The Winter Soldier rolled to his feet as Steve stood panting, waiting for the masked assailant to turn around and show his face. Steve hated how tired he was. He took this brief moment of reprieve to try and catch his breath, knowing they'd go right back to the fight. Natasha had been shot, Steve needed to get her out of the fray. He'd drug Sam into a firefight he had no business being in. Sitwell was dead on the side of the freeway, and their chances of quietly breaking into the Triskellion were gone.

Kayla was out there somewhere, and Steve had to make sure she was safe.

The Winter Soldier turned around to face Steve, a resigned frown on his face. Steve's stomach plummeted at the sight as everything he thought he knew and understood fell away. He stood up straighter, no longer ready to fight, "Bucky?"

The man turned a little more toward Steve at the name, but Steve realized his best friend held no recollection of him, "Who the hell is Bucky?" Steve watched in a daze as Bucky swiftly raised his arm and aimed his gun at Steve, determination written across his face until Sam flew in from behind and kicked him in the head, sending the Winter Soldier rolling down the road. Steve turned again, unable to move, unable to speak. He had to stop Sam. No, he had to stop Bucky. No- no he had to-

Confusion was clear across the Winter Soldier's face as he paused a moment, clearly trying to remember why he knew Steve Rogers. He remembered himself again, raising his gun, but Steve didn't move. He was thankful his heightened instincts told him to duck, because his very human brain was still registering how his best friend was standing in front of him, trying to kill him. A rocket flew past Steve from behind and blew up a pickup truck next to the Winter Soldier, allowing the man to escape.

Steve turned to see Natasha leaning against the back of a silver van with a rocket launcher, but when he looked back, Bucky was gone.

Suddenly, Rumlow lead the STRIKE team and dozens of armed agents into the streets, guns trained on Steve, Natasha, and Sam. Rumlow yelled at the soldier, but Steve didn't hear him. All he heard were Bucky's words, over and over and over again in his head as the agents appeared beside him. It wasn't until Rollins and Rumlow screamed at him to put down his shield that he realized what was about to happen.

Steve lowered his shield to the ground and put his hands in the air. A faceless agent scooped up his shield and backed away as Rumlow kicked behind his knees, forcing him to the ground as he grunted and looked around. Steve was overwhelmed by the amount of guns trained on his face. He tried to focus on that, but his mind kept wandering back to Bucky. They could have escaped, but Steve couldn't look away. He stood there like a sitting duck while the Winter Soldier had almost shot his face off twice, and Steve didn't even flinch.

What would Kayla think when she saw what had happened? Steve heard the helicopters overhead as Rumlow held his arms behind his back. He could feel the barrel of Rollins' gun teasing the hairs on the back of his neck. The idea that SHIELD would assassinate Captain America in the middle of town was laughable, but Steve almost welcomed it. If they put a bullet in his brain, Steve wouldn't have to face what had happened to his best friend, because of him.

"Put the gun down." Rumlow barked at Rollins, "Not here! Not here..."

Steve was roughly pulled to his feet and led away behind Natasha and Sam. He looked to his right and saw the agent holding his shield tightly, keeping several steps behind so they could keep an eye on him. Rumlow kept a tight grip on Steve as Rollins handed off his weapon and stripped Sam of his wings, handing them over to the same agent who held Steve's shield. He handcuffed Sam and passed him off to a faceless agent who shoved him into the van as another agent locked Natasha in beside him. Sam glared at the agent who held onto Steve's shield and his wings, but they didn't move. A dark visor held their expression, but their body language wasn't fearful. They'd won.

Steve allowed Rumlow and Rollins to shove him down onto the seat, latching his calves with metal restraints before stacking his wrists and locking them in a bind that looked too massive to hold a man like Steve Rogers. A large metal band wrapped around his torso, and Steve realized this van was made specifically to hold someone like him. He felt so broken and confused, though, that he didn't even struggle.

"She needs help!" Sam barked at the agents who took their seats at the front of the van, but they didn't so much as turn their heads to him. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"I wouldn't be too worried. You'll all be put out of your misery soon enough." Rumlow grumbled as he passed the agent holding the gear, "If Cap gets outa line, don't be afraid to shut him up with that." Rumlow nodded toward the shield as the agent stepped up into the van and the doors were closed behind them.

As the vehicle began to move, the agent set down Sam's wings and Steve's shield against the door, holding onto a bar at the ceiling to keep their balance as they moved. Nobody said a word for a few minutes, until Sam finally mumbled, "What the hell happened back there?"

"It was Bucky." Steve answered, keeping his eyes trained on the floor, "We grew up together. We fought together. He fell off a train..." Steve shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat as he kept his head lowered, "He looked right at me. And he didn't even know me."

"How is that even possible? It was like seventy years ago?" Sam questioned, but Steve saw the way Natasha turned her head to look at Steve, and he wondered if she knew. Maybe she didn't know it was Bucky, but he used Soviet weaponry. He was a Russian assassin, Natasha at least knew he existed. She looked almost guilty, but Steve pushed aside the idea that she knew... she would have told him. He knew Natasha would have told him if she knew it was Bucky.

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him-"

"None of that's your fault, Steve." Natasha groaned quietly, leaning her head to the side as she began to feel dizzier, but Steve didn't notice. He was in a trance.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

Sam, however, was fully present in the moment, and he looked over to see Natasha was bleeding from her shoulder and trying to steel herself despite the pain. "Hey, we need to get a doctor in here. We don't put pressure on that wound, she's gonna bleed out here in the van."

The Hydra agent brandished their eclectic rod and Sam jumped back a little, but the agent slammed it into the chest of the guard next to them before kicking up against their face to knock them out cold. Sam and Natasha stare for a brief moment, then Sam looked back at the agent by the door, but they didn't move. His attention was pulled back to the first guard, who removed their helmet and sighed, "Ah! That thing was squeezing my brain!" She looked to Steve, "Who's this guy?"

"Steve!" They looked to the door in time to see the third guard drop her helmet and fall at Steve's feet, gazing up at him lovingly with her big green eyes, "Baby, are you okay?"

Steve leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Kayla's as he breathed slowly, "You heard what happened."

"That's why I asked."

He pulled away to look into her eyes and she grabbed his cheeks, rubbing the dirt with her thumbs. He tried to smile, but it kept falling. Kayla whispered that it was okay, and began unlocking his shackles as Hill turned to Sam and Natasha, "We don't have a lot of time. They don't plan to take you three alive."

"If we don't get her to a doctor, there will only be two of us to kill." Sam snapped and Maria turned on her electric rod and began to burn a hole in the bottom of the van.

Once Steve was free, Kayla turned her attention to Sam and Natasha, grinning up at Sam coyly, "You know, I thought you'd be a good friend for Steve, not a good partner."

"Well, Captain America needed my help. What was I supposed to do? I offered."

"I figured. Steve would never ask." Kayla answered, looking over her shoulder to see Steve grinning softly at her as she worked, "You heard from Tiff? Is she still locked up in the Triskellion?"

"No, she's at the White House with your parents. As you can imagine, the President isn't happy you've been missing. And with Steve nowhere around to tell his side of the story..." Sam paused, looking over Kayla's shoulder at Steve, "It's not pretty, Kayla. Your dad is pretty unhappy with Cap. SHIELD made a pretty convincing case against him."

"What did they say?" Kayla asked as the bottom of the van fell to the ground.

"We don't have time to talk right now, let's get moving." Maria said, helping Nat to her feet. "New guy, you first. Drop and roll."

"I think I can handle it." Sam grumbled, getting down on his hands and knees to peek beneath the vehicle. "Nobody behind us, let's move quick." He dropped out the hole, rolling on the ground before pushing himself to his feet and darting away. Maria and Natasha followed, leaving Steve and Kayla behind.

"Steve, we gotta go." Kayla whispered and Steve's stoic demeanor broke for a moment. The only place he ever allowed himself to cry was alone with Kayla. He never wanted to, but she made him feel safe and loved and never judged him. He wanted her to help him through what he was feeling now. "Steve, we can talk about this more when we're safe. Keep the wall up just a little longer, okay?"

Steve steeled his jaw, and grabbed his shield from the ground. Kayla tossed Falcon's wings out first, and Steve grabbed her waist, "I've got you."

"I know." Kayla answered, pushing back his dirty hair. He wrapped his shield around Kayla and dropped through the hole of the high riding van, falling to his back on the street below as they continued to rumble forward without their prisoners. He pushed himself to his feet and tugged Kayla behind a trash bin, holding his shield in front of her as he pulled her to crouch down, instinctively putting his right hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

Two more armored vans sped by, but once they were down the alleyway, Steve stood and pulled Kayla away toward the direction Sam and Maria had taken Natasha. He focused on the feeling of her hand in his, her slim fingers and the feeling of the ring she wore on her-

Steve stopped running, and Kayla looked up at him as he stared forward with his jaw dropped, "Honey, what's wrong?" Kayla asked, scurrying in front of him to see his face, "Steve?"

"I... Fuck." He settled on after a moment, sucking in a deep breath and holding Kayla's hand a little tightener, "Nothing. It's nothing. I just- I'll fix it." Steve noticed Maria up ahead, standing by a van and he picked up his pace, practically skidding to a stop in front of the sliding door of the van. Sam and Natasha already sat inside, so he hoisted Kayla up before climbing in behind them.

The inside of the van was dark. There were no windows leading into the cab where Maria drove them, and there were no windows to let the light in. Steve was thankful for the dark, it allowed him a moment of peace. He slung his arm around Kayla and pulled her close, pressing his lips to her hair as he closed his eyes. "I love you so much. I shouldn't have left you. I had no idea how compromised SHIELD was." He mumbled quietly into her honey-blonde strands. "I didn't want you to get swept up in this mess. I'm not sure how we're going to come back from it."

"We'll be okay, as long as we're together." Kayla murmured softly, shifting her body to lay her face against Steve's rock-hard chest. "What's happening with my dad?"

"Tiffany said SHIELD called and told them Cap tried to use you as a bartering chip to get out, hoping they wouldn't shoot if he had you with him. When they started shooting anyway, he ditched the bike and left you behind." Sam's voice cut through the darkness and Kayla lifted her head, even though he could barely see her. "They said Steve Rogers was a dirty agent, and that he'd only gotten close to you because of your proximately to power, and to get to the President."

"There's no way my parents believed that." Kayla snorted, but Sam just hummed quietly and she felt Steve stiffen against her. "No. No they couldn't-"

"I haven't disclosed my conversation with Tiffany to Steve or Natasha. We've been a little busy with bigger problems. Let's just say either SHIELD wanted to make it look like you were tracking Kayla, or maybe you actually were. Tiffany said they found something in the-" Sam stopped abruptly and Kayla felt Steve slump forward. She rubbed his back in the darkness, but neither Sam nor Steve spoke.

"We'll figure something out with my dad. Once this is all sorted out, things will go back to normal, I swear." Kayla promised but Steve's groan told her she was wrong. "Steve?"

Steve rubbed his hands over his face roughly as the van went over a bump, signaling they weren't in town anymore, "I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Make sure I knew where you were. You never would have noticed, but SHIELD did. Guess I should have expected it, SHIELD created the damn thing."

"You serious? The tracking chip was actually you?" Sam asked incredulously as Natasha hissed when they went over another bump.

"It was my idea." Natasha's voice was gravely as she held a white towel to her bullet wound, "You told me you weren't gonna do it."

"After Fury let me in on Project Insight I had the tracker placed before I even left the building. I couldn't take any chances, not with you, Kay."

Kayla sucked in her breath, "You put a tracking chip in the engagement ring you were going to give me?"

"You knew?" Steve breathed out as Kayla slid away from him on the seat, "I tried so hard to surprise you..."

"It would have been a surprise, but you left the ring in your stealth suit. Secretary Pierce and that annoying bald man found it." Kayla snapped back, and Steve felt his heart sink, "You put a tracker in my ring, so you could, what, keep an eye on me?"

"Not because of you, but because of everything else, I couldn't let anything happen to you! Project Insight threatens all potential targets. The Council knows you can create the super-soldier serum, and an anti-serum, you don't think you'll be on that list?"

"And if I am, what are you gonna do about it? You gonna throw me off your bike and leave me behind as a distraction?" Kayla snarled as Maria slowed the van to a halt. "I get it, Steve, but you should have just talked to me. You were going to get down on one knee and ask me to be your wife using a tracking ring." The sound of Maria opening her car door put Kayla on edge and she stood quickly as the door slid open, "I just need a little space, okay?"

"Kayla, wait!" Steve called as she took off sprinting into the old dam they were going to enter, clearly already knowing her way. Steve hopped out after her and sighed, then turned around and helped Natasha out. His dramatic girlfriend could wait.

Fury and Hill had set up a small barracks in the abandoned dam, not really seeming to expect to have people join them on their quest. There were four beds, and a small bathroom off to side that had been used by dam workers before it became SHIELD's secret base. Kayla stripped off the black t-shirt Maria had loaned her to wear under her STRIKE uniform, then quickly unzipped her black pants and discarded them both on the floor of the bathroom. She turned on the shower, feeling the water freezing cold as it had been the day before, but a shower was a shower, and she needed to work through her thoughts about the day.

She unclipped her bra and pushed down her underwear, setting them on top of the t-shirt she'd have to wear again. Kayla stepped into the water and gasped as the cold struck her body, freezing her to her core. She wondered if this was how Steve felt plunging into the arctic. She wondered if he could have gotten away if he'd only tried. Would have saved her a lot of trouble, that's for sure.

"Kay?"

Kayla clamped her teeth together to keep from groaning, not wanting to talk to Steve right now. She wanted to be alone, but the soldier wasn't about to take her state of undress as a reason to come back later. She lulled her head to the side as the curtain pulled to the side, allowing Steve Rogers a view of Kayla as she showered. She finally let out a quiet groan, "What if that hadn't been me?"

"It was."

"But what if it hadn't? Don't I deserve privacy, too? Oh, wait, not from you." Kayla snarled, massaging the ice water into her roots. "I'll only talk if you join me."

Steve narrowed his eyes, clearly not expecting that reaction from his girl, "Why?"

"Because the water's fucking cold, and I know you'll hate every second of it. If you want to bother me that badly, come on in."

Kayla watched Steve look over his shoulder and then shimmy out of his jacket before pulling his blue shirt over his head and stripping down out of his khaki pants and underwear. He pulled the curtain closed and stood against Kayla as the water pelted his back, "Alright, I'm here. Now you gotta listen."

Kayla grit her teeth, crossing her arms over her breasts as she stared up at Steve, "I was really hoping you'd say no."

"I know you were, but I'm gonna talk to you. It's important. You are important to me, and if this is what it takes to get your attention, so be it. I'll do a hell of a lot more than freeze for you, that's for damn sure." Kayla turned her head to look at the floor, but Steve just grabbed her chin and tilted it upward, "I panicked. I put the tracker in your engagement ring, because I thought I could protect you if I always knew where you were. It wasn't meant to be an invasion of your privacy."

"And honestly, if you had told me you wanted to put a tracker in, I don't know, my wallet, my phone, anywhere else, I'd have said yes. It's just you took the thing that was supposed to symbol us becoming one family, and used it as a way to make sure I don't get into trouble. Might I remind you, that the only reason I'm all up in this mess is because Nick Fury arrived in our home, which was bugged, and got shot in the middle of the night. I'm only really in danger because of you."

Steve froze at her words, tossing his head to the side to look at the wall instead of Kayla. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Trust me? Believe that I can take care of myself? You can't punish me for being in danger, because you are the one who brought the danger-"

"That's why I did it, not to punish you, but to protect you, because you're in danger. Your proximity to me isn't what will get you killed, it's your work with the super-soldier serum!"

"Nobody even bat an eye about me working on the serum until you came back." Kayla snarled, leaning away and pressing her back against the grimy wall, "I want to work on it to protect you!"

"Oh, so when you do something to protect me, it's fine, but when I try to do the same, it's punishing you?" Steve growled, leaning his head down, but Kayla didn't shrink in his gaze. He laughed, lifting his head and pushing his hair back, "Listen, if I hadn't left the ring, you'd be happily engaged, never knowing the wiser. It wasn't like I was planning on using it to keep track of you, it was only in emergencies. Like now, for instance, because you shattered your phone and nobody could find you."

"They were going to use me to get to you, what was I supposed to do?" Kayla pressed her lips together tightly, reaching around Steve and pushing the dial to turn off the shower. She caught him gazing down at her naked form as she pulled away and crossed her arms again to shield herself, "Steve, I just want you to trust me to take care of myself. I don't want you being paranoid and overprotective. You know, you pulled a gun on me the other day? In our own home?"

"You left the front door open, I thought someone had broken in!" Steve argued as Kayla pulled her panties back on, "What if it was a trap, was I supposed to just walk into it?"

"You could have called out and asked if I was there. I would have answered." Kayla suggested as Steve leaned against the shower, naked as the day he was born without any sense of urgency, "For fuck's sake, put your clothes back on, don't you have to save the world?"

"Not until we're done talking." Steve answered lightly, but Kayla just groaned, leaning over and clipping her bra into place. "Kay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put the tracker in the ring, I'm sorry I scared you the other day, and I'm sorry you're all wrapped up in this mess. I'm Captain America, this kind of thing happens sometimes. I've done everything in my power to keep it away from you, but this just goes to show that some things are gonna follow me home sometimes."

Kayla pulled up her black slacks, staring at the floor intently, "I didn't sign up for this."

"And I didn't sign up to be a government puppet, but I do it without complaint for you."

Kayla lifted her head to stare at Steve's face, her own expression hurt and broken, "I never asked you to, Steve."

Steve steeled his jaw and snatched up his underwear and pants and began to dress, "I miss when it was just you and me. When nobody else was involved in our relationship. When we'd just talk for hours, and nobody would take our picture, or ask for autographs or interviews. I can't be myself around you anymore, and I hate it. I don't want to be a spectacle, I'm a soldier, not a celerity."

"Well then maybe we need some time apart."

Steve zipped up his khakis and stood tall, placing his hands on his hips as Kayla's eyes raked over his bare chest sadly, "Maybe that would be for the best."

Kayla closed her eyes lightly, taking a slow breath as she nodded, "You have to take care of this SHIELD- Hydra debacle. You don't want to be in the spotlight, I have to respect that, you have more important things to deal with than me."

"It's not like that-"

"It's fine. I'm fine. It's better this way..." Kayla pushed away the curtain and took a step into the restroom, looking into the dirty mirror for a moment before turning back to Steve with one of her perfect fake smiles, "I mean, we were talking marriage. Me? Kayla Ellis married? Could you imagine?" She imagined her words hurt Steve as much as they hurt herself, because he looked like she'd kicked a puppy in the face. "Do what you gotta do, Cap. Maybe, someday, when things are different. Maybe we'll be different."

Steve couldn't look at her anymore, so he looked to the side with his lips pursed tightly, "Yeah. Maybe."

Kayla nodded slowly, then left the restroom in a rush. Steve would later find out she swiped the keys to the van and drove it all the way back to Pennsylvania Avenue. He didn't even know she could drive.