Some Things Never Sleep

by Lucky Strike's alter ego

"You never learn when to quit, Spider-Twerp." She told him. "Spider-Twerp?" Spider-Man questioned in disbelief as he glared. Emma smirked. "Well, you annoyingly seem to get in my way all the time. That and you don't look or sound like a man to me." She explained. "I am a man." He told her angrily. "Somehow I doubt that." The first time Emma and Peter met didn't exactly go well.

71. Chapter Sixty Five

Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to update. It's a chapter about Emma's parents which is why it took me so long because I just really wanted to get back to Emma and Peter but I still knew that this chapter had to get done. This is probably one of the longest chapters in the story but it's also the last full on flashback story. I might have snippets of flashbacks within some chapters but nothing that will ever take up an entire chapter. Margot and Steven will still be included in my one-shot series 'Dry Bite' if you want to see them again so not to worry. I know not all of you love the chapters about Emma's parents but there's going to be something in this one for everyone. A lot of MCU cameos so hang tight. I promise the next chapter isn't going to take over two weeks like this one. I'm really excited to get back to writing about Emma and Peter again because some really exciting stuff is going to be happening. I'm also glad all of you have been so patient with me and haven't been mad at me for not updating in a while.

A lot has happened since I last updated. This story now has over 1,100 followers and over 900 favorites so thank you guys so much! I can't believe it and I'm so happy this story's come this far. It's not even a year old yet and it honestly feels like I've been writing it for a lot longer but I haven't. I just love this story so much and I'm glad other people seem to love it too. I also want to thank the owner of the Supernatural Romance community for including 'Some Things Never Sleep' in their archive. Another thank you to gallws for creating the awesome new cover for the story. It was really hard to get it to work for fanfiction but thankfully we managed to make it work and I'm so happy with the new cover. I loved the last one you made me too and you're honestly so talented because I'm probably one of the worst cover makers ever. So lots of thank yous to everyone.

Some music I've been listening to while writing for this chapter has mainly just been the 1975, Gwen Stefani, and the Arctic Monkeys' new album. I've been listening to a couple of Florence + The Machine's new songs. I really liked 'Sky Full of Song' but I'm not quite sold on 'Hunger' yet but I'm really excited for the new album. There's also this new band I've been listening to called The Aces. They have this new album called 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' which I can just tell is going to be my favorite album of the summer. They're more pop than rock but they still use a lot of guitar in their music. I'm just really obsessed with them right now. I also listened to some music from Gang of Youth which was recommended to me by KitaandOpie and I liked them too. The lead singer sounded a tiny bit like the lead singer from this other indie band I like called the Tracks. Not a lot but just a tiny bit.

I also just binge watched all past episodes of this BBC show called Killing Eve. I'm super obsessed with that show now because it has two female leads who are both crazy badasses. Especially Villainelle. If you haven't heard of it, it's basically this show about this MI5 agent(Eve) who does boring office work but becomes obsessed with this mysterious assassin(Villainelle) who's been killing important figures in society. Eve is then tasked by MI6 to go track the assassin down. Said Assassin then develops a mutual obsession with Eve and they start playing this cat and mouse game. I love the fact that there's finally that complex Batman/Joker or Sherlock/Moriarty relationship between two empowered women. If you can then I suggest watching this show because it's high addictive and entertaining. The actress that plays Villainelle deserves an Emmy. Villainelle's batshit crazy.

artemis7448: Something slightly better than T'Challa taking her to see Bucky is going to happen. Just be patient. The return of the others will either occur in two or three chapters after this one. It was going to be three but it really depends on how long the next chapter will be.

JuggernautJJ: I don't think Emma and Peter's classmates are really embarrassed about their PDA. I remember couples acting like that all the time in high school and I mostly just ignored it. In high school I think you just get used to it.

glagla60800: I'm actually going address Thor and Jane's relationship in the next chapter. Just to let everyone know that Chapter Sixty Six is going to take place four months after Chapter Sixty Four. Emma and Peter's school trip took place in February so the next time we see them they'll be off of school for the summer. It's really important to me that it's four months later and I'll be addressing a lot of things that happened in those last four months which will include the status of Jane and Thor's relationship. Peter probably won't be included in the Ragnarok storyline but I'll definitely have chapters from his perspective while Emma's away. Bucky's reaction to Emma and Peter is going to be hilarious and that's all I'm going to say about that...except that Peter probably isn't going to find his reaction hilarious. Emma will probably be meeting Doctor Strange at the same time Thor does but she's not going to like him. Emma's going to be using a lot of Harry Potter references when it comes to Doctor Strange.

scrapingskies: Emma and Valkyrie will meet when Ragnarok comes around. I really love Valkyrie and I hope she's in the next Avengers movie. She could be since the Russo brothers confirmed that she's still alive. I went to the Tate Modern a couple years ago when me and some of my classmates took a two week trip to England and Scotland. It was a really cool gallery and I think I bought my dad this print of this alien artwork since he's obsessed with aliens. They had a lot of cool stuff in that museum although the sound sculpture really creeped me out. I actually based Emma's school trip to England off my school trip like the part where she mentioned the teacher telling everyone not to say they're Americans. I remember the teachers on my trip telling us to tell everyone we're Canadians but everyone knew we were Americans anyways. I really loved London and Edinburgh the most because I'm from this really small town so I had never been anywhere as cultured as those two cities. There was just so much history which I loved. The coolest museum near where I live is in Seattle and it's called the Mopop. It basically has a ton of movie props and guitars from the likes of Dave Davies, Kiss, Eric Clapton, and Kurt Cobain but there's not really any historical items like all the stuff I saw in England although Mopop now has a really big Marvel exhibit so that's pretty exciting.

I have to admit I was watching a ton of documentaries about the royal family on BBC America last week and I even got up at four in the morning to watching the wedding( I squealed a little bit when I saw Idris Elba walking up to the church). I'm a huge history buff so I kind of find the royal family interesting although really gross because of all the incest but they don't really seem to be marrying off people to their cousins anymore so that's nice. Maybe it's because I'm American that I find the royal family so interesting. There's really nothing like that here. I mean, some people consider Beyonce and Jay-Z to be like American royalty but I don't really like them. I think the closest thing we probably ever had to American Royalty was probably the Kennedy's but they had a lot of problems. I guess every family has a ton of problems.

ChanceToBeImmortal: I went to Windsor Castle on a school trip to England a couple years ago. All I remember is how pretty the gardens looked and this gigantic doll house one of the princesses had that actually had electricity in it which was weird because this was a really old doll house. Emma and Peter's trip was inspired by my trip because I really fell in love with Scotland and England when I went. I want to go back so badly. I actually heard that the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming is going to partially take place in England so maybe Emma and Peter can return to London when we reach that point.

I loved the James Corden Tour bus thing with the Avengers. Anthony Mackie cracked me up when he said he was going to put his Chris Pratt autographed Star-Lord action figure on Ebay. I was a little sad that Tom Holland wasn't there because I feel like Sebastian and Anthony would try to get James Corden to abandon him at the comicbook store. I actually just saw this video of Sebastian Stan last night when he was at a comic con in Philadelphia and he was doing more Tom Holland bashing. I won't say what he said because it contains a lot of spoilers for Infinity War but it made me laugh because it was kind of mean. Sebastian's really witty.

Another random account: It really never occurred to me to do the upside down kiss between Emma and Peter. I feel really stupid now but I'm glad you gave me the idea. I'll probably do it eventually but not until stuff calms down with Rumlow.

Consumer of Fantasy: I realized that you were right about Peter and Tony. I haven't really been giving them time to form more of a closer relationship and I really need to. I've always loved their father/son dynamic so I'll be sure to include more father/son moments between them in future chapters. I just think it's tough for Tony because he's known Emma for so long and Peter's also like a son to him so he doesn't know if he should encourage Peter or be protective of Emma. When Steve and Bucky come back he'll probably not be as protective since Steve and Bucky will scare Peter more than enough so I think that's when the bond between Tony and Peter will strengthen.

Radioactive88: I definitely agree with you about T'Challa. I've only seen Black Panther once but I'm super excited to see it again now that it's on DVD. I feel like all the men in Wakanda are super good looking. I kind of have a thing for M'Baku and I know Kilmonger wasn't techically from Wakanda but he was still their prince. I really love Chadwick Boseman and I hope he gets a lot of other parts. I've been a fan of him since I first saw him play Jackie Robinson a few years back and I remember being so happy when they cast him as T'Challa. Can't wait to see more of him in the future.

The scene where Bucky finds out about Emma and Peter is going to be classic. I already have it planned out in my mind and I'm just going to say that Bucky's going to walk in on something that he'll instantly misinterpret.

extremeninja09: That review made me laugh so much. In my story I don't think the others will really be mad if they find out Emma's pregnant but that's going to be a long time from now. Like probably in a sequel or something.

Mabel: I probably won't do that storyline with Cindy because Emma would probably kill Cindy if that ever happened. She'd probably break her murder promise for that because to Emma that would be a solution to the problem.

Keystone: That's definitely a lot of different ideas about how the others will find out about Emma and Peter but I already have a plan in mind. Peter's spidey senses will probably appear for the first time in either the next chapter or the one after. I know what will make them appear but I'm not sure if it'll happen in the next chapter or not because it really depends on how long the next chapter will be. If the next chapter's too long then his spidey senses will just show up in the chapter after.

moocella: Emma will forgive Wanda but they haven't had a chance yet because Wanda hasn't been in the story in a while. Emma kind of mentioned to herself that she felt slightly bad for the way she treated Wanda so I think they'll definitely forgive and forget when Wanda comes back into the picture. I kind of meant for the audience to feel bad for Wanda in that chapter because I didn't want it to seem like I personally hated Wanda. I actually really love Wanda. She's really the only people(other than Peter and Jessica) that knows about what happened to Emma so she feels terrible for what she did so in a way she's seen everything. Being inside Emma's head is probably no easy task so I'd say she's extremely haunted by what she saw.

Ya boi: Thank you! I mean, I'm used to criticism but that comment just seemed kind of rude and unnecessary because I could tell from their review that they haven't read my story. Their review was kind of the opposite of this story but thanks for that nice review. I'm glad you enjoy the story so much.

Anonanon: I know there's a lot of typos in this story and I trying to find the time to go back and re-edit everything. It's just kind of hard since I've been mostly working on new chapters. I've been wanting to include Michelle more but it's difficult in a story with so many characters. I'll try more in the future. I originally had more scenes with her and Michelle but those had to get cut during certain chapters because there was already so much going on and I didn't view the scenes as important enough to the chapter. There's probably going to be more with Michelle and her in the next chapter but I also like to think that they're very independent so they aren't the kind of friends like Darcy and Jane who spend a ton of time together. Again, I originally had more scenes with Susan in mind but those got cut because they weren't relevant to the chapters I was writing. Susan's not really a central character to the story. I mainly focus on Emma, Peter, Tony, Bucky, Steve, and maybe even Darcy as being some of the main characters within this story.

Grazi: Jessica will be making a short return to the story soon although I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of her when things calm down with Rumlow.

Assbitch67: I kind of noticed that Bucky and Steve are like two gay dads which I never really intended when I first started writing this. It's kind of cool now that I look back at it but I'm not going to change their sexual orientation for the story or anything. It's really nice that Emma has two dads and I never decided on her having a mother figure because despite all the hurt one man put her through, she still has this pull to the men in her life. I think she likes men more than women because there wasn't really a lot of women at the Hydra base so she doesn't really understand women as much. I'm glad you love the story so much and there will be plenty of more chapters to come.

I'm so sorry that I didn't answer every review. I read every single one and I loved/appreciated all of them(well except a kind of obvious one) so I'm very grateful for all the reviews. There was just five pages of reviews so I couldn't get to every single one although I wish I could. I just answered the most I could so I could update this chapter soon which I'm sure you guys would prefer. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! Let me know what you think of the new chapter.

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Manhattan, New York

2000

Margot walked around in a dazed state after her appointment with the doctor at Shield Headquarters. It was almost like she was in another world as she walked around the grocery store and even when she arrived back at her and Steven's apartment. There were a million things on her mind as she stumbled into the apartment, barely being able to shut the door behind her. Margot didn't know if she felt scared or happy. Maybe a little bit of both. She really couldn't be sure but she definitely knew that she was still in a state of shock.

"Congratulations, Agent Pierce." Dr. Oliver said with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

Margot snapped out of the short flashback as she continued to process everything that had happened that day. It had been two years since she and Steven first started this odd sort of relationship but Margot was happy. They had moved in together not long after they first started dating although Steven hadn't been very happy with the idea at first. It didn't take long for Margot to realize that Steven was a man who really loved his routine and held a strong dislike for change. However, she liked to think that Steven was willing to change his routine for her. Despite the both of them falling in love a little later in life, Margot still felt like a giddy teenager.

It wasn't to say that everything was easy between them because it wasn't. Steven wasn't the easiest person to live with but she never regretted being with him. Of course, they had to keep it a secret at work because Shield frowned upon relationships in the workplace and she was even more sure that Shield would lose their minds if they found out that the deputy director was in a romantic relationship with a field agent. Margot and Steven didn't really lie about their relationship but they didn't exactly tell the truth either. The only people that probably knew about their relationship were Steven's mother and Clint. Margot would've told her father but they hadn't spoken in years so she didn't really see the point.

There was no talk of marriage between Steven and Margot but she was sort of fine with that. It wasn't to say that she didn't want to get married but she understood why Steven might not want to. He thought he was too old to get married although Margot didn't necessarily agree with that. She wasn't set on getting married or anything. Margot was just happy to be with Steven and that was enough for her despite what Steven's mother always said. His mother seemed very keen on getting her oldest child to finally get hitched. Margot found it amusing but Steven didn't really seem to think so.

Margot had never spent too much time thinking of her and Steven's future. How could she? They both held very dangerous occupations so either one of them could die at any moment. The couple accepted that because they were forced to. They knew what they were getting into when they first started this relationship and neither one of them expected the other to just quit their job. Still…Margot knew that she wanted children. Margot knew she could live a very happy and complete life without children but somehow she still wanted them. Clint called it baby fever but she didn't care. She was getting older and the opportunity was continuing to slip away from her. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if she knew Steven wanted kids but the only problem was that she knew for a fact that he didn't. They hadn't discussed it much but Margot knew that he really didn't want kids…which was why today's news both excited and troubled her.

Margot didn't know why she had been so sick lately but she probably should've known. For the past couple weeks Margot had been feeling very dizzy and sick. Each morning she had gotten up and made a beeline for the bathroom before puking her guts out into the toilet. Steven had been very worried about her and insisted that she go see the doctor at Headquarters. Margot knew he was right so she had done what he asked. A part of her was worried that she might've had cancer or something. Her mother had ovarian cancer and Margot knew there was a slight possibility that she might've inherited it. However, the doctor brought her in a few days later and assured her that she didn't have cancer. Margot had been both relieved and confused at first until Dr. Oliver congratulated her…on her pregnancy.

This was why Margot was sitting on her couch in a dazed state as she tried to process this news. In any other situation she would've been happy but she feared Steven's reaction. Mostly because Steven had clearly told her that he didn't want children which made Margot sad but she thought that maybe she could convince him to adopt someday. She didn't really know how she had gotten pregnant. Well…maybe she did know how but it was a matter of when. Margot thought long and hard but it didn't take her long to come up with the answer. The doctor had said she was about twelve weeks along which pointed to that week in May when she and Steven had played hooky from work.

Steven had taken her to Fiji…to the island of Taveuni which was lush with beautiful rain forests and coral reefs. It was the perfect tropical paradise and it seemed like something out of another world. Margot had traveled to a lot of places in her life but nowhere that was as pretty as that island. Taveuni had the most beautiful birds and flowers with colors beyond the imagination and not to mention the beautiful waterfalls. Things were peaceful on the island when it was only the two of them. There was no Fury, no Shield, and no bad guys trying to kill them. It was only just the two of them on that beautiful island but nothing lasted forever. Their time on that island soon came to an end and they flew back to New York which also meant returning to reality. Little did she know that they didn't completely leave Taveuni behind. Margot had been carrying a little piece of that island with her this entire time.

"Margot, I'm home." Steven announced as he entered the apartment and Margot was immediately snapped out of her thoughts. The older man walked into the living room, carrying take-out bags in his hands. "I know you weren't feeling well so I just picked up some take-out. I got some of that egg flower soup you love so much from Peking Palace. It was real busy tonight by the way. I wonder what's going on…"

Steven stopped in his steps as soon as he saw Margot sitting there on the couch. Whenever he brought home her favorite soup from their favorite take-out place, she'd usually give him that wide and infectious smile before showering his face with kisses. The gesture used to embarrass him somewhat but deep down he enjoyed how happy he could make her and how happy she made him. Now, however, Margot just seemed to be sitting on the couch with a small smile on her face but her eyes were distant. Steven knew that smile. It was her fake smile that she used a lot on missions and when talking to her father on the phone but never when it was just the two of them alone.

"What's wrong?" Steven questioned as he stared at her and Margot feigned a confused expression, pretending like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." Margot tried to deny but Steven knew her better than that. For a being a spy Margot Pierce could be a terrible liar at times.

"Whenever I bring home Peking Palace's soup, you act like it's the best day of your life." Steven stated before giving her a look that was a cross between worried and cautious. "But now you have a look on your face that leads me to believe that something's wrong. What is it? Did the doctor say something? Is there something wrong? Oh, god…please tell me you're okay." Margot just shook her head furiously as Steven began to ramble. The sight of him rambling was somewhat scary to Margot because he rarely ever rambled. She was the talkative one in the relationship, not him.

"No, no…it's nothing like that. According to Dr. Oliver, I'm one hundred percent healthy." Margot told Steven and the older man let out a sigh of relief but the look on Margot's face was unchanging. Steven gave her a smile.

"That's good. I'm glad." He said in relief before frowning again when he realized that Margot still seemed troubled. "Then I don't get it. What's the matter?"

Margot nervously chewed on her bottom lip which was a nervous habit of hers that Steven didn't fail to notice. She didn't have any idea how to tell Steven the news about the baby…their baby. Somehow she knew he wasn't going to take it well. How could he? Steven made it clear that he didn't want kids and even though Margot had said she was fine with that, she really wasn't. It was why she couldn't help but be happy about the news of the pregnancy but at the same time she was scared. She was scared because she thought that Steven might leave her.

He could give her that ultimatum that guys gave women in movies where they told their girlfriends that they could either keep the baby and they'd leave or get rid of the baby and they'd stay. Margot always called those men assholes and rooted for the woman to leave the dickhead behind so that she could happily raise the baby on her own. It was always what Margot told herself that she would do if she was in that woman's shoes and it seemed so easy. Who really needed a man like that anyways? The mom and baby would probably be better off without an asshole like that in the long run. However, Margot never considered how tough a situation like that was in real life. What would she do if Steven asked her to do that? She loved Steven and would give him the world if she could but could she really get rid of the baby if he asked? Margot wasn't sure.

Despite her inner turmoil, Margot swallowed down her fears and decided to be brave. It's not like she could hide the fact she was pregnant from Steven even though she wished she could. He wasn't stupid and he'd find out sooner or later so it was best if she just told him now. So without any more thought on the subject, Margot just decided to come out with it. She looked Steven straight in the eyes and told him the one thing that caused him to look the most shocked she had ever seen him be during their two year relationship.

"I'm pregnant, Steven." Margot told him and then waited for Steven to respond. He didn't say anything for the longest time which confused Margot at first. Steven just stood there in shock, staring down at her. For a moment she thought he might be having a heart attack or something but he didn't fall or tremble. He just stood there in shock. It was a few minutes before he said anything and Margot spent the entirety of those three long minutes trying to decide whether or not she should say anything.

"W-what?" Steven stuttered, his blue eyes wide with surprise and fright. Margot bit her lip once more before answering.

"I said that I'm pregnant, Steven. That's why I've been throwing up so often and why I've been missing my periods. I'm twelve weeks along and I've always been irregular which is why I never even suspected it but I still should've known. It's just that…well, I've been so busy at work that I never really noticed." Margot said as she nervously explained the situation to him while Steven just continued to stare at her in surprise and confusion. He shook his head.

"I don't understand. How are you pregnant? I thought you were on the pill." Steven told her and Margot immediately glared at him. Was he seriously going to blame this all on her? The only reason she was on the pill was because Steven, like most men, didn't love the feel of a condom. Margot didn't really like condoms either but Steven could've still worn one if he was that worried about her getting pregnant.

"Well, the pill doesn't always work one hundred percent of the time but don't you dare blame this on me." Margot said angrily as Steven just stared back at her. It wasn't often that Margot was angry. She was usually very energetic and bubbly but never angry. "You'd think someone as old as you would know these things." Steven flinched from her cold tone, still surprised by her changed demeanor.

"I just…I'm just having a little trouble processing this. You're pregnant? That's what the doctor said?" Steven said and Margot was starting to get annoyed at this point. How dare he be in denial?! She didn't have time to be in denial over this. The only thing she had time to do was figure out how to tell him about the baby.

"That's what I've saying this entire time." Margot said before continuing to explain everything to him. "Remember Fiji? Taveuni? Yeah, well, it looks like our luggage wasn't the only thing we brought back with us."

"I know, Margot but…damn, I'm just a little surprised by this. That's all." Steven told her, trying to ignore the way she snapped at him. He could probably count the times Margot had been angry with him on one hand and none of those situations felt quite like this one. Why was she mad at him? He was just trying to understand all of this. "I mean, we talked about kids, right? I told you that I didn't think it was really a good idea if we had one."

"Well, you should've thought of that before you fucked me on that boat…and in the hotel room…the beach…and well, everywhere on that fucking island!" Margot snapped and Steven sighed as he tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Steven was starting to think that Margot was already exhibiting the signs of pregnancy hormones because she sounded really pissed and he wasn't sure why. Was she mad at him because she was pregnant or was she mad at him for not seeming excited about it? Steven honestly couldn't tell.

"I'm just trying to make sense of everything. I was being serious when I said I didn't want kids." Steven told her seriously and the angry look faded from Margot's face. A hurt expression took its place as she looked back at him. A part of her had known that he might not want the baby but it hurt more hearing him say it aloud.

She had wanted a baby really badly for a long time and now she finally had her chance. A baby that was all her own and one that was real. What was Steven saying? Was he really saying that she should get rid of it? Could she just pick Steven over the baby? Margot had known Steven for a lot longer than this little baby that was slowly growing inside of her. She was completely in love with Steven and even saw a future with him where they would grow old at each other's side. Steven wasn't her first adult relationship nor was he the first man she had ever fallen in love with but he was definitely the first one she saw a future with. She wasn't stupid either. She knew that Steven had a list of ex-lovers that was even longer than hers but she had been hoping…just hoping that maybe he felt the same way.

Despite how much Margot loved Steven, she somehow knew that she loved this little thing growing inside her more. Don't ask her how. Margot couldn't tell you how she could love something she had only known about for a day but she knew she did. It was a different kind of love than the love she felt for Steven but she knew there was no force on heaven or earth that could make her get rid of this baby. Margot had never wanted anything more in her life than to have this baby. She could suddenly envision herself bathing a cute little boy with Steven's hair and her eyes in the bathtub as the little boy giggled endlessly. Margot could even maybe picture brushing a little girl's blonde hair and dressing her up in cute frilly pink dresses that the little girl would no doubt someday hate. Visions, filled Margot's mind, of holding her child's hand as they crossed the street and taking them to their first day of school as they hung onto her pant leg, begging her not to leave. It was everything Margot wanted and she knew that not even Steven could get in the way of that.

"I'm not getting rid of the baby, Steven." Margot told him firmly, determination in her green eyes. Steven just stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Margot…" He trailed off but Margot just shook her head.

"No, I'm keeping this baby. It's my choice and I want to keep it." Margot said to him before telling him how it was going to be. Steven always made the big decisions in their relationship like what apartment they were going to live in together, what their take-out place was going to be, and what movie they were going to see but that wasn't going to happen any longer. Margot was going to put her foot down and tell him how it was going to be. "I know you don't want kids but I don't care because this is something I want. This is something I've always wanted. I was willing to put all of that aside for you when I wasn't pregnant but not anymore." She briefly paused before continuing as Steven just watched her silently.

"I'm pregnant and there's no way in hell I'm having an abortion. If you want to leave then fine. It would break my heart but not enough for me to want to get rid of the baby." Margot told him, practically daring Steven to leave like she suggested. Tears were flooding her eyes as she thought that this might be the end of them. It broke her heart to think of her and Steven ending things but if he didn't want her to have the baby then what else was she supposed to do? "This baby's already coming and she or he is here to stay…whether you like it or not. So if you don't want the baby then I'll just go and pack my things up right now. I'll stay with Clint until I can find a place of my own. You don't even have to worry about child support if that's what has you all scared."

Margot waited for him to say something…to say anything but he didn't. He just stared at her with that same unreadable expression on his face. It had always frustrated her when she couldn't read him but it was also what made her so attracted to him. There was no one more mysterious than Steven Rogers but in that moment it was the last thing she wanted. Margot just shook her head in disappoint and made a move to turn away. However, before she could, Steven stopped her. He grasped her wrist firmly in his hand as he stopped her. She looked up at him in surprise. The expression on his face was one of sadness and fear.

"Please don't leave me." Steven said in desperation as she stared back at him. "I-I couldn't take it if you left me. Just…please don't."

"I don't know what you want me to do, Steven. You don't want me to go but you don't want me to have the baby either. You can see why I'm confused." Margot retorted and Steven shook his head.

"It's not that I don't want you to have the baby. I can tell how much you want the baby and I don't have it in me to deny you of what you want." Steven told her and Margot just gave him a confused look.

"Then what do you want?" She asked him and Steven fell silent for a moment as he forced himself to gather his thoughts. He took a deep breath before exhaling.

"I don't hate kids. That's not what this is." Steven told her honestly as he told her for the first time the real reason he didn't want kids. "I love kids. I love all my little nieces and nephews…and when Tony came along that was one of the best days of my life. He was annoying as hell but he was a cute kid and I never minded watching him whenever Howard was too busy. I loved it actually."

"I don't understand what your problem is then." Margot said, feeling a bit breathless after witnessing Steven's confession. The older man sighed before continuing to explain his actions.

"My father's serum runs through my veins, Margot. The same serum that will run through this child's veins." Steven admitted and Margot's eyes filled with understanding. "My blood is probably the most sought after thing in the world. Howard thought I might even be able to cure the common cold but my mom never let him poke and prod me with any needles. She didn't want to turn me into a lab rat."

"Steven, our baby's not going to be a lab rat either." She told him sincerely but that wasn't what had Steven worried.

"My father's serum was what put a target on my back but I had my mother, Howard, Colonel Phillips, and the Howling Commandos to protect me. I had all the protection in the world." Steven told Margot as he recollected his isolated but secure childhood. "However, that also meant being homeschooled and not being allowed to play with other children. It was a very lonely childhood and I would never wish that on any other child…especially my own. There's going to be people out there that will want our child for evil just like they wanted me and I don't want to put them at risk like that. It's not fair to them."

Margot stood there as she processed everything Steven just told her. He used to say the reason he didn't want kids was because he was too old but now she knew the truth. Steven didn't want kids because he was worried about putting a target on their back. Margot could understand that. He had to live a very lonely childhood, always looking over his shoulder, so she could understand why he was hesitant to inflict that on another child.

"Steven, I understand why you feel that way but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have kids. There's always going to be a risk when you have kids. No one can foresee the future." Margot told him softly. "I know it's scary but I think this baby…our baby…will make it all worth it. It's going to be a long road and it won't be easy but I'm willing to see past all of that because I love this baby. I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl but I already know that I love them." Steven briefly looked down before looking back up at her. He still had a troubled look on his face but he didn't seem quite as unreadable as he had been before.

"That's not the only thing, Margot. You do realize if we have this baby that this means that we have to quit Shield. Fury's going to know the truth about us and we'll both lose our jobs. I know how important your career is to you." Steven informed her but Margot just shook her head.

"I don't care about any of that, Steven. I've worked at Shield long enough and I think it's time I retire. I don't want to spend the rest of my life chasing after bad guys." Margot said she locked eyes with him. "The only thing I want is this baby." Steven knew in that moment that Margot's mind was already made up. It seemed like her mind was even more made up than when he first got home. He sighed once more as he gazed down at her.

"Look, I'd never make you do anything you don't want to do. You're right…this is your choice but I just want to make sure you know the risks before you go any further." He told her quietly. "If you want to have this baby then I'm with you every step of the way."

"I'm sure, Steven. I've never wanted anything more in my life than this baby." Margot said determinedly as she rested her hand against her stomach. Steven briefly glanced down at the already formed baby bump. It was so strange how he had never noticed it before but maybe it was because he wasn't looking then. Now, however, it seemed more obvious than anything.

"I guess, you're stuck with me then. You and the kid." Steven finally told her, a small smirk on his face as Margot's eyes widened in surprise. She then squealed in delight before throwing herself into Steven's arms. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. Steven stood there as Margot told him all about the doctor's appointment but his mind was on the child. He was still worried of course but he knew that Margot was going to be having this baby no matter what he said. He wouldn't have it any other way either. It was going to take a lot of time to process this but it was true. They were going to have a baby.

---

Later that night Steven, being wide awake, stared up at the ceiling as he tried to think of the future. When would be the right time to resign from Shield? Not now…they were still trying to get to the bottom of the investigation of Santiago Salazar and Steven felt like they might've even been on the cusp of something. Margot wasn't really showing that much either so she could still work. She had already told him that she'd sign up for desk duty until she handed her pink slip in. He'd have to resign soon too because if they were going to have this baby then neither one of them could still work at Shield. Shield would paint an even larger target on their backs and Steven knew it was best if they just left. He'd been working long enough and his retirement was long overdue. Maybe he and Margot would head somewhere quiet…somewhere warm and somewhere they could have lots of space to raise a child. They'd never find anything like that in New York and frankly, Steven was tired of New York. He was tired of all the lights, the noise, and even the people. Somewhere quiet and empty would do all three of them some good.

Three…

Steven turned his head to the side so that he could look at Margot. He never really called her his girlfriend because he was honestly too old to have a girlfriend but she was something more than a girlfriend to him. She was more like a partner or even a wife. Yes, a wife. Steven never thought he'd get married and never had the desire to but he could see himself marrying Margot. There was no one else that he could possibly want to marry more than her. She was perfect but somehow she was also his which was mind-boggling to him. Steven then glanced down at the small baby bump and he was once again reminded that there was no longer just two of them anymore. There was now three of them.

He reached his hand over and lightly pressed it against Margot's stomach with as much care as possible. Steven didn't know what he had been expecting to feel. It was probably too early for the baby to kick but he was still left awestruck over how there was a baby in there. He was fifty four but somehow this was surprising to him. He still remembered the time Maria had forced him to feel her stomach when she was expecting Tony and boy could that kid kick. It had amazed him then but you would've thought he'd be over that curiosity by now but apparently not. Maybe it was because this time it was his own baby resting inside there. It wasn't Maria and Howard's baby nor was it his sister or mother's baby. No, it was his very own and somehow that amazed him. Steven then wrapped his arm around Margot, holding her close to him, as he then began to drift asleep. He dreamed of himself and Margot living on a farm in the middle of nowhere while a child as beautiful as their mother ran through the acres upon acres of land, a dog barking and chasing after the small child in the meantime. Steven and Margot would watch on, basking in their child's delight and glowing happiness. There was no dream more beautiful than that one.

---

"How are things going on at work?" Alexander Pierce asked in a formal tone… the only tone he ever had when he spoke to Margot. The redhead barely glanced up from her salad as she looked back at her father. She hadn't seen her father in years but Steven had finally pushed her into having lunch with him. Fortunately for Steven, he was too busy with work to come down and finally meet her father as his daughter's boyfriend instead of as deputy director of Shield. She was now around twenty weeks along so she thought it would be a good time to tell her father the news. They had already told Steven's mother and Clint which was enough for her but apparently Steven wanted her to tell her father too. It wasn't like she wanted to wait to tell him until she was going into labor or anything but Margot was just dreading telling him the news. He'd probably make some subtle, offhanded comment and manage to insult her all in one sentence. Her father really had a talent for insulting her in the most discreet ways.

"Dad, you know I can't talk about those kinds of things in public." Margot complained as she looked at him. "I'm level seven for a reason."

"I just want to know if anything new happened. Any new promotions or anything? Agent Rogers is getting quite old, you know, and you've been with Shield for a long time…maybe a new promotion is coming your way." Her father told her and Margot winced. Great…he just had to bring up Steven. This was just another thing she had to tell him since he had no idea that she and Steven were even together. This was going to go really well. Yeah, dad, that's great and by the way…I've actually been sleeping with my boss for the past two years and now we're expecting a baby. Surprise! Her father was going to love this.

"Funny you should mention that, dad." Margot said as she started to break the news to her father. "Because I'm actually thinking about resigning." Her father immediately dropped his fork and Margot winced yet again. She stared down at her plate, feeling like the ten year old girl she used to be whenever she got into trouble with her father which happened to be a lot. However, back then her mother was around to play the referee but things were different now. They now lived in a world without her mother to keep things calm between them.

"Excuse me?" Her father questioned in surprise and Margot looked back up at him, feeling a bit more courageous.

"I said that I'm going to resign." Margot repeated, sitting up straighter in her seat. Her father narrowed his eyes at her but Margot continued on. "I don't want to do this my whole life and I think thirty seven is an acceptable age to retire."

"All that work, Margot…All those years and you're just going to throw it all away." Her father told her as he shook his head in disappointment. Margot glared at him and wondered how on earth she thought they could get along for longer than twenty minutes. Her father was impossible.

"I'm not throwing it away. I've done my fair share of work at Shield and I'm leaving now that I feel like I've accomplished what I set out to do. This is my choice…my choice, dad." Margot told him heatedly and he just stared back silently at her for a moment. She was starting to feel uncomfortable by his long stretch of silence when he finally spoke again.

"What is it, Margot? Have you met a boy or something? Just tell me now." Her father finally said and Margot hated the tone he used with her. It was like he was almost expecting this to happen and Margot just hated that he thought so little of her. He was just waiting for the day she'd get knocked up and "ruin" her life. Well, Margot didn't care anymore because this wasn't her ruining her life. This was just the start of something better and something that would make her happy in a way that a job never would. It's not like Margot expected her father to understand that. Some people prioritized their family before their careers but not her father. Her father threw both her mother and her under the bus, focusing on his job and nothing else. He stopped caring the day the doctor told him and her mother that they couldn't have any more kids. Their family had already suffered a huge tragedy when Margot's younger brother Bobby died of sudden infant death syndrome. Bobby had only been nine months old at the time and Margot was seven. The news that her father would never have a son again made him cold and detached as he drifted further and further away from them which in turn broke her mother's heart.

Margot remembered spending long weekends up in that cold mansion with her mother who pretended like everything was alright and her father who stayed locked up inside his office the whole time. Even when her mother was dying, her father couldn't bother to leave that fucking office of his. Her mother died a slow and painful death but her father never cared. He never so much as shed a tear for Margot's sweet natured and loyal mother whose only fault was loving him. At her mother's funeral, he never even went up to the open casket to say goodbye. He just sat there in the front row as he stared out one of the stained glass windows in the church. As soon as the funeral service ended, he just got up and left without saying a word. That was the day that Margot decided that she hated her father. Nothing in this world could ever make her forgive him for the way he treated her mother. She didn't even care about the way he treated her. Her poor mother loved him for whatever crazy reason but he didn't even care. This was why she was going to take great pleasure in telling him this news. It was going to be great because she knew she was going to ruin whatever ideal and perfect future he had planned for her. Margot just couldn't wait to see the disappointed look on his face when she told him.

"I'm pregnant." Margot finally said and her father fell silent again. He didn't really look surprised but he didn't look like he had been expecting the news either. It took him a couple minutes before he finally answered again.

"I wasn't aware that you had gotten married." Her father said in that snide tone of his. He damn well knew she wasn't married but he was going to try and make her feel like shit the entire time. It was just what he did. Margot rolled her eyes.

"This isn't the 1950s anymore, dad. People don't have to get married just because they're having a kid. Times are changing." Margot informed him and he gave her that fake and condescending smile that she had always hated. God, she wished she could slap that smile off his face.

"So you're having a baby out of wedlock." Her father said in an almost smug tone… like he thought this was embarrassing for her or something.

"Yes, I am." Margot said, not feeling embarrassed in the slightest.

"Who's the father? Do you even know?" He asked her and Margot tried to remind herself of what her mother used to say. "Your father's been through a lot. Just be patient". Her mother had always been very patient but Margot didn't really know if she had inherited her mother's patience.

"The father has a name and we've been dating for the past two years." Margot retorted before elaborating. "It's pretty serious actually. We're living together." A pinched expression came over her father's face when she mentioned the fact that her and her baby daddy were actually living together. She never really took her dad as the old fashioned type but maybe that was because she didn't really know him that well. They were practically strangers as far as she was concerned.

"Do I know him?" He asked quietly and Margot nervously chewed on her bottom lip because she knew Steven and her father knew each other. They had probably gotten know each other incredibly well ever since Steven took the job of deputy director. They probably worked together several times in the past. Steven had always told her how her father was doing but Margot told him to not even bother. Her father didn't care about her so she wasn't going to spend her life trying to care about him. She had already used up all her time and energy on him so long ago that she didn't have it in her to try again.

"Yes." Margot said quietly as she stared back at him. "It's Steven Rogers." Her father looked at her with an unreadable expression on her face. It wasn't surprise nor was it anger or disappointment. Margot dared to think that it may have even been…horror. Horror? Why should he feel horrified? Yes, Margot had been sleeping with a much older man and not to mention her boss at that but why should her father feel horrified? He wasn't one to feel things like surprise or horror. A part of her didn't believe that her father was even capable of feeling anything. Before Margot had much time to dwell on her father's habits, his expression then morphed into the usual one of annoyance and disdain.

"Your boss, Margot? Really?" Her father said in a scolding tone just like that time he scolded her for playing in the mud outside when she was six. Margot hated it when he did that. He always tried to make her feel like a child when she was a grown ass woman.

"Yes, really." Margot retorted and he shook his head in disappointment once again. Like she actually cared whether or not she disappointed him anymore. That ship sailed a long time ago.

"Is that how you got your last promotion? Sleeping with your boss?" Her father questioned as he sneered at her. Margot gave him a disgusted look.

"Of course not! God! I hadn't even met Steven yet when I got promoted to level seven." Margot said defensively as she glared back at him. "Our relationship isn't like that. We've been together for a while now so it was only a matter of time before we got married or pregnant." Her father clenched his jaw as he stared back at her with those cold blue eyes of his.

"He's your superior, Margot. That's against Shield's policy." Her father lectured and Margot fought the urge to roll her eyes at him again. "You just can never do as you're told. Even when you were a child, you never listened."

"Look, dad, it doesn't matter anyways. I'm turning in my pink slip at the end of the month and so is Steven." Margot tried to tell him but this seemed to annoy him even more.

"So you're screwing up your life and Agent Rogers' life. Good. I'm glad I taught you how to be responsible." Her father said sarcastically and Margot could really just strangle the life out of her father. He was such an asshole sometimes! No, scratch that. He was an asshole all of the time. There was never a time in her life that he wasn't being an asshole.

"Believe it or not, Steven and I are actually really happy about this." Margot said heatedly as she looked him straight in the eyes. "We're happy about leaving Shield, we're happy about starting a new life together, and we're especially happy about this baby. This is something I've always wanted, dad. Why can't you just be happy for me?" Her father scoffed as he gave her a look of disbelief.

"Maybe I'd be happy if I didn't just find out that my daughter got knocked up by her boss…a man who's only ten years younger than myself." He told her in his usual disappointed tone. "Is that what this is? Are you with him because you have daddy issues? Your mother always said we should've taken you to a therapist and I refused but maybe she was onto something." Margot just shook her head at him, beyond finished with him at this point. She knew this was a bad idea. She just knew but she went ahead and gave him the benefit of the doubt anyways. Her mother always said to give him a chance but her mother was blinded by love. Her mother was wrong about him.

"Not everything is about you." Margot snapped before laughing humorlessly. "I didn't want to have this conversation with you but Steven told me that it might be a good idea. That maybe this baby would bring us closer or something. He was wrong…so was mom because let's face it. Without her we're just two strangers forcing ourselves to like each other. And I really don't like you. Not even a little bit." Margot then threw some cash down on the table as she got up. Her father watching her with that same cold and detached look he always had plastered on his face.

"Margot…" He started to say but Margot just sneered at him.

"Mom loved you and I never understood why." She said suddenly and it may have seemed random but it wasn't. This had been on her mind for many years. "All I know is that you never deserved her." Margot then proceeded to walk away from the table at the small café and Alexander Pierce could only watch in surprise as his daughter left. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he watched her leave. The feeling of horror being stronger than any other feeling within him.

He was horrified by this news but not at the news of his daughter's pregnancy. No, he was horrified at the news that she was pregnant with none other than Steven Rogers Jr.'s baby. If she had informed him that some other poor, stupid girl was knocked up by Rogers then maybe he'd be fine…maybe he'd even be gleeful. However, it wasn't some poor stupid girl that was knocked up with Steven's baby. His daughter was the one who was pregnant with the grandchild of Captain America. Captain America who had been injected with the super soldier serum created by none other than Abraham Erskine. There was no other serum like it and not even the one used on the Winter Soldier could match up to it. The ones used on the Hydra assassin squad hadn't exactly been a success either but maybe someone who already had the serum running through their veins would be able to accept the new serum, becoming even stronger than any of the other super soldiers combined. Pierce's predecessors had wanted to abduct the Captain's son but the boy was closely watched by a great number of people. There had been attempts in the past to abduct him but none had been successful.

Hydra had patiently been waiting for the day Agent Rogers would knock up some poor girl and they were just beginning to give up hope when Margot informed him of both her pregnancy and the father of the baby. Pierce should've been happy or thrilled by this information but he was, in fact, a bit horrified at the news. His daughter would be giving birth to what could be Hydra's greatest weapon. Hydra had been waiting for the longest amount of time to finally be able to have a chance at building a new world…a better world and now it was finally here.

He did love his daughter in a strange and twisted way. Pierce never wanted to see her hurt which was he kept her and Hydra separate, never bothering to even try to recruit her to the cause. She was better off living in a more oblivious world. However, she had just walked into the world of Hydra without even knowing it. She was a part of this world whether Pierce liked it or not because she was pregnant with Hydra's greatest weapon. As much as Pierce loved his daughter, he knew how to prioritize things. His daughter was just one person in the whole entire world but what Hydra had in mind was a lot bigger than just one person. This was a war, whether people were aware of it or not, and in war there were men like Pierce who had to make sacrifices. Margot made her choice the day she let Rogers knock her up and that was on her. Now Pierce was going to have to make a choice too and that choice was going to be for the greater good. She'd understand one day…she'd see all the good Hydra would accomplish and then she would know why he had to do this. Pierce just hoped that wherever his wife, Edith Pierce, was that she was also as understanding.

Please forgive me, Edith.

---

"What is this place, Steven?" Margot asked as she looked around all wide eyed at the interior of what was probably the fanciest restaurant she had ever been in. There were high ceilings, chandeliers, marble floors, and even a live in house band. She just knew that this place was probably more than what she could ever afford. It probably cost a whole week's worth of pay at Shield just to eat here. Steven just chuckled at her.

"Don't ask me. I've lost track of all the expensive places Tony likes to eat at. The guy certainly has expensive taste. He's like his father in that department." Steven told her and Margot just nodded, not knowing what else to say. It had been a week since lunch with her father and she was glad that it was over. She probably wouldn't see him until her and Steven's kid graduated high school…hopefully. Margot would just rather put it all behind her and especially now that she was meeting Tony. The man who Steven considered to be something like a little brother to him which made her nervous. She had already met Steven's half siblings but this was different. This was Tony Stark.

You had to be living under a rock to not know who Tony Stark was. He was only one of the richest men in the world and he was only thirty. Tony Stark was also the CEO of Stark Industries, passed down to him by his deceased father. The fact that she was meeting a rich playboy wasn't what made her so nervous but it was actually the fact that she knew how much Steven loved him. It was a little nerve wracking because she didn't know what she would do if Tony Stark decided that he hated her. Was that a deal breaker to Steven? She hoped not since she was twenty one weeks along so it was kind of late for either one of them to be backing out of this relationship.

"There he is!" Steven said as he grinned in the direction of a table near the center of the expensive restaurant. Margot was broken out of her thoughts as she followed Steven's gaze to a table where a man with dark hair and a hideous goatee was sitting. It looked like the man had been flirting with a waitress whose boobs were about to spill out of her shirt. This appeared to be the famous Tony Stark she had heard so much about. She couldn't say she was surprised either because everyone knew that Tony Stark was something of a womanizer.

"Brat!" Steven exclaimed in an affectionate tone which caused Tony to frown a little in embarrassment. Margot took that to mean that he didn't really care for Steven's nickname. That was interesting. The waitress giggled at the nickname before Tony gave her a fake smile and politely shooed her away. It would appear that his playtime was over now that his cockblocking surrogate brother was in the room. He then stood up from his seat to greet them.

"Hey, Junior." Tony greeted as he went to shake Steven's hand but the blonde man instead went for a hug, wrapping his arms around the shorter man in a near bone crushing embrace. Tony fought to catch his breath as Steven hugged him while an amused Margot watched. She wasn't used to seeing an over affectionate Steven but she supposed this was different. This was Tony, after all, and even though she had never met Tony in person, she knew how much Steven loved him. Other than his mother, of course, he counted both Margot and Tony as the most important people in his life although that number was continuing to grow. His and Margot's unborn child was now included in that short list of people too. "God, you have a grip on you. Remember, It's actually really important that I stay alive since I'm only the CEO of the top weapon's manufacturer in the world. It's kind of vital that I don't get crushed to death in a Dolph Lundgren hug." Steven just laughed at the ridiculous man.

"Okay, Anthony, we get it. You're very important." Steven said in a teasing tone but before Tony could even hope to respond; his attention was drawn to the petite looking redhead at Steven's side. He gazed at the woman curiously because although he had never met her, he had heard plenty about her on the phone when he was talking to Steven. He mostly ignored Steven's rambling about the woman but some information stuck…like the fact that she was Alexander Pierce's daughter and that apparently they weren't even supposed to date. It was a forbidden work relationship thing that he was sure would make a good, sappy romance novel. However, now that he was face to face with the woman of Steven's dreams, he found that she wasn't what he had been expecting at all. No, she was the exact opposite now that he thought about it.

Tony had known Steven his entire life so he was fairly certain that he knew what the older man's type was and it definitely wasn't the redhead. While the redhead was very attractive, she wasn't the usual brunette with long legs and tan skin that Steven usually went for. The classic model look that Steven probably only went for because it was simple. Like Tony, Steven also favored one night stands or short term relationships. For Tony it was because he had commitment issues but for Steven it was because he just never had the time or energy for anything long-term. He suddenly wondered what it was about this redhead that captivated Steven for so long. Tony couldn't remember the last time Steven had a relationship that lasted this long. Maybe it was that Peruvian girl Steven had dated when Tony was a teenager but that had been forever ago.

Tony looked the redhead up and down without even trying to be subtle about it. She was actually quite short but what she lacked in height, she made up for in curves. Tony wasn't going to lie. The redhead was pretty hot and she also had a nice rack too. Tony always secretly had a thing for redheads anyways. Her skin was very pale but smooth and creamy looking. The paleness of her skin even seemed to highlight the smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. She wore a beautiful emerald green summer dress that seemed to be a perfect match for her vibrant emerald green eyes which were her most captivating feature. She looked more fairy like than model like but Tony thought that Steven certainly had good taste. Of course, Tony wouldn't say that aloud because from the way Steven's girlfriend was glaring at him, he was sure she might murder him. He had learned from his recently hired personal assistant that you never wanted to piss off a redhead. Not if you knew what was good for you.

"Okay, you can stop checking out my woman now, Anthony. Just stick to that waitress I saw you flirting with earlier." Steven told Tony as they all took a seat at the table. Margot gave Steven a teasing look although deep down she didn't like the way Tony looked at her. He just looked her up and down with a smug look on his face like he was expecting her to melt at his very gaze. Gross. It was even more gross because she knew Tony was probably around Clint's age and she knew she would be sick to her stomach if Clint ever looked at her like that.

"Hey. I'm my own woman, Rogers." Margot said teasingly and he just smiled back at her.

"I don't doubt it." Steven said, almost flirtatiously as he looked back at her and Tony felt the sudden strong urge to throw up. Steven flirting was something he never liked witnessing but mostly because he thought Steven was too old to flirt.

"Don't worry, Junior. I'll keep my hands to myself." Tony said to the older man who just smiled at him. Tony then turned to Margot with a smirk that she was beginning to already dislike. Oh, boy. She could tell this man was going to be a pain in her side and they hadn't even been properly introduced yet.

"Tony." He introduced and Margot forced herself to give him a polite smile.

"Margot." She said in response and Tony continued to grin at her. At least he didn't smile at her in that condescending way her father did or even the creepy way Rumlow did. If he did then this whole dinner might be unbearable.

"I'm glad to finally meet ole' Stevie boy's latest squeeze." Tony quipped and Steven glared at him before giving Margot an apologetic look. She was starting to get the feeling that might've been a common look on his face whenever Tony was concerned. He then turned back to Tony, giving him that stern look like Tony was a child who had misbehaved.

"Margot isn't my latest squeeze, Anthony. If you would've met up with us at any point in the past two years then maybe you'd know that." Steven told him before looking over the menu. "I also won't have you talking about Margot that way. You'll treat her with the upmost respect or else." Margot watched the way Tony immediately shut up, not even making some smart ass remark. The billionaire glared down at his menu.

"Do I make myself clear?" Steven said in a more stern voice when Tony didn't answer. Tony reluctantly looked up from his menu and slowly nodded.

"Yes." Steven seemed satisfied with that and they all went back to looking at their menus. Margot watched the exchange in fascination because it was somewhat perplexing watching the thirty year old billionaire glower like he had just been scolded by a parent. She glanced back at Steven who was currently reading the menu with interest. She smiled a bit because she thought Steven was going to be an amazing parent. He was going to be a great father to their child and Margot couldn't wait until the kid would finally get here so she could see it all in action.

"I already ordered us some wine. It's only from the best vineyard in all of France." Tony bragged as he grinned at the both of them. It seemed like he had put the scolding to the back of his mind as he closed his menu, his decision for his dinner already made. Steven smiled at him.

"That sounds great. Thanks." Steven told him before he quickly remembered something. "Of course Margot won't be having any." Tony shot them both a curious look while Margot blushed at Steven's bluntness. He wasn't going to beat around the bush, was he?

"What? Are you a lightweight or something?" Tony questioned in amusement and Margot shook her head.

"No. Drinking's just off the table right now. It's actually why Steven wanted us to all have dinner together so badly. We have a little announcement to make." Margot said as she smiled over at Steven who returned her smile. Tony looked between them in confusion, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Okay, now I'm just confused and I don't think it's from the scotch I had before getting here." Tony commented and Steven smiled happily at the younger man.

"Look, I know you don't really know Margot that well so this may seem a bit sudden but we brought you out here tonight because we have some big news to share with you." Steven started to say and Tony gave him a bored look.

"Out with it, Junior. You know how much I hate long, drawn out surprises." Tony told him and Steven grabbed onto Margot's hand as he stared back at the man who he saw as his little brother.

"Margot and I are having a baby." Steven finally told him and Tony just stared at them. It was perhaps the first time Tony Stark had truly looked shocked about anything. His eyes immediately darted to Margot's stomach which happened to be partially concealed by the table. Did she look pregnant? Well, Tony really couldn't tell since she was wearing that sundress but maybe that's why she had worn the sundress in the first place…to conceal the baby bump. The only thing he did know was that Steven looked more happy than Tony had ever remembered him being. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the redhead seated next to him.

"Well, fuck." Tony finally said, not knowing what else he could say to something like that. Margot gave him an amused look. How very charming of him.

"I'm about twenty one weeks along right now. The doctor said that I'm due in February. February 5th to be exact." Margot politely informed him as Tony began to slowly nod his head, still taking in this new information.

"This is great, guys. Entirely shocking but great." Tony said awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what you were supposed to say in a situation like this but he was going to try. The billionaire then turned to Margot. "I don't know you at all but congratulations on getting knocked up. Two years is a long time but I'm sure you guys got all the practice you needed in the long run"

"Nice one, Anthony." Steven said in an unamused tone but Tony just gave him a sheepish smile before looking at Margot's stomach.

"Congratulations to you too, Mini Steven. Congratulations on being conceived and I wish you luck on your journey into this crazy, big world. Hopefully you're born with all your fingers and toes attached and I really hope you don't inherit your daddy's hideous looks." Tony rambled as he then made a face. "Because that would be unfortunate…for you." The billionaire then looked at Steven and Margot, a smirk on his face although he could tell that Margot and Steven weren't really amused with his smart ass remarks so far. Maybe the little bun Margot had cooking in her oven would be more fun than these two old people anyways.

"Hey, maybe you could even name the thing Anthony. What do you think, Junior? Anthony Rogers is a cute name, right?" Tony said to the older man who only rolled his eyes in response. Margot, however, was quick to respond.

"We actually went to the ultrasound yesterday and we found out the gender." Margot told him, seeing this as an opportunity to end Tony's weird rambling or maybe just to shut him up completely. "It's a girl." Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise but smiled nonetheless.

"A girl, huh? That's still cute." He remarked before smirking again as he looked back at Margot. "Antonia Rogers then." Margot just gave the billionaire an unimpressed look.

"I'm not naming my daughter that." Margot told him firmly but Tony didn't look put off by this.

"You really should. I'd be completely honored." Tony told her and Margot shook her head.

"Yeah, I don't even know you so I don't think that's going to happen." Margot said as she tried to make it clear to him that she was never going to name her kid after him. Tony just continued to smirk at her.

"Oh, but you will know me, Margot. It's only a matter of time before you name your kid after me." Tony insisted as Margot looked back at Steven who also didn't seem keen on naming their daughter after Tony.

"That's definitely never going to happen, Anthony." Steven tried to tell him but Tony just laughed.

"Never say never, right?"

"Well, we're both saying never and we're saying never right now." Steven replied but Tony just waved his hand dismissively. Margot could definitely tell that Tony Stark was an interesting person but she just wasn't sure if he was interesting in a good way or a bad way. Only time would tell. She then cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I'm actually going to go to the restroom real quick. I'll be right back." Margot said as she excused herself from the table. Steven smiled adoringly at her as she began to get up from the table.

"Be careful." He said as he leaned in and kissed her chastely on the lips. Margot pulled away and laughed at him.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Not Mexico." She told him before she got up from the table and began to head in the direction of the bathroom. Steven watched her until she disappeared around the corner and Tony made a face.

"God, that was disgusting. This whole you being in love thing is weird. You seriously can't let her go to the bathroom without kissing her?" Tony remarked as he ate a breadstick. "Someone's whipped." Steven playfully glared at the younger man.

"Just you wait, Anthony. Someday you're going to fall in love too and you'll be just like me." Steven told him knowingly and Tony snorted.

"Um…no thanks. I'm pretty sure there's a part of you that would follow her into the bathroom if you could." Tony told him pointedly. "Yeah, I'm not into that kind of thing. I'm more of the lone wolf type or whatever kind of wolf that allows me to sleep with numerous pretty she-wolves without getting tied down in the process."

"You talk too much. Has anyone ever told you that?" Steven retorted and Tony just smirked at him.

"Yes, actually. You, Dad, Mom, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, Obie…I could really go on and on." Tony said and Steven just shook his head at him. The look on Steven's face then softened as he brought up a different topic.

"So…Margot. What do you think of her?" Steven asked him, a hopeful look on his face. Tony gave him a confused look.

"What does it matter what I think? You're the one having a kid with her. Not me." Tony told him and Steven shrugged.

"It's important to me what you think because you're one of the most important people in my life. I think that list's extended to Margot and our daughter now too but you were one of the first on that list." Steven said honestly and Tony grew uncomfortable from the affection in Steven's voice. He was uncomfortable because he was never used to affection. His father rarely showed any affection but Steven never really had a whole lot of issues showing affection. Maybe where other people were concerned but not when it came to family. Steven was all about family too even though he didn't really have one of his own…until now. "So yes I care what you think." Tony just sighed before answering.

"Well, I've only known her for twenty minutes but so far she seems great. She seems very…spunky. I like her. There's something about her that's…" Tony trailed off but Steven picked up where he left off.

"Different?" He offered and Tony nodded.

"Yes but in a good way, I think." Tony added before continuing. "She's also hot and not to mention on the young side. How young is she by the way, Junior? She looks like she might be around my age." Steven actually blushed at that question which amused Tony. The younger man smirked at his good friend.

"She's thirty seven." Steven told him and Tony chuckled.

"Wow, Junior. She is on the young side." Tony remarked. "At least for you, anyways although I, myself, have never minded an older woman. Especially, one as hot as your baby mama." Steven rolled his eyes as he shook his head at Tony.

"You're an idiot." Steven told him but Tony didn't look offended. His smirk then faded as a look, surprisingly, of concern came over him. Steven was a bit taken back by the look on Tony's face. It was rare that the billionaire ever looked concerned about anything and why should he? He had everything handed to him on a silver platter although Steven had never held that against him. It was partially Steven's fault why Tony was so spoiled. He had spoiled the kid rotten because he always felt like it was his fault why Howard had always been so distant to him. So that meant buying Tony every toy he ever wanted and taking Tony everywhere he wanted to go. Tony sighed before speaking, a sincere and concerned look on his face.

"Steven, are you sure about this?" Tony asked him in a quiet voice. Steven stared back at him curiously since it wasn't often that Tony called him by his actual name.

"What do you mean?" Steven inquired and Tony shrugged.

"I'm talking about settling down and starting a family. You've never wanted kids and I know this because you've been preaching that ever since dad tried talking you into it." Tony told him as he tried to make sense of everything. "I like Margot and everything. She seems like a nice girl but are you really okay with this?" Steven sighed.

"Look, I've always liked kids and I liked hanging around you when you were all cute and little. I actually think you were less annoying back then than you are now." Steven said and Tony made a face.

"Thanks." Tony said sarcastically and Steven just chuckled before continuing the conversation.

"Anyways…my problem was never with kids. I just went through a lot in my childhood because of my father and his super soldier serum so I never wanted to inflict that on another child." Steven explained and Tony suddenly understood everything a lot more. "I didn't want kids because I was afraid of what it would mean but it's not like we planned this, after all."

"And you're not scared?" Tony inquired and Steven laughed.

"Of course, I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified, Anthony." Steven told him honestly. "I never had a father. Mine died before I was even born and your father, even though I loved him, wasn't the most responsible male figure. I loved Daniel too but he always had his hands so full with the twins that we never had that sort of bond. I'm not sure if I can be a good parent." Tony immediately shook his head.

"No, that's not true." Tony told him firmly and Steven gave him a surprised look. The billionaire swallowed hard. "You were always a good father to me. You taught me how to tie my shoes and how to throw a ball." Steven gave him an incredulous look.

"Anthony, you're a genius. I doubt learning to tie your shoes is one of your biggest accomplishments." Steven told him, looking very amused. "And you can't throw a ball to save your life. Maybe I wasn't a great teacher, after all." Tony just gave him a smile and it wasn't the smug smirk that he normally plastered across his face. It was the same smile that Tony used to give him whenever Steven would cancel all his plans that day to take him somewhere. Sometimes they'd go to a baseball game even though Tony never cared much for the game. The little seven year old boy just liked the hot dogs and ice cream Steven would buy for him at the game. However, there were other times that Steven would take him to the zoo or even car shows which always got Tony so excited. Steven missed that version of Tony because that was the Tony who didn't resent him for stealing his father away.

"No, it's the fact that you did all those things even though you didn't have to. You care a lot, Steven…more than my dad did and I think you'll be a much better father than he was." Tony said honestly and Steven didn't argue with him about his father. Usually Steven would scold Tony for talking about Howard like that but in a way he knew he was right. Howard had even said it himself all those years ago when the deceased Stark had tried to talk him into having kids. Howard tried to tell Steven that he would make a much better father than he ever was but Steven just ignored him at the time.

"Thanks. That means a lot." Steven said quietly and Tony suddenly felt uncomfortable with the way the conversation had turned. Tony wasn't usually the one to get all mushy and he knew that Steven wasn't either.

"So…um…what are you going to do about that super-secret spy job of yours? I mean, they're bound to find out about you and Margot now that she's got a bun in the oven. Can't hide Mini Steven forever, right?" Tony said as he changed the subject. Steven just smiled at the younger man before answering.

"We're actually both retiring." Steven told him and Tony gave him a surprised look.

"Really?" Tony questioned. He wasn't disapproving or anything but he was just genuinely surprised to hear that information. Tony knew how important that job was to him. Steven had made it very clear in the past how much he loved his job. "It's just that you've been working there forever and I thought you said that you were going to work until you drop." Steven just shrugged.

"Well, I never thought I'd have any kids. I always wanted to leave a legacy behind and I thought I could do that with my work. Now I realize how wrong I was." Steven admitted as Tony listened to the older man curiously. "I know I've made a difference in the world but there will also be other people who will make an even bigger difference. My time there will just be a footnote in history. Children are different though. They're everlasting because they have children and their children have children. Each one of those children will make a difference too." Steven paused briefly, looking at Tony before he continued with his speech about legacies.

"When my father died, he left a legacy behind in me. It wasn't just all the good he had done in the world but it was me too. Your father's legacy wasn't just the company either. You're his legacy." Steven told him and Tony didn't know how to feel as he took in everything Steven was telling him. "People always say that children are the future and it's true. This child will be Margot and I's legacy. This stuff I've done at work is great but our daughter will be better. I know she will." There was a long pause of silence as Tony considered everything the older man just told him. He supposed he was right in a way. Children really were the future.

"Well, hopefully the kid inherits her mother's good looks and not your ugly mug." Tony said jokingly as he tried to lighten the mood. Steven smiled at him in amusement before shaking his head.

"I hope so too. You know, I really don't know what I did to deserve Margot because she really deserves better than me. I'm much too old for her and I've seen too many things. I was always waiting for the day she'd gather her senses and leave but now it looks like she's stuck with me for good." Steven told Tony as the younger man stared back at him. Steven's tone was light hearted but Tony could see that a part of Steven actually believed that he didn't deserve someone like Margot…that he didn't deserve to be happy. "She deserves better, Anthony. She really does. She could do so much better than me."

Tony wanted to tell him that he was wrong. Tony wanted to tell Steven that he deserved to be happy because he was the best person Tony knew. Steven was even Tony's favorite person in the world because, even though he would never admit it, Steven was all Tony had left. However, Tony didn't say any of those things as he smirked at the older man and teased him just like he always did. Tony would regret doing that many years down the road when he was older and all alone.

"Miss Pierce is certainly a looker. I'd even say that she might be better off with me…or maybe even Rhodey. I think she'd like Rhodey." Tony teased him and Steven rolled his eyes. "We're not old like you either so we can actually get it up. Don't you take Viagra now or something?"

"I don't take Viagra. I'm more than fine just on my own. Trust me, Margot's very satisfied which is more than what I can say for any woman who crawls into bed with you." Steven retorted as he stared back at Tony. "You're probably so drunk that you can't even get your pants completely off." Tony playfully glared at Steven.

"Whatever. Margot probably slips some Viagra into your drink without you even noticing." Tony muttered. Steven just laughed before reaching his hand over and ruffling Tony's hair like Tony was a kid again. The billionaire gave him an annoyed look.

"You're a little brat, you know that?" Steven said in affectionate tone as he repeated phrase he had used one too many times during Tony's childhood. Tony opened his mouth to respond but before he could, Margot returned to the table. She had a smile on her face as she sat back down next to Steven.

"Did you fall in there or something? What took you so long?" Tony asked, being his nosy self but also really wanting to change the subject. He didn't like it when Steven talked to him like he was a child…especially in public. He had a reputation to keep up, after all. Margot just rolled her eyes.

"No, there was just a huge line. You think for an expensive restaurant, they'd have more stalls. I even tried using the "I'm Pregnant" card but no one cared." Margot complained and Tony shrugged.

"Well, they call them rich bitches for a reason." Tony said nonchalantly and Steven immediately smacked Tony on the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Language!" Steven scolded and Tony glared at him while Margot just looked in between the two of them with an amused expression on her face. Steven had always said that Tony was like another little brother to him but now she could see how right he was about that. Steven and Tony certainly acted like brothers.

"I'm not twelve anymore." Tony complained and Margot decided to step in before they started bickering again. She could tell that those two bickered a lot.

"So…did I miss anything while I was gone?" She inquired as she changed the subject. The annoyed looks then faded from Tony and Steven's faces as they both shared a small smile.

"Not really." Steven told her as he shook his head. "We were just catching up." Margot nodded before she then turned to Tony, a curious look on her face.

"So, Tony…what can you tell me about this one's youth." Margot said deviously as she flashed Steven a mischievous smile. "I've tried getting some stuff out of his mother but she only tells me about the good and innocent Steven Rogers. I want to hear about the naughty one." Tony smirked as Steven tried to tell him to keep his mouth shut with his eyes. This was going to be so much fun. Steven had always embarrassed Tony in front of Tony's female friends but now the tables had turned.

"Oh, I have a lot of stories, Miss Pierce. Where do I even begin?"

---

"Do you really have to go on this mission, Agent Rogers?" Margot asked as she and Steven walked over to the debriefing room. They were always formal with each other at work because they never wanted to risk being found out. It had been two weeks since Margot, Steven, and Tony had met for dinner and now Margot was even further along in her pregnancy. She had even felt the baby kick for the first time just the other day much to both her and Steven's delight. However, it was also getting more and more difficult for her to hide the pregnancy. She hid the bump under loose shirts and unflattering dresses but she knew there was a rumor or two going around that she was pregnant.

"Yes, Agent Pierce." Steven told her in a dull tone. They had already had a fight the night before about him going on this mission but it seemed to have impacted Steven's decision in no shape or form. "This mission is possibly the most vital one yet. I can't just not go on it."

"We're turning in our pink slip next week. This is cutting it a little too close, isn't it?" Margot argued and Steven just shook his head.

"We're almost on the cusp of getting to the bottom of the weapon suppliers. Salazar? Mexico? The Weapon Suppliers? Does any of that ring any bells?" Steven told her and Margot glared at him.

"Of course, it does. That's how we met, after all." Margot replied before the expression on her face softened. "I'm just worried something will happen to you on the mission. It's not like I can do anything about it either. I won't be there this time." Steven immediately stopped walking and Margot did too.

"I'm going to be fine, Margot. It's not even a real mission anyways. We'll just be gathering intel from an abandoned storage building of Salazar's. No one will be there. We'll probably be in and out in forty minutes." Steven told her as he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear in an attempt to reassure her. "Besides…I'll have Barton with me. You, yourself, said that he's the best agent Shield's got. He's a good kid…excellent shot. Hill's going to be there too. I'll be fine. I'm not exactly breakable, you know." Margot swallowed hard before nodding.

"I know you can take care of yourself but I'm just worried something will happen…something will go wrong." Margot told him and Steven shook his head as he placed both her hands into his, giving her a sincere look.

"Nothing's going to happen. It'll probably be boring. We'll just be escorting this scientist on loan to us from the CIA. He's going to be collecting data or whatever the hell it is that scientists do." Steven told her and Margot wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew…the CIA?" Margot questioned and Steven chuckled.

"Yeah, I know but apparently he's brilliant." Steven told her and Margot nodded.

"Just be careful, okay? Come home in one piece." Margot told him and Steven nodded.

"I will." Steven promised before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Margot smiled into the kiss as he pulled her closer. They pulled away after a moment and Steven knelt down to the ground so he could talk to their child…or rather Margot's stomach. He smiled as he placed his hand against the growing baby bump.

"You take care of your mother. Don't let her get into too much trouble." Steven said before he leaned in and kissed the baby bump. Margot laughed when she felt the baby kick, causing Steven to back away in surprise before he also started laughing.

"She definitely has your strength. That's for sure." Margot joked and Steven got up from the ground, kissing Margot one last time before pulling away.

"I love you…the both of you. Stay safe, okay?" Steven told her and Margot nodded.

"I love you too." Margot told him softly. "If you die, I'll kill you." Steve just chuckled before he turned away and continued down the hallway to the conference room. Margot tried to look mad but she miserably failed in the process.

"I mean it, Rogers!" Margot called after him but he continued on his merry way. As much as he annoyed her at times, Margot was also in love with the idiot. She just hoped that he would make it home to her in one piece. He disappeared down the hall and Margot sighed as she began to turn down a different hall to resume her work. However, as she left, she failed to notice the pair of dark eyes watching her from around the corner.

Brock Rumlow, whose eyes had narrowed into a glare, had just seen the entire exchange between Margot and Rogers Jr. and there was nothing about that exchange that he liked. He clenched his fists tightly as he went over what he had just seen. Margot and Rogers kissing, Rogers kissing her stomach, and Margot and Roger exchanging "I love you's" in the hall. It was almost too much for him to bear. All these years he had been waiting in the sidelines as Margot dated loser after loser…just waiting for the day for her to realize that she belonged with him but now it seemed like that day would never arrive. Margot was forever lost to him now and there nothing he could do about it. It wasn't Fury, Coulson, or even Barton that had torn them apart. No, it was Rogers Jr. and Brock promised himself that he would make the older man pay for that one day.

Maybe not today but someday…

---

"You must be Agent Pierce." A soft sounding voice said as Margot swiveled around in her chair to see who was speaking. Steven, Clint, Maria, and the scientist they were escorting had just left for their mission so Margot had reported to the top floor of the building where all the data analysts were. Even Fury was at work as they made sure to keep track of the three Shield agents and the scientist. Steven had said it was an important but still boring mission which meant there most likely wouldn't be much action but Margot was still worried.

She then broke out of her thoughts as she looked up at the petite brunette woman staring down at her. The woman was very small and almost dainty looking, resembling someone who looked more like a woodland fairy. She was probably in her late twenties or early thirties at the most. Her skin wasn't as pale as Margot's but she wasn't quite tan either. Her hair was brown which also went down right past her shoulders. Margot also noticed that the woman wasn't much taller than herself but what she noticed even more was that, like Margot, the woman was also pregnant. Margot determined that the woman was quite a bit more pregnant than she was, judging by how much larger her baby bump was. The redhead could still hide her pregnancy somewhat, although it was hard to do, but she could tell that this woman had long since given up hiding her pregnancy. Margot was almost five months along by now but this woman was probably around seven or maybe even eight months pregnant. She looked like she was going to pop. Margot knew right then that her and Steven could no longer put off telling Fury about the baby because she doubted she could get away with hiding her pregnancy if she looked like that in a couple months.

"Yes, I am." Margot said slowly, still staring at the woman's stomach. It was kind of hard not to stare at it and especially since Margot was only a couple short months from getting there as well. She swallowed hard as she forced herself to meet the woman's gaze. It was probably kind of rude to be staring at the woman's stomach all this time. However, the woman gave her a knowing smile as she stared back at Margot. Margot blushed because she knew she had been caught. Well, wasn't that humiliating.

"It's nice to meet you." The woman said politely as she continued to beam at her. "I was told to report here. I'm actually on loan from the CIA for the ongoing mission and someone told me I was supposed to report to this floor." The woman said nervously and Margot just stared at her. The CIA still had agents doing work when they were that pregnant? That was a little troubling to know.

"I'm sorry…who are you?" Margot asked in confusion and the woman blushed.

"Oh, wow…I completely forgot to introduce myself. You must think I'm an idiot." The woman said in embarrassment before answering Margot's question. "I'm Mary…Mary Parker. Data Analyst and Translator." Margot slowly nodded as she took in that information. She thought she remembered Phil saying that the CIA were loaning a couple of their data analysts to them for this mission. Shield was a little shorthanded for the time being, after all.

"Right. Well, it's nice to meet you too, Mary. I'm Margot." Margot told the petite woman who smiled at her once more. It was then that Margot realized that Mary probably shouldn't be standing for longer than she had to. Margot awkwardly cleared her throat as she pulled out the office chair next to her. "Here, you should probably sit down."

"Thank you." Mary said kindly as she took the seat next to her. Margot couldn't help but notice how kind Mary's eyes looked. Her eyes were big and brown…almost doe like. Mary sighed in relief as she finally sat down but still looking quite tired. Margot wondered if she was going to still be this tired and sore by the end of the pregnancy. Probably. It could only get worse from here as the baby's birth drew nearer and nearer. Right now wasn't so bad, anyways. The morning sickness had kind of gone away and her sex drive being heightened wasn't so bad. Margot knew Steven wasn't complaining…that was for sure.

"So we're currently waiting for Agent Rogers, Agent Hill, Agent Barton, and…" Margot leaned forward as she tried to read the last name from the piece of paper from the debriefing packet. When she finally read the name, she glanced at Mary from the corner of her eye. "…Dr. Parker to arrive at their destination. They're currently flying over New Mexico so they shouldn't be too far away. They'll be arriving in Juarez in about thirty minutes. In the meantime, we're just waiting until Director Fury gives us the go ahead." Mary nodded as she listened to what Margot just told her.

"Right. Sounds like a plan." Mary replied and Margot nodded to herself. She didn't know what else to say to the woman so she just glanced around the room, pinpointing where everyone else was. Fury was in an intense discussion with Phil while Sitwell was at the front of the room analyzing a map. Everyone was trying to keep themselves busy until the agents and scientist landed in Mexico. Margot didn't really like it when someone wasn't talking. She hated long silences which was a huge difference between her and Steven who happened to be completely fine with being silent. Seriously…there was one time in which Margot rambled away for half an hour and he never even said anything. It wasn't like he minded or anything although he looked quite amused.

"I like your necklace." Margot told her suddenly, trying to make small talk, and Mary's warm brown eyes widened in surprise as if she had forgotten she had been wearing the necklace in the first place. The younger woman glanced down at the emerald heart pendant and smiled before looking back up at Margot.

"Thank you." Mary said as she smiled at Margot. "My husband actually got it for me not long after we started dating. It's very beautiful, isn't it?" Margot smiled back at her and nodded. She had to admit the necklace looked incredible on the pregnant woman and Margot didn't miss the way Mary's eyes lit up when she talked about her husband. Mary's husband already sounded a hell of a lot more romantic than Steven whose idea of a romantic gift was a hideous looking ceramic frog. However, Margot appreciated his effort nonetheless because she knew Steven had at least tried. He wasn't the most romantic person in the world, after all.

"Yes, it's very beautiful. Have you been married long?" Margot asked, trying to make more small talk to kill some time. Mary shook her head.

"Just a little under a year but we were dating for quite a while before then." Mary answered and Margot could tell by the dreamy look on the woman's face that the honeymoon phase still hadn't worn off. It was then that the dreamy look faded and was replaced by a worried one. "Although I'm really worried about him being on the mission. Especially with the baby arriving so soon." Margot realized that Mary's husband must've been the scientist that was on the mission with Steven, Clint, and Maria. She thought there may have been a link between the two but Parker was a common last name.

"So he's the scientist then?" Margot asked although it didn't really sound like a question. Mary gave her a small smile before nodding.

"Yes. I mean…maybe it wouldn't be so scary if I wasn't seven months along. It'll be eight months soon enough." Mary looked down at her stomach and placed her palm against the large baby bump. Margot watched her curiously. She wanted to tell her that she understood how she felt because her significant other was also on that mission but she knew she couldn't. Margot and Steven's relationship was still a secret.

"Your husband's going to be just fine." Margot said in a reassuring tone. "He's in great hands. Agents Rogers, Barton, and Hill are some of the top agents here at Shield. He'll be just fine." Mary smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you." Mary told her and Margot just smiled back at her. Margot was about to return to her work when she was interrupted by what Mary said next. "So…how far along are you?" Margot turned back to Mary in surprise. Did she say what Margot just thought she said? How did she even…

"What?" Margot questioned in surprise and Mary just stared back at her.

"You're pregnant too, aren't you? I thought you might be. You just have that sort of glow about you." Mary told her and Margot blushed as she swallowed hard.

"It's not really something that a lot of people are aware of around here." Margot replied in a hushed tone as she pointedly looked around the room. Mary gave her a confused look.

"What? Does Shield not let you work if you're pregnant?" Mary questioned in confusion. "I'd understand that if you were still working in the field but you're up here with us." Margot furiously shook her head.

"It's not really the fact that I'm pregnant but more of the circumstances of how said baby came to be. Let's just say it's incredibly complicated." Margot told her and Mary finally understood what Margot was getting at. She figured that Shield probably had way different dating policies than the CIA. Well, maybe not. CIA field agents weren't really supposed to get involved but neither her nor Richard were field agents. Richard was a scientist while Mary was just a data analyst and translator. The father of Margot's baby, however, must've been another Shield agent and Mary wondered if it was Agent Barton. Even at the CIA, Agent Pierce and Agent Barton were quite famous as well as their close knit partnership. There were rumors that the two were involved and Mary figured that maybe the rumors were true judging by Margot's hidden baby bump.

"Oh…I understand." Mary said as she tried to think of something else to say that might comfort the redhead. "I'm sure everything will work out." Margot just nodded although she wasn't so sure herself. It wasn't like she expected Steven and her to be able to keep their jobs when they told Fury, not that she wanted to, but she was kind of dreading his reaction. Would he yell at them? Would he be disappointed? Margot wasn't so sure. During the years she had worked at Shield, Fury had become the father figure she never had. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him in any way.

"Would you like to touch my stomach?" Mary asked suddenly, breaking Margot out of her thoughts. The redhead looked at Mary in surprise, not believing what she just heard.

"Excuse me?" Margot questioned and Mary blushed.

"It's just that I can feel him moving around a lot. He likes listening to people talk." Mary elaborated and Margot looked at Mary's baby bump curiously.

"Are you sure?" Margot asked her. The one thing Margot wasn't looking forward to when being pregnant was the fact that people were going to want to touch her stomach all the time. Margot remembered people doing that to her mother all the time when her mother was pregnant with Bobby. Mary nodded as she beamed at Margot.

"Of course." Mary insisted and Margot hesitantly touched the younger woman's baby bump. She rested her hand there for several seconds before she felt the baby kick. Margot giggled at the sensation because the baby didn't stop there either. She felt some movement after the fact too.

"He's certainly hyper, isn't he? You said it was a he, right?" Margot asked and Mary nodded.

"Yes, it's a he. I wanted it to be a surprise but Richard hates surprises so here we are." Mary said as she stared at the baby bump. "He's incredibly energetic. Sometimes it feels like he's doing cartwheels in there. My bladder's really taking the brunt of it too. What about yours? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl." Margot confirmed as she pulled her hand away from Mary's baby bump. "Although she's not quite as energetic as yours seems to be. Most of the time she doesn't move at all. I was worried at first but the doctor said that she's healthy. I guess she just sleeps a lot. She only seems to get excited when she hears her father's voice." Mary laughed.

"That's so cute. She's definitely going to be a daddy's girl then." Mary told her and Margot just shook her head in amusement.

"God, I hope not. I don't need two people ganging up on me." Margot joked but it wasn't until that moment that she wondered what the baby would be like when she was older. Was she going to be super serious and look at Margot like she was ridiculous like Steven did? Or maybe she'd be super chatty and bubbly like Margot. Maybe a combination of both. God forbid if their daughter really turned out to be a daddy's girl. It would definitely be two against one if it came down to that.

Before Margot or Mary could say anything else on the subject, Phil Coulson walked up to the table the two were currently seated at. A serious look came over Margot's face the instant she saw him. She loved Phil but she knew he'd go straight to Fury if he learned the truth about her and Steven. It wasn't like she could blame him either. He was just really good at his job and obviously followed the rules more than she or Steven ever did.

"They landed in Mexico." Phil announced as he stood in front of them, a serious look on his face. "Fury needs you to get in contact with Hill and bring up a blue print of Salazar's old warehouse. We're going to need that ASAP." Margot nodded.

"Of course." Margot told him and Phil nodded once before he walked over to go check on Agent Sitwell. Margot and Mary immediately did as they were told but both secretly had the men in their lives on their minds. Neither one of them could think of anything else as they worried about the safety of their men. The mission could only go one of two ways and they hoped that it would be their own preferred way.

---

"Rogers, it's all clear. The warehouse is empty. Is there was anyone here, they left a long time ago." Clint Barton informed Steven as he walked back into the main floor of the warehouse. They had just arrived in Juarez a couple hours before and immediately headed for one of Santiago Salazar's warehouses where he had kept things like private jets and his stock of drugs hidden. There didn't seem to be any private jets in the warehouse currently or the fancy cars that Salazar also kept there. Salazar's men probably ransacked the whole place after he was killed.

"There's a leftover supply of cocaine in the back though." Maria Hill as she stood next to Clint. Maria was probably one of the youngest Shield agents at the agency but what she lacked in age, she made up for with her calm and calculated demeanor as well as her intelligence. She was another agent that Phil Coulson had trained and Steven knew that Phil had gotten it right with this one. This was one of Maria's first missions out in the field but Steven wouldn't know it if he hadn't been told. "It looks like Salazar's men didn't come to reclaim that."

"They sure didn't mind taking his private jet and his sports cars." Clint quipped but Steven knew he had a point when it came to that. It was quite curious that Salazar's men had reclaimed his plane and cars but not the drugs.

"How much of the cocaine did they leave behind?" Steven questioned curiously and Maria crossed her arms.

"Let's just say that with the drugs they left behind they could've probably bought a couple yachts." Maria told him with a suspicious look on her face. Steven didn't seem to be the only one to find this all a bit odd. Steven stared in between the two younger agents before he finally tore his gaze away to see how the doctor was doing.

"What about you, Parker? Find anything yet?" Steven questioned as he looked at the scrawny looking scientist. The man was very slender and was a few inches shorter than Steven was. Not to mention he was much younger than Steven. Steven estimated that Richard Parker must've been somewhere in his mid to late thirties. He was probably around Margot's age. The man's hair was a dark brunette color while his eyes were a bright hazel.

Richard looked out of place among the Shield agents who looked ready for combat. The scientist was dressed in a light blue buttoned up shirt, khaki pants, nice suede shoes, and wore a pair of glasses on his face. It made Steven very uncomfortable knowing that this guy probably couldn't even harm a fly. If there was a threat then Steven wasn't just going to have to worry about himself but this guy as well. At least he didn't have to worry about Clint and Maria because he knew those two could take care of themselves. There was also the fact that Richard talked Steven's ear off the entire plane ride to Mexico. The motor mouth of a scientist asked Steven about a million questions regarding his father's super soldier serum and the effects it had on Steven. Steven came very close to killing the annoying scientist and it didn't help that Clint was snickering at them the entire time. God, sometimes he wondered what Margot saw in that idiot. For one of Shield's top agents, Barton sure acted like an idiot sometimes.

"Are you sure that Salazar didn't have the weapons here?" Richard asked in a serious voice. It was perhaps the first time Steven had heard him sound serious. Steven furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked back at Clint and Maria.

"No sign of the weapons?" Steven questioned and the two agents shook their heads in unison.

"Not a trace, Sir." Maria replied and Steven looked back to Richard who was pouring himself over one of the tables. He seemed to be staring at an assortment of papers scattered across the table.

"What is it?" Steven asked Richard as he drew closer to the table. Richard just shook his head.

"I just can't understand this." Richard told Steven as he continued to analyze what looked to be blueprints of weapons. "These blueprints don't make any sense whatsoever."

"How so?" Steven questioned and Richard looked up at him.

"Well, I can't be completely sure, since some of the papers seem to be missing or destroyed, but whoever designed these blueprints is talking about making a weapon that's so powerful it can completely disintegrate a person with just the pull of a trigger." Richard tried to explain but he sounded confused himself. Clint walked over and stared at the blueprints in confusion as well.

"What? Like a bomb or something?" Clint asked and Richard shook his head.

"No, it's something a lot more powerful than a bomb." Richard told him as he held up the blueprints. The blueprints displayed an image that appeared a little too familiar to Steven's eyes. Steven swallowed hard as he stared at the blueprints of a weapon that looked quite similar to some of the weapons that Hydra had made back in the day. Steven knew this because he had the highest clearance level that anyone could possibly have unless they were Fury. He had seen the Hydra weapons that Fury had stored in one of vaults within one of Shield's most secure bases. Steven wasn't a huge fan of the fact that those weapons hadn't been destroyed but he understood why Fury had kept them in a way. The weapons were like an insurance policy in case anyone like the Red Skull came around again. So far they had been lucky with villains like Bullseye and Victor Von Doom but there might come a day when Steven and the best Shield agents, the world had to offer, wouldn't be enough. That being said, it also didn't sit well with Steven how similar the Hydra weapons and the weapons in the blueprint looked.

"Look, the documented energy levels from this weapon is unlike anything I've ever seen. A single spark or flare, from an energy level like this, could turn a person into ashes…maybe even less than ashes. If this was used in some kind of mass destructive weapon, it would be worse than any nuclear weapon in existence." Richard said as he continued to study the blueprints. Clint gulped as he heard that while Maria just raised an eyebrow. Steven had to commend her on her feigned indifference because he could hear her heart racing in her chest.

"Well, that's not really good." Clint said nervously but Richard just shook his head.

"I wouldn't worry. This weapon would be impossible to make even if the power source could exist. I mean…I see the energy levels listed but not the power source so I'm assuming they haven't found a power source that could put out this level of energy. These blueprints are little more than wishful thinking." Richard explained as he tried to calm everyone down. He seemed to be sure that this weapon couldn't exist but Steven wasn't so sure. "Even if this power source existed, I doubt there's anything that could harness those energy levels enough to make it into a weapon. According to the blueprints, it would melt any kind of metal. They'd have to have something really strong to hold it."

"Well…if that's all, then let's just bag it to be safe." Steven stated after Richard was done speaking. The scientist nodded as he handed the blueprints over to Maria. He could've told Richard, Clint, and Maria that a power source that could produce those kinds of energy levels was in existence but he didn't. Their clearance level wasn't high enough for that. There was only one power source that could give out those levels of energy but Steven was fairly certain that it was hidden away in a highly secure vault. However, there was still a doubt in Steven's mind that maybe the energy source wasn't locked up and safe like he originally thought.

"Barton…Hill, you two look upstairs again and see if you can find anymore blueprints like these ones. Parker and I will stick to the main floor." Steven ordered as he gave out instructions and both Clint and Maria nodded in agreement before taking off, leaving Richard alone with Steven. It wasn't like Steven wanted to be stuck with the chatty scientist but he didn't trust Barton or Hill to keep watch over him either. Hill was still new to the field and Barton couldn't even look after himself half the time. Steven lost track of the times that Margot rushed to the infirmary after Clint got injured on a mission. It might've had to do with the fact that the man favored bows more than guns. Steven would never understand that man.

"So Shield…that's exciting, right?" Richard inquired as he broke Steven out of his thoughts. Steven stared at the scientist. This was the man's attempt at making small talk, wasn't it? Steven only knew this because Margot had a big habit of making small talk to make up for prolonged silences. He found it amusing when she did it because he was in love with her but when anyone else did it, he found it annoying. Although, sometimes he let it slide when Tony rambled on and on. Steven had really tried to break Tony out of the habit of talking so much but it seemed like the kid just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Yes." Steven said shortly as he began to walk to the other side of the main floor, searching for anything that might be of use to them. To his dismay Richard followed him.

"It must be. You're the deputy director, after all." Richard said as if Steven was somehow unaware of this fact.

"Yes." Steven repeated, trying to not get annoyed with this man again. He always prided himself on his patience but this man was slowly starting to test Steven's patience.

"Your mom's pretty legendary at Shield too, right? Peggy Carter…wow. That's one hell of a woman." Richard remarked and Steven just stared at the shorter man who blushed. "Not that I'm hitting on your mom or anything. I-I mean she's a beautiful woman but just a little too old for me. Well, not old but…I'm married!" Richard finally said as he tried to get himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. Steven wondered why in the hell Fury would even agree to letting the CIA loan them scientists. It became even more clear to Steven in that moment that only idiots worked at the CIA.

"Congratulations." Steven said sarcastically as he tore his gaze away from Richard and continued walking. However, the sarcasm seemed to go over the scientist's head.

"Thank you. Speaking of my wife, we're actually expecting a little one soon. The due date's in November so it's a very exciting time for us." Richard said as he began to tell Steven his life story. Steven grew even more annoyed at this. Great, there was going to be another idiot like this one running around out there. Just what the world needed…another Parker. "We're currently living in Queens. We've got the baby room set up and everything. Of course, my brother and his wife came over to help because my brother's a little more hands-on when it comes to that kind of stuff. We're having a boy so we painted the room blue. You should see all the different shades of blue they have at the paint store. When I was a kid there was probably just five different types of blue but now there's a hundred. It's really amazing."

"Great." Steven muttered as he gritted his teeth. It was really a wonder how there was any more air left in the room with how much this guy talked.

"Hey, where do you live by the way?" Richard asked and Steven was so distracted by trying not to strangle the man he accidentally answered the question without thinking.

"The Upper West Side." Steven replied but winced the second the words came out of his mouth. He was already regretting answering Richard's question. Richard practically beamed at him, looking all kinds of excited.

"Really? That's a really nice neighborhood although it's kind of pricey." Richard remarked as he started to drive Steven crazy again. "Mary and I actually have some money saved so we were thinking of splurging and moving to a nicer area when our son's a little older. Hey, maybe we'll even move to the Upper West Side." Steven gave him a wide eyed look as Richard grinned at him.

"What?" Steven questioned but Richard's grin didn't waver.

"We could be neighbors. What apartment building do you live in?" Steven Rogers decided in that moment that he and Margot were definitely going to move. He wasn't going to raise his daughter anywhere near Parker's little brat. Steven, Margot, and their daughter were going to move and they were going to move far away. The other side of the country sounded nice. Steven was going to move his family as far away from this man and his unborn brat as he could. Nothing in the world would change his mind about that.

---

"You're back." Margot said as she met Steven in the hallway. Steven, Clint, Maria, and Richard had all returned from the mission the next morning after taking several blueprints from the abandoned warehouse as well as notifying the DEA about the large supply of cocaine that was also sitting in the warehouse. There was a relieved expression on Margot's face as she stared at Steven and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. However, she knew she couldn't because of all the people in the hallway.

"I am." Steven replied softly as he smiled at her. He was extremely exhausted after coming back from the mission but also the meeting he just had with Fury about the blueprints of the weapon. Fury assured him that the Tesseract was locked up nice and safe in the same vault it had always been in. He also made a point in reassuring Steven that the old Hydra weapons that Shield had were also locked up. According to Fury, there was no way in hell that Salazar's weapon suppliers could build a weapon like the one in the blueprints. Steven felt a little relieved at Fury's reassurances but he wasn't that relieved. Ever since the night he saw a glimpse of the mythical Winter Soldier, it was seldom that Steven ever felt relieved. Steven wasn't even completely sure of what he saw that night but he didn't think he'd ever feel completely safe again.

"Having fun doing boring desk work?" Clint interjected as he interrupted Margot and Steven's moment. Margot playfully glared at her friend as Clint grinned down at her. Unlike Steven, Clint didn't hesitate to hug her in the crowded hallway although he was way more gentle with her than usual. Ever since Margot told him that she was pregnant, he treated her like she was glass. Even more so than Steven which was saying a lot. Clint pulled away from her to glance down at her concealed baby bump.

"How's little Margot doing anyways?" Clint asked her and Margot gave him a look.

"Be quiet! Someone might hear you!" Margot scolded and Clint just rolled his eyes.

"It's not like you're going to be able to hide it forever, Go." Clint told her. "Are you going to wait to tell Fury until you go into labor? No…wait. You should do that. I'd love to see the look on Fury's face." Margot glared at her friend.

"Just mind your own business." Margot muttered and Clint smirked at her. However, before he could respond the three of them were interrupted by Phil who was walking down the hall towards him. Margot flashed him a smile but the smile faded when she saw the serious look on his face.

"Agent Rogers...Agent Pierce, Fury wants to see you in his office." Phil told them in a business like tone. Margot, Steven, and Clint all shared a look before looking back at Phil.

"When? Did he say what for?" Margot asked in confusion.

"He wants to see you now." Phil said more firmly and it was clear to them that he was there to escort them to Fury's office. Margot swallowed hard because she realized that somehow Fury already knew about them. The serious look on Phil's face was enough to tell them that their secret was more than likely not a secret anymore.

"I guess I'll see you later." Margot said to Clint who barely nodded as he gave both her and Steven a worried look. Phil started walking in the opposite direction and Margot and Steven were left with no choice but to follow him. Margot had a really bad feeling about this.

The walk to Fury's office was silent as both her and Steven followed Phil. She was taken back by Phil's silence since usually he was quite chatty when it came to Steven Rogers. Now he was just silent which troubled Margot. Maybe Margot and Steven wouldn't even have to turn in their pink slip anyways. Maybe this was it. Fury was either going to murder or severely injure them. Hopefully he'd spare her since she was pregnant but unfortunately for Steven, he couldn't use that card.

When they finally reached Fury's office, Margot was left surprised by what she saw inside. Not only was Director Fury sitting at his desk inside his office but Rumlow was standing right beside him. Margot really didn't like the smug look on Rumlow's face either. She needed to be reminded why she had ever dated that asshole in the first place because she couldn't remember. Fury stared at his top Shield agent and deputy director with an unreadable look on his face. Margot felt uneasy about the whole situation while Steven looked as calm as ever. How was he that calm? Fury was probably going to skin them alive. Fury didn't speak for a couple minutes until he finally grew bored with staring and sighed tiredly.

"Coulson, close the door." Fury ordered and the balding Shield agent did as he was told. The Director then looked at Steven and Margot. Margot prepared herself for the worst. "Now it's been brought to my attention by Agent Rumlow that he witnessed a rather inappropriate encounter between the two of you. What he mistaken?" Margot glared at the dark eyed man. What a snitch. When did he ever even witness an encounter between her and Steven? Was he following them around like a little stalker? Didn't he have anything better to do with his time? He was the leader of the STRIKE team, after all. You would think he'd have a heavier work load.

Steven took a deep breath before he prepared himself to take responsibility for his actions. He had built up a lengthy and accomplished career at Shield, a career that he was proud of, but he was finally ready to let that go. This was just the end of one chapter of his life. He knew there would be many more chapters where Margot and their daughter were involved. Steven was ready to finally let go.

"Sir, I don't know what Agent Rumlow thought he saw." Steven finally said and Rumlow immediately glared at the older man.

"You're a liar, Rogers. I saw you and Pierce in the hallway-" Rumlow started to say but Fury interrupted him.

"Rumlow, I'll only tell you once to shut your damn mouth when your superior is talking." Fury snapped at Rumlow who immediately shut up. He might've been stupid enough to talk back to Steven but he wasn't stupid enough to talk back to Fury. Rumlow fell silent and Steven continued to speak.

"I wasn't finished, Sir." Steven told Fury, looking the director straight in the eyes. "I don't know what Rumlow thought he saw but I just want to be honest here when I say that Agent Pierce and I have been engaged in a romantic relationship for the past two years." There was silence in the room after Steven's confession. Margot blushed at Steven's confession. It made her slightly uncomfortable to have her and Steven's relationship be scrutinized by their boss. The funny part, however, was the fact that Phil seemed to be the only one in the room who looked remotely surprised. He probably initially thought Rumlow was trying to start trouble which wouldn't be unusual. Rumlow seemed smug as he waited for Fury to yell at them or murder them but the Shield director just stared at them.

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Rogers?" Fury asked suddenly and everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Sir?" Steven questioned and Fury raised his eyebrows.

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice one of my top agents and my deputy director sneaking around behind my back?" Fury asked rhetorically but Steven and Margot could only stare at him in surprise. "I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"Sir, this is against Shield's policy-" Rumlow started to say but Fury once again silenced him with a glare. Rumlow at least had the decency to look the tiniest bit embarrassed by his outburst.

"Rumlow get your ass out of here." Fury ordered and Rumlow almost seemed surprised that Fury was kicking him out. Margot wondered what he was expecting to happen. Did he think that Fury was going to promote him for this or something?

"But, Sir-" Rumlow started to say again but Fury once again interrupted him.

"Leave." Fury said in a final tone and Rumlow clenched his jaw, resembling something of a spoiled child that hadn't gotten his way. He headed for the door but made sure to give Margot and Steven a look of disdain as he passed by. The way his dark eyes fixed on Margot instantly creeped her out. There was something very sinister about the way he stared at her. Rumlow finally tore his gaze away from her as he walked out the door and Phil shut it behind him. Margot felt a bit relieved that he was gone but she was still worried about what Fury was going to do. She had no idea what was going through Fury's mind at the current moment.

"Director, if you knew all this time then why did you never say anything?" Margot asked Fury in an almost curious tone. She was kind of scared to know the answer but the curiosity was overwhelming. All these years she had been afraid that Fury would find out about them and murder them. And for what? Nothing.

"My only concern about a relationship within Shield is if it affects my agents' work. If I don't see a change then I could really give a shit less." Fury told them honestly before he sighed. "However, I was disappointed when Rumlow came to me about what he saw. I'm guessing what he saw was true. You do realize that I can't condone this anymore now that you've made your…relationship…a spectacle here at work."

"Sir, we weren't going to do this until next week but I think now's as good of a time as any." Steven told Fury before glancing at Margot who nodded in agreement. Steven then looked right back at Fury. "Agent Pierce and I would like to resign from our positions here at Shield." Both Fury and Phil had identical looks of surprise on their faces.

"Let's not do anything too drastic." Fury finally managed to say as he tried to maintain his composure. It wasn't very often that the Shield director was surprised by anything. "I was going to suggest moving Agent Pierce to a different department so you wouldn't be supervising her anymore. No one's said anything about resigning." Steven sighed.

"This is actually something Agent Pierce and I have been thinking about for a while." Steven replied and Fury didn't seem to understand what was going on. Neither did Phil as he gave Margot a questioning look. She refused to meet his gaze because this was more difficult than she thought it was going to be. She and Phil were friends but they weren't as close as she was with Clint. Phil had been at Shield since before she was even there and he had taken her under his wing when she started training as an agent. He was always nice to her.

"You're telling me that the both of you are resigning so you can what? Go vacationing in Fiji again?" Fury questioned and Margot really wondered if there anything this man didn't know. "Don't give me that look. I keep tabs on all my agents. Please tell me that I'm not about to lose my deputy director and one of my best agents because you two wanna go sip some fruity drink on a sandy beach and watch the sunset…because I really don't have time for that shit." Margot swallowed hard as she tried to muster what courage she had left in order to finally be blunt and honest with Fury. It couldn't get any worse from here.

"Actually, Sir…I'm pregnant." Margot finally confessed and you could hear a pin drop in the room. It was completely silent. Fury looked more shocked than she had ever seen him be in her entire career at Shield. Phil's jaw had dropped while Steven just had a stoic expression on his face as he prepared himself for what Fury would say next. It looked like today was a day of surprises and Fury really didn't like surprises.

"Excuse me?" Fury said as if he thought he might've heard Margot wrong but the look on her face told him otherwise. She rested her green eyes on his face as she walked closer to his desk.

"I'm pregnant…that's why I took desk duty and that's why we want to resign. It's nothing against you or the agency, sir." Margot said sincerely. "I actually enjoyed working here all these years. I've never felt like I belonged anywhere else more than here but it's time for me to move on. I don't want to be a Shield agent forever."

"Fuck." Fury cursed as he was still trying to process this information. It was kind of a lot to take in. "You two do realize what kind of position you're putting me in here." Steven managed to give not only his boss, but colleague and friend, an apologetic look.

"I know, Nick." Steven said softly. "I'm sorry but this was inevitable." Fury looked between Margot and Steven before sighing heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"You don't have to leave." Fury finally said. "I'll have to assign one of you to desk duty permanently but neither one of you has to resign. Lots of Shield agents have children here. It's not unheard of."

"Nick, you know why that's just not possible for us." Steven told him seriously and Fury stared back at him. "Margot and I already have a target painted on our backs because of our occupations. The fact that this child will have my father's super soldier serum in her veins is just adding fuel to the fire." Fury was taken back a bit by the information that not only his longtime friend and colleague was having a child but a daughter at that. It only made the whole situation even more real.

"You can't know that she'll have the same abilities as you or your father, Steven. Maybe she won't." Fury told him but Steven just shook his head. His and Margot's minds were already made up.

"That's a risk I'm not willing to take." Steven responded.

"We could protect you. That's what your mother did with you and you're still alive." Fury tried to tell him but Steven wasn't having it.

"It's not good enough." Steven said before glancing over at Margot who gave him a small reassuring smile before nodding. Steven glanced back at Fury. "We're resigning and that's final. I want a peaceful and quiet life for our daughter. She can't have that with two Shield agents for parents."

"I just didn't expect to lose two of my best agents when Rumlow walked in here today." Fury said despite understanding why Margot and Steven were quitting. He had to admit that Steven and Margot were thinking about this from a logical position. Any kid related to Captain America would have a target on their back for the rest of their life. He knew that Steven still had a target on his back even though he was practically middle aged now.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Steven told him and Fury nodded. It looked like he wouldn't be able to change Steven's mind this time. Steven and Margot were bound and determined. Fury sighed.

"I understand although I wish it didn't have to be this way." Fury told them.

"Me too." Steven replied.

"You two want to leave soon then?" Fury inquired and both Steven and Margot nodded.

"Two weeks." Steven told him honestly. "Then we'll head somewhere else…somewhere quiet and away from everything and everyone." Fury nodded.

"I might be able to help you with that." Fury said, wanting to be helpful because Steven wasn't just his colleague but a long-time friend. "I can help you with anything you need. I'll make sure to keep Agent Pierce's pregnancy off the books." Steven smiled while Margot just looked relieved.

"Thank you, Nick." Steven said and Fury just shook his head.

"Don't mention it." Fury told him before giving them a serious look. "Now get the hell out of my office. I have a shit ton of paperwork to do." Steven and Margot smiled at the director in amusement and gave him a nod before they started to leave. It seemed like the confrontation went better than they imagined. Steven led the way as they walked towards the door and he even managed to flash a smile at Phil on the way out as the agent held the door open for them. Margot, however, flashed him an even bigger smile as her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness. She felt a lot of relief after the talk with Fury. She felt like her and Steven might finally be able to get on with their lives.

"Congrats." Phil said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. Margot beamed at him before leaning over and giving him a hug. Phil was taken by surprise but quickly returned the hug before they parted.

"Thank you, Phil." Margot told him and with that the redhead followed Steven out of the office. There was a wave of silence that came over them as they walked down the hall. Margot couldn't explain what she was feeling but she knew it was bliss. It no longer felt like she and Steven were living a lie. Just when she was about to sigh in content, Steven suddenly stopped and pulled her aside. Margot gave him a questioning look before he leaned down to kiss her. She closed her eyes in content at the chaste kiss before Steven pulled away. Margot smiled at him as she opened her eyes again.

"At least there's no more hiding." She told Steven and he returned her smile.

"No more hiding." He repeated and suddenly a troubled look came over his face. Margot gave him a look of concern.

"What is it?" She asked and Steven just shook his head.

"I was just thinking." Steven said and Margot smirked at him.

"Oh, no." She said and Steven rolled his eyes at her before responding.

"No, I was just thinking about what we should do now. We're finally retiring and the baby's four and a half months away. We should probably discuss what's going to happen next." Steven told her and Margot nodded in agreement.

"You're right. I've been thinking a lot about that too lately." Margot confessed. "I mean, where should we move? Upstate New York? Maybe New Jersey? On second thought, no. I don't like New Jersey." Steven just chuckled.

"No, I wasn't talking about moving. I mean, we should probably make a decision on that very soon but I meant something along the lines of what's next for us." Steven tried to explain but Margot still looked confused. He just sighed because he knew he was bad at these kinds of things. "I love you more than I've ever loved any other woman in my life."

"Other than your mother, of course." Margot added and Steven just smiled.

"Margot, believe me when I say that there's no one else for me out there. You're the only one and I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't understand why you'd want anything to do with me but somehow you do and I'll be forever grateful." Steven declared before continuing. "You're also the mother of my child and…hopefully my wife too." Margot stared at Steven in shock. A part of her thought she might've heard him wrong but the sincere look on his face told her otherwise. He looked at her almost adoringly and Margot could hardly believe it.

"You want to get married?" Margot asked breathlessly and Steven nodded.

"If you want to and I hope you do." Steven told her and Margot looked around the now nearly empty corridor.

"Are you seriously proposing to me at Headquarters?" Margot asked and Steven shrugged.

"It's where we met, after all." Steven replied and Margot gave him an amused look.

"It's not exactly the most romantic place in the world. When I was a little girl I always envisioned my boyfriend proposing to me on top of the Eiffel tower. There were lots of fireworks, doves, and violins involved too." Margot told him and Steven suddenly looked worried.

"Well, I don't know about fireworks, doves, and violins but we could go to the Empire State Building if you want." Steven said, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. Margot just laughed at the look on his face.

"Rogers, I was just messing with you. I don't care where you propose." She said and Steven looked slightly relieved.

"So that's a yes then?" Steven asked her and Margot raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't even technically asked me. I don't want anything fancy but I still want an actual proposal." Margot told him with a teasing smile and Steven playfully glared at her.

"Why do you have to make everything so hard, Pierce?" Steven questioned and Margot just shrugged.

"Just propose to me, Rogers." Margot told him and Steven grumbled as he got down on one knee. Thankfully it was fairly late at Shield so there wasn't a lot of people around to witness Steven Rogers getting down on one knee. He supposed it wouldn't matter anyways since he and Margot were leaving Shield.

"Margot Stephanie Pierce, will you marry me?" He asked and Margot stared down at his empty hand.

"No ring?" She questioned and Steven sighed.

"I thought we could go pick one out." He told her and Margot smirked at him.

"I'm going to the pick the biggest, most expensive ring then." Margot told him but Steven didn't look bothered.

"That's fine." Steven told her because he honestly didn't care how expensive the ring was. As long as she would marry him. It was about time they got married anyways. Two years was long enough. Margot frowned at how he didn't protest against that.

"You don't have to get me an expensive ring. I'd be happy with one from a bubblegum machine." Margot told him and Steven gave her a doubtful look.

"If I gave you a ring from a bubblegum machine then I'm probably going to die before little Margaret's born. You'll murder me." Steven told her and Margot gave him a look of distaste.

"Margaret? Margaret's an old lady's name. We're not naming our child Margaret." Margot told him, not even denying the fact that she'd probably kill him if he got her a ring from a bubblegum machine. Steven gave her a slightly offended look.

"Margaret's my mother's name." Steven said and Margot sighed.

"Look, I love your mom but Margaret's an old lady's name and I'm not going to have our kid be made fun of in school for having an old lady's name." Margot said seriously.

"Then we'll name her Edith…after your mother." Steven told her and Margot groaned in frustration.

"Edith's an old lady's name too." Margot told him and Steven sighed.

"We'll figure it out later then. Are you saying yes…because I'm kind of getting tired of kneeling." Steven said and Margot just smiled brightly at him.

"Of course I'm going to say yes. I would love to be your wife, Steven." Margot told him in affectionate tone as Steven grinned at her excitedly before getting up from the ground and sweeping Margot into his arms. Margot laughed as Steven held her close to him. She could hardly believe this was happening. Everything was falling right into place between the baby and them getting married. It looked like she would finally have the life she always wanted. It would probably be more boring than what Shield could offer her but Margot didn't care. She wanted to be boring and she swore on her life that she and Steven would never end up like her parents. They would be so much happier and their baby would have a happy childhood too.

"So we're getting married then?" Margot said as she pulled away from Steven so she could look up at him. "Now that we've made that decision and finally telling Fury the news, what's next for us? Where are going to live? Where are we going to raise the baby? I know it's a lot to consider but we really need to discuss this soon. I'm almost five months along and if we're going to move somewhere else then it has to happen now." Steven nodded because he had been thinking a lot lately about where they were going to raise the baby.

"I know. I've been thinking about it quite a bit too and I think we should move somewhere far away from New York. I want to raise our daughter somewhere quiet and small. I don't want to raise her in the city like we were raised." Steven told her honestly and Margot nodded.

"I think you're right. I don't want her to grow up in all the crowds and noise like us. She'll be better off somewhere quiet with lots of space to run around in." Margot replied as she smiled at the thought of their daughter running around on acres upon acres of land. It was a pleasant idea. "When I was a little girl I always dreamed of living on a farm. The nanny took me to a petting zoo once when my mom was ill and I remember seeing all the little pygmy goats and wondering what it must be like to be surrounded by animals. I dreamed of waking up and feeding all the little animals and staying outside until the sun went down. I loved animals."

Steven smiled at her as he tried to imagine the child version of Margot who dreamed of a life much simpler and quieter than the one she had. He had truthfully never minded living in the city as a child but as he grew older, he grew more fond of the quietness that a city couldn't offer. He cherished the times Shield sent him on missions to the quiet country side of France or the small coastal towns of Italy. Anywhere that didn't have the constant chatter and noise that New York or Los Angeles had to offer.

"We'll live on a farm then. Somewhere in the South maybe? Somewhere warm and sunny with lots of land but hardly any people. Does that sound good to you?" Steven inquired and Margot nodded.

"That sounds perfect." Margot said softly and Steven then glanced down at Margot's baby bump. He gave the baby bump a fond look as he placed his hand over Margot's stomach.

"What about you, little one?" Steven asked their unborn daughter. "Do you want to live on a farm with all the little goats and chickens to feed? Does that sound nice to you?" A kick was the only answer Steven needed from their daughter. Steven and Margot shared a smile with each other before they decided to finally vacate Headquarters. They discussed the process of moving out as Steven took Margot to the first jewelry store they could find so that he could finally buy her that ring. He would buy an engagement ring and wedding bands from Tiffany and Co. as it would happen. Margot claimed to not want such an expensive engagement ring but deep down she was flattered. Steven was just happy that she was happy.

---

Margot and Steven eloped a week later at city hall with Steven's mother and Clint serving as the witnesses. Phil and Fury managed to make it to city hall although Fury made sure to watch the proceedings from far in the back so he would remain unseen. Margot didn't expect anything less of Fury. They had invited Tony to the elopement but unfortunately the billionaire hadn't been able to make it due to a business engagement which was probably just Tony vacationing at the Playboy mansion. Margot didn't really want him there anyways. She was sure he'd screw it up with some sarcastic comment. Tony instead sent his friend Rhodey in his place who happened to also be a friend of Steven's. Margot thought the man was weirdly nice for being a friend of Tony Stark. Steven's half-brother managed to come although his half-sister hadn't been able to make it since she still lived in England. The only other person that was missing was Margot's father who Margot hadn't even bothered inviting. At this point she didn't think she even wanted him in her life. He had proven to her that there was no way that they could ever salvage their relationship…if there was even one to begin with.

Margot was no longer Margot Pierce but Margot Rogers instead and the funny thing was that she was completely okay with that. She liked being Margot Rogers funnily enough. It was something that made her even more of a stranger to her father and Margot liked that. It was like she was finally her own person and Margot always felt that way with Steven. He never made her be someone she wasn't and she was thankful for that. A few days after the elopement, Margot was packing up some of the smaller things in her and Steven's apartment while Steven was retrieving a moving truck. There wasn't a lot that they were taking with them. Mostly more personal items and some things from the kitchen. Steven was having the house, they had just purchased, furnished so everything would be good to go when they arrived at their new home.

There was some of the wedding gifts they had received too although everyone mostly just purchased baby gifts for them that both her and Steven appreciated. Well, except for Tony, that is. Instead of buying the baby a present, Tony just sent her and Steven a box full of sex toys which she was sure he thought was a very funny joke. Margot swore she was going to get him back for that someday. She honestly didn't know why Steven put up with his antics that much. The eccentric billionaire was one of the most smug and infuriating people she had ever met in her life.

"You're seriously moving to Oklahoma?" Clint asked Margot as he helped her pack. He had a look of disbelief on his face as Margot shrugged although she was slightly worried. Things had been a bit tense between her and Clint ever since she told him that she was moving across the country with Steven before the baby was born. She had informed Clint right after the small reception she and Steven hosted. The archer had been quiet at first but it was starting to become clear to Margot that he might not have been as accepting of the fact that she was moving.

"Yes, Clint. We already discussed this last week." Margot told him but Clint just shook his head.

"I just can't understand this, Go." Clint said as he tried to wrap his head around why Margot suddenly felt the need to leave her life behind to go live a domesticated life with Rogers. "Why do you have to move and to move to Oklahoma of all places?" Margot sighed.

"I already told you, Clint." Margot said tiredly as she tried to explain herself to Clint yet again. "We want to give our daughter a better life than what we had for ourselves."

"What's wrong with New York anyways?" Clint questioned as he tried to give her a reason to stay. "I was born in a small and boring town and I can tell you that it did no wonders for my brother and I. My parents still died in a car accident no thanks to my drunk of a father and my brother and I still dropped out of high school to join the circus. Small town or not, we were still screw ups." Margot gave him a sympathetic look.

"Clint, I know and I'm sorry but I think this can be good for us. Good for our daughter. I think it will be safer for her if she lives there than if she lives in New York. We can keep a better eye on her if we live somewhere small and she can even be able to go to school with other children there." Margot told him seriously. "We just don't want her to have Steven's childhood. I don't want her to have to be homeschooled just so that I can be sure she won't ever be kidnapped. If we live somewhere quiet and small then she can be safer." Clint crossed his arms as he stared back at her.

"Well, I looked up the teen pregnancy rate in Oklahoma and it's the second highest in the country. You know why, Margot?" Clint said and Margot rolled her eyes but looked back at her friend.

"No. Why?" She asked, deciding to humor him.

"It's because teenagers get bored in small towns since there's nothing else to do. So they start having sex…unprotected sex. This means that your daughter probably has a good chance at getting knocked up by some high school drop-out loser…a guy that probably won't be much different than me. Imagine that, Margot. Your daughter and some idiot like me having a baby together. Does that sound like the ideal life you want for her?" Margot just shrugged.

"If, and I mean if, our daughter becomes interested in having sex at that age then I like to think that she would come to me like I went to my mother when I became interested in having sex. I'd sit her down and we'd have a long talk about sex and what it means…Then I'd get her birth control pills and make sure she's safe in every way." Margot explained calmly. "I'd like to think she would trust me enough and not feel afraid to come and talk to me." Clint scoffed in disbelief.

"You honestly think that Rogers Jr. would be as cool of a parent as that…as understanding?" Clint questioned doubtfully and Margot glared at her friend.

"Steven's understanding and cool. I'm pretty sure he used to be a hippie so that defeats your argument." Margot argued and Clint groaned in frustration.

"That's not my point! I'm just saying that your daughter could have just as happy of a life here as anywhere. Maybe even better because you wouldn't be moving away from everyone." Clint tried to reason but it was clear Margot had already made up her mind about this this.

"It's not safe, Clint. With who she is, who her father is, it's just not safe for her here." Margot told him and a defeated look came across Clint's face.

"So that's it then?" He questioned as he stared back at her. A part of Margot felt guilty but she knew this was the right decision. "You're just going to pack up and leave? You're going to leave all your friends behind to run off into the sunset with Rogers."

"Just think about it, Clint. What kind of parents could Steven and I be to our daughter as Shield agents. Someday when you have your own kids, you'll understand that. You'll want to keep them safe even if that means sacrificing everything and everyone else." Margot explained to Clint but he wasn't having any of it.

"You're being selfish." Clint spat and Margot gave him a look of disbelief.

"Excuse me?" She questioned.

"You're being selfish. You're taking off with Rogers without thinking of how it will impact everyone else you leave behind." Clint told her and Margot shook her head.

"When you start to have children you'll understand that your children will always take priority over everything else." Margot informed him but Clint just glared at her.

"What about me, huh? What happened to sticking together?" Clint questioned and Margot just stared back at him. "I thought I was just going to lose you as a partner. I never thought I'd be losing my best friend too. I don't have anyone else…you're all I have left, Go. Please don't leave."

He was clearly pleading with her not to leave and Margot was tempted to stay. She had never seen Clint like this before. He was usually upbeat and cheerful like her. However, she should've known he'd react to her leaving like this. Clint didn't have a large group of friends outside her and Phil. Not to mention his whole family was dead. When he first came to Shield Clint was just a lost and lonely boy. Margot had taken him under her wing and they had become close in the process. He reminded her of her younger brother in a lot of ways which sounded silly since Bobby was still a baby when he died but Clint always filled her with wonder. She wondered if Bobby would've been as silly and goofy as Clint if he had lived. She wondered if her relationship with Clint was what her relationship with Bobby was supposed to be like. Margot supposed she'd never know but she always thought of Clint like a little brother. The reason she allowed them to become so close like that was because she thought she'd never have to leave. If there was any hard part about this whole thing then it was finding the courage within herself to finally say goodbye to Clint. The only person she wished that she didn't have to say goodbye to.

"I'm sorry, Clint, but this is the way it has to be. This is what happens when people get old and start families. They move on with their lives." Margot said as she tried to break it to him but there was no easy way to say this. "You're my best friend too but this is what's best for my daughter so I have to go. I'd take you with me if I could but you have a life here. You have your work at Shield and I know how important that is to you. You'll get another partner someday and you'll be just fine."

"But you're my family, Margot. I can't have another partner…not like you. Please don't do this." Clint practically begged and Margot felt tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him.

"You can visit anytime you want. It might even be nice for you. You're always saying how you want a vacation and I think Oklahoma would be good for you. Besides…you can be an uncle and everything. You'd make a great uncle." Margot tried to reassure him but she could tell she was only hurting Clint more. "You can still call whenever you want. We can even talk every single day."

However, Margot's promises fell on deaf ears as Clint retreated back into himself. He realized then that Margot was leaving and there was nothing he could say or do that would convince her otherwise. A part of him had always thought Margot would be just within arm's reach but that was no longer the case. Clint never had romantic feelings for the redhead but she was a partner, best friend, and sister combined all into one person. She was the only family he had left in this world and he didn't know if he could go on without her nearby. It was sad but Margot was one of the few things that got him up in the morning but everything was different now. Now it just felt like she was abandoning him like everyone else had abandoned him. Clint sneered at the pregnant woman.

"You know what? Don't even bother." Clint said bitterly and Margot gave him a hurt look.

"Clint…" She trailed off but he just shook his head furiously as he glared at her.

"No, I see that you have your new family now so I'll just leave. I know where I'm not wanted." Clint said and Margot shook her head, trying to deny what he was saying but the door to the half empty apartment opened which interrupted them. Steven came walking into the apartment with a happy smile on his face.

"I parked the moving truck outside so all we have to do is finish packing and load everything up on the truck." Steven said and Clint finally tore his gaze away from Margot as he turned away from her to leave. Steven's smile faded as he sensed the tension in the room. Clint brushed by him without saying a word. The archer just stormed out of the apartment with a less than pleasant look on his face. Margot watched him go worriedly. Steven gave her a look of concern as he walked over to her, unaware of the fight that just happened.

"What's going on, Margot?" He asked his wife. A part of him worried that something was wrong with the baby but he was honestly always worried about that. However, he could tell this was something very different. She just shook her head.

"Clint's angry with me." Margot said as she sniffled. She wasn't sure if it was the hormones or Clint that was making her so emotional. Steven gave her a confused look.

"Did he say why?" Steven questioned and Margot nodded.

"He's mad because I'm moving away. He thinks I'm abandoning him. I never meant to leave him. I only want to keep the baby safe." Margot said quietly as a couple tears fell from her green eyes. "I never wanted to hurt him." Steven shook his head as he wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her close to him.

"Clint's a grown man. He'll get over it soon enough." Steven said as he tried to reassure her but Margot wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, Steven. He seemed really mad." Margot told Steven as she thought back to the angry and hurt look on Clint's face right before he left. "I've never seen him that mad at me before."

"I'm sure Clint will realize how ridiculous he's acting and he'll be visiting us in Oklahoma in no time. He'll probably be annoying the shit out of me and then we'll wish he was still mad at us so he'll leave us alone." Steven told her and Margot managed to crack a smile at that. Maybe Steven was right. Clint couldn't be mad at her forever, right? He'd soon see why she had to leave New York. He'd understand why New York was too dangerous for her daughter and he'd come right back to her. Margot hoped so because she thought Clint would make a terrific uncle.

"I guess you're right. Clint's not really one to hold a grudge but I just wish I wouldn't have to leave on such bad terms." Margot replied and Steven just shrugged.

"I'm sure he'll call you once we've been in Oklahoma for a couple days. Clint's going to be just fine." Steven said, sounding quite sure of himself and he sounded so confident about it that even Margot believed him. "Let's finish packing and maybe we can order a pizza. Are you still having those weird cravings?" Margot grinned at him, momentarily forgetting about the fight between herself and her best friend.

"Of course. I want every single topping they have on that pizza. I expect nothing less." Margot told her husband and Steven just shook his head in amusement.

"Right. I'll just order myself a normal person pizza and you can have the crazy person one." Steven said as he reached for the phone. Margot laughed as she playfully hit Steven on the shoulder and older man chuckled at her weak attempt in hurting him.

All thoughts about Clint were currently forgotten as they found themselves back in their own little world…their own little bubble. Little did Margot know that her and Clint's argument would be the last time she ever spoke to Clint. Not for a lack of trying as she would spend the upcoming years trying to get into contact with the archer but only for Clint to ignore all her calls. He'd come to regret his actions years later when he would finally be reunited with Margot as he stood over her grave at her and her family's funeral. He would even feel more guilty as he quietly watched her daughter from afar in the tower, never finding it within himself to hold a conversation longer than two minutes with Margot's daughter. He'd avoid her at all costs because she was a constant reminder of the hurt he caused Margot. Margot and Emma didn't look much alike but Emma's constant ravings about a new band or singer she liked, reminded Clint Barton of the days Margot Pierce would talk endlessly about Bonnie Tyler or Blondie. Emma Rogers served as a painful reminder to Clint that he royally screwed up and he would never get the chance to fix it.

It was just too late.