Nightmares of War - Steve Rogers/Captain America
The sun beat down on me and I glanced around, feeling the sweat drip down my back as I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. A storm was coming, I could feel it. Something bad was about to happen, it doesn't stay calm for long in wars; even for nurses.
The ground shook as bombs landed, I could hear the droning sound of the war planes as the enemy caused massive explosions in a mass of numbers. It only about two minutes before the field hospital was turned into chaos. It was like a scene from hell, masses of soldiers were being brought in with horrific and life ending injuries and wounds. I soon lost count in the crowd of people, but there were only so many doctors and nurses here. Most of the patients wouldn't make it.
"Nurse!" An agonised scream broke through to me and I ran over to the man clutching his neck as blood seeped between his fingers. "Please, help me!"
"Okay, calm down, it'll make the blood flow slow." I said, pulling his hand away to see the damage when blood started squirting over the white apron on my chest. I'd realised that his artery had been punctured and immediately stuck my fingers into his neck, stopping the blood flowing out the wound.
"A-am I gonna die?"
"No sweetheart, you're going to be just fine." I said softly right before his eyes fluttered shut and he slumped to the ground. I bit back the tears and removed my now bloody fingers from the inside of his neck, moving on to another patient.
The men just arriving were in the worst condition, they were the ones that were caught right in the middle of the attack. I pushed back the churning feeling in my stomach and just managed to duck behind an ambulance before a bomb exploded in the middle of the hospital field. Screams pierced through the air and I coughed as dust got caught in my throat.
I got shoved from behind and banged my forehead on the metal side of the car, making me wince. I pushed the sting away and darted towards another group of men I had seen get hit with shrapnel. All of them were dead apart from one who looked up at me with hope in his eyes. I tore a piece of his shirt off and used it to quench the blood flow coming from his side before managing to drag him into the slightly roughened up hospital where a doctor took him off my hands. I ran back outside and realised that I was the only nurse out here, the rest were too busy inside.
I heard yelling and turned around with wide eyes as a bomb came sailing down from the sky only a few yards from where I was standing. It flew past me about a foot away and hit the jeep I was previously hiding behind, nearly making my heart stop. I puffed out a breath before pushing the fear and exhaustion out my body and running into the thick of the attack where no one was helping the fallen soldiers.
"Men it's an angel!" I heard a masculine voice yell. "Nurse, please, over here!" I hurried over to where the excited voices where and saw a group of three men lying in a muddy ditch. "Bless you sweetheart, bless you!"
I tried to climb down into it, but ended up slipping and fell a little ungracefully into the dirty pothole filled with water at the bottom.
"Easy there lass! We don't want you hurt." another said as I wiped the dirty water from my face. I noticed my apron was now stained light pink from the blood that was mixed in with the water.
"Which of you can move?" I asked, looking at the three men. The oldest looking one shakily stood up and raised his hand. "You're going to have to help me get these two out of here. There's not enough room to treat you in here."
"Yes miss." he replied, helping me haul the first man out into the putrid air filled with smoke and fire.
/
Steve's POV
"Pepper, I'm sure she's okay; you know she always pulls through. She's come home before." Tony tried reasoning with Pepper who was panicking and crying as we had just heard that the filed hospital her best friend was working at was bombed a couple days back from the war in Iraq.
"Have faith, many a man returned from the war when I joined in the 1940s. A lot more than we thought would be coming home in fact." I spoke up, making her look at me. She gave me a small watery smile and I nodded once at her, letting her know I understood.
"I just hate it when this happens, last time she came back with a bullet wound in her thigh." She sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I hate having the dreaded feeling that she may not come back to me one day."
The elevator at the end of the living room made a noise, signalling that someone was coming up here. All three of us looked over as the door slid open, revealing a very pretty looking young woman covered in dirt and blood; wearing what looked like military nurse uniform which was ruffled along with her red hair. She stepped out of the elevator and Pepper released a small scream.
"Gabriella!" She shot up from the chair and ran over to the young woman, who I was presuming was named Gabriella, before hugging her in what looked like quite a violent embrace.
End Steve's POV
"God, I'm so glad you're okay. I heard the hospital got bombed and thought you wouldn't come back." She sighed, squeezing me tightly; making me wince slightly as my whole body ached but I hid it from her so she could feel better first.
"I'll always come back, I'm not gonna leave you to deal with Fury and SHIELD on your own."
I smiled as I got a small laugh out of her before she pulled back, taking a good look at me; making me feel a little self-conscious under her scrutiny. Before she could say anything I was pulled into another hug, this time from Tony.
"Welcome back Gabs." He smiled, ruffling my already knotted hair which was basically out of the bun it used to be in a few days ago. I smiled before realising there was another man in the room with us. He noticed I'd seen him and walked over, making me see he was quite well built with dark blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Steve Rogers ma'am, pleasure to meet you." He smiled, holding his hand out.
"Gabriella sir." I smiled, hesitating a little to shake his hand. "Sorry about the mess I'm in, I didn't have a chance to clean up before coming home." I felt myself blush lightly as he took my hand in his and kissed the back of it.
"It's no problem Miss, you were protecting the soldiers; that is a job worthy of respect from me."
Tony distracted Steve for a minute by saying something and I let myself slip away, motioning to Pepper that I was going to shower and making her nod.
Once I was in the shower I let the scalding hot water wash over me, scrubbing my skin to try and rid myself of the dirt and foreign blood from numerous soldiers; too many that I lost count over the past few days.
I felt tears sliding down my cheeks, mixing with the water from the shower. I let a sob escape from between my lips and slid down the shower wall until I was sitting on the floor of the shower cubicle, letting the warm water beat down on me as I cried into my hands.
/
I felt myself going into a cold sweat, but the nightmare wouldn't release its clutches on me; making me panic and struggle to escape its grasp. The horrific images flashed through my mind of all the soldiers I couldn't save as well as the wounds that I had witnessed, making me scream.
"Ma'am!" I felt a rough shake of my shoulders and my eyes finally snapped open, making me shoot upright with a loud gasp as I flinched when someone reached out to touch me. "Gabriella, it's me Steve."
I looked at the owner of the deep smooth voice and realised that it was indeed Steve looking at me with slightly worried eyes. I looked down at the bed spread and calmed my breathing until it was nion back to normal again. I shivered as the cold got to me before looking up at the man in front of me as he wrapped a large military looking jacket around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry I woke you." I apologised, looking away in embarrassment.
"No, it's fine. I think I can imagine what the nightmare was about though." That remark made me look back at him to see his blue eyes staring intently at me. "The war, the images that you've seen which cannot be undone. I could go on, but I don't think I have to."
"You would think that when you've been in there for more than six years, you would get used to it. But I don't think that it's possible, the horror can be too much at times where you just have to make yourself go blank from any emotion as you watch them die in front of you." I said softly, seeing his face soften.
"I understand, back in the forties the war was something no one was expecting; the death toll took everyone by surprise, especially on the soldiers out in the field."
"I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually fight in it. I'm only a nurse; I tend to the wounded and dying. But, I went out into the area that was being bombed a couple days ago. The injuries there caused terror to strike into my heart; I was the only nurse outside. I didn't know which fallen soldier to go to; they were all calling for me. I had to choose, I hated that feeling." I whispered, feeling the tears welling back up into my eyes. His large hand reached over and grasped hold of both of mine, the warmth comforting me slightly.
"The nightmares of war are one of the prices to pay for fighting for your country." He smiled sadly and I felt at ease, knowing that he understood me. A comfortable silence fell between us for a few minutes before I chose to break it.
"You know, I love the music from your era." I said, noticing a smile touch his lips. "Especially the songs that were created during the war, they meant something special when they were written and to me they've carried that on to today."
"Not many people nowadays remember them, or seem to like it."
"What was your favourite? I love Vera Lynn." I remarked, making him smile.
"She was good; I remember seeing her in concert once when I was just joining the army." His eyes became glassy and distant as he remembered his past and I left him like that for a couple minutes, letting him reminisce.
I gently touched his arm, making him jump as he snapped back to the present and looked at me. He apologised with a light pink dusted across his cheeks.
"JARVIS, can you play playlist five quietly please?" I asked.
"Of course Miss."
I watched as Steve's eyes widened as my playlist of forties music began playing softly throughout my bedroom and smiled as he shut his eyes with a smile playing across his lips. His fingers slipped between mine and I glanced down at them in shock before realised he was looking at me.
"Thank you." He said quietly.
/
Steve's POV
I woke up to find myself not in my own bed, but instead in Gabriella's. I looked over on the opposite side of the large bed and saw her curled into a small ball still asleep; making me smile at how beautiful she looked with the sun shining softly on her face. I managed to get out the bed and half way across the room without waking her up.
"Where are you going?" I jumped at the voice as I was reaching for the door handle and turned round to see Gabriella sitting upright, rubbing her eyes before she looked over at me with a smile. "You get used to being a light sleeper when you're out in the field."
"I was going to leave so you could get ready in private ma'am."
"Please call me Gabriella, Steve." She smiled, making my cheeks warm slightly before I nodded and slipped out her room; shutting the door with a quiet click behind me.
It was around half an hour later that Gabriella joined Tony, Pepper and I in the kitchenette, wearing a pair of jeans which clung to her legs and a shirt which accentuated the curves she possessed. I caught myself blushing at the thoughts in my head and immediately pushed them back.
"You know, I couldn't help but notice Steve sneaking out of your room this morning Gabs." Tony commented, making Pepper nearly spit out her coffee before she raised her eyebrows with a smile.
"We were talking last night, then we fell asleep." Gabriella replied simply.
"Talking, eh?" He arched an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes.
"I had a nightmare which woke him up, and then we shared war stories while listening to music."
"So you didn't fuck?" I cringed and noticed Gabriella do the same at his use of language.
"Please refrain from calling it that, you're so vulgar sometimes." She remarked, accepting the cup of coffee I passed down to her with a smile. "But no, sorry to disappoint your strangely obsessed mind Stark."
"You know he's like ninety-six." He remarked, making me shake my head at him in annoyance.
"Maybe so, but he is a gentleman unlike you Tony. And I happen to prefer that in men." She sent me a smile as she looked at me from over the top of her cup, making a smile appear on my face when I noticed her cheeks were coloured a lovely rose pink.
End Steve's POV