Chapter 11
FLASHBACK (attempt AS warning)
Gavin was one of the Army guys under Sargent Riggs. He had shown an interest in Oakleigh, but so had some of the other guys. Gavin was just louder about it. Bucky had noticed once or twice, but Oakleigh always brushed him off, told him it was nothing and not to bother saying anything.
Then come the weeks when Bucky had been taken before Steve made it to camp. Gavin had gotten even more explicit without Bucky and some of the other men there to tell him to know it off or distract him.
Oakleigh took the night shift, looking after a couple of soldiers who were waiting to be taken home so they could heal in a real hospital. The campfire noise was loud, and the sounds of the thunderstorm were rolling in even louder.
Oakleigh stepped outside and moved toward the back of the tent. The days were so hot and muggy that she welcomed the feel of the rain on her skin and the sound of fire fizzling out. She ran her fingers through her hair and shredded her button-up, placing it on the nearby post, hoping it would get a good washing in the rain.
She thought about how if Bucky were here, the two of them would have been tucked away in his tent. No one bothered to venture out of their own tents to disturb anyone else when it was raining.
"Fuck, you're sexy."
Oakleigh slipped, startled. Gavin was leaning back against a tall tree; his eyes zeroed in on her bra that was visible through her soaked tank top. Instinctively Oakleigh crossed her arms over her chest.
"I didn't see you there."
He cocked his head to the side, "I followed you."
Fear sank heavily in her gut. "Are you injured?"
"Naw. I got something you could kiss up on, make it all better."
"Where you off to?" Oakleigh had tried to head around the tent where others would be able to see her.
"I have patients; they need me back inside."
"I just told you I need you."
Oakleigh shook her head, "No." She would not give in to him.
A slimy smile spanned his lips. "No need to be rude. Be a good girl. Why don't ya and get on your knees."
Trying to escape, Oakleigh spun too quickly in the mud and fell onto her ass.
"I was looking forward to bruising that perfect little ass of yours." The jingle of his belt sent bile up her throat.
Oakleigh swallowed it down, the flash of pale flesh set free from dark uniform pants. Getting onto her hands and knees, Oakleigh moved forward, his right boot all she could focus on.
"That's right, crawl for me; I have something for you."
Once she was at his feet, Oakleigh hugged his ankle and fell backward hard. Gavin hollered as he went down, he kicked her in the collar bone, but she did not care. Getting to her feet, Oakleigh got away as fast as possible, leaving Gavin behind.
He had hit his head on the way down, knocking him out cold. A couple of his buddies found him the next morning, dick still out. They teased him relentlessly, thinking he passed out when he went to take a piss or something. Even once Captain America arrived and saved the howling commandos, the returning POWs were just another band of men to share the funny story with.
Oakleigh gagged every time she was around to hear it. She had not told Donna about what had happened; she thought maybe she would report it to protect her. If that happened, she could be sent home before she even found out what happened to Bucky.
She had not planned on telling a soul. She did not have to explain away her bruise either; Bucky came back and was ill and catching up with Steve, so he did not notice she had gotten jumpy. She wore her shirt buttoned all the way up, which Donna commented on, but Oakleigh brushed her off.
It was not till Gavin approached her again that she had to break her silence to save Bucky.
When he was rescued, everyone saw their kiss and interaction in the following weeks. Gavin especially, one day, he just snapped. The camp was full of people, but the clearing by the fire pits was less populated.
Bucky and Steve were sitting talking; Oakleigh went on break and headed straight to them. She never let herself be caught alone; she was always in a public space or with Donna, Steve or Bucky.
Gavin intercepted her, grabbing her bicep with bruising force. She gasped and tried to step away, but he pulled her close to his body. If anyone looked, it could seem like they were just having a private discussion, taking close like that.
"You only get on your knees for Sargents, do you? What about the Captain?"
"You are disgusting." She snarled, with no bravery behind her words. "Who taught you to talk to women like this?"
"I could ask the Captain if he has another one of his spangly outfits. Or maybe I can just write S-G-T in front of my name and get you face down in the mud."
"Let go of me." Her arm began to ache with no blood flowing through it, the skin turning purple.
She had not seen Steve alert Bucky to the scene starting to unfold and draw attention, nor did she see both men get up with Bucky storming toward them.
Gavin guided the arm he held captive toward his pants; her hand brushed his dick. Oakleigh jerked with all her might, but he did not let go. That was when Bucky reached him.
"The hell do you think you're doing, Dillard?" Bucky wedged between them, shoving the man to back him up.
Oakleigh yelped, forced to stumble with him. Gavin looked at her and then slowly released his vice grip on her while looking at Bucky. Oakleigh could not help her gasps as the blood rushed pins and needles down her fingers.
"What am I doing? Why don't you ask that pretty little mouth who she was sucking last week."
Bucky swung hard. His knuckles split on the first blow, but he broke a nose and knocked loose another couple of teeth before Steve got in between them. Everyone within the camp ran toward the crowd to see what was happening.
Gavin was groaning, twitching on the forest floor. Bucky was fighting Steve's hold on him, glaring at the injured soldier. Oakleigh was shaking, holding back her tears.
She may be in a war, but she had never seen anything like the violence Bucky just displayed. His hair was in his face, chest heaving, blood dripping from his knuckles.
"What the hell is going on here? Barnes! What the fuck." The general looked at the battered man on the ground. "Someone get him to medical."
Gavin was hauled to his feet; Bucky stepped at him. The general grabbed the front of Bucky's shirt and threw him into the crowd.
"Get your ass in my tent Sargent!" Steve looked at Oakleigh, taking in her frightened face.
Her eyes were glued to the blood that had fallen from Gavin's mouth and now stained the moss. Donna hollered for her then, needing assistance.
Steve watched as she seemed to move mindlessly, fumbling through the crowd. Bucky had told him that Donna and Oakleigh were best friends; he now had to focus on his best friend. Donna would help Oakleigh.
"He was hurting her!" Bucky was insisting when Steve stepped into the tent. "His friggin hand print is probably already bruised on her arm."
"Save it! One of my Sargents goes around punching officers; we are fighting a damn war Barnes. I don't give two shits about your messy little threeways or fights about your girlfriend."
"Dillards a fucking jackass. He's been harassing her and Donna since he got here."
Sargent Rigs barged in right behind Steve.
"The fuck Barnes, Donna said you damaged Dillard's eye socket. That could mean permanent damage if they can't stabilize him long enough to be sent home. Not to mention the broken nose and missing a couple of teeth." So much damage with so few hits.
"He's lucky that's what he got off with!" Bucky snapped. "How was Oakleigh?"
Sargent Riggs looked at him in shock. "She's fucking fine, Barnes! She wasn't the one just beat to the ground."
"I'm stripping you of your-"
"Just hold on." Steve interrupted the general. "We don't even know the whole story."
"Your second party is knocked out cold, and Sargent Barnes here doesn't have a leg to stand on."
Steve raised his hand toward the med tent, "Oakleigh was directly involved. She could provide some insight."
"I'll get her." Bucky needed to see her; he saw her trying to hold back tears earlier.
"I don't think so, sit!" The general pointed to a chair. "Riggs, go grab her."
Bucky's arms were crossed tightly over his chest; he thought over the last five minutes. He heard Oakleigh whimper in pain and what that asshole had implied. Why were they talking so close like that? What could they possibly have to say to each other?
Oakleigh was not like that; the men always made passes at her, and she always brushed them off. Never once seemed interested, but she had done the same when he first approached her, hadn't she? Brush him off until she didn't.
Bucky wanted to be sick for even thinking like that. He was so in love with her he wanted to marry her as soon as they got home. He knew her; she would never have done something like that. He thinks he might just die of heartbreak if she had cheated on him.
"General." Oakleigh greeted as she entered the tent.
Bucky shot up, walking over to her, not missing the way she leaned back from him ever so slightly. Steve noticed too.
"Are you OK?" There was blood on her hands and a little on her shirt.
Bucky cupped her cheek. He felt his heart flutter when she leaned into the touch, but she was not looking him in the eyes.
Oakleigh turned to face the general, scared she would be sent home for causing problems in camp.
"You called?"
"Can you tell me why one of my Sargents just beat the hell outta one of my soldiers?" Oakleigh felt the bile rising in her throat again. "The Sargent's made some claims on your behalf. He says Dillard has made inappropriate comments toward you before."
"He has."
"The Sargent said he stepped in today because he saw Dillard hurting you. Is that what happened?"
How could she explain their encounter? "We were arguing. He got mad and grabbed my arm."
"That's all he did?" The general prompted. "Sargent Barnes, you're about five seconds from planting landmines on the barge."
Steve spoke up, feeling how uncomfortable Oakleigh was. "He shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"You put one of my men out of commission because jealous your little girlfriend is looking else-wear. I want him stripped of his rank-"
"Stop. He was just protecting me!"
The General could not be serious; he would strip Bucky of his rank and send him out with the criminals to plant landmines. She would not let Bucky get into trouble and lose his station.
"Bucky knew that Gavin had tried to assault me last week. He would have succeeded if I hadn't tripped him in the mud and knocked him out. That's why he looked like that the morning the guys found him." Everyone knew the morning she was talking about; the story circled the camp enough times. "Bucky wanted to do the right thing and report it; I begged him not to. When he saw Gavin grab me this afternoon, he acted in defence of me."
Everyone looked a little wide-eyed at what she had just revealed. Bucky was calm like a storm, his fists clenched behind his back as new information was leaked to him. Oakleigh knew she needed to tell the truth, Bucky had messed up Gavin badly, and he would have been seriously punished for acting out without just cause.
"Is this true?" The general turned to Bucky.
Not able to speak through the rage, he nodded robotically.
"Miss Blake, I apologize that your safety was endangered here in this camp. I want you to know there will be charges brought against officer Dillard."
Not knowing how to respond to that, she said. "Donna needs help setting his nose and dealing with the other injuries; I need to head back."
"O!" Bucky snapped.
Steve placed a solid hand on his friend's shoulder, "Sir, Miss Blake shouldn't have to work on the Soldier who-"
"Donna can't do it all by herself; I'm fine to help her."
Bucky grabbed her hand, refusing to let her selflessly go and heal the man who attacked her.
The General took in the scene, "Sargent Riggs, go assist Donna, then report back to me."
"Yes, sir." He left the tent.
"The rest of you are dismissed."
Steve held the tent flap open as they walked out. The sun was still high in the sky; many days were left, and a lot of work still needed to be done. The warm solid hand grasping hers needed her attention before she would be free to do anything else.
"I'll leave you two alone," Steve said, awkwardly walking away from them.
Knowing no one would be over by the tanks at this time of day, Bucky led her there silently. Once they were away from the crowd, Bucky still did not let go of her hand.
"Can I see your arm?"
Oakleigh unbuttoned her work shirt, pulling her left sleeve off her shoulder. Bucky frowned, eyes blazed as he took in the new bruises.
"His boot caught my shoulder when I tripped him." She explained away the purple and green bruises.
Bucky reached out like he wanted to see if he could rub the ugly colour from her skin. He dropped his hand before making contact, not wanting to hurt her more than she had already been.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Honestly? "I was trying to prevent a scene like today from happening. You were injured, and I was just so happy you were alive. I didn't want to ruin it by telling you about it. I figured by the time things settled down, the bruises would have been gone, and I could have had time to have gotten over it."
Bucky balked at her. "People don't just get over-. What happened?"
He realized he did not know. In the Generals tent, Oakleigh said he 'tried to assault' her. What parameter did the attempt at assault cover exactly?
"He said some disgusting things, and yea, I was afraid because I knew what was coming." Oakleigh rebuttoned her shirt. "He never touched me. He didn't get the chance to do anything."
"I'll make sure to submit a report as well-"
"You scared me today."
Bucky stopped, looking up into her eyes.
"I've never seen you like that. You really hurt him, James."
"Good." Bucky took her hand. "I'm sorry that I scared you, but I am not sorry for putting someone down for hurting you. Cause I will never be that guy who just stands by and watches while the world hurts you."
PRESENT DAY
After her talk with Steve, Oakleigh was feeling a bit better about things. She spent her days at school and her nights with Bucky. She knew he would be leaving soon enough to take down another branch of Hydra.
"See you in a couple of hours."
Bucky slipped his hands down the silk cloth wrapping her waist. Oakleigh was dressed up to go out with Natasha and Wanda, the girls had been gone all week, and now that they were back, they wanted to go out.
"Be safe and text me."
"Last time I went out, I had a dangerously high fever and got into a drunk driving accident. Tonight will be a piece of cake." She teased him.
"You are accident-prone. I'm going to ask stark to build a vibranium bubble for you to live in."
Oakleigh cupped his hands, sliding them back up her waist, "If I were trapped away in a bubble, you wouldn't be able to touch me anymore."
Bucky sighed, eyes trailing over her body. "I'd get in there with ya."
Oakleigh laughed, hugging him around the waist. He hugged her back, nose buried into her hair. He took a couple of deep breaths; he loved her smell. It was so light and subtle, with no perfume or flowery smells that many people bathed in nowadays.
Once she was on her way with the girls, Bucky switched gears, there was a mission coming up, and he wanted to go over the plan with Steve and Sam.
"Buck, has O left yet?"
Steve met him in their hallway; he looked like he was in a rush.
"She left with the girls a couple of minutes ago. Why?"
Steve pulled out his phone calling Natasha. "You guys need to come back. Now."
"What's going on?" Bucky's heart raced.
"Go get the girls and bring them up to the conference room," Steve told him, distracted.
"What happened?"
"I don't have all the information yet; I'll see you in a few minutes." Steve wanted a little extra time to prepare for the fallout.
The group sat around the table, the girls in their fancy dresses noticing that Stark and Clint were both missing.
Steve caught Oakleigh's eye, trying to give her a heads up so she could prepare for what was coming. He watched the colour drain from her face and then the nervous way her eyes scanned Bucky. It was clear Bucky knew nothing yet but was suspicious and anxiously awaiting the information Steve had for them.
"You all know we've had a trace going trying to pinpoint Owen Ozwald's location. Earlier this afternoon, we got a hit and video confirmation verifying it." Bucky pulled out his phone, frowning at the lack of notifications on the screen. "Stark and Clint have gone with a team of agents to apprehend him."
Oakleigh sucked on her bottom lip, watching how Bucky slowly lowered his phone and glared at Steve. The blonde looked anywhere but their side of the table, no doubt avoiding Bucky for as long as he could.
Sam looked from Bucky to Steve and then settled on Oakleigh. Bucky had been talking with him for months about being on that mission to retrieve Ozwald; from the look on the Sargents face, he had not been notified of the situation.
"Where is he?" Bucky demanded, standing up.
Steve turned to him. "Tony and Clint will handle-"
"That's not what I asked!"
Oakleigh reached out for Bucky; he did not let her touch calm him, not this time. He was pissed. How could his best friend not come and get him? Steve knew how bad he wanted to be on that mission. The fact that he sent Stark and Barton. He, Steve, Sam and Natasha had been the ones to handle anything Hydra.
"He's in Vienna." Bucky started to move, "They left three hours ago; you won't be able to-"
Bucky turned on him, "Why did you not come and get me? You knew they were leaving. Don't tell me you didn't."
"Bucky." Oakleigh wanted to calm him; he should not be getting mad at Steve.
The others around the table sat quietly, watching the fight unfold.
"It's better for everyone this way," Steve told him. "It's a little too close to the vest."
"It's all personal, Steve! It's never stopped us before."
"Ok, ok." Oakleigh moved around Bucky so she could stand between him and Steve, "Look, I asked Steve to keep you out of it."
Bucky's eyes had been narrowed in on Steve and slowly moved downward till he met hers. He looked just as angry but now a little hurt too.
"What?"
"If you kill him, it would just be murder. Not fallout from a mission, not a hazard of the job. You would have murdered him. After everything you went through with T'Challa, the council isn't going to be as forgiving with sentencing a second time around. You are already on probation working here. You also just shouldn't have to." Her eyes fluttered, her emotions getting the best of her. "I don't want you to have to see his face, hear whatever unkind things you know he's going to say to try and torture you. If you killed him, they would lock you up, take you away."
Bucky stared at her; he was furious. He had no notifications, which meant that Steve and Oakleigh tampered with FRIDAYS settings. They had obviously talked behind his back and decided this on their own without talking to him about it. His rational brain tried to remind him that Oakleigh had tried, and he ignored her. Steve tried to speak to him about it also with a similar result.
Needing to get away from them, Bucky clenched his fists and stormed out without a word. He heard Oakleigh call after him; he listened to her footsteps which stopped abruptly. Steve was probably holding her back. As he reached the stairs at the end of the hallway, he heard two sets of footsteps coming after him. No doubt Sam and Steve.
"Bucky, wait!" Steve called to him.
Bucky whirled on him; he wanted to punch the blonde right in the face. No matter the time and changes to his body, Bucky still saw the best friend he had grown up with. Keeping his fists at his sides, Bucky stared and waited.
"What are you going to do?"
"Can't really do anything, can I? I'm pissed at you, and I'm pissed at O. I feel bad for walking out and being mad at her; this should be about her and how she's feeling about all this. All I can think about these last four months is finding him before he found her and what I'd do to him once I did. I can't go after him, and even if I did, Stark would get there first, so I'm going to the gym to hit something."
He did not wait for a reply; Bucky took off toward the gym. He hoped that if he took out enough of his aggression on a punching bag, he could work through this burning hot betrayal in his gut.
He stayed in the gym for the next five hours until he was physically exhausted. Then he went outside to run the trail in the woods; pushing his body was not something new to him.
.
Oakleigh crossed her arms over her chest; standing at the kitchen window, she watched Bucky jog into the woods. It was almost four in the morning; the sun would be up soon. Steve walked up behind her, setting a comforting hand on her mid-back.
"You alright?"
"How close are they?"
"Another five hours till they touch down. They'll be taking him directly to the raft from Vienna. Better for everyone that way."
"If they take him down. Vienna is what? A fourteen-hour flight? If he showed his face after all this time, what makes you think it was an accident."
Steve turned her around, caressing her shoulder softly. "You let us worry about that."
"He's Ex-Hydra Steve." Somehow that made him scarier in her books.
"He's just a man, O. He's not invincible."
"He's a demented man with nothing to lose." She looked back out the window to the Forrest Bucky had disappeared into.
They had so much at stake.
