MISSING ||Bucky Barnes||

7

Bucky looked at the letter, then back up at Sandra. "Wouldn't it be easier to-"

"Tell you? Absolutely not." She said, "everything you were supposed to know.. supposed to have, is in that letter."

Bucky nodded, opening the letter and reading the neatly written handwriting that belonged to Sandra.

Dear James (I think I might have to start calling you that again by the way),

I wish I could've been there today when you and the commandos went off on your next mission. Howard told me that I work too much and spend way too much time in an army campus than someone of my age and gender should, so he sent me home on vacation for the next few days. Hopefully by the time you see this, your back in your bunk safely.
But anyways, the real reason I'm writing to you is to let you know that it's finally happening.
Your going to be a dad.
Wow, that's weird to say. I know we weren't exactly planning this to happen or anything, but I'm still super excited.. and nauseous.. but excited.
I'll probably be staying home for a little longer than a few days though since I just got a letter from Howard today about him freaking out and saying I shouldn't be putting myself and this little baby in danger by staying at the camp and being exposed to the chemicals in the lab.. he must've found the test I tried to hide.
But james, you know the drill. Stay safe and we'll, and keep Steve away from the drivers seat... he's still a terrible driver.

I love you James.

Till we meet again,
Sandy <3

Bucky stared at the letter in shock. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't even notice the tears that gently slipped down his cheeks until he saw one fall onto the old paper.

"Sandy..." he said with a shaky breath. "What happened..?" He asked, noticing that she had began to cry too.

Sandra wiped her tears off her cheeks and took a breath. "Well, I uh- like I said, my life went downhill." She whispered. "Right after I got the letters about both you and Steve in the mail.. my mind was in a different place. I wasn't event thinking and I just drowned myself in alcohol. Peggy and Howard found me passed out and unresponsive."

Bucky frowned and wiped the tears off of her cheeks, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Shh, it's ok. Relax." He whispered in her ear.

Whatever was going on between them at them at that moment just felt right. The way they held each other, the way Bucky comforted Sandy. It felt like nothing had ever happened.

"How about you go take a hot shower and calm down, yeah?" Bucky said, standing up and taking her hand. "Trust me, they help a lot more than you'd think."

Sandy smiled, nodding her head and making her way to the bathroom. "Go relax, I'll be ok." She said.

Bucky nodded his head as well, smiling at sandy. "I'll be in my room across the hall if you need me." He said, making his way out of the guest room where Sandy was and to his own.

- - -

After her shower, Sandy exited the bathroom in a fresh pair of clothes she had found in the bathroom, probably belonging to Natasha. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw Steve was sitting on the bed waiting for her, the letter in his hands.

He looked sad, seeing that something had to've went wrong after the letter was written.

"Don't you dare say something to try and make me feel better Steven." Sandra said, noticing the look on his face.

Steve stood up and looked down to Sandra, something she still hasn't gotten used to since she was always the taller sibling. Before getting the chance to think, she was grabbed into a hug. A tight one too, which was also something from Steve she still needed to get used to.

"I heard you and Bucky before." He whispered as his head rested on top of hers. "Is that really true..?"

When Sandra didn't answer him, he knew his answer. Holding her tighter, Steve tried not to cry too much knowing it would only make her feel worse than she already did. "I don't care if you don't want to hear it, but you need to know that we are here for you. Sure, Tony can be an idiot sometimes and the others don't really know you for the person you are, but your my little sister and I need to make sure your alright. It's my job."

Sandra smiled a little bit, pulling away from Steve's hug. "Thanks Steve." She said, "but I don't think I'll ever actually be ok. You've got no clue what being on the run is like."

"Oh trust me.. I know what it's like." He said, "once I got bucky back, we went against the government and I had to stay on the run for about two years with Natasha since she compromised and helped us. Bucky went to wakanda and they cleared hydras brainwashing."

Sandra looked at him confused. "Wait what?" She asked, "I thought he was just in the ice like you?"

"No. Hydra found him when he was supposed to be dead and took him." Steve said, "it took them 20 years to brainwash him and make him their soldier. Buck said that they gave him some serum when the 107th was first captured and that's what kept him alive from the fall. Now all of his hydra programming is gone, all that's left are the nightmares."

Sandy frowned. "Are they bad?" She asked, "because I know a thing or two about nightmares."

"What?" Steve asked, "you have them too?"

"Dealing with the trauma I have, nightmares happen even when I'm not asleep." She said, "I'm sure Bucky's the same way."

Steve nodded, beginning to make his way to the door. "Look, it's late and I need you to get some sleep ok?" He said, pointing to the bed. "I'll come check on you later ok?"

"I'm not a baby."

"No, but I need to make sure you don't sneak away."