9 Days Later

Harper Montgomery gazed out across the blue-green waters of the Boston Harbor. The city that was usually bustling and crowded, where sirens and car horns perpetually blared, was subdued and still. The quiet made the roiling thoughts in her mind louder and more difficult to ignore. At least the comfortable anonymity remained. She was one of many people dressed in black standing before a memorial placard.

The city had set up memorials in surprisingly short order after the event now being termed "the Snap." They were beautiful. Fresh blooms decorated the area and the names of those the city had lost were engraved on plaques mounted on stones spread around the historic downtown area. Brown eyes gazed at the stone she stood before.

Jordan Montgomery

Mitchel Montgomery

On other stones erected at the Harbor's edge, she'd find more familiar names.

Martin Douglas.

Katherine Reynolds

She tried not to think bitterly of how much she had lost.

"Will his name be on the D.C. memorial?" Harper asked quietly.

There was a silence that spoke more of her companion's sadness than the merits of her question. She looked up at the blond beside her. His hair was longer than she'd seen it before, his beard unkempt. His blue eyes were drained and defeated. Yet his reply was firm. "I'll make sure it is."

They stood in silence staring at the stone for several more minutes. She said, "Thank you for bringing me back and staying with me, Steve. I really appreciate it."

He met her gaze with a weariness that reflected his long life. "We need to stick together. I know that we may not have always gotten along well in the past. That's largely my fault. I didn't give you a chance. But I know Bucky loved you, and I saw in Wakanda how happy you made him. And you've lost a lot, Harper."

Tears stung her eyes and her lip trembled. Clearing her throat, she managed, "So have you."

He nodded numbly. "I have."

The brunette slowly slid her arm through his, linking at the elbows. Her other hand patted his bicep gently before falling once again. "I still have my mom, my grandmother, one of my sisters, and one of my friends; my loss pales against yours. I'm truly sorry, Steve."

"We share one huge loss, though. I lost a brother, you lost a partner."

"He told me a little bit about back during the war… Does it ever stop hurting? Losing the love of your life?"

"No."

Silence stretched between them again. Harper watched the wind skate across the surface of the water, birthing gentle waves. There were a few jellyfish floating around. Evidently, they felt more comfortable in the waters now that the cacophony of city noises was absent.

"He asked me to look out for you if anything happened to him," Steve mentioned.

"That sounds like James."

"I would have regardless."

"Thank you."

"I meant what I said. We need to stick together. We've lost a lot, we're grieving. You're one of us, you know."

Harper turned her red-brown gaze on the man out of time. She searched his face. Deep sadness, exhaustion, and fear shone in his eyes, the tightness of his jaw. "You aren't alone, Steve."

His lips thinned in a line and he blinked several times to clear the gathering moisture. The young woman offered him a small smile. Turning to look back out across the water, she spoke again, "While I was in Wakanda, James and I had some time to talk about things that he had to keep from me when we were together in Romania. He told me about the Stark Expo you visited the night before he was deployed. Said it was a double date, but he ended up with both girls."

The super soldier couldn't help but laugh fondly. Harper's lips twitched upward in a sad smile before she continued, "He said he set you up with a pretty blonde and kept the brunette for himself. Of course, he rushed to assure me that she had nothing on me. Flying car or not, if I'd been his date he wouldn't have been able to tear his eyes away." She chuckled with bemused fondness. "He was always so heavy handed with the flattery. It made me uncomfortable and I found it frustrating, in truth. But now I won't ever hear it again."

"He always loved dark haired girls," Steve muttered wistfully. "His date that night – Connie? – was real pretty and sweet. She had it bad for him. Had hoped they'd exchange letters while he was serving and all that."

"Did she hope to marry him when he got back?"

"I think so. I mean, she was real sweet on him."

"I wish that everything could have been different for him. That he could have served his time, come home, and had the wife and family he dreamed of. He deserved that." Harper's eyes fell to the sidewalk. As much as she admonished James for all his talk of "deserving," she couldn't help but look back on his life and know he was owed better.

Steve turned to look at her more directly, prompting her to lift her eyes to his. He asked, "What are you going to do next?"

Harper sighed. "I feel guilty, honestly. Now more than ever people need support. Most people involved in therapy and counseling, from students to field veterans, are busting ass to try and meet the huge increased need following all of this. There is so much grief, so much trauma and depression and anxiety. I want to say that I'll be joining the effort."

"But?"

"But… I just can't. I think I'd be doing my patients a genuine disservice. I'm standing in front of the pseudo-graves of most of my family and my best friend, wondering if the man I love will even get one. I just finished my most recent cycle of clusters four days ago. I'm not okay. And I can't help others if I feel like I'm standing on the precipice myself."

"I don't want to ask you to leave your family behind but... Would you want to come to the Avengers complex with me? At least for a little while? We're a bit short-staffed and could use all the brain power we can get."

"You think I could be of use?"

"I do."

Slowly, she nodded her agreement. "I'll talk to my mother. If they'll be alright, I'll join and do what I can." Hesitantly, she suggested, "We could drive out there together? Upstate New York, right?"

"Boston to upstate New York… So maybe six hours in a car and away from the rest of the world?" Harper nodded again, prompting a smile to turn Steve's lips. "I'm in."

Harper returned the grin. Her heart hurt with loss. Each day she woke up and remembered everyone Thanos had taken from her. No more baking with her uncle. No more wine and hugs from Kat. No more sweet phone calls from her concerned father. No more worrying about Jordan's free spirit getting her in trouble. No more holding James in her arms or Brooklyn drawl whispering confessions of love in her ear.

But there were things she could do. Maybe she wasn't feeling able to provide good therapy, but she could put her energies in equally worthy endeavors until she did. And as she looked up at the super soldier at her side, she knew that she needed to protect the last connection to James that she had.

The brunette reached out to run her fingers along the engraved names of her lost family members. James decided to fight in the battle in Wakanda despite the horrific things he'd been put through. He was courageous, loyal, and resilient. He was a great man, and she would endeavor to honor him and the love that had brightened her life.

A/N: And so the sequel has come to an end. I am continuing to work my way through the third and final part, but there will definitely not be a long break before that one like there was for this one. When that time comes, I'll post an alert here and maybe on Deserving too.

Please, please share your thoughts on this sequel. I feel like I'm leaving things off a bit unsure of how this story, and particularly the ending, have been received. I want to make sure that if there are improvements that can be made I can do so for the next story. I want the story of Bucky and Harper to be as enjoyable to read now as it was in the beginning.

In regards to the easter egg of sorts, a hint: the passcode to Harper's safe room was not a random number.

Thank you again for sticking with me and continuing to support this story. I plan to be back again before summer ends!