426: What's it good for?

[bethefaceless]

Away at War/Battle MemeWe all know war can be a hard time for everyone but those left behind? It can be torture. Hoping you get a letter or a call, staying glued to the television and cringing at those news stories. Guess what happens to you now? Your loved one has gone off to fight a war (battle, fight, in that ilk of things) and some time has

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Steve Rogers aka Captain America | Marvel Cinematic Verse | OTA | Coming Home

[americacapt]

2

[ithinkitworks]

[Peggy doesn't rush to hug him only because they're still under the same chain of command, but it's a close thing. She stops short of embracing him, schooling her expression into something more professional.]

Captain. I'm glad you're safe.

[The relief in her voice is obvious and the unspoken stop getting yourself presumed dead already may be evident as well.]

Re: 2

[americacapt]

[The nurse checking Steve's vitals bit her lip for a moment, but before she could get a word in edge wise, Steve spoke first.]

Thank you, ma'am.

[The reply is automatic, his expression searching. There's a familiarity to the face but he can't quite grasp was it is. But he hasn't been able to grasp anything since waking up. The only reason why he didn't question her about 'Captain' was simply due to the fact his title had been explained to him hours ago. And of course, how he gained his 'new' body.

Steve could barely remember college.

But he does catch her tone.]

Begging your pardon, but... do we know each other?

[The nurse braced herself.]

Re: 2

[ithinkitworks]

[The lack of recognition hits her like a physical blow. It's enough to make her completely drop the mask for a second and the pain is written all over her face. Just for a second, though; she regains her poise a moment later. Getting emotional - at least outwardly - won't help anyone right now.]

Agent Peggy Carter, SSR. We've worked together.

Do - [It takes her a second to phrase the question.] What's the last thing you remember?

[americacapt]

[Though he doesn't recognize her, he recognizes the quick look of pain and knows for a fact he caused it. An accident of course. Had... had he meant something to her? He wondered how he managed to have a conversation for that long. He does remember a car now and chatting about... something like that. But it doesn't make narrative sense.]

Agent Carter... I'm sorry. I don't... I don't remember.

[He closes his eyes for a moment to consider.] I've got flashes of memories, but it doesn't tie together. I remember we're... the Germans declared war on the Polish. I saw the reels.

[ithinkitworks]

[For a second, she was afraid he'd forgotten everything. That's more than she expected. It's somewhat reassuring, and helps her pull her thoughts together. No more outbursts now. Although she does frown with concern; that means he doesn't remember the project. Waking up in his enhanced body must have been disorienting.] Don't apologize, Captain.

Have you been debriefed at all yet? [Bad enough she had no warning - if no one's explained things to Steve yet, there's no excuse.]

[americacapt]

[It had been disorienting. It had been painfully disorienting and confusing. Perhaps the most disorienting take was the fact his body was used to it. And how much everyone was just as used to him being... this.

He looks away for a moment, gathering her thoughts.] I forgot you and managed to get you upset at the same time. Just my luck.

[He nodded slowly as he turned back to look at her.] They explained most of it to me. Mostly Bucky. I volunteered for a project and I was successful.

forgot to ask - this is before Bucky falls from the train, right?

[ithinkitworks]

[She sighs, annoyed and worried at the same time. It's a familiar combination of feelings, one she gets whenever Steve tries to take responsibility for things that are outside of his control.] Don't say that. I'm just glad you're alive.

[That sounds hollow even to her ears, and she adds:] I thought - for a moment I was afraid you'd forgotten everything, that you didn't remember who you are. [With or without the serum, because that's not the important part. Not to her, anyway. It never has been.]

[Well, so much for keeping it professional. She turns to the nurse.] Could you give us a moment?

Yes. *facepalms* But it could have gone AU after the flight.

[americacapt]

[Those words are so easy to say, but the action and thought are so hard to do. No matter what, it's something they just can't take from Steve, an over-sized sense of responsibility. And well, if he hit himself on the head, Steve figures he was doing something risky.] Thank you.

[The words might, but the meaning was full.] Yeah, the doctors were too. I am as well... It might be harder, they say, to help me if I didn't know who I was. Just what I am and where I am, that's the tricky part. [And that, amnesia or not, meant the world to him.]

[The nurse gives a short nod and quickly walks out of the room, giving the privacy necessary between the two.]

That would be interesting, but God, poor Steve, mourning Bucky all over again...

[ithinkitworks]

[Most of what Steve has been doing in the past year or so has been risky. If Peggy thinks about it - and she tries not to think about it - he's been incredibly lucky to have escaped serious injury for so long. She smiles softly, glad to see him smile a bit.] I mean it.

[Once the nurse leaves, Peggy sits down in one of the chairs nearest his bed. She's drained, physically and emotionally; it's been a trying day. Part of her just wants to leave and go take her frustrations out on the shooting range, but she just can't walk out on him like that.]

I should be the one apologizing to you. I probably should have stopped and talked to Sergeant Barnes before barging in on you like this. [Thank God for Sergeant Barnes. She'll never utter those words in the man's hearing, of course, but she's incredibly grateful he could be here for Steve.]

Steve has enough whumping his life right now!

[americacapt]

[He gives a slight nod. The sensation in his stomach is the norm when speaking to a woman, the tightness contrasted with butterflies that enjoy doing back flips and the simple fact he doesn't feel comfortable enough to look into her eyes. But then there's a strange warmth in his stomach, too. A comfortable warmth as well.] And I have a feeling I shouldn't question that

[ithinkitworks]

[Amused, but fond:] Good.

[He might have seen her sit like that after a particularly grueling mission, maybe. She doesn't slouch per se, but she leans forward, shoulders slumped a bit, and the fatigue in her eyes is evident. She straightens up after a second or two, regaining her posture, but it's still relaxed and not ramrod-straight. It's comforting and familiar just to be sitting here and talking with him again.]

[Unfortunately, she catches the expression he's trying to hide.] They're upset because they're worried about you. No one expects you to be able to just - accept all this and go on exactly the way you did before.

[She's choosing her words carefully here. They are in the middle of a war. Colonel Phillips probably wishes Steve could do that, and she can only imagine what his reaction was like. But he's a realist, and he won't let Steve lead his team into combat if he doesn't think he's fit to do so

[americacapt]

[How could Steve blame her how she sits and how she seems to be aware of what she conveys? From what he's seen, the military uniform she wears is a rarity unto itself. Women are allowed to be agents... he thinks. And he can't help but admire her ability to recover at an instant. He hardly had that ability himself, serum or no.]

But I did something for them? Because I'm still bewildered how I managed to get such a group of men worried about me. I know I saved lives but... Bucky was too choked up to give long explanations.

[And if he had to, Steve would. What he learned wasn't entirely gone. But perhaps it wasn't wise. Not until he managed to learn names and keep remembering them this time around.]

He'll probably come back soon. I wish he'd just rest though. It'd make me feel better than seeing him pace and worry. I got back here in solid order.

6, if you don't mind?

[thislastrequest]

[It's been a year since that first phone call, and AJ has had time to learn how to survive, and get on with her life. The baby, a little girl she's named Annaliese, is the spitting image of her father, which sometimes, when she's smiling that big smile, brings her the slightest moment of grief, knowing she'd never know how amazing he was.

The second phone call comes late, very late, at night, and AJ finds herself shocked, sobbing in relief and in fear and in anger that it's taken so long for them to find him. When the car arrives to take her and her daughter to meet him - she worries the whole way. She'd never even gotten the chance to tell him that they were expecting. This was just going to put more stress on an already tense situation.

She's not entirely sure what to expect]

[americacapt]

[And for the last year until recently, Steve had suffered and been tortured as his company sought to find him. They feared he was dead, not knowing how often he managed to wind up missing and presumed dead so many years ago. It happened once more, though this time it had been for longer than usual.

And he thought about AJ at every moment he could.

And Steve finally escaped. He managed to return to base where he was sent to Germany to recover for a few weeks and then sent back home. Back to AJ.

He sat in a solitary room of a local hospital. While they were next to assured he could go home, they wanted just a few more days to examine him. And so he waited for her to walk through the door.]

[thislastrequest]

[She's gotten ready as best she can with such short notice, but she still looks tired, and pale, and more than a little bit scared. Scared because it's been so long. Scared because they haven't told her a thing about his ordeal. Scared because she doesn't know how he's going to react to her - or to Anna, when he meets her.

Here's the door, and she knocks tentatively before stepping inside, fidgeting with her hands, knowing that all she wants to do is rush to him and hold him again, but not able to do much but stand here awkwardly]

Steve?