Author's Note: One thing you should learn, dear reader, is that my stories never die. I will finish them out, even if the last time I posted was in 2013 and it is now 2016.

This story is still on temporary hiatus until I finish my Disneyland Tales one, but I just felt like writing this today, what with seeing Chris Evans's lovely face on a bunch of cereal boxes lately.

Anyway, enjoy!

It had been a few days on the helicarrier and they still had no idea where Loki was. S.H.I.E.L.D. had top-of-the-line surveillance equipment. If they couldn't find him, their prospects for finding Loki weren't promising. Wherever Loki was, he was causing trouble. Things would probably go from bad to worse in a hurry whenever he finally decided to release his full power.

In the meantime, the team had been left to their own devices. Tony had read through several textbooks on thermonuclear physics in order to better understand how the helicarrier actually worked. This had only provided him with a few hours of entertainment.

Natasha would desperately follow around anyone who looked official with the hopes that they would give her something to do. Steve guessed that Agent Barton's disappearance was hard on her. She wanted to do something so that she wouldn't feel so powerless.

Dr. Banner was shut up in his scientific study on the second floor for most of the day. From where Steve sat in the helicarrier bridge, he could see Banner's intelligent face intently staring into vials of colorful liquids. All that science stuff was all beyond him.

Steve still didn't quite know what to begin to do to fill his time. Often, he would punch out his frustrations in his own personal hitting gym, but even Captain America could only do that for so long. After showering and changing, he would walk outside into the mostly-glass room full of people scouring their computers for evidence of Loki, only to come up empty.

Every once and awhile, he would see Ms. O'Brien as she quickly walked with her clicking heels across the steel floors from one place to the next. She always looked tense. Always looked like she was in a hurry. Steve guessed that directing Fury's life must be harder than he could even imagine.

Last night, over dinner, Tony had given him the idea of asking Georgia for a laptop that wasn't being used so that he could do some reading about the decades that he had slept through. So, as daunting as that task sounded, Steve was determined to talk to Georgia today to actually be productive with the time he felt he was wasting.

She could nearly always be found on the catwalk that led from the barracks to the offices, so Steve decided to wait there. Surely enough, only after a few minutes, he heard her distinctive black high heels clicking on the floors as she quickly approached.

He had learned not to stand behind corners. When she rounded this one, he was in the middle of the hallway and was able to approach her and ask, "Hi, Ms. O'Bri—I mean, Georgia."

"Hello, Captain Rogers. How can I help you today?"

Steve hadn't gotten to really look at her since his first night on the craft. But now, despite the dark circles under her eyes that were covered with makeup or the color in her face that had been brought about by her brisk walking, he realized just how beautiful she really was. Tony had been right.

And for some reason, this realization flustered him. He realized that he had been opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds now, and for every second that went by, Georgia's eyebrows rose as if wondering why he was speaking to her in the first place.

"Captain Rogers?" she spoke again.

"Hi, um . . ." All capacity for language went out the window. "So, um, Tony mentioned to me yesterday that you might be able to get me a laptop so that I could catch up on the world?"

She looked skeptical. "You were given a briefing about what you missed prior to boarding the helicarrier. Was that not sufficient?"

"No. I want to know different things. I want to know who Michael Jackson was and what happened during Katrina and why everyone's so obsessed with Gray and his anatomy." He came out sounding more frustrated than he intended, but Georgia just smiled.

"I understand, Captain. Follow me. I'll get you an unused laptop from one of the technology centers." She turned around and began walking the way she had come. Steve followed.

"By the way, Georgia, remember to call me Steve," he said after a few moments of quiet.

"Yes, sorry, Capt—Steve." She smiled, then repeated his name, as if to reassure herself, "Steve."

"There it is. Not so bad, right?" She hummed a laugh in response and continued her quick pace down the hall. "So, where have you been the past few days?"

She sighed. "Everywhere. We've gotten a few good leads on Loki's whereabouts but so far come up with nothing. Fury's just about had it. He always gets antsy when an agent is taken into enemy hands." She meant Agent Barton. Steve cringed.

"So what about you? How did you end up here?"

She tensed a bit. "I guess I ended up here just like everyone else did, in the end. I worked hard and do my job well and they see that as a reason to let me keep my position." She said it, but Steve didn't think that was all that there was, though he wouldn't pry any further at that moment.

They rounded the final confusing corner of the labyrinth that made up the helicarrier to reach a darkened room that had a few glowing lights. After flipping the switch, Steve saw all the laptops and computers and random technology pieces that he couldn't even identify sitting, unused, even untouched, on tables and in cabinets.

Georgia walked up to the nearest one, unplugged it from its charging station, and handed it to Steve. It was strange to him how light technology was when it carried so much weight in this new world. He tucked it gingerly under his arm and said to her, "Thanks."

She responded, "You're welcome," and for the first time since he had known her, Georgia O'Brien smiled back at him. Not just her usual mournful half-smile that wasn't really a smile. She smiled fully, with all of her bright white teeth, her plump red lips making a perfect crescent.

Steve, not sure how to respond to this kind of reaction, smiled back and said, "Georgia, pardon me if this is out of bounds, but you have a very lovely smile. You should smile more often."

She stopped smiling. And at first, this scared Steve a great deal. But then she started smiling again and said, "Thanks, Steve. It's been awhile since anyone's given me a sincere compliment." She brushed a curl behind her ear and exited the room.

Steve tried to follow her, but by the time he had closed the door behind him, Georgia had already made her way down the hall, quickly walking to her next destination. But he could have sworn he heard her humming.