It was later that night, the kids had gone to bed and Steve and Peggy were sitting in the living room of the house.
"How was the meeting with the Colonel?" Peggy asked, laying her head on Steve's shoulder.
"Well," Steve murmured, taking her hand, "It went alright but every minute that I wasn't here with my best girl felt like hours."
"Always so dramatic, Stephen," Peggy laughed, kissing his cheek.
Steve's reply was cut off by the sound of a gunshot outside. Jumping up. he grabbed his gun from the hidden drawer on the table before handing Peggy her M1911 pistol and ordering her to go up and protect the kids.
Grabbing his submachine gun and shield, Steve made his way outside, the family's german shepard, Old Jack, was standing on the front porch, hackles raised, teeth bared and growling at something in the darkness.
"Who's there?!" Steve shouted, "show yourself." When there was no answer, Steve fired a warning shot in the air. Still nothing.
Finally, taking a deep breath, Steve made his way out into the yard, holding his gun at the ready. As he walked over the cool, damp grass, Steve let a shiver run down his spine. Suddenly, Steve saw a figure laying on the ground. As he made his way over to the fallen man, Steve saw that he was an American soldier. His whole face was disfigured, his skin was covered in some sort of yellow substance. His face was twisted into a look of pure agony, the look that he must have had when he died.
Swallowing down the bile that rose in his throat, Steve pulled out his radio and called Colonel Phillips to report the casualty.
The next day, Steve entered his son's room to wake him up. It was late in the morning and James had yet to come downstairs so Peggy had sent Steve up to get the boy.
"James" Steve murmured gently, "time to wake up son, it's late in the morning." When the boy only moaned, Steve reached out to gently shake him. That was when Steve felt the extreme heat radiating off the boy. Without a second thought, Steve lifted the boy into his arms and yelled for Peggy.
Two hours later, Dr. Erskine came out of the hospital room, wiping his hands on a rag.
"I have run some tests and it seems that young James has contracted Polio." He began; Peggy gasped and Steve drew her closer against his side. "Now, we are lucky that we caught it early enough that it will not be fatal," Dr. Erskine assured. "But the disease has spread to James' muscular system and crippled him in his legs. James is going to need extensive therapy to be able to walk again and even then, he will need to wear braces on his legs to help him move.
Also, as it a highly contagious disease, James' contact with people with have to be limited to the adults on this base who have been vaccinated against Polio. As you both have had the vaccinations against the virus. Under no circumstances can your daughter be in the room or come in any sort of contact with her brother. I will give her a vaccination against the disease but in a person as young as her, there are no guarantees that there will be full immunity. I am also going to need to come by every morning and give James injections of muscle regeneration serum to help him heal. He will need intensive care for the next few weeks. All in all, it is going to be a very long process."
"We'll do whatever it takes," Steve declared, drawing Peggy close to his side.