Chapter 32

The days Livy was still in the hospital, she had visitors at all hours of the day. Her aunts and uncles came to visit her as well as her classmates and ballet friends. She got lots of cards, balloons, candy, stuffed animals, and flowers. She definitely enjoyed all of the attention she was getting.

On the second day after her surgery, Dr. Cho released her from the hospital. Livy would have to take it easy meaning that she would have to take a break from ballet until she was given the ok to start up again. She was a little disappointed to hear that, but Steve promised her that she could still go visit Natasha whenever she wanted. After Steve had signed the release papers, she was all set to leave the hospital. Steve only had to help her into the change of clothes she had brought her, and she would be all set to leave. The nurse wheeled her out in a wheelchair, and Steve buckled her in her car seat. Once he was in the car, Livy asked, "Can we go see Miss Nat?"

Steve looked at her in the rearview mirror. "You know she has ballet classes right now. I don't think that we should interrupt that."

"Please, Daddy. I want to go see her," Livy pleaded.

"You saw her last night, Princess."

"That was yesterday. I want to see her today," Livy said persistently.

Steve smiled at her persistence. "Let's make a deal. We'll go see her during her lunch break. Is that ok with you?"

Livy nodded her head eagerly.

Steve glanced at the time. It was a half past ten, so they had a little time before they went to see Natasha. He didn't want to drive all the way home since they would have to come back to Manhattan in about an hour and a half. He was trying to come up with something to kill time. Finally, an idea struck him. "Princess, how about we go to Toys R Us while we wait for lunchtime?"

Livy's eyes brightened up. "YES!" she squealed.

There was a little over a month before Christmas, and Steve wanted to get an idea of what to get Livy for Christmas. "But, we won't be buying anything today," Steve let her know.

"Ok, Daddy," she consented.

They spent most of the hour and a half in the store. If Livy hadn't had surgery a couple of days ago, she would have been running all over the store like crazy. Since Steve was carrying her, she opted for asking him to go to certain aisles. Her eyes brightened with everything they saw from kitchen sets to stuffed animals. To say the least, she wanted everything she saw. He let her walk around a bit so that she could see the displays a bit better. He could tell that she could stay in that store all day long. She was busy exploring a kitchen set when Steve saw they should probably get going if they were going to catch Natasha before she went out for lunch.

"Princess, we need to go now," Steve told her.

"But, Daddy, I don't want to go yet," she whined.

Steve tried to hide his smile. "Well, I guess we won't go see Miss Nat then."

When Livy heard that, she immediately walked back to his side. "No, I want to go see her!" she protested.

Steve smiled at her protest. "I thought you wanted to stay here and keep looking at the toys."

Livy shook her head and grabbed onto Steve's legs. "I want to go now."

Steve laughed and picked her up. He knew how much she loved being with Natasha, so he knew she wouldn't want to stay in Toys R Us any longer if they were going to see Natasha.

They arrived at the ballet school a little bit before Natasha's class ended. Daisy was at the desk as she always was. When she saw them enter, she smiled widely at Livy. "It's so nice to see you, Livy," she exclaimed.

Livy smiled shyly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ok. It hurts a little bit."

Daisy gave her a sympathetic smile. "You'll feel like your old self before you know it, and once you do, you'll be back here dancing."

Livy nodded.

"So what brings the two of you here at this time?" Daisy asked looking at Steve.

"Livy wanted to see Miss Romanoff, so I told her that we could drop by to say hello during her lunch break," explained Steve.

Daisy smiled. "That's so sweet. She should be finishing up with her class soon. Feel free to take a seat."

"Thank you." Steve sat down on the couch with Livy on his lap. Livy curled up in a ball against Steve's chest. She was getting a bit tired, but she wanted to see Natasha today. She also wanted to eat before taking a nap.

Soon Natasha came out with her student that she had been teaching. The lady and she were talking and laughing before the lady left. That's when Natasha noticed Steve and Livy on the couch. She was surprised to see them there. "Hey, Livy! It's nice to see you're out of the hospital."

Livy looked up and smiled at Natasha. "Miss Nat!" she exclaimed.

Natasha made her way towards them. "Oh, and hi to you too, Steve," she said when she realized she hadn't greeted him yet.

"Hi," he returned.

"So, how is my favorite student feeling today?"

"Tired and hungry."

Natasha chuckled. "I imagine so. It's lunchtime already."

Livy nodded while Steve said, "Livy wanted to see you before we went home."

"Aw, that's sweet. I'm glad you decided to drop by. I'm so glad you're out of the hospital, and I hope you continue to feel better."

Livy nodded. "Miss Nat."

"Yes?"

"Where are you going to eat lunch?"

"I haven't exactly decided that yet," Natasha answered her.

"Can you eat lunch with us?" Livy asked.

Steve wasn't expecting her to ask that. He, as well as Natasha, was taken aback by the question.

"As long as your dad is ok with it." Natasha and Livy both looked at Steve waiting for his answer.

"Uh, no, it's fine with me. I just didn't have any plans for going out to lunch, so we can go wherever you want," he answered.

"What can Livy eat?"

"Right now, she can't eat much. " He took out the list of foods that she could eat and handed it to Natasha. She scanned the list before answering.

"Well, we can go to any restaurant as long as it's not all fast food."

Steve nodded. "How about TGI Fridays?"

"That sounds good. I haven't been there in a while."

"Ok, TGI Fridays it is. We'll take my car."

"Oh, no," objected Natasha. "I can drive my own car so that you don't have to drive me all the way back here afterward."

Steve shook his head. "It won't be a problem. I have to do something in this area still before going home anyway, and the ballet school is on the way."

"Are you 100% sure?" Natasha asked with her eyebrow raised.

Steve nodded. "100% sure."

"Come on, let's go," Livy urged.

Steve chuckled while Natasha giggled at Livy's urging. Steve got up and adjusted Livy on his hip. He opened the door, and said, "After you," to Natasha.

She smiled at his chivalry.

At TGI Fridays, they were given a booth to sit in. Steve and Natasha sat across from each other. Livy had problems picking who to sit with because she wanted to sit with both Natasha and her dad. She finally decided to sit by Natasha. Livy got comfortable and cuddled against Natasha's side. She had been given a kid's menu and crayons, but she was too tired to do the activities on the menu. They all sat in silence as they looked over the menu. It wasn't until after they ordered when Natasha broke the silence. "Livy fell asleep," she said.

Steve stood a little to see. He smiled at the sight of Livy curled up against Natasha's side sleeping. "I can take her if you want."

"Oh, no, that's perfectly fine. I was just letting you know. Do you want me to wake her when the food arrives?"

"Please. She needs to eat to regain her strength."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "How have you been fairing through all of this?"

Steve sighed. "As well as can be expected, I guess. Thankfully, I had some help while she was at the hospital."

"Those are the perks of having so many caring friends. You can always depend on them."

"Yes, you're right about that. I think I learned to appreciate them even more during all of this."

Natasha smiled. "Have you told Livy yet?" she asked switching the subject.

Steve's face became serious. "No, I haven't. There are some things I want to ask her when I do tell her, so I'm waiting until she gets better to let her know. I have no doubt she'll be elated at the news, but it bothers me that she never came to me to let me know what she was saying and doing to her."

"I see. I guess you're right about waiting then. I have another question, but you don't have to answer it."

"Go on ahead."

"Are you going to wait a little bit before starting to date again?"

Steve sighed and shook his head. "Now, I'm actually thinking we're better off the way we are right now."

"You're afraid it's going to happen again, aren't you?" Natasha inquired.

Steve nodded his head. "Also, I have no idea where to start looking."

Natasha couldn't stand seeing Steve so sad and heartbroken. "Hey, have you thought of putting an ad in the newspaper soliciting a wife and mother for Livy, and you know, describing her just the way you want her to be? I'm sure lots of women will fall in line."

Steve smiled a bit at her joke. "I actually don't think it would be too bad of an idea, but then I'd have to slowly turn each one down once I find the right person. I'd hate to break all of their hearts."

Natasha laughed. "You do have a point there. With your looks, you'd break more hearts than you can count."

Steve laughed at that.

Before anything else could be said, the waitress brought their food. Natasha couldn't help but notice the flirtatious looks the waitress was giving Steve, but she also noticed that Steve was oblivious to all of it. When the waitress left, Natasha pointed it out. "You know, that waitress would be more than happy to be your wife if the way she looked at you was any indication."

Steve looked confused. "She's not my type."

"Oh, so, Steve Rogers has a type?" Natasha asked raising her eyebrows at him. "What would that type be?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I think you should wake Livy up before her soup gets cold."

"You'd better tell me later. I could probably help you look for someone," she said before putting her attention on Livy. "Hey, Livy. Wake up. Your soup is here." Natasha was lightly shaking her awake.

Livy started to stir a bit and opened her eyes before she closed them again.

Natasha giggled at that. "Come on, sleepy head. Aren't you hungry?"

Livy nodded her head while her eyes were still closed.

"Then you'll have to wake up to eat. You can go right back to sleep once you're done eating."

Livy slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She began sitting up and rubbed her eyes. She just sat there obviously still half asleep.

Natasha noticed that Livy was still half asleep, so she decided to just grab her spoon and start feeding her. She made sure to blow on it to cool off the soup on the spoon before giving it to Livy. "Livy, open your mouth."

She looked over at Natasha and opened her mouth.

Steve couldn't help but watch smiling. Usually, he was the one that would do that when Livy was too tired to eat on her own, but there was something special watching Natasha do it this time. He loved how she interacted with Livy. He could tell that she cared a lot about her. He didn't realize that he was staring until Natasha said, "Aren't you going to eat, Rogers?"

Steve's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Yeah, I am. Aren't you?"

"I am eating in between the spoonfuls I give Livy."

"I could take that over since you have to get back to work," Steve offered.

Natasha smiled. "I don't have a class until 2:30, so there's no rush."

Livy had woken up fully by now, so she decided to ask a question. "Miss Nat," she said.

"Yes, Livy?" Natasha answered as she turned to look at her.

"Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?"

"Last year was my first year to actually celebrate it."

"Oh. Do you like it?"

"I do. There are a lot of delicious foods. Do you like it?"

Livy nodded. "We're going to celebrate it at my house. Aunt Wanda's cooking the turkey."

"That sounds like fun. Do you know what Thanksgiving is about?"

Livy shook her head. "My teacher was going to tell us the story in school, but I got sick. Do you know?"

Natasha smiled. "I've only heard the story once, so I think your dad should tell you."

"Daddy, tell us the Thanksgiving story."

Steve smiled at both of their pleading eyes. "All right. The Thanksgiving story actually starts in England. There was this group called Separatists that didn't want to be a part of the Church of England. They wanted to worship God in their own way, so they moved to Holland. Once in Holland, they did have religious freedom, but their kids were growing up as Dutchmen instead of Englishmen and were being influenced by the Dutch. They went back to England and asked the king if they could go to the New World. The king granted them permission, and they set off on their voyage, along with some other people called Adventurers, to Jamestown in the Mayflower. There was a bad storm while they were on the sea which threw them off course, so they ended up a lot more north. They landed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They settled in Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Since it was already winter, they couldn't grow food or build houses, so about half of the population died that winter. When spring came, the Pilgrims started to build houses. One day, some Indians came to visit them. The Pilgrims thought the Indians were going to harm them, but one of them, Samoset, know a little bit of English. He brought Squanto, who knew more English, to them, and he was able to help the Pilgrims sign a peace treaty with Chief Massasoit and help them plant crops, hunt, and fish. That year, they had plenty to eat, and they decided to gather together to thank God for the year they went through. They, of course, invited to Indians. President Lincoln made it an official holiday which we now celebrate every fourth Thursday of November," Steve concluded.

"Did they have turkey too?" Livy eagerly asked.

"I'm pretty sure they did. There were more than enough wild turkeys running around at that time."

Livy giggled a little since the incision from the surgery still hurt her while Steve and Natasha just smiled at her. After what she had just gone through, they were happy that she was happy.

The rest of the lunch went by fast and soon they were on their way back to the ballet studio. Livy had fallen asleep just as soon as the car started moving. Natasha was just staring out the window thinking about the lunch. She remembered a question that she had asked earlier that didn't get an answer. Turning to Steve, she spoke up breaking the silence. "Hey, you never did tell me what your type is in women."

Steve glanced at her. "You're right about that. I didn't."

Natasha stared at him expectantly. Steve could feel her intent gaze, but he didn't say anything. Natasha finally got impatient. "Well, aren't you going to tell me now? Livy's asleep if that's what held you back the first time."

Steve took another sideways glance at her before sighing. "I like women who don't openly flirt with every man they encounter. For example, if you say that waitress was giving me flirtatious looks, she probably does it with all the guys. It has to be someone that I can trust fully. Someone that I know won't look at any other guy the way she looks at me. Most importantly, she needs to accept who Livy is and love her as her own."

"That's sweet, but it may be a little hard to find these days. Most women don't want the commitment to be a mother right after they get married."

Steve nodded. "I know that. Sharon proves that point. That's how I'll know she's the right partner for me."

Natasha nodded. "You'll find her eventually."

"I know I will," Steve answered her. "I've already found her," he added mentally.

When he pulled up in front of the ballet school, he turned the car off. He turned to face Natasha. "I was kind of wondering something."

"Oh?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"I was wondering if you'd like to spend Thanksgiving with us this year. By us, I mean, Livy, Wanda, Bucky, Pietro, and Allison, of course, me as well."

Natasha smiled. "I would love to, but I've got plans for this Thanksgiving. Thanks for the invite though."

Steve's smile faltered a bit, but he tried to quickly cover it by plastering a fake one which didn't escape Natasha's eyes. "Oh, ok. You're welcome."

"Clint and Laura invited me to their house again this year, so I couldn't say no. Clint is like a brother to me, and Thanksgiving is about spending it with family. Maybe next time though."

"Yeah, next time."

"Thank you so much for the lunch. I had a wonderful time. Tell Livy thanks for the invite as well."

Steve's genuine smile returned to those words. "I'll make sure I tell her that. You take care."

"You as well. See you around." Natasha opened the door to the car and got out. She walked up the steps all the while knowing Steve was watching her every move. She turned and waved goodbye to him before going inside.

Once Steve was sure Natasha was safe inside, he turned the car back on and went to his next stop before heading home. As he pulled into the parking lot, Steve was sure to start to wake up Livy. "Hey, Livy, you need to wake up for a bit." Once the car was parked, he got out and went around to her side to start unbuckling the car seat. "Livy, do you want to see Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper?"

Livy's eyes cracked open as she nodded her head.

"Well, you need to wake up then. I'll carry you, but don't go back to sleep so that you can see them."

All she did was nod before closing her eyes again. She rested her head on Steve's shoulder and worked on waking herself up. Before she knew it, they were already inside. She heard Tony say, "Hey, Munchkin! You awake?"

She just nodded her head and kept her eyes closed.

"You can lie her down on the couch if you want, Steve. Pepper'll be up in a minute."

"Thanks, Tony," Steve said as he laid Livy on the couch. "I can't stay long because she needs to rest, and we haven't gone home yet."

"Ok, then. What do you need?"

"I need you to do me a favor. I know you're going to Malibu for Thanksgiving, so I need you to return something that I bought there." He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a ring box. "I need you to return this to the jewelry store I got it from. You do remember which one, right?"

Tony reached out for the box and opened it. "Oh, yeah, definitely remember. Why do you want me to return it though? Aren't you going to propose to Sharon?"

Steve hung his head. "Not anymore. How can I propose to a woman who threatens my daughter and teaches her to lie? How can I marry a woman who cheats on me?"

Tony's eyes went wide with shock when he heard the last part. "She cheated on you?"

Steve nodded his head, his face full of shame. "The worst part is that I didn't know until after I broke up with her. I should have seen it."

"I'm so sorry, man," Tony said as he patted his back.

"Don't pretend to be sorry, Stark. I know that you despised her. Now that I think of it, I think everyone did."

"I can't despise her because she'll be my future business partner seeing as she's inheriting Carter Enterprises. But, I will admit I'm not fond of her, and she would have made a terrible mother to Livy."

"I see that now. I don't know why I was so blinded."

"People who are expert liars will blind you with their lies. I guess what happened to Livy was a good thing because it opened your eyes."

"I guess, but I wish it didn't have to come to that. Anyway, will you do me that favor?"

"Don't you want to keep it in case you ever find someone else?"

Steve scoffed. "Why would I give a ring to someone that was meant for someone else?"

Tony looked at him thoughtfully. "You do have a point there."

Pepper walked out of the elevator just then. "Hey, Steve! How's Livy?"

Livy, who was lying on the couch but not asleep, answered before Steve could. "Tired."

Pepper's head turned towards the couch when she heard Livy's voice. "You're out of the hospital! I'm glad to see that!" Pepper approached her and gave her a big hug keeping in mind not to squeeze her too hard.

"So what brings the two of you here?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, I just came to ask Tony a favor," Steve answered. "We were actually about to leave, but we couldn't go until we said hi to you first."

"That was sweet of you to wait. I was actually coming to get Tony. He has a conference meeting, and he has to attend. I can't fill in for him this time."

Tony made a face of dislike. "Can't you say that I'm sick or out of the country or something like that?"

"Sorry, Tony, but I can't. I know you hate meetings, but you do have to go to one every once in a while."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Fine, but no more meetings until next year."

"It sounds like this is my cue to leave as well. If I don't see you two before you go to Malibu, have a nice trip and a lovely Thanksgiving," Steve cut in.

"Oh, thank you, Steve. I hope you also have a splendid Thanksgiving," Pepper replied. "I also hope that you'll get better," she said as she looked at Livy.

Once their goodbyes were said, Tony walked out with Steve since he was going in that direction anyway. Tony waited until Steve had buckled Livy in her car seat and closed the door. "So, when are you going to make your move on Natasha?" he asked amused.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Steve said trying to act confused.

"Oh, come on, Steve. You can't fool me. I've seen the way you look at her. If that isn't love right there, then I don't know what it is."

"You're being ridiculous, Tony. I'm not in love with Natasha."

"Keep telling yourself that, and you'll make another decision you regret. She has the hots for you as well. I've seen it with my own eyes, Steve."

"Look, I don't want the woman that I date next to think she's just a rebound. I'm going to wait a little bit until I start to date again," Steve reasoned with him.

"Whatever you say. Just don't wait too long or else you'll lose her. Anyway, I need to get going, or Pepper will get onto me. Nice chat by the way. I hope you make the right decision." With that said, Tony walked away leaving Steve to mull over what he had just heard from him. Did Natasha really like him in that way? Yes, they've kissed, but he never really thought that she felt the same way. Besides, their conversation today seemed like she wasn't interested in him. But was it possible that she was hiding her true feelings? He'd just have to find out one way or the other.

I am so sorry for the long wait, but I was busy all of last week with Mother's Day preparations, and I wasn't home at all in the evenings. I haven't forgotten this story though. I'm not sure when I'll update next, but I'll try to update again by the end of this week.