Shadows (BuckyxOC)

Shot in the Dark

Bucky was not going to be happy once he got home. I left his apartment smelling like bleach. I tried to fight it. I tried to walk out the door right after him. In fact, I did, but I turned right back around before I even shut the door and took out all the cleaning supplies I could find. I cleaned his entire apartment from top to bottom, all while holding back tears.

I didn't feel better when I was done, either. I felt... ashamed. Not because I gave into my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but because he was right. If I did everything I was thinking of doing, there wouldn't be any time for Bucky and me to move forward and find out what we could be. It was a plan I hadn't wholly thought out, which was unlike me to begin with.

So I decided to amend my plan and personal goals because there was no way I wanted a future that didn't have Bucky in it; that much I knew. That is why, when I was done cleaning, I threw on my leather jacket and headed to Manhattan, where my mother project was located. It was a little difficult getting to the clinic because of the city wide shut down, but once I could no longer drive, I got out and used the shadows.

The GRC summit was only two blocks away from the clinic, but I Bucky didn't want me involved, so I would do my best to stay away. It's not why I came to Manhattan, anyway. I came to do exactly what I was doing now. I stood in front of the clinic, keys to the front door in hand. Just as I placed the key in the lock but looked up when I heard something similar to a jet flying overhead.

It was Sam.

Sam had arrived from Louisiana and that meant Bucky was also already at the summit. I closed my eyes and gave a short but heartfelt prayer for their safety, before unlocking the doors and walking into the almost finished clinic.

The nurses' station was straight ahead, just outside a set of doors that will eventually slide open and shut automatically. It's the first thing you see as you enter the lobby/waiting room. The desk was long and tall, stopping at an average person's chest. Once finished, there will be about four computers housed there for patient intake. My plan is to expedite triage as much as possible.

I ran my hand along the white marble as I walked around the desk and past the threshold of the automatic doors that hadn't been installed yet. Construction was ahead of schedule. This clinic was actually supposed to be done in another six weeks, but it looks like it could open in about three, maybe two.

The hall I was currently looking down broke into three sections. Patients needing medical care would go to one of the nine rooms down the left hall. Patients needing mental health care will go to one of the seven rooms down the right hall. The hall down the middle is where patients needing blood work or imaging would be taken too. There are also supply rooms and a set of stairs leading upstairs to break rooms and offices.

All the clinics were set up similarly and as I open more clinics, they will have the same layout as well. It's important to me that no matter which clinic people go to, they know exactly where they need to go. It's a comfort thing.

It was turning into everything I hoped it would be, and I smiled softly at the thought. I inhaled deeply. The air was still dusty and stale because of the construction, but knowing this place was mine and what it could do for people had a calming effect. This is what was in my heart. This is what I truly wanted and how I wanted to help people in the future... and I wanted a life I could go home to.

I thought about Doctor Raynors' miracle question therapy she had tried when I first met her in New Jersey. I remember vividly what I pictured that day. I pictured Bucky beside me and children running around making noise in the other room. I pictured Pepper and Morgan coming over for dinner. Of course, Dad, Steve, Vision, and Nat were in that miracle too, but thinking beyond my losses, that was a miracle that could potentially come true if I let it... and I wanted to. I want that miracle.