𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍━︎━︎P. Carter ✓︎

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
CANDIDATES

EVELYN GLANCED UP WHEN A file was slapped on the table in front of her, though Steve didn't mean for it to land so aggressively. He almost winced at the slap of the paper hitting the table. Evelyn pushed aside the bills that she had been sorting through before looking up towards her brother with a raised eyebrows, sliding the file closer to her.

"And what is this?" Evelyn asked, opening the file and then suddenly her heart dropped to her stomach. It was Steve's enlistment form, and there was a stamp of approval on it with the label being "1A". Evelyn swallowed thickly as she flipped through the file, trying to process it in her head how it could be possible. How her brother could have managed to get through the system with all of his conditions.

"I made it in." Steve had a proud smile on his face as he looked at his sister who was still staring at the file, trying to come up with some kind of explanation but not being able to find one. Steve was honestly scared of Evelyn's reaction, and he only grew more nervous the longer that she didn't say anything. "Eve?"

Evelyn closed the file and intertwined her fingers together as she pursed her lips. She was angry at the world, and she was angry at Steve for pushing and pushing. But, she took a deep breath. She knew that all he wanted to do was help, and that was something that she couldn't be mad at him for. She blinked for a moment before meeting her brother's eyes. "This is really what you want to do?"

"It is." Steve nodded his head.

The woman sighed before she nodded her head. "Just promise me that you'll be careful? I have no idea who will be training you, but I have a feeling it'll be Peggy seeing as you're going to be with the group volunteering for the experiment. . . you're doing the experiment. Of course. Makes sense."

"You know about it?" Steve asked, sitting down at the table.

"Of course." Evelyn nodded her head. "I'm the one that's to help Dr. Erskine with the candidates alongside of Peggy." She ran a hair through her blonde locks before she nodded her head. "Good luck, Steve."

"Thanks, sis."

▁︎▁︎▁︎▁︎▁︎

"My god, you look like you haven't slept in years." Peggy spoke as she looked at the woman with a raised eyebrow. Celeste was standing beside of the brunette as Evelyn entered and it was true that she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep, because she hadn't.

"Evelyn, is everything alright?" Celeste gently questioned the girl, looking at her with slight concern and watching as the girl went and grabbed herself a cup of coffee before taking a sip of it and scrunching her nose up at the taste of it.

"Fine." Evelyn smiled before walking over to one of the tables and sitting down. Peggy and Celeste exchanged looks with one another before walking towards the girl and sitting at the same table as her. The blonde looked between the two and sighed as she removed the cup from her lips. "Alright, so I didn't get any sleep last night."

"May I ask why?" Peggy quizzed.

Evelyn softly sighed again. "Steve got in."

"He did?" Celeste asked with surprise and Evelyn nodded her head.

"He's. . . he's one of the candidates." Evelyn reluctantly told them. "And he's in your hands, Peggy."

"You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to him." Peggy assured the woman. Evelyn looked up at met Peggy's eyes. Peggy offered the blonde a reassuring smile as she nodded her head. "All I will be doing is making him exercise, those are my orders. But no one will hurt him, if that's what you're worried about."

"I know you'll keep an eye out for him." Evelyn softly whispered. She checked the time before looking back towards the other two. "We better get to our stations before Colonel happy-go-lucky finds a reason to yell at us." The two women smiled at the Rogers twin before agreeing with her. They all stood up and walked out of the tent, all heading their separate ways. Evelyn trained her soldiers a little harshly than usual, but it was simply because she was stressed, and of course one of them decided to make a comment towards her.

When she sent her soldiers running laps, stopping only when they could no longer go anymore she found herself making her way towards the place in which Peggy was training the soldiers. She fell in step with the Colonel and Dr. Erskine and offered them both a nod. Her eyes fell on Steve, watching as he struggled to do a push-up before Peggy ordered for the group to stand up.

"When you brought a 90-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." The trio stopped at one of the trucks as they watched Peggy train them. "You stick a needle in that kid's arm, it's gonna go right through him." They group of men were doing jumping jacks, and Steve could barely lift his arms above his head from how out of breath her was. "Look at that. He's making me cry."

"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical." Dr. Erskine told him.

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project?" Colonel Phillips asked. "All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What's-his-name's committees? Brandt."

"Yes, I know." Dr. Erskine nodded. "I am well aware of your efforts."

"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier."

"He is a bully."

"You don't win wars with niceness, Doctor." Evelyn watched as the man walked over to the truck before pulling out a fake grenade. "You win wars with guts." He took out the safety pin before throwing the grenade into the group of soldiers. "Grenade!" Immediately everyone ran away for cover except for Steve who was quick to curl his body around it.

"Get back!" He waved everyone away. "Get back!" Evelyn looked at her brother and looked down to the ground as she felt a smile start at the corners of her lips. She looked up, meeting eyes with Peggy who also had a small smile on her face. Steve looked at his sister before looking at the others and asking, "Is this a test?"

Evelyn looked at Colonel Phillips and smirked and Dr. Erskine simply shrugged his shoulders whilst Phillips narrowed his eyes at the duo before mumbling, "He's still skinny." And then he walked away.