After having Denver in his life for two days, Steve Rogers knew he would do anything for her. Even commit theft, because his little girl wanted to go to the pool she'd seen, and he didn't have a swimsuit.

Dallas informed Steve that Denver shouldn't swim on a full stomach, so they made plans for the girl while she napped in Steve's lap, curled up against his chest as he rocked her back and forth. When she woke up though, she was raring to go swim for the first time, and her Daddy was gonna take her.

Bucky and Dallas shared a curious look when Steve emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of swim trunks too big for his slim waist, but he didn't say anything more about the bright red trunks. Dallas hummed her approval as he pulled a white beater over his broad chest, but Steve ignored her. He had a lot of practice fending off the woman's advances.

"You guys ready to go?" Steve said as he scooped up Denver to hold her tightly to his chest. Dallas slyly lifted her cell phone to snap a photo and show Bucky as she giggled. Steve's brow furrowed as he looked between the two, "What's so funny?"

"She's the missing piece of your patriotic ensemble." Dallas gestured to Steve's white shirt and firecracker red swim trunks before motioning to Denver's bright blue swimsuit with little bows on the shoulders. She leaned her cheek against her knuckles and sighed, "You guys are adorable."

Denver wiggled impatiently against Steve's side as she tugged on his shirt, "Poo?"

"Pool?" Steve repeated, emphasizing the L at the end. "Can you say please?"

"Poolll pleaaaasse." She slurred back and Steve tossed back his head to laugh boisterously as she continued to stretch out his shirt's neckline. "Daddy, pool!"

"Alright, Aunt Dallas, Uncle Bucky, pool?"

Denver stopped pulling Steve's shirt to look over his shoulder at Bucky and Dallas with wide eyes, "Unka Bucky?"

"Uncle. With an L." Steve repeated as he carried her out of the room, not realizing how utterly stunned everybody else was. The little girl grabbed his neck tightly as she leaned over his shoulder to watch the two people following, eyeing Bucky warily as he sauntered beside her aunt.

"What's a uncllle?" Denver asked right beside Steve's ear, never taking her bright blue eyes off of the stranger who kept hanging around. It seemed that she'd noticed Bucky for the first time since breakfast, and she was starting to understand that he wasn't going anywhere.

Steve rubbed her back as they climbed into the elevator again, and she squirmed until she could see Dallas and Bucky in front of them, poking Bucky's shoulder curiously. He looked down at her in terror, but she just poked him again for good measure.

"An uncle is like an aunt, but a boy." Dallas explained easily, looking over to Bucky. "So, Aunt Dallas is Mommy's sister. Uncle Bucky is Daddy's brother. It's like, Mommy and me had the same Mommy."

"Can I be an uncle?" Denver asked, and Bucky cracked a smile at the girl's question. It took him a moment to realize Dallas had referred to him as Steve's brother.

Bucky stared between Dallas and Steve until the elevator opened, waiting for one of them to elaborate, but neither did, forcing him to ask, "Why am I Uncle Bucky?"

"Because Daddy is your broder." Denver chattered back, reaching out for Bucky with grabby little hands.

Dallas held open the door to the pool area, and the humidity hit Bucky like a bat to the face. He blinked for a moment, remembering all the times the wet would surround him before he was put back into cryo. He felt his breath catch in his lungs, and he began to worry that everything would go dark, "I need a minute."

Steve looked up, realizing immediately that something was wrong as Bucky pushed the door open and left the pool area. "Where's Uncle Bucky going?" Denver asked Steve as she tightened her grip around his neck.

"I don't know."

"I'll talk to him." Dallas offered, but Steve was already passing Denver off to the woman.

"No. I'll do it."

Steve followed Bucky back out into the lobby, seeing his friend pacing the empty breakfast room, "What is it, Buck?"

Bucky didn't answer at first, he just kept pacing with his head down. His jaw was tight as his fists as he held them by his sides, focusing on the path he repeated. Steve waited patiently for a few minutes, giving his friend the time and space he needed to sort out whatever was happening in his head.

After a while, Bucky stopped and took a deep breath, blowing out the air through his lips, "Between missions, they would put me on ice. They'd put me in a cryo chamber, and they'd spray water in before dropping the temperature to freeze me in it. When I went in there, it was like going in to be put to sleep."

Steve took a tentative step forward, and when Bucky didn't try to pace or bolt, he opened his arms and pulled Bucky into a tight hug, "I'm sorry, Bucky."

That was something Steve did a lot. He used Bucky's name as often as possible. He didn't seem to want Bucky to forget who he was again. The Winter Soldier could see the fear in Steve's eyes whenever Bucky looked sad or angry, as if every time Bucky had an emotion he was going to revert back to his murderous ways.

For all he knew, he would. Bucky didn't have control of his own mind. He'd been okay with Natasha and alone with Steve, but being around Denver made him nervous. He'd done enough damage to that family, he couldn't bear the thought of accidentally hurting her. However, Brooklyn had wanted him to trust Steve, and let Steve help him. She had wanted them to have each other, and Bucky had to try to let the man in. He inhaled slowly, puffing out his chest as Steve watched him intently, "I want to try again."

"You sure? We can go back to the room."

"No. I can do this. I'll be ready this time."

Steve nodded, "Okay."

Bucky led the way back to the pool area, but he stopped just outside the door and turned to Steve, "Why did you call me Uncle Bucky? We aren't related."

Steve's mouth twisted into a lopsided grin, one that wasn't meant to look as sad as it did, "You're the closest thing to a brother I've ever had. After my mom died, you were all I had."

"Sarah."

Steve nodded, "Yeah, Sarah."

Bucky turned back to the door, and grabbed it, taking a deep breath and preparing to be hit with the humidity again. He pulled it open and stepped in, slowly letting out the air before the sound of a screech and little feet pattering towards him broke him from his focus.

"Daddy! Auntie Dallie says she won't go in the poo with me! Will you go in the poo with me?" She grabbed onto Steve's calf, but she looked up at Bucky, as if asking him if he would go with them too.

"That's all you, punk." Bucky blurted without thinking, and he blinked slowly as his mouth hung open for a second. He found Dallas sitting in a lounge chair near the kiddie pool and quickly walked over to her, finding it easier and easier to breath.

"Daddy! Daddy, poo!" Denver yelled as she grabbed the hem of his trunks and gave a hard pull. He quickly grabbed the waistband to keep them from falling down, but not before a couple of young woman nearby started giggling.

Steve turned bright red and scooped up Denver, but she drew her brows furiously at being carried. "Hey, hey…" Steve started, leaning forward and bumping his sharp nose against Denver's, "Let's start in the little kid pool, okay? And work our way up to the big pool, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I wanna sim."

"But wouldn't you have more fun splashing?" Steve turned her towards the kiddie pool and walked her over to it, turning redder when he realized the group of women were still watching him, "Look! It has a little slide, and some water fountains! Let's play here first. I'll come with."

"But… but-"

"Please?" Steve batted his long eyelashes at his daughter, "Daddy wants to see you play in the little pool first."

Denver looked over at the swimming pool and all the people splashing loudly and playing volleyball, then over to the kiddie pool that was empty. "Mmm." She whimpered, but Steve just set her down at the top of the slide and moved around to the front, squatting in front of it with his arms out wide. She smiled widely and shimmied a little until gravity took hold and pulled her down to her father. "Yay! Again, again!"

"They are sickeningly adorable, and it makes me want to vomit." Dallas groaned as she pulled out her phone and snapped a few more photos. She looked over to Bucky, seeing him sitting stiffly in the lounge chair he clearly didn't belong in, "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said gruffly, watching Steve and Denver intently as she went down the slide another dozen times, "I'm fine."

"Kay. Well, if you ever need to talk. I'm a great listener." Bucky turned his blank stare to Dallas, and she shrugged, "Okay, I'm a great conversationist, but I can listen and then distract you from whatever ails you." She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek as Bucky continued to watch her, "I saw you strapped to that… that chair thing in the bank and you just looked wrecked. It made me sick." She looked over to Steve, gnawing on her cheek again until she realized she'd bitten it a little too hard. She licked the sore spot and muttered, "I recognized you from the photos Steve showed me. While Brooklyn was… well, she was with me, but Steve thought she was in Belarus. While she was away, I went to visit him, twice? Three times? I saw him a couple times when he was in town for Avenger things. He talked about you, so, when I realized what Bee had done… it was hard."

Bucky shifted in his chair, leaning his head back and shifting it so it laid down a little. He looked out of place in his jeans and Henley, but for the first time since Dallas had met him, he looked relaxed, "She did the right thing in the end. That's all that matters. I'm here now, and Steve's gonna help me put all the broken pieces together so I know who I am again."

"I'll help, too." Dallas offered quietly, and Bucky smiled. She nodded to herself, happy that she'd made the Winter Soldier feel a little more at ease. She'd be seeing a lot of him, since he'd been dubbed Uncle Bucky.

"Auntie Dallie! Auntie Dallie, look at me go!" Denver yelled as she went down the slide backwards, being scooped up by Steve halfway before she could crash her head on the bottom.

"That's great, Sweetie!" Dallas called back as she shifted into her chair and placed her hands over her stomach, "I could take a nap, it's a fucking sauna in here." She mumbled under her breath as she closed her eyes.

When Steve noticed that Dallas was nodding off, he began to panic. What if something happened to Denver? What if she got hurt? What if he messed up? He looked to Bucky, but his friend had such a serene expression on his face, Steve decided not to bother him. This was his first test at being a father.

"Daddy." Denver said gently as she grabbed his face between her tiny hands, "I wanna go in the big pool."

Steve looked over at the pool, seeing that the volleyball game had ended and most of the people in it were behaving decently. He could keep her from drowning if he tried hard enough, "Okay. Let's go."

"Yay yay yay!" Denver chanted as she ran away from Steve towards the pool. He scrambled to follow her, grabbing her moments before he fell into the deep end and eliciting a shrill scream from her as she kicked her feet, "Daddy! You said we could go!"

He looked around, realizing everyone was staring at him as he gaped at the child. Steve looked to Dallas, but she'd thrown her arm over her face to cover her eyes. Denver squirmed in Steve's arms, big tears streaming from her eyes, "You said we could go!"

"Gimme a minute." He grumbled as carried her over to Bucky and Dallas. He sat the child down in front of Bucky and told her to stay as he pulled his shirt over his head and discarded it on the chair next to Dallas. Steve retied the trunks, not wanting to lose his shorts in the pool with so many wandering eyes around the edge.

He barely caught Dallas lifting her arm to steal a peek at him before Denver slipped off Bucky's chair and went running towards the pool again, but this time, her father was ready. He managed to not only reach her, but pass her and jump into the pool, landing on his feet and turning around just in time to catch her in midair. She giggled loudly as he lowered her into the water, holding her waist just below the surface so she was half submerged.

"Lemme go!" She shrieked and Steve frowned before looking around to see everybody was staring at him again. "Daddy, lemme go, I wanna sim!"

She started kicking her feet wildly, and Steve slowly lowered her into the water, giving her the chance to realize she couldn't swim on her own. When the water was lapping at her neck, she started shrieking again and desperately trying to grasp Steve's chest, so he grabbed her by her chunky little thighs and eased her back up so just her legs and waist were in the water, "I got you. I won't let you go."

She sniffled, and he realized there were tears swimming in her eyes. He sighed, holding her tightly against his chest so he could sling his chin over her tiny shoulder, "I'm sorry. I'm trying."

"She's fine, Steve. You're doing great." Dallas called from her lounge chair. Steve looked up at her and smiled, then looked back to Denver to see her smiling again and kicking her feet against his rib cage.

"How old is she?"

Steve turned to see a slim brunette leaning against the side of the pool with her arms slung over the edge. She wore a small bikini that didn't leave much to the imagination, and it turned Steve's face almost as red as his trunks, "She's, uh, one."

"She's one?" The woman asked, her defined brows drawing together in question, "I would have guessed two or three."

"No, she's only one." Steve muttered back, pressing his lips to Denver's damp hair, "She's really smart."

The woman gave Steve a good once over, and he began to worry she'd figure out who he was, "I see that. I can't believe how well she walks and talks. Could be a little prodigy."

"She's been calling the swimming pool 'poo' all afternoon, so I wouldn't get too excited." Steve bit back, feeling protective of his daughter's childhood. "She's just smart. Nothing else."

The brunette's lips curled up into a grin that made Steve hold his daughter a little tighter, "What else would she be?"

"A girl who just lost her mom." Dallas cut in, rolling up her yoga pants to dip her feet into the water beside the woman. "You know how the building fell? The government one? Yeah, my sister worked there. So, he's a widower, and they just want to have some fun without being harassed by strangers."

Steve swallowed and bent his knees a little so both him and Denver went a little deeper into the water, but he was careful to keep her head above. He lifted her up and over him before placing her firmly on his shoulders, then went down on his knees so just his shoulder blades were above the water.

The woman looked back at Steve, then to Dallas, "I'm sorry for your loss."

After she swam away, Dallas made grabby hands towards Denver and Steve and he moved forward to the woman could grab her niece and pull her out of the water, "Look at you in the big pool! Are you having fun with Daddy?"

"Yeah!" Denver yelped before whipping around and jumping into Steve's hands. He laughed loudly at Dallas's expression, seeing the woman practically have a heart attack, "Don't you trust me?"

"I don't know, you were sinking fast with that woman." Dallas gestured after the brunette. "And you aren't used to this. She leaps off of things. She darts away. She's an impulsive little thing. Doesn't get it from her mother, that's for sure."

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but Dallas got up and walked away, leaving Steve and his daughter as the little girl began kicking her feet, wanting to try and swim again.

Late March 2013

"Dallas?"

The young doctor lifted her head to look at her big sister, "Yeah, Bee?"

Brooklyn rubbed her belly beneath her sweater, "Do you think I'll be a good mom?"

Dallas shrugged, looking back to the book she was studying at the kitchen table, "I don't know. Probably."

"I just don't know the first thing about having a kid. I wasn't planning on having any… anytime soon." She added as she breathed through pursed lips, feeling the baby kick, "What if they hate me?"

"Why would they hate you, Bee? You're their mom. You'll feed them, and change their dirty diapers, and clean up their vomit. You're gonna do all those gross things they can't do because they won't have motor skills."

Brooklyn smiled at that, holding her stomach a little firmer before her grip loosened. She frowned at her bump and whispered, "Do you think they'll know that they have a dad?"

"No. Definitely not. At least not for a few years." Dallas hummed as she shifted to rest her chin on her fist, golden eyes flittering over her sister as she sat quietly. "You're gonna have to tell him eventually."

"I know."

"Do you really think he'll let anything happen to them?" Dallas pressed, getting up to sit on the couch with Brooklyn. She smoothed her hand over Brooklyn's stomach, feeling another kick that cause Brooklyn to wince, "Feisty little thing! Do you think they're gonna have super soldier serum?"

Brooklyn sighed, "I don't know. Probably. All the more reason why nobody can know."

"You can't lock them in a cage, Bee. It's a baby, not a canary."

"When people are different, they are treated differently." Brooklyn spat, bitter that the world she lived in would treat her child like an anomaly, "They'll want to run tests on them, and keep track of them. If people know whose kid this is, they'll never have a normal life."

"Their mother is a spy, and their dad is Captain America. They are never going to have a normal life." Dallas argued, but Brooklyn's eyes began to water, "No, no don't cry."

Brooklyn sniffled and wiped her tears away, "I don't want them to be pricked and prodded and tracked and trained. I want them to be a kid. If anyone finds out this is Steve's kid, they'll always be treated differently. Somebody was willing to trick me into having an abortion to make sure this child wasn't born, and I'm not going to risk anyone trying to hurt them once they're here."

Dallas shimmied down the couch so she could lean her neck against the back of the cushions, "But I ask again- do you really think Steve would let anything happen to them?"

"Not intentionally, but if people knew he had a kid, they'd be a target. You gotta know that Dallas." Brooklyn scolded. She turned to lean on the arm of the couch, grunting as she pulled her feet up onto Dallas's lap, "I'm gonna do anything I have to protect them, Dee. Anything."

The baby was doing summersaults in Brooklyn's stomach. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, "I know baby, I know. You're gonna come early, aren't you?"

"Probably, they're developing fast." Dallas warned, but Brooklyn wasn't worried. She knew what she signed up for. She knew whose child this was.

"Dee?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be their Godmother?"

Dallas tilted her head to look down at Brooklyn, "You know I will."

Brooklyn nodded and closed her eyes, "Good, then I know they'll be in good hands."

"Please don't talk like that."

"It's a conversation we have to have. I have a dangerous job, any time I go out on a mission, it could be my last."

"But if anything happens to you, you want them to go with Steve, right?" Dallas asked seriously and Brooklyn face twisted. "Brooklyn, it's his kid. You can't keep them away from him because you're scared for them. He deserves to be in their life, he's gonna be heartbroken that you didn't tell him."

"Just gotta get past Insight. Then I'm gonna tell him, I swear." Brooklyn promised as she shifted to get more comfortable, draping her hands over her stomach, "Bad people are gonna try to stop it, and Steve's gonna be in the line of fire. Once we get past that, I'll tell him everything."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

After a couple hours at the pool, Denver was losing steam and asking to take a nap. Steve was happy to oblige, tired of being stared at for the better part of two hours. Brooklyn had used to look at him hungrily with every intention of eating him alive, but when strangers looked at him the same way, it felt demeaning. Steve was reminded that he was a spectacle, but he just wanted to be a dad.

He laid Denver down on his bed and pulled the covers up and over her before kissing her head. He changed into dry clothes and sat on top of the sheets beside his daughter to stroke her tangled blonde hair as she slept against his thigh. Steve just couldn't look away. He'd made this little angel, and now that she was in his life, he wasn't going to ever let her go.

Dallas, however, had some concerns.

"So," she started quietly from her place at the desk across from Bucky's bed, "I'm assuming you want her."

Steve's head snapped up to stare at Dallas in disbelief, his heart sinking into his stomach, "Of course I want her. She's my daughter."

"I know, but, you're Captain America. It isn't going to be all snuggles and days by the pool. What are you going to do when you're gone?" Dallas massaged her temple as she leaned on the desk, clearly very tired from the week, "What's your plan for her if anything happens to you?"

"Nothing is going to happen to me-"

"Steve." Dallas cut him off, "That's naïve. You can't promise that; nobody can promise that. Brooklyn asked me to be her Godmother, and, I'd very much like to be a part of her life. I know I'm not her mom, but I've been helping raise her, and I-"

It was Steve's turn to cut off Dallas, raising his hand and causing her to slam her mouth shut, "You're her Godmother. If anything happens to me, I want her to go to you, you're the only other blood relative she has, aside from your aunt." Steve smiled weakly as he ran his finger along Denver's rosy cheek, "I'm moving to New York, so we'll be close. I'd like her to move in with me, to Avengers Tower."

Dallas swallowed and looked down at her hand, thinking through something for a moment before she spoke, "Brooklyn didn't want anyone to realize you had a daughter. She thought that would put a target on her back, and after today, I'm starting to think she was right." Dallas looked over to Bucky and he ducked his head away from her, "People recognize you. Or, at least, you garner a lot of attention. That puts a giant spotlight on Denver, and I don't want anything to happen to her. Take her to the tower, but please, don't go public with her yet. Then she has a chance at growing up normal."

Normal. The little girl beside him couldn't have a normal life because she had him as a father. Dallas didn't outright say it, but Steve knew that was what she meant. With Brooklyn, she could be a nobody, a regular little girl with a regular mom who worked for the government. Lots of people's parents worked for the government. Only one little girl's dad was Captain America.

Steve nodded a little as he traced his fingers around the shell of Denver's ear before moving down to her jaw. She was dressed in a little pink jumpsuit, all curled up in the blankets sleeping soundly with her forehead pressed against Steve's leg like it was protecting her from a storm. Three days ago, when he buried the woman he loved, he didn't know his daughter existed, but now she was his entire world, "If I have to, I'll give it up."

"Brooklyn wouldn't have wanted that." Dallas's voice broke and Steve looked up at her, "The world needs Captain America. Just make sure that Denver also has a dad."

"I can be both." Steve swore. He gently scratched Denver's head and she sneezed against his leg, causing him to smile, "When we get back to New York, we can transition slowly. I'll make sure she has everything she needs. She can come over for a few hours, eventually- stay a couple nights a week. If you want to make a long-term arrangement for her to stay with you, I'm willing to do that. You're the only person she really knows."

"I think she'll be okay. You're her dad." Dallas said quietly as Steve watched his little girl sleep.