Chapter Thirty-six: Moving Forward

2 years later. . .June 1943

It had been quite an adjustment for Emma living in the forties but thanks to the help of Peggy, she managed it. It hadn't been so bad, actually, with the destruction of working with the SSR. She and Peggy managed to do great work. Spending time in the sewers of New York City hadn't been so great. She also spent some time in the Soviet Union with Peggy learning the local dialect which ended up keeping them from freezing to death. Okay, so maybe that hadn't been so great.

Learning to live without some of the technology that they had in the future was harder than she had imagined. She missed her phone, access to television especially Netflix, and she missed being able to filter water. It kind of sucked having to boil everything all the time. She was lucky that the super soldier serum had kicked in or otherwise she probably would have died without access to certain medicines. Most importantly, she missed Natasha and Steve. There hadn't been a day that went by that she didn't think about them.

Luckily she had Peggy on days where she missed them the most. She had stayed true to herself since the forties so it wasn't that much different than having her actual grandmother around. Peggy had always been great at making her feel better. Unfortunately, this was the part where the went their separate ways for a little while.

Peggy had been assigned to Phillips' training base, Camp Lehigh, where she would meet the candidates for Project Rebirth. Bucky had been deployed already with the 107th and so, Emma would be joining him as a nurse. She was nervous. She had usually kept an eye on him from a far but this would be the first time that she would meet him face to face. She hadn't felt this nervous since she first came here.

She already had more training in medicine then the nurses in the 107th due to her field work from SHIELD. She began her work as a nurse right away they were so impressed. Emma had meet Bucky Barnes a couple of days into her job. He had been helping train a couple of recruits when a gun accidentally went off. Luckily, it only grazed his arm. It had been his left arm, the arm that he would one day loose. Emma tried not to think about it as she stitched him up. Emma couldn't take the silence between them anymore. She had to say something.

"You're very lucky, Sergeant Barnes," Emma spoke up. "Could have been much worse."

"I'm a very lucky guy," Bucky said with a crooked smile. "I mean, I wind up getting shot and to my luck I end up getting stitched up by the most beautiful dame I've ever laid eyes on."

Emma tried not to blush but it was very hard not to when she was complimented by a very handsome man. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Your charms may work on some women but it will not work on me," Emma replied.

"Your rosy cheeks say differently," Bucky said with a smirk.

Emma ignores the butterflies that began fluttering around in her stomach as he looked at her. His greenish blue eyes were full of awareness unlike the blank expression he would one day have, the look of someone who didn't know who they were. This man knew he was and knew exactly what he wanted. If only he knew who he was flirting with.

"It's just a little warm in here," Emma said with a smile.

"Right, and we're not in the middle of a war," Bucky said with a sarcastic laugh. "By the way you have a beautiful British accent."

It wasn't difficult for her accent to develop since she already had a bit of one and once she started using it, the more she got used to it. Now, it was a part of her.

"Yes, thank you. You tend to get them by being born and raised across the pond," Emma said as she finished stitching him up.

"Beautiful and funny," Bucky said with his bright, charming smile.

"Well, you're all done here, Sergeant," Emma said. "Now, you don't have an excuse to stay and flirt with me."

Bucky smiled and hopped off the edge of the bed, looking down at her. He was standing too close to her now and she hoped he couldn't hear how loud her heart was racing.

"I don't think I got your name," Bucky said.

"It's because I didn't give it to you," Emma replied. "Penelope Carter."

"It's nice to meet you, Penny," Bucky said, taking her hand. "And I have to ask, are you taken?"

"Are you asking me if I've been kidnapped or if I am in a relationship?" Emma asked and Bucky laughed. "Also, the name is Penelope and no, I am currently unavailable."

"That's good to know," he said, and turned to leave. "See you later, rosebud."

"The name is Penelope," she called out to him and he left with a laugh.

This was not how she expected to meet Bucky Barnes or the feeling he left behind. Emma resisted the urge to face plant into one of the hospital bed pillows.

Over the next couple of weeks Bucky found any excuse to come into the medical tent which included anything even for a splinter in his finger. Every single time he kept asking her to dinner and every time she turned him down. He wasn't aggressive about it though like some guys are and he would laugh it off when she would turn him down. Finally, he came into the tent with a proposition.

"Look, Penny -," Bucky started.

"It's Penelope," she said , correcting him as per usual.

"Penelope, I know I've come in here asking you out all the time," Bucky said. "I haven't realized how annoying that might be for you. I just really like you and I didn't want to give up hope that there might be something between us. Obviously, that's not going to happen. I just – maybe, can we be friends?"

"Friends would be nice," she replied with a smile.

"You don't have to answer but I'm always going to wonder, why don't you want to go out with me?" Bucky asked.

Emma wasn't sure how to answer that. How could she? The reason she couldn't go out with him was because she was from the future and he was her grandfather's best friend. The would be too weird, wouldn't it? Was that the only reason she was saying no, though? Was something else holding her back? It's not like she didn't like Bucky because she did. She really did.

Everything he came into her tent was a brighter day for her. Her made her laugh and smile, leaving her with a funny feeling in her stomach that she had never felt before. She had never even felt that way with Bruce. Maybe that's why she kept saying no, she was afraid of putting herself out there and getting hurt again. It felt so cliché.

"I was in a relationship before," Emma said. "Even though we hadn't been together in a long time, I think a part of me always thought we'd find our way back to each other. It's stupid, I know."

"It's not stupid," Bucky said softly. "The guy was stupid for letting you go. Is there a chance that you guys could back together?"

"I know that's never going to happen with him again. I just don't know how to move forward," Emma said with a soft smile. "I do like you, Bucky."

"Maybe you should move forward with one step at a time," Bucky said. "And I'll be here for you in whatever way possible."

Emma smiled at him. He was still hopeful, she could tell, but he was also being honest. Maybe she could move forward with him and who cares if Bucky was Steve's best friend? Bruce was Steve's friend too and she had dated him.

"I'll go out to dinner with you," Emma said.

"As a friend?" Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow and Emma shook her head. Bucky grinned.

The next evening Bucky got permission to take her off base and took her to a quaint restaurant . It served the best Italian food and held a small floor for couples to dance. They talked into the night and then he took her to the dance floor where they danced the night away. As Bucky held her in his arms Emma never felt safer. She never wanted him to let her go. Looking into his eyes, she tried not to think about what the future held for him. Her smile fell a little and as a slow song came on she rested her head on his chest. Emma smiled when she felt him rest his chin on top of her head. Her worries faded into oblivion.