Steve grabs a nearby chair for Jessica. Her head pounds from the bump on her head, so she takes it rather than arguing with him. He props his hands on the back of it.

His closeness to her has not gone unnoticed. She appreciates his presence, especially after they were separated during the attack. She's not sure if she'll ever be able to let him out of her sight again after what happened, but that will change when he learns the truth.

Natasha and the doctor sit beside them as Fury explains his side of the story. He finishes with a list of his injuries, "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor adds.

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."

Natasha stares at him in disbelief, "They cut you open. Your heart stopped."

"Tetrodotoxin B." Fury explains, "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve questions.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Maria confirms.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead." Fury says, "Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."

His eye darts around the room. The only people who know about Jessica being called back to DC are Steve and Fury. Whether or not Natasha and Maria received the same call, she's not sure.

"So, now that we're all caught up, let's get to the bottom of this," Fury suggests.

They move to a table on the opposite side of the room. Maria opens a briefcase filled with information on Alexander Pierce and the Winter Soldier.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.'" Fury drops the photo of Pierce onto the table, "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha insists.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," he responds sarcastically before opening a case with three coded chips.

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Maria says.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury explains.

Maria nods, "One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left—"

"We're not salvaging anything," Steve cuts him off. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it!"

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends," Steve says. "SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose, and nobody noticed."

Fury points his finger at the table, "Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

Jessica tenses slightly. Her thoughts are plagued with the people who have already been affected by this system. Tony's parents. Bucky.

The man on the bridge.

The room falls silent.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes," Fury claims.

"Even if you had, would you have told me?" Steve asks genuinely. "Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA. It all goes."

Fury looks at everyone before him. Maria Hill is the first to offer her agreement. Natasha simply nods.

"Agent Torres?" He tries.

Steve also looks down at her. She wasn't expecting to be given the chance to express her opinion, so she tries to disguise the surprise in her voice when she speaks.

"People die every day. Working for SHIELD was supposed to shorten that list. I'm sorry, but I can't see past that." She looks at the blades, "I trust Steve's judgement. Let's bring it all down."

It's obvious that Fury expected a different answer from her. She knows her identity and everything SHIELD has on her will be exposed to the world, but that is a sacrifice she is willing to make for the greater good. Still, he looks like he's going to say something, but stops himself last second. The dissatisfaction becomes clear on his face, even after he turns to Sam as a last resort.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower," Sam says.

Fury leans back in his chair. He's spiteful, but he's outnumbered, "Well, looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

Steve nods sternly. Jessica can't help the sense of pride that comes over her at the sight. She's starting to think that continuously following him into battle will be her future, as she has already done it twice now. The thought doesn't bother her as much as it would have two years ago.

Maria offers Jessica some borrowed clothes and a private room to get cleaned up. As she scrubs the dried blood from her skin and pulls on the cotton t-shirt, she shakes her head at herself in the mirror. Maybe, if everything goes as it should, she can get ahold of her own clothes. What she wouldn't give to lay in her own bed with freshly washed sheets and pajamas. After the last few days, that sounds like a fairytale.

A light knock on the door interrupts her thoughts. When she opens it to find Steve, she asks, "Are we ready to go?"

"Not yet. Natasha needs more time." He pauses, noticing the pile of bloody clothes she discarded into the garbage behind her, "I need to talk to you."

Jessica follows him down the hallway and back the way they came when they entered the facility. However, he pushes open the door just right of the entrance labeled: Roof Access.

"Sorry," he mutters, stepping out onto the bridge overlooking the dam, "I don't trust SHIELD anymore. Or... whatever this is."

His tone is off-putting, and his words sound nothing like him. Jessica looks sideways at him as they make their way to the middle. He's looking out over the water with a troubled look.

"Steve—"

"I didn't think it was possible for things to get worse," he mumbles, accidentally cutting off her concern. "After talking to Zola, learning about HYDRA... I don't know if I can take anymore, Jess."

She follows his gaze, trying to find something in the scenery that could possibly calm her. When she isn't successful, she looks back at his side profile.

"Is this about Bucky?"

"It's about..." he sighs, "a lot of things. But yes, that's one."

"He's not the man you remember," she concludes, and he looks down at the pavement. "That doesn't mean we can't help him."

Steve suddenly looks at her. She's standing with about two feet between them, but she suddenly feels so small now that his attention is on her.

"You always find a way to amaze me," he whispers, adverting his eyes for a second like he's surprised the words left his mouth. "He's after you, Jess. I don't think he would have gone after me downtown if he knew you were still alive."

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have survived that," she mumbles, but he misses it.

"The Bucky I knew would never do this," he says, "which is why I don't think you should come with us."

He puts up a hand to stop her abrupt refusal.

"It could jeopardize the mission," he states.

"Why? Because he might try to kill me?" She questions. "Hate to break this to you, Steve, but everyone there will be trying to kill all of us."

"Jess," he says, but she's already headed back towards the staircase. "Jess, it has nothing to do with—"

"I can take care of myself," she insists, "I just never thought I had to prove that to you of all people."

"Jess," he tries again, hurrying to catch up with her. "Jessica, wait."

His hand catches her arm, but she flinches away from him. There is no picture, no sudden rush of energy, but she still feels like a thief.

She takes a step back, "Please, don't touch me."

Steve looks at her, but she avoids his gaze. She doesn't know what he's been told, or even what the others know, but that doesn't change her hesitancy to meet his eye.

"Maria hasn't told you."

Jessica narrows her eyes, not expecting him to say that, "What?"

"Jess," he takes a step forward, but she instantly takes one backwards. He pauses, contemplating what to do, "I know you think you did something terrible, but the man you touched is fine."

She looks at him but doesn't say anything.

"He's recovering in the hospital, but the doctors said he'll heal," he adds.

Jessica turns around but doesn't try to leave again. She just needs a moment to think.

He's alive. The man she siphoned is still breathing.

But does that really change anything? Not in her mind. Her actions were still dangerous, and worse than that, she had no sense of control.

Well, maybe a little control. If he's still alive.

"Why didn't Maria tell me that?" she wonders aloud, though the question is nearly rhetorical.

Steve shrugs, but she doesn't face him soon enough to see it, "Are you okay?"

"No," she admits, "but I will be. I seriously thought—"

He shushes her as her voice breaks, taking a successful step forward so that he's standing right in front of her. He hates to see the emotions behind her eyes and the shaking in her hands. They've come too far for her to feel like this.

Steve folds his hands around hers. She tenses but doesn't pull away.

"I'm proud of you. I know it's not the result you were expecting, but he's going to be fine," he promises.

"Good," she breathes to rid herself of her self-inflicted guilt. After a second, she asks, "Was that why you were trying to bench me?"

He makes a face, "Trying?"

She drops his hands, "I'm coming with you. You need all the help you can get."

"And I need you here. Safe."

"Steve—"

"Jessica," he says, and she pauses her argument.

She's defenseless when he looks at her the way he is now. His eyes, piercing and blue, bore into her with an emotion her training doesn't recognize. She stills as his fingers reach forward to intertwine with hers.

"I have to be completely focused on what needs to be done," he whispers, his breath brushing her cheek. "I can't do that if I'm worried about you."

"You're always worried about me," she jokes quietly, earning a smile from him. "What if I promise to not do anything stupid?"

"I'll think about it?" he offers, but she gives him a look. "Fine, but you're not leaving my side the entire time. If the Winter Soldier wants you, he'll have to go through me first."

She rolls her eyes, "Ugh. Men."

He chuckles, squeezing their fingers. They stand like that for a moment, their heads slowly inching towards each other's. Jessica leans into him, her thoughts just barely keeping her powers at bay with the intensity of the moment.

"I guess you don't need that pep talk after all."

Their heads turn in the direction of the staircase door. Sam leans against the concrete frame, a pleasant smirk sitting on his lips.

Jessica hides her embarrassed blush by leaning her face into Steve's chest. He gazes over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I think we're good," Steve calls back.

"Well, as much as I love this," Sam points between the two of them, "we still have some stuff to take care of, Steve."

"I'll go check on Nat," Jessica excuses herself, giving Steve's hand another squeeze before releasing him.

"See you in a minute."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 17 - Evaluations

Completed on 07-14-21 at 3:12 am

Question: Which Captain America movie is your favorite?

Like and comment please <3

Mae