POV: Bucky

I shouldn't have bought those flowers. I would have come home sooner, and they would still be here. I would have arrived earlier, in time, and I would have protected them. I shouldn't have bought those flowers.

I hadn't been away for a long time, too busy with diapers and sleepless nights to go on missions. This one, my first mission in months, has been a success. I've foolishly wanted to carry on this tradition established over the years of bringing her a bouquet every time I come home from work. No matter how much Sam makes fun of me, I never get tired of reliving the memory of her smile the first time I gave her flowers.

I should have done without it this time.

My voice doesn't quiver. My tone is firm and confident. Whoever the man on the other end of the line is, he can't guess my fear. He can't know that my heart is about to jump out of my chest. So, even though my worst nightmare is actually coming true, I remain calm and cold.

"Once again, who are you? What have you done to-"

"Who I am doesn't matter." He cuts me off. "I'm currently in lovely company. If you don't want anything to happen to them, you'd better do as I say."

"How can you!" I'm already losing my patience. "They're innocent. He's just a baby!"

"Oh, don't worry. They've got nothing to complain about, we're taking good care of them. For now."

A child's cry punctuates his sentence—my son's cry. Then a voice follows. Her voice. Though I doubted it was possible, my heart quickens even more when I hear her.

"Bucky!"

"Honey, are you okay?"

"How touching." The kidnapper scoffs.

I swear that smug tone won't last long.

"You think threatening me is the only way to convince me to listen to you? You've made a big mistake, and you're going to pay for it. You'd better-"

"Very well, we'll send you a check."

Pain seizes my jaw. I didn't even realize how hard I was clenching my teeth.

What does he want? Money? Of course he doesn't want money. If he had wanted money, he would have kidnapped any other family. He probably wouldn't even have dared mess with Captain America's godson. But he's taken my family.

What I've always feared is happening, despite all the precautions we've taken. I don't even know if it's because of my past or my present.

I shouldn't have let her stop me from leaving the Avengers. I would have found another job, anything that wouldn't put my family in danger. We would have moved far away, whether Sam and Fury liked it or not. I've even considered going to find Steve in the past and taking them with me. I would have kept them safe.

But would they ever have been safe being connected to me?

I pinch the bridge of my nose between the cold metal of my fingers. "What do you want from me?"