Disclaimer: The characters and things you recognize in this story don't belong to me. They belong to Marvel and Janet Evanovich. I'm pretty sure you'll recognize which is which. Mistakes belong to me.

Chapter 26

Steph's POV

As I stood, holding my breakfast, an idea came over me but I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to get everyone else on board. I turned to Steve first, as he would be my largest obstacle and was grateful to see that Bucky was within range as well. So, I turned on my puppy dog eyes. When he saw them, Steve visibly softened at first, but when Bucky noticed and nudged him, his eyes narrowed.

"What do you want, Steph? I already pretty sure I'm not going to like it."

"Well" I started, dragging out the end of the word, "I was thinking."

"That's never I good sign," Bucky whispered and I got mad in a flash.

"Hey!"

Eyes widened in surprise, Bucky looked at me, "you heard that?!"

"Heard what?" asked Tony.

"Oh nothing, just Bucky winding up on my Least Favorite Partner list again."

"Dollface."

"Nope." I glared at him before turning my attention back to an amused Steve, "Anyway. You got Batroc and his accomplices yesterday. And he's locked up. As far as we know, NO ONE is actively after me right now, which hasn't happened in a long time. Long time as in since you've known me."

"We're coming with you, Sweetheart. You already agreed."

"I know! Which is what makes it perfect because there still probably is some sort of threat, but just not imminent."

"Get to the point, Steph," urged Natasha.

"I want to walk to the office this morning. It isn't that far and I feel like I haven't been out in the city in a very long time. You'd all be there, so I'd be safe, and like I said, it really isn't all that far. And before too long, I'm going to be so sore I'm not going to want to walk unless it is absolutely necessary. Think of it as a last hurrah before the third trimester starts!"

"If she feels up to it, it would be good for her," said Bruce quietly earning him a big hug from me. I bounced around expectantly and watched as they fell one by one. Clapping my hands in delight, I pulled out my phone to call Ranger."

"Yo."

"Seriously. Why is that still how you answer the phone?"

"Babe." I was pretty sure that meant, "Haven't we had this conversation enough times for you to just give up on it already?"

I sighed, "Fine, whatever. Everyone is coming in to the office today, and we're walking."

"I have an appointment I need you to go to this afternoon if you can, and the others can definitely go with you. Will you be too worn out if you walk?"

"I think it'll be fine. If nothing else I can catch a nap in my office!"

"Babe." That one pretty much reminded me that he was my boss, and I probably shouldn't say things like that to him. But, since he'd be the one demanding I took a nap if I looked tired, I didn't see what the big deal was.

"Anyway, no need to send in an escort."

The phone disconnected on me, and I frowned at it and yelled "BYE!" in a frustrated voice. The worst phone manners in the world, I swear!

Everyone was chuckling at me, and Bucky asked hopefully, "Does that make Ranger your least favorite partner right now?"

"Nice try, but he's not my partner, you are. You're going to have to do better than that. Alright, everyone, are we ready to go?"

"Hold on," Bucky sighed, "let me make a call really quickly."

Steve and I went through our weapons and armor check while Bucky used the office for his phone call, and by the time he walked back out a minute later we were all ready to go.

"Am I getting something pretty, or something yummy?" I asked Bucky with a smile. He pulled me into him with his metal arm and messing up my hair with his flesh arm as we walked to the elevator.

"What makes you think you're getting anything?"

"Because you vastly prefer being my favorite partner! And you don't want me turning your nephew against you before he's even born!"

"Hmmmm, well, I'm not telling."

I studied him for a few seconds through narrowed eyes, "something yummy!" then pulled myself loose and used the mirror in the elevator to fix my hair. After glancing around at the group and noticing that Bucky and I were in our Rangeman uniforms to everyone else's street clothes, I started giggling.

Clint raised an eyebrow and asked, "what's so funny?"

"Bucky and I look like we're your bodyguards," I said, indicating the group at large.

Clint's lips twitched ever so slightly. When the elevator doors opened, he pulled on his sunglasses and said, "that's fine. So long as you guard the middle of the group," as everyone clustered around me. I reached out to Steve, pleased to find him already reaching for me as well. We walked out the door with our arms around each other's waists, smiling at the fans and cameras and waving with our free hands as we quickly walked to the street.

The trip was thankfully uneventful, and when we walked in to Rangeman, I was all smiles. After being passed around the office for hugs, I settled in to run searches with Bucky. The rest of the team floated in and out as they saw fit, but were getting better about getting along with and spending time with various Rangemen instead of just Bucky and I. At Ranger's insistence, I spent an hour after lunch napping on the couch with my feet up. I will admit that I didn't put up too much of a fuss, especially when Steve agreed to let me use his lap as a pillow. It was win-win he got to spend some time sketching and I got to be a little bit more comfortable.

When I woke up, we wandered over to Ranger's office as he still hadn't told me any details about the meeting. Knocking on the door, I wasn't too surprised to see the core team and the rest of Steve's team in there waiting for us.

"Okay, Babe, I have a very important mission for you I need you to go to these addresses and register for baby presents!"

I let that sink in for a minute. "I have to admit, I don't think I ever expected you to say anything like that. I hope no one on the street hears about this, it will damage that reputation you've worked so hard to cultivate."

"Babe."

I rolled my eyes, "I mean, we don't need to register. It isn't like we're going to have a shower or anything. And we don't need everyone to buy us stuff."

"Think of it this way, Steph," Bruce cut in, "you're getting presents either way. So you can tell us what you want, or you can let everyone else choose for you."

"And do you really want us picking out presents unsupervised?" added Clint.

He had a point. I looked over at Steve, and he just shrugged, indicating that we could do whatever I wanted. I took the list of addresses Ranger was holding out, and was unsurprised to find us surrounded by a Rangeman guard as soon as I stepped foot outside the office.

We walked to the elevator and a large portion of the group peeled off to take the stairs. When the elevator door opened to show one of Tony's obscenely long stretch limos, I wish I could say I was surprised, but I really wasn't. It was one of those massive limos that could fit 20 regular sized people or 8 avengers and a couple extra people. The multi-car Rangeman escort, on the other hand, was flat out predictable.

I eyed the group as they stood waiting for me, and simply said, "you lot are getting in first- there's no way I can get in and scooch out of your way."

I actually was surprised, however, to find myself sitting next to Pepper when I managed to climb in with Steve's help and scooch just far enough for him to get in. She gave me a one-armed hug, and then, when I was properly seat-belted in, handed me the stack of papers she had on her lap.

"Why do I get homework?" I whined, causing Pepper and the others to just laugh in response.

Finally I looked down at what she'd handed me and saw it was checklists- all of the things we could possibly need for the baby broken down by category and use.

"A baby could not possibly need this much stuff."

Steve was reading over my shoulder and said, "well, most of this seems reasonable. At least the items that I know what they are."

We started out at the furniture store figuring it would be the least-exciting part. We'd done some searching of nursery ideas and had a good idea of the types of things we did and didn't want. Still, actually picking out a style of furniture was tough, but we eventually went for a light, unstained wood look and blue accents and cushions. Since we had the space, we registered a soft bonding bench as well as a comfy, reclining rocking chair figuring having lots of comfortable spaces for nursing depending on how I was feeling could only help the process.

After the furniture store, we made our way through various toy and baby specialty stores. Despite my protests, Tony insisted on leaving with car seats and strollers in the multiple so that he could run his own tests and build improvements into them. Plus, he said it would give him time to design some from scratch if those he bought in the stores didn't measure up to said tests. Eventually I realized this was one of those things I just wasn't going to win on, so I let it go.

Probably the most awkward moment of the day came when I got to the feeding supplies.

"They make beer bongs for babies*?" Lester asked incredulously.

There were a few beats of silence as everyone took in the question and realized that he was completely serious.

"Les, that's a breast pump."

"A breast pump?"

Sighing, I looked at him and then said, "for milk."

I could see his brain slowly looking at it and sorting out how it would work, and it was kind of amusing. Of course, then I had to go through and figure out which one I wanted. While everyone looked on.

"I know you're guarding me right now, but do all of you have to be RIGHT here? Just watching me?"

I was getting increasingly bright in the face from embarrassment, and when I started welling up with tears, Pepper, Natasha, and Steve got everyone to back off while I figured out what I thought I wanted.

As I stood looking at the different models, not really seeing anything, Steve moved up behind me and firmly yet gently rubbed my shoulders, easing some of the tension that had build up in them.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to me.

Immediately I turned to look him in the eye, "for what?"

"That you can't have a normal life with privacy to do personal things like this when I know how much you'd rather that be the case."

"Steve, it's not your fault." When he wiggled his eyebrows in response, I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing.

"Okay," I gasped out when I had my laughter under a little bit of control, "the pregnancy part is mostly your fault. But honestly, it was clear from our very first date what I was getting into by choosing to be with you, and I still chose to be with you. Because I love you and you are like a piece of me I couldn't survive without. And let's not forget, I had protective details of Rangemen all the time before I met you, with or without knowing it."

"So then, what's different about this. Why are you upset today?"

"Breastfeeding. I'm still a little nervous about it, and it seems so personal and private. Especially when you remove the baby and put a machine there instead. I guess it just felt weird and embarrassing."

Steve hummed in thought for a minute, "well, why do you want to breastfeed him?"

"Pretty much all the research being done these days shows how much better it is for babies to be fed breast milk, and I want him to be healthy. Plus, I don't know, I like the idea of having that connection with him."

"And so what's weird or embarrassing about that, Sweetheart? Because I got to tell you, it sounds like just about the most natural thing to me for you to at least try. As far as the pump is concerned, you've already said that when you start using that, it'll mean I get to feed him sometimes too, and bond with him as well. And I'm so excited for that. But, Steph, this is so important, I need you to remember why they're all here with us. I wouldn't insist on it, if it wasn't extremely necessary, especially right now."

I burrowed into Steve, resting my head on his shoulder and giving his neck a kiss. After a minute just holding him, I eased back and looked up at his face and said, "I know, thanks."

With renewed focus and confidence, I went back to the selection of pumps and finally made my choice. Adding on some nursing covers, pillows, bottles and other related accessories, we made it past that moment, and we moved on to the fun stuff.

While we were dealing with feeding, almost everyone had moved on to toys, and I had to veto a bunch of items, especially ones that seemed needlessly noisy. Something told me we'd still wind up with most of the items anyway. Only Bruce had been useful, taking the time to gather together his recommendations for health and hygiene items. I was extremely grateful for his input there, and gave him a hug when I noticed that he had, without fanfare, added in a few items for postpartum care as well.

Sorting through all the toys and clothes that everyone had brought up was a very exciting moment. It seemed to bring home for Steve and I how much closer we were to having this child, our son, to bring home with us.

We finished up with baby carriers- something we were both planning to use a decent amount. I was hoping to be able to bring the baby in to Rangeman with me, at least in the beginning, something I'd discussed with Steve, Ranger, and Bucky in depth. We had some plans and it seemed like it was going to work, but who knew what would actually happen when the baby arrived and we saw what kind of personality he had. When it got down to it, we preferred different styles. I wanted a wrap that I would, at least theoretically, be able to nurse in as well whereas Steve just wanted a straightforward carrier that felt a little sturdier. So we went ahead and registered for both, planning to buy them eventually anyway.

By the end of the trip, I was absolutely exhausted. I still felt like what we had registered for was too much stuff, but I guess it boiled down to the fact that we were first time parents who just weren't sure what was going to work. I couldn't help but think this would all be easier the second time around when we knew what we liked and wanted! As we walked out to the waiting limo, I murmured to Natasha, "can I talk to you privately when we get back?"

"Of course Steph, everything okay?"

"Yep. Just have a couple of female things I want to run by you." I threw in that last bit knowing that Steve and Bucky would overhear us, even if they would let it go and make no indication of the fact.

When we got back to the Tower, I followed Natasha to her floor. While Natasha fussed over me, making a snack and bringing me a cold bottle of water, Clint grabbed his bow and told us he'd be out for an hour, and to let him know if he needed to be gone longer. I waited another minute after the door had shut to make sure the elevator would have whisked him away before I turned to Natasha.

I stared at her contemplatively for a few more beats and watched as she measured my expression as well.

"I'm going to ask you something," I started, "and I need you to be COMPLETELY honest with me. No telling me anything less than the truth to protect me or keep me from getting upset, okay?"

"Okay," Natasha responded calmly, looking at me with complete sincerity.

"And I want you to keep the entirety of this conversation just between the two of us.

"Okay."

"I know you help monitor the communications of our enemies. What are they saying about me and the baby?"

"They definitely want you, Steph. And they're pretty sure you're going to be in your third trimester soon, which means the baby could probably survive outside of your body soon. Especially since he has the serum. There are starting to be more and more rumblings about going after you."

"And I'm getting bigger, slower, and more defenceless by the day."

Natasha nodded her head while still managing to seem completely untroubled, "we're going to protect you, Steph."

"Does Steve know?"

"Yes, we've talked about it with him."

"It would be easier if I wasn't going to and from the office, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, but we understand and respect that you don't want to be cooped up in this tower and that you need to feel useful."

"Alright. Thanks, Natasha. I better head upstairs, I'm sure Steve's freaking out about what this could possibly be."

"Hold on just a second," Natasha said while walking out of the room. When she came back, she had a large gift bag with her. "He won't ask, so just say you got this from my apartment. That is 100% true."

So saying she handed me the bag, laughing in delight as I my face no doubt turned bright red when I saw the extremely skimpy maternity lingerie in it. She wrapped an arm around my waist comfortably and guided me back to the elevator, leaving me with a simple, "enjoy!"

As if there was any doubt, since she was a master spy, Natasha's recommended distraction was successful and kept us occupied for the rest of the evening and night.

When I made it into the office the next day, thankfully without a full Avenger escort, I sent Ranger an email asking him to drop by when he had a few minutes to spare sometime during the day. Then I proceeded to go about my business, chatting with Bucky, running searches, helping design some new security systems, and of course, getting up to pee what felt like every 20 minutes.

It was early afternoon, and I'd stopped by the break room at Lester's insistence for a snack on my way back from another bathroom stop. Of course some of the others walked in, joining in on the conversation, and before I realized it, I'd been gone a good 20 minutes. Still, that didn't seem like enough time for what had happened when I got back into the office. Waiting for me, because of course he showed up when I wasn't actually in my office, was Ranger. But he and Bucky were staring at me, waiting expectantly for my reaction.

The furniture in the office had been shifted around and rearranged and a semi-permanent playpen set up. Bucky's and my desk, for instance, were now against the wall. Into the newly freed up space next to and behind my desk they had placed a crib and a comfortable recliner for me to use, presumably to nurse or pump when needed. The crib and recliner were the same styles I'd registered for but in black, of course. There were even some soft blankets on the bookshelf and some nursing covers with the Rangeman logo stitched on them resting on the back of the recliner. The office had always been spacious, even with the extra couches, so all of this managed to fit without the space being cramped.

I pulled Ranger and Bucky into hugs before settling myself into the new comfy chair and indicating for Ranger to take my desk. When he put his feet up on it, mimicking Bucky's pose, I rolled my eyes but let it pass.

"You wanted to see me, Babe?"

"Need me to leave?" asked Bucky.

"Nope, you're back to being my favorite partner again thanks to the Tasty Pastry you managed to get me last night. Also, this concerns you too, Bucky."

"As you probably know, Saturday is Steve's birthday…"

Steve's POV

I'd managed to let Steph spend the rest of the week going to work with just Bucky and her usual Rangeman guard, even though at times I felt like it was going to kill me to do so. Or kill Sam because that guy kept offering to spar with me, even though we both knew he held no real chance against me. Of course, he thought he was being sneaky and that I didn't realize he was giving me counseling and the same time. Or maybe he realized I was aware, but was doing it anyway.

When he'd still been under HYDRA's control, I'd fought Bucky a number of times, so I could confidently say there was no one I'd rather have Steph with if I couldn't protect her myself. I knew just what the Winter Soldier could do, and I knew Bucky would and could slip into that mode to protect her. But it was my son she was carrying, and I felt an undeniable urge to be the one doing the protecting.

It was my birthday, and I started it off by just watching Steph sleep curled up in front of me with her back nestled into my front. I'd noticed that her nightmares were getting more frequent again, especially this past week, and I was happy to stay still and let her sleep in my arms for as long as possible. Glancing over at the clock, I resigned myself to the fact that it wouldn't be all that much longer.

While Steph had taken me at my word that I'd rather have as quiet of a birthday as possible, Tony had been insistent on throwing an Avengers Fourth of July party. And since it was my birthday, it had to double as a birthday party. According to him, it would be unacceptable to not do so. Throughout the week, he'd shown me the plans for security at the party, and I knew it was as safe as it could be, but it was still in public, there would be a crowd, and everyone already new about it and that we'd be there.

Deciding that I would wake Steph up with my loud thinking, I slipped out of bed, sliding some pillows in behind to support her where I'd been and hopefully delay her waking up for a little while longer. Then I went downstairs and pulled together some breakfast and brought it upstairs.

Steph woke up as I settled the trays on the table next to the bed and mumbled, "but it's your birthday!"

"Which means I should get to do what I want. And this morning, what I want is to bring my beautiful wife breakfast in bed. Plus, you're tired. You had a long week, and it looked like you were enjoying your sleep."

She snuggled a little more into the pillow and murmured out, "I definitely was." Then she huffed out a breath and held out her hand to me, and I pulled her up, watching with a smile as she hurried over to the bathroom. When I turned back around, it was just in time to catch the cats before they got into our breakfast. I batted them away gently, which resulted in them both winding around my feet crying as though their lives depended on it.

"You guys want nothing to do with me every other time of the day, but the second there's bacon involved, I'm your best friend? What's that about?"

"Duh, bacon is delicious, Steve."

Steph walked over to her dresser and pulled something out of it before walking back to the bed. We sat together and I settled our breakfast over our laps, and we ate in silence for several minute. While we were eating, we had to fend off a couple more attacks from the cats.

"They think they're so sneaky," laughed Steph as AC crouched down and slowly inched closer, one paw out and ready to try to smack the beacon out of Steph's hand.

"They certainly think so, don't they. Do you think Natasha's been teaching them some of her stealth moves?" I teased.

"If so, she needs to work harder at it!"

When Steph couldn't eat any more, I finished off the food on her tray and settled them back on the table.

"We don't have a ton of time, it's already a little after 10, and we have to leave for the party at noon," I said.

Steph patted the bed next to her and when I settled on to it, she handed me the item that she'd pulled out of the drawer earlier. It was a card. I opened it, raising my brow at the piece of paper that fell out. On the inside, she'd written me a note saying how much she loved me and ended it with a, "I didn't know what to get you, so I figured I'd get you something to make the next three months a little easier on you."

"Easier on me?"

"Yep. I know you've been stressing and worrying. Go ahead and read it."

It was paperwork listing July 3rd as Steph's last day of work before beginning maternity leave. A part of my heart lifted up in relief, but I also felt guilty.

"Steph, you don't have to do this. I know you're worried about sitting at home with nothing to do for so long and getting bored. Or having nothing to think about other than childbirth."

"It just makes sense, Steve. And I don't have to stay in all the time, but now it'll be easier to make my schedule random and unpredictable. We'll get to spend more time together before the baby arrives, which is a bonus. Plus, I've got a bunch of friends who can keep me company and help me fill my time if I start going stir-crazy."

"If you're sure, Honey, then thanks. This really will make me feel a lot better!" She pulled me in for a deep kiss, then proceeded to wish me a happy birthday in her own way. Of course, we were running behind schedule after that, but Steph managed to get herself ready in less than half her standard time. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a blue eyelet sundress that was lined in red that was peeking out with a white belt around her waist. Since she'd completely given up on heels for the remainder of her pregnancy, her feet had sandals on them. She very much looked like someone who was prepared to try to stay cool in the New York summer heat.

When I stepped into my closet, Steph called out, "Tony said he had a new uniform for you, by the way." Sure enough, standing in front of me when I opened the locked closet was a uniform that seemed to almost be a combination of all my previous uniforms. It had a big white star on the chest that was surrounded by a navy and then a red star. Primary base color for the uniform was still the navy, but the pieces of armor in the abdomen were striped red and white vertically. There were also red and white bands on the arms. My old uniform was behind it, but I figured the day called for the patriotic gear.

As we made our way to the park, walking as it was just a few blocks, Steph filled me in on her conversation with Natasha that had pushed her over the edge to deciding to start her maternity leave early. She also explained that Ranger had assigned Bucky permanent guard duty for Steph, unless an Avengers emergency struck. When we reached the entrance to the park, a large crowd had gathered of both media and fans. Steph burrowed closer into my side, and I knew she was feeling vulnerable, so I tucked her into me and refused to let her go no matter what- even when some of the photographers asked for solo pictures of me in my new uniform.

For the most part, the party was not at all my style. The majority of our time was spent glad-handing politicians, wealthy members of society, and celebrities. And most of them involved mind-numbingly dull or just plain awkward conversations. Thankfully, Tony at least knew how to make sure there was plenty of delicious food (and probably drink, not that Steph or I could attest to it) at his parties. There was lunch, dinner, and snacks in between.

After dinner, things settled down considerably. Tony had piles of blankets brought out for people to sit on, which would be donated to a local homeless shelter after the party was over. I spread out a blanket and relaxed, leaning back, with Steph between my legs and resting against my chest. I pressed a couple of discreet kisses on the top of her head and we sat enjoying the silence.

"How are you holding up, Steph?"

"Okay. A little tired, but at least it wasn't as hot as I was worried it would be."

"Want to sneak out before the fireworks?"

"Can we? I feel like that would probably be rude. I mean, you're both the birthday boy and Captain America. Aren't you honor-bound to stay until the very end?"

"Like anyone is going to tell the pregnant lady it was rude for her to leave a party early or for her husband to see her home.. Especially if she were to say she's tired and her feet are sore."

Steph leaned back and nibbled on my earlobe whispering, "Both of those things are true, and then maybe we could finish of your birthday with another… celebration?"

That got me quickly moving, we managed to slip out without having to directly lie to anyone by me carrying Steph out in my arms. As we made our way back to the tower, I was grateful to see Clint running along the tops of the buildings we passed, covering us from above, as well as Bucky and Natasha slipping in and out of the shadows around us as we moved back to the Tower. Once we made it inside, I looked out the windows and saw Bucky giving me a salute before walking back in the direction of the park.

Tony's POV

The day after Steve's birthday, we had a surprise baby shower for the Rogers in the common floor. It consisted of the Avengers and friends, including Coulson's team; Rangeman; and the few people Steph still spoke to from Trenton. Namely her father, that crazy grandmother of hers, and a couple of her friends. We made a fairly large dent in their registry, and over the next several weeks, they filled in the rest of it.

Once they had the nursery set up in a manner that they found satisfactory, JARVIS and I set about making our final preparations and making sure the baby monitor was fully functional. Bucky and Natasha also helped me run several tests, and Thor brought some magical security measures from Asgard. He also assured Steph and Steve that Heimdall was always watching. Personally, I considered that creepier than JARVIS's presence, but whatever.

Steph had concerns about the nursery set-up as well, and she became more adamant about them as her due date drew nearer. We'd agreed that JARVIS would automatically store any particularly personal videos (e.g., Steph breastfeeding) on a local system that was not connected to the internet, encrypted, and accessible only by Steph and Steve in an emergency situation in case they needed to review it.

Labor day came, and Stephanie had officially reached full-term at 37 weeks over the weekend. Tuesday was our traditional Stark Industries employee appreciation barbecue, and I'd asked the Avengers to attend. Despite past luxurious locations, I'd chosen to put it at Central Park, just like Steve's birthday party so that we could be near home base with Steph so close to the end of her pregnancy.. Although Steve kept repeatedly telling her she didn't need to go, Steph was insisting on attending as well mostly out of sheer boredom. She'd taken the early maternity leave fairly well, but was getting stir-crazy over the course of the past week. She'd hit the nesting phase hard, and had an energy burst that she didn't seem to know what to do with considering the full housekeeping staff in the Tower.

I'd made sure that there was a comfortable chair for her in a shaded area- I even had a mini-Arc Reactor powered personal Air Conditioning unit that I designed for her to sit next to the chair so that she wouldn't overheat. Although she looked absolutely lovely in the long, strapless dress she'd chosen, we were all eyeing her warily throughout the day. I for one could not believe that she still had two and a half weeks to go to her due date. She looked like she was beyond ready to pop, and I could tell that I wasn't the only one worried that this would happen.

So, of course it would turn out that after 10 weeks of quiet, there would be an attack at the party. We'd all talked through the different possible scenarios and plans for attacks, and this one seemed relatively benign all things considered. They were what seemed to be some sort of giant robotic bunnies. As soon as the first one landed in the park, I called my suit to me as I strode toward Stephanie. My job was to get her to safety first before engaging in battle or helping anyone else.

Once my faceplate had slammed down, I calmly asked JARVIS who was currently in the Tower. Steph had convinced us that with the Avengers, Coulson's team, and SI Security around, Rangeman didn't need to supply a guard and I was feeling short-handed now at the thought of dealing with a heavily pregnant Steph solo. Luck, however was on my side, as it seemed that Darcy had stayed behind to make sure that some of Jane's experiments continued to run successfully, so I asked him to have Darcy meet us on the roof deck landing pad if at all possible.

Steve had pulled Steph behind a tree and was covering her with his body and his shield. When I approached he gave Steph a quick kiss before he lowered his shield and swung Steph up into his arms, handing her off to me.

"Steph, Sweetheart, everything is going to be okay. Tony's going to take you to the Tower, the team is going to take care of this, and I'll be back in time for dinner, okay?"

I didn't even wait for her to respond but she yelled out, "I love you!" as we took off. A few seconds later, Steph let out an ominous scream followed by a pained sounding groan. We hadn't completely cleared the fire zone, so I started to panic; I'll admit it.

"Steph, are you hit?! Where are you hit?" Then I broke off into curses as I realized the whole team had heard me ask the question. Thankfully she quickly responded that no, she had not been hit, and I heard each member of the team let out a relieved sigh.

That relief was short though because as I went to land a couple minutes later with Darcy waiting, gun out, to take over Steph Duty, Steph let out another cry. I looked down, and said, "Steph why is my suit wet? Did you just pee on me?"

I set her down on her feet, but she collapsed all the way to the ground clutching her stomach. "I wish, Tony," she hissed out through gritted teeth.

"Well, fuck, Capsicle," I said into the comm, "you better get that situation under control really quickly."

"Tony, what's going on?" Steve demanded.

"I think you're about to be a Dad."

"JARVIS, what medical staff is in the building."

"They went to the picnic, Sir. Remember, everyone decided it was safe since Steph would be there?"

My eyes widened and connected with Darcy's who clearly had a comm unit on as well and had heard JARVIS. For a brief second, I saw distress in her face before she turned to Steph with a smile and said, "that's okay. Tony and I will just keep you company in the safe room until the doctors get back. It's your first, and even though your water just broke, the contractions just started, so we've probably got hours to go, right?"

"Actually," Steph panted, "that might not be the most true statement."

Steve started freaking the fuck out and demanding to talk to Steph when he heard that. I'd picked Steph back up and run to the safe room with Darcy hot on my heels, so once we were locked in, I had JARVIS just patch the Roma's audio in with the comm units.

"What do you mean, Steph?" Steve asked over the tell tale clanks of his shield hitting the robot bunnies.

"Thought it was more false labor so I didn't say anything. Been going on since very early this morning."

I could hear the roar of the Hulk even without the communications equipment, so I knew Bruce wouldn't be any help. Not twenty seconds after I'd finished that thought, a shaken voice came through the room.

"Hello?"

"Lynda, is that you?" Darcy eagerly replied.

"Darcy? Yes, this is Lynda. Barton just shot an arrow at my feet with this earpiece attached to it."

"Awesome sauce, Doc."

Getting impatient, I cut in, "look, Dr. Chastain, is the obstetrician there with you and how long until you can get to the tower?"

"Yes, but we're pinned down in a cafe, and we have wounded we're tending to, so it'll be a while. What's going on?"

Steph let out a scream that had my balls drawing up inside my body and I responded, "Lady Liberty looks to be in labor."

"Okay, has her water broken?"

"All over my suit, yes."

"And how far apart are her contractions?"

"Four minutes," JARVIS cut in.

Steph started cursing up a blue streak that ended with, "This was so much less painful when I could fucking pretend it wasn't actually really happening because I THOUGHT I still had three weeks to go."

"Okay, Steph, the baby was head down yesterday during your scan, and the umbilical cord was clear. We're going to get to you just as soon as we can, but if we don't make it, you and your son are going to be just fine, okay?"

Steph started crying at that, and Steve cut in, the emotional strain evident in his voice, "I'm going to kill a few more of these then I'll be there, okay Stephanie. I love you and our son. In the meantime, can you do me a favor and teach Darcy and Tony to breathe like we learned in that class? And Tony, I know you'd rather be out here, but I'm counting on you to keep them safe until I can get there."

"I know, Cap. Come on Steph, teach me and Lewis this fancy breathing of yours."

Steph immediately switched up her breathing, and we made it through the next several contractions rather calmly. After something like an hour had passed though, the contractions seemed to be almost endless.

"Okay, Steph, we just have one more then I'll be on my way to you, okay?"

Steph had gone into a meditative type state, but she came out of it long enough to say, "okay, Steve, but I don't think I can wait much longer to start pushing."

"That's fine, Honey. Hold off if you can, but..." He trailed off and there were a series of loud bangs and explosions before he continued, "do what your body tells you to do."

One of the doctors, I really couldn't tell which, cut in saying, "okay, I need one of you to check and see how dilated she is and whether or not the baby has crowned."

"That's all you, Lewis. You've got the same parts, I think you should do this."

Darcy paled, and Steph choked out, "something tells me you've had your head up more skirts than her though."

And I watched, amused, as Steph gave Darcy a fist bump before Darcy straightened her shoulders up and put her head under Steph's skirt. A couple seconds later, Darcy eased back out and ran to the corner of the room where she promptly threw up into the trash can. I cleared my throat and said, "judging by Lewis's reaction, I'm pretty sure that is a yes on the crowning, Doc."

"Cap and I are incoming," Natasha quickly contributed.

Darcy had gathered herself together and was approaching Steph when the safe room door opened to an out of breath Steve. Steph looked up and smiled at him before the next contraction started and she turned and vomited all over me.

"That's it, I'm burning this suit," I whined, only to be completely ignored as Steve strode in followed shortly by Natasha as well as Thor and Sam. That explained how they arrived so quickly. Steve bent down and picked Steph up, swiftly carrying her down to their apartment. Natasha threw a plastic sheet over the bed and then some blankets on it, and Steve laid her down. Thor, Sam, and I were instructed to grab additional blankets and supplies from the nursery, and I took advantage of the opportunity to take off the Iron Man suit completely. By the time we got back, Steph had been efficiently stripped and was covered only by a couple of sheets.

I stood hesitantly by the door until Steph screamed out, "you three get in here and stay above the waist unless told otherwise until further notice. Sorry if you see some boob, just please do everything you can to not see anything below the belt and never tell me if you do."

Steve laughed and said, "bet you're glad Natasha and I took those childbirth classes now, aren't you?"

"I still don't think you needed to get certified, Steve," Steph gasped out one pain-filled word at a time.

"Just wanted to make sure I knew enough."

"Yeah, but now you're on catcher duty, so I can't break your super-healing hand like I wanted."

Bucky had strode casually into the room seconds before that statement, and he just wordlessly stood right next to her and offered his flesh hand. Thor walked up to her other side and did the same.

"Yeah, I can't..."

"Sure you can, Doll. That has to hurt and me and the God will be healed up again in no time."

From the looks on their faces, she took them at their word when the next contraction hit, but neither uttered a peep.

"Steve, I need to push!"

"That's just fine, Steph. Are you okay like this?"

Pepper had walked in behind Bucky and wordlessly held up one of Steph's legs and Darcy grabbed the other. When Steph leaned forward, Sam and I hastily rearranged the pillows to help her be more upright.

She pushed when she felt like it for the next several minutes before Clint and Bruce finally joined us. Clint had stayed behind to watch over Bruce when he transformed back from Hulk, and to help him get back to the tower as quickly as possible.

"Sorry, it took a little longer for me to calm down this time, Steph," Bruce said. He crouched down next to Steve to check her progress, and much to my surprise, Clint climbed onto the bed behind her to help her brace her back better.

"Thanks," she panted out to Clint after she relaxed back into him after her next push, "I'm so tired."

Steve rubbed her shin from his position, and Clint rubbed her shoulders and said, "no problem, Sis, we got you."

"Alright, Steph, I know you're tired, but our son is almost here. I need you to make your next push a really big one, okay?"

I have no idea how she did it, but Steph found enough humor in her to say, "Promise to catch him?"

"Always."

Although I'd been mostly silently observing, I found myself reaching out and putting one hand in her shoulder and saying, "come on, Steph, you've got this."

The others echoed the sentiment around me; I don't know about everyone else, but as soon as Steph started pushing again, I unconsciously held my breath. She collapsed back on Clint and Natasha reached in with what looked like a miniature turkey baster while Steve looked up and said, "his head is out, you're doing so well! Just helping him turn a little. Okay, Push again when you can, gotta get his shoulders all the way out!"

A couple more tense minutes passed and then Steve was hauling their son up and placing him gently on an absolutely bawling Steph's chest. Bruce helped Steve cut the umbilical cord, and then Clint slid out from behind Steph and Thor stepped to the side as Steph had dropped his hand to let Steve be with Steph and the baby while Bruce and Natasha kept working on her.

About ten minutes later, Bruce had something truly gross that had to be the placenta in his hands and seemed satisfied.

"Jesus, Bruce, what's wrong with her? She's shaking! Do something."

Steve had adjusted his arm to make sure the baby was secure on Steph's chest and he pressed a kiss to her temple and stroked his hair as he replied without looking, "she's fine. It's completely normal. You did so good, Steph."

They were clearly in their own world, so all of us except for Bruce and Natasha cleared out to leave the new family alone. Pepper was crying, so I held her to me, soothing her and watching curiously as Sam did the same for Darcy. After a few minutes of quiet, Steph's medical team came breezing in along with Jane who flung herself at Thor and also cried when she found out the baby had been born and was doing well.

Bruce and Natasha joined us shortly and we sat for a few more minutes before all heading out to clean up. I was back within ten minutes, nodding when I saw that Clint was already back.

Natasha slipped back out of their bedroom and downstairs.

"She won't give them the baby yet, says she wants him for a full hour before they take him for measurements because he's clearly perfectly healthy. I swear, his cone head from birth is already gone and the worst of her tears have started to heal, and he's already nursed."

Everyone slowly filtered back in and we looked up as one when Steve came out carrying his son in his arms with Bucky behind him carrying Steph. Steve watched as Bucky carefully placed her in a waiting wheelchair before handing her the baby and walked around to take control of the chair.

"We're just going to go get them both checked out and we'll be back. Shouldn't be too long, but you don't have to wait."

"We'll be here, Cap." I replied for the rest of the team, and we sat completely still waiting for the elevator doors to close. As soon as they did we all jumped up and ran upstairs. We made quick work of cleaning up their bedroom, and I ordered the cleaning service to take care of the panic room upstairs.

Then we ordered food and went back into the bedroom to set up the bassinet and extra changing table next to their newly clean bed. Going back downstairs, we did the same thing in the living room. Steph had balked at having extras of those items, but I'd promised we could donate them when they didn't need them anymore. Eventually she'd relented in the way that let me know she was just letting me win.

About half an hour after they'd left, Steve wheeled Steph back in with a big smile on his face. Steph handed him the baby and he walked toward the team saying, "Everyone, I want to introduce you to Anthony James Rogers."

I gaped openly at Steve when he walked up to me and offered me the baby.

"Anthony?" I croaked out.

"I promised myself we'd name our first born after you the second time your body armor saved Steph from sniper fire to the chest. Good thing he's a boy. Anthony, this is your Uncle Tony. He doesn't like being handed things, but I bet he'll make an exception for you."

"The first of many, I'm sure," I whispered as I took the tiny baby, supporting his head as Steve showed me. I held him close as I inspected him before turning to Steph, who Steve had moved over to the couch, "you made a good one here, you know, for a first effort." That made her cry, but I figured she could cry as much as she wanted- she'd definitely earned it. It was also partially a lie. Newborns looked fucking weird. Pepper had been coaching me for weeks, showing me pictures of newborns until I was able to look at them without grimacing or making jokes. Though, Anthony was different. Plus, like Natasha said, he already looked less newborn-y than he had when he'd first been born. I passed Anthony off to Pepper and watched as she cooed over him before giving him to the next person. He made it around the room to every person except his other namesake.

Barnes was standing there looking at the baby, then the metal plates in his arm would whir and he'd look away, appearing almost heartbroken. Steve collected the baby from Darcy and walked up next to Bucky and stood so they were brushing shoulders and Anthony was just a few inches away. When he still hesitated. Steph called Bucky to sit down on the couch next to her. Once he'd settled, Steph instructed Steve to place the baby on Bucky's lap.

As soon as Steve let go, Bucky had his flesh hand under Anthony's head and ever so carefully brought his metal hand up to strike his belly. Then he relaxed and let a huge smile spread across his face.

"Anthony James, huh Punk?" He asked not taking his eyes off the baby.

Steve just cleared his throat but couldn't get any words out, so Bucky continued, "I guess we'll have to call him AJ then to keep it from going to Stark's head."

I scoffed at that, but didn't fight him on it. AJ would certainly be less confusing for everyone.

"I was already planning to call him that for simplicity sake. Now, give me back my baby, I'm not used to being away from him!"

Steph's POV

Looking around the room at this new, crazy family of mine, I was baffled. Some of them had to have been wildly uncomfortable with the situation, but they'd stayed by me and helped me however they could manage, with the birth of my son. Speaking of, I looked down at little AJ and smiled. This was a whole new kind of love that I hadn't even known existed.

I felt Steve sit down and drape one arm around me, so I leaned into him as best I could considering how sore my body was. After a few minutes, I slid AJ over to him and, seeing that he was comfortably settled, I closed my eyes. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but marvel at how much my life had changed in just under the year. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve this life, but I'd do everything in my power to keep it and prove myself worthy to the universe.

Looks like I have a new nickname: Mommy.

*borrowed from Friends.

A/N: Alright everyone, I'm going to go ahead and call it here! At over 200,00 words, this story is way longer than I ever dreamed it would be, and probably longer than it should be. Still, I might be able to be talked into writing a brief epilogue if people would like that. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorited this story along the way. And for those who are as much of fans of Steve & Steph together as I am- have no fear, I'm already three chapters into my next story. Just follow me and I'll try to have the first chapter posted sometime this weekend! Said story needs a title and maybe an informal proof reader/beta. Let me know if you have ideas for either!