"Alright, so here's how this is gonna work-" Tessa mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate gelato. She took a moment to enjoy the flavor before swallowing the dessert, "Every day, we're gonna do one thing on your dad's itinerary. After that, we each get to pick something we want to do. James wanted gelato. I wanted to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. Sarah gets to pick where she wants to go. That way we aren't doing all boring history stuff all day long. We can have real adventures, but I need you two to work with me okay?"

James took a long lick of his chocolate hazelnut gelato straight from the cup, "I understand and agree to these terms. What say you, Sarah?"

Sarah looked between James and Tessa, considering her options, "Will Mom and Dad be mad that we aren't following directions?"

"If they are mad they can blame it on me." Tessa offered, stealing a bite of Sarah's vanilla chocolate chip gelato that she wasn't eating, "You two don't have to worry about anything. It's going to be a long summer if you're bored out of your minds. We sightsee and have fun, and still have time for summer reading and swimming."

Sarah poked at her Italian ice cream, "I would love to go swimming. And take pictures using James's old camera."

James rolled his eyes and moaned, pulling the vintage camera off his neck and handing it to Sarah. He then turned to Tessa with that smile that told her he wanted something, "Can I use your phone to post photos on my Instagram?"

"You have an Instagram?" Tessa's brow rose curiously as she took another bite.

"Well, Zawadi has an Instagram, but I run it. Zaddi the Ridgeback. He's kind of a big deal."

"Sorry, I'm not big on social media." Tessa chuckled, stealing another bite of Sarah's gelato. "If it's an account of your dog, why would you want to take photos here in Rome without him?"

"I'm slowly but surely breaking into the internet myself. I call it: Adventures with Zaddi's Man James!" The boy spread his hands out in front of him, as if he was seeing his vision before his eyes. Tessa and Sarah shared an unimpressed look at his antics.

"You're a little young to be on Instagram, don't you think? Besides, I'm not sure your parents want your face out on the internet for everyone to see." Tessa warned, giving the child a good look. As the years passed, he'd lost his baby fat, and was lean. His face had slimmed down, and he looked terribly similar to the legendary Captain Steven Rogers. Tessa worried that even if Steve somehow managed to disguise himself, his son would be a dead ringer for Captain America in just a few years.

"Eh. It's fine. Please?" James asked again, but Tessa just shook her head lightly, telling the boy no. James scooped up the rest of his gelato and inhaled it in one gulp. "Fine, no internet stardom. Sarah, what do you want to see?"

Sarah looked between Tessa and James, then shrugged shyly, "I was hoping to see the Pantheon. It looks pretty. I could try and draw it."

James's eyes widened and then twitched. "Why?"

Sarah lowered her head and looked up at her brother across from her, "I told you, I want to see it. It looks pretty. I want to draw it."

"You're stupid."

"James!" Tessa shrieked, catching the attention of nearby patrons. She apologized under her breath and turned back to James in a hushed voice, "You can't talk to your sister that way. Apologize."

"I'm sorry I called you stupid, but your logic is still flawed." James mumbled, not backing down from his feelings about the arrangement. He reached across the table to grab his sister's gelato, but she pulled it to her chest, scooping up a big bite to make her point. James then turned to Tessa, batting those big green eyes he inherited from his mother, "Auntie Tess, can I have more gelato? I'm still hungry."

Tessa studied the boy through squinted eyes, debating whether or not to fall into his trap. He was learning too many tricks from his mom.

"Francis Contini."

The Italian architect looked up at the man saying his name. "Yes? Can I help you?" The slim, dark-haired man watched the American approach slowly. "Who is asking?"

The large man with a dark beard took a step closer, clenching his fists as he shifted his feet back and forth anxiously, "That's not important. What's important is that you tell us where to find your father."

A spark of recognition flashed across Francis's face, and he grabbed onto a hammer nearby as a weapon. "You expect me to sell out my father? You'll never get the chance."

The sound of a gun cocking behind Francis alerted Steve to the man's wife, who slowly approached with a handgun aimed and ready at the intruder. Steve put his hands up in defense, showing he had no weapon, "I don't want any trouble. I just want your dad."

"Family means everything. She'll end your life before I sell you his." The thick Italian accent broke as the man stole a glance at his wife, motioning closer so she could pass off the gun. Her whole body shook, uncomfortable with the weapon and the possibility of using it. "Leave now and I'll let you live."

Steve's heart sunk, not wanting to have to stoop so low, "That's not how this works. I've got a sniper on the roof. He's got eyes on your kids. You shoot me. He shoots them."

The wife let out a sob and Francis took the gun as she started back into the house. He clenched his teeth and snarled at Steve. "You could never."

Steve raised one of his hands just a little more to his ear, "He's got your wife in sight, too. It doesn't have to be this way. Give me a location and everyone walks away. Alive."

Francis studied Steve for a moment, not recognizing the former Captain America beneath the beard and slightly greying hair. He saw through the man's bluff. He laughed. "I'm not sure I believe you. As I said, I will not sell out my father. I'll keep you in this standoff until the police arrive. You claim to have a sniper, but the man before me doesn't have a gun."

As Francis steadied his aim at Steve's chest, a loud shriek was heard from inside his home. No shots had been fired, but his wife was wailing wildly as the front door of his home was thrust open from the inside.

A tall, lean woman with long red hair in a ponytail and a black mask covering her eyes thrust Francis's oldest daughter out into the yard where he'd been working. The woman held her tightly by the back of her shirt, keeping the child in her grasp despite how hard the girl fought.

"Papa please!" The girl wept as the redhead took a step closer to Francis, pulling a gun to the girl's head. The father kept his weapon trained on Steve, but his eyes never left his child.

Kayla stared down their target, eventually glancing at Steve to find him looking absolutely horrified by his wife's actions. She sighed and turned back to Francis, "Your father or your daughter. You have thirty seconds to decide."

"Alright! Alright!" Francis cried out as Kayla leaned the barrel against his child's skull. "He has a lab situated downtown near the Colosseum. He's there morning till night, but security is tight. You'll never get in. Now let her go."

Kayla released the girl and she sprinted toward her father, grasping him desperately as he threw his arm around her. "Thank you. For your cooperation." Kayla nodded away from the yard, telling Steve it was time to go. Steve slowly backed away, but the man double-crossed him and aimed his gun at Steve.

Before he could pull the trigger, a shot rang out and Francis ducked, pulling his daughter down with him. Cowering for a moment, he realized neither of them had been shot. The two mysterious figures were gone.

"Are you out of your mind? A child, Kay?" Steve sneered as they walked away from the scene, hearing police sirens in the distance. "Would you have shot her?"

"Nothing but blanks," Kayla mumbled, popping open the gun to show Steve she had no bullets. "I would have never shot that little girl. I'm offended you even considered I would."

Steve clenched his jaw as he stared ahead, his wife keeping easy pace with him as she watched him carefully. His back was stiff and his fists were clenched, and he seemed more unnerved now than he had when he was about to be shot. "I just don't wanna lose you, Kay."

Kayla nodded a little as she contemplated his words. "You know I would do anything to save you-"

"Not that." Steve cut her off, stopping and grabbing her arm tensely. His lip wobbled as the little girl's traumatized face hung in his mind's eye. The more he thought about her, the more she started to look like Sarah. "Not with the kids."

Kayla looked Steve in the eyes and leaned forward. He bent his head to meet her, pressing their foreheads together lovingly as he breathed her in. "I promise," Kayla muttered, looking up with a sad smile. It left as quickly as it came, though, her green eyes turning dark as she narrowed them, "But for my own kids, I wouldn't think twice to sacrifice someone else's. And nothing will change that."

Kayla had said her peace, as dark as it was, and took the lead. Steve watched her in the black suit, the way it curved around her and moved smoothly with every step. He missed her blonde hair, but her long auburn hair reminded him a little of Natasha. Steve was afraid his wife was slipping- a little less Mrs. America and a little more Black Widow...

Once they reunited with Bucky, Kayla and Steve found a quiet street not far from their hotel. Kayla pulled off her mask first, then tapped the band on her forearm, causing her nano-suit to disappear. Steve did the same, and the plain black suit, no stars or stripes to be seen, vanished into his watch. "Let's go find the kids."

Kayla twisted her lips, practically feeling the disappointment radiate off her husband. Bucky pressed a button on the side of his metal arm, and the vibranium morphed away into a flesh-colored prosthetic. Stark tech combined with Wakandan metal made him a real person again, able to put the weapon away but still feel everything with his fake hand.

Steve led them up to the hotel room, letting his wife and friend in first. They found the room empty. "Tess?" Bucky called as he peeked into their adjoining room. "Nobody's here."

"They should be back by now, we've been gone several hours." Steve turned around, searching for a clue as to why his children weren't back yet. Kayla held up a note casually, waving it toward her husband to get his attention. He took it and read it aloud, half worried they'd found a ransom note, "Finished reading early, heading down for a swim before dinner- Tess."

"Maybe we'll join them!" Bucky chuckled, leaning against the door frame to smile at his friends. "Although it's getting late, we should probably get the kids fed and put to sleep."

"Why don't you go down, see what they want for dinner. We can order room service. Steve and I need to talk." Kayla suggested sweetly. Bucky bowed his head, ducking into his room to head downstairs and collect the kids. Once the door closed, Kayla turned to Steve, "Listen, you wanted to come here. You wanted to fight Hydra, and you wanted to end this once and for all. I did what had to be done. Don't act like you've never done things you weren't proud of. Time has made you soft."

"I just don't want to kill people in cold blood and then come home to our kids and act like nothing is wrong," Steve argued as Kayla took a step toward him, reaching for his hand. He yanked it away and she scowled at him under her lashes. Steve realized he'd upset his girl and grabbed her arms. "I love you, Kay. I love you so much. I just don't want you to lose yourself in all this."

"I won't. I promise." Kayla assured Steve as she reached up to press a kiss to his lips. She smiled against him and pulled away, "Let's finish what we started."

Steve bent down to kiss his wife, slowly dropping his hand from her side to her ass. Before the couple could get too carried away in their moment, however, the door swung open and they heard James and Sarah scurrying into the room.

"Mom! Mom! We went swimming, and I was able to hold my breath for ten seconds!" Sarah exclaimed happily as she ran to her mother. Kayla wrapped her arms around the girl and patted her back supportively as she beamed down.

"That's wonderful honey! Did you have fun?"

"I did! I did! I can't wait to go swimming again tomorrow! And we did some of our reading, and we went to the Pantheon and the Fountain and ate gelato! And we made wishes to return to Rome someday!" Sarah rambled off. She held on to her towel tightly, even if James had his casually wrapped around his swimming trunks, still dripping wet from his torso up. "And- and you won't believe what James did! He stayed underwater for two whole minutes! Two minutes! Aunt Tessa was starting to worry about him, but he kept swimming so we knew he hadn't drowned."

Kayla and Steve looked to James, but the boy just shrugged, smoothing back his wet hair with his hand. Kayla tilted her head to look at Steve, "Wow. He must get that lung capacity from his father."

Steve's eyes fluttered up to the ceiling in thought for a moment as his wife smirked at him until eventually, he lowered his gaze to glare at her playfully as she burst into giggles.

"Where did Aunt Tessa and Uncle Bucky go?" James asked after a few moments. He pointed into their adjoining room, but it was empty.