I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 48

Rachel lands with a thud as she's covered in blood, soot and dust from the explosion. She coughs repeatedly as her lungs are filled with dust and she does as much as she can to clear them. Once she's able to take deeper breaths, she pushes herself into a sitting position, causing pain in her side, likely due to broken ribs. She looks over at the building she's spent the last few weeks in but she only sees a pile of rubble. She sighs in relief and lies back down to catch her breath before finding her way home.

When she catches her breath, she climbs to her feet and starts limping towards the streets. She knows that she has no way of getting home by herself unless she walks, which is a long way. She got a taxi to the coordinates when she left the compound and she has no money or id at all. She sees a man standing outside a shop on his phone, so she approaches him. "Excuse me, can I borrow your phone for a minute? Just to make a call" she asks politely. He looks up from his phone and his eyes widen at her appearance, covered in dust and soot. He nods and hands his phone to her as he looks her up and down. "Thank you, just a minute" she replies thankfully. She dials the only number she knows off by heart, besides her own. Steve. 

She listens to it ring and prays that he'll pick up. "Hello?" he finally answers, sceptically. Rachel sighs in relief at the sound of his voice. "Steve" she replies and Steve feels a sense of relief as well. "Rachel?" he questions. "Yeah. Steve, it's me" she answers with a smile. "Oh my god. Are you okay?" he quickly asks her. "I'm okay" she answers before coughing to clear her throat. "I need you to come and get me" she asks. "Of course. Where are you?" he answers without a second thought. She tells him her location and she can hear him grabbing his shoes and jacket. "There's a field near by that you could land the jet in. I'll meet you there" she states and he assures her he'll be there.

Rachel sits at the edge of the field as she waits for Steve. Occasionally, coughing to clear her throat of some dust. She looks at her leg to study the gash that's bleeding. She rips the sleeve off her shirt and ties it around her leg as tightly as she can, wincing in the process. She looks at her arm to see the bruises and sighs, knowing that Steve will freak when he sees them, along with the gash on her leg and the dust and soot she's covered in.

The jet lands in the centre of the field and Rachel climbs to her feet. Steve opens the door of the jet and rushes out. She limps towards him and he runs towards her. He wraps her in a tight hug as soon as he reaches her. "Not so tight" she breathes as she refrains from wincing. "Sorry" he apologises, loosening his grip and stands straight, lifting her feet off the ground. He slowly turns in a circle while Rachel hugs him tightly, running a hand through his hair.

He places her back on the ground but Rachel keeps her weight off her injured leg. Steve cups her face and uses his thumbs to rub the dust and soot from her cheeks. "Are you okay?" he asks her worriedly. "I'm okay. I promise" she assures him with a tired smile. She's barely slept over the past few weeks and she has worked very hard today. He nods before pulling her into a loving kiss that she instantly reciprocates.

They pull apart and Steve bends down to hook his arm under her legs. He carries her into the jet and gently places her on the medical table. He takes off and sets the jet on autopilot so that he can attend to Rachel's injuries. He unties the sleeve from around her leg and applies pressure. She winces in pain as he does so and he apologises as he wraps it tightly.

"Are you gonna tell me where you've been?" he asks her when he's done patching her up and passes her an icepack for her ribs. "I went back to the agency who trained me. They contacted me, said they'd kill you and the team if I didn't return" she starts to explain and Steve sits beside her. "I studied the building while they trained me again. Tortured me again... I relived everything from my childhood" she continues and her eyes fill with tears. Steve wraps an arm around her to comfort her before she continues with a deep breath. "I faced the woman who ruined my life and I took the entire place down. They won't hurt anyone else ever again" she finishes as she looks up at him. "I'm proud of you" he states with a smile and Rachel smiles back at her.

"You know, I could've helped you. You didn't have to do it alone, you shouldn't have had to" he assures her. "I know. I'm sorry, I couldn't take the risk. I was just trying to keep you safe" she replies and watches him nod along. "I know, it's okay. I'm just glad that you're okay, I've been so worried about you" he responds and cups her face with a smile. "I'm okay, you don't need to worry. I just want to go home" she states and wraps her hands around his wrists. "I can't help it" he grins at her and she lets out a small chuckle. "I love you so much" he adds and Rachel smiles and can't help the tears that collect in her eyes. "I love you so much too" she replies and leans in to kiss him, finally feeling relaxed after weeks of torture and stress.