Panic.

The sheer panic of being left alone.

Of not being able to move a muscle.

She remembers the pain.

And when she does, she thinks that she can feel it again.

She inhales sharply, realizing that nothing is squeezing her lungs any longer.

That is a change. The last time she woke up, she was still in the box, not being able to move, to breathe, to scream.

Now, she can breathe. She is too afraid to find out whether she can move. Her limbs do not hurt her. In the ice, she could feel the last finger being cold, being frozen. Now, she does not feel cold anymore. But she can't identify where she is. She is too afraid to open her eyes.

And it's embarrassing because she is the SSR Agent who should not be afraid of opening her eyes.

But there she is. The last memories rush over her like a flood, and she thinks that she might be drowning in them, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

She was frozen.

There was a car crash.

Phillips and Howard were arguing.

Then there was a pain... in the middle of which she was frozen again. Really, what was that?

Then there were new voices, sharp white lights in her eyes.

And then she dreamed.

In the dream, there was Steve.

He looked exhausted, but he smiled at her.

Was she dead?

She supposed that once a person dies, they do not feel any pain.

But can she feel the pain now?

She could not.

So why is she so afraid of opening her eyes? She had to ask herself this question a few times before she found the answer. She does not want the dream of being with Steve to fade away.

For the first time in years, she felt safe.

She inhaled slowly, bracing herself for what was to come.

She slowly opened her eyes. And she could not see a thing.

It was probably night. But if she is dead, is there day and night?

What if... what if she stays here, in the dark... for eternity? She hated darkness. She was always afraid of it, even though she had to live with this fear during the war, she still hated it. What if that was the afterlife?

She took a few breaths, starting to panic. She started turning her head to both sides, but it did not change a thing. Something, or someone, was moving.

She wanted to move, to run from the sound.

That was the time she realized she has no control over her legs. It was as in those dreams where you need to run from something, but you are not able to. You are too heavy, the thing that follows you is too quick.

She wanted to scream, but her throat was tight, and she could not. Suddenly, there was a loud "click," and everything was flooded by light.

She had to blink a few times. She was lying in a bed, tucked in a heavy duvet. The room was small, and there were no windows.

She moved her head towards the person. It was a woman. A tall, slim redhead who was watching her apprehensively.

Peggy wanted to say something, but she was just opening and closing her mouth, not being able to form words in her head. T

he redhead approached her and Peggy wanted to withdraw herself from her, but she could not.

The woman caught the hem of the heavy duvet and pulled it down a little bit, so Peggy had her arms free now. The redhead very carefully took Peggy's hands. Peggy could see that the woman was massaging them.

"Can you feel it?" she asked. Peggy focused on them but could not feel anything.

"Hey, hey, calm down," the redhead sounded nervous.

Peggy saw that the woman was touching her shoulder, but did not feel it either, which made her breathe more heavily.

"You are hyperventilating. Try to calm your breath, don't worry, you are safe. Steve will be back soon, do not worry. He went for a run, he was freaking out here because you hadn't woken up for three days ago. He will be back soon. I'll call him, okay?" She stood up and left the room.

Peggy could not understand it. Was it true? Was Steve really here? But in the dream, she could move her arms. Was it only a game of her subconscious? Peggy wanted to stay calm, but she couldn't. She was breathing heavily, and soon, she felt that she was losing consciousness again.

She could hear two voices and then heavy footsteps.

She opened her eyes before she could panic again.

And there he was standing, next to her bed, breathing heavily, sweating, pulling some weird bugs from his ears while listening to the redhead.

"Peggy?" he kneeled beside her bed, taking her hand in his large ones.

"Peggy, it's me, Steve." He said quite unnecessarily.

"It's okay, you are safe. I know that you don't know what was going on, but everything is real. You were frozen. Son of Howard found you. We thawed you out of the ice, and now you are with us. This is Natasha. And I am Steve, Peggy. Do you... can you remember me?" he sounded exasperated. The great Captain America, whom the Nazis feared the most, was kneeling by her bed, begging her to let him know that she remembers him.

And she did, but she did not have any way to let him know.

She blinked a few times, then she realized that she can communicate with her eyes. She blinked short and long, using the Morse code

. ../.././ /./ /..././._./

I remember

Steve started laughing, lifting her hand towards his lips and kissed it. Peggy started to calm down a little bit, finally feeling safe. As the panic subsided, she could feel the pins and needles in her hand that Steve held, then the other hand, and when she started to breathe deeply but calmly again, she could feel the same feeling in her legs.

It hurt at first, but it also carried an important message.

She could feel her limbs.