epiphany || bucky barnes

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

FOUR MONTHS LATER
SEPTEMBER 2024

Life has been nothing short of perfect.

After staying a few days in Wakanda, Bucky and I returned home to our apartment in Brooklyn. We called Sam, Sarah, and the kids to tell them the news about the pregnancy. Sam, for one, was incredibly flabbergasted. I don't blame him. He had heard us countless times say that we weren't ready for kids or to be parents yet. Sarah was beyond elated. She started crying as soon as the words left my mouth. I've gotta pay her a visit before the baby's born.

Bucky and I spent a lot of time together. Many nights he would sleep with his head resting against my belly, or with his hands placed on it, or sometimes even with his body spooned around the growing bump. It was adorable how careful he was with me like I'd break or something if he poked me the wrong way.

Thanks to the knock-off super-soldier serum Bucky and I were given in HYDRA, my pregnancy hasn't exactly been a normal one. The baby is growing at a quicker rate than either of us would've liked. Shuri reassured us that it was how the serum worked with pregnancy, but I can't help but worry. While I should be equivalent to a 5-month pregnancy, I'm more at a 7-month. 

Nonetheless, Bucky and I have been living relatively normal lives together. I've barely used my powers, and if I have, it was to close a door I was too lazy too. Sam and Sarah had kept in touch, sending us updates on how the boat and how AJ and Cass were doing. Life was good, finally.

As we moved toward the holiday months, I have begun a search with the help of SHIELD agents and Nick Fury through every file HYDRA has ever had on me and Bucky. It was more a thing of curiousity.  It gave me something to do while I was laying in bed with terrible nausea, or needing a distraction from my worries about the baby. Either way, it proved to be very informational. 

One thing I had yet to find was my real birth certificate. My first core memories were of when I started ice skating... when I was 18. That was forever ago- and shouldn't I have memory of when I was a kid? Who was I, outside of this shell of an assassin? I had yet to find out.

"Bucky!" I called from the couch, where one of the many yelllowed files I had gone through was sitting atop my baby bump. "Can you grab me a water? The kid's being all fussy again..." I sighed, the little varmin inside my belly rolling and kicking around as if they were at a New Years party.

"No problem! Give me a second." Bucky's voice was heard from the bedroom, before he came out with a hoodie half on as he tried to wiggle his arms through the sleeves.

I snorted back a laugh, "Buck, I can always buy you a new one of those for Christmas, you know. Or- guess what, you could do it yourself."

He rolled his eyes when he pulled the hoodie over his head, rolling his shouders back and grabbing a glass from the cabinet. "Right. This thing is my pride and joy! I would never give it up!"

"Like a baby and a stuffed animal..." I whispered to myself.

I returned to flipping through the pages of the file slowly, my eyes sskimming each page as many held useless information. Bucky set the glass of ice water on the coffee table beside me, sitting on the couch and leaning back. "Find anything interesting?"

"Absolutely not..." I sighed, about to shut the file before a glimpse of a thick piece of paper came into view. "Wait..."

Without much hope, I opened the file back up and grabbed the thick and rigid piece of paper out of the back of the folder. It looked uneniably old fashioned- as if it was from the 20's. 

CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH.

My eyes widened and I shot up out of my slumped position, earning an unpleasent kick in the bladder. "This is it! This is what I've been looking for!"

Bucky stared at me and moved so he could get a better look at the page. "Oh yes, you'll finally stop talking about it..."

Eager, my eyes dipped downward to see the shocking date of May 7th, 1920. "What...?"

My eyes scaned the page more closely now. 

NAME OF CHILD:

CHRISTINA ANNE WHITLOCK

FATHER'S NAME:

MATTHEW DAVID WHITLOCK

MOTHER'S NAME:

CORINNE SLYVA WHITLOCK

My smile fell. This definitely couldn't be my birth certificate. So what was it doing in here? Was it someone else who had been taken by HYDRA? Was it a deceased SHIELD agent? There was no indication of a death certificate anywhere, or any other record of a Christina Anne Whitlock. 

Who is she?

PLACE OF BIRTH:

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

A New Yorker too...

I grabbed my phone from the coffee table, snapping a photo of the yellowed and fragile page before setting it down in it's original place. My heart was pounding. If there was no other record of her, does she even exist? Had someone else been trapped this entire time?

Little did I know, Christina Anne Whitlock did exist. And she has been trapped almost her entire life.

Under the alias of Lucy Lane Pierce.

a/n

for now, this is where the road ends for lucy pierce and bucky barnes. they are still many mysteries, questions without answers, and dead ends to tie up. they will return, along with many new characters.

i would like to thank everybody for all their continued support throughout this journey.  it's been nearly 8 months that i've been writing, revising, and creating this storyline and you all made it possible. i don't think you understand how much your kind words, votes, and just your reads mean to me. 

this story is truly my pride and joy, and will forever remain a core memory for me as it is my first recognized title. creating the persona of lucy pierce was an experience i will never forget and i am so grateful I got to share her development with all of you.

on the topic of the sequel: at the moment, I have no clear date or timeframe where I will release the first chapter. school is quite chaotic as of late. i have to find time to create a plotline that will be interesting and a large development area for buck and lucy for their new child as well as incorporating characters such as wanda, yelena, dr strange, kingpin, matt murdock, kate, clint, and more. i assure you this, however, i plan to make the seque more action-packed than this story. i know you all love drama.

i wish all my viewers the happiest and most fabulous 2022. thank you for making my dreams come true. 

this isn't goodbye, only a see you later. til' we meet again.

<3