"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait," Schmidt told the captured Steve, "but I must say you do it better than anyone. But there are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"
"He told me you were insane," Steve said from where he was forced onto his knees.
"Ah. He resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything. So, what made you so special?"
"Nothin’. I’m just a kid from Brooklyn."
From behind the doors, Becky winced as Schmidt landed a heavy blow to Steve's face.
"I can do this all day."
Maggie smiled as she noticed Becky mouthing along with Steve while making a funny expression.
"Oh, of course you can. Of course. But unfortunately I am on a tight schedule."
Becky held up three fingers. Schmidt took out a pistol that glowed ever so slightly. Becky held up two fingers. Schmidt aimed the pistol at Steve. Becky held up one finger.
"So am I!" Steve said.
As the Commandos crashed through the windows with the Shield, Maggie and Becky burst through the doors. Days of grief turned rage turned Maggie back into her thirteen-year-old self, sprinting at Schmidt the way she once did at Hodge.
Of course, today, Maggie knew how to strangle people. With Maggie providing distraction, Becky landed her fair share of blows to the Hydra leader. But quite unlike fifteen years ago, there was no Bucky to pull them away before Schmidt fought back.
The two of them lay on the ground for a second after Schmidt fled. "I feel so much better, you?"
Maggie nodded at the ceiling. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."
"We should go."
"Absolutely."
"Come on." Becky got up and pulled Maggie to her feet. "Get to Howard, he's pulling an arsenal from the Hydra soldiers. You'll get a better gun from him. I'm going after Schmidt."
Maggie hesitated for a fraction of a second before squeezing Becky in a hug. "Come back alive or I won't even attend your funeral."
"Likewise, Mags. Go."
Maggie would like to say she met Howard halfway, but he was the one who bowled her down before a Hydra soldier fried her with a flamethrower.
"Get off me."
"Promise not to run into any weapons? Beck would bury me in her brother's grave if I let you get hurt."
Maggie smiled. "I promise."
Of course, she broke that promise not even five minutes later to pull Howard out of the line of fire. "Not a word! Shut up! Shut! Up!"
Howard only rolled his eyes and grabbed Maggie's arm. "Come on!"
"Where are we going?"
"Control tower! Maybe I can reprogram the ground weapons to blow Schmidt's ride up."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Howard suddenly found himself being the one pulled along.
"LEFT! THE TOWER IS LEFT!"
Howard almost tripped and fell over as Maggie made a sharp turn and went the other way.
I'm going to die, Howard thought, at the hands of my doctor.
Minutes after he and Maggie entered from one door, Peggy and Phillips tumbled from the other.
"Colonel, Agent, I thought you were going after Captain Rogers?"
"He's on the Valkyrie," Peggy said.
Maggie let go of the controls Howard had given her like they were hot. "Beck?"
"I assume she's with him. We didn't see her."
"¡Mierda!"
Doug, Morita and Olivier made it to the tower as well. "Base is dead," Doug informed them. "It's just Schmidt left."
Olivier looked around. "Becky?"
"Avec Steve."
"Merde!"
The tower radio crackled. "Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"
Morita grabbed the mic. "Captain Rogers, what is your--"
No one thought anything of Peggy pushing Morita away. "Steve, is that you? Are you alright?"
"Peggy. Schmidt’s dead."
"What about the plane?"
"That’s a little bit tougher to explain."
"Where's Becky?" Howard asked, sharing the chair with Peggy.
"I'm here, Howard," she said.
"Give me your coordinates," Peggy said, "I’ll find you a safe landing site."
"There’s not going to be a safe landing," Steve said, "but I can try and force it down."
"Howard," Peggy said, glancing at him, "Howard, what do we do?"
"There’s not enough time. This thing’s moving too fast and it’s heading for New York." Steve gave a small pause. "I gotta put her in the water."
Maggie was about to get up and leave them to their goodbyes when she heard it. The soft ticking and scratching. It was rhythmic, calculated. Morse code! Maggie had never learnt.
"Howard!" she hissed, "Howard, listen!"
"Please, don’t do this," Pegggy said. "We have time. We can work it out."
"Right now I’m in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice."
Howard leaned towards Maggie and listened.
"It's Beck, and . . . and co-ordinates." He looked up at Maggie with wide eyes. "Get me a pen and paper!"
Maggie pulled one from his shirt pocket and handed him her bare arm.
"Peggy?" Steve asked.
"I’m here."
"I’m gonna need a rain check on that dance."
"Alright. A week, next Saturday, at the Stork Club."
"You got it."
"Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late. Understood?"
"You know, I still don’t know how to dance."
"I’ll show you how," Peggy almost whispered. "Just be there."
"We’ll have the band play somethin’ slow. I’d hate to step on your--"
The line went dead. "Steve?"
Maggie hissed slightly as Howard scratched a number out too hard.
"Steve?" Peggy's breath hitched. "St--"
"Got them! Someone get me a jet!"
In the Valkyrie, Steve made sure the plane was locked and diving to the ocean below. He looked beside him at Becky.
"Steve, it's okay."
"No, it's not. I shouldn't be taking you down with me. I shouldn't-- you should be with them."
"It's okay, Steve. Maybe I'll see Bucky again."
"Not now, Becky. You shouldn't have to go down with this thing. It's my choice. I shouldn't have made it for you."
Becky smiled and put her hand on his arm. "It's done, Steve. You can't force me to survive the war."
"I can," Steve said, suddenly getting up. He kicked the shield up and grabbed Becky's arm. "And I will."
"Steve, wh--!" She stopped short as Steve pulled her up in front of the window. "It's beautiful."
"Close your eyes and curl up as small as you can."
"Wh--STEVE!"
Becky screamed as Steve jumped through the window shield-first, pulling her behind him. Becky closed her eyes as they headed straight down and the jet continued angled down further ahead. She barely noticed anything other than the heartbeat against her face and the shield that blocked out the light. Steve's words repeated themselves in her ears, thundering like the waves and the wind. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled herself up. Steve relaxed once he realised Becky was completely hidden between him and the shield. He opened his eyes to sky above. The blue was bright and calming. He relaxed everything expect the arm holding Becky in place.
Was this what Bucky had seen before he had hit the snow? Steve knew that if it was so, then Bucky probably hadn't minded. Of course, Steve did not love Becky the way Bucky loved Maggie, but he loved her the way Bucky loved her. He would have died for her even if there were another way.
He took a deep breath. He refused to close his eyes. He wanted to see the sky. It was beautiful. The sound of the kind of waves he often drew grew louder as he got closer.
"I'll say hi to Bucky for you," he told Becky, sure she could not have heard him.
And then the waves claimed them both.
~~||~~
Maggie and Peggy stared out of the window as Howard flew one if Hydra's jets.
"There! There's someone in the water!"
Howard angled the jet down. "Are you sure you're ready?"
Maggie grabbed hold of the ropes tied around Olivier. "You underestimate the number of cell visits I made in Azzano. Jump!"
Howard angled the jet to the side to allow Maggie to stand over the doorway. Peggy grabbed hold of the end of the rope and stood behind Maggie just in case.
When she felt a tug, Maggie began to pull on the rope.
"Peg, we need a hand," she grunted when she noticed Olivier straining to carry Steve.
Peggy helped Olivier get Steve into the jet. Maggie gripped the end of the rope and nodded for Olivier to jump again. Bringing Becky up was far easier, and Maggie found the strength to hold the rope with one hand and pulled Becky in with the other. Once Olivier was in the jet, Howard righted it.
Soaked and drained, Becky stumbled into the cockpit and fell into Howard's lap. She almost passed out then and there. "He saved my life," she mumbled to Howard.
"Mags!" Peggy called, "it's not working!"
Maggie rubbed her arms and got down on the other side of Steve. Maggie tried to resuscitate Steve for at least ten minutes, the whole flight back to the control tower.
"Lo siento, Peggy. I'm so, so sorry."
"Is he. . .?" Howard couldn't finish the question.
"Sí."
February was not yet over and Winnifred had attended both her sons' funerals. Peggy stood between Maggie and Becky as they watched the Howling Commandos lower the coffin into the grave beside Bucky's. Olivier's gaze wandered to Bucky's grave and he absently leaned against Maggie. She glanced at him before adjusting so that she could run her fingers through his hair.
Long after everyone left, long after even Winnifred, George and their two younger daughters had left, they stayed there. Peggy sank to the soft grass and stayed there. Howard and Olivier watched as Becky and Maggie joined her.
"We'll be okay," Peggy said softly.
"Yeah," Maggie agreed, squeezing Peggy's hand. "We'll be okay."
"But when?"
"Soon," Maggie promised, "soon."
~~||~~
Howard had scoured the ocean floor for the shield. He'd only found a glowing blue cube.
With the SSR and SOE disbanded, Peggy, Becky and Maggie found themselves without work.
It had taken a couple of months, but under Peggy's supervision, an intelligence agency funded by Howard was founded -- Shield.
Alice Barnes found herself managing a restaurant. She had no idea how it had happened. She'd started working at the same diner where Maggie and Howard first met. Four months later, Howard helped Alice open her own restaurant in her own name. She made her brother's favourite dishes every Saturday.
Evelyn Barnes joined Shield. With training from Director Carter, Evelyn was quickly the best Shield agent. In later years, Evelyn would grow to manage the Shield Training Programme, sifting field agents from base agents, almost always being right about where each agent belonged.
Becky Barnes had seen her fair share of the fight. All she wanted now was a calm life. She'd seen what the fight had done to Maggie, to Peggy. She would not do that to Howard. She'd moved in with him and quickly become Jarvis' best friend. Recovery from her losses was rather quick when most of her days consisted of learning to bake from Jarvis and surprising Howard with sweet treats and the others consisted of conspiring with Jarvis to regularly prank Howard. Within months, Becky's smile was back to almost always being on her face. Her eyes had regained their sparkle and she was sure Bucky would be happy for her.
And Maggie? Why, she went back to Cambridge in time for the final year of some of her first year students. Olivier went with Maggie and found work teaching his language in the high school near their apartment. Maggie's office at Cambridge bore several photographs she'd managed to get with -- and of -- Bucky. She wouldn't forget him even if she could. Olivier had asked her once about the empty wall in the front of their apartment once. Maggie dug through the boxes and pulled out a sketch Steve had made during their run across Europe. It was beautiful then and even more so now. Bucky had insisted that Maggie sit on his leg. They'd quickly discovered it was because Bucky was easily able to keep tickling her while Steve drew. Doug threatened to bind Bucky's hands behind his back. Olivier sat cross legged in front of them. Some time later, Steve had added a cat to the sketch when he had heard about Bucky's plans for the future. The sketch sat above the fireplace.
All seemed well, despite what the war had stolen from them.
They were all right.