Disclaimer: I own nothing Captain America-related…though I might consider asking Marvel to loan him and the rest of the Avengers to me for a while. Until then, only original characters are mine.

AN: So, there will be a nice gap between the end of this story and the posting of my next one. It'll kind of be a sequel to this fic, but mostly not (for a small spoiler: it'll be about Bucky, and a female character). Not sure when it'll be up, but keep an eye out. Thanks, and please don't forget to review.

Chapter 10: Saving the World:

I honestly felt that the suspense was going to kill me. In fact, the only reason I'd been able to get any sleep last night was because Steve had been there, holding me as we slept, the two of us stretched out across a pair of narrow cots.

We didn't even get a full night's sleep, either. Because there was so much to do, and not much time to do it all in, we'd all been forced to wake up very early in order to make sure everything was in place. Breakfast had been fast food that Maria and Sam had gone out for, and even though it was lukewarm by the time we got it, we were all too busy rushing around to really taste it.

I was the first person that Fury took aside to speak to. I had already synced JT to the tracking devices Fury had provided, but the Director wanted very much to make sure that I understood what I was allowed to be doing.

"You'll keep an ear open on our conversations, and keep a sharp eye on our positions" Fury instructed. "Agent Hill will provide a portable tablet for you to sync JT to, so that you can simultaneously do both. If something goes wrong, or if one of us is in serious trouble, I need you to call for assistance from other agencies, like the FBI and CIA."

Fury looked at me firmly, his one good eye focused on my face. "I do not want you getting directly involved in any way," he said, his tone allowing no room for argument. "You're not to go rushing off and putting yourself in danger because you think someone is in trouble. Everyone involved has been trained to fight and get out of tough situations except you, and putting yourself at risk will only make things more difficult for the rest of us."

My reply was an honest one: I told him that I truly had no intention of making the mission any harder to carry out, and I reluctantly gave my word that I would stay with Richie while everything was going down. Fury clearly didn't believe me, but he apparently had enough faith in my word to let me take part in this.

"Good. Now that that's settled, go get that computer from Hill, and let JT do his thing while I talk to Agent Cooper and that husband of yours."

I ran off, not wanting to be the center of his attention any longer.

After I had all the gear that Maria had tossed together for me, she showed me to the SUV that Richie and I had been assigned. Apparently, they didn't have many vehicles at their disposal, but since Steve insisted, this was given to me.

The car was bulletproof in all aspects, so even if HYDRA had a squad of guys firing on us, Richie would still be able to get us away. We also had communications hooked up, so that I could call for help if we needed it, and there were a few hidden pockets of weaponry, in case we needed to defend ourselves. Hill also showed me the caches of food and water hidden throughout the car.

The worst part was getting separated from Steve again. He had to leave early, because there were a few things that he needed before heading to the Triskelion. Lucky for us, the others were kind enough to give us a few brief moments alone together.

"Remember: don't do anything stupid, and don't get yourself killed," I firmly said, looking into his eyes as his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. "And don't let yourself get distracted, especially if anyone tries taunting you about my safety. I'll have Richie with me, and we'll be a safe distance from the action, so don't leave go worrying yourself into shifting your focus off your mission."

Steve gave me a small smile. "I can't make too many promises," he teased. "You've got to let me worry about you at least a little bit. But I'll do everything possible to make sure it doesn't get me into trouble."

I gave him a swift kiss on the lips. "Where are you going, anyway? What's so important that you need to do it before the mission?"

The goof actually had the nerve to grin at me. "To get a uniform. A soldier can't go into battle without a uniform." He saw my puzzled look, and smirked. "The Smithsonian has a good one."

"You mean you're actually going to get the one on display there?" I asked in disbelief. "I thought you guys were only joking! Besides, isn't that stealing?"

He shrugged. "It was mine, first; I just loaned it to them."

I choked on the chuckle that bubbled up in my throat, torn between wanting to cry and laugh as Natasha arrived, an apologetic look on her face. "Well, I guess this is it," I whispered. "Just try to come back to me, Cap."

The look he gave me was filled with love and determination. "I will. I always do."

Another kiss, and he was gone. A minute later, Richie arrived to say we had to get into place for our part. Swallowing down the knot of fear and nervousness in my throat, I followed him to the car.

"This is killing me," I muttered, staring at the computer screen, eyes following the glowing dots that were my friends and husband.

JT was firmly set in a case on my wrist that made him look like an absurdly large watch, which made it easier for me to look at his screen. He also showed the dots, but he was also shifting through the different conversations that were coming through my peoples' communication lines. JT was much more effective at sorting through the chatter than the computer was, and as such, he was streaming the conversations on different levels, so that I could switch between them by pushing the button on the small earpiece Maria had given me.

As expected, I'd been following everyone's conversations ever since I'd left Fury's little hideout. Steve had successfully gotten hold of his uniform from the Smithsonian, and had gotten into place at the Triskelion with Agent Hill, Sam and Fury. Natasha's role was unknown to me, but I had a feeling that her part would be big and spectacular –she was fun that way.

"Anything good coming in?" Richie asked from beside me. He'd wanted to listen in on the chatter, but decided that his attention would be better spent keeping watch.

We had parked a good distance from the Triskelion. Since I knew first-hand how huge the Carriers could be, it was a safe bet that when they went down, there'd be a huge amount of debris falling on top of everything. So, we were sitting a good half-mile or so away from the outskirts of SHIELD's property, our eyes focused on the tall building.

I shook my head, eyes not leaving the computer tablet propped up in my lap. "Not yet. Oh, wait, here goes something."

"This is Captain Rogers," I heard Steve announce, his voice full of authority. "SHIELD has been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. Those carriers, they're triggered to take out millions of people around the world. The price of freedom is high, but it's a price I'm willing to pay. Don't let control take the place of freedom!"

That was the signal everyone was waiting for, and that was when all hell broke loose.

For what felt like an eternity, I sat and listened to various pieces of conversations, my attention going back and forth between one set of people and another. It was like surfing around several television stations, and only getting part of what was going on during each program.

When I finally settled on one, I heard Natasha remark, "I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?"

I then heard heavy footsteps as someone strode purposefully into the room. This was followed by someone speaking, a man I assumed was Alexander Pierce, the man who had cause this whole mess. His voice was so full of surety and authority that it couldn't be anyone else.

"Did you get the flowers I sent?" the strange man's voice asked. From the way he said it, I guessed the person who had just entered the room was Director Fury.

Fury didn't answer the man, and I could hear a control panel beeping as he, or someone under his instructions, entered something into a computer.

"I know you're upset with how I've run things," Pierce softly said trying to turn on the charm. "But what if your daughter was being held hostage by terrorists in a stadium, and all you had to do was enter a set of coordinates to take those terrorists out? I could protect the lives of seven billion people, at the cost of twenty million. It takes courage to do that."

Fury was clearly not buying it. "And it takes courage not to." I heard the heavy step of his boots on the floor as he walked. "No doubt you've erased my optical scan from SHIELD's systems. The thing is: you erased the wrong one."

I heard a gun being loaded and ready to fire. "Now, let's take care of this thing. Step up, Alex."

A moment later, I heard a computer beep, confirming the identities of the two men. I wondered what was going on, but didn't dare. Besides, it was only a one-way communication -I could hear them, but they couldn't hear me.

"What are you doing?" Pierce asked, trying, and failing, to hide his anger and frustration.

"Uploading all of SHIELD's files to the Net," Natasha casually replied. "There'll be no where to hide, once the world knows what you've been up to." She paused. "Oh, look; it's trending!"

Shaking my head, I switched to another line of communication, to see what Steve was doing.

Unfortunately, my husband being the soldier that he was, I only got spotty bits of talk on his end. This, of course, was due to the fact that Steve was constantly in the line of fire, either receiving it, or aiming it at people.

I heard Sam ask how they'd tell the good guys from the bad. Steve's reply was, "If they're shooting at you, they're bad."

Chuckling, I shook my head, amused in spite of the hail of bullets that followed Steve's comment. Almost against my will, I looked away from the tracking dots and focused on the building itself. I saw a tiny winged figure soaring and gliding through the air, my eyes going wide with wonder and envy. I'd always wished I'd had wings, and there Sam was, using a pair to fly. He was so lucky!

Before we'd left the dam, Richie had told me what Sam's role during the fight would be, and what his equipment would be. I had made a note to myself, right then and there, that if Sam's suit made it through today, I was going to ask if I could borrow it for a little while.

'He'll say no, but I'm sure I could talk him into it.' And I wouldn't let Steve know about it, either, not until after I'd had a bit of fun in the air.

"The first chip is secure," Steve finally said, making me sigh in relief. One down, two to go.

It took longer than I liked for Sam to confirm that the second chip had been set in the second Carrier, and I knew that by now, whatever operatives HYDRA had working inside SHIELD were well onto our plan. A lot of extra firepower was going on, and a ton of fighting was happening –jets were being blown up before they even left the ground, some even as they were trying to take off. Those loyal to SHIELD were trying to help where they could, but they were being picked off by HYDRA's infiltrators before they could do much.

I bit my lip hard, not wanting to think of all the good, decent agents that were losing their lives today. As much as I wanted to mourn them, now wasn't the time; I would have to push that pain down and cry about it later. Hopefully, someone would give them the honors they deserved.

"Richie, pass me a pair of binoculars," I said, stretching a hand towards him, my eyes focused on the fight going on in the distance.

I hadn't been given a pair when we'd left the dam, but I knew that Richie had to have some –I'd bet that my personal guard was packing a lot of secret tools and gadgets that I wasn't supposed to know about.

I heard him sigh, but just as I knew it would, a pair of binoculars was put into my palm. I immediately put them up to my eyes, and did not like the sight that greeted me. There was Steve falling through open air, only to be caught by Sam, who seemed to sag under the weight of my husband. How he managed to catch him like that was behind me, but I was both impressed and annoyed. Steve was going to hear about this from me, once it was all over.

"Sometimes I think he's a closet daredevil," I muttered, putting down the binoculars so that I could focus on the conversations again.

By now, not a lot was being said. Agent Hill was doing most of the talking, and most of it consisted of nagging the others to hurry up and get the last chip into place, before the Carriers were brought online. Alexander Pierce appeared to have been dealt with, if the muffled whispering voices of Natasha and Fury were any indication. The fact that they were preventing me from hearing what they were talking about obviously meant that particular aspect of the mission was done –it was time to get ready for whatever retaliation HYDRA might be preparing to throw at them.

Turning my attention back towards Steve, I was in time to hear him say, "People are going to die, Buck. I can't let that happen."

Oh, god. What must he be thinking now, going up against his former best friend? It would kill me to do it, but if my friend stood between me and saving the world, would I have the strength to do what I had to?

The familiar sound of Cap's shield whirling through the air told me that Steve knew what needed to be done, and that he was willing to do it. I heard punches hitting their mark, and the grunts of pain that came afterwards. There was also the clanging sound of metal-on-metal as the Soldier's arm met Steve's shield. My thoughts whirled with the damage being done to the man I loved, and every part of my heart and soul prayed that he'd be alright.

'Please come back to me, Steve. Please be okay.' Those were the constant prayers spinning through my head as the fight went on, seeming for an eternity.

Then I heard the gun shots, and my heart froze until I hear the familiar sound of Steve's steady breathing. I clung to the hope that he was alright, right up until I heard him grunt in pain as a bullet struck him.

"Oh, god, Steve," I whispered, tears forming as I struggled to keep my focus on him.

"Thirty seconds, Cap!" Hill said through the communications link.

There was a faint beep as a chip was put into place. "The last chip is in place," Steve struggled to say. "Fire."

"But, Steve!" Hill protested, panic in her voice as the same emotion surged through me.

"Do it now!" Steve yelled, his voice full of pain and resignation. Quietly, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Adena. I love you."

No. "No!" I screamed, dropping the computer and scrambling for the car door.

"Adena, don't!" Richie cried as he reached for me, grabbing my arm. "There's nothing you can do!"

I let out a string of profanity as I whipped out my small taser and jammed it against his arm. Cursing, he let go, and I was able to pry open the door and race out before he could stop me.

I honestly had no idea what I was doing or where, exactly, I was going as soon as I left the SUV behind me. The only thing that really registered was that JT was still feeding the conversations into my earpiece, which somehow managed to stay in place as I ran for the Triskelion.

Holding JT up to my face, I ordered him to forget what the others were saying, and to focus on Steve. "And I want you to contact whatever government agencies you can," I puffed as I ran down a sidewalk, weaving through gawkers who stood and stared at the immense battle going on. "We'll also need medical teams."

"Yes, miss," JT replied. "I am also contacting Mr. Stark and Miss Potts. They are currently in California, but will no doubt make numerous resources available to you whenever you need them."

Yes, that would be nice. I very much expected the U.S. government to want our heads for taking down SHIELD and exposing a whole slew of top-secret files to the world, but that would be something we could deal with later. Right now, my husband was ready to die, and I had absolutely no intention of letting him go that easily.

'When I get my hands on him, he is so going to get a piece of my mind,' I thought as I dodged a bicyclist and ran across a street.

By now, a barrage of bullets and laser fire had let loose, the Carriers each heavily firing on each other. Two of them were headed down, but one still managed to maintain a level above the Potomac River.

In my ear, I could still hear what was going on in the Carrier Steve was on.

"You know me," he was saying to someone I could only guess was Bucky.

"No, I don't!"

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes," Steve managed to say before the other man told him to 'shut up.' I heard punches being thrown, and grunts of pain on both sides.

"I'm not going to fight you." I heard Steve drop his shield, and my worry level leaped through the roof as he said, "You're my friend."

"And you're my mission!" the other man yelled.

For the next several minutes, I heard the man I loved getting beaten to a pulp, and as it happened, I felt tears flow. As much as I wanted to scream through the link, to plead for Steve to fight back, I knew he wouldn't. This was his best friend –he would suffer through anything to get through to him.

The one-sided fight stopped, and I heard Steve mutter, "Then finish it…because I'm with you, 'til the end of the line…"

Just as I reached a park near the edge of the Triskelion's property, I heard a huge crash through my earpiece. "Steve!" I cried, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

Looking up, I saw a rain of debris fall from the remaining Carrier, and what I thought to be a human figure plunge into the Potomac. Panic immediately set in, and I quickly ordered JT to show me where everyone was. I hoped that Steve wasn't the one who had falling into the river, but if it was him, then I needed to get there, before it was too late.

My hopes were crushed when I saw the blinking dot that indicated my husband was in the river –and it wasn't moving. My heart felt as though it were going to implode from the mere thought that my husband hadn't made it.

'He's got to be alive,' I firmly told myself. 'He's been through a lot worse than this. He has to have made it!'

Staring at JT, I watched, praying that the impossible would happen. After several long heartbeats, it did: the blip that was Steve began moving towards the far shore of the river!

I took a deep breath and began running again.

It was a long haul, but I managed to make it to the shoreline the same moment that Steve's indicator did. I knew that this part of the river was undeveloped, so it would be a bit of a rough trek down to the water, but who cared? The blip remained motionless, a clear indication that Steve was either taking a break, or unconscious. Either way, I knew he was alive.

"JT," I panted while searching for a way down to the shore, "Send our coordinates to the medical teams. Steve's going to need help."

At last, I found a small trail that led down to the water, but it was slippery with damp rocks and mud. I was able to make it down to the rocky shoreline without twisting an ankle, but the sight that greeted me there told me that a busted ankle would be the least of my worries.

There by my husband, standing tall and imposing in black materials that made his metal arm stand out, was the Winter Soldier. His face was covered in bruises, and his loose brown hair was a mess, but he seemed to notice nothing except for the man lying at his feet.

"Steve!" I cried, rushing forward, only to freeze in my tracks as the Soldier turned and looked at me.

In the blink of an eye, he had a weapon in his hands as cold blue eyes focused on me. The knife in his hand could easily have been thrown into my chest, but to my immense relief, he chose not to do it.

Holding up my hands to show I was unarmed, I licked my lips and decided to try and talk my way out of this. Fighting would be pointless –I'd be dead before I could make a move. There was no way I could take on a trained assassin like him.

"Please, let me help him," I softly pleaded. "Let me see if he's okay."

The Soldier (for I refused to call him Bucky) hesitated for several tense heartbeats. Finally, he slowly nodded and lowered his knife, tucking it into a holder somewhere under his arm. Once it was clear that he wasn't going to kill me, I quickly made my way to Steve's side, my fingers flying to his neck to try and locate a pulse as I leaned in to see if he was breathing.

I nearly wept when I felt the soft puff of his breath against my ear and his pulse gently beating under my fingertips. "Oh, thank god," I whispered, smiling in relief.

Looking up, I saw the Soldier heading off down the shore. "Bucky, wait!" I cried, but stopped when I realized that I had really no idea why I was doing this.

To my surprise, he did as I asked. Turning, he waited to see what it was I wanted. Swallowing hard, I called, "We can help you. We know who you really are. Steve and I, we can help you remember!"

He seemed to think about that for a moment, but in the end, he shook his head and left, a dazed, angry and confused look in his eyes.

I pushed aside the swell of pity that was forming for him. If he chose to come looking for help, Steve and I would give it to him. For now, I had to tend to my wounded husband.

AN: Review?