A/N: I really want to apologize for taking so long to get this published. Real life...am I right? Anyway, this is part of the reason that I don't declare an update schedule...my real life sucks! I want to give a big shout out and thanks to jdho2 and yagalinu0420 for beta'ing, prereading, and either agreeing with me that my words are right, or talking me down off the ledge when they aren't. I appreciate you both so much! Thanks again to whoever is reading this...let's hope I can make this a good one, eh?

Cap POV

She punched me in the nose!

I was trying to wrap my head around this fact when I realized that it was broken...and Paige was crying.

I went about quickly setting my broken nose as Paige began pacing. I didn't realize until this moment that I wondered if she had broken that habit.

Sam was stalking over to where Paige and I had met and I held up my hand slightly to stop him. I saw him nod and stick his hands in his pockets and lean against a state pillar.

"Paige, you broke my nose." I laughed slightly, "was that really necessary?"

She stopped her pacing and I watched as her back went ramrod straight.

"Necessary?!" She shouted as she whirled around and stared daggers at me. "Was it necessary for you to accuse me of being HYDRA? Was it necessary for you to leave me in Montana?" She began to laugh humorlessly.

"Tell me Steve...was it necessary for you to give up on us? I thought we were a team...and you threw it away!" She was crying now.

So this is what this is really about.

I wanted to scoop her up into my arms. To wipe away her tears and soothe her broken heart. But she was obviously confused about how things ended between us...and she broke my nose.

"Paige, we definitely have things to discuss about our relationship, but there are bigger things going on right now. I need to know if you can fulfil your responsibilities for this mission." I was being harsh, but I knew the part of her that was trained by me would ultimately be able to put her feelings aside, for the time being.

"Is that an order, Sir?" She all but sneered at me.

"Does it need to be?" I asked on a sigh. "We don't have time for this."

"I saw your little canary when I got here. Did you stop him from coming over to protect your pride or to get me line?" Paige asked as she smirked and placed her hands on her hips.

"Neither, Paige. I just want to know that I can trust you. We have to work together...nothing in the way." I told her calmly.

Paige POV

I broke his nose! I can't believe I let myself get that angry.

He deserved it!

He really did after everything he'd said to me. There was no way I could continue on with this.

"Steve, look." I sighed as he looked at me warily. "I think I should go. This isn't going to work…" I was cut off when a group of late night tourists came strolling by.

Steve cleared his throat and fished into his back pocket and pulled out a USB drive.

"Everything you need to know is on here. We leave in 36 hours." He told me with a finality that hurt more than I should have let it.

I nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and turned back around to look at the Captain.

"Hey Steve?" I asked and he looked to me. "How's the nose?"

His face went ashen as he ever so slightly shook his head. I threw him a smirk and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~The Mission~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later found me holed up not in my safe house, but Phil's apartment that he kept in DC. This place was Steve-free and I needed that at the moment.

After saying hello to Phil's neighbor, Ms. York, who thought I was Phil's niece, I was inside with my sneakers off and a beer in hand.

I was happy to see that Phil had the foresight to have someone put some essentials in the kitchen. I pulled a frozen pizza out and turned on the oven. While I waited for it to heat up, I plugged the USB that Steve had given me into Phil's system and began to pour over the data.

I was just about finished going over everything when the timer on the oven chimed. I got up to go pull the pizza out when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. It was so quick that while I couldn't be sure what it was, I did know something was there.

I pulled the pizza out and let it sit for a few minutes while I grabbed another beer and a bottle of water.

I sliced the pizza and plated it up. I slipped into my flip flops and crawled through the window to sit out on the fire escape.

Phil had moved a camping chair and a small table out there and I set the pizza down before sitting.

"Are you planning on staying up there all night or were you going to leave before I did my perimeter check in thirty minutes?" I asked out into the night. When I got no response I tried a different approach.

"You know this pizza is just going to get colder faster the longer you stay up there." I smirked when I heard a slight rustling.

"Who comes and sits out on the fire escape on a cold night in DC?" he asked comically as he came down the stairs and leaned up against the railing facing me.

"How long have you known I was there?" He asked casually as he grabbed a piece of pizza and accepted the bottle of water I handed him.

"Since you got here, which was 3 minutes behind me. But I knew it was you, Sam, just before I came out here." I smiled and took a bite of my slice. We were silent for a few moments until he finally spoke.

"You broke his nose." Sam accused correctly.

"Don't be confused; I know you were there too." I told him pointedly. "Look, I'm just saying that there are always two sides to a story and-"

"So we should listen to Hydra's side of the story too?" Sam asked me as he cut me off. He stared at me and I mimicked his gaze.

"I didn't come here to start a fight and I'm sorry." Sam said, "I didn't even mean for you to know I was here." He smiled a little sheepishly.

"But I did know and here we are." I gestured around with my bottle of beer. "Steve sent you, didn't he?"

Sam nodded as he polished off his slice of pizza. He went to grab another slice,but I moved the plate out of his reach.

"Tell me about Steve." I said as Sam looked at me curiously.

"You realistically know more about him than I do. You were in a relationship with him for over a year!" Sam exclaimed as I stood up and huffed.

"I want to know about the past two years Sam." I told him quietly.

Sam stood there looking at me and I watched as he ever so slightly cocked his head to the left.

"I know he's listening...he isn't far." I acknowledged as Sam nodded.

"I know a few things for sure. He misses you and he still loves you." Sam finally said.

I scoffed, but Sam cut me off before I could respond.

"I know that you still love him, otherwise you wouldn't be here. And if you didn't still care this would be just another mission." Sam said confidently. "Do you expect me to believe that you didn't know who would be running this show?"

I shook my head; I had nothing to say.

"He lost his best friend once and now he has the chance to get that friendship back. What would you do?" Sam asked me.

I gulped my beer down and nodded slightly. Sam thanked me quietly for the pizza and moved back up the fire escape. Not thirty seconds later I heard the distinct sound of his gear deploying and his body cutting through the air.

I stood up and grabbed the plate and walked it back into the apartment and put it in the sink. I took a deep breath before I climbed back onto the fire escape.

"I know you're there listening, watching...waiting." I sighed and started undoing my braid.

"I get it. You found Bucky and he's suffered." I took a deep breath, "But I remember a time when I was someone's best friend, the one person they could always go to."

I heard something move above me, but I couldn't stop.

"I didn't ever allow myself to think about losing that person and now I have...and whatever I can do to make you happy again. Even if its just following your lead...I'll do it."

When I couldn't speak anymore for fear of crying, the wind picked up and I heard the leaves rustling in the trees on the street below. And while I might never be sure, I thought I heard a stifled sob as I moved back into the apartment and shut the window.