New Era

After West View

        Bucky, Anthony, and I were finally able to make it back to our apartment in New York. The events that took place in West View took a toll on us. What broke my heart was Bucky having his nightmares again. He felt more comfortable sleeping on the floor, so I slept beside him. Listening to him cry beside me in the middle of the night hurt so bad that I cried with him. I held onto him to calm him down, and I could feel him trembling in my arms. "Bucky, you're okay; I'm here with you," I whispered to help him calm down. "It's not real. It's not happening again," I told him; affirmations get his mind away from his nightmare. He opened his eyes and exhaled. "You okay?" I asked, concerned. "I am now," he inhaled and exhaled. I touched his face and stroked it, "I'm sorry you're still having nightmares," I said sympathetically. "It's not your fault, Sadie." he sat up and ran his metal hand through his dark hair. "I don't know why these nightmares are coming back," I sat up and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Sadly, it can happen, but that doesn't mean you're not strong because you are," that was one of the awful things I had to learn while I was still studying in my program. He touched my face and kissed me, "I'm so glad I have you," "I'm so glad I have you too," I returned the kiss.  I got an idea, "Let's go look at the stars," I took his hands, and we went outside to the balcony to look at the stars. We looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. New York City lights illuminated the night, and the stars made the sky look ethereal and breathtaking. I looked up at Bucky and saw him smile. "I love you so much, Sadie." "I love you too, Bucky. So so much." I touched his face lovingly, and I kissed him on the cheek. He then kissed me on the lips while he stroked my face. I kissed him lovingly.
It made me happy to see him calm and content, and I was ecstatic that our marriage was growing stronger and we were falling deeper in love every day.

We were trying hard to make a quiet life for our son after the craziness we've been dealing with the past few months. Anthony would go to school while I worked at my office, and I would always have my lunch breaks with Bucky, and we would invite our neighbor Yori to eat with us. It warmed my heart that Bucky wanted to do something nice for him.  We went to the Chinese restaurant that was down the street, and it was a daily routine for us every Wednesday.
  It filled the hole in Yori's heart because he had lost his son a few years ago. The sad thing was Bucky was the one who killed him while he was still the Winter Soldier... and that's what Bucky was having a nightmare about last night. I felt terrible that the nightmares were still there, even though the codes weren't.

The president pardoned Bucky from all his crimes as the Winter Soldier, and that made me happy. Sadly, the court required Bucky to get therapy from a different doctor. That broke my heart, I knew that was how Bucky was going to put his past behind him, but I was confused why I couldn't just give him therapy. "This is a legal matter, Mrs. Barnes," the judge talked down to me when I asked this question. "I'm a certified psychiatrist, and I was the top of my class when I was at Yale when I was only twenty!" I protested. Bucky held my hand to calm me down. "Of course, your reputation is flawless, but unfortunately, we'll not be needing your services," the judge condescended me again. Bucky put his arms around me for comfort, and we were holding each other. Things were about to get worse from here.