Hi everyone! I've managed to get a few new follows, favorites and even a review, so I'd like to start out with another THANK YOU! Every time I get a new alert on this story it makes me just to happy! I'm glad so many of you are enjoying Rose's story! Here's your daily disclaimer that I do not own or have rights to Marvel and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Xoxo-NickyLynn
To Rose's delight, Abraham had taken to Steve and given him a chance within their program. Though, Steve didn't quite know what exactually it was that he was getting involved in just yet…none of the candidates did. It was Coronel Phillip's plan to train the recruits over the next week and see 'what they were made of' as he put it. From there, they would be able to narrow down their selections and hopefully be able to chose someone who would be worthy of receiving Abraham's serum.
They were being moved to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey during the training period and Rose would be lying if she said she wasn't filled with nerves. She unpacked her small suitcase of clothes into the small tent she was sharing with Peggy before plopping down on the hard cot with a sigh. Peggy looked over at her with a raised brow as she finished arranging her own items.
"You okay over there, Rogers?" she asked, laying out her mirror, brushes and what little makeup she had on the small table next to her own cot.
"Yeah, just nervous." Rose told her as she watched the other woman move about the small space.
"About what? The hard part's over." Peggy said, looking over at Rose in question.
"I'm nervous for my brother." Rose amended.
"Don't be. From what you've told me about him, I'm sure he'll do just fine." Peggy reassured her.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I just can't help but worry. He's the only family I have left…if anything ever happened to him…I'm not sure what I would do." She told her honestly.
Peggy finished unpacking and looked over at Rose seriously. "You're a good sister, Rose, but you can't protect him from the world forever."
"You're right, I know." Rose conceded, letting out a deep sigh. "So what time are we supposed to be meeting with the recruits?" she then asked, changing the subject.
"An hour." Peggy responded, looking down at her watch. "I suppose we should get moving. Phillips will want to touch base with us beforehand."
Rose drew in a breath before pushing herself back up. "Mind leading the way?" she asked Peggy. "I'm still not use to this place yet. I swear even trying to find a bathroom is a task, in and of itself."
Peggy smiled over at her. "Don't worry, you'll get this place down pat before long." She said as they exited their tent and made their way through the camp to meet up with the others.
They met up with Colonel Phillips and Abraham before long and after they were debriefed Peggy broke off from the group to round up the recruits. Phillips, Abraham and Rose all loaded up into the military jeep and made the short drive to where the candidates were being lined up. They rolled up to the group of men standing to attention in a line with Peggy standing in front of them all, and Rose's eyes fell on her brother's small form, looking out of place among the others. She drew in a breath as Peggy's words from earlier repeated through her mind. She was right….Rose couldn't protect Steve forever, but maybe if things worked out right he wouldn't need her to protect him ever again.
As they made their way closer, they all watched as Peggy called forward one of the men and proceeded to throw her fist directly into his face with a harsh crack that sent him falling to the ground. Rose flinched at the sound of the impact, but knowing Peggy, the man must have said something to deserve the punch. They all lurched forward as the vehicle came to a sudden stop on the dirt and Colonel Phillips jumped out of his seat and strode towards the group of men.
"Agent Carter!" He called out, causing Peggy to whip around.
"Colonel Phillips." She greeted with a salute as Rose climbed out of the Jeep, reaching up to give Abraham a stabilizing hand as he followed behind her.
"I see you're breaking in the new candidates. That's good." Phillips praised, as Rose and Abraham followed behind him. "Get yourself up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention until somebody comes and tells you what to do." He ordered the soldier who scrambled up from the ground, blood smeared under his nose.
"Yes, sir!" the man said, standing back into line at attention with a nod, embarrassment washing over him.
Phillips looked up and down the line of men before striding in front of them all. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. We are going to win this war, because we have the best…." He ranted off before his eyes landed on Steve. "men…" he finished, looking back over his shoulder at Abraham and Rose, obviously displeased. Rose shifted on her feet, refusing to meet his gaze while Abraham just acted like nothing was amiss. "And because they are going to get better." He continued. "Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort, made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history, but every army starts with one man. And at the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell." He finished, looking over the group of men as they processed the new information.
Steve glanced over to Rose in surprise, finally coming to understand what she had been working so hard on the past two years. She gave him a small smile and shrug before dropping her smile as she caught Phillips looking back at her with a look of displeasure.
"Agent Carter, why don't you get these men whipped into shape with some drills." He ordered walking back towards Rose and Abraham. "You two, come with me." He said quieter as he brushed past them, towards one of the buildings behind them.
The pair obediently trailed behind him as he stormed across the area as Peggy began yelling out orders to the line of men. As the trio made their way into the privacy of the building, Colonel Phillips spun around, his worn face unhappy. "Is this whole Project a joke to you?" he asked them, his voice loud and harsh.
"O-of course not." Rose responded.
"Then what the hell is that out there?" he shouted, casting a finger towards the door they had just come through.
"I assume you refer to the smaller young man." Abraham responded, shifting the glasses on his face. If Phillip's anger phased him at all, he didn't show it.
"Of course, I mean the pipsqueak! Who else would I be talking about?" he said, exasperated.
"That pipsqueak is my brother." Rose told him, crossing her arms.
"Brother?" he asked her, surprised by their lack of similarity. "Ms. Rogers, this isn't a family picnic. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I want him out of here."
Rose felt her stomach drop at his words. She knew if Steve was kicked out now, after getting so close…it would crush him. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen." Abraham said, coming to Steve's defense. "Rose had nothing to do with the matter, I approved Mr. Rogers myself."
"And why in Heaven's would you do that?" he asked him, rubbing his fingers along his temple.
"You have your theories on what makes a good soldier and I have mine." Abraham said, simply. "I'm afraid I must insist on his participation."
Phillips let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'm not giving him any special leeway. And if he falls behind the others, I won't hesitate to pull the plug on him, you got that?"
"He won't need any." Rose finally said. "I think you'll be surprised with just how far Steve's determination will take him."
"You better hope you're right." Phillips said before walking past the two of them and back outside without another word. Rose let out a sigh of relief as the door snapped shut behind him.
"Don't worry, Rose. I have faith in your brother." Abraham told her, reassuringly.
Their faith in Steve wasn't misplaced. Over the next few days, the recruits were put through training course after training course, and while it was clear that Steve was struggling, he still managed to keep up with the other men much to Colonel Phillip's surprise. Rose and Peggy were currently sitting in the jeep, watching the men run along beside them. They were being tested on their endurance and the women were making their own notes on their clipboards as they observed them. Rose bounced around in back of the vehicle, while Peggy sat in front, as they were driven down the bumpy dirt road, and Rose couldn't help but feel bad for the exhausted men as they ran the seven-mile course. She was supposed to be making observations on all the men, but truthfully, she was watching Steve more than the others. She eyed him as he huffed along slightly behind the others, watching to make sure he wasn't set off into an asthma attack from all the laborious breathing.
They came to a stop at the flagpole which marked the halfway point and Rose watched as the drill sergeant corralled the men around the corner, yelling at them to go faster. "Squad halt!" he yelled out as the group of exhausted men came to a stop in front of the flag pole. "That flag means we're only at the half-way point!" he called out, pointing up at the flag. "The first man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter and Nurse Rogers! Move! Move!" he hollered, as the men all took off running to the staff, pushing against each other as they clung to the pole.
Rose watched amused as the men took turns trying to pull themselves up the pole to no avail, each one getting no further than a quarter of the way up before sliding back down to the bottom. "No body has gotten that flag in seventeen years!" the drill sergeant told them as they all fought to get up the metal. "Now fall back into line! Let's go! Get back into formation!" he ordered as they men gave up their attempts and ran back to the road. Rose watched as Steve strode up to the flag pole, panting heavily. "Rogers, I said fall back into line!" he was told as he looked up and down the pole for a moment. He then reached down to the base and pulled on the pin at the bottom, which held the pole in place. The pin slide out and the pole fell forward, landing on the ground with a loud bang.
A smile pulled up the corners of Rose's mouth as she watched Steve walk forward and undo the flag from the staff. She looked back over her shoulder and caught Peggy's eyes, the women sharing a look of amusement as they watched Steve out-smart the others. Steve trudged up to the instructor with flag in hand, passing it over to him as he muttered a thank you. Rose scooted over in the back of the Jeep, giving him room to sit next to her. She looked over at him with a smirk as he planted himself down with a huff. He smirked back at her as the Jeep lurched back into motion and she rolled her eyes at him. "You're such a smart ass." She told him with a playful nudge against his shoulder.
When they made it back to the camp, Peggy told Steve he could take a much-deserved rest while they waited for the others to rejoin them. Rose gathered her notes and hopped out of the Jeep, brushing her skirt back down into place as she did. "Good job, Steve." She told him, with a pat on his upper arm as she passed him and made her way to report back to Phillips and Abraham.
She found them not too long after and broke down her report on how the men performed. Once she finished going over everyone's scores they made their way back out to the group of men who were now finishing up their training for the day with a series of exercises under the instruction of Peggy. The three of them walked up to the men doing pushups, watching them struggle with exhaustion.
"You're not really thinking of picking Rogers, are you?" Phillips asked Abraham, looking over at the small man.
"I'm more than just thinking about it." Abraham responded. "He's the clear choice."
"When you brought a ninety-pound, asthmatic onto my Army base, I let it slide. I thought, 'what the hell, maybe he'd be useful to you'. Like a gerbil. I never thought you'd pick him." Phillips said as they marched closer.
"That gerbil has worked harder than any other man here." Rose said, her spine stiffening with the insult made to her brother.
Phillips looked back at her as they came to a stop near the group of men who were now standing back up and moving onto jumping jacks. He let out a sigh. "You stick a needle in that kid's arm and it's going to go right through him. Look at him." He said, throwing an arm out towards Steve who looked downright miserable as he jumped up and down. "He's making me cry."
"I'm looking for qualities beyond the physical." Abraham said, leaning a hand against the truck they had come to a stop next to.
"You know how long it took me to set up this project?" Phillips asked them. "All the groveling I've had to do?"
"Yes, we are well aware of the efforts you've made." Abraham told him.
"Then throw me a bone here. Hodge passed every test we threw at him." Phillips said, mentioning the candidate he had his eye on from the beginning. "He's big, he's fast and he obeys orders." Phillips rationed.
"Hodge is a bully." Rose bit out, not having liked the man since she walked in on him messing with Steve in the bunks, holding his drawing pad out of his reach as he teased him about it.
"You don't win wars with niceness, little girl." He condescended. "You win them with guts."
Rose's jaw clenched, the anger in her bubbling up at his insistence to insult both her and her brother. Her eyes landed on the tuck Abraham was leaning against and an idea popped into her head. "These are just empty shells, right?" she asked Phillips, motioning towards the crates of hollowed grenades and other ammunition yet to be filled.
"Yeah…" he replied, giving her a perplexed look.
"You want guts?" she asked, reaching into one of the wooden boxes and pulled out one of the harmless grenades, pulling out the pin before tossing it out in front of the recruits. "Grenade!" she hollered, causing the men to take off running in different directions, everyone hitting the ground in fear. All except Steve, who ran towards the weapon, throwing his body around it, in an attempt to protect the others.
"Get away!" he yelled out, his small body curled around the harmless weapon, ushering everyone away with a swing of his arm.
"There's your guts." Rose said, tossing a smirk back over her shoulder to a stunned Phillips.
Everyone slowly began looking over at the scene in confusion as the seconds ticked by and no explosion ensued. Steve began to unfurl his body from the grenade, looking around in confusion. "Was this a test?" he asked, looking up at Rose and the others. Rose turned back around to give the Colonel a pointed look.
Phillips looked from her, to Steve and then to Abraham, realizing that he had been proven wrong about the small man. "He's still skinny." He insisted, before brushing past them and walking away, upset.
Rose and Abraham shared a smile before she turned back around and walked over to Steve, reaching out her hand to help him up. He grabbed hold of her hand and she pulled him to his feet, bringing a hand down on his shoulder. "Good job, brother. Your suicidal tendencies never fail to amaze." She told him with a smirk.
"Did I pass the test?" he asked her, still trying to figure out what happened.
"With flying colors." She said, beaming over at him in happiness.
Later that night, Rose made her way to the barracks, in hopes that Steve would still be up so she could talk to him. Tomorrow they would move forward with Project Rebirth and Steve would officially become the first person to receive the serum. She walked through the doorway to the mostly empty sleeping quarters (the other recruits having been sent on their ways) and found Abraham sitting across from Steve, both of the men holding up a glass of what she assumed was liquor.
"I would refrain from drinking that." Rose called as she walked into the room, causing the two men to turn and look at her.
"AH! Yes!" Abraham exclaimed, realizing what he was doing. "You have a procedure tomorrow, what was I thinking? No liquids!"
Rose came to a stop beside them, reaching out to pull the glass out of Steve's grip before the liquid could pass through his lips. "That's alright, we'll drink after." Steve said with a laugh.
"After?" Rose scoffed. "We don't have a procedure tomorrow." She said, motioning between herself and Abraham before tipping her head back and letting the burning liquid run down her throat. Abraham followed suit, drinking down his glass before letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Well, I'll give you two a moment, shall I." Abraham said, standing up and taking the cup from Rose. "I'll see you bright and early." He told Rose before making his way out of the building.
Rose watched him leave before dropping herself down on the bed Abraham had just vacated. "You nervous?" she asked Steve.
"A little." He admitted, rubbing his hands up and down his legs.
"Me too." Rose told him earnestly.
"Listen Rose, the only reason I'm even here is because of you. Abraham told me that it was your faith in me that fueled his decision to give me a chance. None of this would have happened without you and I….I just wanted to say thank you." Steve told her in deep appreciation.
"No, Steve." She said with a shake of her head. "You're here because of you. I may have convinced Abraham to meet with you, but that's it. You've made it this far based on your own merit. You're here because if anyone deserves to have the power that comes with this serum….it's you."
"Still…" Steve said, touched by her words. "You're a good sister and I just want you to know how much you mean to me. We may not share the same blood, but I've never doubted your love for me….and I hope you never doubt mine."
Rose could feel the tears shining in her eyes and reached forward, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Of course I've never doubted your love Steve….we're family."