Come Back With Me

You Missed Family Dinner

Bucky and Steve grew thick as thieves in the following months. They would get together after school and on the weekends and once a week, Bucky would have dinner with the Rogers'. Family dinners were sacred in the Rogers household. Sarah tried to be at dinner as much as she could even though her work schedule wouldn't always allow it. The Rogers siblings still made sure that they are together every night even if Sarah couldn't be there.

For 13 years, the Roger twins had dinner together until Steve decided to break the tradition.

"Hey, mom. I was wondering if it would be alright if I had dinner with Bucky's family tonight?" Steve asks.

Sarah was surprised that Steve would want to miss family dinner but she supposed he was growing up. There was no way the tradition would last forever.

"Of course Honey. Tell the Barnes' I say hello and remember to use your manners," Sarah responded.

He ran up to his mom and quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks Mom!" Steve yelled as he ran through the door.

"Where is Steve going?"

Sarah turned around to see her other child in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Steve is going to James's house for dinner tonight," Sarah informed her.

Her daughter was trying to hide the surprise and hurt from her eyes.

"Oh, okay... do you need any help with dinner?" She asks.

Sarah is about to respond when she hears a knock at the door.

"Can you stir the potatoes while I answer the door sweetie?" Sarah asks.

Lizzie takes the spoon from Sarah and begins stirring.

Sarah opens the door to find Katherine who works at the hospital with her. She is severely out of breath.

"Kathy, what's wrong?" Sarah asks.

"The factory roof caved in. They need all the doctors and nurses available," Kathy explained.

On a normal night, Sarah wouldn't hesitate to go but this was not a normal night. She's never left one of the twins alone at night. Lizzie was already vulnerable and she didn't want her to feel abandoned.

"You need to go mom,"

Sarah turns to see Lizzie in the entrance way.

"Go, I'll be fine. The longer you wait, the more people won't make it. Go be a hero mama," Lizzie says.

Sarah is close to tears. She knows her little girl needs her but she also can't ignore the injured. She leans over and presses a kiss to Lizzie's forehead.

"Do you want me to get Steve to come home?" Sarah asks.

"No, I'll be fine," Lizzie says.

Sarah feels even worse because she knows that's a lie.

"Do you have dinner handled?" Sarah asks as she puts on her coat.

"Yes! Go mom, I'll be okay," Lizzie says.

"Alright, I love you, I love you, I love you," Sarah says as she shuts the door.

Lizzie begins to cry.

Steve comes home a few hours later to a quiet house. Usually his mom and sister would still be up around this time.

He walks down the hall to see his mother's bedroom wide open. He looks in but she's not there. He heads to Lizzie's side of the room next.

He's about to knock when he hears sniffling.

"Lizzie?" Steve asks.

"Go away Steven," she says quietly.

"What's wrong?" He asks as he pushes the curtain aside to enter her room.

"Go away!" She yells.

She has her back turned away from him towards the wall as she lies in bed.

"Liz, what's wrong?" He asks again.

He reaches the bottom of her bed and she turns around and throws a hairbrush at him. She misses his head by inches.

"GET OUT STEVE! WHY DO YOU CARE ANYWAYS!" She screams at him.

He doesn't move. He can only watch as his strong sister falls apart. He walks over and puts his arms around her.

She pushes him away. He grabs his other hand behind her back so she can't escape. She keeps fighting until finally she breaks down and hugs him back.

"What's wrong Lizzie?" Steve whispers in her ear.

"You missed family dinner. You never miss family dinner. Then mom had to go to the hospital and I was left all alone," she confesses.

Steve is punched in the gut with guilty. He feels especially guilty for not thinking about how his absence might affect her. He didn't even tell her that he would be gone.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to leave you" Steve says.

"I'm so happy you have a friend Stevie. I just don't want to lose you. You're my best friend. I already lost Daddy, mom is barely home. What am I going to do if you leave me too?" She asks.

He pulls back to look at her tear stained face. He never wants to be the source of her tears. He was so busy finding a brother in Bucky, he forgot about the loving sibling he already has.

"You could never lose me. You will always be my priority. If you need me, I'll be there. Please never doubt that, please don't doubt me," Steve begs.

She hugs him again and he kisses the top of her head.

"I'm sorry for being so dramatic. I think I have abandonment issues. I'll try to let go," she says.

"Don't you dare. We are the Rogers twins. We will always need each other and that's that. We just need to adapt to growing up," Steve says.

"Can we sleep on the floor in the living room like when we were kids?" Lizzie asks softly.

"Of course," Steve responds with a smile.

When Sarah come back home in the early morning she noticed her kids curled up on the floor in the living room. She smiled at the familiar action.

She knew that as long as they had each other, they'd never be alone again.