James Barnes had never been in love before. He's loved people but he's never been in love with a person. He's never been infatuated with them, he's never loved someone so much that he would live through his 70 years of terror again just for her to be happy another second.
Even before the war he never thought much of how he'd spend his life. Whether he'd marry and have children. But he knew now that that is what he wanted. He didn't want it with just anyone he wanted it with her because he loved her.
He loved the way she could light up a room with her smile, how she knew perfectly how to manipulate the topic of a conversation. And that through all her heartbreak she lived. And part of that made him love her more, knowing she could understand what it felt like to feel responsible for something you had no control over.
He loved her heart and her goodness the most. How she took her pain and turned into something good that helped others. The weakness she carried she used as strength to save lives everyday, and she was good at it too. Her work ethic was inspiring, she worked every second she could and not just for the experience or the hours but because she wanted to.
And when Jamie was handed that ring by Nic he knew that he wanted to put it on her finger.
For weeks on end Kalani had been working, ending her nights by crawling into Jamie's bed leaving her studio apartment abandoned and uncared for. Finding more comfort in his arms then anywhere else could.
And when he lay with her in his arms at night as she slept after working a 12 hour shift all he could think about was spending the rest of his life just like that.
But for Kalani Knight love was something she wasn't familiar with. She feared it. She ran away from it since the first time it ran from her. So she chose something that could run away from her medicine. And it was all she needed.
So maybe that meant they were destined to fail.
That Kalani Knight though herself undeserving of love and buried herself in her work. But when James Barnes had nothing but her he buried himself in the thought of her to forget his 'work'.
Lani had just finished leading a procedure on new born baby and had done it beautifully as Dr Forbes said.
She was heading to the ER when her phone rang in her pocket and she took it out to answer it not looking at the name.
" Hey, how's work?" She heard Jamie's voice immediately bringing a smile to her face.
" Great. I just performed a perfect repair of a intestinal malformation on a baby."
" That's my girl, saving lives by the day." She could see his smile over the phone.
" What time do you finish?"
" The next hour, i'm just going to help out in the ER until then."
" Alright, well, don't be too late. I miss you."
" Miss you too." Lani said before hanging up just as she reached the ER. What Lani didn't know was that Jamie stood in his kitchen preparing to tell her things he'd been waiting ever since her first met her.
James was pacing his apartment trying to set it up nice for her. He had the room blacked out not letting any natural light in and covered the living room and kitchen in candles and lay roses on any surface area he had.
He always was a hopeless romantic.
