Winter's Daughter

Chapter Nineteen

Bucky's POV

As Steve, Clint, and I rounded the corner of the medical floor, I couldn't help but get cold feet.

I'll admit it. I'm scared.

I don't want to watch my daughter suffer at the hands of HYDRA. I can handle all kinds of crap from all kinds of people, but I can't handle watching someone I love suffer. Specially from HYDRA.

"You okay, Buck?" Steve asked. I gave him a reassuring look. "No, but thanks for the concern."

Steve gives a slight nod in return. "Let's go, they're waiting for us."

With a shaky breath, I regained my composure and followed Steve to Nadiya's room.

I instantly regretted stepping in.

"I don't want to see her like this, Steve." I said as I tried to turn back.

"I know, Buck. But you've got to." Steve said in a somber tone. I could tell he was hurting.

"Trust me Bucky I don't like it either," Natasha said, "but try and get your crap together for the time being."

Clint walked over to Natasha and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look. She rolled her eyes. "Please?" She added.

"That's better." Clint whispered to Natasha.

With one look to Steve, I slowly walked over to Nadiya's bedside. At first glance, you might mistake her as being dead.

Her skin was sickeningly pale. The bags under her eyes grew darker by the minute. Her once shiny, curly brown hair is all frizzy and in nots.

I extended my hand to touch hers, and pulled away in surprise. She was so cold.

"Blankets," I mumbled. "We need blankets, she's freezing."

"Here you go," Clint said as he handed me a blanket. I gave him a slight smile, then turned my attention back to Nadiya.

I carefully placed the blanket over her. Once I saw that she was fully covered, I began tucking in the sides.

My mother would always tuck me in like this when I was little, so I only saw it fit that I do the same to my daughter.

After I finished, I placed a kiss on Nadiya's forehead. "There you go, doll."

The room went into silence as we waited for Dr. Banner to show. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Natasha constantly checking her monitors. She was worried, as she should be.

"Okay," Dr. Banner said as he entered the room, "I've got both good and bad news. Which one do you want first?" He said as he clasped his hands together.

We all looked around at each other, not knowing what to decide. By the look on Nat and I's face, Steve could tell we were conflicted. So, he turned to Dr. Banner.

"Good." Steve said with a shrug.

"We can take the chip out with surgery and we might be able to restore her memory." Dr. Banner said with a smile.

"The bad?" Natasha asked.

"If you decide to do the surgery, there are a number of things that can go wrong. For starters, we don't know how the chip has affected the brain, or what damage it could do if we take it out. Our main concern is that she might not wake up. Now, if she does, we are pretty positive that she'll be her old self."