((Been a looong time but it's back from the dead ha. Read and Review please c: ))

Once they arrived at the base the van stopped and the two men stood, opening the doors and stepping out. Turning to wait for her as she stood cautiously she saw both of their eyes on the ground with their brows furrowed together. What was so interesting? Looking down at the ground she didn't see anything at first until she took a step away from the bench and saw the blood on the floor. It had flowed down her leg and collected at the base of her foot, it was at least the size of her palm and it instantly made her dizzy. Her head snapped away from the mess but her body was already reacting. She put her hand to her chest hoping to calm herself down as she turned away from the door, using her other hand to touch the side of the van to steady herself. Two arms grabbed her by her shoulders and started to move her but she resisted.

"Move, we need to get that fixed." James voice came from behind her. He knew how she felt about blood very well, having had to lug her around a couple times when they had been on the run together. Why he didn't just leave her, he didn't know. But he wasn't that person now, he didn't want to think that way.

Chloe didn't want to see where the blood was coming from, she was afraid if she did she would feel the pain and she definitely didn't want that. "Is it bad?" She asked turning around to face him, her arm snaking around the back of his neck, his arm tucking itself behind her back and around to her front. She couldn't tell where he looked and she didn't need to know where.

He paused for a minute. "It's not, it's just glass."

Her head snapped in his direction, "glass?" She nearly yelled but quickly bit her tongue. "That could have been avoided." She said under her breath, but he heard.

"You're right, we could have stayed in your apartment and let them make swiss of us." He said stepping out of the van before turning back to her, grabbing her by the hips and hoisting her down to the ground.

Ignoring his comment she was careful to keep most of her weight on one leg but now that she was aware of the injury the pain was becoming ever-present. "Ohhh, okay, okay, okay." She chanted under her breath to keep calm. There was something about blood that bothered her so deeply, it was absolutely dizzying. She wouldn't go as far as saying paper cuts or a scraped knee made her faint, but actual wounds were another story. It was like watching someone's life leave them, it was unnerving.

"We need to take her to the infirmary." Steve said glancing over Chloe's shoulder. She turned to see where he was looking and squinted in the distance.

"Can I walk there?" She really didn't want to.

James spoke first, "You really think that's a good idea?" The way he said it made the answer seem obvious. Suddenly a frown formed on his face, "Why aren't you wearing your contacts?"

Chloe turned her head back in his direction, "Still observant as ever." She muttered.

"You were squinting. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together." He retorted.

Without another word Chloe turned and started a slow walk to the direction Steve had peered in.

"Bucky, go debrief with Fury about the mission, I'll take her." He said moving to Chloe's side. He took a step in front of her and reached his arms out, "May I?"

Glancing back at a retreating solider she turned to Steve and nodded, "Please."

\\\/\\\/

Inside of a spacious and well-lit office sat Director Nick Fury. He sat leaned back in a thick cushioned office chair, his elbow resting on the arm rest, chin in palm; a contemplative look on his face. He was waiting for a certain agent to come and update him on the whereabouts of one of H.Y.D.R.A's many victims and active targets. After everything with the Helicarrier's they had worked hard to dig up any agent that had a tie to H.Y.D.R.A and eliminate or apprehend them. It disturbed the Director that so many had been unearthed but with the assistance of Agent Barnes, the process had gone faster than it would have otherwise. There was always a sense of distrust with him however. It had nothing to do with him, just the bang up job H.Y.D.R.A did on brain washing the American Hero.

A knock on his door grabbed him from his thoughts and he swiveled in his chair to face his desk which was in the direction of the door. "Enter." His gruff voice echoed in the room.

With a quick push the door opened and Agent Barnes entered the room, "Director." He greeted walking towards his desk in long strides.

Fury nodded to him as a greeting and gestured his hand out for him to take a seat. "How did the mission go?" He didn't really need to ask, he knew that the girl was on base but he wanted details.

Bucky sat in the chair across from his and sat upright, so formal, "It didn't go as smoothly as desired, sir, but I obtained the target."

Director scoffed, "Target? You mean Ms. Norton?"

An obvious frown formed on Bucky's face, "Yes sir."

"I don't think she'd appreciate being called a target," Fury explained.

Bucky remained silent. After having spent so much time with her and then suddenly being separated it was hard to refer to her in a personal way. He was thankful for the time spent with her, she had kept him grounded in his journey to find Steve. It wasn't likely he would ever bring that up, he was sure she knew, maybe. Honestly, it was a little awkward being around her again. There had been moments of vulnerability shared between the two of them and it had been decades since he had shared that with someone. But eight months had passed, maybe she had forgotten everything.

"Have you discussed anything with her? I'm sure she has made assumptions, if I remember correctly she's inquisitive to say the least." Fury stood from his chair, his arms habitually made their way behind his back, his hands clasping together.

"Steve took her to the infirmary," he wasn't going to explain until his saw the Director's eyebrow quirk. "We had to make a quick getaway, the injury is very minor."

Fury sighed, "Well, let's have them meet us in the conference room and we can update her on everything."

Bucky stood and nodded, "Sir."

As they walked to the door Fury spoke up again, "So there's no surprises, I'm assigning her under your protection until this blows over."

"Is that really wise sir? No disrespect, but she is too comfortable with me." He pulled the door open for Fury, "Listening to me is not on her list of priorities."

Fury laughed, "Not up for the challenge Agent?"

Bucky couldn't help but smile, "If you insist sir."

\\/\\/

"Okay, you are all set to go, Ms. Norton." The doctor on duty said with a polite smile. She was a petite blonde with the straightest teeth known to man. "It really wasn't too deep, just try to be careful for a few days and come back in nine days to get the stitches taken out." She had walked over to toss the instruments used to sew her up. "I'll send antibiotics to you after I get it all packed but for now you are free to go."

After a moment Chloe finally released Steve's hand and pushed herself up so she could get off the bed. He had been nice enough to distract her during the procedure seeing she was nervous. "Thank you." She said as he helped her onto the floor while she tested out her stitched up leg. The doctor had numbed the section she had worked on so there was no pain thankfully.

Steve watched her cautiously, "You good?"

Chloe nodded, "I'm good."

"Okay," He led her to the door they had entered and walked out, heading towards the main building. "We're going to meet the Director in the conference room. Are you okay to walk?" He could see she was still favoring her left leg.

"I'm fine, I just don't want to be careless just because I can't feel it." She said staying focused, "Why are we going to the conference room? Please don't say to have a conference." She glanced over to him from the corner of her eye, a small smirk on her face to show she was being playful. She had no reason to be angry with Steve, which was going to be hard calling him, none of this was his fault.

Steve chuckled, "The Director wants to have a word with you."

But why? "Did I do something?"

"No, but there are things he'll want to explain to you himself."

She didn't really like that answer but she would go with it. "Alright."

When they arrived to the conference room Bucky was seated in one of the large black arm chairs around the long onyx oval table, if it could even be called that, and Fury was standing at the head of it, hands behind his back. Chloe glanced between the two of them before her eyes settled on Fury. He took a hand out from behind his back and gestured to a chair, "Take a seat, Ms. Norton." He said calmly.

This wasn't going to be a good talk. Taking a deep breath she pulled a chair out and took a seat being careful to move her leg out to keep it from pressing against the seat of the chair.

"I'll get right to the point Ms. Norton. I know you're familiar enough with Hydra that I don't have to go into great lengths explaining the situation at hand." He started to pace very slowly around the head of the table. "While S.H.I.E.L.D has nearly rectified Hydra, there are still some faithful followers which means you aren't in the clear yet. With our recent take down of their latest attack we caught wind, thanks to Agent Barnes, that they were looking to recruit you again. We obviously couldn't allow that to happen. We are under the impression that until Hydra is completely eliminated, you won't be safe." He paused, gauging her reaction but she was stoic so he continued. "For your safety, we'll be placing you under our protection. Since you're familiar with him, Agent Barnes will be assigned to you. We've already sent Agents out to gather your belongings from your apartment and bring them here where we'll set up a living space comparable in size."

She had questions. Of course she did. But she was too afraid to speak now. She felt like with each word he spoke she was getting bound tighter and tighter, her hands were gripping each other so tightly they were beginning shake. Her gaze fell for a moment, trying to keep her breathing steady but feeling eyes on her she glanced over to Bucky who eyes flashed between hers and her hands. Breathe hitching in her throat she pulled her hands away from each other quickly, placing them in her lap now, keeping them apart.

"Ms. Norton?"

Her eyes flashed back to Fury and her brows rose slightly saying he had her attention without having to physically open her mouth.

"I was saying if you need to leave the facility at all, you are to be accompanied at all times but while you are here, you have a bit more freedom. You'll be here until we feel it safe for you and even then you'll still need to keep your assignment in order."

She spoke softly, "Okay."

The director seemed surprised, "Okay?"

Was he deaf? "Yes, I understand."

"No questions?" His eye flashed to James then back to her, too quickly for her to notice but Bucky saw.

"No sir. I'd just like to go to bed." She hadn't been sleeping well in the first place and then along with the unwanted company, no one could blame her. Not that she'd actually be able to sleep at this point.

"If any questions arise please don't hesitate to ask. You're all dismissed."

Chloe stood from the chair, too quickly and her step faltered but she caught herself on the table top. The numbing stuff wasn't long acting it seemed. She felt the stitches tugging at skin and it was painful.

Steve approached her, being the closes to her in the room, "Is your leg bothering you?"

Chloe shook her head, regaining her composure. "No, my knee just went out." She pushed the chair in and moved towards the main doors. "Can you show me where my room is please?" She turned her head in Bucky's direction without looking directly at him and he stood, complying wordlessly. She took a careful step forward and clenched her jaw as pain seared through her calf. Hopefully the room was close, she couldn't keep up the façade that it wasn't hurting.

Bucky pushed the doors open and waited for her, eyes falling to her leg, not bothering to be discreet about looking. He stared a moment, watching how she distributed her weight before his eyes rose to meet hers, narrowing when their gazes locked. When she reached him he waited for her to step out into the hall, leaving Steve and Fury in the room together as the door closed behind them. "We'll take the elevator."

She gave a nod, keeping close to the wall as the carried on down the hall. She stayed a few steps behind him to use the support of the wall silently. Weird didn't even begin to cover how she was feeling at the moment. Her eyes scanned the back of James and she held in a sigh. What was going through his mind right now? He hardly seemed effected by being around her again, like they had never been separated in the first place. But something was different about him now. The hyper-vigilant, self-preserving man she'd spent so much time with seemed more relaxed now. She didn't feel as on edge around him as she had before, like saying the wrong thing would set him off and that would be it for her. No, it was different now. A large part of her was relieved to see he was even okay. She had worried about his well-being once they parted. When they got on the elevator she leaned against the opposite wall, shifting her leg so one supported her weight and the other tilted back so her toes were pointed down and resting against the cold metal floor. She hadn't had time to put shoes on exactly so she was still barefoot, black shorts covering her legs, or some of them, and a hot pink oversized sweater.

"Your stuff should be here tonight so you can get a little more comfortable. They'll strip your apartment, bring everything here." He spoke calmly, eyes trained on her. He was trying not to be cold towards her, but he knew indulging her while she was being emotional was a mistake. Even though she wasn't expressing it, he knew there was a storm brewing. Then again, she could have changed in some way over the past eight months. But seeing how she was keeping silent about that leg told him otherwise.

When the elevator doors opened he reached his arm out towards her and waited. God, he really wasn't showing he'd changed much. Not that he really needed to but he didn't want her walking on egg shells around him, it was unnecessary. It was just easy to fall back into habit of being stoic since he didn't quite know how to act yet. Not much talking was needed on his end because he didn't have to. She understood his silent gestures but he didn't have to be silent now. "Let me help you."

Her eyes searched his warily, she seemed hesitant but he waited, only stick his other arm out to keep the doors from closing. With a sigh she moved over to him, wrapping her arm around his back and gripping his tucked in black shirt by his side as his arm slid around her waist, he was quickly reminded of their height difference but he didn't let it deter him. He just stepped out with her, supporting her easily. "My room will be beside yours. There's a door that connects the two rooms but that's just for emergencies." So he didn't want her walking in whenever she wanted and he definitely wouldn't be doing that to her.

She scoffed, "Emergencies." Was that something they were going to have to worry about?

"They happen." He paused in front of a metal door, he pointed to the key pad above the handle, "Give me your hand."

Chloe let her arm slip out from around him and gave him her left hand, "My room?"

"Yes."

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