A red, red rose

Part 2- Chapter 11

Charlie had started to settle in to the business of her new schedule. She hadn't been on any missions yet but she had been told to always be ready for one. Early in the morning she would get up and take a run with Steve, in which he would run ten times the amount she would run, maybe more. 

One morning when Charlie and Steve got down to the place they normally ran, there was a man running around. Charlie looked up at Steve and smirked, "Are you gonna show him what you can do old man?"

Steve set of and started his normal run, whilst Charlie started behind him. By the end of their run Steve had lapped the man multiple times. He was resting near a tree when Charlie and Steve walked up to him. 

"Need a medic." Steve joked at the exhausted man.

The man laughed at Steve, "I need a new set of lungs." Charlie liked him, he knew how to take a joke and he was funny. "Dude, you just ran like, 13 miles in 30 minutes." 

"He got a late start." Charlie chimed into the conversation, smirking at the two men. 

"Really? He should be ashamed of himself. You should take another lap." The man pointed at Steve. "Did you just take it? I assume he just took it." 

"What unit you with?" Steve asked the man.

"58th Pararescue." The man answered. "But now I'm working down at the VA."

The man lifted up his hand so that Steve could lift him up, "Sam Wilson."

"Steve Rogers."

"I kind of put that together." Sam panted as he got up. "And you?"

"Oh sorry, kinda forgot that I was part of this conversation. I was enjoying this blossoming bromance. Charlie Hill." Charlie smiled at Sam.

Wilson looked back over to the soldier, "Must have freaked you coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

Steve sighed, "It takes some getting used to." He looked over to the brunette on his left, "This one had helped a lot though." Steve smiled at Charlie. "Anyway, it's good to meet you Sam."

Steve and Charlie turned around to go back to the base but Sam spoke up again. "It's your bed right?" 

"What's that?" Steve asked.

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground, use rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow." Steve answered for the man. "Feel like I'm gonna sink right through to the floor." Steve smiled at Sam. "How long?"

"Two tours. You must miss the good old days huh?" Sam smiled at the super soldier.

"Well, things aren't so bad." Steve looked down at Charlie who smiled at him. Charlie chose not to enter the conversation because it felt personal to the two men. "Food's a lot better. We used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot, trying to catch up." 

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, Trouble man soundtrack." Sam stated to Steve.

Charlie gasped at the man, "Oh, YES! That is such a good idea. Why didn't I think of that." 

"Everything you missed jammed into one album." 

Steve took a little book out of his pocket and wrote the suggestion down. "You had that book on you the whole time? Even when you were running?" Charlie laughed at the man out of time.

"It's on the list." Steve told the man.

"I made him write Star Wars, Nirvana and Rocky." Charlie told Sam.

Charlie looked down to her phone and saw a message from Natasha on it. 'Mission Alert, You and Rogers, Extraction Imminent, Meet at the curb :)'. Charlie's face lit up as she realised that this would be her first mission. She held the phone up so that Steve could read the message.

"Alright Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running." Charlie smiled at Steve's insult to the man.

"Oh, that's how it is?" Sam laughed at Steve.

"Oh, that's how it is." Steve told the man.

"Okay." Sam laughed. "Anytime you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

A car had pulled up at the side of the road for Steve and Charlie to get into. "Shotgun!" Charlie shouted at Steve as she ran to get into the passenger said of the car.

Steve shook his head in embarrassment and looked back to Sam. "I'll keep it in mid."

"Yeah."

Charlie was now sat comfortably in the passenger seat of the car with Natasha in the driver's seat. "Hey Nat."

"Hey Twinny."

Charlie shook her head as Natasha opened the passenger side window and leant forward so she could see out of it. However, in doing so her hand rested on Charlie's thigh which took her by surprise. Charlie blushed at the action, whereas Natasha just smirked at her.

"Hey fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." Charlie laughed at the redhead's joke.

"That's hilarious." Steve got into the back of the car and sat in the middle seat. "I'm older and bigger than you, why do I get the small seat in the back?"

"I called Shotgun."

"That's right, she called Shotgun." Natasha had leant back to her side of the car but didn't take her hand of Charlie's thigh, which didn't go unnoticed by Steve.

"I don't even know what that means." Steve moaned in the back of the car.

"Ah well, sucks to suck." Charlie laughed at the grumpy face on the man in the back of the car.

Once everyone was ready, Natasha took her hand off Charlie's leg and drove off to where they needed to go. Finally, Charlie got to go on a mission.

A/N- The reason that there were two updates in two days is that I'm off for Easter break and have more time to write. However, I still need to do homework (and I have lots) and revision so there might be gaps here and there over the two weeks where I don't post. But I will try and post as often as possible because I do like to write this story and CAWS is one of my favourite movies. I hope that everyone has a good week and thanks for reading.