Everest

Chapter Nine

A week had gone by. A week where Bucky felt like he was completely and utterly out of his realm.

He wanted to lend a hand, but Nat had turned into a mama bear about Y/N's recovery. She turned down missions, kept her guard up for who visited her, and only gave short and bullet-pointed notes on how she was progressing. Which led Bucky to believe it was going as well as they had expected.

There had been a few occasions Nat had allowed Sam in after he pestered her to give him permission, and Bucky and Steve had asked him how she was; he said she wasn't responsive and still hadn't healed herself.

Bucky had managed to peek around the corner the last time the doctor visited, eavesdropping as he hid and overheared the rundown of her recuperation.

"She'll be fine. Right now, it's more about the grieving process than anything else. Her genetics and mutations help her heal faster than most, even without the intention of doing it herself, so a lot of the injuries are weeks ahead in the healing process than most. She should be back to normal minus a little soreness by the end of the week."

"Thanks, Doc. It's greatly appreciated," Nat nodded before he walked away. He watched Nat take a deep breath and somehow plaster a gentle smile on before going back into the room.

He wanted to help. He wanted to fix it all. He did. But the kind of help she needed at the moment was not the same as the typical help of going and punching a guy for stealing government information.

It's not like grief was anything new to him. Hell, he grieved a lot, given his past. He grieved the life he could have had, the innocents he harmed, the families he affected, the choices he could have made... The list went on. But helping someone else navigate grief when you're still trying to solve the impossible equation yourself, seems impossible.

The only thing Nat had really let him help with, given the multiple times he had offered, was to take care of Ryker.

Y/N was never in the mood to leave her room, and her poor companion hated to leave her, but he still needed fresh air himself and bathroom breaks regularly.

Bucky seemed to be the only person whom he'd let peel away from his spot by her side. He made sure he still got exercise, food, and water, bathroom breaks early in the morning, late at night, and a few times during the day when Nat would lure him out of the room. They had bonded actually pretty well, and Ryker had formed a close bond with Bucky.

Currently, Nat was changing her sheets and forcing Y/N to at least sit on the balcony as she straightened things, so Bucky and his new furry friend were lounging in the living room. Bucky had put a movie on for background noise, and Ryker was lying against his side on the couch while they waited for the all-clear to come back.

The rottweiler had been sad and mopey the past week, so when he perked up and stared at the living room doorway, Bucky sat up at the change in manner.

"What is it, boy?" Bucky asked, looking in the same direction, then back at the dog whose nose started to twitch. "Ryker?" The dog jumped up, barked, and ran straight toward the kitchen without warning.

Bucky was quick to his feet, shouting the dog's name, hoping neither of them would have to be in defense mode. In wearing socks, he slid past the kitchen threshold and caught himself before turning into the room where Ryker was jumping up on someone.

"Ryker!" he shouted, rushing to aid the person before seeing who it was.

"It's ok," a giggle came out from the redhead. "I missed you too, buddy." She cooed at the giddy pet.

"Wanda?" Bucky quirked his head to the side.

She turned, showing her face. She had slightly bent down, accommodating the dog jumping up and down before he finally settled to nuzzling her knees with his nose and making happy noises at her.