Saving Grace

Chapter XV

Bold text = German

Grace's point of view

Slowly, she came to her senses. She was still lying on something soft and warm. A large hand engulfed her right hand, and a weight pressed down on it. She could also sense a dip in her mattress on her left side near her knees. Prying her eyes open, she found herself in the same room as before. The blonde who was so gentle held her hand and his head rested on their intertwined fingers. Looking down on her other side, she found the shaggy dark-haired one who spoke German. His head rested on his arms which were folded on the mattress.

She felt a strange sense of...peace...something she could not remember feeling before.

Her gaze returned to the blonde. Steve...his name was Steve. The dark one...Bucky...told her. She needed to remember these names in case they wanted her to use them. While she did not have a name - assets did not have names - she knew that most people have them and like for them to be used.

Steve...He was so tall and strong; she was sure that he could break every bone in her body in moments if he wanted to. She knew many strong men. Her trainers were all very strong, brutal men. Their strength and love of using it against her oozed from them. Yet, Steve was never like that. In fact, she was certain that he was stronger than her trainers, but she had the distinct impression that he did not like inflicting pain on others. She also got a feeling that his greatest strength actually lay somewhere other than his limbs.

As she watched him slumber, her mind drifted back to the moments before the pain attacked her head. Golden hair, blue eyes, gentle hands, and air of determination: these struck a chord deep inside her dark heart, but she did not know what it meant.

Bucky' s point of view

Bucky sensed the mattress shift under his arms. Raising his head, he watched Der Schatten...Grace...turn toward Steve's sleeping form. Bucky felt a bittersweetness at the scene. Every time he saw Steve, his friend's eyes were always full of such stubborn optimism and hope. Steve was so sure that Grace would remember.

As Bucky watched, she tentatively reached out and touched Steve's hair, then buried her fingers in the golden strands.

"Why do I feel like I should know you?" she whispered. "Why does your voice haunt my dreams? I know you, yet I don't."

Bucky smiled softly. Maybe there was a little hope after all.

Steve's point of view

Steve woke slightly disoriented. It took a moment for him to remember that he was in Grace 's room, resting on their intertwined hands. Suddenly, he realized there was something on his head. He opened his eyes and found that Grace had turned onto her side, her free hand resting in his hair as she had been combing her fingers through it. Hope rose in his heart. Maybe, just maybe, she was remembering.