Breathe (2am) - Anna Nalick.
"Friends are the family you choose." - Jess C. Scott.
Katie sighed. She gripped the handrail behind her as she leaned slightly forward. She closed her eyes as she let out a long breath, the elevator doors slowly starting to close behind her.
She hadn't meant to walk out like that. It'd been a long while since the last time she did walk out. But it had been a long session. A long, detailed, session. And some of those details, Katie couldn't handle as well as she hoped she could. As well as she wished she could.
"Hey."
Katie glanced up. A hand slipped in between the closing doors, catching it just in time. Katie let go of the railing behind her and leaned against the elevator wall. The door slowly opened again before Sam walked in.
He didn't say anything as he pushed a button and the door started to close again. It was only when they were slowly starting to move upwards that Katie broke the silence.
"I'm headed down to my floor, just so you know."
"You did good, just so you know." Sam challenged back.
Katie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Over the past few months, the more she got to know Sam, the more he became her friend instead of her therapist. Which naturally meant he shot Katie more and more sly remarks whenever he could.
Katie shook her head slightly as she crossed her arms. The elevator dinging in the background every time they hit a new floor.
"How am I supposed to help him get better if I can't even listen to him?" Katie glanced up at Sam. Her hair was in a top-knot of top of her head, but some smaller strands ended up falling in her face.
"Katie." Sam placed his hands on the rails behind him. "That was what? The second time you've had to walk out since we started this months ago."
"I know but," Katie paused. She glanced up at the ceiling before looking back at Sam. "Did you ever notice when he talks about, what happened, he… It's almost like he's in a trace. And he recites every little detail and it…"
"It brought you back."
"Yeah. And it wasn't fun going back." Katie nodded slowly. "Sam. I can't help him if I can't listen to his problems."
Sam nodded in understanding before meeting Katie's eye, his own eyes narrowed slightly.
"You don't see it, do you?"
"See what?"
"The progress that's been made. Because of you."
Katie's eyes snapped up. She studied Sam's face for a moment, but he was nothing but serious.
"What are you talking about?" Katie's eyebrows pinched towards ever so slightly.
"Katie," Sam took a small step closer to her. "Bucky's made amazing progress because of you."
"How do you know it's because of me?"
"He only talks like that when you're there," Sam pointed out. "If it's just me, hell, even if Steve is there, he doesn't open up that much at all. Before you started joining me on these sessions, I couldn't even get him to move. Let alone talk."
Katie looked down at the floor. She knew what he said was true. Bucky had been nothing but a shell when they brought him in. He didn't eat, sleep, move, let alone talk to anyone. He stayed in the hospital room on the main floor for the longest time. Sam tried to talk to him, but got nothing. Steve would try to talk to him, and he would get simple answers. He even got him to eat once or twice. But it was only when Katie went to check up on him that he spoke a full sentence. That's when Sam let her come to the therapy sessions.
That was months ago. Bucky was getting better and better every day. He showered, ate, talked to Steve. He'd even moved into the spare room on Steve's floor. He still had a long road ahead of him. Still, Katie didn't know why she of all people was able to get Bucky to open up like he did, and Sam must have noticed the confusion on her face.
"I'm guessing it's because of what you've been through." Sam clarified.
"I've never mentioned that round him." Katie pointed out.
"True," Sam nodded. "But this a man who knows nothing but pain and torture. I think he'd be able to tell."
"So he opens up to me because of shared life experience?" Katie raised an eyebrow and Sam nodded.
"You're doing good, Katie." Sam gave her a small smile. "You're helping him get better."
"Thanks Sam," Katie returned the smile just as the elevator gave it's finally ding and the doors started to slowly open. "Now. Why are we on the top floor."
"Because you're father messaged me." Sam informed her. "They're on their way back."
Katie turned to Sam with wide eyes. The team had been gone for only a few days, but it was still a relief to hear that they were home.
Really, Katie should have gone with them. Well, they thought Katie should be with them. She was trained for it, had her strength back, was cleared by Bruce and Sam. But Katie didn't know if she wanted to go back. Therefore, she used Bucky and Sam as her excuse - kinda, she did like helping Bucky - to stay behind while the rest of them went to fight HYDRA.
Katie quickly walked out off the elevator and started to head to the landing pit, when she stopped and turned back around.
"You coming?" Katie questioned Sam, who was still staying on the elevator.
"No, I'm going to head back to Bucky there now."
"So you just like riding elevators?" Katie teased, pulling a laugh from Sam.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Katie nodded in understanding, a grateful smile gracing her lips. "Thank you."
Sam reached forward and pushed a button on the elevator, sending Katie a smile as the doors slid shut before him.
Turning around, Katie walked down the hallway. She was calm, yet nervous. She was always nervous whenever the team came back home. She never knew what she was going to see. But she'd learned over the past few months to remain calm until proven wrong.
It was when she rounded the corner and found Maria Hill and Helen Cho standing there that Katie's stomach flipped. They only ever called Helen in if it was serious. She'd been called in when the team brought Katie back - through Katie had never officially met her until a few months after she returned home - they'd brought her in when Sam and Katie had found Bucky, and they'd brought her in a few times over the past few months, whenever someone on the team got a bad hit.
Katie stopped, standing a good few feet behind the two women. They probably knew she was there, but Katie didn't care. She needed a few moments to prepare herself as she heard the quinjet coming in.
She stood there with her head held high and jaw clenched as the jet landed before them. Helen and her team moved forwards as the back door lowered. They gripped the gurney, wheeling it down the ramp quickly as Helen started to give her team orders. It was only when they got closer to Katie that she saw who it was, that she saw Clint lying there.
Katie's breath caught in her throat as he was wheeled passed her. She didn't know how badly he was hurt. She didn't know what had happened. Her heart started to pick up slightly. Then she caught Natasha's eye as Clint was wheeled past. The red-head gave her a small nod, causing Katie to let out a breath, but her eyes still followed the gurney as they moved towards the labs.
Just as Helen and her team went around the corner and out of sight, Katie felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned back around and looked up.
"Thor." Katie let out a breath when she found the god standing in front of her.
"He shall be fine, Lady Katherine." Thor informed her, taking his hand off her shoulder. "Clint Barton took a hit in the middle of the fierce battle, but he should make a full recovery."
Katie nodded. She glanced behind her for a brief moment, as if she could see through walls, before turning back around and letting out a sigh. It was then that she noticed a glass case in Thor arms, housing that damn scepter. "So, the mission was successful?"
"Very." Thor smiled brightly, nodding down to the scepter. "We have defeated HYDRA once again and retrieved Loki's scepter."
Katie smiled, letting out a small, airy laugh. "That's great."
"It is, indeed." Thor nodded. "Bu if you shall excuse me, Lady Katherine."
"Oh, of course." Katie nodded. She stepped aside slightly. Thor walked past her, placing his hand on her shoulder for a moment before carrying on towards the elevator. More than likely he was off to contact someone in regards of the scepter.
Katie looked over at the quintet and saw Maria walking forward, Tony, Bruce, and her father the only ones left on board.
"Oh actually, he's the boss." Katie heard Tony speak up and saw him point to Steve as she walked towards the jet. "I just pay for everything, design everything, and make everyone look cooler."
"That's very modest of you, Tony." Katie spoke up as she walked up the ramp.
"I try." Tony shot Katie a smile, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Sure."
Katie heard movement in the corner. When she looked to her left, she saw Bruce standing up, headphones on his ears and his face looking years older than he actually was. They must of had to go Code Green at some point. Katie knew that look, and her heart broke for Bruce whenever she saw it on his face.
Bruce then caught her eye, sending her a small smile, one which Katie returned.
"So," Katie turned away from Bruce and turned back to Tony and her father. "Thor said the mission was successful."
"I'd call it successful," Steve stepped forward and quickly pulled Katie into a hug, which she returned.
The father and daughter duo were closer than ever before. Then again, months of recovery and rebuilding was bound to strengthen any relationship. They talked about everything and nothing. They were comfortable. They were a family. And Steve knew everything. It took Katie about a month to finally get it all out, but she'd told him everything about her time with HYDRA. It was hard. But she felt such a relief when she finally did it. She opened up about Strucker and List, she told her father everything they did. She even opened up about Wanda. And Katie was pretty sure she'd never seen her father so furious before in her life.
Pulling back from the hug, Katie looked up at her father. She narrowed her eyebrows slightly when she saw the look on his face.
"What is it?" Katie questioned.
"We got Strucker."
Katie's heart stopped. She looked at her father with wide eyes before they flicked to Tony, then Bruce, then back to her father. After months and months, they finally had Strucker. They'd finally found him. Katie's mind couldn't progress the information fast enough.
"Are you serious?" Katie breathed out. Steve nodded and Katie couldn't stop a smile from forming on her lips.
"Actually," Maria spoke up, everyone turning towards her. "NATO's got him."
Katie watched as Steve's face went serious. His business face as Natasha and Katie liked to call it. Steve stepped forward and started to follow Maria off the quinjet. Katie followed not too far behind.
"The two Enhanced?" Steve questioned, and Katie's head snapped up.
"Enhanced?" She asked. She picked up her peace and walked over to Steve's other side as he nodded.
"We encountered two enhanced while attacking the base," Steve informed her. Katie's eyebrows pinched together slightly. She shared a look with her father. Steve raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged slightly as Maria passed Steve the tablet in her hands.
"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins." Maria informed them. And Katie froze. She stopped moving. She stopped breathing. She couldn't think as her heart pounded against her chest.
It had to be a coincidence. It had to be. These were two different people with powers with the names Wanda and Pietro. This was a different set of twins. It had to be. It could be. Katie didn't know their last name. She didn't know if the Wanda and Pietro she knew were Maximoff's.
"Katie?"
Taking a sharp intake of breath, Katie looked up. Maria and Steve were both watching her with worried looks. Maria's was laced with confusion as she looked between Katie and Steve, while Steve's worried look faded, understanding taking over before his face turned hard.
"Are you okay?" He asked her. It was a stupid question, really. But Katie still nodded her head as Steve looked like he wanted to punch something.
Katie's ears were ringing. Her palms were sweaty and she couldn't really see straight, but she still took a few deep breaths before nodding her head. She didn't trust her voice right now.
Katie didn't look at Steve or Maria as she walked forward a few steps. She stood next to her father once again. She looked over his shoulder at the tablet in his hands.
Though there were a number of differences for the twins on the screen and the twins she knew, it was Wanda and Pietro. No doubt about that. Katie knew their faces anywhere. Her father, however, didn't know what the twins looked like. Well, he didn't know what the Wanda who'd tortured his daughter looked like.
Katie heard him swallow before they started to walk again.
"Their abilities?" Steve asked Maria in a hard voice.
"He's got increased metabolism and unproved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation."
The three stopped at the elevator. Steve and Katie gave Maria a look. Katie more so because she knew what Maria was saying, but her mind wasn't working fast enough to comprehend all the science talk.
Maria looked behind Steve and Katie. "He's fast and she's weird."
Katie bit her lip. It was them. It suddenly hit her. Strucker was finally captured, but now Wanda and Pietro were out there on the loose. Katie took a deep breath. It'd been a long while since Katie felt this much out of control, and she suddenly felt light headed.
"Well," Steve sighed. Katie could feel the tension washing off him as the elevator dinged. "They're going to show up again."
The moment the elevator doors opened, Katie raced inside. She went to the back corner, gripping the railing so tight her knuckles turned white. She squatted down, taking deep breaths with her eyes closed as she started to calm herself down.
It was only when she heard a ding and felt the elevator start to move that she slowly stood up, keeping her hands on the rails and her eyes closed.
With a few final deep breaths, Katie slowly opened her eyes. She saw her father standing on the other side on the elevator, watching her with a worried look, anger hiding behind his eyes. But he made no move to step towards her. Which Katie was grateful for. It was moments like the one she just had that she needed her space, and Steve knew that.
"How are you?" Steve asked after a few moments of silence. Not are you okay. How are you. Which was good, because Katie hated the question are you okay.
"Good." Katie nodded slowly. She pealed her hands off the railing as she looked up at her father. "I'm good."
Steve nodded and silence fell around them once more. All that could be heard were the dings bouncing off the walls as the elevator moved down.
"This is just my luck." Katie broke the silence, letting out an airy laugh. "Strucker finally gets captured, but now we have the twins to worry about."
"We'll get them, Katie." Steve reassured her. Katie wasn't sure if it was a promise to her or to himself. "They'll show up again. And we'll be ready."
All Katie found herself doing was nodding. Maybe it was because she couldn't really grasp the full weight of the situation yet. Maybe it was because her mind wasn't working 100% at the moment. Either way, all Katie could do was nod and they fell into silence once more. A few more dings went up - Katie realized they were headed toward Steve's floor - before the silence was broken once more.
"How is he?"
Katie was never so grateful for a subject change before in her life. She really wanted nothing more than to get her mind off the twins right now, at least until she was able to talk to Sam.
"He's good," Katie crossed her arms. "Opening up at lot more. Me and Sam actually talked to him before you all returned, and Sam's down there with him again right now."
Steve nodded. "Good."
If the twins and Strucker was a hard topic for Katie, Bucky was a hard topic for Steve. Katie could sympathize with her father in this case. She knew what it was like to have someone you thought was dead show up suddenly one day. However, Bucky couldn't remember Steve. That was the part Katie couldn't imagine. She'd been cold towards her father at first, but she didn't know what she would have done if he didn't remember her (okay, he didn't know her at all, but that's better than someone completely forgetting you).
"Sam says he wants me and Bucky to have a 'bonding session' or something soon," Katie informed him of what Sam brought up just a few days ago. "He says because we're both tortured souls or something that it'll be good for both of us. I know, I had the same look on my face."
Katie felt a smile grow on her face at the look on her father's face, before it cracked and he let out a light laugh.
"Doesn't sound like it's going to be a fun bonding session." Steve pointed out, the tension in the air melting away.
"Not in the slightest." Katie agreed before she sighed. "But he really is getting a lot better."
"I know," Steve sighed. "It's just going to be a very long road."
"It always is," Katie sent Steve a small smile just as the elevator gave its last ding and the doors opened.
"You coming?" Steve turned around to look at Katie after he stepped out of the elevator and unto his floor.
Katie shook her head. She honestly didn't think she could handle Bucky right now. She wanted to talk to Sam about the twins first before she had to deal with Bucky's problems.
"No," Katie gave Steve a small smile. "I'm going to head up to the labs, see how Clint's doing and all."
Steve looked skeptical for a moment.
"Okay," He nodded slowly. "Keep me posted."
"I will," Katie promised. She started to reach towards the buttons when Steve spoke up again, causing her to stop.
"Katie," Looking up, she saw her father watching. "Everything's going to be okay."
Katie gave Steve a small, genuine smile. "I know it will be."
Eventually. Katie added in her head as she hit the button to the labs and the elevator door slid shut.
Katie liked being in the labs.
There was so much stuff to pick at. Different things Tony and Bruce had built that she didn't understand. It was easy to forget everything in the labs. She'd go there and start picking at something when she was feeling too overwhelmed. Sometimes her and Tony would stay in there for hours just poking at different things.
Katie stepped off the elevator and walked down the short hallway. She entered Tony's part of the lab only to see Bruce walking across the floor, head down as he looked at the tablet in his hands.
"Hey," Katie spoke up as she walking into the lab.
Bruce stopped and looked up over his shoulder, sending Katie a smile. "Hey."
"How are you?" Katie walked around one of the tables and leaned against it.
"Good. Better." Bruce told her. "I didn't think we'd go into Code Green. But I'm good."
"That's good." Katie wished she could say more, but the weight of finding out about Strucker and the Twins was still playing in the back of her mind. Bruce must have noticed this too, because he raised an eyebrow at her direction.
"Are you good?" He questioned in a worried and caring voice.
But Katie didn't reply right away. She looked up at Bruce, biting her lip slightly. She should tell him. He was her doctor too. But Bruce already had enough on his plate. Katie didn't want to worry him with this.
She nodded her head and took a breath in through her nose. Just as she was about to open her month to tell him she was fine, Tony came out of Bruce's lab.
"He's he doing?" Bruce asked as he walked over to Tony who was coming down the stairs.
"Unfortunately, he's still Barton,"
"That's horrible news." Katie shook her head before letting out a light laugh as Tony gave her a look.
"Yes. Terrible." Bruce agreed. He sent Katie a smile and a wave from the top of the stairs, which Katie returned, before he disappeared into his lab.
"He's thirsty." Tony walked over to Katie. "Like he thinks we'll all wait on him hand and foot because he's on his death bed or something."
Katie studied Tony for a moment, arms crossed. "You're gonna make him a drink, aren't you?"
"Anything to shut him up."
Katie couldn't help but roll her eyes, a smile starting to grace her lips.
Tony watched Katie for a moment before walking past her. "Ready to pick at something?"
Katie narrowed her eyes at Tony. She pushed herself off the table and turned around to find Tony walking towards that damn scepter. How she'd missed that when she walked in, she had no clue.
"Play time JARVIS." Tony spoke up. He picked up a tablet as Katie slowly made her way over to them. "We have a couple days with this joystick, so let's make the most of it. Update me on the structural and compositional analysis."
"The scepter is alien," JARVIS said just as Katie stopped at Tony's side. "There are elements I can't quantify."
"So there's elements you can?"
Katie watched as Tony walked away from the scepter and over to his blender. She didn't speak, she just listened on as Tony and JARVIS had their moment.
"The jewel appears to be a protective housing for something inside. Something powerful."
"Like a reactor?"
"Like a computer." JARVIS corrected him. "I believe I'm deciphering code."
Katie didn't hear Tony reply, but she wasn't really paying attention at this point either. She was staring up at the scepter, watching it as it glowed blue. Katie had never been this close to the scepter, luckily, and she couldn't help but stare up at the thing that had first brought all the Avengers together.
"You okay?"
Katie pealed her eyes away from the scepter and looked over at Tony, who was watching her from across the room.
"Yeah." Katie breathed as she nodded. "Just, feels like a lifetime since the last time I saw this." Katie nodded her head towards the scepter.
"Yeah," Tony nodded in agreement, "I was actually hoping it would be a lifetime until we saw it again."
Katie cracked a smile as she huffed a laugh. But Tony still watched her with slightly narrowed eyes.
"I just figured you'd be in a more cheerful mood," Tony continued. "I mean, Barton's going to, unfortunately, be with us for a little while longer and we got Strucker. It's been a big day."
Katie and Steve may be closer than ever, but so were Tony and Katie. If there was something bugging Katie, something that she didn't need to talk to Sam about or she couldn't tell her father about, Katie went right to Tony. He really was like family to her.
And he was also a giant pain in the ass when it came to getting information out of her.
"It has been." Katie agreed. "Just… It's a lot to take in."
"Hmm." Tony hummed as he poured the green juice into some cups. "And I guess you haven't given anymore thought to your decision."
"No beating around the bush with you." Katie crossed her arms. Tony turned around and gave Katie a look, causing her to sigh. "No. I haven't."
"You need more time, right?" Tony turned back around to attend to the juice. "I understand. I just thought after four months you'd know by now if you were coming back to us."
"Tony." Katie warned. She was not getting into this argument right now. She couldn't handle it. Tony just didn't seem to completely understand. When he went through his whole PTSD thing, he went back to being Iron Man. But Katie didn't know if she could go back to being the Golden Girl.
"Fine." Tony held up his hands. "Stay here and babysit Barnes with Wilson. How is he by the way?"
"Do you care?" Katie raised an eyebrow.
"No. But I thought I'd be nice and ask."
Katie rolled her eyes. Tony never did like the idea of having Bucky here. But where else were they going to take him? After Katie and Sam found him, they brought him back to the tower so Bruce and Helen gave him a look over for any injuries. He ended up staying in the hospital room for a few weeks, and the whole time Tony was not happy. It was only after Katie, Bruce, and Pepper talked to Tony that he agreed to let him stay in the tower. Everyone else was okay with it, but Tony still wasn't happy about it.
"Bucky's been here for months now Tony," Katie sighed. "Can't you let it go?"
"I don't know. It's been months and you still haven't made up your mind, so."
"Wow," Katie couldn't help but laugh. "That's very childish of you."
"I just don't like the idea of him being here," Tony glanced over his shoulder at Katie before turning back around and putting the lids on the cups. "For reasons."
"Because of what he did to your parents," Katie clarified softly.
"You mean the fact that he killed them?" Tony spun around, leaning against the table. "Yes, yes that could be a reason."
Katie sighed. She slowly walked away from the table that housed the scepter and over towards Tony. She walked to the railing just behind the table, leaning against it as she looked at the floors below.
"That wasn't him." Katie spoke softly as she looked at the giant widow that overlooked all of New York.
"No? So you know someone else that goes by Winter Solider and has a metal arm?"
Katie glanced over at Tony, sending him a glare before she sighed. Katie knew she was stubborn. She was always doomed when it came to her stubbornness. Just look at who her parents were. But Tony, Tony was worse when he wanted to be.
Silence fell around the two for a long moment. Before Katie turned around and leaned back against the railing.
"He would have been my Uncle, you know." Katie spoke up. "It's weird as hell to think about now, but he would have been just as much my Uncle as Uncle Howard was."
Tony didn't say anything, but Katie didn't think he would. So she continued.
"When I was younger, I loved listening to the Commandos and your father as they told me stories about the war." A fond smile started to pull at Katie's lips. "There was this one story your father told me. About how he would be in his lab, working on something, and Bucky would walk in. He started questioning Uncle Howard about everything. Asking him how this worked and that worked. And Uncle Howard answered everyone of his questions." Katie paused for a moment. "At the end of the story, Uncle Howard said, 'In short, Bucky Barnes was a big freaking nerd'."
Tony glanced over a Katie. "Your point?"
"My point is, don't hate on Bucky Barnes for killing your parents when it wasn't him." Katie said. "It was the Winter Solider."
"Okay," Tony turned to face Katie. "If the Winter Solider and Bucky Barnes are two different people, then which one did you bring here?"
Katie didn't respond. She didn't know how to respond. She just looked over at Tony with a blank look on her face. Because in reality, Katie didn't know.
"Barnes doesn't know who he is, Katie." Tony told her. "He could be Bucky one day, and the Winter Solider the next. He doesn't know-"
"Exactly!" Katie cut him off. "He doesn't know. He's lost. Just like I was. And just like you were."
Tony sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Katie-"
"Tony." Katie stepped closer to him as she spoke. "You know what it's like to lose yourself. I know what it's like to lose myself. We helped each other overcome that. Now, we need to do the same for Bucky."
Tony was silent for a moment. Then he shook his head slightly. "I don't know if I can."
"He's getting better." Katie pushed. "Every day. He's getting better and better. He's… He's not the Winter Solider anymore. But you're right." Katie sighed. "He's not Bucky anymore either. We.. we need to show him that it's okay to be someone different. Someone new."
Tony didn't respond right away. He looked like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Like he didn't know what to do. And Katie completely understood where he was coming from. She understood why he wouldn't want to help Bucky. But Katie wanted to help Bucky. And right now, Bucky needed to have as much support he could get.
"Fine." Tony spoke suddenly. He turned around and started placing all the drinks on a tray. "Show me that he's different. Show me that he's not the Winter Solider." Tony stopped and looked over at Katie. "Bring him to the party."
"Party?" Katie raised an eyebrow
"I'm having a party in a few days." Tony explained. "Bring him."
"Okay." Katie smiled slightly. Tony didn't have time to say anything however, because Bruce suddenly rounded the corner.
"You coming with the drinks?" He asked. "Clint's thirsty."
"He's not flat lining is he?" Tony looked over at Bruce. "It would make all our lives easier if he was."
Bruce just rolled his eyes before disappearing back into the lab.
"I should get these to birdman." Tony picked up the tray. He shot Katie one last smile and look before he followed after Bruce, disappearing around the corner.
Once he was gone, Katie let out a sigh. She turned back around and looked out the window, looked out at New York. She felt like they were taking one step forward and three steps back. Yes, Strucker was finally out of the picture. But now, she had the twins to worry about. Plus Bucky. And she was soon going to have to give Tony an answer before he completely lost it and kicked her off the team anyways.
Katie crossed her arms and leaned forward onto the railing, feeling like her head was going to explode.
She really needed a nap.
Does someone want to explain to me how we're on the final part of this story?
I hope you guys enjoyed! More Bucky is to come in future chapters. Plus we will be meeting Katie's nieces and nephews soon too!
If you want to follow me on tumblr and twitter, feel free! The links are in my profile!
And don't forget to review! Part 2 of the story got over 300 reviews. Think we can beat that for Part 3? Review and let me know what your excited to see happen in future chapters :)