By thanksgiving time, business at the gym had boomed. People came in with the hope of loosing weight before they gained it all back in on day. Before the 31st though, there was the 11th, which was Veterans Day. Sam took them to his other work, where they hung out with war veterans. Kiera intently listened to their stories, some of them even recognized Captain America, and it looked like everything was fine. But even the parade didn't cheer up Steve. He took them to the museum, where he watched his life movie over a couple of times. Kiera grew fond of the red Stetson, and eventually had to drag her brother out of the theater. Their next stop was at the wall, where Steve introduced his sister to his best friend.

Kiera drove back home with Steve, stopping at an ice cream parlor on the way. She paid, from the money Steve gave her, and the money she made at the bakery.

"What if you could have done something." Kiera stated, less a question, and more a statement she herself was familiar with.

"What if I could have done something." Steve repeated in agreement.

"How did you two meet?" Kiera asked. As he finally began to tell her, Kiera thought of a plan to both cheer Steve up and repay him.

Over the next few days, Kiera started going out a lot. Going to the park with her new friends, hanging out at the bakery. At least that was what she told Steve. In reality, she worked at the bakery earning money. Ever the artist, Kiera quickly learned how to use a bag of icing and other decorative tools. Like Steve's muscles attracted business at the gym, Kiera's cupcakes were a popular demand at the bakery, and Katie rewarded her for it.

Still, she managed to keep up with friends if she was let out early or if they came by the bakery, which was how Steve found her secret earlier than she'd expected to. But luckily for her, she'd already picked out her gifts for Steve.

The eve of Thanksgiving, Steve was trying to get Kiera to sleep early so she could wake up early. Without nightmares, the girl could sleep till the afternoon. Only, he couldn't find her. There was a bump in the bar and Steve hustled downstairs.

He shook his head as he walked to the bar, annoyed.

"Kiera Rogers, if you don't wake up tomorrow, we're not-" he flipped the switch up and froze.

Kiera was standing at the bar, holding a cupcake with a single candle on it, and a couple things behind her on the till.

"Happy Thanksgiving big bro!" She smiled sheepishly but proud of what she had done.

"What are you doing?" Steve said mid laugh.

"Well, I was planning a whole lot more elaborate event, but since you already found out and it's thanksgiving, I thought why not?"

He sat on the stool next to her, examining the things there. He wondered where she'd hid everything before.

"Why not what?"

Kiera rolled her eyes and sat back down, putting the cupcake on the bar table.

"THANK you, duh. And, cheer you up."

"Cat..." Steve didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I annoyed you and tagged along with you. But you took me in still and... and you made a home just for me." There were tears in her eyes. "You've been the best family I've ever had. So, Th-thank you, Steve."

Steve smiled and pulled her into a hug as she laughed and cried at the same time.

"And you, are the best little sister ever." He pulled her away to look at her. "As far as annoying goes, little siblings are supposed to be annoying, right?" He poked her nose.

"So is that my ticket to keep being annoying?"

Steve laughed. "Doesn't mean there won't be reprimand. Let's move this party along then, shall we?"

"Oh, right. Here, I got you a gift."

Kiera handed him a giant gift bag and he threw up a brow as he took it. Inside was a backpack, dark blue with a dirty gray star in the center. It reminded him of his first suit.

"Wow! This is nice. Where did you find it?"

"I Googled Captain America. Some government website had your picture. I got the backpack with the color. The star I patched on. But go on," she pushed his shoulder, "look inside."

He opened the bag and found a picture frame wrapped in tissue. Steve expected some cheesy photo of him caught off guard or of them together. But what he found was something he hadn't expected in a million years. A candid photo of Captain America celebrating a victory with his troop. In the center was him and Bucky proudly holding each other's arms in a brotherly fashion and smiling proud but tired. He took a minute to compose himself before looking at her.

"Where..."?

"The government's got to be good for something! Look in the back of it."

Steve followed directions and took off the back of the frame. There was a white paper that's expected in frames. But he turned it over and found it to be something so much more. On it was a real life drawing of Captain America and Bucky Barnes posing with one arm swung over the other's shoulder. Steve looked like the older brother while Buck looked like the tired little one forced to take the picture.

"I drew it," Kiera said as he ran a hand over the paper. Steve shook his head with a small chuckle and dissembled the frame, putting the drawing in the front and the photograph turned over behind it.

"That's better."

"And that's not all."

Steve huffed and dug deeper into the bag. A small paper bag with some chain in it. He poured the item in his hand and out fell two dog tags. One for Steve and one for Bucky. On the other side of his had 'best big brother' engraved on it. He chuckled at it and stood up to give Kiera a big hug.

"I got myself one too, I don't know if I should..."

"Let me see?" Steve asked.

Kiera pulled out a chain from her back pocket and handed it to Steve. He read the dog tag.

"Kiera Rogers Dawson. October 26, 1998."

He smiled and held the chain out.

"For, the best little sister ever." He said as he put it on her and kissed her head.

"Thanks. Now, cupcake?" Kiera moved past him and lit the candle on the cupcake.

Steve blew out the candle to please her, and dabbed some frosting on her nose before splitting the cake between them.

"Now, bed." He scooped her over his shoulder and towed her upstairs to her room.

In bed, Kiera didn't resist much and fell asleep quickly while Steve stayed awake in the armchair in her room, reminiscing his past and contemplating his future as he fiddled with the dog tags in his hand.

Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Years was spent divided between Sam and the veterans and the Witters family. The siblings surprised each other with meaningful gifts, and enjoyed the buzz at the gym before and after the holidays. Alan Witter continued to set up Steve with dates, but an adult or more people had to be around when Kiera went. Lucky for Steve, she didn't find anyone interesting enough to date.

January and February went by cold but the groundhog didn't see his shadow probably and spring came fast, and went fast. April was humid and hot rains, and it was on one of these kind of days when he came.

Steve was training some clients at the gym when he walked in. Dressed in his long black coat in the hot humid day, he drew attention of the clients and the trainer. Steve left his current client with work and excused himself to meet the walk in.

"Director," he said as he wiped his hands with a towel and walked towards the office.

"Captain," Nick Fury returned the greet.
"Nice place you got for yourself here. Didn't take you for an entrepreneur."

"No, you just took me for a super soldier whose only existence is to serve your beck and call."

Kiera walked home from the park having helped some friends with their school project. She'd had a good day and was excited to go back to the gym and bugger clients. But as soon she rounded the corner, all that excitement winded out of her as if she'd walked into a vacuum. From her spot-a large distance away from the gym- she could see the cars parked outside. The black SUVs with a white eagle on the side as big as the presidential seal. Sadness and anger double teamed inside her and she ran down the opposite direction, to the bakery.

"You here to check up on me or do you actually want something?"

"Right. When you crashed the plane back them to drown the hydra technology from the world..."

"Let me guess, you found it."

"We did. And, you're the best resource we have on it."

"Let me get this straight: you want me to work on, and help you put to use hydra technology?"

"Would it ease your mind any if I told you it wasn't invented by Hydra? It's an alien object, which fell from the sky into their hands."

"Listen, I won't help you use the same thing I wasted 70 years of my life for. And now I'm building a new life, an SSR free life. It is the least that your agency owes me, to stay away."

They exchanged more dialogue, nobody took a seat and Sam came over to check what was up.

"This man is..." Steve began to introduce but Fury cut him off.

"Just about to leave. I appreciate the time, Mr. Dawson." Fury nodded to Sam and he and Steve walked the director out.

At the entrance, Steve took notice of the big white bird on the car.

"Eagle?" He asked with a brow raised. The bird wasn't the problem, the scene was.

"Freedom." Fury answered shortly as he opened the back door of one of the SUVs. "Good day, Captain."

The parade of cars went down the street and Sam exhaustedly put his hands on his hips.

"SHIELD?" He asked, his face contorting from looking in the direction of the setting sun.

"Big guy in SHIELD." Steve told and walked back towards the gym.

"Shouldn't Cat be home by know?"
Steve stopped in his way and looked in the direction of the park. He thought about it but soon came to a quick realization. His eyes clenched and his head threw back.

"She saw them, didn't she?" Sam figured from Steve's distress.

"Yeah, she knows."

Thanks a bunch, SHIELD.