"No... Don't say that…" Buck immediately cut the crying woman's speech short, holding her hands dearly in his gloved metal hand and bare flesh one, "please… it's not your fault that you are in this situation... and truly... you are the one who has given me a purpose to live…to have someone to take care of... to worry about… after a long time I am feeling proud of myself" Bucky added, ardently staring at the lady's eyes, who shyly met him after a few seconds.

Soon, the lady's gaze dropped on Bucky's grip on her hands, which made him consciously withdraw his palms from her tender flesh… nervously, praying that she doesn't think anything wrong about him. In reality, the woman did not have much time to misunderstand him as what caught her attention was something else : his leather covered hand.

" It's really late at night so you should go and take some rest" Bucky said, not giving the nameless soul any time to carry on the conversation, mainly because he was scared of her saying anything about the recent grasping of hands.

The woman silently nodded , but her eyes were glued to that dark leather glove that the man was wearing, and then she noticed how she had always seen him wearing only full sleeves, even when it was hot both inside and outside.

Before she had a chance to form a question, Bucky had got up from her side and had extended his hand to her . She accepted it, to pull herself up, but she had gripped his flesh forearm as a support too, almost instinctively, sending chills down the brunet's spine as the pressure of her slim fingers dipped into his flesh through the dark red full sleeves.

" I am sorry…"the woman muttered, softening her tight grip believing that she might have caused pain to the male.

"Let me carry you to your room" She got as a reply, and in no more than a split second her painful feet were forgiven of her body's weight, as she stared at Bucky's intense eyes when she was lifted up in his arms in bridal style.

Whilst being carried in his arms to her room, her past memory struck a chord. When she was enclosed inside that hell, a man had always used his hands to cause her pain, deep agonizing wounds.Never she could have thought that a male's hands could be used to provide her such relief to her aching body…soul... mind… All this while, Bucky tried looking in front of him, but his eyes were time and again drawn to the woman's innocent complexion, making his breath forget it's way out of his lungs whenever he got a glance of this divine creature.

Bucky gently placed the woman on her bed, and took a seat next to her, letting her adjust her back on the makeshift backrest by herself .

" How are you feeling now?" Bucky asked and the woman who had just breathed in to reply to him got distracted by her baby who had woken up, moving and stretching his little limbs catching both adults' gaze.

" He has woken up" Bucky commented, while the woman scooped the tiny human in her loving arms.

"He wakes up every couple of hours... when he's hungry... but I had fed him before I came out to talk to you"The lady spoke, concentrating on her baby while the man seated himself on the edge of the bed, who could not take his eyes off her, watching this gorgeous woman trying to figure out what her son needed .

"I believe that his diaper is wet,"she told Bucky, looking at him in his orbs.

"Don't worry, I'll bring you one from the drawer" He announced, before leaving her side to fetch one.

" Hum… please bring me the wet wipes too…" the lady requested, hesitantly.

"Sure…" and in no time, he was back with the things and adjusted himself on the bed, leaving some space for her to comfortably do the task.

Bucky's gaze dropped from the gorgeous mother to her incredibly calm baby, and memorized the steps she was following to take off and to put on the diaper. He also noticed that the woman was having some trouble bringing her torso to the front.

"If you want, I can help you change his diaper so you don't have to put pressure on your body…"Bucky suggested, seeing the woman in pain.

The lady softly smiled at his offer of help, causing Buck to smile back at her.

" You notice a lot…" the woman remarked with good humor.

"It is so obvious… you can't do this all alone, you need some help. Your body has gone through so much… Childbirth is not easy. I can see that… you couldn't answer me before, how are you feeling ? Have you taken the medicines that the doctor has prescribed?" Buck genuinely spoke, so earnestly, so honestly, melting the woman's heart like a lighted candle.

As a response, the lady just lowered her eyes and the man understood the reason why when he saw the pharmacy's paper bag still untouched, that he had kept it on her night table.

"You haven't taken your medications yet… haven't you?" He asked hopelessly, knowing very well the answer of his question as the lady began to cradle her baby in her limbs.

"If you don't take the medicines, how will you get better? You have to take them on time… " he commented, after grabbing the paper pouch in his hands.

"I.. . I was afraid… I am breastfeeding my son, what if he gets ill or something happens to him?" She began explaining, like a little child who was caught in a naughty act.

"Your doctor knows that you are a nursing mother… and she still prescribed you these medications, because I assume she knows that they are safe for you and your baby. She has written when and how you have to take these" he said, while taking out the medicine that the new mother had to take at night.

Shortly after Bucky finished speaking, the baby started crying inconsolably, no matter how many honey coated words her mother was pouring over him he wouldn't stop.

" What happened honey?" The mother spoke to the son.

"Can I… hold him?" Buck's tongue slipped in butter as these words came out of his mouth.

The woman's eyes got round in astonishment, but then... she wasn't able to deny this kind man's request, so she gently smiled and let Bucky try his luck in calming her baby. He was surprised that the lady did not mind his sudden request and carefully handed the bundle of tears in his arms…which... surprisingly stopped the baby from crying almost immediately, as he got too busy staring at this blue-eyed man with his teary amber orbs.

Having a less than a week old baby in his arms,and that too, one that had stopped shedding tears after he got him in his arms, drew a larger than life smile on Bucky's face as he admired the little premature in awe.

"You are the most beautiful creature in this world…" Bucky told the baby, overwhelmed in joy and then turned his head to look at the equally merry mother.

" He is just like you …with your amber eyes" he whispered.

"He is…"

''Sorry… I'm so overwhelmed... I have… I've never held a newborn in my arms…" Buck muttered, with a voice filled with immeasurable happiness and nervousness as well as his eyes becoming slightly misty .

"He likes you,'' the lady commented, caressing her baby's soft, scarce hair with her slim fingers.

"He does, doesn't he? He ceased crying" Bucky replied, incredulously, with a still emotionally drowned voice, immersed in happiness that had no limits for him.

As an immediate reflex, he began gently swaying the child in his arms which made the baby drift back to sleep. After which he locked his steel eyes with the lady's orbs, which had filled with a concentrated concoction of pain, regret and joy.

Especially, because she was seeing someone so happy holding a child, in contrast to what she had borne in her past home… well not home, prison basically.

Very carefully, he placed the baby on the bed and looked at the woman's eyes again.

" Good night… if you need anything, I am out on the sofa, please don't hesitate to ask me" He spoke, before he walked out of the room as the lady kept staring at this stranger who had done much more for her than she could have ever imagined.

Bucky couldn't believe how fast the night went by, pondering about the many times he was woken up by sounds of a crying baby during the night. However, there he was, standing right in front of the gas stove and making breakfast. It was so new for Bucky, to make two plates, not one. To crack four eggs, instead of his usual two. Pour two large glasses of milk, and not to pour any, cuz he usually drinks it from the bottle itself.

After arranging the contents on the tray, he felt like some fresh fruit wouldn't do any harm, so he cut and placed some slices of apple, orange and pear in a bowl to take it to her.

Hesitantly, he entered her room, only to find her baby, wrapped in a blanket sleeping peacefully while the bathroom door was half open.

"She's in the bathroom." Bucky thought , placing the food tray on one edge of the bed.

At that moment, the lady appeared, walking from the restroom to where Buck was standing, watching her come closer to him taking slow and steady steps, still embraced in her body's pain.

She was wearing a light yellow loose knee length dress and had her loose curls tied in a braid that fell on the right side of her bosom.

To say that Bucky forgot to breathe for a minute when he saw her would be an underestimation, because he truly had never seen someone so beautiful and so delicate in his entire life. The amber of her eyes was looking ethereal with the yellow dress , enhancing her overall features magically.

" I... brought you breakfast. I hope I didn't disturb you" Bucky brought himself to speak loudly, when his mind forced him to… because the lady was waiting for the man to say something, staring at his light blue orbs .

"Oh…" she muttered, after eyeing the tray containing her first meal of the day.

"Thank you... Sergeant Barnes" She said, looking back into his eyes, with her own pupils carrying emotions of gratitude and humbleness.

Bucky wanted to correct her, tell her that she could call him Bucky, but there he stood, dumbstruck since the sweet female words fell into his ears.

Notes:

hi guys!!!!!!!! Hope you are enjoying this story , here is the next chapter of this series , i pray you like it and if you do, then please let me know your thoughts in the comments bellow.

PS. and please , favourite and like my story ! thanks

@ Jacquelinehogan922

hello dear reader, thank you so much for your comment! it is always a pleasure to read it. it gives me the much needed motivation I need to continue this story.

Yes, slowly the trust is building between the two protagonists. In a couple of chapters, I will introduce the villain to my story .