Hello everyone! So, let me just give a quick little summary about this story. It is based in my Renegades series and it is a prequel. The main character in this story is the grandmother of the main character in the main series. This particular idea came to me very recently, and while I had no plans on doing anything with this character, the idea was too prominent and I just had to write it out. I hope you all enjoy the story!

Rating: T for basics; violence, romance, language

Pairings: major - oc/oc & steve/oc (platonic), minor - steve/peggy,

Summary: More than sixty years before Jacqueline Lewis would take on the family legacy as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, the path was first carved by her grandmother and namesake, Jacqueline "Addie" Fredericks. During WWII, Addie enlists in the United States Army. While stationed at Fort Devens, she is recruited to the S.S.R. by Abraham Erskine and Chester Phillips to help with the candidate selection for Project Rebirth. There she befriends Agent Carter and a sickly young man who would become the world's first Super Soldier.

Washington D.C., 2014

….

Steve stood in front of the glass display that was projecting information on Bucky. The narrator's voice filtered out from the speakers. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service for his country. The words struck a chord with Steve. He broke his gaze from the display, his head lowering to stare at the ground. It was still so fresh. He could still see Bucky falling from the train and his failed attempt at rescuing his friend. It was something that he would never get over, something that he would never forgive himself for. He walked away from the display, eyes still downcast, he didn't will himself to take one more look behind him.

The museum was packed. Steve silently walked along with groups of other people, keeping his head down in order to not attract attention to himself. He came upon a section that dealt with Erskine and how he had designed the serum. Steve's lips twitched at his memories of Erskine. He was one of the few people who truly believed in Steve during Project Rebirth. With his dying breath, he asked Steve to always be a good man, no matter what. It was a promise he continuously tries to uphold. Though, he isn't exactly sure if he's honoring it every time.

He moved down the line, waiting back as a group of visitors moved on from one of the displays. As he stepped forward, the image came into view and his stomach dropped. An outline of Addie's image was displayed, along with an extensive description about who she was and what her role was in Project Rebirth. Except, Steve didn't read it. He didn't need a museum display to remind him of who she was. A couple feet away, on a gigantic wall, a feature was being projected. A decent crowd had formed, and while keeping his distance, Steve focused his eyes on the images before him.

The narrator was talking about Erskine, his rescue and how he became associated with the S.S.R. Then, a familiar voice came from the speakers. The screen flashed to footage of Addie, who looked to be sitting in the living room of her house. The date at the bottom left corner of the screen read 1953. Steve held his breath. Only eight years after he crashed the Valkyrie. If only they all had known he was still alive, that he was out there just waiting to be found.

That familiar ache in his chest returned, causing him to clench his hand into a fist. If only they'd known. It's one thing to wake up after 70 years to realize almost everyone he cared about were gone. But to look back on all of this, to see his friends moving on and the heartache they all must have endured, made the pain unbearable.

"I worked as an assistant to Doctor James Edwards, a well known Clinical Psychologist in New York. Before, I had studied Psychology in school and had heard about him through one of my professors..."

February 1941

….

Addie stifled a yawn and blinked away the heaviness in her eyes. She tapped her manicured fingers against the clipboard on her lap. From her place in the corner of the room, she surveyed the interaction between Doctor Edwards and his patient. With each question that was asked, she jotted down her observations. She didn't just study the patient's behavior, but how Doctor Edwards interacted with them. The tone of his voice, the use of careful movements, and the absence of any harshness-whether in his voice, or the way he held himself. It always amazed her to see him at work. Studying this in school was vastly different to witness it all in person. She was damn lucky that Doctor Edwards was willing to give her a chance.

The session was over. Addie checked her watch, 4:35. She closed her notebook and escorted the patient to the exit. They gave her a courteous goodbye and she returned it, flashing a quick smile. After closing the door, she turned to find Doctor Edwards walking towards her, writing down a few notes on a sheet of paper. Once done, he handed it over to Addie, "I need you to log this into the file, once that's done, you may go home."

Addie took the sheet of paper, gave her nod of acknowledgment, then ventured over to her desk. She pulled out the patient's file and began to meticulously copy down the notes that were given to her. To most, this part of the job would be quite dull. However, it was something Addie always looked forward too. While she loved learning through patient sessions, being able to sit at her desk in silence, it was her only time for relaxation.

Addie wrote down the last bit of notes. After, she closed the folder, placed it back into its placeholder, and closed the cabinet. She cleaned up her workspace a bit, throwing away unneeded documents, brushed off some dust, and rearranged everything to make it all neat. She surveyed the area and blew out a breath, nodding in content. Addie switched off the desk lamp, then grabbed her coat from the rack. Just as she did, Doctor Edwards emerged from his office, donned in his coat and a briefcase in hand.

"Are you all set, Ms. Fredericks?"

"Yes, sir." Addie wrapped a scarf around her neck before following Doctor Edwards out the door.

She stood behind him as he locked the office door, then the two of them walked out of the building. The frigid air forced Addie to pull her coat closer to her body.

"You did excellent work today."

Addie turned to her boss, his face illuminated by the warm glow of the street lamp. "Thank you, sir."

"I'll see you next Monday. Have a good night."

"You too, sir."

Addie turned and began the walk back home. The streets were crowded. Cars were nearly backed up, the drivers only wanting to get home after working all day. Addie usually took the scenic, long way home. However, on this day, she decided to cut through downtown. She passed department stores, food vendors who were trying to sell their goods. She stopped by one of the newsstands to purchase the evening newspaper, something she always did for her father on her way home from work.

By the time she arrived home, it had just turned 5:30. She cursed under her breath as she pushed open the front door. The entire home smelled of her mother's cooking, which warmed her entire body. As she shredded off her coat, she shivered and placed it up on the coat rack.

"I'm home," Addie called out.

"Dinner is ready, go wash up and tell your sister to come down." Her mother called from the kitchen.

"Alright." Addie pulled off her scarf and made her way upstairs. The first place she went to was her bedroom to change out of her shoes and workwear. She opted for a simple dress. After, she went to the bathroom and quickly washed up.

She crossed the distance to her sister's bedroom. "Joan." Addie knocked on her sister's door before cracking it open. "Joan," she peered in to see her sister sitting on her bed reading a book. Joan hummed in response. "Dinner is ready."

Joan nodded. "I'll be down in a moment."

"No," Addie walked into her room and took the book out of her sister's hands, ignoring that look she was giving. "You need to come down now." She said, placing the book down on the nightstand.

Joan could only stare at her sister, "I was reading that, Addie."

But, Addie didn't budge. She rested her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "I know, and you can finish it after dinner. Let's go."

Joan rolled her eyes and groaned. Despite her annoyance, she got off the bed and went ahead of Addie. At the dinner table, their father was already seated, reminding Addie of the newspaper she had purchased earlier.

"Here you are, father." She placed the newspaper down in front of him.

Peter smiled, "Thank you, Addie."

Everyone settled at the table. Her mother, Margaret, served out the portions to each person. Dinner conversations started off normal. Addie and her father talked about work, Joan talked about her day at school, the usual. It wasn't until her father started reading the paper did the conversations switch. The major headline was about the German forces making their way through Bulgaria. To no one's surprise, America's headlines were still focused on the war in Europe. With each major headline, people grew more nervous about the state of this war.

Margaret gave an anxious sigh, she used her fork to stab at her food. "This is only going to get more out of hand," she commented before taking a bite.

"It is a war, mother," Addie commented. "I don't think it will be ending any time soon."

"It should. Everyone is talking about how we're going to get involved. They say it's inevitable."

"Margaret," Peter folded up the newspaper and moved it to the side. "The people who say that are just scared. The only way we would get pulled in is if we are targeted. Besides that, Roosevelt is going to keep us out of this."

Addie picked at her food, then took a drink from her glass. "I hope you're right. The last thing I want to see is Joe getting sent out to fight."

"It would be more of a pity if he gets sent before you two get married."

Margaret's comment shifted everyone's mood. Addie leaned back in her chair, completely abandoning the fork in her hand. Joan bit her lip, completely fed up with her mother constantly bringing up the subject.

"Are we really going to have this conversation again?" Addie asked, trying her best to keep her voice level, to not show how annoyed she was.

Margaret gave a small wave of her hand, showing that she realized that she had crossed the line...again. "I'm sorry. I'm just saying, you two have been together two years going on three. Maybe you two should really talk about it."

"We have discussed it." Addie defended, turning her attention back to her plate. "But with everything going on, we decided to put it on hold. I hope you'll accept our decision."

"Alright." Margaret conceded. That last thing she wanted was to have another argument over dinner. It's happened many times, mostly due to Margaret's constant pestering of the subject. "I promise, I won't bring it up again."

Addie gave her mother a side glance, skeptical as to whether she would keep to her word. Margaret caught the look, then took a gentle hold of her daughter's hand. Addie's face relaxed when she saw the look in her mother's eyes. Soft and gentle. She meant it, every word.

Addie gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "thank you."

March 1941

….

Addie was sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of her, and the morning newspaper in her hands. Another major headline. Germans released another bombing in London, Buckingham Palace was caught in the crossfires. Addie pursed her lips, carefully reading through the passages. She could only exhale a sigh. With each day this war went on, her paranoia only grew. It seems with each new advancement coming out of Europe, America was just one step closer to joining the fight.

Completely abandoning the newspaper, Addie leaned back and finished the rest of her coffee. She went to the sink and washed out her cup, just as her sister entered the kitchen. Joan took immediate notice of the newspaper on the table. She read through the headlines, slowly shaking her head.

"This is terrifying."

Addie dried the cup and placed it back in the cupboard. She turned around, seeing that Joan was still reading through the papers with a glazed look in her eyes. Addie walked over and took the newspaper from her sister. "You don't need to be reading this." She said, folding the newspaper up and tucking it under her arm.

Joan gave her sister a questioning look, "you were just reading this, I know you were."

"I have my own reasons."

Joan raised an eyebrow and gave a loud scoff, however, Addie did well to ignore it. She glanced down at her watch, then headed right for the front door with Joan trailing closely behind. "You're taking the newspaper with you?"

Addie slipped on her coat and wrapped the scarf around her neck, "of course I am, the last thing I want is for mother to see it."

Joan crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. "You know she is bound to find out eventually."

"Well, if I can extend the period of her not knowing, then I will do just that."

Joan rolled her eyes, then smirked. "You're going to see Joe?"

"I haven't been able to spend a day with him in a while. I'm going to meet him in the park."

"I'll see you at dinner, then."

Addie gave her sister a wave before slipping out the front door.

…

On a Saturday afternoon, the park was rather busy. Couples walked along the pathways, others were sitting on the park benches reading away at the newspapers. Addie and Joe passed one of the readers and her eyes just glossed over the familiar headline. It sent a chill down her spine. She tightened her hold on his arm and leaned closer, trying to rid of the news from her mind.

His gloved hand covered hers as they continued their walk. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head at his question, hoping to move on from the little moment she had. Joe spotted the newspapers that were being read and pursed his lips, knowingly. "It's alright, it's all going to be fine."

"Not with how everything is progressing," she quietly admitted, keeping her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. "Maybe what people are saying is true, at this rate America may indeed join the war."

Addie's worriedness was understandable. With Congress recently passing the Lend-Lease Act, it was a near for sure sign of Roosevelt slowly edging the United States into the war. Most of the people Joe has talked with mentioned how the United States should arm themselves, just in case of an attack. Still, most Americans would rather keep the U.S. out of the war, a mentality that Roosevelt has been walking a fine line on.

"It will all be fine," Joe repeated, not able to think of anything different to say.

They both knew, if the United States joined the war, Joe would be drafted. The mere possibility of him being sent away was nerve-wracking. But the fear of him getting killed-it was an unbearable thought. Not being able to see his face, or hear his voice, or to be able to walk through the park with him. She prayed every night that it wouldn't come down to it.

Joe noticed how tense she had gotten. He saw how her eyes were focused in front of her, and her hand had a vice grip on his arm. Joe stopped and turned to look at her,"the only way that America would get involved in this war, is if something happened to us."

"What makes you think that something may not happen to us?"

The war was an ocean away. It was a typical defense that everyone loved to use. Yet, it didn't do anything to make her feel better. An ocean away, ships can cross oceans and planes can fly over them. They weren't as safe as everyone is making it out to be.

Addie noticed the look on Joe's face, while he tried to keep her from thinking too much about it, he knew there was an element of truth to her words. She sighed, "I'm sorry." She quickly apologized. "I shouldn't dwell on things like that, I just want us to have a good day."

No more talking about the war.

Addie planted a quick kiss against his cheek, then the two of them resumed their walk.

A/N: Alright! I have to admit something. The first five or six chapters in this story is build up. You'll get a glimpse into Addie's background, her relationships, job, and how she gets associated with the S.S.R. I already have these chapters outlined so they shouldn't take me that long to get up. Again, I tried my best to research for accuracy, but most of what I found didn't exactly give me the information I was looking for. I apologize if there is any inaccuracy. I've had to make some decisions for a few things. But I hope you all liked it!

A review would be much appreciated!