Avengers 1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! Thanks for checking out my story. And yes, the title comes from the song by Oasis. If you don't know the song already, go check it out! It's great! Anyways, on with the story!**

_Today has been a good day_. I thought to myself as I pocketed the single dollar bills and the handful of change into my backpack that had been collected in my case. I managed to make $63 this performance. I bent down to pick up my case when the sound of clapping caught my attention. Then a pair of black boots found their way into my peripheral vision.

"Nice show you put on here." The all too familiar voice praised me.

_Shit._ I thought as I stood up to face him. "Hey Clint." I said nervously.

He smiled, "Don't give me that look. I'm not about to chastise you." He said and bent down to pick up my cello.

I chuckled a little, "You're not?"

"Nope. I just wanted to see what you were up to, considering you lied to Coulson." He said.

"How'd you know I was lying?" I inquired.

"You told him you were going to the library to study and yet you brought your cello with you." He pointed out.

"I always bring my cello with me." I told him defensively. "How long have you known about this?" I asked.

He sighed, "Not long. I actually saw a video of you on youtube performing with a singer. Which I didn't understand because you're singing is way better but anyway, I figured this was a hobby of yours so I followed my gut and I was right." He said.

I rolled my eyes, "Your gut is always right." I said and then asked, "You're not going to tell Phil, are you?"

He smirked, "What's in it for me?"

"I'll buy you lunch at Red Robbin. I know how much you like their fries." I offered.

He grinned, "Made bank today, huh?"

I rolled my eyes, "$63. I think we can afford a little high end fast food, don't ya think?" I asked

He laughed, "Yes. I won't tell Coulson, as long as you let me get a milkshake."

"Deal. Let's go." I said.

Clint, being the gentleman that he was, carried my cello for me. I looked at the old beat up case with a multitude of faded stickers on it and thought to myself that I should probably buy a new one. After all, my cello deserved better. But, there was so much sentimental attachments to it, so I probably wouldn't.

"Do you think they'll let us in with this thing?" Clint joked.

I shoved him lightly, "Shut up."

{This is a page break}

"So, did Coulson tell you?" Clint asked with a mouthful of food. We had gotten to Red Robin and we were seated not long afterwards. They didn't have a problem with my cello, right now it was resting against the wall to my left, away from all the people who were walking around.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." I said.

He rolled his eyes, "They found him."

"Found who?" I asked.

"Steve Rogers." He said picking up some fries and shoving them in his mouth.

"Wow, at least they have a body now." I said.

Clint shook his head, "You don't get it. They found him _alive._ Shield is waiting for him to wake up."

"Really?" I asked shocked. "Phil must be over the moon." I said.

"No kidding. He was there when the team defrosted him."

I rolled my eyes, "That dork."

Clint laughed and continued eating. After a while, he asked, "How long have you been street performing?"

I shrugged, "Couple years. I started doing it when I was at Juliard. It was something we all did for fun, though my teachers always said it'd ruin my ear." I told him.

"They were wrong about that." Clint said.

I laughed, "No kidding." It was luck that I was able to land a job with the New York symphony. It was probably one of the most rewarding jobs in the classical music industry. I worked with so many talented people. And each and every one of them were as passionate as I was.

"Did you really like my performance?" I asked.

"Obviously. Your music is amazing. I don't think there's a soul alive who wouldn't get goosebumps at the sound of your music." He complimented.

"Thanks. That means a lot, Clint." I told him. Clint Barton had been a really good friend of mine for years now. He and I instantly became friends when I came to live with Phil. That was eight years ago. Clint was definitely someone I looked up to, along with Phil, of course.

"What are best friends for?" He asked smirking.

"Ugh, you're never going to let me live that down, are you?" I asked. When we first met at Shield, I told Clint, without even knowing him, that we would become best friends. Soon enough, we did.

"Nope." He said finishing off his milkshake.

I paid for the meal and sat down a considerate tip, after all, street musicians and waitresses were similar in the way that we both worked off of tips. Although, I had a steady job and didn't need to street perform. I just did it for fun.

Once we were outside, I strapped my cello to my back and Clint started laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm surprised that thing doesn't crush you under its weight." He said.

I rolled my eyes. Sure, I was tiny, but the cello really wasn't that heavy. I slapped him on his bicep and said "Shut up."

We were walking to my apartment when Clint's cell phone started ringing. He answered and started talking to whoever was on the other line. I tried not to eavesdrop.

"We need to go to Headquarters." He said hanging up the phone.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"He's awake. Steve Rogers woke up and busted out like a bat outta hell." He said.

I nodded and started following Clint.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Wait here." Clint said leaving me in an empty room as he went off to talk to the Director.

"Okay. Have fun." I told him before he walked off.

I instantly became bored waiting for Clint to return. I didn't have my phone, because I somehow misplaced it. What else was I to do, but play my cello? I quickly got it out of the case and started playing. After a while, I stopped and rested my head against the scroll and thought about what I would play next. I looked up and unexpectedly saw someone standing in the doorway, which made me jump a little in shock.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." He said. He had a very nice deep voice and was very handsome.

"Oh, no it's okay. I just didn't expect to see anyone here. I thought I was alone." I told him.

"Your playing is very beautiful." He complimented, which made me blush.

"Thank you." I said. "I'm Jade Riley."

"Steve Rogers. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."


	2. Chapter 2

"Steve Rogers. It's nice to meet you, ma'am." He introduced himself.

How could I have been so blind? I've seen Captain America enough times because of Phil. I suppose he looks different out of the costume, though..

"It's actually quite an honor to meet you, Captain." I told him.

He blushed, "Thanks." He moved to sit next down, "How long have you been playing?" He inquired.

"Uhm, about fifteen years." I told him.

He looked impressed, "You are very talented."

I smiled, but before I was able to say anything, Directory Fury walked in. "Jade, it's nice to see you again." He welcomed. For some reason, Fury loved me. And he treated me very nicely as opposed to how he treated everyone else.

"It's nice to see you too, Nick." I greeted. I started to put my cello away.

"Captain Rogers," He said addressing the super soldier, "I'm here to escort you to get a physical." He said.

Steve got up and said to me, "It was nice meeting you." Before leaving.

After the two had left, Clint showed up.

"I need to take you to see Coulson." He said.

"Why? Is something wrong?" I asked panicking a little.

"No, nothing's wrong. He's just leaving for a mission soon."

I nodded and picked up my cello, "Let's go." Clint led the way and I soon met Phil.

"You're going on a mission." I stated upon seeing him.

He nodded, "It's about Marcus Daniels." He said.

I instantly got goosebumps, "Is Audrey okay?" I asked.

"Yes, for now. But she won't be for long with him on the loose."

I hugged Phil, "Be careful." I said.

He hugged me back "I always am. I'll be back soon."

"I love you." I told him.

"I love you too." He said before being escorted away to a car.

"Phil asked me to look after you while he's away." Clint told me.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm 23 years old. I can look after myself. And Phil is acting too fatherly. He's my Uncle, he should be more laidback." I told him.

"Yeah, you and your street performing." He reminded me. "But seriously, some stuff is happening right. Something big, and Coulson just wants to make sure you're safe."

I nodded, "If you say so.. Do you want to have a movie night?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Nothing better to do. Tasha is on a mission right now."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, so I'm only good enough to hangout with when Tasha's gone?" I asked.

"Of course not." He said. "But I can sleep with her unlike you."

I wrinkled my nose, "I'm glad I'm not her." I teased.

He lightly punched me, "Let's go drop your cello off and you can pack an overnight bag. Oh yeah! Coulson said to give you this." He handed me my cell phone.

"Thank you." I said. "Where was it?"

He shrugged, "He said you left it at his house."

I nodded, "You know I'm not going to leave my cello at my place, right?" I asked.

He groaned, "I was hoping you missed that."

I laughed as we walked outside toward my apartment.

{This is a page break}

"What kind of favor?" I asked Fury. I looked over at Clint, who just shrugged.

It had been a couple days that Phil had been away on his mission, and I was hanging out at Shield more and more. Right now, we were sitting around Clint's desk. He was supposed to be doing paperwork.

"I was wondering if you could take Rogers out for the day. Try to get him acclimated to the world again." He said.

"Sir, I'm supposed to be looking after her." Clint said.

"Actually, Agent Barton, you're supposed to be doing paperwork. But I have a mission for you." He said handing Clint the file that he had been holding.

I didn't ask what the mission was about, I knew better than that, especially with Fury in the room. No matter how much he loved me, he still had protocols to follow. But I could tell by the look on Clint's face, that this was serious.

"Yeah, I think I can help him out." I told Fury.

He nodded, "He's in the med wing." He said before leaving, giving me and Clint a moment to say goodbye.

"I'll call you later, okay?" Clint said.

I nodded, "Be safe." I told him and hugged him, just like I did Coulson a few days earlier.

"You have a key to my apartment, so you can get your stuff. I want you to keep your pepper spray with you at all times." He told me.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm going to be with Captain America. I think I'll be safe."

"Humor me,okay?" He said.

I nodded, "Walk me to the med wing." I said, which he did.

The receptionist gave me Steve's room number and I quickly found it. I knocked before entering and saw him sitting on the hospital bed looking out of the window.

"Hey Steve." I greeted.

He turned to look at me, "Hello Jade. How are you?" He asked.

I walked further into the room, "I'm doing good. How are you?" I asked.

He shrugged and didn't say anything.

"Did Directory Fury tell you that I'm taking you out today?" I asked.

He nodded, "What are we going to do?"

I smiled, "It's a surprise. You'll need a jacket." I said and I began walking towards the door. "C'mon, we don't have all day." I called behind me.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Do you want me to carry that?" Steve asked.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though. We're almost there." I told him as we walked down the steps to the subway.

"What are we doing here?" He asked.

"I'm showing you what I do in my spare time. You told me you liked my playing." I reminded him.

I sat my cello down, and opened the case, "You can go sit over there if you'd like? Or stand here, doesn't matter." I told him as I started setting up. Then I began playing. And a small crowd started to form. Steve remained in the crowd, at a close enough to me in case I needed help. After I had finished, I got a nice round of applause. Steve walked up to me as I was putting away my cello.

"That was amazing." He complimented.

"Thank you." I said smiling. "So, I was thinking that we could stop by my place so I could drop off my cello, and then go by Clint's so I can get my stuff and we could have lunch." I told him.

He nodded, "So are you and Clint dating?" He asked.

I laughed, "No. I don't have a boyfriend." I told him "We've been friends for a long time though."

"You're a beautiful girl, why don't you have a boyfriend?" He asked.

I shrugged, blushing a little, "I guess I haven't found the right guy." I told him.


	3. Chapter 3

**If you hadn't noticed, I used the plot from Agents of Shield regarding Phil's cellist :) Anyway, thanks for reading!**

"This place has really good burgers." I told Steve as we walked into the old-fashioned diner. "It's been around since the 70's."

We seated ourselves in a booth and then a young waitress came and asked us what we would like to drink.

"I'll have a coke please." I told her while looking at the menu.

Steve looked at me for a moment and then said, "I'll have the same." The waitress left and then he asked, "So what's good here?"

"Double cheese burger. It's so good. And the waffle fries are amazing. And so are the fried pickles." I rattled off.

He raised an eyebrow, "Fried pickles?"

I laughed, "I know, I know. It sounds gross, but it's really good. I'll order some, okay?"

He nodded, "I'll get the fries and then we can share." He offered.

"Awesome." Our waitress came back with our drinks and we ordered our food. Once the waitress left, I asked, "Has Shield given you an apartment yet?"

"Yes." He leans back and pulls a key out of his pocket, "Fury told me that you could take me by there."

"Huh, you'd think that he would tell me that." I muttered. "Do you know where it's at?"

Steve pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. Inside was a paper with Steve's address on it, and a list of things to do. _Damn it Fury_, I thought, _you should have given this to me, not Steve. _Inside the envelope, sat Steve's new social security card, an ID card (not a license), and a new birth certificate.

"Well, I know what we're doing after this." I told him.

"And what's that? Do you know where my place is?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yes I do. And here, Fury wrote out a list of stuff to do. He wants to make sure that you have all the necessary things to become acquainted with this society." I said. "He also put in in all of the things that you'll need for identification. So keep that safe." I handed him the envelope back but kept the list.

Our food came, and I watched Steve as he took him first bite. His eyebrows shot up and he quickly swallowed his food and said "This is great!"

I smiled, "I know right? Best burgers around." I said digging into my own food.

"You know, I wasn't sure about these fried pickles, but again, you were right. These are really good." He said.

"I'm glad you like it." I said eating some of the pickles myself.

"How'd you find this place?" He asked.

"I found it when I was in college. I just sorta stumbled across it when I was walking home from the library one day. It's been one of my favorites ever since." I told him.

"Well this was definitely a great lunch. Way better than what Shield has been giving me."

I smiled, "I'm happy I could help. Let's get going." I said putting down a decent tip on the table and taking the check up to the counter. I got my wallet out of my bag and paid for our meal.

"I feel bad that you had to pay for our lunch." Steve told me once we were outside.

I shrugged, "It's on Fury." I lied. What Steve doesn't know, won't hurt him.

He nodded, "So where to next?"

"The mall. Everything you need, we can get there. Then we're going to go to the grocery store and then to your apartment." I told him. We took a taxi to the mall, and headed inside. "You might be a little shocked by all of this." I warned.

"What are we getting here?" He asked.

"A phone, a few changes of clothes, and a laptop." I told him.

"Okay, let's go." He said completely trusting me.

We headed to a best buy, where a worker was kind enough to help us out. He was able to help Steve pick out a phone, bless his heart he had no idea what it was but he played it out nicely. The worker showed Steve all he needed to know about the new technology. And then he also helped us pick a suitable first laptop. I paid for the items, and reassured Steve that I would have Fury reimburse me, not that it really mattered. I automatically put my number into his phone after it was activated.

"So, I think you should be able to pick out your own clothes. I'm going to be in that store," I pointed to a music store, "If you finish and I'm not outside the store, come and get me." I told him. "Or you could also try and call me." I handed him some cash.

"I'll try." He promised and shoved the bills into his pocket before walking towards the store.

I walked into the music store and I walked to the back towards the record section. I flipped through some of the records before finding some that I thought Steve would appreciate. I quickly bought them, and as I was putting the records in my bag so that Steve wouldn't see them, my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello? Jade?" Steve asked.

I smiled, "You managed to use your phone. I'm walking out of the store now, I see you actually! I'm going to hang up." I told him before doing so. "Hey, did you buy all the necessities?" I asked.

He blushed slightly, "Yes, and extra clothes just like you said." He then handed me some change and the receipt.

"Awesome. Let's head to the grocery store, then we can go by your place."

The trip to the grocery store was quick, I just bought Steve some essentials like bread, eggs, cheese, milk and a few other items. Soon enough, we were at Steve's apartment building. Steve grabbed his key and was able to open the door to his apartment while juggling his groceries and shopping bag.

"Nice place." I complimented. It was similar to mine. Two bedroom, two baths, a considerate sized living room and kitchen. I noticed there were boxes in the living room. "Looks like Shield dropped off some of your stuff." I said and started to put the groceries away.

"I wonder what all of this stuff is." He said walking over to it. Turns out a lot Steve's stuff had been saved after he died and they were all neatly packaged up.

"Steve? Do you want me to order pizza for dinner?" I asked.

"Sure." He called back, busy looking through his old stuff.

I quickly ordered a pizza and then walked over to Steve. I saw that he pulled a record player out and I remembered my gift. "I got something for you." I told him opening my bag.

"You got me something?" He asked surprised.

"Yes." I said handing him the various records.

"You bought these for me?" He asked shocked.

"I figured you'd probably want to see something familiar. Though it looks like Shield beat me to it." I joked.

"Thank you, Jade. This is really nice."

"No problem." I said smiling.

The pizza was soon delivered and Steve and I ate together. After I finished, I said, "So, it's getting late. It should probably head home. If you need help with anything, call me. Just remember that you need to charge your phone." I told him.

"Do you want me to walk you?" He asked.

"No, it's not too far of a walk. Plus I have pepper spray, I'll be fine." I assured him.

"If you say so.. Thank you for taking me out today and helping me out. It was very nice of you." He said.

"It was no problem. Really." I promised. "I'll stop by tomorrow morning and set up your computer."

He smiled, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

"Bye Steve." I said walking out the apartment, leaving the super soldier in his new apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

It was around nine a.m when I knocked on Steve's door the next morning. I only had to knock twice before he opened the door.

"Good morning Steve." I greeted when he opened the door.

"Good morning." He said letting me into his apartment.

I noticed that he had unpacked his stuff, and the apartment looked more put together. Steve had also rearranged the furniture in the living room.

"You've been busy." I commented, "Did you sleep at all last night?" I asked and sat down my backpack and cello.

He shrugged, "A little.. I honestly couldn't stop thinking long enough to sleep." He confessed.

"Hmm." I said thinking for a second, "You know you can call me whenever you want." I told him.

"I know, you told me that yesterday." He said a little off handedly.

"No, I really mean it Steve. I can be your two a.m call, and that would be completely fine with me." I promised.

"Two a.m call?" He asked unsure.

I smiled, "It's the person you can call no matter what. You can always count on them to answer. Even if they're sleeping or you need to be bailed out of jail.." I chuckled a little at the thought of Steve needed to be bailed out of jail, "They'll come for you. It's like, the highest level of friendship. And I'm offering to be your two a.m call." I told him.

"I couldn't ask that of you." Steve said.

"That's the thing, Steve." I explained, "You don't have to ask."

He nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. I made my way over to his kitchen, and asked, "Did you eat yet?"

"No, not yet. I was waiting for you, actually." He said. "I didn't want to burn the apartment building down." He confessed sheepishly.

I smiled, "Are eggs good?" I asked.

He nodded, and I got to work getting the appropriate cookware out of his cupboards. Thankfully Shield made sure to stock up his apartment with some essentials. Steve was watching me intently as I quickly made us a batch of scrambled eggs, and put them on two plates. I gave each of us a glass of milk, and we sat at the island to eat our breakfast.

"Thank you for making this. I think I can do it myself from now on." He told me.

"It's no problem, I like cooking." I said.

"You're good at it." He complimented. We continued to eat the rest of our breakfast and once we were finished, I told Steve to go and get the laptop so I could set it up for him, and show him how to use it.

After he left, my phone started ringing.

"Hey Clint." I answered.

"Hey yourself." He responded, "How are you doing? Anything happen?" He asked.

"Not really. I helped Steve into his apartment, and we went shopping for groceries and some clothes." I told him, "I got him a phone and a laptop. I'm at his place now, setting up the laptop for him."

"That's nice of you." He replied.

"Duh, I'm a very nice person. I just wish Fury had given me a little more notice, not that I had anything to do, but it's always nice to be given some notice beforehand." I said.

"Yeah, but that's Shield." He said.

"You keep forgetting that I am not a part of Shield, Clint." I told him seriously, "If it wasn't for Phil and you, I wouldn't want to have any ties with the organization and you know that."

"Hey, calm down. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that, you're practically a part of Shield. You're with us enough at headquarters, and Fury has a definite soft spot for you." Clint defended himself.

"I know. Anyway, I hope your mission is going well." I said changing the subject.

"It is, but it's boring. I'd rather be watching over you." He said.

"Hey, I got to go!" I said noticing Steve, "I'll talk to you later, okay? Call me if you hear from Phil. Be safe." I said.

"I will." He promised and hung up.

"Hey." I greeted, "Let's do this." I said moving toward him and grabbing the unopened laptop. We went to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Who were you on the phone with?" He asked as I opened the box.

"Clint. He just wanted to check in on me." I said.

"So, you're not a Shield agent?" He asked as I grabbed the computer from the box and turned it on.

"Nope." I said smiling at him, "Does that surprise you?"

He shrugged, "I just thought you were." He admitted.

"An agent who plays the cello?" I ask and laugh a little. "No, I'm just associated with Shield because of Phil." I told him.

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Who's Phil?"

"My Uncle. He's probably your biggest fan." I said while plugging the charger into the computer. "You're his hero."

Steve blushed a little, "I'm sure you're exaggerating." He said.

I shook my head, "If that's what you want to think." I said and then started to show him how to use the computer. I told him that Shield had installed WiFi, and he was able to access the internet. I showed him all the basics and finally gave him the computer to toy with.

"I actually have to go to a rehearsal." I told him "But afterwards, I can come over and see how you're doing?" I offered.

"Is that why you have your cello?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"Would you mind me tagging along? Not to your rehearsal, but if you wouldn't mind showing me to the library on the way, that would be nice." He explained.

"Sure. We better leave now. If I'm late, I'll never hear the end of it, and Casey Stuart will try and talk to director into making me second chair." I said grabbing my backpack. Steve followed suit, and grabbed his leather jacket, and then picked up my cello. "You don't have to carry that." I said and tried to grab it from him.

He smiled, "I want to."

"Okay then. Here we go, to the library!" I said enthusiastically.

We took a bus to the nearest stop and walked the rest of the way to the library. "If you ask the women at the counter, they will make you a library card. You'll need to give them your address and phone number." I told him.

"Okay, thank you Jade."

"I'll meet you here in two hours okay? Then we can have a late lunch, if you want." I offered.

"Sure. Have fun at rehearsal." He told me.

"I'll try. Bye." I said before walking off in the direction of my rehearsal area.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"I mean seriously, who does she think she is? I am a way better musician than she is, not to sound cocky or anything, but it's true. And she has the audacity to tell me that I deserve to be second chair? Second chair!" I exclaim. I had just met Steve at the library, and he asked how my rehearsal went, which got me off on a tangent about Casey.

"Does anyone else think you need to be second chair, and her first?" He asked. Steve had successfully made a library card and checked out some books.

"No. But the squeakiest wheel always gets the oil." I mutter, "I'm just worried, and I shouldn't be, but I am." I confessed.

"It's understandable." He said.

"I suppose. So, where would you like to eat? Or are you not hungry yet? I could always make us something at my place." I offered.

"Let's do that." He said.

It was a short walk to my apartment, and once we were inside, I said, "Make yourself at home. The bathroom is down the hall, first door on your left." I told him going to the kitchen. "You can put your books on the coffee table." He did.

"Do you need any help?" He asked.

"Uh sure. But first, I need some music." I said turning my iPod on at my little stereo in the kitchen. I found some classical music and started playing it. "Now, what would you like to eat?" I asked.

"I'm sure whatever you make will be good." He told me leaning against the counter. He was eyeing the iPod, not sure what it was.

"That's an iPod." I told him, "It's like a record player, except that it stores music for you to play and it's electronic." Steve nodded but didn't say anything. "You can look through my music if you want. I have a lot of classical music, but I have other music too. I'm not sure how much you'd like the other stuff though."

"I like this, it's nice." He told me.

I smiled, "Okay. Hmm, now we need to figure out something to make." I said and started to look through my cabinets.

**Ah, sorry for the late update. School is coming to a close and I've just been busy. I actually tried on my cap and gown today and kept asking my mom if I looked like a graduate lol. But anyways, have you guys ever heard of the whole two a.m call? I kinda stole that from Whatever Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. But I firmly agree with the whole two a.m call thing and I definitely think everyone should have someone like that. **

**Anywho! Leave a review, tell me what you think! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the follows! :) On with the next chapter!**

"Hello?" I answered groggily. Who's calling me at 3:21 in the morning?

"Jade? It's Steve." He said.

I sat up, hearing the distress in his voice, "Hey Steve. Are you okay?" I asked. The line went quiet for a moment.

"No." He finally answered.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Again, the line went quiet.

"I can't sleep." He said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"Um, not really." He said.

"I understand." I told him. "Steve? Do you want to go for walk?" I asked, an idea forming in my head.

"Sure.. I'll meet you at your apartment." He said before hanging up. I quickly got up and put a bra on, then socks and shoes. I grabbed a zip-up hoodie and I was ready to go. I was wearing yoga pants, a white tank top with a light hoodie. Soon, I heard Steve knocking on my door. I grabbed my keys, shoved some money in my pocket and opened the door.

"Hey." I said stepping out into the hall and then locking my door behind me. Steve was wearing jeans and a hoodie.

"Where are we going?" He asked as we headed out of my apartment building.

"It's a surprise. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it. And it's a nice night, well morning, for a walk." I said smiling at him.

He smiled back, "I actually wasn't sure if you were going to answer. I debated a while before I did, but I remember what you said so I went ahead and called you." Steve said.

"I told you I would answer." I said nudging him a little with my elbow.

"I know, I know." He said. We lapsed into a comfortable silence, and just enjoyed each other's company. We finally got to where I was leading Steve.

"Here we are." I said excitedly.

"What is this place?" He asked.

"You'll see." I said grabbing his hand and pulling him into the gym. After walking in I told Steve to hang on a second and went up to talk to the owner. I paid the monthly membership fee, and he gave me a key to a locker.

"Here you go." I said handing Steve the key. "You now officially have a locker here, and can come whenever you want. I thought it would be helpful when you can't sleep."

Steve smiled the most genuine smile I have ever seen and it was contagious. "Thank you so much, Jade."

"No problem." I said continuing to smile at him.

Steve wanted to stay at the gym for a little while, but he didn't want me to walk home alone considering how late it was. So I laid down on some mats and fell asleep. I woke up later in Steve's arms. He was carrying me back to my apartment.

"Hey, you could've woken me up." I told him.

He looked down at me, "I figured you could use the sleep, considering I woke you up." He said.

"Thanks. But you can set me down now." I said. He did, and we continued to walk to my apartment. "Be safe." I told him once we got to my apartment.

"I will. And thanks again, Jade. You've been really helpful these past few days."

"It's really not that big of a deal." I said, blushing slightly.

"Yes it is. Thank you." He said once again.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Phil!" I answered the phone excitedly.

"Jade." He said seriously, "I need you to get to Headquarters."

I got up quickly from my chair and said, "What's wrong?"

"Barton's been compromised." He said.

My whole world just imploded. "Clint? What happened?" I asked anxiously.

"I will tell you about it soon. Get to headquarters, Maria will take you to where you need to be." He took a deep breath before finally saying, "Fury's assembling the team."

Somehow, the situation became more serious than it already was.

{Page break page break page break}

I sat alone in the conference room, waiting for Fury to come in. Actually, waiting for anyone to come in. I wish I had my cello to play, to keep my mind off of things, but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to bring it with me on the helicarrier. The door opened behind me and I turned to see Phil. I instantly got up to hug him.

"I'm okay, Jade." He said.

"What's going on? I've been worried." I told him.

"Thor's brother, Loki, stole the tesseract. He managed to brainwash Barton and Erik Selvig." He explained. "We think the world is in danger."

"Who's been called in?" I asked.

"I'll show you." He said opening the door and leading me down the hall. Walking down the hall, Phil and I ran into two people. One of whom, I already know.

"Jade, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Bruce Banner. He's going to be helping us find the tesseract." Phil said.

I stuck out my hand, "It's nice to meet you." I told him smiling. "I'm glad they have someone on the case who knows what they're doing." I said.

He shook my hand and smiled back, "I'm glad I can help." He said.

"Agent Romanoff, it's nice to see you again." I said formally. In reality, we were pretty good friends. Or, at least, as close as friends you can get with the Black Widow. No one is as close to her as Clint is. She's actually a pretty nice person once you get to know her.

"You too, Miss. Riley." She said equally as formal. They continued on the way to their destination.

"Director Fury." I said walking up to the man in charge.

"Hello Jade. Phil said you'd be here. I'm in agreement with him, you're probably more safe here than anywhere else." He said.

I nodded, "Thank you for allowing me to be here." I looked around and saw that Phil was talking to Steve. "I didn't know you were calling Captain America into the Avengers initiative." I said.

"Which you aren't supposed to know about." He said before walking away.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to Phil and Steve. I heard Phil say, "It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint. Slight boxing around the edges, but.."

"Phil, let the man breathe." I joked.

Steve looked at me and smiled, "I didn't know you were going to be here." He said.

"I didn't either." I said.

"We got a hit." A tech announced. "Sixty-Seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy-nine percent." He said.

"Location?" Phil asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. Twenty-Eighty Koenigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." Phil and Steve both look concerned "It's a museum.. has a science compound in the back of it."

"Captain." Fury's voice said behind us, "You're up."

Steve looked at me and I said, "Captain America's about to make a comeback."

He smiled another one of those genuine smiles.

**Okay, so with "Koenigstrasse" there is supposed to be an Umlaut over the 'O' but I couldn't figure out how to do it, new computer and all that, so I added the 'e' after because that's just proper German :b  
So what'd you think? **


	6. Chapter 6

After Natasha and Steve left, I went to my standard Shield room while Phil was busy with Fury. I decided to take a quick nap, last night's activities with Steve had messed with my sleeping schedule. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep, but I was woken by the sound of someone knocking on my door.

"Come in." I said groggily.

The door opened to reveal Phil, with my cello. "I brought you something." He said smiling.

I smiled back, "How were you able to bring this on board?" Phil leaned it against the desk that was near my bed and then sat down next to me.

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson. I have my ways." He said.

"Well, you're my hero." I said leaning toward him to kiss his cheek. "Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite Uncle?" I asked.

He chuckled, "I'm your only Uncle." He reminded me.

"Which of course, makes you my favorite." I said and leaned over to pull my cello closer to me. The feeling of it made me feel relaxed. Even if it was slightly so.

"Are you going to play for me?" He asked.

"Sure." I said opening up the case, "How was your mission with Audrey?" I asked.

"It was good. Everything went smoothly. Marcus was taken in by Shield." He said.

"Did you tell her that I miss her?" I asked.

He laughed, "Yes. She said that she was going to come up for one of your shows. Then the three of us could have dinner." He told me.

I nodded, and then began to play.

I remember three years ago when I first became obsessed with Audrey's music. She is phenomenal. Phil got me tickets to see her play, and we were able to speak with her backstage. Phil was instantly smitten with her and they started a long distant relationship soon after. But then Marcus started stalking her and the police wouldn't do anything about it. Good thing Phil has connections with Shield and was able to take care of it and keep her safe.

The sound of thunder caught me off guard and made me stop playing. Suddenly, my ears were filled with the sound of loud rain hitting pavement that wasn't really there. The memories flooded my eyes, and I was brought back to the moment of waking up and having a flash of lightening illuminate the surrounding area, which was upside down.

"Jade." Phil said loudly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked at him and he said, "It's okay. You're okay. It was just thunder."

I nodded, and swallowed then said, "Sorry, I just don't like storms." I reminded him.

"I know." He said and started to rub my back soothingly.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to get back to my nap."

"Okay. I love you, Jade." He said getting up.

"I love you too." I said and laid down as he left the room.

{Page break, page break, page break}

_I had just gotten my learners permit and I was felt like I had all of the freedom in the world. Or, at least, I would soon have all the freedom in the world. _

_Mom and Dad were invited to a business party, and they were adamant about me going with them. Which meant that I had to dress nicely; no jeans, t-shirt or converse. I had to wear a skirt and a nice blouse with ballet flats. You'd think I'd be used to dressing up, considering all of the performances I've done. But, I still don't like dressing up._

_At this party, there was champagne, and since I had my permit, my parents decided to have a glass or two. By the time the party was coming to a close, they were both a little buzzed, and it wasn't safe for them to drive. And unfortunately, it had started to rain. Not just a light summer rain, but a thunderstorm. _

_I remember that the rain hadn't been that bad at first. It was my first time driving in the rain, and I was doing a good job. But then, it started to rain harder and lightening filled the skies. It was getting hard to see, even with the windshield wipers on high. And it was hard to get traction; the wheels on the car continued to spin. _

_I remember telling myself that I had to slow down because we were coming up on a sharp curve, but it was too late. And suddenly we were skidding and I couldn't stop and then everything went black. I'm not sure how long it took me to wake up, but once I had, I instantly wished that I hadn't. _

_I woke up in the dark. Then a flash of lightening illuminated the area and made me realize that I was upside down. That the car was upside down. I remember freaking out and asking if my parents were okay, but the sound of hard rain hitting the pavement was my only answer. By the time the ambulance got to the scene, I was hoarse from screaming at my parents to wake up. _

_I don't even remember calling for 911. _

{Page break, page break, page break}

I woke up with a jolt, and decided that sleeping during a storm wasn't a good idea. I got up, and left my room to search for Phil. Instead of finding him, I saw Tony Stark and Dr. Banner working together in the lab. _What the hell? _I thought, before letting myself into the lab.

"Hey." I greeted.

"You weren't at the debriefing." Dr. Banner said. "We caught Loki."

I nodded, "I knew Steve would." I said.

Tony snorted, "It was mainly me." He said.

I raised an eyebrow, "You were there?" I asked.

"Duh." He said as if it were obvious, "Who are you, anyway?"

"Jade Riley, Phil Coulson's niece. It's nice to meet you." I said and took a seat near the two scientists.

He smirked, "I didn't know Agent had a niece.. I bet you're in Shield's database, huh?" He wondered.

"Agent?" I asked confused. I looked at Dr. Banner, and he just shook his head.

"Tony, don't go through her file."

"You're going through my file?" I asked getting up to walk over to him.

"Well, I'm already going through Shield's database, I might as well look you up too. See who you really are. See if you're harboring any dark secrets." He said.

I rolled my eyes, "Good luck with that." I said. I knew I had a file at Shield, it would have been naïve to think that I didn't. But I knew Phil, and he wouldn't allow my file to be easily accessible.

"Your file is heavily encrypted. What's so special about you anyway?" He asked, sizing me up.

I shrugged, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's just a perk of being close to a top agent." I replied.

"Stark! What they hell do you think you're doing?" Fury demanded walking into the lab.

"What is phase 2?" Tony asked. Just as he did, Steve entered the lab.

"Phase 2 is Shield using the Cube to make weapons." He said angrily, tossing the weapon onto the table. "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me." He directed at Tony.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What were you lying?" Tony asked.

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said harshly. I remained seated, as everyone seemed to move closer to one another. I didn't need to be involved in this. I should probably leave, and find Phil. He's probably worried about me anyway. Just as I was about to get up, Natasha and Thor walked into the lab.

"Did you know about his?" Dr. Banner demanded, looking over at Natasha.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked, ignoring his question.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." He replied.

She took a step forward, "Loki is manipulating you-"

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" Bruce said cutting her off.

"You didn't come her because I bat my eyelashes at you." She said, a bit of anger was laced in her voice.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because you suddenly get a little twitchy." He retorted.

I started making my way toward the door, trying not to get involved in what was going on. I was ignoring most of the bickering, just focusing on the exit. All of a sudden, all the tension dissipated from the room as the computer went off. We all looked over at Dr. Banner and Tony, who had moved away from the group to walk to the computer.

"Oh my God." Bruce said.

No one had a chance to question him, because suddenly, the room exploded.

**I enjoyed writing this chapter. Especially the flashback.  
Thanks for the follows/favs!  
What'd you guys think of this chapter? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Oooh, so some interesting stuff happens in this chapter! Thanks for the follows/favs! **

_After my parents had died, I decided to give up playing the cello. I didn't have it in me to play anymore. After all, they were my main support when I first started playing. My parents inspired me, and that inspiration was taken away from me. And it was all my fault. _

"_Jade?" Phil asked from outside of my bedroom. _

"_Yes?" I answered. _

_Phil walked in the room, and made his way across the room to sit next to me on the bed. _

"_Why do you want to sell your cello?" He asked. _

_I looked away from him, and stared at the ground, "How'd you find out about that?" I asked. _

"_I have my ways." He said vaguely, "So, why?" He asked again. _

_I sighed, "I don't have a reason to play anymore." I finally said. "My parents are dead. They died and it's my fault." I managed to get out before crying. _

"_You're going to punish yourself then?" He asked. "Because you love the cello." _

_I nodded, "I guess I am." _

"_Well that's ridiculous." He said._

"_What?" I asked, confused. _

"_The accident was not your fault. Your parents, decided to let a fifteen year old who just got her learners permit drive when the weather was dangerous to drive in because they were drinking at a party." He said. "What happened, was not your fault." He said. _

"_It feels like it is." I said. _

_He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head, "Jade, your parents wouldn't want you to feel like this. I know my sister, and she wouldn't have wanted this for you. Ever. And she definitely wouldn't want you to give up playing the cello. Especially because you believe that you need to be punished for something that wasn't your fault." He said firmly. _

"_I don't know if I have anything left to play for." I told him. _

"_You know? You can play for me. I love your playing, Jade. You are so talented and for you to quit, would be ridding the world of something beautiful." He told me. _

_I nodded, letting his words sink in. I guess I had more inspiration than I thought. _

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Jade!" A familiar voice yelled waking me up.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

I realized that I had been thrown through the glass doors from the explosion. My back hurt a little, and I'm sure I had many scrapes from the shattered glass.

"I'm fine." I said trying to sit up, but then I felt light headed.

"Take it easy. You probably have a concussion. You were out of it for a bit." He said.

Suddenly, Tony was yelling at him to hurry up. "Go. Go help Tony." I said. "I can take care of myself."

"Go straight to your room, Jade. We aren't safe at the moment."

I nodded, and helped me up. Steve gave me one last glance before running off with Tony.

I carefully made my way to my room, and locked myself in. I noticed that several things in the room had been tossed around, but nothing too bad. I sat down on the bed, and realized how tired I felt. It was probably because I had a concussion. But before I knew it, I was out of it.

{Page break, page break, page break}

I was woken up the second time that day from the constant hard knocking on my door. I got up and opened the door, to find Steve.

"Jade." He said sadly. He looked pained and guilty.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked. "Did you catch Loki? Do you know where Phil is? I haven't talked to him in a while, I'm sure he's worried about me." I said.

"Jade, you might want to sit down." He said leading me over to my bed. I sat down and so did he.

"Steve, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" I asked. "Is Phil hurt?"

"Jade, Phil went after Loki. He was trying to help. But, Loki stabbed him and he- he didn't make it." Steve finally said.

"No." I said, standing up. "No." I repeated and started to shake my head furiously.

He stood up and put his hands on my shoulders, "I'm sorry, Jade."

I pushed him away, "Take me to Fury. I need to talk to him."

Steve did as I asked, and Fury only confirmed what Steve had told me. Not being able to handle it, I bolted from the room, nearly knocking into Tony in the hall.

"Jade, wait!" Steve called after me.

"Your Uncle was a moron." He said angrily. "He was stupid to go after Loki alone. He was trying to be a hero, and it got himself killed."

"Stark-" Steve started but I cut him off by punching Tony in the face. My action took the three of us by surprise.

"Screw you. I just lost the only family I have left, and you have the audacity to say that to me? Who the hell do you think you are?" I asked and glared at him. "Phil was more of a hero than you will ever be." I said before walking off.

"Don't follow me." I said behind me to Steve. I soon heard the two of them arguing behind me. But whatever they were saying , landed on deaf ears because I truly didn't care.

I made my way to my room and slammed the door shut. I was so angry. I was angry at Loki for killing my Uncle. I was angry at Phil for being stupid enough to get himself killed. I was angry at Fury for causing all of this. And more importantly, I was angry at myself because I couldn't do anything about it.

I felt as helpless as I did the day Phil came into my room to talk to me about playing the cello. I felt the same feeling of loneliness and despair. I felt dead inside.

I glanced over at my cello, and suddenly, I was mad again. I went over to my cello and opened the case. I stared at the beautiful wood working of the frame and picked it up out of the case. And then I started smashing it.

Why did this have to happen? Phil didn't deserve this. He was the best person I knew. He was everything to me.

"Jade! Jade! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Someone yelled at me.

I was suddenly assaulted by a pair of familiar arms that wrapped around me and made me drop the destroyed instrument.

"Shh, you're okay." Clint said trying to calm me down.

I was crying. I didn't notice I had started to cry. Clint turned me around to face him, and pulled me close in a hug.

"He's gone." I said bawling into his chest.

"But you aren't alone, Jade." He said.

At that moment, I wasn't sure if I could believe him.

**Soo, what'd you guys think? Review? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Steve POV

"Do you think she's going to show?" I asked Tony.

He shrugged, "Clint said she was going to come. She's supposed to give a speech too." He told me.

Suddenly, the room became quiet, and everyone turned around to look at whoever just entered the church. It was Jade. She was wearing a knee length black lace dress with black flats. Her hair was neatly done, and she had a slight amount of makeup on. Although she looked very put together, Jade looked very pale and thin.

Jade walked to the front of the church and took a seat in the front pew next to Fury, Natasha, Clint and a woman who looked very sad. Fury and a few other people went up and gave some speeches about Phil, and how he was a great person. Then, it was Jade's turn.

"I've been struggling the past few days to come up with something to say that would give Phil the justice he deserved. But everything I wrote just didn't come out right. And then I realized, I wasn't able to capture who Phil was in words because that's not how I think. That's not how I express myself. I'm used to getting my emotions and thoughts across by using music." Clint got up from the pew and handed Jade an old cello. It definitely wasn't the one I had seen her playing with before. "I hope that this gets my point across." She said taking a seat with her cello. I saw her whisper something before dragging the bow across the strings.

The song started off slowly, and it was very melancholy. But then, the music started to pick up, and the notes picked up and became more upbeat. The music was absolutely beautiful. And then I started getting goosebumps when the music started to slow down and become melancholy again. Jade dragged her bow across the strings one last time before finishing and looking up at the crowd in the church. Everyone started applauding, and she stood up, and wiped some tears off her face.

"That was beautiful." I whispered.

"Who knew she could play like that." Tony stated.

_I did._ I thought.

{Page break, page break, page break}

Jade POV

After my playing, the service had ended. Clint walked up to me and hugged me.

"I think that was the loudest response you've ever gotten from a performance." He complimented.

"Phil would have been proud." Aubrey stated.

I pulled her into a hug, "You've been really strong throughout this." I told her.

When I pulled away, I saw the Avengers walking toward me. "Thanks for coming." I told them.

"That was a lovely performance you gave." Bruce complimented.

"Thank you." I said.

"Look, Jade, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you on the helicarrier." Tony said.

"I'm sorry for punching you." I said accepting his apology. "Guys, this is Aubrey. Aubrey, this is Bruce, Tony, his girlfriend Pepper, and Steve." I introduced.

"It's nice to meet you." She said politely.

"Is this Phil's cellist?" Tony asked.

I glared at him and Aubrey said, "Yes, I suppose I am."

"I'm going to go outside." I told Clint before departing from the group. Once outside, I leaned against the church and closed my eyes. These past few days have been so exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

I opened my eyes, and looked at him, "I just needed some fresh air." I said.

"That's not what I meant.. You look like you've lost a lot of weight. How are you holding up?" He asked.

I swallowed hard, "I could be way better." I said honestly.

"What happened to your cello?" He asked.

I blushed, "I, uh, sorta smashed it. You know, after I heard about Phil's death." I said. Steve looked surprised by that. "The cello I played was actually the one I had when I was younger."

"Your playing was beautiful. It gave me goosebumps." He said.

"I think Phil was there with me when I was playing." I confessed.

"He probably was." Steve agreed.

I looked down for a moment, and then said "I think I'm going to head home. Thank you for coming."

"Jade." He said, stopping me, "Just so you know, I can be your two a.m call." Steve was offering me the same thing I had offered him not too long ago.

I couldn't be more thankful but I could manage to say was, "Thank you."

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Steve?" I asked as soon as he answered the phone.

"I'll be right there." He promised before hanging up.

I was woken up from a nightmare, and I needed someone to talk to. And Steve said he would be my two a.m call. It's like he knew I'd be calling him, and was prepared to drop everything in the middle of the night to come over and comfort me.

Steve came straight to my place, like he promised and we were sitting in my kitchen drinking hot chocolate. "So what happened?" Steve asked.

"I had a nightmare.. I just can't shake them." I said.

"I know the feeling. Have you tried playing your cello? I know boxing really helped me." He said.

"I haven't really felt like playing." I confessed looked down at my mug of hot chocolate.

"Tell me about Phil." Steve said suddenly.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"How did he meet that woman? Aubrey? You two seemed pretty close." He said.

I smiled a little, "She plays the cello. She's my idol, I absolutely adore her. I guess that's why she and Phil were so perfect together." I took a sip of my drink, "A couple years ago, I was telling Phil about her and how much I aspired to be as talented as she was. Then on my birthday, he got me tickets to see her perform, and he said that I should take one of my cellist friends but I just wanted to take him. And after her performance, we got to meet her. It was fate." I finished. "I really think they were meant to be together. They were perfect together." I said.

"Phil seemed like a very lucky man." Steve said.

I nodded, "He was the best. He may not have been there for me my whole life, just sporadic visits when he could, but the way he stepped up after my parents death's," I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I couldn't have asked for anyone better." I finished.

He smiled, "You guys were close, huh?"

I nodded, "He was my best friend." I yawned a little.

"You should probably go to bed." Steve suggested.

"I don't think I can. I don't want to have another nightmare." I admitted.

"You know what? I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Steve offered.

"Really?"

"Of course. You were there for me when I was having a tough time, and I want to be here for you." He said.

"Okay, thanks Steve."

The next morning I was woken up by a knock at my door. I saw that Steve had fallen asleep, which incidentally caused him to spend the night with me. I got up quietly, and went to the door.

"Clint, what are you doing here?" I asked. He stood in front of me nervously with his hands in his pockets.

"Just checking up on you. Thought you could use some company. Maybe a movie day?" He suggested.

"Sure, that sounds great. I can order some food, but first I need-"

"Jade?" Steve called from down the hall. He walked into the living room and saw me with Clint. "Oh, hey. I woke up and you weren't there. I thought something had happened." He admitted.

Clint looked between us and said, "He spent the night?" He instantly went into protective brother mode.

"Clint, it's not like that." I said trying to get him out of protective brother mode.

"What the hell were you doing spending the night with Jade, Steve?" Clint asked walking over to Steve.

"Clint, whatever you're thinking, isn't right." Steve said trying to calm down Clint.

"Then tell me how it is." He said.

"I just came over last night, and I fell asleep in bed with her after-" Steve didn't get to finish his sentence because Clint's fist collided with his face.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve POV

"Tell me about Bucky." She said sleepily.

I was sitting up against the headboard and she was laying down under the covers with her head tilted up lazily against the pillow to look up at me. I could tell that Jade was tired, but I knew she was fighting off sleep because she was scared of getting nightmares. I can relate.

"He was my brother." I said "He knew me better than I knew myself and he was always there for me. Through everything."

"You miss him." She said.

"He was with me through everything. My mom's death. Getting rejected from the army. Being Captain America." I said and shook my head and smiled a little, "We were going on a suicide mission, and I asked him if he was ready to follow Captain America and you know what he said? He told me no. He was going to follow that kid from Brooklyn who was too stupid to run away from a fight." That memory was a good one, but it hurt to think about. It seems like it just happened, and yet, seventy years have passed.

Jade grabbed my hand and laced her fingers with mine, and gave my hand a little squeeze. "The ones we've lost aren't truly gone.. We keep them alive in our memories. The moments that we shared with them. They continue to survive through the people who loved them." She softly.

This is what amazed me about Jade. She called me over to comfort her about her Uncle's death and here she was, comforting me.

"You're amazing." I whispered. But Jade didn't say anything, because she had fallen asleep. I moved some hair out of her face, and noticed how peaceful she looked asleep.

I looked down at our entwined hands, and smiled to myself. I guess I could stay a little longer, in case she gets another nightmare.

{Page break, page break, page break}

Jade POV

"Clint, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked getting between him and Steve. I pushed him back a bit to give Steve some room to breathe.

"What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing? Sleeping with Steve wasn't your brightest idea, especially since you're still grieving!" He said.

"Clint, we didn't-"

"Shut up!" Clint yelled at Steve effectively cutting him off.

"Clint! We didn't sleep together! I was having problems sleeping, I keep having nightmares and he came over to talk to me. That's it. And even if we had slept together, it would be none of you damn business. I don't say anything about you and Natasha sleeping together, so you shouldn't have any say in my love life either." I said.

"You guys didn't sleep together?" Clint asked confused.

"No." I said.

"Look, Steve, I'm sorry. She's like a sister to me and-"

"I get it." Steve said.

"Steve may be more understanding, but you need to leave." I told him.

Clint nodded but didn't say anything as he left my apartment.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Steve said.

"He punched you!" I exclaimed.

"I'm Captain America, it's not like a punch is going to do much damage to me." He said. "If I had a sister, and I saw her in a situation like this, I would have done the same." He admitted.

"How'd you sleep last night?" I asked changing the subject.

"Pretty good. Better than I have in a while." He said.

"Me too." I admitted. "Thank you for being my two a.m call and coming over here to talk to me." I said.

He smiled, "You don't need to thank me."

I nodded, "Yes I do. I really appreciate it." I said and hugged him.

After I pulled away, Steve said "I'm gonna get going. Call Clint."

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Have you stopped playing?" Clint asked then took a bite out of the pizza he brought as a peace offering.

"No, I'm just taking a break." I said. "Phil wouldn't have wanted to me to give it up. I just don't think I'm ready to play right now." I concluded. "Plus some of the people that I was playing with were annoying and stressing me out."

Clint nodded, "You're right. He wouldn't want you to stop. He loved your playing."

I looked at Clint, and I saw how tired he looked. "How are you?" I asked.

He sighed, "I can't help but blame myself for everything that happened." He admitted.

"None of what happened was your fault." I said.

"Jade, you don't understand. I feel responsible for Phil's death."

"Clint, no-"

"You don't get it, Jade. It is my fault. And I feel so awful for putting you through this. You've barely just lost your parents and I take away the only family you have left." He said and dropped his head into his hands.

"You're my family too, Clint. You're my brother." I said and started to rub his back.

"It's just so hard. I was there for everything that Loki made me do. I watched as I killed people. I watched as I blew up the hellicarrier and I couldn't do anything. I was trapped inside my mind and I was terrified that I was going to harm someone I cared about." He confessed.

"But you _were_ fighting. You shot Fury in the chest instead of the head. You know that he always wears a bullet proof vest. And you were holding back when you were fighting Natasha. You _wanted _her to knock you out."

"Sometimes I have to make sure that I'm doing things out of my own free will." He said absentmindedly.

"Have you talked to Natasha about this?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No. We haven't really been talking.. I've been pushing her away." He admitted.

"You need to talk to her. If you don't fix this, you're going to end up regretting it." I told him.

He nodded, "I'll do that tonight-"

"No, you'll do that now." I said firmly.

He smiled, "Fine, I'll do it now. Thanks Jade." He said and hugged me. "Oh, Fury wants you to stop by headquarters." He told me before leaving.

Of course Fury wouldn't tell me that himself.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Phil bought this for your birthday." Fury said. He sat a cello case down on the table.

"Why do you know about it?" I asked staring at the case. It was obviously brand new but I made no move to touch it.

"He was worried that he was going to be on a mission and wanted to make sure that someone knew about it to give to you." He explained and then handed me an envelope.

"Thank you. Is that all?" I asked getting up.

"No. I also have Phil's life insurance policy for you." He said and started looking through some papers before handing me another envelope, but this one was smaller.

"I don't want it." I said rejecting the envelope.

He sat it down on the table and slid it in front of me. "He wanted you to have it." He said before getting up and leaving the room.

I shook my head and shoved both of the envelopes into my backpack before grabbing the cello off of the table. I couldn't bring myself to open the letter or the cello case here. I'd do it later when I was home and could do it without being spied upon.

I quickly made my way to my apartment and sat the cello on my bed and just stared at it. Should I wait until my birthday to open it? Or should I just open it now? Maybe I should just read the letter and open the cello on my birthday.. Or I could just-

My train of thought was broken by the sound of my phone going off. "Hello?" I answered.

"Jade, it's Tony." He said.

"Hey Tony. What do I owe this pleasure?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well sweetheart, since it's your birthday next week, Pepper had this idea that we should throw you a little birthday party. Very low key, of course. Basically just a dinner with us and some presents and drinking of course." He said.

"Uh, Tony, you guys don't have to do that." I said.

"Obviously." He said "But we want to and Pepper won't take no for an answer. Trust me, she's scary when she has her mind set on something."

I sighed, and looked at my present from Phil, "Okay."

"Good. Steve said he'd pick you up and bring you to the Tower."

What did I just get myself into?


	10. Chapter 10

Steve POV

"Come in!" Jade's light voice yelled from inside her apartment. I smiled a little, and shook my head at her antics. I would have to talk to her later about leaving her door unlocked and inviting people in without knowing who was there. But I let myself into her apartment, and found her sitting on the couch talking on the phone.

"I told you, I'll have to think about it." She said. Jade scrunched her nose a little, listening to what the other person was saying. She looked over at me and made a motion for me to come over and sit down. So I did.

"I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow. I'll sleep on it, okay? Alright, talk to you then. Bye." She said hanging up the phone. She lightly tossed the phone on her coffee table and said, "Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting a call."

"It's fine." I said smiling. "Happy Birthday."

She smiled back, "Thanks."

"Are you ready to head over to Tony's?" I asked.

She nodded, "I just need to grab my coat and we can go." She said. I noticed she was wearing a dark blue polka dotted dress that went down to her knees. She grabbed her leather jacket from the closet and walked over to me putting it on.

"You look nice." I commented.

She blushed, "Thanks Steve."

We left her apartment and I led her to my motorcycle. Oh shoot, she's wearing a dress.

"Uh, are you going to be okay riding my bike?" I asked.

She laughed, "Yes, I'm wearing shorts under this- see." She said picking up her dress and sure enough, there was a pair of black shorts.

I quickly looked away. I could feel my face heating. "Oh, sorry!" She said and adjusted her dress. "That was really stupid. I do things without thinking sometimes."

"It's okay. Let's go." I suggested and handed her a helmet.

We made our way to Tony's tower and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like having Jade's arms wrapped around me. But I shouldn't be thinking about that. Jade probably isn't ready to start dating considering that Phil just died.

Do I want to date her?

We got off the bike, and she took the helmet off and tried to fix her hair. She smiled at me and handed me the helmet. She really is beautiful.

Yes. I do want to date her.

{Page break, page break, page break}

Jade POV

"Welcome, Captain Rogers and Miss. Riley. Dinner is being held in the penthouse." A British voice informed us and we stepped into the elevator.

Steve chuckled, "Don't worry, that's Jarvis, Tony's, uh, AI."

I nodded, "Cool."

"Jarvis, take us there please." He said.

"Right away, sir." The AI replied.

"I hope Tony didn't go to too much trouble with this." I voiced my concern.

"He really wanted to do this, Jade. He feels bad about what he said to you on the helicarrier. This is his way of making it up to you. And you shouldn't be alone on your birthday." Steve said.

"I thought this was Pepper's idea." I said confused.

Steve smiled, "It was Tony's idea and Pepper made sure it happened and that it was going to be a nice party."

"Oh, well it's better than what I was going to do anyway."

"Which was?" Steve asked.

"I was going to watch some movies, eat cake and drink some wine." I admitted.

Steve smiled, "This is better, huh?"

"We'll see." I said and the elevator stopped and opened.

Steve put his hand on the small of my back and led me into the room. It was nicely decorated with birthday themed balloons and banners.

"Happy Birthday!" Some people cheered and a flash went off.

"That was a good picture." Tony said and walked over to me.

"Hey, thanks for having me." I said and hugged him.

"It was no problem, really. Foods ready. Then we'll eat cake and you can open presents." He said steering me over to the table.

"You didn't have to get me anything." I said and took off my jacket and hung if on the back of my chair before sitting down. Clint made sure to sit next to me and Natasha sat next to him.

"Of course I did!" Tony said and sat on my other side and Pepper took the seat next to him. Steve ended up sitting across from me.

"What are we eating?" I asked.

"Your favorite, of course." Clint chimed in.

"Mmm, pasta." I said looking at the dish.

After serving ourselves, Tony asked, "So Jade, have you quit playing the cello? I thought you played for the symphony. But when I looked it up, I saw that some other girl was first chair and you weren't even on the list."

"I haven't quit, I'm just on hiatus. And I was first chair before I quit the job." I said defending myself.

"Oh, do you think you'll go back?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Probably not. I enjoyed playing for the symphony, I have for a while, but it's probably time for me to move on and do something new." I said.

"If you want, I have connections. I could find you a job." Tony offered.

"No thanks. I can find one." I assured him.

"It's really not a big deal, Jade. And you need a job." He reminded me.

"Actually I don't. I have enough money where I don't need to work for the rest of my life.. I just enjoy playing and having something to do." I said.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"I have a lot of money from my parents' life insurance policy and Fury just gave me Phil's." I said. "I don't really use it because I make enough money to support myself."

"If you don't use the money, then what do you do with it?" Steve asked.

"I help fund a scholarship at Juliard." I said. Everyone seemed pretty impressed by this. After eating dinner and birthday cake, which Tony tried to shove my face into, we went to the living room to open presents.

"Open mine first!" Tony said shoving a box into my hands.

I laughed a little and shook my head at his antics. I opened the box to reveal a small sleek device. "What is this?" I asked.

"It's a tuner/recorder. It can help you tune your cello and it can record your playing. I thought it would be helpful when you're practicing." He said.

I smiled, "Thank you, it definitely will come in handy." I said.

Clint handed me a jewelry box. Inside was a charm for my charm bracelet. This was his customary gift to me for my birthday. This charm was Phil's initials. I got up to hug him and said thank you. I quickly put the charm on my bracelet.

Natasha handed me a box, which was wrapped very beautifully and I almost didn't want to ruin it. Inside the box was a gun. It was small, just a bit bigger than my hand. A note was attached that said 'for when you're street performing'. I laughed a little, and thanked her for the gift. Of course Clint told her.

Pepper handed me a card and inside was a certificate for a spa day. "I've never been to a spy." I told her, "So this should be fun!"

"I figured that us three girls could go." She said.

I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

"I think that's all of them." Tony said, "So back to the job thing, are you going to go back to work?" He asked.

"I just got a job proposition today. I told him I'd sleep on it and have an answer by tomorrow." I said.

"What's the job?" Clint asked.

"A friend of mine from Juliard wants to produce a channel on youtube. He says that I would be perfect for it, but I don't know." I said.

"What would you do?" Clint asked.

"Cover songs. He watched an old video of me singing and said it would be awesome for me to combine it with playing the cello." I said. I looked over and saw that Tony was on his phone. _What is he doing? _

"Found it!" Tony exclaimed suddenly. He then proceeded to pull up a video of me on youtube.

"Oh no! Turn that off!" I pleaded.

Instead of listening to me, Tony pressed play.

The video opened with me sitting in a chair with me holding my cello and bow. "You're not getting the pitch right." The video version of me said to someone off camera.

"Then why don't you sing it?" The person countered.

I shrugged and started playing the cello. The sound of Seether's 'Broken' filled the room and the video version of me began to sing.

"_I wanted you to know  
I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain, away  
I keep your photograph  
I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal you pain  
Cause I'm broken, when I'm open  
and I don't feel like, I am strong enough-" _ I abruptly stopped when I realized someone had been recording me.

"Jason! What are you doing!?" I asked.

"This is history in the making, Jade! You wait and see. This is going on youtube." Jason said.

"Uh, no! It's not!" I argued getting up and rushing toward the camera and the video ended.

"I can't believe he actually put that online." I huffed from my seat.

"You have a beautiful voice." Steve complimented.

I looked over at him, and I could tell by the look on his face that he was being sincere.

"Thank you."

"I think you should take the job." Clint said.

I shrugged, "I'm thinking about it."

{Page break, page break, page break}

"I didn't want to give this to you in front of everyone else." Steve said pulling a box out of his jacket pocket. "I thought it was a little personal."

I opened it and inside was a silver oval locket. Inside the locket, was an old family picture of me, Phil and my parents. In the picture, I was probably 5, and Phil had me on his shoulders. My parents were standing on each side of him.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"I asked Clint, and he was able to find a copy of it. Do you not like it? I'm sorry, I just thought it would be nice-"

"I love it." I said cutting him off and hugging him. "Thank you."

Steve hugged me back and said "You're welcome."

We stayed like that for a while and I found myself thinking that I could get used to being held by Steve Rogers.


	11. Chapter 11

**I couldn't help but post another chapter. Thank you all for the really nice reviews! It made my day :) here's the next chapter, it's a bit short but the next chapter is longer! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome :)**

I sat in the middle of my bed and just stared at the envelope from Phil. I was avoiding opening the letter. After Steve gave me my present, I quickly put it on and we said goodnight. I then proceeded to tidy up my apartment, which wasn't exactly messy to begin with. Then I changed into pajamas and put some clothes in the wash. The sound of the washer at night usually helps me fall asleep, it's soothing. I was hoping that it would help sooth my nerves with opening the letter.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I found myself opening the letter. Inside the envelope was a handwritten letter from Phil.

_Jade-_

_I can't believe you're turning 24! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms after you were born. You were such a quiet baby, always listening and observing everything. It was obvious then just how special you were. I'm really not trying to get overly sentimental in this letter. I originally wanted to wish you a happy birthday and give you your gift, but I couldn't help myself. With my line of work, there are no guarantees. My field days may be coming to an end, but there's always that risk. That uncertainty. And because of that, I have to take every moment for what it's worth and make the most of it. And that includes giving you cheesy birthday letters reminding you how much I love you. _

_I saw you eyeing this cello, and I know you keep talking yourself out of buying it because you already have a nice one. But this one can be your performance cello and the other one can be used when you're street performing. It's funny that you think I didn't know about that. _

_With all my love, _

_Phil_

I carefully folded the letter and put it back into the envelope and put it in the drawer of my nightstand. I got up and went to my closet to pull out the cello Phil bought me. I sat it on my bed and carefully opening it. Inside was the exact same cello I had been eyeing at the music shop.

Even in the after-life Phil was still amazing me.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"So I've decided to take the job." I told Steve.

"Really?" He asked excited.

"Yes. I think it's time I've done something different. Mix things up a bit, you know? Plus this seems like it could be really fun because I'm going to be doing my own thing. And there won't be stuck up people bothering me about it." I said and laughed a little.

"Well I think this is cause for a celebration." Steve told me.

"Yeah?" I prompted.

"Yes! We should go out." He said.

I smiled, "Captain Rogers are you asking me out?" I ask.

"That depends on your answer." He says, clearly flirting back.

"I'd have to say yes." I tell him.

"Really?" He asked sounding shocked.

"Yes really." I said and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. We made plans to meet in Central Park, apparently Steve knew exactly what to do for our first date.

Not knowing what Steve had planned, I decided to keep it simple: skinny jeans, a white off the shoulder shirt with a black weeping willow on the front and black flats. I French braided my hair back and put on some concealer and I was ready to go. I walked from my bathroom into the living room and found Steve sitting on my sofa.

"I see you let yourself in." I teased him.

"I figured you'd tell me to anyway." He defended himself. "You look nice." He complimented standing up. "I like your hair this way."

I could feel my face heating up, "Thanks. So are you going to tell me what we're doing tonight?" I ask.

He smiles, "It's a surprise." I was about to protest but Steve said, "Trust me."

"Fine." I relented. "Lead the way Captain."

He shook his head and grabbed my hand, "Let's go."

{Page break, page break, page break}

"How'd you even hear about this?" I asked Steve.

He shrugged, "I was at a café and there was a handout about it. It looked fun and I thought you'd like it." He said.

I smiled, "Steve Rogers, you amaze me." I told him.

He smiled back, "Hopefully I can keep doing that."

"I have no doubt about it." I said and we began moving up in the line, closer to the ticket booth. In Central Park, an event was being thrown. This particular event was a glowstick war. You paid a small fee and were given a tube of glowsticks. "This is going to be fun." I announced.

"I hope you don't mind getting your clothes dirty." He said.

"I don't care! This is going to be awesome!" I said.

He laughed, "We're getting closer." Soon it was our turn and Steve paid for the both of us and we each received a tube of glowsticks. We made our way to the crowd and waited for the event to begin.

"Okay, so the rules" A man said speaking from a microphone "If you see someone fall, help them up! We don't want anyone to get hurt. Second, be mindful of others, try not to hurt each other. And finally, have fun!" And suddenly we were assaulted by the various colors of the glowsticks.

I quickly began to break mine open and began to splatter the people around me with the fluorescent colors.

"Oh no you don't!" Steve said and grabbed me and started to splatter me with green glowstick.

I started laughing and got myself out of his grip, but made sure to stay near him in case something happened. I made sure to get Steve back for getting me and then we each started to fling the colors at unsuspecting people. After a while, we each ran out of glowsticks and made our way out of the crowd.

"You have some on your face." Steve said and wiped the color away with his thumb. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It was short and sweet, and when he pulled away I couldn't stop smiling.

"Let's take a picture." I suggested and pulled out my iPhone. We took a normal picture then a silly one. In both pictures, some of my hair had come out of my French braid and framed my face. I decided that I liked both of the pictures.

"Are you hungry?" Steve asked.

"I can eat. Where do you wanna go?" I ask.

"Let's go to the diner you first took me to. I miss those fried pickles." Steve said.

I smiled, "I knew you'd like those. Let's go." I said grabbed his hand and lacing my fingers with his. I couldn't help but think that this is how things were supposed to be.

If only Phil could see us now. He'd be so proud.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so glad you guys related to the glowstick war! My friends and I love doing that and I thought it would be cute! Thank you for the kind reviews :) you guys are great! Here's the next chapter &amp; I hope you enjoy! **

Steve and I were sitting on my couch watching tv. He had his legs propped up on the coffee table and I had my legs on top of his. We were still in the early stages of our relationship, I still couldn't believe that I was in a relationship with Steve Rogers, and we spent a lot of time just hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

My phone started ringing and I said, "Steve, can you grab that for me?" He reached over and grabbed my phone and then handed it to me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Jade." Jason said.

"Oh, hey. What's up?" I asked and moved to sit up straight.

"I was wondering if you could talk about the Youtube channel." He said.

"Oh yeah, sure. One sec." I said and grabbed for the remote and paused the tv. I mouthed 'sorry' to Steve and then said, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering if you could come into the studio tomorrow and we could discuss some ideas for your first video. Then we could start recording." He said.

"Sure, sounds great. When do you want me to come in?"

"Noon?" He asked.

"Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." I said hanging up and tossing my phone onto the coffee table. "Sorry about that. That was Jason, he wants me to come in tomorrow to work on the Youtube channel." I told him.

"That's great, are you excited?" He asked.

I nodded, "And slightly nervous." I admitted.

Steve reached for me and pulled closer to him, "You'll be fine." He promised.

I smiled and reached up to kiss him on the check, "Thank you."

"Since the tv's paused. Do you mind explaining what is going on? I didn't want to interrupt earlier but I'm kinda lost." Steve admitted.

I smiled, Steve is just too cute. We were watching 'Blink', which is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes.

"Well, you see…"

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Maybe I could cover Broken, like in the original video, but actually cover the whole song and then link to the original video." I suggested to Jason.

He nodded, "That's a good idea. Do you want to start today?"

"Yes, I brought my cello." I said and showed him the shiny black case.

"Okay, do you want to play it by ear or do you want sheet music? Because I have sheet music." He said and began to look through a folder.

"I think I'm going to play it by ear. I'm going to get in the booth and listen to the song a few times and then I'll start playing, okay?"

He nodded, "I'm gonna let you do your thing."

I smiled and opened up my cello then went into the booth. I put my headphones on and started to listen to the song and began to mock play the song. After doing this a few times, I thought I was ready so I gave Jason a queue and began to play.

At first, I couldn't quite match it to the song, but as I started to play more and mess around with the chords, the song came together.

"Jade that sounds amazing." Jason complimented.

"Should I do another?" I asked.

"Yes. Then you can come back tomorrow and we can begin the singing part." He said.

I nodded, and then began to play the song again. This time I was focused more one getting everything right and putting in as much emotion as I could. After I finished playing, I left the booth and packed up my cello.

"See you tomorrow." Jason said sitting at a computer working on what I just played.

"See ya." I said leaving. I ended up getting a text from Steve telling me to meet him at his apartment at Stark Towers. I decided to take a taxi because I wasn't sure about the bus routes from the studio to or around the tower.

The secretary at the desk let me through to the elevator and I pressed Steve's floor number. Once I reached his floor and the doors opened, I was hit with the smell of something delicious cooking.

"Steve?" I asked stepping into the apartment off of the elevator.

"Hey Jade." He said coming into view from the kitchen. He came over to me and kissed me chastely on the lips and took my cello. "You hungry?" He asked and sat my cello against the wall.

"Yes. Are you cooking for me?" I asked and couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

"Yes I am." He said. "I would ask you if you wanted to help, but I want to make you dinner so you can take a seat at the island and watch me cook if you want." He suggested.

"Sure." I said following him in the kitchen and I took a seat at the island.

"Do you want something to drink?" Steve asks.

I shrug, "Sure, do you have iced tea?" I ask.

"Yes I do." He said grabbing a glass and opening the fridge. He then proceeded to pour me a glass.

"Thank you." I said and took a sip. "You're quite the man Steve Rogers."

He laughed, "I'm just trying to be good enough for you." He admitted.

I could feel my heart swell at that comment and I couldn't help but think about how much I enjoyed being with Steve.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread and green beans." He said.

"It smells amazing." I complimented. "You've sure come a long way from when you were first defrosted." I said.

"And you had to show me how to use the stove? I'd like to think I've come a long way." He said.

"Don't worry, you have. You're very up to date with technology and you're catching yourself up with all the history you've missed. You've done remarkably well." I told him.

"All because of you." He said.

"Not just because of me." I said and took a sip of the iced tea.

"Mainly you." He said and grabbed some plates from the cupboard along with silverware and napkins. He then proceeded to set the table.

"You're going all out for this. I'm seriously impressed." I told him.

"Good, that's what I was aiming for." He said and pulled a seat out for me.

Unsurprisingly, Steve was a great cook. The food was good and I really loved being around him. By the time we finished eating, and cleaning the dishes (I wouldn't take no for an answer) it was really late.

"Do you mind if I stay the night?" I ask Steve.

"Sure, I can give you some clothes to sleep in." He said and headed to his room and I followed. Steve's room was really clean, the soldier in him really came through. He rummaged through his dresser for a second and handed me a shirt and sweatpants with a drawstring. "I'll be in the living room." He said leaving and closing the door behind him.

The shirt was huge on me, came down to my fingertips and there was no way for the sweatpants to fit me. I pulled the drawstring as far as they would go and it didn't work. I walked out into the living room and showed Steve my problem.

"You don't mind if I just sleep in the shirt, do you?" I ask.

"No, that's fine." He said and laughed a little. "You're so tiny."

I rolled my eyes and punched him lightly, "Let's go to bed you jerk."

"I do have a spare room, you know." Steve said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Do you not want me to sleep over?" I ask.

"No, it's not that. I just don't want you to feel like I'm pushing you-"

I silenced him by putting my hand over his mouth. "Steve, we've slept in the same bed before." I pointed out.

He nodded, "Okay, let's go to bed." He said and put his arm around my waist and led me to the bedroom. Before I fell asleep he kissed me on the forehead and said goodnight.

**STEVE POV**

_Who was knocking on my door this early in the morning? _I asked myself as I made my way to the door.

"Good morning Capsicle." Tony said letting himself into my apartment. Well hello to you too..

I sighed, of course it was him. "What do you want?" I asked irritated.

"Well aren't you in a pleasant mood this morning?" He asked. "Did I interrupt morning sex or something?"

"Tony-"

"I did, didn't I!?" He exclaimed and turned to go to my room before I grabbed him.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Well you see-"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jade said wide eyed seeing me talking to Tony.

Tony looked Jade up and down and then looked at me with a smirk on his face. "I knew it!" Tony said and went to take a step toward Jade but I stopped him again.

Why does this keep happening to us?


	13. Chapter 13

**WoW. This chapter is the longest one I've done! I hope you guys enjoy it! Thank you for the kind reviews! They seriously make writing easier because I have support, so thank you! Oh! And I want to clear something up, Steve and Jade ****just**** slept when she spent the night.  
Enjoy :)**

**JADE POV**

"Did you two _do it_?" Tony asked being childish.

I rolled my eyes, "Is that any of your business?" I asked.

"Wait till Clint hears about this! He's gonna want to take another swing at the Cap here." Tony said pulling out his phone.

"Tony!" Steve yelled and grabbed the phone. "We did not sleep together. Now what are you doing here?" He asked irritated. I took that as my cue to leave.

"I'm going to go put clothes on." I said.

"No, no. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable." Tony said while eyeing me.

"I'm going to change." I said and went back to Steve's room to put on the clothes I wore yesterday. When I came back to the living room, Tony was gone and Steve was standing there with his hands on his hips looking down at the ground.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"I've been called in, so I have to leave soon." He said.

"Sounds important." I said.

He shrugs and then puts his hands on my shoulders, "I'm sorry I have to leave. I wanted to make you breakfast."

I laughed, "It's fine, go be Captain America. The world needs you."

"Yeah, well I need you." He said while leaning down to press his forehead to mine. Then he moved down to kiss me. "I'll never get tired of this." He said after breaking away.

"Me too." I whispered before going in to kiss him again.

After getting dressed, Steve made sure to walk me home and promised me he would try and keep in contact while on his mission. I then took a shower and changed my clothes and headed to the studio, where Jason and I worked on vocals.

"We need to come up with a channel name." He said.

"Oh no. I'm not that creative." I said which caused Jason to give me a look. "What?"

"You were able to play this song by ear in a matter of minutes. You are insanely creative." He said.

I rolled my eyes, "What names were you thinking of?" I asked putting us back ont opic. Anyway, it was pointless to argue.

He shrugged and thought for a moment then snapped his fingers. "I know! How about we call your channel, 'CreativeJade' and then when you become popular, you can have a side channel called "NotSoCreativeJade'." He said.

I laughed, "Can we switch it? It'd be funnier that way." I suggested.

"Sure, do you want to create your account now?" He asked.

I nodded and scooted my rolly chair closer to the computer that Jason was in front of. I watched him fill out the necessary requirement information and I gave him my email. In a matter of minutes, my channel was set up.

"I'll edit the video tonight and I'll text you when I put it up."

"Okay, thanks Jason." I said getting my stuff together, "Have a good day!" I called before leaving the studio. I decided to go to the store and pick up some groceries. I was getting bread when I first noticed people staring at me. And once I got to the register, I realized why. I was on the cover of several magazines. Pictures of Steve and me from this morning when he walked me home and kissed me goodbye. I quickly paid for my things and left the store.

When I got home, there was someone sitting on my sofa.

I sighed, "I don't remember giving you a key." I told Natasha as I sat my groceries on the counter.

"You think I'd need one?" She asked getting up and walking over to the counter. "I'm guessing you've seen the magazines?" She asked placing several down on the counter.

"Yes I have, is that why you're here?"

"Yes and no. Has Fury called you?" She asked.

"No he hasn't. And what does that mean? Yes and no."

"It means that I've come here as a friend and a SHIELD agent. We weren't aware of your relationship with Captain Rogers." She said.

"Yeah? I didn't realize my personal life was any of your business." I snapped.

"Well your personal life is now out in the open." She said pointing to the cover of one of the magazines.

"I see that. Why does SHIELD care?" I asked.

"We want you to acknowledge the risk of getting romantically involved with someone associated with our organization." She said.

"Are you serious? Phil was my Uncle, it doesn't get more personal than that."

"Phil and Clint kept you well hidden. But now that you're with Captain Rogers, you're out in the open. There are people who may want to hurt Rogers and will hurt you to get to him." She said.

"Are you saying this as a SHIELD agent or as my friend? Because I'm confused." I said.

"I'm saying is that you need to be aware of what you're getting yourself into."

"Yeah? Did SHIELD give you this spiel when you and Clint started a romantic relationship?" I asked.

"How did you-"

"Know?" I asked cutting her off. "Clint is like a brother to me. He likes to talk to me and ask me for advice." I explained. "When he was pushing you away after what happened with Loki, I told him to talk to you."

"Thanks for that." She said.

I shrugged, "No problem. So, is that all you want? To tell me that I'm going to be in constant danger?"

"Basically. SHIELD will be keeping an eye on you." She said before leaving.

How creepy was that? I need to check my apartment for bugs.

{Page break, Page break, page break}

"So the whole mission was just a ruse?" I asked Steve on the phone.

"Yeah, he gave us false information during the interrogation. We're not sure if it was because he truly didn't know or if he was protecting Hydra." He said sounding tired.

"Do you think they're planning something?" I asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. I hope not, but we're going to be on the offensive." He said. "I just don't want anything bad to happen."

"It'll work out in the end, you'll see." I told him.

"How are you always so optimistic?" He asked.

"Because that's how you should look at life." I said. "So have you heard?"

"Heard what?" He asked sounding confused.

"We're on the cover of some magazines." I said. "They saw us this morning and took some pictures." I explained.

He sighed, "This morning seems like days ago." Steve said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it was just a shock, you know? And Natasha broke into my apartment and basically gave me the riot act-"

"Whoa, what? Natasha broke into your apartment? Why?" He asked sounding upset.

"SHIELD wanted to let me know about the strings attached to being in a romantic relationship with you." I said. "She wasn't being mean or anything. She was just telling me how it is, you know how Natasha is."

"I don't see why SHIELD has to get into our personal business." He said.

"I know, that's what I said."

Steve was quiet for a moment and then said, "Do you want to move into the tower? If SHIELD is so worried about your safety from being with me, then what better place for you to be than the Avengers tower?" he asked. "It's one of the most secure places in the world, thanks to Tony. And I'll be around to protect you. And when I'm not, Clint will be there or the other Avengers."

He had really thought that through. "That's a big step, Steve." I said. "Do you realize what you're asking me?"

"Yes, I know what I'm asking you. I'm asking you to move in with me." He said. "You don't have to sleep in the same bed with me or anything, I know we're not there yet and that's fine, but you can stay in my apartment, I do have a spare room you know?" He said.

I smiled, "Steve Rogers, you are just full of surprises." I said.

"So is that a yes?" He asks.

"Yes, it's a yes." I said and then yawned slightly.

"Jade, go to bed." Steve said.

"Okay, goodnight Steve. I'll talk to you later. Be safe." I said.

"Goodnight Jade, sweet dreams." He said before hanging up.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"I didn't realize I owned so much stuff." I told Clint while I picked up a box.

"Me either." He muttered grabbing his own box. I followed him down the steps of my apartment to the truck waiting on the street. Steve helped us load the boxes and came up with us again.

"Looks like a few boxes are left." He commented. "All the heavy stuff is already in the moving truck."

"Clint are you driving or do you want me to do it?" I asked while grabbing one of the final boxes.

"I'll drive." He said. "I don't want you to wreck." He teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him and the three of us went back to the truck with the final boxes. We packed the boxes up and then moved to the front of the truck. I sat in between Clint and Steve.

"So I hear Tony wants to have a little party for your moving in and for your first youtube video." Clint said trying to make conversation. Things were still a bit weird between Clint and Steve since the incident with him finding Steve in my apartment. Now that we're dating, he has even more reason to be over protective.

"Yeah, he's getting take-out and there's going to be drinking-"

"Obviously." Clint interrupted.

"And then I guess we're going to watch my video." I said.

"I actually haven't seen it yet." Clint said, "Have you Steve?" He asked trying to include him in the conversation.

"No, I was going to but then Tony said he wanted to have the reveal at the party." Steve said. The day after Steve had asked me to move in, Jason uploaded the video. But by the time he had, Tony already found out about me moving in, which resulted in him banning the video in the tower so that no one would be tempted to watch it before the party. That was over a week ago.

"You guys will get to see it soon enough." I promised. "It's not that big of a deal anyway." I said trying to brush it off.

"Yes it is! This is your job." Clint said.

The rest of the ride to the tower was filled with some conversation but nothing too serious, by the time we got there, Tony came down to help us unpack everything. And by help, I mean he hired some people to do the work for us.

After everything was settled into my new apartment with Steve, we went to the party. We ate the take-out Tony bought and drank some alcohol. But finally it was time for us to watch my video.

"Look at that! You already have one hundred subscribers and over fifteen thousand views." Tony said. "This must be good considering it's your first video."

"Oh shut up and play the video." I said and sipped the wine. Tony pressed play and I watched myself on screen introducing the video.

"Hello internet, I'm Jade and this is my cover of Broken by Seether. Not the version with Amy Lee, but the acoustic version, which in my opinion is much better." The youtube version of me said.

Tony paused the video, "The Amy Lee version is better." He told me before unpausing the video and returning his attention back to the screen. I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, I hope you guys like it!" I said and the video transitioned to me in the studio playing the cello. My headphones were on and the concentration was evident on my face. Then the screen cut so that on the left was me playing the cello, and on the right was me singing.

"That was amazing!" Clint exclaimed at the end of the video.

"It was really beautiful, Jade." Steve said and kissed me on the cheek. This action made Clint roll his eyes. I am seriously going to have to talk to him about his problem with Steve.

"I think I like this version better than the one with Amy Lee." Tony finally said. "I'm going to tweet this to Seether." He said and started messing around on his phone.

"Oh no, that's really okay." I said trying to stop him.

"Oh looky here." He said and pulled up twitter. "You're already trending."

I wasn't trending because of my video, but because of my relationship with Steve. There were several pictures of him and Clint helping me pack up my stuff and move to the tower.

"Why do people care so much?" I asked reading what some of the people had to say about the Captain's new relationship. They were trying to guess if I was related to Clint because he was helping, or if I was dating both of them, which is ridiculous.

"Because he's an Avenger and people want to know who he's dating." Tony said. "No one's made the connection yet." He said.

"But they probably will soon." Natasha said from her seat next to Clint. "You should think about making a video about it before some reporter does a story and starts a bunch of rumors." She suggested.

I sighed, "I'll think about it. I don't want my channel to be popular just because I'm dating Steve." I said.

"Remember what you told me? It'll work out in the end." Steve whispered in my ear.

I smiled, "You're right. I'll talk to Jason about it tomorrow."

**Alright, so my interpretation of Steve is that he is a really resilient character. I know a lot of people on here like to characterize Steve as someone who is really out of touch with technology, even after being in this decade for a while. And he's also characterized as someone who is stuck in the past and on the traditional values. Don't get me wrong, I want to keep Steve's traditional values, but not over intense like some people like to do. Ergo, the whole moving in thing and sleeping in the same bed. So like I said, I think he's a really resilient character (he's very intelligent too, not on the genius level like Tony, but still) and this is how I think Steve would be. What do you guys think? Am I doing an accurate portrayal? **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I'm glad you guys think that I'm portraying Steve correctly. Oh, sidenote, any college students out there? I can't believe how expensive textbooks are! I'm already paying a ridiculous amount of money for tuition and now textbooks are beyond expensive! BLAH. Anyway, review please &amp; Enjoy :)**

"You know," Clint said causing me and Steve to jump away from each other, "I may be okay with you guys being together but I don't want to see you guys making out on the couch."

"Oh my gosh Clint, stop." I said embarrassed. We had talked out his problem with me being with Steve, but Clint still liked to tease us.

"Yeah, well maybe you should be doing that in the privacy of your own room and not out in the commons. You're just opening yourself up for this." He said and took a seat next to me.

"Clint, go away." I said.

"I actually have something to talk to you about." He said. "Nat wants to go out tonight, we were thinking about hitting up a bar. Wanna join?" He asked looking at both me and Steve.

"Why not?" Steve asked.

"Sure, let's go." I said. "Plus, Steve can be our designated driver since he can't get drunk."

"Hey!" Steve said and shoved me lightly.

"Hey yourself, it's true!" I said shoving him back. "What time do you want to go?"

"Nat said around eight, if that's good with you two."

"Perfect. Gives me enough time to get all dolled up." I said.

Clint laughs, "That's what Nat said too."

I patted both Clint and Steve's legs before I got up, "I'm going to go get ready. Play nice." I told them before walking away.

Before getting in the shower, I turned my iPod on shuffle and hopped in. I took a long shower, making sure to shave my legs extra well. After getting out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and towel dried my hair. I grabbed my iPod before exiting the bathroom and went to the room I shared with Steve. Once there I put on a pair of underwear and a bra. I then put on a pair of high waisted jean shorts and started to search for a shirt when I heard someone enter the room.

"I thought you'd still be in the shower." Steve said looking everywhere but me.

"I just got out. Do you need something?" I asked, frowning slightly. Here I am in my bra and shorts and he won't look at me.

"Clint wants to see your newest video, I came to get your tablet." He said.

"It's over on the desk." I said watching him move over to the desk to grab it.

"I'll see you in a bit." He said quickly before leaving. I shook my head, I'd have to talk to him about this later.

I then went back to searching for my shirt. It was a sleeveless white button up blouse with blue hearts, which I tucked into my shorts after buttoning it up and showing a little bit of cleavage. I then went back to the bathroom to dry my hair and I decided to straighten my wavy hair for once. I put on some liquid eyeliner, mascara and pink lipgloss. To finish off my outfit, I put on a pair of blue converse high tops to match my shirt.

"Is Natasha ready?" I asked entering the common room.

"Yes." She said walking up behind me. She was wearing tight black skinny jeans with an off the shoulder shirt and a pair of flats. She looked stunning. "Steve's driving, right?" She asked before tossing the keys in his direction.

"Let's go." Clint said getting up and walking towards Natasha. The ride to the bar was pretty quick and we made our way in. We were searching for a table and once we found one I said, "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

On my way back from the bathroom, a group of guys started making remarks, which I ignored- until one of them grabbed my ass.

I quickly turned around and said, "Did you just grab me?"

He smirked, "Did you like it?" He asked and went to reach for me again.

**STEVE POV**

"Looks like trouble." I said pointing to Jade passing a group of guys. We watched as one grabbed her. I started to get up but Clint pulled me back.

"Let her handle it." He said and took a sip of his beer. I looked at him surprised, but he pointed back at Jade. I watched as she twisted the guys arm back and then she proceeded to flip him. Once he was on the ground, she stepped on his arm and said something before walking off.

That was probably the biggest turn on ever.

"Where'd you learn _that_?" I asked once she returned.

She chuckled, "You think Phil would leave me defenseless? Especially in a city like New York?" She asked. "Is this beer mine?" She asked Clint, who nodded, and she took it.

"What'd you say to him after you flipped him?" Natasha asked.

"I told him to never touch a woman without her permission." She said simply and took a sip of her drink. "Men are disgusting."

"Damn straight." Natasha agreed.

I looked Jade over, seeing her in a new light. This girl is full of surprises, and I can't wait to be surprised by her every day.

As if she heard my thoughts, Jade turned to me and smiled. Later that night, when we got home and in our pajamas, I couldn't help but stare at her.

"What?" She asked smiling.

"I love you." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"I love you too." She said smiling even bigger, which caused me to break out in a smile.

This was short lived because later that night, I had a nightmare. It was so real and in my dream I was fighting and I went to punch someone when my fist collided with something very real, which caused them to cry out. That instantly caused me to wake up.

"Jade? Are you okay?" I asked.

"I think you were having a nightmare." She breathed out clutching her side.

"Did I hit you?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"It's okay Steve, you didn't do it on purpose." She said trying to console me.

"No, it's not okay. Let me see." I insisted. I turned the bedside light on and pulled her shirt up to have a look at the damage I caused.

There was a huge red mark, that was sure to bruise.

"I don't think I broke any of your ribs.. Does it hurt to breathe?" I asked.

"A little." She admitted.

I sighed, "Jade I am so sorry." I apologized again.

"Steve, it's fine." She said and reached for my face, but I pulled away.

"I'm going to go sleep in the spare room." I said getting up.

"Babe, you don't have to do that." She said.

"Yes I do. Goodnight Jade." I said leaving her in the room.

What had I done? I hurt Jade, the woman I love. What is wrong with me?

**JADE POV**

"Is that my shirt?" Tony asked.

"No." I said. "You're not the only person who likes AC/DC you know."

"Wow, someone's grumpy. Did you and the Cap get in a fight or something?" He asked.

"Yeah, or something." I grumbled.

Tony sat down next to me on the couch, "Tell me about it." I gave him a look, "What? I'm being serious."

I sighed, "Okay. Steve had a nightmare last night, and accidently hit me." I pulled up my shirt to show him the bruise that had formed over night.

Tony whistled, "That looks painful."

"It looks worse than it is. After it happened, he left me to go sleep in the spare room. He hasn't really spoken to me since." I said.

"Cap's old fashioned. Hitting a girl, even on accident, is the worst possible thing he could do, especially to you." He said.

"I just don't know what to do." I said. "He won't talk to me."

Tony snapped his fingers, "Dedicate a song to him." He said.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea. Thanks Tony." I said getting up and heading to my room. I had just the song in mind. I grabbed my cello and headed back to the living room. "Are you gonna help me or just sit there?" I asked.

Tony smiled and got up, "Where are we doing this?" He asked.

{Page break, page break, page break}

**STEVE POV**

"Captain," Jarvis said. "There's a video for you to watch on Jade's youtube channel."

"I'll watch it later." I told him.

"You should watch it now." Jarvis said.

I sighed and grabbed the tablet and found Jade's video waiting for me to watch. I made sure to have the volume up and pressed play.

"Hello internet, I'm back with another video. Though this one's a bit different." Jade said. "I'm dedicating this to my boyfriend because we hit a rough spot in our relationship and I thought this would be a good way to remind him that I love him." She said. "Anyway I hope you enjoy!"

The video cut to Jade with her cello and she started to tap her foot a little and then she began to play.

"Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you. By now you should've somehow realized what you gotta do. I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now" She sang. This song was so beautiful and it struck a nerve with me.

"Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me. And after all, you're my wonderwall." Again this made me think about what happened last night and the way I reacted. After I finished watching the video I asked Jarvis where Jade was at in the tower.

"She's in her room." He answered. I quickly left my place in the common room to head to our room. I found her there on the bed and layed down next to her.

"I saw the video." I told her. "And I absolutely loved it. And it made me realize that I acted unfairly to you since last night and I'm sorry."

She smiled and rolled over to hug me, "I love you." She said.

"I love you too." I said and kissed her head. "I think that's going to be our song from now on, because you're my wonderwall."

She smiled, "You're so cheesey."

"Says the girl who posted the video dedicated to me online." I teased.

"You're lucky I love you." She teased.

That I am.


	15. Chapter 15

**Soo, I lost a follower, but gained 4, so that's nice. But I would really like to ask you guys for feedback, because the reviews really encourage me to write and give me inspiration. I feel bad asking for reviews, I'm not trying to be rude :3 **

**PicoBogue: You are awesome. That was seriously a great review! Your English is fantastic! I'm learning German, and it isn't nearly as good as your English is! And I'm really happy that you enjoy my story!  
acompletenerd: I honestly wasn't trying to downplay the seriousness of the PTSD. I wanted to fix how Steve had reacted to what he had done because of the PTSD. Sorry if it didn't seem that way!  
Princess Crayola: Your review seriously helped me to finish this chapter. Thank you for that! And the review was so nice! I appreciate it soo much!  
Thanks for reading :)**

**PHIL POV**

"Hello internet! Today, I decided to do a get to know me video." Jade said on the video. "I have some questions here," She waved a sheet in front of the camera, "and I'll be answering some questions. Let's get started. First question, 'what's your full name?' My full name is Jade Elizabeth Riley. 'Birthday?' June 11th. 'Are you in a relationship?'" Jade smiled at that question. "Yes, I am happily taken. My boyfriend is actually here right now." She said and suddenly Steve moved into the shot. "Yes, I am dating Steve Rogers. Recently there has been some speculation about me being his 'mystery girl' and we decided to clear things up." She said.

Steve nodded, "And Jade isn't doing this to get more views or whatever on her videos, I'm just here to say hi and now I'm leaving." He said and true to his word he left.

"Like Steve said, this isn't about him, but I wanted to introduce him and clear things up." She said and started to move on to other questions.

At the end of the video, Jade said, "Okay, so that's it! If you would like me to do more videos like this in the future, comment below. Make sure to subscribe!" And then the video cut to a link of her old video, and I was about to click on it when the video cut again with Jade laughing and talking to Steve who was out of the shot. "Steve!" She laughed, "It's not that hard. Just press the button and-" All of a sudden the camera fell from where ever it was propped and you could hear Jade and Steve's laughter before the video ended.

I can't believe Jade is dating Captain America. And I can't believe I've missed so much.

"What are you watching?" May asked pulling me out of my thoughts.

I quickly shut my laptop, "Nothing. What's up?" I asked. She gave me a knowing look and began to tell me about how Jade was in the hospital.

{This is a page break}

**JADE POV**

_My back is killing me_. Was my first thought as I came into consciousness. Without opening my eyes, I tried to move onto my side, but strong hands stopped me from doing so.

"Whoa, hey. No you can't do that." Steve's voice said.

I slowly opened my eyes and I was assaulted by the brightness of the unfamiliar room.

I was in a hospital.

"Why am I here?" I asked him trying to sit up. There was an IV in my hand that stung a little when I put pressure on it to sit up, but I still managed to do it.

"You don't remember?" Steve asked. He looked upset and guilty.

I shook my head, "I don't know. Everything is a bit fuzzy." I confessed.

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked.

"Uh, we were making breakfast." I said and rubbed my forehead trying to remember, "And I needed to get something from the fridge." I shook my head, "I don't remember much else."

"That was two days ago." Steve said. "Jade, our fridge was planted with a bomb. " He took my hand in his, "You're lucky to be alive." Steve went on to tell me that my only injuries were bruising on my ribs and a bad concussion. "They wouldn't let any of us in here at first, because there's a family member only rule." Steve said.

"And I don't have any family." I said.

He nodded, "Clint tried to lie and say he was your brother, but you two look nothing alike. But Tony pulled a few strings and we were able to come in." Steve sniffed and shook his head. "I was so scared."

I pulled my hand out of his to touch his face, "Steve, its fine. I'm still here."

"That bomb was meant for me, Jade. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be here."

"Stop blaming yourself, Steve." I said. "I knew the risks with getting involved with you. Natasha told me what could happen, and I didn't care. Being with you, is my choice. It's not like you forced me to be with you."

"I don't know what I would have done if something serious had happened." Steve said.

"Well, don't worry about it. I'm fine." I said. "Now when can I get out of here? I hate hospitals."

Steve got up and got a nurse, something he should have done as soon as I woke up. The nurse checked some of my vitals and then got the doctor, who gave me the clear to head home. Steve called ahead to the tower and had Happy pick the two of us up.

"Welcome back!" Everyone yelled once we got back to the tower.

I smiled, "You guys are silly." Everyone came up and hugged me, which was nice and made me feel better. Pepper made a nice dinner, and we all sat down to eat.

A little bit into the meal, I finally ask something that had been on my mind since hearing what happened. "How did the bomb get into the fridge anyway?"

"Remember you guys had to get it fixed because the ice and water would randomly start coming out?" Tony said. "The men, who came and 'fixed' it, actually put the bomb in. The company name that they were using, doesn't even exist."

"Wow. Have you caught them?" I asked, knowing that it was a longshot.

He shook his head, "No, not yet. We have their faces courtesy of Jarvis, so we're just waiting." He said.

I nodded, "That's good."

"How are you feeling?" Clint asked.

"I feel really good, actually."

Clink smirked, "How much medication are you on?"

"I'm not on any medication, Clint. You know that pain meds make me sick." I said. "I didn't feel too good when I first woke up, but I'm guessing that had to do with me lying in bed for two days."

"I would have been there when you woke up, but I figured Cap had that covered and I was working with Tony and Nat to find the people who did this." He said, apologizing.

I smiled, "Its fine, really."

He smiled back but didn't say anything.

"Did you have any weird dreams while you were out of it?" Tony asked.

"You know, now that you mention it, I did." I said. "I dreamed Phil was there with me for a bit, making sure I was okay."

I noticed that Natasha suddenly looked uncomfortable, but she quickly covered it up as if nothing happened. Odd.. I didn't think much of it as we finished our dinner, and then I helped Pepper with the dishes even though she protested my help the whole time. When we finished, Steve and I headed back to our apartment. You wouldn't have even guess that anything had happened, Tony had the place fixed, but credible people, after the whole fiasco.

Steve and I changed into our pajamas, deciding that heading to bed was probably the best idea. After Steve walked in on me changing, I talked to him about where he wanted to go with our relationship physically. He told me that he loved me and didn't want to disrespect me, that's why he acted weird when he saw me partially naked, and that when the time was right, we would have sex. Though, he didn't want to go straight into a physical relationship, because he loved me for me, not my body. That didn't stop us from getting prepared for it, though. I had been on the pill since before dating Steve because my periods were accompanied by awful cramps. And Steve and I even bought condoms together, which is something, I think, a couple needs to do together.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Steve said pulling me close to him and resting his chin on the top of my head.

I pulled away to look him in the eyes, "I'm not leaving you, Steve." I told him.

He looked into my eyes and pulled me in for a kiss. Steve's hand went for my waist and pulled me closer to him, effectively intensifying the kiss. I soon found myself under Steve, and he pulled away from the kiss to look at me.

I smiled and him, and nodded at the silent question that passed between us. I reached for the bottom of Steve's shirt and tugged on it, signally that I wanted the shirt off. Steve pulled away from me and sat back to pull his shirt off. I sat up too, and quickly rid myself of my shirt.

"You're so beautiful." Steve breathed and pulled me to him to kiss me. He lightly pushed me back into the bed and started to kiss down my neck and back up again to my mouth. The feeling of our bare skin together felt wonderful and just so right.

**3****rd**** PERSON POV**

The men had gotten what they wanted. They had managed to rattle the Avengers with the bomb in Captain America's fridge.

They sat around planning their next attack. But this attack wasn't meant for the Captain. No, this attack was meant for the Captain's girlfriend. After all, the bomb was proof enough of how much he and the rest of the Avengers cared for the girl.

And if they wanted to harm Captain America, they had to hit him where it hurts.

"Hail Hydra." They said to one another as they departed for the night. Soon enough, their plan would be fool proof, and the Avengers wouldn't know what hit them.

**0000000000**

**So yeah, that's this chapter. The way I see the timeline with Jade and Steve's relationship is that they've been together for around 6-ish months and have known each other for around 8 (max). They are really comfortable around each other and love each other and for them to have sex is normal. I know I missed Steve's birthday in the story, I'm thinking about doing some one-shots as a companion to the story for all the moments that are missed between chapters and time jumps. Good idea?  
Thanks for reading!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**PicoBogue: I absolutely love getting your reviews. And I understood everything you said in German! I absolutely love the German language. And I thought it was important to talk about contraception because that's an important part of being in a relationship! So thank you for commenting on that.  
Princess Crayola: I'm glad I can help with some inspiration!  
kaylinthehuman: Oh yeah, Tony's gonna tease Steve and Jade about it.  
ArrowsIronJr: Such a great review! Thank you! And I was thinking about incorporating the Winter Soldier ;)  
Thank you guys for the revies/follows/favs and let's get on with the chapter! Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**

I rolled over half awake and reached my arm out to the other side of the bed, searching for Steve. But my hand only met the empty part of the bed and I was instantly awake. _Was he called out for a mission in the middle of the night? _I thought as I sat up and began searching the bedside table for a note explaining his absence. There was none and I started freaking out. But before I could get up, the bedroom door opened to reveal Steve with a tray in his hands.

"Good morning!" He greeted and made his way over to the bed.

"I thought you left for a mission!" I said as he sat down on the bed and placed the tray between us. On the tray were pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage links. He brought some fresh fruit for the pancakes with some whipped cream.

"I wouldn't have left you without saying something." He said.

I nodded, "Thank you for making breakfast in bed. Last time we had this was when I made it for your birthday." I said smiling fondly at the memory.

After we began eating, Steve asked, "So, how are you feeling?"

I almost laughed. Almost. I knew that if I did, I would hurt Steve's feelings. "Well, like I said last night, I feel fine. I think that being in a bed for two days was what caused me to hurt." I said playing coy.

"Jade, you know what I mean." He said.

"Steve, last night was really good." I said and took a bite from my pancake.

"Are you sure? I didn't hurt you or anything?" He asked.

"Why would you have hurt me?" I asked confused and started eating some of the fruit.

"Uhm, super soldier here." He said.

I laughed, "Steve, you didn't hurt me. I'm good. Really good. Last night was great." I said. "You don't regret it or anything, right?"

"What? No. Of course not. I'm just making sure you're okay."

"Good." I said and we went back to eating our breakfast. After eating and setting the tray aside I said, "What do ya say, Captain? Wanna go for another round?" I asked and leaned in to kiss him.

"Definitely." He said breaking the kiss and pulling me to him.

**0000000000**

**TONY POV**

"Let movie night commence!" I said while placing a bowl of popcorn on the table. Along with that bowl of popcorn, there was three more, two large pizzas and a mountain of candy. "Whose turn is it?" I asked.

"I believe it is my turn." Thor said.

"What do you want to watch, Thor?" Pepper asked.

"I was thinking that we should watch Billy Madison." Thor decided. Of course he'd choose a comedy.

"Classic." I mutter finding the movie and pressing play.

I watching as Jade got up from Steve's lap and grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a bag of M&amp;Ms. She went back to sitting on Steve's lap and they shared the food. _They were being more touchy feely tonight,_ I thought. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them.

Throughout the movie, I kept an eye on Steve and Jade and I watched as Steve whispered something to her and she would smile. His hand would either be on her hips or knee.

_That's enough. _I thought as I paused the movie.

"You two had sex." I announced looking at the pair.

"Tony!" Pepper yelled and hit me.

Clint looked from me to couple but didn't say anything.

"What is wrong with you?" Jade asked clearly annoyed.

I smirked, "You did, didn't you? You aren't denying it, which means that you did. I knew it." I said.

"How could you possibly have known that, Stark?" Steve asked.

"Genius, duh." I said.

Clint sighed and put his hands over his face, "Can we not talk about this?" He pleaded. "Ever."

"Why not, birdbrain? Hearing about Jade's sex life isn't entertaining?" I asked.

He dropped his hands and looked at me, "If you bring this up again, Stark, I will not hesitate to put an arrow through your eye." He said. I swallowed, realizing he was threatening me. "Got it?" I nodded and unpaused the movie.

He just had to ruin the fun.

{Page break, page break, page break}

"Steve, I love you, but this is getting ridiculous." I said. "I can go to the grocery store by myself."

"I just don't want something to happen to you." Steve said.

"I know, and I really do appreciate it. But it's been two months since the bombing incident and nothing's happened." I reasoned. "I'm just going down the street. I'll be fine, I promise." I said hugging him and then pulled away and said, "Plus I have pepper spray."

He smiled, "Okay."

"Do you want me to pick something special up for you?" I asked pulling on a coat and grabbing my purse.

"No, I'm good." He said.

I left Stark Tower and walked down the street to the grocery store. I grabbed a basket and started grabbing things on the list I had made. I finally got to the pharmacy section and grabbed some contact solution. Right as I was about to leave the aisle, the shelves of feminine hygiene products caught my eyes. I stood there, dumbfounded. _How long has it been since I had my last period?_ I took a deep breath and went to the next aisle where the pregnancy tests could be found.

_Am I pregnant? _I asked myself as I grabbed a box and placed it in my basket. How could I be pregnant? I'm on birth control and we use condoms.

_Except the first time you and Steve had sex. _The little voice in my head reminded me. _And you hadn't taken your birth control for two days because you were in the hospital. _

Deciding that I needed to get home as soon as possible, I went to the register and paid for the stuff I already had with me and left the rest of the stuff on my list to get at a later date.

On my way back to the tower, a young woman was walking on the sidewalk and someone bumped into her causing her to drop the files she was carrying. Papers went everywhere and the person just kept walking as if nothing had happened.

I sat my grocery bag down and helped her pick up the papers. "Here you go." I said and handed her the papers.

"Thanks, Jade." She said smiling.

"How'd you know my name?" I asked freaking out a bit.

"We've been waiting for a chance to get to you. This is the first time you've been out alone." She said.

I took a few steps away from her but before I could get far someone grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with their hand. I screamed and tried to use the training Phil had taught me, but before I could the woman injected something in my neck. Then everything went black.

**000000000**

**STEVE POV**

"Captain Rogers, Sir is requesting your presence." Jarvis spoke.

"What for?" I asked getting up.

"He said it was urgent." The AI spoke.

Steve immediately went to Tony's floor, and found him in the living room, watching something on his tablet.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's Jade." He said getting up and handing me the tablet. "She was taken."

He played the footage for me and I watched as Jade was drugged and then taken away.

"We need to do a search for that license plate." I said.

"On it." Tony said. "Jarvis, get Clint up here. And get Happy to go outside and grab the groceries Jade sat down on the sidewalk." He then began to work on the license plate.

After explaining what happened to Clint, he got on the phone with SHIELD and Happy came up with the grocery bag that Jade had. I started to go through the bag when I found a pregnancy test.

As if this situation could get any worse.

**So I posted my first one-shot that goes along with this story. I thought it'd be nice to post them together. It's called Hanging by a Moment.  
Thanks for reading! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Ah, sorry for the delay! My wifi has been screwy lately and it decided to malfunction when I finished this chapter and I couldn't upload it. **

**PicoBogue: Wow. Danke schön. Ich denke, dass Deutsch eine schöne Sprache ist. Letztes Jahr habe ich zwei Wochen in Deutschland besucht. Es war erstaunlich und sehr schön. Ich will in Deutschland wohnen. Ich will mehr in Deutsch screiben, aber ich weiß nicht, was zu shreiben.  
Sorry if any of that was wrong. I'm majoring in German for college and I'm thinking about doing a French minor or another language as a minor. I really like languages and linguistics. And I think it's amazing that you know 3 languages. I applaud you for that. Very cool. And I absolutely love your reviews. They are just great!  
ArrowsIronJr: Your review was absolutely great. It made me smile, so thank you for that! That's not really the direction I'm going in with this story, but it's really a great idea! And there's something in this chapter I know you'll like!  
BankGeekDrummer: Aww, you're so great! Thank you for your review!**

**Thanks for the reviews/follows/favs! You guys are seriously awesome. Thanks for reading, please leave a review and enjoy :) **

You know that feeling you get after sleeping from taking Benadryl or cold medicine? Your whole body is just fighting to keep you asleep and you just feel so groggy. That's how it was waking up and it took me a while to figure out that I wasn't home in my bed, but somewhere unfamiliar.

"You're awake." An unfamiliar voice spoke to me.

I opened my eyes and saw an older man sitting in a chair next to the bed I was laying in. He was looking at me intently. "Who are you?" I asked.

He smiled, which made me uncomfortable. "You can call me Xander, it used to an old nickname." He said.

I nodded, "So, why am I here?" I asked getting down to business.

"Originally, we took you because you're Captain America's girlfriend and we wanted to lure him here." He said.

"Why?"

"Because we want to recreate the super soldier serum. But like I said, that was our original plan."

"So what's your plan now?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"We have the next best thing to Captain Rogers. You."

I shook my head, "What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"You're pregnant." He said. "We took some of your blood after you arrived and it tested positive. We will use your offspring to recreate the serum and have our own super soldier." He explained.

My face dropped, "You're insane."

"Most people who are geniuses are." He said and patted the bed while standing up. He walked to the door. "You will have a guard stationed here with you." He told me before leaving. And once he left a new man entered the room. He was dressed in all black and had long disheveled brown hair.

There was no way in hell.

No way.

He looked different than the pictures I had seen. The man in front of me was completely different than the one Steve had told me about but there was no denying it.

Bucky Barnes was my guard. And he was working with Hydra.

**0000000000**

**STEVE POV**

"You got her pregnant!?" Clint yelled after seeing me looking at the pregnancy test.

I shook my head, "I don't know!" I said defending myself. "I just found it in her grocery bag!"

"Well obviously she thinks she is or she wouldn't have bought the test!" He yelled. "Did they not teach you anything back in the forties?!"

"Dammit Clint, I am not an idiot. I know about condoms and she's on birth control!" I said.

Clint shook his head, "Birth control isn't effective one hundred percent of the time. Was there a time when you didn't use condoms?" He asked. "I'm not trying to make this weird, but if there's any chance that she's pregnant, that makes this situation much more critical." He said seriously.

"Do you think I don't know that?" I asked and then sighed putting my hands on my hips. "When she was in the hospital, I don't think she had been taking the pill." I said finally. "We had sex the night she came back from the hospital."

"Shit." Clint said.

"I don't want to break this up," Tony said, "But Jarvis and I got a hit on the license plate."

Clint and I both walked over and saw what Tony was looking at on his tablet. He brought up video clips form surveillance cameras that caught the car. We had somewhat of a lead.

"At least we know which direction the car was headed. I'm going to hack into the BMV and see if the car is registered to someone." Tony said.

"I'm going to call Fury back." Clint said separating from us.

"So," Tony said, "You got Jade pregnant."

"You realize that that was a private conversation." I said.

He rolled his eyes, "You guys were literally over there and it's not like you were trying to keep quiet."

I sighed, "I don't know if she is."

"But she bought a pregnancy test." He said. "And you said that you two had sex after she hadn't taken the pill for a couple of days." I nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Steve, I think she's pregnant."

I nodded, "Me too." I ran my hands over my face. "I don't know what to do."

"Steve, we're going to find her. I promise." Tony said. "I don't know if you realize this, but we're a family. And no one threatens or hurts our family."

"Thanks Tony." I said taking his words to heart.

"Don't thank me yet, we still have some things to do." He said.

"We've got work to do." I said agreeing.

**0000000000**

**PHIL POV**

"What do you mean, Jade's been taken." I said not completely understanding what was going on.

"You heard me, Coulson." May said. "Jade was taken today outside of Stark Tower. Tony is working on finding who the car belongs to because he got the license plate."

I got up, "We have to go help."

"You know you can't do that." She said.

"The hell I can't, that's my niece, May. I have to help in any way I can." I said. "We are heading to Stark Tower, and that is an order May."

She sighed and left.

**0000000000**

**JADE POV**

I sat up on the bed and faced Bucky, "So.. How long have you been working with Hydra?" I asked breaking the silence.

Bucky was standing in front of the door facing me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His gaze never left mine. He didn't say anything.

"Ohkay." I said. "Not much of a talker, huh?" I asked. "That's okay, because I like talking."

Again, I was met with silence.

"My Uncle raised me." I started off. "When I was fifteen, my parents died in a car crash. I initially blamed myself because I was driving, but Phil, my Uncle, helped me realize that it wasn't really my fault. He was great like that. He's kinda a father figure to everyone. He has so much life experience and wisdom and he shares that with everyone. He helps make everyone better." I said. "Did you ever know anyone like that?" I asked.

The soldier stared at me then shut his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath and then sighed.

I was about to start talking again when the most unexpected thing happened. "Steve." He croaked out. "Steve was like that."

My mouth dropped open in shock. He remembered.

**0000000000**

**CLINT POV**

"Why aren't you coming?" I demanded while on the phone with Fury.

"There's someone who requested to be there and I think his help will be of much use." Fury said.

"Who?" I asked getting angry. "We need a top agent here, not someone who wants to get close to the Avengers."

"What do you take me for agent Barton?" Fury asked. "He'll be arriving soon." And hung up.

"Dammit." I said.

"What?" Steve asked.

I looked over at the super soldier and saw how much this situation was affecting him. He looked as though he had aged several years. And I could tell the whole pregnancy situation was taking its toll on him too. I could only imagine having something like that sprung on me.

"Fury isn't coming." I said.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Another agent is coming who requested to be part of this."

"Who would-"

Suddenly the elevator doors open to reveal someone I thought I'd never see again. Someone who had been like a father to me. Someone who was supposed to be dead.

I grabbed the gun from my thigh holster and pointed it at him, "Who the hell are you?" I asked.

"Good to see you too, Clint." The Phil lookalike said. "Though, I thought I'd have a better welcoming."

I felt myself lower the gun a bit, and said, "Who are you?"

"Agent Phil Coulson, with SHIELD. I'm here to help you look for Jade. I was informed that she had been taken and I'm not about to let her down now." He said.

"You can't be alive. We buried you." I said.

"Clint, Fury did everything in his power to ensure that I survived. But because of that sacrifice, I had to sacrifice something in return. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone what happened. I've been travelling with Agent Ward and Agent May for the past few months. I've been working for SHIELD this whole time."

I lowered my gun put didn't put it away, "How could you do that to us?" I asked.

"Clint, now is not the time. I need to know what information you have gathered since Jade was taken." He said.

I nodded, "We'll talk about this after we get Jade." I agreed. Steve began filling Phil in on everything, which wasn't much. After doing so, Phil made some calls and we went back to work.

"Oh, and Jade's pregnant." I said.

Phil's head looked like it was going to explode.

**0000000000**

**JADE POV**

"Do you remember a lot about Steve?" I asked tentatively.

"No." He said looking confused.

"He was your best friend." I said trying to jog his memory. "He was Captain America." He still is Captain America but I don't know what Hydra has been telling him and I don't want him to freak out.

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Do you know why I'm here?" I asked.

"You're my mission. I've been sent here to watch over you." He said as if repeating something he had to memorize.

"Do you know why?" I asked.

"Because Hydra is going to recreate the super soldier serum."

"Do you know how?"

"The child you are carrying has the DNA they need to create the serum." He said.

"So you know that Steve is still alive." I said.

"Captain America died after crashing a plane." He said. "That is impossible."

"Then how do you think the child I'm carrying has the DNA of a super soldier." I said. "The child I'm carrying, his father is Steve. Captain America."

Bucky shook his head, "No. That's not possible."

"Bucky, listen to-"

"Who the hell is Bucky?" He snapped.

I sighed, "Did you know that I play the cello?" I asked. Bucky didn't respond, not that I expected him to. The progress I had made with him seemed to have an adverse effect.

I placed a hand over my stomach and promised myself that I would someone get out of this. There was no way that Hydra was going to use my baby to hurt everyone.

**Sorry about the switching of point of views through this chapter, I hope it wasn't confusing! So, do any of you know who Xander is? ;) **


	18. Chapter 18

**Uh, wow. Where did all of you come from? I now have a ton of followers on this :D makes me happy and I feel like I'm doing something right. So thank you for that! **

**I found it difficult to write the rescue scene. I hope it turned out well. **

**cheryl72: Hahaha, shhh ;)  
acompletenerd: Bucky shall be saved :) he is one of my fav marvel characters  
ArrowsIronJr: I DON'T WANT YOU TO FREAK OUT! IT'S OKAY! **

**Again, thanks for the follows &amp; favs! Please leave a comment about this chapter because I'm sorta unsure about it. Enjoy :)**

"I'm not exactly sure why I chose to play the cello." I said. "I was eight, and the cello was bigger than me." I chuckled a little at the memory. "My parents brought me to a music store and I just decided on the cello. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And when I started learning how to play, it was like the bow was an extension of my arm and I was just meant to play." I said. "Do you like music?" I asked Bucky.

"I-I can't remember." He said.

"Maybe I could play for you one day." I suggested. "I've been told I'm pretty good."

"I think I would like that."

I smiled, "I think the baby would like to hear me play too."

"You said Steve's the father." He said. "Are you two married?"

I shook my head, "No, but we've been together for a while. This wasn't exactly planned.." I sighed. "You have to know that this is wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"Me being your mission and Hydra wanting my baby to recreate the super soldier serum." I said. "You have to know that it's wrong."

He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was conflicted.

I sighed, "Look, I don't know what Hydra did to you, but I know the man you used to be before Hydra did anything. And I know that man is still somewhere inside of you. You have to know that this is wrong." I said.

"Did Steve tell you that?"

I nodded, "Please, Bucky." I pleaded. "Help me get out of here."

Bucky squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, opened his eyes and then gave me a small nod.

**0000000000**

**STEVE POV**

"Jade's pregnant." Phil repeated. "You got Jade pregnant." He said staring at me. "How far along is she?"

I shook my head, "I don't know. I just found out."

"Wow. Um, okay." Phil said clearly shocked. "We'll talk about this after we find Jade." He said putting it in perspective. "Stark, have you found anything yet?"

"Still working on it." Tony shot back.

"Clint?" He asked.

"Working on it." Clint called back. "Natasha's on her way."

"So you've been alive this whole time." I said.

"I was technically dead for a short amount of time." He said. "But yes."

"Do you know what that did to her?" I asked. "You were the most important person in her life and she thought you were dead."

"I wanted to get in touch with her but-"

I shook my head, "No. There is not 'but' here. Your death destroyed her. She smashed her cello when she found out. You don't understand."

"I don't understand? I lost my sister and brother in law, I think I understand." He said angrily, not understanding the point I was trying to make.

"I'm sorry, but they actually died. You were pretending to be dead. It's completely different and you know it."

"But she had you." He said. "You were there for her and got her through it."

"That doesn't mean anything. It's not like I could replace you, Phil. Did you know we were together before this?" I asked.

"I watch her youtube videos and keep tabs on how she's been doing. How all of you have been doing." He said. "I even visited her in the hospital after the accident. I wasn't supposed to, but I did anyway."

"I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse." I muttered and looked down at my feet.

"I don't want to break up this get together, but I think we found something." Tony said calling us over. Clint, Phil and I huddled behind Tony as he said, "This abandoned building used to be a medical facility. We tracked the car here from various surveillance cameras. It's about an hour away."

"Well what are we waiting for?" I asked.

"Natasha should be here soon. And then we can head out." Clint said.

"Tony, you can't fly over there." Phil said. "Someone will notice and it'll alert them. Bring the suitcase suit."

"Fine." He muttered.

"Clint, bring up blueprints of that facility. We'll need them." Phil ordered.

Clint went to work, with the help of Tony and Natasha arrived shortly after. Phil quickly debriefed her on what was going on and she tried to pitch in with Tony and Clint.

"Time to suit up, it's time." I instructed.

**0000000000**

**JADE POV**

"Do you have a plan?" I asked.

"We should wait till it's the middle of the night. The guards will be switching shifts, it'll be easier to break out." He said.

"Have you done this before?" I asked. "Guard people, I mean."

He swallowed hard, "Yes." Simple answer. But the meaning behind it seemed to hold so much more. Bucky has been through a lot with Hydra, and I'm not exactly sure what that means. What will Steve do when he finds out? That's if Bucky will come back with me.

"Okay, I'm trusting you." I told him.

"You probably shouldn't."

I took a deep breath, "Yeah, well sometimes you need to have a little faith in people." I said.

"Did Steve teach you that?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No, my uncle taught me that. He always seemed to have faith in people even when it seemed like he shouldn't."

Bucky nodded but didn't say anything.

I sighed, "Are they going to bring me food? I'm hungry." I said.

Bucky shrugged but once again didn't say anything. It's not like I was starving, I was just slightly hungry but I knew that it would just get worse. Bucky had a weird look on his face and tilted his head slightly, as if he was listening to something.

"Do you hear that?" He questioned.

I shook my head but strained to hear whatever Bucky was hearing.

"There's someone here." He said turning around and opening the door.

I got up from the bed and walked behind him as he entered the hallway. I could faintly hear footsteps, but nothing too distinct. I looked both ways down the hallway, but saw nothing. All of a sudden, the familiar colors of the American flag caught my eyes.

"Steve." I breathed once I saw him. Bucky tensed a little, but didn't do anything. Behind Steve, I saw Clint who looked relieved to see me. He lowered his bow slightly, but not all the way upon seeing Bucky.

"It's okay, he was going to help me." I said.

"Bucky?" Steve questioned in disbelief.

"That's what she called me." He said back to Steve.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps in the other direction caught my attention and then I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder before collapsing.

**0000000000**

**STEVE POV**

"Most of the heat signatures are coming from the ground floor and then there are some on the upper floor." Tony said pointing at the screen. "But in the basement, which according to the blueprints is filled with several rooms, shows two heat signatures."

"Which means?" I asked.

"That's most likely where Jade is being kept." Clint said. "Keeping her underground with no windows will help disorient her because she won't know what time of day it is."

"So the other heat signature is probably a guard." I said.

"Right. It seems as though everyone is leaving for the night. This way it'll be easier for us to break in unnoticed." Natasha said.

"I know you'll want to go and get her," Clint said, "But I'm going to cover you, okay?"

I nodded, "Clint and I will go down to the basement, while the three of you take over the ground floor and the upper floor." I told them. "Keep in contact at all times."

"Once you reach the basement, her room looks like it's at the end of the second hallway." Tony said pointing at the blueprints.

I nodded and looked at everyone else. They were ready. We made our way to the building and stealthily made our way into the building. There were a few agents that we had to take out, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

Clint and I raced down the hall and found Jade out in the hallway with her guard. Thank god she looked unharmed.

"Steve." She said once she saw me.

But my attention was caught on the person in front of her. Her guard. Her guard was Bucky. There was no denying that.

But how?

"It's okay, he was going to help me." She said looking at Clint then back at me.

"Bucky?" I asked, still not quite understanding what was going on.

"That's what she called me." He answered. That was definitely his voice. That was Bucky. But he didn't exactly look like Bucky. How was this even possible?

And then our little reunion was short lived because some agent had made his way down here and shot at Jade, causing her to collapse. But before she hit the ground, Bucky caught her. Then a perfectly aimed arrow flew passed me and hit the agent between the eyes.

Clint and I both ran toward Jade and Bucky and he said, "She was hit in the shoulder. Clean shot." He said.

"Phil,"I called on the com-link. "Jade's been shot. We have to get to the hospital. Are you guys finished up there?" I asked.

"We're good. Get her up to the car as fast as you can." His said.

Everything seemed to pass in a blur as we got Jade upstairs and to the car. In the back of my mind, I realized that Bucky had followed, but I was mostly concerned with Jade. We made it the hospital quickly and Jade was once again taken from me.

"She's going to be fine." Clint said.

"What about the baby?" I asked.

"We'll tell them to be careful." He said. "Jade's tough, she's going to be fine." He told me. Though it seemed as if he was also reassuring himself along with me.

Natasha and Tony took Bucky back to Stark tower to keep an eye on him. He seemed pretty wary of them, but seeing that I trusted them, he went with them willingly.

"Family for Jade Riley." A nurse called in the waiting room. The three of us stood and the nurse came over to us. "We were able to stop Jade's bleeding and she's hooked up to an IV, she was slightly dehydrated." She told us.

"What about the baby?" Clint asked before I could.

The nurse smiled, "They're both doing fine."

_Our baby was okay. _I thought and couldn't help but smile. Clint patted me on the shoulder and he was smiling too.

"You should go sit with her." Phil said.

"Where are you going? She's going to want to see you." I said.

"She will. I just think that it should wait. She's had enough shock to last a lifetime. I'll see her at Stark Tower once she's discharged."

I nodded, and slowly made my way to Jade's room.

Here goes nothing.

**00000000000**

**Do you guys have any suggestions for a one-shot? I would love to try and write it! **


	19. Chapter 19

**I AM SO SORRY.  
My stupid computer deleted all of my Microsoft programs and the past few months have sucked without it. And I just got Microsoft back on my computer and I've sorta been busy with college.. Well, really busy, but minor detail.  
THANK YOU for all the reviews, follows &amp; favs. If there are any of you left who enjoy this fic, here you go! New chapter!**

I sighed waking up and looked over to see Steve sitting beside me. He was holding my hand.

"I need to stop waking up like this." I said trying to joke. But seeing how serious Steve looked, I asked, "Why am I in the hospital?"

"You were shot. The bullet went through your shoulder." Steve said. I instantly began to worry, but Steve said, "Don't worry, the baby's fine."

"How did you know-"

"I found a pregnancy test in your grocery bag." He said.

"They took my blood and found out that I was pregnant." I said. "They wanted to use our baby to recreate the serum." I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Hey, look. It's okay." Steve said. "You're okay, the baby's okay. No one is ever going to touch him or you again. Okay?"

I looked at Steve, "You said him. You think it's a boy?" I asked.

He shrugged, "It's better than calling the baby an 'it'."

I rolled my eyes, "Is Bucky okay?"

Steve nodded, "He's at Stark Tower. I haven't been to see him, but Natasha told me he's adjusting. Though it's early to tell."

"Steve, he was working with Hydra. And he didn't remember who he was. I think they did something to him." I said.

Steve nodded, "I think so too. Did you meet anyone else there?"

"This man, he called himself Xander. I have no idea who he is, but I feel like he's in charge of Hydra." I sighed, "I'm sorry I don't know more."

"Shh, it's fine. I'm just happy you're okay." He said and then brought his hand to my stomach, "That both of you are okay."

I smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too. I'm going to get a nurse to check you out and then we can head home." He said getting up and kissing the top of my head.

I nodded and watched him walk out of the room.

**0000000000**

"I think Bucky is pretty attached to you." Steve said. I had been discharged from the hospital and we were now at the tower.

"Yeah?" I asked.

Steve nodded, "Apparently he's been asking about you. I think you made quite the impression on him."

I smiled but didn't say anything. We went to our little apartment area and saw everyone there waiting for us, including Bucky. Although he was standing a little off from everyone, but none the less he was still there.

"Hey guys." I greeted.

"I'm so happy you're okay." Pepper said coming up and hugging me.

"Thanks." I said.

"How's little capsicle doing?" Tony asked while hugging me.

"He's good." I said.

"How far along are you?" Clint asked as he and Natasha group hugged me.

"Um, not sure. I still need to do an ultrasound."

"We were thinking that Bruce could do it?" Steve asked looking at the quiet scientist.

He nodded and went in to hug me, "I would be honored." He said.

"Thank you, Bruce. I think we both feel better with you doing it." I told him and then looked at Bucky. "Hey there." I said taking a step toward him, which caused Steve, Clint and Natasha to do the same. "How are you?"

He shrugged, "I should be asking you that."

I chuckled, "Yeah, but I've gotten that question quite a lot, so it's nice for a change don't you think?"

"I'm fine." He answered.

"Can I hug you?" I asked.

"Jade I don't know if that's a good idea." Clint said.

"What? He's fine." I said looking at Bucky, "Aren't you?"

He nodded, "Yes."

So I went in to hug him and he awkwardly hugged me back. It had probably been a while since he had any affectionate touches. It broke my heart. I rubbed Bucky's back a little before I broke away and gave him a smile.

"Let's go do that ultrasound and then we can have dinner." Steve suggested after a stunned silence.

The three of us headed off to the lab where I sat down on a bed next to the ultrasound machine. "Roll up your shirt." Bruce said and began messing with the machine. Steve pulled up a chair next to me but across from Bruce as I pulled up my shirt below my breasts.

"This'll be a bit cold." Bruce said as he squeezed some gel onto my stomach. I instantly got goosebumps from the cold, but it wasn't too bad. Then Bruce used the ultrasound wand on my stomach. He began moving it around and suddenly, I heard the heartbeat of my baby.

"Oh my gosh." I said covering my mouth with my hand.

"Is that-?" Steve began to ask.

"The baby's heartbeat? Yes it is."

"This is real." I whispered. Steve grabbed my hand and held it, reminding me that he was here.

"How far along is she?" Steve asked.

"Around eleven weeks." Bruce said and handed my some napkins to wipe off the gel. "You're almost through your first trimester. Have you had any morning sickness?" Bruce asked.

I shook my head, "No, I hadn't really noticed anything different." I admitted.

"Here." Bruce said handing me the ultrasound he printed off. "Congratulations." He said while smiling at us and then leaving the room to give us some privacy.

"Look." I said showing Steve the picture. "That's our baby."

Steve brought his hand to my stomach and then leaned forward and placed an affectionate kiss there.

"Do you want to go upstairs and celebrate?" I asked him suggestively.

Steve only grinned as a reply and helped me out of the bed.

**0000000000**

"Oh hey, Bucky." I said coming out of mine and Steve's room into the living room. "Are you looking for Steve?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Oh, well is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"I think you promised to play for me." He said.

I smiled, "I'll go get my cello."

After I got my cello, I sat down and began playing. I wasn't playing anything in particular, because I wasn't sure what he would like. So I decided on playing something that just sounded good to me. When I finished, I looked at Bucky, who had a contemplative look on his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't know." He muttered. "That was really nice though." He complimented.

I smiled, "Thank you." I moved my cello to the side. "How are you?"

He shrugged, "I honestly don't know. With Hydra, I was just a weapon, just a machine. And I can't remember anything else. And when I do, it's confusing. And you keep telling me that I'm Bucky, but I don't feel like I'm _him._ I think I've gotten some glimpses of who he was and I _can't_ be him. I just can't. We're completely different." He said. The words just rushed out, as if the floodgates had been opened. That was the most I have ever heard him speak.

"You don't have to be the Bucky from before." I said. "Experiences make us who we are."

"I've done some pretty awful things." He admitted. "What does that make me?"

"A person." I said simply.

He shook his head. "I'm a monster. And I can never be who Steve wants me to be."

"That's what this is about?" I ask. "You're worried about Steve and how he sees you? Bucky, Steve sees you as his best friend, who he thought was dead. Someone he thought he had lost forever. You are his only connection to his past life. But don't mistake that for him being naïve, because he's not. He understands that you've done some bad things, but so has he. He just wants his friend."

"But I can't be him! The things I've done.." He shook his head, letting the sentence trail off.

"That's the thing, Bucky." I said. "You can't let who you were in the past interfere with who you are now and who you want to become."

He looked at me, letting the weight of my words sink in and nodded. "Thank you."

**0000000000**

"He's actually talking to Steve right now. They have a lot to work out." I said.

"No kidding." Clint said coming over to the couch and handing me a hot chocolate then sitting down next to me. I picked up the comforter I brought from my room and shared it with Clint as he settled into the couch.

"You can probably help him too, you know."

"How so?" He asked.

"You both have experiences being brainwashed." I reminded him tentatively.

He nodded, "I'll see what I can do." He said and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "How's my little niece or nephew doing?"

I smiled, "Good. He hasn't been causing me any problems, so that's nice."

"He?"

I shrugged, "I think it's a boy."

Clint nodded, "You're barely showing." He commented.

"I'm going to need to get some bigger pants soon." I said. "I'm going to be huge in no time."

"I still can't wrap my head around you being pregnant." He confessed.

"Neither can I." A new voice said causing me to look away from Clint. My eyes landed on someone I thought I'd never see again. At least, not in this life.

"Phil?" I asked.


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow, haven't updated in a while, and I have another *excuse*. Um, I'm not sure how to come out and say this, but here we go. A really good friend of mine committed suicide two weeks ago.. It's been hard and I still don't think I've come to terms with her death.. But life needs to go on and I need to keep living my life.. I'm still grieving, it comes in stages but I'm slowly getting better.. I think.. I hope.  
Uhm, anyway, thank you so much for reading and please leave a comment if you feel like it. Thanks again! **

"Oh my gosh." I said. "These past few days have finally gotten to me. I've gone mad." I said in utter disbelief of the person standing in front of me. I placed my mug of hot chocolate down and looked at Clint, who didn't seem quite as bothered as me. He actually looked kind of upset.

"You haven't gone crazy, Jade." Phil said. "It's me. It's really me."

I shook my head and looked at Clint, "Why do I feel like you knew about this?"

"I found out the day you were kidnapped." He said. "I was in the dark just like you."

"What about Natasha? Did she know?" I asked remembering the uncomfortable look she had when I brought up my 'dream' about Phil visiting me in the hospital. "You were there, weren't you? In the hospital when I was caught in the bomb blast."

"Yes I was there, and yes, she knew." Phil admitted. "But only because Fury thought we could use her expertise with rehabilitation."

"Wow." I said. "You've been alive all this time. How could you do that to me? To Clint?" I asked. "Did you not care?"

"Of course I care!" He said moving to sit on the coffee table in front of us.

"We buried you, Phil. Do you know what that did to me? To us?" I asked. "Clint was overcome with guilt over your death! He was pushing Natasha away and barely talking to me. You were the most important person in my life and you died. But you were pretending."

"Jade, I wanted to tell you." He said then looked at Clint, "Both of you. But I couldn't Fury was worried-"

"Of course Fury knew about this! Of course he kept this from us. That was wrong of him to do that. Wrong of you to do that." I said.

"I know. But Jade, you have to understand. I didn't have a choice."

I shook my head, "Yes you did. And you chose wrong."

"Jade, please-"

"No." I said not wanting to hear it.

"Jade, we need to give him a chance to explain." Clint said. I looked over at Clint, shocked at what he had said. But the look he gave me, made me realize that he needed to hear what Phil had to say.

"Fine. Go ahead, explain." I relented.

And he did. Phil went on to tell us how he had actually died, but with an experimental treatment, Fury was able to bring him back to life. And because this treatment was so unsure, Fury thought that bringing Phil back into his old life so soon, would cause his brain to malfunction.

"It makes sense." Clint finally said. "I get why Fury chose Natasha. She had a similar experience when she was first brought in to SHIELD."

"Exactly." Phil said and then looked at me. "Jade, are you okay?"

I shrugged, "I just found out that my favorite Uncle, who I thought was dead, is actually alive. It's a bit of a shock, don't you think?"

"Favorite Uncle? I'm your only Uncle." He said, trying to joke around like we use to.

"Which by default makes you my favorite." I said, not willing to play along.

"You know what I find to be quite shocking?" He asked rhetorically, after realizing that I wasn't going to play nice. "You being pregnant."

"Here we go." Clint said, obviously not wanting to be a part of this conversation.

"How could you let that happen?" He asked.

"Oh my gosh, I am not having this conversation with you, Phil." I said.

"Yes, you are. You and Steve haven't even been together that long and you're pregnant."

"Yes Phil, I realize that. It wasn't exactly planned. I didn't do it on purpose." I said.

"That's why there's birth control, which I know you were on and condoms. I thought you knew better than that." He said.

"Really? Don't talk down to me, Phil. I know this isn't the best thing, having a kid so young with someone I've been with for under a year, but I'm going to make the best of it, and you should too." I said.

He nodded, "It'll be difficult for me to come to terms with it."

"Yeah, just like it'll be difficult for me to come to terms with you being alive." I said getting up and walking away.

"She'll come around." I heard Clint say before I got in the elevator and left.

**0000000000**

"Do you think he can hear me?" Steve asked resting a hand on my stomach. I was barely showing, but you could tell that I was pregnant. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and we laying on the couch.

"I don't know. Maybe." I said and then asked, "Why?"

He shrugged, "I was just wondering." Steve moved my shirt up and placed a kiss on my bare stomach. "I already love him so much and he isn't even here."

I smiled and ran my hand through Steve's hair, "Me too."

"Bucky, hey." Steve said and pulled my shirt down while moving to sit up. Bucky was standing in the room awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave." He said, realizing the awkward situation he made.

"No." I called. "Bucky stay, what's up?" I asked.

He moved to sit down in the reclining chair next to the couch. "I remembered something." He said.

"What'd you remember?" Steve asked.

"We were at this fair, and Stark was there. It was the day before I was left for war." He said. "Did I want to be a soldier back then?" Bucky asked Steve.

"I don't think you were overly enthused about it, but you knew you had to do it." Steve said.

"This is hard." Bucky said. "I keep getting glimpses of who I was and the things I did while I was under Hydra's control. I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"You're doing remarkable well, Bucky." I said. "You've overcome so much and you're adjusting well. But if anyone can do this, it's you."

"I'm not so sure."

"We are." Steve said. "Have you talked to Clint?"

Bucky shook his head no, "I don't want to bother him."

"You won't be bothering him. He wants to help and he has experience with what you went through." I said.

Bucky nodded, "I'll talk to him later. I just need to get my head on straight before then."

"Take as much time as you need. Just know that we're here for you." Steve said.

"I know." Bucky said. "I know."

**{Page break, page break, page break}**

"Tony, I am not naming my kid after you." Steve said.

"Why not? It's a wonderful name." Tony said. "And it can work for a boy or girl."

I rolled my eyes and Steve sighed.

"Speaking of genders," Clint said. "Am I going to have a niece or nephew to spoil?" He asked.

I smiled, of course that's what Clint was worried about. I looked at Steve and he smiled, "I don't know if I want you spoiling my son, Clint."

"You're having a boy!" Pepper exclaimed. "Now we can have a baby shower! This is going to be so much fun." She said.

"How long have you known?" Natasha asked.

"Not too long, we found out as soon as we could and just wanted to keep it to ourselves for a bit." I said.

"Well, congratulations." Natasha said.

"Do you have any god parents in mind?" Clint asked.

"We're still deciding on it." Steve said.

"Have you decided on a name?" Bucky asked.

I smiled, "Yes, but we want it to be a surprise." I said.

"You guys are no fun." Tony said.

"Yeah, well when you have your kid, you can do whatever you want." I said.

Tony grumbled something along the lines of 'Don't give Pepper any ideas'.

We went back to eating dinner, small conversations going on at the table when Clint asked me, "Have you talked to Phil lately?"

"Not a whole lot. I can't help but feel betrayed by him, you know? And he doesn't like that I'm having this baby and I hate that he can't accept that." I said.

"He'll come around. But you have to try too." Clint said.

I nodded, "It's hard. I don't know how you've managed to forgive him so easily."

Clint just shrugged, "Life's too short. Especially in my line of work." He said. "You should remember that."

Clint definitely has a point.


	21. Chapter 21

"So I was doing some research about music therapy." I announced to Bucky as I walked into his apartment with my old cello. "And I think it could help you."

"Is that why you have that?" He asked looking at the black case in my hands.

"Yes! What do you think?" I asked.

"I don't want to break your cello." He said.

"This," I said patting the case, "is my old cello. It works just as well as my new one, but I won't care if you break it."

"Why do you think this will help? I don't understand."

I shrugged, "Music is a form of healing. It exploits emotion and humanity. It is something we all understand, no matter what culture you're from or what language you speak, music is universal. And when words fail, music speaks." I said "You've been having trouble finding the right words to use. I think this can help."

"I don't know." Bucky said looking unsure.

"Well all you can do is give it a try." I said. "What can it hurt?"

"Will it fix me?" He asked.

"Bucky, you don't need to fixed because there's nothing wrong with you." I said.

"I'm broken."

I shook my head, "We're all broken, that's how the light gets in."

Bucky smiled sadly and shook his head. "Let's give it a try."

**0000000000**

"I thought I'd drop by and say hello." Phil said sitting down at the counter.

"You came just in time to have a fresh chocolate chip cookie." I said opening the oven and pulling out a tray of cookies. Phil reached over to pick one off of the tray but I slapped his hand away. "Let them sit for a moment!" I said and started putting them on the wax paper I had put on the counter by Phil.

"That's a lot of cookie dough." Phil commented.

"There are a lot people who live here." I said. "And most of them have big appetites." I started scooping a new batch of cookies onto the tray. I put the spoon back into the bowl of mix and then put the tray in the oven and set the timer for twelve minutes. "Do you want some milk?" I asked.

"Sure." He said and I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and then got the milk from the fridge.

"Here you go." I said placing the mug next to him.

"This is so good." Phil said with his mouth full of cookie. I smiled but didn't say anything. Phil ate the rest of the cookie and then drank the milk. "So how's the baby?" He asked. "You're really showing now."

"He's good." I said noncommittally.

"Just good?" He asked.

I sighed, "Phil, since when do you care about my son?" I snapped.

"I've always cared." He said. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you act like you don't care and you have been so judgmental about this pregnancy since you found out about it." I said on the verge of tears.

"Jade." Phil said walking around the counter to me. "I love you and I love this baby. You have to realize that as a parent, you don't want to hear about your kid getting pregnant out of wedlock. It's a difficult situation for everyone, especially you. I was just worried about you." He told me honestly.

"You really see me as your kid?" I asked.

"Of course I do." He said and pulled me to him for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said and then pulled away from him when the timer for the cookies started to go off. I laughed a little and wiped the tears away from my cheeks. "Way to ruin a moment, huh?"

Phil laughed and moved to take the cookies out of the oven for me. "I'll take care of this batch. Why don't you sit and eat a cookie?" Phil suggested.

I nodded and moved around the counter to the chairs on the other said, where I noticed a medium sized gift bag on the chair. "What's this?" I asked picking it up and taking its seat.

"Something for the baby." Phil answered as he began to place cookie dough on the tray.

"You got him something?" I asked a bit surprised.

"Open it." He urged.

I moved the tissue paper aside and found a light blue baby blanket. I picked it up and it was so soft. I rubbed it on my cheek and smiled. "He's going to love this." I said and hugged the blanket to my stomach.

Later that night I couldn't help but show off the baby blanket to Steve. "It's the first thing we've gotten for the baby." I said.

"It's really soft." Steve said. "We should probably start getting baby stuff, you know bit by bit." He suggested.

I nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. You're so smart." I said and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Tomorrow we have that appointment with the geneticist." I reminded him.

"Do you really think there's something wrong with him?" Steve asked.

I shook my head, "No, it's just a precaution. Especially with the super soldier serum, we don't know how it'll affect him. But I'm sure it won't be in a bad way." I reassured him. "It's just the practical thing to do."

He nodded, "I just hope he isn't like me when I was younger." Steve said.

"I'm sure he'll be perfect." I said. "And even if he has asthma or something, he's going to be loved by the both of us so it won't even matter."

"You're right." He said. "When did you get so smart?"

I smirked, "It comes with being pregnant." I said. "It's like you're just suddenly full of wisdom."

Steve laughed, "I think it was there all along."

{Page break, page break, page break}

Connexin 26 is a recessive gene that can cause deafness in babies when they're born. If one parent is a carrier, then the baby becomes a carrier. But if both parents are carriers, then the baby will be born deaf.

I kept turning this information around in my head, trying to make sense of it, but I just couldn't. My mind wouldn't make sense of it.

I swallowed hard, feeling a lump in my throat, "So our baby's going to be deaf?" I asked once again to clarify what I just heard.

"Not necessarily, Steve's genes from the serum may help the baby in this case. He could be born hard of hearing or with no hearing issues at all. We won't know until after he's born." The doctor told us.

I didn't say anything but Steve did, "Thank you, doctor." The doctor left the room, leaving us alone.

"I never expected this." I said honestly.

"You heard him, Jade. There's a chance that he'll be perfectly fine." Steve said.

"But there's also a chance that he'll be deaf or hard of hearing. I'm not sure what to do about this." I said. "I'm completely lost."

"We'll talk to Bruce about this, he has studied genetics." Steve reminded me. "And we can go by the book store and get some information about this. We'll be fine."

I nodded, "And we can talk to Clint about it too." I said. "He's hard of hearing so he'll have some sort of insight into this."

"See, we'll be okay. And remember, he's going to be loved by us so it doesn't matter if he's deaf or not. We'll get through this together."

"Together." I agreed.

After stopping at a local bookstore and buying some books about deafness and raising a deaf child, Steve and I sat down and talked to Bruce.

"Your doctor is right." Bruce said looking at the papers. "You both are carriers for the recessive mutated gene of Connexin 26." Bruce sighed and took his glasses off. "But because he will have the serum, there's really no telling what that'll do to the gene."

"Which is basically what our doctor told us." I said.

"I'm sorry I can't be more help." Bruce said.

"No, it's not your fault. We just wanted a second opinion. Thank you, Bruce." I said. Steve and I left Bruce and headed upstairs to our apartment.

"I honestly don't think this is something we need to be worried about." Steve said. "Who cares if he's born deaf or hard of hearing? In the grand scheme of things, why does that matter? As long as he's healthy and happy."

I nodded. "He's going to have an amazing loving family."

"You bet he will." Steve said.


End file.

Avengers