Alright everyone, here's the next chapter to get you through the weekend! I won't be able to post again for a few days, so I've made it a good one to get you clinging to the edge of your seat! I hope you like it! As always, I fully acknowledge that I own no rights to Marvel and any of it's characters. I only own Rose and this crazy journey she's being led on. Hope you enjoy, and if you do…always feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think so far! I hope you enjoy and I'll be back with an update as soon as I can! Xoxo-NickyLynn
The war front was so vastly different than anything Rose had ever imagined. While she had no misconceptions that it would be a walk in the park, she didn't imagine she would be so busy. She and the other nurses were carted around from camp to camp, always being moved to where they were needed most. They were currently stationed on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria, giving medical care and looking after the wounded soldiers who had been fighting to take back the major city. The small group of women who had been stationed there with her took turns rotating in twelve-hour shifts, never getting so much as a day off. The men had been doing a lot of fighting…and the women had doing a lot of mending.
Rose spent her days assisting in surgeries and completing other procedures on her own in the healing tents and her nights getting as much rest as she could in between the brutal shifts. She would spend as much time as she could writing letters to Steve, keeping him updated on her whereabouts, using her small flashlight to illuminate the pages she wrote on late at night. She knew the work she was doing was important, and she couldn't deny that helping these men filled her with a sense of purpose, but they couldn't save everyone. During her months moving about Europe, Rose had encountered enough death to last a lifetime. She held the hands of countless men as they took their final breaths, each one of their faces etched into the back of her mind, stored in her memory forever.
Her days blurred together into an endless cycle of blood, tears and sleepless nights and she was beginning to feel the weight of it all bearing down heavily on her. She was on the tail end of one of her long shifts, patching up another bullet wound when she got the first good news in what felt like ages. She had been wrapping a man's shoulder in fresh gauze, having finished sewing the wound back together when she froze mid-action with what he just told her.
"I'm sorry, what infantry did you say you were from?" she asked, not believing her ears.
"The one-o-seventh." He repeated.
Rose blinked rapidly, caught in surprise before resuming her actions and finished wrapping him up. "You wouldn't happen to know a Sergeant Barnes, would you?" she asked him, careful not to get her hopes up.
The man looked up at her in mild surprise. "Yeah, he's part of my battalion. Bucky, right?" he told her.
Rose's heart began going crazy inside her chest. "Is he-is he here?" she asked him hesitantly.
"What is he, a boyfriend or something?" the man asked her.
"Oh, no." she said shaking her head. "He's just a friend. Is he here?" she asked again.
"Sure is." He told her with a smile, feeling glad to give someone good news for once. "I can take you to him, if you want."
The elation Rose felt in that moment was overwhelming. Truthfully, she had always wondered if she would come across Bucky during her time on the lines, but there was also a large part of her who feared coming across him during her shifts in the medical tents. Knowing that he was there at the same camp as her, alive and okay, it gave her a ray of happiness that she hadn't felt in a long time. She looked back over her shoulder at the other nurse who was working in the medical ward with her.
"Hey, Deb, do you mind if I get out of here a bit early? I have a friend who I just found out is stationed here, for the moment at least." She asked the older woman.
"Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Yes, of course, I got things in here. You go on!" she told her. Thankfully it had been a slower day and there wasn't much else left for Rose to do anyways.
"Thanks!" Rose told her, looking back down at her patient. "I would appreciate it if you could take me to Bucky, sir." She told him, before adding, "Please."
"Of course! It's the least I can do after you patched me up right as rain!" he told her, standing back up and sliding his arms back into his button up shirt. They left the medical tent and Rose followed him through the camp, walking through rows and rows of green tents that served as temporary housing for all the soldiers. Eventually the man led her up to one of the tents at the far side of the camp, pushing open the flap. "Look alive, Sargent Barnes, you've got a visitor." He said as he stepped into the tent.
Rose followed behind him, ducking into the tent as he held the flap back for her. As she stepped inside the makeshift room, she looked around at the small group of men being housed inside and her breath caught in her throat when her eyes landed on the familiar face of Bucky. It was skinnier than she remembered and was drooping with the fatigue that came with war, but it was definitely him. "Hey there, soldier." She greeted him with a smile.
"R-rosie?!" he asked, shocked when she came into view.
"Hey Buck." She said, giving him a bright smile, filled with a surge of happiness.
"Rosie? As in the Rosie you keep going on about?" one of the men laying back on his cot next to Bucky asked.
Rose raised a brow at the statement, looking over at the man questioningly before a shirt was tossed over his face, thrown by a flustered Bucky. "Shut up." He told the other man.
Rose cracked an amused smile. "I was about to take my dinner. Would you like to join me?" she asked Bucky.
"Yeah, of course!" he told her, grabbing his jacket off of his own cot. Rose walked back out of the tent with Bucky in tow and the pair began making their way to the mess hall. "What are you doing here Rose?" he asked her, still reeling from the shock of seeing her there.
"Doing my part and all that." She responded, looking over at him as they walked along. "Nurses are in short supply over here."
"Yeah, I mean they are, but I never thought you'd volunteer for the front lines. What about Steve?" he asked.
Rose realized that Bucky had yet to know about what had transpired since his enlistment and shook her head. "We have a lot of catching up to do." She told him.
After they had both gotten their serving of stew and bread, they found a secluded area of the camp, sitting across from each other on two logs. As they sat and ate their bland food together, Rose began filling him in on everything he had missed. By the time she had finished telling him everything, or the majority of it at least, the sun had set, and they were surrounded by the growing darkness. The only thing that lit the space around them were the small lanterns that were hung up on the tent post behind them.
"So, you're telling me that you were spending all that time at Stark Industries creating a serum capable of making super soldiers?" he asked her in disbelief.
"Well I didn't create it….I just helped." She corrected.
"And you used your brother as the guinea pig?" he asked as well, finding the whole story unbelievable.
"You should see him, Buck." She said with a smile. "I don't think you'll have to worry about saving his ass in a back alley fight ever again." She said with a laugh. Bucky sat with his chin propped up in the palm of his hand, staring at Rose with a look she couldn't decipher. "What?" she finally asked him after a few moments of silence.
"Nothing." He responded. "You're just amazing, you know that?"
Rose was thankful for the darkness as the blush spread across her cheeks at the compliment. "Er…thanks." She said shyly as a particularly cold gust of wind rushed past them, sending a shiver up Rose's spine.
Bucky noticed her reaction and quickly slid off his jacket. "Here." He said, dropping it on her shoulders.
"Oh. Thanks, Buck." She told him, pulling the fabric that still held the warmth from his body closer to her own. The strong smell of him filled her senses as she took in a deep breath.
"I've got to be honest with you Rose." Bucky said, suddenly having a hard time looking at her.
"What?" she asked, looking over at him seriously.
"This whole time out here in the war….the other guys always talk about their gals they got waiting for them back home." He began. "Well, it's just the longer I'm out here, the more I realize that maybe it wouldn't be so bad…..having a girl waiting on ya to get back home….having something good to hold on to, to get you through all the bad nights and days. And I…" he paused, finally looking back over to her. "There was only ever one girl I thought about on those nights." He admitted. "I was thinking….well, I was going to write you a letter and tell you all this, but seeing as you're here, I might as well ask you…" he said, rubbing his hand up and down his arm nervously.
"Ask me what?" she asked quietly, suddenly feeling just as nervous as he looked.
"Maybe when we get out back home….maybe you would consider going steady with me?" he finally asked.
Rose was suddenly glad for the dark surrounding them as a deep blush spread out across her entire upper body. She stopped breathing as his gaze penetrated into her own, not being able to find her voice. "Buck…" she began before a loud sound caught her attention and she turned her head to listen for the source of it. The sound of gunfire hit her ears and the good feelings that had just been swirling around inside her quickly washed away and were replaced with panic.
Her head shot back around to look at Bucky, making sure he had heard it as well. They locked eyes as more gun fire broke out, followed by a series of screams and shouting. They both shot up from their seats as they realized their camp was under attack. Bucky grabbed hold of Rose's hand and began dragging her away from the sounds of bullets. "Come on!" he yelled out.
Bucky pulled a pistol out from the band of his pants with his other hand as he led her through the camp as everyone began running around in panic, arming themselves and preparing for battle. As they passed the medical tents, one of the nurses who had worked with Rose caught sight of them, her eyes blown wide in fear. "Oh Rose!" she called as she rushed over to them. "It's the Germans! There's so many of them!" she said, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
Bucky looked over to Rose before he pushed his gun into her hand. "You know how to use this, right?" he asked her, seriously. She nodded her head at him, wrapping her fingers around the cold metal. "Good. You two go hide." He told her.
"Wait, Bucky!" she told him, latching onto his arm. "Don't leave me!" she pleaded, terrified of being left on her own.
"It's going to be alright. Me and the other soldiers are going to protect you all. You just stay hidden until I come and find you, okay?" he said in a rush, the sounds of guns and screaming growing closer.
"Okay." She said, dropping her hold on him. He gave her one last look before turning and taking off in a run. Rose watched his back disappear before turning towards the other nurse, Jackie. "Come on." She said, taking hold of her hand. "Let's hide in the med tent." She said, pulling her towards the large tent.
They ran to the tent and rushed inside, finding two other nurses cowering inside. Rose took note of their terrified faces and knew her own matched theirs. She rushed over to the row of metal cots before tipping one of them over with a strong push. It fell to the side with a loud bang, and she quickly moved to another, doing the same to it as well. She pushed the beds together, forming a barricade of sorts that she ushered the other women to hide within. The nurses all hide within the makeshift shield, ducking low to the ground to avoid any bullets that could rip through the tent at any moment.
They could hear the shouting of German voices growing closer and Rose's body began to shake in fear. She stood over the other women, gun in hand, knowing that she was all that stood in between them and the enemy outside. Her hand shook violently as she squeezed the metal so tight, she thought it might break.
Suddenly, the flaps to the tent flung open and a group of three soldiers, decorated in German uniforms rushed in, guns raised and aimed at Rose. Rose quickly raised her own weapon and trained it on the closest intruder, squeezing the trigger. Her arm vibrated with the force of the bullet being expelled from the chamber. She kept squeezing the trigger, over and over again, not giving the men time to react. Her bullets tore through the air and imbedded themselves into the German soldiers, sending them falling to the ground in heaps.
Her breathing became erratic as she watched their ragged breathing as they clung to life before more shouting could be heard from outside. She raised her gun back to the opening of the tent before more soldiers came running in, being drawn by the sounds of gunfire. Rose pulled the trigger again and again, but soon her fear exploded into sheer terror as the gun began to click uselessly as the magazine ran out of ammunition.
She went cold as the group of soldiers drew closer, circling around the walls of the tent. They were yelling at her in German, giving her commands that she couldn't understand. She dropped her hold on the pistol, letting to fall to the ground before raising her hands into the air, knowing there was nothing she could do. The women behind her were sobbing as the soldiers surrounded them, motioning for them to get up with their guns.
"Rogers!" One of the soldiers began yelling repeatedly, swinging his gun around the room at the women. Rose went still at the sound of her name. Confusion and terror filled her as she began to wonder how they had known her name….and why.
"That one!" one of the nurses behind her shouted, casting a finger in Rose's direction. Rose whipped her head around to stare at Jackie in shock. Though, she could hardly blame her. Afterall, if it was her they were after, why not give herself up to protect the others.
"I'm Nurse Rogers." Rose said quickly, turning back to look at the soldier. He motioned his gun at her, saying something else in German before two of the men strode up to her, one of them grabbing onto her arm and the other keeping the barrel of his gun trained on her head. They began pushing her none-too-kindly out of the tent, the grip on her arm so tight she was sure to develop a bruise. She stumbled through the camp, being pushed along by the group of soldiers, not knowing what was happening. The blood rushed through her ears, and she found herself dizzy with all the chaos surrounding her. Bodies lay strewn around the encampment, German and American alike. Her eyes bounced around as she was pushed along, desperately searching for Bucky as she went.
Eventually her eyes caught the side of Bucky's face, peeking out from behind a truck about thirty feet to her left. "BUCKY!" she screamed out as she was pushed passed his line of sight. His head swiveled around at the sound of her voice and his eyes locked onto her frightened ones. Suddenly a pain exploded on the back of her skull, and she was sent stumbling forward as one of the soldiers brought the back of his gun down on the back of her head in punishment for her call for help.
Rose's vision was filled with stars as she was pulled harshly back onto her feet and pushed further along, her feet tripping over each other as she was filled with so much dizziness, she thought she might puke. "ROSE!" she heard Bucky's voice scream out. She heard bullets being fired near her and she dropped to the ground as the soldier who had been holding onto her had to grip back onto his gun and fire back at the men shooting at them. Rose's face smashed into the dirt, and she threw her hands over her herd, her mind a swirling mess of pain, dizziness and sheer terror.
She heard bodies fall to the ground beside her and she was suddenly being pulled back up onto her feet. She looked up to find Bucky pulling her up from the ground frantically. "Come on!" he shouted, pulling her all the way back up.
They began running, the sounds of the wounded soldiers behind them shouting to others around the area. Rose looked back to see one of the men that lay on the ground, with a blood-soaked torso, pointing at them and shouting something in German. Whatever he had been saying must have been important, as a new group of soldiers took off after them, screaming at them to halt. They ran faster, Rose being dragged along by Bucky, until another group of men stepped out into their path, effectively surrounding them.
Bucky and Rose came to an abrupt halt, Bucky wrapping one of his arms around Rose in protection as he processed their limited options. Panic filled him as he realized that there were too many of them to fight off, and with Rose this close to him, he didn't dare shoot into the group of men, knowing they would return the fire. The Germans began shouting at him to drop his weapon and, knowing he had no other choice, he obliged. His gun dropped to ground with a clank and he slowly lifted his hands into the air.
Rose did the same, looking around the group of Germans, suddenly filled with fear, not only for herself, but Bucky, too. "Buck…" she said, her voice coming out a gasp.
Bucky looked down at her and he never in his life felt so helpless than he did in that moment. The one person in the world he wanted to protect more than anything and he had failed her. "I'm sorry." He told her, tears pooling in his eyes.
The group of soldiers descended around them, and Rose watched in horror as one of the men walked up to them and struck out at Bucky with the end of his gun and connected with his head in a sickening crack. "BUCKY!" she screamed out as he fell to the ground in an unmoving heap. She stared down at the blood streaming out from Bucky's forehead before looking back up at the soldier who now had his gun trained on her and a sob tore through her throat. "Please!" she pleaded, knowing it would do no good.
"You." The man said, speaking in a thick accent, but speaking in English, at least. "You are the nurse, yes? Rogers?" he asked, motioning towards her with the barrel of his gun. She nodded, again, being filled with the question of why they had been after her. Realization suddenly dawned on her, and her mouth went dry. There was only one reason the German army would be after her. There was only ever one thing she had done that would merit their interest.
"No." she whispered, knowing that what they wanted from her was something that she couldn't give them. "Kill me if you must, but I am NOT going with you." She told the soldier, knowing she had a duty to protect the information they sought. She stared over at the man, a wave of determination suddenly filling her with courage she lacked just moments ago.
"I'm afraid you do not have a choice." The man said before another pain tore through her head as she was, yet again, struck with the base of a gun. She went falling to the ground next to Bucky, but this time it wasn't a swirl of dizziness she was sent into….it was pure darkness.