Ok, here it is! In the end, 11 people asked for this so I'm delivering as promised. Enjoy!
When the call comes in telling them that the date is set, Steve and Natasha are in the middle of changing James' diaper. They love doing these things together –well, not this one in particular because it stinks, literally–, taking care of their son as one. James has already been fed, another thing they like to share as Steve refuses to unglue his chest from her back and his eyes from the contented look in the baby's face, and they were just finishing getting him back into his 'poop factory' onesie –a gift from Sam after his first afternoon of babysitting– when the phone rang.
"I'll get it, you give him some snuggles." Says Natasha, patting Steve's shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek and then going to the phone. She picks it up, frowns a little at the unknown number and answers it. "Hello?"
"Natasha Rogers?"
"That's me, who's asking?"
"I'm Miranda, Tony's attorney? Dave Williams has refused to take the deal we offered so we'll be taking this to court. I was wondering if we could meet up to prepare a little." Natasha blinks and swallows before taking a deep breath.
"Uhh… yeah, sure. Could you come tomorrow morning?"
"Of course, I'll be there at ten."
She hangs up and lowers the phone back to the table. The smile falls from her lips and she takes in a deep breath. It's not that she's nervous, she knows that there's no way that they're going to lose, but the thought of facing the man responsible of her coma and the loss of the first days of her son's life makes her want to puke. She can hear the sound of James laughing at whatever Steve is doing and it makes the pressure in her chest lighten. She has nothing to fear, Steve will be with her, watching her back. As always.
The surrounding area of the courthouse is filled to the brim, more police officers than Steve can count keeping the people out of the way. Apparently, word had gotten out that the Black Widow had been mistreated in her hour of need and seemingly the entirety of New York was out for blood. If it weren't for the reason that everyone was congregated here, Steve would hold his head high and bask in the knowledge of how many people adored Natasha and cared about her well being.
Instead, Steve gets out of the car, donned in a suit that probably costs more than the salary of the ten bodyguards surrounding him combined and reaches in to take James form Natasha so she can exit the car with him. As soon as she's standing with him, dressed in a suit matching his sans tie, the crowd falls silent. James is dressed too in a little suit, made just for him by Tony's private designer. He looks around from his perch on Steve's chest, his eyes big and round. He smiles at a police officer close to them and giggles, waving one little hand. There's a collective 'Aww!' from the crowd, or at least the closest people that can see them and James lights up under the attention.
And then the cameras start flashing. James cries out and covers his face with his hands before he takes a deep breath and shrieks at the top of his lungs, scared of the blinding lights. The bodyguards tighten their formation and usher them up the stairs as the people go wild trying to locate the photographers that have caused the baby distress. Steve presses James closer to him and tries to shush him under the screams of the crowd that is only making everything worse for the little boy.
As soon as they enter the building, the security guards close the doors, muffling the noise. Steve bounces their son as Natasha coos at him, trying to make him stop crying.
"It's alright, baby, just a little light. Nothing to be scared about." She murmurs and he reaches a little hand to her. She takes it and kisses it, making him giggle even though there are still tears rolling down his chubby cheeks.
"There he is!" says Steve then and sneaks a hand to James' tummy to tickle him. The baby laughs and tries to grab the fingers, but his father is faster and he starts dropping kisses all over the boy's face to distract him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rogers?" their little bubble pops at the voice and they look up to see their lawyer, waiting next to the entrance of a hall, most likely to lead them to the room to start the trial. Natasha can feel Steve go rigid and she takes in a deep breath. They can do this. Together, they can do anything.
They step forward as one and the lawyer motions for Natasha to take James. As Williams was on trial for his negligence towards Natasha and James, it could possibly make the jury ask for a harsher punishment if they see mother and child together. Miranda had already talked to them about it, so Natasha just nods and takes her baby from Steve, nuzzling her nose to his little head and inhaling his sweet, baby smell. Steve curls his arm around her and they continue their way down the hall towards the courtroom while the bodyguards remain behind to help security keep the people out.
As soon as they enter the room, everyone in attendance falls silent. Dave Williams stands alone in his table; every lawyer with a license to practice in New York had refused to take him as a client so he'd had no choice but represent himself. And it clearly showed because even a first-year law student knew that he had no chance of winning this trial. Hell, even a three-year-old knows!
The judge motions them forward, a woman with tan skin and kind eyes; her plate reads Judge Morgan. She takes in the way Natasha clings to her son and how the boy looks at his parents with adoration. She doesn't know how this even made it to trial, it doesn't even have grounds to make it a case: a doctor left the room with his patient still bleeding so he could text his girlfriend. That's medical negligence, the doctor is faced with a lawsuit, possibly criminal charges and the withdrawal of his practice license.
But apparently, the doctor had used the Avengers' status against them, arguing that his charges were extremely high just because he was fighting against a public figure. It couldn't be farther from the truth, but someone had thought that it had ground and the case was brought forward.
Judge Morgan watches as the baby is passed over to a teenager sitting in the first row, right behind the table where the couple's lawyer is already waiting. The teen coos at the baby in whispers and sticks a pacifier in his mouth before he can make too much noise. The little boy settles against the older one and the teenager gives the couple a thumbs up when they turn to make sure their kid is ok.
"Objection, your Honor!" shouts Dave Williams once the Rogers family is seated. The jury stops talking and looks at him as one, some of them frowning. "That baby shouldn't be here, they're trying to sway the jury."
"Were you expecting us to leave him alone at home?" snaps Mr. Rogers, his eyes full of fire. The Avengers are all present, every last one of them. No one was staying behind in the Facility, meaning that there was no one to stay with the child. The judge brings down her maze down, demanding attention.
"Mr. Rogers, can you assure me that your child will be on his best behavior and that he won't interrupt?" the man nods.
"We will need to stop in an hour so he can eat, your Honor. Other than that, he won't be a problem." The judge nods and turns back to the accused.
"Objection denied, Mr. Williams."
"But–!"
"Do you want to add insubordination to your charges, Mr. Williams?"
"No, your Honor."
"Good, let's start then."
"Mr. Parker, how would you describe Natasha Rogers?" the teen chuckles and ignores the looks the jury is giving him.
"You're going to have to be more specific, Miss Flyman." The lawyer pauses and looks at the boy. This is not what he was supposed to say.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean that Natasha is many things! She can go from scary as hell to mama bear in two seconds flat. She's even managed to be both at once." Both the jury and the judge crack a smile and Natasha sends a look at Peter. He grins, unrepentant.
"Ok, then. How would you describe her as a mother?"
"Objection! Irrelevant!" protests Williams.
"I'm trying to paint the picture, your Honor. Put everything in character."
"Objection denied. Continue, Mr. Parker."
"Well, in one word: amazing. I mean, the nursery's been set up and prepared with everything a baby might need since she neared the end of the second trimester and the entire Facility's been baby-proofed for months. And when I say 'entire' I mean it, even the training room has a baby gate in case he ever manages to get there and everything is strapped and protected so he can't hurt himself. You should see Steve's shield, it has a silicone band around the edge so if James gets hold of it he won't hurt himself. And that's just to protect him, y'know? She's amazing at taking care of Jamie, he's always smiling, never has to be in a dirty diaper for long and has a ton of toys. Although, that's more the rest of the Avengers than Nat." the jury laughs and Williams frowns again but refrains himself from protesting.
"Thanks, Peter. Now, how would you describe her when she found out that she'd missed the first four days of her son's life." The smile in the teens face falls and a solemn look takes its place. His brow is furrowed, his eyes are sad and his mouth is set in a downward curl as if he's trying not to clench his teeth.
"She was crushed." He practically growls and he keeps his eyes downwards, keeping them glued in his lap where he holds the little silver bracelet Natasha had given him for his birthday, the little spider charms twinkling.
"We spiders have to stick together, don't we?"
"She was so sad…" he murmurs, so low that only two of the closest members of the jury can hear. His eyes start to water as he remembers the way she'd looked. "She was so pale… she had bruises under her eyes." He sniffles and he can feel his lower lip tremble. "Dr. Banner told me that she would be ok, that she only needed to rest and that she would come out of the coma in a few days, but I… I thought she–"
"Objection! Circumstantial!"
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" shouts Peter suddenly, shocking everyone in the room. He's risen his face and everybody can see him now: the bloodshot eyes, the tear tracks on his cheeks and the way the muscles of his jaw jump under his skin. "You almost killed Natasha and you don't even care! And for what, huh? So you could text your girlfriend that you wanted spaghetti for dinner? You don't deserve to call yourself a doctor, you don't care for your patients! You just care about yourself! That woman is the most amazing, selfless person in the entire planet and you robbed her of something she's never getting back!" he starts trembling, his senses going into overdrive; the colors heighten, the noises get louder and he clutches his head, trying in vain to calm himself. And then…
"Pete," her voice is soft but firm and it's enough to snap him out of his head. He looks up, blinking his tears away and he sees her standing a little ways from the table. A whole body shudder quakes his body and she smiles softly at him, raising her arms towards him. "It's ok, Peter, it's ok. It's over now, come here." He sobs and practically face plants in his eagerness to reach her. He hugs her hard and hides his face into her neck, trembling and whimpering like a broken child. He hears James coo from behind.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." He whispers and she shushes him, tucking him closer to her and combing her fingers through his hair. He can hear Miranda asking for a time out and the judge concedes, tapping her mace to her table. The room clears out and the Avengers are soon surrounding Peter, reassuring him that he hadn't messed up and that everything would be ok.
The young teen smiles at the support of his family. Because that's what they are, the only family he has left. Aunt May had been killed in a riot after the Snap and because her soul wasn't in the Soul Stone, the Avengers hadn't been able to bring her back. He'd been devastated when Tony told him but now he's accepted it and knew that she was with Uncle Ben, wherever they were. The pain was still there, it would always be there but Steve had shown him how to accept and move on. It hadn't been easy, but the Avengers had been with him every step of the way.
Judge Morgan observes from the door leading to her chambers, how the Avengers care for their youngest, vehement reassurance for the teen and kisses and cuddles for the baby. When he's passed over back to his mother, the child's demeanor brightens immensely and he settles against her, his thumb going to his mouth. Natasha is quick to take it out and angle the babe so her husband can offer the pacifier instead.
She knows that whatever Dave Williams has to say, in the end, it won't matter. The outcome of this trial had been decided even before it started.
"– guilty of his charges! His practice license will be rebuked and the jury proposes that he faces a year in prison without parole and five hundred and fifty hours of community service. The standard for his crimes."* The last sentence is made as the accused opens his mouth to protest yet again for the hundredth time. The man's demeanor changes completely and he starts sweating.
"I want protection!" he demands. Everyone in the room knows that it just takes one inmate that's an Avenger fan and he's dead.
"You refused that protection when you decided not to sign our deal, along with the NDAs that would protect your identity from the public." Answers Miranda and the man turns to her, a panicked look in his eyes. The attorney raises a brow. "You didn't even read it?"
"I–!" he's interrupted by the sound of the judge's mace hitting the table.
"That will be Mr. Williams sentence. Guards, take him." as the man loses his cool, the guards have to drag him out and cuff him outside. Steve is the first to react, he pulls Natasha up and into a hug, pressing his face into her hair and finally releasing a deep breath. Finally, it's over. He hears James coo from Peter's arms and Natasha twists in his embrace to receive their son.
It's over now, finally. The fact that the ex-doctor is behind bars won't give her the time she lost back, but at least he won't be able to hurt anyone else, no one else will have to go through what's she's gone through, at least not by him. She looks up at the jury, meeting each pair of eyes and mouths "Thank you."
OK, DONE! FINALLY, AFTER FOUR MONTHS, IT'S DONE! So sorry guys for keeping you waiting, but between school and my inspiration behaving like a fucking rollercoaster –I'm here! I'm gone! I'm here! I'm gone"– it's been kinda difficult to finish this.
*- I don't really know if this is actually true, but it's the only information I managed to find in this thing so I wasn't able to compare with other sources. If it's wrong please do tell so it's correct. And if the only thing is the parole thing don't worry, that's actually something I added XD.