Pacing the hallway, Bucky felt like he had been going in circles for days. Slumping …...down into the chair beside him, he shoved his hands into his hair. He had always hated hospitals, but now he hated then even more. The silence from the other room didn't make it any less difficult to refrain himself from tearing down the door and rushing into the room.
Shoving the chair back, he began to pace again. Watching various nurses and medical staff rush in and out of the room, he wondered what was going on inside the room.
"Mr. Barnes," a petite red haired nurse gently woke him, "Congratulations, you have a baby boy. He's is in the nursery right now and your wife is back in her room. You can go see them now."
Grabbing his keys and wallet off the table beside the couch, he walked into Darcy's room. The beat of the monitor sounded like a semi-truck horn in the quiet room. Walking to the bed, Bucky placed his hand on Darcy's. Slowly he began the tune to their favorite song.
You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy,
When skies are gray,
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away.
As he sang the last line, Darcy's hand twitched slightly. Opening her eyes slightly, Darcy tilted her head to the left to see Bucky sitting on her side lightly humming to her.
"Hey..." she whispered weakly.
Bucky's head shot up and a cautious grin formed on his face. "How's my favorite girl doing?"
"I'm fine Bucks," Darcy gave a slight smirk, "I just wish I could remember what happened."
Bucky looked into Darcy's eyes to see tears forming. Bucky didn't know if he should lie to her or just tell her the truth. Knowing that one of his worst fears had come true, he wanted to do everything he could do to protect Darcy from knowing what happened.
"Just rest doll. I'm going to go get some coffee. I'll tell the nurse you are up."
Walking to the nurses station, he leaned across to tap on the shoulder of the stout, blonde typing away at the computer.
"Miss, I was wondering if you could possibly give me more information on the patient in room 7A."
Sighing dramatically, the woman removed her fingers from the keyboard and glared up at Bucky, "I'm sorry sir, but unless you are immediate family we are legally not allowed to give out the information." Contempt with her answer, she glanced back down at the keyboard and began to type again.
Tired and wanting to go back Darcy's room as quickly as possibly, Bucky spoke up again, "Ma'am, I am her husband and I would appreciate as much information as available," glaring down at the woman, he put on his best "Winter Soldier" face.
Shoving herself back from the desk, the nurse makes an exaggeration of rummaging through papers. Pulling out a file, she slammed it onto the desk.
"Sir, I need this back when you are done. Do not take this away from the station. If you would like your son's file, you will have to go down to the ICU to receive it from that station." The nurse, who was apparently named Jackie, gave Bucky a practiced smile and directed him to the chair by the station.
Examining as much information he could before the nurse took the file back. Walking back down to Darcy's room he figured it was time to tell her the truth. Slowly opening the door, he stopped at the moment he saw.
Not knowing that Darcy knew about their son, he was walled when he walked in and saw Darcy holding their son, singing You Are My Sunshine to him. Smiling to himself, Bucky felt tears brewing in his eyes. He never thought he would ever see a moment like this. Regretting not being able to allow Darcy the experience when he was first born.
Clearing his throat, he asked, "What do you want to name him Darcy?"
"Well," Darcy beamed, looking down at the baby with the brightest smile, "I was thinking James Buchanan." Glancing up at Bucky she couldn't read his expression. Quickly backtracking Darcy started to fumble over words to attempt to defuse the situation if she needed to. "I mean... it was just..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Bucky was across the room and kissing her.
"Bucky... the.. baby..." Darcy said in between kisses.
Moving back, Bucky smiled down at Darcy and James. The moment was to happy to ruin. Looking up into Bucky's eyes, she could tell something was off with him. There seemed to be something bothering him. Pushing the feeling into the back of her mind, she started cooing at James about how sweet he was.
Interrupting the moment the nurse from the station barged into the room. Demanding that James be put back into his carrier and Bucky remove himself from Darcy's bed, she began to record Darcy's stats and took out a vile.
Before she could insert the medicine into Darcy's iv drip, Bucky stepped in.
"What are you doing to her?" he boomed. Moving in front of the nurse, he removed the syringe from her hand and set it on the table.
"Sir, it says in the charts that every five hours she must be administered with anesthesia to keep the pain from the accident away." Jackie, the nurse, boomed back to him.
The small gasp from the side of him, told him that Darcy had not missed the last part of the sentence. "Could you give me and my wife a minute please?"
Shoving the medicine and syringe back onto the cart, Jackie exited the room. After she left, Bucky glanced over towards the bed to see Darcy scowling at him.
"Anything you need to tell me? Hmm Bucky? Or were you just going to sit there and lie to me!?," She clipped.
Knowing her signs of anger, Bucky backed away from the bed a little, just to avoid any flying objects within the vicinity. Raising his hands, Bucky began trying to explain himself.
"Look Darcy, there was no easy way to tell you and I didn't want to darken the joyous news of James."
"Oh stop feeding me bullshit Bucky, tell me what is really happening. I'm tired of you always keeping everything from me. If it's not the super secret missions you go on, it's the late night drinking with Stark, or it's the stalking old streets with Steve, or Russian talks with Natasha. Stop lying to me and tell me the damn truth for once! I'm tired of you treating me like a fucking fragile china doll. Cut the shit and be a man." Darcy was fuming now. If it wasn't for the hospital bed and all the various IV's in her, or the fact that she had a child less than a day ago, she would have been up and pacing the room by now.
"Fine. If that's what you really want then I will tell you the truth." Bucky roared back. "Yes, I drink with Stark at night but only because he has problems with Pepper every now and then and actually wants someone who won't judge him for his damn problems. Yes, I visit the old streets Steve and I grew up on, but that is only because we both like to see how everything turned out after all these years. Finally, Natasha and I talk in Russian just because everything we say doesn't need to be deciphered by HYDRA and the enemies that easily. I don't tell you these things because they involve other people and their lives in them. If you wanted to know all you had to do was ask. I'm not the only one that keeps things bottled up inside you know."
"Oh no. You are not turning this back onto me! Don't think I didn't notice that you left out what the nurse was talking about. Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to call her back in?" Darcy fought back.
"Alright. She was mentioning how you got to the hospital. HYDRA attacked Stark Towers. I couldn't find you in enough time and Stark had to fly you here. Thor and I were stuck on the bottom floor. When I got news that you were here, I tried to get here as fast as I could. But it turns out you weren't the only one damaged from the attack."
"Bucky, who else is hurt?" Darcy asked. Please don't let it be Steve. I would rather die than allow Bucky to lose his best friend. Darcy thought
"... Darcy... Jane was in the lab with you..." Bucky looked down as he delivered the news, unable to watch the pain seize Darcy's face. "She's in ICU right now. The doctor's say that she should be able to make a full recovery but they aren't sure how long it will take. They induced her into a medical coma early last night to help speed up that healing process. Thor is down there with her right now. The rest of the crew is keeping watch of her room. I'm sorry Darcy. I know how much she means to you. Stark and Banner are doing everything they can to help find a way to help her heal faster."
Gathering Darcy into his side, she began to weep. "I don't understand. Why would HYDRA go for the labs? You all are never in them. It's always just me and Jane. She wasn't even supposed to be in there yesterday. I made her come in to help me with my bags." Wiping her tears, Darcy realized that she was to blame for Jane getting hurt. "Oh God Bucky. She was in there because of me. If I hadn't been such a slob and been able to get my pregnant ass to bend over, she wouldn't be here right now."
"Don't say that doll. Jane went up there because she is a great friend and knew that you needed help. None of this is your fault. If it had been me, I would have gone up there to help you too."
"Yeah but look what happened. She's in a medically induced coma until she gets better. I got an early labor with a healthy baby boy." Darcy began to cry again as the nurse came back in.
"You called?" Jackie asked.
Darcy and Bucky moved over to see that as Bucky sat down to comfort Darcy he had laid on the button. Wiping her tears off, Darcy sat up slightly to see Jackie better.
"Yes, I was wondering when I would be able to get up, or at least get out of this room?"
"Dr. Greenwell said that it wouldn't be smart for you to move until your leg is better. Until then you are bed ridden to this lovely room." Jackie told Darcy sarcastically.
"Well, if I am bed ridden to this lovely room would it be possible to, hmm.. I don't know, wheel me down to the ICU?"
"Ma'am you are bed ridden. Just because your friends may have helped save New York from invasions doesn't mean that you get special treatment. I am sorry but you are in this room until the doctor changes his instructions." Jackie barked at Darcy, "Now if you would lie back down, I need to administer your anesthesia."
"No thank you. I do not want it." Darcy voiced back. "If you could, would you please go and retrieve the doctor. I would like to speak with him."
"Dr. Greenwell is on his break right now and will not be back for another 10 minutes." Jackie pointed out.
"Well, I have ten minutes to spare in this lively room so why not wait." Darcy sat back up on the bed, reaching for Bucky's hand.
"Fine. I will locate Dr. Greenwell and ask him to see you when he returns from break. Until then, I must ask that you do not move and that you," Jackie turned to Bucky, "stay off the bed and allow her to rest." Strolling out of the room, Jackie allowed to door to slam behind her.
"Good thing I took James back down to the nursery or he would be up screaming by now," Bucky joked. Leaning in he kissed Darcy on the forehead. "Doll, after the doctor comes in you do need to try and get some rest. As much as I love to talk to you, you need to rest to heal your leg faster."
A soft knock at the door made them both jump in fear of Jackie coming back. As the door opened, Darcy saw Steve peek his head in to make sure everything was clear and walked in, shutting the door quietly.
"I know there is a no visitor's policy right now, but I couldn't resist seeing my new nephew." Steve joked.
"Well then you are going to have to wait until they bring him back in, or track back up the hall ya goof." Darcy opened her arms to allow Steve to give her a hug. "Don't squeeze to tight though, I'm still a little sore."
Standing up, Bucky received a big hug from Steve with a quick congratulations added in. Winking over Steve's shoulder to Darcy, Bucky mumbled a thanks and backed up.
"So, how's Jane?" Darcy asked.
"She's doing well. The doctors said that she should be able to heal within the week and that hopefully she will wake up within the next two weeks. They don't want to rush anything though so they are keeping her as stable as possible and administering medication as regularly as possible, which is one thing I hear is not happening with you. You know, you are all the talk at the nurses station. The patient in 7A who keeps giving Nurse Jackie hell about her medication." Steve winked at Darcy. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were doing it on purpose."
Laughing to himself at his joke he strode over to the window and cracked the curtains to let in a little sunlight. "Well, I'm going back to the ICU. Everyone wanted an update on you, Bucky and the baby. Natasha said she was going to come up soon. Thor said to welcome Baby Barnes into a wonderful family." Steve gave Darcy a quick hug, smiled at Bucky, then turned and left.
Leaning back against the pillows, Darcy thought of how loved she felt living with the Avengers and their crew. She always knew there was someone there to talk to and to bake for. Grabbing Bucky's hand she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
When she woke up, Bucky was sitting in the chair rocking James. Cooing down at the baby, Bucky was talking about how he was going to have a good life because he had an amazing mother and family. Not wanting to break the sweet moment, Darcy just watched them.
~~~~~ Time Pass ~~~~~
A few weeks later, as Darcy and Bucky were finally settling into life with a newborn, Jane was able to come home.
Walking into the Avengers tower with James in her arms and Bucky at her side, Darcy knew that she was home. She felt secure. Knowing that Bucky would always be there for her and the Avengers to support them, she was able to sleep peacefully and not worry. Receiving a multitude of gifts from the staff, her favorites had been from the Avengers themselves.
Stark had designed a crib for James that had its own personalized Iron Man mobile and bedding with little depictions of the Avengers designed on it. Bruce had given James his own little Hulk gloves, while Natasha gave him a baby book of Russian words with the English translation. Hawkeye had, of course, given him a mini bow and arrow, and Steve, ever the sweetheart, game him his first blanket. In the corner of the blanket it had James's birthday with a tiny Captain America shield with Bucky and Darcy's initials framing it.
The day Jane got home, Darcy planned a big surprise/ welcome home party. When Jane was pushed in by Thor, she still wasn't allowed to walk yet even with the help of crutches, she almost began to cry. Receiving a big hug from Darcy, Jane was finally able to hold James without nurses losing their minds.
Glancing around the room, Darcy knew that there was no other place she would rather be then where she was now.