Bucky's Choice

Chapter 15

Kelsey lays on Steve's chest. After he told her the story of their big fight, they laid down for a while. She can't seem to drift off, so she watches Steve fall asleep, the exhaustion hitting him as soon as his head hit the pillow. She watches as he falls deeper into sleep, his face relaxes, and he looks almost peaceful. Kelsey gently caresses his face, and he subconsciously leans into her hand. She's not sure how long she lays there, but after some time, she gently gets up and makes her way to the kitchen. She takes a seat at the island , grabbing a few grapes from the bowl and munching on them. The clock on the microwave reads 2:35am. "Can't sleep either?" The red head she saw earlier waltzes in and grabs water from the fridge. Kelsey couldn't help notice she was wearing nothing underneath her pink silk robe. She clenches her thighs together and looks down at her hands. "Umm, no. I couldn't sleep." "You want one?" Kelsey looks up and sees her bend over to grab another bottle. She internally screams at herself  for looking. "Stop it Kels!" Kelsey takes the bottle and nods her head. "Thank you.." "Natasha. But everyone calls me Nat." "Nat. Thank you." "So, you're the infamous Kelsey." "Infamous?!" Nat laughs and can definitely see the physical appeal the boys had for her. "I'm basically the best friend to them both. You, my dear, were able to do something even I couldn't do. Bring them together." Nat sees Kelsey's cheeks blush, and she can't help but find that insanely hot. "Well, I don't know about all that." "Please, take some credit then. I have been trying for years to get those two stubborn asses to see that they were made for each other."

Kelsey felt talking with Nat was easy. Like you two were old buddies. As the night creeped on, one question caught Kelsey off guard. "So, were you blipped like Bucky?" Kelsey never liked to talk about her life before the blip. In society nowadays, you just didn't ask people about it. "Umm, yea. I was." "I'm sorry if this a sensitive subject." "It's ok. I just have never been asked is all." "The boys never asked?" "No. Our relationship was really physical and didn't leave a lot of time for questions. Plus, I didn't want to burden Bucky anymore than he already was." "Well, you can burden me. I am excellent as a shoulder." This makes Kelsey chuckle. "Thanks. I may take you up on that." "Well I am going to go try and get some sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day." "OK. See you around Kelsey." The girls hug and as they both look at each other, they slowly lean toward each other till Kelsey breaks the hug. "Well, goodnight." Kelsey walks away as Nat watches her. "Damn she has a sweet ass." 

Kelsey finds herself wondering toward the prisoner cells but not Bucky's. She sees no guards around and makes her way to the suspect's cell. As she enters, she is surprised to see a young man in the room. He looks no older than maybe 18 at the most. He notices her and watches her. Who is she? Why is she here? She doesn't look at me in fear, but curiosity? "Who are you? What do you want?" "My name is Kelsey. I am a friend of Steve Rogers." "Again, why are you here?" "Honestly, I don't know. I was hoping maybe I could get an idea of how to help my friend." Kelsey sits down on the chair and the young man comes closer to the glass. "What's you name?" He was surprised. No one had asked him his name. Did he remember his name? "Umm,  it's Daniel." "Daniel. How nice." Daniel sits down Indian style and Kelsey notes how he acts like a kid. "If I can ask, how old are you?" He puts his head down and tries to remember. "17. But I only had 10 birthdays." Kelsey realizes something and it breaks her heart. "Where you blipped?" He shakes his head no. "But my family was." "And you've had these powers you entire life haven't you?" He chuckles a little. "What are you, some kind of shrink?" This makes her chuckle lightly. "Once upon a time maybe." "Really?" Kelsey knows that he may open up if she shares as well. 

"Before the Blip, I was a psychologist. A good one too. But as you well know, the Blip changed everything. I was blipped, but my wife was not." Kelsey hangs her head remembering Georgia. "I was playing basketball with my older brother when all of sudden, we heard cars crashing, and people screaming. My mom ran out and then they both just disappeared. My dad was helping to control my powers but after that, I had no one and I was left on my own. I'll let you use your imagination for the rest." "What exactly are you powers?" "I can make people manifest their fears. Mostly I use hallucinations, but in rare instances, I can make them real." "How did you affect the soldier? The one with the metal arm." "We were fighting so I am not 100% sure. But most likely he is dealing with whatever fear he had. And I mean deep rooted fear." "How do I break him out of it?" "You can't. If I go that far, it's impossible to get rid of unless that fear is realized." "So if his greatest fear is killing, he won't be normal until he kills?" "If I remember, his fear was killing those he loves." Kelsey looks at the clock on the wall and sees it's almost 5am. "I have to go." "Ms. Kelsey, can you tell them to let me out of here?" "I can't. But I can tell them you aren't a villain and just need some guidance." "I guess that's better than nothing. Thanks for listening." "Sometimes all we need is for someone to listen." Kelsey makes her way back to bed and passes out next to Steve. 

Steve wakes up and sees Kelsey passed out next to him. He slowly gets out of bed and stretches. He still can't believe she is really here. He vows to never let her go again.  After taking a quick shower, he leaves Kelsey to sleep and makes his way to the kitchen. "Morning Steve." "Morning Nat." "So, I got to chat with your little girlfriend this morning." "This morning?" "Hmm...like 2am morning." "Probably why she is still sleeping. What did you talk about?" "Oh no, girl talk is strictly confidential."  "Seriously?" "Damn right it is." Nat walks off sipping her coffee, heading to the gym. Steve shakes his head as Bruce come in. "Hey Steve. So who was the girl from yesterday again?" "Kelsey. Kelsey McCollum." "Wait, Dr. McCollum?" "Doctor? She ran a bar. She's no doctor." "Dr. Kelsey McCollum was a world renowned psychologist, specializing in PTSD and DID. Hell, I even tried to get in to see her before Sokovia." Just then, Kelsey walks in yawning and sleepily seeing Steve. "Hi Steve." Steve comes up to her suddenly. "Kelsey, are you a doctor?"  "What?" Bruce comes up and shakes your hand and is star struck. "Dr. McCollum I am Dr. Bruce Banner and I have to say I am a huge fan of your work." Kelsey doesn't know what to say. She never told anyone her past. "Umm. Thank you. I have to go." Kelsey runs back to the room and shuts the door. "Did I say something?" Steve runs to the room and tries to open the door but its locked. "Kelsey open the door." There was no answer. "Kelsey please. Don't shut me out again." 

When he still hears no answer, he demands FRIDAY to open the door. Once it unlocks, he rushes in and sees Kelsey sitting on the bed with her knees to her chest. "Baby, what's wrong?" "I'm sorry. I just haven't been called Doctor in so long, it kind of freaked me out." "Was what he said true? Are you a doctor?" "Hmm...not like him, but yes. I was a psychologist." Kelsey takes a deep breath and lets out a sob. "I haven't thought about my past like this in almost seven years." "Did Buck know?" "No. No one did." "Look Steve, I really don't want to get into my past life right now. We need to figure out how to help Bucky." "Okay. But please know that I am here if you want to talk." Kelsey leans over and kisses Steve softly. "Thank you Steve. Now, I think we need to see.."  Sam barges into the room and yells at Kelsey. "KELSEY! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?"