August 1943
Birthdays had always been something of importance in the Egan household. It didn't matter that money was tight some years. Their mother had always stressed to them the importance of someone feeling special on their birthday. In the years that money had been particularly tight, they had decided that a special meal would be had in place of any presents that would be given.
Unless someone was in dire need of something (like new socks or shoes), things were kept simple. And then things had gotten a bit harder with the war effort on. And in the midst of rationing and lack of money and means, birthdays for Kathryn Egan had slipped into the background of her mind.
Turning 23 was no small thing—at this point in her life, she'd now be considered eligible for old maid or spinster status back home. Luckily, on the base, that was the least of everyone's problems. It didn't matter how old or young you were if you were on the base—it just mattered that you wanted to help with the war effort.
That being said, Kathryn Egan had nearly entirely forgotten that her birthday was approaching. That morning that she got up, she didn't find things any different than they normally were—she still felt rather the same and didn't show any signs of premature aging to signify that she was an old maid now.
None of the other nurses knew about her birthday and Kathryn fully intended to keep things that way. The more she could keep her head down, the more she could just do her work quietly, the simpler and easier her life would be. She had already garnered more than enough attention after publicly disgracing a few of the members of the British Royal Air Force.
And that reputation was not going away anytime soon.
Then again, Kathryn rather preferred men to be more terrified of approaching her than bold enough to proposition her. It was a rather fine line and one that she was just fine being solidly on the other side of.
She had no sooner made it to the mess hall and sat down to eat her breakfast that the hall had gone suspiciously quiet. In hindsight, she should've known that Bucky was bound to be up to something on her birthday. If her mother thought that birthdays were important, Bucky considered it to be better than the 4th of July.
"KATHRYN EGAN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
Kathryn immediately felt all eyes land on her and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and to die right then and there. Her cheeks burned just as red as her lipstick and the singing that Bucky was loudly doing did little to help her feel better as others joined in.
"Oh this is—this is hell. I'm in hell now," Kathryn just hid her face in her hands, wishing more than anything that her brother would go away.
He did no such thing. Johnny Egan just continued to sing the birthday song loudly and proudly until it was done and he was smiling in her face. "Happy birthday, sis!" With that, he leaned forward, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then continued to stroll on his merry way.
"I'm going to kill him." Kathryn was mortified at the display of events, but the other nurses just seemed amused by the turn of events.
"You didn't tell us it was your birthday!" Laura exclaimed.
"It's not a big deal—"
"Your brother seems to think otherwise," Poppy deadpanned, gesturing over to the door her brother had walked through.
Annika just gave her a look of sympathy. "It was kind of sweet."
"So how old?" Becky questioned, nudging Kathryn with her foot as the rest of the room resumed their normal conversations.
"23," Kathryn mumbled.
"Aww you're just as old as I am now!" Laura gave her a side-hug, grinning widely at her. "We can be old maids together!"
"It's not even that old," Annika pointed out.
Poppy and Becky just solemnly shook their heads. "If I'm not married by 23, I'll consider it a personal failure," Poppy said seriously, placing her hand over her heart.
Laura and Kathryn both had to stifle a laugh. Personal failure? Not to them—but if that was Poppy and Becky's mindset, Kathryn was certain that they'd find themselves happily married. Hopefully.
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If Kathryn thought that her surprises were done and over with breakfast, she was sorely mistaken. She hadn't really been expecting anything from anyone , especially given the fact that she hadn't told anyone about her birthday. And considering that overseas packages were likely to never find their way to their owner with the war on, she certainly wasn't expecting anything from home.
But to arrive at her shift and to find Billy and Sammy standing at the door, bunches of wildflowers carefully curated and picked in hand, Kathryn was totally speechless. "What do you boys have there—" Doctor Adler started.
"They're for Miss Kat!" Billy exclaimed, shoving the flower bouquets forward and into her hands.
"Who—"
"We're not supposed to say, Miss!" With that, Billy and Sammy took off giggling and running.
For a moment, it was all Kathryn could do to just stand there in shock. She couldn't help it though—a smile spread across her features. Because the fact of the matter was that she loved flowers. And she hadn't been able to have a bouquet like this in a long time.
Daisies, marigolds, bellflowers, and forget-me-nots littered the bouquet and she brought them up to her nose, inhaling deeply and smiling like she was a schoolgirl again. "It looks like you have a secret admirer." Becky said, wiggling her eyebrows with a slight giggle.
"I'll bet you anything it's that Buck Cleven!" Poppy said in a sing-song tone.
"Oh hush!" Kathryn insisted, shooting them a slightly scandalized look. It took her a moment to find a home for the flowers, finally placing them in a makeshift vase of sorts. It certainly brightened up the room and truth be told, it had entirely made her day.
"I'll bet you that my chocolate ration would make them give up the name." Laura stated, gaze never leaving Kathryn's face.
A light blush just dusted her cheeks. "Oh there's no need for that. I'm perfectly content in not knowing who they're from." Kathryn insisted.
"And if they are from Buck?" Annika pressed.
Kathryn just blushed harder, refusing to answer. Maybe—just maybe—Kathryn Egan was starting to accept the fact that she did, in fact, like Buck Cleven.
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Before their shift had ended, one of the men had come by to talk with Poppy. As far as Kathryn could tell, Poppy had gotten bored and had let the man down gently. Still, it couldn't have been easy for Poppy to do it, considering that word tended to get around fast on this particular base.
Poppy hadn't even shed a tear—citing that her eyelashes were too good for that. Becky had laughed at the thought and the rest of their shift had been light. Barely any physicals to complete, barely any sheets to wash—it was a lucky day.
Kathryn really shouldn't have been surprised by her brother dropping by a small gift after dinner and before everyone was set to meet up at the dance hall. "Your brother's here!" Poppy called, a grin sounding in her tone.
This time, Kathryn wasn't irritated by her brother's presence. "Wasn't the singing enough?" She questioned, gaze falling on him.
He just shook his head, a bright smile on his face as he handed her a carefully wrapped brown package. "Course not."
"You didn't have to get me anything," Kathryn insisted, giving him a worried look.
"Listen, would ya just open it?" Bucky demanded, crossing his arms and staring his younger sister down. "The last time I was in London, I saw this and knew that you needed to have it."
Kathryn lodged her complaints in her throat and just opened the paper, eyes falling on the soft navy fabric fabric inside. "Bucky—"
"It matches the dress you usually wear," Bucky deadpanned.
She held up the hat, face lighting up at the sight. "You do pay attention!" She decided, flinging her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
"Yeah, yeah!" He grinned. "Just uh—wear the hat with the dress tonight, okay? It matches!"
"Thank you," she reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're really sweet for getting me anything. The song really would have been enough."
"Yeah, but that embarrassed you and the hat won't do that."
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Kathryn had committed to wearing the dress and the hat—and wear the dress and hat she did. She had to admit, her brother may have been a little bit more loose in his morals, but he did in fact, know how to match hats and dresses together and she had to give him that. It even complimented the Victory Red that always signatured her lips.
Biddick beat everyone to the punch that night though. He had practically rushed up to her, a grin on his face. "You must be the world's prettiest sister!"
"Flatterer!" Kathryn accused with a grin as he took off to go dance with Annika.
"Just statin' the facts!"
She rolled her eyes, a grin on her face. Bucky offered her an arm and she gave him a suspicious look. "Why do I get the feeling that you're up to something?"
"Me? I'm offended!" Bucky exclaimed. "Just come on over and join the rest of us!"
Kathryn had no sooner sat down that Meatball had made an appearance at the table—and she just had to let out a dramatic gasp of excitement. "Meatball!"
"See? Birthday improved!" Bucky grinned as the band began to play another song.
"You stole him from DeMarco for me?"
"Appropriated is a better word," Buck said, taking a seat next to her. "And we're just borrowing him."
"Oh I see," she said, but her focus had been drowned out by Meatball.
Bucky just gave a grin to Buck—encouragement flickering at the edges. Because for all of his sister's acknowledgements that she didn't want to fall in love, he knew that she liked Buck just as much as Buck liked her. The only difference was that he had to constantly put up with Buck's pining without anyone else hearing it.
Well he had had enough of that for one lifetime. He was bound and determined to get these two people together. Because if there was one person he trusted with his precious baby sister, it was his best friend, Buck Cleven.
"You know, my sister loves to dance!" Bucky exclaimed, clapping Buck on the back.
Buck nearly choked on his ginger ale, panic appearing in his features. He did not dance . "Bucky—"
"And she hasn't danced the entire time she's been on this godforsaken base! It's her birthday, do me a favor?"
Buck could only let out a stammered huff as Kathryn's attention turned onto them. "What?" She questioned, piquing an eyebrow.
"He wants to dance with you!" Bucky said pointedly.
Her hazel gaze fell on Buck in surprise. "I thought you didn't dance."
"I don't—" An elbow from Bucky nearly made Buck cough. "I usually don't. But—do you want to dance?" Buck finally questioned.
If there was one thing Buck Cleven wasn't counting on, it was the fact that Kathryn Egan totally and completely lit up at the prospect of dancing with him. "I'd love to!" Her eyes seemed to glitter with excitement and he swallowed down his pride.
So he offered her a hand and they entered the dance floor as the band began to play a slower tune. For Kathryn Egan, everything just seemed to melt away and though she could still hear the band playing, she was suddenly acutely aware of Buck's hand on her waist and the way that they were holding hands—
And nothing else seemed to matter .
"Thank you for the flowers," Kathryn murmured.
He looked taken aback. "I don't—"
"I know it was you. My brother's not great at keeping secrets."
Buck nearly spared Bucky a glance, but he couldn't bear to tear his gaze away from the eyes of Kathryn Egan. He thought, for a moment, that they were the type of eyes that you could drown yourself in. They were the type of eyes you could find yourself in.
He didn't mind the fact that she had calluses on her hands from scrubbing blood out of sheets. And she didn't mind the fact that the smell of oil and aftershave mixed together to create a uniquely Buck smell.
"How'd you know what flowers I like?" Kathryn questioned quietly.
"Laura."
She bit back a laugh, unable to tear her gaze away from him either. "Hmm, I knew she knew something. Well they were the best present I got all day."
He smiled softly at that. "I'm glad."
"And this isn't half-bad either."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Kathryn swayed to the music in his arms. "I'm just surprised you let my brother bully you into dancing."
"Maybe I just needed to find the right partner."
"Did you?" Kathryn's voice was barely audible, curiosity brimming in her gaze.
"I think I did."