Bring Me Home // Bucky Barnes

Chapter XIII - A Playful Exchange

"Yeah, no that's not going to work for me. Lizzie wouldn't be happy if I got out of bed without permission. Not to mention she'd probably hate me if I survived Hydra Hell just to be killed by The Colonel."

This playful exchange lasted a while longer as nurses worked quietly around them, changing bandages, feeding those who could not feed themselves and scribbling notes as they went.

As they spoke and laughed Bucky thought of how perfectly Lizzie and Peggy complimented each other. Where Peggy seemed more calculating and detached, Elizabeth held a deep seated compassion and attachment. Where Elizabeth lacked confidence, Peggy oozed a self-assured sense of identity. They were the opposite of one another and as he looked at Steve he understood their friendship.

Bucky felt the horror of his mind being pushed back and kept at bay by the warmth and familiarity of friendship in this unfamiliar territory. He lay back, watching his best friend, still awkward and a little clueless, trying to flirt with the brilliance that was Peggy Carter. He watched as her eyes rarely strayed from Steve's own, and how she leant in when she laughed at his comments. Steve smiled more around her than anyone else. Bucky couldn't help but smile as he realised that the Steven Grant Rogers he'd once watched have an asthma attack because he panicked when the prettiest girl in class asked for a pencil, was not the same Steve Rogers sitting next to him, making a beautiful woman laugh. Or maybe he was, and he'd just found the right woman. Bucky could relate to that.

*

Elizabeth had been with Colonel Phillips for what felt like the entire morning. She was eternally grateful to Peggy for fixing her hair and applying a little bit of red to her lips before lending her a beautiful white blouse to pair with her usual khaki green skirt for this morning's meeting.

Colonel Phillips appreciated order and sophistication. How Elizabeth had appeared after her night next to James Buchanan Barnes was anything other than ordered and sophisticated. Her hair had become a knotted mess in her sleep and her usually crisp uniform had creased at awkward angles from the way they lay together in a cot designed for one occupant. Just fifteen minutes with Peggy, however, had left that messy version of Elizabeth Halsted in the past.

"Is that all Miss Halsted?" The Colonel asked flippantly as his eyes widened at her final, itemised list of requests.

"I understand that we are in tight constraints right now Colonel. But I also understand that I was chosen for this role because you trusted me to tell you what was needed for the medical site to run efficiently and we need these things Sir. Especially the cots. We have wounded, beaten, battered men sleeping on the floor, soiling their bandages and doing more damage than we can possibly counter right now and that's only gotten worse with the return of over four hundred men."

Elizabeth stood tall, her shoulders squared and her expression serious. Colonel Phillips sighed and stood from his seat.

"Come on then Miss Halsted. Why don't you walk me through the tents and show me how you would make better use of the space."

*

She felt Bucky's eyes on her as soon as she pushed into the tent but refrained from turning her gaze to him, afraid she'd be pulled in by the desire she now pushed down to be close to him.

"Well Sir, as you can see, we currently have enough space between each cot that we could realistically fit another between each one, and still have the nurses able to move between the beds with ease." She watched as the Colonel slowly stepped over a sleeping boy, his head wound seeping through his bandage. "Please excuse me for a moment Sir."

Without waiting for a response Elizabeth left to gather new bandages, a basin of warm water and clean cloths. Colonel Phillips watched in silence as she gently woke the boy and soothed him as she dressed his wound.

"As you can see Sir, these conditions are anything but ideal, and I know we can't fix everything, but if we could just start with the beds?"

The Colonel gave a tight nod before swanning out of the tent and Elizabeth relaxed, a giant smile beamed across her face as she turned to meet the watchful eyes of her soldier across the tent.

He was surrounded by friends and yet his smile only reached his eyes when she looked at him.

Her heart felt like it fluttered as he sat himself up, too far away for conversation, and silently patted his bed. An invite for her to return to his arms. Elizabeth caught the attention of Maria, the smiley nurse Bucky had mentioned the night before, and called her over.

"Maria, if it's okay with you, I think I'm going to take today to rest. Can you keep things running for me?"

Maria nodded. "Of course Lizzie. I believe Sergeant Barnes is waiting for you. He's been asking for you all morning."

Elizabeth grinned and made her way across the space and back to her man.