July 8, 2013

"Hey Bee! I'm home! I slept with your Baby Daddy!" Dallas called as she entered her apartment, leaving her rolling bag by the door. She pulled off her massive sun hat and looked around, realizing Brooklyn nowhere to be found, "Brooklyn, Steve and I made love in your memory, don't you wanna hear about it?"

No answer.

Panic began to flood Dallas as she kicked off her sandals and went sprinting into the apartment, beginning to worry her sister was gone. She could be kidnapped, or worse- "Denny! Brooklyn, where the hell are you?"

"In the bathroom?" Brooklyn said as Dallas slid to a stop outside the bathroom door. Brooklyn looked up at her with an annoyed expression, placing her hand on her hip while the other one held onto Denver's baby bath seat as the little blonde gurgled.

"You scared the shit out of me." Dallas said under her breath as she pushed back her short hair. "I was worried something happened to you."

"Well, when my baby sister comes in yelling about how she had sex with my boyfriend, I didn't feel the need to respond."

"It was a joke."

"It better have been." Brooklyn growled deeply.

Dallas sighed, "You know it is. We did talk about you a lot though. He cried. It was really cute and sad at the same time."

Brooklyn nodded and carefully poured a cup full of lukewarm water over Denver's head, using her free hand to keep it from falling into her face, "Did he at least have a good birthday?"

"I think he did. He smiled a lot, and even laughed a couple times. But he misses you."

"I miss him, too." Brooklyn muttered as she wiped the water away from Denver's cheeks, "Less than a year, and we'll all be together. Assuming he survives."

Dallas took a seat on the closed toilet lid, leaning her elbow on the tiny counter while she pulled her sundress over her knee with her other hand. She watched her big sister bathe her daughter casually, as if she didn't just suggest Denver's father might not live to see his twenty-ninth birthday. Ninety-sixth birthday. "You wrote in your letter that you had a bunch of plans for next year."

Brooklyn shrugged and used one hand to push back her greasy mahogany locks, "Well I'm not going to tell him he might die."

"Why would he die, Bee?"

"I'm just nervous. He has a dangerous job and now he has a daughter and I don't want either of them to get attached and then…" Brooklyn looked over her shoulder at Dallas for a moment before turning back to the baby, "It's easier to tell myself he's not going to be around. That way if the worst happens, I'm prepared."

"That's really sad, but whatever." Dallas sighed as she lulled her head to the side, "In all seriousness, I spent four days baking in the sun, and I need a nap. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. Thank you, Dee." Brooklyn said as she carefully pried Denver from the seat and nodded towards the towel folded on the counter for Dallas to give her. She wrapped up her little girl and bopped up and down, cooing at the baby as her sister wandered off.

Once she was alone, Brooklyn peeked out the door and whispered to Denver, "Hopefully next year this time, we'll all be together. I have so many plans for Daddy's birthday, but I think the best present is going to be meeting you."

July 3, 2014

"Alright people, take a seat, we have a lot to cover." Dallas ordered as the Avengers filed into the Party Deck. "Mr. Stark, Pepper, thank you for coming, I know you're very busy running the company and, existing. Doctor Banner! Great to see you again." Dallas greeted the scientist who nodded his greeting while walking along with Tony. Dallas turned to the door and beamed up at Thor, "Hey handsome, great to see you."

"Always a pleasure." Thor grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, teasing her endlessly. She didn't know Jane Foster personally, but she would very much like to be a third wheel in their relationship.

"Dallas."

She turned her attention to the tall brunette who brought up the rear, blushing a little as she bit her bottom lip before addressing him, "Barnes."

"Where's Steve?" He asked, looking around the room, but his coy smirk told Dallas he had an idea what the meeting was about.

"I gave Denver a bag full of candy to have a meltdown until I got back upstairs. JARVIS is keeping them locked in his room while he panics."

Bucky gestured for Dallas to lead the way over to the group and she did, addressing them once everyone was seated, "Tomorrow is a big day."

"Yeah, Fourth of July. Fireworks. Freedom. Woo." Tony deadpanned and Dallas pointed at him accusingly as she clenched her teeth, warning him to shut up. He leaned back into the couch, throwing his arm around Pepper while gesturing to Dallas, "Continue."

"It's Steve's birthday, and we're all aware that he doesn't want to celebrate because he's still a sulking sad sack. As much as I'd love to go back to the Hamptons, he's not going to want to go anywhere for more than a couple of hours with Denver, so, I present to you, my sister's list of Steve approved birthday activities."

She presented a piece of paper full of barely legible scribbles. Banner pushed his glasses farther up his nose and took the sheet from Dallas, reading over it quickly, "There's like, twenty different ideas on here."

"Well, yes, Brooklyn had a lot of down time over the year she lived with me, so she had a lot of ideas." Dallas gestured to the paper, "She knew that Steve didn't like celebrating his birthday because he's kind of fucked up after the whole being frozen in the ice thing." She turned to Bucky, "I'm sure you can relate." Bucky just blinked at her in response, so she continued, "Since Brooklyn isn't around, it's up to us to give him a special birthday. Steve is the most selfless, caring man I know, and we can't just pretend it isn't his birthday."

"We definitely could-"

"I mean, yes, Tony, we could." Dallas snapped, causing the man to shut his mouth and grin at her assertiveness, "We could, and he'd like that, but my sister would be rolling in her grave. As much as we're doing this for Steve, we're also doing it for her. She wanted this for him."

Bruce passed the paper over to Pepper, who scanned over it with squinty eyes, "I can't read any of this."

"It's fine, I'll translate." Dallas took the paper back and cleared her throat, patting her chest before beginning, "Our options for birthday activities include going to Mount Vernon, the scenic heritage trail around the Potomac…" She trailed off, furrowing her brows before gasping, "Oh, sorry, that was the D.C. list. My bad." Dallas mumbled through her teeth as she flipped over the page and coughed over her shoulder, but not before Bucky grumbled, "Nothing like taking Steve to the place his girlfriend died."

Dallas slammed her list down and glared at Barnes with enough fury to make him shrink back into his seat, "Anyway…" She growled under her breath, "On the New York list, she's got going to the zoo in Central Park, having a picnic, Coney Island, go to a baseball game, go to the beach in Jersey, get Dallas to babysit then get a ho… you know what, I think we have enough ideas."

"Sounds like Steve and Denver are gonna have a busy day tomorrow." Tony chuckled. Pepper leaned away to stare at him, but he just ran his finger up and down her back before exclaiming, "What? Cap doesn't want to celebrate at all, why would he want all of us dragging him around Manhattan? He's worked extremely hard to keep the public from finding out Denver is his, and if we all go out together, people will probably realize she isn't mine."

"He's right, Dallas. Tony is one of the most recognizable people in the world. We can't just hop on the subway and ride out to Coney Island without somebody realizing who we are." Bruce explained evenly. "It's a nice thought, but it isn't feasible."

Dallas sighed and looked down at the paper, studying the messy scrawl of her sister's handwriting. These weren't meant to be big group activities, but they had to do something.

"Are you losers trying to get out of celebrating Steve's birthday?" A husky, feminine voice called from behind Dallas and she turned around and almost swooned as the Black Widow walked towards them. When she reached the Avengers, she looked around and placed her hands on her thin waist, "She says we're celebrating, so that's what we're gonna do."

Tony rolled his eyes and threw his head back, "Alright. Fine. Make a plan for the old man. Worst case, Banner and I will meet up for a private dinner somewhere after you guys go galivanting through New York."

Dallas beamed at Natasha as she crossed her arms and smiled smugly, "Sounds like a plan."

The next morning, Dallas snuck Denver up the stairwell, after having taken her to bed with her the night before. Steve had grumbled about wanting to have her with him because it was his birthday, but he said it so quietly that he hadn't meant for anyone to hear. The Avengers had been preoccupied welcoming Natasha back to the tower, and when Steve asked if there was any special reason she'd arrived now, she just shrugged and said she'd missed having hot water and a comfortable bed. Steve was sure that they'd all, somehow, by some miracle, forgotten his patriotic birthday.

However, when Dallas reached his floor, she carefully pushed open the door from the stairwell and handed Denver a sealed envelope and whispered, "Go jump on Daddy and say 'Happy Birthday' and give him this. Go!" She shooed the little girl into the room and Denver raced across the bedroom and struggled to climb up onto Steve's massive bed, eventually screeching loudly to get his attention.

He woke up with a start, panting as he looked over his bed at her worriedly, but she just threw the envelope in the air and yelled "Happy Birfday!"

Steve smiled brightly and shifted to the floor to sit with Denver, "Thank you, Sweetie!" He gave her a big hug and she squirmed in his arms, wanting to run around in circles instead. Steve watched her for a few moments before reaching for the envelope she'd thrown, "What's this?"

"I dunno." She stopped only long enough to shrug, then started running around in circles again until she tumbled backwards, dizzy but still laughing as she rolled onto her back.

Steve shook his head at her, hiding his smirk as best he could as he slid his finger under the flap of the envelope to open it. He looked to Denver, finding her staring up at him expectantly, and read the letter out load, "Dear Steve, happy birthday! This has been a hard, chaotic year, but today we have a lot to celebrate! Please open your top dresser drawer to find your uniform for today's activities and meet us at the Party Deck at 0800 hours. We'll be waiting. Love, the Avengers and their favorite, most amazing, stunning, gorgeous roadie."

"Is that you?" Steve asked Denver and she giggled, "Are you the Avengers favorite, most amazing, stunning, gorgeous roadie? Or is that Aunt Dallas? I think that's Aunt Dallas," Steve grabbed Denver and rolled onto his back with her in his arms, holding her tightly as she giggled, "I think if they were talking about you, they would have said the most adorable, most precious, smartest little angel that's ever graced Avengers Tower. Right? Is that you?"

Denver grabbed Steve's face and placed a sloppy kiss on his lips before saying, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Denver. More than anything."

"More than Mommy?"

Steve hummed and sat up, keeping Denver tight against his chest, "I love you differently." He looked around, then whispered in her ear, "But I think I might love you just a little more. Don't tell anybody." Kissing her cheek quickly, he tossed her into the air, causing her to squeal loudly as he bounded to his feet before catching her, "Come on, let's get dressed. Apparently, I have a uniform to wear. Better not be my Captain America one." He grumbled into Denver's ear before setting her down.

He pulled open his drawer to find a pair of khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt that was actually his size, along with a black baseball cap and thick framed glasses. "This'll do. And what do we have here?!" Steve said excitedly as he pulled out a blue and white dress and a big red bow to clip into her hair. He turned the dress to Denver, and she jumped up and down cheering as Steve showed it off to her, "What do you think?"

"Perty."

"I think so too, Princess. Let's get you dressed so we can go see what all the fuss is about downstairs, okay?"

Steve and Denver rode the elevator hand in hand down to the Party Deck, finding Bucky, Thor, and Natasha dressed in various disguises while Dallas wore high-waisted jean shorts and a red halter top with oversized sunglasses balanced over her caramel-highlighted bob. She smiled when she saw Steve, and his heart ached because it reminded him of Brooklyn.

"Looking good handsome!" Dallas called while Natasha let out a long, impressed whistle. Her red hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and her makeup was unusually dark, giving the Black Widow an uncharacteristic vampy look. Thor was dressed in bright red shorts and a tank top, which Steve thought would only draw more attention, but there was no hiding Thor's bulky figure in anything he wouldn't melt in, considering it was almost ninety degrees.

Steve let Denver run off to Dallas and Natasha as he approached Bucky, looking him up and down, "Aren't you gonna be hot?" Steve asked as he gestured to the tight under shirt beneath a leather vest. Bucky shrugged and pushed his hands into his vest pockets, "I'll be fine."

"You ready to go? We're heading out for brunch, then heading to Coney Island." Dallas called and Steve furrowed his brows.

"Coney Island?"

Bucky chuckled and nodded, "We're gonna try the Cyclone again. See if you can stomach it better than last time." Bucky winked and turned to the women, kneeling down and opening his arms so Denver could run into them happily.

Natasha looked over to Steve and smiled sweetly. She dropped her hand to Denver's head and ruffled her curls while Bucky tickled her ribcage. Steve's heart swelled at the sight, and for the first time in months, he was actually excited to go out in the world with his family.

Any excitement Steve felt at venturing back to Coney Island after eighty years dissipated when they arrived. Steve's enhanced senses were overtaken by the sounds and smells of the crowds enjoying their holiday. He looked to his right, seeing Bucky was as overwhelmed as he was, but the little girl in her uncle's arms had the biggest, brightest smile he'd ever seen in his life. She looked around in wonder, pointing and laughing at the bright colors and toys hanging over carnival games.

"I want one!" She shrieked when she saw a giant Captain America shield plush, pointing at it and tugging on Bucky's vest, "Uncle Bucky, I want it!"

"Uhh," Bucky turned to Steve, seeing the blonde pale at her request, "I don't know Kiddo…"

"Peeze! Peeze, Uncle Bucky, please!" Denver begged before turning to her Dad, "Daddy… Daddy peeze?"

"Let her get one, Steve. Nobody is gonna realize." Natasha said under her breath as she looked over her shoulder, "Where's Thor?"

Steve and Dallas looked up and over the crowd, hearing cheering coming from the stage at the far end of the park as the announcer's voice wafted over the microphone, "And a last minute entry to Nathan's Hot Dog Contest is a member of the Avengers- Thor Odinson!"

"Oh, hell no." Natasha groaned as Dallas laughed loudly and pointed at the stage as the massive demi-god raised his hands in triumph when the crowd began to chant his name.

"Thor! Thor! Thor!"

The announcer looked around, leaning over to the judges before addressing the crowd, "To be clear, he cannot actually compete. That would be cheating based on him being… the God of Thunder."

"Thor! Thor! Thor!"

"Well, so much for staying under the radar-" Dallas turned around, realizing that Natasha was gone, as were Steve and Denver. Bucky, however, was handing money over to the man at the carnival game where Denver's stuffed shield was, "What are you doing?"

Bucky was handed the dart gun and told that he had to shoot the star-shaped bullseye in the middle of the target. He looked over to Dallas with a smug grin, "I'm getting my niece the toy she wants."

Dallas raised her brow as Bucky turned and squinted his right eye to focus with his left when he raised the dart gun and shot three darts one after another into the center of the star. He lowered the gun and looked at the stunned attendant, giving the man his kindest smile, "Could I get the shield please?"

"Yeah, of course." The guy stammered as he pulled it down and handed it to Bucky. Bucky waved and turned to Dallas, handing it over to her before moving to the next game. He dug more money out of his pocket before turning to Dallas, "See anything you like?"

She tilted her head to the side, staring at Bucky curiously for a moment before turning to the stuffed animals hanging behind the ring toss. There were lions, tigers, ponies and elephants lining the carnival game, and Dallas realized nobody had ever tried to win her a prize before. She twisted her lips, trying hide her grin, but it grew on her face alongside the pink in her tan cheeks. She pointed up at a stuffed elephant, "I like him. He's cute. Elephants were always my favorite."

Bucky turned back to the game, tossing his rings onto the bottles easily before pointing to the elephant, "Could I have that one please?" The woman looked from Bucky to Dallas as she pulled down the elephant before handing it straight to Dallas. She held the elephant tightly and thanked the woman before turning and walking down the boardwalk with Bucky. "You said they were your favorite. They aren't anymore?"

Dallas shrugged, but held her stuffed elephant a little tighter, "I mean, I guess they still are." Dallas admitted quietly, looking up at the muscular soldier beside her, "I haven't had a lot of time to think about it recently. I've been a little busy, raising my sister's daughter."

Bucky sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, tucking his chin to his chest. His eyes darted over to the woman at the same moment she looked away, "I'm sorry."

"We've talked about this." Dallas groaned as they walked towards the hot dog eating contest, hearing the crowd chanting for Thor as he shoveled his sixty-eighth hot dog into his mouth. "It wasn't your fault. She could have made a lot of better decisions before she had to literally throw herself in front of you." Dallas stopped and she saw how stiff Bucky's jaw was as he looked past her, "Hey, you're really good with Denny. I was… a little worried, at first. But I'm not anymore. You're family, don't forget that."

Suddenly, the crowd at the hot dog eating contest erupted into cheers and they saw Thor stand up and scream victoriously as the bystanders began cheering his name again. The announcer declared Thor the unofficial winner after devouring eighty-five hot dogs, and the actual winner handed over her trophy anyway, causing the crowd to cheer louder.

"I just wish it wasn't all so fuzzy." Bucky said quietly as they turned from the contest to make their way towards the rides. He raised his head, letting the hot summer breeze blow his long hair as the smell of cotton candy wafted towards him. He turned to Dallas and tried to smile, but it came off a little sad, "I don't think I've had cotton candy since the thirties. I don't suppose you'd share one with me?"

Dallas ducked her head and smiled shyly, nodding for a moment before meeting his piercing blue eyes, "Yeah. I'd like that."

Meanwhile, Steve was taking his third ride around the carousel with Denver. She wanted to give all the horses a chance, and Steve didn't mind taking her over and over again because it made her so happy. Before hopping in line for a fourth ride, Denver wobbled a little, clearly dizzy from going round in circles so many times.

"Come on, Sweetie, let's rest for a moment." Steve said as he led her to a bench and sat down, allowing her the chance to climb up onto the wooden seat by herself before he helped her. She wiggled a little before settling, looking up at Steve with her brows scrunched together in confusion. Steve chuckled at her expression, "What'cha thinking Denny?"

"Why do you look funny?"

Steve pulled off his glasses and rubbed them on the hem of his shirt. It wasn't lost on him that Denver watched him closely, her blue eyes following his movements as he pushed the glasses back up on his nose, "We are playing make believe. We're pretending to be somebody we're not."

"Why?" Denver questioned, looking down at her own dress, "Who am I pretending to be?"

Steve chuckled a little and brushed back her hair, "Whoever you want to be."

"I want to be Captain America!" She yelped and Steve shushed her calmly, ignoring the few stares that they received. She looked around, then back to her dad, "Are you Captain America?"

"Not today." Steve said quietly as he pressed his lips to her hair, lingering for a moment and closing his eyes. "Today I'm just your dad." He stretched out his arms over his head and stood, turning back around to Denver, "Let's go see what other rides we can check out before we leave. Sound good? And then I want to take Uncle Bucky on the Cyclone. Gotta show him I can hold my lunch better now."

"Lunch! Lunch! Lunch!" Denver chanted as she slid off the bench and went sprinting past Steve towards an ice cream cart across the boardwalk, forcing him to chase after her at almost super-human speed.

A few hours later, Denver was passed out against Steve's side on the subway back to Midtown. His forearm boxed her in, shielding her from the strangers around them as she clutched the stuffed shield Bucky had gifted her before leaving Coney Island.

Steve had stared at his best friend skeptically, noticing that Dallas was holding a stuffed animal of her own. That was Bucky Barnes's move in the years leading up to the war. When he wanted to go steady with a girl, he'd try his best to win her a stuffed animal, often times using up all of their money in his efforts, but he didn't give up until his girl had her prize. Steve assumed he'd won Dallas's on the first try, perhaps giving her the idea that it wasn't as big of a deal as it was.

Right now, though, Steve saw that Dallas was sitting with Natasha, looking out the window as they quickly moved through the subway system. She held her stuffed elephant tightly, occasionally looking over Natasha's shoulder to see who she was texting.

Bucky sat across from Steve by himself with his eyes closed and a half smile on his lips beneath his stubble. Thor, being unable to hide after destroying the competition in the hot dog eating contest, had been kind enough to sit two cabins back in order to draw away prying eyes who might think Thor had made his trip to Coney Island with his teammates.

Suddenly, an explosion went off near the front of the train, causing it to start careening down the track at a dangerous speed. Steve quickly leapt to his feet and thrust Denver into Dallas's arms as he turned to Natasha, "Get them behind the seats, I'm gonna check it out."

"Daddy?" Denver cried, but Dallas just shushed her and followed Natasha farther back into the car, ducking between a row of seats as people started to push through the doors back into their car to get away from whatever had caused the explosion. Thor burst through the back doors to join his friends as the subway continued to barrel forward.

"Thor! See if you can slow down the train, Bucky, you're coming with me, we have to check out that explosion." Steve ordered, pulling off his glasses and dropping them on the ground. He looked to Natasha, who stood in front of where Dallas and Denver were hiding, "Stay here. Try and get Stark on the line, we might need him."

She gave a firm nod and pulled out her cell to call Tony as Thor walked over to the side of the train and held out his hand, summoning Mjolnir from the tower. When it crashed through the side of the train, everyone screamed, but lightning rained down on him from above, covering his arms with armored scales as his cape appeared.

Once Thor flew from the hole his hammer created, Steve pushed his way towards the front door, pulling it open as Bucky sprinted towards the driver, finding the front portion of the train smoldering. The wind blew his hair wildly as he looked back at Steve, "Found the explosion!"

"Yeah, I see that." Steve yelled over the sound of the screeching wheels as Thor attempted to slow down the train, "See if the driver's still alive, I'm gonna-"

Steve was knocked back as a heavily armed man in black with a white X painted across his chest who had entered through the hole from the explosion. "I'm gonna enjoy this!" He yelled as Steve grunted, trying to push himself up to his feet as the man turned to Bucky, "If it isn't the Winter Soldier. How's your head feeling? I'm guessing Rogers hasn't put it in a blender in a while."

"Rumlow?" Steve grumbled as he stumbled to his feet, feeling the hit in his shoulder beneath the thin t-shirt.

The man shifted from foot to foot as Bucky lunged for him, but he turned and landed a hard hit on Bucky's chest with his metal plated fist, managing to knock Bucky back through the door into the cabin with the others.

"You doing okay up there?" Natasha called casually as she held onto the seat, but she stumbled back a step into the isle when she saw Crossbones appear.

"Nice to see you too, Widow!" Rumlow yelled as he lunged forward, but Natasha quickly ducked out of the way towards Dallas and Denver, causing Crossbones to fall past them. Bucky scrambled to his feet as Steve sprinted into the car, shoving Bucky out of the way to stalk his way towards Rumlow. Rumlow chuckled as he met Steve in the middle, sauntering forward tauntingly as he called, "Sorry to hear about your girl, Rogers. That's what happens when you play both sides, neither are there to save you."

Steve charged at Rumlow, but the man punched him back harshly, causing him to fly through the door into the car behind as Bucky wound up his left arm to land a blow. Rumlow stumbled back, then grabbed Natasha by the hair and pulled her forward, brandishing a blade from his glove to place at her neck.

"I can't slow it down!" Thor bellowed from the front of the train; his failure apparent as they continued to plow forward. They had to be getting close to running out of open track.

"Daddy!" Denver screamed and Dallas quickly covered her mouth, holding her still as best she could as the little girl wailed. She threw her leg over Denver and held her down with her thigh, looking between Natasha and the man who held her nervously before gazing at Bucky.

"Let her go." Bucky said evenly, but Steve was already running at the man again. The lights of the station they were flying through flashed brightly and Rumlow shoved Natasha at Bucky before plunging the blade into Steve's shoulder.

Dallas panted as she held Denver tighter, shushing the girl as tears streamed down her cheeks. Rumlow looked down at them, seeing her plush shield as he ripped the knife from Steve's shoulder. He kicked Steve in the stomach as the soldier winced, being knocked back as Natasha and Bucky both struggled to untangle themselves to get up.

Rumlow speared the stuffed shield with his knife and laughed at the child, "You have bad taste in heroes, Kid." He ripped the plush as Dallas glared up at him defiantly, holding Denver's mouth so tightly that the little girl whimpered in pain. Rumlow turned to Dallas, "I remember you. You're Brooklyn's little sister." A deep rumble bubbled from his chest, and she could see his eyes dart over to Denver as she screamed into her aunt's hand, "That's not your kid, is it?"

Finally, Rumlow was ripped away from the pair by Bucky, who threw him out the hole in the side of the train with a vicious scream. He looked at Dallas, seeing her trembling as she gazed at him in fear, before turning and jumping onto the platform to chase after Crossbones.

"Cap! You okay?" Natasha asked as she knelt beside Steve, pressing her hand to his shoulder, and pulling it away to find it covered in blood, "Steve, this is really bad…"

"We gotta stop the train." Steve strained, trying to get his legs beneath him, but his ribs were aching from the hit. He panted as he finally stood, holding his stomach, and looking over to Dallas and Denver, "We gotta stop the train."

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the subway's sound system, "Then aren't you all lucky we're here."

Nat and Steve turned to see Iron Man flying sideways past the train towards the front, followed by a bellowing roar from the Hulk before the train started slowing down. Tony's voice spoke through the speakers again, "Everybody hold onto something, it's going to be a hard stop!"

Steve stumbled back to the nearest seat, a couple darting out of the way to allow him to collapse as he looked back for his family, but Natasha grabbed his arm and shook her head, "Don't draw any more attention to them." She whispered, knowing Steve could hear her over the screeching of the wheels as they continued to slow.

He grabbed Natasha to hold her tight so she couldn't get hurt as the train finally slammed to a stop, causing several people to scream as they were thrown forward. After a moment, Iron Man appeared in the cabin, looking around, "Is anybody hurt?"

Steve looked up at Stark and raised his hand a little, hissing at the pain that radiated through his shoulder at the movement. His shirt was stained with blood and it was starting to drip from his hem onto the floor.

Stark looked around, "Aside from you, is anybody hurt?" He asked again as several firefighters forced open the doors, allowing everyone to run out. Tony retracted his helmet and looked around with a shrug, "I'll take that as a no. Where's Barnes?"

"He went after Rumlow." Steve wheezed as he stumbled to his feet. Stark threw out his hand to catch him, but Steve just grabbed the bar at the edge of the seats and pulled himself over to Dallas. When he reached them, he collapsed onto his knees and Dallas released her grip on Denver, allowing the girl to tackle her father. He pressed his hand to the back of her head, holding her against his good shoulder as she sobbed.

"Daddy, he broke my shield!"

Steve kissed her hair, smoothing it away and inadvertently smearing a bit of blood into her blonde hair, "I'm sorry, Baby. I'll get you another one. I promise." Rumlow had recognized Dallas. He probably put two and two together. The maniac knew that Denver was Steve's daughter.

"Steve…" Dallas gasped as she tentatively reached out for his shoulder, "That's bad, I'll get you cleaned up-"

"No." Steve grunted as he held onto Denver. He swallowed the lump in his dry throat, feeling his Adam's Apple bobbing as he looked up at Stark and Natasha, "We can't just have subway fights and not say anything about it. We gotta get ahead of this."

"I'll have Pepper schedule a press conference."

"I really think you need somebody to look at that." Dallas argued as Steve carefully pulled Denver away so he could get to his feet. Dallas scooped up the child and stepped closer, ignoring his threatening glare, "If not me, somebody else. That laceration is nasty. We don't know if the knife was clean, we gotta make sure it wasn't laced with something-"

Steve clenched the railing tightly, taking a deep breath that caused his chest to heave and more blood to drip into the fabric of his shirt, "Dee." He quipped darkly, "Get her home."

Dallas looked to Nat, hoping the assassin could talk some sense into Steve, but she just nodded to the side, telling Dallas to go. "Fine. But you need to get cleaned up before you see her next."

Steve watched as Dallas jumped off the train and started carrying Denver up the stairs and out of the subway station past all the firefighters checking people's injuries. He saw that Banner had simmered down and Thor was walking around, checking on everyone.

"You do gotta get changed." Stark finally said as he gestured towards the doors with his head. "We don't want the public thinking we're easy to kill."

"I'm not dead."

"Could have fooled me." Tony said quietly and Steve pushed his sweaty hair out of his face with his somewhat clean hand. His ribs were definitely broken, and the blade had definitely sliced through the muscles in his shoulder, but he wasn't about to admit that he'd been hurt. He'd get up and shake it off, just like every other battle.

He kept telling himself that, because he was terrified. Not because he thought that Rumlow would actually kill him, but because he thought Rumlow could have killed his daughter, and he couldn't focus enough to get a good hit in. Steve should have been better, but he could barely see straight.

Once Natasha and Stark had left the train, Steve looked back to the corner where Dallas and Denver had been hiding. He saw the ripped shield and kicked it with his boot, causing a droplet of blood to fall onto the white star and stain it.