Okay, so as previously stated, this will mostly follow the plot line of The First Avenger, but I'll be changing a few small things. If you find any plot holes I didn't, make something up I guess hahaha.

Also, I changed the dialogue up a bit, partly because Amelia's been thrown in the mix and partly because I couldn't remember some of it so I had to make it up as I went along.

1941

Amelia stared at the piece of paper in her hands. Her entire body felt numb, and she'd already had to read the paper three times before the news sunk in and she actually understood what it said. Her hands began to shake and she laid the paper down on the table.

"So soon?" she managed in a strangled voice. His hands came to rest on her shoulders.

"You know I have to go," he said gently. His face appeared in front of hers. "It's my duty."

"But next week?"

"I know." His arms circled around her and he held her tight. "But you know what? After this war is over I'll come home to you. We can postpone the wedding until then, right? When I come home we'll get married and chase all our dreams!"

"A house of our own," she said with a watery smile. "And a few children?"

Bucky shook his head and grinned at her. "You're not dreaming big enough, Mia!" He pulled her to her feet and danced with her around the small kitchen. "You'll be a world famous dancer, the best on Earth! I'll be a decorated war hero."

"A general," she smiled at him. "The bravest soldier in the army."

"And we'll finally be able to get out of Brooklyn," he said. "We'll have any house we want. We'll have the Governor's mansion!"

"I'm pretty sure you'd have to be the Governor," she laughed.

""Governor Barnes," he said, spreading his arms. "I like the sound of that. Governor Barnes and his amazing, gorgeous wife, improving New York every day."

"But I'll still be a world famous dancer?" she teased.

"Absolutely. I'll come to every performance, I promise," he vowed.

She pulled him close. "Just come home. I'll be more than happy if you just come home."

The week passed much quicker than either of them would have liked. Amelia ended up taking care of a sick Steve for most of it, who complained she was babying him too much. Bucky insisted on taking them to the Stark Expo that night, his last night home, despite Amelia's protests that Steve needed rest.

Standing outside the library, Amelia fixed her hair one last time and looked at her watch. They were late again, and she didn't know why she was surprised. Ever since childhood they could count on Bucky being at least ten minutes late, and since moving in with him Steve seemed to be picking up on his friend's bad habits. She sighed and glanced around, smiling when she saw her boys approaching. However, her smile quickly disappeared when she saw the state of Steve's face.

"What happened to you?" she asked as she pushed his hair out of his face and examined his eye. It was puffy and bruising, and Steve hissed when she touched it.

"Nothing-"

"He got himself in another fight."

"Steve," she sighed. "What are we going to do with you?"

"I was just teaching the guy a lesson," he smiled cheekily at her.

"Oh, I'm sure," she smiled back. "You need to stop being so reckless."

"That's not all," Bucky frowned. "You want to tell her, or should I?"

Steve squirmed under his gaze. "I don't know what-"

"Steve from Paramus was denied enlistment." The smaller man glared harshly at his friend and she raised an eyebrow.

"Paramus? I mean I know you're desperate to join the army, but Jersey, Steve?"

"See?" Steve said, turning to Bucky. "She didn't yell. She doesn't think I'm being ridiculous."

"I think you're both missing the-"

"I never said you're not being ridiculous," she cut in. "I definitely think you're being stupid and reckless and a bunch of other things. But I figure you'll hear enough of it from everyone else. Plus I'm a little more concerned about your eye." She touched it again and Steve pulled away from her.

"Can we just get going?" Steve mumbled. They dropped the subject and began walking, Amelia linking arms with Bucky who kissed the side of her head sweetly. They talked about their days for a little bit, but they only got about halfway to the Expo before Steve and Bucky started up again.

"I don't see what your issue is," Bucky said as the trio entered the Expo. "You're about to be the last eligible guy in New York. That's the opposite of an issue."

"Easy for you to say," Steve grumbled. "You've never had a problem with women. What I'd do for just one…."

"Good thing I took care of that," Bucky said, waving to a girl standing near a display. She waved back and ran over to them.

"Steve, this is Connie. She used to go to school with us, remember?"

"I remember," Steve said, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet. "Nice to see you Connie."

"You too, Steve," she said through an obviously forced smile and Amelia had the urge to punch her in the teeth. "Bucky said he and his friends were spending the night at the Expo and invited me along."

"Yeah, it's my last night in the city," Bucky said. "Oh, Connie, this is my fiancée, Amelia." She shook the other woman's hand.

"Congratulations," Connie beamed at her.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Hey, it's starting," Bucky said as they heard music blast from a nearby stage. He grabbed Amelia's hand and pulled her through the crowd. They all listened intently as Howard Stark started talking about some sort of fancy technology and flying cars. Amelia turned to make sure Steve could see and managed to catch him offer a small bag of popcorn to Connie. The girl hesitated for a second but had the grace to accept the snack.

She turned back around when she heard the crowd gasp. The car on the stage was actually hovering, and she heard Bucky murmur something in amazement. A second later, though, it began to spark and fell back onto the stage with a large crash.

"Well, I did say a few years, right?" Howard Stark said with a small laugh, and the audience applauded politely. She felt Bucky turn and start to say something, but he cut off abruptly.

"Come with me," he hissed in her ear a moment later. "Steve's gone." The two searched the exhibitions frantically before Amelia pointed out the army recruitment poster. They made it to the designated building as Steve stepped up onto a platform. It was supposed to show you your face on the body of a soldier, but only the top half of Steve's head peeked out on the image. Bucky reached out and shoved his friend's shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Trying my luck," the small man replied, straightening his jacket.

"As who, Steve from Ohio?" Bucky ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Amelia recognized as one he only did when he as worked up

"Bucky, calm down" she said in an attempt to soothe him, grabbing his sleeve.

"Why?" Bucky exclaimed. "They'll catch him, or worse, they'll actually take him!"

"Steve, let's just go," Amelia said softly. "Let's just go dancing and enjoy our night, okay? There are plenty of jobs you can do here."

"Yeah," Bucky interjected. "Maybe the two of you can find a job together. That sound good?"

"No! That sounds awful!"

"Steve-"

"What am I supposed to do, Buck? Collect crap metal in my little red wagon?"

"Yes!" Bucky's face began to turn red. "This isn't a back alley or a game, Steve! This is war, with guns and bombs and hatred everywhere."

"And that's why I need to go. Don't you see-"

"No! I don't see!"

Amelia stepped between the two men and placed a hand on either of their chests. "I think you guys need to take a take a breath."

"Stay out of this, Mia."

"No!" she snapped, her patience gone. She whirled on Bucky. "Don't you dare tell me to stay out of this, James! Do it again and I will tear your arm off and beat you with is. And you-" she turned on Steve- "don't think I've forgotten about you. This decision doesn't affect just you."

"I didn't expect you to understand," Steve frowned.

"Understand?" Amelia grabbed him by the chin roughly. "Understand this. I'm already losing Bucky. If you go to war, I lose you too. I don't think I could bear that." Tears stung her eyes and she struggled to get her breathing under control. Bucky sighed and hugged her close.

"Mia, please don't cry," he said. "You're not going to lose either one of us."

"You can't promise that, and you know it," she said, pushing his arms away.

"See what you've done?" Bucky snapped at Steve. "Why can't you just stay here?"

"Oh, don't blame just him," she began, but Steve talked over her.

"I'm not going to just sit in a factory, Bucky," the younger man snapped back. "There are men out there laying down their lives. I've got no right to do any less than them. This isn't about me."

Bucky scoffed and narrowed his eyes. "Right. Because you've got nothing to prove." Steve looked like he was about to answer when Amelia stepped between them again and them off.

"The two of you are being idiots," she hissed, ignoring the looks they both gave her. "It's the last night we have all together, and the two of you are spending it arguing with each other. And I don't know about either of you, but I definitely don't feel like dancing now."

"Let me walk you home," Bucky said. "It's the least I can do."

"I'm sorry," Steve told her. "I didn't mean to ruin your night."

"It's because I care about you that I worry," she said, hugging him.

"I know," he smiled.

"Try not to do anything stupid until I get back," Bucky said.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

"You're a punk.

"Jerk." The two friends hugged each other, then Bucky slung his arm over Amelia's shoulders and they walked away. Bucky stopped briefly to apologize to Connie,who waved it off and insisted it was fine. The three of them left the Expo together and went in opposite directions.

"I'm just worried about him," Buck ranted as they walked. "You know how he is. What if he keeps picking fights? I won't be around to save his sorry ass. What then?"

"I guess you'll just have to trust that he can handle himself."

"We both know he can't. I don't know if he actively seeks out fights or if they just find him like a magnet, but there are only so many times a body can handle being beaten up."

"Well I'll be here too," Amelia reminded him. "I can try to prevent them from happening in the first place. We'll take care of each other, just like we always have."

"Promise me you'll keep him out of trouble," Bucky said, pulling her in for a kiss. "And promise me you'll stay out of trouble too. Steve isn't the only one I worry about."

"We'll be fine," she insisted. "Don't worry about us so much that you forget to worry about yourself."

"I probably won't be seeing combat for a while," he assured her.

"But that doesn't mean you wan't see combat ever," Amelia frowned. She stepped in front of him and stopped him. "This is war, Bucky. It's dangerous, and I'm so scared that one day men will show up on my doorstep with a letter and a flag."

"Don't think like that," he said, kissing her hand. "You'll make yourself sick."

"But it's a very real possibility," she said, thinking of her sister. "Molly's had to move back home with her son. Every night I catch her tracing the outline of Danny's star. I don't want to end up like that."

"And you won't," he vowed. He lifted a chain from around his neck and pressed it into her palm. "I want you to hold onto this for me. It was my father's before he passed it on to me. As long as you have it I will always find a way back to you."

Amelia studied the small pendant of St. Anthony, then slipped it over her head and around her neck. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too," he said and kissed her forehead. "But I have the best incentive to make it back home. We still have to get married." They arrived outside Amelia's house, but she curled herself into Bucky's strong embrace.

"Take care of each other, okay?" He murmured and she nodded against his chest.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself," she said in return, and Bucky wiped away a tear that managed to escape her eye.

"Of course." He kissed her deeply, desperate for more time with her.

"I love you, Bucky Barnes."

"And I love you." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "I'll be seeing you."

Amelia ran up the stairs to her house, tears flowing freely. Fear for Bucky's safety took over her mind as she made her way up to her bedroom. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if he didn't come back, and she didn't want to find out.

Bucky had been about to leave when Amelia's father came out of the house and jogged down the stairs, calling his name.

"Sir?" The younger man said.

"You heading overseas tomorrow?"

"Yes sir." Her father felt around in his pockets before finding what he was looking for. He held a small dagger and its sheath out to Bucky.

"Take it," he insisted when Bucky started to protest. "You need it more than I do. Might save your life some day, you never know."

"Thank you, Mr. Fowler." Bucky slipped the knife into his pocked and offered the man his hand. He was surprised when Amelia's father hugged him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Call me Albert, son," he said. "We'll be family soon enough."

"That means a lot to me, sir," Bucky said. "And I promise to try my best to make it back here."

"You do that. I've seen the way my daughter looks at you. I'd hate for her to share the same fate as her sister."

"Me too."

"You take care, James," Albert said, clapping Bucky on the shoulder one more time. "I'll look after Steve for you, make sure he's eating and not raising hell."

"I appreciate it sir."

Damn, I think that's the longest chapter I've ever written for a story ever. And I apologize for the "I'll rip your arm off" comment from Amelia; I couldn't help myself.

Please review!