Remembering Freedom

Surprise Visitor

The man standing at the entrance to the base with a blonde woman in his arms didn't look like the man they had seen in the security footage from a week ago. His hair was cut short and he was dressed in civilian clothing, but the blood-soaked white T-shirt didn't hide the metal arm that was also caked with dirt and gore. Two gunshot wounds were visible, one through his right forearm and another in his right thigh. Both were tied up with torn strips of cotton, most likely an old shirt.

The blonde woman had to be Jemma. At this distance though, she couldn't see any injuries given that the Winter Soldier had her tightly wrapped in his jacket, her face buried in his chest. Jemma was shivering violently though and watched the Soldier adjust his hold on her so she could soak in more of his warmth. He cared for her it seemed...

Those pale blue eyes scanned over the four of them, most likely assessing their threat level. But May could see that those eyes, while attentive, were slightly glazed over. That and the alarmingly pale pallor of his exposed skin lead her to believe he was suffering from extreme blood loss and premature hypothermia. He wasn't surprised by the number of guns being pointed at them and she had no doubts that he could probably take them, even in his current condition.

"Sergeant Barnes...Sergeant Bucky Barnes of the Howling Commandoes?" Phil's voice faltered and he lowered his gun.

Damn idiot! She was about to send him a glare when she watched the Soldier's expression. His brow furrowed and he seemed confused about the question. He nodded and she noticed him sway on his feet. The Soldier...Barnes would collapse at any moment. Phil turned to her, ignoring the smoldering glare, and said: "Get two gurneys."

"But Phil..."

Her response was met with a stern look of his own. "We can talk later May. These two need medical attention." He turned to Morse and Hunter, ordering them to lower their guns. They did so reluctantly.

Two gurneys were brought out a minute later and she watched as Barnes laid Jemma down onto one of them. Doing so showed the extent of the man's injuries. She couldn't hide the shock on her face when she caught sight of the soaked through bandages wrapped around his torso and left shoulder. She couldn't fathom how the man was still on his feet... They let him pull himself onto the gurney, jaw clenching as he laid flat on his back and closed his eyes.

He stayed that way until they were both rolled into the medical suite and his eyes sprang open as Phil injected a sedative into his right arm. Given the amount Phil had injected, it only took moments for Barnes' eyes to close.

Bucky Barnes, once a Howling Commando and childhood friend to Steve Rogers, was the Winter Soldier. She was still trying to process the whole thing, even as she helped strip the man of his bloody clothes and bandages. When Skye first noticed a blip on the security, they knew who it was...or at least they thought they did.

May looked down at the now unconscious man on the gurney. The left arm was unlike anything she'd seen, save for Mike Thompson's Deathlock hardware. Phil had advised that no one touch the arm without Barnes' express permission, except to examine the wound near it.

While not exactly the most medically inclined, Phil thought it best that only May and him work on Barnes in case someone or something sets him off. She started with the bullet in his thigh and was first surprised by the amount of healing that had occurred in that time and second by the sheer luck that it hadn't hit the femoral artery. Reopening the wound, she pulled out the bullet and proceeded to sterilize and wrap it before moving up to the two wounds in his abdomen.

"How is Simmons?" She again reopened the wound and sterilized it before moving onto the next one.

"Four bruised ribs, deep tissue bruising on her right shoulder, deep laceration to the palm of her left hand that was expertly stitched up, her right wrist was broken a few days ago and again reset by someone who knew what they were doing." He helped turn Barnes onto his right side. "Along with layers of bruising around her throat, there also bruises covering her arms and legs."