Hey guys! Again, a big thank you to all who followed, favorited or reviewed my story!

I updated early because this is another slow chapter and I really want to start moving things along. Please understand that these slow chapters need to happen before we can get into all the action. Stay with me, I promise it'll get better!

Aaaaand a special shout out to all who reviewed! Four reviews and I'll update early. :)

Sabina Mohammad: oh yay! thank you and I will! I plan on updating weekly but I tend to update early if I'm getting good feedback. :)

stellarstarlet: thank you! and I know! I think you're going to like when they finally start interacting with one another. :)

kiroroblue: I definitely will! already have the next few chapters written. :) thank you for reviewing!


Natasha all of a sudden jumped out the car, forcing Autumn to hit her brakes and stop next to a few cop cars outside of the hospital. Thankfully she wasn't driving too fast.

Which is probably why Natasha jumped out.

"Natasha! Wait!"

Autumn groaned in frustration and hastily ripped out her keys from the ignition. She had to sprint in order to keep up with Natasha's swift speed. But she needed to follow her and had no choice but to keep up or get lost. Natasha already seemed to know where she was going and after several turns and running up a few flights of stairs, Natasha bursted through a set of swinging doors and finally found Director Fury.

Autumn went wide eyed at the scene taking place behind the window. That was definitely Director Fury unconscious on the table. It was a bloody mess and there was a team already tending to his wounds.

She glanced over at Natasha and that's when she noticed another man was there. When he turned his face to look at her, it was only then she realized it was Captain America. He looked different in civilian clothing, which is why she didn't notice at first glance. The man stared at her for only a second, his face void of emotion, before turning his attention back to the scene in front of him.

"Is he going to make it?" Natasha asked almost inaudibly.

"I don't know," he quietly answered.

"Tell me about the shooter."

"He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm."

Through the reflection of the window, Autumn saw Natasha's face twist into a look of horror.

Metal arm? Robot? Autumn wondered to herself. It seemed like Natasha maybe knew who Steve was talking about.

"Ballistics?"

"Three slugs. No rifling. Completely untraceable," Agent Hill supplied as she took her place to the left of Autumn.

Autumn barely glanced at the woman who had spared her from serving jail time. Agent Maria Hill.

"Soviet-made."

Agent Hill turned to look at Natasha.

"Yes," she concurred.

"He's in V-tach," one of the male nurses announced.

Autumn snapped her head back to the scene taking place in front of her.

"Crash cart coming in!" Another nurse yelled.

"Nurse! Help me with the drape!" The head doctor ordered.

"BP's dropping!" Informed the male nurse.

"Defibrillator!" The doctor yelled. "I want you to charge him at 100."

"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha whispered.

Autumn watched in horror as they charged the defibrillator. Then she heard a sparking noise.

...but that wasn't coming the medical staff.

It was coming from her hands.

"If you can't control your powers then step away," Agent Hill told the younger agent.

Autumn glanced down at her hands. They were sparking but ever so slightly. It sometimes happened when she lost control of her emotions.

Watching the scene play out in front of her had caused her heart to race. She hadn't known the director like Natasha had, but Nick meant a great deal to her. He personally approached her himself and told her how he saw potential in her. Ever since that moment, she never stopped pushing herself to be the best agent she could be.

And now the man was dying in front of her.

Autumn then wondered if this was all tied together? So much shit has happened in the last two days and she found herself thinking that there was no way it could be a coincidence. Something was going down and she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

"No pulse," she heard the male nurse say.

"Okay, 200, please," the doctor ordered again.

"Stand back! Three, two, one...clear!"

"Get me epinephrine! Pulse?"

"Negative."

"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me," Natasha whispered again.

"What's the time?" The doctor asked, sounding defeated.

"1:03, Doctor," the female nurse answered.

"Time of death, 1:03," the doctor announced.

Autumn stepped away and faced the opposite wall. She took a few deep breaths to try and keep her emotions at bay. For the first time ever in her life, she had watched someone die. Someone she knew. A man who meant a great deal to everyone standing in that room.

The young agent let out a breath and saw someone standing still at the corner of her eye. She ever so slightly shifted her attention to that person and saw that it was Steve. He was looking at something in his hand.

Is that the...?

There was no doubt in her mind that it was. But why did Steve have it? Autumn watched the man walk away and wondered if she should bring it up to Natasha. But after taking one look at her, she decided it was best to wait.

"Natasha...?" She hesitantly reached out to her friend and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She was somewhat relieved when she didn't jerk herself away, which is what she was expecting.

"I...I'm going to stick around. You can wait in the waiting room. I'll let you know when we're leaving," she said without looking at her.

"Okay," Autumn agreed and watched her friend walk off. She would probably want some personal time with Director Fury once they were done cleaning him up.

Autumn made her way to the waiting room and immediately spotted the super soldier sitting in the corner.

It was quiet. But it wouldn't be like this for long. There was no doubt in her mind that SHIELD would be here soon. Right now it was the calm before the storm.

She pondered if she should even join the man. He sat leaning forward with his head on his hand and seemed to be deep in thought. He probably wanted to be alone.

Pursing her lips together, she decided she wanted some coffee first and traced her way back to the coffee shop she saw on the way to the waiting room.

"One coffee please...actually, make that two. Thank you," Autumn thanked as she paid the cashier. Maybe Steve wouldn't mind a small gesture.

She made her way back to the waiting room and saw that Steve was still sitting there in the same exact position. Autumn didn't know how to approach the Captain and for the millionth time even wondered if she should. Then, she just decided to go for it.

"Captain Rogers?" Autumn called out softly, not wanting to catch him off guard.

Steve lifted his head from his hand and stared blankly at the woman for a moment before realizing who she was.

"Agent...Autumn, was it?" Steve questioned, looking her over.

So he did remember her.

"Agent Carmichael. Autumn is my first name. Thought you could use some coffee," Autumn held out the small cup towards Steve.

The Captain eyed the cup before taking it. He forced a small smile at her.

"Thank you. And you can call me Steve."

"You're welcome. And don't mind me. I know you don't want to be bothered right now. Just thought you could use a pick-me-up," Autumn explained, hoping he didn't think she was weird.

"I appreciate it. Thank you, Autumn," he said.

"You're welcome."

Autumn took her place a few seats away from Steve and let out a sigh. She hadn't realized how achy and tired she had been until she sat down. The past two days for her had been non-stop and the last few moments alone were insane. The brunette frowned as she sat back. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts and questions and she wanted them all answered.

Then another thought dawned on her. Why was Steve here in the first place? When she glanced over at him again, she saw dirt marks on his clothing and slight wear and tear.

Was he with Director Fury when he got shot?

Something was off. She already knew Steve had the hard drive. Director Fury was just shot. Fury had also tasked her with extracting intel using that same hard drive. Autumn knew this was all tied together. It had to be. But how?

Autumn took a sip of her coffee as she pondered. Things were hardly making sense right now but she wasn't going to settle until she had some answers.


"Wake up."

Autumn's cerulean blue eyes fluttered open.

"Autumn," someone shook her gently. "You should get out of here. SHIELD is here."

Autumn let out a small groan as she stood up. She rubbed her eyes and saw Steve standing in front of her. It was then she realized how tall she was compared to her. It was quite a difference with him standing at 6'2 and herself at 5'2.

"How long was I out?" She asked the man.

"Twenty minutes. Come on, let's find Romanoff," he told her.

Autumn followed Steve until they found Natasha, who was grieving over Fury's dead body. Autumn took her place by Steve, not wanting to interrupt. She knew the man meant more to Natasha more than anyone else. Maybe meant even more than Clint, who she had only met once.

"I need to take him," Agent Hill said quietly as she entered the room and took her place on the opposite side of Steve.

A few moments later, Steve approached Natasha.

"Natasha."

Natasha placed her hand on Fury's head and kept it there for a few seconds. Then she all of a sudden darted out of the room.

"Natasha?" Autumn called out and followed after her mentor. "Wait!"

"Natasha!" Steve quickly caught up to the two women.

The Black Widow furiously turned around and glared at the man.

"What was Fury doing in your apartment?" She questioned.

Autumn turned to look at Steve. Fury was in his apartment?

Steve let out a sigh and threw his hands up.

"I don't know."

"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD," one of the men called out.

"Yeah, give me a second," Steve told him.

"They want you now," the man harshly told him.

Steve turned to look at him and stared him down for a moment.

"Okay," answered Steve.

"You're a terrible liar," Natasha told Steve when he turned to look back at her.

Autumn couldn't help but agree with Natasha. It didn't also help that she knew Steve had the thumb drive from the Lemurian Star. Fury must have given it to him. It obviously couldn't have been Natasha and Fury was apparently at his apartment. That's where the exchange had to happen. He was hiding something and even if it wasn't obvious to everyone else, she already saw the proof. And she had to tell Natasha. Just not here.

Natasha turned on her heel and marched out of the hallway. Autumn was damn tired of following the red head around like she was her little puppy but let out a sigh and sucked it up. If she stuck around, maybe things would start to make sense. She had been determined from the beginning to make sense of everything happening.

She turned back to glance at Steve and thought she saw him retracting his hand from the vending machine? What the hell?

Autumn threw her hood on and quickly caught up to Natasha. Now was probably a good time to tell her about the thumb drive...


I can't wait to see this story pick up. I've already gotten a few chapters typed up and let me tell you, I really enjoy writing Steve, Autumn and Natasha together. And just wait till I throw Sam in there. :)

Tell you what - give me four reviews letting me know what you think of this story so far and what you'd like to see and I'll update early instead of waiting a whole week. :)