I Walk The Line (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 24

I was blinded by a bright light as soon as I opened my eyes. I breathed in the disinfectant, chemical smell that I knew all too well - I was in hospital. My mind was trying to make sense of what had happened. I couldn't remember much. All I knew was that there had been a lot of blood and yelling. My senses were on high alert. I could feel various tubes coming from my arm, stitches in my stomach, every little lump on the uncomfortable mattress I was laying on. My throat was dry and my head was spinning slightly.

"Andrea?" A familiar voice said softly. I turned my head to the right and was greeted with a warm smile.

"Steve", I said, but it came out as a weak whisper. He moved his chair closer to my bed, leaning in and taking my hand in both of his. His worried eyes observed my face carefully.

"How are you feeling?" He asked seriously. I grinned. "Like I could run 10k", I joked. Steve helped me sit up and adjusted my pillow while I looked around the room. There was a small TV right in front of my bed. Steve was sitting on the only chair. I noticed a blanket and a pillow on the floor in the corner, and an empty tray next to it. A bag of yellowish liquid hung next to the bed, and there was a thin tube connecting it to my arm. Steve saw that I was looking around. He pointed to the blanket and the pillow on the floor. "Bucky refused to go anywhere until you woke up. I finally got him to go take a proper shower and eat about half an hour ago, so he should be here soon", he explained.

That brought a smile to my face. "How long was I out?" I asked. Steve leaned back on his chair. "About two weeks. You lost a lot of blood. The bullets were jagged when they ricocheted, so instead of entering clean, they ripped through your skin and shattered inside you." He paused, biting his lip. "You, uh, you died two times", he added. "On the way to the operation room, and while they were transferring you here."

I nodded slowly. "Right. And where am I exactly?"

"The Avengers tower."

I was about to ask what happened while I was out, but then I heard someone running. The steps were getting closer, until the door to the room finally opened. "Andrea?" Bucky asked, clearly shocked. I grinned at him, so much that my cheeks hurt. "Hey there, pretty boy", I said casually. Seconds later, I was being suffocated in his hug. I hugged him back. The tube was ripped from my arm and the yellowish liquid started dripping down on the floor, but I didn't care. I breathed in his familiar scent, something I thought I wouldn't be able to do ever again. I heard Steve chuckle and exit the room, closing the door behind him. Bucky let go of me after another minute, then sat down where Steve was previously sitting and took my hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. I smirked. "Miss me?" I asked. He shook his head. "You have no idea."

He explained to me what had happened while I was out. After Tony took me to hospital , Bucky and Steve went to Siberia and arrested the doctor. Apparently, he wasn't planning on activating other Super Soldiers, he just wanted them all dead. T'Challa went back to Wakanda. After Bucky and Steve got back, secretary Ross wanted the entire Team Cap arrested, but Tony helped them compromise. All they had to do was sign the Sokovia Accords, with a few adjustments, so that everyone was happy. I had to sign them too. Steve and Tony hugged it out, and Bucky and I were invited to stay at the Avengers Tower, which Bucky accepted for both of us.

He finished and I sighed. I was happy it was all over, but living in the Avengers tower, being one of them? I was skeptical about it. I was never really one for team work. One roommate I could handle. But seven of them? That ought to end badly. As if he was reading my mind, Bucky spoke up again a few seconds later. "We have separate rooms each. They're really big, too. Like, the size of our old apartment big."

I nodded, but the doubt stayed. I didn't want to say anything about it and seem ungrateful, because I really wasn't. I squeezed Bucky's hand and gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned immediately.

There was a loud knock on the door, and a man came in. He was wearing a white lab coat and a purple shirt. His hair was curly and brown and he wore glasses almost on the tip of his nose instead of the bridge. He was reading something from a clipboard and clicking a pen in his left hand.

"Andrea Ryder", he said slowly, then looked up and offered a small smile. "Good to see you're finally awake." I observed his features carefully. He looked awfully familiar, I just couldn't place it.

"I'm Dr Banner", he continued, holding out his hand as he approached my bed. I almost froze. It was Bruce Banner, the Bruce Banner, one of the most brilliant scientist I've ever heard of. He did a lot of charity work, and he worked with Tony Stark. I basically idolized the man.

"Yeah, I know who you are. I'm a fan, to be honest. You're a huge name in science", I said, taking his hand and shaking it. He chuckled. I glanced at Bucky, who was frowning and looking at Banner with suspicion.

"I have to check on your injury and change the gauze, then we'll check your vitals and, if everything is okay, you're free to go", Dr Banner announced, putting down the clipboard and walking to the other side of my bed. Bucky got up and went to stand in a corner, arms crossed against his chest firmly. His eyes followed Dr Banner's every move. I had to move and sit on the edge of the bed, pulling my hospital gown up to reveal my bandages. Banner cut through them with a small scalpel knife. I looked down once the thick gauze was removed and instantly regretted my decision. The wound was weirdly shaped, held by many stitches, and the skin hadn't formed yet, so I could see my damaged flesh clearly. I inhaled sharply, making one of the stitches tighten and break on the very edge of the wound, blood dripping down my stomach slowly. Banner wiped it away with some cotton.

I looked up at Bucky. He was staring straight at my wound, his jaw tight and his face drained of almost all colour. His eyebrows would furrow for a split second every time the cotton touched my skin.

"We have to change the stitches too, as you can see", Banner joked as he put down the cotton ball. "Other than that, it's healing nicely. There wasn't much internal damage since the bullets shattered to pieces inside." I nodded.

Banner proceeded to check my vitals, drawing my blood for some samples, testing how much I could move, if I could walk. I was weak - nearly fainting when I stood up. My knees gave out, but before I could realize what was happening, Bucky was next to me, his arm firmly around my waist, so I wouldn't fall. I took a few deep breaths, then straightened up, shaking Bucky's arms off. I took a few weak steps to the wall, then back to my bed. Half an hour later, we were done.

"Well?", I asked eagerly. I was anxious to get out of the hospital room. It was too bright, and the smell was making me gag.

"You're still weak, but other than that, everything is fine", he answered with a smile. "Except for the gaping hope in my abdomen", I added, making Bucky laugh quietly. Banner laughed too and shook his head.

"No sudden movement, no hard exercise, no standing for too long or you'll get dizzy. You can take walks but not longer than an hour. Obviously no running. And please have someone with you at all times, just in case, until you regain your strength", Banner finished, putting a cap on his pen. "I can get you the release papers in the morning."

The same second Banner left the room, Bucky was back in the chair, smiling smugly. "Looks like you're stuck with me for a few weeks", he said, crossing his arms on his chest. I laughed. "So you're gonna be following me around everywhere, huh?"

"I have been for the last two years", he said, smiling for a second. Then his face fell and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Unless you maybe want Natasha to...?", he continued in a low voice, unsure.

"Why would I want that?"

"Two years is a lot to put up with me."

I scoffed. "Please. If anything, you're the one who's been putting up with me."

Bucky just smiled, then moved the chair so that we were sitting (almost) shoulder to shoulder. I grabbed the remote from a little table to my left and turned on the TV. We spent a few hours watching Friends and laughing. I found myself resting my head on his cold metal shoulder. After a while, I drifted to sleep, while butterflies flooded my stomach, and I dreamt that I had a perfect life, which somehow didn't differ much from what I'd seen last before falling asleep.