On the plane the next morning Alex chose a seat a bit away from Fury. As she looked out the window, her mind drifted to the previous evening. After speaking with Bucky and checking in with Sam she had retired to the bedroom. Bucky had given it up to sleep on the couch for a night.

She had fallen asleep quickly but woke not long after. Alex tossed and turned and tried to fall back sleep for a while but gave up and decided to get something to drink. She walked into the kitchen to find Bucky leaning against the counter clad in only his boxers as he downed a bottle of beer.

The dog tags he always wore shone in the light and Alex felt her face grow hot. She tried not to stare as her explanation came tumbling out that she couldn't sleep and thought she'd get a drink. He blushed and asked what she wanted. She told him water as the voice in her head was coming up with a whole lot of other ideas. Alex quickly took the glass and ran her eyes over him again unobtrusively as possible, before heading back to bed. Now, she sat in her seat enjoying the memory and trying to pinpoint when her feelings began to shift.

"Are you really that mad at me?" Fury asked Alex from across the aisle. He had moved down the aisle after being ignored.

"No. Why?" she said suddenly jarred out of her daydream and back to the present.

"Because I asked you twice if Barnes is okay and you didn't answer."

Alex took a sip from her water bottle to give herself a second or two to recover.

"Depends what your definition of okay is," Alex quipped.

"Will he put Wilson in danger? I cannot lose Captain America," Fury replied sternly.

"No."

"You're sure?"

"If you had doubts, you shouldn't have put him in there in the first place. Why are you second guessing yourself?" she asked with a quizzical look.

"Yes or no?"

"I am ninety-nine percent certain that Mr. Barnes will put himself in danger before anyone else," Alex answered.

"And that other one percent?" Fury questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"There are always the things you can't account for," Alex said with a shrug.

"Yes, there are. Like an ex-husband trying to create super soldiers."

Alex curled her lip and muttered, "Yeah. That. Thanks for the warning."

"I know you can roll with whatever I toss at you."

"While I appreciate the compliment…" Before she could finish her thought, Fury interrupted.

"Alex, you're one of the best I have. You've gotten better during the last five or so years. Guess what was missing during that time?"

"I'm going to assume you don't mean you," she replied with a wicked grin. Alex was one of the few people who dared to tease Nick Fury and get away with it.

Fury confirmed her assumption and went on to remind Alex of the times Ryan Sciple had been less than supportive of her career. As he listed a few, Alex nodded while simultaneously surprised that Fury recalled the assignments she had passed on. In a friendly and supportive manner that was rarely seen, Nick Fury told her that she was doing just fine on her own and that Olivia had best intergalactic support system available.

"Why did you leave them there?" Alex asked. Being slightly embarrassed, she changed the subject. "I vaguely remember telling you I didn't want to help only to have him retraumatized."

"Zemo. Missing prisoner. John Walker, for starters," Fury stated. "You didn't seem worried about me being retraumatized when he shot me."

"You were in a hospital bed. We were able to limit your stressors," she reminded him.

"Been a couple of days, huh?" Sam asked Bucky as he walked into the kitchen. It was a few hours after Alex and Fury had departed. Sam had been sitting at the kitchen table for a while having been told by Fury to lay low for a day or so.

"Yeah," Bucky replied. He pulled a chair out, sat down, and stared over at Sam. Finally, he spoke again. "Are you... like going to report on me all the time?"

"Buck, listen. You were not good after seeing that. Hell, I wasn't good after seeing that. Will I call Alex again if I feel you need it? Yeah."

"I see." Bucky looked at him with narrowed eyes. He wasn't exactly mad at Sam but he didn't want to watched constantly either.

"For what it's worth, I talked to her, too," Sam said. "Of course, I didn't get a walk around town."

"Now what?" Bucky said refusing to take the bait of Sam's teasing.

"We wait and see."

"That's your plan?" Bucky asked incredulous.

"That's our orders."

Bucky's expression plainly said he wasn't totally on board with the directive. Sam decided to change the subject and teasingly asked how sleeping on the couch was? Bucky's eyes flashed at Sam momentarily before he looked towards the sink where Alex's glass stood in the dish rack. Before he could think too long on it, his phone buzzed. At almost the same time, Sam's phone sounded as well. They both reached for their devices.

Sam got up and began pacing as he spoke to the caller. Bucky remained seated while he read the text Alex had sent. He quickly replied not wanting to risk upsetting her while glancing up at Sam as he typed. As soon as Sam's call ended, he began another. This one was to Nick Fury. Upon hearing Fury's name, Bucky's full attention was directed at Sam and listening to his call.

In the car driving back to her house, Nick Fury cursed as he hung up. Alex looked over with concern. He turned his head, "Found the Flag Smasher. He's dead."

Alex and Fury rushed out of the car as it stopped in front of her house. He had been in conversation with Maria Hill after speaking with Sam. Alex was looking forward to seeing Olivia. As soon as the front door opened, Olivia was in her mother's arms. Alex moved the child further inside and exchanged a quick greeting with Hill as Fury began barking out orders.

Alex did her best to keep Olivia occupied as Fury and Hill tried to coordinate their next moves from her living room. With Olivia somewhat settled, Alex sat down and listened as Fury spoke with Sam again. When he hung up, Fury announced that he and Hill would be staying in New York for the time being.

Hill phoned another agent and made plans for Fury and herself to stay at a secure location in the city for a few days. Fury informed Alex she got her wish; Bucky and Sam would be returning the next day. Plus, as a bonus Walker was returning with them.

"We need to find out what he knows," Fury said when Alex asked why.

"You knew Ryan was out there?" Alex asked Maria Hill later when they were alone in the kitchen.

Hill nodded. "You know I couldn't tell you. Are you okay?"

"Let's just say my therapist will be earning their money this week. Did Olivia listen?"

"She was great, especially when she found out she had a day off," Hill said with a smile that Alex returned. "She drew a picture of Bucky holding a green bean. What's up with that?"

Back at the lab, Zemo watched the chaos going on around him with a look of total satisfaction. People were rushing in and out, John Walker was questioning Sciple, and it wasn't long until Sam and Bucky arrived. Walker waved them over and the trio followed Sciple out of the room leaving Zemo alone.

The four men walked across the hall to an empty break room. Sciple sat down with Walker and Sam on either side; Bucky remained standing and watched the researcher warily from across the table. Sciple noticed the scrutiny and asked him where Alex was.

"Not here," Bucky replied brusquely without providing further details.

"Nice of her to check and see if I'm okay," Sciple retorted with an edge of sarcasm. "Fury's not here either, so I guess Nick doesn't think I'm involved in this." His reply caused Sam and Walker to exchange a look across the table. In contrast, Bucky's focus and stony expression never wavered.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Sam said. Sciple pulled his eyes from Bucky to look at Sam who shrugged. "He's busy."

Sam then eased into questioning Sciple to determine what happened and what led up to it. Occasionally, Walker would cut in and ask a question. Bucky remained silent, his only comment being a sporadic eyeroll at Walker's inquiries. They were wrapping things up when Sam's phone rang and he stepped into the hall. When he returned, he ended the meeting and told Sciple they'd be in touch. Once the researcher left the room, Sam told the others that they were returning to New York that night. Walker told them he'd keep an eye on things and would let them know of any developments.

"You're coming with us," Sam said sternly as Bucky gave Walker a wry grin.