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breakinglight11Forever Captain:
“Boulder in the Stream”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
Summary: “It’s been seven years since Steve Rogers retired to the midcentury after returning the Infinity Stones. By 1954, he’s built a contented new life as Grant Carter, Peggy’s husband and stay-at-home dad to two great kids. But he’s never been able to shake his fears of what his presence here will do to change the progress of the timeline. Or— perhaps worse —that he has no power to affect the course of events at all.
A direct continuation of “His Part to Play.” A more plot-focused adventure story.”
Previous chapters:
1. Glimmer
2. Siege
3. Backup
4. Onslaught
5. Operatives
6. Mission
Chapter summary: Steve and Peggy prepare for their separate missions— the first time they’ve both had to do so in years.
“Boulder in the Stream”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
Summary: “It’s been seven years since Steve Rogers retired to the midcentury after returning the Infinity Stones. By 1954, he’s built a contented new life as Grant Carter, Peggy’s husband and stay-at-home dad to two great kids. But he’s never been able to shake his fears of what his presence here will do to change the progress of the timeline. Or— perhaps worse —that he has no power to affect the course of events at all.
A direct continuation of “His Part to Play.” A more plot-focused adventure story.”
Previous chapters:
1. Glimmer
2. Siege
3. Backup
4. Onslaught
5. Operatives
6. Mission
Chapter summary: Steve and Peggy prepare for their separate missions— the first time they’ve both had to do so in years.
~~~
7. Setting Out
For the first time since the war, Steve and Peggy prepared for action side by side. They had separate missions this time, that would require different tactics and take them disparate places. But it had something of the same rhythm of the way they’d worked together with the Howling Commandos, back in the field of the European theater. Steve found it made his memory drift back to those earliest days of their partnership, before ice and time had pulled them apart.
“Just like that time in Ardennes,” he said to her. “When we had to split up to lead the German forces away from the Belgian border.”
She smiled, and he could see it rallied her a little. “And we were together again by the end of the week. Perhaps we’ll be so lucky this time, too.”
Lottie Salazar had arranged Peggy’s itinerary to retrieve Dr. Doryczek. He had been imprisoned in Krakow, but she would be flying into Belarus. “From there, you’ll travel by train to meet him in Warsaw,” Lottie explained. “We don’t want to draw the wrong attention to him before we can get him safely into SHIELD protection.”
Peggy agreed. “Particularly if there’s HYDRA eyes on me.”
As for Steve’s travel, he wasn’t sure where his investigation would lead him, but he knew he had to be prepared. At the moment he didn’t even have a passport; they hadn’t started requiring them for international travel until 1952, and other than their trip to Niagara two years ago, he hadn’t left the country since their slightly belated honeymoon to Europe in ’49. While he was no stranger to sneaking and stowing when he had to, it seemed prudent to leave conventional means open. So, he filled out the forms and put in for the appointment to have his picture taken, in his wire-frame glasses with his hair parted on the left. Peggy called in a favor to have it expedited, and it wasn’t long before he had the little booklet in his hands. Grant Aloysius Carter, it read, born in Red Cloud, Nebraska on November 15th, 1910.
“Aloysius,” Peggy scoffed, not for the first time. “For God’s sake.”
He had to laugh. “Howard picked it, not me.” Howard had picked all the details, when he’d arranged for all the original documents to build Steve an entirely new identity. And in the interest of obscuring the truth, some of those details were a little out of nowhere.
“Hell, do you think I know anything about Nebraska?” Howard scoffed, when asked why Red Cloud. “I got it from Cather’s My Antonia.”
Next came the equipment. Peggy had a kit she’d built up and developed over the course of her career, ready to go at a moment’s notice. It contained all the things she’d found useful over the years, from lock picks and climbing gear, to emergency rations and med kit, to ammunition for the pair of sleek Smith and Wessons that were her preferred sidearms. All she had to do was throw some clothes in a suitcase and retrieve the guns from the safe, and she was on her way.
Steve, however, had kept no such equipment on hand since his return. Acquiring supplies through SHIELD was a possibility, but Peggy was reluctant to go through official channels. “We don’t want anyone asking why the director’s husband needs kitting out for action.” Steve agreed; he didn’t need discovery on top of everything else. And so for that, he went through slightly less official means. He decided to call up Howard.
The other man listened, quiet for an uncharacteristic length of time, as Steve gave him the broad strokes of what was up. “Thought you’d gone straight civilian,” he said when Steve had finished. “Thought you were out of the game.”
“Me too, pal,” he said, and thought he ought to say more. But the thought of it hung so heavy on him he didn’t have the words. And though Howard couldn’t see his face, he seemed to be able to read the silence well enough.
“Hm,” he said at last. “Well, you gotta be pretty rusty by now. It’d be cruel of me to leave you hanging. When you’re gonna need all the help you can get.”
He met Howard at one of his labs upstate. He found the man with his sleeves rolled and his tie tossed over his shoulder, pulling pieces from his stock for Steve’s consideration.
“Thanks again, Howard,” Steve told him. “You look like you’ve been busy.”
“You bet I been. I had to do all the prep work myself, so that nobody else would get onto you.”
Touched, Steve smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“You better. Now— what are you in the market for? Weapons? Body armor?” Howard swept his arm to indicate the gear arrayed on the lab benches. Steve looked over the bulky, garishly designed suits with a skeptical eye.
“I can’t go around looking like a superhero, Howard. Low profile, remember?”
Howard made a grumbling sound and searched around. “Yeah, yeah, I got you. You know how rough it is finding something in your size?” Finally he produced a quilted shell in a dull army green, then helped Steve buckle it on over his chest, shoulders, and trunk. “There, that’s made with an experimental polymer designed for deflecting and sliding. Should keep your guts on the inside in a pinch.” He grinned. “And you should be able to hide it under a jacket better than the old stars and stripes.”
Then Howard circled around the lab bench to where a large canvas bag lay, sealed with snaps. He leaned against the table as Steve flexed and stretched. “Don’t suppose I could interest you in a shield?”
Steve sighed. He kind of missed the thing; it had always suited him. But, “That’s kind of like writing Captain America across my forehead.”
Howard tipped his head from side to side, conceding. “Yeah, but still. Gotta go with your strengths, right?” He unsnapped the bag and dug out shields of various shapes and sizes, until he finally came upon a pair of sleek, buckler-style arm guards that were meant to strap to the forearms. “Maybe these are out of style enough to serve?”
Steve grinned; there must be something about that design, since they were remarkably similar to the ones he’d borrowed from Princess Shuri in that first fight against Thanos. He strapped them on for a test, slicing and blocking this way and that. “Yeah, all right. I think I could make these work.”
“Here.” Howard came back around with a small wooden case in his hands. He slid it over and flipped open the lid to reveal a Colt 1911, gleaming with fresh oil. “Clean registration and everything. I know you don’t want to. But I’d feel remiss if you didn’t have it just in case.”
Steve’s lip twisted. “Howard…”
“Hey. You got to make it back to your kids, don’t you?”
That got him. Steve sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I gotcha.” He accepted the case and tucked it into his bag. “But, God, I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
There was an uncomfortable silence a moment, and Howard’s gaze dropped to the workbench. He began awkwardly fiddling with the clamps on one of the soldering stations. “So… this guy you’re after. He’s an old buddy of yours, huh?”
Steve’s own eyes lowered. “Yeah. Thought I lost him in the war. Turns out… some bad guys got him, just not like that.”
“Yeah. Well. Must be rough. Having to chase after a friend like that.”
Steve’s fingers tightened around the buckle of one of the shields. “Yeah.”
He began undoing the straps so he could pack them up too. Howard cleared his throat, and came over to give him a hand. “Well. Hope you figure out some way to reach him.”
Steve finally managed to look into Howard’s eyes then— the man who, if Steve couldn’t reach him, Bucky would go on to murder.
“Me too,” he said at last, and reached out to clasp his friend’s other hand. “Thank you, Howard.”
The last thing that remained to settle was the children. While Peggy’s missions regularly took her away, they had not both had to go at the same time since Elizabeth was born. Her trip to Poland was only a few days, but Steve had no idea how long it would take for him to track down Bucky. That meant they would have to turn to some friends that would be understanding in the event that they got stuck out of town on urgent SHIELD business— or worse, tangling with HYDRA.
Their saving grace, however, was that they had those understanding friends. Thankfully the Jarvises adored the two little ones, and were happy to look after them until Steve and Peggy could safely come home. It was a huge relief, since Beth and Jamie had loved their Uncle Edwin and Aunt Ana since they’d come home from the hospital.
“We can’t thank you enough,” Peggy told them when they agreed. “Are you sure it’s not too much of an imposition?”
“Not at all,” Jarvis declared. “It will be like a lovely holiday for all of us.”
Steve smiled a little crookedly. “I hate to say it, but a point comes where they’re not so cute anymore. And I’m pretty sure it’ll come quicker than a week.”
Ana laughed. “Well, Edwin’s used to dealing with Mr. Stark. For him, at least, it will seem like a holiday.”
They told the children in the evening, when dinner was over but with everyone still at the table. Steve had made macaroni and cheese, a favorite of theirs, and eased up for once on the no-dessert-without-eating-your-vegetables rule with a little chocolate ice cream. These days Jamie was hard to keep still, and Elizabeth had become quite the little chatterbox, so they had to seize the moment while they had the kids’ attention.
“Just a minute, buddy,” Steve said, as he could see Jamie go to wander away from the table.
The boy settled back in his chair and nodded as if remembering. “Got to clear up,” he said, as they’d told him many nights before.
Steve smiled a little. “Right. But that’s not all. First we’ve got to talk about something.”
Elizabeth eyed him a bit warily. “Are we in trouble? Because I finished my math after I got down from the tree—”
“No, no, darling,” Peggy assured her. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad.”
Steve could see her dither a moment, as if suddenly uncertain, then smoothed over her features with her usual resolve. She explained to the kids that for the next week they’d be up at Howard’s big house in the country, to spend some time with Uncle Edwin and Aunt Ana. “You can visit the horses, and go swimming in the lake. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
That news they greeted with enthusiasm, as they’d visited before and always had a good time. “Can we go out in the canoes?” Elizabeth asked excitedly. “Can I help paddle?”
“Well, that’s it, honey,” Steve said. “It’s just going to be the two of you going to see Uncle and Auntie. Mama and I aren’t going to be able to come with you.”
“How come?” Jamie asked, as confusion scrunched up both their faces. They were used to Mama having to go away every now and again, but they were surprised to hear that he had to go as well. “Daddy has work trips too?”
“Sort of, honey.” Steve did his best to moderate his reaction. He didn’t want to scare them by acting too serious, but he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving them without letting them know how much they meant.
Steve reached over to pull Jamie into his lap, and gestured for Elizabeth to climb up as well. He looked from one pair of big brown eyes to the other. Jamie’s features entirely favored his mother, but except for those eyes, Elizabeth was his daughter, with his strong chin and wavy blond hair.
“I don’t want to leave you. But I want you two to know, this is really important.” He paused, weighing his words. “I have to find my old friend— my best friend.”
“You have a best friend?” Jamie asked. “Like me and Brandon?”
Steve chuckled. Last week, he was fairly certain Jamie’s best friend was Terry, but that was what life was like when you were four. “Just like you and Brandon. But I have to go after him. Because he’s in trouble.”
Elizabeth stared up at him intently. “What kind of trouble?”
He brushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear. “That’s the problem, sweetheart. I don’t know. But I’m scared for him… so I have to go help him if I can. Or else… something really bad might happen to him.”
He watched them take this in, little faces solemn. He wrapped his arms around them.
“But I want you to know that Daddy loves you. He’d never go away from you if it weren’t very, very important.” He pulled them in close then, squeezed as if he could press his meaning into them. “I hope you understand.”
He could feel Jamie’s little hand on his cheek. Elizabeth’s blonde hair brushed against him as she nodded. “It’s okay, Daddy. We understand.”
He pulled back to look at them. “Really?”
“He’s your best friend, and he’s in trouble. You have to try to help him. That’s what you do for your best friend.” She glanced between him and Peggy for assurance. “Isn’t it?”
Steve smiled, and had to fight to hold back a tear. “Yeah, honey. That’s it exactly.”
Elizabeth nodded again, surer this time. “Then you got to do it.”
Just to be certain, he turned to Jamie, the son he’d named for that best friend. “What do you think, pal?”
He had to shift suddenly as the boy stood up in his lap, hand still braced on the side of Steve’s face. “Yes, Daddy,” he declared. “Best friends are best friends. You got to help them. Like me and Brandon.”
Steve pulled them in again, throat tightening. Over their heads, he locked eyes with Peggy. She had covered her mouth with her hand, but there was no mistaking the emotion in her gaze.
It was three days later when they had the kids packed up and picked up by the Jarvises, who would take them to Howard’s upstate house. Steve felt slightly guilty at how much stuff they had brought to hand over— clothes, toys, favorite books, and a few items from home in case of emergencies —but Edwin and Ana understood there was a chance they would have to keep the kids for longer than just the planned week.
“You be good for Auntie and Uncle,” Peggy told them, kissing each forehead in turn. “I’ll be having a full report when we get back.”
“Not to worry,” Jarvis said, sweeping Jamie up onto his shoulder. “They know I don’t bear tales.”
“Bear tails?” Jamie echoed. “Are there bears at the lake?”
“He means tattletales,” Elizabeth said, admonishingly. “Uncle Edwin doesn’t snitch.”
Steve chuckled, and reached out to shake the man’s hand. “He’s aces in my book, all right. For more than just that.”
Edwin nodded, as Ana led Elizabeth back to the car. “Happy to help. We know how important this is.” He gave Steve’s hand one last squeeze before following her. “Good luck.”
As the Bentley drove away, they knew it was time. A car would be here soon for Peggy to take her to Idlewild for her flight. That meant it was time for both of them to set off on their missions.
Steve turned to her then, and took her into his arms. For a long time, they stood there in the driveway of their home, the one they’d made together. The place where he belonged.
“Stay in touch, if you can,” she murmured. “If you need anything, just ask.”
She would have her own worries, but he knew that wouldn’t matter to her. “And you,” he said. “If he’s targeting SHIELD, you might need me.”
“I always need you, Steve.” Her arms tightened around him and she buried her face in his chest. “Whatever happens… come home. Just promise me, you’ll come home to us.”
In this kind of work, there were no such promises; Peggy knew that as well as he did. But he was a man who had crossed space and time and universes to do exactly that.
“I promise,” he said, and meant it.
~~~
Next chapter: 8. Scores in the Paper
7. Setting Out
For the first time since the war, Steve and Peggy prepared for action side by side. They had separate missions this time, that would require different tactics and take them disparate places. But it had something of the same rhythm of the way they’d worked together with the Howling Commandos, back in the field of the European theater. Steve found it made his memory drift back to those earliest days of their partnership, before ice and time had pulled them apart.
“Just like that time in Ardennes,” he said to her. “When we had to split up to lead the German forces away from the Belgian border.”
She smiled, and he could see it rallied her a little. “And we were together again by the end of the week. Perhaps we’ll be so lucky this time, too.”
Lottie Salazar had arranged Peggy’s itinerary to retrieve Dr. Doryczek. He had been imprisoned in Krakow, but she would be flying into Belarus. “From there, you’ll travel by train to meet him in Warsaw,” Lottie explained. “We don’t want to draw the wrong attention to him before we can get him safely into SHIELD protection.”
Peggy agreed. “Particularly if there’s HYDRA eyes on me.”
As for Steve’s travel, he wasn’t sure where his investigation would lead him, but he knew he had to be prepared. At the moment he didn’t even have a passport; they hadn’t started requiring them for international travel until 1952, and other than their trip to Niagara two years ago, he hadn’t left the country since their slightly belated honeymoon to Europe in ’49. While he was no stranger to sneaking and stowing when he had to, it seemed prudent to leave conventional means open. So, he filled out the forms and put in for the appointment to have his picture taken, in his wire-frame glasses with his hair parted on the left. Peggy called in a favor to have it expedited, and it wasn’t long before he had the little booklet in his hands. Grant Aloysius Carter, it read, born in Red Cloud, Nebraska on November 15th, 1910.
“Aloysius,” Peggy scoffed, not for the first time. “For God’s sake.”
He had to laugh. “Howard picked it, not me.” Howard had picked all the details, when he’d arranged for all the original documents to build Steve an entirely new identity. And in the interest of obscuring the truth, some of those details were a little out of nowhere.
“Hell, do you think I know anything about Nebraska?” Howard scoffed, when asked why Red Cloud. “I got it from Cather’s My Antonia.”
Next came the equipment. Peggy had a kit she’d built up and developed over the course of her career, ready to go at a moment’s notice. It contained all the things she’d found useful over the years, from lock picks and climbing gear, to emergency rations and med kit, to ammunition for the pair of sleek Smith and Wessons that were her preferred sidearms. All she had to do was throw some clothes in a suitcase and retrieve the guns from the safe, and she was on her way.
Steve, however, had kept no such equipment on hand since his return. Acquiring supplies through SHIELD was a possibility, but Peggy was reluctant to go through official channels. “We don’t want anyone asking why the director’s husband needs kitting out for action.” Steve agreed; he didn’t need discovery on top of everything else. And so for that, he went through slightly less official means. He decided to call up Howard.
The other man listened, quiet for an uncharacteristic length of time, as Steve gave him the broad strokes of what was up. “Thought you’d gone straight civilian,” he said when Steve had finished. “Thought you were out of the game.”
“Me too, pal,” he said, and thought he ought to say more. But the thought of it hung so heavy on him he didn’t have the words. And though Howard couldn’t see his face, he seemed to be able to read the silence well enough.
“Hm,” he said at last. “Well, you gotta be pretty rusty by now. It’d be cruel of me to leave you hanging. When you’re gonna need all the help you can get.”
He met Howard at one of his labs upstate. He found the man with his sleeves rolled and his tie tossed over his shoulder, pulling pieces from his stock for Steve’s consideration.
“Thanks again, Howard,” Steve told him. “You look like you’ve been busy.”
“You bet I been. I had to do all the prep work myself, so that nobody else would get onto you.”
Touched, Steve smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“You better. Now— what are you in the market for? Weapons? Body armor?” Howard swept his arm to indicate the gear arrayed on the lab benches. Steve looked over the bulky, garishly designed suits with a skeptical eye.
“I can’t go around looking like a superhero, Howard. Low profile, remember?”
Howard made a grumbling sound and searched around. “Yeah, yeah, I got you. You know how rough it is finding something in your size?” Finally he produced a quilted shell in a dull army green, then helped Steve buckle it on over his chest, shoulders, and trunk. “There, that’s made with an experimental polymer designed for deflecting and sliding. Should keep your guts on the inside in a pinch.” He grinned. “And you should be able to hide it under a jacket better than the old stars and stripes.”
Then Howard circled around the lab bench to where a large canvas bag lay, sealed with snaps. He leaned against the table as Steve flexed and stretched. “Don’t suppose I could interest you in a shield?”
Steve sighed. He kind of missed the thing; it had always suited him. But, “That’s kind of like writing Captain America across my forehead.”
Howard tipped his head from side to side, conceding. “Yeah, but still. Gotta go with your strengths, right?” He unsnapped the bag and dug out shields of various shapes and sizes, until he finally came upon a pair of sleek, buckler-style arm guards that were meant to strap to the forearms. “Maybe these are out of style enough to serve?”
Steve grinned; there must be something about that design, since they were remarkably similar to the ones he’d borrowed from Princess Shuri in that first fight against Thanos. He strapped them on for a test, slicing and blocking this way and that. “Yeah, all right. I think I could make these work.”
“Here.” Howard came back around with a small wooden case in his hands. He slid it over and flipped open the lid to reveal a Colt 1911, gleaming with fresh oil. “Clean registration and everything. I know you don’t want to. But I’d feel remiss if you didn’t have it just in case.”
Steve’s lip twisted. “Howard…”
“Hey. You got to make it back to your kids, don’t you?”
That got him. Steve sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I gotcha.” He accepted the case and tucked it into his bag. “But, God, I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
There was an uncomfortable silence a moment, and Howard’s gaze dropped to the workbench. He began awkwardly fiddling with the clamps on one of the soldering stations. “So… this guy you’re after. He’s an old buddy of yours, huh?”
Steve’s own eyes lowered. “Yeah. Thought I lost him in the war. Turns out… some bad guys got him, just not like that.”
“Yeah. Well. Must be rough. Having to chase after a friend like that.”
Steve’s fingers tightened around the buckle of one of the shields. “Yeah.”
He began undoing the straps so he could pack them up too. Howard cleared his throat, and came over to give him a hand. “Well. Hope you figure out some way to reach him.”
Steve finally managed to look into Howard’s eyes then— the man who, if Steve couldn’t reach him, Bucky would go on to murder.
“Me too,” he said at last, and reached out to clasp his friend’s other hand. “Thank you, Howard.”
The last thing that remained to settle was the children. While Peggy’s missions regularly took her away, they had not both had to go at the same time since Elizabeth was born. Her trip to Poland was only a few days, but Steve had no idea how long it would take for him to track down Bucky. That meant they would have to turn to some friends that would be understanding in the event that they got stuck out of town on urgent SHIELD business— or worse, tangling with HYDRA.
Their saving grace, however, was that they had those understanding friends. Thankfully the Jarvises adored the two little ones, and were happy to look after them until Steve and Peggy could safely come home. It was a huge relief, since Beth and Jamie had loved their Uncle Edwin and Aunt Ana since they’d come home from the hospital.
“We can’t thank you enough,” Peggy told them when they agreed. “Are you sure it’s not too much of an imposition?”
“Not at all,” Jarvis declared. “It will be like a lovely holiday for all of us.”
Steve smiled a little crookedly. “I hate to say it, but a point comes where they’re not so cute anymore. And I’m pretty sure it’ll come quicker than a week.”
Ana laughed. “Well, Edwin’s used to dealing with Mr. Stark. For him, at least, it will seem like a holiday.”
They told the children in the evening, when dinner was over but with everyone still at the table. Steve had made macaroni and cheese, a favorite of theirs, and eased up for once on the no-dessert-without-eating-your-vegetables rule with a little chocolate ice cream. These days Jamie was hard to keep still, and Elizabeth had become quite the little chatterbox, so they had to seize the moment while they had the kids’ attention.
“Just a minute, buddy,” Steve said, as he could see Jamie go to wander away from the table.
The boy settled back in his chair and nodded as if remembering. “Got to clear up,” he said, as they’d told him many nights before.
Steve smiled a little. “Right. But that’s not all. First we’ve got to talk about something.”
Elizabeth eyed him a bit warily. “Are we in trouble? Because I finished my math after I got down from the tree—”
“No, no, darling,” Peggy assured her. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad.”
Steve could see her dither a moment, as if suddenly uncertain, then smoothed over her features with her usual resolve. She explained to the kids that for the next week they’d be up at Howard’s big house in the country, to spend some time with Uncle Edwin and Aunt Ana. “You can visit the horses, and go swimming in the lake. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
That news they greeted with enthusiasm, as they’d visited before and always had a good time. “Can we go out in the canoes?” Elizabeth asked excitedly. “Can I help paddle?”
“Well, that’s it, honey,” Steve said. “It’s just going to be the two of you going to see Uncle and Auntie. Mama and I aren’t going to be able to come with you.”
“How come?” Jamie asked, as confusion scrunched up both their faces. They were used to Mama having to go away every now and again, but they were surprised to hear that he had to go as well. “Daddy has work trips too?”
“Sort of, honey.” Steve did his best to moderate his reaction. He didn’t want to scare them by acting too serious, but he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving them without letting them know how much they meant.
Steve reached over to pull Jamie into his lap, and gestured for Elizabeth to climb up as well. He looked from one pair of big brown eyes to the other. Jamie’s features entirely favored his mother, but except for those eyes, Elizabeth was his daughter, with his strong chin and wavy blond hair.
“I don’t want to leave you. But I want you two to know, this is really important.” He paused, weighing his words. “I have to find my old friend— my best friend.”
“You have a best friend?” Jamie asked. “Like me and Brandon?”
Steve chuckled. Last week, he was fairly certain Jamie’s best friend was Terry, but that was what life was like when you were four. “Just like you and Brandon. But I have to go after him. Because he’s in trouble.”
Elizabeth stared up at him intently. “What kind of trouble?”
He brushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear. “That’s the problem, sweetheart. I don’t know. But I’m scared for him… so I have to go help him if I can. Or else… something really bad might happen to him.”
He watched them take this in, little faces solemn. He wrapped his arms around them.
“But I want you to know that Daddy loves you. He’d never go away from you if it weren’t very, very important.” He pulled them in close then, squeezed as if he could press his meaning into them. “I hope you understand.”
He could feel Jamie’s little hand on his cheek. Elizabeth’s blonde hair brushed against him as she nodded. “It’s okay, Daddy. We understand.”
He pulled back to look at them. “Really?”
“He’s your best friend, and he’s in trouble. You have to try to help him. That’s what you do for your best friend.” She glanced between him and Peggy for assurance. “Isn’t it?”
Steve smiled, and had to fight to hold back a tear. “Yeah, honey. That’s it exactly.”
Elizabeth nodded again, surer this time. “Then you got to do it.”
Just to be certain, he turned to Jamie, the son he’d named for that best friend. “What do you think, pal?”
He had to shift suddenly as the boy stood up in his lap, hand still braced on the side of Steve’s face. “Yes, Daddy,” he declared. “Best friends are best friends. You got to help them. Like me and Brandon.”
Steve pulled them in again, throat tightening. Over their heads, he locked eyes with Peggy. She had covered her mouth with her hand, but there was no mistaking the emotion in her gaze.
It was three days later when they had the kids packed up and picked up by the Jarvises, who would take them to Howard’s upstate house. Steve felt slightly guilty at how much stuff they had brought to hand over— clothes, toys, favorite books, and a few items from home in case of emergencies —but Edwin and Ana understood there was a chance they would have to keep the kids for longer than just the planned week.
“You be good for Auntie and Uncle,” Peggy told them, kissing each forehead in turn. “I’ll be having a full report when we get back.”
“Not to worry,” Jarvis said, sweeping Jamie up onto his shoulder. “They know I don’t bear tales.”
“Bear tails?” Jamie echoed. “Are there bears at the lake?”
“He means tattletales,” Elizabeth said, admonishingly. “Uncle Edwin doesn’t snitch.”
Steve chuckled, and reached out to shake the man’s hand. “He’s aces in my book, all right. For more than just that.”
Edwin nodded, as Ana led Elizabeth back to the car. “Happy to help. We know how important this is.” He gave Steve’s hand one last squeeze before following her. “Good luck.”
As the Bentley drove away, they knew it was time. A car would be here soon for Peggy to take her to Idlewild for her flight. That meant it was time for both of them to set off on their missions.
Steve turned to her then, and took her into his arms. For a long time, they stood there in the driveway of their home, the one they’d made together. The place where he belonged.
“Stay in touch, if you can,” she murmured. “If you need anything, just ask.”
She would have her own worries, but he knew that wouldn’t matter to her. “And you,” he said. “If he’s targeting SHIELD, you might need me.”
“I always need you, Steve.” Her arms tightened around him and she buried her face in his chest. “Whatever happens… come home. Just promise me, you’ll come home to us.”
In this kind of work, there were no such promises; Peggy knew that as well as he did. But he was a man who had crossed space and time and universes to do exactly that.
“I promise,” he said, and meant it.
~~~
Next chapter: 8. Scores in the Paper
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