On Purpose

Scars

Steve's POV.

It had been about a day. Steve had kept his word and waited with out struggling to get away. He had a plan though. He knew Bucky was down there some where. He just needed to get him out. The man who he thought to be Bucky sat in a chair watching outside through a window. Steve decided now was the best time.

"Who are you?" Steve asked him. "It doesn't matter." He answered gruffly. "I know you." Steve stood up and walked toward him. "No you don't." "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. You were my best friend." The man shifted as if he remembered. "I-I No. No I wasn't." "Bucky please." "My names not Bucky!" He screamed then he ran up to Steve and hit him. Steve was knocked back slightly.

When he looked up the light shown on the mans face. Steve saw his eyes. "Buck." "Shut Up!" Steve put up his hands. "I'm not gonna fight you." Bucky looked down. "Bucky? Do you remember your past?" "Why does that matter?" "It does." "Then no. I don't." "Why do you wear that mask? I'm no threat to you." "They tell me to wear it." He said in a low voice. He seemed so vulnerable. "Why?" "I-I don't know."

Steve didn't understand why getting through to Bucky this time was easier than before. Was it because it had only been a short period of time sense they found him. Maybe Bucky was still mostly there.

"My name is Steve Grant Rogers. Your name is James Buchanan Barns." "No it's not!" "You and I- we met in 1st grade." Bucky shook his head violently.

"I was being picked on by some older kids. I used to get bullied for being small and unhealthy. You came up and told em' to get lost." "No..." "You helped me up off the ground and looked at me and asked me..." "Stop." "Why a kid like me wanted to get into so much trouble. And I said... that I couldn't do anything about it. That I wasn't good enough. That's way they picked on me. And you said.

"No! Stop!" He said coming at Steve weakly again. "They were the ones who weren't good enough. That's why they picked on me. They were jealous. And that from now on you'd be there to make sure that I would remember that." Bucky froze.

"And you kept your word. You were always there. Even when you weren't you were always with me. At my Dads funeral, at my moms funeral, school, the time Jenny Thomas stood me up for the prom, when I got deathly ill, when I joined the army, when I became Captain America, when I met the love of my life, when I asked her to marry me, on the train, the plane, the ice, in my dream, when I woke up, when I got married..." Steve said each one with force.

He took a breath. "...You were always there Buck. You just didn't know it. So saying that your not here now won't change a thing... cuz to me you always have been."

Steve stared him in the eye. Bucky looked at him in a state of shock. He backed away and collapsed in a chair. Steve watched as Bucky put his head in his hands. "Take off the mask Bucky." He looked up at Steve and slowly did as he was told. Steve smiled slightly. When the mask was off all Steve could see was his best friend. He walked over to Bucky. "Buck?" No response Bucky stared off into nothingness.

"Bucky?" "I don't remember." "You do or you wouldn't have taken that mask off." "I know you." Bucky said. Steve sighed with relief. "Yeah you do." "Do you know me?" "Yes." "The me before they took me?" "Yes." Steve answered.

"My name? It's Bucky?" He asked now looking at Steve. "Yeah well...that's what I call you and what your friends call you. Your parents called you James. "James. And Bucky. Bucky sounds familiar." Steve sat down across from him still being cautious.

"Bucky? Do you remember me?" He looked up at Steve. "Yes. I do. Your Steve." "Yeah I am."

Suddenly everything seemed to hit Bucky. Tears weld up in his eyes and he embraced Steve firmly. "I'm so sorry." Bucky cried. "It's okay Buck." "I thought I'd never see you again." "Neither did I." Bucky let go of his embrace.

"What else do you remember?" "Not much just you. And...Peggy! Oh my God! Steve I-" Steve just shook his head. "It wasn't you. It was HYDRA." "But it was me. I did those things." "Bucky...don't worry about it. I sent her back she's fine."
Bucky sighed. "I feel like I've just woken up from a horrible nightmare." "You have. Your back now though." "Steve you have no idea what they did. They put my brain in a blender. I didn't even know who I was." "I know. And I'll  help you remember everything else don't worry about it." Steve told him. He nodded.

"We've got to get out of here! The leaders will be coming any time now, but we can't let all this information get into there hands." Bucky told him. "Okay. We'll blow this place up then." Steve answered. Bucky nodded. They both split up and set the place to blow. Once outside Steve lit a fuse and they both ran. It was time to head back home. Steve had a lot of explaining to do.

Peggy's POV.

Peggy sat on her couch watching the clock, with one hand on her stomach and the other twirling her necklace. She was worried about Steve he had said he would come back, but would he really? She prayed that he would. SHIELD had come to a decision that if Steve didn't show up in 5 days that they would make a rescue mission. Peggy felt as if time had slowed down just to be cruel.

Peggy walked into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed gazing at the picture she had of Steve. She loved him so much. She couldn't take loosing him again. She heard a door close, making her jump. Peggy got her pistol out and slowly walked into the living room.

She dropped her gun onto the floor. "Steve!" She ran up to him and embraced him kissing his lips. "I was so worried how did you...You!...Sargent Barnes!" She exclaimed when her kidnapper walked in behind Steve. This was too much to take in.

"Peggy it's okay." "What?! No it's not! The man who kidnaped me, tortured me, threatened me and my baby's life and the man who hurt you is here! And it's Sargent Barnes!" "Peggy let me explain." "Go ahead." She said impatiently.

"Bucky was found by HYDRA and brainwashed. He had no memory of anything in his past including you and me. They had made him begin to think that evil was good and good was bad. I got him to remember though." Peggy was so confused. "So....he's not a threat?" "No he's not. And he feels terrible."

"Peggy I'm...I'm so sorry. I-" Peggy watched as tears came to Bucky's eyes. "I don't know why....,but I forgive you. It may take a little while for me to be comfortable around you though." She told him. "I understand."  "There's a guest room down the hall." She told him. "Thanks." He walked out.

"You know this is crazy right?" She asked. turning to Steve. "I know." Steve said. "What now?" She asked. "We help him. He'd do the same for me." "He was in your dream? Wasn't he?" Steve looked at her in shock, but nodded. "He was. I told you all, it wasn't just a dream."

"He was the one to kill Howard wasn't he?" "Yes. Only now we've stopped that." "Hopefully." "What do you mean?" "How stable is he Steve? For all we know he could crack again." "I don't think he will. Just give him time.

Peggy sighed. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do this. "Alright. I will." She shook her head and sighed again. "I'm going to bed. And your coming with me." She said. He smiled at her. "I love you. And see, I kept my word. "Yes you did. Now come to bed. We both need to sleep." He kissed her and followed.

In their bedroom Peggy laid down as well as Steve. He wrapped his arm around her. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I am now." "Is the baby okay?" "Yes he's fine." "He?" Steve asked. "Mhm." "Why he?" "I can tell. Call it woman's intuition." "How about mothers intuition?" She giggled at his comment. "Are you okay?" She asked. "I'm perfect now. You make me perfect." "Your sweet I love you now go to sleep." She kissed his cheek. "Alright. I love you to. Goodnight." "Night." And they both fell asleep peacefully.