Steve hated the fact that getting his blood drawn was considerably painful now, whereas before with his well muscled arms, he had barely felt the sharp needle slide into his skin. But now he was skin and bones and the spot in his shoulder where the needle had been inserted would be aching the next day.

"I'll start running tests, but it may take a while to find out if there's anything worth finding, the Super-Soldier Serum can be...difficult to work with." Bruce said as he slowly pulled the needle out of Steve's skin then capped it.

Steve sat atop a metal examination table in a small room in the SHIELD base's medical center, shirtless and ribs protruding. Bruce Banner was dressed professionally in a white lab coat, his glasses perched atop his nose. It was very difficult to imagine him as a man who could transform into a violent green creature of rage when he was dressed as such.

Steve had already had a lumbar puncture and plasma drawn, he hoped this blood sample would be the last fluid Bruce would need from him, he felt as if he had had enough needles in him for one day.

"Until I finish with the tests, I would recommend you try to get some rest, overexertion probably isn't wise at this point in time." Bruce advised as he laid the syringe full of Steve's blood on a metal tray along with the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples.

"While everyone else plans for the attack on HYDRA?" Steve asked a bit bitterly as he jumped down off of the examination table. Now on equal ground with the scientist, Steve couldn't help noticing that he was now shorter than Bruce, who could be considered shorter than average.

"Steve, I understand you not wanting to sit this out, but the chances of finding out and correcting whatever caused the reversion a in few days are unlikely." Bruce told him, pulling off plastic gloves and tossing them in the trash.

Steve let out a long sigh, he knew Bruce was right but the idea of sitting out something important enough to call in the Avengers was very frustrating to the super soldier.

Bruce let out a small sigh, "We're meeting in the conference room at 5:00 tonight to start planning out an attack strategy, I think it would be fine with Fury if you came, if of course you want to come." Bruce told him. "We could probably benefit from your military experience and you know HYDRA better than anyone." Bruce said, pulling his glasses off and slipping them into the upper pocket of his lab coat.

"But Steve, you really should consider resting. This reversion may be related to some kind of disease, if you spend yourself, you might just make it worse." Bruce warned.

Steve ran a hand over his face, a small gesture but something very non-Captain America. It was a sign of exhaustion, something the super soldier Steve didn't often feel and even when he did, was very unlikely to show it. Bruce was right, Steve did need to rest, no matter how restless he felt.

Steve nodded in understanding. "I'll take it easy. Thank you Dr. Banner."

"No problem Steve. I'll let you know if and when I find anything." Bruce promised.

Steve grabbed the plain white shirt he had bought earlier and pulled it back on before exiting the medical center. He had about four hours until everyone was meeting in the conference room, he figured he could fit in some rest and attend the meeting as well. If Steve wouldn't actually be able to go on the mission then at least he could help the others plan for it, it might help him feel a little less useless.

Steve headed for the room that Agent Hill had shown him after the meeting with Fury had been disbanded. The room wasn't originally meant to serve as living quarters, Steve guessed it had actually been a small supply closet of some sort previously. Fury's base had never been meant to serve as a full SHIELD headquarters, so a lot of things had had to be rearranged. The room was very basic with only a bed and a dresser within.

Once he reached the door to what would be his living quarters for the foreseeable future, he once again waved his access card over a scanner. The door slid away and Steve stepped into the windowless room. He would have been grateful for the privacy but Steve was almost certain the room was bugged. Fury had done it to his apartment back in DC and he would likely do it again. At this point Steve was too caught up with everything else that was going on to be too upset. Once things were back to normal, or as normal as things could be for a man who had been frozen in ice for 70 years, Steve would approach Fury about his ongoing lack of trust and invasion of privacy.

Though Steve had his doubts that he would actually be able to sleep with his mind so full of worries and stress, he would attempt to get at least a little bit of sleep as Bruce had advised. Seeing as the clothes he currently wore were the only ones he had that fit him, he would have to sleep in them. Eventually he'd need to get more, but for now he would try to get the rest that Bruce had urged him to get.

Steve slipped under the crisp white sheets of the bed that might have been almost too small for him were he still super soldier sized. He forced his eyes shut as his head fell back against the firm pillow and was surprised by how tired he suddenly felt. Only now that he lay in bed with his head against a pillow and his body beneath sheets did he realize how spent he felt. Steve had known he was tired, but he had forgotten just how easily emotionally intense situations could affect his energy levels. The Super Soldier Serum had prevented that before, his body could have gone much longer than the average human without sleep. But now, back in his small body that instead of tiring less easily, tired more easily, he felt almost eager to slip into the darkness of sleep.

Within a few short minutes, Steve's breathing deepened and his body relaxed as he drifted into a dream riddled sleep.