The Earth's Child: A Bucky Barnes fanfiction

The Untold

Warning: Mentions of rape and torture.

"Stop! No! Stop!"

Bucky jumped up as Bella started screaming beside him, the sleep clearing from his eyes at the sight of her tossing and thrashing about. This was a daily routine but she always fell asleep a few minutes after being woken up. He had tried to get her to talk about it but she never said a word. He reached up and gently held her arms so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Bella," said Bucky, whispering intensely in her ears, "It's okay. They are not here."

"Stop," wept Bella, her thrashing gone from her limbs. She pressed her face against his arms that were beside her head and cried against it. "I cannot take it anymore, please. Stop, please."

"Doll, it's okay," said Bucky, tears falling from his eyes at the sight of his love breaking into a thousand pieces right in front of his eyes. He was holding her in his arms but he still couldn't keep her safe. He shook her violently, anger boiling inside him at his own pathetic helplessness.

Bella's eyes fluttered open and she looked relieved.

"Doll," said Bucky, lying down beside her and clutching her tightly against his chest.

"I am fine, boo bear, don't worry."

Her voice was still gravelly from the screaming but she tried to make it sound as normal as possible and that broke Bucky's heart even more.

"I am so sorry," said Bucky, cradling her head against his shoulders as she clung to him, her bandaged fingers pressing against his bare chest.

He slowly sat up, switching on the bedside lamp. Bella sat up with him and he looked her in the eyes.

"In Bucharest," started Bucky, "you remember that I had really bad nightmares, right?"

"Yes," said Bella, "of course."

"And do you remember what you told me? That the only way to get a peaceful sleep was by getting it all out?"

"Yes."

"Now, talk to me. Tell me everything that you haven't told me yet. Start from the beginning and get it all out. I want to help you, doll. Let me help you."

"It's nothing like that, I am fine."

"Talk to me, doll. I know you are not fine." He reached out and took her hands, squeezing the fingers lightly.

He felt her shaking slightly before she burst into tears, her resolve finally breaking as she let all of her fear out through her tears. She cried broken sobs, bending her head forwards and lacing her fingers with his. He didn't move or pull her into his arms because he didn't want her to stop talking. He wanted to hear all of it, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her palms with his thumbs, silently lending her his strength so she could survive this. She kept repeating how scared she was and he squeezed her fingers harder every time she did. Her cries were so pitiful that it filled Bucky with angst and he wanted to make it all go away. But he couldn't. She told him about the water and the whips and he realised that hearing it from her was worse than hearing it from Michael. Her broken sobs accompanied with her terror-filled cries as she relived her nightmares made it all the more devastating to bear.

He waited till she had nothing more to say about the tortures and then he pulled her up on his lap, her legs straddling his hips and her face buried in his shoulder. He was shaking from the sobs that were forming inside his chest and he muffled his own cries in her hair.