You Must Remember This

Chapter 26 - A birthday surprise

Brooklyn, July 4, 1941

The moment Evelyn opened the door, Bucky knew something was wrong. "What?" he asked at seeing her sullen expression. "What is it?"

"He hasn't stopped coughing since this morning," replied Evelyn. "And he doesn't want me to call the doctor."

Bucky sighed and pushed past her. He went straight for Steve's bedroom, finding his buddy propped up against some pillows in bed.

Dammit, it had to be today of all days. 

"Hey Steve, you okay there?" Bucky entered the room and pulled the chair from the desk closer to the bed.

"Oh, y-ya know... the usual," said Steve, smiling weakly and shivering. 

"Evelyn says you don't want her to call the doc."

"Wh-What's he gonna do? It's just a cough, no big deal."

But it was a big deal. The scarlet fever he had as a kid had affected his lungs, and he'd already been struggling with them because of his asthma. It was the reason he couldn't do any demanding jobs, and he'd failed every PE class at school. His intelligence and aptitude got him through life, but that wasn't enough. Not in this harsh world. 

"I... I promise I'm fi-ine," managed Steve, the cough making his entire body contract. 

"If you're fine, then why are you hacking your lungs out?" Evelyn strode into the room and pushed a thermometer between his lips before he could protest. "Keep this in for a few minutes. I'll be right back. The cough syrup is almost ready."

Bucky almost twisted his face in disgust at the mention of Sarah Rogers' repugnant homemade cough syrup. It worked like a charm and cleared any cough in two days, tops, but it tasted worse than cod-liver oil. He only had it once, but once had been plenty. Poor Steve had to take it every time his lungs gave out on him, which was almost every day in winter. And with Evelyn as his live-in nurse, there was no escaping it. 

"James, will ya please keep an eye out for me and try to get through to this knucklehead?" she asked, turning to Bucky. "And make him drink his tea."

"Yeah, sure." 

Evelyn quickly left the room again, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor echoing until the noise ceased completely. Bucky's head jerked back to Steve when he heard the rustling of sheets. The blond pushed his covers off and swung his legs over the side of the bed. In less than five seconds, he looked suspiciously better.

"Um, Steve? What do you think you're —?" Bucky's eyes widened in shock when his friend took the thermometer out of his mouth and dropped it into the steaming cup on the nightstand. "Steve, what the hell?" 

"Ssh, keep your voice down," said Steve, as he tiptoed to his desk to get something from the top drawer. "She'll hear you."

"Are you... Are you not sick?" 

"Nope, fit as a fiddle. Well, as far as that idiom applies to me, at least. We don't have a lot of time before Evy comes back. What did you and Becca get her?"

"How about you spill why you're faking first?"

Steve sighed and sat in front of Bucky on the foot end of his bed, keeping an eye on the door. "The last time Evy celebrated our birthday on the actual date was when Mom was still alive," he explained. "Since then, she always makes sure she works a nursing shift at the hospital. She says it's because it's the Fourth of July, and if she doesn't take care of the idiots lighting fireworks indoors, no one will."