The mission did not go as expected, Scorpio was a lot harder to fight than Bucky thought. He ended up getting stabbed deep in the gut with a large and wide dagger. After Scorpio rips the dagger out of Bucky's stomach, he kicks him to the ground.

"Have a nice time bleeding out, Sergeant Barnes." Scorpio chuckled.

He kicks Bucky in the stomach, above the stab wound, causing him to cough up a little bit of blood. Then Scorpio ran away, leaving an injured Winter Soldier laying on his side, bleeding on the floor.

"Bucky, what's the status on Scorpio?" Sam asked through the comms.

"He...ah!...got away." Bucky grunted.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Sam asked growing worried.

"I got stabbed. Sam...gah!....y-you gotta go after him before he gets too far away." Bucky told Sam, trying to staunch the bleeding as much as he could.

"No! I'm going to look for you." Sam replied.

"Sam, no, Scorpio's more important right now." Bucky argued.

"NO, YOU'RE MORE IMPORTANT!!" Sam shouted.

"You're hurt and you need help. To h*ll with that b*stard!" he added a bit calmer, bit still very anxious.

So, there Bucky laid on the cold hard floor, blood pouring out him, waiting for Sam to find him. Everything started getting fuzzy once Bucky heard frantic footsteps in the distance. And then the next thing Bucky knew, he was in someone's arms. The last thing Bucky saw before passing out was Sam's worried face.

"Oh god, no, Bucky...h-hang on." Sam said scooping up his partner into his arms.

Sam flies Bucky to the hospital, where he is immediately treated. The next day, Bucky wakes up alone in his hospital room. His metal arm was on a table next to him, but when he tries to reach for it, pain shoots through his stomach. Bucky lets out a pained whimper holding his hand to his stomach.

"Hey, don't move around, you'll aggravate your stitches." Sam said poking his head into the room.

"I...I was trying to put my arm on." Bucky said in a pained voice.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You scared the sh*t out of me. I wanted to check up on ya. Also...I brought you something that I know will help you feel better." Sam answered.

Then he steps into the room, holding Alpine in his arms. This makes Bucky smile, it was so sweet of Sam to do this for him.

"I thought animals weren't allowed in hospitals. How'd you get him in here?" Bucky said as Sam approached the bed.

"I convinced the staff that he's your emotional support animal." Sam said, setting Alpine gently onto Bucky's chest.

While Bucky petted Alpine, Sam helps him put on his metal arm.

"Thanks, Sam." Bucky said.

"You're welcome, Buck. I...I think I'm gonna go, let you get some rest." Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

When Sam turns to leave, Bucky frowns. He wanted to tell Sam to stay, but he just couldn't build up the courage to say anything. Alpine notices this and grumbles to himself.

"I have to do everything my f**king self, don't I?" Alpine thought.

The cat sprints to the end of the bed and grabs Sam's jacket sleeve in his teeth.

"Alpine? What are you doing, ya silly kitty?" Sam asked with a light chuckle.

He tries to pull away, but Alpine wouldn't let go. Then the cat pulls on his arm until he lets him guide him to stand at Bucky's bedside.

"I...I think he wants you to stay." Bucky giggled.

"Is he...the only one who wants me to stay?" Sam asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

Bucky goes silent, his face turning red. He has to say something, has to let Sam know about his feelings.

"Sam...we...w-we should talk about what happened....ya know...the kiss." Bucky mumbled avoiding eye contact.

He hears Sam sighs and knows he's nodding in agreement. Bucky was about to apologize when Sam beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, Buck, I'm so sorry." Sam apologized, tearing up.

"What? I don't understand. What are sorry for?" Bucky asked confused.

"What am I sorry for!? I kissed you without your permission! I violated your boundaries and initiated something without your consent. What kind of sleazy creep does that!? I'm such a horrible, awful person." Sam cried.

"No! No no no, Sam, don't say that! You're not a horrible awful person. Trust me, if I didn't want you to kiss me, I wouldn't have let you. The reason I freaked out like I did was because I'm nothing but a broken mess that f**ks everything up." Bucky protested, grabbing a hold of Sam's hand.

Sam squeezes Bucky's hand in return.

"Don't say that about yourself, Bucky." Sam told him caressing his cheek.

"Did you...like it?" he asked insecurely.

"It was amazing." Bucky replied, smiling.

Smiling back, Sam leans in and kisses Bucky, who holds his shoulders and kisses back.

"Finally, these two were nearly impossible to get through to." Alpine huffed, laying down beside Bucky's hip.

Later on, Bucky explains why Bucky was so worried about them being together. And Sam completely understood, having gone through a similar experience as a teenager when he was discovering his sexuality. When the hospital released Bucky, Sam brought him to his apartment and stayed to take care of him. Sam dotes on his now boyfriend and gives all the love and attention he asked for. A week later, Sam is taking Bucky to his therapy appointment with Dr. Lucas.

"Are you sure you want me to come in with you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I want you to. I want you to be a part of my mental health growth." Bucky answered.

As they got closer to Dr. Lucas' office, they heard what sounded like shouting from inside the room.

"Sir, please leave before I call security." Bucky heard Quinn say.

"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING, YOU LITTLE B*STARD! YOU'RE THE REASON MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP HER!" a man yelled.

The angry man sounded unhinged, like he was on the edge...about to do something very violent. This was making Bucky worried for Dr. Lucas' safety. He opens the door just a crack, enough to see a man holding his therapist at gunpoint.

A/N: Oh no, a cliffhanger.😱. Also, if you guys love my Winterfalcon oneshots, then you should definitely check out my other Marvel content. Like, "Superfamily 2.0", "The Falcon, The Winter Soldier, and The American Dream", "Avengers: The Winter Archer", and "The Spy & The Spellcaster", and a few others.