ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＦＯＵＲＴＥＥＮ

"Hello Lottie, Steve,"

The pair turned, smiling when they noticed that it was Peggy standing behind them. Steve closed his sketchbook as Lottie stood up, enveloping their friend in a hug. It had been months since they had last seen Peggy or Howard.

"What are you doing here?" Lottie questioned their friend, moving back to stand beside Steve. He handed her the jacket once again, seeing her shiver lightly from the rain once more.

"Officially I'm not here at all. That was quite a performance."

"Yeah. Uh... I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I'm used to are usually more uh... twelve," Steve explained, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Peggy hummed in agreement.

"I understand you're both America's new hopes,"

"Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state he visits," Lottie added in as Peggy tuned to look at her best friend.

"You sound like Senator Brandt. And what does he have you doing?"

"Tracking those bond sales, apparently that's all me and my brain are good for,"

"That and having cartoon versions of your breasts flying off the shelves," Lottie looked down at Peggy's comment as Steve stood up, looking over at the agent as he held Lottie close to him.

"Phillips would have had us stuck in a lab,"

"And those are your only two options?" Peggy mused, crossing her arms as she looked at the pair, who were both looking back at her. "Lab rats or a dancing monkeys? You two were meant for more than this, you know."

Lottie eyes trailed over to the oncoming medical van, tugging on Steve's sleeve as they watched dozens of soldiers get unloaded and carried into the waiting medical team.

"They look like they've been through hell," Lottie whispered, sad eyes gazing after the soldiers. Peggy nodded in agreement.

"These men more than most. Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

Lottie paled at the number. 107. She looked up at Steve, who's eyes had gone wide as well. Lottie's grip tightened on Steve's arm as the man turned to look back at their friend frantically.

"The 107th?"

"Is something wrong?"

Steve was out of the tent before Peggy could even finish her sentence. Lottie shared a look with Peggy before hauling Steve's jacket over her head, taking off after he best friend as Peggy followed along behind the pair.

Lottie's kid to a stop beside Steve, panting as Colonel Phillips looked up from his paperwork. Peggy stood opposite of Steve, trying to address the situation.

"Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan and his liaison. And what is your plan today?"

"I need the casualty list from Azzano," Colonel lifted a brow at Steve, about to interject and oppose when Lottie stepped forward.

"Sir, please, we just need one name. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th. Spelled B-A-R-"

"I can spell, girl," Colonel Phillips cut Lottie off, silencing her. Lottie's hand instinctively found Steve's as they gripped one another, watching as Colonel Phillips got up from his chair and flipped through the condolence letters he had been signing. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

Lottie felt her heart break as Steve's grip on her hand tightened. She looked down to her shoes, willing the tears not to fall, before looking back to the Colonel.

"What about the others? What's the plan for the rescue operation?"

"It's called winning the war," Colonel Phillips answered her, brushing past them to take another file from a soldier within the tent. Lottie's eyes widened as Steve whipped around to face him.

"But if you know where they are, why not at least...?" Colonel Phillips whipped around to face Steve, their faces inches away from one another.

"They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save. If your liaison here would take a second and run over the idea, she'd tell you I'm right. But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl. You two have somewhere to be in thirty minutes."

Lottie's lower lip trembled as her and Steve finally let go of one another. Her head was pounding at the thought of a rescue mission, every single idea of what could happen flowing through her head, and she caught Peggy's concerned glance. She only shook her off.

"Yes sir, we do."

Lottie and Steve exchanged a glance, their eyes telling the whole story. They were on the same page. Before Peggy could question anything, Lottie and Steve were marching out of the tent and through the field.

"What do you two plan to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy questioned them, watching as they dressed themselves. Lottie threw Steve his coat to put on as she zipped the catsuit up to her neck, throw a black leather jacket from a chair on and stealing a smaller pair of boots that she knew belonged to Peggy. Steve dressed himself in his jacket, new boots, his shield, and one of the helmets from the dancers behind him.

"If that's what it takes," Steve told her, grabbing the last of his and Lottie's stuff before moving toward an abandoned vehicle outside the tent.

"You heard the Colonel, your friend is most likely dead,"

"We don't know that yet," Steve told her again as Lottie climbed into the passenger seat of the truck. Peggy looked to her, pleading with her.

"Lottie, I know you've thought over the situation. Colonel Phillips is-"

"He is right if you look at it from his perspective, but he's missing one key part," Lottie explained, looking up at her. "Steve and I. You said we were meant for more than this, did you mean it?"

"Every word," Peggy promised, looking from Lottie to Steve.

"Then you've got to let us go,"

Steve looked away from Peggy, climbing into the driver's side of the car. Peggy put her hand on the wheel, looking between Steve and Lottie for a moment.

"I can do a lot more than that?"

Lottie lifted an eyebrow, meeting Peggy's eyes. Her own widened, realizing immediately what was going on: Howard Stark.

"Peggy, I can't promise that he's going to want to help,"

"Not if I ask, but he will if you do,"