Chapter 110

Toni Stark-Rogers landed onto the ground with an ungraceful tumble, and she was thankful that JARVIS was able to steady her thrusters to try and steady her.

"Toni!" Rhodey screamed out as he ran to her side, "JARVIS, release the hand armour please. Get the Stones away from her body now!"

"Disengaging," JARVIS responded, and the glove came off her hand, as Rhodey took it in his. He immediately took a look at her hand, and stared in confusion at the unmarred skin. Then he took a look at where the stones had sat in her armour, where now only empty space remained. "I don't understand. What happened? How are you not hurt by the Stones? Where did they go? Where did you go? You vanished for a second before you reappeared!"

"They're gone," she breathed out, as she disengaged the suit, sending the nanobots back to her reactor.

Rhodey stared at her, unsure of what was happening, and then looked down at her.

"Did whatever happen make you pregnant too?" he asked, with a mix of sarcasm and confusion all in one tone.

She laughed weakly. How was she even going to begin to explain everything that had just happened? She didn't think there would be enough words to describe it without coming off as completely delusional.

"Toni!" Steve said, and she saw him and Peter running over to her, both with worry in their face. "What were you thinking? How could you use the Stones? We talked about this! We knew how dangerous they'd be, and you used them anyways! What if something had happened to you? What if I lost you?"

"I'm sorry," she said, "I know we did. But I had an opportunity. I couldn't let Thanos get the last Stone. We'd have been powerless to stop him if he got the Time Stone. I had an opportunity to get rid of him, and I had to take it."

"Even if it meant you losing your life?" he said, pained, as he looked her over.

"Yes," she said simply, "But I'm fine. And that's all that matters. I'm home."

She looked at him intently, and she saw him freeze as he looked at her.

As if he were remembering.

"What if you died?" Peter said, with a tremble, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You were gone, Mom. What if you didn't come back?"

"I know, Darling," she said, holding onto him. "I promise never to scare you like that again. I'm home now. I'm here. I missed you so much, Peter. You and Morgan. I'm never letting either of you out of my sight ever again."

"You just saw me," Peter said in confusion.

"You just saw her," Steve corrected, "It's been three months since she's seen you, if I recall correctly."

"You remember," she breathed, as Peter looked at them in confusion. But he held onto her tightly nonetheless, and she knew she'd really worried him with the Snap. She hated the fact that he'd worried about losing another parent because of her. She hated that she was the one who caused him pain.

"Can someone please fill me in on what happened?" Rhodey said, looking at all of them.

"It's a long story," she breathed out. "I think we should check in on everyone first. Make sure no one needs immediate medical attention. Let the governments know that we have the situation under control. That it's over. And then we'll talk."

Rhodey nodded tersely, and that was that.

It took three hours when everything was said and done. Three hours for them to make sure that no one was hurt. There were some broken bones, a few concussions, and some gunshot wounds that needed to be tended to. Some were worse off than others, and while she knew they were all worried about the injured, they were going to be okay.

All in all, everyone was alive. They'd survived Thanos. They'd gone back in time to beat him, and they'd won.

It was over.

The UN were pleased the situation was in hand, and that the relative civilian damage had been minimal, due to the removed nature of the Compound. It had been one of the reasons why she'd moved Avengers operations out of the Tower to begin with. So that civilians would not be put in harm's way.

But the Compound was still destroyed.

There would be no way any of them would be able to spend the night there. There was barely a building left standing. So she'd invited everyone back to the Tower. She figured them crashing there for one night would hardly cause that many issues.

Hopefully.

Thirty pizzas ordered later, and several rounds of talking to her family and friends and personally making sure that they were all okay, they found themselves all sitting in the common room of the Tower, as she stood in front of everyone. Her Aunt and Uncle. Steve. Peter. The Asgardians. The Wakandians. The Avengers. Her cousins. Pepper. Rhodey. Everyone.

They looked exhausted, and some were heavily bandaged. But between Shuri's ability to heal the wounded, Bruce, who still claimed he wasn't that kind of doctor, and Stephen Strange, they'd patched up everyone, one way or another.

"So I guess you're all wondering what's happening," she said as she looked around the room. She was showing now, and it was obvious to all of them that something had happened to her on that battlefield. From what she'd gathered, she'd been emerged in a white light, vanishing for a second, and the next thing they knew she had fallen onto the ground. Next to no time had passed between when she'd snapped and when she'd reappeared in her time. What had been three months for her had barely been thirty seconds for them.

"And how you're now clearly very pregnant," Rhodey said again, and Pepper lightly hit his arm.

She was holding Morgan in her arms, and she was sure between her and Steve, their baby girl would held, when she was awake, for the foreseeable future.

"I'm pregnant," she confirmed. "By my estimates, I'm now six months pregnant. But this morning, well I guess this morning for you all when we started the battle, I was only three months along."

"The stones made you skip three months of pregnancy?" Nebula asked her sceptically, arms crossed.

"No," she said simply, "What I'm saying, is that I've lived an additional three months since I snapped my fingers. Or more specifically, the stones sent me back to 1943. And I spent three months there, before returning back here."

"You went back to 1943," Ava asked, in somewhat disbelief.

"Son of a bitch," Bucky swore, as she knew he was remembering her. "That talk I had with you. The one where I tried to get you to back off of Stevie. You were talking about your husband like he was some great person. And you were telling me that Steve deserved better and that he'd find someone one day. But the entire time you knew that the two of you were going to end up together."

"You remember me," she said, as she glanced over at Steve. She still hadn't gathered what they'd remembered from her time there. Or how much they remembered. If they knew her the entire time in this timeline. Or if her father's theories about them forgetting her would hold true.

"I remember you now," he exhaled, and Ava glanced over at him in surprise, "I didn't remember you until I saw you after the snap; your snap. Like that entire time suddenly became unblurry. I remembered that time without you in it. And now I remember you in it. Figures. The one time I try and give a shovel talk, it doesn't work anyways."

She looked over at Steve, "It's the same for me," he said quietly. "I didn't remember you being there. Until you came back. And now I can only remember you being there."

He didn't say more than that, and she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. Was he angry at her for keeping secrets? Was he angry at her for kissing him in the past? For flirting with him?

She bit her lip, knowing the two of them were going to have to talk after all of this.

"You went back to 1943," Harry echoed his sister's sentiment.

"That she did," Aunt Peggy said, as she came into the room. "She flew into Camp Lehigh like a tornado, and refused to be interrogated by anyone other than me. Insisted I was her God Mother and that she was from the future. She seemed crazy, but she was telling the truth. I only wish I could have remembered meeting you, Toni, because you were absolutely brilliant."

"But the Time Machine worked," she pointed out, "You all forgot me."

"It was as if our memories restitched themselves together to make up for your absence," Aunt Peggy said, "To make them make more sense."

"We remembered a world without you in it," Steve said.

"How did you get home?" Ava asked her curiously.

"I still remembered the workings of the machine we made to get back here," she said, looking over at Bruce and Scott. "So Howard and I worked together to create a new time travel machine so I could get back here. Took a couple months to get all the parts and finish all the testing. But we managed to figure it out."

Howard.

She froze as she felt herself remember a set of memories. Her memories of her childhood.

But instead of the life she'd remembered, the one where her father had hated her and never had time for her, in this set her father had remembered. Her father had loved her. Had been there for her.

In this set he'd encouraged her to succeed and given her control over an R&D department for public technology before his death, and she'd taken over as CEO. There had still been heavy protest from her board, and Obadiah had still tried to oust her behind her back. But she'd had her father's support. And she'd always had it.

Her father had loved her in this timeline.

"He changed," she whispered, as she looked up at Aunt Peggy. "Howard changed."

The rest of the room looked confused, but her Aunt who'd remembered what she'd mentioned in passing had softened.

"He loved you," Aunt Peggy said. "From the moment Maria fell pregnant with you. When you were born, he was so proud to have a little girl, that he showed you off to the world. Insisted I be your God Mother and I give his backside a kick if he ever got too lost in his own work to remind you how much he cared about you."

"You were in 1943 for three months?" Peter asked, both in excitement and worry about the fact that she'd been so far away. He stood, and wrapped his arms back around her, and she held both her children in her arms.

"I was," she said, "But I fought to get back here to you and to Morgan. I wanted nothing more than to be back here with my children. To come home to the two of you."

"We'll give you some time alone," Gamora said, as Drax and Quill had lost interest in her story, not to her surprise.

"I am glad to see you safely returned home," Thor said, as he smiled softly at her. Loki had been in the med bay still, despite vehemently protesting that he was fine, Thor had insisted he stay there for the night.

The others filed out of the room as well, leaving her with her Aunt and Uncle, cousins, children, Pepper and Rhodey, and Steve.

"So are you going to leave us hanging, or are you gonna tell us all about your cool adventures in the 40s?" Harry asked, as he sat forward. She took a seat on the love seat beside her husband, and he offered her a smile, and she started to talk. She told them about going back in time. Meeting her aunt and Colonel Phillips who thought she was a spy. Daniel laughed when she mentioned how badass her aunt was back in those times, because didn't he know it?

She talked about meeting Steve and seeing Project Rebirth. She talked about his rescue mission. Drinking with the guys in the bar. Working with her father in the lab.

They listened raptly, and part of her missed the 1940s. Things seemed different back then, and it had been an interesting experience. She could understand why Steve missed the time, because he'd been so at home there. But despite it all, she was grateful to be home. She was glad to be home. She missed her family.

This was where she belonged.

"We should get some rest," Pepper said, as she glanced at Rhodey. She'd had a hand on her stomach subconsciously, and Toni grinned as she speculated internally about her friend. They would tell her when they were good and ready, and she wasn't about to rush that.

The others agreed, and she saw Peter yawn.

"Off to bed with you too, Mister," Steve said, as he stood up. He was holding a sleeping Morgan in his arms, and he pressed a kiss on her head before ushering their children off to bed. Leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"Miss?" JARVIS said, and she looked up at her AI. "I have something to show you. I found it in Mr Howard Stark's personal files, and he requested it be played for you on this day in particular when you had a moment alone.

She held her breath, "Please play it, JARVIS," she said, and her father came on the screen. She could see the video recording was made the day he died, and she wrapped her arms around her body.

The video began to play and she saw her father on the screen, as he looked just as he had that day. Smiling, but slightly worn out. She remembered going over that daytime after time in her head, and with BARF, trying to figure out in this time timeline what had happened. Why the car had crashed. Why her father and mother had died.

"Toni," her father said on screen. He was sitting in his study, one that he'd often placed her on his lap in while he worked on something or the other and allowed her to sketch her designs. "I think this is my thirtieth take recording this video for you, because finding the words to say has never been my strong suit. I wish I could have said these things to you in person, but I know I'm long gone in the time you were from when I first met you. So instead this is going to have to do. I don't think I'm going to be around much longer. I've been doing work for SHIELD in conjecture with the US Government to create a new version of the super soldier serum. It's beginning human trials soon, as all animal testing seems to have yielded positive results. But I have recently found a leak in SHIELD, which I believe to be HYDRA. I plan on telling Peggy next time I see her in person, because I suspect the lines are being tapped."

Her father took a deep breathe, "But that's neither here nor there. I reason I'm making this isn't because of HYDRA. But I do want you to know something. I love you. I know when you met me, I was the last person you wanted to be around. I wish I could have known what kind of father I'd been to you where you were from, because I want to kick that version of me. How could anyone look at you and see you as anything less than brilliant?"

He paused, "Our theory worked by the way. Peggy, Steve, and Phillips all forgot you were ever at the Camp. And none of the other men seemed to remember meeting you either. My hypothesis is that because I was close to the portal to operate the machinery that I was within the range, so I was able to retain my memories. I remembered you."

"When I met Maria, I made a promise to myself that if I had the luck of having a daughter, I'd do it right this time. I'd be there for her. I'd support her. I'd love her. Because I never wanted to see your eyes look at me with the amount of hatred and pain you had. You deserved to be loved, and I wanted you to know that you were. That you are loved. You, Toni Stark, are the greatest thing I've ever created, and I'm so proud of you. I've always been proud of you. I know I wasn't always there for you. I went on those expeditions. But I had to. Steve Rogers was your soulmate. And I wanted to be the one to find him for you. My only regret is that I failed to find him."

"Howard?" her mother's voice called in the background, "We're going to be late."

"I must go now," he said regretfully. "There's so much more I wish I could tell you. But I want you to remember how much I care for you. It won't make up for the memories I suspect you'll always have of a life where I was horrible to you. But I hope that this new life was better for you. Because it has been the greatest joy of my life to watch you grow up. And I wouldn't trade you for anyone."

The video ended, and she felt herself grow overcome with emotions. She began to sob, as she remembered a different childhood. One where her father had been proud of her. Where he never hid his pride of her. Where he showed her off with every opportunity, and helped her learn and grow. Where he bribed the MIT Science department with a large donation just to be allowed to sit in the back and watch her present her thesis project. Where he'd been furious at the state of the lab she'd been given as she was a woman, and single-handedly donated new equipment for her and Rhodey specifically to be allowed to work with. Where he'd let her be a child and encouraged her growth.

A set of memories where her father had loved her.

"Toni?" Steve said worriedly, as he came back into the room.

"He changed for me," she said, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Howard changed for me. He loved me."

"He did," Steve said, remembering one of their many talks in the 40s where they talked about fathers who were both out of the picture. His who had passed, and hers who wanted nothing to do with her. "He loved you."

"Are you mad at me?" she couldn't help but blurt out, "For leading you on back then? In the 40s? I know I shouldn't have flirted with him, but he was so much like you. He is you. And I couldn't help it."

"Of course not," he said, shocked, "Toni, I think given the circumstances it's perfectly acceptable. It hurt knowing how much I loved you and that you were married to another man whose child you were carrying. But that day outside of the bar where you told me it was me who you were married to was one of the greatest days of my life. I loved you back then. And I loved you now. And today, remembering how much I loved you in both times has been slightly overwhelming to me, because it's been a lot to taken in all these memories. But I could never fault you for any of it."

"He wasn't you," she confessed to him. "I could have loved you back then too if I had met you without the knowledge of our life together back here. But I knew that we had this amazing life here in 2018, with Peter and Morgan, and just the things that we've been through together. And I wanted nothing more than to come back here to you."

He cupped her face in his hands, "Do you remember when you told me you'd love me without the serum?" he asked her, and she nodded, "I wanted so badly to believe you back then. But how could I, when you never saw me without it? You didn't know how weak and sickly I was. I was really at any given time, one flu away from being a goner. But you met me back in that time. And you treated me exactly the same as you treat me now. You really would love me without it, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," she breathed out, face inches from his, "I love you for your heart, Steve Rogers. Your muscles are nice to look at, and I certainly do not mind being in your large arms. But it's your mind and soul that I am in love with."

He pressed his lips against hers, and she melted into her husband.

"I can't believe I missed three months of your pregnancy," he said, placing a hand on her stomach.

"You were with me in a way," she admitted. "You know this means that our baby has time travelled a total of three times now? One back to before the Snap, then to the 40s, then back here again."

"They're going to be a troublemaker," he grinned, "I can feel it."

"Definitely going to be a troublemaker," she laughed knowing it already in her bones.

"Let's go to bed, shall we?" he asked her, looking at her with dark eyes.

"Eager, are we?" she teased.

"Well, given that I now have memories of wanting you badly back in the 40s and being able to do nothing about it, well let's just say I want to properly show you just how much I love you tonight," he said in a deep voice.

She cleared her throat, trying to stop her face from flushing, as his lips bent down and captured hers with his. She moaned into him, as he lifted her off her feet, and carried her bridal style to their bedroom. Where they properly celebrated their victory well into the night and again the next morning.


After everything was settled, Aunt Peggy insisted on the two of them went to get brunch.

It had been a week since she'd returned. A week where Steve insisted that she got several checkups to make sure everything was okay with the baby due to all the time travel, and with her as she'd snapped her fingers and survived.

The Stones were gone. There was no real way to confirm the Soul Stone was gone too in a nonlethal way, but the Guardians had gone to go check on the location. The running theory was that the stones had been destroyed, their energy being released back into the universe, and the rush of energy had sent her back in time.

None of them were sure why the forties. Why a place where she had connections with due to her family but none herself? Steve liked to say that the Universe had brought them together so they could fall in love in any time, and any place.

Peter had pretended to gag over that.

"Hi, Ducky," Aunt Peggy greeted her as she came through the doors. She'd been dropping Peter off at school, insisting that she see him off to school. Their other classmates had been grilling him obsessively for information, and while her son didn't want to talk about it, she knew that he'd let in MJ and Ned on the truth of it all. Well, minus his identity of course in MJ's case, and his true role in the fight.

"I'm a grown woman, Aunt Peg," she groaned, "When are you going to stop calling me that."

"Never," her aunt teased her, as she pushed a cup of non-caffeinated tea towards her.

"I miss coffee," she sighed, as she took a sip. The waiter came over and took their order then, and she closed her menu as she have it back to the man.

"I know you do, Sweetheart," her aunt laughed, "But it's only a few more months now."

"Don't remind me," she said, "We have so much to plan still. Thank Galileo that there are so many rooms on our floor so we can set up a nursery. I have stuff coming in on Monday to prep for it. I'm just glad we did so much of this research for Morgan, or we'd be scrambling."

"Are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl this time?" Aunt Peggy asked.

She shook her head, "No," she said, "We liked the surprise. And either way we'll love them."

"They're going to be lucky to have you as a parent," her Aunt said.

"What happened?" she finally asked the question that was on her mind. "I know how Dad explained it. It was like your memories compensated for me being gone. But what happened after I left?"

"It was like something was missing," Aunt Peggy told her. "Steve and I had no idea what it was, and well, Howard never filled us in on what he knew. So the two of us gravitated towards each other. Like it was the only way to make sense of what had happened. I thought I loved him. And when I lost him, it had hurt. But looking back on it, I don't know if I ever truly loved him. Not in the same way I love Daniel."

She nodded in understanding. She'd been in the past for three months. Three months that were crucial. Steve had become Captain America. Rescued the Commandos. She hadn't been there for the end. When they lost Bucky. When Steve went in the ice. But she was there for enough of it.

"With my memories back however," Aunt Peggy started, "I can't imagine a world where Steve didn't love you. He's always loved you. Seeing his puppy dog eyes as he longed after you. Knowing that you were married broke his heart. But it's been beautiful watching him fall in love with you in two timelines. A real testament to your love story."

She smiled, as she played with her wedding ring. She loved her husband more than anything, and well the last week where they had the knowledge of their love in different times had definitely been emotional for them both.

But there was something else that had been weighing on her heavily.

"Did he love me?" she asked softly, "Howard? I saw his message, but did he actually love me or did he just say he did because he wanted to do better?"

"He loved you more than you can ever know," Aunt Peggy took her hand. "You should have seen him, Darling. When he found out Maria was pregnant, he called us in the middle of the night. Asked Daniel and I to be your godparents right there and then. Said there was no one he'd trust you with more than that. When you were born, he refused to ever put you down, and Maria would complain often about not being allowed to hold you as much as he did. He'd brag about you all the time when I'd come over, and he hated more than anything when the world was unfair to you. He loved you, Toni. Never doubt that. I remember when he told me he named you Antonia. It was a godawful name, and I wondered if he called you that because you were a girl instead of a boy. But he insisted he always knew that you'd be a girl. And that your name was perfect."

She let out a choked laugh.

Her father loved her.

It was strange to her, knowing how much he'd hated her in that past timeline. How much he'd hurt her.

But he'd been given a second chance. And he'd used it to be a better father to her. He'd used it to be there for her. Because he truly loved her this time around.

"I can't believe he changed everything for me," she said softly.

"I know, Sweetheart," Peggy said, as she held her hand. "I know this is hard for you."

"I don't know how I feel," she admitted, "I still remember a world where he hated me. But how can I be angry still when he loved me in this one?"

"You're entitled to your feelings," Peggy told her gently. "But for what it's worth, I know he would do anything for you in this life. Perhaps it was knowing you and what you'd be. Or knowing Steve would be safe one day. But he changed. He wanted you to be his legacy. He wanted you to have the world."

She nodded, as the waiter came back with their food.

It was a lot. And she'd have to think through what it all meant for her. But what was important was that she was home. She was with Steve and her children. They survived Thanos. And her father loved her.

It was definitely a lot.

But at least she now had all the time in the world to figure it all out.


A/N: Just the epilogue left now! Thank you guys so much for all your responses to the last chapter! It meant a lot to know how much you guys enjoyed it!