~:~

Weeks later….

It was a...typical morning. Sam and I went on a run together. After we made our first lap, I slowed down to take a break.

As I took a sip from my water, a wave of uneasiness came over me.

"You tired already?" Sam joked. "You're getting out of shape."

I smiled and shook my head. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

He waived and took off.

The uneasy feeling came over me again as I heard a voice. One I never wanted to hear again.

"Long time no see, Jarvis."

My eyes widened. Grant….

I turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"Work. How are you?"

My eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"Can't a guy visit an old friend?" he asked, attempting to place a hand on my shoulder.

"You know why you can't." I swatted his hand away. "Now, I'm not going to ask you again: What do you want?"

"I'm just making sure you haven't done anything stupid."

"And why would I do that?"

He smirked. "I'm pretty sure you'd want Marcos to go back to Westchester in one piece, now would you?"

"I told you to stay away from him," I growled. "That was the deal."

"Oh, I know. And I've kept that part. Now, how about you?"

"I kept my mouth shut. I haven't led them straight to you." I poked my finger into his chest, punctuating the next four words. "I. HAVE. KEPT. THE. DEAL."

He grabbed my hand, placing a kiss to the back. I pulled it from his grasp and slapped him.

"What did you really want, Grant?"

"I haven't realized how much I missed you calling me that…."

I let out a harsh breath. "Answer the question!"

He paused and looked me straight in the eye. "How much of it was real? Did you really love me?"

"99 percent of it was real. I loved you." I ran a hand through my ponytail. "But every time that thought came across my mind, a voice screamed not to."

"So, you still love me?"

I scoffed. "I LOVED you. Not love. I stopped loving you that day. The day you threatened not only me, but my son, my family, and everyone I love." I backed up. "I gave you a chance. You don't deserve anything from me. Not anymore." I started to walk away, but he called out, stopping me.

"Don't do anything stupid."

I turned back around, and stared him down. "Keep your end, and I'll keep mine."

I bolted away, ignoring someone's pleas for me to stop. Finally, the voice caught up.

"Angie, what the heck was that about?" It asked.

I looked up quickly realizing it was Sam.

"It was nothing. Just my ex. He was...catching up."

He raised a brow. "That was some catching up, then."

"Sam, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Angie…"

"Sam," I quipped.

"What did he say? What are you supposed to keep?"

Dear God, help me….

"He threatened my family. That's that." I turned away. "Now, please drop it." I sped away.

He followed me, keeping stride with me. "Angie, you need to-"

"Sam, drop it!" I sped away, leaving him behind me.

~:~

Weeks went by, and I….I didn't see Sam since that day. I didn't go running in the morning, trying to avoid him. I ignored his calls, avoiding the pain that I feared I had caused. And I….I tried to purge him from my thoughts.

But I knew...I knew I couldn't.

"Mom?" Marcos asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "You okay?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm perfectly-"

"Don't lie. I know you're not okay."

"It's-"

"Complicated?" He raised a brow. "Didn't think I would catch on did you?"

"Marcos, I'm just tired. Stress from the new job." I placed my hand on his cheek. "I'm fine," I assured him, pinching his cheek. "So...Hank will be by in the morning to bring you by his office." I got up from the couch. "You'll finally get that last piece for your government class."

"Yeah," he cheered, sarcastically. "More school…."

"Hey, this isn't a vacation, bud."

"You coming?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm meeting up with a friend for lunch. Plus, it's the weekend. I only come in if Hank has any emergency."

He frowned. "Alright…." He raised a brow. "Who's this friend?"

"Steve. The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan."

"Okay, forget I said anything," he quickly answered, turning back to his show.

I chuckled, muttering, "That's what I thought."

~:~

"So... How've ya been?"

Wonderful, just peachy…. "Okay...I guess. You?"

Steve shrugged. "Same. It's been weird not having you around." He smirked. "Would have loved your help with my laptop the other day."

"What happened?" I asked, eyes widening.

"Let's just say it took a one-way trip out my bedroom window."

I laughed. "Next time call. Before the machines turn against you for the brutality against their kind."

"Noted." His demeanor changed. "So, how's your project going? You haven't said much since…."

"I asked about Bucky?" I sighed. "To be honest... I stopped. I couldn't look into it anymore. I just wish that I hadn't seen and heard about all the pain and suffering. She shouldn't have gone through all of that."

"Have you asked Fury?" he asked. "Maybe he knows something."

"I've tried to avoid that man like the Plague. And I've done a pretty good job for the past six months," I replied. I recalled our last meeting. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

~:~

"What did you find, Jarvis?"

I shook my head. "Nothing that SHIELD needs to be concerned about."

"Tell me and I will decide if it concerns us or not."

"Agent Grant Ward is a part of something, but it doesn't raise any alarms." I stood up and turned to leave.

Fury held his arm out stopping me. "What happened?"

"Drop it, Fury. Before I do something we'll both regret."

~:~

"Angie?" Steve asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "You okay?"

"Um, yeah," I replied, blinking away the memory. "Just remembered something. How'd you-"

My phone rang. Unknown number.

Fury, I bet….

"You need to take that?"

I shrugged. "I guess." I answered it. "Hello?"

"Jarvis, it's been a long time."

~:~