Author's Notes:

Siobhan- I saw him and it was magical. Soooo magical. Also, yes, Ryan is NOT going to be happy about his brother dying. As for who Kayla called? You'll have to wait and see...

Nikkita Starr- Yes. The Drama. The Intrigue. The Chaos.

Steve was almost back to the lodge when it started to hit him. His limbs began to feel heavy and his head began to hurt. Every step became harder and harder as he stumbled against the driver's side door of his truck. He pulled open the door and fell into the seat, using all his strength to pull his long legs into the cab. He fumbled with the key, struggling to make his fingers move. After getting the engine started, he attempted one of the unused features of his present from Tony Stark, "Friday?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers?"

"Autopilot on. Take me to Stark's cabin." He mumbled, feeling his consciousness begin to slip away. He grabbed for the center console and unscrewed a bottle of water, taking in as much of it as he could swallow as the truck began to drive up the road. He heard sirens approaching, meeting, and passing him, heading toward where he'd come. Ryan had surely called the police, and Jack would tell him what had happened. They'd come looking for him.

"Friday?" Steve gasped, letting the empty bottle fall to the floor of the cab, "Friday, how far are we from the cabin?"

"We'll be there in fourteen minutes, sir." The woman's voice replied with a hint of worry, "Shall I inform Mr. Stark?"

"Y-yes." Steve muttered, letting his head lull to the side once more. As he shifted, he felt that tinge in the back of his neck again and reached up with his right hand to feel the spot that bothered him. He found the tiniest dart stuck in the back of his neck. Steve very carefully grabbed it between his fingers and pulled it out, studying it with blurry eyes. "What the hell?" And his awareness fell away, and everything began to go black.

"Mr. Stark." Friday's voice echoed quietly through Tony and Pepper's bedroom. He groaned and rolled over, squishing his face in frustration from being woken up. When he didn't respond, Friday tried again, "Mr. Stark. Please be advised, Captain Rogers is on his way. He seems to be in critical condition."

Pepper sat up in bed first, looking over to her husband, "Tony." She shook the man beside her, trying to rustle him from sleep, "Tony, did you hear that?"

"No, I'm trying to sleep."

"Tony," Pepper said again, "Steve is in critical condition. He's on his way."

"Who?" Tony mumbled, chewing his mouth as he slowly began to stir.

"Steve. Kayla's Steve."

Tony chewed on Pepper's words for a moment, then suddenly his eyes flew open and he scrambled out of bed, registering what she was trying to tell him. "Pep, keep an eye on the toddlers will you, I'm gonna wake her up." Pepper swung her legs over the bed and grabbed her bathrobe before following Tony to the guest bedroom, where he was knocking loudly on the door.

Kayla swung the door open, her jaw stiff and eyes angry, "This better be important."

"Kayla," Tony spat out, looking at the kids sitting on the bed behind her, "He's on his way. The kids should stay here."

Kayla's eyes widened as realization dawned on her and she doubled back into the room to grab her sweatshirt and jeans. "Sarah, James, stay with Auntie Pepper okay? Please?"

Sarah nodded sleepily as Pepper swept into the room, sitting on the bed with the kids as Kayla hopped up and down, trying to yank her blue jeans over her thighs. She pulled the sweatshirt over her sleep top and followed Tony out of the bedroom, closing the door tightly behind her. The two came charging down the stairs and out onto the patio just in time to see Steve's pickup roll into the drive. It stopped and shut off, but Steve didn't get out.

Kayla took off into a sprint, faster than Tony could go if he tried. She got to the truck and flew the door open, finding Steve unconscious in the driver's seat, "Baby, baby wake up! Baby what's wrong? Tony! Tony help me get him out!" Kayla cried as Tony reached her. The two pulled his heavy body out of the truck and onto the ground where Kayla fell to her knees, letting his head rest against her legs, "Steve! Steve wake up!"

"Kay." Tony's grave voice called from the cab. Kayla looked up to see Tony holding a small dart between his fingers. Kayla looked from the dart to Tony to Steve, her arms beginning to shake as she stroked Steve's pale face. He's breathing, but barely, she could feel the slight rise and fall of his chest against her. Tony carefully sidestepped the pair and prepared to head back to the cabin, stopping for just a moment to turn to Kayla. "I'm gonna run some tests on this, but, I have a feeling its cyanide."

Kayla swallowed hard, looking down at Steve. "Run the test. If it's cyanide- bring the serum." She told Tony, her voice shaking as she leaned over her husband, pressing a firm kiss against his forehead as the tears began to well up in her eyes. "Damn it, Steve," she whispered by his ear, "You promised me." Steve shifted his jaw a little, and Kayla's face lit up when she realized he'd heard her. "Steve... Honey, it's going to be okay, I'm gonna take care of you... stay with me."

Tony came jogging back out from the cabin, a syringe in his hand, and that's all Kayla needed to know. He passed it off to her as he skidded to a stop, and Kayla stared at it for a moment, praying she'd done enough. Praying she wouldn't kill her Steve. She took a deep breath and plunged the needle into his neck, depositing all of the liquid into his system. Once it was drained, Kayla handed the syringe to Tony, a sign to give her some space. Kayla's body shook as she held Steve's jaw in her hand, stroking his ghostly cheek with her thumb, "Please. Please stay with me. You promised."

At her words, Steve's mouth moved again, and his eyes twitched under his lids. His leg shuddered a bit, and Kayla grabbed onto his hand, holding it up to her lips. In the darkness, she could make out the slightest bit of pink returning to Steve's face as he took a deep breath and coughed. "Kay-"

"Steve! Oh, Steve!" Kayla sobbed, shifting her body to pull his torso up to her. He was weak and fell into her arms, and she held him tightly as he coughed again. She stroked the back of his neck, soaking his black jacket with her tears, "Steve," she whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck, "Baby, what happened?"

"Hydra." He croaked out, his own face buried in the crook of Kayla's neck as he tried to move his arms. "Cyanide."

"Thank God for super-soldier serum." Tony muttered, leaning against Steve's truck as he looked down at the pair, "Luckily your wife prepared for this. Well, not for this, but-"

"It was Ryan's brothers? What did they do? Is Ryan okay?" Kayla gasped, pulling away and holding Steve by the face.

Steve blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus as the cyanide was destroyed in his system. "They tried to... recruit me." He struggled as Kayla kept a tight grip on his cheeks, "When I said no, they tried to shoot me."

"They clearly succeeded." Kayla barked, moving her hands to Steve's shoulders as he stretched out his jaw. He finally looked alert but didn't try to stand.

"No, no Phillip tried to really shoot me. We struggled for the gun. It went off and killed him. I think Jack shot me with cyanide when I ran away." Steve got out, releasing a deep breath as he regained stamina. "When did you make an antidote for cyanide?"

"Tony suggested it. Thought it could do some good in the world." Kayla shot Tony a dirty look from where she sat, "Were you fucking clairvoyant, Stark?"

"I didn't expect this." Tony admitted honestly, pushing himself away from the truck, "But I'm glad I pushed you to keep working on it, or you'd be a dead man. Even super soldiers can't survive cyanide."

"I'm just so happy you're alright. I'm so happy you're here." Kayla blubbered as she let her face crash into Steve's neck again, this time almost knocking him back. He put his arms behind him to keep his balance, then wrapped one arm around his wife, holding her close to him as she cried.

Tony pulled out his phone from his pocket, answering it quickly, "What's happening, Pep?"

Kayla and Steve both looked up to Tony before Kayla scrambled to her feet, holding onto Tony's arm as he spoke. "Are the kids alright?"

"Some woman named Tessa keeps calling you. She's called you four times, nonstop." Tony answered as he slid his phone back into his pocket.

Kayla reached down and offered her hand to Steve, then used her strength to hoist him from the ground. Steve looked up at the second floor of the cabin, "She knows."

"I'll take care of this, don't worry about it. You go see the kids, I'll sort this all out." Kayla promised, taking Steve by the hand as he wobbled a little, then led him back to the house. They slowly trekked up the stairs and Steve opened the door to the bedroom. When Sarah and James saw their father they both let out a shriek, and James slid off the bed to run and grab a hold of his dad's legs.

"Daddy! You came back!" Sarah cried out as she reached up toward Steve. Steve sat on the bed, picking up James and giving Sarah a one-armed hug. Pepper passed Kayla her phone and the two women left the room, allowing Steve some time alone with the kids while Kayla dealt with Tessa.

Kayla looked at her phone for a moment, trying to figure out how to spin Steve's tale. She couldn't tell Tessa about Ryan's brothers. Not over the phone. She dialed her friend and held the phone to her ear, biting the side of her index finger while she waited. When the line came alive, Kayla startled a little, "Tess?"

"Oh, Katie... Katie, I-I-" Tessa wept on the other end of the phone.

"What- what is it?" Kayla stammered, not expecting so many tears from the woman. She was expecting Tessa to be angry- her husband killed her future brother in law. Tessa's voice was shaking on the other line and Kayla was beginning to worry that Ryan's brothers had killed him too. "Tessa, what's wrong?"

"The camping trip Katie-" Tessa wept, sniffling back tears. She sounded like she was on speakerphone, "Katie, I just got a call from Ryan. There was an accident."

"What kind of accident?" Kayla asked, not understanding what was happening. She knew what happened. Phillip tried to kill Steve. Steve accidentally killed Phillip. Jack shot Steve with cyanide. Why wasn't Tessa more upset?

"Katie, they-they are gone. Steve's gone, Katie. Ryan shot at the attacker, but it was too late. He found Jack, Philip, and Steve. They- they're dead. I'm so sorry Katie, I'm so so sorry. I- I didn't want you to find out from the police." Tessa sobbed on the other end of the line.

Kayla was speechless. She couldn't form words. She didn't understand. "What?"

"Katie, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. Please don't hate me. I just needed to tell you. I'm going to Ryan now, I'll get more information for you if you want."

"You're going out to the lake? You're going to see Ryan?" Kayla yelped, holding the phone close to her ear, "No, Tessa, it's- it's too dangerous, go back home. Tessa please..."

"The police were already there, the area is safe now, I promise, I'll be okay. I'm more worried about you. Are you still out of town? I'll be over the second you get home Katie. I- I can't imagine. Do you need anything?" Tessa asked quickly.

Kayla flung open the bedroom door and met Steve's gaze, nodding her head away from the bedroom to call her husband away. "I'll be back. Stay here." He told the kids and pulled the covers over them, pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads before following his wife. He found Kayla listening intently, biting her finger nervously.

"Tessa, Tess, please go home." She pleaded, but the girl on the other line was determined to get to her fiance and make sure he was okay. After a moment, Kayla's head dropped, her voice cracking, "Okay. Be safe please."

As Kayla hung up the phone, Steve tilted her jaw up to look her in the eyes, "What's wrong?" He didn't get an answer though because Kayla froze for a moment before darting down the staircase into the kitchen. Steve followed her at top speed, finally jumping over the banister to meet her at the bottom, "Kay, what is it?"

"I have to go. I have to go Steve- Tessa needs me." Kayla squeezed Steve's arm for a moment before darting out the door to the pickup, driving off as fast as the truck would take her.