A/N: Thanks so much for all of you who reviewed! I hope you enjoy this last chapter :)

10. Cuz if I don't, we'll both end up with just your song to say goodbye

Steve became aware of noises. They were unintelligible at first, but soon separated into the muffled sounds of people hurrying around, beeping machines, and a song playing. He listened to the music for a little while, wondering vaguely and with little interest where he was. He wasn't feeling any pain, which was nice. It felt like floating on a cloud. He was aware that his face was swollen and that there were bullet holes in his flesh, but they didn't hurt.

He opened his eyes. He was in a hospital bed. He surveyed the room, and saw Sam reading at his side. "On your left," he croaked. Sam smiled.

"Didn't think you'd be waking up this soon, Cap. Need more morphine?" he asked.

"No, I feel great," Steve replied, smiling slightly until it pulled on the stitches on his face.

"That's good. Well, you did it. You finished the mission."

His thoughts swam as he tried to remember what had happened. "Bucky?" he said sharply. "Is he?..."

"No one's seen him. I'm sorry, Steve," Sam said softly.

"I fell in the river," he said slowly. "He was still on the helicarrier."

Sam cleared his throat. "They haven't finished getting all the debris out yet."

"So he could be down there."

"It's possible, Cap."

He sighed, closing his eyes. Had he gotten through to his former friend? Had he recognized him at last? He didn't know. Now he may never know. "Where did you find me?"

"I didn't. You were on the shore. Did you swim?"

"I don't think I was capable of swimming," he replied, shaking his head slowly. Things were starting to hurt again. "I remember..." he paused, trailing off.

Sam put down his magazine and looked at him intently. "Yeah?" he prompted.

"I remember a hand grabbing me, when I was in the water. It may have been a dream," he admitted.

"It looked like you might have been dragged to shore," Sam said quietly, looking away.

"By Bucky?" Steve asked, sitting up despite the pain that shot through his belly.

"I don't know, man," Sam replied.

Steve slept again. Sometimes he woke to eat. But mostly he slept. At one point, he awoke and found Natasha sitting next to him. "You have connections in Russia, right?" he asked without preamble.

She looked up sharply. "Yeah, why?"

"I need you to do something for me," he said seriously.

"Steve, I don't think -"

"Nat." She stopped, and waited. "I need to know anything you can find out about B – the Winter Soldier."

"Steve," she said softly, pityingly.

"Please. I owe him."

"Alright."

Steve shook Nick's hand. "Anybody asks for me, you can tell them they can find me right here," Fury said, motioning toward his headstone as he walked away.

"You should be honored. That's about as close as he gets to saying thank you," Natasha said as she walked up.

"You're not going with him?" Steve asked.

"No, I blew all my covers. I need to come up with a new one," she said with a smile.

"That could take a long time."

"I'm counting on it." She held out a file covered in Cyrillic lettering. "Do me a favor? Call that nurse."

"She's not a nurse," he replied quietly.

"And you're not a SHIELD agent."

"What was her name again?" he relented.

"Sharon. She's nice," she assured him. After a pause, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Be careful." She stared to walk away, but turned back. "You might not want to pull on that thread," she warned, eyes sad, and left.

Steve looked down at the file in his hands. It was thick. He couldn't read Russian. The front cover had a large photograph attached to it of Bucky – the Winter Soldier – in cryostasis. There was also a small picture of him in his army uniform at the bottom. He took a deep breath to steady himself, forcing aside the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him.

"You're going after him," Sam interrupted.

"You don't have to come with me," Steve replied softly.

"I know." Steve waited, in suspense. "When do we start?" Sam asked. He smiled at his friend, and they left the cemetery.

Bucky would be hard to find, he knew. He had been trained for decades to be untraceable. Would he go back to HYDRA? Was there a HYDRA to go back to? The river contained a few bodies when they finished searching it, but none had a metal arm. The Winter Soldier had disappeared as thoroughly as he always had. Steve could only hope that Bucky was in there somewhere, and wanting to get out.

A few days after Nick left, Tony called. He offered Avengers Tower as a new place to live and work, after what happened to SHIELD. Steve found himself describing what had happened with Bucky, and Tony suggested that JARVIS could be very helpful. He begrudgingly allowed Sam to come, too. For a little while.

Steve had been talking to Sam a lot. He had great insight into what Steve had had to deal with, was still dealing with. He felt better than he had in a long, long time. Two weeks after SHIELD had been destroyed, he knew that Bucky had survived and was reasonably sure he had pulled him out of the river. He was painfully caught between fear and a terrible hope, and finding Bucky was the only way to end the torment. Either way, then he would know.