So, I was not by any means planning in updating today. But then this morning I couldn't sleep so I woke up and just wrote and OH MY GOSH. This chapter. Let me just say it tugged at my heartstrings.

I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Trigger Warning: Torture.


Chapter XXXVI

When Lucy could finally take no more she was thrown into a cell. Her legs, unable to work, and her ribs still agonizing kept her from walking. She had to be dragged from Dr. Zola's laboratory, one of her shoes falling as she was carried by two guards. Her arms over both their shoulders, her legs were limp behind her and she was worried she wouldn't be able to stand if it came to it.

Round the clock torture, as one can imagine, took a toll on one's physical and mental well being.

It had been four days of unrelenting pain, agony, and suffering. From have tiny gel pads hooked up to her from a machine, sending electric currents through her body, to having her head forced into icy water until she couldn't breathe, Lucy had to admit Hydra knew how to make a person wish they were dead.

The countless blood, retina, urine, and other tests were just as frustrating, although they didn't hurt. A needle pricks were aggravating, but nothing compared to the pain Lucy felt as a Hydra soldier was instructed to break one her fingers for every cuss world she screamed at Zola. She had gotten to three so far, and figured she best hold her tongue to avoid any more unnecessary pain.

The guards tossed her into the lonesome cell, her legs collapsing under her body weight and she called out in pain. They laughed cruelly and locked the door behind her, several people in the cell beside her looking over at her with pity.

"Lucy!" A surprised voice called out. Lucy's heart pounded and she shot up as she heard the voice, thinking she must have been in a dream. She turned around, looking at all the faces of the other poor, captured, souls to find one in particular.

The crowd made way for a small body, despite their crampedness while Lucy had a cell of her own.

"Oh thank God!" The voice called out and Lucy could only sob in relief.

The little blonde girl ran forward, collapsing on her knees in front of the cell and reached for Lucy, sticking her hand through. Lucy struggled to make her way over to Hilda, clutching her hand tightly as soon as she could reach.

"I thought you were dead!" The young girl cried, her tears streaking her dirty face. They fell down her cheeks, her happiness apparent from her large smile.

"I'm fine!" Lucy promised her, despite the fact she very obviously wasn't. "I'm just so glad to see you." She said and peppered kisses to her dirty hands, causing Hilda to laugh. "I was so worried."

"You were worried about me? I was worried about you!" The girl laughed through her tears, trying to wipe them away with the hand that wasn't holding Lucy's with an iron-like grip, clearly afraid to lose her again. Lucy was only glad she wasn't grasping the hand with all of her broken fingers. "What did they do to you?" Hilda gasped in horror as she took in Lucy's mangled appearance.

Her hair was falling out of the up-do she had done several days ago. Sweat stains and blood covered her dress, several threads of it also becoming unraveled. Lucy's face was filthy, the remnants of black eye makeup trailing down her cheeks. Her knees were twisted in an awkward position, her stockings torn in several areas and showing her dirty, grime-covered skin. She only had one shoe on, and she was shivering in the cold of the cell where there was no heat in the middle of winter.

Hilda passed over a scarf she had been wearing and a light cardigan that someone had given up. As Lucy put them on, she could only roll her eyes and grimace in pain as she attempted to get warmer, "Lots of things. Never a dull moment with these bastards." Lucy settled her back against the bars of the cell, still holding on to Hilda as she turned away also, their arms linked, not bearing being separate from one another again. "Have you been hurt?" Lucy asked her, her voice in her throat.

Hilda shook her head and then shrugged, "Well, one man hit me when I made a face at him behind his back. But that's about it. They've been making us work. Some of the other girls and I have small hands, and so they want us putting these tiny little additions into machines. My fingers hurt but beyond that, it's not too bad." Hilda promised her.

Lucy's stomach sunk as she asked her slowly, "And that man who looked at you before we got on the train? Have you seen him?"

Hilda shook her head, "No. And the other guards barely look at us at all. They think we're filthy and dirty."

"You're not filthy; they're filthy," Lucy promised her. She didn't want any of her self worth to go away just because they were being reduced to inhumane conditions.

Hilda only let out a breathy chuckle, "I know." She noticed how Lucy was looking at her fingers, and she gasped as she saw how they were black and blue, "Oh, you poor thing! Let me see them!"

Lucy passed her hand through the bars, and Hilda looked at them quizzically. "They're not broken!" She said happily, "Just dislocated. I can fix them if you'd like? But it will be painful."

Lucy remembered what it felt like to have her fingers popped out and she cringed. She bit her lip for a second, wondering if she could willingly subject herself to more pain. Lucy could only nod as she closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip to try to manage the hurt she knew was coming.

Hilda began counting to three but snapped them back into place on two. Lucy squealed in surprise and let out a yelp of pain, only for it to be temporary as her fingers felt normal again. She rolled her wrist around and looked at her fingers, flexing them when she noticed how much better they felt.

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile, Hilda telling her it wasn't any problem at all.

For a while afterward, they just sat and talked. Hilda had no idea they were even in Austria, and she mentioned how everyday Hydra picked someone else of their group to be taken, and then never came back. So far, Lucy has been the only one.

Lucy paled as having heard that, frowning deeply as she realized she had never seen any other prisoners in the same room as her also being tested on and tortured.

"I miss my mother." Hilda finally admitted as she tucked her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked so small and childlike that Lucy wanted to put her arms around her and give her a hug to comfort her. "I'm so scared."

"Me too," Lucy admitted shakily.

"But you're not scared of anything," Hilda asked in surprise, her eyebrows raising.

Lucy let out a snort and then said quietly, "I've been scared my whole life."

"But," Hilda licked her lips and frowned deeply, "You seem so fearless."

Lucy smiled softly, trying to hide the fact that even at that moment too, she was scared. "I'm good at pretending. I always have been. I had lots of practice when I was younger and I had to put on a brave face in front of my father, even though I was always terrified."

Hilda only frowned deeper but continued listening to Lucy. Lucy took another shaky breath when she continued, her voice cracking, "I don't think I've ever been as terrified as I am now though. I'm scared of what's going to happen to me. I'm scared of you dying here and never getting back home. I'm scared we won't win the war and all there will ever be is evil. And I'm scared my team didn't make it back to base… I'm scared I'm never going to see the man I love again." Lucy swallowed thickly as she thought of Bucky, "That we'll never have a family, and grow old together. I'm scared something happened to him. And he thinks I'm dead, so…" With the sleeve of her dress, Lucy wiped away her runny nose. Tears were welling in her eyes but she refused to cry.

"We'll get you back." Hilda nodded in determination. "We'll get out. You'll see him again. And you'll have a happy life with chubby little babies and you'll live so long together I'm sure when one of you becomes senile you'll be happy to get rid of 'em." She continued on "And one day I'm going to go back home and become a doctor."

Lucy turned to Hilda with a smile, "I thought you wanted to be a healer like your mother?"

Hilda shrugged, a smirk on her mouth, "Healing is a good alternative to have when you don't have a doctor available. I want to help people more than my mother could. And if you can go to school for so long, why can't I?"

Lucy smiled wider as she saw the determined young girl. She rubbed her hands over the silk of her dress, before licking her lips and saying, "Well, Doctor. Looks like we have to come up with a plan to get out of here."

Hilda smiled in agreement, nodding before looking back at the guards making their rounds, looking frightful and intimidating with their large statures and bigger guns. "It'll be impossible." She admitted as her facial expression fell. "At this rate, the only way we'll get out of here is if some big, strong man with superhuman strength shows up and breaks us out."

"Please," Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes, "That'll never happen. We can only count on ourselves."

"A girl can dream." Hilda said with a sigh, "I wish that would happen. And that he would be handsome too."

"How about instead of relying on a man, we just rely on our brains? It seems more realistic." Lucy had seen a group of English soldiers held as a prisoner while walking back. She thought if there were enough of them to mutiny and cause a revolt, the soldiers could get their hands on some weapons they might actually have a chance. But they would have to be organized. And Lucy knew she likely wouldn't be here for long, knowing she would soon be tortured again. "Hilda, you're going to have to do this on your own."

"I don't think I can." She said with a small voice, suddenly becoming timid once more. The thought of Lucy not being there to hold her hand caused her worry.

"You can." Lucy said firmly, grasping her in between the bars once more, "I know you can." She had never been so sure of anything. She had no other choice, knowing it was also the only option they possibly had of getting out alive.


Of all the things Bucky hoped to accomplish in his time in the army, being a POW was not what he had envisioned.

They had surrender quickly to what Bucky soon realized was Hydra. The quick hope they had that the Germans had been turning on each other was abolished the moment when the guns had focused on them.

From then on out it was… unpleasant, to say the least. But Bucky was too angry to focus on anything. He was angry that they had killed every tenth member of his infantry. He was angry that he was one of the ones to survive. Especially when Simon Pym was standing next to him and had a bullet put in his head, the blood splattering on Bucky's cheek.

He was angry that he lost Lucy, and that he failed her. He was angry at Hydra, and their fucked up mutiny, and for capturing them when really they all should have been in the same position as Simon.

He was mad that of all the people he could be stuck in a cell with, he was with Gilbert Whitney. Who, on very rare occasions, knew when to shut up. Bucky had been punched, kicked, and knocked to the ground too many times because of the Southerner's fiery temper and hot head. The only peace he had was when finally Whitney was taken away to solitary.

He couldn't believe he was in this mess, in a small, cramped cell in Austra in some type of facility, forced to do hard labour.

He had figured the march over to Austria had been bad, with having to walk through half mud and half snowfalls, his feet soaking into it until they ached from being permanently damp.

They had to huddle together at night to stay warm as the Hydra soldiers laughed at their newly acquired prisoners. Bucky wondered why they didn't just kill them, and why they were wasting the efforts of keeping them alive.

It wasn't until they got to the weapons facility that he realized why. They needed labourers to do the heavy lifting. And who was more expendable than the Allied troops they just captured?

The march over had been a walk in the park compared to what awaited them. They had been stripped and been forced to take a cold shower together. And humiliating as it was, Bucky was just thankful to be clean after tripping and falling in mud for weeks.

He was thankfully able to get his own uniform back, checking to make sure his picture of Lucy was still in his pocket. A guard saw and began yelling at him to drop what was in his hand but Bucky tucked the picture in his breast pocket and pretended not to know what the guard was saying.

A swift whack across the back of the head with a billy club that sent Bucky to the floor, groaning in pain. Another one across his shoulders and one more after that nearly had him seeing stars. Clearly, these guys weren't messing around.

Bucky touched the back of his head and pulled away to see a coat of blood on his hand. He struggled to stand up, feeling dizzy as a hand tried to pull him up, despite nearly falling back down again.

A French voice began murmuring quickly to Bucky, which only made him frown and try to focus on what the person was saying as he saw double of him.

"I'm American, pal." He patted the man's shoulder, and nearly fell down again.

"I said that the guard was a bastard." The man said in a thick accent as he laughed.

"Finally something the French and I can see eye to eye on." Bucky chuckled as he still struggled to stand as the man held him up.

"Jacques Dernier, French resistance." He shook Bucky's hand, as he continued to help him stand. As Bucky's vision began to come back to him, he began to take in the sight of the man. He was tall, with a mustache, and startling blue eyes. Bucky had met few Frenchmen in his time in the army, but he was sure this man was the most French one could be. He was practically a walking stereotype and Bucky couldn't help but chuckle.

"James Barnes, 107th." He nearly fell again and Jacques kept a firm grip on him.

"You uhh, look like you might need to see a doctor." He called something in French, and a man with a Red Cross on his uniform came forward.

"Gabriel Debois, he's a doctor," Jacques spoke.

"Jesus, did Hydra damn near capture the entire resistance?" Bucky wondered and looked around him to see how many French he was actually surrounded with.

"Ohhh, no, no! No!" Jacques shook his head vigorously, "No. He's French-Canadian. We are not the same."

Gabriel approached, overhearing their conversation after having been called. "Right, what he said. We're much better looking." The man said with a toothy grin.

"And you speak a language of swine." Jacque snapped back, offended.

"We speak the same language!" The man exclaimed, scandalized how he could say such a thing.

"A poor, butchered, bastardized version of it! It turns the language of love into just meh! It is a disgrace."

"Fellas, fellas!" Bucky said and shut his eyes as their bickering, his head pounding, "Can we keep it down? Jesus, I feel like I was just run over."

"Right, let's take a look at you." Dr. Dobois said seriously and then held a finger in front of Bucky's face and made him follow it with his eye, "I'd say you're definitely concussed."

Bucky nodded, figuring that made sense as he coughed into his sleeve. The doctor frowned, "How long have you had that cough, son?"

Buck couldn't remember how long, exactly. His brow furrowed as he thought of it, thinking deeply of when and how he could have gotten it. He figured he started right after he had tried to save Lucy. The chill from the waterfall mist had soaked into his bones and he had been coughing pretty bad ever since. "On and off for a few weeks."

The man only nodded, looking grim, "From the sound of it, it could be pneumonia." Bucky's face drained as he thought of it. He knew to be diagnosed and have something as severe in the dead of winter as a POW would likely be a death sentence.

He just could not catch a break, could he? Dead friends, dead girlfriend, and now a POW who had a concussion and pneumonia? Bucky figured he must have made the Big Guy pretty angry at some point to deserve a ride like this.

The doctor patted him on the back sympathetically, "Sorry. Just uhhh, try to take it easy if you can. Drink water if we have any. Just try not to anger them anymore if you can help it." He said with a weary look to bleeding at the back of Bucky's head.

Jacques came forward with his hands in his pockets, "In France, we have a saying about your situation." He tried to turn the conversation into a more light-hearted manner.

"Which is?" Bucky looked up with a raised eyebrow, not missing how the man's lips unturned on the corner in an amused fashion.

"'Tu as de la chance merdique'. It means your luck is shit." He said with a smirk, accent still thick and making Bucky chuckle.

With a sigh, he could only nod as he looked back at the same guards who had begun hitting him, still giving him a glare that could rival Hades' "I think you might be right about that."


It had been close to three weeks of grueling work. The cold got worse, making Bucky sicker. Some days he could barely stand up, hacking up phlegm and mucus to the point he could barely breathe. Dugan was worried, and each time Bucky worked up a sweat from just being forced to stand for hours at a time, the look of concern grew in his eyes.

He tried everything he could to get better, but without medicine, there wasn't much that could be done. And not to mention, there were very few moments of peace as a prisoner of war in an enemy weapons facility.

When Bucky wasn't being beaten or forced to work on an assembly line, he was placed in a cell with other Allied soldiers. Hydra had hoped that they would tear each other apart, but it really wasn't that bad. Apart from the arguing and bickering, there was no division between them beyond a few skirmishes which were finally stopped once the guards watching had their fun.

Once they realized the guards were egging them on so they could cast bets on the fights, out of spite most cell mates tried to get along. But the arguing was still unbearable some of the time, and Bucky found himself angered often when it woke him up from his much-needed sleep.

There were some interesting blokes he had been paired with though, at least he could say that much. And when they weren't in assembly lines working on pieces of machinery, they made some decent company and half-alright card players.

But still, the experience was hell, and Bucky found the days were beginning to blur together. He didn't even know if Christmas had come and gone at that point, or what month they were in.

It wasn't until one day while working, Bucky had a coughing fit and doubled over, his lungs burning in pain.

"Sarg, you alright?" Gabe Jones looked at him in worry, his eyes flashing to the guards whose attention was now on Bucky.

An Englishman of the royal parachute brigade who was also forced to share a cell with Bucky quickly hissed under his breath, "Stand up, mate. The Krauts are looking." James Falsworth said cautiously, his nervous eyes shifting to the sinister-looking men who were walking over.

Bucky nodded, his face red from barely being able to breathe. He leaned as much as he could on the manufacturing table, struggling to stand as tried to do his best to continue working. Bucky could hear himself wheezing with every struggling breath he took in, feeling as though he would fall down if he had to stand much longer.

The guards, looking bored and needing someone to pick on, made their way to Bucky. He could only roll his eyes, muttering 'great' under his breath as he realized what was about to happen.

The guard took Bucky's chart at his workstation and looked at it in mock surprise, "Prisoner 56898, why haven't you met today's quota?" The guard asked with a raised eyebrow in a thick accent.

"Well, here I thought I was. But I guess not. I never learned how to count good," Bucky answered sarcastically, not feeling up to complying with them only to end up getting a beating anyway.

"Well, perhaps we could teach you?" The man said with a sick smile, "Every wound we inflict on you we will have you count out loud. How does that sound? Do you think you'll learn how to count then?"

As Bucky was about to reply with something snarky, Dugan cut him off quickly, knowing that whatever Bucky was going say would likely have him ending up on the ground and too weak to get up.

"To be fair, the man is barely standing." Dugan defended him, looking at Bucky concerned. "Maybe you fine fellas could cut him some slack?"

The guards laughed, repeating what Dum Dum said in German and only chuckled more at his request. One hit Dugan hard in the face with the butt of his gun, causing him to fall to the floor and blood to burst from his nose. He barely made any noise of discomfort, though.

Bucky cringed as he saw the blood pouring out of Dugan's obviously broken nose but the man said nothing and only stood up. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose, saying something of how it tickled and Bucky couldn't help but snort.

"You are sick," One of the guards observed, looking back at Bucky skeptically and noticed how he swayed a little like he had been drinking. But really it was just the fact he was trying his hardest to keep from falling down.

"Boy, you guys really are sharp. No wonder why you're so close to winning the war." He replied again, although he knew it best to keep his mouth shut from such comments.

One of the guards stepped closer and with a sinister grin, "I suppose you would like to see a doctor?"

"I mean," Bucky shrugged and then looked down, "If you have one that would actually help I wouldn't be opposed. But if it's one of those ones who says he's a 'doctor' but really only tortures people, I may have to pass on that offer as attractive as it sounds."

"Of course he will help!" The guard called out and looked at his comrade, smiling as though they shared a private joke, "He would like to see the doctor."

"We should take him then." The other one replied and then punched Bucky in the gut, almost causing him to fall over. He struggled to stand again, but was yanked up as the guards began to drag him, to what Bucky could only assume was the 'doctor'.

"Y'know, actually fellas, I'm feeling much better now! I don't think I have to go see a doctor." Bucky laughed nervously as he was being pulled out of the manufacturing hall. He could feel his cellmates eyes drilling holes in his back, not knowing if whether or not they would ever see him again.

The guards conversed in German, laughing about something Bucky couldn't understand. Eventually, they gave up trying to carry him and he walked on his own, knowing he was likely willing to go to his death. But at that point, he didn't care anymore.

They walked past the cells again, going further into the back than Bucky had ever previously been. He noticed how the POWs turned from soldiers into regular citizens and non-combatants. A sinking feeling welled in his stomach and he wanted to be sick. Knowing there were people who were completely innocent and suffering didn't sit well with him.

The cells were damp and dirty. The smell of body odor hit him, evidence of no one being able to wash for a while. Dim lights hung ahead, trying to make the place look more dismal and decrepit. The white lights flickered, giving everything an ominous glow.

They passed hallway after hallway but continued walking straight. Despite trying to figure out where he was, he knew it was hopeless. He had never been past the cells, only ever being permitted to go to the manufacturing hall and the showers. He wondered exactly where he was being taken and what doctor he would be taken to see. He couldn't imagine anything good could happen to him.

Bucky looked around at the dirty faces and all the suffering and couldn't believe what was evil was going on. He heard children crying and the old coughing, and Bucky suddenly realized his situation wasn't as bad as he had previously thought.

Those people weren't being used for labour, and obviously were for other purposes. It meant they didn't need them to stay strong as they did with the captured soldiers. By the looks of it, they were on reduced rations, and after Bucky had mouthed off to one too many guards, he knew what a struggle living off reduced rations actually was.

He saw a young blonde girl crying about something in one of the cages and his heart nearly broke. No one should ever have been treated that way, and as he heard a commotion in front he was happy finally someone was giving Hydra a piece of their mind.

He could hear swearing in German, an angry voice loud and obviously irate. The guards yelled back until a pained yell was heard and finally the noise stopped.

He continued on in silence until the problem that had first started began once more. He heard a woman's frustrated tone, a defiant yell and the dragging of a body.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!"

His ears picked up, and he almost thought he was imagining things. For a moment, he almost thought it sounded like Lucy. Bucky's stomach sank and his throat tightened from just thinking about it.

"I said get your filthy fucking hands off me!" There was only one dame who could cuss like that and still make it sound pretty.

Bucky's heart dropped from his chest into his stomach and his mouth fell slightly agape. He must be dreaming, he had to be dreaming.

A flash of yellow amongst the grey jacketed Hydra soldiers caught his eyes.

He slowed, watching the scene. Two men struggled to keep the clearly angered woman moving. He wondered if they were hurting her, causing a pinch in his heart.

Another flash of brown hair and a push of one of the guards left her in his view. A woman of fury and fire, a stick of dynamite waiting to go off all done up in a pretty gold dress stood there. A hurricane of a dame, causing mayhem and trouble. She blew a piece of hair out of her face and Bucky's jaw fell.

It was like breathing air for the first time. Like seeing sunlight, or the ocean, or waking up from a black and white world into one of vivid colours.

He felt alive. Like it was his first time in his entire life that he felt that way. His heart pumping fast, his blood racing, and lungs breathing hard, every instinct he had telling him to run to her.

"Lucy? Bucky called out to the ghost instinctively, not thinking it would respond.

But it froze. It stopped fighting and turned around to him, her eyes meeting his.

Bucky's mouth fell open and Lucy stood there in shock, a guard grabbed her shoulders roughly and driving Bucky to the point he saw red.

"Bucky?" Lucy choked out, looking at him with wide and shocked eyes. Bucky couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he was positive he must have been dreaming.

One of the guards who was escorting him stopped when he noticed Bucky had slowed.

One of the guards yelled at him to keep moving. And that's exactly what he did. He moved his fist swinging directly into the man's face, feeling the crunch under the impact.

Lucy pushed herself away from the guard, even though they were yelling and guns were focused on them. Neither of them cared, though. All that mattered was each other.

Tears were falling down Lucy's eyes as Bucky grabbed her. She held onto him so hard it was like he would disappear. Bucky could hear the guards yelling for them to separate but he couldn't even if he wanted to. He was holding his girl after he had thought he would never get the chance again. She was so warm and full of life and there. He could cry just thinking about how happy he was to see her. It was like everything good in the world was back, and nothing else mattered for even a second.

"I thought you were dead." Bucky pulled away as tears fell down his face. Lucy shook her head and he noticed the bruises on her porcelain cheeks and how skinny she was.

"What are you doing here?" She choked out in shock. She didn't look happy to see him though, she looked terrified.

Bucky couldn't get words out fast enough, knowing they only had a few more seconds before the guards either shot them or ripped them apart. "Are you warm enough? Here." Bucky took off his jacket and tried to put it over her shoulders just before they ripped her away.

A gun was slammed into the back of Bucky's head and he fell to the ground with a cry. The guards kicked him in the ribs, as Lucy screamed, "Stop hurting him!" She pleaded desperately, the tears falling down her cheeks rapidly. "Please, stop!" She begged with a choked sob. "Stop it!" Lucy screamed in a hoarse voice.

The guards said something to each other in German that Bucky couldn't between landing kicks and suddenly Lucy was begging even more. "No! No, please! Please, don't bring him to Zola! I don't know him, I've never seen this man before in my life! Just leave him." Clearly whatever they were saying wasn't good if it caused Lucy to react this way.

They grabbed Bucky, forcing him to his feet. He spat out blood that had gathered in his mouth and looked up to see Lucy's frightened face.

"Please, please!" She begged one of the guards and her tears continued falling, "Don't bring him to Zola. I'll do anything. Just leave him." She promised. Bucky hated seeing her grovel for his life, knowing she likely wouldn't even have done it for herself. "I'll do anything!" She begged through gritted teeth.

The men only laughed and pulled Bucky up, despite the fact he was so close to falling down he didn't know how he still managed to stand.

"Don't give these pigs a thing, doll," Bucky said strongly, trying to stand a little straighter as they began to haul them somewhere else. "I can take it."

"No, Bucky you don't understand—," Lucy said with frightened eyes, still not taking her gaze off of him for a single second. Bucky was the same as her. He couldn't stop looking at her, in case she really was a figment of his imagination. If she was a hallucination, she was the damn prettiest hallucination he had ever seen.

"Silence!" The guard interrupted them. Bucky shut his mouth because he didn't want her to pay the price for his insubordination. One of them pushed her harshly to move forward and he nearly snapped.

They couldn't say anything as they walked, but Lucy kept looking at him. They walked side by side, and although he couldn't reach out and take her hand like he wanted to, he gently touched his shoulder to hers.

Lucy looked up at him with her big doe eyes and nearly caused him to break out in sobs all over again. She was so beautiful. All he wanted was to grab her and kiss her and hold her and tell her he loved her. But he couldn't, all he could do was touch their shoulders together.

But that was enough for Lucy. She smiled ever so slightly and bit her lip to keep it from spreading. Her tears kept falling though, and she closed her eyes at the feeling of him so near to her.

To just be in her presence, not even kissing, or holding one another, was enough after being so long apart. Although it was killing Bucky not to reach out and pull her against him, he was content with just having his shoulder against his.

His pinky finger wrapped around hers in an inconspicuous way. He couldn't hold her hand, but at least he could still touch her skin briefly. When his fingers came in contact with her, he felt electricity well inside him and every instinct he had screamed at him to pull her in to capture her mouth on his.

Lucy couldn't say anything, she just kept looking at him with wide eyes and taking him in. She had his jacket wrapped around her and she tightened it closer around her shoulders.

When the guards weren't looking, Bucky leaned in to quietly whisper in Lucy's ear, "I'm so happy to see you." He said softly, the gentle and loving look in his eyes making Lucy want to collapse.

She could only take a deep breath in and shake her head, her eyes not welled with happy tears like his were. They were filled with fear and sadness, "You shouldn't be here." Lucy only said again. Not coldly or with a tone, showing she didn't want him to be there. It was with sadness and heartbreak, her voice breaking as they entered an odd room filled with machinery.

Bucky saw a small man in a white lab coat with a pair of darkened goggles over his face. Another man was attached to a machine in front of him, screaming loudly into a mouth guard which muffled it, his body convulsing in pain. When the machine turned off, the strained screaming came to an end and the man slumped over.

The little man only huffed in annoyance and wrote something down on a notepad, "Another subject yet again failed! Tell me you brought me, someone better this time." He said to the guards.

Bucky dropped Lucy's hand as he saw Arnim Zola and anger rose in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to beat the little man into a bloody pulp for what he had done. He shouldn't have been surprised that he was head of the experimental division of Hydra.

"Oh, how extraordinary!" Zola's eyes caught on Bucky and he laughed, "Look, Dr. Heinrich! It appears your beau has joined us. How lucky."

Lucy said nothing, swallowing a lump forming in her throat. Zola stalked over to him and took a good look at Bucky, his eyes trailing him up and down to see if he would make the perfect subject.

"The last time I saw you two together, you blew up my lab and shot my favourite creation through the head." He said solemnly, taking off his goggles so he could look at the two properly, "You two make a fantastic team. A dangerous duo, if I may be so bold to say." Bucky felt unnerved from the way he was looking at them.

Suddenly he came to the realization, "My my. This must be quite the reunion. Did you both think the other was dead?" He chuckled and Bucky looked to Lucy and saw how she was barely keeping herself together. She was trembling unlike Bucky had ever seen her, clearly frightened. "How romantic you found one another again! You must be elated!"

Bucky could say nothing but stare the little man down. He wouldn't show him he was scared. Even though if Lucy was scared he definitely should have been also.

He nodded as he looked at the two of them like they were specimens. "Yes, yes. This will be interesting for sure. Now you have the other to stay alive for. I imagine you have both have thoughts of futures together?" Dr. Zola asked as he looked between them. "Marriage and a family? It's all quite attainable. Of course, you must stay alive first. I would be curious to know how the odds of survival change when there is something to fight for." He nodded and wrote some scribbles on his notepad again.

"Odds of survival?" Bucky questioned as Lucy broke out into sobs. He had never seen her react that way, and he was absolutely floored by her showing just emotional vulnerability.

"Please! Please, just not him! Please don't hurt him!" Lucy begged Zola as she shook her head. Bucky's heart broke in two, and he never thought he would see the day Lucy Heinrich would beg several times for him to remain safe.

"Shhh, shhh! Shhh, it's alright my darling." Zola went to Lucy and gently dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, even though she tried to pull her head away. Zola only grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to remain still, making Bucky clench his knuckles. He would have slammed his fist into the man's face if it weren't for the guards who kept their guns on him, "There is no need to cry for him, my sweet." Zola mockingly comforted her. "After all, you are both together now. You should be happy."

He pulled away from her only to look back at Bucky, "Although it is most unfortunate, how the circumstances are not exactly in your favour. Please believe me when I say I am sorry to do this." He said as he turned to the guards and motioned with his head to bring them to the machines.

Lucy began crying more. Bucky started to protest as they removed the body that had collapsed in the machine and placed him in it instead. Lucy cried more as they chained her wrists above her head as she was forced to watch. She pleaded with Zola to stop, to have mercy, and to not do this to Bucky.

"Gag her, please!" Zola requested from the guards who eagerly tied a rope around her mouth and stopped her pleading. Tears still streamed from her face and Lucy struggled against her confines they placed Bucky in the machine.

"This isn't gonna hurt, right?" Bucky asked jokingly to Zola.

"Only a pinch." He replied back sarcastically as they tried to get everything connected to him. Lucy's muffled cries broke Bucky's heart and he couldn't bear to see her chained like a dog. Her hands above her head and keeping her standing on her tippy toes. She watched in horror as Bucky swallowed thickly as they kept eye contact.

"Like I said," Zola chuckled before a mouthguard was placed in Bucky's mouth. "I'm sorry I have to do this." He went back to his chart and the many buttons operating the machine and readied it once Bucky was completely restrained. "Oh, wait!" Zola stopped himself dramatically, then continued, "No, I'm not. I'm going to enjoy this, actually."

The machine was turned on and Bucky couldn't contain his screams. Pain ripped through his body and all he could see was Lucy's distorted face and heavy sobbing as she watched on in horror, helpless to do anything.


It seemed like years before the machine had finally turned off. Bucky was numb from the pain, and spit and drool fell from his chin from clenching his jaw so hard on the mouthpiece.

He felt as though if he was forced to stand that he would collapse from the pain.

He didn't even notice that while he was being tortured, they had moved onto Lucy and put her in a machine that suffocated her until her heart would drop and then they would boost in back up. They were testing her vitals and the ways in which her body was responding to massive amounts of stress and pain. By the time they had both finished up, Lucy was panting and still chained up, coughing and trying to catch her breath. She had been on death's doorstep too many times that day and it had taken a toll. Each time, they thought they could edge her closer, and closer and closer until once her heart finally stopped.

It took a few moments to get it back again, and Bucky was forced to watch through his own torture. Screaming louder as he watched the love of his life's heart go silent. He couldn't lose her again. Not after finally getting her back.

When they thought they finally had enough, they stopped. Lucy was returned back to her hanging chain. This time, her legs couldn't support her and her arms were the only thing holding her upright as she lacked the strength to stand.

Bucky's voice was hoarse from yelling for so long and so loudly. Every inch of him ached and he wondered how long he could go on like this.

When Zola got a telephone call he answered in German. Lucy could have heard what she was saying but she was too weak, barely staying awake. Bucky looked at her with large eyes and all he wanted to do was kill every single one of them for hurting her like that.

"You are in luck," Zola said as he hung up. "Herr Schmidt requires my presence. I'll leave you two here for me to come to play with again later. I'm sure our director will be so pleased to know of your situation." He cackled evilly and Bucky wanted to say something in retort, anything at all, but he didn't have the strength to. "You two behave and try to keep the chit-chat minimal. Otherwise, Bertrand here will have to use force." He motioned to the guard at the corner of the room who was to keep an eye on them.

The moment they were left alone Bucky struggled to speak as he took in a shaky breath, "Please tell me you're alright." He begged her. The worst torture was now being unable to go to her and care for her, to kiss her and touch her.

"No," Lucy choked out a sob, "No, I'm not alright. What are you doing here?" She demanded, her voice broke. It was safe to say she was not pleased he was there with her, and for obvious reasons.

Bucky licked his chapped lips before answering, rolling his wrists in the leather cuffs and trying to regain feeling in them, "Hydra turned against the Nazis. They captured nearly the entire 107th as we were in Azzano. I've been here for a couple of weeks. But that doesn't matter! Lucy, how are you alive? I watched you fall." He needed answers more than anything. And he was happy Bertrand, who stood in the corner, couldn't care less they were speaking to one another. "I watched you fall, and it killed me." He admitted, his eyes dropped, "I thought you were dead."

Lucy tried to support her weight better, her arms getting sore from being the only thing holding her up, "I don't know. But I ended up in a small village and this young girl and her mother nursed me better. But Hydra arrived at the village and they took us and I've been here since." She looked at him and nearly laughed, "I never thought I was going to see you again."

Bucky chuckled, realizing how unlikely it was that they would both end up in the same place. And although it was awful, there wasn't any there's else Bucky would rather be now he was alone with her, "You're tellin' me." He took a deep breath and then admired, "I've never been so heartbroken and devastated after seeing you fall. I felt like I died too." He took a moment to collect his thoughts, looking at her from across the room, "Never thought I'd be so broken up about a dame before."

Lucy took in a quick sob and choked, "I'm so mad you're here." She admitted, "I can't stand seeing you like this."

"Baby," Bucky pleaded, his voice catching as he realized he never thought he'd get to call her any of his silly pet names again, "Don't say that. At least we get to see each other again before we die, right?" He joked morbidly.

Lucy shook her head, "I thought of you every single second of every single day. I prayed to the Christian God, the Hebrew one, the Muslim and Hindu, and every other god imaginable that you were safe. I can't stand seeing you here."

"Ah, it's not so bad." Bucky lied to her, shrugging despite the fact his arms were still cuffed down, "It kinda tickled. I don't mind it so much as long as I get to see your pretty face again,"

Lucy scoffed, knowing for a fact she didn't look anything close to pretty. "How are you still this much of a flirt even after being tortured?" She couldn't help but smile. A genuine smile that she hadn't had for weeks spread across her face.

"I'm just that in love with you I guess." Bucky chuckled, despite the fact that his body was in agony as he did so. "Worth it to get a couple more minutes with you."

Lucy couldn't hold in her tears. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to stop them, sniffling as did so. She took in a shaky breath, "Don't say things like that. I'd rather never see you again than see you in pain."

"Don't say that, doll." Bucky said gently, "You know there's nowhere else I'd rather but here with you. Even if that means getting tortured."

Lucy only chuckled and let out a snort, "I hate you." She hated he admitted he would rather be getting tortured than be anywhere else as long as it was with her.

Bucky grinned softly, "I know." He spoke quietly.

Lucy licked her lips for a second and took in a shaky inhale. She couldn't take her eyes off him, despite the fact it killed her to see him strapped up and hurting. "I can't believe you're here." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears to the point the world around her became blurry. "I lied to you." Was all Lucy could admit.

"About?"

"Hating you." She bit her lip as she tried to hold back tears. Her voice broke as she spoke again, "I don't hate you. I never have. Not even a little when we didn't get along. Every moment you have driven me crazy but it was never once because I actually hated you."

Bucky stayed silent. He didn't say anything as she continued speaking, "I should have told you when I had the chance." Her voice squeaked out, getting caught, "I should have just told you in the woods while we had that brief moment before I ran off." She closed her eyes tightly again, causing more tears to fall down her dirty and bruised cheeks, "I love you. I love you so, so much James Barnes." She finally admitted it out loud.

"Fuck, Pige." Bucky choked frustratedly. "Why you gotta say it now? When I can't kiss you or hold you."

"Thinking about you is the only thing that has kept me alive this long. And now you're here and I'm just so happy to see you and hear your voice. But God," She whispered as her voice broke again, "I'd rather never see you again than have you endure all this."

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that." Bucky begged her. "If I'm gonna die, I wanna do it with you. I want you to be the last thing I see. I love you more than anything, Lucy."

"Now you don't say that! There's no talk of dying here. Not when we're finally together." Lucy scolded, but then her tone softened, "Besides, if any of us are dying it's me. Six days of this have been unpleasant, to say the least."

Six days. Bucky couldn't believe they had done this to his love for six whole days. He could hardly handle a couple of hours, let alone for six days.

"We'll get out of here, I promise." He told her with a determined voice, "And we're gonna be happy."

Lucy scoffed through her tears, "I think that's wishful thinking, sweetheart."

"I don't care. Let's pretend. When we get out of here I'm going to kiss you until I can't breathe. I'm gonna kiss you so good you won't be able to walk straight. And I am never ever letting you near any rivers again, young lady!"

Lucy only laughed as Bucky continued, "We're gonna be so happy once all this is done. Just you wait. It's you and me, forever."

"Forever is a long time." Lucy reminded him softly.

"Yet still not long enough with you." He added, and with a smile and gently said, "Lucy Heinrich, you're the gal I wanna spend the rest of my life with."

Lucy laughed, "You big romantic." She tried to suck in some of her tears and focus on a smile instead, "Always picking the best moments to be sweet on a dame." She looked up at her chained wrists. They were beginning to ache from holding all her weight.

"I did promise you the Bucky Barnes experience, didn't I?" He asked her.

"You did. But I thought it would be more along the lines of picture show dates, and brain freezes from milkshakes, and goodnight kisses that make me forget what year it is." Laughing was hard, but Lucy tried to choke out at least a little one.

"Why do that with your girl when you can just get tortured with her instead?" Bucky teased, before pausing and asking softly, "I think we're a little past the stage of us going to the theatre and sharing a milkshake afterward, anyway.."

"I think you're right." Lucy breathed out and then there was silence. She was thankful the guard didn't care if they were taking. She felt lucky just to be able to hear his voice and see him again. Although the fact she couldn't touch him and feel him and kiss him was just as much of torture as everything else she experienced.

Bucky broke the silence after a moment. He struggled to speak, but he had to get out what he needed while he still had the chance.

"Hey, pige?" Bucky asked, out of breath. He waited a moment, before quietly asking, "If we get out alive—and that's a really big 'if'— will you do me a favour?"

"What is it?" She whispered quietly, barely able to keep consciousness. She felt herself slipping in and out of it in those moments.

There was silence. For only a moment. One moment where Lucy wasn't fearful and hopeless and everything was okay. Because at that moment, it was just the two of them again. Like the night they had spent together making love, or in the summertime almost four years ago when they had laughed and danced in the street.

The pause lasted a little longer. And as Bucky looked at her he remembered the feeling of having her pressed against him when he first taught her how to shoot. He remembered slamming his mouth to hers in a bruising first kiss before pushing her out of an airplane.

He recalled seeing her in nothing but a silk brassiere and white cotton panties. He could remember the exact feeling of how she rested on his chest as her breath fell up and down as she slept.

And the night in the farmhouse. God, she was a vision in silk. Bucky's hands caressed her hips and felt their softness and knew he needed more; he needed her completely. Recalling violent kisses and needy hands were next, and the way she wrapped around as he was inside her nearly drove him insane.

The morning after and watching her sleep was one of the greatest moments of his entire life. He was in love with her. He would love her until the day he died. And that's how it would always be.

"Marry me?" He asked finally after seeming like he wanted to utter those very words to her for a thousand years, his voice quiet and sullen.

Lucy's eyes shut tightly at his word and she sniffled as a tear fell down her cheek. "Yes," Was all she simply whispered as she still hung from the chains on the ceiling.

Bucky's breath hitched and she could hear him choke back tears. He tossed his head back in relief, "Oh God, I can't believe that worked. Holy shit. Ugh, wow! We have got to get outta here now so I can make you my wife. Can you say it again, because I think my brain got a little rattled in that last beating."

"Yes, Bucky I'll marry you!" Lucy choked out, her voice faltering.

"You are not allowed to die on me now. Do you hear me? You are not allowed to agree to marry me and then die, okay?"

"Okay," She whispered and nodded, biting her lip. She couldn't help but cry from happiness, but also the looming possibility of never getting out of there.

"Well, well, well, " a voice rang in, and Johann Schmidt stood there in the entranceway, glaring at the recently engaged young adults with Dr. Zola behind him, "What a touching, joyous scene. I believe a congratulation is in order!"

He walked over and clasped his hands, an evil smirk on his face. The brief happiness Bucky and Lucy had came crashing down as Schmidt uttered a few small words, "We should celebrate! Dr. Zola, would you be so kind as to start the machines up again for the happy couple?" He said with an evil grin.


I'M SCREAMING. Tbh, I didn't intend for them to get engaged until much later but this was just way too good. Now we just wait until Steve shows up and does his thing. You guys, I am so excited about the next couple of chapters. You're going to love them!

Please Review because I crave compliments to validate my work. And Follow and Favourite to get the next update and see what happened with our love bugs.

Thanks for reading,

A