Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Eleven

Bucky winced, and looked to the side. "Did you do anything before you came here?" He muttered.

She nodded, "I rang an ambulance, and ran. I think the police will come after me-"

Her breathing began to increase, but Bucky was quick to talk. "We have Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Thor. And Nat-" he glanced at me, "Nat will help."

I nodded, "River there is no way you will be in trouble for this. Right now, you're going to come with me and have a nice warm shower, and then put on a pair of pyjamas. The guest room is near ours, and you will stay with us. So come on." I stood up, and waited by the door as River shakily stood to her feet.

She limped to my side, and together we walked up the stairs and towards the bathroom. "This is your room," I gestured to the guest room I'd cleaned that weekend, "you can go straight to bed if you want. Unless you need us to look more at those nasty cuts."

She slumped onto the top of the toilet seat, and I ran into my room to fetch a pair of pyjamas. Once she had a change of clothes and a large, fluffy towel, I turned the shower on. "The shower gel is in the tray, so is the shampoo and conditioner. Help yourself to a new toothbrush in the cupboard, alright?"

She nodded tiredly, and gave me a small smile, "thank you Amelie."

"Call me Ammy, if you want," I grinned, "everyone else does."

I shut the door, but before I could head downstairs, I noticed a ginger head of hair stood on the landing. Her eyes followed mine as I stepped back, before catching sight of her. "It's late D'Arcy, what are you doing up?"

She pointed a finger to the bathroom door, and yawned. I smiled, and leant down to scoop her into my arms. Her body hugged mine, squeezing tight as I stroked her tangled hair. "Rivers going to be staying with us for a little while. It's going to be lots of fun, but it is late and I'm about to go to bed. Shall we get you back to bed too?"

She nodded sleepily, and held onto my hand as we walked back into her bedroom. Her pink covers were pushed to the end of her bed, and I let her climb in before tucking her securely under the blankets. "Goodnight love," I whispered, tracing the soft chubby cheek that lifted when D'Arcy smiled up at me.

Her hands lifted, and she signed 'Goodnight Mum.'

I grinned, the butterflies reappearing just like they always did whenever she called me her Mum. I stayed by her bed for a moment, as her eyes fluttered shut, before creeping out of the room. There was a nightlight plugged into the socket by D'Arcys door, as her previous home had left her with a fear of the dark, and I left the door open a small crack so she could see the light from the landing from her bed should she wake up.

Bucky was sat still, unmoving, when I entered the kitchen. We'd cleaned the blood and dirty clothes that River had brought with her, and Bucky was left sitting surrounded by the freshly wiped down table and chairs.

"Bucky," I whispered from the door. He didn't move.

I cleared my throat. "James."

I saw his head twitch slightly, and he slowly moved to look at me. His eyes were rimmed with red, from both fatigue and crying, and he reached his hands out to me. I settled comfortably in his lap, stroking his hair as I let myself cry too.

What River had been through was horrific. We'd gathered details over short conversations, and after the revealing confession tonight, it was obvious she was in a lot more pain than we realised.

Bucky was kissing my neck, soft pecks to try and calm me down, when his rough voice broke into my thoughts. "I know who her soulmate is."

I blinked, and drew back slightly. "What do you mean?"