TWO WEEKS LATER
Rays of morning sunlight streamed in through Bucky's window, landing on his face to gently rouse him from a restful slumber. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. They all had to be at a meeting in less than an hour but he had plenty of time. He rolled over and smiled at Madison, who remained asleep on her back. Her face was tilted toward him but blocked from view by a chunk of dark blonde hair. He tucked it behind her ear and then brought his hand down to her chest. She no longer had a thick bandage covering the gunshot wound, just a square Band-Aid. He knew the scar underneath was rough and purple-tinted. He hated that he'd put it there, that he'd hurt her. Using his pointer finger, he gently traced a heart around the wound.
Madison's lashes parted and she watched Bucky lean forward to press his soft lips against the spot that he'd just traced. At the same time, his hand moved down and covered her low belly. He raised his head and they exchanged a loving smile.
"Good morning," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair and then stopping to cradle his stubbly cheek.
He said good morning and leaned in for a quick kiss before lifting his head and tenderly dropping one more onto her bare stomach. The affectionate act caused butterflies to stir in her lower abdomen.
"You're too good to me," she said quietly, continuing to stroke his rough facial hair.
His eyes darkened for a moment, as did his smile. "You know that's not true."
"James, stop. You can't keep beating yourself up. Besides, I was the one who said the first trigger word in Catesby's office, so it's my fault, too."
Bucky shook his head and briefly licked his lips as he glanced around the room. "No matter what you say, I'm not going to stop blaming myself and I'm certainly not going to let you take an ounce of it. No way in hell…" he said, his voice fierce.
She opened her mouth to retaliate but he silenced her with a hard kiss. Her hands rubbed up his arms and moved to his back, massaging her fingers into the rippling muscles there. They were already undressed, so Bucky wasted no time in settling himself between her thighs and pushing into her silky heat.
About thirty minutes later, they finally pulled themselves from the tangled sheets. Bucky sat forward and took a moment to gingerly knead the back of his neck where the incision site prickled and itched. Madison sat up next to him and lightly gripped his shoulders.
"How're you feeling?" she asked, and pressed her lips against his warm skin.
Bucky shrugged and dropped his hand. "It still hurts—not as bad as it did, though. I'm being a lot more physically active than my doctor recommended, but…" He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. "It's worth it."
Madison returned the smile. Bucky had recovered quicker than most; mainly because of the serum that remained in his body. The surgery was only supposed to remove whatever could trigger him into becoming the Winter Soldier. He was still physically stronger than most, could heal faster, and had the skills to take down almost any threat. In essence, he should have been a useless mass for about a month after the procedure. They'd operated on his frontal lobe—the section of the brain that controls speech, memory, movement—basically the most important parts that people need to function in society. But, two weeks later, he was already whispering sweet words to her while they made love and she had no complaints—he was still her James.
"I'm going to take a shower," he said, tugging her from her thoughts. "Want to join me?"
Madison grinned. "Don't mind if I do."
Bucky drew her into the shower, where they explored each other for a second time before surrendering to the day. Madison returned to her own room to get dressed, thankful that the carpet had been replaced before she got back from the hospital. She hadn't given it much thought until she'd walked in and instantly noticed that new carpet smell. Such a small detail, but most likely her pregnancy hormones had clued her in.
Once she was ready, Madison headed for the door, but paused. Her service pistol sat in its holster on her desk, waiting to be strapped on. She was no longer active duty, but was still a SHIELD agent—she couldn't justify going unprotected, especially in these times. She attached her holster to her belt and left the room without a second thought.
Bucky was waiting for her in the kitchen. He passed her a mug of hot decaf coffee, something she would struggle to get used to in the months to come. She loved caffeine—thrived on it—but the regular coffee simply would not sit in her stomach at the moment. She took a sip and gave him a grateful smile, which he returned with a nod.
They entered the glass conference room with Vision, Wanda and Sam. Tony and Steve were already there, speaking with Sharon on the large screen up front. Banner followed them in less than a minute later. They all sat down around the table and looked up at the young blonde, who appeared more and more worn every time they saw her. Madison couldn't fault her though—things had been pretty shitty in the last few weeks.
"So it's a good thing you're all here," Sharon began. "We had planned to update you on Catesby—his whereabouts and what he's been up to—which would have been a short meeting, but this morning's events have changed that…"
"'This morning's events'? What are you talking about?" Madison asked. Sharon's grim expression made her stomach clench with anxiety.
"At approximately 8:35 a.m. EST—25 minutes ago—the English prime minister was assassinated, along with two government officials who were present in her home."
Everyone swapped uneasy glances, fearing what they would hear next.
"We have to assume that it's Catesby. It's what he's wanted all along," Sharon said.
"Do you think he's moved on from the Avengers or, instead, that he's trying to draw us out?" Steve asked.
"We don't know what he wants. He hasn't claimed responsibility for the assassinations—we're just going on assumptions right now. I've spoken with representatives from the UN and the higher-ups at SHIELD. They want you all in London by tonight. They're afraid that this may be the first of many attacks."
"You mean everyone except Barnes and Clark, right?" Tony prompted.
When Sharon began to answer, Bucky sat forward and said, "This isn't the time to count us out—"
"This is exactly the time," Tony said, as if it were obvious. "You just had a major operation, and Clark has been taken off active duty."
"But you need everyone in this—that's what it's going to take to stop this guy. I'm healing, I feel good," Bucky stated.
Tony sighed and looked to Steve for an answer, like maybe Bucky would listen to reason if it came from his best friend. Steve shrugged. "I hate to say it but Bucky's right. We need all hands on deck."
When Tony scoffed, Madison seized the opportunity to put in her two cents. "At least let me stay on as an intelligence agent. I can team up with Sharon—be your eyes and ears, but outside the field."
Tony and Bucky shook their heads at the same time, but the latter was the first to speak up. "I don't want you anywhere near Catesby—not even in the same goddamn country."
"It's safer here at the Compound," Tony added.
Madison gritted her teeth and glared at the two men. She didn't appreciate them ganging up on her. "I'm pregnant—not stupid. You should know that I won't take any unnecessary risks. I wouldn't think of putting our child in harm's way, but this is personal—I can't just sit on my ass and watch shitty TV while you guys are out there, putting your lives on the line. Don't condemn me to that..."
Silence blanketed the room, and the subdued look on both of the men's faces told her that they'd gotten her message loud and clear.
"Okay…" Steve said finally. "You can stay on with Sharon." He turned to the screen. "I mean, as long as you're good with that."
Sharon smiled. "Happy to have you aboard. We need all the help we can get."
Madison nodded and then took a deep breath, savoring the small victory. While Steve and Tony began talking about specifics, she glanced at Bucky. His eyes were on her, brows winkled, jaw tight. For a second she was afraid that he was angry with her—and maybe he was a little—but foremost, she saw fear. She reached over and laid her hand on his arm. "It'll be okay," she whispered.
At first, he didn't respond. He looked down at her hand. Then, his gaze swept over her stomach. When it landed on her face, the intensity nearly took her breath away. "It better be…" he said quietly.
A part of her wanted to launch into a spiel about how he wasn't her boss and she was a grown woman; that she could do whatever she pleased. But that would get them nowhere. And, deep down, she understood his fears. She was carrying a part of him—he was fully invested in this. He could have run for the hills, gone into hiding for the rest of his life. Hell, he could have been a complete ass and claimed that the baby wasn't his. But he didn't. He loved her. And she loved him. Like every relationship, it was a compromise—plain and simple.
Madison looked away from Bucky when the screen on her cell phone lit up. It had been sitting in front of her on the table, and normally she would not have acknowledged it during a meeting, but someone had sent her a text. Curiosity peaked her interest. She picked up the device and unlocked it. The text was from an unknown number, which was slightly disconcerting. Because of her job, she would occasionally receive messages that way, but they generally were not good.
You can't always hire someone to take care of your problems.
Madison frowned as she tried to interpret the message—and who it could possibly be from. Only a second later, another bubble popped up on her screen.
Sometimes you have to do it yourself.
She didn't like the sound of that. Glancing over at Bucky, she began to reach for him, when more text messages flooded her phone.
10
9
Foregoing being discreet, she said, "Guys..."
8
"Something's happening..." She pushed back her chair and started walking toward Steve.
7
6
"What do you mean?" Tony asked at the same time that Steve said, "What is it?"
5
4
She showed them her screen and said in less than the span of a breath, "It's counting down. The first two texts said something about taking care of your own problems."
As the final message counted down to one, they all looked across the large table and through the glass walls and windows, to where a helicopter had dropped to hover just outside. A mounted, fully-automatic assault rifle aimed their way.
"Get down!" Steve yelled.
Madison seemed to be rooted in place until someone grabbed her from behind and swung her around. Bucky covered her body with his own, lifting his metal arm to block them both as bullets blew apart the room.
"Steve? What's going on?" Sharon shouted through the screen, which started to skip at the word "on," before it shattered into hundreds of pieces.
More glass rained down as the shots continued. She could feel the little shards falling into her hair and escaping past the collar of her shirt to rub against her skin. Random "tings" mixed in with the barrage of gunfire and she knew without looking that it was coming from Bucky's arm. Suddenly the shooting stopped, and Madison reached for the weapon on her hip.