The scream pierced the night air.

It was a pained scream that came from deep in the chest. Danielle opened her eyes and scanned the room, listening for another scream. The sound came again and she knew it had to be James.

She exited her bedroom, padding softly into the hallway, her bare feet were silent on the hardwood. Danielle opened his door and looked inside. James was lying on his back, his limbs contracted until all his muscles were popping under his skin. His eyes were closed tight and he gritted his teeth in pain.

Danielle approached his bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up as the soldier and attack her. She placed her hand on the bicep of his flesh arm and whispered, "James."

He didn't appear to notice her presence, so she tried again, this time speaking louder to gain his attention. "James, wake up."

James opened his eyes and shot up in bed. He searched his surroundings as he tried to catch his breath. Danielle recognized the look in his eyes.

It was James, not the soldier.

"It's okay. You were having a nightmare." She said.

He met her eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

Danielle was caught off guard by his question. "No, James. I'm fine. See?" She did a slow turn to show she was unharmed.

James nodded before dropping his head in his hands. "It was so real."

"It's okay," she sat next to him and placed her arm around his shoulders. "It was just a dream. No one is going to hurt you."

She rubbed her hand up and down his arm, trying to sooth him. When he finally seemed to relax, she moved to vacate the bed.

James placed his hand on her leg. "Will you—will you stay for a while?"

The look in his eyes made her heart lurch. She knew what it was like to spend a restless night, afraid to close your eyes.

She nodded and moved to lie down in the bed next to him. James laid back onto his pillow and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. Danielle watched him breathing slower.

"Thank you, Danielle. It was stupid of you to wake me, but thank you."

"I only did it to ensure my sleep was no longer interrupted." She teased.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. Sometimes it feels so real, but it's just your brain messing with you." She snuggled into the pillow as if wiping the memories of restless nights from her mind.

James rolled onto his side to face her. His eyes studied her face in the half-lighted room.

"Go back to sleep," Danielle patted her free hand between them on the pillow. "Everything will be all right."

James placed his metal hand onto her free hand and held it. "Goodnight, Danielle."

"Goodnight, James."

James opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was how late he was. Usually, he woke up at six thirty every morning, no alarm clock just natural. This morning was different because the sun was fully in the sky.

The second thing he noticed, and it probably should have been the first, was the weight on his chest. Danielle laid beside him, her head on his chest and her hand over his heart.

It made him nervous to be this close to someone because he didn't have good memories of human closeness. He thought about trying to leave the bed without her noticing, but as soon as he tried to move, she spoke.

"It's not very nice to let a girl wake up in your bed alone." She teased.

"It's fine when the girl is pretending to sleep." He replied, relaxing a little.

Danielle propped her head on her hand to look at him. "I've only been up for a few minutes. I didn't want to wake you. Besides, you were the one who asked me to stay."

"You're right about that." James smiled and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. Then he realized how close they were and what he had done, his face morphed to his stoic expression and he moved out of the bed.

Danielle furrowed her brow. "James, are you okay?"

"Fine. It's late. My routine is off." James began doing pushups in quick succession.

"I'm sorry." Danielle got up from the bed, suddenly self-conscious of her half-dressed state.

"It was my fault." James insisted, continuing to do pushups.

Danielle didn't wait for him to stop because she knew he wouldn't. She had scared him somehow and he was trying to cope. She went back to her room, wondering what had set him off.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed sharing a bed with him. Other than his metal arm, his body was warm, and Danielle had fallen asleep before she could return to her own bed.

Deciding it was pointless trying to understand his thought process, Danielle moved to her bag to change clothes. She slipped on her jeans and pulled on a plain long-sleeved shirt. After pulling up her hair into a ponytail, Danielle felt calmer and left her room to find James.

He was eating an apple in the kitchen, his back facing her as he stared out the window.

"Did you get your routine in order?" She prompted, glaring at the back of his head.

James turned to face her. "Are you angry with me now?"

"No, I'm not angry."

"Too bad. I was hoping you would finally see the evil in me and run away." James walked toward the door.

"Quit pushing me away, James." Danielle rushed after him.

"Don't follow me!" James barked at her. His body grew tense as he looked at her. "You should be afraid, Danielle, because I can take you by the throat," his hand closed around her neck, "and squeeze the life out of you without a second thought." His grip tightened and Danielle pulled at his arm.

"Do it, James." Danielle struggled to speak. "Because…you can't…blame this…on the soldier…this is you."

The grip on her throat held tight for a second longer, then he slowly released her. Danielle dropped to her knees, coughing, and sucking in air. James looked at his hands. He didn't know why he had done it.

"What's wrong with me?" He whispered in desperation, covering his face with his hands.

Danielle looked up at him from the floor. "There is nothing wrong with you. You just need help."

James stepped toward Danielle and reached out his hand to help her up.

She didn't shy away from him like he thought she would, but took his hand and let him lift her to her feet.

"Why do you want to help me?" He asked.

Danielle touched her hand to the side of his face. "Because I care about you." She didn't realize she was leaning closer until his lips brushed hers, then Danielle found herself kissing the deadliest assassin in history.

There was a moment when James didn't register what was happening and he didn't respond. He didn't return the kiss, but he didn't push her away. His hands stayed firmly on her hips where he was holding her steady, neither venturing to pull her closer nor create some distance.

Danielle pulled away first and searched his eyes to gauge his reaction. They stared at each other for a long time. The silence surrounding them was a vacuum sucking the air out of the room.

Finally, James moved his eyes and noticed how close they still were. He removed his hands from her hips, letting them fall to his sides. Step-by-step, James eased away from Danielle and toward the door. In one motion, he turned around and exited the apartment, leaving Danielle alone.

Dark had nearly fallen outside and James still hadn't returned to the apartment. Danielle had paced the floor most of the afternoon, waiting for him to return. Kissing him wasn't something she had planned to do—he was her mission—but she couldn't stop the obvious attraction she felt for him. Now, she was going to lose him and her job, because Fury wouldn't except any excuses for losing the Winter Soldier.

The apartment door opened slowly, and Danielle's heart stopped for a moment. James appeared in the doorway with an unreadable expression. They stared at each other silently, as he closed the door.

James spoke first. "You didn't lock the door. What do they teach you at Shield?"

Danielle released a breath. "James, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. We were both angry and the emotion got the better of me."

"It's okay, Danielle." He said, walking toward her.

"No, it's not, because I took advantage of you and—" James' lips cut off her sentence as he kissed her. His hands cupped her cheeks and pulled her into him hungrily.

He pulled away after one last kiss, and waited for her reaction.

Danielle stared at him wide-eyed until she registered what had taken place. "You just kissed me."

James nodded. "I'm out of practice, but I didn't think I was that bad."

"What? No, that's not what I meant. I thought, earlier, when you left, you weren't coming back."

James rubbed his thumb across her cheek. "You surprised me, in more ways than one. I needed to think, then I realized I lost seventy years of my life and this was my chance to start living."

Danielle smiled, but it faded when a thought crossed her mind. "But what about HYDRA and SHIELD? What if they find us?"

"That's tomorrow's problem." James kissed her cheek. "I'm still focused on today." He kissed a spot on her neck and lingered.

Danielle tilted her head, savoring the sensation. "I think we need to discuss today's problem further." She slid her hands up his sides. "And I'm very thorough in my arguments."

"Really?" James looked at her face. "Maybe we should discuss this somewhere more comfortable."

"Your place or mine?" She smirked.

"I vote mine." James lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. Danielle kicked her legs in protest.

James walked to his bedroom and tossed Danielle onto his bed. He moved to kiss her, but hesitated a few inches from her mouth.

"James?" Danielle questioned.

"Are you sure about this? You're not scared of me?"

Danielle placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him to her lips. She released him after a long moment.

"How many times do I have to say I'm not scared of you?"

"Apparently a few." James answered.

Danielle leaned in toward his ear and whispered, "I'm not scared of you."

James claimed her mouth with his and laid back on the bed.

Danielle knew how rough he was when he fought, she was surprised by how gentle he was with her. His hands caressed her skin without leaving a mark, even his metal hand was gentle. Danielle took care to treat James with the same kindness. James had been beaten and broken by many people, but Danielle was trying to be the person to put him back together.

A/N: Thanks to everyone still reading this story! We are getting close to an ending but I don't know when that will be. Please keep reading and please leave a review if you enjoy this story.