Save Me || Bucky Barnes

13

"Come on guys, just a little farther!" Steve calls out from the front of the group. 

"Come on Charlotte. You just need to stay awake just a little longer." Bucky encourages as he carries me. 

"But I'm tired." I murmur into his neck.

It had taken us a little over a week to get back to the camp in Italy. Over the course of that week, I had gotten sicker. A few days ago, I could barely stand and later in the day, I passed out. Apparently I had been in and out of consciousness until today. I've only been awake for about a half an hour, but Bucky told me that this is the longest I've been awake in a couple of days. 

"Bucky, come up here!" Steve calls out from the front again. Bucky glances down at me before pushing his way through the crowd.

"Charlotte! You're awake!" Steve cheers as Bucky walks beside him. I nod my head weakly. I haven't had a proper meal in a while. None of us have. We were all hungry and tired, but there was a buzz of excitement running through the crowd as we neared the camp.

"We'll need to get her medical attention right away, you know that right?" Steve double checks with Bucky. 

"She looks paler since the last time I saw her. How long has she been awake?" Steve quietly asks Bucky. Although it wasn't very quiet if I could hear him. 

"Half an hour." I answer for Bucky, smiling weakly up at my brother. The two best friends share a worried look before Steve looks ahead of us. 

"There! We finally made it back." he smiles widely.

Bucky and I smile with him. As we walk through the familiar gates, I lay my head on Bucky's chest. The minute we walk into the camp, cheering erupts around us. I shut my eyes and squeeze them together tightly; the louder the cheering got, the worse my headache became. 

"No, Charlotte, don't close your eyes. We made it back to the camp, alright? Come on, please open your eyes." Bucky pleads, shaking me gently. I let out a little groan, but open my eyes. He leans his head down and presses a kiss to my hot, damp forehead and smiles at me before stopping next to Steve.

"Some of these men need medical attention." Steve tells someone. I look up from Bucky's chest and see that he's talking to Colonel Phillips and Peggy. She glances around Steve and looks at me before gasping.

"What happened to you?" she exclaims, running over to me. 

"I'm just a little sick, that's all." I tell her, my voice cracking slightly. 

"No, you're more than 'a little' sick." Bucky chides lightly. Peggy gives me a worried glance before she motions a medic over to our group.

"She's sick." she tells the nurse before walking away to talk to Steve. 

"Here, we'll take her from you." another nurse says, walking up to join the first. Bucky gives me a worried glance before carefully handing me over to them.

"I'll come and see you as soon as possible, okay?" he tells me before kissing my forehead. I nod and let the two nurses carry me through the camp and into the medical tent. They then set me on a bed and start an IV drip in my left arm.

After this, I start to drift in and out of consciousness again. At one point, I remember seeing Bucky sitting next to me and holding my hand. Another time, I remember Steve being the one who sat next to me. When I regain consciousness again and don't pass out after five minutes, a doctor walks over to me. 

"How are you feeling?" he asks me. 

"Fine." I answer, my throat feeling dry and scratchy. 

"You gave us quite the scare. We have no clue what you did to yourself to make you that sick, but you're going to be fine." he assures me.

"Just stay hydrated and eat plenty of food. I'd appreciate it if you stayed in the medic tent one more night so we can make sure you're one hundred percent better, though." he continues when I don't say anything. I nod my head and ask him if I could have a drink of water. 

"Of course. One of the nurses will bring it in for you." the doctor nods before leaving the room. After a couple of minutes, a nurse walks into the room with a glass of water and a straw sticking over the rim of the glass.

"Here you go, sweetie." she smiles at me as she hold the cup. I drink the entire glass. 

"I'll go get you some more." she offers before walking out of the room. While she's gone, I shift positions in the bed and curl into a ball. By the time she comes back, I'm fast asleep.

-

When I open my eyes again, Bucky is talking to Steve at the end of my bed. I let out a little cough, attracting both their attention. 

"Hey, darling. How are you feeling?" Bucky asks, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me.

"Better." I admit before smiling at the two of them. 

"Good. The doctors thought they had lost you a few times." Steve tells me, a relieved smile wide across his face. 

"I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It doesn't matter. We're just glad you're okay and still alive." Bucky smiles at me. He picks my hand up off the bed and kisses the back of it before he begins rubbing small circles on my palm with his thumb.

"I'll leave you two alone." Steve smirks before kissing the top of my head and walking out of the room. 

"How long was I asleep?" I ask, turning to face Bucky. 

"About a week and a half." he tells me quietly. I don't answer. Instead, I let out a sigh and hang my head.

"What's wrong? Does something hurt?" Bucky asks worriedly. 

"No. I'm just sorry that I worried you guys for that long. I didn't mean to." I tell him. 

"Of course you didn't. Your body just needed that long to recover, that's all. We're just glad you're alright now." 

"We?" I question. 

"Yeah. Steve, the Howling Commandos, and I." Bucky answers. 

"The Howling Commandos?" I ask, confused. 

"Oh, right. You don't know who they are," Bucky chuckles before he continues to explain, "Well, the group consists of me, your brother, Dum Dum, Monty, Jim, Frenchie, and Gabe."

"Oh, well, can I join?" I ask, my face lighting up. Bucky glares at me before pushing me back into the bed. 

"Get some rest. We can talk later." he tells me firmly before kissing the tip of my nose. 

"But, Buck, I-" I start to protest but I'm cut off by Bucky placing his lips over mine.

"We'll talk later, I promise. Now get some rest." he laughs. I huff and cross my arms over my chest. 

"I'll only rest if you stay with me." I say stubbornly. Bucky stares at me for a moment before motioning for me to scoot over in the bed.

I smile to myself and oblige. After Bucky gets settled on the bed, I feel his arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me into him. 

"Sleep well." he murmurs in my ear before he kisses me just under my ear. I fall back asleep with a smile plastered across my face.