One of my favorite scenes is in this chapter! I don't know why, but there was some trouble with the posting of the last chapter. So, if you didn't see – there is a chapter before this! It might be confusing if you don't read the one previous. Hopefully you like this one! Please review!

Chapter Seven

Bucky couldn't sleep. Not until he knew how Steve was doing. But they had to wait until Sarah called to give them an update. The waiting was killing him. He'd been staring at the ceiling for so long that he lost track of time. His brother Daniel snored lightly in his bed across the room. Even though Bucky had been awake for so long that the bags under his eyes had bags, he couldn't sleep. Bucky felt awful. When he swallowed, it felt like knives in his throat and even though he was sweating, he wanted to bury in his blanket as he shivered. But he knew Steve must feel worse in the hospital, scared and by himself. He rolled out of bed, giving up on sleep and deciding to sit near the phone. Bucky opened his door and stepped into the living room. There was a dim light in the kitchen. His mom sat on a stool, drinking steaming tea. He tried to hold back a cough, but couldn't. She glanced up at the sound.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I couldn't sleep." Bucky crawled onto her lap, resting his head against her chest.

"You should be exhausted." His mom put a hand on his forehead. "You're still burning up. How do you feel?"

"Rotten." He swallowed, trying to take a moment to compose himself. Bucky wasn't going to cry again. "Why hasn't Sarah called about Steve?"

His mom ran a hand through his hair. "Sarah is probably getting some sleep, along with Steve. She'll call in the morning. You need to get some rest. You can't get better if you don't sleep."

"I have to be there when he wakes up." His eyes felt so heavy, but he forced them back open. Bucky hadn't realized that they closed. "Steve needs me."

"I know he does. But right now, you need to sleep. You can't go see him until you aren't sick."

Bucky sighed. "Can I just stay up until Sarah calls?"

"Okay. I'll stay awake with you. Let's go into the living room and I can read to you for a little bit."

He sighed as she lifted him up and carried him to the couch. She grabbed a blanket and covered him as he leaned against her side. Bucky shivered. He snuggled against her. Geez, he felt terrible. But Steve must have felt worse. The image of his best friend shaking in his arms wouldn't leave him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He watched as she opened the book, pulling out the bookmark he'd make for her out of a newspaper clipping and heavy paper. She always lost them, but he made lots of them. It wasn't nice to doggy-ear the pages of a book.

"Do you remember where we were?" she asked.

Bucky nodded.

She ran her fingers through his hair as she read from the slightly wrinkled page. "Jasmine spoke only once. She ran with the boy across the street and down to the river, where he left his bag. Neither of them knew what would happen once they got on the boat. But it was better. Better than staying and finding out what happened to Estaline. They had to get away."

Having his mom read to him was soothing. Bucky continued to listen to the story about the two kids running away from home. It helped distract him from the growing nausea and headache.

"The river water bounced them unevenly. Jasmine and Peter held tight to each other, riding the waves. They weren't going to give up until they were free and safe."

He didn't even remember the reason why Jasmine and Peter were hiding or about what happened to Estaline. Bucky just needed to close his eyes for a second. He gasped and jerked, opening his eyes again. He couldn't fall asleep! Not until Sarah called.

"Shh… it's okay, sweetie. Just relax." Her hand rubbed circles on his back to calm him. She started to read again.

His head tilted to the side as he listened to the hum of her voice.

The phone rang on the wall. Bucky felt his stomach drop as his eyes flew open. When had he fallen asleep? He felt like throwing up and it took every remaining bit of strength he had left to not throw up. It had to be Sarah. Who else would be calling at this time of night? His mom slid off the couch and walked into the kitchen. She picked up the phone and spoke softly. Bucky realized she must have thought that he was still asleep.

"Hello? ... Hi. Yes, I understand. I was already awake." There was a long pause as she listened to the person on the phone talking. "I'm glad. He only fell asleep about twenty minutes ago. Poor kid. They really are the same." She paused again. "I'll tell him. I will. Thank you. Talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

It killed Bucky that he could only hear half of the conversation. She could have said that Steve had taken a turn for the worse, though that wasn't as likely since his mom wasn't crying.

"Mom?" he said as soon as she hung up.

"Sweetie, I thought you were still asleep." She sat down beside him, touching his cheek. "You're still so hot. Let me get a cold cloth."

Returning with a wet cold towel, she laid it across his forehead.

"Please, just tell me how Steve is. I know it was Sarah who called." His throat burned and it hurt to even talk.

"Shh, he's alright. The doctor said that his heart is doing better." The wet cloth felt good on his forehead. Bucky leaned more into her touch. "Steve woke up for a little bit and he wanted to make sure you were okay."

He sat up quickly, knocking the cloth off. "Did she tell him that I'm sick?"

"No. I doubt she told him. Steve wouldn't go back to sleep until she said she'd call you."

"How is he?" Bucky coughed, and let her lay the cloth back on his forehead. "Is he gonna be okay?"

The pause made him want to scream. "Steve is still very sick. They are worried about his heart and his breathing. The fever did finally break. But they've got an oxygen tent around him and he's still in some pain. It's gonna be a little while longer before they know how he'll recover. Until then, Sarah ordered you to get some rest and recover. As soon as you feel better, you can see him again."

"Okay." Bucky let his eyes close. Steve was stable for right now. That information would have to hold him for now since he felt rotten and so tired. "Stay with me?"

"I'm right here."

He drifted to sleep as she rubbed his back. As soon as he kicked this stupid fever, he was gonna be there for Steve. He promised.

The pain had almost disappeared from his knee. It was just a little stiff. Steve pulled his knee close and gently released it. By tomorrow, the rest of the pain would be gone. It would be like it hadn't happened. He looked to his right, seeing the green and yellow dinosaur on his nightstand. The clock read 5:54 am. Steve had actually slept in. If his knee didn't still hurt, he could go for a run. Better to wait a day. Steve picked up the dinosaur and held it in his hands. It didn't look brand new. It looked slightly worn around the middle. He considered the idea of Bucky sleeping with the stuffed animal, but he doubted the fierce Winter Soldier would do it. Still. There was something else about it. Steve flipped it over and discovered a small Velcro pocket in the left back foot.

He sat up and slowly opened it. A small folded paper fell out onto his blanket. Steve set the dinosaur down and unfolded it. It was a ticket stub for the Museum of Natural History.

"Oh Bucky," he whispered. "You remembered."

...

Steve bounced up and down anxiously as they waited in line at the Museum of Natural History. He'd begged Bucky to go with him to see the new dinosaur exhibit. Bucky looked over at him. He put a hand on Steve's shoulder, but the smile didn't leave his face.

"You need to calm down. You're gonna give yourself an asthma attack and we're not gonna get inside to see the dinosaurs." Bucky laughed. "Seriously, relax. They've been dead for a while. They aren't going to escape before we get there."

He nodded. "Sorry! I've just been waiting for so long. Bucky, we're going to see the bones of real dinosaurs that walked the Earth over a million years ago. It's so fascinating!" He took a gasping breath. "Sorry."

The line moved forward a little. It was drizzling slightly. Bucky had a little thought of changing the trip to another day since the kid shouldn't be out in bad weather. But it wasn't pouring. It was only a few drops. Steve promised that he was over his sore throat from a few days before and he seemed pretty healthy, other than the fact that his breathing was off because of his excitement. Steve focused on slowing his breathing as they stepped forward again. They were getting so close. Bucky had five dollars tucked in his pocket to pay for their entrance and in case they wanted to visit the gift shop. Bucky's mom insisted on paying, not letting Sarah use her money on it since the trip was a treat for Steve.

Once the tickets were paid for, they stepped into the museum. It was very busy. Bucky and Steve weaved their way through the crowds and to the second floor. Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the first part of the exhibit. It was a dinosaur egg. Unhatched and preserved perfectly by time. Bucky had to admit that it was pretty neat. Steve pulled him into the main room, letting his jaw drop as they viewed the Tyrannosaurus Rex, reaching almost to the ceiling. The magnificence of the creature, long since dead, looming above them as it would have stood when it was alive, it was remarkable.

"Wow. It's incredible," Steve murmured.

Bucky nodded before realizing that Steve hadn't seen him nod. The kid couldn't take his eyes off of the dinosaur. "I agree."

The two spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the rest of the exhibit and a bit of the others. Steve began to tire after a while. He started walking slower and his enthusiasm was a bit muted, along with him taking some uneven breaths, which were clear signs of his weariness. Bucky suggested that they visit the gift shop before they caught the train home. Steve reluctantly agreed.

"We'll come back another time. "

The gift shop had lots of different things from small candies, postcards, clothing, and lots of other things. Steve bee-lined it right over to the dinosaur items. Bucky watched as he examined each item, but was careful not to touch anything. His hands lingered over a green and yellow t-rex stuffed animal. It was cool looking. Steve stayed there for a little while, before moving on to the other items, but his eyes kept straying back to the dinosaur. Bucky knew what the kid needed for his birthday. He'd have to send his mom for it. There was no way he could sneak it out today.

"You ready?"

"I'm ready. Bucky, thanks for coming with me. I know you'd rather listen to baseball than come to a museum with me."

Bucky put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be. Also, I enjoyed the museum too."

"Thanks," Steve whispered, looking down a little.

He moved his arm from Steve's shoulder, wrapping around it completely and tugging him alone. "Come on. We better get home before dinner. Daniel said he'd eat all of the pudding for dessert if we were late."

...

Steve tucked the ticket back into the dinosaur's secret pocket. Gosh, where was Bucky? If he remembered, why didn't he come find him? It wasn't like Steve was hiding. His face was everywhere. Bucky wasn't. There was no way that he was going to give up looking for Bucky, especially now, when he knew that he remembered his old life. He remembered going to the museum and giving Steve the dinosaur. There had to be more memories resurfacing. The longer that Bucky was awake and away from Hydra, Steve suspected more would come back.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Steve?" It was Wanda.

He carefully rolled out of bed and walked to the door, feeling only a slight pull of his knee. Steve opened the door a little. He only had sweat pants on and felt a little self-conscious. "Is something wrong? You're up early."

"Bad dream, but I saw your light on and wondered if you wanted some breakfast. Tony is supposed to call in a little bit too. I thought you'd like to be awake."

"I'll be there in five. Thank you."