Howdy-ho guys! Here comes chapter three! This will be the last little chapter before the story gets moving into the movie territory. Of course, I need to throw out there that I own nor claim rights to anything Marvel! I own Rose and her journey alone! I hope you enjoy it! Xoxo-NickyLynn
When Rose walked back into Howard Stark's office for the second time, she was pleased to find him already standing behind his desk, leaning over it, studying the paperwork that was strewn across it. When Rose walked in behind his assistant, his head snapped up upon their entry. A smile pulled at his lips as his eyes fell on her and he motioned to the seat she had spent most of the prior day waiting in.
"Thank you for coming all the way back in, Ms. Rogers, please, sit." He told her. Rose walked over to the desk and sat herself down in the chair, once again. "Thank you, Rachael." Howard said to his assistant as she retreated back out of the room. Once the door latched shut, Howard turned back to Rose and his face fell into a serious one. "Ms. Rogers, do you know how many people have spoken to me the way you did yesterday?" he asked her.
Rose's heartrate began to pick up as she looked over to him. She wondered if he had brought her all the way back here just to do his own reprimanding of her. "I'm assuming not many." She said quietly, the strong emotions that fueled her courage yesterday fleeing her, leaving her feeling meek in his presence.
"None." He said seriously. "And before we begin, I'd just like to say that I am sorry for my actions yesterday."
Rose's jaw dropped open, surprised to hear an apology and not a lecture. "Oh." Was all she could think to say.
"It was unfair of me to waste your time and I swear to you it will not happen again. And with that, I'd like to formally extend the offer for the position within Stark Industries, if you would reconsider your declining of it." He told her with a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth.
"I…" Rose began, not knowing what to say. "I don't even know what the position is." She told him.
Howard picked up a folder of papers from his desk and walked around, extending the folder out towards Rose. She hesitantly took it from his grasp, flipping it open with furrowed brows. Her eyes flited across the papers within, her eyebrows pulling together tighter as she took in the information. She flipped through page after page, growing enthralled by the documents she was reading. "What does any of this have to do with me, Mr. Stark?" Rose asked, confused. "I'm just a nurse, this is way out of my league."
"A twenty-two year old, female nurse who's been accepted into medical school with aspirations of becoming a doctor, on a scholarship, no less." He said, with a tilt of his head. "Tends to make an impression. Professor Jacobs shared with me your thesis on improving the human immune system. Your theory on DNA manipulation was quite interesting."
"That's just it…a theory. I mean, in theoretical terms, yes, being able to manipulate and alter human design at the cellular level is an intriguing idea, but it's still just a theory." She countered. "There's no practicality to it."
"And what if it wasn't?" he asked her.
"Excuse me?" Rose asked him, confused.
"What if it wasn't a theory?" he asked her with a smile.
Her mouth went dry as it fell open. "You….you figured it out didn't you?" she said, amazed.
"Well, not me, per se. I've been contracted by the U.S. government to aide in the process. There's a scientist who's the one who actually developed the serum. I'm just here to help with the logistics of it all." Howard told her, leaning back against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest.
Rose shook her head in disbelief. "You're telling me that someone actually developed a formula for enhancing the human body. Not just a theory-but a real actual serum?" she asked him, growing excited about the possibilities this discovery meant. Truth be told, her theory was built on her desire to find a cure for the ailments that affected Steve so deeply. Knowing that there an actual possibility that it could work….it sent her onto cloud nine with elation.
"That depends." Howard told her, with a smirk. "You still want to turn that position down?"
A wide smile split across her face as she looked up at him like he was the shining sun. "No sir." She told him.
"Good. I was hoping you'd say that, because there's someone I think you'll want to meet." He said, pushing off of the desk and moving towards the door.
Rose quickly shoot up from her seat and followed Howard out of his office, eagerly, completely forgetting her previous transgressions with him. He led her through a couple of long halls until he pushed open a set of double doors that opened up into a large lab. There were rows upon rows of tables filled with glass vials, beakers and all sorts of other tubing. The walls were covered with cabinets and cupboards with glass doors, so that their contents could be seen from the outside. Rose let her eyes drift around the room in wonder before they fell on a man with grey hair standing in the middle of it all, his attention focused on the large chalk board he was scribbling down different numbers and formulas on. He turned his head as they walked further into the room and Rose took note of the kind eyes, sitting behind a pair of thin-framed glasses.
"Ah, hello." The man said as he noticed her, his voice coming out with a thick German accent.
"Rose, this is Dr. Abraham Erskine." Howard said, motioning towards the older scientist.
Rose blinked over at him, surprised. "You're the one who figured it out. You created the serum." She said in realization, suddenly feeling star-struck.
"Yes, the very one." He said, giving her a smile.
"Wow. Um, I'm sorry, this is just all so unbelievable." She told him, her brain working overtime, trying to process everything. "I mean I've been working with this theory for ages, but I never thought I'd see the day that it would actually be brought to fruition. Can I just say how remarkable it is-what you've managed to create?" she gushed out.
"Creating." He corrected her. "My formula is not perfected just yet- there are flaws that still need worked out." He told her, folding his arms behind his back. "Which is where you come in, my dear. Mr. Stark has been very generous to allow me access to his labs so that I can continue my research, but I'm afraid this task is quite the beast. An assistant would be a great help in my progress. Based on the knowledge within your thesis, I have a feeling you could be quite useful in this process." He explained.
"An opportunity like this would be remarkable. You have no idea what this would mean to me….to be a part of this." She told him, suddenly very glad Howard had called her and extended the offer to her again after she had turned him down. Her professor was right-this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I'm afraid I have to ask first….your research….what was it that drew you into it? Why would someone as young as you be so interested in molecular reconstruction?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he studied her.
Rose bit the side of her cheek as she formed a response. She drew in a deep breath before opening her mouth. "I just…." She began. "My mother died of Tuberculosis a couple years ago and my brother…well, he's never been very healthy. I'd like to say that I just wanted to help make the world a better place….make the human condition better for everyone. But, the truth is, Mr. Erskine, I just want to protect the people I love. I just didn't want to watch anyone else I love be taken from me because their bodies were not strong enough to fight off something as simple as a cough." She told him.
Abraham watched her with a look that she couldn't decipher as she explained herself. "Well, Ms. Rogers, perhaps fate has crossed our paths for a reason." He said, shifting the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Welcome to Project Rebirth."
Rose had considered herself busy before she had started working with Howard and Abraham. Now, however, she found herself readjusting the definition of that word. While her work with Project Rebirth was thrilling and gave her a whole new wave of hope for the future, she quickly came to find that it was more demanding than she had ever imagined. Every second of every day was spent laboring over everything, tirelessly, giving her little time for sleep, or anything else for that matter. Luckily, Howard had arranged for transportation for her to and from the lab and school, which cut her commute time down drastically. Even so, she worked herself to the bone as the days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and she soon lost track of her days as they all began to blur together.
It was when Abraham caught her nodding off as she was gazing down through the lenses of a microscope at a cluster of cells that he couldn't stand it any longer and practically forced her to take some time off. Considering she couldn't remember the last time she took even a single day off, Rose didn't think twice about arguing the matter and left the lab that day, promising to be back in a week. The first few days off were spent mostly sleeping, catching up on some much-needed rest. After she was adequately revived enough to feel like a person again and not a walking corpse, she began burning with the itch to do something, not being used to sitting around.
She shuffled out of her room one afternoon to find Steve sitting at the kitchen table, with his drawing pad laid out before him. "Let's go dancing." Rose said, startling him, causing his hand to jolt and mess up the line he was doing.
He looked up at her like she had grown a second head. "Dancing?" he asked her, wondering if he heard her right. "You want to go dancing?"
"Well, not in particular." She said, honestly. "But I've got a little bit of money saved up now and I think we could use with a night on the town. What do you think?" she asked him.
"Yeah, that actually sounds nice." Steve told her, excited to see his sister actually taking an interest in something other than school or work. "Want me to call Buck? I'm sure he'll be up for a night out." Steve offered.
"Oh, yeah. The more the merrier, right?" she chirped. "You give him a call and I'll go get ready." She told him before heading back into her room to get dressed.
Later that evening, Rose, Steve and Bucky all filed into one of the dancing halls that was within walking distance of the apartment. They were greeted by the sounds of loud music and laughter as they entered the lively hall. It was a Friday night and the dancefloor was bustling with young people all dancing and having a good time. "I'm gonna get us some drinks." Bucky shouted over the band as they wove their way through the crowd.
Bucky broke off from their small group and headed off to get them refreshments while Steve and Rose found an unoccupied table. They pulled out the chairs and slipped off their coats, draping them over the back of the seats before sitting down. Bucky rejoined them, carrying three glasses filled with soda. He set them down on the wooden table before taking a seat as well. Rose reached forward and grabbed one of the cold cups, taking a long drink of the sweet liquid.
"So, that job of yours finally give you a day off?" Bucky asked Rose, before taking a drink of his own.
"Yeah. I really needed the break, too. We've made a lot of progress, though so it's worth it, I suppose." She said, her mind drifting back to the progress they had made with the serum. They were almost done working the kinks out and were getting ready for human trials to start within the next few months.
"What is it you're doing exactually?" Bucky questioned, him and Steve only ever getting vague answers from her when it came to her work.
"Well, I would tell you…but then I'd have to kill you." She told him with a wink.
Bucky raised a brow at her, before turning to look at Steve. "Don't look at me." Steve told him. "She won't tell me anything either."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I told you it's because I can't. I signed a confidentiality agreement between me and the U.S. government, and they tend to be rather serious when it comes to those." She said with a huff.
"The government, huh?" Bucky mused. "Must be pretty important stuff if the government's got you tying up your lips over it."
Rose grinned over at him. "We're making history. I can tell you that." She said before noticing Steve's gaze was set on something behind her. She turned her head and followed his line of site until she saw the beautiful blonde woman he had been staring at. She turned back towards him to find him with a blush coloring his cheeks. "Why don't you go ask her to dance." She encouraged him.
His cheeks burned a deeper shade of red as he dropped his gaze back down at his drink. "No, I…I don't even know how to talk to a dame, let alone ask one to dance." He muttered dejectedly.
"Well, you talk to me all the time." Rose countered.
"You're not a dame." Steve told her, with a let out a loud laugh.
"I mean-you're a dame, you're just…you're my sister, it's different." Steve amended. "Besides, I don't think anyone would want to dance with...well, this." He said, motioning over his slim body.
Rose's heart broke as she watched Steve's eyes fill with sadness. Girls had never given him much attention over the years, and it was getting harder for him not to feel hurt by it the older he got. "Steve, you have a bigger heart than any other man I know. One day a woman is going to look at you and see that for herself and she's going to be the luckiest woman alive when she finds herself taking up a large space in it." She told him, trying her best to brighten his mood.
"Yeah….maybe." he mumbled out, refusing to look up at her.
"Or, you know, I'm sure Bucky will marry you if all else fails." She said with a shrug, taking another sip of her soda.
Steve's head snapped up at the comment, cheeks burning bright red again. Rose started laughing, seeing the look on his face. "Woah." Bucky said. "You know I love you man and I'll do anything for you, but I won't do that." he said in protest.
"Oh, come on. If you guys get married, then Bucky would actually be family. It would be perfect!" she pushed, enjoying Steve's obvious embarrassment.
"If you want Bucky to be a part of this family so bad, then you marry him." Steve retorted.
"I would, but alas…" Rose said, placing her hand over her heart dramticaly. "Mr. Barnes only has room in his heart for one Rogers, and sadly, it isn't me."
"Aw. You jealous Rose?" Bucky asked, leaning over to her. "Don't worry, there's plenty of me to go around." He teased, wrapping an arm around her, and pulling her against him.
"Ugh." Rose scoffed, pushing him away from her. "I think we are all painfully aware just how much of you has been around." She told him with a smirk.
Bucky sucked in a breath through his teeth at the comment, feigning hurt. He took a long drink of his coke before slamming it back down and getting up. Rose let out a loud yelp as Bucky grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her out of her chair and threw her over his shoulder in one strong movement. "AH! Bucky!" she shouted, laughing. "Put me down!"
"You've brought this upon yourself." He told her, ignoring her protests. He made his way with her out onto the dance floor, people moving out of his way, giving the pair of them strange looks as they passed. He dropped her down as they moved onto the center of the floor as the band finished playing their song. "Care for a dance?" he asked her with a grin.
"I'm not sure I actually have a choice in the matter." She said with a grin of her own as the band began playing their next melody. Her smiled faltered, however as the tune the band started playing turned out to be a slow song. Bucky wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, his other hand taking hold of her hand as the low vocals of Dick Haymes began singing "I'll Get By". Rose let Bucky guide her around the dance floor, trying desperately to fight off the color that was surely painting her cheeks.
This wasn't the first time Rose had danced with Bucky. It wasn't even the closest she'd ever been to him. On the contrary, Bucky had actually been her first kiss when she was fifteen, but they had never moved beyond a friendship and she was okay with that. In fact, she had insisted on it, as she knew she didn't have time to dedicate to dating and he could never settle down with a girl for longer than a week. They just weren't right for each other, but it was times like this that she found it hard to ignore the attraction she still felt towards him.
"Do you ever think about it?" Bucky suddenly asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Think about what?" She asked as he spun her around.
"Marriage." He said.
Rose pulled back enough to look at him with laced eyebrows. "Marriage?" she repeated.
"Yeah." He said with a shrug.
"When I was little, sure. I mean what little girl doesn't fantasize about her wedding." She told him honestly. "But now…I just don't see it happening for me."
"Why not?" Bucky asked her, looking down at her in curiosity.
"Bucky, I don't even have time for dating, let alone a marriage. I'm just…meant for other things." She told him.
"Like taking care of Steve?" Bucky questioned her, looking over at his friend, sitting alone at the table, nursing his coke and watching the dancing patrons. "I know you have a sense of duty when it comes to him and the promise you made Sarah, but you're allowed to have your own life, too Rose."
Rose shook her head at him, not liking the emotions he was stirring within her. "You don't understand."
"Yes, I do." He countered. "You feel responsible for Steve so you've set your life's mission on taking care of him. But there's got to be more to your life than just taking care of your brother, Rose. What are you going to do when he's gone?"
"No, you don't understand!" she bit out, pushing herself out of his grasp. They stopped moving as the music continued around them. "How could you? No one understands! Steve is all I have left. If I lose him…" she began, the tears burning in her eyes. "Without Steve I have nothing. Without Steve I am nothing. Just a broken girl who was abandoned on the street like trash!"
"Rose…" Bucky began, his heart lurching at the sight of her tears. He opened his mouth to say something just as the music ended, before he was interrupted by the same blonde girl Steve had been caught staring at. She pushed herself up next to them, giving Bucky a coy smile.
"Hey there handsome, do you think I could have the next dance?" she asked, blinking up at him through her long lashes, not bothering to look over at Rose.
"He's all yours." Rose muttered, before turning her back on the two of them and made her way back to the table Steve was still occupying. Rose could hear the blonde giggling behind her as she left the dance floor and redeposited herself back into the seat next to her brother.
Steve looked over at her with concern, seeing that she was upset. "What's wrong?" Steve asked, leaning over the table towards her.
"Nothing." Rose said, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. "Bucky stepped on my foot, is all." She told him, reaching down to rub her foot as if it hurt. "He's a terrible dancer."
Steve looked at her, not buying her excuse, but not pushing her on it either. "Yeah, well, even more reason not to marry him." He said, trying to brighten her suddenly tense mood.
Rose let out a laugh at his comment, smiling over at him. As she looked at him her thoughts turned back to their previous course. She looked at her brother as the thought echoed in her head that she couldn't lose him. She just couldn't.