IN THE SILENCE: a Steve Rogers Story

52

I got Caroline ready. She knew that uncle Tony died. We were at peppers house for the funeral.

Steve came into the spare bedroom in a nice tux. Carrie ran over to Steve. He picked her up and held her close.

I was still in pain. So was Steve. But we had our baby girl.

And now it was time to say goodbye to Tony. And then Steve was gonna go put the stones back.

I walked out with Steve and Carrie. We met with Bucky and Sam on the grass. Bucky held my side.

He had met his niece only the day before. Sam too.

As I watched pepper carry Tony's heart, all I could think about was pepper and Morgan. I worried if they would be okay. If they would make it together.

Steve kissed my temple as he watched. Everyone was there. The event was quiet, somber.

Tony was the closest to family that I got. He was a brother to me. We would fight, get mad at each other, but in the end I still loved him.

Caroline rested her head on Steve's shoulder as she watched. Morgan waved at her. She waved back.

I was happy that they had one another. They were not blood related, but related by heart. And to me, that meant more. Tony and I were both only children, so we knew that they had to be best of friends.

Caroline got off of Steve and ran to Morgan before we could catch her. She ran over and held Morgan's hand.

I smiled sadly. Pepper saw it and smiled.

Tony was with us. I was sure of it.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I asked Steve as I stood with him. Caroline was playing with a butterfly in the grass.

"Yeah. It's gonna be fine."

"Okay." I whispered. He kissed me softly.

"Carrie girl."

She ran over and hugged her dad. "See you in ten seconds daddy."

He chuckled. "Yeah baby. See you in a bit. Go pick mommy some flowers that she likes."

"Okay." She said. She ran off.

Steve looked at Bucky. "Hey don't do anything stupid till I get back."

He chuckled. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

Steve smiled and hugged his best friend. He hugged Sam as well before getting onto the platform.

He winked at me, smiling.

"Bye sweetheart." He mouthed as he left.

"Alright and five...four...three...two...one. And-"

Bruce flipped the switch. Steve was back.

I smiled softly. He looked extremely tired. He was in a black shirt and some jeans. His hair was a bit darker, and cut again. It was fluffy at the top, and shaved down a bit on the sides. He looked good.

It reminded me of when we first started doing missions as partners. When we were undercover.

Steve smiled softly and came back down, kissing my head.

"How was your five seconds?"

"Lovely." I said. Bucky chuckled.

"Daddy! I found mommy some flowers!"

Steve picked his daughter up as she ran over. She handed flowers to me before getting down and pulling Bucky and Sam to kneel.

She put flowers behind both of their ears.