When I arrived back at Avenger's Tower, Steve and Sam were unloading a quinjet. "What are you doing back?" I say, walking up to him. I hadn't expected to see him back just yet.

"You sound shocked to see me," he says, giving me a grin.

"I am," I say, momentarily pausing to go up and kiss him on the cheek. "Happy to see you…yes, but still shocked. Didn't think you'd get back until tonight. Not that I'm not happy to see you, I just-"

"Okay, stop," Steve says, placing his hands on the top of my shoulders. I stop my tirade, chewing on my bottom lip. "You are rambling. You ramble when you are nervous. Now, what are you nervous about?"

"I just," I let out a sigh, shaking my head. "I need to talk to you about something. But I can't tell you anything about it."

Steve lets out a sigh now, giving me his "Captain Stare". "Come on," he says. "Let's go talk."

oOoOo

"So my friend shows up at the bookstore…right after I got off the phone with you…and asks for my help," I say, pacing across the floor. Steve sits patiently on the edge of the bed, watching me and listening. "And I want to help him…I do, I really do. But…"

"But what?"

"But…" I say, musing for the right phrasing. "But you."

Steve's face goes deadpan as he continues to look at me. "Me?"

"Yes you," I say. "I want to go and help my friend. But I can't tell you where I'm going, who I'm helping…anything. I can't tell you anything. And I know you…you will want to know everything because you are protective of me, which is understandable. Do you see my dilemma?"

Steve continues to stare at me with the "Captain Stare" until a corner of his mouth quirks up. "Yeah, I see your dilemma."

The smile on his face continues to spread. "This is not funny," I say, trying to quell my own smile. "Steven Grant Rogers, you better not be laughing at m-"

"I'm only laughing at you a little," he says, still smiling at me. "But listen, Charlotte. Your mind is clearly already made up about this."

"Yeah, but…" I say, starting to pace again. "You!" Steve's face sobers up as I go into another pacing rant. "I just don't want to upset you because…well you're you and I love you. I just…"

"Charlotte," Steve says, standing up in front of me. "Go help your friend. You clearly trust whoever this is, so I'm going to trust you on this-"

"But Steve-"

"Are you trying to talk me out of giving you my blessing to go?" Steve raises an eyebrow as he looks down at me. I stare at him before slowly shaking my head. "That's what I thought. Am I entirely happy about you going? No, I'm not. But-"

"Then Steve-"

"Charlotte, stop interrupting me," The "Captain Stare" was out again. "I am telling you to go. I'm not entirely happy about it because yes, I want to keep you safe. Especially since I just got you back," Steve's hand comes up and cups the side of my face. "But as I said, your mind is made up already. So, go."

I shut my eyes as I place my hand over his. "Why does doing the right thing have to be so hard?" I say, my voice revealing the lump that was forming in my throat.

Steve doesn't say anything right away, instead, he moves his hand and pulls me against his chest. "Now you know how I feel every time I leave."

oOoOo

I stand outside of the building that matched the address Phil had given me. It looked like an old run-down factory. It was in the heart of Brooklyn, so at least I was familiar with the area. Per Phil's instructions, I open the door and walk in. Inside the door, it still looks like a run-down factory, maybe the old front office. No one was around and the lights were off. "Hello?" I call out. At first, no one answers. After about five minutes, a door off to my left opens and Phil strolls in.

"Dr. Litz," he says, seeming surprised to see me. "Glad to see you."

"Surprised I'm even here," I say.

"Getting away from the Tower easier than you thought?" he asks as he motions for me to follow him through the door he had come through.

"It was," I say. "Well, on Steve's part anyways. Tony wanted to laden me down with trackers. Almost succeeded too, but I found it soon enough to throw it out of the taxi window."

"Good," he says. "I didn't know if Rogers would give you a hard time about coming or not."

"I figured he would too," I say, my eyebrows scrunching together. "But, he said he trusted me. So, here I am."

"At any rate, I'm glad you're coming to help," Phil says.

We pause for a moment at a door as Phil opens it. Walking in, I see it's a large aircraft hangar. "I'm happy to help," I say. "So, who did you lose?"

"Jemma Simmons," he says.

"What?" I say in disbelief. "I really liked her. She gave me a cool nickname."

Phil and I pause at the ramp leading up into the jet. Someone grabs my bag from me before we start onto the plane. "Well, then help me get her back."

oOoOo

"And he won't be able to trace this?" I ask Skye- er, Daisy.

"Not a chance," she says.

"Not even with all of Stark's super spy stuff?" I ask.

Daisy lets out a laugh as she shakes her head again. "No, not even with Stark's super spy stuff." She says.

"Okay, good, thanks," I tell her. She nods her head at me once before walking out of the room. Daisy had graciously set me up to video call Steve. He didn't know I was calling him, so hopefully I would get any answer. I hit send on the call and a minute later, Natasha answers the call. "Romanov, don't even try and trace the call."

"Litz," she says, shocked to see me. "What the hell are you calling-"

"Oh just to see your pretty-"

"Now Litz, you know I don't swing that-"

"Oh shut up and just get Steve for me," I finally say. She smirks at me and nods her head before disappearing from the screen. I had been gone almost a month and hadn't been able to contact Steve in anyway. Phil was afraid that Tony would try to track down where I was, ultimately revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. existed and that Phil was alive. I start bouncing in my seat waiting for Steve. Finally, his face appears on the screen.

"Charlotte?" he says, relief in his voice. A huge smile graced his face, earning one from me as well.

"Hey," I say quietly. "Miss me?"

"That's an understatement," he says. "I'm guessing you can't tell me where you are?"

I shake my head. "No," I say. "But I'm safe. Tired, but safe."

"Good," he says. "That's good enough for me. Any progress in finding your friend?"

"Nope," I say. "What about you?"

Steve shakes his head. "Close, but nothing." We stare at each other for a minute. I didn't really know what to say to him. I had wanted to talk to him, to see him, but now that I was and could, I had no clue what to say to him. I couldn't talk about what I was doing. I was at a loss as what to say. "I wish you'd come home." Okay, that'll stir up some conversation.

"I can't Steve," I say. "I have to help-" I stop myself, letting out a sigh. "I can't leave." Steve doesn't say anything, just hangs his head. "Steve, please, don't act like this."

"Act like what?" he snaps at me. "Like I'm upset you're away somewhere and won't tell me where?"

"You told me that you trusted me," I say. My heart was breaking that he was acting like this. He had told me he trusted me to go.

"I do trust you," he says. "It's others that I don't trust. I just got you back from-"

"This is totally different Steve," I attempt to keep my voice under control, but Steve was upsetting me. "These people-"

"I don't know them," Steve cuts me off, the "Captain Stare" set on his face. "They could be anybody. They could be-"

"They are not HYDRA or Ultron or Loki or whoever else your mind is coming up with," I spit at him. "They are my friends and I trust-"

"Just like Lana was?"

The silence falls between us. Tears start to fall from my eyes as Steve and I stare at each other. I can see on his face that he regretted the dig at me, but it was said. There was no going back. "I think…" I say, my voice wavering. "I think this conversation is over."

"Charlotte, I didn't mean-"

"I'll, um," I look down at my hands, away from the screen. "I'm not sure when I'll be back. I'll try to let Natasha know ahead of time."

"Charlotte, please-"

My finger hovers over the escape key as my eyes finally float back up and lock with Steve's. "Goodbye Steve."

As the screen goes black, I lean back in my chair, sobbing into my hands.