Chapter Title: A Week of New Beginnings
Author: Sam
Story: The Omega Trials: 18 of ?
Series: The Omega Rights (part two)
Note:
Setting: AU: June 15 - 22, 1943; Camp Lehigh, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
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Translations:
*Jerks as used by Agent Carter means a form of Jumping Jacks.
xxx
Setting: AU: Tuesday, June 15, 1943: Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, United States of America
Steve stepped out of his private car, looking around him with a mixed look of awe and determination. He still couldn't believe this happened, that he had been accepted into the Army. Sure, he'd tried to enlist five times, but he never thought he would ever succeed. The small blond tried not to think about his husband; Bucky had no idea where he was. Steve had convinced Winifred to help forward their letters back and forth. His mother-in-law hadn't been happy to hear that the small man lied to her son, but had, in the end, understood Steve's reasoning behind not telling Bucky the truth.
The activity on the base was every bit as diverse and quick paced as in the city. Different groups ran or marched on their combined tasks while those who seemed to be moving slow turned out to be painting a circle of rocks around a pole topped by the American flag. A small knot of men in civilian clothing, like Steve's, stood blinking around in discomfort and confusion. Finally, a young soldier, a tall, thin, and lanky blond, stopped before the group and barked out "New recruits?"
A tall, good looking man with dark blond styled hair and an athletic build smirked. "Yes, sir. Reporting for the war."
The soldier rolled his eyes and glanced over at Steve. "Hey, are you a mascot or a recruit, kid?" The tag on the man's uniform read 'Calvin, P.'
"Recruit, sir!" Steve said, back straightening as he tried not to let the soldier know how much the comment had irritated him.
"First off, I'm not a sir. Officers are sir. They went to college. I'm enlisted. So, don't sir me." The man crossed his arms over his chest. "Second, I'm also a recruit, but I've been here for two months waiting for you yahoos to arrive," he turned his glare on the athletic blond rather than Steve. "So, I deserve respect for being in this man's Army for two months more than you. Seniority has its perks." Their fellow recruit waved towards a building next to them marked 'Processing.' "Let's go." He began walking up the small flight of steps.
Steve followed his fellow recruits as they all walked towards the building. The small blond hated the fact that the short flight of steps actually winded him. It wasn't like at home, where Bucky would stop and let him catch his breath if the smaller man showed any signs of discomfort.
Once the others passed through the door, the senior recruit held out a hand, stopping Steve before he could enter. Frowning at the small man, he asked softly, for Steve's ears only, "you need the infirmary?"
Shaking his head softly, Steve gave the other man a small smile, "No . . . I'm alright. Thank you, though."
Nodding, he continued to whisper, "you got a breathing problem? It's gonna be hard on you. We have to exercise hard every day."
Looking up at the senior recruit, Steve's face hardened and his eyes shone with determination, "I'll be fine. I can keep up."
"Name's Calvin. Peter Calvin. And if you start having troubles you can always try breathing into your shirt or a bag. It helps sometimes for breathing problems. My brother's asthmatic." The senior recruit whirled and walked into the room, glaring at the gossiping recruits who'd already entered. "Alright, quiet down now! Everyone grab a duffle bag and form a line. You'll need to tell the clerks what your sizes are. Just walk down the counter and they'll give you your gear. No chatting. Only important questions, recruits." He glared again. "We don't have all day so keep it moving." He didn't look at the end of the group where Steve stood.
Once it was Steve's turn to give the clerk his sizes, the blond frowned slightly when the clerk told him that they didn't have such a small size. The man behind the counter slapped down a stack of shirts while the man next to him put down a stack of trousers. They both glared at Steve as if it were his fault they had to give him clothing which would be too big and need tailoring.
Flushing a deep shade of red, Steve bowed his head and grabbed the clothes. Turning he walked towards where all the other new recruits were standing.
Peter Calvin nodded as Steve stepped up. "Tonight you'll mark the gear so everyone knows which things belong to whom. Next we go through this hall and the tailors will make marks on your clothing, so you need to get into one complete uniform right now. They'll adjust all your clothes based on the marks made on the first one."
The day continued: measuring, fitting, gathering equipment, shipping stuff back home that was not permitted, and other various tasks. Finally, they stopped for lunch. As the taller, broader men formed a line in the mess hall next to the food service, Calvin stepped behind Steve rather than in front of him. "How'd you get in with a breathing problem?" he asked softly.
Steve looked at the taller man over his shoulder and shrugged, "Guess they need people real bad," the blond lied, not about to tell the lanky man about the conversation he'd had with Doctor Erksine.
Senior Recruit Calvin nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, we're going to be gathering after chow to separate into our units for basics. Tell me, do you know what the words 'Alpha Gamma Beta' mean?"
Stiffening, Steve looked at Calvin with slightly narrowed eyes, trying to determine what the Senior Recruit was trying to get at. After a few long moments Steve shrugged again, "A little . . . I guess . . . why do you ask?"
"Well, I'll bet anything that when you get asked after chow, the guys here will answer one of three ways. I just wanted to know which way you were gonna answer." He nudged Steve a bit to move him down the line and the man behind the counter plopped food on Steve's tray. "Everyone's gonna be given a slip of paper to put their name and their answer on. The way they answer dictates which unit they go to, actually." Peter Calvin watched Steve intently.
Not trusting himself to look at the other man, Steve stared intently at the slop of food on his tray. He didn't know if Calvin told the truth; he couldn't think of a reason why the he would lie, but the small man couldn't be too trusting.
Nodding, apparently accepting that the smaller recruit wouldn't answer him, the senior recruit turned to walk to their lunch table. "Fifteen minutes from the time you sit, Rogers," he called out, gesturing to the open chair beside him.
Sitting down, Steve immediately began to eat the food on his tray. The slop didn't taste very good, but the blond ate most of it anyway; his Momma had always told him to finish whatever he had on his plate.
By the time an older man, grizzled and dressed in military uniform passed by, Senior Recruit Calvin had finished. Calvin suddenly called out "attention, recruits! Stand up, arms to your sides!" All down the table other men scrambled to their feet, wary and watchful.
Steve rushed to as he'd been told, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he sprung to his feet. The small man watched the older man, keeping his arms straight, Steve attempted to stand taller; not wanting to look any smaller than he already did to the, obviously, highly decorated officer.
The officer's eyes glanced over Steve then seemed to backtrack and looked over the small man again. He let out the slightest of smiles then walked on, calling out "carry on, Recruit Calvin." The man strode off and joined a group of officers, the flash of civilian attire and even a skirt among them as they headed out the door.
Peter Calvin nodded. "Everyone form two lines and turn your tray back into the staff. Lunch is over. No bring food with you, either," he barked out as one lanky redhead tried to grab his unfinished roll.
Ending up towards the back of one of the lines again, Steve followed his fellow recruits as they discarded their trays and walked out of the room after Senior Recruit Calvin.
Once outside, the senior recruit halted everyone. "Might as well learn to march like soldiers, men. I want you to form six lines across, the tallest in the front and to the left. The smallest in the back to the right." He watched, arms down at his sides as a small amount of chaos ensued. At least Steve would have no trouble telling where he would be standing . . . he was shorter than the others by a good half foot. Finally, the mass of recruits had themselves reasonably organized.
Nodding, recruit Calvin looked over the group. "I'm not going into teaching you yahoos much, since I won't be with all of you anyway. I only get the best of the best. So, we're going to walk down to the grey building straight ahead and go inside. You will each find a desk and sit down. Put your duffle bag next to you on the right. Await further instructions." Crossing his arms, Peter watched to see what the men would do; most broke formation and walked at their own paces. He rolled his eyes.
Steve looked around and tried to stay in what little formation had managed to stay intact. He noticed that Calvin looked quite irritated, and the small blond waited for the Senior Recruit to start yelling at the recruits who had broken away from the rest of the group.
After a moment, Peter Calvin fell into step beside Steve, but not in the smaller formation. He looked at Steve. "Yu sure no one told you what those words meant?" he asked softly, but before Steve could form an answer they had arrived at the grey building. The grizzled man and his group had watched the entire procession, and the officer looked extremely unhappy at the display of non-unity from the majority of the men.
"Inside, recruits!" Peter barked, not reminding anyone of the rest of his instructions.
Remembering what Calvin had said before, Steve quickly found an open desk and sat down, setting his duffle bag on the right side of the wooden surface. He waited to be told what to next.
Once everyone sat down, recruit Calvin passed out blank paper to each person, along with a pen. Once everyone had writing equipment, the lanky blond barked out "Now, I want your full name on the top of that sheet, printed legibly." As the men bent to write their names on their paper, the senior recruit nodded. He waited until the last man looked up before continuing, "I will state a phrase. You are to list any and all meanings of that phrase on your sheet of paper. Now, the phrase is 'Alpha-Gamma-Beta'."
Steve's eyes widened slightly as he realized Calvin had been telling the truth, but what he didn't understand was why it would matter what people knew about the phrase 'Alpha-Gamma-Beta.' Erskine had mentioned something about needing Gamma's for his research but that didn't explain why people needed to know what the words meant.
The small blond wrote down the three meanings that first came into his head: 'Letters of the Greek alphabet, Terms for Fraternities or Sororities, and Fertility Nature terms.'
Finally, as each man looked up, the senior recruit came by and collected each paper, carefully stepping over the duffle bags. When he had all the paper, he called out "Now, that was fun, wasn't it? Stretching your brains? You will find that the military is more than a group of dumb gorillas with guns shooting at moving targets. We use our brains as much if not more than our bodies. Thinking, observing, and processing are every bit important weapons and will make the difference between killing a friend or a foe or yourselves. Thus, I will read off a name and a color. The room next door is set up into three color zones. You will take your duffel and go to the assigned color and await your commanding officer. Am I understood?"
After receiving affirmatives, some confused, some even half-hearted, the senior recruit read off each page in turn, but only the name and a color 'Red,' 'White,' or 'Blue.' When he got to 'Hodge, Gilmore,' Peter Calvin called out 'White.' The impressively built blond with styled hair got up with a cocky grin, hefted his heavy gear bag, and headed not the next room. The next name Calvin read was 'Rogers, Steven Grant.' The senior recruit looked up and called 'White.'
Quickly, Steve stood up and, with a little difficulty, picked up his duffle bag and walked over to the 'white' area. The small blond looked up at Hodge and couldn't help but smile just a little. Hodge was built like a tank, and Steve must've done something right to be put in the same group as him. That or, Hodge had done something wrong to be grouped in with a small man like Steve. The smaller man preferred to think of it as the first option.
Finally, all the men had walked into the room and arranged themselves. Senior Recruit Calvin walked in and stopped in the 'white' section of the room, which housed only about fifteen men compared to about forty in each of the other two parts. "Okay, White Unit, with me. The other two units, you stand tight and your commanding officers will arrive."
The tall, thin blond turned and walked from the room. Hodge glared at the other man's back but hefted his bag and began following.
Steve scowled at the rude behavior shown by the taller man, Calvin deserved respect as the Senior Recruit. However, the small man held his tongue, he didn't think that getting into a fist fight with another recruit on his first day would be a good idea.
As they passed a small side building, Calvin gestured one handed. "You are to go in there, pick your bunk, and put your duffel on the bunk. Then you are to gather back out here so we can go meet up with our commanding office. We have two: Agent Carter and Colonel Philips" He paused and looked over the other recruits. "Yes, the Philips from the Great War . . . so I predict you'll want to be on your best behavior. Now, get inside."
Hurrying inside the small building, Steve was surprised to see individual beds, not the stacked bunks like Bucky had mentioned in his letter. Steve quickly found a bunk in the middle of the room and hefted the bag onto the mattress. The blond then turned and walked back outside to meet back up with Calvin.
Recruit Calvin nodded once to Steve, the first recruit back outside. He still had the papers in his hands. "I guess you answered it right, huh?" He said softly, almost sounding amused. "Wish you had trusted me with the info that you know about the project, but I can see how you're following orders not to talk about it, so, no harm done."
"Thanks?" Steve said, unsure of how to respond. He was glad that Calvin wasn't mad at him; he actually liked the other lanky blond.
Finally, everyone else had come outside and Calvin barked, "This way, recruits, and try to look like a unit not a parade." He began walking in a rolling gate, which turned out to be a march but without others beside him it just looked like a determined stride. Near enough for Steve to hear, but as if talking to himself, the other recruit said "eighteen inch steps. Hands swing naturally but not too high."
The group arrived to a small exercise yard with a few trucks parked nearby. Calvin called out, "line up. Size doesn't matter this moment. Just stand in a line and look straight ahead."
Thankful that, for once, he wouldn't be obviously signaled out for his size, Steve stepped up to the line. The blond straightened his spine and held his head high as he waited for Agent Carter and Colonel Philips to arrive.
After a moment, a woman of about five feet seven inches strode over, dressed in khaki uniform skirt and blouse. As she walked past the group, Calvin began handing out clipboards, though Steve hadn't seen where the senior recruit had acquired them. As she introduced herself as Agent Carter, Hodge decided to become a total jerk smart ass, and Miss Carter took him to the ground in one solid punch. The grizzled officer from lunch strode up and approved, yelling at Hodge to get out of the dirt. Doctor Erskine strode over to watch the proceedings. Recruit Calvin joined the line at the head, but also holding a clipboard and looking straight ahead like any of the other recruits.
After everyone received their clipboard, with a series of forms on it and a pen tied to it, Carter turned to look at everyone. "You are in this group because you pre-qualified for Project Rebirth. This is the special program by the military to take normal soldiers and make them the best available to send into the field. Not everyone will make it through the program, but many of you will. Each of you were screened at either recruiting stations or in prior units and sent here. Each of you was personally selected from the selection offered." She turned a glare on Hodge. "Believe me when I say that for each of you who fail out of this program, there are two more in reserve to come replace you."
"Today we're going to go easy on you. You will fill out your forms, meet with medical for last minute screenings and immunizations, and you will learn to stand, march, and form up like soldiers. Tomorrow, we begin the real work." She stopped her slow pacing to stand in front of Steve, though she seemed to be looking anywhere but at him.
Steve looked up at Agent Carter with eyes wide with awe. The brunet seemed so confident, and the blond would be lying if he didn't say that was a pretty dame. Steve couldn't help but think of Bucky when he looked at Agent Carter, her whole demeanor reminded him of his husband, and that thought made him miss Bucky even more.
The afternoon went quickly as Agent Carter taught the men to stand, salute, form up, and march. It turned out Calvin had been repeating the instructions for marching when he's lead the group to that small field. After they learned the basics, including how to make their beds and stow their gear properly, the agent called out that they were due at medical. She led them off and stopped them fairly quickly at a small building off to the side of the main compound, obviously they weren't being kept with the main recruits. "Calvin, Rogers, you're to wait out here. You've already completed your full physicals. You may sit while you wait for your slower comrades."
Steve sat down in one of the chairs, thankful for the small break from activity. His chest heaved and he tried to take deep breaths in order to calm his breathing down.
Recruit Calvin reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a small paper bag. He passed it over to Steve. "They're getting prostate and semen exams in there," he mentioned quietly.
Giving the other man a grateful smile, Steve took the bag and took several deep breaths into it. After getting his breathing under control, the blond said quietly, "Thank you for being nice to me . . . so far you are the only person here to not look at me like I am either about to die or stupid for simply being here."
With a nod, stretching his long legs out in front of him and letting himself slouch in the hard chair, Peter smiled softly. "Well, Carter and Philips are normal Army and will treat you right if you do you best. And Doctor Erskine's pretty nice when you get to know him. Don't let his accent bother you. He escaped Germany, so he's a refugee here." He turned to look at Steve. "Those guys in there were selected by Philips for this project, but you must have been selected by Erskine if you don't need to go get the exams right now."
"Were you selected by Erskine?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, I was. Back in April, actually. I was at Fort McCoy and four of us were brought in for further testing. I was the only one who met his requirements." Calvin looked at Steve. "I'm a Gamma, same as you?"
"Fort McCoy - - you might've met my . . . my friend." Steve quickly caught himself, "Bucky . . . Bucky Barnes. He was trained at Fort McCoy."
Thinking a bit, Calvin shook his head. "I met a James Barnes. He was made Recruit Sergeant. But I was taken from the group and shipped here the first day . . . been here ever since doing odd jobs for the Doctor and Agent while I waited for more recruits to join us. Finally, Philips got frustrated and told Erskine that as soon as he found a second Gamma, Philips would chose the rest of the unit himself."
"So we're the only Gamma's?" Steve mused.
"The only ones so far. It's a rare fertility nature, actually. Only about half a million postulated to exist in the entire world, actually. And Doctor Erskine wants Gammas for Project Rebirth."
Nodding, remembering Erskine telling him as much when he'd been accepted into the Army, Steve let Calvin continue.
"What the doctor is supposed to be doing is creating a way to make a soldier the best possible physical specimen available, immune to disease, fast healing, and highly fast and strong. What he wants to do is find a way to cure present conditions while he's at it. He wasn't able to convince the military to let him work with injured or ill men, so he suggested Gammas. If he could heal someone injured in the womb and born infertile, he could heal anything, he figured. So, the government allowed him to continue. It's why he wants Gammas . . . to prove his serum can heal anything. With your breathing problem, if you make the final cut, Doctor Erskine might just get the ill man he wanted all alone. Mind being a guinea pig, Rogers?" Calvin leaned forward as he spoke, trying to keep their conversation low, though it was obvious the female Agent could hear every word.
Steve snorted, "I'll be a guinea pig if it could possibly mean I won't get Pneumonia every winter." The blond's mouth twisted up at the corners in a small smile, "I just wanna do what's right . . . and if the only way to do that is be a guinea pig, then," Steve shrugged, "I'll be the guinea pig."
Looking thoughtful, Calvin asked very softly, "ever heard the term 'uterine valve'?"
Shaking his head, Steve answered back in a whisper, "Nope . . . can't say that I have. Why do you ask?"
Stretching his back until several vertebrae let out small popping noises, Calvin whispered, "because I have one, apparently. And I'm hoping the serum might cure me of that. I've been told that if I wasn't sterile, I could get pregnant . . . if I was queer . . . and then I'd die from it." He looked at Steve and sighed. "But with me, the problem's hidden. So, I'm lucky there. I just don't like to shower in public, so that's gonna be something to get used to now that the unit's formed up."
"If you need any help or anything . . . I'll do my best to try and make sure you don't get too uncomfortable in the shower or nothin'." Steve said, looking Calvin in the eyes so that the other Gamma knew he was genuine.
Smiling again, Calvin nodded. "Thanks. I gotta get over my shyness, but I really appreciate it. Guess I'm too used to having people call me "skinny" or "giant" or whatever." He sighed.
Their conversation got cut off by the men coming back out of the medical area, all of them looking incredibly shell-shocked from having rectal exams and semen tests. Agent Carter called them all to order and had them form up into lines of three. Then she told them they were to get dinner then go to the barracks and spend the night stenciling their gear.
When the group got to the mess hall, they were once again segregated from the main units, either of recruits or already forming fighting units. Again, they were only given fifteen minutes, but this time Agent Carter sat on Steve's other side. She began cutting her food into small bite sized pieces.
Steve looked over at Agent Carter with a look of mild shock. He hadn't expected her to sit with the recruits; he would've thought she'd sit with the other officers.
She glanced at him and tilted her head ever so slightly, her dark curls swishing over her shoulder. "Yes?"
Quickly averting his gaze to his food, Steve felt a blush creep up the back of his neck into the tips of his ears. "Sorry, Ma'am. Didn't mean to stare . . . I uh . . . I just thought . . ."
"Not expecting a woman to be able to handle herself in the military?" she asked casually, though her voice held an undercurrent of frustration.
"No, Ma'am!" Steve stated quickly, "I just . . . uh . . . I thought that you'd sit with the other officers."
A small smile broke from her and she nodded a bit. "I would but they're posturing again. I may be an Alpha, but you put together a group of us, and they play one-up." She takes a bite of her breaded meat, what might be chicken, could be pork. "You're one of the Gammas, correct?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Steve nodded, looking back up at Agent Carter. "Erskine picked me."
She scooped up something that looked like mashed potato in gravy and ate that, swallowing quickly before speaking. "The majority of your unit are full Alphas, but there are perhaps three Betas." She looked at Steve for a moment. "Do you ever wonder what you would be if you hadn't been injured in the womb?"
Sighing as he set down his fork, Steve shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know . . . if I hadn't . . . well, I wouldn't be who I am today," 'Probably never would've met Bucky,' Steve thought to himself.
"And if you are picked? You'll be changed if this works. Then who would you be?" she asked before gesturing to his fork. "You've only got ten minutes to finish eating, Rogers. I suggest you get to it."
"I'd just be a guy from Brooklyn." Steve stated; he picked up his fork again and began to quickly eat the food in front of him.
She nodded and looked approving. "Good. Wouldn't want you to change, Rogers. You seem a decent fellow." With that, she stood, apparently done already, and walked over to the disposal area with her empty tray.
Calvin leaned over on his other side and smiled softly. "I think she likes our calming influence, being Gammas. They say that scent is the biggest draw or deterrent, and Alpha's can be overly stimulating when they get their testosterone or whatever flowing." He looked at Steve. "Miss Carter tends to eat with me, but I guess now you're included in the fold, too." He didn't seem bothered by sharing the pretty Brit's attentions.
"Definitely not bad company to keep." Steve smiled before he took another bite.
"I think she'll fold you under her wing, too. Not mother hen or anything, but she'll be sitting by us for meals and stuff. Some Alphas like to posture and beat their chests, like Hodge over there. Others like to protect and guide, like Miss Carter. Here in this unit, you're gonna learn a whole new way of thinking about your fellow human beings, Rogers." He grinned and scraped up the last of his potato.
Taking another bite of the questionable meat, Steve chewed and swallowed before replying, "I don't know about that, but I am glad that I've met a few more people that I can trust."
xxx
Setting: AU: Sunday, June 20, 1943: Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, United States of America
After that first easy night, things got much worse. They exercised rigorously every morning and afternoon: long runs, obstacle courses, and other calisthenics. At every turn, it seemed Steve got in trouble, got tangled or knocked down, or even got singled out by Hodge for abuse. The entire time both Philips and Cater treated him like each of the other men. Their Sergeant, though, seemed pleased to yell at Steve and point out every fault, while Agent Carter, as predicted, often sat with the pair of Gammas at mealtime talking quietly about training, and nothing else.
Hodge was at the lead of the pack, obviously an Alpha, but Steve's new vocabulary: strong, fast, hard, and a fighter. Most of the men chosen by the colonel turned out to be Alphas, in fact, with a handful of fiercely leaning Betas thrown in. Calvin had been right that Steve was learning to look at his fellows in a whole new light. Now he was seeing people by their Nature rather than just by male, female, healthy, unhealthy.
Then came the sixth day of training, while they were doing pushups under Carter's watchful eye. Calvin seemed well able to do the calisthenics, though he often kept an eye on the smaller blond beside him. This day, however, Peter Calvin seemed to be struggling, favoring his right hand and arm.
Steve, however, struggled to lift his torso off the ground, his arms shaking beneath him. The small blond offered a worried glance to his fellow Gamma; he didn't know where the other man had hurt his right but he made a mental note to ask Calvin about it when they retired to their bunks.
Agent Carter strode by slowly, a frown on her beautiful face as she eyed both of the men struggling to keep up. She called out "Up, recruits. Jerks!"
With a large huff, Steve got to his feet and began to perform the jumping jacks; his chest burned as his lungs struggled to take in a decent amount of air.
Calvin seemed relieved at the change and rolled to his feet, wincing as he began to jump up and fling his arms up and out. Carter continued to frown as she turned slowly on her heel, eyeing the pair. Over by one of the trucks Colonel Philips and Doctor Erskine seemed to argue about something.
Suddenly, Philips screamed out "grenade!" and a small, dark explosive bounced into the center of the group of men. The recruits scattered, Calvin diving behind a nearby truck in an impressive display of speed. Carter ran straight for the grenade.
Not allowing himself to think, Steve dived onto the ground and curled his body around the small explosive, trying to save the men in his unit. "Get away!" The blond called out, "get back!"
Carter took another step towards Steve, looking worried and almost uncertain.
After a few moments nothing happened and Steve looked up, perplexed. "Is this a test?" The blond asked as he uncurled his body.
Carter smiled at Steve, her eyes lighting in something akin to pride, and behind her near the truck, Erskine smiled as well. Philips growled something low to the apparently amused doctor. Hodge peeked out from behind a truck, as did Calvin, who looked more impressed than anything.
Striding the rest of the way to the smaller man, Carter offered a hand down to him. "Congratulations, recruit, you died for the unit. You should be proud." Her words held a bare trace of humor underneath her clipped British accent.
Steve took the offered hand and let Agent Carter help haul him to his feet. Looking around, confusion still in his eyes, the small blond turned his gaze back to the brunet. "Thank you, Ma'am," Steve said. The tiny man was still confused, had the grenade been a test?
With a soft tone, Carter said, "you have done something the rest of your unit did not . . . and something that impressed even the Colonel." Loudly, turning to the hesitantly emerging group, she called "Lunch. Form up and get your chow!" She strolled over to the truck Calvin had hidden behind and pulled herself up. "Rogers, help me give out the meals."
Dusting off the rest of the dirt from his uniform, Steve hurried over to meet up with Carter.
She began to hand him small cardboard box lunches, meaning the group would be eating cold sandwiches rather than hot food. As she passed the first one off to Steve, she nodded down to him. "After we eat, Colonel Philips will tell the unit which man is the lead recruit and which is the second choice. Are you ready, Rogers?"
Eyes snapping up to meet with Agent Carter's, Steve swallowed and nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."
Agent Carter had been wrong. Colonel Philips, accompanied by Doctor Erskine, didn't wait until after the meal. He strode over as soon as every man had a box lunch and barked out. "After you're done eating, you are to pack up your gear and move to the other side of the base. You have half an hour after chow." Sending a frown down to Rogers near his feet, he growled out "Not you, Rogers. You stay in the barracks. Calvin, you go with the doctor."
Steve smiled at the lanky blond, thinking that Calvin had been chosen for the lead man for Project Rebirth. He was happy for the other recruit, hopefully Doctor Erskine would be able to heal his uterine valve, like Calvin had mention on the first day of boot camp.
The fifteen minute meal rushed by with no one speaking. Hodge frowned over at the pair of Gammas but, even with his smartass attitude, he had proven quite able to follow orders. The man didn't argue the apparent choice of the two weakest men in the small unit. Rather, he stood.. "Okay, men, you heard the Colonel. Let's clear out and get resettled." Hodge led the other Alphas and Betas off to evacuate the small barracks. Peter Calvin rose and disposed of his trash then followed Doctor Erskine to their small isolation medical area . . . it hadn't taken long for Steve to discover that the Project Rebirth candidates had been held in the isolation area of the compound.
Carter disposed of her trash and turned to Steve. "How do you feel, Rogers?"
"Feel, Ma'am?" Steve looked up at Agent Carter with a small smile, "I feel good. Senior Recruit Calvin deserves the honor of being the lead for Project Rebirth. He's a good man."
Lifting one perfectly manicured eyebrow, the woman looked the smaller man over. "Does that mean you're going to refuse your spot?"
"What?" Steve asked, eyebrows furrowing.
Laughing very softly, Carter replied. "You made the lead selection, Steve." It had been the first time she'd used his given name. "The grenade today was the final test. Philips finally stopped arguing with Doctor Erskine's choice and conceded you are what the Project needs."
"I'm . . . I'm the lead?" Steve let the information sink in.
Nodding slowly as she continued to smile, Carter said "yes. You are the one they'll be using tomorrow, barring your failing this afternoon's final physical." She tilted her head slightly, dark curls brushing her shoulder. "But you know you're not allowed to tell anyone? This is a top secret experiment . . . and it's never been tested in the States before."
Swallowing hard, Steve nodded carefully, immediately thinking of Bucky. He wouldn't be able to tell his own husband anything; the small blond felt a twinge of guilt grip his heart. "Yes, of course, Agent Carter."
Apparently the woman noticed his emotional response because she gestured towards the nearby jeep she often drove. "Why don't we go talk, Steve. I think I can answer some of your concerns before tomorrow, if you have any."
"Yeah . . . okay." Steve nodded and let Agent Carter lead him to the jeep.
Once they had settled and she drove them out some distance, Carter parked the jeep next to the halfway flag on the running course. She turned and offered a small, worried frown to the smaller man. "Okay, now's the time to express your doubts, because tomorrow you'll be surrounded by government, reporters, and scientists."
"I . . . I don't have doubts, Ma'am." Steve said quickly, not wanting to ruin his chances of being accepted into Project Rebirth.
She rolled her eyes. "I'd have doubts." She shook her head. "I'd still do it, if I signed up and was chosen, but I'd have concerns . . . worries . . . even fears, Steve. Especially when told I can't even tell my family."
Steve sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, "It's just that . . . I worried about my . . . friend. He was shipped off the same day I arrived here . . . he's . . . he's like the only family I have left. He doesn't even know I'm here."
"You're boyfriend?" she asked matter-of-factly, as if it weren't a punishable by death offense.
"What?" Steve exclaimed, eyes wide in fear; he thought he'd been careful, "No! I ain't no queer, Agent Carter." Not only could they kill Steve if the government found out, but they could also hurt Bucky.
She nodded slowly. "I didn't say you are homosexual, Steve. I asked if he is your boyfriend?"
"Ain't that the same thing?" Steve asked, his tone clipped and guarded.
"So, he is," she said, as if his question answered as much since he hadn't protested a second time.
Steve looked up at Agent Carter, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Snapping his jaws shut, he looked down at his lap and felt his heart pound heavily in his chest. "Please . . . you can't tell no one . . . they'd hurt him." His voice was quiet, almost subdued.
"Doctor Erskine thought as much when he saw you interact in Manhattan," she added softly. "It was the last piece of information he said he needed." She turned in the uncomfortable seat and put a hand on Steve's. "I am certainly not going to turn you in, Steve. I'm not here to trap you into a confession and get you thrown in the stockade. I drove you out here to ease your fears. Someday we hope not only to heal birth defects in the womb, but help people understand that all kinds of Natures are needed in the world. And that included varied sexual preferences, as well."
The small blond looked back up at the brunet, eyes searching for any signs that she may be lying.
Finally, softly, to prove her sincerity, Carter murmured, "I understand how you feel about him, Steve. I have a girlfriend back home." She waited to see his reaction.
"What?" Steve gasped, shocked by the confession, "Really?"
With a nod, she said, "it appears to be quite standard, in fact. Aside from sexual desires, Alphas tend to become . . . mates, if you will . . . with Betas or Omegas. Sometimes, very rarely, will Alphas mate with Alphas. I'm an Alpha. Lisette is a Beta." She watched him carefully.
Steve smiled softly and nodded, "I think Bucky would like you," he stated after a few moments of silence. "Maybe one day you guys can meet."
With a nod and a smile, Carter said "I believe I would like that. And perhaps you will be able to meet Lisette. She's a spitfire, all sass and attitude." With a sigh, Peggy Carter looked over the front windscreen of the jeep. "She reminds me of you in a way."
"How long has it been since you seen her?" Steve asked quietly.
"Six months," she promptly answered. "However, I never get to see her long enough. I've been involved with the Project for some years." glancing at Steve, she added, "I was the Agent they sent in to get Doctor Erskine out of Germany."
"Wow . . . that must've been . . . dangerous." Steve muttered, "But I'm glad you did it . . . Doctor Erskine is a really good man."
Sighing, she nodded. "I wish we had been in time to get out his partner, Doctor Keilmeyer. Sadly, our intelligence found that he was killed in the work camp." She gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"What!" Steve exclaimed, the air from his lungs left his body as if he'd been punched. He looked down at his lap and clenched his jaw, willing himself not to cry.
Wincing at his reaction, Peggy looked him over. "I am sorry, Steve. I know you were friends with Rolf Keilmeyer, were you not? We couldn't get him out in time." She moved her hand to his arm and squeezed slightly. "But it was his notes about you that led Abraham Erskine to try to find you. It wasn't easy. The records with your name and contact information had been destroyed, but we were able to piece the references together with the file in the warehouse. Howard Stark found the damaged crate, and it contained your surviving file, listed only by your patient number. Doctor Erskine was desperate to find you, insisting that you would be perfect for his research. He never thought someone with your health would attempt to join the military."
"Bucky didn't think I should've," Steve mumbled, eyes still downcast as he played with the hem of his shirt. The news that Doctor Keilmeyer had been killed hit Steve hard, he cared deeply about the man.
"It is a rather odd seeming practice, is it not? Taking the healthy men and women and leaving the young, old, or ill behind as the main population. One would think those in charge of war would leave a viable breeding population and use the outliers instead." Carter looked up at the flag Steve had managed to retrieve only days before . . . yet another test he'd passed which no one else had in the small unit. Taking a deep breath, she changed the subject.
"Now, tomorrow after the procedure, Doctor Erskine hopes you will be healed of your current medical conditions. However, that does not mean that you will never get sick again. He hopes his treatment will help you resist future illness and heal faster, but no one can eliminate all disease and illness. Does that bother you?" Carter turned her head to study the man beside her.
"No, Ma'am. Anything Doctor Erskine can do to help me would be great." Steve answered quietly.
"Peggy," Carter offered a small smile. "My name is Peggy. And if you survive this procedure, we should probably be working closely together at the front."
"Peggy," Steve repeated with a small smile and a nod.
"You can't tell your Bucky about what's going on. If you don't survive, you will be given a closed casket funeral and your next of kin will be told it was a training accident, is that clear?" She frowned softly.
"Yes, of course," Steve nodded solemnly. He didn't want to think of Bucky receiving a letter of his death, let alone him dying from a training accident.
Nodding, she said, "let us hope you survive." She drew a breath and put both hands on the wheel. "Now, if this works, you will have to be cleared medically for duty then others will be enhanced and healed like you. As more soldiers are enhanced, they will join us at the front." She smiled grimly, not looking at Steve. "You will be given a cover story to tell your family and friends, excluding the Project . . . to a degree. Colonel Philips is arranging the cover story as we speak . . . explaining how you suddenly are healthy and the like." She looked back at the small blond. "Any other concerns?"
'Great, more lies to tell Bucky,' Steve thought bitterly, but he shook his head and looked at Peggy. "No . . . thank you for this."
With a nod, she offered another smile. "Well, the barracks should be cleared by now. Why don't I return you to medical so you can get your final physical before tomorrow?" The pretty brunette started the car and pulled back onto the dirt path.
xxx
Continued in Chapter Nineteen: Part of the Show