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Chapter Seven

Eventually, Bucky fell asleep, his head resting on the tree trunk. In her bare feet, Georgiana slipped off the swing and tiptoed inside the cabin. It was hard to see, but she managed to grab the blanket and pillow Bucky had left on the floor of the living room near Steve, who was deeply asleep on his stomach. In the blue bedroom, she took one of her pillows, the cell phone Clint had given her, and an extra blanket before slipping back outside.

Georgiana carefully pulled one of the blankets over Bucky. Gently, she took the back of his neck in one hand so that she could pull his head forward enough to slip a pillow behind it. Setting his head carefully back into the pillow, she brushed some of his hair out of his face. Taking the other blanket, she wrapped it around herself, and placed her pillow up against Bucky's leg in hopes that if he moved the pillow would too and wake her up.

Laying her head on her pillow, she starting digging for information on her cell phone. For a while, she looked at videos. Silently, she watched Steve save a girl with his shield, Tony fly a missile up into a hole in the sky, Bruce as the green giant take out a group of flying machine people, Clint shooting arrows, or Wanda creating red balls of energy. Then there were others, people she didn't know. Like a person people called Spiderman stopping a car from hitting a bus, or a tall blond named Thor who carried around a hammer. When she stopped watching videos on silent, she found an article about a man who could turn into the size of an ant, and another about a man referred to as War Machine.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed she put away her phone, nestled in closer to Bucky, and tried to sleep.

X-X-X

When she woke it was to the sound of birds. Georgiana was in the blue bedroom and the sun was just starting to rise outside her window. Her cell phone was on the night stand, it read 5:12 a.m. Swinging her legs off the bed she found that the socks she had left on the porch the night before had been pulled back onto her feet.

It seemed as if she and Bucky were still looking out for one another.

From the bedroom window, she noticed that there was a small worn down dirt path that disappeared into the woods. Deciding to take a morning run and test how much she really did enjoy running, she dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and a tank top she found in the hutch and quietly slipped out of her bedroom.

Immediately she ran into Bruce, who was obviously sneaking out of the green bedroom. He put a finger to his lips and pointed towards the living room, where everyone seemed to still be asleep. Georgiana followed him out the front door and then towards the garage. Inside the garage was a green truck and a white car. He started packing boxes into the car.

"Where will you go?" Georgiana asked, very aware of the fact that for the first time he would be able to reply to her.

"Anywhere," he said, shifting a couple of boxes he had in the back seat. "Can't stay here."

Georgiana frowned, "But it's safe here."

"It isn't the place, it's the people," said Bruce.

"Oh."

Right before he stepped into the driver's seat of the car he stopped and sighed, then he stepped out and looked at her.

"I never thanked you," he said, "for how you treated the other guy, when we were cell mates."

It took her a moment to figure out who the 'other guy' was, especially considering the hated inflection he had used. He saw himself and the green giant as two different people, she realized, or at least he tried to.

"The other guy isn't so bad," she said.

Bruce's lips twitched into a small, brief smile. "I knew there was a reason he liked you."

"Do you really have to take off? Everyone will be worried," Georgiana said.

"No they won't," he said. "They are used to me taking off. And I should go. I cause more damage when I am trying to do good then when I am trying to do nothing."

There was something very sad, about seeing Bruce prepare to take off alone. It seemed very likely that despite the fact that there might be two very different people thinking in his head, he was still the loneliest person she would ever meet.

"You're doing it again."

Georgiana blinked. "Doing what?"

"The 'I want to help and heal people' face," Bruce said. "You used to do it all the time."

Georgiana's heart leaped into her throat. "You knew me? Before?"

"I wouldn't say I knew you," Bruce said. "But I met you once. About five years ago I was traveling in Africa, and someone told me that they knew a white-haired witch who could heal anything. I found you in hopes that you would be able to get rid of the other guy. You couldn't, of course. But you gave me that same look."

"What was I doing in Africa?" Georgiana asked.

Bruce shrugged. "You never told me anything about yourself."

It was odd, knowing that she had a life that she couldn't remember. There was no way of knowing if she was anything like who she had been.

"Tell Clint I'm sorry I stole his car," said Bruce.

Still shocked from the sudden information about her past, Georgiana simply nodded. Bruce made a move as if to touch her, take her hand or hug her or something, but then he seemed to think better about it. Although Georgiana couldn't figure out why, considering he already knew she could do nothing for him.

"Do me a favor, alright?" Bruce said, getting into the car and rolling down his window.

Georgiana nodded.

"Don't let these guys use you," he said. "Make sure you are always the one making your own choices."

"I will," she said.

"Good," he said. "Guess I'm off."

"Good luck."

She watched the car until it disappeared out of sight down the road. She didn't know what it was she had been looking for while talking to Bruce, but she felt as if she had found it and lost it in the same moment.

Georgiana stretched for a moment, excited to find that her muscle memory seemed to be familiar with the action. Starting with a jog, she followed the path she had seen out the blue bedroom window. The dirt path was narrow and curved around the open forest. The birds were still very loud, and the air smelled like pine cones. Her legs felt strong, and besides the little bit of bruising left on her arm, she seemed to be completely healthy again. Someone had put up mile markers around the trail, and when she reached the fifth marker she paused. She was sweating, but breathing fine. The sun was starting to warm up the trail, and suddenly she realized that she was hungry. Turning around, she jogged the five miles back to the cabin.

She slowed down as she came to the side of the house.

"You're welcome to stay for as long as want."

Georgiana stopped, recognizing Clint's voice, where he must have been on the front porch around the corner. She whipped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm.

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

That was Bucky. Georgiana glanced over her shoulder, making sure that no one was behind her. She could hear people moving around inside the cabin.

"You know," Clint said. "I spent some time as a zombie. Under Loki. I didn't get to choose what I did. Nothing compared to you . . . but . . . I did bad things . . . and it was me, you know . . . except it wasn't."

Realizing how personal the conversation she was eavesdropping on was, Georgiana's face turned red. She heard the front door open.

"You are more than welcome to stay as long as you want," Clint repeated, and then the front door closed.

Biting her lip, Georgiana walked around the corner of the cabin. Immediately Bucky's head snapped towards her. He was standing on the porch, both hands on the railing and looking tense.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"Went for a run," Georgiana said, avoiding eye contact. "There is a trail in the backyard."

"Why are you all red?" he asked, as she came up the steps and opened the front door.

"Um," she said. "It's hot out, and I ran a long time."

She slipped inside, deciding to make a break for it before he could ask her what she heard.

Everyone stopped and stared at her as she came inside, and she wondered if it was possible to become any redder than she was at this moment.

"Georgiana! Where have you been, we were worried about you," said Wanda.

"I went for a run," she said, trying to make a break for the bathroom. "I couldn't sleep."

Tony caught her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Did you see Bruce this morning?"

Georgiana opened her mouth, then shut it. Everyone was looking at her. Steve and Sam were frowning, as if they already knew the answer. Clint was looking up at her from a bowed head. Tony looked half crushed already. She realized why Bruce hadn't wanted to say goodbye, they wouldn't have wanted to let him go. She met Natasha's gaze, and realized that the redhead looked slightly puffy, as if she had been upset and was now trying to hide it. Georgiana's stomach sank.

"Yes," Georgiana's said quietly. "He said he was sorry that he stole Clint's car."

They said nothing. The front door opened again, and Bucky walked inside. He froze when he noticed everyone staring at her, and shot her a questioning frown.

"He seemed sad about not saying goodbye," she added.

Satisfied, Tony let go of her arm, and then refused to look at her. In fact, everyone's eyes dropped to the floor. Georgiana turned into the bathroom to take a shower. She leaned against the door after it was shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Outside the bathroom everyone continued to be silent.

X-X-X

"And you'll be okay here?" Clint asked.

"I'll be fine," Georgiana said, laughing. She sat with her legs up underneath her on the co-pilot chair of the plane as Clint fiddled in the pilot seat. The sun was high in the sky, and it was becoming a very warm spring day. Getting out of the shower, Georgiana had found a lime green summery dress in the hutch of her bedroom and followed Clint outside as Natasha had one last planning conversation with Steve.

Clint and Natasha were leaving. They both wanted to see his family, and after that they planned to continue investigating The Departed. Tony and Wanda were planning to leave later in the day. Tony had received a call telling him that the National Board behind the Accords had decided to place the other heroes who had signed the Accords under house arrest, in hopes of preventing them from joining Tony. So naturally, Tony was going to break them all out and take them to another safe and more roomie location. To everyone's surprise, Wanda had immediately volunteered to help him, saying with a shrug "It would be nice to be helpful again, and I might be missing Vis." Georgiana still hadn't figured out what a 'Vis' was.

"You know the tree that has a swing?" Clint asked. "It has a fake branch that faces away from the house, if you open it up there is money. You should use it to buy better food. Can't live on canned goods forever. And you might want a computer. Your own clothes."

"Do you make a habit out of taking in strays?" Georgiana asked.

Natasha walked up the ramp of the plane. "He always has. Why do you think the two of us are friends?"

Natasha no longer looked puffy. Instead, she looked happier and more driven ever. Georgiana wondered if it was because she was getting back into the mission or from the idea about seeing Clint's family. Getting out of the chair, Georgiana leaned over and hugged Clint. It was the first hug she could remember having, and even though it caused her to heal his small cut, she enjoyed the action.

"Call us if you need anything," Clint said once she pulled away.

Natasha gave Georgiana's arm a small squeeze as she got into the co-pilot seat. "Once we have some information on these guys we'll be in contact."

With another nod and a smile Georgiana left the plane, and watched it until it flew out of sight.

Turning back towards the cabin, she found Tony waiting for her on the porch. Her phone was in his hand, and he waved it at her as she bounded up the steps.

"I inserted F.R.I.D.A.Y. into your phone," Tony said. "Hope that's okay. I figured she could help you adjust to your new life."

"What is a F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" she asked, taking her phone and peering at it. It looked the same as before.

"A natural-language user interface and artificial intelligence that runs half of my life," Tony said. He pulled out his own phone and said, "F.R.I.D.A.Y., could you give me an update on when my plane will arrive?"

From his phone came the voice of a Scottish woman. "Your plane should arrive in approximately five minutes, Mr. Stark."

"Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y.," said Tony, then shrugged at Georgiana. "I thought you might find her handy."

Georgiana spied her phone. "This isn't your way of tracking me, is it?"

Tony put on his sunglasses. "One of F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s traits are that she can't be tracked. Wouldn't want my enemies to get into her."

She slipped her phone into her pocket and thanked him. She studied his profile as he looked towards the open field.

"What?" he said, without looking at her. "Stop staring, you're starting to creep me out."

Turning slightly red, she looked away. "Nothing, it's just, what would you have done if you had found out about me before Deadpool?"

Tony shrugged. "Knowing me, probably the exact same thing I already did."

There was a distant rumble as a small plane came into view. Tony turned to look at her, his arms loosely crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

"You know what?" He said. "I found out about you the day after I admitted to Pepper that I wanted to set things right."

"Pepper is your wife?" Georgiana asked.

"No, no." He said. "Just a girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend who has always helped me run my life and currently runs my business. We're still trying to make it work, somehow."

The plane landed in the open yard, and looking through the glass in the front of the plane Georgiana realized that it had flown itself here. From Tony's pocket, she could hear F.R.I.D.A.Y. tell him the plane had arrived.

"Still," Tony said. "It's a little ironic. We find you, who can heal anything, the day after I started to doubt what I had done in the past."

Wanda, who must have seen the plane from the window, opened the front door. She stopped when she saw them, and awkwardly slipped back inside as if to give them more privacy.

"But I guess even you can't heal the past," Tony said.

Without really thinking, Georgiana stepped forward and gave him a small hug. It only lasted a few seconds, and he didn't really even respond until she started to pull away. Then, she smiled up at Tony, whose expression she couldn't read because of his sunglasses.

"I doubt anyone really knows how to heal the past," she said. "But maybe this is where we start."

X-X-X

After Wanda and Tony left, no one seemed to know what to do. Steve had said a friend was coming up, and should arrive in the late afternoon tomorrow. The hope was that his friend might be able to help Georgiana find some information about her past. But until then, they just had to waste time. Georgiana helped Sam cook dinner, but disappeared out the backdoor when Sam, Steve, and Bucky sat down to eat. Her body still wasn't used to eating regularly again, likely because of whatever drug the weapons branch had given her still hadn't gone completely out of her system, and eating too much made her uncomfortable. She hoped the drug would pass soon and she would be able to eat regularly again.

She took the trail she had run on earlier and walked down it barefooted, this time taking her time to look around instead of focusing on how far she could run. There was a small opening in the path that led down to a small stream, and she still took it, jumping the stream and lying down on the other side.

Bucky found her just as the sky was starting to turn orange from the sunset.

"Are you ever going to sleep inside?" he asked, lying down beside her. He was close enough that she could feel his heat even though they weren't touching. Without looking at him she pointed towards her elbow.

"I'm completely healed now," she said.

"I doubt you'll have bad dreams," he said, sounding distant and distracted.

When the stars started to appear in the sky, she let Bucky pull her up and followed him up the trail in the direction of the cabin. He was wearing a simple t-shirt, and she realized that it was the first time he hadn't tried to cover his metal arm with clothing.

"Did it hurt?" she asked, taking an extra couple of steps to catch up to him as they walked.

He frowned. "Did what hurt?"

Carefully, she took his metal hand in hers, indicating that she meant the metal arm. She wasn't sure how to address it out loud.

"A little," he said. But he was lying.