Author's Note: Happy New Year! Sorry and sorry for the delay. I was traveling for the holidays and am now back to work. I'll be posting one chapter on Mondays until I can catch up on uploading and editing. Hope everything is going good so far for all of you out there.

Chicago Safe House
Two Weeks Later

Sam knew that he was brooding a bit, but he was trying his best to at least not seem like it. They were all gathered in the den watching some show where people sang to get famous, Teagan leaning against his side with his arm around her shoulder. But his mind was replaying the disturbing event with her from earlier.

This morning after coming back from a long run with Steve, he'd found Teagan sitting on their bed with her laptop. After returning to the states, she'd often be found surfing the internet and at first he thought that was what she was doing. But when he headed over to the dresser to get a clean change of clothes, the sudden audio recording of her unmistakable voice screaming out in pain stopped him dead in his tracks.

/…"What are you looking at?" he asked resting on the edge of the bed to see the computer screen better.

"I'm going through my old Hydra file looking for something," she told him in a low voice.

"What?" he asked, sure he was not going to like the answer.

"I want to know why," she told him clicking open a new video.

Sam listened as another section of audio came on, Teagan screaming and crying for someone to stop whatever was being done to her. He slapped the lid of the laptop down, turning off the horrible sounds that grated on his soul.

As he then tried to remove it from her hands, she told him, "Stop that."

"Teagan, you don't need to go through all of those hideous videos."

"Yes, I do," she said shocking him.

"Why?" he demanded.

"I need to know why…why he did that stuff to me. No matter how much I try, that question is always there, haunting me as I walk outside, while taking a shower, just before falling asleep. I want to know why he tortured me, why he believed that he could change my powers."

When Teagan had first joined them, he had spent many weeks going through her file so he would know how better to help her. And it was during that time which he had found her answer. He had wondered before if Teagan had ever questioned the tactics used on her and it seemed that she had, a lot more than he had ever guessed. He figured long ago that it didn't really matter, it was in the past and she was free of Keeling. This was the first time she had ever brought up the topic.

"I know why," he stated. Her eyes went wide with his admission. "I read a report a long time ago that explained his reasoning."

"What did you find?" she asked, her voice already unsteady.

"Keeling read the scientists' reports that your powers might be a type of rare self-preservation manifestation or mutation. They theorized that you'd gained them to keep yourself safe for some reason. Therefore, Keeling concluded that since he needed to break you so that you'd be obedient, that if he could torture you enough, that your powers might alter themselves to become a challenge to the perceived threat."

"But he had no way of knowing that would really happen, did he?"

Sam shook his head, "No. He was only guessing. But he couldn't put you into real life threatening situations. Instead, he used multiple types of physical and mental…tortures to see what would happen."

Sam knew that she understood that the sexual assaults which Keeling seemed very fond of fell into both of those categories.

"At first, I suspected that it was only something that Keeling knew about," he continued. "But eventually I found a letter to a Hydra Commander Bradshaw stating that before he stopping your power-altering 'testing', that he wanted permission to mentally break you…using rape. He'd then clinically gone into detail as to why he thought that this new tactic might not only work on your powers, but that since you were still so disobedient that you needed to lose all hope of escaping from Hydra."

He then told Teagan how it was also in this request to begin the daily torture which included her fingers being systematically broken.

"Records showed that within a month's time, your powers finally changed to include commanding people. Keeling was praised for his work on the project's new beneficial potential. That was when Keeling also had to increase his precautions to prevent you from escaping using this new powers."

"He asked for permission to rape me, and Bradshaw actually gave it," her voice was strained with emotion.

Sam slid up the bed so that he was right next to her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her close for a hug.

"Keeling is gone, he's out of your life. It doesn't matter what his twisted little Hydra mind can think of because you are never going to see him again unless it's to read his obituary," he told her, trying to ease her mind and calm her some.

Teagan gave a single snort, "Oh, I'll see him alright. I'm going to be the one to put him into that grave."

Sam sat there stunned at the viciousness of her words, never having heard that exact tone come from her during their entire time together. But then he remembered a couple of other times they had spoken of Keeling. She had spoken of his death a handful of times, and her eyes always darkened when discussing that Keeling was still alive somewhere out there.

Teagan did indeed hold a fatal grudge against the man…/

Sam had then tried to point out that reading any more would only stand to bring back the horrible memories and darken her dreams. That seemed to help calm Teagan a bit, and she gave up on perusing her file any more today.

But sitting here, holding her in his arms, Sam worried about how she was going to acclimate later on. What if they never had another lead on Keeling? What if he died while using another name and they never discovered it? Would she go through the rest of her life with this burning hated for a dead man? How would she ever gain the closure that he desperately wanted for her?

"Ready for bed?" the soft, gentle voice asked him.

Looking down, he saw Teagan looking up at him with pure trust in her eyes. The television show's credits were running. Steve and Nat had gotten up to go to the kitchen to put away their dirty snack dishes. He had not paid attention to the entire two-hour show.

"Yes," he said giving her forehead a kiss before helping her up.

Teagan knew that something was bothering Sam, and she was positive that it stemmed from this morning's conversation. No matter how hard she tried, there was no way to get Keeling out of her head. He would be with her until she died. So she figured that maybe if she understood his twisted mind better, then maybe some of the unanswered questions would at not nag at her so much.

Now she knew that so much of what she had gone through was all because of what Keeling had wanted to do. Hydra had just given him permission to do so. Hydra had charged him with fully testing her abilities, to find out how far she could be pushed while using them. After reading the scientist's report on what they found, it was Keeling that had come up with the idea of breaking her fingers to see what would happen. It was only after a couple of broken fingers that the scientist had felt that it was a pointless test and that further tortures to her would not result in the altering of her powers.

But Keeling would not give up that easily.

Even being told that it would probably not work, he had continued snapping her fingers one at a time. She remembered how Keeling would always be there on those days. During other tests and medical experiments he would not necessarily be there, leaving it up to the scientists.

But on the days when she was dragged into the room to find him sitting at the small desk of his off in the corner that she knew what was coming. Those where the days where she would fight the most once she recognized the pattern of him being there with that twisted smile on his face. By the time the day's tortures were over, not only was a finger broken but her entire body was hurting from the beating the guards had to deliver to secure her into the chair they used.

Being told by the scientist that going through all of that was not going to get him the results he wanted mean nothing to him. Keeling had told her once while she was hanging in her cell that once her new powers emerged, that he would become one of the most influential Hydra project commanders. Using her to his advantage, he could guarantee that he remain in a position of power…if not make his way even higher. He could use her to gain control over his own superiors, and even take out anyone that questioned him.

Maybe knowing how more horrible her life would become if he got his way was the reason that she had managed to hold out or prevent those changes from happening to her.

Just before Keeling called off the tortures, he had to take that final step that pushed her off the cliff.

That first time he had entered her cell to…just thinking about him touching her made her grind her teeth.

She could tell from the smirk on his face that something was about to change, and not for the good.

While Keeling had been there, she kept waiting for a guard or anyone to arrive and stop him. But not a single person even approached her cell, even with the gagged screams she managed to make echo throughout the halls. He had not even bothered to shut the door to hide his wicked deed.

Afterwards, she hung there aching and crying, trying to figure out some way to either get out of there or to kill herself. She knew that doing so was a sin, but it had to be a better option than the sins being heaped onto her. Similar thoughts occupied her for so long after that first time, namely, every other time Keeling had shown up.

But then he had been rewarded for his vile act.

It wasn't until after being strapped into the chair for another finger to be snapped that they had learned about the change. Before the agent even had a chance to start, she had pleaded for him to 'stop, please don't' in a weak voice while watching him secure her finger into the vice. But he had then looked up at her eyes, filled with tears, and he had stopped his work. Looking over at Keeling, the agent had told him what had happened.

She had commanded him and he had been forced to obey her.

Hydra Command had offered Keeling congratulation on improving his project's abilities for their purpose and he had proudly bragged to her about it. For so long, she had figured that they had no real idea how he had managed to do so. Today, she had learned that not only had he requested from them permission to rape her, but that scum bastard Bradshaw had actually permitted him to! What kind of sick mind would actually want to do that?

Gripping her toothbrush so hard that her hand was starting to hurt, Teagan forced herself to drop it onto the counter before she broke it. Luckily Sam was still downstairs helping to secure the house. She knew that Sam was only upset because he cared about her and didn't want her to get distressed about her past. He wanted her to focus on the here and now, to be in the moment with him, not reliving that ghastly past.

Footsteps in the hall told her that he and Steve were finished downstairs, and it seemed to have taken a bit longer than she would have thought it should. Had they talked for a few minutes about why Sam had been distracted all day? Maybe.

Closing the bedroom door, Sam gave her a weak but honest smile as she left the bathroom. Walking past her into it, his hand came up to gently touch her shoulder. It was the little touches like that which helped her to know that he was still not scared of her. She got the bed ready to crawl into as he brushed his own teeth.

Readying themselves for bed was easy considering all Sam had to do was remove his shirt since he was wearing soft exercise shorts. She remembered after first arriving here telling him that she would get a pair of long pajamas so that he didn't have to worry about touching her bare skin while he slept. Sam had pointed out that she would be getting rid of one of the best reasons for them to be in the same bed. How could such a good man be so patient with her?

After hearing that comment, she'd asked him how he would feel if she slept without any top or bottoms on, leaving only her panties. The smile that had appeared reminded her of a kid in a candy shop. That night, they had made love while trying to stay as quiet as they could considering it was the first time since being alone time in the snowy cabin.

Teagan felt warm arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against a hard, smooth chest. Sam's chin came to rest on her shoulder, his grip firm as they stood there quiet for a few moments. Teagan raised her arms to lay atop of his.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked him.

"Never," he told her with a sad voice. "I just don't like the idea of you reminiscing about the horrible things that jackass did to you."

Turning around in his arms so that she faced him, she could see a sadness on Sam's face. Placing a hand on his cheek, he tried to smile more.

"I know that you don't like it, but whether I'm reading through that file or just sitting down watching the sunset, the memories are always there."

That definitely made him not happy again.

"If I was really your therapist, I would go off on a diatribe about the possible mental harm that you could be doing to yourself to try and get you to stop," he told her.

"You're not my therapist anymore?" she had to grin.

Glancing down, "No, because a therapist would be banned for doing this."

With that comment, Sam hunched over just enough so that he took on of her breasts into his mouth, sucking on her nipple until it became hard. Her arms wrapped around his head to hold him there, a warm feeling encompassing her entire body.

After he moved to the other and gave it the same treatment, Teagan managed to heavily breathe out, "Then you're definitely not my therapist."

Sam moved them as one so that he was sitting on the bed with her atop of him. Even without telling him that the idea of being trapped under him was a possibility, Sam seemed to have easily figured it out back at the cabin and always made sure to never be the one on top. Her legs rested against his hips, allowing her to control how much she wanted to have her body touch him. Lowering herself, Teagan could already feel him firming up from just their few moments together.

Bending down, they began to kiss, each of them just as eager for the other since they had gone all day keeping a bit of distance between them. Sam's two day old facial stubble tickled over her skin. His hands rested on her hips, holding her against him while guiding her movements to circle over his now hardened shaft. He gave a couple of simple thrusts upward, grinding himself slightly harder at just the right spot between her legs.

Laying further down onto his chest, she began to rub her breasts over his own bare chest, remembering how she had teased him the other day about not having any real 'manly chest hair'. Sam had only come back at her by saying that a chest as nice as his shouldn't be hidden behind anything. She had then admitted to him that the smooth, firm surface was actually what she preferred, earning her a few winks.

Sam's hands slowly left her hips but she continued the wonderful movements all on her own. His free hands then came up to encompass her breasts, his thumbs flicking at her nipples to make them hard. Moaning into his open mouth at the sensation earned her one hard push upwards with his hips. The startled gasp from her as he made contact caused Sam to break their kiss, his eyes searching her face to tell him how she had felt about it.

"Care to try something new tonight?" he asked, his voice heavy and pleading.

The smile she had could not be contained, as she answered, "I think that I could handle something new."

"Think?" he gave her a knowing smile. "Or know, Erin?"

It was funny that he liked to use that code name when they were alone together.

"Know…not, no, as in n and o, but know…"

"I know what you mean," he told her with that grin that showed off his cute toothy gap. "Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely, Falcon," she told him, using his nickname from the cabin.

That must have been the correct answer because Sam then gripped her hips and began to slide her off of him and onto the bed. He then gathered their pillows, stacking them together against the headboard.

"Lay back on those," he told her, gesturing with his head towards them.

Teagan used her elbows to crawl backwards on the bed to the area while Sam knelt at the foot of the bed. Laying there looking down her mostly-naked body at Sam just watching her, she felt her breath began to grow heavy. She almost expected him to remove his clothes, deciding that her comment was an invitation for going all the way. But then Sam moved so that he was kneeling between her legs.

It wasn't until his hand went under her knee to lift her leg up off the bed and his lips began to trail over her bare thigh that Teagan figured out what Sam was about to do. His beard tickled over her sensitive flesh, only stopping once he reached where her shorts finally rested so close to her core.

With a knowing look in his eyes, Sam's hands then slid under her thighs, reaching up until they found the hem of her shorts and panties. Slowly they began to be dragged down, exposing her center for him. As he lifted his head to look at her, she saw a new wide smile on his face, as if amused by something.

"What?" she asked totally embarrassed.

"I can't help smiling knowing you're a natural red head," he grinned while dragging her remaining clothing further down her raised legs until they were able to be tossed onto the floor.

"Did you ever have any doubts?" she had to ask, feeling better at the situation knowing he was trying to be playful and make sure she wasn't scared.

"Not really, but it's always nice to have an assumption reconfirmed," he told her, his hands coming to rest on her knees. "I want you to lay back, focus only on me, and enjoy this."

In a low voice, "What's this…exactly?"

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly at her, before asking, "Have you never had anyone pleasure you down here," his hand came to rest between her legs, "with their tongue and mouth before?"

The clinically crude, lasciviousness of his question had her face instantly flushed with embarrassment as she closed her eyes, unable to look at him.

"I'll take that lovely shade of red to mean that you haven't," he told her. "Do you want me to?"

Knowing that she would never be able to honestly answer him if she looked at his face, Teagan only nodded her answer while her eyes remained closed.

"Tell me if you need me to stop," she heard him say as she felt his body begin to move.

His hands gripped gently to her knees, spreading her legs apart for him. She knew that with the lights in the room on that he was able to see every inch of her, and how she could feel her entire body now flushing with self-consciousness. Never had either of her boyfriends in high school ever done oral sex to her…but they sure had expected it.

Then her mind suddenly went to the last time she had been in this similar position…while being examined by the Hydra scientist running numerous tests and needing more samples. She had been strapped down to a doctor's chair that held her legs open wide, exposing her as she cried for them to stop through the gag locked around her mouth.

Sam was still trailing kisses on both of her inner thighs when he suddenly stopped.

"Teagan, what's wrong?" he asked her, a hand reaching up to touch her cheek. Firmly he told her, "Open your eyes and look at me."

Doing so, she could see worry all over his face. That was when she realized that her own breathing had become heavy and erratic…and not in the good way.

"It's not you," she first told him. "Laying like this…they made me…"

Her voice trailed off as tears threatened to form.

"It's alright. You are safe here with me. Nobody is going to hurt you ever again. I'll stop…"

"No!" she quickly interrupted. "I can't let them have a hold on everything out there that might be nice. And I have a feeling that everything you can do is nice."

Sam's cheeks were like large apples with the widest grin she'd ever seen him have.

"Then how about you to keep your eyes open," he informed her. "If you can see that it's only me, and nobody else, I think you'll have an easier time enjoying the nice. Think ice cream."

Teagan felt a warm comfort overcome her, knowing that he was trying to help her past this new horrible time he was just learning about.

Sam began to resume his kisses on her inner thighs, his eyes cutting up to meet her own every so often to check on her. Slowly and carefully, he drew his lips closer to her core as her breathing began to intensify…this time in the good way. As his tongue made a quick sweep over the area, she inhaled suddenly and deeply, shocked at how wonderful the simple touch had been.

Seeing that she was no longer dwelling on the past, Sam took a few more gentle licks before he lost all mildness and began a brilliant assault that had her almost screaming out. His hands found a hold just under her cheeks to calm the grinding, circling motion that she was involuntarily doing trying to evade his tongue. Her mind wanted him to continue and never stop while her body was acting like it didn't know how to deal with the building pressure that was being coerced into it. She had felt something like this when they had their make-out sessions, but the intensity was nowhere near what she was feeling right now.

Her arms reached out to grasp onto the bed-sheet, gripping it in her hands to help steady her movements. Her back began to arch off of the mattress and one of Sam's hands slid over her belly to only stop when it had found a breast to hold onto. As she lay there, feeling like a volcano waiting to erupt, Sam's tongue began a new maneuver that began to break her in a very nice way.

Reaching behind her, Teagan grabbed one of the pillows and threw it over her face to scream into as her body was raked with spasming shakes. Eventually she felt her body physically collapse back onto the bed from where hit was arched from the most powerful orgasm she'd suspected that she would ever have.

"So, was that nice? Or did I finally earn a higher rating?"

"Iontach!"

"What was that?" Sam asked her, lifting the pillow off her face so she would be speaking clearly.

"Iontach," she grinned at him while still heavily panting.

"That better not be another insult," he told her sliding onto the bed next to her, his arm across her belly to hold onto her.

"It means magnificent, if you must know," she turned to look at him and found the cocky smile on his face that she had been expecting.

"I will totally accept that fine assessment of my skills."

"I'm sure that you will," she placed her hand over his arm. "It feels funny to say thanks for doing that, but I don't know what else to say."

"First, you don't have to thank me," he pointed out. "Second, any time that you want to try something, all you have to do is tell me. Don't feel embarrassed to do so either. Just like tonight, asking for just a bit more, that's all it takes."

Teagan rolled over on her side so that she was facing Sam, her arm coming over to pull him into her body, their legs rubbing together.

"What about you?" she asked him. "A bit of tit-for-tat?"

"Nope, not tonight. I know that your body is still riding a high that it probably hasn't had in a long while."

"That was even better than Iceland."

Sam's head lifted back a bit so that he could look at her better. That cocky smile of his was back.

"Really?"

Shaking her head, "Even with the other times we've been together, that was...just so much more."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that each time after this one is just as memorable."

After getting a couple of kisses, they began to move around the room, putting back on underware and using the bathroom once again before they climbed into the bed. The overhead light turned off only after she had turned on the small wattage lamp on the dresser. It was just bright enough to make her feel comforted while not disturbing Sam by being too much light.

Soon, they were both lying in the bed, his arm around her waist so that it rested on her bare belly, her hand holding onto his. His warm body was pressed up against her back, and she found it to be firm and comforting. Even Sam's hips and groin that pressed against her lower backside and cheeks felt so much different that she had never mistaken him for Keeling, even when spooning with him.

"Did we just have our first fight today?" she asked him just before falling asleep.

"No, we had that back in South Dakota," he sleepily informed her.

"We did?"

"Yep, the moment that you claimed that cricket was better than baseball," he told her planting a kiss on her neck's tattoo. "You know…I think I may have a plan for us."

"What kind of plan?"

"How about taking the day off tomorrow?"