We Can't Go Back

Tell it to Me Straight

Her ears ring as she regains consciousness. She coughs to clear her throat that is burning due to the debris. She can feel blood coursing down her face. The most concerning thing though is the heavy weight against her chest that was holding her down.

She looks and sees that a large chunk of stone is pressing down on her. It wasn't enough to completely crush her but the positioning made it impossible to move. Besides, she has enough medical knowledge to know that moving the rocks could do more damage than good. The ringing is finally leaving her ears and that's when she hears him.

"Elizabeth Grace Rogers! You answer me right now!"

"I told you. It's Barnes," she rasps out.

"Oh, thank god," he says.

"How long was I out?" She asks.

"Just a few minutes. I ran back to the inn and asked Gino to grab some men. I've been able to move some of the rocks but El..."

"Tell it to me straight, Jaime," she said.

She could hear the fear in his voice and knew this was not going to be an easy fix.

"There's a really big rock that I don't think even ten people could move," he says with devistation in his tone.

"It's okay. Steve will sense that I'm hurt and he'll come," she says.

There's a long pause before Bucky speaks. She can tell he's desperately holding on to his composure.

"How bad is it? Tell it to me straight, Ellie."

She thinks of lying to him but she's worried that she might die and he needs to know they may need to say goodbye if this is the end.

"It's bad, Jaime. There's a rock on my chest and I think I broke a couple ribs. I'm having trouble breathing and I can feet the bones against my lung. If you move the rock on my chest, it could puncture my lung," she said.

"Damn it!" He yells as he kicks a stray rock from the rubble.

"Jaime... I'm scared, " she says softly.

"I need you to focus on Steve, Doll. I need you to try to use your twin connection to get him here. I know he probably already sensed it but focus on calling your brother while we work on getting you out of there," he says.

"I love you, Jaime."

"No. You don't get to say goodbye, not yet," he says.

"I don't want to say goodbye. I just wanted you to know I love you," she says.

"I love you. So much. More than you could know," he says.

They both fall silent as she focuses on what he asked her to do. She knows Steve is on his way because she can feel his fear. It feels different than her own fear but his amplifies her own. She can also sense relief. She guesses that if she can feel his feeling than he can feel hers. Knowing that she is awake and cognitive made him more relieved than anything.

She's never felt so connected to him as in that moment. Maybe it's because she was so close to death or maybe because she's never stopped to search for her brother in her psyche. She tries to send him waves of comfort. It may just be her imagination but he seems to relax a bit. If she makes it out of this, she'll have to ask him if it worked.

"Steve's on the way," she updates Bucky.

"I sent the other men away. I don't think we should risk moving anything until Steve is here," he says.

"So we wait," she says.

As time ticks forward, she could feel herself fading and she could feel Steve's panic rising with each second.