Steve rides with Fury in the direction the one eyed man had come from. The building is underground and the hallway Fury leads him down is white and sterile. Fury leads Steve to Bucky's hospital room. Florescent lights blare brighter than any Steve's ever see, and the technology Bucky seems to be hooked up to is foreign and look like science fiction.

"What is this? What's he attached to?" He asks, afraid to touch anything. The realization washes over him that there, hooked up to a bunch of machines he didn't recognize or understand, was the only person he had left. He stares at Bucky, walking over to him. He notes painfully that the machines weren't the only thing unusual with this. Most of Bucky's left arm is missing, only the shoulder remaining, wrapped up in white bandages.

"It's medical equipment. All that stuff is what's keeping him alive," Fury explains.

"...My god…I'm sorry Bucky, I'm so sorry," He says quietly to the unconscious form of Bucky Barnes.

"He most likely lost the arm in the crash. The two of you were pretty jostled, and you both got thrown to the floor. According to our forensics team you were sitting and he wasn't, so he got thrown farther than you. By all rights you should both be dead."

"Good god…why aren't we?"

"For you, we figure Erskine's serum kept you alive. For him, we have no idea how he's alive, but he must have something in his system. He definitely didn't take the time on ice as well as you did."

Steve sits down in a chair near Bucky's bed, unable to take all of this standing anymore. This was so much. There was too much to take in all at once, and Steve was struggling to cope with it.

"I'll send someone in to debrief you in a bit. Let you have your space."

Steve nods shortly. Peggy would know how to handle this. She'd know what to do. Was she still alive? Were any of his friends still alive? Was Bucky going to wake up soon? What would they do then? How would he take this? Steve can't help thinking it was all his fault. If he had left Bucky in the car with Peggy and Colonel Phillips, then Bucky wouldn't be here. Bucky is his best friend. He deserves better than to be an amputee stuck out of time, out cold in a hospital bed.

"Tell agent Jones when you're ready to be debriefed." Fury offers Steve his hand. "Welcome to SHIELD, Captain Rogers."

Steve shakes the hand. It's as if he's on autopilot and it takes a few moments for him to fully register the words said.

"SHIELD? What's that?"

"An American intelligence organization focused on finding threats like Hydra and stopping them."

Steve nods, and after a moment's hesitation he decides to ask a questions that have been bothering him. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Well I suppose you don't, but we haven't tried to kill you and we're going to great lengths to keep your best friend alive."

"Is everyone..." He swallows thickly. "Everyone I know...are they all d-...are they all gone?" It hurts as much to say the words as it did to think them.

"It's 2012, Cap. If they're not dead, they're old. Peggy Carter is still around. Howard Stark's son is around. A few of our agents are descendants of the Howling Commandos. And technically he's still breathing," He adds, gesturing to Bucky.

"The war...?"

"We won, thanks to you."

"Can I have a little while? This is...a lot to take in."

"Of course. Take your time." Fury leaves the hospital room.

Howard is dead. The commandos are dead. The war is literally history. It's 2012. Neither he nor Bucky had aged in seventy years. Bucky is missing an arm. Bucky hasn't woken up. Everything looks different. Even cars look so strange. In the car he'd been told that they were in New York, but it looks nothing like the New York he used to know. Steve isn't sure what to do with all this new information. He's mourning the loss of his friends, and trying to take in this new century all at once and it's too much for him to handle.

The machine beeps out Bucky's heartbeat to the rise and fall of his chest, far too slow to be considered stable, but at least it proves he's alive. And Captain America does something that his fans would never imagine their big, strong, patriotic hero doing. He cries. Steve puts his hand on Bucky's remaining one. He doesn't know what to do at this point. He needs Bucky to pull through. Maybe if he had someone going through this with him it would be easier, or at least he hopes so. "Please wake up..." Steve whispers. "I need you."

Bucky doesn't respond to the cry for help, remaining unconscious. He doesn't jump up at Steve's crying to comfort him. He doesn't move a single muscle. The heart monitor beeps at the same slow pace as before. Steve lets himself cry for a while before pulling himself together. Bucky would need help through this too. Steve watches Bucky for any signs of waking up. What else could he do? He has nowhere to go, no home, no one to go home to. But there's nothing. Bucky shows no signs of waking up any time soon. So Steve just sits there, ignoring the doctors and nurses that come in to check on his comatose best friend. He doesn't say a word, just watching Bucky lay there.

A few hours pass and Steve hasn't left his seat at Bucky's side. Fury returns with a tall woman, her chestnut hair pulled back into a bun. Steve releases Bucky's hand when they walk in.

"Captain, this is Agent Hill. She's here to debrief you," Fury explains.

"We thought you might prefer if we did your debrief in here," Agent Hill adds. Steve nods in confirmation. Agent Hill finds another chair and sits. "You must have a lot of questions." Fury leaves.

"What happens now?"

"You recover physically first. Then you figure out what you want to do. You'll always have a job here at SHIELD if you want it. It's the least we can do. We'll have safe apartments chosen for the two of you. You try to build your new lives."

Steve looks away from Bucky for the first time and looks Agent Hill in the eye. "Be honest with me. Will he ever wake up?"

"Honestly, we don't know. We're trying, but this isn't something we have much experience in. You were easy. You practically took care of yourself. He lost a lot of blood with the arm and his cells aren't regenerating at near the rate yours are, but that they're regenerating at all is surprising. It looks like they regenerate just fast enough to survive the ice."

"Off record. Do you think he'll wake up?"

"Like I said, I don't think he should be alive at all right now. That he is, to me, means he has some sort of a chance."

Steve nods and returns his gaze to Bucky. "Everything is different. By now you've probably managed to replicate Erskine's serum. That means I'm outdated. Why would you want me to work here?" They'd had seventy years and plenty of his blood, surely they'd figured out how to make the formula by now.

"Why wouldn't we want you working for us? You're Captain America. You're a living legend. Your skills and abilities would be invaluable."

"Again, I'm outdated. Surely you have more modern super soldiers by now, with all the same skills. Legend or not the war is over. What purpose would I serve?"

"You're not a model car, Captain. There is no "out dating" you and no "newer versions". You're a young man with experience in this field, who will probably want work. Plus Director Carter would have our heads if we didn't offer you a place here," Agent Hill clarifies.

Steve's head snaps up at the mention of the name Carter.

"And just so you know we never recreated Erskine's serum. All samples of your blood were lost before SHIELD was even founded."

"Director Carter?" He says in surprise.

"Peggy Carter was one of our founding members. Technically she's retired but we still call her director out of respect."

"You know I would have trusted you a lot faster had you lead with that." He looks back down at his hands.

"Yes but we wanted to see what you would do otherwise. You're welcome to visit her later if you want."

Steve nods silently.

"You have a lot to catch up on. There have been a few wars since the one you helped end."

"I'm still amazed we won the second Great War. How many have there been since?" He looks at agent Hill

"Five, a couple of them protecting our allies."

"Where are the flying cars? Howard was in the prototype stage before..."

"You'd have to ask Stark Jr. About that one."

"I thought the future was supposed to be better. But the air outside was so much thicker than it used to be. So far not much has improved."

"Yes, the air is more polluted, but it wasn't our generation that started the use of fossil fuels. We are trying for alternative energy, another thing you should ask Stark Jr about."

"Is that really his name?" Steve makes a face. Howard could be a bit full of himself sometimes, but he wouldn't name his son after himself.

"No, his name is Tony. I just know you used to be friends with Howard Stark, so I figured Stark Jr would be more relatable to you."

"Howard was a good man."

"He helped Director Carter found SHIELD."

"When did he die?"

"Car crash in 1991."

Steve swallows thickly. "And the others?"

"All of the Commandos died of old age within the past ten years."

"...It wasn't supposed to happen like this..."

"Would you have preferred we left you in the ice?"

"I would have preferred an alternative to crashing the plane that didn't involve blowing up New York. I would have preferred to live in my own time period. I would have preferred to see the war end for myself, but that isn't an option."

"No, it's not. It's generally agreed that we shouldn't attempt time travel. You're stuck here. But at least you're not stuck here alone."

"I might end up that way." He looks sadly at Bucky.

"I won't deny that."

Steve doesn't know what to do. Bucky is still just lying there. If not for the rise and fall of his chest and the slow beeping of the heart monitor, Steve would swear he was dead. At any point his heart could stop, and Steve would be left alone. As it is, Steve isn't sure if it's a blessing that he wasn't here alone or a curse that his best friend was hurt so badly in the process.

"I promise that we're doing everything we can for him. Some of the best doctors in the world work for SHIELD," She assures, trying to comfort the grieving super soldier the only way she could.

Bucky is still alive, for now, but Steve already feels as if he's on his own here. "I believe you."