One | Steve Rogers

24

The death of Captain America sparked tears throughout the nation, along with the rest of the world. Earth has lost one of its greatest heroes. The funeral is being planned. It's all being organized by the U.S. government, who more than likely wants to continue the Captain America legacy.

Lauren takes a trip out to the countryside to visit the newly reunited family. The Barton's.

As she pulls up her car to the farm house, Lila and Cooper come running out the front door. Lauren gets out of the car and brings her honorary niece and nephew into her arms. Using his little legs to run as fast as he can, Nathaniel comes running to hug his aunt as well. Lauren scoops up the small child into her arms. As she stands there being hugged by the children, she feels a moment of peace. 

Lauren carries Nate back inside and walks with Lila and Cooper. Clint greets her at the front door and brings his best friend into a hug. They stand in one another's embrace for a while. Clint doesn't dare let go of the woman, for she has lost so much. When Clint's family returned, her family was lost forever.

He gently kisses the top of her head, then brings her into the kitchen where Laura is making them lunch. Laura is quick to hug Lauren, trying her best to comfort the Avenger.

The Barton's have worked together to make a meal for the woman. They all sit down at the dining table and have a nice meal together. Small talk is made, but nobody wants to bring up the elephant in the room.

" Auntie Lo... where's Uncle Steve?" Nate asks.

The entire table goes quiet. Nobody knows what to say. Lauren sits there, using everything she's got to hold back the tears. Clint and Laura look at her sympathetically as Lauren looks down at her lap. She clears her throat then looks up at the boy.

" Uncle Steve is in heaven, sweetie," She says with a saddening smile.

" Will he come visit?" He asks.

" No, baby... heaven is very far away... But he's happy there."

They all finish their meal soon enough. Lauren offers to help with the dishes, but Laura doesn't let her. She and the kids clear the table and wash the dishes. Lauren steps outside for a moment to breath some fresh air. She takes a seat on the porch swing and sighs. She looks out onto the grassy field in front of her, then feels the chains of the swing creak as someone sits down next to her.

" You alright?" Clint asks.

She takes her middle and index finger and taps them with her thumb as she signs 'no'. Clint chuckles as he turns up his hearing aid, understanding what she means.

" You know... I can't read minds like you do. You mind telling me what's on yours?" He asks.

Lauren doesn't tear her eyes away from the grassy field in front of her.

" I feel... numb. Absolute nothingness," She says, " I feel... like there's a part of me that's missing."

Clint wraps an arm around his friend as he looks across the grassy field with her. He doesn't know what to say, so he's stays quiet. He comforts his friend in the way that he can, but it can't bring him back.

As the sky begins to paint itself in streaks of orange and yellow, Lauren leaves the farmhouse. She says goodbye to all the kids, and gets ready to go back home.

She drives all the way to Buffalo. She turns off the car and walks inside the house. She roams through the halls, and looks all around. She looks at all the pictures hung up on the walls taken from all the decades they shared together. She picks up a photo of her and Steve from the 50's when they first got the house. She looks at both of them. She sees how happy they were. Her tears begin to fall on the glass of the frame as she remembers the feeling of being with her husband.

With a sigh, she walks straight out the door and back into the car, still clutching the picture in her hands. She turns on the car and she drives far, far away. All the way to New York City. She drives to Bleecker Street and opens the door of the sanctum she visited during the time heist. She's stopped by a bald man in a cloak, but stops when she speaks only two words.

" Doctor Strange."

Within seconds, the sorcerer supreme appears in front of her.

" Hello, Mage," He says with a grin, but loses it as soon as he sees her demeanor, " Wong... can you give me a minute?"

The man named walked puts up his hands and then disappears into the sanctum.

" My condolences," Stephan says.

Lauren somehow manages to lift up the corner of her mouth up in a half-hearted smile, but soon returns to her frown. She looks up at the doctor while pleading eyes.

" I-I want him back," She whispers.

Stephen looks at the heart broken woman and sighs.

" I'm sorry, Mrs. Rogers, but there's nothing that can be done," He says.

" I-I can do it. I hold the power of the stones. I can already freeze time, I just... I-I don't know how to go back... but you do."

The doctor sighs once more, hoping he can deescalate the situation.

" Yes, you hold the power of the stones, and yes, I used the time stone, but what you seek cannot be done."

" Says who?"

" The universe. Messing with time is... messy. There can be so many ripple effects just from one small mistake?"

" Then what do you call the time heist?"

" A necessity. The stones were all brought back, and all other timelines where stopped before there were created."

" But there will only be a branch if I do something differently, and I won't. Everything will be exactly the same."

 " But even if you do, how can you be so sure you'll only go back in time once? Eventually, you'll still end up here, and you'll want to do it all over again."

For a moment, Lauren absorbs his words. She's taken back. She doesn't know if she would only use her power once. All she knows is what she's lost.

" I-I just want him back," She says as her voice begins to crack, " Do you have that someone? Someone you love?"

Stephan looks down at the floor and sighs.

" Yes," He replies.

" Now imagine, you lose her. Wouldn't you want to do the same thing I do? Go back in time and save her?"

Stephen bites the inside of his cheek, but doesn't respond. He simply gives the woman a look, pleading her not to do what she wants to do. With a sigh, Lauren walks out the door. She gets back into her car and rests her head on the steering wheel. She looks over at the passenger's seat and sees the framed picture of her and Steve. She feels the tears forming, pooling the edge of her eyes, then fall down her cheeks.

She can only think of what she has lost as she tries to build up enough strength to drive out of the city and go back home, for she still has a funeral to attend.