Work at Shield had been trying. She and Howard disagreed on something, which of course just ended up in one big argument. Curse Stark and his darned ego of his.
On top of that, there was her personal life. Her husband, who was often gone, as he traveled for his work, just let her know that he would be stuck in Paris for another 2 weeks, leaving Peggy to try to find a babysitter for their children while she was working.
Her children, Micheal, 7, and Alice, 5, understood why their mom wasn't there at the end of the school day, and that her job was important, but Peggy couldn't help but feel guilty. She knew her kids wouldn't be young forever. She wanted to be able to spend as much time with them as possible, but it seemed impossible with everything going on at this moment.
Stressed out and exhausted from thinking about everything going on in her life, Peggy day down on a bench in a public park, rubbing her temple in deep thought.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, are you alright?" A female voice next to Peggy spoke.
Peggy looked up, and saw a young girl, maybe in her late teens or early 20's, sitting next to her on the bench. She had brown hair swept up in a high ponytail, steel blue eyes, and wore a poodle skirt, an item that seemed to be very popular in this decade.
"Oh! Yes I am, just, stressed about, life things, I guess." Peggy replied.
The girl nodded. "I can understand that. Family stuff?"
"Yes, one of those things, for sure."
The girl nodded. "Yeah, it's been hard around my place. My Pa got sick, recently, got cancer, my Ma is very stressed, trying to take care of him, it's likely he might die."
"Oh my goodness! That's awful, I am so sorry." Peggy said.
The girl simply nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot. Plus, my oldest sister just had a baby, and the other one just got married, so there is a lot of stuff with that, to add on to it all."
Peggy nodded. "Life certainly has a way of shaking things up, doesn't it? It seems like there is no time to just, take a breath."
"For sure. But, we gotta make the best of it, I suppose. It's like what my big brother used to tell me. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Peggy smiles, "I like that. And your brother, what does he do?"
The girls smile dropped. "Um, well, ya see...um...he was sadly killed in the war."
Peggy gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry for your lost. I'm sure that must have been hard for you."
The girl nodded. "It was, on all of us. I was only 10 when he died, but it really hurt. I was really close with him. He....he promised that he would come back to have a tea party with me when the war was over." The girl now had tears welling up in her eyes. Peggy places her hand on the girl's.
"I understand how you are feeling. I...I lost someone I cared about, in the war, as well. He promised to give me a dance. "
Steve was never far from Peggy's thoughts. While she had moved on, and truly did love her husband, she still had a special place for her lost Solider in her head.
"And then, the death of my brother's best friend also affected me. I was pretty close to him, as well." The girl said.
This got Peggy's attention.
Best friend?
As she studied the female's facial features, Peggy realized that this young lady looked mighty familiar.
"Just, our of curiosity, what is your name?" Peggy asked.
"Rebecca. Rebecca Barnes."
Peggy gasped.
"Is...was your brother Sargent James Barnes?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Rebecca, my name is Peggy Carter. I, I knew your brother, and Steve."
Rebecca's eyes widened. "You're Agent Carter? Bucky wrote about you in letters he wrote us! "The beautiful dame that Steve has his eyes on."
Peggy snorted. "Well, I am definitely more that just that."
Rebecca laughed. "Oh don't worry, he always talked about how you could beat him in a push up competition, and how you could get all the howling commandos to stop acting like children just by staring at them."
Peggy chuckled, remembering those times fondly.
"Your brother was an impressive man, Rebecca. Managed to survive experimentation by Hydra. And a skilled shooter. Though, a bit of a flirt as well."
Rebecca nodded and smiled. "That does sound like my brother, though I don't think him flirting with you would have been anything but trying to get Steve jealous. Bucky always had a thing for redheads."
The women talked for another few minutes, talking about Steve and Bucky, before Peggy realized she had to go home.
"Well, it's been great to meet you, Rebecca. Again, terribly sorry for the loss of your brother. He was an honorable man, and died with honor."
Rebecca smiled sadly. "Thanks Agent Carter. I'm just glad he is at peace"
Little did Peggy or Rebecca know, that in fact, as they spoke, Bucky was not at peace. He was alive, being tortured at the hands of Hydra.
And Steve was not dead. Not truly, just asleep, frozen at the bottom of the ocean, not to be awaken for another 65 years.
Peggy would see Steve again, but as an old woman, sick with Alzheimer's disease. She had no memory that that conversation with Rebecca had ever happened.
Rebecca, who gotten married, had 3 children, 10 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren, saw everything that happened during the era of the original Avengers. She saw that the Winter Solider was her big brother. But she didn't care what he had done, she just wanted to see her big brother again.
And she did. After the blip was reversed, Bucky came to see her.
"Bucky? Is that you" The now old woman gasped at the sight of her big brother, still young, but his eyes clearly showing he had seen too much.
"Hi, Peanut." Bucky said as he kneeled down next to Rebecca's bedside, talking her hands in his. She didn't even feel his metal arm.
"You came back, after all this time. You came home." Bucky, who himself was quite emotional seeing his baby sister now an old woman, spoke as he put his arms around her and gave her a hug.
"Course I came back, Becca. Didn't I promise you a tea party?"
So Bucky and Becca finally got their tea party, 80 years later.
And to make you feel extra emotional, fan art
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