December 21st-Recommended Music: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas-Judy Garland(try to find her version, the newer ones have been rewritten to change the meaning entirely)

Bucky was terrified that he would be captured by HYDRA or SHIELD, but he never imagined himself getting caught by a nun. Perhaps the wine had been too strong, or maybe he had felt too safe in a church basement, but the next thing he knew, somebody was gently shaking him and asking if he was all right.

He groaned and opened his eyes, squinting from the light that poured in through the window. He saw an elderly woman standing over him. She was dressed in a typical nun's habit and had a look of concern on her face. He winced, and used his normal hand to shade his eyes while doing his best to sit up.

"Are you all right?" the woman asked. "How did you get down here? You must have been tired, you slept all the way through Mass…"

"I…used to come down here as a child," he replied, his voice gruff from disuse and too much drink the night before. "I remembered how to get here."

The woman frowned. "You were a parishioner? When?"

"A while back," Bucky said vaguely as he threw off the dust cover and staggered to his feet. He couldn't exactly tell her the truth, though part of him felt guilty for withholding the truth to a nun. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I'll just be on my way…" He took a few steps away from the woman before she called out to him again.

"Wouldn't you like a hot breakfast before you go? And maybe a shower to freshen up?"

Bucky stopped and turned to look at her. He scrutinized her face but saw only earnestness in her wizened features. His stomach growled loudly at the thought of a hot breakfast he didn't have to steal money for. And the idea of a shower did sound nice. It had been quite a while since he'd bathed. "I…I suppose I can stay long enough for that," he finally replied. "But then I have to go."

"Very well," the woman said with a nod of her head. "Follow me and I'll take you to the bathroom." She slowly walked to the stairs and began her ascent. Bucky slowly followed behind her. "I'm afraid I'm not as fast as I used to be," she called out apologetically. "What old age does to the body…"

Bucky followed behind her as they walked towards an area of the church he'd never seen before. The inner sanctum, the living space for the nuns who maintained the church. She led him to a private bathroom. "You'll find everything you need in there. I'll get you some towels and there are supplies by the sink if you would like to shave. I'll also see about finding you some clean clothes from the donation boxes. I'm sure you'd like to put on fresh clothes once you get all washed up."

Bucky nodded and stepped into the bathroom. The nun returned a few minutes later with towels and clothes before leaving him in privacy. He slowly disrobed and stared at himself in the mirror. He couldn't even recognize the scary-looking face he saw staring back at him. He had a long, scraggly beard and his hair was long and matted. Dirt smudged his face and hand and he noticed for the first time how long his finger and toenails had gotten. He felt disgusted with what he saw. There was once a time when he had been very proud of his looks. He had never had a problem attracting women, but who would ever find him attractive now?

He examined his left shoulder. Where his metal arm had been grafted into his skin was inflamed and hurt to the touch. He winced as he tried to move it. It almost always caused him pain, but he usually did his best to ignore it. With a sigh, he picked up a set of nail clippers and began to clean himself up.

Bucky was in the bathroom for over an hour before he was satisfied that he was truly clean again. He had shaved off most of his beard, leaving only a small amount of growth left, to keep him warm and to alter his features from anybody looking for him. He had cut out the matted and tanged hair before using the razor to trim his hair down to a couple inches. His nails were nicely trimmed, his teeth brushed, and he had used half the bar of soap before feeling truly clean.

As he stood in the bathroom, wearing clean clothes, he felt decent again. He could recognize the man who looked back at him in the mirror now. With a sigh, he left the room and wandered around until he stumbled across the kitchen where the nun was waiting for him.

"My, you clean up well," she commented with a smile, her eyes twinkling as she saw him entering the room. "I was beginning to wonder if I needed to send a rescue party in there for you."

Bucky sat down at a table when she directed him to it and his eyes grew big at the plates of food spread out before him. After a moment, he helped himself to bacon, eggs, and a glass of orange juice. "I thought you should eat as much as possible before you leave," she explained. "Who knows when your next meal will be?"

"Thank you," Bucky said in between bites.

"You're welcome," she replied. "And now, how about some introductions? I am Sister Mary Helen. What is your name?"

Bucky thought for a moment. Should he make up a name? Could a first name be enough to give himself away? His name was ordinary enough to not stand out. "I'm James," he finally said quietly, looking at her shyly.

Sister Mary Helen looked at him closely. "Well James, it seems you've fallen on hard times in your life. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"You've done so much for me already," Bucky said before finishing his juice in one gulp.

Sister Mary Helen looked at him even more closely. "You know, you remind me of somebody I used to know. I can't place it, though. It's your eyes…"

James looked at the table, wishing she would stop scrutinizing him. "We have never met before," he replied quietly.

The older woman nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps not," she murmured. "Still, there's a familiarity I can't shake off…"

Bucky was unnerved by the woman's persistence. After finishing his food, he pushed the plate away and stood up. "Well, I should be going now," he said. "Thank you for the food and clothes and the shower. I appreciate it." He turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Are you named after your grandfather?" Sister Mary Helen called out when he'd reached the doorway that led to the hall.

Bucky stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding. He could just walk away and leave her and the church behind him and never look back, but part of him wanted to connect to somebody else again. On top of living in constant hunger, fear, and guilt, he was also profoundly lonely. Nobody else, except for Steve, had ever gone through anything like what he'd endured over the years. To be taken from one time and land in another without having any chance to adjust was difficult and nobody could understand him like Steve could. But he wasn't here now, and this woman could be trusted; he felt that instinctively. He slowly turned around. "I wouldn't know," he said in a near whisper. "I was an orphan."

Sister Mary Helen stood up and walked over to him. She gently grasped his chin and gazed deeply into his eyes for a minute. Her own eyes grew wide as she let go of him. "Bucky?" she asked.

(SCENE)

Bucky sat down at the kitchen table again later that morning, talking with Sister Mary Helen. She'd had to convince him that she wasn't working for HYDRA or SHIELD before he'd allowed himself to talk to her. "I knew you were familiar," she said again. "It's your eyes. I remember them. I remember thinking that you were one of the handsomest boys I had ever seen. You and Steve were the best of friends, always going everywhere together." She had explained about growing up in the same orphanage as them, though she'd been a few years younger.

Bucky looked on with wonderment. Imagine finding somebody else from when he'd been younger. "I never thought I'd meet somebody else I knew," he replied. He'd briefly explained running into Steve, though he left out the Winter Soldier piece for now. There would be time for that later.

"Well, you must stay here," Sister Mary Helen said. "Would you like to stay on as our handyman? There's always something that needs to be fixed around here, and old nuns like us aren't as spry as we used to be. We could use your help. There's a small room open here that you could use as a bedroom. It's not much, but it beats sleeping in the basement or in the streets. You'll be safe here."

Bucky did feel safe from the world here. Nobody would think to look for him here. There was also somebody who remembered him here. Where else could he go? He was tired of running and tired of being homeless. It was time to have a home again. Finally, he nodded his head. "I'd like that."