Red Winter: Timeline

Chapter Twelve: Worth It

When they returned Bruce immediately observed Wanda, taking her vitals and checking her blood. The concern was her mind, he wondered if that much shock, that much digging into her brain if it had caused brain damage. Bucky watched while Bruce ran some tests, his legs shaking. Sam went with Strange to talk, or more better be scolded and yelled at.

"Wanda, can you nod to me, let me know you can hear me?" Bruce was using a wet cloth to dab away the blood near her ears and nose. Wanda nodded, Bucky sighed in relief. "You're going to feel very weak. I just need to know if you remember everything...is anything fuzzy?" Wanda nodded, she remembered. "That's good." Bruce looked at Bucky and nodded, "It's good."

"I worry about the results Doctor Zola received from Wanda." Strange crossed his arms, "If it will effect anything."

"Maybe the results are what they use to help get Wanda her powers with the staff." Sam shook his head, looking across the room where Bruce was checking on the witch.

"If the timeline is disrupted we will know soon." Strange nodded, folding his hands in front of him, "I have things to tend to. I will be in touch." Sam watched as a portal opened, Strange stepped into it, and it closed. He really hoped nothing had changed drastically.

With Wanda sleeping in her room, Sam, Bucky, and Bruce all sat down to discuss their findings. "When Wanda wakes up I'd like to know what she learned."

"I have an idea..." Bucky looked up, his had his hands clapped together, "What if we fight fire with fire? Brainwashing for brainwashing. I couldn't find a loophole. There is no off switch, but there could by a way around it. If I can get to Wakanda, perhaps Shuri can access the part of my brain that knows those code phrases...and change them." Bruce's eye widened.

"Only one person knows them..." Bruce nodded, pointing at Bucky, "No one else knows."

"Exactly." Bucky turned to Sam, awaiting his opinion.

Sam leaned back in his chair, "Are you willing to go through all that again? I mean...who is going to determined these words?"

"Wanda." Bucky was ready with that answer, "She can speak Russian. I trust her."

"She'll be the only one who knows." Bruce folded his hands together, "I think it's worth a shot."

"I'll contact T'Challa." Sam nodded, standing up and placing a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Keep your head up."

Bucky nodded, leaning back into the couch with a long sigh.

Back upstairs Wanda turned to see her door opening slowly, Bucky popped his head into the room and felt relief when he saw her eyes looking back at him. There were dark circles under her eyes, her long hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she looked so small with all of her bedding wrapped around her. Bucky stepped into the room, he turned to close the door behind him to leave them with some privacy. Wanda pressed her head back into her pillow, watching Bucky walk toward her and sit on the skit of the bed. Wanda found the outside of the blankets with her hand, she  reached to touch his arm but couldn't reach, so she placed her hand on his leg to get his attention as Bucky was staring out at the wall. With her hand on his leg, he turned to her, face full of regret. "I put you and Sam in danger. I should have gone alone. It wasn't worth all of this."

Wanda pulled her hand back in order to push the blankets away from her face and to sit up more. With the blankets pushed away Bucky noticed she only had on a sports bra with her pajama pants, her pale toned stomach stared back at him. "No, it was worth it."

"For the information? For Sam to get shot? You to be tortured? It wasn't worth that Wanda." He gripped the sheet on her bed.

"James." Wanda scooted closer to him, sitting almost behind him now, but still able to see her. "Any information is good, even if it is bad. It's better to know." She placed her hand on his shoulder, "it was worth it."

The feeling of her hand on his shoulder relaxed him a bit,  "The outcome wasn't worth it."

"We couldn't of predicted the outcome. I don't regret going." She trailed her hand from his shoulder down his arm, Bucky felt his air on his arm raise. "I enjoyed dancing with you. I don't know if that would've ever happened." Bucky turned slightly to look at her better, her eyes were on her hand that reached around his waist now so she could hug him from behind. The closeness was new, but he didn't find himself wanting to pull away.

"It was all worth it? Just for that?" Bucky found his voice softer, relaxing into her hug.

"Mhmm." Wanda took a deep breath, letting herself take action with her heart instead of her head. The feeling that surrounded them was natural, Wanda felt like maybe she should be sad and turn away from it. Was it wrong? Was Vision looking down at her and angry? All these things began to muddle in her mind, but as Bucky leaned back into her and closed his eyes, pressing his hands on her own, everything faded away.

Bucky explained his plan to her, they sat together in her bed with Bucky laying back at the end of her mattress and Wanda sitting up against her pillows. Wakanda was beautiful, but the memories it would bring back was something that worried her. Part of her wanted to pass on the offer to go with him, but when he began to explain that he would like her to be the one to use the new words, to create them, Wanda felt obligated and special. They didn't realize that it was now past midnight, they had been talking for hours.

"I'll let you sleep. You need rest." He stood up and began to walk toward the door, touching the knob and turning to look at her, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight" Wanda smiled as he left the room and closed the door behind him.