Steve Rogers has a little sister, Norma Grace Rogers, who became an Army nurse during the war. Captured in Italy, Grace is taken by HYDRA, unbeknownst to Steve and Bucky. They find her frozen in a forgotten HYDRA outpost 70 years later, her memory g...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Bucky and Grace strolled back to the catering tent to help supervise food dispersal, his arm still around her holding her close to his side.
Steve grinned at the sight.
"They do make a pretty cute couple," Nat commented beside him with a subtle smirk.
"I still think it's a conspiracy," Sam moped.
"Oh, get over yourself, Wilson," Nat rolled her eyes at his complaining.
As Grace and Bucky got closer, Steve noticed how tired Grace looked. "Hey, you already, Gracie?"
She nodded. "Just a headache."
"....A memory?"
"Yeah."
"When she stitched up my knee at the front," Bucky explained.
"Your knee? The one that bothered you in the cold?"
Bucky blinked. "...I thought that I hid........How did you-"
"I know you, Buck, including when your gait is off," Steve answered. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think of the other Commandoes caught it."
"I had friends," Grace whispered, almost to herself.
"What?"
Grace looked up at Steve, "I had friends at the front, Stevie. Two other nurses."
"Well, that's great, Sis," Steve smiled. "You never had that many."
"But it's been decades, Stevie," she murmured, her voice wavering.
"Oh." Steve deflated. "I know how you feel, Grace." He gathered her up in big hug.
A sudden breeze announced Peitro's entrance. "Is Kokhana* alright?"
"I told you not to call her that," growled Bucky lowly.
"No worries, Mister Maximoff," Grace answered. "I'll be alright in a little while."
Lunch found Grace and Bucky sharing a corner of the field with Bruce who need a break from people just as much as they did. They had a quiet conversation about ways for Grace to deal with her slowly returning memories; he suggested a journal like he had for Bucky.
After lunch, once Grace's headache subsided, they rejoined the others in the various activities across the field. Steve managed to coax Grace into a game of softball, a game she had once enjoyed even if her size had kept her from being very good. It ended up being a guys versus girls game, with Steve captaining the guys' team and Grace captaining the girls'. Pepper shocked everyone by turning out to be a phenomenal pitcher.
It turned out to be a great ending of the day. Steve, Tony, Clint, and a bunch of the older boys on one team against Grace, Pepper, and some of the older girls on the other. It was nip and tuck the whole game; neither team stayed ahead of the other for very long. Grace, however, won the girls' team the game. She was last batter in last inning, and the score was tied. The bases were loaded. To the entire field's utter shock, she slammed a homerun that put the girl's three points ahead of the boys.
As soon as the umpire declared her safe at home and the game won, Bucky dashed over to the make-shift Homeplate to pick Grace up and spin her around.
"You did it, Babydoll! You did it!"
Steve then proceded to hoist her up onto his shoulder.
"Well, I guess it's official now," Nat sassed. "The girls rule."
"Just you wait; there's gonna be a rematch," Tony returned.
"Tony, let us have this win," Pepper admonished. "You boys get almost everything else."
Tony softened under Peppers gaze. "Well,.......we'll see....."
Later that night, as the Avengers tumbled tired but happy into bed, Grace found herself more at peace than she could remember. Today was a good day. A really good day........She thought dreamily.
Just as she was drifting off, she thought she heard someone whisper "You were amazing today, Babydoll," and kiss her cheek as large gentle hand tuck her more firmly under the blankets.
*kokhana: Ukrainian for "sweetheart". This is the closest language to Sokovian I could find based on what little I could find on the country.
