Red and orange leaves flew down from the trees that crisp, autumn afternoon as Rebecca walked home from the café. She was bundled up in a coat and scarf, a cup of coffee grasped tightly in her hands. Winter was right around the corner. Steve was gone. Out of town on some sort of mission that Rebecca couldn't know about. It bothered her that he had to keep so many secrets, but she loved him too much to tell him why. Marina told her to not let it bother her too much. That Sam kept secrets from her too. It was just something that came with the job, and sadly, something that came with the relationship. But something told Rebecca that Marina knew more about the situation than she did.

Reaching her apartment door, the red head shifted the hot beverage to her other hand and brought out her keys from her purse. The keys jingled in the door knob before the door squeaked open. Making her way into the small apartment, Rebecca closed the door before placing her coffee on the counter and shifting through the mail. Rebecca sighed sadly. Steve said he'd only be gone for a few days, but it had been weeks. She hadn't heard a word from him, not a phone call or a text message, not even a simple letter telling her that he was okay. Rebecca cast away the mail, tossed her purse on the counter and walked into her room, her black compression cast sliding against the hard wood floor.

She emerged moments later with her red coat still on and a large card board box in her hands. She placed the box on the rug by the TV before going back in her room and grabbing another. In a few minutes her living room was filled with large boxes and files scattered across the floor. After taking off her coat and scarf and putting them on the coat rack, she tied up her hair and began working.

An hour later, Rebecca was sitting Indian style on the floor with files scattered around her. She rested her head in the palm of her hand and sighed, her eyes red from exhaustion and tears. Emily was nagging her for months to look through her parents' stuff, and now that she had started, Rebecca realized how hard it was.

She could smell the musk of the old paper and ink. The files hadn't been looked at in years. Most of the stuff had been useless information about her parents' work, but then she came across an interesting file. The file looked different from the others, and had the word, "classified," in bold red stamp on the front. Rebecca pulled out the file and opened it.

What she saw surprised her. The file dated back to March 1941 and had details of a super soldier experiment on a young man named… Rebecca gasped and reread the line again. The young man's name was Steve Rogers, born July 4th 1918. At first, Rebecca didn't believe it. It couldn't be the same man. There was no way. But, all the information in the file lined up. Full name: Steven Grant Rogers, son of Sarah and Joseph, born in Brooklyn, New York.

"That could just be a coincidence right?" She thought. "There's no way. This isn't possible…" But then she saw the picture. The picture was old and faded, but Rebecca could still see well enough to know who it was. He looked smaller… but there was no mistaking it. Steve Rogers, her Steve Rogers, was Captain America. Rebecca didn't realize her hands had begun to start shaking until they'd caused her to drop the file onto the floor. She quickly stood up and backed away from the files. A knock came from the door and startled her, causing her to bump into the kitchen counter before she made her way to the door. Turning the knob with shaking hands, she saw the last person she wanted to see that day.

"Steve." She said, closing the door slightly to block his vision from her apartment. "What are you doing here?" Steve's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"I got back from my mission. Have you been crying?" He asked, reaching out a hand. Rebecca jerked away from him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Don't pretend like you care, Steve…" She said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You… you kept secrets from me." She narrowed her eyes and began backing away.

Realization came over the Captain's face and instead of defending himself like Rebecca thought he would, he just stood there. "You found out," he said flatly.

"Like hell I found out!"

"I'm sorry, Rebecca. I never meant…"

"Oh, cut the crap, Captain! You never meant for me to find out," she spat and slammed the door shut.

"Please, Becca just let me explain," He said through the closed door. There was silence, Steve hung his head and began to walk away.

"Fine," said a quiet voice. Steve turned back. Rebecca was standing in the door way of her apartment. He gave a small smile and walked in. Files were strewn across the apartment. Steve looked around before looking down at Rebecca. The small woman looked totally defeated as she walked toward the couch and sat down. She rubbed her hands across her face and sighed.

Steve sat next to her and waited patiently for Rebecca to start. "My parents, they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The day they died was the day the agency fell. After the funeral, I inherited everything they owned, including these files. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D would come by and collect them, but no one ever did." Rebecca leaned back into the plaid couch. "So, I told you my secret, now why don't you explain to me why you never told me yours."

Steve sighed and looked down at his lap. "I was afraid. I was afraid that once you found out…" He stopped, afraid that if he confessed his fears, they might come true. Rebecca didn't move, still annoyed that he had kept this big secret from her. "I was going to tell you. God, there were so many times when I wanted to tell you, but there was never a right time. And with what you went through with the thunderstorms… I just- I just couldn't add that to your plate."

"Steve…" Rebecca said, reaching out her hands.

"No, let me finish," Steve said, pulling away. "I should have been honest with you, but I was afraid. Rebecca, I was afraid of what would happen to you once you found out. These are dangerous waters. Once people find out about you, you're world won't be the same. People will constantly try to hurt you to get to me and I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't put you in that world, that danger."

"Steve," Rebecca said, placing her hands on his knees. ""I'm not mad at you for wanting to protect me. I'm mad at you for lying to me, because I care about you. And d I'd rather be in that danger and be with you than be safe and lose you. Do you understand?" She asked, looking into Steve's blue eyes. Although Steve didn't agree with putting Rebecca in danger, he nodded. Once Rebecca was in this world, she couldn't escape it. She smiled, causing the freckles around her face to move. She placed her hands on his shoulders before threading them through his soft blonde hair.

Rebecca pulled Steve's face down to hers and gave his a chaste kiss. "We're in this together."