All the Time in the World

Chapter 11

After dropping Amanda back off at her house on Sunday afternoon, Steve continued on to his new address in DC. Luckily for him, it didn't take too long to unpack most of his belongings when he arrived, since he didn't have that much in his possession. In part, due to the fact that SHIELD had provided him with most of his furniture, minus some pieces he brought with him from New York.

Once he was more a less settled in, Steve went about putting his books on the shelf, until he heard a knock on the door. Steve then knitted his eyebrows as he stared at the door, having not been expecting anyone. Then after setting down the book he had been holding, he made his way over to the door and opened it.

"Natasha."

"Hey Steve," Natasha greeted. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Steve said, moving aside to let her pass.

Natasha then walked into the room and looked around the nice but modest apartment.

"You have a nice place here, Steve."

"Yeah, I like it so far."

"I do have to hand it for SHIELD. They are good about setting up accommodations for their people."

"Yeah, they are."

Natasha then spun around to face him. "So how's your granddaughter?"

Steve eyes then widened slightly at her question. Before remembering that he had told Natasha about his granddaughter in the elevator, on the day he met Amanda.

"She's good."

"Good. That's really something there, Steve. I didn't know you had a granddaughter."

"Neither, did I," Steve replied, still reeling from the whole thing. A feeling he guessed he would continue to have for quite some time.

"Oh," Natasha said. She had wondered if Steve had known before the Battle of New York but based on his reply, she guessed that wasn't the case. "How long have you known?"

"A little over a week."

"A little over a week, huh? That must have been very shocking for you."

Steve nodded. "You have no idea. It was a very welcome surprise though, and Amanda's great."

"So what about your child….?"

"Oh," Steve said. "Daughter. I have a daughter. Her name's Sarah."

Natasha then gave a little nod. "Sarah. That's a pretty name. So I'm guessing you didn't know about her either?"

"No…I didn't," Steve said. "Her mother….didn't know at the time I disappeared so..."

Natasha, who had been looking over Steve's books then turned back around when he paused mid-sentence. She didn't need her spy instincts to figure out that it was difficult for him to talk about Sarah's mother, and the fact that he hadn't known she was pregnant when he crashed the plane. For that was evident from the look he now had on his face. Natasha had certainly been through a lot in her life, but even she couldn't imagine what that would be like.

And though she would certainly like to know more, Natasha could see that now wasn't the right time to ask.

"Well, you've certainly had your fair share of surprises lately," Natasha said. "So where do aliens raining down from the sky rank in all this?"

Steve laughed, grateful for the break in the tension. Since though he was trying to make his peace with what happened. He still found it very hard to talk about.

"Still pretty far up there," Steve said.

Natasha chuckled. "Just you wait. The 21st century is full of surprises."

"I'm getting that," Steve said. Then after a brief pause, he decided it was his turn to ask a question. "So how's Barton doing?"

"He's doing good, recovering."

"Good," Steve said. "Tell him I say hi."

"I will."

Then after a brief pause, Natasha spoke again. "Anyway, Fury wanted me to come by and give you this."

Natasha then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a device and handed it to him.

"A new cell phone?" Steve questioned.

Natasha nodded. "Welcome to SHIELD, Cap. We're going to be working together."

"Well, it's a good thing we know we can work together then."

"Yeah," Natasha said. "Well, I got to run. See you tomorrow, Steve."

"See you tomorrow."

Then when she reached the door, Natasha paused. "Let me know if you need any help with that thing."

Steve then looked down at the phone in his hand and gave a chuckle.

"Oh right. I'll keep that in mind but I think I got it. If not, I'm sure Amanda knows how these things work too."

Natasha then gave a little laugh. "I'm sure she does. Bye Steve."

Steve's eyes then stayed on her as she left the apartment. And as soon as the door closed, Steve returned to his books and began moving the remaining ones from the box to the shelf. Then as he reached for the last one, he proceeded to open it, and revealed the letter that he had hidden inside the book for the move. Steve then took the letter in his hand, and read over his daughter's name on the front of the envelope. He had done it. He had written his first letter to Sarah. And it was all ready to be sent off to Europe first thing Monday morning, before he started his first official day at SHIELD.

Which would mark the start of new beginnings for him with SHIELD, and with his family.

A few weeks later, Amanda walked up the steps to her grandfather's apartment and used her key, the one that Steve had given her to unlock the door. Then, in consideration for Steve's privacy, she knocked once before entering.

"Hi Steve."

Steve then walked out of the kitchen and smiled upon seeing his granddaughter. "Good morning, Amanda. How are you?"

"I'm great. In need of more coffee though."

"Ah. Have you been staying up too late?"

Amanda nodded. "Yeah, work. I had a mission last night."

"Oh right. Of course," Steve said, remembering her mentioning something about going on a mission the previous day. "Well, how did it go?"

"Good. Everything went smoothly," Amanda said in a reassuring voice, at hearing the slight worry in his.

"I'm glad."

Steve was amazed how fast he was becoming protective of his granddaughter. Though that realization hadn't really occurred to him until just now. Yet, he knew it was true. It was simply incredible to him how much he was coming to care for Amanda in a short amount of time. And now he wanted nothing more than to see her safe and happy. But of course, the safe part, in her profession wasn't always a certainty.

And though he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. A quality that reminded him very much of Peggy. He still made a vow to himself that he would do everything in his power to help keep her safe, always.

"That was nice parenting, or grandparenting just now."

"Really? You think so?" Amanda then have him a nod. "Well, it is my job. I guess."

"It most certainly is. And you do a good job, by the way."

"Thanks," Steve replied, giving her a smile.

"So….Not to pry, but have you heard from my mom yet?" Amanda asked, knowing he had sent out a letter for Sarah and should be receiving one back, any day now.

"It's all right," Steve said. "And no, not yet."

"I'm sure you'll hear from her soon."

"You think so?"

"Of course," Amanda said. "She is my mother after all. I bet she's finishing it up as we speak."

"You're probably right."

"Mmhmm."

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll hear from Sarah any day now," Steve said, more to himself than to her. As a reminder for him to exercise patience. He would hear from his daughter soon.

"You will," Amanda said. "Hey, at least the mail is a lot faster now than it was in 1945."

Steve then let out a laugh. "I suppose that's true."

Amanda nodded. "So are you ready to go?"

"Just about," Steve said. "Give me a few minutes."

"No problem," Amanda said, before she pointed down the hallway. "I'll wait right in here."

The young woman then started walking into the living room while Steve made his way over to the bedroom to finish getting ready for the day. After she set foot into the room, Amanda checked her watch to make sure that they would still have time to get coffee before heading into work. Just as they had planned.

She then proceeded to walk the length of the room, pausing while she checked out Steve's book collection. And a smile appeared on her face when she noticed how many books on World War II he had acquired. He certainly was making a nice home for himself here. As the place looked a lot homier now than when he first moved in.

Amanda then wandered passed his desk and noticed an object in one corner of it. It looked old, like it was from the 1940's old. And when she moved to pick it up, she glanced around to make sure that Steve hadn't left his bedroom yet. Amanda then inspected the object carefully, and before long she moved to open it, revealing the compass inside. The young woman's eyes then quickly shifted to the other side of the compass, and there she found a picture of her grandmother. A breath then left Amanda's lips at the mere sight of it. Her grandfather had kept a picture of her grandmother from back then. And by the look of this compass, he must have had it during the war and when he crashed the plane. Amanda's eyes then briefly refocused on Peggy's picture. Her grandmother really was beautiful.

The young woman then continued to hold onto the compass for a few minutes, and the longer she stared at it, the more her heart warmed. Amanda almost couldn't believe how sweet they were, and how sweet it was that her grandparents had both kept pictures of each other. Her grandparents really did love each other. If there was anything these last few weeks had shown her, it was that. Though this realization also made Amanda sad in a way, seeing that her grandparents never had the chance to truly be together. And she wondered, as she did that day in Paley Park. If there was anything that she could do for them.

She then carefully set the compass back down on the table, smiling to herself as she did so. Then just as she put it down, Amanda heard Steve come into the room.

"You ready?"

Amanda then spun around at the sound of his voice and nodded in reply.

"Yes."

The grandfather and granddaughter then filed out of the apartment together, And as they did so, Steve being the gentlemen that he was, held the door open for Amanda as she stepped out. Then as he was locking the door, they heard another door open and turned to see a blonde woman come out of the apartment next door.

The blonde woman being none other than, Sharon Carter. Inwardly, Amanda chuckled at Sharon's slightly surprised expression when she glanced over and saw her cousin standing there.

"Oh, hello, Captain Rogers."

"Hello, Kate," Steve greeted, and then looked between the two women. "Oh, Kate I'd like you to meet, Amanda. She's my…"

"Cousin," Amanda chimed in. "I'm his cousin. It's nice to meet you."

The two women then reached out to shake each other's hands, both playing along as if they had never met before.

"Likewise."

"Well, we best be going, Steve," Amanda said. "The coffee awaits."

"Of course. Excuse us, Kate."

"No problem. Have a nice day," Sharon said. "Nice to meet you, Amanda."

"You too."

Sharon then waved as they went passed. And as soon as Steve started down the stairs, Amanda turned back towards Sharon and gave her a little smirk. To which, Sharon responded to by sticking her tongue out. Prompting Amanda to do the same, before she followed her grandfather down the stairs.

After leaving the apartment, Steve and Amanda made their way over to a local Starbucks on the way to the Triskelion. Something that was going to be a whole new experience for the Captain, since he had never been to one before. Slowly but surely, Amanda was showing him new things and he was enjoying basically every minute of it. Mostly because he got to experience these things with her.

When they finally arrived, Steve parked his motorcycle and then waited while his granddaughter found herself a parking space for her car.

"You ready?" Steve asked, as she walked up to him.

"Yeah." Amanda then glanced over at the parking place that Steve had managed to squeeze the motorcycle into. "Wow. That is handy for tight parking places."

"It is that."

"Don't forget, you still owe me a driving lesson," Amanda said with a bright smile.

A smile that Steve was sure by now that he wouldn't be able to say no to. And besides, he had promised her that he would teach her how to ride a motorcycle.

"How could I forget? What do you think about this weekend?"

"This weekend, sounds perfect."

"Good. It's settled then."

"Perfect."

"But unlike me you're going to wear a helmet," Steve said.

Amanda then paused for a second, as she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, is this a protective streak I'm sensing, Steve?"

Steve then gave her a smile. "Well, you are my granddaughter. It is my job, remember?"

"That it is," Amanda agreed, and then gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

"Of course," Steve said.

The twenty-five year old then walked in the door while he held it open for her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Steve said. "And with the motorcycle. I think your grandmother would object if I let you ride without a helmet."

Amanda let out a laugh, knowing that was true. "There is that. Grandma does own a gun after all."

"Oh, I know. Believe me."

Steve's mind then drifted to the time Peggy had shot his shield after catching Phillip's secretary kissing him. She hadn't meant to hurt him of course, and he knew that. Which was why he now looked back on it as a fond memory. A memory that the two of them had in fact joked about, on one occasion when they were camping out in the forests of Austria with the Howling Commandos. Steve then shook himself from the memory, to find Amanda staring at him with a curious expression.

"I'm guessing there's a story there?"

"Oh yes," Steve said with a laugh. "I'll tell you about it sometime."

"I look forward to it."

The two of them then got into the short line and Steve proceeded to look all around the store. Still amazed by how much things had changed since 1945.

"Oh, Amanda, I'll pay for the coffee. My treat."

Amanda smiled, touched by his generous offer. "Thank you, Steve. But you don't have to do that."

"I know but I want to. And you did pay last time."

"Well, thank you," Amanda said, officially accepting his offer.

Steve eyes then landed on the menu, and as he looked over the prices for the drinks, he was a little taken aback by what he saw.

"Amanda," Steve said, tapping her shoulder to make her turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Is it really four dollars for a cup of coffee here?!"

"Oh yeah, well here anyway. It's pretty standard though," Amanda said, before noticing his shocked expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…back in my day it was ten cents."

"Wow, ten cents. You're kidding?"

"I'm not. Wow, I guess things really do change," Steve mused.

"Wow." Amanda said, stunned. "Inflation really is a bitch."

Steve's mouth then opened in shock as soon as that word left his granddaughter's lips. And he then quickly glanced around, making sure no one heard her.

"Amanda," Steve said, in an almost admonishing tone.

"What?"

"You shouldn't say that in public."

Amanda furrowed her brow for a minute, feeling a bit confused. Before she finally catch on and remembered that back in his day, speaking that kind of language in public was very frowned upon.

"Opps, sorry," Amanda said. "I think we're good. But you and I must be from very different Brooklyn's though cause..."

"It's okay," Steve said. "I guess I am a bit…"

"Old?"

"Yeah," Steve admitted.

"You're really not though….Well are you, but you aren't," Amanda said, wondering how much of that actually made sense.

"Well, thank you. I guess I'm still trying to adjust to everything."

"You're welcome. And hey, if it means anything, I think you're adjusting well." Steve then gave her a smile, while Amanda glanced over and realized how close they were to the cash register. "Now, what do you want to drink? An Americano perhaps?"

Amanda then smiled as she closed her lips together tight, and waited for her little joke to sink in. And when it finally did, Steve let out a laugh and shook his head in amusement.

"You're funny."

"I try," Amanda said with a little shrug.

The twenty-five-year-old then gave a small laugh as she stepped forward and greeted the barista.

Later that day, Amanda wandered into the break room near her office area at the Triskelion, and saw her friend and former roommate from the Academy, making herself some coffee.

"Good afternoon, Amy."

"Hi Mandy," Amy greeted. "How's your day going?"

"Good. I just got out of a meeting, thank god," Amanda said. As she went about getting her lunch out of the fridge.

"I hear that."

Then just before Amy could say anything more, two other female agents walked into the room, in the midst of a conversation.

"I can't believe it." They heard one of the women say as the two moved to sit down at a table.

"What are you two talking about?" Amy asked.

"Oh, Lisa here saw Captain America in the lobby this morning."

"No way!"

"Yes way!" Lisa said. "And ladies, he is so much more attractive in person."

"That's just unreal," the other agent said.

Amanda then quietly shut the door to the refrigerator and went over to go pour herself a cup of coffee. While she listened to the others discuss Captain America and how attractive they found him. A discussion that was really starting to make her feel awkward. Obviously, no one in the room knew of her relation to the Captain, not even Amy. And as she listened unwillingly, Amanda prayed that they wouldn't try to include her in the conversation.

"And he has a great butt."

At this, Amanda raised her eyebrows. Hearing how nice her grandfather's assets were, was definitely something she didn't need to hear. She so had to get out of this room. Amanda eyes then moved towards the door, eyeing her escape. But before she could make her exit, Lisa looked her way.

"What do you think, Amanda?"

"Hmm?" Amanda questioned. While she tried to hide her aggravation at them for including her in this conversation.

"Of Captain America. He's good looking, don't you think?"

"Oh, I guess so."

"You guess?" Lisa said. "Amanda, the man is built."

Amanda opened her mouth for a second, as she thought about how to reply before giving a shrug. "I don't know, I guess he's just not really my type."

The other agents then stared at Amanda in disbelief. Like they thought she was crazy for not feeling the way they did.

"Oh, leave Amanda, alone. She has good taste in men. Trust me," Amy said, giving her friend a wink.

"Thanks for that, Amy."

"Wait? Amanda? Your grandmother knew him right?" Lisa asked.

"She did, yeah," Amanda said, shifting her weight to one foot. "They served together during the war."

The young woman then bit her lip for a second, hoping that she was playing this cool. As she didn't want to accidently reveal anything she shouldn't. Thankfully, for her, years of practice, protecting her little family secret had prepared her for situations such as this.

"Wow. Well I give Agent Carter props. I have no idea how she managed to keep her hands off of him."

At this, Amanda almost choked on her coffee. If only they knew that her mother was the physical embodiment of Steve and Peggy's true relationship. Amanda then coughed once, and cleared her throat as she recovered before taking another sip of coffee.

That was it. She just had to get out of that room. This whole thing was just becoming more uncomfortable by the minute.

"It is a mystery," Amanda said, grabbing her lunch and coffee. "Well, I'll talk to you ladies later."

Elsewhere in the Triskelion, Steve stood in the elevator, heading back up to the offices. After having gone to work out in the one of the various training rooms for a few hours. He knew that Amanda would be finishing lunch right about now, and wanted to see about meeting up with her before she got tied up in meetings for the rest of the afternoon.

Steve then heard a familiar beep, letting him know that he was on the right floor. And once the doors open, he found Natasha standing there, waiting for him.

"Hello Steve."

"Hi," Steve greeted, stepping out of the elevator. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

"Oh?"

"We have a mission."

Natasha then handed him the file that she had been holding behind her back. And as they walked along, he proceeded to briefly flip through it.

"Oh. Thank you."

Natasha nodded. "Fury wants us to meet in his office in an hour, for a debriefing."

"I'll be there."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit." Natasha said, though she made no move to leave. Then after a beat she spoke again. "Clint sends his congratulations by the way."

"Congratulations? Oh you mean about my…"

"Yeah," Natasha said with a nod.

"So you told him?"

"I did," Natasha said. "I hope you don't mind. He's just that person for me."

"No, no. It's fine. I suppose they should all know eventually," Steve said, thinking about the other Avengers.

The two Avengers were then interrupted when they both glanced over to one side and saw Amanda walking over to them.

"Hey," Amanda greeted, cautiously. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all," Natasha replied.

"We were just talking," Steve added, before realizing that the two women still had yet to be properly introduced. "Oh right, Amanda, this is Natasha. Natasha, Amanda."

"Ah so you're Amanda. Nice to meet you, officially anyway," Natasha said. "Steve here talks about you all the time."

"You too. Does he now?" Amanda questioned, glancing over at Steve.

"Oh yes. I've been wondering if he was ever going to introduce us," Natasha joked.

"Hey, we've been busy," Steve said, earning a chuckle from the other two.

"Uh-huh. Well, speaking of busy, I should go. I'll see you later, Steve. It was really nice to finally meet you, Amanda."

"Sounds good," Steve replied.

Natasha then gave them both a nod, before taking off down the hallway.

"Wow. So that was Natasha Romanoff," Amanda said, truly amazed by all this.

"Yeah," Steve said.

"I can't believe I just met Natasha Romanoff! Steve, do you have any idea…." Amanda then paused, realizing how overenthusiastic she must sound. "Wow. That was embarrassing. I forgot for a minute that you two have worked together. Are working together."

"Oh, don't be. Natasha is a very impressive agent. And well, I do know something about that," Steve said, referring to her reaction to meeting Natasha.

"Ah, you would, wouldn't you? Speaking of which, I heard that you're making quite an impression around here."

"I am?" Steve questioned, as his granddaughter gave a nod. "I suppose it comes with the territory. I hope you're not too affected by it though."

"I think I'll live," Amanda assured him.

The grandfather and granddaughter were then interrupted from their conversation when they heard another voice call Amanda's name. And when she spun around towards the sound, she saw Trip waving to her.

"Trip!" Amanda called as she rushed over to him and practically jumped into his arms.

"Hey girl."

Trip then laughed as he held onto her for several seconds before finally setting her back down on the ground. While Steve observed the scene in front of him with great interest, wondering just who this young man was to his granddaughter.

Then once Amanda's feet were back down on the ground. She turned towards Steve, and grabbed on to Trip's arm and proceeded to pull him over to her grandfather.

"Well, this is a day of introductions," Amanda said. "Steve, I'd like you to meet Trip, Gabe Jones grandson."

"Oh. Hi," Steve greeted, shaking the hand of his friend's grandson. Which was a very surreal experience for the Captain. Though he would have thought that he would be used to it by now.

"Hi," Trip said. "It's very nice to meet you, Captain Rogers. My grandfather talked about you a lot. Along with Mandy here, of course."

"Well, it's nice to meet you too."

Meanwhile, over in Italy. Sarah sat at her desk in her villa as she read over the letter she had written to her father.

And as her eyes glanced over the paper, re-reading what she had wrote. Sarah felt her husband come up from behind her and wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, how's it coming?" Anthony asked, kissing her neck.

"Good. I think it's just about ready," Sarah said.

"I would think so. You've been working on it since yesterday."

Anthony then moved to go sit down on the couch a little ways from the desk. And after he was sitting, Sarah turned slightly to face him.

"I know, but I just want it to be perfect," Sarah said. "Okay, so I know perfect isn't possible. But you know what I mean."

"I do. I know how important this is to you."

Sarah then glanced back over her letter to Steve one more time, as she thought about what this truly meant for them. This piece of paper was the start of a relationship. A real, and tangible relationship with her father. Something that her younger self could only dream about. Sarah then felt a single tear go down her cheek, as she thought about how sweet and beautiful her father's letter had been. It was truly everything that she could have imagined it would be, but even better. And she just wanted her letter in return to be just as sweet and meaningful.

"Thank you," Sarah said, glancing back up to her husband.

"I'm sure he'll love it."

"You think so?" Sarah questioned.

"I know so," Anthony said. "How could he not? You're his daughter."

"I suppose that's true."

"He'll love it, Sarah. Really."

"Well, all right. I guess, I'm ready now."

Sarah then stood up with the letter in her hand as she moved to put it into an envelope.

"Want me to go with you?" Anthony asked, thinking his wife could use some support for this trip to the post office.

After the letter was safely tucked in the envelope, Sarah turned back around to face her husband. "Would you please?"

"I'd be happy to."

"Great. Well, let's go then."

"Let's go," Anthony echoed, taking his wife's hand as they met over by the door.

The two then looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds. And before they left, Anthony leaned in and gave Sarah a kiss on the forehead.

Thanks for reading as always.

Ah the compass! So many Steggy feels. I think it's safe to say that Amanda is wrapping Cap around her little finger.

And speaking of Steggy, whatever Amanda is planning for her grandparents is happening next chapter! Stay tuned. I shall do my best to update next week.