A/N: Hi all,

Here is the latest chapter. Common sense tells me that I probably should've read it through a few more times for corrections, but I was too eager to post it, so I apologise for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Also, once again, thanks for the reviews – you guys are so kind!

Anyways, I hope you like it.

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He was bored.

So, so bored.

As it turned out, when you didn't spend your days running and hiding from HYDRA, the day became pretty empty.

He had already occupied himself with all his usual activities: his routine window surveillance, some reading, and a hefty workout routine – the bulk of which had been achieved by improvising actual weights with various pieces of Grace's furniture…

And now, he had nothing. Especially since he had finished the book she had given him.

Despite his original reticence, he actually found himself enjoying the history lesson. If nothing else, he enjoyed the power the new knowledge gave him. HYDRA had kept him in the dark – he was only permitted to know and think the things that they set down for him. For as long as he could remember, the only version of truth he'd had was what they had told him.

And as it turned out, HYDRA's version of truth was nothing but lies.

Knowing new things, knowing facts – it strengthened him somehow, made him feel more in control.

Glancing at the clock, he let out a sigh. Grace was late. She'd told him that she would be back by 4:30 – and yet, here it was: 4:35 – and still no Grace.

He'd had his suspicions when she went for her run the day before, but now he was certain. He wasn't a big fan of Grace's apartment. It was her that made it liveable. He wasn't sure if it was because being along in an enclosed space reminded him too much of his designated area at HYDRA, or whether it was just because being alone in her apartment got really boring, really quickly. Either way, Grace needed to come home. Soon.

It was another 10 minutes before the door opened and Grace stumbled into the apartment, arms laden with shopping.

Immediately he was up and taking the items from her. She smiled at him graciously before opening her mouth to say something. He stopped her before she could.

"You're late"

She laughed slightly, and he frowned at her as he awkwardly stood holding her shopping.

"15 minutes barely qualifies as late" she replied easily, leading him to the kitchen. "Just dump those there…" she added, gesturing to the table.

He wanted to tell her that 15 minutes was indeed classified as late, but she continued talking before he could press the issue.

"So, what did you do all day?" she asked as she began sorting through her purchases.

He shrugged before answering, "Not much. I finished that book you gave me. Other than that, there's not really much to do." He decided he'd leave out the details about his exercise routine on the off chance she took issue with him using her coffee table as a tool for weights.

"You finished the book? That's great! Did you like it?"

"It was okay."

He gave him a sly look before continuing, "You finished that book in less than 24 hours and it was only okay?"

"Fine. I liked it. But it's not like there was much else to do…"

"Was there nothing on TV?" she asked, confused.

"I didn't think you'd want me to touch your TV, so I left it alone."

For the first time since he'd met her, he saw Grace raise one eyebrow at him. And somehow, it managed to be endearing.

"…And why exactly would I not want you to touch my TV?" she enquired, seemingly amused.

He shrugged at her, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"Well, for future reference," she continued. "I have no problem with you watching my TV. In fact, I would encourage you to."

"Why?"

"Because," she started simply, "It'd be a good chance for you to learn more about… well, everything. You could watch the news, the history channel, anything. Who knows, you might even like it more than books."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me, I was never really into books that much – even when I was a kid."

He froze, while Grace merely turned to look at him – a look of surprise on her face.

For the next few minutes he could do nothing but stand in place. Where had that come from? He couldn't remember any kind of childhood. He couldn't even remember things that had happened last month. All he could be sure of was the memory of the helicarrier and onwards.

The other things that came to him were merely whispers – and whispers had a tendency to be untrustworthy.

Was it true though? Was he really not a fan of books?

He thought back to when he had read the book Grace had given him. The content was interesting, but did he love reading it? No. Not really. But then again, he couldn't remember the last time he'd read something other than mission specs.

He had no idea why he had said what he'd said. And yet, it felt…true.

Coming back to himself slightly, he saw that Grace was still frozen in place, the surprised expression clear on her face.

Needing to break the silence, he opted to tell her the truth.

"I don't know why I said that."

"Is it… I mean, do you…" she stuttered, "Do you remember… stuff? She finished awkwardly.

Solemnly, he shook his head.

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Then, you do like books?"

Again he shook his head – half expecting to be chastised for his non-verbal communication.

Only, instead of scolding him, she smiled at him. "Well that's good then. That means there's hope. Obviously, you have memories in there that you don't even know you have."

It was a nice thought. To think that, despite their best efforts, HYDRA had failed in turning him into a mindless assassin. But at the same time, he dared not get his hopes up – or hers, for that matter. So, instead, he opted for a simple "maybe".

Smiling at him once more, Grace turned her attention to the table where she had finally finished her sorting. "Okay, so, this…" she gestured to the random piles, "is why I was 15 minutes late."

"This pile is clothing. I'm sure it'll fit, but if it doesn't I'll just take them back and exchange them. There's enough her to get you through a few days at a time – which is good cause that's about how often I do laundry. So a win-win there."

She moved on, gesturing to the next pile on the table, "Also, I got you some toiletries. Nothing fancy, just the basics. Toothbrush, disposable razors, shaving cream, and some shampoo and conditioner – cause I'm sure you don't want to smell like coconut forever." She smirked at him.

As she spoke, he found he could do nothing but stare at her. This was too much. She had gone to too much trouble for him. He didn't deserve this.

Grace, however, took no notice of his bewildered state, and continued on.

"And this, this is probably the part you'll like the most. Now, I know we had a little… argument this morning..." She ducked her head slightly at the mention of their 'dispute', embarrassment creeping into her tone.

"…And I still don't think you should leave. But I get where you're coming from. So I got you this." She gestured to a pile of various items on the end of the table.

Picking up of the items, he could see that it was a bag – a backpack. "It's a Go-Bag" she explained.

"My Dad was a cop for like, 20 years. And he always had one, so I thought maybe you could benefit from one as well. Basically, it's a bag that's always packed with the essentials – that way, if you need to leave in a hurry, you already have everything you need.

It's funny…" she continued, her voice sounding suddenly far away. "I remember my dad always telling me that he used to get in trouble for the things he packed in his Go-Bag. His boss used to say that he was wasting valuable space by packing 'useless items', but my dad never listened. For him, family photos and drawings from your kids were totally essential…"

He studied her. He had never seen Grace like this. It was clear to him that she was remembering. Her gaze, just like her voice, was focused somewhere far away, and her mouth was turned up in the smallest of smiles. There was a sadness there though…

Breaking out of her reverie, Grace returned to the backpack in her hand, continuing on as though nothing had happened. "Anyway… I thought a Go-Bag would be a good thing for you to have – you know, just in case you suddenly need to leave.

So, there's the backpack, two sets of clothes, a raincoat, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and $1000 in cash. Of course, you'll probably want to add a few more things to it – like your gun probably. But I just thought this would be a good place to start…"

"Grace…" he started. He wasn't sure if she was finished or not, but he couldn't bear to let her go on if there was more. "…I… I can't… This… it's too much. You've done too much for me."

"What? …No. It's fine. It's nothing." She tried to brush off what she'd done, and somehow he found that it only frustrated him more.

"Really? Nothing? $1000 cash is nothing?" He could see by the look on her face that she had picked up on the annoyance in his tone.

"I just… I don't know!" she replied, suddenly exasperated. "I know that this is probably a bit much, but… I guess… I just think that you're worth it!"

"Why? You don't even know me, Grace…"

"But I do." She replied forcefully. "Maybe not you, the you you are now, but… Bucky Barnes. Anyone who went to high school in America knows about Bucky Barnes, and I know you don't remember who you were and what you did, but you were good. You were a hero. The things you did… the lives you saved… Argh!" she was becoming more and more worked up now, and he had no idea why.

"You shouldn't even be here, you know! You should be dead! And not because you tragically fell to your death from a moving train in 1944, but because you finished fighting when the war ended, and you went back to Brooklyn. You met a nice girl, and you got married, and had kids. And then you died of old age, in your house, surrounded by your grandchildren… That's what should've happened to you – not this!" she gestured towards him.

"You deserve so much more than what you got, James. That's why I'm doing this. And I don't care if you don't think you're worth it – I'm going to do it anyway."

The next few minutes passed in silence. He didn't want to argue with her again – especially not after this morning. But he didn't agree with her either. Maybe he had been a good man once, but that was long before he had started working for HYDRA.

If there was cosmic scale that weighed a person's good deeds against their bad – his scale was well-weighted to the bad. Grace just couldn't see that.

So, instead, he decided to appease her. For now.

"If I accept this, you need to let me pay you back. I don't care how, but I can't let you do all these things for me and have you get nothing in return…"

Slowly she let a gentle smile spread across her face. If he didn't know better, he would say that she had been anticipating another argument too.

"Fine then." She replied lightly, "Come with me, I'll teach you how to use the washing machine."