It doesn't take long for the USO girls to drag Steve into their beds. Sam watches as it happens, her gaze dark and unreadable. Some of the girls whisper that she's a Sapphist - not entirely wrong - but if any of them feel the same, they don't feel the need to proposition her. But, then, she's quiet, always holding back a bit. Steve's the one on stage, awkward as he is, and she's the one flying stunts wherever they can get a plane up in the air. (She fucking hates going back to this; she'd thought she'd gotten away from it when she joined Project Rebirth.) She's not part of the show, not part of the group - and, yeah, she hasn't missed that all the girls are lily-white. They're nice to her, as civil as a bunch of white girls can be, but there's still a line between them. They envelop Steve with chatter and easy camaraderie, and Sam's left to navigate things on her own.

She's just as eager to see action as Steve is, and she jumps at the chance in Azzano. (It's galling to let Stark fly the plane - she's better, goddamnit - but someone has to watch Steve's back, and she can't do both.)

Afterwards, when they stumble back into camp at the head of a column of exhausted soldiers, the girls come back for Steve. Sam just rolls her eyes and slips off in the middle of the cheering. He deserves all the limelight, and she's glad to let him bask in it. She's more interested in a shower and a hot meal.

By the time she staggers back to her tent, all she wants to do is curl up in her cot. Problem is, there's someone else in it already.