A/N: Thank you for all your support! I truly appreciate your feedback and messages, they just put me on the top of the world. I'm sorry for not updating in almost a month, school has been getting tough, I hope the length of this chapter will make up for it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 10: Coney Island

Beth POV

I sat at my dining room table and poured over the SHIELD employee conduct handbook, trying to memorize my general orders and the rules, studying for my test. I took a forkful of my salad and chewed it thoughtfully as I read.

A mental image of Steve and I making out in the pool weaseled its way to the front of my mind and I ended up rereading the same paragraph on fraternization policies that I had been attempting to read for the past few minutes. It was two in the afternoon and I had been studying for the past four hours. I shook my head and muttered to myself,

"Jesus Christ, I feel like I'm in college again…".

I had confessed my love for him a week ago and he had returned the sentiment.

To love and be loved back was like a wonderful dream that had no end in sight and it was a heavenly sensation.

So many things about Steve just made me want to stay by his side forever; from his dazzling smile, perfect body, and crystal blue eyes, to his artistic tendencies, and his gentlemanly actions. He was so kind to me, in so many more ways than I could count.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when someone knocked on the door.

"Hello?", I called.

"Beth? It's me…it's Steve…May I come in?"

"Yes of course.", I replied.

Steve entered in cargo shorts, a plain gray t-shirt, and his converse sneakers; his normal post-assignment clothes. He carried a small box wrapped in a blue ribbon and he smiled at me as I looked up at him from the table.

He shut the door behind himself and placed the small box onto the kitchen table before coming over and sitting down across from me.

"How are you?", he asked.

"Oh I'm fine… I missed you a lot."

He smiled his perfect little half grin and his blue eyes sparkled at me.

"Trying to memorize your general orders?", he asked.

"Yeah…but I haven't been having the most luck.", I replied.

"Then maybe you should take the evening off.", he said.

"Fine then.", I said, closing my handbook, "How was France? Did you go to Paris?"

"I was in Provence for the most part of the mission, surrounded by miles of lavender fields as far as the eye can see, but the last day I was there, Fury let me have the day off and I took a train into Paris just to see the sights... but while I was there, I bought this.", he explained, sliding the small box across the table to me. "I saw it and I just thought of you…I hope you like it.", he said with a smile.

I pulled the ribbon off and opened the lid.

Laying on the felt was a necklace with five charms on it; the comedy and tragedy masks, a pair of ballet slippers, a tiny coffee cup, a small cross, and a flat disc that was engraved with the letters S.G.R. & E.A.C. on one side and on the other side was an imprint of Steve's shield design.

I gasped softly and whispered,

"Steve…it's beautiful…"

"You like it? I personalized it a bit, and I didn't know what you would think of my choices."

"Yes, it's so unique.", I said, lifting it out of the box before struggling with the clasp a bit.

"Here, allow me…", Steve said softly before getting up, taking the necklace, and fastening it around my neck.

"Thank you.", I said, leaning in to kiss him but stopping myself. "I had onions in my salad…"

"You know that wouldn't stop me from kissing you.", he said with a soft smile before leaning in and pressing his lips to mine.

I lost myself in a pool of emotions and found myself biting Steve's lower lip gently as a result of it.

"Beth...", he moaned, and his tone of voice made a shiver roll down my spine and made tense pleasure coil up below my intestines. I released his lip only to have my own nibbled on gently. I moaned his name in ecstasy as he threaded his fingers through my hair. He placed one hand on my waist and drew me closer before walking me backwards into the edge of the table. The noise that I made was halfway between a moan of pleasure and a shriek of surprise when he ran his tongue along my bottom lip. In any case, I pulled away and blushed.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?", Steve asked tentatively, brushing his hands up and down my arms.

I shook my head no.

"I just really want to brush my teeth before we proceed.", I replied.

"Where do you want to go out tonight? We haven't gone to Coney Island yet, we could go if you wanted to. We can get takeout in Chinatown, eat, and then get on the bike and ride to Coney Island…or we could see if Clint is using his car tonight, if you didn't want to take the bike.", he said.

"I'd like to definitely go, although I think it would be better if we took Clint's car in case it rained later like the forecast said on the news this morning.", I said.

"Great! We can leave now…or later if you have to take a shower or whatever you usually do before a date."

"I have to take a shower actually.", I giggled, "You read my mind.".

"I'll leave if you want me to.", Steve said, jabbing his thumb towards the apartment door.

I shook my head.

"You can channel surf if you want, I just got a movie On Demand called Casablanca…It has Humphrey Bogart in it… I've never seen it before but it's a classic. I was going to watch it later but then you asked me if I wanted to go out…".

Steve laughed hard.

"What's so funny?", I asked.

"Casablanca was the one movie that I remember seeing with this girl Annette…it was the worst date that my old friend Bucky ever set me up on. Everything that could go wrong ended up going wrong… it was horrible, but I found it more amusing and laughed so hard after escorting her home."

"Oh I get it. I also have a few other movies on there, like Beauty and the Beast and Failure to Launch. I'm going to hop in the shower…you know how to use the TV right?"

"Yeah, Tony showed me how to do that.", he nodded and switched on the TV to the Discovery Channel and started watching American Chopper, which was one of the shows he liked simply because of all the cool motorcycles.

I closed my bedroom door and undressed, shaking my head as the tense feeling of pleasure grew when I stepped in my shower simply because my superhero boyfriend was sitting in my living room.

Why was I so weird?

I lathered up and rinsed quickly, eager to leave for our night on the town.

I got out of the shower and hummed as I toweled myself dry and got dressed in my jeans, sneakers, and a comfy blue v neck t shirt.

"Steve?", I called into the apartment as I wrung out my hair into a towel.

He had left a note for me on the coffee table.

Beth,

Went to ask Clint for his car and to change my pants, be back in a few.

Love,

Your Captain

He was so sweet and I sighed.

I folded up the note and placed it in the shoebox with the other things he had given me.

Amazing how one conversation with a stranger on a summer morning can lead to the healing of mental wounds and the blossoming of a spectacular romance.

Steve POV

"Hey Clint.", I greeted as I went in the gym and found Clint watching Natasha as she jogged on the treadmill from his perch in the rafters.

The archer looked up from the red-haired assassin and said,

"Hey Steve…What's up?"

"Beth and I were going to go to Coney Island, but she doesn't want to take the motorcycle on the half hour ride out there. Can we borrow your car?", I asked.

"Actually, Tasha and I were planning on going somewhere tonight, maybe we could double with you guys, if that's okay.", Clint replied with a blush.

I smiled.

I knew Clint was in love with Natasha from the time on board the Helicarrier when I came into the medical bay and saw them together for the first time, Natasha was in love with Clint then and the both of them still are.

It's a shame that Natasha thinks that love is for children and won't say that she's in love with Clint, but maybe this could change in the near future.

"That's fine with me.", I replied, "We were going to stop in Chinatown to get some carry out and then go to Coney Island."

"That sounds fine Cap. When did you want to leave?"

"Around six, that gives us a few hours to get cleaned up."

"Okay Cap. See you and Beth at Six on the dot.", Clint said before rappelling out of his rafter perch and approaching Natasha who nodded and walked away to the women's locker room.

Just as I was leaving the gym, my phone rang.

It was Fury.

"Hello Director Fury.", I said, answering the call.

"Hello Captain. We have some very important news for all the Avengers. Gather them together in the living room and then have Stark set up a Skype call."

"Yes sir.", I replied, hanging up the phone.

I ran back into the gym and yelled for Clint and Natasha. Both of them came running when I called them, both in civilian clothes and blushing madly like two children who were just discovered with their hands in the cookie jar.

I told Jarvis to alert the other Avengers and tell them to meet in the living room.

I was there first and the rest of them gradually filed in and sat down. Beth perched on the arm of the sofa next to me and asked me what was going on. I shrugged before I got up and let her have my seat.

When we were assembled, Tony began the call and Fury answered in his normal no-nonsense tone of voice.

"I have some news that will come as a shock to all of you, but I need to apologize to every one of you for being untruthful about what actually happened prior to the Battle of New York. I'm sorry."

"For what? What did you not tell us?", Maria asked with a betrayed look on her face. "Answer me!", she yelled as Fury remained silent for a moment.

"Agent Hill…Maria, let me finish before you start.", he replied calmly.

She nodded and he continued.

"For those of you who didn't know Phil Coulson, he was my best friend and SHIELD's top senior agent. He was killed before the Battle of New York by Loki. This was five months ago. What I failed to tell you was that Phil Coulson was not pronounced dead on the Helicarrier. He was dead for about forty seconds before the medics got his heart beating again. He was taken to SHIELD HQ and went through highly invasive surgery. He fell into a coma after surgery and has been on life support since then. He has been healing physically and his brain activity was steady until two weeks ago when our medics recorded a spike in activity and it increased to its normal levels over the past week. We took him off of life support at noon today and he woke up completely. Phil is alive."

All of us who knew Phil went positively insane in that moment, all of us had mixed reactions to the news about Phil's death being a lie.

I was angry at Fury for lying to us, but I didn't yell at him like Tony and Thor did. I sat in shock and let the information sink in. Maria was crying and Natasha was hugging her, Pepper was yelling at Tony to stop yelling at Fury, Clint was in shock, and Bruce was shaking his head at the screen.

When we settled down, Maria dried her tears and asked Fury,

"Is he here? Is he at the HQ in New York City?"

"Yes, but I don't want all of you coming over here at the same time and overexciting him, the man is still recovering!", he replied, yelling at us as we all went to stand up.

Maria stood on shaky legs.

"Can I see him?", she asked softly.

"Yes. He actually asked for you specifically."

"I'm on my way.", Maria said as she ran out of the room.

Fury addressed the rest of us.

"The rest of you can get back to whatever you were doing, but don't show up at HQ to see Phil, he just wants to rest. If you show up, I'll have you scrubbing toilets on the Helicarrier for a week."

He ended the call and left us to sit in silence.

"Now what?", Tony asked, "I really want to visit Phil, but I don't want to scrub toilets on that ship for a week…"

"Let's just go back to doing whatever we were doing.", Dr. Banner suggested.

"I agree with the good doctor, we should go about our business. We know that Coulson is alive and that he is healing, that should be enough for us. He is in good hands. We shall visit him some other time, when it is convenient for him. For now, we should avoid the wrath of Fury.", said Thor.

I looked at Beth and asked her,

"Do you still want to go out?"

She nodded.

Clint tapped me and said,

"You two want to get going? No sense hanging around here waiting for the clock to strike six if we're all here and ready to go."

"So Clint and Natasha are doubling with us?", Beth asked.

"Yeah, you don't mind do you?", Natasha asked.

"Not at all, I personally think it would be a great opportunity to get to know each other better.", she said.

"Then what are we waiting for?", Clint asked, "I have my keys, wallet, and phone. We can go now if you guys want to."

Soon we were driving down Park Avenue, on our way to Chinatown.

"So Captain," , Natasha began, "have you ever had Chinese food?"

"Yes I have.", I replied.

"What did you think of it?"

"It was delicious."

"Was it better than that one time I fixed shrimp stir fry?", she asked.

Natasha couldn't cook to save her own life, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"Definitely not.", I lied.

She laughed hysterically.

"Cap, I appreciate your attempt at making me feel good about my cooking, but you have the worst poker face in history.", she replied.

"Oh then you aren't mad?", I asked.

"Not in the slightest, I've never been able to cook anything.", she replied.

We drove into Chinatown and found a place to get takeout.

Clint and I paid for the food and we went back to the car with the food.

"Don't eat in here, just wait until we get to the park.", he said, "I don't want my car smelling like Chinese food for a week if someone spills their Lo Mien."

We drove to the park and Clint put a blanket down in the grass.

"Hey Steve, you want to learn how to use chopsticks?", Beth asked.

"Why not?", I said with a shrug, "It looks easy when Clint and Natasha use them…"

Clint swallowed his food and said,

"This took years of practice, I have forks in the bag if you need them."

Beth took my hand and positioned my fingers around the chopsticks.

"Okay, now try picking something up.", she said when I was holding them correctly.

I tried to grab a piece of chicken, but it fell out of my grasp.

"It's harder than it looks, I'll admit that.", I said after a few more attempts.

"You almost have it.", Beth encouraged.

I gave up a few tries later and used a fork instead.

When I finished eating, we cracked open our fortune cookies and read them out loud.

"Change is coming.", Beth read with a shrug.

"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.", Clint read.

"Love is not for the faint of heart.", Natasha read before crumpling the slip of paper up and tossing it in the trash.

"A crisis may be looming, be prepared for it.", I read.

I knew that it was only a slip of paper but I couldn't shake the feeling that was in the pit of my stomach telling me that something was about to happen.

We got in the car and drove through Brooklyn to Coney Island.

I didn't point out all the places I had been beat up this time, most of them were no longer the same. The alleys were still there, but the diner had been demolished and a McDonald's had been built in its place and the parking lot now had a pharmacy built on it. Not even the old Brooklyn Antiques store that was really a front for the lab where I was transformed still stood, it had been replaced with offices.

I didn't want to think about how much things had changed since then and how much I had changed since I had been pulled from the ice.

I felt like I was becoming someone else, but that the change was for the better, that I was finding myself. I guess that we go through life so sure of where we're headed, and we wind up lost, and it's the best thing that could've happened, because sometimes when we lose our way, it's really just as good as staying the course... we find ourselves instead.

Everything the modern world had to offer was good and bad in different ways, so that hadn't changed. The one thing that really upset me was the desensitization of the new generation through the media. Things that had been inappropriate speaking points in the 40's were now the basis of many shows and songs.

Violence and warfare were glorified in all forms of media. War was a daily topic that most people joked about but they never understood the magnitude of it. There was organized crime everywhere you looked and most people got away with it.

Sex was no longer the consummation of love between two people, it was regarded as an emotionless act, a way to wield authority, and it had been used as a weapon against Beth.

Of course there were some things that had changed for the better. More young people were going to college (something I had never done), young ladies were becoming more independent (that reminded me of Peggy's dream to be a woman breaking stereotypes), knowledge was available everywhere, advances in medical sciences had prevented the spread of diseases that would have killed a person in the 40's, and racism had all but disappeared.

This world may be more corrupt than the one I remembered from my childhood, but the good in it was better than what I had back then.

"Steve, we're here.", Beth said as Clint parked.

Coney Island had changed quite a bit, but there was one thing that still had a place in my memory.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?"

"Yeah, and I threw up?"

"This isn't payback is it?"

"Now why would I do that?"

"Hey Steve, I'm not afraid of rollercoasters, do you want to ride the Cyclone?", Beth asked as we paid the admission fee and got wristbands.

"Sure.", I replied with a smile and I sent a thought to Bucky.

This one's for you buddy…maybe I won't throw up this time.

Beth POV

Steve and I got on the rollercoaster after Clint and Natasha went off in the direction of the carnival games.

"You know I rode on this coaster once before.", Steve said as we started moving.

"Oh, how did that go?", I asked as we reached the top of the first peak and slowed down.

"I threw up.", he said nonchalantly as we went down the other side.

The wind whipped my hair back, and I'll admit that I was a bit scared, not because of the speed but because of the sounds the old coaster made.

"You what?", I asked when I found my voice.

"Threw up, that was before I joined the Army though. My friend made me ride it and I ended up getting sick.", he explained.

"You aren't going to do it again are you?", I asked, searching his face for a green tint.

"Nope, I'm having too much fun!", he replied with a wide grin.

I smiled and enjoyed the ride.

When we got off, I noticed how my hair had been reduced to a windblown mess.

"Aw man!", I said as I combed my fingers through the tangled waves, "The wind messed up my hair."

I glanced over at Steve who had a small half-smile on his face.

"What are you looking at?", I asked playfully, knowing full well that I looked quite disheveled.

Steve shrugged.

"Oh you know…just the most beautiful woman in the whole world.", he said with a smile.

"What did I do to deserve you?", I asked, placing my palm on Steve's cheek tenderly.

"You were there to lend an ear when I needed to talk and you were a stranger that became my dearest friend and lover."

"I love you.", I said before standing on tiptoe to kiss him.

"I love you too.", he replied.

We went off together and got on the Wonder Wheel.

"You aren't afraid of heights are you?", Steve asked as we got on.

I shook my head.

"No. Are you?", I asked.

"I zip lined across a snow-covered canyon and landed on the top of a speeding train once, I would say I'm over my fear of heights.", he said with a smile.

I looked out of the gondola we were in and pointed down at the Midway.

"I can see Clint and Natasha from up here.", I said, pointing out the redheaded spy carrying a large stuffed animal and walking hand in hand with Clint.

"They go together so well.", Steve commented.

I nodded.

"Like Marley and Reggae.", I replied.

"What?", Steve asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Usually when someone says that two people go together, I say 'Like Marley and Reggae'. Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter in the 60's and 70's and he shaped the whole music genre of Reggae. I have some of his songs on my computer at home, we can listen to them if you want to.", I explained.

"Oh, sure…I was going to say that they go together like two peas in a pod.", he said.

We got off the ride and went over to the midway games, walking hand in hand.

We walked up to Clint and Natasha at one of the games.

"Hey guys.", Natasha greeted, and I got a better look at the stuffed animal she was carrying. "Look what Clint won for me.", she said, holding up the large stuffed hawk.

"Impressive.", Steve remarked.

"It's cute.", I said, poking at its fluffy belly.

"Yeah, we were about to go over to the boardwalk and see what was over there.", Clint said. "Want to go? We can get some food while we're over there."

"Clint we just ate not even two hours ago.", Natasha laughed.

"But I'm still hungry, how about you Steve?", he asked.

"Hey, my metabolism burns four times faster than the average human's, so I'm always hungry. How about you Beth?", he asked.

"I could go for some cotton candy.", I said with a shrug.

"Cotton candy?", Natasha asked.

"You've never had cotton candy?", I asked incredulously.

She shook her head.

"I try to avoid sweets."

"You have to at least try it!", I said, running to the nearest vendor and buying a bag. "Try it, you might like it.", I encouraged as I held the bag open to her.

"Okay.", she said, pulling off a piece and popping it into her mouth. Her eyes widened and she said, "It's gone…" in a surprised voice.

Clint laughed at her reaction and I hid my smile as she murmured, "It's good too...", before taking another piece.

"I think she found the next best thing after Imperia and Sharlotka.", Clint said with a grin.

"No.", Natasha replied, "Nothing beats Imperia and Sharlotka."

We walked over to the boardwalk and Steve intertwined his fingers with mine as we walked.

"I'm glad I could spend the evening with you.", he whispered.

Several hours later…

Steve and I walked down the hall to my apartment.

"Well I had a great time, how about you?", he asked.

"I had a lovely time…do you want to come in?", I asked.

"Sure.", he replied.

I plopped down on the sofa and turned on the news, turning the volume down and patting the cushion next to me. Steve sat down and faced me.

"What?", I asked, meeting his stare.

"You're beautiful.", he sighed.

I blushed, like I always did when he said sweet things to me.

"And you're very handsome.", I replied, leaning in to kiss his nose, causing him to smile.

"I wonder…", he said softly.

"What do you wonder?"

"If you're ticklish.", he said before tickling my sides.

I yelped in surprise and laughed.

"You are ticklish!", he laughed.

"Steve- Please-Stop!", I gasped and he stopped.

"You okay?", he asked.

"Yeah,", I replied, catching my breath. "I'm okay.", I said before pinning him onto his back and crawling on top of him.

"Okay, turnabout is fair play…", Steve murmured as I pressed my lips to his.

Soon I was being shifted back and Steve was sitting up. We pulled apart and I looked into his eyes for about a second and then we were at it with a new approach, a more intense approach.

Steve's hands were everywhere and he had clearly become comfortable with making out.

His tongue was actually in my mouth and it was an indescribable feeling. He may not have ever French kissed before, but that didn't mean he wasn't good at it.

He pulled away.

"I'm sorry…did I overstep my boundaries?", he asked, standing up.

I stood.

"No Steve."

And then he did something unexpected.

He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me close before slowly kissing me.

I moaned wordlessly into the kiss and ran my left leg up and wrapped it around his thigh as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He lifted me up and into his arms so that his hands were holding me up behind my back and both of my legs were around his waist before dropping his mouth down to the crook of my neck and biting the flesh there gently.

It was the hottest and boldest thing he had done so far.

"Steve…", I moaned.

"Mm yes Beth?", he said with his Brooklyn drawl, pulling away from my neck and nibbling my earlobe.

"We can take this to my room, if you want some more space to continue….it doesn't have to go any further than that…", I murmured, trying to suppress another moan.

He walked into my bedroom and laid me gently on the bed before kicking his shoes off and getting on top of me.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?", he asked tentatively, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Steve you won't hurt me. I know what pain is and I don't feel it when I'm with you, all I feel is joy. Steve, I love you and I know you will never hurt me.", I said.

He didn't mince words after that, he just nodded and leaned in, kissing me so gently, as if he was afraid of breaking me.

I could feel him pressed up against my abdomen and just feeling it was turning me on.

I rolled him onto his back and straddled his hips. His arms lay at his sides and I stopped kissing him long enough to whisper, "You can touch me.".

That was all the invitation he needed and he felt me up through my shirt and bra, touching me experimentally, still afraid of breaking me.

He pulled his hand away and struggled out of his shirt, baring his perfect upper body to me.

I leveled the playing field when I pulled off my own top.

Steve blushed bright crimson in the dark and told me that I was beautiful but that he couldn't do this, not yet.

I rolled onto my side facing away from him and he spooned against me, planting a light kiss in my hair.

"I love you Beth."

I kicked off my shoes and pulled the sheets over us.

"I love you too Steve."

Steve POV

I woke up to hear a buzzing sound and saw Beth's face illuminated by the glow of her cell phone screen.

She answered her phone and yawned.

"Hello?"

She jolted up immediately.

"Aunt Penny? What's wrong? Is something wrong with Uncle Fred?"

She shook her head as I sat up.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear that, let me put you on speaker phone.", she said and pressed a button.

"Okay Aunt Penny, can you repeat what you just said?"

"Elizabeth, I hope you're sitting down because this will come as a shock to you.", an older woman replied.

"I am, go on.", Beth said.

"He made parole."

"What?", Beth asked, her voice changing from concerned to scared to death in a heartbeat.

"Alexander Finch made parole this morning. He knows you're in New York City, he saw your photo in a magazine he got in prison. He will come for you, delete your records and move to another apartment, change your phone number and don't go out at night because he found you once, he may just find you again. Be careful Elizabeth Astoria Covington, you be careful now, you hear?"

Beth was reduced to a sobbing mass on the bed, rocking back and forth, as she whimpered.

"I-I hear y-you Aunt Penny."

"Stay safe. I love you. Uncle Fred sends his love. Goodbye."

"Goodbye.", Beth whimpered before putting the phone on the nightstand and burying herself into my body as if it were a pillow.

"Steve. I-If he f-finds me again…He'll k-kill me…I don't want to die…"

"And you won't, I'll protect you."

"Promise?"

"I promise.", I said, pulling her close.

I held her as she wailed in desolation, her horrors coming to life.

If only I could cure her fears.

A/N: That was long! Yay Coulson Lives! Oh No, Alex Finch is on the hunt!

Tell me what you think!