True to his word, Bucky was waiting for me when I was rolled into the room almost two hours later…he stood staring out the window, his face void of emotion. When he heard the nurse pushing the wheelchair through the door, he turned to look at me, a large smile forming on his face. The nurse helped me rise up out of the wheelchair and Bucky came over and lifted me into his arms to place me lightly onto the bed. The nurse checked on my IV and the monitors I was attached to, "I'll give the two of you some time together. I'll be back shortly to help you shower" She smiled and nodded at Bucky before leaving the room.
The procedure had left me rattled…the small space and loud noise of the machine had finally worn down the last nerve I had left. The moment she left the room, I closed my eyes and groaned in frustration. Bucky pulled up a chair beside my bed and took my hand, "You okay?"
"No" I said, grumpily. I had spent my time during the long procedure making a list of everything I needed to do after I was released from the hospital. Calling the car insurance company was first on my list and I dreaded the thought of it. I needed to get my belonging from my vehicle, or at least what would be salvageable. I knew my SUV was totaled, which would also mean I would need to buy a new car…the list went on and on. Bucky listened to me gripe, gently rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. He didn't try to interrupt me; he just patiently waited for me to finish venting my frustration. When I was finally done with my rant, he simply smiled at me and asked, "What do you want me to do first?"
This man is perfect…absolutely perfect!
I exhaled loudly and laughed, "You really are my knight in shining armor" He stood up and bowed, "Anything for my lady" He leaned over beside the bed and picked up my purse, pulling my cell phone out, "A nurse dropped this off earlier, the paramedic left it at the front desk for you."
Bucky called my insurance company to report the accident and gave what information he could to get the claim started. He called the police department to find out where my car was towed and then called Steve and asked him to stop by and get my things out of my SUV. While Bucky was on the phone, the nurse came back in and helped me take a quick shower. The warm water felt good on my sore muscles and the nurse was even kind enough to braid my hair for me. When we stepped out of the bathroom, Bucky tucked the phone between his ear and his shoulder and walked over to pick me up effortlessly and lay me back down into the bed, never missing a beat in the conversation he was having. The nurse came over smiling and gave me a thumbs up and then pointed at Bucky. She mouthed the word, "Perfect" and then proceeded to check my IV's and hook me back up to the monitor.
I laid my head back and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of Bucky's voice. He finished the call he was on and laid my phone down on my tray table. "Well, I didn't get everything on your list done, but I'd say I put a nice dent in it"
"Do you think you could go to my apartment and grab me some clothes? I just need something to wear when they finally let me out of here...pants, shirt, shoes, and ummm, some under garments if you don't mind..." I blushed at the last part, "My spare key is in the zipper part of my wallet."
Bucky smirked at the blush on my face and dug in my purse for the key…once he found it he stuffed it in his pocket.
The nurse walked back in with a syringe, "It's time to give you some more pain meds…these are going to help you sleep, ok?" I nodded and watched her push the syringe into my IV. Once the nurse left, Bucky turned to me, "Is there anything else you need Eden?"
"Can you do one more thing for me?" I yawned.
He nodded, "Anything"
"Can you please have some good food waiting for me when I wake up? I don't know how I feel about hospital food" I felt my eyes getting heavy.
He chuckled, "Consider it done….go to sleep Eden"
"And don't you eat it all before I wake up" I said, raising my hand to point at him.
He sat in the chair beside me quietly, waiting for me to fall asleep. I laid there and thought about everything that had happened that day. I remembered what I had told that nice paramedic in the ambulance when he asked who Bucky was to me….why hadn't I already told Bucky that I loved him?
I tried to open my eyes but I could already feel the medicine taking control…any second now I was going to be out like a light so I kept my eyes closed and tried to speak "Bucky…I need…to tell you…something"
"What is it Eden?" he leaned in, kissing me on the forehead.
"Bucky…I…I…lov…."
-...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…...
I leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, "What is it Eden?"
"Bucky…I…I…lov…"
I pulled back to look at her face, her eyes were still closed, her breathing deep and even…she was asleep.
I pulled the covers up over her and sat by her bedside, watching her as she slept.
I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Hey Buck, how's she doing?" Steve handed me a cup of coffee and sat down in a chair. "She'll be fine…she was already saying she wanted some food waiting for her when she woke up"
"Well you better not disappoint her…I called her friend Brooke….she seems….nice"
I looked over at him…he had a goofy grin on his face. "Uh huh"
"Did you know that she is moving here this Saturday? She's going to be working at the Smithsonian…for the Captain America exhibit."
I had known that…Eden and I had discussed it over dinner last night. She informed me that Brooke knew about who I really was but promised me that she was okay with it. I wanted to meet Brooke…Eden seemed to care a great deal for her and I was happy that Steve actually had taken an interest in someone.
I asked Steve to take me back to the apartment. I planned on staying with Eden at the hospital for the next couple of days and I needed some clothes and a few other things. On the drive home, Steve told me about the conversation he had with Brooke.
I've never seen him this excited before.
When we reached the apartment, Steve offered to let me use his car for the next few days and ride his motorcycle instead, that way I could leave and get things for Eden if she needed something.
"Bucky, you know you could always go buy your own car...all that money SHIELD has been paying you is just sitting in the bank. You never use any of it."
I thought about it, maybe it was time to get some stuff of my own. I had received a ridiculous sum of money from SHIELD after the incident…they called it restitution pay, money they felt I deserved for the last 70 years of hell I had been put through. They also gave me a monthly stipend that went directly into an account; I never used any of it. The debit card was still tucked away in my wallet…I had only used it a handful of times.
I could actually buy something nice for Eden.
Steve parked the car and we got out, heading upstairs to our apartment. I started packing up a few things and throwing them into a bag. Once I got everything I needed, Steve tossed his keys to me and I headed back downstairs and over to Eden's. It felt strange entering her apartment without her there, almost as if I was invading her privacy. I shut the door behind me and looked around, sneering at the roses that were still sitting on the table. I picked up the flowers and headed to the kitchen. Once I had thrown all the roses in the trash, I rinsed out the vase and set it beside the sink to dry.
I made my way into her bedroom and smiled at the memory of what had happened there the night before. She had made the bed and the note I had written her was lying on the pillow. I walked over to her closet to open it and found an overnight bag on a shelf. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a black shirt off of a hanger and slipped them into the bag, along with a pair of shoes. I looked towards her dresser and made my over to it. I found a pair of sock in the first drawer I opened. The second drawer held bras and panties, in a variety of colors and styles.
Don't be a pervert Barnes, grab the first pair you see and close it.
I let my eyes scan over the assortment…they finally rested on black lacy bra with matching panties. I snatched them up and stuffed them in the bag before heading to the bathroom to grab her toiletries. Once I had had everything I thought she would need, I left the apartment…making sure I locked it behind me.
I picked up Chinese food on the way back to the hospital, remembering Eden had once said that cold Chinese food was even better than hot Chinese food. I figured if she didn't wake up for a while, she would still eat it. I made one last stop on my way to the hospital and used my debit card for the first time in weeks, smiling as I carried my purchase to the car and gently setting it on the floorboard in the front seat.
I managed to get everything from the car to the elevator and up to Eden's room. I walked in quietly when I got there and saw she was still sleeping. I laid both bags on the uncomfortable looking couch next to her bed and sat everything else on the bedside tray. Even covered in bruises, she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I moved a lock of hair from her face and she stirred a bit at my touch.
…...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…...
The feeling of someone touching my hair woke me, my body was still sore but the pain medication was doing its job. I opened my eyes to see Bucky standing over me. The smell of Chinese food brought a smile to my face, "My hero" I said, reaching my hand out to him. My voice came out dry and raspy and he immediately turned to the table beside me and poured me some ice water from a jug the nurse had left. The cool water felt wonderful going down my dry throat. I looked over to set the cup down and saw a beautiful arrangement of flowers sitting beside my bed…purple roses and white lilies.
"Oh Bucky, they are gorgeous! How did you know I loved lilies?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't, I just thought they were pretty…like you"
"Hey Bucky, remind me to throw out those roses that Michael left me when I get out of here"
He reached into the other bag and started pulling out small take out boxes of Chinese food, "Already took care of it" he said with a smirk, not looking my way.
I chuckled and pushed a button on my bed so I could sit up more to eat. Bucky sat on the edge of my bed as we ate…the conversation between us always came so naturally. Nurses came in and out of the room, checking on me, changing my IV and what not. Around 9:00, the nurse on duty brought Bucky a pillow and a blanket so he could sleep on the couch and administered another dose of pain medication for me.
When she left, I looked over at the ugly green couch, knowing that there was no way it could be comfortable, "Bucky, you don't have to sleep here….that thing looks like something developed as a cruel means of torture"
He threw the pillow down on the couch and unfolded the blanket; "I've slept on much worse" was all he said.
He grabbed some clothes out of a small bag and walked over to the bathroom. When he came out, he was dressed in black sweat pants and a white undershirt. I could already feel my eyelids getting heavy and Bucky noticed. He walked over to kiss me softy on the forehead, "Good night Eden" I closed my eyes and fell asleep with a smile.
The next two days passed quickly…doctors and nurses came in and out of my room to check on me. The bruise on my face went from purple to a deep yellow. Bucky stayed by my side throughout the whole ordeal, only leaving to get food for us. Steve had come to visit me several times…the first time he brought me a Get Well balloon and a box of chocolates. I thanked him for calling Brooke and for making sure she didn't come. Steve would often stay with me while Bucky would run to get me food or whatever else I needed and we actually got to talk quite a bit.
Brooke had called me several times over my hospital stay. She told me all about the conversation with Steve….like an excited school girl, she gushed over him. Apparently Steve called her back several times after that to give her updates on how I was doing…even though she herself was calling me as well. It made me smile to hear her so excited and Bucky said he had never seen Steve react to anyone the way he did to Brooke.
The morning I got discharged from the hospital was one of the happiest days of my life. Bucky carried everything down to the car while I signed the forms and got my prescriptions from the nurse. Once everything was done, he handed me my overnight bag so I could go change clothes. I dug in the bag and pulled out the jeans and t-shirt he had brought me. I laughed when I saw the lacy black bra and panties he had chosen for me.
He looked over at me when he heard me giggle, a grin on his face, "What? You asked me to get you clothes."
"Uh huh, and these are what you picked? These are only for special occasions" I said, holding them up in my hands.
"Well this is a special occasion isn't it?" he asked, walking over to where I sat on the bed and stood over me. He had a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen since the night we had slept together…a look of desire…desire for me.
The nurse chose that moment to walk in the room pushing a wheelchair. I quickly tucked the lacy panties in between my jeans and shirt at the same time Bucky stepped back and away from me. The nurse helped me into the bathroom to get changed….to her credit, she didn't say a word when she saw the lacy black bra and panties. Once I was dressed, I sat in the wheelchair and was rolled downstairs to the parking lot. I was only allowed to get out of the chair once Bucky had pulled the car around and was ready for me.
"Let's go home, shall we?" I said happily after he helped me into the car.