The Unimaginable
Mira breathed a sigh of relief as the Med came into view, towering over the surrounding buildings like a beacon of hope. Jemma was inside; she’d be able to give Bucky the help he desperately needed.
“You’re going to be okay Bucky. I promise,” Mira whispered as she pressed her lips to Bucky’s temple. “I won’t leave you for a second.” She closed her eyes for a moment as Clint brought the car to a stop right at the front doors of the Med. “We’re here Bucky. We’re going to go inside and Jemma is gonna fix you right up.”
“Jemmie?” Bucky asked around the thumb that had somehow found its way into his mouth.
Mira smiled down at the little boy in her arms. “Yeah, Jemmie’s here! Are you excited to see Jemmie?”
Clint opened the back door for Mira, his face set in an unreadable expression. Mira slid out of the car and adjusted her grip on Bucky. S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel stopped and stared at them as they walked quickly into the Med.
“This way,” A young agent stated as they approached, ushering them into the elevator. “Agent Simmons is waiting for you downstairs.” The agent faced the elevator doors, his eyes not straying towards the shaking body in the woman’s arms.
“Thank you Agent Collins,” Clint replied, patting the young man on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure to let your superiors know how helpful you’ve been to us.”
Agent Collins nodded, turning his head to smile up at Clint. “Thank you Agent Barton. You’ve always been my idol.”
Clint chuckled, ruffling the agent’s hair. The mood in the elevator had lightened considerably, and Mira let out a long breath. She swayed back and forth slowly, Bucky whimpering softly.
“There are rumors going around that a group of scientists are getting close to finding an antidote to Winter Syndrome,” Agent Collins stated. “They’re hoping that if they can recreate the serum used to create Captain America, it’ll repair what has started to fail in Mr. Barnes. Now of course it’s still just rumors, but I thought you’d want to know.”
Mira smiled softly at the agent. “Thank you for telling us. Rumors or not, it gives us something to hope for. At least someone’s trying to find a cure for Bucky.”
The elevator came to a stop a few floors down. The doors opened and agent Collins led them down the hallway. They pushed through a set of swinging doors at the other end, where agent Jemma Simmons was gathering equipment and supplies. She looked up at the sound of the doors opening and nearly dropped the IV kit she held in her hands.
“Oh my God,” Jemma gasped, hurrying around the bed to the group. “Coulson said he was bad, but I wasn’t expecting this. Come and lay him down on the bed. I’ve got everything set up to take care of him.”
Mira laid Bucky down gently on the bed, brushing the hair away from his face and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Everything’s going to be okay, sweetie. I promise. Jemma’s going to make it all better.”
“I thought you said you were going to have a full medical team ready when we got here?” Clint asked, stepping up to put an arm around Mira’s shoulders. He pulled her away from the bed so Jemma could have room to work.
“I did, but I thought that too many strange people would scare Bucky. I can page people as I need them, if I need them. I need you to tell me exactly what happened today,” Jemma explained as she grabbed a pair of scissors. She began to cut away Bucky’s soiled pajamas, revealing the deep bruise beneath. Her hands were steady and gentle as she pressed on Bucky’s abdomen and side.
“I sat down with Bucky to give him his medicine just like I do every day. I gave him his insulin and was giving him a moment to settle down when we got distracted with trying to get Clint out of the air vent. It was only a few minutes and when I went to give the next injection I noticed he was starting to bruise. I called Bruce to ask him about it and he said if it kept getting worse to bring him in,” Mira remarked, worrying on her bottom lip. Bucky screamed with every slight press on the bruise and Mira winced; she couldn’t stand to see him in so much pain.
Jemma paused briefly, her eyes betraying the worry she felt. “It sounds like his blood isn’t clotting like it should. It’s a relatively easy fix, but I would like to keep him here overnight for observation just to make sure there’s not another underlying problem.” She opened up an IV kit and slid the needle into Bucky’s arm without as much as a flinch from him. Jemma hung a bag of saline before moving to a refrigerator on the counter. “I believe that with a blood transfusion he’ll be fine. With the HYDRA serum breaking down, things like this will happen more often.”
“Thank you for everything Jemma,” Mira said. She stepped back up to the bed, grabbing Bucky’s hand in hers. “I’m not ready to lose him yet.”