It had only been four days but to Steve it felt like forever. Far too much had happened for such a short space of time. Nicky Fury had been murdered. He went on the run with Black Widow. Stole a car, or 'borrowed' it as he kept saying to Natasha. Traced the USB that Fury gave him, back to his old training camp. Nearly been killed by someone he long thought dead who turned themselves into a computer. Now here they were, sitting in Sam Wilson's spare bedroom, cleaning the blood and dirt off themselves without the faintest idea how to go on.

As he finished washing his hands, he saw Natasha drying her hair with a towel from the bathroom mirror.

He made his way out the bathroom, took a long sigh and sat down on the adjacent bed to where she was sitting. "How are you holding up?" he asked her.

She kept running her fingers through her damp auburn hair, she looked at him, cocking her eyebrow "Well everyone I know is trying to kill me so… just like every other day"

They both let out a laugh, the insanity and desperation of their situation was taking a toll and they knew it. Erin was still missing, SHIELD was actually controlled by Hydra and they were all out of friends.

Steve still doesn't know what led him to turn up at Sam Wilson's house, he'd only met the guy twice but he knew in his gut that Sam was a good guy and he was right.

Natasha dropped the towel on the bed and leaned back into her palms giving Steve a long look.

"What?" He knew that look, her brain was working in overdrive.

She tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes, taking in a deep breath "I think we should call him"

"Oh no. No, no, no way. Nope" Steve stood up and turned to look out the window. Out of everyone, he couldn't bare to get him involved. This was too personal.

"I can't predict what he will do, Natasha. If we tell him, this might get even messier than it has to be."

He felt her presence as she came up next to him, her arms crossed, staring out the window at nothing with him.

"Steve, you know we have too. We can't do this on our own. He has a right to know, he had our backs in New York"

He let out another sigh, he knew she was right. They needed all the man power they could get. His pride could be the difference in finding Erin in time or…the alternative just wasn't worth thinking about.

"You call him" His voice defeated.

Natasha let out a little smirk, she reached into her back pocket and grabbed her burner phone. She knew the important numbers off by heart, she dialled in the number and put the phone on speaker. They both stood stock still, listening to it ring.

After the fourth ring, he picked up "As this is an unknown number and from what I've seen from SHIELD'S recent files, this can only be Miss Romanoff and Captain Spangles needing my help" the smugness in his voice radiated through every word.

She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it "Tony, listen to what I have to say before speaking another goddamn word"

The silence on the other end of line was in agreement. Natasha started with the most important part "Stark...Erin has been kidnapped...by the Winter Soldier"

Another bout of silence ensued, Steve and Natasha looked at each other curiously "Uh...Stark?" she prompted.

"Hang up the phone. They might trace your location. I already have done but that's because I'm the best. I'll pick you up in an hour. Stay low" then the phone went dead.

They were both slightly taken aback, they haven't heard Tony speak with that much urgency...well...ever. They knew he was fond of Erin. It wasn't often they were in the same space but they got on like a house on fire. Sarcasm did tend to make for strange friendships.

So while they waited for Stark, they took stock of their items and went downstairs to speak to Sam. He was cooking them some eggs and bacon, a pot of coffee was on the go. Steve and Natasha were nearly drooling, neither could remember the last time they ate.

"Here you go, help yourself to coffee" Sam said while plating up breakfast before putting it on the table. They took their seats and ate in comfortable silence. Once everyone had some food in them and at least one mug of coffee, they started talking.

Steve had already explained a majority of the situation best he could when they first got in but he told him all about Erin, Bucky and Stark "Sam, once again I am so sorry, we have put you in danger by coming here. We didn't know where else to go. We have very little support" he sighed at the end. His world had been shattered in the space of a week and he couldn't afford to think about it too much.

Sam leaned back, took a sip of coffee before smiling at them both "Both of you always have support with me. Look when Stark gets here, I'll be coming with you"

Before Steve and Natasha could get their protests out, Sam leaned back and grabbed a file sitting on the kitchen counter. He opened and splayed the pages open for both to see.

Natasha recognised it in an instant "You were part of Project Falcon?" Her eyes widened as she read Sam's military files, full of pictures of him in his high tech flying suit.

"Yes ma'am" Sam smirked, his pride radiating from him.

Steve took the files off the table and began reading as quickly as he could. After a minute of dead silence, he looked up at Sam and smiled "Welcome to the team, Wilson."

Thousands of miles away in an underground Hydra facility, Erin slept soundly. Not as soundly as you would imagine considering the circumstances but her exhaustion kept her dead to the world while the Winter Soldier gradually opened his eyes and groaned in pain.

The room was in complete darkness and his head was fuzzy. Bucky tried to sit up but this was met with another groan. What happened?

Like a movie, his whole life flashed before him. Growing up in Brooklyn, Steve, World War Two, his military career, nearly dying then….darkness mixed with pain. The Winter Soldier. It had all been suppressed for so long that Bucky couldn't breath, he began to hyperventilate as every horrible detail of the last 70 years came back to him. Then he remembered...Erin!

He delicately sat up as best he could and slowly glanced around the room. Though he wasn't under the mind control anymore, he was still a super soldier and could see her form fast asleep on the bed even in near total darkness. The blanket pooled around his waist and he noticed the pillow she must have put under his head. His heart skipped a beat. She didn't leave. She stayed even though he nearly killed her. He knew in that moment he would never forgive himself for it.

"Erin?" His voice came out as a croak, he was terribly thirsty and his head was still aching. She stirred slightly. He raised his voice "Erin?!"

He needed to know she was okay.

She woke with a start, his voice was loud and urgent. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the darkness and raised herself on to her forearm, she could just about see that Bucky was sitting up. Or at least, she hoped it was Bucky. She stayed silent waiting for him to say something else.

"Erin, you stayed" his voice still cracking from fear and confusion.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay" She felt herself relax, he seemed to be...himself even though she wasn't quite sure what that meant yet.

The world's smallest laugh came from Bucky's mouth "Me? I nearly killed you. Why would you stay?"

She sat up and went over to the sink to grab a glass of water for him "Because you're still Bucky" she said quietly.

She knew he would hear her but right now she didn't have a lot of strength to have a full conversation with him about this.

She filled the glass to the top and walked over to him, handing it into his outstretched hand. He cautiously took a few sips before gulping it all down. He took a few deep breaths while Erin stood still observing him.

"Thank you"

"You don't need to thank me, it's what Steve would do"

Steve, his best friend who he tried to kill. This was not going to be an easy transition.

Erin could sense the cogs turning in Bucky's brain, this was all definitely too much even for her. So she did what she did best, focus on the moment.

She knelt down so she was on his level "Bucky, we need to get out of here. I need to get back to Steve and the rest of the team. You need to come with me" she kept her voice low and calm.

He turned his head to stare into his lap "I can't go with you" he whispered.

Erin felt her heart drop "Why not?"

"Because I'm a monster. I can't ever go back" He couldn't look at her while he said this. The shame and disgust in himself was so strong he wanted to die.

Gently, Erin grabbed his hand and used her other hand to rest on his cheek so he would look at her. He slowly raised his head, enjoying the warmth her hand held. He couldn't help leaning into her palm.

"Look at me, Bucky" He locked eyes with her, her beautiful blue eyes.

"Bucky, you need to listen to me carefully, none of this is your fault" He tried turning his head away as she spoke but she pulled his head back round to face hers.

"Please listen, you are a victim. The things you did, that was not you. That was the Winter Soldier. A ruthless machine that was placed in your brain, you had no choice, literally decisions and actions were made for you by Hydra. Your life was stolen by Hydra. You are worthy of taking your life back, of helping people, of living. Please come with me back to Steve"

Her words sounded like honey with a voice as sweet as cherry pie but he couldn't, Steve could never accept him as he is. "Steve will hate me" is all he could say.

The sympathy was etched all over her face but she smiled, why was she smiling?

"Steve knows exactly what happened to you and he misses you every single damn day. Before you took me here, we were about to go on a mission to try and bring you back"

Bucky slightly lit up "Really?" He didn't dare believe it.

Erin's smile grew "He loves you, James. He wants nothing more than to have his best friend back, his brother." her hand tightened her grip in his.

The way she used his name struck something deep in his core. At that moment, Bucky realised he had nothing left to lose. Either go back with her and reunite with Steve or throw himself off a bridge. He might as well try the good option first.

He took a deep breath before letting out a small smile "Okay, let's go"

They both stood up, not letting go of each other's hand. The excitement and relief coursed through Erin's veins, she was finally bringing Buchanan home.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, dropping Bucky's hand much to his dismay. She walked back over to the dresser, picking the keys & gun up off the top and walked back over to him "Uh...here you go?"

Bucky took the keys and gun out of her hand, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What? I would have been stupid not to think about an escape plan!"

He looked at her a second longer before letting out a grin "Very true, you're definitely not stupid." He looked at the gun before flipping the end and hanging it back to her "You are probably better off with this than I am"

Erin, feeling a little embarrassed, grabbed the gun from his hand "I needed to be prepared for anything". Bucky didn't know whether to laugh or cry "True, okay well keep it on you and don't hurt yourself" was all he could say with a small smile.

She decided then and there that her little escape attempt was going to stay with her and her alone.

Bucky's smile dropped as he began to think about the next steps "This is an old Hydra facility, it's not currently monitored which is why I brought you here. I was already disobeying my orders.. I think my brain was ready to stop being the Winter Soldier. But that doesn't mean Hydra doesn't occasionally check on the place. We shouldn't have any problems getting out but we will need to cross the pavilion to get to the hanger across the yard and get into the helicopter. We need to stay low and be quick just in case. We need to grab my weapons before we leave. Are you ready?"

Erin nodded but as he went to unlock the door she said "Wait!"

He stopped and turned "What's wrong?"

"I need my stuff back, I had a backpack when you took me, where is it?" She really hoped he hadn't thrown it in the ocean or anything.

"Don't worry, it's with my weapons, I left it all in tact….after checking you didn't have any tracking devices on you" He admitted, not liking what he was saying.

She nodded gratefully, realising this was going to be extremely difficult for him "Ready" she said.

Bucky unlocked the door, the light was painful on his eyes for a second before they adjusted. Benefit of being a super soldier, quick healing. He led them both out into the corridor before going right, the same direction Erin had taken earlier. After many turns and twists, they arrived in front of a set of double doors, the first Erin had seen in the facility. Bucky looked at the keys before carefully selecting a particular one. He opened the door and walked through, Erin followed him but gasped when she got inside.

This was one of the biggest weaponries she had ever seen, including the one at SHIELD HQ.

"How did they abandon all this?" She thought out loud.

Bucky's voice echoed off the tiles as he strode across the vast room "The war was nearly at an end and the allies were closing in on the Nazi's and Hydra, it wasn't worth saving"

As she inspected the guns mounting every single wall, she realised on closer inspection that were all very old, in make only. The actual quality of them was pristine "How…?"

"It's like a clean room the scientists use, dirt, dust & mould can't get in here. A lot of these guns will be rusty on the inside and the gunpowder won't work but they keep the shiny look on the outside"

She was a little freaked out that he knew what she was getting at but maybe he had thought the same thing when he had first come here. She looked over to him, he was at a work bench on the far side of the room, putting guns into his holsters and into a duffle bag. She noticed her backpack at the end of the bench.

Erin quickly ran over and picked it up "Brilliant!" She breathed with excitement as she opened it, everything was exactly how she left it. Her Stark bracelet right at the very top. It must not have worked? She picked the bracelet up & examined it, before pressing the A symbol in the middle, nothing happened. She was so sure Stark had tested them before she was due to leave...

Oh well, maybe it was a dud.

"I did wonder what that was. I nearly threw it out" Erin jumped a mile at Bucky's voice, forgetting for a moment they were nearly shoulder to shoulder. "Me & Steve both have one…"

She didn't know what else to say about it. It was too intense to explain right now and they had a task to focus on.

She trailed off and focused on the bracelet. Bucky couldn't help but stare at her. He knew they were in a dangerous situation but she was beautiful. What made it more dangerous is that he was certain she was Steve's girl. The way she talked about him, the way she looked at that bracelet. She must love him very much.

The feeling of jealousy and sadness hit him in a way he was not expecting. Those feelings had died such a long time ago or so he thought. Their sting was as fresh now as when he was a teenager.

He slightly shook his head to get rid of the tide of emotion overtaking him. He had to get them both out of there.

Bucky zipped the duffel bag shut and slung it over his shoulder "You ready?" His demeanour was so serious it made Erin nervous. "Ready as I'll ever be" she put the backpack on, her hands shaking slightly.

"Follow me and do what I say" He walked towards the door at the other corner of the room, Erin took a deep breath and followed him.

Steve, Natasha & Sam had just got on Stark's plane which landed very inconspicuously outside Sam's house. As Steve & Stark began arguing about Sam being on board, a loud beeping from the cockpit controls distracted them.

"Mr . Stark" Rang out Jarvis's cool, clear voice "We have located Erin's position, her tracker has been turned on"