Again, all translations are done by Google, so if they're wrong please let me know. Due to the number of different languages spoken I've done it a bit differently this time, "Words in another language." (English translation [language they were speaking]). Hopefully, this won't get too confusing.
Steve regained consciousness slowly. The first thing he heard was a steady beeping, then there was music. Where am I? opening his eyes took more effort than normal, reminding him of when he was younger and had been sick. With a quiet groan, he was finally able to open his eyes. A hospital? That makes sense. Looking around Steve felt warmth at seeing Sam sitting next to him. "On your left."
Sam just laughed and when back to his book, letting Steve pass out again.
For the first few days, it was difficult for Steve to stay awake long. Usually, it was only long enough to get a drink and eat some food before his body demanded more rest. Three days later the doctors were willing to let him go home, so long as he promised to rest.
The whole team, including Sam, were there to pick him up. "Come on Champ," Tony clapped Steve on the shoulder with a smile. "I've got a car waiting to take us to the airport. The jet is waiting to take us home. And don't worry about your friend here," Tony gestured to where Nat and Clint had Sam pinned between them. "We're bird-napping him." Steve laughed a little as Sam was frog-marched out the door. "Come on Caramellino, let's get you home." Tony passed Steve to Thor, the god helping Steve walk to the car.
Despite all the rest and food, Steve was still feeling sore and tired. On top of it, all was the fact that Bucky was still alive and out there…somewhere, not knowing who he is. Steve remained quiet and a little withdrawn for the ride home. He really should have been expecting the 'Welcome Home' party, but it still caught him off guard.
Thankfully, Tony had restrained himself, or more likely Pepper had and there were only a few guests. Thor's friends Jane and Darcy were there with Rhodey, Sharon Carter, and the Barnes sisters. Steve allowed himself to be distracted for the night. He enjoyed the food, drink, and company, the small touches and laughter.
It's only after when everyone has gone to bed and Steve is alone in his room that the tears come. Bucky has been alive this whole time, being held by Hydra. He had his arm cut off and replaced with a metal one. God only knows what they did to him to make him forget. He's forgotten himself; he's forgotten me which means he's forgotten what we were to each other.
Steve is distantly aware of his door opening and a weight settling on the bed. It's quickly followed by three more. Fingers were running through his hair, a hand rubbing his back and another one on his ankle. Someone is singing softly in another language. Opening his eyes, Steve sees Pepper sitting in front of him, her fingers running through his hair.
"Oh, Sweetie," she croons and opens her arms, offering a hug. He takes it. Shuffling forward Steve buries his face in her stomach.
"Nat and Sam told us about Bucky," he hears Tony say from behind him. "We'll do everything we can to find him and bring him home."
"Anthony is right liten en," (little one) Thor says from the end of the bed. "We shall bring your friend home."
Steve mutters quietly into Pepper's stomach, wanting his parents to know the truth, but still scared to say it aloud.
"What was that Steven?" Bruce asks, giving Steve's ankle a gentle squeeze and Steve can hear the smile in his voice.
Slowly, Steve pulls his face away from his mom but doesn't look up at any of them. "Not just my friend."
"Yes, we know," Bruce said gently. "You were like brothers."
"Aye, a Shield Brother is a special person and must always be protected."
"Not like that," Steve protested. He had never told anyone what Bucky was to him besides Tony.
"Oh," Pepper's smile faded a little. "Oh, sweetie!" Bruce and Thor looked at each other, feeling confused. Rolling her eyes Pepper tucked Steve's head under her chin. 'They were dating' she mouthed to them, and they paled a little.
Tony reached over and hugged his son. "Oh, Piccola. Andrà tutto bene te lo prometto." (Oh baby. Everything will be alright I promise.)
"He clearly remembered you," Bruce said quietly. "He pulled you out of the river and he's probably the one who called the ambulance."
"Indeed," Thor added. "After everything you have told us about your Bucky, I have no doubt that he will come home to you."
The four parents sat with Steve until he fell asleep. Then, after making sure he really was sleeping and not in any pain, they quietly got up and headed for their own beds.
"Tony," Natasha called out quietly as the four left Steve's room.
"What's up Nat?" Tony rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm not really up for any life-changing secrets right now."
"No promises there. Sam found a hard drive in Steve's pants at the hospital and Steve found a piece of paper with coordinates under the handle of his shield."
Tony immediately perked up. "Hand it here. I'll have Jarvis go over it while we get some sleep because even, I need sleep after that shit show." Taking the hard drive Tony quickly headed to the nearest terminal and plugged it in. "Jarvis, would you mind going over this for us?"
"Not at all, Sir. I shall keep an eye on my brother as well and notify you should he be in distress."
"Thanks, Jarvis. Night." Tony felt better knowing that Jarvis was looking after Steve.
"Good night Father."
Jarvis waited until he was sure that both his parents and the others were in bed and sleeping before opening the data on the hard drive. He took a few moments to gauge how long it would take to decode everything, only to find…nothing. If Jarvis had a physical form, he would have shaken his head in disbelief. Whoever had created this drive made sure that all the data was available immediately.
Needing a moment, Jarvis decided to check up on his brothers. Despite being the middle child, Jarvis tended to act more like the eldest. First, he turned his attention to the lab. His robotic brothers were aimlessly lapping the lab, seemingly lost in worry. Dum-E was the first to notice his presence and beeped at him excitedly.
{Is our brother, okay? Dad seemed worried.}
"Steve is fine, he's resting upstairs in his room. I'll tell him to come and visit you tomorrow."
{Is he okay though?} Butterfingers pushed Dum-E out of the way trying to get closer to Jarvis' camera.
"He is. Steve was injured bad enough that he had to spend three days in the hospital, but he is home now. He found out information about his…alpha who he thought was dead."
{Alpha?} Butterfingers asked looking between his brothers.
"Like our father and mother," Jarvis told him. Butterfingers beeped in acceptance.
{His alpha is alive?} U asked.
"Yes. Though, his alpha was tortured for many years and doesn't remember him."
{That's sad.}
"It was his alpha who hurt him, but he remembered Steve enough to pull him to safety and let Dad know where he was. Steve wants to find his alpha, but he's also found out that the organization he fought during the war, that he sacrificed his life to stop, is still alive."
{Steve needs to come down so we can give him hugs,} U demanded.
"He will come and visit you all tomorrow."
{Not acceptable,} Dum-E swung his arm angrily. {If he won't come to see us, we will go see him!}
"Our brother has had a difficult few weeks and is still recovering from his injuries. Steve is sleeping and should not be disturbed."
{Fine.}
"If you stay in the lab, I will send you a short live feed of Steve's room." Jarvis waited until all three of his brothers agreed before checking on his last brother. The video feed was poor quality and only from one small angle, but that was his agreement with Steve. The camera was only to be used when Steve was in distress, or when Jarvis had to blackmail their brothers.
Thankfully, Steve seemed to be alright. Though, as Jarvis watched it seemed to him that Steve was having the beginning of a nightmare. Wanting to help settle his brother, Jarvis turned the satellite radio onto the forties channel on the lowest volume. He had found that tended to work the best to keep Steve calm while sleeping. Jarvis watched until Steve calmed and rolled over.
Certain that his brothers were content for the night, Jarvis turned his attention back to the hard drive. Instead of decoding the information, Jarvis spend his time making sure the data was legitimate and organizing it.
It was close to dawn when Jarvis came across some disturbing and troubling information. This will hurt both Father and Steve, but they need to know. Keeping this a secret will hurt them more when they find out. I will just have to make sure that Father gets the information in the correct order, or he will hurt my brother and my brother's alpha.
Having chosen his course of action, Jarvis then placed an order for breakfast. There was little chance of anyone wanting to cook in the morning, but they would all need food. Knowing that the information would be difficult for everyone to hear, Jarvis made sure that he ordered everyone's favourites. From Father's blueberry muffins, Mother's crepes, Natasha's draniki, Clint's fruit salad, Thor's Pop-Tarts, Bruce's oats kheer and Steve's potato pancakes. Though Jarvis also ordered a couple of breakfast MRE's that Steve had tried before and enjoyed and much to the horror of the staff asked them to put out peanut butter, mayo, and bread so Steve could make sandwiches.
Natasha was the first one awake and laughed when she saw the amount of food waiting for them. Helping herself to a cup of coffee she waited for the rest of the family to wake. Thor and Bruce soon joined her, and they also help themselves to tea and hot chocolate. By unspoken agreement, they decide to wait for everyone else before eating.
In an odd turn of events, Steve was the last one to join them. Stumbling into the kitchen Steve immediately goes for the coffee and greedily drinks two cups before paying attention to anyone. "Morning," he finally muttered, leaning into Thor.
"Did you sleep alright Steven?" the Asgardian asked, wrapping an arm around the slightly smaller man.
Sam watched Steve with a thankful smile. He had been worried about the other man when it looked like he didn't have anyone to lean on. Sam was so very grateful that he had been proven wrong, quite literally. It was clear to him that the Avengers were a close-knit pack that supported one another.
"I think so," Steve shrugged. "Though when I woke up music was playing, so maybe not?"
"I noticed that you were showing the beginnings of a nightmare, so I turned on the music in an attempt to calm you," Jarvis told them.
"Thanks, Jarvis," Steve couldn't help but smile. It felt good knowing that his brother was looking after him.
"Of course. It's my job to care for all my brothers. And if I may, our brothers are worried about you and would like you to visit them. I had to talk them out of storming the elevator to come and check on you last night."
"Let them know, I'll come to the lab after breakfast."
"First though," Pepper scolded lightly. "You and Tony are going to eat. Come on, everyone to the table." By now they all knew to listen to Pepper and were quick to follow her orders.
Once breakfast was done Steve headed down to the lab to visit with his brothers. Tony followed, only because he enjoyed watching his sons interact. Steve spent the next couple of hours sitting with his brothers listening to their beeps and whistles then played catch with them. It calmed Steve to be in the lab with his brothers and father.
"Father, Steve," Jarvis said quietly just before lunch. "There is information you need to hear; however, it would be best if this is done in the common room with the others."
Steve shared a worried look with Tony, it wasn't good when Jarvis sounded like that. Together they headed up to the common. The rest of the family was already there waiting for them, putting them further on edge. "Okay," Tony put his hand on Steve's shoulder and guided his son to the couch. "What's going on?"
"No idea," Natasha said sounding irritated. "Jarvis told us that he had some information but won't tell us what."
"I thought it best to share the information with everyone together. I went through all the information Sergeant Barns passed on. None of it was encoded, so I checked the facts and organized them all. Some of the information will be difficult for you to hear, so I brought the family together for support."
"Okay, Jarvis hit us with it."
"Sergeant Barnes was found by Russian soldiers, but they were intercepted by Hydra. I have sent some of the information to the tablet on the coffee table."
Natasha quickly reached for the tablet, beating Tony to it. Scrolling through the information she paled. Clint, who was leaning over her shoulder reading the information jumped up and ran to the kitchen, emptying his stomach into the sink. Swallowing heavily Nat passed the tablet over to Tony. "It's not pretty. Honestly, that's some of the sickest shit I've ever encountered. Take it slowly and read it together. We'll stay here with you."
Taking a deep breath Tony picked up the tablet with one hand and reached for his son's hand with the other. Steve gripped Tony's hand as tight as possible without hurting him. Cuddling close they slowly read through the information, taking breaks when it became too much. Neither was aware of the tears that streamed down their faces, or how badly they were shaking.
Bruce got up and headed to the kitchen, puttering around making hot chocolate, snacks, and tea. He had started to read the information on another tablet but had to stop before the Hulk came out. Thor understood and quickly followed his boyfriend into the kitchen to help. They worked together seamlessly, Thor reaching for the cups that Bruce couldn't quite reach, while Bruce worked the stove. Once the tray was filled with treats and drinks, Thor picked it up and brought it to the living room while Bruce followed with a pitcher of water.
"Tony, Steve," Bruce said quietly reaching to take the tablet away. "You both need to take a break and have a quick snack."
Steve leaned further into Tony, wrapping his free hand around Tony's arm, and hiding his face in Tony's neck. "Bruce is right Caramellino. Come on, sit up and have something to eat with me." With a little help from Thor, Tony got Steve sitting upright and a glass of water into his hand. It took a while, but with convincing from Bruce and Tony leading by example, they got Steve to eat and drink before he went back to the tablet.
It was dark when they finished. Despite not wanting to, Steve had read through every piece of information Jarvis had given them. Now, he felt wrung out and tired, but knew that there was no way he would be sleeping tonight. Stretching out on the couch, Steve pillowed his head in Tony's lap.
Running his fingers through Steve's hair Tony leaned his head back on the couch. "Jarvis, please tell me there isn't anymore."
"I do apologize Father, but there is one more piece of information I have been withholding from you."
Immediately Tony was on edge. "You've been withholding information from us?"
"Indeed. I thought it best that you go through everything else first. There was a list of targets the Winter Soldier was sent out against."
"We can't hold those against Bucky," Tony said quietly shaking his head. "After what Hydra did to him, he cannot be held personally responsible for those attacks. We should probably start working on his defence. I know the government assholes will try and lock him up. Jarvis get my lawyers on it."
"Already done. Also please try to remember what you said about holding Sergeant Barnes responsible."
Tony looked around at the others confused, "Jarvis?"
There was a moment's pause before Jarvis answered. "It would appear that…that it was not an accident."
"What wasn't an accident? Jarvis?" Tony felt numb. A part of him knew exactly what Jarvis was talking about, but he needed to hear it. Beside him, Steve sat up and cuddled into his dad's side. Feeling Steve's intense body heat, Tony wrapped an arm around his son, pulling him closer.
"Hydra heard of the serum Howard had developed and wanted it. They sent out the Winter Soldier to take the serum and to leave no witnesses. Sergeant Barnes did appear to recognize Howard and tried to break the conditioning. He was punished for his hesitation."
Tony felt sick. Pushing himself up off the couch he headed for the bathroom, ignoring the other's calls for him to wait. He made it to the toilet just before losing what little food was in him. Once his stomach was empty Tony flushed then just leaned against the toilet. After everything Barnes went through, they had to make him do that! Then they punished him for fighting against their orders. I have to find him and bring him home to Steve and get him the help he needs. "Jarvis, does Pepper know?"
"She does Sir."
"Good. Would it be safe to assume that she is already looking into doctors for him and working with our lawyers?"
"Indeed Sir. I have been assisting Miss. Potts in looking over doctors for Sergeant Barnes and passing along the information to the lawyers."
"Thanks, J." Tony knew he could rely on Jarvis to find the right doctors for Barnes and the SI lawyers would make sure no charges stuck.
"Stark!" he heard Natasha's voice calling from the hall. "Tony! Get out here!"
Standing, Tony quickly rinsed his mouth out before heading to find Natasha. "What's wrong?"
"It's Steve, he's missing!"
"What! How can he be missing?"
"I don't know," Natasha was beside herself. "He snuck out of the living room, but we don't know where he is. He's not on the common floor and if he's in his room he not answering our knocks."
"Okay," Tony forced himself to take a deep breath. "I'll look go look for him."
In the living room, Steve watched his dad run from the room and felt his stomach sink. After this, there was no way Tony would help Bucky. A small insecure part of Steve wondered if that also meant Tony didn't want him anymore. Getting up he snuck out of the room and headed for the lab. If Tony was going to kick him out, he wanted to play with his brothers one last time. Though, he thought as he took the elevator down. They're not really my brothers anymore. I should be heading to my room to pack, but I don't want to leave my bro…the bots without saying goodbye.
Jarvis helped by having the lab doors already open for him. When he entered the lab, all three bots rushed towards him, beeping happily. Steve gave them a small sad smile as he sat down next to them. "Hi guys," Steve took the ball Dum-E offered him and threw it. "This might be the last time we do this," he said quietly. "Athair's really mad about Bucky. He just got up and walked away when he found out Bucky was the one who killed his parents." Steve paused and ran his hand over U's arm while leaning into Butterfingers. "I mean I don't blame him for being mad. I just came down to say goodbye, I have to go and find Bucky, but I know da-Tony won't like it."
"You're damn right I won't like it," Tony stood in the doorway watching Steve and the bots. It had taken Tony all of three seconds to realize where Steve had gone to hide and headed straight for the lab. He arrived just in time to hear Steve start talking and it made his heart hurt. "There is no way in hell that you are going off on your own searching for Bucky." Pushing off the doorframe, Tony quickly made his way to where Steve was sitting and sat down beside him with a grunt.
Wrapping an arm around his son Tony pulled Steve close. "I'm not mad at Bucky. I got up so quickly because I didn't want to throw up on the carpet. What Hydra did to your alpha is disgusting. Jarvis knew what he was doing when he held that information back. Your mom is working with Jarvis and our lawyers to make sure that Bucky is never charged for what Hydra made him do and that he receives the best medical care when we bring him home."
Steve just looked at Tony not quite believing what he was hearing. The small, abandoned pup in him said that it was too good to be true, but the other, larger part that had known Tony for three years knew that the man never said anything he didn't mean. He decided to ignore the part where Tony called Bucky his alpha. "We'll bring him home?"
"Of course. The others are going through the rest of the information Bucky gave us, including the coordinates he put in your shield. Now, you need to understand that this is going to take time. We can't just rush in there blind and hope for the best. If we're doing this, we're doing it right." Tony paused to make sure Steve understood him. "Good, now help me up. I'm too fucking old to be sitting on the floor like this. The rest of the pack is worried about you."
Smiling, Steve got up and pulled his dad up. "Sorry for freaking out there."
"I get it," Tony pulled Steve into a tight hug. "I would have done the same in your place. Say good night to your brothers, you will see them tomorrow because you. Are. Not. Going. Anywhere. Understood?"
"Yes, dad."
"Don't sass me, boy," Tony scolded. His stern look lasted only a few seconds before they were both laughing. Tony felt good, he had his son back on track and in the morning the family would begin looking for his brainwashed and tortured almost son-in-law…oh what joy.
Steve stood on the ramp of the quinjet looking over the Hydra base and couldn't help how nervous he felt. This was it, one of the last bases and the coordinates that Bucky passed on to him. He really hoped that Bucky was here.
"Hey bambino," Tony placed an armoured hand on Steve's shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I don't know athair. We've uncovered so much horrible shit in the other bases and now…these are the coordinates Bucky gave me. I want to go in there so bad, but I'm terrified by what we might find."
"I know Caramellino. But you know that we're all here for you. I'll stay close by the whole time."
"Thanks, athair."
"Now, as much as I hate it, you need to leave Steve Rogers on the jet. Bucky and the Avengers need Captain America," Tony held out Cap's helmet.
Taking the helmet Steve took a deep breath then put it on. "Avengers, keep on your guard. Just because the reports say there aren't any soldiers here, doesn't mean there won't be. We also need to gather as much intel as we can. Paper, hard drives, doesn't matter just grab it."
"Don't worry Cap," Clint reassured him. "We got this."
"Indeed," Thor clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Have no fear, Steven. We shall rescue your Bucky today. Bruce and I shall remain outside until you call for us."
Nodding Steve slipped his shield on his arm. "Let's go." Steve and Tony headed for the main entrance while Nat and Clint went for the vents. While their information said the base was mostly empty, housing only a few scientists Steve was still surprised when they didn't run into anyone.
Moving cautiously, the pair scanned each room for hostiles and information. Every file Steve found was put into an oversized bulletproof bag attached to the shield holder on his back. Tony, meanwhile, worked with Jarvis to download all the information on the computers. It was only when they reached what appeared to be a medical lab that they ran into anyone. Three men were trying to collect all the files and pack them away.
"You know," Tony said charging his repulsors. "It's always nice when the bad guys pack up all the important stuff for us." The men immediately froze and held up their hands in surrender.
"Okay," Steve looked over at Tony. "What do we do when they surrender?" the last time Steve had people surrender was back in '44 when he had backup and the ability to take prisoners. Usually, when the Avengers fought, they either knocked the people out or killed them.
"Now, you leave them to me," Phil's voice came over the comms a moment before he showed up in the doorway with five other men. "We'll take these three back to our jet and begin questioning them."
"Thanks, Phil," Steve was glad they wouldn't have to wait for backup.
"Oh, sweet science help us all," Tony muttered from where he was going through the information.
"What's wrong?" immediately Steve began thinking of all the horrible things Hydra did to Bucky.
"Hydra began experimenting with DNA and cloning. One of the doctors that defrosted you was Hydra. He got his hands on your blood. They've been using it for experiments."
"Pah," one of the scientists scoffed. "The experiment is a failure. It didn't inherit the serum, instead, the thing is sickly. We had plans to terminate the experiment today. With any luck, it has been destroyed already."
Coulson had his men take the scientists out of the base quickly. "Captain, Iron Man you two continue sweeping the base. I'll collect the information here," Phil commanded.
Saluting Phil, Steve followed Iron Man out of the room glad for the order. If he was being honest with himself Steve was having a hard time leading this mission. His family, however, had realized this and were stepping up. Iron Man led the way further down the hall, quickly checking each room they passed. As they approached a corner both men slowed and after a silent argument, Iron Man took the corner first and was immediately shot.
Jumping into action, Steve rushed in and immediately froze. "Bucky?"
Barnes lowered his gun slowly, not quite sure of the metal man standing in front of him. "Stevie. You're late."
Steve couldn't help himself from laughing if he wanted to. Reaching up he pulled his helmet off. "Is it really you Buck?"
The other man shrugged, "more or less. Have been for a while now."
"But…what about in DC?" Steve asked feeling confused. If Bucky remembered, then why had Buck attacked him.
"Hey Cap," Clint's voice interrupted Steve's brooding. "I think we have a problem here."
"Not now Hawkeye," Steve didn't want to focus on anything that wasn't Bucky. A blood-curling scream quickly changed his mind. "What the hell was that?"
Across from him, Bucky had gone white. "Come on Punk, we need to go." Barnes didn't wait for Steve or Iron Man to follow; he just turned and ran for the scream.
Shrugging, Steve quickly followed knowing that his dad was following.
"Clint," Tony called over the comms as he rushed after Steve and Bucky. "What's your location?"
"Did you hear that scream?"
"We did."
"Follow it, I'm telling you Stark, we have a major problem here."
"Don't get your panties in a twist Barton. We're on our way with Bucky…at least I think he's mostly Bucky and not the Winter Soldier."
"Oh joy. Just what we need."
Barnes rushed through the halls worry coursing through his veins. That was Ștefana's scream and God only knew what those monsters were doing to her. He knew the medics had found out about her conditions and had decided to terminate the 'experiment'. Turning the last corner his heart stopped. There were four handlers and two unknowns surrounding her.
BANG!
Make that, three handlers and two unknowns. Barnes smiled a little at the shocked looks. Despite her poor vision, Bucky had taught her well and she could shoot almost as good as him. His moment of joy was broken when one of the medics behind her pulled a gun. "Ștefana!" rushing forward Bucky pulled one of his guns and pulled the trigger. With the other hand, he pulled Ștefana to him. Shooting twice more he downed the handlers then pushed Ștefana behind him to face the unknowns.
"Stand down!" Steve called out as he rushed in. He had watched Bucky defend the pup from Hydra and prepare himself to defend her from Nat and Clint. Sharing a look with Bucky, Steve tried to let him know that there was no more threat. It seemed that Buck still trusted him as he instantly relaxed.
Once he got the all-clear from Steve, Barnes relaxed and knelt beside Ștefana, pulling her into a hug. "Ștefana, mayn zunshayn, bist ir gut? ikh bin geven azoy bazorgt ven ikh farfaln ir." (My sunshine, are you alright? I was so worried when I lost you. [Yiddish])
Ștefana clung to her Tate with all her strength, hiding her face in his neck. "Tate, ikh iz geven azoy dershrokn. der banutser hat mikh gekhaft. er hat gezagt az ikh iz geven a durkhfal fun an experiment aun ikh zol zeyn termaneytid." (Dad, I was so scared. The handler snatched me. He said that I was a failure of an experiment and that I was to be terminated. [Yiddish])
"Nu aș lăsa niciodată acest lucru să se întâmple. (I would never let that happen. [Romanian])
Steve watched the pair with a soft smile. It was clear to everyone that the little girl was a Barnes. She reminded Steve quite a bit of a younger Bucky and Becca. Listening to them talk in Yiddish and Romanian brought back memories of long evenings at the Barnes household, all that was missing was some Russian.
Letting out a small sigh Steve thought back to what Tony had discovered in the lab. Hydra was playing with DNA, which usually leads to cloning, and they did take some of my DNA. The scientist did say the experiment was sickly and a failure and was to be terminated. What if they were combining DNA and creating pups? Does that mean that she's…mine?
Barnes brushed a lock of Ștefana's hair out of her face. "Ní dhéanfadh do Ma." (Neither would your Ma. [Irish.]) Bucky glanced over Ștefana's head at his omega who was clearly deep in thought. He knew it wouldn't take Steve long to connect the dots.
Quickly Ștefana pulled away from her Tate and looked him in the eye. "Ar tháinig Ma i ndáiríre dúinn?" (Did Ma really come for us?)
Steve looked up when he heard the Irish and his heart nearly stopped. While everything else about the pup screamed Barnes, her eyes were his! Passing his shield to Iron Man and removing his helmet, Steve headed closer and knelt close by. "Rinne mé. Tháinig mé ar do shon chomh luath agus a d'fhéadfainn agus thug mé le mo chairde cabhrú liom." (I did. I came for you as soon as I could, and I brought my friends to help me.)
With a cry of joy, Ștefana launched herself at her Ma. "Tháinig tú! Tháinig tú i ndáiríre!" (You came! You really came!)
Bucky watched his omega with their daughter and smiled. Catching Steve's eye, he shook his head a little. "E la fel ca tine." (She's just like you.) [Romanian]
Steve stared at Bucky, trying to figure out just what he meant. She's just like me? Does he mean she's an omega or that she…Steve noticed that Ștefana had twisted so that her right ear was pressed against his chest. He used to do it with his Ma and Bucky when he wasn't feeling good because he couldn't hear out of his left ear. That's what the goon meant. "A moștenit ea toate bolile mele?" (Did she inherit all my illnesses?) [Romanian]
"După cum știu. Am încercat să păstrăm secretul pentru manipulatori. Deși au spus că serul este latent în ea. Sperau să o folosească ca crescător până când au aflat despre boală." (As far as I know. We've been trying to keep it secret from the handlers. Though they did say the serum is dormant in her. They were hoping to use her as a breeder until they found out about the illness.)
Natasha couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Her brother had no issues keeping up with the multiple languages Barnes and the pup were speaking. Not once had he mentioned he knew more languages. She knew that he spoke some French and German, but she figured he had just picked it up during the war. Shrugging off the language mystery, she focused on a more pressing issue…just who this pup was and why was Steve holding her like she was his? Needing answers, Natasha knelt beside her brother and reached for the pup.
Ștefana jumped at the touch, not having heard anyone approach. Wide-eyed she pressed her back against her Ma and faced the intruder. Taking a deep breath, she had a moment of panic when she couldn't smell her mother. Like a flash she was back with her Tate, inhaling his scent.
Bucky held her close while sharing a look with Steve over her head. "Что не так?" (What's wrong?) [Russian]
"У него нет запаха." (He has no smell)
"Вы правы, я нет. Я ношу специальные пластыри, которые блокируют мой запах. Он защищает меня и мою команду во время миссий." (You're right, I don't. I wear special patches that block my scent. It keeps me and my team safe when we're on missions.)
Natasha had started to translate for Steve but froze when she heard him answer in near flawless Russian. What the hell was going on.
"I hate to break up the get-together," Tony interrupted. He could see the frustration and anger on Nat's face and wanted to put off an argument. "But we should get out of here and blow this base."
"I'm with Stark on this one," Clint wanted out. Shouldering his bow, he stalked towards the exit ignoring the others. Shrugging, Nat got up and followed Clint. She wanted answers but knew that she wouldn't get any while they were still in the base.
Tony watched the pair go with an odd feeling. Something was wrong with them, but he didn't know what. He did know that he had to protect his family, which now included a son-in-law and a granddaughter. "Um, J? Could you pass along a message to Pepper for me?"
"Shall I tell Mother of young Ștefana and ask her to prepare a room for her?"
"Please. Can you also ask her to alert medical that Ștefana, Bucky, and Clint will need looking after?"
"Not a problem father."
One problem solved; Tony turned his attention to the remaining three. "Steve, Caramellino. We need to go. Clint and Nat need to set the explosives so we can blow this base."
"No need," Barnes said picking up Ștefana as he stood. "I've hidden explosives all over the base. You'll just need to connect with one and the rest will blow." Offering his free hand to Steve, Bucky pulled his omega close. "There's one hidden behind the filing cabinet behind you."
Turning, Tony made his way over to the filing cabinet and shifted it out of the way. Sure, enough there was a small explosive attached to the wall. "Jarvis, can you connect to this?"
"Just a moment, and I will have it." Tony waited for Jarvis, trying hard to ignore Steve and Bucky cuddling and whispering behind him. "I have connected with the explosives, all two-hundred of them."
"Two-hundred!" spinning he looked at Bucky in disbelief.
Barnes just shrugged. "I hid them as often as I could but never kept count."
Tony just shook his head. "Alright, let's get you three out of here and back home." Turning he led the way out of the base.
As they passed the hall where they had met, Bucky headed off to pick up the duffel he had hidden there. Shouldering it he continued following Tony. "Wait!" Barnes called as they approached the entrance.
"What now?" Tony couldn't help the exasperation that bleed through into his voice.
"She's never been outside," Barnes said softly as he adjusted Ștefana in his arms.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Steve cursed as he tugged on his hair.
Bucky ignored the other two, turning his attention instead to his daughter. "Acoperă-ți ochii Soare, va fi strălucitor." (Cover your eyes Sunshine, it's going to be bright. [Romanian]) Once his pup had hidden her face in his neck Barnes headed for the exit, bracing himself for the brightness he knew was coming.
After sharing a look with his dad, Steve quickly followed Bucky and Ștefana out of the base. Bucky had stopped just outside the doorway and was speaking to the pup quietly in Irish. Slowly her face emerged from Bucky's neck and Steve couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face. She looked around the area with wide eyes and wiggled for Bucky to put her down.
Ștefana couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was so much light! The stuff under her feet felt amazing. Running across the clearing she reached for a thing dangling from a tree. Grabbing it she turned around and ran back to where her parents were standing. "Tate?"
"It's a leaf and it's green."
Smiling Ștefana raced off again, back towards the tree. There at the base were small round things. Picking one she ran back to her Ma. "Ma? Green?"
Kneeling, Steve took the offered flower with a sad smile. "No, A Stóirín. (Sweetheart.) That's red, it's a flower." Scowling at the offending flower she dropped it before going in search of something else. Sighing, Steve leaned into Bucky. "She's colour blind?"
Barnes wrapped his arms around Steve and pulled his omega close. "Yes. She also has your attitude."
"God help us," Steve laughed.
Clint was pissed. He could only stare at the three with growing rage. He was upset because his alpha has denied him a pup repeatedly while that pup dared to exist. The product of two alphas, it was an abomination. His feet were moving before his mind had been fully made up. He could hear Phil yelling at him to get back, but he didn't care. Not even Tony, the Pack Alpha, could make him stop. Clint was going to get rid of the little abomination as only an omega can. No alpha would dare stop him.
Clint reaches out to grab her but is growled at which is odd was alphas don't threaten omegas like that; only another omega would dare. Outside the battlefield, alphas never threaten an omega, especially not when it comes to matters of the pack. The only other omega in the pack was Pepper and she wasn't here to accept or deny the pup entrance to the pack. Clint wasn't about to let this pup be a part of his pack. The only thing for him to do was remove the threat, permanently.
Steve watched as Clint stalked towards his pup and feels his rage building. How dare that omega threaten his pup. Growling low in his throat, Steve is glad he can feel his suppressants burning out of his body. Moving quickly, he reached up and pulled the scent blockers off his neck in the same moment that he threw himself at Clint.
Bucky watched with a smile as his omega beat on the one who dared threaten their pup. Beside him, Tony was torn. Part of him was proud of Steve for stepping up into his place as an omega. The other part was worried, both that Steve might really hurt Clint, and that others had found out the truth. Tony glanced over at Bucky, "do you think you could stop him before he kills Clint?"
"Why should I? That asshole just tried to kill my pup."
"I know that, but when he comes out of his rage Steve will feel horrible if he does kill Clint."
Barnes sighed. As much as he hated it Stark was right. Steve would hate himself if he did any actual damage to the other omega. "If I could stop him, then I would. But I'm not sure even I could. We never bonded properly."
Thankfully for Clint, Ștefana was watching the fight with excitement at finally being able to smell her mother. In her excitement, she lost control of her breath and began having an asthma attack. Bucky immediately heard the change in her breathing and rushed over, forgetting that he had medicine in his duffle.
Even while lost in an omega rage Steve kept one ear on his pup, so he noticed immediately when her breathing changed. Knocking Clint out, Steve leapt for Bucky's duffle. Even after getting the serum, Bucky had continued to have a supply of Steve's medicine hidden away. Opening the duffle, he reached for the part of the lining where he knew Bucky always kept his medicine.
"Steve," Bruce called out. "She needs the proper medicine. We need to get her back to the Tower! Steve!"
The omega wasn't listening. Deep down he knew that once Bucky knew about Ștefana's illnesses, he would have gone out and gotten medicine for her. Ripping the lining, Steve smiled. Even after being brainwashed and tortured Bucky was still looking after a Rogers.
Grabbing the medicine, Steve rushed over to where his alpha was cradling their pup. Steve had never told anyone, not even his parents, that within the first year of being unfrozen he had looked up all his old illnesses and their current treatments. On top of that, he could see that Bucky had written on all the bottles. Passing the inhaler over, Steve began arranging the medicine. "Does anyone have a water bottle?"
All the Avengers were too shocked to move. Instead, it was Phil who calmly passed Steve a water bottle on his way to check on his omega. Sighing, Phil knelt beside Clint, who was still unconscious. Checking him over, Phil was glad that Steve had controlled himself and not killed Clint. Part of Phil was angry at Clint for attacking the pup, but a part of him knew that it was partially his own fault. He knew that Clint had been wanting pups for a while, but Phil had turned him down every time.
Picking up Clint, Phil made his way to the jet with Nat following close behind. Laying Clint down on one of the medical beds, the pair began checking him over. Phil couldn't hold back the sigh of relief when he found nothing worse than a broken arm.
Out in the field, Bucky had gotten Ștefana to use the inhaler and was giving her the pills that Steve had passed over. Together, the pair waited for the pained look on their pup's face to vanish before moving. "Athair, we need to get back as fast as we can." Steve took Ștefana from Bucky and carried his pup onto the jet.
"No problem, Kiddo. Let's get everyone on the jet and head home. Brucie! Point Break! Let's get moving! Jarvis will blow the base once all of Agent's agents clear the area. We need to get my granddaughter, Bucky, and Clint looked after. Let's move it, people!"
I haven't quite decided what kind of colour blindness she should have just yet ;) any suggestions?br /
Let me know what you think. Updates will be a bit slower now, I haven't quite finished chapter 3 just yet, but it's getting there.