"How's she been holding up?" Steve asked, leaning against the back of his recliner.

He had invited Bucky and Marlena over to talk about everything that had happened and since they had not seen each other since the day Bucky took Marlena home from Sam's after the rescue mission, they had quite a few things to discuss.

Bucky shrugged, glancing down at Marlena. She had laid down on the couch opposite of Steve, her knees pulled up so her legs weren't dangling over the side. She was using Bucky's lap as a pillow, her brunette locks splayed out across the dark denim of his jeans. It had taken her all of twenty minutes until she was fast asleep.

"She's barely slept since I brought her home." Bucky glanced down at her as she slept, his metal hand resting on the gray sleeve of her baseball tee, the other stroking her hair. "She just lays there with her eyes closed, pretending she's asleep. . .but I can tell by the way she breathes that she's awake."

"Well, I know how she feels. It's hard to sleep when thoughts of your past are running through your mind." Steve sighed, taking a sip out of his water glass.

"That's not the only thing bothering her, though. She had a friend, Hallie," Bucky saw her hand twitch, distracting him momentarily.

"What is it?" Steve asked, leaning forward as he examined the worried look on Bucky's face.

"I think she's having a nightmare." Bucky frowned as she twitched in her sleep once more.

He removed his right hand from her hair and held her hand, a strange feeling sparking when his skin made contact with hers.

He knew exactly what was happening; she was unintentionally showing him what was going on in her mind—her nightmare. He could see himself there, as well as Mason. It was as if he was seeing it from Marlena's eyes.

Her hand reached out, her fingertips pressing to Mason's temple gently. She was looking into his mind, and using her powers, transferring memories that Bucky couldn't quite make out into Mason's mind. It seemed to be working until Mason's eyes rolled back into his head, his body going limp as he fell backwards. Bucky could feel Marlena's heartbeat change as she dropped to her knees beside Mason, his body shaking until it eventually stopped.

"No! Mason, please, get up! Wake up!" She sobbed, her fingertips checking all of Mason's pressure points for a pulse.

Bucky felt nothing, and he knew what had happened. Marlena's powers were too much for Mason to handle, and he had experienced some sort of sensory overload. Mason was dead, and Marlena was responsible.

Just then, it was as if he were forced out of Marlena's mind and she jolted upwards, panting heavily as she clutched her chest. Bucky immediately grabbed her shoulders, making her face him as he shook his head.

"It was just a dream, Marlena," Bucky reassured her, unsure of whether or not she knew he had seen the nightmare as well.

Marlena closed her eyes, nodding as a few stray tears escaped her eyes. Bucky pulled her onto his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck as her face buried into the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down. He looked at Steve, who was now leaning back in the recliner again, a sympathetic frown plastered on his face.

"I don't want this anymore," Marlena whispered as she finally began to calm down.

"I know. The nightmares won't last forever, though, Mar." Bucky replied, kissing the side of her head.

"No, Bucky; I'm not talking about the nightmares." She pulled away, but he kept his hand on her back.

He looked at her confusedly, then over at Steve, and back at her.

"I don't want these powers; I told you that like two days ago. I'm a danger to everyone I care about. I can barely control them." She glanced over at Steve, who's eyebrows pulled down in thought.

"I think I know someone who can reverse what Hydra did to you. They might be able to take away your abilities." Steve pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts before looking back up at Marlena and Bucky.

"Do you think they'd be willing to help?" Bucky asked, glancing at Marlena.

"They owe me. I'm sure there's something we can work out," he replied, choosing a specific name in his contacts. "Would you two be willing to head up to New York for a few days, though?"

"I'll do anything. I just want everything back to normal," Marlena sighed, standing up from the couch.

She walked over to Steve, wrapping her arms around him.

"Thank you, Steve. For everything," she said as he hugged her back, phone still in hand.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Marlena? Remember what I told you about how reversing the serum could be dangerous?" Bucky pointed out as she pulled away from his friend and returned to Bucky.

"I'm sure." She nodded, bending down to press a kiss to Bucky's lips.

"Okay," Bucky agreed. "Well, we should probably get going; it's getting late and Miranda might start to worry."

"Actually," Steve looked up from his phone, "I'm going to try to make that phone call, so you should probably stay. We can talk about it more in the morning."

"Yeah, okay." Bucky nodded.

"I'll text my mom and tell her." Marlena pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

"Marlena, the guest room is all yours. You can either take the couch, or take my room and I'll take the couch, Bucky." Steve stood up from the couch, looking at the two.

"Actually," Bucky stood up, too, "we usually sleep together," he said, taking Marlena's hand in his.

"O-oh. . ." Steve swallowed, feeling a little awkward.

"He means that we literally sleep," Marlena piped up, her cheeks flushing after realizing how Bucky's words had probably sounded to Steve, "that's all."

"Oh, alright." Steve forced a chuckle, looking down at his phone again. "Well, goodnight, and let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, buddy." Bucky smiled, leading Marlena to the guest room.

As they entered the room, Marlena looked around as she walked straight to the bed. She could see some of Bucky's things throughout the room, as if he had stayed there before.

"I stayed here for some time while we were working on a plan to bust you out of Hydra," Bucky spoke up, as if reading Marlena's mind. "Here's some clothes to sleep in." He handed her a pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, pecking her on the cheek before he walked back to the door.

Marlena smiled, shutting her eyes as he kissed her cheek. As much as she loved being at her own home, she enjoyed the quiet at Steve's. At home, Mason was always playing his video games, which could get pretty loud. Miranda had a tendency to hum—all the time. Here, it was just them, with the exception of Steve's voice coming faintly from his bedroom as he spoke on the phone.

"Let me know when you're done changing." Bucky grinned as he shut the door behind him, making his way into the bathroom.

He stood in front of the mirror, his grin fading as realization stuck him once again. Marlena was going to have to endure more procedures in order to rid herself of the powers that Hydra had given her. . .and it was all his fault. Everything that had happened to her had been because of him.

He pulled his hair into a low bun, his tired eyes staring back at him in the mirror. He just wanted Marlena to be her old self again—to be happy again.

Luckily, he still had a tooth brush from when he'd stayed there. As he spit into the sink, he heard the guest room door open and Marlena padding down the hallway looking for him.

"I'm done." She poked her head through the bathroom doorway, watching him place his toothbrush back in the cup by the sink. "You okay?" she asked, noticing his tired expression.

"I was just thinking about things." He shrugged, handing her a bottle of mouthwash.

"Like what?" Marlena asked, taking the bottle from him.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? Maybe you can learn to control your abilities, instead." He sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

Marlena squeezed past him and spit the mouthwash into the sink, shaking her head.

"I don't know, Bucky. I just want them gone. In the nightmare—"

"You killed Mason. I know." Bucky watched her carefully, observing her features. Even doing the simplest of things, he still found her breathtakingly beautiful.

"How did you know that?" Her eyebrows pulled down.

"I held your hand, and I could see it. I guess, since you can't control it, you were channeling your dreams through to me."

Marlena frowned, unsure of how to respond. That was among one of the worst dreams she had ever had, and if ridding herself of her powers was able to rid herself of the dreams then she would not hesitate to do so.

"It's okay, Marlena," Bucky assured her, moving to wrap his arms around her. "I think you should do what you think is best for you. I just don't want you to regret it in the end."

She tightened her grip around him, nestling herself into his chest. "I won't, Buck. I just don't want to hurt anybody."

"I know, sweetheart," Bucky replied, pressing a kiss to her head. "I know."