~:~

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I hear the thudding of footfall and the door unlocking. "This better be-" Sam looked at me in shock. "What happened?" He moved out of the doorway, letting me walk in.

"I don't want to talk about it." I wiped my nose. "Can we please talk about it in the morning?"

He gave me a small nod. "Let's get you cleaned up." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the bathroom.

For the first time since the fateful event, I saw my makeup-stained face, mascara smeared from the tears.

"Here," he said handing me a wet rag. I nodded my thanks as he left.

As I wiped my face, the memories of the day flooded my eyes. The gunshots, the sirens, and the monitors. Shaking my head, I attempted to collect the last bit of sanity that I had. He returned with a shirt and some shorts.

"These may be a little big but-"

"It'll be fine." I smiled. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." He crossed his arms and tilted his head to look at me. "You gonna be okay?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine." I glanced at him giving him a small smile.

He didn't necessarily believe me, but he nodded. "Guest room or couch?"

"Couch."

"You sure?" I nodded reassuringly. "Okay….I'll go get a blanket." He pointed his thumb towards the hall and walked away.

I pulled off my jacket, setting it on the counter. I ran a hand through my brown locks and let out a shaky breath. My hands rested on the counter, keeping my body from collapsing to the ground.

"What the-"

I popped my head up and saw Sam staring at my back. The scars on my back. He reached his hand to touch them but pulled back.

"It's okay," I said over my shoulder. "You can touch. It won't hurt me."

His fingers gently brushed over the wounds. "How?" His eyes looked to mine through the mirror.

During the battle with Apocalypse, I attempted to bring Warren back from his Archangel persona. He retaliated, shooting out his metal feathers. They sliced my back, leaving the red marks i have now. Once the Angel returned, Warren avoided me, guilt of the damage he had done. I tried to comfort him, but it made us grow even further apart.

"Remember that boyfriend? The one who hurt me?" I sighed. "The scars aren't even the worst of it." I saw the tears lining his eyes. I turned my gaze away from him. "I know...They're ugly."

"No," he objected. He raised my chin to look at him. "Beautiful."

My eyes flicked between his eyes and his lips. "I think I…." No, no, no, Angie! Don't do this again. I blinked away the thought. "It's late. I already woke you early enough."

"Yeah, early." He rubbed his neck. "See ya when it's light out."

" Kay"

~:~

SAM P.O.V.

I walked down the hall to my room. My mind was reeling from what I had heard.

Her boyfriend did that to her? Oh, when I get my hands on him...

And, ugly? Why did she think those scars were ugly. They make her even more beautiful.

Wait, BEAUTIFUL? Dammit, Wilson. You're just friends...right? But the look she gave me. She looked like she wanted more than 'just friends.' No! Get your head out of the clouds.

But she wasn't sure what we were, remember?

I shook the thoughts from my head and turned off the lights.

There's no way...

~:~

ANGIE P.O.V.

BANG, BANG, BANG! the shots ran through the spy as he collapsed to the ground. "No!" I screamed as I rushed to his side . I looked to my hands and saw them covered with blood...holding the gun. I shot him! Me! This is all my fault. "No, no, no! Nick!"

As I dreamt of the horror, I felt someone try to shake me awake.

'Angie, wake up. It's just a dream. Come on..."

I jolted awake, gasping for air. "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead."

"Who's dead?'

"I killed him, it's all my fault."

"Shhh.. It was just a dream. You're okay. "

After my sobs subsided, he got up to walk away. I sat up and grabbed his arm. "Please... Don't leave me..."

He sat down on the couch and I placed my pillow in his lap. I laid down and clung to his chest. My breaths began to even out as he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. Soon, sleep consumed my body and I drifted off until dawn.

~:~

MORNING

My eyelids twitched and my nose filled with the smell of leather and cologne. I reached out but found nothing. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was alone. I bolted up and looked around.

"Morning."

I turned my gaze to the kitchen and saw Sam pouring a cup of coffee.

"Milk and two sugar?"

I nodded, combing my fingers through my hair. "Please." I got up and walked towards the counter. He handed me the mug and I sat down at the bar stool.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How much of last night do you remember?"

I questioningly raised my brow. "Why?"

He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter behind him. "Well, you could start with that nightmare, dream, whatever it was."

Suddenly, all the memories came back from the night. "My friend. And, in the dream, I…." I gulped. "I was the one who killed him." Tears began to fill my eyes. "There was blood all over my hands, and when I looked down, there was the gun. I had shot him. It was my fault…." I shuddered, sobs threatening to overtake my body. "It was my fault….."

Sam walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around me. "What's going on, Ange?"

"Last night, that friend was shot. Right in front of me." My face hardened. "I watched him die. I felt him die." Felt someone die, again. "I can't shake that, Sam."

"I've felt that too. You feel like there's…"

"A hole in your chest?" He nodded in reply. "I've felt it before, Sam. And I hate it."

"Why? It shows you care, that you feel. It makes you human."

I shook my head. "If you understood why, then you would feel the same."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means-" My phone buzzed. Stay low until clear. I'll contact when safe. -Steve.

"What's that?"

"Steve. He's checking on me."

"Why are you here and not with him?"

"It's-" I sighed. "It's complicated."

"It can't be that complicated," He scoffed.

"Just trust me. I don't know everything that's going on. When I do, you'll be the first to know."

"I think I can live with that. Breakfast?"

I shrugged. "As long as it's edible."

He gaped mockingly. "You of little faith."

"Dude, the only time we eat together is at restaurants." I gave him a questioning look. "Think about it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He pulls out a cast iron pan and flips it in the air. "Prepare to be amazed."

~:~

"Okay," I laughed. "I am amazed."

He bowed. "Thank you, thank you, Hold your applause. Thank you very much."

"Modest much?"

He laughed but his smirk quickly fell. "What's the plan?"

"Dunno?" I shrugged. "Hide out here till everything blows over? I don't know what to do."

"What about the school? Can you go there?"

I shook my head. "And risk their safety? Hell,no."

"What about mine?"

I hadn't thought of that. I wouldn't risk the school, but I risked his. What was I doing?

"You're a big boy. I know you can take care of yourself."

"What about you? Can you take care of yourself?" he asked.

"I was raised by Tony Stark. If I lived through that, I think I can handle anything."

~:~

The rest of the day passed quickly. Sam left to grab more groceries, and I stayed in case SHIELD came looking for me. While he was out, my phone rang.

Francis. I smirked at the caller ID. Best joke ever. "Hello?"

"Ange, where are you?"

"Sorry, Clint. Can't tell you. Captain's orders."

"He there with you?"

"Classified."

"Ange, I swear-" he warned.

"You wouldn't hurt me. You love me too much."

"Angie! They're going to kill you if you don't get away."

"I can't leave him, Clint. I won't."

"If you change your mind, you know where to go. Stay safe."

"You too."

"Bye." Click.

I heard the door.

"It's just me," Sam yelled.

As I started walking towards the living room, a wave of dizziness overtook me.

"-They call him the Winter Soldier-"

"-Bucky?-"

"-Who the hell is Bucky?-"

"-I knew him-"

"-You're my mission-"

"-Then finish it, 'cause I'm with you-"

I broke out of the trance and whispered, "Till the end of the line." I raced towards the guest room and pulled the familiar journal out of my bag. I turned to the last entry I had read.

"Through these instances, I met your father. He was kind but cruel at the same time; he was their greatest weapon."

Their greatest weapon. But who was they? I flipped through the pages, searching for some sort of answer; but came up empty.

I heard a knock on the door frame.

"What's up?"

"Um, nothing. I just remembered something."

"Okay….Well, if you're hungry, I brought McGee's."

I grinned. "Monte Cristo?"

He nodded. "With extra sugar and jam."

"This is why your my best friend."

"I try my hardest." He smiled.

I shut the journal and stuffed it back in my bag. "Come on, old man. Let's dig in."

~:~

THE NEXT MORNING

Shortly after we returned from our morning run (me in disguise), a knock was heard at the door.

"Were you expecting anyone?"

Sam shook his head 'no.' When he opened it, I saw Steve and Natasha. "Hey, man."

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low." Steve said.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Nat added.

"Not everyone." Sam moves out of the way, letting them in.

Slowly, I move out of my hiding spot. Steve looks at me in shock.

"How did you..."

I held a hand up to stop him. "Long story. But first, y'all get cleaned up."

They nodded and Sam lead them towards the guestroom.

When he returned, I could feel uneasiness flow from him.

"Hey, Ange. I think we need to talk."

" 'Kay, let's talk while we cook." I said pulling the eggs out of the fridge.

He pulled out a pan and set it on the stove. "It's about the other night."

"If it's about the dream, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. Okay, Sam?"

"It's not about that it's-" He stared at my back. The scars.

"I told you what happened." I replied as I cracked the eggs.

He grabbed my arm and turned me towards him. "Angie, please. I need to know."

"Let's just say I have a knack for birds." I yanked my arm out of his grasp.

"Angie," he pleaded.

"Fine….My ex has wings. Some evil superpowered being completely brainwashed him and gave him metal wings. When I tried to bring him back, he attacked me. Once he was sane again, he couldn't forgive himself. That's why we broke up. You happy?!" I turned away, tears stinging my eyes.

He cupped my cheek, making me look at him. We leaned in towards each other, the tips of our noses barely touching. A smell came over me. Is something burning?

"Crap!" I turned away and tried to salvage the eggs, watching him walk off. I felt the frustration radiating off of him. Why do you do this to yourself, Angie? You're just setting yourself up to get hurt again. But he's never hurt you. So did the others, and when you fell, you fell hard. And that made the hurt that much worse.

The eggs were destroyed, so I threw them out, starting a new batch. After Sam returned, we finished cooking and the two Avengers joined us. They filled us in on what was going on with SHIELD.

I sat there in shock. "Whoa….that's a lot to take in. So, who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce." Steve realized.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world," Tasha added.

"He can't be working alone." I shook my head. "One man couldn't do this much damage by himself."

"He isn't; Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

Natasha's eyes widened. "So was Jasper Sitwell."

I looked to Sam, jerking my head towards the two and mouthed 'the file' to him. He nodded and whispered, "Already on it."

"So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is:" he walked over and threw a file on the table in front of them. "You don't."

I walked over to him and stood next to him.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Call it a resume."

Tasha took the picture that was on top. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you." she turned to steve, "You didn't say he was pararescue."

"This Riley?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

Natasha continued to look at the photo. "I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?

He shook his head. "No. These." He hands the file to Steve.

"I thought you said you were a pilot." he said reading the file.

Sam chuckled. "I never said pilot."

Steve shook his head. "I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America needs my help."

"No better reason to get back in," I agreed. "Trust me, Steve. You need him."

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall." Sam answered.

Steve looked to Natasha who shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem."

As we got ready to abduct Sitwell, I explained to Steve why I came to Sam's.

"Wait, he's Samantha."

"Yeah, sorry." I nodded.

"Why Samantha?"

"Well, all the names in my phone are coded. For example, he's Samantha, Tasha's Nate, you're Stefanie, and Clint's Francis."

Steve raised a brow. "Francis?"

I crossed my arms. "I thought you knew your teammates better, Stefanie. How rude!" He snickered at my outburst.

"How'd y'all meet?"

"Same as y'all did. Except we kept passing each other. One thing led to another, and we became...friends."

"Why didn't Sam say anything at the VA?

"When I texted 'Samantha', I was texting him to play along." He nodded in reply. He started walking around the room, hesitating to tell me something.

"Ange, there's something I need to tell you." Steve looked to me. "At the base, Zola said that they covered up deaths to look like accidents." he gulped "Ange, they killed-"

"Howard and Maria? I know."

He shook his head. "They didn't just kill them. They were the reason that-."

I held up a finger and pulled out my journal. I opened it and read,

"I was kidnapped. They tortured me and experimented on me daily." I flipped through the pages, "It's been a week since I found out I was sick. You don't know, and we kept it that way. I'm sick from the experiments. The doctors said it has been slowly taking over me for all these years." I shut the book.

"After all the times I read this, I never thought that they would be back."

"Neither did I." Steve shook his head. "You know you don't have to do this."

"They hurt my family. Like I said, no better reason to fight. I'm with you till the end of the line."

He hugged me. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Well, you were my father's best friend. I think that qualifies."

He smiled. "Come on, let's kick HYDRA where it hurts."

~:~

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