Kenzie grumped at him. "Come eat," she murmured. "Please?"

Steve bit his lower lip to keep from grinning and headed into the kitchen to check on Gemma again and make sure she ate.

"Alright," Bucky said after a moment, nodding. He followed her into the kitchen.

Gemma as already sitting there, although she wasn't touching anything. She wasn't sure if she was hungry or not; ever since the incident, her sense of hunger had been messed up.

Kenzie settled herself at the table and started picking out what food she wanted, though she did make sure to nudge some bread towards Gemma.

Steve added a bit of cheese that he knew Gemma liked to her plate, and a fruit, because she wasn't eating enough.

Gemma just sort of mechanically ate the food that was added to her plate. She knew she needed to; she just didn't feel the need for it. She progressed to just pushing the food around her plate after a little while, however.

Kenzie eyed her for a moment before deciding that was good enough.

"I haven't taken everyone out to the country in a while," she mused, watching Gemma.

"Well, you've been away," Gemma murmured back. "And I sort of took over the cabin for myself."

Kenzie smiled. "Indeed," she murmured. "It is, of course, free for your use. But since things have been strained recently, perhaps it would be a good idea to get everyone out here for a few days. I'm sure everyone could use the time to relax."

Gemma nodded a bit.

"Makes sense," she said. "I think I'll stay here while you get everyone, though. I don't... It's not a good idea for me to go back yet."

Kenzie nodded. "That's fine," she agreed. "Will you stay here?" She looked at Gemma, trying to gauge how comfortable she was with this idea.

Gemma hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

"It's better I'm not around too many people," she said. "I don't want anything to... happen."

Kenzie smiled a little. "Just a few people," she said. "And Steve and I both will be here." She glanced at Steve.

Steve nodded. "Of course we will," he agreed, eyeing Kenzie with a mixture of surprise and wariness.

"Kenzie, I can't take you away from everyone else, I'm sure they want to see you just as much," Gemma protested.

"Well, as I understand, one or two of them may or may not have a mission soon," Kenzie said placidly. "Besides, Tony may not want to come out to the cabin again. We'll see what they all choose to do."

"Alright," Gemma said reluctantly. She was torn between wanting the time with Kenzie and not wanting to put any of the others in danger from her uncontrolled magic.

"It'll be fine," Kenzie murmured, looking at her. "Just try and relax. You will adapt to your new abilities."

"I've been trying," Gemma said quietly. "It's so hard, there's just so much..."

"You will adapt," Kenzie murmured soothingly. "It doesn't matter how long it takes, dearest. You cannot rush this, from what I understand."

Gemma just bit her lip and leaned against Kenzie, looking for some comfort.

Bucky just glanced at Steve, raising an eyebrow a bit.

Kenzie wrapped her arm around Gemma again, just resting there.

Steve shook his head a bit and gave the girls some time.

Several months later, things has calmed down quiet a bit for everyone. Gemma had gotten enough control over her new magic that she felt comfortable going back into the city, and she was quite content to run her shop and take a few lessons on the side.

Bucky, on the other hand, was visiting as much as he could with Kenzie, spending as much time with her as possible.

Steve ended up in the shop most afternoons (and some mornings), just spending time with Gemma and making sure that everything was going smoothly for her. Sam even came by from time to time to man the till while Gemma was at lessons.

Kenzie was quite happy to spend time with Bucky, and he was definitely the most attached of her hoard. Not that she minded. But she did decide to take a weekend and drag everyone out to the cabin again, because she felt the need to shed her skin for a while.

Gemma ended up just putting Sam onto the payroll for all the times he looked after the place for her. She managed to hire two local college students, as well, so she had enough people to look after the place once she got it back in shape again. And not a moment too soon, since Gemma still had a finely honed sense for when Kenzie was looking to stretch her wings. So she scheduled her new hires to look after the place for the weekend and packed up some things to head out to the country.

Bucky was looking forward to the weekend away. It was an excellent excuse to stay close to Kenzie and try to take care of her like she deserved.

Steve got his stuff packed and made sure that Gemma's things were in the back of the car he was driving as well. "You alright?" he asked her in a murmur, catching her hand gently with his.

Kenzie was already seated in the backseat with Bucky, fidgeting and antsy for them to get going already.

"I'll be better when we're out in the open," Gemma murmured back, letting him take her hand. His was warm and gentle, and she appreciated it.

Steve smiled. "It won't take long," he assured her, keeping hold of her hand and using his free one to close up the trunk. "Our car is all set to go, so we'll get there first. Everyone else will catch up."