First Flame. ~Book One~

Epilogue: Out of the Ice.

Many years later...

A large group of people were gathered in what appeared to be the artic, a large majority of them were digging into the ice as SHIELD arrived on the scene. 
"Are you guys from Washington?" The search team leader as two SHIELD agents approached him. 
One of them nodded. "You get many visitors out here?" The leader shook his head.
"How long have you been on site?" The other asked. 
"Since this morning." The leader said. "A Russian oil team called it in about eighteen hours ago." 
"How come no one spotted it before?" 
"It's not surprising, this landscape's changing all the time." The leader explained as they walked across the ice to the small team that was drilling through the frozen structure. "You got any idea what this thing is exactly?" 
"I don't know." The SHIELD lieutenant said. "It's probably a weather balloon." It was one of the many lies the Director told them to give until they knew for sure what was under there. 
The team leader shook his head. "I don't think so." He nodded toward the ice that was being cut into. "You know, we don't have the equipment for this." 
The SHIELD tech nodded. "How long before we can start craning it out?" 
"I don't think you quite understand, you're gonna need one Hell of a crane!" 
When they were done cutting into the airship, the two SHIELD agents were lowered in. "Base, we're in." The Lieutenant said once they both touched down onto the frozen floor and proceeded to slip on the ice. "What is this?" 
As they walked, the SHIELD tech found the frozen over shield that had once belong to Captain America. It was a shocking discovery, but not nearly as shocking as the one the Lieutenant made in the cockpit as he gave a gasp of surprise. "Lieutenant, what is it?" 
"My God." He called in response before he got on the coms with their base again. "Base, give me a line to North." 
"It's three AM, Sir!" 
"I don't care about time it is. This one's waited long enough." 
+++
 Six months ago, Tony Stark had outted himself as Iron Man, and ever since then, SHIELD had Red sticking close to him, much to Pepper Pott's dismay. Right now, the two of them were sitting in her apartment in Washington DC, as she waited for the fallout following his hearing on Capital Hill.
When her phone rang, she almost jumped a foot in the air, checking the Caller ID, she saw that it was her boss, Nick Fury. She quickly made her way into the kitchen as she answered it. "Yes, Sir?" 
"They found him." He said. "And he's alive." 
She was silent, stunned as she took in the news. Almost seventy years ago, her best friend, Steve Rogers, had crashed a plane in the ice to stop it from killing thousands of New Yorkers. She and Howard Stark had searched for years before SHIELD had finally told them to stop. 
"They found Steve?" The thought was almost ridiculous to her, not only that he had been found after all this time, but that he was alive. And if he was alive after all these years, was there a possibility that.... no, she shook her head, that wasn't a possibility, and she refused to let her mind and heart tell her otherwise. 
"Correct." Fury said. "They're flying him into DC. I believed you'd like to see him, so I took the liberty of making sure you'll be the first to see him when he wakes up." 
"Yes, Sir. I'll be there soon." She hung up the phone and went back into the living room to get her jacket. Her mind was so focused on thoughts of the past, that she had almost forgotten Tony was there until he spoke up. 
"What's up?" He asked as he approached her. "Is everything okay?" 
"Yes." She said as she shrugged on her jacket. "They uhh.. they recovered Steve-Captain Rogers, I mean." Red sighed as she looked up and into his eyes. "He's alive, I need to go... I have to go." 
She could tell he didn't particularly like the idea of her going out to go and relive the past, especially with what was going on in the city outside of the apartment, but that was an issue for another time. "Just be careful, okay?" He reached out to caress her cheek as he spoke. "We kind of need you around, you know?" 
"I know." She closed her eyes as she relished in his touch. "I'm almost always careful." 
And then she was gone, racing toward SHIELD headquarters in DC. Was Steve going to be the same after all of this? He had almost seventy years to catch up on, so much lost time to cope with... Peggy. Age was starting to get to her, just as it should have to all of them. There was so much he'd have to know. 
When she got to headquarters, they dressed her into a uniform she would have worn back in the day, telling her that she'd have the best chance to break the news to him gently. As she sat next to him, she kept her hand in his and her head bowed. 
Across the room, a vintage radio was playing an old baseball game, she wasn't sure what year it was from, but she hope that it was good enough. 
When she felt his hand move in hers, she raised her head with a smile. "Hey, look who's awake." 
"Red?" 
"The one and only." She said. "Good morning, by the way." Red checked her watch with a shrug. "Or well, afternoon, but ya know." 
"Where are we?" 
"In a recovery room, in Washington, DC." 

Dodgers take the lead, 1-3. Oh, Dodgers! Everyone's on their feet. What a game we have here today, Folks. What a game indeed.

Steve gave her a skeptical look. "Where are we really?" 
Red gave a soft sigh. "Steve-" 
"Red, this game is from May, 1941, I know 'cause we were there." He said as he slowly got out of bed. "I'm gonna ask again, where are we?" 
"Steve, please calm down, and I'll-" 
"What's going on?" 
As Red pressed a silent alarm they had given her in case things got dicey, and two STRIKE members-Rumlow being one of them-appeared in the room, Steve knocked them down and ran through the door, and he started to run through the SHIELD building and out into the courtyard. Even when she was at her best, she had never been able to catch up with him. But luckily, they were able to corner him just in front of the entrance. 
"At ease, Soldier." Fury said as he and Red were finally able to catch up to him, and the STRIKE agents that now surrounded them. 
Red landed in front of her friend with her hands held out. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened back there, I just waned to break it to you slowly." 
"Break what?" 
"Steve... you've been asleep for sixty-nine years, seventy in six months." When his face fell, it almost made Red's heart break, everything that he missed was starting to crash over him like a tidal wave. 
"You gonna be okay?" Fury asked with his head tilted. 
"Yeah..." Steve said as he looked down at Red, tears starting to gather in both of their eyes. "Yeah, I just had a date.
                                                                                           +++

                                                Red North and Captain America will return.