This is my first story on here, so constructive criticism is accepted, and please review! I want to hear what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, just my characters.

He was unused to the energy around him. People milling around and talking without a care. The air free of malicious intent and orders. He was free to think and he didn't know what scared him more. His freedom to think, or the dark thoughts that tainted the precious freedom. Sky blue eyes flickered around, nervous energy surrounding him like a bubble as he tapped his fingers against the tabletop. Eyes shifted to him warily, one deep blue another dark brown, as he fidgeted. The hushed whispers too low for him to hear, and he briefly wondered if this was a good idea. What if he had an attack? What if he lost control? What if the Soldier came back? He didn't want to hurt anyone. Especially not-

"Buck?"

A deep voice shattered his spiraling thoughts, and he turned to the owner of the voice. He licked his dry lips, offering a nervous half smile. "Yeah Stevie?"

The super soldier smiled down at his friend, before motioning to the person behind him. "It's time for your appointment."

Bucky's eyes settled on the petite figure behind his friend, and he frowned. "I can't do it, Steve." He shook his head, and Steve frowned, the expression seemingly permanent on his face as he dealt with his friend.

"Yes you can, Buck. You'll be just fine." The brunette narrowed his eyes, and motioned to the woman beside Steve. "If I have an episode-"

"You won't."

"If I do," He seethed, annoyed at the interruption. "She could be hurt. Look at her Steve. She wouldn't stand a chance if the soldier came back." Bucky protested, and Steve was silent for a moment. He had a point, but the blond really wished his friend was just being paranoid. The programming was still there. He could snap back at any time if he felt threatened, or if she asked the wrong questions.

Finally, Steve nodded. "Alright then. I'll just have to sit in the room with you." He stood up straighter, while Bucky frowned deeper.

He didn't like the idea of his best friend, who he was really just starting to remember, being hurt because the Soldier came back, but he didn't have a choice. It was either have Steve take a few hits and end up with a bruise, or have her take a few hits and end up dead. So finally, he acquiesced.

"You're right." He stood up, and looked his friend in the eyes.

"The appointment is an hour long, and you come in on a scheduled time every Friday morning at 10 am. Any other time you need to come talk, you can just knock on the door. I'll have a sign up if I'm with a patient." The woman, his psychologist, told him. Her soft voice reached his ears, pulling his attention to her. She was very petite, no taller than 5'3, which he easily dwarfed. Her dark blue pants suit fit her perfectly, highlighting feminine curves and making him realize just how bad an idea this was, should he lose it. She was so small, that as she walked up to him and took his hand to guide him into her office, he almost felt the need to bend over slightly so he wouldn't feel so big.

She sat him down on a couch, while she sat down on a chair and Steve sat beside him, shield already deposited by his left hand. He didn't miss how she didn't sit between him and the door, but sat across from him. How she shuffled restlessly in her seat for a second before pushing her dark curls out of her face, and pushing her glasses up. She was just as nervous as he was. Who could blame her? But as she began flipping through his file, legs crossed and shuffling uneasily, he had a feeling Steve was going to have to accompany him for a long time.

She began with the usual questions. Did he remember his name? Did he remember Steve? Did he have nightmares every night or just every other night? His head spun with so many questions, but he answered them all honestly. She tapped her pen against her clipboard, one leg crossed as she studied him intently. It wasn't like the other doctors he had visited. The ones that scrutinized him as if he was a lab rat. Just like HYDRA had. No. Her look was gentle, her dark eyes holding understanding that he found almost unnerving.

"Okay Sergeant Barnes. I'm going to ask you a few more questions. If you get uncomfortable with any of them, I will stop. And I will not ask again." She flipped a page on her clipboard, and he swallowed thickly, before agreeing. "Alright then. Do you remember being captured during the war?"

He flinched, and his temper flared, as well as his fear. He could feel the Soldier shifting in his head, as if waking up. "Yes."

She pursed her plump lips, writing something down quickly. "Do you remember Steve rescuing you?" She asked, and he relaxed a little, able to focus on something remotely better.

"Yes."

She clipped a nod, writing something else down before she set the clipboard on her lap. She put both feet on the floor, leaning forward on her wheeled swivel chair as she stared him directly in the eye, not batting an eyelash as she took a deep breath. "Do you remember the fall?"

He tensed, and Steve did as well. He felt the Soldier twitch, threatening to wake up and lash out, and he ground his teeth together as he clenched his fists, the plates shifting with a malicious promise. She leaned back in her chair, quickly pushing away as she wrote something down.

"Bucky, calm down." Steve commanded, nervous about who he could be facing in the next second.

Bucky took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing, but not succeeding. He hated being like this. So on edge and out of control that even a simple question, a harmless question at that, could threaten the ghost of control he had over the Soldier.

"Bucky, you need to calm down." Steve commanded, reaching for his shield in case things got ugly.

The former assassin tried. He really did. But he felt like he was suffocating, his control going as he sat there, the Soldier stirring like a sleeping dragon. He had to get out. And he had to get out now. He stood up, startling the petite doctor, and stormed out the room. Steve stood up and hurried after him with a swift apology to the young woman who was sitting behind her desk, clutching the gun under the desk in her hand.

She breathed a sigh of relief as they left, the door closing tightly behind the good captain as she slumped against her desk, the cool wood suddenly cooling her feverish skin. "I am way out of my league here." She breathed, trying to calm her racing heart. She wondered, for the umpteenth time, why in the world she agreed to take a job with the Avengers.