The Beginning (Steve x Reader x Bucky)

(24) Beating Death

Decades later...

Steve is lying on a bed. He looks paler, thinner, but alive. He slowly wakes up. He looks around and sees an old glass light on the white ceiling. He sits up and notices the room looks like one from the 1940's. The sun comes through the white curtains, while the Dodgers game plays on an old vacuum tube radio on a wooden dresser.

"Workman up for the Phillies, now. Holding that big club down at the end. He sets, Chipman pitches. Curveball, outside. Ball one." the radio says. Steve puts his feet on the wooden floor.

"Good morning." a SSR agent greets. Steve turns to see a 1940's women standing in a doorway. She folds a copy of the Brooklyn Eagle and looks at her watch.

She smiles, "Or I should say, afternoon." Steve looks confused. "I don't... remember going to sleep." he tells the brunette lady.

Steve rubs his face and looks at the radio. "So the Dodgers are ahead eight to five. And Chipman knows one swing of the bat and the fella's capable of making it a brand new game."

"How long have I been out? Where's YN?" he asks the lady. 

"I'm afraid I couldn't say-" she's cut off by Steve grabbing her arm. "Captain Rogers, please!"

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" he raises his voice. Just then, a man in modern clothing walks into the room. "We know all about you." the lady winces.

Steve runs out of the room, knocking the door off its hinges. He runs out into a busy, modern lobby. SHIELD operatives stare at him.

MP's walk in front of him, "Halt!" Steve runs them over and out of the building. He goes out to see modern cars honking and roaring on the streets. Tall plasma billboards, playing ads. People in weird clothing walk past, cellphones at their ears.

Steve glances around, confused. He then sees the MP's chasing after him. He makes a run for it, into an alleyway. It's a dead end.

"At ease, soldier." a man with an eyepatch says from behind Steve. "Who are you?" Steve asks.

"Colonel Fury, Director of SHIELD. You would have known us as the Strategic Scientific Reserve." Steve narrows his eyes. This is the first reassuring thing he's heard since he woke up.

"Where am I?" the blonde asks. "Round about 34th and 5th." Fury answers. Steve looks confused. Fury nods over his shoulder to the Empire State building. Steve stares in awe.

Fury signals for his MP's to block off the alley. They stand at attention. "Sorry about that little show back there. See, there's no precedent for what you've been through. We couldn't tell how delicate your mental state might be. We thought it's best to break it to you slowly." Fury begins.

"Break what? Where's YN?" the blonde wonders aloud. "You've been asleep, Captain. For almost seventy years. Now, YN must be the girl we found in the plane with you. I'm assuming. You may need to take a seat for that one." Fury states.

"Seventy..." Steve says dumbfounded. "The World of the Future. Is YN okay?"

"Well thanks to you, there is one." Fury says ignoring Steve's last comment.

"What about the war? Did we win?" the blonde asks. "Hell, yes. Unconditional surrender, baby. And taking down Hydra was a big part of that." Fury confirms.

"How am I... not dead? Where's YN?" Cap asks again.

Once again Fury ignores his question about YN, "To be perfectly honest, we're not sure yet. My docs say it's some kind of suspended animation. Dr. Erskine's formula, the extreme cold... I can't break it down for you on a cellular level, but you haven't aged a day since that plane went down."

Steve looks around, overwhelmed, and angry he keeps ignoring his question. The only thing that matters to him at the moment is where is YN.

"You don't mind my asking, what gave us away back there?" Fury breaks Steve out of his thoughts. 

"What? Oh. Bob Chipman was traded for Eddie Stanky during '44 season. He's with the Cubs now." he pauses, troubled. "Or... was."

"I know it's a lot to swallow. But the worlds not as different as it looks. There's still work to be done..." Fury looks to Steve, "Soldier's work."

Steve looks to Fury, meeting his eyes. Fury signals for one of the MP's to come over with a case. Fury opens it, showing Steve's slightly messed up shield. "The world could still use a man like you, Cap."

Steve touches his shield, remembering. "Take your time. God knows if anybody's earned it, you have. All the same..." Fury sticks his hand out for Steve to shake. Which, he does. "There's a place for you on the team."

Steve rubs his head, memories flooding his mind. "You sure you're all right?" Fury asks, genuinely worried.

"Yeah. It's just..." he pauses. "You keep avoiding my question about YN." Steve says.

"Alright. She's currently in surgery. When we found her, she had lost a lot of blood. I don't know if she'll make it... I'm sorry." Fury says.

Steve looks up, tears brimming his eyes. "Where is she? I need to see her!" Fury walks away signaling for Steve to follow.

Soon, they're back in the SHIELD hospital. Fury leads Steve to a hospital room. Inside, YN lays unconscious on a bed. Fury walks off to talk to one of the doctors, Steve walks over to YN and holds her hand.

"Hi, YN. It's me, Steve. Please wake up. I can't live without you. I can't." he pauses letting the tears fall. "Please come back to me. I love you." Suddenly, he feels pressure on his hand. It's YN, she's waking up.

"Well today is your lucky day, Cap. She'll be fine. Her surgery was a success. You being here woke her out of a coma." Fury says, clamping his hand down on Steve's shoulder.

Steve can't help the large smile on his face when he sees YN's eyes open. "I love you too... Wait. Aren't we supposed to be dead. Am I dead? What's going on?" the girl panics.

"YN, it's okay. We some how survived. There's a lot to tell you, but you need to rest." Steve reassures, standing up and kissing her forehead.

"Okay... Are you sure we aren't dead? Why am I in a hospital bed? Oh my god! I am dead!" YN rants to herself. Steve just laughs.

"YN, please rest. I promise we are alive. And I'll explain everything, later." Steve reassures again. YN nods. With that she goes to sleep, Steve never leaving her side