Authors Note: Alright ya'll are blowing my mind! I've had over 650 views on this story. Not only that but 14 of you beautiful humans have favorited White Phoenix, and 17 of you are following the story!

So let's update you all on the current future of this story! I have plenty of plans for this story. I actually have written little snippets for future chapters. But I would like your input. Would you rather read Hailey's story in one fanfiction piece or spread across multiple pieces? So for example each movie in the MCU would be a different "book", or two movies would be combined into one "book". OR I could just keep Hailey's story under White Phoenix. Use this link r/QXWYP3L to take you to the poll. You can also vote through a review if you would prefer to do that! Let me know what you think!

So there's going to be a bit of a time jump in this chapter. I absolutely LOVE writing tiny little details, but I'm ready to move this story along! Anyways ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Oh I almost forgot I don't own the MCU or their characters. I own Hailey. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB~HJ+JB

Previously on White Phoenix:

"Let's continue to work on your aim and accuracy until dinner time," Bucky growled. I sharply nodded my head and headed back to the end of the firing lane to get back in the shooting position. For the rest of the afternoon we kept the talking to a minimum and only exchanged words when I had a question or if Bucky had to fix something in my form. He didn't touch me the rest of the day, but damn did I want him too.

When I got back to mine and Peggy's tent later that night I crawled onto my cot and passed out before she even got back. My last thought of the night was, 'Fuck today was exhausting. I'm not even going to be ready for tomorrow.'

'Alright let's be honest here. I wasn't ready for the amount of training I had to receive. That second day after my first was awful. I was covered in bruises and my whole body ached. I felt like my body had been put through the wringer. After that I woke up at five every day and spent two hours getting my ass kicked by Steve, sometimes Bucky would join us and then HE would kick my ass. After that was breakfast with Peggy, and then she would take over my training until lunch. Training with Peggy wasn't fun either. She trained me in clandestine operations. Basically, she was training me to be a spy, at least that's how I looked at it. Not only did she teach me how to act like a lady from the forties, but also how to look the part. On top of that she taught me how to get away with murder…literally. We would go eat lunch and then after I rotated between working with Morita in the field hospital, to the shooting range with Bucky, to learning a new language with Dernier. I got to know all of the Howling Commandos while I was training. I ended up treating all of them in the field hospital, and they always joined Peggy and I for lunch. Sometimes they would even hop in and "help" with my early morning training. Which realistically meant they snickered under their breath while they watched Steve and/or Bucky kick my ass. Most nights I stayed up late studying terminology and enemy troop movements. I wanted to make sure I was able to keep up with what being talked about around me. Then I would go to sleep and do it all over again the next day. At the end of every week I went with Peggy, who I quickly found out was supposed to be my lead trainer, and met with Colonel Phillips to report on my progress. I prefer to call Peggy my handler it makes me feel more badass. This went on for two months before Colonel Phillips determined that I was ready to be allowed in the field with the Commandos. Which basically meant that I wouldn't die within the first ten minutes of the mission. Cue the eye roll. So here I am getting ready for my first mission with the Commandos.'

I stared at myself in the mirror that was placed in mine and Peggy's tent. I could see the muscle that I had been putting on since starting my training a few months ago. I lost at least ten pounds, but then gained some muscle weight back. Shit I could see a small four pack starting with my abs. I looked over at my cot and saw my uniform sitting on the bed. It was a pair of dark grey khaki's with a grey shirt and a pair of Army issue boots. I also had a deep blue jacket to wear over the grey shirt. My dog tags were haphazardly thrown on top of the uniform, and my handgun was laying next to it. I sighed and pulled on my uniform taking care to tuck my dog tags under my shirt, and tucking my khakis into my boots. I grabbed my handgun and strapped it to my thigh. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use my handgun, but you never know. I knew the main reason I was being brought along was for medical assistance. The main goal is to keep me out of the fight as much as possible.

"Hailey are you ready to go," Peggy asked as she walked into the tent.

"That's a loaded question Peg. Am I ready as in dressed and ready to head out? Yes. Am I ready for my first mission? That's a negative ghost rider," I joked. Peggy looked a little confused about my joke and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sorry future reference Peg."

Peggy nodded her head but the poor woman still looked confused. I softly giggled to myself and followed Peggy out of the tent towards the vehicles parked over by the gate. As we arrived I saw Bucky standing off to the side talking to Morita. He had his sniper rifle gracefully laying across his back. I took a good look at Bucky and saw the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble that was growing. That's odd normally Buck is cleaner shaven. And seriously when's the last time he got a good night's sleep?

"Hailey..Hailey..Hello are you even listening?"

I shook myself out of my thoughts and sheepishly looked over at Peggy, noticing that Steve was standing there too.

"Oh uh sorry I was lost in thought," I said with a small shrug of my shoulders.

Peggy shook her head and said, "Honestly I don't know what's worse. That you were so engrossed in your thoughts that you didn't hear me or the way your pining over Sgt. Barnes."

I started at the mention of Bucky's name and as my brain processed what she said I quickly denied it.

"No..pining..Definitely not. I was just thinking about..uh…back home."

Which technically wasn't a lie because I have been thinking about home more often. I wondered how much time had passed since I disappeared. Had Lizzie sent out a search party for me yet? Did she call her brother to file a missing person's report? I hated not having answers.

Peggy chuckled at my blatant lie but let it go. She turned to Steve and handed him a transponder, "Try not to lose or break this one Rogers. Stark will be ready to pick you up when you've completed the mission." She looked in my direction and quietly said something to Steve that I couldn't quite catch. I heard, safe, and Hailey. So I'm assuming she told Steve to keep me safe. I rolled my eyes and waited for them to finish talking so that way I could give Peggy a hug.

"You stay safe out there Hailey. And keep our boys in line."

I laughed and told her that I would try my best. I looked over at Steve and gave him a sharp nod of my head to show that I was ready. He said goodbye to Peggy and hovered his hand on my lower back to guide me over by the rest of the team.

"Alright everyone. You know the deal. Get in, gather as much intel as possible, get out and blow this place up. Don't hold back because you know Hydra won't," Steve stated. He looked down at me then over at Bucky. "Buck I need you to stay with Hailey. You're each other's partners for this mission. Stay up on the ridge and watch our backs. Hailey your job is to watch Bucky's back and make sure nobody sneaks up on you two. That should leave Buck free to focus on taking down anyone who tries to escape."

I looked over at Bucky and saw his jaw set. Shit he doesn't look happy about that. Bucky then sharply nodded his head and refused to look at me. I let out an internal groan and knew this wasn't going to be easy. Bucky and I have been butting heads ever since that day at the range. Ever since I turned down his kiss. Which I have regretted since then. Looks like he was still angry about that.

I tore my eyes away from Bucky and gave Steve a nod of my head. Everybody was silent as they shifted around. I wonder if they can feel the tension coming off of Bucky and me. Steve motioned for everyone to get into the vehicles and pushed me towards the vehicle Bucky was heading towards. I let out a sigh and walked over towards Bucky. He didn't say a word but he held open the door for me letting me slide in first before he climbed in after me.

The whole ride towards our destination I refused to look over at Bucky, but I could feel his eyes on me every so often. Nobody in our car said a word as we moved along. We drove for a few hours before we came to a stop. I climbed out of the car behind Bucky and stood with my back to the vehicle. My eyes sharply scanned the surrounding area making sure that nobody was around.

"Hailey. You and Buck need to walk approximately 3 Kilo's Northeast to reach the ridge. The rest of us will set up here and get set up for the night. Buck if something goes wrong send up a flare," said Steve.

As Steve was talking I had pulled out my map and marked out a path in the direction of the ridge. I tuned out the rest of his speech and kept my eyes downwards on my map. A slim finger pointed towards the edge of the ridge that was higher than the rest and surrounded by trees on three sides.

"Right there is where we should set up for the night," Bucky said in my ear. I suppressed a shiver at the sound of his voice in my ear, and nearly groaned at the thoughts that quickly went through my head. I looked up at Bucky and gave a small nod in agreement. Up close I could really see how tired he looked. Without thinking I put my hand up and cupped his face, slowly rubbing my thumb on his cheek.

"Buck….are you sleeping at all," I heard myself ask.

"I'm sleeping just fine doll. You don't need to worry about me," Bucky gruffly replied. He pulled away from me forcing me to drop my hand. "We should get going. We want to make sure we reach the ridge before it gets dark."

I sighed and followed along behind him quickly saying goodbye to Steve and the others. We trudged along for just over an hour before we reached the top of the ridge that Bucky had pointed out. We stayed within the tree line and set up a small camp. I pulled out two K-rations, one for Bucky and one for me, and started to open them up so that we could both eat. While I was doing that Bucky walked around and established a small perimeter and set up the tent. Once that was done he came and sat across from me grabbing his K-ration. Neither of us said a word as we ate and again the tension was ridiculously high between us. I forced myself to eat the "biscuits" that were in my ration knowing that I would need the fuel.

"I'll take first watch doll. Get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's your turn," Bucky stated causing me to jump in surprise.

"No Bucky. You need the sleep more than I do. I'll stay awake for the first watch and wake YOU in a few hours for your turn."

Bucky opened his mouth to probably deny that he needed sleep but I cut him off.

"James Buchanan Barnes. Get your ass into the tent and fucking sleep. I'm not taking no for an answer," I said while glaring. He looked at me shaking his head and smiling.

"Well there you are. I wondered when your spirit would show itself again. But fine if you insist I will sleep first. I'll see you in a few hours doll." He stood up and walked away before laying down in the tent.

I was left sitting there confused as to what he meant. What kind of game is he playing? Ignoring me for weeks unless it's necessary? God I hate not having answers. I shook my head of my thoughts and stared off into the woods keeping an eye around us. I'm not sure how much time had passed but eventually I heard rustling coming from the tent. I shifted and looked at the tent seeing Bucky step out. He walked over towards where I was sitting and sat down next to me. He leaned up on a tree and said, "Alright doll, your turn. Go get some sleep."

I shook my head and said, "No thanks. I just honestly don't want to be alone." I sighed and leaned my head back onto the tree I was leaning on. I saw Bucky shake his head before he motioned for me to move closer to him.

"If you don't want to be alone then you might as well lean on me doll. At least then you would be somewhat comfortable."

I paused before I decided that he had a point. I moved closer to him and slowly leaned my head on his shoulder. I shifted until I got comfortable and felt my eyes getting heavier.

"Goodnight Bucky." My eyes closed and I could feel myself drifting off to sleep, but in the back of my mind I could hear Bucky's response.

"Goodnight Doll. Sleep tight."