Chapter 25. The Good and the Bad

Mobile, Alabama

April, 2028

The flight attendant came through the cabin making sure everyone had their seatbelts on and tray tables up. She paused by the seats where Bucky, Rebecca, and Julia sat. She smiled at how Rebecca held both of her parent's hands as she sat in between them. The child had been a joy to have on the flight, full of wonder and questions on everything.

"How are you doing Miss Rebecca?" she asked the little girl. "Are you making sure Mommy and Daddy are okay for the landing?"

"Uh huh," replied Rebecca. "When we land I get to be a flower girl."

"I heard," smiled the flight attendant. "You're a very lucky little girl."

The Captain called out the final landing procedures and she quickly finished checking the seatbelts then sat on her jump seat and belted herself in. She could see Rebecca from where she sat and watched the little girl whisper excitedly to her parents as the jet landed. When they taxied to their gate she saw the handsome dad pick the little girl up for the walk off the aircraft after he pulled their carry on luggage out. As they passed her and the other flight attendants Rebecca said goodbye with a big smile. It was impossible not to smile back at the little girl. Her parents both smiled indulgently at their child and exited onto the concourse.

"Well, that was fun," said Julia. "I was worried Rebecca would have trouble adjusting to the pressure changes as we took off and landed but she handled it better than I did."

"She did very well," replied Bucky.

They picked up their luggage and went to the rental car outlet to pick up their SUV and car seat for Rebecca. Once again she charmed the counter attendant who continually smiled at the little girl perched on top of the counter. Rebecca told him everything about the jet then went on to say she was going to be a flower girl for Uncle Sam's wedding. By the time they got the keys the attendant knew everything. He looked at Bucky and Julia as he handed them the keys.

"Your little girl is very sweet," he said. "I hope the wedding goes well. Give our best to Uncle Sam and Aunty Anna. Your vehicle is straight out the door, in the number 7 stall."

"Thank you," replied Bucky, scooping up Rebecca in one arm. "She keeps us entertained."

They located the vehicle and were soon on their way to the hotel which was also the wedding venue. Unlike their wedding this was going to be a big affair as Anna came from a large family. Even with Sam's family and Delacroix friends plus the Avengers who were invited his side would have just over a hundred guests. Anna's family would have close to four hundred. There would be three flower girls, Rebecca would be the youngest and she took her responsibilities very seriously. Bucky was best man but Sam also asked Joaquin Torres, and Anna's two brothers to be his groomsmen. Sarah and Julia were both asked to be in the wedding party along with Anna's sister and cousin.

They pulled up to the hotel valet who took their luggage out of the back of the SUV. Rebecca was ecstatic about staying in a hotel and skipped happily towards the lobby. When she entered it she looked all around her, wide eyed, and then saw Sam standing with several others.

"Uncle Sam!" she cried and ran towards him.

He turned and gave her a big smile before lifting her high up into the air. "Becky Bear," he said happily. "Finally, you're here. Now we can have the wedding." Holding her close he extended his hand to Bucky and kissed Julia on the cheek. "How was your flight?"

"Interesting," said Bucky with a grin. "Someone endeared herself to the flight crew. You would have thought she was a seasoned traveller."

"How's my mama to be?" Sam asked. "Any idea if it's a boy or a girl yet? You know Sam is a good boy's name."

"It is," smiled Julia. "We don't know yet but if it's a boy it will be named after the grandfathers. Sorry."

"Next one then," he said. "Why don't I watch this little one while you check in. I'll show her the garden and the swimming pool. Sarah's dying to meet her."

Bucky and Julia nodded while Sam put Rebecca down and took her by the hand. After being pulled by her to look at various features in the lobby then the swimming pool Sam led the little girl into the courtyard garden where Sarah and the boys were.

"Bucky and Julia just arrived," said Sam to his sister. "I bring you Rebecca Kate Barnes, also known as Becky Bear. Becky, this is my sister, Aunt Sarah. These are her sons, AJ and Cass."

"Well, hello Miss Rebecca," said Sarah warmly. "Aren't you a beautiful little girl."

"I'm going to be a flower girl," stated Rebecca proudly. "I get to wear a pretty dress with ribbons."

"It's a very important job," said Sarah. "I heard you're going to be a big sister. Are you excited about that?"

"Yes," nodded Rebecca as she sat herself on the edge of the chaise lounge. "Her name is Crystal Sparkle."

The adults grinned. "What if it's a boy?" asked Sarah.

Rebecca looked up into the sky and thought for a moment. "Bobby," she finally said. "Like Uncle Greg's dog."

Sam burst out laughing. "18 months old and she's already thinking of boys as dogs," he joked.

"All the better," said Bucky as he joined them. "She's not going to fall for some smooth talker if I have anything to say about it."

He leaned over to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek while Julia hugged her. They hadn't seen the boys since their wedding and Bucky couldn't get over how much they had grown.

"You eat your mom out of house and home yet?" he asked both boys.

"Cass is in junior high school now," said Sam proudly. "He plays on their football team."

"Good for you," said Bucky. "Grow a couple more inches and add a few more pounds you'll make it to the high school squad with no problem. What about you AJ? Is football in your future?"

"I hope so," said the younger brother. "Cass is always asking me to toss the ball around."

"Daddy, can we go swimming?" interrupted Rebecca. "Uncle Sam showed me the swimming pool."

Bucky looked at Julia who nodded. "I guess Dad duty calls. What about you Mommy, you coming for a swim?"

"Sure," replied Julia, then smiled as Bucky picked up Julia and they both went up to their room.

Sarah's boys both said they wanted to swim so she gave them one of the room keys. It wasn't long before they all came out in their swimwear and both Sarah and Sam relocated to the pool lounge chairs. Bucky dove in via the diving board then came over to the side and took Rebecca in his arms. Julia took her coverup off showing her small baby bump in her bikini. Sitting on the edge of the pool she slid in and swam over to Bucky and Rebecca.

"Should we show Uncle Sam and Aunt Sarah what a good swimmer you are?" Bucky asked Rebecca.

She nodded and he laid her on her back in the water, reminding her to breathe calmly. Quickly she kicked her feet propelling herself towards Julia who picked her up and held her as she blinked her eyes free of the water.

"Have you two been doing those parent / baby swim lessons?" asked Sarah, impressed.

"Yeah, but we also go out every week to the pool in South Tahoe," replied Bucky. "Rebecca, show them how you can put your head under water."

Julia held her daughter then gently slipped her under the water and pushed her towards Bucky. Rebecca kicked her feet and came up just in front of him, blinking her eyes again as he held her. As he praised her verbally both Sam and Sarah clapped their hands and Rebecca looked at them smiling.

"I can jump," she offered. "Daddy, let me jump."

Bucky put her at the pool's edge and stepped away several feet. She launched herself towards him and landed in the water where he waited for her to break the surface before he picked her up. They did it several times more before she asked to go down the slide and Bucky moved to the other side of the pool. Julia stayed near Sam and Sarah.

"That's amazing," said Sam. "Are you sure she doesn't have super soldier abilities?"

"Not the obvious ones, anyways," said Julia. "She is pretty precocious for her age and fearless so there is that, I guess. We put her into baby skiing lessons this past winter and she was pretty good. Better than me in fact. We plan to get all the kids actively involved in sports. Bucky thinks it will be a good outlet for their abilities, if they have them, and they'll blend in with the other local kids who will be doing the exact same thing."

"That's a good plan," said a voice and they all looked up to see Clint Barton and his family. "How are you all?"

Bucky waved from the other side and carried Rebecca over. "Sweetie, these are friends of Mommy and Daddy's," he said. "Mr. and Mrs. Barton."

"Hawkeye!" she yelled. "I saw you on TV. Daddy I want to shoot an arrow."

Clint and the other adults laughed. "Sure, little one," he said, kneeling down. "What's your name?"

"Rebecca," she answered. "Will you teach me?"

"Well, I didn't bring my bow and arrows with me," explained Clint. "Maybe sometime you can visit my farm and I can teach you."

"You live on a farm?" she exclaimed. "Do you have cows, and chickens, and horses?"

"No cows but we do have chickens and horses," replied Clint, with a gleam in his eye. "We'd love to have them wouldn't we Laura?"

Laura beamed. "Absolutely," she said, then she looked at Julia. "She's adorable."

"We think so," agreed Julia, smiling. "You should have seen her charming the flight attendants on the way here."

Bucky noticed Rebecca's teeth were starting to chatter so he took her to the side of the pool and asked for a towel, wrapping her up in it as Julia got out and picked her up. They snuggled together on a lounge chair as other guests began coming over to greet them. Anna came with her parents who were both charmed with Rebecca when she shook hands with them at their introduction, then explained she was a flower girl for Aunty Anna's wedding.

Bucky decided to swim a few laps then stepped out of the pool to the applause of the Avengers guests.

"Knock it off," he said. "Just trying to keep active. So, Sam, what's the plan? Are we having a stag tonight? We didn't have one for my wedding although we were partying pretty hard with everyone there."

Anna looked at Sam with her eyebrows raised. "I told you that you should have one," she said. "I'm okay with it as long as there are no strippers."

"I would never...," said Bucky, grimacing dramatically. "I figured there should be a decent cigar bar with some good scotch or bourbon."

"There is," said Anna's father, Michael. "I'd be down for that. What do you say, Sam? Have a cigar and a drink with your future father-in-law?"

"Alright," smiled Sam. "You tell me the place and I'll call them, give them a heads up that some well behaved men are coming in. Clint, you in?"

"Absolutely," he replied. "After dinner, though, right?"

As Sam went off to pass the word and phone the cigar bar Bucky got out of the water, dried off and went to change with Julia and Rebecca. By the time they came out of the room everyone was gathering at the restaurant for dinner. They were a lively bunch and the wait staff couldn't believe how much Bucky and Thor ate. When Rebecca finally fell asleep in her booster chair Bucky paid their bill and picked her up. Julia said good night to everyone as she reached her limit as well. They went back to the suite and Bucky opened the second bedroom door, laying Rebecca down on the bed.

"Do you want to risk waking her?" he asked. "She could sleep like this all night."

"Let's leave her," said Julia, setting up the baby monitor. "I'll hear her if she wakes up before you return."

"I don't have to go," he said. "If you're nervous about being alone I can stay."

"I'll be fine," she declared. "You go and have a good time. I'll put the deadbolt on so you'll have to call me when you get here. Then we can have some sexy time."

He put his arms around her and kissed her sensuously. "Okay, I'll try not to be too late," he promised. "You call me if anything comes up."

A text sounded on Bucky's phone alerting him to leave for the cigar bar and he picked up his jacket, giving Julia one more kiss before he left. As soon as he left she put the deadbolt and chain on then changed into pyjamas and turned the TV on. Rebecca did wake up about an hour later and Julia changed her into pyjamas then tucked her back into her bed, sitting with her, and reading a book they brought. Eventually the little girl fell back asleep and Julia watched some more TV. Although she tried not to keep checking her phone for the time or for text messages when it got past midnight she began to get anxious. She did the grounding technique and that helped. Finally, close to 1 am she got a text from Bucky asking if she was still up. She phoned him.

"I'm still up," she said, hearing loud music behind him. "I can't sleep without you."

"Okay," he replied loudly to make himself heard. "I'm coming back. We're at a bar and Sam's a little worse for the wear. I'll get him back to his room first then I'll knock four times on our door, okay? Be there in about 15 minutes."

Some time later she heard the four knocks and she looked out the peephole seeing Bucky. Undoing the chain and the deadbolt she opened the door and he stepped inside.

"Let me have a quick shower and brush my teeth," he said quietly. "I just need five minutes."

While he was in there she turned off the main room lights and waited in bed for Bucky. He came out wrapped in a towel and got into bed with her. After kissing her for some time he propped himself up on one elbow and took a deep breath.

"Well that was an interesting night," he said. "We were recognized and were having a really good time. Then three good old boys, just three, said some things about Sam, some of the Delacroix people, Anna's brothers, cousin, and dad. Things that I'm not going to repeat but it wasn't nice. We were all kicked out of the cigar bar because of them. Bunch of racist assholes. Same old shit. That's how we ended up at a bar. At least it was a blues bar and even though Thor, Clint, Joaquin and I were in the minority we were accepted. It still upset Sam and that's how he ended up having too much to drink."

Julia stroked Bucky's face, both sad for him and proud that he stuck up for Sam and the others. She soothed him further by removing his towel, then undressing herself. His kisses were gentle at first then firmer and more demanding as he redirected his disappointment with the evening into his lovemaking. Several times he stopped and apologized but Julia just kissed him and told him it was okay, that she was there for him. After they were both satisfied Julia told him to lay his head on her shoulder and she ran her hand through his hair until he slept. In the morning she woke up to him watching her then kissing her gently.

Nothing was said the next day by anyone but Julia noticed Anna's family were much friendlier to them, engaging with them often. The rehearsal took place and went smoothly followed by the rehearsal dinner, hosted by Anna's parents. There was an informal gathering after that in the courtyard garden. Bucky introduced Julia and Rebecca to several of the Delacroix people and she found herself the recipient of multiple invitations to come and visit. When she mentioned to Bucky how friendly they were he smiled.

"They are a friendly bunch," he replied. "It's partly why I moved to the New Orleans area as I felt more at home there than I did in Brooklyn. Then when I met you Lake Tahoe felt like home because you were there."

He put his arm around her, kissing her on the forehead. Sam sat beside them and leaned back.

"You still okay with me sleeping in your second bedroom?" he asked.

"Yeah, Rebecca sleeps like a rock," said Bucky. "She'll be fine in between us. Then tomorrow Julia and Rebecca will go to your room to get ready while the groomsmen come to ours."

"I'll be glad when this wedding is over," noted Sam. "I think you two had the right idea keeping it small. Don't tell Anna that. She's loving the attention."

He gestured to where she was standing with several of her friends from college. His face was soft as he watched her and when their eyes met both of their faces bloomed into broad smiles.

An hour later the gathering began to break up and Sam went to his and Anna's room to get his things. He came out to give her a tender goodnight kiss as Bucky picked up a sleeping Rebecca. When they got to their room Bucky laid Rebecca on their bed while Julia undressed her and put her pyjamas on.

"Sam and I are going to have a drink and talk for a bit," said Bucky to Julia. "You go ahead and go to bed."

"Okay," replied Julia. "Don't stay up too late. I'm going to order breakfast for all of us for 8:30."

He kissed her deeply and closed the bedroom door. Outside the door she could hear Bucky bringing up his jazz playlist and smiled, realizing he likely brought the good scotch for this one on one time with his best friend. For a man who was immune to the effects of alcohol he still liked the taste, especially the good stuff. She didn't know what time he got to bed as he slipped in without waking her or Rebecca but when she woke up in the morning Rebecca was curled up in his arms. Quietly she washed up and dressed casual style. It was still early and Julia went out to the living room area, pulling out the room service menu so she could place the order for delivery at 8:30. The sound of the other bedroom door opening alerted her and she looked up.

"You're up early," she said to Sam, who came out in a T-shirt and sweatpants.

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning.

"Seven," she replied. "Why don't you go back to bed and I'll wake you up when breakfast gets here."

"Okay," he said agreeably. "Just make sure there's lots of coffee. Get me a full breakfast, sausage, fried eggs, grits and sausage gravy, please."

"Will do," said Julia.

Sam turned around and went back to bed. Almost an hour later Julia placed the order and went back into their bedroom, finding Rebecca just waking up. She rubbed her eyes and smiled at her mother.

"Hi Baby," said Julia softly. "Did you have a good sleep? Do you think you can have a quick bath?"

Rebecca nodded and allowed her mother to undress her. Julia ran some water in the tub and bathed the little girl. Then she wrapped her up in a towel and brought her out to the bed where Bucky was just waking up. He looked at the clock and got out of the bed. Quickly he showered then asked if he had time to shave before breakfast. Julia told him to go ahead. She dressed Rebecca in casual clothes and they both went out to the living room area. Bucky came out with a clean shaven face just as room service knocked on the door. Sam came out at the same time and they were all able to sit and eat without delay. All too soon the other groomsmen began knocking on the door and Julia brushed her and Rebecca's teeth then gathered her toiletry bag and dress bag, with both their dresses in it. Just before she left Sam came with a small package for her.

"Could you give this to Anna," he said. "It's my gift to her." He lifted up his right wrist showing a white gold ID bracelet. "Tell her I love this."

Julia hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, then she kissed Bucky goodbye until later. She arrived at Anna's room a few minutes later and found a room full of activity as the hair stylists and makeup artists were already there. Before she forgot she gave Anna the package from Sam. She opened it up to a pair of diamond and pearl earrings.

"He always liked the ones Bucky got you," she explained, smiling. "He got me the pearl necklace for an engagement present. We both have old fashioned modern men, don't we?"

"You're right about that," agreed Julia. "You know I hoped you two would click when I introduced you at the ice rink but I honestly didn't know if you would ever be in a serious relationship."

"I knew as soon as we talked a while that he was someone worth investing time in," explained Anna. "Thank you for introducing us. He's everything I ever wanted in a man."

The two women embraced each other. Julia was called to have her makeup done then her hair. Rebecca watched all of it patiently waiting for her turn. The other two flower girls were a little older but also watched with fascination at the preparations. When it came time to do the girl's hair the hair stylist assigned to Rebecca ran her hands through her straight thick hair.

"How do you feel about ringlets, honey?" she asked. "I can put some heavy duty gel in your hair and curl it so it looks like this." She pulled a picture up on her cell phone and showed Rebecca.

"Mommy, look!" she exclaimed. "Curly hair."

Julia nodded her approval and the stylist began applying gel to Rebecca's hair, then curling it in ringlets with the curling iron. She gathered the hair to the back of the head and pinned it in place. Anna had flowered headbands for the girls that the stylist positioned so it covered the pins. She sprayed it all with extra hold hair spray then showed Rebecca in the mirror. Her smile was enough to light up the whole room. It was even bigger when Julia put the flower girl's dress on her daughter. By the time Julia and the rest of the wedding party got their dresses on Rebecca was ready for her moment as she posed in front of the full length mirror.

"She really isn't this shallow," said Julia, watching Rebecca with a smile. "I think she's just caught up in the excitement of being in the spotlight."

"I think it's adorable," said Anna. "She has charmed everyone in my family. On another note, my dad was grateful for Bucky and the others at the cigar bar. He said they stood up for him, my brothers and Sam. They showed those jerks that when you mess with one Avenger you mess with them all. It's just too bad the manager of the cigar bar didn't see it that way. No matter as the blues bar they ended up at had a jam session going. My dad was in his glory."

"Bucky didn't tell me much," said Julia. "I know it bothered him. You know that he will always do the right thing. It's just how he is. It's how Sam is as well. They really are cut from the same cloth."

They were interrupted by the arrival of the photographer and took a series of pictures in the hotel room. Then they left to get into the limousine that would take them to the church. Everyone was full of excitement and anticipation on the short ride. When they arrived there Anna's father was waiting. He offered his hand to everyone, helping them exit the vehicle, then looked up at the sky and commented that it was a beautiful day for a wedding.