Come Back To Me

Chapter 24

February 1945

"You want another one?"

I looked at Iris, pushing my shot glass over to her. She grabbed it, filling it to the rim with vodka. I gulped it down, cringing as I felt the burn at the back of my throat. I sighed, leaning back in my chair as I replayed everything over in my head. It had been two weeks since Howard told me about Steve. The plane Red Skull had was carrying bombs that were going to eliminate major cities in the United States. These bombs were powered by the Tesseract. Steve defeated Red Skull but wasn't able to make it out himself. He didn't see any way of safely landing the plane without setting off the bombs so he crashed the plane into the ocean. Howard has chartered multiple expeditions to search for him but the only thing he found was the Tesseract.

Howard told me that Peggy was able to communicate with Steve until the radio lost signal. He asked her to make sure I would forgive him for breaking his pinky promise to me. Only Steve would be worried about something like that in a life or death situation. Both Bucky and Steve died protecting others and I was so proud of them. But now I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Waking up everyday knowing Bucky was gone was difficult enough but now I have to deal with my best friend being gone too. It had always been us three for the last 19 years. So much happiness in my life came from knowing those two. They were my family.

I wiped away fallen tears when I heard footsteps enter the kitchen. "I figured you two would still be awake."

I smiled sadly at my mother, watching her walk to the cabinet to grab a shot glass. She sat down, grabbing the bottle and filling all of our glasses.

"Why don't you move here? You can stay here with us until you find a job. I'm sure I can get you a position at the hospital." My mother suggested.

"Thanks Ma but New York is my home. I want to go back, live in the home that I shared with Bucky."

She gave me an understanding smile, taking my hand in hers. "Then how about I come visit in a few weeks?"

I chuckled. "Sounds great."

The rest of the night was spent drinking and reminiscing on memories we had of Bucky and Steve. The next morning I woke up making the decision I would head back to New York. After packing I wanted to spend time alone on the beach. I walked out of the house, the cold winter air hitting me. I wrapped the blanket tightly around my body, making my way down the beach. I sat down near the water, closing my eyes, listening to the waves crash. My mind immediately thought of a memory with Bucky. It was April 1938, he surprised me with a trip to visit my mother. We sat on the beach talking about our future.

I looked out at the ocean, a grin on my face. "Maybe one day we'll move here. Turn our kids into little fish."

Bucky laughed. "You're weird."

"Can you not see us sitting here while our kids run around, playing in the sand? Me and the kids chasing you into the ocean. You holding me in a tight hug while we watch the kids swim and be happy."

"I want that for us sweetheart."

I grabbed the back of Bucky's neck, pulling him into a sweet kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist, flipping us over on the blanket. Bucky broke the kiss but kept his eyes on me.

"Stop looking at me like that." I felt my cheeks turning pink.

"I can't help it. You're so beautiful."

"You are too." I grinned, seeing he was the one who was now blushing.

"How many kids are you planning on giving me anyway?"

"As many as you want Mr. Barnes."

"I'm thinking three."

I let out a quiet sob, hugging my knees to my chest. I missed him so much. I felt someone sit down beside me, wrapping their arms around me.

"It's going to be okay honey."

My mother kissed the top of my head, hugging me tighter as I continued to cry.