Tony and Pepper's wedding was everything they had hoped for given the current state of the world. It was peaceful and tranquil, Pepper was glowing and Tony had never been more happy than in that moment when he and Pepper exchanged their vows and became husband and wife. Mary was so happy, thrilled for them. Her son and now daughter were going to start their lives together. But the little green monster was always inside Mary's mind. The jealousy she felt when Tony and Pepper exchanged their first kiss as a married couple made her heart ache with jealousy because she had had her husband, he was alive. And then he wasn't.

Questions pooled inside her mind as the reception was underway, all the couples that attended were dancing on dance floor but Mary. She was at her table alone, Natasha had wanted a dance with her godson and Mary happily obliged the spy. So Mary sat alone, drinking her sparkling apple cider because Tony knew she didn't drink. Her questions kept eating away at her from the inside. They had stirred within her when Steve and Evelyn had gotten married six months prior to Tony's wedding. They'd even acknowledged it.

It didn't seem right, or even fair, that they got to enjoy their happiness while others, like Mary, had lost their own spouses to the Snap. It ate away at Mary when she knew her brother and son felt like that. That they shouldn't celebrate themselves because of the world going on right now.

But Mary told them to anyways. Her feelings were her own, no one else around her truly knew what she was feeling. No one else had lost a spouse in the Snap that she knew of. She could've gone to Jean or Scott up in Westchester but they both had snapped away. Logan and Ororo were happy together and making due with the limited staff and students they now have. Sue and Reed both were still alive, Johnny and Ben were victims of the Snap. T'Challa and Shuri were both gone. But the one woman Mary knew of that could somehow understand her was in Wakanda.

The Queen Mother, Ramonda.

She had lost her husband in the bombing of the Vienna UN building. She understood that loss, that pain of seeing other couples be happy while Mary was suffering with the loss of her spouse. Her center. Her Alpha.

So the two widows made it a point three times a week, or whenever the other needed to vent, to talk about their struggles and how they're attempting to move past it all. That became a tradition for them. It became their saving grace on many occasions.

Soon months slowly turned into a year, Tony and Pepper announced they were expecting a baby in August. Mary was ninety-nine years old on September eleventh, 2019. A day that was already solemn for America became even more so after the Snap. Jamie was now four and Mary wanted him to be celebrated. He deserved to be celebrated. So that's what they did. Mary only requested a small dinner with her family outside of their Friday Night Dinners. Jamie was given gifts and he hugged every one of his aunties and uncles that gave him something with the brightest smile you would ever see on a child.

Evelyn and Mary sat down after Jamie had gone to sleep and the sister in laws talked about anything and everything. Evelyn wanted to be a mother, she truly did and Mary saw that in her sister. Steve wanted to be a father, he was already an amazing uncle to Jamie and Becca before her passing. It was only natural that the couple would consider talking about children. But what Evelyn brought up was something Mary didn't anticipate.

"We want children of our own, but we also want to adopt." Evelyn said to Mary during their conversation. Evelyn had been dubbed an ambassador for children whose parents were snapped away, she worked closely to the governments to help find families for children all over the nation and sometimes the world. Steve had never been more proud of his wife.

Finding them homes and loving families who had lost their children in the snap. But what concerned Mary was if there was ever a way to bring everyone back, despite the destruction of the stones, what would happen to those families that had built a life together out of sorrow only to have their dusted family members come back. What would happen then?

Evelyn and Steve knew the consequences and the risks with natural children and adoption. They had talked about it ad nauseum it seemed. Mary was their final go to to discuss the plans of a baby. They wanted children, but were afraid to celebrate something good in their life when so many others were still suffering. Mary had lost her husband and daughter, she was struggling the most out of everyone it seemed some days.

Aside from the Rogers couple wanting Mary to know about their plans, Mary was also the only woman alive who has delivered a super serum baby. Jamie was the product of that. Winnie passed away in the womb before they could tell. And Becca, she was conceived before the train. Evelyn and Steve wanted to know everything that had happened with Jamie's pregnancy more than they already knew.

Evelyn knew the pain levels for Mary were much higher than an average pregnancy and birth when she delivered Jamie. So Mary told them everything, from the increased morning sickness and body aches, to the sleepless nights and never ending kicks Jamie gave his mother. But in the end, Mary told them something that would stick with them.

"Never once did i ever regret it, or wish it was any less than it was. Because it brought me Jamie. And i would never trade a second i had with him inside of me or anything else for an easier pregnancy."

Steve and Evelyn a year later of trying for a child at one of Mary's Friday Night Dinners in October 2020, baby Morgan asleep in her bassinet at the dinner table, announced that they were expecting a baby. Mary and Pepper were ecstatic for Evelyn, over the two years since the Snap, Steve and Tony were getting comfortable around each other with their wives and Mary present. You wouldn't find them working together or sitting in a room alone, but they would talk to each other about things, they would be friendly with each other. And that made Mary's heart swell with pride for her brother and son.

Tony congratulated Steve with a smile and a handshake, teasing him how fatherhood changes a man and Morgan's only been on the earth for nearly a year. It was turning out that Mary's immediate family would persevere over this trauma.

But as always, there were still nights that both men would have nightmares. Their failures, the losses, the crippling regret of not defeating Thanos before it was already too late ate away at them. No one was truly happy, not really. How can anyone be happy when their loved ones were killed by the monster that came from space with a mission. Sure there were happy moments, but when those faded and the let down of the happiness entered their thoughts, they were always brought back to those that should be with them, but aren't.

Years seemed to pass by in a blur. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months eventually turned into years. Memorials were placed for those who were a part of the Snap in San Francisco and New York City along with other, smaller, memorials in different states. Governments were still struggling to find ways to aid those suffering the most.

Evelyn had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Esme Elizabeth Rogers, named after her grandmothers and Aunt, on June twentieth, 2021, was the joy of the Rogers family and all those that came around to see the bundle of joy, the daughter of America. She was the perfect blend of Evelyn and Steve according to Mary. Bright brown eyes with Steve's blonde hair. Jamie was enthralled with his baby cousin, as was Morgan who was now close to turning two.

The new Trio, the parents called them. The Young Avengers.

Mary loved that her family was growing. But she felt alone more times than she liked to count. She decided that she was going to go back to work in any way she could. She aided hospitals that needed the extra hands. She donated what she could to help find vaccines and cures for diseases. She tried to prolong life for others because she was forever stuck with time.

There were days where Mary would not want to be around anyone other than her niece, son and granddaughter. It was Mary's first grandchild. Mary had helped Pepper deliver and when everything was said and done, Tony introduced Morgan to Mary as her grandmother. Grammy Ree as Tony would call her in front of Morgan, the variation of his nickname Mama Ree before he called her mom.

As Morgan, Jamie and Esme got older, they became more of a handful when the three of them would come together. Jamie was the oldest of the three, he was the protector, just like his father and uncle. He always made sure Morgan and Esme were safe and protected. Morgan was the spitfire, just like her father. Nothing could stop her when she put her mind to something. And Esme was the peacekeeper, much like her mother and aunt. Esme wanted no fighting, if she heard a fight she would rush into the room to break it up, to command they hug and make up, whomever was arguing.

As the years passed on and it was now the beginning of 2023, Mary knew things wouldn't always stay the same. The Sunday Night Dinners for the Avengers had long since stopped. No one could make it anymore, Thor was away in Norway with his people, Bruce was off doing science things, Clint was taking his loss the hardest. When Mary found out Clint's entire family had passed in the Snap, she felt the loss all over again when she watched Bucky turn to dust. She could only imagine what Clint was feeling and he was taking his anger out on the gangs, the clans around the world. His reasoning was something Mary often wondered herself. Why were these villainous men and women allowed to live still but Clint's family, Mary's family and so many others weren't given that same blessing. It made Mary's blood boil.

Nat was the only one still around it seemed. Steve had taken up counseling others that were lost in the world now that they had suffered so much loss. It would cause him to suffer attacks from his mind, there were nights where Esme would go to sleep in her bedroom but wake up in Steve and Evelyn's bed. The Captain needed to know his daughter and wife were safe.

Mary often saw Bucky in Steve a lot when those days occurred. Mary, despite her efforts, had become reclusive. Only coming out of her room in the compound when it was necessary. She missed the liveliness of the compound when Steve, Evelyn and Esme first lived together there as a family, but they needed space of their own. So they moved out and found a home in the Brooklyn suburbs. Mary had offered her home that was still under her name but they wanted something to own, something that was tangible and theirs.

By July of 2023, Mary realized that she would be the same age Bucky was when he passed away, one hundred and three. It hit her harder than she wanted to admit and it only drove her further her depression. Jamie, now eight years old, Morgan was almost five and Esme was three. The eldest of the trio knew his mother wasn't okay. He had watched her decline despite her trying to keep him out of it. How could he not notice? His precious Umama was slipping away from reality. Sure she had her family, but they had started families of their own. She was left alone. It took weeks for Mary to stop having night terrors after Steve moved out of the compound.

Mary would often wake up and see Nat and Jamie had both joined her in her bed. The two women had grown close over the last five years. They shared the struggle of being alone. They understood the suffering this was causing them.

Nat knew something had to be done or else Mary would lose her grip on reality that much sooner.

Jamie helped how he could. He would read his storybook to his mother in attempts to help her cope. The marvelous stories of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, tales of the Amazing Spider Man and the Dazzling Crystal. The book was given to Jamie on his sixth birthday by the Avengers themselves. It was his most prized possession.

Mary never wanted this for her son, her Sunshine. She knew in her heart and soul that something needed to change within her if she wanted to continue being the mother Jamie needed. But it was so damn hard. Something was going to give if something didn't change, and soon.

And one thing about Mary that scared her son and family was one thing.

One major thing that she always did, when everything seemed lost, she did it to make herself feel like things would be okay in the world. But she had lost that hope.

And she had stopped counting the stars.