One Year Later

Chapter 20 - Rachel Stark

Ever since New York, the world has somewhat gone back to normal. I mostly spend my days in the labs, fiddling with some new weapons technology to arm the helicarriers. Fury wanted a general overhaul since the first one was so easy to get into, so that meant new codes, security systems, and weapons tech. All of that work has fallen to me and kept me fairly busy and out of the field. 

Steve is the exact opposite. Fury has been using him to help out with some missions here and there. Since he isn't an official member of the organization yet, he has only gone out on a couple of missions, which leaves him feeling fairly stir crazy. 

After that night, things were fairly awkward for a few weeks. We were cordial to each other in passing, but never really talked about anything too important. I was super busy and Steve had been assigned on a mission. He was gone for three weeks, so by the time he got back, I missed him too much to make it awkward by talking about that night again, so we let it slip. 

"Steve! We gotta get going!" I yell, looking over at the clock on my nightstand. I knock on the wall of my room, knowing he'd hear it since he was most likely on the other side. I excitedly tie my hair back in a ponytail and glance at myself once more in the mirror. This is my first field mission in months and I am so ready to get out of the lab. Don't get me wrong, I love the lab but the adrenaline doesn't pump through your body the same way as it does in the field. 

On top of this being my first mission out in a while, it is Steve and mine's first time in the field together since New York. I am super excited to work with him again and get to spend some time with him. I have been so busy that we haven't really been able to hang out as much as we used to. A knock on the door snaps me out of my thoughts. I rush over to it, opening it to reveal Steve in his street clothes. To the untrained eye, this would look perfectly normal, but I can see his new Captain America suit collar sticking out.

"You can come in or wait here. I need to cover this catsuit," I say, smiling over at him.

"I will come in," I hear him say as I walk to my room. 

"I love the new suit by the way," I shout to him, throwing on a hoodie. I hear him chuckle. 

"Yeah, a little less conspicuous. Takes some getting used to though. I am so used to having the brightest uniform." he says as I walk out of my room. I catch his eyes lingering on me and quickly look down. 

"Is there something on me?" I say, pulling my shirt straight so that I can check for stains. Steve quickly clears his throat and I look up, watching him rub the back of his neck.

"So how does this 'S.O' thing work?" he says, changing the subject. 

"Well, I basically do the entire mission, you help me take out a few guys and we leave," I say, grabbing my apartment keys from the counter. Fury, the sick little prankster he is, assigned me to be Steve's supervising officer for this mission. That means that this is his last test mission before he becomes an actual agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I've promised Steve a perfectly embarrassing graduation ceremony after we come back. 

"Oh, c'mon you can't expect me to just sit on the side," he says with a stubborn look on his face. I chuckle.

"I'll let you help a little more than the standard new agent would normally be expected to because you are well... you," I say.

"Alright," he says with his heart-stealing smile. "We better get going. Let's take my bike."

"Oh man, I forgot to mention, my helmet was mysteriously found crushed at the front of Stark towers," I say with a shrug. He chuckles and we head to his bike. 

Once we are both ready, he kicks the bike on, and I start to think about what the Avengers are all doing. Tony is doing as well as I could've expected him to be after he threatened a terrorist a few months ago. Fortunately, he and Happy made it out alright, but they only answered my calls after it was over. I visited with him for a week while Steve was on a mission and it was nice. We spent Christmas together as a little family. 

Bruce is starting to be a doctor of S.H.I.E.L.D. a few days a week. He has been taking some non-emergency patients that are coming back from missions lightly wounded. He has also been doing a lot of research into sustainable energy, calling me in for consultations occasionally. 

I haven't really heard from Nat or Clint regularly after New York. They are both on missions a lot of the time, but when they are in New York, they make sure to stop by the labs to say hello. 

Thor... who knows? Jane Foster mentioned that he was on Earth again for a short time in some reports that I didn't read closely enough. 

"We're here." Steve turns around and tells me. I shake my head in disbelief, not sure how I missed the whole ride. We get up off the bike and walk into the base. Once we are in, we change out of our street clothes, throwing them in our lockers, and head to the armory. 

"You okay?" Steve asks, packing some ammo into his suit pockets. "You were pretty quiet on the ride." 

"I'm good, just thinking about the team," I say, cocking a gun. He smiles softly as we head out of the room and up to Fury's office. We walk into Fury's office without speaking.

"Director," I say nodding over to him.

"Stark, Rogers, your mission is to pick up where our airborne team left off. They have traced an 'Ian Quinn' back to his house." Fury pulls out a picture of him. I study the picture, but something about it is off. 

He looks really familiar. 

"He was transporting an item of interest for the team and for S.H.I.E.L.D. Your task is to infiltrate his house and find this item. Don't take out Quinn, bring him in alive if at all possible. His house is about an hour north of D.C. The coordinates will be given to you once you leave here. Good luck, that will be all." We walk out, get into the waiting Quinjet and take off for D.C. all in a matter of two minutes. Once we are about five minutes out, I pull up the plans of the house. 

"What is the plan?" Steve asks, looking down at the holographic blueprint of the home. I take a deep breath and spin the model, splitting it so I can look closer at the different levels. 

"I'm going to go in and you will stay hidden outside. I will try to find the item. Once I find it, we call it in and you come to help me extract Quinn. Alright?"

"Alright," he says, strapping his shield onto his arm. 

"Stick to the plan, please?" I say, as the jet lands. I shoot him a look and he nods, conceding. 

We landed a short mile from the home. Steve and I approach the home without speaking, an uneasy silence falling over us. Once we get close, I draw out my gun and turn the safety off, ready for anything. Steve places his shield on his back and follows my lead. We quickly take cover in some bushes at the back of his property, attempting to stay out of sight. 

"Here we go," I whisper to Steve. I start to stand as Steve grabs my hand.

"Rach, I have a really bad feeling about this. Something doesn't feel right, please, just let me go in with you," he says, his eyes pleading. I crouch down again, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear.

"Steve I've done this stuff a million times. This is what I'm trained for. I'll be alright. And if I'm not, I have my best friend waiting out here for me if I need help." I see something change in his eyes when I say friend. It is almost, hurt? I immediately drop my agent façade and look over at him in shock. No, does he like me too? What am I supposed to say about that right now? What kind of timing is that? 

I lean in and give him a hug, sitting in each other's arms for a few minutes.

"I have to go in," I say. I give him one last quick hug and push myself up. 

I sneak into the house and start to search around. There must be some kind of hand-off here because there are multiple people here. I can't search the living room so I go down into the basement. 

I open the door as silently as I can, slowly making my way down into the dark level. Once I make it down the stairs, I look around with my gun up. It is super dark, but there is a tube of some sort, glowing at the back of the room. I approach it and recognize it as a stabilization tube, to keep vitals steady. Bruce has shown me how these work. I saw a few agents come in with these while I was consulting with Bruce about something. Suddenly, I feel someone grab the gun out of my hands, pin my arms behind me, and push my face into the glass of the tube.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" My stomach drops and my blood runs cold at the sound of the voice. Of course this guy looked familiar in the picture Fury showed Steve and me in his office. I know him. His name isn't even Quinn or Ian for that matter.

It is my ex, David.

"My luck is just getting better with you S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I usually get the expendable ones to get me, but they have sent you in today." he says, his body pressing me against the tube. He quickly releases me, pointing my own gun in my face. I look around my surroundings, looking for a way out of here. There is only one guard down here with the two of us, but he is blocking the exit and is pretty heavily armed. I'd be stupid to make a move to my other weapons at the moment, so I simply reach up and turn on my comm so that Steve can hear.

"David, what is in the box?" I say shakily.

"Project Deathlox's leg. But I wouldn't try to stop me," he says and sends the guy upstairs. He waits until the guard is out of earshot to speak again. "Just like old times now huh? Do you still have your scars? Or are the memories scaring enough?" He begins to walk towards me. I shuffle backward, trying to line myself up with the stairs. 

"I was only trying to help you be better," he says coming closer. I put my hand on my gun that rests on my thigh. I quickly try to pull it, but David pulls me into his arms, pinning mine to my sides. 

Bang!

Pain. So much pain. I start to lose my footing, frantically looking around the dark room for anything to help me. I hear David whispering things into my ear. I try moving my arms to point my gun at him, but he still has them pinned down.

Bang!

Again, but more pain. David sets me down to die. He might have said something but I have blocked him out by now, my ears filling with white noise. He leaves the basement while I try to move my arms, pointing my gun in his direction. I fire and easily miss him as he walks up the stairs.

"S-Steve." I choke into the comm, already feeling the blood coat my throat. I try to take a quick assessment of my injuries. 

"Rach, what's going on? I heard gunfire, are you okay?" I take in a sharp breath as I feel tears prick at my eyes. I can't die, not here. Not like this. 

"Get into the basement take out everyone that is ... ugh... still ... here. Hurry." I say, starting to drift. Huge splotches coat my vision. I start to breathe heavily, my life flashing in front of my face. My parents, Tony, Peggy, Natasha, Steve. All of their faces blur through my head. 

At that moment, I hear Steve making heavy footfalls on the stairs. He looks frantically, not being able to see me in the dark. Slowly, he looks down at me. Tears shine in his eyes as he bends down to assess my injuries. Tears fall from my eyes as he looks around, holding his gun up to be sure no one is coming. 

"Medics?" I say taking in as much air as I can between each word.

"I called then as soon as I heard gunfire, just in case," he says, his voice breaking. He gently takes my shoulders and moves me forward causing me to cry out in pain. I hear him suck in a deep breath as he sits behind me, supporting my back with his chest. I breathe heavily as I rest my head back on his chest. 

"Call Tony," I say before I start coughing up blood. 

Steve's POV

Rachel coughs up blood as I try to hold her up, hoping that some of my body can take the weight off of hers. After a fit of coughs, Rachel keeps breathing heavily. I let silent tears run hot trails down my cheeks, not comprehending that Rachel could be lying in my arms, dying. I wrap one of my arms around to her front, applying pressure to her wound. She grunts softly when I place the pressure on her stomach and I hold back a sob. I gently run my fingers of my other hand through her hair, hoping to take her mind off of the pain I know she is in.

"Steve," she says weakly, "he found me."

"Who?" I ask, unable to keep my voice steady.

"David," she goes into a coughing fit. "Steve, I am dying. I have to..."

"No, you aren't going to die," I say harshly, unable to think about the possibility. "I can't lose you too, I just can't," I whisper into her hair.

"I can't... lose you either. But I..." She takes a deep breath. I am crying too hard to say anything. I hold her against my chest, trying to keep her upright. I think back through my life, trying to find something to say to bring her comfort. I quickly recall a song that my mom used to hum to me when I felt horrible.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
You make me happy, when skies are gray,
You'll never know dear, how much I love you,
Please don't take, my sunshine away.

When I finish, I check Rachel's breath. 

Nothing. 

I gently kiss the back of her head, smoothing her hair down.

"I'm so sorry," I cry as the emergency medic makes their way into the dark basement.