Chapter Nine

Bucky took a breath and looked down at her. That was who she looked like, Maria Stark, it was so obvious, now that he knew. The truth hung over him like a weight that threatened to choke him.

She waited, she wanted to help him, she was willing to help him… but she didn't know the truth, she didn't know all the things he had done. But maybe, if she could help him…. he could put back what he had broken….

She watched him closely, not letting him go. It was unsettling having her touch him, but at the same time it made him realise just how long it had been since he had had another person touch him, other than in combat.

"Bucky," She said his name and it was like a balm. It soothed him, he closed his eyes, continuing to breath deeply, he let his hands drop from his hair. On their way down his finger tips brushed against her upper arms and it made his breath catch in his throat. "Bucky," She didn't even notice the brief contact, "Sometimes, we don't get to choose who hands us our redemption, we just get to choose what to do with it."

Slowly he opened his eyes, to see her still looking up at him. Slowly he nodded. She just waited patiently, looking expectantly up at him, it wasn't until she raised her right eyebrow at him that he realized she was waiting for him to verbally agree as well, "Ok, ok."

A brilliant smile lit up her face, "Good," instead of letting him go completely Madeline let her hands slowly drop to his shoulders. "Alright, so let's get started with a quick MRI, just got the new machine last week." She turned, eventually letting go of him, which felt like stepping out into the cold to him. But he couldn't help but be distracted by her enthusiasm. She stopped at her desk and picked up the files she had picked out of her desk. "Kay, so I will grab you a pair of scrubs to change into. Be careful to remove any jewellery or metal on your person."

"Oh," He found himself saying.

Madeline looked over her shoulder at him, "What's wrong?"

"You can't have metal in this machine you want to put me in?"

Madeline smiled, "No, why, you got some weird piercing or something?" Bucky glared at her, she cleared her throat, "Sorry, I make awkward jokes sometimes, its like a tick. Um, to answer you question, no you can't have metal in an MRI, it's basically a big magnet, soon as I flip that switch boom,"

"We can't do that then," He said, without elaborating he shrugged off his jacket, and then proceeded to pull his shirt off over his head.

Madeline became momentarily distracted by the sheer...beauty of his body. It was quite magnificent, however she was instantly distracted by the gleam the appeared on his shoulder then down his arm. Until he stood shirtless exposing his left arm which was completely metal.

"Holy god," Madeline said dropping her file back on her desk and crossing the office, her eyes fixed on his arm. Bucky watched her as her brow furrowed in concentration as she inspected his limb. Her fingers brushed against the seam that ran along his collar bone where his flesh met metal. Her touch sent shivers down his spine, making him stand up straighter and take a deep breath. She looked up at him, "Does that hurt,"

He shook his head, pursing his lips, "It only hurts if its broken."

"Right," She said looking back at the arm, she glanced at the red star on the shoulder before moving down to inspect the rest of the limb, 'Unbelievable, it's completely biometric... do you know if its Vibranium or Adamantium?"

He shrugged, "I dunno, I think Vibranium."

"Ok...ok, so no MRI then." She didn't take her eyes off his arm, "Not a big deal, I can work with a CAT scan... possibly try contrast." She walked over to her closet. She opened it and grabbed some pants out of it. She tossed the slacks at Bucky who caught them with his metal arm. She chuckled, "Amazing," She rolled her eyes. He looked at the scrubs in his hand and then back up at her with an eyebrow raised, "Oh, don't worry they are mens. You can't wear your jeans in my CAT scan machine. Don't want any scratches. Change and then meet me out front." With that she smiled and walked by him out the door patting his arm on the way out. Bucky stood looking at the door for a few seconds wondering just what he had gotten himself into.