A special guest appearance by Pepper Potts and Ant Man spoilers...
Spoilers for H.P Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space.
Spoilers for Flowers for Algernon
Yes I know the books are over 20+ years old, but you never know who will whine.
Adult content-M-ish
"So we're just hiring anyone now?" asked Tony sitting down the soldering iron. Steve was putting together a tablet together for Alison about Bucky. She asked for his Army records and for all the Hydra notes. She explained that she needed the files if she was going to figure out how to treat him.
"You know most guys wait till the third date before they offer a girl a job," said Tony. "Though I will admit she is kind of cute. You put her in one of those 1940's nurse outfit and you might have something. I think I have one that Pepper refused to wear," Steve rolled his eyes and finished getting the files on the tablet.
"One-We weren't on a date. Two-We've been talking about getting more mental health professionals on staff anyway and this one sort fell into our lap. Three-I don't ever want to know what you and Pepper do in your free time or who wears what," said Steve.
"Fair enough. Still are you really sure you want to trust someone you just met to take care of your oldest friend? Look she seems like she has that weird nice person disease, but does she really understand what she's getting into? And what if she changes her mind and wants out? Are you going to be ok with her up and dumping you with a guy who tried to kill you last year?" asked Tony he pushed the arm aside. Rogers seemed to not be thinking with his head on, then again he brought Sam Wilson into the fold after two meetings. Steve seemed to take people for who they were on the surface, unlike Tony who had to spend years making up his mind about people. Well not Bruce. That guy was awesome from the word Go.
"The fact that she seemed nervous to take it means something. Most people would have just jumped and not looked. She looked and it scared her a little. You would have to be an idiot to be scared of this job. It scared her and she still said yes," said Steve.
"It has nothing to do with the fact your friend reached out to her and didn't want her to leave the room? Telling you-1940 nurse outfit, might bring him around?"
"I owe Bucky a lot and if he trusts her than I have to go on that too," said Steve. "How long till you get that working?" Tony looked at the arm and shrugged.
"Couple of days. I'm trying to recover some of the data from the non fried chips. I want to see how they programmed it and what's on them. I have to rebuild most of the inside from scratch though. It's a little impressive for 1970's technology. Well the shell is the 70's. Based on the notes I did read he get an upgrade in 2000's for the inside. The programing increased the speed of movement in the arm-the nerves and wires connected better improving the function . I would like to do some upgrades,,,"
"No upgrades," said Steve.
"Fine. No one ever lets me have fun...build one insane killer A.I," muttered Tony going to look for some computer chips and wires.
"Sam's wings?" asked Steve.
"About the same. So someone shrunk down and tore it apart from the inside. Huh. Did you ever hear of Hank Pym?" asked Tony.
"Founder of Pym Tech? Next to your company they have the best tech in the world," said Steve.
"Oh you flatter us. My dad knew Hank Pym and they worked together on a few projects for SHIELD. Had a nasty falling out. Pym was rumored to have created a particle that could reduce matter. Considering whoever this was broke into an old Stark plant, stole something my old man left lying around and turned into a little buggy. I smell bitter old man. You might want to have someone look into it? Agent 13 free?" asked Tony.
"Sam is chomping at the bit to find his guy," said Steve.
"Ah wounded pride cometh after having our ass kicked," said Tony and even Steve smiled.
"We'll look into it," said Steve. He turned to head up when Tony called out.
"I'm going to assume you want a background check of our newest hire."
"Sam vouched for her. It's going to be ok. You might want to try trusting people once in a while," said Steve leaving the lab. Tony shrugged, he would do the check himself when he had free time. Yeah I trusted the guy who helped run my company, taught me some of what I know and then he hired terrorists to kill me. When that didn't work he tried to do it himself and he tried to kill Pepper. Sorry Cap one of us has to play bad guy.
…
"Do I have to call him Bucky?" asked Alison and Sam sort of laughed.
"That is an unfortunate nickname," said Sam.
"It's that stupid cartoon. All I hear when I hear Bucky is that theme song and it's killing me," said Alison.
"I don't think he would mind you calling him James. Hell I think the guy would like to be called by any name other than 'The Asset'," said Sam.
"Geez," said Alison curling up in the chair.
"I'm going to warn you those files are heavy reading. I barely got through half of the notes. Steve read them all and was in mood for nearly two weeks," said Sam.
"You are aware I already took the job and have to do this. Oh I have to quit my other job now," said Alison. I'm submitting my notice to join the Avengers. Bet that's a new one. Steve came up and handed the tablet.
"Everything you asked for,"
"Thanks. Um if you feel up to it I would like to talk you about James. Personal stuff. What he was like before the war," said Alison.
"The only other people I heard call him James were his sister and mother. Whenever you finish reading we'll talk," said Steve. She nodded and pulled up the first file, his enlistment record. Start easy.
"Come on. You need some air," said Sam and he took Steve out for a walk. They were gone for an hour and when Steve came back he found her still reading the tablet. The look on her face was one of rage and shock. He came and sat down with Bucky. She didn't look up while she read on.
….
It took until three am to read all the files on the tablet and her eyes burned when she was done. Alison reached over and took his hand without thinking. James started talking in his sleep and she guessed it was Russian. Before the 'project' he spoke English, some decent German and a few words in French. Now he could speak at least six different languages without thought. Because understanding how to say 'Kill Boy' in one language wasn't enough.
She could see how he would be the perfect fit for what they wanted him to do. Based on his Army file he was a quick study, one of the best marksmen in the 107 and was quick with tactics under stress. Making him a Sergeant before he shipped out was no brainier. If he finished his tour and chosen to stay in the Army he would easily have been offered a Staff Sergeant post and worked his way up quickly from there. However there was note that he finished high school, but hadn't considered higher education due to the costs. I wonder what he would have studied. Her own grandfather had gone to college and studied music much to the mocking of some of his fellow Marines when he came home. He taught jazz band until she went to college. We used to have drum battles on Friday nights in the basement. Bought me own set after dad left.
She looked over at where his left arm used to be and a chill went up her spine. How they went about attaching his arm was the stuff Saw films were made of. He had lost his most of his arm-to the elbow when they found him. However they felt the need to remove more, almost to the shoulder for really no medical reason, they did it because they could.
In 1948 they started trying to figure out how to make the arm attach and work properly. The scars were from several failed attempts at getting the arm stay on. That was when the base went in, attaching the base to some of the nerves left in arm and shoulder helped, when the arm was on the wires went to the base and that connected to the nerves so it functioned like an arm should. They also did some rebuilding of the muscle on his left side to help support the weight of the new limb. They did this over and over until it finally worked. That was on top of torture-beatings, brainwashing, shock treats, starvation, sleep deprivation, light deprivation on top of non stop training until finally in 1951 they froze him.
"Brought you some coffee," said Steve hanging her a mug. She let go of James's hand and took the mug. It was black, but she would deal. Grandpa doesn't believe in cream and sugar either. Must be a 40's thing.
"To think I thought Flowers for Algernon was the most depressing thing I would ever read," said Alison trying to joke.
"Flowers for Algernon?" asked Steve.
"You haven't seen the movie Charly?" asked Alison and then she felt very stupid. The movie came out in the late 60's. He was probably still working through a lot of pop culture from now. It must have shown on her face and Steve shrugged.
"I still haven't seen Titanic. I'm going to guess it's a huge downer," said Steve sitting down with his own coffee.
"Flowers for Algernon is about a mentally challenged guy named Charlie. He gets put into an experiment to make him smarter. They did it before on a mouse named Algernon and they give him to Charlie as a pet. The experiment worked on Charlie too. Only afterwards he realizes everyone in his life is kind of shitty and he loses everyone he thought cared about him. It turns out though the experiment only works for awhile, then you go back to the way you were before and then you die. Algernon goes first and Charlie's last wish before he goes back to the way he was and dies is that someone puts flowers on Algernon's grave. I cried for a good hour after I finished it."
"And Bucky's story?" asked Steve.
"I got so mad at points I wanted to throw up," said Alison toying with her mug.
"I broke six punching bags by the time I was finished," admitted Steve looking into his coffee.
"What was he like before the war?" asked Alison. Steve leaned back in his chair and gathered his thoughts.
"We knew each other from the time we were babies. Our families lived right next to each other. My dad died right before the end of the 1st World War and his dad just took off after Becca was born. Bucky never like to talk about it, but since my mom was a nurse and she patched up Mrs. Barnes more often than not it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. We sort of pulled our families together after that. He looked out for me and Becca...stopped people from turning me in gravel more often than I care to count. Scared every guy in the neighborhood from even looking at Becca. He would have quit school to get a job if his mom would have let him when money got tight, but she said she didn't come to America to have her son be uneducated Irish men. He did work before school and after though to help make ends meet. He was thinking about going to college when they found out his mom had cancer. She lasted about six months and left him with a fourteen year old sister. My mom died about a year later and we all shared a two bedroom apartment after that. It just made sense and well we were family. Bucky enlisted right after Pearl Harbor, there really wasn't any thought behind it. It was just something you did," said Steve.
"My grandfather waited two weeks before enlisting. Became one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children,"
"Marines. I'm guessing he served in the Pacific Theater than," said Steve. Alison nodded.
"Shipped out in 42 and saw his action in Guadalcanal before going to Japan. I'm not sure how much I can repeat about what him and his Marine buddies said about you Army boys," teased Alison.
"An Army Captain and his platoon were on patrol and saw a Marine sitting on a hill. The Captain orders men up the hill by ones and two to take the hill from the the Marine. The all come back with crap kicked out of them. The last man reports that it was trap. The hill had two Marines "said Steve.
"There was also one about they teach you not to pee on you hands in the Marines," said Alison getting a small smile from Steve
"Is that where you got the dog tags? I was gonna ask earlier, but I got sidetracked," admitted Steve. He noticed earlier she was wearing a set of dog tags with a small diamond ring on them. He noticed Bucky was now holding the dog tags for dear life. He also noticed the ring that had been on them was on her left hand now. Long relationship huh? Not my place to ask about that right now.
" They were my father's. He was Air Force. He didn't talk about his time the way my grandfather does. Then again I was really young so I wouldn't have understood it at the time," said Alison looking at her coffee.
Based on her tense he was going to assume her father had passed on. He did want to get to know her and he figured her work choice might be a safe bet.
"So why did you go into nursing? Family thing?" asked Steve. Alison thought about it and if he was going to trust her as a nurse she should tell him her reasoning behind it.
"Well yes and no. No one else in the family is a nurse, but they did influence my choices. My mom was sick until I was about five so it was always sort of hard to see her, but the nurses who looked after her were the best people and they were always really nice to me. The psychiatric part of it comes from how my dad and grandfather handled their time in the war. I love my grandfather, but he had some real temper issues when my dad was kid. If there had been any other family I wouldn't have gone to stay with him, but it was the only option my dad had. I think old age and the fact that I was a girl mellowed him a bit when I was growing up. "Alison took a sip of her coffee before going on.
"My dad on the other hand simply shut down, he just stopped caring about everything. I went to school one day, he decided to go for a walk and he never came back."
Alison hated to admit she had walked a very fine line between the way her grandfather and father acted under stress. At first she had tried to power through the way her grandfather had and then she shut down the way her father had.
"You wanted to know why they acted the way they did," said Steve. Alison nodded and decided to turn the conversation back to James.
"What else can you tell me about James?" Steve gave a smile grin.
"He liked science. The night before he shipped out we went to Stark's future expo. Saw a hover car. I'm still a bit disappointed that we don't have hover cars," said Steve
"Would he have gone to school for science or something like after his tour?" asked Alison.
"Maybe. He did like machines. When Howard was trying to figure out the Hydra tech Bucky was more interested than anyone else. He and Howard would talk for hours about how everything worked," said Steve.
"Hobbies?" asked Alison.
"He liked sci fi and horror stories. When the pulp magazines came out on Friday he would get them first thing, it was the one thing he would get for himself. He really liked some guy named Lovecraft," said Steve.
"H.P Lovecraft," said Alison. She liked his stuff too, even though it was a bit racist and sexist at times it gave her a good jolt.
"It's nice to have someone get a reference I make," said Steve.
"Actually you would be surprised how popular Lovecraft is among geeks and horror nerds," said Alison.
"He liked dancing. He took a new girl dancing every Friday and Saturday night. It got a little old at times hearing him brag," said Steve. Alison could see it, James was a good looking guy from his war photos and well he wasn't to shabby to look at now in her unprofessional opinion. She imagined he could be quite the charmer.
"No one special?" asked Alison.
"Too many to count," said Steve.
"Shut up," muttered James with his eyes closed. Alison motioned for the door and they headed out to talk.
"So I was thinking about different treatment methods. Exposure therapy is normally used get people over fears and phobias. You make them face the thing causing their stress, deal with the memories that come up with it and the feelings they cause. In his case I really don't wanna bring in an electric chair in and tell him to not scared of it. We might have some use with it though. Instead of something that would scare him, maybe something that would cause good memories to surface. Books, music, people he knew. Does he anyone alive other than you he would know and you would be ok bring in?" asked Alison.
"His sister. I haven't told her he's alive though. She's 91 years old and I'm not sure how to break this too her. Peggy Carter is still alive, but the Alzheimer's makes it sort of hard," admitted Steve. "I can get you a list of all the music and books he liked. It's a starting pointing."
Alison nodded and leaned on the wall. She hated being the bearer of bad news, but she had feeling Steve would want her to be honest about James's condition.
"From what I read they spent years taking away all his free will, his identity, any sense of self. The first step is trying to find him again. Letting him know he does have choices, that he's a person with wants and feelings and it's ok to have those. The bath this evening, he seemed shocked that I asked him if the temperature was ok. It honestly did not dawn on me until just now that he didn't know he could tell me he didn't like it. It's the most basic thing and we don't think about it. We like something or we don't. He doesn't understand that now. We have to reteach him that. He's sort of started communicating wants. Very basic ones," said Alison.
"Like get out or shut up?" asked Steve looking like someone had kicked him.
"I know it sucks, but it's probably the first time in years he's asked for something and someone is doing it. This isn't going to be an easy fix. This could take years to undo and there might be setbacks, but he's really lucky to have you as friend," said Alison. And hopefully I live up to what you think I can do.
…
What are they doing? thought Bucky. She and Steve had been talking, they had been talking about him and Steve kept asking about her life. Do you know her at all? It was getting annoyed and he wanted some quiet. He told them to shut up and they both left the room without another word. Don't talk back to them. He had a feeling they were close by and watching him. He started mulling over what he had heard. I enlisted...we had a fight...but she came to see me when I finished Basic. My sister. Steve couldn't come because it was far too cold in Wisconsin. I had sister
She threw her arms around him the second she saw him and he hugged her back just as hard. It had only been fourteen weeks, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
"You look horrible," she told him looking at his hair and frowning. "That short look is terrible on you. Tell me you can grow it back."
"It's going to grow back. I'm a Sergeant so I can let it grow back." She took a step back and looked him.
"The uniform looks good on you though. God girls are just going to fling themselves at you more so than they do now and with less self respect," she teased.
Did girls throw themselves at him, it was hard to remember. Well sometimes flashes would come back. Kissing a girl while the band played something slow. Telling her to be quiet or she would wake his sister and his friend up.
Someone holding him down, someone was inside him and stroking him at the same time, making it hurt. Pleading for it to stop. Laughter. They were laughing at how much it hurt him. He started screaming and seconds later Alison and Steve were back in the room.
"Bucky?" asked Steve and he went to put a hand on his friend's arm.
"Don't touch me!" spat Bucky. Alison got a damp rag to wipe the sweat off his brow and he looked at her confused.
"You aren't her," he muttered and he dozed back off. Alison looked at Steve and remembered something from earlier.
"Did he know someone named Georgina? He kept calling me Georgina this evening when he was in and out," said Alison.
"I don't know. He never mentioned anyone special," said Steve. Alison shook her head. The way he said the name Georgina meant something. Maybe he had someone special after all.
…
Georgina was next to him with a cold cloth on his forehead when he came too.
"Why won't they let me die Georgie?" asked Bucky.
"Don't say my name," she hissed and wiped his brow. He caught her hand with his and squeezed.
"Stay with me," pleaded Bucky. She cast a scared glance at the door and quickly kissed him on the mouth. It was his first kiss in he didn't know how long. She was shaking when she pulled away from him.
"Don't die, don't say my name and I'll stay as long as they'll let me," said Georgina. He gave her a smile and kissed her hand.
"Deal."
…..
Bucky couldn't remember drifting off to sleep again, however he woke up to the smell bacon and coffee. He opened his eyes and saw a breakfast tray in front of him that also had eggs over easy and toast. He was also free of his restraints and Alison looked at him.
"Oh good now I don't have to wake you up. Are you hungry?"
Yes he was and based on the food in front of him he had permission to eat. He sat up and started to shovel the eggs in without comment.
"I will take that has a yes." She started on her own breakfast, two plain bagel with Nutella on them. She had barely finished her first bagel when he finished his breakfast. She caught him eyeing her bagel and looking away quickly when noticed him looking at it. She worried about feeding him too much too quickly and getting sick. She knew though he wouldn't ask for more even if he wanted some. Baby steps.
"Do you want try it?" She placed half of her second bagel on his plate without waiting. "It's chocolate and hazelnuts." He took a bite and then finished it in two more bites. She finished her other half and sipped her coffee. What is she doing here? thought Bucky. He wasn't used to eating with his handlers or well anyone for that matter. He got a meal before his mission, sometimes something after if he exceeded what they wanted from him and then back to sleep.
"I want to wait and see if that all stays down before giving you any more food. If you want something else you have to ask. How are you feeling this morning?" He just looked at her and she shook her head. Get him talking. Something, thought Alison. She noticed he glanced at the spot where his arm used to be and sensed an opening.
"Tony's still working on your arm. It was fried and he has to rebuild it so it might take awhile for him to get it working again. Tony is the son of Howard Stark. Do you remember him? Howard Stark." The car didn't have wheels and it floated above the ground. Holy cow, he thought until it sparked and crashed to the ground. The girls wanted to go dancing. Becca was going to meet them at the dance hall. Maybe she could get Steve to dance, this blonde was being a bit rude to Steve. The man with the car looked embarrassed and told them it would be a couple of years
He didn't say anything and Alison tried a different line of conversation. The man had missed seventy plus years of his life. A little filling in might trigger something.
"I imagine you might have some questions about what happened after you fell. We'll start slow ok. Steve and the others did catch Zola and he gave up where the last Hydra base was in exchange for not being executed. They raided the base and discovered Schmidt had made air carriers capable of bombing the entire east coast. Most the planes were taken down, but Steve had to crash the last one before it reached New York. He spent the last several decades frozen as well, they didn't find him until 2012," explained Alison. She watched him for reaction and the only time he reacted was when Zola's name was mentioned. His right hand turned into a fist and he was shaking slightly.
"Where is he?"
"Steve?"
"Zola," he almost spat the name out.
"He died in the 70's. Lung cancer."
"Hope he's rotting," muttered Bucky and he got the hard look in his eyes. There isn't a pit in hell deep enough for him. Little did he know Alison was having the same train of thought, Monster. I hope they made a new level just for him.
"A few months after Hydra went down the rest of the Axis followed. Hitler took himself out and Japan was defeated after we dropped two nuclear bombs on them," said Alison.
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Bucky. Do I need to know this? Is it for mission. There are no more missions. What are we going to do than?
"Because you have the right to know what's happened in the world while you were away," said Alison. "Do you have any questions for me right now?" Come on...take the bait. Ask a question. Any question, thought Alison.
He was angry with her and he couldn't figure out why. He wasn't away, he had been a weapon, a puppet and she was treating him like… A person. You are my weapon, spoke some voice in his mind.
"Why did you bring me here?" His hand was still in a fist and he wouldn't look at her. Alison on the other hand wanted to dance. The tone was rude, his body language hostile, but he had asked a question about his own person.
"Your arm was shorting out and it was sending electrical shocks to your heart. We needed to get it off and well my knowledge on that was rather limited. Steve called Tony since he was the only one who could do it," said Alison. Come on...ask another one.
"What happens when I get my arm back?" asked Bucky. Please no more mission...no more wipes and prepping. What do you with a weapon that doesn't function though?
She was damn near giddy. He's thinking of himself. Holy crap there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.
"There is a place in upstate New York where we'll work on getting you better," said Alison. Steve explained that the Avenger Headquarters in upstate New York would be the best place to work with James. It was out of the city and had a full team of medical staff that could help her if she needed it. Steve was going to have a talk with the medical staff to explain the situation and set up rooms for them.
She was supposed to be with him around the clock, unless she sleeping, using the bathroom or on Sundays. She set a hard line about that. She saw her grandfather on Sundays. She didn't care what was going on, that was the last family member she had and she was going to see him. And might not have much longer. Steve told her she could start classes with the other medical staff in the fall. That was a good thing she needed to brush up anyway. She pushed the thought away and turned her attention back to James. He had zoned out. The lights were on, but no one was home.
"James?" she reached over and took his hand. "James?" It was a few minutes before he came back and he pulled his hand away from her.
"Don't touch me," said Bucky. Some part of him was waiting for her to lash out. The weapon doesn't have wants. She was the one in charge and was making the decisions for him. Instead she nodded, held up her hands in a surrender gesture and put her hands in her lap.
"Alright. I won't touch you unless I have too," said Alison. What is her deal? She's in charge, not me. The weapon does not have wants or needs. It does what I tell it. Now he looked beyond confused and wouldn't meet her gaze. She's treating you like a person Bucky, maybe she's really trying to help you. Let's see if she can. Maybe she could clear up something for him that had been bothering him since the carrier went down and to confirm what he heard last night
"Did I really have a sister?"
"You have a younger sister. Her name is Rebecca," said Alison and his face relaxed.
"She was real. I thought they put her in my head...I promised to come home and I lied to her." He looked so sad and broken in that moment it was all Alison could do to not reach over and hug him. She had read about the beatings and abuse he had suffered and wondered if they had left a few methods out of the file. He really didn't like to be touched when he was aware of it and she hated to think what that could mean. Bastards for doing this to him. She wouldn't touch him unless she needed to or he asked her too. He's had enough hands on him for one lifetime.
"You didn't lie James. They took you away from her and everyone else. You should have been sent home after the war ended, instead you were made a POW and badly abused amongst other things," said Alison barely holding her temper. He looked at her now and she couldn't make out his expression.
"Why do you care?" he asked. She'll be like the others. Watch and wait, she'll use us like the tool we are. She just wants us to trust her so she can use us...shut up. Shut up. Shut up!
"Because it's what decent people do." Now he looked stunned and turned away. What are decent people other than missions to be handled? You used to be decent once and now you are the weapon.
….
"It's like the world's most awkward coffee date," said Sam. He and Steve were watching Alison and Barnes talk to each a computer in the kitchen. I should tell Sophia she went on a date after all, thought Sam.
"He won't look at her for long," said Steve watching her give Bucky her bagel.
"He probably wasn't allow to look anyone in the eye unless taking an order. She's not ordering him," said Sam. They couldn't hear what was going on, that was on Alison's request. She wanted he told her to be private the way it was between a real shrink and patient. Steve had been against it, but she asked how he would feel if Bucky knew something that Steve really wanted to keep to himself. When he was ready he would tell Steve, until such time it was private.
"He just zoned out," said Steve. Sam watched as Barnes shut down and Alison took his hand. He was out for a good five minutes before pulling his hand away and snapping at her. She held up her hands and put them in her lap. Barnes looked at her puzzled and went back to staring at the wall for awhile before asking her something. Whatever her answer was made him smile for a second.
"That's him. That's Bucky," said Steve more to himself and Sam understood him. For that second he saw his friend again, it was how Sam felt watching Ally work. The smile faltered and Barnes looked broken again. They talked for a bit more and he actually looked in her eye at one point. She got up and grabbed their breakfast plates before leaving the room. She pointed at the restraints, but didn't engage them and he looked at her surprised. She left the room and Barnes swung his legs over the edge of the bed and just sat. A few moments later Alison came in and sat the dishes in the sink.
"Well that was fun. He's not very chatty. A bit on the hostile side when it came to filling in him on what happened after his 'death'. He seemed really happy to know his sister wasn't something they put in his head though. So we can assume that it's not just you he remembers from his past," said Alison getting some juice.
. "What did you tell him about the restraints?" asked Steve.
"That I was only going to be gone for a few minutes and I didn't see the need to use them. Whatever past dealings he's had with people in the 'medical profession' have been abusive and controlling. I would like work on undoing that," said Alison.
"Well you got him to talk a little, that's something," said Steve.
"Baby steps. Did you get my stuff?" asked Alison.
"Here," said Sam handing her a duffle bag.
"Thanks," said Alison. She had given Sam a list of some things she would need while staying here. She knew she was going to have to pack of few more things before the move upstate, but this should get her through the next few days.
"Did you get the books I asked for?" asked Alison. She knew there would be a few Lovecraft stories they would have to skip over for the time being, like Cool Air or ReAnimator, but she was hopeful something would jog in his mind.
"Yes I got your scary story book and your Harry Potter," said Sam. Why not bring him something new, thought Alison.
"The other thing I asked for." asked Alison referring to her medication.
"In the side pocket," said Sam.
"You are the best," said Alison.
"You know we really need to talk about your current under garment collection. You really should get some of those cute matching sets for dates. And really...why do you have a green bra with purple polka dots?" teased Sam and Steve shook his head.
"It's a sad state of affairs that you are the first guy to get anywhere near my drawers in almost three years," said Alison rolling her eyes.
She was going to head back upstairs when Tony and a tall, strawberry blond woman entered the room. Despite it being a little after 8 am on Saturday the woman was dressed in a black dress suit that would have cost Alison two whole paycheck. She was also wearing needle thin black heels and holding a large stack of papers. Why put your feet in such torture chambers so early in the morning? She came over to Alison and held out her hand.
"Pepper Potts. Welcome to the team. Tony called to talk about you on the plane ride here. It's nice to see you a normal person here for once," said Pepper.
"What did he say?" asked Alison nervous.
"Oh that you insulted Friday by calling her a 'thingy'. He's very sensitive about that. When I first got hired in I called Jarvis an answer service by mistake," said Pepper.
"If you hadn't been so cute I would have fired you," said Tony. Oh I might like you yet, thought Alison looking at Pepper as she gave Tony a humoring smile. Pepper handed Alison the stack of papers.
"The paperwork for joining can be a little annoying. We need high school and college transcripts, former employment questionnaire, and references. We'll need to schedule you for psych evaluation. Can you take a drug test this morning?" asked Pepper.
"I guess. I did a psych evaluation a few months ago to get my last job. Can I give you those results?" asked Alison. Oh psych test. I haven't had one of those in ten months. Yeah, thought Alison.
"You forgot the lie detector," said Tony.
"No I didn't. We don't do the lie detector anymore," said Pepper still smiling, but her tone taking a warning edge.
"But I got a new one," said Tony.
"We don't do those anymore because of the pending lawsuit and I really don't like the ACLU. Thank you so much for sticking me with that," said Pepper her tone getting more annoyed while her smile got wider. Alison looked over at Sam and Steve who simply looked bored. So this happens a lot, thought Alison
"I can take the drug test now and I'll give you the old test results this week," said Alison. Pepper sent her a genuine smile.
"Good. That makes my life a little easier," said Pepper.
"And I don't?" asked Tony. Pepper sighed.
"You make my life wonderful and I love you so much. If you really loved me though there will be no more ACLU lawsuits," said Pepper.
"Fine. I get rid of the new one. I'm really disappointed though. It was CIA approved," said Tony. Pepper shook her head and motioned for Alison to follow her. They left the room and Steve looked at Tony.
"You aren't going to get rid of it are you?" asked Steve.
"I spent good money on it and it's staying here until they rule against me," said Tony.
…
"I'm sorry about Tony he can …." started Pepper.
"Have trust issues," suggested Alison.
"Can you fit him in around Sergeant Barnes? He's gone through too many shrinks to count. On both coasts," pleaded Pepper. I do like you, thought Pepper. It was nice to have some normal here among all the superheroes for once.
"I would rather deal with the brainwashed former assassin than take Tony Stark on as a patient. He has some issues other than trust?" asked Alison and Pepper laughed.
"That is barely skimming the surface. I do love him, but he can be a bit overzealous when it comes to looking out for the team," said Pepper. That episode with Ultron for example, thought Pepper. They got back to the med center where James hadn't moved from where he was sitting.
"Hold on," said Alison. She pulled a book out of her bag. "James. James this is Pepper. Pepper this is James. She's gonna be here for a little bit helping me with something. I did bring you something though." She put the book in his hands. "I heard you really like Lovecraft." He just looked blankly at the book and Pepper felt a wave of pity for the man sitting there. He looked like a child who didn't know what to do next.
"Why don't you give it a try and I'll be back in few minutes," said Alison in the perkiest voice Pepper had ever heard this early in the morning. They went into the lab area and shut the door.
"Wow...he's really in bad shape isn't he?" asked Pepper.
"That's barely skimming the surface," said Alison taking the paperwork. List any medications you are currently taking. Alison wrote down she was on birth control and Paxil. Pepper looked and shrugged.
"I tried Paxil for a few months. It made my stomach hurt. I found Zoloft to work better,"
"Ah Zoloft made me too fuzzy in the head and made the anxiety worse," admitted Alison.
"Don't tell Tony I take anything he would have a cow...even though he is one of the main reasons I'm anxious 98 percent of the time," teased Pepper.
"Why so anxious? Just because your boyfriend is a superhero, mad scientist, billionaire is no reason to be twitchy," said Alison. Pepper handed her a cup and Alison took it the bathroom. Pepper looked out to see James still hadn't moved. She came back and sat the cup on the counter.
"Friday I need a drug screening," called Pepper and the sample went into a scanner.
"Results in twenty minutes," said Friday.
"Send them to my phone," said Pepper. "It was nice to meet you and I'll be here on and off this week for meetings. Just give Steve the paperwork and he'll give it to me to process. Good luck."
"Thanks," said Alison. They went back into the main room where Alison went right over to James and got him settled back into bed since he hadn't moved and took the book from him.
"Do you want me to read it to you?" asked Alison settling into a chair. " The Colour Out of Space is my favorite and it's the first story in here." Pepper stood outside for a few minutes and watched them. He seemed in a daze and not sure what he was doing, he kept giving her these side long glances like he was trying to figure out something. Poor guy.
…
"It is not because of anything that can be seen or heard or handled, but because of something that is imagined. The place is not for imagination, and does not bring restful dreams at night. It must be this which keeps the foreigners away, for old Ammi Pierce has never told them of anything he recalls from the strange days…." Bucky listened to her read and it felt like something was coming to the surface. Some part of him wanted her to shut up, but another part wanted her to keep reading. Something about it seemed familiar.
He was supposed to be asleep, but he really wanted to finish the story. He had just picked up the new issue of Amazing Stories from Mr. Harkon shop and this one was really good. The Colour Out of Space. A meteorite fell on this farm near Arkham and everything was going weird on the farm since. The farmer's wife had just been locked in the attic for going crazy. His mother opened the door and sighed.
"James Buchanan Barnes! You are going to ruin your eyes reading in the dark and it's past your bedtime. Give me the magazine you can have it in the morning."
"Mama. Just two more pages please," he pleaded. She held out her hand and he handed her the magazine. She gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Now go to sleep." she left the room shutting the door behind her.
"It was just a colour nothing more," whispered Bucky. She paused looking at him carefully.
"Do you want to read it?" asked Alison.
"You read it," said Bucky. She went on and he interrupted again.
"You like this too?" asked Bucky. You told Steve you like Lovecraft last night.
"I do. This one is my favorite of all the Lovecraft stories," said Alison.
"Why?"
"It's different than the other ones. It's more sad than scary. Do you remember what happens?" asked Alison, mentally crossing her fingers.
"The whole family goes insane and dies. The farm burns...blasted heath….Ammi sees something come back...part of the meteorite. He can't leave...it pulls him in too," said James sounding stunned himself.
"They didn't do anything wrong and bad things happened to them….you didn't do anything wrong either," said Alison. That's what you think, thought James.
…..
Georgina told him her story that night as she tended to him. She had been about seventeen when the Nazi's started their assult on Russia. They came into her village and killed almost everyone-her family had been spared since her father was doctor and he had trained her and her mother in medicine. They were forced into serving their captives and pulled deeper into Russia. Her father had a heart attack in the winter of 42 and her mother killed herself after that leaving Georgina to fend for herself. By the start of 43 the Russians started destroying Nazi units and the unit that had taken Georgina had been one of them. She had foolishly hoped her fellow Russians would let her go, however a young girl alone and knowing medicine was a gift and she found herself a prisoner with her own people.
"I learned if I cried they liked it more and it would end sooner," whispered Georgina and Bucky felt his temper rise. "General Karpov is in charge here with Zola. The General's been away, but I think he's supposed to be back from Moscow this week. Listen to me it's going to get very bad for you once the General gets here. He's a cruel man and...just don't fight them or they will kill you. I tried to get away once and I barely lived to see the next day. Just do what they want, say what they want you to say and they'll let you live." Bucky grabbed her hand and put it over his heart.
"I'm going to get us out of here," whispered Bucky and she gave him a sad smile.
'You Americans and your blind hope. I almost envy it," whispered Georgina. She gave the door another glance and listened hard before turning back to him and kissing him hard on the mouth. Bucky wound her hair in his hand and kissed her back. She broke away and gave him a real smile.
"So that's what it's like to kiss someone you like," said Georgina and Bucky grinned.
"Pretty swell isn't it?"
"Very." She went to leave when he caught her hand and pulled her back.
"Just stay here a little bit longer," pleaded Bucky. She listened and didn't hear anything.
"You are going to get me in trouble yet," said Georgina sitting down next to him. He leaned over and kissed her again. She paused before kissing him back. He knew he was taking a huge risk and pulling her along with him, but he couldn't help it.
"I miss...I miss being with someone. I won't hurt you," said Bucky seeing a hint of fear in her eyes.
"It always hurts," muttered Georgina and Bucky kissed her again.
"Trust me," he got up and put the chair under the door handle. A poor means to block the door, but it was better than nothing. He came back and got on his knees in front of Georgina.
"I think I love you," he said sliding his hand up her leg and under her skirt. She looked at him wide eyed and her breath caught as he stroked her inner thigh. He kissed her and moved his hand between her legs, pushing her underwear aside to touch her. She whimpered for a second before she looked at him stunned.
"Don't stop," she muttered looking at the door. He kept kissing her and slid another finger inside her. She moved her hips against his two fingers and moaned into his mouth. She was tightening around him and he could feel her getting wetter.
"Does it hurt," asked Bucky. He took his thumb and started rubbing her clit and she had to bite her lip hard to stop from crying out.
"No...no….it's never felt good...not like this," she whispered. She pulled him onto the cot and started undoing his pants.
"This has to be quick...they'll be looking for me soon," muttered Georgina. She pulled his pants and underwear down while he pulled her underwear down. She took a second to wrap her hand around his member and he barely held his cry in. "I'm never allowed to touch them." He pulled her close and was inside her before either one could second guess what they were doing. She muttered in Russian as he took her and felt how warm and needing she was. It was quick, three long hard thrusts had her coming and two more had him finishing. She looked up and kissed him hard.
"No one has ever loved me...thank you."
"I promise when I get you out of here it's going to be much better than this," said Bucky. She cleaned up and left the room. He laid on his cot, he was going to get her out. He was going to get them both out….he just wasn't sure how yet.
The theme song Alison mentioned-Thanks Nostalgia Critic for bring this into my life.
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