"A baby. We are going to have a baby."
After the phone call Natasha couldn't stop thinking about it. She and Steve were both excited about the prospect. It's true that they wanted to keep it quiet until after the wedding, but it would be hard to keep it secret from their best friends. Bucky would find a way to drag it out of Steve. And Clint, he'd hack into any and every computer system he could find if he thought she was keeping something from him. They both knew the best decision was to get it out in the open, but not until after they told Sarah. After all they still needed to tell her they'd chosen the day of the wedding. That Saturday, the happy couple went to visit her.
"Hey Mom, how are you feeling?"
"Better, the chemo is still working, and knowing that your wedding has to be coming soon helps with my strength."
"Yeah, about that. We said you'd be the first to know, So Natasha and I set a date. We've decided on Saturday, May 16th."
"We still have four months then. I should be strong enough to leave the hospital by then. But you two have other news for me don't you?"
Steve knew this was coming. Ever since he was little he could never keep anything secret from his mother. She could always see right through him.
"Sarah, I went to the Doctor on Wednesday. I felt I needed to see her because I'd been experiencing nausea, dizziness, and mild morning sickness. When we called her back on Friday after my test results came back we found out…"
"I already know, Natasha. You're pregnant."
"How could you already know? Steve and I haven't told anyone yet. As with the wedding date we wanted you to be the first to know."
"I experienced the same symptoms before I found out I was pregnant. My mother knew before I did. I'm happy for you both. I have no doubt you're going to make wonderful parents."
"Thanks, Sarah. It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I…"
"Just a moment, Natasha. You're going to be my daughter-in-law, and you're going to give me a grand-child. I always told you to call me Sarah, but now I want you to call me Mom."
"I'd be honored. Anyway, it's too early to know if our baby will be a boy or a girl, but we've already started discussing names. If it's a girl, we want her to have Sarah as a middle name. If it's a boy, we were thinking about Joseph for the middle name."
"You want to name your baby after either me or Steve's father? Wait, what about the first names?"
"We're still discussing those. If you have any ideas Mom, we would appreciate it."
She loved hearing Natasha call her Mom. When they first met, Sarah knew this day would come. She knew her son was completely captivated by this girl. And vice versa. All through high school Bucky tried to set him up with girls. It never worked. It wasn't until he met this fiery redhead that someone actually looked beneath the surface, seeing him for the good man he is.
"Steve, Nat, I'm really tired all of a sudden. You two should go see your friends. I'm sure they're dying to hear the good news."
"Get some rest, Mom. We'll stop by again."
Natasha pulls the covers up, and takes his hand as they exit her room. Outside the hospital it dawns on her that her future mother-in-law used her nickname.
"Steve, did you hear what I heard?"
He can only look at his fiancée questioningly, unsure of what she's talking about.
"She called me Nat. She's never used my nickname before. It's always been Natasha. You think it means something?"
With a small chuckle he knows she's reading too much into this.
"Sweetheart, of course it means something. Mom loves you. She always has. You're like the daughter she always wanted. When I went home after our fight, she could tell something had happened between us. She asked me and I quote: "Steven, what the hell did you do to drive such a great girl to break up with you?"
"Mom really asked you that?"
"She did. That's how much she loves you. She just said it, before I even got to tell her what happened. And when I did get to tell her, she still called me an idiot for letting you walk out."
"I knew there was a reason I loved your Mom. Come on Captain, she was right. We need to let our friends in on the news."
Half an hour later they've made the phone calls to all of their friends. But they didn't tell them over the phone. Instead it was decided that the news would be revealed at The Falcon, after Steve made the request for it to be a private party.
"All right, Steve. We still don't open for another hour. I've got plenty of time to get a sign up that says closed for a private party. But, can I get a hint as to what this supposedly big news is?"
"Sorry, Sam. Nat and I only want to share it with everybody. You'll get to hear it when we're all there."
As Sam hangs up the phone, he sighs. Ever since they met in the war, Steve has never kept secrets between them. As he is preparing everything, he thinks that it is about the wedding. While he is half right, the rest of news will come as a shock no one expected. Meanwhile Bucky and Sharon are trying on their own to figure out the possibilities.
"Ten to one, Bucky. I bet the news they want to share is that Natasha is pregnant."
"No way. Steve has always been very conservative. If I know my best friend like I think I do, he insisted on waiting until their wedding night. I bet it's just that they've chosen the date, and who they want to be in the wedding party."
"Care to place some money on that?"
"Sure, ten bucks says I'm right."
"Only ten dollars? Come on you can do better than that. Up the stakes."
"What did you have in mind?"
"If I win, you take me to Hawaii this coming summer."
"And what if I win?"
"If you win, we take that road trip on the back of the motorcycle I'm going to buy you."
This is a no-brainer for Bucky. He's always wanted a bike. He and Steve always used to talk about taking a summer and just riding across the country. The war kept it from happening.
"All right, Sharon. You're on."
An hour later, they have all arrived at the bar. Clint and Bobbi were the last to get there; he had been finishing up paperwork for his last assignment. She had to meet with the defense attorney on the trial that was scheduled to begin in two days.
"Well, everyone's here. So I know you're all wondering why Steve and I wanted you to meet us here. As you all heard, we have some news to share. Of course we made a promise to Sarah to tell her first."
"Come on, Steve. We know your fiancée is going to torture us as long as possible. Spill it already!"
"Sorry, Tony. We have a way that we decided to do this. Just be patient and we'll get there."
"As hard as it is to believe, I agree with Stark. Nat, we know you're getting married. He may have an ego the size of Central Park, but he's right. We've been partners for a long time. You love to torture people when it comes to the big news."
"Hey, my ego isn't that big!"
"Shut up Tony. Of course you're right Carol. But it wouldn't be any fun if I didn't build up the suspense. First off, Steve and I have chosen the date of the wedding. We've decided on May 16th. More importantly we want to discuss the roles you all will be taking on for the wedding."
Hearing this, Bucky gives Sharon an "I told you so" smug smile. She just shakes her head. She can sense that there's more news to come.
"Now; we'll get to all of that in a minute. There's something else we need to bring up. This one was a shock for us. On Wednesday, Natasha went to the Doctor. Relax, it's nothing serious. When we called her back yesterday, we were the lucky recipients of some even better news."
"Oh just get to the point already!"
Tony is now exasperated, and can't hold his tongue. Pepper punches him in the arm, the action at least gets him to shut up.
"All right, so yesterday we got the results of my blood test. What we found out is that I'm pregnant."
The room fell almost silent at the announcement. You could have heard a pin drop if Sharon hadn't stood up at that moment, with an exclamation.
"I knew it! You're taking me to Hawaii, Barnes!"
The laughter that breaks out is contagious. It's not often that Bucky loses a bet. But he just lost big on this one. As congratulations go around the room, Steve walks over to his best friend.
"Knew you couldn't resist placing a wager on this. If it had been just the date of the wedding, what would you have won?"
"Sharon was going to buy me that motorcycle I wanted. We were going to take a trip across the country, you know, like you and I used to talk about doing."
"You know we're still going to do that. We just have to put it off a little longer."
As they're still talking, Natasha and Sharon come over to sit with them.
"I can't believe you two placed a wager on Steve and I. It's actually kind of fun though."
"Yeah, don't worry though Bucky. After we get back, I still want to go on that cross country road trip."
"You two should do it. But I hope your trip is going to be after the wedding. Sharon, I know you and I haven't known each other that long, but you were part of the reason Steve and I got back together. I want you to be one of my bridesmaids."
"I'd be honored. Thanks, Natasha."
"My bridesmaids are you going to be Bobbi, you, and Carol. And Bucky, I think it goes without saying that you're going to be Steve's Best Man."
As the night ended, all of their friends were told what part they would play in the wedding. Pepper and Tony suggested the wedding planner they used. Sam and Peter were Steve's groomsmen. But the biggest responsibility went to Clint. Serafina Romanoff was going to be there, but it was her suggestion that Clint walk her daughter down the aisle.