Mina could feel Molly's eyes on her as she moved around the kitchen, preparing a salad for lunch. It had been a week and a half since Mina had told Molly who she was truly dating. Naturally, she had freaked out on her best friend for a solid hour. Once she had calmed down though, she expressed she was just worried for her friend, especially after the attack in D.C. and the fact that her boyfriend was at the center of all of it. It had been another week after that since Mina had even heard from Steve after he had gone to Europe. Mina was trying not to worry, but she was and Molly could tell she was. "Stop staring or I'm eating that Chubby Hubby you have hidden in the back of the freezer."

"I'm sorry Minnie…I'm just worried about you cause I can see that you're worried-"

"I am not worried." The comment earned a raised eyebrow from Molly. "Okay…I'm worried about him but standing here, talking about it, fretting, and crying over it is not going to change anything or help anything. So…I'm making this salad, I'm going to eat this salad, and we are going to watch that documentary you've been bugging me about watching for the past week."

Molly just shook her head as Mina turned her attention back to making her salad. In truth, on the inside Mina was freaking out with worry. She knew she shouldn't be, that Steve would be fine, and he would be home soon with a reasonable explanation. She also knew that situations like this would most likely become a normal part of being in a relationship with Steve. The afternoon slipped by just as Mina had said it would, her phone also remaining silent. Molly was wise enough to know not to push the matter with her friend; though she was still worried about her.

At about two in the morning, even though the phone was on silent, Mina saw it light up from across her bedroom. A sigh of relief escaped her when she reached it and saw Steve's name across the screen. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" Steve said immediately when she answers.

"No, I was awake." She told him honestly. "Are you okay? It's…"

A sigh from Steve came through the phone as Mina left her words unspoken. "Yeah, I'm fine…I'm okay." He told her. "Look, it's late. I'm back in New York though. We can meet tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." She said. "I have something to do in the morning, but you can come by anytime in the afternoon."

"That will work." Steve said. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow…or well, today I guess."

"Okay." Mina nodded her head. "I'll talk to you soon."

When the knock on the door sounded through the apartment, Mina was on her feet and heading to the front door before Molly could even react. She took a semi-calming deep breath before undoing the locks. Steve and her just stared at each other for a moment after she opened the door. Neither really knew how to react; finally, Mina moved first by stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Steve's shoulders. In turn, he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up in a tight hug. "I was worried about you." Mina quietly said.

Steve's grip slightly tightened before he sat her back on the ground. One of his hands came up, gently cupping the side of her face before leaning to kiss her. "I know…I'm sorry." He whispered once he pulls back.

Mina nodded her head, lightly patting the side of his arm. She tilted her head, silently telling him to come in. Steve followed her into the apartment, spotting Mina's red-headed roommate sitting on the couch. Mina introduced them, Molly staying on the couch instead of rising to shake his outreached hand and giving Steve the stink-eye. "Nice to meet you." Molly had said in a clipped tone. Mina rolled her eyes at her friend's dramatics. "I've heard not a lot about you…well from Mina anyway."

"I apologize for that." Steve replied quickly. "I just…wanted to be careful at the beginning."

The two stared at each for longer than Mina felt comfortable. Molly was obviously sizing him up and Steve was just hoping to gain her approval. After a moment or two, Molly finally raised an eyebrow and rose from the couch. "Yeah, well…you better continue to be careful." Mina asked her where she was going as she grabbed up her purse and work bag. "I'm gonna head over to the museum…there's a new exhibit coming in and I want to get a jump on the research. Plus, you two obviously need to talk."

Mina just let out a sigh, muttering an alright as her best friend walked past them, wiggling her fingers in farewell. "Sorry about that…" Mina muttered after the door had shut. Steve just nodded his head as the two of them sat on the couch, immediately sitting close to one another and intertwining their hands. "Molly can get a little…feisty about stuff."

"It's okay." Steve said. "I can see where she's coming from…"

"Yeah but…I want her to like you as much as I do." Steve raised an eyebrow towards her at her statement. "Okay, that came out wrong…I just want her to be less cold towards you. She's my best friend and you're…"

The statement hung in the air as Mina leaned up and pressed her lips to Steve's. "She'll come around…hopefully." Steve said once they had broken apart. "But…I won't come between you guys." Mina just nodded her head, letting the conversation about Molly end there. She desperately wanted to ask Steve what had happened, why his trip took longer than expected, why she hadn't heard from him—"You look nice…" Steve broke her out of her thoughts, his eyes scanning her outfit. It was a simple dress, like one she would wear to work, with a cardigan over it. "Did you have a tour this morning?"

It wasn't uncommon for her to give tours at work on Sunday afternoons, but her Sundays morning already had a standing appointment. "No, I go to mass on Sundays." Mina said. This wasn't a fact she had shared about herself with Steve yet; in fact, not many people knew it about her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I go to St. Patrick's…the one here in Brooklyn not the one in Manhattan—"

"Wait, wait, wait—" Steve dropped her hands and sat up straighter, turning to face her more. "You go to mass every Sunday at Roman Catholic Church of St. Patrick…over on Fourth Avenue?" Mina nodded her head slowly…how did Steve know this church? She knew he had been baptized Catholic but they had never discussed religion beyond that. "That's the church I was baptized in…I went there as a kid—"

"You're freaking kidding me—"

"Yeah, Father Heffernan baptized me…of course after my mom died I stopped really going to mass…" Steve let his sentence trail off, seemingly becoming lost in memories. It was a common occurrence that Mina had grown used to. After a moment, she reached a hand up, gently cupping the side of his face to bring him back to the present. Steve shook his head, giving her a small smile. "But yeah…I didn't even know you went—I mean you had mentioned you were baptized—"

"I'm not saying I'm a hard-line Catholic or anything…" Mina shrugged a shoulder. "I just like going for the routine. How no matter where I'm at, it's the same mass being said all over the world. And it's—basically—the same prayers and everything I've said since I was a kid."

Steve stared at her, his expression unreadable. After a moment, Steve smiled at her. "I like that." He leaned forward, sharing a quick kiss. "Maybe I'll come with you some time."

"Okay." Mina whispered before leaning in for another kiss. The kiss was more thorough this time, Steve wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling Mina flush against him. When they broke apart, Mina rested her forehead against Steve's. "Steve…we need to talk about these past couple of weeks…" Steve let out a sigh as his arms fell to rest his hands on her hips. "Look, I'm not mad or anything like that…but I was worried. I just…I was just worried." And that was the truth. If Mina had felt any anger it was fleeting and was quickly replaced with worry.

"It was my fault." Steve said. Mina's eyes widened a fraction before confusion settled in. "I—I jumped out too early on this. I should've waited, gotten better intel. Before Sam and I could get out, we got pinned down by some rouge HYDRA agents. They were just as surprised to find us as we were them. Our communications were compromised…that's why I couldn't let you know what was going on."

"Is Sam okay?" Mina asked. Steve nodded his head. "Okay. I just…like I said, I was worried—a lot. A lot more than I thought I would be. Especially after you stopped calling."

"I'm sorry." Steve said quietly. He reached up, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "I want to promise that something like this won't happen again but…"

"I know." Mina said. She let out a sigh as she wrapped an arm around him and then leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. His arms wrapped around her again, hugging her to him tighter. They stayed like that, Mina listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat through his shirt. Every now and then, Steve dropped a kiss onto the top of her head as one of his hands ran soothingly over her hip.

After laying like that for a while, Steve let out a deep breath, leaning back to look at Mina. "Do you want to get some supper?"

Mina sat up, running a hand through her hair. "I actually don't have much of an appetite." Steve asked her why. She could see the look that crossed his face, wondering if it was because of the last two weeks. "It's not because of you or anything…it just started a few days ago." She purposely left out the part about how she was unable to keep any real solid food down, how she had actually dropped five pounds over the last few days, and how her stomach hurt all the time especially after she tried to eat. Steve was already starting to look more worried. "And don't worry…I've already called my brother—he's convinced it is stress related. I promise you it's not though because he should know as well as I do when I get stressed I actually eat more. So, I told him I would go to the doctor sometime this week if it doesn't resolve."

"When was the last time you ate?" Steve said; his tone was accusatory.

"I had a bagel this morning…" She told him. "I can handle some food…plain bread, some greens, and broth…" Steve continued to stare at her, silently telling her he was not happy. "Do not look at me like that Steven Grant…I've got it under control…okay?"

"Fine…" He told her even though she could tell it was totally not fine. "If you need me to go with you to the doctors or anything—"

"I will let you know." Mina leaned forward, pecking him on the cheek.

"Oh, thank god…" Mina said as she entered the office. Anna had left the small kitchen as Mina had let out the exclamation, arching an eyebrow at her co-worker. "Louise isn't here…I am not in the mood to deal with her…"

"You look like shit." Anna bluntly told her. Mina just scoffed at her as she headed back to her office. Usually she would immediately head for the kitchen herself, for a cup of coffee, but the thought of ingesting anything made her stomach roll and clench even more painfully. "Seriously Mina—you should head home—"

"I cannot leave you here by yourself." Mina said as Anna followed her into her office.

"Susan and Marla are coming in to volunteer today…I wouldn't be by myself." Anna explained. "Seriously Mina…you do not look good. I know you haven't felt good all week…"

When Mina had woken up on Monday morning, she felt even worse than she had the previous day. Steve had text her to ask how she was feeling, and naturally she lied, telling him she felt the same has when he had seen her the day before. As the week went on though, she steadily started feeling worse and her appetite was all but gone. Now on Wednesday, even she could see the weight loss and how pale she looked in the mirror that morning. "I just…" Mina sank down into her chair, letting out a sigh. "I just hate going to the doctor. You know I eat healthy…do my yoga…if I go then I know this is going to be something bad."

"Well then, you should call your brother at least." Anna said, her tone more gentle now. "See what he says…"

Mina nodded her head. Anna gave her a thumbs-up and a small smile before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. After dialing his number on her work phone, Mina laid her down on her desk—the phone on speaker—as it rang. "How is my favorite sister?" David boomed when the call connected.

"I'm your only sister dork." She replied back. David answered by laughing and asking how she was. "Bad—like very, very bad."

"What's going on?" His voice had taken on a more serious tone now. Mina ran through her symptoms that were basically the same as when she had last talked to him, only more severe now. "Okay, I think I know what may be going on now—I'm such an idiot for not catching it sooner—"

"Do not beat yourself up over this." Mina said as she sat up straight. "But what do you think it is?"

"I'm gonna call a guy I went to med school with—he's a general surgeon over at Columbia—let me call him, see if he can get you in to see you today." David said. "Hey…do not freak out about this, okay? I know you—so just stay calm okay?" Mina let out a sigh as she told him okay. Around fifteen minutes later, David called her back. "Okay, Donall said you could come in today…" David relayed the information to her, telling her where his office was. "He said to just come over now—but I don't want you taking yourself…"

"Yeah," Mina agreed with him. She felt super weak and knew she wouldn't be able to survive a trip across town on her own. "I'll call Steve."

"Good idea. Keep me updated…okay?" David and her exchanged farewells before hanging up.

Grabbing her cell, Mina sent a text to Steve, recapping the phone call with David and requesting him to come meet her at the office to take her over to the hospital. Steve agreed, telling her he would be there as soon as possible. Putting her phone down, Mina yelled for Anna to come in her office. "Okay…so I am going to the doctor today." She told her once she entered the office.

"You aren't going—"

"No, I'm not going by myself." Mina undid the button on her blazer, hoping for some relief from her bloated feeling stomach. "My—um, my boyfriend is coming to get me. And look—Anna, when he gets here, please do not say anything. I will explain once I'm feeling better but today…I just can't. Okay?"

Anna nodded her head, but didn't say anything despite the confused look on her face. Mina hadn't gotten around to telling her who she was dating yet. They were pretty close friends, so she knew she was dating someone…just not who. The two went over what needed to be done for the rest of the week, in the event that Mina did not come back to work. About twenty minutes later, the bells above the front door chime. Anna started to stand to see who it was, but ran into Steve at the door. "Oh holy shi—" She stopped herself from completing the expletive, stepping back and looking between the two people. Steve gave her a confused glance before looking to Mina with the same confusion. "Okay…right…I said that I wouldn't say anything. So…just—yeah, let me know what's happening, okay?"

Mina nodded her head, telling her that she would as Steve stepped out of the way so that Anna could leave the office. "Mina…" Steve let out as soon as he had gotten a good look at her. She could see the worry etched all over his face.

"Do not start lecturing me, just…" As she stood, a wave of nausea rolled over her. Her fists clenched, she rested them on her desk as she stayed still, riding out the pain. Once it was gone, she noticed Steve was at her side, a hand on the small of her back. "Okay…that's new. Let's just go."

The two made their way out of the office and out to the street. Mina was almost overcome with joy when Steve started to lead her to a Range Rover. He told her that Tony Stark had lent it to him, with the caveat that Mina did not "hurl it in". Mina just rolled her eyes as Steve shut her door. Half an hour later they were parked and making their way into the hospital to Dr. Donall Marlowe's office. Mina gave the nurse at the front desk her name, expecting to have to wait a while since it was so last minute. To both her and Steve's surprise, they were shown right back. The nurse in the room took her vitals, asking her basic medical history (basically none, except some back issues stemming from a car accident when she was sixteen), and then taking down what her symptoms had been. A few minutes after she left, Dr. Marlowe came in. "Mina…it's so nice to finally meet you." The man reached out his hand to Mina, shaking it a couple times. "Dave told me a lot about you…both while we were in med school and just a little while ago on the phone."

"Definitely wish we could've met under different circumstances." Mina said, trying to give him a smile…but she was just too damn tired.

Donall just nodded his head, as if he understood. He then turned to Steve, holding out a hand like he did to Mina. "And this must be the boyfriend…Steve?" Mina couldn't tell if the doctor truly didn't recognize Steve or if he was being polite.

"Yes sir." Steve shook his hand a couple of times. "Thank you for fitting Mina in like this."

"Not a problem…not a problem at all…" Donall said, shaking his head. "Sounds like you should've came in sooner though." He gave her a chastising look before bringing up the tablet he had been holding by his side. "Now…from what I'm hearing, I think it may be your gallbladder. David said you've never had it taken out?" Mina shook her head slowly as the dread creeped up in her. She absolutely did not want to have surgery. "Okay, so before I go cutting on you though, I want to run a couple of test."

He tells her the tests, ultrasound, blood work, CT scan, and a test to see how high her gallbladder was functioning. Normally the last one would have to be done on a different day, but since she had eaten since yesterday morning (Steve didn't look too pleased when she told Donall that) they would be able to do it that day. A transporter came in to take her by wheelchair to a different part of the hospital to run the tests. Steve went with them, staying by her side or in the waiting room when he wasn't allowed in the back. He also played message relater, keeping David (who was keeping their parents up to date) and Molly updated. Even though Mina could tell that he was nervous for her, he was a calm that she needed. This was not part of her plan; she didn't handle unexpected changes as well as she should. During the HIDA scan he was allowed to sit beside the imaging table. Mina teased him that the tech was just too afraid to tell him no. Hours later when they re-entered Dr. Marlowe's office, the nurse showed them right back again. Before they could even make it to a room though, Donall stopped them. "I've already gotten the results back from all your test—I know it's not what you want to hear but I need to get you into surgery…now—"

"Wait, what?"

"The HIDA scan showed your gallbladder is functioning at zero percent and from the ultrasound it looks like it is inflamed as well." As he explained everything, a nurse had appeared behind them with a wheelchair. Mina sat in it numbly, reaching out for Steve's hand. He grabbed on to it, holding it tightly. She hadn't looked at him yet, but she could only imagine he was wearing the same shocked look as her. "The blood work has me concerned that it's been inflamed too long and turned necrotic…hence we need to do the surgery now—"

"Woah, woah, woah, no—" Mina shook her head resolutely. "I want to talk to David first; see what—"

"You can talk to him on the way to pre-op—but we need to go now." Donall said in a calm tone, but also in a tone that this wasn't up for debate. Mina could feel herself starting to hyperventilate, but she felt like she was floating outside of her body. It had been a long time since she had a panic attack and this one was hitting like a freaking wrecking ball. She vaguely heard Donall ask the nurse to get him two of Ativan, to calm her down. "Hey, hey, Mina…everything is going to be fine—"

"Mina…you're going to be okay…" Steve was chiming in now, his hand on her back, rubbing reassuring circles between her shoulder blades. Her mind was at war with itself; she knew she needed this surgery, that Donall was perfectly capable of performing it, and that everything would be fine. The other half of her mind was freaking the hell out though; she didn't need surgery, she was perfectly healthy…this was just a stomach ache that would go away in a couple days…it was no big deal. Her boyfriend had literally just exposed a secret organization within another secret organization and fell hundreds of feet into the Potomac…she was fine. She kept trying to tell all of them this, the nurse Debbie, Steve, Donall, the transporters that came to take her down to pre-op, but it wasn't coming out right. The Ativan had kicked in and she felt subdued.

The tears continued down her face after a different nurse in pre-op had helped her change into a gown and had let Steve back by her side. "I'm fine Steve…just take me home…I'll be fine…" she had softly said to him once the curtain around her bed had been pulled shut. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, an I.V. drip, and had oxygen in her nose now. Steve just gave her a tight smile before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. He didn't say anything, just gently kept ahold of her hand. The nurse came in a few minutes later again, this time with more nurses in surgical garb, telling her that Donall and the anesthesiologist was ready for them in the operating room. She gave Mina another dose of medicine, this one to actually put her to sleep, before they gathered the heart monitor and oxygen tank.

As they readied her for transport, she was fighting to keep conscious. She was a control freak; if it was up to Mina she would be awake for the whole surgery just so she could know what was going on. Vaguely aware of the feeling of Steve pressing his lips to hers, she tightened her grip (as much as she could) on his hand. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear, but was unable to register what it was he was saying. Fighting to keep her eyes open still, she tried her best to slur out an 'I love you'…but wasn't sure if she actually said it before the nurses where wheeling her down the hall.