Steve felt himself take a deep breath to try and control himself. It had actually worked. Somehow they had landed back in 2012 and he was in a place he never thought he would be again. He would sometimes remember the fight in New York. At the time it had been the biggest challenge that he had faced. The plan had gone well so far, but waiting for the elevator he was doing his best not to let nerves take hold of him. As soon as he had the sceptre then the job was done. It would all be over and he could go back home to his wife and daughter.

As soon as the elevator pulled up, Steve looked to Rumlow. His gaze fell over him and he felt anger swell inside of him. This man was a traitor and if Steve didn't have a bigger job on his hands then he would let him know exactly what he thought of him. But he had a job to do. He had bigger things to worry about. He played his part well, pretending to be a part of HYDRA to get the sceptre.

Stepping out of the elevator, he smirked as the doors closed behind him, but then he literally came face to face with himself. He groaned lowly and shook his head.

"You've got to be kidding me," he complained.

"I have Loki in my sight," he spoke and Steve shook his head.

"Look, this isn't what it looks like," he said to him, but he was quick. 2012 Steve was already launching himself at present Steve, pushing him to the floor.

"I can do this all day," he said.

Steve grunted for breath and shook his head, standing up. "I know, I know."

….

Rosalie continued to check the countdown next to the platform that had suckered them down, waiting with bated breath for those few minutes to pass. She needed them to pass quickly. Grace had been quiet the entire time, not letting go of her mother's hand and not entirely understanding what was going on. She was struggling for breath and she could feel the baby inside of her moving and kicking against her, almost as if it also felt her distress. She used her thumb to twirl the engagement and wedding rings on her finger as her mind remained on Steve and she kept praying for him to come back.

….

Steve had been on his way out back to the alleyway where they had agreed to meet after they had gotten what they needed. He had somehow managed to best himself with thanks of the mention of Bucky and he was now passing by people who thought that he was…well…him. As he left the building he came into the passing of a massive gaggle of people. Men in crisp suits were walking around another man who was tall with a chiselled jawbone. His hair was slicked back on the top of his head and Steve almost did a double take. It was him.

The man stopped in his tracks and held up a hand for his security detail to stop walking around him. He looked to Steve and stepped forwards, hand outstretched in front of him. He was clearly a man who had too much of his own self-importance. Steve wondered what had possessed Rosalie to want to be with such a man in the first place.

"Captain America," he spoke, hand moving towards Steve to take to shake. "Or can I call you Steve?"

He chuckled and the people who had formed around them also chuckled. Members of the public who had been near the building were watching on with interest. Steve nodded his head and realised exactly what he wanted to do. He kept hold of the case with the sceptre tightly and used his other hand to shake the man's hand.

"Congressman Burton," he introduced himself. "Although, I am sure you have heard of me."

His voice was cocky and Steve ground his teeth together, jaw ticking.

"Yes, I have," Steve said with a nod of his head, moving closer so that only Jacob could hear him. "From Rosalie. You know Rosalie, right?"

Steve wondered how long they had been split up for in 2012. He had never really pried into her relationship with the married Congressman. She had told him about it, but she had never truly wanted to open up about it and he could not blame her for adopting that position.

Jacob's face faltered and he coughed awkwardly into his free hand as Steve continued squeezing his other one. "You…well…yes, Rosalie…has she interviewed you as well?"

Steve smirked in disbelief, nodding his head and pulling back. "Yeah, something like that," he responded in a mutter.

"Well, lovely girl, I must say, of course…but…well…I would be careful of her if you see her again. She ruined my relationship…she is quite the femme fatale."

And then Steve reacted. He had no regrets as he balled his fingers into a fist and let himself punch the Congressman squarely in the jaw. Jacob toppled backwards into two of his security guards, his neatly combed hair falling out of place and his hands moving to cup hold of his face. He sputtered for breath and Steve watched on for a second. Everyone remained aghast, simply whispering about what they had seen. Steve's smirk remained in place and he turned and left for the alleyway, not truly caring about his public appearance. That one had been for Rosalie.

…

Tony told Steve what had happened. They had lost the tesseract to Loki. It had gone and they needed it. It was their only hope of bringing everyone back. Steve had listened to Tony's plan to go even further back in time and he wondered if it was madness. He wondered if they were going too far. But they couldn't let everyone down. They had come so far already and this was just one more step. Steve thought of Rosalie's parents. He thought of Wanda. He thought of Bucky. If they could come back just by them taking one more step then it would be worth it.

And so they had gone to the base where Tony knew the tesseract would be stored alongside some of Pym's particles to get them back to the present day. Steve had gone after the particles while Tony had sought the tesseract. They knew that they had to be quick before someone got suspicious of what they were doing there and discovered them.

Just as the alarm had been raised, no doubt by the woman who had been eyeing them in the lift, did Steve dash into a room to hide with the particles. But it was only when he looked at the name on the door did he realise whose room he was in. Steve gulped for breath and remembered the last time that he had seen her. She had been old and frail. She had remembered him, but she wasn't the same woman he had met. She had seen so much more than him. She had lived her life to the full.

He moved into her office and looked around it, standing in the shadows and hiding. Glancing down at the photo on her desk, Steve's throat clenched and his mouth dried up. It was a photo of him. But it was him before the serum. He smiled and picked it up for a moment.

"I miss you," Steve admitted as he looked to the name on the door and placed the photo back on the desk. "But I did what you wanted me to. I live my life…just like I know you lived yours."

…

Rosalie wanted to sob with relief when she saw her husband reappear in front of her. It had been the longest few minutes of her life and she had struggled to remain composed, even in front of Grace. Steve looked around to make sure that he was back where he thought he was before he noted Rosalie and Grace stood at the other end of the room. She had tears in her eyes and she held a hand up, mouthing 'hi' to him as Grace smiled widely, but she had no real idea of what had been going on.

Steve looked around the platform then, looking at the familiar faces who had returned with him. But there was one missing. There was one face missing from the crowd. Steve's chest tightened and everyone else took in the realisation of who was gone at the same time. But it was Banner who spoke first:

"Where's Nat?" he asked as Clint fell to his knees.

…

They felt the emptiness of Nat's presence as they stood outside later on that afternoon. They had all changed and agreed to gather their thoughts before doing what had to be done with the stones they had managed to collect. Steve had stood with them for a while before seeking out his wife and daughter again. They had explained to Grace that Aunty Nat had died. She had died for the chance to bring everyone back. They would explain to Grace when this was over. But for the time being she had been crying, asking why she couldn't see Nat again. Death was a new concept for Grace. She was too young truly to know what was going on.

"She fell asleep," Rosalie said to Steve when he walked back into the bedroom that he had once slept in. Grace was on his bed, laid on her side as Steve nodded his head and ran a hand down his cheek.

"Come here," Steve said in a small voice and took hold of his wife's hand and led her from the room where they could talk without worrying about waking their daughter up.

Moving into the small living room opposite the corridor, Steve sat down on the sofa and Rosalie sat down next to him. He moved his hand to hold onto hers as she leant against his side and kissed the back of his hand.

"I knew there was a risk," Steve admitted to his wife, "but I just…I didn't imagine anything happening. I don't like to do that. And Nat…well…"

"I know," Rosalie said, her eyes also tearing up at the memory of Nat. She felt that she had grown as close to the woman as she possibly could have during the time since Wakanda. She came around to their house and talked with them. She enjoyed their company and she doted on Grace. It was crazy. She was a skilled assassin yet the sight of a little baby caused her to melt.

"This has to work, Rose," Steve said. "Otherwise what was the point? Why did Nat die?"

"She died because she was willing to have faith," Rosalie said and Steve dropped his chin to rest on the top of her head. "Just like you all are. If…if this doesn't work…then no one can say you didn't try."

"I don't even want to think about that," Steve admitted.

"I know," she responded. "When are you going to use the stones?"

"This afternoon," Steve said. "I need you and Grace out of the way when we do it just…well…we know how powerful they are and what they can do. For my sake, please, just go back home."

"I will," Rosalie said to him, "but you call as soon as you have news."

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything else," Steve murmured and kissed the side of her temple. "I do have something to tell you, though."

"Hmm?" Rosalie wondered from him, hand resting on her swollen stomach as she shifted against Steve's side uncomfortably.

"When we were in New York in 2012 I bumped into Jacob," he said and Rosalie's mouth gaped. She struggled to sit up straight against him. Moving to turn her head to the side, she looked up at Steve and he ran a hand along her cheek. "I kind of punched him."

Rosalie's brows knitted together. "How do you kind of punch someone?"

"Well, I did punch him," Steve said. "He was overly cocky. I didn't like him and I felt that he needed putting in his place."

"Did he even know why you punched him?"

"I might have mentioned your name," he admitted to her. "I couldn't help it. I was just angry and he was arrogant."

"I would have loved to have seen it," Rosalie admitted and Steve chuckled.

"I did feel pretty great," he commented. "Even better to know that he was a complete idiot who clearly didn't deserve you."

Rosalie shrugged. "All in the past," she whispered. "Now come on, you need to say goodbye to Grace before we leave you to this."

"It will be okay," Steve said in confidence and he leant over to kiss her on the lips slowly. "It will be over soon."

….

A/N: Do let me know what you think!