Colombia, 1957
"El regreso" the man announced, "Supongo que todo salió de acuerdo al plan" (He's back. I'm guessing everything went according to plan)
"Quieres esto?" The Winter Soldier nodded down to his side. (You wanted this)
"Casi olvido" the man beamed. (I almost forgot)
The Winter Soldier picked up the terrified little girl and threw her over to the center of the room. She let out a yelp as she landed and shook with fear as the man approached her. The little girl's dress was speckled with the blood of her parents, the same blood that was painted onto the Soldier's human hand. She looked around the room as she trembled more and more with fear. When her eyes landed on the leader of HYDRA she whimpered and sank back before she looked up and noticed the Winter Soldier standing behind her. She let out a blood curdling scream as she lunged herself to the closest place that she could hide as she shook with fear.
The man let out a laugh and clapped his hands. He was amused by this as he walked over to the little girl. HYDRA has been looking for this family for months now; exactly three months and 10 days according to the Winter Soldier. The family had many allies in which the Winter Soldier would kill off one by one until finally there was no one left. Now all that remains of the wealthy family was that of the trembling child not five feet from him.
"Donde esta mi mama?" the girl questioned. (Where is my mom)
The man bent down to her level, "Tu mama esta muerta" (Your mother is dead)
"No!" she yelled out, "Por que?" (Why)
"Que el hombre la mató" the leader pointed to the Winter Soldier, "Preguntarle" (That man killed her. Ask him)
"Por que la mataste?" the girl cried out as she looked at the Soldier innocently, (Why did you kill her?)
"Porque era mi mision" The Winter Soldier responded, "Me dijeron que matar a tu familia y te llevaré a mi reportero. Yo hice mi parte. Nada más importa" (Because it was my mission. I was told to kill your family and bring you to my reporter. I did my part. Nothing else matters)
"Nada más importa?" the girl repeated, "No tengo padres!"
(Nothing else matters? I have no parents!)
"Yo hago lo que me dicen que hacer" The Winter Soldier answered back. (I do what I am told to do)
"Eso lo hace" the leader nodded. (That he does)
"Quiero que mis padres volver" the girl pleaded, (I want my parents back)
"No se preocupe" the man said, (Don't worry)
"Voy a ver otra vez?" the girl asked, (Will I see them again?)
The Winter Soldier felt a headache probe through his head as he squinted and clutched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. The smell of the blood all of a sudden made him nauseous as the recent events flooded through his mind. He felt guilty of what he did and how he pitied the girl for having no family. It almost felt like he could all of a sudden relate to the young child in front of him.
"Estás bien? ¿Necesita un tratamiento?" a scientist asked, (Are you alright? Do you need a treatment?)
He knew that was code for something; to tell the scientist if he really was alright in his head. Before he could answer truthfully, something inside of him made him lie to the scientist. The Winter Soldier opened his eyes and remained still as he watched the man cower over the girl like a predator stalking its prey.
The man straightened up, "Estoy seguro que va a disfrutar de este. Quiero oír tus gritos" (I'm certainly going to enjoy this. I want to hear you scream)
The Winter Soldier suddenly lunged himself at the man in charge and threw him to the other side of the room as he quickly picked up the little girl and aimed the gun at the scientist. He shot at the scrawny man but he had already escaped through the door.
He turned and fired at the man in charge as his body went limp, the Winter Soldier ran through the door and down a hallway that he was hoping the scientist didn't go down to alert others.
"Deténgase!" a man yelled behind him, (Stop!)
People came out from the end of the hall, firing both in front of the Winter Soldier and behind him. He ducked into a small opening for shelter as he gently put the child down. He took out from his holster his own gun and counted the seconds until he curved his arm around the corner and shot down one end of the hall. The Winter Soldier heard screams and moans as fires came from the other end of the hall, making the girl let out a yelp. He got up and fired down other end, hitting his targets one by one. He knew that all of HYDRA would be alerted of this and knew he had to get out and go underground with the little girl.
The Winter Soldier turned to pick up the girl but noticed that she was on the floor, her white dress soaked in red at the chest. She was letting out gasps for air as he dropped his weapon and placed his metal hand upon her chest and held it firmly. Tears streamed down her face as the Winter Soldier encouraged her to hold on as he tried to one-handedly mend the wound. The girl let out a whimper as she tried to smile through the pain as she placed her hand on top of his cold metal hand. She opened her mouth to say something but the light left her eyes as what she wanted to say died with her.
"No, no!" the Winter Soldier yelled out.
"¡Ahí está!" a man shouted out, (There he is!)
"Tráelo al laboratorio. Ha estado fuera de la crio- congelación durante demasiado tiempo" another commanded. (Bring him to the lab. He's been out of cryofreeze for too long)
The Winter Soldier let his hands drop down to his sides as he stared down at the little girl as four men dragged him to the laboratory. He didn't even fight it, he didn't even want to. For once in his questionable life, he wanted to be put to sleep and forget about this. He even was looking forward to the painful shock of the prepping in order to force the girl's face out of his mind.
"Bucky!" a voice snapped him out of his dream, making the torn man sit up in his bed.
He turned and noticed Sheila was standing halfway between the bed and the door, "Sheila?"
"It was just a dream" Sheila said in a light voice.
"It wasn't a dream, it was a memory" Bucky shuddered as his breathing became shaky as he looked down to his hands, expecting them to be stained with blood, "I killed her parents"
"It's alright" Sheila took a slow step forward, "You were under HYDRA's control, there was no way you could've fought back"
"But this memory was different" Bucky cut her off, "I betrayed HYDRA"
"What?" Sheila gasped, "What happened?"
"The commander was about to kill a little child I brought to him" Tears filled his eyes to the point that they felt sore, "But I killed him before he could kill her"
Bucky shuddered as he brought his head into his hands and started to sob. Sheila turned slightly to leave him to his grievance but then stopped and looked back to him. This memory had finally shattered him and this time, his book wouldn't be able to help him. She walked over and placed a small hand on top of his shoulder. Bucky swung his legs over the side of the bed and wrapped his arms around Sheila and brought her closer to him as he buried his face into her stomach. Sheila gasped as she felt Bucky stifle his cries into her; she slowly wrapped her arm around his shoulder and gently pet his hair.
"Lie back down" Sheila told him.
He didn't argue with her as he tore his body away from her and laid back down onto his bed. Bucky didn't even watch as Sheila walked over and closed the door. He thought she left him alone but then he saw the female walk over to the other side of the bed and prop the pillow so she could sit up on the bed. Without hesitation, Sheila wrapped her arm around his shoulder once more and guided his head over to her lap. Bucky felt a huge lump in his throat as he felt Sheila stroking his hair that somehow made him feel both calm and protected at the same time.
"How long are you planning on staying?" Bucky asked.
"As long as you want me to" Sheila whispered.
Bucky's lips parted as he was about to tell her to go back to her room but instead he said, "Thank you"
Sheila hummed out a tune as she continued to slide her fingers through his damp hair, not at all thinking about how much sweat he had produced in a short amount of time. She watched as Bucky looked outside the window to the woods outside, his eyes drooping but he fought them off. She felt a warm feeling in her stomach as Bucky wrapped his arms around her body and nestled into her as he got used to her company. Sheila licked her lips as she started to whisper a sweet song down to Bucky who didn't even budge when she started to sing.
Hold me now
Stop the morning light from breaking
Something's coming over me
Don't know what it is I'm saving
The clock ticks by
And it just might change everything
If I don't give you all that's waiting
Who knows what tomorrow will bring
Bucky slowly closed his eyes as he nuzzled his head deeper into Sheila's lap. A woody, slightly sweet, balsamic scent went to his nose as the smell of Sheila's lotion sent a wave of strengthening over him. A chill went through him as he listened to Sheila's song.
If I try not to need you
I'll be hiding from myself but, oh
If tomorrow never comes
I would do it all again
If the light never breaks through
I would stay until the end
If I've saved it all for you
I would have my faith again
Then, then I would know it's you
Won't shed a tear
For more than just a moment
Try not to let myself go crazy
Tomorrow may not come
Sheila brought her hand over to Bucky's face and trailed his light stubble on his chin. Her heart skipped a beat when he took her hand and placed the palm to his lips and gave her a sweet kiss.
So I won't hold you here
Unless you wanna fight about it
I would gladly let you win
'Cause I don't need to write this ending
If I just trust the stillness
Somehow it won't hurt so bad, oh
If tomorrow never comes
I would do it all again
If the light never breaks through
I would stay until the end
If I've saved it all for you
I would have my faith again
Then, then I would know
Bucky felt himself slipping off into sleep for the first time in God only knows how many months and for once, he wasn't scared of what his dreams might hold.
If tomorrow never comes
I would do it all again
If the light never breaks through
I would stay until the end
If I've saved it all for you
I would have my faith again
Then, then I would know
Then, then, then I would know it's you
Sheila looked down to Bucky and noticed his mouth slightly parted as heavy breathing came from the man laying across her. Sheila gave a small smile to him as she gently traced her fingertips over the scars just above his metal socket on his arm. She hated HYDRA more than ever now for what they did to Bucky and understood Captain's hatred towards them as well. She brushed back his shoulder-length hair as she continued to hum the song once more, worried that he might wake up. Even though it was within the dead hours of the night, Sheila felt wide awake and didn't want to fall asleep knowing that Bucky had trusted her this much to fall asleep once more. Sheila placed her hand firmly on the side of his head and closed her eyes as she knew that she wouldn't stop at nothing if it were to keep Bucky safe from his nightmares, memories, and HYDRA.