The summer quickly passes and soon enough, the twins are back to school. It isn't long before Lizzie starts to fall apart.
Bucky hasn't seen Lizzie in a couple days. Between her school and their jobs, they hardly get any time together. He knows that she is at home right then so he decides to visit her.
He walks into the house and up to Lizzie's room. Lizzie finally found enough courage to go through Sarah's stuff and move into her old room so now Lizzie had her own space.
He knocks on the door and he doesn't get a response. He hears movement inside so he decides to knock again.
"I'm busy!" Lizzie yells through the door.
"It's me, can I come in?" Bucky asks.
"I'm busy!" Lizzie yells again
Bucky is hurt by her dismissal, they haven't seen each other in a few days and she won't even say hello?
"Wow, I feel so loved, Elizabeth," he says spitefully.
He hears a loud bang and then the door is opened. He can tell Lizzie is furious.
"You think I don't miss you, you idiot? Of course I do but I have a five page paper I have to finish before I leave for work in thirty minutes. If I don't finish the paper now, I'll have to finish it at one in the morning before I have to wake up at 6 am. So as much as I'd love to see you, I'd prefer to not die of sleep deprivation. I have only slept ten hours in the last three days so I'm sorry if I'm a little impatient," she says angrily.
He doesn't say anything. Instead he just pulls her into his arms. She fights him for a minute before surrendering to his comforting touch. The stress of the last months finally hits her and she realizes how utterly tired she is. She feels so safe in his arms that she begins to cry.
"I'm so tired Jamie," she sobs into his chest.
He begins to slowly sway her from side to side and rubs her back soothingly.
"Shhh, it's okay. I got you," he whispers into her hair.
He picks her up and sits on the bed and sets her on his lap. She cries for a little while but stops suddenly when she sees the time.
She crawls off of Bucky's lap in panic. She's going to be late! She's never late. She's so distracted that she doesn't even realize she began changing into her uniform with Bucky still in the room until he clears his throat uncomfortably.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Jaime," Lizzie says.
She is still in a state of undress so Bucky is staring respectfully at the ceiling.
"Not exactly how I imagined seeing you undressed for the first time," Bucky jokes uncomfortably.
"You've imagined me undressed?" Lizzie asks.
"Besides the point, El. Anyways, you're not going to work today. You're going to call work and tell them you're sick," Bucky says.
"I can't, I'm not sick," Lizzie dismisses.
"You are sick, you're exhausted," Bucky says.
"I'm not, I can go to work," Lizzie tries to get ready again.
"If you can tell me what 32 times 6 is, I'll let you go to work," Bucky says.
Lizzie knows that she can easily do the math but when she tries to crunch the numbers in her head, she can't do it.
She begins crying again in frustration. She just stands there in the middle of the room in her bra and underwear, crying like a child.
Bucky doesn't want to seem like he's taking advantage of her while she's got so much skin exposed but he needs to comfort her.
He pulls her in his arms again, being mindful of where he places his hands.
"I'm going to call your boss and tell them you're not coming in today. Get dressed in something comfortable and go lay down. I'll be back up in a minute," Bucky comforts.
Bucky goes downstairs and calls the bar. Her boss is luckily very understanding and asks Bucky to tell Beth to feel better.
He couldn't have been gone for more than three minutes but she was already fast asleep.
He gives a silent laugh and kicks off his shoes before he climbs in behind her. He holds her and though he isn't tired, he finds himself drifting into a soft sleep himself.
Bucky wakes a couple hours later but Lizzie is still passed out.
In her sleep, she looks so much younger. Since Sarah died, it seems as if the stress has painted years onto Lizzie's face but asleep, she looks like the young seventeen year old girl she's supposed to be.
She sleeps for another half hour before slowly waking. She cuddles further into Bucky but he can tell from her breathing that she's awake.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I know you just missed me," Lizzie says.
He kisses the back of her head and begins running his fingers up and down her arm. He doesn't think he's ever been so relaxed.
"I understand, I know you were just tired," Bucky says quietly.
She turns in his arms to face him. They are both laying on their sides facing each other. She lays her head on one of his arms while the other rests on her hip.
"I don't know what to do Jaime. I feel like I'm being torn in all directions but there's no way to stop it. I can't stop working because I need to pay the bills but I can't drop out of school either," Lizzie says.
"What about going back to the hospital? I'm sure they'd except you back and the hours were much more reasonable," Bucky says.
"I can't make enough money to pay the bills, that's why I quit in the first place," Lizzie says.
Bucky wishes she would except more help. He makes enough where he could help her out a bit.
"What if I helped you out?" Bucky said.
He already knew the effort was futile though.
"No, I don't want to owe you. I don't want that inequality hanging over our relationship," Lizzie says.
Then an idea hit him.
"Move in with me," Bucky says.
Lizzie quickly sits up and looks down at him in shock.
"What?!" Lizzie says.
Bucky sits up next to her.
"Move in with me. It makes sense, we can split the bills and you don't have to kill yourself from overworking. Plus, I love you and want to share my life with you," Bucky says.
Lizzie gets out of bed and starts pacing. He can tell she's panicking.
"That's crazy Bucky, we've only been dating for three months!" Lizzie says.
"So? It's not like we were strangers before we got together. We've known each other for years," Bucky says.
"I can't leave Steve to fend on his own," Lizzie says.
"You know I'd never want you to leave Steve alone. He can move in too," Bucky says.
He can tell he's starting to wear her down. He's prepared to pick apart each argument she presents.
"I don't want to sell the house," Lizzie says.
"Then I'll move in here," Bucky says.
"You'd give up your apartment?" Lizzie asks.
"In a heartbeat. I'll move out tonight if you want," Bucky says.
She pauses for a second to really think about his proposal. It makes financial sense and she loves him. Plus she realizes that she actually really wants to live with him.
"Okay," Lizzie whispers.
"Okay?" Bucky asks.
"I want you to move in," Lizzie says.
He gets up from the bed and pulls her into a hard kiss. They have to pull away because they are both smiling too much.
"You will have to share a room with Steve though because I've become accustomed to not sharing a space with a smelly boy," Lizzie jokes.
"Brat," Bucky says.
He kisses her again and everything is okay in the world.