Chapter 18

Sam immediately turned off the TV and shot up from his place on the couch, checking the watch on his wrist. He gave Bucky an inquisitorial look.

"Man, I expected you to be gone for another few hours at least! What did you do, strikeout already?"

"No."

Bucky said as he crossed the kitchen to the fridge. He grabbed a beer out of it, popped the top off, and took a few swigs. Sam just kept looking at him. Expectation running rampant in his features.

"So… How did it go? You have to tell me everything. Including why it's barely past midnight and you're already back."

Sam raised his eyebrows, giving Bucky an expectant look. Obviously waiting for Bucky to spill everything.

"She says, and I quote, 'you can fuck off and leave me alone about our business that you have no right being privy to.'"

Sam's expression dropped as his mouth popped open in apparent, and unanticipated, shock. Bucky took another swig from his beer. Enjoying the reaction his words had incited.

"I told her you'd probably ask me about it. She also said we could gossip about her all night like a pair of old women if we wanted to."

Sam crossed his arms in defeat, knowing Bucky would not be gossiping any time soon. He pouted as if he had just been denied a very tantalizing treat.

"I will say this." Bucky made to leave the kitchen and head to his room and take a shower.

"They never made dames like that in my time."

Sam's laughter followed him down the hall.

A truer statement had never been said, in Bucky's opinion. He had never met a woman that came even close to Ella. Everything about her was different. Intriguing. Fascinating. Astonishing. Captivating. And daunting in more ways than one. She was an enigma that he wanted so desperately to solve.

The effect that she had on everyone around her was enough to make her unexplainably enthralling. The effect that she was starting to have on Bucky was nothing short of entirely confusing and utterly mind-blowing.

The next morning dawned bright and early, and so did Bucky. Sam had often made fun of him for waking up at the 'ass crack of dawn'. No matter the day of the week, or what that day had in store, Bucky was usually up before the sun. 'Just like an old man.' Sam would say.

It was Sunday, so Bucky knew that Sam wouldn't be up for another few hours. He decided to go for a small run in their neighborhood before coming back for coffee.

He ran, made it back home, put the coffee on, and made himself a large cup. As he did so, he could think of only two things: Ella and her effect on him, and this new voice in the back of his head. The events of the previous night and all of the information he had gathered about her also making their appearances in his thoughts.

Bucky kept running over all of the information she had provided as he sat at the barstools in the kitchen. Knowingly or unknowingly. He was still thoroughly gripped. Ella was so educated and accomplished. She was so funny and gentle. She appealed to many different parts of him. And she could kick some serious ass like it was nothing.

Then the events of the bar went through his mind, once more. He could see her with that pool cue and that bozo with perfect clarity. It brought a smile to his face thinking about it. He hoped that she had left some serious bruises as a reminder for that guy to be a bit more respectful to women.

The question of what to do about this new 'voice' came to mind. Bucky was considering a few ideas he had had the previous night. The most prominent one being that this new 'voice' had replaced the one of the Winter Soldier. The one 'voice' he had been hearing for decades. What caused this change and what it meant; he was entirely unsure of it. All he was sure of was that this new voice was here, and here to stay. The Winter Soldier seemed to be gone. Whether if it was for good, was yet to be seen.

Bucky was so engrossed in his thoughts and memories that he didn't even notice Sam walk into the kitchen. He didn't even hear Sam's greeting of 'good morning.'

He only noticed his presence when Sam waved his hand in front of Bucky's face to get his attention that was so clearly elsewhere.

"Ok, dude. Fess up. You gotta give me something. Some detail. What did that woman do to you last night? Did she drug you?"

"No, she didn't drug me. She didn't have to."

"Then she put a goddamn spell on you."

"She threw me for one hell of a loop. That's what she did. I am not used to it. I never was and I don't think I ever will be. Like I said last night, they didn't make them like that in my time."

Sam settled himself against the counter with his own cup of coffee Bucky had not seen him pour for himself. Another expectant look crossed Sam's face.

"Okay. I fucked off last night. But can we please get to the gossiping old lady bit? Finding you here so lost in thought that you didn't even notice me until I literally stuck my hand in your face is slightly concerning."

Sam cracked a grin, which was startling in and of itself because of how early it still was. He must have been really interested.

Bucky heaved a sigh of defeat.

"Fine." he huffed. He knew he had to throw the guy a bone or he would never leave him alone about it.

Bucky took a moment to think about what he wanted to tell Sam. Considering he did not want to go into too much detail. He also wanted Sam off of his back. But he also wanted to brag and show off. He vaguely wondered what kind of trouble this was going to start. In the end, he wanted to keep his real feelings, and a lot of their other interactions private, despite Sam's prying.

"She works for the government."

"Surprise, surprise. This is D.C. It is almost expected for 75% to 80% of the population."

Sam stopped and looked extremely concerned.

"If she works for the government, how did she get past the search SHIELD conducted?"

Bucky stopped and thought about it, too. He hadn't even considered that. How had she gotten through?

"She said something about technically not existing. Maybe her clearance level is higher than our analysts'? Maybe her files are sealed? She is also incredibly smart. She has seven college degrees including two . and three Masters. Maybe that explains how she got past the search."

"Hold the fuck up! How old is she again?" Sam yelled; any previous suspicions were forgotten.

"I didn't ask. The last time I checked it was still rude to ask a woman how old she is. My guess is that she isn't even 30 yet."

"Then how is that even possible? That much education takes years upon years. For just one of those degrees."

"She told me she graduated high school at 14. Then the first round of college at 16. She must have been working on higher education ever since. From what she said the ., among some others, are fairly recent."

Sam's eyebrows were on the verge of disappearing into his hairline. He let out a low whistle.

"Goddamn, that is some intimidating and remarkable shit right there."

"You're telling me. I barely have a high school diploma. And that's from the 30s"

"So, wicked book smart. Government employee that doesn't exist. What else?"

"She was in the Army for a while. It helped her pay for all that college. That was before she got her job here."

"What did she do in the Army? What was her rank?"

"She specialized in tactics, analytics, and linguistics."

Bucky stopped and looked into his mostly cold, half-empty coffee cup.

"And she was an officer before she was recruited for her current job."

"Jesus Christ, talk about an overachiever over here." Sam said sarcastically.

Bucky chuckled and looked up at him.

"Yeah, that's about what I said. She outranks both of us."

"Now she just seems plain scary, almost unreal. I kind of don't believe it. A woman like that, being as young as she is with all those degrees and being so decorated in the armed forces. Suspicious."

"I believe her. In all my years of 'interrogation', I know a liar when they open their mouths. She is not one. Mannerisms and all checked out when she was talking about it."

Sam gave him a look of suspicion. Bucky knew that he had not convinced Sam fully.

Then Bucky leveled Sam with a look that conveyed the fact that he hadn't even gotten to the best part yet. Sam's attention was piqued. He was all ears, waiting for the real gossip.

"You can conduct your own investigation on her and draw your own conclusion sometime in the future. But that's nothing compared to what happened later. This was all over dinner. After that, we went to some dive bar that was hosting a karaoke night."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"I can only imagine what happens next."

Bucky smirked knowing full well Sam didn't have a clue.

"I severely doubt it. So, we end up making a bet over a game of pool. She wins, she doesn't have to go up for a song. I win, she does."

"Let me take a wild guess and say that she wins the bet." Sam says with a sarcastic twinge to his voice and leer on his face.

"I'm getting to that. So, after we start the game, I noticed a group of guys at the bar getting an eyeful of Ella's ass whenever she bent over."

"Oh boy. I can see where this is going."

"I bet you can't. Now, will you let me finish?"

Sam put on his best 'I'm Listening' face and let Bucky continue.

"They started making comments amongst themselves… which I assume were not nice nor respectable."

Bucky got up to take his empty cup to the sink to wash it.

"Well, one of them decided to make a wisecrack at Ella and she responded more than accordingly."

Bucky moved to stand in front of Sam in the kitchen, mimicking what Ella had done the night previously.

"So, she turns around with this pool cue resting on the floor like this. She makes a jibe back and just as the asshole reached for her, she swung it up, right between his legs. Then she brought it up and around her head and cracked him in the side of the neck. He dropped on the spot. The guy was out for the count."

Sam's mouth was open slightly, a look of surprise on his face, at the explanation and demonstration of what had happened. It seemed he was as speechless as Bucky had been when it had happened.

"Now she's just standing there, looking down at this guy passed out on the floor at her feet. When she looked up at his friends and pointed at the door telling them to leave, they all flinched. One even spilled his beer all over the bar top. I have never seen anything like it."

Bucky finished, slightly mesmerized and dazzled by the memory. Retelling it only made it that much more vivid in his mind's eye.

"Wow. Talk about a badass. If what all she said about being an Army captain with all that book learning is true, no wonder she has you so… what's that term they used back in the day? Doll Dizzy! That's it. She's got you Doll Dizzy, dude."

Bucky laughed at that. He knew Sam was right, but there was no way in hell he would admit it to him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something like that. I am definitely interested."

"I can see why. So, now she wins the bet?"

"No, she actually loses. She ate shit, to be honest. She may have kicked some serious ass, but it threw her off her game."

Bucky looked up at Sam with the biggest grin Sam had ever seen on his face.

"This part, I think, will impress you more than it did me. I don't think I could quite grasp exactly what happened."

Sam looked puzzled.

"What did she do? Start another fight? Never mind, just hit me with it. I am beyond intrigued at this point."

"She picks a song and we wait. Now it's her turn and it's not like anything anyone else had done so far. Everyone played pop, rock, and country songs that all sounded the same. Not this. It was a hip-hop song. Something about the real Slim Shady. I'm not entirely sure what that means…."

Sam cut Bucky off by waving his hands and arms wildly in the air between them.

"HOLD THE FUCK UP!"

Sam abruptly turned on his heel, blew past Bucky, and went to his room. When he came back, he had his phone in his hand and as going through it.

Then a familiar beat started playing from the small speaker.

Sam looked at Bucky with a very serious face and deadpanned.

"This song?"

Bucky nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's the one."

Sam went to turn it off and Bucky shot his hand out and snatched the phone from Sam's hand.

"Wait! I've never heard the real version. Only what Ella did last night. Let it play."

He handed Sam's phone back. Both men stood there as the song played. Filling the kitchen with the complicated lyrics that Ella had so easily recited the night before.

Bucky had thought it impossible, but he became even more captivated with Ella after hearing the original version of the song she had perfectly performed.

Sam was the first to speak after the song ended.

"You're telling me that Ella did this song at karaoke?"

Bucky smiled. Proud and a bit smug as complete disbelief painted Sam's face.

"Yes. Breath for breath. Beat for beat. Word for word. She didn't even get anything wrong. That's another reason why I wanted to hear the original. Well, she changed some stuff like 'person' to 'woman' at the beginning. And every he/him became she/her. By that last chorus, she had the whole bar in on it."

Sam just continued to stare at him for a few moments.

"I gotta meet this chick. Anyone who can pull off Slim Shady already has my respect."

Bucky leaned back on the counter for support as he laughed.

"How do you think I feel? I was there and saw all this happen and I'm still wrapping my head around it all. I still don't really know how to deal with that part. That's just plain out of my depth. I figured you would properly appreciate it."

Bucky suddenly had an idea. He had been planning on surprising Ella anyway. Why not bring Sam? Give him a chance to make another first impression on her to make up for the crappy first one. As well as give Sam the chance to put his suspicions to the test.

"She has a gallery show opening this Friday night. Would you want to come with me? I'm sure she will be too busy to entertain, but it will give you a chance to formally meet her. And make up for leaving us to pick up all those papers. Which she is still mad about, by the way. I'm going either way. Wanted to surprise her and show my support."

"Gallery?" Sam asked with confusion clear on his face.

"She's a photographer and this is her first solo show."

"Is there anything this woman can't or doesn't do? Army captain, several degrees, published in scientific journals, gallery shows, rapping karaoke, ass-kicking."

Sam half laughed as he threw his hands up.

"Count me in. This should be interesting."

"She told me if you tell her that she can't do something, she will do it just to prove you wrong. I'm not sure if there is anything she can't do, but I am going to find out."

The next day Bucky had one of his usual therapy sessions with the therapist that SHIELD provided as part of his active-duty agreement.

Bucky and Fitzpatrick went over their usual checklist of topics. Any new memories, or old ones. Any troubles or complications with anything or about anything aforementioned. Any nightmares. Et cetera.

They talked about all of the above and how Bucky was handling it and what he was doing to better himself and help his mental well-being. What he was doing to help himself handle things better now, as well as when there was a next time. They went over various exercises and rituals the good doctor expected Bucky to do on a daily basis to help stay level. As well as how to handle spur-of-the-moment stressors, triggers, and potential mental emergencies.

They discussed plans on how to proceed in the future, as well as contingency plans. And contingency plans to those plans if the worst-case scenario should occur.

They talked about current assignments and recent missions.

It was a typical, uneventful meeting until near the end of the session when Fitzpatrick mentioned noticing a difference in Bucky's overall demeanor. How he seemed more willing to talk and just seemed happier than the doctor had ever recalled seeing him.

Particularly in this office since Bucky had made it clear how much he despised these meetings from the very beginning. The doctor wondered why and asked Bucky if there had been any changes in his life since they last met.

Bucky could only attribute any of what Fitzpatrick noticed to the fact that Ella had waltzed into his life. The events of their date still fresh in his mind. Even if he hadn't spoken with her since.

Bucky was reluctant to talk about any of it just yet. Especially with the doctor. He wasn't ready to start analyzing and picking every single detail apart. He wasn't ready to share his feelings and emotions about it all. He was still trying to find his own footing in those respects.

He told Fitzpatrick just as much. The doctor seemed more than pleasantly amazed that there was something, anything, that had caught his interest. He seemed happy for Bucky nonetheless.

Of course, as was usual for mental health doctors, Fitzpatrick offered his version of a warning. A word of caution, as well as support for whenever Bucky was ready to open up about whatever, or whomever, it was.