In 1943, a small Steve Rogers makes a big impression on Charlotte Mason at Camp Lehigh.

"Êtes-vous sûr que c'est la bonne idée?" Charlotte spoke softly to her mentor as they stood back and watched Colonel Phillips introduce himself to the line of soldiers before them - all of which were eager to prove their strength and loyalty to their country.

Charlotte noticed Steve Rogers among the line, it was nearly impossible to miss him. He was the smallest one there - his height at weight nearly half of every other man present. This was both worrisome and admirable to the redhead, who had initially pursed her lips at the sight of him.

She and Dr. Erskine stood some feet away to observe like they've been instructed to do since arriving on Camp Lehigh. She had leaned over to whisper her doubts to Erskine after exchanging a rather polite although forced smile with Steve when he seemed to have recognized her. What she forgot at times was that she was quite impossible to forget. Amongst them was also Margaret "Peggy" Carter, an agent of the Strategic Science reserve that did not mind in the least showcasing her superiority to the soldiers by punching one of them after a smart remark. Charlotte couldn't keep the small pleased smirk from lifting the corner of her lips after the display, that is, until Abraham had nudged her with a halfhearted disapproving look.

To Charlotte's worries, Dr. Abraham Erskine replied confidently with, "I am sure, ma fille . It is what must be done to stop Schmidt."

"But...Steven is so small, Docteur. How will he compare to the other men?" She meant no harm in her question. She wasn't trying to argue with her mentor, nor was she trying to insult Steve's potential; she had been just worried. There was so much at stake.

"Nous verrons."

Charlotte could only sigh in reply.

Yes, we will see.

Multiple obstacle courses and training exercises littered the property and she found herself getting a tad dizzy just watching as many of them were quite literally running in circles. It's been some weeks since the World Expo and while she was relieved to have been done with searching the country for suitable candidates, she always grew more and more nervous as the big day approached. Soon, one of the many men around her will be chosen as the first subject to participate in Project Rebirth. Every morning Dr. Erskine dragged her out of bed and every morning her stomach twisted in knots.

The decision was crucial to success. She feared another failure.

It was also hard watching Steve struggle to keep up with the larger and stronger men around him, but Charlotte also found that she admired him greatly for his unyielding determination. While his muscles were small, he was still strong in many other ways.

He was smart.

On one particularly memorable day, she sat with Agent Carter in a jeep as Steve and the other soldiers were tasked with running around the perimeter of the camp. A grueling five miles in total with no breaks. While Charlotte could sprint that course the whole way through without breaking a sweat, she found that many of the men were quite pathetic when it came to most of the exercises and often whined and groaned later in their bunks about the harsh treatments. Excluding Steve Rogers of course, though she had been worried on multiple occasions that he was about to kneel over during many of the exercises.

She had heard the rhythmic marching of the soldiers feet half a mile away though she only turned just in time to see them come around a bend. Her shoulders slumped as she caught sight of Steve struggling to keep up behind them.

The drill sergeant gave the order to halt, then he pointed at a dull flag on top of a single rusted pole.

"That flag means we're only at the halfway point! First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter and Ms. Mason!"

Charlotte had rolled her eyes as each man - expect one - scrambled over one another to get a dirty old flag to sit beside some women in a car.

They had failed, spectacularly. Which both amused her and disappointed her. The men were ordered to fall back in line and she was about to turn forward when her small soldier stepped up to the plate. Ignoring his superior's order to fall in, he took one calculating look at the flagpole and took action.

She leaned forward in interest and raised her brows when Steve managed to retrieve the flag on top of the post without even having to jump an inch in the air. She shared an amused and impressed glance with the female British agent as the flag pole fell over after only loosening a few bolts and screws. He had grabbed the flag, passed his stunned comrades, and thanked his drill sergeant while handing over the measly fabric all within a minute. Steve hopped up besides Charlotte, gifting her a tired, but friendly nod in hello. (He had grown accustomed to her lingering presence, and hardly blushed during eye contact anymore with her.)

Charlotte flicked the rim of Steve's helmet back in jest as the jeep started forward when it fell in his eyes and gave him a proud little smile at his intelligent display.

Despite his intelligence, Charlotte still had her doubts about Steve, ignoring her growing fondness of him, and continued to wonder why Dr. Erskine was so adamant that he be chosen for the first subject. Regardless, she kept quiet for the most part and followed the doctor's instructions to keep a watchful eye on the unique soldier. Each day, she was surprised by something he did. Something smart, or resilient, but her favorite was when he had done something so very, very brave...

And stupid. God, it had been so stupid. She didn't know whether to hug him in pride or hit him upside the head for his recklessness.

On that day, she quietly shadowed her dear mentor, listening intently to his and Colonel's conversation on who should be picked for the first experiment that would take place at the end of the week. It had been a month since approving Steve's forms. Dr. Erskine's vote was obvious, as was the Colonel's.

"Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier," Phillips stated gruffly, and Charlotte glanced at said soldier with a wrinkled nose. All she could think about was how the man tormented Rogers ever chance he got. His filthy looks he'd cast her way. The obnoxious way he walked with his chest puffed up and his chin held high, casting aside many of the younger and less skilled soldiers simply because he could.

"Il est un tyran," Charlotte muttered lowly, ignoring Colonel Phillip's glare at her for speaking up.

The Colonel hadn't been her biggest fan and it had to do with her inability to take orders and her apparent lack of respect for her superiors. What he failed to understand was that she was not there to be anyone's soldier and Charlotte did not see him as her superior. She was there for Dr. Erskine; she was loyal only to her doctor. And no matter how much it bothered Colonel Phillips, she had the final say in the chosen subject for Project Rebirth. And she knew for a fact that she would quite literally chose anyone else over Gilmore Hodge.

"He is a bully," Dr. Erskine translated while also nodding in agreement.

Phillips huffed, barely refraining from rudely laughing at the pair. "You don't win a war with niceness, Doctor." He stepped around the two so he could poke around in a box in the bed of a military truck they stood beside. He briefly looked Charlotte in her extraordinary eyes and said, "Ms. Masson, you win wars with guts." He snatched up what Charlotte knew was a grenade and before she could do anything to stop him he pulled the pin and tossed it in the middle of the rows of soldiers doing jumping jacks. "Grenade!"

Charlotte moved to step forward, but Phillips grabbed a hold of her arm in a tight grip. She knew she could easily break free, and he knew it too, but she still stayed put, nervously watching as the soldiers all scattered away from the threat that had dropped from the sky. Surely he wouldn't kill these men just to make a point, right?

All except one ran away.

"Wait," Colonel Phillips hissed in her ear as she finally yanked her arm free and took another step forward. "It's a dud."

Steve Rogers had been the one to dive forward, curling his body over what she was sure would be his death sentence had what Phillips said end up being false.

He had shouted for everyone to get back. Steve closed his eyes and every muscle in his body tensed in preparation. Charlotte held her breath, waiting. When nothing happened she let out a long, shaky breath as Steve sat up and looked around - completely confused.

"It's a dummy grenade!" Someone called out and all the hidden soldiers peeked out from their cover and looked at their smallest comrade in bewilderment. "All clear!"

Steve Rogers gulped before his eyes landed on Dr. Erskine, Charlotte, and Colonel Phillips. Charlotte even noticed his gaze reaching Agent Carter. "Was this a test?"

The redhead put a hand to her frantically beating heart and let out a short laugh. Then she smiled, one of the widest smiles she's ever shown since forcibly leaving her home when she was still just a girl. She rushed forward to help the brave little soldier up from the ground. She spoke rapidly in her mother tongue as she dusted him off, doing poorly at hiding her admiration and excitement. And Steve, bless his soul, smiled and nodded along to her quick speech and bizarre hand gestures, not having a clue on what she was saying, but didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. Once she was satisfied with his appearance she grasped him by his hands, reminding herself to be gentle.

"Steven! C'était incroyable! Je n'ai jamais vu une telle bravoure. You are simply too magnificent for an ordinary man. I am speechless," the redhead concluded, grasping his hands between them while her green eyes sparkled. This time he did blush, all the while trying to wave off her compliments by saying what he did was nothing special and anyone would have done the same given the chance. "If that is so," she started softly, a warm little smile on her lips, "then why is it that you were the only one?"

He blushed a deeper shade of red as she gave him one last dazzling smile before returning to Dr. Erskine's side; after linking their arms together, she talked his ear off about how Steve was the perfect candidate and how she couldn't wait to see all the good things he would do with newfound strength and speed. The doctor listened with a smug smile as she rattled on in French, German, and English all day, recalling all of the positive examples Steve had shown to prove him worthy of the serum.

The serum that would be created from her blood. Serum that would help make an army of super soldiers to defeat the Nazi's, HYDRA, and more importantly, keep Johann Schmidt from taking over the world.

French

"Êtes-vous sûr que c'est la bonne idée?" = "Are you sure this is a good idea?" -Charlotte to Dr. Erskine /"I am sure, ma fille." = "I am sure, my girl." -Dr. Erskine to Charlotte

"How will he compare to the other men?" -Charlotte / "Nous verrons." = "We will see." -Dr. Erskine in reply

"Steven! C'était incroyable! Je n'ai jamais vu une telle bravoure..." = "Steven! That was amazing! I've never seen such bravery." -Charlotte to Steve