Bucky rescheduled dinner with Beth after getting in touch with Marta. Marta cried so much he could barely understand her. Once she talked to Amy and Tessa on Facetime, she settled down a little. He invited her to come over for pizza, and she agreed. Then he spent twenty minutes trying to feed Jamie baby food, rather than formula, and ended up with the baby needing a bath. He loved to do raspberries which spread the food everywhere. Bucky almost needed a bath, too.
Pulling the baby out of the tub, he laughed and said, "We are going to have to work on this, kid. I won't ever be able to take you in public at this rate." Jamie looked at him and raspberries again. "Exactly. Good thing you're cute."
By the time he got gotten him dressed, the doorbell rang. Both girls ran to get it, and he called out for them to wait. Apparently, he needed to educate them about the dangers of the world when they got to New York.
When they saw Marta, both girls almost knocked him down to get to her. Even the dog danced around with excitement. After covering both girls with kisses and hugging on them until she was in tears again, she finally greeted Bucky. She was younger than he expected, or at least she looked at it, and had a face that screamed soccer mom to him, but she had already mentioned she had no kids.
"Mr. Barnes, it's so nice to meet you," she said politely. "Mr., and Mrs. Barnes were so excited when they found out about you. They made quite a few attempts to get in touch with you but things were so difficult to find people, after the Blip."
"Please, call me Bucky. Come on in. It feels strange inviting you in here when I've been in here less than a day and you lived here for years," he said, shutting the door. He saw her gazing at Jamie, and he just handed him over.
"He's so big!" she said with a big smile. "I guess in my head they were living in an orphanage like Little Orphan Annie and being starved."
Bucky followed her into the Great Room and listened to girls. Jamie fell asleep, so Bucky took him back so the girls could sit with Marta. They talked about his plans for the house, too. She offered to supervise the packing of the stuff for storage.
"I really don't mind. I basically retired when they took the kids. I'm too old to start over with another family. I know more about what items had special significance to James and Lisa. I'd hate for anything important to be left out," she replied, looking down at Tessa. "She's much more subdued than normal. It's heartbreaking."
"She was very excited a few times today but when we were in her parents' room, she got quiet and said she was sad. I don't know them well enough to know what's normal but so far they both have answered when I asked what was wrong so I guess that's a good sign." He watched Tessa for a minute. She seemed more subdued, but maybe she was tired. "But I'd love for you to supervise the packers. I would want things like photo albums and paperwork that I might need in the future to be sent to me rather than storage, anyway. But I'll only let you if you let me pay you. Were you even given a payment when you left? Like a year's severance or retirement or something?"
Marta looked uncomfortable but she admitted she had not, because of the assets were frozen. "I'll take care of that if you can let me know how much you were paid and how often. I'm sorry that happened. I only found out about James and Lisa four days ago," Bucky explained, wondering why the lawyer didn't mention it. Perhaps this was something the accountant did. He needed to find someone who could give him a full explanation of what needs to be done. "Marta, whose decision was it that the children weren't allowed to go to the funeral?"
"I honestly do not know who made that decision. I think it was the Department of Children's Services. After their parents died, we discussed it with her lawyers and her friends once we found how Lisa's parents were so senile and were entering a nursing home soon, that I would care for the children while Beth and John applied to become foster parents. No one realized you were the only relative left. Children's Services came for the children the day after we found out about her parents. Someone had called to report that the children were being cared for by a housekeeper."
"Someone called to report it?"
"Sadly, Lisa and James were in a certain social class they didn't really share the same morals and standards. They had the education, money, and he had the job that fit into the country club, airplane owning crowd. But they hated racists and elitist snobs. More than likely, one of that crowd reported it. They treat their servants like they are beneath them. Lisa and James treated me like family," she replied, and tears ran down her face. "We were family."
Bucky leaned forward and said, "I'm very sorry about your loss. To lose them and then the children so soon after must have been devastating."
"It was. Then we found out the Children Services wouldn't approve Beth and John, even as a temporary situation, due to her epilepsy. We had a hard time getting anything out of them after that. The lawyer called us to let us know about you. We all knew about you from Lisa but that's just your public image of course. Honestly, we just prayed you were a good man and would take care of them. You seem to be good with them."
Chuckling nervously, he admitted, "I'm winging it. But they seem fairly open to allowing me to be part of their life. The Social Worker said Amy was a bit of a problem child but I've seen no sign of it. Was that an accurate description of her?"
Marta looked shocked. "Absolutely not!" Glancing over at Amy, she just shook her head in disbelief. "She is one of the sweetest little girls I've ever known. A bit shy and introverted but that's it. Well, she's very smart and sometimes that leads to problems in school since she's ahead of her class and she gets bored but she's only a problem to the teacher because she gets bored when she finishes her work."
"Well, I think I can handle a smart, sweet kid. I just was waiting for this problem child to show up and she never did. She's very protective of her siblings. I imagine them being in foster homes made her that way." The baby started fussing and wrestling with Bucky, so he tried bouncing him in his arms. "Let me try to put him down for a nap or something. Can you watch the girls?"
"Of course."
Bucky tried to get Jamie to go to sleep, and he wanted no part of that. But since the baby kept rubbing his eyes and clearly was sleepy, Bucky tried the rocking chair. He wasn't a singer, but he remembered a song or two from the Wizard of Oz enough to fake it. He started with 'We're Off to See the Wizard' then realized it was too upbeat to make him sleep so he switched to Over the Rainbow. Then, because he knew the words, he sang Christmas carols to him. He was running out of songs when the baby finally fell asleep. Bucky got up carefully and laid him in his crib. Watching him for a few minutes to make sure he stayed asleep, he realized he now had a baby and two little girls. He'd always wanted kids, but at his age he gave up on that plan. And he didn't expect three at one time.
Hearing a noise at the door, he saw the dog dart in and ran up to him. "Let me guess. You want food or a walk." He reached down to pick up Otis and hoped the dog didn't freak out or bark. But he let Bucky hold him with no problem. He even tried to lick his face. "No. You were licking your butt like half an hour ago, dog. I have to draw the line somewhere. Come on, let's go take you out and feed you."
After he took care of the dog, he went into the great room to talk to Marta. "I'm going to need to go to the grocery store for a few things because there is no food for these kids or their furry friends. Would you mind watching the baby and Tessa? I'm hoping I can talk Amy into going with me."
"Of course. I'd love to." Marta had almost gotten Tessa to fall asleep, so Bucky didn't want to disturb them too much.
"Will you come to the store with me, Amy? We can get the pizza on the way home and I'm sure you know what everyone likes," he asked with a smile and she nodded and followed him outside. After getting her into the booster seat, he got in and looked down at his phone to see what was closest.
Amy hesitantly said, "We always go to Food City."
"Great. That's not far. So, I might regret asking this, but what music do you like to listen to?"
She thought about it for a moment before saying, "My favorites are Ariana, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and the Jonas Brothers. Usually, I just listen to whatever my mom puts on the radio but those are the ones I remember."
"Well, I know absolutely know nothing about current music. And I just realized I have no idea what the radio stations here are, so let me just turn the dial until we find something you like and you yell out okay?" He glanced in the mirror and she smiled and nodded. By the time he found a decent station that didn't scream out about sex within two seconds of him landing on the station, he was almost at the store.
He pushed the cart and just let her get what she wanted within reasons. After she showed him the right diapers and baby formular for Jamie, she grabbed a pack of Pull Ups. Bucky hesitated when he saw the weight on them. "Does Tessa still need those?" He could have sworn both Marta and Mrs. Krenshaw said she was potty trained.
"She does now," Amy said and kind of withdrew from him.
"Amy please don't worry about getting in trouble if you ask me something or answer my questions. I promise I won't be mad or fuss at you. You're not in trouble, even if you say something I don't like. Okay?" he asked in as calm and kind tone as he could. She stood with her eyes down for a moment and he thought she wasn't going to answer.
Eventually she looked at him and said, "When we were separated Tessa was scared because she couldn't talk to anyone and started wetting the bed again."
"I thought you were all in the same foster home?"
"Not at first. In that big place, they put us in different hallways with the kids our age," she explained and he saw her lip quivering.
"Come here," he said quietly and when she did, he hugged her gently. "When we get back to the house, we need talk about what happened. Either you can talk to me, Marta or even Beth. I just need to know what else those people did wrong. And it was wrong, Amy. You kids shouldn't have been separated. Or taken away from Marta. But you don't have to worry about being separated again." He pulled back to look at her face and said, "I promise."
"But Mrs. Krenshaw said you would probably adopt Tessa and Jamie but not me." Bucky had to really focus on suppressing his rage, especially when big crocodile tears ran down her face.
"That is absolutely not true. I would never split you three up. Mrs. Krenshaw seems to have said plenty of wrong things to you. Is this why you've been so scared of me today? You're scared if you're bad I won't keep you? I promise that's not true. You guys are all stuck with me." Amy smiled bit and he hugged her again, this time he held her tightly. Tomorrow he was going to go see Mrs. Krenshaw and it wasn't going to be pretty.
Amy helped him get cereal, pet food, and snack food. Then he gave her the options for lunch and dinner. Most involved him buying them dinner since he usually ate out. He got her laughing eventually, then took her to pick out ice cream. After he paid and loaded everything into the SUV, he held her hand as they walked to the pizza place.
By the time they got home, she seems to be a little happier. He helped her get out of the van before he started grabbing up grocery bags. She leaned into him for a minute. It was a simple gesture but he felt like it was a sign she might be able to trust him someday. He gave her a bag then brushed his hand over her hair. Marta came out and took the pizza for him.
Almost the minute Bucky walked in the door, Jamie started crying. Marta said she'd put away the cold stuff while he grabbed the diapers and ran upstairs. The baby stopped crying and started smiling when Bucky picked him up. Bucky took a selfie with the baby and texted it to Sarah.
Bucky actually felt pretty good so far about getting to know the kids, but he didn't know what he was going to do about the Social Worker or the foster parents. Maybe he should just let the lawyer handle it. He didn't want to go down there raising hell and have nothing to actually done about it. Maybe it's best if they think everything was fine until he brought in some authorities who can handle it. He'd think about it later when the kids were asleep.
Tessa ran up to him, and he caught her before she crashed into him painfully. She was just the right height to hit him where it hurt. Without even thinking about it, he picked her up and started acting like he was attacking her neck, making her squeal and laugh. He had intended to wait and see if the girls were ready, before being affectionate and so far, he's already hugging on Amy in the grocery store and now he's blowing raspberries on Tessa. But it just seemed to come naturally with these kids.
Marta told him more about the family and about the kids while they ate the pizza. She gave him a list that she had planned to mail to Social Services about the kids' favorites, dislikes, and so on. He began to think it was a mistake to hire Sam's cousin when this woman had been with them all their lives. But she mentioned taking care of her elderly mother, so he assumed she didn't want to move. Tessa got down from her chair after a few bites and climbed in his lap. He got her to eat more when he gave her bites of his.
"Will we be able to talk to Marta when we move to your house?" Amy asked.
"Of course. You guys can video call her from the computer or my phone. And maybe she can come visit you, in a few months," Bucky said, looking over at Marta. "Have you been to New York City?"
"No! I haven't left Tennessee and Virginia. But I'd love to see it sometime," she answered excitedly.
"I know it's too soon to set things in stone, but you might want to come up around Christmas. There are so many things to do and see at Christmas. It's like a totally different city then. Plus, there are lots of the regular sights to see."
"That would be wonderful. I'd love to see that but also, spending time near the holidays with the kids. It's going to be a difficult Christmas for everyone, especially them," she said, glancing at Amy and Tessa.
Tessa started signing and Marta looked conflicted. Since Bucky couldn't see Tessa, Marta explained. "She wants to know if her Mommy and Daddy will be back then."
Bucky turned Tessa to face him and signed that he didn't think her parents would be there then. He hated lying to her but she didn't understand death. He'd ask Dr. Raynor or Amy's new therapist the best way to explain it all.
"Does Captain America live with you too?" Amy asked.
"No. But he'll come to my house. Are you a Captain America fan?" Sam would never let him hear the end of it if she was.
"I like Spider Man and Thor the best," Amy admitted but quickly said, "Other than you I mean."
He chuckled in response. "I think all the ladies like Thor the best. But you know what? Spider Man has been at my house. Just think, your birthday party will be Superheroes theme." He signed to Tessa asking who her favorite was and she said Batman, making Bucky laugh.
After they finished eating, he decided to discuss something awkward with the girls and have Marta be there as well. He sat them both on the couch. "Okay, you two probably should take baths before bed. However, you might not feel comfortable with me giving you a bath. I don't want to make you feel bad so tell me, can you two take baths on your own if I just stand in the door and turn my back? That way I can listen for a problem but you can still have your privacy if you want."
Marta had signed everything to Tessa. Amy was thinking about it and finally said, "I can take a bath and wash my hair by myself. If you want, I can give Tessa a bath."
"I don't feel it's right for you to have to take care of your brother and sister all the time. That's my job. If Tessa can't take a bath by herself, then I will do it, unless it bothers her, of course," he answered. "But I appreciate the offer."
"At the kids' center and the foster home, Dr. Jones and Mrs. Jones both gave us baths. They didn't ask," Amy explained. "But Tessa can't do it herself. She gets soap in her eyes every time."
Tessa signed that she didn't care if he gave her a bath. Marta gave him a reassuring smile. "It's nice that you gave them a choice."
"I spent way too many years of my life with people having total control over me. I don't want them to feel they have to suffer through something like being naked with someone they just met hours ago." He looked over at Amy and said, "Let's go do this!"
He followed her upstairs and filled the bathtub. After making sure there were towels, soap and shampoo, he turned off the water and did as he said, standing in the doorway with his back to Amy. He was really glad that she was able to do this herself. He remembered how her sisters got strange about him or their father seeing them naked when they were younger than Amy. Tessa was too young to worry about those things.
Amy finished her bath, and Bucky asked Marta to send Tessa up while he drained the tub. Bathing Tessa was less messy than Jamie, but she definitely liked to be active and loud in the tub, leading to him ending up in a soaking wet t-shirt. Then, while he was drying her off, she told him she wanted her hair braided. When he explained he didn't know how, and he'd ask Marta or Amy to. Tessa made it very clear that he had to braid her hair himself, even crossing her arms over her chest to make her point. He took her to her room to get dressed and while she put on a pull-up and her PJs, he looked up 'how to braid hair' on Google. It ended up messy, but she was going to bed, anyway.
Since Amy was going by anyway, he asked her to take Tessa downstairs with her. He'd promised her ice cream if she ate a piece of pizza. She was already getting sleepy. He could see by her rubbing her eyes. He realized that if Marta wasn't here, he would have had to take everyone to the store and would go up and downstairs with three kids every time. Well, two since Amy could be left alone, but he didn't want her to be responsible for Tessa too.
While changing in the guest room, he answered texts from Sarah and May Parker. Then he called Sam to tell him about the extra day and why.
"So, everything is going alright?" Sam asked.
"They're really special kids, Sam. They're adorable, plus Amy and Tessa are very smart. It's a bit early to know about the baby. But he's a cheerful kid. Tessa is a little doll, but she has so much spunk and sass. Amy is so sweet. She takes her big sister's role seriously and always looks out for them. She's so grown up for her age. I think I'm winning her over. The girls have times when they withdraw and get quiet. The social worker here did a lot of messed up shit I need to find out how to handle."
"The kids sound great, man. Is this messed up shit abuse or illegal? Or just wrong?" Sam asked his concern apparent.
Bucky updated him about the bruises, what happened with Marta, separating the kids, and telling Amy he wouldn't want her. He got angry all over again. Hearing the kids getting louder, he said goodbye to Sam.
Leaving Amy with Marta watching a Disney movie, he brought Jamie and Tessa upstairs for bed. He fed the baby a bottle while watching Tessa brush her teeth. He put Jamie in the crib so he could get Tessa into bed. She stopped him when he started to pick her up. Kneeling, she put her hands together. Then she looked at him like she expected him to do the same. So he did. Luckily for him, it was a silent prayer. When she finished, she climbed into the bed. Bucky smiled at her and asked if she wanted a night light. She nodded, wrapping her arms around a few stuffed animals. The cat jumped up on the bed, curling up on Tessa's side.
'Goodnight sweet girl.' He signed to her and then went back to finish feeding the baby. Jamie fell asleep in his arms so he put him in the crib.
When he came downstairs, Marta was saying goodnight to Amy. "I figured it would be easier to only have to say goodbye to one. I'm going to miss these kids so much. I hope you call me all the time. Take care of Milo and Otis. And be good for Bucky. Remember he's new at this so don't make it hard on him."
"She's a good girl. I'm not worry about that one. At least for about two more years. My sisters were scary by age thirteen. Thanks for all of you've done, Marta. You're welcome to visit New York anytime," Bucky said, walking her to the door. Amy leaned on him while saying goodbye.
After he locked the door, Bucky asked Amy if she wanted to go outside with him to walk the dog. The flood lights lit up the backyard, so they sat outside watching the dog run around. "Are we going to go to my parents' grave tomorrow?"
"We have to do things around the house to get your things ready to move, but hopefully we can do it in the afternoon. If not, we'll do it the next day. We won't leave town without going by there, I promise," he answered then he added, "I'm not sure how much someone talked to you about your parent's death. Do you have questions?"
Quiet for a few minutes, she finally asked, "Why did they die? My father didn't drink. How could he be killed drunk driving?"
"I'm not sure who told you about the drunk driving, but they weren't the ones driving drunk. The drunk man drove the car that hit them," he explained. "As to why, I don't think anyone but God knows why people die when they do."
"Will they punish the man for driving drunk?" she asked, turning to study him.
"The lawyer said he was still hospitalized because of his injuries. They don't know if he'll survive. If so, they he will probably go to jail." He wondered about her response. Would an eleven-year-old be vengeful and want him to die? He really didn't know.
After a long time thinking, she said, "I wonder if they were scared." She wasn't vengeful. She was just broken-hearted about her parents.
Bucky hesitated answering so called the dog over to stall. Then he realized honesty had to be the way. Everyone had lied to her enough. "It happened pretty fast Amy. They didn't suffer." When she looked down, he reached over and stroked her hair. "Why don't you tell me something about each of them, every night. Maybe it will help you to remember the good times. Okay?"
Amy nodded and came to take Otis from him. "Can I finish watching the movie?"
"Is there a lot left?" When she shook her head, he agreed. He followed her inside and watched the movie with her. When it was over, he turned off all the lights and followed her upstairs. He let her brush her teeth on her own, then got her into bed. "My sisters used to hate it when my dad would tuck them into bed when they were even younger than you. They kept telling him they were too old to be tucked in and they were too old to kiss our dad goodnight. And he always said that he would tuck them in until they were teenagers and kiss them goodnight until they moved out of his house. And when I went into the war, he was still kissing them goodnight."
She giggled then she shrugged and said, "I don't mind you tucking me in."
"Good," he said, tucking her in and helping the dog to get on the bed. He heard crying, and Amy told him it was Tessa. "Sweet dreams. I'll be in the guest room if you need me during the night."
Bucky stopped in Tessa's door to see if she'd go back to sleep, but she sat up so he walked to the bed, turning on the light beside her bed. She climbed onto his lap as soon as he sat down and clung to him like she was terrified. He rubbed her back, but she kept crying. Finally, he heard Amy from the door. "Do you want her to sleep with me? She's scared to be alone now."
Tessa didn't wait for his reply. She wiggled off his lap, grabbed a stuffed animal, and walked away with Amy. He watched them leave and go down the hall toward Amy's room. He worried about the long term affects the last three weeks would have on Tessa. He couldn't imagine her being away from her sister and unable to communicate with anyone she was with. It would terrify any four-year-old to be separated from their loved ones completely, much less unable to talk to anyone. Social Services had been cruel to those kids.
Sighing, Bucky stood up and went and checked on the baby. Luckily, he was sound asleep. Day one and all three kids are still alive and on their way to or actually sleeping peacefully. He'd take that win.
x0x0x
They spent the next day labeling things, and then Bucky put the boxes and furniture in the POD. He packed almost everything they were taking except their beds and things for the trip home. The POD was going to be packed full when he put the beds on there. Amy was helpful by watching Tessa and Jamie. He was so lucky that they were such good kids.
With the stuff in the POD, he took them to a florist and let them pick out some flowers for their parents' grave. The saleswoman tried to encourage them to pick out 'proper' flowers, but Bucky told her to let them get whatever they wanted. He couldn't believe how many people tried to dictate to little kids every little thing. So, what if they picked out bright-colored flowers for the grave?
A younger saleswoman approached him. "Sir, I overheard what you were saying, and I wanted to let you know that the cemetery that their parents are buried in allows you to plant flowering bushes or evergreen shrubs besides most of the headstones if you'd like them to pick something that will last. I mean, in addition to the flowers, if you want."
Bucky smiled and nodded. "They'll want the flowers too. Do you have any flowering bushes here?" He followed her to that section, keeping an eye on the girls. Tessa had picked out all different flowers one at a time, giving a new meaning to assorted flowers. Amy was sticking to the one she found when she first came in. He let her pick out the bushes. She was so serious about it and he sensed that going to the grave was having a really powerful effect on her. After paying a small fortune thanks to Tessa's multitude of flowers, he took them to the cemetery.
James and Lisa shared a headstone. Amy traced the letters in their names. Seeing a workman there, he asked to borrow a shovel. After planting the bushes, he sat down with Jamie a little distance away. Tessa came running over and asked where her parents were. He realized she must have thought her parents were here, alive. Not in the grave. Bucky really hoped to put this conversation off until he talked to the doctor. But he didn't want to put her off when she was clearly distressed.
Taking his time to think of the easiest way to explain it, he signed slowly. He told her that her parents had gotten hurt really bad. And they couldn't live with their injuries. And now they're in heaven. She asked him a lot of questions that made him think that she understood some of it. Like she asked why they didn't go to the doctor's and get fixed. Then she asked if they got better there if they'd come back from heaven. The tears started when he said they wouldn't be able to come back. Then she pointed at the grave and asked if they were in there.
"No, baby. They're in heaven," he signed. "The stone is just a place to remember them." She looked for a long time before walking over and holding Amy's hand. Bucky's heart felt heavy watching them. But he realized some day they might want a picture of their parents' headstone so he snapped a couple quickly. One of them had the sun in front of the girls so they looked like just their silhouettes and the grave. He realized he didn't even know where his parents were buried.
Eventually Tessa came and sat beside him, playing with Jamie. Bucky didn't want to rush Amy so he just kept the two little ones busy. Tessa was more subdued than normal but it could have been worse, he supposed. Of course, he was worried he'd handled it wrong. She became very clingy with him after he told her. When Amy was ready to leave, Bucky had to juggle Tessa and the baby because she didn't want to let go of him.
At dinner at Beth and John's house, Tessa spent the entire night either clinging to him or Beth. John asked about it, and Bucky explained about what happened at the orphanage and at the cemetery. Beth started crying when she learned what they had done to the girls at the orphanage. She excused herself suddenly and Bucky felt guilty for upsetting her. He forgot that the two couples were so close.
"She really wanted to adopt the kids. But even her doctor said it would be too much for her health. But her heart broke when they took the girls away so quickly then turned us down for even a temporary foster home. And, of course, she misses Lisa and feels like she failed her by not being able to care for the children," John explained.
"I imagine that must have been hard for her. For you both," Bucky replied, uneasy about it. After all, he was the ones taking the kids away.
"We're going to Europe for a month, though. That'll distract her at least."
They discussed their upcoming trip, and Beth eventually rejoined them. Before it got dark, Bucky said they had to go. It took about thirty minutes to get the kids out of there with Beth saying goodbye and hugging on them over and over. By the time they got home and Bucky got the kids bathed and in bed, he felt drained. He checked his messages and emails, then he checked the time. He facetimed Shuri hoping he had the right time difference right.
"I thought Ayo warned you away from Wakanda, White Wolf," Shuri said, but he could tell she wasn't still mad.
"Hey, I'm about as far away as I can be," he said with a chuckle. "I am in Tennessee to pick up three children that I have become the guardian of."
Shuri started laughing at him. Then she realized he wasn't laughing. "You're serious? Three kids? I would ask you who you knocked up but that seemed a little too many kids unless they're triplets."
"Not my kids. Well, I guess they are now. But not by birth. Their father was my great, great, great nephew though my sister. He and his wife died in a car accident and I'm the only living relative except her parents who have dementia." He sent her some pics.
"Oh, they are really cute. How old are they?"
"The baby is almost six months, the little girl is almost five years and the older girl is eleven. The youngest girl, Tessa, is who I'm calling you about, actually. She was born hearing impaired, and I figured you had so many medical advancements there you probably can help with some special hearing aid or something." Bucky really hoped she could help Tessa.
"I would need to know the medical details of her hearing loss. Do you have her medical records?" Shuri's eyes lit up at the thought of a fresh problem to solve.
"I'm getting all of their records when I get back to New York. I'm not sure if anything can be done. If she just needed a hearing aid, her parents would have done it already. I know she's completely deaf and doesn't speak at all," Bucky said. He sighed and added, "When they took the kids to the orphanage, they separated them and now she's having nightmares and wetting the bed because she was all alone and couldn't communicate with anyone. I just can't get it out of my head how alone she felt. She's such a tenderhearted girl and right after losing everyone she knew; they forced her to be in that silence and helpless hell. Amy has emotional problems too because of the way they were treated in the orphanage and foster care. It's going to be hard enough for them to recover from their parents' death. I don't know. I just hoped I could resolve one thing for Tessa."
Shuri gave him a small smile. "I understand the loss of a parent. I'm a lot older, but it still is a brutal loss. And she lost two at once. I'll do everything I can, Bucky. Send me the medical files when you get them and I might have to send the jet to bring you guys here so I can examine her and try one on her. See how far we get."
"Thanks, Shuri. You're always rescuing me," he said, with no sarcasm.
"You know I want you to find happiness and peace. I'm happy to see that is a possibility now that you have someone to love."