Certainty (A Bucky Barnes Fanfic)

━◦○◦2.4: Not a Morning Person◦○◦━

episode 2 - Star-Spangled Man

She was right. It sucked.

They rode with Walker and Hoskins as the pair tried to advertise the new "Captain America." All while Walker gave Shamara strange looks. Sam explained she was special ops, but unfortunately, Walker assumed he knew everything about the military operations in the Middle East. Shamara stared at the truckbed, sandwiched tight between Sam and Bucky. Her hands began itching. Then it was up to her elbows, and she couldn't hear a word said. Bucky left the car, and she followed, her feet almost slipping. She had to sprint to keep up with him.

"Battlestar," he muttered under his breath. "What the literal . . . ?"

"What was that? Battlestar, I mean?" Shamara managed through chattering teeth.

He stilled and faced her, "You okay?"

Shamara groaned and shook her head, scratching at her gloved hands. Bucky didn't need an explanation. He just held out his metal arm, and Shamara hurried forward. She grasped it with both hands. Despite her gloves, the burning itch faded, making her stumble with relief. But her panic replaced it. It should have been two more months before things got bad, but what if being sedated so young made her more vulnerable?

"I need a solution, Bucky," Shay cleared her throat, but her voice still shook.

"And we will find one. But if you are right and it is mostly mental, then you need to stop panicking."

"Bucky -."

"I'm going to help. And for now, you can use me as your cooler,"  Bucky looked up as Sam caught up. "Took you long enough."

"I don't want to hear it, Bucky," Sam walked right past them.

Shamara released Bucky's arm, putting her hands in her pockets, "Can we get ice at the airport?"

"Ice?" Sam frowned over his shoulder. "Should be possible. Why?"

"It's getting worse."

"What is it exactly? You said . . . experiment, but -."

"That is what it is," Shamara bit her lip. "I don't know what they did. But the effects are only getting worse."

"They are controllable for now, but they won't be?" Bucky lifted his eyebrows.

"Hopefully, I have time before it gets more serious."

"It escalated over a couple of days from almost nothing to this."

"Thanks for the reminder, James Barnes," Shamara shot him a look.

He gave a sideways grin, "You sound like my sister."

"I shoulda known you had a sister too," Sam drew in a dry chuckle. "How long do you think, Shay?"

" . . . the other people in the experiments lasted eight months. I've had six since returning from the Blip."

"No one survived?"

"We weren't meant to without the antidote, which had other effects."

"You have time," Bucky squeezed her shoulder.

Sam slowed slightly, looking over his shoulder toward the road. His expression tensed again. Shamara wished she knew how to address what had happened, but she didn't know the story well enough.

"How did you two meet the real Captain America?" She asked instead, hoping it would help.

Both men snorted, and Bucky actually grinned. A rare, unforced grin.