Saving Grace

Chapter XVIII

While Pepper showed Grace how to use the hair dryer, Steve and Bucky went down to the common room floor to start on breakfast. Nat and Clint were finishing up their breakfasts when the super-soldiers came in.

"Morn'n, Cap. Morn'n, Barnes," Clint said while Nat simply nodded her greeting.

"Good morning, Clint," Steve replied.

"Barton. Romanoff," Bucky nodded.

"Is there any bacon left from last week?" Steve asked. "I'm making breakfast for four."

"Four? Don't you mean at least five?" Clint teased.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Robin Hood." Bucky rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge.

"You boys do eat enough for least two each," Nat pipped up.

"Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery," Bucky answered as he dug around in the fridge. "It's not our fault we're hungry enough to eat a horse in the morning."

Steve glanced over at Clint and Nat from the cabinets he was taking a canister of oatmeal from and grinned. Bucky clearly in a very...Bucky...mood today. Bucky joined Steve at the island in the middle of the kitchen with a carton of eggs and a slab of bacon.

"Actually, this punk," he elbowed Steve. "he asked for it, so his bottomless pit is all his fault."

"They didn't tell me that my metabolism would quadruple!"

"Yeah, yeah, we hear you, Stevie."

At that point, Clint and Nat were fighting back laughter and tried to hide it in their glasses of orange juice. Steve grinned ruefully and shook his head. Just then, Pepper and Grace came in.

Bucky caught sight of Grace and momentarily forgot how to breathe. Her hung loose on her under-fed frame, but it brought out the color of her eyes. Her hair, that had framed her face and shoulders in lank strands, now was curly, shining softly in the morning light streaming through the windows. A black headband, probably borrowed from Pepper, held the untamed curls back from her pale face. She was thin and pale from malnutrition,yes, but she was beautiful. He quickly swallowed and looked away, praying no one had noticed his staring.

Steve smiled when he saw his sister standing in the doorway. She was paler and thinner than he remembered, but she looked more like herself. She almost looked comfortable now that she was clean and in decent clothes.

"Feel better, Grace?" he asked with a grin. With a shy smile, she nodded. "These are two friends of mine," Steve continued. "This is Nat and Clint." He pointed to both in turn.

"Stevie and Bucky's friends?" she asked.

"Yep," Nat answered. "which reminds me, you boys joining us for training this afternoon?"

"We'll see," Steve answered, subtly nodding in Grace's direction. Nat nodded in understanding.

"What are you guys training on?" Bucky asked, as he fried the bacon.

"Oh, a little of this and a little of that," Nat replied loftily.

"So informative, your partner, Barton," Bucky commented dryly.

"It's a good thing too, after all the times she's been captured," Clint answered. "Mostly on purpose, of course," he hurriedly added at her withering look.

Steve grinned at the banter and turned to Pepper who had slipped into a seat at the table. "You staying for breakfast, Miss Pepper?"

"Well, it is Saturday," she smiled. "Since it's my day off, I think I have time for breakfast."