London, England

Spring 2016

It felt...good, odd but good to see Sharon again. It was nice to talking to her. And talking about Peggy? It was...it was a relief. A strange sort of relief.

And Sharon? Well, she looked good. There was no question there. And she sounded like she was doing well. Every now and then she would seem to dim and her eyes would grow damp and sad, but on the whole she seemed...at peace with Peggy's passing. But then, Steve supposed that given Peggy's age and the way her health and mind had been deteriorating these last few months, her passing was more a blessing than everything else. The Peggy he remembered? To see her keen mind fade on top of her body growing old and frail? It had been heartbreaking. She had been such a strong, clever woman with an indomitable spirit. By the time she'd died? Well...part of Steve was tempted to say that hadn't been Peggy anymore.

Save for the small glimpses of the old Peggy that still managed to surface and make him feel like a scrawny, bumbling waif of a boy again.

Lord, he was going to miss her...

But even he couldn't deny that it had been time. The Peggy he had known during the War had already passed into memory, as much as it hurt to realize, and the Peggy she had become with the passage of time and a life long lived that he hadn't been a part of had all but done the same as old age and dementia took its toll.

It was a mercy, in a way.

And it was obvious that Sharon felt the same. Yes, sadness still shadowed her smile and her laugh was more subdued than he remembered from her time living across the hall from him, but she seemed almost relieved at the same time. Steve could understand that.

It was nice to see her again. It really was. He smiled as she chuckled over one of his memories of Peggy, feeling some of the tension his grief had left in his chest easing. It was easy to remember why he'd been so interested in Sharon when she'd been his neighbour. Heck, even after he'd found out she was an agent.

But yet...here, now? Though they seemed to gravitate toward each other over the course of the reception, he couldn't say it was out of that sort of interest. Not like it had been, when he'd made excuses to chat with her in the hall for even a minute more. Now it was...simple familiarity. The link they now had through Peggy and their short time as neighbours. There was still a measure of attraction there, sure, but...

But his interest was elsewhere, now. There was no denying that, even if only to himself. Especially as he caught himself unconsciously scanning the crowd for a pale blonde head that didn't belong to Sharon...again. He shook the impulse away, reminding himself that she and Sam had left a while before to check on one of Nadine's list of abandoned safehouses.

It was easier said than done.

He liked Nadine, and no amount of rationalization that he shouldn't was diminishing his growing feelings. Not even for Bucky's sake.

He liked her. More than he should.

It was probably a good thing he hadn't kissed Nadine back there in the sanctuary...but that didn't stop him from thinking he should have. He wished he had.

It really meant more to him than he could hope to ever properly put into words that Nadine had been sitting there next to Sam. That she had been there for him. She had followed him to London, just for him. Not to continue on to Vienna as Nat had done—not that it didn't mean the world to him that Natasha had wanted to be there for him too. But with Nadine? It gave the persistent, incorrigible part of him that wanted more hope that, just maybe, there were feelings there for her too.

After all, it wasn't just any friend who would do that.

Nor was any friend who would take his hand as she had. And just let him hold on. To anchor him.

Nadine didn't 'touch' often. That was something Steve had come to realize in the last several months. She rarely affectionately or absently touched anyone. It was always with conscious intent if she laid a hand on someone's shoulder or arm. It was like he'd noticed with Natasha those first few years he'd known her, before she'd started to consider him and the rest of the Team true friends, even family. Nadine was the same. She didn't affectionately touch.

Except with Nina, Natasha and even Wanda in more recent weeks...and him.

Nor did she often let others touch her, always subtly, even unconsciously distancing herself if it seemed imminent.

Save with her sister, her daughter and...him.

He wasn't even sure she realized she did it, to be honest.

And he didn't quite know what to make of it...well, no. He knew what he wanted to make of it.

It was why he couldn't just dismiss the way she'd pulled away in the sanctuary as a lack of interest or rejection. No matter that he probably should...

He just couldn't ignore what it meant.

Or at least, what he hoped it meant. Because it was just that, hope.

It was probably just as simple as she had gotten to know him well enough and was simply used to a certain level of familiarity with him thanks to their twice-weekly sparring session. That was probably it. He probably shouldn't be reading too much into it.

But, damn, he wanted to...

Not only had she reached out to him and let him hold on for the length of the service, but after? When Natasha had hugged him? Nadine had been there too, offering her own support. And after Natasha had left? When he and Nadine had talked? She'd been touching him one way or another nearly the whole time.

Even that day, when he'd heard about Peggy, she had reached out to him.

He wanted it to mean something.

And in his gut? Part of him was sure it did.

Add in how almost...conflicted she'd looked as she'd pulled away from him back in the sanctuary? Like she hadn't wanted to but felt she should...kind of the way he'd felt, really...

He nearly started scolding himself when he caught himself scanning the crowd yet again.

Around them, the reception had effectively broken up, the last of the guests beginning to go their separate ways. Steve nodded to another couple he didn't know in silent greeting as they paused to bid Sharon goodbye; the man had been a coworker of Peggy's at S.H.I.E.L.D. in his younger days and one of Sharon's before he retired, if Steve was interpreting the conversation right.

As the older couple excused themselves and bid their final goodbyes, Sharon sighed, shooting Steve an apologetic look.

"I should probably get going too," she said with a thread of reluctance. "I need to head out in a couple hours. Back to work, and all that," she said with a smile. Steve gave a small chuckle as they both began to edge toward the door of the hall.

"Walk you to your car?" he asked before he could help himself. There might not be quite the same interest there as back in DC, and she might not be the woman part of him wished she was, but he was enjoying her company all the same. Besides, it was the polite thing to do. Her smile grew amused.

"I'm not leaving just yet. So maybe the elevator?" She chuckled at his hesitation, taking pity on him and his sudden confusion and explaining, "I've been staying here for the funeral. I may be working on this side of the ocean these days, but it was still a little far to commute," she joked lightly.

"Ah," he said with a laugh, feeling silly that he hadn't thought of that right away. Her smile widened. "To the elevator, then." She accepted with a nod, following his gesture to precede him out into the lobby.

"So Natasha mentioned you're with the CIA, now," Steve observed as he fell into step beside Sharon, their pace leisurely as they circled slowly around the lobby toward the elevators. He managed a cursory look around before pulling his attention back to Sharon. "How's that working out?"

She nodded. "It's not too bad, really." Steve shot her a questioning look at the odd tone she used. Almost resigned. She let out a small laugh at being caught out. "Yeah, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D., but then, even S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't exactly S.H.I.E.L.D., so..." Steve let out a wry chuckle. That was for sure. He exchanged a wry grin with Sharon, the expression still faintly grim. An expression she echoed.

"I imagine Peggy was a big part of why you signed up with S.H.I.E.L.D.," he continued, adjusting the subject. He wasn't in the mood to go hashing into thoughts on HYDRA and the mess they'd made. Sharon nodded, her grin knowing as she caught on to his intent.

"My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting," she said with a fond smile, "but, umm, not Aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster." Steve couldn't help but chuckle. That did sound like something Peggy would do, no question. His steps slowed as they reached the elevators, Sharon's slowing to match as she reached out to tap the up button. Before he could stop himself, he was glancing out across the lobby again.

And this time he caught a glimpse of the pale head he'd been unconsciously looking for all afternoon, spying Sam and Nadine slipping into the hall he and Sharon had just left. The pair of them were already back from checking out the abandoned safehouse, it seemed. Had that much time already passed? Straightening automatically, his hand twitched in his pocket as he thought to catch their attention; they were likely looking for him. But before he could they were already out of sight. An anxious flutter woke in his gut. They were back, and judging from the carefully neutral look he had glimpsed on Nadine's face, he was willing to hazard that their errand hadn't had the outcome they'd hoped for. It meant that, tempting as it was, there was no point in rushing off after his two companions.

He would make his goodbyes to Sharon, then he would check in with Nadine and Sam. Withholding a disappointed sigh, he shook his head, clearing his throat slightly as he forced his attention back to the woman he'd been talking to.

Who was suddenly very much not the woman he wanted to be standing next to.

"Very practical," he replied, berating himself the moment the words left his mouth over how distracted he sounded. Her eyes flicked in the direction he'd just been looking. But she didn't comment on his momentary distraction even if her lip quirked.

"And stylish," she added wryly, a curious yet knowing glint in her eye. He nearly cleared his throat again at the look, grasping for something to say and all but blurting out the first question that came to mind. Mercifully, it didn't sound as unsettled as he suddenly felt.

"So, the CIA has you stationed over here now?" Her lips twitched again at his question and he got the distinct impression she'd seen right through his attempt at downplaying how he'd been caught looking for someone else in the middle of their conversation.

"In Berlin," she answered, mercifully letting his poor manners go, seeming to find it funny more than rude. "Joint Counter Terrorism Task Force."

"Right," he said, feeling foolish; he was pretty certain in retrospect that Natasha had told him that too...or given his luck just now, Sharon had mentioned it... "Right. Sounds fun." She laughed softly.

"I know, right?" He smiled at her faintly teasing tone. He sighed then, his thoughts inadvertently circling back around to Peggy as they had been all day. he decided then that he might as well ask the question that had been preying on his mind since he'd first realized she and Peggy were related.

"I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on me from across the hall—"

Sharon's lips twitched once more as she interrupted, "you mean when I was doing my job." Steve spared a small grin of apology, but levelled her with an earnest look regardless.

"Did Peggy know?" He asked quietly. Sharon's amused smile dimmed, her expression growing sedate and distinctly apologetic.

"She kept so many secrets," she said after a moment collecting her thoughts. She looked up to Steve with unmistakable sincerity. "I didn't want her to have one from you." It was at that moment that the elevator chimed, the doors sliding open. Sharon glanced up to Steve, a small smile once more in her face. "Thanks for walking me back." Steve returned the expression, unexpectedly relieved even as a measure of sadness came over him. He honestly wasn't sure what answer he'd been expecting, or even which one he would've preferred.

"Sure," he replied, only to be interrupted before he could say anything further.

"Steve." Both of them turned at the soft call, Steve frowning as Sam approached, his normally cheerful features guarded. Nadine followed closely behind, her face just as carefully blank as Steve had glimpsed before, but her grey eyes were noticeably grave. Unease began twisting in his gut.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Sam nodded over his shoulder. "There's something you've gotta see." Steve and Sharon glanced to each other, her looking just as perplexed as he felt. Steve stepped toward Sam.

"Not here," Nadine interrupted, her voice far more emotionless than it had been in a long time. Steve's frown deepened. "Somewhere private," she instructed grimly. Sharon glanced between Nadine and Steve before nodding toward the elevator.

"You can use my room," she offered.

The elevator ride was one of the longest and most anxious Steve had ever experienced...and that was saying something. It felt like a building was suddenly sitting on his chest. Neither Sam nor Nadine said a word, Sam merely saying it'd be easier to show than explain.

And as soon as Sam flipped on the TV in Sharon's room, Steve understood why at once.

There had been an attack on the Accords Summit in Vienna.

And the prime suspect was Bucky.

It felt like a kick in the gut. No...a shot in the gut. Honestly, it felt almost exactly like the bullet Bucky had put in his stomach that day on the Helicarrier all over again. The searing shock of it, the breathless clench deep in his abdomen. Steve's jaw tensed as Sam came to stand stoically on his left, leaning against the back of the couch as Nadine sunk down onto it next to where Steve stood. Not one of them could tear their attention away from the screen, though Steve couldn't help but muse absently that Nadine was undoubtedly listening with half an ear as Sharon paced behind them, speaking intently with what sounded like her boss. But what small amusement he got from the thought quickly faded. The gravity of what had happened was simply too great.

More than seventy injured and at least twelve dead. Including the Wakandan King.

He just couldn't believe this was happening. It felt like a bad dream, a nightmare, yet it felt too real to be anything but true. He could feel the weight of it pressing down on him. A sense of wrong bloomed in his gut right alongside the pain. If Bucky had done this, it couldn't have been by choice. Steve knew that as surely as he'd recognized Bucky on that DC freeway. As surely as he knew it had been Bucky who had pulled him from the river, not the Winter Soldier. As surely as he always known growing up and every day during the War that Bucky would always have his back.

Something was off here. No matter what Bucky had been made to do as the Winter Soldier, he wouldn't do this. Not as himself.

There had to be more to the story.

As video played of the attack's aftermath followed by a still from security footage appearing to show Bucky on the scene, Steve's insides clenched tighter as yet another realization broke over him.

Natasha had been there. She had been at the summit.

And at once he was looking to Nadine.

It was then that Steve noticed just how drawn and emotionless her bloodless face had grown. Concern surfacing on his features, he shifted closer to her, his hand brushing across her shoulder. She actually tensed at the contact, though it was so minute a reaction Steve wasn't entirely sure he'd actually seen it.

"Nadine?" he questioned softly. He was about to withdraw his hand from where it rested on her shoulder, but it was then that he noticed the tension beginning to bleed from her frame as she unconsciously leaned into the touch. So he allowed his hand to linger, a faint, reassured feeling surfacing beneath the dread that had been haunting him since before Sam had even turned on the television. After a long moment she drew in a long, steadying breath.

"This is wrong. It wasn't him," she said softly, nearly to herself, before glancing up to Steve. Her grey eyes were distressed as her mask began to crack even as her voice strengthened. "It wasn't him. It's not his M.O.. It's too...too sloppy," she finished distractedly, retreating into her own head again briefly before continuing again as though her thoughts hadn't interrupted. "Besides, we all know he broke with HYDRA, that he's in the wind. He's running from them, hiding. He wouldn't do this. Not if he wanted to stay hidden. It makes no sense for him to have done this. There's no motive, no gain...unless..." she looked up to him again, her face grave and deeply troubled—horrified, even, "unless someone managed to activate his programming..." The dread churning in Steve's stomach intensified again, matching the look in her eyes.

That was precisely what he feared.

And he felt the minute shudder that went through her as she looked back to the screen. Steve's jaw clenched once more, barely hearing what the anchor was saying anymore as he watched clips of the rescue effort flash across the TV screen.

It was then that Sharon's soft voice behind them fell silent.

"I have to go to work," Sharon said softly as she came to stand on Sam's left. Steve glanced to her, taking in the grave way she looked to the TV just as they were.

"JCTTF's getting sent after him," Steve asked grimly. It really wasn't much of a question, though. Sharon's nod wasn't necessary. It was written on her face.

"He didn't do this," Nadine repeated to herself, her head shaking slowly. "He wouldn't do this." This time, though, Steve wasn't the only one who heard. Sharon looked sharply to Nadine, her face blatantly incredulous.

"He wouldn't?" Something in Sharon's voice had shifted, and it took Steve a moment to recognize it was the agent in her asking, even accusing. Nadine didn't even look away from the TV, though Steve felt her begin to tense once more beneath his palm even if she gave no outward sign of it.

"He wouldn't," was all Nadine said, her emotions once more carefully hidden away. He squeezed her shoulder gently, unable to help the measure of relief that came when she inhaled slowly, once more leaning unconsciously into his touch.

"Then you obviously didn't see what he did in DC," Sharon countered irritably, her voice clipped and cool as her arms crossed over her chest. "This is what he does." Steve looked to the CIA agent, concern mingling with his unease and dread. He'd never...no, he had seen her like this before. When Fury has been bleeding out in his living room. She was deeply unsettled. Unsettled and afraid, he realized with a start.

But all thought of that fled as Nadine's features, already cool and blank, hardened as she pulled away from Steve's touch, standing to face Sharon.

"Obviously? You're the only one here who hasn't fought him before. You're the only one here who doesn't know him," Nadine answered. If Sharon's tone had been cool, Nadine's was positively frigid. Icy...and clearly dangerous. Sharon paled, though her own hard expression didn't falter as she met Nadine's eye without flinching.

"She's right, Sharon," Steve interrupted softly, not caring how weary he sounded. "Bucky wouldn't do this." Now it was Steve Sharon's incredulous look was fixed on.

"Bucky—what do you mean," she asked just as softly, bewilderment taking over from accusation. Before Steve could answer, Sam was the one who spoke up.

"Just keep watching," he said grimly.

Sure enough, in learning Bucky's identity, the world news had put together that he was the same James Buchanan Barnes that had once been one of Steve's Howling Commandos...and his friend. Steve could practically see Sharon's mind working out of the corner of his eye as she first watched the screen and when she turned to study Steve. Nadine just watched the younger woman, her features impassive. Finally Sharon sighed heavily.

"You're sure," was all she said, looking to Steve. He nodded slowly.

"Absolutely. That," he gestured absently to the screen which once again showed the aftermath of the explosion, "was not Bucky." Sharon nodded, her thoughts once again kicking into gear.

"Then...if you can get to him first?" Hope flared in Steve's chest as he met Sharon's earnest, determined gaze. She believed them. She was going to help. Something in Nadine eased, her expression softening minutely as she saw what Steve did.

"If he's himself?" Steve answered without hesitation, "I can talk to him."

"But if he's the Winter Soldier..." Nadine countered softly, trailing off as she looked to Steve. Steve sighed. She was right, that was a whole different problem.

"What does that mean? There's a difference?" Sharon asked. "If he's your friend, if you know him, will that matter? You just said can talk to him; you'll be able to reason with him the way we can't." Nadine sighed sadly, turning to look sightlessly back to the TV. But as Steve was about to answer, Nadine answered for him.

"That's just it. We wouldn't be able to reason with him. He can't reason. At least," she hesitated for a moment, getting her thoughts in order, "not the way we do. Not the way you mean. Not when he's the Winter Soldier. He can plan, he can strategize, he can problem-solve, but he can't think. If he's the Winter Soldier, if his programming has been activated, he only knows how to follow his orders and will do so without hesitation. Nothing else matters. Nothing else can get through. With time and the right handling, that control can be...subverted, even broken, but there's no guarantee...

"But when he's Barnes? He's..." Nadine shrugged helplessly, "he's a different person. He's the Bucky Steve grew up with. He's a good man. That's why this doesn't make any sense. Not for him. Not unless..." she hesitated, glancing to Steve again, her gaze once more clearly troubled, "not unless there's someone else calling the shots." Sharon blinked, her head shaking slowly as she processed.

"How do you know this about him?" There was no emotion, no indication of feeling in Nadine's eyes as she turned back to Sharon.

"Let's just say I got close enough to see what made him tick," she said simply.

"How?" Sharon pressed, not unkindly. She just couldn't quite wrap her head around what she was hearing. Steve looked to Nadine, concern bubbling in his chest. Nadine simply leveled the other woman with an impassive look.

"He was brought in to test us, in the place where I was trained as a girl. I learned a great deal about him," she said nearly without inflection. "More than that, he's a step beyond what they tried to make me and Natasha, to some extent." Steve was just as stunned as Sharon and Sam, though for a much different reason. He had not expected her to say that. He hadn't expected her to answer at all, much less so bluntly. He knew how much she didn't like to talk about that time in her life.

The news must have really shaken her...

He watched in silence as Sharon leaned a hip against the back of the couch, looking to Nadine incredulously.

Sam shifted closer to Steve, leaning in and pitching his voice low. "He was involved with her training?" There was a faint, incredulous cast to his tone. Mutely, Steve nodded, earning a quiet, impressed sound. "I take it you knew that." Again Steve nodded, though this time he answered too, keeping his voice just as low as Sam's.

"It's not something she likes to advertise. Probably for the same reason she and Nat don't like to talk about where they were trained." He could practically hear Sam gearing up to ask, his dark brows furrowing with curiosity. "They aren't pleasant memories, Sam," he continued before the former paratrooper could manage to say anything, "I know Nat told you some of her history. It wasn't a nice place where they grew up. Let's leave it at that."

"Where were you trained," Sharon was asking as Steve fell silent, her eyes calculating as she asked. She was testing Nadine, Steve realized. Something Nadine saw too if the equally calculating look that flashed in her grey eyes was any indication.

"That's not important," Nadine said with a subtle air of finality. "And yes," she said with a glance to Sam and Steve, her expression softening slightly, "it was not a nice place. So understandably, I think, neither Natasha nor I like to talk about it. Our tests were brutal. They were cruel, they were merciless. Because that's what they wanted to make us." Sam blew out a harsh breath, visibly stunned.

"Jeez, Ryker. I—" She shot Sam a tight smile, cutting him off with a shake of her head.

"It's okay, Sam," she said softly. "You didn't know." He shook his head right back, his mouth opening to object, but it was Sharon who spoke up first.

"Natasha?" she asked, glancing between the three of them before settling on Nadine again, "Romanoff? You were a Russian spy, like her?" The corner of Nadine's mouth quirked, but it was a humourless expression.

"Not exactly," she admitted after a moment. "Yes, I was trained to be a master spy, just as she was, among...other things. But my life took a...well, it took a different route, let's say. So no. I'm not a spy. I'm more of an...independent operative." Steve looked between the two women, unable to help the uneasy feeling growing in his gut. Nadine just impassively met Sharon's eye as Sharon levelled Nadine with a deeply considering look, her expression growing distinctly guarded.

"Who are you?" the younger agent asked, glancing warily between Steve and Nadine, "Who is this?" Steve hesitated, unsure how to answer. So he looked to Nadine, looking for any indication how she wanted to handle this. Nadine didn't react, not saying a word. She just cocked her head minutely, considering. He glanced back to Nadine once more even as he edged around the couch to stand between the two women before turning to Sharon. Nadine watched the pair of them with unreadable eyes.

"Sharon," he began carefully, unsure what to say despite a bewildering sense of anticipation suddenly fluttering around in his gut, "it's not—"

"The Ghost," Nadine interrupted softly. Sharon's eyes went wide, her mouth nearly dropping open even as her brow furrowed with trepidation. Obviously it was a designation she was familiar with. Steve nearly gaped as his gaze snapped to Nadine, not quite sure if he'd heard right. Had she just... Despite himself, his lip quirked faintly as he looked to Nadine in astonishment.

"Nadine..." At his murmur, she spared him a silent, warning glance. It was then he saw it; surprise. She had surprised herself by admitting who she was.

Steve inhaled deeply, glancing between the two women once more. Nadine looked almost...accepting. Like she had known Sharon finding out would be inevitable. But there was just as much trepidation in her eyes as there was on Sharon's face as she assessed the younger woman's reaction. That and a flicker of dread.

"Sharon," he asked cautiously, drawing the younger woman's troubled gaze, "this can't get out," he said softly. She inhaled deeply, her features guarded as he knew his were. As Sam's and Nadine's were. But after a long, uncertain moment, she nodded once, briskly. And the dread eased, even if only a little.

It was then that Sharon's phone pinged, snapping the moment and the tension. With a final, considering look to Nadine, Sharon retreated back to the table where she'd left her phone, her lips to thinning as she read the message.

"My ride leaves in twenty. I've got to go," she said briskly, pointedly not looking to Nadine. She looked up to Steve, pulling a card from her jacket pocket and handing it to him. "Let me know when you get to Vienna." Steve nodded, slipping the card into his own pocket.

"On to Vienna then?" Sam asked as Sharon excused herself to gather her things. Steve just nodded before gesturing that they should leave Sharon to packing.

"We'll need to find somewhere to lay low until Sharon has something for us," Steve sad lowly as they let themselves out into the hall.

"I can take care of that," Nadine offered from behind the two men as she pulled the door shut behind her. Both Steve and Sam turned to her in surprise.

"You can?" Steve asked. Her lip quirked into a small, wry smile.

"Don't forget, I used to live in Vienna. I have somewhere we can go."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to Vote and Comment!