This is set just after chapter 74 in Roots and Anchors
"She really loves you," Peggy said softly as Megan left them alone.
"I love her, too," Steve replied. He expected it to feel like a betrayal to say that to Peggy, but it didn't. Instead, it felt good. Honest. "She's helped me start living again. It's been so hard, Peg."
"Life can be hard, but it's worth it. Now, I do believe I promised to teach you to dance." Smiling, she showed him where to put his hands and led him gently through a simple waltz. "Now you lead," she said, looking at him with encouragement. He nodded slightly and took charge.
Closing his eyes, and ignoring the distinct lack of smoke in the air, he could almost believe it was 1945. All of his fight training must have paid off because he didn't step on her toes.
Putting her head on his shoulder, she said softly, "Tell me how you met Megan."
He faltered a moment, and opened his eyes to see her smiling knowingly at him.
"You're clearly smitten with each other. I'm feeling like myself today, so I'm actually likely to remember what you tell me. Stories about my life can wait until another time since I'm told I don't muck those up unless I'm really addled." She patted his cheek as the song faded. "Let's sit.
Mutely, he followed her to the office sofa that was along one wall and sat down beside her.
Peggy continued, "That might be as soon as tomorrow. Fatigue makes it worse." She arched an eyebrow at him when she saw his dismay. "Don't look at me like that, Steve. I'd rather spend the days I have left doing something meaningful, not lying in bed wasting away. I just want you to be prepared. Now, how did you meet her?"
"Peggy…"
"Alzheimer's is worse than Hydra since it's an enemy I can't fight," she admitted, patting his hand. "But you'll have the memories of today long after I'm gone, and that's one reason I'm here."
Steve nodded, unable to get any words past the lump in his throat. He took a deep breath, desperate to change the mood. "I need you to explain something."
"Anything."
"When Private Lorraine kissed me, you fired four rounds at me. But my fiancée is threatening violence if I don't kiss you. It's very confusing."
Peggy laughed. "Fetch me my whiskey, and I'll try to explain."
Dutifully, he got up and retrieved her glass from the table and handed it to her. Her hands were wrinkled with decades he'd missed, though her grip was firm. He'd missed so much.
"It's quite simple," she said, puling him out of his thoughts. "Megan was telling you she's not jealous while I was telling you that I was. I think you already knew that, scamp that you are."
She squeezed his hands and he nodded, admitting he'd been teasing her. She knew him so well.
"How did you meet her?"
"I was eating lunch in the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria," Steve said in a low voice. From there, the whole story poured out of him. He told her about their book club, the attack on Megan, the pretense of dating, and falling in love with her despite himself. Whenever he thought he was done, Peggy would ask another insightful question and he found himself telling her even more. Her years as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D and practice extracting information from informants soon had him articulating all of his doubts about his role in the world, his deep grief for Bucky, his adoration of Megan, and his deep gratitude for the lifeline she'd thrown him. Somehow, Peggy knew just how to keep him talking.
When he finished, she covered their linked hands with her left and squeezed. "For what it's worth, I approve of her. I've worried about you and how you're coping. You glow when you talk about her and I'm glad."
"I'm sorry I didn't come see you—"
"No, Steve. No apologies. You had a hell of an adjustment and you needed time to sort things out. As broad as your shoulders now are, even you have limits to how much you can carry at once. I knew you'd contact me when you were ready."
"But I didn't. I—"
"You were going to, soon. I have no doubts about that. Megan just made it easier for you once she knew you were ready. She's good for you. Now, tell me about your friends."
"My friends?"
"When you have a really good day, or a really bad one, who do you call?"
"Megan."
"And then?"
He just sat there. Sure, Clint and Natasha had been there when he needed them, but they weren't yet to the point where he called them on a whim. He had coworkers and teammates, not friends.
Peggy shook her head. "Oh, Steve. What are we going to do with you?
"I'm trying. I'm just lost without Bucky.
"Clearly. But you need to learn to stand on your own. He'd want you to let him go. Did you know that two days after we lost you, the Howling Commandos and I got together, in a pub of course, and took a vow. We all promised we'd live lives worthy of the sacrifices you and Sargent Barnes had made. Dugan took over as their commander. He didn't leave the field for a couple of years, leading the new Howling Commandos team in covert operations intent on dismantling Hydra. He didn't come in until Howard talked to him about founding S.H.I.E.L.D.
"It was hard. It took me a solid year before I was really able to let go of you enough to start thinking about more than the pain I was in. Remind me some time to tell you about the last vial of your blood I discovered in storage and how I poured it off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Even Howard, despite his insistence that you had survived, eventually limited his search for you to once a year. Clinging to the past isn't going to bring it back. You need to look forward and make new friends. You're a good man, Steve. Making friends isn't that difficult."
Steve found himself shaking his head. "It's not that simple. Before..." he said, as he gestured to himself, "I was invisible or sick all the time. Now, everyone just wants a piece of Captain America."
"Not everyone. Megan clearly doesn't. You let your guard down with her and let her in. How do you expect other people to see the real you if you're hiding behind that image?"
"They never try to see me."
Peggy laughed. "You're still being dramatic. Is it hard? Yes. But when did you ever let that stop you? Just start talking to people. Be yourself. Eventually, you'll cross paths with someone worth getting to know."
"Like Beth and Dave?"
"Who?"
Steve's heart broke when he realized she'd already forgotten. He wanted to pretend it was because he'd done a poor job of telling Peggy about his life. In his heart, he knew it was the enemy slowly destroying her from the inside. "Megan's mom and I were first on the scene when Beth was in a car accident," he explained, then told the story again. Peggy listened raptly, asking some of the same questions she had a few minutes ago.
Finally, she nodded. "Yes, you need more friends like them. You should invite them over for dinner. Speaking of dinner, I'm getting hungry and I hear your stomach voicing agreement. Jarvis, what time is it?"
"It is nearly time for you to head down to the main conference room. The caterers are bringing out the hot dishes."
"I don't think I can do this," he admitted softly. Seeing Peggy again was one thing. Even if the guest list were limited to the direct descendants of the Howling Commandos, he knew a crowd of strangers was waiting for him. His friends were gone, and he wasn't sure he was ready to see their features and mannerisms manifesting in new bodies. He didn't know these people. Megan's idea had been nice, but he wasn't prepared to accept the permanent absence of his team. His brothers. Meeting their families would make those deaths real, just as seeing Peggy aged drove home the decades he'd missed. "I'm just going to disappoint them."
"Nonsense. I can tell you're nervous, but you don't need to be. If you'd managed to land that plane, you'd know them all already. This is your family and it is high time you got to know them. Besides, this is your chance to tell all of embarrassing stories they neglected to share when they got home. Surely you don't think that Private Jones told his wife about his dance with Sargent Barnes, do you?"
Steve laughed at the memory. "I'd forgotten about that!"
"On your feet, Captain. It's time to go set the record straight and tarnish the images those boys tried to sell their families on when they got home."
After he stood and helped her to her feet, she took his face in her hands and kissed him chastely. "It's so good to see you and know you have a good life ahead of you. Promise me you won't waste this second chance."
"I promise."