Both trucks stopped and the members of Howling commandos started to jump out of them. As they expected, nobody waited for them. They led the spy in front of them, their guns aimed at his back. Nobody dared to let him out of the sight. Soldiers from the camp started to appear and looked at them in surprise. They could not understand the scene which appeared before their eyes. The famous team led someone who had the US army uniform. As they did not believe a word concerning the mole, they could not see the reason for their behavior. After a while, Fred Wells appeared.

"Oh, you are here already. I was informed that you will bring us a spy for the interrogation. My men will take it from here. Colonel Phillips wants to lead the interrogation himself. We will look after him since then. You have your tent ready." He turned on his heel and marched back to his tent.

Two officers approached them, ready to take over the spy. Bucky and Gabe, who were in the lead, looked at Steve. They did not like the idea of letting the prisoner go but on the other hand, they did not sleep for over seventy hours and they started being unable to stay awake. Steve nodded curtly towards them, and Bucky and Gabe let him go, looking around for the rest of the Howling commandos.

"Let's have dinner, shall we?" Dugan led the way, and the rest followed him. Bucky made a few steps towards the canteen, but then he decided that he would check on the hostage – just to make sure. The distress was fading as they were approaching the canteen, suddenly realizing that their task was over and that now they have time to rest.

Peggy and Steve were closing the group. She went slowly, focusing on the coordination of her legs. Her head was still throbbing and even though she regained the ability to walk straight, she felt her legs shaking. It might have been caused by them being numb because of the weather and the absence of her shoes or by the pure tiredness, anyway, she had to pay extra attention to her walk.

Steve approached her and innocently put his hand around her shoulders, leading her firmly toward the meal they desperately needed. It was a gesture that any solder could have seen many times, so Steve did not consider that to be seen as an inappropriate gesture towards his subordinate (or towards a woman), and if he squeezed her shoulder a little more than necessary, and if she leaned towards him a little bit more, nobody could see that. He was glad that they made it to the camp and that now, he had Peggy under his arm safe. They made a few steps together, relishing in the presence of the other one. Suddenly, even before his tired brain could recognize the noise behind him, Peggy's body jerked forward, and he felt her slipping out of his arm and saw her falling towards the ground.

The name of hostage was William Jakobs. Not that he was about to tell them. He did not bring his dog tags into action with the second side, and he was almost sure that if he got rid of Agent Carter, there was not anyone else who would be able to identify him. For a while, he thought that the captain recognized him too, but then he looked as puzzled because of his army uniform as anyone else. That was good because he was not sure if he was able to get rid of a super-soldier too. For the first time since they captured him, they let him out of their sight. He was led by somebody new and knew that he had only one chance. The new officer handcuffed himself to him (luckily his left hand) and led him away. He looked where the Agent was and started to play his part.

"You think that they are clever, but they just captured an American officer. Now they would be disappointed by their mistake. Do you think that THE Captain America would have to apologize for his mistake? That the colonel would scream at him for his wasted Sunday?" he grimaced to those men. They chuckled. The idea of Captain being wrong seemed fun to them. He used their momentary inattention, jerked with the hand which tied him to the officer to get him out of balance, reached for the gun of the other one, and before any of them could react, he aimed at the head of Agent Carter. He focused so hard that he did not spot Bucky who saw him and hit him hard to his hand, but only after two bullets were fired. Then, he was thrown to the ground, handcuffed again, and dragged to his feet. He looked at the scene before him. All the men were gathering around a laying figure. He did not miss the target. He only hoped that the bullets hit her head and that right now, he is out of danger himself and the other double agents. That was the last thought before Bucky hit him in the face so strongly, that he lost consciousness.

Steve fell to his knees beside Peggy. He felt horrified at what had just happened. He quickly checked on her pulse, it was still there. When he looked around, he saw Bucky kneeling on someone and understood that they were out of danger. "Two shots in her shoulder," informed Morita, who was on her other side. She was still laying on her stomach, facing the ground. Luckily, she did not lose consciousness. The last thing she wanted was to be moved, but she understood that there wasn't any other option than…

Morita took her by her injured shoulder and hip and started to turn her on her side. She knew that there was no other option how to do it, nevertheless, she could not prepare herself for the pain that ripped through her body, and she cried out. Suddenly, somebody put his hand under her knees and around her torso, carefully avoiding the shoulder, and lifted her up. Her head rolled towards his chest and stayed there.

She was laid on her back first and then rolled to her stomach on a hard desk. Her eyes were closed, and she could only hear people arguing.

"When is the doctor?"

"He went to the city, there is no one…"

"Where is the medic kit?"

"In there, but I do not think…"

"That's true, you do not think. Now, get out of here."

Steve sat on a box that was dragged towards the table she was laid on and caught her hand. She squeezed it tightly, not able nor willing to open her eyes. She felt weirdly numb with exhaustion and knew that she is on the edge of fainting.

"Ok, Peg, I need you to stay awake. It will hurt like the hell, but I need to know whether you are able to move your arm, ok? Steve, you tell me if she loses the grip on your hand." Dugan cut her jacket to see the two bullet holes. Then he took the alcohol from the kit and poured it into them. She growled, squeezed her eyes shut, and gripped Steve's hand with all the power she could muster. Dugan gently stripped her of her jacket, letting her only in her shirt. It was cold, but he needed access to her injury.

The process of pulling out the bullets was long and exhausting. Even though she somehow managed not to faint and not to scream, tears were leaving her eyes and her face was partly red, partly white as she lost a lot of blood. By the time Dugan finished, she was not almost able to stay awake. Steve was squeezing her hand more than she was squeezing his. Her shoulder was bandaged and Dugan stepped away. Bucky entered the tent and looked around. On the ground, he could see fresh blood, which was also on Dugan's hands, Steve's chest, and Peggy's jacket which was removed and laid on the ground.

"Will she stay here?" Bucky asked.

"No, we will take her to our tent. She will be safer there."

When Steve lifted her again, she finally gave up and fainted.

He laid her gently on her bed, adjusting her sleeping bag around her shoulders, and took a step back.

"Now, we can just hope that there is no infection in the wound," said Dugan darkly.

The infection appeared within hours.

She woke up in a feverish state. She felt incredulously heavy and disorientated. She blinked a few times before her eyes allowed her to focus on the object in front of her eyes. It acted as a still-life. On a box, which was set next to the head of the military bed, was put a metal cup. Usually, you would expect a bunch of flowers next to the bed of an injured person, but from the cup, something wooden was sticking out. And it was colorful. She had to blink once more to focus on those wooden objects. They were pencils. A set of ten pencils in different colors, which were set there to substitute flowers. Her mouth twitched into a smile. Then, she exhaled and during the so small motion, the pain ripped through her body. Without control, she let out a moan, which made another object in her vision field move quickly.

"Peggy? Are you awake?"

Steve's face drew closer to her head, his hand went to her forehead. Unconsciously she leaned into the touch. She knew that normally he is producing much more heat than any other human being, but now his hand was cooler than her forehead and she enjoyed the touch.

"Steve?" asked Dugan.

"She woke up, but she's got still the fewer."

"It's because of the infection, the antibiotics will help, you need to give it time," said Dugan calmingly.

There was another rumble and she felt more than hear that other people are moving towards her.

"I am ok," she said hoarsely. Her voice sounded weak, but she managed. They started talking together, not moving away. She did not like being an object of study, but she also knew that she can't command them. Or of course she could, but she did not want to.

"Guys, I am ok, really… just give me a nice sleep and I will be right as rain. You should take care of yourselves… It stinks in here," They chuckled appreciatively.

"We had a shower," Pinky defended them all.

"Except for Steve," said Bucky. "He's been taking watch over you since we've arrived."

Peggy opened her eyes again. Steve's face was full of concern, and she could see his unwillingness to leave her there. She understood the face, because she could have imagined herself behaving completely the same.

"I will be ok," she whispered so only he could hear her.

He withdrew his hand from her forehead and then nodded. The loss of contact left her feeling alone. She was shivering uncontrollably. He stood up and disappeared from her field of vision. She could only hear him talking to others. She closed her eyes and after a few moments, she felt somebody laying another blanket over her and tucking her in. With that, she fell back to her feverish sleep.

The next time she woke up, her stomach decided to let itself know about its existence and about its' discontentment. Dugan was by her side, holding the basket into which she was helplessly throwing up the liquid that her body produced when not being fed.

He patted her on her back but did not look disgusted nor surprised. She hated the feeling of being so vulnerable. If she was a man, she would be allowed to be loud, swear, and complain about her state. But as a woman, she had to endure more than any other man.

"I, I…" she wanted to explain that she is not weak, that she is not someone who throws up because of any small injury… she wanted to justify herself, but her voice wasn't cooperating.

"It's ok, Peg. You went through a lot, it's quite normal." Said he calmly as if he understood.

"It's only that… this tent really stinks," she finally said.

He chuckled and brushed her damp hair from her forehead.

"Yeah, she is right, it stinks in here," she heard Barnes answer from somewhere behind her back.

The third time she woke up, Steve was again by her side, brushing his fingers over hers. It was an unconscious movement and when she stretched her fingers a little bit, he was startled. However, he managed to be quiet. Everything was quiet and dark, only one candle was lit next to the cup with pencils.

"Where…" she did not have to continue.

"In the school. I found them in one classroom and thought that maybe you can use them… you know, for the deciphering," She nodded. "Colonel Phillips is coming. He will be here tomorrow afternoon."

"And what about now?" She asked quietly.

"Now? I can finally guarantee you sleep, Peggy. Sorry it took so long." He was kneeling next to her head, his hand brushing her hair absentmindedly. It was something that her mother did when she was ill. For the first time in weeks, she felt safe. She nodded slowly, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Hiii, is anybody still reading it? :D If so, I hope you like it :)