A/N: Sorry for the delay, but finals got in the way of fiction. Thanks to those who favorited/followed this story! Short chapter this time. (Not that the last wasn't short…)

Andrea held her breath, waiting. But after a moment, Captain America turned his attention back to the crowd, a smile lighting his face. He spoke, and his voice boomed from the speakers rigged around the stage, but Andrea couldn't make out the words. It all sounded like rushing wind, the world around her a blur.

She stood there for what felt like hours, though her watch told her it was less than thirty minutes, as Captain America signed autographs and posed for pictures. Finally he raised his hand in farewell and disappeared offstage. The crowd began to disperse, excited chatter cluttering the air.

What was I expecting to feel? Andrea asked herself as she turned away. Certainly not this…numbness. She'd thought…she'd thought that once she'd done this there would be a feeling of reassurance, a feeling of comfort, a feeling that the universe might cast its glance on her and take a moment to pat her on the back. Tell her it would be alright.

How naïve.

Head down, she worked her way back to the front doors of the convention center, her sign clutched in one hand. An Eleventh Doctor bumped against her, muttering an apology as he straightened his bowtie. Andrea nodded silently and kept walking.

"You're the girl with the big sign, right?" a voice called from behind her.

She whirled around to see a convention security guard, walk-talkie in hand.

"Yeah, I have a sign," she replied automatically, shocked. Recovering a little, she went on, "But there are lots of girls here with signs."

"Maybe so," the guard said, quirking an eyebrow, "but most of them say 'marry me, so-and-so', not 'you saved my sister's life'."

"Is something the matter?"

"Apparently you made an impression on someone."

She wasn't sure if it was real or her imagination, but Andrea felt her heart skip a beat. She realized suddenly that she was staring at the guard, mouth hanging open very slightly. He laughed—though not unkindly—as she snapped her jaw shut with an audible click.

"Follow me—and what's your name?"

"Andrea," she whispered. "Andrea Blake."

It must have been him. He noticed. He saw the sign! As she trailed behind the guard, Andrea couldn't help but put a little skip in her step. She smiled, and reached up to adjust her baseball cap.

I'm finally meeting Captain America.