All characters from Marvel belong to Disney as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.
A/N: Wow, I can't believe this story has officially come to an end. I could honestly go on and on with this one but I don't want to bore you all with a never-ending story... though maybe I will save those ideas for a future Twilight/Avengers story. Anyways, this journey has been a lot of fun and I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the comments, messages, the follows and the favorites. I never take the time to encourage you to do those things but it does feel extremely good when you guys do so on your own, so thank you for that. I do however encourage you to follow my profile if you would like to stay updated on my writing progression. Like I've said before, I've already got a third story in the works but I don't have the plot line figured out yet. I have basic ideas and snippets of scenes but I haven't figured out exactly in what direction I'll be taking it. I have to figure out that part first before I start posting chapters.
Again, thank you all for the support and I will see you all in the next one!
Chapter 26 Epilogue
"Mr. Langdon's secretary called and asked to postpone the meeting you have with him today. He said he had a business emergency and won't be available for another two weeks."
I looked at my assistant and rolled my eyes. "Business emergency? Yeah... that's what he said when he canceled last week's appointment. Just cancel the meeting altogether. I don't want to do business with him if he's having these so called 'business' emergencies all the time." I said using my fingers to add air quotations.
"Uh, Bella, he could become one of our biggest clients in the future. Their focus on biomechanics is like nothing we've ever seen." Darren advised.
"And he's playing games with me and I find it completely unacceptable. He's challenging me and I'm not about to play into his hand." I said firmly, turning my gaze back to Lily. "Tell them 'Thank you but no thank you.' We were hoping to do business with him but since he's being difficult we will unfortunately have to skip on this one."
"Yes, Ms. Stark." She answered back leaving my office and heading back to her desk to make the call.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Darren asked again.
"Positive. He's testing me because I'm young and a woman. Stark Industries thrives on inclusion of all races and sexes and we demand equal treatment and respect on all boards. If he thinks he can push me around because he's under the impression that I am naive and inexperienced then he's got another thing coming. I did learn from the best after all." I smirked at him.
He nodded and laughed, "Can't argue with that."
"Besides, I have a feeling he'll be making a personal call directly to me to reinstate our meeting as soon as possible. He knows we can make him millions, it would be incredibly stupid on his part to pass up this opportunity." I said, to let him know I wouldn't be playing these childish games in the business field. "In the meantime, show me the initial contract. We're going to have to modify it after this little stunt he just pulled."
He smiled mischievously and pulled out a folder from his briefcase. He moved closer to me on the sofa so we could both see the file together. "Which part do you want to change?" He asked.
I flipped the page to the section I was looking for and was about to tell him exactly what to change when my office door opened abruptly. I turned to look at who it had been, wondering who would enter my office without giving a proper announcement, only to find Steve and Bucky filling the space.
"Hey Handsome... And Bucky, What's going on?" I asked, pushing the file over to Darren's lap so I could stand and meet them at the entrance.
Steve's eyes surreptitiously shifted between Darren and I before speaking, "Pepper's in labor."
"What?! Oh my god!" I exclaimed, "Well let's go!" I said, turning to look at Darren for more directives before leaving. "Email me the contract and I'll send it back whenever I can with the new modifications." I said, moving to the back of my desk to get my purse, laptop, and tablet to take to the hospital. Once those were secured I walked towards Steve and Bucky, Darren meeting me there.
"Sounds good, call me if you have any questions, and let me know if Pepper's ok." He asked.
"Will do." I said, grabbing onto Steve's hand as we exited my office, Darren leaving with us but deviating in the direction to his own office. I then turned my attention to Lily, "Cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. Let everyone know I'm not available to contact until I say so. Shut down my office and once you're done you can go home if you've got nothing else to catch up on." I advised, knowing she liked to linger after hours to stay ahead of the game. She had proved over and over again what a great assistant she was but I was hoping to move her up to another position within the next few months. She had a lot of potential, and though she was an excellent assistant she had a lot more to offer the company. "Oh and call my driver please."
"Thank you, Ms. Stark, and I already have." She said with a smile as she watched us go.
Bucky whistled lowly as we walked away. "Bella runs a tight ship around here." He lightly commented.
I laughed, playfully bumping him on the shoulder. "Yeah well I can't let the business go bankrupt while Pepper is away. Someone had to step up and my dad was obviously not going to do it."
"Lazy old man." Bucky mockingly disapproved.
"Don't let him hear you say that." I sing-songed playfully. Once we were in the elevator I turned to Steve, "Ok, tell me everything. What did I miss?"
"She's been having contractions since two in the morning and she refused to tell anyone. It wasn't until Tony took a lunch break from his lab that he found her in pain after her contractions got worse. Almost as soon as your dad arrived her water broke at his feet. It's like your sister was waiting for Tony to arrive to announce her own arrival."
I laughed at that. "Something tells me my dad will have his hands full with her... a lot more than he did with me."
"And something tells me you already were a lot to handle growing up." Bucky commented with a smile.
"Oh no. I was a perfect little angel."
He arched a patronizing brow in my direction. "Was that before or after your mom took you to the pet store to get a hamster when you were six and you decided to release the birds to freedom and your mom had to pay for all the lost merchandise back to the pet store?"
I narrowed my eyes at Steve, "you told him that?"
He shook his head in denial, "Definitely not me."
"Charlie." Bucky cleared up.
"Oh he's so going to get it next time I see him." I warned dangerously.
After returning from our unsanctioned mission, things had been very tense around the tower. It took a lot of groveling from both Steve and I to get them to forgive us but during that time Bucky hadn't been able to handle the stress of our environment. With a heavy heart, we'd decided to send him to Charlie's for a while. Objectively though, it was better for him to go off on his own and to try to experience a normal way of life before he was completely thrust back into our world again. At least that was the plan.
Charlie had welcomed him with open arms and had managed to get him an internship as a forest ranger. In that time, Charlie and he had become great friends, if anything Bucky had found a sort of father figure in him. Bucky thrived in nature and the quietness of Forks, it also helped to hide Bucky's metal arm in plain sight since it was always cold in Forks and he could easily get away with wearing long sleeves, jackets, and gloves without being questioned. We all knew a licensed therapist would never really understand what Bucky had gone through all these years. Charlie though, while now being the Chief of Police of Forks, had experienced some terrible things during his earlier years working in Seattle. Thus he was able to provide the support and understanding none of us were completely able to do with everything else going on within our family structure and work life. In his own way Charlie had provided the necessary therapy Bucky had desperately needed and it had turned out better than any of us could have anticipated.
He was currently back in town for a short visit wanting to be around for Pepper's birth. His relationship with everyone else was starting to blossom but his almost instant bond with Pepper had surprised everyone, especially my father and I. I could only assume that Pepper's growing maternal instincts had found Bucky's pain unbearable and so she'd welcomed him more than anyone. He in turn took care of her the most whenever my father wasn't available. He made sure she ate and basically catered to her every need to make her comfortable. I was actually surprised he hadn't been there this morning to witness Pepper's labor pains.
"Where were you this morning?" I asked curiously, wondering how he'd missed the big event.
He nervously shifted his eyes to Steve before answering my question. "Uh, Steve and I went running and I guess we just lost track of time..." He said drifting off, looking away from me quickly.
Huh, that was weird. I raised a questioning brow at that but decided not to investigate any further, instead I turned my attention to Steve. "You're quiet." I commented, as we excited the elevator.
He hummed lightly but didn't respond, he looked like he had something to say so I wordlessly motioned for him to voice his thoughts. "Do you always work so closely with your coworkers?" He blurted out.
I stopped abruptly at the entrance to the parking garage to face him completely, wondering why the hell he'd just asked that question. "Uh, where did that just come from?"
Bucky uncomfortably cleared his throat beside me. "You know what? I think I'll walk to the hospital... I uh... need the exercise." He awkwardly said, walking away before I could remind him that he'd already gone for a run with Steve this morning.
"You two just looked rather cozy, and isn't he the guy that asked you out before we were together?" He asked with a frown.
"You mean Darren? Yes, it's him." I confirmed, I found it incredibly weird that he was currently questioning me about that now. He should've known I would be continuing to work with him even after what had happened… or almost happened, because Steve had assured nothing would happen after his little revelation. "Are you jealous, Steve?" I asked playfully, pursing my lips to keep the smile off my face.
He side eyed me but refused to make eye contact, scoffing dramatically. "Of course not." He said, rolling his eyes.
This time I had to laugh.
"Ms. Stark." My driver said, pulling my attention to him as he held the door open for us.
"Thank you, Sorentino." I said, forcefully pulling Steve behind me to enter the vehicle.
He followed silently as my driver closed the door behind him. Without wasting any more time I silently raised up the glass partition separating us from my driver's vision. I hiked up my skirt and straddled Steve's lap, digging my fingers into his hair.
"Was I supposed to fire Darren to make you feel better, Handsome?" I asked in a teasing voice, lightly scraping my nails against the nape of his neck.
"Bella." He warned. Silently asking me to be serious, but it was hard to do at the moment with how ridiculous his line of questioning had been.
"Would it make you feel better if I did?" I asked outright. He refused to answer me this time but I pushed through. "Steve, did you know that Darren happens to have a girlfriend?" His eyes shifted over to me fully this time. "He's been dating Lily, my assistant, for the past month." I informed him.
"Oh." He said, "they don't act like..."
"Like they're together?" I finished for him. "That's because they want to keep business and pleasure separate. He asked for my permission before he asked her out initially. I gave him my blessing but warned him he needed to keep things professional at the office, no matter the outcome. He agreed and lucky for him Lily had also been interested in him too. Once she found out I didn't have a problem with it she agreed to go out with him and they've been dating ever since."
He remained silent for some time before he finally spoke up, "That's nice." He finally said.
I couldn't help it, I laughed. I laughed so hard I fell off of his lap and back onto my seat.
"It's not that funny, Bella." He deadpanned but I couldn't stop laughing. Steve was a lot of different wonderful things but jealous was not one of them, which I more than appreciated. He's also seen me work closely with an innumerable amount of people since I took over for Pepper since her maternity leave. So finding him jealous now had come as quite a surprise and I secretly wondered why of all days he'd suddenly had a problem with it today.
In retaliation he got down on his knees, hiked up my skirt higher up on my waist moving my panties to the side and hid his face in between my legs. Catching me completely unaware.
I gasped at the suddenness of his actions and thanked the high heavens I had decided to raise the privacy screen as soon as we'd entered the vehicle. "Shit!" I exclaimed, feeling his tongue lapping at me greedily. He was moving fast and I could already feel the beginning stirs in my lower belly. I understood his urgency, we weren't that far from the hospital and if it weren't for the traffic we would have been there by now.
Withouth preamble he slipped his fingers inside me, causing me to arch my back at the motion, moving my body to compliment his own movements and releasing an aching sigh from deep within. He pulled his face away from me, watching the pleasure take over me for a moment before bending down towards me, but before he could capture my lips in a kiss I licked around his mouth, cleaning his face while tasting my own essence before finally slipping my tongue into his mouth. He moaned deep in his throat, the noise making me squeeze my legs together trying to assuage the pleasurable friction he'd created. I could feel my inner walls fluttering around his fingers, announcing my impending release. Steve noticing this removed his hand from where it was, leaving me utterly disappointed. I would have complained but faster than I realized he replaced his fingers with his member. Forcing a loud moan from me at the fullness I felt with him inside.
"Steve." I moaned, shoving him back into his seat, following after him to straddle his lap again without letting him slip from me.
He groaned at the action but not satisfied with our current clothing arrangement he unbuttoned my blouse so fast I had expected at least a few of the buttons to pop off but was surprised when that wasn't the case. A split second later he was lowering the cups of my bra pushing them underneath my breast to set them free. He drifted into a trans as he watched them bounce for him but not being able to resist any longer he leaned forward enough to capture one of my nipples into his mouth. He greedily sucked and then abruptly let go with a snap, making me hiss at the pain and pleasure he'd inflicted. He continued to watch me for what felt like forever before he finally pulled my face back to his to trap me in another kiss, his free hand gliding up my thigh around my hips and grasping onto my cheek tightly, using it to move me into a quicker pace. I bounced on top of him mercilessly, riding him for all I was worth.
"You're mine, Bella." He growled possessively, squeezing me hard into his body.
I moaned at his words and I could feel my impending release coming in hard, ready to crash into me like waves upon a turbulent sea. "All yours. Forever." I confirmed, biting his lip before kissing him again.
He moaned deep in his throat, the vibrations of it transferring into me and I in turn sent them back to him with my powers. We both came together, moving erratically against each other until only our harsh breathing was left behind.
I slowly pulled away, watching a goofy relaxed smile appear on his face. I would have laughed but I was pretty sure that same smile was reflected on mine. I was riding high on an ecstasy only Steve could instill in me. I pulled away from him completely and moved into my own seat to clean myself up. Letting Steve do the same while rearranging my clothes before I lightly tapped on the window to notify my driver he could open the door for us now.
I got out of the car first, finding Bucky nearby already standing at the back entrance of the hospital with his arms crossed over his broad chest waiting for us with a smirk plastered onto his face.
I winked and joined him as we both watched Steve get out of the car. A faint pink tint coloring his cheeks when he realized my driver had been waiting for us to be ready to open our door but when he turned towards me only to find Bucky also waiting, the pink on his cheeks intensified.
I laughed and so did Bucky. Steve's hair was still a complete mess from our previous car activities but he hadn't even noticed yet. We both exchanged looks, wordlessly communicating neither one of us would notify him of his current unkempt state.
"He gives the walk of shame a new name, doesn't he?" Bucky teased, making me laugh louder.
Steve rolled his eyes in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. It was rather endearing. "Heard anything yet?" I asked Bucky to save Steve... at least for now.
"Other than the both of you?" He asked, not being able to resist teasing Steve one last time. "Yeah, Pepper is seven centimeters dilated. It'll be a few more hours until she's ready but the doctor said she's moving along nicely. She's asking for you so we should get in there soon."
I nodded and followed after him, Steve quietly trailing behind us. We entered the elevator and both Bucky and I laughed again as Steve looked at himself in the mirror of the elevator's walls for the first time.
"I hate you both." He grumbled, attempting to fix his hair before the elevator doors slid open again.
I decided to help him after his failed attempt and he smiled at me in thanks before pulling me to his side and draping his arm over my shoulders as we walked out of the elevator together.
Bucky guided us to Pepper's private wing and we were greeted by the family quickly before we made our way into Pepper's room.
"How's my momma and my little sister doing?" I asked as I entered her room.
"Oh Bella, thank god you're here. Your father is driving me absolutely crazy." She said breathlessly as my dad frantically fluttered around the room trying to figure out what to do to make her feel better.
Oh no, I thought to myself. My dad was officially freaking out. I slowly made my way over to him, stopping him in his tracks. "Hey Dad, it's Bella. You remember me right?" I asked. The look he gave me could have melted ice but I couldn't help but laugh in response, though I limited it to a small chuckle. "Ok, I get it. Don't kill me and then replace me with another." I joked. "How about we go get a drink or something?" I offered lightly.
He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, huffed out in annoyance, and walked towards the door of Pepper's hospital room. I quickly followed after him, taking a quick glance towards Pepper and seeing her mouthing 'thank you' to me for providing a good distraction for my father. Steve and Bucky stayed behind, providing the support she needed while my father got himself together before he unintentionally increased her blood pressure with his antics.
Everyone watched us leave the room with secretive smiles on their faces but my dad quickly ignored everyone on his way out. I kept following him without a word but looked back to glare at the family as they snickered at my dad's current state. I really didn't want him to unleash all that pent up agitation on the peanut gallery.
We made it all the way to the vending machines until I grabbed my dad by the arm, making him turn to look at me. "Seriously, Dad, you have to keep it together! I'm not opposed to zapping you back into shape with my powers." I warned.
He released a long suffering sigh as he briskly ran his fingers through his hair. "I know. It's just so nerve wrecking. She looks like she's in so much pain."
"Yeah and she probably is, but you acting like this isn't making her feel any better. Pepper needs you there to support her. Also, you do realize the hard part isn't even over yet… right?"
"Shit. It's going to get worse…" He trailed off, and I idly wondered how he hadn't prepared himself for something that was bound to happen. "What the hell am I supposed to do, Elly?" He helplessly asked.
"Remain calm and collected. Pepper is the one going though it, not you. She needs you there to comfort, love her, and reassure her that everything will be alright. And you freaking out isn't helping any." I advised, "Seriously Dad, were you like this when I was born too?"
"Sort of, but then Renee slapped me in the face and told me to get my shit together before threatening me to kick me out of the room and make me miss your birth. It was tough love but it worked at the time." He said with a laugh.
I laughed too, that sounded like something my mother would do. "I can slap you too, you know." I offered helpfully.
He rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "No thanks. I think I've got it handled now, but if I freak out again I give you permission to zap me with your powers." He offered.
"Awesome!"
"Lightly, Bella!" He amended.
I laughed anyway but nodded in acceptance. "Ok, now let's get you something to drink before you head back in there. You hungry?" I asked, as I pulled my wallet out to get him something to drink from the vending machine.
"No, just a water is fine." He said, pulling me into his arms just to hold me there for a few minutes as if I could physically provide him the strength he needed to face his next obstacle. I smiled and kissed his cheek hugging him tighter.
It had taken us a while to get back to where we used to be. After the whole Winter Soldier thing, my dad had not at all been happy with me, but I had anticipated that response. We spent hours upon hours talking about what had happened and why. He'd accepted he had been unreasonable and that he should have listened and taken the issue more seriously than he had. Still, his acceptance to his own faults had not been enough to erase what had transpired between us and it took us a while to mend our somewhat strained relationship. It helped that we had returned home victorious but it hadn't taken away the fear that I had inevitably instilled in him because of it. He understood why I did it and he knew ultimately I had done what needed to be done but it didn't mean that I would be so easily forgiven.
For my part, I did everything I could to gain his trust back and he in turn worked on relinquising control over me. My dad believed in me but it had still been hard for him to accept that I was a full-blown adult now and that I ultimately had to make my own decisions. He had a hard time letting go but I guess it was something that all parents eventually struggled to do with their children. Nevertheless, we'd both put in equal effort to mend our relationship and we were doing better than ever.
I got him a drink and a few for the others before heading back to the room, placing drinks on the table for everyone to grab.
"Have you finally stopped freaking out, Tony?" Nat asked with a raised brow.
Annoyed with them he didn't even bother to respond.
"If you guys knew he was freaking out, why didn't you guys do anything?" I asked in confusion.
Clint spoke up then. "We tried but he kept ignoring us. We finally gave up and waited for you to get here to whip him back into shape. I can see it worked." He said humorously.
"You guys act like I'm crazy or something." My dad grumbled.
Wanda snorted at that. "You kind of are, Dad."
A few chuckles went around the room before my dad grumbled unhappily for the last time before making his way back into Pepper's room. I quickly followed after him just to make sure he didn't annoy Pepper half to death again. She was already going through hell and she really didn't need my dad there to stress her out even further.
My dad immediately went straight to Pepper, kissed her on her forehead before telling her he was sorry and sitting down quietly in the chair beside her bed. I moved to her side and she made eye contact with me pulling me into her with her free hand.
"I love you so much, Bella." She practically cried onto my shoulder.
I giggled at the unfiltered relief in her voice. "I love you too. So how's my sister?" I asked again.
"Ready to come out." She said with a smile, pulling my hand to press it against her stomach.
I could feel her moving around in there through Pepper's skin, it was weird to think she would be joining us out in the real world soon. "Woah. That's creepy."
"Bella." My dad chastised in annoyance but Pepper waved off his concern as she giggled at my reaction.
"I take it you're not ready for one of these." She said, as she rubbed her belly.
"Shhhh!" I exclaimed, covering her mouth. "Don't give Steve any ideas!" I whispered loudly, making both Bucky and Dad laugh out loud while Steve rolled his eyes at me ending it with a pout.
"Can you imagine Bella being pregnant though?" My dad asked.
"Oh god no. She'd be absolutely unbearable." Emmett answered before anyone else could as he walked into the room as if he'd been here for the whole conversation, the rest of the family following closely behind as they too spoke their unwarranted opinions.
"True story."
"Absolutely."
"Please don't do it, Bella."
I narrowed my eyes at them all. "No one asked you guys!" I exclaimed in annoyance.
"I don't think she'd be that bad." Bucky added helpfully.
"That's because you've only seen the nice side of her. Wait until you see the real her." Bruce butt in.
I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. "I feel the love… Why have enemies when your family is more than ready to tear you apart within a moment's notice?"
"We still love you, B, just the way you are… no baby bump in sight." Clint added teasingly as he pulled me into his side.
I rolled my eyes at the last part of his comment. "Yes, you guys made that pretty obvious just now."
"I, for one, think you'd make a great mom." Pepper interjected.
"Again, stop trying to give Steve any ideas. I'm still too young for that."
Sam chuckled, shaking his head at my naïveté. "You do realize Steve probably already has baby names picked out."
I looked over at Steve then, finding him trying to act casual with his hand in his jeans pocket as he did everything in his power to avoid eye contact with me. I also didn't miss the light blush tainting his cheeks. Bucky who was standing next to him roared in laughter as he watched his friend struggle to keep his composure.
Luckily just then Pepper bent over in a whine as her next contraction hit, or I guess unluckily for her. We all moved forward trying to help her when a nurse walked in, startled as she saw how many people were currently in the room.
"Ok! I'm going to need everyone out. Mrs. Stark needs her space and the doctor will be coming in shortly to check her progress." She announced firmly, as she shooed everyone away.
We all gladly walked out of there hearing Pepper exclaim in pain even through the door. Nat, Wanda, and myself exchanged looks collectively feeling her pain. I think it was a universal pain all women could share since no man would ever have to go through the torture of child birth. I knew Nat couldn't have any children and Wanda had said she didn't want to have children, which was fine because it wasn't like Emmett could give her any. Meanwhile, I wasn't quite sure if I was willing to submit myself through that. Childbearing didn't really seem like my cup of tea, but I also hadn't really thought about it too deeply. I still considered myself too young to take on that kind of responsibility and figured I had a lot more time to decide whether that would be an option for me or not.
Speaking of Emmett, he had recently announced he'd go through the transition in two weeks time, claiming he'd waited longer than we'd initially planned for because of everything that had been going on, but now that everything was relatively back to normal he said nothing would delay him from going through with it. Wanda and I had agreed wholeheartedly. Edward hadn't had any adverse reactions and we'd even helped him start a new life away from the Cullen's. We'd asked him to keep himself hidden and away from his family at least until we released the serum to the vampire community, which we were planning to do after Emmett went through the transition. He was willing to be the face of the serum and to be the proof that the serum was in fact the real deal. I was nervous about it but I knew it would eventually work out.
I formed a makeshift office space for myself in one of the corners of the waiting room and pulled out my laptop and tablet and got to work on modifying the contract Darren and I had been talking about before Steve and Bucky had barged into my office.
"Do you ever stop working, Miss Bella?" Pietro asked teasingly.
I shifted my eyes up to him before speaking. "Sorry, there's a lot of shit to do. I canceled all of my appointments for today to be here right now and I'll have to make it up within the next following days. I won't have much time for paperwork so I have to get as much done as I can right now." I said with a huff, before getting back to the contract.
And for the next following hours that's how it went. I worked simultaneously from my laptop and tablet, taking small breaks to eat and chat when the family asked for my attention. I can't exactly remember when it was but the doctor came out just to notify us that Pepper was now in active labor. I put all of my stuff away completely to join the family then.
"Holy hell, this is scary." I muttered out, as we all heard Pepper through the doors.
"And exciting." Emmett added.
"Uhuh, yeah, that too..."
Steve chuckled beside me as he pulled me into his lap. "Relax, Sunshine." He said, as he placed his hand on my shoulders forcing my muscles to relax under his gentle touch. I smiled down at him in thanks, and let him do his work. Faster than I thought possible my dad burst through the doors.
"She's here!" He exclaimed happily, waving us into the room excitedly.
We all filtered in staring from Pepper to the baby and back and forth, not knowing where to look first. Pepper lightly chuckled at all of our responses.
"You ok, momma?" I asked sweetly, brushing the sweaty strands of her hair off her face.
"Better than ok." She said, patting my hand before motioning for me to take a closer look at my little sister.
I happily obliged, walking closer to my dad who was now holding my little sister in his arms. He gently reached for me with his free hand before making his announcement.
"I'd like you all to meet and welcome, Alexandra Renee Stark into the world." He announced proudly.
I turned to look up at him in surprise. "Really?" I asked tearfully.
"Yeah… Beautiful name, isn't it?" He asked, with a bittersweet smile.
I nodded, wiping the tears that managed to escape from my eyes. "Yup." I said quietly, choking on the emotion stuck in my throat.
"Your turn." He said, motioning for me to hold my sister.
"Hold her? Oh crap. Hold on! I need to sit down." I said frantically.
My dad rolled his eyes at me. "You don't need to sit down to hold her, you know." He told me condescendingly.
"Yes I do. What if I drop her?" I asked fearfully.
He scoffed but didn't say more as he watched me settle into the couch behind me. I extended my hands out letting him know I was ready and I heard a couple of chuckles going around the room but I ignored them as I concentrated on not hurting my sister.
"Am I holding her right?" I asked him, feeling slightly awkward.
My dad chuckled at my question, "You're doing fine, kid." He said reassuringly.
I could feel Steve sit next to me as he too looked down at her with a warm smile on his face. "You ever think of having one of these?" Steve quietly asked.
I froze in surprise looking up at him. I know we'd joked about it earlier but we'd never had a full on conversation about what our future would look like and I was surprised he would suddenly bring it up now. "I don't know... I guess I've never thought about it before... Do you... want one?" I asked.
"Maybe... One day." He said casually as he gently caressed my sister's hand with the back of his finger. By the look on his face I could tell he'd thought about it a lot more than he would ever admit. No wonder he'd looked so awkward about it earlier. Though, in a way, I understood. He was a bit older than me and more than ready to take on that responsibility. I, however, was not there yet... and might never be, but my sister tried to convince me otherwise as she grasped onto his finger squeezing tightly with her tiny fist. I smiled at the sight and I realized though I wasn't ready to have one now, maybe I would be in the future.
"Yeah... Maybe one day." I agreed quietly.
He turned to look at me in surprise that quickly transformed into a glittering smile. His love for me was clear in his eyes as he held nothing back at this moment. I had a bright future filled with love and a family I would love and cherish always. I had never expected life to turn out this way but as I sat here with my sister in my arms and the love of my life's arms wrapped around us both I thought there was nowhere else I would rather be.
Little did I know at the time what Steve had secretly planned for me with the help of his best friend and mine too. Later that day I would get the surprise of a lifetime, when Steve would inevitably ask me to marry him and I would undoubtedly say yes because there was nothing in this world that would make me happier than to be united with Steve in every possible way imaginable.
Forever.