ONE WEEK LATER: SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

★ ★ ★

Bucky sat on the porch steps outside of Sam's house, the sounds of birds chirping and cars passing by driving him into insanity. It had been a week since he had seen the picture of Marlena—the one that had brought his world crashing down—but he felt as if he had just seen it. That's how fresh the pain was, how much it still hurt him. It angered him even more that the world around him went on.

People still strolled down the sidewalk, laughing and talking away. The birds still flew from tree to tree, singing songs that made Bucky want to rip his hair out. How could the rest of the world be the same without Marlena when he felt as if his whole world was turned upside down?

The voices of a woman and her son caught Bucky's attention and he tore his gaze away from the ground, his eyes as blue as the sky landing on the two as the walked along the sidewalk. The boy was trailing behind the mother and every once in a while she would stop and turn around to check on him. As a car came, she held out her hand and he took it, just in time for her to pull him to her left so that she was on the side of the sidewalk facing the street.

That was love. Bucky had not realized that the smallest of gestures could be out of love until he met Marlena, but now, he understood. The mother and her son were strangers to him, but he was reminded of two very important people in his life as he watched them walk hand in hand—Miranda and Mason.

He stood up quickly, running a hand through his hair. He still hadn't told them. He wasn't sure why; maybe it was because he was too blinded by his rage to think about anything other than killing every last soldier of Hydra. Or maybe it was because he felt overwhelmed with grief at the same time; Marlena was dead because of him. She was killed to send a message—a message meant for him.

As realization struck Bucky, he hurried back into the house to fetch Sam's house phone. It was only now that he wished he hadn't destroyed Sam's computer, despite the heart-wrenching picture that had been displayed on the screen. Now he needed that picture, he needed that picture in order to locate the ones that took his Marlena away from him. According to the word document, the inscriptions on the wall would tell him exactly where they were located, and Bucky had a very strong feeling about what those inscriptions could be.

He dialed the number that Maria Hill had given them in case they needed to contact her, and he waited about three rings before the sound of her voice echoed inside his head.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face, unsure of how he was supposed to go about the situation. He didn't want to see the picture; seeing Marlena in such a lifeless state as that was the last thing that he wanted to see, but if he wanted to find these people and make them pay for what they did he had no choice but to look at it.

"Maria," Bucky spoke, his voice sounding seemingly broken. "I need you to do something for me, please."

"Bucky?" It had been a week since she had heard from any one of them, and the fact that she was only hearing from Bucky made her feel worse in regards to the situation involving Marlena. She was sure he hated her for not trying harder, and thinking about it only made her want to hang up the phone. She didn't, though.

"Yes," he answered impatiently. "Can you do something for me?"

"Of course. What do you need?" Maria didn't seem to care what it was or what it could be. She felt as if she owed him.

"Send that picture of Marlena to Steve's or Natasha's phone, please," Bucky told her, his voice cracking slightly when he spoke Marlena's name. "There's something on it I need to see."

Maria sighed and Bucky listened as she typed away on her computer. "Are you sure about that, Bucky?"

"Don't ask questions," Bucky instructed. "Just do it, please."

Maria didn't respond, and, instead, sent the picture to Natasha's phone. Bucky could hear the iPhone beep from the living room, and before long he could hear the sound of her footsteps headed towards the dining room.

"Thank you," he said into the speaker. "Stay on the line, please."

"Bucky," Natasha called as she made her way into the dining room. "Please tell me why Maria just sent this picture to my phone."

Bucky sat the house phone down and looked up at Natasha, wasting no time at all in grabbing her phone out of her hands. Natasha gave him an estranged look but sat down beside him, waiting on him to explain why the picture was on her phone.

"There's something in it I need to see," he grumbled as he tinkered with the screen. He was growing dangerously frustrated with the small device. He was attempting to zoom in on the picture in order to focus his attention on the wall inscriptions rather than the girl he loved laying dead on a bloody cot. "Where the hell is the zoom?" he barked as he tapped away on the screen.

Natasha sighed sadly and took the device from him, placing her index finger and her thumb onto the screen and spreading them. She moved the picture so nothing but the wall was being displayed on the screen, and Bucky gave her a grateful—yet sad—smile and took the phone back from her.

His eyes met the screen once again, and there he saw the inscriptions the document had been referring to: it was the word freedom carved into the stone wall in Russian.

He could recall engraving the symbols into the wall of his cell shortly after Hydra had brainwashed him over seventy years ago. He remembered being told that freedom could only come from a world ruled by Hydra, and at the time he wanted that freedom, but he knew enough now to know that those words were far from the truth. Marlena had taught him the true meaning of freedom without him even realizing it—his love for her was his freedom, regardless of whether she was still here or not. It only gave him more of a reason to want to destroy what was left of Hydra.

"I know exactly where they are," Bucky said, wiping a tear from his eye. He handed the phone back to Natasha and she shoved it in her pocket the moment she took it from his hands.

"Where, Bucky?"

"Russia," he answered as he stood up from his chair. "They're hiding in one of the facilities where I was trained as the Winter Soldier."

"And you're sure?" Natasha questioned.

Bucky nodded and grabbed his jacket before moving towards the back door. "Maria's still on the line. Talk to her and see if there's any way she can get me some sort of transportation. I need to leave as soon as possible."

"You know you're not doing this alone, Bucky," Natasha said as he grabbed Marlena's car keys from the hook by the door. "Steve, Sam, and I. . .we're doing this with you."

"Then you better find a jet big enough to accommodate the four of us," Bucky said as he hurried out the back door.

He unlocked Marlena's Jeep and hopped inside, wasting no time at all in taking off down the crowded Washington streets. It was becoming harder and harder for him not to break down into tears, and sitting inside Marlena's vehicle, with her smell still lingering inside, made it all the more difficult for him. What made matters worse, though, was the fact that he now had to deliver the news of her death to her mom and her brother.

Bucky's heart ached as he pictured Miranda when she received the news of her daughter's death; she would undoubtedly cry, which would only further hurt him. He wouldn't blame her if she hated him after this. Her baby girl was dead, and Bucky was the one who had to tell her the news. After all Miranda had done for him, this was how it was going to end. She'd saved Bucky, only to lose Marlena in the process.

Then Bucky thought of Mason, Marlena's brother. He was just a kid. He didn't deserve to lose another person; he'd already lost his father. He was going to be devastated and though he might not blame Bucky, Bucky would not be able to forgive himself for causing such destruction to this family. He cared too much about them to lose them, but he knew after telling them that their beloved Marlena had been killed, he would no longer be able to see them again. The pain would be too unbearable.

Bucky pulled up in front of the familiar house much sooner than he would have liked to. He sighed, unready for what was to come, and hopped out of the Jeep.

He trailed slowly up the sidewalk and stomped up the stairs and onto the porch. He thought about being at the house and how the last time he was here he hoped that the next time he stepped foot onto the porch he would have Marlena by his side. The tears burned in his eyes as he thought about how that wouldn't be happening anymore, but he quickly blinked them away and knocked on the front door. He had been gone far too long to just walk in as he did the last time, and he was trying to buy some time before facing the remaining members of the Claire family.

Footsteps sounded moments later, and Bucky found himself growing sadder and sadder. He was about to ruin the lives of two important people in his life by telling them that the most important person in theirs was no longer living. It pained him just to think about it.

The front door to the house opened, and Bucky was met with the face of Miranda Claire. She smiled at Bucky, but there was still that brokenness in her eyes due to her daughter's absence.

Her smile dropped, though, when she took notice of Bucky's demeanor. His skin was paler than it normally was, his crystal blue eyes were filled with pain and anger, and his eyes were red and slightly swollen, as well as glistening with tears. Miranda wondered what could possibly be wrong, aside from the fact that Marlena was still missing. Seeing him in such a state worried her, not to mention scared the living hell out of her. She could tell that something was wrong, and she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to know what it was.

"Bucky," Miranda spoke cautiously as she reached for his hand. She pulled him inside the house and shut the door behind her before leading Bucky over to the couch. "What's wrong, Buck? Did something happen?"

Her question alone prompted a few tears to fall from Bucky's eyes, which he reached up and wiped away instantly. "I don't know how I'm supposed to say this," Bucky said hoarsely.

Miranda furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Bucky was starting to scare her, and her mind instantly shifted towards Marlena. "Is it Marlena? What's going on? You're scaring me, Bucky."

Bucky looked at her, the tears still in his eyes. "She's gone, Miranda. They killed her—they fucking killed her."

It was almost as if the air had completely left Miranda's body at the sound of Bucky's words. She didn't want to believe that her only daughter—her best friend—was gone, but she had no choice other than to do so. It wasn't like Bucky would lie about something like that, especially when he would be just as effected by her loss as she was. Either way, the realization that she was gone hurt, and it hurt worse than anything Miranda had ever experienced. She didn't even think losing the love of her life hurt as much as losing her daughter, but she found that was mostly because with him she had closure before he died, whereas with Marlena she did not.

"No," Miranda said as she tried to catch her breath. "No! She can't be gone, she can't."

"I'm so sorry," Bucky apologized as the tears trailed down his face. "It's all my fault."

Miranda looked up at him, unsure of why he could possibly begin to believe this was his fault. Hydra was at fault for Marlena's death, Miranda was sure of that. All Bucky had been trying to do was bring her back home safe and sound.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this, James Barnes," she scolded him through her cries. "Don't you dare. You tried to help her, you tried to bring her back. If anyone's to blame it's Hydra and Hydra only, okay?"

Bucky's response came in the form of a choked sob, and Miranda didn't even think twice before pulling his body to hers. He needed comfort just as she did, and she doubted he had gotten very much of it.

"I'll kill them all," Bucky muttered angrily.

"I would consider helping you if you would allow me to, but I know you won't," Miranda sniffed. "Just come back to us, Bucky, please don't leave us."

Bucky sighed and hugged Miranda close to him, not even the least bit shocked that she was actually encouraging the destruction of the ones who took her daughter away from her. Had he been in her shoes he most likely would've encouraged it as well.

"I won't leave you guys, I promise," Bucky assured her.

Miranda wasn't given the chance to respond before the sound of footsteps on the stairs caught both of their attention. Bucky pulled away from Miranda and looked to see a seemingly giddy Mason hurrying into the living room. His eyes lit up when he saw Bucky, but Bucky couldn't help but notice the way Mason looked around the room as if he were looking for someone else, looking for Marlena. It pained him further, and Bucky knew that he would not be able to remain at the house to see Mason's reaction when he learned of his older sister's death; it would shatter him.

"Bucky!" Mason exclaimed happily as he ran towards the soldier.

Bucky managed to muster up a smile, and he pulled the small boy onto his lap. "Hey, buddy."

Mason furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed his mom's and Bucky's disgruntled appearances. "What's the matter with you guys? Why are you crying?"

Bucky looked to Miranda for help, and she nodded when she realized what it was that he wanted. She pulled Mason off of Bucky's lap, and Bucky stood up.

"I'll talk to you about it in a little bit okay?" Miranda said as she hugged him close to her. She was scared of what his reaction would be as well. Mason loved Marlena more than anyone in the world, and she knew that this information was bound to crush him.

"Are you leaving, Buck?" Mason asked with a frown.

Bucky nodded and grabbed the keys. "I'll see you soon, though, buddy. Keep your head up, okay?"

Mason had no clue what he was talking about, but he nodded anyway. Bucky gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair before placing a kiss to the top of Miranda's head, leaving a few stray tears to fall into her hair.

"I'll be back," he told the two of them, his voice strained. "I promise you that."