DISCLAIMED

This chapter will be different to what I said it would be, but it sets up something that will happen later on. The Avengers meet up will be next chapter. As always, thanks for your support and don't forget to review xxx

Chapter 21

Emily sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking at the packet on the side.

There was no way of describing it properly, Emily just felt off. There was something not right, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She didn't feel like she was ill and even if she went to the doctor's, there probably wasn't anything she could tell them. Mentally, she was fine, no sadness or imbalance. She just didn't know what it was.

There was one thing, however, that she thought it could be. Emily's periods tended to be basically nothing due to her birth control. There wasn't any morning sickness or swelling. Those periods had been none existent for the past two months, though, and Emily was usually like clockwork. These vague symptoms were like a fog.

Hence the pregnancy tests in her bathroom.

Steve and Emily's sex life was, to put it lightly, extremely active. They were religious about birth control though- Emily had the implant in her arm and Steve always wore a condom. Emily had always been careful and had never had a scare before. Still, she'd always had that niggling worry in the back of her mind. Steve had certain physical...improvements, which meant Emily wondered if there were any extra chances of pregnancy.

She was metaphorically shitting herself.

First of all, there was the fact that she and Steve worked in very dangerous jobs. Emily would have to hit desk work immediately and if they did have a baby, it would be difficult for both to be away. The pair had their fair share of near death experiences, which made their life not too ideal for children. They'd discussed it years ago and reached that conclusion. Emily adored children and said that she would love them in another life, but she knew that it wouldn't be fair to have them. Steve agreed, not that he imagined family life too much anyway. Neither wanted to give up saving the world.

Secondly, both Steve and Emily were traditional in one respect. Steve came from a time where having a baby out of wedlock was the ultimate sin. He may not be a hardcore Bible basher, but the Catholic and 40s boy in Steve meant that he felt that marriage would have to precede babies. Emily wasn't that religious, but she'd been raised to believe the same. She'd never, ever, judge anyone who didn't have a child in marriage, it was pretty normal these days and she didn't give a shit about how other people lived their lives. Both she and Steve would think it was best to marry.

It wasn't like she wasn't ready to marry. She loved Steve and wanted to marry him. She just didn't want it to be forced.

Thirdly, Emily couldn't imagine it. Her life would change a lot, but most importantly, she'd be in charge of a human being. She would never abandon any child she had, but the idea scared her somewhat. To the outside world, it seemed she'd be fine- she was an Ivy League educated woman with a stable job, excellent income and a loving, loyal partner. Still, Emily had no idea how to handle being in charge of a tiny baby, all hers and Steve to protect.

She'd always imagined being the fun auntie to her nephew and any future nephews/nieces.

There was an option many would find obvious, but Emily knew she couldn't go through with it.

Emily couldn't bear to open the test. Steve was on assignment, and she wasn't planning to tell him unless she was absolutely sure. She knew she had to test, but she was too terrified to do it alone. Shaking against the bathtub, she knew there was only one person she could call to calm her down.

Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed her phone and made a call.

"Hi kid."

"Uncle Phil, are you busy?"

"No- what's wrong?"

"Can...Can you come over please? Now."

"Of course darling, I'll be here in ten."

"Thank you."

"See you in a minute."

"See you."

Emily waited nervously until her uncle came, hands knotted together in front of her on her knees. It seemed like he was an age, as though the world had stopped turning. Eventually, she was startled out of her thoughts by a large knock on the door.

"Hi," she felt relief when she opened the door to her uncle.

"Hi sweetheart," he hugged her.

"Come on in," she led him onto the sofa. It was a minute before she was ready to speak.

"I...I am possibly going through something and I need you most of all to help me through it."

"Ok?"

"I think I'm pregnant," Emily blurted out.

"Oh. Oh," Coulson hadn't expected that, "So, erm, what makes you think you're pregnant?"

"I've not had any traditional symptoms, but I just feel so off, like a feeling I've never had before. I might just be stressed from work or something, I don't feel ill, but I feel that there is something. Maybe it would explain things."

"Does Steve know?"

"Not until I know the answer."

"So you've not taken a test?"

"I panicked and bought five at the store, but I've been too scared to open them. I'm just...really scared Uncle Phil, I don't know what to do. I'm not in control of this. A baby would really change things, wouldn't it? I'd essentially be assigned to desk duty for the rest of my life, both me and Steve on assignments would risk so much. A baby changes everything, Uncle Phil. Steve is such a great guy and he'd always look after me, but it's just something that we have never wanted. Our life isn't meant for a child. That baby would be Captain America's child, a risk for harm. I can look after myself, but I would have to give my entire soul to protecting out child. I am terrified."

"What about..?"

"I know what you're about to say and it's a no. If that result is positive and I am pregnant, I already know that I could not do it. It's my baby that could be in there and I could not get rid of it. I've always known I'd never want an abortion, ever."

"Well the best thing now is for you to take that test," Coulson put a hand on Emily's, "If you're not pregnant, then you can just chalk it down to work stress. It's probably that damn investigation they're doing on that ship. If you are, then it's up to you and Steve to talk about what you want to do next. Whatever happens, pregnant or not, I will support you. I will help in any way I can."

"Thank you," Emily smiled weakly.

"Go take the first one now and then we'll see how it goes."

Emily disappeared into the bathroom, not emerging for ten minutes. Eventually, she arrived out with one of the tests in her hand.

"Negative."

"Well that's great!"

"These things aren't 100% accurate though," she told him, "Hence why I bought five."

"Em, you're over thinking it. Pregnancy tests these days are really accurate and you said it yourself, you don't have the classic symptoms do you- that could mean something. You should listen to it."

"I'm taking the others, I have to. I'm going to drink a large jug of water then test the other four. Do you want some of my banana bread whilst we wait?"

Coulson nodded, knowing that he couldn't talk Emily out of this. She had a tendency to jump to conclusions and worry, she always had. He enjoyed her baking as she downed a large jug of water in one large sip, burping once she had done. After fifteen minutes of conversation, Emily needed to go again.

She was in there for much longer, nearly twenty minutes. Coulson started to worry, so he headed over and knocked on the bathroom door. Emily didn't answer, but the door was unlocked so he pushed it open slightly and walked in.

His niece was sitting on the toilet lid, discarded pregnancy tests and packets around her. She was holding the last one, staring at it.

"Em?"

"I'm not pregnant," she sounded surprised, "All negative."

Throwing the stick to the side, she rushed to hug her uncle.

"Oh sorry, I should wash my hands," Emily went to the sink before hugging him again, "I'm not pregnant!"

"See, you worry too much Em, like I said it was probably stress," Coulson gripped her shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah, that investigation is getting really tense, it's that. I don't even know why I thought I was pregnant; there are no signs of it. God, I do not know what I was thinking. I feel so much better now, so much better. I can breathe easier now. Holy crap, I was so terrified about it. I'm happy, so happy. I wasn't ready for any of this."

She let out a huge smile.

"Well you can prepare now for any future scares, if you have any."

"Yeah, I can start to plan. I just hope it doesn't happen again, you know?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for helping me through it, I would have gone mad if I didn't have you here."

"I'm always there for you kid."

"You're my number one person Uncle Phil," she hugged him tight, "You always will be. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart. I am too young to be a great-uncle again."

"You are," she laughed sweetly, "Come on; let's eat some more banana bread. Man, Steve is gonna be annoyed there isn't any left for him. He'll eat me out of house and home one of these days."

"You're going to tell him, right?" Coulson asked as they headed into the living room.

"Yeah, yeah I am. He deserves to know, even if it turned out to be a negative."

"You don't have to worry about Steve eating all your food anyway; I'd have you as my personal chef if I could."

Emily smirked.

"Yeah, I know, I am the best chef in New York."

"Are you going to do anymore of your lemon drizzle soon? It's the best."

"Soon Uncle Phil," she slung an arm over his shoulder, "Soon."

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE-

Steve had finished his assignment for the day, grabbing some juice from the local health bar he liked. There was one more thing he wanted to do before he headed home though. This was something that Emily COULDN'T hear.

He was a traditional man. In his day, you asked your girlfriend's dad for permission, that's how it went. Permission wasn't a thing nowadays, not that Emily would like it anyway. Still, Steve was an old fashioned person. He was going to compromise by asking Tom Collins' blessing.

The problem was that he was sure that Tom didn't like him. He didn't treat him like his wife Linda. Tom wasn't nasty, but he was rather cold and had made it clear from the get go that he wasn't a huge fan. Emily was a daddy's girl and her father had always been very protective of her since she was young. She said he always hated when she brought boys home, though she admitted she wasn't surprised that it had lasted until adulthood. Whenever they met, Tom tried to crush his hand in a handshake, though of course he always failed against the super strong Steve.

He'd told Steve to call him 'Mr. Collins' when they first met, until Linda snapped at him and told him that first names were fine. Whilst he called Linda by her forename all the time, he still was in the habit of calling Tom 'sir.' Tom intimidated him more than Fury or Colonel Phillips ever did.

Emily wouldn't hear a word against her beloved father anyway. When Steve complained that Tom hated him, Emily would say he was the usual overprotective papa. Steve countered that Emily was a grown woman with a gun, she didn't need protecting. Emily would just roll her eyes and move the conversation along.

The phone call had to be made and if he didn't do it now, he never would. He'd still propose to Emily if Tom said no of course, she was the love of his life and nothing would come between them. He just wanted to get Tom on side; Emily loved him the most after her uncle.

Oh crap.

Praying that Linda wasn't home, he called Tom's cell. If Linda knew, then half of Pennsylvania would.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tom, it's Steve."

"Oh hello Steve," Tom sounded surprised to hear from his daughter's boyfriend. They'd never called each other directly before. That made him slightly worried.

"Is Emily ok?" he ventured nervously, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Oh she's fine; it's nothing to do with that. I just wanted to ask you something- are you alone?"

"Yes, Linda's out."

"Erm good, great. See, Emily and I have been dating for three years so we're definitely serious, more than serious. I love her more than anything and I want to make it official. So, I'd like to ask for your blessing so that I can ask Emily to marry me."

There was silence on the end of the phone for a moment.

"You want to marry my daughter?"

"Yes sir."

"Why should I bless this?"

"Because Emily is the woman I love and there is nothing I want more in life to be with her for the rest of my days. I will always be faithful and loving; I want what you and Linda have. I'll always look after her, but I don't think Emily needs my protecting too much; she's strong on her own. Being Emily's husband will always be the best thing that ever happened to me. She loves you so much sir, but with all due respect, I don't think you saying no would stop me or her. I ask you because I respect you and I know that Emily values your opinion. I'd hate for the engagement to get off to the wrong start."

"So you'll ask even if I don't give my blessing?"

"Yes, because Emily is the love of my life. I would do anything to be with her."

"Correct answer."

"Is that a yes?"

"That is a yes."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Steve felt so relieved, "I'm so glad you said yes. I wasn't sure if you would."

"Why?"

"I get the feeling you don't like me too much sir."

"We'll keep it that way," Tom chuckled, "Have you got a ring yet?"

"I'm giving her my mother's engagement ring."

"That's very nice, a good way of keeping your family alive. Family is the most important thing. How do you plan to propose?"

"I haven't decided yet. It might be a little while whilst I decide."

"Perhaps the right opportunity will come along when you don't expect it. Linda will be home soon, so I'll have to let you go. I'll hopefully be congratulating you soon."

"I hope so too sir."

"Bye Steve."

"Goodbye."

Boy was he glad that was over.

Heading home, he couldn't wait to see Emily. He was very surprised when he saw her looking ghostly pale, seated on the couch with her fingers knotted together.

"Em?"

"Oh, hi," she sounded like she was surprised by his presence.

"What's wrong?" he immediately went over and stood up, cupping her chin.

"Erm, well," she gulped, "I've been feeling funny recently and since I couldn't think of any other explanation, I erm, well, I took some pregnancy tests."

Steve froze.

"You're..?"

"No, I'm not. I took five, I'm sure. I was just really freaked out you know?" her voice broke; "Now I know it's probably just that damn investigation, but I was just so scared. There was no control, I have never felt more scared before in my life. A baby would change everything and I'd never thought about it because I've always been so religious with my birth control. We've talked about this; it was something that we don't want. I knew that if we had a child, that baby would be at risk with Captain America as its dad. I don't know why this has affected me so strongly but it has. You have no idea how relieved I felt. I'm ready for a lot of things, but not for a child. Hell, I'd rather take the Chitauri on. I love kids. I love my nephew. If we lived in a different world, I'd want to be a mom. It's just not the direction my life has taken."

"Doll," Steve stepped forward, taking her hands in his, "I would never, ever let you down. It wouldn't be ideal if you were pregnant, but I would care for you like I always have. You'd always have me on your side."

"I don't doubt that Steve, you'd be the best dad. I'm just really spooked. Like I said, I hated not feeling in control of it. It's forced us to plan what would happen in the future, but that's it. I was so scared that I had to call my uncle, no way was I able to take that test alone. He was the only one that could calm me down, apart from you. I wouldn't have even been calmed by Claire or Nat or Aaron."

Steve went forward, wrapping Emily in his arms.

"It's ok Em, just breathe. You're not pregnant, you can relax. We're always so careful about these things, we can continue to be. That investigation is getting in everyone's heads. When you're stressed, you can come to me. It's my job to make sure that you're ok. When I had those really bad nightmares when we first met, you were the one who encouraged me to start opening up. It's a stupid, badly run investigation and it's going nowhere. Promise me you won't let it get to you?"

Emily silently nodded.

"Good," he kissed the top of her head, "You're so strong Emily. I don't know what the hell is going on with SHIELD at the moment though. Fury being in Europe is bizarre, as well as Pierce taking over the investigation. It's not quite right. I'll continue to speak out against it. It's damaging SHIELD and it's stressing you out, I don't want my best girl being hounded for something she didn't do."

The brunette snuggled against her boyfriend's chest.

"I love you," she mumbled into his shirt.

"I love you too darling," he pressed kisses on her head, "How about we get our sweats on, eat some crap and watch a funny movie? You can show me something I've not seen."

"That sounds wonderful," Emily smiled weakly.

"Come on then," Steve took her by the hand, leading her to the bedroom.

LIGHT ME UP-

"We definitely have them spooked."

Sitwell, Pierce and Rumlow sat around a table together.

"We have the whole of SHIELD spooked," Rumlow confirmed, "Everyone in this place is nervous and confused about what is going on. If we keep hammering down, especially on the weaker people, we can get them all so scared that when Rogers is arrested for the crime, they'll be so relieved that we believe it."

"How are we doing on gaining evidence?" Pierce asked Sitwell.

"It's tougher than I expected," the bald headed agent admitted, taking his glasses off, "We can't skim on details, it has to be watertight. Fury and everyone else will throw their weight behind Rogers. Romanoff, Collins, Coulson and Barton are all going to be on side, and they have sway. Until then, we can't put Golden Boy behind bars."

"How long?"

"I really can't say, but it will be a while."

"That's ok," Pierce mused, "We've waited this long. We shall be strong- the path to power is not a smooth one. It will all be worth it when we twist SHIELD into our vision. We will use SHIELD to be our voice, shape the world as we do. The FBI and CIA will be nothing as compared to us. We will have the President's ear. No longer will the world be obsessed with good old boys like Rogers. They'll worship men like us, who are not happy with the status quo and are willing to change it. The public will believe the leader of the Avengers had abandoned them, whilst those who work around him in SHIELD will no longer support him. Collins and Rogers will no longer be together, he'll rot in a federal penitentiary for the rest of his life. The Avengers will fall apart."

He raised a glass.

"To The Power of Three."

"The Power of Three," the other two repeated, pushing their glasses together.

"Before we get too cocky though," Pierce continued, "I have one more plan that I think we can use to spook Rogers. How do you think he'd feel if he thought his little girlfriend was being followed? I think we might have to get some people on the case."

Ooh, lots of drama as our villains plot to create fear for our heroes.

Next Time: A concerned Emily divulges her fears to Steve after the men's plans to freak her out begin. The two also hang out with the Avengers for the night, hoping that being with their friends will help them relax for a bit.

Thanks again, and don't forget to review xxx