It was dark in the room. The only sound was the faint noises coming from the streets outside below the tower. It was late, at least one in the morning. Bucky had just gotten back from a mission earlier that day and he was exhausted. He couldn't wait to sleep. He had finally gotten Tracey to get off her computer and go to sleep. He never understood how she could stay up so late and get very little sleep for days on end. Climbing into bed he pulled the blankets up, wrapping him and Tracey in it. He pulled his wife closer to him, smiling contently as he laid his head against his pillow. He was relieved to finally get some sleep. Closing his eyes, he finally fell asleep.

But no sooner did he close his eyes he heard the door to their room creak open. The sound of feet shuffling across the carpet caught his ears. He sat up, scanning the pitch black room for the intruder. He narrowed his eyes when he heard the footsteps get closer. He made a move to swing a fist only to freeze before he could. He heard a tiny voice in the darkness.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Bucky sighed in relief. He turned on the bedside lamp and saw Annabeth standing a few feet from the bed, wearing her Rapunzel nightgown and clutching her Bucky Bear in her tiny hands. He smiled to himself at the sight of her favorite stuffed animal being one based on him. Her face was filled with fear and there were unshed tears in her eyes.

Her dad sat on the edge of the bed, holding his arms out. She scurried over as fast as her little legs let her and buried her face in her dad's stomach.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here," he soothed as he lifted her up onto his lap. He looked behind him at Tracey. She was still asleep. Good. He'd take care of Annabeth tonight. He turned back to his four year old daughter and began rubbing circles on her back. "What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare," Annabeth sniffed.

"Aw baby girl, it's okay," Bucky said. He wiped her eyes. "It's okay. It was only a dream."

"But there were monsters," she sobbed. "They were chasing me and and and I think one is under my bed."

Bucky held back a chuckle and smiled at her. "Come on," he said, standing up with her still in his arms. "Let's go take care of that monster. I'll scare him away."

"Like you do with your bad guys?" Annabeth asked, gripping her bear.

Bucky chuckled. "Yes, like my bad guys," he answered, kissing the top of her head. "Alright," he said, opening the door. He felt Annabeth cowering into his chest once he stepped in. He kissed her head again and held her tightly. "Where's the monster again? He can't hide from me."

Annabeth giggled and pointed to her bed. "Under there."

Bucky placed her on her bed before he got on his hands and knees. He lifted the bed skirt and peered under. Annabeth moved to the edge of the bed and poked her nose over it. She held her breath as she waited for something to happen.

"Well," Bucky said, sitting up and looking at his daughter. He smiled as she stared wide eyed at him. "There's no monster, but," he held up a stuffed minion, "I found this little guy."

"Kevin!" Annabeth exclaimed, taking the yellow cartoon character in her hands. She held him to her along with her Bucky Bear.

Bucky smiled and laughed. "See, no monster. He probably heard me coming and ran away," he said, tickling his little girl making her squeal with giggles.

Annabeth smiled up at her dad. "Thank you, Daddy," she said, hugging his neck.

The super soldier smiled and wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her to him. "No problem, sweetheart." He stood up and laid her down on her bed. "Goodnight, Annabeth," he said, kissing her head and tucking the blankets around her.

"Daddy, no!" she shouted.

Bucky turned around quickly, surprised by the exclamation. His face softened when he saw Annabeth's terrified face. "Baby girl, everything is alright. There's no monsters." He wiped her eyes when he saw tears forming in them again. "Don't cry. Everything is going to be okay."

"Don't go, Daddy," the little girl sniffed. "Can you stay with me?'

Her dad smiled down at her. "Alright," he said. He chuckled when she smiled widely and moved over. He shook his head and picked her up. "I don't think I can fit on the bed with you next to me. I'm too big," he said, laying down, holding her to his chest.

"You're a giant, Daddy!" Annabeth exclaimed, holding her arms out wide.

"Yeah, I'm a giant," he said as she laid on his chest. He kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Annabeth."

"Goodnight, Daddy," she said. She kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby girl." Bucky smiled down at his little girl as she slowly fell asleep. He rubbed her back as his eyes began to droop.

ooOOoo

The bed was cold. It was uncomfortable. Tracey groaned as she stirred, slowly waking up. She grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to her chin. She rolled onto her side and reached an arm out, but grabbed air. Sitting up, she blinked through the sleep and found that Bucky wasn't in bed.

She yawned as she walked down the hall, expecting to find him in the kitchen. However, he wasn't. She didn't make it to the kitchen when she stopped in front of Annabeth's bedroom. The door was open, when she usually kept it closed. Taking a peek in her face broke out into a smile. Laying on the bed was Bucky with his right arm laying across Annabeth as she laid on his chest, fast asleep. Bucky's metal arm was hanging off the edge of the bed along with his left leg.

Tracey let out a giggle and clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw Bucky stir. "Good morning, Sergeant."

Bucky peeked an eye open and smiled when it landed on his wife. "Good morning, doll."

Tracey walked over and placed a kiss on her husband's cheek. "Did you have an eventful night?" she asked, kneeling down next to the bed as she ran a hand through her daughter's hair.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled, rubbing their little girl's back. He kissed Annabeth's head before kissing his wife. "I scared away some monsters."

"Well aren't you a hero," Tracey laughed. She kissed him again and kissed Annabeth's head. "I'll go make you some coffee while you wait for her to wake up."

"Thanks, Trace," he said, smiling as she left.

He looked down at Annabeth. She was still fast asleep and still holding her stuffed animals. He ran his hand over her head and placed a kiss on top.

"Daddy loves you, no matter what, Annabeth."

Just a little oneshot I had in mind. I hope you liked it.

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