With a heavy sigh, Cora closed the manila folder of paperwork she'd been working on and slid it into the bin on her desk labeled "Finished". She would have to file it later on, and honestly, it was such a slow day at work, it was a hard thing to look forward to. Normally the filing of paperwork gave her a break from the almost non-stop line of people coming into the V.A, but not today. Aside from the few meetings and classes that Sam was directing, nothing had really been going on. A glance at the watch on her right wrist informed Cora that she still had four more hours before she could clock out and head home.
"Excuse me, Ma'am. I'm looking for Sam Wilson."
Cora looked up as she saw a shadow fall across the top of her desk and block out the light coming in from the glass doors across from her. The man standing before her was tall, built like a tree and he wore a friendly smile. Dressed in a simple white t-shirt and a dark blue jacket, he appeared to be any other visitor that might come to see Sam, and yet, Cora couldn't shake the feeling she knew him somehow.
"Sam is in with a group right now." Holding out her hand for a shake, Cora introduced herself, "I'm Coraline Anderson. I work with Sam. Is there anything I can help you with?" The first thing Cora noticed was that this man knew how to shake hands. Big, warm and strong, he'd gripped her hand with just the right amount of pressure and gave a firm shake. She'd always been a strong believer that you could tell a lot about a man from the way he shook hands, and judging by this guy? He was the kind of person Cora could get along with.
"Steve Rogers, Ma'am. I'm not here on business, it's more of a social call." He tucked both of his hands into his pockets and gave a nervous smile as though worried about telling her his name. In all honesty, it sounded familiar but didn't particularly mean anything significant to Cora at the moment. Then again, her brain was rather frazzled from the amount of paperwork she'd done that day.
Getting to her feet, Cora motioned for Steve to follow her down the hall. "The group session is just about over, so you're welcome to wait for him." The heels of her sky blue Mary Janes clicked against the tile with each step and Cora found herself searching for something to say, but before she could, they'd come to a set of double doors that were closed. Before she could reach for the door handle, Steve had easily sidestepped around her and opened the brown metal barrier for her.
"Oh, thank you. I can honestly say, I can't remember the last time someone held the door for me." Cora smiled as she passed him, and waited while he slowly let the door close before continuing on.
Giving a nervous scratch to the back of his ear, Steve huffed out a short laugh. "Yeah...well. I guess I tend to be a bit old fashioned when it comes to stuff like that." He cursed his Irish blood internally as he felt his cheeks darkening in embarrassment. He'd forgotten himself again and allowed his old habits, and age, to show. Since waking up in this time, Steve had spent many hours trying to become accustomed to how the modern world worked, and apparently (according to the angry woman he'd accidentally pissed off at the grocery store) holding doors for women nowadays was a big no-no. Or….at least it was according to Feminists. Honestly...it all confused the hell out of Steve.
Core laughed and the sound was light and filled with happiness against Steve's reddening ears. "Well, don't say it like it's a bad thing. People always talk down about things like that, but to be honest, I think it's nice. In a city full of jerks, it makes you stand out. And not necessarily in a bad way, either." Pausing to motion towards the open double doors just down the hall and on the right, the blonde gave a warm smile. "The meeting is in there. They should be finishing up soon, so you're welcome to wait here."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Steve gave an acknowledging nod of his head as he watched the curious woman take her leave.
"Call me Cora!" She gave another laugh and disappeared the way they had come, and Steve couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips.
"Cora, then." For some reason, Steve couldn't shake the feeling that he'd be seeing her again, and he hoped it would be soon.
"So, what'd you think of your first meeting with Captain America?" Sam asked Cora as he locked the doors the building and led the way to his car. It had been a long day for both of them and Sam was ready to get home. Thankfully, he and Cora shared an apartment that was only about fifteen minutes away from where they worked.
"Uh...what?" Fixing her friend with a confused frown, Cora waited for him to unlock the car. "Captain...America...and I….have met?" Just what the hell had Sam been smoking? "Would you hurry up and open the damn car? It's starting to rain." Holding her hand out flat, Cora caught a few drops against her palm before giving a shiver. The white sweater she wore over her dress wasn't very warm and already it was starting to soak through.
"Yeah, I'm working on it. You know my power locks stopped work- Oh! There it goes." Finally successful in unlocking the car, Sam got into the driver seat. "As I was saying, how did you like getting to meet Captain America?"
"Well, I'd love to tell ya, Sam. But I've never met Captain America, so I can't really give an opinion on the man, now can I?" Her gaze fell to the window as she watched the rain-slicked city go passed. This kind of weather had always reminded her of Riley and how they used to stay awake at night whenever it would rain. The sound always kept Cora from sleeping when it would pelt against the roof of their grandfather's old farmhouse. Jon, their grandfather, had raised Riley and Cora after their father had died in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Riley had been quite a bit older than Cora and had joined the Air Force not long after. That's how he'd met Sam.
After Riley's death, and the death of Jon, Cora had been left alone with no family whatsoever. Out of pity, and because he genuinely cared about her, Sam had asked Cora to move to D.C with him. It had taken some convincing, but once she'd agreed, Sam had been able to help Cora get a job and allowed her to move into his guest bedroom.
"Sure you've met him. Steve told me you showed him where the meeting was. He seemed pretty taken with you. What'd you do? Give him that small-town girl in a big city routine?" Sam passed a playful look to Cora but it was immediately dropped when he saw the look on her face. "Hey, come on. I'm only joking. Besides, you know Riley wouldn't tolerate you being so...what was the term he always used? Blue? Yeah. Blue. He wouldn't tolerate you being so blue."
"Yeah,...you're right." Cora forced a smile before she realized what Sam had said. "Wait...that guy...Steve? He's Captain America?" She laughed. "You're so full of crap."
Holding up two fingers, Sam nodded. "Scout's honor."
"You were never a Scout."
"So? I'm telling ya, Cora. Steve is the real deal. Didn't you recognize him? You were just at the Smithsonian a week or two ago. Spent all day going through the WWII exhibits. Remember?"
Pausing to think, Cora's jaw slowly fell open. "Oh...my….God. I'm such an idiot. I didn't even recognize him. He must think I'm the biggest idio- Oh geez! I even joked about him being old-fashioned. Well...sort of."
Sam laughed. "Would you relax? He doesn't think you're an idiot. I told you. He was pretty...interested in you."
"Captain America asked about me?" Cora's tone was deadpan as she gave a doubtful look to Sam.
"Well...no. Not exactly. But he did say you were helpful." A sheepish grin was passed her way.
"That's just me doing my job, Sam. Besides, how do you even know Captain America?"
"I met him on my morning run the other day. He out ran me….thirteen times." There was a nonchalant shrug given.
"Wow. Outrun by an old man. That's pretty sad, even for you." Cora rolled her eyes.
"And here I thought I was in good shape." Sam shook his head at the tragedy.
The rest of that night, once they'd made it home, was spent with Cora in her room trying not to daydream of a certain guy she'd met. But try as she might, Cora just couldn't get Steve Rogers out of her head. There was something about him...something that was hidden just below the surface, and Cora could tell it didn't have anything to do with Captain America. This was all Steve Rogers, and Sera wanted to know what it was.
Several days had passed since Cora's awkward meeting with Steve at the V.A, and she'd gone about her business, as usual, trying not to seem too hopeful anytime the door opened at work, or anytime she answered the phone. Besides, Steve was Sam's friend, so why would he come to the V.A to see her? Still, the childlike excitement that bubbled at the chance of seeing a school crush was ever present.
It was after another long day that Cora made it home in the evening. It had been Sam's day off and so Cora had taken the bus to and from work. The fact that Sam wasn't home struck her as odd, especially considering he normally would have cooked dinner by now.
Noticing the picture of Riley from her bedroom lying on top of the kitchen table, Cora shrugged off her red leather jacket before picking it up. With the picture was a not written in Sam's handwriting.
***Steve stopped by. Had to leave. Hope to be home or in touch soon. Stay inside. Don't go to work or leave until you hear from me. -Sam***
Well, that was just odd. What on God's green Earth had Sam gotten himself into this time?
