Marlena's eyes fluttered open as she was met with the irritating sound of beeping machines. Immediately she knew something wasn't right with her body. She was groggier than she felt she should've been. There was a massive weight on her chest she could only imagine as being equivalent to that of a freight car. She felt as if she'd been pulled apart from the inside-out, and the sensation only made her feel nauseous. Her vision was slightly blurred as she looked around the room, but the moment her hazel eyes fell upon a familiar face, everything seemed so much clearer.

"Hey," Marlena spoke quietly to the blond man at her side, a weak smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Her focus shifted to the newborn in his arms, and her heart skipped a beat. She tried forcing herself to sit up, but her body was too weak. She was too weak.

"Hey, it's okay," Steve responded softly. "You just went through a major surgery. It's okay to take it easy."

"I-I wanna hold her," Marlena said to him, her voice cracking through the emotion she was now feeling due to finally seeing her sweet girl for the first time ever. She was overwhelmed with a love she only ever imagined she'd experience with the twins. The two had already been through so much together since Marlena'd been pregnant, and it helped to truly bond her to the precious newborn in the arms of the man she loved so much.

Steve gently passed their sleeping daughter into her arms, and the second Marlena felt her warmth, a strong feeling of peace and comfort entered her body. All of the nerves and anxiety she'd experienced throughout the day were dissipating now that she was looking down at her little girl's face—the moment she felt she'd been waiting for so long—and she was so beautiful.

"She's even prettier than I thought she'd be, Steve," Marlena whispered, not wanting to wake her baby. "She's everything."

Marlena glanced up at Steve, his blue eyes brimming with tears as he watched his two girls. The moment Steve learned of Marlena's returned love for him had been one of the greatest of his long life, and ever since then, those kinds of moments just kept coming. She could see the love and happiness in his eyes as she smiled up at him.

"What does it feel like? Finally having her here, holding her?" Steve asked her, making her refocus all of her attention back on her daughter.

"It feels..." She could not even begin to find the words. She felt so many things; she felt her. Marlena could feel her as she slept. She could feel her fragility, her innocence, her pure soul. She also felt something else—something different. When she'd first held the twins following their birth, she could feel an energy within them that she hadn't been able to understand at the time.

Marlena honed in on this feeling, and then it hit her. She hadn't understood it with the twins, but as they'd grown older, she'd learned of their abilities—of Charlie's powers. Holding her newborn now, she could not feel that kind of energy. She felt nothing, yet she felt everything.

"Steve," Marlena breathed out, tearing her eyes away from the sleeping newborn in her arms. As her eyes met Steve's, she was left unable to finish her sentence. Bucky came through the entryway to her recovery room, hesitantly, but with a soft smile—one she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed until now.

"Bucky," Marlena said softly, causing Steve to turn around.

"Hey, Buck," Steve greeted him, standing up from the chair he'd moved closer to Marlena's bedside.

"Long day, huh?" Bucky chuckled lowly as he crossed the room and pulled Steve into an unexpected, but much longed for hug.

Steve wrapped his arms around his friend, tears forming at the corners of his eyes once more. The sight of it caused Marlena's heart to ache and she, too, felt tears threatening to surface. Everything about this moment was so emotional—so perfect. She felt as if she was outside of her body, watching everything happen in a dreamlike state.

"I'm-I'm so happy for you," Bucky's voice wavered, and Marlena could see Steve hug him just a bit tighter.

When the two pulled apart, Marlena supported the baby with one arm and reached out with her other hand. Bucky noticed this and immediately sat at the foot of her bed, taking her hand in his.  She squeezed his hand, and he looked down at his lap.

"It feels like we were just doing all of this with the twins." Bucky shook his head, finding it hard to believe just how quickly time seemed to be passing him by.

"I'm gonna go check on Sam and the kids," Steve spoke up after several seconds of silence. He smiled at Marlena and looked at his daughter one more time before stepping out of the room.

Marlena looked at Bucky carefully, searching his expression to understand how he was feeling rather than using her abilities to intrude upon his thoughts. The time that she'd been apart from Bucky made her feel more out of touch with what was going on in his head, and she found it difficult to hold back at times. Sometimes he was a man of few words, especially after everything that'd happened between them.

"Bucky..." Marlena sighed, causing him to raise his head. Their eyes met and she knew; she knew he was hurting.

"What's her name?" he asked her, his eyes leaving her hazel ones and finding her daughter's, though they were still closed.

"Emerson Natalia..." Marlena answered quietly, a soft—and almost sad—smile on her face as she thought back on the origins of her sweet girl's name. She wished more than anything her best friend could be there to meet the precious life she'd named and been named for.

Marlena looked to Bucky after answering. She could see it all over his face; as happy as he was for her, and for his best friend, seeing her bring a child into the world with someone else was weighing heavily on him. She wasn't sure if Bucky would bring himself to tell her this himself, but she didn't need him to. She just wished she could somehow ease his pain.

"Can I hold her?" His jaw tensed, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

Marlena smiled and tried to sit up, but Bucky leaned forward, gently taking Emerson from her arms so she wouldn't have to strain herself. It comforted her to know that though they were no longer together, and their relationship had been strained since his return, that he was still the same Bucky; he still cared for her and would always do so in ways she could never truly fathom, just as she did for him.

"Can I tell you something?" Marlena sniffled and wiped a stray tear from her face—one she hadn't even realized had fallen.

Staring down at Emerson, Bucky nodded.

"I felt something different when the twins were born, Buck. I didn't know it at the time, but now I understand what exactly that was," she whispered, watching the way he looked down at Emerson in awe, and with an almost childlike wonder.

Bucky looked away from the baby and at Marlena, his expression urging her to go on.

Marlena shook her head. "I just—I think I could feel that they were different. They had an energy to them. I was feeling what we passed down to them. I was feeling their abilities," she explained, though saying it aloud made her feel strange.

"You mean you think—"

"I don't think Emerson has any powers at all."

Bucky's lips parted and he looked down at the little girl once more, now even more curious than he'd appeared before.

"Steve was right," Bucky replied, his voice low, as if he hadn't even meant to say it aloud in the first place perhaps.

Marlena felt the corners of her lips tug upwards, but she was also feeling a mix of emotions watching Bucky holding her child. It wasn't long before she felt more tears surface, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She'd cried in front of Bucky more times than she could count, and he never seemed to mind.

"I haven't had the chance to tell Steve yet, so..." Marlena trailed off, the weight of her emotions getting the best of her. There was a sort of relief she felt knowing that Emerson would not have to endure what her other children had, especially Charlie. Watching Charlie struggle to come to terms with who she was and what she was capable of was difficult for Marlena, not only as her mother but also as someone who'd also never asked for her own abilities, and had at one point in time, feared herself because of them.

"Mar," Bucky's voice cracked, but he didn't dare look at her.

Marlena felt her heart ache; hearing the shift in his voice always brought her to the edge. Nothing affected her more than seeing the people she loved hurting, and the fact that she was the reason for much of his hurt was tearing away at her heart.

"What happened between us," he started again, after taking a minute to collect himself. He kept his tears at bay, but Marlena knew they were at the ready. "It will never make me stop loving you. I'll never stop wanting to be there for you—for her, too." He gestured to Emerson in his arms, looking so small and fragile as he held her.

"I know that," Marlena said with a nod of her head, unable to stop her tears from coming. "I can't thank you enough for the patience you've had for me—through all of this. I'm just," she stopped to take a breath, but couldn't seem to.

Bucky leaned forward, returning Emerson to her. She felt the peace her daughter experienced as she slept radiating from her, and it soothed her almost instantly.

He used his calloused knuckle to gently wipe away her tears, nodding at her as if to reassure her that he did know she was sorry for everything that'd happened.

"This has been hard, Marlena. You know that. But I'm telling you, I don't want you to say you're sorry anymore. You've said enough sorries to last a lifetime. I just want you to be at peace with yourself. I need you to be."

Marlena took his hand in her's again, and pulled it up to her face. She pressed a light kiss to his fist as he stood up from the bed. There was so much more she felt she could say to him, but words would never suffice. She knew, though, that he had a hold on her that through everything, would somehow always would remain.

"Thank you, Bucky. Thank you so much." She forced a smile up at him. He nodded in response, offering her one in return, before turning to leave the room. She couldn't help but feel that every time he walked away from her, he took a piece of her with him. The person she was now had grown because of him, and nothing in her life would have ever happened had she never met him. She owed everything to Bucky, but she knew that the one thing he wanted was the one thing she could no longer give him.

A few minutes passed before Steve came back into the room. The way he gravitated to Emerson warmed Marlena's heart, and though her tears had dried, she still felt weighed down with a mix of emotions. Her exhaustion made it even more difficult to cope with all of them.

"I love her." Marlena pressed her lips against the soft skin of Emerson's forehead. "And I love you."

Steve tucked Marlena's hair behind her ear and knelt down by the bed. "I am so in love with you, Marlena, and I'm so proud of you."

She smiled as he closed the space between them, locking their lips together in a soft, loving kiss. When they pulled apart, he leaned down and kissed Emerson on the top of her head, as well. She stirred beneath his touch, but didn't seem to wake.

Marlena looked up and around the room, realizing that she had not seen Wanda since she'd woken up. Her brows pulled together as she tried to find the connection she held with Wanda, but was not met with the familiar feeling or sound of her cousin's thoughts.

"Where'd Wanda go?"

Steve sighed, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "She said she needed to step outside." He didn't want to lie to Marlena; he knew she wouldn't believe him even if he tried.

She cocked her head to the side, slightly confused but more-so worried for her cousin's stability. "Was she upset?"

Steve nodded, and though Wanda hadn't told him this herself, he'd spent enough time around her to learn when she was hurting.

"Not everyone has been as lucky as us," Steve reminded Marlena, giving her hand a squeeze.

Marlena sucked in a breath, his words hitting her a bit hard. She felt guilty; she hadn't really thought about the negative effects this whole experience could have had on Wanda, and now, she realized it more clearly. It made her heart wrench.

"I have to go talk to her," Marlena made an attempt to leave the bed, though quickly realized that she was physically unable to. Her surgical site hurt like hell and Steve didn't hesitate to put her back in her place.

"You're not going anywhere anytime soon," He spoke softly, but firmly, as he tucked her back in and took Emerson from her. "Let me take her for a while. You should rest."

Despite the empty feeling Marlena felt as Emerson left her arms, she nodded understandingly and laid back in the bed. Though she'd been out of it from the time she'd entered the hospital to now, she still felt utterly exhausted. There were not enough hours in a night to catch up on the sleep she so desperately needed, but now she laid there thinking of nothing but Bucky's and Wanda's feelings as she closed her eyes.

A part of her knew that no matter how much peace, comfort, and strength she felt she'd found over the years, there was a side of her that would forever carry feelings of grief. She was a person who felt deeply for her loved ones, and as a telepath with such strong empathy, she could never quite escape that part of herself. It was difficult for her to forgive herself for the pain she'd brought Bucky, and it was hard for her to feel happy for herself knowing that Wanda was still grieving the loss of Vision and the future they could now no longer have together.