Chapter 3: In Sickness & in Health
The visits between Winter and Anya had become very frequent over the past few months since meeting at the lake that one day, and the relationship was growing stronger day by day. Every few times before going into stasis treatment, Winter would make some excuse with a threat before going off into the woods to see Anya, whether it was just to talk or find out more about her. In return, Anya would supply him with answers as well as more questions for Winter and more information to learn about Winter. It seemed as though their relationship could strengthen because of their complete trust in each other and on one particular occasion, it did.
Anya was traveling through the woods alone, carrying around a small hand-gun and switchblade (the blade being a special souvenir and gift for Anya from Winter's last 'trip') on a belt around her waist. Her wavy hair was down today and she was wearing simple clothing articles just like the ones she wore when she and Winter first met; she even had Vixie by her side. She looked absolutely radiant and somewhat 'innocent' today until she heard a sound behind her. She became like a cold assassin, her eyes gazing with a death stare as she became more alert in her ivory, frigid surroundings. Anya pulled out her gun while Vixie reared up and growled as they both darted their eyes around. As soon as Vixie caught a whiff of something and saw it out of the corner of her eye, giving a snarl, Anya pulled the trigger, producing a loud bang in the canvas of white snow and 'Christmas' trees. Something fell as blood pooled around the collapsed object. It was a man in dark black clothing with a standard rifle, dark hair, and dark eyes. He was now dead in the snow. Anya looked at the figure in disgust before she spit on him and took his loaded rifle from him. She threw the strap of the rifle over her shoulder and held up her own hand-gun, ready to attack, as she snapped, "I know you're here and I'm not scared of you bastards! Show me what you got so I can send it right back at you tenfold!"
Four more men appeared from behind some bushes as one of them, possibly their ring leader, replied in Russian first then in English, "Come with us willingly to meet master or die in cold, wench!" Anya looked at the men in scorn even though she was inwardly afraid of the men. She knew what they were capable of, but she still held her ground. She waited for an opening to escape before she shot at a glacier on a tree that was hanging over the ring leader's head like a chandelier with her gun, causing it to impale him in the shoulder and render one of his arms useless for shooting a gun. At the same time, Anya swiped her hand forward to make the other men trip over the snow using telekinesis before she took off running while the ring leader, with his red face of livid anger and frustration, shouted, "Получить ее!(Get her!)"
The hunt for the spicy vixen girl began as the men with rifles chased Anya. Her copper red hair and clothes swayed in the frigid, biting air while she sprinted like a vampire from Twilight. No one except a super soldier could run as swiftly as the Russian because Anya ran with the agility and speed of one WITHOUT getting tired. Frighteningly loud gunshots were heard from all angles in the frosted forest as blood splattered like red paint being thrown all around a white room and four figures, no make that three now, ran through the woods. Anya ran with every ounce of speed she had, heart racing with fear and adrenaline, as Vixie followed swiftly from behind, occasionally taking a chomp out of the men to protect Anya from the barrage of gunshots as they flew like super-sonic raindrops past her petite body.
Anya ran so fast that she was well ahead of the men as they pursued her vixen form. Now, Anya had shot down and killed three of the five men that started out in Moscow, and this only made the ring leader livid. Once agitated, the ring leader took a hand-gun from his violent arsenal and fired at Anya as she tried to skid to a stop and turn around to jump to a nearby ledge so the men wouldn't follow her back to her cottage. As she skidded and turned, the bullet that was launched by the ring leader may have missed its mark by not piercing Anya's internal organs, but it did side-swipe her with enough fierce to knock her off the small ledge and into the icy waters below. Vixie followed after her master just as one of the survivors aimed the gun at the water. The ring leader lowered the arm of his subordinate and scoffed, "She'll die in water. Let's leave her to rot in ice of Moscow. Master said 'have her dead or alive.' She chose death, so be it." The subordinate lowered the gun before he and the ring leader headed back to their base.
Meanwhile, Vixie helped get Anya to shore by dragging Anya by the collar of her clothing with her pearly, razor teeth and doggy-paddling across the 'needle-sharp' waters of Moscow. As soon as Anya was ashore, she caught her breath by coughing up water before securing her knife and gun on her belt and wrapping her clothing more tightly around herself to keep warm. As cold, tired, and shivering as she was, Anya still trekked back to her cottage, making sure she wasn't being followed until she felt a sudden pain in her head. She didn't know what it was but it felt like her equilibrium was out of whack as she swayed like a palm tree during a hurricane. Vixie gazed at Anya in concern until Anya began to clutch her head and collapse. This caused Vixie to attempt to catch Anya, which it succeeded, before the girl's head hit the snowy ground. Although this cushioned Anya's fall, it wouldn't stop the frigid air from hitting her petite body, so Vixie stayed by her master to keep her warm until help, if any at all, arrived.
Winter had just returned from yet a successful mission and was just heading back when Anya came into his mind. He hadn't seen her in a while and desperately wanted to see her, hold her vixen body, again. He had traveled overseas for his latest mission, which took two months instead of the usual three days, and he knew she'd want to hear all the details as well as know he was okay. Once Anya came to mind, someone called him through an earpiece as they said on the other end, "Winter Soldier, this is Commander. Come in, Winter Soldier!"
"This is Winter Soldier. Come in, Commander!"
"You heading back to the base? It's time for your treatment…"
"I was, but I-"
"But, what?! That's not an answer! Don't tell me you're going turncoat on us or else, I'll-"
"You'll shoot me and throw my dead carcass into the river. I know already…Look, I have things to do, Commander."
"What could possibly be more important than this group? After everything I've done for you, you're gonna do THIS to me!?"
Winter wanted to say Anya, but that would put them both in danger and/or get them both in trouble, and he didn't want to risk that so he came up with yet another excuse, "I know, Master, and I'm grateful to you, but I have something to do…Just give me four days and delay my treatment."
"Two days! Quit stalling!"
"Okay, I'll be blunt yet generous…Three days, no more no less! My final offer…Going once, going twice-"
"Arghh! Fine…Since I'm so 'kind' as you say, I'll give you three days, only three, Winter Soldier, and then that's it!"
"Thanks, Sir."
"Oh, and if you're hiding something from me, I suggest you spill or else I'll gladly take it away from you…Are you lying about the need for three days?"
"…Now, why would I do that, Master?" Winter smirked on his end as his Master huffed before hanging up on his end of the call, "Three days, Winter Soldier! Commander, out!"
Winter gladly hung up, smirking at how easily he tricked his master and colleagues into thinking there were actually 'intruders' when the only intruders were a vixen and her master. He thought more about Anya as he followed her rose scent.
However, his heightened senses gave off the scent of blood mixed with the roses and this caused him to worry. Sure, he had smelled blood before, but it was mixed with Anya's scent, so he began to fear the worst. In all honesty, the Winter Soldier began to panic. But he had to use his assassin's instinct and find his friend as he pulled himself together to find out what happened to Anya. He reached the lake and saw small droplets of blood upon the ivory, icy blanket, following them in a line as he made his way to the path that he remembered was the way to Anya's house. As soon as he neared closer to the trail, he noticed a fox's head curled up beside a gloved, human hand and thought nothing of it until he recognized the fox to be Vixie. He ran towards Vixie as she smelled and recognized his scent before she dragged him towards an unconscious Anya by clutching the ankle of his black pants with her teeth.
Winter strapped his gun to the back of his black leather uniform as he quickly knelt beside Anya's sprawled-out form and clutched her crumpled body to his warm, muscular chest. He called out her name as he shook and tapped her lightly, hot tears threatening to spill out of his sapphire eyes, even though it was against his nature to show emotion to anyone except Anya. His face contorted into a face full of fear as he shouted, "Anya, what have you done now?…Please wake up! Wake up!"
Anya (also known as Anneliese) only moved her head side-to-side and breathed lightly as her heart beat normally when her hypothermia melted away from being exposed to Winter's warm chest. But she never opened her eyes. Winter feared for her safety and his fear increased tenfold when he saw the blood spilling out of her side. It wasn't big or as bad as a knife gash, but if she lost too much blood, she'd die. As quickly and gently as possible, he grabbed some gauze from her satchel and carefully wrapped her wound until he reached her house. He took out her house key and gave it to Vixie while he picked the Russian dame up bridal-style and carried her back to the house. He had to hurry before she froze to death or bled out too much. Once he got to the front door of the cottage, Winter let Anya lean against his supporting shoulders as he opened the door to let Vixie inside first before setting the girl down on the couch gently.
Winter closed and locked Anya's door tightly and slipped the key back into her satchel before deciding how to prevent her from getting sick from the hypothermia and frigid air of winter. 'I just couldn't take off her clothes,' he thought to himself, 'She'll think I did something to her and never trust me again…' That's when an idea hit him! Winter did manage to take off Anya's boots, gloves, jacket, and scarf so he could hang them on her coat hanger. He didn't think that she would mind if the more constricting clothing was off! Winter then placed a pillow underneath Anya's delicate head and grabbed a nearby blanket to tuck her in as he placed her body beside the fire to warm her body up and dry off her soaking clothes. But not before he healed her wound and bandaged it up.
After cleaning up and bandaging the bullet wound, which Winter correctly and intelligently identified as a bullet wound, Winter stroked Anya's delicate face with his un-gloved hand and felt its silky smoothness as he thought to himself, 'Was she hurt by those men that she warned me about? Why didn't you call for me, Anya? I could've saved you…If they do come back, I'll make sure they suffer for hurting you…' Anya just nuzzled silently against Winter's touch as he stroked her hair and patted her forehead, only to feel it had become very warm as he gasped, "Oh, god! You're burning up!"
As quickly as he could, he filled up a bucket full of cold water and grabbed at least two or three rags before sitting down beside Anya. He dipped one of the rags into the frigid liquid and wrung out the cloth before folding it and placing it upon Anya's forehead. He quickly placed his frigid bionic hand upon her forehead as well to ease the young woman's pain and rising fever.
Although he was afraid of being seen as weak by showing someone mercy or solace, Winter couldn't bear to see Anya in pain even though he didn't know why he felt this way. There was just something about Anya that made him…care. Whenever Anya was hurt or upset, Winter felt it was his 'mission' to protect the girl from harm. It was almost like someone was ripping at his heart strings and making him feel whenever he was around Anya, even if that emotion was wanting to cry or comfort the girl. Never in his life had he shown anyone gentleness or kindness since becoming the Winter Soldier, and yet when he saw Anya, a beautiful, innocent young woman, hurt, he just couldn't bear it for some odd reason.
Winter continued to watch over Anya, replacing her rags and bandages whenever it was beneficial to her while he fixed some broth on her stove. Winter poured some water into a pot and boiled the concoction as he cut up some vegetables and raced thoughts around in his feeble mind, 'She won't mind if I use her supplies to make her something to eat…She won't feel like herself and may be hungry once she wakes up…I may not be a professional chef, but I can still manage a simple broth.'
After a while, Winter finally finished the broth and placed it near the fire burning in the fireplace while he sat down beside Anya. He sat near Anya's head as he grabbed the fire poker from the side of her mantelpiece, re-kindling the fire and wetting the cold rag again. Vixie curled up next to Anya's waist, making it easy for Winter to smile under his mask and pet the red creature as he muttered, "Well, Master gave me three days, so I should try to get Anya healed as soon as possible and coax her to stay inside…I swear, if I find those cursed men, I'll drag them across the ground by their scrawny necks and throw their carcass bodies in the river to drown!"
As soon as Winter finished voicing his 'concerns' aloud, Anya began to awaken as her bright blue eyes darted around the house. She rubbed her sleep-covered eyes and felt the cold, wet rag on her head until she saw Winter, causing her to reach for him as she smiled, "Winter! It's so glad to see-ahh!" She winced as the skin of her minor wound stretched to its fullest and her bandages tightened around her, causing Winter to place her down slowly as he rebuked her, "Careful! You'll make it worse if you try to move…Just lay back down and rest. If you need help getting up, then I'll help you."
"Okay…Did you save me?"
"I found you passed out on the path. You were only a couple steps away from the front door…If I hadn't have found you, you'd be dead."
"Thank you, Winter…" Anya grinned as she thanked Winter with a slightly hoarse voice while she reached out to stroke Winter's face and hair. Winter loved the feeling of Anya's hands on his face and ends of his dark brown hair, and Anya liked the way Winter stroked her crimson hair and face too. Anya was the only person that showed Winter any kind of gentle affection or unconditional kindness, so it was only natural for him to quickly grow attached to her. The feeling of the other's fingers lazily stroking their skin or hair was relaxing, like a spa massage. Winter grasped the girl's hand close to his face with his bionic digits, stroking her fingers gently, before he suggested with a Cheshire grin, "You must be hungry…How would you like some food?"
"That would be nice. Thank you." Anya replied as she let go of Winter to allow him to fix her a bowl of the broth. Winter and Anya ate in peace together, talking every now and then to avoid awkward silence. Winter told her more about his master and the deal they made that day. He also told her about all the places he visited. Just hearing about Winter's adventures made Anya want to travel with her new friend too so she could see all those exotic landmarks. To be honest, Anya was happy to have Winter all to herself for three days, but she knew that he'd go away on another mission before she saw him again. She just prayed that he'd stay out of trouble and come home safely. She didn't know what she'd do without her friend, and she didn't know what she'd do if she lost him. No one would cry for him if he died, but Anya figured she would. It was just in her human nature to feel compassion for others, even if she forgot about her own well-being sometimes.
The couple ate together until both of them became full. Winter offered to clean up, but Anya insisted that he just put the dishes in the sink so she could clean them once she was better. After all, she would only have him for three days and she wanted to spend as much time with him as humanly possible before he went away again. Winter figured that was the reasoning for Anya's request as he did as he was told. He hurried to sit back down in his usual spot next to Anya, watching over the spicy woman until she broke out into a fit of coughs. The motion was causing Anya's body to lurch back and forth, which frightened Winter a little as he steadied her to prevent her bullet wound from getting worse. Winter was also worried and surprised because Anya was coughing so loud with so much force that it was a wonder she wasn't hacking up blood. Winter lowered his female best friend back down to the floor again in a resting position on her back as he questioned, "Are you all right?"
"…Y-Yeah, I'm fine…Just a cough, that's all." Anya hoarsely rasped before she snapped back up into a sitting position to burst out into another fit of coughs, which were louder and more nerve-racking than the last hacking episode. Winter searched desperately for something, anything, to cure her of her coughs as he went to her kitchen and asked, "Do you keep medicine in the house?"
"…Yes, in that cabinet over there." Anya pointed weakly as she collapsed to the blankets. Anya's head felt like it had taken a spin in a tornado as Anya wobbled and tried to steady herself into a sitting position. The worried look on Winter's face and the scared gleam in his silver-blue eyes weren't helping Anya's condition either as he pointed to each cabinet. His cluelessness was annoying Anya as she rolled her eyes and huffed, "Oh, let me up so I can show you where it is-ahh!" Anya had pushed her wound too far as she winced and held the bandages tightly, cursing in her pretty little head, as Winter shook his head. Winter knew his friend was strong, but he knew that she was hurt and ill as he scolded her to rest, "Stay where you are! I'll get it, Anya." Anya just rolled her eyes like a defiant child and laid back down. All she could from this position was point again and give better directions to her friend, "It's the cabinet on the far left."
Winter opened the cabinet and looked at each bottle, finding each multi-colored glass container labeled as he muttered to himself, "Let's see, she has a cough, fever, and any minute now, she'll feel cold…Common cold."
"Look for the blue bottle with the silver cap, then please hand it to me." Anya requested across the room, causing Winter to wonder if she had heightened senses or "supernatural" hearing.
Winter found said bottle and grabbed a spoon from a drawer as he poured the ebony molasses onto the said spoon. He then handed Anya some clean water to wash down the terrible medicine after she ingested the syrupy concoction, causing the girl to wince in disgust at the bitter taste. Winter felt bad, he knew what it was like to taste something bitter or go through a painful procedure, but it had to be done if Anya was gonna get any better. After Anya had eaten and taken the medicine, Winter tucked her back under the blankets and smiled under his mask as he stroked her hair and face.
Anya clutched Winter's jaw lovingly in her fetal position until she coughed up a storm again and wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered from the cold heavily. Winter found and grabbed a couple more blankets so he could throw them over the girl to keep her warm while she clutched the comforting cotton to her body. Vixie curled up closer to her master to block out the cold while Winter hurried to re-kindle the fire again. Anya clutched her head as her body trembled while she repeated a Russian phrase over and over again in a solemn, innocent whisper, "Мне очень жаль."
Winter finished tending to the fire as he snapped his head to gaze at his new friend, staring at HIS Anya in concern as he questioned her gently in a tone that suggested he didn't hear what she had said, "What did you just say?"
"…Мне очень жаль…Мне очень жаль.. (I'm sorry…I'm so sorry.)" Anya replied in a trembling voice that sounded hoarse and broken from coughing. It seemed strange for Anya to be clutching her head, since she just took medicine, but it only took a moment for Winter to realize that a new scent was in the air: Salt. Anya was crying.
Winter had heard his friend right and seen her reaction, but he didn't know how to react at all. When someone was in pain or crying, Winter just left them there to sort themselves out or die. However, this was different because Anya was different. Her cries showed deep solemnity and sadness and she felt regret for something so minute and that wasn't her fault. It was almost as if she were taking the blame for something so innocent as getting sick, and 'those men' had caused her to be this way. Those hunters had hurt her. Winter cursed to himself that he didn't protect her like he promised and that he'd kill those 'паразиты мразь'(vermin scum) if he ever saw Anya hurt again or if he crossed paths with them.
As gently as possible, Winter neared closer to Anya as he stroked her hair to calm her, "Hey, hey, hey…Anya, why are you crying? What's wrong?"
"Мне очень жаль…"
"Stop saying you're sorry and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You've done nothing wrong."
"I'm sorry…You should be with your master and your comrades. You should be happy, not worried sick taking care of me…I'm so sorry, Winter."
Winter's eyes bulged as he shook his head. He couldn't believe Anya would even think that as he responded, "No, don't you talk like that. Don't ever think that unless I say otherwise. YOU are my true friend because you care for me not because you have to but because you want to. I WANT to take care of you, just as you've taken care of me."
"Really? You're not mad at me?"
"No, it's not your fault. Your pursuers did this to you. It's a fact of life: People get sick. All you can do is suck it up and deal with it by taking care of them."
"This is so unlike you, but I really appreciate it…Thanks. You always know what to say."
"You're welcome, but please dry your tears. Tears shouldn't stain a beautiful face like this, and besides, I hate to hear someone crying."
"Aww, you do care."
"Hmm, maybe…It's getting late, so try to get some sleep."
"Will you stay with me?"
"I'll stay for all three days until you're better. I'd stay as long as you're still living and as long as my master stays oblivious to our meetings."
"Thanks…" Anya replied as Winter laid down behind the girl and pulled her onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as he lazily stroked her hair with a soft, almost seductive whisper, "To keep you warm…" Anya looked up at Winter with her innocent sapphire orbs and clutched his uniform in her tiny palms as she relaxed against him. Winter wrapped his arms around Anya and continued to stroke her hair until Anya giggled like a flirtatious school girl, causing Winter to perk up an eyebrow as he asked, "What? What's so funny?"
"Oh, it's nothing. It's stupid, actually." Anya shrugged her thoughts off as Winter looked down at her, "No. Anya, what is it? You can tell me."
"You're just…You're so warm I almost thought you were a furnace."
Winter couldn't do anything but laugh at Anya's statement. He tried to stifle a laugh but could only manage a grin from under his mask. He smirked with a pun intended as he looked down at Anya, "Well, guys like me are just naturally hot, right?" Winter laughed at his own statement while Anya giggled again before she got the message and relaxed against Winter. She yawned sweetly and curled herself into Winter for warmth before quickly falling asleep. While Anya laid in his arms dozing, Winter stroked the silky, red hair of the Russian vixen before he readjusted himself and gave into his fatigue. He held onto Anya, his Anya, for dear life as if his life depended upon it. He hadn't been there for her today, but Winter vowed that he would never fail Anya again. If anyone ever hurt his friend again, he would kill them without hesitation, even if it broke every one of the Ten Commandments. That was a promise he made to himself and to Anya. He just wanted to please Anya. He wanted to keep her warm, keep her safe and sound so that way, he would never break his promise to her ever again.