Xavier's to check on her. I'm sure the Professor won't mind," he said.

"I'll try texting her first and see if she responds. If she doesn't, then I'll go out there," Alexis said. "And I am still perfectly capable of driving myself, Steve."

"You nearly tore the steering wheel off of the last car you drove," Steve pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm... somewhat better adjusted now. I'll be extra careful." Alexis eyed him, because she was half sure that he was trying to send someone along with her to keep an eye on her.

Steve studied her for a moment.

"You're sure you'll be alright on your own?" he asked.

"Yeah. If I break another car, I've got my phone on me. Tony left me one of the supposedly unbreakable phones too, so I've got that." Alexis shrugged. "Besides, I doubt you really want to go visit the mansion. If you do that's fine, but you've never really shown interest before now."

"Never needed to," Steve admitted, shrugging a bit. "But if you think you'll be alright, then I'll trust you on it."

Alexis nodded. "I've got a few hours, so if anything changes, I'll tell you," she promised, getting up and patting his shoulder. "Get some actual breakfast."

"I plan to," Steve said, nodding. He got up from where he was sitting. "A shower sounds better first, though. If you leave before I get back down here, just make sure you snack throughout the day. It'll help a lot."

"Snacking, got it," Alexis said with a brief grin, shaking her head as she headed back to her room and texted Autumn.

So how are you holding up?