Grey felt like her head was spinning with all the people she'd met that day. All the interns had showed up for the Fourth of July picnic. She sat and spoke with all of them, taking notes on things they wanted to change in the company, policies or practices they thought were outdated. Ideas to expand they had.

Pepper chatted with those she knew, subtly taking the temperature of the company. Who knew what, who was doing what, anything and everything that was going on. Jim was on the opposite side of the park, talking with the military vets that came out every year, asking what they thought Stark Industries could do better.

Happy was in his element, in charge of the team putting together all the food. His security team, watching over the biggest family in the country. It might not have been, but he knew that by next year, Stark Industries would be completely different.

Bucky hid in the shadows around the edges of the picnic, listening to the hidden grumblings, the discontent, those that might be in Stane's pocket. He took note of who said what, and when, and to whom.

By the time the sun started to set, the family had left, piling in Happy's SUV to exchange information and compare rumors. Grey took careful notes, compiling everything and uploading it to Jarvis. They were ready for the investigation, all they needed was Tony to make it home safe.

Bucky offered to set up the grill for the family, even donning an apron that said "Kill the cook, if you can" that Jarvis had fabricated him last week. Around his neck, he had a pair of brand-new noise cancelling headphones, so he could watch the fireworks without fear of PTSD.

"I brought s'mores!" Pepper said as she came out, carrying a tray. Giant marshmallows, three types of graham crackers, Hershey's bars, and Reese's cups.

"You all are trying to make me fat!" Grey exclaimed. "S'mores, a sundae bar, I've already eaten a burger, a salad, and two ears of corn. That does not mean you get to eat my ice cream James Barnes; you bring that here!"

Bucky laughed as he brought Grey's ice cream over. This was the first time the family had truly relaxed since they rescued him from Hydra. Bucky thought for certain it was the first time he had truly relaxed since the Second World War.

"A toast!" Bucky said, acting before thinking. He held up his ice cream bowl in lieu of a drink. "To Grey, for busting me out of Hydra, and just everything you do every single day to make the world better for everyone. I can't wait to see what else you do."

"To Grey!" Grey turned pink and buried her face in her hands.

"You suck, Barnes," Grey teased, snatching her ice cream from his hands. "Thank you. Hogan, how good are these fireworks supposed to be?"

"Best in the west, kid, you'll love 'em," Happy promised, twisting the top off a beer bottle. "Barnes, you're gonna want those headphones on."

Bucky took the hint and put them on. Grey hid a grin at how much he looked like just a normal person. He was relaxed, he wasn't prepared for a fight. Grey figured he was still carrying around more weapons than the state of Texas, but since he was training her and Pepper to do the same, she wasn't going to complain.

Bucky settled down on a yoga mat next to Grey's sun lounger. Pepper sat at the end of Grey's spot, while Jim and Happy sat on the retaining wall behind them. They had a wonderful view of the ocean. And after a few minutes, fireworks exploded across the sky, lighting up with reds, whites, golds, purples and greens. Grey held back a sob as she thought about her Dad, lost in Afghanistan, and then even more painful; her mom. She forced back the sad thoughts, quickly wiping away tears.

"Happy Fourth of July," Bucky said, tilting his head back to look at Grey. They shared a soft look.

"Happy Independence Day, my love." Bucky realized what she was saying and beamed, tears quickly building up in his eyes. Freedom and Love – there were no more powerful feelings.

Line Break

Pepper got supreme, extra green peppers. Grey scrunched up her nose and got a half cheese, half black olive pizza, with salt, pepper, red chili flakes, parmesan cheese, and ranch dressing. Both looked appalled at the other's but that didn't stop them from kicking off their heels in the lab and diving on their lunch like they were starved.

"Doesn't Steve technically still belong to the Army?" Pepper asked, picking up her second slice. Grey's nose was still scrunched, Pepper thought it made her look just like her father.

"I believe so, yes. However, the identity of Captain America does belong to Marvel Entertainment. Steve Rogers is still a private in the Army. Bucky was announced KIA so I don't know how that would look. Why?"

"When SHIELD gets him out of the ice, are they going to legally bring Steve back to life? Is that going to cause issues with the Army?"

"Knowing our luck, of course it will. I'm going to assume that SHIELD is never going to do the right thing, so I doubt they'll bring him back to life. I've worked under the assumption we'll have to do it. Then once he's legally back to life, we can apply on his behalf for a discharge status." Grey paused. "We'll have to push for an Honorable Discharge, or retirement. Anything else would be a media nightmare. I'm guessing we'll have to do the same thing for Bucky, and get him protected status as a POW, who operated under coercion and had little to no choice in his actions from 1944 to 2010. Gods this is exhausting."

"I get it. I'm heading to the shareholders meeting tomorrow, where they're going to ask about weapons I know we're about to stop making, and the profit stability of weapons, which really is just a lecture I don't want about how weapons are always in need." Pepper rolled her eyes in disgust. "This word doesn't need more guns, just look what happened at Columbine!"

Grey refused to meet Pepper's eyes, thinking about all the mass shootings she's lived through. So many, that eventually, she stopped noticing them. That broke her heart more than anything.

"I can't believe they're so against expansion," Grey complained, scooping up her third slice and dragging the tip through her pile of ranch dressing. "Stark Industries could be the biggest and widest ranging company in the freaking galaxy. Between Dad's genius, my knowledge, and the public support we're going to have? We can do anything."

"Can we cure Alzheimer's?" Pepper asked, half teasing. "What about Parkinson's?"

"Do you care if I steal those answers from Grey's Anatomy?"

"What?" Pepper asked.

"Grey's Anatomy is fiction, yes?"

"Yes."

"Last year, so were you," Grey pointed out, leaning back in her seat. She looked incredibly smug for someone sitting on the floor. "Plus, right now, this company only makes weapons to sell. If we branch out, expand, recruit the smartest people in the world, all we have to do it give them an idea and money.

"It's not that easy though. We have to run everything through the board, get approval from the department heads involved, convince the shareholder it won't bankrupt us," Pepper sighed. "It's too complicated, especially what you're thinking."

"See that I don't accept," Grey said, frowning. "Mostly because Jay and I have been tossing ideas back and forth, and we've come to a conclusion."

"Okay?"

"We need to privatize Stark Industries." Pepper laughed for a moment until she realized Grey wasn't joking. "If we do, and we can, then we have all the power for Stark Industries. It might be the only way we can stop Weapons Production without the board deposing us."

"You want to privatize the company? No way, Howard did that, and it cost him millions, it'll cost us billions!"

"And save us even more," Grey said firmly. "Jarvis and I have been doing our research. If we buy everyone else out, and have the company split between the family, we can literally do anything we want with it, with no one questioning out every step!"

Pepper sighed and squinted at Grey for a moment. Pepper knew that it was a crazy enough plan that just might work in their favor, especially with whatever luck followed the Stark Family.a

"Write a proposal. Write one, explaining to me and Tony why the buyout is the best option. Then, if you have time, write up what you think Stark Industries should be doing, and how you think we should do it," Pepper said, caving to the bright expression on Grey's face. "Actually, don't write it, type it, I'm so sick of trying to translate your handwriting."

"That's valid, I had Jarvis scan some of my notebooks and even he couldn't read it, I had to dictate it," Grey said, no embarrassment in her voice. "Which, to be fair, gave me like six additional ideas."

"You just need to learn engineering handwriting," Pepper said. "Tony explained it to me once, it's a specific type of handwriting that engineers use on blueprints so everything can be read."

"Recruit writing," Grey scoffed. "They made us learn it at Boot Camp, had us write out the 10 general orders in recruit handwriting ten times to learn them. To this day, I still can't remember the general orders, but I do hear Petty Officer Johnson yelling at me for my capital A's."

"Your capital A's?" Pepper asked. Grey reached over and scribbled down two letters, one had the pointed top and looked as if it was made in one motion, the other was curved, looking like an n with a line through it. "Oh. And that was enough to annoy him?"

"He was a greenside corpsman, they're always annoyed." Grey sighed. "I kinda miss it, you know, the structure. Those weeks at basic were so much fun!"

"Only you could find boot camp fun," Pepper said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not surprised though, somehow."

Grey sat back and looked smug. In her mind she was already drafting the expansion plans for the company. Pepper watched her, a bit like someone watches a baby with a new toy. Indulgence and love, obvious, but also a slight fascination as you watch their mind work. Pepper wondered how long it would take her to solve this puzzle.

Line Break

It took three days, of Grey disappeared into the lab with her notebooks and a new pack of pens. Pepper wished it had taken slightly longer as she woke up to see Grey standing at her bedside, freshly showered, but blatantly sleep deprived and clutching several notebooks.

"What the fuck, Grey?" Pepper asked as Jarvis flicked on the lights in her room. "Jesus Christ."

"I waited until five thirty, that's the best you're gonna get from me," Grey said, unrepentant. "Everything's in your email. These were just for me. I've also sent the proposal and the cost estimate of the buyout to you. Jarvis was nice enough to include a list of people who have our stock. There's two real options, a slow or a sudden, I think a sudden would be smarter, and easier."

"I think you need to go eat something and take a nap, you and I can talk this afternoon, after I've had a chance to read these." Pepper waved Grey away, picking her phone up to open her email. "Go on, shoo."

Grey stuck her tongue out at Pepper but left. Coffee sounded better than sleep, and maybe if she asked nice enough, Bucky would make her breakfast.

Alone again, Pepper pushed herself out of bed, flattening out the duvet her only attempt at making the bed. She wanted to shower before she got dragged down whatever rabbit hole Grey fell in.

"Jarvis, start my morning please," Pepper said as she stretched. Her morning playlist started, and Pepper hummed along as she hurried through her routine. "What's on my calendar?"

"You have a virtual department heads meeting this morning at ten, a virtual lunch with the PR and legal departments at twelve thirty. Grey put in a contract overview meeting at two down in the lab. Obadiah Stane scheduled a C level meeting for quarter profits, it is at four."

"Great, department heads and Stane. Have Happy go out and get lunch for us, I'm not going to have time to go get it. We can just do pizza for dinner. Or whatever carryout Grey's craving this time."

By the time Pepper was seated at her desk, a large coffee steaming in her hands, it was just past six. By the time she left her desk, it was just turning six in the evening, and Bucky was standing menacingly at her office door.

"What broke?"

"Grey," he replied, handing over the paperwork he'd been sent with. "She passed out on the couch, I already brought her to bed, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to give her your feedback. She did ask that you go ahead and talk about the Air Force contracts with Jim when you get time. How was the meeting with Stane?"

"I hate that man," Pepper said viciously. "You know that the next election is two years out and that man is already talking about supporting whatever republican candidate the RNC puts forward, as if we haven't supported every democratic candidate since Clinton."

"I remember Clinton," Bucky said. "We had an agent on his staff, what was her name?"

"Please tell me it wasn't Monica?" Pepper asked, coming to a screeching halt in the hallway.

"Yeah!"

"Monica Lewinski was a Hydra Agent?" Pepper shrieked. She had the same expression as a child learning about Santa for the first time. "I feel cheated."

"Her assignment was to weaken the presidency, and she did. But now she's stuck as a semi-public figure, and they can't use her again. She's most likely just an informant now."

"Jarvis," Pepper called.

"Already on it, Miss Potts," Jarvis said, flashing the walls blue in the living room. Grey was in fact passed out on the couch.

"Barnes, you should sit down with Grey and give her as many names as you can, and Hydra base locations."

"Did that last week after Lilian and I discussed Hydra in therapy. She knew most of them," Pepper couldn't tell whether Bucky was proud or annoyed that Grey already knew his intel about Hydra. "Managed to give her a few locations she didn't know about. She seemed astonished they had a base so close to Wakanda, which doesn't make sense as it's a third world country."

"That's the second time this month Grey's expressed interest in that country," Pepper said. "Think it's more than we know?"

"At this point? I wouldn't be surprised. My girlfriend is omniscient. If she guesses her Hannukah presents, I'll shoot her."

Pepper couldn't help but laugh at Bucky's pout. There were takeout containers from the Thai place downtown. Pepper grabbed one and a fork and started to scarf it down.

"Her plans are genius, weapons that aren't weapons, green energy that could completely remove our dependance on the Middle East. With her plans and Tony's sheer brilliance, those two – I'm surprised they haven't already taken over the world."

"I think she's waiting," Bucky said, leaning against the opposite wall with a beer in his hand. "Waiting for the right moment. She mumbles in her sleep, sometimes, or talks out loud when she forgets I'm around. She's waiting, and it's killing her."

"I think she's waiting for 2012, when we don't have to hide everything, we're doing. I think that's what she hates, hiding." Pepper heaved a sigh. "And Tony's return. She hates not being able to do anything."

"She needs to relax, or she's likely to explode," Bucky warned. "She's so tense, coiled like a spring."

"I have to make an appearance up in Seattle next week, I'll take her with me, maybe that will calm her down," Pepper said. Jarvis helpfully projected her monthly calendar on the wall. "Grey put in PTO for the fifteenth, drag her down to the beach, or to the movies or something, don't let her spend that day buried in work."

"And you're in Seattle on the twentieth," Bucky said, pointing to the day. "Back the same day?"

"I'd love to stay up there longer, but there's no need other than site seeing. And if Grey gets caught doing something fun by that horrid reporter woman, she's likely to do something awful."

"That Smith woman?" Bucky asked. "I read her article when you two went for lunch downtown. Can we shut her up?"

"Not legally. And Grey doesn't think she's Hydra or anything, just a trash person."

"So we just let her badmouth Grey? That doesn't seem right."

"We can't do much without Tony," Pepper reminded him. "Anything she does is going to get painted under grief, and her advancements would be ignored."

"And she hates being ignored," Bucky grumbled. "Stark really needs to hurry up and escape."

Pepper toasted him with her take-out. She still wasn't sure what exactly she was eating, but it was delicious, and slightly nutty. Bucky shook his head and left to carry Grey to their room so she could sleep off her three days of work. She had ink on her face, and several ideas scribbled down on her arms.

"Jarvis, I think I love this woman," Bucky said, settling her under the covers.

"Quite right, too, Sergeant Barnes."

Line Break

Bucky almost felt like he was back in Brooklyn as he sat on the beach next to Grey. It was overcast, and almost cold for Malibu, he sat with a long sleeve shirt on to keep sand out of the servos in his arm. Grey lounged on a towel in the sand, one hand idly tracing circles.

"Your jaw better?" Bucky asked, breaking the peaceful silence. Grey raised her sunglasses to look at him. "Bruising is mostly gone."

"Dentist came and checked me out, apparently either Pepper or I knocked a filling loose. Jim's taking me on the seventeenth to get it replaced. I do have approval to keep working though, if you're willing to keep training us."

"Why wouldn't I?" Bucky asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, your therapy with Lilian is going really well, according to you, if you decide you don't like all the fighting, that's your choice and we will respect it," Grey said, sitting upright. "We want you to heal, more than we want you to teach us to fight."

"I like teaching you and Pepper," Bucky said. "It's not the same as Hydra, or the Red Room, it doesn't cause flashbacks, maybe occasionally you say something that reminds me of Howard, or Tamara."

"Tamara?" Grey asked. That wasn't a name she'd heard before.

"She was my best student in the red room," Bucky said. His voice shifted a bit, the tiniest slip of a Russian accent. "We were sent together to take out a mark, we were using bombs to make it look like the rebels. She refused to leave the building, waited for the explosion to take her out."

"She didn't want to fight anymore," Grey said softly.

"We called her firebird," Bucky said, staring into the horizon. "She was the best with explosives and using fire. She was twelve when she died, Melina was given permission to step up her testing after that. Sometime in the late eighties."

"That was after Nat and Yelena's mission in Ohio," Grey added. "After Alexei was able to get the information from Shieldra."

"Shieldra?"

"SHEILD infested by Hydra, Shieldra," Grey said. "I didn't come up with it, I heard dad say it in the future."

"It's always your dad, is he the only person you see?"

"No," Grey said, lining up her story as she dictated it to Jarvis. "It is easier to see events I'm involved in, which is why I see a lot of my dad, and you. But I can look for things. Like the fact that Yelena is going to be freed of Melina's mind-control in 2016 and then her and Natasha are going to destroy the Red Room and free all the widows. Pepper and I have to make plans to support them."

"You won't recruit them?"

"The ones that want to help, will be made welcome, just like you were, love," Grey said, smiling up at Bucky. "But those that want a quiet life will be housed and set up doing what they want."

"Grey Stark, determined to save the world, one prisoner of war at a time," Bucky said, reaching over to take her hand. They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the sound of the waves on the beach. "Tell me something about you that no one knows."

"My therapist finally diagnosed me," Grey said, staring at a cloud in the sky. "That Pepper brought me for my depression? I'm not depressed."

"That's good, isn't it?" Bucky asked.

"I'm bi-polar," Grey said. "Which makes a ridiculous amount of sense now that I think about it. The manic episodes, where I vanish for three days at a time with some project, the crashes when I have nothing to do? The desperate need for structure. I'm bi-polar, and I know it's not the end of the world, there are tons of successful people who live with bi-polar disorder, but I keep thinking of the Gallaghers?"

"The Gallaghers?" Bucky echoed back.

"Fictional family, TV show called Shameless," Grey said. "Ian and his mom Monica are both bi-polar, and Monica is a drug addict, and Ian is actually crazy and I know they're fictionalizations, but I don't want to end up like them."

"What is bi-polar?"

"It's a mood disorder. I get mood swings, from high highs to low lows," Grey paused, her nose scrunched. "I think Dad might have it too, thinking about it. He gets manic episodes just like me."

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Still getting used to the meds," Grey said. "We're trying Seroquel, it takes time to get up to an effective dose, but I've already noticed a few changes. I don't think we're going to stay with it, it makes me ridiculously drowsy at night, and I can't do that and be a superhero."

"Doesn't your smoking make you drowsy too?" Grey started, confused, and looked around.

"I may have accidentally quit smoking, without meaning to, I don't remember the last time I saw my pen, do you?"

"The night we had Indian food for dinner, on the fifth."

"That's nearly two weeks ago!" Grey checked her bag to see if she'd packed it, but it wasn't there. "Apparently training to be a superhero helps quit smoking."

"You want your pen right now, don't you?" Bucky asked.

"Yes. Maybe for the best I've got no idea where it is." Grey and Bucky laughed, and Grey made the decision to track down her pen and lock it up. Maybe in a few years she could pick it up again, but right now she had too much to do. "Oh, I meant to ask, I've got a tattoo appointment tomorrow, will you come sit with me? It's an eight-hour piece for my leg."

"Sure, I'll come sit with you. Are you okay to train after?"

"It's gonna hurt like a motherfucker to put my brace on it, so I'm gonna train without it until it heals," Grey said, wincing at the pain she knew was coming. "I could take a break, like y'all let me do after Pepper nearly broke my jaw, but since I like tattoos, I plan on learning to work through that pain."

"We won't force injured team-members to fight after an injury, but a tattoo doesn't count, right?" Bucky teased. "Tony doesn't care that you have them?"

"I think he was relived when I got tattoos instead of losing myself in whiskey and women like he did," Grey laughed. "He just asked none on my face or neck, which I'm happy to abide by. I wonder if your serum would prevent you from getting a tattoo."

"You want me tattooed?" Bucky asked, surprised.

"No, not unless you want it, I'm more curious about what can and can't be done with the serum. You've already told us standard pain killers don't work for you. Dr Cho should be able to put something together once we recruit her. Would vaccines work? Like the flu shot?" Grey was wondering about other vaccines, specifically ones for the pandemic, or if the serum made them a moot point.

"Your mind never stops, does it?"

"It's kinda exhausting, to be honest," Grey said, flopping back down on her towel. "Having to think of absolutely everything so I don't accidentally leave loopholes for our enemies to use. Hate being the one in charge. Pepper, Happy, Jim, they all look to me for answers, and I really just don't have them. I just have this tiny idea of how things are gonna go, but all the tiny details?"

"Hard to spot?"

"Feels like I'm working blind," Grey admitted. "I can tell you the next big plot point of our life, but all the tiny minutiae. No fucking clue. And my visions don't come timestamped. Which I hate, because it means I have to guess, and what if I'm wrong? What if I get the dates wrong and because of it, people die? I'm already betting on people having their lives destroyed because we need them. I have to watch people I love lose their father so they become the hero we need to fight a bigger threat. I have to let children have their lives destroyed so they volunteer to do something terrible so they can save the world. I want to throw my hands up and scream."

King T'Chaka has to die so T'Challa will become the Black Panther that brings Wakanda out into the wider world. Wanda and Pietro need to join Hydra to get their revenge on Tony so Wanda becomes the Scarlet Witch. Tony has to be kidnapped so he becomes Iron Man. The world needs heroes, and every single origin story hurts.

"Come here," Bucky pulled the distraught Grey up onto his sun lounger and on his lap, wrapping his arms around her gently. "It's not all on you, even with your powers. You can't be expected to see every single thing. And life isn't always easy, either. Real life has loss. We lost one of my sisters, Hannah."

"You've told me about Amanda, Diana, and Rebecca, I've never heard of Hannah."

"She died when she was three, suddenly. We just woke up one morning and she had stopped breathing. It almost killed my ma, to bury her baby girl." Grey leaned against Bucky in support. She couldn't imagine losing a child, or a sibling.

"I'm sorry for your loss, love," Grey said.

"Getting easier every day," Bucky said, smiling softly. "Want to hear a fun story from the war?"

"Always, I love Howling Commando stories."

"It was early on in the war. We brought down a Hydra base, nothing was recoverable, which wasn't actually our fault. Steve got ripped into by the brass, we could hear Phillips tearing into him from the mess. The funny part was that Steve didn't actually do anything that whole mission."

"So, what happened?"

"Dernier was a lunatic; he blew up half the warehouse with the mail tube and a lit cigarette. Dugan and Gabe were playing gold with grenades in the factory. Morita wasn't a technician like he always claimed, he just pressed every single button in the control room. That usually caused things to explode. And when that didn't work, I was given the gatling instead of my sniper rifle."

"Welcome to Jackass. Let's bring that energy into the Avengers," Grey said, her eyes glittering with carnage.

"What's jackass?" Bucky asked. "Is that a reference to something?"

"I don't actually know," Grey replied. "It's just kinda something people say? Like, I'm Grey Stark and welcome to jackass, usually right before something explodes. Might have to ask Happy that one."

"You know everything, but not what you're saying, right?" Bucky couldn't help but laugh. Grey pretended to be outraged, but quickly fell apart, giggling until she snorted like a pig.

The Guilt of the Winter Soldier

"Tell me about the Howling Commandos," Lilian asked. Bucky smiled, thinking about the team he grew close to in the year they worked together. "The history books classified most things, only giving names and ranks."

"Dugan called us the demolition crew," Bucky said, a soft smile on his face. "We were supposed to be a collection from the 107th that would go in and take down Hydra forces, but the SSR scooped us up and made us an elite force. We all got code names, special uniforms. Then they put us in front of a camera, told Steve to look important. They put Agent Carter's picture in his compass."

"Was it all for the camera?" Bucky heaved a sigh and thought about the question. "Was Captain America all we believe him to be?"

"Stevie would've hated being in front of the cameras, but Captain America loved it. The longer he was Captain America, the less he was Stevie."

"What do you mean?"

"Stevie wanted to fight, wanted to do his share, not for glory or praise, but because it was right. Because Hydra and the Nazi's wouldn't be stopped." Bucky buried his face in his hands. "Captain America liked the praise."

"So, who led the team?"

"Montgomery Falsworth was in charge, on paper. He was the one that was given the assignments from the higher ups, the one that was told where to take us and what to do. Dugan was the one that figured out how to make things happen. Captain America was the first one through the door, shield and gun ready to fight, to protect."

"You seem to differentiate between Steve Rogers and Captain America."

"I believe they were two different people. I knew Stevie could always be Captain America, I knew he was an incredible person. But Captain America was not my Steve."

"And then you fell."

"I fell from the train. Protecting my Stevie. As I fell, I prayed, for the first time since the war started, I prayed Stevie would live. Settle down after the war, even with Carter, and have children."

"And you survived."

"The Allied forces found me first. Two French medics found me at the bottom of the ravine. They were pulling me to safety. One had to finish the amputation of my arm – I blacked out. When I came to, they were fighting off Hydra forces. They died to protect me, but it didn't matter. Hydra pulled me out of the snow." Bucky looked at his left arm in pain. "The next time I came to, I had this attached to me, and it burned."

"You were put in the chair again."

"I screamed. With the arm… I screamed."

"It's okay that you screamed. It's okay that you showed the pain."

"The Winter Soldier was what they wanted, so I hid behind him. Eventually I stopped being myself and gave in completely to the asset."

"Is he still there?" Lilian asked.

"Yes." Bucky wasn't ashamed of the asset. He was sad he was necessary, horrified at what he did, but he wasn't ashamed he had survived Hydra. "He has opinions. Hates that I put sugar and milk in my coffee. Loves that I'm teaching Grey and Pepper hand to hand."

"Does he want to go back to Hydra?"

"We used to. In the very beginning, when Grey first rescued me. We wanted to go back to what we knew. For all we knew, Grey was going to be worse than Hydra, who else would've had the ability to get me out, if not someone worse?"

"And then she told you that you were free."

"Freedom burned. It hurt more than the chair because I was so afraid of it. That first night, I sat on the floor of Grey's room and watched her. Waited for her to wake up and put me in the chair, waited for her to give me orders." Bucky paused and remembered the first night of his freedom. "When she finally woke up, just after three, all she did was shuffle to the kitchen and pour me a mug of coffee. She was never afraid of me. That first morning, she fell asleep on my shoulder waiting for Pepper to wake up."

"Do you trust yourself around her?" That question made Bucky pause.

"I do. Even the Soldier won't hurt her. I think that even if Hydra took me back, I still wouldn't be able to hurt her." Bucky paused. "I don't want to test that."

"You mean that activation phrase, that Hydra brainwashed into you."

"It's a fear," Bucky admitted, cautiously. "I told Jarvis that I would see myself deaf before I allowed Hydra to use me again. Grey came up with the idea for selectively muted earpieces, or something, I still don't really get modern technology."

"Do you think you're adapting?"

"I think Hydra kept me moderately aware of technology, as it was necessary for missions. The evolution of security cameras, how to get into a computer to download files, modern weapons, and cars. Tablets are nifty though."

Lilian cracked a smile, glancing down at the tablet on her lap. "Is there anything else about modern day you like?"

"TV," Bucky said without hesitation. "Pepper has introduced me to Grey's Anatomy, and this police show, Law and Order SVU. Olivia Benson might actually be my hero. And the food. We were still rationing in the forties; sugar wasn't as common back then. Hogan has started bringing me different coffees. With so much sugar in them. I love them, all of them. Music too. Grey introduced me to well everything. She sings, you know, if she thinks she's alone."

"What do you do, when you're alone?"

"I breathe, and I thank any God that will hear me for Grey Stark," Bucky said. "She will never accept my thanks, but, Lilian, she saved me."

Line Break

"What do you think of the suits?" Grey asked, walking along the shore with Bucky. They were holding hands, pretending to be just any other couple on the beach.

"I think they're sweet, but I… Grey I don't want a suit," Bucky said, slightly braced for her to be upset.

"Okay," Grey said, shrugging it off. "Do you think you might want to help us fight anyway?"

Bucky looked at her in surprise, even pausing their walking. Grey looked up at him, slightly confused.

"What?"

"Oh, sugar, what did you think? That if you said no, we'd kick you out? Or that you'd be forced into it anyway? You should know me better than that, what's the one rule?"

"I can say no to anything except loading the dishwasher," Bucky said dutifully. There was something indecipherable in his eyes. Maybe it was hope, or love, or excitement, but it was shining bright in his ice blue eyes. "Even as an Avenger?"

"Of course. You still get free will. If you want to just work back end you can, if you don't want to join at all, that's an option too. I seem to recall Pepper and Jim offering to set you up with llamas or goats in Ohio if you want to retire." Grey may have had to lean up on her tip toes, but she pressed a hand to Bucky's cheeks, smiling up at him warmly. "If you don't want a suit, we won't make you one. If you'd rather be the cavalry as you are, that's up to you. We'll support you no matter what."

"I did so much as the Winter Soldier," Bucky said, looking past Grey at the setting sun. "There's so much blood on my hands, I want to save the world, the same way I was ordered to destroy it; with my own two hands, prosthetic or not."

"I'm very proud of you, James Barnes," Grey said. If his eyes filled with tears, neither one bothered to mention it. "You continue to astonish me, every single day. You are the best man I've ever known."

"Not yet," Bucky said lowly. "But one day."

He spun her around, surprising a laugh out of her, and tugged her back in the direction of the house. He could see Pepper looking out the living room windows for them.

"Do you think Pepper could use an assistant?" Bucky asked. "I have a lot of down time, and I'd like to do something more productive than reading Lord of the Rings."

"Oh absolutely," Grey nearly cheered. "We were talking about that during our run yesterday, we're both drowning in paperwork, we'd love the extra eyes on them, or even just someone to deliver it to where it needs to be at Stark Industries. Were you thinking about coming back to life, legally?"

"Not until after I can tell your dad what I did." Bucky was always solemn when talking about his deeds for Hydra. "Using his money to bring me back, without him knowing seems wrong."

"If I hadn't pulled you out, Hydra would've sent you after Steve in 2014," Grey said. Bucky looked down at her in surprise. "He would've managed to knock the conditioning out of you so you recognized him. You end up on the run, Steve spends two years chasing you with dad's money, without telling him about papaw. His big thing was that it wasn't you."

"But it was," Bucky snorted in disgust. "Stevie's always been a bit naive. It might not have been my choice, or done by my free will, but it was still my hands that did it."

"I know," Grey said softly. Steve approached Bucky being the Winter Soldier poorly. "But we have the chance to do it right. And we will, right?"

"We've got this," Bucky said. "Shall we head home? I'm surprised you're not sunburnt."

"I probably am, my cheeks feel hot."

"C'mon." Bucky picked her up and slung her onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled as he carried her back up the cliff-face and into the living room, where he dropped her unceremoniously onto the couch.

"There you are, oh, your cheeks and shoulders are burnt, Bucky, there's aloe under my bathroom sink, would you go get it for me. Grey, we're flying to Seattle in three days, you gotta do better than this."

"It'll fade, I promise, I get burnt just by thinking about the sun, this isn't that bad," Grey said as Bucky walked away. "We're going to Seattle?"

"They hired a new department head, as CEO I have to welcome them in person, it's policy," Pepper said sourly.

"You know we can change that," Grey said. "Right? Cause you're the CEO. You can make that policy change."

"No, because it's Stane's policy. It was how he got everyone's loyalty. He made the policy change, didn't tell Tony, and started going in his place. It even took me a few months to notice."

"So the two of us go, full on charm offensive. Is this the first hire since we took over?" Pepper nodded. "So he won't be expecting us to be there, we can surprise him, knock him off his game. Jesus Christ that's cold!"

Bucky laughed as he rubbed the aloe on Grey's shoulders with his right hand. She erupted in goosebumps.

"Sorry Grey, but it's for your own good," Bucky said. "Especially if you're going to Seattle. You want this to heal before you start wearing a blazer again."

"You hover more than Pepper does," Grey accused.

"No one hovers, Grey, gravity exists for a reason," Pepper said with a perfectly straight face. Silence reigned for three seconds before Grey cracked up, dissolving into laughter.

Line Break

"I'm so glad you don't have any notebooks with you today," Pepper said as the two women settled down at a table in a coffeehouse in Seattle. It was raining outside, and they were killing time before their flight was allowed to take off. "That meeting just took what few brain cells I had left."

"That man is so dumb, how is he qualified for the Pacific Northwest Regional Director?" Grey demanded, her voice a furious hiss. "Who hired him? Because I want that person fired too."

"I'll get you a list of names," Pepper said. "We need to put one together anyway."

"Stane versus Stark," Grey complained. "Thankfully, we've got everything in place for Dad, we just have to wait."

"I hate waiting," Pepper said. Grey stood smoothly and crossed the room, scooping up the two lattes for them. A lavender honey latte for Grey, a pistachio latte for Pepper. "I finished proofing the iron contracts. You did really good on those, I only had to adjust the language in a few places. And you did, actually put fuck in the Air Force contract and it still sounded professional, I almost missed it."

"My true superpower. I can make fuck sound professional," Grey giggled, sipping at her latte. "Other than that though, were they decent?"

"Decent? Grey, they were fantastic, they sound fair to both parties, but still give us a huge advantage. And if they break the contract, you managed to make it punishable the same way we attacked Pym!"

"While we can break it with no penalty to us," Grey said softly. "And they'd never notice it."

"How the fuck did you do it?" Pepper asked. "Wait, let me guess, Slytherin politics?"

"Betrothal contracts," Grey replied, looking smug. "And Leverage, which I'm both heartbroken and excited about being a TV show here. I wanted the characters to be real here."

"I'm kind of glad we're the only fictional characters here," Pepper said quietly. "You scare me sometimes."

"Says the woman that judo threw the freaking Winter Soldier!"

"I did do that, didn't I?" Pepper asked, pleased. "Jim went further though."

"Less mass," Grey pointed out. "He's got an adamantium arm, that fucker is heavy. I would know, I accidentally got stuck under it in bed. Had to pee, had to wait an hour for him to roll over. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Potts. My boyfriend has a metal arm, yours has a nightlight in his chest."

"Rude!"

"True," Grey said. The two girls snorted, and returned to their lattes. "Did you have time to check over the September foundation paperwork?"

"I did. It's amazing, all that funding for student projects at MIT, Tony's going to love it." Grey flushed. She hated taking credit for things the movies did, but she really liked the praise. "How many years do you think we can run it for?"

"I think if we fund it for four years, alumni will fund it for a half century," Grey theorized. "I'd also like to make the September foundation our first stop for future employees. Allow them to publish all their things through Stark Industries. Jarvis was telling me that most companies impose a publishing fee of a good percentage of profits or something. If Stark Industries imposes a four percent publishing fee, with a two percent rider for the September Foundation, they'll get to keep ninety four percent of what they earn."

"We'd have scientists flooding our gates to get to work under that contract," Pepper said, amazed. "What about us though, would four percent be enough to stay out of the red?"

"Pepper, you forget, that's the tiniest thing that Stark Industries is going to rely on for profits. We'll have the Iron contracts, the New York contracts. Not to mention the entertainment contracts we're announcing next year at the Stark Expo."

"We're bringing back the Stark Expo?" Pepper asked, surprised.

"Didn't I mention that?"

"You probably did, but you mention so many things I can barely keep track. When?"

"Next year." Grey leaned back in her seat, lounging. "In May. The second movie spans a two-month period. Most of which I've negated already, we just have the antagonist role. That's also when we'll officially offer Christine the job."

"No wonder you're exhausted. You're working almost a year ahead of the rest of us. We're all working on the first movie, you're already on the second?"

"Pepper, I've already got plans for 2012 drafted and ready to go. This here? All these contracts? Those are baby steps. You all are just learning how to walk, I'm already running."

"You deserve a vacation," Pepper said, impressed. "And I'll make sure we take some, I refuse to be all work no play. It's already almost August, and I haven't been surfing once this season."

"You surf?" Grey asked, surprised.

"I've won a few competitions in my day," Pepper said, proud for surprising Grey. "Tony's been known to surf too. He's not bad."

"I don't think I have the balance for it," Grey said. "Thank goodness I grew up in New York. Stane's face though? When he walked in to find us there?"

"Oh my God, I almost died laughing," Pepper said. "I could not keep it together. He looked constipated."

"He looked like we slapped him with a fish," Grey said, wheezing with laughter. "He could not have been more surprised, unless Dad had been there."

"Can't wait to see his face when Tony gets home," Pepper laughed. "Are we telling him, or just letting him find out at the press conference?"

"I've just had what might be a terrible idea." Grey had a smile on her face, and a look in her eyes that promised chaos. Pepper leaned forward in anticipation. "My entrance to my first press conference? But Dad? With me at his side, and Happy and Jim behind us as security?"

"I think you might just break people if you do that. Let's set it up. We can gather the press conference as though you want to announce something, then we give them Tony instead of you."

"What if we're late?" Grey asked. "Think about it. We will know Dad's out easily twelve hours before he gets home. Jim can have the Air Force keep his rescue classified, so only he and General Morrow and those directly involved know. Dad or Jim will call us immediately, we schedule the press conference, then show up hella late, Dad in tow."

"The press won't know what to do because you and I are always perfectly on time, then we can cancel the weapons program, and while everyone is freaking out about it, Jayne will be the only one publishing about the investigation and our push into green energy." Pepper looked at Grey in awe. "Let's head back to the plane, we can start drafting the speeches, and you can let Jayne know to start working on her article."

Grey stood and scooped up their mugs, returning them to the bin with a soft thanks toward the barista. With a smile and a wave, the two women left the coffee shop and climbed in their rental. It was a quick drive to the airport with Grey behind the wheel.

"You know, I've always wanted to do a car chase," Grey said as she sped along the highway.

"That's not something I want to hear while you're driving," Pepper said, reaching up to grab at the handle. Grey scoffed, glancing at her speedometer that was showing her cruising at 75.

"I mean it, I want to drive a car at mach Jesus listening to Freebird. I think it'd be badass," Grey said, grinning.

"You're too much like your father. Maybe he'll put you on Top Gear for your birthday! He did that himself one year, talked about it for months." Pepper paused. "I think Barnes would like it too. He's probably bored out of his mind, just training us."

"He threatened to go on a killing spree after listening to Fox News again, didn't he?" Grey asked, shifting lanes to go around a pickup truck. "To be fair, that's the energy we're gonna need in 2020. Fuckin' Fox News. If I have to live through my version of twenty sixteen onward, I'll be the one going on a killing spree."

"That bad?" Grey swerved around a car, murder in her eyes. "That bad. Well, that's still six years away, let's get through the first alien invasion. What even is my life? Fuckin' aliens, an assassin lives down the hall from me. I mean seriously, the man killed JFK, and he eats my cereal."

"Don't think about it too much, it gets weirder," Grey promises, relaxing again. "Trust me. I try not to think."

"We know you don't think, Grey, you walked into a window yesterday," Pepper teased. Grey laughed, shrugging her admittance.

Line Break

Grey was running down her checklist posted up on the wall of the lab. She pre-made four of the triangle-things she needed for the new and improved arc-reactor for when Tony was deemed well enough to invent again. She had Pepper reaching out to Helen Cho, she was already in talks for a part time contract with Stark Industries while she finished her second fellowship at U-GIN in Seoul. Everett Ross would be making an appearance at the Firefighters Faily Fundraiser Gala so Grey could manufacture introductions. Pepper had spearheaded the creation of the New York tower, and how it would be staffed.

Jim had left in a hurry, so Grey had every reason to expect Tony's return, even though this was the fourth such time the Air Force made Jim fly out urgently. Her phone rang, and she picked it up blindly.

"Grey Stark, how may I ruin your day?"

"Hey, it's Sam."

"Hey hun, what's up?"

"Stane is pushing to expand weapons development; he dropped off paperwork for an expansion this morning."

"What expansion? Pepper hasn't received anything, and we sure as hell haven't signed anything."

"He wants to break ground on three new production plants, one in Texas, one in Michigan, and the third in Georgia. Says they'd create job opportunities."

"Stall the paperwork as long as you can," Grey instructed, absently adjusting something on a lab table. "I want it denied, but stall."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Air Force called Jim away again," Grey said. "They're not hopeful though, they just think it's more insurgents in the area."

"Damn, that really sucks, hun," Sam said. "I'll deal with the paperwork, you try not to worry too much."

"Thanks Sam, I'll let Pepper know what's happening, she's still upstairs with the Board. Hell, if Stane's on that call, he's probably going to mention it anyway."

They ended the call, and Grey went back to her checklist. All she had left to do was actually make the offer to Marvel Entertainment, but that had to wait a little bit longer. Her phone buzzed again.

"Grey Stark, how may I ruin your day?" She held the phone between her shoulder and jaw, leaning over to type at a workstation to wrap up an email.

"Hey Kiddo," Tony said brightly.