Captain's Hart

Chapter 2 The Beginning

*A/N Story contains mild swearing but only as far as was included in the original movie script.

May 16, 2011.

Arianna Hart was currently doing some computer work for SHIELD. After another successful mission in Italy, the agent was taking a break and doing SHIELD a favor by working in the offices for once. It had become a sort of pattern- each member of Strike Team Delta had their own way of winding down after a grilling mission. If there wasn't an emergency, Clint took a break and disappeared off the grid, Natasha (although she rarely took breaks) would just train and do things like yoga, and Arianna worked at headquarters.

It had been a few days, and Arianna headed into the office room she shared with the other Strike Team Delta members, expecting another dull day of hacking into systems to check their security and spending most of her time chatting with Stark about the energy designs for part of his new Tower. So she was surprised when around 1pm, a message had beeped on her computer from Coulson: 'Captain found inside Valkyrie. Assistance requested.'

Arianna stared at the message for a moment longer, before she switched off her computer, leapt out of her seat and was out the door, stopping only to lock it firmly behind her. She ran all the way to Director Fury's office, arriving out of breath and wide-eyed. Fury raised an eyebrow at her but Coulson smiled when he saw her at the door.

"You called?" She said eagerly, and he laughed. Arianna had come to see Coulson as the father figure she was missing in her life, and so it was only natural that Coulson's obsession for Captain America was at least partially passed down to her. While she wasn't in love with the man as Coulson arguably was, she respected the war hero and treated the man's memory with admiration.

"Agent Hart," Dicrector Fury began, "you are here because Agent Coulson has specifically asked you to be here. We found the Valkyrie crash in the Arctic, and the good Captain frozen inside." "He's alive?" Arianna asked with no little surprise.

Fury nodded. "He was held preserved in a frozen state, and we have begun the extraction process to get him home." Arianna nodded as Fury continued: "Coulson's been placed in charge of the operation, and is heading out with the plane that will bring Captain Rogers back to New York. He's asked for you to be his second."

Arianna's eyes widened. "Second in command." She said, looking at Coulson blankly. The two men laughed at the girl's poorly hidden surprise. "Yes, we thought it should be alright. You've proven your worth despite age, and you have enough experience under your belt." Fury said with a hint of amusement.

Arianna nodded, smoothing out her expression for them, and the men grinned at her now-professional stance. Despite the fact that Arianna was now a deadly assassin and spy, to both men she would always still be, to a certain extent, the pure girl that Coulson had brought in, whose heart at the very least could never be corrupted.

"When do we leave, sir?" Arianna asked, and Fury answered: "An hour, so pack your bags quickly." Arianna's eyebrow shot up and she glanced at Coulson in disbelief, but turned back to Fury. "Yes, sir." She said, and Fury grinned at her. "Off you go, Arianna." He smirked and she nodded.

Coulson followed her out, and Arianna glanced at him. "Really? An hour? You don't hold back when it's your idol at stake." She teased and Coulson laughed. "It's because we need to get him to a medical facility immediately. After all, he has been frozen for seventy years." He said, trying to keep a straight face.

Arianna laughed at him, and he caved as well, their laughter echoing down the halls as she hurried to her office. Coulson left her to arrange the warm clothes for them, so she simply packed up some knives and a gun with extra cartridges, just in case. She grabbed the always-ready overnight bag each of the team kept in the office for emergencies on her way out, carefully locking the door behind her.