She's Afraid and Forgotten - Winter Soldier

Files Chapter 20

Third P.O.V.

" There you go. See, it wasn't that bad, now was it? " Bruce says softly while covering Dorothea's arm with a band-aid. 

As soon as Bruce is done, she snatches her hand away, clenching it to her shaking body. She breaths quickly, her arm darting around the room. She wipes a few tears off of her face. She whimpers, terrified of the man in front of her. 

Bucky watches from the next room, glancing down at the files in his hands. They'd luckily been able to find a few matches of DNA in the system. They'd found a lot of matches, some more matching DNA than others. ' Someone's been around. ' Bucky thinks to himself as she flips through a thick file. A little redhead boy stares back at him, his smile beaming widely. The kid had been taken away from his grandparents due to neglect. He was too young to be Dorothea's father. Sibling, maybe. 

Bruce pulls his gloves off, tossing them into the can as he walks out of the room. He looks back at Dorothea sadly. It was sad to see a child that scared of people. He'd met a few HYDRA victims before, but never a child. The youngest HYDRA victim he'd met was a twenty-year-old guy who'd been snatched off the street on his way home. He couldn't even begin to imagine how the child must feel, what she's been through. 

" Anything? " Bruce asks, looking at the files Bucky tosses onto his table. 

" Nothing. They're all children. " Bucky says in annoyance. He'd spent the morning looking through files, trying to find a parent or something. Most of them were dead or children. Turns out the entire family has a history with drugs and alcohol, including some of the children. Most died on the streets before they hit Twenty-five. If they weren't druggies, they had been killed or seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. 

" We'll find something. We have to. " Bruce says. He rubs his forehead, a headache building from the stress. " She's not getting better. She's terrified. I was lucky today. She's too tired from staying up all last night to fight me. " Bruce lets out a breath. " We're going to have to figure out how to help her. Soon. She's not going to make it much longer unless she lets me help her, which I doubt she'll do. " 

Bucky sighs. " Let me go talk to her. I'll see if I can...find any information. " 

" Are you sure? She might act up like last time. " Bruce warns. 

Bucky nods. " I'm sure. " 

Bruce lets Bucky into the room, stepping back. Bucky steps into the room, looking at the corner where Dorothea's crunched up. She doesn't look up at him. 

She freezes at the sound of hearing someone enter the room. She squeezes her body together the best she can, hoping they'll leave soon. 

" Hi, Dorothea. " Bucky softly while cautiously taking a step towards her. 

Dorothea looks up, hurt, and fear in her eyes. 'He doesn't remember me. That means he won't care if I get hurt. He doesn't know me. At least in his mind, he doesn't. He could do anything. He's unpredictable, just like everyone else here.' Dorothea's heart races and she scoots back further until her back touches the wall. 

Bucky holds up his hands in surrender, trying to show her he's not going to hurt her. " Hey, hey. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. " He says tenderly, careful not to move and scare her. 

" Go away. " Dorothea's weak from the lack of water. She'd refused to drink anything for the past day, instead pouring the liquids she was given down the sink. 

" I just want to talk. " Bucky stays in his spot. 

Dorothea looks at the door, wishing he'd just leave. It hurt her to see him. He didn't remember her, and he probably wouldn't. He seemed different this time. Usually, when he forgot her, it took only a couple of days to remember her, and then things were back to normal. But this time...it's taken him longer. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd arrived and seen him, but it felt longer than normal. 

" We're trying to find your father-" 

" You're my papa. " She croaks. Her eyes tear up slightly. She knew he wouldn't believe her, but she had to keep fighting. She had to. 

Bucky's gaze softens. It made him sad every time he had to correct her and tell her he wasn't her father. But, he couldn't have her thinking he was her father. He didn't want to crush her hopes if they found her real father dead. " I'm not your papa. " 

Dorothea buries her head in her arms, staring at her bruised knees. " I miss papa. " She whispers, pain clearly in her voice. 

Bucky's heart aches when he hears her words. Barely over a whisper, but he'd heard them. " We're trying to find him. That's why I came in here. I wanted to ask you some questions that could maybe help us find him faster. " 

Dorothea doesn't bother looking up. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to hear this. He was her papa. He just didn't know it. 

" Do you know how old he is? Or what his name is? " Bucky asks, trying to get something out of the girl. 

Dorothea shrugs. " Papa is papa. That's his name. Papa. " 

'If he'd been held in the cell with her, there was a good chance the man didn't know his name, hence the reason she doesn't know his name. ' Bucky thinks. 'Or he just never told her. ' 

" Do you know where he went the last time you saw him? " Bucky asks, moving on. 

" The men dragged him away. He was going to work. Papa didn't tell me what he does, but I know it involves those sharp knives and guns. " Dorothea mumbles. Her father never went into detail. She didn't know what he did, but from the refusing to talk about it, she had figured out pretty quickly it wasn't a job to be proud of. 

" How long was he gone? " 

" A month. " She whispers. Way longer than usual. Usually, it took him a couple of days, and then he came back. Never a month. 

" How long have you known your dad? " 

" Since I was little. I don't know how long. He taught me everything. He taught me about the world. He taught me how to walk and talk. He taught me how to take care of myself. " Dorothea's voice is shaky. 

Sensing this was getting to be too much for her, Bucky stops with the questions. " Thank you, Dorothea. We're going to try our best to find your papa. I promise. " 

Dorothea doesn't respond. Instead, she stares at the cold floor, tears dripping down her face. 

Bucky walks out of the room, a heavy cloud over his head. " That didn't give us much. " He sighs. 

Bruce shakes his head in protest. " It did. She says you look like her father. " Bruce types onto his computer. " I'll scan your facial features and see if we can find anyone who looks like you in the database. That'll help narrow down the files and find her dad. " Bruce gestures for Bucky to stand in front of the computer. He presses a button and steps back. " Stand still. "