Author's Note: Again I don't own anything from Marvel.

Chapter One

"Just keep breathing." I huffed out. "Don't trip. Don't trip. Don't trip." This was the mantra I repeated to myself every time I went running. Deep laughing was coming up fast behind me and I turned my head, narrowing my brown eyes.

"On your left." The tall blonde I was currently glaring daggers at said as he passed me.

"Don't start, I got up late!" I yelled at Steve's back and let out a grunt when I tried, unsuccessfully, to quicken my pace.

That was it, my muscles gave one last whine of protest before I collapsed against one of the black posts surrounding the Reflecting Pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. My long, curly blonde hair had mostly ripped itself out of my pony tail, so I just gave in and pulled the rest free to fall to my waist.

"Don't say it. Don't you say it!" The shout caused me to look up and I saw Steve about to pass an equally exhausted dark skinned man.

"On your left."

"Oh come on!" The man yelled and he pitched forward, catching himself at the last minute by bracing his arms on his knees. He took a deep breath and managed to drag his half dead body to a shady spot under some trees where he finally collapsed on his back.

"Hey man," I gasped before I fell to the ground beside him. "you ok?"

"Yeah, I just need a new set of lungs." He laughed. "Thanks."

"You two need a medic?" Voice that sounded way to cheerful said from above and I looked up to see Steve standing over us.

"You're hilarious." The other man laughed. "Dude you just ran like thirteen miles in half an hour." He threw his hand up, gesturing at the huge circle that went around the Reflecting Pool.

"Well I guess I got a late start." Steve smiled sheepishly.

"Well you should be ashamed of yourself, you should go and take another lap." He glanced down and then back up at the smirking blonde. "Did you just… I'm assuming you just took one."

Steve held out his arms out to both of us, and once he had ahold, he pulled us up with no effort at all.

I brushed myself off and walked up to Steve and glared at him, granted I had to lean my head all the way back to just see his face. He stared down at me with his innocent puppy eyes. I tried to hold my serious expression, but it only lasted a few seconds before I broke into a fit of giggles and punched him on the arm. "One of these days Steve, you're gonna wake up with perm marker on your face."

Steve just grinned and held his hand out to the other man to shake and introduced himself. "Steve Rogers."

"I kinda put that together, Sam Wilson." Sam turned to me. "And who's brave enough to threaten to draw on Captain America?"

I took his hand and shook it. "Clara Coulson."

"Well it's nice to meet you." He gave me a charming smile that had me blushing and suddenly very interested in studying my shoes.

"What unit you with?" Steve asked pointing at Sam's Air Force sweater.

"Fifty-eighth para-rescue, but now I work down at the VA." Sam heaved in another lung-full of air to get his breathing under control. "So… It must have freaked you out," he then explained at seeing Steve's confused expression. "you know, after the whole defrosting thing."

"It takes some getting used to." Steve said with a half-hearted smile. I knew he was still having a hard time with all the changes he'd gone through since he went under in the forties.

"What about you?" Sam asked, suddenly turning his attention on me. "How'd you meet the Captain?"

"I…uh…" My mouth went dry and I couldn't get the words to form properly. Red flowers and a black casket flared up in my vision, a flashback to a funeral nearly two years ago where I first met Steve. I hugged my arms to my chest as grief I hadn't thought about in a while came welling up. With a deep breath I pushed it all back down.

I thanked my lucky stars Steve knew me well enough to see when I was struggling and he stepped in to save me. "Her uncle and I served together for a time, he was a friend and a good man."

A light went off on Sam's face as he picked up on the past tense that Steve used. He glanced my way. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Suddenly beeping came from Steve and he pulled out his phone, "Well, I got to run. Duty calls." He pulled me in for a one armed hug. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, Care-bear."

"Take care of yourself." I said wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Don't I always?"

I quirked my eyebrow and snorted.

"What? That was one time." He was referring to a particular mission where he had gotten hit on the head pretty good and, let's just say that he might not be able to get drunk but the meds they had him on made him stupid dopey. Steve let out a sigh. "Alright I'll be more careful this time." He promised as he let me go and stepped back.

"You better." I gave him another, abet softer, punch on the arm.

Steve clutched his arm in mock pain for a moment before he turned back to our running partner. "Hey Sam, it was nice meeting you." He held out his hand to shake again, which Sam accepted.

"You know, if you ever want to stop by the VA and make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, you just let me know." Sam said with a smirk.

"Thanks for the run, if that's what you want to call it." The grin on Steve's face was unbelievable.

So was the shocked expression on Sam's face. Not many people knew that Captain America was a super solider with a well-developed sense of humor. "Oh is that how it is?"

Steve nodded. "Oh that's how it is."

A sleek black sports car pulled up to the curbside and the driver rolled down the window. "Hey." The beautiful red head inside called out. "Do any of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

Steve hung his head and shook it. "I'm not that old." He mumbled as he approached the car.

"Hi Tasha, try not to break him." I half kidded-half plead with her as Steve climbed in.

Tasha's lips quirked up in the closest thing to a smile that anyone could get out her. "No promises. We'll be back in ten hours." And with that she hit the accelerator and sped off.

A few seconds after the car that held Steve and Natasha went out of sight Sam turned to me with an apologetic expression. "Look, I'm really sorry if I brought up anything that was painful for you."

"It's okay." I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. "My uncle died believing in something greater than himself. It's what kept me going and continuing his work after he was gone."

"What did he believe in?" Sam asked.

I raised my eyes to him and smiled, "In heroes."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

On a building nearly half a mile away the Winter Solider crouched with his sniper rifle at the ready. He listened intently to his target's conversation though his audio enhancers. "Orders?"

"Fallback." A coarse voice replied over his radio. "The girl knows nothing."