The gym started off slow, so with the plenty down time, Steve and Kiera head over to the Witter's bakery for remodeling. Katie Witter agreed to all of Lindsay and Kiera's plans, even to the ones Steve didn't know of. The girls made the blueprints, and Steve and Sam did the construction while the brothers helped when they could. And by the time halloween rolled around, the student corner was ready for business. Steve made friends with old people and war veterans, and Kiera befriended the regular kids at the bakery.

"So, do we got any plans for halloween?" Kiera asked Steve as they cleaned up the gym after closing one night.

"Why? Do you?" Steve answered her question with a question.

"Katie's throwing a little party at the bakery. Obviously, we're invited."

"And obviously, you've already accepted the invitation." Steve knew.

"Not like we got anything better to do. Hey! I got a fantastic idea!" Kiera jumped of the reception desk.

"I'm not going to find it so fantastic on the get go, am I?"

"What if you went as Captain America! And Sam could be your, what were they?"

"Howling Commando?"

"Yeah, that. What do you think?"

"And people won't start to wonder if I'm actually Captain America?"

"Trust me, in this age, a lot of people aren't that smart." Kiera boldly replied as she helped Steve put away the last of the gym tools.
"While we're on the topic, did you ever have any girl Howling Commandos?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly a Howling Commando," Steve derailed, "but she was something."

"And something especially special to you?" Kiera prodded.

"Peggy Carter. She was my guide; moral, strategic. She owes me a dance." Steve reminisced as he sat on a machine.

"Steve, is she..." Kiera didn't want to say the word.

"No, no. She's still alive. That's what kind of makes it harder."

"If she's as good as you, how did she have a part in making an agency like S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Believe it or not, S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't always that bad, it was made to reestablish the first war agency. The SSR fell off the tracks after the war ended. But I guess the 1940's were limited by society; a frail kid from Brooklyn couldn't be a soldier, a woman couldn't be a leader, or pretty much anything. That's one of the biggest reasons she joined S.H.I.E.L.D's founders. Howard Stark made sure she had the authority."

"Wait, Howard Stark? As in rich guy, technology industry."

"Yea that guy. What's so amazing?" Steve was perplexed.

"You were friends with Tony Stark's father! That is like, well, in the top 5 list of coolest things about you. So, is it okay I go dressed as Agent Peggy Carter on halloween?"

"If you think you could pull it of!" Steve teased her.

"And now that you know Peggy's backstory with S.H.I.E.L.D," Steve picked her up and sat her on the front desk, "what's yours?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Oh boy, here goes. Once upon a time, when I was 8..."

"Kiera, it's your bed time honey!"  Mrs. Rickman came in the room as Kiera cleaned up her toys.

"Okay! I'm just going to put Polly to bed," the little girl replied as she tucked her doll in her bed.

"Here's your toothbrush. I'll be right outside if you need me." Mrs. Rickman lead Kiera to the bathroom with her new toothbrush.

"I'm 8 years old now, I'm a big girl. I can go to the bathroom by all myself."

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Rickman had to drag Kiera back into the bathroom. It was one of Kiera's 8 year old things to do, being the first one to open the doors to the bell.

"Now, don't you worry and stay right here and brush your teeth. Daniel will get the door." Kiera pouted and went back to the bathroom as Daniel came out the kitchen to tend to the door.

She ran the tap slow so she could hear what was going on.

"Hello, may I help you?" Daniel said as he opened the door

"Good evening, I apologize for the late hour, but we're here with a concern about your neighbor, Mrs. Evans."  A loud, man's voice replied, and she heard cars in the background.

"Of course. Please, join me on the porch." That was the last thing she could properly hear before the door closed and she returned her attention to the task at hand.

As Kiera brushed her teeth in the bathroom, lights beamed through the blinds. She quickly rinsed and turned off the tap, and tip toed to the window. She crunched below the sill to see through the shutters.

It was dark outside, like always, but that night it just felt different. Like that dream or movie where the camera pulses towards you as if something bad was going to happen. The black was suddenly shattered by bright white headlights, and an engine soared through the silence as it shut off. It was a black van of some sort, but not one that looked family friendly.

As Kiera tried to focus on it, she could faintly tell the white-grey outline of a bird. She squinted her eyes to see better, but a person suddenly walked up to the window, his side towards the house. He held a big gun in his hands and wore a curling wire behind his ear. And on his bicep, was a white Eagle. There was a burst of noise from behind the man's ear and Kiera quickly hunched down to the floor, almost about to cry.

As the man stood his post, the voice through the wire became more clear:

"Mrs Evans' body was found on the site of a car crash. A semi truck crashed into a blue Volkswagen," the other voice said.

"Oh Lord have mercy. The bug sounds like hers."

"I have been made aware that she has left behind a little girl."

There was a pause.

"To the extent of my knowledge, her daughter was with her. They never left each other."

Mr. Rickman lied. She was hiding in their bathroom, but why would he have lied.

"You wouldn't mind if I came inside?"

"I'll take the liberty to say I've been a lawyer in my past life. And given the hour of night, I'm sure you can understand if I ask for some papers."

"Of course, I'm afraid I don't have them on me tonight. I apologize for the interruption, and I truly am sorry for your loss."

"The morning after, the Rickman's got my stuff from our house and they sweet talked me as they dropped me at a foster house. They used to write letters to me once in a while, but then I was given to a family. And then returned, and then given out again. But then 3 years ago, I decided that I wasn't a rag doll, and I left. Leave everything behind."

"Sometimes, the best that we can do is to start over." Steve quoted Peggy as he decided she would do a heck of a job as a Peggy Carter.
"So, we'll go costume shopping in the morning? I need an American flag basically, and you need a red Stetson."

"Honest to God, Steve!" Kiera exclaimed, reeling in from her sadness

"What? Captain America needs to have an American outfit, and what's more American than red, blue, and stars?"

"I was talking about the red Stetson!" she jokingly punched him in the chest.

"It was pretty in fashion in the 40's. Completes the badass "what're you gonna do about it" female super spy look,"

"Okay, okay. We'll go costume hunting together. And you are NOT wrapping an American flag around yourself."