12/24/24/12/27/24

In the Control Tower the radio squawked in the empty control room.

"Agent Carter, Bucky, come in..." Steve said on the radio and Peggy and Bucky ran in and Peggy grabbed the radio, frantic and relieved.

"Steve, is that you? Are you okay?" Peggy asked.

"I'm fine."

"Where's Schmidt?"

"Schmidt's dead."

"What about the plane?"

"That's a little bit harder to explain."

"Give me your coordinates. I'll find a landing site-." Peggy said.

"There isn't going to be a landing. Schmidt's locked the navigation system." he said. "And there's more than enough power to reach the East Coast." he said and she looked grave then waved Phillips down.

"I'll get Howard on the line. He'll know what to do."

"I'm sitting on a hundred tons of explosives. Hot wiring this thing's not an option." he said. "I've got to put her in the water." he said and she spread her fingers on the wall, her knuckles white.

"But you said you couldn't steer it."

"I can't. But I think I can crash it."

"Crash it?!" Bucky said.

"Steve, don't do this. We've got time. We can figure this out." Peggy said.

"I already did. Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are going to get hurt." Steve said. "Peggy, Buck, this is my choice."

Peggy and Phillips looked at each other, slowly accepting what's happening while Bucky shut his eyes.

"We'll send out rescue ships. We'll find you." Peggy said.

"I don't think there's going to be much left to find." Steve said. "Peggy?"

"I'm here."

"I'm going to need a rain check on that dance."

"All right. A week Saturday. The Stork Club." she said holding back tears.

"Okay. You got it."

"8:00 on the dot. If you're three minutes late I'm leaving, do you understand?"

"I still don't know how to dance." he said and she closed her eyes.

"I'll show you. I'll show you everything. Just be there."

"Maybe the band could play something slow, I'd hate to step on your-" he started but the radio in her hand went silent and Phillips put a hand on her shoulder and she just stared out the hanger at the blue sky beyond.

Bucky stood there quietly playing with a ring he held in his pocket.

'I guess that proposal won't happen after all.' he thought and cleared his thought catching their attention.

"Steve uh, wanted me to give you something if he didn't survived this." Bucky said and held out a box. "His plan was to propose to Peggy after this mission. But since he can't, I thought it best I gave you the ring and tell you." he said, opened the box and Peggy gasped to see a Dimond ring. "Here you go." he said and handed her the box. "I'm so sorry Peggy."

"Thank you Sergeant." Peggy said and he nodded. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"He was more like a brother than a friend. I've known him since '30. Found him being beat up by some guys in an alley as usual and from then on we became friends and stuck together."

A week later Bucky was home with his family while finding an apartment for himself.

He agreed to join SSR but wanted to relax a little and they accepted that.

He hadn't told anyone about that day Zola experimented on him and hoped he wouldn't have to. But knowing his luck since the war started? He probably will.

Over the years the Howling Commandos stayed a team at SSR now known as SHIELD.

Bucky became the leader being second in command and the best agent of them all.

Everyone but him got married and had kids, including Peggy and Howard.

They tried to get him to date but he never found someone until he admitted he's homosexual shocking them all.

What they started to notice though is that unlike everyone else is he hadn't aged a day since Steve saved the 107th in 1943.

It was 1975 and the Commandos had started retiring to spend more time with their family.

Bucky was at his apartment right now when there was a knock so put down his cup of coffee and went to open the door to see Peggy.

"Hey Peggy." Bucky said.

"Bucky." Peggy said.

"Come on in. I just made some coffee." he said and let her in.

"Coffee would be nice, thank you." she said and went to sit down.

A few minutes later they were sitting down.

"So, what did you come here for? I know it wasn't just for coffee." Bucky said and Peggy looked at him.

"What happened that day the 107th was captured and Steve found you strapped up in a lab James?" Peggy asked and he froze. "You haven't aged a day since." she said and he sat there quietly staring at his coffee.

"Zola created his own version of the serum and gave it to me. I was second in command and the first in command was killed the week before we were captured so I forced them to do everything to me. I don't know the difference between Steve and my serums or the similarities. Except I can't get drunk, haven't gotten sick since, heal fast, run fast and stuff like that."

"That explains it." she muttered and looked at him. "Your metabolism is faster, you heal fast, you can't age and we were never able to learn how long you can live with the serum but considering what you look like,"

"You're saying I'm immortal thanks to the serum." He said and she stayed quiet for a minute then nodded.

"Yes. It seems so."

"Why can't life be easy anymore?"

"I don't know." she said and they sighed.

As the Commandos retired Bucky worked with Peggy more and when they all retired, it was Peggy or himself. While doing that Bucky had come up with a name for himself at work called the Winter Soldier.

In 1981 a man named Nick Fury came and he was way to cheery for Bucky's liking and while they worked together caused Bucky to lose his left arm.

Howard was able to make him a metal arm to use while his son and Bucky's godson Tony told him what he's been up to.

Howard hadn't been spending much time with him since he was born and when Bucky accepted the role as godfather he made sure Tony had a childhood to remember.

He would take him out to have fun when he wasn't working.

In 1991 both Peggy and Bucky retired from SHIELD and Bucky felt relief.

Peggy was diagnosed with dementia and living in a nursing home that Bucky would visit every weekend.

In 2008 Bucky got a call from Tony's friend Colonel Rhodes saying Tony had been missing for months and they needed the Winter Soldier's help.

He was on a military helicopter right now when he saw Tony waving at them.

"He's down there!" Winter Soldier said and the helicopters started to lands as Tony collapsed to his knees, holding up a peace sign.

Then Winter Soldier and a few men ran up to Tony from the helicopter.

"Uncle Bucky?" Tony said in shock while Winter Soldier held him close.

"Don't ever do that again. You hear me?" Winter Soldier said and looked at him. "Next time get a ride with Colonel Rhodes, Pepper or Happy. Got it?"

"Got it." Tony said and Winter Soldier hugged him again and felt something.

"What's this?" Winter Soldier asked and saw the reactor on Tony's chest.

"It's a long story."

"Well, let's get you on the helicopter and you can tell me what happened. Huh?"

"OK." Tony said and Winter Soldier helped him up and onto the helicopter.

While they headed to California Tony told him about the Arc reactor, bomb, the shrapnel in him and the suit he created.

"Jesus." Winter Soldier said. "But you're OK, right?"

"Yeah, I'm OK." Tony said.

"Good."

Later they were landing on the California Military Base where a giant plane has just landed. Medical, Happy, and Pepper were waiting there when the ramp lowered and Winter Soldier helped Tony down.

"Watch it, coming up here." Winter Soldier said.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." Tony said and walked up to Pepper. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." Pepper said and Winter Soldier smiled.

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony said and he, Pepper and Happy got into the car while Winter Soldier left to head home.

In 2012 Bucky was at home after a shower from a run when his phone rang.

"Hello?" He said.

"Barnes." Fury said.

"What do you want?"

"We found Rogers."

"What?" Bucky said in shock.

"We found Rogers and want you there when he wakes up since he's known you the longest."

"I'll be there. SHIELD medical facilities?"

"Yes."

"I'll need access."

"A staff will be there waiting to give you access there while your there."

"OK." Bucky said. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"OK." Fury said and hung up.

Then Bucky stood there for a minute and thought.

"He's alive. That punk is alive and we didn't know." he said shaking his head.