Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Seven

"Okay, wait. Tell me again?" Bucky asks me, shock and confusion mingling in his expression.

We sit together at one of the tables in the mess hall as I try to explain the events of the previous week, our meals momentarily forgotten. Other soldiers and nurses have come for their lunches as well, and the tent is filled with their conversations.

"I already told you everything I know," I reply patiently. "Steve came by the hospital the morning after the Expo and told me that he was recruited. He never told me why or how, just that he was on his way to New Jersey for training."

"I can't believe they took him," my friend says in disbelief, still trying to process the information I gave him. "I mean, I know he's always been a fighter, but how did he even qualify?"

"I'm sure they had a good reason, Buck. They wouldn't take a ninety-pound asthmatic without one."

Bucky takes a breath and nods, his worries melting away as we continue eating. After a short while, I look up from my plate to see him looking at me, a small smile forming on his lips.

"It's good to see you, Y/n," he says. I smile back, but before I can say anything, we are interrupted by two soldiers as they approach our table.

"Hey, Barnes!" one of them exclaims as he shoves Bucky's shoulder. Like the rest of the men, he wears his army uniform, but an army green bowler hat sits on top of his head. "You didn't tell us you had a sweetheart."

The tips of Bucky's ears turn slightly pink, and he laughs. "Dugan, Jones, this is Y/n Y/l/n. She's a friend from home. Y/n, this is Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones."

I feel my heart sink at his words, and I think back to Steve's comment at the Expo. Do I wish I were more than just Bucky's friend from home? I push the thought aside and smile at the newcomers as they join us at our table, their own lunches in hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," I say to them. "Are you with 107th as well?"

"No, ma'am," Dugan answers, taking off his hat to reveal short, ginger hair that matches his large moustache. "I'm with the 69th and Jones here is with the 92nd."

Dugan gestures to the dark-skinned man next to him, his black hair is cropped close to his head.

"How long have you been here?" I ask them.

"Just a few weeks longer than Barnes," Jones replies. "What about you? What brings you to the front?"

"I arrived with the Nurse Corps a few hours ago," I answer.

"Ah, well, welcome to camp, Nurse Y/l/n," Dugan says.

The conversation flows as we finish our meals. We talk about where we grew up and why we joined the army, as well as other topics, simply trying to get to know one another. While Dugan is clearly the jokester of the group, always trying to make us laugh, Jones serious and to the point, and I begin to feel the initial stages of friendship blossoming.

Just before 13:00, I stand up from the table. "I should go. They're expecting me at the hospital to give us our assignments."

"I'll see you later," Bucky says as I turn to leave the tent. Dugan shoves Bucky's shoulder again and the three men laugh.

I make my way to the hospital tent where Nurse Campbell is waiting with a large group of ladies, and slide in next to my bunkmates as the last of the new nurses join. Nurse Campbell gives us a quick tour of the hospital. In the centre of the first tent, there are many operating tables, some still stained with blood from a recent operation, and a few stools sit nearby. Towards the back of the tent is the entrance to the other tents, where rows of hospital beds wait. This is where the patients will be placed if their condition requires it. Most of the beds are empty, but a few near the entrance hold resting soldiers, covered in various patched up wounds.

We make our way back into the first tent and Nurse Campbell explains that it's mandatory for us to always wear our field uniforms, unless we're off duty or leaving the camp for any reason, in which case, we must wear our service uniforms. She then hands out our assignments to start working. My tasks include caring for the patients post-op, assisting doctors with major operations, and the cleaning and dressing of minor wounds, the same day-to-day tasks I had back home.

The conditions of the field hospital are vastly different compared to working in a standard hospital, and it's incredibly difficult to properly sanitize our workstations, but we make do. I scurry from workstation to workstation, assisting where I'm needed. Despite the oversized field uniform I'm wearing, I manage to settle into an all too familiar routine, stitching up the wounds of a couple soldiers and sending them on their way.

By the end of the day, I'm exhausted and hungry, but I'm happy, I'm doing what I do best. I make my way into the mess hall, finding Bucky waiting for me at a table. Soldiers and nurses alike have been relieved from duty and gather here for some much-needed food and rest.

"So, how did your first day go?" Bucky asks me as I place my dinner tray on the table and sit down.

"Smoothly," I reply, shoveling food into my mouth, "just a few cuts and scrapes, nothing major."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," Bucky states with a worried smile. "We're only a few miles from the front... You're bound to see some action soon."