Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Two

I stumbled out of my car, running like crazy towards the main entrance of the hospital. Bucky's phone call had left me reeling, and after putting one of the girls in charge at the bar, I'd been quick to leave.

I sprinted through the door, clutching my bag to my side as I spun my head around. My chest was pounding as I tried to catch my breath, and I felt a wobble of nausea as I couldn't figure out where I was meant to go.

"Excuse me?" I walked over to the rounded reception desk, running my fingers through my hair over and over to try and neaten it after the wind outside had knotted it into large clumps. "Excuse me, but I had a phone call that my husband has brought a young girl here?"

"What are their names?" The man asked gently, his eyes calm and voice steady as he looked at me.

"Buck- James Barnes. He didn't know what her name was, she was unconscious." I began wringing my hands together as he typed quickly at his computer.

"James Barnes... James Barnes... Ah yes, he's the acting guardian of Jane Doe," he smiled.

"Jane Doe? Is that her name?" I frowned.

"Er, no ma'am. It's the name we give to missing female persons. If you'd like to see your husband he's in one of the private rooms upstairs, I'll find his exact room for you just now."

I waited patiently, though my fingers strummed against my leg so quickly I swear you could hear them hitting my thigh. My nerves were raging as I waited for the receptionist to give me the room number, and directions.

I found it easily enough, only having to stop once to ask for directions from a friendly nurse, before I rounded the last corner. I knocked twice on the white door, before opening it gently.

Bucky was sat next to a bed where a young girl was lying underneath pale blue sheets. Long ginger hair lay around her, falling halfway down her back in greasy clumps. Her hollow cheeks looked painfully thin, and I bit back a sob as I saw just how pale she was.

Bucky glanced towards the door, but when he saw me standing there he leapt to his feet. His arms wrapped securely around me, his hand protectively holding my face to his chest as I clutched him tightly. "Don't you dare ring me from a hospital room again." I mumbled, wiping at my eyes as relief coursed through me.

"I promise." He looked down, softly pressing his lips to the top of my head. "You have my word."

I peered around his side, looking at the containers of liquids that were slowly dropping down tubes, and gradually being fed into the girls systems. "Who is she?"

Bucky guided us to the sofa pushed against the wall of the room. "I don't know. I found this dilapidated shed in the wood, but it had this shining new lock. Suspicious, right?"

He looked at me for reassurance, and I nodded quickly. It did sound odd, especially as it was in a public park.

"I got the door of the hinges, broke the lock, and there she was. Pressing herself in the far corner, absolutely terrified of me."

His voice wobbled a little, and I reached over to hold his hand. "Not terrified of you Buck. Look at her, I would be terrified of everyone if I'd been locked in a shed in the middle of nowhere. God knows how long she's been trapped in there."

Bucky nodded, "That's the problem. She was awake when I found her, but then she was sick and passed out. She's not woken up since, so no one can find out anything about her. Her parents might be out there now, searching, and they don't know that she's sat right here." His voice slowed down as he gestured to her, his own eyes glistening a little.