SHIELD (A Captain America Story, Book 1 of the SHIELD Series) COMPLETE

Chapter 4: Next To Normal

Ava was only half right when she thought her life would go back to normal. For a while, things seemed to actually smooth out. It turned out that Coulson's mission he'd promised her was a bust, so Ava went back to work at the SHIELD base in Times Square, where everything was just as it usually was: the building was full of agents rushing back and forth, the higher-ups were pretending they were better than the Level Fours and below; the agent in the office above her was still mooning over the secretary at the front desk. Business as usual.

A month after her return from the Greenland mission, Ava had all but forgotten about Captain America.

Ava was tidying up her kitchen after dinner when her door suddenly swung violently open. Immediately, every muscle in her body tensed, ready to suddenly whirl on the intruder, but their voice was familiar enough that she slowly relaxed upon hearing it.

"I need your help with something," the man sounded semi-embarrassed, even a little desperate.

"Don't you always?" Ava didn't even bother to turn and face Coulson, who she knew was standing in her doorway with a pleading look on his face.

"Cap's waking up," Ava could almost hear Coulson fidgeting in excitement, "Soon, probably."

Ava finished putting away the last of her dishes before turning around to face him. "And?"

Coulson ignored her tone, "Once he wakes up, Fury and I have agreed to send him to a safe house for some... rest and recovery time. But we need someone to check up on him and keep us informed."

"Ok..." Ava waited, but he said nothing. "Wait," the awful thought occurred to her, "you mean me?"

"It makes more sense than you think," Coulson said quickly, "Listen: he doesn't know you, so he'll have no time to make outside judgements−"

"Then go get some other clueless agent," Ava retorted. "I'm sure most of them would jump at the chance to meet Captain America."

"There's reason number two," Coulson pointed at her. "You've stayed levelheaded through this entire thing. I'm pretty sure the last thing Cap needs is someone who's going to fawn over him, and... well, I know you, and you're not exactly the type to do that."

"Oh, and I was trying so hard to seem excited."

"And reason number three," Coulson ignored her, "Your empathy powers. No one in SHIELD has a better grasp on what other people are thinking than you, and someone who knows how people's minds work... We have no idea how Cap is going to react to everything. Like it or not, you're exactly what this mission needs." Ava glared at him, but a small, traitorous part of her brain admitted he might have a point.

"Fury isn't scared I'll break your precious Captain?" Ava scowled.

"The Director might not trust you, but I do," Coulson replied seriously. "This was my idea. You're exactly what the Captain needs to adjust: a friend. Not a SHIELD agent, or a scientist, but a genuine good person. It's up to you whether or not you accept, but I really think you're the only one in SHIELD who can make this happen."

Ava hesitated. She wanted to refuse, she really did, but something stopped her. A feeling, deep in the pit of her stomach, telling her to take a risk.

"Oh, what the hell," she sighed.

"Hm?" Coulson looked up.

"I said alright. I'm in."

A grin slowly bloomed on Coulson's face. "I knew you would be."

Less than a half hour later, Ava was back at the Times Square base, where Cap's unfrozen body had just been moved in. Ava was quickly briefed on the Captain's condition by a bored-sounding male scientist: "He's expected to wake up soon. The reanimation of his body is taking place slowly, even after we took him out of the ice, but he's steadily recovering, with minimum side effects from the cryostasis. As long as no unforeseen complications arise in the next forty-eight hours, he should wake up within three days..." Ava walked away to join Coulson as the scientist began spouting scientific jargon that she didn't understand; her specialty was physics, not physicals.