They stare at each other for a long couple seconds. Then Steve blinks and when he opens his eyes, Isaac is gone. Disappeared back into the house.

A terrible ache rips through him and he whips towards Tony, "are you happy now? Is your quest for this knowledge fulfilled? Now my son thinks I'm even more of a monster than he already did!"

The words echo into the quiet night and his chest heaves at his heavy breathing. Despair wracks through him at the wide eyed expressions of shock from both Bucky and Tony.

He turns to his ma, "can you tell Peggy I'll meet her at home. Tell her I'm sorry."

Then he's running. The village he grew up in flashing past faster and faster as he heads out and into the forest.

—

"Ma—" Peggy looks down from her spot on the kitchen counter. Natasha is handing her dishes and she's drying them. Isaac is suddenly in front of her, a ghastly expression on his face, "is it true? Is it really the truth?"

Peggy leans forward, "is what true?"

"Did papa die saving Anthony? Did he really die? That's not true is it? That's impossible!"

Shock makes her breathing halt for a moment before she's sliding off the counter and setting the plate down with a clatter, "Isaac, where did you hear that!"

"Anthony was shouting it outside! And Papa didn't deny it!"

"Peggy?" She turns to see Natasha looking at Isaac, "what is he talking about?"

"Nothing!" Peggy breathes out, plastering a fake smile, "it's nothing, Isaac, where is your—"

"Peggy." She looks up to see Sarah, smiling a strained smile and nodding to a guest passing by, "Steve wasn't feeling too well. He decided to get some fresh air and walk home. He told me to apologize and he'll meet you there."

Peggy nods, "okay," she whispers out, "thanks for telling me."

"Peggy—" she flinches at Natasha calling her name. "What is going on?"

"It's a long story." She says in a clipped tone, then she turns to Isaac, "this is not the time." Her mind wars. Do they go home? Would that just draw more attention?

But then Bucky appears and his eyes are glazed and far away. He looks at her a frozen shocked expression on his face.

Realization sinks in that this was a bigger confrontation than just between Anthony and Steve that Isaac overheard. She tugs both Barnes and Isaac through the crowd and out the front doors. Anthony Stark stands there, staring out at the road.

"What happened?" She asks.

Barnes looks at her with confusion, "it can't be true right?" He shakes his head, "that's impossible."

Isaac is watching her. Sharp, observant, and guarded eyes. He looks so much like Steve in that moment it's painful.

She can't lie. If she does he'll never trust her again. "Isaac, this is a very personal thing that happened to your father, alright? You cannot just go shouting it about." His eyes widen, as if he didn't really believe it until this second when she confirmed it. She turns towards Anthony, "was now really the time!?"

He looks at her, slack jawed and a thousand yard stare. "I—" his voice cuts off and he looks at his hands, as if they are dripping in imaginary blood. "I killed him."

"Ugh!" She scoffs, willing herself not to slap him, "no! You didn't! Don't be so bloody dramatic! Yes he died after he saved you, and yes, if he hadn't jumped in that lake, he probably wouldn't have died BUT!—" She shouts, willing them to listen, "he also wouldn't have gotten healed, been able to live this long, or have children! So—" she stabs a finger at him, "I don't want to hear about this again! Steve is alive. In fact he's healthier than any of us! And I'll not have you causing him distress by acting like this! This happened almost two decades ago!"

Then she turns to her son, "Isaac."

His eyes are wide, "yes?"

"Your father is not some strange specimen to be treated with wariness and caution. Yes, he died. Yes, he's alive. He is not some science experiment and I will not have you acting afraid of him!"

"I'm not—" Isaac says with a frown, "I just—" he seems to be unable to grasp words. Peggy kneels down, her skirts against the gravel path and her face now even with his chest, making him have to look down.

"Isaac, ever since the day you were afraid of his scars—" she hears Barnes make a noise of surprise but she ignores it, "he has been terrified of what you think of him. That you were afraid or maybe not as open to him because of latent fear. He didn't grow up with a father. He had no example to have. He spends every day making sure you and Ivy are safe and happy and he would do—" her hands grip his arms, "—anything to ensure your safety. Your health. Your happiness. Anything. Do you understand?"

Isaac nods slowly.

"Don't you dare let this make him strange to you. Has he ever done anything that's made you question his love for you? For me? For Ivy?"

"No, mama."

"Then you know who he is. I won't let him worry about what you think. When we get home, will you talk to him? Assure him nothing has changed, that you don't feel any differently about him?"

And she watches as whatever he was feeling, fear or surprise or something else altogether fades, and he nods slowly. "Yes, Mama. I will. I understand now." Then his face settles into fierce determination, "I'm going to go get Ivy and Mr. Coulson, and we'll go home, alright? I wanna talk to Papa." And then he's gone, running back into the house.

Relief floods through her. While stubborn and observant like her, she was also fiercely loyal and empathetic like Steve. Now that he fully understands… It would all be alright at home.

Then she raises and turns to Anthony, "You will not drag this out. If you want to talk to him, fine. But you will wait until the day after tomorrow. And it had better be worth his time. No guilt ridden or dredging up what happened. It happened. It's over. It's been over. They didn't keep it from you for any specific reason. You know how Steve is. He's always been too damn protective for his own good. Remember when I was a total bitch and he still protected me?" A ghost of a smile appears on Barnes' face, and she turns to face him, "I know you're his best friend, and you're wondering why he didn't tell you. It's the same reason. What would be the point? For you to praise him? Be scared of him? Call him a hero? A freak? It doesn't matter. That's not who Steve is. So if you're going to talk to him, I don't want a damn word about 'why didn't you tell me'. Understood?"

Her eyes flick to Natahsha who is now walking out of the house with her children in. tow.

"Barnes will fill you in." She comments lightly. "But for now, my husband needs me. Thank you for the lovely party." Ivy's face is confused but she doesn't argue. And Isaac looks more determined than ever as they head towards where their carriage is parked.

Once they are on their way, Ivy shifts in her seat and tilts her head, "what happened mama? Where's papa?"

"He's on his way home." She comments lightly, "he's alright."

Ivy looks at Isaac as if for sibling confirmation. And Isaac nods, "Papa's alright." Then he looks out the window at the moon, and he nods, "Papa's alright."

—-

Except that he's not at home when they get there.

Peggy shoves the worry aside. She's seen Steve heave their carriage out of a ditch with little to no effort. She's seen him heal from burns and cuts in record time. And she's cognizant of the fact that there is little in the forest that could cause him harm.

"Can we go out looking for him?" She's pulled from her thoughts by Isaac who has a worried look on his face, "what if he's scared to come home. We need to tell him I'm not scared."

She leans down and presses a kiss to his forehead, "he'll come home. He just needs time, I'm sure. It was a lot to be ripped out into the open in front of the people he loves the most."

His eyes are calculating, "who else knows about his scars? If even Uncle Bucky didn't know?"

"We did," she gestures to them, "and Ivy of course. Howard Stark, Dr. Erskine, Grandma Sarah, Lorraine—" Isaac's eyes widen but he says nothing, "and my family knows they exist, but haven't ever seen them—"

"Except Dalia."

She grimaces, "right, Dalia."

"So…"Isaac bites the inside of his cheek, "it was kind of special that he never hid them from us…?"

Peggy nods and smiles, "it was indeed. He trusted both of you with them."

Isaac frowns, "and I was scared of them."

"At first." She responds gently, "but then you weren't."

"Was Ivy ever scared of them?"

Peggy sighs, "no, but after your response we decided to expose her to them early. She never thought anything strange of them."

"So, only I hurt papa's feelings."

Peggy's about to respond, trying to think of someway to mitigate that guilt Isaac is feeling when she hears the front door. She turns to him and smiles, "now's your chance."

Isaac's out of the room before she finishes her sentence.

—

Steve takes the long way home. Stopping by the pond he pulled Peggy from all those years ago and reminding himself that that is why the scars are good. That is why he's happy the incident with Tony happened.

If he hadn't been healthy and strong, she would have died in this pond. Or perhaps he would have died before he met her.

All those little choices added up to the wonderful life he has now. But Isaac's scared face rears in his mind and he takes a deep breath.

He wants to pretend it never happened. But Steve's never been a coward. Never run away from things that need facing. So he takes one last deep breath of air and heads home.

—-

He's unlacing his boots when he hears footsteps running. He looks up to see Isaac bolting towards him.

Surprise floods him as the boy crashes into him, throwing his arms around and holding him tightly.

He blinks, stunned and frozen for a second before he wraps his arms around his son.

"I'm sorry." Isaac is saying muffled against him, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Steve pulls his head back, "for what?"

"I didn't know. I didn't understand. Now I do, now I understand."

"Understand what?"

But Isaac just looks at him, "I'm not afraid of you."

Steve's heart starts to crack, "I know—" he whispers out, "you said that in the carriage."

"Yeah, but now it's different. Now I know why I'm not scared. Because I didn't know before. And now I know everything and I'm not scared. I'm not scared of you, papa. I'm not. I love you."

Steve hears another heartbeat and looks up, seeing Peggy smiling softly on the stairs. His throat is tight and he can feel his eyes watering. So he gently falls to his knees, leveling their heights more and wrapping his son up in a big hug, "I love you too, Isaac. So much."

Isaac is hugging him back fiercely and Steve's pretty sure he hears sniffling from him too.

"Hey!" A little voice shouts, "what the devil is going on here!" They look up to see Ivy glaring at them from the second level hallway, "why is no one hugging me!"

Steve lets out a watery laugh and Peggy snorts indelicately into her hand, "come now little lady, we don't talk like that—"

"You talk like that!" Ivy shoots back with a head bobble and hands on her hips.

Peggy scoffs, "well—" then she pauses, unable to come up with a reason. That makes Steve laugh and release Isaac, who is grinning now too.

"Come here, then." Steve calls, "come join the hug."

Ivy flies down the stairs, jumping off the last four and landing with a thunk on the carpet. She smashes into Steve's chest and the way her hands cling to his shirt brings a smile to his face as he pulls Isaac back in for another.

"Not without me—" he looks up to see Peggy smiling and slaking towards them.

Her soft hands rest on his cheek and then neck as she gathers the family close and holds them tight. "NOthing can ever tear us apart." Peggy says softly, "understood? We're family."

Isaac looks towards him and tilts his head, "don't get rid of them."

Steve blinks, "what?"

"The scars. Please don't get rid of them. For me."

"Isaac—"

"If people ask, just tell them what you told Uncle Bucky back then. Mr. Stark performed a surgery to help you. That's it. And no ones going to guess the truth."

"Truth about what?" Ivy asks, looking between them curiously.

There's a pause. Then Isaac turns to her and looks her deeply in the eyes, "when papa saved Anthony Stark when he was a littler kid than you, he got real sick and he died. But then Mr. Stark figured out a way to heal him. You saw the pictures of papa when he was young right? And small?" Ivy nods, not looking phased at all, "well Mr. Stark made him big and healthy and strong to say thank you for saving Anthony. That's what his scars are from."

It's a tense moment and then Ivy's brow furrows and she turns to him, "can Mr. Stark make me all big and strong?"

Steve laughs, "you are strong—" he hugs the little girl who seems completely unphased by the story, "and you're gonna grow up, I promise."

Ivy shrugs, "okay." Then she looks at Peggy, "can I have a snack?"

Steve laughs as Peggy sighs and takes the girls' hand, "of course you can." Then she looks at Steve and gives him a raised eyebrow, "what about you, are you hungry?"

He grins, knowing their usual tease. "I'm famished."

"I'm hungry too!" Isaac says, pulling Ivy forward which pulls Peggy, "let's make Papa's muffins!"

—

That night, Peggy stares at Steve as he changes, his skin gleaming in the light filtering through the windows. "So what are you going to do?"

Steve looks at her, "about what?"

"The scars."

His smile is soft, "I'm going to keep them—" joy shoots through her as he shakes his head, "Isaac's right. I shouldn't be worrying what others might guess. I wouldn't want him tied down by such thinking."

Peggy nods, "I'm not quite sure Ivy really understood what Isaac told her."

Steve chuckles, "yeah, I agree. Didn't even seem to blink at it. But at least there's a foundation now. And when the time comes, I won't let it be such a big dramatic thing."

"You didn't make it dramatic." She says firmly, "it was all circumstantial."

"Still." Steve says, sliding next to her in bed, "I will be smarter about it next time."

"I have a feeling she's not even going to be phased when she does learn the truth at an age she can understand. She already sees you as her magical hero anyways."

Steve smiles ruefully, "is it selfish that I'm honored?"

Peggy laughs, "you're her father. It's not selfish. And as long as you keep being the wonderful man you are, it will keep being true."

He rolls his eyes and then turns towards her, "thank you."

"For?"

"Whatever you said to Isaac—" she starts to protest but he stops her, his thumb brushing her bottom lip, "I don't need to know what you said to him, but I'm just so grateful."

"He knew he loved you all along. He just is a bit dramatic. Like his father…" she grins, "and his mother."

Steve pulls her closer, wrapping his in his arms and kissing her shoulder before just holding her silently.

Then he's letting her rest on her back and he lays on his side, his hand trails over her stomach, "do you know yet?"

She swallows thickly at the way his fingers trail circles on the sensitive skin under her belly button, "no. Not yet."

"But you're very late."

She lets out a humored huff and grabs his hand, stopping it, "I'm well aware, Mr. Rogers."

"So… Isn't it most likely?"

Peggy feels a grin spreading, "possibly, but early on anything can happen, and also, I've been rather stressed, that could be keeping it from arriving." His face falls a bit and she reaches out, touching his brow, "do you want another?"

He blinks slowly, thinking about it, then he smiles softly at her, "I want whatever you want."

She looks at him, studying his face, and it surprises her how young and vulnerable he seems. And a thick knot of emotion ties up her throat. "I love watching you be a father." She manages out, "I would be happy if we had another."

He smiles, "then whatever happens, happens."

She shakes her head, that knot of emotion sinking into a pit of desire, "no, you misunderstand." She takes the hand of his she is holding, and slowly pulls it down, settling it in the place she likes the best. His eyes heat as he looks at her and she grins, "that's an order."

He grins and leans over her, blocking the moonlight and covering her face in his shadow as his entire face is illuminated from behind. "Yes, ma'am."

—-

*A/N Hope you enjoyed the random second part of this epilogue! I may come back to it, not sure!