Adalyn Stark was born to Howard and Maria Stark on February 1st, 1968. She was quite a remarkable, headstrong young girl that was extremely dedicated to her family and had a bright future ahead of her. However all of that is stripped from her in a s...
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Maria Stark couldn't keep still as she paced around the small bedroom connected to her much larger house. There was a cool summer breeze coming through the open window that offered her some relief from the suffocating feeling she held, but not much. Ever so often she would glance up at the clock to find that time was passing much to fast for her liking. As the minutes passed, Maria became more and more anxious about what she was about to do.
Weeks ago, she had set up an appointment with a doctor to find if she was pregnant. Maria had been feeling sick for days before that and had a strong suspicion that was the reason behind it.
Maria had told Howard about the appointment, but he hadn't been able to attend because of a meeting. They had argued about it for a while, but in the end Maria gave in and allowed for him to miss it. However, she would have given anything for him to have been there with her.
The ticking of the bedroom clock almost felt like a taunt to her as time went by, a constant reminder of what she was about to have to tell Howard. Sure, she had always pictured herself with a family. But she didn't have a clue how Howard would respond. With all of his work, Maria didn't know how Howard would react to adding any stress upon what he already had going on.
Maria loved Howard with all her heart, but he often prioritized his company before everything else in his life. She often wished that he would make an attempt to take a step back, take some time for himself. But it was a futile wish, as it always seemed like there was some new project or offer that needed to be acted upon. Maria could only observe and cherish the moments that he was able to spend with her.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Maria glanced back up at the clock to find that it was about the time that Howard usually came home. She took a deep breath and grabbed the paper that contained the results of her test that she had received in the mail earlier that day.
Maria made her way to the front of the house, her anxiety increasing with each step that she took. Maria glanced out of the window to find Howard just exiting his car with a large briefcase. She placed a tentative smile onto her face and opened the door for Howard as he entered the house.
"Welcome home honey, how was work?"
"The usual. A bit of a heavier work load today but nothing I can't handle. What's that in your hand?" Tony asked while hanging up his coat and beginning to sort through the mail that he had just picked up.
"Howard." Maria slowly placed her hand on top of Howard's to stop his sorting and he looked up at her with a confused look.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered as she gave him the letter.
Howard immediately seized up and lost any thought that had came before. All that was going through his mind were the words that Maria had just spoken. I'm pregnant.
He glanced down at the letter and saw the crest of the local doctor's office stamped on it. He couldn't read it. He was too nervous.
He was going to be a father. A small smile broke across his face and his eyes began to water as he placed the letter onto a near bye table.
Maria breathes an internal sigh of relief to find out that he was at least accepting it and happy about it. She allowed herself to smile back at him as he slowly whispered, "We're going to have a family." And suddenly nothing else in the world mattered except each other and the feeling of being in one another's arms.
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June 3, 1967 HYDRA Siberian Facility
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The cold wind whipped harshly past Alexander Pierce as he stepped out of Hydra's Siberian base. Although it was near freezing, he wasn't at all bothered. He quite enjoyed it actually. It made him feel alive.
"Pierce, I don't think you realize just how impossible what you're asking is," a voice from behind him said with a slightly anxious tone to his voice.
"I don't, in fact, think that is true. I know for a fact that Stark is already planning on trying to replicate the serum and we aren't just going to sit on our asses and wait for it to happen."
"But we have Barnes. Isn't he more than enough manpower to complete your mission?" the scientist asked, already regretting his question.
Pierce quickly spun around, startling the man. "No, it's not. And I'm beginning to question your sanity if you really think that's true. Suppose Barnes gets killed. What happens then? If we don't create more soldiers now, Howard will find a way to stop us from ever doing that. I want an eye to be kept on him at all times. We know damn well he won't rest till his work is done, and if it is done, we'll have to resort to a much more unfortunate alternative. Relay what I've said word for word to the others. If they question it, they can answer to me," Pierce responded with a grim expression on his face.
"Of course. Hail Hydra," the scientist stated before turning around quickly to leave. Pierce gazed out one last time before heading back into the base. He was going to beat Howard at his own game. One way or another, there would be a new Winter Soldier.
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A/N~Just a quick note, the first parts of the book will be skipping around quite a bit for the sake of the story. If you're ever confused, the date will be in the title. xoxo, Emma
