Chapter 8

Rena's POV

A few days later

I kicked the covers off myself and surprisingly got dressed without walking like a zombie. After I slid on some jeans and a t-shirt, I checked the time on my black alarm clock.

"6:15?!" I muttered, "I'm getting way too used to this."

I walked out of my room to find that Steve was still out on his run, although he left a note this time. Scrawled on there was.

Rena,

I'm out for a run, but hopefully I'll be back before you wake up. If not, then get dressed and get a little something eat. I have a surprise for you.

Love,

Steve.

I smiled at the note, but what reason did he have for surprising me. I checked the calendar on my phone, no special holidays or birthdays. I checked on the internet so see if there were any WW2 anniversaries that occurred today, but nothing came up. I sat on the island, stumped to find his reasoning.

Deciding to make my waiting seem productive, I hopped off the island and skipped over to my room and began to tidy it up a bit. (Yes, I was that bored.) I put away all my clothes, deciding that the shopping trip I needed with Nat would have to come sooner rather than later, dusted off my desk, and organized my dresser. I sat down on my freshly-made bed, bored out of my mind once more.

Suddenly, a melody popped into my head. Beginning to hum the tune, I wandered around and danced around the apartment aimlessly. Although, I stopped after ramming my hip into the corner of the end table. I went back to the kitchen and resumed my spot on the island, still humming the melody that made a sudden appearance in my brain.

Soon after, I heard Steve unlock the door and walk in.

"Hey, Rena." He said with a goofy grin.

I held up the note and raised an eyebrow, "What's this?"

He poured himself some coffee, even though the serum burned right through it, "A note."

I rolled my eyes, "I meant the surprise, Steve. What is it?"

He chuckled deeply, "If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise."

Rolling my eyes once more, "You have a nasty habit of keeping secrets, you know."

"But you'll like this surprise." He said with a smile.

Seeing that would be all the information I'd be getting, I stopped the interrogation. I hopped off the counter and poured some more juice for myself.

Then it hit me. "THROUGH MY OWN EYES!" I shouted.

Steve jumped, "What are you talking about?" He asked confusedly.

"The song, it's been stuck in my head since this morning." I explained, "But where did I hear it? I know I've heard it before, but where?"

"Well, I hope you find out soon." He said encouragingly.

I shrugged, "I don't know. So about that surprise?"

He laughed, "Let me get cleaned up and then we'll go."

Steve washed and dried his cup and then went back to his room to get ready. I swung my legs back and forth during my wait. About 10 minutes later, he emerged from his room, dressed in a button down, khakis, and a brown leather jacket.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

I nodded and hopped off the ounter, "So where are we going?"

He grinned, "A surprise, but I know that you'll like it."

I rolled my eyes, "Ugh, you're going to kill me!"

"I'm pretty sure you can't die from not knowing something." He reasoned.

I raised my eyebrow, "You work for SHIELD, try telling me how lack of information won't kill somebody."

He groaned, "Just roll with it, Rena."

I shrugged and rolled with it. I grabbed my (well, technically Steve's) blue jean jacket and bounded after him. Instead of taking the car per usual, he busted out a really nice motorcycle and tossed me a helmet.

"Alright!" I exclaimed, putting the helmet over my head and tucking in the rest of my hair, "And you were going to tell me you had a bike when?"

He brushed off the dust from my seat, "If I told you about it, you probably would've wanted to ride it and I didn't want to risk an accident."

I rolled my eyes, like a little accident could hurt me, The Great and Invincible Rena! I hopped onto my seat behind him and he climbed on and started the engine with a roar. Soon, we were zooming down the streets of D.C., all the trees and buildings becoming blurs of color. Together, we raced down a familiar road until we reached a building that had been my companion for 3 years.

I smiled at Steve as we took off our helmets and slid off the bike. Racing up the concrete stairs and nearly tearing the door off, I entered the familiar hallway. Taking a quick glance at the clock, I felt relieved that they would still be at breakfast. I zoomed through the hallways until I happened upon the huge dining hall. I stealthily walked in until I saw a familiar head of light brown hair belonging to a little girl. I crept over there, putting a finger to my lips to keep the others from giving me away. Finally, I picked up the child on one swoop, making her shriek with joy.

I placed her on my shoulder and she shrieked with happiness again.

"Rena, you're back!" She giggled.

I had to laugh, "In the flesh, Jamie. Now tell me everything that's happened."

I set her back down on the ground, the spectacle causing several others to gather round and I kneeled in front of her as she prattled on. In the middle of her story about how her and this new kid, Leo, were playing make believe as Peter Pan and Wendy when she decided that she would lead the other little kids to go and get Father Sanders. After they toddled off, I came face-to-face with Megan.

Her reddish blonde hair and bright green eyes never changed since the last I saw them. I pulled her into a hug.

"That was some show, Jackson." She said, crossing her arms in front of her jean jacket and tee.

I flashed a toothy grin, "Told you I'd pull some strings."

She rolled her eyes, "And here I'd thought we'd finally be rid of you."

"As if you could get rid of me that easily." I scoffed.

She smiled and nudged my shoulder, "Good to see you haven't softened up, but where's your pop? I hope you haven't returned in the fashion I'm fearing"

I shrugged, "No, nothing like that. I may have ditched him while I was running here. He's probably talking to Father Sanders or one of the cooks. Speaking of which, I better go see what he wanted to talk to me about."

Before I left, I grabbed a napkin and a pen. Scrawling my number on it, I handed it to Megan.

"Call me if you need anything or if you want to chat."

She nodded and gave me one last hug. We parted and I glided off to Father Sanders' office. Knocking a couple times on the door, I opened it to reveal Steve and Father in a deep discussion.

"Ah, Sarena, just the person I wanted to see." He said warmly as he hugged me.

"It's good to see you as well." I replied.

He released me, "Steve and I were just talking about the adjustments and such. So how are you faring?"

I shrugged, "Pretty well, nothing really out of the ordinary."

"That's good. Well, I'll let you be on your way, but before you go." He walked over to the closet behind him and grabbed a small box, "Take this, but don't open it until you get home."

I nodded, "Yes, sir. It was good to see you again."

"Likewise, Sarena." He said with a smile.

Steve shook his hand, thanking him for the visit and we walked back out to the motorcycle.

"Anywhere else you want to go?" He asked, tossing me my helmet.

I tapped my finger thoughtfully on my chin, "Could we go back home and think about what to do from there?"

He nodded, "Sounds doable."

We hopped back on and sped to the apartment. Once inside, I got that peculiar feeling that something was awry as I hung up my jacket. I scanned over the apartment, looking for any signs to support my instincts. I found nothing.

Hiding my disappointment as Steve entered, carrying the box that Father Sanders gave me. He handed me the box and I didn't take a second to hesitate before tearing apart the cardboard structure. Inside, I found silver dog tags, my father's dog tags, hanging off a chain. Tears built up in the corners of my eyes as I ran my thumb over the engraved surface.

Steve helped me put them on without question. I looked down on the surface in disbelief.

"They were my dad's." I whispered, offering an explanation, "Father…Father Sanders took them away since every time I saw them, I'd break down crying. He told me he'd give them back once he knew I could handle it. I guess I can now."

Steve didn't say anything as he pulled me into a hug, seeing that I needed one.

"They look great, Sarena." He finally said after a while.

I pulled away and nodded, wiping away the tracks left on my cheeks, "Yeah, I guess they do."

Steve smiled and ruffled my hair, "So anything else you want to do?"

"Could we go to an ice cream shop? Not a chain store, but an actual shop. Sort of like the ones you told me about?"

He looked at me thoughtfully, "That could be quite a drive, kiddo. But I think a situation like this deserves it."

He pulled both his and my jackets off the rack and we left the apartment as swiftly as we came. However, since it would be a long drive, we opted to take the car. Soon, we were hitting the streets of Maryland in a sleek black car.

After driving for about an hour, 2 naps time for me, we finally found and old Ma and Pa shop in the downtown area of a small town. We got out of the car and Steve put his arm around my shoulders, still wary from the whole 'assassin in the apartment' situation. Setting off the bell by opening the door, I ran over to the display case where all the flavors were showcased. I gazed in wonder at all the flavors, then decided on ordering cookies 'n crème with rainbow sprinkles and caramel sauce in small bowl.

While Steve was ordering and paying, I chose a table that was outside so we could overlook the charming life that was Small Town, America.

Cap's POV

After ordering my chocolate ice cream in a cone, I walked over to the register to pay for them.

"She your daughter?" The old man asked, gesturing to Rena.

I nodded with a smile, "Yeah."

"You're a lucky father then, not many teenagers want to come to this old place." The old man smiled, "She's very beautiful, must've gotten it from her mom."

I nodded, "She did, I'm afraid I'll have to start chasing the boys away with a stick soon."

He laughed heartily as I pulled a twenty from my wallet, "I'll bet on it, but she looks like the type a gal that can hold her own."

He began to pull out the change when I stopped him, "Keep the change, I'd hate to see a good place like this go to waste."

The man smiled gratefully, "Thank you, sir, and God bless."

I smiled and walked outside to join Rena who already was halfway through her ice cream.

"Have a nice conversation?" She asked with a grin.

I leaned back with a smile, "Yeah, pretty difficult to have one of those these days."

She nodded thoughtfully, "Hey, Steve, can I ask you a question?"

I nodded and leaned towards her concerned, "What is it?"

"Are you ever going to send me to school? I mean, I'm not complaining about going to a place where people judge you daily, but there will be some people that will notice my lack of education."

I scratched the back of my neck, "Truth be told, Rena, I haven't thought about that. Would you want to go to a private school?"

Her eyes widened like saucers, "No offense, Steve, but HELL NO! I don't do private schools."

I chuckled, "What about Catholic schooling?"

She shook her head, "I'm only Catholic by title; meaning that I follow my interpretation of the Bible, not someone else's."

I nodded and said, "Alright then. Hmm…maybe we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. About how far is your education?"

She thought about it for a little while, "Maybe sophomore level math wise, (A.N. That's second year of high school: 15-16 year olds) but I'm probably at a freshman college level for reading."

"O-Okay," I said, "Maybe we'll… Well, we'll figure something out."

Suddenly a saw a glint of a metal dash around the corner of a nearby building. I ignored it for the time being, until I got a text on my phone from a classified number that read.

You might want to take her somewhere else, Steve.

I locked my phone and immediately told Rena, "We need to go."

She didn't question me, she just bolted to the car with me right behind her.

Once we were inside, we sped out of town and towards a place where I'd know she'd be safe.

"Steve," She asked worriedly, "What's happening?"

I simply tossed her my phone and she read the text.

"Aren't you going to trace it?"

I shook my head, "After I get you to safety."

"Safety? What does that mean? Am I in danger?" Fear rising into her voice.

"At the moment, no, but I don't want to take any chances."

"How am I in danger, Steve?"

I sighed, "Rena, the Winter Soldier…used to be my best friend Bucky Barnes."

She nodded, "Yeah, we went over that a few days ago."

"I know," I pressed, "But since HYDRA brainwashed him so much, he's become more violent. Also, he wants answers on what he used to be like and only I can supply him with those answers."

"Alright, so the guy wants to play 20 Questions. How does that spell my immanent doom for me?"

"It's not just that! Rena, please, he's…prone to violence if pushed too far." I explained.

I heard her mumble something under her breath, but I didn't hear it. I turned into a driveway attached to a familiar house.

We climbed out of the house and she eyed the white house.

"Steve, why are we here? More importantly, why do I have the feeling that you're going to drop me off here?"

I ignored her as I rapped on the door, revealing my short-time, but trusted friend, Sam.

"Hey, Cap." He greeted, "And company." He said, gesturing to Rena.

"Sam, I need some help." I pleaded.

He suddenly turned serious, "Got it, come on in."

Rena and I followed him into the house where we sat in the living room as he pulled the drapes over the window.

"So what's happening, Cap?"

"He's back and knows about her." I explained vaguely.

He seemed to get the message, "So what does he want?"

"Answers, but I wanted to make sure she was safe before I gave them to him."

He nodded, "Understood, want backup?"

I shook my head, "I'll be fine."

I turned to Rena, "This is Sam, and he'll be taking care of you."

She nodded sternly, but didn't say anything.

"I'll be back soon." I told her, "This won't be long mission."

She looked up at me sorrowfully, "Promise?"

"I can't promise that, but what I can promise is that I will be back as soon as I can."

I kissed her forehead before I got up and told Sam goodbye. He pulled me into the kitchen and spoke in hushed tones.

"Are you sure she'll be safe here?"

I shook my head, "Not for long, but I'll make arrangements for New York."

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" He whisper-yelled.

"You think I could drive 4 hours without worrying about an accident?"

He seemed to understand, "And this arrangement wouldn't happen to be Tony Stark?"

I smiled, "You hit the nail on the head, but yes, he'll be here to get her sometime after the weekend."

He nodded, "Oh and Cap?"

I turned around, "Just remember he might be the kind of friend you need to stop."

I shook my head and opened the door, "Already stopped him, now I need to help him."

And with that, I left.

A.N. Whew! This is one of my longer chapters, but the action's picking up! *inner squeal* What will happen to Cap and Bucky? How will Rena adjust to New York? Will she have another attack? All this and more in the next chapter so stay tuned! Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or the character whatsoever. (P.S. If anyone can guess where the song is from, they will get a VIRTUAL COOKIE and…. A SHOUTOUT! But I am not merciless, I will supply a hint and that is; the song is from a TV show)