Bucky/Delaney
“Dr. Evans, Sir is requesting your presence in the medical labs,” JARVIS’ crisp voice rang out in the peaceful quiet of Delaney’s apartment. She managed to stifle a groan as she glared at the clock: 2 AM.
“Doesn’t Tony know that I’m not his personal physician?” she grumbled as she tugged a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans over her pajamas. Should be getting paid extra for this bullshit… “Tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can, will you?”
Delaney had barely set foot outside the elevator when Darcy shoved a thermos of coffee in her hands. “You’re gonna need something stronger than that later,” the scientist-wrangler babbled as she dragged Delaney into the closest lab.
The question And why is that? became stuck in her throat as her eyes settled on the Winter Soldier, his eyes frantically darting around the sterile room. “You’re right. Stark, you owe me a bottle of tequila.”
Tony managed to stop inspecting the poor man’s metal arm long enough to register Delaney’s words. “I’ll make it a case. Just help him.”
Delaney nodded as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. “Right. What exactly are his injuries?”
“Sergeant Barnes appears to have a broken femur, punctured lung, third degree burns, a second degree concussion, and twenty-two broken bones in his human hand, Doctor,” JARVIS supplied. Delaney blew her cheeks out, mind already organizing what she needed to treat first.
“Christ,” Rogers muttered from beside his friend, a hand resting on Bucky's shoulder to comfort as well as hold him down. The injured man’s eyes became even more fearful as Delaney drew closer. Okay, okay. Easy does it, Del. You can do this. She tried her best not to struggle as his metal hand whirred and closed around her wrist.
“Please,” he almost sobbed, “please don’t put me in the chair!”
Delaney froze, taking a deep breath before answering. “I promise I will never hurt you. Will you let me help you?” Delaney’s heart nearly broke at the relieved whimper that escaped her soulmate’s mouth.
“Wait a minute. Evans, isn’t that-”
“Yes Tony, it is. Now hush,” she growled at the billionaire. Once again I’m reminded why I hate Tony and his nosiness... Her eyes met Rogers’ at his sharp intake of breath as he realized why Bucky was so affected by her words.
“That’s it. Tony, you’re coming with me,” Darcy said matter-of-factly, taking her soulmate by the wrist and leading him out of the lab, not not before mouthing You’re welcome! at Delaney.
Delaney sighed, turning back to Rogers and Barnes before addressing JARVIS again. “What kind of healing factor am I working with?”
The AI was quiet for a moment, assessing. “His punctured lung has begun to heal itself, Doctor. By my approximations, I believe Sergeant Barnes will be fully healed in two to three weeks.”
“Then I better work quickly,” she murmured.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Thank you,” Rogers said while Delaney sedated Bucky. She shook her head as she stepped away and discarded her gloves.
“I would’ve helped him even if Tony hadn’t asked, even if he wasn’t my soulmate,” she said tiredly. It had taken nearly three hours to treat Bucky as he had still been terrified of the lab, no matter how much Steve and Delaney tried to soothe him.
Steve nodded. “You should get some sleep.”
Delaney shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. I was an ER doctor before Tony picked me up, my body’s used to odd hours.”
“Captain Rogers, Dr. Evans, Miss Lewis wishes for me to inform you both that there is breakfast being served in Sir’s apartment.” Delaney couldn’t help a soft chuckle. Only JARVIS would refer to Tony’s massive penthouse as an apartment.
“I’ll bring you something,” Steve promised before he headed for the elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~
It took about twelve hours before Bucky could stay awake long enough to have a conversation. When he tried to shift into a sitting position, Delaney opened her eyes. “Hey, take it easy,” she said, voice rough from misuse. “You’re safe here.”
Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to place the young woman sitting at his bedside. Even with with brain still a little fuzzy, he could tell that she was tired. Or was it stressed? “Who are you? Where am I?”
“Your friend Steve brought you here to Stark Tower when he found you, said you were half-dead in an alley. I’m Delaney Evans, but I think you’ll recognize this.” Bucky watched, puzzled as she pulled up her sleeve, until his eyes focused on the scrawled words on her inner forearm: Please, please don’t put me in the chair!
“Yeah...yeah, that’s mine,” he said, his eyes darting up to her face. Why aren’t you scared? he wanted to ask. He wracked his brain to remember where his own mark was, but he couldn’t focus, could only look at the girl sitting beside him.
She - Delaney, he corrected himself - smiled at him. “Your supersoldier healing is doing most of the work, but I cast your femur, splinted your hand, and salved your burns. JARVIS says your punctured lung is healing quickly and that you’ve fully recovered from your concussion.”
“Did I...did I hurt you?” Bucky asked. He knew it could be possible, likely even. Her kind smile and gentle voice were so soothing after decades of HYDRA treating him as an attack dog.
Delaney shook her head. “You were calm as long as you could see or hear me or Steve. You thrashed around a little when I touched your head, but no one got hurt.” Bucky managed a relieved smile. His eyes wandered to her lips before going back to her eyes. “May I...may I have a kiss?” he asked.
Delaney almost giggled, hardly believing her soulmate was the same man Steve told stories about, how suave Bucky Barnes had been. “You only had to ask, silly.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Two months later
Bucky had to try hard not to snicker as Stark puzzled over the broken bedroom door, prodding at the dents in the wood. “What the hell did you two do?” Bucky only grinned and shared a look with his soulmate.
His grin widened when her cheeks turned bright pink and hid her face in his shirt. “It’s not funny, it’s embarrassing,” she mumbled.
Bucky shook his head and tilted Delaney’s chin up, giving her a chaste kiss. “Not one of my brighter ideas.”
“You know what...I don’t want to know,” Tony muttered. “Ugh. Can you two go play kissy face somewhere else?”
“Well, I do need a new door,” Delaney said slowly. She turned to Bucky. “Fancy a trip to Home Depot?”
“What’s Home Depot?” Bucky asked.
Tony’s face lit up at the suggestion. “I smell an Avengers Field Trip!”
“Great, we lost them,” Delaney muttered an hour later as her new door was being loaded into the car. It had been bad enough losing Bruce among the plants, but now everyone but Pepper and Bruce were missing.
Delaney didn’t have to concentrate very hard to get Bucky’s attention through their mental link. She communicated a sense of tiredness, of wanting to be home with him. It only took a moment for her to convey the image of their bed to him, a small giggle coming from her when she felt his sudden need to get the hell out.
Bruce gave Delaney a suspicious look. “What did you do?” She only shook her head and failed at concealing her smile as she spotted Bucky hauling Clint and Natasha across the parking lot.
“What’s wrong, baby?” she asked sweetly, knowing full well through their bond exactly what was wrong even without seeing the dark look in his eyes.
“Be right back. I’ll get the others. You two? Stay,” he all but growled before sprinting for the garden department.