Bucky tore out of bed and threw some clothes on. He wasted no time running out of the apartment. As he flung open the front door he stopped short. Denise was sitting with her back against the opposite wall facing their front door. Her head had been hung down until she heard the door open. She managed a weak smile and began explaining herself.

"My perfect memory reminded me just who would be coming after me. It also reminded me that I've never been a coward before. I've always dealt with things head on, and while all of this is the hardest things I've ever had to face - the only way I'm getting through it is with you. James, I'm," she cut herself off as she started to cry.

Bucky stared at her breathing heavily. They were locked like that for a while, until Bucky shot forward and got on his knees beside her. He gathered her in his arms and buried his face in her hair. She felt a few teardrops hit her neck and her heart broke. 'How could I be so stupid,' she thought bitterly as she clung to his arms.

"Don't you ever do anything that stupid again," he said into her ear.

He drew back slightly and took her left hand in his and slid her ring back on. "And don't you ever take that off again either, do you hear me," he said shakily.

She nodded her eyes overflowing with tears. "I promise," she whispered as he scooped her up bridal style and began to walk down the hall.

"James, where are we going," she asked.

"We're going to the lab. Stark and Dr. Banner are going to get those cameras out of your eyes," he said seriously, "that's where we start. It'll be like when they helped me break free of HYDRA's mind control."

"Then what's next?"

"You rest and we talk - or rather I talk and you listen. I'll talk to you about how much this isn't your fault and how amazing you were under all that pressure until the cows come home if I have to; anything to convince you of the truth," he said seriously.

"And what's the truth," she asked weakly.

"That I love you. The team loves you. No one blames you, and you did the right things," he assured her.

"Good thing I like the sound of your voice," she said sarcastically.

"Hey if you two are coming in here to christen the lab it ain't happening," Tony quipped as they entered the lab, "this is a place of science and wonder not a honeymoon suite."

Denise turned red and found that she couldn't look at Tony or Bruce no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey," Tony called, "Denise...eyes up here not on my tech toys - I am a human being after all."

It took all of her strength to force her gray eyes to look into Tony's brown ones.

In the most gentle and sincere voice she had ever heard come out of Tony's mouth he said, "You're going to be okay. We're going to take care of you, just like you took care of us. If you didn't take care of that creep he could have killed us all and many other innocent lives. Thanks to you, the only casualty was him."

Denise nodded; she was too emotional to speak, but her eyes conveyed how grateful she was for his words. "You can lay her down over here, Bucky," Bruce called softly, "and assuming you're going to want to stay, I would suggest you take a seat over on the far side of the room, okay?"

Bucky laid her down gently and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'll be here through everything," he promised, "I'm not leaving you."

Denise's surgery was a success, but she had to keep her eyes wrapped up and rested for a week. Bucky stayed by her side, true to his promise. He carried her everywhere - despite her protests - and fed, bathed, and read to her. She requested that no one come to see her because she was still working through the guilt of accidentally betrayed the team. On the night before she was to get her bandages off Bucky finally found a way to get through to her.

"I murdered a lot of people Denise. Steve always told me that it wasn't me and although I could remember all my victims I wasn't in control. Do you agree with Steve," he asked genuinely.

"Of course," she said vehemently without hesitation.

"Then stop blaming yourself," he said softly.

"I'll give you the cameras but I still-"

"Killed a man," he said gently, "I know, but this man wasn't going to be reasoned with and he could've killed us all and so many other people; and that's why you wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It doesn't sit well with your soul - I understand that more than most. I would be more worried if you didn't feel anything. You won't go through this alone, just try and let go of some of that guilt. Don't push me or the others away."

"I'll try," she responded after a few moments of silence.

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she made her trek with Bucky to the common room for the first time in what felt like ages. He spent all week assuring her that everyone was worried about her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that some of them may resent her. However, her fears were stilled as she felt herself get slammed against the wall.

Wanda had heard her thoughts loud and clear and ran out of the common room to hug her. "Don't you ever stay away that long," she said as she squeezed her tighter, "you're a part of this family; stuck with us no matter what."

Natasha rounded the corner and joined in the hug too. "I'm so proud of you. You took that bastard out like a sneaky little bad ass. Are you sure you weren't a spy back in the day," she asked semi seriously.

Before she could answer Vision came out to see what the commotion was about. "Miss Zimmerman, I'm so glad you're all right. I hope you will forgive me for my lack of assistance last week. I was afraid that Miss Wanda's brain wouldn't be able to take all those high frequencies, and I should've helped you stop the source of it all."

"Vision," Denise said through tears, "you have no need to apologize. I should be the one to -"

"Now I know your fine ass isn't apologizing," Sam interrupted as he joined them in the hall.

"Yea," echoed Clint who was following behind Sam, "you took care of the sum bitch like a real Avenger. Also speaking as someone who betrayed the team without their consent in the past, don't worry about it. We've all had our fair share of horror stories, but we stick together because we're a family."

Steve came next and he wordlessly walked to Denise. He gently pushed the others off of her and drew her into a tight hug. "We already lost you once, never again, you understand," he whispered in her ear.

She nodded too overcome with emotion to answer. Bucky hugged both Steve and Denise and said, "I told you it would be all right."

"Are you crying," Natasha's voice asked teasingly.

"Nah, I just ummm forgot to take my allergy pill," Sam said defensively.

Wanda arched a disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"What," he snapped, "a superhero can't have allergies? That's just heroist."

Before anyone could respond F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice came loud and clear over the intercom. "Denise, Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner need to see you in the lab immediately."

Denise entered the lab cautiously. It took a lot of convincing for Bucky to let her go alone, but she managed. If she was specifically asked to go alone, there must be a reason.

"Just the woman we wanted to see," Bruce said happily.

"So...how do you feel about Mnemosyne," Tony asked.

"The Greek goddess of memory," Denise said curiously, "what about her?"

"I mean you," Tony smiled.

"I don't follow," she responded.

Tony stepped aside to reveal an intricate outfit. The pants were brown, thin leather with gears and clockwork around the belt. The top was in two pieces: a black and brown corset that had more gears and clockwork and an off white peasant top underneath of it. Over top of that was a thin, ankle length black leather coat.

"I thought Mnemosyne would be a fitting code name for you," Tony elaborated when she hadn't said anything for several moments.

"A code name for what," she asked confused, "and what's this outfit for?"

"After how well you handled yourself last week," Bruce started.

"And, as much as it pains me to say it, all the good points Mr. Restraining Order made about having a perfect memory would be to a team, we figured why don't you join ours," he asked.

She looked back and forth between the two of them and the outfit that was hanging in between them. "You're saying..."

"Welcome to The Avengers, kid," Tony smiled, "well Junior Avengers. Don't worry, you'll have some great classmates that are still in training: Wanda, Vision, an arachnid kid that you've yet to meet, and your boy toy. What do you say, Denise?"

"Denise," she smiled, "don't you mean Mnemosyne?"

The End.

A/N: So I felt like that was the right time to end this one. I have a few ideas for a sequel or maybe a couple of one shots. I particularly have an idea for a one shot about Bucky and Denise's wedding. If you're interested, let me know in the comments.

I want to thank everyone once again who's been reading, commenting, favoriting, and following. You all are seriously the best. This is the first time I've written anything in almost 2 or 3 years, so I'm sorry if I was a bit rusty. Thank you all again, and I really hope you enjoyed it!