Rewritten 2018

Make You Feel My Love ~Book II~

Disclaimer: I do not own The Winter Soldier movie! All rights go to Marvel. All I own is my own characters and their stories.

~Chapter 18~
Surviving

"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."

"Steve…" whispered Maria, her eyes widening in fear as the three of them turned back to the elevator doors, seeing them being slowly closed off by two large, metal barriers.

In desperation, Steve threw his shield at the closing metal doors, trying to stop them from closing with the help from his shield. Since it was made out of Vibranium, the strongest metal on Earth, it could hinder two doors from closing easily if it was placed between them in time. However, he was too late and the doors closed just a few seconds before his shield hit them.

"We're trapped," stated Maria as she looked around the room, seeing no one other exit. Steve remained silent, his from the way his eyebrows twitched in annoyance when he caught his shield again as it ricocheted back towards him, she knew he was worried about the situation.

"Guys, we've got a bogey," said Natasha from behind them.

The two of them turned around, watching her as she stared at her phone.

"Short range ballistic. 50 seconds top," said Natasha, earning a frightened look from Maria.

They were trapped and there was no way out of there. Even though they were deep down underneath the ground, the house above them was still going to be hit and fall down on them. They were still going to die.

"Who fired it?" asked Steve, shifting so he was standing close to Maria.

"SHIELD," reported Natasha, which didn't really surprise Maria as much as it probably should have.

"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain." Natasha quickly grabbed the USB-stick from the desk, unplugging it from Zola for safekeeping in case they got out. Clearly, SHIELD still wanted it badly. Frantically, the two of them looked around the room, trying to find somewhere to cover from the imminent blast. It was the first thing each SHIELD agent was taught to do, even if there might not be a way for them to survive.

"Admit it. It's better this way." Maria stared down at the floor, starting to shake. She didn't want it to end like this; in a place where no one would find her ever again. "We are, both of us, out of time."

Then, suddenly, her eyes caught sight of something that had saved her life earlier that day as well. A grate-opening. As quickly as she could, she made her way towards it before letting herself fall down in front of it, trying her best to open it. However, it was too tightly shut and she couldn't open it with her own strength. Luckily, Steve had understood her plan and without even flinching slightly, he opened the grate, letting Natasha enter first.

Taking Steve's hand, she prepared herself to jump down at the same time as Steve. However, Zola's words hindered her from doing so:

"As for little Dalton… My condolences to your father. I am sure he would have wanted to meet you one last time."

"What?" asked Maria, her gaze shooting up at the computer again.

"Jump, Maria!" exclaimed Steve, pushing her down into the grate where Natasha caught her.

When Steve entered the grate, he immediately placed the shield over himself, Natasha and Maria, who were currently huddled up in a corner. They hugged each other as tightly as possible in order to make it possible for Steve to shield them all. The last thing Maria noticed before everything around her started to shake, was Steve grabbing her hand softly.

"… My condolences to your father..."

"You're special, baby-girl…"

Maria looked up at her dad with big eyes... Her head was resting on a comfortable pillow and even though it felt nice to be tucked in by her daddy for once, something was wrong. He looked sadder than usual.

"Don't let anyone else tell you any different," he said, stroking away a strand of hair from her face. "Daddy has to go away again tomorrow."

"For how long?"

He looked down at his hands before a smile appeared on his lips. Maria was too young to see just how forced that very smile was, and so, she smiled back.

"I don't know just yet, baby-girl," he said. "But I will see you again soon."

"… I am sure he would have wanted to meet you one last time…"

"Maria… Maria!"

Something was tugging on her shoulder, causing her to look away from her father and up towards the ceiling. Slowly, the dream faded away and she was thrust back into reality, a sigh escaping her lips.

"We have to go," said Steve, his face suddenly appearing before her. "SHIELD's going to come searching for our bodies."

"We're not dead…" slurred Maria, sitting up though regretting the action immediately as her entire world spun, her last meal nearly coming back up.

"You okay?" asked Steve, placing his hands on either side of her face, looking into her eyes. "You've got a concussion. Can you stand?"

"Yeah," breathed Maria, looking over at Natasha who was lying next to her, unconscious. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know," said Steve, shifting so he was crouched down in front of Natasha. "We need to move."

"Carry her," said Maria, placing her hands on a piece of rock next to her before heaving herself up into a standing position. "I'll walk."

Artur walked through the rubble that was left from the facility Maria, the Captain and Romanoff had been in. In his hands, a heavy weapon rested and his eyes flickered back and forth, desperately searching for any sign of Maria. If he found her first, maybe he could hide her from the others.

He stopped walking, closing his eyes. If he hid Maria from Hydra, he'd end up getting himself killed once they found out; and Hydra always found out. Was the girl really worth his life? After all, she'd hurt him just as much as he probably had hurt her. He felt confused. Lost. Trapped.

But yes, in his eyes, she was worth saving. Although… he wasn't sure he was up to the task. She most likely wouldn't even go with him again after what he had done to her. But it was what he had needed to do to get her away from Hydra. She had needed to get away from him.

A sigh escaped his lips as he reopened his eyes again, continuing the search. Maria was smart and almost always lucky, she would already be gone along with her friends. At least, that was what he hoped for. If anyone found Maria, they'd ask him to kill her. After all, he was the one with the mission to kill Target B. The others were all there for Target A and his accomplice, Romanoff.

"Call in the asset," said Rumlow suddenly from next to Artur, his hand on his earpiece.

"The Winter Soldier? We really need him for this?" asked Artur, his heart sinking.

"Don't worry," said Rumlow, glaring over at Artur. "He'll be briefed about who needs to kill Target B."

Her head already felt better and she felt just as surprised about that as the fact that they had managed to sneak past the Hydra agents without them noticing. Of course she knew about her healing abilities by now, but it still surprised her every single time. They had managed to get to their stolen truck without being noticed and the engines starting had barely been heard over the sound of the helicopters that had been searching the rubble from the air. Maria found them rather stupid, not having noticed them, yet she didn't dwell on it.

Maria was positioned in the front seat, next to Steve, while Natasha was lying in the back, still unconscious. She was alright, except for a few cuts and bruises, but she was still asleep and neither Steve nor Maria had managed to awaken her.

"Thank you," said Maria quietly, leaning her head back against the seat, watching the road ahead of them.

"For what?" asked Steve, glancing over at her.

"Saving us."

"It was nothing," said Steve, an eerie silence filling the truck before Steve continued talking; "You know… I don't mind it."

Maria turned her head to look at him, a frown on her face.

"Your past. I mean… Even if you knew-"

"I didn't."

"- it still doesn't change my feelings for you," he said, glancing once more over at her before focusing on the road again. "You're not a bad person. Besides… technically, I've been working for Hydra as well."

A soft smile appeared on Maria's lips as he spoke, the ache in her heart slowly fading and being replaced by a warm feeling instead. A feeling of admiration and love.

"Thank you…" said Maria quietly, reaching out a hand to him which she placed on his arm.

Quickly, Steve removed one hand from the wheel, instead grabbing her hand in his own hand and squeezing it tightly.

"I'd be lost without you, Maria… Really, I would," he said, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles as he spoke. "When I saw you lying there in the rubble, unconscious and not moving… I thought I'd failed you. I thought I'd lost you. I've never felt that fear ever before."

"You're not going to lose me, Steve," said Maria, tears appearing in her eyes. "Not ever. 'Cause I love you."

He looked over at her, a smile playing on his lips.

"Steve?" asked Maria quietly, Steve humming a yes in reply. "The road."

"Shit!" exclaimed Steve, letting go of Maria's hand and quickly steering the truck back onto the road, it having nearly driven off it.

"Steve Grant Rogers! Did you just swear?" exclaimed Maria as she laughed at him.

"Well, you do have a bad influence on me," he replied, causing her to gasp and hit his arm playfully which only caused Steve to chuckle.

"Guys, can you not?" groaned Natasha from the back seat, Maria immediately turning around in her seat.

"What?" asked Maria, watching her sit up.

"Flirt. I mean, it's great that you are done fighting but…" said Natasha letting the sentence hang in the air to which Steve only smirked.

Maria smiled; "How are you?"

"I've been worse." Natasha brushed the question off. "How'd we get out?"

"Steve carried you past the agents looking for us," said Maria, earning a nod from Natasha.

"And now?" she asked.

Both Maria and Steve shared a look, realizing that they hadn't spoken about it yet. Where could they go? What could they do? All unanswered questions.

"Well, the first thing we need is a plan," said Steve, causing Maria to shake her head.

"The first thing we need is a place to regain our strength," said Maria, turning back in her seat.

"Well, anyone got any friends left?" asked Natasha, leaning against the back of Maria's seat.

"Stark could work," mused Maria. "Or I have a friend in Hell's Kitchen who could help us."

Steve frowned, shaking his head; "If we drag Stark into this, we're only going to start a war. Who knows how he'll react to all of this."

"You don't think he already knows?" asked Maria.

"SHIELD's good at keeping things a secret. I highly doubt Hydra isn't just as good," said Natasha.

"If not better," added Steve.

"Who's your friend in Hell's Kitchen?" asked Natasha, causing Maria to widen her eyes.

Matt's identity was a secret to the Avengers and SHIELD. The both of them wanted it to stay like that and even though he was a very good option to go to and rest at, since no one really knew him or that Maria was associated with him, she didn't want to risk him being exposed to Hydra.

"No," breathed Maria, shaking her head. "He might not be able to help…"

"I know someone," said Steve.

"Who?" asked Natasha.

Steve looked over at Maria for a while before looking back at the road; "Sam Wilson."

"Should we really get him involved in this?" asked Maria with a sigh.

"Do we have any other choice?"

"Hey, man." Sam looked at the three heroes standing on his porch, seeming slightly confused. Most likely because it was quite surprising to suddenly find three members of the Avengers suddenly standing on ones porch. And probably also because Natasha, Maria and Steve were all covered in dirt and looked more than ready to pass out from exhaustion.

"Sorry about this. We need a place to lay low," said Steve.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," added Natasha, a sympathetic look washing over Sam's face, causing Maria to feel relief flow through her body. That look meant only one thing; he had already sided with them – not that he was associated with Hydra… but, one could never know.

"Not everyone," he said before stepping aside, letting the three heroes inside.

He shut the curtains on each window, making sure each door was locked, before turning to the three heroes who were now all standing in his kitchen, simply watching him. He inspected them for a while before opening his mouth; "You three look about done. The spare room's just down the hall. There's a bathroom too you can use."

"Thank you," said Maria, earning a nod from Sam before the three of them made their way to the spare room.

Sam's house was cozy. It was nothing special, just like her and Steve's apartment, yet it still held this warm and comfortable aura around it. Of course, that could only be because Maria truly needed a break. Even a cave far away from everything happening would've felt welcoming to her.

The spare room was a simple, smaller room. It held two small beds, each positioned against opposite walls, and a closet. There were a few paintings decorating the walls though apart from that, there was nothing else in the room. As Natasha immediately made her way inside the bathroom, Maria let herself fall down on the bed to the left, letting out a long breath as the softness of the bed made her entire body relax.

She felt the bed shift underneath someone else's weight and as she looked up to see who it was, she saw Steve sitting there. He was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and a relieved look on his face. Maria watched him for a while, understanding how tired he must feel after such a weird couple of days. First, he found out that Hydra still existed even after he had basically given his life to stop them, then he found out that SHIELD was basically completely corrupted and then, he was nearly killed by SHIELD; or Hydra.

Softly, Maria shifted forwards so that her head was resting in his lap. She grabbed his hand, holding it in hers before kissing his knuckles, looking up at him to see his reaction. He was smiling down at her, his head still resting against the wall.

His eyes glistened as he watched her smile. With his free hand, he brushed his fingers through her silken hair as she let go of his other hand, closing her eyes as she simply let herself enjoy the feeling of him playing with her hair. It was just what the two of them needed; some alone time. And once Natasha exited the bathroom fifteen minutes later, they were still positioned in the same way, causing the ex-assassin to smile slightly.