Amelia should have known that things wouldn't quieten down when she returned home. The fact was that they had been wandering through Latvia. There had been the Falcon, the Winter Soldier, Baron Zemo and his girlfriend. Amelia hated how she was always the afterthought, almost as though she was defined by simply being Helmut's bit on the side, despite the fact that she had been with him and helped stop ex-HYDRA scientists. Then again, what people didn't know was better for her. She would rather just be defined as Helmut's girlfriend than anyone know the truth.

Returning home, she had done her best to deal with media frenzy of the UK press. They had asked her for interview after interview, questioning what she had been doing with the three men in Europe. But she said nothing. She locked herself away in her house, curtains drawn and door locked, and stayed there for three weeks. Attention obviously turned to John Walker and the fact that he was being hauled in front of a committee to answer for what he had done to a member of the Flag Smashers.

Bucky had gone his own way after dropping her off at the airbase where Oeznik was waiting for her. There had been no kind words of goodbye like last time. Amelia had simply thanked him for driving her and then climbed onto the plane, embracing the elderly butler who simply nodded to Bucky and said nothing. Sam had gone back home to his sister, needing time away from fighting for a little while and to discover what he should do with the shield.

And so Amelia was on her own again. After being around people for a week and involved in constant hustle and bustle, the peace almost felt stifling to her. She wandered around the house, reading and watching TV. She had food delivered to her and tried cooking. She was so set in a routine that she didn't know how to break it.

Settling down on the end of her bed after the third week, Amelia looked to the jumper that was in a neat, folded pile at the bottom of her bed. It was Helmut's. She had found it on the flight back and had pulled it over her head, smelling the familiar scent of his cologne and sleeping in it. She had taken it with her, Oeznik not once objecting. She hadn't bothered to wash it. She had just slept with it each night, but on that night, as she inhaled it once she pulled it on and over her sleeping shirt, she felt her eyes water. She couldn't smell him on it. The last thing she had of him and it was disappearing.

Bucky had gone to Louisiana to deliver Sam the suit he had asked Okoye to send him. The box had been relatively cumbersome to carry around, but he had soon dropped it off. He hadn't intended on staying for long, just wanting to drop the suit off and get back to the hotel. He was staying overnight before catching a flight back to New York.

But, somehow, he had found himself staying with Sam at the dock where the family fishing boat was. He had helped him in fixing it, knowing that it would be a long job and definitely not one that they would get done in a day. But two pairs of hands were better than one. Bucky had cut wood, hammered in nails, fitted pipes, and done anything else Sam had asked of him. He had been practical once before, Bucky remembered. Back in the 1940s he had been able to mend things, often spending time fixing up old bikes for his sisters to ride.

"So," Sam said as the day drew to a close, his tone low and hesitant, "I heard you found Zemo."

"Yeah," Bucky responded.

Sam lifted up the lid to the cool box that he had kept hidden from his sister's gaze, knowing that she would accuse him of slacking if she saw that he had hidden bottles of beer on the boat. He pulled out two bottles and the bottle opener. Handing Bucky one, he watched the super soldier take it and look off into the distance. Sam sipped on his own and sat on the bench at the back of the boat, legs stretched in front of him.

"And Amelia?" Sam questioned.

"Went back to England," Bucky said to Sam with a stern nod of his head, jaw firmly clenched as he remembered her not even turning around to look at him when she was on the plane. "And probably despises me."

"She knew that it had to be this way," Sam said to Bucky. "He was never supposed to be freed."

"But I helped free him," Bucky said with a shake of his head. "I made the choice to go to him and get him out. He only got back to Amelia because of me."

"You can't blame yourself for that, Buck," Sam said with a shake of his head. He took another sip of his beer while Bucky sat across from him, legs spread wide and hair mussed up on top of his head.

"But I do," Bucky retorted. "It was almost like I gave her hope and then snatched it away. We should have done this without him…but I didn't want to involve Amelia either…I should have known that they came as some kind of package deal."

"Listen, we did what we had to do to try and stop Karli. It was the only option we had at the time," Sam said to him. "And Amelia knew that Helmut couldn't stay free. She's known that there is no future with him since he bombed the UN. She's not naïve, she's too smart to be naïve, but she is in love with him and that does cloud your vision."

"Does it?" Bucky retorted.

"I think you know that, Buck," Sam said and the two men exchanged hesitant looks between them. Sam didn't want to push Bucky too far, not when they had only just started getting on together. It was another moment or two before he continued, pushing Bucky gently for an answer. "How long's it been going on for?"

"Nothing's going on," Bucky said.

"But you care for her, don't you?"

Bucky sighed, exhaling a sharp breath. "She's…she's just different," Bucky confessed to Sam. "I went on so many dates in New York and all I could think of was her. Spending time with her is easy, Sam, when there's no one else around and it's just us…spending time with her after Madripoor, I felt as though I could be normal around her. I haven't had that in such a long time."

"After Madripoor?" Sam checked. "What went down in Madripoor, Buck? What happened that even brought you to her?"

Bucky looked to the sky, his mind replaying the image of Amelia in that basement with Andrew Edgington. He could still remember her cries and hisses of pain. He could still picture the look on her face when she woke up from her nightmares. She had been so scared. She had spent so long being scared.

"I know that she's not perfect," Bucky said to Sam. "And I know she has done bad things, but everything she did was to stop ex-HYDRA scientists from recreating the serum out of fear for what they might do if they got their hands on it."

"I know that," Sam said.

Bucky took another long swig of beer, wishing that he could get drunk. But he had no such luck. "Well, it brought her into contact with a man named William Edgington. He was rich and clever…I've heard about him. He was a HYDRA scientist looking to recreate the serum, but he would do it at whatever cost. Money was no issue. Zemo and Amelia tracked him down because he was still working on the serum and liaising with ex-HYDRA operatives. They saw him as a threat."

"And was he?"

"Probably," Bucky admitted. "The thing is, Sam, that you need to understand that the people who worked for HYDRA still have their ideologies. Just because Steve outed them doesn't mean they've changed their ways. They are dangerous and, despite me not agreeing with everything Zemo or Amelia did or the methods they used, I agree with them wanting to stop those people."

"And they did?"

"Mostly," Bucky said and Sam sighed.

"Buck, I need you to tell me the whole story," Sam said with a shake of his head, beer gripped firm in both hands as he leant forwards.

"And I will eventually, but it's a long story. Zemo and Amelia worked together for over a year," Bucky said to Sam. "But what happened with Edgington…Amelia killed him. The intention always had been to kill him, but things didn't go according to plan. Edgington worked out that Amelia and Zemo weren't who they said they were. He got Amelia on her own and tried to rape her. She killed him before he had a chance."

Sam's eyes closed for a moment and he bowed his head. Bucky's voice was low and flat. He tried not to let emotion overwhelm him as he recounted what had happened after that.

"When Zemo was arrested, a man called James wormed his way into Amelia's life. She ended up dating him for a short while…but then the Blip happened. She disappeared while she had been visiting Zemo. She'd kept the fact she went to see him to herself, not once telling James. But he worked it out. The Blip hadn't taken Zemo or James. He tracked her disappearance down to the German prison and went there…and told Zemo who he was. He was William Edgington's brother: Andrew."

"What?" Sam snapped, voice demanding. Bucky could only nod once. "So he had used her?"

"Intended on getting close to her and then killing her," Bucky confirmed. "The only issue was that he told Zemo who then told Amelia when she came back after the Blip. She ran to Madripoor, figured she could ask Selby to find someone to take care of Andrew for her."

"So that's why she didn't want to go back?"

Bucky nodded, placing the bottle of beer down. "I went to Madripoor to track her down. My therapist suggested trying to make amends with what I'd done as the Winter Soldier, but there was something about Amelia…I looked into her…read what the papers had said…I just wanted the entire story of why her and Zemo had done what they had done."

"And you found her in Madripoor?"

"Yeah, she was hiding out in a hotel," Bucky said. "She was waiting for money from Zemo's account to pay Selby to take care of Edgington. The issue was that Edgington had tracked her down to Madripoor. He paid Selby off and she gave away Amelia's location. I'd agreed to meet her that evening because she was moving from hotel to hotel…she even gave me her engagement ring as a promise that she would meet me and give me answers, but she never showed. Edgington had gotten to her."

"And how did you know that?"

"Because I went to Selby's bar. She gave me nothing, but the bartender told me that someone had come in…a man mentioning Amelia. I found him and got him to talk. Being the Winter Soldier has its advantages for scaring people. Anyway, I tracked her down to the old warehouse by the dock. Edgington…what he did to her…it almost broke her."

Sam's mouth dried out and he placed his own beer down on the floor, thirst suddenly gone. He watched on as Bucky stood up, almost as though he was unable to sit still. He began pacing the width of the boat, hands on his hips and eyes turned up to the sky.

"What I'm about to tell you goes no further, Sam," Bucky warned him. "I just need you to promise me that."

"I promise," Sam said, voice gentle. Their eyes met and Bucky knew that he could trust him. He knew that he had his confidence.

"Edgington had raped her," Bucky said. "He'd filmed it all, intended on taking it to show Zemo and torture him with it…he made her beg him…plead with him…but he never intended on letting her go. He just wanted her at his mercy and she was. She said that she just felt humiliated by him…degraded…he beat her and…when I found her, the back of her blouse was completely shredded. He'd caned her all across her back. There was so much blood, Sam…so much blood."

Sam lowered his head, unable to look to Bucky as he heard the man's voice begin to crack. Bucky coughed into his fist, hoping that the motion would clear the lump in his throat that had formed there. It took him a moment or two to blink back the moisture in his eyes.

"I got there as soon as I could, but it hadn't been quick enough," Bucky said.

"It's not your fault, Buck."

"I know, but finding her like that…and feeling how I feel now…it's just painful. It just feels too painful," Bucky admitted with a firm shake of his head. "I had intended on dealing with Edgington myself, but I never got a chance. As soon as I freed Amelia, she shot him. She didn't even hesitate. She killed him and grabbed his phone before passing out. I never told anyone what she did. I got her back to my hotel and found some backstreet doctor who took cash only. He cleaned her wounds and told me she had bruising on her thighs as well."

Bucky sat back down, hands clasping hold of his thighs. He sat up straight and continued telling Sam what he knew. "I went back to Norfolk with her for a while, mainly because she was incapable of looking after herself. She…I got to know her…spending time with her…I was there every night she woke from nightmares, always by her side. I helped her clean her wounds and did everything for her around the house. And I never wanted anything in return. Just because I did all of that, I never expected anything from her, I was just happy to help…to actually be useful…and she saw me for who I am. She never looked at me like I was the Winter Soldier. There was never any fear of what I could do. It felt like I could just be me and that was enough."

"Did you tell her any of this?"

Bucky shook his head. "Not at the time," he said. "I couldn't tell her. She needed time to heal after what Edgington had done to her. She struggled with physical contact and was seeing a therapist. The last thing she needed was me admitting that I had a crush on her. Besides, I wondered if it was just because she was the first woman who hadn't run from me in year why I felt that way."

"But it's not, is it?"

"Would be easier if it was," Bucky scoffed, but shook his head. "But it's not. I told her how I felt in Riga, but she…it's always going to be him. She's always going to love him, but I know that there could be something with us. I know she felt it when we were together in Norfolk, but then he came back and I…I just don't want to play second fiddle to Zemo."

"Understandable," Sam promised him. "And has she said that there is no hope?"

"She said that she didn't want me to wait for her. She said it wasn't fair on me."

"Well, she's not wrong there," Sam said to Bucky. "But it doesn't make it any easier for you, does it?"

"Not in the slightest," Bucky confessed and leant back, finally letting his shoulders slump. His back hit the wall of the cabin and Sam saw him reach for his beer once more.

"Do you think you'll go and see her?" Sam wondered.

"Maybe," Bucky said. "I don't know. I get the feeling I'm not her favourite person right now for having the Dora Milaje find Zemo."

"But she'll understand," Sam said and Bucky scoffed.

"Have you met Amelia? She's stubborn and can hold a grudge for quite a while."

"But she also knows what is right and wrong. Plus, even if she might not feel for you like you do for her, she still cares in her own way. I don't want you to be unhappy, Buck…but even if you two can't work past this…if she never moves on from Zemo…then at least try and resolve some of your issues. If not, they'll just eat you up inside."

Bucky pondered over his words and he knew that he had a point. What he was saying did make sense. And Bucky did want to try and at least work things out so that he wasn't anxious to talk to her.

"Since when did you get so wise?" Bucky decided to ask and Sam chuckled, standing up and clasping him on the shoulder.

"It's a burden," he said and Bucky rolled his eyes, his own lips arching as he took the last sip of his beer and chuckled, knowing that he could always change his flight the following day to go to London instead of New York. Perhaps that might be for the best.

Amelia had no idea what was going on. She had been in and out of solicitor meetings for the past week, the time going in a blur. And they hadn't been small high street solicitors, they had been big name solicitors working at one of the top UK's law firm. They had asked her to come to a meeting and she had questioned why, but they insisted all would become apparent. She'd been insistent that they had the wrong woman. She had no legal issues and didn't know anyone who would want her to see a solicitor. But they had assured her they had the right Amelia Baker.

And on that first meeting, she had discovered why she was there. Baron Helmut Zemo was relinquishing all of his assets to her. He was passing everything to her and Amelia had no idea why he would do that. She had insisted against it to begin with, the solicitors almost looking at her like she was a fool. They had told her she could do that, but Baron Zemo's own legal counsel had been particularly forceful. He wanted her to have everything of his.

She had read the list of what that included. Car collections. Private jet. Holiday homes. Gold. Rare jewellery. Family heirlooms. And money. Too much money for her to know what to do with it. There had been some insistencies. Helmut had asked her not to sell the valuable cars in the Berlin garage. He had also asked her to keep some items of jewellery safe as they had been Heike's and had been passed down through his family. There were some heirlooms as well.

The entire week had consisted of Amelia being put up in some fancy London hotel courtesy of the law firm. She had to go into the offices and sit, listening to them tell her what she had to do. She had signed pieces of paper and done what was required of her, but it had all been a daze.

None of it felt real until they the items had arrived at her home. There was more paperwork and she'd had to sign for every valuable item she had been gifted. And now she was sat in her kitchen with boxes dotted around containing items that cost more than anything else in her house.

She was about to start going through the jewellery, not sure what to do with it. She had intended on keeping it in the box and perhaps buying a safe. It felt odd and wrong having all of Helmut's possessions. However, before she could get to the boxes, her phone began to ring.

"Hello?" she answered her mobile.

"Ms Baker."

Her lips instantly quirked. "Oeznik, it is just Amelia," she reminded him. "How are you?"

"Fine, Ms Baker," he said, ignoring her comment and she continued smiling at his voice. "I just wanted to call to ensure that Master Zemo's items have arrived safely?"

"They have," Amelia said. "Did you know that he was going to do this? I…I can't even talk to him or go and see him. They're keeping me away from him because of our close connection."

"I have not," Oeznik said. "And I believe that he is not allowed visitors or phone calls, except for legal counsel. However, he did leave me a letter informing me of his intentions before you left in Sokovia. He wanted me to ensure that you had everything and was well cared for."

Amelia scoffed. "I have more than enough," she said to him. "Oeznik, I have no idea what to do with any of this. None of it makes any sense to me. Why would he give me everything?"

"He wanted to ensure you were well taken care of because I do not think he believes he will ever leave the Raft," Oeznik said and Amelia's breath caught in her throat. She knew that Helmut wasn't getting out, but to hear it out loud from someone else hurt her even more. "And he loves you."

"I know," Amelia said. And she did know that. "But this is all too much, Oeznik. It's overwhelming…I mean…I don't need this much money. It feels almost selfish keeping it all to myself."

"It is your money, Ms Baker. Spend it how you see fit."

"And you?" Amelia wondered. "Do you have enough money now that he's gone? Because I can-"

"-Do not worry about me," Oeznik interrupted her. "Sir was kind enough to also leave me with more money than I know what to do with. It seems we're both in the same position."

Amelia nodded and slipped off the bar stool, moving towards the small snug at the front of her house. She slipped into it, phone still against her ear as she sat down on the sofa. The TV had been on most of the day, the dulcet tones of the news echoing in her ears just to provide her with some company. She turned it down after a few moments so she could keep talking to Oeznik.

"And we're complaining about it. We sound so spoiled," Amelia said and Oeznik chuckled.

"Just shocked, I think," he said to her.

"Don't disagree there," Amelia said to him. "Anyway, how are you doing? Are you back in Munich?"

"Not quite, Ms Baker," Oeznik responded.

"Oh?" she wondered and then she actually took in the news. She looked at the screen and saw what was happening. And then she saw his face. Bucky. He was there. "Oeznik…can I call you back? It's the news…have you seen? The Flag Smashers have taken hostages at some GRC meeting?"

"I have seen," Oeznik said, voice almost calm. "In fact, that is where I am right now."

Amelia's brows knitted together. "What? What are you doing there?"

"It would be for the best if you did not know, Ms Baker, but I wish you all the best. If you ever need me then you know how to reach me."

"Oeznik, what are you doing?" Amelia asked, but he had already hung up the call.

Amelia tried to dial him back, but it went straight to voicemail. He must have turned his phone off. She cursed under her breath and then turned the volume to the TV up. The images showing were of Bucky fighting a Flag Smasher, engaged in a battle of fists. Placing a hand to her mouth, Amelia held her breath before looking down to her phone. She didn't know why she was calling him. She could see that he was on television and was hardly going to pick up. But she left him a voicemail anyway.

"Bucky, it's me…Amelia…I'm watching the news and you're there in New York…fighting the Flag Smashers. I just…I know you're not going to listen to this anytime soon and so me telling you to be careful feels redundant, but I really do want you to be careful. Just call me as soon as you can, alright? Please? I just want to make sure that you're okay…I miss you," she ended the call quickly and felt her stomach churn.

She felt sick as she watched the scene unfold. Eventually, when she felt her throat clench, the sickness feeling overwhelmed her. She ran for the bathroom and hunched over the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach before lurching back to the TV and pleading for Bucky to be safe.

Bucky had put two and two together. The remaining members of the Flag Smasher group who had been apprehended had been blown up. He knew, somehow, it had been Zemo who had done it. Everyone had the same thought as well. But there was no evidence. For a moment, Bucky had considered if it had been Amelia who had been the one to do it, but then he had listened to her voicemail and he knew that it hadn't been her.

It had been five entire months since Bucky had set eyes on her. He had meant to call her back. He had wanted to call her back. Sam had taken up the shield and the title of Captain America. He was busy taking time out, however, with his family. He was focused on getting the family business back on track. In that time, Bucky had sent Amelia a message, promising her that he was fine and that he missed her too.

But he hadn't called her. He hadn't booked any flight to England to see her. It was odd. Bucky had faced danger so often, but he was scared of seeing the woman he had fallen in love with. What was he scared of? Rejection again? Worried that he might not be able just to be friends with her?

Still, he knew that he had to do this. He had to see her. And so he stopped putting it off. He finally booked the flights. He wasn't even tired when he landed in England. He rented a car at Heathrow and remembered her postcode. He had tapped it into the sat-nav system and followed it. She wasn't expecting him and he started to wonder if he should have called ahead. But it was too late now. He'd be there in a few hours. If he was going to give her warning then he should have done it almost a week ago when he was thinking of it.

The roads quietened down as he turned onto country lanes, the street names becoming increasingly familiar to him. He passed the pub they would visit on a Sunday for Sunday lunches. He drove past the small supermarket he would go to most days to buy Amelia anything she craved. He saw the bookshop on the high street in the nearest town where she would spend far too long looking at titles.

It felt so familiar and comforting, much more so than Brooklyn did for him.

He finally pulled up to the house and saw that her car was parked in the driveway. It was just gone four in the afternoon. The sun was dipping low over the roof of the house. The curtains were all open and Bucky looked up, noting the room where he had stayed. Climbing from the car, he left his bag in the trunk and slipped his gloves from his fingers. He tucked them into the pocket of his leather jacket before he finally knocked on the front door.

Taking deep breaths, he waited patiently. He almost wondered if she wasn't in. But then the door opened and she was stood there, dressed in a long-sleeved black jumpsuit. Her hair had been cut and hung just above her shoulders in gentle curls. Her eyes widened as she looked to Bucky, but she didn't smile at him. She didn't embrace him tightly like he had imagined she would. His gaze remained on hers and his own lips arched as he saw her, drinking in her face once more.

"Bucky," she gasped his name.

"I'm sorry for turning up like this…but I…I just wanted to see you and…" it was only as he spoke did he notice her look down and his own gaze fell, wondering what she was looking at. And then he saw it. His eyes widened and his head felt light. Shaking his head back and forth, he moved a hand to his cheek, scratching at it.

"I wanted to tell you," Amelia said to him, voice a whisper as her hand moved to her stomach. "I just didn't know how to."

But his eyes remained where they were: firmly set on her swollen stomach. Shaking his head, he almost couldn't believe it. But Amelia spoke and confirmed it for him:

"I'm six months pregnant."

A/N: Maybe just one or two chapters left now. Would love to know what you think! Also, Zemo might be at the Raft, but do I bring him back for an appearance? Do let me know your thoughts!