"I couldn't leave my best girl, not when she owes me a dance," Steve said to Peggy. She took his hands in hers, and a beaming smile emerged on her face. It had been so long since Steve saw her beautiful smile that he'd nearly forgotten what it looked like.

Peggy was now an elderly woman and was nearly confined to her bed. Every now and again she was able to find the strength to get up and walk, but she required assistance. She also was stricken with Alzheimer's, and her hospice care nurse warned him that Peggy only had around twenty minutes of clarity before she forgot the conversation and restarted it.

It was difficult to see Peggy in such condition, but at the same time Steve was overjoyed. He found that he still loved Peggy as much as he had then. It did not matter to him that she was old; she was still just as beautiful as she had been when he first fell in love with her. Nothing could ever take away the intense feelings she invoked in Steve's heart.

Steve knew he had to make this moment count, because it would soon be over.

"I think I have enough strength to give you that dance I promised so long ago, but you'll need to help me up and keep me steady. I'm not as strong as I used to be," Peggy replied.

"You'll always be the strongest woman I've ever known," Steve said, and her smile grew all the more.

He took his hands from hers and pulled the blankets away. Steve slowly slid his hands under her aging body, cradled Peggy in his arms and brought her to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Peggy put her arms around his neck to assist Steve, though of course he did not need it. Steve carefully brought her up to a standing position and he gently gripped her waist so she would not fall. Peggy kept her arms around his neck.

The two moved a few paces from the bed, and they slowly rocked back and forth, side to side. Steve took great care to make sure the movements were slow and controlled so Peggy would not become dizzy.

As they danced, Peggy put her head on Steve's chest. Decades had separated Peggy from the sound of his heartbeat. No one's heart had such a calm, soothing beat as Steve's, and she did not realize how much she'd missed it until that moment.

"Steve, I wish you would've been here," Peggy's voice broke. A stray tear rolled down her cheek.

"Me too. I love you, Peggy, and I wish I would have told you that before," Steve leaned his head down and kissed her forehead.

"I never stopped loving you after all these ye-," she whispered.

Those were her last words. As she finished speaking, Peggy's body went limp and she stopped breathing. Steve quickly brought her over to the bed and laid her down. He gave Peggy CPR, but it was no use. She was gone.