You and Me ch 8
The quiet hum of machines filtered into his consciousness as soft voices spoke nearby. Through his eyelids, he knew the sun had risen but had no idea how many days had passed since the battle. Vaguely, he remembered Steve's voice in a dream last night and a … robot? His throat was sore and muscles cried out in aching from both laying still and his surgery. Keeping his eyes closed, Barnes began wiggling toes and fingers then moved his left hand to his torso, under his sheet.
Gingerly, he felt the large bandage covering his gunshot wound. It was tender to the touch and the wound drain he felt snaking out under the bandage and over the side of the mattress made him remotely queasy. Bucky knew he had an IV in his right arm and so he only shifted it slightly. The EKG sticker adhesive was making his skin itch on his chest and he had the urge to pull them off, but instead stayed still.
Footsteps approached his bedside; sounded human and female. "Sergeant Barnes?" the woman's voice asked, "Are you awake?"
Bucky wondered for a moment if he wanted to appear awake or not, "What gives you that impression?" he whispered from his sore throat, turning his head toward her and opening his eyes a crack.
The doctor pursed her lips in a thin line unfazed by his aggressive look. She had been warned that Sergeant Barnes had a rapier wit. She ignored his snarky reply; "Your throat will be sore for a few days. You were intubated."
"Wonderful." Barnes replied turning his face away slowly to stare at the ceiling.
"I'm upgrading you to serious but stable condition. The wound drain will be removed later today, as you are well on your way to mending." she informed him, while jotting done some notes on a tablet computer.
"Where's Steve?" was Bucky's terse response. Forget about me, where's that punk, he thought fiercely. He was acutely aware he was not in the infirmary and James knew that Cap hadn't made it out of the fight without a few scrapes of his own.
"You two are the most… headstrong..! " The doctor had reached her limit of the brotherly duo, but then regained control of her temper, "He's recovering from a concussion in his quarters. No, he can't come see you yet. His brain injury needs him to be resting."
Bucky listened, frowning both at her assessment of his and Steve's friendship and that he was confined to bed, "Fine, Dr. Sourpuss."
"That's Colonel Dr. Sourpuss to you, Sergeant." The doctor snapped back at him, turning smartly on her heel and storming away.
"Yes Ma'am." Bucky mustered a very weak salute, a smirk on his lips. The door to the infirmary slid shut silently, but he knew if she could have, she would have slammed it, probably breaking glass.
A chuckle rippled over him, which made sore muscles complain. A tired groan escaped him, as he began to look briefly around the deserted infirmary. They could have given me a radio, or something, he thought about the empty space, the beds waiting for casualties.
The twinkle of blue caught his eye and he tensed, causing more pain making him hiss through his teeth, "Who's there!"
"Sergeant Barnes, it is only I." The nurse-bot poked its head out from behind a wall; blue LED's shining calmly.
"Only you. Well, who the hell are you? Some HYDRA agent? Alien?" Bucky asked roughly, voice not much louder than a quiet conversation. He doubted he could muster a fight let alone sound intimidating from his position.
The robot approached using the universal hands up sign for peace, "I am created by Mr. Stark. I am peaceful."
Barnes sized up the angularly shaped blue and silver body with the glowing ARC reactor in the chest. It looked so much like the Mark exosuits but with a slightly more feminine appearance and much smaller size. Narrowing his eyes at the robot, James stated, "You look familiar."
"Yes, I was here with you last night. Actually, I've been with you since you were brought here." The bot replied, " Last night, I brought you a message from Steve."
Bucky looked at the machine for a while, assessing it, "Been with me the whole time? Well that is sweet of you."
"It is what I was made to do, sir." it responded ignoring James's grumpiness.
"Call me Bucky. Sir was my father." James inserted as he shifted his body slightly, a wave of pain jolting through him making his gasp in response. When he caught his breath, he asked, "A message from Steve? Play it again…. Please." He was still getting used to talking to technology. J.A.R.V.I.S. continued to be a challenge to converse with. Do conventional manners apply to artificial intelligence? He wasn't sure after listening to Sam curse a blue streak at another "digital assistant" named 'Siri', and then there was the talking GPS unit. Sam seemed to have little tolerance for digital stupidity, Barnes' recalled.
Tilting its head like a bird, the robot adjusted the speakers to play Steve's voice to James, who listened raptly. "That pain in the ass, Rogers. Thinking he's a saint. Well, he ain't no saint! Let me tell you!" James began hotly but then felt his strength ebb away, falling quiet and closing his eyes.
"Are you well? I can get you assistance if you require some." the robot inquired.
Bucky's eyes were still closed as he answered, "I am fine, just beat to hell. What is your purpose, robot?"
"I am a medical assistive device. I can function as a nurse, caretaker or assist in surgery. I can also administer first aide or assist as a medic in the field of battle." the machine's voice was upbeat describing its functions. The blue eyes swirled a little faster.
"Stark has no idea about you, does he?" James volunteered trying to stay awake.
The robot paused, lacing its fingers in front of its waist, "How did you know that, Bucky?
"I am very familiar with creatures who don't to be discovered." Bucky replied drowsily, casting a look at the robot, "And I can tell you don't want to be found."
"That is true." the robot commented, impressed by the human's insight.
"You have a name?" Bucky pressed, shifting his bones in bed slightly and feeling how tense his muscles were.
"No, Bucky." the machine sighed, almost melancholy then perked up its tone, "I was wondering if you could do me that honor."
James regarded the robot for several moments, shiny blue and silver armature with its gentle pulsing blue eyes in minimalist face, hands folded politely in front of it. "Helen." Barnes responded.
"Helen?" It repeated, "You think me female?"
"Well, don't you?" Barnes replied matter-of-factly.
"I never thought about it before." Helen replied as if perplexed at the concept 'thinking' about one's gender, "Why Helen?"
"Sarah was Steve's mom's name. She was a nurse too." Bucky replied his eyelids drooping, "And I while you are a nurse robot, you don't have anything on Mrs. Rogers." Realizing he just insulted the poor creature, James added, "No offense, that is."
"Bucky, I did not know Mrs. Rogers, so I have nothing to be offended by. I am a young robot and have much to learn." Helen responded, seeming happy to have a proper name and now a gender.
"Well you are going to learn a lot with that attitude." Barnes yawned, eyelids heavy, "Before I pass out, tell Steve I hope he listens to the doc and not be a jackass for her the way he was for me. I never could get that boy to lay still and rest when he was sick. What a wingnut he is. I'll be fine and I'm thinking of him too."
" I will, Bucky. Sleep well." Helen pulled up the sheets over Barnes's body as he snuggled down into the pillow
"G'night Helen." James slurred and was then promptly snoring.