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arlana-likes-to-write · 10 months

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Second Chance - Chapter 2

Masterlist

Warning: mention of chemotherapy and symptoms, mention of death

Word count: 3.3k

Tony held open the door for you to head back into the tower. Exhaustion was the best way to describe how you were feeling. Every part of your body was sore. To your surprise, a small body ran into your legs. You looked down at a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes identical to yours and Tony’s. “Hi,” you smiled. She blinked up at you. You could see the gears in her brain trying to figure out who you were. “You must be Princess Morgan I’ve heard so much about.” It was a little white lie. The CEO and billionaire kept their daughter out of the limelight as best as possible. But they did announce her birth. She took a step back, glancing behind you to look at her mom and dad.

“Who are you?” She asked. You smiled. Now that was a complicated question as it wasn’t a simple answer. How do you tell a child that you were her sister?

“I’m a friend of your dad's,” it wasn’t a total lie but not the full truth. You didn’t like lying to kids just because they were younger wasn’t a good enough reason to lie to them. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

“Why is that?” One of the reasons you loved kids so much was their thousand and one questions. You heard hurried footsteps walking behind the younger girl. It was the Black Widow.

“Sorry, Pepper,” she said. “This little nugget is very sneaky.” She attacked Morgan’s sides which made the girl dissolve into a fit of giggles.

“Don’t worry about it Nat,” the CEO said. “We are done talking.” Morgan gasped suddenly, bringing the attention back to her.

“If you're friends with my daddy, does that make us friends?” She asked. Ah. The minds of children were so simple, you envied them.

“Do you want to be friends?” You questioned. She nodded, jumping on the balls of her feet.

“New friend, new friend. Let’s go play,” she grabbed your hand.

“Morgan,” Pepper’s voice was stern with a hint of amusement at her daughter but Morgan stopped in her tracks. “You have to ask before you drag someone off.” She sighed, dropping her hand.

“Can you play with me?” She asked. Oh, it was so hard for you to say no to little kids. You saw Pepper speak with eyes, ‘You don’t have to.’ But you nodded.

“Lead the way, Princess Morgan,” she giggled, grabbing your hand again and dragging you off.

Pepper watched with a fond smile on her face as the duo ran off. She was surprised by how well you handled everything. You had to be no more than 25 but you walked around with such grace and a positive outlook on the world. She looked at her husband, who has been oddly quiet since they learned of your condition. “Are you okay?” She asked, rubbing his arm. Her gentle touch seemed to snap him out of his trance.

“FRIDAY, please call all available Avengers to the conference room,” he ordered the AI. “Tell them it’s urgent.” He took off towards the conference room without another word. Natasha raised her eyebrow, questioning his odd behavior but Pepper shook her head. It was better to explain it once. She and Natasha walked to the conference room in comfortable silence. There weren’t many Avengers in the tower. Kate and America were on a mission, Yelena was in St. Petersburg, Bruce took a short trip to New Asgard, and Rhodey was in DC with Maria and Nick. Once the fight with Thanos was over, the Avengers went back home and tried to help those who came back. Her mind seemed to wander back to you. Were you part of the population that Thanos’ snapped away?

She remembered reading about Jessica’s passing. Their paths crossed once at a conference in DC and Pepper would have never guessed she had a daughter. A daughter who shared half the DNA with her own. It was a small world.

When Pepper entered the conference room Tony was already standing up front. She chose to stand next to him, offering any support she could give him. “I appreciate all of you coming on such short notice.”

“What’s going on Stark?” Steve questioned.

“It has to be serious. I’ve never seen him like this.” Sam mumbled.

“That’s because it is serious,” he snapped. The Avengers looked at each other, having a silent conversation with one another. They’ve done enough missions together to speak without saying anything. Tony sighed. “Sorry,” he apologized. “As many of you know, Y/n claims to be my daughter. Her mother and I were together before Pepper and I.”

“Where is her mother?” Bucky asked.

“Dead,” Pepper answered. “She died in a car accident a few years ago.”

“She has cancer,” Tony told the team. Pepper could hear the slight shake in his voice showing how much this was affecting him. It was a lot. A stranger showed up, claiming to be his daughter, and telling them she needs help. “Chemotherapy isn’t working anymore. She needs a bone marrow transplant if not she has 6 months to live.”

“Jesus,” Sam mumbled.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Natasha said. “But I’m a little confused about why you called a meeting to tell us this.” Pepper was with the Black Widow on this. It made sense to tell the team all at once but she saw Tony chew on the inside of his cheek.

“My guess is Mr. Stark is going to ask if you all can see if you are a match for Miss. Easton. Only 2% of the entire population are registered bone marrow donors,” Vision said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s a 1% chance for a parent to match their child, 50% for siblings, and 29%-79% for everyone else.” Tony nodded, resting his hand on his chin.

“I’m asking a lot,” he said. “Especially to help a total stranger but I’m all she has left.”

“You're wrong, Tony,” Wanda smiled. “She has us.” Pepper looked at the Sokovian.

“I’m guessing you knew,” the CEO said. A slight blush rose on her cheeks as she nodded.

“As soon as she introduced herself. For someone so young, she’s not scared.”

You glanced over Morgan’s shoulder as you heard footsteps approaching. It was Pepper. “Come on, come on,” she tugged on your arm. “You have to continue the story!” All her toys were laid out in a makeshift battlefield, two sides facing each other. You smiled at the CEO before returning your attention to the young girl.

“So there they stood, the king's men facing the Swarm’s army. The king’s army were strong men who were called forth to protect their homes. But,” you picked up a stuffed animal. It was a dragon, a gift from Natasha and Bucky that Morgan informed you of. “The Swarm didn’t just have men but a dragon that breathed fire,” you noticed Pepper being more interested in the story. You set the plushie down. “The king’s hand steps forward, with the spellbound sword ready to fight the dragon. But a voice in the crowd told him to stop,” Morgan was bouncing where she sat. “The king’s daughter, Princess Phoebe stood forward and took the sword. She faced the army,” You choose one of her Barbie's as the princess, maneuvering her arm to mimic she was holding a sword over her head. “And she said, ‘I will kill the dragon and lead this army to victory. Who will join me?’ But no one stepped forward.” Morgan gasped. “The princess wasn’t worried. She knew she would have to earn the men’s trust. So, she faced the dragon,” You grabbed the plushie. “Alone.”

“What happened? Did she win?” She asked. You sighed.

“It was a long and hard fight,” you paused for dramatic effect. “She killed the dragon, led her father’s army to victory, and became the first Queen to sit on the throne of Krucia.” Morgan jumped up to her feet and cheered at your story's ending. She saw Pepper standing in the doorway.

“Mommy, did you hear?” She ran over to her, throwing her body at her legs. “The princess won! She won!” You smiled at the interaction, it made you miss your mom.

“I did,” the CEO smiled. “What do you say to Y/n?” She let go of her mother’s legs and ran back over to you. You were surprised when she hugged you tight.

“Thank you for playing with me,” you hugged her back. “Can you tell me another story?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I have to come up with another one. Now let’s clean up your toys,” the pout that formed on her face made you laugh. “If Princess Phoebe can beat a dragon you can clean up your toys,” you said, tapping her nose. She sighed but nodded. It didn’t take long for you both to put her toys away and the playroom was soon spotless.

“Morgan,” Pepper said, once the last toy was put away. “Your father wants to see you in his lab.”

“Am I in trouble?” She asked. You stifled your laughter at Pepper’s reaction, not expecting her daughter’s question.

“Did you do something to get in trouble?” Pepper countered. Morgan shrugged, skipping past her mother. You giggled, slowly standing, and ignored the ache in your body. “Not many people get her to clean up her toys. I may have to steal that story.”

“Go for it,” you said, placing your bag on your shoulder. “I have a ton of them.” You smiled. “I draw comic books,” you answered Pepper’s unasked question. “I learned that I can hold a child’s attention longer with pictures instead of words. I bet I’ve made up stories about all of you.” She laughed.

“You’ll have to show us them. I’ll show you to your room.” You followed the CEO to the elevator. She told you that she was taking you to the floor below her and Tony’s. You were grateful they were giving you a place to stay, especially with how tired you were. She must have seen it in your eyes as she rubbed your back and opened the door for you.

You were shocked, yet not surprised to see a small apartment. The door opened to a personal kitchen and a living space. Pepper walked into the living room which consisted of a dining room table, couch, and TV, and opened up the blinds to show the view of the city. “Tony knows how to spend his money for the best views,” you mumbled, walking over to the window.

“You aren’t wrong,” Pepper said, glancing over to you. “He rented out the top of the Empire State Building for date night.” You smiled.

“Romantic.” It was. If you had a partner and the money to spoil them like that you would do the same thing.

“Your room is over here,” she said, leading you down a hallway, past a small closet, and into a bedroom. It was simple. A queen-sized bed was pushed against the wall with a private bathroom and closet. “We’ll make a trip to your apartment to get your things and if you need anything ask FRIDAY. She’ll order it for you.” You nodded, sitting on the bed.

“Thank you,” you said. “I know I came here and turned everyone’s life upside down so I appreciate it.”

“Your family,” she said simply. “Besides with this group it’s the most normal thing,” you laughed which quickly turned into a yawn. “Get some sleep and come find me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Pepper.” She smiled and left your room. When you heard the door close, you let out a slow breath. You felt a weight lifted off your shoulders on how well today went. But you knew you had to be realistic. Even though they agreed to help doesn’t mean they will be matched. It was a small percentage that Tony would be a match. There was a Plan B. It took a very long time for your doctor to convince you to reach out to the billionaire. Doctor Lucas Carpenter. He was a family friend and he had the honor to watch you grow up, something he liked to remind you every single day. So Plan B was to increase your chemo dosage and the frequency of the treatment.

You rubbed your forehead and emptied your bag onto the bed. You plugged in your phone charger and attached your phone. The pill counter you used was put on the bathroom counter and the rest of your belongings were thrown on the floor to be dealt with later. You climbed underneath the covers, taking off your beanie and throwing it on top of your bag. It wasn’t long before the exhaustion of the day caught up with you and you fell asleep.

“Daddy!” Morgan ran into her father’s lap. Tony had just enough time to set the swabs down before catching his youngest. “Mommy said you wanted to see me.”

“And what has Mommy said about running in my lab?” He asked. She smiled.

“But she isn’t here now.” Tony sighed, shaking his head with a soft smile on his face. The billionaire sat Morgan down on his workbench.

“I need you to use your best listening skills,” he tickled right underneath her ears. Her laughter echoed in the quiet lab. It was music to Tony’s ear and a wonderful reminder of the life he had. But it made him wonder what he missed with you. “Y/n needs our help,” he continued once her laughter calmed down.

“Help?” She repeated back to him. “Is she okay? I was just playing with her.”

“She’s sick,” Tony simply said. He wasn’t sure how to explain a topic like cancer to his youngest. He and Pepper tried to shield the darker parts of the world from Morgan and they did their best. But she was smart and knew that sometimes her daddy, aunts, and uncles had to go away to keep the world safe. “And we could help her. Do you want to try?” She nodded. He grabbed two cotton swabs, he purposely didn’t do it with the others so he could show Morgan. “I’m going to do a swab of your mouth like his,” he made sure to get the inside of both of his cheeks. Once he was done, he put it in a bag. “See simple. Are you ready?” He wasn’t going to force her to do it if he didn’t want to. She stared at the cotton swap.

“Will it hurt?” She whispered. Tony shook his head.

“It’ll just tickle,” he said. He wasn’t going to go into detail about the procedure if they were a match. They couldn’t get ahead of themselves. Morgan opened her mouth and Tony quickly swapped both of her cheeks. “There,” he sealed her sample and labeled it. “All done. Thank you, sweetheart. You're my hero.” Morgan shook her head, hugging her father.

“I’m not a superhero, Daddy, you are.” At the moment, Tony didn’t feel like one. He was angry that Jessica kept you from him. Tony kissed the top of her head.

“I love you 3000,” he whispered.

“Love you too Daddy.”

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” you heard a calming voice pull you out of your dream state. “Come on. We can’t sleep anymore.” You were awake but you did not want to be. Groaning, you buried your head deeper into the pillow.

“Don’t wanna,” you mumbled. Someone giggled. You opened your eyes, peeking to the side, and saw that it was Wanda. “What time is it?” You asked, flopping onto your back.

“7 o’clock,” your eyes widened. You got to the tower around 1300 and fell asleep around 1430, you did not mean to sleep for that long. “You’ve had a busy day and we wanted you to rest. But dinner is ready and you need to eat.” That was true. You had a small breakfast due to your nerves and the crackers she got you for lunch.

“Thank you,” you said, sitting up. “Give me a second and we can head down.” You walked into the bathroom, splashing cold water on your face.

“We are having lasagna,” she told you. You opened your pill container and pulled out an anti-nausea pill, just in case. “We weren’t sure what you liked.”

“That’s fine,” you stepped out of the bathroom and picked up the beanie on the ground, whipping it off before placing it on your head.

“I want you to know you don’t have to wear a beanie in front of us,” you shrugged.

“It’s second nature to wear it,” you told her as you walked out of your room and to the front door. “Most people stare at me and I get uncomfortable. So who lives on this floor?” You asked her as you waited for the elevator. Wanda explained each floor had 4 apartments and a common space to share. Peter, Kate, and America were on your floor.

“But America is usually in Kate’s room. They’ve been dating for a few months.” Cute. You were excited to meet them. When the metal doors opened, the smells hit you immediately. You scrunch your nose, hiding your disgust as you scratch your nose. It was the worst part of chemo. Not the hair loss or the fatigue, your taste buds and sense of smell changed. Going to grocery stores was a nightmare. It was a common side effect of chemotherapy and it would go away once the treatment was over. But now it was killing you especially since you loved cooking. Cooking was a way to communicate when you didn’t know the language or the way to learn about a different culture. It was a beautiful art form and it was impossible to cook when your senses were out of whack. It changed from day to day. Some foods made you nauseous but a week later it was your comfort food. It was annoying.

Natasha went to hand you a plate but you held up your hand, showing her the pill in your hand. She nodded, placing the plate on the counter. You quickly filled up a glass of water and took the pill. It was the tomato sauce and garlic that were causing your stomach to twist and turn. “Are you okay?” Tony asked. You nodded, filling up the glass.

“Worst part of chemo,” you smiled. “My sense of smell and taste gets all weird.” You put some salad on your plate and opted out of the garlic bread, which hurt because you loved garlic bread. Tony smiled sadly.

“We’ll figure it out, kid,” he said, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. It felt a little weird, receiving comfort from a man that was missing your entire life. You placed your hand on top of yours.

“Yeah, we will.” Morgan wanted to sit next to you. So you sat next to her and Tony and Pepper on the other side of Morgan. Natasha sat in front of you with Bucky next to her. You kept out of the conversation, trying to focus on keeping the food you were eating down.

“So,” Natasha said, directing the table to you. “Tell us about yourself.” You whipped your mouth with a napkin.

“Like what my favorite color is?” You questioned with a teasing smile. Natasha rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath, ‘Great now there are two of them.’ You laughed. “I was homeschooled until I reached college. I double majored in marine biology and mechanical engineering then I got my doctorate in marine biology. I lived on a sailboat for a little bit.”

“By yourself?” Steve questioned. You nodded, taking the last bite of your salad. You wondered if they noticed your untouched lasagna.

“Aren’t you a little young to be living on a sailboat and getting your doctorate?” You shrugged. Probably.

“I graduated college when I was 15,” you simply said, cheeks burning at their impressed looks. You didn’t like to make a big deal of your accomplishments because you knew you were lucky to have the resources to accomplish everything. But you didn’t miss the proud smile on Tony’s face. And you smiled back.

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neonovember · 23 days

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Request: Sam Wilson x younger, platonic! reader

Plot: Reader relaxing around Sam’s place in Louisiana-Bucky can be in it, reader’s relationship with him would be platonic or familial.

Louisiana Sun

steve, sam, bucky x platonic!daughter!reader, generous nods (i practically wrote a whole confession) to sarahbucky

things; dad!steve rogers moments, over protective steve, reader makes some risky decisions, bucky and same are basically your uncles, bucky is in love with sarah and louisiana by extension,

w/c; 4k (reader had to do a lot of convincing to let steve believe she wont get kidnapped in the presence of two soldiers)

You’ve never felt love like you did in Louisiana.

The sun baked grass, the humid winds kissing your shoulder. The vibrancy of colour and life that explodes on the streets, and in the caring waves of neighbours.

You taste home whenever Steve drives you up to Sam’s rickety gate, slamming the car door open to his objection and running through the winding bend of grass and willow trees. You can't wait for Steve to pull into Sam’s drive way, the bleached wooden porch calls to you in a way you can’t ignore.

So you find it exceptionally painful whenever Steve is swarmed with so much work he can’t make the drive up. And there was no way Steve would even let you take a plane ride by yourself, he says it’s cause he’d be too afraid but you think it’s because you help with the dishes.

It’s Friday evening at the Rogers, a night of pizza and Noir crime films you both adore. It’s spring break, and you've spent every waking hour with Steve cooped up at home. You don't mind it, it has made up for a lot of the father daughter time missed between missions. But god you can’t come back to school and say you spend the holidays with Captain America again.

“So..Sam called” You murmur, fainting nonchalance whilst you watch his every expression out of the corner of your eye. Gene Tirney’s whiskey voice blares from the TV screen in front of you.

“Uhm?” Steve replies with his mouth full.

“Yeah, he was wondering when I’d come down again to see ‘em. Bucky’s spending some time there too, helping out with the boat and Sarah” You reply, stretching your arms out in front of you.

“And what did you say” Steve replies after wiping away the smudges of sauce from his chin, eyes widening

“I said I’ll have to check with Corporal Rogers first” You tease

“Hey, I’m not anywhere near..”

“Dad we haven’t left this house in weeks, I’m not going to go another week locked in here” You reply

“I let you go places..remember Monday?”

“When you asked me to buy your cream of mushroom from the Bodega?!” You shriek, eyes boggling.

“Yes..?” Steve replies unsure, eyebrows furrowing

“That was a chore. For your own benefit by the way, I mean who in their right mind likes cream of mushroom?” You reply

“Ay, I’m not going to let you disrespect my taste in food for the second time today” Steve replies

“Oh please, I barely said anything about your choice of onions as a pizza topping-

“My pizza topping?? I was reconsidering dinner when you wanted pineapples. Fruit should not belong on pizza, there are rules. When I was your age we had-”

“To boil everything or else we’d get tetanus and die” You moan, rolling your eyes

“No..when I was your age I don't think pineapples even made it to New York yet” Steve murmurs, hand on his chin as if to truly consider it.

“Are you sure you're my father?” You reply, and are met with a soft cushion flying towards you.

“Work’s just been a lot lately kid. And I miss you too darn much to let you leave my sight. You know how I am, I see kids go missin’ everyday. Don’t know what I’d do if that happened to you cause I was reckless”

“You aren't getting sick of my face?”

“Never”

“You’re not being reckless Dad, I’m going to be with Sam for gods sake, and Bucky too! In Louisiana of all places! They probably mug you with bugnes as pistols” You giggle

“Don’t joke about that"

“Oh come on! You both were on a team for like eighty years, you don't trust them?”

“Of course I trust them, they’re your designated ‘if i get in a freak accident they take over’ people.

“Hey! Don’t joke about that” You quip

“I just like knowing you're near” Steve replies after chuckling

“I could just stay for a weekend! I’ll be back before you know it. Swear” You plead.

“You say that now..” Steve cocks his eyebrows, part of him knew you'd stay six months there if you could

You put on your best heartbroken pouted face whilst Steve goes through the motions of being finally convinced. His eyebrows furrow, his hand coming up to scratch at his golden locs as he considers it.

His shoulders slump, and before he can even say a gruntled “Fine..” You’re cheering, getting up to twirl around the lamp lit living room. Steve chuckles at your antics, eyes glinting with light at the sight of you jumping in happiness.

He knew he’d say yes in the end. You're his little girl, he can’t ever say no to you.

“Whilst you're up, switch out Laura for somethin’ else. We still got a checklist to get through”

“Isn’t it getting close to your bed time, senior citizen?” You giggle, reaching for the box of recorded movie tapes under the bookshelf dresser.

“Age ain't going to stop me from showing you what good cinema is” Steve barks, reaching for his glass of water gingerly.

You’re half through the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade flickering his cigarette in flashes of black and white when Steve's phone rings.

He groans loudly, lying on his back with his legs stretched and laying on the coffee table with the bitten edges of pizza crust left over. The couch buzzes beneath your weight, somewhere deep within the crevices near spare change and ink pens it vibrates.

“You gonna get that old man?” You turn to Steve, mouth filled with cheesy saucy bread

“Easy now Rogers, and finish your mouthful”

You roll your eyes as Steve searches under the blanket stretched across you both, a sound of triumph leaves his throat when he grasps the metallic slick edges.

“Rogers” Steve grunts into the phone

“Ah Fury…Mhmm..didn’t they have Clint on that?..Right..”

You raise your eyebrows at the conversation between Steve and Fury, Steve pinches the bridge of his nose as he plops his head back against the head of the couch.

“For three weeks? Fury, you know I got Y/N to take care of. It’s why I transferred out of the field, it isn’t ‘cause I like reading” Steve murmurs, eyes cutting to you

Your eyebrows widen at that, mouthing to ‘pass the phone’ to Steve who shakes his head at you. Growing impatient, and longing to see Sam, Bucky and Sarah you make a mental note to blame them for the scolding of a century as you reach and swipe the phone from Steve's lazy grip.

“Yeah, I don’t know Fury- HEY”

“This is Steve Rogers manager speaking, yes he can and will be there for the mission”

“Y/N” Fury replies, his voice lit with a hint of humour at your antics.

You wrestle to escape Steve's reflexes, luckily you're a teenage girl who wants something so you're obviously faster. You throw the same pillow Steve had thrown at you before in his face, running behind the couch with the phone tucked between your ear and shoulder, poking your tongue out at Steve.

“Hey Fury! How’s the wife and kids” You remark

“Who told you about my wife and kids”

“Oh Fury, think those confidential documents are safe from a certain Spider?”

“Goddamit Parker..” Fury mutters

You doge a flying pillow headed your way, Steve’s face growing red with frustration at you missing every hit. Super soldier my ass.

“Where’ll Steve be stationed?”

“Prague-wait, aren’t you twelve? I hate to say it but the soldiers right, you can’t just be left alone-”

“One word Fury. Louisiana, Beignets and a bird”

“That’s three words”

“Yeah well I ain't twelve but I didn’t correct you on that did I?”

“I’m an old man, Y/N” Fury replies gruffly

“I’m pretty sure you were in the hospital hallway at my birth..” You murmured

“How did you-?!” Fury replies

You're too busy skipping zig zag across the living room to escape the pieces of pizza, cushions and cd covers flying your way to hear him. You heard it once that it helps dodge bullets, and with the horsepower behind your own fathers arm, you think it matches.

“Makes sense anyways, there isn't a Wilson and Barnes without a Rogers nearby. You guys are like goddamn pack members” Fury replies “Let Steve know to be packed and ready by Sunday”

“Bye Fury” You giggle, swiping the red button before throwing the phone immediately at Steve who lunges for it.

Running to hide behind the first thing you see, you peek out from the forked leaves of a potted plant to see a very angry and very dishevelled Steve.

“Is now a good time to say I got a 90 on my science quiz?” You reply with a gulp

You’re smart enough not to run out the car seat the second Sam’s house comes into view, despite the itchiness festering in your bones driving though Louisiana and not being able to finally set your feet down onto it.

Steve called Sam the next morning, and you had already packed a suitcase of clothes and necessities a few days prior. You always felt healed after every road trip, and tuning out blues and Leon Bridges whilst driving through the country felt like a respite in itself.

As Steve pulls into the dirt drive way, you see Sam perches on the deck waving towards you both. You squeeze your hands into fists until he switches the ignition off, and then you are too. The car door springs open and you're rushing into Sam’s arms, giggling as he twirls you around till you're dizzy and sick.

“You’re Father has been keeping you from us” Sam says, shooting an accusatory dagger towards Steve who has begun to unload your belongings.

“Hello to you too Sam” Steve shouts from behind the open boot with a gruff voice.

Bucky’s booming voice makes its appearance before he does, rounding the corner of the back yard wiping grease off his hands onto a dirty old rag.

“If it isn’t Miss Rogers! Took ya long enough” He replies, pulling you into a tight protective hug whilst Steve sets your duffel bags on the porch edge.

Sam turns to Steve, pulling him into a hug as well, his hand slapping his back with a loud umph.

“Shame you couldn’t stay over here as well” Sam says

“Fury. Clint needs some help down in Nové Město” Steve says tiredly after embracing Bucky.

“When Duty calls” You reply

“Steve answers” Bucky and Sam say in unison.

“It wasn’t me this time” Steve points at you accusingly “The drive up here made me start regretting it enough. Lay off will ya”

“It was okay? We’ve been getting some Black bear sightings along Wood Lake” Sam replies

“We were all right. At least I won’t have a nagging buzz in my ear the drive back” Steve teases,

“Hey!” You reply, playfully pushing his shoulder.

“Don’t worry Y/N, You’re ours now. You no longer have to face that tyrant” Bucky chirps, pulling his hair back into a bun.

“And this tyrant” Steve shifts, looking down at his watch “needs to start heading back”

“Already? Can’t stay for lunch, Sarah’s making her seafood boil” Sam replies

Steve audibly groans, rocking on the balls of his feet as he shakes his head at the thought of missing out on Sarah Wilson's Louisiana renowned seafood.

“She is? Oh my god that better not be a lie Sam” You reply. Sarah’s cooking was like no other, you’ve been begging her to hurry up and make the next best selling cookbook.

“Yup, she's got me on shucking duty” Bucky says, feigning exasperation that held very thinly over the clear adoration Bucky had whenever he talked about Sarah.

You look towards Steve, and he raises his eyebrows as you both communicate silently. Bucky was head over heels in love with Sarah Wilson, it was getting annoying seeing them do this dance.

“Alright, time for goodbyes Kiddo” Steve replies after stifling the smirk that tugs at his mouth whilst he watches Bucky crane his neck at the sound of Sarah coming through the door.

“Steve Grant Rogers, you better not have thought of leaving without giving me a proper hello” Sarah calls, her dark coils pulled into a high bun that has begun to uncurl and frame her face.

“Tsk, Sarah. Of course I wouldn't leave before seeing the better Wilson.

“You got that right” Sarah chuckles, pulling Steve into a hug. Sam grumbles profanities under his breath as he rolls his eyes.

“Where are the boys?”

“Staying with a friend, did ya'll know something about this ‘hoverboard’ mess that's going around?” Sarah questions, exhaustion clear in her tone from dealing with two children wanting something.

“Could probably call Tony and he’d just make one for you” Steve replies with a chuckle at Sarah’s tone.

“Great idea soldier. Knew you were gonna leave early so I packed you a little somethin’ for the road” Sarah smirks, passing the tote bag on her shoulder that even you could smell had something decadent wrapped in careful parchment.

“Sarah Wilson, the woman you are” Steve replies, grasping the bag gingerly with a sigh as he peers into the wrapped dish.

“Ya can say that again” Bucky mutters softly under his breath, his hand coming up to scratch at the nape of his neck as Sarah shifts her gaze to him.

“Okay, I’ll admit it I’m gonna miss you oldie” You say, rocking n your feet as the feeling of separation begins to settle.

“Com ‘ere kid”

You quickly run into the open arms of Steve, blinking back tears as you lean your head on his broad shoulder. Rocking back and forth in his embrace Steve caresses your back tenderly.

“I’ll be back before you know it. We might even stay a bit longer when I do come back” Steve whispers in your ear.

You lift your head “Really? You mean that?” You whisper, as you meet his gaze, searching for any sign of a lie.

“When have I ever lied?”

“Well there was that one time you said you weren't scared of spiders..” You reply before Steve quickly cuts you off

“Okay that's enough”

You giggle, before Steve squeezes you in his arms. Shaking his head as you both part and he sets you back down.

“Never gets easier saying goodbye'' Steve replies, before moving to embrace Sam and Bucky, and placing a chaste kiss on Sarah's cheek before turning back to you.

“Now, call me before bed and in the morning, okay?” Steve replies, his tone morphing into an authoritarian lilt.

“Yep, and I'll text you some photos and videos throughout” You reply sweetly, as Steve nods along with unblinking eyes.

“What are you doing”

“I’m just taking a mental note of how you look exactly as I left you, and I will notice any piercings, hair changes and god forbid tattoos-”

“Okay, okay, just take a photo while you’re at it”

Steve shuffles on his feet, moving the back to his shoulder as he pulls out his phone

“Oh you aren’t actually-” You say, before the flash of Steve's camera cuts you off midway.

“Alright, I think I’m good to go” Steve replies, before nodding your playful punch on his shoulder.

You walk Steve to the car, hugging him goodbye again before Sam and Bucky exchange some information about something confidential, top secret, and definitely one you shouldn't listen in on.

But you do.

And it’s boring anyway.

The kitchen is bustling by mid afternoon, shells of craw fish and prawns scattered on the table counter and the dirty water of shelled oysters flowing down the edge of the grassy front lawn.

The smells of cajun seasoning and buttered corn leaves you asking Sarah when it's done every five minutes till she’s banishing you from the kitchen and sending you off with a lemonade.

You move through the littered toys and figurines AJ and Cass had left in their clear hurry to spend the night at a friend's and push the screen door open with your hip. Careful to not spill your drink, you take a seat on one of the rocking chairs on the porch with a sigh.

The sounds of the nearby pier docked with ships and fisherman makes its way even down the rocky dirt roads of Sam’s place, easy against the chirps and rustles of shrikes up above the oak and willow trees around the house.

You don't come to Louisiana to escape noise, life is all around you when you pay attention to it. New York is always awake, even at night- especially at night. Louisiana has a kind of hum that’s different, it feeds your soul.

Curling your feet underneath you, the screen door opens with a wack as Bucky stumbles onto the porch. The moisture of the beer drips down his fingers as he sits down on the adjacent chair to you.

“Sarah kick you out too?” You reply with a giggle as Bucky grumbles under his breath.

“I was just askin’ if we need to make this much food for four people..” Bucky replies, shaking his head with regret as he rests it on the back of the chair.

“Ooh rookie move mister” You reply teasingly, before Bucky cuts his eyes to you

“Oh and asking the equivalent of “are we there yet” is any better” Bucky banters, taking a swing of his beer before immediately grimacing.

“How’s you get Steve to agree to leave you for three weeks” Bucky starts, bringing his feet up to rest against the porch wooden fence.

“Oh I didn’t, Fury called and I just snatched the phone and told him he’d be there” You replied

“And you’re still breathing?!” Bucky replies incredulously

“I’m shocked by myself. But what about you?”

“Me? What about me?” Bucky replies with an eyebrow raised

“Are you staying in Louisiana indefinitely? Makes it a lot easier to convince Dad to move down here too” You continue

“I..I don't know. Maybe. Helping Sam out with the boat and everything has been good. Really good in fact. The people here aren't afraid of me..or this” Bucky points to the vibranium compartments of his arm.

“I wasn’t, I knew they wouldn't be too” You muse, smiling as Bucky looks up at you.

“Thanks kid. Finally starting to feel normal again, part of the community now I suppose. It’s weird, even back in Brooklyn i never felt so..a part of something before”

“Can’t just up and leave ‘em like I would’ve before. Especially when Sam needs my help”

“And Sarah” You add, hiding the smile behind a nonchalant nod.

“Yeah..Sarah” Bucky adds, his eyes glazing over as he leans back, eyes shifting to the towering tree leaves that cover half the sky.

You watch him carefully, seeing the way his leg jitters a little at the mere mention of Sarah, how so in love he is with her and you can’t help yourself anymore.

“You love her, don't you?” You murmur, as Bucky quickly swings his head to look at you.

“Hmp?”

“Sarah?” You inquire, raising your eyebrows with a smirk.

“I see the way you look at her, the way you both look at each other, and I’m here practically every summer break. Which is never”

Bucky’s face morphs from shock to realisation, sitting upright as he scratches at his dark overgrown hair.

“You think she looks at me? I mean, in that way?” Bucky asks after a pregnant pause, his voice quiet and filled with anxious shyness. He can’t even look at you, looking out into the rounding hills of the roads and houses ahead.

“I know she does. Let it be the teenage girl who can tell who is acting like two love sick high schoolers” You grin, as Bucky’s eyes twinkle, unable to hide the adoration and love about to burst through.

“Or let that Chef who came down from Chicago swept her off her feet..what was his name again?” You tease, wiggling your eyebrows as you take a sip of your melting lemonade.

“Easy now, Rogers” Bucky replies with a bark, jaw clenching at the thought of Sarah being with anyone else.

“Foods ready!” Sam calls out from the kitchen window and Bucky helps you up from your seat, tipping out the last of his drink onto the stepped on grass before you both make your way back inside.

The thick book raised high above your face does little to block out the midday sun, you’re lying on the dock, the wooden planks warm underneath your shirt as the ends of your hair dip into the lake’s surface.

It’s a quiet hidden sort of mystical place, off the side of Sarah’s house where practically nobody but the Wilson's and by extension now you and Bucky now know about. Sarah divulged memories of spending new years here with the boys and their father years before, how it seemed likes their own little getaway.

The yellowed pages of Bucky’s first edition Hobbit flick between your fingers as you fly through the adventures of Bilbo and the fantastical realm of Erebor. You notice AJ and Cass’s squeals and laughter suddenly silent, and for the first time since you had laid down you sit upright looking across the grassy field.

The boy’s frisbee you had lost many games to earlier is dashed to the side, and as you wipe lazy exhaustion from your eyes to see Sam pull out a notebook and pen on the rug. Dusting off the dirt from the dock, you make your way through the grassy foxgloved trail towards him.

“Where did everyone go?” You question, throwing the book onto the soft cushioned floor.

“Bucky and Sarah had to take the boys home, AJ somehow ended up hurting himself on grass. And before you ask no I don’t know how”

You giggle before plopping down on some cushions, stretching your arms out with a groan.

It’s easy to talk to Sam. About school, about New York, about life, everything.The unrelenting sun helps ease the discomfort of certain things sure, but Sam has always been your person.

“Whatcha doing?” You ask, looking at Sam scribble some things into the paper

“I like to write sometimes. Not for anyone else, just for myself. Can be about how I’m feeling some days, people I remember, hell even some poetry”

“I tried the whole journal taking thing, the counselor at school said it might be good since I don't have a “conventional family dynamic”. Psycho babble for, everyone you know and love have fought aliens in space and have the capability to take down a government.

“I mean, there was that one time the Quinjet dropped you off at school” Sam chuckled

“That was one time! And that was because Tony hates traffic” You add, shaking your head at the embarrassment of disembarking from a 30 feet aircraft that works as a spaceship.

“But it must be hard, ya know? Having to share your dad with the rest of the world”.

“Hm? Sarah’s boys share you with them too”

“Yeah, but you know it's different. Parents are meant to be plain, they’re meant to live through us. Imprint all their expectations and dreams onto us”

“Well, maybe you should start seein’ things at what they ‘could’ be, instead of what they're meant to be. Sure, I don't have the kind of Dad that comes from the office at 5pm and has days off. But I get..this. You and Bucky, Sarah and a damn Asgardian King as my family. My Dad spent his whole life fighting, showed me what having immovable morals and good character makes of you. Wouldn’t trade it for the world, makes you feel a lot safer when there's an inbuilt super hero team on speed dial too”

“Damn you Rogers and your century wisdom. You spent a couple decades in the ice too?”

“Haha, don't group me with that icicle.

Birds chirp and warm wind tussles the grass you lay on.

“Oh Louisiana"

“Nothing like it ey?”

“In the entire world. Get now why Steve never allowed me to stay longer than a week”

“Why’s that?” “Cause I'd never leave. I'd probably force him to retire and build a house with his bare hands across the road from you”.

Sam chuckles.

The sound of footsteps makes its way from the trail, and Bucky appears rounding the corner, his vibranium arm glinting in the sun.

“Do I hear the familiar crinkling of Guidry’s?” You shout out excitedly as Bucky raises the familiar peach coloured paper bag in the air

“Easy with the goods, Barnes” Sam calls out, before Bucky plops down next to you, ripping open the pastry bag to unveil the perfectly powdered beignets still warm.

“Told Elijah you had come down for a visit and he gave a little extra” Bucky says, before reaching for one of the pastries dusted in snow.

“Yeah…Steve was right” You reply, after groaning at the sweet and airy taste of the most perfect fluffy pastry you have ever tasted

“Bout what?” Sam and Bucky both say in unison mouths filled and faces covered in powdered sugar

“I’m never gonna leave” You giggle, wiping the sugar from your chin.

The sun makes its disembark down the coastline, as tunes of Etta Jones, Rockettes and Hozier murmur from Sam’s faded blue speaker. You fill your stomach on sugary beignets and sweet tea, leaving sticky fingerprints on card faces through hour long games of Euchre through the afternoon light.

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mrsbarnesxxx · 11 months

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Mockingbird

Prompt: You get kidnapped by hydra on a mission and Bucky has to comfort your daughter as he puts her to bed. Sam watches and is...slightly concerned.

TW: dark themes, implied violence/killing, fluff, Bucky as a dad (because I feel like that deserves a warning of its own), LANGUAGE!

Where is she? It's a day past when she was supposed to be back.

"Daddy?" Hailey says walking up to me with her blanket in hand. My face softens and I squat down to her level.

"Yes sweetheart?" I say.

"Wheres mommy?" She asks.

"Mommy's still out right now." I say trying to hide the flicker of pain and fear in my eyes.

"Is mommy okay?" She asks.

"Mommy's fine sweetheart. She just got a little bit lost." I say.

"Mommy's lost?" She asks upper lip trembling.

"Now hush little baby. Everythings gonna be alright. Stiffen that upper lip up little lady, I told ya. Daddy's here to hold ya through the night. I know mommy's not here right now, and we don't know why we feel how we feel inside. It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby, but I promise mama's gon' be alright." I say picking her up and holding her crying form to mine stoking her hair.

"And if you ask me to, daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird. I'ma give you the world. I'ma buy a diamond ring for you, I'ma sing for you. I'll do anything for you to see you smile." I say sweetly before noticing she's asleep. I stand up and carry her to her bed. I stroke her hair one last time. Sam sneaks in to check on me unknown to me.

"And if that mockingbird don't sing, and that ring don't shine. I'ma break that birdie's neck. I'll go back to the jeweler who sold it to ya. And make him eat every carat. Don't fuck with dad."

I turn around to see Sam standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on his face.

"Fuck'd you expect? I'm the winter soldier after all." I say pushing past him pulling on my jacket. "Watch her, I'm going to get her mom back."

#bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky x female reader #bucky x you #james bucky buchanan barnes #mrsbarnesxx #sam wilson #bucky daughter #hydra

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marvelstarker-mha98 · 5 months

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The Runaway Distance Life Of A Little Stark chapter 26: Coping Mechanisms

Pairing: Tony Stark & daughter!Reader, Tony stark x Pepper Potts & Reader, Happy Hogan, Tony Stark & Reader, Rhodey, tony stark & Reader, Bruce banner, reader & tony stark, Dr. cho, Tony Stark & reader, Sam Wilson & Steve rogers, Clint barton x Laura Barton & his kids, Natasha romanoff, Tony x Madeline (past), Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane (past) & Reader Summary: How Tony copes with his daughter's eader's death Warning: Death, Dreams and past Co author with: callikc Tag: @venomsvl @geeksareunique The recovery room was haunting.

The ambience was uncomfortable, the lights on and yet too dark, the flatline of the machine shattering the silence. But it wasn't the only thing.

The room was filled with Tony's sobs as he cradled your lifeless body. It was the worst anyone had ever seen him, pleading for you to wake up. It wasn't fair that he had so much time with you during your childhood and yet he barely knew anything. He didn't even know your favorite color or your favorite foods, he didn't know a single thing.

People say that losing someone you love when you know everything about them is the worst thing, but really it was losing someone when you knew nothing. It filled a person with regret and guilt and left them wishing they could do anything to bring someone back.

Tony would've traded his life in a second to swap places. He'd accept his redeemer even if it meant he'd only see your face for one more second. It wasn't fair.

"Please, babygirl." He whispered, rocking back and forth. "Come on, you don't deserve this. Wake up."

Dr. Cho and the others had come in by that time, their faces racked with sorrow and sadness at the scene before them.

"You're strong. You're strong, (Y/n), you're gonna make it."

Pepper was at Tony's side in an instant, her cheeks wet with tears as she hugged him from the side, trying to offer what comfort she could.

"No." His voice was breaking as he cried harder. "No. No, come on. Come back, sweetheart."

Rhodey joined them also, his eyes shut tight so he wouldn't have to see your body.

"S-She's gone." Tony mumbled, trembling.

"I know." Pepper said, kissing the top of his head. "I know..."

He looked up at her, utterly heartbroken. "What do I do? I-I don't know what to do."

Dr. Cho came forward, her movements hesitant. "Let me take her. I'll look after her."

It took him a while to process what she was saying but with reassurance from Pepper he very reluctantly laid your body back on the bed. Dr. Cho offered a gentle and sad smile as she carefully reached for the blanket, pulling it over your face and hiding the body from view.

Even that simple action was too much for him and he turned back to Pepper and Rhodey, crying in their arms once again. Happy watched with a vexing emotion of moral culpability hanging over him as Bruce bowed his head in respect.

Clint had been watching everything from behind the room's window and turned away after finding himself saddened. Whether it was seeing his friends hurting, the loss of you, or just the general aura of the moment getting to him, he couldn't wait there much longer.

He walked to the end of the corridor and thought for a moment before taking out his phone. He sent a quick message to Fury about what had happened before going to his other contacts until he found a familiar name.

He pressed the call button and waited for a moment until the line picked up.

"Hey, babe." Laura's sweet voice answered.

Clint relaxed significantly after hearing her voice. "Hey."

"What's up? Everything okay?"

There was a slight crack in his voice as he replied. "Yeah, I'm good. How are you? How are the kids?"

"They're doing great, they miss you, though."

"I know. I'll try to visit again soon. Work's just... Busy."

There was a pause and he could practically see her frowning on the other side of the phone.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Clint looked down at his feet and wasn't really sure about how to answer. It was strange how you hadn't spent much time together and yet he felt like he'd known you for ages.

"We lost someone today." He admitted. "She was special to a friend of mine. Meant a lot to him."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Laura said with genuine remorse. "Did you know her well?"

"A little. She was exactly like him so it was easy to just talk, you know?"

"Yeah. When did it happen?"

"Today, it... It was expected, but... But still sudden."

Just then he heard the sounds of his kids. It sounded like they were arguing over something because he heard Lila claiming that something Cooper took was hers.

"Hey, can I talk to the kids?" He asked softly. "It'll be nice to hear them."

"Of course." Laura said. "Hold on."

She called for Lila and Cooper and after a brief rustling sound, he heard their voices.

"Dad, are you there?"

"Daddy!"

Already Clint was smiling again. "Hey, trouble."

"We miss you." Lila said. "When are you coming home?"

"Soon, I promise. It's just been a rough couple of days."

"Can we make it better?"

"I'm sure you can, kiddo. Tell me what's been going on."

"You'll never guess what happened at school." Cooper said. "It started when that quiet kid at the back of French finally snapped."

Clint chuckled. "Go on. What happened?"

Two days had passed since the big fiasco in New York and DC.

Sam Wilson was sitting in Steve's hospital room, still waiting for him to wake up. He was making a good recovery thanks to the whole super soldier thing but it didn't make the days any easier.

Sam was dozing off now as the Trouble Man soundtrack played from his phone. He was exhausted and hadn't really eaten much due to the anxiety of everything.

"On your left."

He woke with a light startle, turning his head to see that Steve was finally awake.

"Sleeping Beauty rises." He teased, relieved.

Steve managed a laugh and they shared a smile.

"What happened?" He asked.

Sam shrugged lightly. "A lot."

"Got any specifics?"

"Well, you've been out two days. It's mostly just the cleanups."

The final events started coming back to Steve in flashes.

"Where's Bucky?" He asked eagerly.

Sam looked away for a moment. "He disappeared. When we found you at the Potomac there was no sign of him. He saved your life, though."

Steve nodded but he was also disappointed. To be so close to his best friend after all these years only to have him taken away was worse than any of the injuries he was currently suffering from. He was hopeful, on the other hand, because Bucky had saved his life. It meant that even though he was a slave to HYDRA, he held some semblance of the past.

"What happened to SHIELD?" He then asked. "Fury? Nat?"

"They're okay. They're hiding." Sam reassured him. "As for SHIELD? It's messy. We lost a lot of good people. Too many of them. The Triskelion is a bunch of rubble and they're still searching."

"The Triskelion." He remembered what happened after he revealed the truth. "What... What happened to Ellen? (Y/n)? Did she get the scepter out?"

"That's an even longer story." Sam joked.

Steve shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good point." He thought about how best to describe the events before continuing to explain. "I talked to her before the building collapsed, she said she was going to find Stark, and disappeared in this fancy ass car."

He trailed off and Steve noticed that he looked conflicted. "Did she do it?"

"Sort of. She got to New York, saw Stark again, but there was some kind of shooting. They haven't released much, but (Y/n) didn't make it. It was fatal. She died the same day. The scepter is missing as far as I know."

Steve didn't say anything, trying to understand in silence. He had no idea what those who knew the real you were feeling but he did know it was in no way easy to deal with these things.

"How's Tony handling it?" He asked quietly.

Sam shook his head. "It's not good."

Another two days passed.

Natasha had volunteered herself to explain the course of events that had unfolded at the Triskelion. She was doing so in front of the senate committee, their judging selves and poisoned views desperate to find a way to incriminate anyone but themselves.

"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?" One of the committee asked.

Natasha, her arms crossed, shrugged lightly. "I don't know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently."

"Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus."

"HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence."

"Many of which you seemed to have had a personal hand in telling. And there are other concerns."

"Such as?"

"The fiasco that occurred in New York City mere hours after the Triskelion fell. The shooting involving the Starks."

Her jaw clenched. "I fail to see what concern that is of yours."

"The damage was exponential, Agent Romanoff. We want to know if Tony Stark, your fellow Avenger, will be paying for it since it occurred at his tower. Furthermore, we haven't heard from him either."

"Mr. Stark is not available at this moment because he's mourning the loss of his daughter."

"I still don't-"

"He needs time." She told them defiantly. "Do you have children?"

The committee member who had done all the speaking so far finally shut up, sharing a glance with the rest of the men.

Eventually, he spoke up again. "I have a son, yes."

Natasha nodded. "Now imagine if you lost your son. Don't you think you would want some time to grieve before being forced to explain every little detail to the press despite it being no concern of theirs?" Another member of the committee leaned forward. "Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill." She remained emotionless as she replied.

"You're not going to put me in a prison." She stated. "You're not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?"

"Do enlighten us." The first member chimed in again.

"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we help make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So, if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

After basically telling the government to kiss her ass, Natasha rose from her seat and left the room. The overlapping questions and camera flashes from the reporters followed her all the way to the exit.

Although she wasn't exactly Tony's best friend, she couldn't help but hope he was okay.

That same day, back in New York, Tony was still in the recovery room you had died in.

He hadn't moved, barely ate or drank, and hadn't been able to say a word since they took you away. His eyes were red from the tears he had spared for your loss and it was only with the help of a minor sedative that he managed to get any sleep at all.

Pepper had stayed with him every day and every night, coaxing him into eating and drinking so he wouldn't waste away into nothing. She was trying to let herself mourn you quietly so she could be there for Tony instead. She couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he was feeling.

Tony himself was pretty much still passed out from the effects of the sedative. He needed it after an outburst when the funeral director arrived.

The funeral director organizing your last rites was a close friend of Stark Industries.

That same day they had taken your body to clean you up and keep your body in a visibly comforting state while the funeral preparations were to be made.

Tony wasn't himself, acting out of character as the angry stage of grief took its toll on his mind.

"What if they hurt her?" He was asking, his head running wild with irrational possibilities. "What if they don't take care of her properly? What if they're the same ones who wanted her dead? What if I never see her again?"

"Tony-" Rhodey interrupted, holding him steady. "Hey, man, they're not gonna hurt her, okay?"

"But we don't know them!"

"Yes, we do. Pepper called them, remember? She knows what she's doing."

"They aren't the bad guys." Happy said. "They're just going to clean her up, alright? They're here to keep her safe while we... While we make arrangements."

"No!" Tony continued to argue, ready to march over and take you back.

Pepper stepped in front of him and took his hands in her own before he could do something he regretted.

"Tony, look at me." She begged. "Please, come on."

He stared at the small group wheeling your covered body away and closed his eyes tightly when he couldn't bear it any more.

"You're angry, I know." Pepper said softly. "But you haven't slept in days. And you're still injured. You need a break. She's gone and we need to-"

"She's not gone!" He snapped, vision slowly getting more blurry as tears built up yet again. "She's... She's not. Okay? She's just... She's okay! But we can't let them hurt her! What if I never see her again, Pep?! What if they-"

While he went on another tangent about all the negative possibilities, Rhodey looked over his shoulder and reluctantly nodded to Dr. Cho. Tony didn't know what was happening until he felt a slight prick at his neck.

Dr. Cho pulled back the needle, apologizing quietly as Tony stumbled backwards and felt a drowsiness overtake him. Happy, Rhodey, and Bruce worked together to keep him upright as he almost collapsed again.

Pepper looked at Dr. Cho, confused and surprised. "What's that?"

"Lorazepam and some others." Dr. Cho answered, placing the needle in the sink. "It's a healthy dose."

"It's not dangerous." Bruce quickly added, seeing the look of horror on Pepper's features. "It's a benzodiazepine, used most frequently for anxiety, insomnia, and severe agitation."

"It'll take effect over the next few hours, give Tony time to heal."

As Rhodey and Happy half-walked and half-carried Tony to the empty bed, Pepper watched with torn feelings. She knew it was best in the end, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

Back in the present, Tony was whimpering your name in his sleep.

Pepper held his hand and rubbed soothing shapes on the back in an attempt to keep him calm. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do at that time.

"Oh, Tony..." She whispered, kissing the top of his head.

Happy stood in the corner of the room as his regrets kept leaving him in doubt. He was still stuck in the mindset that if he had just told someone the truth about you, he could have somehow prevented all of this and saved your life. Perhaps part of him knew that the outcome was inevitable, but he didn't want to believe it.

Rhodey walked in soon enough with a guilty look on his face. "Hey."

Pepper looked over. "Hi. Is everything okay?"

He nodded, although it seemed to pain him emotionally. "I have to go. They want me in Washington for a conference. I wish I could stay, but-"

"No, it's okay. I understand. Do what you have to."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. We'll be alright."

"Okay." He glanced at Tony for a moment. "I'll be back for the funeral. Just let me know."

Pepper nodded that time. "Of course."

"Keep me updated on him. He's not gonna be the same. He hasn't been like this since his parents' accident."

If Rhodey had the option to stay without receiving severe backlash for it, he would have done so with no hesitation. Unfortunately, his superiors weren't the most lenient kind of people. He wanted to do more.

"It's worse." Pepper admitted, looking back at Tony. "Bruce said the Lorazepam will help keep him calm but I don't know."

Tony was dreaming.

While some dream the most brilliant and confusing and random of things, he was stuck in flashbacks, reliving twisted versions of memories he had. One such dream was when he held you for the first time.

Unlike you had been led to believe, Tony's relationship with your mother wasn't just a one night stand of drunken improv. They had known each other for years, and had been friends with benefits the entire time.

Madeline was her name, and she was absolutely gorgeous in Tony's eyes. Her eyes were electric in color and her hair perfectly styled even as she lay in the hospital bed, weak and defeated. He was, however, unaware that his close friend - Obadiah Stane - vehemently opposed the relationship between him and Madeline. In fact, Stane had even gone as far as to threaten to destroy Madeline's life if she didn't give up the baby because it would simply ruin Tony's image.

But Madeline would never. She loved Tony, and she loved her baby even more. As she watched Tony stare at you in awe, she couldn't help smiling too.

She knew she didn't have long left. There was a hemorrhage after the delivery and she had lost too much blood. She didn't know how long, but she knew it wasn't enough to say all she wanted to say.

"She's beautiful." She said.

Tony couldn't look away from you, laughing to himself as you tried to grab his entire hand with your tiny little fist.

"She's perfect." He said.

Madeline struggled to raise her arm enough to brush down some of your hair which was already as messy as your dad's.

"She'll do great things." She said. "She is going to be amazing, especially with a dad as awesome as you."

Tony, who also knew that they didn't have long together, struggled to meet her eyes. "You're the awesome one, Mads."

"No... It's all you." Madeline confessed, looking down. "I want you to raise her right. Keep her safe and love her as much as you love yourself. And give her this."

She struggled to remove a necklace that hung over her chest. When she finally managed it, she placed it in the hand that wasn't holding your head.

"This has been in my family for years. Centuries, even. It's an old thing, but it's as much hers as it is mine. As soon as she's old enough, let her wear it."

"I promise." He said.

Tony was filled with regret and guilt as he watched the scene play out in his mind. He hadn't thought about Madeline in over a decade. In fact, the ever more frequent one night stands were his coping mechanism in getting over her loss. He had never fulfilled the promise he made to her that day and it haunted him now, like a swift vengeance or karma.

The next dream/memory he found himself watching all over again was about five years later.

He was discussing a new weapon with Stane when all of a sudden a tiny girl - you - had burst through the doors with a big, stupid grin on your face.

"Daddy!" You exclaimed, clutching a stuffed bear close to your chest. "Can we play?"

Stane looked less than amused and Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed.

"Happy!" He called.

He waited until his bodyguard ran into the room with a bright red face. He was breathless, scanning the room for a possible threat until suddenly his eyes landed on you. You just smiled innocently and giggled at the state of him.

"Get her out." Tony ordered.

"But Da-" You said with a frown.

"Now, Happy."

"Yes, sir." Happy nodded, scooping you up into his arms. "Come on, rascal."

"Keep her on a leash or something." Tony added. "I'll be out in five."

"I only wanted to play." You mumbled, tearing up in confusion.

"It's okay, kid." Happy said as he carried you into the hallway. "He's a little busy, but your dad can play later."

"Promise?"

"Pinky. And afterwards we can get you ice cream. How does that sound?"

Your eyes lit up again and you nodded feverishly, hugging him. "Yes!"

The modern Tony watched painfully as a few minutes later his younger self came out and started yelling at you for interrupting. He said his meetings were more important than a child's play time. He was wrong. He should've known that every second with you was the most precious of his life.

He should have known that back then he was just doing what his own father did to him. He should have known how it made a child feel, how it hurt them. He also hated how much Stane was involved in your lives. If he had known back then what the bastard would go on to do, he probably would have killed him years early.

Another dream.

A few years later.

You were about thirteen or fourteen now, and eagerly going on about your latest collection of A+ scores. Tony back then hadn't been at all interested, far more focused on working away in his lab than listening to you talk about school.

"I'm busy, (Y/n)." He stated, not even bothering to look up. "Tell me later."

Your smile had dropped. "But you always say that."

"And you always fail to listen."

"Because later never comes."

"Life is full of disappointments, kid."

And that was it on the matter.

You looked down at the brilliant test scores and noticed your hand shaking in anger and annoyance. You worked hard to try and give him something to be proud of but it was for nothing. He didn't care.

Present Tony hated himself as he watched the anger in your eyes be replaced with hurt. He was proud, he always had been, but he was too stupid to show it. Would it have killed him to just once say it aloud for you?

The next memory was even more painful.

The day he left for Afghanistan.

"Shouldn't you say goodbye to (Y/n)?" Pepper asked.

"Just tell her I'll be back eventually." He had said in response.

That hurt like a punch to the gut. Why didn't he say goodbye?

"Tony, she's your daughter."

"I'm aware."

"Don't you think-"

"Trust me, she knows how to look after herself. She'll survive a day or two alone."

Tony watched his past self leave and slam the door. The only difference to this point of view was that he could see your sixteen-year-old self hiding behind the wall upstairs.

You had heard it all.

The next moment threw Tony off completely.

It wasn't his memory, but one of your own. He watched you march into Stark Industries, the perfect embodiment of poise and determination, and threaten your way past security guards. He couldn't help laughing as you waltzed on past them and into one of the offices.

Stane's office.

The smile dropped from his face as he watched the scene unfold. He had no idea you were so worried. He didn't realize that even after years of resentment, you cared enough to try and find out if he was okay even back then. It made it all the more painful as he watched Stane snap and threaten you.

"No!" He yelled.

His voice sounded like nothing but an echo as he ran forward to intervene, only to hit an invisible wall or window that blocked him.

"And who's going to believe you?" Obadiah growled as he pinned you against the wall. "It's the word of Tony's mistake against his best friend. Who do you think the media will flock to?"

"Don't listen to him!" Tony begged, hitting the invisible window with all the strength he could muster. "(Y/n)!"

"You can't do this!" You yelled, oblivious to the shouts.

Obadiah tightened his grip. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you. If you don't do what I say, I'll sell you off. You won't be able to walk out of these doors fast enough to save your life."

"Get your damn hands off of her!" Tony warned, only for his warnings to fall on deaf ears.

"You can't do this." You gasped out when Obadiah finally let you go.

Obadiah looked down at you, not a hint of sympathy in his voice. "You won't tell anyone. You won't go to the police, or Ms. Potts. Or Rhodes. You will shut up and go home or I will find a way to get rid of you."

"No!" Tony repeated, hitting harder. "No, (Y/n)! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

He watched helplessly as you turned tail and ran through the office door in tears. He tried calling your name and then threatening Obadiah again but he was merely a spectator, his words and actions meaningless.

He slid against the invisible barrier until he was on the floor, regretting pretty much every life choice he ever made.

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animealways · 7 months

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this takes place after the battle in infinity war where their still in wakanda palace treating the injured

y/n is tony daughter and lets just say the won because y/n decapetated thanos

Steve, bucky and sam came into your eye sight and you decided to greet them in the most stark way possible.

'oh look who it is the liar, the bitch and the slutty wardrobe.'

You pointed to each one of them as you said so.

'I can see you're still angry.'

Steve commented having a feeling that you were about to make a scene far worse then what you just said while bucky looked unsure on what to do since he still thinks you're angry at him.

'I have great style and you know its called fashion.'

Sam jokingly retorted.

'Yeah your clothes are... something.'

Sam pretended to be offened but before he could say something you turned to bucky.

'You get a pass because a bunch of nazi were controling you so you didn't have much of a choice.'

To say that surprised the 100 year old sexy cyborg would be a understatedment and the friendly smile on your face did not help.

'But you definitely had a choice in hiding the truth about my grandparents deaths'

'Y/n...'

'So listen here Steve Grant Roger.'

All 3 of the men became scilent, just staring at you as you walked closer to your ex friend.

'My dad is married, living peacefully with pepper out of the media's eye. He is happy and safe, something i haven't seen him have since i was born. So if you do something to ruine that.'

You were standing so close to him that he felt you breath on him.

'I will make sure its the last thing you do.'

Your smile never faltered. You simply patted him on the shoulder and proceeded to walk away as if nothing happend leaving then men in silents.

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terr1ble-lie · 2 years

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I beg your dearest of pardons

But your telling me

YALL CAN SEE MY LIKED POSTS?😭

Oh Lordy Mary on a cross please help me god for I am in no way going to heaven after what I have read

In all seriousness I had no idea that shit was public, I have no desire to turn that setting off however cause I don’t think people care that much. And anyone who knows of me on this platform probably reads smut to tbh. over all knoCk yourselves out if you fancy some snooping <3

#Hannibal #fanfiction #tall vampire mommy #v for vendetta x reader #james wilson imagine #house md #hugh dancy #dimitrescu daughters #resident evil heisenberg #tall vampire lady #v dmc5 #devil mah cry #omg what have I become😭#a degenerate that’s wot #I’m ok with that tho #smuts funky

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the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf · 10 months

Text

Don't Touch Her - James Wilson x peds!reader

description: y/n will challenge whatever threat there is to her children, at any consequence to herself. James will always be there to pick up the pieces.

word count: 2.1k

warnings: sexual assault, child sexual assault, mentions of rape, yelling, angst

authors note: I've realised I'm great at writing angst!

Masterlist

REQUESTS OPEN - request here

House’s pov

I stared at the test in front of me.

Everybody lies.

I held the DNA test in my hand, and I could feel it burn through my skin as I limped my way down to the office of my ‘sister-in-law’.

Knock knock.

“Is that Mrs Wilson in there? I can hear you caring.” I shouted through the wood in hopes of gaining access. The door was flung open. I was met by sunshine itself.

“Mrs Wilson? I thought that was you?” She jabbed. “What can I do for you, House?”

Her face was the picture of innocence, and the smile never left her face despite the witty comment. I worried about her reaction. Usually, I relished in the extent of human outbursts, wondering how far I could push them so long as the consequences never fell on me. But this didn’t feel right. This wasn’t going to be fun. I only prayed I could get to Wilson fast enough before these consequences ricocheted back on to her.

She widened her eyes in a silent question of why I was here. Her eyes flitted down to the piece of paper in my hand.

“Well come on, what medical supervillain are you going to brag about curing to me now?”

“Actually, this isn’t my patient. It’s yours.”

She scoffed at my ambiguity and proceeded to take the paper from my hands.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She giggled at the joke she assumed I was trying to make. But my face revealed the truth. When she received no further taunt or clever wordplay her smile dropped. Without much further thought she practically tore the paper trying to unfold it. Her eyes danced across the words on the page and each word took a little bit more life from her face each time.

In a flash she had exited her doorframe and had unceremoniously crashed into my shoulder. I couldn’t even bring myself to mock her for ‘injuring a cripple’ because as I watched her frame run further down the hospital hallway I had more important things on my mind. Primarily, protecting her from herself. And there was only one person I needed for that.

I limped down a few more doors and finally barged into the one office I needed. Wilson turned away from the new photo he was hanging on his wall. It was him and y/n at the beach.

“Please, come in. Have a seat. Thank you for knocking.” He mocked but I remained unmoved. “You’re not taunting back?” His brows furrowed at the abnormality. “Why are you here?”

I looked to my feet, suddenly afraid of my friend’s reaction.

“Your girlfriend is about to do something incredibly brave and incredibly stupid.”

Wilson carefully removed the nail and placed the picture neatly back on his desk. His eyes never met mine until he said.

“Where is she?”

Your pov

Flames burned my soul, and my heart was filled with anguish. I flew down the hallway. People jumped out of the way when they saw my sunny disposition replaced by hard stone. Normally, I didn’t like feeling like an imposition in the hospital. I would run towards a patients room when they’re seizing whilst simultaneously apologising to anyone who moved out of the way for me. Yet here I was, a torpedo through a sea of colleagues.

I made it. Room 309. The doors creaked at the weight of my push. A mother and father sit at their daughters bedside. 10 years old, in for a heart attack. The two parents turned towards me as their daughter remained peaceful and sedated. I was thankful, as the words that were about to spew out of my mouth were not for young ears. I held up the paper and presented it in front of them like a detective who just cracked the case.

“Three days ago, your daughter was brought in for a heart attack. Because of her extremely young age I decided to keep her in for observation so I could come up with a diagnosis for a myocardial infarction in a 10-year-old girl. I was coming up blank and eventually I was going to have to release her back into your care, but I was terrified. Terrified that if I let you go, I’d be dooming your daughter to a disease I missed. That was until today when I found out that your daughters heart attack was brought on by a short but severe onslaught of emotional distress.” At this point the two parents had closed in on me, eager to hear my findings. At this the mother became confused and sought answers amongst her tears. The father remained quiet.

“Emotional distress-I don’t—I don’t understand? Nothing happened before. We would---I would’ve known?”

I opened my mouth to speak but it just wouldn’t come out as my eyes fell on the little girls sleeping form. My eyes drew in and I decided to merely hand the mother the results which I had been given moments ago. She took them from me with shaky hands. I turned to face the man to the side of me.

“The police are on their way.” A loud shriek exploded from Mrs Hart as the words on the page resonated in her already fragile mind. I stared him down. “I don’t suggest running.”

I made my way to exit the room, preparing to actually call the police but also because, as selfish as it was, I couldn’t be subjected to that level of despair any longer. The screams of a mother learning about her child’s pain were enough. However, I was harshly ripped away from the door.

“What the fuck do you mean by that.” Mr Hart had my arm in an iron grip.

“I think you know. And now, so does your wife.” I tried to pry myself free, but he was too strong, and I was thrown up against the wall.

“What are you insinuating!”

“She had vaginal tearing, and her 10-year-old uterus was filled with semen. Semen that was just confirmed as having your DNA from a test which your wife is now holding the results of. Along with a comprehensive list of the injuries you subjected your daughter’s body to.”

I gained new strength and shoved the significantly taller male away from my body.

“My professional opinion is that when you crept into your daughters room that night and started subjecting her to your own examinations, the extreme emotional distress caused her body to shut down and brought on a heart attack. At least we now have the cure, no more playtime with daddy.”

“YOU BITCH!”

He lunged for my throat but not before I fled the room. I should have ran; found James or House or anyone. That would have been the smart thing to do. But I just couldn’t. This man disgusted me, and he needed to feel it. I needed to say it. The police would deal with him later, but I needed to get a few shots in first. I turned back to face him.

“That little girl in there, she depends on you because she has no one else. She trusts you to take care of her and you treat her like that. Every day I take in children, and I work to save them and I work to protect them. Every day I do my job as best as I can only for there to be people like you who take the innocence of a child and control it for their own perverted needs.”

Now he was fuming, and he stalked towards me. A lion to its prey. My resolve began to crumble, my bravery slowly lacking. He towered over my body, and I suddenly felt the fear that his little girl felt every night when daddy came in to her room. His face was confident, but his body held an anger.

“You’re lying.” His face was now inches away from mine. His hot breath washed over my face, and I began to shrink into my body.

“I have the proof. I have medical proof.” I whispered, my eyes struggling to hold his firm gaze

“Papers can go missing. It happens.” As he spoke his tainted fingers found a new resting point in my hair as they slowly began to stroke through my locks. I shuddered at the action that I ordinarily found so much comfort in. I remembered the nights where I would lie on James’ chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. The memory couldn’t save me from the situation I currently found myself in. As I went to speak I could feel the words crawling back in my throat. ‘Don’t antagonise. Play along. Wait for someone. He’s stronger. He’s bigger.’ But these inner thoughts were overshadowed and my mind replayed the first moment that little girl walked into my care.

“Enjoy your last moments of freedom.”

“I’m not going to prison.” He smirked at this, concocting a plan of escape. I had to say it.

“Really? I hear it’s so much fun for kiddy touchers.” In my peripheral I saw his hands fly up to grip my neck. I gasped. But before I could even feel his icy touch around my throat, he was ripped away from me and his back hit the floor in a matter of seconds.

“Don’t ever touch her.” James stood over his body. Just looking at him I felt my racing heart slow. He wasn’t wearing his lab coat, only his shirt and tie with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He panted from the long run from his office. Once he composed himself his professional nature returned.

“Officers, please escort Mr Hart off the premises. I believe Dr Y/l/n and Dr House have the medical proof of the sexual assault of a minor along with the DNA evidence to prove Mr Harts involvement.” The two police officers, who had obviously been called, but not by me, held Mr Hart by his arms as they hoisted him up off the floor. They secured the handcuffs around his wrist whilst reading him his Miranda Rights. “Whilst you’re there you can also add the physical assault of Dr y/l/n to his list of accusations.”

As he spoke, James approached me. At this point, I realised I hadn’t moved since the confrontation. James noticed my thousand-yard stare and approached me like how one would handle a skittish horse. He carefully rolled up the sleeves of my lab coat and he saw the beginnings of a bruise where his hands had gripped me.

I uttered a less than believable, “I’m fine.” Despite the lump in my throat.

His arms eventually wrapped around me, and I sunk into his embrace. He placed a gentle kiss onto my hair. I allowed myself to sink into him more. My head rested on his heart and the gentle thud offered me a consistent beat to focus on.

“How did you know?” My once strong voice came out as a whimper. He only needed to utter the word.

“House.” I felt a warmth spread through my heart at that. He knew. Somehow, he’d known. And James had known. And he knew how to take care of me.

“I don’t need you to defend me.” I spoke, uncertainly, into his chest.

“I know.” James softly said as he stroked my hair and brushed his thumb against the exposed skin of my waist.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He punctuated his sentence with the lightest kiss to my lips. As he retreated, I leaned in to seek him out again and he answered with another, deeper kiss.

We stayed there for a while. Neither of us speaking but our breaths saying everything for us. In that moment, despite what my words said, I had needed him and now, more than ever, I needed him to save me from myself. From the spiralling thoughts that flooded my head ready to push me down further and further. Eventually we separated but our intertwined hands meant I could still make sure he was there, and he wasn’t going to leave. He led me down the corridor, in the direction of his office rather than mine.

“What did you tell the police, when you called them? I was so blinded; I couldn’t even think about following procedure.”

“I didn’t call them. House did. Seconds after he got the results.”

We made it to his office where I remained for the rest of the day. James explained what happened to Cuddy and she allowed me the rest of the day off. James offered to drive me home but, honestly, there was nowhere I wanted to be, nowhere I felt safer than in his arms. So, he sighed and pushed out his chair in a silent allowance. I curled up on his lap as he sat and filled out forms. His left hand wrote as his right gently ran up and down my thighs. We didn’t need to speak; we were just there.

---

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haloshornsinkstains · 5 months

Text

I Believe What You Said [James Wilson x Reader]

I have been bingewatching House, and I fell back in love with the adorable golden retriever of an oncologist. And I actually managed to write!

Warnings: hinted smut, female reader, reader has a last name (there is a reason), no use of y/n, House is House, reader is 30

“You called a hooker to the hospital? I’m telling mom!” Wilson sighed and went to apologise but the woman with him merely laughed, “then I guess you won’t want to hear about my two for one special? I’m told it’s knee-trembling.” “Oh I like her, hire her again.” “I don’t think he’s going to go away any time soon, I’ll see you later?” The woman smiled softly at Wilson and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks James.” As she reached the door she stopped and glanced back at the two men, “nice to meet you House.” “So, you got her card? How much does she charge an hour?” “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.” Wilson sighed heavily, settling back into his chair. “What do you want House?” “I want to know who the hot piece of ass in your office was.” House wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re disgusting. And it may come as a surprise to you, but sometimes people other than you actually come to consult me on cases. Now, what did you want?” “Oh, I’ve got something way more interesting to look into now.” House grinned, making his way back towards the door and leaving a baffled oncologist behind him.

“So, who’s the hot new doctor you hired?” “Hello to you too House.” Cuddy hummed, not looking up from her computer. “I haven’t hired any new doctors.” “Well there’s no way Wilson has the balls to bring a hooker to a hospital. Short, stupid accent, wears a lot of black, doesn’t quite have your cleavage but-” he cupped his hands around his chest “-about yae big?” “You’re disgusting.” Cuddy huffed. “Why do you care?” “What, I can’t get to know the fourth ex-Mrs Wilson?” He smirked. “You know, I think she’s young enough to be his daughter.” “She’s 30!” “So you do know who she is?!” He looked practically elated, or as elated as House could get, “c’mon mom, little Jimmy gets all the cool new friends.” “She was a trauma surgeon, and if you actually did the clinic hours you were supposed to do you would have met her before now.” Cuddy clicked a few buttons on her computer and smiled, “and would you look at that, your clinic duty starts in ten minutes.” For the first time in months House didn’t whine or complain, instead headed straight for the door and turned in the direction of the clinic.

“He has three ex wives you know.” “Really?” The woman laughed, flicking over the next page in her file, “that’s extremely impressive for a nine year old. I’ll let his mother know.” “Hilarious. Wilson, not little Timmy in there.” She paused, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’m not sure what that has to do with me, or this patient, but I’ll keep it in mind… unless you really were thinking about that two for one offer? Or calling dibs.” She didn’t wait for his response, slipping into exam room two and closing the door. House smiled to himself, picking a random file from the stack. This was going to be fun. Each time he bumped into her while collecting files he asked progressively more personal questions, about her, about her intentions with the oncologist, about her medical history, or just things to get a rise out of her. After his last patient she was just stood by the desk waiting for him, expectantly. “You get one more question.” “So, how many doctors in this hospital have you slept with?” She tapped her finger against her chin, “three. Why, you want to make it four? So you know my family history, how many doctors I’ve slept with, how many times I’ve spoken to your boyfriend this month, and yet you never asked my name. Have fun with that Sherlock.” “Oh please, your name is up there on the clinic rota,” he grumbled, gesturing to the board behind him, “who wastes a question on useless stuff like that?” She just laughed and walked off, throwing a wave over her shoulder as she disappeared through the doors. House, still a little peeved he couldn’t get to her, turned to study the clinic rota. Next to his name, in shiny black letters, ‘Dr. Smith’. Great, just great.

House threw open the door to his office, slightly disappointed that no one on the team jumped any more. “You two, go run a PET scan on the patient's brain. And you,” he gestured his cane at Cameron, “go find me Dr. Smith, tell her I need a consult in Wilson’s office.” “Why would we run-” “Are you going to give me a clue on-” “Out. Daddy needs time to think.” The three stared dumbly at him as he made his way back towards the door. “Go on kiddies, scram.” Sighing the team set off for their different jobs, Cameron muttering to herself about how many Dr Smith’s there must be in this hospital. House headed in the other direction, still thinking, until he stopped outside Wilson’s door. Rapping his cane against the wood three times he pushed open the door and walked in. “What are you up to?” “I believe that’s usually my line. Hello House.” The older man made a childish noise and dropped himself on the office sofa, “with this Dr Smith. Did you know she’s slept with three Doctors in this hospital? I mean, I can’t blame them, that ass is amazing-” “You’re a pig. And what I’m doing is working…” Wilson hummed, staring at his papers for a few moments before dropping them on the desk, “how do you know how many doctors she’s slept with?” “Apparently we share clinic hours. So, you’re trying to be the fourth or what?” “No, no, we are not doing this. Since when do you do your clinic hours?” “Since there was something interesting in there.” House smirked, “so you are trying to be number four?” “House,” Wilson frowned at his friend, tone hardening slightly, “I am not answering that question.” “So I can be number four? Sweet, wonder if she meant it about that two for one deal. Think Cuddy would be in?” “No and no.” “So you are interested in her,” House grinned, “Wilson’s got a girlfriend!” “Men and Women can be friends, even if the woman in question has an amazing ass,” Wilson sighed “you happy now?” “Ecstatic. What about you?” Wilson’s head whipped towards the door, where Dr Smith was leaning against the doorframe. “I think I could hear a few more compliments. You wanted me?” “Yeah, my place about 8?” She chuckled and shook her head at the diagnostician. “Still not the best offer in the room, Cameron said you wanted a consult?” “Yeah, got a patient suffering from a heartbreaking lack of sex.” He grumbled. “Hire a hooker. Or sweet talk James really nice. Now, is there a real issue or can I go back to my day job?” She glanced between the two, one eyebrow raised. “I do have a patient with hallucinations, hearing voices, the whole shebang. He’s 39.” She hummed, sitting on the couch beside House. “This is new?” “Yep.” “Very late onset for schizophrenia, personally I’d be asking the oncologist not the psych.” “Tumour is a possibility.” Wilson agreed, wandering over to the couch as well. “Great, good thing I asked them to scan his brain.” House sighed, pushing himself to his feet. After he left the woman smiled at Wilson, “so, you want to get a coffee and go over that case?” “I’d love to.”

“So my ass is amazing huh?” Dr. Smith grinned, grin only widening as she watched the oncologist splutter, his face turning red. “I can’t believe House did that to me.” “Oh I can, Cameron went to like eight Dr Smith’s before she got to me, and so do you. But that’s not an answer Dr Wilson.” Wilson sighed, staring hard at the spill now on the table. “I was just winding House up.” She hummed, taking a careful sip of her coffee. “Well that’s a shame, ‘cause now I can’t say the same thing back without getting written up for harassment.” More of the coffee splashed onto the table, “you… what?” “I’m not blind.” Wilson just stared blankly at her, a pink flush sitting prettily across his cheeks. “But you’re… you know I’m a decade older than you right?” “You know I’m too old to care right?” She stared him down, though her lips still turned up at the corners ever so slightly. “You can say no, I got over being offended by that back in college.” “Well that has to be a lie. It’s not that I want to say no-” “So, Thursday night? I finish at 7.” Wilson could only watch, stunned, as she downed the rest of her coffee and walked off.

“There’s something wrong with her, and I’m going to find it,” House grumbled as he limped back into the office, throwing his badge onto the table, “one of you go pretend to be me in the clinic, I’m busy.” “You stole another doctor's personal file?” Cameron gaped. “I’m not even surprised.” Foreman sighed. House made shoo-ing motions as he sat behind his desk, starting to flip through the file. Less than an hour later he was slamming the file back down on Wilson’s desk. “She’s broken, thats why you want her.” “Ah yes, I definitely can’t like a gorgeous woman because she’s gorgeous.” His eyes flicked to the file and back to the computer, “of course you stole her notes. I’m disappointed but not surprised.” “She has depression.” House snapped. “That makes two of us.” “She can’t have kids.” “Ah yes, because my plan was to knock her up on the first date.” House narrowed his eyes. “You’re taking her on a date.” Wilson’s retort was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by the person they’d just been discussing poking her head inside. “Bad time?” “No, it’s fine.” Wilson hummed, smiling softly. “You need me?” “Both of you actually,” her eyes drifted over the file on the desk, “you know, I’m not morally opposed to punching a cripple when they deserve it. You want copies of all my nudes too?” House grinned. “Yes.” “Ask James for them later, there’s a weird case in the clinic.” She grinned, nodding towards the door. “And since you have enough free time on your hands to steal my notes, you have enough free time to come look at this.” “You have nudes already?” Wilson frowned. “No?” “Not yet, hence the later. Keep up House.” As she walked off the two men glanced at each other, Wilson frowning at his best friends wicked grin. This was going to be a nightmare.

Thursday evening finally rolled around and the two doctors found themselves seated at a pretty nice restaurant, glasses of wine beside their plates and soft piano music trickling through the air. The woman smiled, leaning forwards slightly towards her date. “You know he followed us right?” She chuckled, nodding her head slightly. “Two tables over. You sure I’m not interrupting something between you two?” “Only him monopolising all my free time.” Wilson groaned, rubbing his temples. “I’m sorry about him.” “Don’t be, if I didn’t think I could handle him I wouldn’t be here. You don’t work at Princeton Plainsboro for years without knowing all about Gregory House.” She laughed. “Besides, he’s good fun to mess with.” “I’m glad,” Wilson smiled softly, “not that he’s messing with you, just that you don’t mind.” She gently rested her hand over his. “I finally managed to get you out on a date, a grumpy diagnostician with a fixation is not ruining this for me.” “Finally… you flatter me.” She shrugged, “I don’t really flatter people, but if it's working then I’m happy-” she sipped from her wine “-I’d be even happier if you agreed to come to my place and try some of my wines after this. I have quite the collection.” He blushed prettily, taking another sip of his own drink before nodding. “I. I think I would like that.” She smiled, taking another bite of her pasta. Wilson did the same, smiling back at her. Once their plates were empty and the last of the wine had disappeared she reached out and offered him her hand. As they walked past the table where House was sat she bent down and murmured into his ear ‘there are easier ways to get a threesome’ before walking out of the restaurant hand in hand with the oncologist. “I may have overexaggerated how good my wine collection is.” “I may not have really cared about the wine.” She laughed, pulling him to a stop so she could lean up and press her lips into his. “Good. My apartment is just around the corner, and I’m running low on patience.” If they both sped up their steps a little, and if they ended up pressed against each other outside her door too impatient to wait just a moment longer for the door to be opened, then there was no one there to judge them.

The next morning she awoke to the chirping of an alarm and the warmth of a body curled around her own. Shifting slightly she smiled to see him still there, floppy hair a mess and brow furrowed slightly as the alarm broke through the last remnants of sleep. “You’re still here.” She murmured, fingers tracing his jaw. “You didn’t think I would be?” He murmured back, eyes still closed as he tried to bury his face against her shoulder. “I’m not necessarily used to it, but I’m glad.” Slowly she rolled over fully, pressing the front of her body against his and feeling him pressing back against her. “Mmmh, think we can get away with being late?” His eyes cracked open and he smiled, pressing his lips against hers softly. “If you’re as good as you were last night we won’t be.” Grinning wickedly she rolled him over onto his back, her hips straddling his. “Dr Wilson, you know all the right things to say.” “James. Call me James.”

#halo.writes #reader insert #f!reader #house md #james wilson #james wilson x reader

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shmaptainwrites · 14 days

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𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 [𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐒𝐎𝐍]

PAIRINGS — James Wilson x fem!Reader

SUMMARY — It was never Reader's plan to be a single mother to a newborn child, but a longtime friend steps in and before long they both have the family they've always wanted, the only catch: they're still just friends

WORD COUNT — 13.6K

WARNINGS — mentions of pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding (like non descriptive? does this need to be a warning?)

NOTE — Okay this fic has been in the works for a while and I have been swamped with school so I'm so happy I'm finally able to post something because it's literally been a full-ass month since I last came out with anything ._. hoping once finals are over I can get back into my writing groove and give some of my ideas the attention they deserve!

Middle photo credit goes to @shots-of-wilson-and-whiskey

“Are you sure this is okay?” you looked back while holding a baby carrier in both hands.

“Like I told you back at the hospital, and in the car, and then again in the car, I promise this is okay,” James assured you, following right behind, bags under each arm. “You just went through a 40 hour labour, did you really think it would be a smart move to come home alone?”

He was right about that, physically you were exhausted, you were sure how much longer you could keep your eyes open.

“Go take a shower, I’ll look after her until you get out,” he suggested. “If you had a support person here you would have taken shifts.”

“I know, but you have a life James,” you sighed. “One that didn’t involve your friend getting pregnant and then taking care of her.”

“Would it make it any better if I told you I really don’t mind? I like spending time with you, it’s why we’ve been friends for so long,” he put the bags down by the table and then placed a hand on your shoulder.

“James, I love you, but I’m going to be brutally honest because my filter has vanished. This is what happens to all your wives, all your girlfriends. I really don’t need that happening to us too,” you said.

“It won’t,” he pressed. “Come on, just take the shower. I know you want to.”

You sighed, “Alright, but I’m not gonna call for you to come in the middle of the night and every which time of day. If you want to come and see us, do it of your own accord and if you don’t want to then don’t,” you emphasized. “Do what you want, not what you think I want.”

“If I say I will, will you go take a shower?” James asked and you rolled your eyes at him.

“Don’t drop my baby while I’m in there, okay?” you pointed at him. “You still owe me for that vase you broke.”

“You mean the tacky one your crappy ex-boyfriend’s mom gave you? I think I did you a favour there.”

“You’re insufferable sometimes, you know?” you said carefully putting the carrier down in the living room and looking down at your resting daughter for a moment before heading towards your room.

“I love you too,” he said simply, replacing you by her side and keeping a close eye on her while she slept.

You had to admit, it was a relief to be able to step into the shower, knowing there was someone you trusted outside looking after the small human you were now fully responsible for. At least before dealing with the stress and everything that would come afterwards you’d be able to be clean.

When you came out of your bedroom after your shower, dressed in the most comfortable clothes you could find lying around, you saw James in the kitchen, the carrier now propped up on the table while he unpacked something from some grocery bags.

“I was craving Indian, do you want some?” he asked.

“Of course I do, the food at your hospital sucks, hand it over,” you put your hand out and he gave you a bowl so you could serve yourself some rice and curry. “She’s still asleep?”

“Woke up once, but I got her to fall back asleep pretty easily. She might get hungry soon though too.”

“So I should eat while I still have the chance,” you sat down at the island and began munching on the food, turning around the carrier so you could see your daughter.

It was interesting, she’d been around only for a short few days but you could barely ever take your eyes off her.

“Did you pick a name for her yet?” James asked, leaning over the table and eating his portion of dinner.

“I think so,” you nodded. “I was between two when she was born, but now that I look at her she fits one better than the other.”

“So what’s the winner?”

“Liana,” you smiled and brushed your fingers along her small curled toes. “It suits her doesn’t it?”

“I think it does,” he nodded. “You made a pretty cute baby.”

“I made a very cute baby, thank you very much,” you scoffed with a chuckle. “You think you could do better?”

“Well I don’t have a uterus so I don’t think we’ll ever be able to find out,” he shook his head. “Shame, I probably would have demolished you.”

“As if,” you laughed, continuing to eat more food just as Liana began to stir awake. “And there’s my cue.”

You stood up and carefully took her out of the carrier, cautious of supporting her neck before moving over to the couch where you could comfortably feed her.

“Once you’re done I’ll burp her,” James said. “So you can keep eating.”

“Sure,” you nodded. “Got practice from your med school days?”

“Yeah, actually,” he nodded. “I thought originally I might specialize in working in the NICU so I spent a lot of time in the maternity ward.”

“What made you change your mind?” you asked.

“I would have burnt out,” he admitted. “Seeing babies and spending time with them is one thing, but seeing them sick and sometimes not get better? It’s a lot harder than you’d imagine.”

You hummed thoughtfully, “You would have been good in that department if you decided to go that route. I think at least.”

“Really, why do you think so?”

“James, you’ve always been great with kids and parents. Don’t you remember how we met?”

He chuckled to himself, “Summer camp days. Yeah, you really did have to know your way around both.”

“You somehow managed, as a nineteen-year-old, to calm a child who was freaking out about staying away from home and dealing with an unhappy parent of a different child. I think your people skills just got better as you got older.”

“I don’t think there’s much in life that trains you to deal with crises as much as being a camp counsellor.”

“You can test your skills with Liana and see if you’ve still got the magic when it comes to babies,” you teased, followed by a yawn.

“Trust me, I definitely do,” he assured you. “Babies love me.”

“And do you love babies?”

“I do, and I think I’m gonna end up loving yours a little more than most,” he admitted.

“Good, she’s gonna need it,” you sighed. “I’m gonna need it.”

There was a pause for a moment before James spoke up again,

“Have you talked to him since the break up?” he asked and you shook your head, feeling the tears develop in your eyes.

“I don’t really want to talk about it, not right now,” you whispered, looking down at Liana again.

James did not peg your boyfriend as the abandoning type, but after he had coaxed the news out of you during one of your visits, he could see how much it crushed you to think of what lied ahead. Not because you didn’t want a child, but because Liana was all you wanted and you thought you were on the same page as your partner, but when it came down to things he couldn’t hold up the mask he’d been wearing any longer.

“You should talk about it sometime though, right?” James said softly. “Doesn’t have to be with me, but you’ve been so laser focused on getting through the past nine months you haven’t really processed what happened.”

Liana had since finished feeding and you carried her over to the kitchen island, passing James a burp cloth that he could drape across his shoulder before taking her from your hands, after you pressed a small kiss to her forehead.

“Not sure if I want to process it,” you admitted. “I’d rather focus on her.”

“And I’d rather you take care of yourself so you don’t crash and burn,” he said.

You knew he was right, but it was nicer to pretend you were alone from start to finish than even imagining the possibility that someone was supposed to be with you through everything. The doctors appointments, the morning sickness, the preparation.

Instead you ended up feeling like a burden to your friends who had gone out of their way to help you and be there for you.

“Okay,” you nodded simply. “I’ll do it for you and her then.”

“It’ll end up being for you in the end,” he assured. “But just…trust me on this okay?”

“I do,” you smiled. “Just like I trust you with her.”

You finished eating your dinner while James took care of Liana and even managed to get her to go back to sleep. It seemed that even though she’d only been in the world a short while, she felt just as safe in his arms as she did in yours.

“You can put her down if you want. I have a cot set up in my room,” you pointed.

“I’m alright like this,” he shook his head. “I’ll hold her until you’re done then I’ll leave you guys so you can get some sleep.”

Considering how hungry you were, it didn't take that much longer for you to finish eating and while you cleared up the dishes, James went and put Liana down in her bed and then gathered his things so he could give you some time alone.

“I’ll see you around, James. Thanks for coming to help today,” you gave him a big hug and he held you tight in that way he would when he wanted to say something, but knew it should probably wait.

“Anytime,” he gave you an additional squeeze. “You’re gonna be a great mom. You are a great mom already. I’m really happy for you.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to say any words in response so you just nodded your head and held onto him tighter. After a moment he pulled away and pressed a quick kiss to your cheek.

“Love you, now go get some sleep.”

“You’ve got it Dr. Wilson,” you saluted him.

You walked him out of the door and after closing it shut behind him you took a deep breath. It was going to be hard, but you could do it.

—

A few months later…

“Don’t you have a life?” you yawned, bouncing Liana in your arms to try and get her to fall asleep.

“I mean I went bowling with House last night and I consistently stay late at work, and that’s about it, so no,” James shook his head.

“So you figured that coming and bothering me is a good use of your spare time.”

“I wouldn’t call it bothering,” James gave you a look. “I made you dinner.”

“Yeah you did, and unfortunately it was really good too,” you sighed. “So you just want to hang out with me and Liana?”

“Yeah, is that so hard to believe?”

“A little considering I always have baby vomit on me now,” you chuckled.

“It brings out your eyes,” he teased. “Here, why don’t I take her.”

“Last time I agreed to that you riled her up, which I didn’t think was possible for a three month old,” you eyed him skeptically.

“I promise I’ll put her to sleep,” he crossed his heart.

“Wrong religion, James,” you shook your head and he laughed.

“Do you want me to swear on the Torah?”

“It would help,” you nodded.

“Alright, I swear on the Torah that I won’t rile her up.”

You reluctantly passed Liana over to James and scoffed when she almost immediately stopped fussing.

“See,” he smiled and kissed her small nose while he rocked her gently, making her eyes slowly close as she fell asleep.

“You two are in kahoots. She’s fine whenever you’re not around, but when you are it’s like she knows she can get passed off to you if she’s fussy enough,” you laughed a little. “It’s cute though, I like how much she likes you.”

“Me too, why do you think I keep coming here?”

“So you came to visit, what do you want to do?” you asked. “My plans were to clean the kitchen and do laundry, so not much more exciting than sitting around at home.”

“Why don’t you let me put her down then we can tackle the kitchen together. I mean I did make half of the mess there.”

“I won’t argue with you there,” you sighed and put your hands on your hips. “Okay, I’m gonna throw a load in before you put her down.”

It took a little bit for James to be confident Liana was fully asleep before putting her down in her cot and then meeting you again in the kitchen where you were packing up leftovers from dinner.

“Have you had many visitors?” James asked.

“Well, I do have this one guy that keeps coming around, about this tall, practicing oncology, I think he’s a little bit obsessed with me,” you joked.

“Aside from me,” he shook his head and went over to the dishes.

“Yeah, a few. My parents were here for a bit while you were out of town and then some of my friends have come around to help with a few things here and there and to meet Liana.”

“Nice.”

“You sound like you want to say something,” you looked back at him.

“It’s not too much having me over all the time, is it?”

“No, not at all,” you shook your head. “You know me, I’d tell you if it was.”

“Because I really do like spending time with you both. It’s a lot nicer than going to an empty house at the end of the day,” he admitted. “So if you don’t mind, maybe I can keep bothering you and making a mess in your kitchen.”

“I think that would be okay,” you smiled.

You cleaned in silence for a bit before James began asking a few questions about Liana.

“She had an appointment with her pediatrician recently, right? Everything went okay?”

“Yeah, fit as a fiddle,” you sighed. “Thank goodness.”

“Have you decided if you’re gonna use formula yet? Or will you wait it out?”

“I was actually going to ask you about this, whenever I ask anyone I think has an opinion I’d like to hear they say I need to make the decision myself and then everyone I don’t want to hear from seems to have something to say,” you chuckled. “What do you think? As a doctor?”

“I mean, if I were in your situation I might wait a bit longer, she’s still pretty young and there’s no real reason to switch over yet. I think a lot of people start maybe around 12 months and from what I’ve seen that works well,” he shrugged.

“Thanks for giving me a straight answer,” you placed a hand on his arm. “I also don’t know if I should try and take leave from work or hire a nanny, but I think I probably have to figure that one out myself.”

“Do you have enough savings to take the time off?” he asked.

“I get a few more months paid leave from the company I work for since I have seniority, but after that I have to figure out what to do. I think I have enough saved to last me some time, but I’m going to have to go back eventually.”

James hummed thoughtfully.

“Do you wanna come up with solutions tonight or relax now that we’ve finished cleaning?” he asked, motioning his head to the kitchen that was definitely in better shape than before.

“Let’s watch a movie or something, I don’t think I’ve turned the TV on since Liana was born. I’ll fold the laundry when it’s done while we watch,” you said. “I’ll figure something out later.”

“We should watch, oh jeez what’s that thing we started ages ago and never finished?”

“The really bad soap?” you asked and he nodded, “Oh yes, we’re definitely watching that.”

“Okay, you go get settled, I’m gonna make some tea, do you want some?”

“Sure, just make me whatever you’re having,” you nodded and grabbed the remote from under the pile of blankets on the couch, turning on the TV and trying to find the episodes you had recorded to watch later.

By the time James had finished making the tea, you had found the show and were just about to start it.

“Here,” James passed you the mug. “So what was the last thing that happened?”

“I think the main guy was sleeping with the head nurse, right and then there was the whole thing with her being engaged to the other surgeon and then her sister was in a coma?”

“Wait, I thought the surgeon she was engaged to was sleeping with one of his patients?”

“He was,” you nodded. “It was a whole thing.”

“Alright, just start it, I’m sure I’ll remember more as we watch.”

James was very sorely mistaken, if anything he’d gotten more confused and you were absolutely no help because nothing was making sense anymore.

“What is up with the writing?” you asked. “Like did they just completely forget they had a whole storyline dedicated to this huge procedure and now they’re acting like nothing happened.”

“Don’t get me started, that guy was doing surgery without gloves, like that doesn’t even take much effort to get right. You’d think it was common sense,” James added.

“Maybe we should turn it off,” you looked over at your friend, “it’s getting us all riled up.”

James pressed his lips together, “I know, but I kind of want to find out who’s the father of Paula’s baby.”

You leaned back into the couch, you had managed to fold all the laundry, and it was still a little too early to go to sleep, you supposed a few more episodes couldn’t hurt.

“If I fall asleep, just lock up on your way out, okay?” you looked over at him and he nodded as you started the next episode.

Just as you predicted, about halfway through the second episode you began to drift off, and as soon as James noticed, he stopped the episode already having decided you could finish it together another time.

He shifted you slightly so you were lying down on the couch instead of in the uncomfortable position you were in before, placing a blanket over top of you. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek, wishing you a good night before going to check on Liana, and after seeing she was sleeping soundly and the baby monitor was on, he saw himself out, taking your spare key from where it was hidden on the porch and locking the door.

—

“How’s my girl doing?” James grinned, scooping Liana out of your arms. “I haven’t seen you in so long,” he kissed her nose making her giggle.

“James, you were here two days ago,” you laughed.

“And it feels like an eternity.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, “She’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

“I don’t mind,” he shrugged. “Just as long as we get to spend time together.”

“Yeah, well she hasn’t napped yet so it can wait until after that,” you reached to take her back but James insisted he could put her to sleep. “James, you just got off work are you sure you don’t want to eat something or take a break for a bit?”

“This is like a break for me,” he assured you.

“Okay, I’m gonna make a salad, come out and eat when you’re done.”

James nodded and went off to the bedroom so he could sit on the armchair there and coax her to sleep.

Usually he didn’t need more than twenty minutes to half an hour to put her down, so when you were hitting the forty-five minute mark you wondered if Liana was being fussy, so you went to check in on them, instead seeing James fast asleep on the armchair with Liana snuggled against his chest.

You bit back a big smile and went to go grab your camera quickly, and quietly snapped a shot of the two of them.

Not wanting to wake either of them, you made your way back to the kitchen, shutting the door of the room behind you to make sure the sound didn’t travel.

Figuring it might be a while before James came back out, you decided to eat your dinner, that way you could take Liana from him when they woke up so he could get something to eat too.

As you had predicted, James exited the room about an hour later, Liana now awake and hungry for her own dinner.

“Want me to take her now?” you teased and he rolled his eyes while you took your baby from him, sitting on the couch to feed her while he grabbed himself something to eat. “You had a good nap?”

“Great actually, I think I needed it. Been pulling a lot of late nights at the office getting paperwork done,” he admitted. “I’m surprised you didn’t wake me.”

“You looked comfortable, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Well, I appreciate it cause I needed the sleep,” he sighed and came and sat next to you while he began to eat his dinner.

“James, I…I tried to talk to him the other week,” you said, knowing he would be able to connect the dots back to your ex. “I’d been meaning to tell you, it just slipped my mind I guess.”

“You did…what did he say?”

“God, I’m gonna start crying again,” you let out a humourless chuckle and lifted a hand to wipe away the tears beginning to form in your eyes. “It doesn’t matter what he said. What matters is that it was probably good that we broke up. He wouldn’t have been a good father or husband for that matter when it came down to it.”

“I’m proud of you for reaching out anyways. It takes a lot of guts to do that after someone leaves you.”

You nodded your head, “I’m just…I know I said you should keep coming here because you want to, but I really do like having you around. It just makes it seem simpler. Easier,” you looked over at him. “You’re a good friend Jamie, I love you.”

“Love you too,” he leaned over and pressed a kiss to your forehead, watching as your attention turned back to your daughter as she finished feeding.

You held her just like that in your arms for a little while longer, watching as she reached out for your fingers and then tried to go even further to grab James. Clearly her attention was addictive because he was ready to put his food down to help burp her, but you made a teasing remark about him hogging her and that he needed to eat his food so you’d take care of it and he could have her when he was done.

Eventually, you traded Liana for James’ dishes and went to load the dishwasher while he kept her occupied, letting her gnaw on his tie while making all sorts of nonsensical baby noises that James took as conversation starters.

It was funny to watch the two have what looked like a full blown conversation and you were sure James had been reading some parenting magazine or another that spoke of helping babies develop linguistic abilities.

“Hey James,” you crossed your arms over your chest, leaning against the wall.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want a key?”

“A key to what?” he looked at you confused.

“The house,” you said. “I just thought since you’re here all the time you can come and go whenever you want and if you forget something and I’m out you can come get it yourself.”

“A key,” he thought about it. “This feels like a big milestone moment.”

“I mean I already have the key to your place, but that was because you refused to have anyone look after you after you got your wisdom teeth removed.”

“Wait, you have my key?”

“Yeah, I just took yours and had it copied,” you shrugged.

“I feel like I should be a bit more concerned about this, but I’m not.”

“It’s because you’re friends with House, you’re used to it,” you waved him off.

“Liana, did you know your mom’s a thief?” he looked down at the baby in his arms and you rolled your eyes.

“Do you want the key or not?”

“I’ll take it, and I guess you can keep mine, but I’m never there anyways.”

“It’s okay, I’ll just use it if I need to steal your social insurance card to commit identity theft.”

“Liana banana, your mom’s being very silly tonight,” James picked her up and held her out in front of him before bringing her down to press a few kisses to her face, making her giggle. “It’s okay, we still love mommy even though she’s silly, right?”

“You better,” you flicked his shoulder as you walked by after grabbing an ice cream sandwich from the freezer.

“Hey, I’ve got something in my bag I forgot to give you, do you mind bringing it over here?” James asked, motioning to the briefcase on the armchair closest to the front door.

You nodded your head and stood up again to grab it and pass it to him. He rummaged through it with one hand while still holding Liana before passing you what looked like a receipt.

“Uh thanks?” you looked a little confused.

“Read what it’s for,” James chuckled. “They’ll get delivered next week.”

“James,” you put the receipt down. “You didn’t.”

“You’ve been talking about it for four months, I had to do something,” he shrugged. “And I didn’t get you anything for your baby shower.”

“Because you planned it,” you laughed. “Seriously this is a lot. I don’t know if I can accept this.”

“Just think of it this way. I’m here all the time, we like to go out with Liana together and it’s a great stroller with good safety ratings.”

“Okay sure you’ll use that, but the cot too?”

“The one you have in there’s been recalled, I was just doing you a favour,” he said.

You chuckled a little, pressing your lips together. “Liana, my darling, we are very spoiled.”

“I’ll come over when it gets delivered and help set it up,” James said.

“I still don’t know what to say, James, this is…really generous of you.”

“Believe me, right now nothing makes me happier, and I mean that,” he reached out a hand to you and you took it, giving it a gentle squeeze.

As promised, the next week James was back at your home to help set up the stroller and the cot and you figured it would be the right time to pull out that camcorder your father had gotten you to help record some memories you were making with Liana.

“Hey, James wanna tell the camera what you’re doing?”

“Wondering why I didn’t get a degree in engineering apparently.” he mumbled while hunched over some instructions, a pencil behind his ear and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“What does your assistant think?” you moved the camera over to Liana, sitting in a rocking seat that was propped up next to James.

“That this video isn’t going to be very good for my image in the future. This stuff is worse than IKEA,” he scratched the back of his head.

“You’re doing great,” you assured him and came to give him an encouraging side hug. “Alright, let me stop this video and we can try and tackle it together.”

You put the camera down on the bed and looked over the instructions with James, having a bit of an easier time piecing things together compared to him, so in the end you were put on deciphering the instructions while he assembled the cot.

An embarrassing amount of time later, the cot was completely assembled (only after having to disassemble it all the first time because there was one piece left over and you had no idea what step you had missed using it), and you carefully placed Liana inside to see how it would hold up.

“You know they say you can be proud of something you built with your own two hands, but I’m afraid this is going to fall apart,” James said.

“We followed the instructions really carefully, it should be fine,” you said, trying to convince yourself. “And Liana looks comfortable in there, look at her she’s giggling.”

“I think that’s because we look like we’ve been building a house or something,” he looked between you, seeing your dirty clothes and messed up hair.

“Who knew putting together a cot would be so labour intensive,” you chuckled. “I think we can safely say we deserve some takeout. What do you want?”

“Anything, I’m starving,” James sat down on the edge of the bed. “You think this will help her sleep a little better?”

“Let’s hope so,” you rubbed your temples. “You coming?” you asked, taking Liana out of the cot and carrying her out towards the door.

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute,” he nodded and you left him in the room, staring at the wooden baby’s bed in front of him. It was a simple thing you had both made together, but for James, it was starting to feel like so much more than just that.

You built a cot, but what did building a cot mean? What did it mean that he bought it for you without a second question or a moment’s hesitation? What did it mean that he couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face every single time he stepped into this house?

It probably meant a lot of things, but at the moment, to James, it felt like he had a family and he’d hold onto that for as long as he was able to.

—

As much as you wished it could be, not every day was easy. Today was one of those days at the end of a long week and you wanted nothing more than to collapse and call it quits.

Something was wrong with Liana, she was never this fussy, but all the doctors would just repeat the same thing over and over again.

She has colic.

You have a colic-y baby.

Your baby has colic. She’s going to be fine.

She didn’t sound fine. Not when she would cry and cry and you didn’t know what was happening or how to make her feel better. It made your heart feel tight and constricted especially when all you could do was bounce and rock her in hopes that it might soothe whatever was going on inside her.

You were so focused on the sounds of the crying baby you didn’t hear the door unlock as James entered the house. After putting down his bags, he followed the sound of the crying before finding you in the rocking chair in your room, gently hushing Liana to try and coax her back to sleep.

“James,” you tried to stand up when you noticed he was there, but he rushed over to your side, placing a hand on your shoulder and encouraging you to sit back down. “I’m afraid we’re not really having a fun day today. You might want to just go home and rest,” you suggested.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“James, I’m serious I-,”

“Hey,” he said gently, quieting you as a hand came to hold your cheek. “Talk to me, mom. What’s happening?”

You pressed your lips together and shook your head.

“I don’t know,” you let the tears spill from your eyes, just as they were for Liana, but you basked in the comfort James’ simple action offered. “She just keeps crying and I don’t know what’s wrong. T-They kept saying she has colic, but this isn’t colic, James.”

He nodded his head and wiped away your tears while trying to think of a solution to the problem in front of you.

“I have an idea, just give me a second, I’ll be right back.”

James went off to the kitchen and came back with a bit of a white powder on his finger. He helped you sit Liana up before getting her to eat a little bit of it.

“What is that?”

“Just baking soda. I saw this in a few babies. Doctors think it’s colic, but it’s reflux. Have you been eating anything different from usual?” he asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah, it might be something she’s allergic to getting in the breast milk,” he explained while rubbing Liana’s back. “Here let me take her so you can have a break. Go to the kitchen, get some water and write down a list of what you’ve been eating recently and we’ll go over it and see if we can find anything that lines up with her fussiness.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll survive,” he nodded.

You passed over your baby to him and made your way out of the room, following James’ suggestion and noticing how with a little bit of time her crying had quieted down and instead was replaced by softer sniffles and a much nicer sound. It drew you away from the list you were leaning over and back to the door of the bedroom where you leaned in the frame and watched and listened while James, with his back turned to you, sang a soft lullaby to Liana.

I love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.

Over and over like a prayer until Liana’s sniffles had faded and there was only silence.

He carefully put her back in her bed, waiting a few moments to make sure she was really sleeping, before turning back and seeing you standing in the doorway.

When he made his way up to you, you reached out and pulled him into as tight of a hug as you’d ever given him. You held onto the sleeves of your shirt while one arm came under his and across his back with the other around his neck, holding him as close to you as you possibly could.

“You okay?” James asked and you nodded your head, silently while a few more tears streamed down your face.

“I will be.”

“I-,” James faltered for a moment, but he said it anyway. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Three words he had said so many times, that had meant a particular thing when he said them to you, but now he couldn’t help but feel like they meant something a little different.

You both stayed like that a moment longer before you pulled apart, wiping away your tears and going back to your list to see if James’ theory could be correct.

“Maybe try cutting these ones out of your diet,” he suggested. “See if she gets any better and if not call me and I’ll get her an appointment with one of the pediatricians at the hospital.”

“Okay,” you nodded. “I just don’t get why they kept saying colic like is that just some doctor term for I don’t know what’s wrong, but your baby is fussy?”

“I don’t know,” James shook his head, “but don’t ever let anyone bully you into not trusting your gut. She’s your daughter and you know her best.”

“You seem to know her pretty well too. You took one look at her and managed to help her when I couldn’t,” you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Coincidence,” he patted your shoulder.

“Give yourself a little credit. You’re with her a lot too, it’s part of why I trust your judgement so much when it comes to her. I know you’re not just going to tell me some medical mumbo jumbo you…you’re with her, you see how she is, you know.”

“I don’t know how you managed to hold it together so well,” James said. “I was in there with her for twenty minutes and I wanted to cry right with her.”

“It’s so hard,” you shook your head. “You can tell she’s uncomfortable, that something’s wrong, but she can’t tell you what.”

James nodded his head, “Before you know it she’ll be walking and talking and hopefully it’ll be a lot easier to understand what she needs.”

“It’s hard to imagine that,” you chuckled. “She is growing so fast though.”

“And you’re doing a great job,” James wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you took a deep breath. You wanted to correct him and say ‘we’re doing a great job’, but everything about this felt so delicate. It wasn’t his responsibility to parent Liana and you didn’t want to pressure him into thinking that it had become that, but regardless you felt like he’d been around so much it would be wrong to give yourself full credit for everything.

“It takes a village,” you settled on saying, extending your arm so it was wrapped around him as well. “Speaking of a village, I need to hire a nanny.”

“So you’re going to go back to work?” he asked and you nodded.

“Just part time for now. Pay is good enough. I should be fine with that for a while.”

“Good,” James nodded. “Do you need help going through resumes?”

“Nah, Janine is taking care of that for me, her boyfriend works with the police so free background checks. She’s gonna send me a short list and then I’ll interview them.”

You looked up at James and chuckled,

“You seem surprised.”

“I didn’t know you outsourced to other people too,” he teased.

“Are you jealous, Jamie?” you tickled his sides a little bit. “Come on, you know you’re my number one. Can you seriously tell me you could have gotten police-level background checks on nannies?”

“I could have tried.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m gonna save you from this job so you can help me with other stuff, okay?” you turned him around and patted his chest. “I love you, James, but you can’t do it all. I have to look out for you too.”

“You don’t have to look after me,” he assured you. “You’ve got a lot on your plate, I can take care of myself.”

“James, that’s the whole point of this,” you pointed between you. “I’m not about to let it be one-sided.”

“Is that why you keep packing me lunches?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you shrugged. “And it's kind of fun leaving you little notes.”

“House thinks I’m seeing someone because of what you put in the last one. He steals my food, you know.”

“I’ll just pack double next time,” you laughed.

James smiled at the sound of your laughter, savouring the moment of levity he was able to bring you after a long and hard few days.

You looked back up at him once your laughter had died down and filled with a quiet sense of gratitude, you could help but lean into his side, sighing contentedly and it made you feel warm to the touch when his arm wrapped around you and pulled you in closer.

Things may not have been simple or easy, but at least they felt right.

—

James was just about to leave his office to get some food in the cafeteria when he heard the phone ring, keeping him seated at his desk so he could answer.

“Hello, Oncology Department. Dr. James Wilson speaking.”

“James, it’s me,” you said quickly, almost like you were in a hurry.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing dire,” you sighed. “My nanny got sick and my backup nanny is out of town and I have this huge meeting at work I cannot miss, but I-I don’t have anyone to look after Liana. I hate to ask this, you know I wouldn’t bug you unless it was a real emergency, but can I bring her by? Just for two maybe three hours tops. Then I’ll come grab her and she can be in my office with me for the rest of the day.”

“Yeah, of course, bring her over,” James nodded. “I have a few patient consults today, but nothing too strenuous or contagious for a small baby.”

“James, are you sure? I feel really bad asking-,”

“It’s fine. Today was going to be boring anyway, I could use some Liana time to spice things up.”

“James, I love you, you’re a lifesaver,” you breathed a sigh of relief. “I owe you one okay? Cash it in whenever.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he chuckled. “I’m gonna go grab a quick bite to eat. I’ll meet you in my office when you come.”

“Great, see you then.”

You both hung up and when James came back upstairs you were just arriving at his office with Liana strapped in her car seat and a bag slung around your shoulder.

“Okay, I’ve got snacks, and a carrier, and her toys, and-,”

“Goodness, take a breath,” James chuckled. “We’re gonna be fine, I’ve looked after her before.”

“I know, I know. I’m just nervous about this meeting and rushing around to get everything prepped and then the nannies fell through,” you took a deep breath to try and slow your heart down and James put a hand on your shoulder assuring you everything was going to be alright.

“You’re gonna kill it at that meeting, alright?” he pulled you in for a quick hug.

“Thanks again, I seriously appreciate and love you and your big fat heart.”

“Thanks, I think,” he chuckled again. “I love you too.”

You kissed your hand and tapped it on his cheek before doing the same for Liana who smiled and James took a moment to stare out the door and watch you as you left the room, still feeling his heart beating a little faster after having said I love you.

Ever since the day he came over when Liana was having a hard time, his heart would race and his palms would get sweaty every time he’d say those three words, knowing he meant it in a different way than he had been saying it all these years.

“Liana banana, what am I gonna do,” James sighed and bent down so he was at eye level with her. “Do you think your mom knows?”

Liana babbled a response.

“Me neither,” he sighed. “It’s okay though, cause we’re gonna have a fun day right?”

He unclipped her from the seat after fastening the baby carrier to his back to begin with before propping her up and clipping her inside.

Once he was content with that, he checked the time and noticed he was almost late for a meeting with a patient who was staying at the hospital for treatment.

James made his way down the halls, knowing not many would question him about the baby on his back, that was aside from his boss who now seemed to be walking directly towards him.

He quickly took a detour into an empty room and thinking he lost her, let out a breath only to be startled when the door opened and Cuddy was standing in front of him.

“Wilson,” she started.

“Mhmm.”

“What’s on your back?” she asked, trying to get a better look, but James simply turned around.

“Oh it’s just a backpack,” he lied, only to be immediately ratted out by Liana’s nonsensical sounds.

“You have a talking backpack?” Cuddy looked at him skeptically.

“No, it’s a tumour. I’m dying,” he lied again, even more poorly than before.

Cuddy sighed, “Are we gonna get sued for it?”

James pressed his lips together and shook his head.

“Will someone get mad at you for it?”

He shook his head again.

“Is House involved?”

A third time.

“Okay,” she nodded slowly. “I won’t question your…talking backpack tumour.”

James nodded his head and Cuddy left the room which hopefully meant he was in the clear for the rest of the day.

Liana had other ideas and decided she didn’t like being in the carrier on his back anymore and began to cry. James wondered what was different, he’d done this with her before, but perhaps it was the new environment and she just wanted to be where she could see him.

So after some maneuvering, he changed the positioning of the carrier and put Liana back inside and she seemed much more relaxed afterwards.

When he got to his patient he apologized for being late, but they were more focused on the child that James had yet to introduce.

“Sorry, I’m a little all over the place right now,” he chuckled. “This is Liana, she’s going to be joining us today.”

“Is she your daughter?” he asked, seeing the way James smiled and held her when he introduced her.

“No,” James shook his head. “She’s the daughter of one of my close friends. I’m just doing her a favour today.”

“Either way, it’s always nice to see someone smiling and happy around here.”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” James nodded.

“How old is she?”

“Six months as of two weeks ago.”

“They grow fast, don’t they?”

James smiled and nodded, “They sure do.”

They continued their consult, and before long James wrapped things up and headed back to his office to meet with another patient.

This time around he was feeding and burping Liana throughout the meeting and it felt so much like second nature to him, it didn’t take him away at all from the questions the patient was asking, and much like he expected, having a baby in the room was a nice distraction from the heavy subject matter.

He got through the next few patients with ease, and he felt lucky that House only decided to come in after all his meetings were over.

“Is that a baby?” House squinted, looking at Liana who was calmly playing with a toy in James’ lap.

“No, it’s an alien,” he deadpanned and House ignored his comment.

“Why do you have a baby? That must be breaking some hospital rule.”

“Since when do you care about rules?”

“Cause rules are there to protect us,” House said sarcastically. “Is this the one you spend all your free time with?”

“Her name is Liana,” James said while standing up and moving to put her in her car seat for a moment. “House, I’m gonna ask you to do something and I’m going to trust that you won’t blow this up in my face.”

“Go on.”

“I need to use the washroom, but you’ve seen the way they get cleaned here, I don’t want to bring Li with me,” he said. “Can you watch her for five minutes? You don’t even have to do anything, just stare at her in the carrier.”

House thought about it for a moment before eventually agreeing, James completely oblivious to his friend’s ulterior motive.

House first sat across from her, turning her car seat around on the table so it was facing him. They stared at each other for a few moments before House stood up and grabbed a picture from one of James’ shelves, sitting back down in front of her.

“You’re probably too young to do this, but never too young to learn, right?”

Liana had no response.

“You see this guy?” House pointed to James in the photo. “He’s dada, right?”

House continued to prompt her, even though he knew she was too young to speak, thinking this would make a great prank if he played his cards right.

House continued to go back and forth with Liana between her babbles, until he heard James begin to open the door of the office.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Perfect,” House nodded. “Your daughter’s an angel.”

James frowned, unable to tell if House was being sarcastic or not, but he was quickly distracted by the frame in his hand.

“Why do you have that picture?” James came closer and took it from him.

“Oh, just trying to pass the time with a story.”

“The story of what exactly? This is just a picture of me with my parents.”

“I don’t know I made something up, she’s a baby, she won’t remember,” House insisted before leaving the office before James could ask any more questions.

A little confused by the encounter, he made his way over to Liana who was reaching out for him.

He checked the time, seeing as your meeting should probably have been over by then and decided to give you a call.

“Hey, I was just about to come and pick Liana up,” you said.

“Yeah, about that, do you just want to leave her with me for the rest of the day?” he asked. “She’s been really good and honestly I think the patients have been loving seeing a baby around.”

“James, it’s fine, my meeting is over. I can come get her,” you said.

James pressed his lips together before gathering the nerve to say what he was going to say.

“I actually would really like it if she could stay with me,” he said. “If you’re okay with it.”

You paused, “This isn’t just some round about way for you to find a way to give me a break?” you asked.

“No, I’m really happy she’s here. I was going to come over after work anyways.”

“You still have the car seat hookup in your car?” you asked and he confirmed. “Okay, call me if you need anything, Jamie.”

“I will, and thank you.”

“Just don’t break her, okay, she’s not replaceable,” you teased.

“I’ll bring her back in one piece,” James chuckled. “We’ll be fine, right Li?”

James gave her a little tickle so that you could hear her laugh in response and you couldn't help but smile before saying goodbye and feeling more at ease leaving her with James than you ever had leaving her with a babysitter.

—

It always felt interesting coming back to Princeton-Plainsboro after you had given birth to Liana. It brought back a lot of memories, both good and maybe not so great of your pregnancy, but recently you and Liana had been visiting a little more often to have lunch with James when you weren’t working.

Today wasn’t one of those days, you were actually just on your way back home after running a few errands and since you were in the area you thought you might stop in and talk to James about that evening.

When you went by his office you peeked inside and noticed he wasn’t there and before you could decide the best course of action, you heard a semi familiar voice behind you.

“You looking for Wilson?”

You turned around and saw House standing in front of you.

“Yeah, actually. Do you know where he is?”

“I think he just went to Cuddy’s office,” he said.

“Alright, I’ll head back downstairs then,” you smiled and were about to haul Liana’s car seat with you, but House stopped you.

“If you want I can look after her in my office,” he said.

“Really?” you seemed a little surprised from the offer, but figured it couldn’t be too bad to leave her with him for five minutes.

“Sure,” House nodded, making it seem like it was no big deal, when really he had already pocketed a picture of James and was looking for another opportunity to continue his prank.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” you said while walking over to his office and putting her car seat on the main table before walking down the hallways and over to the elevator to go and find James, but just to your luck, he was coming out just as you had planned to enter. “Hey, I was looking for you,” you smiled.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were coming, did we make plans?” he asked, worried he’d forgotten about something.

“No, I was just in the area and, well my mom and dad are coming over for dinner tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to join us.”

“Dinner sounds nice,” James nodded. “And I haven’t seen your parents in a while, I just seem to miss them every time they come into town.”

“Yeah, that’s why I thought I’d ask, also maybe as a warning in case you wanted to get as far away as you could,” you chuckled.

“Come on, they’re not that bad,” he nudged you.

“Most of the time, but then again, you’re not their child.”

“Wait, where’s Liana?” James asked. “With a sitter at home?”

“No, I left her with House.”

James’ eyes went wide, “You left her with House?”

“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” you chuckled as James began to walk towards House’s office to make sure he wasn’t up to one of his many schemes. “James he offered!” you called back and that only made him walk faster.

It took you a minute to catch up with him, but by that time he was already interrogating House who was simply sitting in front of Liana.

“Can't I offer to look after my friend’s friend’s baby?” House asked.

“Usually someone could, but when that person is you you may see why I think you have some ulterior motive.”

“James what’s going on?” you asked, coming closer to House. “Liana’s fine, I don’t know why you’re being so dramatic.”

“Yeah, listen to single mom over here,” he pointed to you.

James backed off if only for your sake, but he still kept a close eye on House as you picked up Liana’s car seat and told James you’d see him after his shift was over.

He nodded his head and you exchanged a kiss on the cheek before heading out.

“You’re really telling me you’re not getting some of that on the side?” House asked.

“House, drop it,” James was unamused. “I know you’re up to something, I just don’t know what.”

“I guess you’re just going to have to wait and find out,” House shrugged. “In the meantime may I suggest you go get your freak on with the mom? You know she probably hasn’t slept with anyone since that kid was conceived, I’m sure you’d have an easy time convincing her.”

“Shut up, House,” James rolled his eyes and left the office before he could suggest anything more obscene.

He was thankful when the end of his shift came, and before heading to your place he made a stop at the store to buy some flowers and dessert to bring over.

By this point, it was such a habit, he never knocked, just opened the door with his key and announced his presence to whoever was in the house.

“Hey Liana, look who’s here,” you smiled and pointed to James while Liana was being held by your mother.

Liana became very excited at the sight of him and he quickly put down the things he brought on the table before saying his greetings and giving special attention to Liana by means of a kiss on her nose and caress of her face.

“Do you want something to drink?” you asked. “Mom and dad brought some fancy-looking sparkling fruit juice.”

“I could go for some of that,” James nodded. “How have you guys been, I missed you the last time you were in town.”

“We’ve been good,” your dad nodded.

“Unfortunately our granddaughter doesn’t come to visit us very much,” your mom gave you a bit of a look and you rolled your eyes.

“Mom, you guys are retired, I have a job, why don’t we keep this ‘you visit me’ arrangement a while longer until my life sorts itself out a bit more.”

“She’s not wrong, honey,” your dad came and patted his wife’s shoulder.

“I know, I just wish we got to see Liana more. We should come down more often.”

“What about you, James, anything new in your life?”

James looked over at you before shaking his head.

“No, still working at the same place still…”

“Trying to find the right person,” you filled in for him, placing a hand on his shoulder and handing him his drink.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a soft smile and couldn’t help but laugh a little internally at the irony. Maybe the right person had been there all along, the person he’d never once pulled away from, the person he let take care of him, the person who he’d realized he’d most definitely fallen in love with, but risking things between you was out of the question so he would have to be content with the way things were.

“You’re the head of your department, right?” your mom asked and James nodded. “Wow, that’s quite something, your parents must be proud of you.”

“Yes, it never fails to come up in conversation with my mother,” he chuckled.

Liana began to fuss a little bit in her grandmother’s arms and after a few failed attempts at calming her down James offered to take over.

“Are you sure, honey?” she asked. “She gets a bit cranky and it’s hard to calm her down.”

“Don’t worry mom, James is an expert,” you assured her.

James nodded and confirmed he was sure before gently bouncing Liana until she stopped crying and wiping away whatever tears of hers were remaining.

“She seems very attached to you,” your dad remarked and James looked down at Liana who now had her head resting against his chest.

“The feeling’s quite mutual,” James chuckled. “Does she need to be fed?” he asked you.

“Yeah we’re probably getting close to that time now, I’ll warm up the bottle. Maybe I can feed her and you can deal with the sauce on the stove, it’s missing something and I can’t place it.”

“Sure,” James nodded and waited for you to heat up Liana’s bottle before passing her over and taking a turn at the stove.

Your parents watched your interactions curiously and shared a few looks between themselves, but chose to say nothing. They’d known James since you were both nineteen and a lot of things had happened since then, but a lot of time had passed too. It was interesting how your comfort with each other in friendship had so naturally extended itself in this way that you were practically functioning as a family whether you noticed it, or maybe deliberately chose to ignore it.

After you fed Liana and burped her, she was quick to fall asleep and you placed her in her cot in your room before joining James and your parents in the kitchen where they were bringing things to the dining room to lay them out on the table.

“This looks really delicious sweetheart, thank you for making dinner,” your dad said. “And you too James for taking over there in the home stretch.”

“For all we know it could have tasted terrible before he came in so he can take the credit for that,” you chuckled.

“No, I gave it a taste before adding anything. It just needed a little something sour to balance some things out, otherwise it was perfect,” he assured you.

Dinner with your parents was mostly small talk. They shared a little about some of your relatives they had recently spoken to or visited and asked James how his family was doing and they left fairly early to start the drive back home.

“I’ll load the dishes you put away the leftovers?” James yawned and you chuckled.

“How about I do both since I had a day off and you go and lay down for a bit,” you suggested.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about I’m fine,” James waved his hand but yawned again.

“Go to sleep, James. That’s not a suggestion,” you walked up to him. “My ex left some sweatpants here you can change into those and take off this button up,” you tugged at his shirt.

James pressed his lips together and nodded his head, before heading over to the bedroom and quietly getting changed before climbing into bed and not fighting the sleep that came.

He initially wasn’t sure how much later it was when he woke up, but by the looks of it much too late to go come considering you were next to him, despite being groggy, he had a million and one things crossing his mind, but all of those were thrown out when he heard Liana begin to cry.

You shifted next to him, waking up to go and take care of it, but James put an arm on your shoulder.

“I’ve got it, go back to sleep,” he assured you.

You were too tired to argue with him and let your head hit the pillow again while he stood up and picked Liana up from her crib, heading out to the kitchen so he could heat up a bottle for her before coming back and sitting in the chair to feed her.

You watched the scene in front of you and you felt yourself wanting to memorize every detail. How he held her, the quiet things he whispered, the way she curled into his arms while he stood up and rocked her back to sleep.

When he came back to the bed he noticed you were awake and he let out a soft chuckle and you smiled looking up at him with his messy hair. Suddenly you were nineteen again and banging on the door of cabin 3 trying to wake your fellow counsellor to come and deal with an emergency. To you he looked the same as he did all those years ago.

“I told you to go back to sleep.”

“Not everyone can fall asleep instantly,” you yawned with a chuckle.

“You didn’t wake me up to leave,” he said quietly, his head resting on his hand that propped him up.

“You always look so peaceful when you sleep, I feel evil whenever I have to wake you up,” you remarked, but behind your eyes if he could see through the darkness of the room, he would have seen them saying something else. That you wanted him to stay, you didn’t want to wake him up because you wanted to wake up next to him. “You don’t mind do you?”

“That you’re making me do the walk of shame in the morning?” James teased and shook his head.

“Just shut up and go back to sleep, Jamie,” you yawned with a chuckle.

He moved so he was laying down on his back with an arm behind his head and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from him. Maybe he could feel you staring because he reached his other arm out and pulled you closer and you moved with him until your head rested against his chest, your arm draped over top of him.

He gave you a gentle squeeze with the arm that was wrapped around you and pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“Goodnight, Jamie,” you mumbled into his shirt.

You couldn’t see how he looked down and smiled at you after you said that, all that filled your ears was a quiet, “Goodnight.”

—

“I haven’t seen you in a few days, how have you been?”

James sat on the carpet of the living room, playing with Liana who was crawling around him while you brought over two mugs of tea so you could chat while you entertained the growing baby.

“Good for the most part, just had a patient who wasn’t doing so great so I spent some extra time at the hospital to keep an eye on things. Not to mention House has been bugging me to go out and it’s been a while so I figured what’s the harm.”

“He got you plastered and you made a fool of yourself, didn’t he?” you asked and James nodded while you laughed. “Liana, did James go out with House and act like an idiot?” you tickled the ten month old and she giggled before coming closer to you, tapping on your legs with her hands.

“Don’t listen to your mama, Li, she’s trying to-,”

“Mama,” Liana repeated after James had spoken and you both stopped dead in your tracks.

You looked over at James and his smile was just as wide as yours before you picked Liana up and smothered her with kisses.

“Liana, look at you! You said your first word!”

“Good job, Liana banana,” James grinned and gave her cheek a little pinch which made her reach out to him and say,

“Dada.”

You both had a similar reaction to what happened moments ago, only this time it was pure shock. Maybe you had misheard her, but when she repeated herself, James could feel his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.

“I-I don’t know where she learnt that from,” he told you. “I swear I didn’t teach her that.”

It took a minute for the shock to fade away for you, but once it did you tried to assure James that it was okay.

“I believe you,” you said. “I-I don’t know where she picked it up from, but it’s okay.”

James chewed on his lip, it wasn’t okay though because he wanted nothing more than to hear Liana say that again.

“It’s not though,” James said softly. “I love her, but I’m not her dad. That’s not fair to her or to you.”

“Jamie,” you pleaded with him, but he still seemed stuck on something.

“I’m really sorry,” he apologized again. “I feel like I ruined a special moment.”

“I’m trying to tell you it really doesn’t matter,” you assured him, you could see it in his eyes, he wanted to leave, to let you have time alone, but you didn’t want to be alone, you wanted him to stay with you. “Please…please stay.”

James reached out his hand to hold yours and was about to give you his answer when his pager went off.

Your heart clenched and you watched as he read the message and sighed, standing up because he was needed again at the hospital.

“Your patient?” you asked, picking Liana up and standing next to him.

He nodded his head, “They were scheduled for an unrelated surgery and there were some complications, I have to go.”

You understood and James wrapped you in a tight hug and you kissed his cheek.

“I love you, Jamie.”

“I love you too,” he whispered, wishing he could hold onto you and never let you go, but instead he was pulled away from your warm embrace wondering how on earth Liana had learnt to call him dad.

—

“You look like you haven’t slept in days, spending time with the baby again?” House asked, waltzing into James’ office.

“No, I haven't been over in a few days,” James shook his head.

“You haven’t been over in a few days…Something happened,” House deduced and James gave him a look.

“Nothing happened. I’m just taking a break,” he lied.

“You’ve been going non-stop to spend time with them since the baby was born ten months ago, why do you need a break now?”

“Because I have a lot on my mind and there’s a few new patients I need to focus on-,”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes I am,” James admitted and House grinned.

“Really?”

“No, I’m not,” he shook his head and continued to look down and do his work.

“We do this every single time and every single time I’m right,” House said. “Why don’t we save the back and forth for another time and just skip to the part where you tell me what’s going on.”

“Oh really and you were right that time you thought I was cheating on my wife and she was the one cheating on me?” he asked.

“Okay, so I’m not perfect,” House shrugged. “What happened, Wilson? I could just as easily get your friend’s number and ask directly if that’s what you’d prefer.”

“God no,” James shook his head. “Leave her alone, she doesn’t need to deal with you on top of working and raising a child.”

“Alright then, what happened?”

James took a deep breath and sighed, “Liana called me dad the other day. I have no idea where she learnt it from.”

“She started speaking,” House nodded, pressing his lips together. “Was it her first word or-,”

“Second. She said mom first,” James said, but caught a glimpse of his friend trying to fight back a smile and suddenly all the offers to take care of Liana paired with the photographs made sense. “You taught her!” he exclaimed. “House I can’t believe you’d pull a prank on me by manipulating my friend’s baby!”

“Oh come on, it’s not that big of a deal,” House rolled his eyes.

“House, I cannot believe you!”

“You’re not mad at me,” House shook his head. “You’re just mad you liked it.”

“No I’m-,”

“Yes, you are,” the diagnostician emphasized. “You’ve been sitting here tearing yourself apart for the past four days because she called you dad and you liked it. You’re mad at yourself for liking it because she’s not your kid.”

“No,” James quieted down. “She’s not.”

“You haven’t gone back because you’re afraid to hear her say it again, aren’t you?”

“Since when did you become an expert on my personal problems, House? You caused this, why should I listen to anything you have to say?”

“Because you’re being an idiot. You’re punishing yourself for liking something. Do you realize how insane that sounds?”

“It’s not insane, House, she’s not my baby-,”

“Sure, she’s not your baby and you have her feeding and nap routine memorized. You’ve been to her doctor's appointments, she’s calmer in your arms than she is in the arms of her grandparents. Yeah, go and tell that to any moron sitting out there and they’ll tell you for me, you’re being an idiot.”

James sighed again, “And why do you care?”

“Because once you’re done with this spiral we can go back to the way things were when you weren’t a boring depressed lump.”

“How kind of you,” James faked a smile.

House’s pager went off, leaving James alone again in his office, thinking about what his friend had said.

You’d told him so many times that things were okay, but maybe a part of him didn’t want to let him believe that you didn’t mind because that was a slippery slope to him facing himself and his feelings and he didn’t care what his heart was telling him, he wouldn’t put himself through that. He wouldn’t put you and Liana through that. But at the same time, he couldn’t keep himself away forever. He didn’t want that either.

So with a deep breath he picked up his office phone and dialled your number, putting it up to his ear and waiting for the line to connect on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“James,” your voice sounded almost relieved. “H-Hey, how are you?”

He pressed his lips together, “Miserable, actually. I miss you guys.”

“We miss you too,” you chuckled with a small sniffle.

“C-Can I come over for dinner tonight?” he asked.

“You still have a key, what do you think?” you asked with a bit of a laugh. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you then,” James smiled and after he hung up the phone he took a deep breath, his fast heartbeat slowing down by the second.

Maybe this time House was right.

—

The next few weeks passed by and things resumed to their normal state, much to House’s delight. James’ role as department head always meant at least one day a week where he would stay late and do some extra paperwork, dealing with anything that may have slipped through the cracks before.

This time, that had fallen on a Sunday and it was just past dinner when he heard a knock on his door and wondering who was on the other end he called for them to come in.

You opened the door a crack and again asked permission to come in and James smiled at you, looking up from his paperwork, not expecting to see you in the hospital.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you here, what’s going on?”

“I just wanted to drop by and bring you something for dinner, I know it’s your paperwork day.”

“Thanks, that’s really sweet of you,” he stood up from his chair and came to stand in front of his desk, leaning back on it while you placed the take out bag on the table. “Where’s Liana?”

“Oh Helen’s looking after her tonight,” you said. “I had a few things I needed to do and um just wanted the evening off,” you admitted.

“Fair enough,” James nodded.

“I actually brought you something else,” you rolled back and forth on the balls of your feet and James noticed the tension in your stature. “H-Here,” you handed him a gift bag which he eyed curiously.

Today wasn’t his birthday or some memorable event you celebrated together. There wasn’t much of a reason to get him a present which made it all the more intriguing.

He pulled out a wrapped rectangular box from the bag, and putting the bag aside he began to carefully tear away the wrapping paper to reveal what looked like a picture frame. Overlaid on the frame, on top of the photo, James noticed a card which he unfolded to read its contents.

Happy Father’s Day. We love you loads. - Liana and Mom

James moved the card to see the picture and put his hand over his mouth, feeling tears involuntarily form in his eyes as he saw the familiar scene of your room, lit by the light of your lamp as Liana was fast asleep against his chest while he napped on the armchair.

James quickly wiped away the few tears that were in his eyes and looked up at you with a grateful smile, looking back down at the image before placing it neatly on his desk along with the card.

“I hope you like it,” you said quietly, biting your lip. “I thought you might want to have a copy of that picture and…you know just a thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Liana this past year.”

“I love it,” he assured you. “I-I love it and I love you.”

“I love you too,” you smiled.

“N-No,” James came closer and reached out, taking your hands in his. “I…I love you. I’m in love with you.”

“Jamie,” you spoke in a breathy whisper, unsure of how you lost your voice. “I-,” you opened your mouth to speak again, but paused when James raised a hand to your face, wiping away the tears you didn’t even notice had begun to stream down.

“I just don’t want to be away from you, ever,” he said softly. “I never did. And now with Liana, I want to be there, for all of it.”

You held the wrist of his hand that held your face, pulling him in closer so your foreheads rested against each other.

You took in a shaky breath, thinking back on those words. Something you’d been saying to each other for longer than you could remember. The first time was so clear in your mind, you were on the phone racking up long distance charges while James was in Montreal. It had slipped out by accident, a reflex, and you had convinced yourself when the phone had hung up you’d never call him back, unable to face what you’d just said, but before you could spiral any further, he said it back and you never stopped saying it.

For the longest time that was the only occurrence that was memorable, everything else was a blur, that was until a few months ago. It was so simple, you had fallen asleep on the couch and James had made sure Liana was fed and bathed and even cleared up some things in the kitchen before sitting on the couch with some tea and a book. You had talked and said I love you as a thank you, but when the words left your mouth they also left a lingering airiness in your heart, a feather light feeling that came crashing down like an anvil when he left to go home because you realized you never wanted to be apart from him.

It took you a few moments to realize you hadn’t said anything and James was anxiously waiting for some sort of communication, anything, but since the meaning of your words had changed, for both of you, you thought it might be more conducive to work in actions.

You closed in the space between you, at first gently resting your lips on his and letting him lead you in a soft and slow kiss, putting aside all the restraint you both had been using these past months in an effort to protect your friendship.

One of James’ hands held onto your waist, pulling you in so that there was no space left between you. He kissed you again and again, remembering each one as a core memory, engraved in his mind, paired with the feeling of your arms wrapped around his neck, the feeling of your body pressed so closely against his, his heart beating outside of his chest.

It was easy for his lips to trail away from yours, moving along your jaw, to your temple before you had pulled each other into a warm embrace, simply existing in each other’s arms. James thought to himself what a nice life it would be, not ever having to pull away.

—

“I don’t have much to say,” James smiled. “Everything is looking good, you still seem 100% healthy to me.”

“That’s great news.”

“It definitely is. Standard procedure, but we’ll have one more of these remission follow ups to make sure everything is still in order then you hopefully won’t have to see me again.”

“Thank you Dr. Wilson, I really appreciate all you’ve-.”

“Dad!”

“Sweetheart, wait he’s with a patient!”

James turned his head and saw Liana running over to him, you valiantly trying to chase after her without much success.

He quickly scooped her up in his arms before she crashed into him, pressing a big kiss to her cheek.

“Sorry about that,” James apologized. “It’s Saturday, we normally have lunch together.”

“No worries,” he chuckled.

“Liana, this is my patient Mr. Kimbilio, can you say hi?”

Liana waved and said hi, very exuberantly.

“This is my daughter,” James introduced. “And that’s my wife,” he pointed over to you.

“Daughter,” Mr. Kimbilio smiled. “I think I met you Liana, when you were very small. Your father was looking after you at work and so some of his patients got to meet you.”

“Really?” she looked up at her dad and he nodded.

“He’s right, I remember that,” James smiled. “You’ve grown a lot since then, haven’t you Li,” he kissed her cheek again and she giggled.

You finally caught up to the group and James greeted you with a quick kiss, passing Liana off to you so he could wrap things up and you could all go down to the cafeteria for lunch together.

“If I remember correctly,” Mr. Kimbilio started. “You didn’t introduce her as your daughter the first time we met. I’m glad something changed.”

“Me too,” James smiled, looking over at his wife and daughter fondly who were now in the midst of making him very proud by pulling off a small prank on House as he came out of his office.

It didn’t take much longer for them to wrap things up and you and Liana made a quick pit stop inside James’ office before heading downstairs.

Liana went to go sit in James’ seat while he put away his files and organized them.

It had been a while since you’d been in his office, but it felt like ever since the night you first kissed things had begun to change in the room.

His desk was now more littered with photos than knickknacks and Liana’s artwork was posted wherever there was room.

You came around to the other side, looking a little more closely at the pictures.

There was one of you, James, and Liana on your wedding day, another of just the two of you during an anniversary celebration, Liana’s kindergarten photo from school and another one of you as a family on your last vacation. And still as prominent as ever, the framed photo you had gifted James on his first father’s day.

“You ready to go?” he asked you, looking up and noticing your eyes gazing at the pictures on his desk.

When you didn’t initially respond, too focused on what you were looking at, James wrapped an arm around you and tilted your chin towards him so he could press a kiss to your lips.

“I love you,” you smiled and James kissed you again, saying.

“And I love you,” before moving over to pick up Liana and kiss her cheek. “And you.”

Liana giggled, feeling tickled by the kisses and moving to give both of you a kiss on the cheek before saying.

“Mom, Dad, I’m starving. Can we go eat now?”

“Sure, Liana banana,” James chuckled and you wrapped an arm around him, walking side by side out of the office and in the direction of the elevator to get to the cafeteria, thinking you were pretty lucky that in the end, your best friend listened to his heart and went after what he wanted.

TAGLIST —

@cuntyvicodin @paola-carter @kiddbegins @il0vebeingdelulu @illicit4ff4irs @lynnsthoughts @miarabanana @iwmflbb @shots-of-wilson-and-whiskey @sarcasm-and-stiles @sun-flower-mad @x-uno @han11dh @qardasngan @alexxavicry

#james wilson #james wilson x reader #james wilson x you #james wilson fanfiction #james wilsonf anfic #james wilson fic #dr wilson #dr wilson x reader #dr wilson x you #house md #house md fanfiction #house md x reader #robert sean leonard

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chas3supremacist · 8 months

Text

delicate pov.

pairing/s: Allison Cameron x Fem!Reader, platonic Robert Chase x Fem!Reader, brief James Wilson x Daughter!Reader

summary: tales of the second, third, and hundredth time you saw Dr. Chase try to make a move on your girlfriend.

CW: angst, Chase’s unrequited and unreciprocated love for Cameron, a lack of dialogue??? Cameron is a canon lesbian idgaf

word count: 1600 words

a/n: oh god. my second house fic. Another mid classic from Amy less go, as always, feedback is always appreciated!!! I am also very gay for Jennifer Morrison!!!

At this point in your and Allison’s relationship, you were regretting having such great taste in women - Your girlfriend was easily one of the most beautiful women you had ever seen in your life, and it was blatantly clear that you were not the only person who thought so. In the 6 months you had been seeing Allison, it had taken 3 of the 6 months for you to notice the way that Chase looked at her - He looked at her like he loved her. At first, you had brushed it off - you knew that she wasn’t interested in any man, never mind her co-worker. But then she started flirting back at him.

You watched the two of them discuss their case from across the room, you sat alone, deciding that you didn’t want to make yourself involved in something that didn’t concern you, even if it meant watching your girlfriend talk and almost flirt with the man who was deeply in love with her - It would have shocked you to see if it were not the first time you had noticed what was going on between the two. It hurt, but who were you to stick your nose where you weren’t wanted; You were just a paediatrician, nowhere near a diagnostician, even though House, on a few occasions had sought after your opinion - which he proceeded to insult but only after you were proved right. But you had grown to expect that from house - you had known him for most of your life since you were born from the first of your dads car crash marriage, House had been a part of your life since your parents divorce when you were 3 years old. Now, it felt like House was trying to piss you off for some reason - that he wanted Chase and Cameron to be together instead of you and her.

The third time you noticed them flirting was during a charity event that the hospital was hosting. Chase and Camerons ‘friendship’ had driven a wedge between you and your girlfriend, so much that you had been staying over at your dad’s for the past week - Not like Cameron noticed, she was too busy out late with Chase. You were so unsure of what to do. Did you risk losing the woman you loved over something so silly like her having a close male friend? No, you were just being paranoid, right? Right.

Wilson sighed as he watched you down another glass of champagne, looking at your girlfriend from across the room, nothing but admiration for her in your eyes.

“I can feel you watching me, dad,” You alerted your dad that you were aware of his presence behind you. “Don’t you have to following House around like a lost puppy?” Wilson knew that you were verging on drunk, so opted to take the empty champagne flute out of your hand, despite your protesting and furious pout.

“Why don’t you, I don’t know, talk to her?” You rolled your eyes at your dad’s suggestion - as if you hadn’t tried that already. “I’m just trying to help you, honey. I know that you love her,” Wilson had already had this talk with you - however, after considering your dad’s track record of marriages and failed relationships, you didn’t listen the first time when you were sober, so there was minimal chance of you listening when you were drunk. Wilson also knew that you weren't going to listen to him - but he thought it was better to try, he knew that you loved Cameron with everything in you, but it was hard to love her when all she did was spend time with Chase, a man so obviously in love with her.

"I do love her," You trailed off, looking over at her and Chase, watching as he leaned in to kiss her - but you looked away, you couldn't watch that. Your heart stopped as you turned your back on the two; You did, however, miss that Cameron smacked him for trying to make an advance on her. "I'm going home."

You were gone before your dad could try and convince you to stay, and before Cameron could find you.

She had grown tired of him now - of how he would always bring up old memories of their times out together; conveniently leaving all mentions of you out. She was tired of him flirting with her, despite her shutting him down every time, she didn't care if it was harmless flirting - it was harming her relationship with you. You had stopped taking your lunch break at the same time, you were always home late or working a nightshift. Cameron knew now that she had perhaps taken this thing with Chase too far - she knew that you were sometimes too shy or reserved to speak about how you were actually feeling, you were a people pleaser, even if it meant you would lose your girlfriend. She watched as you sat by yourself in the cafeteria, you looked exhausted, your concealer barely minimising the bags under your eyes - Cameron's heart broke at the very sight of you. Ignoring whatever Chase was talking about, she made her way over to you, sitting down on the chair in front of you.

"Y/N?" You looked up at the familiar mention of your name, giving your girlfriend a weak smile as you looked up at her.

"Hey," You greeted her quietly, a dam of tears building behind your eyes, frightened if you spoke any louder than you did, that the dam would break. "Is Chase not here today?" You questioned her in the same quiet voice as before, you weren't in any way being snarky; as of late, it just felt like you were an afterthought to your girlfriend. Letting out a defeated sigh, she frowned and reached out to hold your hands.

"I know I've been a terrible, terrible, girlfriend recently," She started, looking you in the eyes, trying to be as sincere as possible - she needed you to know how much she loves you, to know how much she admires you for every single thing you do, for how much you love her from the deepest corners of her heart despite everything. "And I know that you'll tell me that it's okay but it's not. I never meant to make you feel this way and I feel terrible for doing this to you, but I need you to know that I love you, Y/N." You looked at her blankly as she spoke. "Your dad told me that you left after the charity event after you saw Chase try to kiss me, but I need you to know that I didn't let him. I turned away from him and then I smacked him, I came to find you but you were gone by the time that I found your dad." She explained.

"And what about the flirting? Did you mean any of that?" You asked, a little louder than the last time you had spoke, your voice breaking. Cameron shook her head fervently, still holding your hands in hers.

"No. Not at all. I love you, and I know it doesn't feel that way but I love you so much Y/N, and I want you to come home, to our home," You knew she was being sincere, but how could you guarantee that she wouldn't immediately go back to being inseparable best friends with Chase. Sighing, you nodded. You accepted that you would just have to trust her word and that she loved you - You knew that trust was just as important as love was in any relationship, and you suspected that this was why your relationship had survived this hardship, because a part of you trusted Cameron to not get involved with Chase. "Please, come home."

"Okay, I'll come home."

Going home that night, you felt some sort of relief knowing that you'd be going home and that Cameron was definitely going to be there, waiting for you since she got off work before you did. As you opened the door to your shared apartment, you kicked your shoes off and hung up your jacket, making your way into the living room, where Cameron had fallen asleep on the couch, wrapped in your throw blanket. You smiled to yourself before kneeling down in front of Cameron, gently nudging her shoulder, laughing softly as she groaned.

"Hey sleepy," You greeted her jokingly, smiling as she gave a sleepy pout. "Come on, let's go to bed." You said quietly, taking your throw off of Cameron and folding it up, then placing it behind the couch on top of her own. You followed her to your bedroom, watching her get comfortable in bed as you stripped down and into your pyjamas then get into bed beside her.

"I love you...so so so so much," Cameron assured you, despite how obviously sleepy she was. You smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, smiling against hers as you finally felt settled once more in bed with the love of your life.

"I love you more."

#Allison Cameron x fem!reader #Allison Cameron x reader #Allison cameron #Cameron house md #housemd fanfic #house fanfiction #house md #James wilson x daughter!reader #daughter!reader #wlw fanfic #robert chase #hatecrimes md #jennifer morrison

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skyfallslayer · 9 months

Text

A Stitch In Time || Prologue

-Bucky Barnes x Daughter!Reader-

Series Masterlist

° Series Summary: A Time Heist mission goes wrong, and some of the Avengers end up in the 1950s. Desperately clinging to their lives, they wind up in a place subconsciously. And unfortunately for Steve, and especially to Bucky, they find themselves face to face with someone they wish not to see.

° Chapter Summary: Worried about how his mission may go, Bucky visits a ‘touchy’ place, and recalls the short life he had with you.

° Date: 7/20

° Rating: Teen

° Word Count: 4,569

° Warning: Talks about death/dying; Reference to Suicide; Guilt; Child Abandonment; Talks of Fertility Issues; Alcohol; Allusions to Depression. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

° A/N: The only excuse I have for taking so long to get this out is because I had an expected mental health break. One that was needed. But I'm back! And I'm slowly updating some of my other stories! So be on the look out for those! Also, let me know if I missed any warnings! Enjoy!

The freshly wetted grass squished underneath his boots with each and every step. His shoulders were slacked, but his wrists were tense as he held the delicate bouquet with both of his hands. He was always nervous to be here, even though he’s done it so many times after finding it, the nervousness never went away. The nausea never stopped too… or the guilt… the fear… the sadness. Nothing ever stopped like he so desperately wanted to. Was this a curse he was stuck with for helping to bring another child into this cruel world?

He reaches the end of his line, just a few short inches away from where his toes could touch the stone; The stone etched with words and numbers that made his heart ache. And when his knees felt weak he lowered himself to the ground, sitting back on his heels. With a bittersweet expression on his features, he removes the old lilies and replaces them with your favorite, pearly white ones. The ones you always smelled like when you came back from playing in the park. Who knew he would miss such a fragrance?

He takes a deep inhale through his nose, and exhales quietly, gathering his thoughts. “Hey, baby girl. It’s been some… time since I’ve visited. I honestly thought I should wait until your half birthday, but…” He trails off, frowning. “But uh, I’m heading off on another mission tomorrow, a… potentially dangerous one.” He chuckles dryly. “You know the deal with those.”

He pauses like he’s waiting for your answer he knows he won’t get, letting the hot summer wind touch his face and through his chocolate locks. He waited for that as his cue to continue on.

“Uh… so…”

It hurts to even think about it.

“I was just…”

Should he even say it?

“Wondering again if it goes south I can…”

Should he repeat what he always says to your grave?

“Be next to you?”

Another pause, this time it felt more painful. It always hurts to be here. It always hurts to say those words because it wasn’t like he had a death wish, it wasn’t like he was afraid of death, he just… didn’t know if he deserved to be next to you. You were his whole world and he fucked it up. Fucked it up so bad that it makes him more anxious to want to hold you, and hug you, and kiss you, and just talk to you. He loves you.

He’s loved you since the very beginning.

Bucky would have fallen back in shock if it wasn’t for the small bundle in his arms. His ex-girlfriend had just said some words that he didn’t need to hear right now. Couldn’t even comprehend it.

No, it wasn’t, ‘Can we get back together? I made a mistake’.

No, It wasn’t, ‘The baby isn’t yours’.

No it was–

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” He asked, disbelief etched in his words. There was also an underlying sense of anger and betrayal, because–

She couldn’t be serious...

Right?

He watched the woman standing in front of him roll her eyes, snatching her purse from his living room’s couch while responding, “I don’t want her. I only had her because you wanted to keep the baby after finding out I was pregnant.”

He nearly doubled over when he heard the disgust in her voice. “So you’re just going to leave?” Bucky asked, seeing his ex now putting on her winter coat. “But our daughter needs a mother figu–”

“YOUR daughter.” His ex snapped, poison on her tongue. “That baby–” She points furiously. “That baby is a spitting image of you. All the way from the shape of her face to the way she smiles. Everything. Which is fine by me, I don’t want someone looking like me out in the world.”

Bucky opened his mouth to speak as he followed her behind as she walked towards the front door. Unfortunately, she beats him to it. “As for a mother figure, you’ve got three sisters and a mom. That baby can pick up skills from them.”

She swings the door open, letting in the cold breeze of February. Snowflakes flew in, sticking to her clothes and curly hair. Bucky immediately stood sideways and drew you as far away as he could from the freezing air.

(Was she trying to freeze you?!)

“Dottie!” He called out from the doorway, stopping her on the porch.

She wasn’t even going to look back at him, wasn’t she? Or even look at you? Did she truly not feel anything?

He doesn’t know why but his voice cracked, and although he and his ex’s relationship was always rocky, and they both knew that whatever was between them wasn’t going to work out, he still doesn’t want her to leave him alone with a one week old.

“Come on…” He continued, quietly. “At least stay for a couple months until I can do this on my own.” His lower lip quivered slightly. “Please?”

He felt you shift a bit in his arms, probably from the weather, and waited for her to turn around…

But she never did.

“Goodbye, James.” Dottie said, before trailing across the snow covered path to the sidewalk.

Bucky watches her disappear into the night, his feet glued to the floor even when part of his mind told him to run after her. It would be a lie if he said that he didn’t want to go after her, thinking that maybe she’ll change her mind if actually begs, but the mere thought went out the door when you started to get fussy and cry.

Something deep within him kicked in, probably that parental instincts he’s heard about from his own parents, and all his attention was turned to you cradled in a lilac colored blanket.

“Hey…” He whispered, readjust his hold so that he could gently brush their–

No.

That’s officially gone out the window.

It’s just his daughter. His.

He readjust his hold so that he could gently brush HIS daughter’s cheek. To brush your cheek like a soft paint brush across a canvas. “Hey. Don’t cry.” He says, soothingly.

He makes a soft shushing sound as he closes the front door with his hip, before carefully guiding himself to sit near the fireplace. He lays you cautiously in his lap, almost in awe as he sees your eyes peeking open for the first time.

(Y/E/C) eyes.

So beautiful like the world itself. He almost wanted to start taking pictures.

Maybe later though.

He chuckles sadly, tears in his own as he brushes your cheeks again. “Don’t cry. Don’t cry, I got you.” He said, smiling down. “I got you, baby girl.”

You cooed quietly, staring back at him with a bit of curiosity. The look you were giving him melted his heart, but it also made him feel like he didn’t deserve any of this.

“I’m sorry…” He croaks, sniffling. “It looks like it’s just going to be me and you, doll. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

You made the cute sounds that took his breath away again, taking up his whole surroundings. However, if it wasn’t for his military training, he probably wouldn’t have even heard someone tumbling down the stairs. Bucky glances at the living room entrance, finding a certain skinny blond that he called his best friend. He saw his chest move slightly, and could almost hear him panting from here.

“S-Sorry.” Steve exhales, leaning against the door frame. “Your mom sent me down here when we heard everything go quiet.”

Bucky smiled a little. “She got worried?”

Steve copies him with a chuckle. “Yeah. She wanted to make sure you hadn’t run off with her grandchild.”

The brunette shakes his head. “That sounds like my mother.” He turns his attention back on you, but from the corner of his eye he could see his friend shifting uncomfortably, almost hesitantly, in his spot. His smile grows. “Come here.”

“What?” The blond said, genuinely confused.

“Come here, Steve. You can see her.”

He stiffens up a bit, looking unsure. “H-Her… A-Are you… are you sure?” Steve asked, pointing towards the stairs in the hallway. “I-I shouldn’t be the one seeing your baby first. Shouldn’t I–”

“Get your ass over here, Rogers.” Bucky said, almost wishing he could free his hand up and drag him by the ear (he was always so timid and too cautious sometimes).

Not even daring to question his best friend’s wish, Steve wandered over and took a seat on the couch next to Bucky. He leans in close, examining the small bundle in the soldier’s arms.

Steve’s big blue eyes lit up with joy. “Wow, Buck. She’s adorable.” He said, as you scrunch up your nose to show off your cute, chubby cheeks.

“She is.” Bucky said, fighting back the stinging sensation in his eyes again. He now wonders…

(Is this what it's going to feel like all the time now?)

After a moment of silence, Bucky threw his friend through another loop. “Wanna hold her?”

Steve held his hands up in defense almost immediately after those words left his tongue. “Oh, no. I shouldn’t.”

“I trust you.” Bucky holds you out a little, a reassuring look on his face.

Steve raises a cautious eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Yes.” Bucky laughs. “I’ll show you.”

Bucky then takes his time showing Steve how to hold you, giving him pointers and readjusting everyone once and awhile until he has you in a good position. The blond’s nerves seemed to vanish into thin air when he started to see that you were looking at him with the same curious eyes you made at your father. Those eyes of yours could melt anyone’s hard shells at this point.

Steve chuckles, and grins as he gets butterflies in his stomach from you. “What’s her name?” He asks, sparing a glance at your dad for a split second. “Did Dottie ever give her one?”

Bucky shakes his head sadly. “No.” He said, his voice feeling rather small at the moment. “No she didn’t. I’m tasked with giving her one.”

“Have you thought of any? I know you were looking through some books a few weeks back.”

“I have and I think…” He takes another good look at you, making sure the name was the right choice. “I was thinking… (Y/N).”

“(Y/N)?” The blond repeats back, testing it out like an echo chamber for his friend who nodded back.

“Yeah. (Y/N).” Bucky tests it out his lips as other names start to form. “(Y/N)... Stevie Barnes.”

He looks up in surprise. “Stevie?” Steve asks in disbelief again.

Bucky smiles. “Well, I heard Stevie is the girl version of Steve, so…”

“But…” His blue eyes look away again, looking completely torn.

Your father raises an eyebrow over this. “But what?”

“You’re flattering me way too much, Bucky.”

“Am I?” Bucky asked, tilting his head, slightly puzzled.

“Y-Yes!” Steve said, shaking his head. “Y-You can’t– You shouldn’t name your kid after me.”

Now it was his turn to be even more confused. “Why not?”

“Because, I’m– y-you have sisters! Parents. Y-You should name her after them. Not me.”

“But, Steve, you’re my brother. Besides…” Bucky shifted in his seat, knowing what he’ll say next is touchy. “I know… the doctor said you might not be able to have kids so… think of this as me… giving you a small piece of that.”

Silence befell, the subject was something that really hurt Steve when he heard it the first time; Hell, it even hurt his mother who was present at the time. It kind of haunted him for a while because what could he offer to a person who wanted to share his life?

Steve stares at him for a while before tearing up, laughing quietly and looking away. “Jesus, Bucky. You’re making me cry.”

A chuckle. “Well don’t, ‘cause I’ll start crying again.” Bucky says, making them belly laugh.

The blond sniffles and tests the name out on his own. “(Y/N) Stevie Barnes.” He looks back down at you, his smile returning fully. “Not bad, Buck.”

Your father looked at him teasingly. “And what’s that supposed to mean, Steven?”

“Nothing.” Steve replies, holding back another laugh as he watches you start to drift back to sleep. “I’m really happy for you, man.”

“Thanks.”

A few moments more passed before you were carefully placed back in your father’s arms, where all he did was stare back at you as you pulled yourself to sleep. His happy face started to falter, and there was a heavy amount of doubt in his ocean blue orbs.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Steve.” He finally admits before swallowing the lump in his throat. He soon felt his friend’s hand on his leg, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“You don’t have to do this alone, Bucky. You’ve got your family and you’ve got me.” Steve said, honestly. “And you know this. However, don’t doubt yourself, you got this. You’re going to be a great dad.”

Bucky’s lip curled up a bit, not caring that he was about to cry again. “Steve Rogers. The man who always knows what to say.”

“What can I say? I try.” He asked, coping with his expression.

“And you think I’ll be great? Even with me being a soldier and everything else that comes with it?” Your father asked, doubt was still just lingering on the surface no matter what he did.

Steve gives another gentle squeeze. “I know you’ll be great. I know you’ll do anything to make sure she’ll be okay. So don’t worry too much, okay? (Y/N)’s going to be lucky she has you.”

Bucky hums, truly grateful for a friend like him.

And without an ounce of hesitation, he bends down slowly and kisses your sleeping forehead.

“I already loved you so much, (Y/N). I hope you realize that.” He whispers, lovingly. “And I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe.”

He swears at that moment he saw you smile.

Bucky brushed his flesh fingers against the words in the stone, tracing your name and important dates. February 23rd, 1936. A snowy, snowy day. Cool and crisp. Although he had to wait and wait until you were a week old to hold you, a week old to realize he was on his own, a week to realize that he truly loved you. No upcoming birthday surprises could top this one. But if he loved you so much then…

Why were you cursed to be underground?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

When Bucky got back home to his apartment, he found himself subconsciously grabbing the bottle of scotch in his cabinet. Although he knew he couldn’t technically get drunk, the feeling he got after a couple glasses was close enough. Sometimes… he liked the quietness in his home, the time to relax, untouched and left alone to be himself; But most of the time, after so many years of being alone in his head, he loathes being alone. Friends and family were everything to him growing up. You were everything to him growing up.

He still wonders what it would be like if you were here, running around, asking him twenty questions, painting his toes, etcetera. He always wondered what you were like when you got older, the side of you he never got to see. He always wondered what those short years did for you.

Why did he have to get taken from you so soon?

You dove around your grandparents and aunts’ legs as you made your way out of the house, ignoring how your father’s duffle bag, that subconsciously you hated, was laying on the porch steps. You stumble around a bit on your five year old legs, before finding the person you wanted to see.

“Uncle Steve!!!” You yelled, throwing your arms up.

“Hey, Pumpkin.” He said, teasingly. He wastes no time to scoop you up, and carefully holds you close to him (it’s been years and he’s still afraid he’ll drop you). “Have you gotten smaller?”

You scrunched up your nose at him, shaking your head. “No.” You giggled at the silly nickname, and it all was because you were pocket size.

“No?” Steve said, tilting his head, all cocky. “Are you sure?”

You giggled again. “Yes.”

He grins. “Just checking.”

A sigh came from inside, before the two of you saw your father exiting his parents house, all dressed in his neatly ironed uniform. He looked miserable as he gazed at his bag on the porch.

“Ready?” Steve asked, readjusting his hold on you as he frowned himself.

“Unfortunately.” Bucky mumbled, not ready for what’s yet to come. However, when he faces you his whole expression changes for the better. “And there’s my little girl!”

“Papa!” You yelled, holding your arms out. He takes you in his arms, hugging you gently. “Are you leaving, Papa?”

“Oh, baby doll, I am.” He said, pulling back to look at you. “But don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He taps your nose. “Okay?”

You nodded slowly and smiled. “Okay!”

“Good.” He gives you a big kiss on your head, before peppering your face with some more making you laugh. “I love you, (Y/N).”

“I love you, too, Papa.”

“I love you more.”

He gives you one more kiss and one more hug before transferring you over back to Steve. They both give each other a strong hug and pat on the back, smiling bittersweetly.

“Be safe, Bucky.” Steve said, trying to hide his concern.

“I will. You too. The both of you.” Bucky said, grabbing his bag and making sure his voice was stern.

“We will. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Thank you, Steve.”

He bid them goodbye, and you and Steve watched him walk down the path to the military jeep parked nearby. It was chilling almost to watch, and your five year old mind couldn’t quite comprehend the heavy feeling you felt underneath the surface.

“Uncle Steve?” You asked, prying his eyes away from the moving vehicle.

“Yeah?” He said, softly.

You looked at him all puzzled, something wasn’t adding up. “I thought you told me you were going with him?” You swear he mentioned something like that to you yesterday. Right?

His eyes look away from you, almost like he was recollecting himself before giving you his answer. “I am. But not yet.” He replies, honestly. His orbs finally meet yours again. “Not until I know you're okay.”

“Really?” You asked, tilting your head to the side with curiosity.

“Sure am.” He smiles once more. “Now, what do you want to do? You want to see what Grandpa and Grandma are doing?”

Your eyes light up at their names. “Yes!!!”

He laughs at your enthusiasm. “Okay, okay. Let’s go see them.”

Bucky throws a bottle of scotch across the room, shattering somewhere. He didn’t care though. It’s not like he even batted an eye.

Five years old.

That was it.

That’s the last time he ever saw you.

And that hurt like a bitch.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

He doesn’t know when…

But everything suddenly just…

Clicked.

Memories of his flooded in like a broken dam. He starts to recall who he was before and after the fall. Before and after the war. Before and after everything. So as he made his way to Siberia with his friend, Steve, he remembers something that was like a knife to his heart.

“I have a daughter.” Bucky said abruptly, cutting Steve off.

When he was on the run after the helicarriers fell, he remembers his time growing up in the early 1900s. The (multiple) times he saved his best friend’s ass from being picked on, or the way he took his younger siblings to the park, or helping his mother bake, or fixing the car with his dad. But there were a few memories he was confused by for a long time.

First he only heard little laughs, or someone trying to sing a child’s song. Then he saw little toys and dresses. Then he saw a little face with big, wondrous eyes. It didn’t take him long to realize who she was.

He met with his friend’s eyes quickly, almost getting choked up by an emotion that had been under lock and key for so long. “...I have a daughter… don’t I?”

Steve, who seemed taken back by his sudden string of words, opens and closes his mouth a few times, before settling his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Yes, Bucky. You do.”

Bucky looked away, the confirmation sending his mind spiraling again, and the Captain could tell. He decides to approach this carefully since he knows his friend isn’t hundred percent in his right mind yet.

“Do you remember her?” Steve asked, watching him nod slowly. “What do you remember?”

Bucky thinks long and hard about this. What did he remember about you?

“Uh… I remember she was tiny… always tiny.” He chuckles quietly, making Steve smile. “She uh… had um… (Y/H/C) hair that was kind of wavy when she got older. Um… big, bright (Y/E/C) eyes. She… she um… smiled a lot… I think?”

“Yeah, she did Buck. All the time.” Steve said, patting his shoulder gently as he could see the joy it was bringing to his friend.

Bucky laughs again. “Uh… you used to call her by a weird nickname. What was it? Uh…” He purses his lips. “Po… Potato?”

Now it was the blond’s turn to laugh. “N-No. No. Close… Starts with a P, though.”

“Um…” His eyes light a spark. “Oh. Yeah. I remember now. We took her to her first Halloween pumpkin patch when I could hold in one hand because she was so tiny.”

“Yep. That’s what I called her.” He says with a nod. “Your Ma tried to dress her up like one.”

“Oh, yeah, she did.”

And then it got quiet, and Steve saw the bright light in his friend’s eyes go out when the wheels started to turn again. He held his breath, knowing what he was recalling next.

Bucky swayed on the balls of his feet a bit, looking at the floor. “She was five the last time I saw her.” He says, bittersweetly. “I remember, the night before, I took her to Coney Island, and we just played games and ate until our bellies ached. I got her a stuffed bear on the ring toss…”

Steve squeezed his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort because he knew there was no stopping any memories of you.

“She was with you when I left. I gave her hugs, and kisses and…” His voice starts to break. “I love you’s…. Um…”

“Bucky–” Steve begins, hating how hurt he looked.

“Steve. W-Was that last time you saw h-her too?”

Steve closed his mouth, thinking to himself. He couldn’t lie. He was a terrible liar which the brunette always sees through. So what was the point of even trying?

Cap shakes his head. “No. I saw her when she was nine. ‘Bout to be nine.”

“N-Nine?” Bucky asked, just above a whisper. “W-Why?”

“Um…” He swallows. “I had to…. I had to tell your family about, you know… the train… and you.”

The Soldier went distant. “O-Oh…”

“I wanted to make sure I was the one to tell them.”

“Oh…” Bucky started to get teary eyed. “D-Did you tell her?"

Steve held his breath again. It was like his mind started to relive that day.

You looked so happy to see him, but he watched that expression vanish when you saw his sadden face. It hurts to take you by the hand and into your room. It hurts to see how you’ve grown, and to think he got to see it and not your dad made the situation a whole lot worse.

He wanted to lie and tell you your dad was hurt.

He wanted to lie and tell you your dad was still at war and won’t be home for a while.

He wanted to lie and say everything was going to be okay.

But he couldn’t, and felt like it was his duty to tell you what happened to your father, to his best friend.

He knew if the situation was reversed, Bucky would be doing the very same thing now.

And when he did tell you, he hated how you kept on denying it. You called him a liar, and god he wished he was.

“I-I did…” He said, feeling his eyes sting as well.

Bucky jaw clenches. “A-And?”

Steve looks away for a second. “She cried for three hours.”

“O-Oh…” Bucky looks away too. “I always h-hated when s-she cries.”

With his hand still on the brunette shoulder, he gave him another comforting squeeze. “She…” Cap chokes, his memories flooding in all at once. “S-She um… she gave me her blanket, the one that she came home with. She um, wanted me… to promise to come back to her. But um… I failed at that, I guess.”

Bucky frowns. “Steve–"

“I tried finding her, Buck.” He finally looks at him. “When I came out of the ice, SHIELD managed to give me some of my things from the war. I kept the blanket in my chest, so… I tried finding her, because I didn’t want to break that promise to (Y/N), but…”

“You didn’t find anything?”

Steve shakes his head. “Not exactly.” He whispers, exhaling shaky.

“Not exactly?” Bucky asked, wanting an answer. “What does that mean?”

Now it was Steve’s turn to look all messed up. Especially since he couldn’t make eye contact again. He swallows a lump in his throat and says, “I’m so sorry, Bucky…”

“Sorry about what?” Bucky couldn’t understand what was happening and it was honestly starting to scare him. “What are you sorry about?”

“(Y/N)...” He sighs quietly, and forces himself to look in his best friend’s eyes. “Pneumonia. She, uh… got pneumonia in ‘54 and passed.”

Now the knife has dug deeper, chilling his bones too. “She’s dead?” He said, barely audible.

“Yeah. She’s dead.” The Captain replies, dispirit. “I found the spot where she’s buried. I can take you there if you–”

“Thank you, Steve.” The soldier says, ignoring the blond’s confused state. “I mean it. You were always so good to her, and to think you never stopped looking after all this time means A LOT to me. Do you understand? You helped my daughter when she was at her lowest, and you even found her for me. I thank you for that.”

Steve smiles bittersweetly. “No need to. I said I’ll always be there for the both of you.”

Bucky returns the gesture. “As will I.”

“Now, let’s finish this, shall we?”

“-Bucky.” Steve says, touching his shoulder and getting a small jolt from the man. Surprised eyes fell on him as he returned with concerned ones. “You ready?”

“Uh…” Bucky looked around quickly, remembering it was standing in the locker room changing. He didn’t even realize he had zoned out. “Y-Yeah.” He said, zipping up the front of his Quantum Suit. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Steve tilts his head, the worriedness never vanishing. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Let’s get this mission completed.”

And those were the words that would change -everything-.

(TBC)

-Taglist Is Open-

@navs-bhat @liarasstuff @justmewoo @thed1v1n3

@luckyzipperscissorsbat @like-a-domino @kissesofdeadforme

@audigay

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arlana-likes-to-write · 11 months

Text

Lightning Bug - Chapter 18

Master list

Warning: this chapter mentions self-harm and a depressive episode for our reader. Lots of angst.

Word Count: 4.3k

“Any changes?” Natasha asked her girlfriend as she walked into the kitchen, an empty bowl in her hands.

“She ate better than yesterday,” she put the plate in the sink. “But she still hasn’t said a word.” It seemed to be the trend. The young girl stayed locked in her room since the car incident. That was 3 days ago. They feared that they were gonna have to get Helen involved because of her lack of eating but she began to eat what Wanda brought her.

“I’m getting worried,” Kate said, playing with the spider-shaped necklace around her neck. It was a gift from Yelena when the couple first started dating. Yelena wore an arrow, similar to the one that Clint gifted Natasha. But the Black Widow was getting worried too. She even called Laura asking for advice. The mother of three gave the best advice she could, being a little out of her element since her three didn’t have powers.

“She needs to work through this,” Natasha said. “And when she’s ready we’ll be here to catch her.” The whole tower seemed to be affected by it. But America seemed to have taken it the hardest, spending more time at the Sanctum and traveling the multiverse. The elevator opened and Maria walked out, holding a folder in her hand. “No,” Natasha found herself saying before Maria opened her mouth. The agent smiled.

“I’m sorry but Fury asked for you and Wanda,” Natasha grabbed the folder out of her hand. It was nothing dangerous, just smooth talking with some politicians. She slammed the folder close, a little harder than she attended.

“Have him send someone else?” Wanda took the folder from her. There was no way in hell she was leaving the tower.

“Don’t you think I tried, Nat,” Maria opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. “We are stretched thin,” she popped open the beer and took a long sip. It was only 11:30 but Natasha saw the bags forming underneath her eyes. “I know things are tense but I don’t have a choice.

“Sestra,” Natasha looked at Yelena. “We’ll make sure she’s okay.” There were times like this Natasha hated her job and envied Clint. She wished she had a house in the middle of nowhere with no missions or need to train. Her family was happy and safe on a few acres of land. But there was so much red in her ledger for her to stop now.

“Fine,” she said. “We’ll do it but Fury owes me,” Maria smirked, chuckling.

“That list keeps getting longer and longer.

The world around you seems muted, muffled as if you were submerged underwater. Nothing was clear, everything sounded far off as you stared ahead. You had no energy to move from your bed. Every bone in your body ached and your head felt fuzzy. The only interaction you had was with Wanda bringing you food. The interaction was a loose way you’d describe it. Wanda did most of the talking, you weren’t even sure what she was saying. But you ate the food even though it tasted bitter so they wouldn’t worry. And you knew they were. You couldn’t pull yourself out of this pit you were in. Every Time you tried to crawl your way out you were pulled back in. It was an exhausting, endless cycle as your mind degraded you. Monster. Freak. Killer. Worthless. You believed every word.

When your door opened you were sitting up, coloring on a piece of paper. It was the only thing that you could bring yourself to do. The music was too loud. Reading seemed too hard. And practicing Russian left your brain fried. You were expecting to see Wanda unsure of when the last time you saw the witch. But Natasha walked in with her girlfriend. “Hey dorogoy,” she said, sitting down on your bed. Your legs were crossed so she sat closer to you than expected. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Horrible. Bad. She smiled. Your throat was a little sore from disuse. Wanda chose to stand behind the Black Widow. You felt uneasy. Did they finally have enough of you? Were they here to kick you out?

“That’s good!” Wanda said. You nodded. “Nat and I have to leave for a few days.”

“Fury is sending us on a quick assignment,” you frowned. They were leaving because of you. They didn’t want to deal with you.

“Oh,” you said, looking back down. “How long will you be gone?”

“2 days max,” Natasha said. You nodded. “Kate and Yelena will be here if you need anything,” you nodded again. “And we’ll be a phone call away, okay?” She added.

“Okay,” you whispered, glancing up at them. “I’m sorry,” you looked back down. “I’m not sure where my head is.”

“It’s okay,” Wanda assured you. “We’ll be here when it gets all sorted out.” They were about to leave but you called out to them.

“Be safe,” you said. “Come back in one piece.” Natasha smiled.

“Always,” the Black Widow closed your door behind them. You thought you’d be grateful for the silence, to be alone again. But it unsettled you, it scared you. Oh, how you wished you could be back in time and stop all this from happening.

A shower was the first thing on your to-do list when your head felt less fuzzy. You didn’t realize how much it would help as the warm water washed over you. It made you feel human. You were walking out of your closet, dressed in fresh clothes, and drying your hair when it hit. It came out of nowhere. The feeling started in your legs, which was new. Your legs began to tingle and your feet cemented to the ground. The feeling traveled up to your stomach and chest where you felt warm. That fuzzy feeling returned in your head. Your muscles tensed up as the wave of electricity moved through your body. Every time you thought it was done it kept going and going. Finally, it stopped. Black spots appeared in front of your eyes and the metallic taste of your blood filled your mouth. You fell to the ground, unable to find the strength to keep yourself standing. A sheering pain ran through your head and the world went black.

Steve was watching Bucky read. It was moments like this that he treasured. No mission. No meeting or training. No paperwork. Just quietness and the opportunity to admire the man he loved. Steve glanced at Bucky one more time before returning to his sketchbook. “Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, Miss. Y/n fell and hit her hand. I’ve already alerted Dr. Cho.” Steve never jumped to his feet so fast and ran to Natasha’s floor. The elevator would take too long. He took three stairs and heard Bucky behind him. By the time Steve got to her door, his chest was heaving and he opened her bedroom door. He saw her, laying face down on her floor. A small pool of blood was forming near her head. “FRIDAY alert Yelena and tell her to get back to the tower.” Steve bent down to pick her up but Bucky placed a head on his shoulder.

“She doesn’t like skin-to-skin contact,” he said. Steve pulled off a blanket from her bed and carefully picked her up, being mindful of not touching her skin.

“Miss. Belova is on her way back,” the AI said. “Should I contact Miss. Romanoff and Miss. Maximoff?”

“Negative, FRIDAY,” Bucky said, following Steve to the elevator. He looked at his boyfriend as the doors opened. “It’s probably better if one of us tells them and not an AI.” He was right. Steve looked at the unconscious girl in his arms and prayed to whoever God was listening that she would be okay.

Yelena felt her heart in her throat as she rode the elevator to med bay. They left the tower for just a few hours to try to get America out of the fuck she was in. She didn’t regret leaving because it was nice to see her friend smile again but Yelena couldn’t help but feel guilty. The doors opened and she saw Steve, Bucky, and Sam waiting in the chairs outside a room. “What happened?” Yelena asked, walking over to them with her girlfriend close behind. Steve looked up.

“We don’t know,” he said. “Helen is still doing her assessment. All FRIDAY said was she hit her head.”

“It could be because she hasn't been eating,” Kate said. “She just may need some food and a good night's sleep.” Yelena heard the elevator door’s open and she saw Pepper and Tony walk over. A party was happening down here.

“What happened?” The CEO asked.

“We were just discussing that,” Yelena said, filling in the couple on what they missed.

“FRIDAY, can you tell us what happened?” Tony asked the AI. It took a moment for FRIDAY to respond which Yelena thought was odd.

“It appears that Miss. Y/n has undiagnosed epilepsy,” the AI said. “This is not the first incident to occur but she asked me to not notify you when an episode happened.”

“Epilepsy?” Steve questioned, looking at Kate and Yelena for clarification. But the Black Widow was just as lost as everyone else. Helen came out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

“Is she alright?” Pepper was the first to ask. “I know epilepsy that goes untreated can cause brain damage. We -”

“Time out,” Helena said, cutting the CEO off. “Epilepsy? Where are you getting that from?”

“FRIDAY informed us she had epilepsy,” Bucky said. “And it wasn’t the first time she had an episode.”

“She doesn't have epilepsy and she didn’t have a seizure although her symptoms mirror it.” The doctor explained.

“Then what happened?” Yelena questioned. Helen sighed.

“Steve and Bucky told me of her powers. Have any of you seen her use them?” A chorus of no and headshakes was the answer the doctor received. Before the incident with Pepper’s car, Yelena believed the teen would go a lot longer without telling everyone what she could do. “She is pulling energy from around her; the beating of our hearts or the existing electricity in the room. Energy can’t be created or destroyed but it can be converted. So she uses that energy and creates electricity,” she explained. “But that energy can’t stay in her body. It needs an outlet. Similar to when you blow into a balloon. Even when the balloon is inflated you can still blow air into it. Until it pops,” Yelena connected the dots in her head. “Electricity is the same way when it needs an outlet it will make one no matter who gets hurt in the process.”

“She’s electrifying herself.” Yelena guessed. Helen nodded.

“From the scans we took, she’s been doing it for some time and it’s causing damage to her hippocampus,” she told the group. Yelena knew that part of the brain was related to learning and memory. “Right now her vitals are stable but she’s still unconscious. You can visit her but only 2 at a time.” The group thanked the doctor and she returned to her other duties.

“We need to call Nat and Wanda,” Tony said. He looked at the two super soldiers. “Are you two okay with taking their spot?” They nodded.

“Of course,” Steve said. “Will you guys keep us updated?”

“We will,” Pepper said. “Kate and Yelena, why don’t you two stay with her until Nat and Wanda get here?”

“I’ll call them to tell them what’s going on,” Sam added. A plan was in motion and finally, it was just Kate and Yelena standing in the hallway. Instead of going into her room, Yelena sat down in the chair Steve was sitting in. She began to play with the rings on her fingers. Each one had a different story, a different reason why she wore them on her fingers. She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice Kate kneeling in front of her, placing her hands over hers.

“My love,” Kate whispered. Yelena looked up staring into the blue eyes of her girlfriend. “She’s going to be okay.”

“Natasha is going to kill me,” Yelena threw her head back with a sigh. “I told her we would look after her.”

“These things happen, Lena,” Kate sat down next to her. “And Natasha will understand that.” Yelena nodded, allowing the silence to settle between the two. When she looked at her girlfriend, the archer was in deep thought.

“What is it?” Yelena asked.

“Do you want to draw straws on who tells America?” The Russian smiled.

“I’ll leave that one to you, little hawk,” Kate rolled her eyes, kissing Yelena on the cheek.

“Fine, anything for you.”

“Remind me to kill Fury,” Natasha said as they rode the elevator. She was holding onto Wanda’s hand as a lifeline. When she saw Sam’s name appear on the caller ID, she knew something was wrong. They booked it back to the tower before they were off the phone with him. Wanda chuckled.

“You're not gonna kill him. You're just upset.”

“And you're not?” The Black Widow questioned.

“I am,” Wanda said. “One of us has to be level-headed and not think about murdering the Director of SWORD.” Wanda hit her hip against Natasha. The small action pulled a light laugh out of the Russian.

“You're right. Thank you, little witch,” the laugh was much needed as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Immediately, Natasha saw her sister, sitting alone in the hallway. Not even the sound of the elevator pulled her out of her thoughts. She gave Wanda’s hand a tight squeeze before letting go and walking over to her sister. “Sestra.”

“Natasha,” Yelena stood up. “I’m sorry. I told you she would be okay and I couldn’t keep my promise.”

“Hey, hey,” Natasha put her hands on Yelena’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she maneuvered Yelena back into the chair and sat down next to her. “This is not your fault okay?” Yelena nodded.

“You are here now and that is what matters,” Wanda added. “Have you been in her room?” The blonde shook her head.

“Cho only wants 2 people in at a time. She wants to speak with you two. I’ll go get her,” Natasha let her sister stand up and walk to find the doctor. She wasn’t ready for this. She felt like her feet were glued to the floor. But she dragged herself out of the chair and opened the door. The air left her lungs as she stared at the still form in the hospital bed. There was a nasal cannula around her face and Ekgs on her forehead. A small gauze was on the side of her head. It took another squeeze from Wanda to get her moving and sit in the empty chair. Wanda sat across from her.

“She looks so peaceful,” the witch spoke, breaking the silence. Natasha agreed but she desperately wanted to see the striking color of her eyes to tell her everything was going to be okay. A gentle knock on the door drew her attention from the teen and Helen walked in.

“Hi,” she said with a smile. “I’m guessing you’ve been filled in.” She stood at the foot of the bed, hands resting on the metal frame. Natasha shook her head.

“We were just informed that she was hurt and came right away.” Helen nodded, her smile faltering slightly. Natasha listened as the doctor explained what happened. She had to admit that she was only catching every other word but she understood what occurred. Self-harm. An act she and those closest to her have gone through.

“Can the damage be repaired?” Wanda asked.

“I recommend introducing light exercises to her daily routine,” her eyes went to the girl. “But the most important thing is we need to stop her from continuing the behavior,” she sighed. “It’s impressive that she’s still doing okay.”

“She’s strong,” Natasha whispered.

“That she is,” Helen said. “Please come get me if you need anything or have any questions.” She left the couple.

“You're right, you know,” the Black Widow looked at her girlfriend. “She’s strong so she’ll be okay.”

“Let’s hope it’s enough.”

Kate found America in the kitchen making pasta. “Hey,” she said to the archer. “I figured everyone would have their hands full so I’m making dinner,” she scratched the back of her head. “I can’t promise it will be good.” Kate sat on the bar stool.

“I’m sure it will be great,” America drained the pasta and moved the pasta back into the pot to add the sauce.

“How is she ?” America finally asked, stirring the pasta and sauce together.

“She’s stable. Her vitals are good but she hasn’t woken up yet,” America nodded, leaning on the counter. “She doesn’t have epilepsy like we initially thought.” America looked up suddenly.

“What caused it?” So Kate explained it in the same way Helen told them. Somehow it was more heartbreaking as she watched her friend's face fall more and more. “Electrifying herself? I- I don’t understand. I thought she was doing better. Wasn’t she?” Her voice cracked at the end.

“She was,” Kate fully believed she was. Before the car incident, the girl now in med bay was completely different from the girl who first came to the tower. “Even though we are healing, people can regress. It’s not linear,” Kate has seen it first hand with Yelena. America nodded. “Can I ask you two things?”

“Sure, doesn’t mean I’ll answer them,” America smirked. The archer rolled her eyes.

“Why are you avoiding her?” The teen sighed, looking in the direction of Y/n’s room.

“The last time I saw her I made her lose control because I wanted to fix everything,” she sighed. “But God Kate you should have seen the fear in her eyes. I don’t want to put her through that again. I can’t.” Kate understood that as she’s been in the same position as America. It was a simple mistake but Kate didn’t realize her girlfriend was stuck in a memory. She came up behind her for a hug and Yelena grabbed her wrist, flipping her over, and spraining her wrist. But the pain didn’t bother Kate; it was the fear in Yelena’s eyes that hurt more. It was in the beginning of their relationship so they were still learning about each other. Natasha had to pull Yelena out of her spiraling thoughts and got her to talk to the archer.

“Do you like her?” Kate asked. “More than just a friend.” She added on quickly. A small smile grew on America’s face.

“Am I that obvious?” Kate smiled, nodding her head. “Yeah, I do. There is something about her that I can’t describe. My stomach flips like I’m on a rollercoaster.”

“A little advice,” Kate said once America was done talking. “Don’t turn your back on her no matter how hard it gets,” she was listening with her full attention, feeding on every word the archer said. “Loving her will be difficult but so worth it.”

“Speaking from experience?” America questioned. Kate heard the quiet footsteps of her girlfriend walking up behind her.

“Yeah,” Yelena’s arm snaked around her waist and burrowed her head in the crock of her neck. “I am.”

Pepper was lost in thought as she had music softly playing in the background. It was rare that the CEO let herself sit and not busy herself with Stark Industries. She couldn’t bring herself to tackle her growing to-do list. There was guilt making its home in her bones. “You're thinking very hard for someone who should be relaxing,” Tony said, handing her a mug and sitting down next to her. Pepper rested her back against his front. Immediately, he began to massage the tension out of her shoulders. “What’s got you thinking so hard?”

“Just thinking about the past few days,” she said after a moment. Tony hummed.

“You care about her, don’t you?” He asked. She took a sip, savoring the taste of spiked apple cider before resting it on the table.

“Yes I do,” she said, turning to face her husband. “And I know you do too.” Tony turned her back to face forward and continued massaging. She had a big knot on her right shoulder that Tony focused on.

“It’s her eyes,” Tony said. “Never have I seen such child-like wonder and sadness at the same time,” Pepper nodded. “I spoke with Banner and I think we can help her.” When she turned to face him, he didn’t stop her. “Cho said this happened because she’s not using her powers. I can guess she doesn't use them because she’s scared.” Pepper came to that conclusion as well. “So what if we create something where she can use her powers and do some good? It will kill2 birds with one stone, ya know? A safe and controlled way to use her powers and slowly change how she views them.” Pepper stared at him and then finally kissed him.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she said, picking up her drink. The CEO half expected Tony to run off to his lap to work on the new project but he stayed, lost in his thoughts and worlds away. “Now who is thinking too hard?” She teased, squeezing his leg.

“Do you remember that dream I told you about before Strange came to us?” Of course, she did. She thought about it almost every single day. “Is it something you would want to do? You would be a great mom.”

“Tony,” she said, slowly. She moved away from him slightly to look at him.

“Tell me to stop,” he said. “Tell me to walk away from this,” he gestured to the tower. “And I will. I have that cabin upstate and we can raise our daughter.”

“You can’t walk away,” she said. It was a pipe dream. She’s seen the incredibly stupid things he’s done as Iron Man in the name of saving others.

“Why can’t I?” He questioned. Being with Tony, Pepper learned the man was 5 minutes away from a sarcastic comment. But as she stared into his eyes, it was the most serious Pepper had seen him. “Rogers can handle the team and if he doesn’t want it, Wilson isn’t a bad option. I’m serious, Pepper,” he laced his hand with hers. “Tell me to walk away and I will.” But she couldn’t tell him to walk away and have a normal life to raise their daughter. She couldn’t make that decision for him when he wasn’t just her husband and best friend. Iron Man was a beacon of hope for so many. It would be selfish of her to take him away.

“I love you,” she said. “But I don’t think the world is ready to say goodbye to Iron Man.”

“Will it ever be?” He questioned. Pepper placed a hand on his cheek and he turned to kiss it. She drew circles against his skin.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “But we’ll know when it is.”

“Knock, knock,” Natasha looked up as the door opened and saw America, holding two bowls. “I come bearing food,” she whispered, noticing Wanda asleep in the chair. “I know Helen has a two-guest policy so I won’t be long.” Natasha took the bowls from the girl, whose eyes kept flickering to Y/n.

“I can leave,” Natasha said, ready to give her spot up but America shook her head.

“It’s okay. Can you just let me know when she wakes up?”

“You’ll be the first one on my list,” Natasha smiled. “Thank you for the food.”

“Of course. Try to get some sleep too. Goodnight,” she waved, carefully closing the door behind her. It wasn’t long before the smell of food caused Wanda to wake up.

“That smells good.” Natasha smiled, handing her the bowl.

“America made it,” Natasha blew on the pasta before taking a bite. It was good, a little over-seasoned but she was grateful for any food. Wanda giggled. “What’s so funny?” She asked her girlfriend.

“Nothing,” she waved her hand with the fork in it. “Have you ever seen America cook?” She was right. The most the teen had cooked was toast. “It’s just amazing how one stranger can change us.”

“Is it a good change or a bad change?” Wanda smiled.

“It’s good,” the witch said. Natasha looked at the teen, finding comfort in the steady rise and fall of her chest. She wondered if she was dreaming or did her mind offer her one dreamless sleep. Natasha smiled.

“Do you ever wonder what hugging her would feel like?” Wanda nodded.

“All the time,” she whispered. “I wonder when the last time she’s been hugged.”

“Or if she’s been hugged at all,” Natasha mumbled, angrily twirling her pasta. It made her blood boil when she thought how unfair life has treated her. “We’ll ask her when she wakes up,” she looked at Wanda. “I think it will help her feel more like apart of this family.”

“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea,” Natasha watched as Wanda reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out a book, she handed it to Natasha. It was the Outsiders. “She was reading it to you when you were hurt,” The Black Widow took the book and placed her bowl on her lap. “America says it’s her favorite.”

“Is that so?” She opened the book to the first page. It was on the movies they made her watch in The Red Room, an American classic that was filled with their edited agenda. Kate and Peter made it her mission to show her and Yelena movies and TV shows that weren’t tainted by the Red Room. Natasha began to read, “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I only had two things on my mind; Paul Newman and a ride home…”

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