Edelweiss || Bucky x Reader

Chapter Five

I've got a skill set, and I'm going to use it. They'll fight. I'll fix. We'll be working towards the same goal; winning the war. As soon as it's over, I get them back.

This is my chance to do something meaningful.

The bathroom door swings open, another nurse walking in.

"Y/N? You disappeared last night, is everything ok...?" Darla says as she rounds the corner. Her eyes land on my face, and she smiles. "What's got you so happy?"

"Oh, nothing." I grin to myself, still staring at the poster.

...

I think I owe Steve an apology for all the lecturing I gave him yesterday. In my defense, I didn't think I'd be standing in front of the same recruitment center I had worked so hard to drag him away from the very next day. But here we are.

As the sun sets behind me, I walk through the bones of last night's expo and up the center's steps. Still being in my uniform, I'm pointed in the right direction fairly quickly. A man gives me some paperwork to fill out, featuring insultingly irrelevant questions like "Are you unmarried?"

I write as neatly as possible, balancing the clipboard on my leg. The many blanks are soon filled with black ink and I hand it back to the man who had given it to me with the widest smile on my face.

"My, excited are we?" He says with a laugh as he takes the papers from me.

"Yes, sir." I nod with a grin.

He reads it over and checks a box at the bottom of the second page. I peek anxiously at his evaluation. He hands me another paper, this time with the name of a hospital printed on it.

"You're lucky, sweetheart." the man says. "The next batch of nurses are set to be deployed in about a week, so you just made the cutoff." He points to the card he gave me "Go there tomorrow, they'll tell you everything you need to know." He looks back at me. "Welcome to the Army Nurse Corps!"

"Yes, sir!"

I'll head back to work, let them know what's going on, and head home.

Everything's going to be ok

...

Fumble with the keys, kick the door, set down the bag. Things I do daily now feel different. They feel like opportunity and possibility. They feel great.

I clean up and go to bed. I'm exhausted and completely drained. On top of that, with a full day ahead of me, I need all the sleep I can get.

...

The next morning I'm up before the sun. I get ready and head to the hospital printed on the card. It's in Manhattan, so it's a bit of a hike. I don't notice though, my head is in the clouds. It's brutal to be away from Steve and Bucky, they've always been my support, and I theirs. The feeling of being able to do nothing but helplessly watch as one of them is in pain is absolutely suffocating. But at least now I'll be closer to them. Knowing we'll all be fighting together again is a huge comfort.

Before I know it, I'm there. Walking into the hospital, I take a breath. The reality of what I'm doing is hitting me. I won't be sitting idle any more, I'll be putting my skills to good use. This is the real thing. No going back. So I go forward. Pushing open the door, I feel a new determination inside me.

I follow the arrows directing new army nurses to the information center. Once there, an older woman sitting at a desk takes the paper the man had given me the night before.

"First time, dear?" She asks, reading something on the back of the card I hadn't noticed.

"Yes, ma'am." I reply.

"Then let's get you all set." She stands from her chair "Follow me, please." She says, leading me down the hall, stopping in front of a door. She pauses to look me over. "Do a spin for us." I do, and she nods. "You wait right here." She says, before going into the room.

She comes out a few minutes later holding an army nurse uniform. "Go ahead and try this on. The bathroom is down the hall on your right."

I nod and go to put on my new uniform. Sure enough, it fits like a glove. I come out holding my clothes. The woman claps her hands "Well don't you look lovely."

I blush.

She grabs me a spare in the same size and we walk back to her desk. She sits down again, pulling out yet another paper. "Alright dear, I need your full name."

"Y/N Rogers, ma'am."

"Y/N." She says, writing it down. "I like that."

"Thank you." I smile.

"And where do you get your mail?" I give her my building and apartment number.

She looks up at me "Ok Y/N, you'll be mailed where you'll be deployed by Friday, and then you'll be leaving Saturday morning."

"Thank you, ma'am." I say, turning to leave.

"Oh, you're very welcome, dear." She says "Best of luck to you."