4 Years, 3 Months, 5 Days, 18 Hours post Snap (37,325 Hours post Snap)

It had been another peculiar and long day for Steve. Ever since the science bros, as Tony himself liked to refer to them, had managed to get a hold of Pym's lab, they had been working on a way to travel back in time. It was definitely a work in progress-very slow progress.

A week earlier, Tony had managed to reconfigure his memory reenacting machine, BARF, so they could explore past encounters with the infinity stones and decide where changes needed to occur once they perfected a way to travel backward in time.

Today had been especially odd for Steve as he and Tony traveled back to his memories of the 1940's. He was actually grateful Natasha was away on a mission. It was strange enough seeing Peggy through BARF without having his lover beside him.

Rationally, Steve knew none of it was real. Peggy was gone and had been for years, but it sure didn't feel like it as he looked at his first love. Peggy was the one who really shaped the man he was today. If it weren't for her and Ursine, he'd have never been more than a sickly kid from Brooklyn.

Steve had truly loved Peggy, so seeing her was harder than he had expected. He chastised himself as he prepared for bed that night. Natasha was the woman he loved now, and she was the love of his life. But, there was a small part of Steve who wanted the life he could have had without the ice.

He wasn't even sure it was not marrying Peggy that he regretted most. Maybe it was more not marrying at all. He hadn't planned to be a soldier forever, but this current world needed him to keep being Captain America. And, it needed Natasha to keep being the Black Widow.

Steve was still ruminating in his thoughts when Natasha arrived. "Didn't expect you to wait up, soldier," she said with a small smile.

Steve pulled her into the bed beside him and hugged her. "It wasn't exactly intentional, but I'm glad your back. I hate the missions you go on without me."

"It was a quick in and out. It was almost boring," she replied before giving him a quick kiss. "How did your trip down memory lane go?"

"We didn't find anything that would help reverse the Snap."

"Hmm," Natasha replied, with pursed lips.

"Why do I get the feeling you took the mission to avoid being here for my little trip to the past?"

"Because you're very smart," Natasha replied. "What was it like?"

"Weird, very weird. It was like I was there living the moments again. It was a little hard to differentiate between what was real and what wasn't. Tony's really made some advancements."

"And, seeing Peggy again? I'm sure that part was nice," Natasha said cautiously.

"It certainly made me think about things."

"Things?"

"How much being in the ice changed my life-changed me," Steve explained. "I'm a much different person than the one who went into the ice."

"I guess that was inevitable."

"Yeah, I guess so. It was a simpler time. I guess I was just laying here thinking about how much different my life is compared to how I planned it."

"You'd have settled down with Peggy and had a family," Natasha stated matter of factly.

"Well, Peggy or someone else maybe. I wouldn't have kept being Captain America. That's for sure."

"With or without the shield, you'd have always been Captain America."

"We'll never know I guess."

"If you could go back, would you?"

"No, not unless I got to take the woman I love more than anything with me. I don't want to be anywhere in any time unless I have you by my side," Steve said with conviction. "You're the only one for me, Nat."

"Good answer, soldier. I didn't want to watch the simulation. I was afraid seeing Peggy again would make you realize you loved her more than you could ever love me."

"I couldn't love anyone as much as I love you. It did make me think though," Steve paused. "I want to marry you as soon as we fix this mess. What do you say? Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Natasha grinned. "When this is over, we'll get married."

Quantum Realm

"So, are we going to go through the portal?" Scott asked as Carol put her hand against it. "How do we know it's safe?"

"Pretty sure we won't know until we go through it," Carol informed him before stepping through it without him.

Scott shook his head and followed. What he found on the other side was definitely not what he expected. He and Carol were definitely not in San Francisco. They weren't even on Earth. Scott was still looking around when Carol called his name. "Scott, that's my ship. We must be on one of Hala's moons."

Scott followed Carol to her ship. "It looks like it's been here awhile," he said with a sigh. "Do you think it'll fly?"

"I need to look it over. Power won't be an issue. If there are an breaches in the hull, we'll have to repair them. But, eventually, we should be able to make it fly. At least, we should be able to get to Hala and get help."

As they stepped onto the ship, Carol immediately went to the cockpit with Scott trailing behind. She picked up a pager and looked at Scott. "What day did you say you got stuck in the Quantum Realm again?"

"April 27th," Scott replied.

"2018?"

"Yes, why? What did you find?"

"A distress call from Earth from April 27, 2018. According to my computer, the message is over five years old."

"What?" Scott asked. "It didn't feel like five years passed. Carol, I have to get home. I have a daughter. What happened on Earth?"

"I don't know Scott, but we'll find out. Let me run diagnostics then we'll see what we need to do to get you home."

Scott sat and watched Carol do her work, but his mind was on home. Something horrible happened while he was in the Quantum Realm. He should have known Hope would have come for him if there was any possible way. His thoughts turned to Cassie. Over five years of her life was lost to him. She was almost eleven when he went into the Realm. She'd be sixteen by now if she was still alive. The horrible realization that she might not have survived whatever happened hit him like a ton of bricks. He needed to go home.

"No hull breaches," Carol said with a small smile. "Buckle up, if we can clear the atmosphere, we should be able to get back to Earth."

"If?" Scott replied as he buckled his seatbelt. Carol only nodded.

5 Years, 2 Months, 3 Days post Snap (45,360 Hours post Snap)

"Mom, can I borrow your car?" Cassie asked casually at the breakfast table.

"My car? Cassie, I don't know if you're ready to drive without one of us in the passenger seat," Natasha began.

"I've been driving with someone for months," Cassie interrupted. "You know I'm a good driver."

Natasha looked across the table at Steve for help. She found none. "She is pretty cautious," he replied.

"Do you have any idea what percentage of teenage drivers are involved in fatal accidents, Steve?"

Steve just shook his head. "No, but I have a feeling you've spent a lot of time researching it. We have to give a little, Nat. She's sixteen."

Natasha frowned and looked at Cassie. "Training room now. If you beat me, you can use the car. If not, don't even ask again for six months and I'm not going to hold back."

Cassie smiled. "Yes ma'am."

Soon, Natasha and Cassie were on the mat. Steve and Clint were watching from the sidelines. Natasha went on the attack first, but Cassie blocked her blow and countered. Natasha blocked the counter then side kicked Cassie to the mat. Before Natasha could pin her, she landed a powerful hit to Natasha's jaw. They fought for several minutes before Natasha got the upper hand again.

As Natasha was going in to pin Cassie, the girl spoke. "Okay, so if I can't borrow the car, can you take me to the health department to get on birth control?"

Natasha stopped. "Birth con-" Before Natasha could finish, Cassie took advantage of her momentary pause to pin Natasha.

Cassie smiled. "I won."

"You did," Natasha admitted. "We should probably talk about the birth control."

"No reason. I'm just going to Amber's," Cassie grinned.

Clint laughed. Steve still looked mortified, but Natasha relaxed. "You tricked me."

"I did what you taught me. When your opponent is stronger, don't forget to use their weaknesses against them. I'm pretty sure I'm your weakness. I figured the idea of me having sex would at least slow you down."

"Well-played, Cassie, well-played," Clint said as he clapped for the girl. "She's not wrong."

"Keys?" Cassie asked, putting out her hand.

"Be home before dark," Natasha sighed. "Call when you get there and before you leave. No texting and driving. And, Cas, if we need to talk about birth control or anything else, I'll listen. Just be careful."

"Okay, I promise if we ever need to really have that talk it won't be on the mat in front of these guys. Thanks, Mom."

Cassie hadn't been gone more than a few hours when Natasha got a message from Friday. "Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Stark is in the conference room with guests. He requests everyone join him there."

"Thanks, Friday. On my way."

When she arrived in the conference room, Natasha saw a very familiar face. "Lang? You're alive. How is this possible?"

"Quantum Realm," Tony answered for him. "He was stuck there, and he found a way out. This is Carol Danvers. She also goes by the name Captain Marvel, and she was stuck there, too. But, get this, she was there over twenty years and Scott over five, yet it didn't feel like time passed. We have our way back. The Quantum Realm really is the key."

"Stark said Cassie was here," Scott said as soon as there was a lull in the conversation. "I really need to see my daughter."

"She's at a friends. She should be home soon," Natasha replied. "Cassie is going to be so glad to see you. We thought you were dead."

"I know. I want to thank you for what you did for Cassie. Stark said you've really taken care of her. I can never repay you for that."

"She's your daughter. That makes her one of us. We couldn't do anything else," Natasha replied. Her heart was a little torn as the conversation turned back to the ramifications of what Scott and Carol's time in the Quantum Realm could mean for their primary mission. She was so grateful Cassie would have her father back, but she also realized her role would have to change.

"Mom, I'm back. Car's still in one piece and so am I," Cassie called out as she entered the conference room. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight in front of her. "Dad, is that you?"

"Hi, Cassie," Scott said as he looked at his nearly grown daughter, "sorry I was away so long."

Cassie jumped into her father's arms. "You're alive. You came back."

"I'll always come for you, Cassie. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Dad."