Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes

I was sharing a bunkhouse with the only other woman on base – Agent Peggy Carter. My trunk had been delivered while I was at the lab. Now, my day finished, I was busying myself with unpacking.

The place was sparse, just a pair of twin beds, each with a footlocker, and a desk for each of us. There was an attached bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet. It did amuse me though to see that the shutters had been nailed down to prevent someone outside from looking in. Aside from that, the room was pretty much empty. I'd moved my clothes into my footlocker, shoved my trunk under my bed and out of the way, arranged the desk the way I liked it, and now I was sitting on my bed in my stocking feet, waiting anxiously for the arrival of my roommate.

I didn't know what to expect from Agent Peggy Carter. I knew nothing about her other than that she was British and was overseeing the training of the recruits. I had no idea what she'd be like. My mind was conjuring up images of a bear of a woman with a voice like a drill sergeant barking at me to straighten up my side of the room. I shuddered at the mental image and tried to focus on my book.

It was no use. I'd never had a roommate. There were about eight extra bedrooms in the house I grew up in, so even when my uncle and his three children came to visit we never had to share. At school I lived alone at Cherryton, a collection of cottages available slightly off campuses for students to rent and live in during the semester.

I was pleasantly surprised when a tall, uniformed woman walked in, brown hair in victory curls and lips smeared bright red. She blinked, looking mildly surprised when she saw me sitting on the edge of my bed.

"You must be Josephine Ealum," she said slowly, nodding to herself. I nodded and stood, setting my book aside and approaching her.

"Call me Josie," I said, offering my hand. She took it and shook.

"Agent Peggy Carter," she introduced herself, looking around and noticing the small signs that I'd moved in – the rumbled bed sheets where I'd been sitting and the spray of papers of the second desk. "You're Erskine's new lab assistant."

I nodded and stepped aside to let her come more fully into the room. "That's right," I said, moving back to my bed and sitting down again.

"You're the one who was interested in human mutation?" she pressed. I nodded again. "Well, I have to say I'm surprised he hired you. Surprised, but… pleased."

I winced. "I know I don't have a doctorate."

"Oh it's not that," Peggy assured me, moving to her desk and sitting down in the chair. She bent over and began to unlace her shoes, pulling them off and setting them aside. "Plenty of Erskine's assistants are graduate students. I know firsthand that this place isn't exactly welcoming to women. That's why I'm pleased you're here." She smiled slightly. "I'm not the only woman anymore."

"I'm relieved as well," I admitted. "Walking through the camp…" I shuddered dramatically. "I was worried I'd never get a break."

"They won't stop," Peggy warned me. "But they will tone it down once the newness had worn off."

"That's something I suppose," I sighed, disappointed. I supposed it had been too much to hope that they would stop entirely.

"Have you found all of the buildings alright?" Peggy asked politely, crossing her legs and reaching up to undo her tie. I snorted at that.

"Oh yes, Dr. Campbell was kind enough to direct me to the mess hall the moment I explained why I was there," I cooed sarcastically. Peggy smiled slightly at that.

"I hope you didn't let him get away with that."

"I informed him I'd already eaten and I needed to know where I was supposed to be in the lab."

"I'm guessing he didn't like that?" Peggy looked amused by my story. I guessed she'd met Campbell before. He probably had just as big a problem with her as he did with me, if not more.

"No, his friend Dr. Worth pointed me in the direction of the cleaning supplies."

"And?" Peggy pressed.

"I told him I was glad to know, in case I had to clean up after the pair of them in the future."

Peggy chuckled at that. "You'll do fine," she said confidently. "I was worried they'd send some little girl who'd be too distracted by the soldiers."

I shook my head. "They haven't exactly made the best first impression."

"I wouldn't hold out hope for their third or fourth impressions either."


Aside from Worth and Campbell, most people didn't seem to have a problem with me being in the lab. They knew Erskine brought me there, so there was obviously a reason. They weren't fighting me for the professor's attention, so as long as I didn't get in their way or make a mess of things, they didn't care.

I quickly realized that the scientists tended to stick somewhat within their coworkers. For example, the chemists spent most of their time in one area and the biologists elsewhere. I, as a chemist and genetics specialist, bopped randomly between the two groups. I also spent time with our medical advisor, one Dr. Lionel Williams.

He was an older, balding man in his fifties. He was in the cavalry in the last war until his horse went down, crushing his right leg. He recovered, but he had a heavy limp. He'd returned home and gone to school, getting his medical degree. He was one of the few who were downright friendly to me, taking me aside to introduce himself properly and welcome me to the team.

We weren't allowed to take anything out of the lab without clearance Erskine's clearance, and only then it was to take things to the lab in Brooklyn where the experiment would be performed on the first human test subject. That was a long way away though. For now, the lab was still being built under the direct supervision of – and this blew me away – Howard Stark.

For my lunch break, I gathered up my own research and headed to the mess, grabbing a sandwich and a cup of water before heading out to a young tree that stood not too far from the trail where the recruits did their running. I sat down and spread my papers around me, pinning them down with small twigs and rocks. Satisfied, I sat down against the tree with my sandwich in one hand, a pen in the other, and a notebook in my lap, and began to work.

Barely ten minutes later, I heard footsteps on grass. I inhaled deeply and smelled a scent that made my head spin dizzily. Petrichor and something electric – it was delicious. My mouth was watering as a shadow fell over the papers.

"Is this a private picnic or can anyone join?"

I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sun with my palm. Standing over me was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair, a strong jaw, and the most gorgeous pair of ocean blue eyes I'd ever seen. He wore cargo pants and a white undershirt, his Kelly green standard-issue button-front hanging open. His dog tags dangled in front of his chest.

"You're Erskine's new girl, right?" he asked again. I nodded slowly. He flashed me a smile that was about one half grin and one half smirk. "Thought so. You threw the guys into a tailspin, walking in like you did."

I raised an eyebrow and asked slowly, "And how did I walk in?"

This was the first conversation I'd ever had with a soldier. Most of them were content to shout bad lines at my back as I walked past. Those who actually tried to talk to me I was usually able to avoid.

"Well, we weren't expecting a dame like you to just stroll down the lane," the man said pointedly. "These guys haven't seen a girl in months and then a lady as pretty as you walks in?" He shook his head. "They could be a bit nicer about it, I'll grant them. I heard what you did to Chuck to keep his hands off of you." He chuckled.

This soldier… wasn't hitting on me. Arrogant as it sounded, I was surprised. Or rather, he was – I thought? – but he wasn't being so crass about it. Unless he was just genuinely being friendly? I had no idea. My lack of experience with men meant that talking to them was pretty much uncharted water for me. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. How did you know if a guy was being just being nice or if he was flirting?

Years of etiquette lessons kicked in, saving me from embarrassment. Instinctively I reached out and offered him my hand. "My name is Josephine Ealum," I said automatically. He took my hand. His own was large and warm, almost wrapping all the way around my own. Unlike Worth, his palm wasn't sweaty.

"James Buchanan Barnes," he introduced himself, giving my hand a firm shake. He didn't hold it like it might break, he just shook it. "You can call me Bucky."

I smiled slightly. "You can call me Josie."

He smiled, and this time it really was more smile than smirk. "So where're you from, Josie Ealum?"

I tilted my head, remembering Campbell's sneer. A Southern girl, he'd said, like it was something to be ashamed of. I knew the stereotype of Southerners as uneducated hick, and I was suspicious. Was he trying to turn this around? Was he going to make fun of me?

"Why d'you ask?"

"Well, I've just never heard anyone who sounds quite like you," Bucky said with a shrug. "You don't exactly sound like the girls back in Brooklyn."

I filed that away – he was from Brooklyn. And he seemed genuine, I couldn't see any hint of deceit on him. He really was just curious. "I'm from Kentucky. Garfield."

"I'm going to nod like I know where that is." Bucky nodded his head melodramatically. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Garfield was a tiny blink-and-you-miss it town. Sometimes I thought it only existed so that the farms in the area could technically belong in a town.

"There're about five hundred people there," I explained. "I'm not surprised."

Bucky's eyes widened comically. "Wow. Little different from Brooklyn, I'm guessing?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know, I've never been."

Bucky whistled low, shaking his head. "Now that's just heartbreaking. But what brings a girl from a tiny town in Kentucky out to this dump?"

I shrugged. "I wanted a doctorate. Dr. Erskine said I could get one in exchange for working on the project instead of sitting through more classes."

Bucky's eyes widened. I scowled slightly. He'd probably assumed I was a secretary or just there to fetch the coffee or something.

"A doctor?" He whistled again, this time looking impressed. I was a little mollified. "Doctor of what?"

"Biology and chemistry, with a focus in human mutation," I rattled off. Bucky made a face.

"Human mutation? What like… like extra eyes and stuff?"

I shook my head, laughing genuinely. I gestured to the papers scattered around me in amusement. "See for yourself," I offered. Bucky reached out and lifted the stone off the nearest piece of paper, picking it up. I saw him start to read and watched his eyes get bigger and bigger.

"These are not real words," he said in disbelief. "MC1R, OCA2… What is this?" he asked, looking at the paper blankly.

I chuckled. "It's a gene map. MC1R is the gene known for giving people red hair. It's actually a mutation that's become common, which is called a polymorph."

"Polymorph," Bucky repeated slowly. He smiled slightly. "That's kind of crazy to think about. Tell me something else I don't know," he requested, smiling at me.

I grinned. I had the perfect thing. The first thing I did when I looked at a person was scan their face, their coloring, looking for mutations. Redheads, eye colors, cleft chins, and freckles leapt out, but you had to look closer to see things like double eyelashes or ask to find out whether or not they had wisdom teeth.

"Would it interest you to know that you are a mutant?" I asked him slyly.

Bucky blinked. "Come again?"

I nodded, smiling. "Blue eyes are a mutation. The mutation occurred millions of years ago and since then it's spread all over, but blue eyes started out as a mutation. It's become a polymorph," I explained eagerly. Someone was listening when I talked instead of just spacing out or nodding and saying 'That's nice Josie.'

"Does that mean you're a mutant too?" Bucky asked, gesturing to my own grey eyes.

My heart pounded slightly as I nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Huh." Bucky settled for a second, digesting that fact. Then he looked up at me and gave me a brilliant beam. "Well, if you don't mind me saying, that's a pretty mutation you have."

I smiled, blushing slightly, before shyly admitting, "You too."