Amelia had stormed into the nearest room she could find, just needing to be away from Helmut. She slammed the door behind her and her hands clenched into fists by her side as she let out a loud grunt of annoyance. What was his plan? Why did he insist on causing trouble when trouble didn't need to be caused? Amelia looked around the room and saw that she was in something that resembled a grand dining room. There columns lining the room, a large table that could seat twenty was in the middle of it. The chair were all high backed with a low chandelier hanging over the table.
There was a piano in the corner of the room too. Amelia moved over to it, remembering when she had tried to play before all of this had happened. It had been when she had been with Lukas. He had a piano in his townhouse and had tried to teach Amelia, but she was hardly musical.
Sitting on the bench, Amelia moved a hand to hover over the keys and she pressed down on one, not knowing what note it was or particularly caring. She continued pressing it, her movements becoming harsher as she took her frustration out on it. Finally, she slammed her hands down on the keys, the noise echoing through the room. Bowing her head, she let her elbows rest on the edge of the instrument and buried her face into her hands.
The door creaked open behind her and she shook her head. "Go away, Helmut," she said, not bothering to turn around.
"Not him."
She turned around then to see Bucky stood there. He had his hands in the pockets of his jacket and he was looking straight at her. She sighed, her posture relaxing slightly before she turned around on the stool. "Sorry, Bucky," she said and he shrugged, clearly not bothered by the mistaken identity.
"You alright?" Bucky questioned and he moved closer to her. She shrugged back to him. He pulled a dining chair out and took a seat on it, legs spread wide and hands laced together in between them as he bent forwards.
"He had no right to goad you like that. I don't know what he was trying to achieve," Amelia said with a firm shake of her head. "He's…in some ways he's the most straightforward man I know. He's pragmatic and logical. And then in other ways it's like he's complicated…too complicated for me to work out, at least."
"He's manipulative," Bucky said and Amelia simply nodded once.
"He can be," she agreed on that point. "But what he said wasn't right. He should have just kept quiet."
"I don't disagree with that," Bucky promised her. He did wish that Helmut had kept his mouth shut. But, on the other hand, he knew that maybe the man had a point. "But I do think that we need to have a conversation and an honest one at that."
"Not now," Amelia pleaded with him.
"Then when?" Bucky asked her. "Because I don't know when the right time to bring it up is. I've been thinking about it for ages…when I went back to New York, do you know all I could think of was coming back to England? I wanted to come back and be happy…and I wanted to be happy with you."
"Bucky, don't," Amelia pleaded with him, shaking her head quickly, hair flying into her cheeks. She couldn't do this. She couldn't do it to him.
"I have to," Bucky said. "I have to tell you the truth because it's been eating away at me for months. Don't you get that? Don't you think I deserve to tell you?"
"Bucky, you deserve that and so much more," Amelia promised him. "But I don't want you to tell me. I don't want you to say anything because I don't want to ruin what we have. We're friends. Hell, you're probably my only friend and you mean so much to me."
"Why would it ruin what we have?" Bucky asked from her. "Why do we have to let it?"
"Because…if you're going to tell me what I think you're going to tell me then I can't say it back…I can't give you what you deserve."
"Because you won't let yourself," Bucky retorted, his eyes gazing into hers and he swore that he had never felt his heart beat as fast. When was the last time he had told a woman that he had deep feelings for her? Sure, there had been flings before the war, but never anything serious. "You won't let yourself move on from him despite the fact that he's not going to be here forever…he has nothing he can give you…no future…there is no chance."
"That might be so," Amelia said. And she didn't want to think that. She didn't want to imagine a world without Helmut now that she had him back. It would be too cruel, but then again, what he had done was beyond cruel. "But that doesn't mean that I can switch off how I feel for him."
"But you won't even let yourself try and move on."
"I did," she defended herself, "but that didn't work out. Bucky, I don't know what to say because I don't want to see you hurt. I like you. I care about you. Just, please, don't get hurt because of me."
"And what if it's too late?" Bucky questioned her and Amelia wished that he hadn't said that. She didn't want it to be too late for him. She just wanted him to be happy. She needed him to try and do that. "I went on numerous dates in New York, Amelia, but none of them worked out because all I could think about was what you were doing. Tell me that you didn't feel something when I was with you. Tell me that I was imagining it."
Amelia sighed and tossed a hand through her hair. She shook her head softly and stood up, unable to sit any longer. She began pacing back and forth, hands going to her hips and eyes looking up to the ceiling. The afternoon sun had begun to pour into the room, casting patterns on the floor through the stained-glass windows that ran the length of the room.
"I don't know," Amelia confessed. "We were happy. I was happy. I enjoyed spending time with you and you were easy to talk to. You're kind. You're incredibly sensitive even though you have this hard exterior. You're…I really do care for you. I do. Please don't think I don't."
Nodding his head, a sad smile formed on his lips at hearing her. "Just not like you care for him."
And Amelia couldn't even deny it. She couldn't lie to Bucky. All she could do was move to crouch in front of him and try desperately to make him see that he could do so much better than her. She knelt on the ground and her hands clasped hold of his firmly, her fingers holding onto his tightly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Bucky, I wish that things were different. I wish that I didn't love him because I know what he's done…who he is…but they're not. I do love him. I can't stop loving him and I don't think I ever did."
"And when he's locked back up?"
"Then I will do what I can to move on," Amelia said, but she didn't want to tell Bucky that Helmut had no intention of going back to a jail cell. In fact, he was doing everything in his power to avoid it. But did his future involve Amelia? She didn't know. She only knew that it was unfair for Bucky to have false hope.
"But not with me, huh?" he questioned.
"It's not fair on you," Amelia said to him, her voice soft and Bucky moved a hand from hers, his fingers tangling into her hair and pushing the soft locks back behind her ear. He kept his hand there, his palm resting by her cheek. "You deserve someone so much better than me, Bucky."
"And you deserve someone so much better than him," Bucky said. "I just wish that you'd try and move on because I know that we could be good together. We could be so good together, Amelia."
And Amelia wasn't going to deny that. She couldn't deny it. She knew that a life with Bucky could be peaceful. It would be long walks in the countryside with pub lunches. It would be evenings spent in front of the TV catching him up on all the classic films he had missed. It would be days out with easy conversation. And it did sound idyllic. She wasn't going to deny that. It sounded so much better than a life on the run with Helmut. But it wasn't fair on Bucky. He didn't deserve to live a lie.
"I know we could be," she agreed with him. "But you deserve someone to love you unconditionally. I can't give that to you."
Nodding once, he understood what she was telling him. And he wasn't going to push it. He knew that they would only go round and round in circles. Moving to stand up, he took hold of Amelia's hand and dragged her to stand up with him. She remained in front of him as he continued stroking her cheek and her other hand held onto his forearm.
"Maybe one day," Bucky whispered.
"Don't wait for me, Bucky. Please," she pleaded with him.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Trust me, I'm not going to be moving on anytime soon."
Amelia sighed once more, her breath shaking as she stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. Squeezing his arm, she took his hand from her cheek and lowered it back down to his side. "You're a good man," she said to him.
"Yeah," was all he responded with. He coughed awkwardly and turned around. Pointing to the door, he began moving towards it. "We should get going."
"I'll be there in a minute."
…
Walking down the street, Amelia knew the atmosphere was tense. She was walking in front, Helmut next to her as Sam spoke with Bucky. Looking down onto Amelia, Helmut could see that her jaw was set firm, the tension there apparent. Her eyes were staring straight ahead. She had left the dining room after Bucky and simply grabbed her mac before leaving after asking if they were going.
"Do you intend on ignoring me forever?" Helmut decided to ask her and she chewed down on her tongue, the metallic taste of blood entering her mouth.
"It's either that or we end up arguing," Amelia retorted, tone tight.
"We don't need to argue about it. We need to have a conversation about it."
"What conversation?"
"About you and James."
Amelia rolled her eyes. "There is no me and James."
"But there could be," Helmut said and Amelia finally turned to look to him. He continued watching her as she eyed him with suspicion. "You care for him. I know that you do."
"As a friend," she retorted. "And you pushed it too far and I had to pick up the pieces and tell him that…how he felt…I didn't feel the same way."
Helmut nodded his head solemnly. "But could you?"
"Could I what?"
"Love him?"
Amelia looked behind her to see that Bucky and Sam were just rounding the corner. They were a good few paces away and Amelia knew they couldn't hear the conversation. She was grateful for that. It took her a moment before she shook her head.
"I don't think so."
"But that wasn't a definite no."
"Then no," Amelia said bluntly. "And why are you even asking me this? You know how I feel, Helmut. I've always been honest with you about that. What are you trying to do?"
Helmut shrugged his shoulders. "Just planning."
"For what?"
"You know, there are actually worse men to be in love with than James, despite the fact he's a super soldier," Helmut informed her and Amelia slowly began to piece together what it was he was doing. She stood still then and Helmut waled another step before turning back to look to her. Shaking her head slowly, she let her eyes widen and her lips parted as she saw him look down onto her.
"Everything alright?" Sam questioned as they finally caught up with them.
Helmut and Amelia continued looking at each other, neither one entirely certain on what the other was going to do. And so Amelia took charge.
"We're fine. Can we just have a minute?" she questioned.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Sam was the one to say.
"Please?" Amelia pleaded with him, her gaze going to him and her eyes pleading. "I promise we will just be a minute and we'll stay where you can see us."
Bucky patted Sam on the shoulder and the other man seemed to relent. He groaned under his breath before moving away with Bucky next to him, the super soldier giving Amelia a stern nod. She returned it and then looked back to Helmut who hadn't taken his eyes off of her. She stepped closer to him.
"You were jealous the other day when you came to Norfolk," she pointed out to him and he opened his mouth, but she held a hand up to stop him. "And don't even try to deny it, Helmut. I know that you were jealous. And now, what? You're trying to play matchmaker?"
"I needed to know for certain how he felt about you, hence why I pushed him."
"And what about how I feel, Helmut?" she retorted. "I don't love him. I care for him, very much, but I don't love him."
"You didn't love me at one stage."
Amelia's brows knitted together and creases formed on her forehead. She took a moment to compose herself. "True, but the fact is that I still do love you. Bucky…I don't want to be with Bucky."
"But you can't be with me, Amelia," Helmut said and they remained stood in the middle of the street, engrossed in their deep conversation. Neither of them looked at the people who passed by them, seemingly uninterested in their stares and glances of questioning.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I am a wanted man," he said. "Life with me would be too dangerous. I have no desire to subject you to that. I either go on the run or I…I make the same decision that I made in Siberia, but either way, there is no chance for us to be together and you know that. Deep down you know that."
"No, I don't," Amelia said to him, her jaw jutting out and her gaze full of defiance. "And don't you dare think about doing what you were going to do in Siberia…I would rather live on the run than know that you did that because you…" she trailed off, unable to find the words she had to finish her sentence.
"I know," he assured her of that much.
"And even if there is no chance of us being together, that doesn't mean that anything would happen with Bucky," Amelia said to him. "But we both don't know what is going to happen and I just need you to promise me that you won't make any rash decisions without talking to me."
Helmut adjusted his leather gloves on his fingertips, looking down to them as he shook his head once. "Amelia, you know that I can't promise that. We don't know what is going to happen."
"You have to," she said, giving him no room for argument.
"I will try," he said, attempting to negotiate with her. "But I have a point. James is a good man and he would care for you…he has cared for you before…you could be happy with him."
Amelia's lips were tightly closed, pinched together. She looked up once more to the sky. "I cannot believe you are trying to set me up with someone else when this morning we were in bed together," she responded.
"Perhaps it is selfish of me to continue being with you…giving you false hope."
"You're telling me that you wouldn't want me? After all of this, you wouldn't want me with you?"
"I want you more than you could possibly know," Helmut assured her, gaze darkening slightly and he stepped closer to her, his chest inches from hers as her head tilted back to continue looking up to him. She craned her neck slightly and Helmut lifted a glove hand up to hold her chin. "Never doubt that, Amelia. I just know that it is not realistic for us to be together. I cannot give you the life you deserve."
"And do I not get a say in any of this?"
"I am not worth this. I am not worth throwing your life away for."
"You think that's what I'd be doing?"
"I am certain it would be. You have the potential to live a normal and fulfilling life, but not with me. I can't give you that."
"Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you four to be pulling this shit!"
Amelia had no chance to responded to Helmut as the new voice boomed down the street. Both of them turned to the side to see two men running down the stairs and towards them. Amelia almost laughed at the sight of the new Captain America, clearly angry and upset with them. The other man by his side, who Amelia seemed to remember was named Battlestar, jogged alongside his friend. Helmut arched his brow at the sight of them.
"Really?" he questioned.
"The new Captain America," Amelia drawled as they moved to catch up with Bucky and Sam, the former having extended his arms out wide and looked to John Walker.
"How did you find us this time?" he wondered.
"Come on, man, you really think it's hard to track down two Avengers running around Europe with a convicted criminal and his girlfriend?" Battlestar questioned.
"He's got a point there," Amelia said, noticing that some people behind them had their phones pulled out. Sam spotted it too.
"What are you doing here?" Bucky questioned.
"We should be asking you the questions. Namely, why did you break him out of jail?" Walker demanded to know, pointing to Helmut.
"He did that himself technically," Bucky said dryly and the anger growing on Walker's face was apparent. He clearly wasn't in the mood for being joked with.
"There better be an unbelievable explanation for all of this," Walker snapped loudly, arms flapping by his side and Sam stepped in then, holding up a calming hand.
"Take it easy before it gets weird," he demanded from John, seeing that the people behind them still had their phones out in their hands. Amelia chewed down firmly on her bottom lip, hoping that nothing bad happened. She didn't fancy being front page news again.
"I know where Karli is," Helmut declared, wanting to get away from the situation and focus on the task at hand. But Walker didn't let him. As soon as Helmut tried to step around him, he had his hand on his chest, preventing him from going anywhere.
"Where?" he demanded to know.
"Listen, all we know is that it's a memorial," Sam said and Helmut moved a hand to Walker's wrist, pulling his arm away from him. Amelia almost wanted to laugh at the audacity of the man in the fur coat, clearly not bothered at all by the new Captain America. In fact, he looked almost disdainful at the thought of him touching him. Amelia shrugged to Bucky as Battlestar and Sam lapsed into conversation about the memorial.
"You alright?" Bucky questioned and they continued walking.
"Yeah, fine," she promised him, hearing Walker question if they were making the right decision going to the memorial and Sam going in alone to talk to Karli.
"What was that about?" Bucky asked, motioning to the back of Helmut's head.
"Oh…nothing…" Amelia said.
"You're a terrible liar," he said pointedly back to her.
"Maybe now's not the best time, Bucky?" Amelia suggested back and he relented, knowing she had a point. He looked annoyed, but he didn't push it anymore as Walker moved to stand in front of them again, stopping them from walking up the hill once more.
"We can't reason with her," Walker said and Amelia wondered if she was about to agree with the new Captain America. "In case you're forgetting, she dropped a building on people."
"Sam, if you walk in there then she could kill you, man," Hoskins said, clearly the more reasonable out of the two of them based on his calmer tone.
"And if I go in hot then the op could go wrong," Sam retorted.
"Are you going to let him do this? You're going to let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone?" Walker turned to Bucky and questioned him, almost trying to guilt him into a response that he wanted.
"He's dealt with worse," Bucky said calmly. "And he's not my partner."
"I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay, this is right in my wheelhouse," Sam said.
"Yeah, and I know those soldiers and I know that's why this is a bad idea," John retorted back.
"Wait, John," Hoskins suddenly said, clearly not enamoured with the idea, but coming round to Sam's way of thinking. He looked to his partner. "If we try to talk her down then it might be worth a try."
John's head darted around as he clearly weighed up what he was being told. He seemed to relent after a moment or so, the advice of his partner evidently laying itself heavy in his mind.
"We're going to be dealing with you later," John said, looking to Helmut before his gaze turned to Amelia. "And you're not out of trouble either, Ms Baker."
"What has she done?" Bucky questioned.
"She's not an Avenger and she's one of his known associates," John said. "That makes her someone of interest."
"She's done nothing," Bucky said.
"Let him look into me," Amelia retorted, throwing Bucky a reassuring glance before glaring at Walker. "You'll find nothing interesting, trust me?"
"Perhaps so, but why are you here with him?"
"She knows as much about super soldiers as he does," Bucky continued defending her.
"And I am sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion," Helmut said, being rather diplomatic for a change before glancing ahead. "My associate is just up here."
And then he started walking again. They all followed him as he headed towards the little girl he had been talking to earlier on in the day. She was clearly timid, her gaze down and her hair hanging in her face. She had her hands behind her back and was rocking back and forth on her heels. But Helmut was able to talk to her, speaking in a soft tone.
"Hello, my friend," he said and reached into his pocket after slipping his gloves off of his fingers and dropping them there. He pulled out two notes in return and handed it to the little girl. "This is for your family."
Amelia saw how he had given her two five hundred euro notes and she looked to him. She knew that he had been bribing that girl, but he had given a thousand euros away as though it meant nothing. And then Amelia remembered who he was. He was a Baron. A thousand euros was probably nothing to a man like him.
"Can you show us the way?" Helmut asked once the girl had taken his money.
She motioned for him to follow her and they did, Walker questioning what was going on. Amelia stayed just behind Helmut's shoulder as they entered an old building and moved into what looked like a boiler room. The girl entered the doorway of the room next door and nodded, disappearing through it.
"She's through there," Helmut said.
"Right," Sam responded and he followed the girl as Walker looked to the back of him.
"You've got ten minutes and then we do it my way," he warned Sam who responded only with a curt nod to him. And then Walker grabbed hold of Helmut by the wrist. He twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him up against a round, metal opening. Amelia stepped back in shock as Helmut grunted in pain at the motion of being forced up against it.
"Really?" Helmut asked as Walker handcuffed him to it.
Walker glared at him.
"Aggressive," Helmut commented. "But I get it."
"Do I need to deal with you too or are you going to play nice?" Walker demanded to know from Amelia.
She ground her teeth together in anger. "Maybe if you don't talk to me like a dog then I might consider not knocking the smirk off your face," she said, her voice laden with annoyance. Walker took a step towards her, but Bucky was there in a second, standing in front of her.
"Lay a hand on her and you have me to answer to," he said, the look in his eye telling Walker that he wasn't joking around. Captain America stepped back then as Hoskins laid a hand on his upper arm.
Amelia mouthed a thanks to Bucky who shot her a nod. Looking back to Helmut, she silently tried to communicate with him, asking him if he was okay. He shrugged and stood to the side, his arm dangling mid-air from where his wrist had been handcuffed. Amelia leant against the wall next to him as Bucky took to standing by the door, a foot kicked back up against it.
Time seemed to pass by slowly, Amelia placing her hands into the pocket of her mac she wore over her blouse and jeans. She looked to the ceiling as Walker paced, unable to stand still. He was becoming agitated and that became clear when he told Bucky that something wasn't right. They hadn't even given Sam ten minutes when he was already trying to push by Bucky who had stopped him, taunting him about having the serum flowing through his veins. And then he pushed by Bucky. Hoskins followed and Bucky looked to Amelia.
"Stay with him," he demanded from her.
She did as he had asked, watching the three men rush off.
"Thank God he's gone," Helmut said and she saw him move to tug at his handcuff. "He's rather pompous…and obnoxious."
"You know, I've heard people say the same about you," Amelia said. "And what are you doing?"
"Getting out of these handcuffs," he responded and finally he managed to free the pin he needed to pick the lock. "I used to be in EKO, Amelia, getting out of handcuffs isn't difficult."
"And then what?"
"We go and find Karli."
"And then what?"
"We do what we need to do," Helmut said and she saw him move into his coat and pull a gun from a holster that he wore. Amelia's eyes widened as the handcuff finally fell from his wrist and she shook her head. He looked at her sceptically, seeing the hesitant there. "You know that she has to be stopped."
"I know, but we agreed to let Sam try and talk to her."
"People like Karli cannot be reasoned with. How many people has she killed already? How many will she kill? Just because she is a young woman does not mean that she is ignorant to her actions."
And Helmut walked off. Amelia had no choice but to follow him as they stalked through the corridors. They were pretty quiet, no noise being made around them. That was until they heard the slamming of a door down the corridor. Advancing towards it, Helmut kept his gun raised as he entered the room. It was full of tables there were covered in white sheets, alongside water bottles and other supplies such as dried food. It was then when they saw her at the table. Her red hair was distinctive and she was hunched over the surface, trying to grab at something.
Helmut moved closer to her then, gun raised as Amelia shook her head.
"Don't," she said to him, but he had already fired the first shot.
It caught Karli in the arm and she ran then, Helmut still firing at her.
"Helmut," Amelia tried to reason with him again as the girl collapsed into a table and pushed it over, little small vials dropping to the floor. Helmut fired his gun in warning once more as she tried to come out from where she hid behind the table. She recoiled back behind it and Amelia bent down to pick up a vial.
"Is this the serum?" she questioned and Karli peered out back at them as Helmut picked up a vial for himself.
Karli didn't answer. She didn't need to. The look of distress on her face told them that it was the super soldier serum.
"We need to destroy it," Amelia whispered to Helmut and he nodded.
"Agreed," he said.
He dropped the vial to the floor and the heel of his boot instantly crushed it. The liquid squirted everywhere as Karli reached a hand out towards them, but she was unable to stop them from destroying them. Amelia continued treading on the glass, the blue liquid covering the black leather of her shoe. But she soon stopped her smashing when she felt something hit her on the head.
Helmut looked to see that the familiar sight of Captain America's shield was by her side. Walker was moving towards them and Karli took that opportunity to flee, seeing the way Helmut was glowering at him.
"You touch her again and I swear I will not be held responsible for my actions," Helmut snarled at him and he bent down to crouch next to her. She was out cold, but that wasn't the thing that concerned him the most. What concerned him was the way her shoulder was positioned. Shaking his head, he remembered that time in London when he had seen the same injury.
"I swear to God that you'll pay for that," Helmut said and he stood up, advancing towards John. But Captain America was holding his hands up, pleading his innocence as Helmut launched himself at him, grabbing him by the throat firmly and pushing him against the wall.
"I didn't mean to do that," he said, looking over Helmut's shoulder and back to Amelia who was still out cold, shoulder once again dislocated. Once a dislocation had happened then there was always a chance of a recurring dislocation. He knew that much from his training. All it would take would be for her to land awkwardly with force.
Walker pulled at Helmut's hand on his throat, trying to get him away from him. But Helmut held firm, his free hand stopping Walker's from pushing at him.
"What the hell is going on here?" Bucky's voice entered the room.
"Why don't we ask America's new hero?" Helmut questioned.
"Get off of him, Zemo," Sam warned.
The two men were behind him in an instance, tugging him off of Walker who gasped for breath loudly. Helmut let them, knowing that killing Walker would do nothing to help their cause. Looking back to Amelia, he saw that she was coming round from being hit with his shield.
"You…you did that to her?"
"I just meant to stop her from hurting Karli," Walker defended himself to Bucky who was looking at Amelia's dislocated shoulder. Sam shook his head and glowered at Walker.
"We need to get her to a hospital," Sam declared.
"I can take her." Bucky quickly said.
"Amelia…don't move. Listen to me, okay? Focus on my voice."
Helmut watched as she groggily came around, eyes opening slowly. She blinked profusely and he saw her try to move, despite him telling her not to. She clearly wasn't entirely coherent yet. He moved a hand to the small of her back, keeping her in place on the ground. And then she felt it. Her eyes widened and she turned her head over her shoulder as Helmut moved a hand to her cheek.
"You're going to be alright," he promised her.
"Jesus Christ," Amelia cursed and chewed down on her bottom lip as Hoskins entered the room and Walker left with him, hands pushing at him as Bucky continued glowering at him. It wasn't a good idea for Walker to be around them right now.
"We can take you to a hospital…but you need to be careful…in fact…moving you might make this ten times worse," Helmut mused and Amelia looked to him as he continued stroking her cheek as she lay face down on the ground. Bucky was knelt on the other side of her as she nodded her head and gulped hard.
"Do it," she said to Helmut.
Bucky looked appalled. "You can't be serious," he said.
"He's done it before," Amelia said, trying not to be apprehensive.
"I know how to do it, but it will be painful. You know that, don't you?"
"I can handle it. Just do it."
Helmut let out a shaky breath as Amelia turned her head to look to Bucky. Sam was stood back, arms folded over his chest.
"I should just call an ambulance."
"And then what? They take me to a hospital and I'm done…no…this isn't it…just put it back in and I'll be fine."
"This is mad," Sam whispered.
But Helmut was already moving his hands over her shoulder, remembering all of his medical training as he took another deep breath, trying to steady his shaking hands. The last thing he wanted to do was make this worse for Amelia. And so he moved quickly. He pushed the shoulder firmly until it was back in place. She screamed out loud, trying not to let the pain overwhelm her as her vision blurred and she felt a hand grab hold of hers, squeezing it firmly. It was Bucky.
"It's alright," Helmut whispered soothingly to her as her eyes closed and she tried not to black out from the pain. But she failed. Her eyes remained shut and her lips parted as Helmut brushed her hair from her face. She was still whimpering softly, despite being passed out.
"We should still get her to a hospital," Bucky said.
"I agree," Helmut said and he moved to cradle her in his grip, holding onto her and trying not to aggravate her shoulder. "It will need to be placed in a brace and she won't be able to move it…no doubt they will need to check it is in back in the right place too. It should be, but an x-ray can confirm."
"I'll take her," Bucky said as he saw Helmut carrying her, one arm under her knees and the other around her back. Her head lolled onto his shoulder, hair spilling over his arm.
"I can take her."
"You're a wanted criminal. Do you think walking into a hospital is a good idea?" Bucky snapped back.
"He's right," Sam responded earnestly, but Helmut didn't want to let her go. "We need to go back to the apartment and see what we can find out about Karli again now that she's escaped here."
"I can come with her."
"And end up back in a cell?" Bucky continued trying to make Helmut see sense for reasons that were well beyond him. Why should he care if Helmut landed himself back in jail? But he knew someone who would care. "Listen, I despise you. I think you're nothing but poison for her…but she…she cares about you and that means that you only go back to a cell when she knows about it. Do you think she'd want you getting arrested? Besides, you've proven to be almost useful."
Looking down to her, Helmut knew that James had a point. He didn't want to admit that. But he did. The super soldier held his arms out expectantly towards Helmut. And the Baron handed Amelia over. He was gentle with her limp body, watching as Bucky held her tenderly. He gave Helmut a firm look and then glanced to Sam.
"I'll call when I have an update."
"I'll take him back," Sam replied and the two men exchanged understanding nods.
Helmut watched as Bucky took Amelia away. He wanted to go with them, of course, but he knew the risks if he did. The issue was that he didn't entirely care about the risks when it came to Amelia. He found that he would risk anything for her. He just hoped that he would see her again before Walker or the Wakandans caught up with him.
…
A/N: So we are nearing the end of the road now...I think there might be two-four chapters at best left. Let me know how you want it to end. I am, once again, split! This was always a Zemo/OC story, but why does Bucky pull at the heart strings? Yet, can't deny Zemo has been there all along...it's too difficult to decide! Would love your thoughts before the end!
