Skye must have fallen asleep. She hadn't moved since her half of the windshield had cleared, and her eyes were closed. Steve was doing a pretty good job of not crashing the plane into ice, at least, I hadn't noticed any and we were still in the air.

   Steve and Skye had done all of this for me. Sam, Wanda, Clint, and Scott too. They'd gotten captured just so that Skye, Steve, and I could get away. So we could continue our mission to Siberia... and they'd been happy to do it.

   "I don't know if I'm worth all this trouble Steve," I said miserably.

   Steve didn't look back. "Don't get stuck in that trap," he chided. "Of course you're worth it. Everyone needs a rescue team once in a while."

   I shook my head. "But I'm not like anyone else."

   "Stop. You are who you make yourself. Not Hydra, not me. You."

   I didn't know how to respond to that. I was a part of a team that cared if I died or lived. A team that protected each other and worked together.

   We sat in silence for several minutes. Only the hum of the engine and the occasional beep from the main console.

   "Get some sleep," Steve said. "I'll wake the two of you up when we get to our destination."

   I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me and closed my eyes.

   "Rise and shine! It's a good day to be in a freezing cold country!" Skye sang loudly. "We're going to have a grand time and- ouch! Note to self, don't hit things with broken ribs. It's a bad idea."

   I opened my eyes to see Skye with a grin bigger than was probably necessary for what we would be doing. Her black leather bag was slung over her shoulder, as usual, and her silver shirt and gold pants shimmered.

   "Good moooorrrnnniiiinnnnggg!"

   I half expected her to do a cartwheel or something. She was probably about to explode with energy.

   "Skye, I understand that you're trying to stay upbeat about everything that's going on, but isn't that a little over the top?" I asked, unbuckling my seat belt.

   Skye sighed dramatically. "Fine. Mister Party Pooper. I'll be less insanely hyper."

   I raised an eyebrow at Steve. "Did you give her coffee?" I asked accusingly.

   Steve smiled and shook his head. "I touched her shoulder and she practically exploded."

   Skye put her hands on her hips, eyes glittering with amusement. "I did not!"

   "Yes you did," Steve chuckled. "You also said that we had to get going as fast as possible because you've never been to Siberia."

   Skye paused. "Uh... oh yeah I did didn't I? I'm not as excited now that I know it's..." she checked her tablet, "twelve degrees outside."

   I didn't know how her tablet was able to tell her that, much less how it was able to do anything at all. As far as I knew there wasn't anywhere with internet she could possibly connect to.

   I stood up and grabbed a gun as Steve pushed a button, opening the back hatch of the quinjet. Skye shivered when a blast of cold air whooshed inside.

   "On second thought," she said. "Maybe I didn't want to visit Siberia."

   "But you get to visit a bunker," Steve pointed out. "That's more what you came for I think."

   Skye nodded, looking toward a black metal wall that was half buried in snow. "It doesn't look like much."

   I led the way. "It'll probably be warmer inside."

   When I looked back after reaching the door, I saw Skye taking huge steps to walk in the same places I had. Steve was making his own path, probably because Skye was kicking snow everywhere with every step.

   Skye stopped two steps from me with each of her feet in a different hole in the snow. She was shivering and breathing hard, but she still had enthusiasm to give me a huge grin. I noticed that she had a pistol tucked into her pants, but didn't point it out to Steve.

   I turned the wheel and pulled the door open. My metal hand making a loud screech as it slid on the wheel.

   Skye took a long leap and landed just inside the door. She made a quiet hiss and moved to the side, leaning against a wall with her right hand over one side.

   I followed her, tracking a large amount of snow in with me. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

   Skye nodded, gritting her teeth. "It's nothing compared to some of the other things I've had to go through."

   I wondered briefly what she meant by that, but decided not to ask. That decision was partly based on the fact that Steve had just entered behind me.

   "Lead the way Bucky," Steve said, gesturing to the branching hallways in front of us. "You know your way around better than us."

   I nodded and started down the hall to the right, hoping the elevator was still in working order.

_________________________

I'll bet I just made everyone's day. I'm glad I finally got this written. It's been knocking on my door for so long and I'm so happy I finished it.

I hope you all enjoyed this. I'm not going to add any characters at this point because I don't want to take away from this part of the plot.

May the speed force be with you!

And may your life be less insanely crazy than mine.