Out of Time

2

I awaken and look around. I'm in The Winter Soldier's arms and he's carrying me through a hallway. He opens a door and sets me on a bed. I see it's a hotel room and look about. It's just Winter Soldier and I.

"Do you have something I can change into?", I ask.

He looks at me and I ask,"A shirt or something?"

He heads to a bag and comes over with a folded up square in his hand. He hands it to me and I turn so he can unzip my dress.

I ask,"Would you unzip me please?"

He steps towards me but hesitates. I look at him and see a steely gaze looking back at me. He's calculating his next move. He doesn't know what to truly do. He's a killing machine.

I say,"I'm not gonna do anything other than put the t shirt on. I'm not your enemy Winter Soldier."

He looks at me and I step towards him. I'm close and I shakily reach out and place my hand on his chest. He doesn't move and I look at him.

I ask,"Do you have another name I can call you?"

He looks at me and says,"I'm known as The New Fist of Hydra, Winter Soldier, Ghost."

I ask,"You don't have a normal name?"

He seems confused and he tilts his head to the side with a pondering look gracing his features. I don't know why but the name "James" keeps popping into my head.

I ask,"May I call you James?"

Something passes through his eyes and he nods.

I say,"Well James, I'm Ava. And I'd love it if you could help me out of this dress so I can get some proper rest and take care of my leg wound."

I turn around and he unzips my dress and I pull the t shirt over my head, the dress falls and I hear an almost inaudible intake of breath from James as I pull the shirt down over my body. It falls past my knees and I climb into the bed and he looks at me.

I say,"You better get your metal arm wielding butt into this bed and rest as well. Don't make me drag you by your nostrils, James."

He looks at me and I can tell he is trying to assess the threat I just said.

I say,"Get in the bed. You need your rest."

He takes off all his tactical gear and lays his guns on the table across from the bed. Taking his boots off, he climbs into bed beside me. He lays there still as a statue the only sign of movement is his chest moving up and down indicating him breathing.

He says,"My boss is gonna wonder why I have a civilian with me."

I reply,"Tell your boss I'm an ally."

He says,"He'll probably have me kill you."

I reply,"I'll convince him otherwise."

I turn away and close my eyes. I need to figure out who this man is. He doesn't know anything of his own identity outside of what he is told. At some point my eyes do close and I drift to sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, gasping as I try to clamber out of bed. My body is tangled in the sheets and I fall to the floor. James, Winter Soldier, sits up and looks at me.

Lidia reaches towards me and I'm back there. I'm in the Red Room.

"No. No. No. Get away from me.", I say.

James tilts his head and says,"Ava."

I scramble away from Lidia as she stalks towards me. She gets closer and the scalpel in her hand glints in the moonlight. I kick her away from me and she falls to the side.

I say,"I am not giving up MY children for your blind crusade!"

She says,"But that's what it's gonna have to take darling."

I reply,"No! I said NO!"

She grabs my arm and I quickly pull her down. I get on top as I slam her hand onto the ground knocking the scalpel from her hand.  I slam my fist into her face splitting her lip as she fights against me. She quickly flips me over and her hand is wrapped around my throat.

She glared at me and says,"You will give them to us."

Tears fall from my eyes as I say,"No. I want to be a mother. No."

Lidia sits back and tilts her head to the side.

Her voice changes,"Ava."

Suddenly, it's not Lidia on top of me, it's James.

He looks at me concerned and confused. Tears fall from my eyes and he helps me sit up.

He asks,"What's wrong?"

I can't answer as sobs wrack my body. I throw my arms around his neck as I cry. He slowly wraps his arms around me and holds me. He slowly stands and  sets me on the bed gently. He kneels in front of me and lifts my chin up.

He asks,"What happened to you?"

I say,"It was...a few years ago. I got into some trouble in Russia. They sent me to this place where I was trained and molded. The final step to receiving my name was one I could not take. I nearly lost everything that day. But I killed them all and fled."

James asks,"They wanted to sterilize you?"

I nod and hang my head hiding my face from him. He lifts my head and looks in my eyes.

He says,"They can't hurt you anymore."

I say,"I went through their rigorous training. Over and over again."

I sit on the bed and tell James of my darkness. I look at him and I see something change in his eyes. He's....empathizing. I reach my hand out slowly and place it against his cheek. He grips my wrist in a quick motion but then freezes.

I ask,"What did they do to you, James?"

He looks at me and I know I need to make him tell me. My mission is to get close to him.

I say,"James, I won't say a word to anyone. I have no one. Only you."

He looks at me and says,"That is a story for another time. You need rest. We have to go back tomorrow to  talk to my boss."

I say,"Please. You said it yourself. Your boss will probably have you kill me."

James asks,"You don't give up easily do you?"

I reply,"Not when I'm trying to get to know the last man I'll be spending probably my last night with."

He says,"Sleep. I will tell you later."

I realize he might need to have me show him that he can trust me.

I say,"Fine. But only if you sleep too."

He nods and climbs in beside me. He lays down beside me and I curl under the covers. My eyes close and sleep soon comes to me.