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14.

Tony set her on a table. Anne kept screaming.

"She's going in cardiac arrest!" Someone cried. She couldn't tell who.

I'm dying! She thought. I'm dying!

She screamed again. Her body. It wasn't hers anymore.

"Natasha?! Where are you?! We really need Bruce!"

Anne didn't hear the reply. Everything went dark.

Tony and Thor watched as her struggling body suddenly just stopped. She now lay completely still.

"No!"

He checked her heart rate. It hadn't stopped. So why had she just stopped moving? Had she just passed out point blank? If she was fine, he needed to examine the needle.

Thor watched over her why Tony ran tests. The young girl seemed fine now. So what had actually happened?

"Uh oh..."

"If I am not mistaking "uh oh" is a remark of disappointing surprise in your language."

Tony didn't think it was time to joke. Not now.

"No, it means it's bad. Really bad."

When the others arrived, Steve was conscious, but breathing heavily. They had given him a lot of drugs to keep him under. Natasha and Clint had had to help him on the jet and Bruce had had to remove the substance from his veins.

It had taken him a while.

Once they were back at the Tower, they noticed Tony was waiting for them, sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands.

"What's wrong? Is Anne okay?"

Steve couldn't help but ask. It had all been his fault. He should have never trusted that place so blindly. He should have noticed something was wrong when the air started closing in on them.

"Oh, she's fine. Well, if by fine you mean still alive."

Tony suddenly arose. He was angry. Very angry. He went straight over to Steve and everybody thought he was gonna punch him in the face, but he stopped.

"Would you like to explain to me why you lied to us?"

"What?"

"About the serum they used to make you a super hero. Why did you lie?"

"I..."

"You said the last of it was destroyed."

"It was! I made sure of it myself!"

"Then would you like to explain to me WHY ANNE HAS BEEN INJECTED WITH IT?!"

Silence. Everyone was under shock. Steve couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"W-what?"

"Oh yeah, didn't I mention? Anne, ladies and gentlemen, has been injected with the same serum that Cap here was injected with in 1944. Incredible, isn't it? Not to mention the damage it might have caused to her brain and the fact that she almost went into cardiac arrest."

They were all speechless.

"It was destroyed... I was there."

"Could they have made another one?" Asked Bruce.

"I don't know. All I know is that they injected Anne and we have no idea of the collateral damage it could have done."

Her eyes opened slowly. Was she dead? No. It didn't feel like death, and her room seemed to be the same. Had it all just been a dream?

No. The pain had felt too real. It couldn't possibly have been a dream. Anne moved. Her muscles ached.

Unaware that everyone was in the room, Anne tried to sit up. Pain. It shot through her spine like a dart.

She grunted.

"Anne?"

Startled she accidentally jerked her fist against the bed and a piece of wood broke off. Shocked, she jumped up and the bed fell to the floor. Even more terrified, she backed away against the wall.

Bruce stood up and went towards her holding his hands out to calm her down.

"Hey, calm down! It's okay! You went through a few changes when you were asleep..."

"Changes?!"

She was panting. She was panicking.

"Yes. You're a bit stronger than you remember."

That's when she remembered. The serum. The injection. The excruciating pain. The others watched her, waiting for her to speak again, but she was in deep thought.

When she had calmed down, she looked up. Her cheeks turned red when she unexpectedly she asked:

"How do I look?"

Silence fell. The others looked at her confused.

"So let me get this straight... You've just woken up after some serious pain and undergoing a serum that gives you super strength and all you want to know is how you look?"

Asked Tony.

Clint suddenly burst out laughing.

"She's afraid she's turned into some kind of Macho Man like Steve!"

Anne looked even more embarrassed. Natasha giggled.

"Don't worry, kid. You're the same as before. Sure, you have a few more muscles, but not like Steve's."

The young girl nodded, still not convinced. So finally Nat took her by the hand and put her in front of a mirror.

Anne was surprised. She hadn't hardly changed at all. Like Natasha said, she had a few more muscles on her arms and she seemed a bit more shaped, but nothing drastic. She was still herself, and actually, she looked a bit better. More feminine.

"I don't expect they thought you were ever getting out of there. That's probably why they used the serum on you."

Bruce himself, though, didn't seem all too convinced about that affirmation.

Steve hadn't said a word.

Fortunately, Anne's new found strength didn't really change a thing. Of course, she was stronger, a lot stronger, probably strong enough to punch down a wall with bare hands, but she got used to it after a few days.

She had to be careful, but thankfully she could actually feel her strength inside herself.

After the events of the past few days, though, she felt drained. Mentally and physically. She just wanted to relax for a few days.

So Nat and Clint took up the mission once more by themselves. They had handed over the man that had hurt her over to SHIELD for interrogating. But that didn't seem to be getting them anywhere. The man swore fidelity to Hydra and swore he would never tell them anything.

This was a problem, but it was no longer any of the Avenger's buisness. This had become a SHIELD matter now and they didn't want anyone else involved. Of course, neither Tony or Steve were going to do this. They both wanted an explanation and so did the others. No. The Avengers would not let it go. But for now, they were simply taking their time, waiting for the right moment to attack once more.

One evening, Anne announced she wanted to watch a movie.

"What movie?"

"I don't know. A movie. All together. It's about time we did something normal for a change and I really need normal right now."

This was understandable. They had all felt the need to do something normal and a movie seemed like just the trick that would do it.

Nat and Clint were even going to be there that night.

So they all picked a movie together: Jane Eyre.

It was a bit dark and disturbed, but Anne loved the story. She thought it the greatest romantic novel of all time.

Apparently, though, she was the only one. After forty minutes, Nat got up.

"This is so corny. I'm going to bed."

Anne asked her to stay, but she wouldn't have no firm answer.

"So... When do things start exploding?" Asked Clint shortly after.

The girl turned to him, amazed by such a stupid question.

"They- they don't Barton..."

"Hmmm... I'm out." And he too got up and left.

After two minutes Bruce got up too.

"I'm sorry Anne. I really do like it, but there are some things I'd like to check out before I go to bed. You know, the robots and all..." And so he left too. At least he had a plausible excuse.

Another ten minutes passed and Tony started snoring. Fake snoring. Pepper elbowed him in the stomach and pulled him off the couch, a "I'm so sorry!" look on her face as they left.

Finally, it was only Steve and Anne.

The movie suddenly became uninteresting to her as she stared at the Captain. He had hardly said anything since they had been in that warehouse.

"You know, it wasn't your fault, what happened..."

"A good soldier always protects his companions."

"And you would have protected me if you could have. It wasn't your fault. No one is perfect Steve. Not even you could have foreseen this."

She smiled. A sweet smile that stole one from him as well. He loved it when she smiled. It was just so kind and tender that no one would have guessed what horrors she had been through and what she had secretly become.

Now he knew her character. It had taken a few months to figure her out, but now it was as clear as day.

She was lost. Yes, lost. And this state she was in made her nervous, irritable, irascible and angry. It even added a certain selfishness to her character, something he guessed wasn't there before when she was younger.

But then there was the other part of her. Because deep down, Anne Knight had a soft side. She was sweet, kind, giving, caring, loving and docile. And he was sure this part of her still existed. He had seen it, in the little things. And those were the ones that mattered. Even now, she was showing how much she cared and trusted him as she once did. Yes, she was lost, but there is always a light in the dark and she had it. If only she would harness it instead of putting it out...

"Steve?"

That loving look again. It made him feel better.

"That's not what bothers me."

"Then what?"

"The serum."

Anne flinched, as he knew she would. She still wasn't happy with what they had done and he could sense her strong anger towards the man that had inflicted her so much pain.

"I thought it was all destroyed. I should have made sure of it."

Anne shook her head.

"Oh, Steve... Did it ever occur to you that they may just have made some more? I'm sure they've found the formula by now, if not a better, stronger one. Didn't you say they put you in some kind of machine to make it work?"

"Yes, but..."

"Well there was no need for that with me. There are always going to be people who try to make the initial project, trying to perfect it. I'm sure the serum they used on you WAS destroyed. Again, this isn't your fault."

Steve smiled. She was right. Had he ever mentioned how smart she was? And wise?

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Make me feel better?"

Her eyes were wide open and as was her smile.

"Because, I know you."

"Well that's all I need to know..."

And they smiled at each other. Anne turned beat red. She couldn't understand what he was thinking, so she turned to the movie again.

"I wish I had that."

"What?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Love." Her answer was so simple yet so pure and deep. But this gave Steve enough initiative to ask about something that had been tormenting him for those past months.

"Did you ever have it?"

"I thought I had. Once. But I was a fool. He never loved me."

"How do you know?"

"Some things you just know. If things don't work out at the beginning then they never will. He just wasn't the man God is preparing me for."

What was that? Thought Steve. God. She had never mentioned her interest in him. Was she a believer like him?

"Are you a christian?"

"Does it surprise you? I mean, I know I haven't been forward about it, and I'm not completely a christian yet, but I aspire to be one."

He didn't understand. He had always thought that believers were just automatically christians.

"We're not christians if we just believe in God and in Jesus's word. Christians are the people that HEAR his word and dedicate their life to obeying him and trusting him and loving him every moment of their life. They're the people that find joy in everything they do and in everything they're given because they know that everything comes from God. They are the people that love him despite their hardships, knowing that one day, it won't be hard anymore and trusting in the promise he made us."

Anne sighed.

"I want to be one of those people, I really do, but I'm just not there yet I suppose. I feel like this trial will never end, but as he tells us, feeling isn't everything, but it's hard to not give it any weight. I think that is where I mess up the most. I give feeling too much importance when I shouldn't at all right now. Our hearts are deceiving and wicked and in the end, will try to drag us down."

He was amazed that she was telling him so much about herself. She seemed so reserved and closed and yet, with him, she was an open book.

Now, Steve felt a deep respect for that girl. She was struggling with faith more than she was with life itself, because she gave more importance to that than to anything else.

"Bucky..."

He didn't know why he changed the subject, but he felt he just needed to know the truth. Hearing his name startled her. Then she sighed.

"You know, huh?"

"Well... It wasn't that hard to figure out." And he smiled once more.

"You loved him."

"No. I thought I loved him. There is something very different between the two. I hardly even knew him. But, at the same time, I doubt he hardly even knew himself. We were both lost, Steve. I couldn't help him and he couldn't help me. What kind of relationship would that have been?"

The weight lifted from his shoulders. Finally, he knew. The truth seemed dewy sweet to him. He had spent his time wondering if... If she still loved him and if she missed him and if something had happened between them ever since he had heard that Robot speak. And now, even though he knew something most definitely happened, he felt much more inclined to a peaceful heart and mind.

They returned to their movie. Anne watched as Jane fell into despair when having to leave her dear Mr. Rochester.

Steve had been sitting beside her the whole time, but only now they seemed to be aware of each others presence. She felt the warmth of his body only a few inches away and craved his embrace. Little did she know he was craving the same thing.

The movie finally ended and Anne turned to Steve. They stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds. Then, Steve leaned in and his lips touched hers. Then, suddenly, they were eating away at them. And she was doing the same. They kissed passionately for a few moments and then Anne felt Steve's strong arms wrap around her. Steve, on the other hand, felt her fingers run through his hair and pull him closer.

Suddenly, they were aware of their bodies being so close one to another. Steve slowly leaned down, making Anne lay down on the sofa, still pulling him close. Then, she felt his chest against her and she wanted more. She wanted more of him and of that love that he was offering to her freely.

But then, Steve pulled her off the couch. They continued to kiss as he picked her up and headed to his room, that was the closest.

When they were inside, Anne pulled Steve's shirt off and he did the same with her top.

Then Anne found herself on his bed, every inch of her neck being kissed and her body being caressed. But she craved his lips on hers again.

She pulled him back and they started kissing once more, with much more passion. She felt him, but it was different with him then it had been with Bucky. With Bucky it had been passion and nothing more, maybe love only on her part. But with Steve, she felt the love coming from him. From his delicate touch to his tender caresses. Their bodies were one. She felt his warmth and wanted more of it. He pulled her closer because he loved her touch. And that night, everything seemed to start fitting again.

When Anne woke up, her head was on Steve's bare chest. She knew instantly that he was asleep because his breathing was regular and his chest was slowly going up and down. She took this chance and watched him. He seemed so peaceful and so handsome. His blonde hair, his mouth, his nose... She loved every inch of him. Every single part. But she especially loved the man he was. The great, great man he was.

Steve opened his eyes slowly and saw Anne looking at him and smiling.

"Good morning..."

"Morning."

And he leaned in and kissed her again. Man. He would never get enough of that.