XXIX

Family


Despite the fact that Steve had seen it coming, it still worried him that there had been medical complications with the pregnancy. Namely the early arrival.

Several nurses were in the waiting room with him, waiting to be summoned back in to assist Doctor Sanderson as well. Steve didn't know yet if the problem had something to do with the serum or Sharon's old injuries, but he hoped the doctor would tell him either way.

"Captain?"

He paused, frowning at the nurse who had spoken.

"She'll be fine," the nurse said patiently. "No need to wear down a hole in the floor, we've done this before, Sanderson has taken care of pregnancies before, we know what we're doing."

Steve stared at her, and then realized that he'd been pacing across the length of the waiting room. The idea that Sanderson might have not had exposure to childbirth before hadn't even crossed his mind until the nurse had said it. "I thought Sanderson was a military doctor," he blurted out.

"Sanderson is a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor, and there are women who work for S.H.I.E.L.D. It's more of security thing, less hassle trying to get the security clearance necessary. Especially for the higher ranking officers. So naturally he has to train for any kind of possible medical emergency that could befall a secret intelligence agency," the nurse said. "It's just a bonus that he started out as a military doctor."

Steve stared at her. "But-"

"Captain?" Sanderson said, looking worn out as he came out of the operating room. "She's in recovery, but she and the child are fine." Peeling off his plastic gloves, he added, "It's a girl, by the way. It's safe to go in now because she's calm, but do try your best not to rile her up again."

Steve nodded and slipped inside as soon as he could.

Sharon was propped up in the hospital bed, dozing with her face bowed toward a large swath of blankets that was tucked in her arms. As Steve cautiously approached, unwilling to startle either, the bundle of blankets suddenly moved with a snuffling sound, prompting Sharon to lean forward and shush the blankets. Sharon looked wiped out, but content.

"She's not going to bite," Sharon said suddenly, startling Steve. Her blue eyes were quietly regarding Steve, and then she nodded toward the blankets again. "She won't bite," Sharon repeated tiredly as Steve cautiously approached the blankets. Tilting her head, she added, "Do you know how to carry an infant?"

"Infant, yes. Newborn, no," he said, carefully pulling up a chair next to the bed. Sharon didn't say anything as he cautiously reached forward and pulled the blanket back.

The baby's eyes were still shut, and it – she, made a few muffled whimpers as Steve saw his daughter for the first time. Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he opened his mouth to say something, but then found that he didn't have anything to say. He knew that Sharon was reading him anyway, studying his reactions. "Do you want to hold her?" she finally asked.

"If you don't mind," he said, glancing warily at his still calming down wife.

She shrugged. "Just don't move from the room," she said as Steve reached for the bundle of blankets. "Sanderson's agreed to hold off on completing the birth certificate until we find a new name for her," Sharon added quietly. "He's also putting her place of birth down as in New York S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, so she'll have full American citizenship and the trail to her will be murkier than before."

"That's right, we'll have to be extra careful not to lead any unwanted parties back to her," Steve said, watching as sleepy blue eyes finally opened and stared back at him albeit unfocused. A sense of protectiveness swelled inside of him; this was something he didn't think he'd be able to ever see, and he knew he would work extra hard to make sure his family was safe from both distant and immediate threats.

"Will she be all right, medically-wise?" he finally asked, glancing at Sharon.

She nodded. "The complication came from me, but the serum seems to be stabilized. Sanderson will want to monitor it, in case there's a relapse and the serum fails, but other than that, she's completely healthy, even if she's a little early. I was thinking of going to Richmond once I can travel, stay there for a little while until she's older or something. New York, as much as I love it, seems to be the trouble magnet of the United States."

"Good idea," Steve replied absently as a tiny little fist wrapped around one of his fingers. "Good idea."

The three of them sat there in the comforting silence. For Steve though, it was as though he'd finally gotten something of his old life back: a family.


A/N: Doing something sweet.