A/N: Back again! I'm still continually amazed at the reaction to this story. I wrote it because there wasn't enough Steve/OC's, so I figured I'd write my own, for myself—and then boom! It's been such a hit, I'm so touched. This chapter literally begins right where the last one left off, that super cute Steve and Rebecca moment, remember that? Yeah, I bet you do. This is going to be an overdose of Steve and Rebecca fluff, so I'm sorry. I just wanted to get everything set up before the big battle scene. So, let's begin.

I could feel Steve's chest rumble from his laughter, and I smiled. How could I have only know this man for a couple of days, and yet feel so safe in his arms? And, damn, these feelings…the last time I had been in a relationship, it hadn't gone well at all. He had been a successful investment banker, so I didn't get to see him much. I was falling for him fast, even though most of our conversations were over the telephone. That was until I found out that the reason we didn't see much of each other was because he was too busy seeing his other three girlfriends.

And yet, here I was, standing with Steve Rogers, freaking Captain America, with his arms wrapped around me. I didn't trust men easily. I'd been hurt and treated horribly, but here was this man, who shouldn't even still be alive, holding me like nothing else mattered. He was kind, polite, and cared about me like no one else had in a very long time. And, you know, he did happen to be a superhero…

Fury cleared his throat as he and Tony walked over to the table. Steve and I jumped apart, and everyone sat down. Stark was completely silent—something I had never witnessed before. He blankly stared away from us as Fury began to talk. "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket." Director Fury threw what appeared to be Captain America trading cards, smeared with blood. "Guess he never did get you to sign them."

Steve picked up one of the bloodiest cards and flipped it around in his hand. He stared at his picture, staring back at him from the card. He threw it back down in the pile and looked away. He seemed distant, lost so far in his thoughts, like I could never retrieve him. I couldn't imagine what kind of pain he had been through in his life. From the war, to losing Bucky and Peggy, then waking up 70 years later, in this new world…

Hesitantly, I reached under the table and grabbed his hand, giving it the lightest of squeezes. His eyes briefly met mine, and I caught the slightest glimpse of a smile, which I quickly returned.

"We're dead in the air up here," Fury continued. No one looked up at him. "Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye." He paused, looking at the ground. "Maybe I had that coming."

Fury began to walk around the table, still not making eye contact with any of us. He sighed, hanging his head. "Yes. We were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract." At this, I looked over at Steve, completely lost, but he continued to stare distantly at our hands entwined on top of his leg. "I never put all my chips on that number, though," Fury continued, "because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea—Stark knows this—called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people…see if they could become something more—see if they could work together when we need them to, to fight the battles that we never could." He paused, letting out another sigh. "Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony stood up, having heard enough, and left the room without saying another word. Fury shook his head sadly. "Well," he mumbled, "it's an old fashioned notion." With that, he left the room, leaving Steve and I alone once again. I looked over at him. He just sat there, seemingly sulking. I wanted so badly to comfort him, like he did to me.

"Steve," I whispered. He was still looking at our hands, though I knew he wasn't really seeing them. His eyes were glassed over. He was drifting away from me. "Steve, look at me, please," I begged. "I'm right here. It's okay." I squeezed his hand, and he picked his head up. He just looked at me. Looked into my eyes, like he was seeing right through me. His gaze was so intense, I couldn't look away if I had wanted to. I was at a lost for words.

"I need to do something to stop this," he whispered, never breaking his stare. "Loki's escaped…it's only a matter of time before…"

I squeezed his hand and nodded. "I know. I know you do. Go talk to Stark. Figure something out."

He nodded very slowly. He stood up, pulling me up with him. He opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, then shut it, shaking his head. He looked around the room, his eyes going distant again, but I squeezed his hand, still in mine, and they refocused back on me. He stared at me intensely again, and I swore to God, my knees were about to give out, when he leaned down and brushed his lips against my forehead. I closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling, and he turned away and left the room before I even opened them.

I sighed, plopping back down in my chair. This wasn't going to end well. There had been too much blood already shed, and it was just going to get worse. Loki wanted a big showdown—that much was clear. He wasn't going down without a fight. Could they even take him down? He was so powerful, a god…Thor was missing, as was Banner, Stark was nearly comatose, and Steve was fading more and more with every second. Loki had gotten exactly what he wanted—the Avengers were conquered and divided. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," I mumbled to myself, reminiscing on one of my favorite quotes. And suddenly…it clicked.

I sprinted out of the control room, looking for Stark and Steve. Coming upon the now empty holding room, I stopped just outside the door, hearing the voices of the two men I was searching for. "He made it personal," I heard Tony snap.

"That's not the point," I heard Steve fire back, sounding frustrated.

"That is the point. That's Loki's point! He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Tony asked.

"To tear us apart."

"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right?" Tony was beginning to shout, sounding breathless. "That's what he wants. He wants to beat us. He wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right," Steve replied. "I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That's just previews, this is...this is opening night! And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered—" Tony paused, as we all realized at the same instant what Loki's plan was. "Son of a bitch."

I heard footsteps approaching, and my mind snapped back into focus. I was about to sprint away, so as to not be caught eavesdropping, but Stark turned the corner and saw my stunned expression. "Snooping, are we? You know, that's rather rude. A man with my level of infamy deserves more respect than that."

I couldn't even respond. I was so embarrassed at being caught and my thoughts all jumbled together. A blush began to paint my face, my jaw hanging open. "I, uh, I just—"

"It's fine," Steve said, rounding the corner, coming out into the hallway. "Stark, could you give us a moment?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, just make your romantic little goodbye quick, I'm not one for sappiness," he said, walking down the hallway. "Once you two are done schmoozing, get your suit on. I'll get everyone else."

My eyes followed Tony as he walked away. "What are you going to do?" I asked, turning to face Steve as soon as Stark was out of earshot. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the ground.

"He and I are getting what's left of the team and heading out to Stark Tower," he said. "We're finishing this now."

I sighed, folding my hands. This wasn't going to be good. "You, Tony, Natasha, and Hawkeye? Just the four of you? Steve, you're going to—"

"I'll be fine," he promised, uncrossing his arms and resting his hand on my forearm. My eyes crept up to meet his, and he gave me a reassuring smile.

"Promise me you'll come back," I whispered, barely loud enough for even me to hear. My voice wasn't broken, like I had expected it to be—it was stern. I didn't sound upset, just resolved, almost angry. Angry that all of this had to happen, that the people I cared about had to risk their lives because someone felt entitled to rule the world. "Promise."

Steve's hand crept down my arm and squeezed my hand. "I promise. Everything's going to be ok. You'll be able to go home, and you'll be safe, like none of this ever happened."

My heart twitched a little at this. Like none of this ever happened. Did that mean I was going to lose him? God, I had just met the man, and I was already falling so deep into this hole…was he just going to disappear from my fingertips? "Does that mean…that, after this, you're going to just…vanish? Will I see you again?"

Steve's jaw fell just slightly ajar, and he stared at me like I was a new person. "You'd…you'd still want me in your life? After all this?"

My eyes went as wide as saucers, my mouth hanging completely open. "Is that a joke? Isn't it obvious? Steve, you're…you're the first person I've met in a very long time that—"

"Captain, it's time to go," Agent Romanoff commanded from down the hall. Steve's hand left mine and he nodded at her over my shoulder.

"Come back," I whispered one last time, squeezing my eyes shut. He couldn't…he had to come back. He had to stay alive. He would save us all, and he'd come back. I wouldn't let him die—he wasn't allowed to. Something great could come from this, from him. I could feel it all the way down in my toes. I was meant to join SHIELD. I was meant to meet Steve. He couldn't slip away from me now, when he was so close.

I felt Steve kiss my forehead once again. "I promise," he whispered, and then walked away, leaving me alone in the hallway, praying that he'd be all right. I looked down either side of the hallway and saw that no one was there, and figured that I should probably head up to the control room to see what I could do to help. The walk seemed long and laborious, but I knew it was just because I was worried—not just about Steve, but all of them. Even though we'd only been together a few days, this was my new family, and I had to help protect them.

Walking into the control room, I saw Fury and Agent Hill staring out the large window at the front of the ship. "Sir," Hill addressed, neither noticing my presence.

"Agent Hill?" Fury replied, not looking away from the window.

"Those cards…" she began. "They were in Coulson's locker—not in his jacket."

Fury continued to scan the view in front of him, seemingly searching for something. "They needed the push."

I walked to the edge of the platform behind them and leaned on the railing, getting the perfect view out of the large window. A jet zoomed by, and I realized immediately who the passengers were. "They found it," Fury continued. "Get our communications back up, whatever you have to do. I want eyes on everything."

"Yes, sir," Agent Hill replied, and all the monitors in the room lit up. Different SHIELD agents filed in and sat down in front of each of the computers. I pulled my earpiece out of my jacket pocket and tucked it back into my ear, letting me listen to all that was going on.

"Dr. Andrews," Director Fury called, turning around to face me. "I want you to stay up here. No one's going to get hurt on this ship, so I want you to man the main controls," he said, pointing to what was usually his station—a circular platform in the middle of the room, with two monitors on each side. "Keep an eye on everyone for me. I have some business to attend to."

I nodded. "JARVIS, give me a visual of Stark, Steve, Natasha, and Barton. See if you can find Loki. As soon as Thor or Bruce are spotted, I wanna see them, too."

"Of course, Dr. Andrews," the robotic voice answered, and the screens around me came to life. Iron Man was busy taking out different members of the Chitauri. I saw Barton's plane crash-land onto the street. Steve, Natasha, and Barton filed out, unharmed, for now. The battle had begun.

A/N: Another goody? Did you like it? I hope so. It's about to get pretty intense, so I hope you'll all enjoy it. Just letting you know, I plan to continue this story past the movie. I'm planning on showing what Steve and Rebecca do after the whole Avengers thing, and how they both moved forward. Hope you liked the chapter!