I Wanna Know What Love Is

Chapter 1

The phone ringing jarred him, followed by remembering Sam had changed his ringtone to some awful disco song as punishment for mocking his music. Bucky had just fallen asleep, so this didn't help his mood. He didn't open his eyes as he answered, "This better be good, Sam."

There was a long pause before a woman's voice said, "Is this James Barnes?" He glanced at the screen and saw on the display that the call was from Tennessee.

Sitting up slowly because of the fight he'd been in last night had left him sore, Bucky sighed and said, "Yes, this is him. Who's calling?"

"My name is Mrs. Krenshaw. I'm calling from the Tennessee's Sullivan County Department of Children's Services in Bristol Tennessee," she said, sounding very much like a principal or teacher. He could even imagine her as a white-haired old lady with a tight bun and glasses hanging from a chain around her neck. And wearing fake pearls, likely.

"Are you sure you have the right James Barnes? This is James Buchanan Barnes in Brooklyn, New York."

"Yes, you were born on March 10, 1917, correct? I'll admit that threw me for a bit of a loop, so I looked up your information and it's really a fascinating story... I'm sorry, that's not the reason I'm calling. Your younger sister, Mary, had three children. They had children, their children have children, and their only child was James Barnes, V. He and his wife, Lisa, died three weeks ago in a car crash. You will be notified by an attorney after this call about Mr. and Mrs. Barnes' will."

She finally paused for a breath and Bucky ran his hand through his hair. "But Mr. Barnes, you are the last living relative on James' side of the family. Mrs. Barnes' remaining family are elderly, too unwell, and unable to care for the three surviving Barnes children. Which is why I am calling you," she explained, then paused. "Mr. Barnes, if you're unable to take care of these children, they'll likely end up in foster care or be adopted. The boy is only five months old so there are eager parents willing to adopt him, likely his youngest sister as well, but there is no guarantee that they would stay together. And unlikely their older sister would be fostered in the same home."

Bucky thought about Mary and how she used to follow him and Steve around. She tried to do everything they did, but if they all got into trouble, she was the first person to play victim and get away with it. She tormented their sisters because they were girly and played with dolls, but the sun rose and set on Bucky. In school, he was always getting into fights with boys who messed with his sisters, especially Mary because she was so pretty, but thought boys were mostly idiots and told them. Steve once accused her of being the female version of Bucky, which she took as the best compliment and bragged about it to everyone.

He'd checked for any relatives left in New York after the government pardoned him, but he didn't really know who to look for and where. Steve told him he'd looked for Bucky's family too, but had no luck. It had left Bucky feeling truly alone afterwards. He'd had a big family with uncles, aunts, and cousins spread out all over Brooklyn. Apparently, World War II and the Vietnam War had wiped out most of the male line. The wars in the Middle East hadn't discriminated as much and took males and females relatives. Once he got down a couple of generations it grew to nearly impossible to track them. After the Blip, things became even harder.