Steve made his way up the stairs to his apartment, stopping momentarily to greet his neighbour who was on the phone. "That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye," she ended the call and turned to Steve. "My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac," she looked down at her full laundry bin and sighed. "Yep."

"Hey, if you want...if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." Steve offered shyly, putting his hands in his pant pockets.

"Oh yeah?" the blonde smiled. "What's it cost?

"A cup of coffee?"

"Thank you, but um..." she stammered slightly. "I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so."

"Ah, well, I'll keep my distance."

"Well, hopefully not too far," she blushed. "Oh, and I think you left your stereo on."

Steve suddenly felt paranoid, knowing he'd never do such a thing. "Oh, right. Thank you." Steve watched as his neighbor went down the stairs, waiting for her to disappear from plain sight. In his paranoia, he cautiously entered his apartment through the window. He grabbed his shield for protection and carefully approached the living room, only to find Director Fury sitting on his couch in the dark. "I don't remember giving you a key."

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out."

"Didn't know you were married." Steve lowered his shield, still suspicious of everything.

"There are a lot of things you don't about me."

"I know, Nick. That's the problem." Steve went to turn the light on but was quick to notice Fury's injuries for the first time. Fury put a finger to his lip, indicating they be silent.

He pulled out his phone and wrote something before showing it to Steve: ears everywhere. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash." He typed once more: SHIELD compromised.

"Who else knows about your wife?"

Fury showed him another text: you and me. "Just– my friends."

"Is that what we are?"

"That's up to you." Suddenly, the window came down in a shower of glass and Fury slumped to the ground, yelling out in agony as three bullets entered his body. Steve quickly grabbed Fury and dragged him to the kitchen. "Don't trust anyone," Fury instructed, secretly giving Steve a flash drive. "I want the– Alchemist."

Steve's neighbour came in through the door, pointing a gun. "Captain Rogers? Captain, I'm Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D's Special Service."

"Kate?" He said in disbelief.

"I'm assigned to protect you."

"On whose order?"

"His," Agent 13 looked down at Fury, grabbing her radio. "Fury is down, he is unresponsive. I need EMT's."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" One of S.H.I.E.L.D's agents responded.

"Tell them I'm in pursuit." Steve picked up his shield, determined to find the shooter.

Steve smashed through his window and began to run after the assassin. He chased him through an office building, smashing through the walls and doors. He didn't care, he couldn't stop. When he finally caught up to the assassin on the roof, he did what he was known for. He flung his shield at the assassin, but with one swift move, his opponent caught the shield. The assassin threw the shield back at Steve and then proceeded to jump down the building and disappeared, leaving Steve shocked.

—

Ally tucked her face into her jacket as she made her way to the hospital, ducking her face down as soon as she saw S.H.I.E.L.D agents crowding around outside. Clara was beside her, wearing a pair of bright purple sunglasses with a gold scrunchie in her hair. They walked up the stairs, not bothering to take the elevator. Somehow, Steve had gotten ahold of her cell phone number. She wasn't all that surprised, she was waiting for him to make another cameo. He basically threatened that if she didn't come to the hospital immediately, he'd make it very clear who was hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. Ally had forgotten that Steve had a dark side– but didn't everyone?

Steve was in the hallway, looking down at his feet when he noticed Ally approach him. Before he could say anything, Ally snapped. "What could be so important that you'd jeopardize my identity Rogers?"

"Fury, he's been shot," Steve looked at Clara. "Who's the kid?"

"I resent that label," Clara told him. "I'm seventeen– and her sidekick."

Ally rolled her eyes. "She's not my sidekick." Steve made a face before ushering the both of them into a room. Behind a glass wall was Fury being operated on by four doctors. "He looks bad."

The same redhead that Sam Wilson had met earlier that week came in through the door, running up to the glass wall. "Is he gonna make it?"

Steve sighed. "I don't know."

"Tell me about the shooter." The redhead demanded, ignoring Ally's presence. But Ally didn't need an introduction, she knew who the redhead was.

"He's fast and strong," Steve explained. "He had a metal arm."

Ally watched as another agent joined them, followed by a blonde girl who looked to be around Clara's age. She immediately went to talking. "Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable."

"Soviet made?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "This is Valerie VanDyke, she's under my care until we can find a place to put her."

"Natasha Romanoff."

"Steve Rogers."

Ally and Clara remained silent, looking curiously at the young girl. Ally, still not having a damn clue why she was there spoke up. "Pardon me," she gave Clara a look so she'd stay quiet. "Why the hell am I here Steve?"

"Fury said he wanted you on the team," Steve watched intently. "It's hard to say no to a man with three bullet wounds."

"Are you his girlfriend?" Natasha implied, looking at Ally in curiousness. "Please say I'm right."

Ally glared at Steve. "No, he's an old friend."

"Stop."

"I'm sorry, but am I the only one wondering why there are so many kids in here?" Natasha changed the subject quickly. "Who are you?"

"Clara Uchimura," Clara introduced herself. "You're Black Widow."

Natasha shrugged. "You can call me whatever you want kid, just don't call me that in public."

Clara stifled an excited giggle as Natasha turned around to watch the operation once more. Valerie sent her a disgusted look, rolling her light eyes in pure distaste. Everyone was quickly silenced when a panic became clear.

"He's dropping!"

"Crash cart!"

"BP is dropping. Defibrillator!"

"Don't do this to me Nick." Natasha muttered, her face white from shock.

"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!"

"No pulse."

"Again!"

"Negative."

"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me." The five watched as the doctors continued to try and revive Fury but it seemed hopeless. Steve turned away when one of the doctors called the time of death.

Ally followed Steve out of the room, pushing him against a wall. "You need to explain to me what I just walked into."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Steve questioned breathlessly.

"You slept with a teddy bear until you were fifteen, if I can keep quiet about that, I can keep quiet about this."

Steve fished for a flash drive in his pocket before showing her. "Fury gave me this and trusted me not to tell anyone."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"That really helps us, doesn't it?"

"I need to hide it, somewhere safe."

Ally glanced around the hospital hallway. "Leave it to me."

"You're out in the open now," Steve stopped her. "Are you willing to help me figure this out?"

Ally sighed, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. "No," she replied honestly. "But I haven't seen my best friend in seventy years, I think I'm willing to take one for the team."

Steve smiled slightly. "It's good to have you back Doctor Jones."

"Save it for the theatrics Captain Rogers."

—

Ally followed Steve out of the room, pushing him against a wall. "You need to explain to me what I just walked into."

A/N: No I don't ship Sharon and Steve but I really really really like Sharon and I'm just going off the script! Also, leave a comment or feedback!