Chapter 1: Volunteering

War was terrifying, ugly, and bloody. Very bloody. It had been consuming Eastern Europe for three years before the US started the draft. It took an attack on home soil, Pearl Harbor, to force the country into action. The US needed more men than their military had. The government called on civilians to volunteer: to fight, to fly, and to heal. Good doctors were hard to come by, as most would rather practice in the comfort of their home country where war wasn't raging around them.

So when the military came to talk at Anna's graduation and not a single one of her fellow classmates, most of which were men, showed any interest in helping out, Anna volunteered her services. The General hadn't looked too impressed, probably lumping her together with all the nurses they already had just because she was female. It hadn't bothered Anna. She graduated top of her class, and she'd prove everyone who thought great surgeons could only be men, wrong.

"You'll be conducting the final physical for units being sent overseas," General Johnson instructed Anna, leading her towards the medical wing of the building they were in. It had been a month since Anna had volunteered, and the General was just now starting to let her perform physicals, or anything that a doctor might do.

General Johnson left Anna outside of the door. Once he was around the corner, Anna took a steadying breath through her nose, letting her guard down for a second and showing her nerves. In the military, a career dominated by men, it was pertinent she never let her bravado falter. She'd worked too hard to gain the small amount of respect she had now.

Squaring her shoulders, Anna stepped inside the room and found it divided with multiple privacy screens. Moving towards the first panel, Anna picked up the first patient's clipboard before entering the makeshift exam room. It certainly didn't offer much privacy, but she supposed the military didn't much care as long as their soldiers were given the okay to be sent overseas.

The exams were going fairly well until one particular soldier decided it would be a good idea to act like a sexist pig. Corporal Keller was the man's name, though the term man had to be used leniently. He was barely eighteen. Perhaps his attitude was an attempt to make himself more mature. It didn't make him seem like anything more than rude.

"You're a girl," he deadpanned when Anna stepped into the room, crossing his arms.

"How astute of you to notice," Anna retorted, her tone dry.

"They said only a doc can clear us. Why don't you run along and fetch one, doll face." Anna couldn't help her eyes from narrowing, her fingers gripping tighter to the clipboard.

"I am a doctor. And I would think really hard about the next words out of your mouth. Because if you come off the battlefield bleeding out with a lost limb, I might be the only thing between you and dying," Anna bit out, trying to keep her frustration under control. The truth was, she hadn't been asked to go overseas yet. But that wasn't the point. The point was, the Corporal before her needed to learn respect for women, especially those who might be sewing his ass back together.

"Yes, ma'am," was all the corporal said before letting Anna get on with her exam. She shuddered internally at the title. She knew he was younger than her, but 25 was much too young to be a ma'am. Anna didn't correct him though, feeling as though any term of respect from the Corporal was a victory in itself.

After Corporal Keller Anna moved down the line of soldiers without any problems. Either they'd all heard her chide Keller, or they were more respectful than him. Either way, Anna was just happy not to be given a hard time by them. She prayed she kept up that streak of luck as she pulled the last clipboard towards her. Hopefully the squad's leader would be civilized.

"Sergeant Barnes," Anna greeted as she stepped through the partitions. Glancing up from her clipboard she found the Sergeant reclining back on the exam table, hands behind his head, and his army regulated cap sitting crooked on his head. This was the squad leader?

"At your service, miss," Bucky responded with a small smirk. From what he'd heard of Keller's reaction, he knew to expect a female doctor. He hadn't expected a girl who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties and who wasn't even tall enough to see over the partitions. He anticipated a woman doctor being older, and more commanding than the girl before him. Although, the way she shut down Keller was impressive.

"I'm going to need you to sit up so I can take your pulse," Anna instructed, setting her clipboard down on the side table. In one lithe movement, Sergeant Barnes sat up, putting him closer to Anna than she'd anticipated. Taking a quick, faltering step back Anna reached for his right arm, her fingers finding his pulse.

"No offense, but isn't this something a nurse can do?" Bucky asked as he watched the doctor scribble down his numbers on her clipboard. She had a pretty profile: sharp jawline, smooth skin and her lips were a pale pink. He couldn't decide if the color was natural or not.

"Most of it. Unfortunately for me, General Johnson shares some of Corporal Keller's opinions on women being doctors," Anna huffed out, reaching in her pocket for her pen light. She tried to focus on her work and not the bright blue eyes that followed her every movement.

"He really sending you overseas?" Bucky pressed on, curious about the slight woman before him. He'd never met a girl doc before. He knew doctors were being sent over with troops, but he had a hard time picturing the tiny girl before him in an active warzone. It wasn't that she seemed fragile, she definitely had a lot of pent up stubbornness. She just seemed innocent. Like the way her cheeks flushed pink, a shade darker than her lips, when he had to remove his jacket and lift his shirt for her to listen to his lungs. War would ruin that.

"Not yet. I just needed to make a point," Anna admitted, checking the Sergeant's reflexes as she tapped the reflex hammer under his knees.

"You definitely made it. I've never heard Keller call any woman ma'am without a trace of sarcasm," Sergeant Barnes assured her, smiling up at her. Anna wasn't expecting it, and it had her heart stuttering at how handsome he was with a smile lighting up his features. Feeling like she wanted to smack herself for being dazed by something as simple as a smile, Anna quickly turned back to her clipboard. She'd never let a man get under her skin before, and she wasn't about to start. Her career was all she needed. She just wanted to make a place for herself in the medical world.

"You're cleared, everything checks out," Anna informed the Sergeant, all business as she stamped an official seal on the bottom of his form before handing it to him. "Good luck, Sergeant Barnes."

"You too, Ace. Show the men what you're made of," Bucky retorted, tipping his hat with a wink before sauntering out of the room.

A/N here's a little snippet of Anna in the first avenger. I had lots of fun with it and would love to write more maybe even make it more than a series of one shots and make it an actual story. If you guys are interested :) maybe even if you're not. ;) I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Rach

xoxo