Chapter 8

Mia (guest) your comment was so sweet thank you, glad you are liking it so far. I am still writing, I'm just at a bit of a block. Meh! I also love a good Bucky OC Female fic, so if you have suggestions PLZ drop them in the comments!

Oakleigh stick her tongue out at Bucky as she exited Natasha's room. She had showered and then gone to get dressed with her neighbour so she could help cover up the love bites Bucky had left on her skin.

The marks had darkened significantly since he sucked them into her flesh. Oakleigh had worn high collared sweaters and shirts any time she was around the team in the last few days. Which had not been often, Oakleigh had spent an unnatural for her amount of time sleeping. Usually getting around 15 hours her day, waking up in the afternoon to partake in super and hang out with everyone before going right back to bed.

Bucky assured her that if she was still this exhausted by the day of the party he would happily stay home with her. She was quick to reassure him that nothing was stopping her from going to that damn party.

Bucky's had gone to roll his eyes when she gloated her success at coving up his marks on her. Before he could his eye raking her in and his cock twitched sending all his blood south, she was fucking dripping sex in that dress.

The dress was a deep dark green silk, sleeveless and came up above mid-thigh. The dress hugged her naked breasts, it synched in at her waist and caressed the curve of her hips before coming to an abrupt end on her thighs.

"Fuck." Bucky cleared his throat.

Oakleigh blushed fiercely. If you wanted to be scandalous in the 40s you got naked, none of the undergarments or dresses back in their time looked like this. While Natasha praised the way the dress looked on her at the store and again while they were getting ready, Oakleigh still could not help being self-conscious about it now.

People were going to see her like this. The back of her dress was half missing and if she bent to touch the floor in this thing, she was sure the bottom of her butt would show. The silk was cool on her skin because it laid against her body and Bucky's pupils were blown wide after one look at her.

Oakleigh had insisted on wearing her hair half up and half down, needed some security and something to hide behind. After all her bravo and teasing Bucky all week she suddenly was not so sure of herself.

"Wow you look amazing, that's Woah." Bucky's wide eye clung to her body.

Oakleigh licked her lips and looked off to the side. "We're defiantly not in the 40s anymore."

Bucky rolled his shoulders chuckling darkly. "No, we're really not. You look amazing, if I didn't think Romanoff would just hunt you down and drag you to the party I would hold you up in our room until the whole thing was over."

"Thanks." she blushed, warming her already heated skin.

"You feeling ok?"

Oakleigh nodded, "I think I'm running a slight fever but Nat gave me some cold medicine so I'll be alright."

Bucky could defiantly smell the rum on her breath, "You know you aren't supposed to mix alcohol with medicine right?"

Natasha's door opened she smiled at them. "Sexy huh? I'm glad you two haven't gone down yet, I really did not want to miss the sergeant's face when Sam sees you for the first time."

Bucky offered each lady an arm to escort them to their awaiting vehicles.

Oakleigh cleared her throat and stepped into Bucky forcing him to take a step back.

Steve smiled as the group joined him, Clint, Wanda and Sam in the garage, two cars were waiting to take them to the event. Sam's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth comically wide as he raised his hands toward Oakleigh.

"I don't think so." Bucky pulled Oakleigh toward the second car.

"Common man, don't be like that!" Sam hollered following them. "You realize in just under 40 minutes she's going to have half the city's eyes on her."

Steve slapped Sam on the back of his head, "Be respectful."

"Uh! I am respectfully letting Oakleigh know how fine she looks in that dress."

"Thank you, Sam." Oakleigh shot him a smile over her shoulder.

Oakleigh felt a smaller hand grasp hers, "I don't think so cowboy, she's riding with us."

She felt Bucky's hand start to tighten on her waist but Wanda was too quick. Oakleigh laughed at the horrified look on Bucky's face as he watched her get dragged into the car with the other two women.

"I'm going with them." Sam was quickly stopped in his tracks by Steve. "I guess I'm stuck with you scrubs."

"They'll be fine Buck, Happy's got them." Steve patted his friend on the shoulder. "Deep breaths."

Bucky shook his head, "We're following them."

"Not a problem."

.

"That boy did not want to let you go. I'm surprised he didn't rip my arm off."

Oakleigh smiled at Wanda. "I'm just happy he still was ok with us going, with this whole Owen Ozwald thing I really thought he'd insist me stay behind."

"I was referring to how sexy you look in that dress. How are you feeling about that whole situation?"

"I don't know, I feel normal about it I guess. It just sucks cause I know it's sent Bucky into a tailspin. She seems slightly better though after talking to Steve."

Natasha nodded her head. "Hydra is dangerous and the fact that this guy was blackballed by them sends a really big message. There is five times the security on this party than there ever has been, everyone's a little on edge about it. That is not our focus for the night, tonight we're going to have fun and you are going to experience your first 2000s party."

"You're gonna love it." Wanda smiled putting her hand on Oakleigh's thigh. "Are you feeling ok? You kind of warm."

"I've been feeling a little sluggish lately, Bruce said that it was just my body reacclimatizing. This is the longest I've been out of cryo since I was first put in, he said I might experience some withdraws."

The girls nodded getting happy to turn up the radio as they watched the city lights go by.

Bucky was opening her door before Oakleigh had taken off her seat belt.

She touched his chest, "Relax." She whispered softly.

Getting to her feet she readjusted her dress making sure it was coving all the important parts. Bucky pulled her tight to his side as they joined the rest of their friends so they could walk inside together.

Oakleigh blushed as she noticed a couple of the men in suits take in her body with a slow scan of their eyes. She felt dazed as she accepted a drink from Wanda. Natasha had given her a couple of hits of medicine before they left, that mixed with the alcohol they consumed in the car ride over was making her feel light.

"You ok?" Steve asked her noticing her vacant gaze. "I know these parties can be overwhelming but there is a balcony off to the left there if you need to go out for some air."

She smiled at him. "I'm good. Damn this isn't the 40's anymore."

Steve laughed at her and nursed his drink, Bucky pulled her in front of him and rested his chest on her back and hands on her hips.

He did not care if the behaviour was not exactly appropriate for Tony's event, this is what he needed. Touching her was calming his heart rate and relaxed him knowing she was right where he could protect her.

The group kept together around the standing table for most of the night. A couple of times people came over to them and pulled them away for drinks, but like usual they stuck to themselves.

As the party got later into the night and the music picked up Natasha and Wanda pulled Oakleigh from his embrace. Bucky felt the silk around her hips slip through his fingers. The dance floor had livened up and the music was blasting, the girls disappeared through the crowd and Bucky tensed.

"Hey." Steve nudged him. "Let's go to the second floor, get a break from all these people and we can keep an eye on her from there."

Bucky nodded leading the way, he relaxed when he leaned over the railing and caught sight of the three girls dancing.

"You two look happy together." Steve smiled.

"This is all we wanted you to know? We always talked about what things could be like after the war. I just didn't think it would be happening in a different century."

"Well, no time like the present. I know things took a turn Buck, but you two can still have that life together."

"Look at what we do for a living Steve, she'll never be safe no matter if we can get to Ozwald or not." Bucky chugged his beer. "She's always been my light you know, always been that bright spot for me, showing me everything will be ok. I couldn't even keep her safe from them. Fuck man, she looks beautiful in that dress and all instead of enjoying it all I can think about is scanning the crowd looking for Hydra agents or Ozwald."

Steve sighed, "Look at her Bucky, does she look weighed down to you? She is safe here with us, you know I would not let anything happen to her and neither would anyone else on the team."

Bucky did look at her, her cheeks were flushed and she wore a big smile on her face as she danced with the girls. All three were touching in some way or another. Oakleigh sandwiched between the other women's hands thrown above her head as she swayed to the beat.

He bit his lip inhaling slowly, "She deserves everything."

"She has it here with you, with us. She's happy Buck, I think you might be a little too hyper distracted right now to see that but she is."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Romanoff had her on a mix of cough syrup and rum, she's out of her mind right now."

"You know what I mean."

"I do."

The friends carried on a light conversation for the next while as they kept an eye on the girls. They disappeared a couple of times threw the night and Natasha who had clocked them watching from above, would mouth 'bathroom' so the boys would know where they disappeared to.

As the night wound down the boys headed back to the main floor to join Sam at their table.

"Good night?" Sam asked, "I didn't see you get out of the floor Robo man."

"Left my dancing shoes in 1938."

"Special delivery," Wanda announced her and Oakleigh's presence, the brunette looking a little worse for wear. "She's ok, just a bit overheated."

Bucky clasped his hands around her biceps, "O you feeling ok?"

"Just warm." She told him, taking the glass of water Sam offered to her. "I think the cough syrup burnt up."

Her whole body was slick with sweat, too much to be just from dancing with the girls. "I'll say. Come on we'll get Happy to pull up the car, get you home."

Oakleigh nodded leaning into his hands, "Okay."

"I'll go get Happy." Steve pressed his hand into Bucky's back. "I'm about ready to leave too."

The three made their way down and out of the party, Happy waiting out front for them. Oakleigh buckled into the middle, snuggled tight between two super soldiers.

"Buck?" He hummed at her. "Remember when I got in trouble for leaving Camp to go to the river?"

"Rings a bell."

"I never told you but, Steve and I were secret lovers. He is who I was with that night."

Steve looked alarmed and Oakleigh giggled at him, burrowing deeper into Bucky's side.

"Is that so huh? I have it on good authority that Steve was still back in Brooklyn then." He pushed the sweaty hair away from her face.

"Is that what he told you? Interesting." Both men shared an amused look over her head.

Bucky snorted, "I think that fever is making you delirious."

"Whatever you have to believe." Oakleigh pushed off of him. "Uck, you're too warm."

Bucky dropped his arm from around her shoulders and settled for a hand on her thigh. Even her thigh was warm and slick with sweat.

"I think you'll need a cold shower and some more meds once we get to the compound."

"That sounds nice." She agreed. "Mmm, I don't feel good."

Her high rising fever, mixed with the cough syrup and alcohol all pit against her now, making her feel ten times worse.

"I know baby." He told her softly. "We'll be home in twenty minutes."

The ride got quiet as they started leaving the city. The red light turned green and their car started forward. A female robot voice sounded through the car.

"Brace-for-impact."

"What?" Steve snapped looking to the side just in time to see truck headlights at his window.

Both men turned inward and grabbed hold of Oakleigh who had just started to drift off into a fitful sleep. The roar of the accelerator as Happy tried to get them out of the way. The sicking crunch of metal and shatter of glass upon impact.

Bucky's heart raced he unbuckled his seat belt before the impact was complete and forced his door open as they came to a stop.

"Stay with her." He commanded at Steve disappearing from view.

"Bucky wait!" But he was already gone. "Happy you alright?"

Luckily the car did not flip, but Steve's side of the car was concave. As he took inventory of Okaleigh's body he only found a couple of scratches on her thighs from the shattered glass, he and Bucky had managed to protect her everywhere else. She whimpered as his hand brushed over some glass that impeded in her flesh.

"Steve." Oakleigh looked around wildly mind racing to catch up with everyone else.

Hydra.

"Happy call the rest of the team."

"They're already on their way." He assured Steve.

"Ok." Steve climbed over Oakleigh knowing he had no chance at prying his door open. "Stay with Oakleigh, anyone approaches the car shoots them."

Happy gun in hand got out of the car to stand in front of the back passenger open door. Oakleigh unbuckled herself and slid closer to Happy while trying to locate where Bucky and Steve disappeared to.

There was loud shouting and the sound of metal hitting metal, Oakleigh felt her whole body vibrating as the shock of the hit wore from her.

Steve jumped from the SUV and ran around it to see the F150 that had crashed into them. The driver-side door was ripped hanging half on its hinges, the driver was out and pressed back against the truck bed by Bucky.

After surveying the area Steve felt the threat level hit green as no Hydra operative came into sight.

Bucky growled dropping the man and laying a solid punch to the back end of the truck. Steve walked over to protect the half-unconscious man on the road.

"What happened?" He asked Bucky.

"Is she ok?" Bucky asked, eyes flickering back toward their distorted SUV.

"She's alright, what happened Bucky."

"He's drunk off his ass." Bucky sneered. "Ran the light, he can barely talk."

Steve grabbed the back of Bucky's neck and brought their faces close together. His eyes calculating and emotionless much like when they were first reunited. The eyes of the Winter Soldier.

"This was just an accident, there is no threat. O's ok, go be with her until the team gets here with the second vehicle."

Bucky locked eyes with Steve when the blonde let him go Bucky made his way back over to Oakleigh, ignoring the civilians who started to rush over.

Happy was standing in front of Oakleigh's door, his guns drawn but out of sight from the bystanders.

"There is no threat." He reiterated to Happy what Steve had told him.

Happy nodded stepping to the side so Bucky could access the shaking girl in the back seat.

His warm hand was the first thing she felt, turning quickly in her seat Oakleigh was met with bright blue eyes.

"You ok?" He asked her, pulling her across the seats so she was sitting with her legs out the door.

Oakleigh's palm hit his stomach, pushing him back when she leaned forward. Upper body convulsed as she puked onto the street. Either the alcohol or her fever getting the best of her, considering she only had five drinks threw the night, it was probably the fever.

"Second car is three minutes out." Happy whispered to Bucky, handing him a damn napkin.

Once Oakleigh was empty, Bucky slid into the back seat next to her and pulled her onto his lap. The damn napkin felt amazing against her overheated forehead. Bucky wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his lips to her ear when her head slumped back against his shoulder.

"You're ok, you're ok." He repeated quietly to himself like a mantra until the second vehicle pulled up.

He quickly transferred them into the second car, Wanda and Clint coming with him. Leaving the others back at the crash site.

All the windows were down letting fresh cool air into the back, hopefully cooling Oakleigh's body.

"She's really warm, her fever is spiking. She might need IV fluids once she gets back, I'll text Bruce and let him know. We should not have let her dance for most of the night, it probably made her worse."

"It's not your fault Wanda."

"It's not yours either Barnes."

.

The green silk dress clung to her body by sweat. Bucky carried her to the lab so Bruce could take care of her.

"I'll give her some IV fluids and Wanda can you get a couple of ice packs. We'll put them around her body to bring her core temperature down, her fever has gotten too high. If it continues to go up she could have seizures or it could damage her organs."

"Is she sick?" Bucky asked. "She was tired sleeping a lot the last couple days, she has been a little warm. I thought that was all a part of her body reacclimatizing?"

Bruce grabbed a couple of viles to take some blood before he started administering the medicine.

"I thought it was, Steve is the only person documented after coming out of the ice. He was pumped full of super-soldier serum, Oakleigh is not. We have no clue how her body will react to the changes. That's why I'm going to run a couple of tests on her blood, it will tell us anything we have to know. Hopefully, she's just got a little cold, if there is any more than that I will do everything I can to help her."

Bucky swallowed, pilling up one of the lab stools he settled in beside Oakleigh. He saw Wanda and Bruce moving around them but he kept his eyes firmly on her face. She let out little groans, her forehead frowning when needles were stuck into her hands but she never opened her eyes.

"What happened?" Steve marched in. "Why the hell is she in here?"

Bruce turned away from his computer. "Her fever got too high and given the fact that she was also in a car accident, I'm running some tests. We're using ice packs and IV fluids to cool her body down."

He pulled up a stool beside his best friend and sat quietly.

After almost an hour of silence, Bruce stood from his table and grabbed the hair on the top of his head and pulled.

"What!?" Bucky snapped, alerted to the rising tension in the room.

"I ah-" He shook his head. "I need to run a couple more tests."

"What does that mean?" Steve asked. He found something.

Bruce stood straighter. "It means I need to run more tests."

"You found something?" Bucky asked. "Spit it out."

"I can't be sure what it is until I run those extra tests."

"But you did find something." He wanted to cry. "Hydra did do something to her."

"Her DNA is showing irregularities, something I didn't find during the first round of bloodwork we did when Oakleigh first got here. I don't know what it is or who it's from, but yes, if I were to take a guess I would assume Hydra is behind this."

Tears collected in his eyes as Bruce turned away, he hunched over Oakleigh's body and inhaled that vanilla and peppermint smell that always seemed to cling to her skin after all these years.

"She's right here Buck, you can't fall apart yet."

"I can't lose her Steve."

Steve felt his eyes sting as he looked down at the back of his best friend's head. "Banner didn't say anything about her dying."

"Touch her! Her body is almost warm enough to burn." He lifted his head off her. "They did something. I'm an idiot to think that they wouldn't, to trust his word. Look at what is happening to her, I should have fucking let her go to Germany."

Steve's eyebrows jumped. "Wow, ok. Listen to me. This is not your fault. All this rage and guilt you're feeling direct it at Hydra, not yourself. Oakleigh hasn't been feeling well for a couple of days, no one would have known this wasn't more than just the flu."

"But we should have! We keep thinking they're gone or that they can't get to us anymore, why? All we do is underestimate them and all they do is show us they are not to be underestimated."

"I know it seems that way."

"I want her gone, Steve."

"What do you mean?"

Bucky sat up full taking his hands off of her. "As soon as she wakes up and we know she's ok, I want her sent somewhere safe."

A hushed silence fell over the room as Steve took in Bucky's words.

"She's not going to want to go."

"I not giving her a damn choice. She can hate me forever for all I care but I'm not going to let her stay here to die."

"Tonight's been a rough night. I think you should sleep on that plan."

"Call Stark, hell I'll send her to Asgard. I'm not going to move on this Steve. She can come back once Hydra is dead."

"We don't know when that be Buck. Do you think either of you will be happy separated from each other like that? I bet you'll spend most of that time worrying and thinking about her, wondering if she's really safe. You'll be distracted and you don't know that sending her away with being the right choice."

"I know that the last time I kept her with me she got captured and injected with god knows what, assaulted and held captive for years. She has suffered enough."

"Why don't you let her make that decision." Bucky shook his head. "The circumstances are different this time. You and I, we can protect her. O also has a whole team here would who step up for her. I'm not saying you can't send her away I'm just asking you to think on this for a couple of days, don't decide anything until you get a chance to talk to her."

Bucky's eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. The boys fell into silence, both focusing in on the girl before them. Each taking one of her warm hands in theirs. Her body had started to cool thanks to the ice packs, but she was still way warmer than a human should be.

.

11 hours and her beautiful eyes fluttered open. People had come and gone but Bucky and Steve had stayed by her side. Bruce had also come and gone. Replacing her IV bags and switching out ice packs. The room remained quiet the rest of the time.

Steve wanted to talk more with Bucky, but it was better to let the man think. Bucky was stubborn, and he already heard everything Steve had to say. The blonde needed to give him a chance to think it over.

Oakleigh had cooled and since had a blanket placed over her, though they kept the icepacks in place. The last thing they needed was her temperature spiking again.

Bucky passed out with this head resting on her hand. So he missed the exact moment it happened, but Steve saw her eyelids flutter and then peel back the lids.

"Welcome back." He said softly.

"Steve." She looked to her other side, she could feel Bucky's slow breath on the back of her hand.

"He just went out, I think his emotions caught up with him."

She frowned, "How's he doing?"

Steve looks down, "I thank my lucky stars every day that you were not one of the memories he recovered when he got away from Hydra. I don't think he could have survived with the memory of you without being able to have you. He's upset, Banner found an anomaly in your blood. The only place it could have come from is Hydra."

"Jeez." Oakleigh looked sadly over at her boyfriend. "Do you know that it is?"

"I texted Tony, asked him to keep Banner from the lab. I'm sure he's got the answer by now but I thought it was best Bucky heard the news when you were beside him and contious."

"Probably a good call. Well, I'm feeling a lot better now so whatever is wrong with me is treatable."

"I really hope so." He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "A world without Okaleigh Blake is just too bleak."

"Meh, has to happen sometime. So my fever and the tiredness is from whatever Hydra did to me."

"Yeah, I think so. Do you remember them ever doing or talking about experimenting on you?"

"No." Oakleigh rubbed her forehead. "I mean way back in the beginning after they started putting Bucky on ice they had injected me with something that burned like a bitch on the way in. They said they were prepping me for a 'long nap'. I assume whatever they gave me was going to help once they put me in cyro too. Maybe they lied, wouldn't be the first time."

"Whatever it is we'll help you get threw it."

"I know, I just hope if they changed my DNA I get something cool like Wanda."

Steve shook his head, she was unbelievable. "I don't think they were that advanced in the '40s."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway. Being able to hold a bus over my head isn't as impressive when you, Bucky, Dr. Banner and Tony can do it too."

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fever was just a fluke and whatever Banner found was nothing consequential."

In the silence, Steve thought about talking to Oakleigh about what Bucky had said, what he planned to do. In the end, he thought better of it. She was still healing and he wanted to give his friend the chance to change his mind and not send her away, or at least attempt to. God knows Oakleigh would not be going quietly, if anything she was the type of person to lay down her life to save everything. They were both incredibly annoyingly similar that way.

"I love you, Steve."

He grasped her hand kissing her knuckles, "Back at you. You should sleep a couple more hours, at least while Bucky is. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."

Oakleigh's eyes widened, "Oh my god I completely forgot about the crash, what the hell was that?"

"Drunk driver," Steve grumbled.

"Seriously?" She chuckled. "Well, that's unexpected."

"He ran the red and Happy tried to get us out of the way but it was already too late and the driver was going too fast."

"What a dumb ass."

Bucky shifted beside her. "Don't call Steve names O, he's sensitive."

His grave voice startled both of them out of their quiet conversation, Bucky straightened up and looked her over. She was covered in a warm blanket and Wanda had come and put her hair up in a messy bun sometimes threw the night. They thought about changing her, but her dress was shot and made of a cool material if anything it added in cooling her fevered body.

Bucky flatted some baby hairs off her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." She reassured him. "I'd say the fever broke. I'm still pretty tired but I assume it's from the adrenaline crash after last night's accident."

Steve stood. "I'm going to call Bruce, have him come check you out."

Oakleigh lowered her voice and put on a fake serious face. "Steve, Bucky's literally right here."

Steve chuckled and lightly pushed her shoulder before moving away from them to call.

"You doing ok?" She grimaced. "I have a faint memory of puking on your shoes."

Bucky's eyes tracked her face and he refused to let go of her hand. "Me or my shoes are the last things you should be worrying about."

"You do worry enough for all of us. Which is exactly why I do worry about you, if you weren't a super soldier you would have had like seven heart attacks by now."

"Steve told you."

Oakleigh looked up into his eyes, serious and a hard blue. "He said Bruce found something in my bloodwork, that does not necessarily mean anything bad."

"Probably doesn't mean anything good."

She leaned over placing a chased kiss on his cheek. "Let's save the freak out until we know for sure ok?"

Bucky shook his head looking up at Steve as he rejoined them. The blonde sat back down, looked between the two.

"Bruce will be up soon, he and Tony were working on something outside."

"Cool." Oakleigh nodded, feeling a weird silence fall over them. "What should we do till then? Cause I for one would like to get rid of whatever the hell is between my legs right now."

When she reached under the blanket and pulled out a long thawed ice pack she frowned at it then looked at Steve.

"Hey look it's you when they found you and thawed you out in New York."

The joke hitting so funny and out of the left-field, Steve could not help but laugh.

"Oh, you're hilarious."

"I like to think so." She smiled. "Even Bucky thinks so."

It was true, he found a small smile forming on his lips as the two people he loved most laughed together.

"You're both idiots." He told them lovingly.

"I agree." Tony entered the lab followed by Bruce. "but why specifically this time?"

Oakleigh rolled her eyes setting the ice pack down on top of the blankets. Sitting up and crossing her legs under her Oakleigh realized she was still in her dress from the previous night. A small shiver rippled down her spine.

"What did you find?" Bucky asked noting the way Bruce was avoiding his calculating eyes.

Oakleigh turned to Bucky pulling his hand into her lap. "Bruce?"