Sorry for the impromptu hiatus. Depression hit hard, then suddenly I was back to work beyond full time. Things have finally leveled out and I've found not only the motivation, but the creative spark necessary to continue on. My hope is to return to the once a week posting at minimum. Thank you to everyone who has continued to follow Maggie's story and especially those who have left comments! You all have been kind and helped me want to push on.
With love, Dubs.

Возвращение на родину

January 9th

Anya was sitting across the street from the apartment building Fury was hiding in. Her leg, lungs and ribs were barely healed and incredibly unhappy, but her energy was too low to continue the healing process. Still, she knew if the Winter Soldier was still after Fury, there was limited time before he would show up again, so stopping for food or anything of substance was out of the question. She swallowed the pain as she got off her bike and began walking inside. She was halfway up the first flight of stairs when her wrist was grabbed from behind. She was spun around and two steps below her was Steve Rogers.

"Who are you?" he asked, and she realized the helmet was still on.

"A friend," she said slowly, taking her hand away from him and lifting the helmet from her head, "It's just me."

"Maggie," he said breathlessly, then concern hit his features, "what happened to you?"

"Nothing—I'm not… Look, Steve, I'm not your Maggie," she said slowly.

"Say what you want," he replied stepping up to give her a hug, "I'd know you anywhere and anytime Mags. Until our tomorrows are no more." There was something familiar in his embrace and words, but she ignored the feeling and patted his arm awkwardly.

"I have to go upstairs," she said, "business to attend to." He noticed her unease and let her go.

"Where at?" he asked.

"Just an apartment on the second floor," she said without hesitation, "end of the hall on the right."

"Number Four?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Might be. I was just given directions," she stated.

"That's my apartment," he said. He looked up the stairs, his eyes narrowing before he looked back at Anya, "Someone told you to meet them there?"

"More or less," she replied. He looked over her, noticing her ragged looking clothes and spots of residual blood. His eyes narrowed angrily.

"They do that to you?" he asked.

"What—no," she said looking down, "This was me trying to help."

"Of course, it was," he said as if annoyed but unsurprised at the answer, "This way."

Steve led her outside and to the side of the building where a fire escape ladder was up, just above reach. He kneeled down in front of her.

"Hop on," he said, "I'll get us up there."

She sighed but climbed onto his back. The moment he was sure she was secure, he jumped up, grabbing the lowest rung with ease. He climbed, using only his arms until his feet could reach the rungs. Anya looked around them as he did so, looking for the Winter Soldier. She saw nothing, but her gut told her he was nearby.

As he stepped onto the first platform she prepared to shimmy from his back, but he climbed the stairs, not stopping until he was outside his living room window. She slid from his back, a soft thump as she landed on the metal grate.

Steve opened the window slowly, looking around the dark room. Anya tapped his shoulder and he looked at her. She nodded towards the window, then pushed her way past him, starting to climb in slowly. She got to the end of the cabinets and nodded back to him.

He grabbed his shield as he moved quickly out of the kitchen and towards the music playing in the living room, signaling to Anya when it was safe to follow him. He peaked around the hallway and sighed with relief seeing Fury.

"You know, I don't remember giving you a key," he said casually leaning, against the wall before looking back at Anya. "You could have said it was Fury."

"You didn't ask," she said stepping past Steve. Fury grunted leaning forward.

"You really think I'd need one?" he asked, his eye on Steve. He looked at Anya briefly, his eye almost going back to Steve before he looked at her again. He looked over her leather suit, his eye landing on her roughed-up leg. His eye narrowed as he looked back at her. Anya knew immediately he recognized her having been there to help him. His eye stared her down and she knew immediately the look he was giving her. They would talk later. Fury looked back at Steve, "My wife kicked me out."

"I didn't know you were married," Steve countered immediately.

"A lot of things you don't know about me," Fury said slowly, as if his patience was being tried by the blonde man.

"I know, Nick. That's the problem," Steve said, moving to turn on the light. It flashed on and Anya saw Fury's bloodied and bruised face. Out of instinct—although she wasn't entirely sure why—Anya stepped forward to tend his wounds. Beside her, Steve stared at him in surprise. Fury held up his hand to the two, motioning them to hold and turned the light back off. Anya stepped back beside Steve, her eyes glancing to the man. Their eyes met, and made it clear he wanted to know more of what was going on.

Fury took the moment between the two to type the words, 'EARS EVERYWHERE' into his phone. When they looked back at him, he lifted his phone so they could see the screen. Anya swallowed the fear that the ears listening in might have been Pierce's. If the man was listening in, she just had to stay quiet and she could potentially play it off.

"I'm sorry to have to do this," Fury continued, "but I had no place else to crash." He typed into his phone again and as Anya read the words, she felt a numbness surge through her, 'SHIELD COMPROMISED.' Did Fury know how deeply SHIELD was compromised?

"Does anyone else know about your wife?" she asked quietly.

"Just…" he said standing as he typed another message. He turned his phone to them, 'US THREE,' "My friends."

Fury slowly stepped toward the two.

"Is that what we are?" Steve asked. Fury looked at her then back to Steve. He was within her arms reach and Anya took the moment to lift her hand to look at his good eye, bruised and bloodied.

"That's up to you," Fury said. His eye met her as he grabbed her hand and gently pushed it away with an appreciative nod. His head wasn't even finished raising back up when a shot blew through the wall and into Nick's back. He yelled in pain as two more followed suit instantly.

"Fury!" she screamed as he fell into her arms. Maggie nearly fell with him but mustered all of her strength to help him fall safely. He rolled onto his back and Steve bent down to help him, Fury grabbed Steve's hand before he held out a drive.

"Don't trust anyone," he said between heavy breaths. Steve looked at Anya and she eyed the hardware then nodded at Steve as if saying 'you take it'. Steve took the drive and pocketed it as his door was kicked open. He looked to Maggie, as if saying you've got this before he silently moved toward the door with his shield.

Maggie paid little attention, instead looking at where the shots came from. There was a moment where she only saw a shadowed figure, but the moonlight glinted off his arm and she felt her heart sink. She had failed her mission, and the Winter Soldier had been there to complied it again. Suddenly Anya felt as if she had failed him.

"Kate?" Steve's voice asked, bringing Maggie back to the situation at hand. A blonde woman in scrubs pushed past him as she spoke.

"I've been assigned to protect you," the woman stopped the moment she saw Nick on the ground with Maggie next to him holding what wounds she could reach.

"On whose orders?" Steve asked and the Agent pointed at Nick.

"His," she said, joining Maggie. The woman pulled a radio out of her pocket and began speaking into it, "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."

Anya stared at the woman, weighing her options. EMTs meant a lot of people seeing her. And it was likely the EMTs would see her and want to look her over too. She couldn't chance it.

"Do we have a 20 on the shooter?" the dispatcher replied, and a chill went up Anya's spine. She looked at Steve and her eyes followed his as he looked out the window. The Winter Soldier was packed up and ready to run, but he was watching them—watching her. Their eyes met and for a moment they stared at one another before he turned and ran across the rooftop.

"Tell him I'm in pursuit," Steve said before running and jumping out of the window.

"Steve, no!" Maggie called, running to the window after him. She watched as he crashed into the window across the alley and was gone in an instant. She turned around and grabbed her helmet off the floor, immediately running towards the door.

"Dammit, Steve," she mumbled, but the sound of a safety being turned off behind her brought her to a full stop.

"We're going to have a lot of questions for you," the woman said. Anya turned to see her standing above Fury with her gun aimed at her, "so you're going to stay right here."

"I don't think so," Anya said turning back around and heading towards the door. Anya felt the searing pain in her left shoulder blade before she heard the shot. She stepped forward, nearly losing her balance. She turned back, throwing her hand toward the woman. A small dagger came from her hand and hit the woman in the abdomen.

It wasn't fatal but it would hurt like hell, giving Anya a moment to get out without another bullet hole in her shoulder. After all, Anya's night was going to be hell and she didn't need anything else to add to it.