The Black Winter

Chapter 45

Bucky's pov
I am currently waiting outside the hospital door, waiting for Tony and Bruce to be done with Joan's new arm. Apparently Tony had asked for one a while back and had one made for her. Once we are done here, we're taking off to go to some school for mutants. Apparently Tony and everyone else knows about them. Well, everyone except Steve and I.

"She's all done," Bruce says walking out the door.

I head in and see Joan sitting on the bed in a black tank top and black jeans. And of course her signature black combat boots. Tony is on her left, tools in his hands.

"Ok, try and move just your pointer finger," Tony tell her.

I watch as she is trying to get full control of her hand.

"Good, now I want you to pick up that cup without breaking it."

Joan reaches for the cup and grabs it.

"This is amazing. What is it made out of? It's so light, it feels just like a real arm," she says happily.

I can't help but smile. The arm is different than mine. It's a lot like her old one color wise, it has some gold lining in it as well.

"Ok, so once we get there, we will work on feeling."

"You mean I'll be able to feeling things again?" She asks in disbelief.

"Yes, and if you push that button, your hand will appear flesh," Tony explains, and all the sudden, the once metallic arm, turns to flesh.

"Thank you."

I haven't seen Joan smile like that in a long, long time. Her dimples finally showing, that's how I can tell she is happy.

"Now, I don't recommend having it on all the time. If it get's like that the arm might get clutch. This is just a prototype. Once we get the real one, you can be the first to test it out," Tony explains.

"This is more than I could have ever asked for. Thank you Tony. Truly, thank you," she says kindly.

"So, we ready to hit the road?" I ask.

The two of them look over to me. They were so fixated on the arm that they didn't even realize that I had walked in.

Joan gets up and immediately hugs me. I hug her back and then we pull away. This is what I missed. This side of Joan that rarely came out, but when it does, I soak it up as much as I can. Her eyes are filled with so much hope and excitement. It's heart warming.

"Wanda packed me a bag," Joan smiles.

Then, the door opens and Anastasia comes running in.

"Joan!" She yells jumping into Joans arms.

I can tell that she's still hurt, but she doesn't care, not when it comes to Ana.

"Hey there little soldier. You ready to go on another car ride?"

"Please tell me it won't be as boring," she whines in Russian.

"Net, this one will be fun," she says in Russian.

"We should hit the road. The cars are all figured out, just ask Steve about who's with who. We'll be hitting morning traffic, but if we can get through that it should only be about two hours. See ya down there," Tony says with a smile on his face, leaving the room.

"You know, I'm pretty hungry, ya wanna go grab a bite?" Joan asks with a smile.

"Sure," I smile back.

The three of us make our way to the kitchen and I quickly whip up a batch of pancakes and the two girls house them. I can't help but smile to myself. I watched as Joan would occasionally wipe Ana's face, and how she cut up her pancakes for her. She was trying so hard to help Ana feel safe and warm, and that was clear as day.