Reader POV

The drive is long and boring, but that is generally how driving is. Lots of time to think and let the road roll by. Usually, I would listen to music but both Bucky and Steve are asleep and it is a very nice thing indeed. I adjust my rearview mirror in the mostly empty road so I can glance down at them. They don't look comfortable really, but they are comfortable enough to get some sleep and that is what counts. The back seat reclines some but they still looked cramped with their big long legs and wide shoulders taking up all the space. Steve has one arm relaxed on the armrest of the door, the other around Bucky's shoulders and his leg stretched behind between the front seats on the center console. The brunette is tucked with the back of his metal shoulder against the blonde's chest, head leaned back against the mass of Captain America's bicep as a pillow. Bucky's hips are canted so his long legs have a little more space behind the passenger seat which is moved all the way forward. They look peaceful, but it is strange because I can tell that they aren't really as peaceful as they look.

I stop glancing at them, setting my right palm on Steve's exposed foot, very slowly as not to wake him. I feel his worry in his skin. He's wary and not sleeping fully, too filled with worry and planning and concern about protecting Bucky but now also protecting me. I pull out the feeling of panic, doom, and anxiety. I let the sense of calm and control he has left dominate him, just so he can sleep a little more soundly. Bucky, who I can feel through the dog tags burning on my sternum, takes a lot more attention.

If Steve was a low-level buzz of tension that was slowly growing like rain filling a swimming pool, then Bucky was a choppy beach with waves of nightmares crashing over him without warning. I feel the tension build, and flow into him, and it is impossible to stop, but I can seem to make it easier. Like standing between him and the crashing surf, I feel the nightmare swell around me and I force it to divide, soft ripples of the dream pushing against him still but the suddenness of it disappearing. It leaves me feeling sticky. The waves are yellow, thick and frothy with fear and sickly red pain, but I try not to look at them too hard. I just want to keep the flow of the water away from him, I don't want to invade his privacy by looking too closely at his nightmares. Steve's words still swirl around me as I stroke the skin of his foot. Do I ever see things I'm not supposed to? Everything I see is things I'm not supposed to. No one is supposed to see what is in other people's heads. I know that it is sexy for me to show them my desire, and it is hot for them to feel my fantasies, but nightmares are incredibly common.

Intrusive thoughts and dark ideas plague regular people's minds, but these men have been to actual bloody wars and experienced years of service in dangerous operations. Bucky's torture and shredded mind is like a riped open wound inside him that I keep trying to hold together. He is so ashamed of what others made him do, and it is so strange to feel his guilt swirl inside him, waring with the knowledge he thought he was doing the right thing. They told him they were protecting the world, protecting people, they lied, they hurt him, and he didn't have a choice. There were times he tried to fight back, and he buried those memories deeply. He tried very hard to bury the hurt of his failures, but I can see them and I can feel them. I see it all, not just what he did, but what he thought at the time. I can see him choose between quick execution at the end of a rifle and stifling the knowledge he could beat a man to death for punishment.

I feel Bucky tense as I am distracted by my own thoughts. I feel his fear rise in him and I gently allow a flow of calm over him. I stroke Steve's foot gently concentrating on the road and the flow of their dreams. I can't help them defend me against Hydra agents. I can't stop bullets with my Vibranium accessories, but I can help them sleep. So that is what I will do. I smile a little as I feel Bucky's conscience see me. I'm not asleep, and without closing my eyes I can't connect with him verbally, but he seems thankful to catch a glimpse of me and his sleeping face is calm. There is no anger that I am in his mind again, so I stay, thankful I can do something for the men who have saved me multiple times now.

We have to stop to get gas eventually. I don't want to wake them, but I also don't want either of them to feel vulnerable in a public place. I let a wave of bright alertness flow into Steve's foot, basically the opposite of the lulling feeling I had been pushing into him for the past few hours. His bright blue eyes pop open immediately blinking at the world around him with sudden alertness. "Hey," I say softly. Smiling in the mirror at a catch of the blonde's returning smile. "It's been almost eight hours. We need gas."

Steve looks shocked. "We slept for eight hours?" He looks at the clock on the dash, the shifting jump of his shoulder shifting the other super soldier.

Bucky sat up blurrily. leaning forward against the passenger seat. "Hey Dreamgirl." He mumbled. "Is it really safe for you to be all up in my dreams while you are driving?"

Steve looks interested all of a sudden. "Were you in mine too?"

I feel a little embarrassed then, a little worried they were mad. "Yeah..I…" I shift, "Should I not have..? I'm sorry...I didn't. Steve's foot pulls back a soft hand wrapping around the seat and holding my shoulders gently. His wide palm lands on my clavicle thumb stroking and I feel a wave of warmth flow into me "No doll, you are welcome in my mind anytime. I just didn't know you could do it awake."

I let one hand cover his large hand on my chest, enjoying the feel of him and the intimacy of his skin on mine. Weeks of traveling and the feel of his skin in mine as a gentle non-utilitarian touch is exhilarating. "Anything heavy duty I would need to concentrate. I can't see what you see, I just feel. And I can help… " I search a second for the right word, not used to actually describing this to anyone. "...divert it a little I guess, and I could help keep you asleep. If you had wanted to wake up you could but I kept the nightmares from waking you."

Bucky nods, "Huh, everytime I started to have a nightmare, I got a splash of cold water and I was back on that beach" he shifts a little sitting upright and stretching "You were there but I didn't...I just got a glimpse of you. Couldn't touch you or talk to you. It felt like weeks ago when I first started seeing you" I feel a little relief flow over him. "I was a little worried maybe you were avoiding me… "

I smile gently, flicking on my turn signal and pulling off at the exit. "No" I answer, "I just know you don't want me in deep so I tried not to look, just...help a little."

Bucky nodded. "For the record." He says softly. Voice a little quiet. "I like when you are in my dreams. I just...dont think it's good for you to look too closely."

I wait a long moment, pulling into the gas station and turning off the car. "No Bucky….I don't think you understand." I turn in my seat undoing the buckle and making sure I have Bucky's full attention and enough sincerity running down our connection as I reach out to him that he hears me and not his own self-hatred. "For the record." I echo his words "I know exactly what you've done." I hold his eyes firm and caring. "All of it. I Have seen it, felt it. You in Brooklyn. In the War. An agent of Hydra. A lost soldier." I feel him grow a little cold inside and I dump heat and love into him as I get specific. "In the woods, the rooftop in Bagdad, the hotel in Bejing. All of it" Steve's hand touches Bucky's back grounding him. "I am under no illusions here. I am not afraid of you. I see you James Bucky Barnes. All of you. You aren't the bad guy here." There is a finality in my voice that brokers no argument and pushes its way inside him, I fill him with my affection. I lean forward and place a chaste gentle touch to his cheek. "...and you never were."

I get out of the car, leaving him a little stunned as I head into the building to pay with cash. I feel his realization flow through him, and I give him space to feel that before I come back.

We stop at a diner down the road and settle into a booth in a quiet corner, for food. I'm glad to not be driving anymore, my body is stiff and I am exhausted. Bucky slips in one side and stops moving and Steve waits gently indicating I should slide in. They are both on high alert so of course, I need to slide in and be the one without escape in a corner. Neither of them wants to be trapped but this location in the room also allows them to look around.

I slide in, slipping along the booth, honestly a little happy to be between them anyway. When Steve sits I feel them both shift and spread out, stretching their legs and letting them slot together under the table.

I grab the menu, feeling my stomach rumble. We order a ton of food and Steve smiles a little sheepishly. I can feel the discomfort roll across him at the server's flirty demeanor, and when she turns the same cheer to Bucky he just gives her a pained smile.

She walks away, leaving us be. The dinner isn't busy. It's a 24hrs but it is the middle of the afternoon. For me, it feels like midnight and for the boys, it must feel like morning. There is an awkward silence for a moment. "Feels like a first date," Steve says sipping on some water. "A really awkward first date."

I shift a little pulling my legs onto the seat stretching my back casually. "Well, that would be a little backward. Since I've already seen you naked and know about your childhood." I shrug.

Bucky smirks "She has a point." he adds, leaning in. "but despite the fact, I know what you taste like." He licks his lips in an utterly dirty motion, casual and sexy at the same time. "I don't know how you take your coffee." I blush a little.

I laugh softly and shrug a little. "That's okay," I say, unable to stop a little sadness from leaking out of me. "You don't have to...to do that." I shift a little, changing the subject and looking at Steve. "We need to do something about the agents following us."

Steve leans forward a little. "We can contact Sam or Tony...see if we are all clear to go back to Avengers Headquarters, they can try to follow us there, but if Tony thinks it's worth the risk we could see if we can get them to come to us where we are more fortified? Or we could get some info on that Hughes guy. Maybe we can figure out how to find him and whatever team he is using."

Bucky looks a little far off, his voice is very low next, "Just because I didn't kill those people in the woods, doesn't mean I dont go to jail Steve." Bucky hides his face in another sip of water. I feel his doubt slide over me. He thinks that is where he belongs. He looks at the water in his left hand, turning the glass slowly in the leather-clad fingers before he turns the hand up and meets Steve's eyes. "What if they aren't tracking her." Bucky says softly glancing at Steve and flexing his left hand slowly.

Steve looks closely at his hand, a deep frown creasing his face. "Who puts that much money into a weapon that can walk and doesn't track it?"

"We should split up" Bucky adds softly. "We should stop. Take nothing and go separate ways. Then we can see if they are tracking me. Her. Or something in our stuff."

"No." I say softly, letting my voice grow more firm the second time "No, I don't think splitting up is a good idea. If there is something in your arm, we should go to Stark, try and get it out."

Steve shakes his head a little. "How many months were they hunting you, unsuccessfully, before they found you this time?" Bucky shifts, and I feel a wash of calm bubbles slightly around him. He feels a little better, especially that neither of us are ready to ditch him. I can feel the relief flow through him, his guard falling slightly away.

The food comes, interrupting us. It's miles of pancakes, french toast, eggs, and bacon and we eat diligently. I am much slower than the boys but still very hungry. "What if we are going about this the wrong way?" I ask, breaking a short silence filled with chewing.

Bucky looks up leaning casually on the table and crunching on a strip of bacon.

"Maybe, instead of running from Hydra we should be trying to steal their records." I offer as I pop a piece of french toast into my mouth.

Bucky bulks. "No." He shuts off cold and quick. I feel like his mind just slammed a door in my face. He is tight with anger.

I shift a little disturbed by his sudden distance. "Wait a minute. Can we consider a Yes? How else are we going to prove that you didn't do those things of your own free will." He tightens, and I am overwhelmed with anger and fear that cracks through my chest, right in the center under the dogtags.

Bucky shakes his head again, stuffing another bit in his mouth and looking at me with a firm shake of his head and hard stare of his eyes. "No. This isn't a discussion. No." I can feel some cracks in his mind. The point is he did do the things and there is dread in him that someday he will have to pay the price for the horrific things in his mind.

Steve hesitated. Not fully understanding Bucky's hard shut down either. "We don't have to do this ourselves. We have resources. They aren't just after you. The Avengers can help…" He takes another bite and I feel my stomach sink. Cold washes over me.

Bucky looks at me, concern laced across his features "It's too dangerous-" he stops abruptly as I reach out and grab the table. I feel the woods around me again. I feel cold-blooded pleasure and a lust for a bloody surge of violence rush through me. I want to punch Bucky's pretty smug face, and put him in the chair to enjoy his screams. No. I don't want to do any of that. I feel my heart begin to race, "Hughes. I feel Hughes." Panic overwhelmed me. I send out a beacon. My power blips and I feel Bucky and Steve. Out farther I feel the waitress and the cooks. I feel the busboy listening to music as he washes dishes, bopping to the beat. I feel people in the parking lot. I feel strangers and the middle of city. I can't tell where in all the muddled mess of people where danger is, there is so much noise I can't feel anything specific. Then suddenly I feel him, a pinpoint in the dark. He is coming, but he feels so smug and satisfied.

I feel the flush of fear again, disgust from the memory of him touching me. I remember him straddling me as panic forms inside me as I feel his confidence again as, he is excited to torture me, to see if he can feel and taste my pain when he tears me apart. I feel ice-cold fear slide off me with his promise to break me apart and let his men torture me, tie me up, choke me. I struggle against that promise sliding into the men beside me, I can't stop it. I am shaking. "He's here." I close my eyes trying to shut him out.

Steve shifts and I can feel his anger like a spike in me. It's like he knows something more about the moment and source of my fear than he did before. The hat must be working and maybe he felt me a little clearer in that memory than I intended. Both men are up fast and I don't wait for them to move. I drop under the table and crawl out, running low to the ground toward the back of the restaurant. Steve pushes through the open door and runs ahead. Bucky waits for me, following up behind me as we rush out.

"HEY!" yells the waitress. hand on her hip. Standing sassily looking down the hall at us. "What are you doing -" She's cut off by the sound of gunfire and drops in a heap. I feel sick at the suddenness of her life being there and now it is not. Just like that. In an instant she is gone. Bucky appears suddenly His left arm covers me as gunfire flares and bounces off his arm. The backdoor flies open. Steve. The Captain's shield rockets down the hall and Bucky catches it, spinning to cover us both from the onslaught of gunfire.

I feel a chill down my spine and close my eyes. I reach for my power again, trying to open up and help the fight but we are in too populated of an area for anything to be clear. Instead, I feel myself switch and connect just to Bucky and Steve. I don't know if this is a good idea. I'm not strong. I'm not built like a brick house but I pull from them. I drop, and grab the knife from Bucky's boot, I feel the warmth of Bucky's touch, gentle and giving grip around me, and when I ask him to help me throw the knife his muscle memory complies. I can tell nothing with extra sense but I throw the knife anyway. A Hydra agent hits the ground. Bucky throws the shield hitting the next one and I turn to see Steve taking out two agents by our back door escape. I run down the hall and I feel Bucky hot on my heels. We break out into the open air of the parking lot.

I race for the car knowing I'm not gonna be much help in the fight itself but maybe I can help get us out of here. Someone heads me off, I catch a punch, unsure quite how I did that twisting and pulling myself down and roll. The Hydra agent twists, pulling his gun and I grab his wrist and twist. I take his gun and something aims for me as I pull the trigger with an easy breath and a soft squeeze, shooting the man in his leg. I turn and shoot the soldier near Bucky as he falls hard. Bucky drops grabbing the fallen soldier's gun and I suddenly feel the strength in me dissipate, pain erupts in me in the center of my chest. It is electric and hot and Bucky falls, stunned by something that looks like a cattle prod. I level the gun but I am suddenly very unsure I can hit a target at this distance without the connection to Bucky. I pull at Steve instead and I struggle to breathe the world tipping as I black out with another flash of blinding lighting gripping my head like a vice.

I'm in an alley, swaying a little as I try to keep my fists up the way Bucky taught me. I bounce on my feet but he hits me again and the pain bounces around inside me like a ping pong ball. My head snaps back and I stumble. I see my reflection in the alley trash can. Steve. He kicks me again and I fall through the edges of the dream into somewhere else.

I feel myself tilt and I am pushed back into the chair. No. No no no. This feels fresh. I pull myself out and look at Bucky. "NO" he looks up at me so sad and I feel his regret enveloping me. I grab hold of him and pull at the dream of him as he steps out of his body. I turn. Steve is held down by two men, gun to his head as they push Bucky into the chair. Bucky doesn't fight. The irony of course being as soon as they were done, that leverage would be gone.

He touches my face and grief and sadness washes through me. "They are gonna kill you and Steve if I fight. And if you fight they will use me to kill you."

No. No no I grab his hand panic surging through me. "You should go Dreamgirl." He whispers, kissing me delicately. "Take the tags off. I don't know what will happen if this starts with you here." I feel the goodbye in him. He is reserved to his fate.

No. I refuse. I grab him and pull him with me as we retreat. We are on the beach. The clouds and wind rushing around us. I hold onto him tight. Wrapped around him as I draw his pain. He feels me clawing inside him and holds me as the ocean waves crash against us. I take it all, his fear, his pain, and separate the mind from the body. I know he can't feel it because he doesn't jump and I keep the wall of the water around him. Here in this sandbox, I put myself and a lifetime of blocking out mental manipulation into protecting his mind from the electricity "Dreamgirl, please." He whispers, fear crashing through him into me. "I'm not gonna remember you. . . I'll be dangerous." He tries to pull my hands away but I hold on tight.

I shake my head gripping him as lightning cascades across the sky. A boom rattling through us both. "You are always dangerous, but you are done being their puppet" the lightning flashes again and he looks up. Blinking slowly. "They are doing it...right now?"

"Yes," I whisper, holding onto him. My body shakes as the electricity feels like it is slicing off my skin. "But they can't have you anymore."

"Dreamgirl….do you have any idea what you are doing?" He pets my face, thumb swipes a tear off my face.

"Not a clue." I tell him, struggling for air as the lighting stops and the grey clouds sway and fades into blue skies. "But it is done now. Time for you to go back to being the Winter Soldier."

He nods and I drop to my knees in the stand. Looking up at him with tired eyes. "Give um hell big guy" and I let him go. As soon as his skin is off of mine he drops through the sand like it is air. Everything turns dark as he disappears through the sand back into his mind. I look out at the blue ocean turning wine red with the color of blood washing up to the shore and staining the white sand black. I can't move as the pain overwhelms me. But Bucky will be okay. Worth it.

Steve POV

Guilt slams into me like a freight train. I feel like Bucky is falling off that train again. Everything is cold. Around me and I can't do anything to help him. I close my eyes, leaning against the cell wall feeling the exhaustion settle inside me. Everything is so quiet. I feel useless. No plan. No Bucky. No Y/n. Caught by Hydra. This is very very bad. I close my eyes and let my head fall back to the wall, I breathe in slowly. I've never been able to reach her like Bucky can, but I also don't really try. She doesn't spend her time looking for me, but what if she is now. I don't know if she still has my hat or anything to connect us, but sometimes I can feel her just a little through the dogtags too. At least, I think that is why I can feel her sometimes. There is nothing now though. Nothing but me sitting in my own sore body. I can't get the image in Bucky in that chair out of my head. I steel my heart against the sight of it still fresh in my mind. My best friend. The man I've loved since I could understand what love was sitting in that chair, again, helpless as they took away his memories. His whole body convulsing and the sound of air groaning from him. He seemed far away, but also like he wanted to scream.

I didn't fight back once I was here, it seemed pointless, but these bullies reminded me of the same men who I would pick fights with when I was younger. I just wanted to feel useful and somehow the sting of a split lip could make me feel like I was trying. I knew better now, and the serum meant I healed very quickly. For now however, I ache from the beating. Nothing broken, just pain. I know that Bucky and Y/N undoubtedly have it worse than me right about now, and I failed them both.

The door to the cell clicks, metal snapping open and my heartbeat flutters for just a second in tension. I don't know if it means another fight or an interrogation this time. Worse, maybe it means experimentation. When Bucky steps in I feel my heartbeat ramp up. But he meets my eyes and he looks dead inside. No. That isn't Bucky. That is the Winter Soldier. I feel everything in me ice over with sadness. "Buck" I whisper. Unable to help myself. "It's Steve. Bucky …" He does not acknowledge me. His gaze doesn't even meet mine. I feel my heart swell and shatter as I let out a shaky breath. He surges forward wrapping his metal hand around my neck and shoves me against the wall. I shouldn't let him choke me but I don't want to fight him either. The brunette peers back over his shoulder and the Captain comes in after him. Hughes. He looks pretty worse for wear from his last encounter with Bucky, his arm in a sling and his good hand leaning on his cane to support his weight off the other legs which is in a brace from thigh to calf. Our doll broke his knee and I couldn't be more proud. It is only then I realize the Bucky isn't really choking me very hard. I mean his metal fingers are tight enough around my neck to dig into the flesh but I can also still get air and although he is holding me firmly up to the wall it doesn't really hurt.

"James is gone Mr. Rogers" I look into my best friend's cold eyes, and just for a second see them sparkle with mischief. He doesn't smile, he doesn't wink. There is nothing so obvious to give him away to the Captain or the cameras but I swear I can feel it. I feel the entertainment in him and the recognition. I feel my heart pound as the metal thumb on my neck makes a small little circle on my flesh, just for a moment, the length of a heartbeat but this is not the Winter Soldier. This is Bucky. My Bucky. "Soldat" The man continued stepping to the side. "Do you know this man?"

"No" Answers the Soldier, his voice deep and echoing in the small room. Fuck he is convincing and that word makes my blood run cold.

"Choke him," The Captain looks absolutely proud of himself, stepping in victory and power. He is more than confident; he is gloating. So I think he misses what comes next.

The Winter Soldier makes no response, just stares with dead eyes. He shifts his hand fingertip sliding off my jugular vein into the meat of my muscle so when he squeezes the blood flow to my brain is just fine. His palm doesn't push on my windpipe either. I take the hint though. I struggled a little, grabbing onto the metal arm and trying to pull him off. I let myself go limp after a long hold of my breath, a little hopeful my face changed color as I counted the seconds until I would believably pass out.

Bucky drops me unceremoniously, and I struggle not to fight the urge to catch myself "Gentle. He will be your brother now; Soldat. He will help us fight for the cause, just as you have done." The other man says something next that makes my gut curl. "Blonde too. You know he will be the favorite son soon." He shuffles toward the door, unaware I am awake. and Hughes leads him out. "We have one more person to meet, and this one I will let you play with." I watch Bucky's feet move across the floor as he turns, my eyes barely cracking open. He waits till he is turned before he flips a knife out of the pocket on his hip and flicks it into the wall, blade catching a shallow bite and sticking just under the camera's view. As he closed the door I waited for the click of the lock but it does not come. My heart pounds hard in my chest. Okay. That's good. They are going to Y/N cell, probably, also good. She will know that it is Bucky for sure. I'm just not sure what to do here. I glance up at the camera without moving, sneaking out probably isn't best when Bucky still needs to find our Dreamgirl. Ours. I let myself lay still. Patient for the moment. Until I feel her warm familiar touch come over me. Yes! Hello, doll.

She pulls herself out of me, stumbling a little but I am careful not to move. "We don't have much time," she presses her head against mine and I feel the plans of the building rush into my mind like I've walked these halls a thousand times and I can feel the locations of people in the building. There are not as many people as normal. A skeleton crew, because Hyrda is falling apart, and this would be a big win for them. I feel her plan of where to go. We need to get the cameras down so we aren't seen. Then I can get to the prisoners. She steps back and stumbles to her knees.

I move to catch her, forgetting for a moment she isn't real, but it is the dream version of me that moves, my real body still solid on the floor as the mind wraps around her. When my skin touches her I feel her pain rip across me like wildfire. Oh shit. She isn't okay. I can't tell what is wrong with her, she is very clearly projecting an image to me that is perfectly fine but my back is on fire and my leg hurts enough to make me stumble. I notice she is in light makeup and the tan jacket we lost a couple of cars ago. She is trying to make sure I don't worry, but the moment Bucky finds her he is gonna flip and break Hughes in half. I know because I want to do exactly that right at this moment and I push that part of me down. Getting her out is more important than revenge right now. I pet her skin gently. "Hang in there doll, we're coming for you." She smiles at me, very sweetly as she touches her lips to mine for a brief moment. I feel her love flow into me, gentle and a little sour at the end. She is so scared she is never gonna get to hold me again, I recognize that feeling well.

She disappears and I feel myself snap back inside my present mind and body. I pull myself up and get moving immediately. I grab the knife from the wall and move through the hallway with confidence. The camera room is not close, but it isn't too far either. I wait at the corner, listening for the footsteps of an agent, and don't hesitate to take him down. A few quick well placed punches, one to the neck to silence him and then another to the head to knock him out. I caught his weight as he fell and dragged him a few doors down to a rarely used closet and pulled him inside. His pants won't fit me, but my dark jeans wouldn't be too suspicious. I strip his jacket off and take his hat, slipping back into the hallway a little less obvious.

The camera room is locked, so I give the handle a twist and shove with my shoulder taking it down easily. There are supposed to be two guards on duty, but only one jumps to attention. He throws a punch. I grab it and roll his momentum to flip him over me, twisting his shoulder out of the socket with a sickening pop and knocking him out before his scream can draw attention. I look up at the bank of monitors, the hall outside the room has another guard coming. Yes, the one other one who is supposed to be in here. I watch him hesitate at the door, noticing the broken lock. I move quickly before he can touch his radio, I grab him by the edge of his uniform yanking him and twisting him around to cover his mouth with the other hand. I pull him over toward me, throwing him down onto the floor and carefully punching him enough to knock him out but not snap his neck. I quietly close the door giving it a small shove to twist the mangled jam to appear normally closed from the other side. I stand up, looking at the bank of screens.

There is a phone. I grab it. I dial without hesitation. "Hello?" Comes a crisp British voice, imitating a human. "Jarvis. Trace this call and you will find a Hydra base. I need help sooner rather than later. Please."

The voice almost feels warm as he answers.

"Right away Mr. Rogers." and the line goes dead.

Even as I speak I scan the screen for Bucky or Y/N. Bucky is in a hall with a bunch of officers and the Captain, Y/N is in a cell alone. I feel my anger rise again. She has no bed, no clothes. She is completely naked covered in blood and bruises and I can feel my blood boil. I don't know how she could reach me without an object to connect to me, but I hate the sight of her curled on the floor. I feel my hand tighten, I hesitate for a moment before clicking through the footage scrubbing back a little in her cell. I stop on the image that makes me see red. I feel my blood boil at the sight of her pinned to the concrete wall, She has her hands wrapped around the edge of the shield, my shield, a man I don't recognize pressing the unyielding metal against her chest and driving her bodily up the wall. He leans into her with the full force of his weight scraping her back against the rough concrete. I wince and stop the footage. Someone did that to her with my shield. Her blood is on my shield. I feel disgusted, I can't get my eyes off the man in the room. She connected with me in the short time it took for that asshole to use my shield to rip her apart her flesh. I look at the cell location on the map and feel a little cold.

I scrub back on the footage again, glancing up to check on Bucky. His face is passive, still in a room filled with Hydra agents. I watch one of them step up to him, rearing back to punch him. He takes it across the jaw. Head snapping and I feel the heat in my belly flare again. The agents all laugh, Bucky straightens himself. Shaking his head and staring blankly ahead. Some of the agents dissipate and I slip out of the camera room, jamming the door as I head down the hall. I slip into the storage room, looking down at the blood staining my shield and struggling to hold the pain of my anger in check. I am so out of control furious I take a moment to breathe before grabbing my shield and Bucky's dog tags off the table. I grab a gun, check that it's loaded, and put it in my belt. These men are very dangerous, and although killing is not usually my first thought, Hughes or that hollow-faced man who used my shield are not gonna get mercy from me for long.

I ducked out of the room, walking quickly to the place lit up on the map in my head. I stopped at the door. I expected this to be her. I expected a cell. It isn't. I feel sadness overwhelm me. It's the record room. She didn't really give me what I needed to find her. She gave me what I needed to find Bucky, to free myself. She doesn't want me to save her. She wants me to save Bucky. The logical part of me knows they aren't planning on killing her. Bucky is still stuck playing along. There is time to do what she wants. I swallow my memory of her pain when she connected to me and seeing that video. I grab the handle and snap the lock to get what we need.

Bucky turns down the hallway with Hughes and only two guards. They are headed to Y/N cell, I'm not interested in waiting any longer, or for Bucky to see what was in that cell without me by his side. I round the corner and throw my shield directly at the Winter Soldier. Bucky drops smoothly, sharp reflexes allowing him to duck out of the way as the metal quickly impacts the two soldiers behind him, I smirk as the Captain misinterprets the Winter Soldiers hand on his neck as protection. Bucky squeezes pushing the weakened Hydra Captain to the ground. Kicking one strong leg back to connect with the jaw of another guard as he fell toward the floor. I think it might be one of the ones that punched him in the face.

I lose focus for just a second on what Bucky is doing when I see the face of the other guard. I catch the shield as it bounces off his jaw and launch myself over the bent form of Bucky. I should be focused on Hughes, but instead, I pick up the man by his shoulders and slam him against the wall. I don't use my shield but I do scrape him up the rough wall with a growl. "Don't ever touch what is mine," I growl at him. I don't know why I said it that way but I just felt it cold in my gut.

He laughs, his smile fills with blood. "You mean the shield or the girl?"

"Both." I growl pulling him away from the wall and slamming him back against it, hard enough to crack his ribs and I do not give a single shit. I feel her then, curling inside me scared and but patient in her panic. She is waiting for us, believing in us, and struggling against the shadows in her mind. She feels walled off but very much there, and the warm sense of her reminds me I have much more important things to do than revenge. He collapses to the floor as I let him go, bending down to rip the ID card off of the Captain now panicking under the grip of the Winter Soldier and slide his card to open an empty cell. I grab the unconscious guard and the one now gasping for air and I throw them into the cell. I punch the lock on the panel and make sure I hear the bolt slide closed. I feel myself boil looking down at Hughes. Bucky looks a little confused at my behavior.

"Come on. We got to go." I tell him grabbing Hughes and yanking him to another door. I swipe and throw Hughes in. Locking the door.

Bucky is cold when he says "I'm not done with him yet."

"Yes we are." Bucky looks at me concern as I lock the door and swipe the next cell. "We have other priorities and if I look at any of them another goddamn second I will kill them." Bucky is a little surprised at me. He isn't used to my patience being so on edge and I get it.

I watch Bucky's face as he looks in the cell, devastation clear as his face falls and he rushes in. I take off my jacket following Bucky in, somewhat happy to see her in the same position, in the same condition. "Hey Dreamgirl…?" His voice is so gentle, heartbroken as he looks into her far-off eyes. He touches her marred skin, delicately but desperately trying to feel her inside him. She is still naked, he looks down at her, his hands shaking as he assess her. I take off my jacket. I don't want to put the jacket on her. It isn't mine and I don't want to connect her to the agent in the closet if she is having trouble controlling herself. I pull off my overshirt instead, the plaid button-up, and slipped it on her, guiding her arms into the sleeves and buttoning it gently on her naked body as Bucky tries to get her attention. After the shirt I gently place the dogtags back around her neck, hoping that might help her respond.

It takes a few seconds that feel like forever. She blinks back registering us and smiling a tired smile as she struggles to stand. "Hey Bucky…" she smiles a little triumphantly "You're still Bucky."

"Thanks to you, Dreamgirl." He says with a sad smile and reaches to pick her up.

"Wait," she says, reaching out to my hand and wrapping her fingers around the badge in my hand. I feel her open her mind, unleashing something. I cannot see it, but it feels like it is a roaring bonfire next to me. I turn my head bodily as the roar of magic rushes past me like I am opening an oven. Bucky's eyes go a little wide and look up to hear Hughes in the cell next door screaming. She breathes eyes distant as she grips the card for a long beat and finally let's go. Hughes however does not stop screaming. "Okay. We should can go now."

Bucky smirked, "What did you do to him?"

Y/n voice is ice cold. "Something he deserved."

I feel her disappointment in herself but also satisfaction. "Can you walk?" I ask her gently. She just shakes her head looking down. I connect eyes with Bucky before pulling the gun out of my waistband and handing it to him. He takes it with a strong grip and ducks out to lead the way. I lean down and I wrap my arms around her, the swell of her backside rests on my arms letting her hands wrap around my neck and her legs around my waist. I can't pick her up how I might carry a bride because her back is too shredded. I can feel her pain and see the blood already seeping into the fabric. My arm around her still has the shield and that is not an accident as I wrap my arm loosely around her middle. The mass of her body is protected as she lays her tired head down on my shoulder, shuddered breath against my neck.

"Did you get it?" She asked quietly. I sent a cranky affirmative through our bond allowing her to lean against me as I stay quiet tilting my head to indicate to Bucky we are ready to go and I let him clear the way.

Bucky is tense, his anger having nowhere to go but the poor Hydra agents that come down the hallway. I don't blame him one bit as he sends one flying and shoots another in the kneecaps as he clears the hall with brutal efficiency. He may not be trying to kill but he is not being particularly careful either and I don't care in the slightest. Some of these men had just been doing their job, but at this point, they knew what that job was.

I feel panic well up in my from the girl in my arms as she moves suddenly. She unwrapped a leg from around me and kicks the wall, pushing both of us away from it when I hear the sound of gunfire, not from Bucky's gun. Behind us. Pain rips through my shoulder and as we hit the opposite wall together I struggle to catch myself at her sudden push has me off kilter. The brunette super soldier returns fire, and the familiar sound of arrows makes my heart beat speed up. I grit my teeth and breathe through the pain looking up to see Hawkeye and Sam. I still feel icy terror in my mind. I look down. The bullet went through my shoulder, not too bad but it hurts like a bitch. And there is a lot of blood. I bend down, finding the weight of a person much harder to hold with a bullet wound. The bullet missed my center of mass, which is good. I glance down though and feel the icy terror sink into me. Y/N's chest is covered in blood. I'm not bleeding that much. I push up and feel her explode in pain in my mind. The bullet had gone through me and into her. More in her chest and clavicle than her shoulder. I feel her float in blackness and pass out. No scream. Nothing. She was there and then she was gone. She's still breathing but not at all conscious. I glance up at Bucky. The other man has his hands up at the end of Sam's gun and I feel absolutely sick of this shit.

"Sam, he's on our side." I call down the hall "I need help over here, Bucky is Bucky, he's not gonna run." I toss my shield to him, needing both my hands.

He catches it easily. Metal arm like lightning but still moving slowly as Clint levels his bow concerned. I roll some of the shirt packing it into her wound with force trying to help her clot, I ignore my own shoulder screaming in agony. Sam appears close to me, "Your shot" he says, concern lacing his voice before he can see the scene I am holding.

"Yep" I tell him, dismissing it quickly. "Not what I need help with" I stand and transfer her limp form into Sam's arms, "She needs a hospital, now." I watch him fully process the sight in his hands. He is carrying his beaten, bloody, shot, half-naked friend that he roped into this mess. Hawkeye is there in a moment with a bandage in his hand as he wraps it around her chest quick and tight. The wad of packing and pressure should slow the bleeding at least. While Sam gets a grip on his slack-jawed face another Hydra agent comes around the corner and Bucky doesn't hesitate to slam my shield into his head, kicking him out silently, and violently before stepping back head down in a relaxed and pliant rest. I know from experience this is anything but calm. His deadpan stare is a very bad sign, his jaw is tight and working but he's trying real hard to be non-threatening to Sam and Clint.

"Our side?" Sam asks, a little wary.

"Our side." I confirm, firmly and trying to put kindness in my voice, but I am pretty worried at the moment. "Get her out of here. Now." I order.

Halkeye is obviously speaking into his earpiece as Sam readjusts the injured woman in his arms and looks for the nearest window. "We found Cap and company. Sam's on an emergency evac. Winter Soldier is on our side."

Clint slaps a com in my hand and I pop it into my ear. Relief floods me when I hear the voices of my colleagues, and yes, my friends, here to back me up. I catch the shield as Bucky tosses it back and I use my off arm, uninjured, to smash a large window in the hall. I help to steady Sam as he hops up on the edge with his hands occupied, pushing himself out with a hop of his strong thighs, wings extending and jet pack flaring. Y/N was in good hands. She needed help I couldn't give her, and she needed it now. I still feel my heart sink helplessly.

Tony's sharp humor snaps in my ear. "Tell the Old man I love the Hydra gift basket."

Maria hill, always the pragmatist comes across the com, clear and decisive. "Who is the evac?"

I clicked on the com. Knowing Maria needs some idea of her injuries to prepare to help her. "Y/N. Gunshot wound to the chest, cuts, abrasions, internal bleeding, cracked ribs, broken leg, dislocated arm. That's all I could assess." I can see Bucky's jaw working with his teeth clenched. I know what he is thinking and feeling because I am feeling the same. This is our fault. We should never have let her get caught.

Clint tries to check my shoulder and I shrug him off a little brutally shoving him away. Clint isn't the one to shove back. Bucky on the other hand puts his metal arm on my sternum, shoving me against the wall, hard eyes meeting mine and holding them as he watches me boil. "Steve." Him saying my voice is like a bucket of ice water, anger draining out of me "Let the arrow man help you stop bleeding. We don't have the manpower to carry your heavy ass too."

I hold on to Bucky's arm with my good hand, his grip softening as he goes from holding me firm to a comforting hand against me and I nod. I look down at Clint, who looks a little tense to be between a struggle of super soldiers at the moment. "Sorry Clint" I say sincerely

"It's been a bit of a stressful day."

"Hey" He shrugs, shoving another temporary bandage on my arm to staunch the warm flow of blood and I wince at the shot of pain. He is tying it quickly and tightly but it still hurts like a bitch. "I get it. Getting shot by a mind controling Hydra ass-hole, it would put anyone on edge you know." He conveniently leaves out Y/N. My head swims a little as I step forward, my whole side is sticky, so maybe I should have focused on the wound a little sooner, but honestly it is hard to tell how much is mine and how much belonged to our Dreamgirl.

"You got him?" Clint asks as Bucky pulled my arm around his shoulders, taking some of my weight and guiding me forward. "We need to go." Bucky nods, helping me get focused as he pushes me forward.

"He'll be fine." Bucky adds, I take most of my weight I just need my friend to get me going. I am still disquieted by the feeling of silent blackness inside me. My shirt on her skin, soaked in her blood I should feel her, but there is nothingness there and I feel her absence as a spread of deep icy cold. I could be sinking in the ice of the Antarctic again. I shiver and Bucky touches my side. "I know" his voice is canted low so only I can hear him. "It's cold without her" I nod and refocus on getting us out of here. Keenly aware that my wound is still slowly leaking blood.