AUTHORS' NOTE:

We own only our OCs and nothing else. There is an extra added sex warning on this chapter, so be warned and don't say I didn't give you the heads up, lol.
WARNINGS: Language, Sex, Violence, Blood, Dark Themes, Angst
ENJOY!

xxxx

"Is she going to be alright?" Tony asked Reed hurriedly as Angel lay on the medical bed, her body finally calm and registering normal life signs.

Reed took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, Tony: she's unstable. I've stabilized her as much as I can right now, but until the pure energy is taken out of her system…I don't know what to do."

"So what happens when she makes another unexpected jump? What do you suggest that we do in order to get her to stop with the jumping?" Tony asked hurriedly, feeling like he was lost. "After New York and then all of this, I don't know how much more that I can take."

Everyone was aware of how bad Tony had been faring after the Chitauri attack and after Angel touching the Tesseract and he'd been drinking more and having anxiety attacks and Joanna had been trying so hard to deal with her husband. She was always there for him, all the time, and had even recently given him news he never knew that he really wanted to hear, and right now he wanted to focus on his sister. He wanted his sister to be better just as much as Steve did, if not more so and he was helpless to lend a hand.

"I'm going to be fine," Angel said as she took a deep breath, cringing at her sore body. "Just…let's all come up with a theory. Look over my scans and tests again and see if we can't find a way to get the energy out of my system."

Tony was to her side in an instant, stroking her hair and kissing her temple. "God, V, what happened to you…I mean, really? Going against medical advice?"

"I was already there, why not spice things up a bit?" Angel asked him with a weak smile. "I promise I'm going to be fine, Ed."

"Yeah, well," Tony said as he kissed her temple again, "just don't make promises that you can't keep, V."

xx

Corrine smiled, rolling her eyes as she leaned back on her elbows, soaking up as much sun as she could on the crowded little beach. It was finally summer and Howard had given her the day off, a day she decided to spend alongside Steven, Lillian and Bucky Barnes. She'd expected Bucky to bring a date, a girl he'd been chasing after, but he showed up alone, a towel slung over his bare shoulder and only in his swimming trunks.

Corrine tried not to stare.

Steven was in the water with Lillian, the two playing around, Lillian getting some attention from other men who all glared at Corrine's brother when they realized the scrawny little kid was with Lillian Baxter herself, and Corrine was pleased with that.

"You're so boring," Bucky moaned from beside her on their blanket and she sent him a look.

"I am not boring," she defended pushing him gently when he nodded his head. "I'm not!"

Bucky rolled over so he was on his stomach, and pushed himself up. "Your brother is getting more action than you are, Corrine," he pointed out, smiling when she blushed. "Come on let's go do something for God's sake."

Corrine narrowed her eyes. "What do you suggest we do?" she asked and Bucky thought for a moment before smirking.

Corrine didn't even have a second to register the look he sent her before he had his hands on her and pulled her up from the ground.

"Bucky! Bucky put me down! Bucky what are you doing?!" she screamed, finding herself laughing though as he threw her over his shoulder, his hands dangerously close to her bottom and that made her face turn a bright shade of pink. "BUCKY, YOUR HANDS!" She gasped and he just laughed before running into the water and tossing her in.

Bucky dove in after her and when Corrine popped up she spat the water from her mouth, pushing the wet strands of hair from her face as she pushed Bucky when he popped back up. "I hate you so much!" she laughed, shielding her face with her arms when he went to splash her.

"No, you don't," Bucky laughed, his hands going to her hips and she felt herself blush from his touch, staring up at him, smiling as drops of water fell from his hair and onto her cheeks, the sun setting, and the beach empty now. "You love me," he said, leaning down towards her, the tip of his nose brushing against hers and she smiled.

"I do love you," she agreed, moving to wrap her arms around his neck, smiling when he did. "I love you more than anything," she murmured, tilting her head up, smiling when their lips brushed briefly, her eyes closing when he moved to kiss her.

Everything was cold then; her skin started to tingle, like when you touch dry ice or stick your tongue to a frozen pole: an experience she didn't ever want to repeat. She pulled back, her eyes widening as she stared at Bucky, the pained expression etched across his face, never changing, never faltering, and the ice started to form over his body and she pulled back quickly.

"Bucky!" she screamed looking around, discovering they were no longer in the ocean, but in the middle of a snowy terrain, the sound of a train coming from in the distance. "Bucky! Bucky open your eyes!" she screamed, going back to try and get the ice off of him, but it continued to grow on him, moving up his body, spreading everywhere until he was completely covered in frost. She grabbed onto him, crying out when he crumbled in her hand like ash, his entire body falling now, nothing left but a pile of snow.

"Corrine! Corrine," Steven called out to his sister, his arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled her to his chest, her gasping for air as she shot up, looking frightened, her hair damp with sweat.

"Bucky, he…" Corrine trailed off, biting her bottom lip as she looked up at Steve before shaking her head slowly, wiping at her eyes.

"Another nightmare?" Steve whispered, brushing her hair from her face as she nodded. "Corrine…it…it'll get better," he said quietly, clasping her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips. "You just need more sleep, sissy," he said and she smiled sadly when he called her 'sissy', something he hadn't done since they were very young.

She reached up to cup her brother's face in her hand. "I'm sorry, Steven," she murmured, sniffling as she ran her thumb along his cheek. "Stop worrying about me," she said with a firm nod as she sighed and pulled away some. "I'll be fine."

Steve stared for a moment, nodding slowly before standing up from his spot on her bed, and let her get up. "Howard wants to see you," he said, watching as she stood up and wrapped her robe around her waist a little bit tighter, nodding. "Something about…plans for the future."

Corrine turned to him, kinking her eyebrow. "Whose future?" she asked and he shrugged, really not sure what Howard meant when he asked him to get his sister. "Well…go find him and tell him I'll be there momentarily, I just need to freshen up."

Steve nodded, standing there as he watched his sister carefully as she moved to go change behind her changing screen, sighing to himself. Since Bucky's death she'd been very closed off: towards Howard, towards Lilly and even towards him. His sister used to always carry this spark about her, but it seemed like since Bucky's death it had gone out….and he desperately wished he could get it back—to ease her pain—but he had no idea what to do. He didn't know how he was supposed to help her, or if he could even help her.

xx

While Angel was in a very touch and go process with Reed and Bruce who were trying to stabilize her for the time being, Steve had been explaining everything piece by piece to Bucky, who was astonished. At first it all seemed far too unbelievable, but then as Steve started to show him more and explain more about it, it all started to actually make sense. It made sense as to why Angel's presence in their lives had always been so sporadic at best, and it made sense because of the super soldier serum and all of the Hydra nonsense that had happened to them. What hurt him most was that Corrine wasn't there.

Here in the future, Corrine would have been an old lady that had been destroyed by his death, but Bucky was pretty positive she would have moved on without him. He had promised her a future with marriage and kids and he had certainly thought he was going to cash in on that, but he had 'died' and while this time travel didn't make much sense to him, he knew he owed Angel his life. That didn't mean that Corrine getting kidnapped was something that was just supposed to be let go of—not at all.

"So, Angel can time travel…" Bucky said slowly, looking at the information in his hands. "She can change the future?"

Steve shook his head. "Everything is linear…as in it has all already happened."

"Yeah, but I died," Bucky told him shrugging. "She changed that, because here I am in the flesh."

"I don't fully understand it all," Steve admitted shaking his head.

"Neither do I, but if she can change it, she can bring Corrine here," Bucky told Steve with a nod. "She can go to her, save her, and bring her back."

Steve took a deep breath. "Buck, she can't choose where she jumps, she just jumps. Her body is unstable and you saw her—this is the worst that it has ever been because she used her powers when she was in the past. Asking her to make a purposeful jump in her condition is just…"

Bucky looked at his best friend, understanding that he was torn because he was in love with the mutant that was Tony Stark's half sister, but at the same time Bucky was getting a little upset. This was Corrine. The love of his life and Steve's older sister. This wasn't just some random girl that Bucky was asking Steve to make a sacrifice for, even if part of him knew deep down that it was too much to ask. That part of him wasn't even registering in his thought process and he stood up as Angel made it slowly to the door, stable for now, but weak and sore.

"SHE'S YOUR SISTER!" Bucky threw at him.

Steve stood up too. "I KNOW THAT!" he paused a moment and then took a deep breath. "Buck, I lost both of you. You fell off the train and Corrine was kidnapped and no one ever found her and then I crashed into the polar ice caps and I was thawed out and all I had was Angel. She's been here for me since I woke up 70 years in the future! She's my rock! She is my future! She did all of this for me and if she dies in the process, I won't…" Steve paused, Bucky feeling a little guilty because it seemed like Steve might be having a panic attack. "I can't ask her to do it."

"You don't have to ask," Angel said from the door, entering the room slowly and taking a shaky breath as Bucky and Steve looked at her. "I'm doing it, so the decision is already made. She's Corrine."

Steve's words had touched her and she knew that he was torn because Corrine and Angel meant more to him than anyone else in the world besides Bucky. Angel was now here telling him that she was willing to risk her life for his sister and he wanted to argue with her, but she was stubborn and her mind was made up and Steve crossed to her, taking her hands in his and kissing them. She looked stable enough, but she was pale and she looked like she was tired and he couldn't blame her—her jumps were getting closer and closer together and he was worried…he was worried that she really was dying. Angel was going to make this jump and use all the rest of her energy and she was going to die and he couldn't stop it and it was killing him.

"You don't have to do this to prove anything to me, you know," Steve said, feeling as though it had to be said. "I want my sister back, but I also don't want you to die."

Angel smiled and cupped his face. "I promised you that everything would be fine and everything will be fine. I've been looking into the account of her kidnapping and I think that I can jump to it."

"Steve said you can't choose when you travel," Bucky told her slowly.

"I can't when I'm pulled in because of my pure energy infection, but if I initiate it, then maybe I can stave the energy off long enough to not be as unstable when I come back," Angel proposed, looking between Steve's worried face and Bucky's hopeful one. "I'm going to bring her back. For all of us."

Steve nodded, taking her face in his hands and kissing her suddenly, Angel practically melting right into him, wrapping her arms around him as he held her close. He was afraid that he was going to lose her and that this was all that there would be left, but she was determined to get through this no matter what. She was certain that if she got the ball rolling before the pure energy activated and forced her into anything, she could even use her powers with minimal fatigue. Bucky smiled at them, nodding, understanding and also feeling pretty lonely without Corrine there to be with.

"If you don't make it back…" Steve warned sadly, looking Angel in the eye.

Angel smiled and ran her nose along his. "You can bring me back and kill me yourself."

"Not funny," Steve warned, but he kissed her gently again.

"I dunno," Bucky said aloud, chuckling when Steve and Angel both looked at him, "it was a little funny."

xx

Corrine sat at Howard's desk, her ankles crossed and her chin resting against her knuckles as she watched him hurry around the office collecting paper work. It seemed he'd just typed it up and he set it down in front of her with purpose.

"What is all of this?" she asked, moving her hand to pull the papers a bit closer, squinting her eyes as she skimmed over the words.

"I need you to sign here," Howard pointed down to the paper, handing her the pen, "here, here and here." He said, leaning against the table beside her smiling a bit. "I want you to be my partner," he explained, Corrine looking up at him now. "You're practically running the business so…I want you to have joint ownership of all of my stocks, 60/40." He told her and Corrine's jaw dropped as she looked up at him again. "I will not take 'no' for an answer either—you and Steve will be set for life after you sign this slip of paper," he said and tapped the desk, motioning for her to sign.

"Howard," Corrine breathed out as she bit her lip, "Howard, this is your business. This is your baby," she said shaking her head. "I can't."

Howard smiled shaking his head as he reached over and placed his hand over hers, squeezing gently. "This is our baby, Corrine," he said. "Without you I would have crashed and burned by now," he smiled, pulling his hand back. "Plus, if I did any time soon I'll be leaving my company in capable hands and not some…sickly cousin of mine, smart as she is," he said with a shrug.

Corrine laughed shaking her head, began to sign the papers, but before she was able to finish her signature an explosion from outside caused the room to shake and things fell from the shelves, her pen flying to the right, causing a line to splatter across the paper.

"What in the Hell is happening?" Howard shouted out, going to help Corrine stand up, his arms wrapping around her protectively.

Her hands tightened on Howard's shirt when she heard gun shots from outside the room and she looked up at him, absolutely terrified.

"Howard," she panicked and he shushed her, hurrying over to his desk and he pulled the pistol from his top drawer, reaching over to take her hand and pulled her behind him, pointing the gun at the door as the handle turned.

"Guys," Howard sighed in relief when the door flew open, Lillian standing outside of it, soot covering her arms and face.

"We're under attack, we gotta get out of here," Lillian said, breathing heavily and Howard pushed Corrine towards Lillian, moving to stand in front of the girls as they hurried out of the room, Corrine's eyes widening as she saw the dead bodies of the enemy and allied soldiers scattered across the ground.

"We need to get to my plane," Howard said quickly and Corrine nodded in agreement.

"We need to find Steve," she said and Lillian shushed her, trying to calm her down some as they followed quickly after Howard, keeping low to stay out of the line of fire.

Angel had been prepared for this jump because she was making it on her own, and when she got to the past she didn't even bleed from her nose right away, which she was taking as a good sign. She moved through the commotion and the fighting, trying to stop her heart from pounding so much, but then she thought about her father and the accounts of all of this and it happened—blood trickled from her nose. She ignored it and moved through the people, on a mission she needed to complete before she was too drained to use the powers that she needed.

Corrine gasped when a gun went off, Howard falling back into her arms, knocking her to the ground. "Oh, God! Howard, Howard," she sobbed, her hand going to his shoulder where he was shot, quickly pulling at his shirt, almost breaking right then and there as blood poured out of the bullet hole.

"I think talking about my death caused some sort of bad karma," Howard laughed nervously. "You set this up, didn't you? Your way of taking full control over the business," he teased and Corrine smiled despite her tears, leaning down to press her lips to his forehead.

"You're an idiot," she said, turning to look up at Lillian who had shot the man who shot Howard. "We need to get him out of here," she told her friend, who went to go help her get Howard up before being hit in the back of the head by the blunt end of a gun, and Corrine screamed.

"You, we've been looking for you," the soldier spat out and Corrine looked up at him, Howard trying to get up, screaming at the man to leave her alone before the soldier kicked him in the side and picked Corrine up by the hair, her kicking and screaming as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" she cried, trying to squirm out of his hold as he dragged her away from Howard who lay in the mud, his eyes slowly closing.

The shots and the cries had alerted Angel to the position and one look at her father made her go pale with fear. He couldn't die because she and Tony were proof that he lived, but at the same time…what if that was because of her? Time was linear, right? So him lying here bleeding out meant that she had to save him and so she knelt down beside him as the soldier pulled Corrine away and she touched him, his eyes opening.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Daddy," Angel said, but the tears were coming. "It won't all make sense at first, but I'll give you the memories that you need."

Howard was confused, but he could feel the warmth as Angel healed his gunshot, Howard gasping for air, but weak even though he was healed. He looked at her and opened up his mouth to speak, but Angel shushed him and kissed his temple, hugging him before she stood up.

"I have to find Corrine, but don't worry…she's going to be okay. Her, Bucky, Steve. You can't tell anyone, but know that they'll be fine," Angel told him, touching his face to give him the memories she promised him, disabling the failsafe early. "Give them all the funerals they deserve, but they'll get to live on, I promise you that. Now run, and don't look back," she said before she was off just like that, looking for Corrine because that was another promise she had to keep.

"Stop fighting it, girl," the man's accent was obviously German, and she screamed out in pain when he threw her against the side of a truck, her slipping and falling into the mud.

"What do you want?" she yelled at him, trying to move back to her feet when he pulled a gun on her, cocking it.

"Hydra could use you," he said and pulled a radio from his side. "We've got the girl, Stark's dead."

Corrine swallowed down the lump in her throat as she stayed where she was, looking around, trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this when she noticed Angel slowly making her way over to them. She was on a mission and Corrine felt a little better, but at the same time that was just one more person in trouble.

"Knock her out, bring her back to base…she's all we need," a voice from the radio answered back, and the man smirked, reaching down to grab Corrine by her hair again when Lillian screamed, catching his attention and punched him in the face.

Corrine's eyes widened as the man fell to the ground, just from that one hit from Lillian, completely unconscious. "You…how did you do that?" Corrine asked as Lillian helped her up, going back to get Howard.

"Uh, well…I don't know," Lillian said quickly, the two spotting Angel running towards them, Corrine grinning before a gunshot was heard, and she felt herself get dragged to the ground.

"Lilly?" Corrine turned her friend, her eyes widening as she saw her cough up some blood. "Oh, God no! Lilly no, please no, no, no," she cried out, her hand going to her friend's face, Angel coming to her side.

Angel moved for just a moment to disable the man with the gun with some fancy leg work and a touch of her hand, returning to Corrine and Lilly and nodding. Her mind was made up just like that to take Lilly with her too, and so she touched the two, focusing even with all of the havoc around them. Corrine wasn't entirely sure what happened, all she knew was Angel started to talk like a mad woman. It felt like her stomach was being turned inside out, and her head was throbbing, but the air was no longer full of gunshots and now Lilly's blood spilled out across a metal floor.

"What…where are we?" Corrine asked quickly as she looked around, her hand going to her forehead.

"We have to get Lilly some help, Corrine, I'm not…I can only do so much," Angel explained because she was starting to feel a bit queasy and her nose was threatening to bleed as she reached out to touch Lilly to try and take the pain away from her. "I'll explain everything, I promise."

Corrine nodded slowly, looking back at Lilly who started to laugh. "Corriney," she laughed, blood spilling from her mouth as she reached her hand out, Corrine taking it in hers. "Corrine, there's something I've never told you about me," she said squeezing Corrine's hand as Angel looked at her curiously, her eyes going to where the stomach wound had been but now it seemed …better.

"What?" Corrine asked sadly, and Lilly let out a gasp of pain as her body convulsed, Corrine holding her hand tighter. "Lilly, don't talk, just rest—Angel's going to go get help," she said and Angel shook her head slowly, watching the wound as it started to heal itself without her helping it to.

"I don't need help," Lilly explained. "I just need some…water and maybe a nice dress," she suggested, Corrine looking at her confused and Angel grinning.

"You're a mutant, which makes this so much easier to explain to you at least," Angel said, Lillian laughing while Corrine looked at them both, rather confused.

"I prefer the term immortal, but sure, mutant," she said with a shake of her head, still feeling weak from the healing process as she sat up slowly looking at Angel, "and so are you."

Angel smiled a little bit. "Well, healing doesn't mean you won't age, but sure."

Corrine fell back onto her bottom, looking to Lillian and Angel as they laughed, sharing some sort of unspoken connection she didn't understand at all. "What…you were shot," Corrine said. "Your blood is still all over you! All over me!" she cried out and Lillian turned to look at her sighing.

"Angel will explain everything," she said turning to look at Angel who frowned.

While she knew that it was her place to do such a thing, she wasn't quite sure where to begin and she had to pause a moment and think before she decided on the 'right' thing to say. Right now, Angel had to reassure Corrine…well…at least let her know what was going on and that meant using some of her powers to show her, and bringing up some research. Lillian was there also, so that had to help, and Angel knew that here in her present, where her body wasn't fighting the time difference, she was more in the clear because her body wasn't so over exerted…she wasn't in the clear on that yet though.

"First off, I'm not Howard's cousin…I'm his daughter," Angel explained as she shrugged gently. "After Bucky died and you were kidnapped and Steven killed himself to save everyone else, defeating Hydra in the process, he went on to thrive in his company, meet Maria, and then he had Tony, my older brother. I came along later and it turned out that I was a mutant—I have the power of manipulation, like…" Angel trailed off before she grabbed a letter opener, stabbing it into her hand and then holding up her hand to silence the two as they gasped at her, placing her fingertip to the wound and manipulating her body into healing. "I can heal, I can manipulate memories and people and even objects. Like this is solid, right?" Angel reached over and touched a cup on the table. "One tweak to its molecular structure and it's…liquid," she said as the cup suddenly melted and then she put it back the way that it was. "I found out that I could also manipulate time and space and after Steve woke up here in the future 70 years later—yes, Steve is alive and well—I realized I really wanted to tap into that potential. Unfortunately a war happened and I ended up touching a pure energy source and it changed my molecular structure. That's how I ended up randomly time traveling…it's why my nose bled so much. All the over exertion basically put my body into panic mode, but it also gave me the ability to go back in time and save you—my father is also safe, by the way. I healed him before I made it to you and Lilly. It's a lot to take in and this is a really new place but…I couldn't let Steve be alone and after meeting you, I couldn't be without you either, Corrine."

Corrine stared at her, trying to understand everything she was saying, but she wasn't sure she could. Mutants? Time Traveling? It was all crazy, something that belonged in a book, but here she was, there Lillian was: she was completely healed. Corrine swallowed down the lump in her throat, nodding slowly. "This is insane," she whispered with a shake of her head.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Angel told her gently, "but you don't have to make up your mind right away. Bruce and Reed need to check us all out and then once the tests are all run…I'll have Steve come right for you."

xx

While Bucky was having his tests run, Angel was able to get by with just a scan because she felt good and there was minimal pure energy activity happening. At the same time, she had a feeling that this was just the calm before the storm and she knew that Steve was having a tough time and she was back and she was fine and he was to her in an instant. They were in an Avengers base, Steve sparring because it kept his mind off of things, Angel laughing a little into the kiss, moaning gently when it was Steve's turn to nip at her lips.

"She's safe and sound, they're just running tests and then you can see her," Angel told him when he pulled back stroking her hair. "You really thought I was going to die, didn't you?"

Steve cupped her face. "Yeah, and I couldn't lose you like I lost them, Angel, I couldn't. Now you've brought them back to me, and I just…I don't deserve you."

Angel shushed him and kissed him again, Steve letting her hands roam until they made it to the bottom of his tight t-shirt and she paused, but his teasing of her mouth made her push it up a little. It was so different from all the other times when Steve had thought it was too soon—they'd known each other for a year and there was a bond between them that neither of them could really deny…this was happening. He smiled down at her and then took off his t-shirt, Angel nodding and taking off her blouse, wrapping her arms around Steve's neck and smiling into the kiss he planted there. There was a fair amount of passion, but there was love mixed in with the lust and he laid her down on the padded floor of the boxing ring, letting his fingers trail along her skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake.

"I don't…" Steve began, but he was blushing as he let his lips trail along her neck and her sternum.

Angel nodded as her fingers slipped into his hair. "Me neither…"

Steve nodded as he placed kisses to her skin, climbing on top of her, settling in between her legs and moaning gently as she rocked up against him to try and satisfy her own urges. All he knew about this was the stories that Bucky had told him about his own conquests that Steve didn't always want to hear and all Angel knew, was what Andy and Tony had told her and so they were half prepared. The rest of it they were going to have to figure out together, but they knew they could rise to that occasion.

So they helped each other out of the rest of their clothes, Angel's phone going off at one point, but she ignored it, she and Steve placing kisses along each other's bodies before they were once again in position. Steve was on top of her between her legs, kissing her passionately as she arched up against him a little bit, only making them both want this more. Angel smiled gently as Steve's forehead rested on hers, feeling his tip at her entrance and running her hands up his strong arms to hold his shoulders.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked her, worried about hurting her.

Angel nodded, looking into his beautiful blue eyes. "I'm sure."

"You're just anticipating it—you should relax," Steve replied, kissing her tenderly.

"I'm alright," Angel said, though she was thinking a lot about the initial merge. "Just go slow…"

Nodding again, Steve pushed in a little, stopping as she opened up her mouth to gasp gently, Angel whispering for him to keep going. When he pushed in more, she whimpered and her nails dug into his shoulders, Steve knowing that she was in pain, so he stopped again and kissed her, Angel welcoming his lips on hers and then arching up a little more, which Steve took as an invitation to push all the way in, Angel whimpering a little louder that time, but she kissed him. They just lay there a moment as she adjusted, but she gave him the sign that he could move and while at first they weren't sure what they were doing, they got a rhythm down.

The last thing that Steve had wanted to do was hurt her, but Angel was determined for this to happen and they had just reached a new level of intimacy. He was the first man to see her naked and vulnerable like this and vice versa, Steve feeling the pleasure building up inside of him as he held her close, his member moving back and forth, surrounded by her heat. Her name was on his lips when he toppled over the edge, his on hers shortly after, though she knew this would certainly get better with practice and be less painful for her.

He held her close and kissed her tenderly, Angel smiling and kissing him back, glad they'd done this and also wondering how many times they'd have to do this again, before they got to a point where it wasn't as awkward. It definitely wasn't the glamour that society made it out to be, but it was perfect because it was Steve and they were so much more bonded now. Nothing could ruin this…not a thing.

"Your phone is ringing again," Steve chuckled, trying to piece together his thoughts.

'Okay, maybe that,' Angel thought as she reached over and looked at the cover: Reed Richards.

"Who is it?" Steve asked her.

"It's Reed—I have a feeling that he's calling us in because of test results," Angel responded with a gentle laugh. "I want to lay here with you for a little bit longer first though…catch my breath…figure out what I'm going to do now."

Angel smiled as she stroked Steve's peck, nuzzling it with her nose before she gently placed a kiss to it, Steve shivering pleasantly and smiling, stroking her hair. There was nothing quite like post coital bliss and after everything that Angel had done for him Steve knew that she was the right choice every time. He kissed her head and smiled at her, Angel looking up at him and making eye contact, smiling too.

"Tell me that wasn't just because Bucky and Corrine are here now too…" Angel teased, only half serious and Steve chuckled and shook his head, kissing her tenderly.

"That was because I love you," Steve informed her softly. "You are an incredible woman though—you've done a lot for me."

Angel smiled and stroked his skin. "I'd do anything for you, Steve, and I mean that. I was even incredibly attracted to the scrawny you."

"I'm enjoying being taller than you," Steve chuckled as he nodded and looked her in the eye again. "I know that you love me either way, but I'm not going back…ever. I finally feel good and healthy—right, in my own skin. You've seen my file. You know all about all of the medical conditions that I had. I didn't really have a place in the army when I couldn't completely hold my own but this? It isn't about being good looking,"

"Which you are," Angel put in, grinning when Steve smirked.

"It's about being able to make the difference that I always wanted to make—I'm healthy now. No asthma, no chest pains, no leg cramps, no easily broken bones…I enjoy being like this."

Angel nodded and kissed his chin. "I enjoy taking advantage of you while you're like this…"

Steve closed his eyes and chuckled at the tone in her voice, groaning as she kissed and nipped at his jaw, climbing on top of him and tucking her hair behind her ears as she straddled his body. They both knew they were going to get up—any S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could just waltz right in on them, but Steve oddly found that he was alright with that. Angel too, though Angel was a lot more like her brother than she cared to admit and this hadn't been planned, it had just happened…maybe deep down, Angel felt like it needed to happen before she potentially died.

"What are you going to say to your sister?" Angel asked him slowly, moving to grab their clothes as her phone went off for the third time.

Steve took a deep breath and sat up. "First, I want her to know that Bucky is safe."

xx

Steve was the first one to get to see Bucky, but they let Angel in as well, Bucky's eyes lighting up when he saw her, knowing she was safe. The smile that she sported when she smiled back at him let her know that she was triumphant and he ran over to her, picking her up and spinning her around, which made her laugh. Steve chuckled too, glad that Bucky was happy and told him exactly what he wanted to hear: Corrine was safe and sound and here in the present with them.

"There is one other thing, though," Angel said as she chewed on her lip, Bucky setting her down and Steve glancing at her. "I used extra energy to bring Lilly here too…I couldn't leave her there to bleed out all over the place!"

Taking a deep breath Steve looked here in the eye. "You should have told me that earlier."

"We were a little busy," Angel responded with a shrug, Steve's face flushing.

"What have you two been…OHHHHHH!" Bucky exclaimed and then he grinned. "Steven, you sly dog, I didn't think you had it in you. Well I guess maybe not in you…"

"Great, now look what you've done," Steve told Angel, but they all knew he wasn't seriously upset or anything.

Angel burst out laughing even though she was red in the face as well. "Yeah, okay, I take back everything I've ever said about you behind your back, Buck—you're actually funny."

Bucky smiled at her and then let her explain to him that Corrine was still adjusting a bit and that Lilly was a mutant and that as soon as the tests were done being run for them, they would be allowed to go out and about. Steve told Bucky not to blame himself for the fact that Hydra had wanted her, but Bucky couldn't help but remember them finding her picture and it made him cringe. Then Angel pointed out that Corrine had not technically lost him twice, and Bucky was feeling just a little down on himself.

"I need to make this up to her," Bucky explained shaking his head. "I mean, she's thought I was dead twice now…twice."

Angel nodded slowly and then her eyes lit up. "I think I know what we can do, actually, but you two have to be willing to come with me to the Stark Mansion."

"You know I'd do anything you asked," Steve said, nudging Bucky when Bucky wiggled his eyebrows and laughed at the statement. "Buck…"

Laughing and waving it off, Angel took them both to the mansion, it not belonging to Tony, but Jarvis let Angel in without another though and Angel went straight up to the attic. It was hard for her and she felt a little like she was going to throw up, but this was important and it had to be done and she pushed on. She was Angela Veronica Stark, and she was going to finally do this if it killed her.

"When my parents died—not, my birth Mom, she died in childbirth with me—Dad's will said that everything in this attic, was for me and Tony to look over and remember," Angel explained as she opened up the attic door and the boys followed her in, looking around in amazement at all of the things. "Tony and I, however, never really wanted to. Dad was distant and even though we looked through some of Mom's old things, it was too hard and he had the company to focus on and I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and we just…over here."

Angel moved over to where a few of the boxes were marked 'Corrine' and she went for the one on top, opening it up. On the top was a letter addressed to Angel and she knew that she would have to bring Corrine up here again, but she opened up the letter and it read:

My dearest daughter.
If you're reading this, then that means that you've saved Corrine.
In here are a few items that she might want to have back.
I'm proud of you, baby girl.
You are everything a father hopes his daughter will become and more.
The other boxes are all for Corrine, so show them to her.
I love you.
Your father

Angel felt the tears well up in her eyes because it wouldn't have hurt him to say such things more often, but she knew now that he knew she'd still make it. She became the remarkable young woman that he had always known she would, and so she smiled a little and pulled out the journal, Bucky's eyes twinkling. He knew what that was and suddenly it all became clear to him just how this all needed to play out.

"Angel?" Steve asked her, Angel standing up and closing the box up so she could bring Corrine to them later. "These have the name 'Elisabeth' on them."

Feeling her heart suddenly thud in her chest, Angel took a deep breath. "Elisabeth Veronica Jenkins."

"Veronica is a silly middle name," Bucky mused out loud without thinking first.

"Veronica is Angel's middle name," Steve told him and Bucky quickly apologized, it all making sense now.

"My biological mother," Angel said before she turned to leave the attic.

Steve said her name and she turned to look at him. "Baby, are you sure you don't want to—"

"—right now this is all about Corrine," Angel responded quickly, glancing at the boxes and then trying to give Steve a strong smile. "That's not a part of my past I want to revisit."

"Not even, 'Angela Veronica Stark: WWII'?" Bucky asked her.

Angel shook her head and hurried out of the attic, Bucky and Steve sharing a glance before they decided to focus on Corrine just like Angel was.

xx

Corrine sat in the white room she'd been placed in after the doctors had done all their tests on her, making sure there was no damage to her from the 'time jump' that she, Lillian and Angel had undergone, and as far as they told her she was healthy. She was still so confused. She had been at the camp, the Nazi's had stormed in, Howard was shot trying to protect her and Lillian, Steve was somewhere protecting them all...and Bucky, Bucky had been dead for days.

But she was alive; she was alive and in the future. But Bucky was dead. The life they'd planned together was never going to happen: they were never going to have kids, or die old together. No, Corrine was going to die in this strange new world where people talked to tiny glowing boxes, and wore clothes that would have given her mother a heart attack.

She took in a shaky breath, wiping at her eyes, wishing so much that she still had Bucky's journal. It had been keeping her strong since his death, but now it was lost in the camp; God only knew what happened to it in 70 plus years into the future.

Angel had spoken to her about finding it, knowing that all WWII items found were always kept, but Corrine wasn't about to get her hopes up too high. She just wanted to see her baby brother, but she wasn't allowed any visits yet and Lillian was going through more tests since they told her she was a 'mutant' and could be useful? Lillian was a pin-up model, one of Stark's top girls...and now she was a badass mutant that couldn't get killed apparently.

This new world was so strange to Corrine.

There was a knock at the door and Corrine stood up quickly moving over to the dresser at the far side of the room and plucked a tissue from the tissue box there, wiping at her eyes and nose. "Come in," she said with a shaky voice, watching as Angel walked in looking like death and Corrine frowned.

"I've got something for you," she said smiling a bit, holding out Bucky's journal and Corrine put her hand over her mouth, nodding in thanks as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop her tears. "It was in a box in the attic of Stark Mansion so…any time you're ready, you and I can go back and look through everything and I'll be right there by you the whole time, I promise."

"Thank you," Corrine said taking it from her gingerly, running her fingers along Bucky's full name branded into the leather. "This…just…thank you," she said again, sighing as she flipped it open, laughing sadly at her racy picture she'd given him and glancing over at the words she'd written for him.

"No matter how far, drunk, or mad we are," Corrine read her words quietly to herself and Angel.

"Day by day I'll be missing you," Corrine looked up at the familiar voice her eyes widening, "and day by day, I'll be in love to stay."

Her jaw dropped just as the book did from her hands, Angel taking a step away just so that Corrine had a better view of him. Of Bucky. He stood there, in the same uniform he'd been in the day he died, and he gave her that lopsided smile, his blue eyes gleaming.

"Hey Corriney," he said and she just shook her head, unable to move as he crossed the floor, and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she instinctively wrapped hers around his neck, her eyes still wide from shock as he held her tightly, picking her up from the floor easily.

"You're dead," Corrine said now, her voice raw and broken as Bucky shook his head, squeezing her tighter. "You were dead, you died, you fell—you aren't supposed to be here...Bucky you died," she said now, pulling away, forcing him to drop her back to her feet as she glared up at him.

"Corrine—"

"No, No! Bucky you died!" She cried out, sobbing some as she looked up at him. "You promised me you wouldn't die," her bottom lip quivered and Bucky felt the tears springing to his eyes at the sight of her. "You promised me you wouldn't leave me James."

Bucky frowned nodding as he moved closer to, grabbing her wrists when she went to push him away. "I know; I know what I promised Corrine," he said, holding her hands in his. "I'm sorry Corrine," he said and she closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry...but I'm here now," he said moving her hands to his face, showing her he was real, that he was there, making her look back up at him. "I'm here with you, and I love you Corrine," his voice broke, and she sobbed. "I love you so much," he whispered, pulling her back to him when she started to sob, and Angel turned away, wiping at her own eyes as she slowly backed out of the room, hearing Corrine whisper her 'I love yous' to Bucky over and over again.

While it was touching to see Bucky and Corrine reunited, Angel was starting to feel lightheaded as she thought about everything, reaching up to her nose when it started to bleed. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen in her present and she was glad they were still on the base because Reed and Bruce were here to help her with things. It hurt though, because suddenly the pain in her head was back and when Steve walked into the room, Angel's nose started to bleed more.

"Angel!" he said as he rushed to her side.

Angel took a breath. "I think I might jump, but this is different…this is…painful…I don't think—"

Suddenly she let out a blood curdling scream, Steve hurrying to scoop her up in his arms, her hands on her head as he took her to Reed. They got her on the table and Bruce came as quickly as he heard, both of them sending Steve out of the room so that they could work. The energy was burning her from the inside out according to her vitals read out and as Steve went to go and let Bucky and Corrine know, Angel made an unexpected jump…right in the middle of the procedure…