*Please note that all characters belong to Marvel apart from Elliot Dawes who's all rights are retained by me, the author. This is set after Age of Ultron and continues through Civil War*

I got gently awake when it was my turn to take the shift of watch. I kept the fire going whilst Bucky lay beside me. Judging by his ridged state and not so soft breathing, he wasn't properly a sleep. Admittedly I feel asleep against my will. I was exhausted but glad to have some to myself. I snuck online briefly to find out what the avengers were doing. Still hiding by the looks of things. Something else caught my attention. It was in the S.H.I.E.L.D's database. One of their own was labelled as missing: Skye. I recalled Skye as a hacker living in a van. I had worked with her a few times to get into places like SHIELD and the FBI. I was a little concerned. It led me to learn about all sorts of weird alien things, like the hidden city they discovered and flooded and how Skye got these weird powers. It was fascinating and between scrambles I found myself searching for where she might be. I got the rough location of the Himalayas. It was a possible location to head to. Out of America, out of the firing line hopefully. I probably spent too long online by the time I woke up Bucky but I was excited about actually having a destination for the first time in months. I decided to wait a while before suggesting it to Bucky. As I went for my next nap, I prayed we wouldn't get caught.

By the time first light came, it was obvious no one was coming for us straight away. Probably cause they were a little busy with their own plans. I woke Bucky up and we ate a couple of strips of the smoked meat. It was chewy and smoky and not that pleasant.

"It's better than that beef jerky you've been living of off," Bucky pointed out.

I opened my mouth to protest but realised it was true. I silently ate my share without complaint. We spent the next two days skittering around the nearest town. When I determined it was safe, we moved out. We headed to the nearest motel. Bucky went to say something as I walked confidently up to the cashier desk. Don't worry my little assassin, mamma knows what she's doing (but not why she said that).

"Yes, I'd like to book a room for my sweetie and me," I said in the cutest, excited voice I could possibly muster.

The bored, rather tired cashier didn't even look up.

"Cash or card?" He asked in an uncaring voice.

"Cash," I said confidently.

"How many nights are you staying?" He asked with a yawn.

"Oh just the one," I said, acting excitedly. "The whole of America awaits us!"

He really didn't care. He rung it up and I handed over the cash.

"Room twenty-two," He grunted. "Enjoy your stay. Condoms can be bought in the machine at the bottom of the stairs,"

Bucky looked horrified at that. I thanked him and skipped away, grabbing Bucky's hand and dragging him along. I unlocked the door and we stepped inside. Bucky automatically locked the doors and drew the curtains. The room was rather small and dingy. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Still, there was a shower and a bed and that's all I cared about. My standards of living have gone drastically down since I left home. Anywhere with a sort of bed is heaven to me these days.

"I've had worse," I admitted, slipping my bag off.

"Sweetie?" Bucky replied, raising an eyebrow.

"What, we do need a cover story if anyone does look," I pointed out, crossing my arms. "A love struck couple travelling America is a perfectly good cover,"

"True," he grunted. "You can shower first,"

I jumped at the chance and dived right in. I locked the door and turned on the hot water. There was one rather scratchy looking towel between us. And it was a hand towel. I leant against the toilet and pulled my leg off. It was gungy with bits of twigs and leaves trapped in the joints. I sighed as I hobbled into the shower. I leant against the wall as the rather weak and burning shower sprayed over me. The bath quickly turned brown from all the dirt and grease I had collected over the weeks. It felt so good to have a proper shower. There was a rather old and used bar of soap but it did the trick. I managed to squeeze a little shampoo out of the bottle left by some other couple that stayed the night. I felt so much better after the shower. I badly dried myself with the towel and pulled on my filthy clothes. I felt a little worse with the dirty clothes. I decided to slip out and get us some clean clothes. I put the towel over the radiator and grabbed my leg. I badly hobbled to the door. I struggled to get it open, balance and hold a leg. Eventually I did get it open. Bucky was sitting on the bed, writing something in what looked like a journal. He glanced up as I crashed into the chair that was crammed between the bathroom door and the wonky table that held the television and phone.

"Do you need help?" He offered, sounding annoyed.

"No, no," I dismissed him. "I got this,"

I chucked the leg across the room. It landed on the bed with a soft thud. Bucky raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead he chose to watch my struggle. I began hopping towards the bed. I made it two hops before I lost my balance.

"I don't have this!" I cried as I fell forward.

I face planted a rather solider chest. Bucky's strong arms were around me and helping me back up. He helped me hobble to the bed. I flopped down, panting from the effort (and the near fall).

"Thanks," I muttered, looking down.

It's frustrating having to rely on other people sometimes because I'm a leg short. I feel vulnerable and useless most of the time. I hate it.

"You're not weak," Bucky said.

I looked up at him. He was staring at me with the softest expression I have seen yet.

"Huh?" I responded.

"I know that look," Bucky said. "I've seen it on other soldiers when they've lost limbs. I felt it when I first woke up with this," he took off his glove and flexed his fingers. "You aren't because something was taking for you. You are stronger than anyone else, you are a survivor. You'll get there. Trust me,"

I could feel my eyes brim with tears. Bucky was right. Soldiers have had it much worse than I have, so has he. If they can get through this, so can I. I nodded, staring at the ground. Bucky, who looked a little awkward with my sudden tearing up, turned and went for a shower. I could hear him curse about the towel arrangement. Whilst he did that, I turned on the TV and began cleaning out my leg. It wasn't long before the overflowing bucket was even more overflowing with bits of twigs and leaves. Bucky eventually emerged, his hair dripping wet and topless. It was a rather nice view that I got. He sat down in the chair and began flexing his arm, making sure it didn't seize up with the shower.

"I'm thinking about heading out and getting clean clothes for us before it's too late," I said nervously. "Help us blend in a little,"

Bucky nodded in agreement. He looked a little worried about me leaving but we both knew I had a better chance of blending in than he did. He politely looked away whilst I took my trousers off to put my leg back on. He walked me to the door. Before I unlocked it, he slammed his hand against the lock and stood very close to me. I turned round to find this hulking, beautiful man towering over me and trapping me. I could feel my heart elevate at how close it was. It was also shit hot being pinned to the door without any contact.

"Knock on the door three times and whisper 'eu caut intrare'," Bucky told me softly.

"Eu caut intrare," I repeated, frowning.

"Caut," he repeated. "It pretty much means I seek entry. That way I know it's you,"

I nodded in agreement. He unlocked the door for me and I slipped out.