Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Forty-Three

Sydney lounges in her bed back at the bunker, an empty blood bag on the bedside table. She clicks away at her laptop, news on the 'Avengers' on the screen. She's been keeping track as best she can, as best as anyone can with the state of the world right now. She was lucky. She, Sam, Dean, and Castiel were untouched by the Snap, or whatever they are calling it. But that's not really what she worries about, she wants news, specific news. Bucky news. Not really all that surprising that the news isn't worried about him though, not when Captain America himself was dusted. That makes all the news stations. Even now. It seems like the rest of the original Avengers, the founding members, are alive and off doing things for the governments, trying to help the world adjust. But little of anyone else. She sighs and closes the laptop. With her bad luck, Bucky will likely be one of the victims.

"Hey" Dean greets from the doorway, she looks at him. He holds up a blood bag. "Hungry?"

"Urm...stuffed actually" She answers, he hums and looks down at all the empty blood bags on the floor. She'd gotten rather ravished after coming back. She was starving. Amara left her starving.

"Yeah, yeah, you really went through them...." He comments and gives her a look. He then leans up and heads into the room as she sits up a little, pushing her laptop aside. "It's been kind of weird here, right? With Mom being back" He sits on the bed with her.

"I don't know" She answers. "How is one supposed to act after being dead for 30 odd years?" He looks at her and she raises an eyebrow at him, He lets out a breath and nods a little. She has him there. Who knows what is normal for that sort of experience. "You gotta give her time, Dean....it's going to be weird....to her, a few days ago...we were four years old...and Sam was still a baby....she blinks and we're grown up, and her whole life is just...poof....gone" Dean looks at her sadly and nods. "Any news on Sam yet?"

"No" He answers. "I just wanted to poke my head in before I get back to it"

"You don't need to worry about me" She counters. "I'm okay. Amara, she....she left me in pretty good shape"

............

Sydney bites into a slice of bacon as she cooks for Dean and Mary, if she's interested in a big breakfast. She likes cooking simply because it gives her something to do, to keep her mind off of everything else going on. Dean touches the small of her back and then steals a slice of bacon from the bacon, humming happily to himself as he heads to the table where his laptop is set up. He types away as he looks into where Sam could possibly be when Mary walks into the kitchen, joining them.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" Dean asks her.

"I had dreams all night" Mary admits.

"Good dreams?" Dean asks, Mary shrugs a little and takes the offered plate from Sydney.

"Stuff I'd forgotten about. Funny stuff your dad did. He was a great father" Mary offers, Sydney clenches her jaw a little because that is not how she remembers it. She is never going to agree with that statement. Ever. Dean glances at Sydney who turns back to the stove so she doesn't say something she'll regret. Mary is still adjusting, just as she told Dean, hearing how her kids really feel about John won't help her. But she fully believes that the way John was with her, directly led to her miscarriage all those years ago. Dean then looks at his cell phone as it rings before he picks it up.

"Hey, Cass, what do you got?" Dean asks.

"I think I may have found Sam's location" Castiel answers. "It's a farm. It appears empty, but it was rented two weeks ago to a woman with an English accent"

"Did you have a look inside?" Dean asks.

"No No, it's – it's powerfully warded"

"Powerfully warded? Okay, see, bud, that – that was your headline right there"

"Are we still discussing the same thing?" Castiel whispers.

"Where are you?" Dean asks.

"I'll text you the address" Castiel offers.

"Okay, got it. We're on our way" Dean counters and then hangs up. Mary stands from her seat.

"I'll get my coat" She states.

"Wait. Uh Okay. Why don't Syd and I take this one, okay? We just – we don't know what we're walking into here" Dean comments.

"We never know. We're Hunters" Mary argues. Dean looks at Sydney for help here, she shrugs a little.

"Right. Um... Okay, I-I can't do my job if I'm worried about you" Dean admits to Marry.

"Dean. You won't have to be. I can handle myself. Okay? All right, good talk" Mary tells them and then leaves the room.

"Oh, boy" Dean lets out a breath, Sydney chuckles a little and shakes her head. "What?" Dean asks her.

"She's just like you" Sydney comments and bites into her bacon. Dean gives her a look before he softens and stands, moving closer to his sister.

"You bit your tongue before..." He starts, she hums and nods.

"Of course, I did" She argues. "She's still in love with him..." She adds. "And she's Mom, how do you think she'd feel if she knew what John did?"

"I know" Dean whispers. He knows how she feels about John, and to be honest, he really doesn't blame her anymore. He did, for a very long time, but the why she left, totally cleanses that. John was a dick to try and force that on her. "You okay?" He asks, she brushes her hand over her cheek to brush away tears.

"Yeah, just hits me still, every now and then"

"Bet it doesn't help that you're missing your Soviet boy toy" She laughs a little and nods. "Still no news?"

"Nope," She whispers and shrugs a little. She can't deny that it does seem to just build on her. One thing on top of another. And yeah, these years without Bucky, it's been a little worse. It's harder to deny the saddest parts of her life. And the loss of her child is probably the saddest part of it. More so after her being what she is. She knows she will never be a mother. So losing out on her only chance because of John, yeah, it hurts. Still. Always.

.........

Bucky throws the last of his coffee into a bush before he turns back to the RV behind him. They're parked up again on some back road leading nowhere. Another town gone. Another list of names. Another list of victims of Thanos. And still no Sydney. Nothing. Nowhere. Every town is a dead end. But he knows she is out there somewhere, because he can't think about the alternative, he will not consider that she is gone.

"You need a hair cut" Natasha comments as she pulls her hair back into a ponytail leaving the RV. Bucky pulls a face and shakes his head, runs his fingers through his hair and lets out a breath. He knows he does but he likes it long, it's stupid really, but he thinks that Sydney won't recognise him with short hair, so he keeps it long so she sees him. It is ridiculous of course, but it is something that helps him.