Chapter 6 Closing Night

(this chapter is a long one, enjoy)

"Peggy! Steve! You got armed Hydra agents heading your way!" Gabe shouted on the radio. Peggy stared at their one obstacle standing in the way, her old friend/enemy, Dottie Underwood. Her fists were up and her taunting smile was egging her on.

Steve carefully watched Dottie, then Peggy. They didn't have time to fight Dottie, they had to escape now or they would have a herd of angry Hydra and Leviathan agents on their ass. He scanned the room for available options. Their front door option was out of the question if agents were coming in any second. Steve eyed the window to their left. Thinking fast, Steve grabbed for the desk and flipped it at Dottie with one hand. Dottie cartwheeled out of the way and into Peggy's reach. Peggy threw a few punches. The desk splashed against the wall and shattered the window and its frame. Dottie and Peggy threw each other around the room, kicking, punching and slamming each other into walls. Peggy dodged a kick and allowed Steve to step in for a punch. His fist met her block, but she didn't factor in his force. It sent her off her feet.

Hearing loud footsteps coming from outside the door, Peggy and Steve headed for the newly opened window. They were met with the cold frigid air. The window led to one of the lodge's balconies. It was crowded with agents from both agencies. They looked questioningly at the two of them. They used that moment of hesitation to race off the balcony and climb down the lodge's scaffolding to the parking lot down below. By the time they hit the ground, the agents on the balcony had drawn their weapons and began opening fire.

Just in the nick of time, Dugan skidded up with their limo. It appeared Gabe, James and Jacques were already inside as well. They threw the car door open and ushered them in. Dugan stepped on the gas and gunned it down the icy road down the mountain. They were at least 35 miles away from the city of Vorkuta. It was time to book it before two of the most hated agencies in the world would catch them.

"Stark, you better have a plane ready for us when we get there!" Dugan shouted over the radio.

"Do you have Bucky?" Howard asked thru their ear pieces.

Steve ripped his tux off to reveal his Captain America uniform. It felt good to see his star and stripes again, "No. But I managed to put that handy tracking device on his pod. You got a lock on it?"

"Sure thing kiddo. Its on the move. We'll get a plane fired up and ready to catch it."

"WE GOT COMPANY!" Gabe shouted as he looked out the window. A snowmobile with two riders came to their right side and opened fire with an assault rifle. The crew in the cabin ducked.

"DAMNIT!" Dugan shouted. They were stuck. The limo could only stay on the paved road which was narrow to start with. They were like sitting ducks on the drive down the mountain if more snowmobiles show up.

Steve grabbed for his shield and placed it front of their exposed window, "We gotta fire back!"

Everyone in the cabin grabbed a gun from their concealed locker in the middle of the limo. Peggy pulled off her blonde wig and grabbed for gun. She got behind Steve's shield and tried firing back at the snowmobile. Within 3 shots, she hit their engine and blew their vehicle.

"I got 2 more coming on the left!" Dugan shouted, eyeing his side mirror. Gabe and Jacques mounted their sights out the left window and began firing down the snowmobiles before they could fire first. The five of them in the cabin tried to pick off any one coming at them from the sides. It wasn't the best strategy but it could be enough to get them down the mountain.

"OH son of...BRACE YOURSELVES." Dugan shouted as he slammed on the breaks. The icy road didn't catch the breaking tires. The limo screamed down the road towards a barrier, the lodge's metal gates had been closed. Two agents were placing barrels and wood around the gates to toughen the barrier. The Hydra agents dashed out of the way as the limo collided with metal, sandbags and wood at nearly 40 mph. The vehicle came to a halt.

Everyone in the cabin slowly got their bearings when they could hear the sound of snowmobiles coming closer. Steve surveyed his crew. Jacques, James and Gabe were already reloading clips and gathering up any other weapons they could carry. Peggy was pulling on a coat, her revealing dress was not fit for the weather, or this kind of gun fight. She kicked off her heels and put on some winter boots. Dugan stirred slowly from the driver side, he grabbed his bleeding nose and rubbed his head.

"We gotta get further down the mountain." Steve ordered and kicked the right side door off its hinges, ushering everyone out. He ran towards the driver side door and rescue Dugan. He was pretty banged up from the head on collision but nothing life threatening.

"Cap, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Gabe asked as he shot down the two guards that were waiting for them at the gates.

"We need to borrow a ride." Steve motioned everyone to get behind the crushed limo as he stood before it out in the open. More agents on snowmobiles rushed down towards them. They began firing at Steve, feeling grateful to have his shield back, he hide behind it against their fire. When the snowmobiles got close enough, Gabe and Jacques came out from behind cover and fired at the drivers. They nailed their targets. The free mobile crashed into the limo. They managed to gun down at least 5 snowmobiles. However more were on their way. Many more Hydra agents on mobiles were gunning right for them. But something else peaked over the mountain, it appeared to be a fast moving tank with snow treads. It was coming down fast with its barrel pointed right at them.

"Mount up, grab whatever weapons and ammo we can. We gotta race em to the bottom. Once we are out of the skiing area, we should try to cut em off in the woods before we head back to the city." Steve mounted on one snowmobile, Peggy sat behind him. She was armed with a rifle and had a small hand gun tucked away in her boot. Gabe and Dugan were on one. Dugan was driving, Gabe was his gunner. Jacques and James were on another, James was their gunner. And they were off. They had a good head start on Hydra, but that didn't stop them from opening fire on them. Peggy, Gabe and James all tried to fire back. They swerved their way down the steep ski paths hoping to lose them. But that tank was going straight, its speed increasing. Peggy watched as the tank's latched top opened up. A familiar blonde face appeared with a delighted smug. Dottie mounted herself on top of the tank, directing the gunner to aim. Her eyes never left Peggy's. The tank blasted its first round in a puff of smoke, the tank's bullet landed just a few feet to Peggy's left.

"We gotta take out that tank!" Peggy shouted. Reloading a new clip into her rifle. She aimed for Dottie. The swerving of their mobile made it difficult to properly aim. On top of that, they were dodging the Hydra snowmobiles at the same time.

"I got an idea! Dugan! Jacques! Keep leading the charge!" Captain Rogers ordered. Without any warning, he squeezed on the breaks. Peggy clutched on to him to avoid falling off. The Hydra agents whizzed past them, too stunned to react to them falling behind them. Soon the tank whizzed past them.

"Grab the wheel!" Steve placed his feet on the seat and pushed himself up into a standing position. He jumped about 10 feet in the air and landed on top of the Hydra snow tank. Peggy manned the steering of the mobile, she maintained a short distance from the tank.

Steve headed start for Dottie. He threw a punch her way, she dodged it. She was very agile and fast at moving away from his attacks. She learned her lesson from last time not to block. As she evaded his attacks, she pulled out a gun from her jacket. She aimed it at Steve and fired. The bullet nicked his shoulder pad, Steve lunged and grabbed her shooting wrist. He was much stronger than her and he used this to his advantage. He pointed the gun down into the open latch of the tank and fired at the two Hydra agents inside, both in the head. The tank was no unmanned and uncontrolled. Steve slammed her hand down on the tank's metal surface, dislodging the hand gun. She growled in frustration. She swung her legs up and suddenly she had her legs around his neck. Her hands captured his head, ready to try and twist his neck. Steve got his footing and thought of the only way to knock her off. He fell backwards off of the runaway tank.

"STEVE!" Peggy shouted as she watch the two bodies tumble into the snow. She reached out and grabbed his extended arm. The jerking force of holding his massive body at such a high speed nearly popped her arm out of place. She grunted as she held on to his forearm. Steve struggled to get back on to their snowmobile. Once he was secured, Peggy steered away from the tank and tried to catch up with the rest of their crew. Dugan and the rest were much further down the mountain. They had successfully taken out many Hydra snowmobiles, very few remained.

Steve looked back to see if there was any more coming. But when he turned his vision around, he pulled his shield off his back and blocked both himself and Peggy. Dottie had survived her fall and had mounted on a Hydra snowmobile. She fired at them with an assault rifle. Many bullets ricocheted off of the shield, but some impacted the engine.

"We can't out run her!" Steve shouted. "Head towards the far left here, off the ski path!" Steve held up his shield as they were bombarded with another round of bullets. His shield wasn't big enough to protect himself, Peggy and the engine from Dottie's shooting spree.

Peggy took a sharp left and headed off the ski path and on to some dangerously thick snow. Dottie followed. Trees were now an obstacle. Peggy skillfully swerved between the thick pine trees, kicking up a lot of thick fluff snow in her wake. Dottie kept firing but the trees provided a nice cover.

Steve checked behind them, they were gaining some distance from her. But then there was a new problem. Because of the thick snow fall and the two mobiles were kicking up the ground, it was causing an avalanche to form. It was trailing behind Dottie and gaining on them fast. It was only small section of snow that was tumbling, but it was now expanding and becoming a monstrous puff of white behind them. Dottie's driver was in a panic as he tried to speed up away from their frosty death.

Peggy turned her head back to see their incoming doom. She swerved heavily to the right in hopes to get back on the ski trail and potentially lose the avalanche. But Dottie kept giving them bullet hell, preventing her from turning right. By turning the snowmobile, it had exposed their right side. Many bullets impacted the engine. It began to putter and smoke.

Steve looked back at the avalanche and then at Dottie. It was almost upon her. He had a plan but it was gonna be a rough one, "This is our stop! We're getting off!"

"OFF?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Peggy shouted.

When Dottie was caught between reloading a clip, Steve grabbed for Peggy and jumped off the snowmobile. He jumped as far right as he could go. He tucked the shield underneath his butt, and clutched Peggy into his arms. When the shield impacted the ground, it acted as a slid. He was able to steer them back on to the ski trail but the avalanche and Dottie were still following them.

She proceeded to fire, the bullets impacted the snow behind them. They were close within in her range. Steve stuck his hand in the snow, scraping up his hand to keep the shield going right towards the ski path, all the while dodging trees. But the further down they were going, the rockier the terrain got. Making steering much more difficult and even harder to get back on to the ski path.

There was a scream from behind them, followed by the sound of a crash. The shooting stopped, but the avalanche kept following. Steve kept steering right, hoping to get out of the avalanche's path. After several painful minutes of guiding his hand in the snow, they finally came to a spot where the avalanche couldn't reach them. The mountain was less steep now, meaning they must be close to the long tundra stretch back to the city.

Steve placed his feet down in the snow and they came to a grinding halt in the dense forest. They panted as they checked their surroundings. There were no sounds of snowmobiles, or gun fire. The avalanche had stopped. Peggy and Steve looked at each other and gave a relieved chuckle. Steve hissed when he took his steering hand out of the snow, it was raw and bloody but it wasn't too serious. Peggy cradled his hand, it was dripping with blood.

"Well that was a wild ride." Steve got himself and Peggy back on their feet. She wobbled a bit as she planted her boots in the snow. Steve retrieved his shield, but he paused. The inside of his shield had a pool of blood. A lot of blood.

"Steve." He heard Peggy's faint voice. She suddenly leaned all of her weight on him. That blood wasn't his. It was hers. On her right thigh was a bullet wound pouring out blood. She stained the white snow with red under her feet. A bullet had hit a main artery and she was bleeding out fast.

"A stray bullet from Dottie must have impacted me. I didn't notice." Peggy clutched on to Steve.

Steve acted fast, setting her down in the snow. If he didn't stop the bleeding, she was going to bleed out and die. Peggy angled her leg up for Steve to work on it. Thinking quickly he yanked off his belt and wrapped it around her thigh and pulled tight. Peggy hadn't felt any pain before, but she certainly felt it now. As Steve squeezed her wound, she let out a sharp scream. She could feel the bullet was still embedded into her leg.

"I know Peg, hang on." Steve cooed her gently between her grunts of pain. "This is only temporary until we get you back to the city." He finished fastening the belt. It would have to do for a quick patch up. He lifted her in his arms and retrieved his bloody shield. He started to head back towards the ski trail but he stopped. Looming over the blue skies where dark storm clouds.

"Howard!" Steve called on his radio.

Only static.

"Dugan, James!" He cried even louder.

"Gabe! Jacques!"

No response.

Steve clutched his teeth and began to break into a sprint. He would run all the way to the city if he had to.

"The approaching storm must be cutting off our radio signal." Peggy looked at the dangerous skies. "That storm is coming up from the south, it must be hitting the city right now. I hope the boys made it back to Howard in time." She bounced in Steve's arms. Each bounce sent more pain shooting down her leg. "Steve, we can't run into that storm. We'll freeze before we get there. Its 30 miles away, maybe more." Peggy tried to throw in the reality of their situation. This was a very very bad. Right now the temperature had to be -10. Once that storm hits, the temperature was going to drop even further and they'd be buried in snow and ice.

Captain Rogers stopped and desperately looked around, what should he do? Where were they suppose to go? Shelter? They needed a shelter. The trees would not provide good enough cover, the wind would chill them and it would be hopeless to make a fire. A cave? Steve couldn't see any, they had approached the tundra area. The closest cave would be up the mountain, but who knows how long it would take before he found one. That storm was coming in fast. They had roughly 20 minutes before it would hit them.

"Steve." Peggy yanked on his collar and pointed outwards at an odd structure. Stopped behind a boulder was the Hydra tank from earlier, the one that was trying to kill them. Steve raced over to it. The tracks were firmly lodged into the boulder. Perhaps when it was screaming down the hill, the boulder was the one thing that stopped it. The tank was wrecked, it wasn't going anywhere. But it would have to do for a shelter. The cabin was still intact. Perhaps if they kept the top open they could build a small fire inside, like a tipi. The top was still open, as Steve peered in he noticed the two dead Hydra agents were still inside. Before Peggy and Steve were to call this new tank their home, they had some cleaning to do.

Steve placed Peggy down in the snow. He noticed just how bad she looked. Her face was completely white, the only color was on the tip of her nose and her cheeks as her body was fighting against the cold. She only had a thin dress, boots and a winter coat to keep her warm. Now that the adrenaline from their battle was wearing off, the cold was knocking her down. Her body was trembling, her teeth were chattering and she moaned in pain. Steve placed his Shield in front of her, hoping it could at least protect her from the growing wind. He quickly went to work pulling out the dead bodies from the tank and also cleaning up any blood. Luckily there wasn't much. The inside of the tank was small but there was definitely enough room for two people to lie down in. There were small cubbies and containers with some supplies. Even a med kit. Perfect.

By the time Steve had finished, the storm had hit. The snow came down sidewise as the wind blew. He rushed Peggy inside. Her body felt even colder than before, and her eyes were beginning to flutter. She was fading fast. Within the tank's supplies was also a wool blanket. He wrapped her in it, but the slight movement caused the wound in her leg to open again. The wool became stained with her blood. Steve grabbed for the med kit and began tending the wound, adding more pressure with the belt. Peggy screamed again.

"We have to get the bullet out!" Peggy said thru gritted teeth.

"You already lost too much blood." Steve tightened the belt. The bleeding was slowing down.

"I'll die from lead poisoning before I die from blood loss." Peggy's hand grabbed for the med kit. She saw a pair of metal tweezers. "The bullet needs to come out." She threw the tweezers at Steve. He was not going to like this. He hated to hear her in pain. He adjusted the belt further up her thigh and tightened more to stop the blood flow of her artery. He tried to work fast. He grabbed a flashlight from the tank's supplies and illuminated the wound. It was deep. He could see a metallic piece lodged in there.

"Take my hand." Steve extended his left hand to her, "Squeeze hard, this is gonna hurt." This was his scrapped up steering hand, it was still shredded and bleeding. Peggy took his hand and squeezed firmly. She felt the tweezers going in, a surge of pain came forth. She tried not to scream and remained as still as possible as Steve worked. The metal dug deeper into her leg, hunting to snatch that bullet. It took Steve about 5 minutes to pull the bullet out. To Peggy, it felt like 5 hours. She was shocked that Steve showed no signs of pain from the squeezing of his left hand. Once the bullet was out, it started bleeding again. With skilled bandaged work, Steve plugged up the bullet hole with some gauze and tightly wrapped it clothe. He adjusted the belt once more to put pressure directly on the wound. He looked up at Peggy, she was fighting off tears. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was over, but she still felt an immense amount of pain.

Steve cupped her face and wiped away her pain filled tears. He sweetly kissed her head. It felt so cold to his lips. He had to make a fire right away. If they wanted to wait out this storm, they had to stay warm. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna try to find some dry wood for a fire." Peggy nodded. She looked so tired and fragile.

He had to work fast. He jumped out and was greeted with the frigid wind and icy temperatures. The snow pelted him instantly. He may be super human and have a stubborn core body temperature, but this was extreme even for him. He ran into the woods with his flashlight. He grabbed as much as he could, from small kindling to large dry logs. Luckily some dead trees in the forest provided a great source of wood. With arms full of fuel, Steve rushed back inside the tank. He was shivering and wet. He turned to see how Peggy was doing, what he saw surprised him.

Peggy had managed to yank out the tank's communication modem and was tinkering with its internal wires. In her hand was her ear piece that they used to communicate with Howard. She had linked it up to the tank's radio and a cord phone. Even with a severe injury, there was no stopping her.

"Quick get a fire started," She threw a pair of matches and a booklet at him that she found in the tank's supplies. Steve went to building a starter fire with pieces of paper and small dry sticks. Peggy went back to the radio, "The battery in the tank is still working, I'm trying to match this radio to our frequency. I hope this one has more range than our tiny blasted Stark-made ear pieces." The two were hard at work for almost an hour before they made any progress. Steve had a small roaring fire going and a stack of wood ready in a corner of the tank. Peggy had finally managed to tap into their frequency.

"Howard, come in Howard! Howard, it's Carter! Answer me damnit!" Peggy had yelled into the radio's phone for the hundredth time. The other ninety-nine times she tried that, she got nothing but static. But for this hundredth time, she finally heard a voice.

"Peggy?! OH thank god!" Howard had answered. "Are you ok? Where are you? Is Cap with you?"

"Yes yes," Peggy smiled and banged her head against the tank wall with relief, "Steve and I are alive. We got caught up in the storm. We have taken shelter in a Hydra tank."

There was a pause on the radio, "Well that's a bit ironic that Hydra tech saved you guys."

"Did the boys ever make it back?"

"Hi darling." Dugan answered, "We hit that storm hard and kept riding til we reached the city. You two provided a good enough distraction for us to escape with. Was that avalanche intentional?"

Peggy giggled.

Steve took sat next to her and grabbed the phone from her, "Listen guys, our situation is rough. Peggy's been shot. She's lost a lot of blood. We have a fire right now, but this storm isn't showing signs of slowing down."

"The storm has us trapped in the hotel." Howard's voice came on again, "The city is also swarming with Hydra and Leviathan agents. They are trying to locate us. I'm sorry, but it looks like you guys have to survive this storm on your own." Howard's voice sounded hurt.

Dugan responded, "We'll try to find an opening to use that Hydra truck to come locate you guys. We'll call you if there's any updates."

"Call us every 15 minutes to make sure we're ok." Steve replied. That response frightened Peggy.

Steve and Peggy let out an exhale together.

"Well I'm glad, we had some food at the opening before all of this." Peggy tried to lighten the mood. She hugged the blanket up to her chin. The fire was warming up the interior a little bit, having the latch open provided great ventilation for the smoke. But it was still too cold for a human body to survive more than a few hours in these conditions. She wasn't going to last very long, she could feel it. She was wearing a thin dress, no pants, a light coat and now she had a blanket. She had lost too blood, her body wouldn't be able to keep her alive and keep her warm from much longer.

Steve shifted towards her, he began unzipping his uniform. "Come here." He opened up his thermal shirt to expose his bare chest. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly. He shuttered once her face made contact with his pecs, "God Peggy you feel like an ice cube." He wrapped the blanket tightly around her, making sure that she was being warmed on all sides. With the fire hitting her back, and Steve's impossibly warm body embracing her front. Peggy clung to his chest, he felt like the hottest thing in the world. She pressed deep into him, hoping to transfer his heat into her. It was working.

"You feel like a roasting fire in a log cabin on a cold winter's night on the English country side." She muttered into his breast letting out content sighs. She nuzzled her cheek against his collarbone. If she wasn't in deep peril, she would love to fall asleep like this.

She hummed with delight as she felt Steve's hands rub her back. For a long time they sat in silence, with nothing but the roar of the fire and the wind hitting the tank. It had been so quiet between them that Dugan's call on the radio startled them.

"This is your 15 minute wake up call, you guys still alive?"

Steve grabbed for the phone. He looked down at Peggy's face. There wasn't much change, she was still bone white. Dark circles were starting to form under her eyes. "Thanks Dum Dum. Situation normal. How are you guys holding up?"

Peggy could see the tiny look of fear in Steve's face, he knew she looked bad. He was trying his best to hide it from her. But she was so close to his heart that she could hear the truth. He was terrified for her. Situation was not normal. It was getting worse for her. The pain was not as intense as before. In fact her leg was starting to go numb. She couldn't move it, not even alittle bit. That was not a good sign.

"Situation normal here, we got our supplies ready to roll once we get a window of opportunity. Call you again in 15." The radio went quiet. And then it was back to silence.

Peggy was sick of the silence. It was a dead silence.

"It happened about a month after we lost you." She spoke softly against his pec.

"What?" Steve straightened her up so he could see her face. He hugged her even closer. Her body still trembled.

"The 3 scars on my shoulder. You wanted to know how I got them. It happened towards the end of the war. The SSR was called to help American forces to take Germany. Our unit was small and we were all too exhausted after our battle with Hydra. However it was even harder to work with the American forces. We were told to keep your death a secret from them until it was all over. As Colonel Philips puts it, 'That is the American golden boy to ending this war. He may not be here fighting with them, but let them believe he is.' We had marched into Weimer, Germany. We were not prepared for what we stumbled upon there." Peggy took a moment to swallow as if recalling a terrible sight.

Steve knew exactly what she was talking about, "You were part of the American team that liberated the first Nazi concentration camp." Steve hadn't known about the Nazi's secrecy with the concentration camps until getting a crash course about it from SHIELD back in 2011. It was appalling to learn about it. He couldn't imagine what she had seen firsthand of those horrible camps.

Peggy continued, "The Buchenwald. Most of the German forces had fled the camp. But some had lingered to destroy the evidence of their harness deeds. We marched into that camp. Every warehouse we opened was the same, it was piled with so many bodies. Men, women and children. It was impossible to move forward thinking there was any hope left of saving anyone. Until finally I opened a shed where some survivors were hiding. They were mostly children. They were frightened by me, I had to put down my rifle. I repeated 'You are safe', in all the languages that I knew. They eventually calmed down. One boy came up to me, a little Jewish boy."

"He asked me 'Is Captain America here?'" Peggy stopped once again to swallow away some tears.

"I said 'No, he sent me to come get you.' But before I could even take another breath, a German soldier had returned to the shed. He saw me first, with my back turned and shot me, three times. I was able to retrieve my rifle but not before he shot down 3 children in that shed. One of them being that little boy. After that I don't remember what happened next, one moment I'm in that shed, the next I'm in a hospital in London. Apparently Dugan had found me and rushed me to medical. He told me that I was crying the whole time, from Germany to London."

Over the course of Peggy's story, Steve found himself grasping Peggy's shoulder tightly. He should have been there. He should have been there for those suffering people when liberating the concentration camps. He should have been there for the millions of people that died by the hands of the Nazis. He should have been there when Peggy was shot. But, he was here right now. He was with Peggy. She was wounded and he was with her now. He was here. "I'm glad you told me. I love your scars." He kissed the top of her head, "Because I can't have them, I wish I could. I would gladly take your scars away."

Peggy let out a laugh, a mixed between a sob and joyous outburst, "Maybe not all of them."

"The scar on your leg will look pretty cool." Steve rubbed her even more.

"Well right now its not a scar, it's a festering wound that's threatening my life at the moment."

Steve put another log on the fire and hugged her even tighter, "Well I'm still fighting to keep you alive. Stay with me ok."

"I'm starting to miss that stupid elaborate hotel." Peggy admitted.

Right on time, Howard called them on the radio to check up on them, "Things aren't looking so hot for us here. We can see Hydra agents busting down doors at neighboring hotels. They might come for us next. We might go silent for a bit as we hide."

Steve replied, "Roger that. Stay safe."

"You too."

Then there was silence again. Steve continued to rub Peggy's back to keep her warm. He was beginning to feel cold as well. The temperature maintained its negative decent. Every log he was placing on the fire wasn't enough to combat the cold. His back and butt where growing ice cold being in contact with the metal tank. If he was moving around, he could get proper circulation.

"Steve." Peggy cut the silence. "Make love to me."

Steve couldn't believe what she just said. He tensed up, "What?"

Peggy stretched out a hand and cupped his cheek. Her hands were freezing. "Friction. We need friction." She began rolling her hips in his lap as best she could. Her body felt so stiff and limited to movement. Her eyes casted that same heat back when they were at the hotel and back when they made love for the first time. It was the only part of her that had color to her.

It sounded crazy but it made sense. Steve placed his hands on her hips and controlled her movements. Her entire chest pressed into his. He kept them rubbing in a slow rhythm. But Peggy was grabbing for more. She pulled him down on her lips, they felt chapped and cool. But the inside of her mouth was still wet and a little warm. Peggy hungrily ate his tongue and lips, like she was sucking the heat out of him. Her movements became more aggressive as she hungered more for his heat. Like she was fighting with what little strength she had left to gain some heat. Her hands reached down his hips, peaking some fingers down underneath his pants.

Steve jumped when he felt Peggy's icy hands touch his staff. She stopped all together.

"Hang on." Steve had to adjust this better. He took off her blanket and laid it down on the floor. He cradled her close as he laid them down. He squeezed himself firmly down on Peggy. His hands roamed very part of her body. No matter where he went, she felt cold. He tried massaging her breasts, her inner thighs, her stomach with his meaty hands. He prayed that his efforts would return some heat to her. His fingers worked her way down to her core. It was the one spot that felt warm.

"Steve. Put your fingers inside me, like you did back at the hotel." Peggy begged him.

Using his good right hand, he played with her sex. Peggy bit her lip in response. She was trying to hide a moan. It was a relief to Steve to hear her hiding a moan of pleasure rather than a moan of pain like she had been for the last 2 hours. He stuck one finger inside her, she couldn't help but let that cry out. Something so warm being plunged inside her. Her moan was a combination of excitement and relief.

Steve frowned. Her insides felt cooler than the last time he did this. Peggy was truly freezing from the inside out. He had to reverse this, he had to insert her with more heat. Growing frantic, Steve unbuttons his pants and pulled out his erecting penis. Without giving her so much as a warning, he firmly lodged his entire length into her. She let out a surprised 'OOOhh' which was then met with a heavy delighted moan. His massive hot dick filled her up completely, like a furnace warming her from the inside. Peggy clamped down on him expecting him to never leave her like this. In his warm embrace, his soft lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her tight, his chest melting into hers. Very slowly Steve thrusted into her, much like how he was rubbing her before, it was a slow stirring motion. The friction between them was enough to light a match. Peggy grew much more verbal, each thrust into her was marked with her moan. Steve had never heard her moan so much. She was loud, excited, and breathy. Her body trembled with delight, her internal muscles tightened around his cock, pressing them together in a hot embrace that kept pumping. Peggy clawed at his shoulders, demanding for more warmth. Her good leg wrapped around his waist, pulling his crotch in closer. She wanted him so close that they could absorb together and become one entity of sex and fire.

"Peg, I'm about to…" Steve tried to free himself from her grip. He was on the edge.

"No, you stay inside me!" Peggy demanded, but it came out as more of a desperate beg. A plea. One more thrust was all it took and Steve ejaculated into her. His hot semen filling up her insides. She gave a loud cry as her entire body, for a split second, felt warm and bubbly with pure pleasure. Steve was feeling much warmer now after moving around. Peggy's temperature was improving but this would only be a minor break from her dangerous state of emergency.

Steve let out a breath and then giggled to himself, "I think this might be the weirdest spot we could have ever choose to do this."

"Well when desperate times call for desperate measures." Peggy giggled back, "I'm feeling a little better. I just hope we have enough wood to last us throughout the rest of this storm."

"Yeah, I'd rather not be frozen again for another 70 years. And I think it would be weird if SHIELD found us like this."

Peggy burst into laughter and snorted. She imagined the absurdity of that image. Although it sent a chill up her spine, to be frozen for 70 years. She wondered how Steve felt during that process. Was it quick? Slow or much like falling asleep? Peggy batted her eyes. Now that she was feeling less cold, sleep felt like a wonderful thing.

Steve's hand cupped her cheek, "Hey, you have to stay awake Peg?" He said sweetly.

Peggy gave him a playful pout, "But I feel so much warmer now." She tightened her embrace around his torso. "Just 5 minutes." Despite his protest, she shut her eyes. Steve wrapped her back in the blanket and secured her in his arms and lap again. Letting Peggy sleep for a few minutes sounded peaceful. It did feel less cold in here. Perhaps the storm was dissipating finally. Resting felt like a good idea, at least until Howard would call them again. It would only be for a few minutes. Just a few warm moments of rest.

"S…. ….. …..STEVE!" Captain Rogers battled to open his eyes. They felt so heavy. Someone's voice was calling him over the radio. It was Dugan. He had to answer.

As he opened his eyes he thought he had gotten blind for a second. It wasn't until he realized that their fire had gone out. Hot embers remained on the tank floor. Panic struck through Steve, how long had he been asleep?! He tried to move but his limps ached. They were all stiff and cold. He could see his shaky breath materialize in the crispy air.

"P-Peggy." His first thought was her. He looked down in his arms. She looked just as he had left her, she looked like she was asleep. But her lips were greyish blue. Steve shook her shoulder. No response. "Peggy!" Steve cried out, his voice was dry and hoarse. "PEGGY!" Still no response. He cupped her cheek, she was ice cold. He felt around for her pulse, a faint murmur of a heart beat was the only signal of hope for her.

This was very very bad!

Steve frantically reached for the radio phone to answer Dugan. "I'm here! How long has it been?"

"Christ Steve!" Howard's voice came on followed by the rest of the team all shout relief on the other end.

Dugan's voice said, "We've been calling you for the last 20 minutes. We finally have our window. The boys and I are in the Hydra truck and we are coming for you two."

20 minutes! He had been calling for 20 minutes? That's not nearly enough time for their fire pit to just go out. He had been asleep much longer than that.

"W-when was our last radio call? You guys had to go silent. How long ago was that?"

"Steve….that was an hour ago." Howard answered.

The weight of that hit Steve like a ton of bricks. "The storm?"

"The storm is still brewing." Dugan said.

"How is Peggy doing?" Howard asked.

Steve paused, "We need an immediate evacuation. She doesn't have much time."

"If you could make a fire or find a flare, we'll be able to spot…..AGGHHHHH!" Dugan howled over the radio. There was the sound of an explosion followed by angry shouts and gunfire.

"Dugan!" Steve cried.

"Dugan?!" Howard shouted on the radio. "Crap, Hydra agents must have spotted their stolen truck."

"Dugan? Do you copy?! Dugan!" Steve felt his body go into flight mode.

"That crazy blond is back! They are firing at us! We haven't even left the city yet!" Dugan grunted over the radio.

And now this is even worse!

Steve had to act now. Their rescue wasn't coming and the rest of his team was in peril with god knows how many agents on their tail now. And he didn't know if Peggy could be saved at this point. Adrenaline pumped through this body and his mind went into peril mode. He placed Peggy's cold body down and he leapt out of the tank. He had to get this tank running again. It was the only way, its battery was still intact. The storm blew harshly against his efforts as he jumped in between the tank and the boulder and gave a shove. Slowly the tank backed off of the boulder. There was some exterior damage to the cabin of the tank, but the major damage was the tracks. One of them had been dislodged. Steve had to shove it back into place. He placed his shield in front of his right shoulder and backed away from the tank. Getting a running start, he collided with the track and shoved it back into place with brute adrenaline filled force. The track clicked back into place and there was a popping sound that came from Steve's shoulder. He had dislocated the joint. But he couldn't let that stop him. He climbed back into the tank and stared at the dense cabin controls. After smashing as many buttons as he could with his able left hand, he got the monster to turn on and the tank jointed forward. The Hydra tank made a harsh clanking sound as the broken tracks screamed at high power. Steve jerked the machine at full throttle and headed directly south.

"I'm coming in hot guys. Keep the fire fight going until I get there." Steve said on the radio.

"What?" Howard stammered on the radio.

After only 20 minutes of driving, he could see the city's lights coming from his tiny view finder. The tank bolted through the snowy tundra and stood strong against the storm's harsh wind. As he was getting closer, he could see several Hydra vehicles and tanks lining the streets. Several were in motion chasing one lone Hydra truck.

"Dugan I got you in my sights. I'm coming to help. Howard where are you?"

The two were dumbfounded. Howard answered, "Jarvis and I were able to move the radio signal to a private air hanger. We got an airplane ready and running."

Steve set his sights on The Howling Commandos. He merged in with the other pursuing Hydra vehicles. The Hydra agents didn't seem to notice him as he swerved through them until he was in between The Howling Commandos vehicle and Hydra. "Still got Bucky's signal?"

"Yes."
Steve could see Dugan's face in the side mirror of the truck, "Steve what are you doing?"

Captain Rogers kept the tank running at full throttle. He stepped away from the controls, scooped up Peggy with his left arm and grabbed for an explosive with the other. "Bringing the fireworks."

Steve leapt out of the tank and threw the explosive in the tank. The tank exploded and became a fiery barricade in front of Hydra. Steve tucked and rolled as he landed, his dislocated shoulder and back taking most of the impact of the fall. Dugan stopped the truck, and the boys jumped out and ran for Steve. The tank provided a good barrier for them in the narrow street, but they had to move fast if they didn't want Hydra and Leviathan to follow them towards the air hanger.

As soon as Steve saw his crew approach him, his adrenaline wore off and exhaustion hit. He could barely get on from his knees. Peggy's cold body weighed down his left arm. His vision started blurring and the shouts of his comrades became muffled. Gabe and James took Peggy from him. Jacques and Jim pulled Steve up to his feet and tried to shove him into the truck. Once everyone was secure, Dugan slammed on the gas and headed for the air hanger. Steve was rested down the truck bed, Peggy was laying down beside him. She was still as before with pale skin and blue lips. Steve's vision began to black out as he heard the growing sound of an airplane engine.