My Joy (Bucky Barnes's Daughter)

Finding Her

Bucky ran through the Hydra base Steve was right on his heels. This was the place they kept the Winter Soldier, and the memories were flooding back an engulfing Buck in his suppressed emotions.

He turned quickly down another dark hall Steve stopped "Buck, I really think that was the last guard." Barnes wiped around another corner. "No, someones here I just know it." He growled

Then a whimper caught both their ears. Bucky put an ear to a door then lifted one finger and then another and on the third count, they broke down the door. There was nothing the room was dark and Bucky felt strange there, an odd sense of anxiety hit him as if something important was supposed to be in that very room.
It was dark but upon closer inspection, the concrete walls were scratched with odd marks some actually looked like pictures under each was the world in Russian describing the picture. On a wall next to a small cot was the ABCs. Steve walked into a small room that appeared to be a bathroom.
Buck was studying a small sketch of a cat when he heard a high pitch scream like nothing he had ever heard. He ran into the small room Steve was in and saw him kneeling down on the floor arm stretched out to something that was cowering in a corner.
Buck turned on his spotlight on his gun shining it in the direction of the ear-piercing sound.
A little girl not even 4 wearing nothing but an overly large dirty tee squirmed back pressing herself against the wall.
Steve hushed the child trying to calm her down.

The voice of Natasha came over both their earpieces "ok its time to get out the bombs are in place and counting down has begun." Steve looked at Buck "Nat you need to stop them!" Cap commanded. A different voice came on it was Fury "Get out now!" Bucky nodded and quickly without hesitation he picked up the small very fragile girl. She screamed and kicked and punched the solder doing no damage to him just wearing herself out in the process.
They ran out of the base. Bucky cradled the child in his chest, rubbing her back she continued to fight against him. Until he whispered in Russian "Calm down baby doll." He didn't even know where the words came from they slipped off his tongue as if he had been saying that for years.
The Girl pulled her head from his shirt and stared at him, a smile grew on her face as she now quietly pressed back into that dip in Bucks' chest that she fit so well in.
He kept running until he reached the jet.
They got inside and He sat down on the floor of the aircraft curled up with his head down he breathed heavily the child sill in his arms.
The second Steve was in the jet lifted from the ground.

Natasha walked over the panting men. Her smile changed to shock as Bucky's metal arm moved to reveal the sleeping child laying on his stomach.
"What the heck Bernes? Where did that come from?" She said
"Natasha SHE came from the Hydras base!"
His sentence started kind but he spat the last part as if it was poison in his mouth.
Steve stood and grabbed a blanket to put on the little ones sleeping body. She looked sick and malnourished. It made Steve angry seeing a baby like this.
As the warm blanket hit her bruised skin she snuggled into it. Buck ever so gently laid her on a seat her little body just curled into a ball.
He ran his hand through his long tangled hair "how could they do that?" He said willing the tears to stay at bay.

Steve did all the talking on the flight back telling the team what had occurred but his friend sat next to the sleeping girl, his eye scanned her taking every cut and bruise. Hatred filled him, he prayed that whoever did this would burn for it.
He combed a loose piece of hair behind her ear with his human hand and noticed the baby girl had a fever.
"Dolly your burning up." He whispered.
Getting up to get a cool rag he came back and knelt at her side placing the cold cloth on her forehead.
Humming a lullaby in Russan he rubbed her heated cheek with his thumb.
Nat noticed Bucky was not in the group of Avengers talking about the mission she looked in between Sam and Steve to find the man singing to the little one and patting her with a cloth rewetting it in a basin being so gentle. She smiled and excused herself to walk over to Barnes.
"You ok?" She asked
"She will be alright." He replied not completely listening to the woman's question.

She had never seen him act like this, it was like this little thing just became his world.
"She is going to need medical attention."
He nodded covering the worry on his face.
"She had someone. There were scratches of pictures and words on the walls she definitely did not make. Why would Hydra teach her, her ABCs? Someone must have cared for her." He rambled on in a low tone.

They came in for a landing.
Emedietly the rushed anyone who was injured to the lab and a nurse took the small child in her arms. The girl did not stir as she was taken to the hospital but Bucky had a sickening feeling as she left his sight.

Steve stood in front of the glass wall looking at the little girl who was just waking up in her hospital bed.
Her eyes darted around, terrified she started yelling. The room was sound proof but Steve hit the button that Unmuted the silence allowing him to hear the odd words she was screaming Her large brown eyes landed on the clear wall where Rodgers was standing. She jumped off the bed and pressed her face to the glass looking past Steve.
Sam walked into the room "you all good Cap? We ordered some food." Steve knelt down trying to make eye contact with the little girl as she banged on the glass trying to look past him.

"Could you get Buck?" He said glancing at Sam.
He nodded and came back with Bucky, who walked in with circles under his eyes.
The little girl caught sight of the man with the metal arm. She started shrieking in different languages. Bucks eyes widened as the words hit his ears "Tata (Romanian), Aba (Hebrew) Baba (East African)," each word that comes from her small lips all meant the same thing. "Papa (Russian) Daddy!"
Buckys eyes widened he felt his heart slam into his stomach.