The Long Journey Home

10: We build walls against all others

[ Chapter notes: TFATWS 1x04 continued mild episode departure for timetable ]

          What you wanted to say to them when they returned was along the lines of: look, gentlemen, I'm holding the door for you because it's all you say I'm good for. Or perhaps give Zemo, and the boys, a taste of Zemo's particular brand of needling by lifting a drink to salute them as they enter the residence and say: welcome home.

          What you end up saying, and doing, in greeting is freezing after you step into the hall. All three of them look a little more disheveled than they had when they left. What makes you stutter to a halt in the hallway is that Bucky and Sam are carrying a struggling-to-remain-upright Helmut between them. Instead of a smart, sharp greeting, or teasing smile, you manage two words as you watch them make their way closer: "What happened?!"

          In the grand scheme of things, you deserve the response you get from Bucky. "Things went sideways."

          "The door. The door. The –"

          Sam's motions and urgent words shake you out of your shock just in time to lunge for the door before it can fully swing shut. Helmut isn't bleeding, but he's clearly not himself. You look to Sam and Bucky, eyes wide, as they maneuver through the doorway, "What do you need? What can I do?"

          "If everyone would stop shouting... it would be appreciated."

          You weren't asking him – oh he who got himself injured going after super soldiers – you were talking to the other two. Sam shakes his head, glancing back at you over his shoulder. Is he looking to make sure the door shuts securely? They're not being followed, right? They would have been moving faster, or not come back at all, if that was the case. "Might have a concussion. He got his bell rung pretty hard."

          "I'm fine."

          "See, he says he's fine."

          Still they're bickering, right over Helmut's bowed head. Concussion. So, Sam checked him out before they moved him. You hope. At least Helmut is talking – and looking miserable. What. Happened. He got his bell rung pretty hard is not an explanation.