Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. I wasn't going to put up this chapter until later since its a bit short but in honor of Bucky Barnes' 100th birthday I felt I should update. Like I said this chapters a bit shorter than normal and its kind of a filler but for what I have planned I needed a bit of good times before shit hits the fan so without further ado here's the next chapter. Please read and Review. thank you for all the support I look forward to hearing what you al think. :)
The next morning I woke up with my head on Bucky's right arm and him curled up behind me. I sat up a bit and saw that my head was resting on his soul mark. My name was written in my messy doctor script on his bicep. I couldn't help but smile at seeing it. I was brought out of my thought by the sound of Steve and Bucky's snores. They alternated, when Bucky inhaled Steve exhaled a snore and Vice versa. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand and realized it was a quarter to ten in the morning. I was supposed to go meet up with Gramps.
I quietly got out of bed and grabbed my clothes from my trunk. I settled on a white knit sweater and black skirt with black peep toe shoes. It felt weird being in something other than my uniform after so long but it was a nice change. I grabbed my wallet and keys and left the room. I was about to leave when I remembered I should leave a not do they wouldn't worry. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper then went back to the room and left it on the nightstand. The guys were still knocked out. I don't think anything could wake them up right now.
I left the apartment building and walked down the street to the bakery. I figured if Gramps was anything like dad, he would be completely jetlagged or hung-over from his flight. Maybe even both. I grabbed Peggy, Gramps and Myself a coffee along with a few scones and bagels to go.
After a short walk I finally got to SSR headquarters. Peggy was just arriving as well.
"Morning Pegs." I said handing over her breakfast.
She gave me a smile and said, "Nora you are a godsend." She said taking a sip of her coffee then opened the brown bag with her scone. " Oh, my favorite, thank you."
"Anytime, I had a hunch you probably needed the pick me up." I said sipping my own coffee.
"I did, I had meetings all morning. Not to mention I had to get up at the crack of dawn to pick up your grandfather from the airport and get him to sign some forms and make sure he showed up as well." She said
"He give you a hard time?" I said already knowing the answer.
"No more than usual." She said as we walked in. "He's probably in his lab doing all the paperwork he's been avoiding for the past few. I know your probably going to go off and do something but please, make sure he finishes before you go." She said obviously exhausted already.
"Don't worry I'll make sure it gets done, as long as you try to relax a bit. You look exhausted Pegs. If you can, go home early I'll take over babysitting Gramps for the day."
"You make him seem like a toddler." She says with a small smile.
"He acts like it sometimes." I retort.
"I'm going to go turn in these files and head home. Howard should be in his lab that's where I left him." She said walking away.
I walked down the hallway towards the lab when I heard a loud groan and a very familiar person talking to himself. "If the air resistance equals friction that that would still leave gravity to determine…" He was staring at an equation in a chalkboard while his desk.
"Use a titanium alloy, reduce the weight by about half, and you only have about 20 newton's of air resistance to worry about." I say solving the problem for him.
He turns around and smiles. "Where were you two weeks ago when I was working on the failed prototype?" He retorts.
"Dodging Bullets and amputating limbs in Austria." I deadpanned.
"Oh right, Welcome Back by the way." He said with a smirk.
'Thanks, coffee and bagel, since I know you had an early morning and still have to finish all the paperwork you've been postponing." I say.
Gramps just groans, "Not you too."
"We have plans today but before we can go, I promised Peggy you'd finish all of this." I said gesturing to the pile of papers on his desk.
"But Nora," He whined.
"I'll help out, It'll get done faster." I said with a smile.
"Fine, but after that we are out of here." He said.
"Okay, where do we start?" I ask. He lifts up a file and hands it to me. I look at the file and realize I don't have clearance for it. I place it back down on the desk and look for another one but I didn't have clearance for any of them. I just sat down and let ramps work.
After a few minutes he realizes I'm just sitting there doing nothing. "I thought you were going to help?"
"I don't have clearance for any of these." I answer.
"Then what now?" He said probably hoping I could get him out of doing the rest of his work.
"You work and I stay here for moral support." I offer.
"No fair." He says.
"That's what happens when you procrastinate." I say in a singing voice.
To that he just throws his bagel at me. Luckily I saw it coming and put up a force field just in time. Gramps just stand up surprised.
"Wha- How- When…?" He says staring at me surprised.
"Force field, It started in Greece, as to the How, I'm guessing it has to do with the stone and that thing that's just starting Frigga mentioned when I was in Asgard." I answer casually.
"We need to run tests and…"
"No" I interrupted him. "Right now you need to focus on all your homework. Then we'll go out and you're going to help me with my dilemma." Also have that chat with you over a good bottle of scotch I thought to myself.
"But Nora, science." He complained.
"No, I can wait this can't. Relax Gramps I'm not going anywhere, we can work on me later after we catch up." I said getting him to slow his roll and leaving no room for argument.
"Uh, Fine." He groaned and continued to work. It took him three hours to finally finish.
"Okay I'm done now, science." He said with mischievous grin. Then his stomach started growling.
"Lunch?" I asked.
"Yeah, you can fill me in on everything that happened the past two months. I missed my wing man." He said grabbing his coat.
"Aww, missed you two Gramps." I said following him out.
"Oh, Before I forget." He said pulling out a small pouch from his pocket and handing it over to me. I was confused at first but then I opened it and realized what it was, my arc reactor necklace.
"My necklace," I missed having it on me.
"I kept it safe as promised though there is something you should know." He said suddenly getting serious.
"What is it?" I said getting a bit worried.
"The day you left I was running some tests in the lab and the sensor started to pick up some interference. I looked around and scanned around with it. Turns out your necklace had some sort of transceiver on it. I'm not sure exactly what it was." He said. I looked at my necklace and walked back to the lab. I found a magnifying glass in one of the drawers and started to take a closer look at it. And yup right in between the stones I could see a small microchip embedded. If I weren't looking for it I wouldn't have even noticed it. I took a pair of pliers and managed to take it out without removing the stones or damaging the necklace. I picked up the chip and analyzed it.
"That paranoid jerk." I muttered.
"Who?" Gramps said.
"Dad." I answered annoyed. How could he? I thought he trusted me. I know that after Afghanistan he started to take extra precautions and upped the security at the ranch but this is going a bit too far. The again he did announce to the world he was Iron Man and painted a bigger target on his back than he already had but no one even knows we're related.
"That tiny thing was causing the interference?" Gramps asked.
"This tiny thing is a micro transmitter. Military grade by the looks of it. It can't do much with the technology of this time but in the future you could track someone anywhere in the world. It could give you the location by a one-block radius. I can't believe he'd stoop to this." I said angry.
"Wow. Can I take a look?" He asked like a kid who's friend had just gotten a new toy. I was about to let Gramps look at it but instead I turned on the Bunsen burner and melted the chip.
"Hey!" Gramps yelled out annoyed.
"Sorry Gramps but this is for the best. Future tech being used before its time could radically alter the future. Besides, where's the fun in building something new if you cheat." I said giving him a small smile trying to lighten the mood.
He sighed but ultimately agreed. We went to go get lunch and I caught him up on everything that happened since I left. The sexist drunk French doctor, Me nudging Bucky off the plane (That one almost made him choke), Almost getting shot and discovering the force fields, Going to the future and meeting my godson, goddaughter and housemate, and everything else. By the end of it I was on my third Long Island Iced Tea and Gramps was on his fifth scotch.
"You've been through a lot." He says after I finished.
"We all have, which leads me to the next part." I say trying to find the right way to have this conversation. "I almost died, and you know the whole life flashes before your eyes thing people mention." I ask and he just nods.
"Well I saw everyone I'd leave behind including you." I said. "So I need you to know that if for whatever reason I don't make it back one day…" I say and he just interrupts me.
"Kid don't, Some things are better left unsaid." He said finishing his drink and waving at the waiter for another one.
"I know but this isn't one of those things. I just want you to know that I'm proud to say I'm your granddaughter and being able to meet and get to know you is one of the best things that came out of be landing seventy years in the past." I say before taking a sip of my drink. Gramps just looks at me in awe and I could almost swear I saw a tear come out of his eye.
"Okay," He said taking a sip of the drink the waiter had just dropped off. "You said you needed help with something." He said changing the subject. I'm starting to see where dad and in turn me got his inability to talk about feelings.
"Right, Bucky's birthday is on the tenth and I completely forgot until Peggy reminded me yesterday. I have no idea what to get him." I said.
"That is a problem but it has an easy solution. Just give him his dream date." Gramps said.
"His dream date?" I said astounded that he would come up with something so, romantic and sweet.
"Yeah, cook him dinner at home naked and let him watch." There it is, the unromantic playboy side of gramps.
"Uh, Not really what I had in mind Gramps." I saw the waiter and gestured at him to cut him off.
"Oh come on, that's every guy's dream." He said.
"I don't know, I mean they went all out for my birthday and they had just known me for a week at that point. I want to make it special." I said trying to get him to see things from my point of view.
"Have you asked Rogers if he was planning anything?" He asked.
"No, I didn't have a chance to last night and this morning when I left they were still asleep." I said.
"Is there anything specific he really likes that he wants?" Gramps asks.
"No, we've been a bit busy to go shopping." I retort, "When we were away all he would say he wanted was food or sleep on an actual bed."
"Then just ask him what he wants and give it to him." He said.
"But that isn't the point." I whined.
"Kid, ask Rogers. He knows Barnes better than anyone. Chances are with everything you've been dealing with he's in the same boat as you are. Talk it out and come up with a plan."
"You're right." I said with a sigh.
"Where is that waiter I need another drink?" Oh boy I was in for a long night.