Kayla finished loading the dishwasher on Friday evening, enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet as Steve worked on putting the kids to bed. Zawadi snoozed by her feet, occasionally opening his eyes to look up at Kayla when she dropped water on the dog's head. She hummed to herself as she moved about, cleaning up the kitchen until a loud knock came from the door.

Zawadi's head popped up, looking curiously at the doorway as Kayla raised her brow and leaned around the doorframe. "Stay." She told the Rhodesian, but the old dog didn't seem too interested in whoever was at the residence anyway. Kayla approached the door, her body stiff as she looked at her watch.

7:06

She opened the door and Tessa came barreling in, her long brunette hair curled into loose ringlets that bopped around her shoulders as she bounced up and down on her heels. She held a dress in each hand, and her brows were drawn anxiously, "Katie. Katie, I need your help. It's an emergency."

"Something about the dresses makes me think it's not really an emergency." Katie deadpanned in returned, gesturing toward the couch as Tessa laid each dress over the back.

The shorter woman scowled as she turned back to her best friend, then placed her hands on her hips and sighed, "I think this might be the night Kay. I think... I think Ryan could-"

"Propose? You think he's finally going to propose? It's been like- four years." Kayla's demeanor lifted and she darted to Tessa's side, eyeing the dresses hung over the couch, "Well obviously you have to go with the green."

"Why the green?" Tessa asked quickly, picking it up and holding it to herself.

Kayla snorted, pulling the fabric against Tessa's sides, "It shows off your ass, and your boobs, and your legs. It's sexy. This isn't the wedding, its the proposal, no need to be modest." Kayla giggled as she took the tea-length light pink second option off the couch and held it away from Tessa. "What time is Ryan picking you up?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Tessa, go, go now, use my bathroom upstairs. Be quiet though. Do NOT wake up James. He'll never go back to sleep." Kayla hissed as she ushered her friend toward the stairs, where she passed Steve as he pushed himself against the wall to let her pass.

"Hey, Tess!" Steve whispered loudly, greeting the woman as he slowly made his way to his wife, "Sarah fell asleep right away. James wanted more stories. I read him four."

"What stories did you read tonight darling?" Kayla cooed as she reached up and pressed a kiss against Steve's jaw. "Who did he want to hear about this evening?"

"Spiderman. He loves that Spiderman." Steve grunted and Kayla let out a slight laugh, shaking her head as Steve rolled his eyes. "What a punk."

"He's not a punk, he's a good kid. Young man. Adult. He's an adult now. We're getting old."

"I was already old when you met me." Steve pressed a kiss against Kayla's temple and made his way to the kitchen to grab himself a beer. "So what's with Tess?"

"She thinks Ryan is going to propose tonight," Kayla answered quietly, looking over her shoulder toward the stairs before turning back to her husband, "We'll see."

"About damn time." Steve chuckled as he tossed his beer back, swallowing its contents quickly as Zawadi looked up at him expectantly. Steve opened the cabinet next to the fridge and pulled a dog treat out of the box, tossing it to Zaddi who caught it quickly, munching loudly.

Tessa came trotting down the stairs in her tight green dress and Kayla let out a low whistle as Steve blushed, looking down at the dog to keep from staring. Tessa turned around quickly with her arms outstretched, "Well, how do I look?"

"You'll knock him dead," Kayla answered without missing a beat. Kayla looked her up and down, then scrunched her face at her feet, "You gonna wear those flip flops though?"

"Uhhh..." Tessa trailed off, looking down and clicking her heels together.

Kayla scoffed and addressed Steve without looking back over her shoulder, "Honey, go grab my stilettos. The black ones. It's a special occasion."

Tessa wrapped her arms around Kayla in thanks as Steve lumbered up the stairs for the heels. As Kayla pulled away, she looked at her watch, "He'll be home soon. Where's he taking you?"

"I don't know. Somewhere nice. He said to dress up. I'm so nervous."

"Don't be nervous," Kayla replied as Steve returned with the shoes, "Here, put these on. Hike up the dress, go meet Ryan. Everything is going to be fine."

Tessa took a deep breath, shifting her halter top emerald dress around her chest as she slipped her feet into the high heels, "Thanks, Katie. I'll call you after okay?"

"I mean, you could just come over in the morning before you head to the shop?" Kayla yawned and Steve smirked at her as she tried to force the yawn back down. "The kids will be awake at dawn, and so will we."

Tessa laughed, "Fine, first thing in the morning. I'm getting married!" Tessa squealed before grabbing her black clutch and clicking her way out the door.

Steve turned to Kayla, who crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. The soldier watched his wife expectantly, his brow raised as he placed his hands on his hips. "What?" Kayla asked with a shrug, but Steve just put both hands up defensively before walking back to the kitchen. "What is it?" Kayla called quietly, trying not to wake their kids.

"Those are your favorite shoes. You don't let anyone touch them."

Kayla's mouth twitched into a small smile as her head dropped, her hair falling around her face. "Tessa's not just anyone. You know that."

"I know she's not. But you still don't let anyone touch those shoes." Steve opened the fridge and dug around, looking for more food. "I'm still hungry."

"Aren't you always?" Kayla answered, locking the front door as Steve's cell began to ring. Steve removed himself from the cover of the fridge to stare at the cell... realizing it wasn't his work phone, but his burner phone. Kayla approached slowly, allowing Steve to look down at the name before asking, "Who is it?"

"Sam." Steve answered shortly, running his hand through his hair before looking back up at Kayla, "It's just a text."

"You gonna tell me what it says?" Kayla prodded as Steve clenched the cell tightly, staring at the carpet ahead, but avoiding Kayla's eyes.

"No, I don't think I will." He answered coldly, but his eyes darted up for just a second, just long enough to show Kayla how scared he was.

She gulped, looking from her husband to the stairs, "I'm- I'm going to go check on the kids. You deal with... whatever it is." Kayla started up the stairs, and Zawadi got to his feet and followed his owner to Sarah's nursery. She checked on her daughter first, finding the little blonde fast asleep, clutching her red baby blanket as she wheezed softly. Kayla spread out the small blanket to cover the little girl. Sarah shifted slightly from the contact but didn't wake up, only let out a little cough before tightening her fist around the blanket.

Kayla moved from Sarah's bedroom into the joint bathroom between the two kids, emerging into James's room to find the toddler sitting on the floor with a comic book sprawled out in front of him. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be in bed." Kayla hissed as she knelt down beside the boy, and he scrambled to close his comic book and hide it behind his back. Kayla stared at him though, easily reaching around to snatch the issue out of his hand. "The Hulk, huh?"

"Dad read me the Spiderman one before bed. And the Iron Man one." James admitted quietly as Kayla plopped onto her butt and leaned against his toddler bed, flipping through the pages.

"You can't read this," Kayla informed the child, and he shied away from her.

"I like the pictures." He admitted, and Kayla passed the booklet back to her son, patting her thigh for him to sit on her lap. "I'm sorry."

"How about I'll read you part of this one, then you go to sleep for real okay? And in return, I won't tell your father that you were sneaking out of bed." Kayla bargained as James snuggled against her chest, turning his chubby face to see the book as Kayla turned to the beginning, reading quietly in the darkness as neither of them strained to see the pictures.

Once Steve was sure Kayla wasn't listening, he dialed Sam's phone and waited for his former teammate to answer. Once the line came alive, Steve greeted Sam with a simple question, "You're sure it's him?"

"We found a man. Brainwashed, emaciated, spouting gibberish with glowing orange eyes. Told us Hail Hydra before Barnes executed him. There's nobody else who could do this, Steve."

"I don't want anything to do with it, Sam. I can't- I can't do that to Kay and the kids. Where is he? Do we need to run?" Steve asked, looking up the stairs as he held his hand over the receiver, trying to shield his voice from his wife's prying ears.

Sam didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, he sounded anxious, "East Coast. We've had reports of disappearances everywhere from Tampa to Annapolis. But he doesn't seem to be in New York. Yet."

"What's he want?"

"Who knows?" Sam answered, "World domination? It's been years, he's not looking for you."

"We better hope not. I gotta lay low, Sam. Keep me posted if you think he might be working his way up to New York. I gotta go." Steve told Sam quickly as he heard Kayla closing the door to James's room and began walking down the stairs.

"Good luck, Steve," Sam replied before hanging up the phone, and Steve sighed as he shoved the cell into his pocket. Kayla sidled up next to him, wrapping her arms around her husband as she rested her cheek against his forearm.

"Please tell me what's happening, Steve." She murmured, her voice muffled as she pressed a gentle kiss to his arm. "I hate being in the dark."

Steve shook his head, letting his face fall into his hand as his whole body shuddered. Kayla felt her chest fall into her stomach, her own knees shaking at Steve's reaction. The former Captain sighed and turned his head just a little so his words would reach his wife's ears, "I can't Kayla. Please. Just trust me okay? I'll tell you when I know more. I don't want to worry you now."

"I'm more worried by what you're not telling me, Steve. We don't keep secrets from each other, you know that." Kayla tried, shifting to stand in front of Steve with each hand on his strong arms, "Is it Schmidt?" Kayla guessed, knowing her husband well enough to read him like an open book. Nothing scared him more than the man he couldn't defeat.

Steve didn't answer, but his blue eyes darted to Kayla before allowing himself a slight nod. Kayla's breath caught in her throat, but she swallowed it down before giving Steve's arms a comforting squeeze, "Do we need to go?"

"No. Not yet. Sam says he isn't looking for me."

"Then it doesn't matter. We know he's out there, but as long as he's not after you, there's no reason to worry. And he thinks I'm dead. And my parents told everyone James is dead. There's nothing for him here. Come to bed." Kayla ordered, trying to ease Steve's dread as her own began to grow. She lowered her hands until they reached his, grabbing him tightly and looking up to meet his blue eyes, "Let's go to bed."

Steve reached down and pressed his lips against Kayla's. He never let go of her hands as he pushed against her mouth, trying to let go of his nerves. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that Schmidt was getting closer and closer to him and his family. After a moment, Kayla pulled away and began to lead him out of the kitchen toward the stairs to head to their bedroom.

Zawadi was already resting on their king-sized bed, and he didn't even lift his head as his eyes opened to look at the pair when they entered. Kayla easily pulled off her blouse and discarded it before pressing her chest against Steve. He looked over her shoulder and chuckled, "It's barely eight o'clock."

"I said come to bed. I never said we'd go to sleep." Kayla growled lowly into Steve's ear as she stood on her tip toes to get closer to him. She playfully yanked at the hem of his t-shirt, silently begging him to take it off. He shook his head at her, but obliged, pulling off his shirt before lifting her up and depositing her into their bed.