December 7th, 1941. Brooklyn, New York City

Steve and Beth were enjoying a quiet breakfast when Bucky burst through the door. Breathing heavily, his hair out of place from running, he dropped a newspaper on the table and sank down on one of the empty chairs. Beth immediately jumped up and hurried to the sink, cheeks dimpling at the appreciative look Bucky gave her as she handed him a glass of water. She moved back over to the table and glanced over Steve's shoulder, gasping at the headline sprawled across the front page.

"Bombing at Pearl Harbour. USA is officially at war!"

At once, her breathing stopped and she felt an icy hand clamp down on her heart. She looked over at the two men in the room with her, fear immediately overwhelming her. She'd heard the stories; thousands of men from Europe were already dead, with more being forced to join the fight every day. She knew her brother, knew he would sign up immediately. Thankfully, she suspected he would be rejected, but the fear only increased as her eyes drifted to Bucky. He was the perfect person for war; he was strong, fast and quick thinking. She had no issues picturing him as a decorated officer, but the image kept shattering itself, replaced with a vision of him lying in the middle of a war-torn battlefield, his eyes clouded with the haze of death.

Unable to stay in the same room as them any longer, she hurried to her bedroom, wrapping her arms round herself as she struggled to keep her breathing steady. Tears clouded her vision and she blinked them back, determined not to let them fall. She knew she was on the verge of a panic attack, but couldn't do anything about it, the images continuing to play over in her mind. All this time, she'd hoped that the war wouldn't make it this far, but now it was here. She wished their mother was still around. Sarah would have known what to say or do, but Beth was clueless. She sank to the floor as the tears finally began to fall, the sorrow of losing her mother and the prospect of losing her brother and best friend becoming too much.

She didn't notice anyone come in to the room until a pair of arms slid round her from behind, a small chin propped on her shoulder. She turned and wrapped her arms round him, burying her head in his neck and drawing in his usual scent of paint.

"It'll be okay." Her brother soothed, rubbing her back.

"How can you say that? It won't be long before you and Bucky enlist. I know it." She mumbled into his shirt.

He didn't reply, but she felt the soft sigh against her skin. Steve glanced up and saw Bucky leaning against the doorframe, a look of sympathy on his face. He shared a look with Steve before joining the pair of them, wrapping his arms round both Rogers'.

The trio stayed in the embrace for what felt like hours, until a knock at the door pulled them apart. Steve went to answer the door, leaving Bucky with Beth still wrapped up in his arms, her head rested against his chest.

"I promise I'll look after him." He said to Beth, his voice solemn.

He felt her nod against him before she pulled away to look him squarely in the eye.

"You'd best look after yourself too, Buck. It'll destroy me if anything happens to either of you."

He flashed her his boyish grin and pulled her against him again, briefly squeezing her before he let her go. She returned the grin with a shaky smile, reaching up to straighten up his shirt that she'd creased.

They both moved into the living room to see Steve close the door, turning to face them with a grim expression, hand clutching a leaflet.

"What's that?" Bucky asked, indicating to the piece of paper.

"A list of times and locations for enlistment." The younger man replied.

Bucky let out a low whistle and moved forward to read the information.

"Well, you can't say the government doesn't move fast. The first date on here is tomorrow."

Though her heart clenched again Beth didn't cry. Instead, she stepped forward and too the paper off the taller man, scanning the dates.

"I know it's selfish but can you both wait until after my birthday to sign up? It's only a month away."

Steve nodded in agreement, but she didn't fail to see the glint in his eyes that had her stomach plummeting with the knowledge he was going to try at the first possible chance he got. Bucky also nodded and gave her a warm look.

"That's no issue with me. It gives me chance to hit the gym and prepare as well as spend some time with my parents."

Beth gave him a fond look before looking back at Steve, whose expression had turned pensive.

"Uh-oh, I know that look. What crazy idea is your head concocting Steve?" she asked, her voice teasing.

He gave a wry smile, but the seriousness in his eyes didn't dim. He glanced over at Bucky and opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again, his face scrunching as if it was a bad idea. Bucky tilted his head and rolled his eyes.

"Spill it." He demanded playfully.

"I was thinking that I should go to the gym with you. It can't hurt to practice too right?"

Both Beth and Bucky's eyes widened slightly. He looked at them and wanted to both laugh and get angry.

"So Bucky can train but I can't?" he asked defensively.

Bucky was the first to recover and punched him on the shoulder.

"C'mon Steve, don't be like that. Sure you can come, I mean God knows you need to learn to fight properly." He jested, grinning at his best friend.

Beth sighed and shook her head.

"He does have a point I guess. Mind if I come too?"

This time it was the men's turn to gawp at her. She shrugged.

"What? If you bozos are heading off to get blown up, isn't it only fair that I learn to defend myself properly? After all, my big strong protectors won't be here to do it for me!" she said, a wide smirk on her face.

Bucky threw back his head and laughed loudly, Steve joining seconds later.

"I suppose that is a very true point." Steve agreed once he finally calmed.

"Then it's settled. We start training after lunch." Bucky decided, smiling at the pair he considered family.

…

Thirteen days later

A loud smack had Steve spinning round from the punch bag he'd been hitting, his jaw dropping to see Beth laying on her back with a dazed expression, Bucky on top of her panting hard. Ignoring the protest from the guy holding the bag, he ran over to them, worry for his sister overriding his actions. Without even thinking, he slid into the ring and barrelled into Bucky, sending the older man flying to the side.

"Woah, what the hell!" Bucky yelled as Steve's fist connected with his jaw.

"You hurt her!" Steve yelled, aiming another punch.

A hand shot out and grabbed Steve's wrist, pulling him sharply away from Bucky. He looked up to argue, words failing at the angry glare he faced.

"Jeeze, Steve are you TRYING to get kicked out!" Beth shouted at him.

He flinched at the severity of her tone. She stepped closer to him, jabbing a finger painfully in his chest. He took a step back, but she went with him.

"We were training you idiot! I just moved slightly wrong and the only way to stop me from really hurting myself was for Bucky to drop me to the floor!"

She'd never seen Steve deflate so quickly, shame replacing the anger on his face. Her own anger fading, she pulled him into a brief hug before releasing him with a smile.

"Try not to forget I am a big girl that can handle my own fights okay?"

Steve reluctantly returned the smile.

"Sure thing. As long as you remember that as long as you're my little sister, I'll fight for you."

She stuck her tongue out in response and he let out a small chuckle. Bucky watched the pair and with a roll of his eyes, slung an arm round each of their shoulders.

"Okay, enough with the mushiness. I think we've done enough training now, how about we go dancing?" he asked, already predicting their reactions.

On cue, Steve went wild eyed and jerked away with a loud 'NO!' and Beth simply shook her head. Bucky grinned, ignoring the pair staring after him as he walked away from them.