Ms. America

Chapter Sixteen

Coulson got Rose settled into the New York office, in one of the recovery rooms. Natasha had asked him to bring her there so she could be monitored, unsure of leaving her friend alone after the panic attack.

"Don't worry Agent Coulson, she is in good hands," Dr. Banner said while running through Rose's charts. If anyone could understand the rollercoaster of emotions and power, it was Banner, "Be safe in New Mexico Phil."

"Hi, Dr. Banner!" Rose exclaimed. She seemed a little lucid in her actions and words, although it could have been from the flight.

"Hi Rose," Banner laughed at the young girl, "Do you mind if I take some blood to run tests on? They'll run while we work in the memory machine."

"That's fine, I want to get this figured out like everyone else," Rose smiled. She felt embarrassed by her actions in Malibu. She took note of the room around her, spotting a camera directed at her, and waved. She wasn't concerned, she just wanted to figure everything out. Banner set her up, before taking 3 small vials of blood.

"Alright, I'm going to set these up, and then we'll get started."

Getting Rose into the room with the memory machine was tricky. She had about three more breakdowns before they were able to get her into the machine. The nurses felt bad for the girl, who began crying when she saw the machine. She couldn't express to anyone why she was so scared, but they would know soon enough.

"I'm so sorry Rose," started Banner, "I understand this is difficult, but I thank you for cooperating as best as possible."

"It's okay Doc," Rose answered, "I'm sorry I'm being such a handful."

"You have no need to apologize, Ms. Carter, you went through a trauma, however, you react is completely natural. Now I'm just going to be over at the controls. This may hurt a little when we start, if it gets too painful please let me know," said Bruce, watching the girl's movements. He felt bad for her, but he also knew she needed answers.

"I will," nodded Rose, kind of, her head was strapped into a bunch of wires making it hard to move, "Let's get started."

The machine whirred to life, and the lights all began flashing. Rose settled in and close her eyes, letting her mind drift down the path it wanted to take her.

Rose stood with Peggy and Steve, looking at the map of Hydra bases. Her hand was in someone else's, but when she looked up, she couldn't make out his face completely. Still, she smiled at him and leaned into him as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Rosie, you think you can flank the right side of the base with Dum Dum and Pinky and raise hell?" asked Steve, pulling her back to the conversation.

"Of course, I'm good at making a scene Stevie," she poked her tongue out at him. If he could use the annoying nicknames, so could she. Everyone laughed, then broke away from the table to prep.

"When did you get so sassy Doll?" questioned the fuzzy man, his face becoming clearer every second.

"When I started hanging around you Sarge," she teased back. The man laughed, before pulling her into a hug.

"Is everything ok James?" she questioned. Rose was just beginning to make out the characteristics of his face more. His bright blue eyes, his lazy smile.

"Uh-oh, James?" laughed the man, "I'm good Rosie, I just don't like when I can't keep an eye on you out there."

"I'm Miss America," Rose teased, "I keep an eye on you."

She folded into his hug, feeling him place a kiss on her head. She closed her eyes, smiling.

"I want to tell you something, but after we get back, okay?" asked James, placing a hand under her chin and making her lookup.

"Of course," Rose smiled yet again, "I have something to tell you too Bu-"

Rose was pulled from the memory before she was able to say his name or fully see his face.

"Who? Who was that?" she asked Bruce as he pulled the straps off of her, "Put me back I want to finish."

"No Rose, your brain started misfiring towards the end there, we almost lost you," said Bruce, signing paperwork to send to Fury, "You're not going back under until we figure out a way to fix that."

She pulled on the chain around her neck. She still had no idea why she wore it, but she couldn't bring herself to take it off. Rose pulled the chain fully from under her shirt, looking at the tag. To her surprise, it wasn't her name on it.

James Buchanan Barnes.

"Wait, I know who it is," Rose told Bruce, still looking down at the tag. She gently pulled the chain over her head and showed it to the man. When he saw it, he gave her a sad smile.

"Sergeant Barnes, of the 107th infantry," Bruce started, trying to jog the girl's memory, "He served there before being captured by Hydra. You and Steve rescued the 107th from that Hydra base. Some of the men, including Barnes, followed you and Steve as the Howling Commandos."

"And we took down the remaining Hydra bases," Rose questioned, vaguely familiar with the terms she was given.

"Yes, when you were captured Sergeant Barnes fell from the train," Bruce treaded carefully telling the young girl this memory. He knew she needed the pieces of the puzzle, but he knew Fury didn't want to get to this yet.

"Right," Rose nodded, a fog settling in her mind, "And he and I, we were-"

"Together Agent Carter."

"Oh."