Leave Me Broken [Winter Soldier] II

Forgiveness [Chapter 13]

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

Martin Luther King Jr.

           Her memory had come at a time when she needed it most; often times she would drinking her coffee and a harsh memory would rip through her head like a migraine and she'd drop the mug. Only once it had shattered on the floor would Bucky realize what she was going through, and he was always there in a flash. Arms wrapped around her, he would hold onto her in a way that always brought her back down to earth. But this memory, the memory of when she had first opened up to Bucky in the most intimate of ways, it came at a time when it was absolutely needed. She held onto it tight, letting it flood her with the emotion she needed, and she found herself with a smile upon her soft pink lips.

          Bucky was still unconscious, his head having bit hit so hard against the chopper window when it fell from the top of a building, and Ophelia had gotten enough time to process everything and feel as much like herself again as possible. Given the circumstances, she figured she had recovered quite well from her panic attack and the events that had led up to it. Regardless, she had a few people to thank for such a quick recovery during such a frantic time. It didn't matter what was going on with the Avengers or the C.I.A.; it mattered that Ophelia needed the help and the comfort, and both Sam and Steve had stepped up to the plate.

          Sam approached Ophelia, who was seated on the damp floor with her back against the wall. The place itself reminded her so much of Siberia, and yet she tried her hardest not to focus on that. Ophelia pushed her brown hair out of her face, behind her unpierced ears. Smiling up at the man as she had grown accustomed to, she remembered when they had first met. He had seemed skeptical of her, as everyone aside from Nick Fury and Steve Rogers did. It was amazing how much respect she received simply because those two people decided to put their trust into her. It warmed her when she thought of it, and it showed through her smile.

         "You doin' alright, Kid?" Sam asked for probably the tenth time in that half hour.

         "Yeah." For the first time since he had started asking, she really meant it. Maybe that was what he had been waiting for, just a shift in her voice and a brightness in her eyes.

         "You know, I have never seen what you two have." He was crouched in front of her, about two feet away. "I know what he just did seems scary - terrifying really. And as much as I haven't exactly gotten along with the guy, I searched for him for two years and found nothing. He kept you safe all those years, and I'm sorry some doctor decided to screw that up for you."

        "Well... Since when has life always gone to plan?" She raised an expressive eyebrow.

         Sam leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a friendly shake. "Good to have you back."

         Steve was hovering over them then. "You know when I first found him in the apartment, I thought you'd left."

         Ophelia glanced up at Steve, waiting to see what else he had to say.

        "He pretended that he didn't truly remember me, but I knew he did," he expressed. "When he found out the special forces were ordered to shoot on sight, he asked one thing of me."

        "What was that?"

        "He asked me to find you, to make sure you were safe." He saw her lips curve into a small smile, and he carried on, "he loves you, you know."