Now presenting CHAPTER 10!

Recap:

Becky held her arms out in front of her to activate the repulsors, but Red Skull was instantly swallowed by a trap door underneath him. Becky wrenched open the door, but there was only a black, gaping hole for her to see. Feeling like she had failed Steve once again, Becky sighed in resignation. What did it matter? Becky never had it in her heart to kill Red Skull, even if he was a vicious, vile villain. Her conscience never would have sat well with her intentionally killing another person.

…..

"I know you say love is for children," sighed Clint. "If so, then I am just a boy."

"…And I am just a girl," responded Natasha quietly as she weakly squeezed Clint's hands.

Clint's eyes widened in a desolate hope, fervently wishing he understood her correctly and painfully despairing that she was nearing the edge of death. The last image that Natasha saw before her deep slumber was the tears shining in Clint's loving eyes, followed by a cloud of darkness.

Oblivion gradually ebbed away from Steve's conscious, allowing his brain to dominate its proper place at last. His eyes opened, and he discovered that he was in a hospital room, which had bland beige walls and an old television set sleeping at the corner of the room. He felt a sweetly strange sensation of pressure on his right hand; he glanced to his side and saw that the cause of the pressure was no less than his beloved Becky, who was at that moment dozing off.

"Becky," murmured Steve, who briefly noticed that the whispered sound of her name sounded a lot like "Peggy."

Becky's eyes shot open, and she turned her head toward Steve so quickly that it made her brain spin like a top. She was sure that the pleasant smile on Steve's handsome face was an illusion, another one of the fantasies that had been creeping up on her mind since his disappearance. Yet the gentle squeezing of Steve's hand assured her that this was not a dream.

"Steve!" exclaimed Becky, flinging her arms around him and weeping joyfully.

Becky withdrew from the embrace for a moment to look sorrowfully at Steve; he returned the remorseful gaze.

"I'm sorry that I snapped at you so thoughtlessly," said Becky.

"I'm sorry that I didn't treat you with more respect," said Steve.

"No, no, you were just protecting me," sighed Becky.

"And you were fighting for your rights," responded Steve. "I tried so hard to keep you away from SHIELD, but now it's thanks to SHIELD that I'm alive."

"You meant well, but I just wanted to kick butt," commented Becky. "I was too concerned about my training to care about your feelings."

"But you still saved me."

Becky's cerulean eyes widened, and her jaw went slack. How would he know her part in the mission if he wasn't even conscious?

"I don't remember much from the battle," admitted Steve. "But I remember hearing your voice."

Becky's cheeks flushed to a crimson hue, and she didn't reply. Steve laid his head back on his pillow, then abruptly sat up when a thought occurred to him.

"Did you do something stupid during the battle?" demanded Steve.

Unable to conjure a lie, Becky gawked.

"Ugh, I knew it!" said Steve resignedly. "Don't tell me about it now. I don't think my heart can take it."

A silence then ensued, allowing Steve to fully grasp his unfortunate transformation as he observed his physique, or really lack thereof. He grimaced at his emaciated condition, because he knew that it spelled the end of his superhuman career. Doubtless the Avengers and Becky would never be able to look at him the same way ever again; any respect that he had earned from them and the world had been swiped away with one stroke. He was back to the scrawny scrap of flesh that everyone would overlook.

"Becky?" Steve whispered.

"Hm?" responded Becky.

"I know that your relationship with me has put you through a lot. Now that I'm not the super-soldier you once knew, I would understand if it has become too much for you."

"What are you saying, Steve?"

"I'm saying you don't have to stay with me because you pity me. You can leave with no strings attached."

Becky laughed a musical laugh that resounded like chimes in the wind.

"Oh, Steve," drawled Becky good-naturedly. "It wasn't Captain America that I fell in love with."

Steve cocked his head slightly in perplexity. The dimples of Becky's smile deepened further as she leaned closely toward Steve.

"I fell in love with you, Steve," affirmed Becky. "Not the captain, not the all-American hero. Steve Rogers."

Steve's lips crashed onto hers in a spontaneous, powerful kiss that overwhelmed with bliss; he had never kissed her like this before, like he had died a hopeless death and then miraculously returned to life, and to her. The couple soon lost grip of the time and place, and only remembered the stirring warmth of their passionate caress.

Finally Steve withdrew and said, "Since it's me you love, and not the captain… how would you feel about becoming Mrs. Rebecca Anne Rogers?"

Becky's face froze into a solid state of utter shock; she didn't believe that she heard him correctly.

"I'm sorry that I don't have a ring to offer you now," said Steve apologetically. "But today I realize that I need you in my life, forever, as my wife - if you agree, that is."

Tears trickled down Becky's ruddy cheeks as she hastily nodded in assent. "Yes Steve, I absolutely will marry you!"

Again Steve and Becky's lips meshed in a sweet, undeniable expression of love. Their kiss ended when they heard the creak of door hinges, and then entered the Stark family for a visit. The boy and his tiny tot of a sister darted from their parents' hold to spring on Steve in an ecstatic, childish frenzy. The two children smothered Steve with wet kisses, while their parents gawked in amazement.

"Uncle Steve, where have you been?" inquired Ryder Stark.

"A faraway place," replied Steve vaguely.

"Why you look diffewent?" asked Janet Stark with sloppy grammar.

"Um… it's a long story, kid."

Tony and Pepper slowly approached Steve's bedside; much to Steve's surprise, Tony's mouth seemed incapable of formulating discernible words.

"Is the Tony Stark speechless?" asked Steve with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Uh, heh heh," muttered Tony as he rubbed the back of his stiff neck. "It's just kinda weird to see you…"

"Looking like a puny wimp?" offered Steve.

There was an awkward period of silence as Tony mustered his wits.

"Listen cap," said Tony, "I know that you're still the same noble, courageous stick-in-the-mud on the inside, regardless of your outsides. You shouldn't beat yourself up about what you can't help."

"Thanks, Tony," responded Steve gratefully. "I know that you're right, but this is still going to take some getting used to."

Tony nodded.

"How are the other Avengers doing?" questioned Steve, trying to get his mind off of the current conversation.

"Well, Natasha took a major hit, but she's recovering quickly," replied Tony. "The more shocking bit of news is that she and Clint are now an item."

"Ha, I knew it!" exclaimed Becky victoriously.

"Really?" said Steve with wide eyes.

"Yeah, apparently shooting people on a daily basis is a great foundation for romance," commented Tony sarcastically.

"Oh shush, Tony," reprimanded Pepper. "Thor is doing fine but he had to return to Asgard. Bruce has been… well, in a hyperactive Hulk mode 24/7."

"Betty Ross was the only one able to calm him down," added Tony. "She miraculously came up with a formula that can pacify him."

"Has she given it to him yet?" asked Steve.

"Yes, but we have yet to see how effective it is," said Pepper. "So far he looks more serene than he has in years."

"I hope this means that he and Betty can finally be together," sighed Becky dreamily.

"Geez Steve, she's as sappy as you," quipped Tony.

Someone behind Tony cleared his throat, and everyone looked upon the stoic Nick Fury, who was furtively holding something behind his back.

"Captain, I have something for you," said Nick Fury in a tone that almost implied happiness.

Ooooh, what does Nick Fury have behind his back? I'm guessing... AN ICE CREAM CONE! What do you guys think?