Back again with the next chapter! A couple of mentions from reviews since the last one:

Ebrithme- Hey you, it's been a while! Glad to see you're still with me!

Emmagnetised- you're so very welcome and thank you!

Zikashigaku- I saw Endgame and cried SO MUCH. It's made it hard for me to watch Age of Ultron even though I need to watch it again to make sure I have the info right!

April 10th, 2014- Washington, D.C.

Beth was getting tired of standing in front of empty graves, but yet again, here she stood, looking at the man whose headstone stood next to her foot.

"Where will you go?" Steve asked.

"I have a few loose ends to clear up. After that, who knows?"

Beth pursed her lips, barely acknowledging as Fury shook hands with her brother before nodding to her. The only way he knew how to say thank you without actually having to speak the words. If there was one thing she knew Nick Fury hated, it was the feeling that he owed something to someone. Especially when that thing was his own life.

"Just don't get yourself killed. I couldn't bear it if you did end up in there after everything we've been through." She warned, unable to completely ignore the man.

They watched as he limped off, Beth sending a silent request to the deities to keep him safe. Once he'd gone out of sight, she turned her focus to Steve. Like her, he was still recovering, the deep cuts on his face only just healed over. He'd woken the morning after bringing him out of the coma and was discharged the next day to the shock of all the hospital staff. Beth's own discharge had happened a day earlier, her own accelerated healing a blessing. Her chest still ached, and she knew it'd be at least another week before she went jumping out of any planes sans parachute, but considering where she'd be if she wasn't a human tank, she wasn't complaining.

She could see the mental scars were hurting Steve far more than the physical ones. As he discussed searching for Bucky with Sam, she found her eyes sweeping over each fading bruise she could see, telling her brain that he was okay, that they were both okay.

"Beth, do you have any ideas where he may be?" Steve asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

She shook her head, even though she could think of at least three possibilities. However, she also know that If Bucky wanted them to know where he was, he would have told them. She sensed he needed time to rediscover himself, and she knew from gut feeling as well as reports of unusual activity at the Captain America museum where he most likely went to do that.

It was three A.M, the air chilly as she dropped down from the vents into the Smithsonian museum. Thanks to their earlier stealing of their uniforms, she knew where all the alarms were, managing to avoid them all as she stalked her way to her destination. There were no guards tonight, the building silent except for the video reels continuing to play through the night. It was there she spotted him, standing in front of the Bucky Barnes display, his back turned to her.

"You know that breaking into places is illegal, right?"

The shock on his face as he spun around was almost comical, the effect dampened only by the gun he pointed at her face. She raised her arms slowly, the wild look in his eyes unsettling her enough to not tempt a bullet to the brain.

"Easy, Solider. I am alone, and I am unarmed. I just wanted to talk. I promise." She said, holding his gaze unflinchingly so he could see she spoke the truth.

She barely breathed until he eventually assessed her threat level as minimal and lowered the gun. She didn't fail to notice the safety still off as he slid it back into his holster. She didn't care, any trust was better than none at all. He was still eyeing her with suspicion, and she lowered her arms, slowly moving closer to stand next to him. Her eyes strayed to the video of him laughing next to Steve and like before, she couldn't resist reaching out to trace it.

"HYDRA had me too for a while, so I know what you're going through to a certain extent. They tried to break me, would have succeeded too if I hadn't found a way to escape."

He remained silent, and she couldn't force herself to look at him. Instead, she kept talking.

"I never knew you were right under my nose this whole time. If I had…"

Her words choked, unable to say anymore. Instinctively, she hugged her jacket tighter, not taking her eyes off the video in front of her.

"You're wearing my jacket."

It wasn't quite a statement, nor was it a question. The fact he'd spoken at all was enough. Sadness ebbing, she gave the tiniest hint of a smile.

"Yeah. This was a spare one you had made for me. You'd even left a letter in the pocket for me to read. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, I only found the note last week when I stole the jacket from that mannequin over there."

He followed her hand, seeing the half-bare mannequin underneath the portrait of a man he knew was himself, yet also a stranger. He felt his lips tug, forcing it back down again. He may be free from HYDRA's clutches, but it didn't mean he was about to let his guard down.

"It must be strange, seeing the face of someone you know is you, but not knowing who they are at the same time."

The fact she'd matched his tone exactly surprised him, until he realised she was as uncertain of him as he was of her. And yet, she'd worked out where he was and come anyway without betraying him to anyone else, and not knowing if he would kill her on sight. Something deep inside settled at the display of trust, a feeling he couldn't place washing over him.

"It's certainly not pleasant."

She crouched down on the heels of his words, sliding her bag from her bag and rummaging through it. His hand hovered over his gun, training overriding the instinct to trust her. She gave a triumphant 'aha!' a second later and pulled out a black notebook and pen. Standing, she held them out to him.

"I know you aren't sure who you are and are probably going to struggle to adjust to everything, so I thought I could try and help in any way I can. I gave Steve a notebook when he reappeared so he could write down all the things he needed to catch up on, and it really helped him find a small purpose in a strange world. You used to be someone who took notes on everything; I figured that part of you might appreciate the chance to do so again. Maybe it'll help you piece everything together."

She glanced away, a faint blush crossing her cheeks as he took the book from her hand. He'd been considering a similar thing already, his only block so far being a lack of money.

"I've also added my phone number in the back. I don't think you will, but if you ever need me for anything, you can contact me and I'll do what I can, okay?"

He nodded, unable to find the right words to say. He watched, her gaze turning sad before she looked back up at him with a gentle smile that tugged at his heart.

"I'd better be heading back. Steve's not the lightest sleeper, but even he will eventually realise I'm not home if I'm gone too long. I truly hope you find the answers you need. You may not remember and you may never again return the sentiment, but my heart and home is always open to you. You need me, I'll be there, till the end of the line."

She didn't wait to see if he understood the weight of her stomach, walking away before he could see the emotion on her face.

"Wait."

She paused, glancing back to see him holding a piece of paper in his hand. She didn't need to look to know it was the letter he'd left in her jacket.

"Keep it." She replied, "It may help."

He nodded once more, sliding it back into the notebook. She reached the exit to the exhibit, stopping one last time to look at him, a gut feeling this would be goodbye for a while.

"I won't tell Steve where you are unless you ask me to. Come back to us when you're ready and don't forget we love you."

The door swung shut before he had chance to respond, leaving him standing in the light of the exhibit, the notebook and faint scent of vanilla the only proof of their encounter.