Asylum

Ambulance

"Bucky could... have a heat at any time."

Steve could feel a lump in his throat. "What do we do?"

"We have to continue. We cannot stay, he needs medical attention."

"But what if we don't find help?"

"Steve, please." Jane was trying to take control of the situation. "Don't think about it, just keep walking."

The blond picked Bucky up and the omega, feeling the physical contact, practically purred.

"That's right, hold him tight," Jane said.

Steve tried to focus on the scents of the forest, anything other than the scent of sea breeze that filled his lungs. He could barely fight the urge to bury his head in the omega's neck, slide his nose into the tender skin and get him to safety, once and for all. With every second, the blond was no longer thinking straight.

But they couldn't walk another 10 minutes, when they heard a couple of patrol cars approaching down the road.

"Help! Help us, please!" Steve exclaimed desperately. This would probably be the only chance they'd get for a while, and they couldn't afford to wait. But, a few seconds after asking for help, he reacted: what were the patrols doing there, if it was just dawn?

Then his heart skipped a beat. The patrols came from the hospital.

"Turn yourselves in, we won't hurt you," a policeman exclaimed as he got out of the car. Valentina got out of the passenger seat. Then the policemen from the other patrol followed.

Steve tightened his grip on Bucky and took a few steps back. "NO! You're not touching him, or any of us."

Darcy stepped in front of Steve, as if she wanted to become a human shield. "He's right, we're not coming back. You have to kill us first."

"We're not here to hurt anybody. We just wanna help," the officer said.

"I was so worried for all of you!" Valentina exclaimed, between exaggerated sobs. "It's okay, dear. Everything's going to be fine."

"If you really want to help us, listen up," Darcy said, turning to the policeman. "This woman is lying!"

"Let's calm down, calm down, miss," replied the policeman. "Let's go back to the hospital, you will be safe there and we can clear everything up."

"You're not getting it," Darcy said with a wry, desperate expression.

"WE'RE NOT GOING BACK," Jane added, stepping out from behind Steve, ready to fight. "I am a nurse, I'm not a patient here. And I can confirm that the director of the hospital is lying."

"LIAR!" Valentine yelled. "She's also a patient, she's delusional!"

Jane took from her pocket a small wallet and, from it, a credential. "This is my license. I am a nurse and I know all patients are in danger. And he's an undercover journalist," she said, pointing at Steve.

"How can we check if that is true?"

"Call my boss, Peggy Carter," the blond replied. "She will tell you the truth, I can give you her office number. She arrives at 9."

"Okay, we can wait."

"No! We can't, he needs help," Steve said pleadingly. "We have to take him to a hospital."

"Is that the kidnapped patient? What did you do to him?"

"We didn't kidnap him, we rescued him!!" Darcy exclaimed, but Jane motioned for her to calm down.

"Listen, they discovered my undercover work. The director and another nurse, Brock Rumlow. As revenge, they were about to subject him to electroconvulsive therapy. They drugged him and scared him."

Jane intervened. "He was very distressed, he's having a dry heat. If you want, call Steve Rogers's boss, investigate. But we have to take this man to a hospital."

"Ok," the policeman said, and then turned to his partner. "Call an ambulance."

*****
*****

Bucky regained consciousness for moments and then fell unconscious again. He could feel Steve's scent and body heat, he could feel his grip on his back and under his knees. He had defended him from Valentina, the alpha would keep him safe.

The ambulance arrived and, inside the vehicle, they placed him on a stretcher. He opened his eyes a little, to make sure that Steve was still next to him. There he was, accompanied by Darcy, Jane and a paramedic.

"We're going to inject him with suppressants," Jane explained to Steve, as she took Bucky's arm. The brunette couldn't help but panic when he saw the needle, and groan a little when he felt the cold metal against his arm. But here was Steve. He would be fine. The alpha was taking care of him.

Why did he feel the need to touch the blond? He couldn't move a finger, but he knew that as soon as possible, he would hugged him again and start kissing him, ask him to stay. Bucky would ask him to, at least once, make him feel like HIS omega, in every possible way.

Eventually the desperate feeling that accompanied him eased a bit, and Bucky felt a little calmer. He knew that they were still in the ambulance, he could better distinguish the sounds and the movement of the vehicle. The whole night before, from the time Rumlow walked into the operating room and Steve showed up to rescue him, had been like a strange mix of sensations: sheer terror, pain, relief, and...a crush that was getting harder and harder to deny. Now he could think clearly again.

Bucky felt Steve touch his hand and stroke it gently. The alpha traced his fingers gently and then entwined theirs, as he would with his mate. Then he brought the brunette's hand closer to kiss it.

"You really are in love, right?" Jane said softly.

Bucky couldn't see Steve's reaction. He still felt weak.

"Darcy told me what happened between you two. You know everything will be alright, right?"

"I don't know. The last time we spoke he was so upset...so hurt. I hurt him. I don't know if even I can forgive myself for that."

"Steve, you rescued him," Darcy interjected.

"But I put him in that danger in the first place. I should have been honest with him."

"It was a mistake, but we both know Bucky. He is a good person, he will understand why you did it. You thought you could protect him, and in the end you did."

Bucky wanted to talk. He wanted to hug Darcy and thank her for what she thought of him. But most of all, he wanted to tell Steve that he now understood everything. He wanted to apologize for not talking to him when he tried to explain everything.

"You'll have to talk to him," Darcy said. "After all, he'll need help to rebuild his life."

"And I'll be there for him." Steve hadn't let go of his hand, and now he too was gently running his fingers through Bucky's hair. "I'll give him my apartment, I don't care. I'll go somewhere else and he won't have to see me, if he doesn't want to. But I will see to it that he is safe."

"It's okay. You'll have a chance to talk to him later," Jane said, reassuring him.

Bucky could feel Steve's hand on his cheek. Then he felt how the blond touched his long lashes, almost like a prank. The brunette didn't want Steve to stop touching him.

"He really is beautiful," Jane said softly.

"He's perfect," replied the blond. "He can't imagine just how much he means to me."

In half an hour they arrived at a hospital and the paramedics immediately took Bucky to a room. Steve was not allowed in while the brunette was undergoing a medical evaluation, but Jane managed to get him to stand guard outside the door. No one would cross that gate and reach the omega without Steve's permission.

It took a couple more hours for Peggy and Clint to arrive, they were totally worried about Steve but at the same time furious that they had allowed him into doing all of this in the first place.

The blond didn't care about the claims, he knew they would forgive him. He was deeply relieved. The nightmare was about to end.