**A YEAR AND A HALF LATER**
I was standing out in the field with Sarah and Bucky as he was showing her the goats. Sarah was almost 2 years old, and she was on the move. Walking, talking, starting to run but wouldn't make it very far and was very independent, but when Uncle Bucky was around, she acted like a damsel in distress and refused to do anything. She had him wrapped around her little finger.
Steve had been gone the whole year and a half with the team trying to find Ross, it was becoming impossible. He may not have had many resources but what he did have he seemed to be using them well. I missed Steve, I wanted him home with us, but I also wanted everything with Ross to be over.
"No!" I heard Sarah yell pulling me from my thoughts and I saw Bucky standing there feeding a goat and Sarah was panicking. I didn't know why, I knew she loved goats.
"Mama!" Sarah yelled for me, and I walked over to her and Bucky.
"What is wrong little miss?" I asked placing my hands on my hips and she looked at me.
"GOATS!" She screamed and I nodded.
"I know, can you explain to me why we don't like goats now?" I asked and she reached for the hay in Bucky's hand, and it hit both of us what she wanted. Bucky gave her hay, and she started feeding the one goat.
I just watched her in Bucky's arms and smiled. In the year and a half since Steve was gone and Bucky had been around every day to be there for Sarah. He even admitted to me one night when we were all having dinner that Sarah had been a huge help in his recovery process. He knew he would have to be better to help her and watch her grow so he worked really hard on his recovery.
"You're doing it again..." Bucky said.
"What?" I asked.
"Staring. You always look at me that way when I have Sarah." Bucky said and I smiled.
"Well, she is happy with you." I said and Bucky smiled.
"And I'm happy spending time with her, and you too." Bucky said and I smiled. I then just looked down at the ground.
"She is going to be 2 soon and I don't even know if Steve will be here. He is missing everything. If I had known this mission was going to be like this..." I trailed off.
"No one knew and it's not like he can just call and let people know what's happens. I know T'Challa has been tracking the jet and the tracker in Steve's suit, so we have tabs on him but other than that we just have to wait. He is doing this partly for you." Bucky said causing me to groan.
"Yeah, yeah..." I rolled my eyes. "I mean it was for him too. Ross was chasing him as well. Ross was chasing all of them. I'm just worried I mean when Steve gets back will she even know it's her father?" I asked and Bucky smiled.
"Of course she will, you show her his picture and we tell her stories about him. She will know." Bucky said and I smirked at him and just half nodded.
As Sarah was finishing feeding the goats I heard something uncommon, and I looked up in the sky to the border of the barrier.
"What's that?" I asked as Bucky held Sarah closer to him but moved directly to my side in case of a threat.
"I don't know, let's get back to the palace." Bucky said and I nodded as we walked back to the palace and as we arrived Shuri met us and smiled at us.
"How was your morning with the goats miss Sarah?" Shuri asked and she smiled.
She then made a goat noise making us all laugh.
"Shuri what was wrong with the barrier? What was the noise it was making?" I asked.
"We got a wavelength of something coming through the airspace soon, so we were just getting ready." Shuri said.
"Something passing over our airspace or coming into our airspace?" Bucky asked.
"We are unsure, so we are just waiting. The signal came through but then disappeared." T'Challa walked up to us, and I sighed.
"Is it wrong that I'm hopeful?" I questioned and Bucky placed his free arm around my shoulders.
"Never." He said and I smiled at him and then at Sarah who yawned.
"You ready for a nap little miss?" I asked and she nodded. Bucky handed her to me, and I smiled at everyone.
"We are going to lay down." I said and went to walk away until we heard it again. They jet entering the airspace.
Bucky subtly moved me and Sarah behind him. He wanted us both safe. Even some of the Dora Milaje were around us. They were the all-female warrior security that T'Challa had. Sarah was watching everyone coming around us and she looked at me, I knew she was seeing the worry etched on my face.
"Mama?" She asked and I looked at her giving her a small smile.
"It's okay sweetie. We're safe." I said and kissed her cheek.
"We got Uncle Bucky!" She protested and I laughed as Bucky looked back at her and winked.
"You'll always be my favorite girl, Sarah." He said and she giggled.
We watched the jet land on the platform, and I knew it instantly. It was a quinjet. Who was on it was the main question. I knew my grip on Saah got slightly tighter, but I was nervous.
The back hatch opened, and I watched Nat and Sam walk off and I smiled knowing. I then saw Steve and Tony. Steve instantly started looking for me. Bucky smiled turning to me and held his arms out to take Sarah. I handed her to him and ran to Steve.
He saw me instantly and wrapped his arms around me when I leapt into his arms. We just held on to each other, I didn't want to let him go. I buried my face in his neck as I felt the tears start to fall.
"Look at me Ro, please, I need to see you." Steve said and I pulled my face from his neck and looked at Steve. He removed his arms from around me and cupped my face and he leaned in and passionately kissed me. I moaned at our lips barely touched, it had been too long.
As we were kissing, we realized we weren't alone, "DADDY!"
Steve and I turned to look at Sarah being held by Bucky. Steve just took in the sight of his daughter. The last time he had seen her she was 2 months old.
"Sarah..." Steve breathed out.
"So, you have met my new girlfriend." Bucky said as Steve walked over to them.
"Excuse me?!" Steve snapped.
"Yeah, it seems as though your daughter has a slight obsession for you best friend and has proclaimed a few times she loves Bucky." I said and Steve laughed as he reached for Sarah, and she gladly went to him and hugged him tightly. I then took the chance to hug Nat, Sam and Tony. I walked back over to Steve, and he took his arm at wasn't holding Sarah and wrapped it around my waist. I looked at all of them.
"So, you've been gone long enough. What happened?" I asked.
Steve, Nat, Tony and Sam all looked at each other and sighed.
"Well, we caught him more than once, but he would make us right before we would apprehend him. We finally got him, he went up on trial and is now serving the rest of his days on the raft. For the charges against you and all of us he had no leg to stand on. He is gone. We are safe." Steve said and looked at him and smiled.
"Safe...meaning..."
"We can do anything we want." Steve said and I smiled as he leaned down and kissed me again.
◼ ◼ ◼
That night after Steve put Sarah to bed by himself insisting on doing so, he walked into the bedroom, and I was laying in the bed. I knew that look in his eyes from the doorway, he was wanting me and there was going to be no stopping him but that was okay with me, I didn't want him to stop.
He crawled over me on the bed, and I felt his hardness rub against my weeping core already and I moaned. He leaned down and passionately kissed me. When he pulled away from me, I whimpered.
"The only thing that kept me going some days was the thought of coming home to you and Sarah. You both mean everything to me, I would give up my own life to just have the two of you." Steve said and I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he leaned down and passionately kissed me again as all the clothes we both had on went flying and soon we laid bare with each other. Steve settled himself between my legs and I moaned as he pushed at my entrance.
No words were spoken, didn't need to be spoken as Steve slowly moved into me. I tried to hide my cries in my pillow. He groaned as he bottomed out inside of me and we both smiled hazily at each other.
"I missed you. Not just this but all of you." I whispered.
"I missed all of you too." Steve said as he slowly started thrusting.
As he thrusted in and out of me as a slow pace, I knew this is what we both needed, we needed the connection again. We hadn't had it for a year and a half and there was nothing that was going to break that connection now, nothing could.
Steve wrapped his arms around my back when I arched the sensation, he flipped us, so I was on top, and I moaned at the sudden change of feeling and friction. Steve placed his hands on his hips setting the slightly faster pace he wanted, and I threw my head back with a slight nod knowing what he wanted from me. I kept moving at the pace Steve wanted. I was leaning back on him, arching my back. I felt Steve move a hand down to between us and he started thumbing my clit. I flew forward and placed my hands on his chest to brace myself for the wave of ecstasy that was now going to be waving out of me. As I felt myself tightening all around Steve and he knew it was coming as well.
I started moving harder and faster on Steve. He gripped on hip and continued to play with my clit as I cried out in my releasing clenching all around Steve as he swelled inside of me, throbbing and releasing inside of me hard and long causing me shaking at the sensation. I laid down on top of Steve and passionately kissed him.
"I love you so much." Steve said.
"And I love you. Thank you for coming home to me and Sarah." I said and he smiled.
"No where else I would rather be. This is where I was always meant to be." Steve said and I smiled as I rolled off of him but snuggled into his chest as we both laid on our sides, covered up and I drifted off into the best sleep I had gotten since Steve had been gone.