Buckynat Oneshots

In Sickness and In Health- AU

James groaned as a pounding in his head woke him up from the deep sleep he seemed to be in, one so deep he wasn't even sure he could remember falling into it in the first place. His whole body seemed to ache with an uncomfortable heaviness that made it difficult to move from the propped up position he seemed to be in. He groaned again, trying to scratch at the itch on the inside of his right arm but couldn't feel any relief at all.

Someone squeezed his hand gently, and a small hand cupped his cheek. "Hey," Natasha breathed softly, a heavy sense of relief in her words while she was running her thumb lightly over his cheek.

He slowly peeled his eyes open, blinking as he tried to focus on her beside him but everything was slightly blurred. Opening his eyes only heightened his headache as the room immediately felt like it was spinning and he squinted his eyes slightly to try and stop it.

When she came into focus, red hair loose around her face, she was giving him a sad sort of smile as she let her hand move to join the other that was holding onto his. "You gave me such a scare." She was trying to hide her tears well, but he could see the shine of them as they pooled in her eye.

He frowned, wincing at the sharp pain it caused on the left side of his face so he turned his head slightly to take in the clinically clean room he seemed to be in. A sinking dread crept into his stomach when he realised he was in an hospital bed, the itch in his arm was an IV drip hooked up to a monitor and the steady beeping noise was his heart rate which started to increase as he began to panic.

"Hey," she said again, and he looked back at her, searching her eyes to work out why he was here, and why he didn't feel right. Upon further inspection of himself, he realised, and Natasha spoke quickly when she saw that the secret was now out. "It's going to be okay, alright? It's going to be fine."

James was only half listening, too busy staring at the space where his left arm should be. There was barely even a stump left since it seemed to be removed right from the shoulder and heavily bandaged up in white crept that wrapped around his bare chest judging by the tightness beneath the hospital gown.

"What...what happened?" He asked, his voice groggy as he realised just how dry his lips and mouth were.

Natasha presses her lips together and took a breath, reaching for a water cup with a straw to give him a drink. "You lose control of your motorcycle, hit a pothole and skidded on the wet ground. You must have...they think you skidded several feet with your arm trapped beneath you, and there was so much damage that...that it's all they could do." She swallowed a little and he could only imagine the hours she'd spent pacing the corridors worrying about it.

That was another kick to the gut, Natasha trying to be strong as she sat here alone in the cold hospital, probably through the night. He hoped Steve dropped by, or Maria, just to make sure she was okay in her own condition.

She was still glowing, despite there being bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and worry, and over the edge of the bed he could just see the beginnings of her baby bump beneath her shirt.

He exhaled heavily and looked up to the ceiling, feeling his eyes begin to water as the crushing weight of reality snapped him back. He'd lost an arm. His whole fucking arm. What the fuck was he meant to do now.

He lay his hand over hers and squeezed tightly, before tracing his fingers over hers to feel her wedding band and the diamond of her engagement ring. Both golden and shining, relatively new and of course matching his own which was currently on her thumb. His heart clenched at the thought he couldn't wear his own ring on the official hand again.

***

The glass slipped from his hands, smashing into a hundred pieces on the floor and making him growl in irritation.