A/N: For any non-US readers who don't get the reference, "reconstruction" is the term used for the period in our history following the US Civil War.

Reconstruction

The floor was cold as Bucky made his way downstairs. It was almost November and the mornings were cold more often than not. As he slid the kitchen rug over to stand on while he made coffee, he realized it was the first time in decades that cold feet had bothered him. During the war, he had gotten used to sleeping outside and HYDRA had always been cold. While on the run he rarely took his shoes off, afraid that he might need to leave at a moment's notice. For the first time in years, he felt safe enough to let something so trivial concern him. All the same, he might see if Natasha wanted to help him look for a pair of slippers later.

Grinning at that idea, he poured the water into the coffee maker and turned it on. As he searched for a mug, a sharp knock at the kitchen door startled him out of his thoughts. He dropped into a crouch and reached for a kitchen knife.

"Hello!" Mrs. MacKenzie called. "Someone's in there, I can hear the coffee maker!"

Bucky relaxed and opened the door. Mrs. MacKenzie was standing there in her bathrobe holding a foil wrapped coffee cake. "It's 6 AM," he said.

Mrs. Mackenzie handed him the coffee cake. "Well the girl from SHIELD showed up on my doorstep at 5:30."

"What girl?" Bucky asked. He set the coffee cake on the counter and started preheating the oven. He knew there were other agents helping them, but he had only met Fitz and Mac.

"Agent Simmons, the doctor," Mrs. MacKenzie said. "She's unpacking a few things, but she'll be over in a few minutes."

Bucky glanced down the hall and saw Natasha moving down the hall in a low crouch. "It's ok, it's just Mrs. Mackenzie."

Natasha straightened and walked into the kitchen. "Did she bring coffee cake?"

"Of course!" Mrs. Mackenzie said. "I'm not going to forget my manners just because it's early."

"The oven is preheating," Bucky told her. "I'll go wake up Steve and Sharon."

He headed upstairs to Sharon's room and eased the door open. Steve lay propped up against a stack of pillows. Sharon was fast asleep with her head in his lap, clutching his hand tightly. Steve opened his eyes a put a finger to his lips.

"She just fell asleep an hour ago," he said in a groggy voice.

Bucky walked softly over to the bed to check on Steve. The cuts on his face were mostly healed, but he looked pale and his hair was damp. "Have you slept?"

Steve shook his head. "Not much. It's hard sleep sitting up like this, but if I try to lie down I feel like there's an elephant sitting on my chest."

He started coughing, clutching his ribs as the cough rattled his body. Bucky helped him sit up as he struggled to catch his breath. The fit passed and he slumped back into the pillows. As he helped Steve settle back, Bucky realized that he felt warm.

"You're burning up," Bucky said, pressing a hand to Steve's forehead.

"Really?" Steve asked in a shaky voice. "I'm freezing."

Bucky reached down to shake Sharon awake. She groaned and curled up tighter, clutching the blankets around herself. "What time is it?" she mumbled, not opening her eyes.

"Six, but the doctor is here and I think Steve has a fever."

Sharon sat up, wide awake. She reached over to checked his forehead. "Bucky, stay with him for a minute." She threw on her bathrobe and hurried out of the room.

Steve groaned. "Ugh, remember when I used to have asthma?"

"Yeah, it scared the hell out of me," Bucky said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. A memory of Steve in the midst of an asthma attack flashed through his mind. He handed Steve a glass of water, helping him hold it steady as he drank. "And that time you got scarlet fever, I really thought you were going to die."

Steve smiled, leaning back against the pillows. "I'm still here. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Sharon returned with a slender woman holding a large metal case. She set the case on the dresser and looked at Bucky.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Jemma Simmons," she said, holding out her hand.

"Fitz's girl," Bucky remembered finally, shaking her hand. "Bucky Barnes. I'll give you some space."

He headed back down as Simmons set up to examine Steve. Natasha was alone in kitchen, putting the coffee cake in the oven.

"Where's Mrs. MacKenzie?" he asked, topping off his coffee.

"She said she was going back to sleep. How is he?"

"He's running a fever." Bucky said wearily leaning against the counter. "Sometimes I feel like everything has changed beyond recognition, then sometime like this happens and it's 1932 again."

"Except now we have antibiotics," Natasha said, sipping her coffee.

Bucky chuckled. "Do you know this doctor?"

"Only by reputation, but Coulson trusts her." She reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. "Don't worry. He's in good hands."

Bucky felt a shiver run through his body as Natasha's fingers brushed his skin. He clutched his bathrobe tighter. "When this all settles down, can we go to the mall? I need some slippers."

Natasha laughed. "Let's just order from Amazon this time."

Steve didn't complain as Sharon helped him sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed. That worried her even more than the pained sounds he made as she helped him removed his shirt. Usually Steve protested any time she tried to baby him, but he was too tired or too weak to care.

"So how are you today?" Simmons asked, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around Steve's arm.

"Tired," Steve said, stifling a cough. Sharon rubbed his back gently.

Simmons frowned at the noise and gingerly ran her fingers over his broken ribs. "The bruising has gone down from what agent Carter described. There's not much I can do for a broken rib, but the fever does worry me. It's not uncommon to develop pneumonia." Simmons took out a stethoscope and pressed it to his chest. "Deep breath."

Steve inhaled, his face twisted in pain.

"And again," Simmons prompted. Steve inhaled, wincing as a cough jostled his ribs. She checked a few more spots before putting the stethoscope away. "Yes, you do have pneumonia. I'll prescribe an antibiotic, but it will just take time."

Sharon helped Steve settle back against the pillow. "How long?"

"For a normal person, a serious case like this can take months to fully clear up."

"Months!" Steve cried. Another coughing fit stopped him from saying any more.

"Probably less with your physiology," Simmons added quickly, "but if you try to do too much too quickly, you'll only make it worse. It's important that you try to take a deep breath at least once an hour. I know it's painful, but it's the only way to clear your lungs. You can hold a pillow to your side when you cough, that might help with the pain. I'll give you a painkiller as well."

She took two bottles of pills out of the bag and handed them to Sharon. "Give him one of these twice a day and finish the course. The painkiller as needed but no more than four times a day. I'm also prescribing a cough medicine. Other than that, rest, plenty of fluids, and you can take Tylenol for the fever."

Sharon opened the bottles and helped Steve take one of each pill as Simmons packed up her equipment.

"I can stay for a few days if you'd like," she offered. "I don't expect that you'll have any problems, but you can't be too careful."

Sharon nodded, helping Steve settle back against the pillows. "That would be great, thank you."

"I'll let you get back to sleep. I'll be staying at Mrs. Mackenzie's if you need anything."

She left the room quietly as Sharon arranged the pillows so she could sit beside Steve.

"Can you hand me that blanket?" he asked, his teeth chattering.

Sharon reached down to where the blanket lay bunched up at the foot of the bed. He must have kicked it off during the night. Carefully, she tucked the blanket around him. "Better?"

"I'm still cold," he mumbled.

She ran her fingers through his hair. "Give it a few minutes. Do you need anything else?"

Steve shook his head and closed his eyes. Sharon leaned over, carefully resting her head on his shoulder. After their ordeal, all she wanted to do was curl up in his arms, but he needed her right now. She had barely slept in days, afraid to take her eyes of him for a minute. She hadn't been able to protect him in San Francisco, but she wasn't going to let him down again. Gradually she felt him stop shivering. His breathing grew more even as he fell asleep. Sharon reached down and took his hand, letting herself drift off to sleep beside him.

Sam took the eggs out of the refrigerator. At the sink, Wanda was slicing apples while Barnes took the coffee cake out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool. At the table, Scott and Natasha were sitting checking the news on their phones as Simmons came downstairs.

"Good morning!" she chirped. "I hope I didn't wake you all."

"We're a bit off our normal schedule anyway," Natasha said. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you. I was traveling all night and I need to take a nap."

"How is he?" Sam asked, cracking the eggs into a bowl. Steve's injuries had improved, but Sam had been concerned to hear that he had developed a fever overnight."

"It's pneumonia I'm afraid," Simmons told them. "Treatable but it does take a while."

"Well we're not going anywhere for the foreseeable future," Natasha said.

"Oh before I forget," Simmons took a control pad out of her bag. "Your new jet. We couldn't get the old one but we did manage to wipe the navigational logs and retrieve your personal effects."

Natasha took the control panel and turned it on. "How did Coulson get a new jet?"

"Consider it an apology from Director Mace."

"I'm not quite sure that covers it," Sam said sharply, beating the eggs furiously with a fork .

"No it doesn't," Simmons said bitterly. "Coulson was livid with Director Mace after the incident."

"I bet," Natasha said. "Think he'll get fired?"

"Doubtful, and I don't think it would be good if he did," Simmons warned. "I'm not trying to make excuses but Director Mace is actually quite good at the political side of his job. He thought it might be an opportunity to loosen some of the restrictions imposed by the accords."

"He beat Steve half to death for a PR stunt?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Half to death," Natasha pointed out. "It could have been worse."

"While I'm here, is everyone else alright?" Simmons asked quickly before an argument could break out.

"Yeah, nothing I couldn't patch up," Sam muttered, pouring the eggs into the frying pan.

"When you have a moment, we should go over the course of treatment I've prescribed for Captain Rogers. I don't expect any problems, but you're more familiar with his recent medical history than I am."

"I'll pop over after I shower," Sam told her.

"How's Fitz?" Scott asked cutting a slice of coffee cake.

Simmons smiled. "He's fine. He keeps hoping he'll have a reason to come back here."

"Well I have a few upgrades I want to run by him, so he might get the chance."

"Upgrades?" Barnes asked, grabbing an apple slice.

"When we were trying to get out to San Francisco, I realized it might be pretty handy if we could hide that thing from a metal detector."

Barnes shrugged, nodding in agreement.

"Well I'll be going," Simmons said. "Please let me know if there's any serious change in Captain Roger's condition."

"She seems ok," Barnes said after she had left.

"We're just lucky she was able to make it so quickly," Sam said. The kitchen fell silent for a moment as he stirred the eggs.

"You know if this does turn public opinion against the Accords that would help us a lot," Natasha mused.

Sam slapped the spatula down on the counter. "Seriously? Can you give it a rest for one day?"

"No," she answered. "I'm going to be leading this team while he's incapacitated."

"The whole suspension thing is done, right?" Scott asked.

"Well Wanda's is up, we never really settled on Barnes," Sam reminded them.

"We'll have to discuss that with the whole team," Natasha said.

"Well that's not happening today," Sam said. "Eggs are ready."

He took his plate to the table and sat down to eat as the others came up to help themselves. Right now the important thing was making sure Steve recovered quickly. Everything else could wait.

Hope shifted to lie on her side, trying to find a position that didn't hurt. The swelling in her face had gone down, but she was still sore from her injuries in the fight. It was a miracle she hadn't broken anything when Hawkeye hit her with the arrow. Settling back on the couch, she continued flipping through the news channels.

It had been four days, but the media was still fixated on the incident. Fortunately, most of the coverage was focused on the footage of the interrogation that had been leaked online. Stark swore that he hadn't posted it, but she was certain he had something to do with it. SHIELD had masterfully deflected the media firestorm back onto on Secretary Ross and the UN. The Avengers had barely been mentioned aside from the occasional replay of Stark's interview.

"How's it looking?" Rhodey asked, handing her the Advil.

Hope groaned as she sat up and reached for her drink. "Depends on the station, but the president is backing Ross, while at the same time denouncing the Sokovia Accords and the UN as a threat to National Security."

"Sounds about right," Rhodey muttered.

Hope turned off the TV. "Rhodey, I know you support the Accords," she began.

"And I know you don't," he said, taking a seat on the other couch.

"I just think they're mismanaging things."

"Well it's not perfect," he acknowledged. "But I still agree with the idea that we shouldn't be the ones making the call."

"And in theory that makes sense," Hope conceded, "but I just think we should have a little more say in what we do. I'm not sure they should be the ones making the call either. That why my father became Ant-Man in the first place. He realized the potential of the particle and didn't trust anyone else to use it responsibly. All it takes is one person with less than honorable intentions to ruin things."

"Well that goes both ways," Rhodey said. "Who gets to decide what responsible means?"

Hope shifted the pillow under her back. "Speaking of irresponsible, how's Stark?"

Rhodey sighed and sipped his coffee. "Throwing himself into his work as usual."

Hope could hear the concern in his voice. Stark had locked himself in the lab as soon as they returned. Hope couldn't blame him, but his behavior was too reminiscent of the way Hank had acted after her mother died. As much he annoyed her, she had to admit that she was worried about him.

"I get why he wouldn't want to talk about his parents, but that's still a pretty big thing to keep from us."

Rhodey nodded. "I told him he should tell you, but it's not something he likes to think about. His Dad really messed him up, and losing them like that made it worse. He never really dealt with it."

"Parents can really screw things up," Hope mused.

"You too?" Rhodey guessed.

Hope nodded. "I lost my mother when I was 8. My dad lied about how it happened and more or less disappeared from my life without any explanation. We didn't speak for about 20 years."

"So what happened?"

"Well, after I voted him out as CEO, his replacement tried to recreate this work, so I reached out to him for help. That when we met Scott and the real story finally came out. Turned out my mother was the original Wasp. They were trying to stop a missile but the only way to get inside was to go subatomic."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "You can do that?"

"It's kind of a one way trip," Hope explained. "All those years he was locked his lab, he was trying to figure out how to bring her back."

Rhodey gave her a pitying look. "No luck I'm guessing."

Hope shook her head. "And it's great that we're speaking again, but it doesn't really make up for all the time we lost."

"You should tell Tony that," Rhodey suggested. "Might help if he knew he wasn't the only one with a few scars. He has kind of a hard time trusting people. "

"Well he's not the only one," Hope said.

Rhodey sighed. "If this team is going to work we need to change some things. I think working on our communication issues might be a good place to start. "

"If you can call this a team," Hope replied.

"I'd like to."

Hope nodded thoughtfully and propped herself up to grab her drink. "Speaking of which, have you seen Vision around?"

Rhodey looked around. "I think he's in Wanda's old room brooding. I'll talk to him later."

Hope shook her head. "I think we can give him a few days to mope around in peace."

Rhodey nodded and turned on the TV. "What's in the Netflix queue?"

Vision stared out the window at the autumn foliage. The vibrant yellows and oranges were starting to give way to bare branches. The first year at the complex, he and Wanda had gone to explore the grounds together. He had been fascinated by the changing colors, but even more so by the way the leaves would catch in her long hair as she used her powers to make them swirl through the air. Now it was his second autumn without her and the bright leaves seemed dull. After San Francisco he had finally managed to identify his feelings for her, but it had only left them on more uncertain ground. He loved her and he was 87% certain that she reciprocated his feelings, but where did that leave them? The future of the Accords was being hotly debated, but repeal was unlikely, and unless Wanda was pardoned for her previous actions, she would still end up in prison. He could see no future for them if things continued the way they were. The rational course of action would be to forget her, but he did not think that was possible.

Closing his eyes, Vision let himself sink into the depths of the internet. Finally, he located the device he was searching for.

Hello...

Bucky stared helplessly at the Scrabble board. He had the Q but there was no U available. He had a few options, but they were all short and nowhere near any bonus points. Reluctantly he put a T in front of an O and scribbled down the score.

"Your turn," he muttered to Wanda.

As she made a show of studying her tiles, her phone chimed. She ignored it and set down her tiles, picking up a triple word score and a double letter score. Bucky groaned as she gleefully counted up the points. For someone whose native language wasn't English, Wanda was doing surprisingly well. He wasn't.

The phone chimed again.

"Are you going to get that?" Bucky asked. She checked the screen and for a moment he saw her eyes widen. "What is it?"

"There's a sale at that store I like," she said, putting the phone back on the table face down.

"We should go," Bucky suggested. "I need some winter clothes." Before she could answer, Scott came in.

"Hey, Bucky. Is now a good time to look at your arm?"

Bucky looked at the board. "Yeah, perfect time."

Wanda smirked. "Is this because I'm winning?"

"Yep." Bucky answered, following Scott into the kitchen. He took off his shirt and sat down at the table where Scott had laid out his tools.

"Any problems?" Scott asked, running his fingers over the plating.

"The shoulder is a little tight, but a general adjustment should take care of it," Bucky reported. "No issues with responsiveness."

"Ok, I'll give it a once over." Scott picked up a small screwdriver and started inspecting the joints.

"Hey Scott," Bucky said quietly. "Do you think you'd be able to paint it?"

"Paint it?" Scott asked, adjusting a wrist plate. "To look like what?"

"The old one had a red star," Bucky told him. "I kind of want that back."

Scott sat down beside him, popping off a plate near the elbow. "Are you sure?"

"Removing the star doesn't change anything," Bucky explained. "It just feels like I'm running away."

Scott nodded, slipping the plate back into place. "If that's what you want. One red star, coming right up. Lift your arm above your head."

"So are you ok?" Bucky asked.

Scott nodded, adjusting a plate in the crease of Bucky's arm. "First few days are always the hardest. I'm alright."

"What about your girl?"

Scott shook his head. "Who knows? I guess that kiss was a good sign, but at the same time, I don't really see how we can make it work like this."

"Do you have to do that at the table?" Wilson snapped coming into the kitchen. "We eat there!"

"Yes," Scott replied tersely. "If I get oil on the rug, Sharon will kill me. Literally."

Wilson scowled at him and grabbed a soda out of the refrigerator before heading to the den.

"What's his problem?" Bucky asked.

"I don't know," Scott muttered. "He's been a pain in the ass since we got back. That being said, we should do the painting out in the shed. Put your arm down."

Bucky lowered his arm. Scott adjusted a screw in the elbow.

"How's that?"

Bucky flexed his arm. "Good. Want to go test it out in the basement?" he asked, pulling his shirt back over his head.

"Ok, fine," Scott agreed. "But can you wear gloves? My face still hurts from where Hope blasted me."

Bucky chuckled and clapped him on the back. "Picked a real firecracker there."

Tony sat in his lab, working on the suit. He was determined to find a way to keep Ant-Man out. He'd fallen for that twice now and it was time he found a work around. The sound of high heels clacking against concrete echoed through the room.

"It's not ready for testing Hope," he said without looking up. "If you're looking for something to do, you can help Rhodey go through the surveillance footage.

"Tony."

Tony turned around, not quite certain he could believe his ears. She had changed her hair again, but she was still just the way he remembered.

"Pepper. I thought you were," he paused. "I actually stopped keeping track."

"Los Angeles," she said.

"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to see me."

"I didn't want to watch you kill yourself," she said in a tight voice. "But if you're going to be all over the six o'clock news once a month anyway I might as well have a front row seat."

"Skybox or floor seats?" Tony asked, turning off the soldering iron.

"I'd rather have a lounge chair by the pool in Malibu, but you just can't sit still, can you?" she said bitterly.

"Why are you here Pepper?" Tony asked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but it's been a year and half since I've heard from you."

"I don't know Tony," she said impatiently. "Rhodey called me. He said you almost got arrested."

"No, I almost did something that would have gotten me arrested," Tony corrected her.

"He's worried about you," Pepper said, taking a seat on the other stool. "He said you needed to talk."

"Did he say I was going to?"

"He told me not to leave until you tell me what happened in Siberia."

Tony inhaled sharply. He was going to kill Rhodey for this. "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing, he said I need to hear it from you." Pepper suddenly stood up and went to one of his work tables. She looked back at him in surprise. "Is this Captain America's shield?"

"No!" Tony jumped to his feet. "No, that's mine, my father made it."

"What happened in Siberia Tony?" she demanded.

Tony sat down heavily in the chair. "Well at that point I had been awake for about 90 hours, and I'm pretty sure I had a concussion, so maybe I didn't handle things the best way."

"What happened?" Pepper pressed him.

Tony took a deep breath. "When Rogers was bringing down HYDRA, he stumbled across a computer terminal. Apparently Armin Zola turned himself into a computer program and while was revealing his master plan to Rogers and Romanoff," Tony paused. "My parents. It wasn't an accident."

Pepper sucked in a breath. "HYDRA had your parents killed?"

"Yeah," Tony said quietly. "And Rogers didn't seem to think I needed to know that. Fast forward to last year, Zemo gets his hands on HYDRA's files and orchestrates that whole thing to lure us out to Siberia for a special showing of the surveillance footage."

"Oh my god," Pepper gasped.

"Oh it gets better." Tony leaned back in his chair. "Turns out the assassin they sent was Roger's friend Barnes."

Pepper sank into a chair, her face white as a sheet.

Tony kicked at the table, his hands shaking. "Maybe if he had told me about it in the first place, I might have been a little more understanding."

He rolled his chair over to the wine fridge and taking out a bottle of white wine. He opened it and grabbed two glass from the bar. "He apologized, but that doesn't really change anything. After all the crap he gave me for not consulting the team about Ultron."

"That might not be the best example."

"It's a perfect example!" Tony exclaimed, pouring the wine. He wheeled over and handed Pepper a glass. "Defending Barnes, I get, but after all his lectures about trust and honesty and teamwork, and he was lying to me for two damn years!" He took a large sip. "Romanoff too, but expect it from her."

Pepper took a large sip of her wine. "Why do I feel like there's more?"

"I may have gone a little crazy and tried to kill Barnes," Tony mumbled into his glass.

Pepper finished her glass, eyes wide with shock. She took a deep breath and poured another one. "Oh my god," she said breathlessly.

"I'd been awake for three days! Rogers tried to stop me, of course he did, I was completely out of control." He finished his wine and refilled the glass. "We just ended up beating the hell out of each other." He took a sip. "I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't stopped me."

Pepper took a sip, at a loss for words. She was trying to stay calm but he could see her hands twitching.

"No, on second thought, I do know," Tony continued. "That's what Rhodey was saying about me almost getting arrested. Barnes came to rescue Rogers in San Francisco. I went out to capture him and I lost it. If Rhodey hadn't blasted me though a fence, I would have killed him. I thought I was ok but, every time I think about him, I hear my mom's voice on that tape, screaming-"

Pepper pressed a hand over Tony's mouth and finished her glass. "Ok, sorry. Go on.

"Anyway, that's the gist of it." Tony divided the rest of the wine between them. "You know I really thought we we friends. We had our differences but I thought he had more respect for me than that!"

"Or he understands what a complete mess you are and he was trying to keep you from doing something stupid!" Pepper argued.

"You're taking his side?"

"You just confessed to attempted murder!" Pepper squeaked. "Honestly what would you have done if he had told you?"

"I don't know," Tony admitted. "But that wasn't his call!"

"Tony, you have the worst impulse control of anyone I've ever met!" she shouted. "Maybe he had a point!"

Tony finished his glass and stood up. "I need to go upstairs and get another bottle."

Pepper clutched her glass anxiously and followed him out of the lab. "I need something stronger than wine if we're going to keep talking."

Tony felt a familiar throbbing sensation in his head as he slowly drifted back to consciousness. He was in his bed naked with Pepper beside him. For a moment he thought it was a dream and reached out to touch her, feeling her soft skin against his fingers. Pepper jerked awake.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear," Tony muttered.

Pepper buried her head in the pillow. "How much did we drink?"

Tony squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to remember what had happened. "Well we split the Pinot Grigio but I lost track when we switched to scotch."

"Why did you let me drink scotch?" Pepper groaned.

"Well you pretty much grabbed the bottle out of my hand." Tony slid out of bed and put on his pajama pants. He tossed the robe to Pepper.

"It didn't work," she moaned. "I can't unhear any of that. Every time I think I've seen you at your worst, you top it."

"Really?" Tony asked, pulling on a shirt. "You didn't seem that appalled last night."

"I kissed you so that you would shut up," Pepper groaned, putting on her underwear and wrapping the robe around herself. "You're the one who started unzipping my dress."

"You're the one that let me." Tony sat down on the bed. "I missed you."

Pepper rubbed her head. "You really should see someone about your abandonment issues."

"It's not that. It's just, everything seemed off without you."

"Tony, I need coffee and a bottle of aspirin before we talk about that," she moaned.

Tony reached into the drawer and handed her a bottle. "Coffee's in the common room."

He gave her a bottle of water from the mini fridge. She swallowed a couple of aspirin and followed him down the hall. Rhodey was making breakfast while Hope and Vision sat on the couch watching cartoons.

"Oh, hi, I didn't realize anyone else was here." Pepper said, clutching the robe tighter.

"I don't want to seem unfriendly, but does she have clearance to be here?" Hope asked.

"Miss Potts," Vision greeted her. "I was not aware you were here."

"I slipped in the back," Pepper said.

"Pepper, this is Hope, she gets really tiny. Hope this is Pepper. She has an access code."

"Nice to meet you," Pepper said. "Morning Rhodey."

Rhodey grinned. "You sort things out?"

"We got drunk," Tony said, pouring two cups of coffee. "We didn't really get that far."

"So I bet this is just incredibly awkward," Hope said, not bothering to hide her amusement.

"Yes," Pepper agreed, taking the mug. She stirred in some milk and sugar.

"We could go out for breakfast," Tony suggested quietly.

Pepper grimaced. "I don't think I can be in a car right now." She took her coffee to the couch and sat down with them. Tony hung back in the kitchen.

"Did you two talk?" Rhodey asked quietly, flipping the french toast.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning," Tony muttered sarcastically.

"You needed to get that off your chest," Rhodey insisted. "And if you two work things out while you're at it, even better."

"Not sure where we landed on that. That's probably another long drunken conversation."

"Get used to it," Rhodey said. "You owe the team an explanation."

"What team?" Tony asked. "It's you, me, the ice queen, an android that sounds like Jarvis, and the summer intern."

"That's my point." Rhodey said. "If you want a team, you need to start trusting them."

"Yeah that worked out so well the last time around," Tony grumbled.

"Think about it," Rhodey said.

Tony took his coffee to the couch and sat down beside Pepper. All he could managed to think about right now was the jackhammer in his head.

Bucky knocked on the kitchen door to Mrs Mackenzie's house. She opened the door to let him in. "About time! It's freezing in here!"

"Well, I had to run out and get an air filter," Bucky said. With the cold weather setting in, she had called him over to fix the furnace. He set the shopping bag down on the table where Simmons was sitting with her laptop.

"Do you want to say hi to Sergeant Barnes?" she said to the screen. Bucky looked to see who she was talking to. Fitz waved at him from the computer.

"Bucky!" he greeted him. "How's the arm? Any problems with the glove?"

"Both working great," Bucky told him.

"Wonderful! I talked to Scott about installing a jamming device so that you can get through a metal detector."

"That would be helpful."

"I should have it worked out in a few days," Fitz assured him. "I need to get going though. Good to see you."

"Bye! I'll be home soon," Simmons said, blowing a kiss at the screen. She closed the computer and went to refill her coffee. "How is Captain Rogers this morning?"

"His fever has gone down and the cough seems better," Bucky told her. He was still a little incoherent at times, but he had improved greatly.

"Good," she said. "I need to leave this afternoon but I'll check on him before I go."

Bucky nodded. "Thank you for coming out here. We were worried about him."

"And I'm worried about my furnace," Mrs Mackenzie said impatiently.

"I'm going." Bucky poured a cup of coffee and headed down to the basement. As he knelt to loosen the screws, he heard Simmons come down the stairs.

"Was there something else?" he asked as he removed the panel.

"I did want to talk to you before I go," she said. "Fitz and Mac checked your arm but I was wondering if you'd had any sort of medical attention."

"Yeah, in-" Bucky caught himself before he could say Wakanda, "the last place I was, they did a full work up. Nothing to worry about physically."

"Well if you do have any concerns I hope you know you can trust us," Simmons assured him. "We're here to help."

Bucky knelt down to examine the coils. He paused. "I don't trust SHIELD, I can't. Not after what happened. But Fitz and Mac are alright, and if Sharon trusts you to take care of Steve I guess I can too."

"All you have to do is ask," Simmons said. She turned to leave.

"Simmons?"

She paused. "Yes?"

"Have you read my file?" he asked hesitantly.

"What's available. It's difficult to tell how complete it is."

He turned to her. "Do you think it's possible to undo what they did?"

She frowned. "Which part exactly?"

"The programming," he clarified. "Is there a way to fix it so that they can't hijack my head."

"Without knowing more I can't really say. I would need to examine you more closely."

Bucky nodded, turning back to the furnace. It had been a long shot anyway.

Simmons lingered for a moment. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but in the Triskelion there used to be a memorial wall for fallen agents. The first star on it was for you. I understand it's difficult to trust a spy agency that you don't know, but to us you're as much an agent as anyone and we take care of our own."

Bucky just nodded, but he couldn't hide the smile that crept over his face. "Say hi to Fitz and Mac for me," he called as she retreated upstairs.

Wanda stared at the text on her phone. It had been two days and she still couldn't decide if she should respond. She had been shocked to hear from Vision and a little frightened. Neither encounter with him had resolved anything between them, but she didn't see how talking to him now could help. They could never be together as long as the Accords kept the team divided. Pretending there was any hope would only make things more painful later. The door opened and she quickly locked the screen as Bucky came into the room.

"Hey, want to go to the store with me? I need to get something for dinner and we're out of Tylenol."

"Sure." Wanda slipped the phone in her pocket and followed him downstairs.

"You ok?" he asked

"I've been thinking about Vision," she confessed. She didn't like keeping things from him, but she knew what he would say if she told him about the text.

"Don't tell me that was your first kiss," Bucky said, fumbling with the photostatic glove.

Wanda reached over to help him. "No, but I just don't want it to be the last."

He pressed the button to turn on the glove and reached up to brush her hair behind her ear. "I know it's a tough situation, but I wouldn't give up on him just yet."

Wanda smiled as they put on their jackets and headed out the door. As she climbed into the car her phone dinged again.

You don't have to reply but I can see that you've read this. I like knowing that at least I can speak to you. I miss you Wanda.

Wanda quickly hid the message and put her phone in her pocket as Bucky backed out of the driveway.

Sam went to the cabinet and took out the package of Oreo's in the cabinet. It was light. He opened it to find the package empty. "Barnes!" he yelled, slamming the cabinet door. There was no answer. He hurried upstairs. "Barnes!"

Sharon came out of her room with a finger to her lips. "Steve just fell asleep!" she whispered harshly.

"Have you seen Barnes?" he asked, waving the empty package. "That asshole ate all my Oreo's again."

Sharon rubbed her temples. "Can you two give it a rest for one goddamn day?"

Sam bit back a retort and took a deep breath. Sharon had been looking after Steve constantly since San Francisco. She was exhausted and arguing with her over something trivial like this wasn't going to do any good. "Fine I'm going to the store."

"I sent Bucky an hour ago. He should be back soon."

Downstairs, the door opened. "That's probably them," Sam said, hurrying to the kitchen. Barnes and Wanda were unpacking groceries. Sam slapped Barnes in the back of head with the empty package. "Hey asshole, you could at least throw it away!"

Barnes glared at him, but Sam stalked off to the den before he could reply. He flopped down on the sofa and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Picking a fight with Barnes was probably a stupid thing to do, but he had been saving those. He knew he had been a bit short tempered lately, but he couldn't think of anything he had done to deserve this. Suddenly, something hit him in the head. He looked to see a package of Oreo's sitting in his lap and Barnes standing at the door glaring at him.

"Hey asshole, there were only two left anyway."

"What no milk?" Sam asked, opening the package.

Barnes closed the door and set a glass of milk down on the table beside the sofa. Sam stared at it suspiciously. "Ok what gives? You can't feel that guilty for eating two Oreos."

"I don't," Barnes said flatly. "You owe me an apology and then you can tell me why you're being such a dick lately."

He sat down and opened a Hershey bar, breaking off a square. Sam crammed two cookies in his mouth, chewing slowly to stall for time. Barnes always seemed to pick the worst moments to be nice. Sam didn't feel like talking right now, Barnes was petty enough to throw it in his face later if he didn't.

"It's Steve," Sam told him.

Barnes shrugged. "He's delirious. Whatever he said, he probably just the cough syrup."

Sam shook his head. "No, seeing him like that when you guys came out of the base, I just," Sam paused to gather his thoughts, but he could see from the look on Barnes' face that he didn't need to explain.

"When we first started working together he used to talk about you and the Commandos all the time," Sam continued. "I'd listen to all his stories about the war or all the trouble you two got into as kids. Then one day it hit me; everyone this guy knows is gone and these stories are all he has left." He took a sip of milk, remembering the empty feeling in his chest as had flown Steve back to the van, bleeding and barely conscious. "When I was patching him up, I realized I'm one bad mission away from ending up like that."

Barnes broke off another section of chocolate and nibbled at it. He didn't reply but Sam could see in his eyes that he understood.

"Sorry if I've been taking that out on you," Sam mumbled.

Barnes snapped the remaining sections of chocolate and then started snapping the pieces in half. "It's the first time I've ever seen him look this bad since before the serum," he said quietly.

"You mean aside from when you beat his ass on the helicarrier?" Sam said before he could stop himself. He started to apologize but Barnes just nodded.

"When he was a kid, he used to get beaten up all the time, and I swear he was sick every other week. It got to the the point where seeing him without a black eye or a busted lip was weird. Afterwards though, it was almost like he was invincible. Everything we did and I don't think he got anything worse than a few scratches. I still watched out for him, just out of habit, but I started to relax a bit. I started to think nothing could hurt him."

Sam stuffed another cookie in his mouth as Barnes fell silent. The reality of their life was that this sort of thing could happen anytime, but seeing it happen to Steve drove the point home. Barnes was doing a better job of keeping it together, but they were both knew how close they had come to losing him. It was an unsettling reminder that Steve Rogers was still only human.

"You know, I never thanked you for coming after me in Bucharest," Barnes said quietly.

"Say what?" Sam asked, not certain he had heard correctly.

"I said I bought brownie mix at the store," Barnes said louder. "Do you want double chocolate or salted caramel?"

Sam chuckled quietly. "Double Chocolate."

"I'm making salted caramel," Barnes said, heading for the door.

"Barnes?" Barnes paused with his hand on the door knob. "Thanks."

Barnes raised and eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I said, you'd better not eat that whole pan before I get one," Sam said loudly.

Barnes shook his head, grinning as he left the room. Sam settled back on the sofa, dunking an Oreo into his milk.

Sharon came downstairs as Bucky was taking the brownies out of the oven. She wobbled a little as she came into the kitchen but regained her footing.

"How's Steve?"

"Hungry," she yawned. "If he's feeling up to it, I'll see if he wants to come to dinner.

"That's a good sign," Bucky said. Sharon leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. Bucky looked at her carefully. "Are you ok?"

"Just a little tired," she mumbled.

"Have you slept at all this week?"

"Not really," she said, her voice cracking a bit. "Seems like every time I fall asleep he needs something. I haven't even showered in four days." Bucky could see tears glistening in her eyes. He put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"He's going to be ok," Bucky said softly. A weary sob ripped from her throat as he held her.

"If I had just checked the ship, none of this would have happened!" she wailed. "I tuned the sensors to pick her up, why didn't I run a sweep?"

"Hey, this isn't your fault," Bucky soothed her. He held her tightly as she cried, tears soaking into his shirt. After a minute she finally managed to catch her breath. She lifted her head, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Go take a nap in my bed," Bucky offered. "I'll watch him for a while."

Sharon nodded. She got a glass of water and headed upstairs. Bucky took out the peanut butter and jelly and a couple slices of bread. He made a sandwich and poured Steve a glass of milk to go with it. After barely eating for days, Steve would need something easy on his stomach. He took them upstairs and eased open the door to Steve and Sharon's room. Steve lifted his head as Bucky entered.

"Hey." Bucky sat on the edge of the bed and set the milk on the nightstand. "I brought you a sandwich."

"Great, I can't sit up without feeling like I got punched in the side, but a sandwich will fix everything," Steve grumbled.

Bucky laughed, relieved to hear a bit of life back in Steve's voice. "You can't bitch on an empty stomach."

Steve grinned weakly. "Watch me."

Bucky laid a hand on his forehead. "Your fever's gone down, that's good."

"I told you, I'm f-" A fit of coughing interrupted him. Bucky helped him sit up and hold a pillow to his side as Simmons had suggested. The fit passed and Steve fell back against the pillows, his face twisted in pain as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Yeah, you look great," Bucky said sarcastically.

Steve grimaced. "Where's Sharon?"

"I told her to take a nap. She's been running herself ragged taking care of you."

Steve nodded. "Thanks. I feel bad for making her worry so much."

"The state you were in, we were all worried," Bucky confessed.

Steve took a few shallow breaths. "Bucky, I need to tell you something."

"You need to eat," he insisted, handing Steve the plate. Steve shook his head setting it aside.

"No, I've just been thinking. I could have died, really died and I know it's not something either of us wants to consider, but if something does happen to me, I don't want you to do anything stupid."

"Like crashing a plane into an iceberg?" Bucky said pointedly.

Steve laughed, triggering a weak cough. He clutched his ribs until it subsided. He reached out and took Bucky's hand. "If something happens, they'll take care of you."

"I know." Bucky squeezed his hand. "I want to show you something." Bucky pulled up his sleeve to reveal the freshly painted red star.

Steve reached up and traced a finger across the star. "You put it back?"

Bucky nodded, sliding his sleeve back down. "Something Wanda said that I think I misinterpreted the first time. The Winter Soldier is mine now and I get to decide who he is. I thought that meant joining the team, and I still want to, but I think it means accepting that everything he did is part of me. Whether I'm responsible or not, I can't change it and I can't forget it, so I have to face it head on. I can't do that if I'm running away from him." He paused. "If I keep running away from myself."

Steve looked at him sadly but nodded. "If this is what you want. I'm just glad you're ok."

"I'm not, not really," Bucky admitted, "but I finally feel like someday I might be. I'm still not sure who I am, but I know I am someone."

Steve smiled. "Well that's a good place to start."

Bucky patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Eat your sandwich. I need to get dinner started. Sharon said you can come eat with us if you're feeling up to it. I'm making meatloaf."

"Depends on your meatloaf," Steve joked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." Steve nodded, mumbling an acknowledgement around a mouth of peanut butter as Bucky went back to the kitchen.

The Avengers sat in the common room watching the news. Tony picked up another slice of pizza. The scent of Pepper's perfume still lingered on his shirt. For the first time in a while his mind seemed to be quiet. It was temporary, any peace in his life always was, but for just a moment everything was still.

"And in other news, the UN has announced that no disciplinary action will be taken against any agencies or individuals involved in recent events in San Francisco. They reaffirmed their position that all parties involved acted within the terms of the Accords but did say that they will be undertaking a review of certain procedures for the future."

Rhodey turned off the TV. "Why do I feel like it's just going to be a giant headache."

"Don't worry," Tony said. "It'll take them forever to actually decide something."

"In the meantime, Rogers and his people are still out there," Hope said. "What's your plan?"

"I don't know yet," Tony admitted. He took a bite of his pizza and looked around the room. After the Avengers had fallen apart he had come back to the complex to help establish the new team, but they had never really managed to pull it together. He had a difficult time relying on anyone after how things had ended last time, but he knew better than anyone how lonely it could be to sit in a room full of strangers. Maybe Rhodey was right. Maybe it was time to give the team a chance.

Tony looked at Vision. He was sitting perfectly still, staring off into space. "Hey Big Red, you're a million miles away."

Vision suddenly came to life. "I apologize. I was thinking."

"Well, your girlfriend isn't going anywhere for the moment. Join the conversation," Tony said, gesturing to the group.

"Speaking of girlfriends, are we going to see Pepper again?" Hope asked, reaching for a slice of pepperoni.

"I don't know. We're still talking that out," Tony mumbled. "And right now we have some team building to working on," he said, quickly changed the subject before she could press the issue.

"Team building?" Hope asked skeptically,

Rhodey raised a eyebrow in surprise. "Did you have something in mind?"

Hope looked at him with a wicked grin. "Let's play Never Have I Ever."

Tony felt his stomach turn. He glared at Hope. "Oh you are evil."

Hope just smirked.

"I'm not sure we have enough alcohol for that," Rhodey laughed as he headed to the kitchen to get a round of drinks.

"This isn't fair," Tony protested. "Vision hasn't done anything!"

Vision looked at him with an enigmatic smile. "You might be surprised."

"Fine! But since he's not drinking I get to zap him." Tony insisted. He jumped up to get the gauntlet with the taser attachment, trying to remember anything Hope or Rhodey might have done that he hadn't. If he was going down, he was taking someone with him.

Wanda was helping Bucky in the kitchen while Natasha and Scott finished setting the table. She strained the green beans while Bucky stirred the mashed potatoes and spooned them into a bowl.

"Can you take those to the table?" Bucky asked.

Wanda grabbed the bowl and carried it to the dining room. Sam and Sharon were helping Steve down the stairs as she passed. She paused at the doorway to be sure Steve made it down the last couple of steps. She set the potatoes on the table and went back to the kitchen as Sharon helped Steve settle into a chair.

"Did Steve come down?" Bucky asked, taking the meatloaf out of the oven. She nodded.

"Great," he said with a smile. She felt a wave of relief from him. "I'll get this. Can you get the rolls?"

"Sure."

Bucky carried the meatloaf to the dining room as Wanda put the rolls in the basket. Her phone beeped. She took a quick look at it. It was another message from Vision.

I hope you're well wherever you are. I don't really know what to say aside from that. There has been so much since you left that I wished I could tell you about. I hope you are enjoying yourself. Even though you rarely smiled, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Wanda cradled the phone in her hand. She missed those little moments together, his naive quirks, the childlike joy he found in the most mundane things. He was right here and all she had to do was reply.

Sighing, she locked the phone and slipped it in her pocket. She carried the rolls into the dining room and took the seat beside Bucky. As he started cutting the meatloaf, Steve cleared his throat to get the team's attention.

"Before we eat, I'd just like to say something. Scott, Wanda, Bucky, thank you for coming after us in San Francisco. Scott, I know we put you in a difficult position, but you guys did great."

"Well, I couldn't have done without Bucky and Wanda," Scott said. "It was a little touch and go, but they came through."

"I know things have been kind of tense lately," Steve continued, "and a lot of that's my fault, but I'm grateful to have all the people I care about here safe and sound."

Wanda smiled, but her hand drifted down to touch her phone.

Sharon kissed Steve on the cheek. "We're just glad you're ok."

"Alright enough of that," Bucky said. "I'm starving. Who wants the end piece?"

"Right here!" Scott said.

"Can someone pass the mashed potatoes?" Natasha asked.

Bucky looked around the table quickly. "Oh, damn, I left the gravy on the counter."

"I'll get it," Wanda offered. She hurried to the kitchen and took out her phone. She opened text from Vision and started to type.

I miss you too. How are things at the complex?

-End-

A/N: A little take a breath chapter. Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think of the story so far. We are entering the final phase of the story, (it's about 2/3 complete) so if you have any burning questions that you want answered before this is over, drop me a line and let me know!