Steve's POV

"Hey.." I say, breaking the silence as I hold Ally. "You alright?" I ask, she sniffs. "He's a jerk, don't let him get to you."

She pulls out of the hug and looks up at me with teary eyes. "What if.. Some of the things were true?"

I feel a thud in my chest. "L-Like what?"

She looks down. "I haven't been completely honest with you... Or with anyone for that matter." She sighs. "Hydra found me at the age of five. For eleven years they trained me and experimented on me until I slipped away at the age of sixteen."

I notice her hands beginning to shake and I hold them in my own as she continues.

"They raised me as their own.. Taught me that their way was the right way.." She clenches her jaw. "So.. Once I was ready, they sent me out to do.. Things." She inhales sharply. "And since I was raised that way, I.. I didn't need to be brainwashed.."

I raise my eyebrows as I process her words. "It's okay." I say, turning to look at her. "You didn't know any better."

"You don't get it, Steve. I've killed people... And I liked it!" She begins to cry.

"I do get it." I caress her face. "And it doesn't make you any less of a good person."

She furrows her eyebrows as she looks at me. "You're just saying that."

"No I'm not, Ally." I hold her hands. "We've all done some bad things in our past because we didn't know any better. That doesn't matter. What matters is that we're here now, doing the right thing."

I search her eyes for any sort of revelation or acceptance but she looks down. "What if the others don't think the same?"

"Why wouldn't they?" I counter her question. "You should tell them now, not that you really have a choice thanks to Bucky." I sigh. "I'll be there with you the whole time, okay?"

She looks up at me and nods. I scoop her up again and carry her back down to the medical bay.

Alexandra's POV

After explaining everything to the others, they all hugged me and told me basically the same thing Steve said. I can't help but cry tears of happiness at being accepted by everyone.

Once they all pull away, I come face to face with Tony and begin to panic. I wait for some sort of disownment from him but he just pulls me into a hug.

"This is all my fault." He cries as he holds me.

"What? No!" I hug him back. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

We pull out of the hug and look at eachother.

"Bet you never thought you'd be looking at your kid like this, huh?" I ask him, stifling a laugh.

"Bet you never thought you'd be looking at your dad like this, huh?" He laughs.

"Touché." I smirk.

I look around the room for Steve but see no sign of him. He was standing next to me not even a minute ago. I notice that James is also missing and begin to worry.

Steve's POV

"Who do you think you are?" I ask Bucky, shoving him into the training room to get away from everyone else.

"Relax, Steve. It was an honest mistake." He says, putting his hands up.

"Oh really? Because Ally seemed pretty hurt by it all." I huff. "Why would you do that? I thought you were different."

"I am! I just.. I let my emotions get the best of me." He looks down. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

I shake my head. "Just stay away from her."

I turn on my heels and head back to Ally's hospital room.

"Where were you?" She asks, sitting up.

"Yelling at Buck." I sigh.

"Oh.. Is.. Did you guys..?"

"No! No we didn't fight." I place a hand on hers. "Just words."

She nods, seeming relieved. The others say goodnight and go up to their rooms to sleep off the alcohol.

"So.. How did you get away from Hydra nine years ago?" I ask, sitting beside her.

She furrows her eyebrows as she thinks. "I.. Don't know." I raise an eyebrow. "All I remember is waking up on a metal table with nobody in sight. The building was abandoned, I just simply walked out."

"And then SHIELD found you?" I ask.

"More like I found them." She stifles a laugh. "I had no idea that that orphanage was under SHIELD protection when I walked in."

I furrow my eyebrows. "So Hydra left you behind and you found SHIELD?" I ask, she nods. "And now Hydra wants you back?"

"Seems like it." She sighs. She holds her head in her hands and I look at the time.

"Why don't you get some rest." I suggest. "In the morning you'll be free to go."

She smiles at me. "Goodnight Steve."

"Goodnight Ally."

Tony's POV

I wake up early the next morning and bring breakfast down to the medical bay for Alex. Walking through the sliding doors, I notice that nobody else is down here. They must be sleeping still.

I push the door to Alex's room open and drop the plate of breakfast foods as panic flows through my veins. I stare at the ripped wires, fallen machines, hole in the wall, and very messy bed. What the hell happened in here? Where's Alex?

"Friday sound the alarm." I shout, running back upstairs.

"Tony? What's going on?" I meet a pajama-wearing Steve in the hall as I'm running.

"I.. This morning.. I brought breakfast.." I can barely form a sentence. Tears start to roll down my cheeks and I see a look of worry on Steve's face.

Before either of us can get another word in, Bucky almost runs us over. "She's gone." He says, clearly panicking as well. "They took her."

Both of us look at the former assassin with furrowed eyebrows.

"How did they find her?" Steve asks as I try to gather myself.

"They obviously knew she was with us after that night on the dock. It's no surprise they'd look here for her." Bucky points.

"That's why she didn't move in all those months ago." I gasp.

Of course the Avengers compound would be an easy guess for Hydra. My question is, how did they get past the security?

"Friday, pull up the security footage from last night." I say, pacing around the hall.

Videos from different cameras appear. The three of us watch as a man in a lab coat enters the building. He shows his ID to a guard, who then lets him in. We follow along as he makes his way to where Alex was and watch as she tries to fight him off.

He must've knocked her unconscious with chloroform since he holds something over her face and then easily carries her out of the building without being noticed.

"Zemo." Bucky clenches his fists.

"The same guy who caused golden boy and I to fight about you?" I ask and Steve rolls his eyes.

"We have to find her." Bucky says, ignoring my comment.

"Let's get the rest of the team caught up." Steve says, sounding the alarm again. "Suit up."