Life As We Know It | James Barnes AU

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2• IN WHICH WE MEET JAMES BARNES, A TIRED COP

I set Peter carefully on my hip, then pushed my way through the locker room door with my free hand, my bag slung over my other shoulder. I'd take one of the back doors out so that Wanda could have plausible deniability about this whole debacle. I would still come up on the security cameras if anyone cared enough to look, but I was betting that they wouldn't. Peter was in that weird gray space before going into foster care. Probably whoever was looking would find a next-of-kin for him and he'd go there in the morning. That just left the few short hours before morning, and I was as good an option as any temporary placement they'd be able to put him with tonight. I was betting – betting a whole lot, actually – that the administrative wheels would turn so slowly that no one would even find out Peter was missing until I brought him back. And until then, he could get some sleep.

When I turned the corner, I was surprised to find myself nearly face-to-face with a man in a police officer's uniform, and my heart leapt into my throat. I stopped dead in my tracks, squeezing Peter tightly to me, his little fingers nestled in my collar. I was so startled that I forgot to breathe. I couldn't have spoken even if I wanted to.

Jesus, this was a police officer, and I was stealing this little boy.

The officer's gaze immediately skipped past me and dropped to Peter, who had lifted his head from my shoulder and was breathing heavily into my ear. And then, to my surprise, Peter leaned his weight into my forearm like he wanted me to hand him over. The worry on the cop's face and the easy way he reached out to scoop Peter into his arms felt like a punch to the chest, and suddenly I was having just as much trouble breathing as Peter was. Maybe he was an uncle or a friend of the family. Despite the uniform and the dark stubble of a long day, the officer was probably only a few years older than I was. He had to be somebody to Peter, though. The way Peter wrapped tiny fingers into the collar of his uniform made that perfectly clear. 

We spoke at the same time.

"Are you the next of kin?"

"Are you his mom?" He sounded almost disappointed.

"I'm not," I admitted, even though that made me look suspicious. "And you are?"

"Officer Barnes," he said, extending the hand that wasn't holding Peter to shake. "I responded to the car crash. I brought him in a couple of hours ago."

"Oh," I said, and shook his hand. His grip was strong, and his forearm filled the sleeve of his uniform. "I'm Ada."

"Call me Bucky," he said. "It's a nickname."

Peter reached out for Officer Barnes with his other arm, a sleepy string of mumbled gibberish pouring from his mouth. Clearly Peter was comfortable with him, so I passed him over, and Peter snuggled into Officer Barnes' shoulder and closed his eyes like everything was right with the world again. I wanted to cry, it was so cute.

"He likes you," I said softly, daring to glance up at Officer Barnes' gentle blue eyes. He had a kind face. I could see why Peter had decided to trust him. I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly unsure what to do with my hands, my keys jangling a little as I did so.

"He's a special kid," the cop said fondly, patting Peter's little back as he stuck his thumb in his mouth. "Do you know him?"

"No – I'm a nurse here," I confessed suddenly. "It's completely against protocol, but I was going to take him home with me. Just for tonight. His dad just died, and I didn't want to leave him here in the hospital all by himself, and – "

"He got you too, huh?" Officer Barnes' eyes were practically sparkling, and I didn't know what to say at first. The hint of a dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth.