Operation

For the next thirty minutes, we traded comments on the music, fashion, and social movements of the last four decades of the twentieth century. When we realized he had fifteen minutes to go, he volunteered to walk me back to my apartment. That night, I fell asleep with a grin on my face, recalling the hilarious moment when James said "wait…the Beatles are a who?"

"Roosevelt's term finished up in 1945, and was followed by Truman, who finished the war. After him came Eisenhower and Kennedy, then we had Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, older Bush, Clinton, younger Bush, Obama, and now Trump. And after the election next week, we can add another name to the list," I rattled off. It was just past 2pm on Saturday, and because of an extra intel meeting they'd had to attend, I found myself making the lesson shorter due to the lack of time.

"Over the years, the power has been tossed back and forth between the Republicans and the Democrats, like always. They've been pretty stable parties, even though quite a few people thought they'd come to an end and give way for new political parties after the 2016 election."

Steve's head bobbed up and down. "Well," he started with a smile, "it's nice to know that democracy still stands."

I nodded. "Indeed. I'm sure plenty of other countries don't understand how America can stay so stable with constant power shifts— heck, Queen Elizabeth the Second abdicated just last year, and she's been on the throne since 1952."

"That sounds exhausting," James commented lightly.

I snorted as I got up to place my book on the shelf. "I can't imagine it. Most people see the monarchy in England as a pointless relic now, but she still had plenty to do in her job. I'd wanna resign after that many years, too." After making sure the book was in its place, I sat back down on the couch next to James. "FRIDAY, can you find the Buzzfeed video titled 'Social Movements of the 2000's'?" I requested.

"Of course," FRIDAY replied.

"This will give you a brief introduction to what happened the last twenty years in particular," I told them as the introduction played on the screen. "Marches and rallies and protests have grown more common as people find out more about the things they care about. They want their voice to be heard, and this has become the way to do it."

Both James and Steve's head nodded in response to what I said, but I could tell they were already invested in the video. For the next five minutes, they got a crash course in the past two decades, topics ranging from increased environmental protection to the rise of celiac awareness.

"Thoughts?" I asked when the video ended.

"There's too many things to care about," James commented. "No one can support all of these causes all at the same time."

I shrugged. "I mean…I guess there are people that try, and they have their reasons."

Steve was ready to give his input when he got cut off by FRIDAY.

"Mr. Stark has arrived, Captain Rogers. He is headed toward conference room 36-B."

With a sigh, Steve cast me and James a mildly frustrated look. "Guess I have to go. We'll pick this up later, okay?"

"Of course!" I replied. "Go do your thing. I'll be here for a few more hours, so you can come back and catch me if you have any questions."

Steve sent me a grateful smile before he got up and walked out of the room. After a moment, James shifted his attention to me, moving his body to face mine. "So what causes do you support?" he asked curiously.

"The Celiac Disease Foundation, for one," I started. "My mom has it, so I grew up eating gluten free everything. I continue to buy it so the market keeps going for those who need it. I also try to make sure I don't use too much paper at work— we went mostly digital about a year ago, I think. And recycling, of course." I shrugged. "Like you said, it's hard to do everything. Would I like to adopt a dog from the pound or be more conscious of where my clothing comes from? Of course. But most of the time I'm too busy to think about those things."

James nodded. "It seems that if everyone did their part to care about things important to them, then all these problems would be taken care of."

"You'd think," I shrugged. "But there are always more veterans coming home from war, always more puppies being born, and so on and so on."

A wistful look came onto James' face. "I always wanted a dog, but I'd never thought to ask. I assumed they weren't allowed."

An idea popped into my head. "FRIDAY, what is the policy for emotional support animals here?"

"The regulations regarding emotional support animals are the following: all breeds of dogs are allowed, but only if they are properly trained. The care and keeping of the dog will be the sole responsibility of its owner. All emotional support dogs must be registered prior to adoption," FRIDAY responded.

James and I shared a grin.


"What about a poodle?"

"No, poodles are too stuffy."

"They're cute and fluffy!"

"I want a man's dog, not a walking marshmallow."

"Plenty of men have poodles, James."

"But I don't want one, Eliza."

"Okay fine, then what do you want?"

"What's the type that's black and brown?"

"…that could be a thousand different breeds."

"No, it's very specific. I've used them before on missions, they're good at smelling things."

I squinted my eyes at him, trying to decipher his words. We'd been going back and forth for over an hour. "….do you mean a german shepherd?" I asked.

James typed in the name before he said, "Yes! Those. I like them, they were always fun to play with."

"Hmm…I'm not sure, James," I said as my eyes scrolled down the character traits of the breed. "You'd probably need to get a puppy and train him, and he'd need a lot of attention and time outside. Big dogs like that don't like being cooped up indoors."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing for me?" he countered. "It would force me to get out of my room."

I couldn't help but agree, especially because I'd seen the impact that emotional support animals could have on people. They enforced responsibility, gave friendship, and often served as a reminder to people that they had a reason to live.

I glanced outside at the expanse of grass and trees. "I'm sure they could set up an invisible fence around some area for the dog," I thought out loud. "That would make sure he'd have a safe place to run around."

James' face screwed up in confusion. "What's an invisible fence?"

"It's an electric fence put in the ground," I explained. "Your dog wears a collar that is connected to the fence. If it tries to leave the area you have fenced, then it gets a small electric shock."

James' face darkened immediately. "I don't like the sound of that. I'd rather train him. Or have a normal fence."

Unwittingly, my hand reached out and patted his shoulder. "I understand. I'm sure they'd be happy to set up a fence for him— and who knows? Maybe other people will consider getting pets too! Then he'd have friends to play with!"

"I like the sound of that," James murmured, his eyes staring out at the trees. He got up from the couch and went over to the window. After a moment, I followed suit to see what caught his attention. He leaned down close to me and pointed to an area a short walk away.

"Over there- by the tree line. Do you think that'd be a good place for them?" he questioned.

I was distracted by his nearness, not used to him being less than a foot close to me. "I think so, yeah," I answered after a moment's consideration. "You'd just have to get it approved."

A grin appeared on James' face. "With your approval, I think they'll let me do anything."

"Glad I can help," I laughed. I looked across the field and noticed the way the sunlight was passing through the trees. Leaves had been falling off for weeks now, and I was sure they'd all be gone within the next few weeks. Christmas would be coming before we knew it, along with a new president in the new year.

I glanced to my left and saw James staring out at the field in contemplation. After a moment, he softly said, "Thank you, Eliza. I'm not sure how fast we can get one, but I'm looking forward to getting a dog. I think it'll really help."

A genuine smile came onto my face. "You're welcome, James. I think it'll help, too."

His attention turned to me, and I found myself admiring the way the golden sunlight reflected in his blue eyes. My eyes momentarily flickered down to his lips, but I forced myself to look back up at his eyes. I struggled to resist the strange tugging sensation that was pushing me toward him. I was there to help him. Nothing more.

James' head tilted. "Eliza…can I ask you something?"

A rush of adrenaline ran through my head. "What?" I swallowed.

James opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off.

Alarms were sounding throughout the compound.