"Fury's going to be pissed at you." says Natasha with a smirk. "I'm surprised he even let you walk out of the room." Natasha walks around the gym they were in, taking a quick breather from her punching bag. She looks in Charlotte's direction as Steve helped her bandage her fingers.

"He'll thank me later. I just know that I'm right, Nat! I know what I saw, and even if I'm 2,000 years old, these eyes are as good as new!" As soon as she was done, she helps Steve with his bandages as well, planning on teaching him a few things. He looks up at both women, not exactly knowing who the red-head was.

"So this is Mr. Captain America, Charlie?" Natasha asks from behind a punching bag. She puts her hands on her hips, eyeing the blonde carefully.

Charlotte looks up, nodding. She sighs and smiles up at her friend.
"Steve, this is Natasha Romanoff. Natasha, this is Steve Rogers." She points.

Natasha waves and smiles at the man. She goes back to her punching bag, practicing her fluid movements. Steve goes back to looking at Charlotte, noticing her stressed expression.

"You alright, Lottie?" he asks tentatively.
"Yeah, I'm fine Steve." She replies.
"Is it Bucky?"

She looks up at him only to avert her gaze once more. She swallows thickly, licking at her teeth. Her emotions were weakness and feeling so many things at one time overwhelmed her and her idea of being an agent. Looking down at the ground, Charlotte mutters, "I'm supposed to be strong Steve. I'm supposed to be an agent, and right now, I'm failing at it miserably."

Steve is unsure of how he can make her situation better. He's just gotten back and a new reality is just thrown out at him. The world that he knew then is irrelevant to the circumstances that he has been presented now.

A pause rings between them as Natasha continued to train on her own. Awkwardly, Steve gazes down at Charlotte, who was fiddling with the edges of her bandages. "We'll figure it out." was the only phrase that he could muster at the moment. Charlotte looks up at him and smiles sweetly. "We always do, don't we?" she replies.

Charlotte bounces on her heels before dashing off to join Natasha with her punching bag. Steve followed. As they threw punches, a question came into Charlotte's mind.

"So you've encountered the Winter Soldier guy before Nat?" asked Charlotte.
"I was on a mission," Natasha answered. "He shot me right on the hip. Bye, bye bikinis after that."

"Wait, so this isn't the first time this guy's attacked?" Steve butted in.
"Well, no. You see, this thing- or guy- is a ghost. He disappears from the system quicker than you can hide your powers. He's something else, you know?"

Charlotte stayed silent, thinking to herself. He is something else… Bucky is. She shows Steve how to throw an uppercut and he follows her movements. Natasha continues to practice her kicks and punches, glancing at the pair every once in a while.

"Hey, Lottie," she called out, "your friend Sam Wilson from the VA clinic called the base earlier. Wanted to know if you're okay."

Charlotte looked up from her teaching and smiled. She and Sam Wilson had met during a Sunday morning jog. They became good friends and almost lovers after several brunches. They decided to remain friends after Charlotte explained that her career was her main priority.

"I'll call him a little later." she replied.

The boxing session went by quickly and they went their separate ways. Natasha went to go shower and freshen up while Steve and Charlotte went to go change. The pair went back up to Charlotte's office, wanting to go check in on any news that might have come in.

As Charlotte sat behind her desk fiddling away at her computer with one hand and writing on the other, Steve walked about the room, eyeing everything curiously. The door slammed open with Coulson stomping into the room angrily.

Charlotte glanced up and put on a scowl. She slid back in her chair, crossing her arms like a five-year-old. "Phil, I know exactly what you're going to say and I-"

"Don't pull that stunt again, Charlotte. You very well could have been fired from this organization!"

"What did you expect me to do?" she threw her arms up frustrated. "You can't assume that I'll take shit from Fury just because he's the boss man. If I have something to say, I'll say it!"

"The way you're acting makes you seem like a rookie agent! I might as well fire you right now if I could!"

Coulson stood before her, his arms crossed and a frightful glare on his features. Both Coulson and Charlotte stared at each other with gritted teeth, choosing not to start anything with each other just yet.

"C'mon you two. Stop fighting with each other." Steve stood on the sidelines, watching them.

Coulson looked at Steve with gentle fury.

"I know you're new here, Captain Rogers, but you have to understand that things around here run on order. That order needs to be followed by everyone, INCLUDING our oldest members." he made sure that Charlotte knew he was talking about her.

"That sounded more like a threat than a command for order." Steve said, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Well that's just how things run, Captain Rogers."

"Then it's not order you're running on. That's fear."

Silence rang throughout the office. Coulson licked his lips, nodding at Steve's reply. He turned around to Charlotte and pointed a finger at her.

"Don't go around talking like that to Fury. Got that kid?" Coulson said to her.

Charlotte stared back at him with a slight nod. She looked at him for a brief moment before standing. "Tell Fury I'll buy him coffee for a week. Also, tell him to give me the latest intel about anything that has to deal with the Winter Soldier. It won't happen again."

She reached for her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts, looking for Sam Wilson. Coulson nodded, gesturing towards the folders scattered on her desktop.

"All paperwork for past reports is due tomorrow at noon. Fury's desk, hand them to me tomorrow morning, I'll turn them in for you."

Resisting her urge to groan, Charlotte nodded just to keep him from lecturing her further. Just as she was getting ready to go, Coulson grabbed her forearm and pulled her back. With a serious glint in his eye, Charlotte knew that he meant business.

"There's something that Fury needs to discuss with you and Captain Rogers today. Meeting at three with the rest of the crew. Don't be late."

With that said, Coulson let her go. She nods, showing that she understood. Coulson stepped out of the room, and Charlotte tapped away at her phone. The line began to ring as Steve continued to look at her, wondering what she was up to.

"I hope you don't mind meeting a friend of mine. Hopefully you two can bond while I'm away working…"

The other line clicked, and a deep voice came across the phone speaker.
"I honestly thought you stood me up."

Charlotte laughed at Sam's greeting.
"Got into a scuffle. Sorry about that."

"No worries, Charlie. I'm just glad you're okay. That's all that matters."

As Sam spoke, Charlotte moved around to where Steve stood. She ushered him into a seat and sat across from him. She looks up at him to meet his blue eyes and smiles.

"I've got a guy you might want to meet. My adoptive brother to be specific. Want to meet up with him?"

Sam seemed to have brightened up at the sound of that. "I'll be glad to. When and where?"

"I'll drop him off at the clinic right now. I'm assuming you're still there, workaholic. I need him by three though," she smirked, "the old man needs his sponge bath."

Steve laughed at her remark, playfully punching her knee as she said it.

"Okay then," Sam chuckled, "I'll see you then. Bye, Charlie."

The line died and Lottie looked up at Steve who looked back at her with a grin.

"Nothing's changed about Lottie. Nothing at all."
"You love me Steve, we both know it." Charlotte got up and wrapped her arms around his broad figure.

"I'm so sorry I can't stay with you. I wish I could, but I really need to get on with work. Sam's a good guy though, so don't worry about that. If you need anything, anything at all, just ask Sam for his phone and-"

"Lottie… I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

Charlotte blushed. "Right. Sorry about that, Steve."

"C'mon. Let's get to that friend of yours, so you can finish up with work."