Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Nineteen

~Third Persons POV~

Chaos.

Chaos is the only word that could described the week following Sue, and her attempted death.

The whole Barnes clan had stayed at the Tower whilst Amelie and Bucky began filing for legal action to be taken - and Sue was officially arrested for the murder of Tracey, manslaughter of Eddy, and child neglect. There was a whole list of laws she was breaking by attempting to make contact with D'Arcy, locking her up and not informing the police sooner.

Somehow, River and David had become 'in charge'. A role neither wanted to have.

But Amelie and Bucky were too busy! They were there for their family as much as they could be, but they needed to ensure their family was safe and that meant long court cases and catching up on dinner long after the younger children had gone to bed.

River yawned, and stretched her back slowly as she staggered into the living room. She hadn't slept well, and for the first time she was looking forward to her counselling session back at the Barnes' home, where they were going back to today.

David appeared soon after, scratching at the stubble around his face. He'd slept great, after exhausting himself with entertaining D'Arcy and Owen all evening. His footsteps caught Rivers attention, and she slowly turned around. "Hi."

"Hey." He wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her against his front. She squeezed her arms round his waist, resting her head against his chest. "You okay?"

"Mhmm." She grumbled, tightening her arms a little more. The safety she felt from her soulmate still overwhelmed her at times, and she slowly stepped back. A small smile crept over her face as she blinked up, seeing his cheeky smile directed at her. "Do we need to get the others ready?"

"They're already awake, I asked JARVIS and D'Arcy and Owen are watching telly. I think Amelie and Bucky are going in the next twenty minutes though."

River nodded, and tried to stifle a yawn as she turned back to the kitchen counter, searching for a mug that was clean.

"River?"

"Yeah?" She mumbled, her voice still hoarse from a night spent restless.

"Go back to bed."

"But-"

"Bed."

"We're going home-"

"In two hours time. Go back to bed for an hour, I'll pack and get the kids sorted and then we can go back okay? Just close your eyes and I'll bring you a drink in a bit."

David chewed his lip, trying to figure out if he sounded rude by ordering River to rest. But he was worried about seeing her staggering around, and felt guilty at how awake he felt this morning.

She nodded, and leant over to kiss his cheek as she walked past. "Thank you."

The next two hours were a whirlwind for David. Amelie and Bucky had taken their car, and not wanting to put Tony out, he had rung around to order a taxi. That meant there was a definite time he and the children needed to be ready, but they were unwilling to co-operate.

D'Arcy had barely left Clints side, signing quickly all morning as she knew he understood everything she said without words. Owen was obsessed with Nat, and was asking constant questions now he had finally plucked up the courage to ask how she had learnt "to fight so cool like a ninja".

But they managed it, and soon they were shoved into the small taxi with their bags stuffed in between them.

River rested her head against the seat, glad that David was the brave one who had offered to sit in the front next to the driver. She didn't want to make polite conversation, especially as they seemed quite loud.