Notes: HEY HI HEY HI HEYYYYY. Guyyyyssss I hope y'all have been well. I saw Infinity War this week, and I'm pretty sure most of you did too. All I can say is if you haven't seen it, please enjoy your last little while of emotional sanity, and if you have, then I'm sorry that you're in therapy with myself and the rest of the fandom :')))))) Again, kinda small chapter this week but hopefully it won't be too much longer before I start updating normally again. Your guys' patience is never taken for granted, and thanks a million for sticking around.

All the love in the world to you,

- M

Chapter 35

"There has to be some mistake."

It felt like he was saying that a lot lately. Though it'd only been 35 odd hours since Mia was admitted to intensive care, the time had spanned to feel like an age. Bucky found himself in a cold stairwell, eyes fixed on the chipped wall, with each second weighted by the unknown. He didn't feel like himself, having to watch wordlessly on the sidelines. It felt anatomically wrong that he should be so incapable of helping her.

And yet, there was no changing it. Mia's body lay idle in an incubation unit, with Lord knows what coursing through her veins. Her blood pressure still hadn't stabilised, and the wounds were taking longer than anticipated to fully accept the graft.

But horrid as all that was, his thoughts grew unwittingly clouded by what he'd been told only hours before. Incapable of bearing a child. My, how those words dizzied him, and what hopelessness they confounded in her family. Grandchildren were something he knew khaala wanted, and Zeyn's heart sunk at the idea of being uncle to no one.

And when he thought of the dream that'd accompanied his sleep the night before, Bucky's skin grew cold. He'd been a father then, a guardian to three children. They'd had a home, with Mia at its helm. She'd made dinner, and there'd been toys strewn on the floor, finger paintings hung on the fridge. In hindsight, it'd seemed like a promise of Paradise.

And though he wouldn't dare admit it, the idea that it mightn't ever happen struck him violently. Somewhere, hidden among the lost hopes of what his life could've been, having a child was at its forefront. And while he hadn't had much promise of what his future would be before, it seemed all the more distant now. And that was a feeling unrivalled by any other.

But if there was one person to whom their heartaches paled in comparison, it was the woman laying on a bed a few rooms away from him. And his heart grew rampant at what Mia would feel when she woke up.

If she woke up…

He shook his head the moment such a vile thought entered it, as though that would strike it away. The sun had only just risen, and he needed to be clear from the confines of 4 grey walls. Without another thought, Bucky headed to the helipad that sat only a few floors above him. As soon as he'd climbed the flights of stairs, he flung the door open and took refuge in the chill of an early morning.

New York looked entirely different from his vantage point. Its imperfections and flaws were neatly tucked away in parts of the city you'd never see from such a height. She stood proud with skyscrapers and glass windows all around her, a sight to see with the Sun to her left. As a city, she held promise. There were workers bustling the streets and cleaners tidying around hotels. He saw holy men setting up their preaching stands on opposite sides of the pavement, and young kids dribbling a basketball down the sidewalk.

There was life all around him. And strange as it was, he saw the human spirit in those streets, the same spirit he'd seen in NY when he was just a kid. These people hailed from every corner of Earth, and had survived unspeakable realities. But they were still here, walking a broken city without a fear holding them back.

And if they could survive, then so could she.

"I was looking for you, man," said Zeyn's voice from behind Bucky. "Should've known you'd be on a creepy rooftop."

Bucky looked back and sent a small smile his friend's way. "Haven't been here long."

He joined Bucky at the edge of the helipad, sharing the same view. "I never used to get the hype about this place. But now that I'm here…" he paused, "I see it." Bucky stayed quiet, his thoughts a little scattered until Zeyn brought him back. "Mia's into this sorta thing, sunrises and all." He said quietly, mostly to himself, "She would've loved this."

Bucky replied unthinkingly. "She'll see it."

Zeyn's surprise was masked well behind what he said next. "I'm sorry about what Cho said. I don't know if you guys ever talked about, y'know, kids or a family or anything, but…doesn't make it any easier."

Bucky shook his head. "We hadn't." He paused, "Something we both wanted, though."

Zeyn asked with a quiet determination, "But there are other ways to do things nowadays. What did Cho say about surrogacy or implanting?"

Bucky shook his head, because every possible question that he could've posed had already been answered by Cho's head technician. "Too much damage. It's not possible," he replied. A tired sigh left his lips as he confessed, "But none of that matters, not until we get her back."

A small smile curled on Zeyn's lips, a result of the quiet optimism unhidden in Bucky's voice. "Knowing Mia, she'll make us wait."

Bucky turned to his friend and replied truthfully, "Whatever it takes."

The two men stood quietly for a few moments, but no sooner were they interrupted by JARVIS' voice booming through the speakers on the helipad.

"Sergeant Barnes and Mr Alfiyan," he began, "Dr Cho is requesting your immediate presence in Dr Banner's laboratory. She wishes to inform you that Miss Alfiyan is awake."

"—ia? Miriya? Miss Alfiyan, can you hear me?"

For a moment or two, every one of Mia's internal responses completely disregarded the badgering voice of a lady shining a torch in her eyes. But when a few moments went by and the light grew annoyingly blinding, she couldn't keep herself from blinking a few too many times.

And she instantly regretted it.

"Owh…oh…ah," groaned Mia, an incomprehensible reply to the woman asking 'can you hear me?' for the 47th time.

"Mia, my name's Lauren. I'm here to help you. Now, can you please lift your right index finger if you can hear me," said Dr Cho's head nurse.

Why she was so utterly exhausted, Mia didn't know. All she knew was that it took her a lot of energy to lift her index finger, and even more to try opening her leaded eyes.

"Mmm…Nhmm…"

"She's responding. Jason, administer the adrenaline. JARVIS, call her family," instructed Dr Cho as she watched from beyond the glass door.

"Mia, I want you to try and open your eyes, okay? You're gonna feel a little drowsy at first, but that's just the painkillers taking effect. Slowly, now."

"Grhh…rhmm…" she mumbled disorientedly.

"It's okay, I don't want you to say anything. Your lungs aren't fully healed yet, so we'll keep the talking to a minimum. But can you try opening your eyes for me?" Lauren asked kindly.

By this point, Mia could make out about 87% of what the nice lady was saying, and with her direction in mind, she quit her stammering and began to blink slowly. Whichever room she was in, they'd mercifully dimmed the lights to a bare minimum, making it a lot easier for her eyes to acclimate. She kept blinking drowsily until she could keep them open unassisted, at which point, she was met with a warm, but unfamiliar face.

Lauren smiled encouragingly. "How does that feel? One tap with your finger for good, two taps for bad."

Mia's utterly scrambled thoughts failed to register the command, apparently too busy trying to figure out which room of her apartment she was in. But when it occurred to her that she'd never once purchased a hospital bed, nor brought one into her house, it became a little clearer that she wasn't in D.C.

"Mia? You doing okay?" asked Lauren.

She was about to speak when she remembered an apparent ban on such a thing. Instead, she brought a slow hand to her lips and mouthed 'water'.

"Water, of course, just a second," she said, before producing a glass and straw for her to drink from.

A few things were still unclear to Mia, the first of which being why she was wearing the most hideous pair of hospital scrubs she'd ever laid eyes on in a strange room. It wasn't long before her questions drifted to more important things, or rather, people. But thankfully, their absence wasn't needlessly extended.

The door flung open to reveal two new faces, and it wasn't possible to say who was more grateful to see who.

"Ya Ilahi," said khaala through streaming tears. "Miriya."

Mia's lips curled into a smile at the sight of her aunt, followed by her dearest friend. "Oh, God," said Mel. "Jesus Christ, Mia."

Khaala dropped to the side of Mia's bed and brought a hand to her cheek, no words but prayers leaving her lips. Mel held Mia's hand tightly, wanting desperately to hug her but knowing better than to prod her fragile body. Mia looked between the two of them and felt her nerves give way respite. She wasn't sure of what'd happened, or why she was where she was. But she was held by the closest women in her life, and that was reason enough to suspend thought for a moment.

In the minutes that followed, khaala wiped gracefully at her tears and kept Dr Cho's advice in mind. Mel and herself had been instructed not to mention the accident at all for the time being, or anything that would bring her further alarm. Though she was awake, it was likely that memory of her time in the alley wouldn't resurface for a few hours, possibly days. And meddling with her body's natural rehabilitation mechanisms would only complicate what was already difficult.

Mel helped her drink some more water, while Lauren explained the buttons around her. If she felt pain anywhere in her abdomen, a steady stream of morphine would enter her system at the press of a button. If she felt cold, the bed's heating circuit would function at the flick of a switch.

And if she wanted some chilli cheese fries, a call could be placed to the nearest food stand at the wave of a hand.

Still in a somewhat drowsy state, Mia barely noticed that the door had once again opened at the hands of two men. But when khaala and Mel backed away from her bed and gave her the space she'd need, Mia's attention focused on the doorway.

And nothing, nothing could've brought greater relief.

"Buck," she gasped imperceptibly.

There wasn't a word that could contain what he felt; not relief, not shock, nor pain. It was simply…all-consuming. Happiness seemed like too simple a sentiment. And yet, there wasn't much else that coursed through his veins.

Caution well and truly forgotten, he closed the distance between them and took her outreached arms as invitation enough to hold her tighter than he ever had before, in some vain attempt to keep her hidden from the world and all that lay in it. She tightened her arms around him as much as her weakened frame would allow, and regardless of the nervous appeals against such contact from the doctors nearby, they stayed joined for the following moments.

When Mia did pull away, she felt almost completely exhausted. She lay back in her bed and kept her eyes on Bucky, unable to voice all that she felt. But he understood, and she knew that. He held her hand a moment longer, before moving aside to make way for another.

"Anzur lihalik," Zeyn said tearily. "Madha faealt, tifl?"

Look at you. What have you done, kid?

He leant down and held her face with both hands, feeling her shaking beneath his touch, and kissed her forehead in a way that confounded her even more. She could feel the aches in her body a little more sharply, the throbbing in her head not so dull anymore. Her confusion was only diverted by the fact that everyone was around her, and while she may have been uninformed, at least she wasn't alone.

With 4 of her loved ones circling her bed, Mia's looked at Zeyn and asked in a barely there voice, "Where are we?"

He replied cautiously, "We're at the Avengers Tower in New York."

Mia's eyes fell to Bucky's as she croaked wearily, "What…happened?"

No sooner had the words left her lips, and Mia's breathing gave way to a coughing fit. She heaved in and out raggedly while the doctors surrounded her, pushing her family back and assuming their places.

"I think she's had enough for now," decided Cho. "Please, it would be best if you waited outside."

"But—" started khaala.

"Please, Mrs Alfiyan," she insisted.

The entire group took a nervous look at Mia before promising they'd be back soon, and leaving her in the hands of Cho's team. Helen followed them into the adjacent room, and took her time to explain the approach she'd devised.

"I understand that this must be very difficult for all of you, I really do. But if we want Mia to regain her strength as quickly as possible, she will need to undergo extensive rehabilitation, and that starts now," she explained. "As of yet, her short term memory is still untapped, but it's only a matter of time before she recalls the events that brought her here. And when she does, the effects will be very taxing on her internal systems. That's why we're going to try and keep her asleep for the next two days, so her body can really take to the Cradle's mechanisms."

The entire group stayed quiet for a while, a little restless at the thought of losing her for the next two days when they'd only just gotten her back. "Will her being unconscious speed up the process?" asked Zeyn.

"Yes, almost threefold. She won't be expending any energy, she'll have a resting heart rate, and she can have treatment around-the-clock. It's not ideal, but it will benefit her immensely," she assured.

"Do it," said Bucky definitively. "Whatever helps her."

Cho nodded. "She'll be awake for 5-10 minute increments every 12 hours. She'll be extremely drowsy, and probably a little high, but you can all speak to her then."

And with that, she left the group to process what'd just happened. The hope that they'd so desperately clung to had given way to something promising, and their gratitude was immeasurable. Suddenly, their little broken world seemed fixable again. And it would take time and patience and unimaginable faith, but they all got the sense that things would get better.

12 hours later

"Your potato sack…looks like…Gandalf the Green," slurred Mia as she awoke from her induced slumber.

Zeyn snickered softly in his chair next to her bed. "It's Gandalf the Grey, kid."

With her eyes falling shut every few moments, Mia said, "Gandalf…the Gay." She looked around the room jadedly, her brain functioning on a different plain of existence. "So beauty."

Bucky stood next to Zeyn and couldn't help but smile at her intoxication, something that felt strangely foreign to his lips. He watched her mumble silly ramblings for a few moments, simply appreciating the fact that she was there, safe and protected.

"You feeling any better?" asked Zeyn, though he wasn't really expecting a coherent answer.

She looked down at her stomach. "Chicken sandpitch."

"Come again?"

She prodded her stomach softly before her face grew a little serious. She turned to Bucky and whispered, "There's a hole in my acorn."

He stopped her hand from poking her wounds and said, "Probably shouldn't do that."

She resisted momentarily, but then apparently grew distracted by how close he was standing to her. In her stoned state, Mia clapped a hand to his face and smiled lazily. "You a guy." She said secretively, "My guy."

His heart stuttered as he cupped her hand with his, her face still beautiful despite the bruises and scratches laced across it. He nodded, "You bet, doll."

"Beef," she said in between spells of microsleep. "Gimme…da…beef—"

"Stop her, stop it, nope," said Zeyn with his hands covering his ears. "I don't give a fuck how high she is, I don't wanna hear that shit."

Bucky brought her hand down and sat in a chair next to the bed, trying to divert her attention from whatever her uncensored mind was about to share. "Y'know, Mariyah got married today."

Mia broke into a comically large smile. "Married? Today?"

He nodded. "She missed you at the wedding, but we told her you're gonna see her soon. Isn't that right?" he asked with conviction.

She nodded. "Soon. So, so, so, so, so, so soon." She paused, "Now."

He shook his head once. "We can't go now, sweetheart."

She looked at him with a betrayed expression. "Why no?" she slurred.

He swallowed. "You need to get better first."

She scoffed a little too loudly. "My knee is perfect," she said, pointing at her nose.

He wanted to laugh, but a nagging sense of sadness tugged at his heart, because much as he hated it, she still wasn't okay. "As soon as you're better, we'll go. Okay?"

She looked Bucky dead in the eyes as hers threatened to fall shut. "Promise?"

The only response he could conjure was a nod, but that wasn't good enough for her, even when she wasn't herself.

"Promise?" she repeated tiredly.

And as her eyes grew heavy one more time, the last word she heard was a quiet but faithful, "Promise."

16 hours later

True to Cho's prediction, Mia had awoken again within 12 hours of her last drug-induced tirade. In that time, she'd been a little more sober upon meeting khaala and Mel, but she still failed to produce a coherent thought to fight the drugs coursing through her system. The women spoke about flowers and cherries, mundane topics that kept Mia's heart rate steady and didn't aggravate her receptors.

And for Mel and khaala, that was enough to get them by.

With the assurance that she wouldn't wake earlier than 12 hour increments, her family had retired to get some much needed sleep after the last day's events. Even Bucky, thanks to his newly prescribed meds, was able to get some shut-eye for a couple of hours. It helped him more than he knew, and having a reprieve would only make it easier for him to be there for Mia.

As for Tony, he'd steered clear of Mia since the minute he'd heard she'd awaken. He wanted her family to get the time they deserved with her, and given that she'd fall back asleep within 10 minutes, they needed all the conversation they could get. Instead, he'd hung back and tried to further things along with the search for her perpetrators, but despite the infinite resources at his disposal, it was proving harder than normal to do so.

It was around 3:00 am when he took a break from his task, and wandered to make a pot of coffee. While he waited for the water to boil, his eyes stole a glance at the enclosed room in front of him, dull sounds of machines emitting from within. He ignored it at first, but when the beeping grew a little quicker, his curiosity gave way to action.

He inched his way to Mia's room, well aware that Cho's staff had left JARVIS in charge of security while they caught up on some well-earned rest. Tony pushed the door open and flicked the dim light on, only to be met with the sight of a sleeping Mia. He thought he should turn back, in case he accidentally tripped and somehow disassembled the bed or knocked over her respirator. But when JARVIS spoke, his decision was made for him.

"Dr Cho has granted you full access, sir. You are free to enter," he said.

Tony waved a hand. "S'nothing, I was just…loitering." He pointed at the beeping machine. "What's it saying?"

"Ms. Alfiyan's heart rate increases periodically, then returns to its resting pace. At the moment, it seems to be rather high."

"Shouldn't you be tellin' the Doc that?" he asked.

"Dr Cho surmises that she is dreaming, and that any fluctuation in Ms. Alfiyan's internal systems are related to memory-recall. In her opinion, this is a perfectly normal side effect."

Tony nodded to himself before walking closer to the bed. It was the first time he was seeing her without a glass partition separating them. And when he finally came to stand by her side, he couldn't help but notice a few subtleties.

She was much younger than he'd thought. The bruising on her face didn't help, but she'd healed rather well in the last few days. That, matched with her responsiveness to the treatment, left her in far superior health than what he'd initially seen her in. And in an unspoken part of the arc reactor he called a heart, he was grateful.

There was charm in her tainted features, as well. He could see the resemblance between her and her brother quite clearly, both with pronounced jaws and beauty spots on their left cheek. It was clear that she hailed from the East, the glow of her skin told him as much. But even having read her file, there wasn't a lot at all that he knew about her beyond what lay in front of him.

"Hmm," mumbled Mia, sending Tony back about three paces. He kept his arms strictly at his side as she began to stir, a few murmurs leaving her lips as she began to grow restless.

"J, you might wanna let someone know she's not in 'Sleeping Beauty' mode anymore," said Tony.

"Right away, sir."

"Me…S'me…" said Mia, her eyelids twitching as the dream disturbed her peace. She twisted a little in her sleep, but calmed down within the following moment. She probably would've continued her dream uninterrupted, had it not been for Tony's botched plan of escape.

Having accidentally kicked a trolley and sent it crashing to the wall, Tony winced as Mia's eyes flicked open. She blinked once and scanned the room half-heartedly, apparently in a state of utter bemusement. But the minute her eyes landed on Tony, things shifted.

"You were supposed to be knocked out cold," he began. "Don't get me wrong, it's great that you're awake, but I just feel like its false advertising if the pills can't keep you under for a couple'a hours."

Mia sat up in her bed tiredly, her eyes still getting used to the level of light in the room. She paused, "Pony Shark?"

"I'm gonna pretend like you said that right." He nodded cordially. "Tony."

In her intoxication, Mia looked over him with a critical eye before finally asking, "Where are your legs?"

He looked down. "Where they've always been. Attached to a well-rounded ass."

She shook her head, deciding that his answer wasn't good enough. "You can…buy mine."

He considered it for a moment. "What'll it cost me?" entertaining her delirium.

"3 turtles."

"Alright," he clapped his hands. "You're a few minutes off of being fully cooked, so I'm just gonna let Cho come and take care of—"

"Where's my baba?" she asked seriously.

Tony froze. "Uh…I don't—"

"The bus, we…we can't…miss it," she said, before turning to him with a pleading look. "Where is he?"

It wasn't often that Tony felt so disarmed, but there just wasn't a way for him to know how to respond. In the end, he stuck with what he thought was safest. "He's on his way, kid. Just sit tight."

She nodded slowly, before posing another question. "What are you doing here?"

Without paying mind to what he was saying, Tony replied, "I'm waiting on someone too."

Mia settled back into the bed as she asked, "Your dad?"

He shook his head. "His better half."

"Is she coming?"

Tony felt his throat grow dry, his hands tightening to fists in his pockets. He let out a small breath and said, "She'll be here any minute."

"She's late," declared Mia. "Tell her she's late."

He nodded, a hint of amusement at the unfiltered words of a young girl. "I'll let her know, ma'am."

He'd barely finished the sentence, and Mia had fallen into another spell of sleep. Her breathing evened out, and when Tony realised she wouldn't be waking up again, he couldn't explain the slight disappointment he felt at the shortness of their broken exchange.

Within another minute, Cho had arrived in her pyjamas and a doctor's coat. She ran through Mia's vitals without asking Tony whether they'd spoken to each other, and he didn't think it necessary to share. Instead, he left the room with the conversation they'd had as his own little secret, one that Mia would likely forget.

But for some reason, it'd stay with him.

"I don't know why the fuck he decided this was the best time to come," said Zeyn in growing outrage. "He'll only make things worse."

"Khalas, habibti," khaala chided softly. "He is still your uncle. Do not forget that."

Zeyn paced the lounge outside of Mia's room anxiously. "It doesn't matter. We didn't need him then, and we don't need him now. Not when she's like this." He asked his aunt seriously, "Did you tell him what happened to her?"

She shook her head. "Not in so many words. He knows that she's unwell, but nothing specific." She lowered her head in clear embarrassment. "However, I'm afraid she is not the reason for his trip."

Zeyn turned to her. "Then why the hell's he coming? Another one of his 'business trips'?"

"Zeyn—"

"Is he coming to take you back home? Is that it?" he shook his head. "'Cos I won't let him. Not now. Not after everything he's done to you."

She waved a hand dismissively. "You know nothing of what he's done to me, my boy."

"You're wrong." He spoke in a low voice, "I've always known. He was never good at hiding his infidelity when we were kids, but when Mia left, he gave up trying altogether." He shook his head, "There's something dangerous about a man with no shame, khaala. And him being here's only gonna make things worse." He took in a deep breath and asked collectedly, "Why is he coming?"

Khaala's eyes had grown tired from the horrors of the last 4 days, but unbeknownst to her family, there'd been another storm brewing in her life. She lit up the same cigarette she'd avoided smoking for the last 2 days and spoke shakily to her nephew. "The night of the sahra, I received a call from your uncle. He asked me when I'd be returning home, and when I told him I had no plan of doing so anytime soon, he grew angrier by the minute."

She took a long drag before shaking the ash and scratching her hand nervously. "He began going on about his age-old feud with Mariyah's father, how their family was toxic, on and on. And after a while of listening, of trying to calm him down," she paused, "I heard a woman's voice from the other end. And before he could bother explaining himself," she shrugged, "I cut the phone."

"Then why are you letting him come here?" he asked desperately. "Hasn't he done enough?"

"I am still his wife, Zeyn."

"He doesn't remember that when he's fucking half of Austria," he said heatedly.

"Enough," said khaala with finality. She covered her eyes with her hand and nursed her vice in the other. Realising that he may have overstepped a little, Zeyn joined her on the sprawling sofa and took the cigarette from her hand, tossing it in the ashtray and holding her wrist reassuringly. They were quiet for a while, each with things they'd like to say but couldn't. But eventually, Zeyn knew where he'd serve his duty best as a nephew.

"I'll go with you to get him from the airport," he said. "But he can't stay here. He can't see Mia, not like this. She needs to recover, and frankly, I don't think he's gonna do her any good by seeing her."

Khaala lowered her hand into Zeyn's and turned to ask him cautiously, "Was there a time where you thought of me in the same way?" She paused, "When you thought me so poisonous?"

He swallowed. "We didn't know you then like we do now." He shook his head, "Nothing's the same."

"But he is your blood," she reminded.

"Far as I'm concerned, we were dead to him the day he lost his brother," he said unflinchingly. "I don't think that's gonna change."

She sighed shakily, "Madha sanafeal?"

What are we going to do?

He spoke with conviction, "Make things right."

And with that, Zeyn and khaala left the Avengers Tower to collect khaalu from the airport. Bucky was left alone in Mia's room, the clock having just past 7:00pm on a warm night. He'd been waiting there the whole day, because according to Cho, they'd taken her off of the delirium-inducing medication for now. He was informed that she may wake up any time in the next 36 hours, and that when she did, it'd be with a clear mind.

So, he'd waited without a single complaint. People had come and gone from the room, TV channels had changed multiple times and even Sam, Steve and Nat had watched her sleep for a while, but she hadn't come to consciousness. Everyone was simply grateful for her improvements, and asking for anything beyond that just seemed plain greedy.

It was a strange moment when Bucky was staring mindlessly at the moving images of tarot cards on screen, when he heard Mia begin to stir. He immediately sat to attention, and tried not to get too excited at the thought of her waking up. Just like Cho said, she was probably having a dream or a faint reverie, but when her face grew contorted in pain, it didn't seem to be either one of those.

"Mia," he said quietly, holding her hand as she started shaking beneath his grasp.

"N…No," she stuttered, her forehead sweating and her heart rate growing higher than it'd been since she'd arrived. Bucky clicked the button to alert Cho repeatedly, only to be interrupted by a brief scream leaving her lips.

"Mia, Mia, wake up," he said as he shook her softly.

"No, no," she kept repeating, her entire face flushed red and her body now shivering. It took a few more moments of Bucky's firm encouragement, but eventually, Mia woke with a heaving breath and a disoriented expression.

"Hey, hey, you're okay, it's okay," comforted Bucky. "S'just a dream, sweetheart. You're okay."

"Bucky," she whimpered, tears steadily streaming down her cheek. "Saw—I saw them," she fumbled. "The men, I…they were there, and—Oh, God," she heaved erratically.

"It's okay, listen to me, they're not here, Mia," he said with pained conviction. "You're alright."

"They hurt her, Buck, they tried to…they were gonna…kill me, I had to go," she stuttered, now sobbing in a way he'd never seen before. "I had to go."

Bucky's entire being was alight with pain. Hearing broken cries splutter from her lips, seeing her face embroiled with fear, knowing none of it was consolable. And yet, he let her burrow herself into his chest under the guise of protection, his arms caging her comfortingly so that she never felt alone again. He rocked her as she wept, her entire body trembling with the weight of a revisited memory. He stayed with her even after the doctors asked him to leave, knowing that she needed an anchor, just as she'd always been for him.

And when minutes passed and her cries began to die down, he couldn't decide whether he was disappointed or relieved that she remembered everything.

X