All I can say about the response to my last chapter is wow! I can't believe how overwhelmingly positive you all have been and it's so humbling!

Okay, so please don't hate me for this chapter! It IS emotional. I actually hate writing ones like this because it's too easy for me to put myself in the frame of mind of the character ad I always end up crying. I find it's when I write best though, so I hope you agree.

On with the show.

January 12th, 1944. 107th Army Base, Austria.

Waking up, Beth found herself pressed up against something warm. She raised her head and gave a broad smile to see Bucky's sleeping face, the smile widening further as she raised her hand to stare at the ring placed on it. She couldn't believe that last night truly wasn't a dream. She was officially engaged to Bucky Barnes and she didn't think she could ever feel happier.

As if reading her thoughts, Bucky stirred beneath her and his arms wrapped tighter around her. He let out a happy moan as she pressed against him, her lips grazing his chest.

"Do that again and we aren't leaving this bed." He mumbled.

She giggled and kissed his lips this time, eyes sparkling with an emotion he knew he was the first and would forever be the only person to see. The thought made him grin back at her and pull her closer to him.

"We really need to get up." He whispered against her lips.

Though for the moment, there were no sounds of anybody around, he could see the sun was about to rise, and with it, so would the soldiers. Beth let out a groan of protest, but slid off him to reach for her clothes, knowing he was right. Bucky's breath hitched as she moved over to their discarded clothing, having to close his eyes before the sway of her hips made him do something they would regret if they were caught. Beth glanced over her shoulder and couldn't help but snigger at the controlled expression on his face. She quickly threw her dress on and after a quick kiss, jogged over to the tent she shared with Peggy. The British woman was already awake and gave her a smile that said she knew exactly what the young woman had gotten up to the night before. For the first time, Beth blushed.

"Congratulations" Peggy said, nodding to the ring.

The blush faded to be replaced with a smile of pure joy. Peggy returned it with her own and continued to do so as the American waltzed around the tent, preparing for the mission. It wasn't long before there was a tap on the side of the tent and Morita's head poked through the flap.

"Hey, it's time."

Beth gave him a nod of acknowledgement and reached down to pull on her boots. As she stood, she found Peggy standing behind her and gave the older woman a questioning look.

"Be careful okay? We're so close to finishing this."

Beth wrapped her arms round Peggy, the other woman gladly returning the embrace.

"I will. I just want this war over so I can go home with my brother and marry my fiancé."

Peggy laughed and followed Beth to the awaiting Commandos, both women laughing at the site of Morita, Dernier and Falsworth all leaning against the vehicle with various looks of discomfort.

"Morning gents, drink well?" Peggy greeted.

All three groaned and Falsworth glared at her. Beth sniggered once more, smile widening as a familiar pair of arms wrapped round her from behind. Sighing, she leaned back and rested her head against his chest, feeling his own sigh of contentment blow over her hair. Despite the moment, she could also feel the tension in him and knew he must be feeling the same way she had been all week.

"You're worried too, aren't you Steve?" She asked.

She felt him nod and turned to wrap her arms round his waist, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, I just feel like we shouldn't be doing this." He admitted.

"What makes you think that? Could it be the suicidal plan to zip wire to the train? Or maybe the fact that it could easily be a trap?" she replied, her tone teasing.

Steve couldn't help but snigger and tightened his grip before letting her go. As they parted, Dum Dum suddenly pointed at Beth, his voice booming as always.

"Hold it little missy! Is that an engagement ring?"

At once, the entire group turned their attention to Beth, who stood dumbfounded, unable to move. Next to her, Steve broke out in a wide grin. An arm slid round her shoulders and lips kissed her cheek, making her blush.

"She certainly is guys! No more trying to steal her as she is officially my girl!" Bucky called over.

The next thing Beth knew, she was engulfed in numerous arms, with kisses pressed all over her face, congratulations boomed in her ears and cheers and pats on the back threatening to make her dizzy. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see Bucky receiving the same treatment. Finally, they backed off and it was with lighter steps and renewed energy that they loaded up the truck. Steve turned to face Beth and Bucky, to see the pair smiling at each other warmly, arms wrapped round each other, and couldn't suppress his own smile. He made his way over to them and pulled them both into a hug.

"I'm so happy for you both."

The trio held each other for a long moment before the colonel called out that they had to leave. As soon as they pulled apart, they all fell into their 'mission mode' and climbed into the truck. The ride to their rendezvous point was silent, as each member checked their weapons and made sure they knew their part of the plan. Bucky finished his checks and looked over at Beth, once more smiling at the site of her bent over the map in Steve's hand, one finger tracing the lines of the track.

By the time they were in the Alps, staring down at the train tracks, Bucky was beginning to get the same sinking feeling in his stomach as Steve and Beth, though his was for entirely different reasons. As everyone took their positions around him and Beth crouched down next to Steve, Bucky made his way over to his best friend.

"Remember when I made you ride the cyclone at Coney Island?"

"Yeah, and I threw up." Steve responded.

Beth sniggered at the memory and Bucky absentmindedly reach down to stroke the top of her head, oblivious to the small smile on her face at the simple action.

"This isn't payback, is it?" he asked.

Steve immediately replied.

"Now why would I do that?"

This time, Beth laughed out loud and Bucky shook his head in amusement.

"You were right. Zola's definitely on the train. HYDRA dispatch gave them permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad." Jones said, breaking the moment.

Beth stood from where she was crouched and walked over to the group. Bucky's hand intertwined with her own as always and she held on tightly, more so than usual. This was it, they could finally capture one of the major players of HYDRA. Without saying a word, Steve glanced at Bucky and put on his helmet as he moved over to the zip wire. He, Beth, Bucky and Jones each grabbed a set of handles and they prepared to drop down on to the train. Bucky looked over at Beth, wordlessly asking her if she was sure she was okay to do it, and the look she shot in return made him grin.

"I have this." She grumbled in his ear.

"Just checking sweetheart." He replied.

"Better get moving bugs!" Dum Dum called out, cutting off her retort.

One by one they jumped off the cliff. Heart in her mouth, Beth decided this was the most insane thing she had ever done and as she began shooting towards the train, she had to fight not to scream. This wasn't a ride at the carnival, this was very real and if the slightest thing went wrong, they would die. That included screaming and giving them away. The train drew closer and she sucked in a breath, wanting to close her eyes as she let go of the handle but forcing them to stay open. She dropped heavily onto the metal below and flattened herself down, seeing that the others had done the same thing. The second she did, the other three all snapped their heads round to check she'd made it and despite the wind whipping around them, she could almost hear the collective sighs from her brother and fiancé. She stood up and shakily followed them down the length of the train, until Steve jumped onto the ladder at the final carriage. Jones let her pass him before he took sentry position and Bucky helped her down the ladder, following after her.

As the two men made their way to the end of the carriage, Beth raised her rifle and stood guard by the door they entered. The sound of a door sliding open had her instinctively running to the back of the carriage and Bucky open fired on the soldiers before they could take her out. It was only after she'd hidden behind some metal boxes that she realised Steve had been separated from them ad she let out a curse. Of course it couldn't go smoothly when it mattered. Not missing a beat, her gunfire joined Bucky's and she managed to take down three HYDRA soldiers. In the next carriage she could hear gunfire, but knew she couldn't risk looking to see if Steve was okay. Heart pounding, she continued firing, letting out a yelp as two shots hit the wall behind her inches from her head.

"Are you okay?" Bucky called from opposite her.

She nodded and surprising herself, calmly shot another soldier that was about to take out Bucky. It didn't take long for them to both run out of bullets and their rifles were discarded. Knowing he had a clearer shot, Beth slid him her handgun as his own emptied and he gave her a grateful look, nodding to the ground in a silent order for her to stay down. As she huddled in the corner, Bucky moved over to her and stood so he was covering her. Beth looked up to see Steve at the other side of the door, unharmed, and she blew out a breath, only to freeze again as she heard the unmistakable sound of an empty chamber coming from the gun in Bucky's hand. He leaned as far back as he could against the wall and she could hear his panicked breathing, but she knew it was more in fear of her getting hurt than anything else. As the soldiers drew nearer, she slid out one of her knives and launched it, giving a satisfied smile when one of the men fell to the ground. The moment was short lived as Bucky grasped her shoulder and pulled her back sharply before she could throw another one.

"Buck!"

Her protest was cut off by him shoving her down once more. She dropped to the floor heavily and looked up to see Steve had opened the door and thrown his handgun to Bucky. Her eyes met her brother's and Steve gave her a reassuring smile before rushing forward and slamming his shield into a box, allowing Bucky to kill the soldier when he stepped to avoid being hit.

"I had him on the ropes." Bucky stated as he moved next to Steve.

"I know you did." Steve responded.

Beth rolled her eyes and stepped over to the dead soldiers, searching them for any guns still containing ammunition. She'd barely reached for the first one when Steve cried out.

"Watch out!"

The blast that followed threw her to the far end of the carriage and she let out a grunt as her head collided with the metal behind her. She instantly pulled herself up off the floor in time to see Bucky reach for the shield, Steve laying dazed next to it.

"Bucky!" she called out, darting forward as the HYDRA soldier fired again.

One second, Bucky was standing in front of her, the next second, he was gone. As Steve pulled himself up and took out the HYDRA soldier, Beth dropped to her knees and scrambled to the hole in the train to see if he had somehow managed to avoid falling. Steve darted past her and she could have sobbed when she saw Bucky clinging on to the side of the train. Steve began edging his way out to his best friend, hoping to get to him before the bar he held broke. Beth shakily stood and reached out to follow him.

"Bethie, no!"

"Beth, STAY THERE!"

The two voices halted her movements and she felt tears slide down her face as she caught gazes with Bucky. His terrified eyes looked back at her and she felt her heart stop in horror as he turned to face Steve.

"Hang on!" She heard Steve yell out.

As he drew nearer to Bucky, Beth found herself chanting 'come on, come on'. With one final stretch, she could see his fingers only millimetres away when Steve cried out once more. She wasn't sure whose scream was louder, her own or Bucky's, all she knew was that the bar gave way, sending him plunging into the ravine. At once, her heart and soul exploded, shattering into a thousand pieces. The pain forced her to her knees, red hot tears burning down her face as she gazed numbly at the ground below. She was unaware of Steve making his way back to the train, only realising he was there when he dropped to the ground next to her. He raised his arms, reaching out to her, but she jerked back, unable to accept that her brother, Captain America, had failed. She couldn't breathe, the world turning black around her as her heart continued to shatter. Gasping desperately for air, she turned sorrow filled eyes to her brother, seeing that she wasn't the only one falling apart.

"Steve..." she managed to gasp.

Looking up, he saw her struggling for air and jumped up in time to catch her as the shock and pain combined, sending her into unconsciousness. Struggling with his own grief, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the front of the train, where Jones had cuffed Zola and was now bringing the transportation to a stop. The Howling Commando gave his leader a look of sympathy, his own eyes glassy. Steve placed his sister gently on the floor and Jones was barely able to stop him from launching at Zola.

"Don't! Don't do it to yourself Steve!"

With a grunt, Steve shrugged the other soldier off him and moved back over to Beth. Jones joined him and placed a hand on her forehead to smooth her hair back off her face.

"Think she'll be okay?" he asked quietly, keeping his voice low so the scientist couldn't hear.

"No. she loved him too deeply to ever be okay." was the reply.

Something told Jones that the captain wasn't just talking about his sister and reached out to squeeze Steve's shoulder comfortingly. They sat in silence as they waited for the rest of the group to arrive and when they did, no words were spoken. They were all in stages of shock and grief, and every one of them struggled not to cry, especially when they saw the broken expression on Steve's face as he gazed down at his sister.

Steve felt numb, as if this was all a horrible dream that he would wake up from any minute now. Bucky wasn't really dead, he was hiding out back and was going to jump out any second with that grin on his face that said 'Got ya!'. For hours, he waited. Long after they'd returned to base and tucked Beth up in bed, Steve kept looking out, waiting for Bucky to come running up to them. It wasn't until the sun began to set and there was still no sign that he began to lose hope. When he heard the sounds of Beth's uncontrollable sobs break through the silence of the camp in the middle of the night, he finally felt his legs give out, his own broken cries joining the ones echoing around the subdued camp.

Bucky- his best friend and brother in all but blood- was gone, and he wasn't coming back.