ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＯＮＥ ＨＵＮＤＲＥＤ ＳＥＶＥＮ

Dorothy Watson was resting against her office desk, arms crossed over her chest as she stared at the stumbling girl in front of her. A smile rested on her lips as she looked down at the girl, at her daughter.

"I can explain," Lottie whispered, staring at her mother with wide eyes. "I'm...not exactly your daughter."

"You might not be the same as when I last saw you," Dorothy pushed herself off the desk, standing directly in front of Lottie. "But you're my girl."

A tear slipped down Charlotte's cheek as she launched herself into her mother's arms. Her head rested on her chest as she silently let the tears fall. All Dorothy did was run her fingers through her daughter's hair, coaxing her to calm down.

Pulling back, Dorothy cupped her daughter's face as she smiled down at her.

"It's hard to explain," Lottie whispered as she smiled up at her mom. "I'm Lottie, but not exactly. You might not believe me."

"Sweetheart, Howard Stark turned you into a super genius and Abraham Erksine turned Steve Rogers into a giant man made of muscle. I believe just about everything now,"

"I'm your daughter, but I'm from the year 2023," the pair each took a seat on top of the desk and Lottie explained. "We...well, we figured out time travel. We came back to get something to help us undo what someone did in the future. They...they killed half the universe, all our friends. We have to undo it."

"Let me guess: the Tesseract?" Lottie raised an eyebrow at her mother who only shrugged. "That cube is...other wordly. Doesn't shock me that you need it."

"It's a lot more complicated than that, but essentially you're right,"

Lottie reached her hand forward, placing it on top of her mother's as she held it tightly. Dorothy looked down at her daughter's hand, her smile widening yet turning sad.

"I really did miss out on so much of your life," Dorothy looked up at her daughter. "Who's the lucky man?"

"It's Steve, actually," Dorothy let out a laugh as she squeezed her daughter's hand.

"Oh, I always knew it would be. You two were attached at the hip the second that you met-"

"Why'd you do it?" Lottie cut her mother off, just staring up at the woman. "All this, helping create SHIELD, why'd you do it?"

"For you," Dottie smiled down at her daughter. "I wrote you that letter and decided that I would get my life together once again. I didn't know if you would ever reply or forgive me, but I had to. I was wrong, for all that I said to you, so I had to. But then I learn that you and Steven died, and I almost fell off the rails again. But one day, Peggy and Howard came to me with their idea, and I realized that I needed to do it. I decided that I would live the rest of my life trying to be half the woman you were, trying to be...half the person your father was. It's what you both deserved."