𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐋

༻ ❁ ༺

November 15, 1943

          IT HAD BEEN eleven days since Rogers had set out to rescue their men, and still there had been no word. Peggy had done her best to keep them informed, but there was only so much she could tell them. 

The factory complex where the captives were held had been abandoned, and overhead reconnaissance had shown that it had been the scene of fighting, but they had no idea what it meant for their troops.

They could have been lost to the fighting, could have been taken elsewhere in the chaos and their people would never know.

Gwen had been doing everything she could to keep busy and distract herself from the agony of waiting for news. It had never been cleaner in the surgery, barracks, or wards. And if Matron or the other medical personnel saw her frenzied expression, they didn't say anything.

She should have gone with Captain Rogers. There's no way one man could accomplish such a rescue on his own.

Even if he had somehow gotten them out, there would have been casualties. She could have been able to assist. Instead of being confined here, waiting for word and slowly going insane, she'd know for sure what had happened to her husband.

She just heard half of the commotion outside and gave it no attention. She had heard that the promised reinforcements would be arriving today. This had to be the sound of them arriving. She had heard that they were arriving in a tank. That was a good thing, she supposed.

One of its engines was said to be entirely shot, according to rumors. Thankfully, not literally, but a malfunctioning tank was of little value in this situation. But, as the clamor outside grew louder, she recognized that something more significant was going on.

An attack? No, the nurses would be among the first to be warned.

The hopeful bubble that had formed in her chest when Peggy told her that her husband might still be alive burst into a powerful throb, almost smothering her. Lawrence -

Alice suddenly burst from the tent, grabbing the sleeve of the first person she saw.

"What is it?" Gwen demanded. "What's happening?" She didn't have time to respond when Alice dashed by, seizing her friend's hand and pulling her to the outside of camp, where a crowd was forming.

"It's them."

Gwen's heart raced in her chest as their feet flew over the packed ground. Her pulse drowned out the roar of the crowd.

Lawrence was the first to notice her. Alice's hand had stopped being a grounding force and had become to feel like an anchor. She let go of her friend's hand and charged at her husband.

Lawrence turned like he sensed her. His arms went around her and he crushed her into his chest. "I'm here, love. I came back. I could never leave you."

Gwen sobbed against Lawrence's neck, her eyes closed. She'd have to put on a determined face and return to work soon. There were men who were hurt. In the infirmary, it would be all hands on deck. She needed a moment to just be a relieved wife right now.

Her husband was alive, and he had come back to her. Barnes and Rogers, those idiot Americans had brought him back to her. 

Oh damn, I'm going to have to be nice to them now.
  

༻ ❁ ༺
  

Alice hung back as the Colonel approached, Peggy hot on his heels.

She couldn't very well throw herself at Bucky like she was dying to, not with Colonel Phillips only two feet away.

But he was there. He was alive. And he was home.

He had a week's worth of scruff on his face, and she could see the crimson bruise on one cheekbone. In fact, he appeared to favor his entire left side. Then his gaze fell on her, and she couldn't think of anything else. As he smiled back at her, she beamed, tears stinging her eyes.

Phillips finally dismissed Rogers, judging that returning to camp with two hundred rescued Allied POWs more than made up for disobeying orders.

And as Peggy approached Steve to reprimand him for being late, Alice finally pushed through the crowd towards Bucky.

To hell with protocol and appearances. She wrapped her arms around him and fisted her hands in his ragged green undershirt, savoring the solid warmth of his body.

She'd dreamed of this a hundred times since he'd been taken, but at last, at last he had come back to her.

After a moment, Alice forced herself to pull away, sniffling.

Bucky gently brushed the tears from her eyes, keeping one arm slung around her shoulder. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think maybe you might have missed me."

She swatted at him with a watery chuckle. "Of course, I missed you, you jerk."

"All thanks to this idiot," he answered, jerking his head towards Steve. Who, come to think of it, was due to some good-natured ribbing. "Hey!" He called, his voice ringing out over the crowd. "Let's hear it for Captain America!"

And laughed as the entire camp took up the cheer.
  

༻ ❁ ༺
    

"The doctors are swamped," Bucky argued. "I'm just taking up a bed. I'm fine. I need a shower and a good night's sleep, and I'll be ready to go."

Alice pushed him back into the hospital cot from which he had attempted to escape. He wasn't mistaken. Doctors were overwhelmed. That didn't mean she'd allow him to leave. She hated to admit it, but she was more concerned about him than the other captured men.

"What you need is to stay there and not aggravate your injuries any further."

"Come on, Ally, I'm not badly hurt, I promise." Bucky wheedled. He'd had enough of hospitals to last a lifetime. This one was worlds better, but he still wanted out.

Alice crossed her arms over her chest. "Is this like when you got yourself 'a little bit shot'?"

"I could have taken care of it," he insisted. "It really wasn't that bad."

Alice bit her lower lip and cast a glance towards Gracie, who had been following the conversation. This was not going to end well for her.

If she had any hopes of winning thus argument, she would have to bring in the big guns.

"Don't let him leave." She ordered Gracie, who replied with a simple nod and a sheepish glance. She turned back to Bucky, stabbing him in the chest with a finger. "If you so much as think about leaving this bed before I get back, I will never speak to you again."

Fortunately for her, the big guns were close by. Steve was lingering outside the tent, having given the Colonel his account on the events following his rogue exit. If a 6'2" man with 200 pounds of muscle could be described as hovering.

"Captain! Just the man I was looking for." She reached out and seized his jacket from him before he could respond, dragging him inside.

"What is it?" He asked. "What's wrong? Is it Bucky? Is he -- "

"He's refusing to stay in bed," Alice answered, tugging him towards the cot where Gracie was standing guard.

Steve immediately turned a concerned gaze on his friend. "Bucky -- "

"I'm fine!" He insisted. Damn those blue eyes. And now there were two sets trained on him.

"You were captured by Hydra and -- and -- who knows what they did to you!" Alice was starting to feel a little hysterical from having to repeat the point.

Bucky reached out, taking her hand in one of his and smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm fine, doll. I promise. Fit as a fiddle. I even walked all the way back from Austria without tripping once."

"Liar!" Steve laughed. "You stumbled over a branch two days out and almost landed in a ditch."

Bucky's look of complete betrayal in response to his friend's mocking was hilarious, and Alice had to fight to maintain a serious expression on her face.

"If you won't wait for a doctor, will you at least let Gwen check you over? If she says you're fine to leave I'll walk you over to the mess myself."

"Why does this feel like a trap?"
  

༻ ❁ ༺
  

It most definitely was a trap. 

Despite their busy schedules, Alice was skeptical that the physicians would give Bucky a thorough examination. They'd probably speed through his questions and believe him, and he'd bluff about how good he felt to get out of the hospital.

And that was something she couldn't allow.

Gwen wasn't in a hurry, and she wasn't going to let him fool her. Bucky winced his way through what had to be one of the most thorough examinations of his life as Gwen pushed and prodded, looking for tender spots, while Alice stood stoically next to Steve.

"I'm sorry, love. You'll thank me when you don't drop dead somewhere." Alice had managed to say through stifled giggles as Bucky winced at Gwen's robust bedside manner.

"You have a concussion, a dislocated elbow that my husband did a terrible job resetting, and at least two fractured ribs. I'm pretty sure you're lying to me about how much your cheek hurts and your suborbital is broken too, not just bruised, but I can't do anything about that out here anyway so I'm not going to fight you on it."

Gwen said, standing up and passing the clipboard she'd been writing on to Alice. "Bed rest for at least three days. And you should be re-examined then to see if it needs to be extended."

Steve glanced over at the clipboard in Alice's hands. "Did she sign this 'Dr. Jacob Wright'?"

" ... She might have." Alice hurriedly hung the clipboard back on the end of the bed. "Point is, Bucky isn't going anywhere for a couple of days."

"Where are you going with my boots, Sugar?"

Alice didn't even pause as she pulled them away from the cot. "They are completely trashed. I'll get you new ones from the quartermaster."

"Today?" Bucky pointedly ignored Steve mouthing 'Sugar?' over Alice's shoulder.

"A large number of POWs have lately been returned to our camp. Both the quartermaster and the hospital are overloaded. It could take several days." She told him without a hint of doubt. To be precise, it would take her three days.

"I promise I will stay right here. If only to make sure you take a break."

Bucky drew Alice into his lap with an arm around her waist. She had the lightness of a baby bird. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had run out of food in the last few days. He leaned down, close enough so that his nose skimmed against her forehead.

"Now, give me back my boots." He half whispered in her ear, causing her to shudder slightly.

"Don't be an idiot. Listen to the nurses." Steve patted Bucky warmly on the shoulder. "I'm going to let you rest. Talk to you tomorrow."

There was a tussle as Steve attempted to mess with Bucky's hair and Bucky attempted to fend him off without causing Alice to move. They both grinned like schoolboys at the finish. Before Steve squared his shoulders and strode out of the tent, every inch the captain, they shared one final clasp of each other's forearms.

Alice watched the broad back disappear from the tent. There was more there than just best friends. "He's your Martha."

"I..." Bucky didn't know why he was denying it, not to Alice. If anyone would understand, it was his girl.

"Yeah. He kind of is."