Bucky Barnes had found refuge on a small farm in Montana two years ago.
It was there that the Winter Soldier seemed to disappear from his mind and Bucky was able to be himself again.
He fell in love with a young woman. Ray introduced him into a wo...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter six a long time coming
Ray's body was resting peacefully on a comfortable hospital bed. The small black disk still sat at the base of her neck, but after a quick surgery, it would not be able to be removed without Dr. Kantu.
It had been Bucky who requested it. He knew that she needed it in order to keep herself from falling sick.
The former Solider had spent the last seven hours sitting beside her bed. He did as he once did, a long time ago in the bunker they found refuge in. He kept his eyes on her chest and made sure it moved every other moment. He listened to the sound of her breathing to make sure it didn't falter or even hiccup once.
When he could no longer fight his hunger, Bucky decided that a minute outside of the room wouldn't harm anyone. He left quietly and was met with three figures on their way to the room.
"Is she up yet?" Natasha asked. Her hair was wet and she changed into different clothes.
"No. I was going to get food." Bucky looked at her before glancing at Steve. He was still very upset at this old friend. And Steve knew that very well.
"Can we talk for a moment?" Steve asked his friend.
Both Natasha and Sam shared a look before they walked around the two old friends and went into Ray's room.
"Fine." Bucky nodded and followed Steve towards a more private area.
They sat at a table and after a quiet second, Steve spoke. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I knew you'd worry and that you would most likely postpone the examination with Shuri."
Bucky sighed. He knew that Steve was right. If he had none that Ray was seriously ill, instead of a small cold as he was led to believe, he never would have went back under to let Shuri operate on his mind.
"I appreciate that." Bucky said. "But I wish you had been honest with me."
"She's had three seizures in a little over three hours. Every time she sleeps, she has a reoccurring dream that leads to her coughing and choking. I can't tell you how many times that I've gone into her room and had to wake her up because of it."
"What's happening to her? That doesn't sound like a regular cold."
"I know. That's why we are here. She'd have bruises on her neck too, though Nat and I believe it's her in her sleep. But anyway, that's why we are here. She didn't want to come here."
"Why not?"
"She knows she's a distraction for you. She didn't want to step in the way of your healing processes."
Bucky smiled slightly. "Sounds like Ray. How has she been doing, other than her seizures?"
"She's been good, as good as any of us could be. We've got a small home in Sweden where we've been staying a while. We spent the earlier part of the year getting into HYDRA bases and trying to dismantle them the best we could. She's getting good at fighting."
