Chapter Twenty-One

Steve stayed with Sharon until her release two days later. By the time Henry picked the two of them up, he, Sam and Bucky had busily repaired the bulk of the damage done during Rumlow's visit. When Henry pulled the car up in front of the cabin, Bucky was sanding the section of railing he and Sam had just replaced in front of the brand-new window.

"We'll need to wait until spring to paint," Henry said, indicating the porch. "But we've taken care of nearly everything else."

"I can't believe you accomplished so much in only two days," Sharon said, straining against her seatbelt to get a look at the repairs.

"Sam and Bucky do good work," Henry commented. "I'm thinking of having them take care of the new deck your mother wants."

Sharon shook her head at her father, pushing her door open when the car came to a halt - only to have Steve jump out of the backseat and appear next to her.

"You're still under strict orders to rest," he chided, taking the door and lifting her out.

"I don't need any more rest. Thanks to your super blood, I'm practically healed."

"Not quite, Sharon," her father reminded her. "You're recovery's been accelerated but you've still got a ways to go. You still have two sets of stitches that need to come out."

"Your father's right, Sharon," Steve agreed. "You're going to continue resting while we finish the last of the repairs and then it's time we all returned to D.C."

Sharon nodded, having already had this conversation with Steve. The ordeal with Rumlow had made it clear that Hydra and their agents were still a threat and Captain America couldn't afford to be off the grid any longer. Bucky, while not quite his old self, was closer to the Bucky Barnes of old than he was the Winter Soldier and he was ready to start making amends for the seven decades of wrong he'd done under Hydra.

That meant they had to return to civilization, or as close to civilized as D.C. got, anyway.

Sharon had spent a good deal of time in her hospital bed, when Steve thought she was asleep, thinking about how they could handle Hydra without the resources of SHIELD behind them. She'd put some ideas together already, a vision forming in her head that she wasn't quite prepared to share with the boys yet.

She was sure it would work, just as she was sure Sam would go wherever Steve went so that meant he'd also be joining their little band of do-gooders. Sharon had worked him into her plans as well.

"I'll be good," she promised, laying her head against Steve's broad chest.

"How you feeling, Sharon?" Sam asked as Steve carried her into the cabin.

"Good, Sam. Real good," she said over Steve's shoulder. "I could even walk if I wanted but I just like having Steve carry me around."

"I thought you were going to be good," Steve chided at her sarcasm.

"I am being good," she pouted.

"Uh-huh." Steve carried her down the hall, toward the den. "I made up the couch in here for you. I didn't think you'd want to be in your room..."

"Not really," she confirmed. "It's not like I spent much time sleeping in there anyway."

Steve set her as gently as he could on the couch, angling her so the wound on her leg was cushioned by the extra pillows he'd arranged.

"Try to sleep, okay?" he asked. "I don't know how comfortable you'll be in the car and you really do need to rest."

"I will," she said, angling her face up for a kiss, to which he obliged, before joining the other men upstairs.

As much as Sharon protested her need to rest, she slept through the drilling, sawing, hammering and other construction activities and only woke when Steve told her it was time to leave.

"So soon?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"It's been four hours," Steve said, helping her sit up. "I guess this means you got some sleep."

She nodded. "I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Does this mean you'll listen to me and your father when we tell you to rest?"

"Probably not," she admitted, trying to push herself up and batting his hands away when he helped her stand.

"I really can manage on my own, Steve," she said, hiding a wince as she turned and bent forward to fold the blankets on the couch. "I won't get any stronger if you and my dad continue to coddle me."

"I'm sor —"

"What did I say about 'sorry'?" she asked, turning back around.

"Not to be," he said. "And you're right. I'm not sorry that I worry about you; that I want to help you."

Her features softened as she set the folded blanket back down on top of the pillows he'd stacked. "When you put it that way..." She held her arms up so he could scoop her into his.

"I'm not going to let you do this forever, you know," she said as she settled into his strong embrace once more.

He smiled. "I appreciate you letting me do it now."

"Whatever makes you happy."

He pressed a kiss to her lips. "You do."

"I do what?" she asked.

"You make me happy."

Any resentment she felt over being babied melted at the sincerity in his eyes.

"You make me happy, too, Steve," she said, and pressed her lips together to stop them from saying anything he wasn't ready to hear yet. "C'mon, the boys are waiting. It's time we all got back to work."

With a one more kiss, Steve carried Sharon out of the cabin where Henry waited to lock it up behind them.

Placing Sharon in the passenger seat of the SUV, he nodded at Bucky and Sam, crammed into Sharon's little blue car, as he walked around to the driver's side.

As their caravan pulled away from the cabin, Sharon couldn't help the melancholy she suddenly felt for leaving their little nest. It had certainly been one of the more unusual months of her life, helping Bucky, bonding with Sam and falling in love with Steve, but it had been one of the best of her life.

There was no telling what the future held, for any of them, but she had a feeling they were all stronger for the bond they'd forged.

"It's time we all got back to work," she whispered, taking Steve's hand as he pulled onto the main road. "And to whatever the future holds."

Author's Note: That's the end...of this story anyway. I originally wrote this to get Steve and Sharon out of my head and, instead, they're both in there telling me what they'd like to do in the sequel. I know, right? A sequel! Not sure when it will happen or where Steve and Sharon are going but you'll find it here on FFN. In the meantime, Happy Fourth of July!