A/N:
Sorry for the inactivity! A lot has been going on! To make up for it, here is a longer chapter! Please fill free to like and comment and or pm me if you have any questions.
Best,
The Author.
1 Week Later
Location: Washington, D.C.
"C'mon, Molly, you're doing so well." Serena said with a small smile as she carefully guided the Golden Retriever out of the Vet's office to head to her car.
Serena walked very slowly, to allow for Molly to not exaggerate the usage of her leg. The procedure Molly had done was the removal of a small fatty tumor, which for a dog only about a year old was highly uncharacteristic, but because of Molly's issues with her immune system, Serena had to be always cautious with her dog. After carefully picking the dog up and placing her in the front seat, Serena walked around to the driver's side and got in. No sooner Serena pulled onto the highway to head back home; her phone rang. She quickly connected her phone to Bluetooth so she wouldn't be distracted.
"Hello?" Serena answered.
"We need you to come in." Fury's voice echoed through her car.
Serena groaned. "Are you kidding me? I just picked up my dog from the Vet. Can't you handle this without me?"
"This assignment is an assault. We've got a lead on Ivankov." Fury explained.
"Where?" Serena said, now fully paying attention.
"Quito, in Ecuador." Fury continued. "A little south of the boarder for him, but I'm not surprised…he's been trying to get off our radar for months."
"Evidently not hard enough if he's on your radar." Serena huffed. "When do we leave?"
"6 hours., you better be there." Fury said before hanging up.
Serena sighed before glancing over to Molly, who was happily panting in the seat next to her. She gave her a small smile before pulling over to tell her mother, that she would need to come and get Molly, as she wouldn't be home for at least a few days.
10 Hours Later
Location: Pacific Ocean
Serena jumped grabbing onto the wall as the Quinjet shook with turbulence. She quickly readjusted her stance as she continued her annual mission weapons check. She hated the fact that she had to leave Molly with her mother, but in the back of her mind, her mother had taken care of enough dogs in her lifetime, so she was in great hands.
"How's Molly?" Steve asked as he came alongside her.
Serena nodded. "She's good. She's with my parents, I have them taking care of her for the next couple of days…at least until the mission is done."
"Did the surgery go well?" He asked.
She nodded again. "Yeah, as well as it could. They got the tumor out, thank god it was benign."
"Thank god." He said in agreement.
"Cap, Pierce, what's the call?" Rumlow asked from the other side of the Quinjet, interrupting their conversation.
Serena and Steve turned around and addressed the holographic image of the compound just on the outskirts of Quito that they were about to take down. Alongside the image of the compound, an image of a man in his early 60s appeared as well.
"Peter Ivankov is one of the surprising masterminds that worked closely and supported the ELN back in the early to mid-90s." Rumlow explained. "Before that, he was an illegal arms dealer for the Soviet Union. That's how he became on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar. After an incident in Bogotá, S.H.I.E.L.D lost all traces of him…until recently."
Serena felt a chill go down her spine at the mention of the ELN. In the back of her mind, she could remember being in her father's office in the Embassy and watching Max's head explode in front of her.
"Alright." Steve began. "Our best bet is to do a two-pronged operation. Rumlow, you and Team Alpha go through the rear, take down the security for the front of the compound. Pierce, you, Team Beta, and I will go through the underground tunnels. We clear every floor, starting with the bottom, until we find Ivankov. Team Gamma will go through the front and secure the entrance and Team Chi will stay in their Quinjet and monitor from the sky. I want all entrances and exits covered."
"Copy." Rumlow nodded. "S.T.R.I.K.E gear up."
Within the next half hour, they were all on the ground on the outskirts of Quito. Serena felt a pit fill her stomach as she walked through the jungle. Much to all their surprise, there were no men patrolling, which made Serena's anxiety go through the roof…they had to be inside. Eventually, the teams came to the point where they split off with Rumlow, Rollins, and their team heading towards the back, with Serena, Steve, and their team heading through the tunnels. They moved through them with caution, as they didn't know what they would entail and or find. But again, much to their surprise, there were no guards at all.
"This is strange." Steve said aloud.
"Agreed." Serena replied.
"Cap, Pierce, we're in do you copy?" Rumlow asked over the coms.
"We're in the tunnels." Steve explained "We're coming up on the entry point. You all take the top half of the facility; we'll take the bottom half. We rendezvous at the main entrance once we have Ivankov."
"Copy." Rumlow replied.
Once they found the entry point, they all started to climb up the ladder with Steve leading the way. No sooner, the last member of their team made it to the surface, that's when they started to find patrols. Compared to patrol's she's experienced from arms dealers in the past, Serena believed that these were quite easy and rather scattered…almost lazy in a way. This entire operation felt too easy in her opinion. And it was also odd, that there were empty crates throughout the facility…Rumlow and Rollins continuously updated what they found on the coms…again, it felt too easy.
Within a matter of moments, they found a large opening with two wooden doors. It wasn't heavily guarded, which made Serena frown in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked.
"This doesn't make sense. Ivankov is one of the most dangerous men on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar right now…this place isn't that heavily barricaded…or guarded." Serena explained
Steve nodded. "I agree. Watch our 6 as Pierce and I go in."
The team nodded and began to take positions as Steve looked at Serena who already had both of her Glocks loaded, ready, and in hand.
"You ready?" He asked.
Serena shrugged. "Not like I have a choice."
Steve gestured to the door as he pulled his shield off his back. "You wanna do the honors?"
Serena smirked. "It would be my honor, Captain."
Serena then kicked open the door using her right leg and her eyes widened at the sight. All the missing weapons, bombs, and other arms were in this one office. And at the center of it, holding a detonator was the man they were looking for Peter Ivankov. He looked beaten down, like he was ready to give up and surrender, but based upon the number of arms he had in this very room…that thought was highly unlikely.
"All teams, evacuate the facility." Serena spoke quietly into the coms. "Ivankov has a detonator, evac now."
"Copy." Rumlow and various team leaders replied.
"Captain Rogers, please come in." Ivankov began. "It is wonderful to see you, I wish it was under better circumstances."
"There's nowhere to run." Steve explained.
Ivankov let out a laugh. "And yet you've been running away from the wrong enemy for so long. Tell me Captain, are you prepared for a New World Order? You have been fighting the wrong enemy. S.H.I.E.L.D is the real enemy. The blood on its hands can go back decades…it has the real enemy."
"It's best you surrender." Steve began taking a step forward as he noticed Ivankov's hand gripped tighter on the detonator.
Serena shook her head in disbelief at the words that came out of Ivankov's mouth. "Conspiracies are not my forte, but I know a lying man when I see one."
"Yet, your father has more blood on his hands then anyone." Ivankov began. Steve glanced over to Serena who gripped tighter on both of her Glocks as she aimed them at him.
She shook her head again in disbelief. She knew her father was a good man and had never done anything to harm her…he did everything to protect her.
"I remember you that day in Bogotá." Ivankov began making Serena's eyes widen. "Your bodyguard was killed by my men, and they watched as you tried to put his brain back into his skull."
Serena's aim had started to fail, as she begun to shake.
"Your father orchestrated that day. He wanted to see you die, he wanted you to…"Ivankov began but didn't finish the sentence because Serena had shot him in the head as tears were fully coming down her face.
"Pierce." She heard Steve said but she ignored him as she slowly took a few steps forward to look over the dead man.
"Pierce!" Steve barked at her making her head snap to look at him.
"I'm sorry." She quietly replied before the building shook.
Serena glanced down and saw that Ivankov pushed the detonator before he died, indicating that the place was going to blow in a matter of moments.
"C'mon!" Steve barked at her before they both ran out of the room.
As they continued to run through the facility, it continued to shake as bombs in various places around the facility began to detonate. Just as they were about to reach the main entrance, the final bomb blew causing everything in Serena's mind to go black.
Serena stirred as she began to come back into consciousness and realized that she was trapped under a piece of debris and felt something wet touch her neck. That's when she realized she had a shard of glass inside of her shoulder and was bleeding.
"Cap." She whispered due to the dust in her throat.
No answer.
"Captain Rogers?" She called out louder before coughing.
"Pierce?" He called not so far away. "Are you ok?"
"No." Serena whispered as she saw a dark silhouette sit down next to her.
"There's a pretty large glass shard in your right shoulder, if I pull it out, I don't have anything to stop the bleeding." He explained.
Serena weakly nodded as she felt herself starting to doze off.
"Hey, hey, stay with me. Pierce…Pierce…Serena." Were the last words Serena heard before she slipped out of consciousness again.
Serena groaned as she came back into consciousness again, and realized where she was immediately. She could hear a familiar beeping sound and hear familiar voices talking. She was in a S.H.I.E.L.D medical facility. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was met with bright lights and a white ceiling…oh yeah, she was in a medical facility.
Serena groaned again before reaching up to touch her head.
"Serena!" A familiar voice said with joy. Serena looked in the direction the voice came from before the person engulfed her into a hug. Serena took in the scent of the woman and immediately smelled a familiar perfume…it was her mother.
"Oh, sweetie, we were so worried about you." Felicita began as she pulled away from her daughter.
"I'm fine." Serena groaned in exhaustion. "What happened?"
"You blacked out." A deep voice said from the doorway.
Serena immediately turned her head to see Fury standing in the doorway.
"I gathered that." She replied. "What happened?"
"Ivankov is dead, but his recruits are fragmented. After the last of the bombs went off, you and Rogers were trapped under the debris for a couple of hours, they did emergency surgery on you to get the glass out of your shoulder, Rogers stayed with you until it was completed." He explained.
"Where is he?" She asked hoping that Steve was in better condition that she was.
"Interrogating one of Ivankov's top officials." Fury explained. "Trying to put together the missing pieces of our puzzle."
Serena nodded before trying to sit up. Felicita immediately put her hand on her good shoulder.
"Sera, where are you going?" She asked in confusion.
"To the interrogation." Serena began as she tried to push herself out of her bed.
"No, you need to rest, you just had surgery." Felicita began.
Serena shook her head. "I'm fine. Really, I am."
"The surgeon said that it was 1 centimeter away from puncturing the subclavian artery. You're lucky to be alive. You are being placed on medical leave until you are fully healed." Fury said sternly.
Serena frowned in protest. "No! That's not fair!"
"Serena, there is nothing realistic you can do." Felicita explained. "Your arm is bandaged, and I don't want to risk you getting hurt…and if your father was here and not in Paris right now, he would feel the same."
Serena groaned in annoyance before leaning back in her bead, knowing there is nothing she could do to change Fury's and her parents' minds of letting her go back out into the field so soon after a surgery.
1 Week Later
Serena groaned in annoyance from her position on the couch in her living room. In the last week, she had been fighting with the bandage on her arm, as she found it rather annoying to put up with. All she wanted was to get back to work, but…she didn't mind the time off. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch eating her Chinese takeout, all while catching up on her TV. Within the last week, Serena had time to catch up on all her favorite shows including but not limited to, Vanderpump Rules, Keeping Up with The Kardashians, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and of course, The Bachelor. Traveling around the world constantly for work, Serena never had any time for herself anymore, so for the first time in a couple of months, Serena could finally sit back and relax…thanks to her healing shoulder. Just as she was about to take another bite of her General Tsao's chicken, there was a knock at her front door. Molly immediately ran to the door of her apartment and started to bark…but based upon how quickly her tail was wagging, it must've been a familiar person. Serena carefully put her food on the coffee table in front of her, paused the TV and walked over to the front door, expecting it to be either her parents, aunt, uncle, or her cousin Rebecca based upon how Molly was acting. So, when she opened the door and revealed that Steve Rogers was on the other side, she was taken back.
"Ca-Cap?" She said in disbelief with her eyes wide. "What're you…what're you doing here?"
"It's Steve." He began with a small sigh. "Fury wanted me to check in on you, plus, I brought you donuts." He explained and she glanced down to the box in his hands.
Serena smiled. "Thank you." She then opened the door more. "Come on in."
Steve smiled at the girl and walked into the apartment, to allow for Serena to close the door. As he set the box of donuts on the kitchen counter, he took in the girl's apartment. Unlike his apartment which was spotless, Serena's had been slightly unkept with some dirty dishes in the sink, a filled laundry basket sitting by the dryer, and a large stack of S.H.I.E.L.D files on her coffee table. But aside from the mess, he saw some key factors of her life. He saw a picture on a small end table of Serena jumping over an obstacle on a horse, and on the other side of the end table, he saw another picture of Serena, this time in a red tutu, and pointe shoes on.
'She must've had a pretty interesting life prior to S.H.I.E.L.D..' Steve thought to himself.
"I'm sorry about the mess. My parents don't want me doing anything strenuous on my arm…and that includes tidying my apartment." Serena explained cutting Steve of his train of thoughts.
"It's fine." Steve said with a small nod. "I don't mind."
"I usually don't live like this." She explained.
Just as Steve was about to reply, Molly trotted over to him. Steve immediately knelt and started to pet the dog.
"Hi Molly." Steve said warmly before addressing Serena. "She looks great."
Serena nodded. "I know, I'm honestly surprised how she acts like it was nothing. My mom said a couple hours after her surgery she was running around the house. Can I get you anything? Like water, juice, wine?"
"A water is fine." Steve said as he stood up and walked to the end table where the two pictures were. "Are these of you?"
Serena smiled from her position in the kitchen as she poured Steve a glass of water.
"Yes." She explained. "The one on the left is during a horse show from when I was younger, and the right is from a dance recital I did."
"I didn't know you did ballet." Steve said in disbelief walking over to her kitchen counter and taking a seat at it.
She nodded. "I almost went to Julliard for it. That was my original end goal…not the CIA, and definitely not S.H.I.E.L.D."
"What changed?" He asked.
Serena walked around to the other side of the counter and pointed to the scar that went down the lower portion of her leg (which was visible because she was in shorts).
"I fell…that's what happened." She explained. "I fell during the last act of Swan Lake…the last number, just before I was about to jump off the stage, to symbolize the swan jumping off the cliff, my pointe shoe came off my foot, making me slip and fall down the stairs. I had to get surgery on my leg, foot, and ankle…and I got told I'd never dance again…bye bye Julliard, and bye bye ballet."
"I'm so sorry Serena." He said with a somber look.
Serena shrugged. "It's ok. It is what it is. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't go…people in the dance world suck…I mean…look at those kids on Dance Moms."
Steve frowned making Serena roll her eyes.
"You didn't get into Reality TV yet have you?" She asked.
"I was waiting for you." He explained.
"For me to what? Walk you through it? Baby step you into it?" Serena asked with humor. "You're really showing your age."
"I'm 95." Steve scoffed. "I'm not dead."
Serena let out a laugh. "I'm sorry. I needed a good laugh, especially after the last couple of weeks."
Steve let out a small chuckle. "I'm glad I can amuse you." He then quickly glanced at the TV. "What're you watching?"
Serena smiled as she gestured for Steve to sit on the couch in front of her TV. "You came just in time, for one of Reality T.V.'s most iconic moments…I've been watching re-runs of Keeping Up with The Kardashians, and I happened to stumble upon this gem of an episode."
Steve grabbed his water and sat down on the couch. "What's the purpose?"
"So, Kim, the middle sister, was making enough money to buy a Bentley, which angered her other two sisters…you know what, I'll just start the episode from the beginning. How much time you got?" Serena asked tucking her feet underneath her as she sat down on the couch, with Molly laying at the foot of it beneath the two of them.
"As much time as needed?" Steve asked with hesitance…he should've only said an hour.
Serena's eyes gleamed with excitement as she smiled wickedly. "Excellent."
5 Hours Later
"Wait, so why did he throw her into the water when he knew she was wearing diamond earrings?" Steve asked as he reached for another donut.
Serena shrugged. "He wanted to play a practical joke on her…but as you can see from the number of episodes I've shown you; she doesn't really like them."
"I now get why Tony mentioned to me a while back that I was 'doing amazing sweetie'." Steve explained getting a laugh from Serena. "He was referencing Kris Jenner."
"I reference Kris Jenner all the time…she's too quotable." Serena explained.
"Thanks for the Reality T.V education, I really appreciate it. I'm surprised no one told me to put it on the list." Steve explained.
"The list?" Serena questioned turning towards him. She leaned her right arm against the back of the couch to rest her head in her hand. "What list?"
Steve reached into the back pocket of his jeans, before passing the brunette a small brown leather book.
"Since I've been awake, I've gotten recommendations on what I should catch up on. So far, these are the ones that have made it." He explained.
Serena sighed as she began to look it over.
"I Love Lucy, very fair, she's a comedic icon." Serena began making brief eye contact with him before continuing.
"The Moon Landing…yeah it's a good idea where you learn the 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' quote." She explained. "It'll give you better context when you watch movies like For all Mankind."
Steve nodded, as he carefully studied the girl's reactions to the list. He noticed that her eyes would light up with some, and they would darken with others…she really was interested in what he wrote down.
"Uh, the Berlin Wall…yeah, you kinda do need to learn that since…" Serena trailed off.
"Because the last time I was in Germany it was controlled by Nazis?" Steve asked with a small smile.
"Yeah, that." Serena said with a nod before continuing. "Steve Jobs…do you know how to use an iPhone?"
Steve rolled his eyes before reaching down to help Molly onto the couch. "I'm not clueless."
"Fair point." Serena laughed. "Disco's good, oh, Thai Food, Green Curry is literally one of my favorite cheat meals…any Thai curry really."
"I'll have to try it." He explained as he scratched behind the dog's ears.
"Star Wars and Star Trek, good choices, but you'll need to have a nerd watch them with you to understand the lore…it's complicated. My cousin Rebecca is into them, and she's tried to get me involved into the lore so many times." She explained. "But watching the movies is a good idea."
Steve nodded, mentally noting Serena's opinion on the items on the list.
"Nirvana…one of the best bands of all time. Smells Like Teen Spirit should be the first song you listen to by them." She explained before continuing. "And the Rocky movies…not bad for your first list."
"My first list?" Steve asking raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Get a blank page and start a new list." Serena explained with a smile as she handed the journal back to him.
He did as she obliged and grabbed a pen off her coffee table.
"What do you want me to title it?" He asked with a smile. "The old one is just my regular 'To-Do List.'"
She fell quiet for a few minutes before smiling. She found a title in the back of her talented mind.
"Steve and Serena's To-Do List." Serena said with a smile.
Steve let out a laugh. "How original."
Serena let out an annoyed gasp. "Hey, give me a break, I came up with it on the fly!"
"I'm not saying it's bad." Steve explained as he wrote down what the girl had said as the title.
"You're just saying its not unique enough for you?" Serena playfully asked.
Steve rolled his eyes making Serena laugh again, this time, so hard, she felt pain in her rib cage.
Her eyes widened in playful anger as she glared at Steve. "Fuck you Steve, thanks for making me laugh so hard it hurt."
"Watch your language, and I didn't mean it." He explained making Serena tilt her head to the side in confusion. He sighed. "I have to get use to people cursing all the time."
"Write that down as number 1." Serena explained. "I am going to help you adjust to our modern times, by first recognizing that you're not going to get arrested for saying the work 'fuck' in public, and two by teaching you slang."
Steve rolled his eyes before writing it down. "I don't know if I can behind that, but what else?" He asked.
"Beyonce and Taylor Swift." She explained. "Those are 2 and 3. And they are very important to today's society."
"Are they actresses?" Steve asked.
Serena tilted her head back and forth. "Yes and no, they are musicians…really famous ones."
Steve nodded and continued writing.
"Also put in Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, the first one, not the second one, the second one sucks, and Harry Potter, both the books and the movies." She continued. "Also add Michel Jackson, and James Bond."
"You sure have a lot of ideas." Steve began realizing how big 'their' to-do list was.
"I'm not even close to finishing." Serena smirked. "Also add Pixar movies and in parenthesis (Disney), so in case you're confused when looking on which one to see, you can Google it beforehand."
Steve nodded before glancing up to look her in the eye. "That's smart."
Serena smiled. "I know right? Also add Marilyn Monroe, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pulp Fiction, Margaritas, and Titanic…the movie."
"I was alive for the sinking…it was all over the papers." He explained with a sigh. "Is that all?"
"I'm not done yet." She explained. "Add the NHL, Formula 1, and EDM."
"NHL and Formula 1?" Steve asked.
She smiled. "My dad owns part of the Capitals, and my mother's family has large investments in F1…it's been like that since before I was born."
"You really grew up with it all didn't you?" Steve asked.
Serena sighed. "Yes and no. My parents were always working, so I never had the chance to see them. Plus, I never had a normal childhood…I was kinda taken as a hostage when I was a child."
"Is that what Ivankov was mentioning? Something with the ELN in Bogotá?" Steve questioned hesitantly, not wanting to make her feel obligated to tell him and or uncomfortable. "You don't have to tell me now; you can tell me when you're ready."
Serena smiled. "Thank you, Steve, I really appreciate it."
Steve glanced at his watch. "It's getting late, I should get going."
Serena nodded as she slowly got off of the couch to see Steve out the door.
"Thanks for stopping by…and for the donuts." Serena said with a smile as she held the door open for Steve.
Steve smiled back. "When're you coming back to STRIKE?"
Serena shrugged. "When my shoulder heals…so hopefully soon."
"I'm looking forward to it." Steve said with a nod. "Goodnight Serena."
Her smile grew. "Good night, Steve."
Serena closed the door and glanced back to Molly on the couch, who gave her the biggest sad eyes.
"I feel like you see him more as your owner than I am to you." Serena began. "And I don't blame you, he has that ability to bring people in…maybe I can be friends with him after all, since out of all the people at SHIELD, he's the only one other than Fury, my parents, and Hill, who have physically came and checked in on me."
The dog didn't respond but just laid back down on the couch.
'Maybe he can allow me to trust more freely.' Serena thought, as she might've just realized that Steve was one of the few people in the world, who wouldn't hurt her.
