"I'm going."

"We don't even know if it was him!" Emily spun and pinned Jane with a look. The other woman wilted slightly before shaking her head. "Em, please - we just got you back and we haven't even had a chance to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," she snapped. "I just - "

"Traveled through an Einstein-Rosen Bridge! Twice!"

"So have you and you're fine. Plus, Thor's traveled that way for years."

"Centuries," Thor corrected, watching as Jane threw up her hands in frustration.

"You traveled through an unstable one - who knows what that does to a body? If there's - "

"Her place is next to the Captain," Thor said solemnly. "You would want the same, Jane, if I was injured."

"Realistic issue," Darcy interjected. "DC probably has their airspace shut down - how are you going to get there?"

"Quinjet."

"My jet."

Carter and Tony stared at one another before looking away and rolling their eyes.

"You think a private jet is going to get into a closed airfield?"

"You think a plane owned by a HYDRA agency is going to land in the capital?"

"We don't know that it was HY- "

"What do you think all of this is?" Tony said, motioning to the holographic screens around his penthouse. JARVIS was downloading the SHIELD data dump and sifting through it. "HYDRA was right there under SHIELD's nose the entire time."

Carter clenched his fists, a sheen of sweat breaking out across his forehead. "Doesn't matter - you're not going to get a private jet in. Em, we should probably drive - the train would be too exposed even with a security detail."

Emily, watching the exchange, walked up to him and put a hand on his forehead, frowning at the heat she felt. "I don't need a security detail but you need to sit down, Cart - you're burning up."

"Yes you do," he snapped, pushing away her hand.

"Don't be ridicu - "

"They came after you, Emily! Before all of this," he yelled, motioning towards the screens. "You think they're going to stop just because they're exposed?"

"More reason for the jet," Tony chimed in.

"For the last time, Stark," Carter growled, "you won't - "

"Oh, who's that I'm calling?" Tony asked, holding up his phone. After the call connected, he grinned. "Tony Stark for President Ellis - tell him it's important." He turned to Carter and smirked. "People tend to do you favors after you've saved their life."

"Your bluffing - "

"Mr. President!"

OOO

Emily had Jarvis play the news over the apartment speakers as she showered, unwilling to miss a moment of it even though little new information was coming out of DC.

Once wrapped in a towel, she headed into the closet and moved automatically towards her skirts and dresses before pausing. She ran her fingers over her jeans and smiled slightly before pulling a pair from the hanger. They hung loosely on her hips, and she had to cinch her belt two loops tighter than the well worn leather was used to. She switched over to Steve's side of the closet and pulled out one of his shirts - a green flannel one she'd bought him for Christmas - and put it on.

They declared martial law in the capital while she threw together a suitcase.

There was still no word on Steve.

Tony somehow managed to get his jet approved to land at Andrews Air Force Base with a military escort into the city. He and Thor had wanted to accompany her but Pepper had put a stop to that - the Avengers needed to stay away from the situation until it was clear what happened.

Without any idea of where to go, Em and Carter went to the apartment that Tony had purchased for whenever he or Pepper was in town. Restless, Em had paced and watched the news while she'd forced Carter to sleep, uncomfortable with how pale he was though he waved away her concern.

Her phone continued to ring with news agencies asking for her opinion on whether or not Captain America had been unmasked until she asked Jarvis to send all unknown numbers to voicemail.

She finally returned her parent's phone call and burst into tears when she heard their voice after so long. They offered to fly down to be with her, but Em told them it was safer to stay away; their family history was now open to anyone who could decrypt the dumped SHIELD files, and right now the nation's capital - for all they knew - was crawling with people who would want to take advantage of it. They agreed to pass along her message and love to Tucker, Lauren, and the kids.

Night had already fallen when finally - finally - Pepper called Emily and told her that a man matching Steve's description had been admitted into George Washington University Hospital and rushed into surgery.

OOO

The hospital was the picture of organized chaos, even hours after the initial waves of injured people had staggered in.

"Name?" the nurse demanded, not looking up from her computer as Em stood in front of her.

"I'm looking for Steve Rogers," she said, ignoring the look that Carter gave her. The woman typed on the computer before shaking her head.

"No Rogers has been admitted. Try Georgetown or United."

"I know he's here - please."

"There's a board of John and Jane Doe's -"

"He's not a John Doe!" Emily shrieked, eyes wide with desperation. "Please look again. I don't know what they admitted him under, but my husband is here and I need to see him!"

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to - "

"It's okay - " Carter said, placing his hand on Emily's lower back and tugging her away from the desk. "We'll check the other hospitals."

"He's here, Cart, we - "

"Let's go Em," he hissed, glancing around the lobby. "We need to be smart about this - look, there are agents here."

"What do you - "

"Come on," he urged, pulling her towards a hallway with a sign pointing towards the restrooms. "I've already counted ten plain clothed. We need to find someone we trust and see if we can get the information that way. And don't think I missed you calling Steve your husband - we're going to talk about that later."

Carter maneuvered them through the hospital, purposefully striding towards the surgical wing. The closer they got, the more police - uniformed and plain clothed - they saw, which he said was a good sign.

Until they were stopped by security and asked to turn around.

"Closed ward," the man wearing a FBI flack jacket said, holding up one hand to stop them while the other rested on his holstered gun. Carter eyed him and shook his head.

"Any chance you might be able to confirm one of the patients in the ward for us?"

"You'll want to turn around and go to the nursing station to get any patient information," he replied.

"Problem is, our friend's been checked in under an alias. He's a VIP that was at the Triskelion site and - "

"Turn around and go to the -"

"Please," Em said, reaching for her back pocket.

"WHOA!" the man roared, taking a step back and drawing his firearm. "Keep your hands where I can see them."

Emily paled as he pointed his gun at the ground, ready to raise it at and fire if she twitched. "Sorry, sorry. I was going for my phone - that's all. Please just… please tell me if Ste… if Captain America is back there."

"Turn around. Go back to the nurse's station," the agent said. "Or you will be escorted from the building."

"Alright," Carter said, holding his hands palm up towards the man and stepping in front of Em. "That's what we'll do. Stand down." The man's eyes flit to him before narrowing.

"You with the agency?"

"Not yours," he replied, wrapping an arm around Em's shoulders and tugging her backwards. When they were far enough away, he muttered, "Actually, I think I'm currently unemployed."

It took a little while to locate the nurse's station, and a bit longer to get one of them to speak to them as patients continued to ring for assistance. Finally, a woman clearly towards the end of her pregnancy came back and pasted on a tired smile. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for this man," Em said, holding up her phone with a picture of Steve sketching on their couch on the screen. The woman's eyes flit from the picture to Em's face.

"What's his name?" She asked, stepping over to a computer terminal.

Emily looked around before leaning over the desk, "Captain America." The woman's head shot up and her eyes widened before flitting over towards the hallway they'd just walked out of.

"Ex - excuse me?"

"This man," Em said, flipping to a different picture - one of Steve passed out on the bed half out of his uniform after a long mission, his hair messy and sticking up in a million directions - "was admitted earlier today. Steve Rogers is my hus… fiancé…" she took a deep breath and corrected herself as her thumb stroked her empty ring finger. "Boyfriend."

"I can't - "

"I'm also his medical proxy," she said, reaching into her bag and retrieving a folder she'd grabbed at the last minute from their safe. Carter raised an eyebrow and shook his head, smiling slightly as she retrieved a packet from it and slid it across the desk. "So I would like to know where and what his condition is."

"I...um…" the woman said, glancing around before taking a deep breath. "Look, this is way above my pay grade. I need to get my boss, who's going to need to get her boss, and then the chief, and then whoever's in charge of all of the security."

"Okay," Em said, taking her paperwork back. "I just… is he okay?"

"Ma'am, I can't… not until all of this is sorted out," the nurse said, taking a deep breath. "Why don't you grab a seat in the waiting room behind you while I make the calls?" Her eyes landed on Carter and she frowned. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Peachy," he replied. Her eyes narrowed before she nodded to the door behind them. There were nine people in there, all with nearly identical expressions of exhaustion and stress. They settled as far from them as they could while keeping a clear line of vision to the door. "Smart, bringing that," Cart said, nodding to the papers clenched in her hand.

"Figured they'd be useful," she shrugged. "Never had to use them before… you don't think the fact that SHIELD drew them up will be a problem, do you?"

"Shouldn't," he replied but didn't sound completely reassuring.

OOO

Two hours after they sat, someone had come into make a copy of her paperwork and driver's license but had refused to give her any update on Steve's condition.

Slowly, the room emptied until it was just Em and Carter, who dozed fitfully in the chair while she spun her claddagh ring around her finger and paced circles around the room. Around one in the morning, the nurse they'd spoken to popped her head in to check on them and introduced herself as Heather before offering to get them some coffee. Em drank hers while listening to the voicemails on her phone for a lack of anything else to do - "Hi, this is John with CNN - " "I'm a booker with MSNBC, we were - " "We were hoping to get a quote for the morning paper, so if you could - " "Dr. Harthorn! We have a segment that - " - and deleted all of them. She debated listening to the messages from the Smithsonian and Empire State University before deciding against it - those she might actually need to return and she wasn't in the mood to do that.

At quarter to four, a woman poked her head in. "Ms. Harthorn?" Emily jerked awake and leapt to her feet, startling Carter who sluggishly sat up.

"Yes? That's me."

"Doctor - she's Dr. Harthorn," Carter grunted, and the corner of Em's mouth twitched as she squeezed his shoulder.

"Right, sorry. I'm Dr. Spires, Chief of Surgery. I've been authorized to give you an update on… on Captain Rogers," she smiled before wiping a nervous hand through her hair.

"Can I see him?"

"Not yet - our legal team is satisfied that your paperwork is valid, but the security team is looking into it more."

"What more do they need?" Carter demanded groggily.

"I don't know," she said, frowning at him. "Weren't you here a few days ago on my table? Yeah… you were - gunshot to the neck, right? Discharged yourself when we wanted to keep you here for a few more days."

Emily turned to look at him, but he waved her off. "You have an update about Steve?"

"Right, yes. But I'd like to check you over once we're done here." Carter grumbled something about being fine until Em put a hand on his shoulder while Dr. Spires took a seat across from them and motioned for her to do the same.

"Captain Rogers is currently in serious condition down the hall," she started. Em gasped, blinking back the tears that had sprung to her eyes and clapped a hand to her mouth. He was so close. "He was in rough shape when he got here, but we took him right into surgery and… had to correct somethings that were healing improperly. Our team… we've never worked on someone… like him," Dr. Spires said, leaning forward slightly. She seemed to shake herself and straightened. "Right. Captain - "

"Steve," Em whispered.

"Steve," the doctor nodded. "He was badly injured during the accident. He was shot twice, once in the left lower back thigh but the one that concerned us was right here - under his sternum. Thankfully the bullet missed his spine but it did nick his vena cava, which we were able to repair. His right orbital socket was also broken but there doesn't seem to be any damage to his eye or the nerves. Steve does have five broken ribs, and we had to put some stitches on his lip, cheek, and right arm. Our main concern right now is that he spent some time in the Potomac and there is water in his lungs. We're closely monitoring him for a pneumonia and respiratory distress, but we won't know if there is brain damage from oxygen deprivation until he wakes up."

Emily let out a sob and shook her head, unable to pull in a breath. Tears streamed down her face as Carter grasped her hand and tugged her into him, crushing her to his chest. "Shhh Em, it's alright, Love. It's Steve… he's going to be alright. We've been here before and he's been fine every time."

Dr. Spires stood and retrieved a tissue box from the other side of the room, and handed it to Em once she recovered some of her composure. "Wh-when d-do you think he...he'll wake up?" she asked, wiping at her face and nose.

"I don't know, but I can tell you this - none of our team has ever seen someone go through as much as Steve has and still be here fighting. I think that, as long as we can get and keep him stabilized, he should wake up soon."

"I-is there anything y-you can d-do to get me in there? P-please," Em begged as her sobs dissolved into hiccups. "I-I don't w-want him to be ah-alone."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Spires said, reaching out to clasp her arm. "I don't have any say over that. But you should know that he is not alone in that room. He's had a friend with him since he arrived in the hospital."

"Natasha Romanoff?" Carter demanded. "Woman with red hair to about here?"

"No," the doctor said, glancing back at the door before leaning forward again. "She was here for a few hours but left as soon as he was out of surgery. He's with a man, the one that he was on the news with."

"C-can you get something to Steve for m-me?" Em asked, twisting her claddagh ring off of her right hand. Dr. Spires looked at the ring before holding out her hand and nodding.

"I'll do my best. Now, if it's alright with you, I'd like to take your friend here to get checked out."

"I'm fine," Carter growled.

"Let's go," Emily said, holding onto his hand and standing. "I-it's something to do."

OOO

Em couldn't stop replaying the list of Steve's injuries over in her head as Carter was settled in an exam room. He'd demanded that she go with him, unwilling to let her out of his sight for a moment, and she'd agreed to be in the room behind dividing curtain while he was looked over. To get her mind off of it, she clicked on the voicemail from the Smithsonian, hoping that work would distract her even for a moment.

"Hey Sweetheart... It's Steve." Her eyes shot open and Emily sucked in a breath, pulling the phone away from her ear for a moment to check if she'd clicked on a past voicemail from him. Nope. "I...uh…hope you don't mind that I'm using your desk phone but it was the safest way to call you. Nat said they'd be monitoring all calls in and out of the Tower, and me trying to call you would just pull their attention to you. But I figured your work calling wouldn't be too suspicious."

"Emily?" Carter called but she ignored him.

"I...uh… also hope you don't mind that I took the suit from the display. You're right - the stomach panel's wrong, but it'll do what I need it to. Sweetheart…" she could hear Steve suck in a breath before he cleared his throat. "Emily, it's Buck. He's… he's alive but he's… he's not the same - they tortured him. He didn't even recognize me." His voice was husky when he spoke again. "He was the shooter at the cemetery."

"EMILY!" Carter yelled as she pushed aside the curtain and started to sprint down the hall, completely disregarding the people that told her to stop.

"I have to stop him… save him… I don't know how, but I couldn't do this without saying… without telling you that I love you. And that I'm sorry, but I have to try… he's my best friend, Sweetheart." There was silence on the line as Em turned the corner to the surgical wing. "I need to go - Sam's waiting for me. But I love you. God, I love you so much. I...I'm sorry."

"STOP!" the agent ordered as she ran towards him. She tried to dodge out of the way but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her backwards. Em threw an elbow back and caught him in the gut before fling her head back and headbutting him. The agent let go of her as he staggered backwards and collapsed but his hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall to the floor.

"STEVE!" she screamed as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Emily!" Carter gasped, knocking aside the agent as more poured into the hallway. He tried to pull her to her feet as another man grabbed him and attempted to pin him against the wall. Carter ducked and threw up an elbow, hitting him in the face and knocking him to the ground while Em scrambled to her feet.

"STEVE!"

Something struck her against the back, making her stumble as a door in the middle of the hall opened. Hands grabbed her and swung her against the wall, holding her there. "What the hell do you think you're doing? This is a restricted - "

"Please, you have to let me see him! You -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa - calm down," a man said, appearing at their side. Em twisted and glanced at him, recognizing him from the news.

"What's going on here?" Dr. Spires demanded, stepping into the hallway with a man in a FBI jacket. "Dr. Harthorn!"

"Get your hands off of her!" Carter ordered from where he was handcuffed on the floor with a knee in his back.

"Get them out of here," the head agent said, glaring at her.

"I have to see him!" Em shrieked. "I have to - "

A noise started to chime at the nursing station, and three women and Dr. Spires glanced at one another before starting towards them. "Out of the way!" a nurse demanded, pushing past them and sprinting down the hall.

"What's going on?" Emily asked. She felt metal being pressed against, and then encircling her wrist, as the agent handcuffed her. Panicking, she turned back to the man from the news. "Sam, right?" He seemed a bit startled but nodded. "Make sure he's not alone - and when he wakes up, give him the ring, tell him Emily's back - " the agent yanked her away from the wall and started to march her down the hall. "And tell him I love him!"

OOO

"That was incredibly stupid," Carter snapped from where he was handcuffed to a gurney. During the scuffle, the stitches on his neck had burst open and blood now covered the shoulder of his shirt; they'd already repaired the stitches but found an infection and had started him on a round of IV antibiotics two hours before. "For Christ's sake, Emily, what were you thinking?!"

"I…" she sighed and hung her head. She was exhausted and starving, her arms ached from where she fell onto the floor, she had throbbing headache, and her wrists felt rubbed raw but the agents had at least shifted her handcuffs to the front when they'd secured her to the gurney as well. "Steve called me... it sounded like he was saying goodbye."

"Called you? When?"

"Before all of this - he went to the Smithsonian and used my office phone. He said...he said…"

"What?"

The door opened and three men stepped in - two agents with their hands resting on their sidearms, and Sam. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you."

"Is he okay? What were the alarms?" Emily demanded.

"Please answer the questions. What's your full name?"

"Emily Rose Harthorn, and he's Carter Joseph Falsworth."

"What's your pet peeve with Steve?"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question, Em," Carter sighed. "Clearly Steve's awake and they're testing you to see if you're who you say you are, and you're not some HYDRA plant with a photostatic veil." She looked from Carter to Sam, who raised an eyebrow.

"He leaves his shoes everywhere for me to trip over."

"Where was your first kiss?"

"New Mexico, in the RV after he had a nightmare."

"And what's the best nightmare remedy?" Emily closed her eyes against a wave of tears.

"A fluffernutter and warm milk. And a walk." After taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and smiled. "No brain damage?"

"They ordered a full neuro work up, but Steve's got a pretty thick skull so I'm sure he's fine. Sam Wilson - and I think this is yours" he said, holding out his hand where her ring sat in the center of his palm. He frowned when he saw the cuffs. "Any way we can get those off before he comes down here himself and breaks them off?"

"These as well," Carter said, waving his hands. "I may not be his girlfriend but Steve's pretty fond of me as well." As soon as Em was freed, she stood up and rubbed her wrists before leaning over and kissing Carter's cheek.

"Wait for the wheelchair and I'll see you in there."

"Em - it's not safe for you - "

"If Steve trusts Sam, I'm sure he'll make sure no one grabs me." Sam looked between them and frowned.

"Who would - " She didn't wait for him to finish before she turned and strode from the room, pausing only to get her bearings and hurried down the hall. He jogged to catch up to her and matched her quick pace back to the surgical wing. Sam nodded to the agent posted outside of Steve's door as they neared and he stepped aside. The blinds were closed so she couldn't see inside and she paused to take a deep breath. "You alright?" She nodded before opening the door.

Steve was sitting up, one hand wrapped around the bed railing and the other clenched in the blanket. His right eye was swollen shut and black stitches curved from his lower left lip, but he was looking at her with such intensity it made her breath catch. "Sweetheart..."

Em flew across the room and only barely stopped herself from throwing herself into him. When she stuttered to a stop beside the bed, Steve reached out and yanked her closer until she was sitting beside him. One hand curled around the back of her neck as his other pulled her into his chest. "Careful," she whispered as he let out a shuddering breath. He held her tightly for a long moment before pulling away, cupping her face, and pulling her back in for a searing kiss. One hand stroked the hair from her face as she clutched his shoulders, afraid to touch anywhere else.

They dimly heard the door shut.

"Are you okay?" he asked when they broke apart to breathe. She could hear his heart monitor beeping and shook her head.

"You're the one in the bed," she said, gently running her fingers through his hair and trailing them down to his bruised cheek. "That suit was a museum piece, you idiot - it wasn't meant to take a bullet."

"I needed...Emily, it was…"

"I know," she sighed and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. "I got your message. You're sure?"

"It was him. I left him, Em - it's my fault," Steve said, a tear leaking from his swollen eye as he took a painful breath. "What they did to - "

"Shhh, babe," Em said, shifting so his head fell onto her shoulder as she stroked his back. His hands clenched her shirt as he trembled. "We'll figure this out, mon coeur. We'll find him and we'll bring him home."

"He shot Carter… attacked you…"

"It wasn't him - it wasn't Bucky." The name seemed to break him, and Steve started to sob.