A/N: Welcome back! I am thrilled with this chapter because seriously, the party is about to get started! We are also coming to the close of this story :( Oh dear...at least there is going to be a sequel!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews! They keep me going!

Musical Inspiration:

-Stairway to the Skies by Within Temptation

-Numb by Linkin Park

-Puppet by Thousand Foot Krutch

Chapter 11

Separation Anxiety


A knock came to Lacey's door a while later, and she pulled herself off the floor. She'd fallen asleep crying, face salt-crusted with dried tears. She self-consciously wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, then opened the door.

Lacey took a step back, taking in Bucky's strong form in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" he asked softly.

Lacey hesitated, almost afraid to let him near in fear of him exploding into another violent episode.

"It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," Bucky said in a hurt tone, reading her emotions clearly.

Lacey stepped back cautiously, allowing him into her room. He idly stalked to the opposite side of the room and awaited her to close the door.

Lacey latched the door and told him seriously, "We need to leave."

Bucky's head shot up in alarm, "What?"

"Come on, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! This place is unsafe and we need to go," Lacey repeated, crossing her arms.

Bucky shook his head firmly, "I can't give up on this now. I've come so far!"

"Bucky, listen to yourself! You want to stay in a dangerous place so that you can get stronger? Meanwhile, I'm forced to watch my so-called father destroy the only friend I have from the inside out! You'd think that you'd be concerned for the person you wanted so much to protect last week!" Lacey growled at him, "You claim to want to guard us, but you're tearing yourself down in the process!"

Bucky's mouth opened to retort, but his jaw snapped shut after wise consideration.

"I can't leave, Lacey, not yet. There is something about this that feels right."

Lacey's heart pounded in her chest as she countered, "You told me to look at the flags. There could be something about this that feels right, but how much about this feels wrong?"

Bucky looked away, jaw clenching in fury.

"I'm not staying," Lacey added firmly.

A flicker of anger that she rarely saw on his dark features appeared. He frowned deeply and snarled, "Fine. Leave."

Lacey flinched at his harsh words and truthfully told him, "I don't want to go without you, Bucky."

She walked to him slowly as he gave her a fierce glare, "But that doesn't matter, you're going regardless."

Lacey stopped and looked at him sadly, "If that's the way it has to be..."

Lacey blinked at him for a minute when he didn't respond, then she moved to pick up the assault rifle and her extra clothes off the dresser.

"You're leaving now?" Bucky inquired quickly, moving forward to block her way through the door.

"You told me to trust my gut instinct and it says to leave right away," Lacey responded, then stepped close to him.

She placed a hand on the muscles span of his chest to steady herself as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

Bucky blinked in surprise as she leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye...and good luck."

Lacey pulled away and only kept eye contact with him for a moment before she opened the door.

Tears threatened at the loss of her only companion as she set out on her own for the first time since her departure from the site in Switzerland.

She put her sniper jacket over her t-shirt as she walked down the steps, heading towards the front door. She slung the rifle strap over her shoulder and reached out to turn the knob. She gasped when a hand shot out of the dark and grasped her shoulder, wrenching her around. She stumbled backwards and stared in the face of Jack Jefferson.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, reaching out to slam the opened front door.

For the first time, Lacey felt inherently threatened by Jack. He advanced and pushed her into the next room, asking in an urgent, hushed tone, "You're leaving?"

Lacey angrily jerked her arm out of his grasp and snapped, "It's none of your business."

"You're my daughter, it's every bit my business!" he snarled.

"Am I really your daughter, Jack? I know I don't have a lot of family experience, but I'm pretty sure a good father wouldn't treat his daughter like this!"

"Of course I'm your father, I have pictures of you all around the house!"

Lacey looked over at the dark line of pictures on the wall and said after a moment, "Yeah, and that's another thing. There are only pictures from when I was a little kid! You said I was abducted when I was 17, how come there are only pictures of me as a 5-year-old and younger?"

Jack paused, then said, "You hated your picture being taken as a teen."

"Oh, isn't that convenient," snorted Lacey, then her face darkened, "I don't trust you, but for some reason Bucky does. I can't make him leave but I sure as hell can run as far away from you as possible."

She pulled the gun off her shoulder and aimed it at Jack, "Now let me leave or I will shoot you."

Jack started at the sight of the gun, then immediately shrank back.

"You're making a huge mistake, girl. You'll regret leaving here," he warned in a dangerous tone, watching as she backed towards the door.

"Isn't it surprising how saying that doesn't really convince me to stay?" Lacey snorted, reaching back to open the door.

"You're abandoning him," Jack added darkly.

"He'll be fine on his own. Trust me when I tell you that. I wouldn't screw with Bucky if I were you," Lacey replied, stepping outside and slammed the door behind her.

She turned around to look off the deck, gazing at the 'borrowed' Toyota Camry.

She ran down the from steps and threw open the door, setting the gun in the passenger seat.

Lacey took one more long look at the house. She knew the answers tied to her past remained there, but now she wasn't so sure that knowing her past was the best thing.

Just a couple of days ago, she longed to know her past more than anything. But now, she couldn't run far enough away.


Bucky gazed balefully out at the darkness from Lacey's window and watched her car drive away.

His soul warred within him, half screaming to chase after the girl who'd given him his freedom. The other half of him was bolted to the floor of this house, fused to the desire of appeasing his anxious mind and body with the simulator.

Bucky didn't have to turn around to know Jack had appeared behind him. Without moving, he said, "She fears you."

"I'm nothing to fear, Bucky. I merely offered to open your mind. This prospect frightened her. She has been so sheltered in that facility, she hasn't the capacity to welcome revolutionizing thought-processes," Jack explained om a comforting tone.

"But she helped me..." Bucky responded slowly, "I should have gone with her."

"She doesn't know the extent of your special needs."

"And you do?" Bucky inquired, facing Jack.

"You're a super human, you require exertion," Jack replied matter-of-factly, causing Bucky alarm.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Bucky stammered.

How on earth did this man know?

Bucky tensed as Jack walked forward and took his left hand. He pulled the glove off and admired Bucky's metal fingers.

"Beautiful. Just beautiful," he told the ex-soldier, rubbing his fingers about the surface in a way that made Bucky feel like fleeing.

"Flawless workmanship. Adamantium, I presume?" asked Jack, leaning his wrinkled face towards the arm to get a closer look.

"Y-yes."

Jack pulled back and said, "Lacey is a fine cybernetic engineer. She's well-trained."

"I thought you trained her?" Bucky inquired, becoming increasingly wary.

"Oh, no. Of course not. I only had her until she was about 6 years old," scoffed Jack, "That's when she went to live in Switzerland."

Bucky's shock was clear, "But I thought-"

"Everything you thought was only for her benefit, Bucky. Lacey isn't who you think she is," Jack whispered, stepping closer to the man.

"W-what?" Bucky gasped, backing away fearfully.

Jack continued to move towards him until Bucky's back was flush against the wall, "She has been lying to you, son. Her next destination was to take you to Erik Schweitzer, that's why she was wanting to leave so badly. She knew you would follow her, and that's why I'm stopping you. I'm here to help you," Jack told him, voice becoming more urgent.

Bucky's mind reeled, "Are you not really her father?"

"I am, but I put her up for adoption because my parenting skills were not ... what she needed at the age. Schweitzer adopted her and she moved to Switzerland, ending up in that facility. They've obviously brainwashed and trained her, making her their tool. Then when preparations for your revival took place, they assigned her to you as your doctor."

Bucky knotted a quaking hand in his hair as he frantically asked, "Why did she help me escape then?"

"Bucky, you can't trust these people, they can put whatever thoughts they want into your mind. I would be willing to bet that they planned on moving you to a facility her so they could put you on display at Seattle for the Cybernetics expo this summer. If you escaped somehow, the idea that Lacey helped escape would enter your mind. If I hadn't intervened, you'd be following her back to the city like a puppy, falling right into Schweitzer's grasp again."

"But I got shot, we hide in a cave in Switzerland...I remember everything!" Bucky exclaimed, shaking his head furiously.

"Memory implantation."

Bucky sat down on the bed weakly, feeling nauseous.

"Why would she bring me here of all places, though?"

"She was instructed to bring you to her biological father's house, after you got away. She never thought you'd make it this far, but this is the last resort and she planned on taking you away tonight so you could be captured. She didn't bank on me getting involved and ruining her game plan."

"How do you know this information?"

Jack sighed and leaned forward to put a hand on Bucky's metal shoulder, "Because I've been watching out for you for a long time, Sergeant Barnes. My name is Alexander Pierce."


A/N: So sorry for the shortness! But if it makes you guys feel better, I've already got the next chapter almost ready to go!