VI

DAY 27

"Barnes," Bucky heard his name as the mail-man delivered the letters of the day, and ran excitedly to see what he'd received. Maybe Doctor Klaczko had answered him?

There was a slap on his shoulder as he walked, but he didn't give it attention, too busy building his hopes, and to his utter happiness, it was exactly what he was expecting.

H. A. Klaczko was written right on the front, followed by 'MD'.

Her initials. He didn't know her name, but at least he had a clue with her initials, right?

Perhaps she was named Harriet. Holly. Maybe Hannah?

She could have written her name inside.

He rushed to the tent he shared with the men from his unit, happy for the short moment of privacy and open it very carefully, hoping he wouldn't rip the paper or anything inside.

Bucky was hit by her sweet scent, enhanced by her heat, before his gaze even fell on the words there, and he closed his eyes shut for a moment.

"Fuck," he cussed, immersed in the scent, mind running the image of her laying on a bed, presenting herself for him.

His pants felt tighter, and he sucked in a breath, trying to control himself as he rushed to read the letter before he could be interrupted.

"Sgt Barnes,

I appreciate your concern and care.

I'll be back in the camp in just 3 days. Hopefully, time will pass fast. I have to confess, however, that I might miss your daily visits during them."

It was short and polite, although with a clear message that she was actually missing him and wished she could see him.

He couldn't help his excitement. She liked him, maybe just as much as he liked her.

At the end of the letter, something even better waited for him.

"Attentively,

H. A. Klaczko, MD."

H. A. Klaczko.

Still, her initials.

But for someone who spent almost a month not knowing her first name, it was a huge step and victory, right?

Bucky folded the letter and put it back with his stuff, raising his head as he realised he'd done it right on time right in time, as some men entered the tent right after stood up on his feet.

"Is that… why does it smell like Omega here?" one of them asked, completely confused.

Bucky tried to make himself look as innocent as possible.

"I can't smell anything," he lied. "But I got a bit of a cold."

They shrugged it off, and one of the men even joked about how they had been without an Omega for so long that they were starting to hallucinate the smell. Bucky only sat back down on his bed, trying hard not to smile. He had her initial now. Things were going well.

DAY 31

Hadassa checked her reflection in the mirror, cleaning the smudged lipstick from under her lip before sitting at her desk again.

She had arrived back in camp the previous night and this was her first shift since then, and James had yet to show up. She shouldn't be feeling like that, so flushed with the idea of him and worried about his absence; she shouldn't be allowing a boy to make her so soft.

The clearing of a throat made her look up and her eyes to widened in surprise when they fell on James, who was holding an arrangement of flowers that had been clearly hand plucked.

"Doctor Klaczko," he smiled. "Good afternoon."

He was wearing his hair back, she could see at first glance, and smelled fresh out of a shower.

"Sgt. Barnes," Hadassa stood up. "And flowers."

He approached her and offered them silently with an expectant smile.

"I would have given you better-plucked ones, but I'm afraid I'm not very delicate."

Hadassa couldn't contain her smile. Gardenias. The symbol of secret love.

Did he know what it meant?

"I hope the way back to the camp wasn't troubled."

She shook her head.

"Absolutely not," she assured him. "The people in the village are always warm, and all the soldiers I met on the way was very courteous."

He nodded slowly and bit his lip nervously before stepping closer to her.

"I was wondering if you're not busy or too tired after your shift, you would want to take a walk with me."

Hadassa blinked, a little surprised. She didn't expect such an invitation.

"I'd love to," she said quickly. "I'll be out in four hours."

He left the tent and she sat down, feeling her face burning and her cheeks almost numb by how much she was smiling. She only recomposed herself when she saw nurse Dot walking inside with a wicked grin on her face.

"Ma'am," she stopped in front of the wooden desk with a vase filled with water in her hands. "Here."

Hadassa frowned.

"How did you know I needed a vase?"

The smile on the redhead nurse's face only widened.

"A little bird told me."

Hadassa arched her an eyebrow.

"I saw him entering with flowers and waited until he left," she confessed, giggling. "Doctor, he is head over heels for you! Don't blame me for wanting to see you happy."

Dot, or Dorothy, had arrived in camp the same day as Hadassa and had seen everything she had to endure in the last year to be respected by those surrounding them. She was sweet, and the two had some sort of connection, and if the Omega doctor wasn't so closed off to people, they could very well be close friends.

"He invited me to a walk after my shift," Hadassa said in an almost whisper, making her squeal nonetheless.

"Flowers and date! And gardenias!" she pointed. "Do you know what they mean?"

"Secret love, yes," she confirmed, still keeping her face neutral.

"Aren't you excited?" Dot almost bounced on her spot. "How long did he take to gather courage? A whole month?"

Hadassa just shrugged, internally agreeing with her guess while, though also knowing that if he hadn't taken that time, she wouldn't have a positive reaction.

"He's totally falling in love with you, doctor!"

She felt her whole face warming up and looking away.

"I'm sure you're overreacting."

"Oh, I'm sure I'm not, and you're gonna see that really soon."

She left, and Hadassa stayed alone for the rest of the day, bouncing a bit and waiting for when she would be able to leave at the end of her shift, which came many hours later with her nephew - or great-grandnephew, it was a lot line and a long story.

"You look different," he pointed, seemingly curious while she took off her coat and fixed herself in front of the mirror, trying not to look like she was rushing it.

Hadassa glanced at him and tried to sound as unconcerned as possible.

"Oh, do I?"

His eyes scanned her body and lit up right when they met her face.

"Your hair is down."

Sometimes, when Hadassa looked at Abraam and squeezed her eyes the littlest bit, she could see her younger brother in him. Dawid was just a boy when he passed and she couldn't quite remember what he looked like, but Abraam shared his energy very closely.

"So?" she arched him an eyebrow.

"You never wear your hair down, only when we're home."

Hadassa had a strange relationship with what was left of her family, and that included Abraam; she wasn't as close to them as she wished she could be, but not that distant either. It was indeed complicated.

"I'm over 100," she glanced down at his direction, seeing him sitting on the desk. "I need to change everyone once in a while."

Before he could say anything else, she collected her belongings and put her coat on.

"If you'll excuse me now."

Hadassa left, finding Bucky waiting for her outside right at the moment, and looked at him in surprise, earning a blush in response.

"I didn't want to come in and risk having anyone's unwanted attention," he explained softly.

She thanked him softly. Yes, it was best if he didn't.

"Shall we?" he smiled, offering her an arm. "I promised you a walk."

Although hesitant, Hadassa took it, proceeding to walk with him to a lake far enough from the camp that they had some privacy without raising improper questions.

"How was your shift?" Bucky questioned, sitting down on a large rock before helping her do the same.

"This time, quiet," she confessed. "But in this job, it's either quiet or people hurt, so… Quiet days are good."

He nodded and she gazed into the lake. It looked familiar, but she couldn't remember quite much why.

"I feel like I've been here before," Hadassa confessed.

"You're from somewhere around, right?" he turned to her. "Europe or… something?"

She confirmed and chuckled.

"What gave it away? The accent?"

The man by her side confirmed with a grin.

"It's nearly perfect, but you still have something there," he remarked.

It was a little complicated. She was Polish, but born during a time Poland wasn't... quite Poland? Technically she was born in Austria but never identified as Austrian. Her parents were from Poland, her family was from Poland, that was her home.

"I'm Polish," she revealed to him. "I used to live in Krakow."

His face moved in complete surprise. Currently, her country was dominated by Nazis and filled with concentration camps.

"When did you and your family leave?" he asked, curious.

"The continent was beginning to fill up with people with harmful ideas," she closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the first time she had actually been afraid for her family and her own life after reading about what was happening in the newspapers. "We knew this would only get worse, so my uncle had the idea of moving to America. The Nazis invaded Poland not long after."

Bucky sighed a bit, shifting on his spot.

"I'm glad you left before you were in danger."

She nodded, and James turned to look at her with a curious face.

"Your uncle?" he repeated.

"I lost my parents," Hadassa explained, a little quieter, not actually lying but not fully telling him the truth either. "So my uncle sort of adopted me. He paid for my education, fought so I could get into medical school… he's a good man."

Bucky looked at her with a small smile and shifted a bit in his seat.

"So… can you say something in Polish?"

Hadassa chuckled. She had imagined he'd ask her to do so.

"What would you want me to say?"

He just shrugged.

"Whatever is on your mind."

She sighed, looking at him and then away again.

"Chyba się w tobie zakochuję, sierżancie. I nie wiem, czy to dobrze czy źle."

(I think I'm falling for you, soldier. And I really don't know if that's good or bad for us).

James only watched her.

"Are you gonna let me know what you said?"

"Maybe one day," she continued to gaze into the lake, seeing the sun behind the trees on the other side. "But not today."

Bucky shook his head, laughing softly.

"You're full of mysteries, aren't you, doctor?"

She let a half-grin grow on her lips.

"You have no idea."