**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry there was no update last week. That was totally and completely on me. I'll be finishing this story on chapter 60, but starting the next story when the Civil War DVD comes out in September, so they'll be some breaks just to fill in the gap :)
Chapter 57- Here's My Heart, No Strings Attached
"Take it from me, it's a lesson to be learned. Even the good guys get burned. Take it from me, see I would give you love. The kind of love that you've only dreamed of. Baby you're not the only one. You don't have to be afraid to fall in love. And I know that you've hurt in the past. But if you want it, here's my heart. No strings attached."
~No Strings Attached, N'SYNC
While Bethany wouldn't admit it aloud, she was dreading talking to Eddie about the kiss. Right after it occurred, she could have let her anger motivate her, speaking whatever passed through her mind without caring about the consequences. Really, there were no consequences she needed to worry about. She wouldn't be the one who would get in trouble, no matter what she said. But after eating with Steve and Jamie and having enough time to mull everything over, she wasn't as angry as she had been earlier.
In truth, she was really flattered. What Steve said about her leading him on was a killer move and really hurt, but she knew that he had a point. Sometimes, she just got a little too friendly. She had two settings; nice or mean. There was no in between when it came to people. Either she let them in, teased them and let herself have fun or she was on red alert, fully on guard to defend herself or the ones she loved. She liked Eddie. He made her laugh and gave her this sense of importance in the scientific world, something that she felt that she was sorely lacking since Jamie's conception. She may have known about Ultron, but she certainly didn't lend a hand in making him. She hadn't really done anything to keep up with her old hobby. Having Eddie in the lab with her was reassuring and relaxing.
And of course, she was never going to be upset about someone wanting to kiss her. Logically, it was stupid for her to make a big deal about it because of that. The fact that he did kiss her was a different story, but she liked feeling desired. Sure, Steve did one hell of a job proving that to her, but at the end of the day, he was her husband. She knew that he wanted her. And it wasn't just a random stranger who desired her, but someone who actually got to know her. It was flattering in all aspects.
But she still had to talk to him. If she didn't, Steve would, and Bethany knew very well that Steve wouldn't talk with his lips, but with his fists. Eddie wouldn't be able to go up against him in a fist fight for obvious reasons. And while she liked to give her husband the benefit of the doubt and knew that he was an avid peacemaker, she had also already been down that path more than once in the past. Even before they were together, if anyone kissed her or touched her inappropriately, Steve was onto them before she would fully have registered what was happening. Half the time, she wasn't even that against men fooling around with her. She liked to have fun. Expression of sexuality was both her greatest strength and weakness in life.
Spotting Eddie down the hall, she let out a deep breath before running her hand through her hair. "Alright, you can do this," she whispered to herself, finding the need to give herself a pep talk. It was idiotic really, since she had faced much more formidable foes. Yelling at men was something she had done so often in her life, it really ought to be on her resume under special skills. Bouncing on her feet like a boxer would do before a match, she felt her adrenaline pick up just enough to push her forward.
"Macks!" She called out, the man turning around to meet her call and immediately looking like he would much rather be dead. "I think we need to have a talk," she added as she walked towards him. He watched her carefully, not making a move, very much reflecting a deer in headlights. She stopped next to the door to a room she already knew was empty and grabbed the knob. Pulling the door open, she gestured for him to enter.
At first, he looked unsure of what to do. Bethany could see the gears turning in his head, weighing his options as carefully as possible. He only moved when Bethany made a face that clearly challenged him to test her limits, his feet dragging on the floor much like a child who was in trouble. She entered the room behind him, closing the door and pressing in the lock. She wanted to make sure they had absolute privacy. Upon closer inspection, Bethany could see a red handprint on his face still, which would likely bruise. She felt pride in her strength, but she knew that it wasn't time to gloat.
"I'm married," She began with, strongly. "And I'm very happy being so. If I ever made you think that I was flirting, I'm sorry. I wasn't. I was being friendly. And maybe I don't know where the line is exactly, but I do love my husband. On top of that, it's not like we're in some foreign country, far away from my family. Steve was in the building. My son was in the room. What you did was one hundred percent unacceptable."
"You didn't have to slap me for it," Eddie replied with.
"I'm sorry that my reaction to sexual assault was to smack you," Bethany defended herself.
"It was not sexual assault, but yours was," Eddie fought back, clearly trying to bring her down along with him.
"You want to notify HR? Go ahead," Bethany said with a fake smile. "I'd be more than willing to give my side of the story, which could very well be backed up by video footage. Would you like to go to the police? Same thing. And on top of that, I have the added benefit of being a senior citizen and a national hero. In no circumstance would you come out of this looking good for complaining that a 90-year-old woman slapped you after you forcibly kissed her while she was talking about acidic gases and dart guns."
Somewhere in her tangent did her arms become crossed for extra effect. She knew she had more strength than the typical woman of her age, but there were so many few times that she could play the age card. She wasn't going to let him feel bad about her slapping him. She felt a little guilty, sure. But it was all because of his actions. The slapping was a consequence. "You take that slap and let it remind you of your thoughtlessness," Bethany continued. "I'm letting you keep your job. I told Steve not to go near you. I'd say that my bitch slap was a pretty good punishment, wouldn't you? Yeah, that's what I thought so too. But if you ever do it again, we'll really have something to deal with," she finished, unlocking the door and opening it.
Eddie watched her go with fury coursing through his veins for a few seconds before darting out. Bethany threw her head back in exasperation, hearing it crack slightly before turning on her heels to go home for the day. She'd probably hear about this throughout the next week, but she wasn't expecting anyone to fight against her actions. Honestly, she could see both Hill and Fury nodding in approval. Hell, Maria would damn well have done the same thing. Probably worse. Bethany already knew that Natasha would have probably broken a few of his bones based on the fact that she threw a guy over a table for merely touching her.
As she walked back to her house, she played with her wedding rings as she thought about all the chores she had to do. Her home life was starting to settle in again. She had to make dinner and do the laundry. Jamie needed a bath. Wanda asked to come over for an hour so Bethany could help her with her homework and she was pretty sure she told Tony she'd Skype with him before she went to bed. Her day hadn't gone exactly how she had planned, but she had to give Eddie some props; he did make it a tad more interesting than it was originally planned out to be.
Bethany made an effort to have Jen over at least once a month for lunch. She felt like it was necessary to be a part of Jen's life and make sure that everyone was okay for Theo's sake. The little boy seemed to be so happy with his new life that Bethany was making it her mission to keep things like that. By getting together with Jen, she would make sure that things were good with her work and her health, with her new relationship with Javan and of course, with Theo.
"I mean this," Jen said, reaching out to touch her glass, the entire thing immediately cooling. "It's still weird. I can take a cold shower and it doesn´t bug me, and hot temperatures are hard to get used to at first, but it's… it's comforting now that I have control over it. I like having it as a security blanket for anything that may happen."
"But would you ever use it? For fighting? Like with the Avengers?" That had been a constant question that had currently been left with no answer. Jen's powers were a great attribute, but she would need months of training to get her into the right form for battle. They weren't going to pressure her into doing it, but having abilities like hers always seemed wasted if you didn't do something with it.
"I don't want that," Jen explained with a shy smile. "That's not the life I ever wanted for myself, and it's not something that I want now. I don't want people to see me on the streets and fear me or anything. And I don't feel like this is a gift that I'm obligated to use to make the world better, or a curse that would encourage me to find something good to come from it. It's what it is. It's part of me now. I just want to focus on being a mother."
"I understand completely," Bethany assured her, turning to look at Jamie who was contently eating his lunch in his high chair. "For a really long time, I felt like I had to do both of those things; use my healing because it was a gift and then use it to find something good to come from it when I realized I wasn't aging. But children… children change everything."
"They really do," Jen agreed.
"But how are things with Javan?" Bethany asked, a smile splitting her face. "I want to hear all about it."
Jen ducked her head for a moment, a blush taking over her entire face. "Things are really good. She's amazing."
"It's a little weird to me, just because I never in a million years would have thought that you'd be a lesbian."
"Neither would I!" Jen agreed, laughing. "But I don't even know if that's it. I don't know… I guess one day I realized that Javan has all the qualities I've ever wanted from a man and she made me feel good about myself, and why should her being a woman influence the possibility of being with someone who made me feel more like myself than I have in a really long time?"
"She is nice," Bethany nodded. "Brilliant too. What does Theo think?"
"Javan has been over a lot for dinner, but I haven't told him that we're together or anything. We're going extremely slow with all of this because of how damaged I feel over past relationships. I'm hoping he'll accept it. But for now, I just want him to know that he's my number one. Which reminds me—I hope you'll do us a huge favor."
"Depends on what it is," Bethany teased, but was already positive that she'd do it. Whatever Jen would ask, it couldn't be as bad as anything SHIELD had asked of her.
"Well, last year, I didn't throw Theo a party because I told him that I was too busy, and this year he didn't want one because he didn't have any friends. But now that he's in school again and has friends, I thought I could throw him a birthday party."
"Sounds like a good idea, but what do I have to do with it?" Bethany asked, slightly confused.
"The biggest rage with parties now, according to multiple mom-websites and of course, Theo, is superheroes. Theo has already been invited to two different superhero parties this year."
"You want the party to be at the Avengers' Facility," Bethany put together.
"Is it okay? I thought the boys could get a tour, meet the team? Play some games and then just a movie and cake? I know it's a lot to ask-"
"I'm sure I can convince the owner of the building," Bethany teased, winking. "I just asked. She says it's okay."
On Jen's face was the biggest smile Bethany had ever seen. "Thank you."
"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Bethany nodded. "We could make a whole game of it. Give them all superhero names, fake powers, costumes, train them and all. Think they'd be into it?"
"All little boys want to be these days are superheroes," Jen laughed. "I remember when I was younger, they all wanted to be a Jedi."
"This is slightly more realistic," Bethany chuckled.
Despite all the controversy the world had with superheroes, the ones that cherished the Avengers the most were always the kids. To them, the world hadn't stripped away that pure innocence and realization of the bad. They only saw the good that the superheroes did. The kids weren't tainted. And they strived to be like them; all powerful and having the world looking up to them. Bethany remembered when she was a little girl, seeing a flapper walk down the street and being in awe at her sense of independence. There was this air about her that she didn't care what people thought about her and that she would break society's rules with little thought about the consequences. Bethany, a little girl whose mother had basically told her what she had to be since she was old enough to understand, saw this as something to inspire her future. She wanted that independence, since that flapper looked like she was as free as the birds.
If little kids looked at superheroes and had that same sense of freedom and inspiration that Bethany had when she saw that flapper, who was she to say no to them, even if she knew where the path would ideally lead them to. There was no need to crush their dreams yet when there was so much time for them to nurture their dreams and watch them turn into something different altogether. All Bethany wanted to be when she was in her twenties was a doctor, and while over time she accomplished that goal, it wasn't what she did with her life. She became so much more. Her dream wasn't to be a doctor anymore, but the want to help people was still there. Sure, she wasn't helping people as much now as she did when she was a part of SHIELD, but she was helping someone everyday and that was all that mattered.
The idea of going to yet another Stark fundraiser was absolutely unbearable for Steve. He had a tough week full with missions and he just wanted to spend his Saturday night watching a movie with his family. It wasn't even because he was tired. He felt one hundred percent fine, he just wanted some good, quality time with Bethany and Jamie while he could get it. But Bethany had promised Tony, who had promised Pepper, that they would be there.
Bethany had spent the majority of the afternoon getting ready for the event. She was going the extra mile, and Steve quickly realized it was because it had been a while since she had the opportunity to get all gal'ed up. The last time would have been two months ago on the girls' weekend. He made a mental note to take her out on a date, just the two of them, as soon as possible. Bethany was always beautiful in his opinion, but he understood that sometimes she just needed the opportunity to spend the afternoon working on her hair and makeup in order to feel that way.
"Can you put Jamie in his tux?" Bethany asked as she began to fill in her eyebrows, a new trend Steve really didn't understand, but hadn't said anything.
"I don't think he'll like that too much," Steve admitted, playing with his bow tie a little. In reality, that's how Steve felt. Why can't these events be cocktail dress and not formal? He thought to himself.
"As long as he's put together for the photos, that's all that matters. He can waddle around in his diaper all night after that, as far as I'm concerned."
"What if he doesn't want to wear his diaper either?" Steve asked, clearly joking.
Bethany looked at him seriously, picturing that in her head. "That's when we leave."
"Got it," Steve chuckled, knowing that he could now use that as an escape if the moment came down to it.
When they were all dressed up and ready to go, they climbed into their car and made their way into the city. The benefit was being held at the Stark Tower and Bethany was a little hesitant about seeing what was done with their past apartment. Since the couple no longer needed it to call home, Bethany was sure that Pepper had just made the apartment look like any of the other floors.
"I don't know why you're so anxious about it," Steve admitted, stopping at a red light and looking at Bethany. "You have your dream house."
"We made a lot of memories there, that's why," Bethany explained.
She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a pale pink dress and had her hair in soft waves around her face. Her green eyes seem to pop, but what Steve enjoyed the most was the jewelry she was wearing to match her wedding ring. It was as if she decided to match everything around it solely. "Those memories will always be with us," Steve reminded her. "Just because the place is gone doesn't mean the memories are gone with it."
When Bethany didn't respond, Steve knew she agreed with his words, but wasn't quite done with sulking. Making and maintaining memories was so incredibly important to her, something Steve knew since he first saw Bethany's photo wall when he came out of the ice.
When they pulled up by the Tower, paparazzi were already waiting, their bulbs immediately starting to flash when they saw the family pull up. "Careful," Bethany warned Steve as they tried to pull into the garage. There were security members trying to help the car ease their way into the garage, but it was clear that Steve and Bethany's absence from the city and the paparazzi's prying eyes for the last six months was only making their return that much more coveted.
"I have to get out," Steve sighed, realizing the security needed help. "Can you climb over to drive? I'll just meet you inside."
"You'll be okay?" Bethany asked, undoing her seatbelt.
Steve couldn't help but chuckle at her concern. It was truly comedic that she was concerned for his safety against the paparazzi when he had faced so much worse. "I'll be fine," he promised, leaning in to kiss her before quickly undoing his seatbelt and climbing out of the car.
The flashing of the cameras only got worse, but Steve immediately jumped into action, pulling paparazzi who were too close to the car away so that Bethany could safely maneuver the car into the garage. Only once the door was firmly shut did Steve begin to push his way through the crowd, ignoring all of their questions. They ranged from simple inquiries about he and Bethany having another baby to his thoughts on the upcoming Presidential race. Through it all, Steve had learned to block them out. Answer a question, no matter how seemly simple it may be could lead to disastrous results. Kiley had lectured him for almost an hour about how everything he told the press had to be perfectly practiced with all the kinks ironed out so that no rumours could emerge.
Once he was inside the Tower, he went to wait by the door that connected the garage to the Tower. He could still see the paparazzi going wild, trying to get the best shot that would sell. Steve hated that this was part of his life. This was something that Tony enjoyed, but Steve just wanted privacy. But he knew that if he wanted to be a part of Bethany's life, this came with the territory. They may have been completely content with living in their house, secluded from all this madness, but Bethany was close to Tony and this was very much a big part of Tony's world.
Steve helped hold open the door as she carried Jamie inside. The toddler had fallen asleep in the car and had yet to wake up, his head lolling against Bethany's shoulder. Steve attempted to use his body to shield his family away from the cameras as they made their way into the elevator. Once they were up inside the Tower's top floors, they would be safe from prying eyes. Pepper had hired a team of photographers to take pictures of the event in order to bring awareness, but Steve knew that these reporters and photographers were not nearly as pushy and because they were being paid by Stark Industries, were bound to be respectful and considerate.
"What a zoo," Bethany mumbled once the elevator doors closed. Steve reached out to hit the top floor button, the elevator immediately zooming up. "Maybe Kiley is right."
"We're not getting a social media account," Steve quickly interjected. "That doesn't help us maintain our privacy, Beth."
"Maybe not, but we get to decide what goes out to the world," Bethany reminded him. "It's carefully chosen statements or photos. Our fully permission and cooperation goes into it. Unlike random paparazzi shots with unflattering lights and angles."
"That doesn't necessarily mean that they will leave us alone. I think it would just encourage them," Steve explained.
"She's not suggesting that we become the next Kardashians," Bethany added. "She's only suggesting that if we willingly release things on a month-to-month basis, it will appease them enough to not harass us when we do step away from our solitude."
"We shouldn't have to sacrifice any degree of our privacy to appease anyone," Steve disagreed. "They should respect our desire to stay anonymous."
"But they won't," Bethany stressed as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. The party was already in full swing and no one noticed that newcomers had arrived. They stepped out, but by not creating any attention, it allowed them to step aside and finish their conversation. "It doesn't matter what we want, Steve. They'll do what they want. And what they want is to make money. And whether or not we like it, we make them money. All Kiley was suggesting is that if we release our own photos for them to play with, there is a small possibility that they won't be so… aggressive."
"You really believe that?" Steve asked slowly, needing to know her opinion.
"I-I don't know," Bethany admitted. "But wouldn't you rather try opposed to not knowing? We could just start by posting one of our photos from the photo wall, with a small blurb of the importance. Small little family moments? We're already taking photos, so it's not like we would be going out of our way-"
Steve silenced her by cupping her cheek and kissing her softly. When he pulled away, he could see the confusion in her eyes. In reality, Steve always adored when she went on a rant. There was this undeniable passion in her words, even if it was something as simple as her trying to convince him about which Game of Thrones character should take the Iron Throne.
"Okay," he agreed. "You're right. We might as well try. As long as it doesn't escalate into something more."
"Babe, I don't want to do this anymore than you. You know how much I value my privacy. I only exposed myself to the world because I wanted to be with you. Up until then, no one knew I was Howard Stark's little sister or what a freak I am. And I was content with that."
"You're not a freak," Steve promised her. He never thought of her rapid cellular regeneration as something that made her a freak. It made her all the more special in his opinion. She was truly one-of-a-kind. "And I know that you like your privacy. But it seems to me that when Kiley suggests we do something, like this, you jump on board immediately."
"Not immediately," Bethany defended herself. "But that is her job, Steve. She knows what she's talking about. Not us. It doesn't matter that I've been awake as society progressed. This entire media frenzy? I never really understood it. And you sure as hell don't. So why not listen to someone who does know?"
"You make a valid point," Steve nodded, a figure moving towards them catching his attention. "Tony."
Bethany turned, smiling at her nephew. It had been a while since she last saw him and despite talking to him on the phone more than once a week, Steve knew that she had missed actually being with him. "Hey Kid," she greeted, opening up one arm to bring him into a hug, trying not to jostle and wake up Jamie.
"Why are you two just standing around, being wallflowers?" Tony asked after he pulled away from Bethany's arm, patting Steve on the back in a friendly manner.
"We had a hard time with the paparazzi," Bethany explained. "We just needed a moment to strategize."
"Oh, shit I'm sorry," Tony offered, truly upset at what had transpired. "I thought I hired enough security. I don't know why you two didn't just fly the quinjet over. You would have landed on the roof and avoided them all together."
"We didn't think it'd be that bad," Steve explained.
"They'll be some interesting shots of Steve tomorrow," Bethany teased, kissing Jamie's head as he started to stir. When he woke up in the morning, he was full of energy, but according to Bethany, whenever Jamie woke up from a nap, he was less than pleasant. "Shhh, go back to sleep baby."
"Why don't you just bring him downstairs?" Tony suggested. "Chill around your apartment until he's ready to socialize."
Bethany and Steve looked at each other, not toying with the offer but confused with his words. "Our apartment?" Steve questioned.
It was Tony's turn to look confused. "Well, yeah. Beth, I told you that you'd always have a home here. And I meant that. Pep and I repaired the apartment. Replaced all the furniture you brought with you. Made copies of some of your photos. It's all there just waiting for the day you need it. I mean, hopefully you just need it for things like this."
Steve held out his arms for Jamie, knowing full well that his wife wanted to pull Tony in for a tight hug. Jamie made some unhappy sounds as he was passed from Bethany to Steve, but his head found the crook in Steve's neck and he continued to focus on sleeping, despite the loud chatter and music. Bethany pulled Tony in for a bear hug, the man clearly not enjoying the over show of emotion by his aunt, but casually patting her on her back in awkwardness.
"Thanks Tony," Steve heard Bethany whisper in his ear. "That means a lot to me."
"We're family," Tony reminded her as they pulled away. "The only family we have left. Now go. Before Mr. Cranky-Pants ruins the fun."
Bethany touched Tony's arm softly before the Rogers made their way back into the elevator. Bethany carefully played with Jamie's hair as he continued to fall back to sleep, humming softly to ease his thoughts. When the elevator doors opened, it was as if they hadn't been gone from their apartment for the last six months. Everything was just as it should be. All the furniture was the same, the photos hung where they once laid. The living room and kitchen didn't look like a battle had been fought within their walls, but like it had been taken directly from an IKEA catalogue. Jamie's room in particular caught Steve's attention. Every detail remained the same and Pepper and Tony had even taken the pencil markings Steve and Bethany made on the wall of Jamie's door to show his height and painted it with black marker.
Steve put Jamie in his crib before wrapping Bethany tightly into his arms. Jamie would probably sleep an hour longer before he was ready to be paraded around the fundraiser, but until then, they had a comfortable and safe place to relax and just be.
"He does irritate me a lot, but you really mean a lot to him Doll," Steve whispered, not daring to speak louder while in Jamie's presence.
"He's right. We're the last two Starks standing. My happiness means something to him just like his happiness means something to me."
Steve's hand moved up and down Bethany's back in a soothing motion. He was glad that Bethany had someone like Tony who, at the end of the day, would do anything for her. It made it easier when putting his life on the line. He knew that someone would be watching out for her and Jamie, someone who cared just as much as he did. Tony wouldn't be able to replace him, but he would fight like hell to give both of them the world. Steve knew that if Bethany or Jamie were ever in trouble and Steve wasn't able to get to them on time, he could fully depend on Tony. While the two men had a rough start, Steve could truly admire and respect Tony now. He had proven himself worthy even when he shouldn't have had to.
When Bethany's science scholarship grant came to an end result, Teagan Madyzee was awarded the full grant. The entire supervisory board was excited to see if her calculations and formulas would prove successful. The young scientist wanted to use Bethany's blood as a base and find a way to separate the healing factor from her DNA so that they could use it on a widespread basis to cure diseases, and of course, use for selfish reasons if one of the Avengers went down. Wanda was the most excited about the upcoming tests since when Teagan felt the formula was complete, they would use it on Pietro's frozen corpse. There was a good chance that it wouldn't work, which all the women had fully accepted. Even Wanda was proving to understand that there was a larger chance that it wouldn't work, but there was an extra spring to her step at the mere possibility of getting her brother back.
In order for Teagan to start her work, Bethany needed to donate blood. A lot of blood. Steve had taken off the day so that he could be with her while they were drawing the blood. He knew that there was nothing to worry about, but he still wanted to be supportive of her. In the long run, Teagan's results may illuminate a way for Bethany to begin aging again, and preferably, while maintaining her healing powers.
Jamie was sleeping soundly in Steve's arms, his face flushed and lips parted as his dream world enveloped him completely. Steve was sitting next to Bethany, one of his hands clutching his wife's as they waited for Teagan to begin drawing Bethany's blood. Steve smiled to himself, thinking back to all those years ago when Bethany had taken blood from him. Evidentially, Bethany was thinking about the same thing.
"Remember when I took blood from you?" She asked, a knowing smile on her face.
"Just like yesterday," Steve admitted, kissing her forehead. That day was the first time that Bethany had seen him completely naked and the first time that Steve had thought about Bethany as more than just a friend. That awkward moment in Steve's life ended up with some pretty damn amazing results.
"You ready?" Teagan asked Bethany shyly. It was evident that Teagan was a little intimidated by Bethany.
"Take as much as you need," Bethany nodded. Bethany didn't watch as Teagan began the process, instead looking at Jamie's sleeping face. "He's been napping a lot lately. I hope he's not sick or something."
"No, he's just becoming more like his mom," Steve theorized.
"He fell asleep in the middle of Mommy and Me yesterday," Bethany reminded him. "He's not usually like that."
"But he has been more active, Beth," Steve prompted. "There's nothing wrong with him sleeping more during the day. It helps us both be more productive."
"That's true," Bethany said softly. Bethany had been able to get a lot more housework done and when she worked at the Facility, she was able to complete everything on her to-do list while taking care of Jamie. Steve would willingly watch over the baby if she asked, but she hadn't had to in a while.
"He's a baby," Steve reminded her. "And while he typically slept through the night, he usually didn't nap very long. Maybe now that he's running around more often, he needs his afternoon nap."
"I can't say I've ever heard of a mother complaining that her baby sleeps too much," Javan, who was helping Teagan out that afternoon, said from the corner where she filled in some paperwork. "Jamie has the same biological build as you, Bethany. He's completely healthy. He's just tired. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Still…" Bethany mumbled. Steve knew that she was paranoid about this, as she usually was about Jamie's health and safety.
"Have you given any more though to our Halloween costumes?" Steve asked, wanting to change the topic at hand. The holiday was coming up soon and the entire Facility was invited to a huge Halloween party. Bethany had been trying to think of a good couple's costume all week.
"I thought of a good one, actually," Bethany nodded. "I'm not sure you'll like it though."
"I don't care that much," Steve admitted. "Whatever makes you happy."
"Well, remember the other day when we were watching Mary Poppins?" Bethany began. "And Jamie really liked the scene with the penguins? I thought that we could get him a penguin costume and you and I could be Bert and Mary when they're in the chalk world."
"Why wouldn't I like that idea?" Steve asked, his brows scrunched together in thought. He agreed that the idea was a good one, especially because of Jamie. They had tried to get Jamie to pick a costume for himself, but he had been completely uninterested in doing so.
"Bert's costume isn't the most pleasant thing to look at," Bethany said with a soft shrug.
"No, it's a great idea," Steve assured her. "Have you decided what we're doing that night though? With trick-or-treating?"
"I don't think Jamie should miss out on it, but he wouldn't be out for long. Jackson promised Theo that he would take him out trick-or-treating in the city and told us we could join him until Jamie gets tired. Theo is staying in the city that night with Jackson, but we can just go back here and join the party for a while before Jamie needs to go to bed."
They were starting to see the benefit in having a full time sitter. With Jamie, they couldn't stay out as late partying with their friends anymore, but they had both agreed that it was part of being a parent. If Jamie had a good nap time, like he had been lately, then he could stay up pretty late and still be in a good mood the next day. On those rare occasions, sometimes Steve would get up to work out and Jamie would still be asleep, but he never proved to be a nuisance the following day.
"If you want to stay at the party a little longer, I can always take him home and you can stay," Steve suggested. He felt bad that Bethany spent all day with Jamie and he got to be with their friends. Even if it was work, she missed out on a lot of good times.
"It's okay," She replied with a heartfelt smile. "I don't mind missing out on the tail end of a Halloween party. I have been to a lot of them in my lifetime. Plus, I kinda like the idea of us heading home early and watching a scary movie or two. It's not like we'll have any trick-or-treaters of our own to interrupt the movie every five seconds. Ah man, I'm gonna need a nice big steak after this."
"Your wish is my command," Steve promised her before kissing her temple.
**A/N: BTW, the poll has a clear winner :) People want Bethany to side with Steve, not necessarily because she agrees with the Accords, but because they should stick together. I hear ya. It's always a bummer when they disagree. I'm excited to write that plot, but that still won't be for a little while now. I don't want to rush into the plot line.
But as with every other story, we're going to start the story with a flashforward moment into Civil War. I still haven't decided what scene to use for that, so if anyone wants to suggest something, feel free! Right now, I'm thinking about Bethany and Spiderman talking after the airport scene, since it'll give off enough information to keep people interested, but still have a lot of shadows clouding everything :)
Cleo9427: Well, we haven't exactly seen the last of Eddie, so it might happen ;)
anonymouscsifan: I agree, Bethany is not any better at their marriage, she just brings different things to the table that Steve personally sees as more valuable... but that's just how he is as a person.
lumin: You mean with someone kissing Steve? Maybe I can work that in :) Bethany would sure as hell not stay calm during that however.
Jo: Jamie sure is adorable :) He likes to see his family smile and laugh, so he does whatever he can to drag those out of them :)
1 guest: MCU or my story-wise? I didn't really mean to put that into place in this story. I feel like their friends respect Steve and Bethany's relationship too much to even entertain it. Like Kiley has openly expressed how attractive she thinks Steve is in the past, but she wouldn't ever act on anything.
