Unexpected

V

There was a lot written on Bucky. A lot Nina already knew about him, a lot she had learned in the forties, during the war, duting all those times they had spent together.

"James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes"
Born in 1917, Barnes grew up the oldest child of four. An excellent athlete who also excelled in the classroom, Barnes enlisted in the Army after the attack on Pearls Harbor. After winter training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, Barnes and the rest of the 107th shipped out to the Italian front. Captured by Hydra troops later that fall, Barnes endured long periods of isolation, deprecation and torture. But his will was strong. In an ironic twist of fate, his prison camp was liberated by none other than his childhood friend, Steve Rogers, now Captain America, and Agent in command, Nina Jones.

Reunited, Barnes and Rogers led Captain America's newly formed unit, the Howlling Commandos. Barnes' marksmanship was invaluable as Rogers and his team destroyed Hydra bases and disrupted Nazi troop movements throughout the European Theater.

James Barnes was the only member of the Howlling Commandos to give his life in service of his country.

James Barnes
1917-1944"

Steve stopped to read the text he had already read dozens of times. Nina grabbed his hand and held it tight in support. Steve gave her a sad smile as he squeezed it and lowered his head.

In front of them, there was footage of Steve, along with Bucky, Nina and a bunch of other soldiers, the Howlling Commandos. Nina smiled. It was quite nostalgic to see everything she'd been through in this period of time alone. I mean, she had already gone to so much before getting stuck in this planet, and now all of this. She looked down at Bucky's face, his smile. He was definetly very handsome. She missed him.

Steve pulled her hand towards a small room where a movie was on. It was a documentary, starring Peggy Carter. They sat down on one of the benches and listened as Peggy talked. Nina knew how much Steve had loved Peggy.

"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve...Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would...who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."

Steve looked down at the compass he was holding in his hands. As he opened it, Nina saw how he still had that old photo of Peggy inside it.

The two of them left the museum and Steve decided he wanted to go see Peggy. Nina decided it was a moment he needed to be alone with her, so she left him there and headed home.

When she woke up the next day, she was scared to see that Steve was sitting on her arm chair inside her living room.

"What the hell?" Nina screamed, waking the soldier up. He stood up.

"Hey," he said sleepily.

"Hey?" Nina asked him incredulously. "How did you get inside my apartment?" Steve frowned.

" You gave me the key."

"Oh," Nina said. She had forgotten about that. "Anyways, you could have knocked," she said, walking to the kitchen and making coffee.

"I did, you were sleeping," Steve told her.

"What's up?" Nina asked. "Don't you have nothing better to do than running to Queens and breaking in apartments?"

"I wanted to see if you were up to go and see Sam Wilson, that guy we met a few weeks back," he said.

Long story short, the two of them ended up in another road trip. It was to a PTSD group meeting where Sam was counseling other veterans.

"A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED," a woman said to the group. Steve and Nina waited by the door.

"Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back," Sam told them. Nina was shocked how good sam was woth this kind of thing. "It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you."

Steve and Nina waited for the meeting to end and Sam came to see them.

"Look who it is," Sam said with a smile as he approached the two. "The running couple."

"We caught the last few minutes," Nina told him. "Its pretty intense."

"Yeah, sister. We all got the same problems," he said. "Guilt, regret." Nina's mind went directly to Bucky again. She should have tried harder to save him. Maybe he would have aged and had a normal life. Maybe with her.

" You lose someone?" Steve asked Sam, who nodded reluctantly.

"My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission," Sam explained. "Standard PJ rescue op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before. 'Till RPG knocked Riley's dumb add out of the sky. Nothing I could do," he added shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," Nina said honestly. She knew exactly what it was like.

"It's like I was up there just to watch," he added.

"I'm sorry," Steve said too.

"Yeah. After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over here, you know?" Nina nodded.

"But you're happy now, back in the world?" Steve asked. Sam smiled.

" The number of people giving me orders is down to about zero," he said. Steve and Nina both smiled at him. "So hell yeah," Sam answered with a grin. "Do you two ever think about getting out?"

"No," Steve said, hesitantly. "I don't know. To be honest, I dont know what I would do with myself if I did."

"You could always ask Amy from forensics out," Nina commented. "Or that girl from Statics," she added.

"Why are you still trying to find me a date?" Steve asked with a smile.

"So I can stop waking up to you sitting on my arm chair inside my apartment," she answered.

" You could do Ultimate Fighting," Sam joked. Steve chuckled. "Just a great idea off the tip of my head." The two smiled and then Sam took on a more serious tone. "Seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?" Steve took some time to think.

"I don't know."