The Captain, the Sergeant, and the Nurse || B. Barnes

Reunited

Allie couldn't remember another time that she had risen as fast as she had when retrieved by Wilson. The picture she had been looking at it was left behind along with the blanket on her cot. Without paying much attention to anything else, she tore past the Wilson at the entrance of her tent. Muttering an apology to him, she watched as crowds of soldiers and nurses made their way out of their tents.

In the distance, a rumbling could be heard. There was a buzz of noise, a cacophony of confusion and amazement as the crowd grew thicker. Pursing her lips, she made her way through the crowd the best that she could. She peeked over shoulders, waiting to see any sign of the commotion that had drawn the attention of the entire base. It was brief, but for a moment, she was sure that she had seen a sea of battered soldiers making their way closer.

Slipping between a few more soldiers, Allie finally was able to see what was really going on. Still stuck in the crowd, nurses chattering and warning each other to prepare the medical tents, she saw a sight that poured relief over her shoulders. The familiar red, white, and blue from her brother's performance was finally visible. Steve was okay. He had done what he had set out to do.

Taking a moment to take a relieved breath, she began to push her way through the crowd with more force. "Excuse me," she told one soldier whose foot she had accidentally stepped on. "That's my brother!" she cried as a few nurses gave her concerned glances. At her insistence that her brother was coming into the base, she found that many made her way through easier. She breathed out thank you to each person she passed before reaching the front of the crowd.

Walking into the base, Steve was surrounded by soldiers. They were battered and bloodied, bruised and injured, but they were alive. She thought for a moment of just how many condolence letters no longer needed to be sent back to the States. Smiling as she took in her brother's disheveled appearance, Allie's eyes fell to the man standing beside him. Eyes widening, she watched the young man's firm jaw and observant eyes.

In front of her, Bucky was holding tightly to a gun as he followed Steve's lead and stopped in front of the Colonel. His eyes watched the different soldiers and nurses around the area as Steve expressed the need for medical attention for the men he had brought back with him. As his eyes scanned the crowd, they completely stopped and locked on the woman who looked back at him.

The relief that Allie had felt when she had seen Steve was amplified the moment Bucky recognized her from across the grounds. She wasn't sure when she had started to cry, but she could feel the warmth of the tears running down her cheeks. Bucky had quickly took the strap of his gun off, handing the weapon to a nearby soldier. Her feet carried her before she recognized what she was doing.

Each bracing themselves for their embrace, Allie had found herself wrapping her arms around his neck as tightly as she could, his own arms wrapping around her. She could feel her feet leave the ground as he lifted her, spinning just a touch as he found himself laughing in relief. His hand had come to the back of her head as he set her back down on the ground, embracing her tightly.

"You're here," he managed to mutter as he let her go just a touch, smiling brightly.

"You're alive!" she smiled, wiping at the tears on her cheeks with the heel of her hand.

"I promised you that I would be okay," he grinned, keeping her eye as he spoke.

"You're in one piece and everything," she laughed from relief. For a moment she just looked at him, and then she embraced him once more.

Bucky continued to embrace her as Steve and the Colonel finished speaking with one another. Looking to his best friend, Bucky found himself smiling proudly. No matter how he had managed to be in the position he was, and Bucky knew that he was going to be asking questions later that day, he couldn't help but be proud of the kid from Brooklyn.