Chapter Ten: The Aftermatch
They found Steve washed up on the shore of the Potomac, two miles South of where the Triskelion had once stood. He'd been unconscious, bleeding from three gunshot wounds and riddled with bruises and lacerations. He'd been transported to the nearest hospital and both Rebecca and Sam had alternated staying with him. He'd yet to regain consciousness.
It had been two days since the fall of Triskelion and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nora, whom Rebecca had been relieved to find had made it out safely, had been traumatized by the events and David's betrayal and had gone home to stay with her parents out on the West Coast for a little while. David had been remanded into custody. Rebecca had seen him for only a moment before they'd taken him away. He'd met her eyes, looking haunted and rather helpless. She hadn't been able to muster any pity for her former friend.
Rebecca had gone back to her apartment only long enough to shower and change her clothes over the past forty-eight hours. She'd spent more of her time frequenting the hospital. She and Sam both sat in Steve's room at the moment. Sam was reading a book and Rebecca was curled up in the visitor's chair, staring out the window absentmindedly.
Sam had brought in Bluetooth speakers and Marvin Gaye's Troubleman album played softly in the background. Rebecca had grown quite fond of him in the brief handful of days she had known him. While Natasha took off to deal with the fallout of taking down S.H.I.E.L.D and Fury had gone back into hiding, Sam had been a constant pillar of support. They'd looked for Steve together. They made sure Steve wasn't alone in the hospital, covering for the other when one went home to change, or simply sat in companionable silence as they did now.
Rebecca might have lost her job, and even her identity in a way because her life had revolved around her career. But she'd gained Steve, who had become less of an untouchable Superhero in her eyes to a man she was proud to know. And she'd gained Sam, who was proving hour after hour to be a loyal friend to have.
Lost in her own thoughts, Rebecca didn't notice Steve open his bright blue eyes and take in his surroundings, including her presence and Sam's. She did notice when his scratchy voice penetrated the quiet, however.
"On your left." He caught Sam's attention as well, who began to smile in amusement. Apparently, there was an inside joke between the two men that she was missing.
Rebecca felt her own smile bloom across her face. And for the first time since she'd jumped out of an elevator with Steve did she truly believe everything was going to be okay.
After Steve had been released from the hospital and Romanoff had basically told the Federal Government to kiss her ass, in more eloquent terms, of course, Rebecca found herself at home, debating what to do with her life. She had some savings, but it wouldn't last forever. The FBI and CIA while impressed with her resume were leery of her family connections. Fury had offered her a spot on his team in Europe, taking down the fleeing members of HYDRA but she hadn't felt that was the right move.
Nora had been offered an IT job in San Francisco, close to her parents and had called to inform Rebecca she was going to take it. She no longer wanted to be in Washington and no amount of pleading convinced Rebecca she wanted to move to California. Despite everything that had happened, the East Coast was still home.
It was Clint Barton who gave her an idea. He had emailed her, suggesting she do freelance work, maybe pull her private investigator's license. After all, Rebecca always did have a knack for tracking and profiling people. Rebecca had begun to give the idea more thought. She could take out her license, open her own office and not have to answer to anyone but herself.
She was debating whether to scrounge something up for dinner or order takeout when there was a knock at her door. Cautious, she checked the peephole before opening the door wide for Steve.
"Hi!" She greeted him with a smile. "Kind of weird to be seeing you without our whole lives being in danger."
He chuckled sheepishly and held up a manila folder in his hand. "I do come in regards to business though."
"Do you even make social calls?" She teased him, gesturing him in. "What's this about?"
"Bucky." Steve stepped inside, taking in her quaintly furnished apartment as she closed the door, then turned to face her. "Natasha reminded me that you're really good at tracking people."
"People." Rebecca agreed with a nod. "Ghost stories are trickier. You're going after him, aren't you?"
"You can say no," Steve told her genuinely. "I've mucked up your life enough recently."
"I chose to jump out of that elevator with you," Rebecca pointed out. "And I don't regret it. How can I help?"
"I need to locate him. I no longer have access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, this file is all I have to go on. Natasha got it from me from Kiev. I was hoping you could help me."
"I can try," Rebecca took the folder from him and set it down on the counter. "But first, we need pizza."
"Pizza?" Steve repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Even Avengers have to eat, Cap." She joked, pulling a take-out menu from one of her kitchen drawers. "Any preferred toppings?"
Steve's mouth quirked up in a hint of a grin. "Surprise me."
A/N: There you have it. This the prequel to the real story I plan on telling between Steve and Rebecca. I wrote this to set the tone and give my OC a little background. This is a slow burn. Plus I wanted to establish relationships and connections here. I plan on having Rebecca and Sam be pretty tight, like partners, which you'll see more of in the sequel. Keep an eye out for it, it will be titled Between The Wars. I might continue this series, since I'm having fun writing it, going into Age of Ultron, then Civil War and quite possibly Infinity War and Endgame. I have ideas, though I haven't gotten past Civil War yet in my head. So, for now, I'll focus on Between the Wars. Add me to your alerts!