Warning! This chapter involved kidnapping and is an angst.

Requested by: awriterspromise

- 2030 -

It hadn't taken Bucky long to decide he wanted to leave the world of the Avengers, to retire from the fighting scene and settle down. Bucky had spent seventy years fighting, so he was relieved to leave as all he wanted now was a normal life but he wasn't sure how to have such a thing until he had met me fourteen years ago. I helped Steve and Sam get Bucky on the right path, and a year after the Winter Soldier had been exuded from him we began dating.

Together we made the decision for both of us to retire, to leave the Avengers and start our own life in a suburban house, to get married and eventually have children. To live a somewhat normal life after the hell he had to endure. At first he was skeptical about the idea of having children as, despite the Winter Soldier having gone, he sometimes believed himself to be a threat. Not only but he'd have constant nightmares and had diagnosed PTSD but I assured him he would be a great father, although I didn't push him. If he didn't want children, I wasn't going to force him. After much thought on his part however, he did finally tell me that he wanted to start a family and I couldn't be happier.

Ten years later and we had a ten year old named Marie and a seven year old named Lucas. They were Bucky's entire world, he couldn't get enough of them and we had their school drawings pinned all over the kitchen, their toy boxes in our lounge and photos of them everywhere. To see Bucky this content, this happy with his life now made me emotional, and he often thanked me for helping him reach this level of happiness. They weren't aware of their fathers past however, as we knew they were too young to understand.

As it was a Friday I was finishing off making a dessert for the children to have after their dinner, it being a special Friday treat. Bucky, being the old man he was, was sat in the lounge reading a newspaper until I joined him, sitting beside him and snuggling against his side. He wrapped his arm around me, kissing my head and putting the newspaper down to cuddle properly. We began to get a little carried away, his lips landing on mine in a passionate kiss whilst his arms hauled me up onto his lap, his hands gripping my waist.

"Bucky the kids will be home soon," I whispered, trying to fight the moan that crept up my throat.

"It's Friday remember, they'll stop by the sweet shop on their way home. We've got time," he assured me, nibbling on my neck. "Plus I'm pretty pent up from your teasing this morning."

It was true, I had spent the morning teasing him in bed before having to get up to make the kids their breakfast and lunches for the day and it seemed now he was getting payback. He took the lead, and thirty minutes later we were both rushing to get our clothes back on as the kids were due home any minute. I flattened down my hair making it presentable again whilst Bucky attempted to straighten out the newspaper we had ended up on top of.

Another ten minutes passed and I was beginning to get concerned, peeking out the window to see if our children were down the street. They would usually be home by now, the walk from school was only twenty minutes and I couldn't of imagined them spending longer than ten in the sweet shop, after all they always buy the same thing. "Please stop worrying (y/n), they'll be home soon," Bucky cuddled me as he saw my worry.

Another half an hour passed and now we were both panicking. "They're really late, they would've told us if they weren't going to be on time- Marie would've messaged us!"

"I know, just stay calm (y/n) we'll find them, lets head to the school. We'll find them on the route there," he said quickly, slipping his shoes on. The two of us ran out the door, glancing up and down the street. I tried ringing Marie's phone multiple times but to no avail and Lucas was too young to have one.

Trying not to get overly hysterical we walked quickly back to the school following the exact route they would have taken. At the school I had to ask the teachers if they knew where our children were as Bucky was too riled up, searching the school grounds. They weren't much help, telling us that they saw Marie and Lucas leave the school normally. "We need to call the police Bucky," I tried to hold onto my voice.

"We need to check the sweetshop first," he said and I nodded, him running ahead of me as he was much faster thanks to the serum. By the time I had finally caught up with me he was already harassing the shop owner, actually grabbing him but the scruff of the collar. "Bucky stop!" I tugged my angry husband away from the shopkeeper.

"Marie and Lucas did come in here," he said. "I-it was about an hour ago! I promise I don't know where they went after that, I assume they went home!"

"Damn it!" Bucky kicked the counter.

"We have cctv, at the front door, I'll check it for you," the shopkeeper said, scarpering towards the door. When he came back however we were both shocked at what we saw. The cctv camera had been shot, most likely meaning the footage had been destroyed. My lip trembled and I finally burst into tears, Bucky immediately engulfing me in a hug.

"We'll get them back (y/n) I swear on my life," he whispered, kissing my head and trying not to cry himself.

"I shall call the cops," the shopkeeper said, reaching for the phone.

"No," Bucky suddenly said and I looked up at him with shock. "We need someone more reliable. Their godfathers."

"Steve and Sam..."

"Stark and Nat will help too, I'm sure," he brushed his fingertips through my hair and I nodded against his chest. He made the call to our ex-colleagues and all four of them arrived at the sweetshop in less then ten minutes, Nat pulling me into an apologetic hug whilst I continued to sob.

"I'm so sorry guys, we'll get them back," Sam tried to comfort us verbally and whilst I appreciated the sentiment it wasn't exactly helping.

"What do we know?" Steve asked.

"We think whoever's got them took them from here," Bucky croaked, the words 'took them' making me cry into Nat's neck even more whilst she rubbed my back.

"Cameras?" Tony asked and Bucky showed him the remnants of the cctv.

"Think you can salvage any of it?" Bucky asked tentatively. Their relationship was still rocky at best but Tony nodded, taking it from Bucky towards the counter and muttering away to FRIDAY whilst tinkering away at it.

"Why would someone take our children though, why? It makes no sense!" I sobbed, Bucky taking over from Nat in comforting me.

"The serum..." Steve mumbled and all eyes turned to him.

"What?" Bucky asked as though he had misheard his best friend.

"They probably want the serum. Buck, you're too difficult to try and capture, you're too strong but maybe they think... maybe they think Marie and Lucas inherited some of the serum. Bucky may be too strong to capture, but... children aren't," Steve dared to say and my stomach dropped, looking up at my husband.

"No... we don't even know if either of them have any of it!" Bucky shouted and I put my hand on his chest to try and calm him.

"Oh god, what are they going to do to our children?" My voice cracked.

"Got it," Tony suddenly piped up, having been able to recover some of the footage in the meantime. Bucky quickly approached him and watched the footage, anger spreading on his face. I went to join him and saw Marie and Lucas being gagged and manhandled into a van. I brought a shaking hand up to my mouth as my jaw dropped, unable to tear my eyes away from the footage. "FRIDAY, hack all local security cams. Find the route that van went."

"Initiating sequence now..." FRIDAY did as Tony requested, it taking less than a minute to find the van and piece together its route. Tony's Iron Man mask covered his face again, ready to spring into action. "Follow me," he ordered everyone as we left the shop. He had Sam flew ahead whilst Steve and Nat climbed onto Steve's motorbike, Bucky and I clambering onto the one Nat drove here.

I was grateful for Tony's help with finding Marie and Lucas. His relationship with Bucky was still very much on thin ice, but I had known him a while now so it seemed as though he was more than keen o help. Not only that but we were saving a ten and a seven year old, something that would help ease Tony's conscious.

We followed him off the beaten track, Bucky going dangerously quickly but I didn't care, I needed to get our children back. Sam, Steve and Nat were only just managing to keep up, and the route Tony led us ended with an old war camp on the end of the city. He and Sam landed whilst the four of us on the bikes clambered off. "Any of this look familiar?" Sam asked but Bucky shook his head.

"I don't recognise any of this," Bucky said.

"Er Barnes, (y/n). You might wanna check this out," Tony was watching the footage he had apparently downloaded onto his suit. He held his hand open and a projection appeared. We gathered around to watch it but it was the same as when we saw it at the sweetshop. "Take a closer look," Tony zoomed in and I froze on the spot. Bucky even took a step back in shock. One one of the collars of the men was a HYDRA pin.

"That's impossible, HYDRA is dead. Plus I don't recognise this place and I've been to every HYDRA base," Bucky said firmly.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," I muttered the distinct, terrifying HYDRA motto and actual shivers ran down Bucky's spine.

"Hey Steve, didn't you say it was forbidden to store munitions within 500 yards of the barracks?" Nat asked, having wandered off a little. She was looking at something particular around the corner of the building we were standing in front of, so we went to join her and indeed up ahead there was a munitions building. Steve led the way to investigate, explaining that he and Nat found a HYDRA below the SHIELD base in the camp he was trained at, before Pierce blew it up.

Tony used a laser to open the locks on the door, Steve and Bucky pulling the heavy door open. Tony held out his palm, trying to collect any data that would help us pinpoint Marie and Lucas. The four helping us entered the building but I felt something stopping me. I was terrified, feeling as though I was about to throw up. Bucky hung back whilst the others explored carefully, and I tried to hide a sob my covering my mouth. My body trembled and Bucky quickly wrapped his arms around me, his head buried in my neck and I felt his own tears against my skin. "A-are we going to get our children back?" I whispered.

"Yes, yes we are," Bucky said firmly, sniffling and pulling back to look me directly into my eyes.

"I-in one piece-?"

"Yes! I won't let anyone harm a single hair on their head, I swear to god," Bucky cupped my cheek and pressed his forehead against mine. "I promise Doll, I swear on my life."

"Hey, over here!" Steve shouted out, catching all of our attention. Bucky and I quickly rushed inside, following all the others towards Steve who had been following some tracks left in the dust on the floor. There was a bookcase with disturbed dust all over it, making it look as though it had been handled multiple times. Bucky led the way, pulling the bookshelf aside effortlessly with his metal arm, it revealing an ancient looking lift. There was a code on the door to the lift but it didn't take long long for Tony's suit to crack the code.

"You four go first, then Sam and I will join you," Nat said and we nodded, heading down the rusty lift. Annoyingly it was louder than expected, and we didn't doubt that it would have attracted the attention of anyone who was down here so we got into a fighting stance but when the doors opened we were met with no one.

"Tony? You getting anything?" I whispered as his suit scanned the area.

"Five heat signatures heading this way," he said.

"This needs to be a stealth job, we can't risk Marie and Lucas' safety," Bucky instructed. We hid behind nearby boxes and pillars, in the shadows and watched five guards with guns appear in the corridor. The rusty lift clanged again and we knew it was Sam and Nat making their way down. Before the lift doors opened however the four of us jumped the five guards, Bucky taking two out at the same time. The lift doors opened, Sam and Nat raising their eyebrows at the bodies now on the floor. "Hurry up," Bucky spat, walking ahead.

As we progressed we only came across one other guard who Bucky snapped the neck of, irritating Steve but he didn't care. Now that we were further down Tony was able to get a closer look. "There aren't many of them that I can see- I think I see Marie and Lucas," he said, Bucky and I perking up. "There's a row of cells down there."

"Redwing, go check it out," Sam shot Redwing in the air, it subtly flying down the corridor. On Sam's armband he could see the camera attached to Redwing, and the small metal bird did a scan of a few of the cells until he finally found our children. "Five cells down, that direction," Sam said, pointing to the left. I quickly grabbed onto Bucky's arm before he stormed ahead.

"We need to do this quietly, remember? We can't attract attention," I begged him and he nodded.

"Perhaps you guys can't... but we can," Steve said and we all looked at him, confused. "Tony, how many others can you see?"

"There's about fifteen of them to the right. Looks like there's a couple t the end of the corridor the kids cell is on," he said and Steve shrugged.

"We can take 'em," Nat shrugged casually.

"Tony, Nat and I will head down here and cause a distraction. Sam, you head with Buck and (y/n) to retrieve the kids, I'll bet that they'll try and send a couple their way so that we can't get to them. Once you've retrieved Marie and Lucas inform us over comms, we'll end the fight and arrest these guys," Steve said and we all nodded. We waited as Steve, Nat and Tony headed to the right to cause the distraction, and when we heard the fight begin we headed down towards where Redwing was emitting its signal.

When we saw Redwing up ahead, looking towards the door Bucky immediately went to it and, with his metal arm, ripped it open. Our hearts almost stopped when we saw Marie and Lucas tucked in the corner of the room, holding each other tightly, their eyes red with the amount of tears they had shed. "M-mum? Dad?" Marie stuttered, her being in front of her little brother.

"Oh my babies," we ran up to our children and engulfed them in a giant hug. They cried against our chests, howling out of fear and we too cried in relief. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?!"

"N-no, we're not injured," Marie stuttered.

"C'mon, we're going to get you both out of here," Bucky said comfortingly, hugging his son and daughter tightly. Suddenly from outside we heard shouts from Sam, followed by the sound of fists fighting. Marie and Lucas cowered away again, particularly when a burly man entered the cell. Bucky stood up in complete fury. "(Y/n), cover the kids eyes," he said gruffly and I did as I was told, turning our children's attention away from the scene and covering their eyes with my hands. They whimpered, holding onto me tightly as behind me Bucky effortlessly beat up the man, blood pouring from his nose. Bucky snapped the mans arms as though they were twigs, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the gut breaking every single one of his ribs.

It had been a long time since I had seen Bucky like this. The last time I had seen him quite this violent was when he was the Winter Soldier, after being framed for the bombing at the UN. I couldn't stop him though, and it was clear the man was dead as he had stopped breathing. Another came into the cell, it not taking long for him to beat the man to the brink of death before snapping his neck.

The villains blood was leaking from the joints in his metal hand, him wiping it on his clothes before turning his attention to me and the kids. "Keep their eyes covered," he instructed and I nodded. Bucky picked Marie up, keeping her head against his chest and I did the same with Lucas.

"We've got them, we're leaving now," I spoke over comms, Steve acknowledging the message. Bucky and I ran back towards the lift, Sam behind us ready to attack in case anyone following us. When out of the underground base me took them outside, uncovering their eyes and just feeling so happy that we could see them again.

"We're sorry mum, dad," Marie burst into tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry for baby, absolutely nothing. God I'm just so glad we have you back," Bucky kissed our daughters head. We spent a while simply holding and hugging each other, just feelings relief in the fact we had gotten them back unharmed.

"You promise neither of you are hurt in any way?" I asked desperately, check their arms and legs.

"We're fine, they didn't hurt us," Lucas finally got his voice back.

"Did they say anything to you? Anything at all?" Bucky asked.

"They said something about a serum... a super soldier serum we might have? I-I said I don't know what they meant," Marie whispered and Bucky and I exchanged looks. We knew it was time to tell them of the past.

"Get them home guys. We'll sort out the mess here," Sam instructed and we nodded. Bucky took Lucas on one of the motorbikes whilst I took Marie. Normally they wouldn't be allowed on the motorbikes but this was the only exception. We sped back to our house, not even looking back but we knew that the four could handle the situation. When we arrived back Steve even sent us a message saying that everything had been dealt with.

Bucky carried Marie inside whilst I held Lucas tightly, the two of us taking them to their bedrooms and changing them into pyjamas to make them more comfortable. Holding their hands tightly we finally took them to the lounge, sitting them down on the sofas and kneeling down before them. They looked confused and I glanced to Bucky, giving him an encouraging nod. They needed to understand why they were taken, what the soldier was talking about and they needed to learn the true backstory of their father.

"There is something important we need to tell you. It was something we wanted to wait until you were older to do, but it explains why what happened today happened. It's... about your dad," I turned to Bucky, as did the children's attention and he sighed, hesitating a moment, so I decided to begin. "See your father... hasn't always been himself."

"What does that mean?" Marie asked.

"For a part of his life he was forced to be someone else. He was brainwashed by bad men... that means he was tricked into being someone else without even knowing. For part of his life Bucky Barnes didn't exist. He was forced to be someone else..."

"Who?" Lucas asked.

"A bad person," Bucky muttered, fear in his eyes. "A very bad person," tears came to his eyes as he looked down to the floor, trembling. I quickly wrapped my arm around him and the kids reached out for his hands, shocking him.

"Is that how you got your metal arm daddy?" Lucas asked.

"Sort of," Bucky whispered. "These bad people that brainwashed me, they gave me something called a super soldier serum," Bucky added and their mouths turned into 'o' shapes.

"What does it do?" Marie asked.

"It makes me a little more powerful than an ordinary human. I'm stronger, quicker... these bad people wanted someone who was strong and quick to do bad things for them. So like your mum said they used me."

The kids looked both shocked and upset, giving their father a pitiful look. "But you're a good person daddy," Lucas said and Bucky bit his lip, trying not to cry.

"Yes he is. He's no longer the man the bad people brainwashed him to be. He's a good person, and an excellent father," I rubbed his back in an effort to be comforting.

"He's the best! Marie, did you see how he ripped open that door?" Lucas said excitedly.

"I did, it was very cool," Marie smiled. "Those bad men that got me and Lucas. Are they the same bad men that got you dad?"

"No- well kind of. They were all part of a specific group of people. We thought we had put a stop to them but apparently not..."

"Why did they want us?" Marie asked. She was always the inquisitive one.

"Because they thought you had some of that super soldier serum in you," I said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"But we don't... do we?"

"We're not sure," I admitted.

"But we won't let anything happen to either of you," Bucky said quickly and I nodded. "I promise I'll tell you more when you're older. You'll need to learn more before you hear it from somewhere else..."

"But you remember that daddy is not that man anymore, and even when he was he didn't know he was," I explained but the kids looked a little confused. They had been through too much tonight, so we knew it was best to try and distract them and then let them rest. Bucky ordered pizza and the four of us squeezed on the sofa, trying to distract the kids from the events of the night. Bucky got a notification from Steve about who the soldiers were and what their goal was, but we decided to put the kids to bed first.

They wanted to sleep in our bed with us tonight which we knew would be a tight squeeze but after today we never wanted to let go of our children. "Well done Bucky," I whispered as we watched them sleep from our bedroom door, our arms wrapped tightly around each other.

"I'm just glad they don't hate me-,"

"They're never going to hate you," I said firmly, not liking when he spoke that way.

"They will when they find out more-,"

"No," I cupped his cheek to turn him to face me. "No they will not. They will never hate you, they love you so much. They'll understand."

Bucky seemed unsure but nodded and I went on tiptoes to kiss him passionately, something he returned. "God I love you so much. I love them so much," he whispered, holding me tightly and I smiled against his lips.

"I love you too. They love you too," I assured him and we cuddled tightly before joining our children in bed, holding them and knowing we would never let anyone harm a hair on their head.