I stood at the threshold of Stark's workshop. Scientists and engineers worked efficiently. Soldiers tested strange inventions. Women in army uniforms filled out paperwork. And Stark was nowhere to be seen.

I was going to strip the workshop bare. I was going to search every nook and cranny for it. And I was going to break some laws in the process. I needed to do it without anyone noticing.

I held my hand out in front of me. A golden ring of power emitted out of my palm, enlarging as it encircled the room. 

Everyone slowed and, eventually, froze. Time froze. I was the only person in the room that could move. 

And so my search began.

I went through boxes of parts. I looked behind and under the larger machines. I checked inside equipment, pulling them apart and briskly putting them back together with no luck in my search. I even broke into the vault where the precious inventions and materials were kept.

I scratched my head. How could it be this hard to find? I sensed it in the workshop. It was there. It was there somewhere. I knew it was.

I squinted. There was one place I hadn't looked. And it seemed like the kind of thing he'd keep in there.

Stark's office was a mess. Papers were strewn all over the place. The bookshelf in the corner was so full that books were stacked on top of the rows. Photographs of Stark with inventions and other inventors and maps decorated the walls. Models adorned his oaken desk.

And there it was, hanging on the wall above the chair.

The Shard. 

How he had it in his possession all this time was a question that stumped me. How he had it period was an even more curious question. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before. I'd sensed it every time I stepped foot into the workshop. How could I have missed it?

I stared at it. I had to admit, the 1940s was growing on me. I didn't really want to leave. I had to be honest, I didn't want to leave because of Steve. He was growing on me. He was like that childhood friend you didn't want to leave when you and your family had to move elsewhere. And it made my heart ache. I rarely developed attachments to the people of a period I visited. I wasn't supposed to. This time was special somehow. I couldn't put my finger on what I felt.

But other things came first. And he had Peggy. She was all he needed. I was nothing more than a ghost. I still was, even though I'd inserted myself into the timeline and many before this one.

I ripped the Shard off the wall and raced out of the office to the exit of the workshop. With a snap of my fingers, everything transitioned into movement again. It was like I was never there.

"Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"

"Captain Rogers, what is your—"

"Steve, is that you?" Peggy shoved Morita out of the way. "Are you all right?"

"Peggy! Schmidt's dead."

"What about the plane?"

"T-That's a little bit tougher to explain."

Phillips indicated for everyone to leave to give Peggy some space. "Give me your coordinates. I'll find you a safe landing site."

"There's not gonna be a safe landing. But I can try and force it down."

"I'll get Howard on the line, he'll know what to do."

"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." Steve choked up. "I gotta put her in the water."

Peggy shook her head. "Please, don't do this. We have time. We can work it out."

"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die." There was silence on Steve's end. "Peggy, this is my choice."

For the first time, Peggy's steely exterior disintegrated. The floodgates opened, and bitter tears overcame her.

"Peggy?" Steve called.

She took a shaky breath. "I'm here."

"I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance."

The flow of tears streamed faster as she processed his words. "All right. A week. Next Saturday, at the Stork Club."

"You got it."

"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?"

"You know, I still don't know how to dance."

Peggy chuckled, tears choking her up. "I'll show you how. Just be there."

"We'll have the band play somethin' slow. I'd hate to step on your—"

Static erupted on the line, and he was gone.

Peggy looked at the communication station in confusion. "Steve? Steve?" Her voice became small and heavy with sorrow. "Steve?"

I stood out of sight at the entrance to the communication station. I frowned in sadness for Peggy. It took her a while, but her walls had finally crumbled. It was for a man who was worth every tumble of brick and stone. But they fell too late.

I pulled my watch from my pocket. It was time.

I flicked my hand behind me. A portal ripped open the atmosphere. Before I stepped through, I left a note on a nearby desk for Peggy. 

Steve's blood was still out there and it needed to be destroyed to prevent what happened to Schmidt from ever happening again. 

I also wrote an apology. She was never going to see me again, so I had to apologise for that.

I took one last glance at her. "I'm sorry."

I stepped through the portal, closing it behind me.

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a quick vote! Thanks for reading!