(Hey all! I hope you're all doing okay and following all the recommendations during this weird and scary time in the world. I have another Steve and Grace story for ya'll! Yay! I hope you guys enjoy even though it starts out pretty dark and emotional. I own nothing but my OC.)

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"You know I still don't know how to dance." Steve's hands shook the slightest bit as he looked down at the icy blue water below one more time.

"I'll show you how...just be there." Peggy's voice cracked back over the speakers, making his heart warm and clench almost at the same time.

"We should have the band play something slow." He suggested, as the ocean got closer and closer with every passing second.

The speakers started to crackle again but before he could hear Peggy's voice again, the plane hit the water full force, causing the windows to break and allowing the icy water to flood the entire inner compartment.

Gasping at the cold, Steve tried to brace himself for the end, knowing there was no way he'd be able to escape before he froze to death. Suddenly he felt something grab him very tightly from behind and yank him through the broken front window.

Struggling to get out of the mysterious person's grasp, Steve finally managed to turn around as he flailed around in the middle of the water only to come face to face with a familiar pair of blue eyes which were currently twisted into an uncharacteristically hostile glare.

"So, this is what you're doing now? Snuggling up in your nice warm bed while I'm practically dead?" Bucky shouted, sounding strangely clear for being underwater.

Steve gaped at him, too stunned to respond or even get a single coherent word out of his mouth. "I-I..."

"Save it! You couldn't do the smart thing and stay out of the war when I told you to. You couldn't save me in Siberia and then you left me to get tortured and turned into a monster! You call that heroic? I mean look at me!" Bucky screamed angrily, flinging his arms wide open.

Flinching at the pain that came when he felt his former friend's fingernails rip against the skin of his neck, Steve stared horrified at Bucky's furious expression while blood poured in torrents down one side of his body, soaking and staining his arm a dark crimson red.

"Yeah some Captain America you are!" Bucky spat, lunging forward and grabbing at the white star that was stitched to the front of Steve's uniform.

"Buck please!" He gasped trying and failing to get his best friend's hand off of him. "I tried...I tried to save you!" He begged to no avail.

Bucky only growled and dug in harder with his fingers, his gaze growing colder as he somehow manage to tear into the thick material of his suit.

"Bucky no!" Steve screamed, jolting awake in bed only to realize within five seconds that his own right hand was digging into his chest and his entire face and neck was drenched in cold sweat.

With a shaky exhale of air, Steve pulled his arm away to his side and slowly rolled over, wincing when he rolled onto his still sore ribs as a sob started to tear its way through his throat.

Struggling to breathe normally, Steve rubbed his face down with the palms of his hands, groaning softly when when the movement made the slowly fading bruises on his face ache.

He tried desperately despite his current state to keep it together. Even though it was night and he was alone he didn't want to give in and cry like a helpless child in the night.

He was Captain America after all. A hero. A super soldier.

He wasn't that poor scrawny and sickly guy who needed his best friend to protect him and keep him on his feet.

He was strong now. He was...Captain America.

Some Captain America you are... The words suddenly rang back into his mind, making Steve flinch as Bucky's angry face seemingly rematerialize in front of him in the darkness of his bedroom.

Before he could attempt to get a fresh grip on himself, he felt the most inhuman and un-Captain America-like scream rip through his body, the impact sending him crashing into the plush folds of the mattress.

...

"Yeah, he went to bed about an hour and a half ago. I'm about to leave now since all the dishes are clean and he seems to be sleeping soundl-." Grace jumped two feet out of her skin, instinctively creating a small forcefield with one hand while reaching for her pistol with the other as a loud terrifying scream ripped through the previous quiet of Steve's apartment.

When nothing popped out from around a corner or bust through the window in her friend's open concept living room, Grace released the breath she had sucked in earlier and deactivated her force field.

"What in the world was that?" Natasha's voice came through the earpiece of her cellphone, drawing Grace's attention back to the device which had ended up on the floor.

Quickly picking it up and cleaning it off on her shirt, Grace replaced the phone against her ear and took another deep breath before responding.

"I-I'm not sure, but I think I need to check on Steve one more time before I head out. I'll call you back in the morning, okay Nat?" She responded, stabbing her thumb into the hang up button once her friend and co-worker gave her reply.

Tossing her phone onto the couch, Grace turned to make a beeline for Steve's bedroom, her heart pounding as she recalled the scream that had startled her in the middle of her conversation with Natasha, who had called to check on Steve after they finally released her from the hospital to finish recovering.

As she got closer to his door, Grace nearly froze at the barely audible sounds of someone trying and failing to stifle their cries as they filtered through the barely cracked open doorway.

Her heart clenched painfully at the sound. A sound she never expected or wanted to hear coming from the person she knew was on the other side of the door.

Swallowing back her own urge to cry, Grace quickly approached the door and gave a few timid raps on the smooth wooden surface.

At first there was no answer. Only a couple hiccups and the rustling of bed sheets before the sound of feet thumping to the floor sounded from inside the bedroom.

"I'm okay..." A voice Grace barely recognized as Steve's croaked before a loud sniffle interrupted.

Sighing, Grace shook her head before gently pushing open the door, illuminating part of the bedroom as she did so and seeing Steve, sitting hunched on the side of his bed, rubbing furiously at tears that didn't seem to be halting their flow while his whole upper body heaved with desperately held in sobs and pain.

The former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent felt her shoulders slump in grief at what she saw. "Oh Steve!..." She breathed, hurrying across the floor until she was sitting next to him.

Without really thinking about what she was doing, she threw her arms around Steve's broad and muscled body, careful not to touch his side where his ribs were still broken.

Almost instantly, Steve turned towards her embrace, wrapping his own arms around her in a crushing embrace. His body shook against her own as strangled gutteral cries fell muffled against t-shirt she was wearing.

Grace sighed and gently rubbed her hands against his back as she felt his tears dampen her shoulder.

"Tell me what happened." She spoke softly, laying her own head against his shoulder to add additional comfort.

Steve shook his head, making his nose rub against the top of her shoulder. Grace frowned. "Steeeve..." She pressed gently, leaning her cheek against the side of his neck.

"Come on, don't do that. Even Captain America needs a shoulder to cry on from time to time and I've practically known you since you woke up in the 21st Century. Talk to me...Please?" She pleaded, continuing her ministrations on his back as he continued to tremble and cry in her arms.

Finally when Steve stayed quiet for too long, Grace sighed decided to venture a guess. "Is it...Was it about what happened last week?" She asked, knowing that despite the reassurances that Steve had given her after the whole incident with Hydra and the Winter Soldier that he had been deeply affected by everything that had happened in a way that not even the whole mess with Loki and the Chitauri had affected him.

Grace couldn't even begin to imagine what it must feel like, thinking that your best friend had died as a war hero only to come face to face with him 70 something years later as your enemy.

A tortured, brainwashed enemy that didn't even really know he was hurting you, but still an enemy. One that Steve had to fight and hurt badly in order to protect the world from a horror it never should have to know.

Another sniffle came from Grace's right shoulder, then she felt one of his hands curl into the fabric of her shirt.

"He's right. I'm not Captain America. I'm not a hero..." He wept, raising one of his arms to rub angrily at his eyes again.

"A hero doesn't let his best friend fall of a train or leave him to be captured by monsters and turned into a weapon!...A hero doesn't lay in bed when someone out there is hurting! Needing someone to help them! Needing..." He gasped and gripped Grace's shoulder with a painful amount of strength.

Ignoring the bruising sensation on her back, Grace shook her head and reached to cup his damp left cheek with her hand.

"Shhh...none of that was your fault, Steve. You tried to save him and you couldn't have known that he'd survive a fall like that. No normal person would." She tried to comfort him, but Steve just narrowed his eyes at her.

"I still could have gone back to retrieve his body. I could have tried to find him after the mission! I could have...He would have..." He cut himself off with a sharp intake of air that made his chest heave jerkily with the action.

Grace started to avert her eyes when she felt Steve's grip soften over shoulder. "He..he didn't even recognize me when we fought on the street." Steve hiccuped, his gaze hardening even more.

"I called out his name and he...he said...wh-wh-who the h*** is Bucky?" More tears brimmed over his shimmering blue eyes as he recalled that terrible moment.

Grace nodded, recalling that moment since she had been just barely close by enough to overhear the words herself.

"H-h-he didn't even recognize his own name!" The words came out as a shout and Grace jumped a little in shock when Steve punctuated his words with an unbridled punch to the end table behind him.

Involuntarily flinching at the loud sound, Grace stayed quiet to give him a few minutes to calm down before slowly scooting closer to Steve's side since he'd pulled away from her to punch the table.

"I can't...even begin...to imagine what you're going through." She said carefully after a moment after Steve's breathing began to slow down.

"What Bucky must have gone through all these years...it makes me want to track down every last remaining Hydra agent and finish them off for good myself." Grace grit her teeth.

Steve hiccuped and nodded his head. "But...now that Hydra's main operation in S.H.I.E.L.D. has...effectively fallen...I think Bucky may finally has a chance to heal and...be who he really is again. Or at least...as much as he can be anyway." Grace shrugged, turning to gauge Steve's reactions to her words.

Steve gave her a quizzical look. "But he's alone...he's out of his time and element like I was." He nearly whimpered, kneading the fabric of his flannel pajama bottoms as if the action was soothing to him.

Offering him a sad smile, Grace leaned over until she was resting with her head on his well-toned shoulder.

"Well, then I guess you and I will just have to find him and help him like I helped you." She said softly, relaxing into the natural warmth of Steve's body as the clock on Steve's nightsand continued to tick the seconds.

Steve's breathing began to slow. "How will we find him? He was the Winter Soldier, Grace. He'll likely be covering his tracks to keep other Hydra operatives from finding him. It won't be easy to track him down."

Grace shook her head. "No, but I'm sure with a little special help we can at least find some leads. He can't hide forever." She stifled a yawn.

"I'll bet Sam and Nat and even Sharon would be willing to help."

Steve sighed. "I'm sorry." He murmured. Grace picked her head up at this. "Sorry for what?" She asked.

With a final sniff, Steve raised an arm to wipe his nose.

"For making you worry. For crying all over you like a kid and getting your shirt wet. For...yelling at you when none of this is your fault." He sighed and glanced sorrowfully in her direction.

Grace sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just because you're a Captain and a super soldier, doesn't mean you're not allowed to cry or get upset about things. To be honest I was waiting for this to happen ever since the first time I found you tearing your knuckles open on that punching bag in the basement of the safe house." She admitted partially to herself.

When Steve didn't give any response to this, Grace continued.

"I can't promise that I'll have Bucky in here by tomorrow morning or even if we did that we'll have him back to the way you remember within a short amount of time, but we will find him Steve. One way or another. I promise."

She lifted a hand to wipe away the last tracks of tears on his face. Steve gently grabbed her hand in his own.

"Thank you. Thank you Grace." He thanked her sincerely, running the pad of his thumb over the top of her knuckles.

Grace smiled at him. "I always be here for you, Steve." She promised, lightly squeezing on his hand just as a yawn stretched through the super soldier's body making him wince again as the action caused his injuries to flare up.

Grace noticed and moved a little away from him. "I think you should try to get some more sleep now Steve. Your body still needs time to finish recovering." She said quietly.

Stifling another yawn, Steve nodded. "Yeah I think you're right." He murmured, not moving to lay down.

Grace gently reached over to help him lay down. "Come on. Lie down. Your ribs must be killing you right now." She murmured. Steve groaned as he slowly allowed Grace to push him back against the bed.

Pulling up the covers, Grace paused as she was about to cover him up. Still holding onto the duvet with one hand, she cautiously lifted up the bottom of Steve's shirt with the other grimacing at the deep blue, black and green mess that was still visible under the bandages that were wrapped around the Captain's waist to help his ribs heal properly.

A shiver raced through her spine as the shine of an eerily familiar metal fist briefly streaked through her mind.

"Does it look that bad?" Steve's low croaky voice broke into her thoughts and Grace shook her head before letting go of his shirt and draping the blanket over his upper body.

"Just try to sleep. I'll be back in the morning and we'll start working on a plan." She leaned over and adjusted his pillow the slightest bit.

Steve lunged out and grabbed her by the hand when she started to get up to leave him alone.

"Can you stay?" He asked in a soft tired voice that told Grace, he was moments from succumbing to the rest his body needed. "I'm sorry, it's just...I don't really want to be alone right now."

Grace hesitated, looking down at their hands.

"You love him." She spoke the words plainly as if it was as simple as pointing out a new pimple on a teenager's face.

The words made Grace freeze. "Wha..? No it!...It's not like that, Ms. Carter. I...Steve is very special to me, but he-."

"He loves you too, you know." Peggy interrupted as if she hadn't heard a word the younger woman had said.

"He didn't say it out loud, but he might as well have...with how much he tells me about you and..everything you've done together. He called you his heart and soul." She smiled as she spoke, taking a shallow breath before continuing.

"The thing that...keeps him going even when it gets hard."

Grace averted her eyes. "Peg...I mean, Ms. Carter I don't-."

"Take care of Steve for me, Grace. Please?" Peggy pleaded, squeezing a cool wrinkly hand over the one Grace had fisted into the fabric of the blanket that was covering her.

Grace looked up to see tears in her eyes. "He may act otherwise, but needs you. He needs people like you to keep him grounded. To make him feel loved and supported...He's already lost..so much...don't let him lose anymore." Her chin quivered.

Grace felt her heart ache. "But he...he loves you Peggy. He told me so much about you that I feel like sometimes I knew you too...I won't let him lose you." She squeezed slightly on the older woman's hand.

Peggy gave her a sad yet grateful smile. "Promise me, you'll be there for him. Even if he tries to push you away...don't leave him alone." Her voice hitched as a tear slid down her cheek.

Grace squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. "I won't...I promise I'll look after Steve. He won't lose me." She promised. Peggy gave another nod and settled back against her pillow.

"I'll stay." Grace finally replied, shifting to sit back down on the edge of the bed, still holding on to Steve's hand which loosened when he felt the mattress shift with her weight.

"Thank you." He murmured, finally letting his eyes close. Grace smiled as she heard his breathing begin to even out.

Looking over at his face, she quickly let her eyes trace over each bruise that was still faintly visible on his otherwise cream colored skin before they rested on his closed eyes.

"I love you Steve." She murmured, knowing he hadn't heard her when he didn't stir at her admission.

"And I'll always care for you...Even if you can't love me back."