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One Month Later
Location: Delacroix, Louisiana
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Friday
August 26, 2016
9:30 AM
~~~~~
It took a while for Steve and Natasha to regain contact with Sam after everything that happened. Once Steve got ahold of Sam and figured out he had been laying low at home, in Louisiana, Steve instantly wanted to fly out to him and make sure everything was okay. Nat wasn't one to turn down a trip across country, but it wasn't going to be a real trip without Ivory.
"Steve...are you positive this is a good idea?" Nat said as the pair got out of the Quinjet. Sam was expecting the three of them and told them to land the jet on the acres of land behind his sister's home where they couldn't be spotted.
"Natasha...the kid's got a super soldier, and an ex-assassin looking after her...she'll be fine." Steve said, carrying a sleeping Ivory on his shoulder.
"I feel like she just built up a rapport with Clint, Laura, and the kids...you don't think we're introducing too many people too soon?" Natasha asks worried.
"I know it may seem like a lot, but she's been staying with us for over two months now...at some point we have to stop babying her, if we want her to heal, we have to stretch her outside of her comfort zone..." Steve sighs.
"I know, I know, I just worry about her..."
"Trust me I do too...I truly think this is going to help her." Steve says with a small grin. Natasha looked at the sleeping toddler on Steve's shoulder and gently stroked her cheek.
"I can take her off your hands..." Nat says holding her arms out for the girl.
"But Nat I wanna hold her...she's never snuggled me like this before..."
"Oh that's bullshit Rogers, I always see her giving you the best snuggles with her eyes open...Fine, I'll let you have this moment with her this time but next time, I want her." Nat said jokingly, playfully crossing her arms over her chest.
The two of them approached the front door of Sam's current home, and knocked on the door.
Sam quickly, and promptly answered the door, earning smiles from both Nat and Steve.
"Please, come on in." Sam said welcoming the pair in. As the two of them entered the home Ivory woke up and looked all around.
"Hi sunshine, good morning." Steve said giving the girl a hug.
"Mornin." She replied, stretching her arms as far as they could go.
"Want down please." Ivory requested, Steve adhering to the girl's words.
"Hi sweetheart did you nap good?" Natasha says to Ivory, getting down to her level so she could hug her.
"Uh-huh, I hungry Nan." She said rubbing her eyes.
"We'll eat soon...but first, there's someone you should meet." She said turning the child to face Sam.
Ivory was still half asleep, looking around the home, that is until she locked eyes with Sam.
"Hi There sweetheart, do you remember me?" Sam asks the girl, crouching down to her level.
"I dunno..." Ivory said hiding behind Steve's leg.
"Well, my name is Sam...the way we met was a little scary, but I sure didn't forget you. What's your name?"
"Go ahead, you wanna tell him your name?" Steve said encouraging Ivory to speak up for herself.
"I-I..." Ivory began looking up at Steve.
"It's okay, take your time, just like we practiced."
"I-I am...Ivory..." Ivory says continuing to hold her gaze with Sam. Steve could tell Ivory was afraid, but he was proud of her for going outside of her comfort zone.
"Ivory!" The girl shouted smiling proudly that she was able to correctly introduce herself. "I am Ivory..."
"Those are some good words kid, good job! High five?" Sam offered holding his hand out.
"No, No...like this!" Ivory said balling her little hand up to form a fist.
"Ohh, so you're a fist bump type of girl!" Sam said chuckling, giving the girl a fist bump.
"Y-You...Sam?"
"Yes, I am Sam."
"Like Sam-I-am!" Ivory cheered excitedly referencing one of her favorite doctor Seuss stories.
"That's right, Sam-I-am." Sam replied trying not to laugh.
"You Sam, I am Ivory!" Ivory smiled excited fist bumping Sam again. Natasha watched Ivory extremely proud of the moment she shared with Sam.
"You still hungry?" Natasha asks, lifting the girl onto her hip.
"Uh-huh."
"I just whipped up breakfast not long ago, there's plenty for you guys." Sam says leading them all to the kitchen. "There's Pancakes...eggs...sausage..."
"I know someone who likes pancakes..." Natasha said looking at Ivory.
~~~~~
"Wow Steve I'm impressed...after everything I've heard about Ivory, it seems like you guys have definitely been working with her...that's awesome progress." Sam compliments.
"I know...I give her credit, she may be two, but she is so smart that it's kind of scary..." Natasha says.
"I know, I'm proud of her too." Steve adds. "She took a situation that was so frightening to her, and turned it into a learning experience in a matter of seconds...if that doesn't tell you the type of father Bucky is, then I don't know what else does..."
"She's a quick learner," Sam says. "She has you both to thank for that.
"So...Where's Sarah and the boys?" Steve asks, while him and Natasha put together plates, sitting down at the table.
"AJ and Cass are at school, Sarah just left out for work not too long ago. She only works half days so she'll probably be in around 1ish and then to pick up the boys from school." Sam says, as he had finished putting together a small plate for Ivory.
Sam placed the plate in front the girl and she instantly became shy.
"What do you say?" Natasha says to the girl.
"Thank you." Ivory says looking at Sam before glancing back down at her plate, just staring.
"You're welcome. You okay?" Sam asks Ivory.
"She's fine...that's normal for her." Natasha whispered trying not to draw attention. "I try not to say a whole lot...If she feels pressured she'll cry..."
"Aww really?" Sam says watching the girl sheepishly stare down at her plate.
"Yeah, the key is just to let her do her thing, and eventually she'll touch her food..." Steve whispers.
Unfortunately eating was still a huge struggle for Ivory, and at this point Natasha thought the girl was going to need food therapy.
The only thing the girl would eat without giving Natasha a hard time was peanut butter and jelly, applesauce, or chicken nuggets. A lot of the time most breakfast foods were a huge exception but getting Ivory to eat much of anything was like pulling teeth. The only one who could get through to her when it came to food was Steve.
"Go on Ivory, Sam was nice enough to make you some food. I thought you were hungry?" Natasha said to Ivory, causing the child to sadly look down at her lap, trying not to cry.
"Come on sweet girl, I know it's hard...but you need to eat..." Natasha explained to Ivory. Ivory continued to look down at her lap, and aggressively rubbed her hands into her face, usually something she did when she was on the verge of crying.
"Ivory, look at Uncle Steve." Steve said to the girl getting her to make eye contact with him. "You're okay, there's no need to cry...Guess what!?"
"What?" Ivory asked trying to wipe the tears about to escape her eyes.
"Look, Uncle Steve has pancakes too!" Steve said taking a bite from his plate.
"Ivory and Steve have the same?" Ivory says.
"Yeah we have the same! I'll eat all your pancakes if you don't want yours." He said.
"Uh-no, it's mine!" Ivory giggled, instantly cheering up.
"Then eat! Your belly will be hungry!"
"Uncle Steve help, help me Pease?" Ivory asked.
"You want them cut?"
"Yes please." Ivory said nodding. Steve cut up her pancakes, and Ivory watched in delight.
"Here Ivory, eat up." Steve said giving the girl's plate back.
"Thank you Steve." Ivory replied using her fork to poke and pick up pieces of her pancake. She would stare at the pieces and let them fall off of her fork, not really eating them.
"That's crazy..." Sam whispered to Natasha.
"Yeah...I told you..." Nat whispered back.
"Ivory, come on sweet girl, you need to eat, I don't want your belly to be hungry." Natasha says.
"M-My belly already hungry..." Ivory replied, giving Nat a little sass in the process.
"Hey, Ivory..." Steve says getting the girl's attention.
"I guess since you're not eating, I'm gonna eat your food, see look..." he said showing Ivory his empty plate. "I'm all done and my belly is still hungry..."
"Uh No...mine..." Ivory says protectively covering her plate. "I eat now..." Ivory said actually using her fork to pick up a piece of pancake to eat it.
"Good girl, I want you to eat. You want syrup?"
"Yes pease...o-only a little...too sticky." Ivory replied, Steve making sure to add some syrup to the girl's plate.
"I know, Uncle Steve knows you don't like anything sticky." Steve chuckled. "Go ahead and eat sweet girl."
Without another word Ivory finally decided to dig into her food, Natasha smiling over at Steve in amazement.
"Every time, it never fails...Good work Steve." Nat says.
After that, Ivory ate her breakfast like a normal child, she managed to make some faces here and there while she ate, but Steve still sat and smiled proudly that Ivory was finally eating.
"Why do you think she does that? Do you think she has autism maybe?" Sam asked concerned.
"I mean I'm no pediatrician but I wouldn't say she has autism..." Nat sighed. "But this all started after German special forces had her...I mean she definitely has a lot of anxiety which I honestly believe most likely already existed before she was taken...but I mean I think she could also have a sensory processing disorder because of the way she is with food, but I don't know..." Natasha sighed.
"I mean...She seemed to be a wonderful eater so I'm not sure what happened." Steve adds. "The day Bucky went under, she sat and ate like 2 whole plums on her own..."
"Oh so maybe she just likes certain textures?"
"Maybe...I don't know Sam. She definitely likes what she likes that's for sure." Natasha said shaking her head at the child who has just finished her pancake.
"Hey Ivory," Sam called out to the girl.
"Uh-yes?" Ivory asked already digging into her scrambled eggs.
"After you eat, you wanna see something cool?"
"Yeah, Yeah!" Ivory replied.
"I all done? All done?" Ivory politely asked Steve pointing to her plate. All that was left was a sausage and a small corner of eggs.
"Ask Nana..." Steve said earning the death glare from Natasha.
"Be all done Nana?" Ivory asked.
"Can you finish your eggs for me or are you too full?" Nat asks the girl. Ivory then takes her time finishing the last bit of her eggs and smiles proudly at Natasha.
"Good job sweet girl." Natasha said earning a big smile from Ivory.
"I go see Sam-I-am?" Ivory asked making Natasha grin, trying to keep back her laughter.
"Yes, you can go see 'Sam-I-am'." Nat says trying not to laugh while looking at Sam who had been shaking his head, chuckling at Ivory. He knew he would never live that nickname down.
"Hey I mean you should feel pretty special..." Steve says grinning. "You're the first one to get a cool nickname since 'Nana'."
"Steve is right..." Natasha said smiling as Ivory got up to give Nat a hug. "A nickname is usually a good indicator she's not afraid of you."
"Nana, Nana..." Ivory whispered, patting Natasha's chest.
"Yes Ivory?"
"Uh-Nana change?" Ivory whispered again.
"You stinky?" Nat asked the girl. "Did you go poop?"
"No, No..." Ivory said shaking her head. Nat checked her diaper which did feel extremely full.
"Okay come, let's go change." Natasha said getting Ivory's things together.
"Bathroom's up the hall, first door on the right." Sam says.
"Thanks!" Nat says taking Ivory's hand. "Come on sweets, let's go change and then you can see what Sam has to show you. Deal?"
"Yay! Sam-I-am, Sam-I-am!" Ivory cheered on her way up the hallway, as she continued to babble and ramble on about things that only made sense to her.
"She's a cutie...she's such a sweet kid." Sam says.
"She is, Ivory's the best." Steve says. "Once you get to know her she's definitely a little pistol, but Nat and I literally love her like she's ours."
"She seems like she's come a long way." Sam says. "I can't believe how big she's gotten since Romania..."
"I know. She's grown so much...her vocab is expanding...it's so cool to see. I'm glad she did so well with meeting you...I honestly think a part of her definitely remembers." Steve says.
"I think it started to come to her too...a kid that smart will never forget a day like that...I'm glad she seems to be healing from everything."
"It's a work in progress but once she's back with Bucky I think she'll flourish even more." Steve said thinking about the day Ivory would go back to Wakanda. "I try not to talk about it too much, and neither does Nat but the day we have to take her back to Wakanda is gonna be a hell of a sad day...we'll be glad she's back with her father, but We're gonna miss her."
"I'm sure you'll still get to visit right?"
"We'll definitely make it a point to visit, but it just won't be the same without her."
"Sam-I-am, Sam-I-am!" Ivory yelled from up the hallway.
"Oh...here she comes." Steve chuckled. "What is it that you were gonna show her anyway?"
"You'll see..."
"Uncle Steve!" Ivory said excitedly running up to the man, hugging him.
"Aww Thank you for my hug."
"Ivory..." Sam says getting the girls attention. "You wanna go see now?"
"Uh-yeah!" Ivory says excitedly.
"Follow me." Sam grinned leading everyone out to the backyard of his sister's home. Out back there was a small shed where Sam liked to do a lot of his handy work, and projects.
"Okay, wait here..." Sam says.
"I see?" Ivory asked.
"Don't worry, it's coming!" Sam said running to the shed. It took a few moments, but shortly after Sam went into the shed, the familiar looking red drone came flying out of the shed, Sam following shortly after.
"Is that..."
"My new Red wing model? Sure is. After
Wanda, Barton, Tic-tac and I were all trapped in the raft the raft guards completely destroyed the thing...so I was able to pimp it up and make it my own." Sam says proudly allowing the drone to fly at Ivory's eye level so she could have a look.
Ivory took a step towards the device and smiled in amazement.
"Ivory, don't get too close sweetheart..." Natasha says to the curious girl.
"She's okay, It's not armed right now...it's totally kid proofed at the moment. AJ and Cass fly it with me all the time." Sam says.
"Go ahead Ivory, His names Redwing, he's cute! Go ahead, pet him!"Sam says earning a small grin from Nat while she shook her head at the man.
Ivory giggled as she gently stroked her hand over top of the device saying, "uh-redwing!"
After Ivory got a chance to feel it Sam allowed the device to coast the yard and Ivory continued to watch in amazement.
"So cool!" Ivory said looking at the device then back at Steve and Natasha.
"I'm sure it is." Natasha chuckled allowing the girl to have her moment.