you have heart「steve rogers.」

Chapter Twenty-Two

"I'm a family friend. She used to take care of me when I was younger." I lied. The woman nodded her head and wrote me a visitor pass. 

"She's in room 116." She told me as she handed me the visitor pass. 

"Thank you," I said as I took the pass. I began walking down the hallways, looking at the door numbers, desperately looking for my mother's room. After a few minutes, I found her room. Her door was close and as I reached for the knob, my hand started shaking. I was nervous for many reasons. I was nervous about how she would look, how she would react to seeing me, and I was nervous about how I'd react to seeing her. I took a deep breath and opened the door. When I walked into the room, I saw her laying in the bed, staring at me. 

She had tubes in in nose, wrinkles all over her face and body. Her dirty blonde hair is now a light shade of grey. She even looked paler than what I could remember. As she looked at me, I noticed a smile start to slowly form on her face. "D...Danielle?" She struggled to say. I felt my eyes start to tear up.

"You're...alive". She said weakly. I smiled and nodded my head as a tear fell down my cheek. 

"Yes, I'm alive," I said as I sat in a chair beside her bed. I scooted the chair closer to her. She weakly brought her hand to my left cheek. As she touched my face, she gave me a brighter smile. 

"Danielle...my sweet Danielle." She said as a tear fell down her face. I placed my hand over hers as I smiled, and I felt more tears fall down my cheeks. "Where...have you...been?"

"I've been in ice, mother. I've been asleep all this time". I told her as I wiped some tears away.

"I thought...you were dead. I got the...letter from the Colonel...You were killed...in action." She told me. 

"I know and I'm terribly sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, all these years. I'm sorry I left you alone." I apologized. My mother was alone. She was pregnant with me at a young age and her family began to distance themselves away from her. All she had was my father at that point. Then, when I was around, it was just the three of us. But, after my father was killed in war, it was only my mother and I. Even when I was in the army, my mother was never fully alone. She still had me there, sending her letters, telling her I was thinking about her and about my days. But, since I went into the ice, she had no one. 

"You haven't...changed. You're still the same...after all these years."She pointed out. I let out a light chuckle.

"It's due to the ice, mother. I was basically preserved the whole time". I informed her. She weakly smiled. 

"I've missed you...Danielle. I couldn't sleep after hearing about your disappearance." She told me. 

"I know, and I'm sorry. But, I'm here now. I thought..." I swallowed hard. "I thought, you might have died, after I came back. But, since you're alive, I want to spend your remainder of your life with you." I told her. She smiled.

"You should spend it...with someone...you love." She told me. I smiled, as I thought of Steve. 

"I have good news for you". I started. I took a deep breath. "In 1942, I met a man, named Steve Rogers. He was this really skinny man who had poor health. Everyone would pick on him, but I wouldn't. I would defend him. We were picked for a project, and became Captain America and American Dream. He was my partner and friend during the war. But...after time of being with him, he was more than a friend. He became someone important to me. He was the one that could make me smile, at nearly everything he did. He was the one that made my heart flutter. He's the man I fell in love with." I told her. My mother smiled, and rubbed her thumb against my cheek. 

"You've found it. You've finally...found that person." I smiled and nodded my head. 

"I did. He's the only one, who's ever made me feel that way." I told her. 

"Tell me about this Steve," she urged me. 

"He's respectful and he's full of honor. He was like father, in a way. He once defended me, when a soldier was acting rudely toward me. He'd put himself in danger just to help me. He's quite shy with women. He's different, from the people I've met. He had heart...and I think that's what made him very special from others. No matter how hard things got, he never gave up. There was always a way and even if there wasn't, he would figure it out". I told her. Memories of Steve and I came flooding through my head. The good...and the bad. 

"I wish I could...meet him." She said. I smiled sadly at the idea of her never being able to meet him.

"I wish you could too," I looked down at my legs. "I wish I could've told him, how I felt". I said to myself. 

"Why didn't you?" She asked me. The memory of Steve telling me how he loved me came flooding back. Even though it was nearly seventy years ago, it feels like it was only yesterday when he told me. 

"In 1943, we had just save hundreds of men, from a German base. Steve and I were supposed to meet with Howard Stark, an ally of ours, and I saw him kissing a woman. I was jealous and hurt for a long time; however, my feelings for him never changed. I thought he didn't care for me, the way I did for him. But, by the time I realized that he did...it was too late." I told her. I swallowed hard, trying to refrain from crying again. My mom placed her hand on my hand, that rested on the bed. 

"Come here, honey". She said as she gently pulled my hand. I got up and laid in the bed with her. She wrapped her arm around me, and I snuggled into her arms. "You are my sunshine....my only sunshine. You make me happy...when skies are grey." She sung the song, as she held me. I smiled and held her tighter. Her voice was still soothing, even after all these years.