This is the second part of what I consider the "One Little Slip Trilogy" - Much like the first part to this part of the story as well as the third and final part to this story arc, the title is taken from the song "One Little Slip" by Barenaked Ladies from the movie Chicken Little. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, enjoy!

"Well, I Admit I Might Have Missed a Sign or Two"

October 1935

"Malcolm Morrison? Really?"

Ryder rolled his eyes, pinching at the bridge of his nose. They walked along the hallways of the hospital, looking for the room indicated by the gum-chewing receptionist a few floors down. "For the thousandth time in the last two weeks…yes, Malcolm Morrison."

"Why Morrison?" Bucky grumbled.

"Well let's see," Ryder said, holding up his hands to tick the items off on his fingers, "Six feet tall, light brown hair, emerald green eyes, amazing sense of humor…and he's actually intelligent."

"Sounds like you want to date him."

"Nah, it's what I heard Case telling your sister when she asked why Case wasn't dating you."

Bucky bristled at that, "I'm six feet tall!"

"I know," Ryder agreed as they reached their destination and opened the door.

"And I'm smart!"

"That's debatable Buck," Steve said in a hoarse voice.

Steve's health had taken a turn for the worse in the last week, so bad that his mother had to rush him to the hospital. This was the first time in the last few days that Steve had been cleared for visitors, so Bucky and Ryder had rushed down to the hospital the first chance they could.

Case hadn't been home at the time, and neither boy had the heart to interrupt – despite what Bucky felt about Case and Malcolm's relationship – and Logan promised to let Case know the second he could.

Despite the insult, both Ryder's and Bucky's faces lit up at the sight of their friend sitting up in bed, both having a sense of relief that Steve would live to fight another day.

"Case out with Malcolm I take it?" Steve added as the two sat on either side of him.

"Yeah…she wasn't home, we came down here as soon as we could," Ryder explained.

"She'll be really upset you didn't let her know," Steve pointed out as he let out a weak cough.

"She'll forgive us," Bucky shrugged it off. When Steve and Ryder exchanged worried looks, Bucky sighed, "Well…she'll forgive you at least."

"So why did you come in here announcing you were smart?" Steve asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's jealous of Malcolm," Ryder said, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket. "Poker anyone?"

"I am not jealous!" Bucky snapped as Ryder began shuffling the deck. "Case can date whomever she wants to…I just don't see why it's gotta be Morrison!"

"Better than Walter," Steve pointed out.

"Walter was two IQ points from being a potato," Bucky scowled.

"Hence why Case dropped him like a sack of them," Ryder pointed out as he started to deal. Once he'd finished, he put the rest of the deck in the middle on Steve's blanket.

"Plus, from what I hear Malcolm is a great guy," Steve said as he picked up his hand. "He's a straight A student, athletic—"

"So am I!" Bucky snapped.

"Yes, but you're not dating Case," Ryder rolled his eyes. "Now are you keepin' your hand or are you discarding anything?"

Bucky's right eye twitched as he grabbed two cards from his hand and threw them down, "There, happy?"

Ryder cocked an eyebrow, "I guess we'll see then, won't we?"

Bucky gave a growl of frustration and drew two cards, trying to keep the wince off his face as he saw he had nothing for a winning hand.

When the door to Steve's room opened, they all looked up.

Bucky caught a quick glimpse of red lips and a tight blue dress before he went back to his cards and said, "Sorry, Doll. I think you got the wrong room."

"Really Buck? Forgotten me already?"

Bucky's eyes widened and he looked back up again.

Case's arms were folded across her chest, one eyebrow cocked, and she had a look of irritation marring her face…that had rouge on her cheeks, red lipstick, and a faint dusting of eyeshadow and mascara around her eyes.

Her hair was flowing in soft curls around her shoulders, pinned back and hidden under a gray hat. Bucky's eyes drifted to how the scoop-necked dress hugged her curves, ended at her calves, and was the exact same shade of dark blue as the shoes she was wearing.

If he was being honest Case looked like she'd stepped out of one of his mother's fashion magazines…that Bucky may have occasionally flipped through when he was bored and alone at home…not that he'd ever admit that if his life depended on it.

Still surprised at the image, Bucky stammered out, "Uh…hi Case…"

"Wow…" Steve said, "You clean up pretty good…"

The blush on Case's cheeks was genuine as she gave him a shy smile, and smoothed out her dress, "You really think so?"

"Yeah…Malcolm is a lucky guy."

"I certainly think so," Malcolm said as he came into the room, throwing an arm around Case's shoulders. "You feelin' alright, Rogers?"

Steve shrugged, "I'll live to fight another day."

"That's good…" Malcolm said, then pressed a kiss to Case's cheek. "I'll wait outside for a bit…"

"Okay," Case gave him a small smile as he walked out of the room.

"Why'd you bring Morrison with you?" Bucky scowled as he went back to his hand. He discarded two more cards and could almost feel the glare Case was sending his way.

"I didn't bring him per se," Case said, taking the chair on the opposite side of Steve next to Ryder, "I was out with him. When we got back home Dad said you both came here because Steve was able to get visitors…so here I am. Malcolm offered to bring me down here."

"And he decided to come in with you…even though he barely acknowledges Steve's existence on a good day?"

"He's a gentleman," Case scowled at him, "He came here to support me because he knows Steve is my friend."

"Hey Buck…can you go get me some water from the Nurse's Station?" Steve asked suddenly. "I think I drank the last bit of it earlier…"

Bucky looked at Steve, noticing the pointed look on his friend's face. Knowing full well the pitcher on Steve's bedside table was almost overflowing, and not wanting to stress out his friend any further, he gently clapped a hand on Steve's shoulder and said, "Sure Stevie, whatever ya need."

He put his cards down and left the room, opting to take a walk for a few minutes. Whatever was going on with Case…Steve didn't need to get caught in the middle, especially not while he was recovering.

"Hey Barnes!"

Bucky had just made it to the end of the hall, and nearly gave another annoyed growl – the last thing he wanted was to spend this time with Morrison of all people.

The young man reached him with ease, "So…that math test huh?"

Bucky rolled his eyes, "We really gonna talk about math, Morrison?"

Malcolm rolled his eyes as well, "We gonna talk about how you were practically drooling over the sight of my girlfriend?"

"I wasn't drooling," Bucky snapped. "Just…never seen her dolled up like that before. I was shocked."

"Why is that such a surprise to you? Case is a beautiful girl."

"Yes, yes, she is…she doesn't need to be dolled up for that," Bucky told him.

"True…but it doesn't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess," Bucky grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned on his heel and stalked off in the opposite direction.

Malcolm followed, shoving his hands into his own pockets, "You got a thing for her, Barnes?"

Bucky scoffed, "Case is like my sister."

"Guys don't drool like that over their sisters…they beat up the guys that look at 'em like that."

The idea of Becca receiving that look flashed through his mind, and Bucky suddenly grit his teeth. "That's an image I didn't need."

"Just sayin'."

"Yeah…but my sister's only eleven…don't gotta worry about that for a while yet," Bucky said, more to remind himself of that than anything else.

"It's gonna happen sooner than you think."

Bucky's teeth went on edge again, and he grumbled out, "Why are you even talkin' to me? I don't like you, you don't like me—"

"Because I care about Case, and you're her friend—"

"In case you noticed, Case and I haven't been friends for a while now," Bucky told him. "She stopped talkin' to me about a month ago."

"Trust me, we noticed."

"We?"

"All the guys that thought Case was cute," Malcolm said with a shrug. "Everyone figured it was too dangerous to ask her out."

Bucky cocked an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Well yeah," Malcolm nodded. "Between you and Ryder? There was a bit of fear and intimidation there."

"And now?"

"Ryder didn't beat your ass for upsetting his sister…and after Walter survived to tell the tale we figured it was safe."

"You used Walter as the canary in the mineshaft?"

"Don't say it like that," Malcolm frowned at him. "Walter liked her…he's just dumber than a box of rocks."

"And you?"

Malcolm's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean? I like her just fine."

Stay out of it, a little voice was saying in his head. Don't do something stupid…she already hates you, don't make it worse…

Bucky's shoulders slumped and he gave a sigh, "Forget it."

Malcolm folded his arms across his chest, studying him carefully. Bucky scowled and was about to say something before the other boy finally shook his head, "God you're an idiot."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Morrison?"

With a roll of his eyes, Malcolm said, "Case misses you."

Bucky gave a scoff at that, "Come on, be serious. She barely looks at me, and when she finally says more than two words to me, we start fighting…Steve basically kicked me out of his room because we were about to start going at it again."

"I figured something like that had happened," Malcolm admitted.

"So why in the hell do you think Case misses me?"

"Because she gets that same look you get when she gives you the brush off," Malcolm snapped. "It's like a sad little puppy face…then she goes off in some random language, half the time I'm pretty sure it's gibberish—"

"Does she respond?"

Malcolm frowned, "Huh?"

"If you try to talk to her…does she respond?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, I say I don't know what she's saying and she says qu'est-ce que tu veux dire tu ne peux pas me comprendre?"

"Yep, sounds about right," Bucky gave a snort of laughter. "She and Ryder are both fluent in French. When they get stressed or upset, they switch to it and that's just what they speak…can last for a few hours or a few minutes."

"That explains a lot…"

"Yeah…the more you're around her the more you pick up on that," Bucky explained.

"What is she saying when she says that?"

"'What do you mean you cannot understand me'?"

"Of course," Malcolm sighed. "Got anything to counter that?"

Bucky gave a shrug, "Just tell her, Je ne parle pas français, retournez en anglais."

"What's that mean?"

"'I don't speak French, switch back to English'."

"How do I know that's really what it translates to?"

"I'm trying to get back into Case's good graces, not get myself killed," Bucky told him. "I'm not that big an idiot…although when in doubt, just spit it out in English. You say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and she'll go off…" His shoulders slumped, "Case in point."

"And there's the kicked puppy look," Malcolm said as they reached Steve's door. "Look, I don't know what happened…that's between you and Case. But I do know she misses you like crazy, even if she doesn't show it."

Bucky gave a sigh as the door opened.

Case stepped out into the hallway with Ryder, and turned to Malcolm as she said, "Visiting hours are almost up…we should probably get going…"

"Right," Malcolm nodded, and clapped Bucky on the shoulder, "Good talk, Barnes."

Case looked up at him and gave him a ghost of a smile, so quick Bucky wasn't sure if it had been there at all. "Bye Buck…see you at home Ryder."

Ryder just gave a nod at her and the two headed down the hallway to the elevators.

Bucky folded his arms and watched Case go, and he couldn't help but notice the way the dress clung to her curves, "She really is beautiful though…isn't she?"

"I guess so…I thought Dad was going to have a heart attack when she came downstairs in that dress," Ryder admitted. "I admit I almost did…"

"She doesn't need that makeup though," Bucky continued, "The dress is enough, really…not that she looks bad with the makeup. A little goes a long way I guess…"

Ryder folded his arms and cocked his head, "You got a thing for my sister?"

"No, of course not," Bucky snapped at him. "I just…"

Ryder's eyebrows went up, "Just…?"

Bucky shook his head, "Just nothin'…come on!"

Ryder watched Bucky take his seat by Steve, picking up the abandoned cards to fill the remainder of the visiting hours. He shook his head, and he mumbled, "God Becca's right…this is gonna take forever…"

"You coming Howlett? We don't got all night!" Steve called out, having already picked up his hand.

"Coming Rogers," Ryder rolled his eyes, heading back into the room.