Dear Sofia [Bucky Barnes]

12

Early 1945

She was alone in the lab with Howard, again.

The project had turned into a real head scratcher, in the sense that it worked but needed human testing , they just weren't sure if it would ever be revealed to the world.

Project PQ29, something in which Howard always wanted to try create just needed a human life to verify if it actually worked. The main problem was, it was a secret.

They didn't want to test it on someone in the public, it was a top secret project that thus far only the pair were in on and by god, would they keep it that way.

"I'm telling you, I can do it!" She called, following Howard around the room.

The simple solution appeared to be, let Sofia be the test subject. That's what she believed to be the answer. Howard was not on board with this, completely against it for that matter.

"What if something goes wrong?" He argued back, stopping her in her paces around the lab.

"I built this machine with my own two hands, nothing will go wrong!"

In fact she has wrong out a list of things that could possibly go wrong with the use of the chamber, individually making sure they were impossible to occur. The only issue would be if Howard messed up, although without her by his side, the chances of his clumsy nature taking over were heightened.

But if she made it, then it would be sure to work. The first subject would only be in there for three days, Howard could last three days without her, right? I mean she wasn't his mother, although sometimes she felt like she was. He could last three days without her supervision, could he?

"I'm not gonna lose my right hand to an experiment with the potential to kill her!" Howard said, sorting through some files.

"Three days, you only lose me for three days! I believe you will last!" She argued back.

"It will be lonely, in this dumb bunker by myself!" Howard said, starting to pace around the room again.

"Oh you will be fine, you're not a child! If you put me in, we can test the device and then maybe find a good use for it!" Sofia explained, staring the chamber down.

"I am completely against this plan.."He replied, almost admitting defeat.

"So you'll do it, you will freeze me?!" She said, almost bursting with excitement.

"This is a terrible idea, a terrible terrible idea!" He called, before moving to the cryostasis chamber.

They had built this chamber, solely to see if such a thing was possible. Could they freeze someone and then unfreeze them, still allowing them to live? At first it was simply an idea Howard created, then an idea he presented to Sofia, who then brought through the plans for development. It was simply an idea, which became a reality.

Howard was unsure if it would actually work, I mean the two geniuses didn't fail usually, usually. So putting her in ice, to freeze her for three days as test and if it possibly doesn't work, how he would explain it to the love of her life?

I mean Howard knew she would run after Bucky into battle, she would get herself killed as a result of this. So he kept her in the city, away from a trenches. He promised Bucky she would be safe, a promise that he fully intended on keeping.

So he didn't want to have to tell Bucky that their epic love story was over, it had always been the two of them for as long as he had known her. They came as a pair, always.

"Your going be the death of me Sof.." Howard said as he prepared the chamber for testing.

"Well if you mess this up, you will be the death of me.." She giggled as she climbed inside.

"Don't say that, thats too much.." He said, staring her down.

"Oh suck it, Stark.." She laughed, getting into position.

"Are you going to keep that on?" 

What Howard was referring to was the chain around her neck. She didn't wear her engagement ring on her finger around the lab, so she put it on the chain. She never took it off, ever. Once Howard made a joke that it was missing, she swore she felt her heart drop. She would forever hate him for that.

"I'll keep it on, can't trust you not to lose it.." She smiled, before Howard took a step back to get to the controls. "See you in three days, if you don't mess up.." She laughed, before taking a deep breath.

"Don't be like that-" He laughed, "See you in three days.."

So the machine was turned on and in a matter of moments, she was in ice. Howard would moniter her health and it was clear, the chamber had worked.

Although on the second day of her frozen experience, he discovered some information, which allowed him to take a path of secrecy.