This is an OC/Bucky ship, start to finish.
TheGuest1: Thank you for taking the time to give the advice! I tend to write pretty fervently when I have ideas and this one wouldn't go away so I started it and finished this first portion in about a week's time. I read recently from an author that she was writing something different than her normal genre because she had people who pushed her to write what she wanted to see. It's funny but the amount of motivation that thought has put into my brain for storytelling has been incredible, add to that my friends who have been pushing me to actually write again (I stopped for several years). The long and the short of it is, this is the Bucky/OC story I wanted to see, and now that its 1/3 or so of the way done, I decided why not share it?
As a note:
-There may be a couple weeks-months between series releases, just depending on how much my brain wants to work on this, or the trilogy I'm legitimately trying to publish, but I do promise to finish this one in a timely manner. As Thor said: Because that's what heroes do. ;)
-In the last chapter, there are lines in the letter from Bucky that are meant to be struck out, but I forgot that ff doesn't have strikethrough formatting, so sorry for the next chapter ret-con but these were the lines that Bucky tried to scribble out:
"Maybe it's a bit presumptuous but
If you'll have me…
When we see each other next—"
Thank you all so much! The positive feedback thus far has been lovely!
With love, Dubs
Maggie Hargrove grew up fighting along side best friends Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. He always inspired her to be better than she was, so when the war started, she signed up and got a position in the Army Nurses Corps. The problem is when you're good at helping people die in peace, they start to call you names. And that's where Captain America came in.
August 1943 – London
The three months dragged on and when it was finally the day Steve was supposed to be performing at the theater, Maggie had a particularly long shift. She ran to the theater, her clothes disheveled from changing in a rush, still she only managed to catch the last fifteen minutes. After the show she looked for a door that led to the backstage and entered hoping she would find Steve or someone who could point her to him. Almost immediately a man in black knickers, a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black suspenders and a black pageboy hat approached her.
"Can I 'elp you miss?" he asked, his accent a thick cockney that she almost couldn't understand.
"I'm looking for Steve Rogers," she said, "He's an old friend of mine and I was hoping to say hi before he continued on."
"Lot's o' women say that," the man said. Maggie's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"I… I didn't think about that. Could I possibly give you my name to give him?" she asked.
"I don't think—"
"Hey Davie," Steve's voice called, and the man turned to face him as Steve walked up and put his hands on the man's shoulders, "I'm heading to one of the wards nearby to see if I can find an old friend, I'll be back—" he looked toward the door near where Maggie was standing, and she lifted her hand to give a small little wave.
"Hey, Steve," she said with a soft smile.
"Maggie!" he replied rushing over to her. He lifted her into a hug and spun her thrice before setting her back down. She laughed as he spun her.
"Well, I knew I'd always look up to you," she said looking up at him once her feet were solidly on the ground, "but I didn't know it would be literal someday! My how you've grown, Steve Rogers!"
"Margaret Hargrove," Steve countered with the biggest grin on his face, "I think you've shrunk!"
"You're incorrigible," Maggie said shaking her head with a smile, "Come on. I know a pub nearby where we can catch up and have a bite to eat. We have important things to discuss including the possibility of a future name change for one of us."
"Who is it?" he asked, quickly with concern, "Do I know the guy or is he from here?"
"You may know him, but first, I want to hear about you and everything you've been up to while you escort me to the pub!"
"Alright, so, who's the lucky guy?" Steve asked as they sat at the pub table. They had chatted about what all Steve had been doing for the past few months and now that they had their drinks and food ordered, he decided it was time for her to talk. "Is it that guy from the Exposition?"
"No," she said with a laugh, "He's actually planning on asking your date from that night to marry him."
"No kidding?" Steve said with a shrug and a nod, "Hope they're happy. So, is it someone you met over here?" He began looking around the pub as if trying to determine if it was anyone within line of sight. She smiled and looked down at her hands resting on the tabletop before pulling the long gold chain from her shirt. On it, was the ring from Bucky. She lifted the chain over her head and handed it to him. He took it tenderly and looked at the ring, familiarity in his eyes.
"I know this ring," he said slowly and looked up at her, "I can't think of where I know it from, but I know I do." She thought for a moment on how to respond before she smiled.
"Margaret Barnes, kind of rolls off the tongue, don't you think?" she asked, and he looked to her surprised at first then a grin spread across his face.
"No shit?"
"Steve! Such foul language! I can't believe you'd say words like that in front of me!" she teased.
"I've heard you say worse in a fight," he said with a laugh, "It's been a while, but I remember. So, when did you two start seeing each other? Is that why he was so grumpy the night of the Expo?" He handed the chain back to her and she took it back from him.
"He was particularly grumpy that night, wasn't he?" she said with a sigh as she put the necklace on again and tucked the ring into her shirt, "Honesty we never really did. He wrote me several letters and in the final one he asked me to marry him when this war was over. I replied back saying the ring would need to be re-sized when we got home."
"Well," he said, "It's about time anyway. I should have known with all the times I had to chaperone the two of you that he's had it bad for you for years."
"Chaperone, eh?" she said with a laugh, "because that's why you were always with us."
"Oh, I'm not saying that, but I do remember the two of you swooning at each other more than once," he retorted with a grin. Maggie shook her head and rolled her eyes, thankful for the warm light to hide her rosy cheeks. Steve continued, "So what did he say to that? I can imagine him jumping for joy then trying to play it cool. Remember when he did that with that one Dodgers game?"
"The one he had placed a ridiculous bet on supposedly and he won the bet?" she said, "I remember… I don't think he ever told me what the bet was about."
Steve looked to his drink with a smirk, and she knew whatever he was about to tell her was going to be a lie.
"Don't you dare," she said with an eyeroll, "you haven't even said the lie yet and I know it's a lie."
"You know I think I'm going to let you ask him about that one sometime," he said with a nervous laugh, "I don't think I want to be in the middle."
"You're impossible," she said with a laugh. The laugh faded and her smile turned sad, "but back to your question, I haven't heard back from him since. The postmaster said it might be a few weeks, but that was three months ago. I'm trying to be hopeful, since I didn't get any of his letters before until I got all of them at once—" She was cut off by the waiter delivering a drink to Steve with a note attached.
"From the ladies at the bar," he said and walked away. Steve and Maggie looked to the bar where two women sat, with their backs facing away from them.
"Normally, they wave," Steve said, and Maggie turned back to him.
"Oh, this happens a lot, does it?" she teased.
"A lot more than I'd like," he replied and looked to the folded piece of paper in confusion, "I don't normally get notes either."
"What does it say?" she asked leaning forward.
"Let's see," he said flipping the piece of paper open. He began reading it aloud to her, "It says 'Captain Rogers, we just want you to be aware that the woman you're on a date with tonight is known in our ward as the Angel of Death. No soldier has survived her.'"
Maggie sat back in the bench, her face pale, and somber. He stopped reading and looked over at her. She turned to look back at the women and saw it was two of the nurses from her hospital, and one was, of course, Helen.
"Maggie?" he asked, and she looked back at him, tears threatening to fall. She swallowed and tried to smile. She didn't want Steve to see her like this, but her façade faltered, and she took a deep breath in. When she exhaled her body shook, tears forming in her eyes.
"I… get…" she started. She looked to her hands and began twiddling her fingers together as she tried not to cry, "I get the worst of the worst—the men who no matter what we do, they aren't going to survive. I'm the last one that's there for them—trying to bring them some semblance of peace before they… Fade."
She took another deep shaky breath.
"I live my days now, trying to be the final kind face they see," she paused to clear her throat before quickly beginning again, "And I'm rather good at it but that means that's all I get anymore. I am the last face a lot of men see, the last hand they hold. So, the other nurses… They gave me the name Angel of Death, as if I'm the one taking their lives."
Steve looked to the women again before he got up and sat next to Maggie, immediately wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and pulling her close. She leaned into his embrace.
"I bet those men did see you as an Angel," he said quietly as he kissed the top of her head, "I can't imagine what they were going through, but if I knew I was dying and unlucky enough to be away from my family… And someone as warm and kind as you were the last person to be there for me, I think I would see you as an Angel to guide me to the gates." Her body shook against his.
"I have," she croaked, and he knew she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying, "I have several dog tags I have to take to families after this. All of the soldiers wanted me to tell their families goodbye for them." Steve wasn't one to cry, but he swallowed as a lump formed in his throat.
Maggie was holding such a heavy burden and he had seen the sadness in her eyes, and the fact that in all the smiles she had worn that night, he could count on one hand the times they reached her eyes.
"What you do means everything to those men," he whispered, "they may not be able to tell you. But you give so much of yourself to them. You truly are an angel in their eyes, I promise. And those nurses. They could never do what you can. You're special Mags. Bucky and I have always known that. You're strong, but it's okay to need our help. You've always been there for us, and we'll always be there for you."
"I know," she said after a moment. Her body was no longer shaking against his and he smiled kissing her head again.
"I couldn't ask for a better little sister," he said with a laugh.
"No, no," she said, and he heard the smile on her lips, "You may be bigger now, but I'm still older than you by nine months."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said leaning away.
"Of course, you don't," she said looking at him with an eyeroll.
"Better?" he asked, and she nodded with a small smile.
"Better."
"Good," he said standing, "Now, excuse me for just a moment." Her face dropped.
"Steve, no!" she hissed as he started walking away. He turned to her, winked, then continued towards the women. She held her head in her hands, occasionally peaking back to see what he was doing. He exchanged a few words before he lowered his head so Maggie could no longer see his lips, but his eyes turned serious. The women nodded and ran out of the pub quickly after that. Steve returned, just as the waiter showed up with their food.
"What was that?" she asked quickly once the waiter left, "what did you do?"
"Nothing, just told them to give you a break," he said with a smile, "you know I hate bullies."
"Steve, I have to work with them, I was just going to keep ignoring them," she replied and he nodded.
"I know, but they weren't going to stop. If they were willing to send a note like that to a complete stranger in attempt to scare people away from you, it was only going to get worse. Hopefully now, they'll at least back off."
After eating their food Steve insisted on not only paying, but also walking Maggie home. She argued it wasn't necessary, but she was glad to have his company for as long as she could. They held idle chit chat until they arrived at the front door of her building. He would be leaving the next morning while she was on shift at the hospital and he didn't know when they'd be back in London.
"This is me," she said with a sigh, "guess it will be a while before we see each other again?"
"Guess it will be," he said his hands shoved in his pockets. Together they stood staring at one another, neither wanting to initiate the goodbye hug that was about to come. He sighed after a few moments and spoke again, "I didn't want to do this 'Captain America' show thing."
"I know," she replied, "you wanted to fight."
"I probably would have, but when Erskine was killed right off the bat, they shut down the program. I'm a science experiment they don't know if they can rely on. The senator was the one who got me this, at least. It's better than nothing."
"Is it?" she asked softly, "doesn't seem like it's much different than 'selling metal out of your little red wagon' as you once told Bucky you didn't want to do."
"They won't let me fight," he commented.
"When has that ever stopped you?" she asked with a small smile.
"Us," he corrected, "and it's never stopped us. Especially not when we fight side by side."
"I guess I'm the one who has to go for the ankles now," she said, and they laughed in unison.
"It's only a little lower than the knees, and you're pretty good at taking those out from under people," he retorted. He was silent as he thought while staring at her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked as she placed a hand on his cheek.
"I might be able to swing transferring you to traveling with our group," he said, she recoiled her hand against her chest. She felt the coolness of ring from Bucky press against her skin as Steve continued, "It'll be dangerous, but it'll get you away from the hospital."
"I don't expect that," she replied, "they don't want women near the front. Besides, I'm needed here."
"They're sending in two dozen dancers and a science experiment. They might be glad to have an ANC added to that list. I'm going to try. I think it's time for someone else to step up and try to do half of what you do," he said then he paused, "If you really don't want to go, I won't ask, but if telling yourself you're needed here is how you avoid taking the chance, then there's no way I'm going to let that happen. So. The real question is, do you want to go fight with me?"
She was quiet for a moment.
"Steve, I will always go with you when I can," she said finally, "As Bucky says, 'I'm with you till the end of the line'." He smiled and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back and the two stood there for several moments before he let her go.
"You really need your own catch phrase," he said with a bit of a laugh.
"How about I'm with you until today is our final tomorrow?" she asked with a smile, "really play into the Angel of Death."
"It's a good start, but I think we can work on it a bit more," he said with a laugh, "now go on. I'll see you soon."
"Be careful Steve. And if you see Bucky before I do…" her words trailed off and he nodded.
"I'll tell him."