This is an OC/Bucky ship, start to finish.

A couple notes:

-The story cover art is my own drawing.

-As I edit the story before I post it, the story is ever evolving and growing into something that hopefully flows well for you all. This chapter is prime example. This whole set of scenes from the movie were just going to be one chapter... but it kept growing as I edited for everything to hopefully make much more sense to you, the reader. It has now become three separate chapters.

-A big thing I would like to address: for me none of this is triggering, however I know I handle gore and violence better than some of my friends. So officially I want to give all of you a potential trigger warning. I am going to add it to the description as well because while there will remain fluffier times inherent to the romance genre, Bucky's story is a dark one and Maggie's will also be dark. I've tried to write this tastefully enough that it hopefully wont be a problem, but I'd just like to cover the bases and let you be aware of potential problems.

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.

November 1943 – Italy, Five Miles from the Front

Maggie heard the heckling across the encampment. She was helping the Combat Medics while Steve performed but the boys out fighting were less than interested in hearing Steve's War Bond propaganda. They were on the front lines; they knew the price. She heard him stumble and say he was pretty sure the girls only knew one song, but he would see what he could do. A few moments later the music for the girls began playing again and the men in the crowd cheered.

It wasn't long after, Maggie made her way out of the medical tent and found her way backstage. On the short trip the rain started to fall, but it was light and cool on her skin, so she paid it little attention. She found Steve sitting with his cowl off and beginning to draw in his small notebook. She watched him doodle angrily for a few moments before she sighed loudly so he might hear her over the rain that was now in a torrential downpour.

"I heard there was need of a nurse to coddle someone's ego?" she said moving to sit next to him. He smiled and looked to her as he heard her voice.

"Well, you know," he said, "Captain America needs all the coddling he can get out here. Just like before he was Captain America."

"I seem to remember coddling that man once," she said leaning back, "at the request of his best friend. I also remember—"

"I remember you not doing a great job at it," he said with a smirk, "you never did let me get away with much."

"Well as much as others beat you up you didn't need to beat yourself up with them," she teased with a soft smile as she poked his nose.

"Is this what you call coddling my ego? Seems more like you're siding with the guys out there today," he responded with a sigh.

"We just discussed I was never the best at coddling you, "And I'm allowed to. You're the closest I've ever had to a brother."

"Why did I ask to have you travel with us? I'm having trouble remembering," he said looking away from her. She smacked his shoulder.

"Because you missed me."

"Did I?" he asked again looking back at her, "I don't recall…"

"Weird. I think I have it in writing somewhere. Something about being together until our tomorrows are no more or something," she stood, "I can see about going and getting it from my things if you need help remembering still." He laughed and grabbed her arm. He pulled her back down to sit beside him again.

"It's alright, I think I remember now," he said and went back to doodling. She looked at it and saw a monkey on a unicycle.

"What's his name?" she asked without taking her eyes from his pencil as he drew. He paused for a moment as if in thought then continued.

"Steve," he said after a moment. Maggie looked to him, but he refused to look away from the drawing.

"Hello, Steve," an English woman's voice came from behind them, and Steve turned immediately. Maggie turned to the woman and saw her in a uniform, much like Maggie's now that she was traveling with Steve. The woman was stunningly beautiful with dark brown hair and impeccable eyeliner.

"Hi," he said, and Maggie heard the surprise in his voice.

"Hello," Maggie chimed in and the woman looked at her and smiled.

"Peggy Carter," she replied extending her hand out to Maggie.

"Maggie Hargrove," she said taking Peggy's hand.

"So, you're the Maggie I've heard so much about," Peggy said smiling and glancing at Steve.

"Hopefully just the good stuff," she said with a laugh.

"I was told about many of the alleys you both fought in," she said, "I asked if you both had an aversion to running away."

"I didn't," Maggie said, "but Peaches here did."

"Peaches? Really?" Steve said elbowing Maggie playfully. He turned his attention back to Peggy, "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Officially, I'm not here at all," she said getting serious and moving closer to the two.

"Do I need to leave?" Maggie asked and Peggy shook her head.

"You're fine, for now," she said before continuing with Steve, "That was quite the performance."

"Yeah, uh," Steve said looking away from her and toward the rain-soaked ground, "I had to improvise a little bit, the crowds I'm used to are usually a bit more, uh—"

"Twelve," Maggie finished for him and he nodded.

"Yeah," he said looking anywhere but Peggy.

"Well, I understand you're 'America's New Hope.'" She said and Maggie detected sarcasm in her tone.

"Bond sales take a 10% bump in every state I visit," he said.

"Is that Senator Brandt I hear?" Peggy asked.

"Do you rehearse that line at night?" Maggie responded looking at Steve, "you sent me something like that in a letter months ago."

"Yeah well," he said glaring at Maggie before he glanced at Peggy for a moment again, "At least he's got me doing this. Phillips would have had me stuck in a lab somewhere."

"And these are your only two options?" Peggy countered, "A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this, you know."

Steve was silent and Maggie watched as he looked to the woman trying to find the right words to say to her. He looked over to Maggie and she rolled her eyes slightly as she nodded in agreement.

"For the record I've always believed that too," Maggie said, her voice just loud enough for Steve to hear. He gave her a half-smile before looking back at Peggy, shaking his head ever so slightly.

"What?"

"You know for the longest time, I dreamed about… coming overseas and being on the frontlines, serving my country. I finally got everything I wanted… And I'm wearing tights—"

A car horn blared and the three looked to it, Steve noticing finally as he turned that Maggie was there as well. He looked back to Maggie as he saw the ambulance came to a stop and a man was pulled from it on a stretcher.

"They look like they've been through hell," Steve commented.

"They have been," Maggie said as she stood, "Or so it seems like based on all the injured." Peggy nodded.

"These men even more than most," she replied making eye contact with Maggie. Peggy gave a slight nod away from the medic tent hinting for Maggie to stay before continuing.

"Miss Hargrove you've heard none of this, but I know you're close to Steve," she replied, "Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than 50 returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th." Steve and Maggie looked at each other nerves hitting them both as Peggy continued, "the rest were killed or captured."

"The 107th?" Maggie whispered at the same time as Steve repeated it. Peggy looked between the two.

"What?" she asked.

"Bucky's unit," Maggie said her eyes meeting Steve's, "he's not here."

Steve grabbed Maggie's hand as he stood. Immediately he took off towards the command tent, Maggie practically running to keep up with him.

"Steve," Peggy called but they didn't stop, so she chased after them.

"Colonel Phillips," Steve said, still pulling Maggie ahead of Peggy and up to the grumpy looking man who was sitting behind a desk as he wrote out letters. He looked up at Steve annoyed.

"Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan? What is your plan today?" he asked his voice flat with irritation.

"I need the casualty list from Azzano," Steve commanded, his back straight.

"You don't get to give me orders, son," he commented, and Maggie stepped beside him.

"Please, sir," she said, "Respectfully, we're just trying to find out if our… friend… is alive."

"We just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th," Steve continued.

"You and I," he said looking to Peggy with a grimace, "Are going to have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."

"Please, tell us if he's alive, sir," Maggie said.

"B-A-R—" Steve began.

"I can spell," Phillips said looking to Maggie, "Just a friend, huh? What's your name?"

"ANC Second Lieutenant Margaret Hargrove," she replied.

"I remember your name. You were in London for a while, I heard they called you something else," he said his tone curt, indicating he knew her nickname. He sighed and stood, closing the file he was working on. He turned back going through some papers as if trying to look busy.

"I've signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count but," he paused turning back to Steve and then to Maggie, "the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry." Maggie looked out into the rain; her mind going blank.

"What about the others," Steve asked after a moment, "Are you planning a rescue mission?"

"Yeah," Phillips said, "it's called 'winning the war.'"

"They won't survive that long," Maggie said turning back to Steve, her voice quiet.

"If you know where they are," Steve said his hand moving to Maggie's and squeezing it reassuringly, "why not at least—"

"They're 30 miles behind the lines, through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe," Phillips said walking to a map and pointing at it. He turned back to them, trying to hide the fact that he wasn't happy with the decision either, "We'd lose more men than we'd save, but I don't expect you to understand that because you're a chorus girl." Steve's grip tightened on Maggie's hand as he tried to bite his tongue.

"I think I understand just fine," he commented.

"Well then understand it somewhere else. And you, Miss Hargrove, try not to kill any of my men that are left. I need them all," he said pushing past the two, "besides if I read the posters correctly you have some place to be in thirty minutes."

Maggie couldn't help the scowl on her face as the man walked away. She was turning to say something to Steve when she noticed his jaw locked in thought, so she followed his line of sight. He was looking at a large map, just behind where Colonel Phillips had been standing.

Maggie noticed quickly there was a little triangle past the front-line border that had an 'H' on it. She looked at the Colonel who was now standing on the opposite side of the tent before returning her gaze to the map and she did her best to commit it to memory.

"Yes, sir. I do," Steve said looking at Maggie and motioning with his head fo her to follow. As they walked out of the tent, she stole one last look at the Colonel. He looked up and their eyes met so briefly she wasn't sure she had seen the wink he had given her before looking at the papers in front of him. And she certainly wasn't confident enough to tell Steve the Colonel was planning on him doing something about the situation.

"I'm going with you," Maggie whispered to him as they went backstage to where his dressing room area was.

"It's dangerous," he said beginning to pack his guns and anything he might need in his bag, "this isn't like the fights at home."

"No but I'm angry, I'll be armed, and I'll have you. Bucky taught me how to shoot. I haven't done it since training, but I was always good at it," she said, then as if an afterthought, "and I've used it less but I'm a better fighter than I was when I joined."

"Fine," he said with an exasperated sigh, "but if I tell you to run, you run."

"I'm not leaving you to fight alone," she countered.

"Maggie, take is as an order then," he said.

"You only outrank me in name, you know," she said grabbing her guns, ammo and a change of clothes with a grin on her face.

"What do the two of you plan to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy asked walking into the room. Maggie turned to her quickly.

"If that's what it takes," Steve replied, looking up at her.

"You heard the Colonel, your friend is most likely dead," Peggy tried to rationalize.

"You don't know that" Steve responded.

"If he is, we'll bring him home," Maggie continued.

"Even so he's devising a strategy. If he detects that—"

"By the time he's done that," Steve said as he put on his leather jacket, "It could be too late!" He picked up the shield and moved quickly out the door with Maggie in tow. Peggy following the two of them.

"You're not stopping us Peggy," Maggie said as she put her things in the back of a jeep as Steve did the same with his shield and equipment.

"You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?" he asked staring at her.

"Every word," she responded.

"They you've got to let us go," Steve said getting into the driver's seat of the Jeep. Maggie got in on the passenger's side as Steve started the engine. Peggy leaned against the windshield and toward Steve.

"I can do more than that," she said her voice hushed.