I meant to update earlier today, but my mom kinda had an ordeal with a pitbull and her car will be in the shop until Wednesday, so I spent the day running around with her getting ready for Easter.

So glad so many of you are enjoying this story so far! The reviews make me smile. Like I said, I wanted to explore more of the psychological aspects of Bucky's situation so this is extremely fun for me.

Review and let me know thoughts, questions, concerns, predictions, etc. I love reading reactions and predictions and will answer any questions :D

Chapter 7

Clara blinked in the darkness, unsure of what woke her up. In the dim light coming from the window she could barely make out the numbers on the clock. Was it 3:30 or 6:15? Early. That's all she knew.

She heard something shift on the other side of the room and shot up to her elbows, squinting at the shadow in the chair. She saw the glint in the darkness and let out a loud breath.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, falling back onto her pillows.

"If Hydra comes looking for me, I don't want them coming after you for helping me."

She was quiet for a second letting that sink in. She was almost too tired to slip into the professional questioning. "You really think this building isn't safe?"

"Did you think that about SHIELD?" he muttered, half asleep as she was.

"Point for you," she grumbled half-heartedly.

"I distrust Hydra more than you trust this place."

"That makes two of us."

"I am thinking more clearly now. Got a few hours of sleep."

"Point for me." Things were silent for a bit and she thought he'd fallen asleep in the chair, head propped up on his flesh hand. His long hair, still wet from the shower she forced him to take, hung limply in his face. "Hey," she murmured. "Talk to Steve."

"No."

"Go back to your room," she drawled sleepily.

"Not gonna let you be my fault."

"Whatever. Don't care." She pulled the blankets up above her head. "I'm going sleeping."

XXX

The second time she woke up, the Winter Soldier was still asleep in the chair in the corner. Out cold. She managed to sneak out of the bed and into the hall, closing the door as far as she dared. "Some assassin. Assassin—maybe. Ninja? No." She wandered down the hall, still in her jeans and t-shirt from the previous day, barefoot.

It was still a weekday, but there was no one on the floor she was on. It was completely silent, seemingly empty. She'd heard both Bruce and Tony do it, but she was hesitant to try. "Uhm, JARVIS?"

"Yes, Dr. Maitland?" The AI's voice echoed gently in the empty hall, and she continued down and away from the sleeping soldier.

"Do you know where Tony Stark is?"

"Mr. Stark is not in the tower. He went home at eight-sixteen this morning."

"Right," she sighed. "Is Dr. Banner still in the building?"

"Dr. Banner is with Steve Rogers down in the Cafeteria."

Clara's blood ran cold and she stared up at the ceiling, running a hand through her hair. "Oh—Uh, JARVIS, where's the cafeteria?"

"Second floor, directly across from the elevators, Dr. Maitland."

"Thank you," she breathed, taking off in a sprint for the elevators around the corner. "JARVIS, let me know when…my friend wakes up."

"Yes, Dr. Maitland."

"Come on, come on." She pressed jammed all the down buttons on the three elevators, jumping into the one that opened first. Eighty-six floors, the chances of him deciding to go down to the second were slim. But then again, with how his life had turned out, unlikely chances seemed to happen to him a lot.

Once the elevator doors got out of her way she shot across the hallway and pushed open one of the cafeteria's swinging doors. It was lighter than she expected and it flew open, slamming into the wall, and she stumbled to a stop, eyes searching the crowded room for Dr. Banner and Steve.

They were sitting in a corner near the doors. The other employees had left the tables around them empty.

Walking up to them, she was aware she was being stared at, but if she didn't stop this, what could happen would be more than a scene. "You can't be here," she panted, pointing at Steve.

"I'm sorry?" He looked up at her, confused.

"Steve, this is Dr. Maitland," Bruce introduced. "She was the head of the medical department at SHIELD."

"And I was a psychiatrist before that," she added. "And I'm working with—with your friend and you can't see him."

"Tony called me and told me he was here," Steve explained slowly, his demeanor shifting quickly towards defensive, eyebrows pulling together in the wake of seriousness.

"Of course he did," she groaned. "But as his current doctor, I'm telling you, you can't see him until he wants to see you."

"He doesn't remember me," Steve tried.

Clara pulled out a chair and sat down. "He remembers you enough to know he's not ready to see you yet."

Steve looked hurt. "Why not?"

"As his doctor, I'm telling you that you can't see him until he's ready," she tried to explain quickly. "But as his friend, trust me, I'm going to try everything I can to get him to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because we've been over Hydra's files—we've been over everything we can find about him."

"No, I mean why are you helping him?" Steve asked, voice strong, face intimidating. "He's killed dozens of people. If you've ready Hydra's files, then you know who he is and what he's done—what he did just days ago."

She flinched under his gaze, but answered anyways. "One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. He was just a freedom fighter for the wrong side."

"Easy to say when you've never fought in a war," Steve said, standing.

"Can you tell me that the Nazis'—mostly innocent people drafted into a war—didn't view you as a terrorist? A mass murderer of their people?"

"Doctor—"

"Clara."

Steve nodded once. "Clara. I can't give up on him."

"I'm not asking you to," she said with a smile. "Just give me—" she bit her lip, trying to measure out the number of days the procedure would take to remove the implants in his head. "—Give me two weeks."

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "Two weeks?"

"He has some invasive technology in his head that we need to remove," Bruce interjected. "It'll take a few days for him to completely recover from that."

"I think they're what's making it hard for him to remember—"

"Dr. Maitland." JARVIS's voice echoed loudly in the cafeteria, silencing everyone. She jumped at the sound. "Your…friend is awake."

"Thank you, JARVIS," she replied. "Please. Just two weeks."

Steve took a deep breath, considering this. He looked to Banner.

"Steve, I'll be here with them the whole time. If you don't trust her, trust me. I'm sure the other guy can handle any situation that could arise," Banner assured him.

Finally, Steve nodded. "Two weeks. I'll be back in two weeks." He slid a folder towards Clara. "I made a copy. A friend gave it to me when I was released from the hospital. I was going to give it to Banner, but I think it'll serve its purpose better with you. It's Hydra's notes on the Winter Soldier program. Straight from Russia."

"And I've got a translator upstairs," Clara breathed with a grin. "Thank you. I'll have Dr. Banner or Mr. Stark call you if anything changes."

She took off again for the elevators, manila folder clutched to her chest. When the doors opened, she was looking into the face of one confused man. "Get back in the elevator," she commanded, pushing against him with her whole weight. They both slammed against the back of the elevator causing it to shake, and she jammed her finger into a high numbered button. Anything to get them moving up.

Immediately she pulled away from him when she realized her hasty actions could have caused a reaction. But although his pale eyes were wild and slightly unfocused, he seemed otherwise calm.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "Is Hydra here?"

"No, no, no," she breathed, laughing. "Steve was in the cafeteria." The Winter Soldier went rigid. "Don't worry, I asked him to leave for the time being. I told him that, as your doctor, I couldn't recommend him coming to see you yet. Not until you give the okay."

She heard him release a breath. "Thank you."

"It's fine," she waved him away, "he understood." With more time, the rushing adrenaline fading, she pushed the actual floor they needed to take them back to their rooms.

The soldier fall back against the wall of the elevator, pushing his hair behind his ears to keep it out of his face. Clara looked down at the file in her hands, unable to read any of the words on the cover. She held it out to him.

"What's this?" He took the file from her and read the cover. "What is this? Where did you get it?"

"Steve had it. He was going to give it to Dr. Banner. He decided to give it to me instead when I explained I'm working with you."

"How did Steve know I was here?"

"Tony called him." She placed both hands on his arms when he turned to stone, eyebrows pulling down, eyes turning menacing. "Hey," she snapped. "He was just trying to be a friend to Steve. Don't take it out on him. He didn't mean to cause harm."

He watched her for a second, relaxing when the elevator dinged. "Right," he nodded.

"Shall we go dig through your Russian biography then?" she asked him with a grin and a flourish, leading him out of the elevator and back to one of the rooms.