4th December, 2009

Sitting on the cot, Victoria looked on as the asset grunted in pain. She had almost vomited as soon as she had helped remove his jacket and top. He had groaned loudly as she pulled the clothes from him, leaving him just in his trousers and boots. His bare chest was covered in a sheen of sweat and Victoria had to admit she did her best not to stare at his chiselled midriff. But she was more concerned over his arm.

She stumbled to her feet and looked down to him. "You have to stay still," she said to him. "I mean it, that…you…you need a doctor."

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "You can fix this. You fixed me before."

"I've helped you with cuts and bruises, but this is a broken bone," she said to him. "I can see that it is broken…it's practically poking out of your skin. You need a proper doctor. You need a proper medic. I don't know how to set bones…you might even need an operation…"

"I…I don't…I can't…" he said and Victoria stepped closer to him. She crouched down in front of him, a hand going to his cheek and he felt the warmth of her fingertips.

"I promise that it will be fine," she said to him. "I'll stay with you, but you need someone to help you and I can't do that…not right now."

He remained silent at that and Victoria nodded her head. She brushed his hair behind his ear and moved to her feet. She took off down the corridors to find her father and demand for a doctor. She was nineteen now. She was one year into her university degree and her father had loosened his hold on her. He let her go out. He trusted her to leave without his supervision. But he only trusted her because he had the asset in his grip.

"Dad," Victoria gasped as soon as she entered his lab.

He looked over to her, finishing off his work. He tucked his long, blond hair behind his ears and arched a brow. "What is it, darling?" he questioned.

"He needs proper medical attention," she said to him. "I'm serious, dad, he's got a serious fracture…I can see the bone poking against the skin…"

"I assume this lays outside of your area of expertise?"

"I can't set bones, dad," she deadpanned with him.

"Fine," he sighed and reached over for the phone. He moved to pick it up and dialled a number, speaking down the phone in a hushed tone while Victoria remained stood where she was. He hung up after a moment and looked at her. "He'll be here in twenty minutes."

"Thank you."

Roger couldn't help but look fascinated by that. She had thanked him on the asset's behalf. Clearly, she still cared for him. There were times when Roger wondered if those feelings would disappear, but they seemed to still be there. She left his lab then, heading back down to see the asset, ignoring Ivan as he passed her by in the corridor.

"Hey, Vicky."

He had been looking at her differently ever since she had seemed to grow up. Thankfully, he wouldn't dare do anything except stare at her, not with her father being so close. She suspected it was because there was a lack of females in the lab. It was a heavily male dominated environment. Victoria continued walking, the guards unlocking the door once more. Stepping in, she looked down to the asset.

"A doctor is going to be here soon," she told him. "I just need you to keep pressure off of it…and…as stupid as it might sound…try not to look at it or think about the pain."

"Easier said than done," he mumbled to her.

"I know," she responded, "but just try, okay? I can distract you…you know…just talk at you like I usually do."

"I like it when you talk," he said and she swore his face was paler than usual. She nodded her head and went to sit down next to him on the side of the cot. She folded one leg over the other, tugging her leather jacket tighter around her body as she waited for the doctor to come. He eventually showed up, foregoing any pleasantries and getting straight to business.

"Looks like a compound fracture," Doctor Martins confirmed after examining it. "I'm going to need to set the bone back in place. I can't do it here…the medical bay…I'll do it there. You'll need to be put to sleep, mind you."

"No."

"I can't exactly do it while you're awake," he said.

"No," the asset repeated and Victoria looked over to him.

"What if I stay?" she wondered from him and he turned his gaze onto her and she swore she saw him in more pain than she'd ever seen before. "They're not going to do anything else to you. I'll make sure of it."

Doctor Martin said nothing in response to that. He simply shrugged as Victoria glanced to him and gave him an encouraging nod. "She can stay," he confirmed.

"See?" Victoria said with a soft smile. "It'll be fine."

Finally, the asset nodded his head in agreement with what she was asking from him. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she stood up and Doctor Martins led them through the corridors, the asset cradling his flesh arm with his metal arm. Victoria walked by his side, arms wrapped around herself as she shivered.

They came to the medical bay and Doctor Martins began working quietly, pointing to a trolley that the asset climbed onto. Victoria remained stood in front of him as he sat on the edge of it.

"You okay?" she asked him.

He nodded his head once.

Victoria stepped back as Martins returned, telling Bucky to lay down before he injected him with an anaesthetic after hooking him up to a number of machines. "This is a stronger dose than normal…considering your abilities," Martins said. "You should fall asleep in the next minute or so. Miss Wallace, I will need you to keep monitoring him…checking on his breathing…considering there is no professional here to do that, it falls down to you."

"I can do that," she said.

"Good," Martins said and moved to the other side of the medical bay as Victoria stood by Bucky's head and she looked down to him.

"Feeling sleepy yet?" she wondered.

"Slightly," he admitted and Victoria watched on as his eyes finally closed and his chest began very gently to rise and fall. She remained observant, making sure that everything looked fine. She stayed by his side as the doctor started work on his arm. She tried not to look at it, hearing the noises was bad enough, she didn't need to see what was happening.

"How is his pulse?"

Victoria looked at the screen behind her, nodding her head. "Everything looks good," she spoke.

"Excellent," Martins said with a nod. "So…you're Roger's girl?"

She didn't know if now was the time to try and make conversation, but she didn't mind all too much. He seemed to be confident enough in what he was doing and Victoria didn't have to focus on that, instead she could simply keep an eye on his vitals.

"Yeah," she said to him. "Victoria."

"And you've been looking after the Winter Soldier?"

Victoria's eyes widened and she turned her gaze back to the doctor. "The Winter Soldier?" she questioned him.

"That's what they call him," Martins said. "He's a ghost…one of the world's most dangerous assassins. He's been a valuable asset to HYDRA."

"I didn't know they called him the Winter Soldier."

"Yeah," Martins said to her.

"But…he has to have another name," Victoria said, looking back to the screen.

"Obviously," Martins drawled to her. "Do they not tell you anything?"

"No," she said, "and he doesn't remember it either."

"Well…he's called James," he said to her. "But that's all I'll tell you. You want any more information then ask your father. He has his file."

"James?" she asked him, double-checking.

"That's what I said," he responded.

Nodding her head, Victoria looked quickly down onto the asset…no…James. His name was James. She didn't know if he looked like a James. Then again, she had no idea what he looked like. She had thought about this numerous times before, but had never come up with a definitive name. But it felt good to know that he did have a name and that she finally knew it.

Doctor Martins finished off his work and Victoria watched him put the arm into a cast.

"He heals faster than most people," he said to her. "However, I would suspect that it would be best to let the bone fully heal before he goes back to sleep…I can come back in two week's time to check on him."

"You're leaving?" she asked from him.

"I'll be with your father," he said to her. "He should wake up in the next few hours or so…just keep an eye on him."

"Fine," Victoria said with a nod of her head.

She moved to grab a chair from the corner of the room as Martins left her alone with James. She pulled the chair over to the monitors next to the bed and angled it so that she could look at them and keep an eye on James. She folded her legs beneath herself, curling into a ball. Her gaze not once left the monitor or the man. She kept watching them, refusing to do anything else, almost as though she thought something bad would happen if she looked away.

The medical bay was chilly, Victoria wondering if there was anywhere in the God forsaken facility that wasn't cold. It was a simple room with four beds, no curtains between them and medical equipment on a bench in the corner. It seemed pretty basic, but it had everything that they needed to operate and patch up wounded soldiers.

Fastening up her leather jacket, Victoria pulled the zip to her chin before standing up. Reaching for the blanket at the bottom of the bed, she draped it over James's body, wondering if he even felt the cold. Once she had it at his chin, the door opened and her father walked in.

"How is he faring?" he questioned.

"Don't pretend you care," Victoria said and went to sit back down in the chair.

"Of course, I care," he said to her through gritted teeth. "He is vital for HYDRA's work."

Victoria rolled her eyes at that. "No, that's not you caring," she said with a shake of her head. "There's a difference."

"We're not all sentimental weaklings like you, darling," her father said, standing at the other side of the bed. "Apparently, he will need time to recover before we put him back to sleep. I confess, I am apprehensive about that."

"Why?"

"Because the longer he is out of sleep…the more chance he has of regaining his senses," he said to her. "And my experiments on him have prove fruitless. He's stubborn, unbelievably so. He refuses to completely give into us."

"Yeah, no matter how times you beat me up, he doesn't seem to stop caring," Victoria said dryly. "And one day…one day he'll remember everything."

"Your optimism is misplaced."

"You can't keep him like this forever," she said with a shake of her head. "And when that day comes…when he remembers…I suspect it would be best for you to hide."

Roger eyed his daughter, but she didn't look at him. She continued simply to stare at James as he slept soundly. Roger nodded once and turned on his heel, leaving her alone with the asset. Victoria rested her chin in her hand, elbow bent on the arm of the chair. It was another hour before he woke up, his eyes slowly fluttering open and Victoria heard him grunt.

"Hey," she said and moved to her feet, looking down onto him. "How are you feeling?"

"Shit."

Victoria couldn't stop chuckling at that. Nodding her head, she moved to grab the pitcher of water from the bedside table that Martins had left behind. She poured a glass as James slowly pushed himself to sit up. "I bet," she said to him and he leant against the pillows. Victoria handed him the water and adjusted the pillows behind him, hearing him groan as he moved his body to sit up, the blanket then pooling at his waist.

"Well, the doctor said everything went as well as it could," Victoria said and he sipped the water. "He did say that you would have to take time to heal…which means not going back to the chamber for a few weeks."

"A few weeks?" he questioned her.

"Yeah," she nodded her head.

Closing his eyes, he finished the water and Victoria took the glass from him, refilling it.

"I…I don't know if I can do that," he whispered to her.

"Why not?"

"Because I've never been out that long…alone…with my thoughts," he said to her. "I don't know how to…how…" he trailed off and Victoria handed him another glass of water. She sat back down in the chair and folded one leg over the other, bending forwards at the waist.

"I can stay with you, if you want?" she asked him. "I mean, I have uni work to do, but nothing that can't wait…I can…well…I can talk…and I…I don't know…but I can try and help you through it, if you want me to?"

His mouth dried out and he gulped. Victoria wondered if she had stepped over the line. She never knew when it came to him.

"Will they let you?"

"I won't give them a choice," she responded to him.

He said nothing and Victoria held a hand up. "Wait here," she said and stood up. He frowned and she realised what she had just said. "Yeah…not that you can go anywhere else."

She left the room, passing by the armed guards who were on the door. She headed back down the corridors, passing by Ivan once more. He looked to her. "I hear you helped the asset," he said to her.

She looked at him, her face neutral and stoic. "Yeah."

"But you still don't want to go into medicine? Your dad told me you were studying Geology."

"I am."

"Want to say more than two words to me?"

"Not really."

"Playing hard to get, I see."

She rolled her eyes. "You know my dad would kill you if he heard you talking like that, right?" she demanded from him.

"I don't know," Ivan said, brushing a hand through his brown hair. "I get the feeling that your dad doesn't care that much, Vicky."

"It's Victoria," she said sternly. "And get out of my way."

He moved to the side and she went by him, heading to the lab. She found that her dad was already out, thankfully. She went to grab hold of the box underneath the chair where she always at. Putting it under her arm, she walked back out, tugging on the skirt she wore. She came back to the medical bay and pushed the door open, stepping through it and coming back to her chair. Holding the box up, she looked to him.

"Ever played chess?" she wondered from him.

His brow furrowed. "I…I don't think so," he said to her.

"Excellent," she responded with a wide smile. "So, I can teach you how to play chess. That will keep your mind occupied. I'm no expert, but I know the basics."

"You want to play chess…with me?" he checked.

"There's no other opponent round here," she said to him with a shrug. "So, what do you say?"

He only nodded once and Victoria continued to smile at him. He watched her for a few moments as she got the board out of the box and set it up on the table that went over his bed. She moved the pieces to their correct place and then sat cross legged on her chair, talking him through when and where he could move. But he found himself simply watching her, wondering how she could be so nice to him.

….

Victoria had managed to get to the private jet easy enough. Zemo's butler had been waiting, as promised. Victoria had sat on the plane and he had gone to busy himself doing something, probably talking to the pilot, Victoria suspected. She sat down on the sofa at the back, looking out of the window and waiting for the rest of them to turn up. She played on her phone, checking her emails and messages. She had told work that an emergency had come up and the faculty had agreed to cover her teaching for the final few weeks.

She had cited a family emergency. She knew how ironic that sounded. As far as anyone at work knew, she was estranged from her family. She didn't talk about them and no one asked her anything. That was the way she preferred things. Once she had finished responding to her emails, she dropped her phone back into her bag at the same time she heard voices from outside.

"You shouldn't have killed him," Sam was snapping.

"So long as he lived then he was a danger," Zemo responded.

Their voices grew louder and they finally moved into the plane. Victoria turned her gaze over to look at them.

"The plan was never to kill him," Sam responded.

"Who killed who?" Victoria wondered, noticing Bucky bringing up the rear, completely silent.

"He killed Nagel," Sam said to her.

"You know the Power Broker is going to be pissed off, don't you?" Victoria said, looking over to Zemo who shrugged his shoulders at her and collapsed down into a chair, spinning it around so that he could look to her.

"The Power Broker is no concern of mine," Zemo responded. "He was dangerous so long as he lived and you know that. You lived with men who tried to recreate the serum. Don't tell me you never tried to stop them? Don't tell me you never feared what they could do? So long as that serum can be recreated, men like your fiancé and father have the potential to create weapons...to impose totalitarian regimes...you know that better than most. You understand why I shot Nagel. I imagine the thought had crossed your mind before."

Victoria looked away then and Zemo's lips slowly rose. She knew, alright. She understood entirely. Sam eyed her then too, wondering what she was thinking before Bucky went to sit down next to her on the sofa, her face still turned away from his. Silence engulfed the plane then and Victoria bit down on the inside of her cheek, hand tossing her hair through her shoulders.

"You're doing that thing," Bucky whispered as Zemo spoke to Oeznik, telling him that they should get going sooner rather than later and Sam pulled his phone out, finding Torres's number so that he could call him and ask him to look into the woman who Nagel had mentioned. Karli had wanted the serum for her.

Turning her head to the side once he had spoke, Victoria looked puzzled. "What?"

"Biting your cheek and playing with your hair," he said to her. "You always used to do it when you were nervous…thinking about something…"

"Hmm," she merely grunted back to him. She forgot that he had his memories back and seemed to remember every little detail about her. Folding one leg over the other, she sat back, hands on her lap and gaze straight ahead. Bucky sighed and moved an arm over the back of the sofa, his hand resting just by her shoulder as he folded one leg underneath his body and turned to the side, angling his body towards hers.

"What is it?" he asked from her.

"Nothing," she said to him.

"It's clearly something."

"I said it's nothing," she snapped at him, turning to look at him and he knew when to back off.

Holding his hands up in defence, he let her turn away from him again as the plane prepared to taxi. They all sat in silence as the plane hurtled down the runway, buckled in and climbing into the skies. They eventually levelled out in the air and Victoria moved from the seat, unable to take anymore of Bucky's staring. But he was persistent. He watched her move to the back of the plane, loitering in the thin walkway and reaching for the bottle of scotch. She poured herself a glass and Bucky stood up, watching her down it. Arms folded over his chest, he stood by the gap, blocking her from coming back out.

"Talk to me," Bucky urged her.

"What do you want to hear?" she asked, keeping her voice low so that no one could hear them. "You want to hear how I understand why Zemo did what he did?"

He continued staring at her and she chuckled darkly, refilling her glass and downing the alcohol once more.

"I'm as bad as they are," she whispered.

"Never say that," he demanded from her.

"Why not?" she wondered. "It's the truth…I lived with two men who wanted to recreate that serum and I know what they had planned…because no matter how many people want that serum to do good…to create more Steve Rogers," she said and noticed the flicker of emotion on his face. "There will always be those who want is to create…" she trailed off.

Bucky arched a brow, leaning against the wall and arms tensing against his chest. "To create people like me?" he asked her. "Is that what you meant?"

"No," she said with a firm shake of her head.

"Sounded like it."

"You never had a choice," she said to him. "Don't put words in my mouth, Bucky," she said and downed another glass of whiskey before shaking her head, anger building up inside of her. Turning to glare at him, she slammed the glass down on the sideboard. "I never once thought that you were like them…not once…and I…you know that. You know that I never thought that so don't you dare stand there and put those words in my mouth."

She tried to move by him, but he was strong. Grabbing her around the waist, he stopped her from leaving. "Victoria, I know," he said and sighed deeply as she tried to push his arm down from her, but he remained persistent. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry…"

She stopped her fighting then, her hand remaining on his upper arm, going limp as she let it slip down his jacket until she held onto his forearm and she bowed her head.

"I was always scared that Nagel would recreate the serum," she said to him and he kept looking down to her, his arm staying around, her shoulder pressed to his chest as he stood by the side of her. "I was scared that HYDRA would get their wish…that they would be able to build that army they craved…and I agree with what he said," Victoria motioned to Zemo with her chin. "I mean, what the hell is wrong with me?"

"There is nothing wrong with you," he promised her. "The things we saw…what HYDRA planned…I think it's only reasonable that we're perhaps more sceptical than most, Victoria."

"You think?"

"I know," he replied.

She continued sighing, her head still dropped as Bucky moved his arm from her slowly. She retracted her hand from his arm and turned to face him straight on, the two of them still loitering in the small passageway.

"What else happened?" Victoria wondered from him.

"Bounty hunters found us," he admitted, leaning against the sideboard, foot kicked back against it. "Nagel's lab was blown up so any blood…serum…that he might have been hiding is no longer there or usable."

"Do you think there is anymore serum?"

"Karli stole some."

"So, you're going after her?"

"We are," Bucky said. "Sam is calling a friend from the Air Force. Apparently, Karli got in touch with Nagel to ask him for some of the serum for this woman who she knew…she was sick and Karli wanted to save her. We're trying to find out who this woman was and where she lives. We think Karli might be with her."

"So…you've got to find Karli to stop her and the rest of the Flag Smashers, alongside getting her to give up the serum?" Victoria checked. "On top of that, you have my deranged ex to think about too?"

"Never a dull moment," he said to her and she did manage a sad smile at that and Bucky noticed her move her hand up to the locket she wore, playing with the chain on it. His gaze faltered as he saw her toy with it and he remembered just what was in there. He said nothing, choosing to keep quiet before Victoria noticed the bruise on his cheek.

"Are you hurt?" she wondered and Bucky pressed a finger to it and shrugged.

"Nothing that won't heal," he promised her. "Don't worry, you don't need to fix me up."

"Would be like old times," she whispered.

"Times we'd rather not go back to," he said.

"Guess not," she whispered and glanced back up to him. "We should head back."

"I…I've been thinking," Bucky said to her. "And we need to talk…when all of this is over…there's something we need to talk about."

Victoria looked to him and nodded her head. She didn't know if she wanted to talk to him. A part of her would prefer things to remain unspoken.

"But before then…I need to know about him, Victoria…if he's coming after us, then I need to know about what we're up against."

"You want to know about Alistair?" she checked from him.

"Yeah."

He saw her exhale a shaky breath at that, but she nodded her head and closed her eyes. "Where do I even begin?"

April 15, 2016

Victoria was going crazy rattling around the large Manor House. HYDRA had fallen. They had been living on the run for just about two years. Everything had come out about HYDRA, including all of its members and allies. Victoria and her father had escaped, allies helping them get away from the States. She had seen what had happened in D.C. She had been there, stood on the edge of the Potomac and she had watched the hellicarriers fall down.

He had remembered who he was. He had come back from a mission and he had spoken his name. He had asked if his name had been Bucky and Victoria had wanted to smile in absolute joy. He was still in there. They hadn't completely destroyed him. But then they had wiped his memory again. She had begged them not to. She had screamed. She had pleaded. If Steve Rogers was looking for him then he had a chance at escaping.

But then they had sent him back out to finish the mission. Project Insight was going ahead and the hellicarriers had been deployed. Victoria had left the facility and she had ran towards the sight of the scene. She had stood on the banks of the river and seen them fall, trying to find any sign of him. If HYDRA was going to fall then he could escape. He could get away from them.

"You look lost in thought, darling."

Victoria turned her head over her shoulder. She was stood by the window in the library that overlooked the green lawn. The house was everything she had seen in period dramas. It was filled with antiques from years gone by. She would often head to the library, loitering among the books and reading them. The shelves were filled to the brim with them, each of them helping her forget who she was for some time. But eventually she would remember and she would think of him. She would wonder where he was. Was he safe? Was he okay? Did he even remember her?

"Sorry," Victoria said.

Standing behind her, Alistair's lips turned upwards. He reached out and tugged her hair over one shoulder before resting his chin on the other. He pressed his lips to the gap between her throat and her shoulders, arms wrapping around her waist and resting flat on her stomach.

Alistair Dunpoint was the kind of man Victoria used to think about being with when she was a little girl. He was handsome. He was tall with a perfect roguish smile and dark curly hair that was cut neatly on top of his hair, curled slightly on his forehead. He had a strong jaw and a well-defined chin. His eyes were a dark brown and his face was always clean-shaven. He was a perfect English gentlemen…and he had shown interest in Victoria.

"Where was your mind?" he whispered into her as she looked back out over the lawn and he kissed her neck once more.

"Somewhere else," she merely said to him.

"Is it with him?" he asked from her, voice hot and heavy. She stiffened in his grip and he chuckled. That was all that he needed to know. "It is. You know, things in our marriage won't work out if you constantly think about another man."

Victoria could feel the weight of the engagement ring on her finger then. She tried to forget that it sat there, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Turning around in his grip, she knew that it would be better to placate him. A part of her still hoped that he would quit this vendetta he had going on. She wondered if she could help him do that, but she didn't know if she would be enough. She never knew if she would be enough for anyone.

Running her hands to his shoulders, she held onto them, massaging the muscles under the cashmere grey jumper he wore over his dark trousers. "I just…I just think that it would be easier to forget about him if you stopped hunting for him."

"You know we can't do that," Alistair said to her, moving the back of his hand to stroke her cheek, pushing her hair behind her shoulder. "If we get him, Victoria, then we won't kill him."

"No, just torture him," she said, her tone dry and Alistair looked amused at her, his brow arching on his forehead as he heard her speak. She shook her head slowly and moved a hand to his hair, brushing her fingers through it gently. She shouldn't upset him. "I just think that we are wasting our time," she responded. "If we're going to get married then surely we have better things to be doing other than this? And…don't you want that? Don't you want us just to be happy?"

"Oh, baby," he cooed to her. "We will be happy, don't worry. I give you everything you need, don't I? I keep you safe here."

Victoria wanted to retort that if by safe, he meant locked up, then yes. But she didn't.

"You do," she said to him. "But we don't need Bucky…he's suffered enough…please."

Before she could say anything else, he had acted quickly. His hand made contact with her cheek. She couldn't fall from the force of it, his other hand holding her upright firmly. She grunted in pain at the feeling, but remained silent. Alistair moved his hand to her cheek and began stroking it, as if he could almost take the pain away. He chuckled darkly, eyes closed and chin jutting out.

"I don't like it when you say his name."

There was a tense silence between them.

"Now," Alistair said with a sniff, "let's see if we can talk about something else, hmm? Unless you'd rather do other things than talk?"

"I…I said that I would go to my father," she lied to him, feeling his hands move to grip her waist. She pressed her hand to his chest and tried to push him back. But his grip increased, forehead pressing to hers.

"You know that you can't deny me forever, darling," he whispered, his breath warm against her face. "I've been a patient man…"

"I should go," was all that she said. She didn't want to have this conversation with him. She didn't want to be anywhere near him. His jaw clenched, but he let her go. He watched her slip from his grip and scurry to the door, the long blue dress she wore flowing behind her. Gritting his teeth together, he knew that he would only permit her to get away with being this insolent for so long.

…

Bucky watched Victoria sleep on the flight to Riga. They had managed to find out where Donya Madani was, but she had passed away before Karli could get her the serum. Still, they suspected that finding Karli there was their best bet. Victoria had told Bucky about Alistair. He hadn't pushed her for more information than she had been willing to give him. But he had found out enough.

His hands clenched by his sides and he turned to look out the window before Sam adjusted his chair to face him.

"You okay?" he asked, dragging Bucky's attention back to him.

"No."

"Is it about her?" Sam wondered, both of them looking on as Victoria slept, laid down on the sofa, curled into a ball. She had a hand stuffed underneath her chin and her other hand dangled over the edge of the seat.

"I fucked up," Bucky whispered. "I should have gone back for her. I should have found her."

"You can't change the past, Buck," Sam said to him. "I know that you have regrets and I don't pretend to know the history between you two because clearly there is a history…but all I know is that you can't change what happened. You can only try and amend it."

Bucky shook his head. "I can't," he said to him firmly. "I can't amend what I did…not to her."

"What do you mean?"

But Bucky didn't answer. He turned his gaze back to her instead and closed his eyes. He didn't have it in him to tell Sam, not when he hadn't even told Victoria. He knew that when he did tell her, everything would change. It would all change and he didn't know if he was ready for that just yet.

...

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading! Would love to know what you think - I really enjoy reading you comments!