Marlena's feet smacked against the pavement as she ran through the streets of Washington. She had been running since 5:30 that morning, and it was now nearing 9:30. To some, running for four hours was absolutely horrendous and was never even to be thought of, but Marlena didn't mind it at all. She had spent a grueling fourteen hours a day training during her three month imprisonment back at Hydra; four hours of running was absolutely nothing to her. It merely served as a way to gather her thoughts and rid herself of the despicable pain that Hydra had so wrongly bestowed upon her, as well as a way to remain in shape.

As she ran the perimeter of the reflection pool for what she believed to be the fifth time, she began sifting aimlessly through her thoughts. In an instant something sparked within her and she grew dangerously angry. For her, the last three months had been filled with nothing but pain and torture, but she had been so focused on trying to get away from Hydra that she hadn't even realized just how much of her life she had missed; it was only now that she was beginning to realize it.

Hydra had taken three months of Marlena's life away from her, and that was three months she would never be able to get back. To most people it wasn't much, but to her it was everything and more. She had missed so many important aspects of her life, and it only pained her to think about it. She missed her brother's thirteenth birthday, she missed registration for her sophomore year of college, she missed the annual tradition of spending Independence Day with her family, she missed watching her brother head off for his first day of eighth grade. Hell, she even missed her own birthday—her twentieth birthday. It wasn't much, but to Marlena it was. Hydra had taken away some of the most important parts of her life, and she would forever despise the organization for it.

The thought of it, though, only made her realize just how important her life was to her, as well as the people in it. Hydra was the reason she had lost three months worth of memory-making with the ones she loved, but she would make new ones, better ones; she refused to let anyone come in between that again, especially Hydra. She would not allow them to continue controlling every aspect of her life, and, instead, she would be the only one controlling it. Her life was worth too much to permit it (once again) to fall into the grasp of some psychotic terrorist organization hellbent on ruling the world and the people living in it.

Marlena let out a sigh and turned around to head back to her house. It was Wednesday, which meant that her brother was most likely at school and her mom was probably at work, but Bucky was home, and she was determined to spend as much time with him as she possibly could before her brother and her mom returned home.

It took Marlena another half hour to get back to her house, and by then she was nearly drenched in sweat and in need of a long shower. She pushed her front door open and stepped inside, and almost immediately she was met with the smell of bacon, maple syrup, and other various breakfast foods. Her eyebrows fell in confusion, mostly because she didn't exactly peg Bucky as someone who cooked or someone who remembered how to cook.

The sound of frantic voices inside the kitchen caught her attention, and she kicked her tennis shoes off before rushing off to see what it was that was going on.

"I don't know where the hell she is," Marlena heard Bucky say as she quietly stepped into the kitchen. "Her phone and everything is still in her room. I swear—I can't lose her again."

Bucky had woken up earlier to find that Marlena was not in bed beside him, but her belongings were still in the same place she had put them the night before. The thought of Marlena being gone again after he had just gotten her back stressed him out and scared him to death.

Marlena was touched by his words, of course, but she couldn't help but scold herself for not leaving a little note telling Bucky where she was. She hadn't been planning on being gone for as long as she had been, but she felt as if a little note wouldn't have done much harm. It would have prevented the little breakdown he was having at the moment.

"You haven't lost me, Buck," Marlena said as she stepped further into the kitchen.

Both Bucky and her mom—who was, surprisingly, at the stove instead of at work—turned to look at her. Bucky let out a sigh of relief and rushed over to her, wrapping her sweaty body in a tight hug but being careful not to harm her. Marlena chuckled and wrapped her arms around the soldier before averting her attention to her mother who still stood at the stove, smiling at the two of them.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Marlena asked as she squeezed Bucky's side. He kissed her on top of the head and moved to sit at the island, leaving Marlena to head over to her mother's side.

"I should, but I forced them to give me the day off so I could spend some time with my daughter who I originally believed to be dead," Miranda answered her daughter. "Where have you been, by the way?"

Marlena smirked and grabbed a piece of bacon, shoving the long piece of meat into her mouth. "Are you referring to where I've been for the past three months or where I just came back from?"

"Where you just came back from," Miranda said with furrowed eyebrows. "But I would like you to talk about the other topic as well."

Marlena grabbed a root beer from the fridge and hopped on top of the counter, much to her mother's dismay. "Okay, well, I woke up at four this morning out of habit. Then I sat for like an hour and a half trying to think of something to do, so I decided to go on a little run around the city," she answered, pressing the bottle of soda to her lips.

"A little run?" Bucky questioned. "I wouldn't necessarily call five hours a 'little' run."

"I took breaks, Buck," Marlena chuckled. "And five hours of running is nothing when you're used to spending fourteen hours a day doing nothing but physical activity."

Miranda made a face and handed Marlena and Bucky both a plate of food. "That explains why you're sweaty and sitting on top of my granite counter top."

Marlena chuckled and took a bite of her eggs, savoring in the familiar flavor of them. It had been way too long since she was able to enjoy a nice, home-cooked meal. "I'm not diseased, I promise. Oh, and I need your credit card, mother."

Miranda raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?"

"I need to order some workout clothes and I need to get James a phone," she answered.

"I don't need a phone," Bucky told her.

Marlena scoffed and looked at him. "Yeah, you do."

Bucky only sighed and continued eating, very aware of that fact that he would lose if he were to continue arguing with Marlena.

"Why do you need workout clothes, though?" Miranda asked. "You don't workout."

"That's where you're wrong, mother," Marlena said. "I've spent the past three months of my life working out. It's become sort of a habit and it's one habit I don't really want to break."

Miranda frowned. "What do you mean, Mar? What did those leeches do to you?"

Marlena let out a sigh at her mom's tone of voice. It was obvious she was upset, and Marlena hated that more than anything. She wanted her mom to be happy; she wanted her mom to focus on what was happening now, rather than what happened then, but she knew her mom. She was stubborn and would refuse to focus on anything else until this was taken care of.

"They gave me some pretty decent fighting skills and some superpowers," Marlena shrugged, shoving another piece of bacon into her mouth.

"Superpowers? Really?" Miranda inquired, not believing a word her daughter was saying.

"Is that really so hard to believe?" Marlena laughed. "I mean, look at Bucky and Steve. They have superpowers, I guess."

Bucky chuckled. "No, Marlena."

"Well, whatever," she grumbled. "You're still stronger than the human population and you can run really fast."

"I wouldn't call those superpowers, sweetheart," Bucky said to her.

Marlena shrugged once again and took a drink of her drink. "Superpowers or not, you'll always be my Bucky."

Bucky smiled at the brunette but didn't respond; he was too busy pondering over how incredibly lucky he was to have someone like Marlena in his life.

"So, you have superpowers?" Miranda laughed.

Marlena nodded and held her hand out to her mom. "Give me your hand, I'll prove it to you."

Miranda was reluctant at first but gave her daughter her hand anyway. Marlena took her mom's hand in her own and took a deep breath, allowing the barrier inside her mind to fall so she could sneak her way into her mom's thoughts.

Marlena had not been expecting to see or feel what was currently going on inside her mom's head. Yes, she expected to see her and Mason—and even Bucky—inside her head, as well as sharing the feeling of happiness and relief because her family was now whole again, but she had not been planning on seeing a man clad in a long, white coat, nor was she planning on being subject to the overwhelming amount of feelings her mother held for this man. The name stitched onto his jacket read Greyson Wallace, and it was a name Marlena was not familiar with. She knew enough to know, though, that this man most likely worked with her mom.

Marlena was about fifteen seconds into her mother's mind when she—her mother—moved in to kiss the dark-haired man smiling at her. The moment her mother's lips locked with the man's, she ripped her hand away, not wanting to experience what kissing the unknown man felt like. The only man Marlena cared to experience such a thing with was Bucky Barnes, and that was how it would remain.

"Mom!" Marlena exclaimed, her cheeks turning red due to her slight embarrassment. She was now wishing she had never brought up the topic of superpowers or offered to show her mom what her superpowers were.

Miranda blinked, seemingly surprised by Marlena's outburst. "What?"

"Who the hell is Greyson Wallace and why were you kissing him?" Marlena inquired rather loudly.

Miranda's eyes widened in surprise, as did Bucky's. Miranda had not been expecting those words to come out of her daughter's mouth, nor was she expecting her daughter to know that name.

"How do you know that name?"

"I just went into your head and saw him, as well as you kissing him," Marlena answered with a scrunched up face. "That is something I never want to see again in my life; that was disgusting."

Miranda was now certain her daughter was being truthful about Hydra giving her "superpowers," but she didn't seem to care about that at the moment. She was more concerned with the fact that her daughter had just told her watching her kiss him was disgusting; it offended her almost.

"It was disgusting? Do I say it's disgusting when you and Bucky kiss? No," Miranda remarked, earning a chuckle from Bucky and a head shake from Marlena.

"Me and Bucky aren't old, mom."

"Bucky is ninety-seven years old; he's older than the both of us combined," Miranda retorted.

"I'm biologically twenty-eight, though, so it doesn't really count," Bucky commented from the island.

Marlena chuckled as his remark. "Okay, so Bucky is kind of old, but that isn't the point here."

"Are you sure?" Bucky inquired from his seat, slightly offended that Marlena had called him old.

"Yes," Marlena answered as she turned her attention back to her mom. "Now tell me who Greyson Wallace is before I start throwing a tantrum."

Miranda sighed and leaned against the fridge. "He's a doctor who works in my building. I've had a rough couple of months, Mar, and he was there to help make me feel better. Originally, he was only supposed to serve as a kind of distraction from everything going on in my life, but then it kind of became more than that. We've been together for almost two months."

Marlena could feel herself growing upset because of her mom's words. She wasn't upset because her mom didn't tell her about Greyson (she understood why she didn't); she was upset because of her dad. Her dad may have passed away quite some time ago, but he was the only man Marlena could ever picture being with her mom. What made matters worse was the fact that Marlena actually felt her mom's love for this man, the same love that she used to feel for her husband all those years ago. Yes, it made her exceedingly happy that this man seemed to make her mom happy—her mom's happiness was more than important to her—but she didn't want this man to take the place in her mom's life where her dad should still be. It pained her to think about someone replacing her beloved father, and although she could do nothing about the situation, she could voice her opinion on it.

"Dad should've been there to make you feel better; dad should've been your distraction. Not him," Marlena spoke quietly, looking down at her hands. The pain of missing her dad was weighing down on her like a ton of bricks. She wanted her dad back more than anything and would give up anything just for the possibility.

The kitchen grew quiet for several moments. Miranda was busy pondering over her daughter's words, and Bucky just sat quietly, unsure of what to make of the situation. He could hear the pain in Marlena's voice as she spoke the words to Miranda, just as Miranda could, and her being in pain was something he despised more than anything. But he could not make a comment on it. This was not a conversation he felt he needed to include himself in.

"Marlena, sweetie," Miranda started. She had absolutely no clue what to say to her. She honestly hadn't been expecting such a reaction from her. Mason adored Greyson, but, then again, Mason had not known his father as long as Marlena had.

"I lost him when I was young, but it makes no difference to me," Marlena began. "He's still my dad; he's the one who raised me, took care of me, taught me how to defend myself if need be. He taught me how to live my life only for the war to come along and take his away from him. I just wish he would have had someone there to save him the way Grandpa Jo did."

Bucky frowned at her words. She hadn't said a name, but he knew she was talking about him. It only made the conversation much sadder than it should have been.

"I'm glad he makes you happy, though," Marlena continued as she looked up at her mom. "It's just hard for me to see another man in dad's place."

"He would never replace your father, never in a million years," Miranda said as she grabbed Marlena's face in her hands. Marlena's eyes were welling up with tears as she thought of her dad, and Miranda could tell; she just didn't know what to do about it. "Why would you think that, Marlena Elisabeth?"

Marlena shrugged and gently removed her mom's hands from her face. Due to her emotional state, her barriers had found their way back down and the only thing she could see was inside Miranda's head. She didn't exactly feel like watching her mom and Greyson being all lovey-dovey with one another.

"Please don't take it personally," Marlena told her mom. "I think it's just a thing with kids who have lost a parent and their other parent decides to date someone else. I would've done the same thing to dad had it been the other way around. I just hope he treats you well."

Miranda gave a small smile and kissed Marlena on the cheek. "He does, I promise."

Marlena sat her plate beside her and hopped off of the counter. "I'd hope so—I'd hate to have to kill him for hurting you."

"Coming from the girl who couldn't even hurt a fly," Miranda teased.

Bucky let out a knowing chuckle and Marlena glanced at her mom from her place in front of the sink. "I took down six well-trained Hydra agents in less than a minute and a half, not to mention I laid waste to their most skilled agent. Your little doctor friend had better not give me a reason to do the same to him. He would barely last five seconds against me; that is something I'm more than sure of."

Miranda glanced over at Bucky—who was now sipping at his Coke with an evident smirk on his face—before looking back over at her daughter. "I take it those fighting skills you mentioned are pretty lethal."

Marlena shrugged. "I mean, I probably wouldn't win in a fight against Natasha Romanoff, but they're lethal enough."

"What about me or Steve?" Bucky laughed.

Marlena made a face at him. "To me, fighting Steve would be like fighting a Labrador Retriever puppy; fighting you would be like fighting a small kitten with a metal limb and raggedy fur. Both fights would be fairly easy for me to win."

"I wouldn't compare Bucky to a kitten," Miranda laughed. "He can be pretty scary, and kittens? Not all that scary if you ask me."

"Thank you, Miranda."

Marlena shook her head, unwilling to agree with her mom's words. "He's a kitten—a very cute and scruffy kitten," she giggled.

"Thanks," Bucky murmured with a slight roll of his eyes.

Marlena smiled and rushed over to him, wrapping her small arms around him. "I love you, Buck."

"And I love you, sweetheart."

Miranda eyed the pair, her mouth agape. "When did this happen? When did you two start dropping the 'L-bomb' on each other?"

Marlena tightened her grip around Bucky and looked at her mom. "The 'L-Bomb' was dropped yesterday, but the feelings were picked up months ago, at least mine were."

Bucky looked down at Marlena with an unreadable expression on his face, and Marlena only smiled up at him, kissing him on the lips before pulling away. She was now very aware that she needed a shower, and she was determined to take one before she continued her day.

"I'm off to take a shower," Marlena chimed as she headed towards the kitchen door. "I shall return."

"Have fun. When you get back down here we can talk about your little skank of a best friend," Miranda remarked with a smirk.

Bucky snorted and Marlena turned around to look at her mom.

"Why is she a skank?" Marlena asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Miranda shrugged. "I guess you'll find out after your shower."

Marlena just rolled her eyes and continued through the kitchen door. Today was sure to be a long day for her, and it had barely even started yet.