I felt my body slowly start to warm up. I could faintly hear the sound of machines beeping around me. It took me a little while to open my eyes, but when I did, I was greeted by a blinding light. I winced slightly and gave my eyes time to adjust before I opened them more. I glanced around me. I was lying in a bed in what appeared to be in an infirmary. I smiled slightly when I recognized the figure sitting a few feet away from my bed.

"(y/n)," I said quietly, my voice sore from not being used.

Her head shot up and she looked in my direction. A smile spread across her face and she rolled her wheelchair over to my bedside. She took my right hand in hers.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've felt better. What happened? Why am I unfrozen?"

"We did it, Bucky. Wanda Maximoff helped to recover your memories. She got rid of HYDRA's programming and helped to repair the memories that they tried to bury. It took us a while, but we finally did it."

"How long was I out?"

"Almost a year."

I nodded and sat up in the bed. (y/n) positioned her chair closer to my bed and locked the wheels in place. She pushed on the armrests and managed to get herself up. She turned and sat gently on the bed, moving closer to where I was.

"How are you doing?" I asked her, glancing between her, her legs, and the wheelchair.

"Much better," she replied. "I've learned to get around by now. I still need help doing some things, but I've learned how to get myself in and out of the chair. We've been working to make a sort of brace for my legs incase I ever wanted to try walking around again. Scott Lang is working with some of T'Challa's scientists to make them."

"Are you ever going to use the braces?"

"I don't know. I've gotten so used to not using my legs I think it would feel weird if I just started using them again." I nodded. "I have some news for you, though. T'Challa has had a new arm made for you. They made it while you were frozen. It's made of vibranium and looks a lot like your old one. They said you could have it whenever you wanted."

I nodded.

"What did you do while I was frozen?" I asked.

"Most of time time was spent in here or looking over files and journals. Honestly, I didn't get out much."

"You spent a year trying to help me?" She nodded a little. "Why?"

"I wanted to help you."

"But you had already done so much for me, (y/n). You didn't have to spend a year trying to help me."

"I wanted to help you, Bucky. Back in Bucharest, I said I would."

I smiled at her. I moved over slightly and pulled her next to me.

"Get some rest," I whispered. "You deserve it."

She smiled and closed her eyes.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said quietly.

"Thanks to you I am."

I felt (y/n) relax and a few minutes later, she was asleep. I smiled, remembering when we would sleep next to one another. She always seemed to keep away my nightmares. I heard the door open and looked up. Steve and T'Challa walked in.

"Looks like she's finally resting," T'Challa said with a smile. "I can't remember the last time I have seen her that peaceful and content." I looked at him, confused. "She had many sleepless night, trying to figure out how to help you. Wanda would work with her once a week, but she worked constantly. It took lots of convincing to get her to rest even for a little while."

I glanced down at her and pulled her a little closer to me with a smile.

"She cares a lot about you, Buck," Steve said. "She never gave up on you. None of us did, but she probably did the most work." There was a moment of silence. "We should probably get (y/n) to her room. You can stay with her if you want."

I nodded and gently moved so not to disturb her. Steve lifted her from the bed while T'Challa got her wheelchair. I followed them through the halls until we got to (y/n)'s room. Steve set her on the bed. The two men said goodnight and left. I climbed into bed next to (y/n) and wrapped my arm around her after I had pulled up the blankets. She snuggled into me, a smile on her face. I kissed her head lightly.

"Thank you so much, (y/n)," I whispered into her hair, "for everything you've done for me."

With that, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.