The police station was busy as officers milled around. Sam was tapping his foot impatiently as they processed Bucky. I fiddled with the hem of Steve's jacket, what kind of meeting did Bucky miss? Was it a hearing or something?

"Hello? You must be Sam Wilson" an older woman spoke suddenly, Sam stiffened, moving to put himself between me and this woman. "I'm Doctor Raynor, I've been assigned to Sergeant Barnes and his case"

Sam hesitantly shook her offered hand "I'd introduce myself but apparently you already know who I am" he fell into a charming smile upon seeing that the woman wasn't an open threat.

The doctor hummed before turning to me. "And you might you be?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

I opened my mouth to speak, only just peeking over the taller man's shoulder, Although Sam got to it before me. "Ridley, her name is Anne Ridley." He shot me a look that told me he didn't completely trust the doctor, he turned back toward her. "How are we going to get Bucky out?"

Raynor raised a brow at the exchange but answered Sam anyway. "Oh he's already been released. I'm here as a condition of it"

"Released on who's authority?" Sam demanded, his hands on his hips.

"Mine" a new, grating voice broke into the conversation, calling our attention to the blonde man near the entrance. He waved at people as he strutted toward us, a smug smirk breaching his features.

Oh how I'd love to just punch him in his face.

"And who gave you the authority?" Sam narrowed his eyes at the man. I scoffed quietly not really wanting to hear John Walker speak, I instead looked around the precinct one more time.

Bucky exited a door, rubbing at his right wrist. He caught sight of me, giving me a sheepish look before turning his attention to the officer at the desk who had been trying to speak to him.

"Anne" Sam put his hand on my shoulder, redirecting me back into the conversation. "Doctor Raynor wants to bring us in on Bucky's therapy session"

I glanced at the woman who nodded. "Alright" I agreed cautiously. After telling John Walker off for trying to follow, Doctor Raynor lead the three of us toward a different room.

Bucky and I walked alongside each other, Sam was to my right. We fell behind the woman slightly so we could talk. "I'm guessing therapy is more accepted now" I whispered to Bucky who nodded.

"Was it not back in the forties?" Sam asked in a low voice, keeping an eye on Raynor to ensure she couldn't hear the conversation.

"It was frowned upon" Bucky offered. "Not many people were very open about actually going. It was like hanging a sign around your neck screaming 'hey I'm not normal'."

I hummed along, agreeing with my friend. "Back then it was very important to be normal"

"That sucks. I know a lot of soldiers that have benefited from it, myself included" Sam replied.

Before we could speak further, we were lead to a room with a large silver table and three matching chairs, one on the side closest to the far wall and the other two were on the side we entered.

"Get another chair" Raynor commanded an officer that'd been near before we entered. The man nodded before going the way we came. "Please, take a seat."

She walked around and sat on the lone chair, facing us as she laid her hands on the table. Bucky offered me the chair closest to him, opting to stand until another seat was brought in. Sam was seated next to me, it felt almost like all the times I'd been called to the principal's office for when Steve or I had gotten in trouble for fighting.

"Miss Ridley, may I ask what your relation to Mister Barnes is. I'm aware that Mister Wilson is a close friend, but I have no idea who you are." Raynor folded her hands on the table, looking at me expectantly.

Bucky set his hands on my shoulders as a source of comfort, one heavier than the other. Sam opened his mouth, but closed it at the scathing look Raynor shot at him.

I cleared my throat, subconsciously leaning into Bucky's touch. "I met him because of Steve, he introduced us, then I also met Sam" I spoke with a quiet confidence.

"Steve? As in Steve Rogers?" Raynor clarified. I nodded in confirmation.

"Steve and I lived in the same building and I met Bucky that way"

Raynor narrowed her eyes. "I thought Captain Rogers was - abroad after what happened with the accords"

"We managed to settle down for a while, under the radar" Bucky filled in. "I told Steve we couldn't bring her into this" he lied so easily, I almost believed it myself.

"But I fell in anyway" I shrugged, going along with the story.

"We kept it under wraps because we didn't want her to be dragged into the accords mess" Sam justified when Raynor opened her mouth.

The door opened, interrupting whatever the doctor was going to say. The officer who'd been asked was carrying a chair, he set it on the other side of me and I moved my chair closer to the center so I was between the boys.

"Alright, now we can begin" the doctor sighed, checking her watch. "Let's start with why you missed your appointment "

Bucky shifted in his seat, nervously glancing at me. "Look Doc, not everyone in here knows everything" he looked at her nervously.

She nodded, writing something down on her notepad. "And why is that?"

"I'd rather not" he retorted, lacing his fingers together casually, despite his tense shoulders.

"Fine, then what were you doing when you were arrested" Raynor set her pen down, her full attention on my best friend.

"Sam and I were having a conversation out on a street" Bucky began "a cop saw me, stopped us and arrested me because there was a warrant out"

Sam looked at his lap, the same expression I'd seen at the hotel was darkening his features. I reached out, taking Sam's hand. It was under the table and barely noticeable to the doctor across from us, but Sam's eyes snapped to mine.

We held eye contact for a moment before returning our attention toward what was happening with Bucky. However Sam didn't let go of my hand, instead choosing to let me comfort him.

"Look, I know you're holding something back, whether it be about Miss Ridley, Mister Wilson or whether it's something else, just remember that the court demanded I be the one to evaluate your mental state." Raynor finally sighed, her look of disappointment was reminiscent of a teacher admonishing the wily trouble maker.

"There's nothing to discuss" Bucky insisted

Raynor sighed, writing something down in her notebook. "Fine"

"If Bucky says there isn't anything, then you should believe him" I pointed out. "Aren't you his therapist"

A knock on the door saved Raynor from responding. A police officer poked his head in, a different one from before, this one had a handlebar mustache. "Sorry to interrupt, but Captain America needs them, said they had a mission"

Raynor huffed. "This conversation isn't over Mister Barnes" she reminded before nodding her head.

Bucky was the first out of his seat, Sam relinquished my hand, allowing me to stand as well. I walked between the boys, Bucky in the front, leading us out of the interrogation and Sam pulled the door shut behind us.

The officer lead us outside and pointed us in the direction of Walker who was leaning against a police car along with Lemar.

"We should really run these guys down together" Walker said as soon as we were in earshot.

"Why?" I quirked an eyebrow in challenge.

"Because, they have experience, and we have resources." Walker retorted. "We can take the flag smashers by surprise and get a win"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "This isn't some game John, there are people losing their lives. They don't care who has to die for them to get their point across." He folded his arms across his chest. "Besides, it makes no sense for us to work with you. We aren't beholden to the government, we're free agents. You have people to answer to."

A car rolled up beside us, the same one that had been there when I first came out of the ice. Gary could just be seen through the tinted windows.

"That's our ride" Sam gently pushed me forward, urging the group toward the car.

Walker called out to us before we could reach the vehicle. "If you won't work with us, stay out of our way"

I fought back the eye roll, allowing myself to be lead into the middle seat, Sam sat to my right and Bucky to my left.

Bucky rattled off instructions to Gary, who simply nodded before pushing a button that rolled a dark divider between us and him.

"Where to now?" I questioned, glancing at my best friend.

"Somebody I know might have some information on the flag smashers, we're gonna go get it from them" he stated simply, sending a look toward Sam.

"Oh no, we aren't going to see him" Sam shook his head. "Not after what he did to you"

"He knows everything about super soldiers, if we don't go now, Walker and Lemar aren't going to be far behind" Bucky huffed.

"I'm sorry, who are we talking about?" I pushed, not liking the expression Sam had on his face. "What did this person do to Bucky?"

Sam and Bucky made eye contact with each other over my head as if daring the other to break first. "Yeah Bucky, what did he do to you" Sam urged.

"I'm not telling her Sam" Bucky gritted out stubbornly. "You know why"

"Fine" Sam huffed, turning his head to look out the window to his right.

"Tell me what?" I narrowed my eyes at my best friend, quirking an eyebrow.

"Nothing you need to worry about doll" he promised. Bucky avoided my gaze, looking out his own window like Sam had done.

"What is this big secret the two of you are hiding, I know it's something because I've caught the two of you at the tail end of an argument on multiple occasions." I finally snapped. "Is this about Steve?"

They both stiffened, but gave no other sign that they'd even heard me. I sighed, leaning my head against the rest behind me.

Bucky was being suspicious, had been since I got out of the ice, Sam was in on it. It obviously had something to do with the time I was in the ice, something dark. It was enough that Bucky needed therapy and had to be pardoned by the government.

Did he commit treason? Bucky would never do that, would he? Steve was involved, either that or he knew what happened. It had to have been something from the war, which begged the question, how did Bucky get from 1946 to today? How did I?

Was Bucky taken by Hydra?

No, I would have remembered him, all I could remember from that place was her. The Oleander.

How Hydra made me become her.

Bucky definitely wasn't involved in that.

Maybe the United States experimented on him like they did Steve. Bucky had told me how Steve was iced and how he survived.

I wracked my brain, trying to find some sort of reason why Bucky might be hiding something from me.

Then the conversation with his therapist popped in my head. 'Not everyone in this room knows everything.' Obviously he'd been talking about me. The question was, why did Bucky feel the need to hide something from me?

Because at the moment, it seemed like I was the only person out of the loop. Rather unwillingly on Sam's part, but he respected what Bucky had asked of him and kept the secret, whatever it was.