Pardon

Chapter 13: Hope

When you come to again, you no longer are in the dirty hotel room. You still feel a little dizzy but your eyes adjust rather quickly and you scan the room to see where you are. You seem to be in some sort of hospital room. There are machines all around you.

"I made it..."

You chuckle at yourself in relief after you whispered these words, not able to believe you really survived this.

"You did make it."

You hear a familiar voice next to you and then you finally realize that Bucky is sitting by your side. He looks so relieved to see you awake again.

"Hey..."

Your voice is still hoarse.

"Hey..."

His voice is a little choked up, but he's so happy to see you awake like this. He can't help but stare at you right now.

"You got no better place to be...?"

Your body might still be weak but your sassy attitude is thriving already.

Bucky smiles. He can see your personality starting to come back and he couldn't be happier about it.

"I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be right now."

You smile and then take a moment to look around.

"Where are we?"

"You're at a hospital. You finally got the care and attention you needed here. They did a really good job. They saved your life. You are no longer in danger."

You let your head fall back and sigh in relief.

"How did they find us?"

"Surveillance cameras..."

You nod your head.

"Are we still in Germany?"

"We're actually not. The meds could get you in a somewhat stable condition and we then ended up flying you to the US where you got the best treatment."

"The US?"

There is a lot of hope in that question.

Bucky nods. He made sure you got transferred here to a secluded, safe hospital.

"Home...", you whisper relieved.

"Home", Bucky whispers back.

You haven't been in the US since they banned you in 2014. Since then you had been living on the run at first and worked undercover for SHIELD all over Europe afterwards.

"Well... Now that you're home, maybe you should start thinking about coming back for good. A lot has changed since 2014 and people will be willing to accept you here. You're gonna have a permanent home now."

"But... I haven't been pardoned yet... have I?"

Bucky takes a deep breath: "No... You haven't been pardoned yet."

He gives a bit of an apologetic smile to you. You officially are still considered an enemy of this country, but it seems like a certain someone right now is trying to put in a good word for you, trying to finally get that pardon that you need.

"Don't be sad."

Bucky smirks at you.

"Wait... Do you know something I don't?"

"I might."

You look up at him in surprise: "Are they... Are they gonna pardon me?"

Tears of joy start to well up.

Buckys smile grows more now.

"I can't say with 100% certainty that this is really gonna happen, but I can say that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it does. I have some strings to pull and some hands to shake... But I'm gonna make this pardon happen for you. I'll make sure that you don't have to hide anymore."

You start to cry tears of joy. This is all you ever wanted. This is what you fought for all this time. You can't believe it's finally happening. You fought so hard for so long and finally it's all paying off.

"Thank you, Bucky..."

"You don't need to thank me for this. After everything... This is the least I can do."

You slowly reach for his hand to take it in yours and gently squeeze it. Bucky is definitely enjoying this moment between you two. The way you seem so happy and relaxed... He has never seen you like this. As you close your eyes for a bit to enjoy this moment, you realize that your eyes are still very heavy and you're still very tired. Your body is telling you that you still need a lot of rest since you have been through so much. Bucky can see this right away as well. You give him a warm smile. You're tired, but you're alright. There is no need to worry anymore.

You fall asleep soon after and for the first time in years, you actually feel at peace.