The next morning, to my dismay, it was still raining. Steve woke me up with breakfast in bed: poached eggs and sausages with peanut butter toast and, of course, coffee.

"Mm, I could get used to this," I said, smiling.

"I wish we could do this at the lake house, but the roads are closed because of the rain. Apparently, there's some big storm coming up from the coast," Steve told me as we ate.

"When will it be clear?" I asked.

Steve reached out to brush the hair out of my face. I had fallen asleep with it wet, so it was now extra curly. "A few days. I hate to delay our trip, but..."

I nodded my understanding. "I get it. We'll just have to figure out a way to keep busy in the meantime."

Steve smirked. "What did you have in mind?"

I bit my lip. "I actually have to go to work today."

"But it's raining," Steve complained. "Can't you call in sick?"

I shook my head. "Not today. But I promise we can do something when I come home later, ok? Whatever you want."

Steve perked up at that, and we continued our breakfast. Once we were done, Steve went to take the tray down to the kitchen. I took my diner outfit to the bathroom to change. Just as I came out of the bathroom, my phone buzzed.

I switched the phone to speaker mode so I could throw on a little makeup before heading downstairs. "Yeah, sure. That'd be great. Did you come back to the room at all last night?"

"I sort of fell asleep," she said, "with Bucky."

"Oh?"

"It's not what you think."

"Oh." I frowned at my phone. "Is everything ok with you two?"

"Yeah, everything is great. I'll explain later."

"Are you downstairs?" I turned off the light at my vanity and stood up.

"Yeah."

"I'll be down in five," I said. I hung up and grabbed my bag from the back of my closet door. I met Emery downstairs on the main level where most of the rest of the team was already gathered.

"What's going on?" I asked Emery.

"Tony called a brief team meeting," she told me.

I took a seat between her and Steve on the couch.

"So, I've been thinking that we should celebrate our newest members with a party," Tony said, finally addressing the group.

"When?" I asked.

"Saturday," he replied.

That meant I only had a week to find a dress.

"Tony, that soon? We have to get a venue. And call the caterers. And arrange valet par—" Pepper started to say, making a list of everything that would have to be done before the party.

"I've already taken care of that. This has actually been in the works for a while—I'd wanted it to be a surprise."

I looked around. Everyone seemed to be in agreement about the party.

"A party should be fun," Steve said to me after Tony had adjourned the meeting. "We can make our debut as a couple."

"Well, you're gonna have to ask me if you want me to be your date," I teased.

"Duly noted." Steve laughed and gave me a quick kiss before letting me go to work.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Emery and I arrived at the diner and found our boss talking to a tall brunette. She nodded as he spoke.

"Ah, just the two ladies I wanted to see," he said.

"What can we do for you, sir?" Emery asked.

"We have a new employee joining us. I'd like you to meet Katya Sanderson."

The brunette turned toward us and flashed a smile. "Pleased to meet you both," she said in a British accent.

Emery and I exchanged a brief glance, before turning back to Katya.

"Nice to meet you as well," I said, flashing a smile of my own.

"Alright, let's get to work. I need someone to help train Katya on some of the basics around the diner," our boss said. "We have a few people out sick today, so we need all the help we can get around here."

"I'll do it," Emery volunteered.

"Then it's settled. Let's get to work."

When Katya left for the break room to get an apron, Emery caught my arm.

"I don't like this," she said, voicing my concerns exactly.

"You caught it, too?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Take this. I'm gonna make a call." I pressed a comms unit into her hand.

"Be careful, Nat," she said.

"You too."

We went our separate ways and I called Tony to give him an update.

"Keep me posted," he said once I'd explained the newcomer at the diner. He understood our concerns about Katya, but without proof of...well, anything, there wasn't much we could do except keep an eye on her.

"I will." I watched as Katya left the break room, tying an apron around her waist. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Have Steve and Bucky drop by the diner during lunch time. And connect up the comms system. I snuck two units out for me and Em, so you can monitor us from the compound."

"Will do," Tony said.

We hung up and I took a deep breath before starting my shift. The morning rush was slower than normal, which was good since we were low on staff and training a new employee.

"Rubbish! I'm terribly sorry," I heard Katya say as I cleaned up a few of the tables. I smelled something burning.

"Don't worry about it," Emery said, waving away the smoke in the kitchen as best she could. "Let's try the cappuccino machine."

I shook my head in disbelief as I listened to their conversation. Maybe the initials are just a coincidence. Unless the clumsy waitress bit is just an act. Luckily, I didn't have to think about it for very long because Steve and Bucky showed up five minutes later.

Emery was able to keep Katya busy wiping tables while she spoke to Steve at a far booth. Bucky took a seat at the counter to talk to me. I gave him the customer spiel to hopefully not draw too much attention.

"What can I get you?" I asked.

"I'll have an apple fritter, blueberry pancakes, and coffee," he said.

ABC: all bases connected. I recognized the code: we had backup moments away if the situation called for it. Embedding the code with food words worked for my cover, but could be altered depending on the circumstances. This time I knew it meant that we had backup moments away if the situation called for it.

I nodded to him, leaving briefly to put the order in with the kitchen, and returned a minute later with a pot of coffee.

"Nat, I need you to adjust your tie about thirty degrees to your left," Tony's voice said through my comms.

I did so. "What exactly is the point of this?"

"I embedded a camera. Hold it there...ok, got it." He said something to someone back at the compound that I couldn't quite hear. I figured it was either Shuri or Peter since they'd helped us a lot with our case.

"Anything else for you?" I asked Bucky.

He shook his head but tapped his fingers against the counter in morse code: January 6, 1999.

I handed him the receipt, saying loudly, "That'll be $16.99."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katya flinch.

Bingo.

"Nat, take your lunch break. Meet me across the street in ten minutes," Tony said through the comms. Since I knew it took 20 minutes to get to the diner by car, I figured he was already halfway there.

"Here's your copy," I said, addressing both Bucky and Tony at the same time. I brought Bucky his food before clocking out for lunch.

Emery caught my eye as I gave her a two-finger salute. She tugged at her ear and I nodded.

The store across the street was a bookshop. Cute, cozy, quaint. The bell above the door dinged as I entered, and I headed straight to the back.

"I've always loved romance novels," I said to no one in particular, had there been any patrons there, but Tony caught my meaning soon after.

"I prefer mystery novels myself. I've found Sherlock Holmes to be the most fascinating," he replied.

"Any particular reason?" I cross-stepped over to the section labeled 'Mystery'.

"I'm particularly interested in cases of stolen identity."

I perked up at that and caught Tony's eye between the shelves. He passed me a book through the shelves.

"I've learned with these stories it doesn't always turn out the way it seems," he said.

I opened the book and picked up the photo and information sheet that sat inside. My heart sank. The readout claimed that the person in the photo, when run with facial analysis, was Katya Sanderson.

"Damn it," I cursed. "So what does this mean for us?"

"It means back to square one," Tony replied. "She's legit."

"It's impossible," I muttered. "She knows something."

"Nat, it's ok. We'll figure it out," Steve said through comms, trying to calm me down. I wouldn't have it.

"Run it again." I slammed the book shut, causing the boy down the aisle to jump at the sound. I fixed him a glare and he slowly backed away.

"Natasha, I'm sorry. We can't make her be who you want her to be."

"Are you sure you ran facial recognition correctly? How is it that there's only one type of DNA showing?" I demanded.

"I can have Peter run it again, but the results are conclusive. She's legit."

I knew I couldn't argue anymore. Somehow, Katya was legit. Even though she knew that date. She knew. I was going to prove she wasn't who she said she was.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hey, are you staying with Steve tonight?" Emery asked that evening. She stood in the doorway of our room wearing an oversized t-shirt.

I looked up from the book I was reading. "I can. Do you want the room?"

Emery blushed, tugging at the hem of her shirt. 

I looked up from the book I was reading. "I can. Do you want the room?"

Emery blushed, tugging at the hem of her shirt. "Um, well, Bucky and I...we were gonna sort of...you know."

"Oh." I sat up. "Yeah, I can stay with Steve tonight."

"Thanks, Nat. You're the best."

I got up and sulked down to Steve's room. When he answered my knock, he took one look at my face and pulled me into a hug.

"I can't believe it wasn't her," I mumbled into his chest.

"We're gonna find her, Nat. I promise you," he reassured me.

"No. Natasha, this is not your fault. Alexei and Kristina are part of some crazy scheme meant to hurt you. To kill you." He turned my face so I could look into his beautiful blue eyes. "I will never let that happen to you."

"I don't know what to do anymore, Steve. I've trained my whole life...and I've got nothing. No leads. No intel. Nothing."

"You have me," Steve said. "I hope that counts for something."

I gave him a small smile as I felt tears threatening to spill from my eyes. "Of course it does." I leaned up to kiss him. Just being in his presence relaxed me.

"Oh that reminds me. Can I stay with you?" I asked. "Emery said she wants our room tonight."

Steve nodded. "You can always stay with me."

That night, I fell asleep next to my one and only. My mind had stopped circling around the intel Tony had shared earlier and I began to relax. I knew there was more to Katya than met the eye.

And I had a plan.

----

A/N: any guesses about Katya Sanderson? Who do you think she is: an innocent civilian or a manipulative spy connected to Alexei and Kristina Sokolov? Leave your thoughts below in the comments!

~Han