Chapter 14 - Can You Hel...
Steve smiles to himself as he carries his tray of food down the hallway back to the room. Bucky was awake and doing well. The sun was shining. Bruce and Clint were coming by later. Today was good.
He pulls the door open and is shocked to see a lady standing on the other side. She wasn't a nurse and he had never seen her before, not that he could remember anyway. But she looked familiar. She really resembled...
"Beky?" Steve asks, taken aback.
"Oh! Hi. No, I'm Jamie. You must be Mr. Rogers," she extends her hand for a hand shake, "I work in the IT department at the tower. I was delivering flowers and a card on behalf of the department. "
"Pleased to meet you, Jamie. You know, you look a lot like Bucky's sister, Beky. She used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. until she passed away about three years ago."
"Oh?" Jamie asks. Beky was her great grandmother's name and she had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long time. Now that she thought about it, she recalls Bucky saying her name as he fell. She'll have to try to figure this out when she has some spare time.
"Well," Steve says, peering around her anxious to get back to Bucky and eat his food, "thank you for bringing the card. I know that he'll appreciate it. I'm uh, going to eat my food now," he gestures to his tray.
"Of course," Jamie smiles, "I may see you again sometime. Have a good rest of your day," she heads back to the elevator as Steve enters Bucky's room.
"Hey Bucko!" Steve says as he walks in, "Still sleeping? Didn't you get enough rest?" he sets his tray on the side table then grabs his sketchbook and glass of water before sitting down. When Bucky doesn't wake up, Steve shrugs and starts eating his dinner.
He is almost finished eating when Bucky wakes up. "Steve?"
Steve looks up from his sketch and takes a sip of his water, "Hmm?"
"Tony didn't buy an alpaca while I was out cold, did he?"
"Pft," Steve chuckles, "what?! You sure you're alright up top?"
"Yeah yeah. Just answer the question."
"Ha, no! Why?"
"I just had the weirdest dream about some angry alpaca rampaging through the tower."
"Uh huh," Steve nods then shakes his head, "No. There isn't an alpaca at the tower," he takes another sip of his water, "Thirsty?"
"Yeah. Got anything to eat?"
"No, I ate all the food I brought up here. Except for the chocolate cake that tastes like mud," he points to the now mostly empty tray, "I'll get you a cup of water though." He stands and grabs a cup from the sink counter, fills it with water, and hands it to Bucky.
"Thanks," Bucky takes the cup and downs half of it in one gulp.
"No problem," Steve says as he settles back into the chair. He opens his sketchbook to a blank page.
Bucky leans forward trying to see what Steve is working on, "Whatcha drawing?"
"Hmm? Oh. I don't know yet," he answers as he starts drawing lines.
"How do you know where to put the lines if you don't know what you're drawing?"
"I don't know," Steve sets his pencil down and takes another gulp of his water, finishing off what was in the cup. "I think it's Nat" he gets up to refill his glass at the sink.
"You think? Don't you know?"
"Not yet. It may not look anything like her so..." Steve shrugs.
"You don't make much sense pal, but ok," Bucky leans back and looks around the room, "you got a book?"
"Of course," Steve picks up 'The Hobbit' by J. R. R. Tolkien from the window sill and tosses it to his friend.
"You want me to start where the bookmark is or at the beginning?" Bucky inquires as he opens the book.
"I don't care," Steve answers as he sets his cup on the night stand and picks up his pencil once again.
"Okay. Let's see here..." Bucky flips some pages to find the part he is looking for. He begins to read, "'Chapter five; Riddles in the Dark. When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere ne'..."
He stops when he hears Steve moan, "You alright, Steve?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," he grimaces and takes a deep breath, not looking up from his picture, "just keep reading."
"Ok," Bucky nods. He starts reading again but watches Steve out of the corner of his eye, "'No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothi...'" Steve drops his sketchbook and it clatters to the floor. He places his head on his knees with a groan. "Steve, are you sure that you are alright?"
"Yes!" he says through clinched teeth, "I'm, uuhhhgg, I'm fine" he groans.
"Uh uh, no. You need to go get a nurse."
"I told you," he says in a strained voice, "I. Am. Alright."
Bucky nods but isn't convinced. Then a thought strikes him, 'If he won't go see a nurse, maybe I can get him to bring one for me.'
He starts to read again, "'He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he could feel nothing except the... oohhhh" he groans, watching Steve, and puts the book down.
"What's wrong?!" Steve sits up with a look of mixed pain and concern. He places a hand to his head and closes his eyes, trying to keep from losing his dinner.
"I suddenly don't feel so well. Will you go, ooohhh," Bucky places a hand on his head, "get the doctor. My head! I think I'm going to... pass...out..."
Steve gets up, "Don't pass out, please. I'll be right back," he heads out the door and staggers down the hall like a drunkard.
"How can I help you, sir?" one of the nurses at the desk by the elevator asks as he approaches.
"Bucky," he moans and shakes his head trying to clear it of the fog, "Bucky is... Bucky needs," he starts gasping for breath as he points back down the way he'd just come.
"Are you alright, sir?" she asks, standing.
"Yeah, yeah but it's... it's... I can't!" his eyes fixate on those of the young lady and then she blinks and it's as if the ropes broke. Steve crumples to the floor. Later she would tell her family that, when he had looked into her eyes, she could see all his pain and hurt and joy. It was as if he allowed her to see a piece of his soul, and it frightened her. Then it was as if he were a marionette and the puppeteer dropped his strings.