Chapter 3. More Than a Client

On Tuesday Amina showed up at 1:30 to watch Rebecca. She brought some ingredients with her to do some more baking for them. When Bucky offered to pay her for her efforts she put her hand out in opposition.

"No, Mr. Bucky," she stated. "I bake because I like you and Mrs. Rebecca. You are friends and it is my pleasure to bake for my friends."

"But you do so much already," he said. "We were strangers 10 days ago."

"In my religion there is a saying," she replied. "If you help someone, Allah helps you. Someday my family will need help and I am ensuring that I will receive it."

"You're very kind," replied Bucky. "Shukran lika."

"You're very welcome. Now go to your meeting. Say hello to Miss Tracey Harris." He looked surprised at her. "You think none of us noticed the looks between you? She is a good woman and needs a good man. You can be good for each other. Go, don't be late."

Shaking his head Bucky left for the coffee shop, located a few blocks away. He arrived first and ordered himself a regular coffee. Nursing it he waited patiently. When Tracey arrived he stood up and pulled her chair out for her.

"What would you like?" he asked. "My treat."

"Um, a caffè latte, please," she said. "I wouldn't mind a snack. I didn't get lunch today. Just a muffin, perhaps."

Bucky nodded and ordered her coffee and a carrot muffin. He waited for the coffee and brought it to her. Sitting across from her he sipped his drink.

"Foggy Nelson came yesterday," he said. "Rebecca really likes him. He suggested a different way to make sure I get the house, joint tenancy with survivorship ... something like that. It means my name goes on the deed and if anything happens to Rebecca then I'm her immediate survivor. She is still doing a will for her personal possessions. He's also going to look into my back pay claim. I won't hold my breath on that."

"He is very passionate about his job," said Tracey. "He and his partner have helped a lot of people who have lost faith in the system. If he can get your back pay settled you could switch to day shift and live a more normal life. That's your goal isn't it? A normal life with your sister?"

"I guess," replied Bucky, trying not to stare too much. "I haven't really had a normal life since the 40s. Not sure I remember how to live one. Although I guess if I switched to day shift I could start dating, if I met someone who would go out with me. I tried the dating apps but ..."

He stopped, embarrassed at telling her what type of woman swiped right on his profile in the dating apps. She smiled sympathetically.

"I can understand what you're going through," she said, "more than you think. I've been divorced for four years and I think I've had maybe four dates in all that time. Two of them wanted me to go home with them right away and were angry that they spent money on me and I didn't put out." Bucky frowned at that admission. "One was angry over his own divorce and spent the entire date complaining about women who were out to emasculate men."

She stopped and took a drink of her coffee. "And the fourth one?" asked Bucky, gently.

She took another drink of her coffee before speaking. "Was charming and sociable. Then I woke up alone in a cheap motel and didn't remember how I got there ... You can guess the rest."

Bucky seethed inside, that someone would do such a thing. He knew of guys who had done similar things before the war and had taken justice into his own hands a few times. He swallowed his anger and looked at Tracey.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It didn't happen often in my day but even once was too much. It must have put you off of dating completely."

"It did," she admitted, then she sipped her coffee and looked at her cup. "Then I met a kind, quiet, private man who faced his own challenges. He asked me out and I had to turn him down because he was technically a client but as of yesterday he's not anymore."

She kept looking at her coffee for a moment then raised her eyes to his surprised look. "Me? You're talking about me?"

"I talked to my supervisor," she said. "Told her I stayed the night at your house to watch your sister while you worked the night shift, and that I gave you both a ride to the newcomer centre for a social event on the weekend, then organized a Sunday meeting with the volunteers at your house. She agreed that I've become emotionally involved with you and Rebecca. Another nurse will take her on as a client."

"You're not in trouble, are you?" he asked, his face and voice full of concern. "I never wanted you to get into trouble."

"No, it's a hazard of the profession," replied Tracey, with a slight smile. "I reported it right away like I was supposed to. After a cooling off period I'll be free to go out with you, if you're willing to wait a bit."

Bucky felt a warmth inside that he hadn't felt for a long time, not since the war when he thought he fell in love with an army secretary. He never had the chance to find out about her because he fell from the train a week later. Tracey's cheeks were coloured pink and she looked anxious, as if she had put herself out on a limb and was afraid to climb back to the safety of the tree trunk.

"How long is the cooling off period?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Two months," she replied. "No contact with each other. The new nurse has been fully briefed on the situation and agrees that Rebecca needs to be at home with you. The volunteers are doing a great job and if you get the funding to hire someone they can apply for the job and actually get paid for it."

Bucky took a big breath and sat back for a moment. He never expected that Tracey would take the step of transferring Rebecca's case to someone else. She still wasn't looking at him and he realized that he hadn't really said he would be there for her.

"I came here with the intention of asking you to give up Rebecca as a client," he admitted. "I like you, a lot. You're a kind woman and you've been very understanding with me. I'll wait as long as it takes for your cooling off period. You're worth it to me. I just hope I'm worth it to you."

She smiled shyly and it was like a fountain began flowing inside of him at the sight of her lovely smile, that she was gifting to him. They both took a drink of their coffees and Tracey finished her muffin. When they finished their drinks Bucky walked her to her car, waiting patiently as she unlocked the door and opened it. He looked intently at her, unable to take his eyes off of her lips. Suddenly she put her hand on his cheek and he leaned down kissing her gently. They each smiled self consciously and he stepped back as she got behind the wheel. As she pulled away he watched until he couldn't see her car anymore. Both of them had a soft look on their faces.

When he walked in the door of the house both Amina and Rebecca noticed Bucky didn't have his normal stoic face on. Instead he had what Amina thought was a hopeful face, as if he had seen something that made him feel good about his life.

"How did the coffee date go?" asked Rebecca.

"It wasn't a date," said Bucky, his face still happy. "It was a meeting with your former nurse. I say former because you'll have a new nurse starting Friday. I forgot to ask for her name."

"What about Miss Tracey?" asked Amina, taking a tray of cookies out of the oven.

"She asked to be removed as Rebecca's nurse," he said, stopping so that he was in between the kitchen and the living room. "Apparently, if she is emotionally involved with a client it's not ethical for her to stay on as their nurse. She'll be able to visit as a friend in two months."

"Two months is a long time," noted Rebecca.

"I'll manage," said Bucky. "Amina, I need to take a nap. Are you going to be here for a while?"

"For about another hour," she said, looking at the clock on the wall. "Sweet dreams."

Rebecca snorted and Amina giggled. Bucky coloured up a bit but nothing was going to affect the good feeling he had since he kissed Tracey. Kicking his shoes off he laid on top of the bed. The window was open and he could hear bird song outside. Focussing on that he fell into an easy sleep quickly.

There's a song playing as he and Tracey are standing close to each other. He's heard it on the radio before but he doesn't know the title or who sings it. The lyrics include references to Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo but what he really likes is that he's in a suit, Tracey is in a dress and they begin dancing to this song. They're in a garden, with fairy lights all around, and the moon is making everything glow in its silvery light. The song ends with him falling in love with her and what is even better, her falling in love with him. As the dream fades to darkness Bucky kisses Tracey passionately.

Bucky opened his eyes and sat up. That song was in his head. He could hear it but except for Valentino, Garbo and falling in love he couldn't discern the rest of the lyrics. He got up and noticed Rebecca was asleep on her bed. For a minute he watched her chest rise and fall as she rested, then he closed the door. A note was on the kitchen counter.

I helped Mrs. Rebecca go to bed at 3:30 pm and left shortly after. I'm happy for you and Miss Tracey. She is worth waiting for. I will see you Thursday for my regular shift.

Amina Nyok

He smiled then opened the fridge and took out the chicken breasts he defrosted. He also took out mushrooms, baby spinach and three cloves of garlic. He sliced the mushrooms, crushed the garlic and put them both in the frying pan with some olive oil, then added the baby spinach and some thyme. While that cooked he sliced pockets in the chicken and seasoned them with salt and pepper. He stuffed the mushroom filling in the pockets, added some mozzarella and sealed the pockets with toothpicks. Adding some more butter to the frying pan he added the chicken breasts and browned them then transferred them to a baking dish. For a moment he thought he heard something and he checked on Rebecca.

"Are you awake?" he asked quietly.

"Just," she said sleepily. "You must have heard me stretching."

He chuckled and came to the side of the bed. "Do you want to get up?" he asked. "I can get you up now or continue to make supper and get you up later."

"Now is good," she said. "Bathroom first."

He helped her sit up and transferred her into the bathroom. As he lifted her up with one arm he helped her remove her pants and the diaper then lowered her onto the raised toilet seat.

"You good?" he asked.

She nodded and he went back to the kitchen to get the next set of ingredients out for the rice. When she was done Rebecca called him, Bucky helped her then carried her into the living room and placed her on the arm chair. Turning on the TV he put it on the news and returned to the kitchen to continue making dinner. Half an hour later it was all ready and he served her meal then went back for his. They watched the news then Bucky watched Jeopardy with Rebecca, trying to guess the answers with her. During a commercial break she looked at her brother.

"You usually read during these shows," she said. "What's got you in a good mood?"

"I guess I feel good about Tracey," he said after a moment.

"I'm glad for you," replied Rebecca. "I just hope her replacement is just as nice as she was."

"It'll be alright," said Bucky.

The commercial ended and they continued to watch Jeopardy. By the time Kalyna came for her shift Rebecca was all ready for bed and Bucky read her another bed time story, this time a chapter from Tuesdays With Morrie. He kissed her goodnight, said goodnight to Kalyna and ran to the docks. The following morning Foggy was back with all the documents and they signed everything.

On Friday morning Bucky made sure the house was clean and he had coffee ready. Amina had baked again, lovely almond cookies that he had a hard time not eating. When the doorbell rang at 9:30 he went to the door, looked through the cutout window and saw an older woman waiting. Her eyes grew big when she saw him.

"My goodness, it really is you," she said, then she offered her hand. "Marie Peters. I'm the public health nurse assigned to your sister, Rebecca Proctor. You must be Bucky Barnes."

"I am," he said. "Come in, please."

He introduced her to his sister and offered a coffee, bringing a small plate of the cookies which she smiled at. She got right to business, checking Rebecca's blood pressure, pulse, heart, lungs, strength, and asking her several questions about her mental state. When she was finished she sat back and looked at the two of them.

"Well, Tracey wasn't kidding," she said to Rebecca. "You're lucky to have a brother who takes such good care of you. The volunteers who look after her overnight must be good people. As far as I can tell you're in excellent health. As for you, Mr. Barnes ... well, most of us were wondering why Tracey would pull herself off this case but I get it now. You're a handsome man for someone so old."

Bucky's face reddened and Rebecca smiled at this nurse. "Even the volunteers could see there were sparks between them," she said. "Tracey is a lovely lady. How is she doing with her new cases?"

Marie looked at them blankly. "She didn't tell you?" she asked. "Tracey is on leave. She's taken two months off to do some volunteer work in Central America." Marie noticed Bucky's face. "Oh dear, it looks like I let the cat out of the bag. Look, don't see anything nefarious in this. It was something that came up and she probably took it so that she wasn't tempted to make contact with you during the cooling off period. If you care about her you'll accept that she'll be back in two months and you'll both be free to see each other."

Bucky nodded but both women could see the disappointment on his face. When Marie left Bucky plopped himself down on the sofa and looked at Rebecca.

"Why would she leave and not tell me?" he asked. "I can accept she would remove herself from temptation but to not even say goodbye? What am I supposed to think?"

"Have faith in her Bucky," said Rebecca soothingly. "It will be alright."

As happy as Bucky had been the previous few days once he heard Tracey was out of the country he seemed depressed to everyone who cared about him. During the week the volunteers brought special baking to cheer him up. While he was polite to them it was obvious their efforts were not enough to help him feel better. After Marie's next visit the following Friday even she commented on his demeanour when he abruptly excused himself to go to the store while she was there.

"You'll have to excuse him," said Rebecca. "Tracey really connected with him. He's not happy she didn't say goodbye before leaving."

"I emailed her," replied Marie, lowering her voice even though they were the only ones there. "She feels terrible about it, thinks she might have offended him."

Both women shook their heads over the couple. Bucky returned shortly before Marie left, carrying a couple of bags of groceries in one hand and mail in the other. He went straight to the kitchen to put things away then stood at the counter looking at the envelopes. One of them caught his attention and he looked at it with his jaw set firmly. Looking up as Marie said her goodbyes he waited until she left before he came into the living room and sat near Rebecca with the envelope.

"It's from Tracey," he said. "Postmarked Belize."

"You going to read it?" asked Rebecca.

He glanced at her and opened the envelope, unfolded the letter and began reading it. Rebecca watched as his face became more relaxed and soft. Then he looked at his sister.

"She's sorry. She wanted to tell me but was afraid of my reaction, that I would think she was abandoning me. She did it so that she wasn't tempted to show up at the door."

"Does that make you feel better?" asked Rebecca.

He flushed and nodded. "I thought she changed her mind about me. You know ... my issues were too much for her."

"Bucky, come here," ordered his sister. He got up and kneeled before her as she took his hand. "You are a good man. You're kind, understanding, and you feel things deeply. What you went through affected you. Even I can see that. What's important is that you keep on trying. She obviously cares if she sent you this letter. Even if you don't hear from her until she returns believe that she thinks about you. Because you're worth it."

She placed her hand on his face and kissed his forehead. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and hugged her. Her words comforted him and he was glad to hear them. Just at that moment his phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"It's Sam," he said, as he touched the Accept button and put it to his ear. "Hey, how's it going?"

"So, did you talk to that nurse?" asked Sam's voice on speaker.

Bucky blushed, forgetting he had it on speaker. Rebecca grinned at him and sat back.

"Yeah, we talked," said Bucky. "She already asked to be released from Rebecca's case. There's a two month cooling off period where we can't communicate so she's gone to Belize to do some volunteer nursing work there."

"That will go by fast," said Sam. "Listen, I have some lobbying to do in Washington next week. You up to having me sleep on your couch for next weekend? Figured it was time to connect with my friend and his sister. How you doing, Rebecca? Did he leave the phone on speaker?"

"Yes, he did Sam," laughed Rebecca. "You're more than welcome to spend the weekend. Maybe you and I can go out for a night on the town. Hit up a blues club or something."

"I like your style," said Sam. "You're a lot more fun than your brother."

"I like the blues," said Bucky weakly. "Rebecca's usually in bed by 9:30. Those places don't even get going until then." Rebecca punched him on the arm and Bucky recoiled, rubbing the spot where she hit. "Thanks, Sam. My sister just assaulted me."

Sam chuckled. "You're the one calling your younger sister old. I'll see you next weekend."

"Hey Sam," said Rebecca. "Bring the suit. Perhaps you can make an appearance at the agency that's been helping us out. They're great people and I know they would love to have a visit from Captain America."

"I was bringing the suit and I think that's a great idea," replied Sam. "See you both."

Bucky put his phone back in his pocket and stood up. "How do you feel about pizza for dinner?" he asked. "It's been a while."

"Loaded but no onions," said Rebecca with a smile.

"You got it," he replied, and searched his phone for the nearest pizza place, ordering two large loaded pizzas, no onions. "You want a beer with that? I could run out quickly and get some before they deliver."

"Sure," she answered. "Leave me some money in case they come early."

He pulled out enough cash for her and headed out to get some cold beer, a two block run. Quickly grabbing a six pack he brought it up to the cash register and noticed the cashier's face was red with some tear tracks. She didn't make eye contact with him and he could feel his senses go on full alert. Calming himself he listened for her heartbeat realizing it was pounding away. What was more, there was another heartbeat, from under the counter in front of her.

"Hey, do you have any of those, what do you call them, coolers?" he asked, then he pointed below the counter and gave her a thumbs down. "I looked but I couldn't find what I wanted. Do you think you have more in back?"

She nodded and moved to help him when he saw the tip of a sawed off shotgun coming up from below. Quicker than anyone could react Bucky grabbed the muzzle, yanking it up and out of the robber's hands, pulling him up with it. The man grabbed the girl while holding a knife in his other hand but Bucky cocked the shotgun and placed it against the man's neck, using his left hand so he didn't get his fingerprints on it.

"I can fire this before you take your next breath," said Bucky. "Put the knife on the counter and let her go." The man did as he was told and Bucky looked at the woman. "You okay? Go ahead and call the police. He's not going anywhere."

She phoned the police then came around to Bucky. He put his arm around her shoulder and she began to cry. Keeping his eye on the robber Bucky tried to calm her.

"You'll be okay," he said. "I've dealt with assholes like this before. They're cowards."

"Thank you," she said, as her sobs subsided. "I thought he would kill me. Three other people came in and said nothing. Just bought their stuff and left."

"Well, I'm not them, am I," stated Bucky. They could hear the sirens get closer. "Police are almost here." He looked at the guy. "Get down on the floor and put your hands behind your head. Do it, before my trigger finger twitches."

The man did as he was told and Bucky put the gun on the counter beside the knife. When the police arrived he pointed to the man on the ground. Quickly he told them his name and what he did.

"Listen, I've left my sister alone at the house," he said. "She's in a wheelchair and isn't supposed to be on her own for too long. Can you come and take my statement there? She's probably wondering where I am as I was only supposed to be here a few minutes."

Bucky showed them his driver's licence to confirm his address and the officer said he could go. The girl hugged him then gave him his six pack in thanks. He ran back home and found the pizza delivery guy sitting in the living room with Rebecca, chatting.

"Here he is," she said. "What took you so long? I didn't have enough money. I need another eight dollars"

"Sorry," said Bucky, pulling out a ten dollar bill and handing it to the man. "Would you believe the store was being robbed? Poor kid at the till was terrified. The police are coming here to take my statement."

The man looked at the ten dollars and pushed it back to Bucky. "Keep it. If you stopped a robbery I can cover the rest of bill."

"No, I couldn't ask that of you," said Bucky. "Pay it forward. I'm good."

The man nodded and left. Bucky took the pizzas into the kitchen, getting some plates out. He put two pieces on a plate for Rebecca and brought it out with a beer. Then he put four pieces on his plate and opened a beer for himself. Just as he sat down the doorbell rang and he opened it to the policeman who came to take his statement. As Rebecca sat and beamed at her brother he told the officer what happened. After Bucky signed off on his statement the officer stood up and offered Bucky his hand.

"I heard of you when you were the Winter Soldier," he said. "I was on duty when you and Captain America took on those Flag Smashers. You did good that night. You did good today. It's been an honour to meet you Mr. Barnes. You're a good man."

Nodding at Rebecca the officer left and she ate her second piece of pizza, proud that her brother was Bucky Barnes.

Shukran lika – Arabic for thank you [from Google Translate].