Close || Steve Rogers

Two

"Hello, I'm Elizabeth." I smile, introducing myself to the man. 

"Steven Rogers, but you can just call me Steve." he replies, sticking his hand out. 

"Nice to meet you." I say politely, grabbing his hand and shaking it. He smiles at me as I take in his appearance.

Steve had guts for volunteering for the military in his shape. Most of the men we see are tall, muscular, and fit. Steve is, well, the opposite of that. As I look over his file, I let out a little gasp. 

"Yes, I know. But please, I just want to help." Steve says passionately.

"You have asthma Mr. Rogers. That alone will make you ineligible. And with all your other health issues..." I say before trailing off and looking up at him. 

"Please. My friend is leaving tomorrow and I should be going with him!" Steve exclaims.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do, but I'm not making any promises." I tell him after thinking for a moment. 

"Thank you!" he says, getting up and throwing his arms around me. 

"You're welcome." I laugh, shocked at first, but I hug him back.

"You two know each other?" Dr. Erskine's voice sounds from behind me. I push myself off of him and look down at the floor so he won't see the blush rising to my cheeks. 

"Uh, no sir." Steve says. 

"Ah, already prepared for war I see." Dr. Erskine chuckles. I look up just as Steve lowers his head. 

"It's alright. I was only joking." Dr. Erskine says, letting out a deep laugh as he claps his hand on Steve's back. Steve looks up at me before making eye contact with Dr. Erskine. 

"Well, Elizabeth, how did he turn out?" he asks me.

"Well, he has several health issues, but I believe with some effort, he could be ready for the war." I say quickly. Dr. Erskine looks over Steve before sticking his hand out towards me, asking for the chart. I hand it to him and he sets it on the counter before turning towards Steve. 

"So, you want to go overseas? Kill some Nazis." Dr. Erskine says to Steve. 

"Excuse me?" Steve stutters. We both look at the doctor, shocked by what he said. 

"Where are you from Mr. Rogers? Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities." Dr. Erskine says, picking the file up off the counter and flipping through it.

"That might not be the right file." Steve stutters, looking away from the doctor. 

"No, it's not the exams I'm interested in. It's the five tries. But you didn't answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?" the doctor says again. 

"Is this a test?" Steve asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yes." Dr. Erskine admits. I look between both of the men and wonder what Dr. Erskine is getting at. 

"I don't wanna kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from." Steve finally tells the doctor.

Dr. Erskine is silent for a minute before saying, "Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh? I can offer you a chance. Only a chance." Steve looks up at him with a wide smile on his face. 

"I'll take it." he says quickly. 

"Good, " Dr. Erskine smiles at him, "So, where is the little guy from, actually?" 

"Brooklyn." Steve tells him. We watch as Dr. Erskine stamps the 'Accept' box on his file. 

"Congratulations, soldier." Dr. Erskine smiles slyly at him before handing him his file. 

Dr. Erskine walks to the door but turns around and says, "Elizabeth, a word please?" 

I smile at Steve and murmur a "Congratulations" to him before following the doctor out of the room and down the hall. 

"Yes?" I say, catching to him. 

"I want you to accompany your new friend Steven to the recruitment camp." he simply says.

"But sir, I have a job here." I protest. 

"And you'll have a job over there." he answers. 

"But why me?" I ask. 

"I want you to help me with a project. You and I will leave with Steven at the end of the week. Once at the camp, we will watch how he performs physically and judge if he is ready for my experiment." he explains.

"What experiment, sir?" I ask as we stop at the end of the hall. 

"There's not much I can tell you at this moment. So, I will explain everything once we judge if Mr. Rogers is fit for it or not." Dr. Erskine tells me, looking down at me. 

"Well, I guess I should go home and pack." I say after a moment of silence. 

"I suppose so." Dr. Erskine says, smiling at me.

As I walk off down the hall, Dr. Erskine yells after me, "Nine o'clock Sunday morning, meet us at the train station." 

~~~~

"Do you really have to go?" Jocelyn asks me Sunday morning as she helps me carry my bags to the train. 

"Yes, I do Lyn. I'm sorry." I say, smiling at her as she starts crying. She drops my bag and pulls me into a hug. 

"Stay safe, okay?" she whispers in my ear. 

"Of course." I reply, beginning to cry myself. We may not always get along, but she's basically my sister and leaving her is breaking my heart. 

"Don't forget to write." she tells me as we pick my bags up and walk to where Dr. Erskine and Steve are waiting for me. 

"I won't." I laugh. We stop and set my bags down so we can hug one more time. 

As we break apart, a solider walks off the train and says to me, "Your bags ma'am?" I nod my head and gesture to where my bags are setting. 

"Thank you." I say to him before he walks onto the train with them.

"Elizabeth, we have to leave now." Dr. Erskine yells to me. I nod at him before hugging Jocelyn tightly. 

"I'll be back before you know it." I laugh weakly as we pull away. We both wipe our tears before saying our final goodbyes. I take a deep breath and join Dr. Erskine and Steve at the train. 

"Are you alright?" Steve asks me. I nod my head and wipe away a final tear. 

"Of course. Thank you." I say to him. 

"Let's get on the train." Dr. Erskine chuckles, leading the way.

Once we're seated on the train, Steve and I sit next to each other while Dr. Erskine sits across from us. We only have to wait a few minutes before the train begins to pull away from the platform. I turn to look out the window and wave to Jocelyn. I don't turn away from the window until I can't see her anymore.

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