December 30th, 1944

Dear Bucky,

Merry Christmas, Bucky. I hope your gifts arrived alright. Ours were wonderful. I just love the gloves. They're so lovely. And Mom loved her scarf. She wore it on Christmas, you know, and Aunt Carol and Aunt Lacey both were so jealous. And the tree was lovely even though it wasn't lit. And very patriotic, with lots of stars and flags and red, white and blue rosettes. You were right. Going into the city was a good idea. We even went skating. It wasn't for very long, and Jack still had to lean on me pretty heavily by the end which I know he wasn't happy about, but it was still good. He seemed like himself again for a bit. Especially when he laughed.

Jack's doing alright. He has good days and bad days, but I think you knew that would likely be the case. At first it was more bad than good. But it still sometimes seems like he isn't happy to be home, Bucky! I don't know how to help when he's like that. Surely, even though he wishes he was helping with the War, he'd still rather be home than on the Front. It'll be better once the War's over, I hope, when he's not always being reminded that it's still going on and he's the only one of his friends not fighting. I haven't even suggested going to the pictures yet since I know there will be reels on the war effort shown beforehand. He's still pretty weak and the coughing hasn't quite gone away. And too much exercise and he can't breathe. The doctor says it'll get better with time, but I know Jack's frustrated as hell by it.

Please don't tell Mom I cussed.

Betty's been coming over a lot, though. And she always seems to cheer him up. I think they may even be growing sweet on each other, Bucky. She doesn't mind at all that he didn't really get a chance to actually fight. She's just impressed that he signed up at all when he didn't have to. And I think she might be on to something there.

I hope you're right and the War's over before summer. I'm not even over there and I'm sick of it. I still wonder if I should be signing up to be a nurse, but with Jack home? I can't leave him, Bucky. Not when he's still so put out about not being able to contribute. Maybe Jack will be up to going to Coney Island by the time you get home. We can all go! Now that you mention it, I'm curious to see how Steve does too. Especially with the Cyclone. That's what you mean about last time, right? Or was it the freezer truck story? The Caramel Corn stand one? You two have a lot of stories, Bucky.

Be careful, Bucky. I'm already counting the days until summer. I'll be sure to give your love to Mom and Jack.

Happy New Year, Bucky.

Love,

Bea

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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