Chapter Text
Spring 1943
The music was blaring in the bar as the officers and enlisted airmen celebrated the night their friend and co-leader, John ‘Bucky’ Egan’s last night on American soil before being shipped off to England the next day after becoming Air Executive for the 100th Bombing Group. The drinks were flowing, and the fellow airmen took great joy in partying the night away without even needing a reason to. They knew they would be joining him in the next couple of weeks and were eager to finally fly into combat and win the war.
The said man and his best friend, Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven were sat together on a table with two beautiful women beside them. Tomorrow one would go to Europe and the other would stay behind- for at least another 2 weeks. No one could be happier and prouder than Bucky Egan to finally pave the way for his boys to take up occupation at Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, England. Bucky of course would have to test out all the local watering holes so he could let his friend(s), in particular Curt Biddick, know the best place for a drink.
Bucky was paying the bar and his friends’ antics by the bar more attention than his supposed date and the brunette was starting to pout in annoyance.
“Bucky, the next round is on us!” Crank shouted across the bar and lifted his pint glass in his direction. Bucky smirked as Brady elbowed Crank in exasperation. A well-known fact about Crank is that the round is never solely on him, always ‘us’. Buck chuckled under his breath at the men’s antics before trying to re-direct his attention to the blonde beside him. It was not Buck’s idea of a good time, but he knew Marge from back home and felt rude saying he was busy tonight without inviting her out.
“Well he has never done that before.” Bucky commented in an attempt to start conversation at the table.
“Yes, he has. Normally you are too drunk to notice Bucky.” Buck retorted, not afraid of calling out his best friend knowing Bucky won’t take it to heart. Bucky knows his faults he just does not want to fix them and Buck as his friend won’t force him too. Bucky is Bucky and nothing is going to change that as Buck soon realised after knowing the man for 3 years.
“So um you’re Bucky and he’s Buck?” the brunette questioned with a barely detectable scoff in her voice.
“Ah, that’s a long story.” Bucky attempted to divert the conversation. Not that he is embarrassed but because it didn’t matter. Gale Cleven will always be Buck now and Bucky did not need to explain the story to anyone and especially not some woman he was never going to see again.
But Buck being Buck has to be polite when Marge tries to tell her friend. Classic Buck.
Bucky raised an eyebrow at Buck when Marge was too busy talking to her friend. A friendship as close as theirs sometimes doesn’t need words to communicate. Bucky was confused as to why Buck brought Marge in the first place. Buck told him the other day that he didn’t see a future with her. Buck widened his eyes a little meaningfully. Bucky chuckled under his breath. His friend was too soft when it came to women for his own good. Bucky chuckled again when he thought about how his baby sister would adore Buck- she always had had the sweetest disposition out of the whole Egan clan.
Charlie.
Bucky looked into his half empty tumbler with unseeing eyes and unconsciously frowned as he thought of the missing third and last child of Mr and Mrs Egan from Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Buck caught the shift in Bucky’s emotions quickly and shifted his head sideways wondering why his always cheerful friend suddenly lost his spark on his big celebration night.
“Girls, why don’t you put a song on?” Buck asked the two women politely with his deep drawl. Marge looked at Buck with a questioning smile but chose not to question the out of character request. Marge grabbed her friend and walked over to the record player in the corner of the bar.
“Do you want to talk about something?” Buck asked with a raised eyebrow at the suddenly sullen Major.
Bucky scrunched up his nose in hesitation. Speaking about Charlie was something he hadn’t done for a while. Especially after her letters stopped coming.
“No not really I just uh had my sister come to mind just now.” Bucky weakly smiled at his friend, brushing off the conversation as best as he could.
“Why would you suddenly look sad when thinking about your sister? Go ring her up right now if you want to talk to her.” Buck said with mild exasperation- Wisconsin was not on the other side of the planet! Bucky rolled his eyes.
“Not that one. The one in London. My baby sister.” Bucky retorted suddenly having the urge to down his whiskey in one gulp.
“Oh” Buck replied not knowing what to say.
He knew the story to a degree. Bucky told him briefly one night a year ago while off his head drunk. Bucky Egan was not normally a sad drunk, but it was his younger sister’s birthday back then, her 21st, and Bucky had not forgotten it, so he decided to get plastered out of his head that night and of course had to drag the mild-mannered Buck with him.
“Still haven’t heard from her huh.” Buck confirmed, seeing the direction this conversation was going. Bucky winced at his words. No he hadn’t.
“The letters stopped coming a long while ago.” Bucky admitted before taking the plunge and finishing off his drink in one gulp.
“She may just be busy Bucky. I heard London took a heavy beating. She’s alright.” Buck reassured his friend with his calm words and demeanour.
“Oh I know she is alright. I would have received a death notification otherwise.” Bucky bitterly coughed out, wishing he had another whiskey in his hand other than the empty tumbler which he slammed down on the table maybe a bit too hard but not enough to break it. A few of the men at the back of the bar and the two ladies at the record player glanced over at the duo briefly.
“Bucky.” Buck sighed not knowing what else to say. His kid sister went to London 3 years ago and then dropped off the face of the earth.
“When you get over there, look her up.” Buck advised, knowing he would do the same for his own sister.
“Hmm and what if she does not want to see me?” Bucky asked, and for the first time ever insecurity was present in his voice.
“Then you will know.” Buck replied simply. Bucky cracked a smile at that. Buck really was Bucky’s other half. He knew him so well and knew just what to say. Bucky looked away for a moment at the bar door with a wistful smile.
“I never wanted her to go you know but she was so headstrong. I blame those Egan genes ya know?” Bucky started rambling trying to remember the events that took place 3 years ago. He had tried to block them out for the most part. Buck stayed quiet but with a small smile. Talking about Charlie might help his friend get it off his chest. “She uh read about how much the British were suffering and their mass losses and the bombing of the cities.” Bucky shook his head at the memory of his big-hearted sister.
“She couldn’t help herself. I knew she couldn’t. I tried to deter her. I did but she was not having none of it.” Bucky shrugged with a small smirk.
“Sounds like someone else I know. “ Buck commented with a smirk of his own. Bucky laughed in agreement.
“Yeah. She took after me alright. When we were younger, she used to follow me everywhere. I used to call her my little shadow.” Bucky’s eyes watered involuntarily as looked vacantly at the table, thinking on his Charlie. Buck looked with concern at his friend. Bucky realised what he was doing and soon snapped out of it. He sniffed back his tears and raised his empty glass high in the air.
“Hey Crank, where are those drinks huh?” Bucky shouted across the bar in typical fashion.
“Alright, alright they’re coming!” Crank shouted back in annoyance.
Crank came over and passed Buck his ginger beer and Bucky his new whiskey tumbler before travelling back to the other boys at the bar and raising a glass. “Let’s have a toast for Major Egan! To our new air exec, Bucky!” The boys cheered and Bucky grinned at the attention.
“Of all the drunks in the 100th.” Everett muttered quietly not but quiet enough as Bucky grinned wider at the comment.
“Well someone’s gotta make a nest for the rest of you dodos!” Bucky commented with glee and his classic smile on his face like the conversation with Buck had never happened.
Bucky glanced over at Buck carelessly watching the girls still standing by the record player with a disinterested look in his eye. “How the hell did we end up as best friends? You don’t like to dance, you ignore beautiful women, you don’t drink, you don’t gamble, you don’t even like sports!”
“We are one of life’s great mysteries.” Gale smiled, already aware of the Bucky lecture he had given him many times over the last 3 years. How the two men became best friends is also one of life’s great mysteries. Bucky smiled as he thought again how his sister would like Buck but may eat him alive if she picked up on any of Bucky’s bad habits.
Bucky let out a breath and gave a quiet sigh. “So this is it.”
“This is it,” Buck confirmed with a release of a breath “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“If I don’t die first.”
“Hate to break it to you Bucky, but you are the 100ths new Air Executive now and you’re not going over there to fly missions.” Buck gently said with a small shake of his head.
Bucky winced at that knowing the blonde’s reaction to his next news. “Hmm yeah. Listen, I uh, had a conversation with the CO of the 389th and I’m flying with those boys until you show up. I’ll be an observation pilot.”
Buck leaned back in his seat in surprise. “You son of a bitch.”
“Well someone’s gotta get a taste of real combat,” Bucky grinned undeterred by Buck’s reaction. “Tell you what it’s really like up there.”
“Well don’t you die on me before I get over there,” Buck started “I want to meet Charlie.”
Bucky rolled his eyes. “Don’t count on it and of course you do,” Bucky replied not surprised in the slightest.
Bucky stepped out of the B-17 and felt like throwing up. He loved to fly. Normally there was no better feeling in the world. What did he NOT love was flak, German fighters and for his plane to be on fire- and not necessarily in that order.
He had just finished his third mission as an observation pilot with the 389th. He thought that on the first mission they were just unlucky and barely managed to make it back to England on two engines. On the second mission, he wrote it off as a coincidence when most of the back half of the plane was shredded through with bullet holes but on the third? They had to nosedive to put out the fire on the wing and limped back to England on 2 engines. Now he knew. It was not bad luck or coincidence. These daylight missions are suicide. What is he going to tell his boys who were coming tomorrow? What is he going to tell Buck?
Bucky looked over his shoulder at the torn-up plane in contemplation. The engineers were doing the first order of business when a plane comes back, washing out the blood inside with buckets of water. The sight would have sent any normal person into a gag but fortunately for Bucky he had grown used to it in a short space of time. He suppose he should count himself lucky it wasn’t his blood this time.
The sight was enough to make him drink. Not that Bucky Egan needed an excuse to drink.
The pub was crowded that night. Every night really.
The noise didn’t bother Bucky. The louder the better he thought with glee.
He was nursing a whiskey and was halfway inebriated before he had the great idea to challenge Morris, the Irish man that worked labour on the air base, to a competition so he could win a couple of bikes. Bucky knew that Buck would get a kick out of it when he arrived the next day. Tommy, his friend, did not let him down and easily made the shot just off centre of the middle of the apple. Bucky thought briefly of his sisters, both very different in personality. The oldest, Eugenia, would absolutely have given him a smack for his behaviour. But Charlie…. Oh Charlie would have loved it! Bucky smiled, imagining her youthful face lighting up when he won.
Thinking about Charlie, Bucky hadn’t had the time to look up his sister and to be honest wouldn’t know where to start. She technically didn’t work for the Americans since she came over before America entered the war to aid the British.
Bucky’s brain was so frazzled he couldn’t make out much of what was going on around him but what did pique his interest was the group of nurses from base huddled in the corner.
“Our new commanding officer is arriving tomorrow.” Doris commented after taking a sip of her glass.
“Yes, do you think she will be nice?” A timid girl by the name of Ellie asked. Another nurse scoffed at Ellie.
“Nice? I hear she’s been here for years but she’s American. If that’s true, I doubt she will miss the chance to rub it in our faces about her experience.” Said the brunette called Beatrice.
“I hear she’s been to Africa!” another chipped in. Some they were talking over each other with bits of gossip that had been floating about the new officer.
“It doesn’t matter where she has been or what she has done. She will be our commanding officer and we will show her the respect and dignity that her rank commands.” Motherly Louise quietened down the younger girls.
Bucky raised an eyebrow with intrigue. He hadn’t heard anything about this new commanding officer arriving. Bucky knew every single one of the nurses (some on a more intimate level than others) and could not wait to meet the new officer- hopefully she’s more exciting than these few nurses.