Midnight was approaching, and Nurse Fox was getting hungry. This wing of the hospital was small and isolated, and there were only two or three other nurses on the nightshift with her. She would have packed a snack if she had been informed ahead of time she would be pulling an all-nighter. Until now, she had been ignoring the rumbling of her stomach because the Winter Soldier was finally walking on his own. The moment had been quite glorious, she almost wanted to take a video on her phone, but she knew that was strictly prohibited.

"Okay, let go…now." She shuffled her feet backwards, ready to catch him if he fell, but this time, he didn't stumble in his steps. He kept his feet planted until he was ready to move forward. Heel to ball. Left, right, left. He swung his arms around to keep his balance, but he was doing it! He walked across the room, in circles, took steps back, even made quick turns.

"Yay, we did it!" She cheered and clapped for him, which actually made him smile and quietly chuckle. Her encouragement put comfortable warmth in him.

"Take a break, you've earned it." She unveiled the blanket across the bed so he could lay on it, "I'm going to step out for a little bit, I'll be back in 20 minutes."

His smile dropped into a scared frown. What was he supposed to do while she was gone? He was too worked up to sleep, and he had gotten too used to her being around him all day. What if something happened to her while she was gone? What if someone came after him? Along with the intrusive paranoid thoughts, he also had this primal impulsive to follow her. As the first person he set eyes on, the first to lay her hands on him, he had imprinted her during this vulnerable stage of recuperation.

He could walk at a regular pace, but once he left his room, she was already down the hall and turning the corner. He walked faster, but he had a long way if he wanted to catch up, so he tried running. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Mmm! Mmfffa!" He tried calling out for her, but he hadn't gotten his words back either. He whimpered and waddled down the hallway, but as he spun to turn the corner, he lost his balance and the whole front of his body hit the hard tiled floors with a loud thud, which finally caught his nurse's attention.

"Oh my goodness!" She shrieked and ran over to him, pulling his shoulders up from under his arms, "What are you doing? I said I would only be gone for a little while."

He groaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist for support in getting his legs up, but instead of letting go, he looked up at her with pleading watery eyes. She had to do a double take at the sight. The Soldier, who had attacked her on instinct less than four hours ago was now clinging to her like a baby monkey, too scared to be left alone.

"I can't take you with me, I'm sorry. It's against the…" She patted his head as she tried to explain, but he only squeezed her tighter, almost cutting off her circulation, which made her gasp, "Uggh…! Okay! Let's go…!"

She got him a wheelchair so that they could sneak out faster. She buckled him up to the backseat of her blue Dodge minivan, right next to the toddler carseat.

"Sorry about the mess, my little one likes to throw Cheez-Its at his brother. My husband insists that we wait until he grows out it before we clean the car." From her rear view mirror, Melinda could see the Soldier flicking the small wooden dreamcatcher suctioned onto the window.

"You like that? My father made it for my kids last time he came to visit. You see, he's a full-blooded Cherokee, all the way from Oklahoma, so he doesn't get to come out here often." She stared ahead on the dark and empty street, "He's always trying to talk me into going back home, says the reservation needs more people like me, those who got their degree. I mean, it's not that I don't like home, I love it actually, but I mean is that the best thing for my kids? Also, my husband does sales, and all his best customers are here. It would be difficult for him to just pick up and leave the network he has here…and then of course, I don't know if…" She sighed as she trailed off.

When she first started out, all she was told that she would be working at a government hospital. By the time she knew even the slightest bit of the truth, she was already stuck. She had a family that HYDRA could take away in an instant. She didn't ask questions, and she didn't explore. She just did her job, which she felt was the most humane job on the planet, taking care of those who can't do it themselves. No matter who her employer was, she would only do what she was trained to do, and that was to help. Still, she couldn't just ignore the fact that she was trapped here.

At the drive-thru at McDonalds, Melinda pulled down her car window and said, "I'll have the 8-pack nuggets, small fries, and a diet Coke." She turned her head and asked, "Do you want anything? Oh, darn, I'm sorry, I forgot you can't stomache it yet" She looked back at the order box, biting her lip. She didn't want to eat all this in front of him when he had nothing; that would be rude!

"Okay, and… a chocolate shake too."

All the way back to the hospital, the Winter Soldier savored the frosty sweetness, even if he had to suck his eyeballs back into his skull just to get it up the straw.