With the crisis resolved and some of the secrecy off, it meant that I could finally let my family in on what had happened, barring the specifics of some of the details, of course. But Steve created a huge change in my life. A new romance and a major life overhaul all in one fell swoop. It was a lot to drop on someone. It had been a lot to experience.

But, I was looking forward to sharing with my family. I was excited about the wedding, and giddy in love, and I couldn't wait for them to meet Steve. But first: breaking the news.

I sent a text first, to arrange a good time to call them on the west coast, and to hint that it might be a longer conversation. First I called my sister, my childhood confidante and best friend. After our general greetings and pleasantries I got down to business.

"I've met someone."

"Someone, like a special someone?"

"Yeah. Yes."

"Well, that's great."

"And it's gotten pretty serious, pretty fast."

"Really? Who's the guy?"

"His name is Steve. He's very sweet, and very kind, and I never thought I'd find someone like him."

"I'm sure he's great, I'd like hear more about him."

"I'd like you to meet him. Maybe sometime next week, if that works for you."

"Wow. Next week? That is fast. How'd you say you guys met again?"

"I didn't say. It was through work, actually."

"Hmmm," she mused, thinking about where I worked nowadays. "Anybody I would know?"

"Well... actually, it's Steve Rogers."

"Shit, Rachael. How'd you bag Captain America?"

I flustered a little at the amazement in her voice. "It's a long story. I'll tell you the whole thing sometime soon. But for some reason he likes me, and we've come to love each other."

"Of course he does. You're awesome and adorable. But man... Captain America. That's the big leagues."

"I am very aware of that. I'm not sure how it's all gonna work, but we'll figure it out."

"I'm sure you will. You've gotta call Mum. She's gonna want to hear it from you."

"That's my next move. Can you free up some time for a visit sometime next week?"

"For you, I'll make time."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Love you, too"

I took a deep breath and then dialled the next number.

"Hi, Mum."

She caught me up on all the family gossip, and how her week was going, and then when the initial flurry of the conversation cooled down, she remembered the text I had sent her.

"But how are things with you? You sounded like you've got some big news."

You eased in to the topic: sharing first about work, and about maybe relocating the lab to the Avengers Facility.

"Good for you, Rachael. I'm so proud of your work. Don't let those capes over-awe you. What you're doing is just as important for the world as the flashy, combat stuff."

"Thanks, Mum, I think I'm holding my own. Actually, I've gotten quite close to one of them… romantically."

"Not Stark?" she asked quickly.

"No, not Tony." I reassured her. Not that Tony was that bad, but I could see how my mother's picture of him, gleaned from tabloid reports of his excesses, and my own occasional rants about his working style when we had just started collaborating, didn't exactly paint the most flattering image.

"Good," she said with relief. "But who, then?"

"It's Steve Rogers."

"Oh," she paused, processing. "So, not one of the scientists." Another pause. "A fighter. He's got quite a history, that one. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"He's not like that. Truly. He's kind and sweet, and the most thoughtful man I've ever met. And he loves me."

"I'm sure he does, dear. But he's an Avenger. That comes with a certain lifestyle. Are you sure you can handle that?"

"We can. Look, you're just going to have to meet him, then you'll understand."

"I trust your judgement., but love can turn the most sober of minds. Just promise me that you'll try to think objectively about all this, and how it's actually going to work. Love is easy at the start, but real life catches up to you quickly."

I paused for a moment, in thought. My mother was a wise person, who usually saw through to the heart of a situation. That was part of why I wanted her to meet Steve so badly.

"I promise."

She seemed relieved, and we continued our chat as I shared more about how we had met, and what I'd come to know of Steve the person, not the public face.

After we had made our goodbyes, and I'd hung up the phone, I thought for a minute about all she'd said. I'd promised I would do my due diligence, and do some research on the matter before jumping in. Inspiration struck and I pulled up my email, knowing exactly who I should talk to about this kind of stuff. I shot off an email to Maria Hill:

Do you have the contact details for Jane Foster?

A couple of days later I was sitting in my office after-hours, when it was quiet, and almost everyone else had gone home. I took a steadying breath and pulled up the video-conferencing software. A brunette woman appeared on the screen; stacks of papers littered the foreground, along with a large coffee mug.

"Hello? Rachael?" she asked.

"Yes, hello. Thanks for agreeing to speak with me. Did Maria tell you why?"

"Only that it was Avengers related, but not about work. And that she'd consider it a personal favour if I'd agree to talk to you with an open mind."

I made a mental note that I owed Maria one. "I'm sure you've talked more than you want to about your break-up with Thor, but I'm about to start a relationship with an Avenger myself, Steve actually, and I was hoping to get some advice from you about what it was like and if you would do anything differently, or not. It's just that we're both scientists, and they're both Avengers, and I thought that the strains on your relationship are probably going to pop-up in mine, and I just wanted to hear a bit about your experience before things got too far along, so I'd know what to watch out for."

I wound down my run-on sentence as I ran out of air. I hadn't meant to crowd her, but in my aim of not pressuring her into an answer, I think I'd added so many caveats that it was a much longer introductory question than I had intended.

She sighed, and looked at her desk for a moment, then squared her shoulders and looked back up at me. "No, I suppose I don't mind sharing. It's not too painful to talk about, especially for someone who could actually use the information."

"Are you sure? I don't mean to pry."

"No, it's fine. I avoided tabloids for a while, because of the spectacle of it all, but we science ladies need to stick together."

"I appreciate that."

"Ultimately, Thor and I just wanted very different things. It ended somewhat amicably, and I still have positive ties to the Avengers, but what Thor and I had going just wasn't enough for me, in the end."

I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"At the start, we had such a spark. Real chemistry, you know? It didn't hurt that he's built like the god that he is. Plus he had that exotic charisma going for him."

Boy, if that didn't sound familiar.

"I met him when he was at his lowest point, and I was by his side as he really grew through that. I thought we really had something. But then he went off back home and I didn't hear from him for ages. That thing with the Aether," and I watched her shiver slightly in remembrance, "threw us together again for a while, but in the end I finally realized that he meant more to me than I meant to him. I was always going to be playing second fiddle to his destiny. He found a way back to Earth to fight the Chitauri, but didn't have the decency to come and see me in person, shuttling me off somewhere he decided I would be safe, without even letting it be my decision. He did the same thing after the Ultron debacle, heading off to Asgard to investigate his visions. Not only did he not involve me in his decision making, he didn't even let me know he was going. I had to piece together what happened after the fact.

"Eventually I realized that that was the way things were always going to be. His destiny, and his people were always going to come first, and me a distant second. It's not so much that I begrudged him that. He was, after all, destined to be king. But, I realized that, even if he didn't recognize it himself, he was just playing house with me. I thought that we were building a life together, but he was just passing time with me. The good times were very good. But when he was gone, it was like I stopped existing to him."

She paused to take a breath, and calm herself before continuing. "I suppose that in the end, he couldn't help his upbringing. My visit to Asgard taught me that Asgardians are chronically racist. I know it can be hard to confront family, but he didn't fight for me there. I always knew that they lived longer than us, that I would only ever be a short part of his lifespan, but I thought that he would value those years more because they were finite. Ultimately, it just wasn't enough for me. I had to let him go and move on. He was never going to be able to give me what I needed, and I couldn't keep asking him for something that he couldn't do. I still love him, but I can't be with him.

"I don't know if that helps."

"No, it does. Thank you so much for opening up like that. I barely know you, you don't owe me anything."

"Like I said, we science gals have got to stick together. I obviously don't know Steve as well as I know Thor, but I can't really see him being the type to be careless with informing you of his plans."

"No, he doesn't strike me as the fast and loose type, either. But a lot of the stuff you said about destiny always coming before relationship hits some buttons. Steve's told me from his own mouth his history of never backing down from a fight, and doing what he sees as the right thing, and then dealing with the consequences afterwards. If there's something big coming on the horizon, I don't think he'd hesitate in rushing towards it. He has a track record of rushing in to trouble."

"That's true. Although part of where Thor and I broke down was that his loyalties always seemed divided between two worlds. It's not like Steve has commitments to another realm, but when I first met him, he still seemed set in the past. Like he wasn't ready to commit to living in the future, as if he shouldn't get attached."

"I think he's grown beyond that now. When I talk to his teammates, and see how he acts around them, I think he's genuinely invested in them. He treats them like family, and I can see that they trust him completely. I think I can trust him the same way."

Jane nodded, having said her piece. "Good luck. Think hard about what you're getting into. It will not be easy. But, the last thing I'll say to you would be= if I could do it all over again, I still would."

"Thank you, Jane. You have no idea how helpful you have been."

She smiled somberly at me. "Good-night."

"Bye."

As the screen went black I sat in darkness for a moment, thinking it all over. So many of the things that Jane had said hit home. I didn't think Steve had the same kind of pressures in his life as Thor did, tearing him between two realms, but I did think that if it came between choosing me, or saving the world, he wouldn't hesitate. And I wouldn't want it to. But, given the frequency that the world needed saving, that could make for a very lonely life. Could I live alone again, with Steve just dropping in and out? Yes. I didn't think I was capable of turning him away, despite that. He'd spoiled me for other men anyway. No one else could ever come close to what he was to me now. I'd rather have a little Steve, than all of someone else.

I closed down my station and rose to head home. I felt at peace. Despite facing some hard truths, I felt more certain of what I was heading towards than ever. I had some things to discuss with Steve, and I could feel that there would be some difficult answers, but it felt more real now. I think I had shaken some of the love haze that my mother had accused me of being under. I knew I was choosing to work towards a life with him with both eyes open.