I was upset after the meeting, and what did I do when I got upset? I trained, so I went to the large training area and stripped my shirt off. I had a sports bra underneath since it was still uncomfortable to wear regular bras. The underwire dug into my hurt ribs.

I tied my hair up and took off my shoes before stepping onto the blue mat. I walked over to the punching bags and wrapped my hands. When that was done, I started on the modified punching bag. It had to be modified because Steve kept breaking them.

For the next hour and a half I focused on releasing all of my frustrations onto the bag. My frustration at Loki and Bucky for not understanding why I had to help. I couldn't let them wipe his mind again!

...I could still hear Bucky's screams...

I just needed one person to understand. One person that wouldn't judge. And then, it clicked. I knew exactly who I needed to see.

I quickly unwrapped my hands and grabbed my shoes and shirt. I got dressed before teleporting to the launchpad and heading for the quinjet. I was about to teleport in to the jet before I stopped and walked back into the tower.

"JARVIS?" I called out.

"Yes, Miss?" JARVIS replied.

"When they start asking questions about where I went, tell them I'll be back tonight."

"Yes, Miss." JARVIS said before I teleported into the quinjet and fired it up.

I was in Washington D.C. not ten minutes later. I landed across the street from the VA, so I didn't accidentally panic one of the veterans. I was jittery and hesitated outside the building doors. What if this was a mistake and he agreed with everyone else?

"Are you going in?" A voice asked from behind me.

I jumped and turned to see a woman watching me. She had short black hair and looked to be in her early thirties. Her skin was tan and the left side of her face and neck were severely scared. They were healed burns.

"I'm sorry," she smiled politely. "I didn't mean to scare you." She told me, her smile reaching her green eyes, though her left one was a bit clouded. "I haven't seen you before, is this your first time?" She asked me and glanced at the building in front of us. "I was nervous my first time as well. Took me an entire month to work up the courage to finally go in." She chuckled. "I could fight a war, but couldn't walk into a stupid building." She continued before looking back to me. "When did you get back?" She asked. "You don't look old enough for it to have been too long ago, but I've been wrong before."

I swallowed thickly and looked down at my feet in shame.

"I-Uhm- last month..." I told her.

"Were you injured?" She asked. When I hesitated, she spoke again. "You don't have to tell me, but I found telling someone helped. Everyone's different though."

"Ya," I said after another moment. "I was hurt, but it's nothing permanent."

"It's always permanent." She told me. "What we see over there. It may not be physical, but it's permanently in our minds. Our bodies can heal, but our mind takes some convincing and I can tell you've seen some shit."

I looked back up to see her smiling gently at me.

"So," she started again. "Are you going in?"

"I don't know." I told her seriously.

"Well, I think I'll stay out here with you until you figure it out." She told me confidently.

"Oh, no, that's really not necessary. I can-"

"I know it's not." She interrupted my rambling. "I want to." She assured me with a smile. "I'm Amy, by the way."

"I'm-" I started to introduce myself, but stopped when I remembered that most news outlets had been reported on me nonstop. "Sky." I finally came up with. Talking the first half of Tony's nickname for me. If he ever found out I wouldn't get him to stop teasing.

"It's nice to very meet you, Sky." Amy told me. "Have you been in D.C. long?" She asked.

"No, I-Uhm- I'm visiting." I explained.

"Oh," she smirked. "Special someone?"

"No," I laughed. "He's in New York, but we had a bit of a fight and..." I trailed off.

"And now you're here." She finished for me and nodded. "Relationships are hard when you're trying to adjust to being back." She sighed. "How long have you been together?"

"Couple years." I told her. "But I was gone for a year and a half of it." I explained. "And he doesn't understand."

"Outsiders rarely do." Amy told me as we continued to look at the building. "Does he love you enough to try?" She asked. I nodded in response.

"But we keep hitting more problems." I said. "And more arguments."

"So maybe what you need has changed." She suggested. "Maybe you need to focus on reintegrating into society and surrounding yourself with a support system. The VA is a good place to start."

"A lot about me has changed, but he is my support system. It's complicated. He's upset because I keep putting myself in danger for people he deems 'undeserving', but he doesn't see anyone as deserving, so..."

"So he's scared." Amy says. "Scared of losing you." She told me.

"Ya..." I said sadly.

"Well, is he right?" Amy asked. "Not about the people being undeserving, but about you constantly finding reasons to risk your life?" She clarified.

"Maybe..." I mumbled before talking a deep breath and grabbing the handle to the door. I pulled it open and only hesitated a second before walking in.

I could hear his voice echo through the empty halls of the building before I saw him. Sam was leading a support group in one of the larger rooms of the building. The dark wood doors opened wide to welcome people in as he spoke at a podium.

I stopped at the entrance for a minute, listening to him speak. Amy touched my shoulder as she smiled encouragingly and walked past me into the room to take her seat.

"Your mindset is everything, so set a goal, just one goal, keep it simple, and follow through with it." Sam said. "I know it seems impossible sometimes, but try going out sometime in the next few days. Have a conversation with someone. Even if it's only a 'hello' to the person ringing up your groceries, I want you to do it." He continued. "That is your goal, that is what I want you to do." Sam told the group.

His eyes finally landed on me and he paused for a second before proceeding. I finally made myself take a seat and listen as the attendees were asked questions and given advice on how to help with their struggles.

I couldn't keep my mind from drifting. All of these people served our country, protected us while I fought for the enemy. I didn't deserve to be here. I didn't deserve to act like I belonged here. I knew the choice I made, it was time to live with it.

"You ok?" Sam's voice snapped me out of my downward spiral and made me jump.

I hated how jumpy I was now. I picked my head up to realize that the meeting was over and everyone was leaving. Sam was standing next to my chair, looking down at me. I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyes before standing up.

"Ya, ya, sorry I shouldn't have-" I shook my head and started to leave, but Sam grabbed my arm.

"No," he told me. "You're in the right place."

"I'm not. This place is for people who fought for our country, not against it. I shouldn't be here."

"Then why did you come?" Sam asked. I froze for a second. Why did I come here?

"I... needed someone who would understand." I told him.

"Like I said," Sam smiled gently. "You're in the right place."