Bucky hesitated, and then nodded once and accepted the hand up. Boxing would do for the moment.

Steve nodded and headed down to the gym with him. And then it was easy to pass the rest of the time until breakfast boxing and sparring.

Fortunately they both healed quickly.

Bucky definitely needed the sparring, although he was a bit rougher than he really meant to be. He couldn't help it; he was working off the searing tension from the nightmares.

Steve didn't mind, and by the time they were done and headed up to get dinner, he was as well off as he had been before.

"Feel better?" he asked once they were in the elevator.

"Yeah," Bucky admitted as the elevator took them back to their living floor. "Thanks, Steve."

"No problem." Steve grinned a bit. "Pancakes this morning?" Because it definitely seemed like a pancakes kind of morning now. Although he did make a mental note to text Hillary and see what was going on.

"Sounds good," Bucky replied. "I'm going to hit the shower." He needed to stand under the hot water for a bit to finish relaxing as much as he was going to. He still didn't quite feel all the way human yet.

Steve nodded and waved him off, going to start the pancake batter.

And then he got out his phone and texted Hillary. Everything okay over there?

Been better, Hillary replied. She was sitting on the bed with Liz, snuggled up and just being there while Liz worked herself down from the nightmares. That night had been particularly bad.

Is Liz okay? I know Buck had a bad night, we've been up for hours working that off. Steve started the pancakes, figuring he might as well get a headstart.

She'll be okay. It was a rough night here too. Hillary just stayed next to Liz, letting her friend relax and recover however she needed to.

Good. I can prod Bucky into talking to her if you think that'll help.

Liz glanced at the phone when it went off again but she didn't ask Hillary who she was texting. She didn't need to. She just stayed curled up, trying to make herself feel human again.

It might. Hillary pulled the blankets up over Liz and resettled herself so she was curled up snugly with her friend.

I'll talk to him about it over breakfast. Steve paused there for a few moments. Maybe we can grab a coffee later?

Maybe. I'll let you know once Liz is better. Because Liz came first, right now. Hillary wanted to make sure she was okay.

Of course. I meant after things had calmed down. Seems like a coffee kind of day, get out and unwind a bit. Steve started putting pancakes on the table for whenever Bucky came back.

I know a good tea shop, instead, if you want to try something new? Hillary hesitated in sending the text, but she did.

Bucky finally came out, finally dressed and mostly okay again. He sat down and pulled over a plate of pancakes. Even as he did, he pulled out his phone and texted Liz. He didn't need any prompting.

You going to be alright?

Alright, I'll try it, Steve agreed after a few moments. He wasn't so sure about tea, but he'd try it, anyway.

Yeah. In a while. Liz didn't bother pretending to be alright or bullshitting or anything.

Great. I'll let you know when a good time will be. Hillary couldn't help but grin a little as she set her phone down again.

I can come over, if you want, Bucky offered. Somehow, he wanted to be there to comfort her.

Sure. Steve set his phone down and made sure Bucky was actually eating as he brought the rest of the pancakes over to the table.

In a bit. Liz wasn't quite ready to see him yet, not when she was still feeling so raw. She'd give herself a little bit longer.

Just say the word, Bucky replied. He knew exactly how raw she was probably feeling, even without the bond to clue him in. It wasn't hard to guess.

Alright. Liz gave herself another two hours to settle down, have some food, and make a big pot of tea.

"Didn't you mention you were thinking of going out?" she asked Hillary over a cup of tea. "You don't have to stay and babysit me, you know, I'm better now."

"My phone might have mentioned it to you, but I didn't," Hillary said. She shrugged a bit. "I made some tentative plans with Steve, but I told him I'd let him know once I was sure you were okay."

"I'm okay." Liz paused. "Well. Ish. Better. I was thinking of just curling up with Netflix for a while, or some music. Might help. You don't need to stay, I'm going to be quiet and weird probably all day, you may as well get out and have some fun."

"Are you sure?" Hillary asked. "I don't want to leave you alone if you want someone with you."