Hello Captain (Steve Rogers)

Exercise

Steve's POV
I was uneasy about letting Sarah spar against the 12 guys from the Strike teams today, especially with her not being fully healed from her injury yet. I walked into the large gym with Barton, Romanoff and Hill; it was our job to observe today.

Sarah was just finishing her warm-up, which simultaneously encouraged the men to drop their guard as it made them aware that she was more than what she appeared to be. I caught the appreciative glances they threw her when they thought she wasn't looking, but she was oblivious to them; it made me want to hit them less.

"Where's Rumlow," Clint asked Maria as we took our places.

"Not in DC," Maria replied vaguely, looking down at her clipboard. "He won't be back for a couple days, so he's missing out on the group exercises today."

"You sent him away or he was scheduled for a mission that didn't include the Strike teams?" Natasha asked shrewdly.

"Would I do something like that?"

"Of course. What'd he do to piss you off this time?" Clint asked.

"He was breathing." Maria said flatly, shooting Clint a look.

I looked at her curiously. I'd noticed that Maria and Natasha didn't seem to care much for Rumlow and Clint wasn't a fan of him either. He wasn't exactly a friend, but he wasn't an enemy either. I had to work with him often when I went with the Strike teams and I'd had to learn how to tolerate him.

"So did we get a new guy recently?" I asked, mentally checking off the teams. "Who's the blond?"

"Agent Jake McCartney, Shield Special Forces. He been on our Strike shortlist for a while, so I asked him to come in for today's exercise."

"He's our neighbor," I said with a grin. "What's next, Hill? You going to recruit Kate too?"

Maria only smiled at me. "Depends - she got some skills I should know about, Rogers?"

"She's a nurse," I said, shaking my head, "but I thought you knew that already?"

"I do know," Maria said, raising an eyebrow. "Steve - you think Shield would allow you - of all people - to move into an apartment building without investigating who lives on your floor?"

"Maybe?" I said incredulously.

"Think again, Rogers," Natasha said with a grin as Maria walked over to the group to start the exercise. "You're a national treasure; you should know better than that."

We watched as Maria told the group what she expected of them.

"Whatever happens, we're not to interfere, Steve." Clint reminded me. "It's just sparring - they all know the rules."

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it, but Sarah made me promise I'd stay out of it."

*        *              *

Sarah's POV

I grabbed my bo off the floor, moving to the center of the gym. I knew the men had been watching me warmup while they stood around talking. They all were wearing their stealth suits with built in padding, helmets, and their bullet-proof vests. I'd insisted on those precautions so I didn't inadvertently injure any of them during this exercise. Maria had agreed after seeing the security footage of my fights with Natasha, Clint and Tony.

"You ready, Evans?" Maria asked, giving me a once over. I was wearing one of my catsuits and my combat boots, my hair pulled back in a bun.

"Sure. I see you found someone to even up the odds." I said, gesturing at the group of men. "Thought I'd have to bribe someone who'd be willing to give it a try."