A/N: Last chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who's stuck with it :)

15. You'll Be Fine, I Will Get Left Behind

Leaving the hidden base was not easy, of course, but they managed. The Soldier led the way, so that helped. Not much got past him. Natasha watched Steve carefully, though he seemed to have little trouble staying focused on the mission at hand. If he was disturbed to see his best friend efficiently murdering people, it didn't show. Whatever Sam felt about the situation wasn't apparent on his face, but she suspected he was holding off on forming an opinion until he saw how Steve would respond.

Finally, they were back on the street. There were sirens coming, no doubt because of the smoke that followed their exit. They fell into step behind the Soldier, who led the way back to their plane. Natasha allowed Steve to go in front of her, dragging Victor along beside him. As they left the city, she walked next to Sam. The Soldier did not provide the opportunity for Steve to walk next to him. Sam glanced over at her and raised his eyebrows questioningly. She shrugged eloquently in response and the group continued in silence.

"You followed the directions precisely?" she asked as the Soldier opened the hatch to their plane.

"Yeah. The quinjet is on auto-pilot, going back to Tony's." Steve was not looking at her, still watching his friend. "What's next?"

The Soldier jumped into the plane, then turned around to face them. "We take him in," he said ominously.

Steve's eyes narrowed slightly, though possibly more confused than angry. "Where?"

"Fury," Natasha replied, climbing into the plane after the Soldier. She slipped passed him and went to start the engines while they sorted themselves out. Things were going to be uncomfortable for this ride; she was glad it would only take them about an hour to get to the place Fury agreed to meet. She strapped herself into the pilot's seat, and waited until she heard the hatch close. "Everyone good back there?" she asked over the intercom.

"We're good," Sam called back.

"I thought you were going to lay low," Fury said, looking at her intently.

"So did I," she replied with a smile.

He looked over at the men with whom she had arrived, who were handing Victor over to Fury's team. "Interesting company you're keeping."

"They're good soldiers," she replied.

Fury turned his attention back to her. "Yes, they are. Where will you go now?"

She shrugged. "Back to Stark's. For a while at least. He's invited all the Avengers, you know," she added with a smile.

"I know," he answered, almost smiling back. "Good luck, Natasha. Keep those soldiers in line."

"You know I will, sir."

Sam volunteered to fly them back. He said something about wanting to fly that model of plane, and Natasha couldn't think of a particularly relevant excuse to refuse him. She suspected he wanted to do it to give Steve and Bucky space for their reunion. Slipping into one of the seats near the cockpit, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She hoped her presence wouldn't prevent whatever it was they needed to say to each other.

The two super soldiers climbed into the plane and stood awkwardly in the open space of the cabin. Neither seemed to consider going to the private cabin in the back. Natasha watched them through half-closed eyes and would have been amused by their awkwardness if it weren't quite so sad.

"Steve, you're bleeding," the Soldier said suddenly.

Steve looked down at his side in surprise. "Yeah," he replied, seeming at a loss.

"I'll get the med kit," Natasha volunteered. The Soldier looked at her sharply, but didn't move. She fetched it from the bathroom and returned to Steve. "You're going to need to take off your shirt, Rogers," she told him gently. His suit was not exactly designed for easy removal, so she helped him a bit. "Soldier, what do we have in this?"

"Standard field dressing," the Soldier replied, opening it. He sounded worried.

"It's just a graze. It needs stitches." She looked up at Steve, then glanced over at the Soldier. "No volunteers?"

"I can do it," the Soldier said quietly. She moved Steve over to one of the tables and made him lay down so his side was easier to access. Then she stood beside the Soldier and helped however she could as he expertly dressed the wound.

"I feel like we've been here before," Steve said quietly, staring intently up at the ceiling.

The Soldier gave a short laugh. "You always seem to get yourself into more trouble than anyone else."

"So I'm a little reckless…"

"A little?" The Soldier shook his head, a small smile gracing his features for the first time she'd seen. "I seem to recall you going by yourself 30 miles behind enemy lines to rescue some idiot you didn't even know survived the battle."

"I'd think that idiot would be a little more grateful," Steve replied, frowning.

"Grateful to Dugan and the rest who got us the hell out of there."

Steve hissed as the Soldier pulled the stitches tight to knot them. "They were good men," he said quietly.

"Yeah, they were." Finished with the task, the Soldier stepped back and the moment of camaraderie seemed lost.

Steve glanced at Natasha, then got to his feet, pulling his suit the rest of the way on again. "Am I still reckless, Nat?"

She looked between the two men briefly, gauging their emotional state. Stepping lightly was definitely required here. "You jumped out of a plane after Iron Man and two Asgardians with nothing but your shield and a parachute." The Soldier looked at Steve sharply and she resisted smiling at his almost offended look. "You jumped into the water to get at the Lumerian Star without a parachute. Those may be the only other times we've been on a plane together, Rogers. Should I be offended that you always want to jump off them to get away from me?"

The Soldier laughed. "That's Steve, always running into fights and away from women."

Natasha hid her surprise, but found herself laughing as well at Steve's discomfort. "Listen, you two, I like women just fine, it's just not a priority," he stammered.

"I don't know about women, but you liked Peggy," the Soldier acquiesced.

"I still like Peggy. She's just… a little out of my league."

"She's still alive?" the Soldier asked quietly.

"Yeah. I go visit her sometimes." Steve sat down at one of the tables and the Soldier almost tentatively lowered himself into the seat across from him. Natasha stayed where she was, waiting.

"Is… is anyone else?"

Steve shook his head sadly. "Seventy years is a long time." He paused, looking intently at his friend, who was staring at the table in front of them. "Why didn't you come back sooner?" Steve asked at last.

The Soldier looked up sharply, his eyes flickering to Natasha's, then back to Steve. "I had to do something first. Before I couldn't do it anymore."

"Destroy HYDRA? Why couldn't you do it anymore?" Steve demanded, perplexed.

Seeing the distress on the Soldier's face, Natasha walked over and pulled up a chair to sit at the head of the table. "He's having a hard time, Steve," she explained softly. "With his cognitive recalibration."

The Soldier looked gratefully at her for a moment, while Steve stared at her in surprise, brow furrowing. "The more I remember, the harder it is to deal with. I wanted to… to get revenge as much as I could before the guilt started crushing me."

"Bucky…" Steve met his friend's eyes and murmured heart-brokenly. "It's my fault all this happened," he added.

"No, Steve, it's not. It's theirs. And I've made them pay, as much as I could," the Soldier said sharply. He glanced at Natasha again, who smiled at him reassuringly. "But it wasn't enough. I could… I could use some help. Maybe from someone with as much cause to hate HYDRA as I have," he added slowly.

"Bucky, of course, I'd be happy to help," Steve said quickly.

"We can finally finish our mission," the Soldier said with a grim smile.

"We really have been putting it off for long enough," Steve agreed, matching his expression. "Colonel Phillips would give us an earful if he were still around."

"Well, I'm glad we'll miss that," the Soldier answered sincerely.

"Me too."

The two soldiers smiled slowly at each other and Natasha found herself smiling as well. "So, you old timers going to fill me in on these war story references, or should I go chat with Sam at the kiddie table?"