Disclaimer: Just for fun, not for profit. Bucky Barnes is property of Marvel. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Day 60

Some days, the unit felt more constricting than others. Bucky paced along the hallway as the other patients slowly awakened and got up to break their fast. His belly was already as full as it was going to be. Depending on who was working, he sometimes was able to get them to give him some of the leftovers after everyone had eaten. Sarah was in the kitchen this morning handing out the food, so the outlook was promising.

Weeks ago, he had started walking the unit because his body had demanded that he move, even though he had nowhere to go. That internal restlessness had eased. He wasn't certain if that was due to medications, increasing familiarity with his surroundings, progress in therapy, or some other factor he wasn't aware of. It still felt good to stretch his legs. More than that, he liked to get the lay of the land for the day – see which staff were working, get a feel for how the other patients were that day, try to spot anything out of the ordinary on the unit. His was not the same frenetic, frantic pacing of Dominic; not the slow, distracted ambling of some of the other peers, strolling along with headphones in their ears. His strides were purposeful and even. Forty paces from the end of the hall to the nurses station. Thirty-five paces to the end of the hall past the station. Forty-five paces to the end of the hall down the middle, then back to the nurses station again.

"On patrol again, Bucky?" Tim's voice was still husky from sleep, but he grinned at Bucky as he rubbed his eyes. Bucky's mouth twitched at the corners. He hadn't been thinking of it that way, but now that the other man mentioned it, this did feel kind of like a patrol. He tossed off a tongue-in-cheek salute to Tim, who snorted and wandered into the dayroom for something to eat. Bucky continued on his morning rounds. As he passed Colin's room, the door opened, and Colin abruptly emerged. He brushed by Bucky abruptly, his shoulder colliding against Bucky's metal one. Bucky let the momentum carry him back a step.

"Watch it," Colin growled over his shoulder at him. Bucky rolled his eyes and shook his head, reminding himself that he wasn't there to fight. He turned down the next hallway and stopped short as another door opened and Anna came out of her room, Celie trailing close behind her.

"G'morning, Bucky," Celie yawned, wiggling her fingers at him in greeting.

"Morning, Celie, Anna," he responded, continuing on his way. Dominic exited his room across the hall from Bucky, his eyes darting wildly around before focusing on the empty air ahead of him. He shook his head and looked over towards Bucky, nodding in greeting before taking off on his own morning route. He passed more peers coming out of their rooms before he finished his circuit. Most of them waved, said good morning, or otherwise acknowledged him. His strides got a little longer. The metallic rattle that announced that the med window was open, so he paused there to get his little cup of pills.

"James Buchanan Barnes, March tenth, 1917," he recited softly. Samantha nodded and pushed a small, clear plastic cup through the slot in the bottom of the window. Three little yellow pills rattled in the bottom of the cup. He picked them up and tossed them back, washing them down with a dixie cup of water that she also offered him. This time, he did not stop to contemplate the pharmaceuticals or what taking them meant about what his life had become. That had been on his mind for the first few weeks, but now it had become somewhat automatic. He glanced around the unit one more time. Satisfied that nothing was amiss this morning, he ventured back into the dayroom, stopping by the breakfast cart. Sarah grinned at him.

"Any extra leftovers?" he inquired hopefully. She looked scandalized.

"You've already had twice what I'm supposed to let you have," she pointed out. He shrugged.

"Not my fault I have an artificially accelerated metabolism," he argued reasonably. Sarah sighed and shook her head at him.

"The hard-boiled eggs aren't very popular today," she relented, handing him a plate with three of them. He flashed her a grin as he took the food and settled into his customary seat, in the corner with his back to the wall so he could watch both the windows and the doorway at the same time. It also gave him a decent view of the television. Good Morning America was on, with the anchors chatting cheerfully about the festivities in store. Someone mentioned parades and fireworks, and Bucky stiffened slightly. It was easy to lose track of time in this place, and he had forgotten that it was the fourth of July.

"And after the commercial break, we will be joined by a special guest, so stick around," the blond anchorwoman announced. Bucky was distracted for a moment as Anna put her breakfast tray away, then came and sat down next to him. She smiled shyly at him.

"Good morning, Bucky" she said softly. "I forgot to say it earlier, and then you were gone."

"Sorry," Bucky replied. He smiled at her encouragingly. He was a little surprised that she knew his name. She hadn't really said anything to him outside of groups. "I guess I am fast."

"Very fast," she agreed. A commercial came on for hot dogs, and Anna leaned forward. "Too bad we're stuck in here. We usually go see the 4th of July hot dog eating contest. My brother has been in it the last three years. Last year, he came in third. I'll have to miss it this year."

"Hot dog eating contest?" Bucky repeated blankly. She gave him a funny look.

"How do you not know Nathan's 4th of July hot dog eating contest?" she asked. "They have it on Coney Island. It's been going on since 1916." Bucky's eyes widened slightly as he slowly shook his head.

"No, I don't think so," he contradicted her. "It wasn't around in the twenties or thirties." She frowned at him.

"Well, that's what they say." She stared off into space for a few moments. Bucky wondered if she was seeing something he wasn't as she focused on the air before her. "I'll have to call him later and see how he did this year." She leaned forward and squinted at the television. "Hey, isn't that the guy who visits you?" Bucky glanced back at the television and his eyes widened.

"Welcome back to a special July 4th edition of Good Morning America!" the blonde anchorwoman announced. "And who better to celebrate America's birthday with us than Captain America himself, Steve Rogers?" The camera panned over the cheering, screaming crowd, then finally settled on the familiar, large desk. Steve was sitting in one of the seats, next to the blonde woman, his hands cupped around the mug in front of him as if he couldn't decide where else to put them. "Steve, thanks for joining us today."

"It's a pleasure to be here, Stacia," Steve replied. "You know, it's my birthday, too." Stacia blinked at him, surprise on her face shifting to realization.

"Oh, that's right! It must be fun to always get to have fireworks on your birthday," she remarked. She leaned slightly closer to him, swishing her long blonde hair over one shoulder. Steve smiled slightly, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he looked down at the table. Bucky smirked to himself. Even as a tall, blond Adonis, Steve was still awkward around beautiful women, even when they were trying to flirt with him. Especially when they were trying to flirt with him.

"It was a lot of fun when I was a kid," he agreed. She flashed him a dazzling smile and rested her chin in one hand, her elbow propped on the table in front of her.

"So, do you have any 4th of July slash birthday traditions?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Well, the parades were always fun," Steve answered, glancing around at the other co-hosts. "But my favorite part was probably after dark. My best friend and I had a… particular spot we would go to watch fireworks. We would bring food and a blanket, have a picnic, and you could see three different fireworks displays from that rooftop." Steve's expression had softened in nostalgia, and a slow grin spread across Bucky's face as he, too, recalled those spectacular nights.

"You didn't fire off any fireworks of your own?" Todd, the anchor to Steve's left asked. Steve turned towards him with a self-deprecating grin.

"No. My buddy always said I was short enough without blowing my foot off." Bucky chuckled to himself, then noticed that Anna was watching him with wide eyes.

"Is he talking about you?" she asked. Bucky shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe," he hedged. Anna didn't look convinced. Bucky folded his arms over his chest and tried to maintain a neutral expression for the remainder of the interview, but the smile kept creeping across his face.

He was still in a good mood several hours later, when Tammy knocked on his door and stuck her head into his room.

"Bucky, you have a visitor," she announced. He frowned in confusion.

"I thought visiting hours weren't until evening," he recalled.

"We have extended hours today because of the holiday," she explained. "Your visitor is in the lounge at the end of the hall."

"Who is it?" Bucky asked. He never expected anyone other than Steve, but since he had been interviewed live on national television just a few hours ago, he wasn't expecting him at the moment, either. Tammy shrugged.

"I didn't recognize her, and she didn't volunteer her name," the aide explained. Bucky frowned, trying to remember if Tammy had been working when Natasha came to visit. Warily, he walked down the hallway to the visitor's lounge. He did not recognize the woman sitting in the chair waiting for him. Her dark hair was pulled back in a chignon, and she was dressed in business attire; more formal than he had grown used to seeing. He almost turned around and went back to his room, but he wanted to know who she was. She looked up as he entered the room. Her face brightened, and she extended her hand to him.

"Mr. Barnes, Virginia Porter. We spoke on the phone. Thank you so much for meeting with me," she said cheerfully. Bucky stared at her extended hand as if it were infected, then shifted his glare to her face.

"I didn't agree to this," he growled. Virginia pulled back the snubbed hand, using it to pat a stray hair back as if that had been her plan all along.

"That is technically true," she agreed. "And you're a difficult man to get in to see. But I wanted to give you one last chance to add your perspective to the story. What do you want America to know about you?" Bucky tensed.

"Look, I just want to be left alone," he grated through clenched teeth. "This is a place for people to recover in peace, not to have the press violating their privacy." She leveled a knowing look at him.

"Is that what you'd say you're doing here?" she asked slyly. "Recovering?"

"Working on it," he replied stiffly. "Not that it's any business of yours."

"And what would you say to those who might say that you deserve to be locked up forever or executed for your past crimes?" she asked next. Bucky didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

"They can take that up with the judge. I'm just doing my best to be better." He opened the door to the room. "We're done here." She folded her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"Any thoughts about the agents of Hydra that are still at large? Don't you think you have a responsibility to provide the proper authorities with the insider information that only you possess? Do you plan to work with the Avengers to find them? Where do you see yourself in the future?" Her queries were rapid fire, coming at him faster than he could think about all the things he had been avoiding lately.

"No more questions." If she wasn't going to leave, then he would. He stepped out, letting the door slam shut behind him, and stalked up to the nurses station. "She can leave. No more visitors." Reyna stared at him with wide eyes, but nodded. He didn't wait to see if Virginia was going to argue about being asked to leave or not. He retreated to his room, shutting the door securely behind him. He contemplated sitting down at the desk to journal, but his adrenaline was still pumping. The audacity of the reporter had him furious, though a small part of him admired her a little, too. He paced back in forth in the room, caroming from wall to wall like a caged animal until the shaking subsided. He lay down on the bed and tried practicing the deep breathing and visualization exercises they had learned in group last week.

There was no sign of the reporter when he ventured back out of his room, and nobody mentioned her to him. He settled back into his usual routine. Some of the groups mentioned the holiday, but otherwise it was much like any other day. He could almost pretend it wasn't July 4th at all. He was tempted to call Steve and wish him a happy birthday, but Steve was probably having fun celebrating with all of his new friends who weren't locked up in a loony bin. The day, which had started out so promising, had soured in his mind. After dinner, he went to his room to lay down, half-determined to go to bed early and attempt to sleep through the rest of the day.

A tentative knock came at his door an hour later. He rolled over in bed to see Ted standing in the doorway.

"Bucky, you have a visitor," he informed him. Bucky sighed. That Virginia Porter was one of the most persistent women he'd ever heard of.

"I don't think so," he said glumly. "Not today."

"Really?" Ted sounded surprised. "I guess I can go tell him you don't want to see him." He turned to leave, but Bucky frowned. That hadn't been the pronoun he had been expecting.

"Wait," he called after Ted, who reappeared in the doorway. "Who is it?" Ted gave him an odd look, as if it should be obvious.

"It's Steve," he replied. Bucky immediately felt a weight lift from his chest, and he stood up quickly.

"I'll be right there." He went to the tiny, doorless alcove that passed for a closet and picked up the small box tucked into the corner of it. Package in hand, he hurried down the hall. Ted opened the lounge door for him. Steve stood up as Bucky came in, the same relieved smile he always had at the start of their visits. Bucky surprised him this time by giving him an enthusiastic hug.

"Hey, Buck," Steve said softly. Bucky took a step back and handed him the gift.

"Happy birthday, punk," he said. Steve's expression registered astonishment.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he protested.

"I know, but I wanted to," Bucky replied with a shrug. "Sorry it isn't wrapped. We don't have that kind of fancy shit here." Steve chuckled and opened the box to see the set of drawing pencils.

"Where did you get these?" he asked.

"The little gift shop here. Occasionally they have something decent." Bucky settled himself into one of the chairs, and Steve followed suit. "You do still draw, don't you?" Steve shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"Ah, it's been awhile," he admitted. "I've… had other priorities. But I think I'm ready to get back into it."

"Yeah, you have been busy," Bucky agreed, his tone becoming slightly teasing. "I saw you on the television this morning."

"You saw that, huh?" Steve shifted in the chair, his cheeks becoming slightly pink.

"Yep," Bucky confirmed. "Nice little trip down memory lane."

"Speaking of which…" Steve picked up a paper grocery bag from the other side of his chair. "I don't know if we'll be able to see any fireworks from here, but I thought we could at least have a picnic." He pulled out a couple varieties of chips, popcorn, a container of potato salad, some meat and cheese sandwiches, and a few red, juicy slices of watermelon. All elements of July 4th picnics past. Nostalgia tightened his chest for a moment.

"I'm a little surprised you came," he confessed. Steve frowned slightly.

"Why are you surprised?" his friend asked. Bucky shrugged.

"It's your birthday," he pointed out. "I'm sure there are much nicer places you'd like to spend it. You could be watching fireworks with the rest of the Avengers."

"Maybe, but you're here," Steve replied. "And there's no one else I would rather spend the evening with." He produced two cans of Coke and tossed one to Bucky. Bucky regarded the can of soda in surprise.

"You know these break like three different rules, right?" he informed his friend as he opened his with a familiar, tantalizing sound. Steve shrugged and opened his with a grin.

"Better drink it fast, then."

Thanks to DarylDixon'sLover, Brendan Wolff and MewWinx96 for the lovely reviews. Hope you're all still enjoying the story!