The Miracle || STEVE ROGERS [3]

Prologue

2014 ― Washington D.C.
"Papa no. . mi dispiace, per favore. . Papa!"

KATHERINE MORETTI AND STEVE ROGERS settled down in Washington D.C.

They got an apartment together. Well, Steve got the apartment and Katherine moved in after she left Malibu when she went to help Tony get over his PTSD about their battle in Malibu from two years ago and also help him defeat a terrorist known as the Mandarin.

Pepper even surprised her because she got pulled into the fight, but she kicked ass at it. Once Tony found himself again, he assured Katherine that he would be okay and encouraged her to go back to her life with Steve. He knew it made her happy, and he never wanted to take away from her happiness, so she did.

She and Steve led a quiet life in D.C.

They both did lowkey missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. when Fury called them. It was safe to say that Katherine was back to being an active Agent, and even though she was a founder, she still left the majority of the decision making to Fury. She trusted him, she's trusted him for decades, and she knows that if a situation is really dire, Fury will consult her, other than that, she knows he can handle things on his own.

For a few months now, which she's kept quiet to Steve, Katherine has had a recurring nightmare. That her father wasn't really dead, and that he keeps coming after her for trying to burn him alive. It woke her up in the middle of the night, but she never told Steve what it was about. She thought he would look at her differently if she revealed that she 'killed' her father, or so she thought.

Tonight, the nightmare was particularly bad.

Steve could feel her tossing around in his arms, which woke him up as he let her go. "No, no, no." She mumbled in her sleep. Steve rubbed his eyes, looking down at her, as she started to whimper it sounded like. "Papa, no. . mi dispiace, per favore. . Papa!" She yelled.

That was another thing that was hard for Steve to know what she was dreaming about. Whenever she had nightmares and talked out loud, it was always in Italian and he didn't know Italian. "Basta! Basta! No!"

"Katherine. . Kath, wake up." Steve said shaking her.

"No!" She screamed, her eyes widening as she 'woke up,' while pinning Steve down to the bed by his neck. Then she blinked a few times and came into focus, realizing that she was holding him down and she immediately pulled her hand back and ran it through her hair. "Oh my god. . I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Steve reached up and laid a hand on her cheek, while shaking his head, before sitting up and giving her a kiss on her forehead. He hated seeing her go through these nightmares because he didn't know how to help her through them. As Katherine sat in his lap, Steve soothingly rubbed her back, before kissing her forehead again.

"It's okay. . Kath, it's okay." Steve whispered to her. She shook her head and quickly got out of his lap, and off their bed, walking to their closet before putting on a pair of leggings and a tank top.

"I'm calling Sam, I need to go on a run." She said, tying her hair up in a bun, before walking in the bathroom. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, and took a deep breath.

"Kath. . come on, let's talk about this. You've been having these nightmares and waking up in attack mode for months. What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said, before putting her toothbrush in her mouth. From their bed, Steve could see her in the bathroom, and he could see how tense her body language was and he didn't believe her. Something was going on, and he wanted to know what. When she was finished brushing her teeth, she walked out of the bathroom, right as her phone vibrating with Sam texting her back that he would go on a run with her.

"Katherine. . why won't you talk to me?" He asked.

"Some things are better left unsaid, babe. You coming with us or not?" She asked. Steve sighed before getting out of bed to get dressed and brush his own teeth. He knew this was her pattern, she did this every time she had a nightmare. Texted Sam to go on a run. With the infinity serum, and with Steve's super soldier serum, the two of them never got tired, they had endless staminia. Sam claimed to hate it, and say it's unfair, but he always ended up running with Katherine anyway.

Sam knew who Steve was, since he and Katherine are friends, and Steve is Captain America, but he has never officially met him. He and Katherine first met when they were both out on a run. She quite literally ran into him, and they've been running buddies ever since.

"You can't keep doing this. Shutting me out. Kath, I know it's been a little weird since the hospital. ." Steve trailed off, which made Katherine sigh.

After she almost was burned alive, Steve had asked her to marry him and she didn't give a straight answer. Her mind was foggy, she had just woken up from being unconscious. She loves Steve, more than life itself, and she definitely wants to be his wife. She just doesn't know why she couldn't answer.

"Are we fighting right now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Steve rolled his eyes at her. Of course they've had their differences, what couple doesn't? But their makeups are always better than their fights, but their fights are always respectful, just a lot of yelling.

"No, I'm just trying to figure out why my girlfriend keeps having nightmares." He said. They have been officially dating for nearly two years. Katherine shrugged her shoulders before moving out of the bedroom and to the kitchen, to drink a glass of water.

"I'll go see a shrink."

"Katherine."

"Steven."

He sighed knowing that he wasn't going to win against her, and maybe one day, she will tell him the truth when she's ready. The reason, she didn't want to tell him the truth, is because she didn't want Steve to think less of her, or love her less knowing what she did. The other part was if her father was still out there, or any of his associates. She needed to keep Steve safe and she needed to get rid of the threat on her own.

"Look, I know, living with me hasn't been exactly easy since I got back from the hospital. Steve, you're my entire world. I'm sorry I've been so difficult." She said. She meant what she said, but she also didn't want to fight with him anymore. Steve laid his hand down on her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"I love you. And you're never difficult." He said. Katherine knew he wasn't done digging for answers, but when they were disagreeing, one of them always said 'I love you' as a truce offering meaning they didn't want the disagreement to turn into a fight.

"I love you too, Cap. If you're coming with me, let's go. Sam will be excited to meet you."

―

So, if you didn't already look it up, that Italian line means, "Father no, I'm sorry, please, Father!" What do you guys think? Do we think Stefano Moretti is still alive? Who knows.

Don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo, Micah.