A/N: Well, well, well. Here we are. Another chapter in! Thank you all again for your reviews, follows and favorites. I appreciate it all so much! So thank you for the 28 reviews, 57 follows, 37 favorites and 4351 views. You all amaze me! Keep reading. There's more to come! Enjoy the latest chapter!
Aly made it through the rest of her day without worrying too much about the woman that had stopped her in the hall. Occasionally she found herself looking over her shoulder, stealing a glance out into the hallway or something like that. While the meeting had been odd, she pushed it to the back of her mind and focused as much as she could on teaching. Once she got into her lesson plan, she found it easy to forget about everything else. The only time that Aly glanced outside or into the hallway was when she thought that she was being watched but she shook it off quickly enough. By the time the day was over, she was ready to get home to Steve, to be somewhere that she felt safe and secure. After she finished grading some tests, Aly gathered her things and headed out to her car.
As she crossed the parking lot, she spotted the red-haired woman sitting across the street on a bench. Aly jumped when she saw the woman, dropping her things in the process. She scrambled to pick them up, letting out a little gasp when someone reached for a stack of papers at the same time she did. It was a woman's hand and it startled Aly. When she realized it was just Danielle, she gave the other woman a smile and nodded a quick thank you. By the time she looked across the street again, the red-haired woman was gone. Aly felt like her heart was racing and she hurried to her car, her keys out before she even reached her vehicle just in case. Unlocking the doors, she tossed her things onto the passenger seat before quickly getting into the car. She locked the doors as soon as she was in the car, sticking her keys into the ignition.
Her hands were shaking so much that Aly wasn't able to start the car right away. Instead she grabbed the wheel with both hands, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the steering wheel. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, hoping that it would be enough to calm herself down. Even after she felt a little more relaxed, she waited a few moments before starting her car. Aly watched as a few people walked past her car, trying to give them smiles. She was always smiling after all so she tried to smile a little. Her hands were still shaking a little as she pulled out of the parking spot.
Aly was watching the road more carefully than ever, both hands on the wheel. She even turned the music off as she drove, trying to focus on the road and hoping that she wouldn't catch a glimpse of that woman again. While she thought that she was being vigilant, it turned out that Aly wasn't paying enough attention to the road or that someone else wasn't paying enough attention. As she tapped her breaks as she neared a red light, Aly was rear ended hard enough to push the front end of her car into the intersection just enough that she was hit a second time, setting off the airbag.
The next thing that Aly knew she was opening her eyes to harsh lights and hearing this steady beeping sound. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she wasn't seeing spots in front of her eyes anymore, she realized that she had an IV in her arm and that she was hooked up to a machine that was monitoring her heart rate. When she looked, trying to be careful as she turned her head, Aly realized there was a fetal heart monitor hooked up as well. Looking to the side made her feel dizzy but when the room stopped spinning, she saw Steve sitting there beside her bed with his head in his hands.
"Steve?"
His head shot up at the hoarse sound of Aly's voice. The look of worry on his face was clear and his eyes looked a bit bloodshot as if he had been crying although he was trying not to show it. Steve jumped up and went to sit at her side on the bed, taking her hand in his now that she was awake. He seemed happy to see that although Steve couldn't completely hide his worry.
"Do you know how worried I've been?" Steve asked, his voice a bit hoarse. He hugged her tightly to his chest before kissing her roughly. He let her go with a little smile on his face. Still Steve was trying to be careful with Aly. He didn't want to hurt her or do anything that might make this worse. He knew what the doctor said about her possibly having a concussion so he was doing his best not to do anything to make that any worse than it already was.
Aly let out a happy sigh after Steve kissed her although she felt confused at the moment. "The … the last thing I remember was getting hit," she said with a little shake of her head although that seemed to make the room spin so she stopped almost as quickly as she started. She couldn't remember anything after that and she didn't recall being brought in to the hospital. "Is … is everything okay? I see … Is the …"
Steve put his hand on her stomach, giving the small bump there a little rub and nodding. "The baby's fine. The doctor says that you're fine too. Some bruises mostly but you blacked out. They were worried that you might've hit your head," he said. His hand moved up to gently caress her face, lightly brushing against her cheek before Steve placed a very soft and careful kiss onto her forehead. He already knew that she was more worried about the baby than herself although for him, he had been more worried about her than the baby. "I should've …"
"Steven Grant Rogers, don't you dare say that you should've been there to protect me," Aly said, trying her best to sound angry with him. Her voice was softer though because she couldn't bear to raise her voice. She had a feeling it would bring on a headache. When she tried to sit up a little, she found that she had to lie back down just as quickly. Aly was afraid she might throw up if she sat up right now and she raised her hand to gingerly touch her head. Everything felt okay except for a bump on her forehead. She was sure that she looked in rougher shape than she felt because other than her head, Aly felt perfectly fine. "You know that you can't be there to protect me all of the time. I'm okay and the baby's okay. That's the main thing."
"What happened?" he asked, concern flashing across his face for a moment again. Steve knew that he was going to beat himself up over this whether Aly liked it or not. He'd had a gut feeling that something was wrong last night and he let Aly go to class without warning her. Maybe if he had said something, she would've asked him to drive her to work and pick her up after school let out. "I know that you're a more careful driver than that so something happened."
Aly closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. She didn't remember everything with complete clarity and she was nervous to tell Steve about that mysterious redhead that had visited her at school and left her feeling so out of sorts. "I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I usually do," she finally said, her voice almost a whisper.
Steve stroked her hair gently and sighed, shaking his head. "Are you sure that's at all it was? Maybe I should start taking you to work and picking you up," he said with a frown. He didn't want to smother Aly but he wasn't going to let her get hurt again. Next time it could be much worse than her just having a concussion after all.
"I tapped my brakes as I came up to a stop light and got rear ended. It bumped me out into the intersection a bit and I got hit," Aly said with a little shrug as she looked at Steve. She didn't want him so worried about her. She hated that she'd worried Steve at all actually. "I might have been a little distracted. I guess I should pay more attention to the road. I'm fine though. I don't think I'm going to need you driving me around all of the time."
Steve lightly stroked Aly's hair, letting out a soft sigh. He felt like there was something that she wasn't telling him but he wasn't going to press her either. She'd tell him everything in time. "I was so worried when I got the call," he said, shaking his head a bit. The thought seemed to bring tears to his eyes, reminding him of how gutted he'd felt when the hospital had called. They had gotten his phone number by going through her things. "You were in an out of it when they brought you in, mumbling my name. They went through your phone to find my number. I didn't know what to think when I got the call."
Aly mustered a soft smile and reached for Steve's hand. She hated that she had made him feel this way. She didn't like seeing Steve so upset but she didn't know how to fix that. The accident had happened after all. She couldn't change that. She just wished that Steve wouldn't be so worried about her. "I'm fine, Steve. I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be up and around without any trouble," she said with a bit of a nod. "The baby's fine too so there's nothing to worry about."
Steve's hand went to Aly's stomach, softly rubbing the slight curve there. He gave her a soft smile, nodding a bit. He knew that she was right. There was no reason for him to worry but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He leaned in and kissed her stomach, smiling wider when Aly let out a laugh at that. Then Steve leaned in and softly kissed her too. His fingers lightly brushed her cheek and along her jaw. He was so nervous right now, so worried about Aly and her safety.
"I never should have gotten you involved in this life," Steve said with a soft sigh.
Aly's eyes widened at Steve's words. Her heartbeat started to pick up and she was breathing a bit harder. "I … Steve … what are you saying?" she asked, her voice cracking. Tears threatened to spill over as she looked at him. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. The last thing that she wanted was to cry but if Steve was saying what she thought he was saying, Aly didn't know what she would do.
Steve kissed her softly, shaking his head a bit. "No, I wouldn't … I'd never … not now," he said, fumbling for the right words. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. This wasn't coming out the way that Steve had meant for it to come out. "I didn't mean it like that. I wouldn't leave you. I just … I never should have told you … everything. Maybe none of this would have happened."
Aly rolled her eyes a bit. "If you're going to blame everything that ever happens on the fact that I know about you being Captain America, then we're going to have a problem, Steven," she said in a harsh whisper. She was smart enough to know to keep her voice down after all but Aly still wanted him to know what an idiot she thought he was being. "This was a car accident. That's it. What happened at the UN building wasn't because of who you are. It was an attempted terrorist attack. So far none of the things that have happened are because I know that you're Captain America. If you think that you're going to somehow scare me away, you're crazy. I'm here and you're stuck with me. That's all that there is to it."
Steve knew that Aly was strong and tenacious and that she wasn't going to walk away over something like this but he worried that one day something would happen that would push her away and he didn't know what he'd do when that day came. He looked down, his eyes closing for a moment as he processed her words. Steve knew that Aly was right but the problem was that one day something was going to happen to her and it was going to be because he was Captain America. Someone was going to target her as a way of getting to him. If something happened to her then, Steve knew that he'd fall into a rage and a depression that no one would be able to help him out of. No one but Aly herself.
"I can't lose you. That's all," he said, his voice soft. Steve looked up at her with a sheepish look on his face. "I love you, Alyssa."
Aly smiled a little and brushed her fingers on his cheek. "I love you too, Steve. Now do me a favor. Go home and get some rest," she said with a little nod. "You can come get me in the morning."
Steve let out a heavy sigh before nodding in agreement. He knew that there was no way that he'd ever get her to walk out on him so he knew better than to keep trying. She was going to be a part of his life for as long as he could protect her. While he felt emotionally and mentally exhausted, Steve knew that when he left he wasn't going to get much sleep. He didn't feel like he needed much sleep these days anyway. He leaned in and carefully kissed her forehead.
"Get some rest and try to eat something. Please," Steve said with a little nod. Since he wouldn't be there to keep an eye on Aly, he was going to have to hope that she'd do as he asked without him being there to prompt her to do it. "For me."
Aly nodded with a little. She knew that she didn't have a choice in that matter. It wasn't because of Steve though. She knew that the hospital wouldn't let her go until she ate something and kept it down. While she didn't want to eat, once Steve left, Aly knew that she'd order something small to eat. If not for her, then for the baby. They might have her on an IV but that wasn't going to be enough. She watched as Steve got his jacket, smiling as he leaned in for one last kiss before leaving the room. Aly let out a sigh, turning on the TV before calling for her nurse.