AN : Taytayfanatical thank you for being the very first reviewer, I hope you keep with us :]
Here's chapter four, the lyrics in the chapter name are from Catalyst by Linkin Park. It was just a song that screamed Bucky to me.
Enjoy x

Chapter Four :

God Bless us everyone,
We're a broken people living under loaded guns...

It hadn't been easy, leaving without spilling the beans to Tracie, who's intuitive nature was for once, unwelcome.
''Has it gotten that bad again? Why didn't you tell me?'' she demanded as Rachel had slipped on her coat, moments after Captain America and the Black Widow had left her office - on the agreement that she would tell no one, and follow them right away.

''It's gotten pretty bad, look I'll be in touch, something major has just come up and I really need to go.'' Rachel's voice was almost pleading now, as if she was begging her friend to let her go.
Tracie's eyes fell on the open door, and the several thick books Rachel had hefted into her bag.
''Is it...'' Tracie licked her lips nervously, ''Something to do with S-''
''-I have to go.'' Rachel cut her off, her voice oozing a finality that Tracie seldom heard.
The P.A held up her hands in a defeated manner.
''Okay, just uh... just call me later okay? Let me know everything is okay.''

''I promise.'' Rachel was already hurrying down the corridor, using her stick as a crutch. She hated bringing the damn thing but she assumed she had just about scratched the surface of what was clearly going to be a very surprising day.
By the time she had rode the elevator down and hurried out the staff exit, Natasha and Steve were waiting by a rather impressive looking black car.

''Here.'' Steve hurried forward and took her bag. She was grateful, the weight of the books had been making her shoulders ache already and Steve managed to life the bag as if it were filled with nothing but fresh air. He even opened the car door for her, before striding around and folding his exceptionally tall frame into the front seat.

Rachel would later agree with Steve that Natasha Romanov drove like a lunatic. Her skill - though impressive - made for a seat clenching journey.
The journey last only a few minutes, but Rachel grilled both S.H.I.E.L.D agents intensely.

''So S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't totally wiped out after the shit storm in D.C?'' she leaned forward so that she was positioned almost between the two front seats and could better gauge their expressions.
''Well you better hope so, otherwise you've just been willingly abducted by a Master of espionage and a super solider.'' Natasha stared into the mirror at Rachel, who winced lightly as they sped through - yet another - red light.

Steve rolled his eyes and gave a single short laugh.
''Yes and no. Like I said earlier, S.H.I.E.L.D took extensive damage during the HYDRA infiltration. We lost our main base of operations, and we lost a lot of good people.'' he paused then, licking his lips and turning slightly in his seat so he was facing her.

''The Avengers had pretty much disbanded, but Director Fury insisted that S.H.I.E.L.D could not be let die. With a little bit of luck, and friends in high places, S.H.I.E.L.D has landed on it's feet and we're slowly starting to build ourselves back up.'' he motioned for her to look out the front window of the speeding car.

Then she saw it, through the midst of the Manhattan rush hour.
It towered over almost all of the other buildings. Though she lived in New York, she seldom ventured into Manhattan, and had only seen it on the news.

Stark Tower in all it's glory loomed over them.
''Here?'' Rachel cocked an eyebrow.
''Mr Stark has agreed to take on a more direct role in national security. He's also let S.H.I.E.L.D move in with him.'' Steve smiled at her.

Rachel swallowed, her head was spinning and she was really starting to wonder what the heck she was playing at.
Had she really - only moments ago - abandoned her nice job, in her nice office, with her nice co-workers, and her nice pay-check, and her patients who needed her?

What was she doing?

She bubbled with inner turmoil as the car peeled around a narrow bend she almost missed the red brick wall parting smoothly to reveal a tunnel-like driveway, leading them down under the tower itself.
''Wow.''

''You're not in Kansas and more Dorothy.'' Natasha said softly then turned to Steve.
''That's-''
''The Wizard of Oz I know.'' Steve cocked an eyebrow, and looked a little smug.

Rachel on the other hand was teetering dangerously over the edge of having a panic attack. Her right hand trembled with such ferocity that her whole arm shook lightly.

Down and down they went. The orange lights of the tunnel lighting each of their faces in an eerie light.
The tight tunnel veered to the left and opened into an immense underground garage of sorts.
The bright florescent lights hurt Rachel's eyes as they emerged from the dim tunnel, and she squinted and blinked several times, waiting for her eyes to adjust.

The car tyres squealed as Natasha stepped on the accelerator and slid the car neatly between a shiny BMW and an intimidating looking, blacked out SUV that was far larger than any other Rachel had ever seen.

Steve had leapt out and opened her door for her before she even managed to get her seatbelt off, and Rachel couldn't help but blush. It was impossible not to. Steve was exceptionally good-natured, he was - in her opinion - a real life Prince Charming. She wondered briefly why he hadn't been snatched up to work in the movie business. She was pretty sure his chiselled jaw alone would have people flocking to the cinema in their droves.

When she realised she was staring, her blush deepened and she scrambled to get out of the car.

Rachel followed Natasha and Steve a short distance to a shining glass elevator. When they entered and turned to face the garage they had just left. Rachel gasped aloud at the sheer size of the garage. Perfect cars, vintage and new were sitting undisturbed in neat rows, one after the other.
As the doors closed Natasha placed the palm of her hand on a screen that appeared to be built into the walls of the glass elevator.

''Romanov. Natasha.'' she spoke her name loud and clear.

''Good morning Agent Romanov. Which floor shall I take you to?'' a voice with a wonderfully lilting British accent filled the small elevator.
''Forty-fifth. Bio and Medical Jarvis.'' Natasha had removed her hand and was eyeing her nails carefully.
''Of course.'' the voice spoke again, and Rachel looked around as the elevator began it's smooth accent, wondering where the voice was coming from. There were no speakers that she could see.
Then again this was Stark Tower. Every inch created by Iron Man. If he could engineer a suit of such power and advanced technology, surely hiding a sound system was child's play.

''So...'' she said, more to break the awkward silence that had fallen on them suddenly.

''Who is he?''

''Who Jarvis? He's like Tony's home computing system. He can tell you everything about anything.'' Natasha said without breaking her gaze from her perfectly manicured nails.

''Erm, no. This guy in S.H.I.E.L.D's care. The patient?'' she looked from Steve to Natasha, her eyes narrowing when she saw guilt colouring Steve's bright eyes.

Either he's hurt him, or knows him, or both. There's a connection.

Years of working in Psychiatry and people watching had taught Rachel a couple of things about reading body language and cues. Natasha was almost indecipherable, but Steve, well he was the closest thing she had seen to an open book.

''His name is Sergeant James Barnes.'' Steve trailed off for a moment. ''Bucky. We called him Bucky growing up. I kne- I know him. We grew up together-'' Steve was cut off as the elevator slowed and the glass doors opened, Natasha stepped out without waiting for the others and Rachel stayed at Steve's side as they made their way into a warmly lit corridor.
''Bucky was drafted before I became this - he gestured at himself, and Rachel nodded for him to continue as they walked down the corridor, passing door after door until they reached the end.
Natasha slipped into a room and shut the door after her, and Rachel wasn't sure if she had done something to offend her, or she was just giving Steve some privacy.

They stopped outside the same door and Steve leaned up against the wall, towering over her.

''He and his division - the 107th - were captured behind enemy lines.'' Steve's eyes were full of pain and regret. ''They experimented on him, I don't know for sure what HYDRA did to him, but we made it out, and started hunting them down.'' he fidgeting now, and Rachel wondered at the fact that she was actually seeing Captain America fidget.

When he spoke again his voice was a little hoarse. ''Bucky fell. He fell from a train, I was sure he died. How could he have possibly survived? I didn't know then that whatever Zola did to him, it made him stronger. He did survive, but no one knew.''
Steve opened the door then, and motioned for Rachel to step inside.

It was a very small room, mostly taken over by an expansive window. There was a narrow armoured door beside the window and two - very large and very armed guards were standing either side of it.

Momentarily forgetting Steve's heart wrenching story, Rachel stepped up to the window. Her mouth was open in a mixture of shock and horror and she found herself rendered speechless.

The room on the other side of the window was stark and white. Medical machines littered the floor, but in the centre of the room, at an almost upright angle was a bed, and heavily strapped to that bed was a man.

A man with a metal arm and dark hair that covered almost all of his head as it hung limp. His clothes were torn and Rachel could make out bruising and lacerations on almost all of the skin exposed.

''Hydra found Bucky after he fell.'' Steve's voice lowered to a whisper now as he stood behind Rachel.
''They found him and brainwashed him. They turned him into this.''
Rachel had seen this man before - on the news channel when the battle had raged in D.C. She had seen the live footage of Captain America fight him on the freeways of D.C. This man was deadly, he was dangerous.

He was broken.

Her heart convulsed as she gazed at him.

All of her previous doubts vanished. The man before her was a war hero, who had been manipulated and used by higher powers as little more than a pawn.

''I'll do it.'' her voice was so quiet she wondered at how Steve even heard her, but he placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

''I'll do it.'' she repeated loudly. ''I'll do everything I can to help him.'' her voice was stronger now, and full of conviction.

It was just then, as if she had materialised from thin air, that Natasha appeared, holding three large files in her hand and holding them out for Rachel to take.

Rachel didn't open them, she would save that for later, when she would have time to study them properly.
''Anything you need, anything at all, it's yours.'' Steve's voice was so full of gratitude, that it made Rachel all the happier she was agreeing to help.

Her eyes soon fell back upon Sergeant Barnes however, and she picked over her options for several long minutes.

''Look there isn't a lot I can do today without getting to grips with his case. So- '' she held up the folders - ''I'll need to study these.'' then she paused an blushed a little. ''It might not be a bad idea for you and I to talk a little more. Anything you can tell me about him could be useful.''

Steve nodded quickly, ''Of course.''
''We can set you up with an office here.'' Natasha motioned to the door.
''I'd rather do it at my house - just for today, just to get my head around everything if that's okay?''

Under other circumstances she wouldn't have had a problem staying, but a small voice in the back of her head reminded her that in less than an hour she would need her medication and she did not have any with her. She kept one stash in her office and the other at home, but she preferred not to carry them around with her.

Natasha pursed her lips, but shrugged all the same.
Steve glanced from Bucky to Rachel and then nodded slowly.
''I'll take you to your house. We can talk there, then you can study the files and we'll collect you tomorrow morning?'' he asked.

Rachel cast one final look at her new patient, taking in everything she could.
''Sounds good.'' she nodded, and tucked the files under her arm as Steve led her to the door.