A/N: Sorry for the late update, life got extremely busy and took longer for me to work and edit this chapter. Hope you all enjoy this long update. Please keep reading, reviewing, and following my story and me, the feedback is greatly appreciated.

A few months later

Emma knew she must've traveled more if she was there for the battle against Hydra, she just never knew when it was coming. And she was dreading it, like seeing a ghost. But at the same time, it helped her heal, knowing she would see him again, if even for brief moments.

Her first month wasn't the best, she stayed mostly in her room, ready with her bag by her feet for her to travel. Hours passed, days passed, and Emma would put on a face and go out during the day, she traveled for small missions, but would be home by nightfall. She curled up on her bed and lay down and closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down her face. She barely ate and moved, Natasha stayed by her side as much as she could and Clint, stayed in a corner, in a chair, keeping watch over her at all times.

There was one night, while in her fitful dreams, she would quietly talk in her sleep, saying Steve over and over again. She tossed and turned, pushing at the air and grasping with her fingers, almost reaching out to stop or catch Steve from falling to his death. Then she would feel the hot tears down her face as she screamed.

"Emma! Emma wake up!" Clint would call in the distance and his voice would increasingly get louder and she would jerk herself awake, realizing she was dreaming. She woke up with him hovering over her on her left and Natasha hovering on her right, both looking down at her with concerned eyes. Clint then gathered her up in his arms and let her cry, get it all out and he softly smoothed her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear, like a big brother would for his little sister who had a nightmare.

"What happened?" Natasha finally asked.

"Why did no one tell me?" Emma softly cried, "Why couldn't any of you have told me? It would've spared my feelings and saved me from this heartbreak. I would've left him alone and I would be fine without this gaping hole in my chest."

Clint and Natasha shared a look, "We couldn't. It's against time traveling law, you know that." Natasha told her.

"To hell with the law!" Emma snapped.

Clint smiled into her hair, "That's our Emma."

"We couldn't prevent your feelings, those happen naturally and we can't prevent you from falling in love. Sometimes some people are just meant to be together, no matter what odds or cost."

Clint gave a sideways look at Natasha as she spoke and caught her looking over at him and then they both quickly returned their eyes back on Emma.

"Why must it be so painful?"

"Because if it wasn't real or wasn't true, it wouldn't be this painful." Clint whispered into her hair.

Emma soon fell asleep in his arms listening to Natasha and Clint tell her about their latest mission and she fell into a quiet sleep. She would have many nights like this one but kept her calm and cool exterior when around everyone during the day.

Everyone was cautious around Emma; afraid she would crack, break, or lose her sanity. But after a few weeks of letting the mourning happen, she decided she needed to keep working, keep moving on with her life. Yet in the back of her mind and in the bottom of her soul and her heart, she knew Steve was still alive, out there, somewhere.

She used this hope to keep herself going, she would practice her abilities, visiting random times in the past, never could she manage the future, which was probably best. She worked on her combat skills and went from occasional small missions over the first month of mourning to larger, complex missions with either Natasha or Clint, both never leaving her side and being true friends.

She had a trunk filled with her and Steve's stuff from the 40's. Coulson finally told her more of the truth of how they found her and had been looking for her since her disappearance in the 40's as a child, knowing she must've been a traveler. After, the past few years of them only telling her what she needed to know until other events happened, she was finally able to see some of the files they had on her. She asked Nick if she could see the room they had for her, but he refused anyone going in there, including Coulson, Natasha, and Clint. Her SSR files were merged together with her recent S.H.I.E.L.D. ones, that is all she knew. She would look at the old USO posters of her and Steve together with Carol and Alice, some old video footage of the USO shows and even listened to her old records. This all helped to pass the time as she waited, she tried to force herself there but would go off track somewhere else in that time stream.

She one time, ended up in Howard Stark's lab in London, that ended up being an interesting conversation and one that would help her see the light again.

"Emma? Where the hell did you come from?!" Howard asked. He was working on some new prototype weapons.

"Uh, long story. Where's Steve?" She asked still holding the bag and dressed in modern clothes.

"Not here, on his way over on a plane right now with you. So again I ask; where the hell did you come from?"

Emma sighed and placed her bag down and sat on top of the table across from Howard.

"It's a long and strange story and something that you will probably enjoy."

"By the way you are dressed, I can see that," he teased with a motion towards her modern clothes. Howard crossed his arms and motioned for her to continue.

She then explained everything to him, leaving out a few details about Steve's future and had him promise not to tell anyone else. Howard promised and sat intensively while she spoke. He asked the right kind of questions throughout her tale and at the end he just got up and hugged her.

"How have you kept this secret from him for so long?" He asked.

"I don't know, but he can't ever know. It would compromise too much."

"Well, I'm impressed Emma Walker, sorry Barker. You are a lot stronger than any of us suspected. I had a weird feeling about you, a good one, when we first met at Project Rebirth. You look a lot like your mother." Emma smiled at his compliment and Howard placed a hand on her cheek, "They would be so proud of you and your work."

"I believe so." At that she started to feel light headed. "Time to go."

"Don't force yourself to see him, let your instincts just go and they will take you to where you need to go. You will see him again in time, I'm sure." Howard said as a final word of advice and she kissed him on the cheek.

"My new mission is to find a good woman for you playboy Stark, you got too good a heart to keep to yourself." Emma vowed and then kind of laughed. Was she just about to help shape Howard Stark's future and find Tony's mom? Maybe…

At that she disappeared and arrived back in her room, only a few moments had passed.

Natasha walked in and shook her head, "You need to get moving! We have to get you out of this place."

"I know, I know! But I did just spend some time with Howard Stark, if that helps."

Natasha just shook her head, "Not the most comforting words. How did that go?"

"Pretty good. It was kind of in the middle of my time stream in the 40's, so I had to explain some things to him."

Natasha gave her a glare, "You did not…" Emma just sighed as she trailed off, "What was I supposed to do Nat? Just let him think he had gone crazy by me suddenly appearing out of nowhere in his lab?"

Natasha nodded her head, "Okay, valid point and at least now you have an ally there who understands you. But you must never let any of this be known to Steve!"

"So, what's our newest mission?" Natasha smiled at her and just tossed the file at her.

"We are to keep an eye on a group of scientists in New York who have suddenly come back from space with interesting abilities."

"Oh, sounds like a fun case for us!"

"Yeah, that's what they are thinking. I meanwhile feel it's a media stunt for Victor Von Doom, he is the dramatic type."

"Did you have some run in's with him in Russia?"

"Latveria is close, so you could say so." Natasha made a face, "He's a bit too much of a slimy character for my taste, too manipulative with words. But I was able to crack him for a case I was doing."

"Is Clint coming?"

"Not on this one, he has another trail to follow, something about a terrorist group in the Middle East? Not sure of the details."

Just as Emma was starting to pack another bag, she started to feel the sensation again, she grabbed her packed bag from the 40's and quickly said goodbye to Natasha.

"Why do I have to do a stakeout mission alone? Especially on four people?" Natasha yelled to no one in particular. "COULSON!" She yelled as she left Emma's room.

Emma felt the sensation fall away and found herself in London in 1943. She checked the date on a newspaper, it was November 3rd, 1943. The kickoff show of their international tour was that night!

Emma scanned the paper to find which theater their show was in and quickly left and found the theater. She found a store nearby and changed into her costume and went in the Stage Door. She saw hustle and bustle of everyone getting ready for a dress rehearsal and Jimmy turned and saw her.

"Emma?! Welcome back!"

"Thanks, sorry I left on short notice a few weeks ago."

"It's fine, David found a replacement for you, but he wants to move her to Chorus anyway, he's not a fan of her voice. I'll let him know you are here."

Jimmy left and then Emma heard the one voice she had missed the most.

"Emma?" She turned to see Steve at the end of the hall looking surprised.

"Steve!" Tears filled her eyes as she dropped her bag and ran to him and leapt into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck tight and kissing him. He was caught off guard but returned the kiss.

As she pulled away, he gave a nervous laugh, "I missed you too." Emma just smiled into his neck as the tears kept falling.

"I'm sorry I left, I got called away. But I missed you so much and was so glad when I got relieved to come back and be with you."

Steve smiled into her hair and rubbed her back as he still held her in his arms. "It's alright, duty calls and I'm just glad you are here now."

"Emma! You're back!" David called and she and Steve broke apart as he came towards her, "Thank God, the new girl Maria was not the best singer, but still a sweet girl. You can have your spot back and we will put her in the chorus."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that!" Emma said feeling bad for the poor girl.

"No, please! I can't do it anymore, I just want to dance!" Emma turned around at the sound of the voice and saw a beautiful raven haired woman come down the steps. She had long curly black hair and bright green eyes and pale porcelain skin, she was stunning but she could see the stress in her face.

"Alright, then I will take my spot back." Emma said and Maria hugged Emma and thanked her.

"I'm Maria by the way," She said pulling out of the hug.

"Emma, it's nice to meet you."

At that they went off to rehearsal. Emma saw in the back of the theater Howard come in and he looked surprised to see her and then smiled and she smiled and waved back. Once finished, she ran down to greet him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"My job, your advice worked, it just happened naturally. What are you doing here?" Emma asked curious.

"I was asked to bring over the show locations for the next few days, the troops have moved and they want you to know where they are."

Howard then looked distracted as he handed her the paper and looked over her shoulder. Emma turned to see what he was staring at and saw Maria dancing and warming up. The light bulb went off in her head and she turned back to Howard with a grin.

"Remember how I said I'd find you a good woman?"

Howard returned his attention to her and raised an eyebrow, "Yes…"

Emma turned and pointed her hand towards Maria, "Meet Maria, your newest date." And she dragged him up to introduce him.

"Maria, I want you to meet a friend of mine." Emma announced going over to her and Steve meandered towards them to see what was going on. "Maria, this is Howard Stark. Howard this is Maria…"

"Maria Hudson, it's an honor and a pleasure to meet you Mr. Stark," She replied with a coy smile.

"It certainly is a pleasure meeting you as well Miss Hudson."

Emma couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips, "Steve, Howard and I are grabbing dinner later and we were wondering if you wanted to join us? As a sort of thank you for letting me have my spot back."

Maria finally turned her attention back to Emma, "What? Oh, yes, that sounds wonderful."

"Great, we will see you after the show tonight for dinner."

At that Emma left Howard and Maria alone. Steve wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulders, "What are you up to?"

"Just playing matchmaker to my friends."

After the show that evening, Emma changed into her red and white polka-dot dress and threw on her khaki trench coat and headed down the steps and greeted Steve with a soft kiss.

"You look beautiful," he complimented. Emma gave him a sweet smile and thanked him. "I'm just so glad you are back." Her smile turned sour and Steve gave her a concerned look.

"I could be called to duty at any time Steve, just know that and if I leave without any warning or word, please understand, it's not my intention to hurt you."

Steve took her face in his hands, "I understand, there's no reason to explain to me. It's sadly part of the job."

At that moment Maria came down the steps to end that conversation. She looked stunning in a dark green dress, which accented her beautiful skin, eyes, and hair perfectly. They all walked to the pub where they were meeting Howard for dinner.

Needless to say, Howard hit it off wonderfully with Maria. They discussed everything that evening between the four of them. Well, almost everything, Howard kept his word and kept Emma's secret safe. Emma watched how Howard looked at Maria, he looked at her the way all women want to be looked at by a man. Emma turned and saw that same look in Steve's eyes and she smiled at him but held back the painful tears that threatened to fall.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked noticing her sudden mood change.

"Oh, nothing, I'm just tired." Emma quickly responded.

"We should all go dancing. I know this wonderful little nightclub down the street, you would love it there," Howard spoke up and gave Maria a grin.

"I think we'll pass," Steve politely said and gave Emma a smile.

"Aww, come on Rogers, it will be fun. Emma, talk him into going," Howard pleaded with Emma.

"It's alright, Howard I'm feeling a bit tired. We might just head back to the hotel. You two go have fun."

Howard gave a small smile and nodded his head, "Alright, have a good night you two." At that he got up, helped Maria with her chair and held his hand out for her and they left.

"So, was that your match making skills or do you really not want to go dancing?" Emma asked Steve.

"A bit of both." He grinned as he took one last sip of his beer.

"Why don't you want to go dancing? I could muster up some energy to go." Emma asked and then she saw him blush, "That's right you said you didn't know how to dance some time ago. I remember that conversation."

"I've been waiting for the right partner."

Emma smiled at that, "Do you think I'm the right partner?"

He smiled up at her and his blue eyes sparkled with amusement, "You did promise to teach me,"

"I did, didn't I? Well, I should hold true to that promise." Emma got up and went to the live radio and changed it to a slow song and couples around them got up and went to dance. Emma went over to meet Steve standing by their table.

"First step is you take my right hand in yours," She demonstrated and felt the all too familiar warmth of his hand in hers. "Then you place your left hand on my waist here," Emma placed his hand on her waist and she saw a small blush creep onto his cheeks as she placed her hand on his right shoulder. "See, now we have mastered how to start the dance, now we just follow the music. It's very simple, just listen and let the music be your guide."

Steve gave a blush and looked at his feet and then back at Emma, "But how do I do that, which foot starts? How do I know I won't step on your feet?"

Emma smiled and realized they were standing very far apart, "Well, you need to feed off of your partner and you can't really do that with us standing like there is another person between us. So pull me closer to you."

Steve gently pulled her closer until there was barely enough room for a hand between the two of them. She just stared into Steve's eyes and felt the warmth between the two of them grow. Emma became weak at the way he softly smiled at her and his eyes became a darker blue, she couldn't find words to continue the lesson and suddenly Steve was softly and deeply kissing her lips. He pulled her flush against his body as he let the kiss linger and she felt the passion behind his kiss, something she had never seen or felt before.

Steve pulled out of the kiss and held her face in his hands and gave a small smile, "I love you Emma."

Emma smiled, "I love you Steve." This was the first time they had said these words to each other and she couldn't believe how much a relief it was to finally say them, when she thought her moment had been lost before.

Then the images of Steve crashing to the ground and she heard his voice in her head.

"I've got to put her in the water…a lot of people are going to die…"

Suddenly loud air raid sirens broke her out of her daze and Steve was calling her name faintly in the distance.

She shook her head and he was still holding her in his arms, "Emma? We have to go, are you okay?" He had a concerned look on his face, "Why are you crying?" He wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I'm fine just a mix of emotions, so happy being with you but scared of the sirens." She partially lied, she wasn't scared of the sirens, she was scared of the future. Scared of how those sirens had sounded like a plane crashing and falling out of the sky.

Steve hugged her close, "I'll protect you, I promise, let's just get out of here and to our hotel for shelter."

As they quickly walked back, Emma started to feel lightheaded. She held her head as she swayed on the spot outside their hotel.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Steve grabbed her around the waist to hold her upright.

"I'm fine, just all the sudden not feeling well. I think I will just head up to my room. I had a wonderful time tonight." Emma said.

Steve nodded his head, "Let me escort you up."

They took the stairs due to the air raid drill and when they finally reached her room, Emma knew she only had mere minutes.

"Steve, tonight was one of the greatest nights and I want you to know, I love you so much."

"I love you too, it feels wonderful to say that now." Emma couldn't help but smile at that.

"I meant to tell you at dinner, but I wanted to wait for the right time, I was called back for a mission and I will be gone again." Steve's face fell a little but he nodded his head knowing it was her duty.

"How long this time?"

"I'm not sure, but I will see you soon ." She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Get some rest and be safe."

"I will."

"I love you Emma."

"I love you Steve."

And with that Emma slipped into room and grabbed her bag on her bed and closed her eyes before the dizziness became unbearable.

She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a sidewalk in New York City.

"Watch it lady!" Some guy shouted pushing past her, no one even noticing she had appeared out of nowhere.

Oh dear God, what year is it?! Emma panicked, she started to walk away but turned around and ran into a man who wrapped his arms around her to catch her.

"Whoa beautiful, you got to watch where you are going."

Emma's head snapped up at the strangely familiar voice and found Steve holding her. Or she thought it was Steve, but he had short buzzed hair and bright green eyes.

She quickly pushed out of his arms in shock and felt her stomach churn. The man looked concerned at her act.

"Look I'm not trying to hurt you," he said reaching out for her and she shook her head not believing his voice or his looks or herself.

"Johnny! Come on!" A woman's voice called behind Emma. Emma looked back at the man who still was giving her concerned and strange looks.

I'm Hallucinating now, I need to get to Nick and Coulson.

She quickly pushed past him but nearly toppled over in the busy, crowded street until a hand grabbed hers and pulled her into the alleyway.

"Emma what the hell are you doing?!" Nat hissed at her, "You just nearly cost us our mission, well my mission since you disappeared on me two hours ago!"

Emma then broke down into tears and fell into Nat's arms and she held her close, knowing it was the only thing she could do now. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Who was that man I just ran into? Was that who was your mission?" Emma asked through her tears looking up at Nat with a panicked expression.

"Yes it was and you nearly cost the mission by showing up and then freaking out in front of him. That was Johnny Storm, Susan Storm's brother, he's part of the four scientists who were travelling with Victor Von Doom."

Emma shook her head, "Why did he look like Steve? Am I hallucinating?"

Nat then really looked at her pale face, tear filled eyes, and worried expression and felt for her friend. "He did a little but why are you so worried?"

"I'm afraid my powers are taking control of me, that was one of the side effects of traveling too much, or at least that's what Nick said."

Nat rolled her eyes, "Nick says only things like that so you don't abuse your power. It's okay, you are not hallucinating. But you do need rest, let's get you home and I'm calling a different team in for this case, we need a more specialized science team for this."

"What did you find out?" Emma asked as they walked to the car.

"They had some sort of radiation I'm guessing because they suddenly have different molecular powers, but I don't know for sure. It's not my area. But honestly, I'm more worried about you right now. Let's get you home."

Nat wrapped an arm around Emma's shoulders and held her friends close, she was the closest thing she had to a sister and she was going to take care of her, no matter what.