he who hesitates is toast

She's not sure what she would have done without Steve. 

 

Sharon stays with him for the first two days of her week of liberty, although she hardly pays attention to the passage of time. The storms of weeping and grief roll over her multiple times a day, and the very first night, she wakes up from a stuttering nightmare she can hardly remember that leaves her muffling a wail into her borrowed pillow.

 

On the second day after her return, when she's found a little equilibrium, Steve takes her around the city. They don't go to Coney Island, but he walks her through Brooklyn, and later that night they sit together on the couch, quiet in their shared grief. She thinks he needs her curled against his side, her head on his shoulder, as much as she needs him steady and solid against her. He makes sure she eats and stays hydrated and both of them try to sleep, and in that way, they get through the first few days.

 

On the third day, she packs the clothes JARVIS had provided and she and Steve head together for Washington. She's already invited him to the mountain house after they visit with Aunt Peggy, though she doesn't know if he'll take her up on it. All she knows is that he's about the only company she can stomach just now.

 

What they'll do if Aunt Peggy isn't having a good day, she's not quite sure. It almost doesn't matter, though, as they pull up to the townhouse. She just needs to see her.