A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to one shots! :D Suggestions and requests gladly taken into consideration as long as PG and non-cuss-wordy. Hope you enjoy this first chapter!

aAaAaAa

Teething Troubles

"Okay, are you sure you've got this?"

Steve kissed his wife. "I've got this," he assured her. "Go."

"Okay, because the UN summit for extraterrestrial immigration isn't that important-"

He smiled indulgently. "This is the most important meeting of the year and you know it, doll."

"Ugh, fine." Diana gave Meg a kiss on the head, and a final cuddle. "Okay baby, here we go with daddy." She handed the five-month-old over reluctantly and picked up her bag. "I'll call you tonight when I get to the embassy, and don't forget that Sam and Bucky are at the facility if you need backup, and don't forget to change her before you put her down tonight, and-"

Steve smiled and hugged her. "Sweetheart, it's going to be fine. You'll be home in two days, and you can call anytime you need to."

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Okay. Here we go." She ruffled Abby's fur as a goodbye, and left the house. Steve and Meg waved to her until the car left the driveway.

"Say bye mommy!" Steve said, waving Meg's little hand gently.

Meg gurgled happily and waved her other hand in imitation. "Baaa bababaa," she babbled, smiling cheerfully at her father.

He kissed her bald head. "That's right baby, it's just you and me and Abby."

The dog looked up at the mention of her name and nudged Steve's leg inquiringly before going back into the house to take a nap.

aAa

Everything was fine for the first two hours. Steve made breakfast for himself and fed Meg a bottle, burped her while they watched a couple of episodes of Leverage on TV... and then she started fussing.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Steve asked, bouncing her gently and rubbing her back. "Still got some leftover air in your tum-tum?"

She whimpered impatiently and fisted a hand into his shirt.

"You need a diaper change?" He checked. Everything was clean and dry.

Meg cried and rubbed at her face, and then started to chew on her little fist as she whimpered.

He rocked her, and she cried. He put on music, and she cried. He laid her down on her stomach, and she cried. He had MAX scan her, and she cried. "There is nothing physically wrong with her," the MAX unit reported.

Steve groaned. "Don't tell me she's just missing mommy because these are going to be the longest two days of our lives."

MAX was not qualified to reply, and so he did not.

Steve lifted Meg into his arms and carried her back out to the living room. "Okay," he said, patting her back and handing her a toy, which she threw to the floor, "we can do this, right?"

Abby whined and covered her eyes with a paw before escaping upstairs.

aAa

An hour later, Meg was still fussy and irritable, overheated and miserable, and Steve was contemplating borrowing Tony's jet and flying to Switzerland to find Diana.

His cell phone rang. Steve put Meg down on the blankie on the floor, and she responded by screaming. He picked up the phone and moved to the kitchen. "Rogers."

"I was going to ask how it was going but I can hear how it's going just fine," Tony replied, the smirk audible in his voice. "How long has Maggie been crying?"

Steve sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "At least an hour I think. I don't know what's wrong, I've tried everything, but she just keeps crying. I don't think I can take much more of this."

"Have you tried burping her?"

"Yep."

"Diaper?"

"That was the first thing I checked."

"Strange clothing item giving her a rash?"

"Nope."

"Bug bite?"

"Nope."

"Sick?"

"Nope." Steve winced as Meg's crying reached ear-shattering levels.

"Maybe she just misses her mom," Tony said dismissively. "Just wait for her to cry herself out. The first time Pepper left on business to Korea, Jay cried for three hours before he fell asleep, and then he was fine."

"That's probably it," Steve said, with a sigh. "Thanks Tony."

"No problem. If you need a hand, we can come visit. Pepper is vaguely Diana-like."

"I think we should be okay."

"Cool. Try not to die." Tony hung up.

"Thanks," Steve muttered, putting the phone away. He went back into the living room. Meg was just straight crying, big tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared reproachfully up at him. He knelt to scoop her up and wipe away her tears. "C'mon baby doll, you're going to make yourself sick," he coaxed, kissing her cheek. "Mommy will be home before you know it."

She laid her head on his shoulder and cried.

He rubbed her back and started to pace the floor.

She cried herself to sleep, finally, an hour later, her breath hitching periodically as she slumbered.

Steve didn't dare sit down, or move, or even breathe too loudly.

aAa

Meg slept for an hour, and then woke up, blinking slowly. Her cute rosebud mouth formed into a perfect 'o' as she yawned.

Steve sighed in relief. Meg was normally a very happy baby, and was all smiles after a nap. "All right, sweetheart, you hungry?" he asked.

She wrinkled her forehead, and started to whimper again.

He hastily made a bottle and nudged the tip of it into her mouth.

She sucked at the bottle hungrily, and finished it in half the time. But every time he tried to take it away she would cry.

He studied her as she chewed on the soft rubber of the bottle, not even sucking at it, and came to a sudden conclusion. He took the bottle away.

Meg did not like that, and began to cry.

He propped her up on his shoulder and burped her hastily, trying to ignore her crying, and once she was burped he cuddled her close and stuffed a cold teething toy into her mouth.

She whimpered for a second, gummed the toy for another few seconds, and then was blissfully silent.

Steve sagged in relief against the back of the couch. "You're teething," he said, and kissed her forehead. "Oh, thank goodness. You're just teething." He gently removed the toy, and ran a finger over her gums. They were swollen and hard. "Aw, no wonder you're feeling so cruddy," he cooed, giving her back the toy and smoothing a hand over her pale blonde hair. "You've got your teeth working to come out, huh? I'd cry too if I were you." He kissed her again. "But it's going to be just fine, baby, I promise."

Meg cooed up at him, quiet and content now that her pain had been soothed. She pulled the teething ring out of her mouth, trailing a long line of drool after it, and shoved the toy back in.

"Ewwww," Steve said in a babyish tone of voice. He gently wiped the drool from her hands and chin. He stood up from the couch. "Okay. Where'd we store the Oragel?"

The baby gum-numbing gel was in the drawer in the upstairs bathroom, along with the baby Tylenol and the other baby versions of stuff that they'd stocked up on when Meg was a newborn. He found the tiny tube of stuff, and carefully rubbed it onto Meg's gums.

She made a face at the taste, but didn't complain any more.

He lay down on his and Diana's bed and laid Meg down on her back, next to him, a pillow guarding the edge. "Whew."

Abby came out from under the bed and nosed his thigh inquiringly.

"We're good," Steve said, patting Abby's head.

aAa

Diana called at seven o'clock, on a video channel. She was in pajamas, a blanket around her shoulders.

Steve smiled at the sight of her. "Hey, beautiful," he said.

She smiled. "Hey yourself. Where's Meg?"

"Asleep." Steve tilted the phone to shower her the sleeping baby on his chest.

"Aww," Diana cooed, putting a hand to her mouth. "How'd today go?"

Steve put a hand behind his head. "She started teething today."

"Oh, my poor baby," Diana said sympathetically. "How's she feeling?"

"Well she stopped crying once I figured it out," Steve admitted. "Took me a while though."

Diana smiled at him tenderly. "Panic much?"

"Maybe a bit," he said. "But she's been okay the rest of the day, as long as I give her something cold to chew on and Oragel every time she starts fussing."

"Good, I'm glad." Diana yawned.

'How'd your day go?" Steve asked.

She waved a hand vaguely. "Meh. Politics."

He smiled softly. "You should get some sleep for tomorrow."

"I will. I just wanted to see my loves before I pass out." She blew him a kiss. "I love you."

He returned the kiss. "I love you too."

She glanced down at Meg. "Give her a kiss from mommy."

"I will."

She yawned. "Good night."

"Night, doll."

The video channel closed, and Steve put his phone away. He checked the time. It was only seven o'clock, he could watch a movie or something.

He fell asleep ten minutes into a comedy movie, and didn't wake up until Meg started to fuss.

The rest of the night was spent pacing the floor with an irritable baby, and by morning Steve was thanking his super soldier serum that let him keep going on an hour and a half of sleep.

aAa

When Diana came home the day afterwards, both husband and child were exceedingly glad to see her.