Finding Home: A Captain America FanFic

Chapter 2.

I sat waiting for Bucky to return or to not. I hoped that he wouldn't. That maybe this time Steve would recognize him and say his name. That when he did, the trigger would work properly, and Bucky would go to him. I wasn't sure how well my triggers would work though. I'd never tested them.

I was paged. He'd returned and my heart sank.

When I entered the room I could tell something was different about him. It was like he wasn't totally the Winter Soldier. Bucky was there too. He looked at me panicked and he lashed out at one of the men working on him. The tech flew across the room, and fell to the floor unconscious. An alarm was sounded, and soldiers filed into the room.

"Adams! What are you doing? Calm him!" Brian yelled at me.

"Soldier, relax." I said, holding my hand out to him. I pressed the thought calm to him and as I approached. He seemed to relax for a minute, and suddenly he lunged at me dragging my body against his, holding me by by throat with his metal hand.

"Bu – Soldier!" I yelped. I pushed calm on him, and at the same time I thought 'Bucky, please. What happened?'

It helped but only a little. He didn't let me up, but I didn't feel like I was going to be murdered. He wouldn't reply though. Not with his thoughts, nor with his voice. I relaxed against him. Partly just so he might relax too, but even though I knew I wasn't safe, he could kill me at any moment, this was the most physical contact I'd ever had with Bucky and I didn't want to be experiencing it in sheer terror. He was the only family I had and we'd only ever touched hands before.

"I don't know what we do here." One of the soldiers shouted. "Which asset is more important?"

"Don't you dare shoot the soldier." I snapped. "It's fine. I have this. And don't call me an asset."

We waited. I thought soothing thoughts and tried unlocking him from his mental cage. It was difficult with the Soldier so far in control. It was likely why he was only partly there. He relaxed though. By the time Pierce came into the room, he was staring blankly ahead, I was still sitting in his lap, but his hand had moved to gripping my arm.

Pierce looked right past me. "Mission report."

Bucky's grip tightened.

"Mission report, now!" Pierce suddenly slapped him, hard right across the face. His hand squeezed painfully on my arm and it felt like my bone was about to break. I cried out projecting the thought into Bucky. He let me go and I got up. I wanted to put my hands on him. With Pierce there, I wasn't sure I'd get away with it.

"That man on the bridge ..." Bucky said looking at Pierce. "Who was he?"

I pushed the word Steve at him.

Something passed over Pierce's features. He looked at me and then back to Bucky. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment."

"I knew him."

I pushed harder. Bucky, it was Steve. Your friend. He resisted me. The soldier was holding me out. He doesn't want to know. I don't know why Pierce was getting Bucky, but all I was getting was the Soldier.

Pierce sat down in front of Bucky. "Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped this century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

"But I knew him."

"Prep him."

I saw it clearly, I was getting the soldier and Pierce was getting Bucky because that is what the Soldier wanted. He wanted Bucky gone for good. He was pushing Pierce to wipe him. I put my hand on Bucky's shoulder. Like somehow that would protect him. "But he's been out of Cryo-freeze too long." I said desperate to stop what was about to happen. I needed to unlock him.