Bruce takes on the task of informing the team: “They didn't know. I was researching on the serum and comparing their DNA. That's how I found out.” Tony adds: “And after he discussed it with me, we let them know. Since then I've done some research that I actually wanted to talk to you about in private!” He looks at Steve, who just gives him a helpless stare. So he reports: “Well. So for example, the way things look, it is actually extremely unlikely that your father, Joseph Rogers, could be your biological father. At least if he last saw Sarah Rogers on his official home vacation and didn't steal away unauthorised again. If he didn't, your mother would have had to be pregnant for the full 40 weeks of gestation, plus an additional two!”

Coulson leans in baffled: “But I always thought it was said that Rogers was born prematurely?!” Bruce nods: “That's the official verdict! It is actually mentioned twice in files about Steve's health.” Cap tries to calm himself down, but holding his head keeps muttering: “It can't be true! Please, this is a nightmare.” “But Sarah could still be his mother, right? Maybe... she had a lover?”, Scott speculates, but Cap scolds: “Never! My Ma was faithful, she never looked at another man after my father's death, she didn't want anyone else!” But then he realizes that it doesn't exactly speak for him and he stays silent.

Tony however goes on: “Well. There were also a few problems with Sarah... Basically, she became a nurse because she wasn't doing so well physically either, and she wanted to help others like herself. It may well be that she was infertile.” “What?”, Rhodes and Clint ask, Coulson also frowns, and Steve looks almost offended at him, but Tony explains: “Believe me Rogers, this isn't easy for me either. But you see, she was married to your father for five years! And in all that time she had never been pregnant. And then, when her husband is basically no longer around, it suddenly works? So, if it wasn't on him and she didn't have someone else...” Bruce interrupts: “Which you deny. And the way you speak of her, I think she would have told you who your father was if... well, if it wasn't a disgrace.”

“But that could still be the case!”, Natasha notes, “She could have had a lover, maybe even a married man, that would have been a scandal!”, and when Steve is about to object outraged, she adds sad: “Or if she was raped.” Steve swallows his protest, and the others bow their heads uneasy. Tony argues: “There are no signs of that. And it's like Buchanan said: His family had one child after another, and his father didn't earn much. His mother was often in the hospital where Steve's mother worked, they lived basically next door to each other, they knew each other! I think it is more likely that his family would have gladly given up a sick child. Who'd be better suited than a nurse? With perhaps an unfulfilled desire for motherhood? Maybe Steve's father had even agreed to it, who knows what they last talked or wrote about. She then could have tried to make sure that Steve was always connected to his birth family, even though they didn't want him.” All falls silent while everyone digests the news.

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Sam helps Steve up and gently puts his arm around his shoulders to give him some support. Natasha finally concludes: “Well guys, gotta be honest with you: I actually had more trouble getting used to the relationship between Thor and Loki! They grew up knowing they were siblings, even though it turned out to be a lie. In your case, it's the other way round.” Clint nods: “I agree with you, Nat! You didn't know of this, otherwise I'm sure things would have turned out differently.”, and Wanda like Tony before comments: “Besides, what harm does it do? You can't have any natural offspring. I know if Pietro and I had fallen in love without knowing we were twins, it could have turned out ugly. But nothing can happen with you, neither accidentally nor on purpose, so nobody would suffer from it!”

But Steve sniffles: "But it's wrong! I... I can't reconcile this with my conscience. Damn it!” He completely lost his appetite, so he turns to leave. Sam follows him, tries to comfort him on his own, encourages him to speak out. And so he reveals to him: “I miss him so much! I've sworn I'd never let go of him again, but now it feels like I'm doing something sinful, when the two of us just talk alone! And I wanted... I had planned to propose to him! And now we're drifting apart..."

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For the next few days, the revelations hang like a shadow over Stark Tower. Cap buries himself in his room behind supposed work, and Buchanan avoids the rest of the group because he doesn't want to be asked about Steve. Tony and Bruce try to get throught to the two again, but it's no use. The Avengers grow concerned for their Captain, and Bruce is pained by his guilty conscience.