Again: I do not own Marvel or it's affiliates.
"Love your family. Spend time, be kind & serve one another. Make no room for regrets. Tomorrow is not promised & today is short."~Unknown
Michael walked into their little library with Joanna. "The kids absolutely love that story." He said.
"Hmmm… I wonder… don't they remind you of someone…?" Jo laughed.
He smiled thinking of his childhood and how often he, his sister Lucile, and his brother Josiah had begged their father to tell them that story.
He shook his head "I guess they do. They're like Lulu, Jos and I were at that age. They get into enough trouble too…"
Jo just laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "Don't forget that Williams stubborn streak too, Sweetie."
"Yes, how could I forget the Williams- McCoy stubborn streak?" he said rolling his eyes.
Jo laughed again, lightly slapping his chest. She froze suddenly, her smile fading into a look of suppressed fear. Michael spun quickly; as soon as he saw her face he knew something was wrong. He immediately saw why. A man with half his face covered was pointing a gun at them with a metal arm, several other men with guns stood behind him. Michael knew immediately who sent them there and why. Joanna clung to his arm, he knew she knew too.
"No…" Michael whispered, fear clenching his heart.
The Winter Soldier knew the children's parents understood why they were there; he could see it in their eyes. His suspicion was confirmed when the man whispered "No…"
The woman tightened her grip on the man's arm, she looked like her world was collapsing, but she didn't move her eyes from the soldier's face.
"Please, please God, please no. please don't take my babies. Don't hurt them. Please God, don't hurt our little angels. Please." She muttered, never once taking her eyes from the soldier's. The soldier just stared back at her with cold eyes, but something made his heart ache.
"Kid, you don't have to do this, please, don't do this. You don't want to hurt the little ones, I know you don't. But if you do this, they will get hurt. You don't have to do this." The man said, practically pleading. The soldier lowered his gun just a hair, hesitating. The man was right, they would get hurt, he didn't want to do this, but he had to, he had his orders. The soldier raised the gun again.
The woman was crying, but she kept staring at him. "I've seen you before…" she muttered. "in Fred's pictures from the war…" her eyes widened. "But- but how-? Everyone thought- no one could have- my God-"
"Mom? Dad?"
They all froze, eyes darting to the door at the base of the stairs. The boy stood there rubbing his eyes. As soon as he saw the HYDRA agents he let out a scream as his face drained of colour.
The Winter Soldier knew then that completing his mission would not be easy in the least.
It was dark. Jace and Anora were running, gasping for breath, through the trees, gunshots ringing out behind them. There was blood in the breeze. The word run echoing in their ears along with angry shouts and anguished screams. Fear gripped Jaycen. They were going to die-
Jaycen bolted up in bed, gasping for breath as if he truly had been running for his life.
"Jacy?" Anora muttered from her bed sleepily.
"Everything's fine Nor, go back to sleep."
"Mkay, Jacy…" she mumbled.
The eight year old slipped out of his bed and padded across the hall to their parent's room and peaked in the door. The bedside lamp was on and the bed was empty. They must still be down stairs, he thought. Jace padded to the top of the stairs and walked quietly down to the door of their little library.
"Mom? Dad?" he asked sleep clouding his voice as he rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes he thought he was back in his nightmare, the colour drained from his face. He didn't even try not to scream.
Anora was dreaming peacefully. She was grown up, laughing with a boy her age with short brown hair and blue-green eyes. She was trying to get him to dance with her. He was asking why she wanted to dance with him, she was asking if she needed a reason and he was smiling, the type of smile that lit up his entire face. They had just started dancing when Anora woke up. For a moment she didn't know why she woke up, then she heard her brother breathing harshly on the other side of the room.
"Jacy?" she mumbbled from her bed.
"Everything's fine Nor, go back to sleep." He told her.
She didn't really believe him, but her eyelids were so heavy she didn't argue. "Mkay, Jacy…"
She heard her brother get out of his bed and go look for their mum and dad. She was almost asleep when she heard Jace scream. Anora shot up. Terror coursing through her. She was only six, but she knew Jace never screamed like that unless- unless something was wrong, terribly, horribly wrong. She hugged her teddy bear and ran out into the hall and down the stairs freezing when she saw her brother at the foot of the stairs rooted in place and the men with guns.
Joanna broke free of her stupor first. "Jaycen take Anora and run!" she screamed. "Jaycen Alexander! Now! Go! For God's sake run!"
One of the men behind The Winter Soldier stepped up to her and hit her to get her to shut up. But Joanna Temperance McCoy-Williams was not one to back down or give in when her family was endangered. "We love you angels, now run! Run, babies, run and don't look back! Go!"
She watched as Jace turned and run back up the stairs presumably with Nora. Jo could hear Anora protesting and crying for her and Michael.
Joanna glared through her tears at HYDRA's agents. "I don't give a damn what you do to me, but you will not touch my babies!"
Michael nodded, his jaw clenched, hands in fists, ready to fight. "You. Bastards. Will. Not. Touch. My. Family. Not while I'm alive."
Jace couldn't move. The sound had left his body with that scream. He didn't stir until his mother screamed.
"Jaycen take Anora and run! Jaycen Alexander! Now! Go! For God's sake run! We love you angels, now run! Run, babies, run and don't look back! Go!"
He spun and ran up the stairs, grabbing ahold of his baby sister as he ran past, dragging her up the stairs, past the bedrooms and down the back staircase, out the backdoor, towards the cover of the trees.
"Jay! Stop! We haveta help mummy and daddy! Let go! We have to go back!" Nora was crying, and it broke his heart, but he kept running dragging her and her teddy bear along behind him.
"We can't. We can't go back. We have to keep running. Mommy told us to. We have to." The tears slid down his pale face, he was a kid but he knew what death was. His best friend Aidan's dad had been a cop and had died. Jace knew what death was. He knew they wouldn't see their parents again, so he was going to do what mom had told him to do. Run. Run and take care of Nora.
The soldier heard and saw what was happening as though he were underwater. He heard the woman screaming for her children to run, the agent slap her, the boy turn and run. He heard the girl crying, begging for her parents. Everything cleared as the woman spoke, "I don't give a damn what you do to me, but you will not touch my babies!"
He half turned toward them. The man spoke, "You. Bastards. Will. Not. Touch. My. Family. Not while I'm alive."
The soldier knew the man would fight. The man reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place it. The soldier fired one shot, hitting the man in the leg. "Finish them. I'll get the targets."
The soldier turned and left the house headed for the trees he knew the children had gone for.
So there's a bit of foreshadowing in both the dreams, and Sargent James Bucanan Barnes is peaking out from The Winter Soldier a bit. I hope you like it so far!