Butterflies (Bucky Barnes Daughter)

THREE

She walked into the cold, damp room and he knew. He didn't know how he knew but he just did. She was his daughter, he felt it in his bones. Her wet matted hair stuck to her face in chunks, tears stained her cheeks. She wiped her fists over her face to try to move the hair out of her vision.  Bruises littered her eyes. She was only 6 years old and Mila had already been through enough to last her two lifetimes.

The man with the metal arm surprised himself with the way he handled being around this child. With very little memory of what children were like, he was nervous having this little girl sitting on his lap. Mila showed no sign of fear near him and he wanted to know why.

He had no idea how he knew who she was but he knew that she was his. She didn't know that he was her father obviously but he actually liked that better. Knowing that for however long she had been here, the screams she heard at night, didn't belong to a man she knew, let alone that man being her father.

Raising his flesh arm up slowly, he moved it towards Mila's gaunt and pale blue face. She didn't flinch, instead she moved her head to meet his hand. He caressed her cheekbones gently with his fingers and she giggled. "That tickles" she mumbled not wanting the old man and guards to hear her laugh.

Mila wanted to know what she could call the man so she asked. "What is your name?" she poked his chest.

His face scrunched in thought, he didn't have a name. The old man only called him The Soldier or the Asset. So he wanted her to name him, give him something hopeful, something that was his. "I don't have one. Why don't you give me one" he spoke softly, scared of hurting her ears with his coarse voice.

Her face lit up. "Okay I can do that" she was happy that he liked her and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, she trusted him and he trusted her. She didn't know many names, the only ones she could think of were Yana's and her own. "Um, I don't know any names" she flinched in anticipation of being struck for not knowing something. He saw her fear and gently held her hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you Mila, it's okay" he whispered in her ear, he thought for a moment. "How about you call me papa". She didn't know what the word meant so there was no harm in her calling him that.

Mila smiled. "Okay I'll do that" her nose squished up when she said the word, "Papa". As if that triggered a lockdown, the door to the room swung open revealing the old man and three guards. He held Mila closer to him, with only one arm he clung on to her tightly.

"Let her go, she's leaving" the old man demanded. The guards surrounded Mila and the man.

"No! You can't take her" he stood from the machine, Mila hanging onto his neck. "Please, I'll do what you want, just please don't take " he begged. He never begged for anything, ever. Dr. Pavlov was stunned, she had never heard the monster sound so desperate before. Mila looked at the man holding her, she was confused at the tone of his voice. He sounded broken.

The old man grinned, he knew his plan would work. He was willing to go to extreme measures to get what he wanted and this plan worked perfectly. The old man didn't care that The Soldier thought she could call him Papa, he knew the truth. This little girl was of value to Hydra. The time to utilize her was coming sooner than he anticipated, and they would all be ready when that time came.

***

A few days had passed since the old man let Mila stay with The Soldier. The pair were brought back to his room. There was one cot for the two of them and he didn't want her to be uncomfortable so he slept on the floor. The first night was hell, and it only got worse from there. Mila had nightmares the first and woke up screaming and drenched in sweat and tears. The next night it was her Papa. He wasn't crying but he was screaming and sweating. The cycle repeated for two weeks. One would wake up the other each night due to nightmares.

"Papa, come here" Mila waved him over. She was tucked into the blanket on the cot. He was laying on the floor with nothing but an old shirt as a pillow. Mila looked upset, like she had been crying but tried to keep herself from making too much noise. He got up and walked over to the cot, he kneeled in front of her. She grabbed his hand and pulled it close to her chest. The blanket untucked from her feet so he reached over to fix it. She cuddled into herself more and held his hand tightly. He sat on the floor next to her quietly. After a few minutes her could hear soft snores escape her lips. She had fallen asleep gripping his hand next to her. He laid his head on the mattress, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he drifted of into a peaceful sleep. No one woke up that night from nightmares.

The serum Dr. Pavlov had given Mila had lasted 3 weeks before she began to show symptoms. Her nose was running constantly, her cheeks had sunken in. Her hair began to fall out in small clumps. He was worried about her, scared that it was from something he did. Mila had never quite understood what it was that happened to her, all she knew was that she was given an injection every week to keep from getting hurt more. Yana had walked down cold empty hallways to retrieve Mila from her new room. The metal door opening scared Mila as she dropped the marker in her hand and stood up quickly. The Soldiers metal arm was put in front of Mila so fast she took a step back suddenly. He didn't she her flinch but Yana did.

"Mila it's time to for another follow up" she knelt down so she was eye level with the child. Mila stepped around her papa and walked over to Yana. He was confused, no one had said anything about her leaving. He began to walk over to the strange women when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down to see Mila smiling at him.

"I go for a needle with Dr. Pavlov. Don't worry she is nice, she won't hurt me. I promise Papa" she smiled again and wrapped her arms around his leg. He was stunned and confused. Mila kept walking towards the doctor and grabbed her hand. The two walked out of the room, not before Mila turned back and waved at her papa. Yana looked at the two and smiled softly to herself.