Caught In The Widow's Web

Ch 57

Couple Days Later

I'm in the gym solely focused on the punching bag in front of me. My punches holding a lot of power behind them as I work out.

"You happy punching the bag, or you wanna go a few rounds with me?" I hear making me stop, I turn towards Maria whose standing by the door as I raise a brow.

"I am talking about sparring." She says amused coming further into the room.

"That'd be nice too." I mumble.

We go over to the mat and start to spar a bit and actually start having a casual conversation.

"So what's new with you?" She asks.

"Nothing much...I agreed to go to a Veteran PTSD support group."  I say as I dodge a swing.

"What?" She asks shocked distracting herself and I get her pinned to the mat.

"Woah talk about deja vu." A breathy chuckle escapes my lips and she rolls her eyes and gets me pinned down on the mat face down with her sitting on butt and an arm behind my back.

"You actually agreed to that?" She asks and I try to look from over my shoulder with a huff.

"Yeah." I respond getting her off me and I stand up.

Flashback

I was sitting at the head of a long table with Tony sitting next to me while Fury was standing.

"Sarge, it's not that simple to just get you back out on the field." Fury starts.

"Can we just skip to the part where you tell me what I have to do." I throw my head back against the head rest of my chair.

"I believe you still have some underlying...troubles, that can affect you on the field." He says and I raise a brow.

"He wants you to go to a Vet. PTSD support group." Tony peels off the band aid and I sigh rubbing my forehead.

"Fine, fine." I agree.

"Really?" Tony say surprised.

"Yeah. Look, I want to be out there fighting and I'm more than willing to go somewhere else to fight. But, I know that won't sit well with others. So here I am and if I have to jump through hoops a bit to get that, fine." I say and both men don't say anything.

"Great, meeting adjourned." I add getting up and leaving.

"I mean, how bad can it be?" I shrug.

-

J.D. is in her support group meeting sitting in a circle with other veterans and she doesn't look so comfortable.

"We have time for one more share, how about you Ms.Barnes?" Jack, the meeting coordinator asks making everyone turn to me.

"*clears throat* Pass." I say.

"Tony told me you were humorous." He chuckles softly along with others.

"To begin to heal you have to share what's holding you back." Jack tells me and I nod.

"Well that concludes our meeting for today. Everyone have a great day, same time tomorrow." He adds and everyone starts to get up.

"Woah, this is a daily thing?" I raise a brow, again receiving some chuckles.

"Yes, Barnes, this is a daily thing. We don't come just for the cookies and coffee." He smiles.

~

I get back to the tower and go to the living room to see some of the team hanging out.

I lay in the couch with my head on Natasha's lap with a sigh and I lay an arm over my eyes.

"Hey." The blonde chuckles as she runs a hand through my hair.

"Hi." I mumble.

"Soo how'd it go?" Sam asks and I take a deep breath.

"Did it not go well? I liked it when I went." Bucky asks.

"It was fine I guess." I shrug.

"Did you share?" Natasha looks down at me.

"Other than my shock that it's a daily thing. No." I reply.

"J.D. to begin to heal you have to share what's holding you back." Bucky tells me obviously getting that from Jack.

"Oh stitch it on a pillow grandpa." I huff.

"He's right, J.D. You gotta participate. Sooner or later you have to share." Sam says and I sigh.

-

Days later, meaning multiple meetings later..

"...honestly I have a lot of weight on my shoulders and I just want to let it go. I want to be the person I was before." I sigh finally sharing.

"That, was amazing Joseph. This is a great first step for you." Jack says as they clap.

A bit later the meeting ends and I go by the cookie table.

"I was starting to wonder when you were going to share.." I hear a soft voice comment making me turn to see a really pretty brunette.

I shake my head and turn back to the cookie table as I refocus.

"Yeah, well a buddy of mine used to run one of these in D.C. and he said I would have to share sooner or later. Sitting in the back quietly may have worked in high school but not so much now." I shrug with a small smile.

"You remember your high school days?" She jokes making me raise an amused eyebrow.

"Calling me old?" I challenge.

"Not old per say, more like...vintage." She tilts her head a bit and a minor amused scoff escapes my lips.

"A '67 Mustang is vintage." I tell her.

"So that makes you...prehistoric?" She raises an eyebrow with a smirk.

I chuckle looking down.

"I'm Ariana." She introduces herself extending a hand for me to shake and I take it.

"And I already know who you are." She adds with a chuckle before I can return the favor making me smile.

"Well, you can call me J.D." I say making her nod.

"So what are your plans after this?" I ask looking around the room.

"Other than laundry, nothing much. You?" She asks.

"Well not that this daily coffee isn't great but I was thinking something else. Care to join me?" I offer.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" She raises a brow.

"How about some lemonade?" I shrug and she smiles a bit.

"Sure."