"Good afternoon, I'm looking for Peggy Carter," Steve asked a young woman stationed as the receptionist for Birmingham Green nursing home. She looked up, fixing her beady eyes on Steve as he stood awkwardly by the front desk.
"Are you her son?" she questioned, her voice sharp with suspicion.
"No, I'm a close personal friend," he replied politely.
"Right, her room is the first door to the left," she said bluntly before returning to gazing down at the paperwork that littered her desk. Silently, he bowed down into the corridor she had gestured to and made his way down to said room.
Steve quietly pushed the curtains aside as he entered her private room.
"Peggy," Steve whispered, fixing his eyes on the elderly woman sleeping peacefully on the bed. She stirred in her sleep, as if responding to the sound of his voice. Steve made his way towards the chair by her bedside. He lifted her hand and carefully held it in his own. Peggy's eyes fluttered open, suddenly very aware of another presence in her room. As soon as her eyes focused on the uneasy Steve, she gasped.
"Steve," she exclaimed in awe, before adding, "You're late." She reached out with her free hand to stroke his cheek, as if wanting to make sure that he was real. Steve chuckled in response to her comment and kissed her frail hand. Same ol' Peggy, he thought to himself, with a half smirk.
"Business calls," Steve replied, flashing a mischievous grin towards her with tears in his eyes. "I've missed you."
"I would have thought so. I mean, who else would have kept you on your feet after all this time?" she chuckled, lightly, her face beamed with pride.
That was when Steve started to cry. He couldn't hold it any longer than he already had and so, he let it slip. He grasped her hand between his, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.
"In all those times we spent fighting side-by-side, never in a million years did I think that this would have been how our relationship would have ended. We should have grown old together, Peggy. I never wanted this. I wanted to be there for you. I would have wanted to dance the many dances I had planned for us with you," he pondered about the life that he could never have now. Not with anyone that could compare to his Peggy.
"You know, you still owe me a dance," she said, quietly as her eyes gazed off into far-off wonderment at the thought of the life that they could have had together instead.
Steve stood up from his seat, his hand still holding onto Peggy's. "Well, ma'am, how about that dance?" He gently lifted her to her feet, using his body to support her frail frame and he began to sway on the spot. Peggy chuckled before resting her head onto his chest.
"And you said you were terrible at this," she said, amusement seeping through her tone. "You're a natural for someone who's been trapped in a block of ice for so long."
"Well, I guess I found the right partner," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"Oh, Steve, I'm glad I got to see you one last time," she sighed, her eyes slowly fluttering close with the fatigue, as the years that have passed without him caught up with her.