"The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching seven by seven, The little one stops to pray to heaven And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Bucky threw his head back as Tommy continued to sing. Wanda has cried so much she had fallen asleep so poor Bucky was having to endure this torture alone.
"The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching eight by eight, The little one stops to roller skate And they all go marching down to the ground To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Tommy continued to sing. It helped him distract his mind from the needles close by as they continued to wait to be seen by one of the medical team.
"The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching nine by nine,The little one stops to check the time And they all-"
"Tommy stop" Bucky groaned, he couldn't take it anymore. The boy had been doing this for the last 30 minutes, he had sung through the song twice already, Bucky didn't want to hear it again. He felt like he was going insane.
"I can sing a different Rhyme" Tommy shrugged as he began to think of something else to sing, "She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes yee-haw!
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes yee-haw! She'll be coming round the mountain,She'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be-"
"Tommy please" Bucky sighed, he knew Tommy was just trying to distract himself and he felt bad asking him to stop giving that it was the boys coping mechanism. However Bucky felt like his brains were on the verge of exploding.
"Sorry" Tommy apologized sheepishly, he didn't mean to be annoying but as time went on he was growing more anxious in the environment and needed something to take his mind of it all.
"Don't apologize it's okay" Buck smiled back, "singing just isn't a talent of yours and I'd rather not have to listen to you screech like a dying cat" Buck teased in attempt to lift the mood. Which was ultimately successful as Tommy laughed.
"I consider myself to be an exceptional singer actually" The boy cried In faux-hurt before a smirk grew on his face, "but I am an even better rapper if you'd like to hear"
"God no please don't do that" Buck laughed as he shut the idea down rather quickly.
Bucky seemed to have found a way to distract Tommy by engaging with the teenager in a conversation about basketball, the two of them apparently in a debate as they discussed their respective favorite teams. While Bucky supported the New York Knicks, Tommy seemed to have a stronger interest in the Miami Heat, trying to persuade Bucky to change his allegiance.
A few minutes later, Doctor Cho stepped into the room. She looked around briefly, acknowledging the presence of the two teens, before she addressed Bucky, "sorry I took so long"
"It's okay. Any updates?" Bucky asked referring to Steve.
Helen shook her head, "I'm afraid not. We should have updates in the next hour or so.
I wouldn't worry to much, Mr Rogers is strong"
Bucky nodded as he watched her head over to the table to grab her equipment.
"Well let's get these kiddos checked up before they get too bored"
———-
Everyone had vacated the jet, except for Tony and AJ. The young girl was refusing to step off of the plane, unable to do so. She was too overcome by the grief and pain, too fearful of what was to come, to be able to move. Tony was doing everything in his power to get the girl off the jet, but nothing was working. He had tried every tactic he could think of, but nothing seemed to be getting through to her. He didn't want to force her off, that wouldn't be fair but he was running out of options.
Natasha and Clint stood by the jet as they waited for Tony and AJ to exit, while the others began making their way to the building proper,Yelena had volunteered to take the others inside, understanding that AJ and the others may want some privacy.
"Go to her Natasha" Clint encouraged his best friend.
"I don't want to make things worse Clint"
"Nat you won't. Remember what we spoke about earlier."
Clint watched as Natasha entered the jet, noticing the nervous look on her face as she did so. However, he was aware that once she had the chance to see just how much AJ needed her, she would set aside her own emotions and do what was needed to be done for her daughter. A few moments later, Tony finally exited the plane, walking over to where Clint was standing.
"Hey" Clint smiled glumly as he pulled his friend into a hug.
Tony accepted his friend's embrace,
"How is everyone? Any updates on Rogers?"
"I'm not sure I was about to head down to medbay now and see what I can find out.
You wanna come?"
Tony nodded as he pulled away from the hug. "Yeah let's go"
"How's AJ?" Clint asked as they walked inside.
"Not good. She's blaming herself"'
———
"I'm so sorry" AJ repeated for the 10th time as she continued to cry wretchedly. Nat walked over to the girl who was curled up on the floor, her head slumped down on her knees as she wept bitterly. She was repeatedly mumbling incoherently and apologizing to Natasha through her tears. Natasha could sense the weight of AJs guilt and pain, the pressure weighing her down and breaking her apart.
"Detka it's not your fault" Natasha told her again but AJ shook her head.
"It is my fault! If I had just been stronger and fought harder I could of got him out of my head!"
Nothing Nat could say seemed to be making any difference, it was like trying to comfort a brick wall, trying to make Aj see that this wasn't her fault, but she stubbornly clung to her conviction. It was heartbreaking to witness.
"Ava-Jay Romanoff-Rogers look at me right now!" Natasha's voice was a lot more stern.
AJ's head snapped up when she suddenly heard her full name, something she hadn't heard in quite some time. she could clearly remember the last time anyone had, back on Christmas Day when she was eating cookies before dinner despite Natasha's objections. It wasn't often that someone would use Ajs full name, but when somebody did it was usually her mother.
"Can you just listen to me?" Natasha asked as she looked AJ. The girl nodded but Natasha knew better then to take her word for it, "no interrupting. No comments I just want you to listen"
"I just said I would!" the girl snapped back sassily.
"Hey no need to get defensive" Nat half smirked having caught a glimpse of AJs old self. Though she would have scolded AJ on a normal day for arguing back, this was not a normal day by any means. The mere fact that she was arguing told Natasha that there was at least a shard of the girl she knew in there, which brought her an immense sense of comfort. She could work with this, she could help her daughter come back from the brink of despair. "Look Av if I'm being honest wether it's your fault, Jonah's fault, Dreykovs fault or my fault. It doesn't matter because that doesn't change anything, it won't erase what happened. As much as you'd like to sit here and blame yourself it changes nothing. So what's the point? I know it's hard but right now your dad would want you and your sister to focus on yourselves. And he most definitely wouldn't blame you and when he wakes up and finds out that you're blaming yourself he won't be happy"
"But-"
"Let me finish! The red room is an awful place I know that. They make you do things you don't want to do, they take your choices and your freedom from you and it's so easy to blame yourself for the things they made you do, I understand that because I've been there. But it isn't your fault! None of it. and it will take some time to realize but you will eventually. But until then you need to focus on letting yourself get better, you can't torment yourself by dwelling on it all, you need to look forward not back"
"It's not that easy" AJ whispered.
"I know it isn't but we've got to try,
I promise I'll be there" Natasha smiled sadly before pulling her daughter into a bone crashing hug.
"Mom!" AJ whined.
"Don't mom me! I haven't been able to hug you in nearly three months, I've missed you so much"
AJ melted into her mother's embrace, and for a few precious moments she was able to just let go, able to relax and unwind inside the comfort she had long been deprived of. She missed this feeling, the warmth and security of her mother's embrace, "I missed you to"
Natasha's smile grew wider as she heard her daughter's words, and in that one moment she knew she was slowly making progress. They simply sat on the floor of the jet, not saying a word but simply enjoying the feeling of each other's embrace for a few more minutes.
"Right come on. You need a check up"
Natasha said causing AJ to frown. Nat sighed, she knew AJ didn't like the hospital wing and she was sure a tantrum was brewing. "I know you don't like it Detka bu-"
"I'll go,it's fine" AJ spoke quickly, cutting Natasha off.
Nat was shocked that AJ agreed to go but she was grateful there was no fuss.
"Alright then let's go Detka and then we can make your uncle Buck go on a McDonald's run"
"Sounds good"
———
A/N: Mama Nat🫶🫶
Thank you for reading🫡