Finally, the story is going to pick up a lot more pace and we get to see the group's first Christmas together!
Thank you again for your reviews, favourites and follows!
...
December 15th 1943, Vichy, France
Guns blazed as the doors to the HYDRA facility were blasted open by the team. Far back, Beth watched them through the scope of her rifle, taking down a soldier about to shoot Morita. Morita flashed a grateful smile over his shoulder and Beth chuckled to herself as she scoped out any more potential targets. An hour later, the group returned and she began wordlessly handing out magazines and new weapons to those who were empty. Bucky blew out a breath as he leaned tiredly against Beth.
"This is tougher than I thought." He admitted.
Beth grinned and shoved his shoulder playfully. Steve watched them with amusement, but didn't join in as he was too busy planning the next stage of their ambush.
"Okay. we need to split up. Jones and Dernier, head round the back with Duggan. Falsworth, you're with me. Bucky, stay back with Beth and both of you stop anyone from coming in through those doors. Everyone clear?"
The group nodded, each person moving to their station. Beth moved aside to give Bucky space and he dropped down beside her, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She was already in position, her face like stone as she held her rifle in place, scoping any of the enemy. The site was so peculiar to him that he almost failed to notice something moving behind them. Twisting, he raised his rifle and fired at the HYDRA soldier. He gave a sigh and shook his head, forcing himself to focus, though it was still odd seeing Beth, the most compassionate and loving person he knew, with a rifle in her hands. Despite the strangeness, the site made him fall in love with her further. He always knew she had a concrete strength about her that she'd always kept hidden away, and though he hated the war, he couldn't help but be grateful that it allowed both Beth and Steve to truly become the people he knew them to be and show the world they were not weak. Without having to hide her wild nature, Beth could allow herself to enjoy the adrenaline and show everyone that she was not afraid to fight.
"Bucky, focus." She said, her voice, though laced with warning, containing laughter as she noticed his distracted expression.
He smirked and lay beside her, his body a warm comfort pressed against her own. They took down another eight soldiers when there was an explosion, sending a fireball up into the sky. Beth's jaw dropped and she lowered her weapon. Feeling her body tense, Bucky lowered his rifle to lift a hand to the back of her neck, the touch a soothing caress.
"That's Steve's signal to say we've cleared the base, remember?"
Letting the momentary panic fade, Beth blew out a breath of air, nodding stiffly.
"Yeah, I know. You're right."
He grinned as he lowered his hand and they fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for the others to return. Beth kept feeling Bucky's eyes on her and glanced at him questioningly after the third time.
"You've changed so much. Back home you were quiet but high spirited and always smiling. I don't even think you're the same person as before."
She looked away from him and he almost missed her downcast expression.
"Oh."
His eyes gentled and he reached out to make her look at him.
"Hey, I didn't say it was a bad thing. Look at your mom; you've always been like her but kept pushing it down to fit in with everyone else. This Beth, the one I'm looking at now, she is the real Beth. The old Beth was the one I fell in love with. This Beth is the one I want to spend forever with and who I've fallen completely and totally head over heels in love with."
Something wet dropped on his hand and he realised she was crying, but when he looked closer, he saw they were not tears of sadness. The look she was giving him was one of joy, her smile radiant.
"Do you mean it?" she whispered.
"Every word."
The intensity of his eyes took her breath away, but before she could lean in to kiss him, the sound of voices drew near, indicating the return of the others. Beth quickly pulled away, wiping her face so they couldn't see she'd been crying. As they drew closer, she noticed her name was being called, followed by the sounds of someone crying out in pain. She bolted to her feet and grabbed her medical kit before jogging down the incline to meet them, Bucky on her heels. When Steve laid eyes on her, he gave a relieved sigh.
"What happened?" she asked, seeing Jones drop to the floor clutching his side.
"When the building blew, some shrapnel pierced him."
She nodded and dropped to the ground, forcing Jones to remove his hands so she could see the wound. Bucky joined them and they all looked down as she undid their comrade's jacket and tore his shirt to give her access to the injury. Not only had he been impaled, the metal had clearly been red hot, the skin already blistering. In unison, the group let out noises of horror and disgust at the sight. Despite feeling queasy herself, Beth swallowed it down and rounded on them so fast, they all stepped back.
"No- you don't get to do that! He's injured enough without you lot making comments and noises like that. If you can't handle it, leave. If you think you can stomach it, then keep your mouths shut and help, or so help me!"
She turned her attention back to Jones. He didn't speak, but she saw the gratitude in his eyes. She placed a comforting hand on his cheek, her smile matching the gesture.
"Okay Gabe, I have to clean the wound and get this shrapnel out of your side before I can treat the burn. It's going to hurt, and you are going to scream. I'm so sorry."
Gabe flashed her a sardonic smile in response.
"It's cool, doc. Do what you gotta do."
Beth nodded and in a move surprising everyone looking, unclipped his belt and removed it. She folded it in half and placed it in front of his face.
"Bite down on this. Last thing you need is to break your teeth or pierce your lip."
He nodded and bit the material. Someone crouched next to her and she was surprised to see it was Falsworth.
"What do you need?"
She flashed him a thankful look as she replied.
"Ideally, I need someone to hand me equipment, someone to hold a flashlight over the wound and someone to hold him still. Most important though is the flashlight so I can see better. Somehow I don't think those guys are up for helping."
She indicated to the rest of the group, who were all still sporting grey and green faces. Without hesitating, the Brit reached into his belt and withdrew his flashlight, positioning himself so she had more light. Beth pulled out a pair of surgical gloves from her bag along with a pack of sterile water. She snapped on her gloves when she suddenly remembered something she'd left in her bag.
"Dammit. Falsworth, can you hand me a set of clamps and a scalpel please?"
"Here."
Beth let out a sigh and kissed Bucky's cheek as he sat on the other side of her, her bag open and in his lap so he could reach everything quickly. A third person joined them, grasping Jones's shoulders so he couldn't move.
"This okay kiddo?" Dum Dum asked.
"Hold him a little lower. If he jerks too hard he's likely to dislocate the shoulder with the way you have him." She instructed, nodding approvingly as he altered his grip.
Bracing herself, she hesitated for only a second before ripping open the water and pouring it on the wound. Gabe stiffened but remained stationary and she let out the breath she'd been holding. Next came the part she was dreading. To remove the shrapnel, she had to make the wound bigger. Steadying herself, she picked up her scalpel and slowly began cutting an incision into his skin. He let out a guttural scream, his back arching off the floor and Beth grit her teeth as she fought to keep her hand from shaking.
At the sound of their team mate screaming, Dernier and Morita quickly put aside their feelings and dropped down to help hold their friend who was trying to thrash. Steve turned at the second cry, but Beth's head snapped up at his movement, eyes like steel.
"We need someone to keep watch for any HYDRA soldiers we may have missed."
He gave an understanding nod and turned his attention to the area surrounding them, letting Beth return to the task at hand. One more cut had the wound open enough for her to see clearly that the majority of the shrapnel was surface damage, however two shards had gone further in, one dangerously close to his liver. She quickly removed the smaller shards until only the two remained. The first came out after one attempt, but when she reached for the second one, Gabe managed to break free of Dernier's hold, his back lifting off the ground, sending the shard into the wall of his liver. He let out a roar and Beth's eyes widened.
"Bucky, clamp and suture kit!"
He wasn't sure what they looked like but he saw a small metallic object that looked like it would hold something together and Beth took it without any protests, so he assumed it to be correct. He looked back in the bag, trying to block the barely muttered 'dear God' from Falsworth as the Brit saw the blood and other fluids quickly filling their friend's side. His hand brushed against a small pot and he pulled it out, giving a triumphant shout when he read 'suture kit' on the side. He opened it for Beth and turned to face her, his expression blanching as he looked down at the sight of Beth wrist deep in Jones's side, her face grim.
"Don't you dare pass out on me, James Buchanan Barnes." She snarled, noting the way his face had turned grey.
He gulped, shocked that she'd called him by his proper name. However, it was the kick he needed to bring him back and he handed her the kit she asked for. She took it and made quick work of patching up Gabe's liver. There was no other way to remove the blood, so Beth muttered an apology to Gabe and thrust her hand into the wound once more, the man's eyes rolling in his head as he cried out, almost biting through the belt at the agony ripping through him. Beth began muttering, each member of the team silently echoing her words.
"Pass out, pass out, pass out."
Thankfully, a few seconds later as Beth began using gauze to clear away the last of the blood, Jones finally succumbed to unconsciousness, though everyone stayed in place in case he woke up again. It took another hour before she put the last stitch in place and sat back on her heels, rubbing her head with her sleeve.
"You can let him go now."
Everyone relaxed, looking at her with various expressions of pride, awe and gratitude. Beth removed her blood stained gloves and dropped them on the floor, her hands finally starting to shake. She stood unsteadily, making her way to the tree line behind them and promptly bent over, the contents of her stomach spilling to the ground as she finally allowed her body to react to the sight of one of her friends so hurt. Steve was beside her in a second, rubbing her back as she continued retching. Behind them, the others shared looks of worry. Dum Dum turned to Bucky.
"Is she okay?"
Bucky shrugged, as confused as the rest of them. He finished packing away the equipment she'd been using and made his way over to the siblings, watching as Beth accepted Steve's water canister to wash out her mouth.
"I'm okay. I've just never had to do an operation on a friend or without anaesthetic before." She assured, seeing him open his mouth to ask.
He pressed his lips together and held his arms out. She came to him willingly and he placed a kiss on the side of her head as he enveloped her in his warmth.
"You did brilliantly."
She smiled against his jacket, his scent soothing her. Once she was calm enough to focus, she pulled away, returning to the group with a smile. She was greeted with grins and cheers, Dum Dum slapping her on the back.
"No doubting it now, you're definitely one of us missy!" he boomed, the sound of their helicopter ride home almost drowning him out, but Beth heard and her heart soared.
...
Ten days later, the group along with Peggy, the Colonel, Howard Stark, Josh and Edward, all came together to celebrate Christmas. Dum Dum and Bucky had designated themselves the cooks, with Steve and Beth sharing looks of concern, both remembering Bucky's disastrous attempts at 'cooking' back home. Their only reassurance was the promise from Dum Dum that he had been in charge of the thanksgiving and Christmas meals for his own family for years and wouldn't leave Bucky unattended. They all congregated in the rec room, and Jones, who was still recovering from his injury, had been bought down in a wheelchair for the day. Everybody was in high spirits and Bucky couldn't resist kissing Beth every time he walked past her, much to the delight of everyone else who cheered and the embarrassment of Beth who blushed each time.
"He really loves you." Howard said to Beth a while later, having watched them looking tenderly at each other a few minutes earlier.
Her eyes lit up as she nodded.
"He does, and I love him. I was in love with him a while, and my mom is the one who helped me realise he was the one for me. There was a period that we didn't speak after I became engaged to somebody else, but as you can see, it worked out in the end."
Howard inclined his head to take a sip of his whiskey, watching once more as she stood and dragged Bucky to her, the guys cheering once more. He couldn't help but feel slightly envious of the sergeant, but just for once in his life, he wasn't about to try and pull her away from him; he had too much respect not only for her and the solider, but was also afraid of what Steve would do to him if he did. He couldn't deny their happiness and seeing them together made him smile. Steve's voice broke him from his thoughts.
"You could be the last man on earth and she'd still see through you. She and Bucky are blinded to each other. It was a rocky road to begin with, but now, I can't imagine them apart."
Howard looked up at the super solider to see him looking at his sibling with a raw tenderness that as an only child, he wished he had more experience with. He stood and clapped Steve on the shoulder.
"It's a shame really. She'd have made a great Stark." He winked.
Steve laughed, shaking his head as he took the glass the other man held out to him.
"She'd eat you alive."
The pair laughed together and joined the remainder of the group who were beginning to hand out gifts. As they were in a war and there was a lot of them, they had opted to only buy presents for two other people, chosen by drawing names from a hat. To her amusement, Beth had drawn Bucky and Steve, however after Dum Dum jokingly protested that she'd be buying gifts for them anyway, she'd gone again and pulled Dum Dum and Howard's names. That one had stumped her; what do you buy the man who could buy anything he wanted? She'd thought long and hard, until she'd come up with the perfect gift. She gave it to him and when he opened it, he burst out laughing, not stopping until he ran out of breath, tears running down his face.
"What is it?" everyone asked him when he finally caught his breath back.
Still grinning, he pulled out a booklet Beth had lovingly created for him, entitled 'The most eligible Bachelorettes in the world; a guide for a billionaire who has only one thing missing in his life: a boss.'
The room erupted and Howard gave her a hug, thanking her for the thoughtfulness. He was genuinely touched and was determined to buy her something special for her birthday next month. They continued opening their presents, Dum Dum also laughing at his gift from Beth; a small, round teddy bear with fur the same colour as Dum Dum's hair and a moustache and outfit identical to his. The creation had everyone laughing once again and Beth found herself being asked for replicas from the guys in her team. Even the Colonel asked her for one, to her astonishment. As for Beth, the first gift she received was a set of notebooks and pens from Falsworth.
"I've seen how many you've gone through this month alone with your surgical notes. I thought these might last you a little while."
Surprised by his observation, she thanked him and opened her gift from Peggy, which turned out to be a tube of red lipstick and a bottle of mascara.
"I've never seen you wear makeup. I wasn't sure if it was because you didn't like it or because you didn't bring any, so I asked Sergeant Barnes who informed me you do like to wear it when you go dancing. A quick inspection of your room told me it was the latter, so I thought I'd assist."
Beth frowned at a grinning Bucky then turned back to Peggy, wrapping her arm round her, surprising the other woman who was more than happy to return the embrace. Bucky disappeared into the kitchen with Dum Dum a while later and they all gathered round the tables they'd pushed together, eager to eat. As they went to take their seats, there was a shout and Bucky ran from the kitchen, the turkey flying out of the room after him. Everyone looked at him in shock as Dum Dum came out brandishing a frying pan.
"He put vinegar on the dam bird instead of the baste and didn't turn the vegetables on, so they're still raw!"
As the majority of the room looked at each other in various degrees of annoyance and amusement, Beth and Steve shared a look, seconds later collapsing onto the floor in peals of laughter as Bucky's kitchen curse struck again.