How do you heal?

Chapter 13: Life Goes On

The evening after she arrived Tony had called to give Annie an earful and she just let him yell himself hoarse before giving him the same explanation she had told Happy. Alex is a nurse more capable of taking care of her and if she was supposed to rest she wouldn't do that in the whirlwind that was her parents house. Besides, they had already made plans to come get her on her birthday for a big dinner and she wanted to relax as much as possible before she was bombarded with questions about her injuries from her siblings and their broods of children. While she only had to wear the sling for two days, she doubted she had the make-up skills to cover all the bruising on her face and throat, if she could even put it on without flinching. Tony yelled a little more but grumbled that he understood her choice but was still upset. When she asked when she could return he relayed that Dr. Banner had said no sooner than two weeks and even then she would be on light duty. Tony Tried to talk her into waiting until after Thanksgiving but she said, "I will be on a plane in two weeks one way or another Stark, so unless you plan on kicking me out of the compound I will see you then." A few minutes after they hung up he had texted her a date and time that Happy would be there to get her.

A few days later Annie and Alex sat in the driveway passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, Bubba resting on a bed between them in his signature 'hot dog' costume. Alex had switched around a few shifts at the hospital so she could keep an eye on Annie for the first few days. While she had been enjoying the mini vacation and return of her best friend Alex had to go back to reality tomorrow and Annie had yet to fully explain what had happened.

So as the flow of laughing children slowed to a trickle Alex asked, "So Honey Cakes, it's been a few days and I think I have been incredibly patient, you ready to tell me the full story yet?"

Annie avoided looking at Alex as she stuffed another fun sized candy bar into her mouth and said, "I told you what happened."

"No, you told me a short version of how you got hurt." Alex shot back, grabbing her own piece of candy. "But as your best friend, whom you tell everything to in sometimes excruciating detail, I am still unaware of why you and that beefy hunk of man meat they call Bucky were snuggled up in the first place and honestly I am highly upset you are keeping me in the dark."

Annie threw a wrapper at Alex. "Ew, did you seriously just call him a hunk of man meat?"

"What?" Alex asked innocently. "While I personally find your boss to be more my type, my type being extremely wealthy, I know you and I know that that brown haired, blue eyed, specimen is EXACTLY your type."

Annie rolled her eyes as she stood, pulling her chair into the garage and starting to clean up. "Okay sure, you're right. I find him attractive but seriously, Lex, we just fell asleep watching a movie. That's all."

Alex came in behind Annie, dragging her own chair and Bubba's bed, the dog waddling behind her. "Annie, you are incredibly sweet and kind and caring but you are also reserved and have a hard time getting close to people. So tell me this, in the nine-ish months you have been in New York have you watched a movie with any of the other people living in that building?" Annie crossed her arms but didn't say anything. "Right, and how many times have you just hung out with anyone outside of the meals that you serve? Or gone to a bar? Or done anything other than work or read alone in your room?"

Annie bit her lip before saying, "I hang out with Sam when he visits."

Alex stepped up and placed her hands gently on Annie's shoulders. "Sam, who reminds you of me, the second closest person in your life only to your dad. All that being said, do you understand why I have a hard time believing that you, my shy, guarded, introverted friend, just happened to randomly let someone you only kind of know into your room and then felt comfortable enough to fall asleep next to them after knowing them for what, eight weeks?"

"Well yes, when you apply that much logic to it it does seem understandable." Annie finally answered sourly.

Alex smirked and stepped back. "So why aren't you telling me the truth?"

Annie groaned and plopped back down into her chair. "Because, Alexandra, if I tell you everything I have to say it out loud and somehow in my weird brain saying it out loud makes it real and if it's real I can't keep pretending everything is normal and I'm not starting to have feelings for him!" She had noticed the moments her heart skipped and felt herself laugh in a way she hadn't in months but Annie had consciously been shutting out the truth from her own brain. The thought of having feelings for Bucky seemed absolutely ridiculous to her. She had had her fairytale, her happy ending, and it was over. Outside of that Bucky had just spent decades having his head scrambled and he was from a different time. He likely wasn't interested in any type of relationship until he got his life together and even then why on earth would he be interested in her?

"Why do you feel like you have to pretend you don't have feelings for him?" Alex asked as she pulled the garage door shut.

"I don't know, Lex, maybe because it's a work thing, maybe because while I do enjoy being around him I really don't KNOW him, know him and it's not like he would be interested in me and..." She trailed off for a moment, reaching up to hold the ring she had put on an old silver chain. "And maybe because it feels like it's too soon, like it's a betrayal."

Alex walked over and sat down in her own chair facing Annie. "Hey, if you feel comfortable around this guy and you have feelings for him there's obviously a reason." She leaned forward growing very serious. "And you know as well as I do that Charlie wouldn't want you to stop living your life. I mean the three of us literally had 'what if' discussions hundreds of times over the years and you both said you would just want the other to be happy! As for the work thing, so what? It's not like Tony would fire you and even if he did, you come back here and find another job and we start a witchy commune that may or may not turn into a cult. No big deal. Also, how do you know he wouldn't be interested in you? You're a catch."

Annie laughed and clutched at her ribs before throwing her hands in the air. "I don't know, like you said, I'm weird and shy and have a hard time getting close to people so I just would rather not even think about it so I don't get my hopes up. Also, he's nearly one hundred so it's not like we have a lot of shared life experience to bond over. But now it's out in the open and I have admitted to you and myself and that's as far as it's going to go because I cannot take the embarrassment of rejection and continue to work and live there."

"I said you were an introvert not weird but okay coward, let's get to bed. Your big birthday dinner is tomorrow and I have to go back to the working world in the morning." Alex helped Annie stand and they went into the house.