Worth Fighting For| B. Barnes

~Wakanda~

"Daddy?"

"Um Ivory, Daddy's-"

"Daddy? Daddy?" Ivory called out to the man again.

"Captain Rogers, I don't think she fully understands what is happening here..." T'Challa sighs, suddenly fearing Ivory's reaction to Bucky's current state.

"This is probably why Bucky didn't want her around..." Steve says with a sigh.

"Uh-Steve, Want down." Ivory says.

"Okay, I'll let you down..." Steve says placing Ivory down. Steve respected Ivory's wishes and allowed her to leave his arms. She slowly walked over to Bucky who had literally been on ice and looked the tube up and down.

"Daddy? Daddy?" Ivory called out to Bucky, placing her hand on the glass.

"It's okay sweetheart, He's just sleeping..." Steve tried to explain.

"Daddy, wake up pease...wake up pease Daddy."

"D-Daddy pretend? Daddy play sleep?" Ivory asked looking at at Steve trying to keep back tears.

"I'm afraid daddy's not pretending Ivory..." T'Challa says getting on Ivory's level.

"Uh-no, Daddy wake up, Daddy Wake up!" Ivory yelled running over to the cryo chamber, banging her fists on the glass.

"Hey, Ivory stop it!" Steve says peeling Ivory off of the Chamber.

"I w-want D-Daddy!" Ivory cried sadly into her hands, causing T'Challa to sigh and hold his arms out to the girl.

Ivory hesitantly backed away from T'Challa, and looked over at Steve as if to ask for help.

"No, No, want Steve, want Steve." Ivory cried running towards Steve begging him to hold her.

"Hold me Pease, Hold me Pease, wanna hold you!" Ivory cried holding her arms up to the man. Steve was quick to pick her up and frowned as she sadly cried into his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay...calm down sweet girl, listen to me..." Steve says getting Ivory to look at him.

"Everything is going to be alright...Steve's got you..." Steve said rubbing the girl's back. "You're gonna hang out with me for a while, your Dad wanted it that way...When Your Dad is better, you'll be back here again..."

"Captain Rogers, don't you think Ivory would benefit from staying here with us in Wakanda?" T'Challa asked the man.

"While I do agree that she would benefit from being here...Bucky wants this for her...after he accepted your deal, he made me promise him Not to bring her back here unless he was definitely cured..."

"That may take a while." Shuri chimes in.

"How long? Do we know?"

"Here is the procedure I am going to be conducting on Sargent Barnes..." Shuri says pulling up a holographic presentation.

"...Using advanced scientific technology, invented by yours truly...Little by little I will be going inside of Sergeant Barnes' brain to remove the triggers from his brain. This will have to be done in trial runs to assure he can never turn into the soldier again."

"So what you're saying is, you'll be able to electronically go in, and remove his trigger phrases..."

"...But we will have to wake him up and periodically test them on him to make sure they are gone for good." Shuri said finishing Steve's sentence.

"Oh...I see." Steve said looking down at Ivory who had been exhausted, laying on his shoulder.

"Yes..." Shuri says with a smile.

"...so as I said before this may take a while. On the bright side, This is a procedure that can mainly be done while he is still in cryotherapy. It's just the part where we are repeatedly waking him up and re-testing the phrases on his mind that will be the tedious part of his healing process."

"I know sergeant Barnes said he didn't want Ivory here while the trials were taking place, but we would be more than glad to have her here." Shuri said smiling over at Ivory.

"Hello there beautiful..." Shuri said offering her hand out to the girl.

"Uh-no, want S-Steve!" Ivory said starting to get herself worked up again, hanging onto Steve for her life.

"Shh Ivory, it's okay, I'm not going anywhere...they just want to say hi to you...there's no need to be scared, T'Challa and Shuri are our friends. They're here to help."

Ivory gripped onto Steve tightly and turned her head away, refusing to look at Shuri.

"I think she may calm down if we get her out of here." T'Challa suggests.

"Good idea..." Steve sighed rubbing the girl's back as the two men left the lab to go to a more secluded area of the compound building.

~~~~~

"I'm sorry she's so hostile..." Steve says sighing, still holding Ivory on his hip. "...I wish I could somehow help her to understand not everyone is out to get her."

"Captain Rogers, I don't think it has anything to do with us...the way I think about it, Sergeant Barnes kept her as well as himself hidden from the world for all of her life," T'Challa says. "She's been raised to think the whole world is filled with her enemies..."

"That is true..." Steve replies in agreement. "All she's known is Bucky her whole life and I'm sure she's not used to letting other people in..."

"Precisely." T'Challa replied. "Ivory also most likely assumes those she doesn't know to be a threat...in due time she will grow out of that mindset. She is also a little young to understand these things so that is also a contributing factor. As we discussed you know we would be more than glad to keep her here but it seems she does not want to separate herself from you at this time." He says with a smile.

"I think I'll let her stay with me for a while...she's had a long couple days, and I think having some routine and familiarity for a few weeks might help her forget about everything." Steve says.

"Okay, we Understand." T'Challa says smiling at the girl. "You are definitely more than welcome to bring her back, when you feel the time is right, or if Sergeant Barnes is miraculously healed quickly...whichever comes first. We will protect Ivory at all costs."

"T'Challa?"

"Yes Captain Rogers?"

"Thank you for this." Steve says to the man. The two of them stood by the window, Ivory stood beside Steve staring into the vast land that was Wakanda.

"Your friend and My father...they were both victims." T'Challa says with a sigh. "If I can help one of them find peace..."

"You know...if they find out he's here, they'll come for him." Steve said looking from T'Challa to the toddler standing next to him.

"Let them try..."