This chapter is a tad bit shorter than the last but don't worry! I'm really struck with inspiration and want to be able to post something almost every other day for the rest of my Spring Break :D


Just as the man pushed himself into Fay's personal space, he was pulled back just a quickly as he came.

"What the-" the drunken man didn't even get to finish before he was interrupted by a modulated Boston accent.

"I suggest you leave the lady alone and go back to your pals." the voice said sternly with the implication of a threat.

"Aw yeah? Jus' who do ya' think ya' are?" the drunkard pulled out of the other man's grasp and spun around. This also gave Fay an opportunity to see the other man as well. Fay's eyes widened a bit as she recognized the man behind the voice.

"What's the guy from the restaurant doing here?" Fay thought critically as the drunkard tried to take a swing at the blonde man and failed horribly. The blonde grab his arm, twisted it behind the drunk's back, turned them towards his buddies and pushed him. This made it to where the blonde was between the group of drunks and Fay.

The grease ball tried coming back at the blonde in a fit of rage, but all that got him was an uppercut to the jaw and he was down for the count. The group of guys faces were paled and a look of surprise plastered across.

"Uh, yeah, yeah man we were just leavin. No harm done right?" one of the guys said nervously as him and another man picked up their out-cold buddy. The blonde just stood there as they retreated back into the bar they hustled out of.

"I don't need saving you know." Fay said irritated. The blonde turned around with a look of confusion on his face. He went to open his mouth but was cut off.

"I'm a big girl. I've dealt with worse than a couple of drunk guys before." Fay stated as she turned on her heel to walk away. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"But thanks anyways, Stranger."


As Steve threw the first and final punch on the guy, he was out. Steve doesn't like conflict if it can be avoided but you can't exactly compromise with a drunk man who just had his pride wounded.

"Well, at least the girl's alright." Steve thought.

"I don't need saving you know." the woman behind him said. Steve was thrown off by what she had said. Steve went to reply but was cut off before a sound could escape his mouth. She looked familiar, especially that wild orange hair.

"I'm a big girl. I've dealt with worse than a couple of drunk guys before." the woman turned around and started to walk away but turned her head over her shoulder.

"But thanks anyways, Stranger."

His eyes once again locked onto the same deep, ocean blue eyes he'd seen at the diner. As he was lost in thought, she was already halfway down the block. He jogged to catch up to her.

"I didn't do it because you couldn't handle yourself, I did it because it's what I do." Steve justified his actions. A smile was graced upon her pale pink lips. She then stopped and turned towards Steve.

"Well like I said: Thanks anyways, Stranger." the woman continued to smile.

"Steve." he said.

"'Scuse me?" the woman raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Steve." he said again. The woman smiled again and extended her hand.

"Fay. Nice to meet cha." she said with amusement. Steve took her hand and gave a curt nod.

"Good night, Steve." Fay said and was about to turn again to leave.

"At least let me walk you home." Steve inquired. Fay looked at him strangely.

"You're not some sort of stalker or serial killer are you?" Fay joked. Steve smiled at her humor.

"No ma'am." he stated formally. Fay cringed at the word "ma'am".

"So long as you promise to never call me 'ma'am' again, be my guest." she once again turned and started heading home. Steve quickly fell in step with Fay and walked through the cold, windy night.

Much wasn't said between the two for the first couple blocks. Things weren't exactly awkward, just quiet at first. It was nice just nice to have some company while walking. Eventually, some small talk was made about the day and weather. Some jokes were exchanged and then some funny stories from the past.

"-and then she got on the table singing sailor songs." Fay barely got out of her mouth before her and Steve continued laughing. After a half hour, they made it to Fay's apartment complex.

"Well, I appreciate the help and walking me home." Fay said grinning. Steve smiled back.

"Pleasure was mine." Steve replied sincerely.

"See you around then, Stranger." Fay beamed at Steve and walked into her complex.

"Good night." Steve spoke quietly. As the door closed behind her, he turned in the direction they had come from and started to make his way towards the tower.

"Some night this turned out to be." Steve thought to himself with the small up-turn of his lips. The walk home seemed to drag on, but eventually he made it. Steve walked off the elevator and onto the common floor the team spent most of their time together. A movie Steve didn't recognize was on the TV in the living room, with the avengers spread out on different pieces of furniture and across the floor.

"Care to join in on this exciting moving picture of these four old men celebrating in a land called 'Los Angeles', Steven?" Thor belted across the room, though, that was just normally how he sounded.

"No thanks." the captain headed towards the kitchen for something to drink. Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, Steve spent the next couple hours in the training room thinking.


Fay laid in bed tossing and turning with a scowl engraved on her features. Eventually, after fighting with the blankets, Fay untangled herself from her bed and stepped into the kitchen to pour herself a drink. She downed a couple glasses of water before plopping on her couch.

"Ughh, how the hell am I suppose to pay fucking rent this week?" she sighed angrily while putting her face in her hands.

"Guess I don't have a choice but to find a third job to do on the weekends and holidays or something." Fay got up from the couch, her plaid pajama pants creating static with the couch.

"Motherfuckingstaticwiththemotherfuckingcouch." she cursed as her hair started frizzing and flying a bit. With a frown set upon her face, she went to the fire escape outside the living room window and sat down on its stairs. Her mind wandering in all sorts of directions with no specific order: present, past, present again, future. She thought back to the events that unfolded tonight.

"What did he mean by 'I did it because it's what I do', what is he, some sort of superhero?" Fay laughed quietly to herself. She continued to stare off into the city, watching people roam from place to place, listening to the sounds of the streets, smelling exhaust fumes with the hint of daffodils from some nearby parks. So similar to home in Chicago, yet still so very different. Especially the accents. Fay's body straightened for a moment.

"Accents... Steve had one. A Boston accent. Hm..." Fay relaxed again before sighing heavily.

"What does it matter to me anyways?" she thought with a scowl. Fay shook her head to rid him from her mind.

"Sure he saved me and all, but really? I am not going to let him cloud my mind, damn it! I am a strong, independent woman that needs no man to come to her rescue!" she progressively said louder towards the end.

"'Ey! Keep it down why don'cha! People are tryin' to sleep ya' know!" the guy in the apartment above yelled out his window looking down at Fay with a red face.

"Aw shud' up, Rick and go back to bed ya' crab ass." Fay said back with a scrunched up face. Fay got up and went back into her rat hole, not paying attention to a word Rick was yelling back. Rick was a cool guy and all, but you'd swear he was a woman when it came to his "beauty sleep".

"Pfft, yeah right. He can try all he wants it won't get him anywhere though." Fay grinned as she flopped back on her bed.


Steve and the team, except Tony of course, are within the presence of Nick Fury, waiting for things to move forward. Through the doors comes Tony with his arms up.

"I have arrived!" Tony shouted as he gave a dramatic bow and took a seat next to Steve. Tony leaned over and whispered in Steve's ear.

"So where were you last night? With that woman?" Tony teased as Steve just glared his way.

"So glad you could finally join us, considering your busy schedule, Stark." Director Fury said sarcastically. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Anyways, there is apparently a group of bioterrorists who go by the name of Thrýlos*. We've recently discovered that they were behind the unknown super bacteria outbreak on the coast of Argentina that that completely covered it and Chile. It acted as a bubonic plague of the sorts. Apparently the bacteria used is one that stayed dormant for almost 50,000 years in ice." Director Fury explained while bringing up photos and clips of areas and the bacteria specimen.

"So far we have been able to keep it contained, but considering how large the area is that we're trying to keep secret, we need you to gets your asses in gear and quickly stop them." he continued.

"What exactly happens to the victims who are infected?" Dr. Banner interjected.

Nick bring up a photo of a woman lying down. Her skin is black and purple in most spots with sores in these areas that are bleeding and oozing. She is hooked up to machines that are helping her breathe as well.

"It rots the body from the inside out. It starts with the less important tissues and organs of the body and works its way towards the core and outside the body." Fury said lowly.

"What about a cure?" Barton questioned with a disgusted face. Everyone sat in silence. Guess that was the answer to that question then.

"So where can we find them?" Steve broke the silence with his commanding voice. Fury once again brought up a map with four red flashing dots zig-zagging upward in South America, another with Asia with the same zig-zagging pattern but horizontal. There was one flashing dot on a map of the U.S. in Washington.

"These are the areas where the outbreaks were first reported, and they're spreading quickly." Fury stated. "But that's not all, apparently the first victims to the bacteria were abducted and then dumped in a matter of hours. They were infected sometime during the time frame of abduction and drop off." Fury answered.

"How is this disease able to branch and how fast are the victims terminated?" Black Widow asked monotonous, staring intently at the screen.

"Direct contact with the infected seems to be the case. The death process includes a wide spectrum of time frames. Some take only minutes, others takes days, weeks if they're unlucky. The bacteria is highly unstable. When the bacteria is extracted, it instantly dies off before we can even examine it." Fury replied.

"By the looks of it, it's most likely to spread across the south-western part of the U.S. next then?" Bruce spoke his question more as a statement.

"We believe they are going to hit New Mexico in 4 days. They tend to take a break before hitting their next target. You'll be flying out tomorrow in the morning, so go home a rest up." Director Fury turned the screen off and left the room.

"New Mexico, huh?" Tony finally spoke up for the first time since his entrance. Steve looked at Tony with confusion.

"Casinos here I come!" Tony grinned as he got up from his seat. Steve gave off a sound of distaste.


Another crappy day working as an underpaid waitress that not only has a shitty boss, but also has to deal with rude ass customers. Fay gave another order to Reggie, a cook in the back.

"I need an order of sweet 'tato wedges and make sure you spit in this asshole's double cheeseburger without mayo." Fay sighed, completely exhausted. Reggie just laughed as he moved around his area to conger up the order.

"You know Cariña**, I've been wondering. How is is dat' your oh so sweet talking to the customers, but as soon as you get back here, your absolutely evil?" Reggie joked with his thick accent hanging heavily on each word. Fay just smirked.

"My dear Reggie, a woman can't give away all her secrets you know." she joked back, "I think I'm gonna go take my break once this order is done." Fay rubbed her temples in an attempt to rid her headache. Reggie just nodded his head in understanding. Just as Fay dropped the order at the table of the asshole who caused her headache, her boss pulled her aside.

"You can't take a break for another two hours, Fay" Felix, an over weight man with a mustache he really needs to reconsider, barked in Fay's face. Fay took a deep breathe in order to refrain from hitting him in his big fat mouth.

"I need this job, so I will behave. I need this job, so I will behave. I need this job, so I will be-" Fay thought.

"And why is that, Sir?" Fay gritted her teeth and forced a smile. Felix just huffed and adjusted his belt.

"Casey didn't show again." he said with a glint of admiration in his eyes.

"Of course, that little tramp gets to ditch work and still have a job while I have to bend over backwards, work other people's shifts, AND still do overtime some nights just to keep mine." Fay grounded her teeth more as her thoughts were filled with anger.

"Yes, Sir." she talked through her teeth with the fake smile still plastered on her features. Felix huffed and walked away.

"Not even a god damn thank you." she growled under her breath. She spent the next hour and a half on her feet, running back and forth to tables and the kitchen. Guess that's what happens when your stuck during the lunch rush in New York, huh?

Fay heard the bells of the door chime and she quickly went to go greet and seat the fresh customers. Low and behold it was the same gorgeous Steve that plagued her thoughts the other night. She actually got to really good chance to look at him this time. His slightly longer-than-short hair is styled towards the side, his blue button-up flannel and blue jeans were snug and tight. His brown leather jacket looked kind of old, but not ratty. That chiseled chin and those strong, well-defined cheek bones were outstanding. His beautiful baby blue eyes sure were a sight to see.

"How did I not notice how handsome this man is before?" Fay thought to herself. Steve noticed her so he smiled and waved. Fay snapped out of her daydream and walked up to Steve.

"Hey there, Stranger. Is it just you today?" Fay greeted. If Felix caught her talking to him to much, he'll chew her out and probably make her work overtime again tonight.

"Yes, ma'am." Steve said politely. Fay grimaced at the elderly term.

"I thought you promised you wouldn't call me that. It's just Fay." she said while grabbing a menu, not giving him a chance to respond, and walked away. He followed and was seated at a window spot that seated two. Fay handed Steve the menu and pull out her pad&pen.

"What can I get'cha today?"


"What can I get'cha?" Fay asked with a brilliant smile. Steve was stunned by the radiant action. Her bangs were the only thing that were tamed, the rest was wild. Her magnificently deep blue eyes glittered in the light. Her cheekbones were high up and her pale complexion only amplified her sunset orange hair and made her eyes pop. Her frame was small but not thin. The features of her frame were hidden by the waitress apron.

"Coffee please." Steve muttered quickly, in hopes that he wasn't caught staring. She nodded once and quickly retreated towards the back. Steve's mind wandered back to the meeting this morning.

"Without a cure, thousand, even millions of people are going to die." he somberly thought with a frown. "We need to bring them down fast, before it reaches here." Steve's thoughts wandered back to Fay once again. She's been in his mind all night and day.

"It's probably because she sticks out." Steve thought sternly, as if he was trying to convince himself. Fay came back with a mug and poured a hot cup of black coffee.

"Sorry it took so long. I made a fresh batch." Fays's voice caught Steve's attention.

"I'm not gonna be here for much longer, my shift ends in twenty." she sighed with exhaustion.

"Would you like to go grab something to eat after your shift? My treat." both Fay and Steve were taken aback by his question. Fay's mouth was open a bit in surprise but quickly gathered herself and smiled.

"Shouldn't I be the one offering to pay your meal?" Fay laughed. "After all, YOUR the one that rescued ME." she countered.

"Miss, it is not in my nature to left someone I invited out to eat to pay." Steve said with a hint of pride.

"Well, I'm not one to turn down a free meal. See ya' in twenty then." Fay batted an eye towards Steve with a delicate smile on her face.

"Did...she just wink at me?" Steve thought flabbergasted.


*Thrýlos is Greek for "Legend"

**Cariña is a Spanish term for sweetheart or dear. (a term of affection)