Your Choice Chapter 34

Steve found himself walking laps around the cryo-tubes in the main compartment of the ship. He clawed at his hair, cursing under his breath. Tony and Bruce had been recalculating their options for their lack of fuel for hours. But to Steve, it seemed that all they were doing was wasting precious time. Natasha, Clint, and Thor remained in hyper sleep. Steve was on the edge of desperation to speak to Natasha but he knew that waking her now would be a big mistake. Every moment they spent awake, they grew older. Hyper sleep was the only way to prevent that.

Once Steve had walked dozens of laps around the cryo room, he strode into the control room. Tony and Bruce sat hunched over the control panel, still trying to make the best of the fuel situation. Neither of them turned to acknowledge Steve when he walked in. Steve didn't understand why Tony bothered to wake him in the first place. There was nothing Steve could do to help.

"Tony," Steve said flatly. Tony never turned to him, "Hmm?" Steve stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, "I want to go back under."

There was a stiff silence. Tony swiveled his chair to face his friend. Stark knew he was serious by the look in Steve's eyes. Tony clicked then pen he held between his fingers, thinking.

"How long do you want to nap, Cap?" Tony said standing to his feet. "I can set the timer-"

"No," Steve said quickly. "I don't want the timer set…"

Tony cocked an eyebrow at him and threw Bruce a sideways glance. "You know Steve," Bruce said removing his glasses. "If we don't set a timer, you won't wake up unless someone does it manually…."

"I know," Steve muttered. "And that's fine with me…"

Tony took a step forward, "Look Rogers, Bruce and I have almost got this booger worked out…. We didn't lose much fuel but it was just enough to screw us up…"

"I don't really care," Steve said with venom in his voice. "No matter what we do, we still aren't getting back home. So I want you to put me under, Stark. If we make it to Thanos, wake me up. If not, I don't care."

"You're only saying that because of the news…" Tony said with a furrowed brow. "Cap, I woke you up for a reason."

Steve felt anger swirling in his chest, "And what was that reason? To rub it in my face that you were right about Bucky? To brag about how Sarah and James could be behind 10 foot thick walls? I did what I thought was best for her, Stark. I was looking out for them." Steve and Tony were toe to toe. "But you wouldn't know anything about that. Not being careful was what made Pepper leave you…"

All air in the craft was sucked out once Steve finished his sentence. The only thing audible was the squeaking of Bruce chair as he turned back to his work.

Tony blinked hard. "Don't bring her into this…." Tony said through gritted teeth. "She has nothing to do with this… All Sarah ever did was look out for you. She would be disgusted by the man standing in front of me now….."

Steve took in a breath before he turned on his heels to leave.

The entire mission consisted of three jump points to get to the prison dimension where Thanos was. The team's location was nearing Core 1, a moon of Jupiter. The first jump point was on the far side of Neptune. The craft had enough fuel to make it to the first jump point, but they needed to reserve as much as possible to be able to use the back thrusters to slow once inside. Stark and Banner calculated that the lack of fuel was only a problem once they were inside the jump point. Without the fuel, they would be burned up inside. Going into the point without the proper amount of fuel was the equivalent of sitting in a speeding car that was going downhill, with no brakes.

(Bucky and Sarah)

Sarah sat beside Bucky, her head resting on his shoulder. She was asleep once again thanks to the strong pain medication. Bucky sat with his eyes fixed on the door of the cabin, his thoughts flying. His whole plan had gone wrong. He was so sure this place would provide more safety that what it really was. Kingpin could find them with ease, and who's to say he already hadn't? Their situation had gone from bad to worse. All Bucky felt like he'd done was back the two of them into a corner where there was no way out. Bucky worried about James too. He caught himself missing him terribly and couldn't possibly imagine how much Sarah missed him.

Sarah and Bucky had kissed. Bucky's thoughts had been a blur since. Now she was curled up next to him with her head on his shoulder. He knew they needed to leave but there was no way Bucky could continue carrying her. It was the first time in a while Bucky knew they were completely stuck.

He rested his head against the wall behind them. He kept his free hand on the pistol at his side. Pain still shot through his left arm after all this time. Bucky gritted his teeth as another wave of pain washed over him. He let his eyes slip shut for a moment. He never intended on falling asleep but he did.

He never knew how much time had passed before he jolted awake. Bucky ripped his eyes open to the sound of Sarah coughing and the smell of smoke hanging in the air. Smoke had consumed the inside of the cabin thick enough to make his eyes water immediately.

Bucky sat forward and began to shake Sarah, who remained groggy from the medication. She coughed deeply and forced her eyes open. "Sarah we have to go," Bucky spat out. They didn't have time to think things through this time. The smoke was growing thicker and Bucky knew without a doubt that the cabin had been set on fire.