Okay, everyone, I got the internet for a night, so I'm posting now. This is the last chapter and I think I might cry because it's been such a fun run. Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, reviewed, and just read because it's so cool that people like the story. There's going to be a special announcement at the end of the chapter, so please read it! Enjoy the last chapter and let me know what you think of the story and this last chapter. Thank you for reading!

Steve grit his teeth as he moved down the hallway, rubbing at his bruised shoulder. It wasn't healing as fast as he'd hoped and, with everything that happened in the last couple of days, he wasn't sure he wanted it to. The memories were sharp in his mind, especially brutal after all the nights spent alone. Sometimes he swore he could smell the smoke tinging the air, the copper scent of blood swirling in the middle of the chaos and stinging his nose.

Frowning deeply, he sidestepped one of Stark's nurses, his eyes coming up to find Bucky seated outside one of the hospital rooms. His back was ramrod straight and his eyes were staring blankly at the wall in front of him. Bucky's grief had been worse than the rest of them. He blamed himself the most, even more than Steve most days. Steve had tried to talk to him, to get him to open up about his pain, but Bucky wouldn't speak to anyone.

His head snapped up when Steve got too close, dark eyes ringed in bruises that belied his lack of sleep. Steve understood the concept, but wished that Bucky would take even a small nap. It had been almost a week since the HYDRA facility and Bucky had yet to go back to his room, barely sleeping. Instead, he sat in silent vigilance outside the hospital room, waiting for the danger he was sure would come.

Steve nodded to his friend and Bucky nodded back, allowing him entrance to the room with silent agreement. Steve took a deep breath to brace himself, starting through the door while straightening his shoulders and forcing himself to hide the pain he was still experiencing.

"You're here! Great, tell her we're not watching The Notebook again!" Nova hollered at the top of her lungs. Steve blinked slowly at the woman before him, wondering if she ever stopped talking.

"Steve, tell her I can choose whatever I want because I'm the one who almost died and this is my hospital room," Evangeline demanded, wide golden eyes snapping to his face. Steve softened as soon as he saw Evangeline, alive and healing, in her hospital bed. Taking long strides toward her, he dropped a kiss on her lips before acknowledging her best friend.

"Evangeline gets to pick what to watch. You know the rules," Steve reminded her. Nova groaned and shoved her face into a pillow, cursing him out. Steve had actually grown to like Nova, especially after she'd flipped and punched Maria Hill in the face when Hill had had the gall to suggest that Evangeline's wounds were necessities of war. Hill had a nice black eye afterward and Nova had his never-ending regard. It helped that she watched Evangeline when he couldn't be there, constantly at her side. Nova gave them plenty of time alone, but she also made sure to check in at least twice a day to allow Steve time to shower, change, and nap. She'd been a great friend to Evangeline and an amazing ally to Steve himself.

"But I've watched the Notebook three times in two days, Cap. I don't think I can take it again," Nova complained, hopping to her feet nimbly. "I'm going to go check on Tony. If you're going to watch that again, you can watch it with your boyfriend."

"I'll see you soon, Nova," Evangeline waved at her friend as she burst out of the hospital room with a grin on her lips.

"I'll be back, my favorite creepy assassin man," Nova cheerfully informed Bucky. Steve was kind of surprised that Bucky hadn't killed the woman yet, but he was surprisingly wan about her visits. He let her in and out without complaint and even put up with her increasingly ridiculous nicknames for him.

"How are you?" Steve asked as soon as the door shut behind Nova, turning to Evangeline seriously. Dark circles ringed her eyes and she still had multiple bruises on her face. Not to mention her arm was in a sling and she couldn't move her leg. There wasn't lasting damage besides the scars that would linger forever, but Steve worried endlessly about her. He knew she was probably having nightmares, but Stark had finally gotten Mags Maddox to kick him out at night, so he couldn't even be there for her while she fought the memories.

"I'm doped up on various pain medication, but I'm really happy to see you. I missed you," she informed him, reaching out for his hand. Steve laced his fingers in hers and held tightly enough to remind her that he was there, eyes tracing the telltale bulge of bandages beneath her clothing. It pained him to see, but he needed to look. Not just to make sure she was all right, but to remind himself about what happened. So that he remembered why he was taking her away from here as soon as she was healed.

"I've missed you too," Steve informed her, bringing her hand up to his lips so he could press a kiss against her chilled fingers. She smiled at him, golden eyes seeming to glow.

"You should sit with me," Evangeline told him, pulling her hand out of his hold and starting to fight through the various tubes and wires that were hooked up to her. Steve was on his feet in an instant, gently stopping her from moving her arms so that he could untangle the two wires she'd managed to get tied up in.

"I am sitting with you," he reminded her, letting her go once she was free. She still struggled to scoot over on the bed, leaving enough room for someone else to sit with her. Steve almost smacked his forehead when he figured out what she really wanted.

"No, sit on the bed with me. Please?" She looked up at him with wide, unblinking eyes and he sighed, carefully moving to climb onto the bed with her. Like he would be able to resist her when she was giving him that look. Not just the big eyes and small frown, but the clear pleading on her face. He was no saint and he needed to be close to her just as much as she needed him close.

Making sure he didn't tangle in her wires or IV, Steve made himself comfortable, smiling when Evangeline did her best to curl into him, her good hand fisting in his shirt.

"You know, Mags is going to kill me if she finds out I let you move. You're supposed to be resting," Steve reminded Evangeline, who hummed as she relaxed against him. It was the most relaxed he'd seen her since she'd come out of surgery for her shoulder and he leaned down to press his lips into her forehead, reassured when he found that her temperature was cooled to a normal human's temperature. The first few days she'd had a fever and chills, scaring all of them into waiting outside her hospital room door.

"Mama Mags doesn't need to know," Evangeline informed him, looking up and pressing her lips into his jaw. Steve tilted his head down to capture her lips with his, carefully kissing her as thoroughly as he could without hurting either of them. Evangeline ran her tongue along his gently and nibbled at his bottom lip, smiling into his kisses.

"I find out everything, my dear." Steve jerked back, almost falling off the side of the bed when his head snapped around and he was left staring at Mags Maddox. Honestly, the woman was the most motherly person he'd met in this lifetime. In some maternal way, she reminded him of his mother. Which was why he hated getting caught doing stupid shit in front of her. Like making out with Evangeline when she was supposed to be resting and healing. "I have a sixth sense, you see. I know when my children are doing something stupid."

"I'm not doing anything stupid," Evangeline answered, obviously not too disturbed as she reached out to grab Steve's hand again, effectively keeping him in the bed with her as she curled up, one leg straight and her wounded arm curled into her chest as she rested her head against Steve's shoulder.

"That depends on who you're asking. But that isn't why I'm here," Mags informed them, holding up a file of papers before handing them to Steve. "You are aware that Evangeline can't be moved for a few weeks yet, aren't you?"

Steve opened the file and stared at the accrued information, surprised that she'd managed to compile his entire flight itinerary. It was a very vague flight request, from the Tower to Europe, possibly South America. There was no specific destination, but the list he'd been thinking of was on the bottom of the sheet. There were even requests for the cloaking mechanisms to be turned on during the flight.

"I am aware," Steve forced out between clenched teeth. He felt Evangeline's grip on his hand loosen as she took in the compiled file, reading the information laid out and drawing all the wrong conclusions. Looking up, Steve sent Mags a dirty look, not caring that he regarded her fairly fondly, in the scheme of things. She obviously realized that he hadn't spoken with Evangeline about leaving after watching them for a moment, one eyebrow arching up curiously.

"One of my sources approached me with those yesterday. I assume you have a plan, Captain?" Mags offered, raising her chin defiantly.

"Yes, I do," Steve managed, wishing she would leave. After a moment staring him down, Mags nodded sharply and left, sweeping out of the room without another word, the door sliding shut behind her. Steve quickly turned to Evangeline, who was already watching him with wide, guarded eyes. He knew she'd taken it the wrong way, but it hurt to see her pulling away so quickly from him without seeming to need an explanation. He wondered, not for the first time, who the hell had hurt her so badly before he'd met her.

"You're leaving." It left her mouth as a soft whisper and he could practically hear her heart breaking. He wasn't having that.

"I'm not leaving without you," Steve firmly stated, staring her straight in the eye and reaching out to cup her chin in his palm. She let him, still obviously wary as he dug to find the words to tell her what he needed to. "After what happened with HYDRA, I started thinking about the best ways to keep you safe. I was going to ask you about it when you were feeling better. These are just tentative flight plans, things I've been talking over with Stark."

"What were you going to ask me?" she asked, still watching him carefully.

"Come with me. Once you're feeling better, of course. We can go anywhere in the world you want to go, I promise. Let's just leave for a while, be safe while we heal," Steve practically begged. He wouldn't leave if she didn't want to. He wasn't letting her go, not in this lifetime. And he wasn't going to let her stay in the Tower alone, if that was what she chose. He would always have her back if she needed it.

"You want me to go on vacation with you?" Evangeline clarified, her nose wrinkling. Steve ran his thumb gently along the ridges and smoothed out her expression for her.

"I want you to come with me. Not just a vacation. We can travel the world. Wherever you've wanted to go since you were a little girl, I'll take you there. It's just too dangerous here," Steve reminded her, carefully turning so that he was facing her on the bed, her back rested against the plethora of pillows Nova had brought her.

"What about the Avengers? And my job? And Nova? And James?" Evangeline started firing out questions and Steve almost slumped with relief. If she was trying to figure everything out, that meant she was thinking of going with him. Planning was her forte, and he was remiss to think that she would let that go to run away with him.

"The Avengers can have a direct line to us, just like Nova and Bucky. If they need help, I'll come back and help them. But they have more and more help lately and they'll be able to function while we're away. Your boss tried to throw you into an undercover operation when she was about ninety percent sure you wouldn't live through it. Mags already warned Maria that you might not be coming back, at least for a while. And we can meet Nova and James in various places, see them for a little while when we're passing through somewhere," Steve insisted, reaching out and taking Evangeline's small hand in his. She let him, her fingers tapping on the back of his hand while she thought it all through.

"You're terrible at planning. You'll get bored with just me around. Not only that, but I always travel with a schedule. When Nova's family took Elise and me to Disney World, I insisted we make an itinerary for the trip. You'll hate me by the time the vacation is done," Evangeline started shaking her head and Steve leaned down pressing their foreheads together so that he could look her right in the eye. Taking a deep breath of her scent, Steve relaxed a little and pressed a kiss to her nose.

"I am terrible at planning things. But I won't get bored with you. Schedules can help with things. Especially things like large amusement parks with no clear rally points. But I could never hate you," he promised, leaning down to press kisses into her cheeks. Evangeline wiggled a little, a smile growing on her lips. "I happen to love you too much, doll."

He kissed her on the lips as soon as the words were out of his mouth, her lips warm and familiar against his own. She let his hand go and slid her fingers through his hair, pulling him down more firmly before she was pulling back. Steve let out a tiny whimper at the loss of her lips on his before her lips were pressing to any skin she could reach. His nose, his cheeks, his chin, his neck, his collarbone, and all the way back up.

"You're a pain in the ass, Captain," she started, opened mouthed kisses left on the corners of his mouth that he desperately tried to turn into only to find her gone again. "But I do love that you're my pain in the ass."

"Is that a yes? Will you go with me?" he asked, pulling back to eye her curiously.

"So long as we stop at the Parthenon first," she demanded. Steve relaxed and lay next to her, pulling her on top of him carefully. He was pretty sure that was against the rules, but he was too busy finding her lips and pressing his own against them to care. Her warm breath mingled with his and he was pretty sure heaven would feel a lot like having Evangeline in his arms, safe and sound.

"I think I can manage that."

The End

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

The sequel of this story is officially going to be called Supernova. It's a Bucky/OC and the OC is Nova Maddox. I'm still not positive when I'm going to start posting, but keep an eye out if you're interested! Thank you for reading and hopefully I'll hear from some of you when the sequel comes out! (P.S. Steve and Evangeline will definitely make an appearance in Supernova.)