WILSON

Almost two weeks after Sharon broke the news that Zemo was out they got the call from Ross to gear up. Zemo had been tracked to a remote location in Canada. Their bags had been packed since that fateful day of Zemo's escape so all they had to do was get out the door when the time was right. Bucky came around to the idea of going with them, but under the condition that he stay back and join the fight only if absolutely necessary.

Sam was both relieved and hesitant in how quickly Zemo was found. He was relieved because it meant they were one step closer to recapturing him and putting Bucky's mind at ease. And he was hesitant because the trio had finally settled back into a normal routine where fear wasn't the prominent emotion in the house anymore. The tension was back as Sharon loaded the car and Sam set Bucky's case on the table and opened it. He watched Bucky hesitate over his arm before slipping it back onto his body.

"You good?" Sam asked to which Bucky only nodded.

They drove in silence to a small airport to mobilize with their military back up. They hopped on a plane and within a hours were touching down and gearing up. Bucky was to go in the surveillance van while Sharon and Sam joined their back up on a chopper that would drop them off separately before they drove the rest of the way to Zemo's suspected location. Bucky was exceptionally tense the entire plane ride and briefing.

Bucky was still hesitant to join the mission, that much was clear. Sam had caught him more than once whispering something in Sharon's ear that caused her to falter for a moment. He wanted to know what he was saying that kept making her search the room and link eyes with Sam briefly. She would then lean into Bucky and whisper something back to him causing his tense shoulders to relax slightly. More than once Sam caught Bucky pushing his forehead to Sharon's to ground himself. And every time Sharon would massage the back of his neck until he was ready to pull away. He was happy they were in the back corner and everyone seemed to be more than content to leave the pair alone.

He tried to stay focused on the countless people talking to him, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from his friends. They were perfect together. Sharon was so tender with Bucky in easing his fears while flawlessly keeping up with what was happening around them. And any time Sharon seemed to falter, Bucky was putting aside his own fears to help her. The steely expression that sent people running was on his face as he helped Sharon scope an entry point on the blueprints before them.

When it was time for Bucky to load up, he found the couple huddled together again. This time it seemed as if Bucky was the one being strong and whispering quiet words of comfort to Sharon. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before his eyes searched the tarmac and landed on him. Bucky gave a short wave and a nod which Sam returned as he made his way over to them. Sam clapped him on the shoulder.

"Be nice to the techs." He joked and nodded toward the techs loading up in the van. "Don't stare too much."

Sharon cracked a smile while Bucky glared at him. "I'm always nice." Sharon and Sam both laughed out loud. Their nerves briefly dissipating. Bucky frowned further. He looked at Sharon to defend him.

"It's a work in progress." She patted his arm as he scoffed. "Come on, it's time." She steered him to the van. She gave his hand one last squeeze. "We'll see you in a bit." He nodded at them one last time and stepped into the van. The nerves started to kick back in and the pair stood rigidly on the tarmac until the van and the follow SUV were out of sight.

At one point while waiting for the okay to load up themselves, Sam forgot Sharon was even in the hanger. He found her in the very back, tucked behind a forklift, sitting with her head in her hands on the concrete. She was sitting so still he almost missed her. It was such a stark contrast from her normal knee-tapping and sway as she rocked out to her theme song. He sat down quietly next to her and gently pulled the earbud from her ear. The song playing was something slow and haunting. He slipped the phone out of her pocket and turned the music off.

"Sharon. I think you should stay behind."

"No." Her voice was firm.

"You aren't in the right headspace."

"I'm fine." She ran her hands down her face and sat back to look at him. "I just… I'm scared." Her head dropped to his shoulder as he pulled her close. She was never scared of missions. She always had a bit of nervousness, they all did, but she was never downright scared. He knew both her and Bucky were scared and that borderline terrified him. He held her a little tighter, he had to remain strong for all of them.

This wasn't just some simple mission to defeat the bad guy. This was a mission to protect their friend. Zemo obviously had the influence and resources to get himself sprung from prison, they had no idea what he had up his sleeve now that he was free again. They didn't know what his intentions were or what he was after now. All they knew was that he was a threat to Bucky therefore he needed to be stopped. Sam would be damned if he let Zemo ruin their trio like he ruined the Avengers. He was not going to allow that man to hurt his friends again.

"What was he saying to you earlier?"

"He kept trying to convince me that if Zemo got to him that we should just leave him behind." The air caught in Sam's lungs. "He's terrified of hurting us. I told him that wasn't an option. We aren't leaving him."

Sam nodded at her words. "Good."

"THEY'RE TAKING FIRE! LOAD UP! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Sam and Sharon bolted to their feet.

"Wilson!" The Captain in charge was running toward them. "The van is being ambushed."

"Bucky." Sharon shoved her earpiece in her ear. "James?"

"Ahh! It's about damn time!" Sam heard as his own clicked on. "There's three SUVs ambushing us. One is down and they took out our back-up. I'm working on the other two. HOLD THE WHEEL STEADY!"

"Who are they Buck, can you tell?"

"No fucking clue! Fuck, there's too many of them. It's just me and the driver now." Sharon's eyes were wide as they listened helplessly. She turned to Sam. He was already bolting for the hanger entrance and extending his wings.

"Sam!" Her voice was on the verge of panic. He turned to see her sprinting after him with the shield on her arm. "Catch!" Once the metal was firmly in his grasp he was in the air.

CARTER

Sharon watched as Sam took off into the sky. She could hear Bucky's fight ringing through her comm and Sam shouting that he was on his way. There was gunfire and Bucky's angry shouting before all she could hear was the screeching of metal ringing so loudly in her ear that she almost had to pull it out. Sharon's hands went to her mouth to hold back her scream. Sam was shouting something intelligible and then the comm went quiet. Sharon couldn't feel her legs.

Time slowed and all she could hear was her heart pumping in her ears. Someone was shouting and waving their arms at her to load up. She stared at them blankly.

The sound of gunshots pulled her from her stupor. She turned to see the hanger explode into mayhem. They were being ambushed as well. Before she could even reach for her gun, her neck was searing in pain. For a moment she thought she was shot. Her hand shakily reached for her neck. She expected to feel the warm slickness of blood, but instead her fingers wrapped around a foreign object.

"Agent Carter?"

She twisted around slowly at her name to the young military official, Torres, standing a few feet from her. His eyes were wide in fear as his eyes took in the tranquilizer dart now clenched in her fist. His arms sprang out on instinct and caught her as her knees buckled. He began dragging her out of harms way when someone slammed into him. He dropped her forcing both of their bodies to meet the hard concrete. A boot met his face before he could get to his feet. She rolled to her stomach and tried to reach out to him, but her limbs weren't responding.

Two masked figures came to hover over her. One of them rolled her and gripped her chin harshly to turn her head and get a better look at her face. She tried to tell them to fuck off, but she was fading fast. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

"That's her. Get her in the van."

Torres was shouting and fighting to get to her. Sharon watched in a daze as he was beaten into unconsciousness. She felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye. She was absolutely helpless. She wanted to reach out, to help him, to tell them he was just kid, but her body wasn't working anymore. Her eyes clouded over and the world faded away.

WILSON

The SUV was a fireball on the side of the road and thankfully two of the men inside were alive and waiting for transport. Sam didn't stick around to hear their side of the story, instead he shot back into the sky like a rocket and took off in search for the surveillance van. He passed one of the enemy SUVs that Bucky must have taken out. It was flipped on its side, smoking, and abandoned besides the few dead bodies that were caught in the fight.

Sam moved on up the road and finally found the surveillance van. It was upside down and littered with bullet holes. The back doors were thrown open and the side door completely ripped off. The two techs inside were dead along with the driver. Sam suspected the driver must have been shot which caused the van to lose control and crash. There was no sign of Bucky.

He sent Red Wing up to survey the area and try to get a lead on the direction Bucky or the people who attacked might have gone. He attempted to get back in touch with Sharon, but the comm wasn't connecting. He pressed his phone to his ear instead.

"Sharon, Buck's gone. I found the van and-"

"Sir, this is Torres." Sam blanched at the young voice.

"Joaquin? Where's Sharon?"

"We were ambushed. They took her sir." Sam dropped to his knees as his phone fell from his limp fingers. He could hear Joaquin still talking on the other end of the line, but he ignored it. Gone. Bucky and Sharon were both taken and gone. He let out an anguished sob. His friends were gone. It was just him now.

He roughly wiped his tears and put his phone to his ear again.

"Captain?!" Torres' slightly panicked voice was asking. "Sir, please tell me you can still hear me?"

"I'm here. I'm headed back now." All he wanted to do was stay on that side of the road and wallow, but he knew he couldn't. His friends, no- his family were out there and he needed to find them.

Authors Note: So sorry for the long delay! Things have been crazy and this just slipped off my radar and priority list for a while. I hope you enjoyed!