The rest of the afternoon and into the night was spent testing theories. Madison thought Bucky was going to burst a blood vessel when Loki finally entered the room to test Tony's theory on why it felt creepy to be around him. Sure enough his theory was right, it wasn't Loki, it was the tesseract or rather the space stone that had been giving Madison such odd feelings. Loki by himself was fine. In fact he had a sort of charm about him that reminded Madison of the Loki she had grown up knowing and loving.

Even Bucky began to settle down around Loki the more Madison seemed to respond positively to him. This gave Loki endless amounts of pleasure though since he found he enjoyed doing anything and everything to get under Bucky's skin.

When it came time to testing Madison's reaction around the space stone though, that was a different subject. In its quarantine housing there seemed to be no reaction other than mild fascination. Once the housing was opened though Madison began having a very different reaction. It was soon discovered through trial and error that it was Madison who had put the kibosh on everyone in the gym from coming to her aid. She wanted, no needed to be near the space stone. What they couldn't quite understand was why this was so. Bruce had been running molecular scans for most of the night, often times mutter things that Tony barely understood much less the rest of the group.

It was getting very late and most everyone present was in some state of exhaustion from the day's events. So when Bruce yelled out a 'holy shit, I think I've figured it out' it startled most everyone in the room. An exhausted Bucky had been resting his head against the back of the couch where he sat allowing Madison to use his lap as a pillow when he startled awake.

Madison's screech at having been rolled quickly off the couch and onto the floor woke the rest of the room. An apologetic Bucky reached down and helped her to her feet and back on the couch. "What the hell, man," he said, addressing Banner harshly for having woken him.

"I think I've figured out why Madison is drawn to the space stone," Banner looked at the computer screen in awe of what he had found. A bleary-eyed Tony stepped up beside him and viewed his results. "Are you sure this is correct," he asked Bruce before taking the seat next to him.

"I've checked it four times just to be sure I get the same results. They are almost identical," Bruce looked at Tony as he reread again the information on the screen.

Everyone sat waiting for the big revelation to be revealed and patience was growing thin. "Will someone please say something here," a frustrated Nat said as she rubbed the back of her neck from having fallen asleep in a strange position.

"The molecular make up of Madison's DNA seems to show a compound has fused itself to the individual nucleic cells within each of her white blood cells causing her to exhibit results consisting of a metamorphosis of…" Bruce began explaining.

"English, speak English," a very tired Steve begged Bruce.

Bruce looked at Tony before explaining it in plain terms.

"Vision has the mind stone," Bruce pointed to his forehead to indicate where Vision's body held the stone in safe keeping. So far, this, everyone seemed to be following.

"Now imagine that, but all over," Bruce indicated by swiping his hand wildly to indicate all of Madison's body.

Bruce and Tony watched and waited to see when everyone understood. No one did. In fact, the look Clint was giving the two men was a cross between 'I stepped in something funky and you two are bat shit crazy'.

"Madison's white blood cells are literally saturated with space stone energy," Tony was floored by this information. The look of utter shock on his face helped to convey the seriousness of what they had discovered.

"So you are saying she is essentially a walking infinity stone," Bucky's voice no longer held the sleepiness it had earlier. He was suddenly very serious.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Madison who continued to sit on the couch beside Bucky, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

"Did Loki do this to her," Bucky's voice pitched higher this time in building anger.

"No, in fact it was Madison that was drawing energy from the space stone. Loki had little to do with this happening to her. From what I can tell all he knew was that something was happening, just not what exactly." Bruce watched as Madison sat there listening, taking it all in. "That's why when he stopped moving, she was still able to come closer to it. Think of it like she was a drained battery and it was an outlet for her. She was pulling energy from it and recharging herself."

"But if there was a space stone in her universe, and Thanos needed a space stone in order to complete the destruction of her world, where did they all come from?" Steve was wide awake now too trying to help the others put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"We already know this answer," Tony pointed, getting up from his seat to walk over to another hologram board. Everyone watched as Tony pulled the diagram up that he had previously shown them when Agent Mobius had been here. "It's a multiverse. Somehow, Madison's Steve was able to go back in time and get his hands on another space stone and bring it back to his own time. He then used it in the transport process, sending Madison instead of back causing a rift in time that would have been corrected by the TVA agents, thus eliminating her….instead he sent her across time. Not breaking any of the rules of time travel. That's why they couldn't eliminate her, she hadn't done anything wrong."

"I think my head is going to explode," Nat moaned from where she had laid her head on the table after hearing Tony's longwinded explanation.

"So it's like Bruce's accident turning him into the Hulk. Only instead of her turning into something else, she literally absorbed the stone that helped her break the barriers of time." Tony sat in shock that Steve was able to break his explanation down to such an easy form.

"Essentially, yes." Tony said.

"So I'm some sort of weapon," Madison finally spoke up from her spot next to Bucky. She had sat silent long enough. It was beyond time for her to figure out how all of this shit that was happening to her could be used for her instead.

"You could say that, yes," Bruce spoke, "but we would never do that to you. We don't trade lives like that."

"But if I can be strong enough to beat Thanos because I literally carry the power of an infinity stone, why wouldn't I use that to our advantage." Madison looked from one person to the next waiting for someone to argue that she was wrong. "I had to live through the destruction of Thanos one time. I lost everyone I loved due to that genocidal maniac….I won't lose you all again. Not if I can do anything about it."

Madison's face held a fierceness she hoped everyone believed, inside she was terrified of what this all meant.

Time Passed

One by one everyone made their way to their room to turn in for the night. Madison and Bucky were the last two to leave the lab, walking slowly down the corridor towards the dorms. Neither felt the need to speak, both just appreciating the quiet as they padded down the hall.

They stopped when they hit the intersection that would have sent Bucky to the left to his room and Madison forward to her own. "A hot shower would feel amazing right about now," Madison mused, looking towards her bedroom door. Because their bedrooms technically aligned with one another, the entrances being just on different hallways, there really wasn't much distance between the two rooms.

But whatever hints Madison was laying down, Bucky was not picking up for whatever reason. He just leaned in, kissed Madison's cheek and wished her a good night's rest. He also mentioned that he would be out first thing in the morning probably before she woke up and that he would see her later.

It felt strange to walk away from one another. Bucky and Madison had been practically inseparable since Madison's arrival and even when she had been unconscious during her earlier sickness Bucky had stayed with her. Now they were both making their way slowly to their respective bedrooms, neither really wanted to leave the other.

Madison walked to her bedroom door but paused outside. She looked towards the intersection, praying that Bucky's head would appear around it suddenly wanting to stay with her for the night…but he never did. Slowly she entered her room, shutting the door behind her.

Little did she realize that Bucky had changed his mind about being in his own room and was waiting, just on the other side of the wall, too scared to take the chance and be turned down. So much had gone on today, he knew the nightmares would come. He couldn't risk being beside Madison when that happened.

Slipping into his bedroom, Bucky went through his same nightly routine to get ready for bed. Shoes off at the door, sleep pants and boxer briefs on the bed for after his shower, clothes in the hamper, long hot shower, nothing changed from how it had been for months living at the compound. But his routine, which normally settled him, tonight just left him less relaxed and more awake.

After having gotten showered and changed he sat on his bed thinking through the day's events. It had only been a few hours earlier that he had barricaded him and Madison in there, trying to figure out this whole fucked up mess that had been thrown at them. If someone would have told him last week that the events of this week were going to happen Buck would have looked at them like they had lost their minds. If someone would have told him that he would be with someone who he finally could picture a future with, oh and that particular girl was going to come from another universe…Bucky would have asked what mental asylum you had recently broken out of. But here he sat, after midnight, struggling to find some means to relax, when he knew exactly what he could do to relax almost instantly. Only he was too afraid, or perhaps too stubborn to go do it.

Realizing he hadn't eaten for the night instead Bucky decided to go to the kitchen for a snack to tide him over till the morning. Slipping out of his bedroom, he slowly trudged down the corridor towards the kitchen. As he passed Madison's door, he couldn't help but be drawn to it. His right hand settled gently on the frame, sure that she must be asleep by now and not wanting to wake her up. He knew that if he came in, Madison would allow him to join her in bed even if it was just to get a decent night's sleep. Resting his forehead on the door, he tried to remind himself of all of the reasons that very action was a bad idea. Giving up, he turned and continued walking to the kitchen only to be pleasantly surprised by what he saw.

Let's Back Up a Little

Madison slipped into her room, softly closing the door behind her. She had barely spent any time in this room, always ending up somewhere else or with someone else. Blushing at where her thoughts were going, instead she walked over to the dresser where Wanda told her she had stored all of her new clothes. Looking through the pile of night clothes, some way too frilly to be worn out in public of the compound. Madison couldn't help but feel like baby bear in the three bears story, looking for something that was just right. Picking up the sleep shirt and shorts set, she couldn't help but laugh at the picture that covered the front of the oversized shirt. Grabbing some reasonable looking underwear, again some of those were way to frilly to be as everyday wear, and a pair of comfy looking socks, Madison tossed everything on the bed as she prepared to go take a shower.

Walking into the bathroom, she couldn't help but feel the pull from the tub that sat separate from the shower. Unfortunately, she knew that if she took a tub bath then she'd be in there for hours just soaking and enjoying the feel and it was already late enough. Maybe she would be able to try the tub another time.

Stepping into the shower, Madison made quick work of washing her body with the flowery body wash that had been added to her supplies. Opening the top she took a deep breath of the scent. Green apples, which was a scent she had always loved. It continued to amaze her how Wanda and Natasha just seemed to know her tastes and style. Yeah, sometimes it was a bit off the mark, like with the royal blue baby doll outfit that still sat in the Victoria Secret box in her drawer, but for the most part it was as if the two women had known her for years. Madison frowned when she remembered that these women weren't the same ones from her universe, but perhaps there was some cosmic way they were just connecting.

Realizing that was a topic that was far too complicated to tackle, Madison continued on washing up, eventually moving on to her hair. As she massaged her scalp she couldn't help but remember the feeling of Sam grabbing her hair and using it to her disadvantage. Remembering that feeling of fear caused Madison to pause and think. She knew what she would do.

Finishing up shampooing and conditioning her hair, Madison rinsed off and got out, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself as she stepped out. Walking to the vanity mirror she looked at herself. She used her comb to straighten her long hair that hung down to the small of her back. Opening the drawers of the vanity she soon found what she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, she began. Little by little, lock by lock, Madison's long hair fell to the ground around her feet.

Surprisingly it didn't take very long to complete the task and even if Madison was saying so herself, she didn't do a half bad job. No, her hair wasn't super short. But she did take about two feet off, causing her strawberry blond hair to brush along her shoulders now. She didn't hate it, but it was something she knew she'd have to get used to seeing. Madison had been growing out her hair since she was a very small girl and aside from trims to help keep it in order, rarely ever had it cut. But she realized she was in a different time, and a whole different environment. She didn't want her long hair to be used against her again.

Brushing through the damp tresses she reached back and used a hair tie to secure it into a ponytail. Giving herself one final look in the mirror, Madison cleaned the room up, depositing her cut hair in the waste paper basket, and went to go get dressed. She realized she was getting hungry having skipped supper and so she was going to go make herself a snack.

Okay We're Back

Bucky stopped at the entrance to the kitchen enjoying the site he was seeing. Perched on a barstool at the kitchen island sat Madison, happily dunking Oreo cookies into a bowl of milk and fishing them out with a spoon. "So you are the cookie thief," Bucky said, startling Madison mid bite.

Walking forward Bucky couldn't help the laugh that escaped when he saw the night shirt Madison was wearing. It had a picture of dwarf, Sleepy from Snow White and it had a caption above it that said, 'I'm not Sleepy yet.' She looked fucking adorable.

"Shit, you scared me to death," Madison exclaimed, smiling as she wiped the dribble of milk from her chin, fishing the rest of the cookie out that she had dropped before it completely fell apart.

"Sorry, but I noticed my cookies were going missing. I was going to accuse Parker, but now I see you are the cookie monster." Bucky's smile lit up his whole face. That topped with the adorable way he constantly pushed his hair away from his face would make any girl swoon with love.

"Well, since the Oreo cookie has been around since 1917, and you've apparently been alive for well over 100 years, I would hazard to say that you've had your fair share of cookies and can spare a few for the new kid." Madison gave Buck a cheeky grin as she not only schooled him on her love of history of all things useless to know, but also told him that she knew exactly how old he was in real-life.

This could have bothered Bucky, but he actually found it a relief that it was one less thing he was going to have to explain to her about his unique situation.

Reaching into the bag he snagged an Oreo and quickly stuffed it into his mouth before he grabbed the loaf of bread. Madison watched as Bucky went from refrigerator, to island, to stove and back again as he fixed himself four grilled cheese sandwiches. Suddenly, Madison was very hungry for grilled cheese and was about to do her best puppy dog face to ask Buck to make her one as well when he turned around with a plate with one already on it for her.

Sliding the plate towards her, he took a big bite of his first sandwich before smiling around the mouthful and moving to the cupboard for a glass to hold his milk. "I could practically feel your eyes on my sandwich," he muttered as he took a big gulp of milk.

Picking up the sandwich Madison bit into the cheesy goodness and gave a quiet moan of delight. "Oh my god this is so good."

Bucky loved watching Madison eat, and somehow deep down it gave him a little extra pleasure knowing that she was enjoying something he made, even if it was a simple cheese sandwich.

"The trick is to use the salted butter on the outside to brown it, also I use two different kinds of cheeses so that the flavors mix well in your mouth."

"Oh my god, I think I love you," Madison said, her eyes closed in delight.

Her eyes flew open when she realized what she had just said, "I…um…you know…" she tried stumbling out an explanation.

As much as Bucky enjoyed making her squirm, he knew he'd have to let her off the hook, "Yeah, I know. A man who can cook is a keeper right," he laughed as he continued to eat his sandwich.

One of the things he loved most about spending time with Madison was that she wasn't one of those girls that needed every moment to be filled with endless chatter. When she spoke she normally had something important to say. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable as both Madison and Bucky enjoyed their late night snack.

Having finished off the sandwiches, but still nursing a few remaining cookies, Madison brought up something Bucky had said earlier, "You said you wouldn't be here tomorrow morning…" She didn't really want to pry, but Madison thought that if he was willing to tell her he wasn't planning on being here that he might also explain where he would be.

Bucky took a deep breath before explaining. It wasn't something he liked talking about if for no other reason than it was part of the bigger conversation that he should have with Madison. And going on one in the morning just wasn't enough time to cover it all. "I have court ordered therapy in the morning, that's what I do at the VA center" he said, looking down at the cookie he was pulling apart in his hands.

"I did some really terrible things in my past. Becoming an Avenger helped me to settle some of those things, but to receive a full pardon from the president I have to go once a week to see a shrink to make sure I'm 'adjusting and not a danger to others,'

Looking down at his hands, Bucky realized that he was afraid of the judgment he knew he deserved from Madison, from everyone really. Bucky resented having to go to therapy. It wasn't that he didn't like the therapist, she was alright he supposed, it was the implication that people still didn't trust him. Thinking about it, he wasn't sure how long he'd have to be a 'good guy' before people actually treated him like one instead of constantly waiting for him to snap back to the Winter Soldier.

It only took moments to pass before he saw Madison's hand reach over to take his. Looking up at her, he didn't see judgment, instead he saw compassion. "I won't begin to understand what might have happened in your past life. But I know from personal experience therapy can be a very helpful thing if you have the right person to talk to and you allow it to help."

Bucky found he missed holding Madison's hand when she drew it back to finish dipping her cookie in the bowl. "When my mom died," he watched as Madison took a shuddering breath, "I was only barely 14 and to lose your one parent so young, especially how I did was devastating."

Bucky sat down on a neighboring bar stool to listen to Madison's story. "Then when dad stopped being there for me, always going off to do Avenger work, it got to the point that I started rebelling in the only ways I knew how. I was so desperate to get his attention back. It got to the point that I felt like I had lost both parents."

Bucky remembered well what it felt like to lose your parents too early in life, even if it had been well over 70 years since he had lost his.

"It wasn't until I got arrested and held for two days in jail because no one could find any of my family that we all got the wakeup call we needed."

"You were arrested?! Do I want to know what for?" Bucky couldn't help the smile that was forming on his face. Madison was always such an angel that it was hard for him to imagine her doing anything bad enough to get arrested.

"Well crashing a $100,000 Hummer into the side of the school house tends to cause a stir even with the most liberal of communities," Madison smiled. "I can laugh about it now, because in the end it helped my family more than hurt me. But oh my lord when Uncle Tony found out he was so royally pissed." Madison looked at Bucky from under her lashes, "it was his car I stole."

Bucky couldn't help it, he laughed out loud at that detail.

"I had to do two hundred hours of community service, plus I had to do one hundred hours of work around the school. Then I had to attend therapy sessions two days a week. One individual and one with my dad in attendance through family counseling."

Bucky just couldn't imagine Madison being so rebellious.

"A lot was said during those sessions….a lot that needed to be said on both our parts, my dad's and mine."

Bucky sat quietly, waiting allowing Madison to gather her thoughts.

"That wasn't all that I did during that time that I'm ashamed to admit to," she hedged as she began picking at her fingernails. Bucky was quickly learning Madison's nails were her fidget spot. Whenever she needed to get something out or hear something hard to take, she picked at her nails. Whatever this was must be a doozy because she was on the verge of picking one cuticle raw. Reaching over, Bucky took her hands in to his this time, "what is it," he asked, ready to hear the worst.

"I'm not a virgin," Madison blurted out, still not meeting Bucky's gaze.

After a long pause Bucky uttered the only thing he knew to say to such a statement, "okay."

"I've never had a good experience," Madison continued. "The first time was with a guy eight years older than me. I was still fourteen, and he wasn't exactly gentle."

Bucky felt his neck begin to stiffen as he thought about a young Madison being possibly man-handled by someone far too old for her. He hated that her first time wasn't even gentle even if it wasn't the most loving.

"The next time I convinced myself that it was me, that now that I wasn't a virgin anymore I'd be better at it. You know how in romance novels they always talk about the feelings of release and passion and all that," this time Madison did look at Bucky hoping that he understood what she was referring to. He just nodded for her to continue, "well they are full of crap."

Bucky hated romance novels. They always made sex sound like it was this rush of passion and shit, when in all honesty sometimes it was awkward and one or both of you might actually end up laughing at some point during it. The guy at least almost always felt awkward having the conversation, if there even was a conversation about condoms and where to finish. Romance novels just gave women a false sense of how it really was which often left them feeling a bit let down when the real thing actually happened.

Plus, that was a great deal of pressure for the guy to live up to as well.

"I'm not saying I'm like some whore or something, sleeping with anyone that looked at me twice," Madison felt like she needed to defend herself.

Bucky squeezed Madison's hand trying to offer her comfort, "of course you aren't," he said.

"I guess you could say I was just looking to belong in all the wrong ways. That's why when you said what you did earlier," she hedged about their conversation on making love not having sex, "I felt so relieved because," Madison blushed. "I confess I want the first time with you to be what my first time should have been, period."

Madison watched as Bucky took a visible deep breath as though absorbing the impact of her words. This made her nervous, feeling like she needed to explain. "I'm not saying I want roses and candles and all that crap," she slowly pulled her hands away from Bucky's fingers that had been massaging hers.

"I just don't want to turn over after it's all over and feel ashamed that I did anything or that I did something wrong."

Madison wrapped her arms around herself trying to hide her embarrassment at the word vomit she had just thrown at Bucky.

The barstool Bucky was sitting on screeched slightly against the floor as he made to get up. Moving over to where Madison sat, he slowly drew her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. She didn't realize how much she needed to be touched right now, to feel like she wasn't insane for having told Bucky all of this.

"I promise, when the time is right for us, I'll do everything I can to make sure you know it was the right decision for you," Bucky pulled back to look at Maddie, gently cupping her face in his hands, "for us."

Tears began to pool in Madison's eyes at the sweetness of Bucky's words. They truly touched her heart. She felt on cloud nine that is until he began to frown.

"Did you cut your hair," he asked, shocked as he reached back and released her hair tie allowing her now dry hair to fall to her shoulders.

Laughter filled the room as both Madison and Bucky realized that suddenly a very serious conversation had taken a turn for the silly.

Sitting back down in his seat, Bucky gave Madison a long look analyzing the new hairdo. "I like it. It suits you," he said reaching over and tucking a few strands behind her ear.

Finishing up the cookies, and putting their dishes away in the sink, both Madison and Bucky headed back down to the dorms to finally get some sleep. Going on three in the morning, Madison knew she'd probably sleep in especially if Bucky had therapy in the morning.

Reaching Madison's door, Bucky turned to her intending on kissing her good night and excusing himself to his own night of tossing and turning. Instead he was pleasantly surprised when Madison asked if he wouldn't mind staying with her tonight. "We don't have to do anything, I mean especially after all of that," she said, pointing back towards the kitchen and their talk about her past. "I just don't want to be alone right now if I don't have to be."

"I'd like that," Bucky said, taking Madison's hand in his. Nothing more needed to be said between the two. Madison opened her door, allowing them both in, Bucky shutting it behind them. She made her way to the bed and crawled in, making herself comfortable. Bucky followed behind, laying on the opposite side under the covers. They both lay there looking up at the ceiling. Bucky noticed that Madison had a night light in her room. This actually brought him a lot of comfort. With his past, darkness, especially when you slept under it, tended to bring about darker thoughts and he didn't want that right now with Madison by his side.

"So are you a big spoon or a little spoon," Bucky whispered.

"Definitely a little spoon," Madison uttered just as softly.

"Oh thank god," Bucky said before turning over to reach for Madison.

Madison turned on her side away from Bucky as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her to him. She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck as he settled his body around hers. His hips and legs matched hers perfectly, even slipping his foot in between hers to pull her bottom leg slightly closer to him.

Reaching down, Madison brought Bucky's hand up high on her waist to rest along her chest.

Bucky had never fallen asleep before so easily or so quickly. He couldn't believe how comfortable he was snuggled up to Madison. As he fell further and further into sleep, Madison could barely hear him as he whispered, "I love you."

Laying there, Madison was startled by Bucky's words. Maybe she heard him wrong, maybe he said 'I love this' or something else completely different. But as she thought about it, she realized she wanted it to have been 'I love you', because right then, in that moment she realized something as well.

"I love you too James," she whispered as she allowed herself to fall asleep.

Behind her, Bucky's sleepy eyes blinked sluggishly as he smiled and fell back to sleep.