Joaquin Torres was resting and Sam stood outside watching him in silence. He heard footsteps behind him.

"It's a private room, go away," Sam said, not looking back.

"I missed you too," you said, stepping up beside him, eyes also locked on the window.

You turned to face each other.

"I hate to admit it... I'm glad you're here," Sam admitted.

Sam pulled you into a brief hug.

"You looked good out there on that six ơ'clock..." you said, pulling away. He nodded toward Torres. "But then I saw this."

"Doctors had to restart his heart..." Sam said, voice quieter now. "They don't know if..."

"This isn't your fault."

"It makes me think of Steve," Sam said, letting out a small breath. "How many alien invasions did he stop again?"

"Two," you answered.

"Two," Sam repeated, scoffing in quiet disbelief. "Wow... What made me think I could follow that? I should've taken the serum... like Steve, like Bucky, like you."

"Why?"

"Because this is all starting to seem much bigger than me," Sam admitted.

"Ross... he asked me to restart the Avengers {{user}}. But Joaquin is here... Isaiah's in prison and Sterns... I had Sterns right in my hands and he got away... he damn near pushed us to the brink of war, because I wasn't-"

"Say what you need to say," you said, watching him closely.

"Steve made a mistake."

"No, he didn't," you firmly say shaking your head. "He gave you that shield, not because you're the strongest, but because you're you." He glanced back at Torres "You think if you had that serum, you'd be able to protect all the people you care about? Steve had it, and he couldn't. You're a human being, and you're doing your best. Steve gave people something to believe in... but you? You give people something to aspire to."

Sam turned to you, squinting slightly.

"Did your speech writers help you with that?"

You smirk. "They did, yeah. The ending a little bit. Why? Did you like it?"

Sam shrugged. "Uhh... it was good. Solid B-plus."

"Emotional?"

"Yes. Very. I felt it."

"But just enough?"

"Yeah."