The White Queen (S.Rogers)

Chapter 50

The bad thing about waiting, Brooklyn found, was that she had a tendency to let her brain wander. It was still focused on her task, but the other part of her brain would start ping ponging all over the place. One minute she would be focused on what she was doing, and then the next half her brain would start thinking about colors, or why people tied their shoes a certain way. Take right now, for instance. She was sitting on the couch, with her kindle in her hand, reading while the TV played a movie in the background, but for the past fifteen minutes she was thinking of Christmas.

They had put up a tree a few days ago. But just as they had gotten it, and had returned from buying all the things Steve pointed out they needed for the tree such as ornaments, lights, a topper, a skirt, and a stand, he had been called back to the Tower. They thought they had a good lead on the Scepter. So, he had given her an apologetic smile, kissed her gently, and packed up to leave. As he had gone out, he had given the tree a sad look, as if he had expected Juliana and her to decorate it without him.

Juliana had flat out refused. She pointed out that it felt wrong, to decorate the tree without Steve. He was part of the family, and that sort of thing was for families. Brooklyn had agreed, wholeheartedly. They would not be decorating the tree until Steve came home to them.

Instead, for the past three days, she had dutifully watered the tree, organized the things they had bought for the tree, and began to wrap the presents she had bought during the nightmare shopping spree that had been Black Friday.

Patricia and Nat had hit it off, right away, and during the shopping trip had ganged up on her, several times, in regards to her purchases. They had felt that she was not buying enough. In the end, the three biggest purchases she had made, had shut them up, and Kitty approved.

She had started out with a laptop, for herself. She had noticed that several of the students in her class found it easier to take notes and do school work on one, and with prices being low, or at least having the appearance of being low, she had managed to wedge herself between a few people to get one. The second had been a bike for Juliana. The little girl hadn't really started thinking about Christmas, but Brooklyn had done her research and found out that at five years of age, a bike was a perfectly acceptable gift for a little girl. It was pink, with a basket on the front, training wheels, and tassels that would flutter in the breeze from the white rubber grip handles. It was currently sitting in it's box, in a closet at Mrs. De Luca's, waiting for Christmas eve, when hopefully, Steve would be home to put it together. If push came to shove, Brooklyn was more than confident that she would be able to follow the instructions for assembly, but Steve had made noise about wanting to do it.

The third, and final major purchase that had raised the eyes of the three other women in that shopping group, had been a watch for Steve. She had spent every free moment, on the phone and on the internet, trying to find it. And although it had been towards the end of the day, when everyone had been tired, they had still been willing to make one last stop. In a small watch repair shop, off of Broadway, tucked between a small deli and a used book shop, she found the exact model of watch that had been issued to the men, during world war two. It was in great condition, having been repaired and refurbished by the store owner. An A-11, general military issue, manufactured by Elgin, and though he had replaced the leather band, the housing and clockworks were original, if cleaned up and repaired. When the man had recognized Nat, he had pause, raising both eyebrows, before asking if there was anyone specific in mind that the watch was going to be given to. Nat, under Brooklyn's permission, had admitted who the watch was going to be given to.

Upon hearing that the watch was going to be the intended gift for Captain America, the man, going flush with pleasure, had told them to wait a moment, before going into the back. He had returned with another small box, lifting the lid, to reveal a pocket watch from the same era. It was an Elgin military pocket watch, manufactured in about nineteen forty three, he had explained. It had been used by his father, who had just passed away, the year before. And, he went on to explain, it would make him proud to know that Captain America would be using it.