Story [MCU] On Down Thru The Years... [Barnes Extended Family] [UDC 8]

Title: On Down Thru The Years...
Author: daenabenjen42
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Characters: that list STARTS with Rebecca Barnes Proctor...
Disclaimer: No... not me. I don't even know if I still have a set of Mickey Ears from the one and only time I've been to Disney Land...

A/N: This was going to be for a different fandom, but I keep seeing bits and pieces of the back story for Sometime This Century / Importance of Family, so... MCU it is for UDC 8! (How'd we get to eight? Wow...)


Week I - Prompts supplied by Mira_Jade - The Home Front


1. Valor [Emma Barnes, Rebecca Barnes Proctor... and Bucky]


It seemed ludicrous, the story about a USO Captain rescuing 400 men from a prison camp. Seemed that way, that was, until a letter arrived from Europe that Emma couldn't wait to open. It was the first news from her brother in two months!

A surprised shriek brought her sister, tired from a shift, running in from the apartment across the hall. "What? What is it?"

Emma looked up at her, then down at the letter. "You're not going to believe this."

"I'm not?" Rebecca wondered tiredly.

"Our brother was one of the 400. Says the guy who rescued them is a punk who needed to stay home!"


2. Honor [Rebecca Barnes Proctor, William Proctor]


Her heart was in her throat as she waited for the ship to dock, after not having seen him in two years. He'd missed so much... so, so much. Soon enough, the docking procedures were complete, and sailors began disembarking.

She saw him on the gangplank, and suddenly her knees locked in place. Was this really happening, after so long? After the heartbreak they'd all had? It didn't feel right, that it should be.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes," William said as he stopped and simply looked at her. With a cry, she hurried into his arms. There would be time enough for everything else...


3. Sacrifice [Winnifred Barnes, Rebecca Barnes Proctor...]


The letters arrived after the news broke, about the plane going down with no trace. She watched her mother open each one and silently read, then set them aside, only to stare out the window for a long, long time.

Slowly, she picked up one of the letters, only for her mother to shake her head. "But..." Another shake, and her mother tapped a finger on the table while she set it back down.

A cry sounded, and Rebecca was drawn away, to see to her young ones.

Later, after her father had read them himself, she would.


4. Defeat [William Proctor, Rebecca...]


He stared down into the crib, at once humbled and awed by the sleeping babes. "Why didn't you bring them?"

Rebecca leaned into him with a smile. "Too many people, and Mother wanted to watch them." She laid a hand down on the pink blanket. "This is Lillian Emma." Then the blue. "And this is Thomas Steven."

"Becca?"

"Hmmm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Not being here, like I should have been."

She sighed. "You were here when it mattered, William. And you are here now. That's the important thing."

He glanced at the window, where two gold stars were hung. She had a point.


5. Victory [Peggy Carter]


She watched in silence for long minutes as Peggy stood on the bridge and poured the vial into the water. They'd each had to say goodbye in their own ways, to the lost, and this, too, was important. The woman had shown up at her door with a story and a vial and a need not to be alone.

It didn't feel like a funeral, this moment of repose. It didn't feel like a victory, either. It did, however, feel like a goodbye. Of days gone by, of people lost.

Eventually, she approached her, took Peggy by the arm, and smiled. "Come on. Mother wanted to see you, and it's nearly dinner time."

Peggy allowed herself to be lead away.

 

Can I ask you to add a note on which drabble is about which character? I'm...very new to MCU.

 

Yes, yes you can Ewok Poet . (Don't worry... you don't have to be familiar with the entire MCU because we're only focusing on a small corner of it here. Will that be the last appearance of Peggy Carter? Probably not...)

And for the sake of continuity: Emma saw Steve's new bigger self at Rebecca's actual wedding, seen here, but didn't connect him with "Captain America", and he didn't write to them between June '43 and November/December '43 when the rescue happened... and Rebecca's twins were born in early March '44 while William was at sea on a Navy ship in the Atlantic.

 

Nice theme and continuation of familial history going on here.

Apart from a plane going down, I'm new to this era of the MCU as well.

 

A new set and I love how you are writing this history

 

Like.

 

Sith-I-5: That plane going down is really all you need here. Thank you.

earlybird-obi-wan: Thank you, earlybird.

Cowgirl Jedi 1701: Thank you!

Mira_Jade: Thank you, Mira.



A/N: Context note after.



Week Two - UDC 8 - Something hard...


6. Name


Victor stared through the window, watching as the nurses doted on the babes. He didn't want to be standing here, considering what to name their son by himself. They'd discussed names for months, but hadn't settled... boy or girl. And now, as one of the nurses noticed him, smiled, and picked up his son from the bassinette, he didn't know what to do. What would she want?

A presence next to him made him startle, and he looked to find Hazel on one side and Rebecca on the other, being strong for him.


7. Title


They'd stood there, admiring the baby boy for long, seemingly interminable, minutes before he spoke, his voice raw with emotion. "David."

"Good, strong name," Rebecca murmured. He could hear the undercurrent of pain in her voice, and wanted to look at her, but didn't dare. If he did, he wouldn't be able to hold it together.

"James." He felt, rather than saw, Hazel jump a little at that, and knew it was the right thing to say. "Middle name. She'd want that."

"She would," Hazel told him.

They stood there for a while longer.


8. Number


It had been a blind date masquerading as a dinner party, Hannah found out as they settled down to eat with four children of varying ages, Victor, both of his sisters-in-law, and Winifred. The oldest, Mark, kept looking at her and frowning, as if he didn't like something but wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he simply passed the salt and pepper to her and looked away.

Eventually, Hazel and Rebecca and Winifred found ways to get the children out of the room, leaving only the two of them staring at each other from across the table. Victor shrugged. "They mean well."

Hannah laughed, reached over, and put her hand on his. "It's the best dinner I've ever had while being glared at by a ten year old."

Victor paused. "I'll have a talk with him."

"No, he needs time. And so do you."


9. Date


It shouldn't have been something to give him pause, but it did as he stared at the calendar, at the year in the corner. Had it really been...? He counted on his fingers, suddenly realizing that it had been eleven years. Today would have been their twelfth wedding anniversary.

Mark later finds him still sitting there, staring at the calendar. "Dad?"

Victor says nothing as he pulls his son in for a hug and loses himself in the scent of his hair. He'd managed to put it out of his mind, until he saw the date...


10. Legacy


Seated on the edge of her hospital bed, Victor watches and listens as Hannah sings to their youngest, now their third, another boy to join their now-combined total of four boys, counting this one, and two girls. They'd decided on a first name, Louis, but not a middle name. Rebecca had suggested Steven, but then that was expected. "So what do you think?"

Hannah smiled up at him. "I think... Emil."

He stared at her. "Really?"

"Really."

Victor leaned over and kissed her, then looked down at the baby to find him sleepily looking back at him. "Hello, Louis Emil Nettleton."

Louis simply yawned at him.



A/N: The context of this: Emma Barnes-Nettleton died in childbirth with her forth in 1954, but the baby survived. Victor went on to marry again in 1958.

 

Mira_Jade: Part of the reason Victor couldn't turn and look at Rebecca up there? Also pregnant. And it made sense for them to have been set up, just like that, by the women. Re: Date... yep! So, so much. Thank you, Mira.


Week Three - UDC 8 - Snapshots of Hazel Barnes-Foster...


11. Helpless [Francesca "Fran" Hazel Talbot... great-grandchild]


Someone new was holding her. Someone who sang like her mother, but didn't exactly smell like her. She opens her eyes wide to look up, and sees the blurry face of a big person, a woman who is not her mother, smiling down at her. The woman continues to sing to her, the words unfamiliar. They don't make any sense, not yet.

She tries to follow, to sing with, but all that comes out to adult ears is soft cooing, and a big yawn that makes the big person laugh and continue to sing to her.


12. Satisfied [Martha Blackwelder-Foster... grand-daughter-in-law]


Standing at graveside, watching as the coffin is lowered into the cold ground of Green-Wood Cemetary, she refuses to move even as the tears betray her and slide down her cheeks. Moving would mean giving in to this new reality, to the fact that this week really happened, that it wasn't some nightmare she was going to wake from.

"Martha."

She jumps, startled at the voice of her grandmother-in-law, and hears the strength and emotion underneath. "I can't." It comes out as a whisper, and she blinks at how faint her own voice is. "Hazel..."

"The children are watching," she reminded her in a low voice. "And we need to be strong, for them."

"For them?"

"Yes. Can you do that?"

Martha glanced back at them, at her three little ones bundled up against the cold, and nodded once.


13. Enough [Richard Foster... husband]


For months, he'd been noticing how tired she got. That was all it had been, at first. Tiredness, then fevers that kept coming back, and the bruising combined with small red spots on her skin that could have been anything. She'd brushed every symptom off as "getting old is hard" and ignored it, and just marched forward, until she couldn't any longer and he'd finally had enough and dragged her to their family doctor.

Now, sitting in an uncomfortable chair and listening to all the options laid out by the Oncologist, he knew this was going to be hard.


14. Non-stop [Jillian Mackenzie... niece-in-law/family adoptee]


The fourteen-year-old had been reading the textbook for an hour when the woman pulled it out of her hands and away. "Hey!"

"Oh," she said, with a smile. "You do speak, then. Good."

Jill glared up at her, at once on guard. "Mom wanted me to read. So did Dad."

Hazel passed the book back to her and pulled a chair closer to sit down. "Reading is a good thing, child. Can you knit?"

"Knit?"

She set two knitting needles down on the table. "Yes. Knit. You let me teach you, and I'll let you get back to your book."


15. Burn [Rebecca Barnes Proctor... sister]


Arriving home, she found Hazel seated at her kitchen table, staring at the two faded but still vibrant gold stars, displayed like always in her kitchen window. Frowning, Rebecca looked from her, to the stars, and back again. "Um..."

"Seems like only yesterday," Hazel said after a long moment. "Doesn't it? That we were seeing him off for England? And Steve... we never did really get to say goodbye. Not in person, anyway."

"Hazel?"

"Becca, sit. Please?"

Rebecca sat. "All right. And yes... it does. And doesn't, at the same time." She studied her, knowing it was more than reminiscing. "But that wasn't what you wanted to discuss. Was it?"

"No."

 

Mira_Jade: The person to get Jill out of her trauma-induced cone of silence with people OTHER than her bother... Hazel, with knitting needles and yarn. Prompts permitting, we'll get back to that Hazel/Rebecca moment in the kitchen. Thank you, Mira.


A/N: As often as they have cameos in the main story (and even, in one case, quell nightmares with purring)... it's time for a pet set.


Week Four - UDC 8 - Pets as Companions


16. Hunger [Alecto the Mystery Cat]


He was content to sit on the couch, to stare at nothing after the day he'd had, being social when it was the last thing he wanted right now. His parents... did the funeral have to be that big? Tony was startled out of his morbid thoughts when his new ball of fluff leaped up onto the couch, climbed onto his chest, and meowed in his face insistently.

He laughed and pet the tabby on the head. Alecto meowed again, and Tony pushed himself off the couch. He could take a hint, even if right then all he wanted to do was nothing.


17. Thirst [Rescue Dog, Somewhere in Europe]


When Steve found him, Bucky was pouring water from a canteen into a dish, then silently watching as the dog drank hungrily, as if it hadn't had anything too drink in far too long. The dog drank all the water, then looked up at Bucky, panting, and leaned into him.

Bucky laughed, and Steve blinked, surprised at how his posture eased while he pet the dog and scratched behind it's ears. "You going to stand there, staring at us, or come over here and pet her?"

"Didn't want to intrude."

Colonel Phillips balked at the squad returning with an extra member that had four legs and a tail.


18. Itch [Gracie, Rebecca's Cat]


It didn't feel real that he was sitting here beside her, petting her two-year old tabby cat while still in a state of shock. She wanted to pinch herself, to make sure she wasn't imagining it, that he was, in fact, sitting here. When Joanne had told her, off-handedly, about an eye-witness account to a rescue in a bank during the battle, she hadn't known what to think. She wasn't sure now, either.

Reaching over, she joined Steve in petting Gracie, smiled at him. "This is Gracie."

Miriam watched them from the kitchen doorway, smiling all the while.


19. Yearn [Jill's Holland Lop Rabbit(Melly)]


Kristy watched as Rob opened the door of the dog crate, then encouraged the sandy-colored animal out. Then she stared. "Rob, that's a rabbit, not a dog."

Rob laughed. "Jill raised him for her 4-H project two years back, and then he became a house pet." He hefted the rabbit up off the floor and cuddled him.

Kristy came closer and stroked him on the head, and he sniffed at her. "Cute."

"Yes, but can you imagine him in our house?"

She studied the rabbit for a minute, nodded. "Sure."

"It helps that he's cute and fluffy, doesn't it?"


20. Impulse [Lucky the Pizza Dog]


She heard the back door open, and saw him run for the door to greet whomever it was out of the corner of her eye as she mixed up a batch of cookies with the potato masher. "Wipe your feet."

"Um... grandma?"

Kathryn looked up from the bowl to smile at Jonas's befuddled expression as he stared down at the dog smelling his jeans. "Yes?"

"Since when have you had a Golden Retriever?"

"He's a guest," Kathryn told him. "And you've met Lucky before."

Jonas frowned, but bent down and let him smell his hand. "Oh! Didn't recognize him!"

 

Mira_Jade: It stood to reason, if they were running all over Europe after HYDRA like they were, they had to have had at least one instance of animal bonding. Too right about animals and grief... Thank you, Mira.


A/N: So that talk Hazel and Rebecca were going to have actually had nothing to do with Steve and Bucky... and the prompts permitted it, this set.


Week Five - UDC 8 - Family Concerns [Hazel and Rebecca]


21. Dinner


Rebecca set about warming up dinner for herself while Hazel continued to look toward the window. "If that's not why you're here..."

"I want your advice."

Rebecca turned the knob on the stove to heat up the oven. "How about dinner? You must be famished."

Hazel sighed. "Not hungry."

"I'm heating up enough for two, just in case."

"And William?"

"Went to a show with Victor and Hannah, and took Jill with him."

Hazel smiled. "That girl... you know, her mother didn't teach her to knit? We spent an hour on that."

"Is that where Melly's blue hat came from? I wondered."


22. Theater


Rebecca closed the oven door and then turned back to look at her sister. "So what did you want to discuss?"

Hazel looked at her, and then unrolled the sleeve of her shirt. "You saw these before, tried to ask me about it. Rob did, too, actually. I don't know what it is about you medical people, but-"

"Stop," Rebecca told her as she pulled up a chair and sat down to get a better look at the bruising. "We medical people ask and probe because it's what we're trained to do and notice. Little things, like this. Well?"


23. Pint


"It's not a little thing," Hazel said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And I..." A tap on her arm, and she looked at her younger sister. "What?"

"Whatever it is, and you don't have to tell me right now, we will deal with it the way we always have. As a family, Hazel." She nodded toward the window and the Gold Stars. "We got Mother and Father through the worst days of their lives, we can do this."

Hazel nodded slowly. "And if..."

"We're not talking about that if, right now. Tomorrow. All right?"

"All right."


24. Shot


William entered the house with a very quiet teen at his side, peered into the kitchen at his wife who was sitting quietly with her sister at the table, and turned to look at Jill. "Go get Melly. And his hat."

Jill frowned at him, but nodded and went. She came back two minutes later with the rabbit in her arms, and the rabbit himself wearing the knitted hat. William directed her into the kitchen, and then watched as she went to the table. Hazel took one look at her and chuckled outright.


25. Alcohol


"Oh come here, you! Both of you!"

Rebecca turned to look at William, standing in the doorway, nodded, and then turned her attention back to Hazel as Jill handed Melly to her, and then pulled up another chair. "So Jill? How was the movie?"

Jill glanced at her, hesitated, then shrugged. "The bartender got the girl. I liked it."

William chuckled. "So did Hannah. And overall, it wasn't bad."

Hazel frowned at him. "Bartender?"

"Cocktail, with Tom Cruise."

"Oh!" She smiled down at the rabbit in her arms. "He does look good in the hat."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Context note for use of the movie Cocktail... that puts this very firmly at the beginning of August 1988.

 

you are weaving a nice history

 

Week Two

You take poignancy to the next level!

Name. You sometimes here odd statements about something being able to be found, or identified, or traced by the void left behind by it not being there, but your example was profound.

He didn't want to be standing here, considering what to name their son by himself. Mm.

They'd discussed names for months, but hadn't settled... What's that, Lassie? I should be reading something into this?

What would she want? Yep, definitely getting an ominous sense.

A presence next to him made him startle, and he looked to find Hazel on one side and Rebecca on the other, being strong for him. ...Oh my etc.


Title

Okay, yeah. I see where you are going with this, and I feel the hurt of the participants.


Number

"It's the best dinner I've ever had while being glared at by a ten year old." The buildup was good, but that was the kicker.


Date At first, I thought he'd been twelve years with Hannah, but then hugs and losing oneself in the scent of someone's hair, put me back on track. Good one.


Legacy I kind of got lost in how the youngest, third boy, added to a total of four boys; but you saved it with Louis yawning up at him.

 

earlybird-obi-wan: Thank you.

Mira_Jade: What this story needed was a Holland Lop in a hat. Totally. Thank you, Mira. (Plus, I think Rebecca already knew what she was going to say, because Richard's not there with them, and she was coming home from a hospital shift. He could have dropped Hazel off, and then gone there to talk to her...)

Sith-I-5: Nope, it was 12 years with Emma, and she and Victor had four children together. For when Number was set, in 1956, Mark was ten, Natalie was seven, Gilbert was four, and David was two or younger. Victor and Hannah went on to have three children together, and Louis was the youngest. Mark is seventeen years older than his youngest half-brother. I agree on the easy to get lost thing, because I have to keep looking at the family tree I made to keep my facts straight. Thank you!!!!!

 

A/N: Originally, I was going with the idea of multiple Romanian Adoptees... until the idea didn't work. So it got scaled back to one adoptee, and, well... this.


Week Six - UDC 8 - Angela Nettleton, Anton Pasternak, and...


26. Dream


Only a few years ago, this would have been impossible. To walk in this city, in this country, her hand in his. The country had been behind the Iron Curtain for half a century, out of reach but never out of mind. But here they were, two opposites who had met by accident, walking hand in hand down a street in her Great-Great Grandmother's native land.

Angela smiled as her fiancé stopped at a food vendor and got them both a treat. "What is that?"

Anton returned her smile as he handed her one. "This? Translates to Chimney Cake."


27. Stars


She found him on the roof of their apartment building, watching the stars with a wistful expression, and joined him with a grin. "Anything interesting up there?"

"La fel ca întotdeauna," fell from his lips without his realizing he'd even said it and her smile widened. "Cerul este plin de diamante."

Angela laughed. "Diamonds?"

Anton blinked, startled out of his reverie. "Angie..."

"It's not inaccurate. And I love it when you speak Romanian."

They shared a kiss with the stars as witness, and he mumbled a question in his native tongue. Her answer was another kiss and a whispered 'yes.'


Translation from Romanian: "Same as always. The sky is full of diamonds."


28. Barricade


Their pizza came, and Anton watched as she first stared at it, with the ham and the pickles, then covered her mouth and ran from the table. Frowning, he looked down at the pizza. It didn't seem odd to him, and usually she loved this.

A few minutes went by, and then she rejoined him with a sheepish expression. "Sorry."

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmmm?" She stared again at the pizza, looked away. "No. Just... nauseated today."

He reached over, took her hand in his, and she looked at him in confusion. "It's okay to be nauseated. We're all sick from time to time."


29. Rain


It was raining, cold and windy outside, when she discovered the reason for her nausea. Angela stared at the test stick in her hand for long minutes, hardly believing it. They'd been so careful, and yet...

"Anghel?"

She blinked at the accented and familiar voice, and turned to look at him, framed there in the doorway. Wordlessly, she held out the stick and he took it with a frown.

Anton studied it for a long, long minute before setting it down on the counter and taking her in his arms. She allowed it, and they shared a kiss right there in the bathroom.


30. Home


Turning onto a street toward home in downtown Bucharest, Angela frowned at the activity in the sky. A helicopter was hovering near an apartment building, and... was that a flying person? Deciding precaution was the better part of valor, she parked the car quickly and turned to her teenage son. "Stay in the car."

Mitica nodded, and then they were both witness to three men landing on the ground one right after the other. He frowned. "Was that Captain America?"

Stunned, Angela watched as they all three ran around a corner. "If it is, he runs like a girl."

Mitica fought to suppress a giggle.

 

nice drabbles.

first!

edit: oops, I mean first for week 6.

 

MartyAvidianus: Thank you.


A/N: Jill, upon her introduction chapters ago during Sometime This Century, fed Steve the wacky cliff notes version of her back story. Steve, because he was utterly distracted by other life things, accepted it at face value and didn't ask further questions. He really, really should have asked...


Week Seven - UDC 8 - It's a boy, a boy, and... a girl? Wait. What?


31. Tangy


They were enjoying a traditional cafeteria breakfast, a norm for them ever since William had retired from active service, when they were interrupted by their granddaughter and her sister-in-law and an interesting story of repeated morning emesis. Rebecca stared at Jill for long moments as the seventeen-year-old, abnormally pale with dark circles under her eyes, studied her hands. "And?"

"And," Kristy said pointedly, with a motion at Jill. "I need a second opinion for what I suspect. I didn't want to stress Rob out, so close to his boards, so..."

Rebecca nodded. "So how long have you been tired and nauseated, Jill?"

Her answer was almost too soft to hear... "Since just after Spring Break."


32. Sweet


After tucking his pregnant younger sister into bed and reading a book with her until she'd fallen asleep, Rob sighed as he entered the living room and joined his wife on the couch. "So..."

"There's time enough," Kristy told him without looking up from her medical journal. "To worry about logistics. And like you said this morning to Jill: this is a good thing. Not perfect, but good."

Rob paused. "It is, isn't it?"

"Um-hmm..."

"Anything interesting in that journal?"

Kristy glanced at him. "You want to hear about hemorraghes with Endosseous Implants?"

"I'd love to."


33. Spicy


The ride home to Brooklyn had been silent as Damian stared out the window of Victor and Hannah's car, and he couldn't help but wonder how he'd let the woman talk him into this quick visit when he had his own car. He'd spoken to Jill last week, she'd been tired from school but fine. Other than that...

"You'll see soon enough," Hannah muttered at him from the front seat.

Damian jumped in his seat, startled. "I didn't say anything."

Victor chuckled. "No, but we've raised seven children together, Mister Pentel."

"And you remind me of Mark," Hannah said after a moment. "Moody."


34. Bitter


Standing at the front door of the home his girlfriend shared with her brother and his wife felt surreal, Damian reflected as Victor knocked. A familiar voice called "just a minute!", and then the door opened to reveal Jill, out of breath and... Damian stared at her. Had she put on weight?

Jill composed herself quickly, and then glared at Victor. "I was going to tell him myself. You didn't need to do this, Victor."

"We were in the neighborhood," Victor said with a smile. "And enough was enough. Can we come in?"

She continued to glare at him as she stepped aside.


35. Bland


At dinner that evening, Rob couldn't help but continue to glance at Damian, who had been very quiet since the revelation that he was going to be father. They hadn't ironed out the details of it all yet, because Jill had been focusing on her school work for college. "So..."

"Will you marry me?" Damian blurted, then blinked at the four of them. "Um..."

Jill smiled and took a bite of her bland soup, swallowed. "We're not talking about that right now, but... when we are? Yes."

"Though you'll probably not be touching my sister again for a long time," Rob muttered into his own soup. Under the table, Jill kicked his foot. "Hey!"

 

Daena, these are fantastic — hilarious and poignant by turns. I love how you take each set per week and weave them together into a mini-viggie.

 

WarmNyota_SweetAyesha : I try. Thank you.


Week Eight - UDC 8 - Mothers and Daughters


36. Rebellion [Miriam and Elizabeth]


"So how was the library?"

Miriam froze in the motion of taking off her jacket, turned to see her mother standing there, an unreadable expression on her face. "What time is it?"

Her mother, Elizabeth, simply unbuckled the watch from around her wrist and handed it to the seventeen year old, who stared at it for long moments. "We have no libraries that are open until midnight, young lady."

"How much trouble am I in?"

Elizabeth smiled. "That depends on how good your date was."

Miriam sighed. "Do we have to do this now, Mother?"

"Is there a better time?"


37. Revolution [Miriam and Maureen]


It was something else, meeting a flesh and blood living legend for the first time while wearing a hospital gown and wanting a brush to deal with her messy hair. Maureen smiled and did her best to be nice to Captain America as her mother introduced him first to herself, and then to the newest baby in the family while Aunt Rebecca stood waiting by the door with a grin that made her seem years younger.

Finally, they left, and her mother sat down on the edge of the bed with the baby boy in her arms. She smiled. "You did well."

"I did?"

Miriam smiled at her. "I'm not sure I could have been that refined the day after giving birth to you, in front of someone so famous."

"I want a brush, Mom."

"Really? Your hair looks fine to me."


38. Freedom [Abiah and Jane]


It was a thick book she found her daughter reading at a very early hour, the day after Adam's funeral. "What is that?"

Jane looked up, a serious expression on her young face. "It's about the law. You had it on your book shelf."

Abiah joined her at the table, frowning. "Jane..."

"I like it. It's straight-forward."

Abiah paused, wondering what had brought this on. Last week, she'd wanted to be a dancer... "Complex, too."

"Makes it more interesting." Jane frowned. "Mom? Why can a fine of twenty-five dollars be levied for flirting?"

"That, there, is a perfect example of something complex, Jane."


39. Martyr [Natalie and Hannah]


The teenager was standing in the doorway of her hospital room when she woke from her nap, watching her. "Natalie?"

Natalie jumped at the sound of her voice, startled. "I... I'll just go. Sorry. Didn't-"

"Stop," Hannah told her, patting the bed next to her. "Come here, Sweetie." She glanced at the clock. "And didn't you have school today?"

Natalie joined her, took a deep breath. "I wanted to see you. And Lou."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "Can I call him Lou?"

"Of course you can, he's your little brother."

Natalie stared at her. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Include all of us as if it's the most natural thing in the world?"


40. Veteran [Rebecca and Kathryn]


Kathryn stood at the foot of the ramp of the quinjet with her elderly mother and simply held her up, held onto her as she allowed herself this moment of weakness to let go her emotions. She felt, rather than saw, Steve's presence next to them, and wanted to send him up the ramp, out of sight of something so intimate and familial, but didn't dare break the moment. If her mother had been hiding so much, then how much was he?

"Kate?" Rebecca finally said. "You can let go now."

She did, only to draw Steve into the hug.



A/N: There really is a law in New York state about a fine of twenty-five dollars being levied for flirting...

 

Warm and fun exchanges bridging the generation gap