Author's Note:

No triggers for this chapter. Just Astrid being a badass and her and Steve writing sappy letters to each other. As always please review and let me know what you think.

"Sounds like another colonel is coming in," Bucky stated sitting on a pile of boxes. They heard a rumble of vehicles outside and shouting. New troops and more importantly supplies. They were starting to run low. "Maybe this one will actually last."

Shamira scoffed sitting next to him. "Maybe. If Astrid stops scaring them off."

Astrid looked up from organizing the medical supplies. Checking to see what they needed more of. The three of them were in the medical supply tent. Going over what they had left from the last battle. Each fight was getting tougher and tougher. They were coming back with less and less. Astrid was really having to stretch what they did have. "Please. It wasn't my fault." The look the other two gave her said otherwise. "It may have been partially my fault."

"It was totally your fault," Dugan stated stepping into the tent. Dugan was a big man who suffered from a case of having a terrible name. Which is why everyone called him Dum Dum Dugan.

"Look if they actually listened to me and stopped trying to get all the men killed then maybe they would actually stick around." She scoffed. "Not my fault none of them could command themselves out of a paper bag.

The three of them nodded. She wasn't wrong.

Dugan coughed a couple of times. Getting her attention. "He wants to see you by the way."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Of course, he does." She rolled up the medical supplies and placed them back in the box. "Probably wants to say that he's in charge and I have to fall in line."

Dugan held up his hands. "Don't shoot the messenger Doc. He also comes with reinforcements."

"Great. More people I have to keep from dying." She left the tent, followed closely behind by the other three. The crowd parted as she walked through. Many of the men saluted her as she walked past. Astrid didn't stand on protocol. If the men respected her it was because she earned it.

It was obvious who the Colonel was. A gruff older man who looked like all he wanted to do was retire. Probably wanted some cushy desk job and not to be out on the front. Astrid didn't blame him. None of them really wanted to be here. But they had a job to do and come hell or high water they were going to do it.

"Colonel!" Astrid called out to the wolf whistles of the new men. They would learn soon. Wouldn't be too hard to break them. "You asked for me?!"

"So you're the doc everyone been talking about," his voice was as gruff as his demeanor. She walked straight up in front of him. Crossing her arms. Not bothering to salute. Respect goes two ways and he had yet to earn hers. "I'll cut straight to the chase. You have managed to drive off not one but two commanding officers. In part because these men respected you more."

Astrid tsked. "I save their lives, Sir. Not that hard to earn their respect."

"Which is why I suggest a deal. You help me control these men and I'll have you home in five months."

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. We'll discuss your other duties later but first I think you should introduce yourself to the new recruits." He gestured to the new men who were milling around. Astrid took a long hard look at him. He was actually telling the truth. Surprisingly considering the higher-ups have managed to basically hold her hostage. She gave a small smile. He might actually stick around.

Astrid clicked her tongue before taking two fingers to her mouth and whistling hard. Attracting the attention of every man in the vicinity.

"Okay! Listen up!" she shouted. She had everyone's full attention. "For all you new people my name is Dr. Astrid Rogers or Doc. And yes I am a doctor, yes I am also a captain, and yes I am married." She heard a chuckle rip through the crowd. "You should consider yourself lucky to be assigned to the 107th." Confused expressions came from the new recruits. "Why? You may ask. Because we have the lowest causality rate of any unit in both the European and Pacific front. And that is because I am damn good at my job." She heard cheers and whoops from some of the older troops. "So if you want to stay alive long enough to see your families back home then listen up. Because I have some rules for you to follow." She held up one finger. "Number one. Do not harass the civilians. Especially women. If I find any of you harassing them, I'll have you dishonorable discharged faster than you can blink. Or worse have you transferred to Germany to face the SS directly. And trust me you'll probably won't come back alive from that." She held up a second finger. "Second rule. Do not harass any of our fellow female troops. Do that and I'll be sending you home with a missing limb. And I think you can all figure out which limb I'm talking about." A round of nervous chuckles that time around. "Third rule and this one will save your life. If you find yourself shot put pressure on the wound immediately. I don't care how you do it but you need to do it." Fourth finger went up. "The fourth rule is for the love of all things holy if you find yourself with something stuck in you. Debris, a knife, anything do not pull it out. You will die." She held out her thumb. "Final rule and perhaps the most important rule if you want to survive. What is it, folks?"

"Don't be a hero!" the veterans called out all at once. Astrid could almost feel it ripple in the air.

"That's right. Listen to your commanding officers. Don't try to go solo. Don't get cocky. Work together as a team." She took a deep breath. "If you follow those rules and have a decent amount of luck you will see home again." There was a ripple of cheers through the crowd. A few chanting Doc but she let it pass over her. Turning back to Colonel.

"Nicely done," he stated. "Colonel Phillips."

"Captain Astrid Rogers. Now, are we going to discuss my other duties?" Phillips beckoned her to his tent which was already set up. Astrid glanced at Shamira and she materialized by her side. Heading into the tent with her. To Astrid's surprise, she saw two familiar faces.

"Rousing speech," Howard Stark said walking up to her. "Could use you during some of my press conferences. How about we discuss it over dinner later?"

Astrid held up her left hand. Showcasing the ring. "Married. If you actually listened to my speech you would realize it."

"Never said it had to be a romantic dinner. Something between colleagues."

Astrid rolled her eyes. He really was just like his stage persona. A self-absorbed genius. Though she detected a few other layers behind it. Maybe Stark was deeper than she thought. Not that she actually wanted to take the time to find out. "My question is what are you doing here?"

"Stark is here to help keep us one step ahead of the enemy," Phillips explained crossing his arm behind his back. Astrid raised an eyebrow and glanced at Shamira. Odd. Militarily it was a close match between the Axis and the Allies. In other areas, however... "As is Agent Carter."

"Pleasure," Peggy Carter stated holding out her hand. Astrid shook it unable to hide her smile. Last time she saw Peggy was the same night she saw Erskine before their chance encounter at the recruitment center. Peggy was the one who freed him after all. And she was as beautiful as ever. In different circumstances, in a different time and place, Astrid might have actually considered something with Peggy. But life led them in different directions. However, they would always be each other's what-ifs.

The smile that she gave Astrid told her that she recognized Astrid and Shamira as well. The three of them would have to find time to talk. Judging, by the way, Phillips was Peggy hadn't told him anything about her and Shamira.

"I assume they know?" Astrid asked. Phillips nodded. There was no way that Phillip wasn't debriefed and he must have let Peggy and Howard in on it. Technically the only other one who officially knew was Bucky but they weren't going to let anyone else know that. "Then this is Sargent Shamira Baranowski. My executioner."

"Lovely title you have there," Stark pointed out.

Shamira shrugged. "It's fitting for what I do."

"Which is?"

She shot him a wicked smile. "Execute people after Astrid is done with them. Trust me. They are all grateful for it."

Astrid gave her a side smile. She did a lot more than that. "So, what is this about?" Astrid asked.

"Our mission orders have been expanded," Phillips announced. "We are now also going after Hydra."

That short-circuited Astrid's brain. "Hydra?"

"They are-"

"No, I know who they are." Astrid definitely knew who they were. She had dealt with them more than anyone else besides Shamira. "But why?" Astrid shook her head. "It's well known that Hydra hates Hitler and Nazi Germany almost as much as the Allied powers do." The looks that she got told her otherwise. "Their troops have been found fighting the Wehrmacht. Why go after someone who is going after our own enemies? Makes our lives easier. We might actually win this war sometime this century."

"I would actually agree with you until recently. Just a month ago Hydra launched an attack in New York killing several of our men."

"Also found to be using technology that we could only dream of," Stark continued. "Their attack has left us so technologically far back we might as well be in the dark ages." Astrid whistled. It really was that bad then. Astrid knew they were bound to make a move at some point. But New York? She felt a chill go down her spine. So close to home. What could have possibly have been going on? Judging by the look Phillips was given her she wasn't going to find out. Not that she cared as long as Steve was safe. It was her job to find the information not keep it.

"Which is why you are here," Shamira added on. "Question is what you want Astrid to do?"

This time was Peggy's turn. "Hydra soldiers are completely brainwashed. Loyal to their core. With a habit of killing themselves before we can get any information. We need to know if you can break them."

Astrid scoffed shaking her head. "Like an egg. You just need to know where to apply the pressure." There were very few people in the world who couldn't be broken. Hydra soldiers certainly weren't on that list. Her focus turned to Phillips. "Will that be all Sir?"

"For now. Expect a full brief at 0800 tomorrow."

Astrid nodded and turned to Peggy. "Our tent is right by the medical. There's enough room to fit one more." Peggy gave her a small smile and Astrid turned and left. Shamira right behind her. Tapping the side of her head.

'What could Hydra have possibly done in New York to warrant this?' Shamira asked.

'Couldn't be that big. We would have heard about it otherwise. Even out here.' They walked into their tent. Offering what little privacy could be afforded.

'Do you think it has something to do with you seeing Erskine in New York?'

Astrid closed her eyes. 'Probably now that I think about it.' Which means that if Hydra knew about Erskine then there was a chance they knew about her also. Maybe it was a good thing that she got deployed.

'Would also explain why Peggy is here. And why Stark said it set them back technologically.'

'I'm not sure if I'm grateful that Hydra stopped it or not.' She let out a sigh. 'Regardless if Hydra is getting that bold they need to be stopped.'

'Still with us fighting Hydra the chance…' Shamira stopped her thought. Biting her lip. 'We didn't sign up for this. All we were supposed to do was stay alive and fight. Not try to take down Hydra.'

'Five months. Shamira. If we play along, we can be back in five months. I'll get Bucky medically discharged and we can all go home. And I can be with Steve again."

Shamira smiled at her. The pain of being without Steve was greater than Astrid suspected it would be. But she was coping well. She wondered how Steve was handling it.

"Ladies," Peggy stated coming into the tent. "Glad to see you both still alive."

"I'm sure you are. Particularly Astrid," Shamira snickered. Peggy had the biggest crush on Astrid the last time that they had all met. Even now her cheeks tinged slightly red when looking at her. Astrid wacked Shamira in the arm. No point in teasing her about it.

"It's good to see you too Peggy," Astrid commented bringing her in for a hug. She caught Peggy shooting a glance at the ring. "Been married over a year now to an American. Being treating me wonderfully since we first met."

"Good. You deserve it." Peggy slowly let go with her and Astrid gave her a warm smile. Many more people we going to make it now that they had Peggy with them.

"So, we are taking on Hydra now?" Shamira asked glancing at Peggy. Her arms crossed.

"That isn't going to be a problem is it?" She looked straight at Astrid

She shrugged. No point in telling anything but the truth. "If we stopped him the first time around then he wouldn't be able to cause the devastation he is currently. This is partly on us."

"Astrid," Shamira cut in. "No one is blaming you."

"If we…if I managed to kill him then we wouldn't be having the problems that we are having now. That is just cold hard fact." Shamira let out a sigh and hung her head. Astrid always had to have the world rest on her shoulders. She probably blamed herself for not being able to stop the war also. "If there is anything, we can do to fix that mistake then we are going to do so."

Shamira smiled. When Astrid got like this there was no stopping her. Though it made Shamira's job infinitely harder. She had to make sure that she got back home to Steve no matter what. So, all she had to do was keep her alive. Considering Astrid's habit of running into danger that was going to be a lot harder than most would realize. She continually broke rule five after all. Though having Peggy here might help prevent Astrid from doing something ridiculously stupid.

"Oi Doc, mail here," Dugan called out. Astrid immediately left the tent. Dugan was standing right outside. Plucking the letter from his hand. Her and Steve had been writing letters back and forth constantly. Despite the issue that he kept changing addresses. She was writing to a military camp in Jersey for a while now. Astrid wasn't entirely sure why Steve was there. He never addressed it in his letters but Astrid was glad the army decided to give him a chance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shamira go and find Bucky. Those two had gotten even closer since they left the States.

She went back into the tent and sat on the bunk. Carefully opening the letter up.

My Best Girl,

You are not going to believe what I've been up to. It's probably going to have to wait till I see you again. A lot has changed. But in the meantime, I'm helping to sell war bonds now. Traveling across the country.

Astrid snorted. She had no idea how he got involved in that.

I can already see your expression of disbelief but I am being completely honest with you. I'm incredibly nervous. My first show is only in a few minutes and I have no idea what I'm doing. I just hope that the bonds I'm selling go to the right places. Maybe even to you. I'll talk to the Senator I'm working with. See if we can get more medical supplies sent to you. Do you have anything you particularly need?

Everything. She needed everything. But how did he end up running into a Senator? Not for the first time, she cursed the concise nature of his letters.

I hope you dealt with that Colonel. He sounded like a real jerk. I mean of course, the men would respect you more. You saved their lives. That's what you do. You should earn a medal for all that you have done. That way I can brag to everyone here. Not that I don't already. I want everyone to know how amazing you are.

Anyway, they've just called my name so I better get going. The show is about to start any minute now. I just wanted to write this before we started. Writing and thinking about you always calms my nerves. I'll let you know how it goes. My guess would be poorly. But we'll see. How hard can it be? I just have to remember what this is all for. And it's better than what I was doing before.

Though if I'm honest I'm hoping to join you. Watch you in action. I bet it's a sight to behold. They are yelling at me now to get a move on now. But they should know. I always take my time with you.

All the love in the world,

Your Partner

Steve Rogers.

She folded it carefully back up and placed it where she kept all the others. Glad that Steve was finding something meaningful to do. And that he was far far far away from the bloodshed and chaos she was surrounded by. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell Shamira.

"Your husband?" Peggy asked sitting down next to her.

Astrid nodded. "He's truly one of a kind." She looked up at Peggy. "You would like him."

"Considering your taste, I'm bound to."

Astrid smiled turning towards Peggy. They had a lot of catching up to do.