Omniscient POV

And to Scotland they went, arriving in the nick of time. Wanda and Vision were near being slaughtered by two hideous, foreign creatures that were definitely not human, even if they did speak English. Immediately, Steve, Nat, and Sam jumped in the fight to do what they did best – avenge, and this time, it was for Vision. If they couldn't save Vision, it would be pointless for them to fight for James. After all, he and Wanda where like students to both of them. Even though one side of them wanted James as far away from the avenging world as possible, the other side knew that he would likely grow up to be another hero.

[insert Infinity war fight scene in Edinburgh + going to Avengers facility]

Back at the Avengers facility, War Machine – Rhodey – was recovered and in a deep, heated conversation with another mustached dude – Senator or Secretary Ross or something- in other words, the same idiot who had suggested the Sokovia Accords, and ruined the Avengers. He tried to confront them, having a façade of seeming authority, but Steve, who was way past "asking for forgiveness", threatened to fight him in the most Captain-America-like way ever.

Rhodey literally brushed his projection aside, as he, too, was past the government's order, and was thrilled to see his friends once more.

"It's great to see you, Cap," he said, smiling, as he clapped Steve's hand. Despite their little Civil War, they were genuinely happy to be reunited.

"You too, buddy," he said in return.

"Hey," Rhodes added as he gave Natasha a hug. "You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."

"Yeah, well the hotels weren't exactly five-star," Sam answered, looking satisfied at that the rift between the two had vanished.

"Well, I think you look great," said a familiar voice from across the room. Bruce Banner.

Apparently, he had returned from…wherever he had been.

Steve was furious. Furious that this guy, who could not even control his own mind (sometimes), had come back at directly the worst time. He might have gone through a lot, and he was probably much smarter than him – which he respected – but to just come back and almost…flirt? He, Steve, had a much closer bond with Natasha than Banner ever would. She was the mother of his son, and his son only. Even though he was the seemingly perfect Captain America, and this was the eve of perhaps their biggest battle, he could not but help feel a bit…jealous. What if Natasha did go back to Banner? No, no, she would never to that…right?

A surge of a thousand different emotions went through Natasha. Here she was, standing right next to Steve, but right across from the man whom she had crushed on for so long. The last time they had met, he wasn't even himself. She felt a wave of remote frustration from Steve - the man who had now taken her heart, and the father of her child - and she had studied enough of human emotion to know that he was nervous – which was understandable – and his facial expression only portrayed a hint of jealousy. A smirk played at her lips, but she knew, for now, their good news had to be kept a secret.

"Hi, Bruce," she said casually, managing a small, faint, smile.

"Well, this is awkward," whispered Sam. Of course, it would be, since he was the only other person who knew what had really happened in the years they had gone.

Rhodey took them to another room, where they replenished with a few drinks. Despite the original cheeriness of being reunited again, the mood was again darkened by the looming threat of Thanos, and his almost-guaranteed next target: Vision. More specifically, the Mind Stone on Vision's forehead.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."

"That's too high a price," said Wanda, on the verge of tears. No one wished to argue with her. She had gone through so much, losing her parents, her home, her brother, and now, she was about to lose her boyfriend.

Vision, being the calculating, caring, person he was made to be, he was, took her face into his hands. "Only you have the power to pay it." Wanda, clearly distressed at her boyfriend not caring about his own life, walked away, too worried to look at him anymore.

Steve bowed his head and diverted his eyes from the scene, clearly reminiscing his own relationship with Natasha, with his family. What if, one day, they had to pay that price, too? He was a father now, and he had new responsibilities that sometime seemed too big to undertake.

Bruce was the one who realized that there were alternate methods, like removing the stone but not removing Vision. And, remembering T'Challa's words of a genius in Wakanda, Steve suggested that they travel to his palace in the hopes of doing so.

[cut to right before Infinity War's fight scene in Wakanda]

Earth's last line of defense stood in horror as they stared at Wakanda's protective shields, at the hideous creatures tearing themselves apart in order to get them. These creatures, who were less than animals, who thought of nothing else besides killing.

If they did nothing now, then the shield would soon break, and the entirety of Wakanda – followed by the rest of Earth - would fall to Thanos's minions. And there was only one alternative, which T'Challa reluctantly gave the order to do.

That solution? Opening a fraction of the shield around the kingdom so that there was only one source of the fighting, and so no one had to keep an eye on the entire shield. Even so, it would be near impossible to win this fight, despite the army consisting of the entirety of Wakanda's well-trained warriors, and Earth's best heroes, including Bucky Barnes, Captain America, Black Widow, Black Panther, the Banner in the Hulkbuster.

Everyone else was fighting to live, to protect their own home. But Steve and Natasha? If they lost, then it would destroy everything they had spent so much effort building in the last few months. It would destroy their family.

[cut to the point, after the Battle of Wakanda, when Thanos has snapped everybody]

"Lila? Where's your dad?" said Natasha, panicking after entering the familiar farmhouse and noticing its unusual coldness. Clint, Laura, Cooper and Nathaniel were nowhere to be seen, and it was way too likely that they had been vaporized.

No. Not Clint, who had always been seemingly invincible. Not sweet Laura, dear Cooper, and baby Nathaniel, who did not deserve this at all. And not Laura, who should not have seen her family vanish.

It was right after that tragic battle of Wakanda, where Natasha had lost almost everyone she held dear to her. And when she came back, it was only worse, after discovering the disappearance of Fury, Hill, and 3.5 billion other innocent lives on the planet. Luckily, Steve was here with her, and she so desperately needed him. But as of now, the only thing on her mind was her son. The pain right now was the anxiety of not knowing, the suspense that built up every second.

"Auntie Nat? Auntie Nat!" she whimpered, running to Natasha's arms.

Natasha knelt down and embraced her, as the two shared a moment of shared desperation. "Lila, where's Clint?"

Lila rubbed her eyes. "Daddy's away. He said he'd be gone for a day or two. But Mommy, Cooper, Nathan, and James…they're just…gone."

Still leaving her hand on Lila's shoulder, Natasha eyes widened, as she slowly stood up, and looked up at Steve. Her own look of terror was mirrored in Steve's.

Because Steve, too, was terrified. Bucky was gone. Sam was gone. His two best friends, gone despite their most valiant efforts. All because he wasn't strong enough. At least, he thought, I'm not alone. I have Natasha. And maybe James. Maybe. We can be a family…

But as he scoured the empty farmhouse, he felt his resolve crumbling. Captain America, the front of the one of the biggest powers in the world, was being destroyed. He looked at Natasha, and the glassy, watery texture of her eyes summarized everything.

No. Not James. Not this. Anything but this.