Reaching Out | Bucky Barnes

31 | Thursday, August 13th, 2020

The next day is a blur that I move through like a zombie.

Doctor's fuss over me, shuttling me from one room to the next.

But I guess if there's one perk of being with the Avengers it's that you get quick medical attention...

"Last one," Doctor Palmer says with a small smile as she opens the door to a small exam room. "Just wait here and I'll go find Doctor Jefferson—we're running a little early, so she might be busy."

"Alright," I nod, biting down at the guilty feeling in my stomach. Today was her day off but she agreed to come in and make sure all of my tests could be done at once. I seat myself on the grey cushioned chair against the back wall and try to distract myself with the colorful posters.

Both Bucky and Natasha came with me, but doctors keep forcing them to stay in the waiting rooms because of confidentiality.

Rude.

The clock shows 3:22 when the door opens. I straighten but rather than being greeted by a doctor, Bucky strolls in.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask confused.

"Figured you could use some company," he smiles.

"How'd you get past the receptionist?"

"You forget I was trained to be sneaky," he says, walking towards me and bending to place a kiss on my forehead.

"Ah yes, how could I ever think a 6 foot tall man with a metal arm would be conspicuous?" I ask sarcastically.

"I'm wearing gloves. I blend right in," he smiles before rolling the doctors chair in front of me and dropping onto it. "So, how are you feeling?"

"What, are you playing doctor now?" I raise my eyebrow.

He gives me a glare before shaking his head. "No, you've just been going all day and seem exhausted."

He noticed.

I nod. "Apparently this all had to be done, so..."

"Apparently?" he asks, mouth quirking up.

"Yes apparently. I'm happy not knowing if their super solider serum is carcinogenic, or if I have irreparable brain damage... but here I am," I shrug.

"Hey," he whispers, meeting my gaze, "those are important things to know."

"Why? If there's something seriously wrong with me and it can't be changed, I would rather not know. I would have rather not gone through all the tests and needles and machines... I've had enough of tests," I bite out.

"I'm sorry, Y/N, I didn't realize this bothered you so much..."

I run a hand down my face. "I don't think I did either," I sigh. "I'm sorry for snapping. I'm just tired and I haven't really processed anything. I feel like I've been on autopilot and now I'm just done with it all."

"We can leave, you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

I study his face for a moment before shaking my head. "This is the last doctor, I should just get it done with. Besides, this is the only doctor I'm actually interested in seeing," I mumble, staring at the poster of a pregnant woman on the back of the exam room door.

"Do you ever want kids?" Bucky asks quietly, following my line of sight.

"I never really thought it would be an option for me. I didn't expect to get close enough to someone to have or adopt kids with. And I don't think I could raise a kid alone, so it went out the window. I really had chocked my life up to just be me."