CHAPTER THREE: NIGHTMARE
BUCKY - NEW YORK CITY APARTMENT
Sweat beaded on Bucky's forehead as he tossed and turned in his sleep. His arms were strained, ready for a fight even in sleep. He saw all their faces- those he had killed mercilessly as the Winter Soldier. Even though he'd found some relief with Sam and his family, he was alone again and that loneliness crept right back into his nightmares.
He saw a man begging for mercy in a Russian mansion before he shot him. The large, marble columns of the lavish house surrounded him and provided a ringing echo of the gunshot. When the ringing finally stopped, he heard something else… crying. He looked around and followed the sound down a hall. When he reached the end, he was surprised to see Wanda sitting on the floor, sobbing. Her cries were loud and desperate, bearing a devastating grief. His head spun at the sight and he woke up in a gasp.
He sat up on the rough floor and looked around, checking again and again that he was in his own apartment. The chilly night breeze that came in through the window gave him some relief in his overworked state. He was home. He was no longer the Winter Soldier. He repeated this again and again.
Wanda's cries broke his repetition and made him look at the bedroom. There was red light dancing below the door. As her screams grew, so did the brightness of the light. He scrambled up and bolted for the door. When he entered the room, he saw her red energy flowing through the air, spiking almost like it was following a heartbeat. Wanda was thrashing in her sleep as she cried out again.
"Wanda!" He went to the bedside and ever so carefully put a hand on her shoulder. "Wanda," he tried again. He used his force to still her moving body. She cried out again and the energy around them spiked to an almost blinding brightness. "Wanda!" With a jolt, she shot up screaming. He caught her shoulder between his hands and leaned down so that he was in her line of sight. "You're okay," he reassured softly. "You're okay."
Wanda opened bewildered eyes that dashed around. Her chest heaved as she let out sobs. He instinctively scooted closer and brought her into his arms, just trying to calm her. He surely knew what it was like waking up from these nightmares. In her state, she didn't even hesitate to grab onto him tightly as she cried into his shoulder. He sighed and ran a hand across her shoulder blades in an attempt to soothe her.
It broke his heart knowing this poor girl was in so much agony. She was too young to have gone through what she had. Steve and Sam had always kept an eye out for her and he knew he should have too. Life had been unfair to him but it didn't upset him like it did for her. She was good, kind. He felt her breathing steady against him and she pulled back. He let his arms drop in front of him as she finally looked up at him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't…" she took a deep breath.
"It's okay," he gave her a sad smile. "I get them too." Her still teary eyes met his. He almost wanted to look away at the agony in them. She wiped her eyes with her wrist and ran a trembling hand through her hair. In the dim moonlight, he could see the dark hollows under her eyes that spoke of sleepless nights.
"I'm sorry I woke you up." He shook his head.
"I was already awake." Her brow furrowed in question. "Can't sleep." Thankfully she didn't question him further about it. She dropped her arm and it almost drowned in the oversized T-shirt he had given her to sleep in. It was comedic how a normal shirt he wore could dwarf her to such a measure. As he looked back up to her eyes, he quickly realized he was still sitting very close to her. Clearing his throat, he got up. "Do you want some water?" Wanda nodded slowly. He gave her a kind look and stepped out of the room towards the kitchen. He heard her get up behind him and the sink turned on, no doubt to cool herself down. Funny how they had very different reasons for their nightly terror but they were human in the end, coping in the same ways.
He quickly picked up his thin sheet off the floor and set it on the couch. He knew if she saw he was sleeping on the ground, she'd feel guilty about staying. And he wasn't ready to explain why, even with a perfectly good bed and a couch, he always stayed down on the ground. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed two tall glasses out of the cabinet. As he finished pouring in water, he heard the bedroom door open and Wanda come out. She walked over and sat in one of the dining room chairs. He put her glass down in front of her and sat down in the other chair.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how big those clothes would fit you," he joked lightly. Seeing her now in the oversized shirt paired with his joggers that she had rolled up into puffy ends, he realized she was much smaller than him. Wanda gave a quiet laugh that almost reached her eyes. He watched as she focused on her glass and her smile slowly disappeared. "Do you want to talk about it?" He tried to keep his voice as soft as possible, in hopes of making her feel comfortable, whether she wanted to or not. He waited patiently as she picked at her shirt and debated.
"They're usually not this bad." He could barely hear her whisper. He just nodded and put his arms down onto the table.
"You went through a lot today, Wanda." She nodded a little too quickly and bit her bottom lip. "You'll get through this." Her green eyes looked up and searched his.
"How do you deal with yours?" He sighed and leaned back as he thought it over.
"I guess, I just remind myself that I'm not the same person I was before. I'm me now and I want to move forward." Wanda brought her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She looked so young and fragile like this. They sat like that for a while in silence with only the moonlight coming through the window illuminating the apartment.
He studied her and saw when her face contorted and she dropped to her knees, clutching to her stomach. She cried out in pain, before dropping down from the chair to double over. He was at her side in an instant, holding onto her arm in support. She began to shake violently. "What's happening?" She let out a final cry and dropped. He caught her before she could hit the ground. "Wanda? Wanda!" She was lying unconscious in his arms. He could feel her breathing was too shallow to be normal. "Wanda, stay with me." He tried to wake her but she stayed still.
He picked her up painfully. His whole body was still sore from the fight just hours ago. He grabbed his keys and left the apartment. He nearly slid down the stairs and into the basement where his neighbor's car sat. He used his metal arm to snap open the locked door. and reached under the seat where he'd seen the old woman next door stash her key a few times. He gently laid Wanda down in the passenger seat before taking off, out of the garage. For an old car, it sped up quickly. When he arrived at SHIELD's New York compound, he burst through the front doors, Wanda in his arms, and headed towards the elevators, right past the metal detector he sent blaring.
"Sir!" The front desk guard yelled at him and got up. Bucky just ignored him and focused on reaching the elevators. He saw as multiple guards started his way. He reached the lift just as the doors opened.
"Sergeant Barnes?" An agent asked as he stepped out. He saw everyone look at him then at Wanda in his arms. The agent ushered everyone out and motioned for Bucky to enter. Under the fluorescent lights in the cramped elevator, Wanda looked sick. He could make out the blue veins tracing thin, pale skin. "What happened to Ms. Maximoff?" The agent asked, recognizing her too. He was the only one that had joined him in the lift.
"I don't know. She went against an enhanced earlier and I think they did something to her." The agent nodded and spoke into his com, alerting the medical staff they were coming up. When the doors opened, there were already nurses waiting. They brought out a gurney and Bucky gently put her down on it. They were checking her heart rate and levels instantly.
"We've got her," a nurse assured as they began to push her down the hall.
"She doesn't leave my sight," he said gruffly and followed behind. The nurse nodded quickly and kept going. They took her into a room and began running tests all the meanwhile Wanda laid motionless on the bed. He watched them through a window outside of the room before an agent approached him for questioning. He explained what had happened to his best ability, knowing it probably didn't make any sense. After the agent left, the staff brought him a chair and he sat on the opposite side of the hall where he could see her sleeping form. He didn't have to stay but he didn't like the thought of her waking up alone. She had already been scared as is. He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep the rest of the night anyway.
Doctors and nurses came and went, checking on her and drawing blood. There were a couple times where she'd seize up and they'd have to give her more morphine. He'd tense up each time, watching anxiously. They didn't have a clear answer yet on what was causing her state. He also let them take his blood and do a few tests, at least for his own sanity. Agatha had held him up as well as she chanted after all.
As early morning rays shone through the windows, Bucky was surprised to see Sam coming down the hall. The man was looking room to room before he spotted Bucky and quickly walked over.
"Bucky," he started as they clapped hands and greeted each other. "What happened, man?" He turned to look at Wanda through the window, Bucky following his gaze. "I read the debriefing you gave them but it sounded out there."
"Well, that's what happened," Bucky sighed. Sam turned back to face him.
"How'd you end up with Wanda?"
"Ran into her yesterday morning by chance and then after she encountered the witch, she was really shaken up so I asked her to stay with me." He let out a heavy breath.
"It's a good thing you did or who knows if she would've been okay," Sam patted his shoulder in approval.
"Thanks." Bucky went over his recollection of the day's events again with Sam before he left to do some research. Another hour passed before he noticed Wanda shift and quietly crept into the room. Groggy eyes blinked open before Wanda rubbed them tiredly. "Hey," he said softly as he walked over to her bedside. She turned her head slowly and focused on him.
"What happened?" Her voice was hoarse and just above a whisper. His brows furrowed.
"You collapsed in the kitchen. I didn't know where to bring you but to SHIELD." Wanda looked around slowly then lifted her arms to see the IVs sticking into them. "They're still running tests." He watched her carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore. Nauseous. Dizzy." She tried to sit up and he offered a hand to hers and used his other to support her elbow as she shifted. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths.
"I've already briefed SHIELD on what happened." He straightened the pillow behind her for support. "They're trying to find anything they can to help." Wanda looked over at this and nodded, no doubt thankful for the help. A knock at the door got both of their attention. A young woman walked in. Her lips were pursed as she looked at them.
"May I?" She asked Wanda. The girl nodded. "I'm Dr. Mallory," she said as she closed the door behind her. "I've been looking over your results." Bucky slowly got up, wanting to give Wanda some privacy. "Please Mr. Barnes. You should sit down." He pulled back a bit in surprise and glanced at Wanda. She was staring between him and the doctor. Bucky sat back down hesitantly.
"What's going on?"
"Well, we ran multiple tests on Wanda's blood. Her cells were reacting and forming in an… interesting way. We couldn't figure out how to diagnose it to remedy the issue until one of our older lab technicians pointed out that he'd seen this before." Bucky edged to the end of his seat. "He had seen this reaction in blood cells during Hydra's super soldier testing." He drew in a breath and his eyes darted to Wanda who was watching him with wide-eyes.
"I don't understand." He saw her subconsciously wrap her arms around her body.
"We ran your blood work against Sergeant Barnes, Wanda. It was a perfect match." Bucky narrowed his eyes at her in confusion.
"How is that possible? The serum they used on me was lost decades ago."
"I'm not sure," the doctor admitted. "I don't know how the serum entered your bloodstream either." She looked between the pair, expecting an answer. Bucky shook his head and looked to Wanda who was doing the same and looking to him for an answer. The doctor pursed her lips, seemingly not believing them. "Well, the reaction you're having, Ms. Maximoff, is the serum transitioning into your body."
"How?" The doctor shrugged. "I don't understand how I can have the serum."
"Is she going to be okay?" Bucky interjected. The serum didn't work on everyone, especially if it wasn't a good one. He'd seen men go down in tests trying to become supersoldiers.
"Her own unique DNA and abilities seem to be stabilizing the serum. We think she will be okay."
"What does that do to me?" Wanda interrupted.
"We can't know yet but it would be a safe assumption to say you'd gain similar abilities to Sergeant Barnes." Bucky rubbed his temple trying to wrap his head around the fact that not only had Wanda somehow gotten super soldier serum but specifically the one he'd used. After the fight he and Sam had had with Carli recently over serums, this seemed too sudden.
"Wanda?" he turned to her in question. She looked at him with wide eyes.
"I swear, I don't know what's going on." Her desperate expression made him question his gut.
"I may have an answer," the doctor jumped in. Both pairs of eyes glanced her way. She awkwardly looked between the two. "When we changed you into the gown, we noticed some bleeding... down your legs." Bucky awkwardly looked away as he had when they had changed her then.
"What does that mean?" Wanda's desperation was apparent.
"Well we took a look and it's the initial bleeding we sometimes see… in new mothers." He looked to Wanda whose face scrunched up in confusion. "It's a possible theory that you could carry the serum if you and Sergeant Barnes have conceived-." Wanda's hand flew up to cover her mouth and Bucky rigorously began shaking his head.
"No. No, we haven't- we didn't," Bucky knew he was making the room get awkward stuttering his denial. "We haven't done anything to conceive." It was clear the doctor didn't buy it.
"I'm not pregnant. I can't be," Wanda added. The doctor sighed.
"It's too early to tell yet but please know that SHIELD is here to support you."
"Support me?" Wanda cried out. "I'm not pregnant." The doctor just pursed her lips and excused herself before she left. Bucky and Wanda sat there in awkward silence.