In the Still of the Night

A/N: Long chapter alert! (But don't expect this for every chapter...Unless a miracle happens...hehe.) Thanks to all those who have read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I can't believe how many views this story has gotten in such a short amount of time, you guys are awesome! Also, I added a few links to my profile related to this story so go check out my profile if you so desire. :)

-PenPaperParadise

Chapter Five: Green Eyes

Steve went back to the museum the next day. He didn't care if this made him appear desperate or needy or something; he really wanted to get to know Vera better, and he thought it was high time that he stopped mourning his barely-there relationship with Peggy and move on with his life. He missed her a lot, but frankly Steve was getting tired of it. Sure, he saw her once in a while when he visited her in London, but that wasn't the Peggy he knew. She had lived her own life, had her own family...Visiting her was almost like an eerie window into an alternate life, a life that Steve maybe could have lived with her if he hadn't crashed that plane. It was too disheartening to constantly be reminded of that every time he visited her. And besides, half the time when Steve visits she forgets who he is and it's hard for Steve to accept that this was the person Peggy became now.

Vera seemed like a nice enough girl, though. She had spirit and was a little quirky, but in a good way. Steve couldn't help but point out that she was pretty, too, and had an air of grace around her (despite the fact that she can get cutely flustered fairly easily). He didn't want to count his chickens before they hatched, but maybe this girl could be someone he could go a long way with...or even all the way...

Steve pushed that out of his mind as he jogged up the museum's front steps. I'm not going to get my hopes up yet, he told himself. I hardly even know her. At least, I don't know her yet. He smiled to himself as he went inside the emptying museum. He had texted Vera earlier and she had told him where to meet her. So he followed the directions which led him past a few of the exhibits and finally right in front of a large door that had an "Employees Only" sign posted on it. Steve looked around. Vera wasn't there. He checked his phone to see if he got the right directions when he suddenly heard the rapid clacking of heels coming toward him. He looked up and saw Vera jogging toward him, then slowing when she saw him watching her. She grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry I'm a little late," she said breathlessly as she came over to him. "My intern has trouble solving problems by himself sometimes..."

"It's alright," assured Steve. "Just as long as you're not seven days late."

Vera grinned at that comment. "Alright, well, do you want to go see what it's like past the 'Employees Only' part of a museum?"

"Sure," said Steve with a smile. Steve couldn't help but observe that she looked cute today: she was wearing a pretty gray and white business suit, much like the navy one she was wearing when they had met, but this one was much more form-fitting. Her makeup was done up perfectly and her curly hair was tied up in a bouncy ponytail. I think she was expecting me tonight, said a hopeful voice in the back of Steve's mind.

Steve pulled out of his reverie as Vera used her keycard to open the door and show them both inside. There was a long white hallway with grey doors on each side and a few people were milling about.

"This way," said Vera, guiding them both over to the elevator. Steve raised his eyebrow questioningly as Vera pressed the button and she merely chuckled in response.

"You'll see."

They stepped inside the elevator. Vera pulled a key ring out from her pocket and turned one of the keys in a slot on the elevator's button panel, then pressed the button that had a big letter "B" on it. They rode it down a few floors and when it opened, Steve couldn't help but be quite impressed.

They were in the basement of the Smithsonian. The room was gigantic, almost like a warehouse, with a high ceiling and thousands of objects and furniture and knick knacks stretching back for miles and miles. There were big blocks of boxes and crates with antique furniture stacked around them, creating a narrow grid of pathways between them like tiny city streets. A million things caught Steve's eye – a weathered old chest, a blue and white dollhouse, a gaudy gold lamp with a red tasseled lampshade...He knew he could spend hours here and still have seen only a fraction of the thing in here.

He glanced sideways at Vera, who looked upon the enormous room like she was watching her child at graduation.

"This is my favorite place in the entire world," she breathed. "I always discover something new every time I come down here."

"I can imagine that," said Steve honestly, squinting his eyes to see how far back the artifacts stretched.

"So," said Vera as she started walking forward, indicating Steve to follow her. "What would you like to see? The stuff down here isn't completely organized but there are some parts that are devoted to certain parts of history, like the Renaissance or Cold War Russia..."

"I don't think I could choose," said Steve sincerely, wondering how in the world they managed to keep tabs on all the objects down here.

Vera chuckled. "I understand that. I think I've only seen a percentage of this place, it's so massive. But let me show you the best parts."

"The best parts according to whom?"

"Me," Vera winked.

And so she led him down the grid-like pathways between the massive piles of artefacts, showing him objects here and there from the Sixth Century and Victorian New York and a myriad of other periods in history. Normally, Steve wasn't really into history – he had been more absorbed in art and drawing in school than he had the core subjects – but the way Vera enthusiastically talked about how the museum acquired each object and what they meant to her and her team, he suddenly became quite fascinated by all she described. His eyes were opened to the fact that every artefact has a story that most people don't even think about, but these stories were clearly important to Vera, and he saw that in the way her eyes lit up when she talked about history.

Then she got to the section she said she cared about the most: World War II America. Steve suddenly got nervous; he never had been nor is now comfortable talking about himself, and he was sure the subject of Captain America was bound to come up. And, sure enough, when Vera led him down a certain narrow walkway they stopped in front of a formation of huge crates with "CAPTAIN AMERICA" spray-painted on the side of each box. Vera took a crowbar that was lying next to the boxes and tried prying one of them open, but it wouldn't budge. Steve saw she was clearly struggling with it, so he wordlessly took the crowbar from her hands and easily pried open the lid. Vera looked amazed at first, then miffed.

"Well, I loosened it for you," she muttered with a grin.

Vera began pulling out objects, a lot of which Steve recognized: the map he had used to plan out the storming of the HYDRA bases, the handgun he took with him when he freed the One Hundred and Seventh division from the factory, the parachute he wore when he jumped out of the plane that Howard Stark had flown...with Peggy...The memories were crashing over him, fast. It was beginning to get a little overwhelming – remembering the things he saw, the friends he had, the life he had once led...When Vera wasn't looking, he had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths to steady his nerves.

"Oh, look!" Vera exclaimed suddenly, pulling something out of the crate. It was something small and shiny encased in a sealed plastic bag with the Smithsonian logo on it, and Steve's heart jolted when he saw it.

"It's the compass Captain America used in the war," she explained, but there was no need to explain it; Steve knew what it was, and he knew it well. Vera took it out of the plastic bag and examined it with awe. "This one took us decades to find – well, not really 'us', you know, because I wasn't there when they found it - but the Smith team found it several years ago in the hidden HYDRA facility in the Alps. That was the last known location where Captain America was seen in person."

"Really?" inquired Steve, never being one hundred percent sure how public it was that Captain America was raised from the dead. And if the historians didn't know, then ninety-nine percent of the public didn't know (the only exception being SHIELD). "So no one saw him after that?"

Vera shook her head. "He disappeared in a HYDRA plane the same day they stormed the base."

Well, at least that's one part of my life that the common person doesn't know about, Steve thought with a sigh.

"I think..." Vera said slowly, staring down at the compass. "I think I can get it open..."

"Um, Vera – " Steve tried cutting her off, not wanting her to see what was inside, but he was too late. Vera pried open the little compass and they both looked inside it. On one side of the hinged trinket was the compass itself, the little arrow inside it still quivering a bit, and on the other side was a small, black-and-white photograph of Peggy Carter. Steve's breath hitched in his throat.

"Agent Carter..." Vera muttered, fascinated. "Huh. How interesting."

She gave a knowing little smile as she closed up the compass and placed it back into its plastic covering. Steve had a feeling that she – and therefore probably every other historian in the world – knew that there had been something between Captain America and Peggy. Great, Steve thought, feeling embarrassed. That's just great.

"You know, Steve," Vera started to say slowly as she carefully put the compass back into the crate. "I couldn't help but notice...You really do look a lot like Captain America."

Oh boy, Steve thought, here it comes. As much as he didn't want to lie to Vera on their first date (was this a date though? They hadn't really established either way if it was or wasn't so Steve was unsure...), he knew he had to keep his "professional" side and "personal" side separate to keep himself, and those that knew him, safe.

"Well, I get that a lot..." he said lamely, knowing in his heart that Vera wasn't going to believe that.

"I know you do," she replied. She was looking him over, as if she were searching for some clue to give away his true identity. "And you know what we learned recently about Captain America's former self? His name was Steve. Steve Rogers. Is Rogers your last name too?"

Steve swallowed. "Uh, yeah it is, actually," he responded, not knowing how else to respond. There are some things he will and will not lie about, and he wasn't going to lie to her about his real name. "What a...coincidence."

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Vera said strongly, taking a step toward him. "You know what I think?"

"Uh – " Steve took a step back when she came toward him – "what do you think?"

"I think...that you and Captain America are related."

"...Related?"

"Yes. I think he's your relative, a grandparent or great-uncle or something. And you know all about him but you were just pretending to not know anything about him to humor me."

Internally, Steve breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, you got me there," Steve said, playing along. This was a better alternative than the truth, he reasoned, so I'm going to go with it. "I am related to him. I just didn't tell you because no one is supposed to know the Captain's true identity."

Vera had a triumphant smile on her face. Steve knew she was thinking "I knew it" but didn't want to outright say it.

"Well, that makes sense," she agreed, swallowing the bait. "I figured as much. But it's too late for that, we found records of the super-serum injections in 1942 and figured it out from there."

Well, there goes my secret identity, Steve thought in a panic.

"But between you and me," said Vera, glancing to her left and right as she lowered her voice, "I've been pressuring the museum board to not announce Cap's real name to the public. I kind of like the idea of Captain America being something more than just a man."

"He's a symbol," Steve said, almost automatically, and Vera nodded.

"He means more to the American people than just a man in a uniform," Vera added. "He's something beyond that, something that people can put their hopes in. And I respect him for that, so that's why I don't want the whole world knowing every little detail about him."

"I like that about you," Steve said before he could stop himself. "You know what's important and what's not."

Vera blushed at the compliment. Gosh, her cheeks became the prettiest shade of pink when she did that.

"You don't think I'm some weird history geek, then?" she asked, looking down at the floor.

"Not at all," Steve replied earnestly. She looked back up at him, staring into his eyes. "I like hearing you talk about history."

"I like having someone who listens," she admitted softly. Steve didn't know how but the space between them was getting smaller and smaller. Not that he was complaining.

"Vera..." he whispered before he could help himself. Her eyes didn't even look human, they were so green.

"Yes?" she breathed. Steve could practically count each individual eyelash that lined her gorgeous green eyes.

"I..." He didn't even know what he wanted to say. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to stop, that things were going too fast...but his heart was telling him that he had a connection to this woman and he didn't want to lose it. He was leaning in...His heart was pounding into next week...Closer and closer...

Someone nearby cleared their throat. Steve and Vera both jumped apart and Vera groaned.

"What is it, Michael?" she nearly yelled in frustration. Steve recognized the intern as the person who had interrupted them yesterday. I sincerely hope this doesn't become a pattern, Steve thought.

"I'm really sorry, Miss Rochester," said Michael meekly. "I just...I found something that might have to do with the, um..." He sideways glanced at Steve. "The...computer problems we were having yesterday."

Steve looked over at Vera and saw something flicker behind her eyes.

"Oh..." she said. She pursed her lips, indicating she was turning something over and over in her mind. "I...Alright, Michael, I'll be right up. I'll meet you in the archives in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Michael said hastily, and then scurried off quickly out of sight, clearly embarrassed about the situation in which he had caught them.

Vera sighed heavily. "Steve..."

"It's alright, Vera. Really."

"I'm still sorry, though," she admitted. "If it were anything less than this I wouldn't leave you."

Vera's eyes grew wide as she picked up on what she had just said and how it must have sounded to Steve, but Steve only smiled.

"Don't be sorry, Vera. It's fine."

Vera grinned shyly. "Truly?"

Steve grinned back. "Truly. And hey, is everything alright? That intern, Michael, said something about computer problems...?"

"Oh, that," said Vera, sighing. "It's nothing, really. Probably just a glitch or a virus or something. But I need to get it squared away as soon as possible before my boss finds out and I get blamed for it somehow."

Steve frowned. "Well, I hope it all works out for you. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Vera smiled in return. "You're sweet. But I'm pretty sure me and Michael can handle this on our own."

I kind of doubt that, Steve thought, thinking about how incompetent the intern seemed. But Vera's a smart girl, she can figure things out.

"Alright," said Steve. "I guess we should start heading back now?"

"I guess," Vera said reluctantly. She led him through the winding aisles of artefacts and back to the elevator. As they rode it up, Steve thought of something.

"Hey," he said suddenly, "are you free on Friday night? I, uh, I know of this great place not too far from here where we can, you know, get dinner or something. If you're free, that is. If not, I get it." Wow, Steve, ninety-six years old and you still can barely string the words together to ask a girl out?

Vera blushed again – Steve was beginning to like it when she did that – and smiled. "I'm pretty sure I'm free then, yes. I get off work around six, pick me up at seven? I'll text you my address."

"Okay," confirmed Steve, and his heart soared.

Once the elevator reached their desired floor, they stepped out together and Vera led him to the back entrance. Before he left, Steve turned back to look at her.

"I had fun," Steve said honestly. Vera smiled honestly back.

"I did too," she said.

Oh God, do I kiss her? Steve thought suddenly. I mean was this even a real date? We never established that...Should I just do it? Or risk leaving her hanging?

In that moment, Steve decided to compromise. He reached down and grasped her hand lightly, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it tenderly. Vera blushed, hard, but her green eyes sparkled. I guess that was the right decision, he thought happily.

"Good night," he told her, almost sad that he had to leave.

"Good night," she whispered back.

Steve reluctantly turned and left, jogging down the stairs to the parking lot, and thinking with a smile, What have I just gotten myself into?

"So...let me get this straight, Michael," said Vera slowly, tearing her eyes away from the computer monitor to look at the nervous intern. "You're telling me that the reason no one can access this protected file is because it came from somewhere outside of the museum? And it came from an organization called..." she turned back to the monitor, "SHIELD?"

"That's right," Michael confirmed. "I figured out the source of the file and this is what I found. I've never even heard of SHIELD, have you?"

Vera shook her head. "No."

They both sat in silence for a moment, pondering the situation. Vera then sat up in her chair and said, "Well, for all we know this 'SHIELD' could be a fake organization or something. As long as our records haven't actually been breached, I don't think this will be a problem anymore. Maybe we should just file this whole thing away. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes..." Michael agreed slowly. "But shouldn't we put this on record? Or tell Ms. Greer – I mean, Alice – about this?"

"No," Vera said firmly. "If we do that then the Smith will have to pour a lot of money into investigating this when the only thing they'll find out is that it leads to a dead end."

"Alright," Michael conceded. "I'll do that right now. You should go home, Miss Rochester."

"I will," said Vera, too tired to correct him about her name.

She left the archives after she bade Michael goodbye, and as soon as she closed the door behind her she had to grip the wall to keep from crumpling to the ground. Oh my God, she thought wildly. How can the file come from SHIELD? What does the Smithsonian have to do with SHIELD? I've never had to deal with them since coming here to the museum! I thought I was done with them...

In a panic, she thought, Is my past coming back to haunt me?

What have I just gotten myself into?