This is a disclaimer for any chapters past, present and future. I do not own any of these characters, they have their own respective owners, I just write about them for non-profit enjoyment.
Wow! Eight reviews in 3 hours! Thank you! Here is your reward, tomorrow, it's the big meet or at least more Pete ;)
Enjoy!
Fury had apparently had someone close by. The driver of the SHEILD jet claimed he was just in the area but after Steve glared at him, he admitted that Fury may or may not have had him under surveillance and that if Steve heard that information, it wasn't from him. It took just over an hour and a half to get to the hellicarrier. It still floated above America with Fury's protective gaze watching over it.
When Steve entered the control room he saw Fury watching out of the large window.
"Director Fury." Steve said in greeting to catch the man's attention.
"Captain." Fury said as he turned around. They shook hands and got over the pleasantries as they walked to Fury's private office.
"So, what was so urgent I had to cut my holiday short? I thought you wanted me to connect with the changing world I am now a part of." Steve commented. He held too much respect to Fury to judge him, the man would obviously have a valid reason.
"Someone has been investigating the family tree of Margret Carter, also known as Peggy Carter." Fury stated bluntly. Steve sat there in shock. Of all the things he thought he had been called here for, he would never in his wildest dreams of expected to hear that.
"Director, I looked into her death I did no-"
"I'm not talking about you." Fury cut in. Steve stared at him blankly. He had no idea where this was going.
"What do you know about Carter after the war?" Fury asked.
"She had a child within three years of my disappearance and died from an unknown illness a while back." Steve replied. Now he was becoming sceptical. What did any of this have to do with him?
"You were frozen in January 1945. On the 20th of November 1945 Katherine Carter was born. In 1965, at the age of 20, Katherine married Tom Parker and that same year Ben Parker was born. Four years later, in 1970, Peggy had another grandson called Richard Parker. In the year 1990, Ben Parker married a woman called May. Three years later, his younger brother married a woman named Mary. In 1995 Peggy Carter died and a year later Peter Parker was born to Richard and Mary Parker. In 2001 Richard and Mary died leaving their only son to their childless in laws. In 2012 Ben Parker was shot dead. Last Saturday, May Parker died in a house fire." Fury explained. Steve sat their dumbfounded. He still couldn't understand how any of this was relevant to him. He was already doing the maths when Fury broke his thoughts.
"Carter had her one and only child within nine months of your disappearance. The DNA matches, she's your daughter."
Steve wanted to say something. Anything. His mind was drawing up blanks. Fury let all the information of the last two minutes sink in. All those births, all those deaths, they were from his family. The family he had never seen, the one that had passed without him knowing it existed.
Finally, after what felt like hours of deafening silence, Steve found his voice again.
"I – I checked the records, it said that Peggy didn't know the father." He stuttered, all this confusion was hurting his head.
"It was never put in the records. Officially, Katherine Parker nee Carter had a blank space on her birth certificate where her father's name should be." Fury confirmed. Steve just looked even more confused. Fury sighed before continuing. "Steve, what do you expect would happen to a child if someone thought they might have the super serum bred into them? What would happen if your advancements had been passed down?"
Steve started to understand but his brain was still processing too much to work at normal capacity so Fury filled in the blanks.
"This child would be experimented on. She would be taken away from her mother by scientists, kidnapped by villains. If word got out, she would never have a normal childhood." Fury explained.
Steve completely understood what he was being told but it still hurt that he was never officially a father.
"Did – did she ever know her true heritage?" Steve questioned.
"I don't know. Maybe Carter told her – your daughter when she was older, when she wouldn't go telling everyone." Steve nodded, that sounded responsible, it sounded like a Peggy idea.
Then, something from the family tree Fury had just detailed stuck out at him.
"You never mentioned Katherine dying!" Steve said sounding hopeful. Fury instantly felt guilty for leading Steve on.
"She and her husband died in a car accident in 1999." Fury added. Steve instantly looked horror stricken. He had no family, they had all come and gone while he slept! His last family had died while he was around, if only he had learnt this a year earlier!
As if Fury could read his mind he started talking again.
"There is one member of your family left." Steve looked up in surprise and then went through the family tree that Fury had told him about in his head.
There was a pause and then Steve noticed the glitch in the tree, the one thing that didn't add up.
"Peter." He whispered. Fury nodded.
"He's currently at a children's home in Manhattan. He'll be there for basically a whole year, when he turns 18... that is, unless you step in." Fury announced. He was eyeing Steve cautiously, trying to read the man's expression. Steve just looked surprised.
"But, you said my name wasn't on the record, I'm not stated as part of that family?" Steve was growing confused again.
"The official birth certificate is locked up. A false one stating no paternal figure was handed over to be put in the records." Fury explained.
"So, I would be announced as Katherine's father ergo, I would have the right to claim Peter under my guardianship?" Steve asked, he didn't want to get his hopes up but he could feel something brewing in his chest.
"Yes, well, sort of." Fury said, Steve looked confused again. "The social workers would need to see that you are fit to take care of a child, not that a seventeen year old needs much. They would need to see that you have a house and enough money to support yourself and Peter."
Steve's hope was snapped once more and he looked depressed.
"I have no house, I have no job and I have no idea how to care for a child, especially a teenager." Steve complained.
Fury, however, did not look so down trodden.
"I've been meaning to contact you for a while. Stark renovated his tower that was destroyed; he gave it a new name though. It's called the Avenger's tower and has a floor for each of you, I'm sure one of your spare rooms could be renovated as a room for Peter. As for income, you have enough money to secure you both for a while. All you need is a way to keep that going." Fury finished suggestively. Steve looked cautious.
"What are you suggesting?" He asked.
"Come and work for SHEILD." Fury said bluntly. "We'll pay you for defending New York against Loki and his army. We'll give you a starting salary. We won't give you many missions and they won't be long so that you can spend time with your great grandson but it'll keep your income steady and insure that you have guardianship over Mr Parker."
"What if Peter doesn't want to come with me though?" Steve asked, scared from entertaining the thought.
"If he says no then he says no. The likeliness of him saying no is very minimal though." Fury pointed out.
"When can I see him?" Steve asked gaining his composure.
"I'll get a meeting set up for Friday, that gives you time to think this over, think over what you're going to say and get used to your new home. Along with that, you have to explain this to Stark." Fury said with a small smirk.
Steve nodded. He thanked Fury and went to start his new life, as a guardian and an official SHEILD agent.
Maria Hill rang ahead and informed Pepper Potts, Tony's CEO, girlfriend and life organiser of Steve's planned arrival so that no one was shocked when he turned up.
It was around five in the afternoon when Steve arrived at the tower. He had been dropped off at an abandoned warehouse by the same SHIELD jet that had taken him to the hellicarrier. It still had his bike inside and he used that to drive through the ever busy streets of New York.
Once he found an area to secure his bike, Steve stood and looked at the impressive building that towered over New York.
At least it doesn't look as ugly as it used to Steve rationalised. He had to push through a few people camping outside, hoping to glimpse at a famous Avenger or see the amazing Tony Stark himself. The Captain was so happy no one recognised him out of costume. Since he was expected, the security guard let him through and he walked into the ground floor. All things considered, the place looked pretty homely. There was a nice carpet, comfy seats and a friendly face smiling at him as he walked over.
"Hi Captain Rogers. I'm Pepper Potts, pleased to meet you." Pepper greeted as she stuck out her hand. Steve shook.
"Hello ma'am. Please, call me Steve. And the pleasure is all mine." He replied. Pepper smiled. He was such a gentleman, maybe him being here would rub off on Tony.
"Call me Pepper." She replied and they both smiled before Pepper moved over to the lift. It sprung open before she even had a chance to call it and out stepped the one and only Tony Stark.
"Capsicle, long time no see." Tony said practically shouting. Pepper rethought her previous notion of Tony ever become more like a gentleman, it was never going to happen.
"Stark, nice to see you again." Steve said honestly.
"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour." Tony said leading them back to the lift. It was abnormally large Steve noted. Then again, trying to fit Thor in a normal lift would have proved a challenge, let alone with anyone else.
Once the lift started heading up Tony turned to face Steve.
"I see you have met the wonderful and astoundingly amazing Pepper." Tony said casually. Pepper blushed slightly and Steve gave an acknowledging nod. "Well, at the moment, it's us three and Bruce living in the tower." Tony explained.
"How is Doctor Banner?" Steve asked.
"He's good, no episodes yet, he's got a firm lid on things. He seems to have lightened up a bit. I think he's enjoying the labs." Tony admitted.
"No thanks to Tony." Pepper muttered, "He keeps prodding Bruce but thankfully the poor man is in control and is one of the few who can handle Tony's behaviour."
Steve smirked slightly at the banter.
Finally the doors pinged open and they stepped out into a living room with several doors.
"This is your floor. You have a kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. If you need anything, ask Jarvis, you might remember my AI."
"Hello." A random voice said from somewhere in the room.
"We have a communal kitchen and sitting room on the fifth floor, yours is the seventh. We normally have dinner together but feel free to be Johnny no mates if you so wish." Tony finished. Pepper lightly elbowed him.
"Is there a gym nearby?" Steve questioned. He felt like he was asking for too much already.
"We have a sparring room on the tenth floor, a simulations room on the eleventh and a normal gym – with plenty of punch bags – and a swimming pool on the twelfth floor." Tony counted off.
Steve nodded slowly, it was very impressive.
"Anyway," Pepper interrupted, "we'll leave you to settle in and then you can join us for dinner if you want. We'll call you down."
"Thank you ma'am." Steve said bowing his head slightly. Tony and Pepper moved back to the lift and Tony waved as the doors closed behind them.
Steve wandered around his floor – he couldn't get his head around that expression. He owned a floor of a large building. Not many could claim that. Even less could claim that floor was in Sta – Avenger's Tower. The sitting room had a soft red carpet. There was a large flat screen TV. Like most other Stark tech, it just looked like a flat piece of glass but it could do a lot more than just look pretty. There were three sofas in a horse shoe facing the each other and with a view of the TV. On further investigation, Steve found that the sofas had a lever which allowed you lower the back of the seat and a foot rest came out. He promised himself to take advantage of that feature. There was always one thing he loved about modern technology, it made life more comfortable if you ignored the confusing hand held or even just complicated tech. In the middle of horse shoe was a rectangular wooden coffee table that went no higher than knee height. There were two remotes on it. Steve had no idea how to use either of them or what they did so he thought it best to just leave them and find a good book instead.
One wall was just glass looking out at a spectacular view of New York. Steve thought that if there were any fireworks, this would be the spot to watch it from.
Following that, behind one of the doors in the room was a rather nice kitchen with a stove and microwave with too many buttons. There was a table in the middle of the room with four cushioned chairs around it and a fruit bowl filled with oranges and bananas and apples. There was even a pineapple. Steve checked the fridge and found a mixture of snacks, readymade meals and then ordinary fish, meat and veg. There were also assortments of drinks on the shelves in the fridge door including orange juice, apple juice, beer and, of course, milk.
Steve found the two bedrooms. They looked practically identical. The walls were white washed and the floor was a simple light blue carpet. There were no decorations or pictures; he guessed that Tony expected him to fill the room. It also had a standard wardrobe, chest of draws and a bedside radio with a television opposite the bed.
The bathroom was in between the two bedrooms. It had a large shower, a sink with mirror and even a posh looking bath. There were soap bars in the appropriate places as well as hand towels and a normal towel. Steve later found a cupboard with a washing machine and dryer and spare towels.
Tony had thought of everything!
Steve then thought of who would hopefully be living here. Would this be too much or too little? Would Peter want to live here or would he stay at the home?
Steve then remembered what Fury had said. He would have to tell Tony at some point, and soon! Steve decided to not worry about it; he would tell them all at dinner. With that thought he went and unpacked before taking a nice relaxing shower.
At around seven pm Steve almost jumped out of his skin when the voice of Jarvis pulled him away from Middle Earth and out of Tolkien's literary work.
"Mister Rogers, Mister Stark is asking if you are coming down for dinner." Jarvis passed on. Steve evened out his breathing before replying.
"I'll be down in just a moment." Steve replied before he was left in silence again.
Steve rolled up off his bed and went to the lift.
Dinner turned out to be take away Chinese. Steve wasn't complaining, the duck chow mien was absolutely delicious.
He had seen Bruce Banner before he sat down and they had gone through the pleasantries before being interrupted by Tony and ordered to sit down. They had sat and said what they had been up to since they watched Loki and Thor disappear to Asgard while Pepper sat and listened, interested in what everyone had to say, even Tony, though she'd never admit it.
"What's up Capsicle?" Tony questioned as they started getting through the last of the meal. Steve put on a confused expression.
"What are you on about Tony?" Steve questioned knowing exactly what Tony was getting at.
"Let me rephrase that, what's wrong Steve?" Tony asked in a more serious tone of voice. Unfortunately Steve knew he couldn't put the inevitable off any further.
He sighed, thinking how to phrase this.
"I may have mentioned a woman named Peggy Carter from back when we were at war." Steve started. Two out of three people nodded. "Well, after I left she had a kid, that kid had kids and then they had a kid."
Tony was looking confused, why should any of this bother Steve? If he's got family he should go and see them!
"Well, it turns out, Peggy died, our daughter, Katherine died with her husband, then their youngest and his wife died. They had a son. He went to Katherine's eldest son and his wife. Now both of them are dead. I have a great grandson who I plan to take in. Can we live here?" Steve blurted everything out. He didn't know how else to phrase it, there was no easy way.
The three other people at the table sat in shock. Pepper was the first to regain her senses.
"Of course!" she cried. "I mean, you would have to share a floor but it's big enough and you have two bedrooms. I don't see any problem in it."
Pepper then nudged Tony who then nodded.
"Yeah, sure. I just have one question, is that the only reason you came back? So you could take in this kid?" Tony asked. He made it look casual but Steve could sense a hint of hurt in his voice.
"I've been thinking about what I'm going to do next for a while. I could never keep travelling or I'm doubtful about my luck on the job market. I didn't know this was up for offer until Fury called me in and explained my great grandson's situation." Steve explained honestly.
"So you did it for a bit of both then? To see us and get your relative in your custody?" Bruce asked in confirmation. Steve nodded. Tony relaxed and accepted that answer.
"So, what's he like?" Tony asked getting back to the meal.
"I don't know." Steve honestly remarked, "I'm meeting him on Friday. I know he's just turned seventeen and his name is Peter."
Tony looked like he was about to say something obnoxious or dumb but Pepper beat him to it.
"Well, I look forwards to meeting him." Pepper smiled kindly. Steve sent her a grin in return. That hadn't gone so badly.