A/N: Hi there! This chapter seems a bit shitty to me, feedback is appreciated. I have one more week left of break so hopefully I'll be able to write up a new chapter and either post it before or after the new year. Thank you for reading, enjoy!

As always, I don't take credit for any of the characters. All mistakes are mine.

After Maria calmed down, he drove them to James' and Natasha's house, they wanted desperately to see Sophie and make sure she was okay. Maria was on the phone with the lawyer while he spoke to CPS. Apparently, they couldn't see Sophie because it was past visiting hours and they would get a call sometime tomorrow morning.

"It was no use, they won't let us see her." Steve's voice rang out as Maria hung up the phone, having just ended the call with the lawyer. "They said they'd call when we could, sometime tomorrow."

The brunette sighed, running a hand through her hair as she set the phone back in it's base. "Their lawyer said he'd be here around nine, he said he'd help us getting Soph back here."

Nodding, Steve's eyes moved to look Maria once over. She looked exhausted, he probably did too. "It's late, we should get some rest." Before she could voice her protest, he shook his head, motioning towards the stairs. "Don't think about it, I'll take the couch, you can take the guest bedroom."

Unlike other times, Hill didn't have the energy to protest with him, so she gave a single nod before shuffling out of the living room. "Night, Rogers."

The following morning was strange for both Steve and Maria. They woke up, but it took them a minute for reality to set in and for them to realize why they were sleeping where they were sleeping. Maria ended up crying again and Steve just wanted to not feel numb. Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid each other or the rest of the day, they had to talk to the lawyer and get Sophie back home. After showering and having breakfast (which was mostly them pushing food around the plate) the lawyer appeared.

"Hi, Attorney Nick Fury. I was their lawyer since they got married. I'm so sorry for your loss."

All three sat down at the kitchen table as Nick grabbed a few papers from his briefcase. "They didn't have much in savings. They bought the house after Natasha's mom passed, it was as an investment."

"What about Sophie? CPS said we could see her sometime today." Steve added, really the main concern he had.

"When can we see her?" added Maria.

Nick tilted his head slightly, giving them a confused look. "James and Natasha didn't talk to you about this? Did they?"

The two plank looks he received told him everything. They had no clue.

"They didn't only name you as Sophie's godparents, but they put both of you in their will as her guardians if something like this were to happen."

"Wait.. they had a will?" Steve had known James since high school and never had he mentioned having a will.

"We're…. both of us? As in together?" This had to be a joke, they wouldn't do this to them. Maria couldn't wrap her mind around all of this. When were they going to tell them that they had picked both of them?

"This is a lot to handle but it's what they wanted. It was what they thought was best for Sophie." Shuffling a few papers around, he reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. "I'm going to call CPS. Getting her home is our priority."

"Yeah… we uh… we just, we need a moment." Maria glanced at Steve who nodded as well.

"Give us a minute." Standing, both Steve and Maria went outside, the latter going out the front door while the former went out the side door.

This was all too much for both. They had just lost their mutual best friends and now out of the blue they were told that both needed to raise their best friend's child. They had jobs and lives, neither of them knew how to take care of a child, they weren't Natasha and James. You were supposed to meet someone first and then have a kid, not the other way around, especially not with someone couldn't stand.

Running her hands through her hair, Maria breathed deeply before going back inside.

Steve still shocked but processing what was happening went back in as well.

"Okay." They glanced at each other and then at Nick.

"What if…" started Maria but as interrupted by Steve.

"One of us wants to take care of Sophie?"

"Or both? Or neither?" Maria added, unsure of which way she wanted to go. She loved Sophie, she really did, but working at Stark Industries wasn't exactly an easy job. And raising her with Steve? As if.

"Okay… we can look at James' family, maybe someone might be interested. But in the mean time you two will get temporary custody of her." Putting a few papers away, he added almost as an afterthought. "And don't worry about the mortgage, it's taken care of. All you will have to worry about are the utilities."

After having gone to CPS to pick up Sophie, the four of them went to family court. With Maria and Steve being given temporary custody of the girl.

"Why'd you even ask that question?" Steve asked as he unlocked the door, Sophie wailing in his arm as Maria trailing behind them with the bag.

"It was a fair question to ask, okay? I didn't it was going to be like Ophrah, 'you get a baby! And you get a baby! Babies for everyone!"

"Can you not be so cynical for a bit and help be figure out what's wrong with her?" Steve held her as she squirmed and cried, moving into the kitchen he lifted her up and smelled her. "Diaper is clean."

"What? You're just going to stand there and pretend like you didn't expect actual questions to be asked?" Maria challenged over Sophie's crying as she moved into the kitchen, opening the fridge for something to make her. "She's probably hungry. You dropped her goldfish, remember?"

"Me? That was you." Okay she had a fair point. He had and the whole thing had taken less than ten minutes. It really hadn't been what he'd expected. But he wasn't going to tell her that, not when she was blaming him for Sophie's crying.

"I'm going to make her something."

Scoffing, the brunette shut the fridge and glanced at the red and waling child. Natasha would've known what to do, even before she had Sophie, she was great with kids. "You'll end up feeding her by the time she's two."

Moving to the cupboards, she rummaged around and grabbed a can of teddy bear cookie. Walking over to the high chair, she opened the can, pouring some of the contents onto the table.

"You really think we're what's best for her?"

Glancing at Sophie who was happily eating the cookies, she looked over at Steve, brow arched. "You know we have to try and find someone better than us."

Steve didn't want to admit it, but she was right. They had to find someone who knew how to take care of a kid, they weren't cut out for this. Sophie deserved better.