Saving Grace

Chapter XIV

Steve carried a tray containing a bowl of chicken noodle soup, a handful of crackers, and a tall glass of lemonade into Grace's room.

"Hello, Grace." With effort, he smiled at her to let her know that he was not there to hurt her.

Grace quickly tried to sit up in bed, but she was still recovering from thawing. Her weak arms would not support her, and she fell against the pillows. Steve quickly set the tray down on the side table and pressed the button to raise the head of the bed.

"You hungry?" he asked, setting the tray in her lap. She looked up at him in confusion. He handed her the spoon. "Eat," he said gently, pointing to the soup.

The tall blonde man handed her a spoon. He said something, but she did not understand. However, somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a faint buzz, like she should know what he was saying. He pointed to the steaming soup. Was he giving her a hot meal? She never got hot meals, NEVER. She always received this gray-creamy colored mush that was highly nutritional but highly tasteless.

Hesitantly, she dipped her spoon into the soup. Like the word he-Steve- spoke, the scent made her feel like she knew it...a very long time ago. The moment the warm, savory broth touch her tongue she somehow knew she had eaten it before. She could not fathom how; all she remembered was HYDRA and their...training. They never gave her anything like this. How had she had she eaten it? Had a technician sneaked it in her? She was sure that she would remember that. How did she remember the taste of this amazing food? It the best thing she could ever remember eating. It warmed her inside and out, and not just physically. She felt it warm a place deep inside her chest that she was not sure existed before that moment.

"Grace?" A voice spoke, and for the briefest moment, Grace knew it belonged to one of the most important people in the world. She needed to know who it was. Her head jerked up, and her eyes met blue ones. Her gut clenched; she knew those eyes. She blinked and realized it was the tall blonde, Steve. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing at her in confusion and concern.

Questions swirled around her mind. Did she know him? Why could she not remember meeting him before an hour ago? Was he important? A trainer? Was he to be her handler?

She knew that she should not have these thoughts, these questions. She was not supposed to ask questions. She was supposed to do what they told her to do.

Dipping the spoon into the soup again, she took a second bite. The same thing happened; she felt warm, and it felt familiar like it had happened a hundred times before. She was...comforted...and confused...at the same time by this new-was it really new?-feeling. Steve tucked a limp, greasy lock behind her ear and pressed his lips to her temple. Without thinking, she leaned into his touch. It felt safe. Warmth flooded her chest again. What was this feeling? Why did it all familiar when no one had ever touched or treated her like like this in all her memory?

She sensed him pause at her reaction. She instantly looked up at him, scanning him for his reaction. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Would he hurt her? They always did when she did something wrong.

Instead of the anger, contempt, or disappointment she expected, his face was full of caution, but his eyes, his beautiful, familiar, blue eyes held a spark of hope amidst the swirl of firm determination and a nameless softness. So familiar, so dear, so...

A flash of pain suddenly stabbed through her temples like knives. Over and over, stabs of agony throbbed through her skull. She did know if she cried out and curled up or remain still and silent as HYDRA trained her to. Sound began filtering in, but she did not know if any of the cacophony came from herself or not. All she knew was pain.

Bucky sat silent and Moody in the common room with the Avengers. The others battered quietly as he nursed a cold bottle of beer.

Suddenly, Steve's voice rang through the intercom. "Bucky! Bruce! Get down here! Something's wrong with Grace!" In the background, they could hear moans and cries of pain with a few words of German scattered in.

Bucky felt his heart clench painfully, and he was entering the elevator before he even realized he had risen from his chair. A few moments later, Bruce joined him in the elevator, and Bucky slapped the button for the lab floor.

When they reach the right floor, Bucky rushed from the elevator and down the hall to Grace 's room. He could already hear her screams. He found Grace scrunched into a tiny ball in Steve's lap. He held her tightly to his chest rocking her back and forth, whispering soothingly in her ear. Her hands were pressed to her temple, her fingers gripping her hair so hard Bucky could see white knuckles showing through the lank, golden strands.

"Oh, Babydoll..." Bucky breathed and knelt in front of them.

Steve quickly looked at him. "What did you say?"

"Babydoll...I don't know why I said that..." Bucky ran a hand through her hair as Grace shifted to bury her face against Steve's chest.

Bruce appeared at Steve's side with a needle in hand. "Do you think she'll let me give her a shot?"

Bucky hesitated. He knew HYDRA probably had used countless needles on her. She probably gardener feared them now. However, he also knew HYDRA would have trained her to not fight her "caregivers." "I'm not sure," he finally said. "I don't like the idea."

"It's the best means of helping her, Buck," Steve said, turning red, moist eyes to his friend. "Injections work faster."

Bucky bit his lip. "Okay," he finally said, and moved back so that Bruce could reach her arm better. "This is Bruce, Der Schatten; he's going to give you something, a shot, for the pain."

She turned her tear-stained face to him took great gulps of air in an effort to calm down. As soon she saw the needle, it was like a light switch had been flipped. No more tears, just a few shuddering breaths. She simply stared blankly ahead as Bruce gently put the needle on her upper arm and pushed the syringe down. Moments later, her eyes began to droop, and she relaxed against Steve, though it was clear that she was fighting it.

"Sleep, Schatten," Bucky whispered to her. "It is not wrong to sleep when you are so unwell." She looked over at him, then up at Steve.

Steve wiped the tears from her face and nodded. "Rest, Gracie." Her eyes fluttered closed. In minutes, her breathing grew steady and shallow, indicating that she was fast asleep.

"What did you give her, Dr. Banner?" Bucky asked, never taking his eyes off Grace's slumbering face.

"It's a combination sedative/pain-reliever. We've been developing it for you and Steve; we find that you two heal better and faster when you are knocked out," Bruce explained. "I just gave her a smaller dose to start with."

"Here, Buck, you hold her while we change the bedding," Steve suddenly said. Bucky looked at the bed and realized that Grace had spilled her soup all over the sheets in her sudden bout of pain. Hesitantly, he held out his arms for her. Steve carefully settled her knees over his metal arm and her head against his flesh shoulder. Bucky slowly maneuvered himself into a nearby chair.

A sweet warm feeling stole over his heart as the ex-assassin gazed down at her slumbering face. He could not explain how it felt to hold her; the way she fit in his arms, feeling her weight against his shoulder...it all felt so...comfortable...familiar...so right...as if he had held her a hundred times before. Like this was how it was supposed to be..............