The resounding thud of Steve's foot against the waiting room floor was enough to rattle the chair he was sitting on and annoy the shit out of the woman sitting next to him. Tiffany glared at Steve as the thumping continued, until Steve finally stopped and looked down, seeing his foot locked in place by Wanda's red magic.

"Enough." Tiffany hissed as she clenched Steve's forearm. "Worrying isn't going to make it go well."

"You aren't worried?" Steve asked quickly and Tiffany threw her head back and groaned as Wanda finally released his foot and he instinctively started tapping again. When Tiffany pointed at him threateningly, he stopped and clasped his hands together, leaning forward on his knees. "I just need to know how it's going."

"Steve, there's nothing more you can do." Sandra said as she reached over Tiffany to rest her hand on Steve's shoulder. "We've done everything we can, now we just have to wait."

Tiffany's phone buzzed in her lap and she checked it before jumping up and leaving the waiting room. Tony and Pepper watched her go from their seats next to the door where Happy stood diligently next to his boss. With Tiffany out of the room, Steve's foot began to tap relentlessly again.

Wanda didn't say anything to the soldier, and neither did Sandra until Tiffany barged back into the room with Sam Wilson in tow. Steve leapt to his feet and encompassed his friend in a tight hug, catching him off guard. "Hey Cap. How's it going?"

"I'm so scared." Steve muttered deeply and Sam just patted his back in response before pushing the blonde away. Sam studied him, seeing how glazed Steve's eyes looked and how his whole body seemed rigid. Steve looked past Sam at the door, but nothing happened, so he sat back down.

"If you start with the leg again, I will kill you." Tiffany warned as she sat on the other side of Sandra so she could be with Sam. He draped his arm around her shoulder and played casually with her left hand as she stared ahead blankly.

Another hour went by painstakingly slow for Steve. He studied Wanda's fingers as she created red wisps between them. He watched the way Sandra would mouth silent prayers as she kept her eyes closed and her lips to her pressed hands. He noticed how Tony looked utterly bored, but would shrink into his chair whenever Pepper shot him a glance that said he was too fidgety. Steve even observed the tears that fell from Tiffany's chocolate eyes before Sam wiped them away, forcing her to keep up her brave exterior in front of the others.

Steve's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening, and he jumped to his feet when he realized it was Doctor Strange. Sandra stood too and grabbed onto Steve's arm as they waited for the doctor to speak. "Well?" Tiffany yelped as she grabbed onto Wanda anxiously.

Doctor Strange sighed as he pulled off his cap before reaching into the pocket of his scrubs and pulling out a plastic container that he placed firmly in Steve's hand. Steve studied the round container, seeing a metal piece the size of a grain of rice inside. His hand began to shake as he he realized what he was looking at, "You did it?"

"That's the chip from her hippocampus. It was inserted just like it said in the documents you sent me. I've got her all patched up, we'll just have to wait until she wakes up to see if it was a success." Doctor Strange told Steve. He turned toward the door, then stopped and looked back, "So far her brain activity looks normal, but we won't know until we can ask her some questions. It's going to have to be one at a time, I don't know what overwhelming her will do. This is uncharted territory, and I'd hate to see her end up a vegetable."

"Can we see her now?" Steve asked quickly, and Strange held up his hand to stop Steve from following him.

"One person can go in now while she's still under the anesthesia. Once she's awake and we know what we're working with, you can take turns. I suggest you come up with an order. You all seem," Strange looked to Tony, seeing the smirking billionaire hadn't moved from his spot near the door, "a bit chaotic."

As Strange left the waiting room, Doctor Palmer took his place, smiling sweetly around the room. "Alright, Stephen kind of explained what we know and what we want to do. You're her mother, I'm assuming you'll want to go see her first?" Christine said to Sandra.

The former First Lady turned to Steve, seeing the soldier shaking like a chihuahua in anticipation. "I don't have to, I can see her when she wakes up if you want to-"

"No, Mom. You should go first." Tiffany said softly from behind Sandra. She looked to Steve with a sad smile, "We know how anxious you are Steve, but, she needs to be the one there when Kay wakes up."

Steve nodded, his head bopping up and down as his whole body seemed to bounce with him, "Yeah. No. That's how it should be. We'll all see her soon." Steve stammered to Sandra, and the tall woman grabbed his shoulder tightly and shook him a little, trying to bring him some comfort.

"She's going to be okay. The hard part is over."

"The hard part is waiting to know if it worked." Steve contradicted as he inhaled, puffing out his chest just to slowly breath through his pursed lips, "Good luck."

Sandra nodded at the man, turning toward Tony to shake his hand and thank him for everything before being led to Kayla's recovery room by Doctor Palmer. The pretty woman pushed open the door and gestured for Sandra to enter first, finding Doctor Strange already in there taking notes.

"Her vitals seem normal. Not seeing anything that should be a cause for concern, but as I said, we won't know until she wakes up." Strange looked between Christine and Sandra Ellis, then to the screen beside Kayla's bed, "I think she'll be up within an hour or so. I'll come back when she starts waking up."

"Thank you, Doctor Strange. You have no idea what this means to me... to all of us." Sandra said as she took a seat beside her unconscious daughter.

Doctor Strange snorted in response, and Christine shot him a dirty look that he didn't acknowledge, "You're welcome. We'll know soon enough how it turned out." He lead Doctor Palmer out of the room so Sandra could wait alone.

The monitors across the bed from Sandra began to beep more steadily, and she lifted her head from her planner when she realized her daughter was waking up. She stood as Doctor Strange and Doctor Palmer swept into the room, the latter checking the monitors as Doctor Strange pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"She's waking up. Heart rate is stable. Brain waves look normal." Christine called from across the room as Sandra leaned over the bed, pressing her hand to Kayla's arm as she tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Go ahead and take a seat Mrs. Ellis, I'm going to ask her some questions when she wakes up, okay?" Doctor Strange directed and Sandra followed his instructions, sitting across the bed and holding her breath.

Kayla groaned slightly and scrunched her eyebrows, but she didn't open her eyes. She swallowed after Christine removed her breathing tube, chewing a little before asking softly, "Steve?"

"Doctor Strange." Her doctor corrected, looking across to the girl's mother who held her right hand. She still had IVs and tubes connected to her, but she wiggled her fingers under Sandra's hand. Doctor Strange watched her for a moment as she slowly opened her eyes to see him sitting next to her. He studied her eyes, seeing them clear, although confused, and Christine took notes as he began to speak to her. "You've just come out of a craniotomy. I have to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"

"Is Steve here?" Kayla slurred and Sandra opened her mouth to answer, but Strange shook his head to tell her no.

"Can you tell me your full name and birthday?" Strange asked sternly as Kayla blinked, seeming to considering his question for a moment before answering.

"My name is Kayla Dawn Ellis. I was born on November 26th, 1989."

Sandra covered her mouth with the hand not holding Kayla, holding back her tears as the doctor continued to ask questions, "Are you aware of why you had to have surgery Miss Ellis?"

"The bad people suppressed my memories." She grumbled, shifting a little and realizing there was someone holding her hand. She turned her head to the right and saw her mother sitting next to her. "Mom?"

"You remember me?" Sandra cried softly and Kayla nodded, clenching her mom's hand tighter, "Oh my darling, you're back."

"I was kidnapped in Sokovia. I remember. And then it's a little foggy, but I remember meeting the Maximoffs. They were my friends. Pietro died to save me." She rambled slowly, replaying what she knew. She looked to her mother and her jaw began to tremble, "Dad's dead, isn't he?"

"Yeah honey. I'm really sorry." Sandra admitted, looking up at the doctors for a moment, "Kay, he needs to ask you some questions okay? Then we can talk more."

Kayla thought about this a moment, lulling her head to the side as Doctor Strange administered some pain killers through her IV, "Okay. Yeah. That sounds good. Then we can talk more. My head feels funny."

"It'll probably feel funny for a while." Doctor Strange admitted, then he looked to Sandra, "We're not out of the woods yet. I have more questions and I have a few more tests to run, but my initial diagnosis is she'll make a full recovery." He paused, then looked to Sandra for a moment, "Would you like Christine to tell the others, or do you want to wait?"

"Let's wait for now." Sandra answered, stroking Kayla's knuckles gently, "Let's get our answers before we give them any false hope."

Steve's boots began to wear down the tile of the waiting room from his pacing, and Sam had to physically restrain his fiancé from strangling his best friend. When Sandra pushed open the door, the whole room froze as they waited with bated breath for the verdict. Sandra kept a good poker face as she inhaled slowly and nodded, smiling between Tiffany and Steve, "One at a time. Doctor's orders."

Tiffany and Steve looked to each other, but Steve, always the gentleman, gestured toward the door. Tiffany was surprised and she stammered a bit, "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Go. She's been in your life longer than mine." Steve told the woman and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug before following Doctor Palmer to Kayla's recovery room.

Tiffany took a deep breath as she waited outside the door, looking at Christine nervously, "She's okay, right?"

The woman nodded, a genuine smile on her face, "Yeah. The surgery was a success. She seems to remember everything before and after the chip. She's very lucky."

Christine pushed open the door for Tiffany to enter, and the little brunette paused when she saw her best friend in the hospital bed with tubes in her hands and a bandage on the side of her bald head. She bit her lips together as she moved forward slowly, seeing Kayla's eyes closed. For a brief moment, Tiffany wondered what she would do if Kayla didn't remember her anymore.

"Kay?"

"Hmmm?" Kayla hummed as she turned her head and opened her eyes just a little. She furrowed her brows, looking Tiffany up and down. "I'm sorry- I... I don't know who you are."

Tiffany inhaled sharply as her knees went weak, and she swallowed down the tears she wanted to cry as her best friend looked at her like she was a stranger, "Really? I mean, I-"

Suddenly, a strained laugh erupted from Kayla's throat and she placed her left hand over her stomach as she wheezed, "You should have seen your face, you looked so sad! Shit, that was mean, I'm so sorry Tiff."

Tiffany's eyes widened and she stormed over to her best friend as she continued to laugh, "You fucking bitch! You scared the shit out of me!" Tiffany growled as she leaned over and threw her arms around Kayla, causing her to wince and whimper in pain, "Sorry. But you deserve it! You're lucky you just had brain surgery, or I'd kick your ass."

"I've missed you too." Kayla said as she leaned her head against the pillow and grabbed her best friend's hand. "Tell me about you and Sam."

After Tiffany went back to the waiting room, Wanda followed, and Kayla welcomed her like an old friend. After Wanda returned to the waiting room though, Steve knew he was running out of people to go before him.

"Stark, why don't you go say hi. Real fast. I'm sure she'll want to thank you for paying." Steve said quickly to the shorter man. Tony raised his brow in question, but Steve just cleared his throat, "Seriously, she'll probably want to say think you. Take your time."

Tiffany and Wanda shared a curious look before Tiffany whacked Sam's thigh and motioned towards Steve, telling her fiancé to figure out what was bothering Captain America. Sam stood and grabbed Steve by the shoulder as Tony begrudgingly followed Doctor Palmer to see Kayla.

"Hey, Cap. Wanna talk about what's on your mind?" Sam asked gently as he slid his hands into his pockets. When Steve didn't answer, he added, "You don't have to talk. We all just think it's a little weird that you haven't broken down the door to see your girl yet."

Steve looked over toward Sandra, who was speaking quietly with Pepper near the door as Happy watched them like a hawk. Cap shifted uncomfortably and took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together, "I don't know what I'm expecting, but I'm nervous. I let her down. What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"You'll never know if you hide here in the waiting room. I'd bet good money that she'd prefer to see you than Stark, but he's the one at her bed side while you're wasting time in here." Sam motioned towards the door and Steve followed his gaze, "I mean, if you want me to go waste time so you can pace some more, I'll happily go tell Kayla that you're scared to see her."

Steve patted Sam on the back before striding out the door, not realizing how big Sandra's smile was to see him go to her daughter.

He almost bumped into Doctor Palmer, who was going over a chart with Doctor Strange in the hallway. The slim doctor looked up at Steve in annoyance, "Can I help you?"

"I- I want to see her after Tony."

"One at a time, we'll collect you when you can see her." Strange said coolly, looking down at his expensive watch, "She's had a long day. Maybe come back tomorrow?"

Steve's heart plummeted as he realized he'd waited too long. He wondered what Kayla would think if he never showed up. Surely somebody had told her he was here. His expression dropped and he stood a little straighter to force a brave exterior while his soul was crumbling, "Can I just say hello?"

"Only family after six. It's five fifty-four." Doctor Strange snapped. Steve noticed how Doctor Palmer looked guilty, and Steve realized it wasn't just the brain surgeon being an ass. The doctor raised his brow expectedly, "Well. See you tomorrow."

Steve stiffened as his resolve hardened, "I have six minutes."

"Five now." Strange countered and they looked up at the same time to see Tony leave the room.

When Tony saw Cap with the doctors, he smirked, "You finally ready old man?"

"Four minutes."

Steve physically pushed Tony out of the way to get to the door, and when his hand reached the knob, he froze. He saw her through the window, eyes closed as she smiled softly, as if she was dreaming.

"Three minutes." Strange called from behind Steve, and he wondered if he should just come back.

Perhaps, if she'd already fallen asleep, he could just spend his three minutes beside her, gathering his courage until he could speak to her tomorrow.

He twisted the knob and snuck into the room, closing the door behind him with a click. He flinched at the noise, seeing Kayla shift in her bed, but it was too late. He'd take his three minutes.

Steve slowly sat in the chair beside Kayla's bed, careful not to make too much noise, but she shifted anyway and turned her head to face him as she drew in a long breath, "Steve?"

He placed his hand over hers and sniffled, trying to hold back his emotions as her eyelids lifted to reveal her glossy green eyes, "Hi, Kay. How are you feeling?"

"I was worried you weren't going to come." Kayla groaned as the corner of her mouth pulled up into a weak smile. "Every time the door opened, I was waiting for you."

"I wanted to make sure everyone got to see you." Steve ran his thumb up and down the length of Kayla's fingers one by one, avoiding her gaze, "I was scared."

"Me too."

Steve looked up to meet her gaze, seeing how sad she looked, "I'm here now, I'm too late, but I'm here. I'll be here first thing tomorrow, and I'll stay as long as you'll have me-"

"Six o'clock, times up." Doctor Strange informed Steve as he entered the room to check Kayla's vitals. When Steve made no attempt to leave, Strange stared down at him sternly, "Captain Rogers, don't make me call security on you."

"Just another minute, please." Steve's voice broke and Kayla turned her hand so she could grab his fingers and anchor him by her side.

Strange looked to Christine, who scoffed, "Stephen, give him a few minutes. He isn't hurting anything."

"He should have come earlier. Family only after six."

"Steve's my fiancé." Kayla blurted, and Steve looked to her in surprise. She winced when she shifted too quickly, then cleared her throat, "We were engaged before... doesn't that count?"

"Yes. Your future husband can stay. That chair reclines, but you might be too tall for it." Christine told Steve quickly before Strange could contradict her. She turned to him and glared, daring him to tell Steve he had to go again.

"Fine. Can you at least stand over there for a minute so I can check her vitals?" Doctor Strange spat as he wrapped up Kayla's arm to check her blood pressure.

Steve mouthed 'thank you' to Doctor Palmer as he stood and leaned against the window sill while Kayla leaned her head back to look up at her doctor, "Will I live?"

"For now. Brain hemorrhaging isn't out of the realm of possibility. Just because you're fine now doesn't mean you won't be a vegetable in the morning." Strange said curtly, clearly annoyed that he was still dealing with Kayla and her Avenger friends. Steve furrowed his brows and Doctor Palmer sighed loudly, causing Doctor Strange to look up and shrug, "What?"

"We'll give you more pain killers at eight, twelve, four, and then again at eight tomorrow morning. Then we'll do a full brain scan and see how you're looking." Christine told Kayla gently, then looked over to Steve, "You're more than welcome to stay the night, but you'll probably wake up when we come to give her her medicine."

"I doubt I'll sleep anyway." Steve admitted as he stood behind the chair so he could look over at Kayla, "I just want to be here."

"Could have come earlier." Kayla teased and Steve's smile dropped, so she shook her head ever so slightly. She was too weak to be feisty, "Was this your plan all along?"

Steve chuckled and shrugged, "I may have considered going last so nobody was waiting for me." Steve came around and sat in the chair again as Doctor Strange finished taking Kayla's blood pressure and wrote something on the board by the door. "I was scared you wouldn't want to see me."

Kayla snorted as Doctor Strange turned and raised his brow at Steve, "I'm not so sure you should be staying-"

"He's fine, I want him to stay. I don't want to be alone." Kayla told her doctor before turning back to Steve, "You stay, and we talk, alright?" Kayla groaned as she shifted in the bed, feeling her eyelids grow heavy, "I'm so tired, Honey."

"Get some sleep." Steve leaned over and kissed her head, "I'll be here when you wake up."

Kayla smiled as she started to drift off, lifting her hand just enough to let it fall onto Steve's wrist. He smiled and leaned forward to rest his arms on the side of her bed, watching her sleep the pain away.

Steve hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until Doctor Strange roughly bumped into his chair and jolted him awake. Steve gasped as he sat up and looked around with wide, blue eyes for a moment before he remembered where he was and why he was there. He looked down to see Kayla smiling softly at Christine as she asked her questions about how she was feeling.

She turned to look at Steve, and he thought she looked a little more alert than she had earlier, "I fell asleep."

"I noticed. Didn't think you would." Kayla answered softly as she grabbed his hand, "Doctor Palmer says at midnight the night team will come in and give me the strong stuff. She says it could knock me out until morning, but they'll give me more medicine at four. If you want to leave and get some sleep at the tower, I understand."

"No, I'd like to stay if that's okay with you. I know you wanted some space-"

"That was when I didn't remember my own mother and thought I could die. Now that I remember you, and how amazing and doting you are, I don't want you any farther away than you are right now. I'd prefer you closer, but the bed is small." Kayla teased as she swayed back and forth, then looked to Christine sweetly, "Do you have that Italian ice stuff that hospitals sometimes have? The cherry one?"

Christine tilted her head curiously when she noticed how somber Steve looked at the request, "I can check. I'm not sure if you should eat yet, especially something so cold. I'll check with Stephen and get back to you."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. If not, it's fine." Kayla turned back to Steve and noticed how sad he looked, causing her own smile to falter, "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking about the Italian ice, and the last time you were in the hospital."

Kayla sighed, pursing her lips as she twisted a little to get a better view of Steve, "I was a selfish brat, and I've grown a lot since then. I've realized that nothing in my life has been that hard, compared to the things I've seen." She studied Steve's face, wishing she could make him smile again, "You were very sweet to me when I didn't remember you. I'm sorry I tried to kill you several times. I'm a badass now."

Steve couldn't help but laugh, and Kayla grinned, letting her body melt into the sheets as Steve read the chart Doctor Strange wrote on before leaving for the night. "Four more hours until the night team comes to check on you." Steve said gently, knowing it was time to talk.

"You left me to die on that helicarrier to save Bucky." Kayla said bluntly and the color drained from Steve's face.

"I-"

"No, let me finish." Kayla cut him off with a sharp stare, "You chose him, and he saved me because you didn't. He kidnapped me, and he terrified me, and I need you to know that I don't blame you." Steve tilted his head in surprise at her confession, and she smirked, "He's a really good guy. We worked through a lot of stuff before... they came for me..." Kayla trailed off and took Steve's hand. "I'm not ready to talk about Hydra yet. I just wanted you to know I forgive you, and I'm sorry that I tried to shoot you, and stab you. I'm also sorry that I tricked you into bringing me to New York to get close to you and destroy the Avengers. In my defense, I literally forgot all of you."

"I'm just happy to have you back." Steve murmured as he leaned farther over the bed to kiss Kayla's cheek, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Baby." Kayla whispered. Her eyes scanned the chain around his neck and she reached out to play with it, "Can I see it?"

"I wasn't sure if you'd want it after what I did. I took the tracker out months ago." Steve muttered as he pulled the chain out from under his shirt to reveal the ring he'd bought for Kayla. She ran her fingers down the chain and toyed with the ring at the bottom. "If you'll have me, I'll buy you a new one. Whatever you want."

"I want this one. I thought about it every night in Sokovia before Hydra took me." Kayla shifted her eyes up from the ring to Steve's watery blues, "Put the chip back in it."

"What?"

"I want you to put the chip in it. I want you to always be able to find me. I never want to get lost again."

Steve snapped the chain off his neck and pulled the ring off, then reached across the bed to gentry grab Kayla's left hand, "Kayla Ellis, I've loved you and missed you and dreamt of you for months, and I never want to let you out of my sight again. I don't care if we have fifty years or five hours, I want you. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children, and I can't wait another second to ask you if you'll marry me?"

Kayla beamed at Steve as a tear slipped from her eye, "I never imagined you'd propose while I was in a hospital bed after brain surgery." She gestured to her head as more tears began to fall, "Shaved off all my hair, I got fat. I learned how to kill people and I watched people die. I'm broken."

"You aren't fat, and you aren't broken. You're strong and you're perfect, and you know I'm always honest." Steve said as he leaned forward to kiss her lips softly. "You never answered my question though. If you don't say yes, they're gonna kick me out."

Kayla nodded rapidly, "Yes, I'll marry you, Steve." He leaned forward to kiss her again, more passionately this time until she gently pushed him away, "You gotta go easy on me though. It hurts."

"Sorry! I'm just excited." Steve admitted as he kissed her softer, "Listen, I pulled some strings, called in a few favors. When you get released from here, would you come with me somewhere quiet where you can recover in peace, just the two of us?"

Kayla took a long, deep breath and smiled, humming out her approval of the idea, "That sounds wonderful Steve."

Her eyes began to flutter closed again, and Steve wasn't sure if the drugs were making her sleepy, or if she was just exhausted. Either way, he didn't need to keep her up any longer. He slowly slid the ring up her finger and leaned across the bed to kiss her knuckles before rubbing his thumb against her pale cheek. He settled into the chair beside her and situated himself to be able to see her while she slept before reclining. Doctor Palmer was right, he was too tall to use the chair as a bed, but Steve didn't care.

"Goodnight, my love." Steve told Kayla quietly when he thought she was asleep, but she surprised him by whispering to him in response.

"Night, fiancé."