The day of Steve's first performance on the base arrived. Although she had hoped that it would bring a sense of joy and distraction, it seemed that many of the soldiers were unamused that their only form of entertainment was a gimmick.
In spite of those who would have rather been anywhere but the show, Allie was looking forward to seeing her older brother. Mary, Evelyn, and Louise had worked hard to find a nurse to take Allie's shift in the medical tent so that she could enjoy the show. While they wouldn't say anything aloud, all three of them were also looking forward to hearing her commentary they knew she would have.
As the afternoon wore on and the stage was set for the performance, Allie and her friends made their way to the masses. Soldiers were lining up, piling into rows to face the stage. One particular group of men stopped Allie as she walked past.
"Nurse Rogers," one of the men said as her face scrunched in confusion.
"I'm sorry, have we met?" she studied his face.
He was decent enough looking, although his face almost appeared as if it were pinched. His eyes were sharp, his lips quirked into a smirk as he looked at her. She felt herself shifting uncomfortably as she watched his eyes looking up and down her frame.
"No, we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. Gilmore Hodge," he introduced himself. "I happen to know your brother."
"I see," Allie pursed her lips. In an instant, she knew exactly the type of man in front of her. "And how exactly do you know him?"
"We were in basic training together," Hodge gave a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I recognize you from the pictures he had of you."
"I see," Allie studied the man in front of her. Behind her, although she didn't see it, all three of her friends glanced at each other uncomfortably. It seemed that none of the women were particularly fond of the sudden conversation with Hodge.
"Allie," a voice sounded beside her. As she turned to face the voice, Wilson Harris was looking over her shoulder at Hodge. "I thought I saw you walking by."
"Hi Wilson," she greeted, happy to have a way out of the interaction. "How are you feeling?" she turned slightly to Hodge. "I apologize, but I really should speak with Private Harris here."
Without listening to what Hodge could say in response, she walked off with Wilson and her friends. Reaching what she considered a safe distance, Allie leaned in and kept her voice hushed as she asked him if he knew anything about Hodge.
"He's a skeeze," Wilson's nose had scrunched. "I don't like having to sit with him in the mess hall. The others from the 107th don't either."
"Well, thank you for saving us," Allie laughed.
"I didn't realize you were talking to him until I reached you all," Wilson admitted. "But, I'm happy to be of service."
Reaching a bench that was close to the 107th, the four women sat together and faced the stage. Allie and Mary had begun a conversation, curious about what they were going to be seeing. As much as she wanted to be amused by whatever took place in front of her, Allie prayed that her brother didn't make a fool of himself.
Turning to invite both Louise and Evelyn into their conversation, they were met with the sight of Evelyn enamored with Wilson. Glancing at each other, both Allie and Mary found themselves smirking. Allie noticed that Wilson seemed equally enamored by Evelyn.
"Uh, hi," Wilson extended his hand out to Evelyn. "I'm Wilson."
"Evelyn," she took his hand and shook it. Glancing beside herself at her friends, she gave an embarrassed smile. "This is Louise, Mary, and I see that you already know Allie."
"Yes, it's nice to meet you all," he nodded.
"Wilson was in the 107th with Bucky," Allie informed Evelyn and Louise. Neither she nor Mary had had the heart to tell them much more than she had found out that he had died.
Wilson almost seemed as if he was ready to say something more as music poured from the stage. Instead, he dismissed himself for a seat a few rows away, sitting down and glancing at Evelyn. Allie grinned widely, turning to her.
"Is someone smitten?" she teased.
"What?" Evelyn's cheeks flushed. "No! Although, I will admit, he is awfully handsome. Don't you think?"
Allie seemed satisfied as she turned her attention to the stage. A number of showgirls had flooded the stage, dancing in a precise routine before a star-spangled man walked out onto the stage.
"That's my brother?" Allie muttered to herself, gawking in surprise at seeing him in person for the first time since the spring. Looking at him clad in his tights, she had to stifle a small laugh. A song and dance routine? She couldn't wait to tease him afterwards.
Watching as the women left the stage with Steve standing center stage, Allie felt a chill as she heard the complete and utter silence that took place. He had a microphone placed directly in front of him, but looked petrified as he stood there.
He spoke. There was silence. Pushing her amusement over his tights to the side, she watched as he attempted a smile only to watch it fall once again. Soldiers around her began to jeer and mock as Steve could only stand there. At the sounds of their laughter, Allie felt her blood boil. Tights and new size be damned, that was her older brother on that stage. Steve looked to the side, seemingly at a loss for words or what to do.
Calls for bringing back the girls sounded amongst the soldiers, many of them cheering at the suggestion. Steve stammered as he looked for guidance offstage, saying he would do see what he could do. More jeering took place, one soldier even going as far as calling him "sweetheart" as those around him snickered.
"Nice boots, Tinker Bell!" a soldier shouted to the stage. As Allie looked for the culprit, she quickly realized that it had been Hodge. Her suspicions that he was a jerk had been confirmed.
Steve tried to speak to the soldiers, telling them that they were on the same side, but it was to no avail. Allie began to stand, ready to defend him, but for a moment, Mary yanked her back down. She complied for a moment before seething at the sight of a soldier pulling his trousers down flashing his bare ass at her brother. Several soldiers threw tomatoes, which Allie was certain they had brought from the mess hall, at him. Steve left the stage embarrassed as Allie stood and faced the soldier with his pants still down.
"Put your pale ass back in trousers and shut your damn mouth!" Allie spat.
There was a brief pause. Mary, Evelyn, and Louise looked up at her with dropped jaws and widened eyes. The soldiers around her turned to her in surprise. Allie had a good reputation with the soldiers. She was known as one of the friendlier nurses, calm and collected when she took care of them. She was patient and listened to them when they needed to talk to someone or if they were having terror attacks. They liked her.
She was aware of there being some amongst the soldiers that had a less innocent liking for her. She had been asked to go to the local town with a number of the soldiers as the rested and healed, each time declining each invitation. While some accepted the defeat, others still pursued her. Those were the soldiers she took note were the most surprised that she had spoken up.
"Looks like Nurse Rogers has a thing for Mr. Tights," a soldier jeered from the back.
"He's my brother you fat head!" she roared defiantly. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves."
Not waiting for a response from the soldiers and her friends alike as the showgirls poured onto the stage once again, Allie began to make her way past the soldiers quickly. She wasn't exactly sure where to look for her brother, but she made the assumption that going past the stage was her best option.
It proved to be the right option as she noticed Steve sitting on wooden steps with his mask in his hands. His head was hung down in defeat, and she could only see his shoulders moving up and down as if he was taking deep breaths. Slowly taking a few steps closer to stand behind him, she cleared her throat.
"So, who exactly are you and what have you done with my brother?" Allie leaned down a touch, waiting as she watched Steve startle and turn around.
His eyes widening and his jaw dropping, Steve's excitement quickly painted itself across his features. He stood to his feet in an instant, spinning around fully to face his sister.
"Allie!" his voice was filled with joy. In the blink of an eye, Allie was wrapped in an incredibly tight embrace. She was shocked at the strength her brother possessed. Laughing as he let go of her, she found herself having to look up at him for the first time in her life.
"I suppose you really are my big brother now," she grinned.
"I knew that I grew, but I never realized how small you are," he teased, noticing that he could finally see the top of her head.
"Excuse me, you jerk! I was always taller than you," she said with a laugh.
As his laughter faded away, Steve seemed to be distracted by whatever thought had plagued him before she had made her presence known. He was wringing the mask in his hands once again, his jaw set tightly as he thought. He took a seat once again, sighing as he did so. Allie slowly came to sit beside him.
"Don't listen to them," she whispered, her eyes glancing in the direction of the stage and the cheering of men who behaved as if they had never been in the company of women before.
"Allie, I should be out there with them on the frontlines. I'm a joke," he sighed, tossing his mask to the side and folding his hands together.
"Steve..." Allie was at a loss for what she could say. She had constantly told him about how she didn't want him to continue enlisting. Here he was now, whatever had brought him here looking the way that he did. It was clear that he was in the best health that he ever had been. She couldn't discourage him from that.
"I can do things now. I don't have all those damned complications that I had. I can run, I can jump, I can fight. I'm just being used as a show pony," he lamented. "I should be out there with them. There's no reason for me to be doing this. You're here as a nurse, and that's amazing. You are doing something great for the cause. Hell, Bucky's somewhere out there fighting. I need to be out there like him."
Allie felt an icy stab in her chest at the mention of Bucky's name. Ever since the arrival of the remaining 107th soldiers, Allie had been in mourning. She had kept a picture of him on her nightstand, just where she could look over at it when ever she was in need of seeing his smile. She didn't know how she was going to explain to Steve what had happened.
Taking a deep breath, she was ready to try. She could just tell him and let him mourn with her. Her lips beginning to part, her hand ready to rest on his shoulder, she found herself interrupted. Steve gave a sigh as he looked to her.
"I'm going to clear my head for a moment. We can meet later?" his eyes were full of disdain, not for Allie, but for everything going on around them.
"Oh, of course," Allie nodded. "I need to go back to my bunk for a sweater. It's getting quite cold out here. It's hard to believe that it's November."
"I know," Steve nodded. "Well, I'll see you."
Steve left the small backstage, his footsteps softening as he faded into the distance. Sets of heels had managed to find Allie. Looking up, she noticed Mary, Evelyn, and Louise looking at her glumly. Her swallow was harsh as she stood to her feet, facing them with a frown.
"I don't know how I'm going to tell him," her jaw set as she felt a lump in her throat. "How do you tell an already discouraged man that his best friend is dead?"
"There's not going to be any easy way to tell him," Mary agreed. "In any case, we'll be there for you both. So long as you introduce us to him. It wouldn't exactly be a fun interaction to randomly appear in front of him."
Allie gave a small husk of a laugh as she led her friends back to their tent. She sat on the edge of her cot, looking to the picture of Bucky as she so often had been doing. Behind her, her friends looked to one another before settling beside her on her cot.
"You know, I think it will be better coming from you," Mary assured her. "I know it won't be easy, but I think he would much rather hear it from you than anyone else."
"I know," Allie nodded as she shut her eyes tightly. "I know that, and I swear, I will tell him tonight."
Rain began to patter against the roof of the tent, all four women sighing as the weather seemed to convey their moods perfectly. Moving to her clothing, Allie picked up a sweater and put it on, dismissing herself from the tent as she made the decision to find her brother once again.
Looking around for him, she noticed him back at the stage, a warm jacket on over his tights. He was in the middle of speaking to a woman that Allie recognized from around the base. They had never interacted, but she had seen her with the Colonel. She had heard the woman referred to as Agent Carter. Drawing closer to the two, Allie could hear their conversation.
"These men look like they've been through hell," Steve said as he nodded towards Allie and acknowledged her presence.
"They have," Allie's voice was flat as she joined them. Agent Carter turned her attention to Allie in surprise. "Um, hi. I'm Allie."
Agent Carter shook Allie's hand with a polite smile. "Peggy. You're Steve's younger sister?"
"Yes," Allie gave a half-hearted smile.
"It's nice to meet you then," Peggy smiled. "You're brother here is quite proud of you and the work that you do."
"Well, I'm proud of him too," Allie's smile turned a bit more genuine as she glanced over at her brother.
"As for those soldiers," Peggy turned back to Steve with a small sigh. "The soldiers that were there today are what remains of the 107th. Several regiments were sent to Azzano to battle against Johann Schmidt's troops. Two hundred men went to fight and only around fifty made it back. The others were killed or captured."
"Wait," Steve turned sharply to Allie with widened, worried eyes. "The 107th? Allie, is Bucky here?"
She remained silent. This wasn't how she wanted him to find out about Bucky. His breathing quickened as he came to realize the gravity of the situation. Beside them, Peggy looked between the Rogers siblings with a confused expression painted on her face.
"Allie," Steve's voice was firm. "Is he here?"
"No," the word was barely able to escape her lips.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me right away?" Steve's hurt was evident.
"What was I supposed to say? 'Wow! You're so tall now. Nice damn tights. Oh, and by the way, our best friend is presumably dead and I have been crying myself to sleep the past week?" Allie shouted at her brother.
"Well, I would have appreciated the heads up," he groaned. "Come on."
"What?" Allie and Peggy seemed to chorus together as Steve tore down the wooden stairs.
"I said come on," Steve took off from the tent. Sharing a wide-eyed look, the two women took off after him.
Steve had run throughout the base looking for one particular tent. As the group reached the tent Colonel Phillips was working in, Allie realized that whatever was going to happen was not going to be pleasant. Sat at a desk, the Colonel was signing papers.
"Colonel Phillips," Steve's voice was urgent. "I need the casualty list from the 107th."
Surprised and unamused, Colonel Phillips looked up at him. "You don't give me orders."
"Sir, I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes," Steve pressed. Allie took a step forward to stand beside her brother. She noticed the way that the Colonel looked at her. It was as if he was studying her for a moment. Pushing aside the intimidating stare, she stood tall beside Steve. She prayed that he would look through the list.
Looking between them for another moment, the Colonel stood and walked over to a stack of papers with a sigh. "I have signed more of these letters than I care to count. However, the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."
Steve and Allie looked at each other. There was a letter addressed to the Barnes family. Allie felt the tears beginning to brim the edges of her eyes as she tried to remember how to breathe. This was a sick joke. She knew what Wilson had told her. She was well aware that Bucky hadn't made it to their base. But she had hoped that his name wasn't on that letter. It made it final.
Beside her, Steve took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. Anger and grief settled into his stomach as he thought of the other men that had been captured. What had happened to them? Were they alive? Was there anyone that they could save? What exactly did the Army plan on doing to help them?
"How do you plan on rescuing the rest of the men?" Steve asked.
"We plan on doing so by winning this war," Colonel Phillips said with a frown.
"You know where they are," Steve stated. "Why aren't you performing a rescue mission?"
"They're too far away, there are too many armed forces on the way. We would lose more men than we would save," Colonel Phillips seemed to bit out. "Of course, I don't expect a chorus girl to understand."
"I think I understand perfectly fine," Steve said as his jaw tightened. Beside him, Allie was sure that she had tightened her grip on his hand from her irritation at how he was spoken to.
"Well, then you best be on your way. From what I've seen, you need to be somewhere in the next half hour," the Colonel dismissed.
Allie was far too aware of what her brother was like to expect him to stay still. His eyes had fallen on a map behind the Colonel. He studied it for a moment as his jaw tightened. There was an opportunity to save lives and bring men home. They wouldn't be able to have that with Bucky, but that didn't mean that any other families deserved to feel the pain that they felt in that moment.
"Yes, sir. I do."
Dropping his sister's and as he left the tent, Allie and Peggy found themselves sharing a look. At once, they left tent and followed Steve to the makeshift dressing room that had been made for him. He was hastily packing a bag. At once, both Peggy and Allie realized what he was doing.
"Steve, you can't just go off on your own," Peggy shook her head as he zipped up the bag. "They'll devise strategies and take care of this. Besides, you heard him. Your friend is most likely dead."
"Someone needs to do something. I can't just sit her and let something happen to those men when we know where they are," Steve argued.
"What are you going to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy fired.
"If that's what it takes," Steve gather his supplies in his hands and walked out of the room. The rain had cleared for just a moment as he through the items in his arms into a Jeep as the women caught up with him again. "You have to let me go."
"Wait," Peggy pursed her lips as she thought for a moment. "We can get you there faster."
Allie stayed close to her brother as they soon discovered that Peggy's idea of faster was Howard Stark himself piloting a plane. Outside of the plane, Howard was doing his final checks, assuring Peggy that he could get Steve there quickly and safely. Turning to the second woman beside Steve, he looked to the other man curiously.
"And you are?" his brow quirked up.
"Oh," Allie's eyes widened in surprise at being acknowledged. "I'm Allie. I'm Steve's sister."
"This is Allie?" Howard looked over at Steve. "Somehow, with how he spoke about you, I'm not surprised. And that's a good thing."
"What the hell did you say about me?" she turned to face her brother.
"When I come back, we can talk about it," Steve assured her. "You should start heading back to the base."
"No," Allie shook her head. "I'm coming with you."
A chorus of no's sounded around her from all three of the other adults. Frustration coursed through her as she stamped her foot on the wet ground. Narrowing her eyes at her brother, she pursed her lips.
"I won't go into the fight, I promise that much," she began. "But I've already lost Bucky. Forgive me if I'm not exactly keen on not seeing my brother off. I promise I will lay low and not get caught."
He was tempted to argue, point out the flaws in her plan. He knew she could be caught and get into trouble, but he was certain that she was not about to listen to anyone's logic. Letting her on the plane with the rest of them, Peggy quietly promised to ensure that Allie returned to the base safely.
On the plane itself, Allie sat beside Steve as he prepared himself for when he would jump. Peggy informed him of the area that they were entering. Stark spoke and added to the conversation from the cockpit.
"You're all going to be in trouble when you land," Steve smirked. In spite of the terrifying possibilities in front of him, he was trying to find some kind of humor in it.
"And you won't?" Peggy raised an eyebrow at him.
From the cockpit, Stark called out to Peggy about stopping at some point for a late night fondue. Allie pretended that she had not just been completely ignored in the sentiment as Steve looked at Peggy awkwardly. Allie was wondering for a brief moment if she was visible to anyone. She knew that she hadn't listened to them and gotten onto the aircraft, but she didn't think that that constituted the silent treatment.
"Do you two... fondue?" Steve asked, motioning between Peggy and Stark as Allie's eyes widened in horror.
"Steve, shut up," she hissed at him.
"This is your transponder," Peggy chose to ignore the comment as she handed him a small device. Once you are ready, activate it. It's signal will lead us to you."
As she finished her explanation, shots began to fire rapidly at the plane. Steve was quick to spring into action as he headed himself at the door of the plane. Horrified, Peggy turned to him with widened eyes.
"Get back here! We're taking you the entire way," she demanded, but was ignored.
"Once I'm clear, turn around and get the hell out of here," Steve ordered.
"You can't give me orders," Peggy argued.
"The hell I can't. I'm a captain, remember?" he smirked as he jumped from the plane.
Allie inched closer to Peggy as she glanced out of the open door. She could just barely make out the shape of her brother descending to the ground before he activated his parachute. He might have been taller and he might have been stronger, but he was still the same boy from Brooklyn. Having not had a goodbye, however, she decided to let him have an earful upon his return.
Looking at Peggy's shocked expression as Howard swiftly and expertly flew the plane away from the danger, Allie gave a small sigh.
"Don't worry," she settled back into her seat. "He's always been like that."
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Save the soldiers. Make it out alive. Get said soldiers to the basecamp. That was simple enough. Steve snuck through the Hydra camp surprisingly smooth for a man that had tripped over his own shoes too many times to count back in Brooklyn. A swift punch here, a door to the face there, a kick to the gut and in no time he had made it to where the P.O.W.s were being held.
He could hear the chattering of the men below, many of them talking about whatever had taken place that day. Others, however, had gone silent as they heard him knocking out the guard that was patrolling from above. The clinking of metal and weapons as the guard fell caused the room to go silent.
"Who are you supposed to be?" a soldier asked as Steve took the keys off of the guards belt.
"I'm uh, Captain America," Steve said, looking around in case of other guards. He made his way down quickly, unlocking the doors of the cells and allowing for the release of the soldiers. Having passed another soldier the keys, he turned to a group at the front. "Is there anybody else? I'm looking for Sergeant James Barnes."
"Well, there is an isolation ward in the factory, but no one's ever come back from it," another soldier said.
"Okay," Steve said as he took a deep breath. He gave a quick set of instructions the men on where to go. "Get out fast and give them hell."
Chaos ensued. The P.O.W.s ran and began to fight against the Hydra guards that had kept them locked away and used them for labor. Some were shot and killed, others took over the weapons and used them against Hydra.
Steve fought his way through the factory, easily knocking back Hydra forces. He found his way to dark and quiet hallways. In the distance, he was the shadow of a man fleeing. Running towards the man, Steve came to a halt as he heard growing in the room beside him. He quietly entered the room and looked around. A man was mumbling as he was strapped to a table. Making his way to the man, he was shocked to see James Buchanan Barnes himself laying in front of him.
"Bucky?" he asked in complete disbelief. Bucky stirred a bit at the mention of his name. He made the attempt to move and look at Steve, still in an almost delirious state. "Hey, it's me. It's Steve."
"Steve?" Bucky smiled at the mention of his best friend's name.
Steve swallowed harshly as he ripped at the straps, taking Bucky's arm gently as he threw it over his shoulder. "Here. Come on." Helping Bucky to stand, he couldn't help but take a moment to stare at the man hanging off of him. "God, I thought that you were dead."
"Well, I thought that you were smaller," Bucky's brows furrowed as he seemed to slowly come back to reality.
Steve took a look around the room. Noticing a map on the wall with different flags tacked to it, he made a mental note of each flags location. He knew that once he had taken Bucky back to safety, he could ask his best friend about it.
"You know, Allie's going to be thrilled to see you," Steve glanced over at Bucky as he helped him along.
"Allie's here?" Bucky's eyes widened in horror.
"No, no," Steve shook his head. "She's back at the basecamp." Leading Bucky to the door, he was determined that they would make their own escape.
"What happened to you?" Bucky asked as he tried to move himself along.
"I joined the Army."
Making their way through the hallways, Bucky was finally able to start walking on his own. Grimacing as he gripped at his side, he started to find that questions poured from him. Questions about what had happened to him really. Did it hurt when it happened? Was it permanent? His thoughts quickly turned to Allie.
"Is she okay?" Bucky's eyes had widened as he thought of her.
"Well, physically, yes," Steve gave small nod. "But she thinks you're dead, so no. Not really."
Continuing through the halls, the two heard as explosions began to set off throughout the factory. Steve cursed under his breath as he tried to think of ways to get them both out of there. Making it the catwalks as they reached the exploding factory, Steve found himself being confronted with Johann Schmidt himself.
"Ah! Captain America! I am a fan of your films," Schmidt said as he walked closer. Behind Steve, Bucky's brow furrowed in confusion. "So Erskine was able to do it. Not an improvement, but impressive."
Steve wasted no time in punching Schmidt. "You have no idea."
The danger that Schmidt possessed became evident as he threw a punch at Steve. Steve reacted quickly, holding his shield in front of him. Horrified as he looked at the dent that Schmidt had left in it, Steve drew his gun. It was quickly knocked out of his hand. The pistol slid across the catwalk before it fell into the flames below.
Both men had come to stand face-to-face, both clearly ready to fight the other. Before they could, however, the man that Steve had seen at the end of the hallway activated the catwalk. It separated as Schmidt and Steve stared each other down. Schmidt began to reach towards his neck, pulling at his face to reveal his mask. Where his face should have been, a red skull sat in its place.
"Steve, you don't have one of those, right?" Bucky asked in horror.
Schmidt and the other man escaped as more explosions went off below. Steve and Bucky looked at each other before deciding to climb further. Searching frantically for a place to cross, they found a bar that led from their side of the factory to the other. Steve was determined to help Bucky onto the bar first.
Bucky looked across the factory and felt determination bubble in his chest. He was going to make it across. He was going to make it across and he was going to make it back to Allie. He was going to hold onto her so incredibly tight to him that she would slap his arm to let her go. He was going to look in her eyes again.
Taking a deep breath, Bucky took each step carefully as the fire raged below. His confidence grew as he went across. Making it a majority of the way across, Bucky felt his confidence falter as the bar began to give underneath him. Quickening his pace, he leapt to the other side, pulling himself up over the railing. Steadying himself, he looked back to Steve. The bar had completely given way and had fallen into the raging flames.
"Bucky, just go!" Steve urged him.
"No!" Bucky's voice cracked. "Not without you. We can't do that to her!"
Steve knew that Bucky was right. He had been the one to be with her earlier that day. It had broken her to think she had lost Bucky. She couldn't let her think that she had lost both her best friend and her brother. He himself had just reunited with Bucky. They couldn't take that reunion away from Allie if they could help it.
Cursing under his breath, Steve looked around. Pushing the railing from his side of the catwalks aside, he backed up as far as he could. Grimacing at the distance, he took a running start and leapt to the other side of the factory.
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There had been no word from Steve. Upon their arrival back at the base, Peggy had assured Allie that she would tell her about any updates concerning her brother. At breakfast, Peggy mentioned that there were no updates. Mary, Evelyn, and Louise were the only ones to have discovered were Allie had wondered off to the evening before. Both Peggy and Stark had hidden Allie and snuck her back to her tent.
The other women watched as Allie laid on her cot, uninterested in talking to anyone. Allie prayed that Steve would make it back with the P.O.W.s. It was painful enough that she would never see Bucky again. She needed at least her brother to make it back.
The morning was solemn as the rumors spread throughout the base that Steve had gone after the Hydra base despite being instructed to stay put. Howard and Peggy's involvement was known and discussed, Allie's friends staying silent about her flight on the plane. They had left her in the bunk to grief, each of them having been called to the medical tent for that day.
Allie was aware that they had sent surveillance planes in the direction of where the factory had been, but as each moment passed, she was discouraged as there were no signs of any activity.
She wondered if it were possible to manifest a miracle. Would she be able to manifest a miracle that would prevent Colonel Phillips from having his corporeal type out a letter to Senator Brandt, the very man who had put Steve in those damned star-spangled tights on stages around the country? Would it be enough to not have it documented that Steve had gone missing the day before? Was it possible to not have to assume that he had been killed in action?
Allie was furious at the idea. She was certain that Colonel Phillips was doing just that in his tent. He was so quick to dismiss the P.O.W.s after all, hadn't he? He had prepared a letter for the Barnes family. She felt that there was no undeniable proof that she had lost both Bucky and Steve. She had to be able to believe that her brother was alive. She didn't think that she would be able to take it if he was gone as well.
Laying on her cot, a small blanket draped over herself as she looked up at the pictures she had sat on her nightstand. She was sure that she had the images committed to memory at that point. She looked at the photos so often, even before she had found out about Bucky. Looking at Bucky's picture, she felt a pain as she thought of her life never being the same.
Hearing the flap at her tent opening violently, Allie jolted up. At the front of the tent was Wilson. He was breathing heavily as his eyes were widened.
"I'm sorry to intrude. Evelyn told me this was your tent," he was breathing through every word.
"What is it?" she studied him for a moment.
"Nurse Rogers, you need to come and see this."