Chapter One

"Dad!" I yell, kicking the door shut and dropping my bag. I have maybe five minutes tops before Bucky leaves, and I want to take advantage of them.

"Don't slam the doors!" He scolds from the living room.

I run in and jump, landing on him and squeezing the snot out of him. "Sorry," I say, still hugging him like I did when I was five- or whenever he leaves. "How long?"

"Two weeks," He strokes my hair even though I tense, the cool metal from his left arm soothing me. "It's not that long, Gail."

"Unless?" I prompt.

He sighs and moves me back, making me meet his eyes. "Nothing is going to happen," He says firmly.

I shake my head, looking away.

"I won't let anything happen to him," My favorite uncle says, giving me a reassuring smile. "I promise."

I give him a glare, crossing my arms. "You'd better, or I'll gut you with a spork."

"Ooh, serious," Dad smirks, kissing my temple. "Do you have your bag?"

I sigh. "You're wasting my five minutes!" I protest.

"Gail," He chides.

I huff. "In the hall, which you should have seen, old man."

He raises a brow as Steve rushes to get my bag. "What was that?" He asks. "And I saw that, punk!" He yells, leaning to the side to glare at Steve.

"Sorry!" Steve calls, not sounding very sorry.

Dad shakes his head. "I'm not old."

"You're at least ninety." I say blandly.

"And I can still ground you," He says easily. "Hurry up so we can drop you off at the tower."

Muttering under my breath, I grab my book bag again and hold the door open, not that I need to since Steve has my bags in one hand, and Dad kisses my temple when he passes. I sigh, make sure I have the spare key, and lock the doors, knowing I'll be the one who has to clean it later.

…

As Steve pulls Natasha close and kisses her, I glance at Dad and wonder who my mother is. We both have dark hair and eyes, but don't really look like him other than that, and I have yet to find anything on who she could be. Dad catches me and raises and eyebrow, and I just shake my head and watch Steve say his last goodbyes.

Of course, my father wouldn't be the Winter Soldier if he didn't let things go, so I'm not very surprised. I am surprised when he says, "No searching for your mother when you're gone."

I look at him, a little startled. "What?"

He gives me a knowing smirk. "You heard me. Behave." I notice Steve waiting, and I force a smile and give him one last hug.

"Love you Dad." I say, stepping back.

"Love you too, doll," He steps back and smiles. "Only two weeks, Gail."

I nod, and Natasha stops next to me as we watch them disappear.

"Come on," She says, touching my shoulder when the car disappears. "Let's watch a movie."

…

"I don't know why they're leaving again," I say irritably, pacing back and forth in my best friend's room. "They're always leaving."

"I don't know why Bucky insists on living in his own apartment when you're here more than your actual house." My best friend Arianna says, twirling a chocolate curl around her finger. "Should we hack the database again?"

"Do you really have to ask?" I drop next to her and watch as she easily hacks into the SHIELD files. I don't know why I'm always impressed; she is a Stark. "Anything new about my mother?"

"There is nothing there," She says flatly, her blue eyes leaving the screen for a split second to meet mine. "No birth records or anything. The only record of you is that you both live in that apartment. It's annoying me."

I shake my head. "Any other sources that could work?"

"I dunno. Maybe record books? I'm going to try my best, but I still have to be careful in case Dad catches on." She shrugs, shutting the laptop. "Movie?" She asks, shaking something in my face.

I cave and settle down even though I dislike sitting still for extended periods of time. The whole time my mind is reeling; why does Dad not want me to look for my own mother? And how did he know about it in the first place?

I don't know when I went to sleep, but I open my eyes to see Natasha looking at me with a frown.

"What?" I ask, my voice hoarse from sleep.

"We need to talk," She says, motioning for me to stand. I clamber to my feet, and she nods towards the couch. I eye her warily as I lower myself, and she sits next to me, leaning close. "I know how Bucky keeps catching you."

I blink. "Come again?"

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "JARVIS keeps turning you two in, and luckily I managed to strike a deal with him."

I raise an eyebrow. "How did you do that?"

"I won't remove him from the tower,"

Well, that would do it. "Why are you helping me?"

"I think you deserve a shot," She says, sounding a little irritated, even though I don't think it's at me. "You deserve to know."

"Do you know?"

She meets my eyes steadily. "No, and I wouldn't tell you if I did. Not without your father."

I nod, conceding. Fine, she has a point. "Do you know what that case is about?"

She shakes her head, her lips pursed. "I haven't been able to figure it out. I think it's more personal, but it doesn't make sense. Why would Fury need them for something personal?"

…

"Why are we really here?" Steve asks, crossing his arms. "I know it's not HYDRA."

"It's actually worse," Fury says, turning to face them. "We made a mistake with Gail."

Bucky straightens. "What do you mean?"

"We should have told her who her mother really is," Fury says, looking between them. "And now we're too late. She's free."