Forever and Always

Chapter 38

Six months later

    "Thank you for coming today, Ms. Peters. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to help your friend." Clara stared at the wallpaper of bamboo trees behind Dr. Raynor. Then she looked to the woman, and smiled.

    "Of course. And you aren't taking any time out of my day." Clara looked to her left, however, she had to turn her head a little farther than expected because Bucky was slouched on sofa. His hands were gloved and folded in his lap. He looked like he didn't want to be there.

    "May I ask..." Clara slowly took her eyes of Bucky and back on Dr. Raynor. "...why I am needed exactly?"  She pressed her lips together and nodded.

         "James refuses to talk...I was hoping you could not do it for him, but rather encourage him to talk about anything that's bothering him. He is comfortable around you, so I was hoping he could open up more." Clara nodded, and she curled her fingers into fists. She nodded her heart racing a bit.

            "Ummm, yeah, of course." She nodded and she saw her eyes shift the slightest right, and she was now focused on Bucky.

            "So James...let's start with the big question. How was your week?" Clara expected him to answer right away. But he stayed silent. "James? Let me repeat, how was your week?" She kept facing forward, and finally she felt a little nudge against her, and she realized that he shrugged. She nodded and wrote something down in a small notebook she had.

            "Okay, next question, a little tougher. Mr. Barnes, are you having nightmares?" It was silent in the room. Clara knew the answer to the question. "James, I asked a question." He was silent next to her, Clara felt her fists tighten. "Are you still having nightmares?" She pressed the question him. She could feel her eyes burn into her and Bucky, and she tried to act as natural as possible.

            "No," Bucky muttered finally. The answer is yes. I see almost every night Bucky. But Clara just gave a deep breath. Dr. Raynor just sighed and clicked her pen irritatedly.

           "We've been doing this long enough. I can tell when you are lying." Next to Clara, she felt Bucky shift a bit to where he sat up a little more.

           "I'm not having any nightmares," Bucky said in a very low voice. It was silent again. Clara looked at Dr. Raynor, who was figuring Bucky out. She looked back at Bucky, who had his eyes looking everywhere but Dr. Raynor. Finally she sighed and put her pen down.

           "Well, you seem a little off today. Did something happen recently?" Clara knew of everything Bucky had to do. His "assignments" for this therapy sessions. And she was fully aware of what his current assignment was. She could see everyday after hangin out with the man that it is taking a toll on him. But Bucky just replied with a simple "no". But she kept pressing Bucky. However, it felt like she was attacking Clara as well. That Clara would eventually be the one cracking and not Bucky.

"No," Bucky just said again. Clara observed the therapist. She did not look the slightest convinced. She just continued to glare at him.

"Listen, you're a civilian now. With your history, the government needs to know that you're not gonna..." rather than saying that they wanted to make sure he wasn't going to kill anyone, she made a stabbing gesture with her hand. Clara chuckled the slightest bit, but Dr. Raynor gave her a quick stare, and Clara stopped right away. "Mr. Barnes, it's a condition of your pardon to participate. So, tell me your most recent nightmare." She clicked her pen and sat with her legs cross, waiting for Bucky to talk.

"I didn't have a nightmare," Bucky said for the third time. Clara watched Dr. Raynor's shoulders rise and fall dramatically, then she took her clipboard that was next to her and started to scribble down notes.