It took every ounce of strength you had to not get up and help Steve once you had released his arm to take your seat before the ceremony could start. He wobbled slightly on his unsteady leg, with his grip on the cane whitening his knuckles, and the grimace barely hidden under his smile tearing at your heart. The man was determined that he would stand at his son's side even if the pain was killing him. When Anthony flinched to extend a hand to his father to help, the man was too stubborn to accept it, instead giving his boy a firm handshake of congratulations as he took his place.

"You ready, son?"

"Yes," he whispered back, "but are you okay? You can sit down if you need to Dad, it's okay."

"I'm good."

"Dad."

Steve took the opportunity and pointed towards the back of the room, where T'Challa stood with Esihle tightly holding his arm for support. She didn't look scared or nervous, despite how she was feeling in her gut, but she still knew this was the right thing to do. She and Anthony may have been apart for years, and when they were together they were barely teenagers, but there was a force inside each of them that was drawing them back together that neither could deny.

Steve smiled at the sight and began to reminisce about seeing you walking the aisle to him, and he had to consciously pull himself from the sadness that was about to overtake him. "Look, there she is," he deflected. "Your only focus should be there. Remember every minute of this, Ant."

"Right...wow."

Everyone in the room stood to attention to watch T'Challa and Esihle move to the front, and the sense of almost relief when the young man took his bride's hand was palpable. It was as if for just a few minutes, there could be happiness again, with no worries, no pain, and no reminders of what was to come at sunrise the next morning. There was a glimmer of hope that things might continue on with some semblance of normalcy, whatever that really was. There was a tiny sense of maybe a chance that this could all work and everything would be okay again, like it used to be.

You almost slapped yourself right then and there for even daring to think that way.

~~~

Once the ceremony had finished, and your son was a married man, the after-party was set to begin. Sam had left right after the I do's were said so that he could stay with Bucky, who had all but become a prisoner in his own home. With the deterioration of his memory happening so quickly, it was a risk from minute to minute that he could suddenly wander off.

Everything had gone to plan, despite how quickly it was all thrown together, and Anthony actually looked happy and almost carefree for these few precious hours. You could tell that he was doing his best to not keep his attention towards Steve too much, but you could also see the complete, enveloping relief that had washed over him now that this day had come and his father was at his side.

"Hey," Steve whispered, nudging you gently as you watched your son dance with his new wife, "we did good, didn't we?"

"We sure did. It's a miracle, though."

"Well, yeah," he smirked, "the chances of us making it this far were pretty slim a few times there."

"Because we're idiots."

"No argument from me, doll." The silence was held between you for a time again, as the music continued on and the young couple swayed together. You both watched with a slight pang of jealousy at their youth and the lives ahead of them that was without limits. His hand slid from tabletop and to yours as it rested in your lap, his grip as strong as it had been in the past weeks since the trouble had all started. "Dance with me?"

You turned and tried to not look shocked, "honey, I don't know if that's a good idea. You've been standing for a long time today-"

"Nonsense," he argued. He released your hand and pushed his chair back, standing painfully and slowly, only to turn his body to lean against the edge of the table instead. "Come here."

"What are you doing?"

"If this is the last chance I get for a dance with my girl, I'm taking it."

"Steve-"

"Come here, (Y/N). You trust me, right?"

"I do."

You stood to meet him, allowing him to pull you as close as he could. He couldn't fully stand to be the partner he wanted to be, but he managed to hold you and move with the music as if he were in the middle of the floor with you and dancing in front of everyone. A few times he managed to stand on his healthy leg, just enough to give you a twirl. As he allowed you to take the step back for the move, he watched every expression in your face, every move of your hair, and burned into his memory the feeling of your hand in his. When he pulled you back, he took in your scent, and focused on the beat of your heart against his.

"I'll be okay," he said softly into your hair, "no matter what happens. I'll be okay, because of this moment right here."

"I'm scared, Steve."

"I know. I am, too."

"I'm not ready for this to be over."

"I'll never be ready," he agreed. "There's so much more that I want to do. I want to see Brooke and Grant find their person and have this kind of day. I want to have grandkids and spoil them rotten, like Tony did with ours."

"No one can ever beat Dad at that, honey, sorry."

"I could try."

"And you'd be great," you smiled, your head now resting against him. You felt a hum of contentment rumble in his chest at the feeling, and you couldn't help but let the fear in. You had tried so hard all day long to avoid this, you really did, and you were doing so well to try to hold it together until you got to your room later where you could fall apart in privacy. But that sound, and that feeling was something that you had come to need, and the thought of losing it was too much. "I can't be here."

"What?" he pulled back. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I can't...I can't..." you struggled with quickening breaths, "I can't have a panic attack at his wedding. I'm not gonna be able to stop it."

Steve held you that much tighter and looked around the room, searching for the one person who had mastered the skill of distraction with you, because if anyone knew the best way to avoid a problem head-on, it was Tony. When he finally had your dad in his sights, he waved him over urgently but not so much to cause a scene. By the time he was at your side, Tony knew exactly what was happening before even seeing your face.

"Come on, sweetheart," he guided you quietly, "let's go for a walk. Get some air."

"Thank you, Dad. Steve-"

"I'll be fine, doll. I'm heading upstairs soon, I'll meet you there, okay?"

"I'll have her back to you soon, Cap," Tony nodded, holding your arm steady as he walked at your side. Taking the less conspicuous way out of the building, the two of you walked out onto the lawn, where the light of day was just beginning to fade and the evening chill was settling into the air around you. It was refreshing to feel, to escape the room that had just too much energy and to calm the heat rising in your chest from the panic that was still building. You had barely made it onto the grass when you released him and lowered yourself to your knees just to feel the satisfaction of collapse.

"Promise me something."

"Anything, (Y/N), you know that."

"That no matter what happens tomorrow...you won't try to pull me away from him. If he goes, I go."

"What?"

"We made that promise to each other that a long time ago, and I plan to keep it. Just the thought of losing him is too much, so how could I expect to actually live it?"

"Because you won't be alone." With no attention paid to the expensive tux he was wearing, he knelt down on the grass in front of you and took your hands in his, waiting until you finally looked up at him to speak again. "You have those kids in there-"

"Who are grown adults with their own lives now, Dad."

"So? You're a grown adult and you still need me here and there, right? This exact moment being a perfect example."

"Of course I do."

"Back at ya, (Y/N)," he practically scolded. "How do you think I'm going to feel if those two don't make it through tomorrow, and this whole thing was my idea? Now add on losing you, too? Are you trying to kill me? I'd rather just have you shoot me again."

"If this doesn't work and you pull me away from him, I just might."

"Do you realize what you're asking me to do?"

"Yes. I'm asking you to be my dad and to know what's best for me."

"No, honey, that's not what I mean," he snapped back, his jaw set tight, "that's not at all what I mean and I can't believe that you'd put me in that position again. I can't do it."

~~~

"This can't...this can't be it..." you whimpered between sobs, finding no comfort in your dad's touch. The pain in your chest was so excruciating that you thought that it would end you then and there; you wished that it would, and that you would be taken instead. "Dad...fix it."

Tony turned and looked to Steve through his tear-blurred eyes, seeing the strongest man that he had ever known frozen in place in both his fear and grief, completely immobilized by his own panic. He couldn't imagine how it was coming to be that he was barely the most composed of the three of you, but it became clear to him that he was here to do what neither of you could in this moment; he had to speak for her.

He was going to fix it because that's what you asked him to do, and he'd be dammed if he was about to let either of you down now when you had never needed him more.

"You. Tell me what happened," he demanded of the doctor, much more sternly this time, standing up to take his place at Maggie's side.

"Multi-organ system failure," one of the other doctors offered. "We lost a pulse 45 minutes ago and began resuscitative efforts immediately."

"Has there been any sign that it's working? Anything?"

The doctor looked around at his team, glancing over a nurse's shoulder at Steve and then down to you before finally landing his gaze on Tony with a long and regretful sigh. "No."

Tony too turned and gave one last look at you and at Steve, and his heart sank like a rock into his stomach. With a thick swallow to hold his composure, though he knew that he had only seconds to do this before he lost it completely, he closed his eyes and remembered the moment when he saw Maggie looking back at him for the first time. There was a look of trust that he had seen from her, and it would have to be what would carry him for the rest of his life after making this decision. Gathering his last shreds of resolve, he turned to the doctor with a façade of strength and made his directions very clear.

"Then you need to stop."