Finding Love in France

Epilogue: June 1945

Steve and Peggy rushed down the hallway of the hospital. They had just gotten back to New York a week before. They had barely moved in to their new home, just two blocks away from Bucky and Mila in Brooklyn. Now, they were running around a hospital, with no idea where they were going. As they turned a corner, they saw Howard pacing.

"How is she?! Where are they?" Peggy asked, as she clutched at Stark's arms. "We got here as fast as we could..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...the screaming stopped a little while ago and a nurse grabbed Barnes, but I have no idea what's going on." Stark reported. "I hate hospitals..."

Just then, a nurse came through the double doors. "Are you all here for Dr. Abrams and Mr. Barnes?" The three bewildered adults nodded. The nurse laughed. "Follow me..."

When they walked into the room, an exhausted Mila was holding the newborn, curled up in Bucky's arms. He looked up at their friends smiling like he never had before.

"Hi guys...come meet our daughter, Sara Winifred Barnes..." he had tears running down his face as he kissed Mila's head.

"Sara?" Steve choked back tears.

"It was my mother's name, too." Mila smiled. "But we kept the traditional spelling, so feel free to name one of yours Sara with an H, my friend." She beckoned the group over.

The nurse took a photograph of them all together. The newly born. The elated parents. The unlikely extended family.

Bucky's injury had kept him from going on any further dangerous missions, keeping him safe through the end of the war. He applied to and was accepted into an accelerated undergraduate program at Columbia University, where he also completed his law degree. While he studied, he also worked for Peggy and Howard, along side Steve, at a new government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. After passing the bar, he worked as part of their legal team, eventually becoming their head council.  He would also take on pro bono cases to keep fighting for the little guys.

Mila continued to work part time with Stark in research and development, while also holding a position in trauma surgery at a prestigious teaching hospital in New York. She and Howard held many patents, earning millions of dollars in revenue...which would come in handy, as she and Bucky ended up having 5 children, who all went on to become high achievers, with many advanced degrees between them. Mila could not have been prouder, but she was most proud of the fact that they were good people, trying to do good in the world.

Steve had finally told Peggy how he felt after Bucky and Mila's wedding. He continued to complete his missions as ordered, but became less reckless, because he had someone to come home to. They were married just after V.E. Day. Settling in Brooklyn, they had 2 kids, a daughter named Sarah (after his mother), and a son named Michael (after her brother). He worked with his wife and best friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. until retirement, with some humanitarian work on the side.

Peggy finally got her wish, when Steve confessed his love for her on the evening of Bucky and Mila's wedding. When they married 5 months later, she took a cue from Mila and kept her name for professional purposes. After struggling to get the program off the ground in the beginning, she was named the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a job she was made for.

As for Howard, he was, well, Howard. He worked hard and played even harder. Years later, he fell so madly in love with a woman named Maria, he married her...and they had a son who was even more brilliant than him.