The Dark Captain

Chapter 43

Arianna ran into the room, asking, "Did I hear Russian? Is my czarina here?"

Bucky turned to look at her, smiling nervously as he handed his daughter a cup of juice. He knew Steve wouldn't be far behind. The thought of Morgan seeing him again after so long had the super soldier worried.

"Tony brought her," Bucky explained, trying to keep his voice steady, "trying to make things up."

Morgan smiled and said, "Hey, Aunt Ari!"

Remembering what happened a year ago, Ari was nervous as well. How much did her niece know? Did her fathers tell her? How would she react?

"Hey," Arianna replied, trying to figure out how to be discrete in bringing up everything. "Um..."

Morgan noticed, however, and said in a suspicious tone, "I missed seeing you last year. What happened?"

Arianna clasps her hands in front of her face, tears falling. Memories of being dragged from the compound raced through her mind. Neither man had told her what had happened to her. What could Arianna say about any of it?

Tony surprised everyone by saying, "That was my fault, Munchkin."

Morgan picked up her cup as she responded, "Well, that explains a lot."

"You know I can send you back home, right?"

The pair of them smiled at each other. Father and daughter knew that he wouldn't send her home, not when Tony was trying to make up for what he had done and not when Morgan had missed her papa.

"Hey," Bucky said, trying to figure out how to break the ice, "Долли (Dolly), there's more-"

But, before he could say more, Steve walked in, saying, "Hey, Ari, I-"

Morgan looked up at the former Avenger and began screaming. This caused Steve to scream. Bucky and Arianna knew that he wasn't screaming out of shock. He recognized that Morgan wasn't a threat, and while this would make Bucky and Arianna happy in normal circumstances, both of them were wary.

"What?" Steve said after they had finished screaming.

"It's a ghost!" Morgan said, hiding behind Bucky's left arm.

Steve smirked. "I'm not a ghost, actually."

Morgan smiled. "Actually, that makes sense."

They smiled at each other. Steve couldn't believe that the little girl he remembered was growing into a young woman. He could see parts of Tony and Bucky in her, but she was her own person. She had filled out and started to look like a beautiful young woman. This was his niece, and even though there was a rift growing between him and Bucky, Steve vowed then and there that he would protect Morgan with his life.

"So," said Bucky, kissing the top of Morgan's head, "there's a lot to tell you, Morgan. Um... I don't even know where to start."

Morgan looked at Bucky in confusion, saying, "Папа, ты всегда говорил мне, что дядя Стив бросил нас ради женщины сороковых годов. - Papa, you always told me Uncle Steve abandoned us for a woman in the forties."

Steve's head snapped to look at Bucky, anger growing as he asked, "What the shit?"

Bucky tried to laugh, but the fire in his best friend's eyes didn't make him feel confident about the situation.