Man has it been one crazy week! I transferred colleges and had so many things going on with family. I'm sorry for the wait but I'm happy I got it out now rather than later. School will be starting soon, which means updates won't be coming as often. I promise I'll try and get them up as quickly as I can. This chapter is mostly Max's POV, but there's some Steve's POV at the end. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the follows/favorites/reviews. They bring me such happiness.

On we go...

Disclaimer: Marvel is not mine.


The Violinist

Chapter 5:

They arrived at the apartment not ten minutes after leaving the music studio. It was located in the heart of the historic district of D.C., something Max was sure Fury had done to make Steve a little more comfortable. Compared to the rest of the city, it was quieter here. She had a feeling they would be happy out here, or as happy as two people who were practically strangers could be.

Fury stood on the sidewalk waiting patiently for them. He didn't say a word, simply turning and walking up the steps and into the building. Max followed behind, her head lowered to avoid looking her stepfather in the eye. Steve kept close to her but made sure not to touch her.

After climbing four flights of stairs and walking to the end of the hallway, they entered the apartment. Her first was that it was small, especially for two adults and a baby.

"There's a small balcony off the living room, the kitchen is to the left. Two bedrooms down the hall along with one and a half bathrooms," Fury told them, spinning in a slow circle showing where everything was at. "Should be enough space for you two, don't you think."

Despite Max's previous thoughts, she nodded to appease Fury. She could tell from the moment they pulled up outside that he was not in a good mood. Who could blame him, though? His daughter had a drunken one-night stand with Captain America and ended up pregnant as a result.

"Obviously once the kid arrives one of the bedrooms will have to be a nursery. Until then, though, Max can sleep in there. That leaves the master to you, Cap.," he said.

"So then she moves into my room when the baby's here I'm assuming?" Steve asked, a hint of snark lacing his words.

Fury shot him a glare so severe that even Natasha would have backed down from it. Max glanced between the two powerful men, waiting for Steve to surrender. He stood tall and stared back at Fury unapologetically.

The director turned towards her, the glare in his eyes only lessening slightly. "I'm sorry, I was under the impression you were going to tell him everything but, from the way he's acting, it appears that you haven't."

"Oh, she told me everything, alright," Steve answered for her.

"Well then let me tell you this: I am her father and, as her only parent left in this world, I will stop at nothing to protect her, even from someone as seemingly good-natured as yourself. You givin' me lip is only going to make things worse for you, Captain."

The two men stared intensely at each other, neither one showing any signs of breaking the connection.

In an attempt to ease the rising tension in the room, Max broke her silence, "So…umm… Our stuff is here, rights?"

Fury's focus shifted to her with Steve's following a second later. "Yes, I had Natasha pack your things after you left last night. She and a few other agents brought yours, as well as Captain Roger's, things here early this morning. It's all tucked away in your rooms."

She nodded and lowered her head again, tangling and untangling her hands as a nervous habit.

Checking his phone, the director said, "I have to leave. We're launching the Lemurian Star shortly and there are some last minute details I have to attend to." He turned towards Max. "If you need anything, let me know."

Fury left them standing in the middle of the living room. An awkward silence settled over them and Max didn't know what to do with herself. Steve glanced around appearing almost as lost as she was at the moment.

"Alright, well…I'm going to take a shower," he announced and turned to walk down the hallway before she could respond.

Max stayed there, her fingers twitching with a need to do something. Exhaustion weighed down on her but she didn't want to spend the entire day sleeping. She spun and headed into the kitchen deciding to make brunch for the two of them.

Three of us, she corrected herself, a shiver going down her spine. Max kept forgetting at times that she had a tiny human growing inside her. It would hit her and take her breath away at the strangest of times. Instead of letting herself completely freak out, she put threw all of her focus into making food. The craving for French toast overpowered her so she set to making that first. After she scrambled some eggs and placed everything on the dining table.

Just as she sat down to eat Steve walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. Steam rose off of his glistening skin and Max tried as hard as she could not to stare. It was a miracle he didn't notice her openly gaping at him while he dried his hair with another towel as he entered his room. She wished more than anything in that instance that she remembered their night together.

Max dug into her plate of food. Steve emerged fully clothed a few minutes later and followed the smell of food to the table.

"I made brunch if you're hungry," she told him, not looking up from her plate.

He smiled and said, "I see you made more than enough to feed an army."

"It's common knowledge that feeding you is like feeding an army."

A hearty bout of laughter erupted from him and he sat down across from her, immediately shoveling eggs and French toast onto his plate. They ate quietly for a few minutes when Max's phone suddenly chimed.

She glanced at the light-up screen and went white as a ghost. Steve noticed when he looked up and asked in a semi-panic, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really," she replied, shaking her head. "Ummm…Just a new addition to my schedule tomorrow. Apparently Fury took it upon himself to make an appointment for me to see S.H.I.L.D.'s obstetrician."

Her eyes found his and he had the same sickly pallor crossed his skin. He coughed and recomposed himself quickly. "I—uhhh didn't think it would be so soon."

"Me either."

"Do I have to—I mean, do you want me to go with you?"

She read something on her phone and then answered, "It says it's just blood work and filling out the papers. I don't see why you would have to go, but you can…if you want."

"I don't want to impose," he said, his polite nature coming through.

Max dropped her gaze. "Steve, it's your baby too. If you want to go to the appointment, you're more than welcome to join me."

Watching through her eyelashes, Max saw a small smile grace the Super Soldier's lips. Her heart melted a little at the sight. He was so beautiful when he smiled and she loved being the one to make him do so.


It was late and Max knew she should be sleeping. Her new bed was just making it impossible to fall in unconsciousness. She hated being in new places; it always gave her troubles getting some rest. She remembered her first night in D.C. when Fury brought her here after her mother had died. A few nights passed with no sleep until her body finally got used to its new location and succumb to it.

Hoping that watching some TV would make her more tired, Max ventured out to the living room. She stopped as she was about to round the corner into the room when she caught sight of Steve passed out on the couch. He was sitting upright with his head fallen back on the top of the cushion.

She carefully padded over to the recliner and sat down. Flipping through the channels, she chose to watch some Gilligan's Island reruns. She turned the volume enough so she could just barely hear it and got comfortable.

Maybe rocking a little will help me fall asleep, she thought.

Using her toes to push off the floor and get a good rock going, she finally felt a little drowsier.

"Why are you up?"

Max nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Steve speak. "Jesus!"

"Nope just me," he laughed. "Can't you sleep?"

She shook her head and explained, "I thought watching some TV would help me fall asleep. Why are you out here?"

"Bed's too comfy for my liking."

Max nodded. She had heard countless agents say they prefer sleeping on hard surfaces after being away on missions in remote places for so long. In fact, most of the rooms at the headquarters came with a fold-out cot stored under the regular bed.

Just when she was about to say something, an interesting commercial came on the television. It advertised the Smithsonian Museum's newest exhibit- Captain America: The First Avenger. She glanced over to see Steve's reaction. He wasn't paying it any attention and, instead, had his laid back against the cushion again.

"Did you know they were doing that?" she questioned.

"They contacted me a few months ago with the idea. I told them to do whatever they wanted to do and S.H.I.E.L.D. handled the rest," he answered without opening his eyes.

"It's your history. Don't you want to at least make sure they get everything right?"

"I'm not going to go to the exhibit so it doesn't matter to me what they do with it."

"Steve...," she started. "I'm sorry I woke you up," she apologized, changing the subject.

"Wasn't you really. The TV was a little loud."

She looked at him confused.

"Enhanced—," he began.

It clicked and she blurted out, "Oh, right! Enhanced hearing. Sorry." They smiled at each other. "Well, I guess I'll let you go back to sleep."

She stood and started walking away when he said, "You can sleep in my bed…if you think it might help."

Turning back she replied, "Thanks. I might do that if I can't fall asleep soon."


Steve heard her door shut and fell back against the couch. He had been so close to telling her she could share the couch with him. That would have gone over well.

He watched a few episodes of Gilligan's Island before falling back asleep.

The sun lit up the living room in the morning. Steve looked around the room and frowned. Some noise had woken him up—a beeping of some sort.

He got up and wandered towards where it was originating from and found himself standing in Max's bedroom. Her phone beeped and buzzed on her nightstand but Max was nowhere to be found. Going back into the hallway, Steve checked the bathroom before cracking open his own bedroom door.

Inside, lying curled up on her side under a mountain of blankets, was Max. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her sleep for a few minutes. Glancing at his watch he saw it was only seven-thirty.

I'll let her sleep a little while longer before waking her up for the appointment, he told himself. His stomach did a flip-flop at the thought of her sleeping in his bed. He liked her, but the baby thing complicated everything. He didn't want to add to her load and a relationship, or even the simple confession of feelings, could weigh her down. For right now he thought it best to focus on the baby and get used to living with one another. Maybe the other stuff could fall into place later on.


That's chapter 5, folks! Hope everyone is liking it so far. I'm so close to starting TWS plot that I'm going to include in this story. Sorry for any spelling/grammar errors.

If you guys haven't yet, you should totally check out my other Captain America fanfic For Your Protection. Thank you all so much for reading! Until next time! -KAITi