Overdue Reunion

He had been to hell and back. A soldier of war and a hero to a nation, Steve Rogers had become the ultimate soldier of fortune. Having been mixed together with a group of radical, and even dangerous individuals, had little effect on him. He had seen the ugly side of mankind and the works of the supernatural before his own eyes. Yet, he always put aside fear and mustered the courage to do what was right.

After the battle of New York, Steve Rogers began to embark on a new mission, which he longed to do, but was always delayed. Saving the world on a frequent basis, seemed like a full-time job for him to an outsider, but to him, it was his duty. Now however, a new challenge arose before him. Before it was too late, before anything else came up that would delay him, he must see her.

Not long after New York, Fury had talked to Rogers about his past. What his good friends, the Howling Commandos did after his disappearance, the results of the end of the war, and most importantly, what became of Peggy Carter. She had always been on Steve's mind, after he had been unfrozen. When he was swarmed by shield agents in Times Square, Fury had broken the news that it had been 70 years since he last walked the earth. Steve told Fury that he was fine after hearing the news, but in truth, he was crushed. He even detected a small hint of regret that the plane crash in the ice hadn't finished the job, so that he'd be spared the pain.

Fury had declined to share this information with Rogers sooner, simply for the fact the Cap needed time to adjust. Additionally, Cap had kept himself rather distant at first. Superhero or not, being told news of that magnitude would overwhelm anybody. With the threat of Loki, and the tesseract being stolen, having found Cap just in the knick of time was a godsend to Fury. He thought it best the Cap stay focused on the mission before he could let him embark on personal endeavors.

With the world free of the immediate threat of Loki, Cap was indeed "relieved of duty." After the departure of Thor, Rogers and the other Avengers went their separate ways. Shield had set up a nice size apartment in D.C. for Rogers, not just to be nice, but to keep him close. Having nowhere else to go and no money to his name (since he had been presumed dead for most the century), he agreed.

Now, the time had come that he had waited for. After New York, Fury revealed to Rogers that Peggy Carter was in fact alive and being cared for. Rogers was angry that this wasn't disclosed earlier, but he understood Fury's reasoning, even if he didn't like it. He approached Fury after Loki had been taken away, and Fury stopped him and said to him.

"I know what you're gonna say, Cap. I've done my homework on you. I'm just surprised you didn't say anything sooner."

"Yes," Rogers replied. "Well I just assumed everyone I knew was dead. That and the fact there was an alien army between us, made things more difficult."

Fury let out a mild chuckle. "Getting through the bad guys is the easy part, Cap. What comes after is always harder." Rogers had no reply, but looked downward towards his feet.

"You sure you want to do this?" Fury asked. "It may not pan out like it does in the movies." Steve stood silent for a moment, almost as if he was contemplating.

"No, I'm sure." He answered. "Even if it doesn't, I still need to go."

Fury then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small piece of folded paper and gave it to Rogers. Rogers opened it up and read it. He then looked up at Fury, and without words they shook hands and parted. He then got on his motorcycle and made for Washington.

He first stopped by his new apartment where everything had been made ready for him. Shield worked fast. This came to no surprise to Rogers and he just shrugged and went inside. The moment had now come and Rogers couldn't leave. For the first time since he became a super soldier, he felt weak, light-headed, and even afraid. It was still early in the day and there was nothing keeping him from going to see her. What was stopping him? He thought about what Fury had said. Was this a good idea? Would she even recognize him? Or worse, would she have forgotten him? He became a world-wide famous hero overnight, and the only opinion of him that mattered was hers. He thought all day long about the countless scenarios that could play out. All of them ended in disaster in Rogers' mind. He kept getting angry, and pounding against his punching bags that were laid out for him in his workout area.

Rogers sat on the edge of his bed, with his head bent between his hands. He looked out the window and saw that it was dark. He got up and looked out the window and he thought of her. How she carried herself. How she was his source of motivation and bravery when things looked bad. How she was one of the few people who believed in him when he was just a tiny kid with asthma. She risked so much in helping him, and he realized that. It was then he realized he was being selfish. His fear was based on not getting the reaction he might hope for. Or perhaps, the thought of not knowing what may happen at all. He may not have owed her anything, but in his mind he felt like he did. Even though his presence in her life again my complicate things, it was the only logical thing to do, whatever else may happen.

He let out a long sigh, and looked down towards the floor.

"That's it then." He said out loud to himself. Without further hesitation he got on his bike and left.

After a while he found himself outside a hospital. The exact location as described on the paper Fury gave him just two days prior. As he was parking, it had begun to rain down hard. Being a busy hospital he had to park some distance away. Naturally, as he entered the hospital lobby, he was dripping wet and trotting dirty shoes. He wiped himself, and looked around. He saw that the front desk was down a ways to the left. As he made his way to it he heard his shoes squeak and squish. He turned and saw that he left a trail of dirty footprints from the door. He then caught glance of an old man with slicked back white hair wearing a custodian's outfit. He saw the old man was looking at him with contempt at the mess he just made.

"Sorry." He said, feeling out of place.

The old man just shook his head and grabbed his mop bucket. After he passed him, Rogers could hear him mutter, "Two years until retirement."

Rogers then proceeded towards the desk. He saw that a younger woman sat behind the counter, not heeding him.

"Hello." He said.

"How may I help you sir?" she replied not looking up from her computer.

"Uh, I'm here to see a Ms. Peggy Carter."

"Visiting hours has been long over sir." She answered still not looking up at him.

"Yes, but It's really important that I see her. I haven't seen her in…in…" he stopped not knowing how to finish, and the least, how to get to her without causing problems.

"Look sir, her family has already come and gone today so you're just gonna have to come by during regular visiting hours."

Not knowing what else to say, Rogers stood sullenly, pondering whether this was a sign that he shouldn't go through with this.

Noticing he was still standing by, the woman finally glanced up at him. She was about to shoo him away when her phone rang. She answered it, and in less than 30 seconds, hung up again.

"Well, that's different" she said. "It was my boss; he says to send you up."

Rogers, hearing this was snapped out of his trance.

"Thank you" he said. "What happened?"

"Well, apparently my boss got a call from someone saying that if someone else other than her family came to visit, to let him in, regardless of time. She's in room 507 on the fifth floor. She's most likely sleeping so keep quiet if possible."

Realizing this was most likely the hands of Fury at work, Rogers went along.

"Thank you, again so much, um sorry to have disturbed you."

She once again sat down in front of her computer, almost oblivious to him.

"Have a good night." She said in a monotone voice.

Rogers then nodded slightly and turned towards the elevators. He pushed the button and went inside. Just as he was turning, the woman behind the counter caught a look at him and for a split second, Rogers thought he saw a look of confusion on her face like she was trying to figure him out, or whether or not she had seen him from somewhere. Rogers just smiled at her as the doors closed.

As the elevator rose, Rogers began to grow nervous. He had survived multiple incursions behind enemy lines, and had faced down an alien army. He was never as afraid or as unsure of himself then as he felt now. Every time a new floor number would ding on the elevator, he felt himself grow tense, and grew more anxious, and began to sweat. Finally it reached the fifth floor and stopped. It seemed like ages before the doors open up, but in reality was probably no more than 2 seconds. They opened and he stared down a long hallway with half the lights dimmed. His hesitation on coming had made his ultimate time of arrival very late and there was little activity on this floor, as far as he could tell. He stood in the elevator, stricken almost unable to move. He would've been forced to go down and up again if he hadn't stopped the doors from closing on him.

He exited the elevator and slowly made his way down the hall. As the doors closed behind him, he looked at the room numbers. The odd numbers were on the left and the evens on the right. As he moved he looked into the rooms. He saw patients, young and old, sleeping. Almost every room had multiple occupants. He then arrived outside room 507. He peered inside and saw that it was a moderate size room, with lots of space. More space than the other rooms he had seen. He saw this as he glanced through the window as he moved towards the door. Finally, he came to the door, and looked through the glass. He saw that a few chairs were neatly arranged against the wall, as if placed for future use. He noticed the bathroom on the far side of the room, it was open but dark. As his eyes gazed around the room, they came upon the foot of a bed. Only a single bed he noticed, occupied the room. He noticed the tips of toes sticking up from under the hospital blankets. He slowly moved his gaze up towards the front of the bed. Then, at long last, he beheld her.

He laid eyes upon the woman and saw her. She was indeed sleeping. Her head was resting upright upon her pillow, with her long grey hair spread about it. Her right arm, hooked to an IV was laid across her chest. He face was old and worn, but rested, and at peace. It had been indeed 70 years since he last looked upon her, but to him, only seemed like a few weeks ago. Seeing this dramatic change in the woman who changed his life, was almost too overwhelming for him, and he almost decided to leave.

Something stopped him, and slowly he opened the door. He carefully walked into the room and stood over her. This was indeed the same Peggy Carter that stole his heart and gave him his first kiss. At least the first one that meant something. But that was a lifetime ago, and what may as well have been on a different world. He stood over her for a long while, silent, just processing everything going through his mind. What did she do when he died? Did she get married? How long has she been like this?

All this and more ran through his mind as he stood over her, longing to hug and comfort her. In fact she seemed rather well rested, it was himself that needed the reassurance. Not having the heart to wake her, he quietly grabbed one of the chairs and placed in along the far-side of her bed. He then sat in the dark, silent, and yet full of unrelenting urges of loud feelings, desperately trying to burst their way through. After hearing the brief report from Fury, Rogers was agitated. This was no way to treat one of their own. He made up his mind that he would convince Fury and Shield to release her from the hospital and have around the clock care in the comfort of her own home. Whatever the cost, he would cover it if need be. After saving the world and all, they could do him that one favor. He pondered why she would agree to this sort of healthcare. But he was sure those answers would come in time.

She tossed in her sleep and her head moved towards him. Still sleeping, Rogers gently took her hand and held it softly. He spoke no word for fear of waking her, but smiled ever so slightly. He may have been several decades late, but he fulfilled his promise. He came back to her. She fidgeted slightly and murmured in her sleep ever so lightly. Rogers face lifted up to meet hers. He neither moved nor spoke, fearing that any unusual noise or disturbance would harm her. He felt her hand tighten in his and she stretched out her arms and legs delicately. Then she opened her mouth and gave a quiet, but prolonged yawn. Almost immediately after, her heavy eyelids began to move. Rogers seeing this unfold was stuck in place; he knew she was on the threshold of either waking up or falling back asleep. Still, he sat silent and steady, holding her hand.

At last her eyes opened slowly. They slowly looked this way and that. Then she looked down towards her hand and saw that someone was being held by another. After staring for several moments at her hand, her wisdom filled brown eyes wandered upwards towards Rogers. Finally, their eyes met. Rogers sat with an unsure look on his face, almost terrified to say or do anything. Peggy looked upon him for a few moments, seemingly blank it felt to Rogers. But after a few moments, her tired face produced a smile, and it was the most beautiful thing Rogers had seen since he had come back to the world of the living. He had found no words to say, and so in turn he smiled back.

What seemed liked hours, but was most likely only a minute or two, she spoke, with an effort, a clear, but tired voice,

"Hello, dear."

Rogers tried to speak, but all his words jumbled in his mouth as he stuttered. All the thoughts and words in his head were pouring out too fast for his mouth to speak them. He continued to babble on, and all the while, Peggy just laid there, smiling up at him. Finally she giggled.

"You still don't know a bloody thing about women do you?"

At that Rogers face turned into complete shock and confusion. After all this time, she did recognize him. Too dumbfounded to reply, Rogers stood speechless. At last Peggy told him,

"Oh, how I've missed that. You were the man who could do anything, except talk to girls." She giggled once more, and her British accent brought memories flooding back to Rogers. She giggled and grasped his hand tighter.

"But, how, I….?" Rogers started finally.

"Did I know you were alive? She finished. "I may be old, I may be sick, but I sure am no fool. The tele has shown nothing but your picture for the last few days. I saw you. I knew you'd come….."

At that she paused and her smile faded, as if a grievous memory clouded her mind.

"You promised you would." She said with sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, Peg." Rogers said, almost as if he were apologizing. Peggy began to sob softly. She took her other hand, and brought it up to his face and placed his cheek in her palm. Her old brown eyes started to fill with tears as she looked up at him.

"Steve….."She began, looking up at him. But she had now lost control and began to sob more intently. Rogers took his other hand and held her hand against his cheek. For some time, Rogers just sat, holding her hands as she sobbed dry tear, while the rain continued to pour outside. He felt tears welling up in his eyes as well. But he restrained himself, wanting to remain strong for her. This was her time to release all that she felt. He was there for her, and nothing else.

After a while she released herself from him, and began to regain her composure. She asked for some tissues and Rogers gladly obliged.

"Oh, bloody hell." She said after wiping herself down. "I had thought night and day what I would say to you were I to ever see you again. I'd call you a bloody idiot for not taking me with you. I thought maybe I'd slap you for being late." She added with a smile.

"But," she said. "I've found that there are no words for times like this." She sighed and went silent.

"I don't make promises I can't keep, Peggy." Rogers said.

She looked over at him and smiled.

"I've learned a few things since I've been back. But I was hoping you could fill me in on the details."

And so Steve and Peggy talked into the night. Steve would speak of himself and the people he had met since he had been unfrozen. Peggy asked about the Avengers and all the things that had happened in the last few days. Steve happily shared his stories, but started to notice Peggy didn't speak much of herself. She did say that she had retired from active duty and had raised a family. She spoke mostly of her children and her day to day activities in the hospital. Steve listened with content, for he was eager to learn what had become of the girl he'd left behind. He had learned the main points of the Howling Commandos and the facts of the War, but he knew Peggy would be able to provide a different perspective. As she talked, Rogers noticed that some things were left somewhat unexplained, and while she retained some long term memories, she seemed to leave out current or everyday facts. She never spoke about the war or about what happened after, except that she had always thought of him. Rogers didn't dwell too much on that, after all, who'd remember intimate details of events from 70 years ago?

After some time both remained quiet, busy with each other's thoughts. Steve broke the silence.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Peggy."

"Oh, darling, you can't be blamed." She said understandingly. "Still, I was angry. At least I remember feeling angry. Angry over lots of things…" she trailed off and never completed her thought.

She then turned towards him and met his eyes.

"I've met many men in my life, some of them, actually turned out not too bad as things go. But they all had the same thing in common..." She stopped and her eyes began to droop.

"What was it, Peg?" He asked politely.

Her eyes opened slightly and a small smile spread across her face.

"They weren't you." She whispered as her eyes began to fade again.

Rogers had smiled widely, and raising her hand, kissed it. Her eyes were closed, but she smiled. With an effort she called out to him. Rogers leaned in close so he could speak softly.

"What is it, Peggy?" He asked, badly wanting to know.

"I've…..I've,…lo…you." At that she fell asleep.

Rogers never heard her complete sentence, but in his heart he knew what was said, though it hadn't been spoken. Once again not wanting to wake her, he just took her hand and held it. In as soft a whisper as he could muster, he whispered,

"You too, Peg." Finally, he could hold it anymore and only two, but solid tears come running down his face. He tried to remain calm and compose himself as to not upset her, were she to wake. Barely 5 minutes had passed when she started to stir again. When she did, she met his eyes once more.

"Boy, why are you crying?" she asked, full of concern.

Not wanting to upset her at his emotions, Rogers passed it off.

"It's just….it's been a long day." He replied.

She looked past him and looked out the window at the black skies, and the sound of the pouring rain.

"My heavens, it's late! It's a wonder you're still here!"

Steve looked slightly confused.

"Well, no one's bothered us thus far. I guess they give special ladies, special treatment." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Is that so?, I'm not sure how you would know! But I thank you young sir." She said slightly flustered.

Rogers began to notice a change in her tone. It was more formal than she had been talking before.

She's just tired. He thought.

"Do you remember what you were saying a few minutes ago?" He asked. "I just wanted to tell you that I feel the same."

Peggy looked at him with a look of confusion.

"What do you mean 'a few minutes ago'? I just now woke up." She said as a matter of fact.

Rogers was now getting anxious. He knew the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice was telling the truth.

"Peggy," He said. "I've been here with you for a long while now."

"Oh my," She said with a small fright. "I had dreamt I was talking with someone, but it was someone I knew long ago." She stopped and looked at him as if studying him.

"In fact you sort of look like him, in a way." She said as if she didn't quite understand what was happening.

At that she looked away and stared outward and was quiet, as if she was piecing things together in her mind. So confused she was that she had overlooked that this stranger had called her by her first name.

Rogers was at a loss. He knew that when you age, your memory can slip and fade. But he was no doctor, and there was no one at hand to answer his pilling questions. He then got up from his chair and searched the room for the chart doctors kept nearby. Having been to many clinics and doctor's offices in his days he knew there would be one nearby with doctor's notes on them. He found the clipboard hanging off a rail at that end of the bed. He took it and looked it over. He observed multiple notes, and medical codes. file had grown and several pages took up the board. Rogers looked at the first page, and in the upper right hand corner, found his answer. In the doctor's handwriting it read: "Chronic Alzheimer's. Short-Term memories fading. Long Term Memories. Scattered/Lost. Prognosis: Middle-Stage"

A slow realization grew within him. Rogers stood there, reading the ultimate fate of the woman he loved. Alzheimer's disease was still fairly new during his time, but it had made headlines when he was younger. The look on Rogers' face was an amalgam of emotions. It went from shock, to disbelieve, to confusion, to anger, and then to despair. After all these years, there was still a memory of him inside her that never truly disappeared. Yet he knew it time, it would. The night had gone as well as he could've hoped. Two kindred spirits, separated by war and the forces of evil, had once again, against all odds come together. But it was a sham, a bait and switch. The woman he loved was in there, but she was fading away, and the memory of him, would slowly die away, bit by bit. To have found her at last, only to lose her again, was torture. To lose her again and again as time went on would too become much to bear. It would be a curse for him, to endure that agony. Once again, he reminded himself that it was his duty. A true hero must sacrifice the things he loves and give them up so as they could be happy and have others enjoy them. By doing so, she lived a rich full life and found love, and bore children into the world. He sacrificed himself to save the world. She wasn't just a part of that world, she WAS his world. But that no longer mattered now.

Slowly, Rogers put the clipboard back on the rail. Struggling to hold back his tears he walked over to the chair and put it back against the wall. It was time to leave. He turned back to look at Peggy and saw that she had relaxed, and was looking comfortable and calm. He went over to her and bent over her slowly.

"I have to go now, Peggy. Do you need anything?"

"Well" she said, fidgeting. "I could use another pillow, if you don't mind."

Steve said nothing but smiled back at her. He went over to the drawers and pulled out a pillow and gently put it back behind her head. After she adjusted and got comfortable she smiled and looked up at him.

"Thank you, young man." She said. "I don't often get visitors, though I see my family. It seems I only see them once in a great while." She sighed as if she longed for them.

Rogers could tell that she had frequent visits from her family since there were balloons behind her bed, along with get well cards on the far counter. He let it go, for there was no point in explanation. He looked upon her and saw that she was falling asleep again. He pulled the blankets up close on her and gently stroked her hair. Then he kissed her forehead and whispered,

"Goodnight, Peg."

"Goodnight, Steve." She said in a faint whisper. Almost as if she was speaking in a dream.

Rogers once again felt tears welling up in his eyes. He rose and proceeded out the door. He shut it quietly, and turned to walk away. Then he stopped and turned his head back towards the door. He peered inside her room again and saw her sleeping. Looking just as peaceful as when he first arrived. He pressed his head against the glass. He then realized that she looked so peaceful because she wouldn't be doomed to see her loved ones fade away. That was their burden. That was his burden. He turned around and fell to the cold, tile floor, leaning against the door. He began to sob, and soon put his head in his hands and cried. It was still raining outside.