Tragedy of Natalie Thomas-MCU

Chapter 12

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12

Three days ago, 9:57.

Sam had said goodbye to Natalie with a straight face, but when he walked into the elevator his poker face shattered. Bucky, Scott and Wanda were already in the elevator, going through their gear bags one last time. Sam walked through the doors, and as soon as they shut his resolve broke.

He buried his head in his hands, trying not to cry. Scott was the first one to do something about his friend's distressed state.

"You ok Sam?"

"I-I'll be fine." Sam said shakily. They had a mission to do, and he was going to do his best to stay focused.

Wanda looked sympathetic, but didn't step forward, and Bucky had enough fears of his own to deal with.

"You sure? I know leaving family behind is tough." Scott said quietly. He was thinking of his daughter, Cassie.

Sam laughed a little bit. "She really is family now isn't she..." He trailed off for a few seconds, the elevator had reached the top by now, and all the occupants could see a jet on the roof, waiting.

"I'll be ok." Sam continued. "But I don't know if Natalie will be. She's been targeted too many times, and I don't want to come back to an empty tower again..."

"You won't, Peter's got this. He's a good kid. Now come on! We've got a job to do. You can't keep buying Natalie things without working at least a bit to get that money back." Scott said with a laugh.

Sam smiled a bit, and followed Scott into the plane.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their mission was in Mexico, it was a five hour plane ride, and a two hour drive. This situation gave Sam lots and lots of time to worry about Natalie, and time for Bucky to handle his paranoia.

Bucky was sitting on a plush gray couch, nervously fidgeting with a knife. He was really good with a small dagger, so flipping it in his hand was second nature. Scott had brought uno, and was setting it up with hopes of distracting Sam. Surprisingly this living-room-like setting was all on the inside of a plane. There were two couches, outlets, a TV, a few beds in a separate room, and a small kitchenette. There was a human pilot, but the cockpit was separated from the main area by multiple sets of doors. For some missions they had to fly in closer to the bases, and those planes were equipped with robot pilots. It was best to put as few people at risk as possible. The planes were early silent, so it was easy to forget you were on a plane, there was plenty of food, and it was more than comfortable.

Wanda was sitting next to Bucky, seemingly unfazed by the blade in his hand. Everyone was focused on Sam's distress, and Bucky kept silent. He really wanted to help Sam, but he wasn't sure how, and he knew he was just going to make it worse. He had quite a bit to deal with himself too, he couldn't shake the paranoia from his head.

Scott handed out the hands of uno cards, and Bucky took one silently. Normally warm food calmed his nerves... But he felt like if he ate anything he'd throw up. His stomach was in knots, and every part of his brain screamed at him to run, and fight, but he knew the thoughts were irrational. Bucky just needed to calm down.

A few hours of uno went by, they all played around a wooden coffee table in the center of the room. Wanda won most of the games, and Sam's nerves were eased. Bucky played along with them, but his mind was elsewhere. Eventually he pushed his racing thoughts aside. He would be fine, this mission was no different then the others, and he was strong enough to survive.