Steve sat at the bar sipping his beer and maintaining a low profile. Since SHIELD had fallen, he was at a dead end. He didn't know what to do now and he couldn't find Bucky. He couldn't read the files anymore. Just the sight of those machines in the basement of the bank made him sick--he couldn't imagine the pain and suffering his best friend had endured only to become HYDRA's assassin. Looking at his beer, he wished he could feel the effects of the drink. He didn't even know what it was like to get drunk ever since he had gotten the super soldier serum.

"Everything OK?" Sam asked.

Steve thinned his lips, trying to keep himself breaking down. He couldn't admit that he wasn't fine. That nagging knot in his stomach wouldn't go away. The crushing guilt. He could still remember when he last saw Bucky on the train when they were infiltrating a HYDRA--how he watched him fall to his death in the frozen gorge. How he grieved. Now he found out he was alive this whole time--and he was tortured and brainwashed by HYDRA, used as a weapon to murder people in cold blood on HYDRA's orders. Natasha had told him that the Winter Soldier was responsible for over two dozen assassinations for over 50 years. Steve wondered if Bucky ever felt remorse for who he killed. Did he know their names? Remember their faces? Steve let out a long, drawn out exhale before speaking.

"I feel like I lost my friend all over again," Steve said. "Growing up, Bucky never let me down. He was always there even if I didn't need him. During the war, when we were on a mission to take down HYDRA, I didn't get to him in time when he fell off the train. It was then I realized I failed him that day. And it has stayed with me since."

Sam nodded, taking a sip of his beer. He could relate to Steve's plight--how he and Riley were on a mission in Afghanistan: something they had done over a thousand times like it was nothing. And an RPG killed him. He felt powerless watching Riley die right in front of him. When he got back from his tours, everyone told him over and over that it wasn't his fault--but that guilt never went away. He attended grief counseling and led some meetings at the VA to help soldiers and veterans who had suffered through the same thing during warfare. It was a very long, difficult road—recovery was never easy for any of them. He had heard every story. Every attempt to deal with their grief and PTSD.

"The feeling's mutual, man," Sam said.

"Riley," Steve said nodding.

"Woulda, coulda, shoulda--it's a phrase I often told myself when Riley died. All the outcomes that could've prevented this single event. I shouldn't have underestimated the mission, thinking we could do it easy peasy. If we hadn't, Riley would still be here."

Steve nodded, sipping his beer. He wished he had that chance with Dr Erskine that day in the barracks before having the serum. Another person he had lost. Now there was Peggy--she was slowly starting to forget him. It saddened him, but all he could do was give her a chance by visiting her. It was the last thing he had of his past to remember her.

Sheila snuck into work. She had to tell Steve what she had seen. She looked for his file. She hoped it hadn't been archived or destroyed. She flipped through the pages until she found his phone number. What she was doing was probably the most unethical thing, but she had no one else to tell. She typed in the number into her phone.

[Need to talk. ASAP! Can we meet?]

She quickly put Steve's file back and got the hell out of there. She hoped nobody would catch her. She was so fired if someone did.

Steve and Sam continued to discuss how they were going to find Bucky because if there was one thing that was for sure, everyone was looking for him—the police, the FBI, the CIA...any government agency that was out there.

"Pretty sure your man is on the wanted list," Sam said. "After that mess he caused on the highway, that got a lot of attention."

Steve nodded. When he, Nat and Sam were interrogating Sitwell, an agent of HYDRA, the man had been thrown from Sam's car by Bucky and he had destroyed it in the process. The Winter Soldier caused a huge highway accident and shot at them and various civilians in the area. If Sam was correct, he was definitely a wanted criminal. Steve knew Bucky was in there somewhere in his broken mind.

"If anything, Bucky is probably on the streets trying to survive," Sam said. "I might know a few homeless veterans who come to the VA just to have a hot drink and donuts. Maybe they saw him."

Just as Steve was about to speak, his cellphone beeped. He furrowed his brow and looked at the message. There was an unknown number on the message.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Dunno. What should I say?" Steve said.

"Probably should ask who it is first."

Steve typed in the response at a slow pace since he was still getting used to using a cellphone. Ever since he woke up from being frozen, technology in this century were very difficult to navigate despite being so helpful.

[who is this?]

The message was sent. A few seconds later a response came.

[Sheila. The nurse from the hospital. It's about your friend.]

As soon as Steve saw this, he froze. His mind was on full alert as he tried to process the message. Was this some kind of joke? Had Sheila seen Bucky? This would be a great lead on where he could start looking for him.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"It's Sheila--that nurse I told you about--the one who took care of me in the hospital. I think she's trying to tell me something," he answered.

"Well, that's good news. Ask her where she saw him, man!" Sam encouraged. "It might give us some clues of where to look."

Steve: [Where did you see him?]

Sheila: [I'd rather tell you in person. Where are you right now?]

Steve: [At the bar--called McClellan's Retreat.]

Sheila: [I'll be there shortly.]

"What'd she say?" Sam asked.

"She'll meet us in person," Steve explained.

"I'm gonna order another round. You in?" Sam said.

Steve looked at his empty bottle before shrugging. He couldn't get drunk so why pass it up?

"Mmm yea, why not?"

Sam chuckled as he ordered another round of beers. He sipped the beer and gazed towards the entrance of the bar, looking for Sheila. Her red hair wasn't easy to miss. Then again, he was wearing a dark baseball cap as he didn't want to be recognized either.

Sheila entered the bar and looked for Steve. He had to be around here somewhere. The lighting was pretty dim, which made it hard to see anyone. She squinted as she tried to make out the faces in the bar. Sighing, she sat down and ordered a drink. God knows she needed one after having to deal with that shitty roommate of hers. She took out her phone and texted Steve:

[I don't see you. Where are you?]

Steve's phone made a noise and the screen lit up and it showed Sheila's message. He texted back:

[I'm at the bar. Look for a dark baseball cap.]

Sheila looked at her phone and her eyes scanned the bar, looking for Steve in his description. She got her drink and sipped it. The female was approaching him, her eyes narrowed. She tripped slightly, spilling her drink.

"What the HELL?!?" yelled a man.

"Oh my GOD!" Sheila apologized frantically. "I'm...so sorry!"

"Sheila?" Steve said.

Sheila looked at the two men who were there--one of them was the one she spilled her drink on. She recognized Sam from the hospital earlier. And of course, there was Steve. She felt really bad. She grabbed some napkins from the bar and began to wipe up her mess.

"I'm really sorry about your clothes, Sam," Sheila apologized. "I'll...pay for your clothes to be cleaned."

"It's fine," Sam said. "Glad to see you again."

Sheila nodded as she sat down between the two men. She was still shaken up by the whole encounter on the bus. She had never been so terrified in her life. While she was no stranger to violence in the emergency room and having seen it herself growing up as a child in urban Detroit, she had numbed herself to this. But what happened tonight was beyond that.

"Can I get some ice and a towel?" Sheila asked the bartender.

The bartender brought them over eventually and the redhead began to place ice in the towel, revealing a large bruise in the shape of a handprint on her wrist. Steve furrowed his brow at the sight and immediately was concerned. Anyone who hurt women was someone on his shit list. He remembered being very protective of Peggy when he first got the serum.

"Jesus, what happened?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Sheila said dismissive, feeling uncomfortable. "Just an incident that shouldn't concern you."

"This doesn't look good," Steve said.

"I'll be fine," she insisted, placing the ice on her wrist.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Steve asked, feeling concern and anger rising in his chest.

Flashes came to Sheila's mind. The face. The cold stare of Bucky Barnes. His bared teeth. The ferocity of his confrontation. His metal hand crushing hers; the cold grip sent shivers down her body. She had never been so terrified in her life. Usually she didn't want people worrying about her all the time--she had been treated like this in the ER by patients who were psychotic, on drugs or alcohol, even mentally unstable. Violence was a part of her life and she had numbed herself. They told her that violence was part of the job--get used to it.

"I was on the 10B bus. I left my apartment to blow off some steam since my roommate was pissing me off," Sheila began. "I saw this man in a dark baseball cap. His clothes looked dirty. I thought he was homeless, but he looked very suspicious. I tried not to stare at him. Then he got up to talk to me. I got a good look at his face and it was definitely Barnes."

Steve and Sam looked at the woman, then at each other.

"You're sure it was Bucky?" Sam asked.

"Yes. I saw his picture at the Smithsonian...a-and the police were at the hospital the day that highway accident happened. They had a sketch of him and they were asking the victims there some questions. His hair was longer and his face had more scruff. But his eyes were very cold and he seemed scared."

"What did he say?" Steve asked.

"He showed me an ad for the Captain America exhibit that was in the newspaper and asked me where it was," she said. "I think I scared him off though."

Steve furrowed his brow when Sheila spoke. He saw the bruise on her wrist and he began to put two and two together. Sheila told him that she scared him--

"Did Bucky do this to you?"

Sheila pulled her sleeve down to hide her injury while icing it. She didn't want Steve getting all alpha and overprotective of her; aside from the fact, she didn't know him, she was capable of handling such matters as a young woman with a career. A woman who could fend for herself ever since she was a little girl.

"Don't worry about it," she responded dismissive.

"Did he do this to you?" Steve spoke, his voice in authoritative tone.

Sheila thinned her lips, feeling uncomfortable. He sounded like her stern grandfather who would scold her when she got herself in trouble. Shooting a glare at Steve, her green eyes glittered in anger.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child!" Sheila snapped.

"You may not be a child, but someone hurt you and I'm concerned," Steve responded.

"You don't need to concern yourself in my life, Wonderboy. You don't know me!"

"Guys!" Sam said firmly. "Stop it. You're getting loud and the bartender is getting suspicious. If you keep raising your voices, you'll get yourselves kicked out."

The two of them shrugged and decided that it was indeed time to stop arguing. Sheila could still feel her blood boiling.

"Now do you know where he went?" Steve asked, feeling calm.

"No. He just got off and ran away," Sheila said, sipping her drink.

"Well, at least we have a clue of where he's going," Sam said. "He might be going there to help him remember his past."

Sheila was a bit confused about what was going on with the conversation. She looked at the two men with a furrowed brow.

"I'm sorry but...what's going on?" Sheila asked.

"It's a long story," Steve said. "We can't discuss it here. Not today, that is."

Sheila was terrified to learn what truth there would be about Bucky Barnes. Why was he still alive too? She didn't understand how he and Steve were both alive. Steve survived because he had the super soldier serum. But Bucky was a whole other story.

"So...how is Bucky still alive?" Sheila asked. "If you don't mind me asking. I get you were frozen, but Bucky? What's his story?"

Steve let out a long drawn out exhale. His heart was aching as flashes came to his mind when he saw those machines in the basement of Ideal Federal Savings. He could hear his friend's screams of pain despite that he wasn't there. The notes from the file that Natasha had gotten him.

"Bucky's like me," Steve said. "He was experimented on during the war with the serum by a man named Arnim Zola when he was captured."

"My God," Sheila gasped, cupping her mouth in horror. "That poor guy. But the memorial in the museum said that he died."

"Yea. I thought so too," Steve said in a low voice. "Apparently, the Soviets found him and they..."

The blond super soldier felt a lump forming in his throat. His jaw tightened as he began to feel every ounce of rage and disgust coming up. Sheila couldn't possibly understand something like this. Sure, she may be an ER nurse and must've seen a lot of horrible things, but this was something that would be beyond her comprehension. Clearing his throat, he pushed back his tears.

"There was a rogue science division called HYDRA," Steve resumed, trying to continue but he couldn't.

Sheila placed her hand on Steve's arm in a comforting way. His silence was enough to tell her what had happened--she guessed it had to be something terrible that happened to Bucky. She had heard silence from those who suffered from abuse, torture, and rape in her ER--how scared they were to speak of it. How the families were filled with guilt for not helping their loved ones, the disgust that it happened and desire for justice for what happened.

"I'm sorry," Sheila said. "I can't imagine what he must've gone through."

Steve felt a sense of comfort. The warmth from Sheila's hand spread through his body. He hadn't felt such a comfort when he first lost Bucky back in the past except it was with Peggy. Sighing, he thought about the file that Nick Fury se had shown him regarding Peggy--how she retired from SHIELD and was now living in a nursing home.

Peggy.

His thoughts had drifted to the last time he visited her in the nursing home. She had grown old, but her spirit remained like when she was younger. There were times she had forgotten their last conversation. Steve was saddened to find out that his first love had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's: a condition that affected the brain that made one slowly lose their short term memory. Steve decided he would spare Peggy the details of what happened to SHIELD. If she had found out that all this time HYDRA had been hiding all this time in something she had spent all her life building with Howard Stark, she'd be disgusted and disappointed.

Howard.

Another person in his life who was also gone. The files said he was dead. He later found out the truth: Arnim Zola had showed him the archives and admitted that his death was an 'accident'; while he did not explicitly say how Howard had died, it was enough to tell him he had been murdered by HYDRA. Steve knew that it was going to be hard telling Tony Stark the truth about how his parents really died. Yet he had no idea who was responsible.

"I just want to find him," Steve said. "Give him a safe place to stay so he's not lost and scared. He did the same thing for me, it's the least I can do."

"We'll find him," Sam said.

"I would like to help," Sheila offered.

"Sorry, Sheila, but you can't get involved," Steve said.

"Well if he ran off, I'm sure he'd find shelter somewhere," Sheila said. "Most homeless people would seek it at the hospital sometimes. I'll look there still."

"If you do see him there," Steve said. "Let me know if you see him."

"We better do it fast," Sam said. "If Sheila says what is true, the police and possibly all government authorities are looking for him."

"Yes. The police were here a few days ago when that highway accident happened," Sheila added. "They were asking us a lot of questions about the one responsible. Most of the patients gave his description."

"Right," Steve said nodding. "The sooner we find him, the better. Sheila, I can bring you home."

"You don't have to do that, Steve," Sheila said. "I grew up in a dangerous city--it's a cake walk for me."

"Still it's not safe," Steve insisted.

"Whatever you say, Wonderboy," Sheila huffed.

"See you later, guys," Sam said. "I'll keep you updated if I find Bucky."

"Thanks, Sam. Good night."

Steve paid for their drinks and escorted Sheila out of the bar. She was so annoyed right now. She didn't need a hero protecting her every turn. When she went outside, she saw that he had a motorcycle instead of a car. She shifted uncomfortably since she never rode one. The young wild girl she used to be would've jumped at the chance, but she had grown up so much. Plus after seeing all those motorcycle accidents that happened in the city, she was not too keen about riding one.

"You don't have a car?" she said.

"Nah. Can't afford it," Steve said. "Plus with a bike, it's much easier to navigate. I have a helmet you can wear."

"I...uh...think I'll take the bus," she said.

"Oh," Steve said, looking disappointed. "Well, at least let me walk you to the bus stop."

"Fine. After that, please stop trying to protect me all the time," she said.

Steve could understand that. He remembered how angry Peggy got when he saved her from being shot by the HYDRA assassin who stole the serum and killed Dr Erskine. She yelled at him that she almost got him and the assassin had gotten away. Tucking his hands in his leather jacket, he walked along the sidewalk. Sheila looked down at her sneakers, not sure what to say to Steve. Sure, she may have liked the guy--he was the very definition of what a Disney prince would look like. Still he annoyed her with his need to protect someone like that.

"There's something I need to know--how'd you get my number?"

Biting her lip, Sheila looked at the blond super soldier. She did feel guilty for breaking possibly an ethics code and HIPAA for doing this. There was a possibility she could lose her job over this. Maybe her license. It was a huge risk.

"I...may have done an unethical thing by looking in your file at work," She admitted. "But I thought since Bucky is your friend, I figured this was the right thing to do." She paused for a beat. "Just please don't report me to my boss or the BON."

"I'm glad you did," Steve admitted. "I won't say anything."

"Thank you," she said. "You see, it took me a very long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And if I can't be a nurse, I don't know what I could do. It's who I am."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

"When I was young, I was a bit of a troublemaker," Sheila admitted, moving a strand of hair away. "I was the kind of person who just enjoyed their youth and was carefree. Once I realized that time was getting shorter until high school was over, I had no direction...no purpose in life. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do after graduation."

"So what made you become a nurse?"

"Believe it or not, my grandmother," Sheila said. "I was going through some old photos in her sewing room and I found an old picture of her in a polio ward, taking care of children."

"My mother was a nurse," Steve admitted. "She worked in a TB ward."

"Oh. That's pretty cool," she said smiling. "What was she like?"

"Much like you...determined, hard working and kind..." he said. Then blurted out, "Beautiful..."

Sheila glanced at Steve with a chuckle. The dude was awkward despite being handsome. He reminded her of Disney's Hercules--awkward, gentle and absolutely charming. He was a god among men--she could see why Megara fell in love with the hero. It didn't really matter to her if he was Captain America or a super solider. Underneath all that was a man.

"S-sorry...I didn't mean to say that...I mean, you are beautiful..." the super soldier stammered.

"You don't talk to women much, do you?" Sheila said arching an eyebrow.

"Not really," he said, rubbing his neck. "I have a few dames...I mean, women I work with. Natasha is one of them."

"Oh. Are they exes of yours?"

"Nah. Nat and I are more friends and colleagues than that."

"Well, pray tell, what does Natasha do?"

"She travels a lot..." Steve said, not wanting to get into any details. "And there's Sharon...I'm sort of seeing her."

"Oh. How's that going?"

Steve shifted from foot to foot. He had been on a few dates with Sharon. They had shared a moment when they were living in the same apartment building before she found out she word for SHIELD. Now that SHIELD was gone, they started seeing each other. But if Steve was completely honest, it was hollow.

"We've been on a few dates...but honestly I feel like there's nothing there," he admitted. "Dating is pretty confusing in the 21st century. In my time, we just asked a girl out, went out to eat, dancing and then if we got lucky, we'd get a goodnight kiss. Nowadays it's just skipping all that and...well..."

"Having sex?" Sheila finished.

"Yea."

"And you don't like sex?"

Steve blushed, looking uncomfortable. Eventually they reached the bus stop. Steve leaned against the glass.

"Steve, I'm a nurse. Nothing you say would even remotely surprise me," she said. "I constantly deal with it at work: educating teenagers and parents on safe sex. Couples who have had STDs or trying to conceive. People who have problems with it."

"It's not that. It just seems like it's is everywhere and out in the open now," Steve said. "Nobody's life is private anymore."

"Well, that's because the sexual revolution happened in the 1960s: Free Love, birth control and all that."

Steve nodded. He was writing down a list of things he needed to catch up on. Sheila glanced at the man as he wrote it down in his book.

"What's that you're writing?" she asked.

"List of stuff to catch up on," he said. "Since I came out of the ice, I've been trying to get up to speed on stuff."

"I recommend you listen to Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire--it pretty much summarizes everything in history," she said.

Steve wrote that down as well in his little book. He wanted to see her again. He enjoyed talking to her. She reminded him of Peggy--strong and independent. The bus eventually came up to the stop; the hissing and squeaking from the brakes filled the cool night air and the door opened.

"Well, here's my stop," Sheila said. "See you around, Wonderboy."

"You too, Nurse Donovan," he said.

Just before she turned to get on the bus, Steve called out to her, making the redhead turn around.

"You think I can call you sometime?"

Sheila could only smile. "Well, you're not my patient anymore so I don't see why not," she said.

"Stay safe, Nurse Donovan."

"I will."