Just A Normal Kid

Chapter 17

Rosie was the one who was able to get into the Helicarriers' video feed and search for Steve, who they had lost contact with when he failed to get the third targeting chip in. She was frantically looking through the hundreds of cameras while Hill and a few other agents forced their way through to the hangar. Sam had left the hangar to deal with Rumlow, who was now dead, and the doors had sealed behind him when Maria rebooted the systems to regain control of the Helicarriers.

She nearly fainted when she found Steve. He was on the control room floor, passed out and lying in a pool of his own blood. She could see at least three gunshot wounds and what looked like a knife sticking out of his shoulder. 

Praying that they would get to him in time, she told Hill of his condition and helped Tasha arrange for a helicopter to airlift him to the nearest hospital, which happened to be a Stark-owned one. She followed his rescuers via the security cams until they got to the roof. 

Rosie went to visit Steve at the hospital the day he woke up and gave him the newest model MedBot as a get well soon gift. He had been quite confused by the robot when she showed it to him, but by her second visit, he was fast friends with the little dude who he'd named 'ET'. 

It turned out that the Winter Soldier had used unique HYDRA-manufactured bullets which were meant to take down super-humans. The bullets contained some kind of toxin that interfered with Steve's accelerated healing, meaning that he was stuck in the Hospital for over a month while he healed normally. 

Rosie visited Steve often, bringing him movies and books to catch up on. The two of them were steadily working their way through Disney and the other classic films, hence the name of his robot. Steve told her stories about how life was in the forties, and in return, she told him about her crazy days working in the labs at SI where you never knew what would blow up in your face.

A day before she was supposed to leave for graduation, Steve had finally opened up to her about Bucky, and how he used to be. He told her how the Barnes' had helped him get over his parents' death and became his second family. He managed to keep his composure through most of it, but his voice cracked when he talked about Bucky's little sister, Rebecca.

"She was the sweetest little thing I ever knew. Always smiling, she welcomed me with open arms into her home. Becca was always ready to help Buck patch me up after a fight, be it in the morning or in the middle of the night. She was seventeen the last time I saw her on the day Bucky got shipped out-"

Rosie gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to, but I'm ready to listen."

There was a pause as Steve collected himself before continuing. "I miss them all. It's-It's just that- I was ready to die when I brought that plane down. Thought I'd get to see Ma, Pa and Bucky again..." His gaze was focused on the view outside the window. "Then I wake up and Fury's telling me that I've been asleep for seventy years. Everything's so-so different an' I don't know what I'm doin' most o' the time. I became Cap to serve my country, but-but I don't even recognise who I am anymore." The more upset he was, the stronger his accent got. 

Rosie felt a lump in her throat as she tried not to cry. She'd done the same thing as well. Until she'd spent some time with him in the hospital, she'd called him Captain America both in her head and while talking to him. How many others had fallen prey to the same thing? Had they all been so taken in by the legend of Captain America that they completely missed what was going on with Steve?  How long had it been since someone had seen him as Steve Rogers - just Steve Rogers? 

She had seen the same thing happen to Tony. People hardly ever wanted to get to know him for himself and not for his money, fame or personal gain. Tony, who had grown up in front of the cameras had taken it in his stride and meticulously crafted his public persona to suit the expectations of the public. No one had taught Steve to do that. He'd been quite literally thrown into the deep end with nothing to keep him afloat.