Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

Wait? What?

December 15, 2012
Sarah's POV

I woke up to a dull stabbing pain in my lower abdomen. My stomach muscles were contracting involuntarily and the pain was enough to take my breath away. Steve and James were still sleeping on either side of me, so I crept out of bed to stretch. I felt a wave of nausea as I stood and sprinted for the bathroom. I knelt over the toilet as my stomach heaved, retching until my stomach was empty.

I hadn't thrown up in a very long time, not since I had accidentally poisoned myself when I was working on a new project in the lab at Ops. This felt different, though. The nausea seemed to be a reaction to this unfamiliar pain.

I sat back on my heels, my limbs shaking as the pain subsided momentarily. I was exhausted still and just wanted to go back to sleep, but I was also freezing cold, so I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep yet. I decided to run a hot bath; maybe that would help my muscles relax. I still wasn't sure why they'd spasmed like that, but maybe it had to do with my upset stomach.

I stood up carefully and shut the bathroom door before starting the water. I turned it as hot as I could stand it and stripped, adding some scented bubble bath before I climbed in the tub. It felt so nice on my cold body that I laid back and let the water fill to the overflow. I used my foot to turn it off and closed my eyes.

I must have drifted off, because I woke a little later to my abdominal muscles spasming again. This time it was stronger, and I sat up, gasping. The nausea was back and I fought it down, narrowly winning. I broke out in a cold sweat as the pain passed. I ducked down under the water to rinse it away. The water was getting cold, so I let some of it out and added more hot water.

I felt a little better now, but I still didn't know why I was feeling this way. I hadn't done any experiments lately; I'd been too busy to spend time in the lab. I'd sparred with James yesterday, but he hadn't gotten in more than one hit to my torso, and it hadn't been any worse than his other hits. I'd been too slow on the block and his fist had connected, the impact throwing me back. It had hurt, but this pain was nothing like my normal soreness after a good fight.

I gritted my teeth as the pain returned and I swore I felt a strange little 'pop' inside of me. I rode out the spasms, leaning back as they passed and closing my eyes, still tired.

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Steve's POV
I woke up suddenly, reaching for Sarah. I'd heard something odd, like someone was in pain, but Bucky was still sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed. Her pillow was cold, but I hadn't felt her leave the bed. I threw back the covers and got up, looking around. It was just after four in the morning; I could see fine in the dark, but I didn't see her anywhere. Her running shoes were still by the door and I didn't think she'd made plans to run with Kate - besides, her phone was still on the nightstand, so she hadn't left.

I noticed the bathroom door was closed, but there weren't any lights on. I opened the door and looked inside. Sarah was in the tub in the dark. It was unusual enough that the lights were off, but she never took baths in the middle of the night. I flicked on the light and walked into the bathroom. I felt myself break out in a cold sweat as I noticed the bath water was dark red and Sarah wasn't moving. I knelt down next to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. She was warm, like she should be, so I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"Sarah, wake up. Sarah!"

She cracked her eyes open and closed them again. "I'm awake. I feel horrible though," she groaned as a flash of pain moved across her face.

"Sarah, are you okay? Why is the tub full of blood? Where are you hurt?"

I tried to keep my breaths steady as I watched her tense with what had to be pain. She didn't answer me and I watched as she opened her eyes again and looked down at the water, which was indeed very red. She paled even more, but slowly moved for the plug and pulling it before leaning back as the water started to drain, leaving a red line marking where the water had been.