Classified
December 29th, 1943

Mary wakes up in her tent, looking around, seeing Steve sound asleep next to her, she looks at her clock, 3:45 am, it reads, she sighs, climbing out of her makeshift bed, she pulls on all her layers of clothing before her snow boots, then goes outside of her tent, looking up, seeing the stars, she smiles, counting five more, putting her at 367 since her and Bucky had gone steady in November.

She looks over, seeing Bucky on his shift of watching over the area, she decides to walk over to him, "Mind if i join you?" She asks him.

His head snaps upwards to look at her, he smiles a bit, nodding, "Of course, Doll." He states, Mary sits next to him, smiling, leaning into him for warmth, Bucky putting his arms around her. "Have you been counting the stars?" He asks her.

Mary nods, "Every time i'm outside at night."

"Good luck.. for later today.." She mutters, her head resting on his chest, she had given Howard a last minute addition outfit design, Bucky's. She had picked for him a deep blue jacket that would keep him warm, thick black pants and his combat boots. She surprised him with it when they left, and he was more than grateful.

"Thanks, Doll, i'm sure we'll need it." He replies, the conversation goes silent, both happy to be in each others presence, counting the stars like they have done every night since they departed from London to start the mission.

Mary thinks, smiling a bit, "What will we do when this is all over?" She asks him, "When the war is done."

Bucky thinks it over, trying to picture a future with the girl, it isn't hard for him to do, "We'll get married, and buy a nice house in the Brooklyn suburbs first." He starts, "One with a porch swing and a big tree in either the front or the back of the house for a tire swing." He paints a picture.

"I'll have taken a job as a mechanic at a car shop, you'll be a nurse in a local hospital, the best damn nurse in the state. I guarantee it."

Mary grins at the thought of the future Bucky is painting for them, "A tire swing for the kids, three of them, maybe more." She adds, "A boy first, then a girl, and then for the third i'd be happy with either." She states, "I want our boy to be protective of his little siblings."

Bucky smiles, trying to picture a mini Mary following her around a kitchen, helping her patch up someone they care about together, or a little him, opening the door for his Ma, getting into fights to protect his younger siblings from bullies.

"I like that. Maybe more if we want after the three." He suggests, Mary nods in agreement, "What are their names?" He asks.

"Steven for our boy, after Stevie of course." She states proudly, "Then Rebecca Sofia our precious little girl." She adds, "Then i'd let you pick for the third."

Bucky grins, happy with the choices Mary picked for their future children, then he ponders the name for their third baby, "Sarah after yours and Steve's Mother." He states, "If it's a boy, JJ, for James Junior."

Mary grins, looking up at him, "I like this future we're making." She tells him, "So do I, Doll." He replies.

Bucky hesitates, then smiles, "I love you Mary Elizabeth Rogers." He states with confidence.

Mary's grin can't get any bigger, looking into her favorite pair of blue eyes in the world, "I love you too, James Buchanan Barnes." She answers back.

They both can't lose their smiles, both having confessed their love to each other for the first time. Neither of them expected this, sitting in the dead of night in a camp site, surrounded by enemies. But they wouldn't change it for the world.

The Commandos had left for the base the planned on taking over ten hours ago, Mary was going out of her mind with worry. She had set up her tent to be the medical ward for the group so she could easily access her kits to bind their wounds and everything else.

During the down time between missions, the Commandos thought it was best to teach Mary basic self defense and how to use a gun properly, both a rifle and a hand gun, so when she was left alone like right now, she could defend herself.

She had a communication box to talk to them, but they had gone silent five hours into the ten they are now in.

Five more hours go by, it's now well past midnight, Mary refuses to go inside her tent until all her boys are back and mended back together again. She adds another log to the flames of the fire she started hours ago.

She starts to count more stars as she hears footsteps in the snow, someone whistles, she smiles in relief, she was also taught each whistle the boys make, each had come up with their own, along with her, to indicate who was coming.

She whistles back to let them know she's safe at the camp site. The seven men all soon to walk back to the fire, Mary stands up, "Let me look you all over." She states, the men nod, all sitting down around the fire, the nurse grabs her kit, starting to assess each man carefully. They all start to recount to her what had happened and why they were getting back so much later than promised.

"We ambushed them, but there were many more Hydra agents then we anticipated." Steve tells her, she widens her eyes as she dabs a cotton swag on Morita's cheek, trying to clean the cut on his face, "But everyone is and fairly put together." She points out.

The men nod, "We got lucky." Dum Dum states, "All thanks to you Little Miss." he tells her, "We all wanted to do our best so we could come back to see your smile."

Mary blushes, during the time they've been together, the Commandos have become big brothers to the girl, they'd pick on her but also show that they cared about her. She smiled at Dum Dum.

"That's sweet Dugan." She says, "But you all scared me half to death when you didn't show up hours ago." She scolds them in a loving way as she finishes up with Morita, moving on to Falsworth.

"I had dinner made but that was hours ago. So it's gone cold." She informs them all, she enjoyed being there for all the boys, smile in appreciation, saying various versions of 'thank you'.

"So how did it go though? The mission, and we're moving onto our third base after today right?" She asks.

Steve nods, "Yeah, we'll be heading into a small town in Germany." He states, "They've been taken over by Hydra since the war started." He tells her.

"Well we'll liberate them." She states.

"Hell yeah!" The men cheer, smiling at them as she moves on to Steve, looking over his face, pressing his rib cage to feel for any bruising or broken bones, "The serum keeps you in good condition, Stevie." She tells them, then goes to Bucky.

"James, were you being a sniper again?" She asks, "Your shoulder still isn't fully healed from when it was shot a month ago from the first mission."

Bucky raises his hands in defense, "I was but i used my other shoulder, so i didn't make it worse, Barnes honor."

She nods, smiling in approval, looking over his face, seeing a black eye starting to form, "You'll have a black eye soon, but that'll go away within two weeks hopefully." She tells him, setting her medical kit down, "Alright, done." She states to the men, "Good job on not breaking any bones, boys." She praises them.

"The food is in your tents, heat up over the fire carefully and it should be good enough to eat, i'm heading to bed." She tells all of them, Bucky stands up, "Goodnight, boys!" She tells them as Bucky walks her to her tent.

"I am sorry, Doll." He states, causing Mary to look at him in confusion.

"Why are you sorry?" She asks.

"We worried you and made you stay up late, it's almost four in the morning.. we'll need to leave by day break." He states, Mary nods slowly, understanding what he's saying.

"I'm losing sleep is what you're getting at." She concludes, Bucky nods, "I can sleep in the truck though, can't I?"

"Possibly, Lord knows the Commandos will be quiet as they can be if you choose to try and sleep as we travel." He states.

Mary walks up to him, taking his face into her hands, "James, I love that you care about me. But i knew what i was getting into when i agreed to come with you all on these missions."

"But-"

"No. It was my choice to wait up for you, i'll be okay, besides, i have you as my pillow in the truck." She teases.

Bucky chuckles, kissing her forehead, they have yet to share their first kiss together, but the timing has never been right or good enough. How can you share something intimate like a first kiss when you're surrounded by six other men.

"I'll see you tomorrow then.. or in three hours." Bucky states. Mary stops him from leaving though, "Stay here tonight.. not like the way you think!" She states, but quickly corrects her self, the nurse's cheeks become hot, turning away from him, burying her face in her hands.

Bucky chuckles, walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Let me check with Steve first, but i'd be happy to just sleep next to you." He states, kissing her cheek as he walks out of the tent.

i'm sorry it's a short chapter. I truly am! But thinking of what Mary does while all the boys go out and fight is a little short and boring, so the next two chapters will hopefully be longer and have more context! But i love the early part of this chapter where Bucky and Mary describe their future together, i loved that.