A/N: You know, when I wrote the first part for this series, I didn't imagine it going on for this long and I also didn't expect so much angst. Well, here's part 14. Hope you like it!

Warning: angst

"No!" You screamed, making Bucky's eyes shoot open as he sat up on the bed. He looked to his side, seeing you sitting right beside him, breathing heavily while holding the duvet close to your front.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" He asked, placing a hand on your back.

You turned to him, eyes full of tears as you let out a shaky breath.

Bucky wrapped his arm around you and was about to pull you to him but not quick enough. You threw the covers off of yourself and stood up from the bed. Bucky tried to reach out to you to get you back in bed but again, he was too slow. You grabbed a warm hoodie before hurriedly putting it on and bolting out of the room.

Bucky sighed and let his hand fall to the mattress. Shaking his head, he stood up and yawned. 

As if you had known it would happen before you woke, Ava began crying right before you got to her room. Bucky looked to the baby monitor on your nightstand and saw the door finally opening. He heard you whispering, trying to shoo her.

"It's okay, baby," he heard you saying while your voice shook, "You're okay, you're okay. Mommy's here... You're okay. Thank God, you're okay."

The last sentence came out with a sigh of relief which lead Bucky to believe you had woken up by a nightmare, possibly a flashback of the break-in.

He began walking towards the door. He could see Ava standing in her crib, crying as she watched you walk over to her. You lifted her up into your arms and the sobs stopped. Still, small whimpers could be heard from time to time.

Bucky stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he saw you go over to the rocking chair in the corner. You sat down, leaning back and holding Ava close to your chest.

Bucky stayed at the door, watching you as you rocked back and forth, humming a gentle melody to keep Ava calm.

After a while you quieted down but still continued holding Ava who he expected to have fallen asleep.

Bucky sighed and turned to look at the floor. "Seems like she's fast asleep," he called out quietly, "why don't you put her back to bed and come back to ours?" He suggested and lifted his head up to look at you.

To his surprise, you were asleep as well.

He heard you snore quietly as your lips parted, head leaning back. His shoulders slumped and he carefully walked over, grabbing a blanket from the armrest and laid it on top of you two. He leaned down and placed a kiss on both of your shoulders and began leaving the room.

Any other time he would have woken you up but knowing that you were still suffering from the break-in, he decided to let you be. Ava seemed so peaceful that he couldn't bring himself to wake either of you. She looked so at peace, in the comfort and safety of her own mother.

Bucky glanced over his shoulder to look at you one more time before going over to his bedroom.

He glanced at the time on his phone and huffed as he saw it was 5 o'clock in the morning. He ran his fingers through his tousled hair and yawned before beginning to make the bed. There was no point in going back to sleep anymore. He didn't feel tired and he'd have to be up in hour and a half anyway.

After he was done he took the baby monitor and walked out of the room. He practically stomped into the kitchen, footsteps heavy as he went straight to the fridge, setting the baby monitor aside.

He grabbed a tall plastic cup with some homemade smoothie inside and took a big swig. He slammed the door closed and was met with Sam. Bucky rolled his eyes, taking another swig of the smoothie.

"I saw Y/N running out of your bedroom. Everything okay?"

"No," Bucky sighed, placing the cup down and looking at the baby monitor.

Sam followed Bucky's gaze and his eyes setting on the monitor showing you cradling Ava while the both of you slept.

"Ah, I see..." Sam mumbled, quickly taking the smoothie from Bucky who was just about to drink it again. "This is mine, by the way."

"Well, it tasted like shit anyway..."

Bucky could hear Sam huff from beside him but the super soldier just turned his back to his teammate, getting back to look for something quick to eat for breakfast.

"Okay, sorry I took your smoothie," Sam said mockingly, "Did I upset you?"

Bucky turned to give Sam an angry glare before turning back around. "I'm not in the mood, Sam."

"Okay," Sam sighed, beginning to walk out of the room. "But in all honesty, I hope things get better soon," he added before finally disappearing.

Bucky let his head fall forward, forehead resting on the cold fridge door. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. He already knew the day wasn't going to be a good one.

***

"Hey," Bucky called out quietly after stepping into his bedroom that he was now sharing with you. He saw you at the bed, watching Ava run around the room.

"Hi," you said just as quietly. You sent him an attempted smile but quickly looked away again.

"You ready to talk about this morning?" He asked, slowly making his way to the bed to sit beside you.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Bucky raised a brow as you shrugged your shoulders. "Really?" He asked. "Y/N, you had a nightmare. Possibly a flashback," he continued, seeing you tense up, "And I want to help you. Believe me, I know what you're going through."

"There's nothing new to talk about," you corrected yourself. "Yes, I'm obviously not over what happened and yes, I have... PTSD," you whispered the last word, "from the break-in but... There's nothing new to discuss. I just need some time. And like you can see, I'm fine right now, right?"

Bucky's eyes narrowed as he looked at you, seeing you avoiding his gaze. "Y/N, what did we talk about communicating—"

"James!" You interrupted him, placing your hand on his shoulder. "What happened was awful and very traumatic, for all of us," you began and your gaze found Ava who was walking over to the bed, "and yes, there may be things that can... trigger anxiety and fear that remind us of the... incident. But that's something we can work on."

Bucky lifted Ava up into his arms as she was close enough and hugged her tightly. "Okay... But when you start to feel anxious about a nightmare or something else, I want you to talk to me. I want to help you."

You smiled gently, lifting your hand up to his face and caressing his cheek. "You've helped enough."

He shook his head, not really believing your words. You reached out to brush hair behind his ear and he couldn't help the small smile from forming on his lips. 

You patted his cheek and smiled at him before pulling away. "Anyway, I've gotta do some work. Can you watch Ava for a couple of hours?"

"Yeah, of course," he said and stood up, looking down at Ava who was looking right back up at him. "Let's go do something fun and let mommy work in peace," he said softly, nuzzling his nose against hers which made the little girl erupt into a delightful giggle.

He began walking towards the door and just as he was about to step out of the door, Ava reached her hands towards you and said, "Mama?"

"No, sweetheart," Bucky said, taking her hand in his as he watched you take your laptop from your bedside table. "Mommy needs to work so we need to leave her alone."

"Mama," Ava called out again, putting up a fight and trying to get free from Bucky's grasp.

"Ava, please," Bucky whispered, kissing the side of her head while holding her to his chest securely. "Mommy needs to work for a few hours. We should let her do it in peace."

"Mama!" Ava called out once again, sounding more frustrated.

Bucky heard you huff and saw you sanding up from the bed. You walked over to the two and took Ava's hands in yours. You leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, smiling. "You good now?" You asked, gently tapping her nose with the pad of your forefinger.

She giggled, turning to Bucky and burying her face in his chest as you pulled away.

"I'll be right here, okay? Mommy's not going anywhere," you said before turning to look at Bucky. "Are you sure this is okay?" You asked. "You don't have any... training or... missions to go to?"

"It's more than okay, doll," he assured with a small smile. "The more time I get to spend with my daughter, the better."

"Okay, good. I'll see you in a few hours," you said and kissed his cheek before going back to the bed.

Bucky walked out of the room, closing the door before looking at Ava again.

"So, what do you wanna do?"

"Mama!" Ava said and pointed to the door to Bucky's bedroom.

"Ava, I already told you we need to let mommy work."

Ava pouted and folded her arms in front of her. She clearly wasn't happy about not being able to see you when she wanted to.

"So... What do you wanna do?"

Ava continued to hold her arms crossed on her chest and she leaned forward, pressing her whole body against Bucky's as if she was trying to hide away from him without actually getting away.

"You mad at me, now?" He asked, running a hand up and down her back. "How long do you plan on being mad at me?"

Ava didn't move, just continued sulking.

Bucky smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Come one," he chuckled and tickled her side, making her jump. "You warming up to me, yet?" He asked, tickling her some more.

She giggled, looking up at Bucky. She smiled, grasping onto the collar of his shirt.

"There's that smile I love!" He said happily. "I knew you couldn't stay mad at me for too long."

"There's something so comical about a former assassin being all playful with a baby."

Bucky rolled his eyes, turning around to see Tony and Thor coming from behind him.

"If the kid's acting up, put on some cartoons, that'll keep them occupied."

"Cartoons?" Bucky asked, raising a brow.

"It works on Peter," Thor said, shrugging.

"Hey!" A yell was heard from the end of the hallway.

"You know it's true," Tony yelled back and continued his way. "So what do you mean you don't have your hammer anymore?" He asked Thor, seeming very confused and surprised as the two continued their way.

Bucky shook his head and turned to Ava, already heading towards the common room. He figured he could try and see if cartoons could keep her entertained. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't like them, he figured they'd just do something else, then.

Just as he sat down on the couch and put on some cartoons on the TV, he heard someone jog up to them. He looked over his shoulder to see Peter standing there, looking at the TV and sharing a look with Bucky.

"Can I join?" The teenager asked. "I have nothing to do right now and Mr Stark promised to give me a ride home later."

Bucky sighed, shrugging. "Sure," he said with a bored tone. "The more the merrier."

Peter jumped over the backrest of the couch and landed on the soft cushion beside Ava. The little girl turned to look at him in surprise but as he sent her a small smile, she reciprocated the gesture with a small giggle. Bucky observed from the side in annoyance.

He decided to just stay quiet and watch the cartoons with the two children. Ava seemed to be entertained by the colorful cartoons. Bucky wasn't paying much attention, he was mostly focused on Ava and how peaceful she seemed. It brought smile to his face.

"Did you have cartoons back in the day?"

The smile quickly vanished as Peter spoke up. "Peter, I'm trying to watch the TV," Bucky muttered, knowing he was lying. He wasn't really interested in the cartoon, had barely even glanced at the television.

For a few seconds, it was quiet except for the sounds coming from the TV. But, again, Peter had to break the silence.

"Did you?"

Bucky sighed, running a hand over his face. "Yeah, we did. But they were showed in movie theaters."

"What were they?"

"Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse..."

"Hey," Steve called out from behind the couch, interrupting Bucky.

"Oh, thank God," Bucky said in relief. "You here to watch something?"

"Yeah, there's, uhh... A war documentary. Thought I'd check it out."

"Yeah, go ahead," Bucky said and tossed him the remote. He turned to look at Ava. "You're fine with that, right?" He saw that Ava wasn't really paying attention to the TV anymore. The cartoon didn't seem to interest her that much.

"Well, actually I—"

"Yeah, I don't care," Bucky told Peter and stood up from the couch.

"Hey," Steve said while nudging Bucky's arm, "Be nice."

Steve pointed the remote towards the TV and a war documentary was shown on the screen. It had started already. First there was some talking and suddenly explosions and gunshots could be heard.

Bucky's eyes shot to the couch as he heard Ava whimpering. His eyes grew with worry as he looked at Ava who was holding her hands over her ears. She began to cry, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Bucky's eyes shifted back to the television and suddenly he understood what made her cry.

"Mute it," Bucky commanded as he reached down to grab Ava.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Mute the damn TV!" Bucky yelled, realizing Ava started crying even harder.

He cradled her to his chest, whispering in her ear to try and calm her down. "Sweetheart, you're okay. You're okay. Daddy's here. Nothing is going to happen to you." His voice was shaking slightly, it broke his heart to hear her cry so much out of fear. "You're safe, baby. You're safe."He shooed her gently, rocking side to side as he kissed the top of her head.

"Buck, I-I'm sorry, I—"

Bucky nodded, shooting a glance at Steve to let him know it wasn't his fault.

"What's going on? What happened?" You ran into the room, sounding panicked.

Bucky's gaze met yours and he saw you look down at Ava, your heart breaking visibly. He saw your gaze turn to the TV and you understood what had happened. You sighed, quickly making your way to the two. You placed your hand on Ava's back and kissed the top of her head as well. "You're okay, Ava. It was just the TV."

"Will she ever get over this?" Bucky asked you with a whisper.

You nodded, watching her closely as she clung onto Bucky. "She will. Sooner or later."

"I hate seeing her like this," Bucky muttered, kissing the top of her head once again. "Breaks my heart."

"I know," you sighed, placing a hand on his arm, "Mine too. She's afraid, there's nothing we can do about it right now. This may be very hard for her to overcome but... She will."

Bucky nodded, gaze falling back to Ava who was still a bit shaken but already a lot calmer. He smiled at her but felt his heart ache at the sight of her wet cheeks and eyes that were shining with tears.

He watched as your thumbs came in contact with Ava's cheeks, wiping away the tears. You leaned forward to press a comforting kiss on her forehead. As you began pulling away, Ava reached out to you and took a hold of your hand. Bucky saw you freeze for a second before you took another step closer and kissed the back of her small hand.

"I guess work can wait for a while," you said with a small smile, kissing Ava's hand again.

Bucky saw the uneasy look behind your eyes and couldn't help but frown. At times like these he knew you put Ava's needs first, especially after the break-in.

"You can go back," he said, seeing you look up at him. "I know you won't admit it but I can see that you're stressed about work too."

"It can wait," you insisted, turning your gaze back to Ava.

And for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Bucky sighed. He so desperately wanted to help you but you kept acting as if everything was fine. He would have insisted harder but he didn't want to, you were still in a very fragile state.

He didn't know how else to offer you the help he thought you deserved. You were the one denying his help and ironically he was the one who felt helpless.