You take Isla and Theo and go sit out the front with Peggy and Steve and Sarah for a while. You fill them in on how Bucky was and what you know so far and Steve tells you what he can about the mission and how Bucky was fighting off an opponent with no defenses or weapons while the other guy had a knife. Bucky actually had the upper hand, had him pinned up against a wall but the bad guy must've managed to pry his hand out from between him and Bucky and sneakily stabbed him in the side before he could even realise what was happening. But he didn't just stab, he ripped the knife down too which accounts for the length of the wound.
Isla stays quiet and relatively close to you the whole time and Theo just naps in your lap. Isla seems a bit happier now that she's seen her dad but she can still tell that something's up.
"Mummy?" She asks after a while.
"Yeah sweetie?"
"What are the doctors going to do to daddy? Are they going to hurt him?"
She asks worriedly.
"They're going to stitch his cut up so that it gets better quicker. It might hurt a little but it's what has to be done." You offer her a small smile.
"Oh, okay." She frowns looking a little confused and concerned.
You look at the clock on the wall. "I wonder how long they're going to be. I have to go get Luke soon." You huff.
"I'd say it'll be a while. If you need to go get Luke we can watch these two again and keep an eye on everything to do with Bucky. We have to hang around here all afternoon anyway for damage control and all that jazz," Steve offers kindly.
"Are you sure? That would be amazing," you ask guiltily.
"Positive." Peggy smiles.
"I seriously owe you guys big time. But I'll take Theo with me just because I don't know how he'll feel about being away from me for that long." You sigh.
"Don't even worry (Y/N). What your going through right now is awful. The least we can do is help out with the kids," Steve insists.
"Thank you so much guys," you say as you stand up with Theo. "Isla baby girl, I'm just going to pick up your brother from school. Aunty Peggy and Uncle Steve are going to look after you so be a good girl now and I'll be back soon."
"Okay mummy. Please be quick." She smiles weakly.
"I promise I will be sweetie. Now cheer up, everything will be alright and I hate seeing you sad," you try to encourage her although you know you feel exactly how she looks and is acting.
You plant a kiss on her forehead before heading off.
~~~~
Luke's a smart kid. A thoughtful, observant kid too. Especially for his age. So much so that you don't even have to say a word and he can tell something's up.
You try to put on your usual smile and bounce Theo on your hip happily when you see Luke jogging out of class towards you waiting at the gate, beaming with his backpack buckles done up tightly across his chest while he hooks his thumbs through the straps and looks all cute. But he hesitates as he comes towards you and stops just in front of you rather than running up and hugging you like he normally would.
Maybe it's the way your smile falters and your lips tremble no matter how much you try to look straight. Maybe he can see it in your eyes. But he knows. Straight. Away. He knows.
"Mum?" He asks concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Dads home," you try to say cheerily but even you can tell that it sounds false.
"I-is he okay?" He asks apprehensively.
"No." You choke out, unable to hold it back any longer. "No he's not."
Luckily no one else is around because you drop to your knees and embrace Luke in a hug with your free arm, struggling to fight back your tears.
"Why? What happened?" Luke asks with worry.
"He was stabbed in the side with a knife." You pull back and swallow.
"Is he going to be okay?" He frowns concerned, his voice rising anxiously.
"I hope so. You know Bucky, he's going to be fine." You try to calm yourself hoarsely.
"Yeah I'm sure he'll be okay mum," Luke pulls you back into a hug. "Have you seen him?"
"Yes. He was asking for you." You smile weakly at him. "Now come on, let's go see him."
~~~~
"I guess this is a bad time to ask about my birthday party again then huh?" Luke asks sheepishly from the backseat as you drive to the hospital.
"Huh?" You ask in a daze, your mind elsewhere for obvious reasons.
"I won't be getting a birthday party now will I? Not with dad in hospital and all right?" He sighs sadly.
"No Luke sweetie of course you will be!" You assure him guiltily. He deserves one. "Whether your father is okay or not we will give you a birthday party next weekend. So your birthday is on the Friday and your party is on the Saturday. How does that sound?" You smile hopefully.
"Are you sure? What if dads still in hospital?" He asks hopefully.
"I'm sure he will be out by then or at least I hope he is. But if he's not don't you worry, he will get himself out to make sure he's there for your party. There's no way he will want you missing out because of him and I don't want you to go without either," you say.
"Okay. Thank you so much. I love you both." He smiles happily, his face lighting up but then it falls again. "I guess there are some downsides to being a superhero huh?" He says dully.
"Yes sweetie. Yes there definitely are." You agree gravely.
~~~~
When you get to the hospital Luke slips his hand into yours as you walk through the doors. You smile kindly down at him and he gives you a nervous look. You can tell he's worried.
You make your way back to Peggy, Steve and the other kids to find Isla sitting in the little play pen contently playing and actually looking a lot happier.
"My god people are going to start thinking we are running a daycare," you joke as you walk over to them.
Steve shakes his head and let's out a breathy laugh.
"Any news?" You ask hopefully.
"Not a word." He huffs.
"I'm sure he will be out soon though," Peggy offers and puts a hand on yours as you sit in the chair beside you.
To your surprise Luke sits himself in the chair beside you.
"Hey Luke you excited to have your dad home?" Steve asks as happily as he can.
"Yeah. I just hope he's going to be alright." He sighs dully.
"Aw he will be fine. Your dads strong like that." Steve smiles and nudges him.
"Once he's out of hospital he can help us with planning your party aye?" You suggest.
"A party?!" Isla squeals excitedly and comes running over to you. "Is there a party? I want to go!"
"Shhh, yes sweetie there is." You chuckle. "Luke's 10th birthday is coming up so he's going to have some friends over."
"Will there be cake and games?" She gasps and jumps up and down.
"Yes." You beam.
"Yay!" She screams and runs around. "Yay yay yay yay!"
Everyone laughs a little at her excitement.
"You would think its her party with all this fuss." Peggy jokes.
"At least someone's happy at the moment." You remark. "I'm so glad Theo's such a chilled out baby. I couldn't handle a crying fit right now."
"Same with Sarah." Peggy nods.
~~~~
You end up waiting in the waiting room for a long time. In fact until it's quite late. Peggy apologised for leaving but she had to take Sarah home for bed a few hours ago. So now it's just you and Steve with Theo asleep in your arms, Island curled up asleep in Steve's lap and Luke in between you guys, asleep with his head on your shoulder. That's how it's been for a while now. Even though it has been a long, exhausting day it really is that late that you're struggling to stay awake yourself, only your nerves are keeping you up.
You didn't expect things to take this long nor was it meant to. A doctor came out earlier and told you there was complications and it was more serious than they first thought. Of course that only made you feel worse.
You find yourself nodding off continuously, everything just catching up on you; the stress of this plus the already accumulating lack of sleep that comes with a new born. But you want to stay awake, just in case of news.
"(Y/N)," Steve murmurs quietly as your head droops one more time only for you to snap it back up and attempt to flutter your heavy eyelids back open but they keep fighting you.
"Hm?" You mumble sleepily.
"Go to sleep. You need it. I'll wake you if there's any news." He smiles kindly.
"But what about you? You've just been on a mission." You protest but sleep is so tempting.
"I can't sleep. Never can usually the night after a mission. Too much on my mind, so many different scenarios. Especially this time," he explains.
"Oh," is all you can think to say in your tired state.
"Go to sleep (Y/N/N)," he repeats with a smile.
But you hardly hear because you're already drifting off.
~~~~
"(Y/N)," a voice whispers. "(Y/N)."
Someone shakes your shoulder gently.
"Huh? What?" You mumble as you bolt upright and look around at your surroundings confused.
Oh that's right, you're in the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital.
"He's awake. They wanted to wait until he woke up from the surgery before coming to get us to make sure he was okay. They said you guys can go see him when your ready," Steve explains.
"What about you?" You frown drowsily, looking at the clock it must've been about an hour since you fell asleep.
"I'll wait here." He shrugs.
"Steve." You sigh guiltily. "You've been sat in this seat patiently since you got back. "You are family. You're coming with us."
"Are you sure?" He asks.
"Positive. Now come on." You smile.
You both wake the kids and start walking to Bucky's room with Isla on Steve's hip and Theo on yours and Luke holding you hand.
"They said he will be drowsy but he wants to see us before going to sleep," Steve says.
"Understandably." You nod.
"Mum does it look bad?" Luke asks nervously.
"Hun, you won't even be able to tell." You assure him and squeeze his hand.
The five of you come to his door and give two light knocks before tentatively opening the door and peeking inside. It looks like Bucky's asleep, his head slightly propped up on his pillow and lolling to the side with his eyes resting closed.
You're just about to leave him be when Isla pipes up.
"Is daddy okay?" She asks rather loudly.
"Shh!" You turn to her and hush her but when you turn back to Bucky you see him open one of his eyes and squint at you guys before smiling and shuffling to sit up causing a wince to come from him.
"Hey." He croaks once he settles. "What are you doing just standing there?"
You break into a smile and walk over to his bedside. He motions for you to pass Theo to him and Isla climbs out of Steve's arms and tucks herself into - luckily - his good side. You press a kiss to his forehead.
"I'm so glad you're okay," you whisper as you pull away.
"Hey Steve," he looks up at him sheepishly.
"I'm always picking up after you aren't I?" He teases.
Bucky chuckles and shakes his head, turning to Luke.
"Hey bud." He smiles softly. "Looks like you're gonna have to be the man of the house for a bit huh? I went and put myself out of action."
"Yeah cos he's a stupid jerk." Steve grins earning a light nudge that Bucky can manage from where he lays.