(A/N: Thanks for reading, and can ya'll tell me if the relationships are flowing naturally to you? Is it believable? Thanks.)

Valencia nervously chewed on her lip as she, Steve, and Nicholas Fury descended on the elevator to one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s labs. It was silent in the elevator, save for the sound of her foot tapping against the ground. Steve was leaning against the railing to the right of her and Nick Fury was leaning against the rail to her left. She was too distracted to look out the window this time, instead settling her gaze on the floor of the elevator. As they passed floor after floor, Valencia's stomach started to drop. What if she had been wrong? But a worse thought passed through her mind, what if she was right? How could she tell her mother she went against her and found her father? What would Daniel say? What would Daniel think of the daughter he raised rejecting him and finding her birth father?

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, and Fury strutted out of the elevator and into the huge science lab the building housed. Steve held the doors opened for Valencia, allowing her to step out, before following her and Fury.

Director Fury led them to a closed off room that had three people in lab coats working in it. As soon as Valencia walked in the room, one of the male lab technicians tried to grab her hand, but Valencia grabbed his instead, and bent it backwards.

"What the hell?" She questioned, glaring at the stranger.

"I need to get a blood sample." The lab technician struggled to say, being that his wrist was in an ironclad hold by Valencia.

"Sorry." The bobbed brunette sheepishly apologized, letting go of the man's wrist.

The technician glared at her and pricked her finger, depositing her blood in a machine. He turned to Fury and did the same. "Give it a few minutes." The technician said, going off to finish what he was working on.

Those few minutes were spent in silence between the three.

"I'm gonna head up stairs." Steve said, backing away from the two, "I'll meet you in the lobby." He nodded toward Valencia, then left the lab.

Valencia's eyes followed Steve until she couldn't see him anymore, biting her lip.

Director Fury watched her with a raised brow, but said nothing.

The lab technician returned to the two with a tablet in his hand. "Well congratulations Director," The lab technician smirked, "It's a girl."

The Director glared, "What are you saying?"

"According to this," He gestured to his tablet, "There is a 99.9% chance that you two are father and daughter. I'll leave you two to it."

Director Fury and Valencia turned to each other.

"I told you." The bobbed brunette said, with a sad smile.

Her father shook his head, "I apologize for what I said about your mother, Valencia." He said looking into his daughter's eyes, searching for himself.

Valencia's lips twitched, "I'd say we're even. With me slapping you and all."

Her father chuckled and nodded, "So," He started, as the two began to walk to the elevator, "How old are you again?"

"Twenty."

"1994? That was a good year."

Valencia gagged making her father laugh, "Please stop. I get enough of that from my mother."

The two stepped on the elevator.

"Lobby." He called, "So your mother talked about me?" He asked, leaning against the elevator rail.

"Only the past two years." Valencia said.

Director Fury furrowed his brow, "The past two years?"

Valencia sighed, "I didn't know you were my father until two years ago...I found out myself, I don't think my mom was ever going to tell me…" She explained, biting her lip.

Nick nodded and a beat of silence passed as the elevator descended.

"You're mother used to do that." The man smiled at his daughter, "Chew on her lip. You look just like her."

Valencia rolled her eyes, "That's what I've been hearing my whole life."

He chuckled, "And you get that attitude from me, I see."

Valencia grinned, but it faltered. "So you're not angry at me? For finding you after all this time?"

Nick shook his head and opened his mouth to reply, when the elevator's doors opened. The two walked out and began to walk to the emblem at the middle of the room, where Steve was waiting. Steve looked from Fury to Valencia, searching their faces for an answer. Valencia curtly nodded to him and his face fought a grin.

"Let me walk you two out." Nick said, as they reached Steve. The three walked out to Steve's bike, which a black truck was parked next to it.

"Thank you for bringing her to me, Cap." Fury said nodding to the hero. Steve nodded back and got on his motorcycle.

Valencia turned to Fury and bit her lip, her eyes trained on the ground. Her father studied her with a frown, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

"The only person I am angry at is your mother, for keeping you a secret. But that is not your fault, you are my only child, my daughter. And now that I know you exist, I will do everything in my power to protect you." He said to her in a low voice, then after a final squeeze he let her go.

"I'll be in touch." He nodded toward Valencia and got in the black truck and drove off.

Valencia let out a breath and climbed on the back of Steve's bike.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Steve asked, revving his motorcycle.

"I'm going to throw up." Valencia groaned out, making Steve chuckle, as they drove off.

"Thank you for all your help today, Steve." Valencia said, as they stood in front of her door. Steve had insisted that he walk her up to her apartment.

The blonde hero rubbed the back of his neck, "It was no problem, Valencia. I kind of owed you for the ice cream." He quipped, making the brown girl giggle.

"There is one more thing I wanted to ask you, Steve." Valencia bit her lip.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, "What's that?"

"Well I have this project, for my US History class, which is why I was at the museum today, and I was wondering if I could interview you." Valencia said, all in one breath, then looked to the side.

Steve nodded and grinned down at the rambling short woman, he leaned down and tilted his head to the right, catching Valencia's eye, "Of course you can. What's your project on?"

"You." Valencia said grinning shyly, "Captain America, I mean. The project is on American staples, like apple pie, hot dogs, y'know that sort of thing? Well you're the most American thing I know! Not that your an object or-"

Steve held his hand up and smiled, "I already said yes, Valencia. How about I give you my number and we can go over the details."

Valencia bit her lip to stop the wide grin from spreading over her face, "Sounds good." She nodded, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

"Okay Steve. Thanks again." Valencia said, getting up on the tips of her toes and pecking Steve's cheek.

The blonde hero turned pink and he bashfully smiled, "Goodbye, Valencia." He then turned and began to walk down the apartment building's stairs.

Valencia unlocked her door and stepped into her apartment, a smile set on her face. The sun was setting outside, streaming light into her home and setting a relaxing mood. She set down her bag and twirled to her sofa, collapsing on it.

Today was amazing, to say the least. She met her father and made a friend.

'A super friend.' Valencia thought to herself with a giggle.

Her phone buzzed from her bag, and she got up from her spot on the comfy sofa to retrieve it. She then plopped back down on the couch, putting her feet on her coffee table.

'You forgot your music box -Dad.' The text said on her phone. She smiled and called the number.

"Fury." A deep voice answered, with traffic in the background.

Valencia snorted, "I should start answering my phone like that, huh 'Dad.'"

Her father chuckled, "You could. You are a Fury after all. Valencia Fury."

"Smith-Fury," Valencia clarified, "My mother was adamant I have her last name."

"Birdie always wanted a girl," He said with a smile in his voice, "What's your middle name?"

"Renee."

"Valencia Renee Smith, huh? That's a great name, kid."

"Valencia Renee Smith-Fury." She corrected, earning a chuckle from her father.

"We have a lot of catching up to do, kid."

"Twenty years worth." Valencia chimed.

Her father laughed, "Two decades worth," His voice then got low, "Look, Val, things are about to get a little heavy on my end."

Valencia furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, "I mean, something is about to go down. I want you to stick with Cap for the next few days."

Valencia bit her lip, "Dad, seriously, you're starting to scare me."

"Don't believe everything you hear about me, and don't trust anyone." Valencia heard commotion coming from the phone. "There is an agent named Maria Hill, she is a friend. I told her about you, but I need you to tell no one else you're my kid, at least until I get back."

Valencia blinked and she heard wind blowing in the phone, "Dad, where are you going?"

"Take care of yourself. I love you, little Fury." The line went dead.

Valencia dropped her phone and hopped up from the couch. She checked the locks on her front door, and checked her windows, shutting her blinds in the process. The brunette began pacing the floor, the dire thoughts in her head running rampant.

Where was her father going? She had just gotten to him, and now he was going to be gone again. Her bottom lip was agitated and red, from her nervous nibbling. Was someone going to come after her? Did she need to start preparing herself to fight? There were too many questions that needed answers.

Valencia decided that she would stay in for the rest of the night. She wasn't sure what was going on, and she didn't want to put her life in danger, especially when it was getting dark. The bronze woman would feel safer if the sun was out and she could see who was around her.

Her father didn't explicitly say she was in danger, but she couldn't help but feel paranoid from his tone and his choice of words.

'Don't trust anyone.' What the hell did that even mean? She knew that he was a spy, or a director for a spy organization, so generally, it would be good for him not to trust anyone, since he would always be in danger. But Valencia had never experienced anything like this in her life.

But maybe she was overreacting.

Valencia spent the rest of the evening distracting herself with school work. She designed panels for her project, arranged pictures, and wrote questions to ask Steve. The brunette made herself some pan-fried chicken and corn for dinner, and after she ate she tidied up her apartment. Once she felt it was late enough, she hopped in the shower, the steam making her sleepy, and got dressed for bed. After wrapping her hair and brushing her teeth, she climbed in her bed, snuggled up against her pillows and fell asleep.

At half past midnight, Valencia was woken up by her cell phone ringing. She groaned and checked her screen, seeing a number she didn't recognize.

She furrowed her eyebrows before answering, "Hello?"

"Valencia, it's Steve. I'm sorry to call you so late but something happened to your father."

The brunette's eyes widened as she froze. "What?"

Steve sighed, "He's been shot, and he's in really bad shape. I don't want to scare you, but I think it would be best if you come meet me at George Mason."

Valencia let out a harbored breath, "Okay. I'm leaving right now." She hung up and jumped out of bed. She turned on her lamp and stumbled around her apartment, slipping on sweatpants and a hoodie. She yanked her head scarf off and tousled her hair, then she grabbed her wallet and keys and ran out the door.

The young brunette chewed on her lip as she sped away from her apartment. Tears were already threatening spill down her face, and she felt like she could barely breathe. Her mind was blank as she pulled up to the tall building, and she parked next to Steve's motorcycle. The front of the hospital was surrounded by men in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms and police, making Valencia pull up her hood to cover her face. She licked her lips as she hurried off her scooter and into the lobby of the hospital, where she saw Steve standing there.

As soon as Steve saw her he locked her in a tight embrace, her face buried into his chest.

"I'm so-" The blonde hero started to say but Valencia stopped him.

"Don't say that yet!" Valencia demanded and her voice softened, "Take me to him."

Steve let go of the short woman and led her to an observation room, with a window peeking into the operation room where Nicholas Fury was being operated on frantically.

Valencia had to stop herself from hyperventilating, as a tear ran down her face. "Fuck." She muttered, watching the father she just met suffer.

Steve looked away from her and looked on to the scene in the room next to them, leaning on the glass.

Valencia felt eyes on her and looked to her left, seeing a woman with a brunette tight bun, a button up, and a pencil skirt watching her as she spoke softly into her phone.

"Maria Hill, she works for your father." Steve muttered to her, not taking his eyes off Nick.

Valencia nodded and turned her attention back to her father.

A redheaded woman suddenly ran in the room, standing on the other side of Steve.

"Is he gonna make it?" She muttered, looking on with watery eyes, her mouth gaped.

"I don't know." Steve murmured back to her.

It was silent for a beat, then the redheaded woman turned her gaze to Valencia, her eyes questioned the young brunette, but said nothing, turning back to the operating room.

"Tell me about the shooter." She demanded in a low tone.

"He's fast, strong." Steve paused, taking a breath, "He had a metal arm." He finished, and clenched his jaw.

The redheaded woman's eyes widened, but she said nothing in return.

Valencia's mind was blank as she watched her father fight for his life. She didn't hear or see anything around her but him, and she was starting to lose hope.

Maria Hill stood beside the redhead, after her phone call was finished. She looked in to the operating room, lips parted, waiting for something to happen. Maria and the redhead shared some words, before an insistent beep rang through the hospital room.

The doctor's started to get frantic, and one of them grabbed the defibrillator.

"Don't do this to me, Nick." The redhead called, tears threatening to spill.

"Please don't take him away from me…" Valencia murmured, so quietly that no one heard it but Steve.

"3...2...1..Clear!" Her father's chest sprang up, but no sign of life came from him.

"No pulse." The doctor said as he shocked him again.

Valencia was crying now, biting her lips so hard that she drew blood. It was silent in the observation room, everyone was watching to see what would happen. Valencia sniffled and wiped her eyes, praying to every God she knew and begging for them to let her keep her daddy.

And then she heard the worst words that had ever passed through her ears.

"Time of death?"

"1:03, doctor."