A.N. Man, I can't believe all the love that this story has gotten! Thank you all so much for keeping this story going! Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel

Chapter 7

Rena's POV

2 weeks after the incident

I woke up to the monotonous ring of my alarm clock at 6 in the morning. It was still weird sleeping in my own bed since Nat left a few days ago Stretching groggily, I opted for just slipping on a robe over my pajamas instead of getting dressed. Sliding on my blue slippers, I prodded my way down the hall only to find that Steve was out for a run. I curled up on one of the chairs in the kitchen, resting my eyes for a bit. During my rest, I neglected to notice the sound of the front door open and the feeling of metal fingers running through my hair. Wait…METAL?!

My eyes shot open and I tensed all my muscles. My breathing became short and shallow as my heart rate raced through the roof. I silently prayed that Steve would burst through the door and kick some ass.

"W-who are you?" I asked shakily.

"Doesn't matter, I need you to tell me where your father is." He ordered.

I cracked a smirk, "Try Arlington Cemetery, he's been there for about 3 years now, along with my mom."

He growled, and that's how I knew that I really screwed up. He raised his metal hand for a slap, but noticed my wince and stopped. He placed his cold, metallic arm on my forearm and squeezed tightly, knowingly leaving a bruise.

"Just tell me where Steve is." He hissed.

"O-Out for a run. Don't ask me where because I don't know." I answered, scared out of my wits

He forcefully closed my eyes and left as silently as a ninja. I kept my eyes shut until I heard the door open again, in which I reacted with squeezing my eyelids tighter.

"Rena?" I heard Steve's calming voice, "Are you alright?"

I opened one eye to see Steve in his athletic ware. Uncurling myself, I placed a hand over the bruise, shielding it from view. Steve noticed this and gently asked.

"Rena, what happened?"

I shrugged, "You might want to be careful of who you give your apartment keys to, Steve. You know a lot of nut jobs."

He looked confused, "What?" then his expression turned to worry, "Who came to the apartment?"

I snorted air out of my nose, "You're not going to believe this, but you know that guy that you've been chasing for a while now?"

He nodded, not liking the answer.

"Well," I laughed mirthlessly, "He's following you for once."

His eyes widened, then shifted down to my arm, "And he gave you…?"

I shrugged, "I was a little bit of a smartass to him."

A smile twitched at his lips, then faltered, "What did you say?"

"He asked where my father was and I told him that he was in Arlington Cemetery along with my mother."

His smile then fell away, "And he hurt you for that?"

"Eh, tough crowd. It was more of a warning, to tell him where you were. I told him that you were out on a run."

Steve gently pulled my hand away from my arm to inspect the injury. The bruise was about long as a man's hand and you could see the individual fingers. I winced slightly as he pressed on the dark blue/purple bruise.

"Does it hurt a lot?" He inquired.

"Only if you touch it." I quipped.

He seemed to get the message since he stopped poking it. He kneeled and pulled me into a hug, rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry that you were scared and I wasn't here."

"It's alright," I responded, "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

We pulled away and he held me at arm's length, "Don't worry, Rena, it'll get better."

I nodded, "I know, but right now that guy scared the hell out of me. Steve, who was he?"

He breathed deeply, "It's a long story, Rena."

I looked over at the clock, "Its 6:30 in the morning, I'm pretty sure I have time."

He stood up and patted my knee, "Maybe some other time."

"Some other time?!" I nearly shouted, following him to the living room, "That guy could've killed me and I wouldn't know who he was or why!? Steve, don't I have a right to know my own murderer?"

"No, you have a right, but I don't want you to feel scared." He tried to reason.

"But, Steve!" I cried, "I want- no need to know what's happening! Yes, I know you work for SHIELD and that involves a lot of top secret stuff, but can't I know who that guy was?"

He sighed deeply, "Rena… I just can't. It's too personal."

I looked over to the memorabilia in anger. My eyes landed on that one headline about the Howling Commandos. Scanning over the faces, I saw a similarity between Bucky Barnes and that one guy from this morning. I can't make a solid judgment, seeing how I kept my eyes closed for most of our encounter. The longer I looked, the more similarities I concluded.

"Oh my, God." I muttered, "He's him."

"What?" He asked, taking his hand out of his hair.

"The man from this morning," I said, pointing to the frame, "Is Bucky Barnes."

Steve seemed to look older when he walked over to me, "Rena…yes. The man is Bucky Barnes."

I looked up at him with my eyebrow raised, "So does that make him my uncle?"

He let out a loud laugh, "Rena, you're something else."

I shrugged while smiling, "What?"

He wiped a few tears away, '"The first question that you ask when my best friend from WW2 comes back and breaks into our apartment and leaves with a bruise on your arm is whether or not he's your uncle. That's just…something else."

I smiled, "I know, so what happens now? I mean, he's probably coming back. Do you know why?"

His smile faltered, "Umm…it's a long story, but to sum it up, he's looking for answers that I may have."

I nodded in understanding, "Okay, but you will tell me that story soon."

"In due time." He said, ruffling my hair.

I crinkled my nose as he bent down and kissed my cheek, "So what do you want to do today?"

No sooner than he said that, his phone began to ring. I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach while he took the call. When he hung up, he got that look in his eye that told me that told me that he was leaving.

"For how long?" I asked, already fearing the answer.

"Just for today this time, but I'm worried leaving you alone after what happened this morning."

I waved him off, "I'll be fine," I assured, "I promise that apartment will be 90% in tact when you return."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Only 90%?"

"An argument can be made for 95%." I offered.

He rolled his eyes, "Do I need to get Barton here to babysit you?"

"Steve, babysitter or not I will find a way to cause trouble."

Again, he rolled his eyes, "I'll call Barton while I'm on my way."

I laughed, "Whatever floats your boat, Steve."

He shook his head and walked back to his room to get ready while I went back to mine to at least get my hair under control. I worked my hair into a simple ponytail with my bangs out topped off with a simple blue ribbon. After that, I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Walking back into the kitchen, I decided to raid the fridge for apple juice and sit down on top of the table. I saw Steve walk out of his room in a plain white shirt, a leather jacket, jeans, and brown shoes.

"Barton should be here by 8. Will you be okay on your own until then?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, "I should be. If anything goes wrong, I'll call you."

He nodded and kissed my cheek before heading out for…wherever SHIELD's headquarters are. I hopped off the table and onto the couch in the living room, turning on the television. Halfway through the movie Sound of Music, my peripheral vision caught the glint of something metallic outside the window. Not giving it a second thought, I sprinted back to the room and grabbed the pistol from my dresser drawer. Sauntering back out into the room, I saw that nothing was out of order.

Groaning, I tossed the gun, and myself, onto the couch. I continued my regularly scheduled programming, visibly wincing when I heard the door knock and open with the help of a key. I didn't get off the couch, already knowing who was here, at least, who was supposed to be. I turned my head back to see my favorite archer.

"Hey, Squirt." He greeted.

"Morning, Katniss. Did you forget your braid again?" I joked.

He stuck his tongue out at me and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Using the counter to pop the cap off, he walked over and sat beside me, setting the open beer on the coffee table. When he saw me eye the amber bottle, he shrugged and said.

"It's not Sunday and it's 5 o'clock somewhere."

Rolling my eyes, I quipped, "Yes, and I bet that Steve will appreciate you taking his alcoholic beverages."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Squirt, Steve doesn't drink. His body burns right through it, thanks to the serum. He usually keeps it around here for either Nat, myself, or any visitors."

My eyes widened, "You mean that Steve actually has a social life?!"

He tossed his head back in laughter, "Good one, kid. I'll have to tell Steve that. Speaking of good shots, I heard about your day at the range and I must say I'm impressed. Was that your first time?"

I shook my head and smiled, "When my dad was stationed in Texas, my mom used to take me to a couple shooting ranges; you know, the usual mother-daughter things."

He smiled, "Regardless, I must say that I'm very proud." He wiped a fake tear away, "My little baby already growing up!"

He then decided to pinch my cheeks. I smacked his hands away and massaged my poor cheeks.

"So can we go to the range today?" I asked hopefully.

"Not today, but maybe later." He said evasively.

I looked at him weirdly, but decided to let it drop, "Well, what can we do?"

Clint ordered pizza (because nothing's wrong with ordering pizza at 8 in the morning) while I turned switched the TV from DVD to cable mode. I changed the channel to the basketball finals between the Heat and the Spurs (a rerun of the previous game that I recorded). Clint sat back down and we watched the game intently until the pizza arrived. We yelled and booed all with Clint taking the occasional sip and me chomping down the slices. Sometimes, I glanced over to the window, still on edge over all the events that happened this morning.

Later that night

Cap's POV

I stumbled into the apartment at about 10 p.m., feeling mentally drained. I remembered walking into that underground bunker seeing Agent Hill, Fury, Nat, and Coulson seated around a table. We began discussing if rebuilding SHIELD could even be considered an option at this point; a debate that took on several hours. In fact, we would've continued arguing if Nat hadn't brought up the fact that I had to take care of Rena, swiftly bringing that debate to an end.

Flipping on the lights, I found that Barton nor Rena were anywhere in sight. Fear pumped adrenaline through my veins as I silently checked every room in the place until I happened upon the sleeping form of Rena in my bed. I chuckled softly as I shook her awake.

Her eyes opened slowly, begging me for more sleep, "Hey, Steve." Then she remembered something, "Barton wanted to tell you that he got called for something, but that he set up a camera in the living room in case something were to happen."

I nodded, silently thanking Barton. "So why are you in my bed?" I asked.

She couldn't have lied if she wanted to, and she realized that since she said, "Had a nightmare." She yawned and continued, "You weren't here so this was the best I could do."

My heart wrenched terribly, once again I wasn't here for my little girl.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I gently questioned.

She yawned again, "Same as last time, but in more detail, kinda like re-watching it in HD."

I gently pulled her in for a hug, "I'm sorry I wasn't here, sweetheart."

If words alone could physically break your heart, she got pretty damn close.

"It's alright, Steve." She tiredly said, "You were busy in a meeting, I understand."

I gently kissed the top of her head, trying to convey that she was one of the most important people in my life.

"Want to go back to your bed?" I asked.

She nodded, "Probably should. Carry me?"

I smiled and shook my head as I picked her up with ease and smoothly carried her to her respective room. I tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead saying, "Good night, Rena."

She held onto the covers tightly in her fists and softly, but just enough for me to hear, sighed, "Night, Dad."