A Love Out of Time

Chapter 11

Fury finally sighed, breaking our impromptu staring contest.

"Alright. Let's say you are from another reality. How did you get here?"

Given a question that I could answer unreservedly, I threw myself into it.

"I don't know! I was headed to an audition, and all of a sudden I heard a rumble in the ground, and then the building in front of me crumbled, and I started running, and-" Steve eyes had grown painful, and I paused. "-and yeah."

Truth seemed to have had an influence on them all. The sadness in the room was palpable. I stared at my chest, suddenly sorry for saddling them with my troubles. I could deal with this. I had before. They had no idea what to do.

"Look, I-I'm okay. You don't have to worry about helping me. At least I'm alive and not-"

It was strange; something almost like kindness had flashed across Fury's face. He leaned on the backboard again.

"That's what we do, Ms. Williams. We solve problems. And this is a genuine problem. You'll be safe here until we can figure out how to send you home."

I smiled. I guess I liked him after all. 

Tony cleared his throat loudly.

"Yes, Stark?"

"Did you just forget everything I talked to you about?"

"No, but did you forget that you have a tesseract machine to build?"

Tony's eyebrows rose. "I don't think that's a valid argument. As the world's foremost mechanical expert, I am perfectly capable of doing both of them!"

Fury's eyes were half-lidded. He sighed. "We need to have a briefing, and this isn't the place. We'll discuss this again afterwards."

Natasha jogged into the room as he finished speaking.

"A briefing?"

Fury turned to her. "Yes. Tell the hawk."

She nodded and turned right back around, and Tony and Thor followed her. Fury turned to Coulson. "I want you there. Put a 24 hour guard on this room."

"Yes, Sir."

Finally his eyes rested on me, and he gave me a quick nod. "Ma'am." Then Fury strode away.

I watched, pitifully silent, as the nurse rolled everything out of the room, and Coulson assigned a guard. Had I-had that just happened? It was almost dreamlike, having people on my side.

Steve watched them roll out of the room and stepped up to the bed. He had an odd, confused look on his face. I couldn't read it. His silence was awkward, but I couldn't think of anything to say to fill it.

I swallowed. "Sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I hope you aren't angry."

Steve's brow ruffled even further, and he looked away from my eyes, down the white sheet.

"I'm not. I-I've just got a lot on my mind. You don't have to apologize."

I bit the inside of my lip. "I said something really mean to you last time, so I should."

"No, you-you were right. I don't have the greatest history with keeping promises." He swallowed. "I want to change that."

I nodded. "Okay."

Silence again.

"I have a meeting to go to." 

"Okay."

Steve fled. Out the door and down the hall he stopped to collect himself. He hadn't the courage to ask her what he really wanted to know about, the photos, or the alternate realities, or anything. What was the point? Why did he somehow feel she would have an answer for him?

Steve jogged softly down the hall to the briefing room. This was all so confusing. Who was on his side now? Who did he need to keep an eye on around Agatha?

The briefing room was already abuzz with conversation when he walked in. Fury stood beside the door and softly called him out.

"So you decided to show."

Steve bit back the bile crawling in the back of his throat. He was still upset with Fury. Steve chose a spot in the middle distance to avoid looking him in the eyes.

"If I hadn't done something, Morgan would have killed her."

Fury nodded. "I acknowledge that."

There was a terrible, awkward silence between them, drowned by the other conversations.

"But you shouldn't have been there at all."

Steve's gaze snapped to meet Fury's eyes, and fire burned across the space between them.

"You'd execute an innocent civilian?"

"Hold your horses, soldier. Only one of those needles held a lethal injection. The others held sodium thiopental."

"Truth serum?"

"That one syringe was only there as a very last resort. I'd been given a tip, that I might have someone dangerous on my hands. Coulson had orders not to initiate until I gave the order."

Steve's self-justification seemed to evaporate from his shoulders, leaving him feeling empty and a little sick. Only a few moments ago he'd been so eager to create sides. Now he felt like a fool.

"This is why I told you to step down. You've lost your judgment, and you can't be trusted."

"Director!"

Steve took a half-step forward, but Fury had already turned away.

"You don't trust me, Soldier, and I don't trust you."

He walked away, leaving Steve to stew over it in his mind. It hadn't been a test, but he still failed it. He saw Natasha's gaze slide over them as if she had heard every word.

Steve took a deep breath. She must have given the Fury the tip. Even if Fury wasn't out to get Agatha, Natasha still was.

Slowly Steve followed Fury to the table and into the wild grip of its animated conversation.