Authors Note: Sorry this took so long, had MAJOR writers block! Hopefully back on track now. Enjoy and review!


Chapter 12: I'm Blue


Rhea sat in her room, she tried to sleep but no position she got into was comfortable. She sighed and sat up and ran her hands over her face and through her hair. I have to, I need to see, She said to herself and stood up. She pulled on a hoody and a pair of converse and padded over to the door. "JARVIS, where is everyone?" She asked quietly.

"Mr. Stark is asleep, Captain Rogers has departed with Agent Romanof and Doctor Banner and Director Fury are not in the building," JARVIS spoke to her.

Rhea nodded, "Thanks," She slipped out of her room and walked down the corridor to the lab.

A blast of cold air hit her when she opened the door, but she didn't flinch. The lab looked different in the dark, some machines hummed and a few lights dotted the room giving it a strange glow. Rhea looked over to the door on the far side, Bucky was there. She quietly made her way across the room and peered into the window of the door. Bucky's head was hanging down, his chest was rising and falling, he looked so peaceful. Will I? She thought to herself. She tensed her jaw and put her hand on the handle of the door, opening it slowly. The hinges creaked as she walked in, Bucky's head shot up as he looked to see who was coming in. Rhea paused at the door way, she waited for him to speak, she wanted to see what he would say.

Bucky stared at her, the girl with the icy blue eyes, "What time is it?" He asked her.

Rhea closed the door, "I don't know, about one in the morning I think."

Bucky sighed, "When can I get out of here?"

Rhea crossed her arms, "Have you no idea what you did Bucky?"

"Which time?" He said, his eyes locking with hers.

Rhea stopped, she forgot all the times that he had killed. Over the last few months she had gotten to know the happier and more confident Bucky, the one that Steve knew back in the day. But Rhea forgot about the large chapter of his life that she was missing, even though it hung over both of their heads like a dark cloud. Rhea took a breath, "Just yesterday in DC, when you tried to kill me."

The reaction that Bucky gave her made her heart give a jump. Bucky looked up at her, the shock clear across his face, "No… I…..What happened?"

"Well you spooked when Tony was filling us in about a mission, and you took off to the city. I found you after you were hit by a car, but you'd changed, you were the Winter Soldier again. You were trying to attack civilians, I had to step in and you turned on me." Rhea said looking at her feet.

Bucky looked at her, "I tried to kill you?" He moved against his bonds, "Rhea, I'm so sorry….. I wasn't me, you know I could never hurt you….. I care too much….." He stopped.

Rhea looked down at him in the chair, then she walked over, she put her hand on his metal one, he closed his fingers around hers, she didn't flinch at the coldness of the metal. She reached for one of the straps that was across his chest undoing the buckle. She then open the strap holding down his right arm. One more strap, She thought and gulped. The left one was taken off and she stepped back, she could have made a huge mistake, if Bucky was faking what he was saying to her she might have just signed her death warrant.

Rhea stood back, she braced herself and felt the ice trickle down her fingers. Bucky stood up and wavered slightly on his feet. He turned and looked at Rhea, she gulped, What have I done, she asked herself. Bucky took a step towards her, then before Rhea could react he wrapped her in a hug. She felt his arms wrap around her body holding him to her. Rhea tensed as she felt the metal of his arm against her cheek, she braced herself for an attack, letting the icy feeling flow over her body. "I'm so sorry Rhea, I wasn't myself…. I…. I would never forgive myself.." He said, Rhea heard the hurt in his voice. She let her body relax slightly, she felt Bucky rest his head on her shoulder, a chill went down her spine.

She coughed and moved slightly in his grip, "Eh…. Bucky?"

"Oh, sorry," He stepped back.

Rhea brushed herself down, and looked at Bucky. His eyes had changed, there was that light back that she knew, and his stance was more relaxed, not the solider-to-attention stance that he had as the Winter Soldier. She exhaled. "Well we seem to have you back."

Bucky nodded slowly, "Yes, my head feels clearer."

Rhea smiled at him, "I'm glad to have you back Buck. But we need to be careful, we know now that you can regress and regress badly."

Bucky hung his head, "I have no memory of what happened after I ran out of the building." He looked at her in fear.

She reached out and took his hand, "I'll never let it happen again, I swear. On the plus side I was able to hold my own against you and take you down with a bit of help, so your training is paying off." She grinned at him. "Come on, lets get you out of this cell."

He followed her out of the cell and across the lab. They padded down the corridor and she opened the door to her room. Bucky sighed, it was warm and cosy, Rhea had really made it her own, painting the walls and adding all sorts from her own apartment back in the city. Rhea turned and looked at him. "You ok?"

He nodded, "Fine, totally fine." He looked at the concern written across her face. At times she was so like Steve, her manner and her attitude, but then she would do something that was so Rhea it almost made him laugh. She stood there in front of him, her golden hair flowed far past her shoulders and her eyes that forever blue. He could see her perfect figure under her loose t-shirt and shorts. Bucky shook his head, get that idea out of your head Barnes, he said to himself.

Rhea broke his thoughts, "Well there isn't anywhere for you to sleep, unless you want to go back to that chair?" Bucky shook his head, "Didn't think so," She turned and sat down on her bed, "So until we can get your old room open, you're gonna have to bunk with me."

Bucky stared at her, "Are you serious?"

"Did I stutter?" Rhea raised an eye brow.

Bucky turned on the bed trying his best not to disturb Rhea. He looked at the sleeping figure next to him, why does she trust me, I just tried to kill her, twice, Bucky stared at her. He ran over the past few hours in his mind, trying to piece it back together, but nothing was coming. He sighed and sat up, if Steve caught him in here there would be war. Steve loved Rhea and Bucky remembered she did go on a date a month ago and Steve was staring the poor guy out of it as he opened the door of the car for Rhea, Bucky remembered grinning at the guy, having Captain America tell you to be good to his sister is one order that you don't disobey. He shifted his weight and went to put his hands on his lap, he recoiled inside as the metal touched his right hand, then he let his left arm fall down by his side.

Rhea stirred in her sleep, she blinked her eyes and looked up at Bucky. He looked worried, his eye brows knitted together on his handsome face, his hair hung and covered his features, "You ok?" She asked.

Bucky jumped, "Jesus! You're awake?"

"Yeah, I am, you've been jumping around. Why aren't you asleep?" Rhea looked up at him.

"I can't, bad things happen when I sleep," Bucky put his head in his hands.

"Bad things?" Rhea shifted herself up on to her elbow.

Bucky looked down at her, "I dream."

Rhea nodded, "Well we need to make an appearance tomorrow, show off that Bucky is back." She shifted her position, then padded the bed, "Come on, lie down." She glared at him, "Now."

Bucky grinned slightly and slid down in the bed and turned so he was face to face with Rhea, "Ok I'm lying down."

Rhea rolled her eyes, "Ok close your eyes," Bucky snapped them shut. "Breathe slowly," She thought back to when she was little and she couldn't sleep her mother used to tell her stories, "So Long ago when Fionn mac Cumhaill was young he went to live with a very wise man named Finnegas. Finnegas was a poet who lived on the banks of the river Boyne, this place was the centre of all Irish knowledge. Fionn loved to listen to the old man stories and learned a great deal from him…" Rhea spoke to him in a quiet soothing voice. Bucky closed his eyes and listened to her voice until all he heard was silence.

Rhea rolled over in the bed and jumped, "Jesus!" She exclaimed and leapt backwards straight off the bed and landed heavily on the floor.

Bucky looked over the edge of the bed, "You ok?"

Rhea rubbed her head and looked up, "Yeah, ow, forgot you were here."

Bucky snorted with laughter, "The look on your face was priceless."

Rhea pulled herself up on to her feet, "Glad you found it amusing." She suddenly realised that her hair was all over the place, she quickly went to fix it giving Bucky an apologetic grin.

"What's that for?" He asked, sitting up, "You look fine." He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Watch it Barnes," She raised her eye brows, trying to hide a flutter in her stomach, "Get up, we gotta see where everyone else is."

Rhea pulled on a hoodie, a reflection caught her eye in the mirror on the wall. She looked and gulped slightly, Bucky had taken off his shirt to switch into the one that Rhea had grabbed for him. She ran her eyes up his waist, it was littered with scars and she almost winced when she saw how the arm was fitted on to his shoulder. How can someone do that to someone else? She asked herself. But beyond all the scars and the pain, for someone that was ninety-six he was looking pretty well. Stop it Rhea, She scolded herself.

"Ready?" She turned to him.

Bucky spun on his heel, "Yup." He mock saluted.

"Don't be cheeky," She glared.

Rhea opened the door to the lab to a sight. Tony and Bruce were running around the lab panicking.

"Crap, he's gone, we're all screwed!" Tony ran his hands through it hair.

Bruce was almost shaking with a slight green tinge to his face, "Where could he possibly go? There was no alarm sounded last night, we would have heard."

"Sir? Sir? If I could just?" JARVIS said.

"Not now!" Tony snapped.

"But sir?" JARVIS tried again .

Rhea bit her lip and tried to hold back a grin, she walked through the door, "Eh guys, whats going on?"

"Barnes, he's missing," Tony looked over at her. Then his face dropped.

"I'm right here," Bucky said and strolled through the door behind Rhea.

"What the actual hell?" Bruce asked, the green tinge leaving his face. "Where were you?"

Rhea cut in, "I made a break through with him last night, so I think we're back on track."

Tony looked exasperated, "And you didn't feel the need to tell us?"

"Well I was trying to tell you sir," JARVIS said, Rhea nodded.

Rhea and Bucky walked over to the other two men, "Have Steve and Nat gone?" Rhea asked.

Tony nodded, "Yes, they've gone to Moscow, but the mission in Dublin is still needing attention and we need to act quickly otherwise they will be tipped off when Nat and Steve hit Moscow. So are you both ready? We don't have a flight risk from you Barnes?"

Bucky shook his head, "No I should be fine." He glanced over at Rhea and gave her a look, "Rhea can knock me back into shape if not."

Tony smiled, "Ok then." He switched on a screen with a map of Ireland, "So we need to be careful on this mission, as you know Rhea, Dublin is a pretty small city, population of about 1.1 million, and a total population in Ireland of approximately 4.5 million, so information spreads quickly. You will need to take extra care once you land, any slip up could be devastating. So are you ready?"

Rhea nodded, "I think so."

Tony smiled, "Well JARVIS, get the transport ready for the Winter Soldier and Arctic Blue."