I ran into the gym, shouting for Steve. If he doesn't answer when I call for him, I know just where to find him.

The punching bag.

I run to the back of the gym and find Steve, beating the crap out of an old punching bag. Loud music blasted over the speakers. I continued to call his name, but he just ignored me. Obviously, he couldn't hear me. One thing that I forgot about Steve.

He tends to be a bit jumpy, especially in the gym.

I step up behind him in a hurry and grab his arm.

"Steve! Ahh!" I cry out in pain as he punches me in the stomach. He's a little bit more jumpy today than I expected him to be. I grab my stomach and fall to the ground.

"Alice?" Steve was shocked that he had actually hit me.

"God! Steve? What is wrong with you?" I curl into a ball and flinch in pain.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you!" He had the most awful look on his face. He pulled me to my feet.

He helped me over to a bench where I sat down for a moment. Steve left to go get an icepack for my stomach. While he was gone, I lifted up my shirt to see if I had a bruise. Sure enough, a large purple bruise in the shape of Steve's fist was visible. Steve returned with the icepack and handed it to me. Immediately afterwards, he gave me a strange look.

"Alice, is something wrong?"

I throw the icepack on the floor and throw my arms around him. He is my protection from the only person in the world that I am truly afraid of. My arms tremble as I hug him tightly. He strokes my hair in an attempt to calm me down.

"It's Cole. He's gone." My voice shakes.

Steve holds me tighter. He knew that I was afraid. Truly helpless and afraid.

"Fury kept it secret. Typical." I mumbled.

"When did he go missing?" Steve asks.

"The day before you were injured on our last mission."

Steve pulls away from me and stands up. I wipe my tears away from my cheeks. Sure, I'm a SHIELD agent, but I'm not a solid as stone, when it comes to emotions. Steve, on the other hand, I've only seen him cry when my life was on the line. Other than that, he's a solid stone wall. He turns his back to my and takes a deep breath.

"Steve? I'm scared." My voice squeaks.

He quickly turns back to me. He kneels down in front of me and rests his hands on my knees.

"I know you're scared. But, let me be honest. I'm scared too. I'm scared of losing you. I won't let him touch you. We will do whatever we have to do to stay safe." Steve begins.

"So what do we do?" I question.