Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America or any of the other characters in the Marvel Universe. I only own the OCs that may appear in this story.
A/N: One thing that is tricky about writing this fic is that I have three characters who all have such rich histories and backgrounds. It can be hard to decide what should be added and excluded. Anyways, I wanted to give you all a little insight into Faye's background. Next chapter will have more Bucky. Thanks for sticking with me. Take cae.
February 13th is the 44th day of the year in the Western calendar. Many events had occurred on that particular day such as Thomas Edison rediscovering the thermal electron emission in 1880 and the kidnapping/murder case of the Lindbergh baby finally coming to an end in 1935 by a jury who found the man, Bruno Hauptmann guilty and sentenced to death by electrocution.
But for the Donahue's the 13th of February in 1938 was a day of celebration as it was Faye's birthday. Her eighteenth birthday to be exact. In four months she would be graduating from high school and off to college. Faye had yet to decide on career she would like to pursue. It wasn't a topic the young adult liked to bring up despite her parents, particularly her mother would always harp on her about. Faye's father was more easily going and would simply tell his wife to ease up.
"She needs a plan Killian. Girls her age are already settling down or starting their careers!" exclaimed Nora.
Faye was in bedroom while her parents were talking about her future. They weren't exactly trying to keep their voices down, so she didn't feel bad about eavesdropping.
"Faye is still in high school. The last thing she needs to be thinking about is settling down." Killian replied then asked, "What would rather have our daughter do, settle for that Barnes boy?"
"Well, why not? James is a good boy. He comes from a nice family." Nora defended Bucky which Faye was thankful for.
"He won't be good enough for her."
"She's your little girl. According to you no one will be good enough."
Faye had listened enough and emerged from her bedroom.
"Good morning." She said cheerfully while feigning innocence of not overhearing her parent's conversation.
"Morning sweetheart. Happy Birthday!" exclaimed Nora as she wrapped her arms around Faye.
"Happy Birthday, darling'. Hold on second. Let me get you your present." Said Killian as he got up from his chair and left the kitchen.
"I told you both that you didn't have to get me anything."
"Nonsense. It's your birthday. Come on sit. I'll make you something to eat before you go to school."
Faye sat at the table while her mother prepared breakfast. Soon, her father returned with a box and placed it front of her.
"Go on open it." Her mother said.
Faye did as she was told and was stunned by what she found. Inside the box was a navy blue dress with sheer shoulders and a rosette bodice detail. The party dress also featured a double layer skirt and a side zipper.
"This is beautiful, but you shouldn't have." Faye replied as she ran her fingers over the dress.
"Nonsense, every young woman needs a dress for a special occasion." Nora added.
Faye got up to give both her mother and father a hug and kiss.
"I love you both so much and I appreciate everything do for me, which is a lot." She expressed honestly.
Her parents have been through a lot. It wasn't easy for them to leave their family in Ireland behind and start a new life. They didn't start out with much, but they worked hard. After three miscarriages Nora was finally graced with a pregnancy that came to full term. She dubbed Faye her miracle child. That title became even more fitting when Faye was eleven and became deathly ill. First it started out as sore throat that wouldn't go away. After three weeks it soon turned into a nightmare with the young child developing high fevers, abdominal pains, nose bleeds, and swelling of the joints. It was Hell for the family with not much hope in sight. There wasn't much one could do for a child with Faye's symptoms. Nora and Killian prayed every night for a miracle.
One of the memories Faye remembers is of her mother kneeling beside her bed praying to God to give her strength. It wasn't strength for her daughter to get better. Instead it was strength for Nora to be able to go on if her only child died. For Faye this side of her mother she wasn't used to seeing and she didn't like it one bit.
Faye didn't know what caused it at the time, but soon after she started to get better little by little each day. To her parents it was the result of their prayers being answered. Even their priest deemed it a miracle.
It took a month for Faye to fully recover and get back to normal. However, the young girl quickly noticed that everything wasn't so normal after that. Cuts and scrapes would heal as soon as they appeared. Colds and flus would only last more than a day or two. Her parents just thought her lucky. But to Faye she knew that there was something more to her than that, but wasn't sure what it was at the time.
"It's only been a day since we've arrived, Steve. Just give him some time. You need to not get your hopes up too high." Faye overheard Sam out in the hallway by the kitchen.
She could picture Steve letting out a sigh, "It's just hard. He's literally here on the premises, but still so far away."
"I still can't get over how this place is a school and nobody on the outside even knows about it." Observed Sam as he entered the kitchen with Steve following behind him.
"Probably for the best." Steve replied.
Both men were surprised to see Faye sitting on top of the counter drinking coffee.
"Good morning Faye." Sam greeted as he gave her one of his charming megawatt smiles.
"Morning. How did you two sleep?" she asked them.
"Bed's kind of soft, but I have slept on worse things." Sam shared.
"Well I didn't get much sleep, but I don't really need it." Faye said got down off the counter to give Steve a hug.
"Morning."
"Morning."
The two embraced for quite a while until Sam cleared his throat.
"Not that I didn't love last night's reunion between you two, but please don't let this turn into a cryfest again. I think I am tapped out on tears. I swear once Steve started to cry I lost it." Sam admitted sheepishly.
"It was real life Hallmark moment." Faye teased deadpanned as she stood next to Steve with one arm wrapped around him. She was scared that all of this would turn out to be a dream only to wake up and find that Steve and Bucky weren't really with her.
"Yes, it was sweet, but awkward moment with so many other people in the room." Steve said, "How's everything this morning?" he added to change to the subject.
Of course Faye knew that Steve wasn't just asking about her and that it was his low-key way of asking how Bucky was doing as well.
"Better it seems. All was quiet. Don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. So, what are your plans for today? You should have Scott show his garage. He teaches auto shop to the students. The cars and motorcycles are super decked in all the fancy, cool…stuff."
"Would he let us ride them?" asked Sam.
"Probably not, but that never stops Logan from hijacking them from time to time. But Scott seems to like you both so there is always a chance you could get lucky. I on the other hand have to get ready for my classes."
"What do you teach?" Steve asked.
"History, home economics, and horticulture."
"Horticulture?" questioned Sam.
"It's basically a fancy word for gardening. There's a greenhouse and huge garden out back where I take the students out from time-to-time. It's really helped some of the kids with their anxiety and depression. It also helps with PTSD." Faye shared then added, "I should probably head over to my office."
"I'll go with you." Said Steve trailing behind her, "Sam you don't mind if hang around Faye for a while?
"Of course not. You two still have a lot of catching up to do. I'll go and try to find Scott." Sam said then added, "Where exactly do I find him?"
"Oh, take a right, go down the hall, and then take a left. The fourth door on your right will lead you to the garage."
"So, right, left, then fourth door on right. Got it. Keep your phones with you, so I can text if I get lost. See ya."
"He's too cute." Said Faye once Sam was out of sight.
"Sam's a good guy and great friend. He's helped me out a lot these past few months." Steve told her as he followed Faye down another hallway.
When they reached Faye's office she unlocked the door and stepped inside with Steve right behind her. She opened the curtains to get some natural light in the room. Her office was spacious with a fireplace, a couch, two chairs in front of the desk and bookshelves stacked with books.
"Sorry about the mess. Every time I clean it just gets messy again." She admitted sheepishly as she tried to gather all of the strewn paper on the desk.
"Faye what are we going to do about Bucky?" Steve asked getting right to the point. He was still determined to help his best friend. That is why he was there at the mansion.
Stopping what she was doing Faye let out a sad sigh, "I honestly don't know. It's going to take time. He won't ever be the same Bucky we once knew. Just like I'm not the same Faye you once knew. And you definitely aren't the same Steve. We won't ever be like we were. Too many things have changed."
"I know that."
"Do you? Because I don't think you really do."
"Faye, I understand how messed up everything is, okay. I get it. All I want to do is to help him. But right not he won't let me." Steve contended. He was clearly upset.
After a moment of silence between the old friend Faye spoke up.
"Write Bucky a letter." She suggested.
"What?"
"Write him a letter. Tell him everything you know about him. Start from the beginning."
"That's a lot of writing." Steve chuckled.
"One letter for every year you've known Bucky. Come on, it's worth a shot. What other options do you have?"
Now it was Steve's turn to let out a sigh. "Alright, I assume you have paper and a pen I could borrow."