Chapter Nineteen
Minutes after Bucky hangs up the phone with Dr Stark, Natalia arrives at the door. He lets her in, only slightly self-conscious about the fact that he hasn't combed his hair and he's still in his pajamas, but she doesn't seem to mind. Bucky makes her and Stevie a pancake breakfast and when Mrs Carter comes over, he invites her in, too, explaining that he won't need her for a while, given that he doesn't exactly have a day job anymore, but she's more than welcome to come in for a big family breakfast.
Bucky is making a very conscious effort to look cheerful, even though he feels a destructive fear burning him away inside, made worse by the fact that he's not going to work this morning and he may lose everything he loves. But he smiles anyway, forces himself to, really, and he can't wait for Mrs Carter to leave so he can stop pretending and fall into Natalia's arms and weep.
Unfortunately, by the time he thinks he can do just this and Stevie's taken his medicine and is ready to lay down again and Mrs Carter is leaving, he receives another guest.
Bucky and Natalia have just sat down on the couch and Bucky is ready to turn to her and say, I'm not okay, when the doorbell rings. Feeling a pit of dread grow in his stomach, he stands and makes his way to the door, Natalia behind him and he opens it to find a woman in a suit with a briefcase. She smiles at him.
"Mr Barnes?" She asks and Bucky feels his throat dry up.
"Uh, yeah, that's me," he says and suddenly wishes he wasn't still in pajamas.
"My name is Maria Hill," the woman says. "I'm the social worker. I left a voicemail on your phone, did you get it?"
"No," Bucky says. He's starting to panic.
"Is this a bad time?" Ms Hill asks and Bucky shakes his head awkwardly.
"Uh, it's fine," he says. "Come in. I was just cleaning up the breakfast dishes." Bucky steps out of the way for her to walk past him, holding out the door, and Ms Hill steps inside. She nods at Natalia as she passes and Natalia throws a wide-eyed look at Bucky.
Bucky shuts the door and follows her into the kitchen, where the pancake mess still sits, and he winces. That doesn't look good. "Now," Ms Hill starts, setting her briefcase down on a clean part of the countertop and turning to face Natalia and Bucky. "I don't want to take too much of your time Mr Barnes and, um," she looks at Natalia and Bucky realizes she's waiting for Natalia to introduce herself, but Natalia looks as though she hasn't understood a single word said.
"This is Natalia," Bucky jumps to help her and Natalia looks over at him desperately. "She's a good friend of mine. She doesn't speak English."
"Oh, alright," Ms Hill says and she smiles at Natalia surprisingly kindly and Natalia smiles politely back. She seems to have understood that introductions were being shared.
"Nice to meet you," she says in slow, stunted English.
"And you," Ms Hill says and then turns back to Bucky. "So, your papers say you and Steve Rogers have lived here for about a year, right?" Bucky nods.
"We moved in the day I got custody," he says.
"And how has everything gone?" Ms Hill continues. "Any issues or difficulties?"
"None," Bucky says.
"Mr Barnes, may I see the baby?" Ms Hill asks and Bucky nods again.
"Yeah, of course, he's in here," he says and leads her and Natalia into Stevie's dark nursery down the hall. When they get in, Bucky lifts Stevie out of his crib and cradles him close. "He's sick," he whispers. "And we're trying a new medicine, so he's resting."
"What's he sick with?" Ms Hill asks. She walks over and puts a hand on Stevie's warm little head and frowns. "Sort of feverish," she notes.
"Pneumonia," Bucky says. "The doctor says they won't let it kill him. He'll be fine." He's not sure if he's saying this to reassure himself or Hill. He figures it doesn't matter.
"Good to hear," Ms Hill says. Her smile is curt and professional, but kind. She seems like a good person, Bucky decides. He prays she has some mercy on him. He prays she doesn't find him an unsuitable parent.
Bucky puts Stevie back down and they all go back into the kitchen, where Bucky has nowhere to offer to let Ms Hill sit because the table is a pancake and syrup-y mess, so they stand around the counter again. Natalia hovers anxiously behind Bucky and slips her arm through his, linking them together. When Ms Hill's eyes are downcast, sifting through her briefcase, Natalia gives Bucky a supportive kiss on the cheek. He can't help but smile a little and he looks over at her and returns it.
"So the agency heard about your unemployment," Ms Hill starts, looking up from her briefcase, and Bucky's face falls. "We need to know if you have a plan. What's your monetary status?"
"I, uh, have enough saved," Bucky says. "Several months wages' worth, so we can eat and pay the bills for a while. And I'm job hunting right now.
"Hmm," Ms Hill says. She pulls a few papers out of her briefcase and hands them to Bucky. "These are information packets," she tells him. "So you know what you can do and the possible outcomes for your family."
"Oh," Bucky says weakly and he takes the papers. Ms Hill looks at him with a look of pity he knows all too well.
"You seem like a good man," she says to him. "The agency warned me in coming here, that your record wasn't exactly an average one, but it seems to me like you're trying your best to take care of this baby."
"I am," Bucky agrees desperately. "I'd do anything for him." Ms Hill smiles a little.
"I understand," she says. "I'm going to keep checking up on you until the agency and I are sure your home is stable again." She starts to pack up her things. "Be sure to check your voicemails, Mr Barnes."
"I will," Bucky says and he and Natalia follow Hill to the door, where she says her goodbyes and leaves, and Bucky lets out a breath and drops his head onto Natalia's shoulder.
"She didn't seem too bad," Natalia says and he shakes his head, but doesn't say anything. Natalia reaches over and puts her hand on the side of Bucky's face and kisses his head. "It's gonna be fine," she says to him comfortingly, walking him back into the kitchen. "It's fine."