This chapter is early, as promised. 11 reviews? In just over 24 hours? Wow. You guys definitely deserve an early update. I can't even begin to express how thankful I am to those who have favorite-d, followed or reviewed my story. You guys are too awesome.

This chapter will definitely take you by surprise but I wanted to do something out of the norm. Something I personally haven't seen done and something unexpected.

Now, brace yourselves!

Chapter 14:

Connie slowly opened her eyes. Only a few seconds later she shot up in her bed, her hazel eyes wide in shock. Everything was white. "What the crap?" She looked over her shoulder, still more white. Every direction she looked there so much white. Wherever she was, she didn't see any walls and the room stretched out as far as the eye could see.

She got up and started to walk around for a good minute. Everything was still white. She instinctively brought a hand to her belly and let out a scream when she discovered her stomach was flat again. Her clothes were still the same as she remembered them. Black pants, black button up jacket, converses, no glasses...but no belly?

"What the hell is going on?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She started to panic and squeeze her stomach. "Where...where is she? Oh my god, somebody help me!"

"Calm down, baby girl. We're here," a familiar woman's voice spoke.

Connie's eyes widened and she turned in the direction of the voice. Her eyes started to water when she saw both of her parents. Connie blinked several times, not really believing what she saw. But they didn't go away. Her dad, Evan, stood behind her mom, Angeline, with his hands on her shoulders. His blonde hair was messy and his blue eyes were bright as ever. A big smile was plastered on his face. His trademark smile. One of her mother's hands held her father's hand. She too was smiling. Her smile was soft and her eyes were hazel, just like hers. Her dark brown hair fell down in messy waves. Connie looked like both her mom and dad. "M-mom? Dad? I know I'm dreaming now."

"She still has anxiety after all these years," her father joked and nudged her mother, who hit his arm in retaliation.

"Evan! That's seriously the first thing you say to our daughter?" her mother rolled her eyes but smiled at her goofy husband.

Connie let out a small laugh. Whatever was going on, whether this was a dream or not, was bringing her so much joy already. Seeing them was as a huge comfort to her. Her parents were taken from her all of a sudden and she never had a chance to say goodbye.

"Well I thought you guys were dead. Who wouldn't freak out?" Connie slowly walked towards her parents. She reached out to touch them only to find that her hand went right through them. "T-this isn't real," Connie's voice cracked and she started to cry. "What is happening? I'm so confused. Why are you here?"

"We are dead, Connie. But that doesn't mean this isn't real. We never left sweetheart," her dad spoke. "I know you're scared right now."

"What happened, dad? Why am I not pregnant anymore? Am I dead?" Connie asked, completely horrified at the idea of dying.

"Death is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of," her mother consoled.

Connie could feel her heart racing and pounding. To the point where it was deafening to even herself. "I-I...No! I don't want to leave like this. I have a daughter now and I'm not leaving her side. She needs her mother. And Steve...I love him. I don't want to imagine any sort of life without him."

"Well then, my beautiful daughter, you have to fight," her father spoke.

"Fight?" Connie questioned. "I-I'm confused."

"Sweetie," her mother frowned. "You're dying."

***
"She's losing a lot of blood! We need to get this baby out of her now!" The head doctor, Dr. Ashe, called out.

"Are you crazy? She's only at four months!" Steve yelled at the doctor.

"Someone get him out! He's not allowed to be here!" Another doctor yelled.

There were so many doctors in the room and yet no could tell him what was going on. He had no idea what was going on with Connie or the baby. Everyone was running around setting up machines and there was blood on Connie's operating table. So much of her blood.

"Listen," a female doctor approached him and stared him in the eye. "You need to leave, Captain Rogers. She has lost a lot of blood and I don't want to scare you but she is hanging on by a thread. This baby is putting stress on her body that she can't handle. We have to perform an emergency C-section and deliver this baby prematurely, that's the only way we stand a chance at saving them both right now."

"Our daughter is only four months. That's only sixteen weeks! How is she going to live through that?" Steve yelled at the doctor, making her jump.

"Her records indicate that even though she's only been pregnant for four months, the baby is grown to six months, that's twenty-four weeks. It's still very premature, but it's not unheard of. We are confident that your baby will be alright. She has your serum in her blood. Now please, Captain Rogers, I need you to leave this room so we can operate."

"No! This is crazy! She's lost so much blood! Having a C-section doesn't make any sense!"

"Whatever chance your daughter has of surviving is not inside of her. And whatever chance Constance has at surviving is this C-section. C-section is your only option or you'll lose them both. Do you understand, Captain Rogers? Agent Romanoff, please escort him out of the room. We need to operate now," the female doctor ordered.

"Come on, Steve," Natasha grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the operating room. "She'll be alright."

***
"I don't understand. How do I fight? I want to be there, but I'm still here," Connie raked her hands through her hair in frustration. Then she looked at her parents. "How come you didn't fight for your lives? You left us. God, I couldn't live myself. I always felt so guilty for everything that happened. All for a stupid piano lesson," Connie cried as she spoke to her parents. "Why did you leave?"

"Like your father said, we never left," her mother answered. Her voice was so soothing, just like she remembered it.

Connie shook her head. "No, you know what I mean. You're telling me to fight but you never did!"

"Some things are inevitable, Connie. For us, there was no fighting. It was our time and our passing was meant to be. It doesn't sound like it, but sometimes really awful things happen for good reasons," her father spoke. "But there is still a chance for you, do you understand that?"

Connie shook her head again. "Then tell me what to do!" She threw her hands up in frustration and fell to her knees. "I can't leave them! I need to be there but I don't know how..."

***
Steve looked helpless as he watched the doctors operate through the window of the operating room. He put a hand against the glass wall wishing he could be there with her. Right at her side like he should have been earlier today. None of this would have happened if he didn't let her go. A single tear fell from his eye. "Oh god," he whispered. "I can't lose them both..."

Steve felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Tony. "You're not going to," he told quietly. "Connie's a fighter and so is your little girl. They are both going to make it through this. Just hang in there, Cap."

His eyes widened when they started to perform the C-section. Even more blood.

Natasha squeezed his hand. "C-sections are performed all the time. Technology is far more advanced than you think you know, Steve. They know what they're doing in there."

That was one thing Steve was thankful for. The advancement of technology and they were in a SHIELD hospital. Whatever chance Connie and his daughter had at surviving, it was here in this hospital. When Fury found out about the pregnancy, he made it mandatory that Connie only be seen by SHIELD hospitals. They had all her records on file already and the medical staff assigned to Connie were very familiar with her pregnancy. Steve knew first hand that SHIELD was capable of amazing things and he had a little bit of comfort knowing that they were doing everything they could to save both of their lives.

Still, that wasn't a guarantee she they both would make it.

Steve watched as the doctors removed the baby prematurely from Connie's stomach. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was stunned and in shock. He couldn't make out any of the features on the baby from where he stood. His daughter was so small and she was covered in blood. He didn't hear any crying, which scared him.

"She's breathing. One pound and thirteen ounces, doctor!" The female doctor who spoke to him earlier yelled out. She sounded relieved.

"Get her cleaned and get her to the NICU, stat!" Steve watched helplessly as they took his newborn daughter out of the operating room. His eyes went back to Connie. Still unconscious on the operating table. "Let's get her closed up. She cannot lose any more blood than she's already lost."

Then he heard something that shattered his world. The machine monitoring her heartbeat flat lined.

"She's going into cardiac arrest! Get the defibrillator!" Dr. Ashe ordered.

"No," Steve whispered and pressed his hands against the glass. "Please, don't leave, Constance. I can't lose you..." Silent tears fell from his weary blue eyes. "I love you, Constance. Please fight through this. Our daughter needs you. I need you."

***
Connie couldn't move from her spot on the floor. She cradled her head in her hands and was yelling out in frustration. "I don't know what to do! Tell me what to do!"

"Baby girl, you need to be strong. Think of the people you love and how much they need you. We can't tell you how to fight for your life, only you know how to fight," her mother spoke.

Connie slowed down her breathing and stood on her feet. She looked around with frightened eyes. Then she shut them and started to think about all the people she loved. Her family, her friends...

She pictured her Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Joe the first night they took her and Chase into their home after her parents died. She was really cool with her Uncle Joe but she was even closer to Christina. She wasn't too much older than Connie herself. She was 29 years old when she took in Connie and Chase. Christina was a new mother but worked damn hard to make things work after Connie lost her parents. Connie could never thank her enough for everything Christina did for them.

Chase. She thought of her twin brother just as she last saw him. He was just like their father, with the exception of their mother's eyes. Not only did Chase look like their father, Chase also had her father's personality. He was a mirror image of him. Always so full of life and everyone loved him. For being twins, they were pretty opposite from one another. Though many consider her to be introverted and quiet, she definitely would have been worse off if she didn't have Chase to bring her up through the years. Chase had been strong for the both of them and she promised herself she would spend more time with him if she made it through this.

Chloe. Her best friend since the beginning. Connie pictured her smiling, her perfect, shiny brown hair falling straight over her shoulders. Her eyes were a gorgeous green color and every man fell for her. Chloe was undoubtedly the most beautiful person she had ever met, inside and out. Even if she had a potty mouth at times. Through the good and bad, Chloe never left her side. Chloe had been through hell and back with her. She was her shoulder to cry on, her friend to laugh with, her savior in life. This woman never let her fall through the cracks. No matter what she was doing or where she was at, when Connie needed her, she was there. Connie vowed to be there for her in her times of need and her times of success, just how Chloe was there for her.

Then she pictured Steve. His genuine smile and his beautiful blue eyes, always so full of love and concern for her. She thought of the very first night they met and how he held her in his arms after they bumped into each other. Their faces were almost touching and she could never forget the first time she stared into his eyes. It was like her heart skipped a beat. He was so breathtakingly handsome. She imagined herself being in his embrace and staring into his eyes. Their lips barely touching. When she was with him, everything felt right. When she was with him, it was like the rest of the world didn't matter and it was only the two of them. Ever since that first night with Steve, she started learning what it was like to love and feel alive again. And she didn't want to lose that feeling. She didn't want to lose him. She wanted to experience the rest of her life with him and raise their daughter together. She loved him.

"Connie..." he grabbed her face and stared lovingly into her eyes.

"Steve, tell me what to do..." Connie whispered into his lips and looked longingly into his eyes.

"I love you, Constance. Please fight through this. Our daughter needs you. I need you."

Then he disappeared and her world went black.

***
A minute passed. Two minutes.

"Clear!" The doctor yelled out again. Steve watched in horror as her lifeless body was shocked in yet another attempt to bring her back to life.

"Don't do this to me, Connie. I need you. Keep fighting, please keep fighting..." Steve whispered into the glass. Tears fell from his eyes. He was beyond terrified.

Another minute passed.

"Come on, keep fighting! Come back to us!" Dr. Ashe said to Connie as he prepped her again.

"Clear!"

Steve saw her body jolt up, only to fall back down, completely lifeless.

"Don't give up! Prep the machine again!" Dr. Ashe pushed her hair back. "Come on, Connie."

"Clear!"

Her body jolted up again.

"Her vitals are stabilizing," said one of the doctors. Dr. Ashe let out a sigh.

"Thank god. Get her cleaned up and moved to a recovery unit. There will always be a doctor in the room with her until she makes a full recovery, do I make myself clear? We're monitoring and taking vitals every fifteen minutes." The rest of the doctors nodded their heads and complied. "Good job, everyone," he patted a few of the doctor's shoulders and sighed in relief.

Steve let out a shaky breath that he didn't even know he was holding. Connie pulled through.

***
Steve sat by Connie's side with her hand in his. "I love you, Connie. You're so strong..." he ran his fingers over her knuckles. "We have to name our daughter when you wake up."

"Excuse me, Captain Rogers. I need to take her vitals again," the female doctor from earlier spoke. He learned that her name was Dr. Smoake.

"Come on, Steve. Let's go meet your daughter," Natasha put a hand on his shoulder.

Steve said nothing. He just stared at Connie who was still unconscious. "How long until she wakes up?"

"It's hard to say," Dr. Smoake answered. "She was gone for five minutes. Her body needs to recover and that may be several days from now."

"Will she be the same when she wakes up?" Steve knew five minutes was too long to go without any oxygen to the brain.

Dr. Smoake sighed. "To be honest, there's always a possibility she may have brain damage. Her body and brain went without any activity for five minutes. Eight minutes and she would have been a goner for sure. But..." the doctor pushed some blonde strands away from Connie's face. "I think she'll be just fine. She's a fighter."

Steve sighed and rested his head on Connie's arm. Brain damage?

"Steve, don't get worried over something you don't know for sure. She needs you to be strong for her. Your daughter needs you, too. Come on, you should go see her. Connie will be just fine," Natasha gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"I won't let her out of my sights, Sir. Go see your daughter," Dr. Smoake urged with a gentle smile.

***
Steve and Natasha made their way to the NICU and immediately saw Tony, Pepper and Bruce surrounding an incubator that he assumed to be holding his daughter. He slowly approached her incubator and let out a barely audible gasp when he saw her. She was so tiny. She looked so fragile and skinny. Her skin was almost see-through that it was scary.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered to her. He pained him seeing his daughter hooked up to a ventilator, relying on a machine just to breathe. He couldn't even touch her or hold her. He touched the glass in front of him. He was longing to hold his daughter. He noticed on the upper right corner of her incubator was a pink sticky note with his daughter's information. It read:

Name:
Weight and size: 1lb, 13 oz.
Born: January 26, 2015 at 11:36pm
Father: Steven Grant Rogers, age 94
Mother: Constance Evangeline Halloway, age 25
S.H.I.E.L.D. Hospital, New York City, New York

"Oh, that's grand. They have your real age on here," Tony took his phone out and a picture of his daughter's information.

"Really, Tony? Really?" Pepper shook her head and looked up at Steve. "Have you and Connie talked about what you wanted to name her?"

Steve shook his head. "Never got around to it. Never even threw names around."

"I'm sure you'll think of a great name, Steve. Congratulations, by the way. You're a father now," Bruce patted Steve on the back.

"About damn time, only took him ninety something years. You're the oldest father in the world, congratulations."

"Tony!" Pepper scolded.

"It's okay, Pepper," he turned towards Tony. "Thank you for helping me save Connie. She wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you," Steve turned to face the rest of his friends and smiled. "Thank you all for being here. It means more than you know."

"Of course, Steve."

"Clint just got of the phone with Connie's uncle," Natasha checked her phone. "He said her Aunt Christina has a concussion but will recover just fine. She's already awake and SHIELD is transferring her here for the remainder of her recovery so she can see Connie and the baby. Clint also was able to call her brother and he's on his way too."

"That's great. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Steve spent the next half hour or so just staring at his daughter. He couldn't get over how tiny she was. He wanted her to hurry up and grow so he could hold her in his arms and kiss her. "I love you, sweetheart. Daddy loves you so much."

***
Two days later, Steve sat by Connie's bed in the recovery room. He still wore his uniform, except the dark blue top was taken off and he wore a long sleeved white spandex shirt underneath. He didn't bother to shower or shave. He didn't care. Even when his friends and Connie's family offered to watch over her, he refused and told them he wasn't leaving her side unless it was to see his daughter. He held her hand and stared at her with tired eyes. Connie's face was cleaned up and all she ended up needing were three stitches on her left eyebrow. Her nose wasn't broken, she just had some bruised cartilage. Even though she hadn't woken up, this was the best Connie had looked all week. It was only now he realized just how much the pregnancy took it's toll on her. The baby was growing too fast and she was having trouble putting on weight. Now that her body wasn't in distress, she started to look a more lively. He sighed and kissed her hand.

Chase and Chloe were asleep in one corner of the room and Joe and Christina were cuddled up in the other corner. They were asleep too. Christina's whole head was bandaged up. She suffered a concussion that really only just left her tired. Unfortunately, she did have to shave parts of her head in order for the doctors to stitch up the many incisions from the glass. Like Steve, neither of them hadn't left since the moment they arrived. The rest of the her family were waiting in the waiting room. There were Halloway's, Taylor's and Everheart's (her mom's side) all integrated into that one tiny waiting room.

Connie's recovering room was filled with flowers, pictures, bears, balloons, card and even gifts for their little one. Everything was so pink and was a nice change from the boring white walls.

"Steve?"

Steve lifted his head when he heard her voice. "Connie?" His voice cracked and he had to fight back the tears that were already threatening to fall. "Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?"

Connie struggled to maintain a clear focus of Steve. "Tired. What happened? Where am I?"

Dr. Smoake stood up from where she was at and started to take her vitals again. "Welcome back, Miss Halloway. You put up quite some fight."

Connie's vision began to focus a little more. "S-Steve? Where's my b-baby?" Her eyes widened and she started to panic.

"Calm her down, we can't afford to have your blood pressure go up."

"It's okay, Connie," Steve brought his lips to hers. "She's okay. The doctors had to perform a C-section on you so they could save her. She's so beautiful, just like you."

Connie didn't say anything. She looked at Steve with worried eyes, like she needed more convincing. How come she wasn't here? Who was watching over here?

"She's in the NICU with Tony and Pepper. She'll have to be in an incubator the next several weeks or so but she'll be fine. I've been taking turns visiting the both of you."

"Connie, how's your vision?" Dr. Smoake shone a light at her eyes, making her wince and look away. "Well, that's always a good sign."

"I love you," Connie tried to squeeze his hand. "You kept telling me to fight."

"I love you too. So much, Connie," Steve pressed his lips to her forehead. "You heard me?"

Connie nodded her head. "My parents were there. T-they told me I was dying and that I needed to fight."

"Connie?" Chase was instantly by her side and he kissed her cheek. "Thank god you're okay. I couldn't lose you either," Chase was on the other side of Steve and cried into his sister's hair. "You saw mom and dad?"

Connie nodded weakly and smiled. "Dad was still picking on me."

Chase went wide eyed for a few seconds then started to laugh. "Sounds like him," he whispered. "What about mom?"

"She hit dad for making fun of me. She...told me to tell you that they never left us," Connie whispered into her brother's ear. Chase started to shake with emotion. He didn't know if she was loopy or if this could possibly be for real, but either way, this was comforting to him.

"Constance Evangeline Halloway, I swear if you ever scare me again, I swear to god..." A very distraught and teary-eyed Chloe joined her brother's side. "I can't lose you. Now or ever. Don't you ever leave us like that again, you hear?" Chloe kissed her forehead gently several times.

"I won't," Connie smiled and she looked over to her Aunt Christina. Her head was bandaged all the way around but her smile was bright as ever. "You're okay..."

"Of course I am, baby girl. I'm not going anywhere either," Christina put her hand on Connie's leg. "Your daughter is gorgeous, by the way."

Her daughter. Their daughter. She didn't even remember the C-section or hearing her daughter's cries. She never got to hold her. Connie looked down at her belly. There wasn't a bump anymore. She turned to Steve. "Can I see her?"

"I'm sorry, Connie," Dr. Smoake answered. "You need to recover here for the time being. I can assure you that your daughter is moving along just fine and we have a team of doctors on her around the clock.

"You can't move me in there? Even for a little bit? I need to see her," tears escaped Connie's hazel eyes. Connie knew this feeling all too well. She was already going through separation anxiety.

"Come on, doc. I'm sure you can manage something. She needs to see her. It'll help give her some comfort," Steve persisted.

Dr. Smoake stayed silent for a few seconds. "Let me see what I can do."

***
So, I noticed that I named the two doctors, Dr. Ashe and Dr. Smoake. Totally didn't even put two and two together till now. Decided to keep it because I thought it was funny. (:

That was unexpected, don't you think? Like I said, I wanted to do something that wasn't...typical, I guess. I think this puts an interesting twists on things. I still have a lot more planned for this story. This includes a sequel. =) So tell me, what did you guys think? I'm dying to read your reactions. Also, Steve and Connie name their daughter next chapter. Last time for any last minute ideas for first and middle names. :)

Thank you to my awesome reviewers:

BandGeekDrummer: Aww thank you! Seriously, your review made me smile! =)

Kilataia: Yeah! Totally unexpected yeah? But when I said action and drama, I meant it. Thank you for reviewing. =)

sweety764u: Right? And he was seriously about to kill him till Connie spoke up. It would be tragic if they lost the baby but I don't think you have to worry about that. ;)

VampirePrincess11: Thank you for reviewing. =) I'm glad you love this story! eeeep! :)

Saint of the Sinners: Because I need to keep you guys wanting more! Haha. Thank you for reviewing! :)

Shelllee24: Oh, I'm glad you said that. That was something I was worried about. Trying to type what I was envisioning was a bit of a challenge this chapter and last. Thank you for reviewing. =)

NerdGirl101: It would be cute, wouldn't it? All to come but probably not for a few more chapters. The drama continues!

Guest: I know, I know! Thank you for reviewing. =)

Guest of Honor: Ahh, thank you! My best chapter? :D you'll have to stay tuned for the answer to your question...

Rose: Thank you! That means a lot. I'm glad I'm writing them in a way my readers enjoy. =)

ZeldaLovex64: LOL hopefully this post was quick enough. You only had to wait just over a day. :p

***
Again, thank you all for reading, following, favorite-ing and reviewing my story. You guys rock.