Okay, so I'm heading off on a Canadian Thanksgiving family camping trip today, and I won't be able to post again until Monday afternoon, my time. I will be bringing my laptop, however, and even if I can't use it, I will also be bringing supplies to write hardcopy. So I should have a bunch of chapters ready to post when I get home.

Sorry this is so short.

Also, see if you can spot the NCIS reference and name (or at least describe) the episode.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or any of the characters contained therein.

WORD COUNT: 519


Bucky's pulse pumped wildly as he stared at the computer screen. He tried to control his breathing as he watched the video of his fiancée getting dragged into a van. This was something he'd been having nightmares about ever since he realised he felt that way about her – actually, it was one of those nightmares that had clued him in to his own feelings. Someone must have found out about their relationship, something they'd kept quiet from everyone except the Avengers and their closest associates (Jane, of course, and Pepper and Hill). HYDRA still hadn't given up on getting him back under their control, and would view Darcy as the perfect tool for achieving that goal.

"When did this happen?" he asked, his voice flat.

"Three minutes ago," Tony Stark responded, sounding equally tense, "She hit her panic button, and J.A.R.V.I.S. automatically locked onto her location and hacked into the nearest street cameras. He's tracking the van, now."


The Avengers were entering the warehouse the van had disappeared into twenty minutes later. According to J.A.R.V.I.S., the owner of said property was a company run by a man who had a distant familial relation to a known HYDRA agent, but was not listed as an actual member of the organisation, hence why it'd been off their radar before.

Bucky took down both security guards outside easily, just barely managing to restrain himself from doing any serious damage, as Steve's voice in his ear reminded him that they could be uninvolved with this scheme, and if not, would be potential sources of information. The doors earned no restraint whatsoever, getting ripped off their hinges with a minimally satisfying screech.

There was the van. White panel, labelled with some generic phone company's name on the side and no windows besides the front ones (Stark made an inappropriate-sounding crack about Darcy being significantly older than typical victims taken in such vans, something Bucky did not want to ask about).

There was the sound of muffled screaming coming from within the vehicle. Bucky ran over as fast as he could, ripped the door open, and-

Jumped back as the heavy body of a man tumbled out and onto the concrete floor. The man was twitching spasmodically, the reason for that being the two thin, metal wires attached to his chest and leading back into the van.

Darcy Lewis stood there, stooped over due to the limited amount of space. She flashed a wicked grin at her fiancé. "Hi, babe," she greeted him cheerfully, "HYDRA needs to train their goons better. Asshole focused more on copping a feel than actually searching me. Really, you'd think they'd know enough to take your fiancée more seriously than your average lab monkey. And they only sent the one! I'm insulted, honestly." The agent on the floor groaned, and Darcy pulled the trigger of her trusty taser again. "And stop looking up my skirt!"

Damn, as if he needed any more things to love about this woman.


Next chapter: 'Fever'.