Disclaimer: I don't known anything Marvel. I just own Jamie and Gerard, and Cerberus.

Chapter 33

Heartbreak

Jamie hadn't been in Germany since the night her and the Avengers had been sent there to stop Loki. Her head wasn't really back in the memories in that events though, because the reason she was there now was far too important to her one a personal level for her to let her mind wonder.

That reason was Cerberus, of course.

The team had managed to find a very small building that happened to be a meeting place for some of the Cerberus members. There wasn't all that much else known about the place other than that, which really got them curious. Why was it such a small place? What was its purpose? Who exactly met there?

All the more reason to stake it out, that was for sure. And that was what Jamie and the others were doing. The facility was at the bottom of a massive indent, so there were hills on every side. It allowed the team a perfect vantage point and to ambush them if they so needed to. But as of now, there was no need for a plan of attack. Their main concern was to observe.

"What's the guard count?" Jamie asked over the comms.

"Four guards at the front gate. Several patrol guards on the outer fence; so far I've counted eight different men," Ryh answered.

"Two at the front and back entrances to the building," Graham answered.

Okay, so compared to a normal larger facility, it's very minimal when it comes to security, Jamie thought. What's the point in having this place then? Things just weren't adding up to Jamie.

"Does anything feel off to any of you guys?" Jamie asked.

"Not really," Shearer answered. "Not everything has to have a conspiracy behind it."

Jamie rolled her eyes. Of course he'd be a jackass about it. "Cerberus doesn't do small," Jamie said. "So what's changed? Why now change now, of all times? It just doesn't make any sense to me."

"Are you saying we should go in and take a better look?" Rhys asked.

"No, I'm just trying to figure things out, is all," Jamie replied. "I've known Cerberus for a long time now, and things just don't seem to ad-"

That sentence never finished getting out of Jamie;s mouth, as she fell out of the tree she had been sitting in, slamming into the ground with a tranquilizer date sticking out of the back of her neck, rendering the hero unconscious.

There were so many ways to wake up. But one of the worst, if anybody had ever thought to ask that of Jameson Roe, would have had to be waking up feeling completely filthy. Sweaty, with her hair plastered to her face and the back of her neck, with dirt caked to her skin, and the smell of sweat and stench ever present in her nostrils.

After having to wake up like that for so long in captivity, Jamie always made sure she never took a bath or shower for granted again. She made sure her hygiene was spot on, never missing a shower a day unless work prevented her from doing such.

Another terrible way to wake up was in pain and confusion. It was never comforting to wake up with a throbbing pain throughout her whole body, And, of course, when her eyes opened to stare down at a dirt covered floor, Jamie had no idea how she had gotten there. The woman groaned and squeezed her eyes shut as she rolled onto her back, and clutched her head in her hands. She had, not only been shot by a tranquilizer that left her groggy, but also a neutralizer that left her just feeling completely wrong and off.

Her was some shuffling on the dirt floor next to her, and before Jamie could open her eyes, there was a small voice calling out to her, "Mademoiselle."

Jamie's eyes shot open. The small, immature voice startled her, not only because she thought she had been alone, not because just from the sound of it, the voice belonged to a child. It was just an immature voice of an adult, it was very clearly young.

The green eyes that naturally belonged to the woman landed on the big, frightened brown eyes of a young boy. His brown hair was growing longer than it looked good, and it was filthy. His white skin was caked and embedded with dirt, and Jamie's nose was filled with the pungent smell of sweat, piss, and feces. He had obviously been there a while.

And that was sickening.

"Mademoiselle, es-tu blessé?" he asked. He wasn't just speaking French, his accent definitely told the woman that he was French. It was by his accent. It wasn't someone American speaking French, or so on. It was very proper, distinct French.

Thank God, Jamie spoke French. The young boy had asked Jamie if she was hurt. The answer was yes, kinda, but she didn't want to worry the boy that looked no older than eight years old. In French, though not as well as the native speaking child, Jamie answered, "I'm okay."

"You've been asleep for a while," he went on, still speaking French.

There was no way to tell how long in Cerberus captivity, and that was the only logical excuse for what was going on. The facility had to have been a trap. It was hard enough to find Cerberus to begin with, so finding such a small place, with few guards had to have been a trap. Jamie just wished she had seen it first. She knew something was wrong.

And what was even more disgusting was the fact that there was a child here. The captive cells of Cerberus was no place for anybody, let alone a place a child should ever be exposed to. It was disgusting and heartbreaking, and if Aaron had anything to do with this, Jamie could never ever forgive him for it.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Jamie asked, sitting up to check over the kid to make sure he was okay.

"Gerard," he answered.

"How did you get here?" she questioned further.

"My…." Gerard started to explain, but it was clear by the shaking in his voice and the tears welling in his eyes that he was terrified and clearly upset. "My family was on holiday. We were taken then…"

"And where are your parents now?"

He didn't answer. His bottom lip quivered, and the tears spilled over the corners of his eyes. They were dead, evidently. He didn't even need to tell her for Jamie to know that. "Alright. It's okay. Come here," she beckoned him, pulling the child into her arms to comfort the lad.

"I want to go home," Gerard cried.

"I know, Sweetheart. I know. Me too."

Gerard ended up falling asleep in Jamie's arms. She sat there cuddling the poor baby for as long as she could. He was freezing, and she was sure it had been quite a while since the child had seen any form of human kindness. The least she could do at that moment was to allow him to use her as a pillow and a personal heater.

She managed to stay with him for a couple hours before a guard came to retrieve her. She managed to lay him back onto the ground without waking him up. And going with the guard without a fuss prevented any loud noises from waking the poor thing up. Once she was in a room far away from the cell block, strapped to one of those energy machines she had been strapped into once before, Jamie started to make such a fuss that Aaron was required to go in there and rough her up a bit.

Jamie spewed such hate and terribly unladylike language to the man she had once thought was a friend that he brat Anna to a pulp. She could barely keep one of her eyes open, and she had more blood in her mouth than she believed was every possible without being dead.

"You're an abomination of a human being," Jaime managed to get out after taking such a toll. "Experimenting on a child? What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Singular?" Aaron asked. "That means only one. Jamie, we've conducted experiments on far more than just that runny nosed brat."

Red hot, boiling anger bubbled back to her chest. Jamie thought she'd turn red instead of blue, because that was definitely what she was seeing. "How could you? He's just a child, Aaron. He doesn't deserve this!"

"Sure he does. He deserves the chance to evolve and join the next dominant race for Earth!" Aaron said. "That's what I'm giving him, and so far, he's been worthy. He's not dead yet. All the others? No, they were too weak. They deserved to die. But, just as a warning, he's not what's important. You are. If you don't cooperate, he's gone. And there'll just be another kid brought in to replace him to make sure you're kept in line."

Jamie shook her head. "You're delusional. All this power has gone to your head, and warped your mind. You never believed this before. You would've never hurt a child-"

Aaron lashed out and punched Jamie in the jaw. "I'm better than I was then! I was weak, but now I have everything!"

"Everything but your sanity!"

"At least I have my freedom," Aaron said. "Which is far more than I can say for you."

Coming up with an escape plan was Jamie's number one priority. She needed to get herself, and Gerard out of there. Gerard, who Jamie had started to affectionately call G, was the sweetest little thing. When Jamie had been brought back to the sell all beaten and drained from the energy machine, he took care of her. He lifted her head, and put it on his lap to try and make her more comfortable.

Jamie was supposed to make him feel better. She was the adult. She was supposed to protect him. But he was doing it instead. Day after day, Jamie was taken away from the cell and drained and beaten by the ex-Marine. To make her feel better and to distract her from all of her discomfort, Gerard would tell her about his life.

How he his favorite place was the coast in France. He loved to go to the beach. When he was there, he'd pretend to be a pirate, or a knight, fighting to save the life of a pretty princess ("Pretty, just like you! With a kind smile, and happy eyes."). He loved to draw and paint, and though he wasn't very good, he always kept working on it so he could get better. His dad always would tell him that practice made perfect, and G wanted to be perfect at painting, even though his mother insisted he already was.

He was so young. So sweet. So innocent still. Even in a place like this, Jamie could see that he still was as innocent as could be.

She needed to get him out of there. She needed to save G, and she needed to get him back to the beach, where he could save the day, and paint to his little heart's content. She needed to make sure he got to a loving family.

Jamie needed to make sure he lived.

There was nothing more frustrating than being ready to make amends and move forward than the other person not being ready when you were. Steve, after so many months, had taken the first step to making things right with Jamie, but as he sat on his bed with his phone pressed to his ear, all he got was her voicemail. Maybe she was just busy, he supposed. She was working at SHIELD after all.

"Uh, hey, Jamie. It's me. Uh, Steve," he started out, so awkwardly. "I was wondering if we could talk. So, uh, when you get this could you give me a call back…? Uh, thanks."

Steve hung up the phone and groaned, laying back. He felt so stupid for how awkward and impersonal that message sounded. But at least he finally did it. After several dozens of attempts to dial her number, he finally did it and left a message. Now, all that was left was for her to call back.

But she didn't call back.

After three days of not hearing back from her, Steve tried again. This one sounded a bit more normal, though still not as friendly as it could've been.

"Hey, Jamie. It's just me again. I just wanted to let you know that everybody here misses you, and that it'd be really nice to see or hear from you. Give us a call please? Thanks…"

Again, there was no call back. Steve was getting upset now. He was annoyed that she wasn't calling, but he was also sad because he believed she was still upset with him. He didn't want her to be mad at him. He cared too much about her for that. He wanted her back, because he missed her far more than he could ever admit out loud to anybody other than himself, and even then he still had a hard time admitting it.

"I guess you're still mad at me, and I don't blame you, but I just wanted to let you know that….I really miss you, Jamie. I want to work this out. So please, if you could, give me a call? It would mean everything to me…"

Stee hung up and sighed. "...I love you….please call me back…."

There wasn't many nights that the inhabitants of the tower actually had dinner together, which would have surprised a lot of people. For the most part, it was like a regular apartment where you'd see your neighbors in passing. But it was one of those rare occasions that they had ordered twelve pizzas and were sitting in the common area.

Tony and Bruce were going in and out of a conversation about science work, and adding comments to the regular normal person conversation that Steve, Clint, and Natasha were having. Thor was too busy stuffing his face. It was an easy, relaxing night. Until Maria Hill walked in, clacking her heels on the hard floor beneath her feet.

"Got something for us?" Steve asked.

"Yes and no," Maria answered. For once, she looked uncomfortable with what she had to do. "I've been informed that Jamie's been mission for the last couple weeks."

Everybody's good mood diminished right then and there. There were far too many questions that needed to be answered, and even if Maria had the answers, which she didn't, she wouldn't have told them. Coulson had the situation under control.

"How long?" Steve demanded, terrified for Jamie's wellbeing.

"As far as I'm aware, three weeks," Maria answered.

Well, there was the answer to why Jamie wasn't calling him back. Now he felt guilty for getting annoyed and angry with her for not responding to his messages. She could be tortured and close to death right now, and he was angry because she wasn't calling him back. He felt like such an ass.

"How? I mean, isn't she on a team or something?" Clint asked.

"Yes, but they were sent out and it was a trap," she answered. "They've just located where they're holding her and are sending in a rescue team. She should be back by tonight."

"Back as in back here or back with SHIELD?" Tony asked.

"Back with SHIELD," Maria said. "Unless she decides otherwise."

"Maybe you should give her a call later, Cap," Nat suggested.

Steve nodded. That he could definitely do.

The escape didn't happen the way Jamie had expected it to. She had a whole thing planned for between guard shifts. But that plan never went into place, as the compound they were being kept in got attacked. The only explanation was that her friends at SHIELD had found her, and had come to rescue her.

The explosion that occurred somewhere in the facility caused some of the rocks around the doorframe to collapse. Jamie struggled to get up, but adrenaline started to pump through her again, so she ignored all of the pain in her body. She kicked the cell door open, and then reached back to grab Gerard's hand.

"What's going on?" he asked, scared after the sudden noise and shaking of the compound.

"Friends," she told him, leading him through the hallways quickly. "They'll get us out of here."

"We can go home?" Gerard asked, his voice growing with excitement.

"I don't think so."

Jamie couldn't do anything. The second she heard that voice, she collapsed onto the ground. She had been shot in the back, blood spattering the hallway walls and floor.
"Jamie!" Gerard screamed. Aaron grabbed him by the back of his potato sack shirt and pressed the gun to the back of his head.

"You wouldn't," Jamie said, calling his bluff. She tried to stand up, placing her blood coated hand on the wall to support herself. But because of the floor, her hand slipped and she fell back to the floor. "He's a child, Aaron."

"He's not important to us. He's important to you," Aaron said. "You'd do anything to make sure this little brat is safe, wouldn't you."

"Yes, just don't hurt him. Please," Jamie begged. She got to her knees, begging Aaron.

"I don't know, I feel like I should make an example," Aaron said. "So you know I really mean business. You don't seem to take any of my threats seriously."

"No, I do. I do. Please, just don't!" Jamie begged. She managed to get to her feet, but she was leading out quite a bit, and without her powers, she was practically useless in that state. All she could do was beg.

Gerard was a mess. He was quivering in Aaron's clutches, terrified that he would do exactly what he was threatening to do. He was so close to escaping, and now he was far closer to getting killed. "Non je t'en prie! Ne me faites pas de mal. Je veux aller a la maison. Laisse-moi rentrer chez moi. Je ne le dirai à personne. S'il vous plaît, je me laisse rentrer chez moi."

"Tell him it'll be okay," Aaron instructed Jamie. "Tell him like you always used to tell me."

Jamie didn't know what kind of game he was playing now, but if he let him go, then it was worth it. "G, it'll be okay, Sweetheart."

Aaron smirked and cocked the gun.

"No!" Jamie screamed, lunging forward.

BANG!

I'm back! Surprising right? I'm sorry for the wait, but I was having such a hard time trying to get the action in this right and in the end, I just didn't end up writing it whatsoever. Eh, it is what it is. I just hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think!

Thanks go to the following for their reviews on the previous chapter:

AriellaSerenity- lol I wish, but it wouldn't really fit if I had Bucky pop up, and Johnny, even though he doesn't care about not knowing Steve well, might go off on Steve because he cares about Jamie, but since Jamie wouldn't want him to do it, he would respect that. Johnny's a, for a lack of a better word, hothead, but he's still respectful.

WriterGirl1198- Yeah, Steve is definitely too stubborn for his own good sometimes. Don't worry though. Soon enough the two will be reunited.

Jo- Tay and Sam is actually going to be a thing. StillDoll13 has the title for that story, and of course, Jamie will appear in it, but it's more Taylor than anything. And it's a very interesting story line, let me tell you!

Anon- I'm sorry you feel that way.

FelixFelicis02- I'm sorry this was (very) delayed, but I hope you still liked it all the same!

CJ/OddBall- It was supposed to get your hopes up! ;) Steve and Jamie will be reunited soon enough, I promise!

The girl with no life- Yeah, I'm not always great with putting in Steve or anybody else's pov's in because I'm always paranoid and scared I'll make them ooc. I'm breaking out of that a bit with The Cost of the SHIELD though, and that story has a lot of scenes without my OC, and a lot more scenes in the future that will be in others perspectives.

Seasidewriter1- Unfortunately, with how many chapters this is and my lack of creativity right now, I wasn't able to completely fit Jamie into some of the episodes in Season 2 of SHIELD, but I guess the whole point of having her there is to show that even without the Avengers, she still has a purpose and a place, and a mission of her own, so even though she's not following SHIELDS or the Avengers missions exactly, she's still important in her own right.

Jedi Jelsa777- I'm so glad you liked the chapter, and I hope this was worth the wait!

Robinhood4ever- I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!

BitterSweet256- lol Don't worry, they'll be back together soon enough! They had to fight sooner or later, I figured I'd just have them bash it all out at once and make it dramatic.

KaiaSnowfall- lol They will be in bed together, I promise. ;) I'm sorry I've made you wait though! I've just been stuck on this story, and with my other story I had 6-10 prewritten chapters so I can update that one once a week regularly. This one is a little harder just because of how long I've been writing it, but I'm on winter break now and don't start classes again until the end of January, so I'll have plenty of time to push out chapters.

FelixFelicis02- There's the update! And I hope you like it. I'm not completely happy with it, but eh. Like I said, it is what it is.

Guest - Oh, don't worry, it'll always get updated eventually.