Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Captain America movies they belong to Walt Disney Studios. Do not own Sue Thomas F.B. Eye either they belong to Pebblehut Productions and Paxon Entertainment. Do not own Hawaii Five-0 (K/O Products, CBS TV Studios, CBS TV Distribution) or JAG (Bellsauris Productions, 1st Season NBC Productions, Paramount Network Television, and CBS Television Disribution) both belong to their owners.
AU: Harmon Rabb Sr. is alive.
Prologue
James Buchanan Barnes was the name the man on the hellicarrier called him. He had given him the nickname of Bucky; he didn't know those names at all. What he did remember were the nicknames that his handlers had given him: Asset, Fist of Hydra. He hated those names because it brought blood and death. For now, he would go by James. He felt more mature than the Bucky from before and for right now it would be considered his old life. James would be his new life and that meant starting over and acknowledging that he was not the same person that the Smithsonian claimed him to be, a carefree, happy-go-lucky young man.
It had been sixteen months since the hellicarrier crashed in D.C. and hiding from cameras. James' memories were gradually seeping through. He had spent the better part of his current eighteen months living in a rundown building in Brooklyn that, come to find out, was the same exact building that Steve and he had lived in during their childhood in the thirties. A lot of his childhood memories had given him headaches, but they were happy memories of his family. George and Winifred Barnes were his parents.
James knew from watching his neighbors that he had found his sisters. Iris had continued the flower business that her husband had started in the 1950's and it was thriving to this day. Rebecca, the youngest, who would follow Steve and him throughout Brooklyn, became a registered nurse for *Brooklyn Hospital Center and had married Dr. William Proctor. The memories that came to James' mind, were mental pictures of a stuffy and serious young man. Unbeknown to him, Rebecca had broken William of his serious side, to make room for a little bit of silliness. From what James had heard William Proctor was able to be silly and serious at the same time, all thanks to his loveable, stubborn, spunky sister.
Thomas had served in Korea and had come home just like their father, who had served in WWI and wouldn't talk about his military service until they both met the loves of their lives. Thomas had met a gorgeous brunette, not unlike their mother, by the name of Maria Hudson. They lived in Wisconsin near Maria's brother Samuel Hudson. Thomas lived to be 90. He had just missed his death by six months after D.C. He would go to Wisconsin to leave an old toy car that he found in the apartment that they used to play with during the winter months. Playing race cars was their world in that tiny apartment.
Iris Barnes Williams still supervised her employees at the flower shop while taken care of her husband Daniel. Her grandson who was a cop had moved from New Jersey to Hawai'i to be close his daughter.
Rebecca was still going strong. She maybe walking slower but her mind was still active and sharp as a tack. James had almost been caught by his sister when he left a homemade doll at her doorstep. He was hoping to talk to her one day and glean anymore information on their childhood.
Chapter One
Rebecca thought that she saw a departing figure in her peripheral vision as it passed her front window. Her brow lowered as she concentrated on her afghan that she started for Jackson's new baby. However, that fleeting figure was on her busy mind. Rebecca put her yarn down in a huff and very carefully got out of her favorite chair and went to the door to find evidence of the fleeting figure. As she opened the front door, she found heavy boot prints but what surprised her the most was a handmade doll sitting on her hand rail that led to her front door. Rebecca's eyes began to tear up. The last time she received this kind of doll was just before her brother Bucky left for the War.
James was leaning on the side of the house when Rebecca opened the front door. He heard her gasp as she noticed the doll on the hand rail. James closed his eyes and tried not to cry himself. He was also debating with himself if he should show himself to his sister when he heard her crying softly to herself. That did it, the decision was taken from him. He remembered that he always hated to hear Becca cry and this time there was no exception.
James retraced his steps and stopped right in front of Becca until she noticed him. He remembered that she would know it was him with his shoes first and then glance up to the person's face before she acknowledged who it was before her. He watched as recognition dawned.
"You're dead" Becca said, as she watched the stranger shake his head.
"No" James said quietly.
Rebecca stepped closer and watched as the stranger before her try not to flinch. While working tenure at the hospital she had seen a lot of abusive patients come through its doors. Now working just 3 days a week the nurses or doctors would ask her to sit with an abusive child or wife who would feel uncomfortable around the nursing staff. She had a way of making each patient feel at ease without startling the poor things. Rebecca stared at the person before her and recognized the sensitive troubled soul that stood stock still. "Bucky?"
James cringed as memories assaulted his brain as the person before him, who was quite younger, yell his name time and time again. He felt himself being led to a soft surface and then being gently pushed to sit on said surface.
Rebecca's hand pressed hard on Bucky's left shoulder as she used for leverage to guide herself to sit by his side. Her brow creased as she wondered what kind of prosthetic was under Bucky's jacket. As Rebecca sat down she watched Bucky go through memories that had plagued him for more than 70 years.
Bucky leaned into Becca's touch as the headache and memories began to fade. "You used to follow Steve and I all over the playground."
"Yes. I would also get mad at you for leaving Steve and I behind because you wanted to play on the swings. As you got older, you wanted to know the mechanics of how the swings were put together. You had an analytical mind Buck and it never stopped being curious of the sciences or the mechanics of certain things."
James looked at the hand that was on his shoulder and almost cringed. He hated his prosthetic because it almost killed his best friend, but it also had killed a lot of people too. "I am starting to use my first name now because the little bits and pieces of memory I knew as Bucky were of my childhood, but the memories also include the War and what it cost to be a soldier."
Rebecca took a deep breath as memories started to come to her mind of Thomas. "Thomas was the same way when he returned. He fought in Korea and Vietnam. Did you know he became a Colonel in the Marines?"
James looked at Becca incredulously, "He became a jarhead?"
Rebecca laughed, "Yes he did." Then she became somber once again, "He didn't want to join the Army because remembering your stories of boot camp it would hurt too much to be at Fort Dix, so he went to Camp Lejune instead. He was complimented on his sniper abilities, but he wanted something different so became a Marine pilot instead."
"Imagine that," James shook his head. It was still unbelievable to think that his younger brother was a pilot. Turning his head to look at his baby sister, who looked older than he did, and began telling her what he found out about Thomas, "I missed being able to see him one last time. My head was so scrambled that I didn't know my own name until Steve jarred my head enough to remember who I was with one simple phrase."
"I'm with you till the end of the line," Becca watched James' face that filled with surprise. "You told Steve that after dropping him off at his place after Mrs. Rogers passed away."
James nodded his head. He had remembered after walking two miles away from the Potomac. He was drenched from head to toe and wanted to get into some dry clothes. James had remembered his mother scolding him to get in the apartment before he caught his death. He had found some clothes hanging on a clothes line that were his size and went to a run-down bathroom and changed. James had kept his boots but had tossed everything else because it reminded him of his past life.
"Did you know that Thomas grew to look like you as he got older but with light brown hair?"
James smiled sadly. "I wish I could've met him"
Rebecca got up from sitting next to James and walked to the bureau bookcase that belonged to their mother and retrieved a picture of Thomas Barnes in his Marine uniform with his wings. As she walked back she noticed that James had gotten up and was looking at all the family pictures. Rebecca stopped and watched James as he let out a quiet sob as he picked up an old picture of the Barnes kids just before James left for the War. It was a folding picture frame. Left side had the Barnes kids and on the other had a picture of each Howling Commando that served with Steve and James.
Rebecca let James have his dignity while he closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time that he saw each one. As he put the picture frame back on its shelf, he noticed a picture of Steve still in his uniform but more military type and a picture of a red-headed woman in a snug black uniform. James clenched his jaw and willed the Soldier back to its resting place.
"That picture was taken by one of your grandnieces. She is deaf and wanted a picture to show her friends at school that she knew Captain America and the Black Widow." Rebecca handed James a picture of Jackson, Sue, and three little ones. She pointed at the little girl, "That little girl is named after Ma and has the Coen temper."
James studied the photograph into memorization. Jackson had black hair, brown mischievous eyes while his wife had blonde hair and blue eyes. You could tell which one in the family was fun and carefree, but you could also tell that they could be serious in any situation. The children were a mix of the two, but the little girl had more of a serious expression on her face like she tolerated her family but the affections she had for them was real. "They named her Winifred?"
"Do you know what the boys call her even the boys at school?"
James shook his head in the negative.
"Fred"
James looked at his sister incredulously, "Really?! If Ma was still alive she would've told her name was Winifred was a good and respectable name and no girl of her line would be called Fred."
Rebecca laughed. They both knew their mother quite well. "Do you remember Ma?"
"Bits and pieces. I remember her baking pies and especially her chocolate cakes. After the depression hit she would always divide up the chocolate for her baking to make it stretch."
Rebecca smiled in remembrance. "Ma and Pa had a hard time with your death. What got them through was another James had been born into the family and if I remember correctly he was the smitten image of you." Rebecca went over to the far end of the bookshelf and picked up a picture of a young man in his Army uniform that looked more modern than the Army uniforms from the 40's and brought it back for James to see.
James looked at it and thought he was looking in a mirror. He swallowed the lump that was in his throat as he looked at the date of his birth and death. His nephew was named after him and he didn't get to know him because he died in 1972. A memory was resurfacing because of the year and it wasn't a pleasant one. He remembered he couldn't kill the soldier because he looked exactly like himself and he kept calling him Uncle Bucky. The soldier was in cuffs and kneeling in front of him and his handler Alexander Pierce grabbed the gun out of his and pulled the trigger.
James dropped to his knees and sobbed. They wanted him to kill his flesh and blood and he couldn't do it. They had wiped him after that and he had not remembered him again until his sister showed him a picture of said soldier.
"James talk to me"
James looked at his sister with sad eyes. "Hydra wanted me to kill James and I wouldn't do it. I was out of cryostasis to long and was starting to remember and the Russians had just handed me over to an American by the name of Alexander Pierce. The Russians wanted another Super Soldier, but he defied all the odds and survived only to be shot when they made the connection that he was my nephew. They didn't want any of my blood line coming after me so they shot him point blank."
Rebecca put her hand to her mouth and let the tears fall. She finally had closure on her nephew and his family but also joy because his family line did continue. "James, your nephew married a sweet caring woman by the name of Sarah. She was named after her great-aunt who served in a hospital not far from where we grew up."
"Her Great-Aunt was Sarah Rogers?"
"Yes, she had a little boy named Steven James after you and Steve. Although you might try to disown him when you find out what branch of service he went into."
James an eyebrow in question
"The Navy"
"The Navy?!"
Rebecca smiled great big that lit up her whole face. "He is serving on the Patrick Henry as a Hornet pilot."
James threw up his hands what was the world coming to when your great-nephew was in the Navy. Being a fighter pilot was fine but the Navy. He shuddered, they were too cocky for their own good.
Rebecca had a picture of SJ, so she put the picture of James back and picked up the picture of SJ and his hero. She walked up to James and handed him another picture.
James took the picture from his sister and looked at his great-nephew and a tall Admiral with wings. He looked up at his sister with a question on his face.
"Steven James met his childhood hero on the Patrick Henry his second tour of duty." Pointing to the Admiral, "Admiral Rabb had just stopped a nuke from hitting the carrier group. Steven had just come back from leave two days before, he had traveled with the Admiral to the carrier and didn't feel comfortable talking to him until all the mess with the nuke was taking care of."
"You said Admiral Rabb. Alexander Pierce wanted to give him a job with flying him everywhere, but he turned it down. Do you happen to know his wife's name?"
"Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, retired. She had a vision of the Admiral being killed by a guy in all black with a black mask, and she told the Admiral to tell the Secretary no."
James took a deep breath. How was he going to explain who he used to be to his sister, this was going to be the hardest thing he had to do. "Do you remember the helicarriers up in the air not a year ago?"
"Yes James. They nearly destroyed Steve, I went to see him in the hospital and said that…..." Rebecca put a hand to her mouth as she looked her brother as she put the pieces together. "You?"
"Yes, they turned me into a mindless robot who killed people to further their agenda." James' memory was coming back as began explaining to his sister what Hydra had turned him into. "People started calling me the Winter Soldier because of my sniper training I was able to hide in plain sight. I always went back to my rendezvous point when the job was done. Sometimes while I waited I hid in plain sight, but nobody thought to look except for Black Widow. I had to continually move to get ahead of her before she found me."
Rebecca was stunned that Hydra would turn her big brother into a human robot. Her eyes filled with tears and silently began to run down her weathered checks. Rebecca had heard stories from some of her patients that the person who attacked them was fast and strong. "Were you supposed to leave no witnesses?"
James took a deep breath, "Yes."
Rebecca straightened her back, "Well, Hydra doesn't really know my big brother, do they?"
James crinkled his brows to show he was confused. He had told his handlers that his targets were dead. "They're not dead?"
Rebecca wiped her tears with her weathered hand, "No they are not. They wound up in the hospital that I worked in Brooklyn in the late sixties and seventies. One of them happens to be a pilot who was shot down in 1969. The stupid CIA had to tell me not tell anyone that he was alive, so they fabricated a death certificate for his family." Her determination to bring peace between her brother's victims and the victims themselves was overwhelming. "Although, if understand events he was found in Russia defending a soldier who didn't want to be named, they had just stopped a girl from being raped."
James' memories were coming in full force from the seventies and early eighties. It made his head hurt to the point of him groaning. It felt like a massive migraine headache. He staggered to the couch so that he wouldn't fall over. Through the pain he had to know who the pilot was so asked, "Was the pilot about 6'4" and had a mustache?"
"Yes"
"Rebecca, when you handed me this picture," holding up the picture that Rebecca had given to James earlier from its resting place on the couch, "I thought I was seeing a ghost. So, his son really does look like him?"
Rebecca smiled, "Yes he does and has a daughter in the Navy as well."
James was thoughtful as he began processing what his sister had said. He sat on his sisters' sofa tired and worn down. Right now, though he just wanted to lay down and sleep. "Rebecca, this is a lot to take in," taking her hand into his medal covered hand and squeezed gently, "and I appreciate all that you have told me. It's a lot for me to think about and I need to go to sleep, although my sleep patterns have been off lately."
"Nightmares?"
"Yes"
"I have a guest room down the hall to your left. It's not much but it will give you the sleep the you need." Rebecca let out a sigh, her legs were about to fail her, and she knew if she moved right now she would fall but she if she didn't move she would fall anyway. Rebecca took a tentative step forward and just about lost her footing if James hadn't caught her around the waist to keep her from falling. She looked up into his sad eyes and patted is left arm, "Thanks. Can you help me over by the table so that I can use my cane? Your nephew and my son Anthony tends to be overprotective and hovers which drives me insane. I know my limitations and today I out did myself, but it was worth it to see you again."
James helped Rebecca to get her cane and then he had her direct him to the spare bedroom. It was outfitted just like when he was a kid, blues and greens covered the room. On the bed was a homemade quilt that reminded him of their mother. Then Rebecca showed him where her bedroom was, and he directed her to her bed and she gave instructions where her night clothes were located. Rebecca told him as long as she sat on the bed she could get her clothes on, although she might need help to the ladies' room after a bit.
When Rebecca had changed, and James had helped to the ladies' room that had all the necessities for an elderly lady. After she had been in the ladies' room and out she held onto James' arm while he guided her to the bed. Once she was seated on the bed, Rebecca directed James to the bottom drawer where all of Williams night clothes were housed. She just couldn't get rid of them after he had passed away five years ago, and Rebecca knew that they would fit James. With that completed they bid each other good night and headed off to bed.
