The last place Bucky had thought to look for Skye was in the storage closet. But, when he heard muffled sobbing past the door, his thoughts were proved wrong.

He swung the door open to find his soulmate, his beautiful Skye, pushed up against a corner sobbing into her ripped hospital gown.

"Doll?" He questioned tentatively, receiving only sniffles in response. "Skye?" He asked again.

No response.

Bucky walked over to the huddled figure, scooping her into his arms and sitting back down in the corner. She was as light as a feather.

He pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I just wanted to get my own food." She murmured. "Steve wouldn't let me."

Bucky rubbed his calloused hand over her cheek, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Bucky?"

"mhmm?"

"I'm cold."

"JARVIS?" He called to the ceiling.

"Yes Mr. Barnes?"

"Is anyone in the outside hallways?"

"It seems there is no one in the surrounding hallways, Mr. Barnes."

Bucky stood up, Skye still in his arms, and tediously walked the path to the elevator. Once inside, he clicked the button for the 7th floor, and waited patiently for JARVIS to take them up.

"Bruce, what is it?!"

"…"

Steve, getting mad, stormed over towards Bruce to look at the image displayed on the monitor screen. His blood went cold.

"Is that… is that Skye?" In the picture, her face was pale and framed with blood. The brown eyes that he knew so well were cold and hard.

"Do you need me to respond to that Steve?"

He nodded.

"This is the report on Skye when she first joined SHIELD." Steve glanced to the writing underneath the picture.

First name: Skye

Last name: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Threat level: high

Notes: Hostile

"Hostile?" He knew Skye, and she wasn't hostile. "Does it say why she was hostile Bruce?"

"I can ask JARVIS to scan the SHIELD databases, but it'll take a while."

"Ok. That'd be great." His hand reached out to turn the door handle.

"Steve?"

"mhmm?"

"Are you going to tell Tony?"

"I don't know."

"But I'm not tired!" Skye protested as Bucky set her on the bed.

"Then why don't we turn a movie on or something?"

"Can we watch Hercules?"

"Do you need to watch a movie about a God when you could just go downstairs and talk to Thor about his life story?"

"Buckkkyyyyyyyyyy" The once strong and undefeatable assassin gave in to his tiny soulmate and picked up the remote. Skye grinned.

"On one condition." He held the remote just out of her grasp. "You let me call Steve and have him come and watch with us." She moaned.

"But – "

"No buts! No Steve, no movie." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. She gave him her best doe eyes.

"Please?" she blinked at him, her long eye lashes distracting Bucky from his plan.

But only for a second.

"Nope." He popped the p.

"Pleeeeaaaaassseeeee?"

"Skye, you know my answer."

"Butidontwanthiminhereidisappointedhimearlierhedoesntdeservetohavesomeoneasbrokenasme."

"What?"

"I'm going to sleep."

"Ok…?" Buck took his leave, but he still had some questions.

"JARVIS can you take what Skye said earlier and slow it down?" He asked the AI, once he was out of earshot.

"Yes, Mr. Barnes. I have the recording; do you want me to play it back?"

"That'd be great. Thanks."

"At approximately 3:21 PM, Ms. Skye said, "But I don't want him in here I disappointed him earlier he doesn't deserve to have someone as broken as me" JARVIS recited, robotically.

Bucky's heart dropped. Skye was pushing him, pushing them, away because she thought they needed someone better. Didn't she know that she needed someone better?

His mind raced through what he should do – how he should respond, and realized the conversation Skye had been dreading was the only way to help her. He had to call Steve.

Steve really had no idea what he was doing. He was still grappling with his new knowledge regarding Skye, whilst also trying to find both her, and Bucky, whom had mysteriously missed his training session. They were probably together, he knew that, but he was waiting for someone's call to let him know he was wanted there.

He looked around the room he was in. Somehow, he had managed to travel from the science labs, on the 5th floor, to the kitchen, on the 9th floor.

"Captain Rogers," JARVIS's voice made him jump, "Sergeant Barnes requested that you come back to your residence. He says it is about Ms. Skye, but wanted to clarify that it is not urgent."

"Ok. Tell him I'll be up in two minutes."