Bring Me Home // Bucky Barnes

Chapter XII - Whispers In The Night

It had long passed midnight and the sound of sleeping soldiers filled the tent. Occasionally one would whimper or cry out and a nurse would run to his aide to soothe and support him. Beds were of short supply and those who were able to move around unaided volunteered their own cots for those who had returned, but even then, there were soldiers asleep on the floor.

Elizabeth stepped over a sleeping soldier and leant down to pull the blanket that had been draped over him up slightly, covering him from the chill just a little more. Moving forward she checked notes on those whose charts had been made and attached to cots and made a mental note to request more supplies from Colonel Phillips in the morning. Maybe even some beds too now that four hundred men had returned.

She came to a stop at the end of his cot for the seventh time in the last two hours. His notes had been updated a few hours ago and nothing she read now was new to her. He had eaten, his bandages had been checked and his temperature was normal. Still, she thought it would be best to maybe check his bandages again in a little while. Just to make sure he was okay. Eventually she turned her attention to the sleeping man in the cot next to Bucky: Tim 'Dum Dum' Dugan. When she had pictured Dugan from Bucky's letters he had been exactly this. He was tall, broad, handsome and had a kindness to his features, even in his sleep. She smiled at this man who had shown Bucky kindness and companionship in the earliest days of his deployment and for a moment she became lost in her thoughts of the letters that had lead her here.

Shaking her head Elizabeth picked up the chart attached to Dugan's cot and started to read through his notes. She would keep a close eye on him, for Bucky.

Without having to turn to confirm her suspicions she knew Bucky was not sleeping. His breathing, previously heavier and deeper had become quiet and much too even, and she could feel his eyes tracing her in the dark.

"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes," she whispered, her back still turned to him, "go to sleep."

"I am asleep," he retorted, a light chuckle in his voice.

Elizabeth turned, intending to scold her soldier who now lay awake when he needed rest, and laughed instead as he opened one eye to peek up at her again. Quickly reaching around, she placed Dugan's chart down at the end of his bed before moving towards Bucky and adjusting the thin blanket that covered him.

"Stop watching me work and get some rest." She stopped fidgeting with his blanket and looked up at him, full of concern. "Please Bucky. You really do need sleep." She sat carefully on the edge of his cot and took hold of one of his hands. Almost immediately the small tremors that had woken him seemed to disappear.

"I'll sleep if you stay with me," he countered, his hushed whisper carrying in the silence. Elizabeth started to protest. "No. You can't argue that you need to work Lizzie. That other nurse, the smiley one. Maria? Mary? M something... she said your rounds were done over an hour ago. You need rest too. So here are your options." He lifted his blanket and shifted over so that there was space for her to lay with him. "You stay with me and I sleep, or you keep working and I stay awake watching you. Which is it going to be Doll?"

As she laughed she kicked off her pumps and lay down. Immediately Bucky's arms wrapped her in a loving embrace, pulling her close, and she felt at peace. His fingers traced patterns on her shoulder as she lay her head on his chest and marvelled in their proximity. Never had she been more comfortable with someone than she was in this moment.

After a little while of content silence Bucky spoke.

"I wrote you a letter." Bucky's voice was barely a whisper and it shook with his nerves. "I didn't send it because I thought I'd get back. I should have sent it. I..."