Brooklyn Bridge

Steve managed to get to the roof the next few nights but found no message awaiting him. He was starting to feel frantic. This wasn't how their lives were supposed to go. They'd found a new start in DC, started a life together, and now they were separated over who knew how many miles. He had no idea how to find her. Nina hadn't found anything out about Aspen, but she had successfully stalled the machine a little longer by breaking off a vital piece when Strucker wasn't working on the machine.

"I can't do much more. Sometimes I think he already suspects me," she told Steve when she visited him in the dungeons.

"Right now you're our best hope, so don't endanger yourself more than you have to," Steve told her. "I could help if you got the serum working again. Strucker isn't a match for me then."

"Not yet. It's too dangerous," Nina had said.

He wasn't sure the machine was the only thing she was stalling, but right now she was the only one helping him, so he would have to trust her. He tried to convince himself that he didn't need the serum to be useful, but somehow sitting locked in his cell all he could think of was being rejected by the Army over and over and getting pushed down by bullies. Even if others had found him inadequate, he'd never really thought of himself that way. Now he felt useless. It wasn't a feeling he liked and he couldn't seem to convince himself that he could manage without the serum for a little longer. He knew Aspen would tell him that he was strong serum or no serum, but she wasn't here.

"Seems your friend is causing quite the stir over in the Bavarian Alps." A voice startled Steve out of his thoughts. He hadn't even heard Strucker enter the room. He stood, watching Strucker cautiously.

"My friend?" he asked, heart thumping loudly in his chest.

"Yes, the red-headed girl. Who knew she'd be so good at invading castles?"

"What do you mean?" Steve knew Strucker was baiting him, but he needed to know if Aspen was all right. What was she doing in a castle in the Bavarian Alps?

Strucker smiled, clasping his hands behind his back. "Rescuing Doctor Erskine," he said. "With Peggy Carter."

Steve's heart skipped a beat. "She's with Peggy?"

"Yes. Strange turn of events, but she must have been sent there for a reason."

"What reason?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Let's just hope she doesn't change anything. That would be a pity."

Steve ground his teeth in frustration. "I need to get in contact with her," he implored.

"Oh, I think you've been trying," Strucker said, a smug smile forming on his lips. "You think I don't have eyes everywhere? I know that Nina has been helping you. You don't think I haven't figured out who she is by now? Please, Captain. Give me more credit that than." A sickening feeling had formed in the pit of Steve's stomach. "Don't worry. I'll let her run her usefulness first."

"If you know where Aspen is then bring her here!" Steve shouted.

"She's already gone," Strucker said simply. "They got away, or don't you know how the story goes?" He frowned. "Seems she didn't change anything after all. Pity. That might have made for an interesting future. Schmidt must have been in a rage to find his prisoner gone."

"Schmidt?" Steve said. "Red Skull?"

"Yes, didn't I mention it was his castle?"

"Where is she now?" Steve gripped the bars of the cell, but Strucker was already turning away.

"I don't know," Strucker said. "Let's just hope she got your message."

…

The ground was moving under Aspen. She opened her eyes, blinking in the darkness. The rumbling of an engine was all she could hear. She sat up and found herself in Howard Stark's plane. Peggy was sitting across from her with Doctor Erskine on her left. Both looked unharmed. Greta was sitting huddled in the back of the plane, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"What happened?" Aspen asked, trying to remember back to the castle. The last thing she remembered was Red Skull shoving her out of the way.

"Your friend put up quite the fight," Erskine said, looking over at Peggy. "She saved my life."

"Schmidt had the doctor by the throat and I couldn't get a clear shot, so I did the only think I could think of. I punched him in the face."

"You punched Schmidt in the face?" Aspen repeated.

"Yes, well, his skin was still sensitive," Peggy said modestly. "He didn't take that well. He started screaming like his skin was on fire. I woke up Greta, and we dragged you up to the roof. Howard was waiting there. We're on route to New York right now. We thought it would be safer to get Doctor Erskine off continent for awhile. There's an organization there that would like to help him turn the serum into a successful sample to be used for good and to fight Schmidt."

"I'm sorry I was unconscious at the end," Aspen said, feeling ashamed. "I could have gotten us all killed."

"It was you who saved us with your abilities. You shouldn't doubt yourself. Now get some sleep. We have a long flight ahead of us."

Aspen nodded, lying back down across the seats and letting exhaustion overtake her. She felt a sense of relief that the mission had been a success, but she still didn't know where Steve was or how to get home. A wave of homesickness washed over her. They were headed back to New York, but this New York wasn't home anymore. She closed her eyes and pretended for a moment that she was flying back to DC and that Steve would be waiting there for her.

…

The plane landed in New York, and Steve wasn't there. Peggy and Howard checked in at the headquarters that would be working with Doctor Erskine if he decided to accept the offer. Greta was taken care of as well, offered a position as a secretary and a new life. Aspen changed back into her 1940s clothes, clasped the cuff back on her wrist, and told Peggy she was going to take a walk. Now she found herself in Brooklyn, wandering familiar streets that she'd walked with Steve when he'd reminisced about growing up there.

Brooklyn Bridge rose up ahead, and Aspen found herself walking along the sidewalk past the traffic. She stopped on the middle, gazing up at the spider webs of cables that rose up toward the sky above her. She wasn't aware of time passing as she leaned her elbows on the railing and looked out over the East River.

"Are you all right?" a soft voice asked, startling Aspen enough to make her jump. She whirled around to see a boy standing there looking at her with worried eyes a shade of familiar blue. Aspen could only stare as Steve Rogers walked toward her. She'd seen pictures, of course, but seeing pre-serum Steve in person… He was small and she could see his cheekbones much more distinctly but there was a delicacy to his face that made him beautiful. His long lashes brushed pale cheeks, and his blonde hair was neatly combed to the side. "Miss?" He was looking at her inquiringly, the same height as her she now realized as he stood in front of her.

"Oh, yes, thank you," she said, finally finding her voice. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I didn't mean to bother you," Steve said, hesitance in his eyes.

"No, you didn't. I could use some company," she said. She wanted to drink him in, take in every feature on the familiar face, but she didn't want to frighten him away. "I'm Aspen," she introduced herself, holding out a hand. Steve took hers, and the skin of his palm was smooth and soft. Aspen didn't want to let go, but she forced herself to when the handshake was over.

"Steve," he said as if she didn't already know.

"I'm glad you came along, Steve," Aspen said. "I was feeling a bit lonely and lost, to be honest."

"Anything I can help with?" he asked.

"I've lost someone who means a great deal to me," she started. "He's not dead," she added at the look on Steve's face. "At least I really hope not. We got separated, and I don't know how to find him."

"Separated in New York?" he asked.

"No, not New York. I don't know where exactly. I know that sounds odd. Let's just say it's been a crazy few days."

"Well, can you call him?" Steve asked.

"Call…?" Aspen's hand went to her pocket where her cell phone lay. There hadn't been a strong enough signal for her to send any sort of message.

"There's a payphone down the street," he continued.

"Oh, of course. I could try that but I'm not sure he's near a phone. "

"Where did you last see him? Maybe he's still there looking for you," Steve suggested.

She had been in Germany. They'd been in that underground compound with that damned time machine. What if he was still there? What if the machine was still there? That could be her way home. She had no way of knowing though and a mistake could be costly. They were running out of time – somehow she knew this above all.

"You might be right," Aspen said, smiling.

"Well, wherever he is, I'm sure he's looking for you. A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be alone." He flushed at his own words, looking down at his hands. Aspen noticed he was holding something gold. He twisted it nervously in his fingers.

"Is that an engagement ring?" she asked when she got a quick glimpse of the object.

"Oh, not mine. Not for anyone. It was my mother's," Steve said hastily. "I-I lost her awhile back when I was young. I've kept it all these years because it's all I have left of her, but I'm having trouble making ends meet. I was headed to the jeweler to try to sell it." He looked ashamed. Aspen felt a rush of sympathy. She wanted to pull him into her arms and hold him close, but she forced herself to keep her distance.

"I'm sorry about your mom. I lost my dad very recently. It was incredibly difficult, and I didn't even know him that well."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said. "It's never easy."

"Hey, look. You should hold onto that ring." Aspen dug out her wallet and pulled out four hundred dollar bills. Emergency cash for their original mission. It was useless to her now unless she ended up living here the rest of her life. She handed it over to him.

His eyes widened. "I can't take that!" he said, backing away from the money like it was poisonous.

"Steve, some day you're going to meet a very special girl, and you might want to have a ring handy. I don't need this money. I've got a good job, and I want to do a good deed. Please take it. Share it with your neighbors if it's too much. Just let me do this one small kindness."

He tried to protest, but she pushed the money into his hand. "Trust me," she said with a smile. "She'll be worth it."

She wanted to stay forever with this Steve even though he wasn't yet her Steve, but she forced herself to walk away. As she walked, something in her pocket beeped and she pulled out her phone with a frown. Her heart stopped as she read the message that had finally, miraculously, arrived.

I'm in Germany at Strucker's castle. He's working on fixing his time machine. It can only send people back in time, so future Strucker is stuck here until he fixes it. I don't know where you are, but get to Germany as quickly as you can. I don't know exactly where I am, but maybe you can track my phone signal. Please be safe.

The message had been sent two days before. Aspen stared at it a second longer before hurriedly tracking the signal. If she couldn't track the signal, she could track the phone itself. She watched with bated breath as her phone traced his. Finally it beeped and showed an exact coordinate. Aspen recorded it mentally and hurried back to Peggy and Howard.

…

"I know where he is!" she exclaimed the second Peggy was in sight. She turned to look at Aspen, hope in her eyes. "I need to get to these coordinates back in Germany as soon as possible," she said, turning imploring eyes on Howard. He took the phone, gazing down at it curiously.

"Is this some sort of wireless radio?" he asked.

"Never mind that, just look at the coordinates," Aspen said.

"As soon as I'm fueled up, we can go," he said. "I can tell this is an emergency."

"It is. Thank you so much." She took back the phone, Howard watching it until it disappeared into her pocket. Always the inventor.

"I'm coming too," Peggy said.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I want to see this through to the end," she said.

"Thank you. Both of you," Aspen said. "It's time I go home."

…

Across the ocean in a brick casket, another phone lighted up, a message written across the screen. The brick was removed, and a hand reached in to pull out the phone. The woman read the two-word message and pocketed the phone, hurrying down to the recipient. The two words read: I'm coming.