edited 3/25/19

Oh, and nothing Marvel related belongs to me! I only own Ava Pierce.

BTW, I was inspired by a post on Tumblr to write this. So it wasn't my original idea to write a fic about Alexander Pierce's daughter & Bucky Barnes.


Lapsus Memoriae

Chapter 1

1997

Ava Pierce quietly played in her garden, digging through her sandbox. Ava loved the sand – wet or dry – and her mother buried little treasures of seashells and glass beads for her to find. The little girl would dig up each trinket, wash them carefully and return them to her mother, Elsa.

Elsa would rebury those trinkets every night – renewing the excitement of finding them again the next day. The addition of a new treasure every so often brought Ava endless joy. By the day after her seventh birthday, Ava boasted twenty-seven such treasures. She had just found her fourteenth trinket that day when her father entered the garden with an imposing figure all in black at his back. Ava glanced up at her father's entrance, sharing a smile with her father before she returned her attention back to her task.

Alexander Pierce turned to face the man at his back. "Take off your mask and goggles, you're going to scare her," he ordered.

The Winter Soldier reached up and took off his goggles and mask, revealing blank, icy blue eyes. Pierce snatched them from his hands, stuffing them into his pocket. "What is my mission?" the soldier questioned in a dull tone.

"She is your mission." Alexander responded, pointing to his daughter Ava. The soldier began to move toward the little girl, but her father shoved him back. "Your mission is to protect her." He grit out.

The first sign of emotion – confusion – entered the Winter Soldier's eyes. "Protect, sir?"

Pierce ran a hand through his blond hair. "There have been threats against the lives of my family, my daughter specifically." Alexander explained. "Until I am sure there is no danger you will be Ava's constant companion. You will ensure no harm comes to her. Do you understand?"

The Winter Soldier nodded, his hands clenching and unclenching. Alexander turned towards his daughter just as she unearthed a new trinket. "Papa, Papa!" She cried, jumping up and running to show her father what she'd found. "A new shell!" Ava exclaimed in excitement, her breath wheezing out from the exertion.

Alexander bent to look at the new treasure, letting his daughter rest against him for a moment. "Oh, and how pretty it is, my love. You know you should not be running, Ava. Where is your inhaler?" He chided her. Ava pointed to the sandbox, where a neon pink inhaler was precariously nested in the grass outside it. "Fetch it!" Pierce barked at the soldier.

The Winter Soldier crossed the garden, scooping up the inhaler and bringing it back to the Pierces. Alexander snatched the device from his palm, bringing it to his daughter's mouth and helping her administer the medicine, quelling her shortness of breath. "Papa…who is he?" Ava asked with her breath finally recovered, looking up at the soldier with wide eyes.

"He is a soldier, my love. He is here to protect you and watch over you," Alexander answered her briefly.

"Why?" Ava questioned, glancing up at her father.

Pierce sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of Ava's head. "Because you are so very precious to me, my love." he said simply.

Ava turned her gaze to the soldier. "What is your name?" she asked. The Winter Soldier merely looked at her blankly, unresponsive. Ava looked up to her father. "What is his name, Papa?" She repeated to her father, seeing as she got no response from the soldier.

"He's the Winter Soldier, my love," Alexander Pierce answered reluctantly. He hoped his daughter would accept this name, for he did not want to give the soldier any ideas. But knowing Ava…his curious daughter would not accept it.

And she didn't, of course. "Papa, that's not a name!" she protested.

Alexander sighed. "You can call him Jimmy, my love." He said quickly, before cursing silently to himself. The first name he came up with was the soldier's actual name, though it seemed it would be okay – for no flicker of recognition lit the soldier's face.

Ava left the safe circle of her father's arms and taking the soldier's hand – the flesh one – in hers and dragging him towards her sandbox. "Papa says you have to play with me, Jimmy, so come on!" the little girl informed him, making the soldier sit down on the corner of the sandbox as she settled into the sand.

Pierce couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the infamous assassin at the mercy of a little girl – who had placed her bucket of treasures into his hands and ordered him to hold it for her as she resumed digging through the sand.

Elsa appeared in the window that faced the garden, her eyes going wide in shock at the sight of the Winter Soldier sitting in the sandbox with her seven-year-old daughter. "Alex!" She shouted, moving to the door and starting towards her husband. "Who the hell is that and what is he doing with our daughter!?" Elsa demanded, her overprotective maternal fury in overdrive at the sight of an unfamiliar man near her child.

"He's an associate of mine, Elsa," Pierce informed his wife, putting his hands on her shoulders in order to calm her down. "He is here to protect Ava. And there is no one better to do so," he explained to her.

Elsa shook her head, looking up to her husband in confusion. "Why does Ava need a bodyguard, Alex? What is going on?" she questioned.

Alexander sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her into the house. "You know there have been some changes at work…and subsequently threats have been made…"

The Winter Soldier – now nicknamed 'Jimmy' by a relentlessly upbeat little girl – sat on the floor just outside the open door of Ava's bedroom. The girl had been put to bed just twenty minutes ago by her mother – who fixed Jimmy with a suspicious glare every time she laid eyes on him.

'Jimmy' did not care about Elsa's suspicion. His mission was to protect the girl, not make the woman comfortable about his presence. He was unsure of his role of protecting Ava – he was used to killing, not preserving lives. But it was his mission – and he would not fail.

"Jimmy?" Ava called – curled in her blankets with a teal-colored teddy-bear clutched to her chest. The soldier strained his ears in order to hear if anything had alarmed the child. "Jimmy?" the little girl called again.

In one smooth movement the soldier stood and moved into the girl's bedroom, careful to keep the steps of his heavy combat boots quiet. He stood beside Ava's bed expectantly – waiting to hear what she wanted. The little girl turned over in bed, her arms tight around her teddy-bear. "Will you read me a story, Jimmy?" Ava asked hopefully. The soldier stood motionlessly at her bedside. The little girl let her lower lip tremble. "Please, Jimmy?" Ava pleaded.

The soldier walked to the bookshelf, picking one off the shelf and returning to her bedside. Ava patted the side of her bed, grinning up at him. Jimmy sat down heavily, the bed dipping under his weight. "The Princess and the Pea." He began in a droning tone. "Once upon a time-"

"Use voices, Jimmy!" Ava interrupted. The soldier fixed the child with a glare that would have stricken fear into the hearts of full-grown men. But this child merely flashed him a toothy grin.

The child fell asleep half way through the story and Jimmy read on for two more paragraphs until he realized. When he glanced over and saw her eyes shut and her mouth slack in sleep; he couldn't help but examine her features.

It seemed that Ava only inherited her blonde hair from her father – for she resembled her mother totally except for her hair. Her eyes were large and a pale blue, not unlike his own, rimmed with long blonde lashes that rested against her chubby cheeks. The girl was all knobby knees and sharp elbows; but she had a soft, round belly and just enough baby fat to make her face cherubic in nature.

Jimmy saw Ava's childlike features reflected in her mother's and knew she would be beautiful one day.

Jimmy had been watching over Ava for two months already. The child has adjusted to his presence quickly, treating the stocky man as an overgrown playmate. For a while in the beginning, Jimmy simply didn't feel anything.

But the more time he spent with the precocious child, the more he enjoyed it. But Ava's father seemed to notice this and seemed unhappy whenever he was around. Jimmy didn't understand Pierce's displeasure, but he made an effort to rein himself in whenever Pierce was around.

In the end - after two months of Ava's constant presence - her father decided she was in no danger. After all, the only thing that happened in two months that vaguely put Ava in danger was when a terrible thunderstorm broke Ava's bedroom window in the middle of the night. The little girl had started screaming and fell off her bed, landing in broken glass.

Jimmy had burst in - gun in hand – only scaring the little girl more. Luckily, Ava came away from the situation with only minor cuts and scratches and had slept in her parents' bed the rest of the night.

When Pierce had informed her that Jimmy had to leave, big fat tears began to roll down Ava's cheeks, and she threw her arms around the assassin's waist, clinging to him. Ava begged Jimmy not to go, and his heart ached at her pleas. He had patted her on the head and promised her he would see her again. When her father had turned his back on them, Ava had pressed one of her treasures into his hand – one they had found only the day before.

Jimmy had quickly stowed the shell into a pocket of his waistcoat, winking at the girl. He had had to say all the things he wanted to tell her with his eyes, with his expression. That he would never forget her – that he would come back.

Jimmy didn't know if he was lying or telling the truth - he didn't know if Pierce would ever let him see Ava again. Unless, of course, if she was in danger again - and he didn't want that.

Jimmy returned to the HYDRA base and underwent an electric shock treatment that lasted twice as long as he was used to. He wasn't sure, of course – but he did know that Alexander Pierce had questioned him immediately after his 'wipe'.

Pierce had asked him silly things about shells, sand, and bedtime stories before finally asking the soldier his name. The soldier merely cocked his head in confusion. "I am the Winter Soldier," he answered. Pierce seemed satisfied then - ordering the soldier be put on ice.

But the next time the Winter Soldier had been woken up and sent on a mission - he felt a curious lump in his waistcoat. He unzipped the pocket and drew out a small shell. He puzzled and wondered over the small object – not able to remember where or how he got it – but was unable to bring himself to throw it out. So he pocketed it again and went about his business.


So what did you think?

I'm not sure how long this story will last, but the next chapter will definitely be in 2013/4, starting right after CA: TWS ends (I'm fuzzy on details of the plot of the movie since I didn't actually see it; and I'm more interested in what happens after).

Please leave a review.