She spent quite a few years living in Steve's apartment, not wanting to move on just yet. It was 1967 and people were slowly realising she wasn't ageing. She would have to move on soon, she just didn't know if she could bring herself to do it yet.

She walked up the steps to his apartment, brown grocery bags in her arms and the engagement ring hanging on a sliver chain around her neck. She unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside, turning to shut the door behind her.

That's when she saw a ghost.

He stood at the end of the balcony, eyes as sharp as daggers. She dropped the grocery bag in shock before her mind started racing and she slammed the door as he came towards her.

Barnes.

What was he doing here, he was supposed to be died. Fear rose up within her as she heard his footsteps draw closer. She quickly ran for Steve's gun on the bed side table, feeling safer when she grabbed it.

With one swift kick, the front door went flying across the room and Barnes entered. His eyes set on her as she lifted Steve's gun, about to firer a warning shot at his arm.

By the look of it he was set to kill.

She fired the warning shot and the bullet bounced off, however Barnes didn't even flinch. She swallowed hard as Barnes went for her. A clean punch to her jaw and Maria fell to the floor, causing her to drop the gun. Barnes went to grab her but she crawled under him. She quickly stood and ran from the door.

Bang.

The bullet flew from his gun and went through her left shoulder, the force and shock of the hit causing her to land roughly onto the ground.

She rolled over, swallowing the pain down and pushing the tears back. She had never been shot before but god it hurt.

She stumbled to climb up and grabbed the beard knife to throw it at him. He lifted his arm and the knife went into it. He didn't even flinch, pulling the knife out and throwing it back. She ducked and crawled under the kitchen table.

Barnes moved and picked the table up with one hand, throwing it back. He grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up and pinning her against the wall, her toes just brushing the wooden floor. Her hand scrambled for something, anything. She grabbed the glass bowl and slammed it against his head, his grip slipped slightly and he stumbled backwards. She kicked him in the stomach and he dropped her. She fell to the floor, sucking in air and coughing.

She quickly crawled for her forgotten gun then turned, aimed and fired. Straight into his stomach. He winced, doubling over slightly. It didn't seem to hurt him as much as her wound was hurting her.

"What the hell?" Maria questioned, mostly to herself, on how strong he was. She then fired again before Barnes stopping moving. He stared at her like he had just seen a ghost, which in fact she had too. He turned and quickly moved out of the apartment. She walked to where the door used to be, gun pointed at his head as he quickly went down the stairs and disappeared.

She turned, her breathing heavy and her heart pounding in her chest, blood rushing in her ears. She collected her groceries and then grabbed her first aid kit.

She sat at the kitchen table which she had lifted upright off the floor. She cleaned herself up as she thought about what had just happened.

Barnes coming to kill her. He was different, his hair longer but not a day older than when he had died. She frowned in confusion. Of course, he was dead. But how was he just here?

He wasn't like her, like any human. She knew that but how. Why had he come to kill her? How had he survived that fall?

She came to the conclusion of that she needed to find out more about him. She had stayed in touch with Peggy but only slightly. She knew about S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA and the work S.H.I.E.L.D did.

She knew there would be files on Barnes and somehow she would get her answers to how he had survived that fall and why he was after her. It was risky to go in, but she had to. She had to find answers.

The following morning she fixed her door and then made her way to the S.H.I.E.L.D base by following Carter, slipping in after her easily. A whole life of running she knew how to get in and out of somewhere unnoticed.

She slipped past, grabbed the files and thought she was nearly out clean. However, she thought too soon. She rounded the corner and saw her.

Peggy.

Internally she screamed shit as loud as she could, on the outside however, she kept her face emotionless and straight.

She quickly moved past Peggy, turning her head slightly away so the woman wouldn't see her. She knew the agent was good, she just hoped she wasn't as good as Maria had heard she was.

She felt Peggy turn and watch her walk down the corridor, Peggy's eyes boring into the back of her head. She rounded the corner and found the closest exit, wanting to get straight back to Steve's apartment.

An hour later she was sat at the kitchen table with files scattered across the wooden top. She knew she had a limited amount of time before Barnes came back to properly kill her and for S.H.I.E.L.D to realise the files had gone missing. Limited amount of time before Peggy realised who she had seen and got S.H.I.E.L.D to go after her.

She was distance friends with the agent but Maria knew Peggy would do what she had to do.

Maria took a deep breath before opening the first file. It took her an hour and two drinks to find what she was looking for.

James Barnes, died on a mission with Captain Steven Rogers and his body was never recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. The organisation HYDRA had someone called The Winter Soldier. They had used them as their little project, freezing him for later use. She began to wonder if this winter soldier was Barnes.

She found the file about some of the missions S.H.I.E.L.D had access to, especially the soldiers mission to kill her.

S.H.I.E.L.D had a small amount of information on someone who never aged, however they hadn't made a move on her yet.

HYDRA had found out about her, how she didn't age and now they felt threaten.

Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat as she heard footsteps come up the stairs. She moved quickly, grabbing a bag and stuffing her clothes into it. She grabbed her passport and her savings, just enough to create a new life somewhere else. She then grabbed the files and Steve's gun as there was a knock at the door.

"Miss Wilson-Hill?" A male voice called. "This is special agent Hams from S.H.I.E.L.D. Can you please open up? I'd like to have a few words," The man asked politely but Maria knew if she didn't open up they would smash their way through. She glanced out of the back window, spotting the agents moving to surround the building.

She moved into the bathroom, grabbing her other belongings before popping the window open. She climbed out of it onto the ledge. She took a deep breath before jumping down into the open garbage. She moved quickly, climbing out of the garbage and running down the alley to her car.

She had to disappear. Away from her home, away from the city... Away from the memories of Steve. She had to move on.

She threw her bag into the passenger's seat and then climbed into the driver's seat. She started the engine as the agents saw her, running down the alley shouting for her to stop. She quickly drove off into the traffic, planning on finding somewhere quite. Some place away from the city and away from the people. Away from her past.

I'm terribly sorry it took me ages to update; computer was broken but it's all fixed now.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the little Bucky/winter soldier appearance. The next chapter is coming really soon and will be set in the 21st century.

Tell me what you thought, it always makes my day :)