Steve drives through the narrow streets of London. It took us four days to get here, four long days of hiding undercover, sleeping in the same clothes, and uncomfortably being pinned together in the car as we drive. Steve did most of the driving, but sometimes he let James drive, and since they barely slept it worked out perfectly. So far no one had found us, and that was all thanks to Natasha. It was her SUV Steve was driving and with the technology that was in her car she'd managed to track anyone who might be after us. Her car had everything. Weapons, computers, even back up S.H.E.I.L.D clothes, but I didn't want to wear them. I felt like I'd be lying if I wore it... especially since I was an ex Hydra member not a S.H.E.I.L.D member. I didn't want to disgrace the great people of S.H.E.I.L.D or their uniform. James sits in the passenger seat, and I sit in the back next to the window, Sam is on the other side of me. Natasha sits in the back behind me with her computer on her lap. No one had said much over the past four days, but I was kind of thankful for the silence. It gave me time to think, and after my talk with Brock I needed all the time I could get. He had attacked me with words that broke me like I was made of the most fragile of glass. Whenever I closed my eyes I could hear his words on a constant loop in my head, teasing and torturing me. I breathe a deep breath before laying my head back against the seat I'm sitting in. I close my eyes in an attempt to sooth my inner turmoil. I'd been tired, but I think it was mainly because I hadn't been doing anything. My eyes are only closed for a few minutes, but its long enough for me to drift in and out of consciousness, and after less than a minute I feel my head falling to the side. My head lands on Sam's shoulder it isn't there long, after a few seconds I open my eyes and give him a groggy apology.

"Sorry."

I whisper as he gives me a small smile.

"It's alright."

I nod looking away from him, my eyes once again watching the passing buildings of London. My father loved London because it was always raining. He found the clouds comforting, but thankfully it was a sunny day. I hated how everything seemed to remind me of my past, and I couldn't help but wonder if James had the same problem. Not that he'd told me anything about his memories lately. We haven't spoken since the call with Brock, but occasional I would catch his eyes on me in the rear view mirror. He looked like he wanted to speak to me, but he couldn't... now wasn't the time for us to speak about our personal matters. I glance over my shoulder to look at Natasha who is typing away on her lap top. I've never seen someone type so fast in my life, and before I can stop myself I speak.

"You type so fast."

I whisper in fascination. She glances up from her keyboard, smiling.

"I'm good at research..."

She gives a light laugh as she studies me.

"... What are you good at Pierce?"

She asks me this, her smile still on her face. I shrug my shoulders, I have no idea what I'm good at... well other than hurting people. I used to be great at torturing everything I was told to. So instead of announcing that I was a brat who used to spend my days torturing innocent people. I decide to tell her the truth... that I have no idea what I'm good at.

"I don't know."

Sam laughs from next to me.

"I think you're pretty good at keeping robo cop in line."

I give him a small smile, and while I can't see James' face, I can feel his unamused expression on us. He and Sam hadn't exactly made any progress in our days in the car. James would glare at him whenever he tried to talk to him, or whenever he made a joke. I turn away from Natasha moving my body back to sit forward. When I do my eyes lock on James' as he watches me in the rear view window. His gaze is serious, and cold. I know it's because of Sam's comment. I give him a small smile and mouth wordlessly.

'love you.'

His gaze softens, happiness in them. He knows I love him, but maybe after a few days of silence, and unspoken tension he needed to be reminded.

"Steve the safe house is on the right, at the next light."

Natasha shouts up to Steve, he doesn't really verbally respond. He merely grunts as the car does what he makes it. I don't know where we are going, and while not knowing made me a bit anxious, I was happy to be in the dark. I knew I could trust these people, and I felt safe. I look out the window to my left I see that Steve has us going down an alley way. It's a narrow alley way, hidden in plain sight of every one. I guess it made more sense to hide where everyone can see you, than to hide in the middle of nowhere like everyone would expect you to. Steve stops the car, and no one says a thing for several minutes until Steve turns to face everyone.

"Is this it Natasha?"

He asks the red head who's sitting behind me, she must nod in response because he gives her a small victorious smile.

"This place is 100 percent safe, and if it turns out not to be, I have enough ammo to make sure we are."

Everyone gets out of the car within minutes, Natasha hands me some bags to carry, they aren't heavy and I'm more than happy to help. Natasha's safe house had a secret doorway, one that was hidden in the narrow confines of the alleyway. To anyone else it would look like a simple shadow, not a door, but as I've come to learn there was more to this world than what meets the eye. There's a large set of stairs that we have to travel up, dozens of creaky stairs all leading up to the little home Natasha called hers. She opens the front door and crosses the threshold before breathing a deep sigh of relief, I'm sure she's happy to be home. I look around in awe it's a pretty big apartment for one person. It's an open floor concept, with cherry wood stained floor boards. When we've all entered her home she turns to face us.

"There's four bedrooms. Assuming Emilia and Bucky don't mind sleeping in the same room, that works out perfectly for all of us."

She looks at me, her expression questioning whether or not I want to be with him. Which I do... I nod, giving her a smile similar to the one I gave her in the car.

"I don't mind."

I whisper glancing at the ground. I don't know why I felt so nervous, perhaps admitting I had feelings for James in front of everyone else made me feel a bit on edge. She looks from me to the boys.

"Make yourself at home. I'm going to make sure that everything is locked and secure. You guys can settle into your rooms."

Her eyes scan the room as if she's giving orders. I nod and look at the others, who also seem to comply with what she said. Steve and Sam pick their rooms leaving James and I the only room left that wasn't filled with Natasha's things. I walk in to the room and study my surroundings, the room is a descent size. The room has a dresser and a few chairs to sit in, it's a nice room, it looks a bit like the room I'd had back when I was living in D.C. The bed is full sized, dressed with a black comforter, and plush pillows. It looks too good to be true, but I'm so tired that a pile of wood would've looked comfortable to me. He closes the door, shutting us in as I breathe in a deep breath, taking a seat. I'm sore from sitting in a car for the last four days. We only stopped when it was necessary, and as a result my body was stiff and ached. I run my hands through my long brown hair, James's eyes lock on mine when I glance up. It felt like we haven't spoken in years... it almost felt like we were strangers. The last time we'd really spoken it was in front of my ex boyfriend after he'd mentioned our past sexual escapades.

"You look like hell."

He whispers as I laugh.

"Thanks, because that's what every girl wants to hear."

He doesn't laugh, instead he seems a bit colder. His eyes calculating my every move. I stand up from the bed and give him a concerned look.

"James? Are you okay?"

I ask with my arms folded across my chest. His eyes drift up and down my body as if I'm fragile... like I'm about to break, but I felt fine... other than the fact that I'm tired. I walk over to him and place my hands on his face. I can tell he's worried about me, but it's him I should worry about. He's been through way more than me... he needs help, he still had so much more to learn about himself. And while we haven't had a lot of time to learn a lot about him, he'd seemed to waste all his spare time worrying about me.

"I'm fine. I just need a nap."

He breathes a deep breath, unhappy with my answer.

"Take one then. You look like you're seconds away from passing out."

He says this glancing down at me, his eyes a bit warmer than before, just like they'd been when we were in the car minutes ago. I grin rubbing the pads of my thumbs across his face.

"Listen... I love you for caring, and even though I want to sleep, I need a moment to unwind."

He nods.

"I just worry about you. I just got you back, and now Hydra's trying their hardest to take you away from me. I don't want to go through that again Emilia, I don't want to loose you again. I've never loved a girl like this, and the idea of loosing that love again... it haunts me."

I feel a lump in my throat start to form as I watch his face change. He goes from cold and calculating to helpless within seconds. The bottom of his lip trembles as he tries not to cry. I lean up on my tip toes, pressing my lips to his. He kisses me back, as a tear escapes his eye. He moves his hands through my hair as he deepens the kiss.

"I'm not going anywhere."

I whisper breathlessly when his lips move from mine. Our chests heave in unison as we try to regain regular breathing. He rests his forehead against mine.

"You better not... There will be hell to pay if someone takes you from me, and Brock better watch his back."

James didn't have to worry about Brock. James was everything I wanted in this world... everything Brock wasn't. I smile up at him, but before I can say a word someone knocks on the door.

"Emilia? I have some clothes for you to change into."

Natasha's voice states through the door before she opens it. Her eyes study how close James and I are. She seems to be mentally noting the way his hands cup my face. She smiles.

"I didn't mean to intrude."

I nod as he moves his hands from me. He moves from me walking out of the room, leaving Natasha and I alone.

"Thank you Natasha... for the clothes, and for letting us stay here."

She nods as she walks up to me, handing me the clothes.

"You're welcome... I wanted to ask you something."

I take the clothes from her with a small smile. I didn't mind her asking me questions, I have nothing to hide from them.

"You can ask me anything."

I whisper as her smile grows.

"How much do you remember? Of Hydra I mean. It can really work to our advantage to have someone on our side who used to be one of the top members of Hydra."

She was right. I could help, even without the files, I could still help them all out.

"I remember some stuff... Everyday that passes I remember a bit more, but I could tell you all what I know."

I could and I would. I'm willing to do anything to help these guys, anything to take down Hydra. I look from her to the clothes in my hands. She brought me a black satin nightdress, a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"We'll get more clothes tomorrow, but today we're going to just focus on taking an easy."

We needed to take a step back and re evaluate everything. We were all tense from the drive.

"Just let me know what you need and when you need it. I really do want to help."

I whisper it keeping my eyes on the pretty stitching of the nightdress. I was truly thankful for Natasha, and everyone else. With them we had a better chance at doing what needs to be done.

"Slow down there tiger, before you can do any of that you need to rest."

I hear James before I see him. I glance up and see him standing behind Natasha in the doorway. He looks at me through narrowed eyes, I breathe a deep breath.

"Yes sir, Sergeant Barnes sir."

I say this playfully, even receiving a chuckle from Natasha.

"I thought you told him what to do."

She states turning to the side so she can see the both of us. Her eyes dart between the two of us with amusement in her eyes. I shrug my shoulders.

"Sometimes I let him tell me what to do."

Her smile widen as she glances over at me.

"Well I think that's my signal to leave..."

She smirks at me before looking back at him.

"... Don't be too loud, these walls are paper thin."

She walks away, patting James' metal arm as she passes him. I feel my face redden at her words. I tuck some of my hair behind my ear as he walks in the room shutting the door behind him. He looks at the clothes in my hands, his eyebrows raising when he sees the black satin nightdress. I ignore the traces of lust in his eyes while I turn from him putting the jeans and shirt on the chair next to me. I can feel his eyes on me, studying me as if I'm prey and he is a predator.

"The guys asked me if we can trust you. I told them you're more trustworthy than I am."

He says this from behind me, he's closer than I thought he was, his breath on my neck. He wraps his hands around my waist, causing my eyes to flutter closed. It had felt like such a long time since he'd last touched me.

"You can't blame them for being weary of me. I'm not exactly innocent."

He chuckles darkly in my ear, his lips tracing my ear lobe.

"Oh I know you aren't innocent."

I bite down on the bottom of my lip as his lips trace over my neck. His hands tighten around my waist.

"James..."

I whimper.

"...Four seconds ago you told me I needed to rest, and now you're doing this."

He chuckles once more.

"You're right..."

He states as he moves his hands from my waist he turns me to face him.

"... You're right, but seriously they were worried about you not being as good as you claim to be."

I shrug my shoulders.

"It doesn't matter what they think. It only thing that matters is if you believe in me."

He puts his hands in mine and grins.

"Well that's one thing you'll never have to worry about Emilia. I'll always believe in you..."
He pauses lifting my right hand putting it to his lips.

"...Always."