Steve had been out in the yard, his mind focused on his hands in the dirt of a small veggie patch he'd started with Stevie. The little boy had wanted to come with him and Bucky to the farm but all of the equipment there was a bit much for Steve to feel comfortable with him doing anything more than riding in their laps so he'd figured a little garden of their own might be a good compromise. He'd let the little boy help him dig up the grass and fill the bed he'd made with good soil; then he'd gotten some seeds from AJ and they spent another afternoon getting it all planted. In the time since, Steve had noticed the chickens a little more interested in the seedlings than he'd like so he'd gone about setting up a small fence, just attaching the gate when he heard it.
The other man's voice was seared in his mind, but it seemed muffled, distant. He couldn't quite place where it was coming from or if it was just another trick of his mind. He shook himself out of it a little bit and went back to his work, but it kept coming back, still far away, still muffled too much for him to really understand the words. After a few minutes it's too much. He needs to check, needs to see his family and know they're safe before he could relax. He found Bucky and the kids first, walking past them in the main room taking quick count: Bucky on couch, Mouse in his lap, little Stevie coloring at the table, older self asleep with his head in Mary Ellen's lap. All but Peggy.
He listened carefully, hearing some water sloshing upstairs he figured she was in the bath. He took the steps two at a time but made himself slow once he got to the top. He was probably worried about nothing, there was no need to scare anyone else too. He knocked gently on the door with one finger. "Peggy?"