Bucky walked into the main room with a sour expression, which lightened slightly when Katherine joined him.

Dr. Raynor walked up and said, "Sam. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Dr. Raynor. I'm James and Katherine's therapist."

"So nice to meet you," Sam replied. "Thank you for getting him out."

"That was not me."

"Christina," John called. "It's great to see you again."

"You've got to be kidding me," Sam muttered. "You know him?"

Dr. Raynor shrugged. "Yeah, we did some field ops back in the day."

"I heard you were working with Bucky and Katie, so I thought I'd step in," John told them as he walked closer. "Bucky's not gonna be following a strict schedule any longer."

"We haven't finished our work. Who authorized this?"

"Um..."

"He's too valuable of an asset to have tied up. So, just do whatever you got to do with him, then send him off to me."

"Got some unfinished business, him, Katherine and I. You too, Wilson. I'll be outside."

John walked away.

Katherine glared at John and muttered, "Unfinished business, huh? I'll say."

"Agreed," Bucky said.

Dr. Raynor said, "James, condition of your release, session now. You too, Sam, Katherine."

"That's okay," Sam replied. "I'll be out here with..."

"That wasn't a request."

They made their way to an interrogation room.

Dr. Raynor pulled up another chair and set it between two chairs. Sam and Bucky sat in the side chairs while Katherine sat in the middle chair. "So... Who would like to start?"

"All right," Sam said, "look, Dr. Raynor? I get it, why you want me to talk to Freaky Magoo and and the Sneaky Fox over here. But I'm 100% fine."

"It is my job to make sure that you're okay. And so, yeah, this may be slightly unprofessional, but it's the only way that I can see if you're getting over whatever's eating at you."

"This is ridiculous."

Bucky and Katherine nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"See?" Dr. Raynor stated. "Making progress already. So, who wants to go first?" The three remained silent. "No volunteers? Wow. How surprising. Okay. We're going to do an exercise. It's something I use with couples when they are trying to figure out what kind of life they wanna build together."

"Have you used that method with Bucky and Katie?" Sam asked.

"Are you familiar with the miracle question?"

"Absolutely not," Bucky and Katherine said.

"Of course not," Sam replied.

"Okay, it goes like this," Dr. Raynor told them. "Suppose that while you're sleeping, a miracle occurs. When you wake up, what is something that you would like to see that would make your life better?"

"In my miracle, um, he would... he would talk less," Bucky replied.

"Exactly what I was gonna say," Sam said. "Isn't that ironic?"

Katherine leaned back and crossed her arms. "Too much talking."

"You guys are leaving me with no choice," Dr. Raynor told them. "It's time for the soul-gazing exercise."

"Katie and I like this one, Doc," Bucky said.

"Oh, God," Sam muttered. "They're gonna love this."

"Yeah, I am ready," Bucky and Katherine replied, moving their chairs. Bucky pulled Katherine onto his lap.

"I mean this is right up both your alley."

"Turn around," Dr. Raynor ordered. "Face each other."

"You two should really enjoy this."

"I'm going to," Bucky answered as Katherine smirked in a slightly devious tone. "She will too."

"I know you two are."

"Yeah," Bucky and Katherine said.

"Sam," Dr. Raynor called. "Face each other."

"Let's do it," Bucky challenged. "Let's stare."

"Get close."

"This is a good exercise. Thanks, Doc."

"All right, good. All right, get close." The two scooted in. Bucky wrapped an arm around Katherine's waist to prevent her from falling. "Come on, a little closer."

As Sam and Bucky moved in, they bumped knees and Bucky asked, "Which way you want to go? Right or left?" He gestured to Sam's legs. "Be careful of Katie."

"Why do you have to have your legs open?" Sam questioned.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Enough, you two." She shifted and let her legs hang down on one side of his lap.

"You know what? Fine. Here," Sam retorted, moving Bucky's chair, and Bucky secured an arm tighter around Katherine's waist, so that one of Bucky's legs was between his and one of Bucky's between his, Katherine still on Bucky's lap. "You happy now?"

"All right," Dr. Raynor said, done with the group already. "All right. Good. Fine."

"We're locked in," Sam told her.

"That's fine."

"That's a little close," Bucky and Katherine said as she scooted as close to Bucky as she could.

"That's very close," Sam stated. "That's what you wanted, right?"

Katherine huffed. "Grow up."

"Guys," Dr. Raynor called. "Good. Now look at each other. You need to look at each other in the eyes." The three did so. "There, you see? That wasn't so hard." She frowned, looking between them. "Wait, what are you doing? Are you having a staring contest?"

Without blinking, Katherine replied, "That obvious, huh?"

"Just blink." She snapped her fingers. "Sweet Jesus. All right, James, Katherine, why does Sam aggravate you? And don't say something childish or sarcastic."

Bucky was silent for a moment before looking at Sam and asked, "Why'd you give up that shield?"

Katherine nodded. "Steve gave it to you and you tossed it away."

Sam shook his head as he looked up, done with the two of them talking about the shield once again. "Why are you two making such a big deal out of something that has nothing to do with either of you?"

Katherine pursed her lips as Bucky said, "Steve believed in you. He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield, that is... that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing."

"Shut up."

"So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me." He glanced at Katherine. "Katie, I don't deserve you. Or Nick. Or Mya." He began tearing up.

Katherine cupped Bucky's face and said softly, "Buck, he wasn't wrong about you or me. Steve... He believed in you just as much as I believe in you. You certainly deserve me and our children."

"No, Katie, I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Katherine-"

"Buck, HYDRA stole you and made a weapon of a good man. I know the real you is a good man. Remember when you saved me from those men? A twisted organization made you a victim. You're working to redeem yourself. We have a little boy and a little girl. You owe it to them to be the best you can be."

Sam looked between them, a small smile at their conversation, then asked, "You two finished?"

"Yeah," Bucky and Katherine replied.

"All right, good. Maybe this is something you two or Steve will never understand. But can you two accept that I did what I thought was right?" He waited for Bucky and Katherine to respond, but the two looked down and Sam scoffed. "You know what, Doc? I don't have time for this. We have some real serious shit going on. So how about this? I will squash it right now. We go deal with that, and when we're done, we each can go on separate, long vacations and never see each other again."

"I like that," Bucky and Katherine agreed.

"Great. Well, let's get to work. Thanks, Doc, for making it weird. I feel much better. I'll see you two outside." He clapped Bucky and Katherine's shoulders and got up to leave.

"Thank you," Dr. Raynor said. "That was really great." The door opened and closed and Dr. Raynor looked at the couple. "I know those looks. What's wrong?"

"What was rule number two again?" Bucky asked.

"Don't hurt anyone."

"Goodbye, Doc." He got up and left. "You coming, Katie?"

Katherine glanced at Dr. Raynor and nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I feel better," Sam said, glancing at Katherine.

"I feel awful," Bucky stated.

Katherine glanced between the two. "I feel awful, too."

The three walked outside.

A siren whooped and the three turned to see a car with its headlights on.

John and Lemar walked up and the former said, "Gentlemen." John lifted his hand. "Lady." The Avengers walked towards them and Bucky leaned against a car. "Good to see you again."

Katherine scoffed, but said nothing.

"Look, if we divide ourselves, we don't stand a chance, you guys know that."

"So what do you got?" Sam asked.

"Well, the leader's name's Karli Morgenthau. We've been targeting civilians who've been helping Karli move from place to place."

Lemar nodded and added, "They geotagged a location, then scrambled the signal. But our satellites have found their symbol popping up in various displaced communities all across Central and Eastern Europe."

"We think that she's taking the medicine she just stole to one of these camps."

Katherine folded her hands. "There are hundreds of those all over the planet since The Blip, which means you're gonna have to look really hard."

"Good thing I have 20/20 vision, huh?"

"Where is she now, Walker?" Bucky asked. "Do you know?"

John's voice rose. "No, we don't know, Bucky. But it's only a matter of time before we find out."

"Things are really intense for you, aren't they, Walker?"

Sam stepped towards Katherine and Bucky. "Take it easy, you two. Look, Walker's right."

Katherine's brow furrowed. "What?"

"It is imperative that we find them and stop them. But you guys have rules of engagement and all kind of authorizations you have to get. We're free agents. We're more flexible."

Katherine offered a sarcastic smile. "So it sure wouldn't make sense for us to work with you."

John remained silent a moment before saying, "A word of advice, then. Stay the hell out of my way."

"Then stay out of ours." She let out a soft growl before walking away.

Bucky and Sam shared a look and followed after the brunette.

Bucky moved closer to Katherine and began, "Katie-"

"Don't ask. What is it, Buck?"

"Well, I know what we have to do. When Isaiah said "my people"..."

"Oh, don't take that to heart," Sam told him. "That's not what he meant."

"No, he meant HYDRA. HYDRA used to be my people."

Sam scoffed before saying, "Not a chance."

"Walker doesn't have any leads."

Sam shook his head. "I know where you're going with this, and Katie might too, no."

"He knows all of HYDRA's secrets. Don't you remember Siberia?"

"So you're just gonna go sit in a room with this guy?" Katherine asked.

Bucky hesitatingly replied, "Yes."

"Okay, then," Sam said. "We're gonna go see Zemo."

Katherine took Bucky's hand and squeezed it. "Be careful, Buck."

Bucky kissed the back of her hand. "Always, doll."