It's Been A Long, Long Time // Steve Rogers

Chapter 20

- 6 months later -

"Howard, Peggy is here for you." I said, standing in the doorway of his office. "Let her in." I looked back at Peggy and motioned for her to enter. Things were still tense between us. She had tried to get Howard to fire me but he refused. I went to shut the door behind me but Howard stopped me, "Becca wait. Stay and take some notes for me." I nodded and shut the door and sat down in the chair next to Peggy.

"Howard, this is top secret. She shouldn't be in here."

"Peggy, she's my assistant and I'll tell her anyway. Now what is it?" Howard said, leaning back in his chair. Peggy eyed me before setting a file on the desk. "Operation Paperclip. Phillips what's to make a deal with Zola. Bring him into SHIELD." Peggy said as Howard opened the file.

"Zola?"

"Well now that Hydra has been destroyed. Phillips thinks it would be a good idea to recruit German scientists and pardon them for their crimes." She explained. Howard nodded as he looked over the file. "You think this is a good idea?" He questioned. "I think it could be beneficial to the organization."

"I don't know if this is a good idea Peg, you have me." Howard said, setting the file back on the desk. "I'm sorry you feel that way, because he's already here." She stood up and walked out of the room. I looked at Howard, my notepad untouched. "This is a bad idea..." He ran his fingers through his hair and stood up. "Come on." I followed him out of the office and towards one of the conference rooms.

"Ah! Mr. Stark. How good to finally meet you." A voice greeted him. It was him. Zola. We stepped into the room with Colonel Phillips, Peggy, and Zola. "And who's this?" He asked.

"My assistant Rebecca Barnes." I watched his face light up slightly. "The sister of James Barnes I presume? His next of kin. I remember seeing your name on his dog tags. It's a shame he was never found." My heart beat a million miles a minute in my chest.

"How do you know that my name was on his dog tags?" I asked. Zola smirked at me and Phillips looked from me to Howard. "Howard, get her out of here. She's the sister of Barnes and a conflict of interest."

"Becca, take the rest of the day off. Jarvis will take you home." I broke my gaze from Zola and looked at Howard. "I'll fix this." He whispered. I nodded and walked out of the room and upstairs where Jarvis was waiting on me. I took some deep breaths and tried not to have a panic attack. I never thought I would meet the man that tortured my brother and was ultimately responsible for turning him into the winter soldier. He probably knows exactly where he is right now too. God, I wish I could tell Howard everything.

But Peggy...She should know...how much did Steve tell her? Doesn't she know he's going to rebuild Hydra within SHIELD? I'd have to ask him what he told her because if she knows then she's willingly going through with this...

Once I got home, I didn't wait for Jarvis to open my door before I was getting out of the car and running up the stairs. I let the door slam open and my eyes landed on Steve reading a book on the couch. "Steve..." My voice shook. He quickly got up and pulled me into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. What happened?" He rubbed my back gently. "Zola he..." Steve tensed. "He tortured Bucky. He's there now!"

"I know...Operation Paperclip." Steve whispered, letting me sob in his arms. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked softly. I shook my head. "Okay, come on." He whispered, pulling me onto the couch and into his lap. "How much did you tell her?" I asked quietly. "Tell who what?" Steve asked. "Peggy."

Steve sighed and kissed my head, "Only how I'm alive. She doesn't know anything about Bucky or Hydra being alive..."

So she has no idea. "Why?" Steve asked. "Because she thinks Zola working for SHIELD is a good idea. Her and Phillips. Howard was the only one who thought it wasn't. But then I thought if she knew-" "You thought that she was still going through with it even though she knew what would happen in the future. With Hydra...with Bucky..." I nodded and buried my head in his chest. "She doesn't know. I didn't want to tell her and mess up the timeline. You're the only one who knows. I'm so sorry that I told you. You shouldn't have to have that burden."

I shook my head back and forth before lifting my head and looking into his sad blue eyes. "I'm not sorry you told me. It's just hard...knowing my brother is alive and that the one man who could tell me where he is...is about working for SHIELD while secretly rebuilding Hydra." One of Steve's hands cupped my cheek and wiped away a stray tear before pressing a soft kiss to my lips. "Promise me you'll stay away from him. No matter what...just don't tell him who you are or-" "He already knows." I whispered.

"What?" I could feel Steve's heart rate increase. "Howard told him my name...He knew my name from Bucky's dog tags." Steve's body tensed and his grip on me tightened.

"Just stay away from him. Promise me." "I promise." I nodded and leaned against him while he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to his body. "I'm gonna make sure you're safe." He whispered. I stayed in his arms for a while until a loud growl came from my stomach. "Are you hungry?" Steve asked. "Apparently." I mumbled. Steve stood up with me in his arms and walked us into the bedroom where he set me down. "Let me change and then we can go to Moonlight." He kissed my head and walked to the closet to pull out a change of clothes.

"How bad do I look?" I asked him. "You look perfect." He said with a smile. Liar. I walked into the bathroom and took in my appearance. Not as bad as I thought but if Steve would have let me out of the house with mascara down my face and smudged lipstick, I would have murdered him. I fixed up my face until I no longer looked like I had been crying.

"Ready?" I nodded and took his hand. We opted to walk to the diner and on the way I told him what had happened today. He listened intently but I left out telling him about Peggy and I's interactions like I always did. I didn't want to upset him. He still cared for her even though he no longer loved her. "And then he just smirked at me. He tortured my brother and he smirked at me." I was pissed at this point as I talked it out. Steve squeezed my hand gently. "I know."

"I don't think I can go through with this, Steve. Working for Howard." I whispered. We finally arrived at the table and took our seats before continuing the conversation. "You can leave. Go back to the bar if that's what you want." He assured me. "I don't want to go back to the bar. I like working with Howard. I just- How am I supposed to work with him while knowing that monster is alive and has plans to turn my brother into...you know." I looked down at the menu and Steve's hand covered mine.

"Hey. Let's talk about something else. You don't have to make a decision now." I sighed and nodded my head. Betty came and took our orders and Steve changed the topic to the upcoming holiday season.

"So Christmas is coming soon..."

"What about Christmas?" I smiled. "Well, it's our first Christmas together and I want it to be perfect. So what can I do to make it perfect for you?" He asked. For starters bring Bucky back...but I knew that was a ridiculous request. "Just being with you is going to make it perfect." I smiled. If we could just be a couple and go ice skating, Christmas shopping, build ginger bread houses...I'd be happy.

"What do you want for Christmas?" He asked. I smirked and glanced into his bright blue eyes.

"A puppy."

Steve playfully rolled his eyes. He knew I wanted a puppy. I'd wanted a puppy for years but my parents never got me one. Then after moving to Indiana, I didn't have the time to take care of one.

"A puppy?" I nodded. "A golden retriever puppy. Just think about it. You could take him with you on your runs...and we could be a little family." I watched his eyes light up slightly as I said we could be a little family. I knew he wanted that. I did too.

"I'll think about it. But other than a puppy..." He asked again. "A nice winter coat or something. I'll love anything you get me, Stevie."