Bit of a time jump for this one. I've also messed around a bit with the timeline of CAWS, moved some conversations to earlier on. I also didn't really bother with writing out the entire script of the movie, some scenes I did copy out.

I have not tried the recipes Steve talks about in this chapter, but I do have plans to eventually. Remember all translations are done by Google.

"You people are crazy," Steve smiled at the camera, sitting on the stool in his kitchen. "When I made that first video, I had no idea how big this was going to get. Your comments are so wonderful, and I can't believe that some of you have been trying Ma's recipes! I love the pictures you post of your attempts. Some of you have even asked for me to try some of your recipes. Unfortunately, that is not today.

Today, I am pulling out some pie recipes for Thanksgiving. Now I spent the last couple of days making pie crust. My Ma and Aunt Fred would come back from the dead to kill me if I used pre-made crust. But feel free to do that yourselves. Now, as you can see," Steve gestured to the large pile of pie shells behind him. "I've made a few pie shells. But I do have to feed all the Avengers at least one piece of each pie. I'll eat one of each just to myself and I'm sure Thor will too. So, I need lots of pies. What I'm doing for you all will be my test pies as it's been a while since I've made these.

Our first pie today will be the oldest recipe, all the way back to nineteen-nineteen from when pumpkin wasn't as prolific as it is today. This is a carrot pie, again, stick with me on this. I haven't seared you wrong yet. First thing's first. Music!" Getting up Steve moved the stool out of the way and double-pointed at the ceiling. "Today, we're cheating a little. Because of how much I'm baking, Jarvis has agreed to be my DJ for the afternoon. Once again, old recipes need old music. Don't complain, it's culture.

First up we need a pound of carrots, peeled, and grated. Then we're going to put them in a pan with water to cook. While that's cooking, we're going to combine milk, sugar, and egg, while in another bowl some ginger, and cinnamon." As Steve cooked Jarvis began the playlist, he and Steve had put together the night before. Soon Frank Sinatra's 'Hot Time in the Town of Berlin' began playing, and Steve sang along.

"Now that the carrots are done, we're going to mash them, then combine everything and pour it into the pie shell then bake. While that one's cooking, we're going to start on the next one. This is a fake apple pie. Now when I was a kid, apples could get a little pricy and weren't always the best quality so instead of using apples for pie Ma would make a pie with Ritz crackers and it tastes the same. In a pan, we're going to mix water and sugar and bring them to a boil. Then we'll add some lemon juice. In another bowl dump forty Ritz crackers and smash them."

"Did someone say smash?" Bruce asked as he entered the kitchen. Jarvis had warned him that Steve was doing another video and he was curious. It had surprised everyone when Steve was the first out with a video and that said video broke the internet. The idea to showcase his Ma's cooking was brilliant and so very Steve. In the months since that first video, Steve had done plenty more, with varying food results at least according to the Avengers. His followers all agreed the videos were great. Steve seemed to enjoy them all. So now, Bruce wanted to video bomb, Steve. That and he wanted to know what the pup was bringing for Thanksgiving dinner.

"Bruce! I'm smashing Ritz crackers. Want in?" Steve held out the potato masher he was currently using.

Taking the masher Bruce took over the smashing of crackers. "What are you making?"

"Well, I have a carrot pie in the oven, and this is going to be a fake apple pie."

Bruce paused and turned to look at the pup, not quite believing what he was hearing. "Fake apple pie…with crackers? And is that, Harry James?"

"Yes, and yes. You missed Sinatra. Old recipes get old music, that's the rules. And apples were expensive and hard to get when I was a kid…so fake apple pie! Trust me?"

Shrugging Bruce went back to smashing. "Okay. Here are your fully smashed crackers. What next?"

"Now, we put them in the crust and add the sugar and water mixture. Then we are going to cover the top of it with cinnamon, lots of cinnamon. Once that's done, we place butter squares over the top and put the top of the pastry on and bake. As I'm putting this pie in, I'm going to pull out my carrot pie and let it cool I'm also going to blind bake another shell. Now for science!"

"I heard the call of my people!" Tony jumped into the kitchen making both Steve and Bruce jump.

"Tony! What the hell!" Bruce held a hand against his chest as he glared at the pack alpha.

"What? Jarvis said Steve was baking and doing another video and that you had come up to bother him so I thought I would join, and I heard the word science, so I had to intrude. What are we making?"

Steve rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "I am making pies. And if you touch that one, I will smack you with a spatula."

Holding his hands up in surrender Tony backed away. "Okay. You win. What are you making?"

"Water pie."

Tony and Bruce just looked at Steve in confusion. "A what now?" Tony asked sure that Steve was joking.

"A water pie. It's one of Ma's recipes from the depression. It's not bad and now I'm ignoring you. We start with three gills of water-"

"What the hell is a gill?" Tony interrupted.

Steve just turned and glared at his dad. "Three gills or one and a half cups of water directly into the now baked pie shell. In a separate bowl, Tony is going to mix the cup of sugar and four tablespoons of flour. Thank you. Now, we sprinkle it on top of the water without mixing it. Like with the last pie we top with butter then bake for half an hour at four hundred.

Now, some recipes end there but my Ma always covered the crust with foil and baked it for another thirty minutes while lowering the fire. So…I'm just going to drop the temperature to three-seventy-five. Once it's out of the oven, we let it sit until cool. Got that Tony? It needs to cool completely before you get to eat it."

"Fine," Tony pouted. "If you're going to be that way, what are we going to do while we wait?"

Steve rolled his eyes at the camera. "I was going to read. Alone."

"Well, you can't do that, that's boring. I know! Jarvis, change the music!" A moment later and Star-Spangled Man with a Plan started playing.

"NO!" Steve cried out and covered his face. "No, no, no. Níl! Rud ar bith ach seo. Is fuath liom an t-amhrán seo an oiread sin. Achrann agus strus ort Tony. Go ndéanfadh an diabhal dréimire de do chnámha droma agus tú ag piocadh úlla i ngairdín ifrinn!" (No! Anything but this. I hate this song so much. Strife and stress upon you Tony. May the devil make a ladder of your backbones while picking apples in the garden of hell!)

Behind him, Bruce was covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. It wasn't something new for him, seeing Steve curse at Tony in Irish. Though, when he thought about it, Bruce hadn't seen Steve speak anything but English around the rest of the pack. It was only him and Thor who had heard the Irish. Bruce honestly believed that Steve could speak more languages but wasn't sure just how many.

"Jarvis," Bruce said when he finally stopped laughing. "Would you mind turning this off, please? It was never my favourite song."

A moment later the song ended and Steve's playlist from before began. "Thank you, Jarvis," Steve let his head thump against the counter. "I never want to hear that song again. Tony, if you promise to never play that song again, I'll let you try the pies."

Tony playfully glared at his pup then looked at the pies. "Fine. But I make no promises about Jarvis playing the song on his own."

"If Jarvis wants to spend another week sounding like he's from the thirties, then he can go right ahead." Steve grinned at one of Jarvis' cameras. Since his dad had taught him about coding, he had been able to prank his brothers back and the number of times he was pranked had gone down. Though the quality of pranks had gone up.

"I believe I shall hold that particular form of blackmail to myself. However, I feel that I should remind you that we are still recording."

"Oh shit," Steve let his head bang against the counter again. "Jarvis, do me a huge favour and never let them interrupt my recording again please."

"A good idea Captain. Shall I end the recording?"

Slowly Steve lifted his head and looked at the camera. "No, not yet. I still want to see Tony's reaction to the pies." Getting up Steve headed to where the pies were cooling and cut slices of each. Putting a piece of each pie on a plate he passed one to Bruce and Tony. "Try this then get out of my kitchen."

Taking the plate Tony picked up a fork and took a bite of the water pie first. Pausing he blinked at the pie then up at Steve. "What science is this? Why does this taste good?"

Beside him, Bruce had the same reaction. "I don't get it! It's just crackers, water, cinnamon, and butter. Why does it taste like apples?"

"No idea," Steve laughed. "But it's the reason I don't really like apple pie. I'm too used to eating the fake ones, so the texture of cooked apples puts me off. Well, I guess that's all for this video. Hope you all enjoyed it more than I did. Until next time."

Steve picked up his phone with a sigh, he did not want to be dealing with Fury right now. "What do you want Fury?"

"We need you in DC."

Steve took a deep breath and looked to his dad for courage before replying. "No."

"What do you mean no? You are a SHIELD agent Rogers and as such you are needed in DC."

"I never signed on to SHIELD, you just assumed. Besides, it's almost Christmas. I don't want to be without my family for the holidays. Maybe, in the new year. I'll think about it." Not giving Fury a chance to argue, Steve hung up the phone.

"Well done kiddo," Tony laughed. "You showed him. Now, come on," getting up Tony gestured for Steve to follow him. "You need to help me find a present for your mom."

"You are so hopeless," Steve laughed as he followed Tony.

"Well not all of us are blessed with artistic talent like you."

For the last two years, Steve had made gifts for every birthday, Christmas, Father's, and Mother's Day. The first Father's Day Steve and the bots had surprised Tony with a painting each. Jarvis later showed Tony the video of the bots sneaking up to Steve's art studio where Steve had set up easels, paint, and brushes for them all. Steve had even downloaded a drawing app on his pad for Jarvis to use.

"Alright," Steve pulled on his jacket and headed for the elevator. "Come on then. I may have a few ideas for you."

"There you two are! I've been waiting for ages!" Sharon called out from where she was leaning against Tony's car.

"Hey Sharon," Steve waved at the beta. "I didn't know you were coming?"

"Don't worry Caramellino, I didn't invite her."

"Of course, not. Why would you invite your favourite cousin to go Christmas shopping with you?" Sharon laughed as she got into the backseat. "I came to talk with Steve and Jarvis told me your plans."

"Jarvis needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut," Steve grumbled. Beside him, Tony laughed as he started the car.

"You boys need to stop antagonizing one another. I don't know which of you is worse."

"Dum-E," Steve said with a straight face. "I don't know how but he snuck upstairs and took all of my paintbrushes. I found them in Butterfinger's charging station, but he seemed too upset to have taken them. It was U that told me what really happened."

"I came for a reason," Sharon told them. "Look, Fury is moving me to DC. He's arranging for me to keep an eye on you. I'll be in the apartment next to yours undercover."

"Of course, he is," Steve leaned his head back against the headrest. "I assume we have to pretend that we don't know each other?"

"Sorry," Sharon nodded. Reaching up she squeezed Steve's shoulder. "We can still meet up; it will just have to be secret. I'm heading out tomorrow, so I'll check the place out and keep you updated. We'll have a secret code if you want."

"Sounds very super spy."

"Well, I'm glad someone will be there to keep him out of trouble," Tony laughed.

"Hey!" Steve protested. "I'm not that bad. Besides Nat is coming as well."

"That does not make me feel any better," Tony shook his head and laughed at Steve's outraged face. "Enough work talk. Let's go Christmas shopping!"

DC was nice, Steve thought. Though it wasn't New York. It had nice museums and he enjoyed running through the National Mall. He had noticed one Beta ran there every morning and he seemed interesting. One morning Steve decided to push himself and passed the Beta multiple times with an "on your left" every time. Turned out that the Beta, Sam, was ex-air force. They had a moment of bonding over how difficult it was to sleep in a normal bed.

Unfortunately, Nat sent him a mission update and interrupted his friend making. Climbing into the car he pulled out his phone and texted his dad about Sam. While he knew that his dad would instantly begin looking the beta up, Steve wanted to tell his dad about his new potential friend. Nat, of course, made fun of him the entire way to their op. Thankfully, she stopped when they met up with STRIKE. While the rest of the pack knew about Steve's adoption, they were keeping it secret from SHIELD.

The mission was FUBAR, and Steve was pissed. He was getting really sick and tired of Nick keeping secrets while expecting him to clean up his mess. Now Nick was holding a gun to everyone on earth. Needing to get away Steve changed out of his uniform and jumped on the Harley his dad had gotten him for Christmas and went for a drive. Without conscious thought, he ended up at the Smithsonian.

Wandering around the displays Steve fought against his tears. Seeing Bucky's display made his heart hurt. The videos were wonderful and painful, he remembered those moments so clearly. Bucky hated when the cameras showed up, mainly because Philips would always make them behave. That and they had to keep their distance, keep pretending that they were just friends.

Speaking of friends, Steve took advantage of being in DC to visit Peggy again. Tony and Pepper had taken him to visit her that first summer. They had gone again after his birthday/adoption and at Christmas. It was the same every year after. Seeing Peggy was nice, he was so glad that she had found someone to marry and have children with. Watching her forget everything was becoming more and more painful. It pushed home how out of his time he was.

Hoping for something a little more uplifting, Steve headed for the VA where Sam worked. Instead, Steve was faced with an intense veterans group therapy session. I may have to look into the VA when I get back to New York. I think this might be something for me. He stayed out of the way when everyone was leaving, waiting until Sam was alone before approaching.

"Look who it is. The running man."

"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense.

"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret."

Steve knew that look. It was the same one he continually sees in the mirror. "You lose someone?"

"My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch."

"I'm sorry." That brought bad horrible memories. Watching Bucky fall off the train, unable to reach his outstretched hand.

"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"

Yeah, I know that feeling. It's why I crashed a plane into the Arctic Ocean. "But you're happy now, back in the world?"

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?"

"No." Yes. "I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."

"Ultimate fighting? It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"

"I don't know." Bucky. Dad. Mom. What else is there?

Steve slowly made his way up the stairs to his apartment. He really wanted to cuddle up with his parents and watch a movie, instead, he was heading into his cold and empty apartment alone. Running in Sharron, Steve smiled, maybe he didn't have to be alone tonight. "Evening Kate," he greeted her. "Long night?"

Sharron returned his smile, "yeah. Just heading out to meet my cousin for dinner."

"That sounds nice. I hope you have a good time." Heading into his apartment Steve quickly showered and changed before heading out to the dinner Sharon had told him about, not far from their building where they could meet in secret. "Hey," he greeted her as he sat down in the booth.

"Steve. Tony is so mad," laughing she pushed the milkshake towards him.

"Oh god." Shaking his head Steve drank his milkshake. "About what now?"

"Does jumping out of a plane without a parachute sound familiar?"

"Crap."

"Yeah, crap."

"Who told him?" Steve whined into his milkshake.

"Don't look at me. I would put money on either Natasha or Jarvis. So, besides your dad being pissed at you, how was your mission?"

Groaning, Steve banged his head against the table. "The mission was FUBAR. Once again Fury was keeping information to himself about the mission, and it nearly got people killed. I get that Nat probably couldn't tell me about her mission but I'm never quite sure when she's in work mode."

"She can get rather intense. Enough about work, tell me about how you're enjoying DC. Tony mentioned you may have found a friend."

Smiling, Steve ordered another milkshake and told Sharon about his time in DC so far.

Climbing through the window Steve paused. Harry James was playing. He never listened to the old music outside of his videos. He enjoyed the modern stuff too much. Grabbing his shield, he cautiously made his way down the hall. Steve sighed and relaxed against the wall as he recognized Fury sitting in his chair. "I don't remember giving you a key."

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out."

"I didn't know you were married."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

"I know Nick. That's the problem." Steve reached to turn on the light and immediately froze seeing the injuries on Nick's face.

Fury motions for Steve to be quiet and shows him a text on his phone. [Ears Everywhere.] "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash." [SHIELD compromised. HYDRA]

"Who else knows about your wife?" It took all of Steve's effort to keep control of his emotions.

[You and me.] "Just my friends."

"Is that what we are?"

"That's up to you." Shots ring out hitting Fury three times. Dropping, Steve looked out the window trying to spot the shooter. Grabbing Fury's arm, he dragged the director out of the living room and into the hall where it was safer. Fury reached up and pressed the flash drive into Steve's hand. "Don't trust anyone."

Steve's apartment door banged open and a moment later Sharon was standing there with a gun. Looking down at Fury she cursed and pulled out her radio. "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive, I need EMTs."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" Steve heard through her coms.

Looking out the window Steve saw a flash of metal. "Tell them I'm in pursuit." Raising his shield Steve jumped through his window and chased down the feeling assassin. The man was good Steve had to give him that. Finally, he got close enough with a clear area and threw the shield. Only the assassin catches it. The man fucking catches the shield with a metal arm. Then he tosses it back. Catching it, Steve caught it with both hands and still, it nearly knocks him off his feet.

Sighing, Steve headed for the fire escape. There was no way he was jumping back across. At the street, he met up with Sharon and the EMTs and jumped into the ambulance. It was a quiet but intense ride to the SHIELD hospital.

Hydra. After everything he had done, everything he had sacrificed they were still out in the world causing chaos. It was one thing when he woke up and seventy years passed. It was another thing when he had to fight aliens or even when they had to fight an angry robot created by one of their own. But now…it was personal, and Steve Rogers was beyond angry.

Now it was Hydra, and according to Fury, they were in SHIELD of all places. Steve was still reeling from Fury being shot, the assassin catching his shield and now he was standing in the hospital with Nat watching the doctors trying and failing, to save Fury's life.

"Is he gonna make it?" Nat asked.

"I don't know," Steve admitted.

"Tell me about the shooter."

"He's fast and strong. Had a metal arm."

"Ballistics?" Natasha asks Maria as she joins them.

"Three slugs, no riffling. Completely untraceable.

"Soviet-made."

"Yeah," Maria admits slowly.

"The Winter Soldier." Before Nat can finish explaining Fury's heart stops. The doctors do everything they can, but it doesn't work. Steve can only stand there and watch as Fury dies. Steve tries to comfort his sister as much as possible, while still feeling horrible himself.

Walking down the hall, Steve pulled Nat into a quiet corner. "Take this. Fury said not to trust anyone, but I know I can trust you. Get it to dad, see if he can figure it out. I'm going to stay here and try and find out more."

"Alright," Nat took the flash drive and hid it. "You be careful while I'm gone, Steve. You don't have anyone to watch your back."

"I'll be fine," Steve tried to reassure her. "You just get that to Dad as quickly as possible. That way you can come back and watch my six."

"The Winter Soldier," Nat tells him quietly. "He's been credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years. I've come across him, he shot right through me to get to his target. If he's out there you need to be extra careful." The pair paused as they heard Rumlow calling for Steve. "Keep your eyes on that one," Nat told him.

"I will," Steve gave her a nod before following Rumlow out of the hospital. The conversation with Pierce was interesting while telling him nothing at all. Steve's instincts were telling him that Pierce was connected to Hydra, but he wasn't sure how just yet. Standing in the elevator had all of Steve's instincts on edge. He was in a small space surrounded by alphas. The good news was that none of them knew the truth, the bad news was they were going to fight him as an alpha.

Not that it mattered in the end. Steve still won that fight and the fight against a quinjet. God, he hurt. Getting back on his motorcycle Steve drove away from the HQ but didn't head to his apartment. Instead, he headed to an open park and called his dad.

"Steve," Tony's voice could barely be heard over the mechanic's music until Jarvis turned it down. "Please tell me that you're okay. Jarvis said you got into a fight and jumped out of a building."

"I'm alright. A little sore but unhurt. Did you get your present?" Steve knew that Nat should have already made it to New York. Probably stole a jet or something.

"I did. Our favourite spider just brought me my gift."

"Good. Have you and Jarvis had a chance to look the data over yet?"

"Jarvis is working on it now. Unfortunately, it has a nasty little homing program attached to it."

"A homing program?"

"It basically means that once someone who shouldn't have it plugs it in the person who owns the information can find them in under ten minutes. Thankfully, that isn't more than an irritation for Jarvis."

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted. "It appears that the drive is protected by another AI. They are rewriting everything the moment I decode it."

"What!" Tony exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure Sir, however, I was able to generate a location for where the data was generated. I have sent the location to both Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Steve said. While this wasn't what he was hoping for, it was better than nothing. "I'm assuming Nat is on her way back."

"Yeah," Tony sounded distracted. "She left almost the minute she gave me the drive. Said to tell you to meet her in Philly. Probably sent you an address or something."

Steve quickly checked his phone, sure enough, there were two addresses on his screen. "Yeah, I've got them. I'm going to head out right away."

"Jarvis will have a car waiting for you outside the city. I'm sure SHIELD is tracking your bike. We'll have someone pick up your bike and bring it home for you. I'll go over it and get rid of any trackers or other nasties they put on it."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No Problem. You be careful out there Steve, I don't want to have to tell your mother you got injured."

"I'll do my best but no promises Old Man." Steve hung up the phone and turned his bike east. Through the secure com-link in his ear, Jarvis gave him directions to the waiting car. Reaching the location there was a non-descript pick-up waiting with a young man sitting in the bed.

"Captain Rogers," the man nodded his head as he jumped out. "Jarvis told me to wait here for you, give you my truck and drive your bike back to New York."

"Thank you," Steve accepted the keys the man held out for him and passed over his bike key. "I'll take good care of her."

"Same. Good luck on your mission." Getting onto Steve's bike, the man quickly drove off.

Shrugging his shoulders, Steve got into the truck and headed for the address Natasha had sent him. It didn't take him long to get there and pick up his sister. The entire drive, Nat bothered her brother about finding someone and when he had last kissed. It got on his nerves and Steve tried to come up with excuses as to why he hadn't gone in search of an omega.

Okay, now Steve was officially freaked out. It's weird enough that they set up the first SHIELD base there but Zola? I mean really, who puts their brain in a computer? Steve shook himself as he carried Natasha down the road.

Steve reached the edge of town before Natasha regained consciousness. "I'm fine, you can put me down. Come on," she urged her brother to move faster. "We need a ride back to DC if we're going to stop this. Then we need a place to lie low."

"I think I may know a place."

"Right, let's find a car," Natasha smiled as she shot off a quick text to Tony, letting him know they were both alive and on their way back to DC.

They arrived at the house early in the morning, knocking on the patio doors. Only a moment later the blinds rolled up and Sam opened the door looking confused. "Hey man."

"I'm sorry about this, we need a place to lay low." Steve felt bad for doing this, but Sam was someone he could trust.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added.

"Not everyone," Sam stepped aside to invite them in. "The bathroom is just down the hall, and I think I have a change of clothes that should fit you both." Leading the way Sam showed them both to the bathroom then left them to get some clean clothes.

Talking with Sam was interesting, though Steve did continue feeling bad for dragging the other man into this. His curiosity on the wings Sam showed them cut out a small part of his guilt. It only took Natasha a couple of hours to get to Fort Meade and steal the wings while Steve argued with Tony about how he couldn't just buy them as it would raise more red flags than just stealing them. He also enjoyed making Sitwell pale with nothing more than a laser pointer and watching Natasha kick him off the roof. Though, Steve would really like it if she could stop trying to set him up with girls, all of them omegas. So not interested.

He was almost thankful when their car was attacked. If this was the Winter Soldier, he could understand Natasha's issues with him. It was bad enough that the soldier had caught his shield before when he shot Fury. Standing on the highway, Steve looked around searching for Natasha. Seeing his sister get shot, Steve rushed the Soldier. The feeling of the metal arm hitting the shield shook Steve to the bones.

The physical impact was much easier to take than the emotional one when the Soldier's mask came off. "Bucky?"

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

The world stopped for Steve, nothing else mattered in that moment. Not even when Bucky aimed a gun at him. Sam came flying in knocking Bucky on his ass. It was Natasha's grenade that made Bucky run. Steve couldn't breathe, Bucky was alive, but had no idea who he was. Steve was in so much shock that he didn't even resist when the STRIKE team showed up to arrest them. "It was him," Steve said quietly. "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago," Sam asked feeling confused.

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in forty-three, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…"

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Natasha told him weakly.

Steve just shook his head. "Even when I have nothing, I had Bucky."

"We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck." Sam said looking at the guards, jumping back when one of the guards pulled an electric rod. Spinning the rod, the guard attacked the other and pulls the helmet off.

"Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain." Hill looked at the three others. "Who's this guy?"

"Sam Wilson," Sam tried to hold out his hand but laughed when the handcuffs stopped him.

"It's all good Hill," Steve reassured her. "He's on our side."

"Okay then," pulling out a key Hill passed it over to Sam. "Get them uncuffed quickly." She then pulled out a laser weapon and cut a hole in the bottom of the van. "Alright, let's go." Hill went first followed by Sam. Steve gently lowered Natasha down before grabbing his shield and joining them. They followed Hill through the streets to a waiting van.

As Hill drove, Steve took out his shield, something felt off about it. Worried that it might be a tracker he began checking every inch. There under the leather hand straps was a piece of paper. Unfolding it he almost choked. It was Bucky's handwriting, he was certain. Pocking the paper, he shared a look with Nat and shook his head. He would tell her about it later.

They arrived at a bridge and followed Hill into a hidden bunker. They were immediately taken to a medical area where Fury was sitting in a bed, very much alive.

"About damn time," Fury said. "Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."

Steve could see the pain those words caused his sister and he wanted to hit Fury. Natasha must have heard his thoughts because she turned and smiled at him. Thankfully the doctor was quick to look Nat's shoulder over and stitch it up. Once she was let go by the doctor Steve directed her to a chair. Then, together with Sam, they helped Fury get out of bed and over to a table with chairs.

After sitting at the head of the table Fury held up a photograph of Pierce. "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't' an achievement, it was a responsibility.' See, it's shit like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Nat said.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," Fury opened a case containing three chips.

Sam leaned over and looked at them, "what's that?"

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Hill told them with a grim look on her face.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own."

Hill pulled up a hologram of the carriers. "One or two won't cut it. we need to like all three carriers for this to work because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are going to die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left…"

"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD." Steve growled out.

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it."

"You gave me this mission; this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose, and nobody noticed.

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes."

"If I may suggest an alternative option," Tony's voice came over the coms. "As much as I hate to, I partially agree with our dear departed director. You can't just drop all of SHIELD's data on the net, there are too many agents out there. If our dear Natasha can get Jarvis into SHIELD's main servers, I can go through the data and dump all of Hydra's information while keeping SHIELD safe and intact…at least for now."

Steve thought about it and slowly nodded his head. "Okay. Okay, we'll do it your way." He took a moment to look around at everyone gathered and had a moment of panic. "I need some air." Not waiting for anyone to argue, Steve left the room and headed for the top of the bridge.

Staring off into space Steve remembered the day of his Ma's funeral. Bucky had walked him home, found his key and offered him a place to stay. They never dared to say 'I love you' after that first time when they were teens, but they had their own way of saying it. I'm with you till the end of the line.

Eventually, he was joined by Sam. "He's gonna be there, you know?"

Steve just nodded, "I know."

"Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you."

"He will. Gear up, it's time." Steve turned and started to walk back.

"You gonna wear that?"

"No. if you're gonna fight a war you gotta wear a uniform." He had plans. If he was going to make Bucky remember, then he had better wear something Buck would recognize. It didn't take much to break into the Smithsonian, especially with Jarvis helping him. Putting on his old uniform felt good, almost like coming home after all these years. A small part of him wished that he wasn't on suppressants, that he could use his smell to encourage his alpha to return to him. It just wasn't possible.

"Steve, Caramellino," Tony's voice came through Steve's com as the group headed out. "How are you doing?"

Sighing, Steve leaned against a tree while waiting for the others. "I don't know athair. I just found out that the Winter Soldier is Bucky."

"Try to keep your wits about you. We'll get him back. Just focus on what you need to do. Which is stopping those carriers and coming home to us. I'll keep the coms open if you need me, even if it's just to talk."

"Thanks. I'll do my best dad. Love you."

"Love you too Caramellino. Stay safe."

Breaking into SHIELD was surprisingly easy. They got into the com tower and Steve took control, letting everyone know the truth of SHIELD and Hydra.

"Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" Sam asked with a smirk.

Flipping Sam off Steve took the chips from Hill and headed back down. He had carriers to stop and an alpha to find. Getting onto the carriers wasn't as difficult as Steve thought, though he did feel a little bit, bad fighting people, he had worked with for the past two years. Then again, they chose to work for Hydra so…fuck it.

The first carrier's targeting blade was replaced with little difficulty, at least for Steve. "Hey Sam," he called out over the coms. "I'm going to need a ride."

"Roger. Just let me know when you're ready."

Steve took a running leap off the carrier, trusting that his new partner will catch him. "I just did."

Thankfully, Sam was able to catch Steve and bring him up onto the third carrier. "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look."

"I had a big breakfast." From behind a crate, Bucky appeared, kicking Steve off the ship.

"Steve," Sam cried out, rushing to try and catch his friend. A moment later and he was being pulled back and the Winter Soldier ripped his wing off before pushing him off the carrier. Pulling his shoot Sam made it safely back to the ground. "Cap?" he called over the coms. "Cap, come in. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm here! I'm still on the Hilicarrier. Where are you?

"I'm grounded, the suit's down. Sorry, Cap."

"Don't worry. I got it." Steve kept an eye out for Bucky as he raced towards the targeting blade storage. Halfway down the gangway, Steve paused. There in front of him was Bucky, standing guard. "People are going to die, Buck," Steve said looking upset. "I can't let that happen." I don't want to fight you. You're my alpha. Please remember. Steve could only stare at his alpha with tears in his eyes. "Please don't make me do this."

Steve was the first to make a move, throwing his shield at Bucky. Pulling two guns Bucky started shooting. Thankfully most of the bullets bounced off the shield. Except one that hit Steve in the side. Steve hit Barnes in the head with the shield, knocking the man down. Bucky pulled a knife, got up and went after the Captain again. They fought hand to hand or rather knife to shield.

Steve was able to open the control panel before he was attacked again. It took some effort on Steve's part to take the knife away from Bucky and pull the targeting blade out of the system. Bucky quickly recovered and began attacking him again. With a growl, Bucky launched himself at Steve and tossed them both over the railing.

Hitting the ground, Steve lost his hold on the chip. Steve rushed Bucky needing to get past him to the chip. Turning them, Steve allowed Bucky to hit him hard enough to send Steve flying backwards, right to where the chip was laying. Grabbing it, Steve continued to slide, standing at the last second just in time to block another attack from Bucky. Unfortunately, Steve lost his grip on the chip again and it flew off onto the glass floor.

Kicking Bucky down, Steve followed. Racing for the chip Steve fell when he was hit in the back with his own shield. So that's what it feels like. Turning he quickly grabbed his shield as Bucky shot at him. Once again, he threw the shield, only for it to be blocked by Bucky's metal arm.

The fighting continued and Steve began to panic when Bucky picked up the chip. Steve pinned Bucky in a chokehold. He ended up having to dislocate Bucky's arm before pinning his metal arm under his leg before the alpha finally dropped the chip.

Running for the causeway, Steve jumped to grab hold of the railings and pull himself up. Racing across the gangway Steve stumbled when he was shot in the leg. Ignoring the pain, he reached for the targeting blade only to be shot again. This time in the gut. Needing a moment, Steve forced himself to stand and locking the chip in. Breathing deeply, he allowed his body to collapse as he tells Maria to shoot the carriers down. I'm sorry dad. I tried, I really did but I don't think I'm going to make it home to you and mom.

A moment later and the carrier was under attack from the other two. Leaning his head back against the wall Steve closed his eyes and tried to find a small amount of peace knowing that once again his death will bring peace to the world. He was brought out of his peace by the sounds of falling debris. Looking over he saw Bucky trapped under a girder.

FUCK! Fuck fuck fuck. Forcing himself to move Steve raced over as fast as he could. There was no way he could stand by and let his alpha die. Not while he was still breathing. It took everything Steve had but he lifted the girder, despite all his injuries, allowing Bucky to escape from under the oppressive weight. Getting to his knees Bucky rested there and stared at Steve.

"You know me," Steve rasped out.

"No, I don't!" Bucky screamed.

"Bucky, you've known me your whole life." Bucky lashed out, hitting Steve. "Your name…is James Buchanan Barnes."

"SHUT UP!"

Steve pulls himself up onto his knees and takes off his helmet. "I'm not gonna fight you," Steve dropped his shield. "You're my friend."

Barnes tackled Steve and started punching the punk in the face. "You're my mission!"

"Then finish it…" Steve gasped. "Cause, I'm with ya till the end of the line." He saw Bucky pale before everything went black.

I know it's a bit of a cliffhanger and I apologize for that but I promise that it will be resolved soon. Once I post this chapter I will post the first chapter of the next story, though as of right now I only have the first two chapters of that written and the cliffhanger will be resolved in that second chapter.