H A I L H Y D R A || J. B. Barnes

f o u r

Jamie woke late in the day at 11. When she sat up she almost forgot what happened yesterday. Almost.

It flooded back when Beck realized she had fallen asleep in her parents room. All her strength was mustered to keep the tears away. She wasn't usually a crier but the death of a parent warranted that type of emotion.

When it hit 11:30, Jamie knew it was time to get up and prepare for the soldiers to come back. And she thought James and herself should eat something.

She headed to her room first, changing into something acceptable. When she walked downstairs James was already munching on a bowl of cereal. He had obviously not had a goodnight sleep.

"I'm sorry I wasn't up earlier-" Becky started to apologize but James stopped her.

"Don't. It's not your fault. You don't have to do everything yourself, Becky," her brother assured. Jamie stopped in stride, remembering what her father had told her.

"Don't do everything yourself."

She shook the memory out of her head and nodded. "I know. But today's gonna be a hard day. We have to plan for everything. Perhaps the hardest is gonna be figuring out what to do next," Jaime explained, sitting down with her left overs.

The two kids ate in silence, the faint sounds of crunching was the only thing filling the void. Neither Barnes was eager to start a conversation.

As Jamie was putting her dish in the sink, her eyes fell upon the Christmas tree. Underneath the lit tree were all of the unopened presents. They usually opened presents on Christmas morning after a big breakfast. This was the first year they hadn't done it.

When a knock came at the door, Jamie expected it to be the soldiers. But it was 12, which seemed early.

Upon opening the door, Jamie's heart hurt. Standing outside in the cold was a smiling and cheery Steve. "Merry Christmas, Becky! Mom and I loved our gifts! How bout you? Did you like yours?" The boy asked happily.

Beck cleared her throat and looked back at the sullen James. "Uh... let's talk outside," Jamie excused, stepping outside and closing the door softly.

Steve had a confused look on his face. Jamie and him always hung out after Christmas morning.

"Right now isn't really a good time. Last night we found out that dad..." Jamie took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. "Died. It was an accident involving a tank. Soldiers came and told us last night and they're coming back in an hour to figure the rest out," Becky explained solemnly.

Steve's face fell and he pulled Jamie into a hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Beck. I know how you feel," Steve comforted. He pulled back and looked Becky in the eye, a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, if you need anything at all, mom and I are here for you. She's probably gonna insist on making you guys tons of food. But hang in there, okay?" Rogers added, trying to help his closest friend.

"Yeah. Thank you, Stevie. Really. But we don't need the charity, I'm sure James and I can get by on our own," Jamie replied, not wanting to take the help of others. She knew Sarah and Steve struggled as it was and didn't want her problems to become theirs.