Torn Between Two Worlds//Bucky Barnes W.S.

Chapter 13: A Speech, A Lecture, and A Funeral

Read the A/N at the end. More very, very important information within it.

Elizabeth's P.O.V.

"Wake up dear. Say goodbye to your father." Maria Stark says. I look down, a wave of guilt washing over me. I twist the ring sitting on my finger and sway with Rose in my arms.

"Who's the homeless person on the couch?" Howard Stark asks. "This is why I love coming home for Christmas. Right before you leave town." Tony says, yanking the blankets off him and rolling off the couch.

"Be nice, dear. He's been studying abroad." Maria tells her boys. "Really? Which broad? What's her name?" Howie asks as he pulls a Santa had off Tony's head. "Candice."

"Do me a favor. Try not to burn the house down before Monday." Howard says, making me smile. "Ok, so it's Monday. That is good to know. I will plan my toga party accordingly. Where you going?" Tony asks, being the nosy bastard he is. But you gotta love him.

"Your father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway." Maria says. "We might have to make a quick stop-" "At the Pentagon. Right? Don't worry, you're gonna love the holiday menu at the comminssure." Tony sarcastically remarks.

"You know, they say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man some day. I'll get the bags." He tells Tony, then Maria. When he leaves the room, Maria turns to Tony.

"He does miss you when you are not here. And frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen. Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it." She says to Tony, hurt sounding in her voice.

At that moment, Howard walks back into the room with the bags. Tony stares at his mom before turning to his dad. "I love you, Dad. And I know you did the best you could." Heartbreak is written all over his face. I feel something warm roll down my cheek and quickly swipe it away.

The fake therapeutic experiment disappears and the real Tony walks out on stage.

"That's how I wished it happened. By merely augmented retro framing, or 'BARF', God, I got to work on that acronym, an extremely costly method, of hijacking the hippocampus to clear... traumatic memories. It doesn't change the fact that they never made it to the airport, or the things I did to avoid processing my grief.

"Plus, 611 million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment. No one in the right mind would've ever funded it. Help me out. What's the MIT admission statement. To generate, disseminate and preserve knowledge, and work with others, to bring to bear on the world's great challenges. Well, you are the others. And quite as it kept the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind has ever known. Plus, most of you are broke.

"Also, I rather you work. As of this moment, every student has been made an equal recipient of the Inaugural September Foundation Grant. As in, all of your projects have just been approved and funded. No strings. No taxes. Just... reframe the future. Starting now," he looks at a screen and stops talking for a second.

I peek around the corner and look at what he is. Pepper Potts is illuminated on the wall. "Go break some eggs." He finishes. The whole room eruption applause and I hold Rose closer to my chest. The applause is so loud, I place a hand over Rose's ear and press her head further into my chest.

I walk out of the auditorium and out of the building. I step out of the door and the cool Fall weather hits me. I walk to my car and grab her carseat carrier. I strap her in and walk back to the building. People are flooding out and I slip into the alley.

I walk to the back door and open it in time. A woman walks past and smiles. "Thank you. Your child is adorable." She says. "Oh, thank you!" I smile back her. I walk into the warmth of the building.