Loving The Captain

Epilogue part 2

A/N: I don't claim ownership of the image above. Found it on google. Here it is, everyone. The end. Hope you enjoyed the ride, I know I did.

"Joe, you Punk. You cut me off! That's cheating!"

"Buck, it's a racing game. It's not cheating," Joe laughed as he won yet another race.

"You do realize that this game system is old, right? Come over to my place and let me show you how it's really done." Bucky set his controller down and took a drink of his beer.

"Nah, I like my PS2 just fine." Joe set his controller down on the coffee table.

"Daddy! Daddy!" A blonde, three year old girl wearing a blue princess dress rushed into the living room and jumped into Joe's lap.

"What is it, Doll?" He wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"Uhh..." A look of puzzlement crossed the girls features. "I forgot."

Just then a loud crash came from kitchen.

"I better go check on your mom. Here, why not try braiding your Uncle Bucky's hair again?" Joe passed the excited toddler over to her uncle.

"Unky Bunky!" The girl exclaimed, throwing her arms around her uncle's neck. "Can I play with your hair?"

"If you really want to."

"Yay!" the girl squealed.

Glancing back at the two of them, Joe shook his head and laughed.

Going to the kitchen, he pushed the swinging door open. "Doll, you okay?"

"Yep." Came the curt reply. "Just dandy."

Looking around, Joe didn't see Cora. Going over to the other side of the kitchen island, he found Cora trying to pick up a bowl of chips that had fallen. He laughed at his wife's antics. She was bent down and to the side, trying to balance with one hand on the counter while scooping the mess back into the bowl.

Upon hearing him laugh, Cora gave him a look. He stopped laughing immediately. "That's what I thought. How dare you laugh at me when I'm practically a beached whale!"

Joe bent and lifted his wife to her feet. "You are not a beached whale. You are my pregnant wife."

"You're very pregnant wife." Cora kissed him.

"And I couldn't be happier." He pulled her close and place a hand over her belly.

At eight months pregnant, Cora's belly was huge to say the least. Bigger than when she had been pregnant with their daughter, Sarah.

As Joe ran his hand along the curve of her belly, he felt his son kick and smiled. "I can't wait until he gets here."

Cora groaned. "Me too. You have no idea how painful it is having him kick the inside of my ribs."

Joe kissed her. "Let me help you with this," He bent and quickly cleaned the mess of potato chips on the floor.

Just as he stood back up, the door bell rang.

The two of them looked at each other as they heard Sarah's footsteps run across the hallway floor.

"Who is it Unky Bunky?" She squealed loud enough for her parents to hear.

A few moments later, Laura and Clint Barton, followed by their children came into the kitchen.

"I brought potato salad and pasta salad." Laura and Clint set the large bowls on the counter.

Going over to Cora, Laura gave her a hug. "You look like you're about to pop."

"I feel like I'm about to pop."

Just then, Bucky and Sarah came into the kitchen.

"Love the hairdo." Clint snickered as Joe passed him a cold beer.

Bucky ran the fingers of his right hand over the braids and ribbons that decorated his head. "You're just jealous, Hawk."

Cora opened the back door for the kids, and they all immediately ran out back to the swing set that Joe, Bucky and Sam had built for Sarah.

"Why don't you boys go get started on the grill and when the others arrive I'll send them out?" Cora walked over to Joe and put an arm around his waist.

"You sure, Doll?"

"Sure I'm sure. I'm gonna go put my feet up and watch some TV. My feet are killing me."

"I'll rub them for you later," Joe kissed the top of his wife's head.

"Sounds good, Sweetie." Going over to Laura, she said "Care to join me?"

"Love to." The women left and went to the living room.

Following his friends out of the back door, Joe stopped for a moment, watching his daughter play. His heart swelled at the scene before him.

Never had he ever thought he'd be able to do it. To have a family and a home. Even before the war, before the serum, he never thought it would happen.

He owed everything to Cora. If it hadn't been for her unending love and kindness, he never would have made it. How he survived before meeting her was a mystery to him.

Of course things weren't always easy. There was still unrest in the world, as there always would be. Sometimes, in the late hours of the night, nightmares from the war would still plague him. The life he had now, far outweighed the pain, though.

And he knew there would come a time when his children would start to ask questions and when they would need to know the truth. The truth about the long dead Steve Rogers. He only hoped that they didn't hold the truth against him.

"Daddy!"

Joe let out an oomph as Sarah leapt into his arms.

"I love you, Daddy!"

"I love you too, Baby Doll."

The End