Remember Me // TFATWS

20

Later that day, the three made their way to a field surrounded by trees. Evelyn was inside with her siblings.

Sam took a deep breath before throwing the shield to one of the trees. It bounced off and returned to him.

"Feels weird... Picking it up again," Sam said as he tossed the shield again. It bounced off a couple trees before Bucky caught it. "The legacy of that shield is complicated, to say the least."

Madeleine nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Bucky let out a sigh. "When Steve told me and Maddi what he was planning, I don't think either of us understood what it felt like for a black man to be handed the shield."

"How could we?" Madeleine added. "Sam, I'm sorry. Steve knew what he was doing when he chose you. He made the right call."

Bucky gave Madeleine a soft smile, then turned back to Sam. "I owe you an apology, Sam. I'm sorry." He handed the shield to Sam.

Sam took the shield and replied, "Thank you."

"Whatever happened with Walker, it wasn't your fault. I get it. It's just that shield is the closest thing I've got to family. When I crossed paths with Madeleine again, we quickly became a family when Evelyn was born even though she isn't biologically mine. So when you retired it, it made us feel like I had nothing left."

Madeleine took Bucky's hand, running a thumb in circles on the back of it.

Madeleine looked down as she said, "Made me question everything. You, Steve, Bucky, me. Even the kids. You know, I've got his, uh... I've got his book. And, uh... I just figured if it worked for him, then it'd work for me. Bucky figured the same."

"I understand, Maddi," Sam said. "But Steve is gone." He sighed, as did Madeleine and Bucky. "And this might be a surprise, but it doesn't matter what Steve thought." He threw the shield and caught it when it came back to him. "You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are." He threw the shield again, but when it came back, Madeleine caught it. "Let me ask you. You still having nightmares? What about you, Buck?"

Bucky nodded. "Almost every night. The battles, fear of something else happening to the kids or the baby."

Madeleine nodded as she said, "All the time. It means I remember. Which means a part of the Winter Soldier's still in me." She threw the shield and Sam caught it.

"You two up for a little tough love?" Sam asked and Bucky and Madeleine nodded. "You two want to climb out of the hell you're in, do the work. Do it."

"I've been making amends."

"Nah. You weren't amending, you were avenging. You were stopping all the wrongdoers you enabled as the Winter Soldier because you thought it would bring you closure. You go to these people and say "sorry," because you think it'll make you feel better, right? But you gotta make them feel better. You gotta go to them and be of service. I'm sure there's at least one person in that book who needs closure about something, and you're the only one who can give it to 'em."

"Probably a dozen."

"That's cool. Start with one."

Bucky glanced at Madeleine and said, "And I think I know who to start with, doll."

Madeleine nodded. "Good talk."

Bucky and Sam did a high-five handshake and Sam hugged Madeleine.

"You two know Karli isn't going to quit, right?" Sam said.

Bucky smacked his lips. "Ah. You call us when you have a lead, and Maddi and I'll be there. Not necessarily as a team."

"Nope."