Bucky was exhausted by the end of the work week. All he wanted was to go home and relax with his girl.
He loved that he got to go home to her now. It always felt horrible leaving her at night and now he doesn't have to.
He knows Steve is going to be out tonight so Lizzie and him will have the house to themselves.
"Ellie, I'm home," Bucky says.
He walks into the living room and sees Lizzie sitting on the couch. She is staring blankly in front of her and she is clutching the phone tightly in her hand though it is disconnected.
"Ellie?" Bucky asks in concern.
He walks over to the couch and sits next to Lizzie. He gently pries the phone out of her hand and places it in the cradle.
"Ellie, honey. You're scaring me," Bucky says.
The fear in his voice finally gets her to snap out of it.
"Riley called," Lizzie says.
He didn't know what he was expecting but it wasn't that.
"I didn't know you two were talking," Bucky admits.
"We weren't, we're not. Since I turned down the proposal, we haven't talked," Lizzie says.
"Why did he call then?" Bucky asks.
"He wanted to let me know that James Royce turns 18 in two days and then he's going to be released," Lizzie says.
Bucky is suddenly brought back to the day that he found her in the alley.
His chest fills with dread and panic. He feels like he can't breathe.
The boy who almost killed the love of his life is getting released.
He almost killed her once, why won't he do it again? He can't lose her, he won't allow it.
Lizzie notices that he begins to hyperventilate.
"Jamie, Jamie calm down," Lizzie urges.
If anything it makes Bucky struggle more.
What if he comes after her again and he can't save her this time? What if he can't protect her?
"James, look at me," Lizzie demands.
She straddles his lap and grabs his face in her hands.
"James," Lizzie says.
She grabs his hand and places it on her chest right over her heart. He can feel it's steady pressure against his hand.
He rests his forehead against hers.
"Focus on my heartbeat Jaime. Try to match your breathing with mine okay?" She says.
She takes a few deep breaths and she sighs in relief when he breathes with her.
She can still feel his body shake underneath her.
He pulls her tightly against him and buries his face in her neck.
"I'm okay, Jaime. I'm right here with you and nothings going to happen okay?" Lizzie says.
He doesn't say anything but just pulls her body closer. He just needs to feel her close.
He lifts his head from her neck and presses a desperate kiss to her lips. She jumps in surprise but quickly surrenders into the kiss.
The kiss becomes more and more heated and Lizzie pulls at Bucky's shirt to get him closer. He grabs her hips and pulls her flush to his body.
His hands move down the outside of her legs to the hem of her dress. He tests the boundaries by stroking the skin just above the bottom of her dress. She grabs his hands and drags them a bit higher on her legs, giving him permission to continue.
She begins to unbutton his shirt and lets her hands touch the skin she exposes.
This is the point where they usually stop. They know if the go any further they won't be able to stop.
Bucky is the one to break the kiss. Bucky is almost always the one who decides to cool things down. He never wants her to feel like he's pressuring her.
"Ellie, we need to stop," Bucky says breathlessly.
"I don't want to stop," Lizzie says.
"Ellie..." Bucky warns.
"I don't want to stop, you don't want to stop. I'm ready. I want you and I think we need each other tonight," Lizzie says.
He smiles at her and kisses her again. This kiss is soft and slow and filled with love.
"Okay but I'd prefer not to on the couch. I don't really want your brother to walk in on that," Bucky says.
"Please don't talk about my brother right now," Lizzie says.
"Sorry... are you sure you're ready? Because we can,"
Lizzie interrupts him with a kiss.
"Jaime, take me to bed," Lizzie says.
And he does just that.
In his dream, he is brought back to the alley. He has to relieve holding her as the life bled out of her.
Then suddenly the dream shifts. He is at the lookout and suddenly sees not the young Ellie of his previous nightmare but his Ellie.
She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck.
"I love you, Jaime," she says.
She stands on her toes and kisses him.
Suddenly he hears a loud crack and feels her gasp against his lips.
He pulls back and notices the blood pooling on the front of her dress. She looks down as well and then begins to fall.
He catches her before she falls to the ground but he is brought to his knees.
He holds her in his arms as she slowly bleeds out. He tries to get her to put pressure on the wound but she has lost too much blood already.
"Ellie, Just hold on," Bucky begs.
He can feel the tears streaming down his face.
"Jaime," she says weakly.
"You'll be okay," he says in denial.
"I love you," Lizzie says.
The light leaves her eyes and her body goes slack.
Bucky screams in anguish as he rocks the dead body of the girl he loves.
Bucky nearly cries in relief when he wakes up. It was just a dream but it felt so real.
He reaches across the mattress to seek out Lizzie's warmth but finds it cold.
He shoots up to see that she isn't in bed with him.
On a normal night, he would probably just assume that she was using the restroom or getting a drink of water but after the dream he just had, he can't help but panic.
He quickly gets up and searches for her. He notices the light on in the kitchen and runs in to find Lizzie with a glass of water in her hand.
She looks at Bucky and can see the fear in his eyes. After the news they got earlier, she isn't surprised that he panicked when he saw she was gone from bed.
She walks over to him and wraps her arms around him.
"I'm sorry, I just came downstairs for a drink," she says.
He buries his face in the top of her blond hair.
"No, I overreacted. I just had a nightmare and when I woke up and you were gone, I thought the worst," Bucky says.
Lizzie realized now that Bucky always focused on the trauma she experienced during the incident.
She doesn't know if he ever truly dealt with his own trauma.