Heartbeat (Completed)

Chapter: Ten

"Poor boy," one of the nurses whispered to the other.

"Yes, it's his third time this month! First it was  influenza, then it was a scarlet fever, and now it seems to be a rheumatic fever. Poor Sarah, it must be hard for her to see him like this," the other agreed.

The second nurse, Mara, went to go check up on the scrawny blond boy while her friend went to check up on her own patients. As usual, a dark-haired boy was sitting beside the bed.

He'd been there pretty much the whole time Steve had been sick. He wasn't allowed in when he had scarlet fever, but he asked for any information they had after school each day.

In fact, he became somewhat of a fixture. His bright blue eyes, kind smiles, and ready hands were quite the relief to the busy aides and nurses. He often preferred to help Steve eat, drink, or get more comfortable rather than have a nurse do it. He wiped his sweaty forehead with cool water, fluffed his pillows, and talked with him until he drifted back to sleep.

Bucky would hold his hand in between wiping at his flushed face, or he'd read a book in his soothing tones and calm Steve's restless moments when he was sleeping. When the pain made the smaller of them uncomfortable, Bucky would assure him that he was brave. Even when he was asleep, the sick boy seemed to cling to his faithful friend. 

It was no surprise that Mara was startled at seeing the normally attentive boy fast asleep at his usual station. His book lay at his feet as if it had tumbled from his lap. His body was slumped across Steve's mattress so his head could rest on one forearm. The other was still clutching Steve's hand, unwilling to let him go even when he slept.

Exhaustion had stolen the color from his rosy cheeks, and he seemed a bit thinner as well. Instead of sleep making the young boy look innocent and childlike, it instead revealed what he tried to hide. The heavy stress, the fatigue, the responsibilities he shouldered...they all marked his face with a firm hand. It made him seem older, wiser...more tired than he should have been.

"Bucky?" Mara lightly shook him, intending to get him to go home.

The boy blinked, jerking upright with a start and very nearly bashing his head into Mara's. He rubbed his aching eyes with one hand as he attempted to sort himself out. His gaze was instantly directed toward Steve as panic surged through his body. Seeing that he was completely fine, he then turned his attention toward the nurse once more.

"You look tired," Mara gently approached the situation. "Perhaps you should go home and rest..."

"No!" Bucky snapped, fire igniting in his eyes.

"You look so worn down is all..." Mara tried to reason.

"I won't leave him. I promised I wouldn't. He's my friend! I'm all he has left besides his Mother, and I'm not abandoning him!" Bucky was bordering hysteria, tears welling up in his eyes as he snatched Steve's frail hand in his, holding it to his heart and turning indignant eyes on the nurse.

It broke Mara's heart as Bucky gazed fondly on his friend, stubbornly refusing to leave him alone even if it was in Bucky's best interest. Bucky dared Mara to change his mind with a wild look, lips set in a thin line, a small scowl turning his eyes dark with defiance.

"Alright. Just...put your book on the nightstand and try to go back to sleep," Mara sighed.

Bucky instantly relaxed, slumping a bit in the chair at her retraction. Instantly, he returned to his normal helpful, kind self.  

"I'm sorry for yelling," Bucky meekly apologized. "I just...I don't want him to be alone."

~

Sky blue eyes blinked wearily up at the ceiling trying to figure out where he was. He was hot and itchy and he ached all over. He tilted his head to the side, surprise washing over him as he saw his best friend slumped over.

The nurse came over to check on him just as his nose began to bleed heavily. He groaned in annoyance as she held a clean rag to his face, firmly clamping it to help slow the bleeding.

"You have quite a friend, Steve. He's been coming every day since you were admitted. Yesterday he fell asleep for the first time and nearly went into hysterics when I advised him to go home and get some rest," Mara relayed. "He just looks so tired..."

"He's stubborn," Steve agreed. "He should go home, but I know he won't. Not while I'm sick. When I'm back home it'll be even worse though. He's worse than Mother sometimes, I swear it!"

"That's because you're an idiot who can't remember how to take care of himself," Bucky drawled, rubbing at his head with a wince.

"Told you he was stubborn," Steve sighed, casting a helpless look at Mara.

"Here, I can hold that," Bucky offered, reaching for the rag.

Mara relinquished the rag, gave Steve a glass of water to sip on once the bleeding stopped, and told Bucky to come get her if Steve began convulsing or relapsing. A few moments later, Steve's nose finally quit spitting blood into the rag, and the two began talking.

"You look horrible, Buck," Steve blurted out.

His eyes widened as he slapped a hand over his mouth. Bucky only snorted and rolled his eyes in response.

"Yeah, and you're the picture of beauty and health," Bucky retorted.

"But seriously, Buck...you should be taking care of yourself, you know," Steve reproached him.

"Don't flatter yourself," Bucky snipped. "Things happened while you were here. I had to quit high school so I can work full time at the docks. I've been working your shifts at the grocery store too so you'll have a job if you want it. Your Mother wouldn't accept the payment since she says it's enough that I've kept your place. On top of that, Tommy's been sick. Doc said it'd be nothing, but now he's not too sure he'll pull through. On top of that Mama's been going out once or twice a week to meet her new beau. I'm so tired, Steve, and it doesn't matter where I go. Someone always needs me..."

Steve's anxious blue eyes roamed over Bucky's sagging shoulders. Steve knew kids that had to grow up fast. He'd known people who had it rough. But Bucky outshone them all. Raising six siblings, looking after his Mama, nursing his best friend, working two jobs, and still trying to help anyone who crossed his path?

"Sorry," Bucky sighed, "Didn't mean to complain. Here you are sick as a dog and all I can do is whine about how hard I have it!"

"Don't sell yourself short. Every now and again you just have to rant and rave and whine. I know you won't wallow in self-pity, but I also know you're only human, Buck. You're going to get tired, hurt, and plain out angry sometimes. But I'm here to listen whenever you need to bellyache a bit. It's not like I can do much else for you," Steve lightly laughed.

"Yeah..."

They sat in silence for a time just enjoying the quiet.