Awakening Quake

By Misha

Disclaimer in Chapter One.

A.N- I started this chapter about 5 times. At first I had a Skye nightmare scene. Then a scene with Natasha. Then I changed it to a Steve scene, but none of it fit. This is what I eventually went with. That is part of the reason for the delay, I have also been away off and on this week. Some clarification about the rating change since I've been comments on it. I think there will be one, maybe two smut scenes in this total (and I feel they very much fit the plot), but the general subject matter is getting darker and there will be some very dark and uncomfortable subject matter in future chapters and I wanted to make sure readers were aware of that so I decided on the M rating.

Chapter Fourteen: The Outsiders

"You wanted to see me?" Skye asked Bruce, appearing in the medical wing. Neither Jane nor Bruce was a physician, but it wasn't like one was really needed, so they made do.

Skye noticed that Barnes was there, obviously Bruce was looking him over.

"I'm waiting on Tony to come look at Barnes' arm." Bruce told her, "but in the meantime, I was thinking you could talk to him."

"Me?" Skye said in surprise.

"You're new here, as well," Bruce reminded her, "so, I'm sure you can sympathise with being overwhelmed and your experiences may be helpful helping him settle in. It also might help you to have someone to talk to."

"Ok." Skye agreed, though the idea of sharing war stories with the infamous Bucky Barnes was a little overwhelming. He was a legend, she was a girl who'd had a very odd year and a half.

"James?" Bruce said as he led Skye to Bucky's bedside. "This is Skye."

"Nice to meet you ma'am." Bucky said politely.

"Skye's the computer genius that helped us find you," Bruce elaborated, causing Skye to blush.

"Tony would have done it eventually." She said as she sat down in a chair. "This place is a little crazy isn't it?"

"Just a bit." He agreed.

Bruce discreetly backed away, leaving them alone.

"I'm new here too," Skye told him, "actually, not too long ago I was living in my van, all alone in the world. It's a big change."

He looked surprised. "For me too." He said cautiously. "Dr. Banner says he can help me recover my memories. I remember some, but not everything, and being here… It's very different."

"I can understand that." Skye said, she wanted to reach out and touch him, but wasn't sure if he would welcome it. Cautiously she put her hand on his good hand.

He stiffened, so she pulled back, but he put his artificial hand on hers to stop her.

"No," he said quietly, "don't. It's just… No one's touched me in a long time, unless…"

Skye shivered, understanding what he was implied. The only touch he'd had was by his programmers and handlers. She felt a wave of sympathy for him. How horrible his experience must have been.

"No one's ever really wanted me." Skye told him quietly. "I was dumped at an orphanage as a child and could never find a home. Whenever I thought I might fit in, it ended up ripped away from me."

"And now you're here." Bucky pointed out quietly.

"Now I'm here." She agreed. "And I'm terrified. These are really good people and they are so good at making you feel like you belong, but it's hard to feel that way when you've never really belonged."

She could see from Bucky's face that he understood exactly what she was saying.

"Do you think you'll stay here?" He asked her tentatively.

"I hope so." She told him. "I think this time could be different, for both of us." She added, patting his hand. "Steve never gave up on you." She told him. "He was so determined to find you, to bring you back. You're lucky to have a friend like him."

"Yes," Bucky agreed, nodding slowly, "I think I am. I don't remember much, but I remember him."

"That's a start." Skye told him.

"Can you tell me about yourself?" Bucky asked. "If you don't mind, I mean."

"Of course not," Skye assured him, "my story kind of intersects with yours and Steve's. Because after the war, my mother was rescued from HYDRA by Peggy Carter…"

"How is he doing?" Steve asked Bruce, arriving at the medical ward.

Bruce had asked him to give him a few hours while he examined Bucky and while it was hard, Steve had done what he was asked. He'd spent most of the morning in the gym, just trying to take his mind off things.

He'd gone looking for Skye, wanting to talk to her after the previous night, but she hadn't been in her apartment. Hopefully she wasn't avoiding him.

"Physically, he's not actually as bad off as I feared," Bruce told him, "obviously the mental toll is something different and I'm not sure I'm the right person to assess that, but we'll deal with it as we come to it. He is willing to try the drug therapy in hopes it restores his memory and opens his mental blocks."

"That's good." Steve agreed.

"Tony's going to look over his arm," Bruce added, "and see what repairs it needs, if any."

Steve nodded. "Can I see him?"

"Not yet." Bruce told him, "He's got company."

Startled, Steve stepped away from Bruce so he could look into Bucky's room and he could see Skye's small form beside the bed.

"I thought he might need someone to talk to," Bruce said quietly, "and she seemed like the best choice since she's been through a fair bit herself."

Steve nodded. He didn't know the whole story, of course, but it was obvious that Skye had been hurt and he did know that she had been on her own for too long.

He liked the idea of Skye and Bucky bonding, actually. Bucky was his best friend, the brother he'd never had, and it filled with joy to have him back in his life. Skye… Well, he hadn't known her very long, but he already knew that she was special. She could easily become one of the most important people in his life and he wanted her and Bucky to get along.

"Can you call me when Bucky's ready?" Steve asked Bruce after a moment.

"Of course," Bruce told him, "Tony will be here shortly and it will probably be good if you're there for that meeting since Tony can be a little much to take."

Steve laughed. "That's one way of putting it." He and Tony had become good friends, but the other man definitely took some getting used to.