Work Text:
The First Time
It was night and not even that helped with the heat that was India.
Bucky checked his watch again, before peering through the scope of his rifle at the building across from his location. His target wouldn’t walk through the front doors for another thirty minutes, like clockwork, so Bucky had some time to kill.
He brought up the tracking app he used to follow Sam and almost dropped his phone when he saw where she was.
Bucky knew that hospital. It was the best in New York, and extremely expensive. But, with Bucky’s money, he knew Sam would receive the best of care. He found her number and called it.
The phone rang five times before the call was answered.
“Bucky?”
“Sam,” he breathed, noting that she sounded well. But that did not do anything to ease his anxiety as to why his wife was in the hospital while he was 7,854 miles away from her.
“What’s wrong?”
Bucky gave a short, soft laugh. “What’s wrong?” He echoed her. “I should be asking you that. Why are you in the hospital?”
He heard Sam sigh, and her voice was suddenly muffled, more than likely she covered the mouthpiece as she tried to find somewhere private to have this conversation.
“I am fine,” Sam confirmed. “It’s Natasha.”
Bucky rolled his eyes. He wasn’t fond of the red-head, but she was Sam’s best friend, and for Sam, he could inquire as to what was wrong.
“What happened to Natasha?”
He could feel Sam’s eyes roll through the call.
“As if you care. But, if you must know, she accidentally stepped on a key and it impaled her foot.”
Bucky blinked.
He had not heard right.
“How the hell does someone get impaled by a key in their foot? What kind of key is it?”
He had seen a lot of ways in which people were killed in his line of work. A few times he had to get creative himself, but being impaled by a key was the first for him.
“It’s just a regular key, for a clubroom at school, that she’s co-president for.” Sam explained. “Natasha thought she had lost it a few weeks ago, but this morning as I waited, in her apartment, for her to get ready, she stepped on a mat as she was exiting the bathroom, and next thing I knew Natasha released a pained scream, and was hopping on one foot.”
“Fucking hell.”
“The key fell and was unknowingly kicked under the mat, so when Natasha stepped on it barefoot, shit hit the fan. I had to cut the mat off, so a piece of it is still lodged between Natasha’s foot bottom and the key. The doctors are deciding on the best way of removing it. They are going to give her a tetanus shot as well.”
“That’s good.” Bucky adjusted his rifle, seeing movement where his target would be making his appearance soon. “Hey, Sam, I have to go. But, I am glad that you are ok.”
“Yeah, also, this hospital visit is going on your credit card. Bye.”
She didn’t wait for Bucky to respond before ending the call, not that he expected her to.
The Second Time
Bucky’s heart leapt into his throat when Sam’s location indicated that she was at the hospital again at 2:33 a.m. New York time. He dialled her number as he drove through the crowded streets of some [redacted] country, the morning sun mercilessly beating down and making the air hot and sticky.
“Yeah?”
Sam didn’t have much patience for Bucky when he called her, something he had gotten used to. Still, it was a relief to hear that she sounded ok.
“Your location shows that you’re at the hospital again. What happened?”
Sam sighed, “you really need to chill out with the stalking. Steve knows where I am. Which is one of the rules you made for whenever you are at work. ‘Check in with Steve, and let him know if anything is wrong’.”
“Sam,” Bucky said through gritted teeth, as he narrowly avoided someone who cut in front of him from three lanes over, “just answer the damn question.”
“Peter and Miles both have food poisoning.”
“Oh, ok. How’d they get that?”
“No idea, they kind of went on a food binge last night,” Sam told him. “So, it can be anything from the coffee cake they had for breakfast to the cold pizza they had for supper, or whatever they had in between.”
“Ok, hope they feel better soon.” Bucky was being sincere. “Food poisoning is not fun.”
“Yeah, I know. Listen, I have to go, Aunt May and Miles’s parents are here. I have to update them.”
Once more, she ended the call without allowing Bucky to respond.
The Third Time
“Nothing is wrong. I am fine. Everyone is fine.”
Sam said by way of greeting when she answered Bucky’s call.
“T’Challa and I are doing a project, and we are interviewing Jack, Brock’s husband. He’s an Obstetrics & Gynaecology nurse. That’s why my location shows I am at a hospital, again.”
Bucky hated being predictable, but the thought of something happening to Sam and that he was not there made him scared beyond words. He couldn’t lose her. Not after what he did and has put her through to keep her by his side.
“Brock’s the TA who gave you study material?”
“Yeah.”
“I remember him.”
“Listen, I have to go. Jack’s on a limited break and he took the time to answer our questions.”
“Ok, by-”.
Once more the call ended without Bucky being able to say ‘bye’.
The Fourth Time
“Natasha sliced her hand in three places with a handheld chainsaw,” Sam told him as soon as she answered his call. “The wounds aren’t deep, but they are still bleeding. She’s currently being seen by a doctor.”
“You have a lot of accident-prone friends, Sam.”
“Imagine what they would say if they ever had to accompany me to the hospital after you’re through with me.”
Bucky squeezed his eyes close and pinched his nose bridge. “I don’t want to fight, Sam.”
“Who’s fighting? No one’s fighting.”
“Sam-”
“I have to go. The doctor’s finished with Natasha.”
She never gave him a chance to say ‘bye’.
The Fifth Time
Bucky was tempted to throw his phone into the nearest wall. This was the fifth time Sam’s tracker indicated that she was at the hospital.
The fifth time in two months.
Either Sam’s friends were very unlucky when it came to their health, or something was the matter with Sam this time. He could never be sure, and so he called her.
“Peter walked into a door.”
“How hard?”
“A glass door.” Sam specified.
“Holy christ. Is he ok?”
“Yeah, there was a lot of blood, but it’s mainly from his hands. His pretty face remains untouched.”
“Ok, well, I’m sure you have to go.”
“Yeah.”
Bucky hung up first this time.
+1
His plane just landed and he checked his phone to see a WhatsApp message from Sam. Her location indicated that she was at a hospital..again. Bucky rolled his eyes as he opened the message and his blood ran cold.
The call rang once before it was answered.
“Bucky, the doctors said it’s appendicitis,” Sam said.
“Jesus Christ, Sam.” Bucky exited the airport and was happy that he requested a private driver to be waiting for him. He didn’t have time to fight anyone for a taxi, not when Sam was in the hospital.
“I am going into surgery in 15 minutes.” She told him. “Natasha and T’Challa are here with me. I’m leaving my phone with Natasha.”
“Sam, I will be there in twenty minutes tops.”
“You don’t have to come.”
Bucky heard her groan in pain, this time not caused by him.
“I am your husband, Sam. I will be there.”
“Suit yourself, I’m in too much pain to argue. I have to go now.”
“I’ll be there when you wake up.”
“Ok.”
Sam ended the call and Bucky did his best not to break his phone.
It seemed as if it took forever to arrive at the hospital, and when he did, Bucky was greeted by both T’Challa and a still suspicious Natasha who updated him on Sam’s status. Sam was in surgery for another fifteen minutes before the Attending surgeon came to speak to them.
Later, in the recovery room, as Sam slowly woke, she opened her eyes to see Bucky sleeping in the chair at her bedside. His head resting on his folded arms as he leaned on the bed, his face turned towards her.
“Told you I would be here when you woke up,” Bucky mumbled, not opening his eyes or moving to show that he was awake.
Sam closed her eyes, no energy to roll them. “Go back to sleep.”
“You too.”