When I woke up, I had a massive headache. I hurt all over. I slowly looked around the room I was in. I seemed to be in a hospital. I suddenly remembered what happened.

Steve. Bucky leaving. Fighting. Immense pain. Sam. Paramedics.

I heard a door open to my left, causing me to turn my head. Two men and two woman walked into the room. I recognized one of the men as Tony Stark. The red haired woman I remembered seeing in the news with the Avengers.

"Hey," the redhead said, coming closer to my bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess," I answered. "I'm sore and feel numb."

I tried to shift in bed, but found it extremely difficult to do.

"Try not to move," the blond woman said. "You may cause further damage than what's already been done."

"What happened?"

"You were shot," Tony Stark answered, sounding a little bit bored with the conversation. "The bullet hit the lower part of your spine, leaving you paralyzed from the waist down."

I stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

They nodded.

"Let's get to the more interesting stuff, now, shall we?" Tony said. "How do you know Bucky Barnes? What was he going in your apartment?"

I didn't answer. I was still trying to register what I had just been told. I was paralyzed? I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Stark," the redhead said quietly. "I think she needs some time before you start bombing her with questions. She just woke up, remember?"

The billionaire sighed, but followed the redhead out of the room. I glanced up at the two remaining people.

"Are Steve, Bucky, and Sam here?" I asked.

The blond nodded.

"Do you want to talk to them? I can only get Steve and Sam, though."

"Yes, please." The woman gave me a gentle smile then left the room. I looked at the last man, who seemed to almost be studying me. "Who are you?"

"I am T'Challa, king of Wakanda." I nodded to him since I couldn't quite bow. "Forgive me for asking this of you, (y/n), but I must know, how much do you know of the Winter Soldier?"

"You mean Bucky?" He nodded. "I'll say a few things. He was used as a weapon by HYDRA, he hates being called the Winter Soldier, and he has never been to Vienna, at least not recently enough to kill anyone."

T'Challa looked at me for a moment but looked to the door as it opened. Steve and Sam walked in.

"I will take my leave," T'Challa said. He nodded to me. "I hope you recover well, (y/n)."

The three of us watched as he left the room. When the door closed, I leaned my head back against my pillow.

"How can anyone think that Bucky was in Vienna?" I muttered.

"There was a surveillance video of someone planting a bomb and happened to look like Bucky," Steve replied.

"But it wasn't him. How could it be? He's been in Bucharest for almost two months."

"And he's been staying with you all that time?"

I looked up at Sam, who had asked the question.

"Only for the past two weeks."

"How did you two meet?" Steve asked, sitting next to my bed.

"I saw him sitting alone at the cafe where I work. I gave him some food and we talked for a while. He ended up showing up every day. We would talk during my breaks and hanging out after I was done working." I paused. "Where are we?"

"Berlin."

"Germany?" He nodded. "Why am I here then?"

"You have connections with Bucky."

"Is he alright?"

"He's currently being held in a heavily guarded cell."

"He was trying to escape this."

Steve nodded.

"We know. We wanted to help him, (y/n), believe us. He's my best friend." He sighed. "I'm going to go check on how he's doing."

"I'll stay with (y/n)," Sam offered.

Steve nodded and left the room. Sam proved to be good company. We talked about many things, like the Avengers or the missions he and Steve had been on together. He used to live in DC, too, apparently close to where I used to live.

Sam eventually left to let me rest. I fell asleep and apparently missed the fact that the entire facility had shut down. Bucky had escaped and Sam and Steve had left to go after him.