A/N: Just for the record, this tour is based on maps. I only visited New York for one day and have never toured there. My assumption is that SHIELD's New York HQ is somewhere near Times Square, since that's where Steve ended up after he ran away at the end of First Avenger, so that's the starting point of the flight.

Flightseeing

As the helicopter rose, Steve saw Times Square below. It made him cringe to remember his first moments awake in this century, when he ran from SHIELD and found himself in a bright, confusing, yet still recognizable Times Square. As Maria turned the helicopter, Steve caught a glimpse of the Empire State Building to the south and Grand Central Station to the southeast. He craned his neck to keep the familiar buildings in sight. Through the headset, Maria could hear the small sound of protest he made.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll circle back. I thought we'd head north first. This should be familiar, too."

And there it was, the big green rectangle of Central Park. Steve smiled to see it. He smiled at most familiar landmarks, Leslie had noticed.

"Did you spend a lot of time there as a kid?" she asked.

Steve shook his head. "No, most of my childhood it wasn't the nicest place to visit," he said, surprising the women. "Ma said Tammany Hall didn't care, so the park was let go to seed. The lawns were weeds and bare dirt and, during the Depression, a shantytown was built there. Ma didn't think it was safe. It didn't get fixed up until I was 16, when LaGuardia was elected. He appointed Mr. Moses to fix up the park and he fixed up all the parks in about a year. That was nice."

"So you didn't ever go to Central Park?" Maria was a little disappointed.

"Oh, we went sometimes. We went to the zoo and to the carousel," Steve said. "The carousel burned down when I was about six and I cried for the poor horsies. I think I had the real zoo animals and the carousel animals confused."

Leslie was Googling things as Steve mentioned them. She told Steve he might know the current carousel because it had been at Coney Island.

"I'd like to see that," Steve said wistfully. "We went to Prospect Park more often than Central Park. It was rundown, too, but it was closer and had a menagerie."

"It was built by Olmstead, too, like Central Park, right?" Leslie asked.

"Yes, and it was revived by Moses when I was 16 or 17," Steve answered. "Bucky and I were so excited when they built an actual zoo instead of just a menagerie. Ma loved the Botanic Gardens. We always went when the cherry trees were in bloom. But when they opened the rose garden when I was about 10, that became her favorite."

"We'll swing around to Prospect Park," Hill promised. "And, if I remember correctly, the cherry trees are blooming now."

Steve's smile was bright, though he had to wipe some moisture from his eyes.

The tour flew the length of Central Park. Steve spotted Cleopatra's Needle and the Balto statue. "I know the Belvedere," Steve said. "But what's that?" He pointed at a building that looked just as fanciful as Belvedere Castle. It was round with bands like a collapsible cup.

Leslie brightened. "Oh, that's the Guggenheim. It's an art museum. We'll have to visit it."

"The millionaire? Solomon Guggenheim?"

"Right, he collected art. He asked Frank Lloyd Wright to design a museum to house it," Leslie said.

"That was during the war, wasn't it," Steve said thoughtfully. "I remember hearing a little about it. I'd seen an exhibit by the Guggenheim Foundation, so I was excited to get home and see the new museum."

"Well, now you can," Leslie said stoutly, to forestall any sadness. "The building was something new for an art museum. You walk down a spiral. You'll have to see it. I love the building itself. You'll have to teach me to appreciate the art."

"Anything you want to see up north?" Hill asked. "Yankee Stadium?" she asked slyly.

"Heck no!" the lifelong Dodger fan avowed.

Maria swung the helicopter past the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, then west to the Hudson. She followed the river south.

"That's Lincoln Center," Maria said, pointing out the hard-to-miss, 16-acre complex. "It's a performing arts venue. The New York Phil, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet."

"I thought the Philharmonic played at Carnegie Hall," Steve said. With his eyes on the green expanse of Central Park, Steve had missed seeing Carnegie Hall on the way north.

"Not any more. But it's still open for a variety of performers," Leslie said.

"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Maria asked, laughing.

"Practice!" Leslie answered.

Steve laughed. It was an old joke, but not as old as Steve.

"I was afraid Carnegie Hall might have been torn down," he confessed.

"No, it's over there." Maria pointed, turning the copter slightly to put the famous venue in full view before heading south again.

"This is about where the Lincoln Tunnel is," Leslie commented. "You can see the highway heading toward the river on either side."

"Madison Square Garden is to the left," Maria said.

Leslie pointed out the incongruously round building.

Steve looked confused. "The Garden is more uptown, at 50th Street," he protested.

The women looked at each other, then Leslie pulled up Google again. "I know this isn't the original Madison Square Garden," she said. "Oh, this is the fourth one. This one opened in 1968. The third one was at 50th. Ah, and the first two were actually at Madison Square."

"I'd always wondered where it got its name," Maria said. "Actually, that's a lie. I never thought about it. That was just the name."

Steve started to say something about sneaking into Madison Square Garden to see Joe Louis fight Red Burman in 1941, but his attention was caught by a streak of green.

"What's that!" he exclaimed.

"That's the High Line," Leslie said. "They took an old railroad track and made it into a park."

"I might have ridden on that track," Steve said. He marveled at the elevated green space.

"It was part of the West Side Line," Maria said. "I went there with a friend. He was fascinated with the history."

"I'd like to see that," Steve said. "I'd like to see a lot of things from ground level."

"We have time," Leslie assured him.

:OK, hang on," Maria said. "We're going to visit the Lady." She tilted the copter and accelerated toward the harbor.

A/N: First publication of the Carnegie Hall joke seems to be in the 1950s. It might have been used in vaudeville earlier, but we'll assume Steve never heard it. Yes, I look this stuff up. That's why this story has been so hard to write.

I'm still finding it hard to get the energy to write, but tomorrow is the first anniversary of this story, so I thought I ought to post something.