TO THE LIGHT ── s. rogers [editing]

6 - Meant For More

STEVE HAD NEVER LIKED NEEDLES. To be honest, he probably never would. And it didn't help that all the nurses kept poking and prodding him with needles, taking various blood samples. Agent Peggy Carter - the same woman from the camp and who he had saved from the HYDRA agent - stood beside him, and Raven stood off in the corner, her arms crossed and her head turned away. The look in her eyes when they returned to the lab told Steve that she was heartbroken and wanted to be left alone, so he decided to give her that space - despite the fact that he was worried about her. And that he had a ton of questions.

Dr. Erskine's death kept replaying in Steve's head as he sat on the bed, over and over. He felt terrible that he couldn't save him. Of all the people that could've died because of him, Dr. Erskine was the last one that Steve wanted. He was such a kind man, a good man. In any other situation, Steve could have seen the two of them becoming friends.

But the rush Steve had gotten chasing Dr. Erskine's killer. He'd never experienced anything like it. The feeling of running through the streets at such high speeds was exhilarating. Even jumping from the roofs of automobiles was unbelievable. His adrenaline had never pumped through him as much as it had in those moments. But crashing through the window of a store while rounding a corner was a clear sign that he still needed to get a handle on the "new Steve".

"Think you got enough?" Steve grumbled, rolling down his sleeve.

Peggy stepped in front of him, holding a file in her arms as she looked at him. "Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code," she said. "But without Dr. Erskine, it could take years."

Steve sighed, standing up before gazing out the window, staring at the workshop below them. "He deserved more than this."

Peggy stepped closer to him, offering genuine words of comfort as she said, "If it could only work once, he'd be proud it was you."

Steve looked into her eyes. He could tell she was being sincere, which he appreciated. But for some reason, it wasn't like Raven's. I could still see the eyes of an agent in Peggy's expression - slightly cold and hardened. However, with Raven, it wasn't like that. There always nothing but friendliness in her eyes, with a hint of mischief as well as some sort of magical quality that was faint, but definitely there. But when they returned to the base, the magic and warmth that was so present in her eyes was gone, replaced with heartbreak and sadness. It broke Steve's heart even more.

Suddenly, Raven turned and abruptly left the room, the door slamming shut behind her with a loud bang. Steve jumped a little bit at the sound before turning to Peggy. "Is she gonna be okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Peggy replied. "But it will take some time." When Steve looked up at her in confusion, she explained, "Raven has never handled loss very well. And Dr. Erskine was like a father to her. She cared about him a lot."

Steve nodded faintly, thinking back to when the doctor had told him the same thing.

"I would give her some space, if I were you," Peggy told him, then chuckled and said half-to herself, "You do not want to provoke her. Trust me."

Steve shook his head. He knew that he might regret it, but he desperately wanted to see if Raven was okay, maybe even comfort her if he could. And he still had the questions he wanted to ask her burning in the back of his mind. So he stood up and left the room, following Raven down the hall and into another room.

He found her leaning against a wall, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Steve approached her slowly and quietly, trying not to startle her.

"You know, we only knew each other for less than a year," Raven said after a moment.