Sebastian Stan Short Stories

Bucky Barnes [11]

"The Real Story Part 4"

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February 1944

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"'To my dear, the Germans have kept us Howling Commandos busy lately, even in the winter. The snow sort of reminds me of New York. The snow back home gets dirty before it hits the ground, but over here we're in the middle of nowhere. The snow stays pure white except where the trucks drive through'," Rebecca read. She glanced up to make sure I was still listening. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"Please," I answered. The baby in my arms stirred for a brief second before settling again silently.

"Okay. 'Steve has found himself a girl. If you could see him now, you wouldn't recognize him. The army made him grow a foot, I swear. Her name is Peggy, and she works for the Brits. I don't know how to describe her.' Good for Steve," Rebecca said happily.

"He's the scrawny one, right? Came to Indiana with you one summer?" I checked.

"The very same. But he was finally able to enlist and got stuck doing USO tours. I saw him at a bond rally, and James is right. He grew a foot at least and put on God only knows how much muscle," she gossipped.

"Is there more to the letter?"

"Only another full page," she informed me with a smile. "I'm hope there's nothing in here that could make me blush."

"If that letter is from Sergeant Barnes, I'm most certain there's something saucy in there," a woman said from the door of my hospital room. She was dressed in a military uniform, but not one I recognized. "Very sorry to interrupt. I'm Peggy Carter."

Well that explained the accent.

"Rebecca Proctor, née Barnes," my almost sister-in-law told Peggy. She introduced me while I looked in turns at the British officer and my son. "My brother has actually written about you."

"I asked him to warm you of my arrival," Peggy explained.

"I don't think Rebecca has gotten that far in the letter," I told her. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here, Ms. Carter?"

"May I speak to you in private?" she asked me. I nodded to Rebecca, who promptly left. Peggy shut the door behind her and proceeded to wedge a chair under the handle. If it hadn't been for James writing about her, I would've been screaming for my nurse as she sat down on the tilted seat of the chair. It couldn't have been comfortable, but she could've fooled me. "As you know, Sergeant Barnes is part of an elite unit overseas. He's needed there for a bit longer, but he sent me to do him a favor."

She opened her standard issue purse and pulled out an envelope and a small box. She rose from the crooked seat and positioned the hospital's rolling tray over my lap.

"You wrote to Sergeant Barnes that you wanted to name your baby after him if it was a boy," she prompted.

"Yes. James Buchanon Barnes Junior," I said wistfully.

"Well, you can't do that properly if he has to take your last name. He could only be a Barnes if you were a Barnes," Peggy hinted.

"I haven't filled out the birth certificate yet. He doesn't officially have a name as of this moment, but I still don't know what you're insinuating," I told her. She laid the contents of the envelope out on the surface of the tray, and I carefully sat up to read the paper.

"New York Marriage Certificate," I whispered. There, on one line, was James's signature. An officiant had already signed where needed, and the paper was dated in January. "What is this?"

"A very long distance marriage proposal," she answered. She opened the box and sat it beside the paper. A small, round diamond on a gold band, complete with a plain ring to match.

"Oh my God," I mumbled.

"If you accept, of course. If you sign on that line, I have friends in your Bureau of Vital Statistics who can file it away where it should be. You'll be Mrs. Barnes, and your baby will be James Junior," she smiled. "It won't be quite as proper as you might like, seeing as your anniversary would technically be in January."

"I don't care. Do you have a pen?"

"Absolutely," she answered. She fetched a pen from her purse and began to hand it to me, only to realize the baby was keeping my hands full.

"Could you..?"

"Yes, of course," Peggy said, albeit nervously. I passed my son to her carefully, and she took him in her arms as if he were made of glass. She held him in a textbook manner, supporting his head with one arm just like I was taught.

"I suppose a woman working for a secret organization might not be planning on a baby anytime soon," I noticed.

"No, no I'm not," she agreed. She suddenly looked up at me. "How did you know I was with a - not the army."

"You're on the frontlines with a specialized unit. The only military women allowed on the frontline are nurses, and they very rarely get leave to a country that isn't their own," I said. She nodded, impressed.

"You would be right then," she concurred. "I'm not regular army, but I can't tell you very much more."

"That's alright," I told her. I signed my marriage certificate and laid down the pen. I took up the ring box and simply stared at them. "These are beautiful."

"From what he told me, he picked them up in England on a short furlough," she said. I put the diamond ring on the third finger of my left hand, and then the gold band.

"Thank you for bringing these here," I quietly told her, and Peggy passed James Junior to me. She packed up her things again, really just the pen and envelope. She gently kicked the chair out from under the door, something that seemed very practiced. "Agent Carter?"

"Yes?"

"Two things before you go," I said. She nodded, her hand dropping from the door knob. "Tell my husband I love him, and that I expect a honeymoon someday. And I want to be a part of whatever you're doing."

"I'll tell him. If you were able to realize I'm not simply a soldier, I think a place could be found for you," she encouraged. "Take some time for your son. Our organization will always need intelligent and observant people."

She turned her the door knob and began to leave, but stopped halfway through the door.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Barnes."

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Author's Note:

We're over 1,000 reads (June 14, I like to keep track)! This is really incredible for me, and I want to thank all of you who took a shot on a very new, very unknown collection of stories. I'm so glad this seems to have brought a little joy to you all.