April, 1954
In which James gets to meet Baby Marshmallow.
Considering that he'd been balancing somewhat precariously on the edge of Peggy's mattress all night, Steve had slept pretty well. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but after all that worrying over Peggy and Michelle, he was exhausted. Over and over yesterday evening while he'd waited outside the OR for news, over and over he'd told himself that everything was going to be fine, that Peggy wasn't going to die from childbirth complications because he knew exactly when she was supposed to die and it wasn't tonight, and if Peggy was fine, then there was no reason the baby wouldn't be too. It had done absolutely nothing to allay his fears, but he'd kept repeating it for forty-seven minutes until the nurse came out with his perfectly healthy daughter in her arms and the news that Peggy would be alright.
It took Peggy a few hours to wake up, but sitting beside her and hearing her breathing and feeling her pulse had lessened his worry—although it didn't go away entirely until she opened her eyes. Holding his little girl settled peace over his soul as well—he sat there cradling her in his arms and talking to her softly, marveling over her tiny little fingers and soft, warm skin and shining blue eyes. He'd moved her back into the bassinet when his eyes started getting heavy, worried he might drop her if he fell asleep, though he'd kept one hand up where he could touch her.
Peggy had woken up then, and everything was fine now, just fine, and they'd all fallen asleep together curled up on Peggy's hospital bed. It was morning now, and they'd just finished a fairly awful hospital breakfast when Steve looked down at his watch and realized that the Jarvises should be getting here with James any minute now and he should go out and meet them.
"How long did the doctor say I have to stay here?" Peggy asked as he got up.
"He was thinking three days," Steve said.
"I don't think I can eat this for three days," Peggy said, casting a disparaging look at her tray.
Steve laughed. "Well, I'm thinking James will keep staying at the Jarvises until we get home, so I'm going to have to go back this afternoon and get him some more stuff. I could mix something up while I'm there and sneak it back in for you."
"Yes, please," Peggy said with an exaggerated pout.
Steve laughed and told her to start making a list, kissed her on the cheek and patted Michelle's head, then made his way to the parking lot.
"Daddy!" James cried happily, running across the sidewalk. Steve crouched down to meet him and held out his arms, and James leapt into them.
"Hey, Little Buck!" he said, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. "How was your sleepover?"
"Fun!" James replied. "I got to stay up til nine o'clock!" he informed him excitedly.
"Oh, did you now?" he asked, looking up at Jarvis, who sighed and shook his head.
"One can never rely on the discretion of a three-year-old," he said. He smiled. "Benny Goodman was having a special music hour."
"Mrs. Jarvis was showin' me how to dance!" James explained.
"Well, that sounds like fun," Steve said. He set James's feet back on the ground and stood up, taking his hand. "You want to come inside and meet your new sister?"
James's mouth fell open. "She's here?"
"She is."
"Yeah, let's go!" He took off at a run, though with Steve holding on to his hand, he didn't get very far. They made their way back into the hospital, Ana and Jarvis asking how everything had gone. Steve explained that Peggy had had to have a C-section, stressed that everything was fine now, but before he could get to asking if they wouldn't mind keeping James a while longer, they were already volunteering.
"Why, of course," Ana said. "We do love having this little one with us, and if there's anything we can do to make this time easier for you…"
"Anything at all," Jarvis chimed in.
"Thank you," Steve said, and though he hadn't doubted their willingness, he was struck anew at how nice it was to have friends so invested.
They reached Peggy's room and James broke free of Steve's grip and raced toward the bed. "Mommy!" he yelled excitedly.
Fortunately for all involved, Steve's super-soldier reflexes were still on point, and he caught James halfway through a leap onto the bed. "Easy, there, buddy," he told him. "You've got to be gentle with the baby, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"You also," he went on. "Need to be gentle with Mommy, okay?" He debated how much of last night James needed to know about, but figured honesty would get the best result. "The doctors had to do a surgery on Mommy to get the baby out. She's got a big cut on her tummy right now and it's not stuck back together very well yet." James's eyes went wide in alarm, and Steve smiled and kissed the side of his face. "Don't worry; she's going to be just fine. But let's not jump on her, okay?"
"Okay," James said. He looked over at Peggy with chagrin. "Sorry, Mommy."
"It's alright, love," Peggy said with a smile. She shifted Michelle over into one arm and patted the mattress next to her. "Come sit up here with me." Steve set James down next to her, and she hugged him against her side and kissed his hair.
"Are you okay, Mommy?" James asked in almost a whisper.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just quite sore. But look here," she said, turning carefully to bring Michelle into view. "This is your sister."
She settled Michelle onto her lap, and James leaned in to look at her, his little fingers folded up under his chin. He studied her for a long moment. "Is she s'posed to be so wrinkly?" he finally asked, sounding slightly concerned.
Steve had to swallow down a snort of laughter, and Peggy was smiling as she answered. "Yes. Babies often are."
"Oh. Okay." He studied her a moment longer, then nodded, apparently deciding he approved. "Can I touch her?"
"Carefully," Peggy said.
James very carefully extended a finger and placed it on Michelle's cheek. "She's very soft," he said, stroking her cheek gently. She blinked her eyes open and he pulled his hand back in surprise, then held the finger out again. "Hi, baby," he said. She blinked up at him, then wrapped her little fingers around the one he was holding out, and a surprised grin stretched across James's face. "Look, Daddy!" James said, turning his head back to smile at Steve. "She's holdin' me!"
Happy warmth was spreading in Steve's chest, and he smiled back down at him. "I think she likes you."
James looked back at his sister. "I like her too. I'm James," he told her. "I'm your big brother."
Michelle yawned at this proclamation.
"Does she gots a name?" James wondered, still staring at her little fingers wrapped around his.
"Her name is Michelle," Peggy told him.
"Aw," he pouted. "We're not callin' her Marshmallow?"
Peggy chuckled. "It was in the running, but we decided against it."
James frowned. "Alright. I guess Michelle is okay."
"That's very gracious of you," Steve said with a smile.
Ana and Jarvis were invited further into the room, and they each eagerly took a turn holding the baby. James giggled at the noises Jarvis was making at the baby.
They stayed until lunch, taking James with them when they went to give Steve and Peggy some peace and quiet. "I know you were sort of joking before, but please get me something better to eat than this," Peggy pleaded after the nurse took the trays away.
"On it," Steve said, kissing her warmly. "You okay here on your own for a while?"
"I am," Peggy said. "I intend to take a nap."
"Well, then I won't keep you," Steve said. He kissed her again, then picked up Michelle and gave her a quick snuggle before placing her down in the bassinet. "Be back in a little while."
The first thing he did when he got home was grab his toolbox and head for Michelle's room. The crib was assembled, and then he got the changing table set up and moved Peggy's rocking chair in from where it was currently waiting in the corner of the dining room. He hunted down the boxes of bottles and burping cloths and other baby supplies and got them unpacked so everything would be ready when Michelle came home.
In James's room, he gathered up a few more days' worth of clothes, and a couple of toys and books. He pondered the kitchen for a moment before deciding to make some meat pies—something that could be eaten cold, since the hospital room had no means of heating food in the room. He packed the finished pies into a container and slid it into a bag, along with a box of Peggy's favorite tea. Then it was time for a shower and change of clothes, then back to the hospital with a detour along the way to drop off James's things—he sat and played with him for a little while before he left, mindful of the fact that James was going to be getting a lot less attention when they all got home and not wanting him to feel left out.
Peggy was awake when he got back to the hospital, sitting up and talking to Michelle when he came in. "Oh, look, sweetheart," she said. "Daddy's back."
Michelle made a noise that sounded a lot like a snort, and Steve grinned. "I come bearing dinner," he said, sitting down next to the bed. "And…" He reached into the bag and pulled out the box of tea.
"I adore you," Peggy told him.
"Tea first, or food?" he asked with a smile.
"Food, definitely," she said. Steve pulled out the container and lifted the lid to reveal the meat pies. "Oh, I adore you even more now," she sighed.
Steve took the baby from her and handed her the food. Michelle was awake, and Steve kissed her and cuddled her and stroked her tiny little arm while she sucked inquiringly on his finger.
"I know you've gotten used to cooking for a pregnant woman," Peggy said. "But how many of these were you expecting me to eat?" she asked, nodding at the pile of pies in the box.
Steve chuckled. "As many as you want. But I don't want to eat hospital food either. Some of those are for me."