The Glory Days

It was a peaceful Wednesday night with the cool, crisp air surrounding them as the couple danced upon their home's front porch to the radio's melodies. Bridget had been giving Steve small lessons on how to dance for the past few days. They danced simple steps, nothing too complex, but Steve was quick to pick it up, and they both found that he had a bit of rhythm when he got used to it.

Bridget's eyes gazed into Steve's and his grip would unknowingly tighten around her waist, causing her heart to pound inside her chest from his touch. It was the little things that always made Bridget's days feel dream-like, and little did she know, it was the same way for Steven.

As they swayed back a few steps, Steve smiled mischievously and dipped her, a small laugh escaping Bridget's lips as she was caught off guard by the small, playful act. Steve laughed along with her as he brought her into his arms, kissing her temple carefully before looking away towards the radio that began to talk of the war.

Bridget grimaced as he left her side to turn the volume dial up, listening to the announcer give details of the strategies that were going as planned overseas. The atmosphere always became somber when the topics at hand turned to the war. It reminded them that one day Steve was going to be leaving again, and that when he did, he may not return. The thought alone was enough to spark unease within her, and after hearing the broadcast, the atmosphere didn't return to how it was moments before.

Retiring to their bedroom later that night was spent in the most silence they had ever endured since becoming married. It was torture to the both of them. Steve knew Bridget wanted to ask him to not leave her and Bridget knew that no matter what she said he wasn't going to change his mind. They both knew what the other was thinking and feeling.

As they lay in bed facing the other, Bridget could only stare at his fingers that grasped her own with such care, knowing that he'd be gone one day and that she would be alone in their bed, lacking the soothing touch he gave her at the end of the day. Slowly her eyes made their way up his body, soon gazing into his blue orbs that stared right back at her lovingly.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I know you want me to stay, and I wish that I could too, but I have to go back when they call for me. I don't want to leave your side, but they need me out there.”

Hearing his apology made her insides contort themselves in guilt and her heart begin to break. She knew that she was asking a lot of him to stay with her, but she wanted to be selfish. She didn't want to be without him after having gotten married only a little more than a month and a half ago. He was her everything and she didn't want to risk losing him to something like war. She didn't want him to end up like Bucky.

“I just don't want to lose you like Bucky, Steve.” She began, her voice cracking in places as she started to voice her thoughts. “And I'm sorry for always asking, but I just got you into my life. There's also a lot of able bodied men to fight for our country already. Why do I have to send you away? Why do I have to be without you again?”

Steve leaned in and kissed her forehead tenderly, pulling her body closer to his before replying back. “I feel the same way, Bridge, but they need me and I have to do right by my country.”

“You can do right by your country here, stateside with me!” She argued as tears escaped her eyes. “You're helping with the victory gardens and by collecting scrap metals... You're doing your part, Steve. And this way, we'll have a much better chance of being here fifty years from now.”

Steve sighed and closed his eyes tightly, her crying breaking his own heart. “As much as I want to, I can't think like that, Bridge. I can't. You mean the world to me and I want nothing more than to spend every waking moment with you, but if it means getting to make sure that you can live safely, I'll go to war a hundred times.”

And it wasn't more than a month later before they had to separate, before they had to say what could be their final goodbyes. Steve getting on a plane with Bridget seeing him off tearfully, ordering him to come back unscathed and promising to always be waiting for him at their home. Steve supplied her with an address to write him, saying that he might be moving around a lot and that he may not have the chance to write her back. Their final kiss was through her wet tears that didn't seem to stop for anything, and their final embrace was so constricting that she thought she might break in two.

When she watched his flight drift off into the sky, her heart began to sink and she clutched onto the small note he handed to her right before entering the plane.

I'll be back as quickly as I can. We still have to have a lot of kids, remember?
I love you, Bridget Rogers.
Yours truly,
Steve Rogers.


As the days passed without him, she would always write him once, perhaps even twice a day. She poured her heart into every letter and word, lacing her writings with love and well wishes, expressing her desire for the war to end and for them both to become a family again. Even though they were miles apart and she never received any letters in return, she would smile and be able to imagine his reactions to her bits of news perfectly.

After two and a half months had gone by, Bridget began to feel different. She'd experience moments of nausea on occasion, she'd feel drained one day and completely energized the next, her bathroom breaks were becoming much more frequent, she could have sworn that she put on a few pounds, and her mood was becoming erratic. She wasn't sure what was going on with her body, and part of her believed and hoped it to be some strange type of stress due to Steve's absence, though deep down she thought it could be something else entirely.

Gracie, who had decided to drop by her sister's place for some sisterly bonding, quickly picked up on her moodiness. “What's wrong, Bridge?” She asked. “You seem to have gotten crankier recently.”

“I have not, Gracie.” Bridget argued, shying back when she realized that her reply proved her sister's point. “I don't know, Gracie. I've just been feeling off these past few weeks. I'm sure it's just a bug or stress or something.”

“What's been happening?”

“I feel sick in the mornings and sometimes I throw up because of it. I go to the bathroom much more frequently, my energy seems to come and go as it pleases, and as you said, I'm cranky.”

“Have you put on weight, too?”

Glaring at her sister, she rolled her eyes before mumbling, “maybe.”

“Have... Did you and Steve... you know?”

“You know, what?”

“Do it, you know, it?”

“It?” Soon her cheeks became flushed with color and she rose from her chair, heading into the kitchen as she became flustered with her sister's inquiry. “Honestly, Gracie, why are you asking me something so private?”

Following her older sibling into the kitchen, Grace watched as Bridget began to pour herself a cup of tea. “So you don't think that you might be pregnant?”

Hearing the question brought a sense of reality to the topic and Bridget's movement's stopped altogether. Hearing the “P” word was daunting, terrifying even. Bridget couldn't and didn't want to think of being pregnant with his child at the current point in time. He wasn't there with her, she was all on her own, and there was no doubt in her mind that pregnancy without a husband would be one of the most challenging things to go through.

“I'm not sure,” she whispered, tears beginning to swell up in her eyes. “I'm not sure, Gracie, but I'm so scared. I don't want to be pregnant if he's not here. I want him to share these memories with me and to be here to support me. I don't think I'd be able to give birth and raise a child on my own.”

Grace's heart began to break as the walls that once surrounded the brunette came down, and she hugged her sister with care to not make her more emotional. “Bridget, we need to go to the doctor to make sure.” She reasoned. “Maybe this is all stress and nothing to worry over, but we need to be positive that that's all it is. Even if you are pregnant, Steve told you he'd come back for you, and Steve's a guy who doesn't break his promises. While he's gone, you're still going to have me, mom and dad to support you, Bridge, and even when he comes back we'll still be here whenever you need us.”

Bridget sobbed uncontrollably into her sister's shoulder. She wasn't sure if it was because she missed Steve, was thankful for her sister being so thoughtful, because her hormones were all over the place, or if because it was a combination of the three, either way, she was glad that someone was here to console her.

A week had gone by, and in those seven days, it was confirmed that Bridget was expecting a child to arrive in six months. It was the most confusing situation she'd ever been in. She was devastated, nervous, and uplifted all at the same time – devastated because Steve wasn't home yet, nervous because they would both be first time parents, and uplifted because she was going to bear a child... his child. Her parents were the same way, though they couldn't help but express their concern for their daughter who would be living on her own during the months to come, and it was decided that Gracie would be moving into the guest room to watch over her.

Having her sister around brought her spirits up. It was nice having company around the house again, even if it wasn't Steve's, and Grace thought so, too. Her sister had been a downright mess during his absence, but now she was just glad to see a smile gracing her features again on a normal basis.

Bridget had just finished writing her newest letter to Steve, letting him in on all that had been happening the past few weeks. She wasn't able to get around to it before with helping Gracie move in and because her mom was eager to begin shopping for baby clothes and items. She was sure that Steve would be over the moon with happiness at hearing that they were officially starting a family. Now all that was missing was the father, and once he was back, Bridget would be able to live out a perfect life again.

As she sealed up the letter, there was a knock upon the front door. “Gracie, could you get that?” She questioned.

“Sure, thing,” her sister replied, rising from the couch where she had been reading a book and heading over to the front of the home. There was small chit chat and Bridget began to wonder who it was, soon enough her questions were answered as Gracie led someone inside the home's den area.

“Bridge, this is Peggy Carter, she says you know her?”

Hearing the familiar name, she looked up and saw the brunette Steve had been talking to in Italy. She wore the same clothes and her expression was still the same as it was back then, but her eyes captured a different light in them, almost like her brown orbs were carrying sympathy within them.

“Oh, hello,” Bridget smiled cheerily. “It's so good to see you again. You look well.”

“Hello, and yes, it's an honor to meet you again, Mrs. Rogers. You...” Peggy's eyes wandered down Bridget's frame, seeing a barely noticeable bump in the middle of her stomach. “Look fine as well. Expecting, are we?”

Bridget beamed with pride. “Yes, I'm almost around four months now.”

Nodding her head, the brunette smiled halfheartedly. “Congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you,” Bridget nodded, looking over her shoulder to see Grace bringing a tray with drinks over. “Please, sit down. You must be tired after coming all this way.”

“I couldn't possibly,”

“I insist, please.”

Deciding to appease her, Peggy smiled in thanks and sat down on the couch beside Bridget, being handed a fresh cup of tea from Gracie who poured one for Bridget and herself after.

“I hope you don't mind my asking, Peggy, but what brings you all the way out here?”

Clearing her throat, Peggy turned her body to face the brunette completely. “Mrs. Rogers—”

“Please, just Bridget is fine,”

“Bridget,” Peggy began again, “I'm so sorry to inform you that Captain Steven Rogers has been killed in action. His actions saved the lives of millions of people, and there was no better soldier than he. I'm sincerely sorry for your loss.”

The words that left her mouth didn't seem to hit Bridget for a few seconds, and they went in one ear and out the other until her brain finally began to interpret them into coherent sentences. Once they registered in her mind, her stomach dropped and the smile that had once covered her face fell with it, being replaced by an expression of devastation as her heart began to break. Tears cascaded down her cheeks in mere seconds and she buried her face into her hands as her body shook with sobs.

The two other women in the room were overcome with sympathy for the girl who lost the love of her life. Gracie beginning to softly cry along with her for her sister's broken heart and also because she knew that she could one day be in the same position should her own boyfriend not make it. Peggy's tears never came as she was far too used to delivering such news, though she would be lying if she said she didn't feel any guilt towards the poor girl. She had been the one to call him back overseas and the one to deliver her condolences for his death. One could possibly make the argument that this was all her fault.

“I'm terribly sorry, Bridget. I'll be taking my leave now.” Peggy whispered, rising from the couch and bowing her head respectively to the two sisters before making her way to the door.

“Peggy,” Bridget called through a cracking voice, causing the woman to turn on a dime to face the heartbroken brunette. “Thank you for sending him to me when he came back. You gave me everything I could have ever wanted.” There was an eerie silence for a second before Bridget continued on. “But I'm afraid you're wrong. Not only was there no better soldier than him, but there was no better man.”

For the first time in a long time, Peggy Carter could begin to feel her eyes become filled with tears, and smiling softly, she nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, I believe you're right about that, Bridget. Be well.”

The brunette then left the two siblings, Bridget resuming her uncontrollable crying with Gracie doing her best to console her older sister. The older of the two siblings clutched onto her stomach with a gentle grip, never wanting to let go of the one thing that connected her to Steve.

Notes