As nice as the gift from Colonel Phillips was, and as great a shot as she was with it, Evangeline knew that deep down, she'd never get over this. The stares she received from her men as she'd walk by, her right shirt sleeve tied at the bottom where her palm and fingers should've been, how Bucky looked at her even more like she was a porcelain doll in need of protecting; it was the little things like that that kept dragging the woman down into a pit of self-loathing.

Catastrophe was a beautiful weapon, as shining and pristine as what Evangeline assumed the President's toilet to be, and had hardly any kick to her whenever the trigger was pulled. In a matter of hours, the gun was hardly distinguishable from the rest of the Corporal's body. Although she'd lost a limb, she made sure to mentally note that she'd gained a new piece of herself that she would've never received had the incident with the explosives not happened in the first place.

She was practicing reloading the revolver and taking shots at trees a few yards from her current position when Henry walked up beside her, watching as she shot with her non-dominant hand and hit the exact spot Angie aimed for every time. The woman had heard the young man approach, but she'd thought it was Bucky at first. As much as she loved the sergeant and appreciated his affection and support, sometimes he was just... too much. Ever since the accident, he'd hardly ever leave her alone. No matter where she turned to, he was always there, wanting to help her in any way he possibly could. A very admirable cause, if she was being honest.

But sometimes the only help someone needs is none at all.

Angie was silent as the last shot from her revolver rang out. The colonel had given her a silencer for the weapon, but sometimes the sound of gunfire soothed her more than agitated her. And if they were in a secured area with no need to be silent, the corporal wanted to take advantage of that. 

"Hello, Henry," She turned to face the young soldier. Truthfully, Evangeline was shocked to see that he'd actually approached her. Ten days had passed since their last mission, and he hadn't spoken to her since then. Buck informed her of the boy's guilt and just how horrible he felt about the incident, but Angie never thought her favorite soldier would just stop speaking to her. "It's nice to see you."

"You as well, corporal," Henry said sheepishly, his face turning red and his eyes still glued to the last bullet hole Angie had shot into the trunk of a nearby oak tree. "I'm sorry that I've been so distant, I just..." The woman slid her weapon into the new holster at her side, then placed her hand on his thin shoulder. He flinched at the gentle contact, as if he'd expected her to hit him, but no much pain ever came.

"Henry, it wasn't your fault," Evangeline told him in a calm, soothing voice. If she was good at anything, it was making her guys feel safe, like someone was watching out for them even when bullets weren't flying and people weren't dying. Ever since she started her nursing gig for the 107th, that had been her first mission, her number-one task. By the time the war was over, she wanted to be like an older sister to her patients, or a mother in some cases. Her role was to nurture the wounded when no one else would or knew how to, and she did her best in that field both physically and emotionally. "It wasn't anyone's fault. No one knew that the trucks would get moving again so quickly. I sure as hell didn't see it coming, and I'm the one who cut the gasoline tube of the first one."

Still, Henry couldn't face the woman before him. Every now and then, he'd glance at the spot where her right hand was supposed to be, then turn an even deeper shade of red as he hung his head like a guilty dog being scolded.

"You can't carry this weight on your shoulders. Guilt like that can get you killed in a war zone. Please, if you honestly believe that this was your fault in any way, shape, or form, do me a favor- let it fuel your fire instead of blowing it out. You're so young, you have so much of your life left to live. If you want to do me a solid, get as many of those Germans as you can and put them six feet under. Make this loss worth something, because letting it drag you under isn't going to help anyone. Understood?"

The young man took a deep breath, then slowly lifted his head to look at the woman facing him. She'd bathed once since the last mission and her hair was a little blonder in color than it had been before, though she still kept it tied back (something that Bucky did for her every morning before leaving their tent). Her eyes still had that sparkle in them that they always did, despite the universe's efforts to take it away, and there was a new bandage wrapped around her stump of a wrist on her right arm. The stitches within were still tender, but the bleeding had stopped a long time ago, leaving the gauze as white as it was the moment she wrapped it around her flesh.

"Understood?" She asked again, and this time Henry looked her in the face for the first time in over a week. There was no point in hoping for him to grin or smirk in her direction, but she was satisfied with the small nod he sent her direction and the hug she received less than a second later.

At first, she didn't hug the boy back. She couldn't, she was too shocked. Not once had any of her men shown her this kind of affection before. Not the kind of affection Bucky liked to show her, it was the kind between a sister and a little brother, or a guardian and their charge. Henry didn't hug her with the intent of showing any emotion besides relief at the fact that she didn't hate him for what he thought he'd caused. When that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't deny him by not hugging the poor soul back, regardless of whether or not her hugs would be the same with one hand. She still embraced the small man with the same care and compassion as a loved one would.

Evangeline didn't know exactly why she was so intent on protecting Henry, on making him feel like he could talk to her about anything no matter what. The pieces didn't fall into place until much later, after her final days with Bucky and Steve, that the reason she cared so much about the young man was that he reminded her so much of the little guy she'd left back home in New York. 

**********

"Alright, let's get this party started."

Colonel Phillips called Bucky and Evangeline into his tent for the next mission-briefing, this one taking place a few miles out of their usual patrolling zone. Azzano, Italy, to be more precise. The colonel told the duo all about the freaking experiments going on in a Nazi base stationed not too far from the border, all the prisoners the Germans had taken from their concentration camps and placed within the torturous facility.

"Your job is to get in there, find out what the hell the Germans are planning next, and get the hell out."

"But what about the prisoners?" Evangeline questioned. "We can't just let the Germans keep torturing them, we need to help them out."

"As nice as that sentiment is, its impossible," Phillips answered. "There's too much security, too many cameras. If you try to free the prisoners, our chances of figuring out Hitler's next step are flushed down the toilet with the rest of the world's screw-ups. No, you two stick to the plan. Sneak your men as close to the facility's perimeter, that way you have back-up if the shit ends up hitting the fan, then go in, get the plans, and get back out. This is not a rescue mission, this is a reconnaissance trip. Go in, get what we need, and get the hell out. Understood?"

Although Evangeline didn't like this plan one bit, she nodded her head in confirmation.

Little did she know that this mission wasn't going to be as quick as the colonel led up to be.