Steve sighed as he slammed the car door closed. I looked over at him wearily from the passenger seat. He ran his hand through his hair and turned to look at me.

"What are we going to do?" He asked. Leaning my head against the headrest, I closed my eyes and replied, "I don't know. Frankly, I thought that Banner would be able to help. Instead, he's sending us off to some stranger."

"At least he knows about the cure," Steve said, though the statement was half-hearted. I shook my head and took a deep breath to try to clear my mind.

"Okay, back to business. So Bruce said this mystery man's name was..." I said, and looked back down at the card Bruce had given me. "Steven Strange. Huh. I've heard about this dude before. Some type of supernatural being or something I think. And according to Bruce, he lives in London, but he currently is visiting New York. How convenient. Let's go."

I cradled James in my arms as Steve drove to the hotel where Steven Strange was staying. James was better than before - Bruce must've done at least a bit to help - but he was still sick. He had a burning fever and was whimpering constantly.

I looked over at Steve in concern. He was doing best to hide his panic, but I could tell from the way he gripped his wheel too hard, from his tense shoulders, and from the line of sweat on his neck, that he actually was very anxious.

"Hey, relax," I said. "If worse comes to worst, we'll just find someone else to help." Steve nodded but didn't seem relieved by my statement.

I let out a small sigh and reached over, massaging his shoulders. Then I went to his hands, holding one in my palm while the other stayed on the wheel. We stayed like this until we reached our destination, a quite fancy hotel from the looks of it. As we climbed out of the car with heavy hearts, Steve brought me closer to his chest, bringing me into a hug.

"Nat, I'm scared," he confessed with a shaking voice. Fingering the clothes of baby James, I replied, "Me too. You don't need to hide it, Steve. Everyone is afraid of something." Sighing, Steve rested his head on my shoulder. To my surprise, he was crying. Softly, but yes, he was crying.

With some effort, I straightened him back up, and wiped his cheeks.

"Even though you're scared, you still have to be strong, okay? You have to be strong for James, for Sarah, heck even for me, and for yourself. Got it?"

Steve nodded, and gently took James from my arms. I could see his posture changing. I smiled. There's the Steve that I've known for so long. My brave little Capsicle. Interlocking my arm with his, we walked into the hotel.

Within minutes, I found myself in a surprisingly neat hotel room, with a bearded man sitting cross-legged on the small sofa. It was a weird sight, a man with a cape and a glowing necklace in a totally ordinary hotel room. Steve and I stood awkwardly in the doorway, waiting for the man to say something.

"Well? Are you going to introduce yourselves?" The man spread his arms wide as he said this. From next to me, Steve stuttered.

"Eh, I guess it's pretty self-explanatory. I mean, everyone knows who you are. The legendary Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. Two of the world's favorite heroes," the man said. "Anyways... Steven Strange, at your service. Feel free to sit down."

Exchanging a glance, Steve and I hesitantly sat down in the two seats across from Steven Strange.

"So - what's your story?" He asked. I immediately cut to the chase.

"Steve's boy is sick. Someone hurt him, and we don't know a cure," I said. I glanced down as James whimpered. Steve held him closer to his chest.

"Name?"

"Sharon Carter."

"Ah, I've heard of her. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, right? Why would she hurt an innocent baby?"

Steve spoke up then.

"She's my ex-wife. I think she has a personal vendetta against me, though. She tried to hurt my daughter, too." I shot Steve a sympathetic look. He gave me a grateful smile, then turned back to Dr. Strange. The man was in deep thought, fingering the eye-shaped pendant that hung from his neck. Suddenly, he stood up.

"Come with me," he said. My eyes widened as he took two fingers and circled them around and around. A spark flew from them, which grew to become a flaming portal. I leaned over and whispered to Steve, "This is weirder than aliens in New York. Am I hallucinating?" Steve's only reply was a confused expression. Soon, the portal was fully made, showing a majestic view of a majestic city -

"Is that London?"

"Forget everything you think you know," Dr. Strange said with a mysterious look on his face, then jumped into the portal. Steve and I looked at each other, his reluctance matching mine. We jumped in the portal, hand in hand, James wailing from Steve's other arm.