Timeless

Chapter 40

A/N: I got a little excited. So uh.....surprise?

July 1945

Kathryn made a face as Poppy readjusted her veil in her hair, tears blossoming in the corner of her eyes. "Oh aren't you just an angel in this?" She exclaimed, gesturing at the wedding gown Kathryn was dressed in.

"She's right about that, you know," Laura stated in amusement. Kathryn glanced over at her friends, dressed in a light blue maternity dress that showed off her bump.

Looking at the group of her friends, Kathryn couldn't help but be grateful that they had all come to help her. After the fiasco that was wedding dress shopping went down, she and her mother hadn't been on speaking terms. Now though, she had Poppy—who had ensured that her lipstick and makeup was perfect. She had Laura, who was absolutely bound and determined to make sure that everything turned out the way that Kathryn wanted.

She had Annika—and Annika was surveying the guests and ensuring that things were great on that front. She had Becky distracting her mother with her children. And she had Barbara, standing by if she needed a single thing. She had Helen and Tatty there, smiling at the sight of everything turning out for her. And most of all, Kathryn was happy.

This was her army of nurses and ladies and she loved them.

"Do me a favor?" Kathryn questioned, grabbing Barbara's hand.

"Anything," Barbara said, offering her a smile.

"Go check on my brother and make sure he's not causing trouble?"

"That requires backup!" Poppy exclaimed, tugging on Laura's arm. "We'll go with her!"

Kathryn could hardly stop them from rushing out the door of the dressing room. She just smiled at the fluttery feelings in her stomach. "You just need to relax," Tatty insisted, shaking her head at her. "Everything's gonna be perfect."

Meanwhile, Bucky was just barely adjusting Gale's tie as he looked his friend over. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they had met in basic training. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was introducing saintly Gale to his angelic baby sister—and hoping that they would hit things off in some way. And now here they were, standing at their damn wedding. He wasn't sure where the time had gone, but he was glad that he got to be here.

"You're quieter than I thought you'd be," Gale admitted, giving Bucky a look.

"Savin' it for the speech."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Bucky gave a grin and then lightly patted Gale's face. "But in all honesty, you screw things up with my sister and I'll have to beat your ass."

Gale nearly rolled his eyes. "She's got a higher kill count than you, I'm fairly certain she could kill me herself."

"You got me there. I'll help her hide the body then."

"Nice," Gale had just managed to say—

And then Barbara was opening the door and surveying things. "Well you don't look absolutely awful—"

"Well that's not nice, Barb. It's his wedding day—" Bucky started.

"I was talking to you, Bucky," Barbara deadpanned. Poppy and Laura appeared on either side of her, frowns on their faces. "And as for you, Mr. Cleven—" She let out a huff of air. "Kathryn Egan is one of a kind and I won't have you screwing this up."

"What she said!" Poppy exclaimed, waving her arms emphatically.

Gale couldn't help but be slightly endeared by the entire thing. "Anything to add, Laura?"