"Circulation of blood to her extremities has been cut off for an extended period of time." Simmons informed hurriedly as she pulled another heated blanket over Lucy's motionless form. "I'm just saying we need to consider the fact that odds are she's already gone."

"She's not gone!" Bucky shouted back defiantly, his tone elevated.

"Bucky calm down." Skye interjected, placing a firm hand on his arm.

"She isn't gone." He reiterated, this time more calmly.

"Look, I want her to pull through, too, believe me. But ignoring the facts isn't what's going to help her." Simmons replied defensively. "I just don't want you making it harder on yourself by getting your hopes up about something that isn't a guarantee."

Bucky shook his head, "I'm not giving up on her. If Steve could make it seventy years in an iceberg, she can make it through this."

"I'm going to do everything I can." Simmons said softly, not knowing what else to say.

"Come on, let's give her some room." Skye said, nudging him along. Reluctantly he followed.

Skye lead the way through the Bus, making her way to the garage. Choosing a section of the metal balcony, she took a seat on the edge, her arms resting on the lower rung of the railing while her legs dangled off the side.

"You can't blame yourself for this." Skye said as Bucky lowered himself to take a seat next to her. She recognized the look in his eyes and knew just what he was thinking.

Bucky sighed. "That's what everyone keeps telling me.

"Well it's true." Skye replied. "You didn't have control over what they did, I mean come on, it's HYDRA."

"I could imagine it pretty well." He said unconvinced. "But I still left her there."

Skye wrinkled her forehead, "If you hadn't, all these kids would be lost. None of them would be able to see their families again." She said looking down at the rows of pods lined up and down the garage floor. Fitz was scuttling between rows, cataloging data on each one. Coulson and May stood off to the side, conversing to themselves.

The two watched in silence for a few moments. Skye glimpsed over to see what he was twirling around in his fingers, and her heart sank when she realized what it was.

"Did she know?" Skye asked softly.

Catching her glance, Bucky looked down at the object in his hands. "One last job and we were done. We said we'd be out." He said soberly. "At least that was the plan. I guess it's my own fault for not taking my chance when I had it; now it looks like I might not get another one."

"I'm really sorry." Skye said, wishing there were something she could say that would make things better.

"So am I." He answered. The diamond gleamed up at him in mocking irony, and he felt his chest tighten. Unable to look at it any longer he shoved the ring back into his pocket with a sigh.

"Wheels down in five." May announced a few hours later, and Bucky sat up in his chair. He turned his face towards Lucy, his eyes lingering over the familiar curves of her face. The way her eyelashes rested lightly against her skin. After he and Skye had returned to the room, Simmons had informed him that once they got back to the base with the rest of her equipment they'd know just how extensive the damage was and what the chances of survival were.

Carefully he unwrapped one of her hands, the skin feeling so warm and full of life from the heat packs, that he could nearly forget the fact that they hadn't been able to draw a pulse on her for the last three hours. Gently, he placed it in his own. "I don't know if you can hear me—wherever you are," Bucky said softly, "but if you can, I need you to fight. Fight to come back to me." He leaned his elbows forward on the bed and rested her hand against his cheek.

"I promised you I'd never give up on you, so don't make me." Wordlessly he retrieved the ring that had been weighing heavily in his mind more so than his pocket. "I told you I'd stick with you till the end, and I promised I'd prove it to you." He said as he slipped it carefully onto her finger. "Come back to me so I can do that."

Bucky felt the plane jostle slightly, telling him they had just touched down. He took a deep breath and let it out, clearing his mind. Knowing Simmons would soon be returning to help move Lucy, he quickly replaced the wraps on her hand and laid it gently back at her side.

"Buck? Is that you?" Bucky heard his name being called out, pulling him from his dozing. He heard it again and drowsily forced his eyes open, his heart jumping when he realized who had called to him.

"Lou." He breathed with a heavy sigh of relief. "You're awake." His mouth turned up in a smile and he worked to rub the sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?" He asked, pulling his chair closer to the head of the bed.

Lucy grimaced as she lifted a hand to her forehead. "A bit like roadkill." She responded, trying to produce a smile. "What did I miss?"

"How much do you remember?" Bucky asked.

Lucy pinched her brows together attempting to think back. "Not a whole lot." She answered weakly. "Strucker had initiated the lockdown in the cryo bay, and I—" Her eyes widened in a flash of panic, "Addy." She whispered, looking up to Bucky with anxious eyes. She moved to get up but Bucky quickly reached a hand out to stop her.

"She's fine." He assured, and watched as she breathed a sigh of relief. "She's been resting most of the time, but Skye's been keeping her pretty well occupied." Bucky handed her a glass of water and she gladly accepted. "Fitz and Simmons found a way to reprogram the pods, so they were able to get the kids out without the HYDRA intel being re-uploaded. Skye's been helping track down their families; they're out dropping off the last one now I believe. "

"But they still don't remember anything?" Lucy noted.

Bucky nodded. "Really, it's probably for the better. They saw a lot of heavy stuff for their age, at the very least, they've got a fresh start now."

"What about Addy? Did they find the youth home she was at?" Her voice wavered and he knew whatever answer he gave would be bittersweet.

"Yes." He responded softly. "But Skye is pretty adamant that she isn't taking Addy back there. She said the woman directing the place shouldn't even have been allowed around kids let alone being responsible for thirty of them." He paused, not wanting to finish the rest, but he knew Lucy would find out at some point.

"She never reported Addy missing. Apparently she's been involved in some less-than-legal matters and didn't want authorities looking into the place." He saw her tense at the words, undoubtedly angry. "Skye said she's seen enough of those kinds of people in her life and she wasn't about to let Addy go back there to grow up the same way she did."

Lucy couldn't respond for a few moments, trying to keep herself from getting worked up. "You know it's funny." She said finally. "Back when I started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in New York, I had a friend who was basically the one to first welcome me and show me around. She was a fairly private person, but she would often tell me about her son, and her eyes would always light up. When the Battle of New York happened, the whole department was set into a frenzy and it was everything we could do to keep people from busting out into the streets.

"She came up to me and told me that she was going out to get her son, and that nothing I said was going to stop her so I shouldn't even try." Lucy laughed. "Of course I had to try anyway. I never saw her again after that, and I never could understand why she was so quick to risk everything." She looked down at her lap. "But I do, now."

"Simmons said the only reason Addy made it at all was because you transferred so much of your own energy to her. If you hadn't passed out first, you wouldn't be here, Lou." Bucky said, wrapping her hand in his own, his eyes showing concern.

"And I'd do it again." She responded, shaking her head. "In a heartbeat, I would." She looked up at him with pleading eyes that made his heart flutter.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked.

She felt a tear roll down her cheek and she lifted a hand to brush it away. "I don't know Buck. But I can't do nothing." Lucy sighed. "She needs someone to look after her, someone who can answer her questions and will understand what she's going through. But what am I supposed to do, I don't know anything about raising a kid." She closed her eyes, feeling defeated and at a loss for solutions.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you won't have to figure it out alone." Bucky replied simply. When she opened her eyes to look at him questioningly, he lifted her hand so she could see. A faint smile crossed his lips as he watched her face contort with realization.