Avengers: Search for the Winter Soldier

Chapter 32

Title: The Slingshot Effect

Summary: Dr. Golden keeps an eye on Captain Rogers and the man in his charge. Meanwhile, Steve wakes up finding himself unable to move away from Soldat, realizing he's now trapped.

The rampant emotions that had overtaken him in the gym had taken a toll on Steve. The fear he'd felt when he discovered the Soldier missing and the deep concern he'd felt when Soldat panicked and then cowered in fear… and when Soldat burst into tears, Steve couldn't hold his back any longer. He was as wrung out emotionally, as the man wrapped in his arms. He fell asleep against Barnes who was now out cold.

Sam met the team as they strolled up the corridor from the gym. They were taking their time as Emily and Nick were deep in conversation regarding the scene they'd just witnessed and they wanted to give Sam and Steve a chance to settle the Soldier back in bed, so they weren't rushing back. He told Dr. Golden that Steve was requesting her presence and she excused herself to Fury and Hill and followed him to the Soldier's room.

Sam entered first and stopped near the door. He turned to face her and Dr. Golden halted and looked at him, waiting for a sign to enter. Sam raised his arm, gesturing toward the corner of the room directly to the left of the door. Emily stepped in and she caught her breath, surprised to see Captain Rogers sound asleep; wrapped around the Soldier as if shielding him from the world.

"He was awake a minute ago," Sam whispered to her so he didn't disturb them.

Emily nodded and gave Sam a smile. "It's okay," she told him. "This is expected after an overwhelming emotional situation. They're fine. I'll just stay and observe."

Sam got her one of the chairs and set it down quietly a few feet from the door where she had a clear view of the two men in the corner but close enough to the door that she wouldn't be trapped if the Soldier woke up in a violent state. As Emily sat down, her attention was drawn to the doorway. Nick was standing there looking at her and Sam as if waiting to be invited into the room. Emily thought this would be perfect for Nick to see, in order to get a better idea of what they were dealing with as they worked to help Sgt. Barnes shed the Winter Soldier. She gestured for him to enter the room.

Nick stepped through the doorway and looked in the same direction as both Dr. Golden and Sam Wilson. He stilled to see Captain Rogers with his arms wrapped around the one man whose very existence terrified world governments and whose rumored presence would put whole armies on alert. He turned his head to look at Agent Hill standing on the other side of the threshold and then tilted his head in their direction, gesturing for her to have a look. He didn't want to be the only one witnessing this, because no one would believe him if Barnes were to go to trial.

Maria Hill stepped in to stand beside Nick and she too caught her breath as she saw how small the much feared assassin looked curled up in the corner like a terrified child and shielded by Steve's entire body. She finally took a breath and reached out to grab Nick's sleeve. She walked back toward the door, pulling him along with her. Nick followed her guidance and stepped out of the room. The two SHIELD agents stared at one another silently.

"You okay?" Clint asked them and both nodded. "It's been a tough road, but we're making progress… I think."

"Nick?" Tony interjected. "I have more to show you, if you're interested." Fury looked at him and nodded. "Why don't we grab lunch first?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Nick replied. "Hill? You want to join us?"

"Yeah," she said softly and turned to accompany them.

Clint turned to Natasha. "Why don't you go with them in case they have questions about… anything. I'll stay here with Sam and Dr. Golden in case they need me."

Natasha nodded, placed her hand on Clint's forearm with a smile then followed Tony's group to the elevator.

Sometime later, Steve began to stir. He was still leaning heavily against Barnes and using Bucky's head as a pillow. Dr. Golden remained quiet as she watched him wake up. Sam had given up on the molded plastic chair about an hour ago and was stretched out in the corridor with Clint. His arms were crossed behind his head and his eyes were closed – 'just resting them', he'd said – as he kept an ear open to any activity in the room.

Clint looked at Golden now and again from where he sat just outside the door, relaxing against the side wall. He hadn't seen any reason for him to be in the room with them unless or until he was needed. As long as it remained quiet Clint went back to his own thoughts, resting his head against the wall.

Steve yawned and opened his eyes. As he lifted his head from Bucky's a few strands of the Soldier's long hair were caught in the tiny stubble on Steve's chin. It took him a minute, as he looked around the room, to remember where he was and why. He saw Dr. Golden sitting in a chair near the door smiling softly at him. Her legs were crossed and so were her arms on her lap as she leaned forward. Steve looked at her and frowned, a little confused.

Steve shifted his body, now feeling the aches and pains of sitting curled up on the hard floor for – and it did feel like – hours and that's when he became aware of his true position. He looked down at the top of the Soldier's head, now realizing he'd fallen asleep basically on top of the man.

He tried to carefully pull away without waking him, but Steve quickly realized he was pretty much trapped there. When he'd taken Soldat's arm away from his neck, he'd folded it up across Bucky's chest and held it there as he wrapped himself around his distraught friend to give him a sense of safety and to ease the anxiety he was clearly displaying… and that's how they'd fallen asleep. But the Soldier had since pulled himself into a tighter ball and trapped Steve's arm between his body and his drawn up knees and his left arm was caught between the Soldier and the wall - as it was wrapped completely around him.

Realizing he couldn't move without the risk of waking him up, Steve resigned himself to being stuck for the moment and looked over at Golden. She was still smiling at him.

"Are you all right, Captain?" she asked in almost a whisper.

Steve nodded in answer to her question and looked back at the man in his arms. He took a few minutes to really focus on the situation and thought back to the events in the gym. He wondered who it was– exactly – that he was embracing right now. He was certain it wasn't the Winter Soldier who'd fallen asleep in his arms. That Soldier would just as easily break him in half than accept a hug from him, and he prayed that's not who would wake up while he was trapped with his arms still wrapped around him.

He was fairly sure that it was Soldat who had been sitting in front of him in the gym absolutely terrified of being punished. Steve was also certain that it was that version of the Soldier who he had in his arms when they'd fallen asleep. Steve stared at the sleeping profile of his friend and all he could see in that face was Bucky and he wondered if he should even dare to hope that Bucky Barnes had been present at all in the past few hours.

Steve took the opportunity of being this close, to really study the man's face as he slept. He'd seen the files and the video footage. He'd seen, even first hand, the destruction and annihilation of human beings, by the dozens, that the Winter Soldier had caused without batting an eye and he still couldn't bring himself to believe that Bucky Barnes had anything to do with any of it. The James Barnes he'd grown up with was a good fighter, there was no denying that. He was a natural born fighter and he'd even been a local celebrity in the 30's at the neighborhood boxing club. But the one thing James Barnes never was – was cruel or vengeful.

He was a kind person and a gentle soul and Steve was absolutely certain that nobody could destroy that part of Bucky, no matter what they had done to him. Steve touched his forehead to Bucky's temple for just a moment because he wasn't sure if he'd ever get a chance to be this close to him again, once he woke up.

He lifted his head and tried again to pull his right arm out from where it was trapped against Bucky's chest. He moved slowly and carefully, so as not to disturb him but, as he nearly cleared the Soldier's body, he woke up with a gasp. His eyes opened wide as if he'd been shoved out of a bad dream and Steve froze. Then the Soldier shifted his position as if he now registered how uncomfortable he was and turned toward Rogers. Barnes blinked at Steve; not comprehending who he was or where they were. Then he shifted his position and leaned into Steve, freeing his arm from behind his back. As the Soldier curled up against him, Steve took that moment to settle properly onto the floor; his back was now flat against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him with his left arm draped over the Soldier's bare back.

Steve looked to Dr. Golden with uncertainty written across his face. He didn't know what was happening here or if he should be encouraging it. Dr. Golden sat back in the chair and smiled at him. Okay, so the doctor is smiling and looks relaxed. Steve took that as a sign that this was a good thing. He looked down at the top of Bucky's head now resting against his chest and tightened his arm around him. As he did, Barnes or Soldat, whichever one was here with him, pressed tighter against him as if craving the warmth of his body or perhaps just craving the physical embrace he'd been denied for nearly a century. Steve's right hand came up to stroke Bucky's hair and then he rested his hand against the side of his face, thumb stroking his cheek, holding him close, knowing he might never get the opportunity again.

Now that the two men had changed position, Dr. Golden got up and retrieved the blanket that had dropped to the floor when Barnes had bolted away from the bed. He no longer had Captain Rogers' whole body wrapped around him and was now more exposed to the room air. He was still wearing only shorts and the manner in which he curled up into Rogers told her he was feeling chilled and seeking warmth, so she draped the blanket over him and Steve moved his arm out so he could hold it in place. He adjusted the blanket around Barnes, tucking it in around his arms and making sure his legs were covered.

As Emily returned to her chair, Dr. Banner appeared in the doorway, having to step carefully over Sam and Clint as if they were a pair of watchdogs who refused to move. Clint smiled up at him as he completed the obstacle course without stepping on either of them. She paused before sitting down, so she could speak with him as he entered the room. He looked down at the two men and gave Steve a little wave. Steve smiled back.

"I was thinking about giving him another treatment," Bruce told her, keeping his voice low. "But I wasn't sure if we should do it now after what happened in the gym."

Emily nodded; she understood why he was questioning going through with the Soldier's planned schedule. She moved closer to the door so they wouldn't disturb their patient now resting against Steve.

"My first instinct is to wait until he wakes up and we can see what condition he's in. For all we know, he's already worked through that issue. Being a super soldier we know that they metabolize drugs and alcohol four times faster than we do… I just think we should assess him before adding more drugs to his system, especially if he's gotten beyond them already. We wouldn't want to re-introduce drugs to his system if he's already clear of them."

"Good point," Bruce acknowledged. Nodding, he pursed his lips together and then gestured toward the room. "He seems to be doing well at the moment…"

Emily smiled and nodded. "I don't know what I missed in the gym, but I have to say I like what I'm seeing at the moment. I'm not sure how long that type of connection will last when he wakes up… or even how he'll wake up… but it seems like every time he bottoms out, he appears to recover a little further away from the Winter Soldier conditioning."

Bruce nodded, slowly rubbing his hands together thoughtfully. "I noticed that too. Like a… slingshot effect."

Emily thought about that and smiled wider. "That's exactly what it's like." She hadn't thought of it in that particular imagery but Banner was correct.

It really was like a slingshot effect. Each time he was forced into a state of terror and then released from it, he was returned to a state of being that was becoming easier for them to manage and he was beginning to experience profound emotions that he'd probably not been allowed to acknowledge for many decades. It was as if he was being reborn and learning about the world around him as if it, or he, was brand new.