"Natalie."

Bucky watched the blonde lift her head from her knees. Her skin was pallid, making the dark purple rings beneath her eyes stand out brilliantly. She was swaying slightly in her seat on the Montgomery family's stoop and when she looked up at him she had to blink several times in confusion.

"James?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I heard you were having a hard time, so I came to bring you home with me until Jordan can come get you."

"I'm waiting for my parents," she replied, brows scrunching.

He shook his head and explained, "They're on vacation for the week, remember?"

"Oh."

"Can you stand? Walk?"

Natalie hummed thoughtfully and said, "I dunno."

He offered his metal hand which she took after a moment's hesitation. He pulled her to her feet, watching her wobble slightly. "Natalie, what're you on right now?"

Her cheeks flushed and she admitted, "Mostly booze, but I took some pills, too."

Bucky cursed beneath his breath, thinking of the struggle it was going to be to navigate the T with her. More calmly and at a volume she could hear, he said, "Here."

From his jacket pocket he produced a water bottle, handing it to her. She took several large sips from it, but the motion of tilting her head back threatened her balance. The soldier caught her by the shoulder and she shot him an apologetic look. Without saying anything, she took hold of his metal arm and allowed him to lead her to the bus stop that would take them to the nearest T station.

One arduous journey which tested his patience later, Bucky was leading Natalie to the living room couch. She collapsed there, placing an arm over her eyes to shield them from the overhead lighting. He made his way to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water, taking out his phone to text both Harper and Jordan that they had made it home.

Harper: Thank you, hun. I love and appreciate you so, so much.

He grinned and sent her a message assuring her of the same before his phone buzzed with another message.

Jordan: Thank you so much! I'll be there in like an hour and a half!

James: Don't worry, Jordan. Travel safely.

Jordan: Will do!

She then sent a thumbs up, which Bucky chuckled at. As someone who came of age in the 1930s, emojis still sort of tickled him.

Returning to the living room, he placed the glass of water on the coffee table. "Keep hydrating, Natalie, okay?"

"Okay…" she muttered, sounding just as out of it as she had when he first found her.

Bucky didn't want to leave her alone for too long, so he grabbed a few pet care items and Aslan before settling on the floor in the living room. Bear followed him, sprawling out against his outstretched legs. Resting his back against the armchair he sat in front of, Bucky began to work a brush through Aslan's fur. In his old age, the once avid groomer was having a hard time keeping up with things on his own and needed more frequent attention to keep his coat clean and smooth.

The four sat in silence, the only sound the meticulous brushing of the aged feline. Satisfied, Bucky moved on to trimming the cat's claws. It was a task once reserved only for Harper, whom Aslan allowed to do anything, but evidently the years had bonded him to Bucky enough for the task as well. Or perhaps her was just too old and tired to fight back. Either way, with minimal squirming the hooked tips of his claws were trimmed off and collected on a hand towel.

"Why'd you come get me?" Natalie mumbled from the ball she'd curled into.

"To save Harper the trouble," he answered bluntly.

The blonde snorted. "You're just a straight forward as she is."

Bucky paused in his task before continuing, "Look, Natalie, I get that this is a really, really hard, painful thing you're going through. But that doesn't excuse your actions and their ramifications."

"I know that," she replied in a small voice. "You didn't need to help me if it's so much trouble."

"I love your family. I'm unspeakably grateful that you have all taken me in as one of your own. However, it's no secret from anyone, myself included now, that everyone relies on Harper to be the one who picks up the pieces. She always has to be on top of things, put together, and available for you all. It's who she's been since I've known her, too. But I don't like what those expectations do to her, and I will do everything I can to lighten her burdens."

"You think I don't know that perfect Harper is the savior of our family?" Natalie snapped, finally lifting her arm off her eyes to glare at him. "Trust that absolutely nobody lets me forget that."

"Then maybe your efforts would be better served avoiding situations that require saving."

Her cheeks turned red. With agitation, embarrassment, or both he wasn't sure. The young woman was silent for a moment before lowering her arm once more. Bucky shrugged and finished tending to Aslan. He settled the cat on the seat of the armchair before beckoning Bear closer. He began brushing the large dog's short coat which had been shedding more than usual with the winter layers growing in.

Lightly, the soldier asked, "So what happened today to cause all of this?"

"I don't know," Natalie grumbled. "I was walking to the T on my way to work and then… suddenly I was walking out of the liquor store with a fifth in hand. I genuinely don't know what happened between those points in time. It's all blank."

Bucky frowned. He did feel for her, as much pain as she had caused Harper. To be young and so deeply in the throes of addiction and relapse had to be unspeakably difficult. Upsetting, stressful, discouraging… he could imagine all too well the defeat she must feel.

"When your brain is fucked up, it changes your life. But it doesn't have to rule you. Take the help that's offered to you."

Natalie was silent and gave no indication that she had heard him. Unbothered since he had said his piece, Bucky merely continued to brush the rottweiler that had begun licking happily at his metal arm.

Nearly an hour passed in continued quiet. Natalie hardly moved. Bucky finished caring for the animals, completed a mission report, and began reviewing new contract offers as time ticked on. Finally, there was a knock at the door.

Bear followed as he made his way to the source of the knocking and sat obediently when ordered to do so. The soldier opened the door to reveal the middle Montgomery sister, expression pinched with worry. She brightened at seeing him, though, and exclaimed, "Hey, big bro!"

With the exuberance he had come to associate with the brunette, Jordan bombarded him with a hug and a flurry of questions. He answered them all quickly, knowing she was actually pretty preoccupied and was not giving her full attention to their conversation.

Extracting himself from her, Bucky led Jordan to the living room. The brunette huffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Goddamn, Natalie. How fucked up are you?"

"I'm coming down," the youngest sister answered, voice dry.

"Can you walk? I'll take you back to my place."

"Gimme a minute," Natalie groaned. Slowly, she unfurled her limbs and pushed herself into a seated position. Suddenly looking even paler, the young woman stood and made a wobbly dash for the bathroom. The reason was soon apparent as the sound of violent retching echoed from down the hall.

"For fuck's sake…" Jordan hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. With another sigh, she turned to look up at the soldier. With concern, she noted, "You look especially pissed. What's up, bro?"

Bucky weighed the merits of confiding in the brunette and decided to respond with, "I had plans today."

"I'm sorry you were dragged into the bullshit, James," Jordan said earnestly. "You're family, but you don't deserve to deal with our messes."

"Thanks for saying so," he replied with a small smile. "But I do think I'm fully in it at this point. Besides, I'm rather committed to supporting your other sister."

Jordan nodded and gave him a brief side hug. "I know. You're pretty great like that. Anyway, lemme go make sure she didn't make a total fuckin' mess of your bathroom and then I'll try to get us both out of your way. Then maybe you can still make those plans."

As he watched the brunette go to check on her sister, Bucky muttered, "No chance of that happening."


"James?"

Harper dropped all of her things by the door, hurrying into the house in search of her partner and sisters. She found the former sitting in his favorite armchair in the living room, cat and book in his lap and dog at his feet.

"Welcome home, doll."

"Where's Natalie? Jordan?"

"They left about an hour ago. Jordan was very efficient," he supplied.

The brunette blinked a few times in surprise. It felt rather foreign to have largely escaped the family calamity of the day. Shaking the thought from her head, she swiftly made her way over to the soldier, bending down to place a tender kiss on his lips.

Pulling away just slightly, she murmured, "Thank you," before pressing her lips to his again.

The dark haired man met her movements with equal warmth and affection. Only a mewl from Aslan and Bear's wet nose on Harper's hand broke them apart, impatient pleas for her to share her attention. Harper greeted each with pets and cooed words of fondness.

"You don't have to kneel like that, darlin'," James interrupted, worry in his blue eyes.

"My knee feels fine today," Harper assured with a grateful smile.

As she continued petting and scratching at the four furry ears in front of her, Harper asked about the day's events. James supplied her with answers, and her cheeks grew increasingly flushed with embarrassment as he did.

Once his tale had finished, Harper said, "I'm so sorry you had to do all of this, James."

"You warned me quite a while ago that I would have my hands full with my new sisters," he shrugged off her apology.

"Still, I'm grateful," she replied, shifting so she could lean against the front of the armchair and lay her head on his knee. His fingers wove their way into her hair, scratching lightly at the roots. Harper asked, "Are we still able to have dinner like you planned?"

"Another time," he replied, trying but failing to fully disguise his disappointment. "Let's just grab something from the place down the street."


Sam: So?!

Bucky: Something came up and changed the plan.

Sam: What could you have possibly let get in your way?

Bucky: Family crisis of sorts.

Sam: Well shit.

Bucky: Pretty much.

Sam: Did you have a back-up plan?

Bucky: No. I'm trying to come up with something else.

Sam: Don't waste too much time.

Bucky: I know, Sam.

Sam: Just looking out for you, man.

Sam: Lemme know if you need help brainstorming. We can work on something when I'm up this weekend.

Bucky: Ask for your shit advice? Not likely.

Sam: You really gonna be like that?

Bucky: I really am.

Sam: Ouch.


Harper leaned forward, brow scrunching with frustration. She huffed, pursing her lips and blowing at a loose wave of hair that kept falling in her face.

"Harper, chill out," Jordan drawled.

"I'm fine," the older brunette grumbled reflexively.

"You're being too much of a perfectionist," the younger asserted.

"I just want this to come out right!"

"It's going to turn out just fine, sis." Harper huffed and huffed at the espresso tendril again. She could practically sense Jordan roll her eyes before continuing, "If you're gonna freak out over some damn cupcakes, scrap 'em and do the normal thing and give him a good thank-you-blowjob."

Harper turned to glare at her younger sister, which she immediately recognized as a mistake. Seeing her bright blush, Jordan's face shifted to exasperated surprise. "Harper. Please. Don't tell me."

"Shut up, Jordan. None of your business."

"You're such a prude!"

"He's never even mentioned it!"

"Obviously! James is too old-fashioned for that! Or too worried about sounding like an asshole!"

"Drop it, Jordan," Harper whined, turning back to the cupcakes she was filling. She made a mental note to get a real pastry bag for future baking endeavors as she returned to trying to fill the vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd she'd made earlier that morning. Her hands ached from all of the lemon squeezing, and her makeshift pastry bag wasn't making things any better.

Conversation thankfully shifted as Jordan asked, "Did he say anything to you about Natalie giving him any trouble? He wouldn't say much to me when I came to pick her up."

"No," Harper shook her head. "And he wouldn't. He isn't the type to help out and then say it was difficult for him."

Jordan sighed. "I hope it wasn't too bad."

"How was she with you?" Harper asked, placing the last filled cupcake down on the serving platter.

Jordan shrugged, watching the other brunette begin frosting the cupcakes. The pleasant scent of lemon permeated the kitchen. "Surprisingly quiet. I think she was pretty pissed off about the whole thing."

"And once she was sober?"

"All apologies, but I think she was still upset. I don't get her, Harper. She was doing really well."

"What she's dealing with is really, really hard, Jordan," Harper replied gently. "Things in your brain can change, and relapse is very often part of the recovery process."

"Aren't you angry with her?"

"Not angry," Harper answered. She paused, cursing under her breath at her second homemade pastry bag which she had filled with a light lemon frosting. She wanted perfect swirls atop each cupcake, and was not succeeding thus far. Some were fine, but others were uneven. "But I haven't forgiven her. In no small part because I haven't received a real apology yet."

"She said she apologized?" Jordan responded, voice lilting up in confusion.

"It was incredibly subpar. Which I assume she didn't mention."

"No, she said she didn't know what you wanted from her in an apology."

Harper glanced over her shoulder. Her sister was eating the leftover lemon curd by the spoonful, a hefty handful of blueberries mixed in. "I want the components of a real apology. What she did wrong, why she did it, and what she is going to do to avoid repeating those behaviors in the future."

Jordan frowned and admitted, "I'm not sure she's ever going to give you that, Harper."

The older brunette nodded as she began adding the lemon zest she had candied to the tops of the frosted cupcakes. "I don't think she will. But it is what I need, and I don't foresee that changing. I will always love Natalie and do what I can for her, but things can't be how they were without a true, sincere apology."

The atmosphere was heavy with the weight of Harper's words. Jordan couldn't argue; many would find what Natalie did to Harper unforgiveable. Harper was willing to forgive, if one relatively simple condition was met. But Natalie was the youngest and struggling, and Jordan had always had a special relationship with her. That her sisters may always have a rift between them was difficult to accept.

As Harper was sprinkling the final cupcake with zest, Jordan asked, "So have you never blown him? Like ever? Or just like…"

"Jordan!" Harper snapped, temper flaring at the sudden change in topic back to a clearly off-limits one.

"Never?!" Jordan gasped. When Harper would not respond, she continued, "Sis, you've gotta be kidding me. You're 34 years old and you've never let your boyfriend of almost a decade…? Dudes love that!"

"Would you stop?!"

"Darlin'?" a familiar voice drawled, sparking a wave of embarrassed heat that shot through Harper's body. "Hi, Jordan. What're you two upset about?"

James had just entered the kitchen and was looking between the two sisters – one seated at the island and one hunched over the counter at the back of the room, a mess of dishes piled around her.

"Hi, hun," Harper greeted with a forced smile, biting back a comment about how he was home early. She had thought it would take him much longer to volunteer at the animal shelter and then to pick Sam up from the airport. Theoretically, plenty of time to have the kitchen in a less disastrous state upon his return. A second man entered the kitchen then, duffle bag over his shoulder. "Hi, Sam. How was your flight?"

"Hey, Harper. Jordan. It was good. No complaints here," Sam smiled.

"Hi, James!" Jordan greeted enthusiastically. Waving her spoon, she added, "Nice to see you again, Sam."

James still looked concerned, so Harper quickly picked up the platter she had just barely finished. Scooting around the island, she approached her partner, platter outstretched in offering. "Surprise - cupcakes!"

The soldier's face instantly brightened. "You're the best, doll. What kind?"

"Vanilla filled with lemon curd, topped with lemon frosting and candied lemon zest."

"Damn," Sam nodded, looking impressed.

"Harper makes the best food, but her baking is even better," James gushed, taking a cupcake.

Hastily, he peeled back a section of the lilac colored paper and bit into the confection. Harper watched his bright blue eyes close briefly with the hit of gustatory pleasure. His expression was one of complete contentment.

Jordan reached for a cupcake, and Harper smacked her hand in retaliation. The younger sister whined, "Hey! What gives?"

"They're for James," Harper scolded. "Which you know full well."

"Only for me?" the dark haired man in question asked, looking quite pleased at the promise of a dozen cupcakes reserved only for his tastebuds.

"Yes," she nodded. "They're a thank you for helping us all out this past week."

"You didn't have to do anything to thank me for that," James frowned.

"Cool, then pass me one of those. They smell great," Sam complimented.

James shot him a light glare. "I didn't say I was giving up the cupcakes."

Harper turned to look at Sam with a laugh. "Don't worry, I made brownies for the rest of us."

"Am I barred from those?" James asked with a frown.

"Of course not," Harper chuckled.

James grinned at her, leaning down to press a peck to her lips. Harper grinned, her chest warm with affection.

"They should be apology cupcakes…" Jordan grumbled bitterly, dragging her spoon around her empty bowl.

James lifted a brow and asked, "Apology? For what?"

With characteristic brashness, Jordan replied, "For never sucking your dick."

"Jordan!" Harper shouted, face flaming. Her hands rose in a reflexive need to hide her embarrassment.

James, his cheeks a matching scarlet, cleared his throat. "Sam, I'll show you the guest room."

"Lead the way. Maybe quickly," Sam agreed.

The two men disappeared from the kitchen, leaving the sisters behind to argue heatedly about the inequity between not being given a cupcake and being put on blast for not performing specific sex acts.


A/N: Hello again! Tying up some light drama with a good dose of healthy relationship stuff. Also, I just couldn't resist and had to put Bucky and Harper in the hot seat one more time as we fly toward the end of this story. Hopefully it was as fun to read as it was to write that last scene!