With You - Steve Rogers

Prologue

The sounds of Brooklyn were interrupted by a loud, firm knock that made Elizabeth drop the book she had been reading. It was a familiar knock that she had already heard twice before. This knock had made wives into widows, children into orphans, and parents into people. Elizabeth took a deep breath as the knocking continued. She stood up from her couch and walked towards the door. Her legs felt numb, and her face felt hot. Opening the door, Elizabeth's nightmares were proven to have come true. There, a man stood. To Elizabeth, it was as if the grim reaper had come to visit her, not to take her away but to make her feel like he was. The man who had must have already visited thirty homes, letting them know that person they had sent off to fight would indeed not be coming home.

"Hello, Ma'am, I am here to speak with an Elizabeth Barnes?" he asked hesitantly. He was trying to gauge what her reaction might be.

"T-that's me," she whispered. He nodded and started to recite the same speech he had told hundreds of families in the last couple of years.

"I regret to inform you that Steven Grant Rogers has been killed in action serving his country," he said, handing her a letter. Elizabeth felt her stomach drop. Not again. He promised he would come home he promised. She looked at the man grabbing the letter before nodding.

"Thank you for informing me," was all she could muster before closing the door on the man. She could feel the rise of bile hitting her throat. She ran to the bathroom, abandoning the letter on the floor. She threw the contents of her stomach. Tears flow down her face like raindrops.

Letting out a sob, she was sure her neighbors could hear. She broke down. It had been less than a month since Bucky had died. Three years since her father had been killed in action. How could someone lose so many people in such little time? How could she survive this?

***

Elizabeth had waited as long as she could have the funeral. Broken promises from Howard Stark gave her hope. So, she ignored the press, the government, and the people around her who were all waiting for her to make the arrangements—pushing away their fake sympathies: three months and still nothing but an empty casket.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Peggy dressed in a similar black outfit.

"How are you, Lizzy?" she asked softly. Elizabeth gave her a broken smile.

"Like I just said goodbye to the man I loved," she said. Peggy pulled her into a tight hug, the same one she gave the day they had met.

The day she gave up was the day Peggy Carter had finally visited her. She had remembered the woman that Steve spoke so fondly of. At first, she was jealous that another woman was gaining the attention of her fiancée. But she trusted Steve, and she trusted the word of her brother that they were only friends.

She showed up at her apartment one evening while waiting for Howard to get back to her with the news. She invited her into her apartment, and they spent hours talking about Steve,

It ended with Peggy saying this. "I know you've been holding off on the funeral because of Howard, but as a friend of Howard and a friend of Steve's, I'm telling you that Steve wouldn't want you to wait. You know that as much as I do. He would want you to be able to morn properly, and you can't do that waiting for a call that we both know may never come," she said. At that moment, Elizabeth's hope shattered, and she finally gave in to the fact that she was going to have to bury another empty casket.

Peggy pulled back from the hug. "If you need anything from me, just ask, and I'll try everything in my power to get down." She spoke. Elizabeth nodded.

Elizabeth gathered her courage to ask the request she had wanted to make since her brother died.

"There is something," she started, Peggy looking at her curiously. "I know HYDRA isn't completely gone even with Schmitt dead and the war ending. That groups are still out there, and I want to stop them. I want to wipe them out," she said firmly. Peggy took a step back, shocked at her request.

"No, Elizabeth, absolutely not. I understand you've lost a lot to HYDRA, but going after them isn't going to bring back your brother or Steve. Revenge won't stop your pain," she said firmly.

"It's not about revenge," Peggy giving her a look of disbelief.

"I swear. I've mourned Steve and Bucky for three months, and all it's brought me is more pain. I can't keep living like this. I'm... I'm so alone. Rebecca and Mom are barely holding it together. I can't even mention their names without them completely falling apart. I can't sleep, I can't eat. I need to do something, anything because I can't live in this sadness anymore. So, if I can help stop the group that the two most important men in my life gave their lives for, then it has to be worth it," Elizabeth pleaded.

"You're not even properly trained, Elizabeth. You're a nurse. You have no combat training whatsoever. I can not send you out there," she argued. Trying to think of a way to convince her to let this go.

"Then train me. Send me out when you think I am ready. I'm going to do this, Peg, whether it's with your help or not," Elizabeth said. Peggy stared at her for a moment before letting a sigh of defeat.

"Okay." They started walking back from the cemetery. Elizabeth staring at the gravestone once more, not knowing this would be the last time she ever saw it again.