Ballet Shoes

Chapter Four

Partners

"You're sending me out with Captain Rogers?"

Penelope groaned. She could handle getting to Morocco on her own. She could get in and out of the docks in disguise no problem, then why was Fury sending her on her way with help?

"I can manage getting through undercover no problem."

"This is too dangerous for you to go out on your own, Agent Onassis." The director spoke in his usual collective demeanour. "All other qualified agents are busy as is, and others aren't as trained as you are. Captain Rogers is the only candidate available."

Brow furrowing, she paced the floor. She couldn't be responsible for another life on her hands. If there were any casualties with this assignment… the fault would be on her.

"Penelope…" Nick Fury placed a hand on her shoulder.

Looking up, his eye seemed softer. "I'm not doing this because I think you're incompetent. Sometimes we need someone beside us to save us from ourselves. I think this would do you good."

Breathing, she wiped her cheek, realizing a tear rolled down. Doing assignments on her own made her job simpler. Being on her own made things less… complicated. She had been on her own for a long time, and she was just fine with that.

As long as it kept the people around her safe.

"It's not your fault, Penelope…" Fury began. "There was nothing you could've done."

She nodded through a sniffle. "Thank you…"

"Prep is in eighteen hundred hours… Suit up by then."

Breathing as she walked into the corridor, she had to look like nothing phased her. She didn't mean to act vulnerable in front of Director Fury, though he understood loss out in the field. Either way, she hoped deeply that no one saw the grief on her face.

Sipping her water, Penelope looked out the glass window that showed the city. It had been over a year. She went and spoke with psychiatrist, though no matter how many times she tried to see through it, the pain would always get to her.

Closing her eyes, a familiar face came to her mind's eye. A pair of serious eyes looked at her, though his smile could make anyone laugh. He came across as frightful, though his smile was the warmest she ever saw in any man.

'Bill… I'm so sorry.'

"Penelope?"

Opening her eyes, she realized Steve was in front of her in the lounge.

She smiled. "Steve, hi… How are you? Did Fury brief you? We're heading to Morocco for the drug boat case."

"Yeah, I was called in a few hours ago… Glad you finally got a lead."

"Thank you… So you don't mind doing this?"

His brow furrowed. "Why would I mind? Of course I love to help. Fury told me you haven't been with a partner for a long time."

Penelope swallowed. How was she going to answer to that? Even though they ran into each other a few times and got more familiar with each other after the Chinese take out incident, she didn't know if she should share that part of her life to Steve.

Either way, Fury made it mandatory for her to have a partner this round.

"You don't… usually work with a partner?" Steve asked.

"It's a part of my life that's difficult to talk about." She breathed. "Going at it alone usually makes it less… complicated."

The seconds seemed to be like hours. Even though nothing else was said, the silence seemed to be so loud. Was that even the right answer to tell Steve?

"I lost my best friend in the war." Steve finally spoke. "We were highjacking a HYDRA train. The car exploded and all he could hold on to was a rail. I tried to reach for him, though he fell…"

She could hear a mild crack in his voice.

"Oh, God, Steve…" She walked up and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry."

"If I only caught him sooner… He'd still be here."

Most of the people he knew were long gone. All of the members of the Howling Commandos were no longer here. That must what it feels like to be truly lonely.

"I… I know how hard it is to go through that." The funeral service of the fallen detective played through her mind. "Believe me. I do…"

Steve Rogers must be the loneliest person on the planet. No direction. No way of connecting with others. No true sense of home. It was amazing how he managed to keep it all together.

"I don't mean to sound intrusive, though is Dimitris Onassis, Ambassador of Greece your father?"

Penelope nodded. "Yeah, he is…"

What could possibly make Steve mention her father?

"As I was going through history files, just to brush up on the world, your father came up… I read about what happened to your mother. I'm so sorry you had to loose her that way."

She breathed. So that was why Steve brought her father up. Either way, the whole entire world knew, so it wasn't like Steve was barging into her privacy.

She let the loss of her mother defy her. It build her up to becoming a police officer, then detective, now she was with SHIELD. Even though the path was difficult for her, the same path brought her to Steve.

She swallowed. "Thank you…"