Chapter 11

By: MysticFantasy

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"You certainly have your father's appetite." Natasha said as they got ready for bed. "Maybe you did inherit the super soldier serum."

"So I'm a super soldier like the two of you?" James asked sitting on the bed in his pajama's.

"Perhaps." Steve answered from the couch he had moved near the bed. "I think there's a strong chance that you did get it. Tony told us about everything you did during the battle."

"That reminds me." James said as he jumped off the bed and pulled something out from under it.

Steve's eyes went a little wide when he saw his shield that had a crack and chip in it.

"The shield that Tony made for me got damaged during the fight and I managed to get this one from the Iron Captain America."

Steve took hold of his precious shield as James sat next to him.

"This shield and I have seen a lot together." he said with a fond tone. "Been through a lot of battles, took down a lot of bad guys. One day, it'll be yours when I retire."

"I don't think you should retire, dad." James said. "Tony yold me the stories about you. When you were in the war, how you got to meet the Avengers, everything. I don't think Captain America should be retired like an old man."

Steve chuckled.

"I am over one hundred years old, you know. I'm plenty old."

"But still so handsome." Natasha said. "Come on you two. It's late."

James went over and climbed into the bed with his mother to his right while his father laid on the couch.

A few silent moments passed and James was still wide awake. He heartd his parent's even breathing. He was tired after such a long and emotional day but he didn't want to go to sleep for fear that when he woke up in the morning the whole thing might have just been a dream and they would be gone the second he opened his eyes.

Even though he knew he couldn't stay awake for much longer, James tried to keep his eyes open and on his parent's.

This was all so real and he didn't want to lose it again. The few memories he had of them when he was a child aren't enough to keep him happy if they did vanish overnight and he was left without them again.

He wants more memories of them in his life, wants to know more about his mother and father, learn all their training methods, his ancestry, everything that Tony hadn't been able to tell him through stories.

Finally, sleep decided to take ove his mind and force him into sleep.

He just hoped that his worst nightmare wouldn't come to life when he next opened his eyes.

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"James? James. Wake up, my darling."

James' eyes snapped open and he sat up. He was relieved to see his mother smiling down at him.

"Good morning." Natasha greeted. "Hope you're hungry. Your father is making breakfast."

James felt his stomach lightly grumbled.

"Go ahead and get washed up." Natasha said and gave her son a kiss on the forehead.

James nodded and went into the bathroom where he began to wash up and change clothes. When he looked in the mirror, he found that he was smiling.

His nightmare hadn't come to life and his parent's were still with him.

After another few minutes, he left the bathroom and went into the small dinning area where he spotted his parent's finish setting the table.

"Morning." Steve greeted. "Hungry?"

"Very." James answered and they took their seats.

"Want to say grace?" Steve asked.

James hesitated a little.

One thing that Tony did inform James of was that his father was very religious.

Went to church as much as possible, always on the major holidays for Catholics, said grace before meals and prayed when he needed peace or to hope no harm came onto those he held close to his heart.

Because of their isolation from the rest of the world, James didn't get to explore this side of his father, so he didn't really know how to say a proper grace.

"Tony didn't fully inform you of religion?" Natasha asked with a knowing tone.

"He told me about it but didn't give much detail." James answered.

"Understandable." Steve said. "Tony wasn't much of a religious person. Don't worry about it, son. I'll tell you about it later. Let's eat while everything is still hot."

James lightly smiled and they began eating.

The second that he tasted what his father had made, James felt his taste buds come to life like never before.

"Wow. This is great." he declared.

"It's one of my favorites and something that your father learned during the war." Natasha said. "He always made meals for the Avengers when we were together as a team. Kind of like family dinners."

"I can see why." James said and ate another bite of food.

The two Avengers smiled fondly at their son. Watching him enjoy his breakfast brought back cherished memories.

The first time they fed him after he'd been born, the first time they introduced him to baby food and the mess that came along with it, then getting him onto solid foods once he was the right age. That came along with James voicing exactly which foods he only wanted to eat and then pouting when he had to eat through the healthy foods that his parent's prepared.

Now they were watching as James eagerly ate his baked potatoe and couldn't help but smile at how wonderful their son turned out.