Hey all! I hope the wait wasn't too long.

And same disclaimer. I do not own Marvel and don't make any money from it.

I hope I didn't make Future Steve seem too OOC, though I think if anyone went without sleep for a few days anyone would seem out of Character. It is like those Snickers commercials.

Anyhow, here you go! I hope you enjoy the chapter.

And if anyone wants to be a beta for this story, please let me know.😃

Chapter 21:

The Anchor

Steve Rogers was a great many things but he wasn't a fool in any sense of the word. He was smarted, even before the serum; however, at the moment, he doubted his intelligence. His mind kept playing tricks on him and he found himself filled worry, fear and stupidity, which he hadn't felt in a while. Missions could not keep his mind off everything that was happening, though he had to admit that he really didn't know what was happening. And that just made anything worse: the not knowing. Fury didn't tell them anything besides the fact that items were stolen from Black Hawk and they had the ability to disrupt Toni's equipment. He was being very secretive and Steve couldn't help but think that was a bad sign. He had to be hiding something… though he shouldn't find that surprising. Fury was a spy after all.

Each time Steve even thought about asking, Fury sent him on a mission, barely telling him anything. He kept insisting that it wasn't important for him to know and that infuriated Steve to no end. Not only didn't that not settle his mind, it made him push harder. It made him lean harder on Fury, though he knew that man would never spill anything. That man was good at keeping secrets.

Shaking his head, Steve unclicked his seatbelt and kept his head low as he stepped out of the helicopter onto the helipad at Stark Tower, which he hadn't left except for missions. The propeller created wind batted him as he stepped away. Once he was a safe distance away, he stood up straight and turned back, watching the helicopter take off. "I don't trust Fury."

"He doesn't trust you either, if it matters," said Natasha, who was standing a few feet from him. She had gone on the last mission with Steve and followed every commander, but unlike him, she didn't question Fury.

"Do you trust Fury?"

She stepped away from him, toward the building's entrance. "I trust no one," she admitted.

He watched her walk away from him, but in his mind, he was watching Toni walking away from him. It was a mystery to him why he was envisioning Toni as Toni and Natasha looked nothing alike. Sure they were roughly the same height at five foot three inches though Toni could've been an inch or two shorter, but their shapes were different. Natasha was a curvier than Toni. Plus, Toni's dark hair, even when she had it up in a messy bun, attracted him every time.

When Natasha reached the door, she turned to him, studying the silent Rogers. "What set you off this time?" she asked.

Steve disliked that she knew him so well after a short amount of time, and when did he space out so much that it became expected of him? "It's nothing."

He took a deep breath as he tried to force out the image in his head. The image of Toni walking away from him and Bucky following after her haunted him. Though it wasn't importance now, he hated that Bucky became the person she turned to. Back in the old crummy apartment, it was him, but was the only reason she turned to him was because he was the only person there? No, that couldn't have been it. He had felt the connection between them. So what changed? Besides him becoming Captain America… Was that the reason? Did he lose her the second that he became that?

He remembered watching her leave and the intense urge to go after her. He would have if it wasn't for Peggy, who held him back with a single look. Though he didn't like it, he knew it was the right thing to do, because talking to an angry Toni was a very bad idea. Instead, he had to watch his best friend go after the woman of his dreams as he fought down his jealousy.

"Earth to Rogers. Is everything okay in that head of yours?"

Steve snapped out of his thoughts and focused on Natasha, who was staring at him like he was a child. "I'm fine," he said. "Why don't we go in?" He waved toward the door, feeling a few water droplets on him. It was about to rain, and it was going to rain hard.

Romanoff eyed him before turning toward the door. With her hand on the door's handle, she glanced back at him. "We can't have you pretending to be fine, Rogers. If you can't operate, then you will need to sit out."

The idea of sitting out didn't sit well with Steve. "If it gets to the point that I'm jeopardizing a mission, I'll be the first to point that out and I'll sit myself out."

Natasha didn't say anything and just nodded, but her stare was intense and it dug deep into Steve's soul.

*O*O*

"Are you sure about this?"

Steve recognized the voice belonging to Pepper Potts, who he had seen a few times since Toni had disappeared. Pepper didn't like to be in the tower lately, calling it haunted, and Steve would have to agree. Even if the tower lacked a homely feeling, Toni's present was everywhere in the Tower. There wasn't a room in the building that didn't feel like her and her huge ego.

"We have to make it look like nothing's wrong," said Barton.

"But this feels wrong," Pepper replied. Her voice gave it all way. On top of being tired, she was worried. Deeply worried about something.

Steve walked pass Natasha, who looked unaffected by what she was hearing or seeing. "What's going…" He started but drifted off seeing one of Toni's Iron Man Armors. He couldn't tell for the life of him what Mark it was, but he knew it was one of the recent ones that she had created… or so he thought. "Why is that out?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. He glanced toward Rhodes who were sitting on a bar stool with a glass of something in his hand.

Barton stepped away from the suit, but he kept a few feet from Steve. Barton, though he would never admit to it, always kept a safe distance from Rogers as if he expected the Super Soldier to snap at any second. "People are starting to notice Toni's disappearance."

Though Steve understood why they wanted it quiet, he couldn't understand why that was startling or what that would have to do with the suit. People were going to notice as Toni was hard not to miss, but why did it matter? It wouldn't change anything. It wasn't like there was a ransom or anything for her. She was in the past, though they wouldn't want that out. "Why the suit?"

Rhodes, who Steve wasn't quite sure he liked, shifted in the stool. He looked highly uncomfortable in the Captain's presence. "They want to send it out, to give the illusion that everything is okay."

"I don't think she would want someone touching her suits," said Steve, eyeing Rhodes. "And you could always just say she's on vacation somewhere. I would assume she had been on quite a few vacations where she had gone MIA." His arms were folded across his chest. He was still wearing his Captain America uniform and he was quite filthy, covered in dirt and mud. There was even some blood.

"That won't do this time," Barton stated.

"Why is that?" Steve asked, almost snapping.

Rhodes took a deep breath. "Because it won't. It-"

"Whose idea was this?" Steve asked, interrupting Rhodes.

"Fury's," Natasha answered from behind him.

Steve turned to her and he couldn't help but glare at her non-expression. He couldn't understand how she could be so emotionless about things. "Why? What's he planning? This isn't just a show to the general public." That man was up to something.

"We have another lead on the items stolen from Black Hawk, and we have to move on it fast," Barton said. His eyed flicked to Natasha. "Fury believes it might throw them off if they see the Iron Man suit."

It made sense, but it still felt like a betrayal to let someone touch the suit. "And who's going to fly it?"

"There are only three people authorized to pilot the Iron Man Armors," J.A.R.V.I.S announced. "Miss Potts, Colonel Rhodes and Miss Stark."

Steve's eyes flicked to Potts only for a second, knowing that it would never be Pepper. She had never seen battle, let alone flown a suit. He turned to Rhodes, eyeing him. "You intend to go out?"

Rhodes shifted in his chair again, not liking the look from Rogers. "I can fly the Mark 7. I have flown the Mark 2 before."

"I didn't ask if you can fly it. I asked if you intend to go out," Steve restated, annoyed. His lack of sleep was getting to him and he was allowing his anger to grow.

"I do." Rhodes said. "This could help Toni, though I'm not going to enjoy the ass chewing that I'm going to get from her when she get back." His tone changed slightly whenever he spoke about Toni. It always changed when he talked about her. It was clear that Toni was important to him.

When Steve first met Rhodes, he had wondered if there was something between Rhodes and Toni for the longest time. He realized after a few conversions that they were just very closer and Rhodes was like a brother to her.

Barton chuckled. "Yea. I so don't want to be here when she finds that out. I foresee explosions," he said. "Lots of explosion and her chasing you down."

Rhodes let out a sigh. "She was mad when I borrowed the Mark 2. I hate see it when she finds out I took out the Mark 7."

"You mean when you stole the Mark 2, right?" Pepper corrected, glaring. "That was a legal headache."

"In my defense, Toni was operating the suit while in intoxicated and she was a threat to everyone around," Rhodes countered. "Just ask Romanoff. She was there."

Pepper glanced toward Natasha and glared. "Yea, I remember. You did nothing to stop her or discourage her."

"I was undercover at the time, and if I did, she wouldn't have wanted me around," Natasha responded with her arms folded across her chest. "I couldn't have helped it. She was emotionally unstable at the time."

Steve wasn't sure if he wanted to tell the room to shut it or to keep listening. He wasn't sure what happened to Toni, besides what was in the newspapers and they didn't tell him much. Even the folder that Fury had given him on Toni was limited. "Enough," he said, cutting them all off. "Back to the matter at hand." He waved toward the Iron Man Armor.

"There's nothing else to discuss, Rogers," Barton said. "We're going. Rhodes agreed. Nothing else to talk about."

"I understand," Steve replied, resigned to agree. It would be pointless to fight as it was clear they couldn't change their minds. "When do we head out?"

The room was silent at hearing that, and it was a few seconds later that Natasha spoke. "Fury thought it would be best if you sit out this time." She stepped next to him. "You need to rest. Stay behind with Banner. He should be back soon."

"I had enough rest," Steve countered.

Pepper stepped forward. "I have seen how hard you have been working to locate Toni, and I know you have been giving it your all, but you need to rest. How do you think Toni will react if you worked yourself to death?" Her voice was sweet and soft like a mother's voice.

Steve glanced down at himself; Pepper was correct. He was a mess inside and out, and he needed to rest. "When do you head out?"

Barton stepped away from the armor and crossed to the counter near Rhodes, who had gotten to his feet. "Now," he stated, picking up his bow. "Ready, Rhodes?"

Rhodes took a deep breath and stepped toward the suit. "Yes. Let's head out."

*O*O*

It was odd to say the least to see Rhodes fly off in the Iron Man Suit. It was even weirder for him to remain behind, but they were all correct: he needed to rest. He was burning out at both ends and that wasn't good for anyone. If Toni could see him now, she would probably laugh. Toni would probably love to see him like this, because she saw him as Mr. Perfect, a guy who could do nothing wrong. He knew he was part of the reason why she though that, considering how hard he had been on her. He didn't mean to; he just didn't know how to handle her risky behavior.

"You need to rest, Steve."

He glanced over his shoulder to Potts who was standing in the doorway of Toni's personal lab. Being like a big sister to Toni, she was taking her disappearance hard, and it was clearly visible in her voice and appearance. She looked like she had been through hell and back.

"I try," he said. The whole in the floor had been repaired, making it look as nothing had happened and that stung a little as something had happened. They were missing a team member, and it wouldn't be the same until she returned.

Pepper took a deep breath. "If you can't sleep, go get clean up and eat. You can't go on like this."

He glanced back toward Pepper before pushing himself up. "Yes, Ma'am," he said with a weak smile. He could understand why Toni kept Pepper around, even if she was a bit controlling. Pepper was a kind soul, who took care of Toni and many others without a second thought.

"You don't need to Ma'am me, Steve. It's just Pepper," Pepper stated as she turned to leave.

"Yes, Ma-Pepper," he corrected, receiving a glare from Pepper.

"Now, go clean yourself up. Toni will be very upset if you dirty her lab."

He laughed. "I don't want that to happen."

*O*O*

It came rushing back to him in the shower after he had rinsed the soap off his body, and it had almost knocked him flat on his ass. With his hands pressed firmly against the cold tile of the bathrooms and his head down, he held himself up as the water pounded his back. He remained like that for what seemed like hours, and it was surprising that there was still hot water. If this was his apartment, the water would have turned ice cold a while ago, but he supposed Toni would have the best water heater there was in her buildings.

The flooding memories took hold of him and he couldn't rid himself of them. They were a haunting experience that he couldn't shake even when he turned up the water temperature. In a sense, they had glued themselves to him.

Steve wasn't expecting the base to put up such a fight, and he really wasn't expecting to be pushed back, but that was what was happening here. They were being pushed back as more and more soldiers were coming out after them, and each had a highly advance weapons in their hands. These weapons were stronger than anything else that came before, and Steve wasn't expecting that, but he had to continue. He had to give Toni enough time or else this mission would be a failure and they were risking her life for nothing.

At first, Steve didn't realized that he had turned the water up even higher, and the water almost burnt his skin. "Relax," he told himself as he turned the water back down to normal levels. However, the memories started flashed before him.

"Dugan," Steve said, calling into their communication devices.

Dugan's response wasn't quick; it wasn't until a minute later that he responded, "We aren't doing so hot, Cap."

There was something in Dugan's voice that worried Steve. "What's going on?" he asked, glancing around at his team, all of which were engaging a hydra Solder. Steve just shield bashed one in a face as he flipped out of the way of a flame thrower. The flames came within inches of his skin. "What's your status?"

"Smith is down, and Gabe's injured," Dugan stated, breathing heavily. "I don't know how long we can hold them back."

Steve, who had been in countless battles now, had been hit hard by that. He had lost a man before, but hearing Dugan say that almost took his breath away. These Howling Commandos were very important to him and he couldn't bare anything happening to them. "Where are you?"

Again, there were a few seconds of silence before Dugan replied, "I know what you're thinkin', Cap, but you can't. We still had a mission to accomplish."

Anger rose up in Steve, as he dodged yet another blast from a hydra weapon. He couldn't understand how this mission could go so wrong so fast. They had planned everything down to the shoes they would be wearing. However, he had asked Phillips if they could bring more man, but he turned Steve down. This was all about being covert, and the more man they took the more they would stand out. A few people could sneak pass, not a whole army. "I understand. However, after I finish up here, I'm coming to assist you, Dugan. Is that understand?"

"Yes, Sir," came Dugan's response.

The soggy Steve, after what seemed like forever in the shower, turned off the water and just stood there as the water droplets dripped down his body. It wasn't long before the fog from the hot water dissipated, leaving him with a cold chill in the room. Still being wet, he started to freeze, but he didn't move. His mind was too focus on his memories to dry off or to even move. Ever since he 'woke' up, he was haunted by his memories of the past, and knowing that they were all gone hit him harder than anything else. And now, there were flashbacks of Toni and her in danger. He was struggling.

He pushed away from the wall and stared down at his waterlogged hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he stepped out of the shower and crossed to the towel, which looked rather plain compared to the rest of the bathroom, sitting on the counter. He couldn't even begin to explain how this bathroom looked like, but it did look like it came directly out of an expensive magazine.

After drying off and wrapping the towel around his waist, he stepped toward the mirror and stared at his reflection. Even with the shower, he looked like a puppy looking for a home, and he hated that. Why was he like this? Why was he so useless? All he could do is bust down doors, while everyone else did the important things. They were the one collecting information and using it to bring Toni back.

At that moment, he felt another flashback coming on.

In Roger's anger, he was able to clear the area of Hydra soldiers while the rest of his team looked on in surprised. It wasn't like they thought he couldn't, but rather, it was something else to watch. Steve with his flexibility and strength was doing things inhumanly possible and no matter how often he did it, it always took people by surprise. Also, his skills were always improving.

At his order, Folsworth, Morita and Huges (the additional soldier) retreated while Steve headed to Dugan's team. Not one of his men may have liked this plan, but they followed his order. Steve could make it to the other team faster on his own and he needed all the time that he could get. With each passing second, the chances of them living fell.

It had taken a ten minutes for him to find the other team, and when he came upon the scene, he was take back. However, he wouldn't allow that to stop him; he had teammates to save. And after he saved them, he would go after Toni, as there was no way in hell that he would leave her behind.

Spotting the dead body of Smith, Steve made a promise that he would bring his dog tags back to Smith's wife. She was a good woman and she deserved that much. Steve turned his attention to Dugan as he was providing cover fire for Dernier, who was hovering over a bleeding Jones. Dernier was saying something in French that only Jones could understand. A Hydra Soldier caught his attention as the enemy soldier made his way toward Dugan's blind side. Steve, not even a second later, dashed toward them, ready to strike, but he didn't get the chance.

Out of nowhere, Bucky rolled out and fired at the solder killing him. His appearance startled everyone, including the bleeding Gabe who looked toward Bucky with a huge smile. Bucky crossed over to Smith feeling for a pulse, but Steve kept his eyes in the direction that Bucky came from waiting for Toni jump out after him; however, she never came. Anger rose up inside of Steve, as he wondered where she why and why the hell Bucky had left her. Steve glanced back to his closest friend, who held Smith's dog tags in his hand. Barnes was standing next to Dugan, saying something to him as he eyed Gabe.

Seeing another enemy soldier heading toward them, Steve reacted and flung his shield at him. As always, his aim was prefect, killing the soldier on impact. The Commandos' heads jerk back toward him, just noticing he was there. Steve raised his hand to catch the shield as it flew back to him, and he made his way toward Dernier.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked, not even looking at Barnes whose very sight pissed him off. He reached down to Gabe's wrist and felt for his pulse. "Your heart is beating too fast," he stated, though he wasn't sure how bad that was. He wasn't a doctor.

"Not dead yet," Jones stated with a smile. "I can still fight."

Steve glanced down at Gabe's side, where Dernier was applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Though he couldn't be sure what had hit Gabe, it wasn't a shot from an advance Hydra weapon, which only needed to make contact with a person to kill him. "No. You're all going to retreat, while I hold them off."

"And what about you, Cap?" Dugan asked as he looked over his shoulder for any additional enemy soldiers. Seeing none, he turned back to Steve, who was helping Gabe to his feet.

"Once you are clear, I'm going after Toni," Steve said, as he leaned Gabe against Dernier.

Bucky with his back pressed against a large vehicle that had been providing cover fired as he spotted a few soldiers moving toward them. "There're too many of them."

Steve rotated quickly, putting himself behind Dernier and Gabe to block the fire. He held his shield up, block all attacks from hitting them. "I'll not leave a man behind," he stated. "Now go."

Dugan nodded as he moved quickly to Dernier and Gabe. Getting onto the other side of Gabe, he placed him on his shoulders. He was big enough to carry Gabe alone. "I got him. Let's go." He looked back to Jones on his shoulder. He was looking paler with each passing second. "Ready, Gabe?"

Jones left up his head slightly. "As I will ever be, Dum Dum," he replied.

Steve watched Dernier, Jones, and Dugan as they hurried off. Seeing a few enemies heading toward him, he hurled his shield toward the soldiers. After the shield had left his hands, he upholstered his guns and took aim, firing at anyone that wasn't his team member. "Why are you still here, Bucky?" he asked, twisting around. He fired at the soldier who was coming around the vehicle.

"I'm not leaving," he replied, eyeing the body falling next to him.

"Leaving is what you're good at, right?" Steve, snapped, as he caught his shield. Not even a second later, he threw it again, and he darted toward the direction that Dugan, Dernier and Gabe went. There were a few soldiers go after them, and he had to stop them. He fired again, killing them. Not stopping to watch the bodies fall, he turned back to Barnes who had killed a few others on this own.

Bucky lowered his weapons as Steve approached. "What is that supposed to mean?" Bucky asked.

"Where's Toni?" Steve asked, as he made his way toward the direction that Bucky came from.

Barnes followed behind him. "Steve, I had to."

"You abandoned the mission. Her safety was the most important," Steve countered. His anger started to boil through and he couldn't let that happen. He had a mission to focus on, and using that, he forced himself forward.

Barnes followed closely behind Steve. "So that's what's going on."

They didn't have time for this, not now at least. "Not now," he replied. Besides, letting his anger out wouldn't solve anything and he was probably not thinking clearly. He didn't need to snap.

"Steve-"

"Not now," Steve ordered.

"Steve," Barnes continued.

Steve turned and snapped, "What?"

Barnes pointed toward a female Hydra Commander, with long black hair, and two hydra soldier trailing behind her. They were heading somewhere, and by the look of it, it was somewhere very important. "What do you think?"

The Captain in him looked at the group with a calculated look, and he knew he should go after them as the commander looked to be somewhat important, but he didn't have time to deal with her. He had to find Toni before anyone else did. "We need to find, Toni."

Steve closed his eyes as he pushed himself away from the mirror and stepped to the door with his fists balled at his side. Hindsight was really 20/20, because he was an idiot to let that woman through. He was too distracted by saving Toni to think about anything else. She was obviously an important figure within the Hydra organization, which he could tell by her uniform… He was just too clouded at the time to think clearly.

Shaking his head, he stepped out of the bathroom and crossed to the dresser to find some clothes. Not caring if anything matched, he selected a random gray t-shirt with some logo on it and a pair of black sweatpants. The shirt was slightly too small and the logo was stretched across his chest, while the sweatpants were loose, hanging at his waist. Most of the clothes in this rooms weren't his as it was Toni who had stocked the room with everything that she thought he would need if he were ever to stay. He had expected the clothes to be the wrong size since Toni didn't know his size, but it was never an issue before as he never expected to wear them. He never expected to be here this long.

He crawled into the bed, and without undoing the covers, he laid down, but he didn't close his eyes. Rather, he just stared off as he thought. He really wanted-no, needed to sleep, but it wouldn't come to him and he had no idea of how to get himself to sleep.

After a few seconds of staring off at the wall, he rotated onto his back and stared up at the off-white ceiling. Sleep didn't come even though he was dead tired, and he didn't know how to deal with that. Like with alcohol, pills didn't work as his system just worked them out. He supposed he could just count sheep, but he got distracted after he reached 100. The only he could do was closed his eyes and hope sleep would come to him.

However whenever he closed his eyes, the flashbacks came flooding.

"Are you sure it's this way?"

"Yes."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get some sleep. He needed to sleep, damn it, or else he would go crazy. Everyone else already thought he was crazy though, which was why he was left behind while everyone else went out.

"Steve, you are taking this out of portion."

Steve didn't respond as they made their way through the long hallways. Blood was spray across their uniforms as they had killed a few soldiers to make it this deep into the base. Though they didn't want to make a scene, it did give the rest of the team a chance to escape. It gave them an opening. "Not now, Bucky," he said, feeling his best friend's eyes on his back.

"There is it," he said.

He followed Barnes' glance toward a door halfway down the long hallway, and it made his heart skip a beat. The door had been kicked open, right off its hinges. Without another thought, Steve bolt toward the door not caring if Bucky could keep up with him or not. Right now, he had to get to Toni before she was injured if it wasn't already too late. For that, he didn't care if Bucky could keep up because he was too angry. This was all his fault. He left her.

Steve made it to the doorway in no time and glanced around looking for Toni, who made his heart stop at seeing her. He had seen the two dead bodies in the room, wondering for a split second what had happened to them; however, he wasn't worried about them. He was worried about Toni, who wasn't moving. He didn't move as the woman he had saw from earlier was standing over her. She had an evil look in her eyes as she looked over Toni.

"Get away from her," Steve ordered as he hurled his shield at her.

The Female Commander dodged the shield with ease. "Oh, it's Captain America. I didn't think I would have this honor," she mocked as she picked up a blood knife from the ground. Though Steve couldn't be sure, it looked like Toni's knife.

Not interesting in speaking with his woman, Steve reached for his gun, but he wasn't fast enough as she flung the knife at him. Without having his shield to block, he dropped to the ground and fired. She was faster than he thought and dodged. The bullet pinged again the metal control panel and ricochet, but unfortunately, it didn't hit the woman. Steve got back to his feet and collected his shield which had fallen a few feet from him. He rushed toward her, trying to drive her away from Toni.

The commander flipped away, but she didn't move far. "Schmidt was correct about you. You have large eyes for her."

Steve growled, surprising even himself. "Who are you?" he asked, standing in front of the still Toni. This commander was something else. Not that he would ever underestimate a woman especially after knowing Peggy and Toni, he didn't expect this from the woman. She was different from the other hydra soldiers that he had met.

"You-" She started but was interrupted by Barnes, who came dashing into the room.

Barnes scanned the room, his eyes stopping on Toni who was almost hidden behind Steve. "Who are you?" he inquired, reaching for his gun. Though Bucky's voice didn't reveal anything, Steve knew he was shaken by what he saw.

Her eyes flicked to Toni. "Who I am doesn't matter. I'm here for her, and we'll get her soon enough," she snapped, tossing a ball like item to the ground. Smoke exploded from the ball, filling the room.

In an instant, Steve dropped to his knees and covered Toni with his body. He held Toni close, refusing to move as he was unsure if the commander would attempt to take Toni. As the smoke started to clear, they noticed that the woman was gone. Both Barnes and Rogers were confused as they weren't sure what was happening or who she was, but they both knew they had to move.

Placing his shield onto his back, Steve carefully flipped Toni onto her back. "Toni," he called as he held her tight against his chest. Feeling her heart beat, he felt relief wash over him, but it didn't last long as she wasn't responding to him. "Toni," he called again. She felt almost cold to him and that scared him.

"Steve," Barnes called, seeing the look on Steve's face.

The Captain wasn't listening. He was too blinded by the blood on his hands. When he had put his hand under her head to support her, he had felt something cold and sticky. He pulled back his hand to see it covered in blood; there was a wound on the back of her head. "Toni. Please wake up," he begged, worried. This wasn't good. Heads wounds were never good.

Without Steve knowing, Barnes was beside him and he could tell Bucky was just as shaky as he was. "Steve, is she…?" he asked, his voice giving his emotions away.

Steve looked up and glimpsed at his friend. He had to pull himself together, because they still had a mission and they couldn't fail. If they did, this all would be in vein. "She's alive. Did she finish?" he asked, not looking at anything besides her face. He held her tight, refusing to let her go. Barnes left his side and went to the control panel. Steve wasn't paying any attention as he was trying to get Toni to open her eyes. He ran his fingers along her arms, calling her name.

A few minutes later, Bucky returned to Steve's side. "Yes, she did." He held something in his hand. "Let's go." He paused. "I can get her if you like…"

"No, I have her," Steve said firmly, as he was getting to his feet. "Let's leave before any other hydra soldiers shows up." He looked down at Toni, frowning at the sight of her. He could see a red hand print around her neck and he wanted to snap the person who did that to her in half.

"Steve."

"Let's go, Barnes." Steve ordered. He was too tired to fight and he was too angry to care about sparing Barnes' feelings.

Rogers popped up into a sitting position frustrated. How could he sleep when all he saw was pain? He didn't know how it was possible to sleep when his past life kept haunting him. It wasn't just about his memories of Toni; it was about Bucky, whose death still haunted him. It was about everything. He saw everything. He wasn't sure why he couldn't get rid of them.

He stepped out of the bed and headed toward the kitchen to find something to eat. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well eat to keep up his strength. Though he couldn't really cook anything besides eggs, he had to admit that the kitchen in the tower was impressive and it made him want to cook as he had never seen anything like it before.

As it was late, the tower was pretty quiet and empty beside a few security guards at the lower levels. Steve normally didn't mind the silence, but at the moment, it ate at him. With a deep breath, he started to hum as he tried to block out the silence. With the humming keeping his pace even, he made it to the kitchen in little time. Not feeling like cooking anything at the moment, he decided to make a sandwich, as it was something simple that he could do without much thought process. It was very hard to mess up a sandwich, though in his current state Steve just might; however, he was able to manage it.

"Hungry, I see," a voice said from the doorway.

Steve looked up from the counter. "Banner," he said, surprised. "How long have you been back?" He didn't know that Banner was in the tower.

"Not long," he said making his way over to Steve. "I think I might make me a sandwich as well." The meat, lettuce, bread, and tomatoes were still on the counter.

"Any change on that device?" Steve asked, leaning back against a counter with his sandwich in his hand.

Making a sandwich with everything on it, Bruce stared down at counter, not making eye contact except for tiny looks every few seconds. "If Toni is planning of using something from the Tesseract, maybe I can do the same. We would have a better shot of doing it, but I would need some help or access to the Tesseract, and I'm not sure I can get that. Trying to talk it through with Thor."

Steve took a deep breath. "That stupid cube." He hated that damn thing with every fiber of his being. It was the cause of everything that went horribly wrong.

"You look a little better," Bruce said, as he finished making his sandwich.

"I'm but still can't sleep," he replied, allowing Bruce to change the subject. However, he didn't like the idea of using the Tesseract. "And I'm stuck on the sidelines."

Bruce smiled, weakly. "You're never on the sidelines. Just taking a break like we all need to do."

"I guess."

"Besides, Toni won't like it if you worry yourself to death."

"Yea, she might lecture me for a change," Steve joked.

"And Toni's lectures are always funny, well if they aren't directed at you," Bruce said.

Steve laughed as he took a bit of his sandwich. "Ain't that the truth," he said.

"Let's finish these and check on Romanoff and the other," Bruce said, waving his sandwich at Steve.

Steve nodded as he wanted to know what was happening with that mission. Did they find the devices? Did they know who was behind it? Steve so hoped they did, because if they did, they would be one step closer in bringing back Toni, his anchor. He would be able to sleep again. He would be able to dream again, knowing she was safe with him.

The end for now!

I hope you enjoy it! Please review and let me know what you think. I like reviews.

And I think I should clarify something so no one is confused. The future isn't going as fast as the past is. So months may have passed in the past, but in the present, it has only been a few weeks.

I hope that makes sense. If it doesn't let me know! :)

Until next time.