Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 44

We managed to escape the building without attracting any unwanted attention and made our way through the back alley to where Sam would meet us with the SUV. Only a few minutes later, he pulled up silently in the large black vehicle and helped Steve load Artemis in the very back while Bucky and I carefully folded Mara into backseat.

My hands flutter over her injury, keeping one hand pressed firmly against the wound while the other reached for the first aid kit tucked under the seat and wrenched it open. Bucky pushes me aside, taking my other hand and pressing it on top of the other, while he rips open a package of gauze pads and passes them to me.

Tears roll down my face as I take them, mumbling to my best friend that she'll be okay over and over again, while her blue eyes flutter open and shut. She was losing blood faster than I know what to do with, and Bucky repeated her name to keep her awake while I continued to work. I don't know much about gunshot wounds, aside from basic the basic first aid certification I was required to have for my job, but my training as a physical therapist meant I had a basic knowledge of the human anatomy that helped more than it could hurt.

"Come on, Mara," I mumble, wiping away tears with my forearm. "Stay awake, Mar. Stay with me."

Bucky glances up at Steve, who is watching us anxiously from the front seat, "She needs a doctor."

"We're five minutes from George Washington University Hospital," Sam announces, driving as fast as possible without any unnecessary jostling.

Bucky nods, turning his attention back to me, "We're almost there, sweetheart. She's gonna be okay."

I shake my head, tossing away a blood-soaked gauze pad and grabbing a new one from the stack he gave me. I've never seen this much blood up close, I've never had this much blood on my hands, and I'm afraid if I stop moving then I'll panic. It's already bad enough knowing that my best friend is bleeding out right in front of me because my sister put a bullet in her stomach. I don't want to think about whether or not she'll make it. I can't think about that.

"I can't lose her, Bucky," I whisper. "I won't."

Rounding a corner, we slide on the seat for a moment, and Mara gasps in pain. Her eyes fly open, bright blue irises staring up at me, as she struggles to sit upright. Shock is etched over my features, and Bucky helps me keep her from moving.

"Mara," I tell her. "Mar, it's okay. You're gonna be okay. Just hold still."

Her chest rises and falls rapidly while her hands push at mine. Tears fall down her cheeks as her face contorts in agony, tearing at the fabric of her shirt as she fails to move my hands.

"It burns," she screams out in agony while Bucky holds her hands down. "Make it stop!! It burns!!"

Pulling away the blood-soaked cotton of her t-shirt, I lift up the gauze to inspect the wound. Blood is no longer gushing from the torn skin, but I can see something moving inside. Something is happening to the bullet.

"What the hell?" Bucky exclaims, eyes wide. "It's coming back out!"

I shake my head, "T-that's not possible."

"You're healing her," he insists, pointing at where my left hand is still in contact with her skin.

A faint glow is emitting from my palm, the light disappearing into Mara while the wound continues to shift. She writhes in pain, struggling in vain against Bucky's strength, until finally a tiny metal slug pushes its way from her abdomen and the wound begins knitting itself closed. Once it's finished, she collapses - unconscious - while untouched new skin has replaced the bullet wound.

"What's going on back there?" Sam asks, breaking up the silence after a few moments. "I kinda need a status update."

Bucky looks up at me, "It's gone."

"Sh-she's okay," I say shakily, checking her pulse only to discover it is returning to normal, and exhale a sigh of relief. "She's okay."

Sam chuckles, "Well, hot damn. Guess we don't need a hospital, then?"

<><><><>

We dropped Mara off at the hospital regardless, swapping her blood-stained shirt with mine while I zipped up Bucky's jacket around me. Even though the wound was healed, she lost a lot of blood, and I don't think whatever I did to heal her could fix that. After answering a few questions about her, the hospital admitted her and promised to call me once she regained consciousness. I felt like a horrible friend, abandoning her there, but I couldn't stay. Not with Artemis knocked out in the car with Steve, Sam, and Bucky.

After a few quick phone calls, we were in the air again - this time headed for upstate New York.

Despite Bucky and Sam's protestations, we don't really have any other options than the Avengers facility. We can only hope that Tony is receptive to our presence, considering Bucky is with us, and pray he doesn't start World War III at the sight of him.

"For the record, this is a bad idea," Natasha says, shaking her head as she greets us on the tarmac.

Steve shrugs, "It was our only idea."

"That's not entirely true," Sam interrupts. "Y'all wouldn't listen to me when I suggested we drop little Miss Sparky off in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."

Bucky groans, "That's not an idea, that's murder."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you. We all know you wouldn't have a problem with it if it weren't your girlfriend's sister, Bambi," Sam quips, earning a glare from both Steve and Natasha. "What?!"

I take a deep breath, "Can we just get this over with?"

Natasha nods, waiting for Steve to pick up Artemis and follow her into the facility. I can practically taste the apprehension in the air as Bucky follows them, and - shooting a glance at him - I can see his jaw tense as we near the compound. Whatever happened between him and Tony Stark was bad, I've picked up on that much, but I'm hoping we're able to get past it. For Artemis' sake.

"I didn't know you were having friends over," Stark's voice calls out the second we enter the building. "I would've called ahead and ordered a bouncy castle."

Natasha grimaces, watching as Tony Stark rounds the corner into view. I recognize him from TV, his face sporting it's normal sarcastic grin for a split second before it disappears. Following his gaze from Steve to Sam, my eyes land on Bucky. Frozen in place, his hand grips mine tightly as Tony's eyes narrow.

"What the hell is going on here?"

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

Fun fact: The Avengers facility (shown) is actually the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

Which is where I got my Master's degree. I barely missed filming of AOU at UEA!!!

Still, I have been there. Many times. My dorm was right next to this building.

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