Chapter Three: Safehouses

Things were finally starting to get back to normal, although every now and then Margot found her thoughts drifting to the supersoldier they'd placed in a safehouse at Lake Ontario, staring at her phone during breaks as if anticipating a call she'd never get.

The first week had gone relatively well, as far as she knew, although the dirty looks Fury sent her when he kept bringing up the psych form were something she was going to have to get used to.

Finalizing the contract Captain Rogers had signed, Margot shut her laptop for the day, ready to go home to her apartment and sleep the stress away. With one final look at her phone, she shoved it into her trench pocket, heels clicking against the tile floors as she made her way to the elevator, the ding of the doors always catching her off guard.

"There she is!" Javier's face met her as she stepped out of the room, a wide smile stretching the stubble he'd been growing out for the past month. Margot cocked an eyebrow."You ready for our weekend tradition?"

Her suspicions turned into mirthful chuckles as she shouldered her bag, smiling as she began to walk in tandem with the curly-haired man. "Believe me, after the week I've had I could use it."

Javier hissed, a wet sound that made Margot cringe, "That bad huh?"

Margot shook her head, "You try dealing with Fury's wrath and a walking relic in the same week." Javier shook his head and pulled her closer, squeezing her shoulder.

"Oh come on, I'm sure he's not that bad."

"Captain Rogers? No. Fury?" Margot pretended to muse on the point for a bit with a smirk, "Jury's still out."

She and Javier burst into short laughs and the two of them reached the security scanners just as the sun began to set.

Something vibrated in her pocket. "Hang on," Margot reached into her trench coat and pulled out the smartphone, nearly dropping it when she saw who was calling.

"Captain Rogers?" She answered, Javier stopping in his tracks as he heard the name. "Is everything alright?"

Silence hung on the other line and Margot felt her pulse speed up. "Yeah," He finally responded, causing the agent to let out a sigh of relief, "It's just...I'm having trouble...sleeping."

Confusion bubbled in Margot's stomach. Did he call her just for that? Didn't SHIELD have agents stationed there to help him? People he could talk to?

"Oh, I see." Javier had leaned against the back of the phone, basically hearing every word of the conversation, "Have you tried a Benadryl?"

More silence and Javier shook his head, mouthing "he doesn't know what that is" before growing quiet under Margot's withering look.

Unfortunately, Javier was right. "Bena...what?"

Margot let out a soft sigh, "Right, it's a type of sleep medication. You take one and it should knock you right out."

More silence.

"What does it look like?"

Margot shared a look of annoyance with Javier, the latter arching his eyebrow at her behavior. She supposed he had a point. The man was out of time after all. "Look for a white bottle with a pink label, you don't have to take it right now but it should help."

Distant shuffling sounded in her ear as cupboards opened and closed, a soft rattling echoing on the other side of the phone. "I don't see it. Maybe you could let Fury know his superhero needs some of that newfangled medication."

She chuckled at the joke, recognizing the sardonic tone he was taking. "I'll let him know immediately."

Captain Rogers sighed, "Sorry for bugging you with this."

"Don't even worry about it." She pushed his worries away, doing her job in making his transition easier, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Goodbye Captain," Margot hung up quickly and shot a look at Javier.

The man's shoulders crumpled. "Please don't tell me-"

"I have to go talk to Fury-"

"But it's our weekend time-"

"You heard Steve-"

He let out a dramatic sigh but his eyes made it clear he understood. "Go. Save Captain America from insomnia."

She squeezed his hand, "I love you so much you know that?"

Javier shrugged, "I know."

Margot began to walk down the hallway toward Fury's office, and she heard Javi call after her, "Just don't be late for karaoke!"

She tossed him a thumbs up and increased her pace, her heels barely slowing her down. Another skill her Aunt thought it pertinent to learn. After all, she'd done most of her work before women were allowed to wear tactical suits and pants, so it was only fair she'd teach Margot the same strategies.

"Agent Thompson!" She froze in her tracks, Maria standing right in front of her with her arms crossed and a stern look in her gaze. "Fury's office. Now."

Considering that's exactly where she was going, it took marginally less time than her first visit that week. She was shoved into Fury's office and the man's eyepatch stared directly into her determined gaze.

"You gave Captain Rogers one of our phones?" She didn't shrink under his gaze nor the raised tone of his voice.

Margot wasn't an idiot. But she figured the burner wasn't traceable, at least that's what SHIELD had told her. She should've known better.

"You're tracking his calls?"

"Of course we are." Fury scoffed, like it was common knowledge, "We're tracking his every move, making sure he doesn't do stupid things like call one of our agents and give away his position."

Margot stiffened, the knot in her stomach growing tighter as she bit down harder on her cheek.

Fury leaned on the table, an expression matching his name decorating his face. "Were you out of your goddamn mind Agent Thompson? Giving Rogers a device that anyone could trace? Leading straight to your door when we are trying to keep him out of the public eye?"

Margot moved to defend herself but Fury cut her off.

"Your job was to help transition Rogers and convince him to join the Avengers, giving him a cellphone was not part of that job description."

"No, but he wanted-"

Fury moved around the table, his coat dragging behind him, "I don't give a rats ass about what Rogers wanted or didn't want. You put him and SHIELD at risk-"

"Has he been talking to your agents?" Margot cut the man off, clenching her jaw at the insult. Fury went silent. "What about the daily check-ins? Has he filled out the eval form yet?"

Again the man was silent.

Margot took a step forward, staring down her boss, well aware of the consequences of her actions. "Captain Rogers hasn't been sleeping. Today was the first time he used the phone and it was to tell me that he needed meds to help him sleep. And I guarantee you, none of your on-site agents knew that at all."

Fury moved back to his chair and sat down, crossing his hands over his stomach, arching his eyebrow. "So what do you suppose we do?"

Margot knew she was gonna pay for this decision, but it was the most logical step. Besides, maybe it would actually help, being away from everything for a bit. "Captain Rogers trusts me. We can use that to not only help him transition better, but also to determine the exact state he's in before the Tesseract inevitably explodes."

Fury narrowed his gaze, "Alright Thompson, if that's your call."

She straightened her posture and swept her hands down her clothes, straightening her jacket, "It is, sir."

Fury nodded. "Then I suggest you head home to pack. An escort will be driving you to the airport for your secure flight to the Retreat later tonight."

"Thank you, sir."

When she was back in her apartment, Margot finally allowed herself to breathe. A duffel bad sat on her bed, unsure of how long she was supposed to spend at the safehouse. Her gut told her there would probably be a washing machine there, so she packed casually. A few outfits she could wear and re-wear without sacrificing her own comfort.

Margot stuck her phone in her ear as she moved from her bedroom to the kitchenette, Javier's cheerful voicemail greeting her instead of the man himself.

"This is Javi, leave a message after the beep, or whatever you feel like."

"Hey, Javi," Margot moved back into her bedroom, rolling up a few pairs of jeans and picking out t-shirts and sweaters that would go along with them, "It's Margot. Listen, Fury's sending me to the Retreat until further notice, so I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to make it to karaoke tonight, I'm sorry."

Moving back to the kitchenette, she turned to the medicine cabinet and grabbed her own bottle of Benadryl, stuffing it in one of the side pockets of the duffel. "I'll make it up to you I promise."

She ended the voicemail and ran her fingers through her dirty blonde locks, her chest twisting at the thought of abandoning Javier after he'd been so excited. Margot had to admit, she loved their weird little tradition. The pizza parlor hopping followed by a night of hard drinks at their favorite karaoke bar.

Whoever paid for the drinks was exempt from karaoke for the night, with the exception of one duet (Javier's personal rule). The blonde smiled softly at the fond memories of those nights, at least the ones she remembered.

Something soft bubbled in her chest before it twisted again. Margot turned her focus back to her packing, stuffing one of her favorite button-down shirts into the small space before standing back to double-check that she had everything. So far, she only had her toiletries left to pack, but that wouldn't take that long. She stared down at her own outfit, the blazer and heels seeming too formal for this mission. Not to mention, she wasn't being monitored by Fury the way Captain Rogers was.

Slipping into a pair of jeans and sneakers, Margot shed her blazer for one of the leather jackets she favored, sinking into the soft material. A knock at the door made her crease her eyebrows in confusion. The escort wasn't supposed to be here until 6:30 according to Hill, and it was barely six o'clock.

Margot peeked through the peep-hole and when she saw who it was, opened the door with an equally confused look on her face.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

Jim Whittaker took one long look at her before gesturing to her apartment, "I came to see how you were doing."

Margot motioned for him to come in and shut the door behind her, noticing the manila folders in his hand. "Working on another case?" She asked, pointing out the folders. Her dad let out a sigh and handed them to her.

"Actually I could use your help with these." He admitted, his balding head showing flecks of gray among the typical brunette color, "We're trying to pin down this guy Aaron Davis, he keeps getting arrested but we can't seem to keep him in jail. Maybe you can help."
Margot nodded and began to look through the files, only able to spare them a glance before checking her watch. "What's he in for?"

Jim shrugged, "Petty theft, a few muggings..."

Margot cocked an eyebrow, "And you want to keep him locked up because...?"

Her dad let out a sigh and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, "The Captain thinks Davis might be involved in something bigger. He thinks Davis could be involved in a future tech heist against Osborn Industries."

"And you don't?"

Jim shrugged and crossed his arms, "You know me, I deal with evidence and facts, not speculation." He grabbed one of the files from her, "And right now there is no evidence to suggest Davis is anything but small-time."

Margot nodded and took it back from him, tucking the files close to her chest. "I have a few weeks off, so I'll see what I can do."

She leaned into his embrace, Jim placing a quick kiss in her hair, "Thanks baby,"

Margot smiled at her father's term of endearment, "No problem, Dad."

His eyes landed on the duffel bag and he arched an eyebrow in curiosity, "You going somewhere?"

Margot placed the files on the counter and crossed her arms, "My few weeks off comes with a caveat." She explained, "I just have to keep an asset company up at Lake Ontario."

Jim's throat moved up and down and his jaw clenched. "And your boss suggested this?"

Margot shook her head and let out a deep sigh, "I did. The asset we have isn't talking to anyone else but me at the moment, so I offered to go."

Jim swallowed, hand tightening into a fist, "Margot..."

"They're treating him like some kind of lab rat!" She explained, "At least this way, I can ensure he's actually up for the challenges they're prepping him for instead of throwing him into something he's not ready for."

"It's not your job!" He exclaimed, anguish crossing his face, "You're a lawyer. And a damn good one. You don't need to be a babysitter for these superheroes when you could be making a real difference out there!"

Margot bit her cheek, holding back her biting remarks. Didn't he know how much she wished to leave? How unhappy she was at SHIELD? Out of everyone, her dad should know exactly how she feels. "I can't leave."

Jim grasped her hands, and Margot felt sixteen again, being reassured that her mistakes didn't define her. "Yes, you can. There's nothing this Fury has on you that we, as a family, can't get through."

Pressure built behind her eyes and she held back the truth. The fact that Fury was holding more than just her teenage secrets. More than her mistakes. That her very own family was at risk. She set her jaw as her vision blurred from the welling of saltwater in her eyes. "I can't leave." She emphasized, her voice cracking on the final word.

Margot collapsed into her dad's embrace, feeling like a little girl again as he comforted her after she scraped her knee.

"It's okay," He whispered, rubbing her back, "It's gonna be okay."

She wanted to believe him.

But she couldn't.


Steve stared out at the lake the safe house had been built next to, taking in the picturesque scene that had been built for him, right down to the cozy atmosphere of the cabin he'd been imprisoned in.

His mind tried to shake away the weight of that word, but that's exactly what this was. What the contract he'd signed was. What the deal he'd agreed to was. It was all a prison, meant to keep him working for this agency until it was time to cut him loose.

Just like the army did until he'd gone against what they wanted.

He didn't know the consequences of that decision in this new world.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the files he'd been reading through most of the day. Just like Agent Thompson had suggested, all of them were debriefs about the people who were apart of the so-called Avengers Initiative.

So far they included a man named Bruce Banner who could transform into a beast beyond anything Steve could have imagined, but that wasn't what he was paying attention to. Dr. Banner apparently had several degrees in theoretical physics, a man who would know exactly how this new world worked. And what SHIELD was looking for.

The other recruit made Steve's insides curl up, almost the spitting image of a man he knew 70 years ago, although according to the file, their personalities couldn't be more different.

Anthony Stark.

Iron Man, the world called him. He briefly recognized the name from his conversation with Agent Thompson, claiming that he was the reason the Avengers Initiative had been put into place.

Why he'd been freed from the ice.

Why he'd been trapped here.

Steve prided himself on his understanding, on the open-mind his mother had raised him to have. But the smug look on Stark's face and the footage of the reveal SHIELD had provided him with stung Steve, rubbing the supersoldier the wrong way.

Just as smart as Howard.

Just as proud.

But none of the caution. Steve tossed the file away and placed his chin in his palm.

The door creaked behind him and he let out a reluctant sigh, knowing it was another attempt by SHIELD to get him to talk.

"I haven't changed my mind," He announced, not even bothering to look at the door. The last thing they'd asked him about was discussing the Howling Commandos, a group of people that had almost disappeared in the years he'd been asleep. Only Dugan seemed to be left.

"That's a shame, even if I brought the pills?"

The teasing voice of Agent Thompson drew his attention to the door, the woman dressed far more casually than the last time he'd seen her. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a duffel bag hung by her side.

So she was their new strategy. Steve scoffed. "They send you in to weasel information out of me?"

Agent Thompson tilted her head, lips twisting upward at his comment, "Actually I volunteered, brought some stuff to help you sleep too, but if you'd rather I leave..."

"No," Steve called after her, gut twisting that his phone call had caused her to go out of her way to check up on him. Guilt pulsed through his veins. He shouldn't have assumed. "I just-"

"You're used to the agents here," She finished for him, a knowing look in her green eyes, "I get it."

Steve nodded.

Agent Thompson moved through the cabin, staring at the wooden walls with vibranium hidden inside it. Her eyes landed on the files, "Catching up?" She asked.

Steve nodded, rubbing the back of his head, nerves knotting up in his throat. What was he supposed to do? She probably knew the cabin better than he did, but it was almost as if she was waiting for him to do something.

"Right," Agent Thompson broke the silence with a tight smile, shouldering her duffel bag as she looked around the cabin again, "I'm gonna go get set up. Give you some privacy for a bit."

"Sounds good," Steve rushed out his response, watching her disappear through one of the doors to an empty room before hanging his head between his arms, hands braced against the kitchen counter.

When she reappeared again, her jacket had disappeared and she carried a white bottle, arms bare as she joined him in the kitchen. "Right, so first thing's first," She shook the bottle, the sound of pills rattling, "This is Benadryl. I wasn't sure if they stocked you with any so I brought my own. It works miracles when it comes to sleeping."

Steve examined the white and pink bottle, trying to twist the cap off, but even his own strength failed.

Agent Thompson made a face and snatched the bottle back from him, "Right, childproof caps, you didn't exactly have those in the 40s."

Steve chuckled and shook his head, "Not where I'm from at least."

Her chuckle alleviated some of the pressure on his shoulders and he watched as she pushed down and twisted. "Opening these can be a bitch sometimes."

Once again Steve couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face at the sound of her cursing. It made her seem human. Something Steve had rarely seen among the SHIELD agents who had poked and prodded and pressured him over the last week. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed, holding the cap in one hand and the bottle in the other.

He chuckled at the gesture and clapped for her efforts. Her soft giggle echoed through the kitchen as she closed the bottle. "Again, take one of those and you're out like a light."

She snapped her fingers, ponytail bouncing as she put the bottle away. Still, when he met her gaze, the knot in Steve's throat returned, dropping to his stomach as he realized exactly what this was.

SHIELD would be surveilling him no matter what.

They were using her to get him to talk.

"Now to business." She began, an almost apologetic look on her face. Steve wondered how much of it was real and how much of it was an act. He stiffened as she moved closer, crossing her arms and breathing out a sigh, "I need you to fill out that psych eval form."

Steve bit the inside of his cheek, nodding his head slowly as his suspicions were confirmed. "So that's what you're here for."

Agent Thompson's eyes softened, "It's my job, Captain Rogers."

He nodded sourly, a bitter taste in his mouth as he gathered up the files on the counter and made his way back to his living quarters, "I understand, Agent."

The knot sunk deeper and deeper as he turned his back on her and closed the door, tossing the files on the creaky bed before sinking into it. He hung his head again, the constant headaches returning.

It was too much.

All he'd done since waking up was talk about how fine he was. All they'd done to him was confine him. This was no different. This was worse.

Cause now the private time he'd thought he'd been given had all been an illusion. He wasn't by himself anymore.

Now there would always be someone hovering over him, waiting to pounce at his most vulnerable moment.

A soft knock was heard on his door. "Captain Rogers, I'm only trying to help."

Steve ignored it.


awwww yeah we're getting to the good bonding stuff! If you have any ideas or things you wanna see Margot and Steve do feel free to comment some!

Thanks for reading!