Alternate Ending: Part Three- Epilogue

Song: We've Got Tonight by Bob Seger (Star & Scary's Song)


A while later, Bucky sat in the chair still holding her hand after helping Star into a sitting position before a doctor and nurse came into the room and began to examine her. They asked a lot of question about how she felt and any pain she might be experiencing, to which she told them that there was none. Relief overcame him as she said that.

During the quick explanation of the injuries she'd had, Star began to recall all of the things that Tommy had done. He had been the one to calm her down again as a small panic attack came on as the memories began to wash over her. Thanks to Sam trying to help with his own, he knew what to do. There was no mistaking the terror in her eyes from what she had gone through, and it hurt him inside that he had not been there to stop it.

At her request, he climbed onto the bed to be closer to her. Star had wrapped herself around him, squeezing tightly as if to prevent him from leaving as well as to keep her safe. But he already knew how strong she was and what she had already been through, so he had no doubt that she would recover, especially with him there beside her to help this time.

After the doctor left, trying to make her feel a bit better, he teased her, "When you told me to come home, I guess I needed to make it clear that I expected you to be there for me."

"I'll remember that next time, Scary," she softly said while smiling up at him, intertwining her fingers with his silver ones. How delicate they looked, easily touching him without fear.

After a few moments, she asked him, "Does my hand look different to you?"

Seeing the more toned muscle structure and smoother skin, he knew what she was asking.

"You are going to have to talk with the scientist and doctor about the procedure Shield used to save you," he told her. "They'll explain the details."

"Procedure?"

"It's not something that is normally used," he told her. "But trust me when I say that I think you'll be fine with the results."

Not long after, Star had fallen asleep nestled against him. Even for sleeping for so long, her body was using a lot of its energy to heal with the serum. Instead of moving back to his chair, which would disturb her, Bucky just continued to lay there with his Star resting against him. It was during this time that he sent Steve the long awaited text that she was finally awake.

Bucky knew that Steve had been right.

He didn't want anyone else to be there in case she woke up from a nightmare. He knew that no matter what, there was no way he would ever leave her again.

Sleeping for almost an hour, after waking up and still trying to process what had happened to her, Star finally ask, "How long have I been here?"

"Eleven days," he told her still holding her, running his fingers through her shortened hair. "The doctors kept you in a coma to keep any pain, from the serum or the injuries, from hurting you."

"Tommy has always been good at his job," she sighed.

"Not anymore he won't be," making sure to sound firm with that statement, as Star lifted an eyebrow towards him.

"Did you kill him?" she asked sounding hopeful.

"No."

"Fuck," she stated before giving him a devious smile, "Is it too late for me to put in a request?"

"Just say the word and by tonight…"

"He'll still be asleep in his cell!" Steve's amused voice sounded from the doorway.

Turning her head a bit, they saw the smile that was actually on Steve's face at hearing her request.

"Spoilsport," she mumbled while leaning her head back onto his chest as Steve made his way into the room carrying the lunch that either he or Sam had been bring him from the commissary daily. He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone for as long as it would take to go get the food. "What's the point of having an assassin as a boyfriend if he can't do favors for you?"

"Technically, he doesn't do that anymore," Steve offered coming to stand by her. Steve got a smile on his face, then asked, "Feel like a visitor. She's been very anxious for you to wake up."

Star didn't seem to even guess who was about to come through that door, probably imagining Sherry as she answered, "Sure, why not?"

He then began to untangle himself from beside and underneath Star wanting to be able to see what was about to happen. She looked disappointed at not being able to keep touching him. Steve handed him the bag of food once he was upright.

"Come on in," Steve called out towards the hall once Bucky was back in the chair right next to her.

Seconds later, a small bundle of energy in pink ran into the room, only stopping when she impacted the side of the bed.

"Surprise, Auntie Lu!" Sara grinned up at Star with a wide smile.

"Sara!" she carefully reached over to hug her, looking at Scary and Steve for an answer before David walked in the door.

"LSD, about time you finally woke up. If I didn't know better, I would think that you were ignoring us," he told her as he took her hand into his.

"Never," she said as Steve helped Sara up onto the bed so she could sit with her. "You've been here the whole time?"

"I think so," Sara answered, pulling at her shorter hair. "Poppy and me have been staying at your house. I've been sleeping in your big bed."

"I hope that you don't mind," David inquired, "but when Sara's parents gave the okay for her to stay with me until you woke up, being in a hotel for that long would have been unbearable."

"Not a problem. I'm glad that you were able to stay," she looked at Sara and poked her stomach, getting a giggle.

Star looked over at him.

"Where were you during all of this?" she asked.

"Right here the entire time," he admitted to her. "Steve and Sam bring me actual food and a change of clothes daily."

"That explains the shirt," she reached over and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "I was wondering why you were dressed like orange sherbet. I thought for a moment that my color vision was a bit out of whack."

"Nope," Steve grinned, handing him the bag. "It's just my subtle way of getting revenge."

"We're going to stay just a few more days now that you are awake," David told her. "Do you remember any of us talking while you were sleeping?"

"No, I don't think so. When I woke, I still thought…" she paused for a moment as she looked at Sara, "…it was that same day."

David nodded in understanding, even if Sara didn't.

"Well, so you know, Mom did come up with us."

"She did? Where is she?"

There was no mistaking the look that the three if them gave at that question before David and Steve focused onto him. Star then turned her gaze to him for the answer.

"She decided to go home after that first day," he then sheepishly told her, getting a look of curiosity from her. "I may have insinuated that she was not welcomed here."

"Mom started to go off on one of her usual rants about you and your job. Then she moved on to your past. Bucky didn't care too much for what she said. By the end of his comments, he told her to get the fuck out, and LSD, that's exactly what she did. It was so nice to see someone put her in her place. I wish I had it on video for you," she hadn't seen David smile that wide in a long time.

"Poppy said a bad word!" Sara was pointing at her grandfather.

"I'm old...I'm allowed to," he told her bopping her nose with his fingertip.

"Does that mean that Auntie Lu can't say bad words anymore?" Sara then asked, her innocent eyes looking around the room at everyone.

"Why wouldn't I be able to curse?" Star asked before focusing in on him for the answer.

It seemed that everyone else in the room was also going to let him take this question.

"Um, well, as you know, the serum healed your injuries," he started, taking her hand into his. "But it turns out that there were some side-effects."

Star's face dropped to a blank mask.

"What type of side-effects?"

"Come with me," he told her, helping her up from the bed. Sara took hold of her other hand as he led her over to the small bathroom. Inside was a long mirror which would help answer her question.

Stepping up to the mirror, Star's hand dropped from his as she reached up to touch her own face...the one that looked just how she had years ago. Turning around she examined the rest of her body, finding every part different than what she remembered.

"Sara, can you step outside for a minute?" she asked while already giving her a gentle push out the door.

As soon as she closed the door, Star untied the hospital robe and let the fall to the floor.

"Holy fucking shit!" she cursed while examining her naked body in the mirror. Her hands ran over entire body, eventually ending up at her more perky breasts. "I haven't looked like this since..."

"We first met," he finished for her. "But there is something you haven't noticed yet."

Star then let him turn her around so that she could just see her back, and more curses flew from her mouth.

"What...how...who...?" she was running her hands the best she could over the skin of her smoother, flawless back.

"The doctors had to remove the damaged skin that was left. There was nothing left of the scar that Kozlov gave you. The serum then started to heal the area starting anew."

Star then opened her palms and looked down into them. The initials and lines that had once been carved into her skin were non-existent. Her fingers trailed over where the line on her belly used to be. Lifting her foot, he saw the smoother skin there too.

Every single trace of Kozlov had been erased from her body.


"How is she doing?" Steve asked coming into the gym area where Star was running on the treadmill.

"A hell of a lot better then Sam will ever do," he grinned in response.

Fury had ordered a series of test for Star before she would be discharged to go home. The scientist were looking forward to learning of the results of the serum on her body. During the morning, she'd had to endure pokes, prods, blood samples, x-rays, and CAT scans. There were a few other test run on her that he'd stepped outside of the room for.

So far, she was getting a clean bill of health from everyone.

"She's already gone her longest marathon distance is almost half the time, and she doesn't even seem to be tired," Bucky couldn't help but smile knowing how much more resilient she now was. "Her strength is double of what a typical twenty-five year old female should be. Nobody is going to ever hurt her again."

Steve gave a nod, knowing that the statement could be taken two ways: not only was Star stronger, but Bucky (and he) would be there to protect her.

"So, still want to hold off telling Sam?" Steve nodded at Star waving at him from the treadmill.

"Of course."


Bucky sat at in the very uncomfortable chair next to Star's while they waited for the doctor. Before finally letting her be discharged, this was the final meeting required of her. He had offered to sit outside to give her privacy but Star had pointed out that there was nothing a doctor could say that he didn't need to hear.

After a couple of long minutes, the door finally opened and the doctor arrived...along with Scientist Number Two, as he had dubbed him.

"Is everything alright?" Star's voice was now more worried sounding than it had been upon arriving.

"Yes, it is," the doctor said, taking his seat as Number Two stood next to the desk. "We just wanted to confirm our findings one more time before letting you know of the results of the test we ran."

"Alright," Star said hesitantly. "Which test? There were so many."

"Your gynecological exam," he said looking pleased for some reason. That was one of the test he had not been in the room with her for.

"I still don't understand why that one was necessary," she pointed out. "I haven't needed one for thirty years."

"Well, you will from this point forward," the doctor smiled again.

"Why?" she asked.

Number Two then spoke up, "Consider it another side effect of the serum."

"What side effect?" he angrily asked, hoping that they had not somehow injured Star...

The doctor raised his hands placatingly.

"The serum fixed the damage to your body...all damage. External and internal," he firmly stated, waiting for a few dramatic seconds before continuing. "You once again now have fully functioning reproductive organs."

A pin dropping would have sounded like thunder in the quietness of the room.

"You mean, I can get pregnant?"

With a smile, the doctor confirmed, "Yes, you can."

Minutes later, as they two of them were walking down the hall, he deviated them down a corridor towards somewhere they could have a bit of privacy.

Arriving at Steve's office, Bucky shut the door, locked it behind them, and closed the blinds to the hallway.

"Are you alright?" he asked taking her hands into his.

"I never even considered..." she started before looking up at him. "Are you alright with this? We'd have to be more careful in the future if you don't want...kids."

"With you, I'll always be alright," he told her, pressing his lips to her for a kiss. Pulling back he grinned at her, and tilted his head at the item behind them. "Want to make Steve have to get a new desk?"


"That was Natasha," Scary called out to her from the kitchen where he was making them lunch after hanging up the phone. "She on the way over."

"Does this mean that I will finally get to find out where she's been hiding at?" Star joked as she lay on the couch watching Scary fix them sandwiches. He had become very proficient over the past few days with meal times since she had finally been allowed to come home. He had gone into overprotective mode and there was nothing to do about it but enjoy.

"Yes."

She waited for more of an explanation but it seemed that none was forthcoming. David had found the attention given to her very amusing, while Sara kept handing Scary things to crush with his hand…coins had been her favorite since they were easy to get a hold of. Sara had taken home a small bag filled with new shaped items when she and David had left yesterday.

Sara had gone with her to the salon to have Caroline fix the remains of her hair. When she had walked in, all of the women had rushed over to find how what had happened. Fury had given instructions on how much could be told in public, and not a single word of the serum could be uttered. Caroline looked distraught as she listened, then got to work straighten out the edges. It now rested just touching her shoulders, all of it one dark brown length. Scary even seemed to like it as he was able to run his fingers through it. Maybe she would consider growing it out again, but she already liked the easier washing and quicker nighttime ritual of the reduced length.

Not long after they began eating, Nat arrived and Scary opened the door for her while looking extremely eager. Star managed to get through a few minutes of pleasantries out of the way before her curiosity got to be too much.

"So, care to tell me what is going on since this one here," jamming her finger into Scary's arm, "refuses to?"

"Bucky asked for my help with a project. So, for the past two weeks, I've been dealing with bureaucratic red tape…in Moscow."

Hearing that, it was far beyond any of the wild ideas she had come up with.

"Why would you be there?"

"It turns out," Scary started, "that Natasha found all the hand-written journals the O'Connells kept for their high-end clients since Fintan was running the family. She told the analysts going through them to be on the lookout for a particular name."

"Mine?" she asked.

"Not exactly," Nat offered. "Yuri Kozlov."

"And you found it?" she asked.

"Yes. And this is what we found," Nat then pulled the journal from her bag, opening it to a marked page. It took a moment for her to understand what the three names, cities, and dates that were listed next to her own meant.

"Ruby Harris, Cincinnati, 1967. Jackie Clark, Pittsburgh, 1972. Grace Moore, Charlotte, 1975. This is them?" she asked hearing her voice crack. "You found their real names."

"Not only that, but the project that I've been working on is that I finally managed to gain custody of their remains now that we had proof that they were not Russian citizens. Their records showed their bodies were still in the police storage warehouse, where they've been sitting since 1984. It took three days of searching but we finally found them. As of right now, they are at the Triskelion. I had an analyst run searches for missing girls with those names, cities, and dates, she was able to locate their families."

Star knew that the tears were about to fall.

"They can finally be put to rest," Scary told her as she stared at the names again.

Reaching around, she grabbed onto both of their necks pulling them into hugs. She had never actually believed that this would really be happening. After they indulged her for a few moments, she wiped the tears from her eyes, as she kept looking over the names.

"I always wondered where Kozlov had gotten their pet names, and now it makes sense."

"It does?" Nat asked. "The police boxes were marked with the pet names on them but we were planning on running DNA samples from relatives to confirm their identities."

"I'm pretty sure I'm right though. Ruby was Jewel. Jackie was Lady. And Grace was Princess."

"How do you know?" Scary asked.

"Because I remember history," she joked with him, jabbing her elbow into his side. "Ruby is easy. Grace was for Princess Grace of Monaco, one of Kozlov's favorite actresses. Jackie should be for First Lady Jackie Kennedy, wife of J.F.K."

Hearing that, Scary's eyes went wide from recognizing that name.

"What?" Nat asked looking at his expression.

"What do you know of conspiracy theories?" she grinned at her.


After so many years, only three of the six parents of the girls' was still alive, and they were late eighties to nineties. Even though some of the parents had died never knowing what had become of their daughters, at least the girls were no longer just sitting forgotten on a shelf.

During the funerals, there were also siblings and more distant relatives who had attended to learn what had happened to their missing family member had attended. All of the families were open with their little known stories, but they did leave out the actual cause of death, which the S.H.I.E.L.D. medical examiner had been able to confirm as the ax. Star found out that she had also been right about their identities when they got the DNA tests back.

Steve, Sam, and Nat had gone with them to all three funerals, making it a very memorable week long trip. After the first night in a hotel room, Steve had requested that his room not be directly next to hers and Scary's due to their 'loud nocturnal activities'. She'd teased Steve about his voyeurism at catching them together in his bedroom, causing Nat to actually laugh while Sam quickly turned around and walk away from all of them.


"So, are you planning on going back to work soon?" Sam asked her as they slowly jogged their normal route. Scary and Steve had taken off not long ago. She knew exactly what the plan was.

"Actually, I've been considering finally retiring."

"Really?" Sam asked her.

"I've been with the Bureau for over twenty-five years, since right after college."

"Sometimes I forget how old you are," he joked, earning a soft punch in his arm.

"Very funny, Wilson. I'm going to have Nat sneak into you place and dye your hair gray," she threatened.

"Ain't nothing that can spoil these good looks! It would probably make me look distinguished," he grinned.

"Well, something needs to," she teased back, earning her a narrow eyed sneer from him.

"Did your bosses say anything about how you look now?" he asked her.

"Not really," she told him. "Hopefully they think that it was just the world's best face cream and some hair dye."

"You would actually consider retiring? Thanks to the serum, you could keep going for a long time."

"Maybe, but for years my main goal was wanting to take down the O'Connells. It was the one thing I had hoped to accomplish, and as it turns out, with a bit of pain and help, I did."

Sam seemed to consider her words as they quietly ran for a bit, getting closer to the long reflecting pool where she would put Scary's idea into play.

"Have you mentioned this to Bucky?"

"Not yet. With the way he's been hovering over me, I'm not sure how he will take it. Either he'll be happy that I'll no longer be doing anything dangerous or he'll think that I'm just using it as an excuse to hide some pain and/or mental trauma."

"How are you doing with what happened?" he asked her carefully. It was nice to have someone concerned about her.

"Overall, I'm fine," which earned her a 'I doubt that' look from Sam. "I dealt with so much thanks to Kozlov that even with what he did, Tommy's actions were just pain, not even in league with the mental trauma I've put behind me. I still get bad dreams, thanks to both of them, but now Scary is there for me when I wake up from them. Besides, I think that I won out with what the serum has done to me."

That gave Sam something to think about for a while before he continued on by asking...

"So what would you do if you did retire? Sit around knitting all day?"

"You're about to find yourself in that reflecting pool," she pointed at the short side of the shape. "And I have no idea what I would do. I never thought that it would actually happen so I never planned ahead."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Sam told her as they almost reached the turn to run along the long side. "You never know what the future may bring."

Just as they both got into stride, Star got Sam's attention, saying, "Hey, Sam. Watch this."

With that, she then took off at the much faster pace then anyone else, besides Scary and Steve, could do. Seconds after starting at one end with Sam, she was half way to the end thanks to her new increased speed.

"Oh, come on! That's so not fair!" Sam faint screaming voice reached her near the pool's end where Steve and Scary were talking with Nat while waiting for the two of them to appear. They were standing together at the end of the pool in the exact same spot where they had met after so long of being apart. Coming up next to them, she turned around to watch Sam trying his best to put on some more speed to catch up with her.

"That was a lot more satisfying than I had believed it would be," Scary told her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they watched Sam slowly approaching the group.

"Be nice," she told him just as Sam reached them. "At least he still has a chance to beat Natasha in a race."

Pointing at Nat, Sam stated, "She probably would shoot me in the back if I tried."

Nat opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated, and then instead just shook her head in agreement, giving just the slightest smile.

Scary's arms then disappeared from her waist as Steve got his attention and he whispered something into Scary's ear, earning him a determined nod.

When Scary turned back around, the name for the emotion that she would be able to use right then was scared…maybe worried, hopeful, nervous, and excited would also work. As she went to ask him what was wrong, she saw him fiddling with something now in his hand…a small black box. She'd seen similar ones many times before. He took her hand to lead her a few feet from the others.

"Star," Scary's voice pulled her eyes back up to his face. Then he began in Russian, "{For far too long, my life has been nothing but a series of dark tragedies heading towards painful nothingness before fading to cold loneliness. But somehow in the middle of a life of evil deeds, there was a brief moment when I had a guide towards a glimpse of happiness. My Star. I promised thirty years ago to come back to you and there was a lot of suffering along the way, but I finally was able to keep that promise to you. I know that I said it then, and even more recently, but Star…you are mine. And I plan on proving it to you.}"

She could feel her heart starting to pound harder than when she had been running.

"{There is a darkness that still resides in me, and I do not believe that it will ever truly go away. But I know that out of everyone else alive, you are the guiding star who had always been able to shine to see through that darkness and never be afraid of me. I don't know if my darkness will dampen your light, and it may be selfish of me to do this…but I will never let you go. I once said that I only wished that I had been with you so we could grow old together. And now, with help from Steve, we have been given those years back to do exactly that...if you'll still have me.}"

The box in his hand opened and inside was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a classic large round pink diamond flanked by two smaller diamonds on a silver band. As Scary removed it from the box, he carefully took her injured left hand and slipped it on without a word. Speechless, she could only lift her hand to get a better look at the ring. And when she did, Star noticed that the cut of the pink diamond formed a star pattern through the stone. That was when she became aware of him dropping to his knee before her.

"{Lucinda Star Trencher, would you do me the honor of finally becoming my wife?}"

Even knowing that the question was coming, hearing it actually spoken aloud made her eyes water up. Scary was looking up at her with that smile that always made her go weak in the knees and this time was no exception. Bending over, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he latched onto her waist.

"{Yes, Scary. I will.}"


Scary had been driving for a few hours and by now she would probably be bored, but not today since it was her first day as Mrs. Lucinda Barnes. She kept glancing at the wedding band next to her engagement ring. Smooth, shiny platinum to match Scary's arm with a single star shaped cut red diamond embedded into the band. Scary had pointed out that he wanted to make sure that there was no question as to whom she belonged to. She could only smile at his possessive nature coming through, and she didn't mind it at all.

The wedding had actually gone off without a hitch, even with it being on a very tight timeline. Her mother, of course, disapproved of the date both her and Scary had easily agreed on…Halloween. It only seemed fitting that they start a new life on the same day they they had left an old one.

When Scary had asked her what she had always dreamed her wedding to be like, she had admitted that after one failed engagement that she gave up and didn't want what she had wanted then. So since most of her family still lived around Savannah, and he didn't have any, they agreed to a chapel on the beach at sunset. Steve had been the best man with Sherry as the maid of honor. Sara had been the flower girl. Both of them had worn pink dresses...with Sherry's being the most unflattering design she could find. Sherry had loved it, having just as weird of a sense of humor as she did some times.

For her own dress, she had gone with an A-line sleeveless corset top dress. She had authority to give her mother some of the details of what she serum did to her, and not many of her relatives knew about the damage that had been done to her back. They would just assume that she had the best makeup artist ever assisting her on her wedding day.

Scary had to point out very late last night that he couldn't trace the scar lines with his tongue anymore and would have to find somewhere else to occupy his tongue. She had given him a few lewd suggestions...each one bringing a smile to his face as he tried them out.

Continuing to drive them to wherever he had chosen for their honeymoon, every so often to get her attention, Scary would use his fingers to jingle the charms of her bracelet. Steve had told her about him finding it and having it fixed while she was in the hospital. Scary had put it back on for her not long after she had woken up.

Feeling the car slow, Scary turned them off of the road that he'd been on for some time and Star noticed they were heading down a long dirt drive surrounded by trees. Sitting up a bit better, she didn't see any sign of other houses but they had just passed through a small town not long back.

"Where exactly are you taking us?" she asked again, hoping for an answer this time.

"You couldn't wait ten more seconds?" Scary grinned at her.

Up ahead, the trees parted to reveal a small cabin-style house. Her mind was thrown back to long ago when they'd had something so similar. Stopping the car, they got out as he came around and took her hand.

"I had Natasha help me find a small, out of the way place for us to stay at for the next ten days. Only this one has food delivery while not requiring a generator."

She couldn't help but laugh.

Walking up to the cabin, Scary unlocked and swung the door open wide. When she went to step inside, he grabbed a hold of her and swept her up off of her feet.

"It's bad luck for the bride to walk in, and we need all the good luck we can get," he pointed out.

Nestling into his arms, she wrapped her own around his neck while giving him a kiss. With their lips still locked together, Scary's strong arms moved her to body so they were instead chest to chest with her legs wrapped around his waist. Feeling his hardness pressing against her as she began to grind on him, Star barely noticed as they went inside and Scary slammed the door closed behind them with his foot.

The End!