I definitely forgot to post this on this platform... Sorry! I've got the next few chapter already up on Ao3 I just forgot about here... sorry! Warnings for super angst and descriptions of quite bad injuries in this one. Please proceed with caution.

Pain.

Falling.

Falling.

Screams reverberating through the air.

There was only pain.

"Steve No!"

The ice was stained red.

"Til the end of the line Buck!"

Screams echoed in his head.

"But you'll die!"

Snowflakes covering his face. His skin was so cold they didn't melt as they landed.

"Then I'll die with you!"

Steve.

Steve!

Were they dead? No. Too much pain. Unless they were in hell after all.

Fuck!

"Steve" He croaked. No response, or maybe there was but the burning pain deafened him. He struggled to open his eyes properly. His vision was blurry and the light was bright against the snow. He realised he wasn't lying on the snow like he first thought, rather he was lying on top of Steve's chest.

The idiot had broken his fall.

He watched Steve's body for signs of life. He was cold, too cold. The rise and fall in his chest was barely there. Bucky could have easily been imagining it. His normally pink lips had turned a ghastly blue colour. He needed to move, they needed to move. The cold would kill them soon if they stayed lying on the ground.

"Come on Stevie. We gotta get out of here." Bucky struggled to pull himself up off Steve's chest. His left arm was almost certainly broken. He couldn't move his fingers and there was a burning sensation all the way up to his shoulder. He let the useless limb hang limply at his side. His good arm reached towards Steve's face, his fingers tracing the bruised skin. His eyes stung as tears started to fall, almost freezing on his face.

"Steve please. I can't do this alone." He begged the lifeless man. He stumbled to his feet, his knees almost gave out immediately and he was pretty sure he'd broken an ankle along with several ribs. It was hard to tell when his whole body felt like it was on fire but his need to get Steve to safety was stronger. He pulled Steve's dead weight into his arms. It would have been a lot easier to carry him before the serum. Now he was 200 pounds of solid muscle and it was fucking difficult to even lift his friend, let alone drag his ass through the snow.

Bucky was stronger now. Whatever shit Zola had pumped into his veins had made him stronger than before but he wasn't strong enough for this, not without Steve.

He was nothing without Steve.

But he had to be.

He had to save them both. He grimaced and gritted his teeth together. Every step was hell. Every breath felt like he was being stabbed. Every cell in his body wanted to crumple to the ground and let death take him but whilst there was a chance that Steve could live, he had to keep going.

The sun was fading behind the mountains by the time Bucky found shelter. There was a small cave in the side of the mountain, barely big enough for Steve alone but it was shelter. He carefully dropped Steve to the floor and all but collapsed next to him. He lungs were on fire and he barely had a moment to breathe before he threw up over the cold stone and passed out next to Steve's cold body.

"Steve?"

Bucky stirred from where he pressed against Steve's body. The voice was familiar but Bucky was too tired to work out why. His left arm had slowly started to knit itself back together thanks to his enhanced healing, the deep gash on his shoulder was now scabbed over. It probably wouldn't even scar after a few days. The bones were still mostly broken and would probably need re-breaking from where they had started to heal in places. His wrist was currently twisted at a strange angle that wasn't natural.

"Jesus Christ, Carter there's so much blood. They can't still be alive." Another voice echoed from the snowy mountains outside. Bucky wondered how long he'd been asleep, he hadn't even managed to build a fire before he'd passed out from the pain. The shelter was cold but it had stopped them from freezing to death.

"They have to be." A third voice. Was it a rescue party? Were they going to survive this?

Bucky inhaled deeply, and the pain in his ribs caused him to hiss. He blinked a couple of times as he struggled to remain conscious. Steve's chest was still moving, barely. Bucky sighed with relief, he was still alive.

"Bucky Bear!" Howard Stark was here? Bucky tried to call out, to help his friends find them but no sound came out. His throat was dry from the cold air and dehydration, and every breath was like hell on earth. He was sure he should be dead. Had Steve made some kind of deal with the devil when he volunteered his body for science?

"I don't know who you are but if this is some sick joke I will make sure you'll never see the light of day again" Carter's voice hissed.

"Captain Rogers is alive." Fucking hell. God Damnit! Heimdall was with Carter and Stark. Bucky tried to speak again. If Steve didn't get medical attention soon, even the serum wouldn't keep him alive. It was a miracle they had lasted this long.

"This guy seems to know too much for my liking Pegs. You sure we can trust him?"

"We don't have a choice. We have to find Steve before Hydra do."

Find Steve. All they wanted was to find Steve, their precious Captain America. He wondered whether any of them even cared that Steve Rogers was one hell of a guy before the magic serum and experiments.

Bucky tried to crawl over to the entrance of the cave but his body was too weak from exhaustion and blood loss. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten food or had a drink. Hell he wasn't even sure how long he'd been unconscious, collapsed on Steve's broken body. If Carter and the others didn't find them soon they were dead. Bucky had no delusions about that. It had been a long time since he prayed, the war had shaken his belief in God, but still he sent out a prayer to whatever Gods or Goddess's were listening and begged them to help guide Peggy to their small icy shelter.

"This way." Heimdall called to the others. Bucky sighed in relief, his prayer had worked. Whoever had given Heimdall his mission had heard him. They were going to be rescued and not a moment too soon as Bucky struggled to keep his eyes open. The cave was just started to fade to black as Peggy Carter came rushing in.

The journey back through the mountains was a blur. Bucky vaguely remembered Dum Dum's face looking down at him as he was carried through the snow. He fell in and out of consciousness, only catching snippets of their long journey back; mountain path, a plane, a forest. When he was awake he heard the commandos talking in hushed voices. Even with his enhanced hearing he could not make out their words through his muddled daze. Occasionally he would catch sight of Steve's blue uniform, stained red as he was carried by two of the commandos on a heavy stretcher.

"Steve…" He croaked whenever he was conscious enough.

"He's alive." Someone would respond before the darkness took him again.

When he finally returned to the world of the living he was in the medical bay of base camp. It felt all too like returning from the Hydra factory in Azzano. Angie's angelic face was beaming down at him as he blinked against the bright lights.

"Welcome back Soldier." She gave his right hand a quick squeeze. "You had us all worried for a moment there."

"Steve?" He looked around the bay in panic. There was no sign of Steve's blond mop of hair anywhere.

"Alive but barely. You did well to keep him alive as long as you did." She grimaced.

"I did fuck all." He spat out fiercely. The only thing he'd been able to do was find shelter. Steve was alive because of Erskine's serum and Bucky knew it was his fault that Steve was hurt in the first place.

"Now there. None of that. Finding that cave saved both your lives and you know it Soldier. Chin up." Angie batted him over the head lightly.

"Sorry Ang." He grumbled.

She nodded and they fell into an easy silence whilst she checked his injuries. His left shoulder still had a faint scar but the damage under the skin was still prevalent. His movement was severely restricted and it hurt to lift his arm above his head. As he had predicted they had had to break several of the bones in his left arm and hand as they had healed too fast. Almost all of them needed resetting properly. His ankle was weak but the bones weren't broken. The most pain he felt was in his chest. They were pretty sure one of his ribs had punctured his lungs. He was healing faster than he should but by all rights he should be dead.

"Can I see him?" Bucky asked weakly when Angie had finished checking him over. She shook her head sadly.

"I know you feel better love but you need to rest." She was right. Of course she was right but Bucky didn't care. He didn't Steve. The last time he had seen him he was on death's door.

"No." Bucky scowled. "I need Steve. Please Angie." He begged her. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Wait here. I'll see what I can do." She reached down to kiss his cheek and then fluttered out of the tent.

Now he was alone, Bucky wondered for the first time how long he had been unconsciousness. How much time had passed since that fateful day on the train? To Bucky it felt like only yesterday but logically he knew that it must have been longer. After all the Commandos had returned to Camp and been able to muster together a rescue party in the time that Bucky had been unconscious in the cave. That didn't even take into account the journey back after the rescue and how ever many days he had been in the small hospital cot.

"Can you stand?" Peggy was stood at the entrance to the tent. Bucky nodded, not knowing whether he could or not. He struggled to sit up in his cot and swung his legs so they were overhanging the bed. He ignored the black spots on his vision as the world started to spin. He was sure he was pale as the blood rushed from his head. Peggy raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything. She knew how much this meant to him. Tentatively he shifted his weight forward, putting pressure on his damaged ankle. He gritted his teeth and hissed but ignored Peggy's concerned looks.

"Barnes?"

"It's fine. Give me a hand will you?"

He wasn't too proud to ask for help, not if it meant he could see Steve. He needed to see Steve. He needed to see him alive. Peggy sighed and moved to help support his weight. He slung his arm round her shoulder and together they hobbled towards the private area of the medical bay. He'd known it was bad. He had seen Steve's broken crumpled body underneath him in the snow but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of Steve lying unconscious on the hospital bed.

One look at his friend's pale yet peaceful face and he was instantly transported back to Brooklyn. Before the war, before the serum, before any of this hell.

And Steve was a skinny bag of bones with a dodgy heart and too much anger against the world.

"Steve?" Bucky whispered in the cold apartment. There was no sound except the odd car bustling passed the window outside and the wheeze of Steve's heavy breaths. There were becoming weaker and the shine of cold sweat of Steve's brow gave the blond a pallid sickly complexion. It had started with a slight cough. "Just a cough Buck." Steve had said. "Nothing to worry about" Steve had said. God Bucky wanted to kill the idiot himself for being so damn stupid! They couldn't afford the proper medicine so Steve had hidden the worst of his symptoms until it was too late. Bucky hadn't even realised how sick his friend was until one day he could barely lift his head off the pillow of his bed.

"Steve, come on pal you gotta eat something" Bucky tried again but there was still no response. He pressed the back of his hand to Steve's forehead. It was too cold but there wasn't any money left to heat the small apartment and Steve was already covered in every blanket they owned. Bucky let out a shaky breath, a cloud appearing in the cold air in front of him. He'd learned very early on in their friendship that almost every day could be Steve's last but he always prayed that he wouldn't be around to witness it. Bucky couldn't imagine his life without Steve's radiant presence in it. His life had been a world of black and white before Steve had stumbled into it bringing colour and magic.

"Buck…" Steve croaked out and Bucky's head snapped up. His lips were cracked with a blue tinge. His long eyelashes fluttered as he tried to open his eyes but he was unable to focus on anything.

"Shh… Steve. I'm here. I got you pal. I got you." Bucky murmured as he pressed his lips to Steve's knuckles. It was a bold move but Bucky was sure that Steve wouldn't remember if he ever survived.

"Thirsty…" Steve's voice was hoarse and weak. It damn well broke Bucky's heart but the agony of seeing his friend like this was mixed with sweet relief that his heart was still beating. He rushed to the sink in the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Steve's fingers curled around the air where Bucky's hand hand been moments before.

"Here you go Stevie. Careful now." Bucky cooed as he lifted the glass to Steve's lips. Steve made an attempt to scowl at him but it was a helpless attempt.

"'Mmm fine. Don't need help." He muttered as the water dribbled down his chin.

"Sure you don't punk. Just do me a favour and let me help. Your mother would strike me down if I didn't help her little boy." Bucky chuckled but it sounded strained even to his ears.

"'Mmm not little." This time Bucky really did laugh. Here he was, basically on deaths door, and he was still picking a fight with Bucky over semantics.

"Of course not punk. You've got the biggest heart I know." Bucky brushed the sweaty blond strands of hair out of Steve's eyes and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Steve smiled dopily and reached out for Bucky's hand again which Bucky gladly gave him. He was just looking after his best friend. That was all this was, just a bit of hand holding between friends. The kiss on the forehead was something Sarah used to do when Steve got sick, that's all. They were like brothers, that's what everyone said.

"Love you Buck…" Steve whispered as he drifted back to sleep. Bucky felt his heart stop and his cheeks flared with warmth at Steve's words.

"I love you too pal. I love you too." He squeezed Steve's hands and rested his chin on the lumpy mattress beside Steve and prayed he would live to see the dawn.

The morning after Bucky had gone to find the priest. Steve had only gotten worse as the chill of the night had set in and Bucky had woken with a start to find Steve barely breathing on the bed next to him. That had been the first time that Steve had been given Last Rites. It had been a miracle then that Steve had survived and it was a miracle now as Bucky looked at the scars that covered the blond's bare chest. Thanks to the serum they would soon heal but for now it was a vivid reminder of the sacrifice that Steve had made for him, and supposedly for the universe if Heimdall could be believed.

"Sergeant Barnes?" Peggy touched his shoulder gently with her fingers. He shook his head as he was snapped out of his thoughts.

"How long has it been?" Bucky asked still staring at the unconscious body of is friend.

"Two weeks. The whole incident has been classified. The press are not aware at Captain Rogers's condition or the fact that you were ever missing and presumed dead." Peggy responded professionally.

"Christ." He ran his hands through his hair. His shoulder twinged at the motion but he ignored it. The pain he was feeling was nothing compared to Steve. "How long were we in the mountains?"

"About three days. The Colonel wasn't even going to send out a rescue party." Peggy's shoulders slumped as the weight was lifted from her. "I'm so sorry Bucky. We had no idea it was even possible you could be alive."

"Heimdall changed your mind." He stated. He'd known that the Asgardian must have influenced the rescue party. He remembered hearing his voice outside the cave. He'd insisted they were still alive even when the others had doubts. Peggy gave him a puzzled look and nodded. "Why did you believe him?"

"Honestly?" She looked a little sheepish. "We didn't but he made the case that Captain Rogers's body and blood was just as valuable to Hydra dead as he was alive."

Bucky scowled. It was logical. It was a great strategy in the war against Hydra. It was even brilliant, a way to convince the brass to undertake a useless rescue mission but it was also cold and calculating. It numbed Bucky's heart and filled him with rage. He'd always known that was all Steve was to the men they served, not a person or even a number like Bucky was, but a resource. He was the serum that Erskine injected into his veins. He was a scientific miracle, a weapon to be used against Hydra and god forbid the enemy would ever get a hold of that weapon.

"James, I know what you're thinking…" Peggy started to say but Bucky brushed passed her and knelt at Steve's bedside without another word. He'd heard enough. She sighed but relented to his silence. "I'll leave you two alone. Don't stay too long Barnes. You need your rest as well."

Bucky grasped Steve's hand in his and reach up to brush the messy golden hair off of Steve's forehead. One of the perks of the serum was that Steve's hair grew much faster than before, making it almost impossible for him to keep it at the Army's preferred short length. He managed to hide it under his navy blue helmet most of the time but there was no hiding it now. It was long enough to tuck behind his ears. It reminded Bucky of the smaller boy from Brooklyn who couldn't afford a proper cut and wouldn't trust his best friend with a pair of scissors.

"Hey Stevie." He whispered and for just a moment he thought that Steve's eyelids would flutter open and he would be greeted by his beautiful ocean blue eyes. His hopes were short lived as Steve did not stir. He sighed and pressed a kiss against Steve's palm. "You gotta wake up soon punk. You and me have got to have some serious words about you doing stupid shit ok?"

"I miss you Stevie. It feels like a lifetime ago since we were on that train together. I feel like I'm starting to forget the exact colour of your eyes. They are beautiful and blue as the summer sky. I've always thought that, since the moment I met you, but I can't remember where the little flecks of green twist into the blue. I can't remembered the exact sound of your laugh when Jimmy calls you Captain Spangles and I keep thinking to myself. What if I never get to hear it again?"

Bucky stayed by Steve's bedside long after dark. He hadn't even realised that he'd fallen asleep on crouch on the floor beside him until Angie was shaking him by the shoulders.

"Come on Soldier, you need your own bed." Angie pulled him to his feet. He winced as his ankle gave way underneath him but Angie caught him and dragged him bed to his own bed in the medical bay. He protested weakly. What if Steve woke up and he wasn't there? "We'll wake you as soon as he does. I promise."

He begrudgingly trudged back to his bed. There was a note on his pillow, scrawled on the back of a torn up Captain America poster. He stared wistfully at the freckles on Steve's face that were just about visible under the blue helmet. The poster was torn diagonally across Steve's face, cutting across the bridge of his nose and under his left eye. He gently traced the edges of the torn paper before flipping the note over to read the messy handwriting.

Good to have you back Sarge. Don't go scaring us like that again.

- Howlies

In the corner of the note was a small and terrible sketch of Steve and Bucky holding hands. Steve had a giant disc in front of him with a lop sided star emblazoned on the front and Bucky's army hat was crooked on his head. He chuckled and tucked the note under his pillow before lying down to sleep.

Rest did not come easy. Every time he drifted off to sleep he was torn back to reality by the sounds of his own screams. Nightmares plagued his thoughts, dreams of torture and of trains. Dream where it had been Steve falling into the mountain below but Bucky had been stuck, his body wouldn't move and Steve had disappeared into the snowy ravine. They were separated and the next thing Bucky remembered was his fingers turning to dust as the universe began to cease to exist. As soon as the dawn broke over the camp he returned to Steve's bedside. His ankle felt better today and he could walk without any support.

On the third day since he had woken up, Angie pulled him away from Steve's bedside so he could eat with the rest of the soldiers. Apparently it wouldn't do anyone any good if he let himself starve. He didn't feel hungry anymore though. Normally his body would be begging for sustenance but he felt sick to his stomach with worry. The commandos did their best to keep his mind distracted but it wasn't easy. The easy jokes that would normally have his muscles aching with laughter fell flat. He couldn't think of a single word to say where normally he would be teasing and jesting with the rest of them. He just wanted to be back with Steve, to see his exquisite blue eyes open and sparkle like they always did when Bucky flashed him his signature charming smile.

Phillips asked to see him after lunch. It was apparently urgent business. Bucky scowled but picked himself up off the ground and left the Commandos behind. He was ashamed to admit that he was grateful for the excuse to leave his team. He just wasn't in the right place to talk to them right now. The war was depressing enough without him bringing the mood down even more. They deserved better than that.

Colonel Phillips stood in the middle of his grand tent. Unlike most of the camp he had a proper mattress and bed frame. Steve was lucky enough to have a thin mattress that was thrown on the floor each night but most of the men and women had bedrolls and sleeping bags. Bucky guessed that there had to be some advantages to being a high ranking officer. He certainly didn't envy the decisions they had to make.

"Sergeant Barnes." Colonel Phillips greeted him as he pushed his way into the tent. Bucky gave him a quick salute.

"Sir. You asked to see me?" He straightened his back and smiled weakly at his commanding officer.

"I did. Please sit down." The Colonel gestured to an old wooden chair in the corner of his tent. Bucky took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I'd rather stand. Unless that's an order Sir." He raised his eyebrow at the Colonel. "Am I in trouble Sir?" He couldn't think of any reason he would be in trouble. He'd been unconscious for the best part of two weeks apparently. There hadn't been any time for him to do anything wrong, unless the brass had found out about his relationship with their star soldier.

"Quite the opposite Sergeant Barnes. I've asked you here so I can thank you for all your hard work. Your unit's success rate is unparalleled and it's been invaluable in our fight against the Germans." Colonel Phillips handed Bucky a sheet of paper. He had quick glance over the writing. It looked like statistics and data that they had retrieved since forming the Commandos with Captain America at the helm.

"Thank you Sir. It's a team effort though. I'm just one guy with a rifle." He clenched his fists behind his back. Of course the Colonel would never give any commendations to Jimmy or Gabe or even Falsworth. They weren't good old fashion American soldiers in Phillips's eyes.

"You're the best Sergeant Barnes which is why I have a proposal for you." Phillips handed him a second piece of paper. This one was a newspaper article about Captain America. There were rumours circulating back at home that Captain America had been killed in action and what would this mean for the war. Apparently some smart shit had leaked to the press that Steve had returned to camp on a stretcher and had not been seen since.

"I don't understand Sir." Bucky replied truthfully. He knew Steve wasn't dead. He had been with him that morning. Most of the external injuries were fading fast but he still hadn't woken up. Angie and the other nurses couldn't work out why.

"The world thinks Captain America is dead. It had sparked mass panic and there has been a major decline in the money earned for the war. The morale in the camps are at an all time low and we're starting to fall back where we should be attacking with full force. The world needs Captain America." Colonel Phillips stated with the stone cold professionalism that many of the higher ranking officers had perfected.

"With all due respect Sir" Bucky hissed angrily. "Steve is in a fucking coma having saved my life."

"Steve is yes and we hope he will make a swift and full recovery." Phillips didn't react to Bucky's outburst. "In the meantime, we need a new man in the suit."

"What?" Bucky spluttered. There weren't anymore super-soldiers. Bucky suspected he was probably enhanced in some ways but he was still a damn sight weaker than Steve. The only reason he had healed so quickly from his injuries was because Steve had taken most of the impact.

"And we were hoping you would be the man for the job." The Colonel continued. Bucky blushed and blinked at the Colonel. Sure he was a good soldier and a damn good shot but he wasn't Captain America, even if he did look damn good in the uniform. Steve had insisted that he try it on on one very memorable night in Steve's tent.

"Wow… Sir. It's an honour really but I'm not really sure I'm the best choice." He stammered. Being Captain America would mean going straight back into missions and Bucky wasn't sure he was ready for that. His shoulder still wasn't a hundred percent and being away from Steve felt like a death sentence.

"Nonsense. You already have the clearance for the team and you know how the unit works. You'll be a man down whilst Captain Rogers is still in recovery but I have no doubt you can do this." Phillips said in a tone that left Bucky with little room to argue.

"Of course Sir. Thank you Sir." He nodded. "Was that all?"

"Yes Sergeant. Report back at dusk. Gather your men and suit up. We've received some fresh intelligence from our Swiss friend that I want you to scope out." Bucky nodded reluctantly and gave a lacklustre salute. "Good. You're dismissed."

Dum Dum let out a long whistle as Bucky emerged from Steve's tent wearing his signature navy blue suit. It didn't fit quite right, Angie and Peggy had already helped him take up the trousers an inch and he had to wear his own brown leather boots rather than Steve's Captain America ones. There was also a ridiculous amount of space around his shoulders that had been padded out with an extra layer of protective gear and not enough space around his waist. He felt ridiculous wearing this outside the confines of Steve's tent. He fought back a blush as he remembered the last time he'd tried it on at Steve's request.

"Looking good Sarge." Morita cheered from where the Commandos were standing.

"Don't you mean Captain?" Bucky winked as he buckled up the helmet which was covering his brunet hair. As far as most of the soldiers were aware, he was Captain America now so whilst he was in uniform he had been instructed to wear the stupid blue helmet at all times. He was a sniper and blue, red and white did not camouflage well in the forest. He missed his own armoured suit. Sure it was still a dark navy blue but at least he didn't look like a walking comic book character.

"Let's hear it for Captain America!" Jones yelled as the other soldiers around the camp slowly began to gather round.

A loud cheer went up from the camp as they realised that their hero wasn't dead after all. Bucky glared at his friends and suddenly realised why Steve had been so pissed with him after he'd pulled the same trick so many moons ago. His eyes flickered towards the medical tent where Steve was still helplessly unconscious and sighed. God Steve would have a field day if he knew what Bucky was doing right now. He was sure he'd never hear the end of it.

Their mission was pretty routine at this stage, take down one of the last Hydra camps. Nothing they hadn't done before but it felt alien going in without Steve. The shield felt heavy in his hands. He was sure that it hadn't been so heavy before when Steve had thrown it to him in the midst of battle. They had become a pretty lethal team before the train. The shield, whilst it belonged to Steve, would be passed around the whole unit in an almost choreographed dance as they took down their enemies. Bucky and Steve probably used the vibranium disc the most as their extra strength meant they could really cause some damage as the bashed Hydra agents, but it had saved all their lives at one point or another. Bucky had always enjoyed picking up the shield before throwing it back to Steve but now it felt like it weighed ten times as much. It was like the weight of the world was in his hands.

He'd fought with Phillips about his own weapons. Steve normally carried one small pistol for emergencies, favouring the shield as his weapon and trusting that the team would take any shots that were needed. Bucky had become Steve's personal sniper for most missions. Falsworth did an admirable job of watching the others but Bucky's main focus had always been Steve. So when the Colonel had tried to confiscate Bucky's favourite rifle he had put up a fight. There was no chance in hell that he was going to lead the men into Battle with a dinner plate and a pistol. If Steve wanted to be that stupid then so be it but Bucky was a sniper first and foremost. He was keeping his guns, not to mention the set of knives he kept tucked away in his armour.

What no one had counted on was the advantage this would give them over the Hydra agents. The agents had clearly been briefed on Steve's fighting style and were completely stunned when Bucky pulled his trusted rifle off of his back and starting raining bullet down on them. They tried to shoot at his ankles which were left exposed by the ridiculously small shield but Bucky spotted the angle of their guns faster than should have been possible and a few shots to the head and the threat was eliminated. They flew through the base, looking for anything that they could bring back as intelligence and the Hydra agents didn't stand a chance. They were one man down but they were operating in a whole new way.

They returned to base camp victorious. The Hydra cell was burnt down to the ground and they had a whole hoard of their high tech weapons for Stark to take apart. There was still no new information on Red Skull though. It didn't matter how many agents they took down, their frightful leader remained elusive. He had covered his tracks well and there was still no sign of him or his plans. He was planning something big, he had to be but every time they came close to getting the information from an agent they spat a "hail Hydra" and choked to death on cyanide. It was infuriating. Luckily, from what Bucky could tell, Arnim Zola had a better sense of self preservation. He had been close to Schmidt so if anyone knew would the Skull's plans were then Zola would once Carter and Phillips worked out how to make him talk.

Their return to camp was quiet. Most of the 107th were still out on their own missions. The camp had slowly moved through the forest as they managed to push the front line further into enemy territory. Bucky shuddered as he remembered his own time at the front and in the trenches. It had been hell on earth. He was grateful that he was part of the Commandos' special ops team. Their missions were harder in some ways, they had less men and it was always a more intricate approach but the men in the trenches were the real heroes.

It was a mind game out there. You never knew if you were going to be blown apart in your sleep, your feet were always wet and the boots did nothing to keep out the cold. The rations were brutal and time ceased to exist. He'd seen too many good men have their heads blown off in the trenches. He sent a quick prayer that most of his old team would survive the latest push and that they were just injured enough to be sent home. That was the dream for most men out there. Phillips had briefly offered Bucky a chance to leave after Azzano but the very next day Steve had quite literally danced into camp and Bucky had no intention of going back to a home without Steve Rogers by his side. So he had stayed and he would continue to stay until Steve finally gave up the fight. They would leave together. Peggy promised them she would help them leave together when the time came.

Peggy came out to greet them as they made their way through the ghost town that was the camp. Her hair was uncharacteristically falling out of the pins in her hair and she had dark circles under her eyes. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Bucky ran the last few feet towards her and took her petite hands in his.

"Steve?" He searched her tired eyes for answers. She chuckled quietly and squeezed his hands.

"Still unconscious but alive." She sighed and reached up to kiss his cheek like he's seen her do with Steve before after they had returned to camp. "It's Zola" She murmured in his ear.

Bucky froze. Had Zola managed to escape? After all the shit they had been through to capture him alive and they had let him escape? He cursed and spun round on his heels. He scratched the back of his neck, a poor substitute for pulling on his hair that was still tucked away under his helmet.

"What happened?" He asked as she gestured for him to follow her back to the Colonel's tent. The Commandos followed a few paces behind, carrying their loot from the mission.

"He's been killed." She stated as they pushed their way into the tent. The Colonel was staring at the large map on the table holding a thick folder in his hands.

Once inside Bucky pulled off the helmet and shook his hair out, freedom at last. His hair was getting a touch too long for army regulations but he hadn't had the time to get it cut. He'd have to ask Peggy later for her help. That girl was a miracle worker when it came to hair. "Suicide?" He asked. It would make sense. Every other agent had taken the easy way out once they had been captured.

"Shot. The angle was wrong for suicide." Peggy passed him a photograph.

Zola was truly dead then. Bucky's stomach rolled as he took in the photograph. It was a clean shot to the head but there was no way Zola would have been able to twist his hand at the right angle to take the shot himself. That meant he had been murdered by someone in the camp. His presence in the camp had been highly classified and only a handful of soldiers had been notified of the Doctor's capture. Bucky's team were amongst the small number and would probably have been suspects if they hadn't been away at the time. If Zola hadn't been their only hope at finding Schmidt then Bucky would have been relieved to see the brains of his torturer splattered on the floor of his cell.

"Fucking hell." He breathed as he passed the photo back. "What about Schmidt?"

"Our mystery assassin left us a gift." The Colonel said gruffly. He was clearly not too happy about the development. Bucky couldn't really blame him. They had been chasing Zola for months and now he was dead at the hands of a mystery assailant. Bucky was starting wonder whether Heimdall had been involved. He had a habit of sticking his nose in places where he didn't belong.

Phillips threw the folder down on the table and Bucky gingerly reached out to flick through the pages. It was a fucking miracle. There were coordinates, scientific equations, photographs of some strange cube that appeared to be the energy source of Hydra's weapons. Bucky felt sick when he read through the test results of experiments that Zola had conducted on soldiers like Bucky. It was gruesome and cruel, Bucky was damn lucky to be alive by the looks of it. He was pretty sure he was the only one that had survived the specialist treatment.

"Sergeant Barnes?" Peggy was looking at him with worry clear on her face. He hadn't spoken much about his time with Zola. It was easier to try and forget but here it was, laid out in front of them clear as day.

"I'm fine. Where did you find this?" He batted away her questions, ignoring the hurt expression on her face.

"Dumped on my desk this morning after we found the body. All the information we needed and more." Peggy smirked.

Bucky sighed. He had hoped they would have at least a couple of days rest before heading out again but it didn't look like that was going to happen. He ran his fingers through his dirty hair anxiously. "So when do we leave?"

"First thing tomorrow." Peggy had the decency to look apologetic but war was war and shit needed to get done.

"What's our mission Agent?" Dum Dum asked. Bucky glanced behind him to see the men all rallied round. Steve should be by his side in this stupid suit. This was everything they been fighting for for months, almost a whole year, and now Steve wasn't even here to see it.

"We have a location on Schmidt. We need a team to scope the route and any possible weaknesses on the base before we launch an attack. We don't have much time but it is imperative that we don't go in blind." Peggy handed them each a personalised file. Bucky flicked through his. He was in charge of leading the team and finding where the Skull would be lurking. It was an in and out mission with minimal risk and kills. Stealth would be their friend here.

He sighed. "First thing tomorrow you said?" He asked and Peggy nodded. "In that case, with all due respect sir, ma'am, we need to rest up." He needed to see Steve. He couldn't leave again without checking in on his best friend.

"Of course. You're all dismissed. I expect you all to get an early night. No messing about."

"Yes sir." They all echoed and left the tent in single file. Peggy cleared her throat just as he was about to leave. He turned and gave her a questioning look.

"Hair." She raised her eyebrow and smiled, rolling his eyes he pulled the stupid helmet back on and followed the rest of his team. One by one the commandos filed off into their own tents. When he reached his tent he looked around to check that the Colonel wasn't watching him and that ran off towards the medical bay. The floor beside Steve wasn't any more uncomfortable than his sleeping bag next to Dum Dum and he'd sleep better knowing he would be there if Steve woke up.

The nurses paid no attention as he slipped through the beds towards Steve's cornered off area. He shot Angie a quick smile on his way passed. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Steve looked so peaceful laid down on the bed. It was like he was just asleep after a long day. There was no sign of the injuries he had received from the fall. His skin now had a healthy flush to it and his lips had returned to their usual pink colour. The scars that once covered his chest were gone. Bucky picked up the clipboard at the end of the bed. It was Angie's writing which Bucky was pleased about. She was a real doll and Steve liked her the best. He felt sick looking through the long list of injuries; multiple breaks to the back and rib cage, cracked skull, shattered pelvis, pierced lungs and extensive internal bleeding. He closed his eyes and forced the image of his boyfriend's broken body out of his mind. He was better now. You would have to be blind not to see it. Still he was yet to wake up. Bucky supposed there was probably trauma that Steve's mind was trying to recover from. Rationally he knew that Steve would wake up when he was ready but God it felt like a lifetime already.

He pressed a gentle kiss to Steve's lips. If this were a fairytale then that would be what woke Steve from his slumber but this was war and Steve eye's remained shut. Bucky fell to his knees by Steve's bedside and grasped his hand. It was in that position that sleep finally came to him, a restless and dreamless sleep.

Tomorrow would be difficult so Fate, or was it Time herself, let the wounded soldiers sleep well that night.

I hope that wasn't toooooo bad. No one is dead right? Steve will be back next chapter I promise. It felt really weird not having any of his POV but it was Bucky's time to shine apparently. I'm on tumblr avengersbarnes if you wanna come cry over Stucky or MCU with me. Until next time!