When they returned home, the mood at the Tower remained somber for several days as they all tried to adjust to life outside of their little cocoon in Rhode Island. Evaline went back to training, as well as helping the search for Luke at S.H.I.E.L.D, and was under the assumption that efforts had doubled to begin figuring out the rest of her trigger words. Knowing which ones were Bucky's, and knowing their relevancy to his life, they tried to go about that in the same vein, but it was difficult. Tony joked once more about breaking out the dictionary and going through it, word by word; even Strange tried to tap into his powers and see if he could somehow foresee the words, but he was blocked by some unknown higher being.

Steve had taken to sleeping with Evaline in her bed, holding onto her tightly when she woke in the middle of nightmares of her murdering members of her family and team after someone used the trigger words on her. They had been home for almost a week, and the nightmares were still occurring daily, sometimes multiple times in one night, with no appearances of slowing down or lessening in power.

After a particularly frightening one where not only Evaline, but also Wanda and Tony, were somehow triggered before they wiped out all of their other teammates in a massive battle, Steve was trying to talk Evaline down as she paced the room.

"It was just a dream," Steve said to her gently, patiently, although she could see that bags were starting to develop under his eyes just like they had already cemented under her own. "It's not real."

Sighing, Evaline pulled a hand through her hair as she said, "I know, but it's hard to not constantly think that there'll be another unnamed assailant to trigger me, or another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent connected to me kidnapped, or another mysterious note to pop up, or…"

Steve's voice was low, and faintly suspicious as he asked, "Another note? Was there a first note?"

The slip-up surprised Evaline as much as it did Steve, that her mind spasmed and failed to come up with an adequate excuse to smooth over the omission. Instead, she simply gaped at him, as his face turned from confusion into anger, an emotion that had been such a rarity when directed at her since she had come back that she lost all semblance of proper thought.

His voice tense, he asked, "What note are you talking about?"

Knowing there was no way she would be able to lie at this point, Evaline turned and grabbed the note from where she had stashed it in her desk, handing it over to Steve by way of explanation. She waited with her palms kneading into her sides as Steve read over the note, then simply stared at it, obviously trying to process the words, message, and ramifications.

Finally, still clenching the note, he looked up at her with a blank expression and asked, "When did you get this?"

"When we went to look for Luke at that abandoned HYDRA base," she answered, the honesty providing her a bit of relief. Both of Steve's eyebrows lifted into the middle of his forehead, and she clarified, "It was by the DNA sample we got. I pocketed it before anybody else saw it."

Steve did not look relieved by the insinuation that Evaline had hidden it from everybody. He shook his head in disappointment instead and asked tightly, "Why would you hide this from us? And how are we supposed to help you if you're not being honest with us?"

Evaline flinched, then cut back, "I didn't necessarily lie to you, I - "

"Oh, come on, Evaline," Steve said with a derisive laugh, both the noise and the sound of her full name leaving his lips making her flinch again. "You lied by omission, you and I both know it's damn near the same thing."

Steve's anger quickly enflamed Evaline's own as she snapped back, "Well, what the hell was I supposed to do? Put Luke's life in the crosshairs just to get some extra emotional support? We're already looking for Luke and we're already trying to figure out what the Mystery Man wants from us. You all hid me away to protect me from him already. What would have telling you about the note really changed, besides knowing we were still presumably looking for a live Luke rather than a corpse?"

By the way Steve hesitated and pressed his lips together, Evaline knew he was at a loss for what, strategically, would have changed with this information. He shook his head once and said, "It doesn't matter, Evaline. We're in a relationship, and you know this family is a team. We do things as a team - whether it have been me and you, or me and you and all the rest of us. We would have figured out what to do about Luke, if you had bothered to share this with us - "

"How?" she quickly interrupted, her temper now spiked. "How would you have, with me sharing this note with you all? We haven't been able to find anything, and instead of continuing to look, you all whisked me away to play House in Rhode Island because somehow that was more important - "

"Yes, God forbid we try to keep you safe, like I've said a million times!" Steve shouted, even going so far as to throw his hands up into the air in exasperation. "Luke's not my priority, you are!"

"Well, he should be!" she shouted back, tears crawling to the edges of her eyes now as the sleepless nights finally took control of her emotions. "He was my best friend, and - "

Letting out another dark laugh, Steve exclaimed, "He was your best friend in a life that wasn't even real! I wish you'd just move on from that already!"

As the words registered in Evaline's mind, they brought her anger to a stuttering halt as she realized one of her biggest worries was confirmed: that Steve still held so much anger about the other life that she had lived, beyond her own control, even when he promised that it did not matter so long as they moved forward together.

A few tears slid down her cheeks despite her best attempts to keep them contained, and her anger evened out, lowering her tone of voice as she said thickly, "I know you don't think it was real, but it was to me - and that's all that should matter. I have my old, or new memories, or whatever the hell, but I have memories of that life still - and Luke is such a huge part of that. I know he's not the same as that Luke, but I can't separate the two."

While a twist of irritation shot across his features, Steve opened his mouth as if to say something else, but Evaline cut him off, saying, "No. This is exactly what I was worried about beyond the Mystery Man's threat to harm Luke if he found out, that you would not see the threat against Luke but the threat against me. You are too busy thinking that I need to be protected, that you can't see that what I need, more than anything, is to be supported so I can, as you so delicately put it, 'move on from that already'. I thought you, of all people, would understand the torture I'm going through after what you went through with your two lives, and especially what you went through with Bucky. But I guess that's just expecting too damn much from you."

Not wanting to hear whatever defense or argument came out of his mouth next, Evaline simply turned on her heel and stalked down the hallway to her room, instantly slamming the door behind her and crawling into bed as she let the tears flow. She left the door purposefully unlocked, expecting that Steve would eventually cool down, then come in and apologize for his fury.

To her surprise, and her heartbreak, he never showed.

—

When Evaline awoke the next morning, she rolled over, expecting to feel the solid mass of Steve next to her as she had most mornings lately. However, when she was met with just the other cold side of her bed, she was reminded of their fight the night before and the fact that he had never come to find her after.

As she grabbed her phone, feeling her stomach plummet as she saw the lack of missed calls and texts from Steve, she noticed that she had slept through much of the morning, and it was a Thursday, meaning at least Steve, along with Natasha and Sam, would be teaching classes at S.H.I.E.L.D for the day.

Still, she cautiously stepped out of her bed and headed to the door, planning a presumptive peak out the hallway for any living souls that may be with her in the Tower still. However, the sit rep was completed for her by a note that Wanda had slipped under her door with a quick message.

Hey, Ev -

Could tell based on Steve's attitude and your absence that something happened last night. Text or call if you need to chat; Fury's got Vision, Rhodey, and I running some trainings today but I'll make myself free if need be.

Love you. - W

Evaline held the note between her fingers, thinking of calling her witchy friend, but she decided against it, as she couldn't bear to have another fight like the one with Steve. Instead, her mind sparking with an idea, she texted Marley, as she was the only one besides Steve now who knew the presence of the note.

Hey, you down for some coffee and pastries this morning?

In the time it took for Evaline to turn to her bathroom to take a shower and attempt to wipe away all the bad feelings from her fight, Marley had texted her back.

Getting a late start? ;) I can meet you there in twenty.

Not able to think of a worded response that would seem genuine without revealing her dark mood, Evaline just responded with a simple thumbs up Emoji before putting on a quick and easy outfit and throwing her hair into a messy braid as she walked out the door.

When she arrived at the coffee house, Marley was somehow already waiting for her at what had become their relatively regular table by the window. She grinned and waved when she saw Evaline, but seemed to sober up a little bit as she saw she wasn't greeting her back as effusively.

Still, when Evaline reached her, she wrapped up the younger agent in a hug, saying, "Hi, Mar. God, it feels like it's been forever since I've seen you."

"Well, yeah, it usually feels that way when you go from seeing somebody every day for a prolonged period of time and then skip a few days," Marley cracked with a lopsided smile, taking a seat at the table as she slid one of the coffee cups in front of her across to where Evaline plopped down. "Even seeing Gabe's face on Skype nowadays makes me count how long it's been since we've gone without seeing each other."

"I'm sorry to have pulled you away from Gabe so quickly. I didn't even think about what returning here would mean for you," Evaline said as she grimaced.

Marley shrugged with a hopeless grin, saying, "Gabe is probably going to be redeployed soon anyway. Even Stark and Fury can only pull so many strings as far as the Marines are concerned."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't let the distance separate you all," Evaline said warmly, although she heard the bitterness that dipped into her voice as her mind, expectedly, went to her fight with Steve.

Marley, her lips at the edge of her coffee cup, gave a half smile as she said, "Ah, there we go. I was wondering what was up, and I've got my answer: something happened with Steve."

Wincing, Evaline leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "Is it that obvious?"

"You were obvious that something was wrong with the first text you sent me, but I was having a little difficulty pinpointing exactly what it was when you walked in the door," Marley admitted, nodding her head in affirmation. "I wasn't sure if you just wanted to talk to me about certain… confidential matters, or if you were missing your family a little harder today, or if you wanted a break from the Tower or what. But now I see: trouble in paradise. What's going on?"

With a sigh, Evaline said, "I finally told Steve about the note from the Mystery Man. We had a huge fight about it and left things… less than kosher."

Grimacing, Marley took another sip of her coffee. "That bad, huh?"

"He absolutely exploded," Evaline sighed, shaking her head still in disbelief as the memory of Steve's furious expression rose in her mind again. "At first he was mad that I kept the secret from him, but then he kept going off on his stupid 'how can I protect you' bit again rather than focusing on the fact that Luke still needs saving."

After swallowing another sip of her coffee, Marley said, "Girl, you don't need any more protection unless we start wrapping you up in bubblewrap. You're right to be worried about Luke, and Steve should be, too."

"Right?!" Evaline said, sobering as she got to the second part of the argument. "Then, we got to real crux of it: he mentioned that my previous life - the life I lived when they put me into my coma - wasn't real. That my relationship with Luke wasn't real."

Her eyebrows shooting up, Marley let out a slow exhale of surprise. "Wow. That seems a little… aggressive, even for Captain Rogers."

"I know. I've never seen such fury on Steve's face directed toward me before," Evaline said, the pressure on her releasing as she vented. "I know that he wishes I would just be 100% his girl he knew before the accident, but I'm not ever going to be her, and I thought we had gotten past that. But he just totally negated my feelings and that life."

Marley pressed her lips together, saying, "I don't mean to stir the shit pot, as Gabe would say, but if he's not going to support you, and keep drudging up this bitterness instead… what's the point?"

The seriousness of the question brought Evaline to a halt as her thoughts seemed to all freeze for a moment at the implication of Marley's question. She knew, without a doubt, that she loved Steve and he loved her, but there was a small doubt beginning to bloom in her mind that their relationship may not be the healthiest for either of them, and that Steve was being a little too controlling and a little too not understanding.

Just as her thoughts were beginning to tangle as one side of her subconscious argued with the other about her relationship with Steve, she was brought back to the real world by Marley waving a hand in front of her face and saying, "Eva! Earth to Evaline!"

"Sorry," Evaline said, shaking her head to clear it. "Just… thinking about what you said."

Marley's eyebrows furrowed in concern, but she said, "Okay. Well, I just needed you to come back to Earth because the barista's calling your name."

"What?" Evaline asked in confusion, turning to see one of the baristas was beckoning to her with one hand, holding a bag in the other. "But I didn't even order anything."

"Maybe she saw how sad you looked when you came in and is giving you a muffin on the house?" Marley suggested, taking another unbothered sip of her coffee before nudging her head toward the bar. "Worst thing she's going to do is ask you to deliver the pastry. Go see what she wants."

Confused, Evaline stood from the table and walked to where the orders were doled out, saying, "Hi, sorry. I didn't order anything, so I wasn't paying attention."

"I think an admirer wanted you to have it. He left you a little note on the front, said to tell you that you look like you needed a pick me up today," the barista gushed, winking at her as she handed over the bag. "Enjoy!"

Evaline quickly glanced around the cafe as she started to turn away from the bar, but couldn't find anyone obviously watching her as she opened up the note. As she did, however, her footsteps came to a stop as her stomach dropped.

The Mystery Man's scrawl was as easily identifiable as her own handwriting at this point.

Turning her back to where Marley was waiting for her, Evaline unfolded the note and read the message within, her hands shaking as she gripped the edges of the paper.

Sweet Evaline:

I told you not to tell anyone, and you went and blabbed to the Captain and some plebeian. I'll give you one more chance to save Luke's life. Come alone, tell no one (and I mean it this time!), or Luke dies.

Enjoy the muffin.

Evaline looked down at the note, and at the accompanying picture of a trussed up Luke, before she crumpled it and slipped it into her jacket pocket. She slowly lifted up her head, taking stock of who else was in the bakery with her again, but she still didn't see anybody who looked suspicious, or was watching her read the note.

For several moments, she tried to organize her mind to make the decision she knew, realistically, that she already had. Although her wounds were still fresh from the fight with Steve, she knew that the Mystery Man was no longer just playing with Luke's life - he was legitimately threatening it. And she didn't have time to mess around.

So, clutching the pastry bag in one hand, she turned back to where Marley was waiting for her, eyeing her curiously.

"Hey, Mar. I'm sorry to bail after I invited you out, but they're calling us back for a mission, and I've got to get back to the Tower and grab our bags," Evaline said, grabbing her phone from the table as she pretended to text somebody, but instead typed a note on her phone before shutting it off. "I'm going to head out the back though, because it looks like some Avengers groupies are circling around out front, and I don't feel like dealing with anything related to Steve for the next twenty minutes until I get back to the Tower."

"That's fair," Marley said with an understanding smile as she stood up from the booth they had been sharing. "I'll probably head out that way anyway, see if I can disperse them for you once you make it around the front."

"I appreciate you," Evaline said honestly, before slipping her phone into the pastry bag and dropping it purposefully underneath the table. Hoping she wasn't lying, she promised Marley, "I'll see you soon."

Marley squeezed her hands and gave her a grin, saying, "You let me know if you need another out tonight if things don't work out. I'll always be here for you; boys are temporary. Even Steve."

Evaline laughed as convincingly as she could before turning back to the register, waiting patiently for her turn before the barista called her up with a friendly smile. "Back for more coffee, Evaline?"

"Actually," she said, leaning close to the barista who watched her with an open but confused expression, "there's a little fan group of Captain America's out front that was a little too zealous and jealous when I walked in. You mind if I sneak out the back?"

Curiosity winning over, the barista's eyes slipped over Evaline's shoulder before she obviously caught sight of some random girl in the background, because she gave her a conspiratorial grimace and said, "Yeah, girl, I got you."

Thanking what lucky stars she had left that the barista was one of the regulars, Evaline moved through the small, waist-high door the barista opened for her to permit entrance to the back. As she moved through the break room, she grabbed a random hoodie that smelled faintly like weed as she slipped it on, and pulled a baseball cap off of one of the hooks. She slipped both on, trading her jacket for the hoodie as she tucked her long hair into the cap. She moved out into the alley behind the bakery, keeping her head low so the security cameras that were inevitably watching her couldn't pick up her facial features.

Standing on the back dock of the bakery, Evaline took one moment to take a deep breath and feel the first brisk fall breeze of the season whipping at her clothes, taking the last calm moment to transform herself into what she needed to become: a hardened agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

When she felt she had shed the identities of the girlfriend of Steve Rogers, and the daughter of Genevieve Kaeser, and the aunt of Henry and Daria, Agent Kaeser turned to walk down the busy New York City street by herself, leaving her family, home, and self behind.