Another week, another update. Feeling a little depressed about the response to the last chapter of 'Complications' (though the reviews it did receive were absolutely lovely, so I'll be content). Thanks so much for the kind reviews. You know the disclaimers: They still aren't mine, I'm still not profiting, other than the fun I have and the ego boost I get from your lovely feedback.

All For Jesus: Thanks. Glad it works. As I said, some of the plot points startled me, too.

Qweb: Thank you. The further bit with the dogs (Agent Romanoffs dog) was already in mind. I'm glad you caught Steve's near slip of the tongue. He knows to tread cautiously with this woman.

Sandy-wmd: Yeah, I've caught myself a few times working around background from the wrong story and having to rework things. I suppose that's one of the dangers of hopping from story to story. I just really enjoy all three and can't seem to make myself focus on just one. That was my thought as well, that Steve wouldn't have a problem with her past, since it's what made her the woman that he...really cares for.

Loki'sArmy0602: Thanks. I'm glad you like their stories. I'm certainly having fun creating them. Update is here, SHIELD crisis revealed.

kali rogers: Thank you. I like hearing that you were moved.

kirahelen: So glad you like. They do make a cute couple, don't they?

MBrabs1996: Thanks. I hope you like this update as well.

nightmoon1024: I appreciate your feedback. I'm glad you got a kick out of the bit with Clint and Nat. I thought that would be funny and would totally embarass Steve.

Nom de Plume: You're very kind. I think even the pirate knows you can only push people so long and so hard.

Welcome to new followers. I really appreciate each follow and favorite I get and just love the reviews. You encourage me to keep writing. You're all simply lovely.

Now, on with the tale.

Stroll 15

They made good time on the drive back to headquarters. When they arrived, they both jumped out. Steve opened the trunk to get their packs while Maria let the dogs out, snapping their leashes on. A tall, slender man stepped forward, introducing himself as Edgar and telling her that he was there to escort the animals to the kennel. She nodded, but held onto the leashes, taking one of the backpacks from Steve. She kissed him quickly, then motioned for him to go.

Shouldering her pack, she accepted a data pad from a nearby agent and started skimming it.

"Walk with me," she told Edgar. He fell into step beside her. She quickly scrawled a signature on the pad and handed it back.

"This is Bucky," she told the young man, dropping her hand to the dog's head. "He's the personal property of Captain Rogers. He's very friendly and well behaved and gets along well with pretty much anyone, man or beast. He's had obedience training and responds to commands." She scratched behind his ears, then moved her hand to the other dog. "This is Katya. She is the personal property of Agent Romanoff. Agent Romanoff is very fond of her." She looked at the man to make sure he understood what she was saying. He nodded.

"She was mistreated in her past and is not particularly friendly, but she is a trained attack dog and will respond to all verbal commands, English, German, or Russian, and hand gestures. She's not dangerous, as long as you don't try to hurt Agent Romanoff or Bucky. It would probably be best if she and Bucky were kept together separate from the other animals, if that's possible, especially since they both spent the day in the woods and should probably be checked for ticks and stuff."

"We can take care of that," the man assured her.

"No special dietary restrictions, though I think Captain Rogers usually feeds Bucky senior formula stuff."

The man nodded again, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. They had reached the corridor branch that led to the kennel area and she stopped and squatted down in front of the dogs, looking each of them in the eyes.

"Edgar is going to be taking you to the SHIELD kennels. He and Agent Heinrich will take good care of you there. I expect you both to behave yourselves until arrangements can be made to get you back to the tower." She stood, noticing the smile on the man's face. She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You sound just like my wife when we're leaving the kids with the sitter," he told her.

Giving him her very best 'we are not amused' look, she again touched each dog. "Bucky Rogers. Katya Romanoff."

"Yes, ma'am," he told her briskly, "They'll be well looked after."

"Let me know if there are any problems."

In her quarters, she quickly changed into her uniform and hurried to join Fury in the conference room. She skimmed through the data he had sent her, preparing options to offer. Steve entered the room as she was slipping into her own seat. With a quick nod to the director, he took the final chair at the table.

Fury stood, pulling up a display on the screen behind him. "A team operating in a remote area of the old Soviet Union has stumbled across an old base. Indications are that it may be an old HYDRA base from early last century." Steve leaned forward.

"If it's an old base, why the concern, sir?" a young man asked.

"Because with HYDRA, you can never be sure," Steve said softly.

"It appears that it is abandoned, but when our people entered the facility, some sort of signal was triggered. We need to find out who might have been watching for that signal. As our expert on HYDRA from that time period, Captain Rogers, I'd like for you to take a look, see if you have any ideas what the purpose of the base might have been and if it's really abandoned."

Steve nodded, as Fury pointed to several people who would be accompanying him on the journey.

"We'll have teams back here monitoring, of course, keeping an eye on that region in particular, but also on anything else that could be related."

"Like what?" someone asked.

"Anything out of the norm," Maria clarified. "Too many people on our watch list moving, increased communications, decreased communications, large scale power outages. You know the drill. Just give a bit more scrutiny to things that you might normally let slide."

Fury looked around the room. "Does everyone understand their assignments?" When everyone nodded, he dismissed them and headed for the door. Before Maria could join him, he turned back. "Agent Hill. Would you please accompany the mission team to the flight deck and assist with the final checks before they take off?"

She nodded in assent, a small smile of gratitude on her face, then followed the team. On the runway, she walked with the pilots, checking the jet over carefully, outside and in. Once they settled in the cockpit, she watched their manual checks of the plane's systems and listened as they ran through more checks with the control tower. When that was complete, she reviewed flight plans once more, then exited to where the rest of the team was gathered on the tarmac, listening to Steve.

"Everything ready?" he asked her.

"Your carriage awaits," she informed him.

"Any final orders?"

She looked around at the assembled team. With the exception of Steve, they were normal human beings, not a super power among them. As she examined each face, she mentally checked off the abilities and shortcomings of each. She nodded, satisfied with the balance reflected.

"You've got a good team here," she told them, meeting each set of eyes again. "Follow your orders, do your jobs, and I expect each and every one of you to return."

After a chorus of 'Yes ma'ams,' the mission second in command started directing everyone aboard the plane. She turned to Steve.

"I'll make sure everyone is settled, Captain, so you can take care of final details with Agent Hill." Then, she turned to Hill. "We'll bring everyone back, ma'am."

When she climbed aboard, Maria looked up at Steve. "Take care of your team, Captain Rogers."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "My team?"

"All very valuable SHIELD assets," she confirmed.

"And me?"

She looked around, then motioned for him to follow her into the shadows underneath the plane. No sooner had he passed into the darkness than he felt her arms twine around his neck, pulling her lips down to his as her body pressed tight against him. Her tongue pushed between his lips, brushing against his. His arms tightened around her waist and he groaned, pulling her closer.

The voices of two mechanics passing by caught their attention and they reluctantly pushed away from each other.

"A very valuable SHIELD asset as well," she assured him.

With a final light kiss, he gave her a stern look, positioned his shield casually in front of himself, and climbed into the plane to join his team. Maria stepped out to a safe distance, watching as the flight lifted off, it's lights soon joining the field of stars.

When she returned to the command center, she was pleased to notice everything going smoothly. Everyone was working comfortably at their assigned stations, on high alert, but not overly stressed. After a while, Nick motioned to her that he was returning to his office and that she was in command. Nodding acceptance, she continued calmly prowling the deck. Occasionally, someone would call her over to examine something that had caught their attention. She dispatched investigative teams to a few of those somethings.

The night wore on and some of the personnel changed out as shifts ended. She acknowledged each new arrival, mentally assessing each before nodding for them to take their station. From time to time, she checked the progress of the flight carrying the team, pleased to note that they were exactly on schedule.

After several hours, she motioned for another officer to take over and headed to Nick's office to brief him on the current situations. She fixed herself a cup of coffee, topped off his, then proceeded with her update. When she had finished, he asked for clarification on a few points, then nodded.

"Sounds like everything is going just as it should," he commented. He looked at her for a few moments. "I really hated to call you in, cut your leave time short."

She shrugged. "We've both worked for SHIELD long enough to know how 'leave' time works. Personal time has to take a back seat to the needs of the well being of the planet."

"Yeah," he replied, "but down time is important, too. I've seen too many people break from pushing themselves too hard for too long. If it had been anything but HYDRA, I would have let you have at least one more day."

"And when do you get your days off?" she asked.

"After you," he reminded her. "Once things are quieter again, I'll clear you and Rogers for a couple of days, then you'll be ready to take over so I can relax for a day or two."

"I'll believe that when I see it," she snorted.

He grinned. "Hopefully, you got to enjoy the one day that you had to yourselves," he told her.

"We did."

"Since you had the dogs with you, I assume you didn't hit the theater or the opera," he commented.

She laughed lightly. "No, we headed to one of the parks upstate. They have some amazing hiking trails. We spent the day exploring. Had a picnic. Let the dogs run. Talked."

He studied her. "Talking is good."

"Steve told me about his difficult childhood. I told him about my wild youth."

"All of it?"

She knew what he was asking. "The whole, ugly story, Nick."

"And he's okay with it." It was a statement, not a question.

"He says he is," she confirmed. She considered for a moment. "He asked if I kept track of him. I told him that I didn't, but that I thought that you had."

He leaned back, his gaze boring into her. "I have. Indirectly. Once you told me about him, I thought it a good idea to be able to located him quickly, should the need arise."

She nodded, not meeting his gaze.

"Do you want to know about him?"

Shaking her head, she finally looked up at him. "No. It's still safer for him if I don't know, don't you think?"

"Probably," he agreed.

She rose, heading towards the door. "Time to get back to the command center," she told him.

He glanced at the clock. "I'll be joining you as soon as I get this information forwarded to the council," he replied.

Pausing at the door, she took a deep breath. "He's okay, isn't he?"

"He's doing fine, Maria. I'd let you know if he wasn't."

"Thank you." She stood for a few more moments. "What's his name?" she asked softly.

"Benjamin."

With a nod, she left the office, using the walk to the command center to return her focus to the current mission and those involved.

In his office, Nick sent off updates the the appropriate people and followed up on a couple of other, less urgent matters. Before he shut down his computer, he clicked on a nondescript file tab and entered a series of passwords to open a special file. Opening it, he quickly skimmed through a report, then examined the accompanying photos.

"Doing just fine," he murmured before closing and securing everything again.

Joining Maria some time later, she informed him of a few minor changes and that the flight was now slightly ahead of the scheduled arrival time. The two continued looking integrating new data as it came in, constantly updating plans as needed.

A slight noise behind her had Maria turning suddenly, only to have a tray filled with cups of hot coffee dumped on her chest. She cursed, quickly unzipping her top and pulling it away from her skin.

"I'm so sorry, Commander Hill," the young intern said, eyes wide with horror. "You turned so suddenly and I wasn't able to move in time."

"Does anyone have a towel?" Nick hollered, reaching to help her keep the fabric from touching her. Someone jumped to hand him several paper towels which he proceed to use to start blotting the hot liquid from her skin.

"It was an accident," the young woman whispered, her voice revealing how close she was to tears.

"Of course it was an accident," Maria snapped. "If I thought it was intentional, you'd be bleeding on the floor." She looked at the frightened girl and sighed, glancing at her nametag. "You just need to realize that in a situation like this, people are going to be moving quickly and you need to be alert, Ms. Hoy."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And keep this incident in mind when you get to your classes on improvised weapons." At the confused look, she continued. "Hot liquids can be quite dangerous."

Hoy nodded understanding. "Certainly a distraction, at the very least."

"At least," Maria agreed. "You need to get this cleaned up before someone slips." When the woman nodded and rushed off to find towels, Maria turned to Nick, glancing at the mission clock. "Permission to go change, sir?"

"Granted," he nodded. Leaning close, he told her to grab something to eat as well.

Heading to her quarters to change, she met Phil in the corridor. He fell into step beside her. "Just the woman I was looking for," he commented, holding up his mobile. "I just heard from one of my people in Istanbul. He's hearing some odd chatter and wanted to pass it along."

"What's he hearing?" she probed.

After he told her, she stopped a moment, considering. "Porter has a team in that area. Can you put your man in touch with them?"

"Will do," he assented, tapping the keys necessary to pass along the information. He sniffed, looking at her in amusement. "Been hitting the coffee tonight, Maria?"

"Actually," she told him, "the coffee hit me. Ran over an intern delivering coffee and got a bit of a coffee bath."

"Are you okay?" he asked. "It didn't burn you, did it?"

"Fortunately, it wasn't that hot, but it didn't feel good."

"Did the intern survive?" he asked, ready to tease since he knew that she was alright.

She rolled her eyes at him as she opened her door, motioning for him to follow her in. He settled on the sofa as she continued on into her bedroom to change. He picked up the backpack she had dropped there earlier.

"Did you enjoy your time off?" he called. "What you had of it anyway?"

"We did," she told him. "Took Bucky and Katya on a hike, had a picnic, talked about our pasts." After a pause, she continued. "I told him everything, and he seemed to be fine with it," she told him, answering the question she knew he was thinking.

"Of course he is. He's crazy about you," he told her. "Do you still have any of your picnic left?" he asked, hefting the pack. "I haven't eaten in hours."

"I think there may be some granola bars and trail mix in there," she hollered back.

He unzipped the bag and started digging. "I didn't know you liked to draw."

"This from the man who mistook my porcupine for a stabbed turd?" she commented, returning to the living room and sitting next to him to put her shoes on.

He held up the sketchpad he found in the backpack.

"I must have grabbed Steve's pack by mistake," she replied.

He flipped open the pad, examining the sketches as he tore into one of the granola bars. "He's really good," he commented, holding it where she could see. There were several drawings of plants and small animals that they had seen.

The next pages had several sketches of the dogs, his pencil capturing Bucky's gentle spirit and the slight glimpse of uncertainty in Katya's eyes, the exuberance of both as they raced across the field. In another, a carefree Maria was holding the ball up, the two animals poised to run as soon as she released it.

Phil flipped to the next page, catching his breath. In the sketch, Maria was on the blanket, her legs stretched out in front of her as she leaned back on her elbows. Her eyes were closed and her face tilted up to the warmth of the sun. The look on her face was one of sheer bliss.

Maria reached out, her fingers gently brushing the paper. "He's very talented, isn't he?" she whispered.

"He is," Phil agreed, "and he captured you perfectly."

Her phone buzzed, breaking the mood. She glanced down at it, finding a text from Heinrich.

B&K both bathed, fed. Settling in well.

She smiled, texting back her thanks for the update, then looked up to find Phil looking at her curiously.

"Steve sending naughty texts?" he asked.

"I wish," she mumbled. "No, it's from Heinrich in the kennels."

"He's sending you naughty texts?" he teased.

Giving him a dirty look, she explained. "We had to bring the dogs back here when we got called in and he made some space for them. He was just letting me know they're doing alright."

"Don't worry, mama, the kids are fine."

She punched him lightly on the arm as his phone started buzzing. He glanced down at it as he rubbed his arm.

"Back to work," he commented. Glancing at her own, Maria nodded in agreement. She grabbed a bar for herself and followed him out the door.

Back in the command center, everyone had shifted into an even more alert status as the plane carrying their team landed near the site of the suspected base. After a series of double checks, Fury gave them permission to deplane and approach the building.

With Steve at point, they entered the facility, weapons ready and senses on high alert. "It certainly has the feel of HYDRA about it," he murmured into his headset. The further they went into the old base, the more convinced he became and the more nervous he became. "I'm pretty certain it was HYDRA and that it has been abandoned for quite some time," he told Fury.

"Any ideas what it might have been used for?" the director asked.

He looked around, noting the machinery and equipment. "My guess would be some type of weapons research or development," he told them, "but that's just an impression."

Suddenly, one of the technicians monitoring the site swung his chair around. "Sir!" he called, getting Fury's attention, "I'm detecting an energy build up in the center of the building."

Steve heard him and quickly starting calling for him team to immediately evacuate the facility. As each team member called out when they were clear, he slowed to take video shots of the work areas, hoping to provide SHIELD with some further evidence to figure out what activity had been going on here.

"Rogers? Are you clear?" Fury asked, noting just a glimpse of anxiety in Maria's expression.

"Not yet," his second responded.

"On my way, sir," Steve told him, dashing for the exit as he felt a rumbling under his feet and the pressure building behind him. Just as he reached the door, the explosion hit with a bright flash and a loud boom, lifting him off his feet and throwing him forward. The ground rushed quickly towards him and sudden blackness took over.

*X*X*X*

Music.

Good music.

Lots of horns.

Not like the stuff that Stark listened to.

Steve lifted his head, looking around in confusion. The place had the definite feel of a bar, filled with scarred, wooden tables and chair and a juke box blasting away in the corner. There were several men and women at the bar, a few more at the tables, but it was clearly early enough in the day that the crowd was light. Most of the men were in uniform. Steve looked down at himself, feeling the flash of pride at his own. A newspaper rested on the table and he picked it up, startling at the date.

1942.

A young woman stopped at his table, setting a glass of beer in front of him. He held the paper up to her.

"Is this current?"

She glanced at it, then shook her head.

"No."

He started to sigh with relief.

"That's about a week old, sir."

He mumbled his thanks as she walked away. How could he be back in 1942? He opened the paper, quickly skimming through the stories. He didn't look up when a flash of sunlight indicated that someone had entered the room. Only when he heard another chair at his table moving did he put the newspaper down and look at his new companion.

He caught his breath.

"Peggy," he whispered.

She smiled broadly, reaching over to touch his hand.

"Hi, Steve."

He didn't move or speak, just continued to stare at her.

"Steve?" she questioned.

"It's been so long since I've seen you," he said.

"Since yesterday?"

He shook himself. "Was it really just yesterday?" When she nodded, he laughed. "Guess I had dozed a little and was having this crazy dream."

"Tell me about it," she commanded, taking a small sip of his beer.

"I was in a plane that crashed into a glacier."

"That doesn't sound good."

"They found me and thawed me out, but it was 70 years in the future," he told her.

Her face lit up. "The future? So, does everyone have jet packs and flying cars and robots?"

"No. At least not most people. Stark and SHIELD do, but most people still get around like we do now, only faster."

"That's disappointing," she answered. She thought for a few moments. "Did we win the war?"

He sighed, looking down at the tabletop. "Does anyone ever really win a war?"

After a moment, she touched his hand again. He looked up at her. "So Stark and SHIELD are still working together?"

"Sort of an uneasy alliance," he admitted.

"And Howard Stark is still around in the 21st century," she mused.

"No," he corrected, "Howard is long gone. Just like everyone I knew. He had a son, though. Tony Stark. I think Tony may actually be even smarter and more driven that Howard, though."

"That's a scary thought," she laughed. "Is he as much of an asshole as Howard?"

"Yeah, he can be, but Tony has has something that his father never did. He has Pepper."

"Pepper? Is that like 'moxie' or 'chutzpah'?" she asked.

Steve grinned at her. "Pepper is his wife. She started out as his personal assistant and is now running Stark Industries while he spends most of his time in the lab. She knows how much he loves research and building things, but she will not let him kill himself doing it. She loves him enough to draw lines and he loves her enough to let her."

"Howard never had that?"

"No. From what I understand, he and his wife had very little to do with each other. Or with Tony."

"And SHIELD is still around. Still fighting HYDRA?" she questioned.

"SHIELD is still working to protect the planet, still playing by their own rules," he told her. "HYDRA has been quiet of late, but they're never really gone."

"Cut off one head, two more will take it's place," she quoted.

"And there are always plenty of other villains to cause trouble."

She cocked her head as a new song started to play. "Dance with me?" she invited, standing up and offering her hand. He joined her, taking her hand and leading her onto the small dance floor.

With one hand on her waist and the other holding hers, he started moving to the music, carefully leading her through the steps.

It didn't quite feel right. Her hand was a little too soft, the top of her head just a little too high to rest his chin on, her hair not quite the right color.

His mind drifted to another partner. Dancing together at a wedding. Laughing as he struggled to not step on her toes.

He suddenly realized Peggy had stopped moving and looked down at her.

"Tell me about her," she told him.

"Who?"

"Your 21st century woman," she clarified, taking his hand and leading him back to the table.

He held her chair for her before settling back in his own.

"Her name is Maria," he told her, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

"And you rode in on your white horse to rescue her," Peggy commented.

"Hardly," he corrected. "Maria is as tough as she is smart and brave and beautiful. I think she kind of reminded me of you when I first met her."

She smiled slightly.

"She's the assistant director of SHIELD," he said.

"It's nice to know that women are doing better in the future," she said. "Pepper running Stark Industries, your Maria second in command at SHIELD."

"It's still not easy for them," he told her. "Maria fought tooth and nail to earn that position and the respect of Director Fury. Anyone who thinks otherwise is going to get their butt kicked."

"I think I would like your Maria," she acknowledged grudgingly.

"I think you would, too," he told her.

"Even though I hate losing you to her," she said, pushing her chair back and standing up. Steve stood as well, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You came here because you thought you needed to make a choice," she told him. "You never had a say about getting pulled into the future. Now, you do." She stretched up to kiss him, then walked towards a door and he followed close behind, still not understanding. When she opened the door, he could see a train waiting at the platform, the conductor calling a final 'All Aboard!'

Behind him, someone else came through the front door of the bar, leaving it ajar. He heard a voice from outside, calling his name.

Maria.

He looked back at Peggy who had crossed the platform to board the train. She held out a hand to him.

"Are you coming?"

He took a step towards her, but then turned back.

Maria was calling him.

Peggy.

His beautiful, amazing unrealized past.

Maria.

His beautiful, amazing potential future.

He turned back to Peggy, stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. With a sad smile, she waved, then stepped onto the train. She turned one last time.

"Be happy, Steve," she called as the train pulled out. He waved, then turned back to the other door, her voice still drawing him. He took off running, his foot catching on the threshold and sending him sprawling into the snow.

*X*X*X*

"Captain Rogers! Can you hear me? Please respond!" Maria's voice came over his earpiece. He figured it sounded very professional to most people, but he could hear the slight edge of panic.

"He's coming around, ma'am," he heard his teammate speaking into her own earpiece as she rolled him onto his back, lightly slapping at his cheeks. She leaned over him. "Are you alright, sir?"

He nodded to her, raising himself into a sitting position. "I'm fine, Commander Hill," he spoke into his microphone to reassure her, then looked to the other woman. "Is everyone else alright, Agent Woodrow?" he asked her.

She nodded as she watched him stand. "How long was I out?" he asked, turning to the burning building behind him.

"Only a few seconds, sir," she assured him.

He led his team back to the plane where they regrouped, discussing with headquarters what the next step should be. While the base had been virtually destroyed, no one was completely comfortable with closing the book on this. SHIELD would be sending in a forensics team to sift through the debris for further information while the different members of the strike team were dispatched to assist other teams with follow up.

Later that night, Steve settled in the room he had been assigned at a nearby base. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Do you have any idea how terrified I was?" she answered.

"Hello to you, too."

"Hello. Do you have any idea how terrified I was?" she repeated.

"I probably do," he replied, remembering that night at the restaurant.

"Yeah, I guess you do," she answered. "You're okay?"

"Haven't you heard, Agent Hill? Captain America is practically indestructible. You don't need to worry about him."

"Agent Hill is concerned for Captain America because he's a valuable SHIELD asset," she told him, "But this is Maria wanting to make sure that Steve is okay."

He smiled. "Steve is just fine, Maria. Even better than fine. I'll have to tell you about it some time."

"I'll look forward to that," she told him, "but right now, I'd better get back to work and you need to get some rest."

"I should be back in a few day," he told her.

"I'll look forward to seeing you again."

"Me, too."

"Bye," she whispered.

"Bye," he responded, taking a deep breath. "I love you."

She froze, saved from having to reply when she heard the phone disconnect. She shook her head. Surely, he didn't say what she thought he said.

A chime indicated a new text message.

Yes, I really said it. I love you.

She was confused. What was that supposed to mean?

Another beep caught her attention, and she looked at the phone, skimming another far less panic inducing message. Something to do with the possible end of the world.

That, she could deal with.

She would deal with Steve later.

XXXX

Another long one. Thanks for sticking it out. I hope you enjoyed Steve's little journey and all the rest as well. Do you think he was sneaky enough, Qweb? As always, your reviews are much appreciated. Love you all. You're the hot fudge on my sundae!

Time to get working on the next chapter of 'Risks'

Until next week!