Chapter Fourteen:

Sophie's POV:

"Sophie, what have they done to you?" Bucky asked me.

"What do you mean? I'm still me, Bucky."

"Really? You stand in front of me in an Avengers' uniform and tell me you're the same girl I've mentored and protected?"

"I'm not an Avenger. I didn't know Stark made this for me until they agreed to go with my plan to find you. For the most part, while I'm here now I take college classes online and work with Stark in the lab. It's only been in the last week that I convinced Natasha to train me physically because I got bored. This is the first time I've gone out on a mission with them, I swear it. And it was for you, Bucky. You are my family and I wasn't going to risk you getting hurt, just like no matter how mad I made you, you wouldn't leave me."

"You're wearing your father's bow and quiver, Sophie."

"He told me it's more powerful than the bow I use. So Clint insisted if I was going to insist on doing this when he wanted me to stay safe here then he wanted me to use it. That's all."

At that point, Coulson walked into the lab.

"Sophie?" he said to me. "When you're done in here, Barton's old quarters are set up for Barnes here. You can take him there. And we'll need to talk about tonight's mission. I figured you'd rather talk to me than Fury?"

"Thanks, Coulson, but could we talk tomorrow? I'm kinda worn out and after Bucky and I spend some time together I just want to crash if it's okay."

He looked from me to Bucky.

"Sure, Sophie. Text me when you're up to talking tomorrow."

"Thanks, Coulson."

He left the room.

"You're getting debriefed? And you claim you're not part of the team?"

"Bucky, it's probably because the strategy was mostly mine and it was me and Natasha who actually went in for you. We're the only two who can account for what happened there other than you. I'm not part of the team. I just did this for you. I had Natasha see if she could track you because you were off the grid too long. I knew you wouldn't break your promise to me. Two days ago Clint came back from seeing his wife and other kids…"

"Do they all know about you? Or is he just hiding you here?"

"Actually, he told my brother and sister about me. They even sent me presents welcoming me into the family. He told his wife it was time they knew about me. They just don't know why I wound up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. But that's the thing, Bucky. Clint was coming back and I got my transcript. I wanted to surprise him with it, but that's when I realized how badly I was missing you because I wanted you to see them too, to see how well I was doing without going into the world stealing and killing. Then I opened the gift from my brother Cooper and he said he'd always be there for me because he was my brother. Clint explained Cooper is the kind of guy not to abandon family, which is like Clint. So when I found out that you were in trouble I couldn't not help you, Bucky. Clint and I are getting to know each other, and it's going good for the most part, but you were there during some of the hardest times of my life since Mom died. I don't blame Clint, it's just a fact. You are my family. I had to help you."

"I'm sorry, Sophie."

"For what?"

"Questioning your motives. I should know better than to think that you would lie to me. It's just odd to see you in that uniform."

I hugged him and he hugged me back. I felt a little better.

"Will you let me help you with the implants that mess with your memories?"

"Sophie," he started gently, "you don't even know for sure if this will work. What if you accidentally make it worse?"

"Okay, I understand why that would be a concern. How about a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You let me take some scans now so I have more data to work with so I can modify my work?"

"Sophie, with my arm, I can't go into an MRI or CT machine."

"Don't need you to. I can have J.A.R.V.I.S. do a molecular scan of your brain without any of that."

"So S.H.I.E.L.D. can have that on file? I don't like that."

"I'll put it on a drive that I'll keep with me. It won't go onto the hard drive."

He looked reluctant, but he agreed. I laid him down on the exam table.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"Yes, Ms. Holden?"

"Can you please do a molecular scan of James Barnes brain, focusing for any implants that might make manipulating his memory easier? I need information on how his memories have been getting suppressed and wiped for all these years. And only download the information onto the flash drive I am about to install, please."

"Right away, Ms. Holden."

I put a flash drive into the drive. The scan started and I logged into my school and pulled up my transcript to show Bucky when the scan was done.

"Scan complete, Sergeant Barnes, you may move. Ms. Holden, the files are successfully saved to your flash drive. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, J.A.R.V.I.S. Thank you."

Bucky came to where I was sitting and sat next to me.

"That was the weirdest experience of my life," he said smiling at me.

"Here's my transcript, Bucky," I said a little shyly. "I wanted to show you because you are my brother in every sense but DNA, and I want to make you proud."

He looked over my transcript.

"Sophie, this is amazing. This is something to be proud of," he said pulling me into a hug. "You seem to be doing well here."

"Captain Rogers finally thinks so."

"What do you mean? I thought you didn't get along with him."

I pulled up the footage from the training room when I went from training with Clint to training with Rogers. He watched as we sparred. While he did, I got up and went to another station to look at his scans.

His scans showed the implants. Based on the locations and how they were put in, removing them didn't seem like the best option. Even with the super soldier serum that ran in his veins, the sudden removal of pressure that had been on his brain, frozen there at times, for decades, could cause irrevocable brain damage. The best plans were to access the program itself and disable it or to short it out. Of course, shorting the implant could negatively affect Bucky, too. I was looking at the details of the implants when Bucky came over to me again.

"You got a little rusty without me. You should have been able to beat him, Sophie."

I smiled at him.

"They don't train me as hard as you did. And that was the first time he ever trained with me. He didn't think I could handle him."

"You certainly proved him wrong," he said, looking at the screen I was working at. "Are these my scans?"

I nodded.

"The safest way to fix this may be to hack the program of the implant and permanently disable them that way. Any other way risks injury to you."

"If you can figure it out, I'll let you help me, Sophie."

I looked up at him.

"You mean that, Bucky? You'll let me help you if I can figure out how to disable the program?"

"Yes. It bothers me that I feel like I know people, but I can never remember why or what they meant to me. If you can help me remember, I will let you help me."

"Thank you, Bucky!"

"Am I interrupting, anything?" Rogers said from the doorway.

"No, Cap. Just having a great moment with Bucky. What can I do for you?" I asked, not able to keep the smile off of my face.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Sophie. You're not one of us, not a soldier or an Avenger, but you were the one who took the hit in the field tonight. I know you're like me and Bucky. You heal quickly, but I wanted to know if you're actually healed."

"Yeah, Cap," I said turning so he could see the bullet wound was closed, "the bullet wound is closed and the nap on the Quinjet on the way back here took care of my energy running low from using the fire portal the way I did, so I'm good. Thanks for asking."

"If you need anything, Sophie, let me know."

"Thanks, Cap."

"Bucky, it's good to have you back. I know you don't remember me, but I hope one day we can fix that," Cap said to Bucky.

Bucky nodded at him and Rogers left.

"You didn't tell him what you were planning," Bucky said to me.

"I figured if you wanted him to know you were letting me do it, you could have told him. I still won't tell them anything about you except how much you mean to me."

"Do you think you can break this program?"

"Give me a week?"

"Why so long?" he asked laughing.

"Because I'm in school and training," I said laughing back. "Come on, you've got to be tired. Let me show you to your quarters."

I ejected the flash drive and put it in my pocket.

"Why aren't they keeping me in a cell?"

"Probably because of me. They'll probably tell you there are certain areas you can't go, especially not alone, but you won't be locked in a cell."

"How did we switch roles?"

Barton's POV:

I was on my way to be debriefed when I ran into Steve in the hallway. He stopped me.

"Barton. I just ran into Sophie in the lab with Bucky. They were… close. She was in his arms. Is there anything going on there?" Steve asked.

"No, she assured me that she looks at him only as a brother. Do you think I would have let her go off on a mission like this for a boyfriend, Steve?"

"It's just weird to see him smiling again. I miss that smile and she brings it out in him. I'm grateful, even if he doesn't remember me."

"Maybe he will someday, Steve. Give him time. He's been through hell."

"I know," Steve said before patting me on the shoulder. "You should get to Fury. He's not fond of being kept waiting."

I laughed.

"I know."

I walked the rest of the way to Fury's office. I knocked and he called me in.

"So, Barton, give me your report."

I told him what I knew directly.

"What is your opinion on how it went?"

"Well, Sir, I would have preferred there have been no injuries, but the injuries that were sustained were relatively minor compared to what they could have been. I think the team worked well together and there were no unexpected problems."

"And your daughter? How do you think she worked with the team?"

I got angry.

"I'm not the best person to answer that question. I wasn't the one with her during the most crucial points of the mission."

"But you're her father. How do you think Sophie would do on this team, Barton?"

"I'm not answering that, Sir."

He looked at me in shock.

"Why the hell not?"

"Why do you think, Nick?! She's my seventeen year old daughter, who I was brought in to either subdue or kill before I knew she was mine, and now you want to know how well she'd handle this life?! I'm not going to help you pull her in! She's already been through so much, I won't do this."

"She's going to be on our watch list for the rest of her life, then, Barton."

"Oh, don't give me that crap, Nick! She's already on your watch list. She was as soon as she made it onto your radar. All of us are on your radar whether we're working with you or not, so don't try to act like me helping push her into this will keep her off of it. I've been in this game too long to fall for that."

"Well, I see we're not going to agree on this. But understand, she has a similar skill set to you, Barton. What else do you think she's going to do?"

"She's got more than my skill set, Nick," I said getting up and getting very close to his face. "She has her mother's intellect. She can be so much more than a spy and assassin."

"And where did that get her mother, Barton?"

I swung before I could stop myself.

"Don't you ever imply that Sophie's only options in life are to either end up like me or Anya," I whispered to him dangerously as I stood over him. "In fact, don't ever bring up Anya again, Nick."

I turned and walked out of the office, ignoring the fact that he hadn't dismissed me. I texted Sophie to tell her I was spending the night on the archery range and went straight there.

It was nearly nine thirty in the morning when I returned to my quarters. Sophie was asleep at the computer. She was supposed to be in training with Natasha. I went over to her and gently shook her awake.

"Hmmm?"

"Sophie, you're late for training," I said to her.

She jumped up and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. Two minutes later she came out in sweats with her hair pulled back. I handed her her training bag.

"Did you sleep at the computer all night?" I asked her.

"I must have crashed while I was working on something. I remember seven this morning, and then you were waking me up. Natasha's gonna be pissed that I'm late after I blew off my last training session," she said as she ejected a flash drive from the computer and locked it in a vault by the computer that only opened with her fingerprints.

I put my hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Clint, I'm late. I gotta go. Can we talk later?"

"Sit down. I'll text Natasha that I'll cover your training. You're exhausted."

She dropped the bag on the floor and leaned on me.

"Thanks. I really didn't want to face her wrath at this hour on no real sleep."

I led her to the couch and instead of texting Natasha I called her. She picked up on the second ring.

"Barton, you better be calling to tell me that Sophie is dying or on her way."

"Actually, Nat, I'm gonna cover her training today. I just got back to my quarters to find her sleeping at the computer. She was up all night working on something."

"What's she working on that she stayed up all night? Most things don't keep her up like that."

"I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to her. I literally woke her up about four minutes ago. She was ready to run out to get to you when I stopped her."

"Fine, but no excuses for tomorrow."

"I'll tell her."

"I'll see you later. I've got people to train."

I hung up and looked at Sophie.

"Nat said no excuses for tomorrow."

She nodded, her mind somewhere else.

"What's on your mind, Sophie?"

"Bucky."

"What about him? I mean, I believed you when you said there's nothing going on between you, but Steve said the two of you looked very close last night in Stark's lab. Is there something I should know?"

"I guess so."

Was my seventeen year old about to tell me she was dating the Winter Soldier? I wasn't sure I was ready for that.

"Natasha mentioned before the mission the Soviets used implants as a way to keep wiping Bucky's memories so they could keep him their perfect assassin. Last night I took him to Stark's lab because I'd suspected something like that for a while and had been working on something to help. We'd talked about why he didn't want to try what I had and I ultimately agreed, so we made a deal. He let me use J.A.R.V.I.S. to scan his brain for the implants and the molecular structures, as long as it was on a private flash drive, so I could try to work out a more target-specified plan.

"What Captain Rogers walked in on when he came to check on me last night was Bucky agreeing, if I could figure out a way to do it, to permanently disable the implants in his brain. I was hugging him and smiling so much because he's trusting me to try to bring back his memories, Clint," she said to me smiling.

I breathed a mental sigh of relief that she wasn't dating the Winter Soldier.

"So that's what was on the drive you just locked away?"

She nodded.

"I had gone over the scans while I let him watch me sparring with Captain Rogers and found that the best way is to find a way to hack the program and permanently disable it. Removing the implants or using any other methods to try to fry them could cause damage to Bucky. That was when Bucky came over to tell me that I was slipping and should have beat Captain Rogers."

I looked at her in shock.

"Wait, what?"

"He used to train me, Clint. Harshly, no holding back. That's why my combat skills are so much better than any of you gave me credit for."

"You didn't tell Coulson that."

"I don't say anything about Bucky to anyone around here really, except how much he means to me."

She was right. She didn't. She guarded information about him better than Fort Knox was guarded.

"I'd like to see the two of you train together. Maybe he can train you with my supervision today?"

"I'll ask him."

Her phone rang with a text message.

"It's Coulson. I have to meet him at some point today for a debriefing. He wanted to do it last night, but I asked if it could wait until today."

"You shouldn't make him wait too long, then. Text me when you're done. I'll meet you in the training room you trained with me last time. Hopefully with Barnes?"

She got up and grabbed her training bag. She was about to leave when she turned to ask me a question.

"Why were you gone all night, Clint?"

"I was upset. Needed to clear my head."

"What about?"

"Maybe we'll talk about it later. You should go see Coulson."