Time Unchanging

Chapter 123

Bruce looked over Eva while Bucky paced the main room, nervous. After some time, Bruce came back, looking over her charts.

"Bruce," he asked, "what happened to her? Is she okay?"

"She's exhausted and slightly malnourished," the doctor answered, "but a good diet and rest for a couple of days should fix it."

"Shit." Bucky sat down hard, his head in his hands.

"We are awful friends," Wanda said, fighting tears. "We didn't check on her."

Bruce went to his girlfriend and comforted her as he replied, "That's not true, precious. She needed that time alone."

"Loki hasn't been sleeping well either, Dr. Banner," Thor commented.

Bruce thought for a moment. "They may have been doing late-night training to help Evelyn cope with everything."

At that moment, the monitor in the main room lit up as FRIDAY said, "Incoming message from HYDRA. Tracking now."

Bucky jumped up in anger as he growled, "What more do these bastards want?"

However, the face on the screen was unexpected. Everyone stared in shock as Steve appeared. He looked battered, but the fact he was walking was a good sign. There were some bruises and cuts, but nothing major that anyone could see.

"Thank God!" he exclaimed, relief in his voice. "I finally got a hold of you! I don't have much time! We're moving soon!" He looked behind him like he heard someone coming. "Someone's staying behind, so don't let Evelyn find out, okay?"

As luck would have it, Eva had stumbled in and heard everything. She was frozen in the dark doorway, seeing the man she loved hurt. But hearing he didn't want her to know sent rage coursing through her.

"Too late," she said, stepping into the light with her eyes aglow. "We're coming to get you, Stevie."

Bruce looked at Eva and replied, "Evelyn, you need to rest."

She turned on him menacingly. "Not until Steve is back home."

Then, everyone watched in horror as someone in a mask burst into the room and shot Steve. A dart stuck out of Steve's arm as he slumped forward, getting tired. In a last-ditch effort, he pressed a button and sent his location before disconnecting. Eva stood in shock before Bucky came up to her.

"Grab some water and a protein bar," he instructed. "I'm only allowing this because I know you will try to leave without us if I don't. I'll go get Loki up and ready."

She nodded. It was time to bring her man home.