"Are you awake?" A gentle deep voice asked. Neila sat up quickly, her head starting to spin. She touched her hand to her head in pain as a bright light filled her eyes. She quickly closed them. She felt like she had been hit on the head… with a brick... multiple times. Neila groaned remembering what had happened prior to blacking out. "You saved me…" She whispered, looking into the eyes of none other than Roger Stevens. "I returned a favor, I am glad I got there when I did." He told her. "Are those men… dead?" She asked in a soft voice. "No, they are being interrogated. I am so sorry I brought you into this mess." He said softly. "What mess have you brought me into exactly?" She asked, taking the glass of water he gave her. "It is complicated." He said apologetically. "You said you work for the government. Does that mean this is some international top secret thing?" Her head felt much better after she finished the glass and put it on the night stand. "Yes, kind of." He said standing. "Where am I?" She asked looking around at the plain and orderly room. It's walls were white, the chest across from the bed had nothing on it. The desk was organized so everything was squared off. The room screamed military cleanliness.
"This is my room, and we are in my apartment that I share with some… special roommates." He said wincing slightly. "Who are your roommates…?" She asked as a man with jet black hair, a stubbly face, and brown clever eyes waltzed in like he owned the place and smirked at Neila. "Well look! Our latest damsel in distress is awake. How are you doing Sleeping Beauty?" He said with sarcasm. "Fine thank you." She said glaring at him. He was already getting on her nerves. "I am Tony Stark. Iron man is my super hero name. You already are acquainted with Captain America I see, as you are in his bed." He wiggled his eye brows at her and she went to protest but he put up a finger. "Jarvis, ask Pepper to bring our guest some breakfast." He commanded to no one in particular. Then a voice was heard over some intercom system. "She would like to know what Dr. D'Arcy prefers." A British voice replied. "Well?" Mr. Stark looked expectantly at Neila. "French Toast?" She asked. "You heard the lady, French toast it is Jarvis." Tony told the automated voice. "Yes, sir." The British computer responded. "Where exactly am I?" Neila asked. "In the Avengers tower. Home to the greatest heros." Tony said with a bow. She just stared at him like he had grown three heads.
"Oh my goodness! I have to get home, my animals, my garden!" Neila cried suddenly. She jumped out of the now messy bed and ran to the door to see the hallway. "Dr. D'Arcy, let me give you a ride." Captain America called, rushing out after her. "That may be best." She said looking back to him. He motioned for her to follow him. She walked quickly by him. He was at least 5 inches taller than her, with a much longer stride. "Never mind about the food unless Pepper wants to make me something Jarvis!" Tony said before shaking his head
Steve led her to an elevator and down to a garage full of cars. He stopped at an older Harley and motioned for her to get behind him once he was on. He revved the engine to life and shot onto the busy streets of New York City, somehow making it out onto the country roads outside of Brooklyn fairly quickly. He pulled to a stop at the house after winding down her driveway.
She ran for the front door, unlocked it, and yanked it open. Steven walked in after he parked his bike. The image before him brought a smile to his face. Three different dogs were chowing down as Neila was racing around trying to find something. A Basset Hound, a black lab puppy, and a giant Great Pyrenees bounded over to him for a good sniff and rub down after they finished their very late breakfast. "Come on, Outside." She called to them from the back door. All three dogs bounded for the kitchen and out sliding glass doors to the barn after their master. Steven shifted uncomfortably… weighing whether he should stay or leave.
His curiosity won the battle, as he hadn't seen what a modern farm was like. He walked over to the stables where he heard her talking in a soft gentle voice to some of the horses in her barn. "Lily, Calm. Hush, hush." She spoke to the startled large ebony colored horse. "That thing is huge." He whispered from a few stalls down. "He is a Percheron. Of course he is huge. He is also blind and I walked in here too quickly. I scared him." She said softly hushing the horse and running her hand along his side. "Is he the only horse you have?" Steve asked. "No, I tend to adopt horses in need, so I have two more. One I can actually ride, Brix, and another who is a retired barrel racer who had a bad fracture." She told him pointing to the other two horses one a chocolate brown and the other a golden brown with a white stripe down his face. "How did you afford all of this?" He gestured to the barn and horses. "I inherited money from a great grandfather or something. I was just called to a lawyer's office and given a big check. So I started my practice, and saved as I earned money to buy this place, my dream home." She told him leaving the stall and moving to another room with bins in it.
He followed as she scooped what seemed to him to be random cups of grain into a bucket and then put water in the three buckets until the mix was soupy. "They all don't like to drink enough water so I have to water their food down more than most people would." She said as he watched her grab the buckets. "Let me help you with that." He said reaching for two of the buckets. She let him, showing him how to pour the feed into the buckets inside the stall from a large square above it. The horses contently ate while she cleaned out the bucket and walked back over to the super hero. "You lied to me." She accused after they stood a moment in silence. He made a sound of confusion. Turning away from the view outside the barn he waited for her to continue. "You said your name is Roger Stevens. It's Steven Rogers." She said waiting for him to speak as a lazy bumble bee floated through the barn. "Yes, a very small change to conceal my true identity and protect myself. I never thought I would see you again, much less get you involved in this… dangerous affair." He shrugged. "Understand Dr. D'Arcy, I am not the lying type of man but I will do what I have to, to protect the citizens of the country and try not to blow my cover while doing so." He told her standing a little taller. "Your size doesn't intimidate me, if that is what you are going for." She quipped at him, turning on her heel. She whistled for her dogs, which came from around the back entrance to her barn and padded softly by the horses. "I would never try to harm or intimidate a woman. I was raised in a time where women were…" She cut him off from his macho rant. "Where women were objectified, forced into a role considered feminine by men, and told to stand there and be pretty on the arm of a husband who probably wasn't faithful or good in bed. Is that close to the very blunt truth?" She finished for him, the words slipping out of her mouth in a harsh hiss. "Well I don't know about that last one…" He smirked trying to lighten the mood.
She turned a glare on him, before rinsing out the buckets and managing to spray some water on her jeans. She opened the back stall doors of her horses stalls to let them go out to pasture before Steve asked "so you live here and take care of this farm by yourself as well as running the clinic?" "Yeah." Neila replied with a shrug. "There are three other vets that work at the clinic. We have a schedule so I don't work everyday." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she informed him that she was not working that day.
They went back inside the house and she turned on her coffee maker. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked as she pulled out a mug. "Yes m'am, black please." He replied standing by the the table. "You can sit down Captain Rogers." She gestured to the chair. "There is a lady standing." He shrugged leaning against the wall behind him. She smirked at him. "I'm making breakfast. I don't want you to have to stand there the whole time if you are going to be old fashioned." She told him pulling out a cutting board and then a bowl. "Then put me to work." He told her standing straight and walking to the island in the middle of the yellow kitchen. "Alright, can you make the eggs? French toast okay?" She asked. He nodded his head, steeled toed boots walked across the floor. The boots were partially hidden by good old Levi's that were well worn. He went into her fridge grabbing eggs while she grabbed him a whisk and large bowl. She moved around the kitchen quickly, setting up on the other side of the island and looking up at him suddenly. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't even ask if you wanted to stay. You don't have to if you don't want to." She assured him while putting her hair up. He chuckled before answering "I'm helping you cook breakfast, I think I am staying,"
She smirked at him before finishing putting her hair up into a ponytail and washing her hands. He looked down at his own before hurrying over to wash his as well. "Do you mind if I play some music?" She asked looking at her Bose stereo and iPhone. "What kind of music?" He asked slowly. " I was thinking Billy Joel." She replied scrolling through her playlist. "Oh, well yeah that's fine." He replied smiling and pulling out a list. "What is that?" She asked putting piano man on low before turning to start making the french toast. "A list." He answered before crossing something off with a pen he had in his pocket before returning it. "Well obviously but what is the list for?" She asked as he cut slices of cheese off a block in her fridge... "Well, I missed out on a lot between then,' he made a motion to mean his past life 'and now. I have a list that I have been writing so that I can experience everything that people born in this time have." He told her while he put the blue notepad back in his pocket.
"Do you like any of the current music?" She asked slightly worried he would hate her current playlist. "Some. I prefer the country music because that is close to what I had. A lot of the current popular music makes me feel... Awkward for lack of a better term." He explained while scrambling the eggs with cheese. "Why does it make you feel awkward?" She asked. "It's very fast. I don't know how to move to it or find a rhythm. It also does not sound meaningful and music should have meaning." He tried to explain. "Apparently you haven't been listening to the correct music." Neil's laughed. The song changed to Hozier's "Take Me to Church."
He chuckled with her. They grew silent as Hozier sang the chorus, and Neila joined in. Once the song ended and Chopin randomly started to play, Steve spoke. "You have a pretty voice."
"Thank you." Neila replied while placing three pieces of French toast on a plate. "Pour vous monsieur." She gestured to the plate and then to Steve. "Thank you." He replied. He gave himself a large portion of the eggs and dressed his French toast. "Please sit down." Neila told him as he placed his food and went back to island. "What is the symbol on your necklace?" He asked looking at the Celtic trinity. "It's an Irish symbol that represents the three stages of life." She told him fingering the necklace she had, had since her mother died. "And the one you wear on your right hand?" He asked nodding toward her ring as she dished her own plate. "It is a claddagh ring. Being it is on my right hand with the heart facing outward, it means I am single. Another Irish symbol." She told him as they moved to the table. "Interesting." He commented as he started to eat. "So are you planning on telling me why I was almost abducted last night, by whom, and if I should worry about it happening again?" She asked nonchalantly after several seconds of silence. "Yes but it is probably better to discuss that in a more secure area." He told her. He looked her dead in the eye and she forced herself to breath. He had the most intense gaze she had encountered in awhile. "Can you at least tell me if I need a security system installed and should start back up with my kick boxing classes?" She asked. "Yes, and yes." He told her. "Awesome. Am I going to die because they think we are dating?" Neila asked not looking Steve in the eye. "Dr.D'Arcy, I will do whatever I can to make sure that does not happen." He told her grabbing her hand and turning her face so she looked him in the eye. "Alright then." Was her simple reply before she moved to clean up their food. "Thank you for the food Doctor." Steve said to her from the table. "No problem Captain." She told him before putting the dishes in the dishwasher. " I should probably head back to S.H.E.I.L.D so we can figure out how to best approach this situation." He declared before heading toward the front door. "See you soon Captain." She called as he walked out the front door in the oddest of exits she had ever experienced.
