Wakanda - Lower Lagoon Sitting Area
Very Late At Night
The bird calls had calmed down after sunset, but now the sounds of strange insects had taken their place. And they were almost drowned out by the roaring sound of the waterfalls across the way. Teagan had found herself a place to sit on a rocky outcropping, her legs dangling over the side. She was just above the water's height and it would be perfect for diving into the swirling pool.
The spot was further away from the villa than she had dared to go last night. But since nobody had stopped her then, and after spending the day with the group, she didn't think that she would get in trouble as long as she didn't try to run again. And with it being so late at night, she had the place to herself...
"It's nice out here, isn't it?"
Teagan heard from close behind her, startling her into almost falling forward off the rock and into the cold water of the waterfall's lagoon. Whipping her head around, she found Bucky standing only a few feet away, dressed for bed just like she was but with his hair wet as if he'd just showered.
His face took on a very sheepish grin, "Sorry. Out of everyone here, I'm the one that should be the most conscious of not sneaking up on you. And not only because of who I was...am."
Her body began to quickly calm down from the sudden fear rush at not finding active Hydra soldiers having snuck up behind her.
"I would have jumped no matter who startled me," she told him.
Motioning with his hand, he indicated the area nearby her to see if it was fine for him to sit. Nodding her head, she silently agreed.
"Still. Just make sure you yell at Steve and Sam if they accidentally do the same. Don't let them get off this easy," he told her after taking a seat just over an arm's length away on her right. She didn't know if he did that on purpose so that he did not frighten her, or so that she had nothing of him to easily grab a hold of. It was a strange mutual fearful respect.
After a long stretch of strange silence, she asked, "Not tired?"
"After the race I just had with that slowpoke Steve, I'm fully awake. Besides, I'll be getting plenty of sleep starting tomorrow morning," Bucky told her, causing the same nervous tension she had felt at first hearing that he was going back into the cryo chamber. The danger that it would put him in, and how she could never do the same. Her fear of being taken back to that place, to Keeling, was too great a risk. She was almost worried for Bucky. He really was the only other one in the group who could understand what she had gone through.
"How can you do it?" she quietly asked.
"All I have to do is stand still. It's pretty easy," his voice had a hint of humor in it.
"No," she practically sighed in annoyance. "How can you put yourself into a situation where you will have no control, or the ability to run if Hydra came for you? They could show up in a week, and you'll just be trapped there while they load you into a truck to take you away. You'd never even know, and by the time you did, it would already be too late. You would be their tool again."
Bucky gave a heavy sigh, probably at hearing her own fears transposed onto him.
"I've had the same thoughts, fears. But right now, with what was done to me, I already don't have any control. I need to start trying to take my life back from them. Hydra has consumed my existence far more than it ever should have...the same goes for you. When they began to turn me into the Winter Soldier, they removed everything that made me a person. They stripped me of my conscious, down to my memories which made me who I was. For the past two years since Steve set me free, I've slowly been getting a life back, but my mind is still not my own to control. As long as those damned words are inside of me, I'll always be theirs. If there is the chance that Shuri can remove them, then I have to hope that T'Challa will be able to keep me safe until then."
"But you don't even know him, if I understood the stories that I've heard today," she pointed out.
"You're right, I don't," he admitted, picking up a small pebble and tossing it into the water below. "But from what you now know of him, do you think that when he says something that he honestly believes it will happen?"
Teagan stared out over the water, watching the current wash away the ripples from the stone.
"He's the king, or whatever. Just because he wants something to happen doesn't mean that outside forces won't try to alter it. Just because he thinks he can stop Hydra doesn't mean that he can."
"With some of the technology that I've seen around here for the past week or so, I believe that they can," he told her. "I guess I'll just have to have faith."
Teagan didn't mean to give the loud disapproving snort at his comment. Bucky turned a raised eyebrow her way, looking for an explanation.
"Faith is not something that exist for me anymore. I prayed for years that somehow one day, someone, anyone, would find me and free me. It never happened. My belief in any type of faith is not what it once used to be."
"That doesn't mean that you can't find it once again," he said. "The freedom you wanted might not have been inside of the timeline you were hoping for but Steve did find you and look where you are now. You are free from Keeling and Ross and have a group of friends that will make sure that it stays that way."
"Only until they get scared of me," her voice was just above a whisper.
She was not even sure if Bucky had heard her until he spoke.
"Between the two of us, I'm pretty sure that if they were scared of one of us that it would be me," he pointed out.
"Says the man about to be locked away in the morning," she contradicted.
Bucky turned to look at her again with a grin, "See, so you have nothing to worry about."
She couldn't help but give a slight laugh at his dark humor.
"Besides, that punk Steve unfortunately has never been scared of anything. Not even Hydra. Hence, all the trouble he can get himself into."
It was almost comical that she was listening to someone describe Captain America without all the gushing accolades that were usual. Bucky had actually known him since childhood, and knew him on a different level than anyone else alive.
"And, that pesky Wilson fellow...he'll blindly follow Steve anywhere," Bucky's words may sound harsh, but there was a lightness in his voice that told another story. After seeing the two of them going at each other today, she'd guess they liked annoying each other. "You'll have to keep them both under control. Actually, yell at Steve with that same accent that his mom had and that should help."
Looking over at him, Teagan remembered something from the Raft.
"You know, when they came into my cell on the Raft, Sam basically told Steve that they should just leave me there, thinking I might be dangerous. But for whatever reason, Steve decided to take me with them."
"Sam not agreeing with Steve? That has to be a first," Bucky chucked another rock into the water. "But knowing Steve, if he had not taken you and later found out about your history, I can easily see him breaking back into the Raft just to get you out."
"Really?" she was a bit shocked to hear that. "Why? I'm a nobody. He doesn't know me."
"Steve can't stand to see others hurting. It's part of why we're in some of this mess," he told her while glancing down at his missing limb. "He'll try to keep others safe, even if it risks..." he paused for a few seconds. "You know what? Never mind. I'd never actually speak bad about Steve. He just tries too hard to make everything right and sometimes that's not possible."
Others had told her a bit about what started their in-group dispute, but his words sounded like there was more to it. But Teagan knew that if he wanted her to know more about what had happened to bring them all there, then he would tell her. But maybe it was too fresh in his own mind to deal with.
"But as I was saying, I'm pretty sure Steve would have gone back to the Raft for you. Learning what you would have been through and that he had left you there...it would have haunted him. I'm glad that they did find you though. Anyone who has been hurt by Hydra needs a chance at a new life."
Listening to him, Teagan knew that her original assumption of Bucky was way off. He was damaged and hurt, just like her, which made him all the more cautious. She couldn't fault him for that, especially since she still was worried about fully trusting this new group.
"You know, yesterday on the patio, when I dared Steve to let me question him, I thought you were a bit mean," she told him, getting a look of curiousness from him. "But I realized later on that you were the only one of the group to really see the danger that your friend was possibly putting himself into."
Bucky's lips pressed together, as if he wanted to admit to something but was hesitant. Instead, he tossed another pebble away.
"Go ahead, tell me," she offered.
"I was worried that even though you seemed calm, that you might lash out at him and somehow kill him," Bucky admitted. "I think the others were more curious to see your powers in action and not considering the danger involved with them."
"If I had done something to Steve, would you have killed me?" she calmly asked. She wondered if he would be honest with her.
"Not until after I prevented Steve from doing whatever you commanded and then had you fix him."
Giving a slight laugh, he glared at her so she told him, "I was expecting a different answer, a nice lie to make me feel better. Not the actual truth."
"What's the point in lying to you? You'd just get the truth out of me, if you wanted to," he told her. "You'll find that Steve will probably do the same. Sam too. So if you want the sugarcoated lie, let them know."
Looking over at him watching the waterfall, she decided to ask, "Would you like for me to try and see if my powers can override whatever Hydra did to you? The command would have to be worded just right for it to work."
Bucky's eyebrows raised as he glared over at her. She knew that there was no real trust between the two of them, but she should at least offer. She might be free of Hydra, but it sounded like he still was not.
"Even Shuri does not fully understand what they did to me, manipulating my subconscious, as she described it. Did they ever have you doing that kind of testing?" he said sounding curious, maybe a bit hopeful.
Giving a shake of her head, "I heard the doctors mention that I 'overrode the consciousness.' They never mentioned the subconscious. And I don't think they considered that with any of their test."
Bucky picked up another stone and tossed it away, "Then the only way to see if it would work would be to try and activate my programming."
"What exactly does that mean?" she asked. "I know the others mentioned the fight and your escape in Germany, but I don't understand why it was different for you."
Bucky sighed heavily, as if considering to even tell her.
"Hydra figured out a way to push my mind to the side, so that only a blank slate is left. The person in charge of me, the one that speaks the proper words, then fills my blank mind with their own commands, like in Germany. The fake doctor instructed me to free myself from the containment facility at any cost, using the helicopter to escape. I took out any guard, any agent, any Avenger that stood in my way...including Steve."
"You fought with Captain America? Your best friend?" she asked knowing she sounded a bit star-struck. She'd grown up hearing stories about how mighty Steve was.
"Thanks to Hydra, I've actually fought him a couple of times," Bucky had a small smile going. "Like I said, the punk just can't seem to keep himself out of fights."
"Well, isn't that what Captain America is supposed to do?"
"I guess so since I don't see him stopping any time soon. So, even if you tried to command me to ignore the words, the only real test would be to activate me, putting me into someone's control. I can't go through that again without knowing for sure it worked, even if it was Steve who would be in charge. And it could be too much of a risk to everyone if it didn't work. I can't willingly let myself be put through that."
Teagan knew where Bucky was coming from what that comment. Just like she was worried about this group tricking her and then using her powers for their own benefit, he was worried about falling into someones control again. So much so he couldn't even risk it being Steve, the one person he was sure to trust.
"I think that having Shuri and her computers see about having them removed instead would be for the best," he told her. "Thanks for the offer though."
Bucky sounded sincere and she understood his hesitations when it came to her powers. She just smiled and nodded her head as a deep yawn took over.
"I better head on to bed," she told him, moving to stand up. "I hope that you'll be safe here and that everything goes as you hope with the..." she wiggled her fingers at her head to indicate his.
"Like I said, I have faith that it will. And don't worry about yourself, Steve and Sam will keep you safe."
"We'll see," she told him, giving a simple wave of goodbye as he picked up another rock and plunked it into the water.
Wakanda - At The Villa
Late The Next Morning
Hanging out on the patio alone, Teagan tried to cautiously watch the rest of the group in the den talking with Steve. He and T'Challa had returned to the villa a short time ago after having left early this morning with Bucky. He had informed the group that Bucky was now in the cryo-chamber asleep and that the procedure had gone off without a hitch. Bucky was now where he felt safe from Hydra, or anyone else who wanted to control him.
Even after their talk last night, there was no way she would ever consider doing something like that. He must have a lot of trust in T'Challa and his guards if he felt safe enough to sleep like that.
Hearing the patio door open, she looked over to see Shuri walking out towards her carrying a backpack similar to what some of the others had. When she reached her, with a large grin Shuri placed it down on the short table in front of the couch she was sitting on before sitting in the chair next to her.
"What's that?" she asked.
"These are just a couple of things that I figured you might need until you can get settled at the safe house," Shuri told her.
"Things?" she didn't understand.
"Well, after talking to my brother, I know that you don't have any spare clothes," she was still smiling at her. "These should all fit you and since I know where you are going, they will be appropriate for the weather there this time of year."
Teagan stared at the bag not really believing what she was hearing.
"For me?" she had to ask.
Knowing they were leaving today, she had gone in search of the prison uniform to put back on since she was only borrowing the clothes she had been wearing. But the servant had informed her that it had been disposed of, making her have to wear the nice outfit she currently had on. She had been planning on asking Sam about what to change into so that she was not accused of trying to steal the garment.
"Only if you like them," Shuri was now smiling at her. "They're not much but at least you'll have something until you have a chance to go shopping for yourself."
Giving her head a shake, she started to say, "Oh, I can't do that, I don't have…"
But Shuri raised her hand for her to stop.
"There is also a considerable amount of cash funds in there that should last you for quite a while. Just a small way of trying to make up for what you've been through."
"I don't want your money," she firmly told her, hating the idea of having to take charity.
"Don't worry, it's not mine," Shuri's smile then turned a bit devious. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone. "I hacked one of Hydra's older small accounts, just under twenty thousand US dollars, and had it zeroed out. I then ran it through a bank in Korea, exchanged the funds in Dubai, finally had the American cash sent here. It's untraceable and all yours."
Teagan didn't understand why she had done that for her or what to do to show her appreciation.
"Thank you," she finally managed to tell her.
"Just be careful out there and look out for Steve and Sam. Bucky was worried this morning about him going back out with the colonizers, scared that he was going to get himself caught."
"Watch out for Captain America?" she asked, remember how Bucky had asked similar last night. "I'm pretty sure that they're just going to dump me at the safe house until Natasha can do her thing with my records."
Shuri glanced over her shoulder at where the group was now standing and gathering up their own carry bags. She took it as the sign it was time to go.
"I'm sure that you'll have at least some kind of adventure," Shuri told her while grabbing the offered bag and holding it out for her to take. Taking it from her, she tossed it over her shoulder.
Shuri then did something unexpected.
She held out her hand for Teagan to shake.
Her eyes darted back and forth between the hand and eyes of the girl who did not look nervous at all with the offer.
"Are you sure?" she had to ask.
"Yes," Shuri nodded her head. Taking her hand, they exchanged a simple handshake. "It was nice to meet you Teagan."
Releasing each other, they turned towards the doors and found they had been being watched by Sam and T'Challa, both of whom had smiles of approval at the gesture.
Over The Atlantic Ocean
On The Quinjet
So far their trip had been very quiet and uneventful, just how Sam had hoped that it would go. Teagan was across the jet from him, listening mostly to the others but not contributing to the conversations. It seemed that she was still a bit more cautious of them this morning than she had been yesterday. Maybe it had to do with the change in location.
They were about half way across the Atlantic when Clint asked Steve if he'd heard from Thor since he had left after the Ultron incident.
"No, and as far as I knew, neither had Tony," he admitted. "The last thing that he told us was that he was going to be looking into the Infinity Stones. He did not seem happy that four of them had shown up in the past few years."
"Four?" Clint asked him as he thought about something. "I know about three of them, but what is the fourth that he knew about?"
"The Power stone, but he only knew that it had been found somewhere else, not here on earth," Steve told him. "But we know that Vision has the Mind stone, and that Jane Foster had been possessed by the Reality stone for a short time before being hidden away. And then there is the Tesseract that Thor took back to Asgard with him."
"Tesseract?" Teagan's curious voice made all their heads turn towards her.
"You've heard of the Tesseract?" he asked her.
Seeing all eyes once again turned on her, she was hesitant before telling them,"Yeah."
He could already see that she was growing nervous as if being scrutinized.
"Teagan," he said getting her attention back on him. He had already noticed she did better in one-on-one conversations sometimes. "What do you know of it?"
"I was at the same base it was at for a while," she told them.
"What!?" Clint's voice was suddenly raised, now making all turn towards him. He stood from his seat, stepping over and crouching down before her. "You were at the Dark Energy Mission facility in the Mojave Desert?"
Teagan began to shake her head in response, "I don't know where I actually was. To me, it was just another base like all the others. I was there to question scientists about the Tesseract and gain their loyalty to Hydra over Shield or NASA. Even if they weren't Hydra, they still passed along information to them unwillingly, thanks to me. They were commanded to share reports on their findings but then for forget doing so."
"So Hydra had their hands in almost everything it would seem," Nat told them, rolling her eyes a bit.
"Would you be able to guess about how long ago you were there or for how long?" Clint asked her.
"I would guess it was a couple of years ago for a few weeks," she told the interested group, but he could see her focusing more on Clint. "That was the only time I actually thought I was going to die."
"Why? What happened?" Sam asked her.
"Because of how Hydra got me out of there," she looked over at him. Looking back at Clint, "Something happened while I was sleeping in my cell. Alarms started going off, waking me up. There were lots of shouts and footsteps from the hallway. After a while, guards came into my cell and unchained me from the wall. I thought they might take the time to do the normal transportation ritual. Instead, they had brought in a large box with a Shield logo on it. A gag was already in place, along with my arms being bound and they forced me inside the box, locking it down."
Sam listened intently to her tale, but then his mind registered that Teagan said that she had been chained to a wall...and that she sounded as if that was normal.
"That had to be the night that the Tesseract started going haywire and Loki showed up," Clint jumped in to supply a part of the story she didn't know about. "The base was ordered to be evacuated and there were so many boxes being loaded up that nobody would even notice one more."
"What happened next?" Steve asked her.
"I was carried out of the building and put into a vehicle. After we started moving, there was a deafening noise and the box was tossed about, maybe the entire vehicle. I think we might have crashed as the box rolled around before finally stopping. I don't know what exactly happened but it got quiet for a while. After a couple of minutes, I had a hard time breathing. That's when I realized the box wasn't letting in any air. I'm sure that I passed out because suddenly Keeling was there, slapping my face to get me to wake up."
"What a charming man," Scott then stated with disdain.
"I was there that night," Clint then told Teagan. "Actually, I had been assigned to watch over things for a few weeks just before the Tesseract started acting up. I had no idea that you were even there."
"I think that was the point," she tried to joke.
For the rest of the flight, Sam moved to sit over next to her and they talked a bit more about her unique ordeals with Hydra. There had not been any other incidents like the one with the Tesseract. He could only imagine how scary it had to have been for her being locked in that dark box not knowing if anyone was going to get her out before she suffocated in there.
Every time she spoke of a specific incident with Keeling, he could hear her voice waver slightly with fear before turning to anger. There had been so many types of mental and physical abuse he had done to her, but Sam felt that there might be a bit more. Eventually, she admitted to him that Keeling's favorite word to describe her to anyone had been 'tool'. He remembered how upset she had seemed at hearing Shuri use it the other morning when speaking about Bucky. He would let Steve know so maybe they could avoid the word for a while until they had more time to work through her issues with it.
Touching the Quinjet down in the field near Clint's house, there was no way for him to hide the smile at finally being home. He and Nat did a quick surveillance around the property and returned saying that none of their security measures had been tripped. Sam had figured as much otherwise they would have geared up for a fight.
"Want to come in and say hello?" Clint asked as the three of them grabbed up their bags.
"No. I'm sure Laura would just reprimand me for calling you away," Steve jokingly answered for the rest of them. "Besides, Scott is more than anxious to get home so I'm not going to make him wait any longer than he already has. We still have a couple of more hours flying ahead of us. "
Clint and Steve shook hands and Wanda gave Steve a hug. Nat just nodded her head at the two of them, knowing that she would be joining them in a few weeks. It was at one of her safe houses where they would be landing at tonight.
The trip to San Francisco was short compared to how long they had been cooped up inside this tin can. Scott exited with a smile and actually said that if they really needed him to give a call. They had landed just outside of the city and Scott had changed into his suit during the flight. Stepping onto the grassy park area, he waved at them before shrinking out of sight. Teagan gave a startled gasp at seeing his powers used again, finding it still as amazing as the first time. They had offered to get him closer to home but he said that he could find a ride and needed to check it out before revealing himself.
Since the jet was already cloaked, Sam decided to give them a small break.
"Teagan? Ready for the five cent tour?" Sam called out over his shoulder.
"The what?" Teagan asked coming to stand with her hand on the back of his flight chair.
"Take a look," he pointed out the window at the approaching prison island. "I'm sure that even in Ireland that you've heard of Alcatraz, right?"
"Yes, but I never knew it was so large," she said. "Why does it have so many little buildings?"
"That was for the guards and their families to live in back when it was an active prison. They had a shuttle boat that would pick the kids up in the morning and take them to a mainland school."
"How do you know this?" Steve now asked from his other side.
"Between going on missions, there's this thing called a vacation that a lot of people actually enjoy taking. Not everyone enjoys moving from one world ending event straight to another," he teased him and getting a chuckle out of Teagan. It was probably one of the first ones he'd ever heard her make...and he liked the sound of it.
"And here I was always thinking that they were a myth, smart aleck," Steve shot back at him.
"Think of it this way, Steve. I've been locked away for how long and one of the first places he decides to show me is another prison," Teagan pointed out with some mirth in her voice.
Hearing her say that did make his stomach lurch knowing she was right. But he did feel her pat his shoulder so he didn't think she was actually upset with him.
"Well, that officially ends this tour," Sam said pulling the jet back towards the west. He did finish with a fly-under of the Golden Gate Bridge, pausing to watch a couple of workers currently repainting a section of it, suspended far above the cold, choppy water in harnesses.
Now, it was just the three of them for the next few hours heading back north-east to some small town in South Dakota. Nat had given him the coordinates of a house close to a small lake far outside the town. The nearest neighbor was just over five miles away, giving them plenty of open area and freedom to move around in. There was a small cluster of trees ringing the entire property, perfect for hiding the jet behind. They grabbed their bags and walked the short distance to the old house. It was the quintessential county farmhouse that looked suspiciously a lot like Clint's, only smaller.
"This is where we are staying?" she asked as they reached the front porch.
Looking around, Sam found there was not a lot to see, mostly open fields with a scattering of trees everywhere. The nearest road and driveway were dirt, with the closest paved one even further away than the neighbor.
"For a while at least," Steve told her as he lifted part of the siding to reveal a hidden hand-print scanner. Nat had inputted all three of their palms so they could access the house.
The inside was exactly what he would expect from being out here. Simple comfortable looking furniture, minimal extra items, but a nice television and dish setup that they had been told had a secure link to a private network that they could also access if they needed to chat with Nat and Clint.
"Too bad we're not closer to a bigger town, I could go for a pizza," Sam commented putting his bag down on the stairs.
"Maybe there's at least a place in town we could try to get one from tomorrow night," Steve said as he began a sweep of the ground floor.
Teagan was cautiously looking around everywhere, as if…
"Expecting someone to pop out from behind the sofa and yell 'surprise'?" Sam joked with her.
Getting a single, hard grunt from her, "No, more like 'hail Hydra.'"
He heard Steve's steps falter at her horrible words. He then appeared from the opposite side of the stairs that were located in the center of the house.
"Teagan, you are safe here. We all are. Nat would never send us somewhere she felt would have been compromised," Steve tried to reassure her.
"I know that you feel that way, but…I just can't. Not yet," she told him glaring right into his eyes.
Sam could see a bit of sadness growing in them knowing how Steve hated that she was being honest.
"Give it some time," Steve told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hydra is not what they used to be. I doubt there is even a single agent in all of South Dakota."
"Hell, there's hardly anyone in South Dakota," Sam mumbled under his breath as he grabbed his bag to head upstairs. Turning back to her, "Come on, Teagan. Let's go get the best bedrooms before Steve has a chance to claim them."
"Hey!" Steve called out from behind her as she quickly followed him with a smile. At least it seemed she wanted to have some fun.
At the top of the stairs, they found a large bathroom to be shared with two smaller bedrooms, each having a single bed in them. The third bedroom was just large enough for the double bed and had its own bath.
"You take this one," Sam indicated the larger one. "Steve and I can share a bath and this one will give you some privacy."
"Are you sure?" she asked looking into the room again.
"You need your own private space more than either of us do," he told her simply knowing that she would appreciate it more than he or Steve would. "I'll take this one so that if you need me all you have to do is hit the wall to get my attention. How does that sound?"
Teagan gave a light blush, making the speckling of freckles across her cheeks stand out a bit more.
Footsteps coming up the stairs drew their attentions away from each other as Steve approached.
"I'm going to do a walk around the immediate area so that I know what's out there. Want to join me Sam?"
"Yeah," he said tossing his bag onto the single bed next door. Pointing across the small hallway, "That's the worst room we could find, so it's yours."
Steve rolled his eyes at the comment but put his bag just inside the door.
"Can I walk too?" Teagan asked putting her own bag on the bed.
"Sure," Steve told her. "It's a good idea to know your surroundings just in case of an emergency."
"Do ya have a lot of emergencies?" she asked as they both followed Steve back down the steps.
"My entire life since meeting Steve has been one emergency after another," Sam told her, earning a groan from Steve. "It's my job to keep him out of trouble."
"Then why were you the one in the prison cell?" Teagan asked getting a hearty laugh from Steve.
"Laugh it up now, ground-pounder, but trust me on this, Teagan. He can't keep himself from getting into trouble even when trying," Sam stated pulling the front door closed behind them as they headed into the yard to look around their new temporary home.
Somewhere in South Dakota
Natasha's Safe House
Later that night, all three of them were sitting at the table eating the meals-from-a-bag that Nat had plenty of stocked away in the pantry. There was also cases of bottled water. If they really wanted to keep eating this stuff, they could spend weeks here without leaving. Luckily none of them felt that way as they ate.
"We have got to go into town tomorrow and get some real food," Sam commented as he grimaced with each bite. "I thought that when I got out of the military that I would be free from eating these nasty things."
"Trust me, these are not that bad compared to some of the stuff we ate before and during the war," Steve took another bite of his second packet. She had learned that his body required a bit more food than normal people.
"Teagan, you agree with me, don't you?" Sam asked.
"I've had worse," she told him, taking a bite of the chicken pasta packet, "but it is better than a protein liquid being unwillingly shoved through a tube up your nose and down your throat."
Sam actually looked a bit pale at the comment, his eyes going wide at not having thought about what he was asking but she guessed that she had not put enough of a lighter tone into her words.
"Sam, relax. I was trying to joke with you," she told him.
He seemed to visibly relax at hearing that, saying, "We really need to practice on your humor then, starting tomorrow."
"The two of you can see about going grocery shopping tomorrow," Steve said. "I'm not going to take the chance of being spotted. My face has been all over the news since Berlin."
"How safe is it out there really?" a few moments later Teagan asked, stopping the two of them from eating.
"You have nothing to worry about," Steve told her with all sincerity, putting his meal on the table. "Your image has never been released to the public and so there is nobody actively looking for you. Even if Ross wants to search for you, to put out a notification he'll have to admit to illegally holding you on the Raft, which would get him into trouble big time. And if he does that, Nat's already set up a program to notify us. We'll be ahead of him at every turn. You will never see the Raft again."
"You sound very confident about that," she told him.
"Steve always sounds like that but the best part is that he means it," Sam told her, making Steve blush a bit with the praise. "Nat told me that the nearest town is fairly small but there is a larger one just a bit further away. Being closer to the interstate, they are used to lots of people passing through. We'll head there first."
After a full day of traveling and then having a full stomach, she decided that a hot bath then heading to bed early sounded wonderful. The short walk around the property with them had tired her out more than she was willing to admit, but she was trying to hide it so she didn't seem so weak to them. While Sam and Steve chatted about trying to work out a jogging path for them to use in the morning, she excused herself telling them of her plan.
Since the house had a small layer of dust covering most items, she took a moment to give the bath tub a quick scrub before filling it. Sitting in the hot water, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she had a bath. Even at the villa there was only a shower. Having this bathroom all to herself, as Sam had suggested, was indeed nice. She bent her knees and let her body slip all the way under the water.
Running her hands over her submerged head, she felt the short hair barely gliding through the water. When she used to do this years ago, her long red hair floated everywhere. Even after just spending a few days with Sam and the others, she no longer feared that even if they locked her back up that they would not chop off her hair.
Drying off and standing in front of the mirror, she began to run her hands through the wet, short strands. The longest areas were probably the length of her fingers and the slight curl that had always been there still was. But there was no mistaking that her hair had not been properly kept up with for a while.
Maybe tomorrow while she and Sam were in town she might be able to do something about that.
Author's Note: Ground pounder - slang term for enlisted Army guys used to insult them. Thanks for the positive reviews! I know that a lot of you were curious as to Teagan's ability when it came to helping Bucky. I hope that this answered your questions. I wanted the story to fit into the space between the movies, and my reasoning helped with that. The next few chapters will be them getting to know each other with a bit of a hiccup.