•••
The sun beaming through the gap in the curtains was what woke Ellie up that morning. She sighed happily and rolled over coming face to face with Bucky's chest making her jump slightly. James chuckled and pulled her onto him, wrapping his arms around her small cold body, smiling as their legs intertwined and their bodies melted together.
"I'm sorry were you not expecting me?" He whispered teasingly, peppering kisses along her collarbone and shoulders.
"No, I was expecting my gorgeous husband but I sadly don't see him."
"Oh really?"
She simply hummed in response and rolled onto her front so that she was facing him.
"Does your gorgeous husband do this to you?" Bucky murmured, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Or this?" He continued as his hands roamed further down her body and he kissed her again. She laughed as he continued to tease her and she moved so that she was straddling his lap, running her hands down his chest. Bucky sighed and pulled away from her.
"Um excuse me?" She questioned him sassily and he simply pointed to their open doorway, where Harry stood with a now four month old Rebecca babbling in her older brother's arms.
"Becca's hungry." The little boy informed his parents as he walked into the room and over to their bed where he placed the baby onto his fathers chest as Ellie rolled off the top of him.
"Is Becca hungry or is Harry hungry?" Bucky enquired with a smirk as he sat up with his daughter in his arms.
"Maybe both."
"It's your turn, you teased me and now you have to make breakfast." Eliana whispered to him and he rolled his eyes before complying and getting up out of bed, groaning as his Rebecca tugged on his hair, watching as Ellie raised her eyebrows mockingly at him.
"Don't say anything!" Bucky warned his wife and she just chuckled at him. For the past couple of weeks she had been begging him to let her cut his hair but he kept refusing and now it she had another reason to want to cut it.
"I wasn't going to." She called out to him smugly.
"Whatever!"
- - -
Ellie smiled as she watched Harry talk his father's ear off about something or other he'd just seen in one of the exhibits at the Smithsonian which is where they had decided to spend their day. Bucky had finally decided that he wanted to tell them about his past, obviously not all of it but about what his life was like before HYDRA. She held Natalia's hand in one of hers and was holding the empty pushchair that they were essentially using to hold their bags while Bucky held Rebecca in his arms.
"Look mommy!" Natalia exclaimed, tugging on her mother's hand and pointing towards a tiled flower mural on a nearby wall.
"It's very pretty." Eliana agreed with a small chuckle as they approached the next exhibit, the Captain America exhibit.
Bucky glanced back at Ellie in an almost nervous manner and waited where she was. Ellie squeezed Natalia's hand and nodded over at James, signalling for her to hold her fathers hand. The Barnes man smiled down at his daughter and winked before looking up at his wife.
Ellie smiled at the old security guard who looked curiously at Bucky and his eyes widened as he realised who he was.
"It's an honour to meet you." The old man greeted Bucky and shook his hand, his wrinkled grey eyes filled with admiration.
"Well I'm not sure about that..." Bucky replied uncertainly and Ellie chuckled at his words.
"Your story is quite extraordinary." He said genuinely before smiling down at the children and the woman beside him, "And by the looks of it you have a happy ending after what you've been through."
"I certainly do." Bucky smiled at him, rocking back and forth gently as Becca started fussing, passing her over to Ellie who strapped her back into the stroller.
"Well, enjoy the exhibit."
"We will, thank you." Ellie replied, nudging Harry slightly so he would move forward and into the wing of the exhibit they had come to see.
"What's this one Mom?" Harry asked her as the patriotic music began playing and a large picture of Steve saluting came into view. "Is that Uncle Steve? Does Uncle Steve have an exhibit?"
"He does baby, because he was Captain America remember?" She smiled down at him fondly.
"A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honour, bravery and sacrifice." A tannoy above them read Steve's story as the kept walking further into the exhibit.
Ellie looked around proudly as she was reminded of how incredible Steve's story was and when she glanced over at her husband he had a similar look of admiration on his face.
"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier."
"Look mommy I'm nearly the same height as little Uncle Steve!" Harry called out to his parents. Ellie chuckled as Natalia moved up into the place where Harry stood only moments ago.
"You still have a little way to go, Tal." Bucky mused, moving time pick her up, "There, now you're the same height as small Uncle Steve."
On the wall opposite them old footage of Steve and the Commando's fighting was being projected
"In this rare footage, everyone's favorite war hero, Captain America fights alongside his team, The Howling Commandos. Rogers assembled his team after he rescued them from a HYDRA base in Azzano, Italy. His team consisted of Dum Dum Dugan, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth, Gabe Jones, Jacques Dernier, Happy Sam Sawyer, Pinky Pinkerton, Junior Juniper and James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes."
Bucky walked over to the display where there are mannequins with costumes of Steve's old commando squad were, Natalia still in his arms. Above the old costumes were large pictures of each of the commandos in the 40's. Ellie admired how handsome her husband was back then, of course he was still handsome now but it was different. They were different people, 1940's Bucky was innocent and pain free, but 21st century Bucky was different, he'd been hurt, used and abandoned.
"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division."
"Dad?" Harry pulled on his fathers metal hand as he stood in front of a display. "You're in the museum!"
"You look different! You don't have your metal arm!" Natalia pointed to the video that played alongside the picture of Bucky.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country." Bucky watched as his sons eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Does that mean you died dad? You're not dead!" Bucky sighed and knelt down next to his kids.
"I didn't die, but everyone thought I did. I fell off a train and then I lost my arm." He explained it gently to them, looking up at his wife for support who smiled reassuringly at him. "I was born a long time ago."
"Uncle Steve said you were over 100!" Talia told him and he nodded with a chuckle.
"I am."
"Woahh! You're old"
"I'm not old!" Bucky argued back playfully with his daughter
Ellie scoffed jokingly at his statement, "You are quite old, darling."
"Oh whatever!"
- - -
Later that day they had ended up in a local park after getting burgers for lunch. Bucky sat on a nearby bench with Rebecca sleeping soundly against his chest while pushed Talia on the swings and Harry went down the slide again and again.
Bucky was broken and after he got away from hydra he didn't think he could ever be fixed. He was hurt and abandoned again and again but in the darkest time of his life, he found someone in the shadows. She saved him and given him the life he'd always wanted. Bucky would never have imagined anyone would love him after what HYDRA did to him but then he met Ellie. He'd never met anyone as stubborn, strong willed, passionate and kind as his wife. He was once hidden away in the shadows, thinking he would never be free but Ellie helped to fix him. Now he was free, happy and so was she.
Ellie looked over at her husband and smiled happily at him as they made eye contact. She knew they would be okay, although they had lost so much, and even at times lost each other and themselves. But they'd always make their way back to each other. If Ellie had been told 15 years ago Natasha wasn't always going to be in her life, that she would use her powers for good and that she was going to fall in love with an assassin and have three children's with him. If you'd have told her that she would life her life finally at peace with the world and herself and the power she held inside her she would never have believed it. But here she is. She's at peace. He's not broken. They're happy.
Together.
The end.
- - -
So that's the end. Hidden is over. I know I said I was going to write another story but I'm probably not lol sorry. Thank you for all the love and support on this book and i hope you've all enjoyed it and have grown to love Ellie as much as I do. Thank you for everything,
Kels xxx