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Four weeks. That's how long it took for another letter to arrive. The anticipation of it troubled her day and night. Of course, it did take a week or two for most letters to get to her. They had to be sent to Paris and then forwarded to her through the Resistance in Paris to wherever she was stationed at the time. Sometimes there was a delay due to an attack or it being unsafe for a courier to smuggle it out of the country. However, never had she experienced a delay quite like this. Four weeks was unheard of by her standard, but she remained calm.

Until she opened the letter.

Béatrice,

I enjoyed my last letter from you. I'm still writing in English as you are trying to practice as much as you can for your studies. I'll be sure to switch from English to another in our next letter. It sounds as though you are having a wonderful time in Paris. Clearly, you are staying busy with your studies. Your mother and I do wish we could come visit, but I'm afraid I'm needed here to assist the Führer. We had tea with him and with other comrades last week. They asked a great deal about you and were very impressed with your efforts to assist the party. Perhaps when you visit, we shall invite them over. I'm sure you would like to see them as much as they would. You mother sends her love, as does the rest of the family. There's really not much to report this time. I've been busy working with the party and your mother has been entertaining as usual. We miss you dearly. Write soon.

Love,

Your father.

She frowned at the letter's contents. It was not like a normal letter that her father would write. It was shorter. It was much more formal. Less emotional. No more news regarding any of their Jewish friends. Instead he was opening discussing the Nazi's and acting as though he was one of them. Something wasn't right at all. She looked into the envelope to pull out the weather report, but instead of seeing only one other folded piece of paper, there was three. The weather report and two smaller pieces. Frowning, she pulled them out and unfolded the first one.

Neugieriger und neugieriger

Her eyes narrowed as she read it quietly out loud. She then unfolded the second piece.

Cheshire-Katze

Her eyes went wider at the second piece of paper. She felt her heart stop. The first paper did not cause for too much alarm, but this one did. Her suspicions were confirmed. Things were in fact not right with her family. Her hands began to shake as she read the words over and over again. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to, but she had no other choice. The evidence was right there in her hands.

She turned and quickly began to walk back to her quarters. She needed to decode the weather report immediately. She took a deep breath as she maneuvered her way through camp. However, being so deep in her own thoughts, she brushed against someone, causing her to drop the letters to the ground. She quickly dropped to the ground, grabbing for the smaller pieces of paper and as she reached for the weather report and letter from her father, someone beat her to it. She looked up and saw Private Barnes on the ground. That's who she had bumped into.

"Agent Faust" he grinned at her happily. "It's been a while. Have you been avoiding me?" Bucky frowned as she grabbed the two pieces of paper on the ground and took the others from his hand. She didn't look like herself. She was quiet, but never this quiet around him. There was something wrong. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him directly, in confusion, almost as in a daze. "Excuse me" she stood up. With that she continued to quickly walk off, leaving the group of soldiers very confused.

"Did she just say excuse me? Does she speak English" Samson's mouth fell open in shock. "Barnes, did you know about this?"

"Yeah I knew" Bucky nodded his head still staring at her walking quickly in the distance. She looked upset, frightened almost. Something in that letter made her so. He wondered what it was. It must have been important enough for her to have a reaction to it. "I wonder what's wrong."

"Maybe you scared her off" Harrington laughed slightly. "She seemed pretty spooked over something."

Bucky didn't admit it out loud, but Harrington was right. She did seem spooked.

Shoving the door open to her quarters and slamming it shut behind her, Béatrice let out a shaking sigh. She leaned against the doorway and slide down onto the ground. The tears began to form in her eyes. She let out a quiet sob as she pulled her legs close to her chest. It was becoming too much. She wasn't sure how much longer she could live like this. She wanted to wake up. She wanted it to be a dream. It wasn't.

For the first time in what seemed ages, she was truly afraid.

Bucky stood with the other recruits waiting for their self-defense training to being. However, his mind was not on whatever harrowing task that the recruits would be put to next. No, his mind was on his encounter with Agent Faust. He had seen her on and off for the past four weeks. Couple of 'hellos' here and there, but no real conversation. He'd also see her around the camp with Captain McPherson watching training sessions. Though, her mind seemed to be elsewhere during them. Something was troubling her. After their encounter this morning, he was convinced it had something to do with the letters in her possession.

He was soon snapped out of his deep thoughts at the sight of both Captain McPherson and Agent Faust. He stood up quickly and ran his hands through his hair to make himself look a little more presentable. As the pair walked past, McPhersron's eyes narrowed at him slightly, giving him almost the exact same look he had been given his first night at camp. He didn't understand. Were they together? Was he threatened by him or simply overprotective considering how some had acted towards Agent Faust? As for her, she didn't turn her head at all to acknowledge him. She looked deep in thought once more. The pair walked over to stand in front of the recruits

"Gentlemen" he announced. "Before we give you a well deserved night off to commemorate being half way through your training, Colonel Matthews asked me to take over your self-defense training for today. Unfortunately, the German military grows stronger everyday. Their tactics and plans, sometimes unknown to us. Our intelligence works hard to discover them, but we must still be prepared for everything."

"Great. We have to deal with all high and mighty and his Nazi-German sidekick" Johnson huffed under his breath.

"Give it a rest man" Harrington grumbled angrily.

"Or what?" Johnson glared in response. "Gonna send Barnes after me to defend his girlfriend?"

Bucky saw that Agent Faust was rolling her eyes heavily. He and Harrington were the only people there who still knew she could understand what they were saying. Harrington didn't know at first, but had the brains to put two and two together after realizing that he had been talking to her on and off. His friend looked over at him and just shook his head, almost as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. It was taking everything inside of him right now not to tackle him to the ground himself.

McPherson looked over at the scene and then back at Agent Faust. "Private Johnson" he suddenly spoke and smiled. Johnson looked at him in confusion. "Thank you for volunteering. Please step forward." Johnson looked around, frowning and still confused, but did as he said.

"You sure you want to do this?" McPherson suddenly turned to Agent to whisper. Instead of answering, she looked directly at him and walked over to stand in front of Johnson.

"Oh great" Johnson mumbled rolling his eyes again. "Got something to say to me sweetheart? If so, we don't speak your Nazi language." Agent Faust kept silent with her hands in her pockets.

"Private Johnson, if you please. Try and punch Agent Faust here" McPherson told him. Bucky's face fell and his heart beat quickened. What the hell was going on? The captain wanted Johnson to punch Agent Faust? Why?

Johnson looked at the Captain in disbelief for a moment and began to laugh out loud as did some of the other recruits. "You sure about that Captain?"

"Positive" McPherson said simply.

Bucky felt himself going numb. He couldn't let this happen at all. He saw her eyes flick to his own and he could see that she was barely shaking her head. It caused him to frown.

Still, he began to take a step forward, but was grabbed by Harrington. "Don't" he muttered. "I think your girl's got this." He had seen her protest as well.

Johnson looked Agent Faust up and down closely. "You know, my parents taught that I should never hit a girl" he began looking at her. "But they never said anything about Nazi girls." With that he quickly raised a fist to punch her. Instead of hitting her, she moved to the side, grabbed his arm, twisting it around, and kicked the back of his legs, sending him to the ground. The soldier looked at her wide-eyed from the ground, while the rest of the recruits were shell shocked.

"And that gentlemen, is why you should never underestimate any German. Man or woman. You never know what they could do" Agent Faust let out a breath, putting her hands on her hips. "Or understand."

"Holy shit. I don't know what I'm more impressed by" Bucky heard Samson exclaim. "The fact that she just kicked Johnson's ass or that she speaks perfect English."

He looked over to where she was. Agent Faust gave him a smirk. "She speaks four languages actually. German, French, Polish, and English" Bucky answered smiling brightly staring right at Agent Faust. "She's also learning Russian, but she's having trouble with it." If he already wasn't intrigued and curious about her, he was now. What a woman, he thought.

Béatrice sat across from Alexander at a table at a nearby bar. The two of them decided to partake in the night off for the camp and head to the bar for some much needed time away from their jobs. She looked around at the recruits enjoying themselves and their night of freedom. There were a few young ladies at the bar as well chatting away and flirting with many of the soldiers. Her eyes found Private Barnes who was busy flirting with some blonde. The two of them were smiling and laughing, which only caused her eyes to roll.

Soon, her thoughts turned darker. Her mind found itself way back to the letter from her father. She was worried about her family more than ever. Things were not right at home in Germany. It seemed out of the ordinary for Hitler to come to her family home. For someone else to come home as well. There was more to the puzzle than any of them realized. Did the Nazi's know of her father's involvement with the Allies? Did they know she wasn't actually in France studying?

"Here's to being halfway through your punishment" Alexander announced snapping her out of her thoughts. He held up his glass of whiskey awaiting her to do the same.

Rolling her eyes, she proceeded to raise her own glass and clink it with his own. "Here, here" she spoke up before putting it to her lips and downing the whole thing. As the liquid went down her throat, she made a face in disgust. "God you Americans and your alcohol. It's horrible. Don't you know what good alcohol is?"

"We can't all be spoiled with champagne and the best liquor the world has to offer" he glared playfully at her. She only shrugged at him slightly and looked down at the table. It was clear she was deep in thought about something. Something was bothering her.

He looked around and saw Private Barnes in a corner on the other side of the room, laughing with a blonde and drinking. Perhaps, he had finally done something to her worthy of punching him. He had to admit Barnes was a good soldier and would make a fine officer in the war, but he still went back and forth on his feelings towards him when it came to Béatrice. He knew Barnes's type. He was an obvious heart breaker and probably set his sight on multiple girls jumping from one to another at any given time. Still, his eyes had been set on his friend and he had been persistent over the last four weeks of training. That had to mean something didn't it?

The blonde sat back in his chair and continued to observe his friend who was somewhere else completely. Her eyes flicked up at Private Barnes and her fingers began to graze the top of her glass before going back to the table.

"Certain soldier got you down?" he smirked causing her to jump slightly.

"What" she frowned at him in confusion. He motioned his head towards where Private Barnes was sitting causing her to groan in response. "It has nothing to do with Barnes" she protested. She then pulled out the envelope from her pocket and slide it to her friend on the table.

"I didn't know you got another letter" the captain frowned grabbing it. He opened it and pulled the letters, separating them. He put the two smaller pieces of paper on top of the weather report and began to read the letter from her father. The blonde's eyes frowned further as his eyes skimmed the page. He looked up at her in surprise once finished "This isn't the normal type of letter you get, is it?"

"It's not" the brunette sighed shaking her head.

His eyes then flicked to the two smaller pieces of paper on the table. He picked one of the up and unfolded it. "Neugieriger und neugieriger" Alexander frowned reading the small slip of paper. "Curiouser and Curiouser? Isn't that from a kid's book."

The brunette nodded her head. "Alice's Abenteuer im Wunderland or as you Americans would know it as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" she explained. "It's another code my father and I came up with. It means he was being watched when he was writing the letter. I decoded the weather report, but as to how accurate the information is, I can't say."

Alexander sighed and took the second piece of paper that was under the first. "Cheshire-Katze" he read quietly reading the second slip of paper. "The Cheshire Cat. What does that stand for?"

"He's back" Béatrice replied looking directly at him.

Alexander eyes widened greatly at the comment. He knew exactly who he was referring to. This changed everything. The pieces were being set for the next step in their great game. The blonde took a deep sigh and looked at both letters, shaking his head. "Béatrice, I don't mean to frighten you, but this could be very very dangerous for your family. If Hitler or he even suspects for a moment..."

"I'm well aware of what it means Alexander. Don't you think I know what this means? I am aware of how dangerous this is. My family's safety has always been my number one priority throughout this. I have begged, pleaded for months and months to get them out of there. Instead I get told to wait. It's not the right time. I have to have patience. I can't stand it." With that she grabbed his glass, and downed the rest of his own drink. She coughed slightly as she slammed the glass down on the table. Looking over at him, her friend had a sad expression on his face. He raised his hand and rain his fingers through his blonde locks, sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault...I'm...I'm just frustrated" Béatrice looked at him apologetically.

"I know" Alexander nodded his head. "I've been pushing for months as well. I don't understand it either. You've been at this for over a year. I'll handle giving Phillips this and I'll talk to him. Things have changed. We need to act faster."

"Thank you" she gave him a small smile. "I appreciate what a loyal friend you've been throughout this. I don't know what I would have done without you."

The blonde smirked and shook his head. "You would have been just fine. So how about another drink?"

Béatrice wrinkled her nose up in protest. "No thank you. I think I've had enough of American alcohol to last a lifetime. I think I'm going to head back to camp. I'm tired. It's been a long day"

"You sure?" he asked in response only getting a nod from her. "Alright then, I'll walk you back" he continued as he started to get up from his seat.

"No" she protested shaking her head. "Stay. Have fun. I'll be fine."

"Béatrice..." his eyebrows raised, looking at her disapprovingly.

"Alexander..." she shot back giving him a similar look. "I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she grabbed her coat and stood up from the table. She walked over towards the door, receiving looks from many of the recruits, who were even more fascinated by her after the display from earlier in the day. Almost like clockwork, Private Barnes immediately got up, grabbed his coat, and headed straight to the door, leaving the blonde his was talking to alone. The blonde huffed and glared being left alone before turning her attention to another nearby recruit.

Alexander just chuckled shaking his head at the scene. "Jesus Christ. Guy doesn't know when to give up does he?" He raised his head and flagged down the bartender. "Another please" he called out. He was going to need it.

Béatrice walked outside of the bar. The winter breeze was cold, causing her to pull her jacket closer to her body. It was about a mile walk back to camp, not that she minded. She'd be back in no time. She began to walk towards the road.

"Leaving already?" she heard a voice call out causing her to stop. She sighed, knowing exactly who was behind her.

Turning around she came face to face with no one other than Private Barnes. "Is that a problem?" she eyed him closely.

"Yes, because I was planning on buying you a drink" he smirked walking closer to her.

The cold wind hit her face sharply causing her to look in its direction. "Perhaps another time" Béatrice turned her attention back to the soldier.

He walked even closer to her and looked at her in concern. "Are you okay? Earlier today when we bumped into one another you seemed upset. Captain McPherson isn't bothering you, is he?"

"Alexander?" she frowned up at him causing him to frown at the use of his superior officer's first name. "Oh goodness no. He's a perfect gentleman and we're very good friends. Besides he's engaged. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"You still seemed pretty upset. Do you want to talk about it? I've been told I'm a good listener" he gave her a small smiled.

She avoided his gaze after that. "No thank you. It's nothing" she whispered.

He sighed heavily. She was a hard one to break that was for sure. "Okay, just let me walk you back then. It's cold."

"I've been through much colder weather" Béatrice's eyes flicked up towards his own.

"It's dark" Bucky shot back almost instantly.

She shot him a glare and huffed. "I think after your training today, it's obvious I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Bucky let out a loud groan in frustration. "Are you this infuriating with all the men who are nice to you or am I just special?" he huffed.

"Bit of both actually" she smirked in response.

"Look we don't have to talk about what got you so upset today. You can keep denying it, but I know something was bothering you" Bucky exclaimed at her. "You don't have to tell me. I can talk the whole way back for all I care. You can just keep silent. I'm just trying to be nice. Can you put aside whatever you have against nice people and just let me make sure you get back to camp safely."

She stared at him silently for a moment, almost as she was studying him. "Mitkommen" she motioned her head and turned to walk.

Bucky blinked at her and stared at her in confusion. She was speaking German and he had no inkling as to what had come out of her mouth. "I don't understand what you said at all."

"You need to learn some German then" she called out turning around to face him. "Mitkommen. It means come along. So, come along and walk me back to camp. Unless you need to get back to your blonde friend."

He flashed her a grin and followed after her. The two of them walked in silence for a few moments until the soldier spoke. "What did you say in German again?"

"Mitkommen. Come along" she answered smiling slightly.

"Mit-ka..." he stopped before even finishing.

Béatrice laughed as he struggled with the pronunciation. "You're already saying it wrong" she stopped walking. "Mit-kom-men."

"Mit-kom-men" he repeated after her.

"There you go" she smiled at him. "Your first German word." He smiled happily as the two of them fell into silence once more. The German pushed her lips together and then smirked as she thought of what to say next.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You looked as though you were getting along with the pretty blonde" she looked over at him putting her hands in her jacket pocket to keep them warm.

"She was okay. She was also just saying what I wanted to hear" he shrugged in response. "I prefer brunettes. Dark curly hair. Dark eyes and someone who's going to speak their mind. It got old a while ago when girls would only say what they thought I wanted to hear. That's more of what I look for in a woman" he looked over at her to see she was avoiding his gaze. "What about you? I'm sure a pretty girl like you had her far share of dates and figured out what you liked."

"Not really" she shook her head in response. "I was more interested in books than anything else. Didn't really make the time for dates. I went to parties, but I don't think they were what you would consider parties. They were more like big family gatherings."

Part of Bucky wasn't surprised by that confession at all. However, another part was. Agent Faust was beautiful, surely, she would have caught at least someone's eye. "What's your favorite book then if you read so much?"

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" she smiled at him.

Bucky stopped in his tracks and just smirked at her. He chuckled slightly, which only caused the brunette to glare at him.

"You're making fun of me" she spoke stopping as well. She rolled her eyes and began to continue to walk.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to" he gently grabbed her arm stopping her. "It's a good book. It is. But I don't know I guess I just didn't expect it. I thought you would have gone for some French poetry or master works by a British author. Not a children's book based around the concept of nonsense."

"Well you don't really know me that well" she looked at him, smirking.

"I'd like to" he breathed staring at her. She kept silent and turned to walk. Bucky followed after her and smirked. "Can you teach me some more German?" he ran to catch up with her, causing her to laugh and nod her head.

It took the pair longer than what it should have to walk back to camp, but they got caught up in conversation and Béatrice teaching Bucky some basic German phrases. She taught him how to say 'Hello', 'Please', 'Thank you', and at his request how to order a drink. The two were laughing as they approached her quarters, laughing as he continued to prononce the words he had just learned. He was getting the hang of it, but still needed much practice.

"Now you know some basic phrases" Béatrice smiled as the stopped in front of her quarters at the bottom of the steps. "German's not the prettiest language, but I'm sure you'll impress someone with it."

"Or maybe I just will use it when I come face to face with some Nazi's" he shrugged, smirking at her. "Thank you for teaching me."

"Thank you for walking me back" she smiled at him, shyly.

"It was my pleasure" he nodded his head at her. "Have a good rest of the evening Agent Faust."

Béatrice licked her lips as he began to turn and took a deep breath, praying she wouldn't regret what she was about to. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" she blurted out. She didn't know what had come over her or why she thought it would be a good idea, but she pushed any pesky reasons to not do it away.

He turned back around to face the brunette and smirked, raising his eyebrows. "Is that even proper?" he asked.

Béatrice rolled her eyes playfully and returned a smirk. "The way I see it, it's more of a thank you for walking a superior officer home. Besides no one's even around. What the Army doesn't know won't hurt it" she leaned against the door frame. Bucky stood there silently for a moment, contemplating this next move. He didn't know what took him so long to speak or to move because he already knew his answer the moment, she asked him the question. He began to walk back towards her, his eyes narrowing at her.

"In that case, I'd love to" he finally replied. Béatrice gave him a small smile and turned to walk up the steps to her quarters with Bucky right behind her. He was surprised by her offer, but he felt a sense of excitement. Opening the door, he followed her inside. The room was small, but neat in tidy. It had a bed that was neatly made and beside it a few bookshelves that had a few books and what appeared to be a stack of letters. He watched as she made her way over to a small stove on the other side of the room and began to tinker away at getting tea made.

A picture frame caught his eye as he continued to skim the room. Walking over to the dresser where it sat, he reached over and picked it up. It was a picture of her and two other people. Both of whom she looked like. He automatically assumed it was her family. He wondered if they were still in Germany or had left as she did.

"I only seem to have peppermint tea, will that be alright?" he heard her suddenly ask.

"I guess? Uh.. to be honest, I'm not really much of a tea drinker" he said setting the frame down and turning his head to her.

She chuckled quietly at him. "Most of you Americans aren't. You typically drink coffee" she said bringing over a teapot, cups, and setting them down on a nearby table.

"We did until the rationing began. They took away the good stuff and now you're lucky if you can get a decent cup of it anywhere" he walked over to the table.

"I've noticed a lot of that when I've been traveling. When I was in England last, they were trying to cut back on luxuries in order to help the war effort. It's harder for some then others" she replied.

"Do you travel a lot?" he suddenly looked up at her.

Her eyes flicked up at him and she gave him a vague look. "Depends on where I'm needed. The tea's ready, so please have a seat." She sat down as did he and she handed him a teacup, which he took setting it on the table.

"Danke" he said nodding his head at her. She smiled at his use of the German word, quite pleased with herself for some strange reason. She grabbed the nearby teapot and poured some into his own cup and then her own.

She looked up at him and noticed him staring at her curiously. Another one of his infamous smirks was forming on his lips. "You're staring. I can almost hear you thinking, what is it?" she commented suddenly.

"Nothing" the soldier shrugged playfully at her. "It's just I walk you home. We had a nice conversation. You taught me some German. We're now sitting down for some tea. I feel that we're at the point in our relationship where I deserve a name."

She left out a small huff and a smirk formed on her face. She pushed her lips together and let out a sigh. "Béatrice" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry?"

"That's my name. Béatrice."

"Béatrice" Bucky breathed as her name rolled of his lips. It made him smile somewhat. He finally got her name and for some reason it was perfect for her. "Now I'm no expert, but that really doesn't sound German" his eyes narrowed at her.

"It's French actually" Béatrice said as she setting down the tea pot. "My mother was French and my father was German. They met in a bookshop. My mother was reading William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Have you read it?" Bucky only shook his head at her taking a sip of tea. He was surprised at how it tasted. He actually quite liked it. Not as good as coffee, but a decent substitute at that.

"Well it's a wonderful play about two people who fight constantly and are at odds with one another" she continued looking at him. "However, eventually they realize they are both madly in love with one another. One of the main characters is named Beatrice. She's very witty and strong. It was always a favorite of my mothers and when I was born the name stuck."

Bucky gave her a smile. "Knowing that, the name suits you then."

Her brows furrowed at his comment, unsure of what he meant. Instead of asking for clarification, however, she asked something else. "Have you read any of Shakespeare's work?" she asked picking up her own teacup and taking a sip.

Bucky shook his head slightly. "Not much. I did read Romeo and Juliet in school, but it was more to just impress the girls."

"Ah so I did judge your character correctly" she laughed holding her teacup closer to her.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You have a habit of getting the attention of women quite quickly and frequently. You proved that tonight with your blonde friend" she smirked taking another sip of tea.

"I can't help that dames can't resist a pretty face like mine. It just happens and stuff like Romeo and Juliet helped" he shrugged playfully at her.

"Hmmm...if you were really trying to impress young women, you should have gone for the sonnets instead. Much better way of sweeping a girl off her feet. Many of them are quite beautiful" she shrugged before the two of them fell into silence for a moment.

"So..." he began tracing the top of the teacup with his finger and looking up. "I got your name finally. I know you like reading. Any chance you want to tell me more about yourself. You've got me interested now."

Béatrice rolled her eyes at his comment. "I'm really not that interesting" she replied.

"I doubt that" he flashed a smirk at her. "You're a young, strong, beautiful, may I add, woman in the military." He noticed her blush at his comment about being beautiful, but her face soon fell.

"And I'm German" she said quietly looking down at her teacup and back up at him. "That's probably the most interesting thing about it all."

"You're more than just a German though" he replied immediately. His comment had taken her aback for a moment and he mentally yelled at himself for being so brash about it, but it was true, so he did the only thing he could think of. "When I look at you, being German is one of the last things I even think about. When I look at you, I see a strong young woman who despite reasons unknown to me is fighting for something she believes in on a side that people don't think she needs to be on. You're kind, quiet, infuriating, witty, and very mysterious that it makes me so damn curious about you. You're so much more than a German."

Béatrice had a blank expression on her face as she blinked at him. She slowly opened her mouth as to respond, but nothing came out. Bucky felt his own cheeks flush as he recited what he had just said in his head. He must have made himself look like a fool. He was much smoother than this. What was happening to him?

Soon her eyes lit up and she nodded her head, trying to hold back a smile. "What would you like to know?"

"Anything really" he shrugged at her feeling desperate for anything he could get in the moment.

She sighed and her lips twitched to the side as she contemplated what to say. "Well I was born in Munich on October 31, 1922" she started. "My mother was originally from a small town in Normandy called Grandcamp-Maisy. My father was born in Berlin and studied mathematics in Paris, which is where he met my mother. He was getting his degree and teaching. They got married and moved to Munich, so he could teach. Had me eventually and when I was three, we moved to Berlin. We've been there since, until I left last year. My mother taught me to speak French and I learned Polish from school friends. "

"Any siblings or is it just you?" he asked taking another sip of tea.

Her face fell. She stared at him quietly for a moment as she asked herself the question over and over again. He sat back in his seat and watched her closely. She appeared to be somewhere else for a time, almost if she was trying to figure out how to answer his question.

"One" she finally spoke quietly. My older brother, Christoph. He's five years older than me"

"Is he still in Germany? Or did he leave as you did?" he continued.

"He's gone" she blinked looking at him.

That explained her expression. It was a painful question. His curiosity possibly brought up some painful memories for her. He felt like an idiot for doing so. He didn't meant to upset her at all. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, it's fine" she shook her head quickly. "You didn't know. What about you? Tell me about yourself" she quickly changed the subject.

"I was born in Indiana. March 10, 1917. Family moved to New York a few years after I was born. Grew up in Brooklyn" he began. "I have a sister named Rebecca, who I thought of when you told me you liked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I was laughing cause I remember reading that book with her when we were growing up nonstop. She loved it." He noticed the smile rise on her face as he mentioned Rebecca. She would like Béatrice, he already knew she would. "My best friend is named Steve. We met in school. He was getting beat up by some bullies and the kid just never can seem to run away from a fight, so I saved him and we've been friends ever since. He's been through a lot though. Sick over the years and really small hence why he can't be here with him. His mom past a few years ago and he stayed with us since then. He's really more than a friend. He's my brother." After talking about Steve, Bucky felt himself feel sad. He really wished his best friend was here. He'd probably lose his mind over the fact that he was having tea with a German beauty right now.

By the time he finished Béatrice had a fist resting under her chin. She smiled brightly at him. "Another character trait I was right about."

"What's that?" he replied leaning forward.

"You're a good friend. You care about people deeply. Do anything for them" she said as she leaned back in her chair. "Why did you want to join the Army?"

He pushed his lips together and sat his teacup down. "When Pearl Harbor was attacked and I read how many people were killed, I...I just felt like I needed to do something worthwhile. Serving my country to protect it seemed like a pretty good way to do it and when Steve was rejected for service...I had even more of a reason to do it."

"As I said, you're a good friend" she told him once he was done. "You're very noble."

"Hmm, good friend yes. Noble? I'm not so sure" he shrugged. "What about you? Why did you side with us instead of your home nation?"

"I grew up in a community that was predominantly Jewish" Béatrice answered immediately. "Most of my friends growing up were Jewish. When Hitler started to come to power and released all those..." she stopped and took a deep breath. "...horrible lies, I realized it wasn't right. Who gets to decide what is considered a superior race. We are all human beings. It shouldn't matter where we come from. We are people regardless. No one should have that power. Ever."

Bucky was taken aback by her answer. Early on, he assumed she just wanted a way to get out easily. However, there was more to it than he ever imagine. He had heard rumors of what was happening to the Jewish population. The ghettos, the disappearances, the rules and regulations. It felt more real to him now hearing about it from her. "I'd say after hearing that you're more noble than what I am. Any chance you're going to tell me what you do or even how you got out?"

"It's...complicated to explain" she replied simply, grinning mischievously.

Bucky rolled his eyes playfully at her. "Or you just can't tell me."

"That too" she laughed at his expression. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine" his told her quietly. "I get it. Whatever you do, you must be good at it, if even I can't get it out of you. Usually girls are willing to give up their secrets to me. Perks of being a lady's man I guess, but you seem to be immune to my charms."

She let out a laugh and just shrugged. "Maybe you'll find out one day. Once you're done with training and work your way up."

"Now that seems like a good goal to have" he gave her a big smile. "Especially if it means I get to see you more than just here." Her eyes widened at the comment and as she began to open her mouth to asked him why he would want to see her again, she was stopped by the loud noise that was coming from outside. It sounded as though many of the officers and recruits were returning from the bar.

"I suppose you should go. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me" Bucky said standing up, preparing to leave. "Thank you for the tea and the conversation. I enjoyed both."

Béatrice stood up as well and led him to the door. "You're welcome. I enjoyed it as well."

Bucky bit his lip and took a deep breath. He had one final question for the German girl he had just spent the evening with and he was hoping that what he was about to ask would not end up backfiring on him. "Can I see you again?" he blurted out quickly.

She chuckled at his question almost as it was a stupid question. "You'll see me around camp I'm sure" she replied smiling. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, I assure you."

"No, I mean like this" he shook his head at her. "Just the two of us."

Her eyes grew wide as he clarified. Béatrice didn't know what to think. Why did he want to keep seeing her? How was she supposed to respond to this? This was the most attention she had received from a young man besides Alexander or someone who needed her to decode letters from her father. Perhaps she should see things through. Why did she have to lose? She had another few weeks before training would be over and she would be shipped off to God knows where. It wasn't the most logical thing, but life was short she learned. She wasn't going to wait around anymore. Slowly, she nodded her head. "I'll get a message to you as to when and where" she continued to look at him.

Bucky felt his face turn to a slight frown in confusion. "How?"

"I have my methods. I've been kept around due to certain skill sets I've acquired" she smirked at him. "Let me worry about that."

His smile grew into a wide grin as he laughed. "Alright then. I look forward to it."

"As do I...James" she gave him a smile in return.

"James now is it?" his face fell playfully and his eyebrows rose. "Now that definitely isn't proper by your standard."

"Being proper can sometimes be boring. Especially between two people who are now friends" she told him simply.

"So, we're friends now?" he asked leaning an arm against the door frame.

"Is that acceptable?" she raised her own eyebrows at him.

Bucky's lip twitched and he pushed this together, before opening the door to go outside. "For now." With that he quickly walked away before Béatrice could say anything. The comment left her dumbfounded completely, contemplating what the hell the American meant by that.

She blinked twice before just shaking her head in disbelief. "Americans" she sighed deeply before shutting her door.

This will probably be the last posting for this week. I'm going to continue work on future chapters. Let me know your thoughts!