For all the new Guest Reviewers, a heads up. I answer your questions/respond to your reviews after the authors note so check it out. :) Oh and I didn't do a final edit on this one. I'm watching Captain America the First Avenger on TV and I'm a bit distracted. Sorry in advance! ~Rach xoxo

When James joined Anya in the kitchen it was to find her on her tip toes reaching for glassware in the cupboard. She was straining for all she was worth, even giving a little hop, but still unable to reach it. Just the image itself had the corners of his lips rising, as he quickly strode forward to assist her. She offered him a small thanks when he set two glasses on the counter for her, immediately turning to fill them with water. James' gaze remained focused on her face, eying the bruise on her cheek before moving to the one at her throat. They stood as reminders of the threat Hydra posed to her, the threat Pierce made on Anya's life. James didn't think the threat ended now that they were momentarily free from Hydra. In fact, he felt as if the threat had doubled. There would be an even bigger target painted on her back, on both of their backs.

He had to scramble to hide the worry that had settled in his eyes when Anya turned back to him, offering him one of the glasses. Taking it, more for a distraction, he couldn't help but notice the small scrapes on her hand, surrounded by the starting of a bruise. That increased the count up to three. He wanted to reach for her bruised hand, but his left hand was already gripping the water and his other arm wasn't quite able to move.

"What happened?" He murmured instead, his eyes drawing Anya's attention down to her hand.

"Oh, that. Yeah that one's my fault. I punched Rumlow in the face." James' lips twitched up again in an almost smile at the picture of Anya hitting the Hydra agent. That time Anya saw it, and it had her smiling back up at him. "I have to admit, it felt good."

Even if it hadn't left a single mark on Rumlow's face, punching him just left her feeling satisfied. It had been a long time coming. Anna's only regret was she hadn't added a swift kick to the balls once she realized it hadn't done any damage. The only damage done was to herself, as James had pointed out. Managing to get a small smile out of him only further validated the sense of satisfaction she got from punching Rumlow.

Turning her attention back to James, Anna was reminded that, though they were free from Hydra, James hadn't escaped unscathed. His shoulder was just one of many injuries, including several cuts on his face that were bloody and bruising. He needed medical attention. A fact that had her finishing off her water in three gulps so she could herd James towards the kitchen table and start tending to his injuries. When she saw the full cup of water still in his hand she allowed him to finish it before she started. She knew he'd seen a lot more action than she had today, and therefore he needed the water even more than she had needed hers.

"So, how'd you end up all wet? You fall from one of those flying buttresses?" Anna joked as she took the seat beside him at the table. It was the look on his face combined with the fact that he didn't offer up any other answer that had the smile slipping from Anna's face. "God, I was joking. Did you seriously fall from one of those things?"

When he simply nodded his head Anna's mouth fell open slightly before she had the mind to close it. At that information she decided there was no time for stalling. Falling from a height like that could do serious damage to his body and hydration came second to possible internal bleeding. Telling him he better finish what he wanted of his water, Anna stood from her chair and hovered until he pushed his glass away and scooted the chair back to offer her better access.

"I can't believe you weren't going to tell me you fell at least a thousand feet into the Potomac." Anya muttered as she moved to undo all the buckles and buttons that made up his armor. Even though he could sense her frustration, she was very careful to be gentle with his hurt shoulder.

It wasn't until she attempted to slide his arm out of the sleeve of his armor and she saw him wince that Anna's expression softened. It wasn't his fault he had been on the flying buttress. And it wasn't like there was any other way down. It's just, she hated the thought of him having some serious internal injury. She didn't have the materials needed for any type of surgery if he needed it, and that worried her. They couldn't go to a hospital, not with Hydra looking for them. Besides, he didn't have any identification let alone insurance. The Emergency Department wouldn't take someone without a social security number.

"I'm sorry." Anya murmured to him once she'd gotten the jacket off. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just worried. And I deal with worry by processing it into frustration. And pacing. I tend to pace a lot."

She was worrying her lip again, as well as playing with the hair tie on her wrist. It was probably taking the place of the pacing she'd mentioned she would normally do. Wanting to pull her out of her worrying thoughts, James' reached out, resting his metal hand on hers to still it. It seemed to work, as her eyes jumped back to his and, after another apology, she reached for the hem of his t-shirt: the last article of clothing that stood between his shoulder and her.

"It is most definitely dislocated." Anna stated decisively once the shirt was removed. "The good news is it's an easy fix. The bad news is it will quite literally hurt like Hell." Anna had seen her fair share of dislocated joints in her rotation in the Emergency Department at George Washington Hospital. The fixing process was quick and easy, but wasn't pleasant at all. She'd seen hockey players shed tears over it.

Gripping the side of the chair with his metal arm in preparation, James nodded his head to let Anya know he was ready. When she moved into position behind him, taking his arm securely in hers, it caused him to tense prematurely. He didn't remember ever dislocating his arm before, and he doubted it would compare to the pain from the process of being wiped, yet he couldn't help the involuntary tensing at the promise of pain.

"Try not to break my chair," Anna murmured jokingly before jerking his arm up, popping the joint back into the socket in one swift movement. She had to admit, she was impressed when his only reaction was a grunt of pain. Especially seeing as he hadn't snapped a piece of wood off of the chair.

"I promise the worst is over now." Anya stated, coming back around to face James, showing him the proper way to hold his shoulder. James couldn't help making a face when she mentioned having to tape it when she was finished examining him for other injuries. "This shoulder's seen a lot of damage in the past week. Shot then dislocated. You should tell the people you're fighting it'd be nice if they focused on the other arm for a change. You'd be a lot less hurt if they attacked your metal arm." Anya added, her fingers brushing over the small, pale scar the bullet had left behind. Her light touch had James' muscles twitching compulsorily.

"Then you wouldn't have anything to patch together," James answered softly, drawing her eyes from his shoulder up to his. He didn't mind the resulting injuries from missions so much when Anya was the one to heal them.

"True. I couldn't fix your metal arm if I tried. I'd probably make it worse. Technology and I don't mix very well. I haven't even figured out how to properly set the DVR." She always ended up recording the wrong show, or recording nothing at all. After the first few tries Anna had given up, deciding if the show wasn't on when she was home and could watch it, then she didn't need to see it.

Before she could contemplate just how much she sucked at working technology and how ironic it was considering who her brother and father were, Anna moved on with her examination. Telling James to let her know if anything hurt, she went to palpitating his abdomen. She still ended up keeping her eyes on his face, not fully trusting him to own up to pain. When he never stopped her, and there were no physical signs of pain or distention in the abdomen, Anna was satisfied that there was no internal bleeding. Meaning she could move on to the abrasions on his face.

Grabbing a washcloth from a drawer, Anna ran it under warm water and rung it out before returning to James. Like before, Anna tucked his damp hair behind his ears before lightly dabbing the damp cloth against his cheek, working on the first of several cuts. None of them ended up being deep enough for stitches, but they still needed sanitized.

"This is going to sting," Anna warned softly before dabbing the cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol against the first cut. As soon as she was done Anna blew lightly on the cut, knowing it would help with the pain, unaware that James' eyes had widened lightly at the unexpected sensation. She did notice him shivering slightly after she repeated the action on the last cut.

"You would probably benefit from a nice hot shower. It'll warm you up after your plunge in the river." Anna suggested rising from her chair and moving towards a painting of a field of flowers on the wall. "Which means you'll be needing a change of clothes, and unfortunately I don't have men's clothing just lying around." Okay that was a slight lie. She had an old sweatshirt she'd nabbed from Tony's closet in her dresser. But she highly doubted if it would fit James, whose shoulders were much broader than Tony's.

"So, I'll have to acquire some." Anya finished, removing the painting from the wall to reveal a small safe. James stiffened at her statement. Anya was suggesting she leave the apartment, alone, while Hydra was looking for her.

"No," James insisted, making Anya poke her face around the safe door, eyebrows raised. "It's not safe. Hydra." He continued adamantly. He had just gotten her back, had her safe and with him. He wasn't about to risk that.

"I won't be going out unprotected," Anna answered once she realized the reason for James rebuking the idea. Honestly, he needed to warm up and he needed a change of clothes. And he couldn't go with her. Stores didn't like their customers dripping all over the merchandise. Besides, it would draw too much attention to them. That's what had her pulling out the wad of cash and the handgun that were strictly for emergencies before rehanging the picture and returning to James; setting the items on the table between them.

"Tony insisted I have one if I was going to be living alone in the city." Anna explained when she noticed James' eyes glued to the gun. "I'm not that good of a shot, but Hydra agents tend to be rather big, meaning a larger target. I'm bound to hit them somewhere."

James wasn't very convinced. Anya was the type of person to hesitate before firing a gun at another person. Which wasn't normally a bad thing. In fact, it was one of the things he liked about her. But he wouldn't be there to finish it if she hesitated. And hesitating would lead to death. Besides, she'd already admitted she didn't have good aim.

"It's only two blocks down the street, I'll be wearing a ball cap, and I'll keep my head down," Anna added, noticing James' hesitation. "It'll take five minutes tops. You won't even be out of the shower and I'll be back. It'll be fine. I promise." At that last part Anna reached out to grab a hold of James' hand, careful not to jostle his shoulder, her eyes glued on his—both to show him her sincerity and to gauge his reaction.

James couldn't help thinking how stubborn Anya was. Too stubborn for her own good. She wasn't going to let the subject go, nor was she going to admit defeat. What was worse was her pleading eyes and her hand reaching out for his. It wasn't helping his resolve any. With a sigh he closed his eyes, hoping it would help him think straighter if he didn't see those eyes. It didn't. He could still feel her hand grasping his lightly, soft and warm.

"Fine," He eventually relented, hoping he wouldn't regret it. His eyes immediately flashed open when Anya unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him like before. It didn't take him as long to return the embrace that time, tucking his head in closer to hers and letting himself relish in the embrace. Letting her go was much harder than before, knowing what she was about to do.

James watched Anya flit around the apartment, grabbing a cap from a hook by the door and pulling it low over her face, before tucking the cash in her pocket and the handgun in the waistband of her jeans. It had him checking she had the safety on, then reminding her about removing the safety before shooting; to which she only sent him a look that clearly said she knew that as she pulled her shirt over the gun. She had to practically force him to follow her down the hall to the bathroom, where she handed him a towel, washcloth, and a new bar of soap, telling him to just leave his clothes on the floor.

Standing in the doorway, James didn't close the bathroom door until Anya had disappeared around the corner. He could hear the squeak of a rusty lock being moved before the whoosh of an open window followed, alerting him that Anya was using the fire escape to exit the apartment. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself into the shower. He just had to trust that Anya would be okay. She had proven on several accounts to be tougher than she looked. She'd also proven on those same accounts to be reckless, acting first to protect him regardless of the consequences. Cold fear shot through him at that realization. Turning on the water to counter the chill, he tried his best not to dwell on that last part. If he did, he'd just drive himself crazy. Or he'd end up chasing after her. Anya wouldn't appreciate him babying her; it'd have her claiming she wasn't helpless. But it wasn't that James thought of her as helpless, because he didn't. He knew she could take care of herself well enough when it came down to it. It's just that she didn't have to anymore.

…

Sometimes Tony really hated people. They could be so annoying. Like the Human Resources person at the hospital. Tony had been forced to return to try and find out where Anna really lived, as the Ashton seemed quite certain she had never lived there. The lady he was talking to was older, and very firm on the policy of not giving out personal information about any of the doctors.

"But I'm her brother. See, it says right there under my picture: Anthony Stark." He raised his voice in case the woman was hard of hearing as he pointed to his name on his driver's license.

"We need written consent from Dr. Stark before releasing any information on her." The woman insisted firmly, not impressed by Tony sharing the same last name as Dr. Stark. Working in a hospital lets you see just how common same last names were when people were never related.

"According to your organization, she's on vacation. So that won't be possible, now will it?" Tony's raised voice was quickly becoming angry. When the woman only apologized for the inconvenience Tony stormed out of the building, once more throwing threats out about job security, that time only the Human Resources lady could hear him. He couldn't help feeling very upset with how incompetent the people that Anna worked with were.

It wasn't until he was back in his hotel room, taking his scotch on the balcony and preparing to call Pepper to complain about the nuisance that was people nowadays that he saw it: the three helicarriers he'd help engineer the turbines for. He hadn't been aware SHIELD would be launching them this soon. Not that SHIELD had the best communication record with him right now. Still, he didn't think too much of it. Knowing they were planned to be sent up in a few weeks, though admittedly he didn't know what for, it didn't worry him. Not until they started firing at each other and falling from the sky. It was around that time that his PDA started beeping like crazy with alerts. He only had to read the first couple before he finally called Pepper like he'd planned.

"Hydra infiltrated SHIELD. I think that's who has Anna. I don't have proof, and I don't know why. But it fits deductive reasoning right now so I'm going with it." Tony announced as soon as Pepper answered. It took him a moment to realize that Pepper had started spouting off similar things as soon as she'd answered, resulting in both of them talking over one another.

"How did you know about Hydra?" Tony asked in surprise, which had Pepper scoffing at him before answering: the internet, and the news. When Pepper asked what they were going to do about it, Tony thought the answer was rather obvious. "You're going to keep sifting through the leaked SHIELD and Hydra files. I'm going to suit up. See if I can find anything in the ruin that the helicarriers created that can point me to Anna."

"You brought a suit with you?" Pepper asked incredulously. When Tony had left, she hadn't thought such measures necessary.

"What made you think I wouldn't?" Honestly, it was Anna Banana they were talking about. Of course he would bring a suit. The suit made him even more badass.

"Just be careful Tony. Hydra targets people like you and Steve. People who pose threats to it." Pepper pleaded before hanging up, knowing there was nothing else she could say to stop Tony from suiting up and wreaking havoc on DC.

Pepper's words had Tony considering what Hydra would want with Anna as he suited up. It's not that she wasn't smart or anything, it was just she wasn't a threat. Anna cared about saving people, and though she didn't like wrongdoers, she didn't actively set out to stop them like he did. She didn't go looking for trouble. So why had trouble come looking for her?

"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?" Jarvis asked as Tony launched himself off the hotel balcony, headed toward the Potomac and the remains of the SHIELD building.

"All my ideas are good ones Jarvis," Tony answered confidently, increasing his altitude so he could have a better vantage point. He was circling the perimeter of SHIELD for the fifth time when the hint of red and blue caught his eye. Telling Jarvis to zoom in on the object had Tony discovering it was the Capsicle. Once again wet from a plunge into a large body of water. At least that time it wasn't one that was frozen over; it would have taken a lot longer for him to be in any condition to communicate if it had been.

Speeding down towards the Cap, Tony continually scanned the shore for any other signs of life. It wasn't like he had expected finding Anna to be that easy, but he had allowed him a small hope that perhaps the Capsicle had managed to save Anna Banana. Still, the Cap could have information about what happened to her. He just had to fix him up and he'd be right as rain to talk to him.

"Not who I was looking for, but you're better than nothing." Tony commented as he stepped closer to the unconscious super soldier. "Let's go. We have to get your 90 year old ass checked out and woken up, Capsicle." Tony muttered, hoisting Steve up. Once he was pretty sure he wouldn't drop him, Tony headed towards George Washington Hospital. The director of the VA Center probably already had his name on a blacklist, so going there wasn't an option. Not that he'd trust the health of possibly the only man who could currently give him any information on Anna, not to mention a fellow Avenger, to the incompetent staff that worked there.

A/N Hey everyone! Let me say I'm loving your feedback. It blows me away how responsive you are to this. Hope you enjoyed this update. I'm really looking forward to the next few chapters. Lots of fun stuff is happening. As you can see, Tony showed up again in this chapter. He wanted a bigger part in the story and demanded it be earlier. So I've had fun tying him into it. As always, a heartfelt thanks to all who favorite/follow and review this story. It really keeps my motivation going. You guys are the best!

Onto guest review responses!

To Hannah: I am so pleased to hear you are loving this story. Even though I'm the writer, I have to say I love James and Anna as well. By far Anna and James interacting are my favorite parts to write. I even have a little playlist I listen to that inspires me when I write those scenes. I think people 'complaining' about updates is just that they're so used to me updating every day that when I can't get one out every day it leaves them disappointed. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. It means a lot to me. Reviews fuel my desire to pump out the next chapter as fast as possible.

To Arwen: First, your English is perfectly fine. I'm so happy that you are reading my fanfiction, especially since it's not in your native language. That's really cool! I don't think I'd be able to do that. Because I wouldn't have a clue what was going on. Makes me feel like I should start learning another language. Anyways, thank you so much for leaving a review! Hope you enjoyed the update.

To the guest who mentioned how much they loved the hug: I gave ya another one in this chapter :) Hope you enjoyed it as much as James did. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

To the guest who were excited they were reunited and hoping they don't get separated again: I cannot answer your question about James asking her about Steve as it would give away what happens in the next chapter. I like to keep you on the edge of your seats. That way you look forward to the chapters to come! I too am excited for the rest of the chapters because of the new found freedom I have with the plot. It's going to be a fun ride!

To an Avid fan: Wow, your review made me feel really really good about my writing. Seriously, I need you around all the time when I'm writing so I never second guess myself again. I'm glad you like my humanization of James/Bucky and the speed I've been unraveling things. You can expect quite a bit more. I'm not sure how it going to end yet or when, but I know it will extend beyond the movie a good bit. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me how you felt about the story!

Rach

xoxo