Wakanda, August 6, 2016

Natasha was right; Evelyn was Bucky's pain, but also his cure. His torture grew worse at first, up to the point where Bucky wished for a bullet in his head just to make it all stop. But then it slowly ebbed the more he spoke of her. The migraine still hurt like hell, but it wasn't killing him anymore. The little things Natasha did to help worked, as did talking about Evelyn. 

"How are you feeling?" asked the former assassin as she put another wet cloth on Bucky's brow.

"Better." He grimaced. "Kinda."

"Good. Now, you wanna tell me a bit more about your girl?"

"She wasn't my girl."

"Right, and I'm not Russian," reacted Natasha with an amused glint in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. "Come on, Barnes, who are you trying to fool here? You were head over heels for Evelyn. You really telling me you didn't at least soften up after all you two went through?"

Bucky huffed and shook his head. Even now, he didn't want to admit to the likely possibility that he had indeed felt something other than hatred for Steve's sister. It all seemed too absurd, anyway. He and Evelyn had spent years fighting over the littlest of things. Calling each other names, driving each other crazy, embarrassing each other in front of everyone they knew... all while still maintaining the act of being 'friendly' in front of their families. To claim that hatred had really been a facade would be an outright lie.

"I wasn't in love with Evelyn," stated Bucky with a click of his tongue, taking the cloth off his face.

"Oh, so we are calling it love, then?" Natasha put her feet up on the chair opposite her.

"What? No, that's not what I... Look, I put up with Evelyn for Steve's sake. He was a skinny kid back then, and honestly, he wouldn't have made it without the both of us holding his hand. But where I tried to help Steve make his own way, Evelyn just kept him close to keep an eye out on him. Believe me; she was nothing but a royal pain in my ass."

"And yet, you cared."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud."

Bucky sank further into his pillow, dragging his hand over his face. Of all the people to be having a discussion with, it had to be the expert in interrogation tactics. Why couldn't it have been Sam? He was annoying as hell, but Bucky could deal with annoying. Natasha Romanoff was another matter entirely. She could blindside him over and over again, and he would still end up doubting himself instead of her.

"Let me ask you this, Barnes," said Natasha. "While looking out for Steve, you also looked out for his sister, didn't you?"

"Only because she had a mouth on her," said Bucky. "She was impulsive and had a tendency to stir things up in the neighborhood."

"Okay, so you made sure she didn't cross the line, right?"

"Right."

"And what did you do when she did? Did you drop her stubborn ass, or did you help her?"

"I... I guess I still helped. But again, that was for Steve's sake."

Widow licked her lips slowly. Bucky knew that pensive look she gave him all too well. She was reading him, trying to size him up. He did something similar, a little trick he'd picked up from when he'd learned how to box. Read and anticipate an opponent's movements. Be one step ahead to minimize your chances of losing in a fight.
But Natasha's look was different. It was like she was trying to peer right through him to see what was in his very soul. In his heart, even. But Bucky didn't even know that himself. 
She then held up Evelyn's journal. Bucky stared at the book with bated breath. Was she planning on reading it herself? No, he couldn't let her. Evelyn had left that thing to him and no one else.

"Give it back," he demanded.

"Sure. After you tell me more about Evelyn. Come on, Barnes, think about this for two seconds. HYDRA wouldn't have messed you up like this if they weren't sure Evelyn had a way to get to you. You keep telling us all you hated each other's guts, but if that were really the case, she wouldn't have infiltrated the most dangerous terrorist organization in your time to get you out. This whole diary is all the proof I need to know Evelyn considered you a friend, or maybe even something more. And don't deny you didn't have a high opinion of Evelyn. You nearly popped Sam's head off when he joked about her."

"Of course I did! Everyone did! You got any idea of all the good she did for our neighborhood?"

"No, I don't." Natasha shrugged casually. "So tell me."

Bucky hung his head and pressed his lips together. Tell her... Tell her what? That Evelyn saved more than one woman and baby in her career? That she took up the fight with Lucas to improve the work environment at the docks and that she didn't give up whenever their offers to negotiate were shut down by management? That she struck up a state-wide debate on the abortion law after her letter got published in not only one local paper but in the frigging New York Times even? 

"There... was this one time," Bucky started. "It was after Evelyn did this stupid thing in a newspaper. We were fighting pretty badly that week. But then I... I overheard her talkin' to my baby sister about this girl, and I... I made a huge mistake... And... s-she..."

His words were stripped from his mouth when another sharp pain shot through his head. He shut his eyes, groaning. Then he felt something cold trickle down his neck. Natasha stood next to him and held the cloth across his neck, newly soaked in fresh water.

"Focus on the cold and on Evelyn," she said. "Keep talking."

Evelyn's journal was next to his hand. Bucky grabbed it and held it against his chest. Somehow, he had the feeling that would help. He took a deep breath and recalled the night that had forever changed his opinion of Evelyn Rogers.

***

Brooklyn, May 29, 1941

Bucky hurried through the crowded streets toward the clinic. He'd been so caught up at the warehouse, he'd completely forgotten it was Wednesday. He'd promised Rebecca he would pick her up from the class and then take her to the library to help her study for her finals.
They were still a couple of weeks away, but that didn't matter to Rebecca. She liked getting an early start on these things to avoid cramming it all in at the last minute, like so many of her fellow students did. As her big brother, Bucky couldn't be more proud. If only she hadn't asked Evelyn to help her with certain subjects as well.

The pair had barely spoken to each other since their horrid fight. Evelyn had stayed away from him, and he had stayed away from her as if they had silently agreed to do so. She'd given the ointment for his shoulder to Rebecca the day after their fight, and Doc Walters had made sure Bucky wasn't on the Ceylon shipment anymore since it was too great a risk with his allergy to cinnamon. Since it was currently the only shipment at the docks, Bucky was stuck on admin. Still, it was better than being at home without a job. Thanks to Evelyn, the docks had only been closed for a day. For that, and only that, Bucky was grateful. Everything else... No, he adamantly refused to thank her.

Evelyn came around the docks more often, even when she wasn't needed as a nurse. Too many times, in Bucky's opinion. At first, he'd felt like she was there to spite and keep an eye on him. But then the truth came out — turned out she really hadn't been joking about striking up the matter of improving the work situation for the dockers, and she'd been meeting with Lucas to join forces. 
But like everyone at the docks, Evelyn had soon learned Lucas' hands were tied. He had already tried so many times to make things better for them all and still came up empty. Upper management only allowed minor changes at minimum cost because God forbid anything should happen to their precious budget.
Yet having Evelyn as a partner in crime had renewed Lucas' fighting spirit. He was more energetic, and everyone noticed. Jokes about Lucas and Evelyn's supposed relationship circulated around the docks, which just angered Bucky even more. His reaction, of course, then led to certain comments. If Bucky had to listen to one more wisecrack about how Lucas was getting away with his favorite dame, he was gonna sucker-punch someone.

And then there was the matter of the by-now infamous letter to the editors. It had stirred up quite the fuss, as Bucky had predicted. People were talking about Evelyn. How she was in over her head and was sure to lose her job, or even get arrested. It got worse after the New York Times got a whiff of it and ran the letter as well. The debate on the abortion law was on again, and all because of the actions and opinions of a pigheaded Brooklyn broad.
Some parents who'd let their daughters attend Evelyn's class promptly pulled them out because of it — Susie Wilkes among them — as they didn't want their children influenced by Evelyn's radical ideas. If Bucky had his way, he would've pulled Rebecca out as well for the same reasons. But his baby sister had made it painfully clear if he or their father dared to do that, she would move in with Evelyn and Steve and never speak to either of them again. Knowing very well that Rebecca could execute her threat, Bucky had been forced to yield the fight on his father's insistence — for now, anyway.

Bucky leaped up the steps of the maternity clinic, nodding to the nurse at the desk as he walked in. He rolled his eyes at her scowl. It didn't surprise him the staff here would be on Evelyn's side. They all knew she and Bucky weren't exactly seeing eye to eye most of the time, so naturally, he was the bad guy to them. 
He turned the corner into the corridor where Evelyn held her class, but halted when he heard Evelyn and Rebecca's voices. The door to the make-shift classroom stood wide open. Bucky hesitated. He couldn't, could he? They could be discussing something private. Then again, with the door open like that, it wasn't eavesdropping if he just happened to catch the conversation, right?
Bucky neared the door. After making sure the corridor was empty, he pressed himself with his back against the wall and listened.

"... don't know what to do anymore, Evelyn."

"What does this boy say about it?"

Bucky's eyes widened. Boy? He moved closer.

"He doesn't know." Rebecca sighed. "He's already got a new girl on his arm. And in the sack, too, no doubt."

Evelyn made a disapproving click with her tongue. Bucky could already imagine her sour expression, arms crossed over her chest.

"He should know at least," she said then. "Even if he is a rotten bastard, he needs to know he's gonna be a father."

The ground gave way underneath Bucky's feet. A father? So... that meant his baby sister was...? No, impossible. Rebecca was a good girl. She never got in trouble, and she always kept to her curfews. If she'd been out doing that with a boy, they would have noticed something. And she wouldn't have kept it a secret. He'd raised her all on his own after their mother died, so their father could still bring in money to feed them. They were thick as thieves, almost as close as the Rogers twins were. She would've asked for Bucky's approval and advice before dating any boy. He was certain of that.

"That's what I said, too, but Prue won't listen to me," said Rebecca. "She got her heart broken once when she saw Jay with Elsie, not one week after they'd been together. She doesn't wanna have it broken again, and she doesn't wanna get in their way in case they love each other."

"Oh, for Pete's sake." Evelyn groaned.

Prue? Oh, thank God! 

Prudence Harrison was one of Rebecca's classmates. He'd seen her a few times studying at the library when he went with Rebecca. The petite brunette was a sweet girl, but a little naïve and gullible. He hated to think that was probably how this Jay-guy had convinced her to have sex, only to ditch her afterward. Damn teens.

"She won't say anything to Jay," said Rebecca, "and she definitely won't say anything to her parents, and I honestly can't blame her for that last one. They're the strictest people I know. They'll send her upstate to that institution. Evelyn, I'm really worried about what she might do."

"Why? Has she said something?" 

"She told me everything would be okay, and that she was gettin' help. I followed her after school yesterday. She went down to the docks to... that district."

Bucky cursed silently. He knew the district his sister was talking about all too well. It wasn't far from where he worked. He'd never gone himself, but plenty of his buddies visited the girls working the streets and brothels there, even the ones who were married. To think Rebecca had gone down there all on her own... Anything could've happened to her.

"Did she meet with anyone there?" asked Evelyn.

"An old woman who owns one of the brothels," replied Rebecca. "They talked at the door for a couple of minutes, and then she gave Prue a piece of paper. I couldn't see it clearly from where I was hidin', but I'm pretty sure there was an address on it."

An address? Why would she go all the way to the red-light district to get — oh, no... Son of a bitch, no! Stupid girl!

"Dammit," said Evelyn, clearly having come to the same conclusion as him. "Okay, listen; tomorrow after school, you bring Prue over to my house. I'll take care of this before she goes to someone who'll only butcher her."

Take care of it? What is she...? 

Bucky froze as the awful realization hit him. Of course, it all made sense now! Why Evelyn was so against the abortion law, and why she did everything in her power to get the ball rolling for new debates on the subject. 
Taken over by sudden rage, Bucky stormed into the classroom. Evelyn and Rebecca were sitting on chairs near a blackboard and some displays describing the female reproductive organs. They got to their feet when he approached. 

"There you are," started Rebecca. "Class ended 15 min — Bucky, no!"

But Bucky already had his left hand around Evelyn's throat. Her eyes widened, her startled gasp brutally cut off. She tried to pull away from him and scratched his arm, but he held on with a firm grip. 

"Wait outside for me, Rebecca," growled Bucky, never taking his eyes off Evelyn's frightened face.

"What? No, are you crazy? What the heck do ya think you're doin'? Let Evelyn go right now!"

"I SAID WAIT OUTSIDE!"

Rebecca recoiled when Bucky shouted back at her. Her terror-stricken expression would probably haunt him for a while, but at that moment, Bucky couldn't care less. He didn't want Rebecca in here for one second longer. She'd already spent way too much time with this despicable serpent, and he wouldn't allow it to go on. 

"R-Rebecca, go." Evelyn struggled. "I-I'll be fine. Go."

Hesitantly, Rebecca backed away, her bag clutched to her chest. She kept her eyes on her brother and Evelyn, but when Bucky threw his baby sister an insistent glare, she hurried out of the classroom. 
Now that they were alone, Bucky's hatred for the woman in his grasp overtook him completely. He leaned in and spoke in a low but warning voice, "Rebecca is not coming back to your class. You're gonna stay as far away as you can from all of us, you understand me?"

"James, I-I don't —"

"Do you understand me?"

Evelyn yelped when Bucky shook her forcefully. She nodded, desperate to pry him off. On any other day, Bucky wouldn't have dreamed of ever laying a finger on a woman. Heck, anyone who did deserved a good ass-whooping. But Evelyn brought out the worst in him. And after what he'd heard, it seemed even Hell itself was still too good for this shrew.
Bucky pushed Evelyn away from him. She gasped loudly to regain her breath and stumbled back, but managed to stay up on trembling legs. With teary, broken eyes, Evelyn stared at Bucky, and for a single second, he couldn't believe he had just treated his best friend's sister that way. But then he remembered his hatred. His loathing. His absolute revulsion. He let it fuel him. And without looking back, Bucky strode away from Evelyn, ignoring her strenuous sobs.