Hi everyone!

I know, it's not been a crazy long hiatus again! I'm glad I still have people reading this story as it truly is my baby and I have a few chapters coming up that were written way back in 2015 when I started this journey with you all!

As for this chapter, I think many of you have been waiting so long for it, so I made it a bit longer than my usual stuff.

Enjoy and don't forget to drop a review!

April 3rd 2014, Washington D.C

Since leaving the army, Sam Wilson was content to say his life was quiet. He was less content to say it was interesting. In fact, he'd happily settle for saying it was nothing shy of dull. He loved his freedom, but missed the excitement the army bought him. Every day it was the same. Go for a run, drink some juice, shower, breakfast, and head to the office. He loved helping others through their traumas, but there was always going to be that tiny part of him that would settle for that adrenaline rush again.

Knock knock.

The bottle he'd bought to his lips lowered, his senses immediately kicking into high alert. Not only was it stupidly early, but that had come from his back door. Cautiously, he moved to the door and drew the blind. Staring back at his with degrees of exhaustion were three pairs of eyes, two identical shades of blue, one a pale green. Startled, he opened the door and Steve gave him a weak smile.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Nat offered as an explanation.

It took Sam less than three seconds to make up his mind and swing the door open.

"Not everyone."

The trio entered, the door and blinds shutting swiftly behind them. In a daze and not certain he wasn't dreaming, Sam took in the dust and specks of blood on all of them.

"I have a shower upstairs if you want it."

Beth immediately looked to Nat, but the other woman firmly shook her head.

"You got impaled by a tree, electrocuted, then almost blown up yesterday. You get first dibs."

She flashed a glance at Steve, but he simply raised his hands.

"Don't look at me. I'm with Nat here."

Exasperated, Beth accepted the towel Sam held out to her and followed him to the bathroom. He didn't speak, and she was grateful for the lack of probing, even though she knew deep down he was probably about to explode with questions. Stepping into the water, she turned the heat as high as it would go and only when the scorching heat began massaging her muscles did she allow a single tear to slide down her face as she recalled the memories punched into her brain the night previously. As she wiped the trail away, she told herself that would be the last time she would allow Zola the satisfaction of tears. He was dead. Gerbel was dead. Only one of the sick bastards remained, and he was active again. In her eyes, that meant one thing: soon, he was also going to be dead.

Sam greeted her with a cup of coffee as she stepped into the kitchen and passed the shower over to Nat. grateful, she took the cup and sank into a chair with a heavy sigh.

"I take it those two filled you in on the events."

"Almost. Just go to the part where you reached the base."

Pain stabbed her stomach at the thought, but she brushed it aside to take a large gulp of coffee, choosing to stay silent as Steve continued filling the gaps. By the time he finished, Nat had called down that the shower was free and Steve all but skipped to the stairs.

"He's been obsessed with showers since we were kids. He hates getting dirty."

"Seems like he chose the perfect career." Sam replied.

It was a small joke, but enough to make her lips twitch up.

"I'm sorry we dropped in like this. We just couldn't think of anyone else we could trust."

Sam placed his mug down, his eyes growing serious as he met her gaze head on.

"It means a lot that you chose to trust me of all people. I do have one question though; how did you know where I live?"

Beth's lips twitched again.

"Nat is an excellent hacker. Took her about four minutes."

"Of course." he muttered under his breath as he moved towards the stove. A comfortable wait later and the scent of bacon filled the air, causing Beth's stomach to grumble. He slid a plate over to her before heading up to where she could hear Steve and Nat's quiet tones filtering down. Her heart went out to Nat. It had been hard enough for Beth to realise SHIELD was actually being controlled by HYDRA, but Nat had thrown everything she had into the organisation, desperate to redeem herself. For Beth, it was more personal. Her closest friends had worked so hard to set it up, only for it to be tainted by the one thing they spent their lives to stop. It made her only want revenge.

Steve noticed the fire burning in his sister's eyes as he took a seat at the table, but he didn't say anything. He understood how she was feeling. The same anger burned in him too. Nat kept quiet until Sam started buttering toast and placing it in front of them.

"So, who in SHIELD has the authorisation to launch a missile?" she asked.

Beth's hand clenched her knife harder as Steve voiced Pierce's name. Her mind began fading until Jasper Sitwell's name turned up. Tuning back in, she frowned as Steve began to wonder how they could approach the man in broad daylight. One slender eyebrow raised as Sam placed a folder in front of them.

"You don't."

Beth could only listen with interest as he explained his skills and began to plot with Steve and Nat where to find his wings. By the time she came out of her thoughts, Steve and Nat were already standing, ready to leave and steal the wings for their friend. Steve bent to kiss her head.

"We won't be long. Stay here, gets some rest, and help Sam plan how to catch Sitwell. Okay?"

Knowing it would be a much easier task if only two people went, she nodded her consent and gave her close friend a smile as the pair headed out the door.

"It doesn't matter how old I get, he still sees his baby sister when he looks at me." she sighed.

"Unfortunately that's the downside of being the younger sibling." he sympathised.

Beth glanced at Sam, seeing a fond smile on his face as he shook his head.

"You have siblings?"

"Two older sisters. Doesn't matter to them that I tower over them and joined the military, I'll always be their baby brother and get nagged at every holiday over how I need to settle down with a nice lady."

The hidden softness in his voice betrayed his words and Beth gave him a warm smile. She was so glad they'd chosen to confide in him, though there was part of her guilty for dragging him into the mess they'd made. Sighing, she let her smile fade, a more serious expression taking its place.

"So, capturing Sitwell…"

….

Steve and Nat returned a few hours later, triumphantly presenting Sam with their 'loot'. Action to execute their plan swiftly followed. Each had their own place and roles. Sam would lure Jasper, Steve and Nat would scare him into revealing the secrets being hidden from them, and Beth would be watching out for unexpected intruders, namely in the form of the Winter Soldier.

Part one was a success. Beth had to fight giggles as she watched Sam swoop in and pluck Jasper from the air, the other man's screams inaudible, but she knew they were very definitely there. They were too high up to see clearly, but she was certain she heard the tail end of a scream as they vanished from view once more. A short while later, the trio appeared beside her, Sitwell a pale grey hue to his skin that made her once more fight laughter. Sitwell paled even more upon seeing her, his dire predicament becoming clearer with every minute.

"We know what HYDRA are doing. He's coming with us." Steve explained, nodding at their captive.

They piled into the awaiting car, Beth pressed uncomfortably between Nat and Sitwell. She didn't fail to notice that Steve continually sent the agent suspicious glances, or that he occasionally sent her worried ones, returning one with a frown when she finally caught his eyes with her own.

"I'm fine." She mouthed, as besides her Sitwell began protesting their plans. Beth immediately glared at him.

"Shut…"

A bang on the roof followed by arn arm smashing through the window cut her off, Sitwell's body flying out of the newly created hole a second later to crumple into a semi causing her to instead curse. Instantly, she flipped into what Nat joked was her spy mode, her gun drawn and firing into the metal above before she'd fully processed what happened. She caught sight of a boot lifting up onto the roof and as Nat flung herself into Steve's lap (something Beth filed away to tease them about later), she threw herself back so she was resting against the rear windshield. She fired twice more, growling when she realised they'd missed both times. The thudding moved towards the front of the vehicle and Beth gasped as Sam slammed on the brakes, both herself and the person on the roof launched forwards. With a groan, she raised herself up to see who had attacked, her blood turning to ice as the sun glinted off the familiar metal arm she'd really hoped HYDRA had left out this time.

"Fuck" she spat, the word escaping before she was even aware she'd spoken.

"I agree." Sam said from the front, voice very unsure of itself.

A movement from behind caught Beth's attention as Nat drew her gun. Before she had a chance to yell a warning, a jeep crashed into them, pushing their car towards the soldier, and sending Nat's gun to the floor. Beth found herself slammed into the seats in front of her as the vehicle compacted, letting out a pained grunt as her shoulder wrenched out of its socket.

Sam yelling "Shit!" drew her attention abruptly to the fact they no longer had a steering wheel of any kind. Eyes widening, she braced as the jeep once more slammed into them, but she could tell they were going to flip. Seeing Steve grab Nat, she wedged herself between the gap in the seats to help Nat hold Sam. A second later, they were flying out of the car, using the door and Steve's shield for support. Sam was ripped from her grasp as they landed and she found herself sliding from her brothers grasp, rolling painfully across the tarmac. Her shoulder screamed out as she pushed herself up, revealing she had definitely dislocated it. Standing, she blew out a breath of relief to see Sam was okay, then proceeded to grasp her shoulder and jerk it back into place with a hiss. she looked ahead to see the winter soldier aiming a mini missile gun at Steve and Nat, Steve blasted off the bridge a moment later. She didn't have time to call out, her body simply rushing her to the edge of the bridge in time to see more men had joined the soldier and were ziplining down to shoot the bus Steve crash landed into.

"Go, I'll stay here!" Sam called over to her.

Nodding, she holstered her gun and with a small prayer, leapt down to the level below. Her knees buckled, but she managed to stabilise herself enough to shoot one of the men currently focused on her brother. A second shot, then a third, before a white hot pain erupted in her side. Instinct took over and she rolled out of the way of a second bullet she had no doubt would have ended up in her skull.

By the time she'd stood up, Nat had joined her on the ground, successfully hitting the soldier in the glasses. 'Good, that might distract him long enough to get to safety'. sharing a look with Nat, the blonde took off running down the street, pausing only to check Steve was okay. Other than looking a little dishevelled and pissed off, he seemed okay, and gave her a brief thumbs up as he turned to jog after them.

It didn't take long for Beth to find a place to hide, grinning up at Sam as he secured the area for them. All that was left was the soldier. She barely had time to consider where he could be when an explosion a few cars down drew her attention, familiar grunts from Natasha following soon after. She didn't race in immediately, choosing instead to assist a young, heavily pregnant woman from her car, but her gaze didn't stray far from her friend. Seconds later, the sounds of an electric disc reached Beth's ears and she grinned. Natasha definitely did like to use her toys, but on this occasion, as with many others, it did its job and saved her life. Using the distraction, Beth jumped in to knock the soldier's rifle from his grasp, only to find herself slammed against the car in front of her instead. His masked face drew closer, breathing haggard and eyes wide.

"нет, не ты *No, not you*" he ground out.

Beth kicked out at him, confused by his words. Did he remember their past encounters? She didn't have time to dwell as he slammed her once more into the vehicle, the force causing the air to rush from her lungs and leave her gasping as he dropped her unceremoniously to the floor. He was gone before she could react, Beth vaguely aware of Natasha's voice crying out for people to run away before a single shot ran out, the shout going silent. Forcing herself shakily onto her feet, Beth hurried over, ignoring the sight of Steve going to town on the soldier. In any other situation, she'd be eager to watch, maybe even join in, but the worry for her friend overrode any instinct to be a spectator. she found Nat slumped against a car, blood covering her hands pressed against her left shoulder.

"Move your hands." she barked.

Nat knew better than to refuse. She'd seen that particular look only a few times and knew it was the 'Beth's barely holding it together, so do whatever the hell she says' look. Her hands dropped and Beth immediately zoned into the injury with hawk-eye precision.

"Good, looks like he's missed any major vessels, but he has done a fair amount of damage. As soon as we're out of here, I need to look at that properly or you could risk permanent nerve damage."

"Sure thing doc. Now you know I'm not dying, maybe go help Steve?"

Casting her friend a glare, Beth spent a few more seconds probing before feeling satisfied enough to do as suggested. She rose in time to see Steve roll away from the soldier, whose metal fist had exploded into the ground where his head had been.

"Shit, Steve!" she called, rushing over to try and help in any way.

"No, stay back! I got this!"

There was an edge to his voice that Beth knew all too well. This was personal. After all, this was the same man (possibly?) who'd been part of her torture and had killed Nick. Reluctantly, she halted, though the arm holding her rifle didn't lower. The second things went south, she'd be shooting.

Finally, it seemed Steve had the upper hand, his shield hitting the soldier in the face enough to stun him. With a yell, Steve flung the other man onto the floor, the mask Beth hated so much dropping to the floor.

"Huh. Guess now I get to see what the bastard looks like" She mused.

Warily, Steve and Beth waited as the soldier stood once more and turned to face them, hatred in his eyes.

Beth's rifle clattered to the floor, her heart seizing until blood roared in her ears, begging her to breathe.

She didn't hear what was said, her mind unable to process anything other than shock at that moment. As Sam and Nat defended them, she fought to inhale anything other than sharp, jagged breaths. As the HYDRA agents swarmed them, she dropped to the ground, barely even registering her hands being dragged behind her back. Everything was fuzzy, as if she'd just been submerged into a bubble. For a moment, the world threatened to darken, the edges of her vision blurring with tears she couldn't even attempt to control. She didn't know how long it took until she was able to process anything again, but when she did, the first thing she registered was Steve saying her name, a pleading desperation to his tone she never thought she'd hear again after they'd spent a sleepless week searching for Bucky over seventy years ago.

"Beth…"

"He's alive." she managed to choke out, before the darkness finally took over, her mind not strong enough to fight anymore.