Kayla waited expectantly as seven turned to eight and eight began approaching nine. She woke up, stretched, then made breakfast for James and Sarah. Kayla expected Tessa would come over before heading over to the Brewhouse to open it at nine, but as nine o'clock came and went, Tessa was nowhere to be seen.

"Mom, I'm hungry!" James yelped from his chair at the table. Sarah stood expectantly at the base of her highchair- still too small to sit in a regular chair and reach the table at three years old. James smashed his hand on the table and caused it to shake as he groaned again, "Breakfast!"

"You aren't getting anything if you're going to act like that. Sit up, stop banging the table." Kayla chastised as she brought over the plate of pancakes to serve to her kids. "You want sausage or bacon?"

"Both!" James responded happily, his tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog as he bopped up and down impatiently, ready to eat. He ate like his father, four times more than the average four-year-old. Between the three of them, they'd eat the family out of house and home. Luckily, Sarah didn't eat much at all, even if Kayla and Steve tried to bulk her tiny frame up a bit.

Kayla served James a small pile of pancakes before setting down the plate and lifting Sarah into her chair. "What would you like, darling?" Kayla asked gently, running her hand through Sarah's thin white hair.

"Half a pancake please." Sarah recited with a small smile. "And a piece of bacon."

"Just one?"

"It'll leave more for James," Sarah responded, looking over to her older brother who scarfed the food into his mouth like he'd never eat again. His chubby cheeks were filled with pancakes and sausage as Kayla sighed, looking back at her daughter.

"One whole pancake and a piece of bacon. You have to eat." Kayla dished up the food onto Sarah's plate and she looked at it like it would make her sick, which wasn't out of the realm of possibility, but Sarah's doctors were very adamant that the girl eats to keep up her strength and help with the medications she took.

James looked up at Kayla through a mouthful of food, having devoured the four pancakes in a matter of moments, "Where's Dad?"

"Sleeping in. It's his weekend. And he didn't sleep well last night." Kayla answered softly. She knew Steve had laid awake in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling and wringing his hands together. Kayla knew this because she too laid awake for hours, occasionally turning her head to see her husband's tight scowl as his eyes drew circles on the ceiling in the darkness.

"I miss Daddy." Sarah whined, sticking out her rosy pink lip to pout. James just shrugged and reached across the table as far as his chubby little arm could stretch to grab another piece of sausage and shove it into his mouth while his mom wasn't looking. Sarah noticed but didn't say anything, knowing the ramifications of her betrayal would come back to haunt her if she tattled on her older brother. It was something she learned young and would keep in mind the rest of her life.

Kayla looked over her shoulder at her son, seeing him chewing furiously to hide the evidence. "You took another one, didn't you? No more. You're done. Sarah, eat your pancake." Kayla wiped her batter covered hands on her black apron that hid the sky blue button up dress she wore underneath. Her long auburn hair was pulled up into a bun on top of her head, but a stray strand fell by her cheek, making her look more disheveled than she would have liked.

"Good morning, good morning, good morning!" Steve greeted his family as he bounded down the stairs, already dressed and ready for the day. Kayla leaned into the kiss he placed on her cheek without looking as she grabbed an empty plate for Steve, handing it off effortlessly as he pulled out the chair between James and Sarah.

"You slept so long." James teased, poking his chunky finger against his father's ribs with a laugh. Steve turned to his son and began to tickle the boy, causing him to laugh louder.

"And you didn't sleep long enough," Steve replied as Kayla plopped a stack of seven pancakes onto her husband's plate. She smirked and tried shoving the stray hair behind her ear, trying to push back the feeling of dread that hung in her chest. Schmidt was emerging from the hole he'd been hiding in. She didn't want to worry about it, but she did. Kayla had too much to lose.

Steve stabbed his fork into the stack of pancakes and shoveled them into his mouth, chewing loudly as James laughed, grabbing toward the bacon and sausage again. Steve grabbed a piece of bacon and handed it to James. Kayla side-eyed her husband, but he just smirked back at her as he swallowed the food. Kayla finally pulled out her own chair to the left of Sarah's high chair and took a seat, serving herself the last three pancakes and a piece of bacon before her husband and son could steal it. "Tessa never came over."

"No? Maybe she had a late night and slept in. We can head to the Brewhouse after breakfast." Steve suggested as he swallowed another heap of pancakes. "Did you make coffee?"

"Yes. But it's already gone, sleepyhead." Kayla teased, crossing her leg over her knee as her dress fell to the side. "You finished? You're being a bad example for your son." Kayla sneered, gesturing to the smiling toddler who had syrup smeared across his face.

"I'll get him cleaned up," Steve grumbled and stood, offering James his hand to lead him upstairs to get ready. Once Steve and James were gone, Kayla cut through the pancakes and took a bite for herself, her green eyes watching Sarah intently.

"You only took a few bites," Kayla observed, poking at Sarah's barely eaten breakfast with her own fork. "Please eat a little more."

"I'm not hungry," Sarah admitted sadly, and Kayla's chest deflated at the defeated look on her daughter's face. Sarah was very aware that she wasn't like her brother or her parents. She was small, she was weak. She was sick. Her parents and brother were none of those things. What was wrong with her? Sarah looked down at her plate, then up to her mom, "Want it?"

"I want you to eat it. Please. Two more bites, then I'll eat the rest. Deal?" Kayla offered with a sad, knowing smile. Sarah nodded and grabbed another pre-cut bite of pancake, shoving it into her mouth slowly before chewing it meticulously. After swallowing, she grabbed the smallest bite left and added that into her mouth, eating it as painstakingly slowly as the first bite. Kayla sighed and stabbed the remaining pieces with her fork and crammed them into her mouth before Sarah spit out the last bite of pancake onto her tray. Kayla stared at her in disbelief, "You kidding me, child? You tricked me."

"I'm not hungry." Sarah shrugged, a coy smile slowly appearing on her gaunt face. Her blue eyes sparkled mischievously, and Kayla narrowed her eyes at the little girl because that was her father's smug face.

Kayla stood up as James slid his way down the stairs on his butt with Steve walking slowly behind him. "You ready to go?" Steve called, waking Zawadi from his slumber near the table. The large dog got up and lumbered over to Steve, licking the soldier's hand affectionately as Steve placed his free hand on his hip, waiting for his wife.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready," Kayla grumbled as she lifted Sarah out of the seat and deposited her easily onto the ground where Zawadi turned and went to work licking her gently, getting off all of the pancake crumbs. James leaned himself against the dog, but Zawadi didn't seem to mind, too preoccupied with his littlest master to worry about the chunky child using him as a crutch.

Steve scooped up James in his right arm and Sarah in his left, carrying his two children out to his pickup with ease as Kayla pulled off her apron and hung it next to the stove. She pushed the strand of hair behind her ear again, groaning as she grabbed Steve's glasses from the table and carried them out the door.

"Can I get a coffee. Black. A... what do you call it? A... vent-ee?"

"This isn't Starbucks. A large. You want a large?" Tessa growled back at the customer, unusually grouchy for being at work. The man looked up at the board, then down at the shorter woman before him, seeming to consider his options. He ran his hand through his short dark hair and shifted uncomfortably as the owner of the coffee shop stared at him impatiently.

"Yeah, a large please." He settled, and Tessa rung it up in the register before he handed her the cash. "Do you have a restroom?"

"Second green door on the left. I'll have your drink ready for you when you get out. Want your receipt?" Tessa asked sharply, and the man just shook his head and gave her a tense smile before following the directions away.

Once he was gone, Tessa inflated her cheeks and blew the air out through pursed, dark painted lips. Tessa placed both hands firmly on the counter and stared into the glass display, looking at every scone and muffin she had for sale. She knew she shouldn't be so rude to the customers, but it just wasn't her day.

And it was about to get worse.

Kayla shoved open the revolving door of the remodeled Brewhouse, swinging it around with terrifying ease. Once she saw Tessa at the counter, she squealed and practically leaped out of her skin, darting past all the little tables to reach her friend. "How did it go last night? Where's the ring?" Kayla's eyes fell to Tessa's bare hand, and her smile dropped before looking back up to meet Tessa's dark eyes, "Tess?"

Tessa sighed, knowing it was only a matter of time before she had to admit to her best friend what had happened the night prior, "He didn't propose, Kate. He took me out to a fancy dinner to let me know he'd gotten a big promotion. Chief of Police. Woopie."

"That's... great... for him." Kayla trailed off, trying to recover from her excitement and salvage something good from the misread situation. "Maybe he wanted to get this promotion first. Now he can focus on getting you a ring?"

Steve came up behind Kayla, a child holding each hand and a brilliant grin on his face, "I hear congratulations are in-"

"Mmm, nope, no." Kayla cut him off as subtly as she could, and Steve quickly realized what had happened. "Ryan got a promotion. He's the Chief of Police now."

"No kidding. I mean, that's great, right? Not as great as a proposal, but still good. I'm sorry Tess, I know how long you've been waiting for this." Steve tried to make his wife's friend feel better, but it didn't really help. Tessa knew they'd be excited for her, which made her presumptions feel even worse.

Tessa sat the black coffee on the glass counter and looked from Kayla to Steve, then down at the kids. "What, no hugs for your Auntie Tessa?" She moved to the edge of the counter and the kids followed her, running into her arms as she knelt down to embrace them.

"Auntie Tess, are you gonna marry Uncle Ryan?" Sarah asked innocently, and Tess forced a smile for the little girl.

"Not yet. But someday. Maybe." Tessa admitted, pressing a gentle kiss to the girl's head before planting one on James's cheek, leaving a dark lipstick stain in the shape of her mouth.

"Uck." He groaned, running back to his mom to get cleaned up as Tessa scooped up Sarah and walked around to the front of the counter.

Steve smiled down at his little family and Tessa, casually gazing up to look around the cafe until something caused him to do a double take near the restrooms. Steve squealed like a child and pounced onto the stranger, wrapping his legs around the man's waist for a second as he struggled to stand under the blonde's weight.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked happily as Bucky dropped him back onto his feet, arching his back to stretch it after holding Steve Rogers off the ground for a moment.

Kayla's attention quickly snapped toward her husband as she squinted her eyes, not recognizing the Winter Soldier at first glance. He'd cut his hair, and shaved off his scruff, becoming unrecognizable to the untrained eye. But the old photo Steve kept on his dresser was reincarnated before her- two soldiers laughing and joking without a care in the world.

Sarah held onto Tessa as James cowered behind Kayla's legs, grabbing her tightly as he hid from the large stranger. "Who's that?" James whispered loudly to his mother from behind, and she smiled and looked down at her son.

"That's your Uncle Bucky. He's your godfather. Go say hello." Kayla moved her leg and exposed the little boy to the two grown men. Bucky gasped when he saw the child, his beaming smile infectious as he knelt down.

"Little Bucky!" He exclaimed, watching the child carefully as he approached. His smile softened and he held out his right hand to James, offering the boy a high five. "I'm James too. It's nice to meet you kid."

Steve beamed at his best friend and son before smiling up at Kayla. Tessa put Sarah down and the little girl pattered over to her father, trusting him more than anyone in the world. If her dad knew this man, then this man was okay in her book. "I'm Sarah." She held out her hand to shake Bucky's, and Steve grinned proudly at his polite little girl. Bucky looked up at Steve, then back to the girl, offering his massive hand to shake hers.

"James. It's nice to meet you, Sarah."

"Mom said your name is Uncle Bucky." Sarah tattled, and Bucky smiled up at Kayla, who stood leaning against the glass case next to Tessa. Sarah continued rattling on, despite getting no response from Bucky, "I know Auntie Tessa and Uncle Ryan, but I've never met you. Are you Daddy's brother?"

"Something like that. I've known your dad for a really long time." Bucky explained softly and stood to his full height, which seemed to intimidate James more than Sarah. She was used to feeling small.

As Steve continued the small talk with Bucky and his children, Tessa moved around the counter to help a customer who had arrived behind Kayla. As she took the order, Kayla moved to the side to get out of the way, still leaning against the case as she watched how happy her husband was. His smile reached all the way to his eyes as he sat down at the edge of a booth, pulling Sarah up into his lap as James climbed in next to Bucky.

"Here's his coffee. Might want to pass it off before it gets cold." Tessa told Kayla cooly, sliding the large to-go cup over to the redhead before turning her attention back to making the latte her customer had ordered.

Kayla looked from the coffee to Tessa, seeing the girl's back was tense and her face was sullen as she worked on the drink. "I'm sorry, Tess. I know it's a hard day."

"It's fine. It'll be okay. Can I come over for wine? Please? I could really use it." Tessa begged sweetly, folding her hands together and pouting her lip after passing the latte off to the customer. Suddenly, her eyes flickered up to the revolving door and her jaw stiffened. "It's Phillip. Ryan's brother."

"So? I'm sure they don't know you were expecting a proposal." Kayla hissed in return as the tall, portly man approached the counter.

"It's not that." Tessa breathed as she forced a smile, "Every time his brothers come into town he disappears for a few days."

"We'll talk about this later." Kayla finished, giving Phillip an amicable smile before taking Bucky's coffee over to the booth. She slid in with her husband and passed over the cup, Bucky taking a sip and realizing it was already cold. Kayla chuckled, "You were too preoccupied with your boyfriend to realize you'd ordered coffee?"

"Rude, he's my husband." Bucky winked at Kayla, grabbing onto Steve's hand with his as the woman gawked at the man, causing Steve to laugh boisterously. As Steve and Bucky joked with each other, Kayla looked to the left, seeing Tessa talking to Phillip with an anxious expression.

Author's Note:

Soibhan- Awww, I'm glad you love the kids. I love them too! Poor Tessa.

amberhardy- Oh Red Skull has some terrible terrible plans up his sleeve. His reach is growing, but luckily the Avengers are around to stop him and help those he has under his influence...

Nikkita Starr- I'm sorry your bad feeling happened :( Don't give up on Ryan quite yet!