Title: Motto of the 126th Chemical Battalion, US Army

I have always imagined what came after that moment, and here it is. Enjoy a happy ending. For once. :)

Is this Hell?

It was a question he'd asked more than once in the last… How long had he been here? He didn't actually know. Days? Weeks?

Time had become irrelevant. Except for how long the next bout of torture would last, how long the next drug would take to burn through him. How long the pain lasted. How long until he died.

That line had blurred more than once, and now again he had to wonder: was this Hell? Was he dead already?

Demons with red faces, pain, heat, deafening explosions.

Bucky glanced out across the chasm of flame, the dancing, orange light casting shadows that never stayed the same.

He stumbled on the steps, and a hand gripped his arm. Looked up at… Steve. Big, strong, powerful Steve, who no longer seemed to need anyone to stick up for him, considering the way he took on the demon-man. Did that make Steve an angel? He heard his friend swear under his breath, as Bucky stumbled again, and he had the oddest urge to laugh.

So if it wasn't Hell and it wasn't Heaven, it had to be good old Earth. Now, wasn't that a relief.

Another explosion rocked the building. Well, it would be, if they got out of here alive.

They stumbled to a stop at the guard rail, just above the beam that stretched across the inferno; their one way out.

Bucky's heart pounded, and he blinked back the fog that had filled his head for God only knew how long. Something else blew up; how much time did they have?

"Let's go," Steve said. "One at a time." He laid a hand on Buck's arm and assisted him as he climbed over the rail.

One foot in front of the other. Just like in training. Just like…

The steel girder creaked with the force of another blast, and he gulped. Tore his eyes away from the flames, fixed his gaze on the other end of this narrow bridge: safety.

With the next explosion it dropped under his feet, and he swallowed back the terror. Forty feet down into the fire… The shriek as it dropped again was louder than the explosion, and Bucky staggered, threw his arms out. Maybe 15 feet left.

Another terrific groan from the beam, and this time he could feel it giving way, and he ran, two quick strides, before it fell from under him, and he leapt, threw himself across the last space, reaching and grasping the railing. He hauled himself over, legs almost giving out, before he steadied himself.

Steve met his gaze from the other side, a million unspoken thoughts binding them together across that space. Un-crossable now. No, he would not believe that.

"There's gotta be a rope or something!"

"Just go! Get outta here!" There was a commanding ring in Steve's voice.

"No! Not without you!"

It wasn't a time for long thoughts, as more explosions shook the building around them, but Bucky met that steel gaze of Steve's with one of his own. If this was to be the end, he wasn't leaving. He'd promised to take care of his friend, 'to the end of the line' or something like that.

The worst part was there was nothing he could do to save Steve now. Except stay. And stay he would.

He saw Steve give his head a quick shake, glance around, before… He bent part of the guardrail back with his bare hands.

Oh yeah. He wasn't little Stevie anymore.

He saw Steve back up, as far as the platform would let him, eyes still locked on Bucky. He knew suddenly what Steve was going to do, and Bucky felt… Not nothing, there was terror, there was despair, there was hope, but it was all dulled with the layers of shock and adrenaline still coursing through him, the only reason he was still on his feet.

A moment's pause, another blast, and Bucky saw Steve's face twist in an almost rueful expression. And then he was running. One last step, and he pushed off, and he was… almost flying more than jumping.

Across the fire, across the distance… And even as the flames leapt higher, and one more giant explosion almost obscured him from Bucky's vision, he could still see Steve's hand reaching.

But Bucky Barnes was only afraid of one thing: that he wouldn't be able to catch him.

Steve's hand was on the railing and Bucky had fistfuls of his jacket, and the shield tumbled down onto the platform, and Bucky hauled his friend over after it.

They lay there for a minute, Steve half on top of Bucky, his weight almost crushing.

"What did you eat last night?" Bucky managed to gasp, and Steve quickly rolled away and sat up. He grabbed Bucky's hand, and got up, pulling Buck with him. Bucky stumbled against Steve, his limbs suddenly turned to water.

"Steve–" He threw one arm around Steve's neck, pressed his face into the big shoulder. For a moment Steve's arms went around him, and underneath all the smoke and dirt and sweat, Bucky smelt that something that was undeniably Steve.

"You're a punk," he choked.

"Jerk." And, yep, that was Steve's voice, Steve's face with those bright blue eyes. His little smile. "Now, burning together is better than burning apart, but I'd rather not burn at all. You with me, pal?"

"Yeah. Always," he added softly, too soft for Steve to hear. But Steve pulled Bucky's arm across his shoulders and turned his head to smile at him.

"I know. Come on."

It felt like a miracle when they made their way through the door and found themselves outside in the fresh air and darkness, at the top of stairs leading down to the ground.

The yard was in chaos, buildings burning, bodies of HYDRA and Allies scattered on the ground, overturned vehicles, smaller fights still going on here and there, as the last of the men gathered, and the obvious trail of destruction left by the escapees.

With solid earth under his feet, Bucky shook off Steve's arm. "Need to gather up the stragglers."

"Who's the Captain here?" Steve answered, with some attitude, then suddenly dashed away to knock a couple HYDRA soldiers flying, rescuing a half-dozen men who had gotten cornered.

For a moment Bucky just stared. Oh yeah, Steve had some explaining to do. Not about the attitude—that was refreshingly normal—but the power to back it up.

He jogged over to join Steve, as the cluster of men began to make their way toward the gash in the outer fence. "Joined the army, huh?" He grinned, shook his head, caught the gun Steve tossed him. "You're an idiot."

"Well, so are you for scaring me."

They paused to let another two fellows catch up, and Bucky got a good look at Steve's face. "I thought you were dead." He reached out, laid one hand on his friend's shoulder. He might have to reach up to do it now, but some things didn't change. "I'm right here, pal. Ain't getting rid of me that easy."

"Do you know where we're going?" a man asked behind them.

"Yeah." And Steve was back in charge. "I told them to meet me in the woods. Let's go."