The Blood Phoenix 6: A Captain America: The Winter Soldier Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Captain America and the Museum

'Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission: taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division. Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country,' a male voice rang out over the intercom of the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian. I was looking at a glass plaque that had Bucky's face on it. Reaching my hand up, I traced his jawline.

'You know him?' Steve whispered.

'I used to. But not like that.'

'That was a difficult winter,' Peggy's voice echoed over the small screen. Steve and I sat in the dimly lit room, watching the old video play over the screen. He was watching the screen with keen interest. 'A blizzard had trapped half of our men behind German lines. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over 1,000 men, including the man who would become my husband, as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life.'

We sat by the older Peggy's bedside in the nursing home.

'You should be proud of yourself,' Steve remarked as he looked down on the ill, ageing Peggy Carter. She was wrinkled, had white hair and looked tired, yet deep down it was still her. The same brave face. The same dark brown pools in her eyes.

'I have lived a life,' she said weakly. 'My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours.' There was a pause and Steve's face was crestfallen. 'What is it?' she asked gently.

'For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what's right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders. Serve. It's just not the same.'

'You're always so dramatic,' she spoke, almost chuckling. Then she paused and looked at Steve. 'Look, you saved the world. We rather mucked it up.'

'You didn't, Margaret,' I spoke softly. 'Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason he stays.'

'Hey,' he said playfully, leaning over to punch me in the arm.

'You're too good for him, baby,' she said, touching my hand in a comforting gesture.

'Thank you, Margaret.'

'Please, call me Peggy.' Then she turned her attention to Steve again. 'The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best. And sometimes the best that we can do... is to start over... cough... cough... cough...' Steve poured her a cup of water. After she had drank some, she looked at Steve with longing in her eyes. 'Steve?'

'Yeah?' he whispered.

'You're... you're alive... you came back!' I bit my lip and looked away. She had dementia, and that wrecked me. It had taken an hour or so to get her to know that Steve had been alive for a couple of years and to get her to acknowledge me, but now she had slipped back into her dementia-like state.

'Yeah, but...' Apparently he was struggling with it, too. And doing his best to play along.

'It's been so long... so long.'

'I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance.' That was the last straw. I got up and left the room abruptly. Going out into the hallway, I sunk down on the floor and began to cry softly. Coming out, he saw me. Taking my hand, he pulled me up and put an arm around me and we began to walk out of the nursing home. 'Are you okay, Adelaide?'

'Yeah,' I said, wiping my tears away. 'I just need a minute. That was intense.'

'I know. I'm sorry if that was too much.'

'Not your fault, Steve. Let's just go.'

'Yeah. Besides, we've got a friend down at the VA to visit, remember?'

'Oh, yes. The attractive military man who can't chase you down in a running race.'

'Shut up,' he said, chuckling. Getting on the motorcycle, I put my arms around him and we sped off towards the heart of Washington D.C.