The Price We Pay for Family - 5

Cont... 

Sam wasn't sure if he felt relieved or terrified that it was a professional job. Amateurs tended to be rash and could do things that could get the boys hurt or worse. On the other hand, professionals would have no qualms doing the same if they didn't cooperate. It was a no-win situation. But Sarah didn't need to know that. She had stopped crying after a bit and was now a mix between numb and angry. 

"That was Bucky. They're coming back now." Sam said soothingly, sitting next to his sister on the window seat.

 "I never should have let them walk to the restaurant alone." Sarah groaned, burning her face in her hands.

 "Hey," Sam grabbed her hands, "They'd made that walk a hundred times before; this was just a one in a million. They'll be fine."

 "What if they're not? What then, Sam?" Sarah snapped. 

Sam looked at his sister, scared out of her wits, "Don't think like that. They'll be fine."

 

Sarah nodded, "I hope you're right." 

There was a knock before Rhodes came in, "How are you?" 

"I've been better," Sarah said honestly, getting up to greet him. 

"You seem to be doing alright, all things considered." Rhodes nodded supportively. 

"I hope so. Can I talk to you?" Sam asked. 

Rhodes nodded, and they stepped into the hall, "What is it?" 

"Bucky just called. He was at the crime scene; he says it's not going to be money. He also says you should start looking through our cases, starting with the ones from this month." Sam explained.

 

"I agree with the last part. I'll get some people on it. Did he say why he didn't think it was money?" Rhodes asked.

 "No, but when it comes to things like this, he's normally right." Sam pointed out. 

"Don't remind me. I'll start pulling cases. I disagree with the call that it's not money, but I'll take it under consideration." Rhodes nodded, turning to head back down the stairs. 

Sam let himself back in the master bedroom. "Is something wrong?" Sarah asked, concern filling her face. 

"No, nothing's wrong. I just asked Rhodes to do something for me."

 "No, something's wrong, I can see it. What's wrong?" Sarah searched his face for answers. 

Sam sighed; his sister has a smart woman, she wouldn't rest until he told her, "Bucky doesn't think the kidnappers want money. He thinks it has something to do with our recent cases. That's all." 

"Not money? Then what?" Sarah asked, a mix between puzzled and distraught. 

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we'll find them," Sam assured her, pulling her into a hug. 

There was a knock at the door before Torres and Bucky came back in. "Hey," Bucky came over and gently embraced Sarah, "Everything's gonna be okay."

 Sarah nodded, "What did you find?" Bucky shared a look with Sam. "I can take it. Just be honest." Sarah interrupted their silent conversation. 

Bucky hesitated, but caved, "It was a professional job, in and out in 90 seconds. There're no signs of a struggle. They probably were too shocked to do anything. As far as I can tell, they're fine."

 

Sarah nodded stiffly, "Okay, what now?"

 "Now we wait. They'll reach out to us." Bucky rubbed her shoulder supportively. 

Torres bumped Sam's shoulder and nodded to the door, "I'm gonna grab some water from downstairs. You want anything?"

 "Two bottles of water, thanks, Torres." Bucky nodded over his shoulder. 

Sam followed Torres out into the hall, "What's up?" 

"I think there's more to what's going on, Bucky's hiding something." Torres cut to the chase. 

Sam frowned, "The day that man doesn't hide something is the day I know he's healed. I'm not surprised." 

"No, I mean something big. He was all tense and almost expected someone to jump out on the drive back. Something's up." Torres stressed. 

Sam opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the phone ringing downstairs. Bucky opened the door, headset on, while holding out the phone to Sam, "It's time."

 Sam took the phone and nodded gravely, "Okay."

 Bucky did a quick final check on the equipment before nodding to Sam. Torres closed the door blocking out the sounds downstairs as the FBI tore the place up, trying to figure out why they weren't getting the call. 

Sam took a deep breath before answering, "Hello?"

 "Put me on speaker." A garbled disguised voice ordered on the other end. Sam frowned, but Bucky nodded for him to do it. 

Sam clicked the call onto the speaker, "You're on speaker." 

A moment passed then, "Hello?"

 

Sarah sobbed, "AJ? Baby?" 

"Mama?" AJ said shakily. 

"Oh, AJ, baby. Is your brother with you?" Sarah gasps. 

"Mama?" Cass's voice came through the speaker.

 "Cass, baby. Are you two hurt?" Sarah asked, brushing away tears.

 "No, mama, we're okay."

 "Good, I love you two, you know that?" 

"Love you, mama." Both boys echoed.

 There was rustling then, "Take me off speaker." 

Sam did as he was told and put the phone back up at his ear, "You're off."

 "Does that satisfy proof of life?" The voice demanded. 

Bucky nodded to Sam, "Yes. What do you want?" 

"In exchange for your two nephews, I want your partner."

 

Sam froze. Nonononono this was not happening.

"I want the Winter Soldier." The voice demanded. 

Sam's head snapped up to meet Bucky's gaze. Sam was in shock. Bucky was not. His face didn't show surprise or terror. It was determined and a bit sad but at peace. He'd known this was coming. Somehow he'd put it together. He's hiding something. No duh! Sam realized he'd already made his peace with giving them what they wanted. 

Throwing the rules out the window, Sam turned away from Bucky's gaze, "Absolutely not."

 The voice chuckled cruelly, "Not even for your two nephews, your own flesh and blood? You have two hours to decide." 

The line went dead. Sam dropped the phone like he'd been burned. This wasn't happening. 

"What's wrong?" Sarah's voice was lost in the background of Sam's ever loud mind. 

He looked up, still reeling at Bucky. All he saw was acceptance. It made Sam sick. That Bucky thought they would willingly do this to him. There was no way Sam was letting this happen. Bucky opened his mouth to speak, and another thought smacked Sam in the face, Bucky might want to, and he wouldn't be able to stop him, "No."

 Bucky frowned, clearly disagreeing. 

"Absolutely not," Sam growled. This wasn't happening. 

Sam couldn't breathe, the walls were collapsing in on him, and everything was too close, too loud, too much. He needed out. He bolted out of the room, down the stairs through the crowded living room, and out into the lawn. Finally, he could breathe.

 

"Sam! What's wrong?" Sarah called, coming out of the house after him. Sam turned and looked at her panicked face and couldn't do it. Couldn't say that the people who had her sons wanted her boyfriend. Bucky was standing on the steps looking sad but not resistant. Torres stood on the porch looking plain confused. 

"Sam," Bucky said calmly. Calm, quiet, steady, like he always was with the Wilson family. How was he so calm? 

"No! We'll figure something out." Sam snapped.

 "Sam! What's wrong?" Sarah repeated, clearly worried. 

Sam shook his head and pulled away from Sarah's touch, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening." Why did the world seem so set on stealing all his partners? Riley, Steve, now it was trying to take Bucky. 

"Sam," Bucky was standing in the driveway now, "There isn't another way."

 Sam was aware they were gaining an audience as people came out onto the porch from the yelling, and he didn't care, "No! I said no, and I'm staying with that!" 

"Sam!" Sarah grabbed onto his arms, making him stop, "What's going on?" Sam stared at her mouth open yet at a loss for words. What to say when your world is falling apart?

"What did they want?" Torres asked, standing on the bottom step. 

Sam looked over to Torres, but his eye landed on Bucky first. For the first time, Sam glimpsed the turmoil inside Bucky from this. He looked sad, regretful but oh so determined. He wasn't at peace with this, but he was at peace with using any measure necessary to bring the boys home. Even if it meant torpedoing everything he'd worked for that ten years. Sam couldn't bring himself to answer Torres' question because if he did, that made it real, and he never wanted this scenario to be real. Bucky turned slightly so Torres could hear him, but the porch could not. "Me." Bucky looked at Sam, then back at Torres, "They want me." 

"What?" Sarah looked between Sam and Bucky, refusing to comprehend what she heard. The look on Sarah's face would haunt Sam's dreams for weeks to come. 

"There's no way you can do that." Torres reasoned. 

"There's no way I can't." Bucky shook his head, looking at Sam almost pleadingly, "Sam-"

"No!" Sam rejected instantly, "I am not doing that!" Sam shook his head, angry tears flowing, angry that this was the situation they'd been put in, angry that everyone seemed set on ruining Bucky's life, "I can't ask you to do this. I can't just let you throw it all away for this."

 "That's why I'm not asking." Bucky said seriously, somberly, almost sadly, but he kept going, "I'm telling you, I'm doing this." 

Sam jerked away and glared out at the perfect weather and gentle breeze. His worst scenario was coming true. The worst part was that Sam couldn't do anything about it, couldn't stop it. This was Bucky's choice. Sam couldn't just overlook that.

 "No, you're not." Sarah's voice left no room for argument. Bucky looked surprised, and Sam was too.

 

Sarah rarely commented on his and Bucky's work. It was a commitment to keeping work and home separate that kept them sane. But she wasn't oblivious either. She'd seen more than her fair share of the aftermath of missions gone wrong, or at least not right. She knew what they did and the risks they took. 

She also knew Bucky's history. Granted, almost every curious person with a wifi connection did after the Triskelion, but the way Sarah knew it and the way others did was vastly different. She was there when nightmares woke them all up. There when the memories were just a little too real. There when the past didn't match the present, it never would. She knew what Bucky was saying, and she disagreed. 

Sam sighed an inner sigh of relief. If all else failed, his sister still had his back on this subject. Sarah Wilson was never wrong and always won, but she'd never gone up against a determined Bucky Barnes, and he was set in stone, "Sarah-"

"I will not have you walk back into that life, voluntarily or not." Sarah bulldozered on, "Not for this."

 

Bucky looked like this physically pained him, "Sarah, if I don't, they're dead. There's not another way."

 "You don't know that!" Sarah snapped, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She was angry, and right now, it was flaring at anyone too close. Sam tried to hold her, but she shoved him away. 

"You're right. I don't." Bucky was looking directly at Sarah, like nothing else was there, "It could be something else, something so much worse." 

Sam didn't miss the fear or sadness that crossed Bucky's face that was not fresh but an old wound. One that told them both what they needed to know. Sarah was crying now out of anger or fear. Sam wasn't sure which it was, and he doubted she did either.

 "And there is no way," Bucky's voice was quieter now, full of emotion, "No way I will let them go through anything like I did. Ever. I'm doing this." Sarah nodded through her tears, her understanding, not her consent, but understanding.

 "You can't." Torres broke the moment harshly, "Not to be devil's advocate, but even if you wanted to, the government would never let it happen. You'll get your pardon revoked before you can even try."

 Bucky turned to Torres, "My therapist will vouch for me. I'm in sound mind and judgment as of now."

 "Okay, so you ruin your case, you look as though you're aligning yourself with the enemy, you'll still end up in jail. They are never going to let this happen." Torres insisted, "You're a calculated risk half the country hates, you're downright chilly with the government, and you're not even related to the victims, there is no scenario where even if this works, you don't end up the Scrooge of everyone's bad stories."

 "I. Don't. Care." Bucky bit out, voice dangerously low, "I didn't get into this war by choice, but I will go out with it, so help me. Those boys might as well be my flesh and blood, today, tomorrow, and forever. And if you think you or anyone else think the fact I'll be locked up for the rest of my life after this is going to stand in my way of bringing them home, you are sadly mistaken."

 

Torres looked rightly scared but nodded, "Just making sure you knew all the ramifications." Bucky frowned but nodded, his ferocious take-no-prisoners look fading.

 "Did you just propose?" Sarah asked quietly in shock. 

Bucky blinked and turned, now looking nervous, "What?" 

"'Today, tomorrow and forever'? Was that you proposing?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

 Bucky blanched, "Of course not! I'm not callous. I would never ask you at a time like this! That would be rude and unkind and-" 

Sarah cut him off with a desperate kiss, grabbing onto him like he could save her from drowning, "Yes. If that was you asking, then yes." 

Something deep in Bucky uncoiled, letting his whole body relax. He pulled her close, pushed the whole ordeal away, and held her, "then yes, I did propose." 

Sam stared at his sister and his partner, so deeply devoted to each other, "I told you not to flirt with her." 

"Son, I'm pretty sure that wasn't flirting. That was a proposal." Carlos pointed out with a gruff smile.

Sam couldn't help but smile; amidst all this fear and sadness, his sister had finally found what she'd been waiting for, and so had Bucky. It has just taken a kidnapping to make it happen.

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