GAINING FRIENDS
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Sadie's hands were still shaking and glowing even over an hour later. She didn't know how to stop it- this had never happened before. As they sat in a six seater car on the way to who knows where, she wished the light would extinguish.

To say they were shocked to see Maria Hill disguised as a HYDRA agent would be an understatement, but was Sadie glad they were saved?

Of course.

Sadie had only ever met Agent Hill in passing- most recently when Steve was discovered in the ice three years ago, but first in 2010. SHIELD had originally discovered Doctor Isadora Moore after word in Afghanistan had gotten around regarding an American doctor who could fix what needed surgery with her bare hands. The locals had called her a name in Farsi that she had never understood. Sadie supposed she never would know it's meaning- but clearly, the tales told were interesting enough for SHIELD to drag her into their insane world.

Natasha, Agent Hill and Sam sat in the front of the six seater car, all fairly lively as they listened to the radio. Perhaps it was something she would never understand, to come out of combat and have it simply be another day at the office. Sadie had managed to finally persuade Natasha to let her help stop the bleeding, but the bullet was still inside her, and Sadie didn't know if her powers could get it out when she was this drained. She'd gone deeper into her powers than ever, and she suspected that if she went any further, she would hit a wall of nothing.

But still, her hands glowed and shook, and she wondered why she couldn't make it stop. Adrenaline? Short term trauma? Sadie wished it would all just make sense to her- she was a diagnostician, but she couldn't diagnose herself.

That all left Sadie and Steve in the backseat, sitting in dead silence, a partition up in front of them. The divide made her feel like she was still under arrest, but Steve had pulled it up earlier, evidently just as disturbed as she was to see the three in the front so... chipper.

Sadie was hyper aware of the seatbelt across her chest, and had made sure everyone else wore theirs at the beginning of the journey- she didn't want a repeat of what happened on the highway. She looked over at the super soldier who sat beside her, head leaned against the window, tired. Steve had told them all about how he'd recognised the metal armed man- the Winter Soldier- as his childhood friend Bucky Barnes, but this Bucky had no idea who Steve was.

"Steve, I'm sorry," Sadie said, finally- guilt had been eating away at her ever since they got out of danger. "I never should have been there today, if I got in the way of anything-"

"You helped those people, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you warned me this would happen-"

"We don't have the skills for any collateral. You did," Steve said, still not looking at her. "We have much more to deal with before this is all over."

That certainly shut her up. Sadie looked down at her hands again, wondering how she could stop them from shaking, and glowing. She clasped them together in an attempt to stop it, but they continued to only glow brighter. Steve reached over to her, but she pulled her hands away- she didn't know if the light would hurt him- was it hot, was it cold, was it painful, when she healed people? She had no idea how it felt.

Apparently, Steve wasn't afraid of that. Sadie felt his hands on hers, steadying them. Somehow, his gentleness was enough to keep her still. She gazed at their hands, the blue glow illuminating straight through him, making his skin almost translucent- Sadie thought if she stared for long enough, she might be able to see the blood in his veins.

"It doesn't hurt?" Sadie asked him, nodding towards the light. He just shook his head.

"Just focus," he ordered, softly. She breathed deeply, matching the rise and fall of her chest to his.  Already, the glow was fading.

His hands were cold, but she didn't mind as she looked back at him. He had moved closer to reach her- or as close as he could with his seatbelt holding him back- but now, he didn't look at her face. Instead his eyes were focusing on their hands, and she felt embarrassed by the fact that she was still slightly shaky. Sadie scanned his expression, noticing a sort of conflict in his face, as his thoughts inevitably still drifted to Bucky.

"Steve," she whispered softly, and as he looked back up at her she forgot her words. How could she possibly say anything that could make him feel better? The doctor in her wanted nothing more than to ease his pain. "Steve, I-"

The car came to a halt, and Steve let go of her hands, pulling down the partition to reveal Maria and the others.

"We're here," Hill said, turning to face them. "There's something you all ought to see."

Sadie was glad her hands had stopped glowing as the group followed Agent Hill into a shadowy building, down corridor after corridor and stairs after stairs, until they arrived outside a room. Sadie stood at the back, struggling to see despite her sufficient height- the room was dark, and her eyes needed to adjust- but then she heard a familiar voice, and knew instantly who it was.

"About damn time," Fury said, laying in a hospital bed, very much alive. Then he caught sight of her and raised an eyebrow. "Doctor Moore. Surprised to see you here. You ready to work some of your magic on me?"

Sadie stepped forwards, and glanced at the scans pinned above him. His spine was deeply cut, collar bone in pieces, his liver was perforated, and lung collapsed.

Sadie took a deep breath. For this man, whom they all owed so much? Lending a hand was not a dilemma. "I can try. But I'm running low on... whatever fuel this stuff works on. So, it'll be a work in progress for a few hours at least. Probably take some time tomorrow as well."

"It's better than a few months," Fury responded, and she was inclined to agree- healing these injuries naturally would have been a long and painful process.

And so, despite her powers running low, and the feeling of hitting that wall being so close, Sadie made her hands glow, again, and got to work.

~

Later, Sadie knocked gently on the door of Steve and Sam's room, calling to see if she could come in. No response. She assumed that meant it was fine.

Entering the room, she noticed Sam was nowhere to be seen, most likely already headed to get something to eat, as Sadie was here to remind Steve to do.

The blond soldier was sat on the edge of the bottom bunk, his posture slumped as he scratched a pencil drawing onto a small lined notebook. She took her glasses out of her pocket and put them on, to see that the drawing was of the Winter Soldier, in the moment Steve had realised who he was. The detail was striking. Sadie wondered when, and where, he had learned to draw like that- a natural talent, or a skill he'd honed?

"You know they have photos on file," Sadie attempted to joke, but Steve didn't look up, continuing to draw.

"I need to... capture it," he said, frowning slightly. "That expression, I need to figure it out."

"He was important to you," She started, sitting next to him. Steve's pencil halted. "This Bucky guy."

"He was with me through thick and thin," he said, finally looking up at her with anxiety in his eyes. "And nobody seems to understand that just because he doesn't remember me, it doesn't mean I should forget him."

"I do," Sadie started, hesitantly. She placed a hand on his back, stroking reassuring circles in an attempt to be comforting. She didn't know how much it would work. "I do understand. I know it's not the same, but with my mom, I've lost count of the number of times I've been told I should stop visiting. After I tried everything- even these powers- and nothing worked, I thought maybe they were right. But she's been there for me through everything, and I won't leave her on this. So, I understand, Steve. And I don't think you should forget him for anything."

Once she was finished, Steve stayed silent and Sadie wondered if she'd said too much. Perhaps she'd made it too much about herself, in an attempt to relate?  Sadie dropped her hand from his back, standing up again.

"Anyway, I came to tell you there's food ready, everybody's eating. You should too. Big mission tomorrow." As she turned to walk towards the door, she felt him grasp her hand. Surprised, she stopped to look at him.

"Isadora," he started, before apparently forgetting his words.

The notebook lay discarded on the pillow, still open on the work in progress. Steve's hand felt hot against her own, and she stared down at his hand grasping hers, for the second time that day. But this seemed like a spontaneous act, nothing like the favour he'd offered her earlier, steadying her shaking hands.

Sure enough, even Steve looked surprised, as if he'd barely noticed his hand outstretch. But instead of letting go, he simply looked Sadie in the eyes, still filled with that same anxiety and desperation. Finally, after what felt like a million years, he spoke.

"I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, if he's there," Steve told her. "I don't know if I'll be able to fight him."

Sadie was taken aback by the sudden vulnerability. In all her interactions with the Captain over the last two years, she'd never seen him this way, and she couldn't understand what made him open up to her, of all people.

Still, it wasn't so out of the ordinary. Being a doctor meant people trusted her, and often times patients would reveal things they felt they couldn't say to others.

"You'll do your best. And that'll be more than enough," she answered.

More silence at that. His hand still held hers, as if he wasn't done, and his eyes still gazed into hers, scanning for truth. The moment felt both intense, and natural, impossibly.

But Sadie had been through this countless times before- desperate patients looking for reassurance. I don't know if I'll be able to fight him. Replace 'him' with any known disease, and it was a sentence Sadie had heard before. And in the end, eight times out of ten, the person saying it beats whatever they're facing.

Doctor Isadora Moore knew the routine she should take- reassure him, let him know he's capable, and leave him to his feelings with the knowledge she was only a call away. But when Steve finally spoke, Sadie wasn't sure she'd be able to go through with that last step.

"Why don't you stay a while?" he asked her.

Sadie smiled at him, taking his hand in both her own as she sat back down beside him. And as earnestly, and honestly as she could, she told him, "Steve, I'm not going anywhere."

As soon as she let go of him, and he continued to draw in silence, she could feel the exhaustion of the day weighing on her. Sadie's body had never been under such stress and pressure, trying to keep her powers up with the force fields and the healing necessary for the gunfight. Her powers felt like a well, and she had truly hit the bottom.

Sadie willed herself not to fall asleep there, but it seemed she failed, as she woke the next morning in her own bunk, with the heroes gone to save the world.

~

It was over. Finally, they'd took down HYDRA just as it emerged out of the woodworks, and Steve just prayed that he would never have to deal with this again. As for Bucky... Steve had no clue.

He'd woken in an unknown hospital bed, his body aching and his old friend nowhere to be seen. Instead though, Sam Wilson sat by his beside, and Steve couldn't help but admire the man, and wonder if anyone could deserve a friend like him. They'd shared friendly banter and both their spirits were lifted.

But Sam hadn't slept or eaten, so Steve had urged him out of the room by pretending it was Sam's idea to get food in the first place. He wasn't really hungry at all.

"Seriously," A familiar voice echoed from the hall outside his room. "Now you're just going to leave? Fury!"

"That's exactly what I'm gonna do," Fury walked into view of the window, and sure enough, Isadora followed him, standing directly in line with the open doorway. "You chose to introduce yourself to those patients. I don't need another Tony Stark- telling the whole damn world he's extraordinary and then being surprised when it comes to bite him in the-"

"God, it's a damn habit okay?" Isadora argued. Steve had never seen her so annoyed. "You gotta build rapport with the patients- you try trusting someone who's name you don't know!"

"You didn't have to treat them."

"A little girl was shot!" Something uncomfortable twisted in Steve's stomach at that. A kid. Shot. Was it one of the Soldier's bullets, or one of their own?

Despite Isadora's protests, Fury seemed unfazed. That was when Steve noticed Fury's clothing, and wondered why he was still dressed incognito. The ex-director's tone was nonchalant in a way Steve knew would only infuriate Isadora more. "You'll figure it out Doctor Moore. You don't need me covering for you anymore."

Then Fury was walking away, and Isadora stood still watching, running a hand through her curls. She didn't look like she'd spent much of the day outside of the bed Steve had carried her to last night- still dressed in the same t-shirt and leggings but he couldn't blame her.

As far as he knew, she'd never been part of a fight before, and from the sounds of it, had never used that much of her power. Isadora Moore was a civilian, that much was clear, and he had dragged her into the biggest mess. Steve almost felt sick thinking about it.

"What did Fury want?" He called to her, and she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"Steve Rogers, you've been awake this whole time?" Isadora asked him, with a laugh as walked over to sit at his bedside. "Natasha came back mostly fine, Sam was discharged hours ago, but you- I thought it might be a matter of waiting for the monitor to flatline."

"Something you ought to know about me if we're gonna be friends, Isadora," he answered with a smile. "I don't die easy."

"Thank the Lord for that," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "This has been one heck of a journey."

The feeling of guilt settled further into Steve's stomach as he remembered what it was like seeing her trapped and screaming in that car on the highway, the effort it had taken for him to pull her free. How he had saved her life, and she had protected him with her power in return. And how he wished he never had to save her in the first place. He had dragged her into the biggest mess.

She seemed to read his mind, because she added quickly: "But I chose to come."

He didn't know how convinced he was that that fact justified it all.

"Anyway, I just dropped by to check on you, make sure you're getting the best care possible," Isadora said finally, before nodding in approval. "I've been at this hospital now and then working with SHIELD, so I know the staff you've got are damn good. But I'll get going- I don't want to be in your hair any longer."

Steve contemplated telling her that he wouldn't mind the company, but after how he'd clung to her to last night- he wouldn't put her through that again. So instead he settled with asking a simple question.

"What will you do now?"

"Well, there were news helicopters above that highway," she explained. "The footage was broadcast live and we were all identified, even me and Wilson. That, plus the patients who were rushed to hospital telling stories about Doctor Moore with glowing hands? I think it's safe to say I've been exposed."

"Fury couldn't help?"

"Clearly not," she scoffed. "But it's time I stood on my own two feet. I did what was right, and if I lose my job because of it? Well, that's the path God's set me on. I love the hospital, and I love my patients. But if they don't want me, I'll let it go."

"Isadora, I wanted to thank you," Steve told her, and she looked down at her feet. "For coming to help."

"You were my patient, Steve. You still are, if you ever need me," she answered, before her phone beeped, and she stood. "That's Adrianne. She's picking me up."

"When we're back in New York," Steve started, tentatively. "Will I still be able to find you at the hospital?"

"I hope so. If not, I'll text you my home address," Isadora grinned in response. "Maybe we could hang out, grab a coffee when our lives aren't at stake. Or have a dance party to Blondie."

"Blondie?" he asked. That was when he noticed his notebook on the table beside him, and he reached for it, scribbling down the name.

"Give Heart of Glass a try. 80s disco classic!" She told him, still smiling widely. "There we go, some homework for ya. I expect full updates on your recovery, by the way. It's going in the case study!"

"Yes, Doc," he smiled, and she laughed.

Then she turned on her heel, and walked away, giving him one last beaming smile and a wave before entering the hall. If anything had come out of this, at least Steve had gained some friends.

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Have I overdone it with the fluff? Probably, but it's what I love writing!!! I hope some of y'all noticed the reference to Heart of Glass-   it's just an easter egg to the playlist in this chapter but it comes up quite a bit later on- I feel like it just fits Sadie's story so well

anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know I got through the events of winter soldier pretty quickly, but as you saw in the other chapters, Sadie only really gets involved after Steve and Nat find Zola in that super computer, and by that point half the movie is over tbh

writing fics for movies like the marvel ones is also kinda difficult compared to fics for books I think because they're so fast paced! I hope you'll forgive that I skipped out the helicarrier crash- Sadie is still fairly inexperienced with her powers so to me I didn't think she would be ready to jump into the midst of a fight so soon- I definitely don't want my OC to be overpowered!

I won't be jumping straight from movie to movie though, I will be including a few chapters in between and stuff for like further characterisation so yeah!

As usual please comment any feedback you may have and I hope you stick around for the following chapters! Sorry my authors notes are so rambly!

-Amber