Hell Bound

I didn't know when I'd see Bucky again, but I had a vague idea of what he was doing. I didn't believe he'd left just to protect me. He still had whatever "time-sensitive" issues he'd been dealing with before getting hurt. Now that he could move well enough on his own, nothing was stopping him from getting back to it. I was just sure that whatever he was up to now involved me too. Maybe it always had. When I got home from work, I realized he'd taken Russell's book with him.

Clara called me while I was waiting for Graham to finish his job interview at Arby's. I was sitting in the car, bored out of my mind, trying to find a decent station on the radio. Then Jarvis cut through the music.

"Miss Hayes, forgive me for interrupting," he started. "Your sister would like to speak with you."

"You can put her through, Jarvis," I told him. Then I flopped back into my seat since I could no longer play with the radio.

"Jo?" Clara asked through the speakers.

"I'm here," I replied.

"Why are you in your car? Are you getting lunch?"

"No, I'm just—hanging out at Arbys." She was silent for a second.

"Are you messing with me? It's hard to tell sometimes." I laughed and leaned my arm against the window, but it just made my shoulder hurt.

"I'm waiting for Graham to finish his job interview."

"Oh, okay. That explains it."

"So, what's up? What's going on?"

"Um. Well. You never called me back like you said you would."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot."

"I figured."

"So, what's up?" I hated talking to her in the car. Unless I was driving. I had nothing to do with my hands, and my shoulder hurt. I moved to rest my head on the window and thumped it as she took her time answering.

"There's just something I wanted to talk to you about. Something kind of important." Here we go.

"Is this about the uh," I started. I waved my hand even though she couldn't see me. It was a nervous reflex. "The gremlin? Growing in your body?" There was no response for a long moment.

"How did you know about that?"

"I kind of figured it out."

"But how?"

"Well. First, it was your sudden change of footwear. Then you started getting uncharacteristically lazy. Going to the bathroom five thousand times a day. All things I could have easily overlooked if it wasn't for your sudden decision to switch to decaf."

"And that made you think I had a gremlin?"

"You guys always forget I was medically trained."

"Yeah, but I thought you just learned how to stitch wounds and pull bullets out of people."

"That was my specialty, yes. But it's kind of obvious when a woman you've known as a caffeine junkie your entire life suddenly decides to up and quit for no reason. Cold turkey even. That must not have been easy."

"How did you know I can't have caffeine, though?"

"Seriously? I just got done saying I was medically trained. You guys should write that down somewhere. Stick a note on the fridge."

"But they taught you that in the army?"

"They taught me a lot of things."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"About training or the gremlin?"

"The gremlin."

"Because it wasn't my business."

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was just—trying to figure my life out, you know?"

"It's fine. Are you going to keep it?"

"Yeah, that much I know. It's just—hard to tell with Tony. I think he's happy, but I think he's also really freaked out."

That explained a lot. Of course it wasn't just luck that Tony hadn't found out about Bucky. He was just too preoccupied to pay attention. Now I was almost certain that he probably would have confronted me about the stranger in my house face-to-face if he wasn't distracted.

"I can imagine that he's freaked out," I said. "I would be too."

"That probably has to do with the fact that you refer to children as gremlins."

"Some gremlins are cute."

"Some."

"The one."

"Which one?"

"Yours will be cute. I'm pretty sure we'll be pals. Especially if you name it Gizmo."

"I'm not naming my child Gizmo."

"Gizmo Stark is an excellent name."

"Not happening."

"At least a middle name. Anthony Gizmo Stark Junior."

"I'm not naming it after Tony either."

"Fine."

"You can call it Gizmo. But only you. Like a nickname."

"Deal. When is it going to come screaming through your vagina?"

"Jesus Christ, Jo."

"It's a valid question."

"You could have worded it a bit differently, don't you think?"

"Nothing like brutal honesty to remind you of the horrors of childbirth." She sighed audibly.

"I don't have a due date yet. I don't really have anything planned at all. But I have an appointment. So I'll let you know when I know for sure."

"Good plan."

"Will you be there? For the birth, I mean?"

"If you guys want me to."

"Of course I want you there. You're my sister." I thumped my head again and shut my eyes. Sister. Right.

"I'll be there. Just tell me when and where," I promised.

"You won't be grossed out?" she questioned.

"Medically trained, Clara."

"Okay, alright."

"I've seen much worse than your vagina, I'm sure."

"Can you please stop saying the word vagina?"

"You should probably get used to it."

"Ugh. Well, now that we got that out of the way. What's going on with you? How's work? How are things going with the guy friend?" I almost groaned.

"Work is good. Same old same old," I told her.

"Guy friend?" she asked.

"Graham is good."

"I'm not talking about the kid."

"Other guy is—complicated."

"How so?"

"He comes, and he goes. Goes more than he comes."

"Is that a euphemism?"

"No, you pervert. I just meant—he's not around a lot."

"You said the word 'vagina' like nine times, and I'm the pervert?"

"Vagina is a medical term."

"I don't know why I even bother. So you like this guy that goes more than he comes?" No, I hated it. I missed him more than I thought I would. I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I felt pathetic. I was definitely pining.

"Yes," I lied. "It keeps things easy."

"Right. So no luck getting him to come to Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Not a chance in hell."

"Not ready to meet the family?"

"Nope. I'll probably bring Graham, though." The front door of the Arbys opened, and I wanted to sing at the sight of my lanky young friend.

"Will he ever be ready to meet the family?" Clara asked.

"Graham? Sure. Mom will love another kid to baby."

"Not Graham, you dork."

"Don't know. We've never talked about anything serious. But I have to go. Graham's done with his interview."

"Alright. Call me back. If you remember."

"I will." Graham popped the door open just as the screen went black. "Hey, how'd it go?" I asked him.

"Well, the good news is that I got the job," he told me, buckling up.

"What's the bad news?"

"Bad news is that I've been strictly forbidden from throwing things at people."

"How unfortunate. When do you start?"

"I need to come back tomorrow to get my uniform, and then I start orientation on Thursday."

"Awesome. I'm so proud of you." He sighed and leaned into the seat as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"I thought I blew it. I'm so bad at interviews. I don't think they would have even hired me if you didn't give me that recommendation. I'm not good at anything." I shrugged.

"Take advantage of it, Kid. No one is naturally good at anything. You'll learn to be good at things."

"I'm going to give you my first check. Since I've been eating all your food and sleeping in your spare bedroom. And you gave me that MP3 player."

"I don't want your money. I just want you to rebuild your independence. I know what it's like to be young and not have any idea how to do anything. It's easier when you have someone helping you get on your feet. You're a good kid. You deserve it."

"Yeah, but you can't be making enough money for the two of us."

"I worked for Stark for half a year. I have enough saved up to last us. I did think about getting another job, though. Just so I can have something to do on my days off. Especially if you're not going to be around as much."

"You should apply at Arbys." I shot him a dark look.

"I would last about five minutes in Arbys. You think throwing a burrito is bad."

"That's right. You're the knife-throwing girl. Got that Hawkeye aim." I snorted.

"I don't think I was ever that good."

"Did you ever meet him too?"

"Not in person. I saw him on occasion. I have met Romanoff, though. But I think that's it for Avengers."

“Daaaaang,” he whispered.