Her whole body was in pain when she woke up the next morning and for a second, Aiyla thought she'd be unable to leave her bed. A low groan left her throat involuntarily as she moved, her eyes squeezed shut. She needed to tend to her injuries and she seriously doubted she'd manage to actually get dressed. As much as she hated to admit it, Aiyla needed help.

She listened closely for any sound in the house, and a while later, she heard something. It was a low continuous hum that brought her to smile in relief as she realised she wasn't alone. If she were to judge by what she had heard, it seemed like Sam was gone and Bucky was humming. He only hummed when Sam was gone, for whatever reason, but Aiyla didn't mind. She was just glad someone was in the house.

"Bucky!"

The humming stopped as she fought to roll to her side and pushed herself up, resting on her elbows with a small wince. A short while later, the door of her bedroom opened and Bucky peered inside, a strand of hair falling in front of his face as he sent her a smile.

"Good morning."

"Morning," she mumbled as she pushed herself up with a wince. He was by her side in seconds, and as he got near and his body was no longer hidden by the door, she realised he had already grabbed an ice pack and a small towel. He placed both of these items on the nightstand beside her bed as he looked at her with a small frown.

"Are you alright?"

"I feel like my body's on fire," she admitted as she fell on the bed with a groan. "I need your help."

Bucky looked down at her for a long moment it seemed before his eyes trailed down her body covered in the sheets and he cleared his throat. "Are you decent?"

"I'm in my pyjamas," she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed as she took even breaths. "Can you help me? I can't put ice on the bruises on my own."

Bucky didn't give a verbal response but she felt the sheets moving and then her pyjama shirt and white t-shirt beneath were raised and she shivered from the cold just as she felt the towel drap over her back and then the ice pack being placed on it. She let out a small hiss and hid her face further into the pillow.

"I hate getting injured."

"Most people do," he murmured as he looked at the bare skin of her lower back, taking in the numerous scratches and scars, some deeper than others. Bucky forced himself to look away as he focused back on her face. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Not now," she murmured as she turned her head to the side and opened her eyes, frowning slightly as she looked away. "I'll need you to help me change my pyjama top."

Colour rushed to his cheeks without his consent. "Are you sure?"

"I can't do it on my own, Bucky," she sighed. "I'll need you to help me get it out and then help me put on a shirt. I'm sorry I'm wasting your time like this-"

"I don't have anything to do, Aiyla, don't apologise," he mumbled as he sat down on the bed beside her. "Are you any better today?"

"A bit," she murmured as she opened her eyes once more. "Where's Sam?"

"Running around the forest somewhere," he explained simply as she nodded. "Fury will be here in a while."

She sighed. "I don't know if I want to see him."

"Why not?"

"He warned us we'd be attacked but we didn't listen. And now he wants us to take over their base or something. I just don't want him to look at me and think he told me we should have gotten to a different safehouse."

Bucky sent her a curious look. "Wouldn't he think of that regardless?"

She let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "He probably would."

The ice pack was moved to another part of her back and Aiyla hissed at the cold but Bucky made no motion to take it away. He watched the scratches on her back, his imagination running wild as he thought of all the ways she could have gotten injured and before he could stop himself, the words were tumbling from his mouth.

"What's the worst of your injuries?"

She stiffened and for a moment, he regretted speaking up, but as she moved her hand and pointed at her left shoulderblade, he realised he had his answer. Hesitantly, he reached forward but stopped before he could touch her. Aiyla opened her eyes once more and sent him a look.

"Are you going to keep staring at my back?"

"What else am I supposed to do? I rearranged the ice pack a while ago."

She only rolled her eyes as she slowly pushed herself up, and Bucky took the ice pack and the towel away and placed them back on the nightstand as he watched her with furrowed brows. She winced as she straightened up and slowly left the bed, heading to her suitcase. She reached for a shirt and then straightened up once more with yet another wince before walking over to him. She sent him a weak smile. "Can you help me now?"

Bucky instantly stood up, taking the shirt from her and placing it back on the bed before coming to stand in front of her, his lips pressed into a thin line as he hesitantly reached down to her shirt and raised it. Aiyla raised her arms with a wince and a small gasp as he slowly took the shirt off. As soon as it was off and she could lower her hands once more, she let out a sigh of relief as she sent Bucky a smile. As he didn't return it though, her smile dimmed and with a small sigh, she turned her back to him and gently moved the material of her t-shirt to the side, exposing her shoulderblade to him.

Bucky's eyes widened just slightly as he noticed the scar that began at her shoulderblade and seemed to go on and on, but Aiyla didn't let him see where it ended as she moved back around with a small grimace.

"That's my worst injury."

He wordlessly reached for her shirt and she let out a groan as she outstreched her arms towards him to help him put on her shirt. It was way harder than it was taking off her shirt before, but in the end they managed, even though Aiyla had let out a few gasps in the process and a few quiet swears in Turkish. And when she was finally decent, she headed over to the kitchen, Bucky right behind her.

"I made you some coffee," he spoke as they got in the kitchen, and Aiyla instantly smiled as she noticed the cup of coffee seemingly waiting for her on the table.

"Thank you."

"It's practically tradition at this point," he said simply with a small smile at her as he put the ice pack back in the fridge. He took the seat beside her as she raised her cup of coffee to her lips and fixed her with a firm look. "How did you get that scar?"

She gulped her coffee and slowly placed it back down on the table. "It happened at the battle of New York. I was blasted away during an explosion and was unfortunate enough to fall on glass." Bucky winced and she nodded. "I know, it wasn't pretty or painless. But I survived."

"Clearly."

Both of them turned to the sound, Aiyla smiling slightly as she noticed Sam leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded in front of his chest as he looked between them seriously. He was still dressed in the clothes he had trained in, and Bucky scrunched his nose up as he looked over him.

"Take a shower, Wilson."

Aiyla's smile widened as Sam scoffed but still, he left, and a few seconds later, she heard the door of the bathroom slam shut. Feeling Bucky's eyes on her, she turned to face him, an eyebrow raising in question as she raised her cup of coffee to her lips.

"If Fury says we're to go on that mission now, you won't join us."

"I can do it, Bucky, I'm sure of it," she protested, paying no heed to the way his eyebrows rose in clear disbelief. "I've gotten through worse, I can fight-"

"You can't even get dressed on your own!"

She smirked, "Harsh."

"It's not harsh, it's realistic," he insisted as he leaned closer to the table. "I didn't tell you so we'd argue. I just wanted you to know of our decision beforehand."

She raised a slightly mocking eyebrow. "Sam agrees with you? That's a first."

"I was surprised too, believe me."

Aiyla couldn't help but laugh as she briefly heard footsteps coming their way and the next second, Sam appeared, dressed in comfortable clothes and looking between the two of them with raised eyebrows. Bucky scoffed as soon as he saw him.

"You've worn your shirt inside-out."

"At least he wears a shirt."

Bucky scowled at Aiyla's quip as Sam's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"That wasn't on purpose, I had forgotten to take a shirt with me," Bucky groaned as Sam shot him a look.

"How could you forget to take a shirt? It's a necessary part of your attire."

"Give him some rest, Sam, he's an old man."

"Oh come on-"

"Nothing to be ashamed of, Mr Barnes."

Sam grinned as Bucky let out a groan and hid his face in his hands, bringing Aiyla to laugh. Her laughter was cut short though when there was a knock from the door. Sam exchanged a look with Bucky and headed to the door. A while later, Fury walked in, Hill and Sam on his tail.

"Glad to see you're enjoying yourselves," he spoke as he got in the kitchen and Aiyla's face grew blank as she shared a quick look with Bucky. Maria Hill moved over to Aiyla's side and sent her a slight smile she returned.

"Would you like to take a seat?" Sam spoke as he gestured to the spare seat between Bucky and Aiyla, and Maria nodded once as she sat down and wordlessly took out a piece of parchment and placed it on the table. Aiyla reached forward, eyes narrowing as she noticed the designs in front of her that could only belong to a building.

"That's the building they have their meetings," Fury spoke up. "It's in an area outside New York, built underground."

"We think they'll have guards on every level of the facility," Hill spoke up as she pointed at the design. "The building has three possible ways to get in and out. The front door, the back door, and there's a small tunnel that after half an hour of walking, leads to a helicopter base where they could leave."

"I see they're prepared," she murmured as she looked at the parchment closely. "How many floors?"

"Three," Fury spoke. "We're going to infiltrate the building in five days."

Sam shifted in place. "What about back-up?"

"Our best agents will be at your disposal," Fury said simply as he looked over at Hill. She nodded.

"I'll join you too."

"Akar," he spoke once more, "you'll join them only if you're completely healed."

"Boss-"

"We'll make sure of that," Bucky cut in firmly as he sent her a look. She still protested.

"It'll be five days, I'll be able to heal and join you, it's just a few bruises."

"I'm not going to risk the health of one of my best agents who's in danger already," Fury pressed his lips as he stared her down. "In five days Hill will come pick you up from here. She'll fill you in on the plan."

Sam nodded, "Anything else we need to know?"

Fury pursed his lips as he looked straight at Aiyla. "The leader of the organisation is Anton Balakin."

Bucky's eyebrows furrowed as her face seemed to darken, and she nodded once before Hill stood up and walked over to Fury, leaving the design of the building on the kitchen table. Sam showed them out and then returned in the kitchen as Bucky spoke up.

"What does his name mean to you?"

Aiyla slowly looked up at him, her lips pressed into a thin line as she met his gaze.

"I knew him."

And I'm back with another update!

There was a peaceful moment with Bucky and Aiyla in this chapter, though it certainly wasn't the best experience for Aiyla. Who do you think is Anton Balakin? Why was Aiyla affected by hearing his name?

I'll see you all again in three days.
Lots of love,
Olga.