A/N: Hi, guys. So here is chapter 2. It involves a few more Winterthorn (thank you Erudessa-gabrielle!) moments :)

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2 - Little Sister

James and I wandered along a seemingly abandoned street which was squashed between two rows of buildings. We'd been walking for around half an hour now. James kept assuring me it wasn't too much further, even though neither of us were in any kind of rush, and I really didn't mind the extra legwork.

As we passed what appeared to be an old post office, my phone started ringing. I jumped slightly, having forgotten I even had it with me. James sent me an amused look while I answered the phone. "Hey, Steve, how's it going?"

"Did you know you and Bucky are all over the news right now?"

I stopped mid-step, causing James to stop as well, sending me a confused look. "Seriously?" I queried, raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah. Apparently you saved a kid from getting hit by a car."

"Well, yeah, but it was less than an hour ago. How the hell did they get a story up so fast?"

Steve laughed. "Today's press is very efficient."

I huffed. "Apparently so." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Do they know it was me, or do they just assume I'm some random bystander who happened to be in the right place at the right time?"

"Well, considering they've decided to name the story 'Hitman to Hero' I'm going to assume they know exactly who you are."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, they're really bad at choosing story names."

"It's not like they had a long time to pick one. An hour isn't long, in anyone's book."

"Okay, Steve, give me a second. James is looking at me like his curiosity is going to kill him." I placed my free hand over the mic of my phone and said, "The story of me saving that little boy is already on the news."

James rolled his eyes. "Well, that's one way to draw attention," he muttered.

"It also means a lot more people know who we are," I said. "I think we're gonna have to cut this part of our trip short. If we spend too much time here it might make leaving difficult."

James nodded. "You're probably right."

I went back to the phone. "Okay, I'm back."

"Nice to meet you," Steve said in return.

I chuckled. "Don't tell me Stark's sarcasm is starting to rub off on you."

"You've never even met him, how could you know that?"

I snorted. "Are you kidding? He's Tony freakin' Stark. Everyone knows that."

Steve laughed on the other end of the line. "Okay, yeah, that's true." He paused for a second. "So listen, Thor's just come back from visiting Jane. He won't be here for long, so I wanted to ask if you'd like to meet him."

I hummed. "Well, after the little incident with the press, James and I have just decided to cut our road trip short. We're gonna head over to England after this last stop, and I doubt we'll be there long. How long is he staying?"

"Uh, let me just ask." There was a shuffling on the other end of the line, followed by two different low voices talking back and forth to each other. Then Steve came back and said, "He'll be here a week at most."

I nodded subconsciously. "I think we'll take the risk. If he's gone before we get back, tell him we said 'hi' regardless."

"I will. But honestly, Daphne, I think he really wants to meet you guys. He's got a thing for warriors."

"Even brainwashed warriors who spent sixty years killing innocent people?"

Steve groaned. "Give yourself a break, Daph. We all know you had no choice."

"It was still us who pulled the trigger, Steve," I murmured. "Listen, we should probably get going. We're quite close to the place where James used to live, and he's not very good at standing still when he's got somewhere else to be."

James sent me a stony look, but I just winked at him in return.

Steve chuckled. "That's an old habit from the war days. Alright, we'll talk some other time. But be careful."

I groaned. "Dammit, Steve, you're as bad as him! How the hell do you think we've survived this long - luck? We can look after yourselves."

"I know you can. But two people - even two supersoldiers - can still be overwhelmed. And we know Hydra are looking for you guys."

I groaned. "Great." I sighed. "Well, thanks for the heads up. See ya, Steve."

"Bye, Daphne."

I hung up, putting my phone back in my pocket. I turned to James. "You ready to go?"

James smirked. "Oh, I never stopped being ready. It's you that slowed us down."

"Technically, that was Steve's fault," I retorted.

"You didn't have to stop moving while on the phone," James pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and keep walking, mister."

James saluted. "Yes, ma'am," he said, his Brooklyn accent becoming thicker momentarily. He held out a hand, wiggled his fingers invitingly, and then he tugged me close when I grasped his fingers again.

We walked for no more than another five minutes, before James came to a stop and looked around. He wore a frown.

"It's different, isn't it?" I said, looking at the buildings that looked like they had bricks no older than two decades.

James nodded. "It's all new," he murmured. "When I lived here, half of the bricks were cracked or crumbling, and at least a quarter of all the windows in the terrace were boarded up." He blinked a few times, before his stare became slightly glassy as he gazed down the length of the narrow street opposite us. "I used to play with her here," he muttered. "That little girl. She used to run around in a little dress with ribbons in her hair - she refused to go outside wearing anything else. She would try to hide from me by pressing herself against the bricks and covering her face with her hands. I always used to pretend not to see her for a few seconds, but then I would pick her up and drape her over my shoulder because I knew she loved it."

"You know, you could always ask Steve about her," I murmured, but James shook his head.

"No. I want to remember it myself."

I nodded, understanding that being told who she was wouldn't necessarily mean that James would in turn then be prompted to remember. "Well, what do you know about her?"

"She..." James frowned. "Well, she was like the female version of me, I think. We had all the same features, but we were the same person on the inside, you know?"

"How much younger was she than you?"

"Eight years, 237 days," a quiet voice said, and the both of us instinctively whirled around, taking a single step towards each other so we were right next to each other. My right hand twitched towards the blade I kept hidden up my sleeve, while James' metal arm whirled and clicked as it set itself into 'battle mode'. The woman facing us was frail, with white hair, but then I noticed she had the same eyes as James. I slowly relaxed my stance. The woman smiled. "I heard on the news you were here," she said, her voice just as weak as it had been before. "I had a feeling this neighbourhood would be your next stop."

"Who are you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. This woman would be no threat at all, but that didn't mean I trusted her. For all I knew, she could have been a distraction. I glanced around me, making sure there was no one either in the shadows or on the rooftops around us. They were all thankfully bare.

The woman smiled. "My name is Rebecca. Rebecca Barnes-Proctor."

Beside me, I felt James tense. I glanced over at him and saw his face was crumpled with pain. In a second both his hands went to his head and he let out a yell, his fingers clawing at his scalp while his knees buckled and he fell to his knees on the floor. I crouched in front of him, murmuring in Russian, trying to move his focus away from the pain in his head. "Deep breaths, Shadow. It's okay. We're okay. Just focus on me, alright? Pay attention to me - listen to my voice, notice the space I'm taking up, feel how warm I am. Just focus everything on me, okay, James?"

"Is he alright?"

I turned my head and saw the woman had moved closer. I waved an arm urgently. "No, get back," I said. "If you get too close you might get hurt."

She frowned, but didn't move any closer. Neither did she step back. She just stood firmly where she was. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turned my attention back to James. His metal hand was balled into a tight fist against his skull, while his flesh hand was still tugging at his hair. I let out a long breath and gently took his hands in mine, ignoring how they tightened around my fingers. I could feel my bones complaining against the force of his grip, but I didn't try to make him loosen his fingers.

"It hurts," James muttered in Russian, his voice muffled due to the fact he looked like he was trying to hide his head behind his knees. "It hurts. It hurts."

"I know, sweetie," I whispered. "Just breathe. It'll go away. Just breathe, and try to relax. It'll make it easier."

Slowly, his breaths slowed and his hands relaxed, though they didn't let go completely. I tenderly ran my thumbs over his knuckles, and James let a long breath out before lifting his head. His eyes were slightly blurred by tears, and his cheeks were flushed, but he looked okay. He smiled weakly at me. "I'm alright," he said. "I... I remember her." He glanced over my shoulder at Rebecca, before slowly standing up. I did the same, and while I dropped the flesh one, I still held tightly onto his metal hand, offering silent support. "Becca," James breathed.

Rebecca smiled. "Hello, Bucky."

James winced. "Don't... Please, don't call me that. Call me James."

Rebecca blinked in surprise, before nodding. "Alright then." She smiled. "You used to hate that name," she told him.

James nodded. "Yeah, I know, I just..." He sighed. "It's a long story," he finished weakly.

Smiling sympathetically, Rebecca nodded her head. "I... figured. Especially since you should be whiter haired and wrinklier than me right now."

Huffing, he shook his head. "I should be dead."

"James..." I murmured warningly, but he just sent me a sad look, as if to say 'you know it's true'. I turned to see Rebecca's eyes flicking between the two of us. I smiled, catching her attention. "I doubt you really care about me with him here," I said, nodding at James, "but I'm Daphne."

Rebecca smiled. "You've been looking after my big brother," she said. "Of course I care."

I snorted. "I'm not sure I'd call it 'looking after him'," I said with a chuckle. "He's perfectly capable of looking after himself. I've just kept him company."

"Don't sell yourself short," Rebecca said, finally shuffling closer to us, until she was less than a metre away. Her eyes glimmered slightly when she beamed at us. "And don't flatter him, either," she said with a small smirk which looked very familiar. "I doubt he'd last a week without you."

James narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought it was supposed to be my job to tease you...?"

Rebecca grinned. "Technically, I'm older than you now." Her smile became softer. "I live just around the corner. Would you like to come over for something to eat?"

"I..." James bit his lip, before glancing at me. "I think we were going to g-"

"Don't worry about leaving just yet, James," I said. "I'm sure no number of reporters could stop us leaving if we really wanted to get out of here."

James hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, o-okay."

Rebecca smiled. "Excellent. Though, I should warn you, I'm expecting my grandkids after lunch."

"Grandkids?" James questioned, frowning.

Rebecca hummed, nodding her head as she turned around and began to walk towards her home. She had a slow gait, however I didn't mind slowing down my pace to walk with her, and I didn't think James did either. "Scott and Kimberly. The twin children of my son. They'll be..." She pondered for a moment. "I think they'll be in their early twenties by now. Gosh, has it really been that long?" She chuckled. "Last time I saw them they were still in high school."

"I think we should go before they show up," James said lowly. "I have a feeling you're not going to let us go until I tell you what happened to me over the years. I don't want to have to do it twice." He hesitated. "Do you.. Do they... know who I am? Who we both are?"

Rebecca nodded, her eyes darkening slightly. "Yes, we all do. And really, James, I do think they'd want to meet you. And Daphne. Kimberly in particular has taken a concerning interest in the two of you, apparently." She frowned. "David is very worried."

"David?"

"My son," she elaborated. "Their father. I think Kimberly wants to find you."

"Well," James murmured, "she's going to have a tough time, then."

I chuckled, while Rebecca just looked exasperated. "I could force you to meet them, you know," she said haughtily.

James gave her an incredulous once-over. "You're kidding, right? You're weaker than Steve used to be. And that's saying a lot."

I couldn't help but laugh, both at the comment and the fact that Rebecca in turn hit her brother for said comment. "There's no need to be rude, James," I said, grinning.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you think we should stay and meet them?"

I paused, having not thought about my own wishes because I wasn't part of the Barnes family. I was perfectly willing to do whatever it was James wanted to do. I shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt," I said in the end.

"It might."

"It probably won't."

"It still might."

"Well, in that case, we'll just cross that bridge when we get there." I sighed. "They're your family, James," I said, in a low voice I doubted Rebecca's aged ears would pick up on. "Even if it's just the once, I think they deserve to meet you."

James stared at me for a long time, before shoving his hands in his pockets and sighing. "Fine," he said. "But if it looks like it's about to take a turn for the worst we're leaving straight away. Okay?"

I nodded. "Deal."