"I'm already there.
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
I'm your imaginary friend
And I know I'm in your prayers
Oh, I'm already there."
LoneStar 'I'm alrady there'
Chapter Twenty
James stares at a Captain America action figure on the shelf in the store. He looks away with a heavy sigh. Bucky walks up behind him. "You okay?" Bucky asks noticing James starring at the toy. James looks to Bucky with a nod of his head trying to keep the tears in. Bucky notices the threatening tears. "Hey…" Bucky whispers as he kneels down one knee to be eye level with James.
"It's okay to cry." Bucky reassures James with a sweet smile. James lets a few tears out as he feels the pain in his heart. Bucky pulls James in his arms hugging him letting him cry in a while.
"I miss him…" James whispers in Bucky's ear. Bucky breathes in trying to not cry.
"I miss him too, buddy." Bucky whispers back while he holds James tight. James pulls away with his cheeks red. Bucky whips away his tears from his cheeks.
"What was he like?" James asks with true curiosity. Bucky smiles with pride.
"The greatest man to ever live. He was brave, brave like you. And he was scrawny at first, but because of his bravery he was chosen to become Captain America. I followed to the end of the line. He loved you so much. He would brag about you all the time." Bucky says with a big smile. James smiles really big at the thought of his daddy bragging about him.
"What would he say?" James asks with an excited smile.
"Oh, man. He would talk about how smart you are, and how you are so respectful. He even was proud of you when you won that fight. He beamed with pride for you. He knew that one day whatever you would become, it would be great." Bucky says with good memories rising in his mind.
"One more push." The doctor says as Natasha bears down, and pushes with all she has. Cries fill the room as the doctor announces, "It's a boy!" Natasha rests her head on the pillow with tears of joy and relief. Steve feels tears rise as they bring the little baby to them.
After they clean him up they put him into Natasha's arms. Steve and Natasha look at the beautiful baby with proud smiles. "He's so beautiful…" Natasha whispers with tears falling down her cheeks.
"He sure is." Steve agrees as he holds his hand with his finger.
"What will we call him?" Natasha asks looking up over to Steve. Steve smiles with thought.
"How about James?" Steve asks with a big smile.
"James… I love it…" Natasha whispers feeling love like she never has before.
Steve holds James in his arms while Natasha takes a nap. Steve stares at his son's sleeping face. "James, I love you…" Steve whispers for the first time finding purpose for being in this time period.
Steve has a tear slip down his cheek as he watches Bucky comfort his son. Steve realizes something as he watches his best friend be there for his family. Steve eyes narrow when he sees a couple of men coming towards Bucky and James.
Bucky picks up the Captain America action figure off the shelf. "I'll buy this for you if you want it." Bucky says while showing the figure to James. James nods his head yes. They walk to the cashier to pay for the toy without realizing the two men following them.
They walk out the door. Bucky catches the two men following closely behind. "James, go to the car." Bucky whispers with calmness in his voice as he hands the keys to James. James walks to the car as Bucky orders. Bucky turns around to face the men.
"May I help you with something?" Bucky ask confronting the two men. The two men pull out guns on Bucky.
"Yeah, you can actually. You can hand us the boy, and no one will get hurt." One of them answers with a thick Australian accent. Bucky nods his head in agreement. They walk pass him, but before they could go any further. He grabs the Australian's arm, and twisting it behind him. He kicks him behind his knee knocking him to the ground. He grabs the guy's gun pointing it to his head while he throw his pocketknife into the other guy's hand making him drop the gun.
Bucky drags the men into the ally after he beats them up a bit. "Who do you work for?" Bucky asks holding both men at gunpoint.
"I'm not telling you." The Australian man answers bitterly. Bucky presses the gun barrel to his head.
"I think you will." Bucky threats with anger in his eyes. The other spits blood on him.
"Its just job. Out of everyone you would be the one to understand about just jobs." The man explains. Bucky knocks the man on the side of the head with the butt of his gun.
"Now tell me who assigned you the job." Bucky asks becoming impatient. The man clinch his teeth. The man shakes as foam comes out of his mouth. Bucky stares in anger as the man falls dead. Bucky is shot in the back of his shoulder from the other guy. Bucky turns around to find the man dead on the ground from the same cause as the Australian.
He finds James safe in his car. Bucky hops in locking the doors. He drives quickly away. "What happen to your shoulder?" James asks noticing the blood. Bucky looks at him alarmed.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just fell." Bucky lies knowing that was a terrible lie.
James and Bucky walk into the kitchen. James runs up the stairs to his room. Bucky sits down quickly feeling light headed. Natasha notices something off about Bucky's behavior. "Oh my God, Bucky!" Natasha exclaims alarmed. "What the hell happen?" She asks still very alarmed.
"I'll tell you later, but first you need to get the bullet out of me." Bucky says while trying to take off his jacket. Natasha hurries over to him to help him. She rips his shirt where the bullet wound is.
"It's okay. It's just a grazed wound. It's not deep at all." She reassures him before she gets the first aid kit.
After cleaning and getting the bullet out, she wraps him up. "That's better." She says while she cuts the tape. Bucky stands up to walk to his bedroom. Natasha follows him just to make sure he's okay.
"So are you going to tell me what happen? Because I find it bizarre that you and James went to the store, and you come back with a gun wound. And James seems completely unaware of what happen." Natasha says after she shuts the door. Bucky looks at her with a long sigh.
"I think you might want to sit down for the news." Natasha sits down on his bed as he sits across from her.
"There were some guys following us. I told James to go into the car, and he did. But I was held at gunpoint, and was told to give James over to them. I took care of them, but I got shot from one of the guys." Bucky explains honestly. Natasha puts her hands over her face. Bucky pulls her hands down from her face.
"It's going to be okay." Bucky whispers while he holds her hands in his. Natasha looks at him with worried eyes.
"Bucky, it's not okay. It's not been for quite for some time, but now they found us. And they want him. They know about him." Natasha says feeling anxiety clinch her heart. She looks away with tears rising in her eyes.
"I am so tired of crying. I never cried like this before until now." Natasha whispers wanting to be who she used to be, Bucky smiles at her statement.
"Nat, to cry is not a bad thing." Bucky reassures. Natasha slightly smiles before saying something.
"We will need to come up with a plan for him to be protected." Natasha says while they both interlock their fingers together. Bucky nods his head in agreement.
"I agree. Where would he go?" Bucky asks as he thinks of possibilities.
"He will go live with Clint and his family. They are our best bet. He would have Francis, Clint's son, to hang out with. They live in a small country town. It's quite recluse actually." Natasha explains. Bucky pushes back a loose train of hair from her ponytail behind her ear. "We'll only send him there when it becomes desperate."
"I agree. It's going to be okay. He won't be hurt, I promise you." Bucky promises. She kisses his cheek in gratitude. After she pulls away he looks at her with love.
"Thank you." She whispers with a soft smile.
"You don't have to say thank you…" He says.
"No, I do. I repeated myself so many times, but you truly have been there for us both you and Sam. I can't ask for more. I truly am thankful for you being here." She says with a smile.
"There's no other place I would rather be." He says truthful.
"You know I had a dream the other night, and it was Steve telling me to move on. But I don't think I can." She whispers letting him in a special place in her heart.
"I think you can. I think you will. I don't know how long it'll be, but one day you'll move on. You won't forget him, of course not, but it will be easier to breathe. And when that day comes you'll know." Bucky comforts.
"I think apart me wants to start moving on, but then there's apart of me that doesn't. It just wants to stay in the past, and I can't stay in the past. He's dead. I want to start moving." She whispers revealing truth that she's been hiding.
"I think you already are. You just don't realize it yet. Every holiday without him will be hard, and some days it will be harder. But I've noticed you've been smiling more lately. You've been more open to people. Even though now things are complicated again, you're open now. Honestly, I've only seen you this open with Steve." Bucky says pointing out facts. Natasha looks at him with a slight smile as she realizes something.
"Maybe because I've found I have someone to help me. I know I'm more open with you now which is kind of weird, to be honest." She adds with a soft chuckle.
"I'll always be here for you. I'm your friend." Bucky smiled.
"I know." She says while they look at each other. Bucky looks away quickly realizing how he feels isn't so much a friend. Natasha gets up slowly trying to deny what she's feeling.
"Goodnight." She whispers before walking towards the door.
"Goodnight." He whispers back while she walks out. He stares at the door realizing he loves her. He truly loves her.
Steve leans his head on the wall as he thinks back on what happen today to his son. "I have to get in contact with Bucky, Matt." Steve says realizing staying here isn't helping his son. "Why did I believe, that if I stayed here my son would be safe?" Steve asks feeling frustrated.
"I don't know maybe because they gave you a reason to. I talked to Sam about you getting in contact with Bucky." Matt says while he hands Steve a bowl of broth. Steve takes a long sip before saying anything.
"How would we get in contact?" Steve asks while feeling guilty for not staying with Natasha when he had the chance.
"I was thinking the most obvious choice, facetime." Matt answers after giving this a lot of thought.
"Would they be able to catch the signal of the phone?" Steve asks knowing how risky this is.
"Not if we do it with a phone they can't trace." Matt answers.
"Then let's do it. I need to tell him some things, important things." Steve says knowing how risky it is, but also know this is the right thing to do.
"I will go tell Sam about it." Matt says while he packs up the broth. He leaves Steve to head back to Fury. Steve stares up at the ceiling with a tear slipping down his cheek. He missed Natasha so much, but he knows this is for the best.