The Stars Will Align

Chapter 24

It had been days since Ramona had last seen them. The camp had felt empty without their smiling faces around every corner. Ramona, along with Peggy and a few other nurses sat around a round, wooden table, with one broken leg. A game of go fish lay forgotten as everyone sat in a heavy silence, listening to the rain pattering atop the tarp of the tents roof, each one lost in their own thoughts, No training soldiers or injured men, no incoming jets or trafficking- it was simply... dull at the 107th.

Albeit, the previous night, there had been a rumor spread around of a mass explosion at the final hydra base. The small girl had believed it to be merely a hoax, as they had yet to return to them. The blonde gently tapped her fingers against the scratched surface of the table, clearly in a negative state. 

Peggy leaned back in her chair, chocolate eyes eye glancing to the half-full glass of water, seemingly forgotten, along with the scattered cards on the table. A moment later, the water in the glass appeared to ripple. Peggy squinted, leaning in slightly towards the glass. "What the hell?" , She muttered. "Carter? Are you alright?" One of the nurses asked, reaching over to placing a hand on the agents knee. Peggy shook her head, "Sorry, just paranoia, i suppose..." She chuckled lightly, returning her stare to the glass of water. It rippled again once again, and again. Peggy's eyes shot up, glancing out the open tent. The camp immediately wrung out into yelling and honking as the troops had rolled back in.

Ramona pushed herself up so quickly she had knocked over the table, their forgotten game of cards now soaked by the shattered glass. As soon as she had stepped out of the the tent, the troops were piling in, led by the captain himself.

As soon as she stepped into the heavy rainfall, she watched the leading motorcycle come to halt, and the blonde made a mad dash for Steve. Tears dripped down her cheeks, blonde locks slick with rain as she bellowed out, "You're back!". Behind the captain on the motorcycle, had lain an unconscious and brutally torn up Mikayla, but just for this moment, when face with his tiny lover, Steve seemed to forget her. "Ramona!," he cried out, opening his arms wide. Just as he had expected her to leap into his loving embrace, the blonde had ducked under his elbow, quickly grabbing her sister from behind him. 

Steve was still for a moment, his arms still open, not entirely processing the rejection he just relieved, until he was snapped from his thoughts by a meek, "what happened to her?" 

Mikayla had been in a horrible state. It appeared every inch of her body had been covered in marks. Painful looking burns, bruises, and deep cuts graffitied her skin, and was easily show through the blood-stained tears in her clothing. Although unconscious, her breathing was clear- yet it was crooked and sharp, changing to accommodate her now broken ribs. When Steve had found her amongst the burning rubble, her was beyond shocked, although extremely relieved, to find her not only in one piece, but alive. Albeit, barely. It had been the blue serum that Ramona had injected her with that was keeping her alive despite her many incidents. Steve, much to his delight, had noticed her wounds healing slowly, as they were already much better looking - although, still rather nasty - than they had been at the site of the explosion. 

Steve parted his dry lips to respond, but Ramona hadn't given him the time to do so, as she was already pulling her sister off of the motorcycle, attempting to drag the girl to the nurses tent. Steve noticed her struggling, and quickly swept Mikayla up in his arms, carrying her there himself.

As they had laid her onto the lumpy mattress, Ramona had grabbed a pair of scissors to cut off what remained of Mikayla's shirt, quickly peeling it from her wounds, as the blood had made the fabric cling and stick to her skin. Steve turned a little pink, and turned around completely as Ramona had cleaned and patched up her sisters wounds. As she worked away, disinfecting each mark with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, the captain cleared his throat, grabbing her attention for a moment. She acknowledged him, before turning back to work on her sisters wound. "i'm sorry... i.. i just couldn't stop her," he had choked out, and she froze. Yet again, the girls eyes welled up with tears, and she shook her head, wet blonde curls dripping onto her lap. Ramona nodded slightly, turning to Steve with a smile. "It's not your fault, she's always been reckless.." she laughed sadly, and Steve gave a solemn smile, gently wiping her tears.

"I'm well aware she is..."