Nightingale's Song (My MCU #3)

Chapter One

World War II...Shortly after Captain America rescues the 107th from captivity.

Florence Anna Charles was a nurse, one of the best in fact. Doctors proclaimed her ability to soothe hurting patients amazing. The way her patients recovered miraculous. It wasn't long before they began assigning her to care for the hopeless cases. 

At the moment, however, numerous soldiers that had been rescued were pouring into the camp. All hands were needed to check the troops and clear them for duty. As usual, Anna (as she preferred to be called) started working without waiting for direction. It wasn't as if she needed someone to tell her how to examine to a service man. 

"Hello, soldier," she said as she stepped over to one of the men, looking at the paperwork in her hand. When he didn't respond, she glanced up and her breath caught just a bit. 

He was beautiful. She supposed that wasn't the best word to use to describe a man, but it was the first word to pop into her head when she saw him. Even with the cuts and bruises, he was gorgeous. His short brown hair was understandably a mess and his piercing blue eyes seemed to burn right through her. 

His eyes were wide as they ran over her. Her cheeks flushed and she smiled even as she dropped her gaze back down. He cleared his throat. "S-Sorry. Sergeant James Barnes, ma'am. You can call me Bucky."

She set the paperwork aside and met his gaze. "Well, Bucky, you can call me Anna. Or anything but Ma'am really."

He grinned at that and her heart responded like a giddy schoolgirl. Why was she acting like she'd never been around a pretty face before? 

She shook her head as she placed her fingers under his chin and lifted it to look at the bruising on his neck. She pressed against the wounds carefully. "Does this hurt?"

"No, M-Anna."

She nodded and let him lower his head so she could clean the cut on his cheek. He winced slightly when the disinfectant hit the open wound but was otherwise still. Her eyes ran over him, taking in the way he holding himself as he sat on the table. 

"What else is bothering you?"

"Nothing. I'm just fine."

"Want to try that again, soldier?" she asked with an arched brow. It was evident from the way he sat that something was hurting him. Most likely his ribs. 

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I feel fine. Can I go?"

She looked at him blankly  for a long moment. He squirmed under her observation but didn't say anything. Finally, she reached out and pressed lightly against the ribs on the side he was favoring.

He hissed in a breath and grunted in pain. "My ribs may be a little sore now that you mention it."

"Mmm-hmm. Shirt up," she said with a gesture. 

He rolled up his shirt so she could see his side. Dark purple bruises mottled the otherwise pale skin. She cringed in sympathy as she saw the injury. A glance around the tent showed no one paying any attention to the two of them. 

She laid her hand lightly against his side. "Sorry, my hands are cold."

"It's fine. Feels good actually."

"I'm going to try something, Bucky. It might hurt for a bit but it will feel better quickly. Okay?"

"Sure thing, doll."

She shook her head at the nickname then closed her eyes and concentrated. Power flowed from her hand and into the man in front of her, knitting his broken ribs back together. Four of them to be exact. He would have been miserable for a long time without her intervention. 

When she finished, she removed her hand from his side. "Take a deep breath. See how that feels."

He did as she instructed though he was hesitant at first. "It feels great." He glanced from his side to her in surprise. "How did you do that?"

She gave him a small smile. "It was no big deal. They were simply dislocated. I fixed them."

He stared at her and she could tell that he didn't believe a word she said. Before he could say anything, another voice interrupted them. "Will he live, nurse?"

They both turned to see Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, standing there with a grin. She nodded. "He's all yours, Captain."

Bucky hopped down and looked at her for a long moment before walking off with his best friend.

***

Anna's mind was elsewhere as she trudged through the chow line. The men that arrived at camp that day were in surprisingly good health considering what they'd been through. She had seen several of them, but her thoughts were on one. Bucky Barnes. She still couldn't believe she had used her ability on him. She'd managed to avoid getting caught this long by saving it for the extreme cases. The ones that were so close to death that when they survived, no one wanted to look too closely at the how. 

Or she stuck with easing the soldier's pain and let him heal on his own. And then Bucky Barnes stumbled into her life and she threw aside all her rules. She sighed as she turned from the line. Her eyes ran over the tables, looking for somewhere to sit. Her gaze settled on a familiar head of dark hair sitting next to a walking flag. Barnes and Rogers. As tempted as she was to sit with them, she figured she shouldn't risk it. 

Then Peggy Carter sat across from them. Anna and Peggy had been friends for years. Deciding fate was nudging her in that direction, Anna shrugged and headed toward her best friend. 

"I'm telling you, those ribs were broken, Steve," she heard Bucky say as she neared the table and she cringed slightly. 

Peggy had already spotted her approach and must have seen the look on her face. "Didn't you know that Anna is a miracle worker?" she asked before smiling up at Anna. "Isn't that right, Florence?"

Anna groaned as she took the seat across from Bucky. "Why are you calling me that, Margaret?" She gave Steve and Bucky a nod. "Hello, gentlemen."

Peggy held up her hands. "Truce."

"You two know each other?" Steve asked.

At the same time, Bucky said, "Florence?"

"We grew up together," Peggy explained. The smile that lit her face could only be described as wicked. "Which is why I know her full name is Florence Anna Charles."

Anna rolled her eyes even though she knew precisely what Peggy was up to. As the only person that knew her secret, Peggy was trying to change the focus of the conversation. Bless her. "Yes, thank you for telling everyone."

***

Bucky grinned at their interaction. It reminded him of how he and Steve were with each other.

Peggy draped an arm around Anna's shoulders. "You know you love me."

Anna pointed at her friend with her fork. "We're stuck with each other forever. We have far too many secrets on each other."

The women laughed and Bucky looked between the two of them. They couldn't look any different if they tried. Peggy had dark hair perfectly pinned, lips done up in a bright red and warm chocolate colored eyes. Anna's dark blonde hair was pulled back but wisps of it had come loose to hang beside her face and along her neck. The only makeup he could tell she wore was a gloss of some kind on her soft pink lips and her eyes were a pale icy blue lit with humor.

He was smitten. There was no other word for it really. Steve could have Peggy. Florence Anna Charles was absolutely stunning and Bucky intended to make her his girl.