Finding Love in France (Alternate Version)

Part 52: Testing The Hypothesis

Mila woke up in pain. Her neck and back were sore from the odd position she had slept in. She felt a migraine coming on from dehydration and stress. As she tried to get her bearings, she noticed that James was still sleeping, his right arm holding her tightly. It was early morning and they had made it through the night without incident. "James?" She whispered, afraid of startling him. "James, you don't have to wake up, but I need to use the bathroom, my love..."

He stirred and tried to stretch as best he could with his left arm still in traction. When he opened his eyes and saw Mila, unharmed and looking up at him, he smiled. "Morning, Doc..." he wasn't sure what to say. "So, uh, how much damage did you do last night?"

She chuckled. "None to you, thankfully. Just a sore body and scorching headache for me...how did you sleep?"

"Better than I can remember in a long time, actually. Thanks for that." He couldn't stop smiling at her. "Did you actually fix me?"

"Time will tell, my love." She kissed his forehead as she got up. "Let's keep tracking your progress."

While she was in the bathroom, Steve and Peggy came in to check on him. He noticed they were holding hands in public and was trying not to smirk, proud of the big guy for taking some initiative.

"Hey, punk. Sleep well?" Steve asked, noticing how much more relaxed his friend looked.

"Best night I've ever had..." Bucky smiled. "...thank you so much for all your help...not just yesterday. I know I've been kind of an asshole..."

Peggy laughed before Steve could scold him for his language. "Under the circumstances, I think you were rather tame!" She smiled warmly. "It's good to have you back."

Mila came in with coffee. "Good morning, I didn't expect visitors so early, let me go get a few more cups..." She was in desperate need of caffeine and knew the others probably were, too.

"Sit down, Mila. We already had ours at breakfast." Peggy tried to get her friend to sit. "So...how did we do?"

Mila smiled. "So far, we have been successful in our initial testing." She handed Bucky a cup and beamed at him. "No sedation needed, only minor sleep disturbances noted, and no further bones broken...thanks to the best unscrambling team in England, of course..."

"I can't thank you guys enough, really..." Bucky bowed his head at his friends. "If this worked, I'll be back out there in no time, Steve, you have my word."

"Uh, I think you need to be out of that cast before we give you your rifle back, pal." Steve chuckled. "Plus, this was just the first night...what if you turn into a werewolf tonight and she has to break something else?"

"Steve!" Peggy chided. "That's not funny!" Then she cracked up, along with the others.

"If only it was that simple..." Mila laughed.