Epilogue: Hymn for the Weekend

Oh, angel sent from up above,
you know you make my world light up,
when I was down, when I was hurt.
you came to lift me up.

Seven months later

"So, all we have to do is read this prayer?" Sam asked as he and Bucky stood outside the synagogue.

"Yep," Bucky replied. "At least it won't be in Hebrew."

At that point, Wanda and Steve approached holding onto the two small bundles. Steve was bouncing his son, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue overalls while Wanda held their daughter, who was wearing the same white dress Milena wore for her naming ceremony. Milena was running around with Morgan, not caring that she was going to get her dress dirty.

Wanda did have a smile on her face despite the obvious bags under her eyes. "Good morning for it."

"You look as though you could sleep for a few hours," Sam commented as he stroked his goddaughter's cheek.

"It would be helpful if they were both in sync," Steve replied.

"It would help if your son did not have a bottomless stomach," Wanda replied.

"We ready?"

Wanda nodded as she walked into the building. The synagogue was no different from what it was five years previously, only there were more guests. In addition to Pepper, Rhodes, Bruce, Carol, and the Khans, Clint, Laura and the kids, Scott, Hope and Cassie, Peter and his Aunt May, and Strange. Most importantly, they had Sam and Bucky. She still felt the emptiness for having Natasha missing from the service, but she was picturing Natasha sitting with Milena, trying to keep her goddaughter from being the centre of attention. She never thought she would say it, but she missed Tony being there. It did not seem natural to see Pepper and Morgan without him. After spending time with her mother, Pepper had moved to Long Island where it was quieter and had a better school district for Morgan to attend. It was for the best and there wasn't a long drive away from Brooklyn.

They were going to announce the name of their son first. He had been born first so it made sense that he would have his b'rit shalom first. This meant that they had to stand in a separate room as they had to bring people in one by one. Rabbi Moszkowski, then Steve, then Wanda, then Bucky, then Pepper who would be holding onto the baby as they walked into the room. Pepper passed the baby boy to Bucky, who then passed him to Steve again. His son was not too happy about being passed around during his nap and whined.

Everyone stood up and Rabbi Moszekowski began, "Ba-ruch Ha-bah! Blessed is the one who has come for the Covenant on the eighth day! Blessed are You the Lord, our God, Creator of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments. We assemble now to welcome this newborn into Your Covenant and into the community of Israel."

There were loads of prayers that were different from the ones said at Milena's naming ceremony. Granted the customs for a boy were very different to girls and Steve was still wrapping his head around it. In fact, it had to be Bucky and Pepper who announced his name.

They both said in unison, "May this child thrive with his mother and with his father. Let his name be known among us as James Samuel Anthony, son of Steven Grant and Wanda Tzipporah."

Wanda and Pepper shared a small smile. While Wanda and Tony were never really friends, he did save the universe and Steve wanted to honour his friend in the best way he knew how. James and Samuel were no brainers, and in fact they were both looking smug – though Bucky more so since it was his name that came first.

James was welcomed into the Covenant and now it was their younger daughter's turn. Wanda was surprised at how well Milena was behaving with her little sister on her lap. She had adjusted to being a big sister quicker than both Steve and Wanda could imagine. She was being legitimately helpful as she would often hand her parents wipes and burp the babies. As much as she had been disappointed to find out she had a brother, she had doted on James as much as her baby sister. Once Wanda's belly had started growing, Milena seemed to be able to process that there were babies growing inside her mother.

Steve gently handed James to Bucky and took their daughter to the front. Wanda got to announce the name this time, "Now in the presence of loved ones, we give to you the name Natalia Marya. Let it become a name honoured and respected for wisdom and good deeds. Natalia Marya, we commit ourselves to the unfolding of your promise, may you walk the path of goodness, beauty, and truth. Do justly and love mercy and be humble before the mystery of life and the grandeur of the universe into which you have been born. May God's blessing rest on you now and always."

"Okay, so many of you will know the origin of Natalia: she was named for our dear friend Natasha Romanoff. Natasha was more than a friend. She was a sister. She looked out for both of us and supported us from the beginning. She was brave, loving, loyal, and funny. She's everything that I would want my daughters to be," Steve added.

"Marya was my mother. She was loving and protective; she only wanted Pietro and myself to be happy and healthy. She was so smart as well, which I guess she got from my grandmother since she did have some really good advice. She once told me that love is where you find it, and I did find it with someone I did not expect to, and he turned out to be the love of my life."

Wanda and Steve shared a smile with each other, and Steve pressed a kiss to her lips. After Sam read the prayer, the service concluded, and everyone returned to the house in Brooklyn.

"Natalia is a great name," Clint commented as he and Wanda watched Milena hold onto James like he was the most fragile doll in the world. Wanda was holding Natalia, who was sound asleep. "She'd love it."

"Well, I think she'd haunt me if I didn't," Wanda replied. "She kind of reminds me of Natasha in a way."

"Stubborn?"

"Well, she is my daughter so no surprises there. I don't know what it is, but she has those eyes that look as though they are trying to reassure me that I am okay."

Wanda gave a smile and found Steve in the midst of the crowd of people. Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Almost seems perfect."

Steve pressed a kiss to Natalia's forehead and rubbed Wanda's arm. "You okay?"

"I'm okay. Exhausted but okay." Steve raised his eyebrow and Wanda relented. "I just miss them."

"Me too, but we'll always have them with us and we will think about them every day."

"Mommy," Milena said. "They want to take a picture."

"Okay Milena. Give James to Daddy and I'll get everyone together."

Steve leaned down and gently took James from Milena as everyone started arranging themselves around the sofa. Wanda and Steve sat in the middle of the couch with the twins. Milena sat between them with Sam and Bucky beside them and everyone else surrounding them. Once the large group photograph was taken, Wanda wanted one with just the children. It would be a good reminder of the future they had created.

Cassie and Kamala took one of the twins while Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel, Milena and Morgan found positions on the couch. Peter was somewhat forced to join in on the account that he was under eighteen but he actually did not mind, especially when Morgan asked him to sit on his lap. The photographer asked them to smile brightly. Wanda leaned into Steve as they watched the kids smile and pose for the photograph.

"Did we build this?" Wanda asked.

"It was a long time coming, but we did," Steve replied.

The End

And that is the end. Thank you to everyone who has left a review, followed and favourited. It's been a long road. I had the idea before I had even seen Avengers: Infinity War and this has been my baby for the best part of eighteen months so I really appreciate all the support.

Below I have listed some of the stuff that helped shape this story through the writing process.

Documentaries: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (2006 and 2016), Of Two Minds (2012), Don't Call Me Crazy (2013), Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated (2017), Anne Frank's Holocaust (2015), The Death of Yugoslavia (1995), Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History (2017), Nadiya: Anxiety and Me (2019)

Movies: IT! (2017), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)

Television shows: Sharp Objects (2018), and Sorry for Your Loss (2018)

Video Essays: Lindsay Ellis – 'Loose Canon: 9/11' (2016), 'The Case for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (2017), 'The Complex Feels of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2' (2017), and 'Mel Brooks, The Producers and the Ethics of Satire about N zis' (2017). Dan Olsen – 'A Lukewarm Defence of Fifty Shades' Trilogy.

Interviews: 'Inside Halsey's Troubled Past, Chaotic Present' – Rolling Stone Magazine (2016).

Music influences: 'Gasoline' by Halsey, 'Delicate' by Taylor Swift, 'Alright' by Kendrick Lamar, 'breathin' by Ariana Grande, 'you should see me in a crown' by Billie Eilish, and 'Sober' by Demi Lovato.

Fiction books that were read during the writing process: Sharp Object by Gillian Flynn, What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard, All We Have Left by Wendy Mills, Jakob's Colours by Lindsay Hawdon, and Paper Weight by Meg Haston

Non-fiction books that were read during the writing process: Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher, and Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses by Helen Rappaport

Graphic novels: Vincent by Barbra Stok, and Ms. Marvel (2015) by G. Willow Wilson.

Poetry: Ariel by Sylvia Plath (both the original and the restored editions).