This is a very different story for me. I guess it still falls in the Endgame fix-it category. I'm a little obsessed with fix-its lately. The idea for this story is not mine. Amir-015 had a pretty brilliant idea (several of them honestly), and we are working together to bring a completely different take on what could have potentially happened in some alternate universe after Endgame.

I still don't own Marvel, and I'm pretty sure Amir-015 doesn't either. Otherwise, we wouldn't have spent the better part of the last month brainstorming this story. Romangers, extremely slow burn ahead.

As for a sequel to Little Girl Lost, I have some ideas, and I'm flushing them out. We'll see where they lead.

Nursing Home, Room 616

2023

The old man's breathing was ragged. The familiar death rattle was the loudest sound in the room. It was fitting in a way. He was lying in the same room, maybe even the same bed, where Peggy Carter had taken her last breaths years earlier. Bucky thought there was something poetic about it, even if it was breaking his heart.

Bucky squeezed Steve's hand a little tighter, wishing his best friend would just squeeze back one more time. He didn't. Bucky looked across the bed at Sam, Steve's other brother-in-arms. The man was just as distraught as he was with the situation. While it had only been a matter of weeks since they'd been blipped back into existence in their minds, for Steve, it had been a lifetime.

Bucky could still see the concern on Sam's face. He was already grieving for their dying friend, but there was also a new weight of responsibility on the other man. Being the next Captain America was no easy task, but Bucky knew Sam would figure it out. He'd help him figure it out if he had to when this was over. Oh, this was going to hurt so bad.

Clint stood by the door. Bucky didn't dare make eye contact with the only original Avenger to stand vigil at Steve's bedside. The guy should be with his family, not here, but Bucky knew arguing the point wasn't going to change anything. With Thor off world, completely unaware of what was happening, and Bruce back in a gamma chamber healing his wounded arm, a place he'd likely be for months, it had to be hard for Clint. It was probably why the archer choose to stand guard at the door, even though there was no reason to have a guard posted. Survivors' guilt was eating away at the man, but Bucky knew it was honestly destroying them all. They were alive, but it felt like a hollow victory.

Bucky's eyes wondered across the room to where Wanda sat in one of two empty chairs. Poor kid. She'd lost so much already. He didn't know her as well as he would have liked, but he respected her. He knew she was grieving for Vision and Natasha, her chosen sister as much as Steve was his chosen brother. He figured the girl was even grieving for Tony, a man she'd once hated but grown to respect. Heck, he was grieving for Tony himself. He never got the chance to make any kind of a mends, not that he had any clue where to begin anyway. One thing was certain, Wanda wasn't going to do well with losing Steve so soon after the others. He'd have to help her, too. He owed it to Steve.

The empty chair bothered him most. Natasha should be sitting in it, but she was gone. Who was he kidding? If Natasha was still around, none of them would be sitting vigil at the old man's bedside. Steve would still be with them, young and vibrant as ever, fighting the good fight. Her loss hit them all hard.

It was a waiting game from here. Bucky honestly didn't know how many years Steve had lived. Between a seventy year nap, time travel, and Steve's reluctance to share many details, there wasn't much telling, but here he was, dying of old age right in front of them. Bucky hated death, but there was something poetic about it this time.

Steve had talked to him the night before he went to return the stones. He told Bucky he couldn't stay, not after all they'd just lost. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize Steve was primarily talking about Natasha. He wondered if Steve had even realized how much he loved her before she sacrificed herself on that god-forsaken planet.

It also didn't take much thinking for Bucky to realize Steve had gone back to Peggy, the only other woman he'd ever loved. Even if old man Steve wasn't willing to tell them who had put that wedding band on his finger, Bucky knew. He just hoped his friend had found peace. Now, it was time for Steve Rogers to really rest, even if they weren't ready to let him.

The four people who had been closest to Steve exchanged looks when Steve grunted out a final word. "Nat," he said before taking a final breath and giving up the ghost.

Wanda screamed. Clint rushed to comfort her, tears rolling unbidden down his face as he pulled her into an embrace. "He's gone," she repeated over and over.

"I know. I'm so sorry," Clint said. "I couldn't save him. I couldn't save any of them. If I'd just stopped Tasha, none of this would have happened. The fools never even knew what they meant to each other."

Bucky's heart broke again at Clint's words. Of course, Clint had seen it, too. They'd probably all seen it. It was the most tragic love affair in history, and they'd watched it end before it ever began.

Sam stood and quietly went to get the nurse. His anguish was written all over his face, and Bucky was sure it mirrored his own. Bucky just lowered his head and stared at the body of his friend. "I've got them, Stevie. I won't let you down."

Another Room, Another Bed

2011

Steve woke up in a familiar room listening to a far too familiar ballgame playing on the radio. This certainly wasn't heaven, but it sure wasn't hell either. Purgatory? His ma believed in purgatory, but he had never given it much thought. Whatever this was, it wasn't what he expected, so Steve decided the best course of action was to follow these familiar events by doing exactly what he'd done the first time around. He needed time to figure things out. He needed to process what was happening.

The next few minutes were a blur. Steve did everything on autopilot. Muscle memory was a beautiful thing, and running was so much easier in his younger body. He didn't stop running until he was outside. New York was overcrowded, just like it had been in 2011 when he had experienced this the first time around. It was a beautiful sight. The people on the street were still oblivious to the dangers out there in the cosmos, but if this wasn't some kind of dream or some strange version of purgatory, they would know soon enough.

Steve could feel his heart racing. This couldn't be real. People don't get do overs. His life was over. He had lived it to the fullest extent he could given the circumstances he had been dealt. Why was he here? Why was he in this very young body when he should be with Peggy, Howard, the Howling Commandos, Tony, and Natasha?

As soon as the last two names came into his mind, Steve panicked. How long would this crazy delusion last? Would he have to see them again? How could he face them after what they'd sacrificed? This couldn't be happening. He didn't want to relive any of this. It was too painful.

His thoughts turned quickly to Vormir. Returning the stones to the instant they'd been taken meant so much more than just facing the Red Skull again. Not that it wasn't a shock to see his old enemy so far from home, but it wasn't the worst part of the encounter.

The hardest part was what he had to do to return the stone. "Toss the stone over the edge," the Red Skull said, pointing towards the ledge.

"Will you give her back?" Steve asked, hoping to bargain for his partner's life.

"It was an everlasting exchange. The daughter of Ivan made her choice. You have made yours by returning the soul stone to its home. If you do not wish to return it, you may leave, but the original deal stands."

Steve took a deep breath. Part of him wanted to hold on to the stone. Why give it to his enemy if it wouldn't save Natasha's life? But, he couldn't keep it. It was far too dangerous. If it fell into the wrong hands, there was no telling what might happen. Besides, any changes he made would create an alternate timeline. He had no right to doom another timeline just because an old Nazi refused to release the woman he didn't want to live without, so he walked to the edge.

That's when he saw the sight that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Natasha's broken body lay on the stone altar below him. Her blood colored the grey stone. Her face was ashen, as only a lifeless body could be, and he knew time would never heal this wound. He would grieve her for the rest of his life.

He finally forced himself to open his hand and drop the stone, fully intending to go down and collect Natasha's body for a proper burial once the deed was done, but as soon as the stone hit the altar, Natasha's body disappeared. He screamed out in agony. "No! The least you can do is let me take her home. We need to say goodbye."

The Red Skull merely turned his direction and pointed towards the path Steve had just traversed. "The sacrifice has been accepted. Her body and soul are no more. Go."

He was brought back to reality by the sound of a car door slamming. Fury was behind him, just as he'd been the first time. "At ease, soldier! Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

Steve turned to face his former superior. He was going to have to let this play out, but it was going to be the second hardest thing he had ever done.

The Sanctus Santorum

The Ancient One was in a trance when she first felt the unfamiliar ripple in the space time continuum. It was unlike anything she had ever felt, and she wasn't certain it was a good thing. She didn't know if it was a bad thing or not either, but it had her full attention.

She called for her trusted companion Wong, who came quickly with her afternoon tea. "I need the library for the next several hours," she said. "I'm not to be disturbed. Whatever comes up, handle it personally."

"Of course, Ancient One. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," the Ancient One said, stirring her tea before taking a drink and letting the warm liquid soothe her nerves. "Whatever it is, I fear it will change everything we've come to know as truth."