The kiss lasted a long time, Steve lifted Beck up with ease and set her on the counter before he pulled away from her, her hands on his blushing cheeks. "Hey, baby, I didn't tell you last night because I wanted to have a good time..." he said.

"Yea?" she urged him to go on.

"I-I have to leave again." he said. "Today." he didn't want to kill her happiness so soon but it was only a few hours before he had to leave. She knew he would have to leave again, she guessed that much. She knew they wouldn't have done what they did to him just to let him live his life. She kissed him again.

"Do what you have to do, Steve, just come home to me." she nodded against his forehead. He let her off the counter and she made lunch while he gathered some things to take with him back to the war.

"You ready to go, darlin'?" he asked, holding his hand out for her. "Let's go." he held her hand as they walked down the street together. It took them and hour and a half to walk to the airport when they could've gotten a cab there in fifteen minutes but they both wanted to be together as long as possible. They met an agent who walked a little ways in front of them, flashing his badge all the way through the airport so neither of them had to go through any checks. "Can we have a little bit?" Steve asked the agent when they reached the runway.

"You just got home and now you're leaving again..." she whined. Her nose touching his as they got as close as possible, standing on the runway. Steve was the only soldier to come home and he was getting a private plane back to the war.

"I know. I know." Steve soothed.

"Promise you'll come home."

"I already did," he grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over the ring on her small finger. "This is my promise. I'll come home." He smiled and kiss her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." he said, looking at her a moment before forcing himself away from her. "Take care of her, please." she heard Steve tell the agent as he walked past.

"Ma'am," the agent motioned for her to follow him and she did. She followed him back through the airport and too a shiny black car outside, where he opened the door for her and drove her home to her empty apartment. Where she sat alone for months. Steve had movies in the theatres and commercials on the television and it made things worse to see him everywhere she went. The government sent her a considerable amount of money each month, enough to get a new and better apartment, a whole apartment building if she wanted, but she couldn't bring herself to move. The apartment smelled so much like Steve, like freshly washed clothes and old leather and faint cologne. She could've eaten anywhere in New York every night of the week but she still ate at the pizza diner down the street on Monday and Friday nights ad brought the leftovers home for Ducky to eat.

She sat on the couch and watched TV until late every single night because sleeping without Steve wasn't the same, it wasn't peaceful. The occasional reporter or crazy fan of Captain America, visited to talk to her about Steve or threaten her life. That agent, his name was John, came back frequently to check on her. Nothing else happened until that one night.

"Miss Barnes." someone knocked on her door late one night. "Miss Barnes, my name is Daniel Cruise, could you make time for a couple of questions please?" the polite voice and despite the odd feeling in her stomach, she opened the door. There was nothing after that. Not that she remembered, anyway. She woke up in a concrete room strapped to a metal table, screens and monitor all around her. She shook around and screamed, trying to get loose, trying to call for help until a calming and oddly familiar voice disrupted the dusty, silent air.

"It won't work, save your energy, you'll need it." the voice said. "Just be still. There's no getting help." she didn't know what she wanted to not believe more. Was there really no hope of escape? She didn't see any doors. Was that person really who she thought it was? He couldn't be here.

"Bucky?" she asked, her voice breaking.