Four months later

"Mami, Samy!" Chloe pointed at the small TV in the kitchen. "Samy!"

"Yes, sweetie. That's your Uncle Sammy!"

Natasha was making dinner and Chloe was in her high chair, watching her. The TV was on in the background and CNN was reporting about Captain America's newest adventure.

Sam was amazing in his new role. He had convinced the GRC to end the Patch Act and even though the Flag Smashers had been killed by Zemo's butler, they hadn't died in vain. The world was now helping those who had lost their homes and jobs after the Blip, they weren't ignored anymore.

Bucky was the right hand of Captain America, and Yelena helped them from time to time, driving both men insane with her antics, but Natasha knew that they had a soft spot for her and let her get away with a lot of things that Natasha wouldn't.

The world saving business didn't need Steve and Natasha anymore, the others had it covered. And she didn't feel guilty about it anymore. Steve was back in art school, working towards becoming an illustrator, and Natasha had accepted Pepper's offer to run her new charity. It was a big change in her career, but Natasha loved to help people now in a different way.

Their new life was perfect. Well, almost perfect. The adoption still hadn't been approved because of Natasha's past crimes. The court still had doubts that she was fit to be a mother. It hurt and Steve was furious, but she could understand it to a point. She'd told Steve that she was okay with only him adopting Chloe so that at least of them was her legal guardian, but Steve wanted them both to have custody. It was sweet of him, but Natasha knew that it was unlikely that the court would approve of her. Steve would have to be the only guardian.

The front door opened and Natasha heard Steve type in the security code into the alarm system. She stopped chopping vegetables and watched Chloe who was playing with her toy bricks.

"Nat? Munchkin? I'm home!" Steve shouted.

Chloe perked up when she heard her dad. "Dady?" She squealed and threw a toy brick to the ground. "Dada!"

"Kitchen!" Natasha shouted back, but Steve had already located them.

He smiled when he saw them. "There are my beautiful girls. Hi, munchkin!"

Chloe gave him a grin, showing him her four teeth. "Dady! 'ello!" She made grabby hands and her dad came over to get her out of her chair. He kissed her all over her sweet face and she giggled happily. "Dady!"

"I missed you." He told his daughter and then looked over to Natasha. "And I missed you, too."

"You've only been out a few hours." She chuckled. "But we missed you, too."

Steve was in front of her after a few steps and kissed her. "Hi." He whispered before pressing his lips against hers again.

"Hi." God, the things this man made her feel. Chloe blew raspberries and she and Steve pulled away, both of them laughing. They both went in to kiss her cheeks and she was happy again.

"You need help with dinner?" He asked her after putting Chloe back into her high chair. He picked up the toy brick she'd thrown onto the ground and gave it back to her.

"That would be great. Thank you."

They had dinner after they'd fed Chloe who had to be the first child who actually liked broccoli and talked about their day. Natasha could work most days from home and she did so when Steve had classes, and went into her office when Steve could stay at home. They still hadn't decided if they wanted to hire a nanny. They didn't know if they could trust anyone with their daughter. So far they'd managed that one of them was always with her and if they couldn't, then one of their friends could babysit.

Chloe was tucked into her bed, cuddling her stuffed dolphin that her aunt Yelena had given her because her mama Sarah had loved dolphins. Steve was outside in their garden, watering the plants, and Natasha was tiding up the kitchen.

She was just finished when Steve came back into the house. He made a beeline towards her and pushed her gently against the fridge, his hand cupping the back of her head so it wouldn't hit the fridge. He always protected her.

"What are you doing?" She grinned up at him.

"I'm going to take you upstairs to your studio, get you out of your dress, lay you onto the chaise-lounge in front of the mirrors and then I'm going to-" He bent down to whisper the rest of his plan into her ear. Oh yeah, that was a great plan.

"You okay with that?"

"Oh, I think -"

A loud knock made them both freeze. They weren't expecting anyone and their family always announced their visits. Natasha's heart started to race.

"You go upstairs and I'll check." He whispered and Natasha nodded.

She left the kitchen to get to Chloe, trying to calm herself. It didn't have to mean anything. Maybe someone was just trying to sell something or trying to get them to join their religion.

"Nat." She heard Steve's voice when she reached the top of the stairs. "Come back down. It's okay."

She turned on her heels to jog back down. Steve had a big envelope in his hands. "It was in our letter box. Your name is written on it. I think it's Fury's handwriting."

Fury?! He was better not trying to recruit her for anything, because those days were over. She was not going back, not even for Nick. Steve handed her the envelope that was quite heavy and ripped it open. She quickly scanned the documents.

Oh Nick, you big old softie.

"Natasha? What is it? I'm dying over here!" She looked up from the papers to Steve. "Oh no, what happened? Why are you crying?"

"Oh, Steve." She threw herself into Steve's arms who caught her, but she could sense his confusion. She looked up at him with a big smile on her face. "Chloe is ours!"

"What?"

"I'm holding her adoption papers in my hands! The adoption is through. We're both her parents!"

Steve's confusion turned into hope. "Really?"

"Yes! Fury must have pulled some strings, I don't know, who cares how he did it! She's officially our daughter!"

His whole face lit up. "God, I'm so fucking happy!" He lifted her up and twirled her around. "How did he even know about this?"

"We talked a few months ago and I guess he figured we could use some help."

"We owe him."

"No." Natasha shook her head with a smile. "This is his way of letting us go. We don't owe him anything. This is his present for us to start our civilian life."

"She's really ours now? No one can take her away?"

Natasha kissed Steve like there was no tomorrow. "She's our little girl. She's officially Chloe Sarah Rogers."

He furrowed his brows. "No Romanoff?"

She shook her head. "No. It's not my real name. It's just some name that I was given. I want her name to have an actual meaning. Chloe was chosen by her mama. She's named Sarah after her mama and grandma. And I want her to have her dad's name. Her daddy who would do anything for her. Her daddy that gave her mommy a real home."

Now Steve was kissing her like there was no tomorrow. He gently let her down. "Wait here." He whispered and then disappeared into his art studio.

Natasha did as she was asked, but she was confused. What was Steve doing right now that couldn't wait? They should open a bottle of wine to celebrate!

Steve came back into her view. "I had this whole plan, but this feels right. And like us."

She still had no idea what he was talking about until he dropped to one knee. Oh. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. He pulled a tiny black box out of his pants pocket and opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

"I love you. It sounds like a cliche, but I love you more each day. You are my whole life and you've given me more than I deserve. There's one more thing I hope you're willing to give me. Natasha, will you marry me?"

She couldn't speak, she was too overwhelmed. She'd never thought she would have this life. She never thought she would be a mother. But she was one now. And she never thought she would be a wife. But she was going to be one now. She nodded, dropping to her knees, and whispered a soft yes.

Steve beamed at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She kissed him until they were both out of breath. Steve pecked her lips and then slid the ring onto her finger. It was truly beautiful.

"I love you, future husband." She whispered happily and rested her forehead against Steve's.

"And I love you, future wife."

The End