Mama bear
They weren't gone an hour when Friday interrupted. "Boss is sending a feed through."
The house was swarmed with what Sam was pretty certain were Hydra agents. They swept the house, checked Sam's car and left as fast as they appeared. "Good thing we got out when we did." They heard a groan from behind. Bucky was trying to sit up but Bruce stopped him. "Easy. You're in the jet. We are heading home. Hydra just swept through the house so we left in time."
"Time for my meds Sam." Bruce got the pills out and read the labels. "Maybe I should run a scan on these. I've never seen a gel pain pill like this and while I know he's a super soldier the dosage is a bit high for my comfort. I'm gonna give him something else."
Bucky slumped forward a bit. "Gon' thro' up" Bruce quickly moved a basin to his lap. "Jeez. I'm not liking this. I'm not giving him any meds I didn't mix. Happy, have Friday check the hospital records. Someone there is Hydra."
"They could have also found him from the request for anti venom. Hospital had to call in for it. They had to give personal info. I also have a sneaking suspicion someone from the police department tipped them off." Bea shook her head.
"Wouldn't surprise me a bit especially since they wanted James practically locked up but couldn't find a reason. He paid a fine and walked out but they weren't too happy about it." Bruce scrubbed his hands over his face "What did he do?"
"He stopped a clown from assaulting a child." Happy looked back at them from the controls "He what?" Sam smirked "damn near gave us a heart attack too. He spotted it while we were on the ferris wheel and he dead ass jumped out and went after the dude and the cops were upset with him. Not the skeez who grabbed a little girl and ripped her clothes off."
Happy shook his head. "I will never understand people. We'll be back at the tower in about 30 minutes if you wanna make sure he's good to move. How ya feelin Barnes?" He turned his head a little "been better,been a hell of a lot worse." Happy turned to face forward "That's the spirit." Bruce rolled his eyes. "So Mrs. Wilson are you planning on staying in the tower?" She looked over at Sam who shrugged "seems like a good idea. Bucky has a spare bed in his room and I can take his couch. I wouldn't feel right sending her off to a hotel. Is Tony ok with that?"
"I don't think it will be an issue." She laced her fingers with Bucky's metal hand. "Good because I have two boys to spoil rotten this week." Bruce smiled but said nothing until Bea grinned at him "always room for a third Dr. Banner." Happy snorted loudly. "Tony would adore her." Sam groaned "I've already got one person flirting with her, everyone else back off."
"Aw Sam you do care. For future reference I would rather not be called pop."
"And I'm the only one to call him daddy." Bea began to cackle as Bruce turned a deep shade of red and Sam looked close to melting. "Aw come on Sam we are just teasin. I ain't gonna make any moves on your Ma she's just a fun gal to be around."
"You need someone your own age." He snorted "only one guy in my age range and he aint interested and the even older ones didn't seem to work out for me. It's only a 35 year age difference. We're both adults." Sam cringed, "please stop talking."
"Oh yea Tony would adore her."
Back at the Tower they settled Bucky back into bed and Bruce gave him new meds while he waited for the analysis of the old. He came back a while later to find Bea had made herself at home and was feeding Bucky pie. "Hope I'm not intruding. I just got the labs back. The gel pills had more venom in them. If you had kept taking those you would have been unable to stop Hydra from grabbing you. The other two pills were a placebo. Good thing you caught that or we might be making some pretty tough phone calls right now. Where's Sam?"
"He went out for a run, said he needed some air." Bruce noted the devilish smile Bucky wore. "Ok well if he has questions tell him to call me. I'll give you guys some space."
Bucky didn't realize the pie was gone until Bea got up from her spot. "Did I really eat the whole thing?" She returned with a plate of sandwiches and chuckled "you sure did. I like 'em with a healthy appetite. Good thing Friday was very helpful in telling me your favorite foods. If you say you're hungry while I'm here somethings wrong. By the way… I couldn't help but notice something in your closet."
His attention was drawn back to Steve's birthday present. "Oh...yeah...um...it's a gift for Steve. Back before the war we couldn't afford much and I learned to make alcohol. Lots of people did. We even did it during the war. It's mostly a gag gift since he pretty much can't get drunk but he's a sucker for nostalgia so I followed a few youtube videos and set up a still in my closet. Which reminds me, I gotta tell Clint I won't need him to pick it up since I'm here." He pulled his phone out and texted him and grabbed a sandwich from the tray. "You're gonna fatten me up the next two weeks aren't ya."
The next two weeks did see a quite noticeable change in Bucky. Every chance she had Bea was feeding him and he was eating it. Bruce noticed the change as they were mapping the progress of his swelling. His side was much better and his arm was starting to look normal in size and color. Bruce was finally able to give him a clean bill of health.
"You sure about that doc? Seems to me I'm still a bit puffy." Bruce couldn't hold back the laugh "That is not from the snake bite that is from Bea. Every time I'm checking on you she's feeding you something. It's good to see you fill out a bit." He blushed "she does take care of me." Tonight was her last night in New York. He and Sam would be leaving for the lake in the morning and the thought made him honestly sad.
He got back into his apartment to find her busy cooking. He walked over to the counter and wrapped his arms around her. "Gonna miss you when you're gone." He gently kissed the top of her head. "You should stay here with me." She turned and tilted his head down "Baby you and I both know that's not something I can do. That doesn't mean I won't come visit or that you can't come visit me but we are both using each other to fill an empty hurt in our souls. You have a lot more ahead of you to settle down with me. I've had my love and made my life with him and I enjoy being close with you but it can't go any further than where it's at now."
He frowned a bit but didn't let go "yeah...I guess I get that. I mean I'd still love to have you around. I don't get home cooked meals often. I do love the way you hold me when we dance. You aren't even afraid of my arm. I don't want you to feel like anything I said or did wasn't genuine cuz it sure was but I respect your choice even if it stings a bit." She kissed his cheek and pulled him closer. "That's my daddy bear." He chuckled as he took a step back "does that mean you're my mama bear?" She grinned "Always, now go get washed up and find Sam dinners about done."