Come Back With Me

She Died, Didn't She?

Steve is laying on the couch when he hears the door open.

He jumps up just as Bucky turns the corner.

"Did you find her?" Steve asks urgently.

"Yeah, Steve I found her," Bucky says sadly.

Steve chooses to ignore his tone. He looks behind Bucky trying to find Lizzie.

"Well where is she?" Steve asks.

Steve already knows what he's going to say. He's known for hours what Bucky was going to say.

"Maybe you should sit down," Bucky suggests.

He can see Steve is still very sick and worries he might collapse when he tells him what happened.

"No. Where is Elizabeth, Bucky?" Steve demands.

"She's at the hospital. Your mother is with her now," he says.

He expects Steve to break down and cry. What he doesn't expect is Steve to shove him.

"You were supposed to look out for her today! I told you something was wrong and you didn't want to listen. Now my little sister is in the hospital because you thought there was a different explanation. Why else wouldn't she be at school, huh? You knew she wouldn't be at home and you wasted time. You could have saved her. She wouldn't be in the hospital if you would have just listened to me!" Steve yells.

"I know," Bucky admits.

The fight goes out of Steve at that confession. He wants to stay angry because it's easier than facing the fear of what might happen to her.

"She died, didn't she?" Steve asks.

Bucky is quick to reassure him.

"No, she's alive. She was okay when I left the hospital," Bucky says.

At least he thinks she's fine. They wouldn't actually update him on her condition.

"That's not what I meant. She died but they saved her, right? Call it a freaky twin thing but it felt like a part of me died for a second," Steve says.

Bucky is so shocked it takes him a minute to respond.

"She stopped breathing when I was holding her. They resuscitated her in the ambulance but she flatlined on the way," Bucky explained.

Steve nods his head as silent tears roll down his face.

"I know it's insane but I felt it. It was the worst feeling in the entire world," he says.

Bucky disagrees instantly because he knows the worst feeling in the world is having someone you care about die in your arms and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

"I believe you. Can you tell me if she's okay now? They couldn't actually tell me anything before I left the hospital," Bucky says.

"Yeah, she's okay. I don't think she's in pain right now or at least I hope she isn't," Steve explains.

Bucky sighs in relief. She's okay.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Steve asks.

Bucky begins to tell him every detail of the day. He doesn't break down again because he knows he needs to be strong for Steve.

"I'm sorry for blaming you. I don't have anyone to blame yet and you were in easy target," Steve apologizes.

Bucky hasn't had a chance to consider how Ellie ended up in her condition. It hadn't occurred to him yet that it had been someone else who had hurt her. It's obvious now, she didn't bash her own head into the wall.

Whoever did this better hope that he never finds out they're responsible.

"It's okay pal. We don't usually act rationally when our loved ones are hurt. I can't imagine how bad it must have felt for you to feel she died," Bucky says.

"You saved her life," Steve says.

"I know, but maybe I wouldn't have had to if I had got there sooner," Bucky says.

Steve quickly shakes his head.

"She never showed up to school. This happened hours before you found her. Even if you went searching for her the minute you left the house this morning, you still wouldn't have found her in time," Steve says.

He knows Steve is right but it still doesn't take away the guilt.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, both thinking about Elizabeth Rogers.

"Can we go to the hospital?" Steve asks.

Bucky wants to say yes but he remembers that Sarah asked him to keep Steve home.

"In the morning. The doctors are probably still with her and you're still sick," Bucky says.

"I feel fine," Steve says quickly.

He knew the only way to get Steve to relent was to play the Ellie card.

"She's already in poor condition and you wouldn't want to get her sick on top of that," Bucky says.

He feels guilty for using this against Steve but he knows that it's the only way to keep him in the house.

"Okay, but I want to go first thing in the morning," Steve says.

"Okay, first thing in the morning. Do you think you could eat? A full meal might make you feel a bit better," Bucky says as he remembers the food his mom packed.

"I'll try," Steve says.

Neither of them eat very much. He puts the leftovers in the fridge and turns back to Steve.

"Can you stay tonight?" Steve asks him.

"I was already planning on it. I wouldn't leave you alone after everything that happened," Bucky says.

The boys took the couch cushions off the couch and settled down to go to sleep.

Neither of them slept very much. They both decided to get up when the telephone rang.

Steve answered and found out it was his mom. She gave them the okay to come down to the hospital.

They walked quickly to the hospital and went to the front desk.

Usually only one visitor is allowed at a time and it's only immediate family but there's definitely some perks to having a mom who works at the hospital.

The lady at the front desk recognizes Steve.

"Your sister is in room 103. Your mom is with her now, you can head on it," she says.

"Thanks Betty," Steve says.

He navigates the halls and finds 103. He turns to Bucky.

"I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can see her like that," Steve admits.

Bucky puts a reassuring hand on Steve shoulder.

"I'll be with you the whole time, pal," Bucky says.

This statement gives Steve the courage to open the door.