Evelyn watched as the rain trickled down the glass windows of her apartment. The sky was dark, and thunder could be heard rumbling from overhead. Her breath misted against the window pane, and she took a moment to reflect on the peaceful aura that only she could find in a thunderstorm. 

She could hear the distant murmuring of the news playing on the television in the other room. It had been three weeks and still all anyone could talk about was Loki's attack on the city and the mixed emotions the people of New York had of her friends and brother. Half the city loved them and called them heroes. The rest thought they had no place in the city, and that they were doing more harm than good. 

Evelyn luckily had escaped the media, and she wasn't included in any of the storm that Tony and the others had been under. There was talk of a young woman who helped many people escape in the attacks, Tony was easily able to cover it up and say it was Natasha. 

Evelyn sipped the remainder of her coffee before turning away from the view of the city to place her mug in the sink. Most of the building was covered in scaffolding as Stark Tower took it's fair share of damage in the attacks, but there was one window that was open enough for Evelyn to get her morning views. 

"Hey, Sam." She greeted, answering her phone that had started to ring on the counter. "How's D.C.?" 

"Eva! D.C. is great, getting warm. How's the side?" He asked. 

"Better every day," She responded, letting her hand hover over the stab wound to her side. Her stitches had been removed the previous week, and a nasty scar lingered in their place. Several errant cuts and bruises remained, but she had otherwise recovered fine. 

"So I think I have something you might be interested in." Sam spoke, she could hear the honking in the background on his end that made him almost hard to hear. 

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" 

"A job." Sam responded. 

Evelyn huffed as she fell backwards onto her couch, and she closed her eyes. "What are you talking about? I have a job." She chuckled. 

"Eva, we both know you're wasting your talents restocking bookshelves. You're a doctor for christ sakes!" 

"Sam," Evelyn sighed, "You know I love the work at the library. I'm not doing much, but it's calming for me." 

"What if you could take your robotics skills and put it to good use?" He asked. "This opportunity is perfect for you!" 

Evelyn sat up and leaned her head against the back of the couch. "What is it?" She inquired with closed eyes. 

"This doctor I've met, he works with warriors in transition who have lost limbs in combat. They're losing one of their prosthetic specialists to retirement, and I happened to mention your name in passing. They heard your name and pounced at the chance to have you working with them! They don't even need a resume from you!" Sam's excitement was palpable, Evelyn could feel it radiating through the phone. 

"Sam," Evelyn sighed, running her hand down her face. "This sounds amazing. Too amazing. People have always used me for my talents because of who I am and who my family is. You already know this." 

"This isn't like that, Eva." Same argued. "It's at Walter Reed. This could be an incredible way to honor Tommy, by helping veterans who were able to come home. Imagine how badass they would feel knowing Iron Man's sister made their new leg." 

Evelyn chuckled along with him before a smile finally overtook her face. The job sounded like a dream, something she had been longing for for so long. She had been used as a weapon for her talents before, it would be nice to finally be able to do something good with them.  It would mean she would have to leave her home, and all the people she cared about for this job opportunity. 

"Can I think on it?" She requested. 

"Of course! I've sent his contact information to your email, so if you're interested just send him a message!" Evelyn could tell Sam was more excited about this for her than he probably should be. But he wasn't wrong, it was a fantastic way to honor Tommy's memory by helping his fellow brothers and sisters in arms. 

~

It was later that night, when Evelyn was meeting Steve for dinner, that she was forced to make a decision. 

"I'm starving." Steve mumbled, peering over his menu to look her way. He had been busy working with S.H.I.E.L.D. so much she felt she had barely seen him. It felt as if they had so much to catch up on, but weren't quite sure where to start. 

"How's Nick?" She found herself asking after they had ordered their appetizer. 

Steve leaned forward on his giant forearms and frowned at her. "He's actually reassigning me." 

"What do you mean?" She asked, her heart sinking at the thought of Steve leaving her. 

"Fury is assigning me to the Triskelion in D.C. to the counter-terrorism unit." Steve's bright blue eyes fleeted between Evelyn's soft green ones. He seemed to have mixed feelings about it all, just as she had for the opportunity presented to her. Now, her decision seemed even more urgent.

"That's great, Steve!" Evelyn barely believed the words as she said them, and it wasn't long before Steve quickly pulled her hands into his. 

"I won't go, say the word and I won't go." Steve told her. His thumb did that subconscious thing it always did by rubbing circles against her hand. It was as if he knew it comforted her, no matter how tiny the motion behind it. "I don't want to leave you. This is our home, New York has always been home."

"I'm not going to hold you back, Steve." Evelyn answered, squeezing his hands. 

"I wouldn't be anywhere without you, Eva." Steve whispered. "You are the most important person in my life." 

The waitress caused them to pull their hands apart so she could set their plate of garlic knots on the table. "All ready to order?" Her perky upbeat tone was a major contrast to the sudden dreary mood at their table. 

"Um, yeah," Steve mumbled scratching the back of his head. "I think I'll go with the spinach lasagna." 

"I'll do the same," Evelyn responded as she handed the perky blonde their closed menus. 

"I actually got some news today as well." Said Evelyn. She took a nervous sip of her water as she started to tell Steve the job opportunity that presented itself to her in D.C as well. "I've been thinking about this all day." 

"That is amazing!" Steve exclaimed in excitement. "Why don't you seem excited about this?" 

Evelyn ran her hands across her face before leaning forward, her light brown hair covering half her face. Anyone who hadn't been through the trauma she had gone through, couldn't understand the truly maddening aspect that being a Stark provided. She knew she was smart, she knew she was talented, the problem was so did the rest of the world. 

"What if they want me to build weapons, or what if they—"

"Eva, sweetheart look at me." Said Steve, pulling her hands away from her face to cradle in his own. "That isn't going to be the case. This is so far from what you've been through. This is an opportunity to help people, veterans who really need your help." 

"It's still the military." Evelyn sighed. "Their need for weapons seemed to be the root of all my problems."

"This isn't the same." Steve whispered, giving her hand a squeeze. "The men and women you'll be helping aren't the same people you had to fight, not by a long shot." 

"I guess sometimes you never get over your trauma. It seems to stick with me no matter what I do." Evelyn looked down to watch an ice cube swirl around in her glass. 

"You and I both know you've been looking for a way to do some good. I think it couldn't have presented itself at a more perfect time." 

"You aren't just selfishly telling me that so I move to D.C. with you?" Evelyn chuckled, sending her best friend a playful wink. 

Steve smiled brightly and squeezed her hands. "I mean I wouldn't hate the idea."  

"Here we go! Two spinach lasagnas!" The bouncy waitress had reappeared and placed two steaming plates of cheesy goodness in front of them. Evelyn hadn't eaten all day and her mouth was watering at the sight of her first meal of the day. 

"Perfect, thank you!" Steve exclaimed, unfolding his white linen towel and placing it delicately in his lap. The waitress refilled their water glasses before sauntering off to the next table. 

Steve practically inhaled his dinner, and Evelyn while still starving seemed to be lost in thought as she took small bites of noodles and twirled pieces of spinach around her fork. She was trying to think of things that were keeping her in New York, and besides Tony who was barely around anyway, she couldn't think of much.

Steve was leaving for D.C.

Sam already lived in D.C. 

Tony and Pepper traveled more often then they stayed in town.

Clint was on extended leave to see his family.

Natasha was also being reassigned to D.C.

So the only think honestly keeping her in New York City, was her job. And if she was being completely honest with herself, a monkey could do her job. A monkey however, could not build prosthetic limbs for wounded soldiers. Tommy would want her to take the job. He would be angry with her for wasting the last two years practically doing nothing for herself. 

"I think I'm going to take that job. If they still want me that is." Evelyn suddenly exclaimed, dropping her fork onto her plate. Steve glanced at her over his glass of water and a soft smile overtook his face. 

"I think that's the right decision." Steve told her, taking her hands from across the table. 

"I keep thinking about Tommy. He'd hate that I was wasting my talents sitting in a library all day. He always told me if something ever happened to him, that I need to keep working, keep working towards a future. And instead I let myself linger in the past, unable to move forward."

"That's a part of grief, Eva." Said Steve. "I've lost everyone I've ever cared about or loved. Until I met you." 

"I know you have." Evelyn mumbled, letting her hair cascade over her shoulder and shield her face. Steve took a hand from hers, reached across the table and tucked half of it back behind her ears. "And you've handled it all beautifully." 

"So have you." Steve told her. " Nothing over the last few years has been remotely normal for you, or me for that matter. But the fact that you know it's time to move forward shows progress I think."

"I know you're right." 

A heat rolled over the back of Evelyn neck as Steve took one of her hands and placed a featherlight kiss on the back of it. She blushed and looked away to make sure Steve didn't catch on to her feelings. "So, should we start looking for apartments in D.C.?" He asked.

Evelyn smiled and laughed gently. "Looks like you're getting yourself a roommate, Rogers."