Hey, guys!

Okay, so first, really sorry I didn't get this up yesterday; I was super busy. But it's here now!

Thank you all for all the reviews and follows and favorites; you guys are amazing!

I don't own Captain America.

Enjoy!

P.S. For this chapter I totally made up Peggy's husband. We know he was military because Steve saved him on a mission, and that they were married sometime after the war but before 1954 (at least I think that's the date they had on that video Peggy did for the Cap exhibit in Winter Soldier). Anyway, happy reading :)

-:-

New York City; May 30th, 1968

Two days after arriving at Howard's place, Natasha was already setting out to leave again. She had an old leather duffel of Howard's that had the supplies—food, clothes, medicine and bandages—he had given her all packed in it. Part of her didn't want to leave, but she also knew it wasn't safe to stay. She'd stayed long enough to hear the news from the SHIELD squad about how their raid on the warehouse had gone, and now it was time for her to go.

Natasha had told Howard the directions on how to get to the warehouse, and a rough estimate of how many guys she thought had been there at the time, so he could relay it back to the team, knowing it was best that she—in her current position—stay anonymous. Howard had told her after the mission was done that they had found Hydra members there, though maybe not quite as many as Natasha had suspected to be there in the first place. He said the SHIELD agents also said the compound had been emptier than what she described. Though, from what Howard told her, it didn't sound like they'd encountered the metal-armed man—which Natasha was grateful for.

In the end, SHIELD had succeeded in taking down a Hydra cell, but it also sounded like there were more of them. "We'll find them, Natasha. They can't hide forever", Howard had told her. Natasha had accepted his words, knowing, at the moment, there was nothing much she could do about the fact. So, she'd decided on going to find another old friend.

"And just like you asked for, here is Peggy's address," Howard said as he handed her a folded up piece of paper.

Howard had already told her that Peggy lived in Washington D.C., but she checked the paper anyway, before tucking it into the pocket of her leather jacket. She'd thrown out the oversized clothes the motel manager had given her after Howard had insisted on taking her shopping for clothes that actually fit her. He also insisted on giving her a large sum of money, as well as one of his multiple cars.

She only half-heartedly argued against him giving her money, because, despite how much she hated accepting help from him, she did need the money. The car was a harder thing to accept. He said that he had plenty of other cars he could drive, and that she should have a car to drive down to D.C., anyway, instead of having to take the train. Finally, with enough pleading from Howard's end, she accepted the car.

Natasha looked up at Howard, attempting to give him a smile. "Thank you, Howard. For everything."

"No need to thank me. I'm your friend." He pulled her into a quick embrace. "You come visit any time, okay?"

Natasha pulled back and nodded. "I will."

"Good," Howard rumbled. "Now you better get going. You don't want to hit traffic. And just…be careful, all right? Take care of yourself."

She gave his arm a squeeze before stepping into the elevator. "I will. Good-bye, Howard."

Then the elevator descended and Howard Stark disappeared from view.

-:-

Natasha drove the whole four hours from New York City to Washington D.C. without stopping once. She tried to keep her head empty the whole time, pushing out any thoughts about Steve, or Bucky, or even Peggy. She simply focused on Peggy's address, floating in her mind, right behind her eyelids. Only when Natasha pulled up to the moderately sized brick house did all of her suppressed thoughts come flooding forward. She did the math in her head—Peggy would be 51, with a husband and kids, as Howard had told her. Natasha realized she herself would normally be turning 50 in November. That is, if she hadn't been frozen and didn't have the Red Room's equivalent to Steve's serum coursing through her veins.

She finally worked up the strength to step out of the car, her steps slow as she headed for the front door. Seeing Howard was one thing. Sure, she and Stark had been friends, but she and Peggy had been a lot closer. In truth, she thought she would never like Peggy that much when she first met her, but that quickly changed. Not just because back in '43, when Natasha had first arrived on the SSR base, Peggy had been like Steve—deciding to give her a chance first, before judging her on her past actions—but also because they bonded over both loving Steve. The pain Natasha felt over losing him was something only Peggy understood after it happened.

Natasha considered turning around, just leaving Peggy at peace, but then she realized she was already on the doorstep. Knowing she was being at least a little ridiculous, she exhaled and knocked on the door. A few seconds later and she could hear footsteps inside the house, coming closer and closer to the door until it swung open. A young man stood there, with dark hair and warm brown eyes. He looked no older than twenty, at most. He regarded Natasha with an open face, just the slightest bit of confusion lining his forehead.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Yes," Natasha replied. "Is…is Peggy home, by chance?"

The boy's face lightened, and he nodded. "Yeah. Mom, there's someone at the door for you!" he called out into the house.

Natasha felt her stomach twist nervously. The boy waited by the door until his mother, Peggy, approached. When Peggy saw her, Natasha noticed that she was trying to keep her face straight, to not betray to her boy—her son—what she was really feeling.

"Thank you, Steven," Peggy turned briefly to her son, and he walked off. Steven, Natasha thought. She nearly choked. But her reaction was cut off when Peggy turned back to her, and hand covering her mouth, tears shining in her eyes.

"Natasha," Peggy whispered. "Oh my god—oh, come in, please."

Peggy led her into the house and the door had barely been shut before Peggy was pulling Natasha into her arms. Natasha squeezed Peggy back, the graying hairs on her friend's head tickling her cheek. Natasha smiled, though Peggy couldn't see it. They stood like that a moment longer, before Peggy pulled back, holding Natasha's face in between her hands to look at her better. Peggy was smiling wobbly, her chin trembling just the slightest. Then, she grinned even bigger, a couple tears slipping down her cheeks.

"We thought you were dead, Natasha," Peggy said in a hushed voice. "What happened? I mean, how is this possible—"

Natasha held up a hand to stop her. "It's a long story. One that I think we both need to sit down for."

-:-

Peggy made them coffee. She offered to make tea, first, but Natasha decided she needed something a little stronger. Well, coffee was about as strong a beverage she could get without making it alcohol. Then Natasha told Peggy what she'd told Howard, once again leaving out the parts about Bucky, but adding in the new parts about finding Howard and the SHIELD raid. As she was finishing up, Peggy gave her knee a comforting squeeze.

"You have been through so much," Peggy said softly. "You didn't deserve any of it."

Natasha didn't know what to say to that, so she took a sip of her coffee, dodging the comment. She had done horrible, terrible things in her past career as an assassin, and she figured she probably deserved worse than getting frozen for a couple decades.

Just then, Peggy's son came in from another room, and Peggy stopped him. "Steven, could you set the table, please. Your father and sister will be home soon."

Her son nodded, heading for the kitchen, leaving Natasha and Peggy alone again. Natasha looked up at Peggy through her lashes, giving her a knowing smile. When Peggy met her gaze, her expression softened, saddening a bit around the edges, and Natasha guessed she hadn't hid her emotions as well as she thought. She tried to conceal the bittersweet edge to her smile, but clearly it wasn't working.

"Steven?" Natasha whispered.

"Yes," Peggy nodded, turning her gaze towards her son who was humming off-tune as he set plates out on the table. Natasha noticed he set out an extra one for her. "I'm sorry; I know it must be hard for you—"

"Don't be sorry," Natasha said firmly. "I love it. He seems wonderful. He looks like you."

Peggy gave a soft laugh, her eyes crinkling in the corners. "You haven't seen his father yet. He may have my hair and eyes, but he is completely his father's son."

"Does your daughter take after you, then?" Natasha asked with a smile, Peggy's obvious happiness and affection for her family contagious.

"Mm, much more so, yes," Peggy answered. "Her name is Carolyn. She's sixteen. Steven is eighteen. He'll be heading off to college in the fall."

"And your husband? I'm guessing it's not Peggy Carter anymore?"

"Actually, it's still Carter," Peggy said. "Otherwise it would be Anderson. My husband's name is Richard. I met him not long after you, um, well, disappeared."

"I would love to meet him," Natasha said. "Your daughter, as well."

"Well, I know they would love to meet you as well. Will you stay for dinner?"

Natasha opened her mouth, when the front door burst open, and a man with dark hair, striped with gray, walked in beside a teenage girl with similarly dark hair, the two of them laughing. The girl was wearing what looked to be a softball uniform, the man a business suit. The girl, who Natasha assumed was Carolyn, went over to her brother. The man though—surely Richard Anderson—stopped when he saw Natasha, sitting casually on the couch beside his wife. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes, followed by confusion.

Natasha vaguely recalled seeing his face once, maybe twice, on the SSR base back in the 40s. So he had been a soldier, back when Natasha had first come back on base, looking the exact same as she did now.

"Richard, this is Natasha," Peggy said, standing up as her husband came near.

"Yes," he said distantly, holding out a hand. Natasha shook it. "I remember you, Natasha. Clearly I'm missing something here, but never mind that. I was just about to get dinner ready. Will you stay?"

Richard and Peggy both looked at her expectantly, and Natasha couldn't say no.

"Of course."

-:-

After dinner, when Peggy and Natasha had some time alone again, they talked more. About Steve, about Natasha's disappearance and assumed death, about Hydra. And when the mood became almost too heavy to bear, they moved on to talking about Peggy's family. Steven wanted to be a doctor. Carolyn wanted to be a teacher. Peggy's face lit up as she spoke of her husband and two children, and it made Natasha feel better, made her almost forget the whole situation she was in. Almost made her forget that the last time she had seen Peggy was over twenty years ago, not two days ago.

Peggy filled her in on some things that had happened over the years. SHIELD had been thriving, for one, getting even better at acquiring intelligence and helping to protect the world form threats that were weirder than normal. The U.S was currently involved in a war in Vietnam. Peggy listed off the presidents. Some guy named Lyndon Johnson was currently president. The one before him, Kennedy, had been assassinated. Shot. Peggy told her that SHIELD had recovered some fuzzy images of the assassin, showing a man clad in black. "He was wearing all black, except for something white…or maybe silver on his arm…We never found him." Peggy had said, shrugging it off, with a saddened look on her face. To Peggy, it was nothing. The tragic fall of a young president. Killed by someone who they couldn't find. But Natasha knew. She knew. And it took everything in her to keep her composure, to reveal that she knew exactly who had killed him.

When Peggy invited Natasha to stay for the night, she didn't refuse. But the minute she was sure Peggy and her family were asleep, she stepped from her makeshift bed. She wrote a quick note to Peggy, saying that she was sorry, but she had to go, and that she wished Peggy all the happiness in the world. Then, silently, Natasha stepped out of their house. She held her breath, for the fear that if she inhaled, breathed in the scent of Peggy's home, she would stay behind, tuck herself back in, and join them for breakfast the next morning.

That was the very last thing she would allow herself to do though. She would not put this beautiful life Peggy had built in danger by staying there any longer than necessary. She had told Howard she would see him again, told Peggy that she would stay the night, even though, at the time of both promises, she knew they were ones she could not keep. She would not be visiting either of them. She no longer fit into their worlds and she would not endanger them, would not lead Hydra or anyone else who had it out for her to them. Steve was already gone; she wouldn't lose anyone else.

So, she started up the car Howard had given her. She had no clue where she was going. Maybe back to New York. Maybe Chicago. It didn't matter. She was quick to adjust to any situation around her, and this was no different. Within a month she would have this new life, this new time period, figured out. And no one was looking for a girl they thought was dead, so disappearing would be no problem. She'd done it before. She could do it again.

-:-

All right, so that is, in a way, the end to part one! The next chapters (not sure how many yet) will all be set during the 40s. So they'll all be flashbacks. After this next part will come the modern stuff: when Steve wakes up in the ice, the events of Avengers, etc.

As for the next chapter, I won't be posting for two weeks. I've been a little busier with classes and homework the past couple weeks, so I've fallen a little behind on my writing, and need an extra week before I start posting again.

Once again, the support on the story has been amazing! I'm really glad that you're all liking it so much. Keep letting me know what you think! The reviews are very much appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

-DaughterOfPoseidon333