Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

Guilty

Sarah's POV

"Sarah? I'm coming in." Jace said as he knocked on the bathroom door once before walking in.

I was sitting on the edge of the tub, holding the tied off towel ends for my tourniquet between my teeth as I fished for the bullet. But because I was working from an awkward angle, I kept losing it - much to my frustration.

"Is it still in there?" he asked, taking the cloth from between my teeth to adjust the position and tighten it for me.

I held the knot in place and handed Jace the tweezers. "Yup. Almost had it, but I keep losing it."

"Did it hit anything major?"

"No, there'd be more blood if it had caught the artery, but it's not far off."

"Anything broken?"

I gritted my teeth as he searched for the bullet. "Considering I just took a 9mm round at point blank range and the bone stopped it, what do you think?"

"Sorry - stupid question. Damn it - I almost had it."

"It's not bad enough that I need to go in for treatment," I decided. "Remember, it's gonna gush when you pull that out."

He grimaced as he tried again. "Yeah, I remember that from the last time. Thanks for not letting Uncle Bucky shoot me, by the way."

"You're welcome. He would only have gotten you in the leg the way I jerked on his arm." I gritted my teeth as he searched for the bullet - that feeling was the part I hated the most. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, so I was glad he'd come to help me.

"Still wouldn't have felt great. I take it you couldn't disarm him?" He got the tweezers around the bullet and pulled it out, holding a washcloth over the hole to catch the gush of blood that followed the removal.

I shook my head. "He wasn't himself at that moment, and I wasn't sure what would happen if he thought I was attacking him, too. At least he was using his human arm; no way in hell would I have been able to move his cybernetic arm. I'm strong, but not that strong."

"I haven't even begun to process that one yet; my war hero great-uncle is still alive and has a metal arm."

"Wrap this up and go check on him for me? Please?" I handed him the Ace bandage and a gauze pad. "I don't want to leave him alone for too long."

"Yeah, sure. Natalia should be here soon; she said ten minutes when I called her."

Jace removed the washcloth and placed the pad firmly over the wound. I raised my arm slightly so he could wind the wrap around my arm. He clipped it in place and smiled slightly as he went back out of the bathroom.

I leaned down to clean up the bloody mess on the floor and wet a clean washcloth to wipe the rest of the drying blood off my arm and leg. I hadn't gotten too much on my clothes but I was going to need to change, afraid of how James would react if he saw me in bloody clothes.

I walked into my bedroom and shut the door before stripping. Taking the loaded magazine from between my breasts, I tossed it on my bed and found another pair of shorts and an old t-shirt to wear. I took my clothes into the bathroom and dumped peroxide on them before setting them in the hamper.

* * *
James' POV

I forced myself not to move defensively when I heard light footsteps on the stairs and in the hall. My eyes flicked up to see Natalia come in and shut the door behind her, looking around the room before walking into the kitchen where I was still standing. I flinched when she put her hand on my human arm.