It had been nine years since I had seen my family. I had moved to Denver Colorado and become a cop to legally stop crime. I was also a vigilante on the side. It was nice. I often used my powers to keep track of the Avengers and Spider-Man, but I never contacted them.
I headed into the break room of the police station where all of my coworkers happened to be.
"Hey Cap, what about you? Who's the last person you'd want to walk through that door" one of the officers inquired.
"My father" I whispered.
"What did he do" one of the rookies asked. He'd started earlier that month and knew nothing about any of us.
"He and my uncle got into a big fight, which caused my uncle to shoot me" I lied "I was thirteen, so yeah, that's why I haven't spoken to my father in nine years".
"But your uncle was the one that shot you" the rookie started.
"Yeah he did, but after I got shot, neither of them stopped to see if I was alright".
"Wow, have you spoken to any of your family" they asked. This was a typical question that rookies asked me.
"I've spoken to some close family friends that were involved in the fight, but I don't intend on ever speaking with my immediate family again".
"Call them now, I dare you" the officer said like some little kid.
"Why".
"Me and the guys will start digging up dirt on you" he stated. I did not want them to know the truth about my past.
"You know I really hate you guys some days" I muttered walking over to the phone. I used my powers to find James's number.
"Hello, who is this" James picked up "hello".
"Hey, James" I said. It was good to hear his voice.
"Will" he sounded shocked.
"Yeah it's me, and don't be so surprised. I was bound to turn up someday" I said casually.
"Where the hell have you been. Ever since the war ended, you've been MIA".
"Relax, I'm in a small town in Colorado".
"Dad's been worried for nine years".
"I know, but I can't come back".
"And why not" he asked.
"Because I have a life here, and in case you hadn't noticed, last time I was around, a war started" I said.
"Then I'm going to meet you in your new home. Tell me the address" James started.
"Track me yourself" I hung up.
"So who was that".
"My brother" I replied sitting down.
"The same one that wanted to kill you".
I nodded. "By the time I left, we were okay with one another".
"Well we should probably get back to work now".
The next day, I woke up to knocking on my door. I rolled out of bed and trudged downstairs to answer the door. The same cop that dared me to call my brother was standing on my doorstep.
"What are you doing here" I demanded.
"Look, Cap, I know that it's your day off, but this guy showed up at the station claiming to be your brother" he shoved a man in front of him "I'll see you tomorrow".
"James" I was in shock. He actually found me.
"Hey, sis, ya miss me" James embraced me in a hug. I froze. I still hadn't gotten used to that kind of contact.
"Why are you here. I thought I told you to stay in New York" I said.
"I tracked you. Will, you should really come home" James stated.
"No, my home is here now" I said.
"Answer me this, why exactly did I go to a police station to find you" he asked.
"Because I'm a cop" I replied.
"How did you manage to become a cop" James asked.
"What do you mean" I asked.
"Seriously, how'd you pass the physical and the background checks".
"I called in a few favors from SHIELD".
He just started at me.
"Look, my health is just fine and you shouldn't be here".
James brushed past me to sit down. "Well, I'm here, so you have to accept that" he said "why did that guy call you Cap".
"Because I'm a police captain, and I was ranked Captain in the army for a few years".
"So you're Captain Rogers, like dad was in World War Two".
I nodded. "I guess I'm preserving the family legacy".
"I guess so. I know that I didn't even try to keep the family legacy. I became a doctor. After taking care of you so often, I got a knack for healing people" he stated.
"A doctor, really, even after what Hydra did to us" I asked, sitting down across from him.
"Hydra only did that to you".
"Oh, I completely forgot that you were living like a prince nine years ago" I retorted "how's dad".
"He's fine, you know he misses you" James said quietly "when I told him why I was leaving, he wanted to come with me".
"You told him about this" I asked, my blood boiling.
"I had to, Will".
"Have he and Tony worked their issues out yet".
"Nope".
"Then it's probably best that he didn't come".
"Is that why you left" James asked.
"You remember how dad and Tony always fought over my safety, right" he nodded "well, I couldn't stand it anymore, and then the war started, and I decided that it was time to leave".
"Are you still mad at me".
"James, you chose Tony's side. I can't ever forget what that did to me, and I won't ever be able to forgive you for that" I answered.
"I don't think that this will help, but I'm sorry" James said.
"How's Peter's team" I asked to change the subject.
"They're fine, I think" he said "Sam and Ava left, and Danny and Luke started their heroes for hire business, so they seem to be doing well".
"Okay, good" I said.
"So you got a boyfriend or a husband because you have too many weapons on display for them to be yours" he looked around the room "and is that dad's shield".
"Nope those are all my weapons, and yes, that's Steve's shield. Tony gave it to me a few years ago. He wanted me to be Captain America".
"He didn't ask me, and I lived with him" James whined.
"Have you met you. You're nothing like Steve, and you haven't been in many fights" I stated "what about you. Do you have a girlfriend or a wife".
"I'm going to ignore that fact that you just insulted me. Anyways I dated Peter's friend, MJ, for a while, and then I dated Ava for a couple months, now I'm married to a mutant named Kitty Pryde. I think you know her" he said.
"Yeah I know her, we were friends for a while".
"You know if you wanted to avoid me tracking you down, then you should have moved to Wakanda" James commented.
"Yeah and face that guy that tried to kill me" I started.
"What do you mean".
"Do you not remember the Black Panther. He's the king of Wakanda. If I showed my face there, I would be locked up".
"That was just a misunderstanding".
"Oh no it wasn't".
The doorbell rang. I got up and opened the door. My hand flew to my mouth. My father stood before me for the first time in nine years.
"Hey Will" he said quietly. What I did next was something that I hadn't done since the battle with Ultron. I hugged my dad and cried.
We stood in there for several minutes. I always thought that the next time I saw my father, I would scream at him and tell him how much he's hurt me, but this just happened.
"Will, are you..." James rounded the corner "dad, what are you doing here".
Steve let me go.
"I tracked you here" he answered. James pulled me aside.
"Will, are you crying" he whispered, giving me a look of concern. I nodded.
"When was the last time you cried".
"The night I left home, so nine years, I guess" I answered wiping my cheeks before turning back to Steve.
"You know, we met ten years ago today" Steve stated.
"I remember, but why are you really here" I asked.
"It's been nine years. We haven't heard anything from you since you left".
"Four people have managed to track me down in the last nine years. Natasha, Clint, Scott, and Bucky. If you were looking for me, then you didn't search hard enough" I stated.
"We all thought that you left the country".
"I did after I joined the army".
"You were in the army" Steve paused.
"I'm carrying on the family legacy. I was ranked Captain".
"What if you had died. We wouldn't have known" he lectured.
"I'm me, so if I had died, I would have come back because I just survive somehow".
"I'm sorry" Steve's tone softened "I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to hurt you".
"I lived with the Avengers for a year, and I got hurt more than I did in the army" I yelled "the last time I got hurt was when I got shot two years ago by taking down a drug lord".
"You track down murderers. You aren't turning into Frank Castle, are you".
"No, I'm a police captain, and I've spent some time with Frank Castle. He's not a bad guy".
"Will, you need to come home" Steve urged.
"This is my home, and I'm not going back to New York" I refused "not after living here for five years".
"Did you ever complete high school" James asked to change the subject
"Yeah, I even went out for track, but stop trying to change the subject" I snapped.
"I wish that I'd been there to see you compete" stated Steve.
"Well you weren't, but Phil Coulson was" I started.
"But Phil Coulson is dead".
"No he's not. He was the principal of Midtown High, and he was the director of SHIELD. I joined his team. Clint knew this" I continued.
"Coulson is a good man. I'm glad that he raised you" Steve looked down at the floor.
"At least I had someone to go to that wasn't involved in the war" I stated "where'd you go after that anyways".
"Wakanda" Steve answered.
"I knew that it was a good idea to not take you there" James muttered.
"You never told me who helped you guys escape".
"Black Panther" James stated.
"But he helped me after the war too. He didn't mention either of you".
"I asked him not to" James said.
"Why didn't you let me see you at the hospital" Steve asked me.
"Because after Tony shot me, neither of you checked to see if I was okay" I yelled "now get out".
"What" they asked.
"Both of you get out. Get out of my house, get off of my property, and stay out of my life" they were stressing me out, and I did not need that.
They both left, and I sank to the floor.
I didn't know how or why this happened to me; it just did, and it made no sense. From my birth in 1943 to now, my life had been anything but normal, but I would move on like I always had.
So that's where my story ends. This was not a fairy tale. For me there would never be a happy ending. Just brief pauses in reality for happiness and then pain.
So this is where I leave you now.
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Okay so I'm not quite done with Will yet. I have another book out called After the War.
It is a collection of short stories from each person over the corse of the nine years after the war. So go check it out.