The Blood Phoenix 8: A Captain America: Civil War Fanfiction

Chapter 14: Wakanda and Peace At Last

I awoke in a bed. A soft bed. Surveying my surroundings, I was curious. It was strange at first, but when I tried to sit up, I couldn't move. I winced and grunted, but there was nothing coming. I couldn't feel my legs at all. I looked to the door to see Steve.

'Steve!' I said cheerily. He came in and checked on me.

'How are you feeling?' I let him help me sit up. I couldn't feel anything on my right arm. Moving my covers, I saw a stub of what once was my right arm.

'What happened?' I asked, mortified.

'It's okay,' Steve said, trying to calm me down. 'It's okay. It's fine. They couldn't save your arm, so they amputated it. You're gonna be okay. You also have spinal injuries too, so they got you a wheelchair for that as well. Would you like me to take you around the place, perhaps to see Bucky?'

'Bucky's here?'

'Yes,' he said. Scooping me up bridal style out of the bed, he brought me over to a wheelchair and set me down in it. I looked down at the gown I was wearing.

'This way beats hospital gowns, Steve,' I said, smirking up at him. He pushed me in my wheelchair through the place. I saw guards dressed in strange tribal clothing. I figured I was somewhere tribal. Just then, I saw two people that I recognised. Bucky and the Wakandan prince, T'Challa. 'Take me back to my room, please.'

'Why?' Steve asked. But then the prince noticed me and came to greet me, as did Bucky.

'I see you are well,' the prince noted. I glared at him, saying nothing more. Bucky came to me and I kissed him softly. I was angry, and the tension was clear, even in my kiss.

'So I'm in Wakanda. Last time I heard of Wakanda, it was a threat to be taken here. And put in a prison. You hurt Bucky.'

'That was wrong of me. I apologise.'

'You blamed us without evidence.'

'Again, I apologise.'

'You're forgiven.' I looked at Bucky and my gaze softened. I gave a small smile. I could see that he had no metal arm. 'What, no metal?'

'Stark blew it off.'

'Oh,' I said. I smiled again.

A few days later, I was well enough to keep moving in my wheelchair around the Wakandan citadel and Bucky and I grew deeper in our relationship, spending more and more time together. The medical team in Wakanda even performed a small procedure that would allow me to walk, and I was grateful as I recovered quickly. But the day came when I knew that he and I had to put everything aside and spare time for ourselves, when we would have to get HYDRA out of our heads sometime. It was a rather wintry day in Wakanda when Steve escorted me into a hospital room on Wakanda with a table, several electronic boards and two large chambers. Instantly, I became short of breath. Panicked at the sight, I tapped Steve's arm. 'Can we please go? I'm getting a panic attack.' I knew what the chambers were. Remembering my time in HYDRA, where they put Bucky and I in cryofreeze chambers until we became useful for missions. I was constantly hyperventilating, fearful at the sight. Bucky offered to get off the table and take me out of the room for some air. Once we were out of the room, Bucky stopped to face me as I slid against the wall, knees up to my chest. He crouched in front of me.

'Talk to me, baby. Talk to me.'

'I can't breathe. The cryo chamber... it scares me.'

'I know... but it's for the best. For both of us.'

'I don't want to. I can't.'

'We have to do this, baby. We have to. It's the only way to get this stuff out of our heads. If we want to get HYDRA and everything they ever did to us out of our heads, it's the only way.' I smiled, almost weeping. He touched my cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumb. 'It's okay! It's okay. You don't have to cry. I'll be right there with you the whole time. You'll be doing it side by side with me. You and I will wake up together and we're gonna get married and have lots of kids and-'

'Wait. What?' Shifting his position to kneel on one knee, he dug into his back pocket and retrieved a small velvet box. Placing it on my lap, he opened it with his good hand. In it was a small silver diamond ring. I placed my hand over my mouth, looking at him, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes. Then he spoke.

'Adelaide Ruby Lehnsherr, ever since the day that we met in that HYDRA base in Siberia, I was cold and devoid of emotion. You were so young and trusting and I wanted to protect you with everything I had and everything I was. I didn't know what love was or even how to navigate it, along with everything else that we were suffering through. I felt emotions for you, emotions that I never knew. I didn't want them to hurt you and when they beat you, my heart broke in a million pieces. I still don't really know what love is, and I hope I can be that for you. My heart leapt when we would fight side by side, as the Winter Soldier and the Winter Phoenix. My heart crashed when they would hurt you and threaten you and starve you and treat you like you were nothing. But you weren't to me. You weren't just another soldier, you were a friend. My only friend. After what happened in D.C., you and I began to open up to each other, share our darkest secrets... and we became more than friends. We became... something greater, something stronger. You see, I bought this ring in D.C., when you took me to the museum to help me find out my past. I bought this ring, not knowing why I was doing it, or for who I was doing it for. I was waiting for some lucky girl when I got my head cleared, little did I know that that lucky girl was in front of me. Or in this case, sitting in front of me. I love you more than you will ever know and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, Adelaide Ruby Lehnsherr, will you marry me?' I laughed, with my hand still hiding my mouth.

'Yes! A million times over, yes, yes and yes! I will marry you!' He slipped the ring on my finger. 'Let's do this together, Adelaide.'

'Yes.' I let him take me back in and this time, I didn't panic. I hopped up on the table and the doctors began their examination. When we had finished, I got into my cryofreeze chamber and I let Steve gently restrain me.

'Are you two sure about this?'

'I can't trust my own mind,' Bucky replied. 'So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of our heads, I think going back under is the best thing... for the both of us... for everybody.' Bucky went into the chamber and leaning over, he squeezed my hand. 'It's okay.'

'I know, Bucky.' The doctors slipped the ring off of my hand and placed it back in the box, leaving it for when I came out of cryo. Then the cryofreeze chambers shut and they froze over, giving us an everlasting sleep. Steve walked to the window and stood there, looking out. T'Challa walked over to him.

'Thank you for this,' Steve spoke.

'Your friends and my father, they were both victims. If I can help your friends find peace...'

'You know, if they find out they're here... they'll come for them.'

'Let them try.'