Chapter Fifty Two
Steve shot up, gasping for air. Sweat covered his face, and he wiped his arm across his brow before pressing his fingers to his eyes. He could still see the people strewn across the roads, victims of the attack. And for a split second, he'd though it was Emily before being jolted awake.
He swung his legs over the side of the roll away bed the nurse had brought him and scrubbed his face before running his fingers through his hair. His eyes shot to the heart monitor, and then to Emily. He'd been waking up periodically all night to check on her, and had drifted off for too long this time. Steve stood and walked to the bathroom to throw some water on his face, his way lit by the light over Emily's bed.
"Emily?" Steve asked, peaking out around the bathroom door when he heard her groan. Once he'd dried his face and hands on a paper towel, he stepped back into the room, his eyes shooting to the heart monitor. It was beeping faster than it had been all day. "Sweetheart?"
She was gripping the pillow tightly, tears rolling across the bridge of her nose and towards her hair. He darted across the room when she whimpered. "Hey," he said, pushing the hair from her face. "Emily, wake up."
"Garr," she moaned, her chin quivering; she mumbled his name again into the pillow. Steve furrowed his eyebrows and hung his head.
"Honey," he sighed, reaching out to wipe away her tears. "Wake up." When her nose started to bleed, Steve groaned. He pulled the oxygen tube off of her face to keep it from sending the blood flying back up her nose. As he was doing that, Emily's eyes flew open. She uttered a soft scream and tried to push his hands away, twisting to escape his hold. "It's just me, Sweetheart!" When she kept trying to punch him, Steve grabbed her hands and pinned them down. "Emily, stop."
Breathing hard, Em looked around, finally recognizing where she was. "Oh god," she sobbed. "Oh god, oh god." She grimaced and glanced down at her stomach. "Fuck."
"Sweetheart?" Steve said hesitantly, letting go of her hands. Emily bit her lip and lifted the blanket and the hospital gown to see blood seeping through the bandage.
"I think I popped a stitch. C-could you get a nu-nurse?"
"Of course. Are you okay? Other than the stitch."
"I'll be fine, Steve." Emily looked up at the ceiling and swiped at her eyes, unable to meet his gaze.
"Alright," he sighed, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.
The nurse was quick to come in and check on her; Steve stayed out of the way, wishing there was something he could do to help. They decided to page Dr. Owens to look Em over after it was confirmed she'd torn out a stitch. The air tube was changed out and, after being injected with a local anesthetic, Dr. Owens repaired the stitch. She assured Em that she'd be around if there was anything else she needed.
"Can I get something to help me sleep?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, of course. I'll have them bring something in," Dr. Owens smiled as she made a note in her chart. "Try and relax, it'll help you get better faster."
"I'll try."
"Want to talk about it?" Steve asked after the nurse had given her a sleeping pill.
"No," Emily replied.
"It's ok, if you want to." The way he was looking at her made Em think that she might have done something to tip him off on what she'd been dreaming about. Steve pushed off the wall and walked over to sit beside her. His next words confirmed her suspicion as he reached for her hands. "You loved him, and he saved your life."
"I don't want to talk about him," Emily snapped, rolling to her side to avoid his eyes.
OOO
Emily shivered as she stood in the bathroom, having finally been given permission to get out of bed. The nurse had offered to help her shower, but she wanted some time alone, even for just a moment. Since she'd woken up, someone had been with her every moment. It was smothering.
Her hands were shaking as she removed the hospital gown, her left hand impeded by the bag they'd put over her hand to keep the cast dry. A long strand of medical tape was wrapped around her right wrist, trapping the IV port against her skin. When the thin gown fell to the floor, Em looked down over her body. There were large gouges on her legs that had scabbed over and deep purple bruises decorating her body. A large bandage had been taped to her stomach, and she worried the edge, trying to decide if she's ready to see it. When Dr. Kerr and Dr. Owens had changed it yesterday, she'd resolutely looked away. To give herself more time to decide, she turned and looked over her shoulder at the dark bruises across her back and thighs.
Emily bit her lip and closed her eyes, and was back on the staircase. She could hear the snap of the emergency lights struggling to stay, feel the metal of the railings under her hands as she flew down the stairs. Em could feel her heart start racing as she blindly turned and reached out to steady herself on the sink, picturing the agent on the landing below her. She jumped at the sound of a door being thrown open echoing in her mind, and gasped when she saw the alien.
Something wet was running down her face. When it rolled onto her lip, Em's tongue darted out, and she tasted coppery blood. Her eyes shot open and she wiped her hand under her nose, shocked by the bright red blood on her fingers.
"Everything okay?" Steve asked through the door. Emily tensed and looked up, meeting her own gaze in the mirror. Blood was smeared across her upper lip, and half of her face was swollen and bruised…ugly… "Emily?"
"Ye-yeah," she answered, looking down again. A drop of blood fell into the sink, slowly making its way towards the drain. She quickly turned on the tap and washed her face and rinsed out the sink.
"Need help?"
"I…" Em trailed off. She leaned down, hissing at the pull of her muscles, and snatched the gown off of the floor before slipping it on. Blinking back tears, she turned the handle and pushed the door open. Steve's face appeared in the gap, his eyes worried. Shaking her head, Em pushed the door open a bit more with her foot and motioned for him to come in. He'd tip-toed around her all morning after their spat the night before.
"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping inside and shutting the door again. Steve's eyes roamed over her, grimacing at the newly discovered injuries.
"I-I can't look at myself," Emily said softly. When she turned around to face him, she had her lower lip between her teeth, and tears streaming down her cheeks and her nose bleeding. "I look like a monster."
"Sweetheart," Steve sighed, shaking his head. "You don't look like a monster." He stepped towards her, grabbed a paper towel, and cupped her face. "You're beautiful." When she shook her head, Steve leaned down to press his lips to hers. "Beautiful," he said softly while wiping away blood before brushing his lips across her bruised cheekbone. "And all of this will be gone in a few weeks."
"Not all of it," Em whispered, her hand drifting down to where she'd been shot. Steve's eyes followed her movement, and he sighed.
"It'll scar," he conceded, "but that's a small price to pay for your life."
"I know," she nodded, pressing her lips together. She debated giving voice to the fear she'd had since hearing about the operation before lowering her head and, "But what if this means I can't have kids? I –"
"Stop," Steve ordered, pulling her into his arms. Mindful of her injuries, he held her tightly. "The nurse said the doctor would be in to talk to you today, so stop thinking about it until you see him." Her arms wrapped around his waist and she rested her head against his chest.
"But-" Sighing, he leaned down to kiss her, slowly backing her towards the corner where the showerhead was.
"Don't worry about that until later."
"Steve –"
"Just get cleaned up. Your family's going to be here soon." Em sighed and slipped her hands under his shirt, trying to tug it off. "Sweetheart…"
"Join me?"
"We can't."
"I'm not asking for shower sex," she smirked, her eyes teasing, "I'm not up for that yet. I need help."
"Yet?" he asked, his eyebrow quirking. Steve let go of her and pulled his shirt over his head.
"I'm kind of looking forward to 'We survived' sex once we're," her eyes roamed over his chest, "well, more like once I'm, healed up." Steve chuckled and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. This was the most carefree he'd seen Emily since she'd woken up. Trying to ignore the way her legs shook, Em kissed under his jaw before reaching for the button of his jeans.
"We're going to have to be quick," he chortled, kicking off his shoes and tugging at his jeans when she'd undone the zipper. "Don't want the nurse to think we're doing something else." Divested of his clothes, he reached for hers and slipped the gown from her shoulders.
"She'd just be jealous," Em smiled while pulling the curtain around the designated shower area while Steve turned on the water. Once the temperature was right, she stood under the spray, tipping her head back, and closed her eyes.
"Hang on," Steve said, pushing her to sit on the little bench. "Did you cut your head?"
"I don't think so," she frowned, reaching up to touch back of her head. "Why?"
And then she saw the rust colored rivulets of water falling down her shoulders.
Emily started shaking and clawing at her hair. "Sweetheart," Steve caught her hands and crouched in front of her. "What's wrong?"
When Em met his gaze, all the playfulness that had been in her eyes moments before had disappeared, replaced with panic. She was starting to hyperventilate, and fighting against his grip. "Emily, tell me what's wrong." Steve trapped her wrists against his chest with one arm and gripped the back of her neck, pulling her down to look him in the eyes. "Talk to me, Sweetheart."
"I had to…" she winced and shook her head, looking at the water swirling down the drain. "He…"
"What happened?"
"It was everywhere…I couldn't stop it…he told me t-to run…"
"Garrett?" Steve asked. Emily nodded and leaned forward to bury her face in the crook of his neck.
"And then he was gone, and I didn't have time to hide…I had to…I had to…"
"It's ok," Steve said, realizing that this was probably what she'd dreamt about last night. "You did what you had to, to get out of there alive. He'd understand."
"It was all over me," Em groaned, starting to shake. "His blood was…"
"It's ok," he said softly, standing and pulling her to her feet. "Close your eyes." Emily clung to him as he reached behind her for the soap dispenser. After checking that her eyes were in fact closed, Steve started to wash her hair.
"Talk to me about something, please," Em said, resting her forehead against his chest. He could still feel her shaking, so Steve adjusted the temperature and turned the showerhead so the spray would hit her shoulders.
"Uh…" he frowned, massaging her scalp. The red tinted soap slid down her shoulders and back.
"Please? Anything?"
"I have a new suit?"
"I saw it on the news," Em said, pressing her lips to his pectoral. "I don't like it as much."
"It's easier to fight in," he shrugged. Her hands slid down his sides and then around to his back, running upwards to his shoulders.
"Did you…were you okay?"
"As okay as I could have been. Take a step backwards." Emily did as he said and tilted her head back into the spray, sighing as he started to rinse out the shampoo.
"Were you hurt?"
"Nothing too serious." Steve waited until all of the blood had gone down the drain before he leaned down to kiss her. When her tongue traced the seam of his lips, he opened his mouth and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. It was only when she cried out that he realized just how tightly he was holding her. "Sorry!"
"S'ok," Emily said, wincing slightly. "Small price, right?"
"Right," he nodded, still feeling horrible at causing her pain. "Let's get cleaned up and get you back to bed." She smiled until she looked down at the bandage still taped to her stomach, and bit her lip. Steve followed her gaze and trailed his fingers down to trace the tape. "Ready?"
"No." Em reached for the washcloth. "It'll wait." Steve nodded as she started to scrub her shoulders and arms until her skin was pink. They switched places so he could start to wash up, and Steve watched as she studiously avoided the bandage. Emily sat on the bench and winced as she bent to clean her legs, muttering under her breath about needing a razor. He finished long before she did, and helped her stand so he could wash her back and rinse off.
"Ok, ready now?"
"I guess I have to be," she sighed, taking the hand he offered and standing up.
"Do you want me to…?" Em nodded and took a deep breath as Steve reached for the tape. He leaned down to kiss her before nodding, "Here we go." The tape pulled away easily, and it only took a few seconds for the gauze to be removed. "There," he said, tossing the mess onto the bench.
Emily closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe before looking down. Her stomach was a blur of colors: yellow, black, white, and red. The incision had only been about three inches and white tape was stretched horizontally across the stitches. She could see the divot in her skin were the bullet had entered, smaller than she though it would be. With shaking fingers, she ran her fingers tape, above the stitches. "You alright?" Steve asked, his eyes worried.
"I..." she worried her bottom lip.
"It looks bad now, but once it heals it's going-"
"I don't care about how it looks," Emily said, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes and shaking her head. "It's just…it's just that every time I see it, it's going to remind me about what happened."
Steve settled his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. "Remember what you told me when I woke up?"
"I said a lot of things," she muttered, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.
"You did," he chuckled. "But I'm talking about something you said to me the same day we decided to be friends."
"When I was hung over?"
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "When we were down in the delivery bays, right after I got my compass back. You told me that it gets easier to move on." She remembered saying that, after he'd found that Peggy's picture wasn't in the compass. "I'm not saying that you need to move on right now, but that scar is going to be your compass. It's going to remind you about what happened, but eventually it's just a compass."
OOO
"I don't understand why they need so much food," Steve said as they lay in bed watching reality television. Emily was curled around him, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his chest; he rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand, mindful of the IV line. "Even if they do get it for next to nothing."
"They should at least donate it," Em agreed. After the shower, she'd dressed in one of Steve's shirts and work out pants (her parents were going to bring her clothes). "I mean, who needs that much pasta? Or toothpaste?"
"Ms. Harthorn?" a middle-aged woman in scrubs and a headscarf said as she rapped on the door and stuck her head in. "Is this a good time?"
"Yeah," Emily said, shifting away from Steve who kept his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. The woman came in, followed by Dr. Owens.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Nadar. Dr. Kerr asked me to come in and speak with you about your surgery." The older woman shook their hands before setting Em's chart on the bed beside her, while Owens did a small wave and hovered by the door.
"Should I…?" Steve glanced at the door, but Emily shook her head and clutched his hand tightly.
"Stay, please?" He nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple.
"I'm just going to do a short examination, if you don't mind."
"Sure," Em said. Steve stood up as Dr. Nadar pulled back the blanket. After putting on some gloves, she removed the bandage that had replaced by a nurse after the shower, and palpated her abdomen.
"Owens?" The mousy doctor stood up straight. "Present the case please."
"Right. The patient, Emily Harthorn, day two post-op. Patient was admitted with a gun shot to the abdomen, internal bleeding, a distal radial fracture, a concussion, and numerous abrasions. Dr. Kerr was the trauma surgeon, Dr. Waters from ortho consulted. An emergency unilateral oophorectomy was preformed during the surgery, and the patient coded twi-" Dr. Nadar cleared her throat and looked over her shoulder at Owens whose eyes grew wide before clearing her throat. "Right, uh, post-op notes all seem good, last night I replaced a stitch, and she's been on her feet this morning, and is receiving antibiotics through the IV."
"Good." Once satisfied, Dr. Nadar nodded and helped Emily settle in again. Steve reclaimed his spot as the doctor made a few notations in the chart and disposed of her gloves.
"May I?" Dr. Nadar asked, motioning to the foot of the bed.
"Of course," Em smiled nervously.
"So, as Dr. Owens said, we had to do an emergency unilateral oophorectomy during your operation because Dr. Kerr observed damage to your right ovary. I preformed the procedure myself," Dr. Nadar said, pressing a hand to her chest, "and I'm happy with the results. You seem to be healing very well."
"That's good," Steve said, trying to assuage some of Emily's nervousness.
"Yeah," Em gnawed at her lower lip.
"I understand you have questions for me, but I first want to assure you that this operation will not greatly impact your life." She glanced at Dr. Owens who stepped closer and flicked the hair out of her eyes.
"She's right," Owens smiled. "Your other ovary is going to do double duty to make up for the one removed. Your estrogen levels will be the same, and it might take a month or two, but you're going to have normal menstruation, too." Steve flushed a little at the topic of conversation, and quickly looked at Emily when she inhaled sharply.
"So…" Em said, fighting back tears, "so getting pregnant…?"
"Because the other fallopian tube wasn't damaged, it shouldn't be an issue," Dr. Nadar assured her. Emily let out a sob and pressed her hand to her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
"See?" Steve grinned, "I told you not to worry." He hugged her tightly, and Em turned to bury her face in his neck as she cried.
"There are a few more things we need to discuss," Dr. Nadar said once the couple had calmed down a bit.
"Of course," Emily nodded, a broad smile on her lips; Steve wiped the corner of his eye.
"One of the effects of your ovary doing 'double duty' is that you may experience menopause slightly early."
"Ok," Em said. "I can deal with that."
"The second important thing is that I was able to harvest some of your eggs from the ovary we removed."
"You were?"
"Yes," Nadar nodded. "If you are to have an issue conceiving, there is always the option of IVF."
"But I shouldn't have issues, right?"
"Studies have shown that women with one ovary are just as likely to become pregnant naturally as those who have two. Now, do you have any questions for me?"
"I can't think of any right now," Emily laughed, still wiping at her eyes. "You've pretty much answered the one I was most worried about."
"Well, if that changes, feel free to tell one of the nurses or Dr. Owens, and I'll be happy to come back," Dr. Nadar smiled, standing up and nodding. "I wish you and your husband the best of luck." She shook both of their hands before ushering Dr. Owens from the room.
OOO
Emily had been glowing for the whole morning after the consultation with Dr. Nadar, but the excitement had really taken it out on her. Her mother had burst into tears when she heard the good news, and Matt and Tucker had tried to be sly wiping their eyes. Tuck had joked that if it hadn't worked out, she could always have taken one of his kids.
Steve was flipping through an old magazine while she slept when Carter knocked on the door and popped his head in. "Carter," Caroline greeted him, smiling and setting aside the book she'd borrowed from Em's apartment, "We were wondering what happened to you."
"Just been dealing with some things from work. Emily has a few visitors who wanted me to check if it was alright if they came in. Should I tell them to come back later?"
"If you don't mind," Matt said, glancing at his daughter.
Carter jerked a nod before leveling his gaze on Steve. "They need to speak to you." He frowned but pushed himself to stand, tossed the magazine into the chair, leaned over to kiss Emily's forehead, and followed the agent out of the room.
"Do you ever answer your phone?"
"How is she?"
"Captain."
"Hi," Steve said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when he saw Tony, Pepper, and Bruce.
"Seriously, phone, you have one, don't you?" Tony sighed, adjusting the frames of his sunglasses. Pepper waved her hand in front of his face and shook her head.
"How's Emily?"
"She's okay," Steve said. "Sleeping right now. And yes, I have a phone but I'm pretty sure it's back at S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Yeah, well, we kind of need you for somethin' big."
"Jane and Darcy have been trying to get in touch but they said Em's phone is going straight to voice mail."
"What's going on?" he asked, going into Captain mode.
"Thor managed to convince S.H.I.E.L.D. to send Loki back to Asgard," Bruce answered. "They want to make sure nothing happens."
"The Security Council isn't aware of the plans to move him," Carter added. "It's going to be a tricky operation, and we can't have anything go wrong."
"Why don't-"
"Steve?" Matt opened the door and stepped out. He froze upon seeing who was with him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Matt said after shaking himself. "I – uh – are you Tony Stark?"
"I am. And you are?" Tony asked. Matt strode over and reached out to shake his hand.
"Matthew Harthorn. You know my daughter?"
"We've met, briefly."
"Nice to meet you. And you're Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries, right?"
Pepper nodded and shook his hand. "How's Emily?"
"Awake," Matt stepped back and motioned to the door. "You're more than welcome to come in." Pepper touched Tony's shoulder before walking to the room, where they heard Emily greet her. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are," her father said, turning to face the last member of the party.
"Bruce Banner," he said, shaking his hand as well. "I, uh, don't know your daughter, but I'm glad to hear she's doing well."
"Would you mind giving us a minute, Matt?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'll just tell Em who you're with." He lingered a second longer, before going back inside. Steve looked around to see if anyone was watching time, and saw that most of the nurses were trying to surreptitiously take pictures of them.
"Actually," Carter said, catching onto this himself, "It might be best if we step inside to talk about this."
Everyone turned to look at the four men as they walked into the room. Pepper was perched on the bed next to Emily, while Tuck, Matt, and Caroline hovered by the bathroom door, trying to give them some privacy. "Everything okay?" Emily asked, frowning at the solemn expression on Steve's face.
"Fine. We just…erm…" he glanced at the Harthorns.
"Hey, Mom, can you see if I can have some coffee? I'd kill for a cup," Em said.
"Sure. Matthew, Tucker, coffee?"
"I guess," Matt shrugged. "What d'ya need, twenty minutes? Thirty?"
"Twenty should be fine," Carter answered. He walked over to Em and kissed her temple, "Hello, love, feeling any better?"
"Yup," she grinned. "I got some good news this morning."
"Yeah?"
"You might get to be Uncle Carter yet." He beamed and swooped down to hug her hard.
"That's wonderful news, darling!"
"You know," Tuck said to Steve as he passed, "I'm kind of starting to believe your story."
"Story?" Tony asked when they were alone.
"My history," he replied.
"Ah, the whole Capsicle story."
"Tony," Pepper said in a warning tone.
"I don't think we've met," Emily said, turning to the stranger after shooting Tony a glare. "Emily Harthorn."
"Bruce Banner," Bruce replied, stepping forward to shake her hand.
"You're…" Em said, her eyes growing wide; her gaze shot over to Steve who nodded slightly. Bruce glanced at Steve, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach. Of course the woman would be afraid of him; she had every right. "I feel like I need to apologize to you on behalf of my family."
"You're family?"
"The formula you were trying to replicate, the super soldier serum – that was my grandfather's."
"Dr. Erskine was your grandfather?"
"You're Erskine's granddaughter?" Tony demanded.
"Focus please," Carter ordered.
"Right," Steve nodded. "Why doesn't the Security Council know about the plans to move him?"
"Move who?" Emily asked.
"Loki. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants him gone ASAP, and Thor is demanding that his brother face 'Asgardian justice'."
"He should be facing American justice," Pepper muttered under her breath.
"Agreed," Emily said louder. "He attacked civilians and violated God knows how many international laws and –"
"I wasn't aware that international meant inter-dimensional," Tony smirked.
"Is there another precedence you think would be applicable?" Em shot back. Steve raised an eyebrow.
"Regardless," Bruce said, "he needs to be dealt with, and I'm not sure we have the capability. As much as I hate to say it, we can't fight against magic."
"When's it happening?" Steve asked.
"In two days. We haven't set a time yet," Carter stated.
OOO
"What does 'UR CA PNR ~44' mean?" Matt asked, looking through the folder Steve had handed him.
"Hmm?" Em asked.
"You wrote it on this disk," he said, handing it to her. She looked at it and smirked.
"It means 'Unreleased Captain America propaganda news reel, approximately 1944'."
"And this…this is you?" Caroline asked, holding up the picture of Steve being pulled from the ice.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Hydra?" Tucker cocked an eyebrow.
"The Nazi's deep science division," Emily yawned. She'd hit her pain medication button after a particularly painful spasm.
"You…you're not lying?" Caroline sounded half pleading.
"No," Steve said, taking Emily's hand. "I was in a plane crash in 1945, and woke up a few months ago. Emily's been helping me adjust."
"So wait, wait, you took the job knowing all of this?" Tuck asked.
"No," Em shook her head. "Fury didn't tell me much about it. Just that I'd have the ability to find out stuff about Captain America that I couldn't find during my research. I had no idea I would actually meet Steve." Matt met Steve's gaze and shook his head.
"So you didn't come here for him?" Matt asked.
"Nope," Em said. "He was an added benefit."
"I…I think we need to have some time to process this," Caroline sighed, pressing her fingers to her eyes. "This is…this is a lot."
"I know," Em nodded. "It took a while for it to sink in. But Dr. Erskine was a fascinating man."
"I need some air," Caroline said, standing up so quickly that the chair squealed as it scraped across the floor. Matt followed his wife out, and Tuck sat there stunned.
"I…uh…I'm gonna go check on Mom."
"That could have gone better," Em sighed.
"Well, I know where you get your reactions from," Steve said.
"Wait until they find out about Garrett."
OOO
Lauren and the kids had been happy to see that Emily was okay. They'd talked for a fifteen minutes before disconnecting. And that's when Carter had asked for a favor.
"Hang on," Carter said, adjusting the computer before setting it on Emily's rolling tray table. He pushed it over the bed, where Em was curled around Steve. "Here we go."
"My god," James Falsworth said as the video call connected. "You haven't aged a day."
Steve smiled as he looked at the screen with wide eyes, finally seeing the last of his squad. His hair was completely white, and he didn't have his trademark mustache. His face had thinned, and age spots and wrinkles had appeared. But he was unmistakably Union Jack. "Hi…H-how are you?"
"I've aged," James chuckled, adjusting his blankets. "And with that comes the general wearing out. Thankfully you don't have to deal with that."
"Not yet," Steve smirked. "I don't know if you've met…"
"Emily Harthorn," he nodded. "It's lovely to meet you, my dear."
"Same," Em smiled, waving. Her jaw ached from trying not to yawn, and she rested her head on his shoulder, fighting against her eyes closing.
"How are you? Carter told me you were hurt during 'Battle of Manhattan', as the news is calling it."
"I was," she said, "but I'm getting better."
"That's wonderful to hear. And Steve, you?"
"Nothing worse than Italy in '43."
"So better than Normandy?"
"Absolutely. How about you? What's your life been like?"
"It's," James looked away from the camera and to his right. "It's been wonderful. Hard, but wonderful. I'm sure Carter told you about his our family."
"A bit," Carter said. "Not all of it."
"It hasn't been easy, but Peggy and I made sure our family wanted for nothing," James said after a moment. "You know she never forgot you."
"I know," Steve nodded. "But I'm happy she had you."
"She said she was doing fine," Emily said, half asleep.
"Huh?"
"Peggy wan'ed me to tell her family she's doin' fine."
"What are you talking about?" Carter asked.
"Saw her. An' Opa…and m'grandparents…" She yawned again and nuzzled closer to Steve, losing the fight against staying awake. He wrapped his arm around her tightly and looked at Carter, who shrugged.
"I…I'm not quite sure of what to make of that," James admitted.
"She did flat line twice…" Carter said. "If you believe in the afterlife or something…"
"Who knows," Steve shrugged.
"Regardless," James said. "I'm glad you found her. Emily seems like a wonderful woman."
"She is," Steve agreed, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers. "She really is."
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay in getting this out, but real life got in the way of writing. I managed to get my old job back and started full time there, which means I have absolutely no energy to write after working all day.
That being said, I hope you like this chapter. It fought me because I'd originally cut this one, but I realized how much needed to be covered before ending the story. Yes (did I say this in the last chapter?) the story is coming to an end.
As ever, thanks to blown-transistor and pizzagirl for talking me through this and letting me bounce ideas off of them.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!
