Truth (3)

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Sam threw the shield into a tree

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Sam threw the shield into a tree. We had set up mats on the tree trunks so the shield would bounce back to us.

"Feels weird..." Sam told us. "Picking it up again." He threw the shield again and it bounced off to trees then Bucky caught it on his arm. "The legacy of that shield is complicated, to say the least."

"When Steve told me what he was planning, I don't think any of us really understood what it felt for a Black man to be handed the shield. How could we? I owe you an apology. "I'm sorry." He handed the shield back to Sam.

"Thank you."

"Whatever happened with Walker, it wasn't your fault." Bucky said. "I get it. But that shield is the closest thing I've got to a family, so when you retired it, it made me feel like I had nothing left. Made me question everything. You guys, Steve, me. You know, I've got his, uh...I've got his book." Bucky held up the little book Steve used to carry around.

"And uh...I just figured if it worked for him, then it'd work for me." Bucky confessed.

"I understand, man. But Steve is gone." Way to brighten the mood. " And this might be a surprise, but it doesn't matter what Steve thought." Sam threw the shield back to one of the trees.

"You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are." He threw the shield again and it came back to Bucky. "Let me ask you. You still having those nightmares?" Sam asked Bucky.

"All the time. It means I remember. It means a part of me is still there. Which means a part of the Winter Soldier's still in me." Bucky threw the shield at another tree and let it bounce off the rest before it came back to Sam.

Bucky's experience was different from mine. But I still went through the same thing he was going through right now.

"You up for a little tough love?" Sam asked him. "You want to climb out of the hell you're in, do the work. Do it." Sam said.

"I've been making amends." Bucky stated.

"Nah.  You weren't amending, you were avenging. You were stopping all the wrongdoers you enabled as the Winter Soldier, because you thought it would bring you closure. You go to these people and say "sorry," because you think it will make you feel better, right?"

Bucky didn't say anything but we could tell what he was thinking.

"But you gotta make them feel better. You gotta go to them and be of service. I'm sure there's at least one person in that book who needs closure about something, and you're the only person who can give it to 'em." Sam said.

"Probably a dozen."

"That's cool. Start with one."

"Good talk."

"So are we going to hug it out?" I asked half laughing.

"Nah." They both said laughing as well.

"You know Karli won't quit." Sam said getting back on a serious note.

"Ah."

"You call us when you have a lead, and we'll be there." I said.

"Not necessarily as a team." Bucky picked up his bag.

"Nope." Sam agreed and I just rolled my eyes at the two of them.

"We're not that good."

"Definitely not."

"We're professionals."

"Definitely."

"And, uh, we're a group." Bucky said.

"Co-workers." Sam corrected.

"But we're also three people with a mutual friend." Bucky said.

"Friends now gone." Sam pointed out.

"So we're three people." I said.

"I can live with that."

"Perfect."

"Thanks for the help you two." Sam thanked. "Meant a lot."

"Of course." We said.

I offered to give Bucky a ride to the airport when my phone started buzzing.

*Play 'Circle Game' by P!nk

"Hey, what is it?"

"Nik..." She was breathing heavy and her voice sounded strained. "Nikita," It sounded like she was preparing for telling me something important. "Anna had a heart attack."

"What?" My voice cracked as I tried to process this news. "I-I-" I tried to calm myself down. "Is she going to make it?"

"Nikita, just get here as fast as you can." Nicole advised.

"Nik?" Bucky asked. "Is everything okay?"

"My..." My voice wouldn't stop shaking. "My sister had...she died." I leaned my head on the steering wheel.

"Hey," he pulled me closer to him. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?"

***

When I finally got to the hospital I ran past the receptionist.

I ran down the hall and saw Nicole, Jade, and the kids all sitting in the hall talking to the nurse.

When I reached them, I looked them and saw the doctors leaving with all the equipment.

"Nik..."

I rushed past them all and saw Anna's body laying under a white blanket. I removed the cover from her face and dropped down beside her.

"No!" I cried. "No,no,no!" Tears ran down my face. "No, please, Anna."

I heard someone's foot steps entering the room. Bucky knelt down beside me. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I didn't get to say goodbye." My words were hard to make out through my tears.

I grabbed her hand. Anna was everything I had left. And I had just gotten back to her. She was the one person who could make me forget about everything I had ever done. She was the one person who still saw me as her sister. Not as a hero or a super soldier, just me. Now, now with Nat and Anna dead I had nothing left.

Nat, Anna, Steve, Tony.

"Proshchay, sestra, ya lyublyu tebya." (Goodbye sister, I love you)

After a few minutes with the doctors and the family I walked into the waiting room to find Bucky waiting for me.

"I'm sorry if made you miss your flight." I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"No, it's okay. I can't imagine what you're going through. You probably don't want to talk about it huh?"

"Not really." I said.

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