Come Back With Me

To Love The Rogers Twins

The next day, the four of them packed up the car and started the trip to The Grand Canyon.

They let Lizzie ride shotgun while Bucky drove. Steve was pretty cramped in the back but he wanted Lizzie to enjoy her first glimpse of the world outside New York. Anyways, he'd have to get used to the tight space because it was a three day drive round trip.

Bucky has driven 8 hours when Steve and Lizzie began to drift off.

"You want me to take over, Barnes?" Peggy asks.

He really wasn't all that tired and being in the driver's seat meant he got as much leg room as he likes and he didn't want to give that up yet.

"No, I'm good," he says.

She notices that Lizzie is curled up into a ball on her seat asleep. That can't be particularly comfortable. She could lay down easier in the back.

"Help me lay her down in the back and I'll give you some company," she says.

He pulls over and walks over to the passenger side and scoops Lizzie into his arms. She curls into his chest in her sleep and part of him doesn't want to let her go but he does. He helps position her so she's leaning against Steve who has his head tilted back and is snoring slightly.

Peggy and Bucky get back into the car and head off again. Peggy and Bucky have never talked alone. Technically they aren't alone now but they are the only ones who are conscious. The only thing they knew they had in common was the set of twins in the backseat.

They sit in uncomfortable silence, both not sure what to say. Bucky has been wanting to talk to Peggy about something though and now seems as good of a time as any.

"Carter?" Bucky asks.

"Yes?" She asks uncertainly.

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of her. Before I left for the war, I worried so much about how she would cope if we died and I knew she was strong but I still worried about it destroying her. I want to thank you for taking care of my girl," Bucky says.

Peggy never could accept praise very well. She worked a job that was mostly thankless and her parents growing up never really encouraged her either.

"I didn't do it for you," she says.

"I know, I know, you did it for Steve. Still, I'm grateful," Bucky says.

"I didn't do it for Steve either. It may have started that way because I promised to tell her you two died in person but I didn't stay for him," she says.

"Why did you stay then?" Bucky asks curiously.

Why would she stay with a complete stranger if it wasn't because she felt she owed it to Steve?

"I stayed for me at the beginning. I stayed because she was grieving and I was grieving too. We both loved Steve and we could relate where no one else could," she says.

"You said you stayed in the beginning because of yourself, why'd you stay after?" He asks.

"I stayed for her. She is a very easy person to love, kind of like Steve in that manner. I stayed because I love her, she's like a sister to me and I wanted to take care of her," she says.

He thinks about what all she said for a moment and realizes that she's the only person who could answer his next question.

"Steve and Lizzie are always downplay things so I need you to be straight with me. How bad was it?" He asks.

Part of him doesn't want to know how destroyed she was but he needed to know what she went through.

"There were days where I couldn't get her out of bed whatever I did. On those days, I would just lay with her in bed so she wasn't alone. Other days, it was the opposite and I couldn't get her to sleep. She was sometimes working double shifts at the hospital five days a week. She passed out at the hospital one day because she hadn't slept in three days. I always worried about her when I was away on missions but eventually Stan started to come around so at least I knew someone would make sure she was somewhat taking care of herself," she says.

He's heard that name before but he can't place it straight away.

"Stan?" Bucky asks.

"Yes, apparently he knew you from bootcamp and he came around to check on her once he heard of your death," Peggy says.

He finally remembers a Stan from bootcamp. He was in officer training with him and they were friends. He never saw him after that last day at the bus station. He think his last name was Jackson.

Stan Jackson.

Jackson.

Lizzie's last name after she married was Jackson because she married a Stanley Jackson.

He knew Lizzie's husband and apparently they were friends.

He really didn't want to ask the next question but he needed to know.

"Did they get together?" Bucky asks shakily.

Peggy looks at him to gauge his expression. He was driving a vehicle and she didn't want him to lose control. He didn't look too unstable so she decided to answer him.

"No, he was very much in love with her though. Like I said earlier, Lizzie is easy to love. She could never let you go though. I'm sorry to say I did encourage her to pursue it because I wanted her to find happiness and you by all accounts were dead. He got a job opportunity in Chicago and he told Lizzie he would stay if she wanted him. He knew she still loved you, that she would always love you but he was willing to accept whatever part of her heart was left. As it turns out, there was nothing left of her heart to give since it belonged to you. She turned him down because she could never love anyone but you," Peggy says.

Bucky feels a bit better knowing that she didn't reciprocate his feelings but he still was upset that another man took care of her while he couldn't. He was supposed to take care of her, not Stan Jackson.

"She married him," Bucky says.

"What?" Peggy asks sharply.

"In our original timeline, she marries him. He must have got her to change her mind," Bucky says.

They both sit in silence and think about what could have been in another life.

"I'm glad you're here, Barnes. Ever since I met her, she's always been broken. I see her now and it's incredible. She has always been phenomenal but she is at her brightest when she's with you and Steve. Her laughs are brighter and her smiles are more genuine so thank you for coming back," Peggy says.

Bucky looks in the rear view mirror and sees that Steve has put his arm around Lizzie and her head is resting in the crook of his neck.

Peggy sees his gaze and looks in the backseat and gives a small smile.

"Lizzie always talked about their connection but it's different when you see it in person," Peggy admits.

"Did either of them ever tell you how I met them?" Bucky asks her.

"No, I don't think so. Lizzie didn't exactly like talking about you," Peggy admits.

"When Lizzie first saw me, she shoved me to the ground because she thought I was bullying Steve," Bucky admits.

"What? I've never seen Lizzie hurt a fly," Peggy says with a laugh.

"She would for Steve. The twins practically raised each other with Sarah working so much. They learned to rely on one another and that made their bond that much closer," he says.

Peggy knows that Barnes understands their bond better than she does and she's a little curious.

"Lizzie says their bond is supernatural. She says that they are more than emotionally connected but physically connected. How is that possible?" She asks.

He remembers back to that day when he was so young and he was holding her while she died.

"When were younger, Lizzie went missing. Steve was freaking out because he knew something was wrong with her, he said he could feel it. When I found her, she was unconscious and bleeding out. She technically died three times before they stabilized her. There is no way Steve could have known that but he knew. I've never doubted the strength of their bond after that. It's incredibly unusual but it's so beautiful too," Bucky says.

The world should count itself blessed to have the two of them in it. Peggy and Bucky both knew that they were both blessed to have them.

"What a pleasure it is to love the Rogers twins," Peggy says.

Bucky couldn't agree more.