𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐄, 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋

༻ ❁ ༺
  

February 16th, 1943

          "HE'S SWEET." Alice protested. She didn't think she was winning this argument.

Gwen had been bracing herself for conflict since she received the note inquiring if she was going to the dance tonight. Alice hadn't even responded. Although the note expressly stated that she was not required to, perhaps that wasn't wholly comforting.

Alice,

You don't have to write back. I'm not looking for any promises. Seeing you tonight, even from afar, will make me feel like there is good in the world.

Alice had tucked the note into her journal. Men didn't write her love notes. Certainly not ones that made her stomach flutter.

"He's trouble." Gwen reminded her as she pulled off her wimple.

"Not all of us can be happily and adorably married." It was lovely to see, even though it was painful at times. As glad as she was to see her friend happy, the recent letter from her mother urging her to find a suitable partner weighed heavily on her mind.

"Shush!" Gwen hissed. "You want to get me packed off to some boring hospital somewhere?"

"Obviously not. If you left, who would I talk to? Gracie? She's such a bore. And if I had to spend any more time with Polly, I'd bury her under the floorboards."

If Alice lost her best friend, she would be crushed. Married women were not supposed to serve in the front lines. Gwen wouldn't be permitted to stay if anyone found out about her elopement.

"And you can't talk to Martha." Gwen teased, nudging her friend's side. She wasn't one for holding grudges.

Alice decided it was much better for her dignity if she ignored that statement entirely. "... are you going to help me with my hair or not?"

Her friend sighed, a fond, exasperated sound. "Pass me the pins."

Moments later Gwen stepped back, "Right. That's as good as you get without an actual hairdresser." She gave the soft french twist a last once-over.

Alice checked her reflection in her hand mirror. "Gwen, you're a miracle worker. A goddess among women."

Gwen leaned over her shoulder, primping her own hair in the small mirror. "It's pretty darn good, hun. Your coffee ration says he's speechless."

Alice laughed. "Consider it yours." It would be worth it.

She rose from her stool and brushed her fingertips over the blue button-down dress's skirt. It was the only nice outfit she'd brought with her, and she'd tried her hardest to maintain it in good shape. It had been in her cubby for so long that getting the wrinkles out was the most difficult task.

The white ankle-strap heels had seen her through many a dance and family wedding, but they were well-worn and in good shape. Putting them on was reassuring, a reminder of home on the other side of the world.

Alice had fond memories of her time spent in these shoes. She planned on making a few more tonight.

  
  
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The church hall had a bustling vibe, with lights flashing from the entryway as partygoers poured in and out.

Strains of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" were just audible as they approached, Alice in her blue dress with the lace accents at the sleeves, and Gwen in her pink with the sweetly pleated neckline.

The place was hopping when they got inside. Couples crowded the dance floor or sat at the low tables strewn about the venue. A long line had formed at the bar that had been set up. This was a dry event, as were most of them, but that didn't matter. The small moments of reprieve were frequently enough to entice.

Already they had recognized a few people they knew; some other nurses from the field hospital, as well as some of the soldiers they had treated.

Alice could see her friend's eyes sifting across the crowd, looking for something. Alice knew precisely what she was searching for and drew her deeper into the corridor to conduct a more thorough search.

They'd managed one circuit of the hall and were contemplating grabbing some drinks when a pair of arms wrapped around Gwen's shoulders and a soft voice asked in her ear, "Hey sugar, you rationed?"

The smile of pure ecstasy on Gwen's face as she fell back into the sturdy frame of her husband's chest could not have been hidden by a blackout. "Hmm. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

When Alice watched her friends cuddling up to one other, she grinned. They were just too darn happy together. Just watching them was a joy.

And they were so caught up with each other that for a moment they seemed to forget Alice was even there.

Not that she minded.

But Gwen turned back to her, hand clasped with Lawrence's. "You don't have to hang around with us boring people. Go find your Romeo."

Lawrence's eyes lit with interest as he glanced between them. "Romeo? Who is Alice's Romeo?"

"Sergeant Barnes."

"With the 107?"

Gwen nodded in confirmation. "And the dreamy eyes apparently."

"Oh yeah. He's a Romeo. A Yankee Romeo to boot." Lawrence agreed. He'd met the man several times before. Nice fella. Easy to talk to. He's the type of man you'd like to have a drink with. But he'd also noticed that Barnes had the ability to attract female attention as easily as wildflowers do honeybees.

"Would you stop calling him that?" Alice protested with a laugh. "He's sweet."

"So was Romeo," Gwen reminded her. "And we all know how that story ended."

"Romeo was a self absorbed, teenage boy with a crush. Pretty sure the same cannot be said of Sergeant Barnes. But if you're telling me that he's on active duty, I'll remember that the next time I see those baby blues." She'd maintain it at a friendly level of flirtation, and that'd be the end of it.

Of course it would be just her luck for a familiar voice to cut in. "Whose baby blues are we talking about?"

When they turned around, they saw James Barnes approaching from behind. When he wasn't covered in war grime, he looked even better. His hair was brushed precisely, his suit pressed, and his face was shaved.

Alice, who'd thought he was handsome even with the rough edge of stubble, tried very hard not to stare. Now that's just unfair.

"Can someone tell me why lieutenant Keller hogging all the pretty girls? You can only dance with one of them at a time, you know."

"Too bad you're late, Barnes. Missed your chance." Lawrence joked back easily, slinging one arm casually around his wife's shoulders.

He snapped his fingers in mock-disappointment. "Well dang. And here I spent all that time making myself presentable. If a guy begs for a dance, do you think Sister Alice will feel sorry for him? Or do you also have her as a hostage?"

Gwen encouraged Alice forward with a giggle, pushing her ahead before she could respond. "But we are leaving in three hours and I am walking you back to our barracks myself."

Alice made a face at her friend. "You know, one of the few advantages of being stationed out here is that I don't have to deal with my mother."

"Amen to that," Lawrence nodded emphatically.

He and Alice exchanged a look of sympathy as Gwen giggled, tugging her husband towards the dance floor. "Come on, sugar. Let's dance."

Bucky let out a long whistle as he watched the two of them walk away. "Anyone taking bets on how long it will be before those two get married?"

Alice laughed. "That was about a year ago so you'd lose your money."

"What?"

Oops, she wasn't supposed to say that. Open secrets were the worst. "What?"

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. "You're an odd duck. Let's dance."

"Oh, I don't know, Sergeant Barnes. You think you can keep up?"

Bucky smoothly extended his hand towards her, and with a grin that she thought disguised her nerves, she accepted his hand. Normally, her dancing partners weren't so brave.

Bucky twirled her on the spot. "Oh, I think I'm up to the challenge."

"As long as you take care with your stitches," she relented, allowing him to lead her towards the crowd of dancers.

"Yes ma'am." he promised.
      

༻ ❁ ༺  

James Barnes, it turned out, really knew how to dance.

He led like a pro, and not once did he step on her toes or fling her into another dancer. To top it off, if the song was slow enough, he could even carry a conversation on the dance floor.

He was pleasant, but he was also disarmingly humorous, as Alice had suspected. He told her about growing up in Brooklyn and running tame through the streets with his best friend, and he didn't mind telling her memories that made him laugh. In exchange, she informed him about her family, including her parents and sister, as well as how she met Gwen and Lawrence.

Far too soon Alice felt a tap on her shoulder. There was Gwen, face as flushed with exertion as hers was. "Come on, Cinderella. Time to get you into your bed before you turn into a pumpkin."

Already the words of protest were forming on her lips. "Gwen - "

Before she could finish her complaint, her friend cut her off with an airy wave of a hand. "Be my guest if you want to explain to Matron why you're yawning during morning rounds."

Alice sighed, turning back to Bucky reluctantly. "She has a point. I should go."

He nodded, understanding. "Let me walk you back."

"You don't have to." Alice protested. Barnes was being observed by a group of other women. Almost all of the single girls, as well as a significant number of those with sweethearts. After she left, he'd have a new dance partner in the blink of an eye. Considering the women were outnumbered three to one, this was no small effort. "Gwen and I can get home fine."

But Bucky shook his head, smiling crookedly down at her. "Ma would box my ears if I didn't. She raised a gentleman."

Alice relented with a laugh. She liked the notion of him walking her home. "We don't want your Ma to be disappointed in you."
   

༻ ❁ ༺

He kept them laughing all the way back to the nurses' quarters, exchanging quips with Lawrence and flirting with Alice in passing.

When they arrived at the barracks, they took a step back, giving Gwen and Lawrence a brief moment of privacy to kiss in the dorm's shadows before Gwen went inside.

Bucky ran his knuckles down her arm. "Can I kiss you goodnight, Sister Alice?"

At that moment Gwen stuck her head out from the door to the tent. "No."

"Gwen!" Alice laughed. "Get back inside! I can answer for myself."

She returned her gaze to her dance partner, a regretful shake of her head. She wasn't the type of girl that kissed a guy on their first date, if that's what you could call it. "It's time for me to retire to my bed, Sergeant. Hopefully, I see you again."

"Hopefully you will," He replied. "Just not because I got myself shot again."

"Just a little shot." She smiled back, echoing his own words from that afternoon.

He laughed. "Good night, Alice," He took her hand in his and carefully brought it to his mouth, brushing soft lips over her knuckles. "Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Sergeant Barnes." Alice retreated into the barracks, her face burning and trying to hide her grin. She turned to lean against the frame, a dreamy look in her eyes, absently grasping the hand he had kissed as she closed the tent flap behind her.

A wet cloth caught her square in the face.

"Wipe that grin off your face and get to bed. That boy is trouble."

Alice made face at her friend, swiping her makeup off with a moist cloth to avoid the inevitable dark circles in the morning. "Oh, how would you know what trouble looks like?"

"Lawrence's not the first man in my life," Gwen said with a shrug as she made her way to her bed. "I've seen trouble before. And Barnes is trouble."

"Not the first man?" Alice stepped back with an exaggerated gasp, pressing one hand to her chest in feigned shock. "Why, Gwendoline Keller. Do you have a dark and wicked past you haven't told me about? And if so, tell me all about it."

"Bed," Her friend laughed, plucking the pins from her curls. "Before you get us both into trouble, you hopeless romantic."

"I'm not about to forget about this conversation," Alice warned her. "You are going to tell me eventually."

"Eventually, probably. Tonight, I'm going to sleep."

Alice sat down on her bed to unbuckle her shoes, sighing with relief as her feet were finally free. She'd have to pay for her sins in the morning, but tonight was well worth the price. Still smiling, she unbuttoned her dress, trading it for her pajamas, and returning the dress neatly folded to her locker.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight, Gwen."

"Any time." Gwen grumbled sleepily pulling her blanket over her head.