Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing associated with Marvel, Captain America, the Avengers, etc. Only original characters and ideas are mine.

AN: Here's the next story. This is primarily about Steve and Adena dealing with the stress of pregnancy, amongst other things. I know, it sounds boring, but I'm hoping it isn't. Please be kind and review. Thanks.

Superheroes and Pregnancies:

Looking out the kitchen window, Steve sipped his coffee and sighed. It was a beautiful scene, one that definitely belonged in a film or nature documentary.

From here, he had a glorious view of the surrounding mountains and hills, with thousands of acres of lush green jungle pouring over them. Miles from the house, the jungle ended and the Palace grounds began, the two areas separated by an invisible force field that kept people safe from the dangerous animals that roamed the wild.

But in spite of the picturesque sight, Steve was uneasy. Without thinking, he tightened his grip on his cup, causing it to crack. He winced, knowing that Adena would be angry if he broke another mug. With a bit of effort, Steve loosened his hold and let out a shaky breath.

'I don't know if I can do this,' he thought, slightly panicked.

As a rule, Steve never panicked –it was part of who he was. He'd always been a steady person, keeping calm and focused in any type of situation. That's what made him effective as Captain America, unspoken leader of the Avengers, and hero to nations across the world.

But now, everything was up in the air, and he felt empty and lost.

'I have no job, and even worse, no sense of purpose anymore.'

This kind of thing had never happened to him before. When he'd been a kid growing up in Brooklyn, his family had always been poor, and his parents had worked hard to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. Even as a youngster, he'd helped his parents by doing chores around the house and rummaging around the trash of the wealthy people. If he found something interesting, he tried to sell or trade it to others in their rundown apartment building, or to pawn shops, for either cash or much needed goods.

After his father died, Steve had been forced to find work wherever he could to help his mother keep food on the table and the bills paid. Bucky had helped when he could -being much stronger and taller than Steve, it had been easier for him to find a decent-paying job than it had been for Steve. But even then, Steve had been forced to become the chief breadwinner in his household.

When his mother passed away, Steve managed to get a job as an artist for a local paper, drawing advertisements and the occasional comic strip to earn a living. Then the war had started, and once he'd become Captain America, Steve felt that he'd finally met his calling: he was protecting innocent people from harm, and making the world a safer place.

As an Avenger, he'd continued on that path, with Adena a constant, steady presence in his new life. In a way, it had become 'normal' to him: he would go out Avenging, come home to his wife, and spend time with her until the team was called out again. It was sometimes chaotic, and frustrating when Adena wanted him home, but it was a way of life they had both settled into and accepted.

'Now what am I good for?'

Okay, now he was moping, but he had a good reason to.

Here in Wakanda, getting a job was difficult. He was respected for having been a superhero, but going from superhero to ordinary guy was hard, and Steve was having a hard time adjusting. The most difficult part was that many companies here weren't sure about hiring him, since he was unfamiliar with their cultures and ethics, and he just wasn't that great with technology (which was bad, in a country known for its technological achievements).

And yet, even though (thanks to him) they were living in another nation, branded as traitors, and having to start over, Adena was settling in and adjusting like a pro, like she always did whenever things changed drastically in their lives.

Tony was doing everything possible to fix their situation, but politics always took time. It could be months, or even years before they could go home.

Still, in spite of all this, Adena was looking upwards and moving onwards. She tried not to let her morning sickness get the better of her as she tried finding ways to talk to her family, or to find ways to keep busy. Heck, T'Challa had even found a spot for her at the Palace, namely as an assistant/advisor. The King already had plenty of assistants, but since Adena had been (and still was) close friends with the Avengers, she had a lot of experience that others did not. Steve actually had a feeling that it was her connections to Earth's Mightiest Heroes that had gotten her in T'Challa's employ, since the new King wanted to stay on good terms with them.

However, Adena was pregnant, and T'Challa didn't want her to start working yet. Instead, he'd immediately put Adena on paid maternity leave, and ordered her to focus on keeping herself healthy and happy, for the sake of the baby. She was also to tell the King if she needed anything for the baby, no matter how big or small.

Not that they needed anything right now. Bucky and Anna's wedding had been a couple weeks ago, (the new couple were currently at a lake in eastern Wakanda, paid for by the King), and in the time since then, Pepper Potts (who had somehow figured out Adena's condition) had sent a dozen things for the baby, including a crib, car seat, changing table, and stroller.

His eyes drifted to his coffee cup and the dark liquid rippling there. Old-fashioned as it was, Steve wondered about how he was going to be a good father if he couldn't support his wife and child. If there was one thing Steve hated, it was when things were up in the air –it made him feel helpless, and it was not an emotion he was used to.

In spite of all that, though, Steve had to admit he was beyond thrilled that they were finally going to have a baby. His greatest hope was that the baby was healthy, and that it would turn out like Adena: sensible, kind, stubborn, and possessing an unusual ability to keep others in line.

He thought about the marvelous woman still sleeping upstairs, and smiled. Gosh, did he love her! She was his friend, his love, his rock, and now, the mother of his child.

'But am I ready to be a dad?'

He'd been wondering that ever since Adena had surprised him with the happy news. Always observant, she had clearly seen the worry on his face, and every time she saw it now, she told him that most men asked themselves that same question.

"It's a self-doubt thing," she assured him. "I often ask myself if I'm ready to be a mother. But we both know that this is unfamiliar ground, and that we will simply have to do the best that we can to raise our son or daughter to become a good person."

That it made him sometimes feel both better and worse. It was easy to fight Nazis, HYDRA agents, and alien invaders; raising a child was going to be a hundred times harder! They needed discipline, but also tenderness, in just the right amounts to make sure they became balanced adults.

'Still, I don't want to be the doormat type of dad,' Steve thought with determination. He was very set on that. He didn't want to be too hard on his child, but the last thing he wanted was to spoil them.

Of course, if it was a little girl that was the image of her mother, who gazed up at him with big, pleading eyes when she wanted something…well…

"Steve?" a quiet voice called from the doorway.

Turning, he set down his mug and went to his wife, who smiled up at him with drowsy eyes. "Hi," she greeted him, along with a kiss. "Sorry I slept so late. I think it's the hormones talking."

He assured her it was fine, and went to get her some crackers. To his surprise, she stopped him. "I'm not nauseous," she said. "I'm actually hungry. Do we have any chocolate chip cookies…and ham?"

Inwardly wincing, Steve realized that they'd reached the part of pregnancy he'd been dreading most: cravings.


Pregnancy is tough.

It wasn't just the morning sickness that got to me; I was having some serious aches and pains all over, though especially in my breasts, which wasn't fun. I was tired all the time, too, even after doing simple things like laundry. I couldn't even fill the dishwasher or tidy up the kitchen without wanting to sit down and put my feet up, which inevitably turned into a napping session.

And now the time had come, where the nausea wasn't coming as frequently, and the infamous pregnancy cravings were edging in.

For some reason, Steve was more worried about the cravings than any other aspect of my pregnancy. Of course, he didn't know much about pregnant women, and since I didn't want to terrify him too much, I was slowly filling him in as we went along. I'd already told him that women craved weird foods or weird food combinations when they were pregnant, and that he shouldn't try and get between a pregnant lady and the food she wanted to eat, no matter how bad it was for her.

So far, I hadn't told him about the bloating, swollen ankles, really bad mood swings (though he'd already gotten a taste of those already), breast pain, and the constant need to use the bathroom, since I'd soon have a baby resting on my bladder. All that wonderful information was going to pop up later.

Heading into the kitchen, I was very grateful that Steve was out on a jog this morning. The last thing I wanted was for him to start trying to help fix me something to eat -the last time he'd done that, I'd pushed aside the sandwich he'd made and headed straight for the nearest container of ice cream. And with my food intake about to take a big increase, we would probably have to start grocery shopping a lot more often.

'Between the two of us, our grocery bills are going to be huge for the next several months,' I realized as I put together a plate of sliced ham, cherry tomatoes, a handful of chocolates, and slices of pickles.

That's when it hit me: my baby might have more in common with their father than expected.

Rubbing my stomach, I began to feel a bit panicked. Would my son or daughter somehow get some of the Super Soldier Serum, through Steve's half of their DNA? Even if the amount of serum they got possessed half the potency of the Serum, they still might get increased speed, healing, agility, stamina, or a fast metabolism -or all of the above.

'Guess that means they probably won't need vaccinations, since Steve can't get sick.'

Or would they, if any trace of the Serum they got was half as efficient? Would they need shots, if they likely were immune to disease, or should I take no chances and have the doctors vaccinate my child anyway? They could test the child's blood, to see if the Serum was present, couldn't they?

'But do I want to risk giving them my baby's blood? They might try and see if they can reverse engineer the Serum by using my poor baby's DNA!'

There was no way I was going to let that happen. I'd already seen what had happened with those Winter Soldiers in Siberia; I wasn't going to let anyone drain my baby dry, trying to replicate what had happened to Steve in the 1940's.

Swallowing hard, I struggled to calm myself, for the baby's sake. Considering how things currently stood in the world, there was a good chance that I would give birth here in Wakanda. T'Challa would have the best doctors in the country, if not the world, attending me, and he would make sure that no one tried anything. The King's word was Law, and if he gave an order, his people would follow it to the letter.

I heard the front door open and close, followed by Steve calling my name. "In the kitchen!" I replied, which brought him quickly to my side.

As always, Steve wasn't even sweating from his run. "Chocolate and pickles again?" he asked, eying the items I had in front of me. "I'm going to ask the doctors to put you on a strict diet. All those sweets can't be good for you, or the baby."

Before I could argue with him, I got an email from Pepper, so I ignored him in favor of eating and reading. Luckily, Tony had rigged some kind of subtle software so that Pepper and I could email and text one another without the government catching us, though calls were still too easy to track.

In the message, Pepper told me that Tony had sent my parents new phones, created by him. On the outside, they appeared to be the usual, mass-produced cell phone, but on the inside, they had the tech of Stark Industries. If any of the government's people tried searching through the phones, they wouldn't find anything suspicious. The only problem was that, like with Pepper, I could only text and email them without getting my family in trouble.

"We have to let them know about the baby," Steve insisted, after I finished reading the message aloud. "You can't hide this from them forever."

"I know," I muttered, "I just wish it wasn't through a text or email. I want to ask Phil to whisk them away to a SHIELD base so that I can tell them in person, but if they vanish so soon after my aunt and uncle did for Anna's wedding, people will get suspicious. The last thing I want to do is get SHIELD in trouble for helping us; they have a lot to do already."

Meanwhile, my brain was frantically coming up with ideas on how to tell my folks that they were going to be grandparents. Should I put together a nice announcement, with cute trim and a message announcing the birth date?

'Then again, we don't really know the exact birth date.'

Since the doctors' only experience with treating superhuman or superheroes were the Royal Family of Wakanda (and even then, only when they were full adults), the doctors were being cautious when it came to treating me and my baby, which Steve felt was a good thing. In the end, they figured the baby would be born during the spring, by May, at the latest.

But how do I tell my parents any of this without worrying them?

'I probably can't, which is why I need to do this in as cute and nice a way as possible.'

I looked over at Steve. "Any ideas?"


Steve had decided to be a soldier and deliver the news in the simplest way he could think of.

With Sunny linked into their desktop computer, he and Adena had managed to create what he felt to be a rather nice announcement. They'd chosen a nice border and a pretty yellow-and-green background, since they didn't know if it was a girl or a boy yet, and this afternoon, they would scan in a copy of today's sonogram to paste onto it.

"I can't believe I forgot to get one of these," Adena muttered as they waited for one of the Palace physicians. "The doctors took some of my blood, they checked my health in general, and told me what kinds of foods to avoid and vitamins to take, but they didn't want to take a sonogram too soon, because there might not be much to look at."

He was listening, but not looking at her face. Instead, his eyes were focused on her stomach, which she had bared after lying down on the exam table, draped in a hospital gown and with a blanket over her lower half. Adena had explained the procedure to him earlier that morning, and even though he disliked the idea of how invasive he thought it was, Steve was beyond anxious to see what his unborn child looked like.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice greeted them from the doorway.

Steve instantly relaxed. Chloe was one of the doctors he'd met before, and he liked her immensely. Educated at the finest medical schools in Europe, Chloe (which was not her actual Wakandan name, but one she asked them to call her by) was one of the best doctors in the country. Coincidentally, one of her main focuses in medicine was the female body, so that she could be the personal physician and obstetrician to future Queens and Princesses. Since T'Challa had no Queen, Adena had Chloe all to herself.

"How are you today, Mrs. Rogers?" Chloe asked, smiling as she washed her hands in a nearby sink and dried them. "Has the nausea faded somewhat?"

Adena confirmed that it had, and that she was beginning to get her cravings. "I try to eat healthy, but most of the time, I just want something sweet and something salty."

Chloe laughed as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. "I know, but please try to focus on healthy options, will you? Remember, the more you put on, the more you'll have to lose later; though breast feeding will help shed a few pounds."

From the sidelines, Steve watched as Chloe squirted a clear gel on Adena's belly and began running the sensor of the machine over where the baby was supposed to be. As the device slowly went back and forth, Steve reached out to take his wife's hand.

"You know, I remember going to one of these with my mom, when she was pregnant with my brother," Adena softly murmured, gently squeezing his fingers. "The doctor said it was a girl, but I wanted a brother, so I told her that it was a boy. Everyone thought it was so funny, a little girl saying that a doctor was wrong, but in the end, I was right. You have no idea how surprised my parents were!"

Steve couldn't help laughing, and in spite of his anxiety, he felt himself relax a little more as Chloe joined in, though her eyes didn't move from the monitor.

"Well, technology has changed a lot over the years, and ours is the best, so we're bound to be right when it comes to guessing the baby's sex," Chloe assured them. "By the way, do you want to know the baby's sex, when the time comes? Or do you want to be surprised?"

"Surprised," Adena immediately replied. "But Steve might want the opposite."

He really did want to know, but Adena was the one carrying the baby, so he was going to wait to do what she wanted. "I'll wait," he said, grudgingly giving in.

Chloe nodded. "Well, there's your baby."

Steve only saw something that resembled an oval-shaped blob until Chloe pointed out the tiny dots that were the baby's feet and arms. Then the oval moved, as though it knew it was on camera, wiggling a little as Adena gave an excited little gasp.

"Look, Steve! It's moving!" she whispered. "Oh, it's so cute!"

"Now, Adena, I'm going to have to insert a camera inside, to get a better look," Chloe informed them. "It's going to be uncomfortable, but the image will be a lot clearer. I just need you to lay back, relax, and hold still; okay?"

Even with the large sheet covering everything, and his wife looking completely calm about what was happening, Steve felt extremely uncomfortable as Chloe carried out the second part of the procedure. However, when the next image appeared on the monitor, he found himself fascinated at the much clearer image.

"That little bit of flashing on the screen, right here?" Chloe said, using the computer mouse to point it out. "That's the heart beating. It looks nice and steady, which is a very good sign."

"Why?" Steve asked, growing nervous again.

Chloe gave them a comforting smile. "If it wasn't, I would guess you were close to a miscarriage, or there was something wrong with the baby. But it's doing very well, and we'll keep a close eye on you both. Don't you worry."

After removing the camera and entering a few things into the computer, Chloe announced that, at best guess, Adena was due to give birth in late April, or early May. "There is a chance I could be a week or two off, but if I were you, I'd try and be ready. I know we will!"

Grinning, Adena waited as Chloe began to help wipe the gel off of her. "Thanks, Doc."

"If anything changes, or you feel worried about your symptoms, call me immediately," Chloe firmly ordered, finishing with the cleanup. "Don't worry about bothering me. I just want you to have a happy, healthy baby. Understand?"

Both Steve and Adena agreed, and after getting a flash drive of the sonogram and a print out of it, they thanked Chloe again before heading out to the car. Fortunately, T'Challa had finally agreed to let them have their own vehicle, rather than a chauffeured one. Steve hated being driven around, and right now, he was the only one he trusted to drive Adena anywhere.

They reached home just as the sun was setting behind the tall mountains. Adena immediately headed for the kitchen to start dinner, Steve trailing behind to make sure she didn't help herself to anything while they cooked.

Together, they made spaghetti and meatballs, with a thawed chocolate crème pie for dessert. Once she'd finished eating, Adena headed upstairs to rest, leaving Steve to his thoughts.

For quite a while, he sat on the couch, staring at the photo of his tiny unborn baby. He might not know if it was a girl or a boy, but he did know that he loved it, and that he was going to protect his son or daughter with every fiber of his being.

Suddenly, Steve felt his confidence grow. With Adena beside him, he knew he could face anything; even fatherhood.

Smiling, he headed upstairs to get ready for bed, the photo held gently, but firmly in his hand. He would have to find the perfect frame for it, but that would have to wait a little while. They had something more important to do.


Steve waited anxiously as Adena went through the flood of emails being sent to her, all of them in response to their pregnancy announcement.

So far, she'd already gone through the ones sent from his fellow Avengers still back in the States, who had sent congratulations and promises of baby gifts in the near future. Their friends here in Wakanda had already called to say that they would stop by and visit in the next day or two, to give them some privacy.

The messages currently being fought through were from Adena's vast family, and it would probably take days to go through them all.

Finally, Adena sighed and closed the laptop. "Well, it's official. My dad wants to kill you," she said, startling him.

Steve blinked at her in confusion. "What? Why?" Even though they'd rarely seen each other, Steve always thought he was on good terms with his father-in-law.

His wife shrugged and reached for the plate sitting beside her on the desk, so that she could grab a cracker. "Because I'm pregnant and living in a country on the other side of the world from them," she replied. "Not to mention that we're still fugitives, which only made him angrier. Don't worry, Steve; Dad just doesn't like the idea of me being so far away, and I think he's afraid that he'll never get to meet his first grandchild."

Okay, he could certainly understand that. "What did your other family members say?"

"Well, Mom's angry at you, too," Adena admitted, picking up a cheese cube and popping it in her mouth. "My brother's thrilled, though. From the other emails I've read, the rest of the family seems torn between celebrating, and wanting to beat you senseless for putting us in this living situation."

After finishing the cheese, Adena followed it with a gulp of chocolate milk. When he saw her smirk a little bit, Steve began to get a little worried. "What is it?"

"Tony's message said that he hopes to be the one that gets to spoil the baby," she admitted, grinning as he rolled his eyes. "I think that's his subtle way of asking to be named the baby's godfather. Not that I intend to do that, but I was considering Pepper as a godmother."

That was an idea Steve hadn't thought of. Pepper was a good woman with a fantastic career as Stark Industries' CEO, which meant she could provide for their child if the worst happened to him and Adena. Pepper was also intelligent and steady; very good traits when it came to handling kids…or Tony Stark.

Adena saw that he agreed with her and smiled. "Good. Now, what do you think about putting Barton and Laura on the list of possible godparents? Out of all the people we know, including the Avengers, they'll probably be the best bet of our child having a normal life."

Since her idea was a good one, Steve agreed, and promptly went to go fix something for dinner, leaving her to the emails. Adena was undoubtedly going to want something very sweet after dinner, and even though the doctors wouldn't like it, Steve was going to give in to her anyway. If there was anyone who deserved it, it was her.

"Make sure it's pasta!" she called from the other room. "Spaghetti, with tomato sauce!"

Chuckling, he reached for the cupboards. Her wish was his command.


AN: So, I won't really know whether they have a boy or girl until I write the childbirth chapter early next year (I know, long wait), so everyone will have to be patient, just like Steve and Adena (and the other Avengers).

I will post the Halloween chapter a few days after the actual holiday, since I'll be busy handing out candy that night -and indulging in a few myself (wink, wink).

Please be kind and review! Thanks!