A/N: Hi all,

Just a quick note to say that this chapter follows directly on from the last.

I hope you like it. :)

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"I can still remember"

Internally, she jumped at the sound. After sitting side by side in profound silence for just over an hour, she had begun to think she was never going to hear his voice again.

Then again, it wasn't exactly his voice. At least not the one she'd grown accustomed to anyway.

This voice was raspy – from lack of use or from crying out in his sleep, she wasn't sure; but it was more than that. Even with only small four words, the pain and confusion in his tone was unmistakable.

She wanted nothing more than to reach out to him. She had no idea what was going on with him or what was causing him so much pain, all she knew was that she wanted to fix it. Make the pain go away.

Reason stopped her though. She knew, without a doubt, that he would not appreciate her touch right now. Particularly not after the incident with the gun an hour earlier.

She dared not speak either. She wasn't sure why exactly – it was really more of an instinct. Something telling her that he was on the verge of revealing something of himself, something huge – something she didn't think he would do if she intervened.

With nothing else to offer, she merely turned her head to the side to look at him.

At the very least, she was glad to see that he seemed to have calmed down. She had been doing little else but listen to the sound of his steady breathing for the past sixty minutes, so she had known for quite some time that he had improved, but still. Being able to look at his face and not see the sheer panic that had been there before took a weight of her heart that she hadn't even known was there.

His face remained blank as he spoke again – not to her, she noted. And not exactly to himself either. It was although he was talking to… the universe. Or maybe just to anyone he thought would listen.

"I never remember the dreams. They always fade away, but… I remember this one."

Shaking his head slightly, he brought his hands up to rub his eyes. She imagined they were probably quite heavy with fatigue. After all, if one thing had become clear tonight, it was that for him: sleep did not necessarily equate to rest.

She stayed silent as he brought his hands away from his face before stretching his legs out straight in front of him.

As she took in his change in position, she felt a new wave of relief wash over her. It was over. He was back.

She wasn't sure how she knew or what made her so sure, but those were questions she could revisit at a later time.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked softly, finding her own voice slightly raspy from lack of use.

Turning his own face towards hers, he sent her a grim smile. "Are you sure you really want to hear?"

"Yes"

Sighing, he turned his face away to lean his head back against the wall; his eyes becoming fixed on the ceiling.

"They were wiping me." He stated simply.

Her brow furrowed in confusion – "wiping"?

She opened to her mouth to ask, but he beat her to it.

"It was this… procedure" he spat the word as though it were poison, "that they used to do to me. They'd sit me in this chair with metal restraints, and then they'd shove a teeth-guard in my mouth – you know, cause they wouldn't want me to hurt myself."

He let out a harsh laugh at that.

"Then there would be these… things. Metal, clamp-type things that just got sandwiched around my head. And then, next thing you know, there's so much electricity blasting through your head that it's all you can do to breathe, let alone remember your own name.

"…That's why they did it, you see. They couldn't have me knowing too much – so, after every mission I completed, they wiped me and put me back in cryo. A clean slate."

There was slight pause before he finished with: "It's why I don't remember."

Instantly, Grace wanted to be sick. She could feel the bile tickling the back of her throat. How could they do that – how could anybody do that to another human being?!

And what's more, how was he still standing?

"How many times?" she practically whispered.

"No idea." He said matter-of-factly. "I was their "asset" for round-about 70 years, so your guess is about as good as mine."

She had no reply for that, and for the first time ever, she actually found that she was happy to let silence descend upon them. She had so many emotions warring within her – revulsion, anger, disbelief; all of them directed at the people who had done this to him. Who the hell are these people anyway?!

"Who… Who did this to you?" she found herself asking. Barely realising that she had spoken as the words left her mouth.

"They're called HYDRA." He answered. "And every time I did a job for them, they told it was because they needed me to "shape mankind". I guess I just always thought that that meant I was doing those things for the greater good. Now, I think maybe there are better shapes mankind could've taken."

"You can't possibly blame yourself for the things they made you do!"

"Why? It's not like blaming HYDRA makes it any easier." He shrugged. "People are still dead, Grace. And I'm the one that killed them."

She sighed deeply before moving her hand to cover one of his. "Somehow I think you're just as much a victim are they are."

Without saying anything, he turned his head to meet her eyes, a sad smile playing on his features. It was intense. And she was suddenly aware that she had never been so close to him. Sure, maybe the window incident came close in physicality, but this was different.

She could feel the warmth of his hand as it rested beneath her own, making her even more aware of the fact that he hadn't pulled away from her touch, as she had expected him to; that realisation, coupled with the intensity of his stare, had her heart beat accelerating and her breathing all but non-existent.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but she was the one to break it.

"So was that your dream? Them wiping you?"

At that, he blinked, and the moment was broken. Something she regretted whole-heartedly. Just because she had never experienced something so intense before, didn't mean she didn't like it. Alas, she now realised that such a revelation was too little, too late.

"Yeah, basically. Except, it was different. Sort of. I think it was a memory, maybe. I'm not sure, but I think… I think it actually happened.

The thing is, even though I could never remember my past missions or personal information, I never forgot what wiping felt like. It hurts." She cringed as he emphasised the last word.

"In my dream, I think it must have been about the fourth or fifth time they were wiping me, and I tried to convince them that they didn't have to. That they could trust me. Which makes sense considering I would've done just about anything to avoid another wipe."

"…And you think it was real?" she asked after a few seconds.

"I can't be sure."

"But what does your gut tell you?"

He laughed a bit at that, a real laugh this time –not the harsh snort she'd come to expect over the course of the evening, or should she say, morning.

"I don't know. It just feels like it could be real."

She sent him a small smile, "Well, terrible-ness aside, isn't that a good thing? I mean, this could mean that you might actually be able to get your memory back."

He sent her a small smile in return, "maybe".

With absolutely no warning, a huge yawn erupted from her throat. She could practically feel herself turning crimson as he chuckled at her.

"I think maybe you should get some sleep." He offered, the mood in the room suddenly 3 tonnes lighter.

"I will if you will", she shot back.

"Pfft. No thanks, I think I've had enough sleep for one night."

"So what, you're never going to sleep again? For the rest of your life?"

"Do you think I could manage it?" He replied, a playful tone in his voice.

"No." she shook her head, her tone as equally playful, "And I certainly don't think you should try."

Laughing softly to himself, he took his hand from under hers – the sudden loss of contact displeasing her thoroughly – and brought it back down over the top of her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Seriously, you should get some sleep. Your eyelids are practically drooping."

"Well, shucks, you sure know how to make a girl feel special."

Rolling his eyes at her, he stood up from the floor before turning and offering his hand out towards her.

Letting out a huge sigh, she took it. Only to be swiftly yanked from the ground and over his shoulder.

She couldn't help the girlish squeal, and wasted no time in voicing her disapproval.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" She tried to sound firm, but the interspersed giggling gave her away.

"You'll see."

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but having him carry her over his shoulder out of his room and all the way to her own, was not it.

Furthermore, she had been almost sure that he would stop at her door and put her down - hence why she was very surprised when he turned the handle and walked right on through, turning the light on as he went.

Stopping next to her bed, she briefly noted the way the muscles in his back tensed and rippled as he bent to pull back the covers.

Apparently done with his task, he promptly threw her down onto her bed, a smile illuminating his face as he did.

She rolled her eyes at him, but the smile on her own face was evidence enough that she was anything but annoyed.

"Happy now?" she quipped.

He shrugged, "It's a start."

And with that, he turned and left the room, switching off her light as he went.