You and Me Ch 12
"Can Bucky be moved?" Cap, crossing his arms over his chest, asked Dr. Phillips sternly.
"Moved. Moved. You ask me after all I've done … tch! Seriously you Avengers drive me batty." Phillips retorted. She wiped a tired hand across her brow, "I just spent the last four hours repairing what he tore up after your little android show."
"You didn't answer my question." Rogers returned, unfazed by her bravado.
"Why? Don't like my bedside manner?" she bit back.
"I don't want to be in arms length of Tony Stark. That's why." Steve replied darkly. He had already packed the few things he had with him and was decided to go back to his Brooklyn home. James was coming with him, hell or high water.
"Quite honestly, I don't disagree with you." Phillips commented offhandedly, "That's another job I need to fix. Yes. You can move him, but, and this is a big BUT, I need the attending physician to send me daily updates. Hourly are preferred." She waggled a stern finger at Cap.
"I think we can manage that." Steve replied evenly, slightly surprised she was on their side.
"I will make a few phone calls and arrange an ambulance." Phillips remarked as Cap turned away from her, she reached out and caught his arm. Stopping and looking back at her, she said with a hint of tenderness, "You boys take care of yourselves. I mean it."
Rogers let a faint smile brush his lips and a salute, "We will, ma'am." She nodded and let his arm go. Cap moved to Bucky's bedside, where he was coming out of anesthesia. "Hey, Bucky." Steve said quietly, looking down at his best friend, wound re-wrapped and a new IV inserted.
Bucky's eyelids fluttered open as he rolled his head toward the sound of Rogers' voice, "Hey wingnut." Barnes' words were slurred, expression goofy.
"How you doing, jerkface?" Steve asked with a tender smile. His chest swelled just being able to see and talk to James, even if he was injured. That cold night on the battlefield haunted his dreams still.
"Better now … that Stark is in …the slammer." James garbled back, a stupid look on his face. Steve envied the fact that James could still get tipsy.
"Well, I'm jail breaking you outta here. Going back to Brooklyn, buddy." Rogers replied and rested a hand on Barnes' right shoulder.
"Good. Now I can get …real pizza. Never … liked M'hanttan anyways. " Bucky said intoxicatedly and let his eyes slip back in his head.
He never did handle medicine well, Steve thought to himself with a gentle expression. Giving James' shoulder a brotherly squeeze, Rogers turned departed. He had some business with the other Avengers.
"That Diviner needs to be moved. Out of this Tower." Cap argued in the large, lounge-like great room at the top of the Tower.
"But where in the hell can we put it?" Clint asked rhetorically but with a bit of an attitude.
"I can safeguard it in Asgard." Thor volunteered, stepping forward, "We have an amazing vault of treasures that we keep safe and out of the wrong hands."
The assembled team looked at each other carefully. Widow's brow furrowed in thought, Clint was nodding slightly in agreement and Cap was still undecided. They all looked at Banner.
"Hey, don't think I have an answer." Banner said with a sheepish shrug, casting his eyes about the group, "I'm just a scientist trying to figure this all out. I'm not some nut job like Tony." He paused looking off distantly, "Although he is a really, really smart nut job."
"But you have an idea of the potential abilities of this thing." Steve stated.
"Well, yes, but it's like that tesseract cube of Loki's. We've only scratched the surface. The physics are amazing!" Banner answered his voice becoming one of awe. "But I have no thoughts about taking over the world Minority Report style here."
"I do not like his besotted manner." Thor commented cautiously, flexing his arms slightly.
"I didn't catch that…" Rogers muttered to himself. Widow cut him a look.
"Well it's obvious that the thing is a temptation. Let's just get it out of here." Clint interjected.
" I second that." Natasha filled in.
"Then I will collect the artifact and send it to Asgard for safe keeping until we can remedy Stark of his delusional thoughts." Thor stated as a final word and left the group to secure the Diviner.
"How is Tony?" Steve asked the remainders trying to sound like he was genuinely concerned.
"Sam says he's raving about the Diviner and how he lost it. Occasionally, he talks about your robot." Natasha replied, "But he's been slowing down on his rants lately, since this morning."
"She wasn't my robot." Rogers stated a little uncomfortable.
"Well, she apparently liked you a lot." Widow answered pointedly then changed her tone, "How is Bucky?"
"Fine. We're moving out. Today." Steve replied as he saw Clint's eyebrows rise slightly.
"Don't trust Tony after he offed your android?" Hawkeye asked with a smirk.
"She wasn't my android." Rogers said with a hint of annoyance, "I don't like the way Tony thinks. In a lot of ways, I never have. He doesn't have that sense of duty his father had."
"Harsh words from the older generation." Clint muttered.
"Shut the hell up, Barton. Cap's right." Romanov defended Steve.
"It's ok. I never understood you young folk anyway. When I was your age, I already had five silver stars, and more purple hearts than I can count." Rogers commented dryly, not rising to the jab and giving a cold look to Clint, who almost looked like he'd stick out his tongue. Cap regarded Banner, "Now, what to do with you."
"What about me? I'm fine." Banner replied trying to deflect attention.
"I think Dr. Phillips needs to check you out." Steve replied as he approached the scientist, "In fact, I think she has an opening for you right now."
Bucky settled into his bed in their apartment from the wheelchair. With an exhausted sigh, he said, "There's no place like home."
"I got that reference." Steve smirked, "Where's your ruby slippers, Judy?"
"Shut up, punk." Barnes growled at him as he gingerly moved his torso.
"You comfy? Can I get you something?" Steve asked eagerly. The visiting nurse wheeled the chair out of the bedroom and saw herself out the door.
"Are you enjoying this?" James retorted, "I mean this isn't exactly your area of expertise, shrimp."
"What being your nanny? The almighty Bucky Barnes has been brought low?" Rogers gloated slightly, admiring his reclining friend. It felt so good to have him home again, like all the pieces were finally in place.
" 'Bout time you worked off your debt to me keeping your skinny ass alive all those years." Barnes replied tiredly, leaning against his pillow.
"Well, I guess you got me there." Rogers agreed, "It's good to be home." Steve comment, his voice softened, "It's good to have you home too."
James looked up at Steve from his bed and nodded, not being the more eloquent of the two of them. "What happened to Helen?" he asked once he knew his voice wouldn't betray him.
Steve's expression darkened as he pulled up a chair from across the room, "She was taken down to his shop."
"Scrapped?" James commented.
"Probably." Steve tried not to sound bitter, "But J.A.R.V.I.S. was not happy about what occurred either."
"He spoke to you? That's strange." Barnes returned.
"Yeah. I think those machines sometimes think clearer than Tony." Rogers answered, "I'll miss her."
"Yeah, me too. Perhaps he'll have some time to think about what he's done and how stupid it all is." Bucky yawned.
"I'll let you rest." Steve said, rising from the chair. Bucky almost looked sad to see him go, but exhaustion won him over.
"Don't let me sleep too late, punk. I expect a full dinner." Bucky said dryly his eyelids starting to sag, "And none of that MRE or 'microwave' crap either. A full dinner, just like mamma made."
Steve chuckled to himself as he closed the door, "Dr. Phillips said a liquid diet for you, jerkface for at least a week."
"Sonovabitch!" Bucky mumbled fiercely, slipping off into a nap.
"Love you too Bucky." Rogers replied quietly smiling and closed the door, "Just you an me, buddy. You and me."