As soon as you walked into the compound, you were accosted by your own father, rushing to you and taking your arm to drag you towards the lab. He was a man possessed, like you hadn't seen from him in a long time. The last time he was like this, it didn't end well.

"How much can you do?"

"What?" you asked sharply, digging your heels in to stop him from taking you any further. "Dad, slow down. You're acting crazy. Tell me what you're thinking and we can go from there."

"I think I have a way to get the Iridium out of Steve and Bucky so we can give them Shuri's new serum, but I need to know what you can do with that soul glow of yours. I want to get started right away. Do you know where Cap is? Shuri's already on the way-"

"I'm not really sure what I can do," you shrugged. "It's not like I don't already spend most of my days trying to hide it, you know. But Dad, we can't do this right now. Not today."

"What do you mean?"

"Ant moved up his wedding to tomorrow. We have to wait until after."

"Why? Shouldn't we do this first?"

"No, we shouldn't," you argued. "In case this doesn't work, whatever it is that you're doing, I'd rather not completely ruin any chance for Ant to have Steve there. It's one more day, okay? We can wait."

~~~

While you were talking your dad down and getting him to give you the full explanation of the experiment he wanted to run on your husband and his best friend, Steve had returned with Anthony from picking up the tuxes for the next day. He had done his best to explain to Sam that it was best that he keep his distance from his own husband for a while, and that he would have to pretend to introduce them at lunch because Bucky's memory was worse than ever. The conversation didn't go so well, but Sam agreed, if only for Bucky's sake over anything else.

"Let me go see if Buck's awake yet," Steve said. "Why don't you help Ant get the suits upstairs and ready for tomorrow."

Sam couldn't help but show how hurt he was by everything, and by the debilitating impotence of not being able to do anything about it. Other than their daughter, Bucky was the most important person in his life, and it was far too early to lose him. They had so much more living to do, and so many more things to accomplish together. He wasn't ready at all. "Yeah, sure. No problem."

"Sam, it's gonna be okay."

"You don't know that."

"No, but I don't know what else to say. I'm barely hanging on here too, man."

"Steve," Sam exhaled heavily, "Steve...you don't get it. I'm not losing only Buck..."

As the words faded into silence, Steve waited for more, but all he got was a hidden sniffle and a friend turned away from him. Steve had never stopped to consider it, that Sam was losing him, too. He had been so focused on you and the kids and how he could make this easier for you that he hadn't thought about anyone else. Sam was taking a hit twice over, and Steve couldn't imagine what his friend was feeling right now. "Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't think-"

"It's fine," he tried to wave off dismissively, but Steve wasn't buying it.

"No, it's not fine. I should've thought about what this was doing to you. I never checked in like I should have. We've been friends for a long time, Sam, and I'm sorry...I really am."

Sam stopped and turned back to his best friend, immediately realizing what had just happened and the guilt overwhelmed him. Here was Steve, a man who had maybe days left for all anyone knew, apologizing to him for not taking the time to check in to be sure that he was okay. He felt selfish and completely embarrassed. "Steve, no, don't apologize to me, man. I can't even start to understand what this is like for you. You have your family to worry about, and I know that (Y/N) hasn't even hit the point of getting this yet. Please, you just focus on yours, and I'll take care of mine. Please, don't waste a second of your time worrying about me, okay? You're my best friend, and I love you, and I'm gonna miss you like hell if this doesn't get figured out, but I'll find a way to keep it together."

"Promise?" Steve asked softly, his voice now the one that was faint and cracking. "Promise me that you'll take care of them for me when...when I'm gone?"

"They're my family too, Cap. You know I've got it."

"Thank you, Sam. Um, listen...all of the sudden I'm feeling pretty wiped out. Would you mind if we grabbed a late lunch? I just need a quick nap first."

"Of course, take as long as you need. I'll just go check on my girl."

"Sounds good, I'll catch up with you in a bit. I'll talk to Buck and let him know the change in plans."

With a quick hug and a nod of shared understanding, the two men split so that Steve could get Bucky and so that Sam could get some time to talk to Becca alone. Things were changing so rapidly that he had to make sure she was kept up to speed. She still had yet to see Bucky alone and for more than a couple of minutes at a time since she had been back home, and Sam wasn't likely to be able to hold her off much longer.

~~~

"Dad, I don't know about this," you said under your breath, reading the screens that surrounded you in his lab. "I'm not getting a great feeling about it. I don't even know if I can do what you're asking of me. Don't you think we should start small and experiment a little before going all out on my husband? Maybe figure out what I'm actually doing?"

"Normally, I would say yes, being a scientist and all," Tony sighed heavily, "and believe me, Banner's already put me though the ringer on that. But, in reality we don't have that kind of time."

"Tony, I could kill him."

"Hey, let's not first-name me here, young lady. Don't you think that I've considered that? But, honey, he's already dying. Every minute he's getting closer. I know that you see it too, he's just learning how to hide it better."

"Yes, but he's not dying by my hands. How would I be able to live with myself if that happened?"

"You've tried to kill him before," he smirked, but the moment was quickly wiped away from his expression when you shot a glare that dropped the temperature in the room around you. "Okay, listen, you would be able to live with it, because at least we tried everything we could. He would never blame you, sweetheart."

Your eyes scanned the information ahead of you again, the equations were complex and grossly a shot in the dark at best, but Tony was right; it was all that you had and time was running out. "Did you talk to him about this yet?"

"No, he's my next conversation."

"Right...okay..." you relented with a groan, pushing back from the desk, "dammit, I still don't like this. But let's talk to Steve and Sam. Buck isn't in any state of mind to make his own decisions anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"He's in full-blown Alzheimer's, Dad. The Bucky we know is gone. He only knows Steve, and we're not sure how long that's gonna last."

"Shit, I had no idea." Tony's brow furrowed as he replayed the last few days in his mind, berating himself for not being more present and not knowing this information already. He had been so focused on finding a way to help that he had all but sheltered himself away from the world around him. "How's Wilson holding up? What about Becca?"

"He's taking to her more today, I guess. Not sure when, or where, but I have a feeling that I need to be as far away as possible when it happens. If I kill her dad..." you faded, shaking your head in remorse at the idea, "she already blames me for this, and I'd take whatever she can bring if that happened."

"Y/N!"

Sam's voice echoed across the room, billowing loudly with an urgency that sent a chill through you. Tony grabbed your hand, but you shook him clear and hurried to the door to meet your friend. "Sam? What's wrong?"

"I went to wake up Steve so we could go to lunch with Buck and when he stood up to get ready his hip turned and he fell. He can't stand up and they guy weighs a ton. We need help getting him to the hospital. Everyone who could levitate him isn't home, wouldn't ya know? Banner offered to go green, but Cap said no because that would just be too damned easy."

~~~

When you walked into your bedroom, the first thing you heard was Steve's voice, arguing with anyone who was trying to help him, insistent that he wasn't hurt and everyone just needed to let him be. It was an argument that you had heard a million times, even at his peak of strength; this time you weren't about to buy into it for a second, and he knew it as soon as he saw you cross through the doorway.

"Doll, I'm fine, I just need a minute..."

"Yeah, you look fantastic," you scoffed. "Stop being stoic and let us help you, Steve."

"Fine. But I just need a couple hands to help me up," he insisted again, lifting his hands up for anyone to take, "here, give it a try." He planted the foot of his uninjured foot on the carpeted ground and very gingerly tried to steady the other; you could see the subtle signs of pain in his face despite his effort to mask them. "On three," he commanded. "One...two...three."

The combined efforts of you, Sam, Grant, and Clint had him upright for about a good ten seconds before the pain was too much and he toppled back onto the bed in a heap.

"At least he's off the floor. I'll get Tony to call the team doc in," Clint offered, grabbing his phone and heading out into the hallway. History told him that there was about to be a conversation that he wanted no part of.

"Anthony's wedding is tomorrow, (Y/N)," Steve panted through his pain. "I'm not going down that aisle in a wheelchair."

"Just lay down, alright? Let the doctor check you out. If you do something to make it worse, then you might not get down the aisle at all. Give it time, honey. You don't heal like you used to, and you can't just get back to work."

"You think I don't know that?"

Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, you turned away from your husband and towards the others, opening your eyes slowly and deliberately to try to keep some of your frustration to yourself. You were sure that you were failing terribly by the looks you were getting back. "Guys, can you give us a minute alone?"

Once the room had emptied and left the two of you on your own, you crossed the room to shut the door. You stood there for a moment, gathering your thoughts and how you wanted to say them, staring at the barrier rather than looking back at Steve. What you were about to tell him was barely realistic to consider, but you knew that he would go for it. You also knew that he wasn't thinking about himself in this; he was only concerned about you and his children. He wanted to be there for each of you and wanted this to stop hurting you. It would definitely cloud his judgement.

"Steve," you began softly, "Dad thinks he has a solution but it's incredibly dangerous. There's no guarantees and...I might just be the one that kills you before your own body finishes the job."

"Okay," he answered hesitantly, "what's the play?"

"He thinks that he figured out a solution that should neutralize the Iridium in your blood, so that Shuri's serum can replace the one that's breaking down."

"That's perfect!" he perked up, pushing himself to sit against the headboard of your bed. "How soon can we try it?"

"Yeah, it might sound perfect in theory, but removing the Iridium could kill you before she has a chance to inject, and even then, the stress on your weakened systems might not be able to handle it," you argued. You still had yet to turn to face him, because it scared you to think of how hopeful he must be and you couldn't stand to see it knowing how bad this could end. If you hadn't been on the verge of falling apart before, you definitely were now, and Steve was the most likely person to finish the job.

"Okay, but you just said that you might be the one to kill me. What do you mean?"

"Dad's speculating that since the soul stone holds the control of life and death, from what Stephen's told us, that I might be able to somehow connect to you and Bucky to keep you alive during the process."

"No." His answer was immediate and definite, barely letting you finish the sentence. It was what finally had you turning to look at him out of both shock and defiance.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said no," Steve insisted. "That's too dangerous, (Y/N) and I'm not letting you risk yourself for me. If I could actually put my foot down right now, I would. No."

"I don't recall asking for you to make that decision for me."

"If something happens to you, that leaves the kids without both of us. We can't do that to them."

"And if I don't do everything I can to save you that leaves them without their father," you argued. With a few long strides you crossed the room again, gently sitting yourself next to him so that you didn't shift his weight to cause him pain. You weren't used to this as a problem, and the awkwardness of it was obvious. "That's untenable to me, and I have to at least try or I'll never forgive myself. Dad will be monitoring everything and will pull me away if anything goes wrong. I have to know that we've done everything, Steve. I need to do this. I just don't want you to think this is a guarantee."

Your husband shook his head in defeat, but a very small smile curled at the edge of his mouth in realization that he was never going to win this argument in the first place. "Why do I even try anymore? You'd think that after this many years together I'd learn."

"Yeah, you'd think," you chuckled, nudging him very gently with your elbow. "We're gonna try to coordinate for the morning after the wedding. For now, let's just focus on getting you there."