Two People Fell In Love - Brad Paisley.
"I don't think quantity time is as special as quality time with your family." - Reba McEntire.
"You sure you like it?"
"Katie, I've already told you, its fine."
"You just don't seem to like it."
Steve placed the few boxes he was carrying on the ground by the couch as he looked over at Katie, who was standing in the middle of his kitchen putting away the food they picked up.
"It's just a little dark, that's all."
"Well, we'll paint it." Katie stated plainly, placing a few boxes of cereal in the cupboard.
A year ago - hell, even months ago - Katie would have never thought she'd be here with her father, helping him pack and move into his new D.C. apartment.
And yet…
It had been a few months since Katie flew back to New York and talked to her father, and things were moving slowly. Slowly, but better than ever. They were actually talking, listening to each other, and not pushing one another away because of their stubbornness like before. They still lived on their own, in different places, but if anything, Katie would say that that was helping them.
However, Katie had been renting a small, cheap apartment for about three months now. And it sucked. She missed her lovely, cozy, D.C. apartment. New York wasn't really Katie's favorite place in the world to live. The weather was either excruciating hot or bitter cold. If you were having a bad day, it would get 10 times worse once you stepped outside. It was all the little things that made Katie hate New York. But, that's where Steve was.
That's why, when she casually mentioned to Steve that she was thinking about going back to D.C. for a while, she could hardly keep the smile off her face when he suggested he go with her. Katie guessed part of him was still scared that if she left, she'd never come back. But he did actually seem excited about the move
It actually didn't take them long to make the move. Steve didn't really own a lot of things, and it wasn't too had to find a small yet cozy, furnished apartment. And it wasn't too far from Katie's place either.
"Okay," Katie closed the cupboard, turned around and started sizing up the living room. "Maybe we need to go shopping."
Steve raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall, watching her from his spot in the living room. "We do?"
"Yeah," Katie slowly walked into the living room. "Trust me, coming home to a place that has a mirror on the walk and flowers on the table is better than coming home to a plain apartment."
Katie did one quick spin in the middle of the living room, the early afternoon sun casting shadows around the room, a soft glow falling over the place. But Steve was right, the place did feel dark, and cold.
"What about personal items?" Katie asked as she stopped so she was facing Steve, who shrugged his shoulders before pointing to the boxes.
"Would you call two boxes of clothes personal items?"
"I'm trying to help you here," Katie felt her lips start to turn up in a smile. "I don't appreciate the sarcasm."
"That's not sarcasm," Steve pointed out. "It's the truth."
Katie gave Steve a knowing look as he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the couple boxes and bags on the floor.
Steve wasn't lying when he said he didn't have many personal objects. All the furniture in his old place wasn't his, and to pack up everything that was his didn't even take two hours and no more than two boxes and two book bags. And really, the two boxes were filled with clothes and one bag was housing his shield. So that only left one bag holding any personal items.
Steve lifted the bag with personal items off of the floor and placed in on top of the boxes as Katie walked over to join him.
"These are all the personal items I own," Steve said softly as he opened the bag and start to pull things out.
Really, the bag didn't hold much. A sketchbook along with some pencils, a few old pictures that he'd managed to get a hold of, and a small box.
"What's that?" Katie asked as she nodded at the box in Steve's hands. She remembered seeing it when they were packing up, but she never really got a chance to ask him about it until now.
However, Steve didn't answer. He simply ran his thumb along the side of the box before taking a deep breath and slowly opening it, the box creaking slightly.
Inside, was a fair-sized, round, gold, old and worn - what looked like a - locket. Katie wasn't sure, she couldn't remember seeing the piece before in her life. She glanced up at Steve with a confused look, but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes still on the box and what was inside. Then, with careful hands, Steve picked the dirty gold piece up and opened it after placing the box down.
Katie then realized it wasn't a locket at all, but a compass. And an old compass at that. But that wasn't what caught her eye. Instead, her eyes went straight to the picture that was placed above to the compass face. The picture of her mother.
"Fury gave this to me," Steve commented lightly as he continued to gaze at the picture. "They found it with me in the ice. It's… it's the only photo I have of your mother. Of Peggy."
Katie's eyes snapped up as she suddenly remembered something. And, quietly and without a word, she made her way over to her bag that was on the kitchen counter, Steve looking up when he heard her walk away.
Reaching into her bag, Katie pulled out a picture frame before quickly walking back into the living room.
"Here." She held it out to Steve as she walked up to him.
Steve raised his brow slightly as he glanced down at the turned over frame in Katie's hand before looking up at his daughter, confusion on his face. "What's this?"
"A housewarming gift," Katie smiled slightly. "I meant to give it to you earlier, but between the move and everything else, it got pushed to the back burner."
Steve stared at Katie for a moment longer before placing the compass back in its box and slowly taking the frame out of Katie's hands and turning it over.
Katie watched as Steve's eyes went wide slightly before a small, sad, smile started to form on his lips as he started down at the picture.
It was an old one, but then again, of course it was, seeing that it was taken on Katie's 5th birthday. In the photo 5 year-old Katie was smiling brightly at the camera with her shield on her arm and Peggy knelt next to her, with a smile equally as bright.
It wasn't the only copy Katie had of that picture. She made multiple copies of her favorite photos years ago, just in case something happened. But, the one Steve was holding was the original, and it felt right to give him that one.
"Now you have another photo of mum," Katie commented softly
"Thank-you," Steve whispered as he looked up from the photo and at Katie with the smile still on his face, causing Katie to smile back.
"Mum used to say, that this was the closest thing we'd get to a family photo." She told him as she glanced down at the photo in his hands. "Even though I used to tell her that this technically isn't even your shield." Katie stopped from a moment to laugh lightly at herself. "She kept this photo on her night side, along with a photo of you before the serum."
"Really?" Steve questioned, and there was something in her voice that caused Katie to glance up at him.
She didn't know what it was, but the look in his eyes wasn't right. They were hallow, sad, cold, loving, and hurtful all at once. And it didn't take long for Katie to get a pretty good idea why.
And then an idea popped in her head.
Taking a step back, Katie took a hold of Steve's hand as she gave him a soft smile.
"Come with me."
Steve didn't question where Katie was taking him. Not as they walked out of the apartment, and not as they hopped into a cab and Katie quietly told the driver the address, which Steve didn't recognize.
The father-daughter duo sat in the back seat of the cab in silence, the music from the radio playing softly in the background as Katie stared out the window. For the first half of the journey, the landscape was different to Katie, until they made a turn and it suddenly looked the same as it always did when Katie headed this way.
She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit nervous, her finger lightly tapping against her knee. If Steve noticed - which he probably did - he didn't comment.
She was nervous for a number of reasons. One, she was always a little nervous when she planned a visit, because she never knew what she would find. Mainly because months passed in-between visits. However, the main reason she was nervous is because she didn't know how Steve would act. She didn't know what image Steve had painted in his mind about modern day Peggy Carter, but she was pretty certain what he was about to see was far from his image.
The building that Katie knew all too well finally came into view before to cab pulled over to the side and Katie paid the driver, which got her a look from her father who had his hand on his wallet, about to pay before Katie beat him to it.
"Why are we here?" Steve questioned as he glanced up at the sign of a small bakery they were standing in front of.
Katie glanced up at Steve for a moment before slowly walking away, placing her hands in her pockets as Steve followed.
"Cab drivers are noisy, you know." Katie stated. "They drive people to and from stores, malls, restaurants, bakeries, all day long. The minute you give them an interesting address, they try to find out everything about you and your past." Katie paused and glanced up at Steve. "Imagine the field day that cab driver would have had if he realized he was dropping Captain America and the Golden Girl off here."
Katie came to a stop in front of large, grey, building, with Steve stopping right beside her. She glanced up at Steve's face, and the moment she saw his eyes widen slightly before shifting to her, she knew he knew where they were.
The moment Steve's eyes found Katie, she looked away and took a deep breath before walked forward and pushing opening the door to the building, Steve following her every step.
Last time she'd been in this building was almost a year ago now, to talk to her mother about her father. The same father that was with her at this moment. If it wasn't for the mood right now, Katie may have laughed at that thought.
"Ms Carter."
It took Katie a moment to realize she was being talked to. Because while it had been about a year since the last time she'd been here, that was about the last time she'd been called 'Ms Carter' too.
Katie looked over to the front desk and found Anna smiling at her. Her red hair was a few inches shorter, but other than that, she looked exactly the same as the last time Katie saw her.
"Anna," Katie smiled at the young woman, walking up to the desk.
"How have you been? It's been…" Anna trailed off as her eyes landed on Steve who was standing just a few steps behind Katie. Katie watched as Anna's eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Are.. You're-"
"How is she?" Katie cut off Anna, because she knew what was coming and she wanted to save Steve from it, who already looked like a deer caught in headlights as he looked down at his feet.
Anna's eyes snapped back to Katie before she cleared her throat and Katie watched as blood rushed to her cheeks.
"She's-" Anna cleared her throat once more. "Your Great-Aunt is the same. No different."
"Can I, we see her?"
Anna looked between Katie and Steve, eyebrows pinched together slightly before she nodded her head and gestured to the hall that held Peggy's room.
"Thank-you, Anna."
"Take as long as you like." Anna sent Katie a small smile before turning back to her computer, slightly embarrassed.
Katie looked over at Steve who'd stayed quiet throughout the whole interaction. But he must have felt Katie's eyes on him, because he looked up before following after his daughter as she walked down the hall she knew like the back of her hand.
Only seconds passed before Katie stopped in front of a closed door, starring at it for a moment, making no move to open it before turning to her father.
He looked just as nervous as she felt, and he had every right to be. Here he was, about to see the woman he'd loved so long ago, the mother of his daughter, for the first time in over seventy years.
"Whatever happens," Katie spoke up before taking a deep breath. She wasn't really sure what to say, but she felt like she needed to say something. "Just, whatever questions you may have-"
"Katie," Steve's voice was firm but soft as he looked over at his daughter, trying to hide the nervous look on his face. "It's okay."
Katie took a deep breath before giving Steve a small smile and turning back to the door and slowly pushing it open.
The room looked exactly the same as it did every time Katie came in for a visit. The curtains to the window on Katie's left were opened, sunshine shining in. Paintings on the walls, dresser on the right, it was all the same. Especially the bed in the middle of the room.
Slowly and carefully, Katie entered the room, aware that Steve wasn't following her this time. She could only imagine the look on his face at the moment, but she couldn't take her eyes off her mother to even cast him a look.
Peggy Carter laid in her bed, her grey hair spread out of the pillow, her face worn and wrinkled and eyes closed.
Over the years, Katie came to realize that her mother just liked to close her eyes and rest, so half the time her eyes were closed, she wasn't even asleep.
Katie quietly sat herself down in the chair next to her mother's bed, a small smile on her face and the warm feeling she always got when she saw her mother started to form in the pit of her stomach.
Looking away from Peggy, Katie glanced to the doorway where Steve still stood, almost like he was unsure if he should step into the room of not. He was staring at Peggy with unblinking eyes, as if he was trying to re-remember every detail about her. The look in his eyes was heart breaking, it was like everything he'd lost hit him at once. And yet, Katie could see love and gratefulness in them too.
"Katie."
The blonde's head snapped towards the bed, a smile forming on her lips when she found her mother staring up at her with un-aged eyes, a smile also on her lips.
"Hi mum."
"It's been so long." Peggy commented, reached over and gripping Katie's hand that rested on the bed as Katie's smile suddenly turned sad.
"I'm sorry." She tried to give a light laugh, but it sounded too forced in her ears. "I've been… busy."
Understatement of the year.
Peggy nodded, her eyes trailing over her daughter's face as if she was looking for any changes, which she wouldn't find, as Katie sighed. It was now or never.
"Mum," Katie leaned forward, holding onto her mother's hand in both hers. "I… I brought someone with me. Someone to see you."
"It's not a young man, is it." Peggy gave her daughter a pointed look, causing Katie to let out a light laugh.
"No, no it's not…."
Katie trailed off, not knowing what else to say. So, she turned her head back toward the door, her eyes meeting Steve's as he looked from Peggy to his daughter.
Katie watched as he took a deep breath before stepping into the room causing Peggy to look his way.
Turning back to her mother, Katie watched as a look of utter disbelief washed over her features once her mind realized who was standing in front of her. It was almost like she didn't even know Steve was alive in the first place, which she probably didn't, even though Katie had told her.
That's when Katie felt her heart ache, because no matter what happened within the next few moments, Peggy wouldn't remember any of it in an hour's time. NO matter what, every time Steve would come to see her from now on, it would be like she was seeing him for the first time in seventy years. Over and over again.
"Steve," Peggy said so low, that Katie was sure if it wasn't for her and Steve's enchanted hearing, they wouldn't have heard her.
"Hi Peg." Steve sent her a heartbreaking smile as he finally reached the side of the bed.
Katie managed to worm her way out of the chair and Peggy's grip, now standing as Steve sat in the chair, his eyes never leaving Peggy's.
"You're alive." Peggy chocked out, her eye's ranking over Steve before resting on his face again. "You're alive."
"I couldn't leave my best girl," Steve leaned forward, the smile never leaving his face. "Not when I promised her a dance."
A breathtaking smile lit up Peggy's face as Katie pulled up another chair so she was sitting next to Steve. She looked down at the ground as she sat down, a sad smile playing on her lips.
"You're here," Peggy gripped Steve's hand in hers as her watery eyes moved to Katie. "You're here, together."
Katie glanced up at Steve for a moment before sending a smile in her mother's direction, not knowing how else to reply. But luckily, Steve did.
"You did an amazing job with raising her, Peg," Steve said, both Peggy and Katie now looking at him. "She's a fighter, just like her mother."
"But stubborn like her father." Peggy cast Steve a playful look.
"She's also sitting right here." Katie teased lightly, causing Peggy to let out an airy laugh as Steve chuckled.
"Yes you are," Peggy reached forward so she now held Steve's hand and Katie's. "This is all I've even wanted. For you two to finally meet." Peggy sent a smile towards her daughter before turning to Steve. "I raised her as best as a single mother could. But there's still things you need to teach her, Steve. Things a father needs to show their daughter. You both need each other," Peggy now looked between Steve and Katie. "Now more than ever."
Katie didn't miss the double meaning behind Peggy's words, and she was sure Steve didn't either. Sure, they needed each other on a father-daughter level, but they also needed each other on a 'only super-humans in the world' level. And Peggy knew that, maybe more than anyone. Because no matter if Peggy Carter was in a war zone, or a hospital bed, she would also be the wisest person in the room.
"I want you both to be happy," Peggy continued on. "You both deserve that much. Don't live meaningless lives. Go, and be happy. Promise me."
"I promise." Steve said softly, the bright smile of his face becoming softer as he did.
Peggy returned the smile before turning towards her daughter.
"And you," She gave Katie a pointed look. "No more closing yourself off. Open up to people. Okay?" Katie nodded her head slightly as Peggy squeezed her hand. "You aren't alone anymore, Katie."
"I know." Katie looked up at her mother with her own glossy eyes. "I know."
A silence fell around the family as Peggy looked between Steve and Katie, as if trying to pick out all the similarities and differences between the father and daughter who she never saw side-by-side until now.
"You really do have your fathers eyes," Peggy commented, followed by both Katie and Steve letting out a soft laugh, and Peggy soon joined in, letting out her own airy laugh as she looked off in the distance.
Suddenly, Peggy's grip on Katie's hand loosened, causing Katie to let out a soft sigh before looking down, biting her lip slightly.
"Peggy?" Katie heard Steve's worried voice asking, but she couldn't bring herself to look over at him. Instead, she looked up at her mother's face, hiding behind her hair.
Katie watched as Peggy's eyes stared, unfocused, at the wall in front of her before they became focused again and she slowly turned toward Katie and Steve, that damn look of utter disbelief taking its place on her features once again.
"Steve?" Peggy chocked out as she starred at the man before her with watery eyes.
Steve glanced over at Katie for a moment, but she still didn't meet his gaze.
"Peggy?" Steve turned back to the women in the bed, leaning forward slightly.
"You're alive." Peggy managed to say, and it was even more heartbreaking hearing her voice crack the second time around. "You're alive."
Forty-five minutes later, Katie and Steve were walking mindlessly down the sidewalk in silence in the chilly evening air, the sun starting to set.
Neither one had spoken since they left Peggy's room, but Katie didn't know what to say, so she just decided to wait for Steve to ask the first question. Besides, she could basically see his head reeling with thoughts.
"How long?" Steve asked softly about ten minutes into their little walk, as Katie pushed her hands into her pockets.
"She's been like this for years now," Katie answered simply. "It was hard at first, but I've gotten used to it now."
"Doesn't mean it's not still hard to see her like that."
Katie shrugged. "I'm lucky she's lived this long. So I try not to complain."
Silence fell around them once more as they continued on walked until they reached an empty playground and sat down on one of the benches
"I wanted to tell you," Katie finally break the silences. "And I almost did, so many times. It's just, it's not the easiest thing to tell anyone."
Steve nodded his head in understanding, glancing over at Katie.
"How bad is it?"
"Her long term memory's still good," Katie said. "It's her short term that's really bad, as you saw in there." Katie paused for a moment to brush a piece of hair behind her ear. "I… I don't visit her as much as I should. But when I do, I also talk to her about whatever problem I'm facing at that moment. And she always knows exactly what to say. It just sucks that she never remembers any of it."
Steve didn't say anything. Instead, he carefully wrapped his arm on the beach behind Katie, listening to her every word.
"The last time I visited her was about a month after Nick called and told me they found you," Katie said softly. "That was almost a year ago."
"Not visiting her all the time doesn't make you a bad person, Katie," Steve told her in a comforting voice.
"I know," Katie looked up at her father before looking down at her hands. "She's just so… old now."
"So are we, technically." Steve said lightly, causing Katie to roll her eyes.
"Not what I mean."
"I know," Steve sighed. "But, you should be grateful Katie, not beating yourself up like this. Look at the life Peggy's had, and how long she has lived. Think about that, not what could happen in the future."
Katie looked up at Steve and gave him a grateful smile. "I know."
"And we'll go back for a visit tomorrow," Steve said suddenly as he stood up off the bench and started walking, Katie following his lead as she gave him confused look, which Steve saw. "To get a family photo."
Katie froze on the spot, causing Steve to turn around. The smile that broke out on Katie's face was bright as she looked up at Steve. "I like that idea."
Steve returned the smile before walking towards Katie and slowly pulling her in. Katie tensed up for a moment - still not used to being hugged by her father - before completely relaxing and returning the hug, felling her father wrap his arms around her as if to protect her from the world.
"And then we'll go shopping for some personal touches for your place," Katie smirked as she pulled away, the father and daughter walking on as Steve laughed.
"Plus paint."
Days later, Steve's apartment was painted in lighter tones with a mirror sat on the wall above the mantelpiece. Underneath that mirror was the framed photo of Peggy and five-year-old Katie holding her shield, while the photo of a grayed-haired, smiling Peggy lying in her bed, with Steve on her left and Katie on her right, sat next to it.
The two family photos.
Honestly, this is probably my favourite chapter so far.
Thanks to the beta, once again, for working her magic and making the chapter 110% better!
I've got a number of reviews telling me they want to see Romanogers and who they'd like to see Katie end up with. What do the rest of you guys think/have in mind?
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REVIEW, we got over 15 reviews last chapter because you guys ROCK. Thank we can do it again? :D