The Winter Soldier wakes up and is confused for a second about what happened. Then he remembers the crash.
He quickly looks around and sees the girl. Her head is slumped forward and she isn't moving.
He gets out of his seat and crawls towards her. She looks so pale but he's comforted by the fact that her skin is still warm.
He panics for a second because she can't be dead. Why would he get to live while she dies? It didn't seem fair or right.
He also doesn't want to go back to Hydra empty handed but he has to admit to himself that that is not a real concern.
He reaches up and when he touches her neck, he doesn't feel a pulse.
He doesn't even bother with unlocking the seat. He rips the harness off her and places her gently on the ground.
He wasn't taught a lot of things about how to save a person's life, mostly just how to end them, but he knows just enough to know what to do.
He begins pressing the spot right over her hearts in hopes to restart it.
He opens her mouth and leans down and presses his mouth to hers, forcing air into her lungs.
Her lips are still warm so that means that she hasn't been gone for long. He knows he can still save her.
He repeats the process for a couple minutes and is about to give up hope when she gives a small gasp.
He is in such relief that he just holds her against him. He rests his forehead against hers and feels the sweetest relief.
He can feel her pulse under his hands where he's touching her neck and can feel her warm breath on his face. He's so close that he could reach forward and press his lips to hers.
He finally realizes the intimacy of the position they're in and how it's wrong on so many levels. There's a very large part of him that wants to stay in her arms forever but he can't understand why he wants that.
She is a virtual stranger. Is it just because he's never been in front of a woman who wasn't cruel for the first time? For some reason he knows in his bones that that is not the case. It is because of this particular girl.
All of these feelings of course are wrong in the worst ways. He needs to get over whatever it is he is feeling because it's so dangerous.
He hates himself for doing it but he somehow finds the strength to pull away from her. He needs to get away from her for a moment and clear his head.
"I'm going to go check the land and see where we ended up. Can I trust you to stay here?" He asks.
Lizzie is still recovering and has barely had time to process all that just happened. Her ribs feel like they are at least badly bruised, probably more likely fractured. Even if she wanted to, she is in no shape for an escape attempt.
"Would running away be a good way to repay you for saving my life? Anyways, I think we both know I won't get very far and the rain will make tracking me down all too easy," she says.
He knows she's right. She won't get very far after literally dying minutes earlier.
He's about to ask if she's okay and if she needs anything but then he realizes he shouldn't care. She's his prisoner and he shouldn't care about her comfort but he does.
"I'll be right back," he says.
He ducks out in the rain, leaving Lizzie alone to her thoughts and her thoughts drift inevitably to home.
She knows that Bucky has most definitely found out she is gone. She's sure he has also dragged Steve into all this as well.
They are probably already planning to rescue her. She wishes that they wouldn't try because they risk the rest of the family if they get exposed. Her family is far more important than her own life.
She regrets leaving her wedding ring because she knows it will just fuel Bucky into finding her. She should have asked if she could write a note before she left telling him that she was leaving him and the kids. It would have broke his heart but at least him and the kids would be safe.
She suddenly realizes that she has one hope that may make them abandon her. Her heart just stopped and she knows inevitably Steve will feel that. She just has to hope that he won't feel that she's still alive. If they think she's dead, they won't look for her. It's a long shot, but she hopes that's the case.
She thinks about her babies and how big they've already grown and they aren't even a year old yet.
They already have so much personality that she is so mad that she is going to miss them growing up.
JJ loves attention but Steven is more than willing to let his brother take the spotlight. JJ is definitely the more athletic out of the twins but Steven is more intellectually. They always came to her when they are sad or need comfort but always go to Bucky when they want to play.
She wonders if they will keep the same trends when they grow up. She wishes more than anything that she could see it.
She knows it's not his fault she was taken, it's Hydra's. She doesn't know what to call him in her head. She refuses to call him The Winter Soldier but he's also not her Jaime or even Bucky. However, she can see hints of him at times.
After an hour, he returns.
"I think we're in Ireland but there's no settlements nearby as far as I can see. The plane only took superficial damage so it's still flyable," he says.
She doesn't think she imagines the sadness in his voice at the thought. Her Jaime is in there and she knows that he doesn't want to turn her in.
"We shouldn't take off in this storm though and it might last a couple days," he says.
He has never hoped for rain so much in his life. He knows it's delaying the inevitable but he just wants to stay with her a little longer. It's wrong and selfish but he can't help it.
They sit in silence for a moment both not sure what to say.
Lizzie notices that he is soaked through from walking in the rain.
"You should get into some dry clothes, you could get sick," she says.
Why is she so concerned about him? He still doesn't understand her.
"I don't get sick," he says.
She purses her lips because she knows that all too well.
"Aren't you cold?" She asks.
He gives out a sarcastic laugh. He doesn't know when the last time he laughed was, even a sarcastic one. He doesn't know if he's ever laughed.
"Trust me, the cold is not a problem either," he says.
"Well just looking at you is making me cold so will you please just change?" She asks.
He was so focused on her face this whole time that he never noticed what she was wearing. She was still in a short sleeved night gown that ended just above the knees. She was shaking like a leaf and he knows that she must be freezing.
He walks over to his bag and gives her his only dry jacket and a pair of pants that he knew would be huge on her but at least her legs would be covered from the cold.
Now that he notices what she is wearing, he couldn't stop looking. She has really nice legs and he would be less distracted if they were covered.
"Thank you," she whispers.
She quickly puts them on and after a few minutes, her shivering stops.
He changes into dry clothes in the bathroom before rejoining her.
He is rolling his left shoulder absentmindedly and Lizzie takes notice.
"Is your shoulder hurting from the rain?" She asks.
He looks at her confused. He thinks about his shoulder and it is a little sore but compared to all the pain he's experienced, this is minimal.
"How did you...?" He asks.
"My husband is missing an arm. He wears a prosthetic but his shoulder sometimes hurts when it rains," she says.
It took Bucky a long time to admit to her when he was in pain, even though it is slight pain. He didn't like to be weak in front of her because he was supposed to be strong for her. She finally convinced him that marriage was about sharing each other's burdens so he started opening up a lot more after that.
"No, I meant how did you know I'm missing an arm?" He asks.
"Oh, I'm a biotech engineer and we work with a lot of amputees so I know how to recognize the signs," she lies.
She's never been a good liar and she can tell from his face that he doesn't fully believe her but thankfully, he lets it drop.
They sit in silence for a long time after that. He tries to avoid looking at her but every time he looks over, her eyes are locked on him.
"The man that you say I look like, were you in love with him?" He asks.
They are both surprised at his question but he doesn't take it back. He can't help but want to know her.
"He's the love of my life and he means the world to me," Lizzie says.
"Your husband is okay with you loving this other man? Even if he is dead?" He asks.
She gives a small smile but says nothing because she can't really tell him that her husband and Bucky are the same person.
"He understands that my love for my Jaime will never go away," she says.
"He must have been special," he says.
For a man to so thoroughly captured her heart, he must have an equally good soul.
"He was. I met him when I was twelve years old. I absolutely hated him at first but we grew to be friends. He saved my life," she says.
He gets a small flash of a much younger Lizzie laying on the concrete as blood flows out of her head, staining the ground a harsh crimson.
"I remember when he went on his first date and I was heart broken. At that point, we were just friends so I didn't realize how I felt about him until then. I tried to convince myself that I was over him by dating another boy named Riley," she says.
The name Riley brings a physical reaction in him. It fills him with a rage that is so foreign to him. He's used to feeling rage but this feels like it's connected to another emotion. He thinks it might be jealousy. He's never felt jealousy before but that's what it feels like. Why would he be jealous of some boy he's never met?
"I had hid I was dating him from Jaime and my twin, Steve,"
An image of a skinny blond boy pops into his head. He can see the family resemblance in the picture he strangely conjured in his mind.
"They followed me on a date and Jaime interrupted by yanking me out of the car. We didn't speak for awhile but then he came over with some tomato soup and everything was forgiven," she says.
He doesn't think he's ever had tomato soup but in his head the idea of it is tied with the feeling of comfort.
What is happening? How is she projecting these thoughts and feelings in his head right now? That's the only explanation for what is happening to him right now. He's never seen or done these things but his body is having a visceral reaction to the story.
"We drunkenly had our first kiss at a Halloween party while I was still with Riley. Not the most romantic start, I know. I was so confused about my feelings for him at the time. Well, not confused, scared. Loving him felt like a big risk at the time because I had so much to lose if it went badly," she says
He wants to beg her to stop talking. He feels like his head is about to explode from overload. However, he also feels like something is trying to break through and he's too curious to stop her.
"He threw a New Years Eve party and we ended up alone right before midnight. He told me he loved me and gave me one of the most magical kisses I think I've ever experienced. I knew after that moment, that there was no going back. I was in love with him and I always would be," she says.
She gives a soft reminiscent smile.
"I used to tell him all the time that I didn't know if I believed in soul mates," she starts to say.
"But if I did, you'd be mine," he finishes.
Those words belonged to her. He knew that she has said them many times before. She has said those words many times to him.
"Ellie?"