Nicole's birthday came two days after Steve and Natasha got engaged. Natasha was busy attempting to decorate her cake when there was a knock on the door. "Birthday girl, can you open the door please?"
Nicole rushed to the door and opened it. "Daddy, why you knock?" she asked.
Steve brought a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and handed them to his daughter. "Because, a gentleman should always knock when he is bringing flowers to a lady. Happy birthday princess."
"For me? So pretty, Daddy. Did you bring Mommy flowers?" she asked as she sniffed her roses.
"It's not Mommy's birthday," Natasha replied joining them at the door. She kissed Steve on the cheek. "You did good, soldier."
Steve grinned. "I didn't bring you flowers, but I do have something for you, too." He pulled a ring from his pocket. "Thought we should make it official."
Natasha smiled as Steve put the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful, Steve. I love it."
"Maybe we can talk wedding dates after we celebrate the birthday."
"I was thinking something small, maybe at the tower," Natasha replied. "I think second trimester would be best. I should still fit in a nice dress, and, hopefully, the morning sickness will be over."
"You've given this some thought."
"I have. Believe it or not, I want it to be special. I don't plan on doing this again. Its you and me from now on, Rogers. You got that?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way, Romanoff. Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied, kissing her again.
"My birthday. Kiss me, not Mommy," Nicole pouted. Steve picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.
"Let's go celebrate your birthday little girl," Steve grinned. "I can't wait to see the cake Mommy made."
"I'm definitely better at beating up aliens than decorating cakes," Natasha laughed. "No laughing, soldier."
Steve successfully managed not to laugh at the very lopsided cake, and Nicole thoroughly enjoyed her birthday. She made all of the Avengers smell her flowers and clapped excitedly when she saw all of her presents.
The next several weeks were busy ones. Between planning a wedding, training the team, and going after a terrorist in Guatemala, life at the Avenger's Compound was a little crazy. Throw in a very active three year old and a baby on the way, and Natasha was exhausted.
A few days before the wedding, Steve and Natasha decided Nicole needed to spend the day with Happy. They had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so they spent the morning just relaxing and catching up on the news.
Natasha couldn't help but smile when Matt Murdock appeared on the screen. "Mr. Murdock, is it true that Wilson Fisk's arrest was the result of official inquiries by the FBI after one of his labs exploded?"
"The FBI were very much involved in the investigation," Matt told the reporter. "I'm not at liberty to discuss their motives for looking into Mr. Fisk's organization."
"The rash of deaths among his employees over the past few months must have played a part. Care to comment on those."
"No," Matt said firmly. "I will say the charges against Mr. Fisk have been filed, and, if he is convicted, he'll be going away for a very long time."
Natasha muted the television set and looked at Steve. "Now, she's safe."
"Of course, she is safe. Her mom is the Black Widow. You did good, Nat," Steve put his arm around Natasha. "So, Daredevil is blind. Didn't expect that."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're implying," she teased. "I never told you his identity."
"You didn't have to tell me anything. He helped. I'm grateful. I'm just glad I got the girl."
Natasha pretended to hit him. "Watch it, Rogers. Girl isn't much better than dame. We should probably go to our appointment. Time to see if Traitor is a boy or girl."
Steve just looked at the ultrasound in awe. "This is so much better than the last time. I can actually make out a baby."
"Well, I'm not carrying an alien," Natasha teased. "It's amazing, isn't it?"
"Would you like to know if it's a boy or a girl?" the technician asked.
"Please," Steve replied, squeezing Natasha's hand.
"You are most definitely having a little boy," the technician said confidently.
Steve smiled even wider and kissed Natasha's forehead. "We're having a son."
Natasha put her hand on her abdomen. "Guess it's time to call you something other than traitor, little guy." She looked up at Steve. "Your turn for the first name."
"I always thought I'd like to name my son after Bucky. How about James?"
"James Clinton Rogers," Natasha added then she looked at the screen again. "Hello James. We can't wait to meet you."
"We've got the matched set, Nat. Thank you for loving this old soldier and giving him everything he ever wanted."
"I think we both had our wishes granted. This is perfect."
Happy brought Nicole home right after they got back. "Did you see my baby?" she demanded.
"We did," Steve replied as he picked her up. "Your baby is a healthy little boy."
"A boy like Cooper?" Nicole grimaced. "I wanted a sister like Lila."
"Well, your getting a brother," Natasha said firmly. Softening her voice, she added, "it's better this way. You get to stay our only little princess."
"Okay, but if he's too stinky, trade him for a girl."
"There will be no trading of babies," Steve said with a laugh. "Besides, I'm a little outnumbered. You're brother James will balance things out around here."
"Now, off to change, little girl. We have to finish packing. We're going to the city tomorrow. You get to stay at the tower. It's almost time for the wedding."
"Yay, I still the flower girl. Boys can't be flower girls, right Mommy?"
"You are still the flower girl. Baby James only has one job right now. He just has to stay where he is and keep growing."
Nicole put her hand on her mother's belly. "It's okay you not a girl, James. You keep growing. I still love you." She kissed Natasha's stomach and smiled.
The next day, they drove into the city. Nicole was extremely excited about finally visiting Uncle Tony's tower. She asked if they were there yet more times than Natasha could count. Natasha didn't really mind though. She was pretty excited herself. She was marrying Steve Rogers. That's something she didn't see coming when Fury had her keep an eye on the sleeping soldier.
Natasha pulled Nicole from her car seat and held her hand while Steve grabbed the bags. They walked toward the door and were suddenly surrounded by cameras. Natasha pulled Nicole in closer to her while Steve rushed them into the building.
Nicole didn't seem to be fazed by the paparazzi, but Natasha suddenly felt sick. "Steve, what are we going to do?"
Steve frowned. "I don't know. We'll talk to Tony. This is his department. We knew they'd find out eventually. Let's just try to hold them off until after the wedding, okay?"
Natasha nodded. They'd managed to keep Nicole in a bubble for months, and now the bubble had burst. One thing was clear. Someone had let their secret leak to the press. She needed to find out who and why, and she needed to know immediately.
Yes, this chapter is super short. I'm sorry. I thought about continuing it, but we are coming to the end of this story. I really couldn't resist another cliffhanger.
