Things Bucky Barnes Doesn't Do Well

Keep Dry in Wartime

It was raining. They were camped out in Italy, and it hadn't stopped raining for days. The mud was thick and made it impossible to move camp, at least not without leaving a significant amount of their supplies. The horses were cranky and hungry because finding grass was difficult, and the men were restless. The delay might have been appreciated if anyone was wounded, but no one was. Some were sick, however, and would have to be moved in carts if they ever go out of there.

One of those who had fallen ill was the officer in charge of the camp, Colonel Chester Phillips. He was brusque at the best of times, and was downright abrasive now. His aide was very pleased to be dismissed while the colonel took a nap. He couldn't make himself too scarce, but at least he didn't have to be snarled at for a while.

A commotion at the edge of the camp brought the attention of those lucky enough to be off-duty, and a crowd gathered to welcome the distraction. Initially vaguely interested, the feeling of excitement soon ran through the assembly as they realized who it was – the Howling Commandos had returned!

"I'm telling you, Cap, it's just my job to arrange the transportation, not make sure we go the right direction," Private Timothy Dugan, better known as Dum Dum, was explaining.

Steve Rogers, even more impressive in person than the posters had conveyed, just smiled at him a little tiredly. "Well, we've got the job done. Circuitous route or no," he replied. The crowd seemed to make him self-conscious, and he glanced back to his sergeant. Rumor had spread that James Buchanan Barnes, called Bucky, had been friends with Steve Rogers long before the war. It was said that, if you wanted some really great stories about the super soldier, you should get Barnes a little tipsy.

"Pretty sure bringing enough gasoline is part of your job, though," Barnes grumbled under his breath, frowning at his feet.

Dugan grinned at him. "Come on, man, you like it."

"Slogging through the mud for miles? Not particularly, but thanks for the consideration," Barnes shot back.

Phillips' aide came forward to meet Rogers, interrupting the exchange. "Captain," he said, and they saluted each other. Dugan seemed amused by this, though there wasn't much that didn't amuse him. "The Colonel is a little under the weather."

"I'd say we all are," Dugan put in, and some of the fellas laughed.

"Seems like home," Lieutenant James Falsworth quipped.

Corporal Jacques Dernier said something that sounded like agreement in French, and Private Gabriel Jones laughed.

Rogers gave them all a look, and they settled back, not into ranks exactly, but at least didn't seem likely to interrupt again. "Alright, did he leave orders concerning our accommodations?"

The aide nodded. "Follow me, sir," he said, and led them away. The other men watched them go, in much better spirits than they had been.

After they were shown to their tents, the Commandos set about removing their dwindling supplies and changing into dry clothes.

"I'm going to need to bring a lot more bandages next time if Dernier isn't going to give us a better warning," Corporal James Morita grumbled, looking into his med pack.

"Don't take it so hard, Jimmy," Dum Dum told him with a grin. "We got those guys and none of us are more than scratched."

Morita rolled his eyes. Jones turned to Dernier and must have passed along Morita's sentiment because he looked very serious when he answered.

"Says the equipment is faulty out here. Hopefully we can get some good stuff from the SSR," Jones interpreted.

"Glad to see our communications specialist is always on duty," Falsworth said lightly.