A/N: Some adventure in this one.

Life continued as normal until one day, as Amanda was sitting at a cafe waiting for Steve, she was approached by a man in a trench coat. "Excuse me Miss Hale," he said, sitting down across from her. "I'm from SHIELD."

"Can I see some ID?" she asked suspiciously. SHIELD agents didn't go in for trench coats. They wore suits.

He handed her an ID and she looked at it closely. Clint had showed her the difference between a real and a fake, and this was fake. She swallowed hard. Don't panic. Don't panic. Steve will be here. Just keep him talking. "What's this about?" she asked, handing the ID back.

"SHIELD is very interested in your relationship with Captain Rogers," he said. "Can you tell me how that's going for you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how that's any of your business. What was your name again?"

"Mr. Davis."

SHIELD always introduces itself as Agent. "Well, Mr. Davis why didn't you go to Mr. Barton or Ms. Romanoff? They have plenty of details."

"We wanted it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

"I believe you're sitting in my seat," said Steve, in his best 'who-do-you-think-you-are-and-what-are-you-doing-within-three-feet-of-my-girl,' voice. He held out a hand to the intimidated Mr. Davis. "Steve Rogers," he said dangerously, squeezing the man's hand painfully. "And you are?"

"Um, I'm, ah, you know what? I'll let you two enjoy your breakfast." He got up awkwardly.

Amanda reached out and snagged something from his pocket. "Ahem. I didn't know SHIELD carries reporter mics in their pockets."

Mr. Davis paled.

"He introduced himself as SHIELD?" Steve asked, eyes narrowing. He grabbed the man's arm. "Impersonating a SHIELD agent is a federal offense," he said. "Let's go outside." He called Natasha, who was scarier than any other SHIELD agent, and as they put Mr. Davis in the car, he leaned over and said, "If you ever try to get to me through my girl, you will regret it." He slammed the door and walked away.

"Everything okay?" Amanda asked, when he came back inside.

He nodded. "A-ok," he said, sitting down.

She reached out to hold his hand, and rubbed her thumb over his white-knuckled grip. "Hey," she said, "you want to get out of here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They left the cafe and walked along the streets, his arm around her waist possessively. "Hey," she said, shoving him lightly, getting him to look at her. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her, shame-faced, and admitted, "I don't know. I just got insanely jealous when I saw him sitting with you. And angry that he would try and use you."

She stretched out on her tip-toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. "You have nothing to be jealous about," she promised him seriously. "I love you, no one else."

"I know," he said, hugging her. "I love you too."

She smiled. "Come on then. Let's go on a gallery walk."

They visited a few galleries that day, and came back to the Tower relaxed and happy.

-A-a-A-

It wasn't two weeks later that Amanda was abducted. One minute, she was asleep in her room, the next, she was being shaken awake by rough hands. "What-" she started, but a slap to the face made her whimper and freeze. She felt groggy, sick to her stomach.

"Silence," a heavily-accented voice said, and pulled her out of the tiny cot.

She swallowed hard and looked at her surroundings, trying to stop the spinning in her head. It was a dusty, grimy old cellar with a tiny cot and no windows. It was cold. She was manhandled down a hallway and into another room, where there was a chair and a video camera set up. She felt a cold chill run down her spine.

"Sit," the man said, shoving her into the chair so hard her teeth rattled, and he punched her in the face. He turned on the video camera and trained it on the gasping and shaking Amanda. "Avengers," he said. "As you can see we have Captain America's girlfriend," the word was a sneer, "in our grasp. She has been quite a submissive guest so far." He zoomed in. "Say hello to our friends," he ordered sharply.

Amanda lifted her head, wiping the blood off her mouth. "Please, stop this," she whimpered, trying to be strong and hating herself when she couldn't. The world rolled around her and she pressed a hand to her temple, trying to keep it together. She received a cuff to the side of the head and curled up into a miserable little ball.

"That was a warning," the man told her darkly. He returned behind the camera. "We will make a deal. The girl, for Captain America. Trade one lovebird for the other. You have twelve hours. Any attempt to recover the girl, well, it won't be pretty." He turned off the video camera, came over, and handcuffed one of her hands to the chair. He scowled at her, and left.

Amanda took a deep breath and wiped the blood off the corner of her mouth. Steve would find her. He was Captain America. He had the Avengers. He would find her.

-A-a-A-

The video arrived the day after she'd been abducted.

Steve called Amanda twice that day to see if she wanted to hang out. "She must be working," he said, frowning as he hung up the second call.

"Well, everybody's gotta make a living," Tony said, patting him on the shoulder.

JARVIS spoke up. "Sir, I believe the Avengers should assemble in the living room."

"What's wrong?" Tony asked, as they all went into the living room.

JARVIS put the video up without a word and let it play.

Steve went pale as soon as he saw the trembling form of Amanda, and he gritted his teeth.

They were absolutely silent as they watched the video and as soon as it ended they were in an uproar. "JARV, track that video, when was it sent, guys, suit up, right now!"

JARVIS had the location for them within ten minutes and they were in the jet in five. Steve nearly crushed the frame of the seats in his anxiety.

"Hey Cap, calm down," Clint said. "Bruce is this close to Hulking out on us as it is, you need to keep it calm."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "They have my girl. I am perfectly calm. I will continue to be calm until she is safe."

"Okay, that's good. Keep it together."

-A-a-A-

Amanda was back in the room with the cot. Besides the trip from one room to the other, no one had come to get her. So she curled up in the corner of the cot with her back against the wall and tried to think happy thoughts. It was mostly thoughts of Steve. Steve, and food. A giant hamburger and fries was all she wanted right now. She was so groggy and dizzy though, she knew she was probably delirious. Or dying. That would make her hamburger her last meal. She wondered if Russians did that for their hostages.

She was half-asleep when she heard the sounds of gunfire and fighting. She uncurled from her little ball cautiously and waited. She heard a familiar shout, and grinned. "Steve!" she called, and heard a few satisfying thunks.

The door flew open, and Captain America rushed in, in all his uniformed glory. "Amanda!" he said, the relief radiating from him in waves. He gathered her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head, clinging to his broad chest fiercely, nearly sobbing in relief. "I'm okay, I'm fine. You came for me."

"Of course I did," he soothed.

"Cap, what's the situation?" Tony asked, knocking out a wall.

"I've got her, we're coming up."

"We've got you covered," Clint said. "Go."

Steve hustled Amanda out of the room, down the hallway, and up the stairs. As they emerged into the bright sun, he realized awkwardly that she was only dressed in a thin tank top and a pair of cotton pajama shorts, and nothing else. He wrapped an arm around her and led her to the jet, where Bruce was waiting. The Hulk hadn't been needed for this little adventure, so Dr. Banner was standing by with the med kit and other supplies. He took in Amanda's shivering state and produced a thick SHIELD-issue blanket.

"Here," Steve said, wrapping it around Amanda's shoulders and sitting her down in the jet. He knelt in front of her, keeping tight hold of her hand, while Banner checked her vitals and the rest of the team finished with the Russians.

"She's dehydrated and hasn't slept or eaten two days, maybe three," Bruce said quietly. "She's still showing signs of drug-induced disorientation and her body's going into shock. Whatever they drugged her with was enough for an elephant. I'm amazed she's even awake."

"We can't take her back to her apartment," Clint said, reading off the report. "It's not secure, and they trashed it."

Steve glanced at Tony.

Tony nodded.

"Okay. Let's get back to the tower." Steve went to sit next to her and wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly, feeling the trembling of her body. "You're safe. It's over." He smoothed her hair away from her forehead and caught sight of a nasty gash near her hairline. His eyes narrowed. "Bruce," he said quietly.

Bruce cleaned the wound and pressed a bandage to her head. "Keep her awake," he instructed.

"Hey," Steve said, touching Amanda's cheek gently. "Amanda? Can you hear me, love?"

"I'm awake," she muttered, burrowing into the blanket for comfort.

"That's good." He gave her a light kiss. "When we get to the tower you can take a nice hot shower and put on some clean clothes. Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she replied, closing her eyes wearily. "I wanna hamburger."

"And we'll get you one," Steve promised.

They got to the Tower and he carried her into the designated guest room. He let Natasha help her shower and change, and when Natasha came out, she looked solemn. "She's asleep," Natasha informed them, dropping onto the couch next to Clint. "She was barely conscious anyway, I think we're going to have to let her just sleep it off."

Bruce nodded. "And as soon as she wakes up we need to get some food and water in her," he said. "Steve, you got that?"

"Yeah." He headed back to Amanda's room, and paused in the doorway. "Thank you, guys," he said.

"Hey, she's your girl," Tony said. "You'd do the same if it was Pepper. We protect our own."

Steve nodded, and entered the bedroom. He found Amanda passed out under the covers, her clean wet hair spread out on the pillow. He pulled a chair over next to her bed and sat down.

"Steve?" she mumbled, an hour or so later.

"I'm right here, honey," he said, taking her hand.

She tugged him closer. "Cold," she whimpered, turning towards him.

"I'll get you a blanket," he said, trying to let go of her hand.

"Stay," she mumbled, tugging him closer. "Cuddle." She gave a little sleepy sigh. "Steve."

He realized she wasn't even awake, and smiled in spite of himself. He lay down on top of the covers and wrapped an arm around her. She burrowed into his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you," he said softly.

"Mmm," she said happily in her sleep-state.

-A-a-A-

He must have fallen asleep himself, and he woke up when Amanda started to move. He tightened his grip reflexively, and then let her go. She rolled over, stretched, yawned, and opened one eye to stare at him blearily. "Steve," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her a little awkwardly.

"Why are you-" She stopped and her face acquired a stricken expression. Her fingers moved up to touch the bandage on her head. "That was all real wasn't it?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"I thought I was dreaming."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But you saved me," she said, her breath tickling his ear. "You came and got me, like you promised. Thank you."

He kissed her lightly. "Always," he promised, hugging her tightly.

She relaxed in his arms and almost seemed to go to sleep again. "I'm hungry," she finally said, a few minutes later.

He laughed. "Let me guess, a hamburger and fries."

"How'd you know?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

She blushed crimson and hid her face. "That's embarrassing."

"It was actually adorable," he corrected her. He sat up and scooped her out of the bed. "Come on. I'm pretty sure Tony brought food." He led her out.

"We're at Stark Tower?"

"Yes."

"What happened to my apartment?"

He winced. He'd seen the pictures. "They, ah, broke all the windows, ripped the furniture, blew up the microwave, and torched the studio."

She let out an indignant squeak. "What? Where am I going to stay?"

"Here with us," Steve said promptly.

"Oh, I couldn't-"

"Yes, you can," Tony interrupted, from the kitchen. "If you don't I'm pretty sure Steve would kill me. And then Pepper would be sad."

"I would," Pepper said, nodding.

"Please," Steve said, giving her a pleading expression.

She couldn't resist those honest blue eyes. "Fine," she said, with a sigh. "Thank you guys."

"Don't mention it," Tony said. "No really, don't. I hate sentimentality."

Steve waited on her hand and foot, and after she ate the Big Mac and the fries, she fell asleep on the couch, her head resting on his chest.

"Say cheese," Pepper said, snapping a picture of the couple on her phone. "Aw, you guys are so cute."

"I'm not cute," Steve protested.

"Yeah, you are," Clint said, grinning. "All, over-protective cuddly boyfriend over there."

"Whatever."

They put on a movie, and Amanda woke up when they started arguing over plot holes. She joined in the argument, gladly, and it was resolved with a piece of duct tape over Tony's mouth.

Halfway through the movie, Amanda started to tremble again. She laid her head on Steve's shoulder, feeling sick. "Steve," she said, his name catching in her throat. That was all she could say, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she started to shake violently.

"Amanda!" He caught her before she slid off the couch. "Guys!"

Bruce took over immediately. "Lay her on her side on the floor," he said. "Don't let her head fall. JARVIS, call SHIELD, have them ready to receive a medical emergency." He looked at her eyes, felt her pulse, and swore under his breath. "She's having some sort of seizure; I don't know what caused it. Maybe the drug they injected her with."

"I thought it all wore off," Tony said, holding a pale Pepper.

"I thought so too."

"What do we do?" Steve asked desperately, holding her down so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"We can't do anything," Bruce said. "We have to ride it out."

Those were the longest ten minutes of Steve's life, and he nearly cried in relief when she finally slumped, boneless, onto the carpet, her jaw falling slack. He gathered her in his arms and smoothed her hair out of her face gently.

"Now what?" Clint asked, shaken. He'd had to literally sit on Amanda's knees to keep her from kicking and hurting herself.

"We get her to the hospital," Bruce said firmly. "We need to run blood work and a scan, and I need a copy of her medical files to see if she's allergic to anything."

They got her to SHIELD HQ in record time, and by the time they got there Tony had her complete medical history. "No history of seizures and no record of any drug allergies," he reported, handing it to Bruce.

"Okay." Bruce followed the gurney into the med bay. "Steve, you have to stay out here."

"No."

Bruce sighed, knowing it was no use to argue. "Come on then."

They drew two vials of blood, hooked her up to an IV of electrolytes, and put in a heart monitor and brain activity monitor as well. Steve sat beside the bed and held her hand.

She woke up an hour later, groggy, and completely disoriented. "Where, what, who?" she asked, slurring slightly.

"Hey," Steve said, squeezing her hand slightly. "It's okay. You had a seizure in the living room, remember? We brought you to the hospital. We're at SHIELD right now."

She blinked at him. Her whole brain felt fuzzy and her tongue felt thick. "Who are you?" she asked.

Steve's heart dropped into his stomach. "I'm Steve Rogers," he said, gently, giving her an encouraging smile. "You remember me, right?"

"Steve," she breathed, closing her eyes. "My Steve..."

"Yes," he said, pleased. "Do you remember your name?"

"'manda," she said.

"Good job." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Bruce came in to check on her. "Hey, there she is," he said, smiling at her and pulling out a pocket light. "Can you open your eyes?"

She winced away from the light and screwed her eyes shut. "Ow, whassat, a spotlight?" she asked, still slurring her words.

"Sorry." To Steve, he mouthed, "photosensitivity." He checked her temperature. "How do you feel, Amanda? Any dizziness, shakiness, disorientation?"

"Yes," she said.

"Which one?"

"All."

"Okay." He gave her an encouraging smile. "Hang in there."

"I'll be right back," Steve told her, and pulled Bruce into the hallway. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded.

Bruce took a deep breath. "All signs point to some sort of severe poisoning," he said. "We're testing, but it seems like some sort of metal poisoning."

"Was it something they did to her?"

"Probably."

Steve clenched his fists. "I'm going to go talk to the one we brought in."

Bruce placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Let Natasha handle that. You need to stay with Amanda. She's severely disoriented and it looks like she's experiencing memory loss. Trust me, she's going to need you."

Steve relaxed marginally. "All right."

"Good. Now, we need to start filtering her blood and we need a full body scan just in case. Go in there and explain it to her."

Steve nodded. "I can do that."

"Okay."

-A-a-A-

Natasha came back later, grimly victorious. "They injected a tiny dissolving scanner into her neck," she informed them. "Apparently the whole thing was a ruse. They were going to give her back, and spy on us until the camera dissolved. But they didn't count on it dissolving so fast."

"So it's poisoning her," Tony added.

"Yes."

Steve gritted his teeth. "Can we take the rest of it out?"

"We're going to have to," Bruce said. "If we don't, the continued release of toxins and metal could kill her."

-A-a-A-

So they operated, and found a tiny, thimble size metal mass nestled next to her collarbone. They removed it, flushed the tissues around it, and started her on an intense blood-scrubbing filter and a ton of detox with a deliberately induced fever.

"It's like a controlled withdrawal system," Bruce explained. "We're going to keep her fever at a level where she can sweat it out and keep filtering her blood in the meantime." He handed Steve a soft cold cloth. "Your job is to keep her comfortable as possible."

"Okay."

Watching her toss and turn and sweat, and watching her blood filter in a closed circuit through a little machine, Steve felt sick and helpless. He could remember his own days of being intensely ill, but he couldn't bear to see her like that. He couldn't leave her, though, and he didn't. He stayed by her side for 36 hours, wiping her face with a cold cloth and getting her to drink as much water and Gatorade as possible.

Finally, the doctors agreed that she was as clean as she was going to get, and brought her fever down to a normal temperature. Steve was kicked out while they pulled the filters from her and cleaned her up, changing her from her sweat-soaked gown into clean pajamas. When he was allowed back in, she looked much better, and she was sleeping peacefully.

He leaned over to kiss her forehead lightly, and sat down at her bedside. He was going to stay here until she woke up.

The other Avengers came and went, checking on them, and Steve steadfastly refused to leave her side. "I'm not going anywhere," he told Natasha.

"Steve, you haven't slept in 3 days," Natasha told him. "You haven't eaten in 2 days, and you need a shave. Come on, I'll stay with her."

"After she wakes up," he said.

"Rogers, so help me, if you don't get your-"

"Steve?" came a tired whisper.

They both froze and whipped around to see Amanda. She was blinking at them, confused. "What's going on?" she asked, her speech clear.

He swooped in and kissed her, grinning in relief. "Hey," he said.

"Hi?" she said, accepting the kisses he showered on her.

"Do you remember what happened?" Natasha asked, smiling.

"Kind of?" Amanda frowned. "I was in that room, and then you saved me, and then, I was here?" she finished uncertainly.

Natasha explained what had happened, since Steve couldn't do anything except hold Amanda's hand and smile, and then said, "I'll leave you two alone for a minute. Steve, you have exactly one minute before I get Iron Man in here to drag you out."

"Fine."

Amanda sat up and hugged him tightly. "You should go sleep, Steve," she said, rubbing his frowny forehead softly. "I'm okay now."

"I know," he said, still unwilling to let go of her. "You should rest, too. Your body's still weak."

She yawned. "I noticed." She kissed him and giggled. "And shave before you come back. I don't like scratchy kisses."

He grinned and rubbed his cheek against hers.

"Owwwww, go away, meanie," she said, shoving him playfully. She pressed a kiss to his nose. "Thank you," she said, suddenly serious.

"Anything for my girl," he said, equally serious.

Natasha cleared her throat from outside the door. "AHEM."

"All right, all right, calm down Romanoff." He left.

Natasha came in bearing jello and chicken soup. "Hungry?" she asked.

"Starved."

-A-a-A-

After another day for observation and further blood tests, SHIELD sent Amanda home with the Avengers, under strict instructions not to let her fall into enemy hands again.

That night Amanda went to bed early. The others went to bed at their normal times, but as soon as Steve closed his eyes he saw Amanda lying on the floor, pale and trembling. He shot upright in bed, ad got up. He had to see her, make sure she was okay.

He silently went to her guest suite and opened the door to her bedroom. She was curled up under the covers, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept. He hovered over her, feeling like a creeper but at the same time he felt completely justified.

Amanda felt someone's eyes on her and opened her eyes a fraction. "Steve?" she asked groggily. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry," he said, backpedaling towards the door. "I just, I, uh, sorry. I'll just, ah," he fumbled in the dark, he couldn't find the door.

"Wait, wait, JARVIS, lights," Amanda said, sitting up. She winced in the bright light. "Steve, come here."

He sat down gingerly next to her.

She took his hand and held it in her lap. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry for waking you," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

She returned the grin. "I thought the victim was supposed to get the insecurities and the nightmares?"

"I can't help it," he said. "I don't think I could stand it if anything happened to you." He scooted over and pulled her into his arms. "You nearly died and I couldn't do anything to help you. it scared me."

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled in his shirt.

"It wasn't your fault. It was mine, for not taking care of you."

"Steve, you're an idiot." She kissed his cheek warmly. "There's no way you could have predicted something like that happening. The only thing you could do was be there for me, and you were." She kissed him lightly. "I remember you being there every second for me. That's the only thing I needed from you." She rubbed his tense neck and shoulders. "Now it's my turn. What do you need from me?"

He let his head drop back onto the headboard. "Well, if you could just keep doing that, that'd be perfect..."

She smiled and dug into the sore spots on his neck. "Hands of a sculptor," she said softly, kissing his neck. "Humans are just another form of clay."

"Very philosophical," he muttered, nearly falling asleep as the tension continued to flow out of him.

"There it is," she said, dissolving a particularly tough knot. She smiled at Steve's blissful expression and leaned over to kiss him lightly. "Hey, don't go falling asleep on me, soldier. Go find your own bed."

"Yes ma'am," he said, getting up. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"Love you too."

He returned to his own bed, and slept soundly through the night.

-A-a-A-

His over-protectiveness lingered, and he actively discouraged her search for an apartment. "There's no reason to go find anywhere else," he said. "This is pretty much your floor now, your own separate apartment. This is also the safest place in New York."

"But I'm not a superhero, I don't save the world, I can't just live off of Tony Stark."

"Ah, yes you can," Tony said, sticking his head into the living room, where they were arguing. "Half the city could live off my generosity."

"That's not the point, Tony," Amanda retorted.

"No, the point is you want to be independent," Tony said seriously. "So you can pay rent. Three hundred a month, since you are a starving artist. You won't find a deal better than that on the planet."

The two men eyed her expectantly.

"It doesn't seem fair though," she said weakly.

"Well in return for you staying here, Steve is happy, Natasha and Pepper are happy, which means we're all happy. There's really no downside to this."

"Fine." She smiled. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."