Thunder Wolf [B.Barnes]

Chapter 11

Fern sat on the floor beside the Thunderbird, watching the monitors. She glanced at the bird seeing that it was already watching her. "You know, shit like this wouldn't happen if you'd talk to me," Fern scoffed, staring into the Thunderbird's golden eyes. It didn't make a sound, only continuing to stare at her.

"What did you show him? It must have been something special if Bucky was that determined to get himself killed," Fern sighed, hoping for an answer. "I don't know why I'm here. You'll never talk to me." She stood to her feet and grabbed the table next to her as she did, Fern was nowhere near strong enough to be moving around, but she didn't care.

"You should be in bed," Tony's voice came from behind her, and his hands grabbed her arms to steady her.

"I'm fine," Fern rolled her eyes as Tony walked her over to the bed to sit on. Tony sat next to her, taking off his glasses. "You know, it almost feels like yesterday. We were in this damn lab being poked and prodded, tested on, almost killed."

"Unlike Hydra, I am here to help you," Tony sighed, resting a hand on her knee. "How do you honestly feel? I'm not leaving until you give me an answer that I'll believe."

Fern sighed, knowing that Tony could read her lies easily if he tried. "I feel like shit. Like I've been ripped apart and placed back together wrong." Fern rested her head on Tony's shoulder. "Did that bastard leave? Because that would make me feel a hell of a lot better."

"He did, and he was warned not to return, or we would let you kill him next time." Tony chuckled. "You know, Thor isn't a bad guy, right? Loki is a little questionable." Fern smiled at Tony's poor joke.

"I know that, but that doesn't mean I don't hate him for trying to kill me twice."

"If he would have known it was going to hurt you as well, he never would have attacked the Thunderbird. Where he's from, creatures like this are a danger to people; he was only doing what he thought was right." Tony reminded her. "If you want me to be honest, I would have attacked it as well if you hadn't told us."

"He never gave me the chance to tell him," Fern rubbed at her eyes, feeling what little energy she had gained begins to leave her.

"Come on, kiddo, you're due for a nap. You've got a visitor to keep you company while you sleep," Tony laid Fern back in the bed before helping Ryker climb onto the bed next to her. "Someone will be around with dinner in a couple of hours." Tony pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the infirmary.

"Is he mad at me?" Fern asked Ryker; the wolf whined, resting his head on her hip. "I figured. Do you think he's going to come and see me any time soon?" Ryker whined again, and Fern closed her eyes, knowing it was best to end the conversation. She was only going to get answers she didn't want.

"Come on, doll; we're going to be late." Bucky laughed, standing outside of the bathroom waiting on Fern.

"Oh, boo hoo, late for another one of Tony's parties. Isn't this like the tenth one this year, and it's only April," Fern rolled her eyes, walking out of the bathroom smiling at a nicely groomed Bucky. "Well, don't you clean up nicely."

Bucky smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist. "And don't you look absolutely stunning? The flower crown was a nice touch," He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Tony can buy the most expensive dress in the world, and I would still do my best to feel like me in a crowd of people who think they're better than everyone else." Ferm smiled, pecking Bucky's cheek.

"Whatever you want, doll. All I know is that everyone will be jealous because I've got the most beautiful dame on my arm." Bucky chuckled, pulling her from their room and into the elevator.

"I would say the same about you, but Steve has America's ass and, that's a hard one to pass up," Fern smirked as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Ha, ha, very funny. You know you can't keep your hands off of me." Bucky grinned at people as they walked through the crowds. Fern was always shocked at how well Bucky did with the groups of people at Starks parties, he was still quiet and broody, but the way he smiled was different from how he smiled at her. It is almost fake, but a proud smile, like as Bucky says, he's showing off what's his.

"There you two are," The pair were greeted by Wanda, who happily hugged them, "Tony was just asking about it." She told them.

"Oh wonderful, where's Nat? I need a drink." Fern laughed, rolling her eyes. "Your dress is beautiful. Did Vision pick it out?"

"He did indeed." Wanda grinned, looking to where Vision stood, talking to Steve close to the bar, "You'll find almost everyone around the bar. I believe Nat's making drinks to keep from having to talk to too many people."

"Meaning she's trying to drink as much as possible to forget most of this night is happening," Bucky laughed, wrapping his free arm around Wanda's shoulders. "We should join them, hopefully before Tony finds us." The trio laughed as they walked through people smiling and saying hello some as they passed.

"Fern!" Was called from the bar, and Natasha grinned, holding a glass out to her. "You're favorite because here comes Tony," Natasha said as Fern took the drink, taking a long sip of it.

"Bucky, Fern, there's my favorite wilderness couple," Tony exclaimed, walking over to them. He flung his arm around Fern's shoulder, causing her to spill her drink nearly. "How's our birdy friend doing? Shot down any new planes?"

"Tony," Fern warned him, looking around the room, thankfully there was no one close enough who didn't know about the Thunderbird. "Well, and no, she has not."

"That's good, that's good. But, you know, I thought that maybe it was time for us to have another visit; it's been a while." Tony grinned, taking a drink from the bar. "We need to do some testing on the area again to make sure nothing's going on."

"I would know if something's going on, Tony, sort of how my powers work." Fern sighed. She caught Steve and Bucky watching her and Tony; they laughed when seeing she had caught them. "If you'll excuse me for a minute, Tony, there are a few people I haven't gotten to speak to yet." Fern quickly ducked out from under Tony's arm and walked over to her laughing friends as soon as she could.

"He seems overly happy to see you today; what did he ask you this time?" Steve laughed, hugging her as she approached him.

"He asked about the bird, flat out. Asked if she had shot down any planes recently." Fern groaned, turning to hug Sam and Vision next. "He also talked about coming for a visit soon, and I wanted to find your shield and bash my head in with it."

"You'd still be the prettiest dame in the room," Bucky whispered to her as she moved to stand next to him. Fern rolled her eyes, slapping his arm.

"So what are the chances some of us could come out for a visit? We could use a break once in a while." Sam smiled.

"Your bird is doing just fine Sam, he came by the house yesterday," Fern shook her head, knowing what Sam wanted to hear. "But anytime you want to come by, just let me know."

"Forget them. Leave Bucky here. We need some girl time. I swear they're going to drive us crazy," Natasha smirked, walking over with Wanda. "Clint also wanted me to ask if he could bring the kids around soon; they haven't stopped talking about the last time they were there."

"The Thunderbird can only handle so many people around at once. So you'll all have to take turns. Groups no bigger than five, you know the rules." Bucky held his hand up to stop everyone from continuing to ask. "You push the bird; vacation gets ruined."

"It's been such a nice summer, we went swimming the other day, and last week we had a picnic in the flower field," Fern grinned, remembering how the warm summer sun felt on her skin days ago. Of course, when they came to New York, it had to be raining.

"Fern, doll, time to wake up," Bucky said, turning to her with a sad smile. "Come on, doll; it's time."