End of the Line - Prologue
Brooklyn, August 8th, 1942
"It's not as bad as it looks."
"Oh, yeah?" asks Maggie, eyes flitting between the two men as she wipes the alcohol drenched cloth across the abrasion. She pauses as Steve grimaces beneath her touch, and she sighs. "What was it this time? Another fight with a tree?"
From behind her, Maggie hears Barnes' scoff.
"Hey," mutters Steve, smiling now. "Those trees are violent."
"Steve," implores Maggie, and she gently takes ahold of the man's wrists, running the pads of her fingertips over his pale skin. "I want you to listen to me, OK? You're not invincible. Neither of you are. And I'm not a real nurse-"
Steve sighs, raising his head to look the blonde in the eye. "Maggie, we're not asking you to-"
"I know," she interrupts. "I know you're not. I just don't want to see you get hurt. Either of you." As she finishes her sentence, she raises her voice to catch the attention of the other male, shooting him a poignant stare. "And now that one of you is officially enlisted," her stare returns to Steve, "and one of you is so stupidly determined to enlist, I have to trust that you'll make the right decisions." As she talks, she fingers the material of Steve's shirt, heaving back another sigh, but this one sounds different - she's admitting defeat. "Buck, can you get me another bandage? They're in the cabinet."
As the taller of the two men walks away, following the would-be nurse's instructions, Maggie reaches into the pocket of her smock and pulls out a familiar, dirtied magnolia-coloured card. She holds up her hands to stop Steve's protests. "You're my best friend," she tells him, opening the card on the worn fold, "from Monroe County. No ailments. Nothing. There's a recruitment centre at the Stark Expo. Go tonight with Bucky. Dance. Have fun. Enlist."
"Maggie-"
She sends him a stare that reads put it away just as Bucky re-enters the room, holding out the bandage. With a smile, Maggie takes it from the sergeant and wraps it around Steve's wrist, holding it in place with a firm tug. "All done," she mutters, rinsing her hands in the bowl of water by her feet. "And no more trees, OK?"
Steve's lips tug upward in a small smile.