AN: Sorry for the hiatus y'all, i should just update his all at once tbh. Going to try and move a bit faster to get this one wrapped up! Anyway, another dense chapter coming your way. Also, if you're not a fan of common tropes, you might want to just hop on out of here. They're tropes for a reason people! Deal with it.
(Steve POV)
June 3rd, 2014
The waitress at the table winked at him for the third time. Steve sighed and focused on the pancakes in front of him.
"She's cute." Sam offered, digging into his own plate and smiling at him. Steve shook his head, picking up his fork.
"Yeah, she's pretty I suppose." he agreed solemnly. She was pretty. Blonde hair and blue eyes, she seemed to be about his age. The pastel blue diner uniform suited her well, and she had a kind face. But like with most of the women he'd met in the last six months, he couldn't help but compare her to Charlotte.
"I've said it before, but at some point you are going to have to let go of her," Sam said. Steve just barely refrained from glaring at him.
"She'll come back. She just needs time. Besides, I'm not interested in dating, and who knows how long we're going to be here. The trail's already going cold." It had been six months since he'd heard from Charlotte, but Clint had been keeping him as updated as possible. She was somewhere, and she was safe according to him, so Steve's just had to have faith that she would be back someday. In the meantime, he'd tried to forget her mostly. He'd moved to D.C. to get away from his ever growing demons in New York, but of course trouble had followed him.
With the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. this Spring, he'd been more than busy enough. Now he was on a "wild goose chase" (Tony's words) trying to find Bucky. After the trouble in D.C., Sam Wilson had gladly volunteered to help him find Bucky and bring him home. Steve supposed it was good Sam was here, as they had no idea what state of mind Bucky would be if they found him. When they found him, Steve corrected himself. They'd been on the road close to two months now, going from D.C. to Maine to California to where they were now, in a small town just outside of Pittsburgh.
"Alright," Sam backed off of the subject good-naturedly. He'd finally convinced Steve to confide in him during Steve's brief hospital stay after D.C. and was fairly certain that he would probably never see Charlotte again, though it would have been better for him to have some semblance of normal in his life. "We had a good sighting last night. He could still be in town."
"No. He's gone," Steve rubbed his thick but carefully trimmed beard thoughtfully. "He made us last night. As soon as he figures out who we are he'll be gone." With that morose thought, his phone rang. Seeing it was Clint's secure line, he answered.
"Barton."
"Cap. We think it might be time for you to come back to New York." came the archer's gruff voice from the other end. Steve scoffed.
"Why?"
"The people she's with reached out to us. They say that she needs to see you." Steve sat straighter in the booth.
"What?"
"She needs to see you. If you're not interested-"
"No, no. I'm interested. When?"
"Soon. Next weekend?"
"I can be there. Give me the address."
"Cap, I don't know if you should go alone. Take Sam, or I'll go with you. Whatever you do, you've got to take this slow. I don't know if she's ready to come back yet or not." Steve barely stopped himself from groaning. He was a grown ass man. It was time the rest of the team started treating him as such. Glancing over at Sam's concerned face, he sighed.
"Fine. I'll take Sam. We'll be there by Saturday morning. Can I get the address now?"
"Good. It's in Westchester, so just take your time. Make sure you have your shit together before you see her, and for fucks sake, take it slow."
(Charlotte POV)
June 7th, 2014
"Miss Samuels? Could you help me on this problem?" I smiled at the 14 year old in the second row.
"Of course Amber." Walking over, I sat beside her and worked through the fairly complex calculus equation. She smiled up at me with understanding and I felt the now familiar glow of satisfaction. My six months at the Xavier Institute had shown me many things, but one of the biggest being how much I enjoyed teaching. I was helping out with a few classes at this point, tutoring in my spare time, and at the moment was helping a few students prepare for their final exams next week. Amber was one of my favorite students. With the power to control water, a power she'd had from a young age, she was one of the more focused of my students. Often she asked for extra work, and stayed after or came in during weekends for help.
Finishing the worksheet, she gathered her things and said goodbye. I wiggled out from behind the desk I'd sat in to help her, navigating the ever growing mound of my stomach. I rubbed it soothingly, feeling the baby within kick immediately in response. Gathering my own things I walked out into the courtyard, finding my favorite spot, surrounded by the now blossoming summer roses.
January 22nd, 2014
"Jean, I'm fine, I promise. I just overextended today, that's all."
"You fainted Charlotte. That's no laughing matter. And I've been trying to get you to the med wing for weeks."
"I hate hospitals. I feel fine now, just let me go get dinner." I begged, but Jean's grip was not slackening. I'd been here for nearly a month now and was finally starting to get the hang of things. Thanks to daily lessons, I'd managed to stop my hands from sparking on my own. I was even learning how to control the strength of the spheres that grew when I let my powers go. It was steady but slow progress, and I had no regrets about leaving that horrible little hotel room.
The people here had been exceedingly generous. Logan had gruffly offered to teach me how to ride a motorcycle, Ororo found me a classroom and some students to teach advanced calculus to as soon as the term started up again. Things were starting to shape up. My memories kept waking me up at night, and I still ached to see Steve again, but I couldn't risk going back when I'd done so much damage already.
"Okay, step on the scale please. I'll get your height and weight and then we can move on to the more interesting stuff," I stepped on, surprised to see that I'd lost about 10 pounds since the last time I'd weighed myself back in November. Nice. I guess that's what high octane situations and stress puking could do to a girl.
"Since I don't have any medical history, I'm going to assume that's a good smile. Take a seat and we'll check your blood pressure and pulse." I hopped up on the table and Jean took my blood pressure.
"Huh, a little low, but that's fine," she noted, jotting down on a clipboard. For being a medical wing, it was distinctly not medical in nature, much like the medical floor in the tower. The room was decorated in warm, welcoming tones, and the table I sat on was covered with a sheet instead of paper.
"Ok, let's go down the list. Any headaches from the head injury? Blurriness?" I shook my head. "Any recent problems eating or sleeping?"
"Not really. I have a hard time sleeping because of the dreams, but I'm sleeping more than I was before. Taking more naps too. I think it's starting to balance out. I'm definitely not eating as much as I used to, but I think that might be because I'm in a new place." Jean nodded, scribbling on her board.
"Are you sexually active?" I blushed.
"I was, but not in the last month or so."
"Could you tell me approximately when the date of your last period was?" I nodded and thought back. It had been a Tuesday, because I hadn't had work, it was before Thanksgiving because I'd been done with the bloaty part of it when I'd gone to Steph's parents house for dinner.
"November 12th I think." As soon as the words came out of my mouth I realized how that sounded. Jean looked up at me in alarm. My eyes widened as I did the mental math.
"That's, that's a long time isn't it?" she nodded. "Too long, right?" Fear spiked within me and my mouth went dry.
"It's about 7 weeks, so yes. Are your periods generally pretty regular?"
"Like clockwork usually." I responded
"Stress can affect cycles pretty drastically, so it might be that. Were you protected when you were sexually active last month?"
"Yes, of course. We were super careful. And I was on the pill! Wait." In a moment of startling clarity I remembered the extra pill in last month's pack that I hadn't given any thought to, like an idiot.
"Shit."
"Have you been feeling nauseous at all? I know you've been dizzy, but any food aversions you're not used to?"
"Not really. I just haven't been very hungry, I threw up a few times this week, but I thought it was stress. I'm an idiot." My hands began sparking in response to my panic and Jean stood from her stool and held my arms firmly, grounding me.
"Charlotte, slow down. We don't know anything for sure yet. I've got the capabilities to do an ultrasound here, and we can get a blood test started to check as well. Don't get too upset before we even know anything." I nodded and the sparks subsided. Jean left to grab the ultrasound machine and some vials for a blood sample. I gulped and laid back on the table, trying to calm my breathing. I didn't know anything yet, but my gut told me that I was most definitely pregnant. I couldn't stop thinking about the night in my apartment where we'd been so playful and careless. It had happened then, I was sure of it.
"Okay, I'm going to take the blood sample first and then we'll see if we can detect anything on the ultrasound," Jean was remaining wonderfully calm and I alternated between hating and loving her for it. I winced as she found a vein and took a few vials. She pulled out the machine and turned it on, spreading gel over the lower part of my stomach. Rubbing the ultrasound wand over the skin there, a rapid and rhythmic beating started from the speakers almost immediately. I groaned and covered my face.
"Yep. That's definitely a gestational sac. I'm not really an expert, but you look about 6 weeks along."
"Oh God."
"Do you want to see it?" I sighed, dropping my hands and looking over at the screen. Sure enough, there was a little bubble on the screen with a tiny speck inside. I was definitely pregnant. Jean took a few pictures, offered me a towel to clean myself off and pulled me up. We sat in silence for a bit before she looked over at me.
"Do you need some time to figure out what you're going to do?"
"No. I'm going to keep it."
"You're sure? You're still pretty early on."
"Yes, I'm sure," I answered resolutely, "I've always wanted kids, just never thought it was in the cards for me. And as soon as I heard the heartbeat, there really wasn't any other option for me. Besides, I don't know if I'll ever see Steve again. At least this way I'll still have a piece of him." Jean nodded.
"I'm going to finish running the blood test just to confirm everything. If you're sure, I can get you some prenatal vitamins to get you started, and we'll have to schedule out some regular checkups, just to make sure you're both healthy." I nodded, placing a hand on my stomach. 'Both'. I wouldn't be alone anymore. As much of a surprise as all of this was, I knew almost instinctively that I could handle it. I knew that I would do everything I could to give this kid a good shot at life. We were in this together now, and I had no doubt that I could make this work.
Present:
Five months later, sitting in the garden I rubbed my belly, feeling the strong kicks and movement within. I'd found out he was a boy in late March, and that he took after his father in May when he'd registered bigger than usual for the third month in a row. He would be a big boy, just like Steve, and I hoped he'd have his blue eyes.
I was content, finally. I'd recovered most of my memories, had almost complete control over my abilities, and had finally found my purpose. I thought briefly about going back every once in awhile, but after I'd given up my apartment in March and paid movers to empty it out, I'd also let go of any dream of going back to New York. But I'd resigned myself to that fact, soothing myself with the idea that I'd found my place here.
"Thought I'd find you here," came a gruff voice from around the bend. I looked up to see Logan striding over, smelling faintly of cigar smoke and grease.
"Finally come to give me riding lessons?" I teased.
"Now you know I won't do that until the kid is born. Can't teach a woman who's carrying how to ride. Ain't safe." he answered for the hundredth time. It'd become a pattern with us, me asking, him saying no, but I knew that he enjoyed our little exchanges.
"Okay, fine." I said, mockingly exasperated and smiled up at him. "What's going on?"
"Professor wants to see you in his office." I nodded.
"Alright, help me up?" I asked, offering my hand. He grasped it and helped me up easily. I had just gotten to the point where my center of gravity was beginning to throw me off, and wouldn't refuse help when available.
"Speaking of, how is the kid? He keeping you up at night yet?"
"Not really. He seems to sleep when I do, which is nice. Not sure how much longer that's going to last though. He's real active during the day though, feel" I took his hand and put it to the spot where he was furiously kicking. Probably because I'd had a burrito for lunch.
"Holy hell. He's strong," A note of sadness entered his voice. "That's good. It's good for him to be strong. Like his mama." I smiled at the compliment, however misguided it was, as we reached the professor's office.
"I'll see you later, Logan." he walked back down the hallway, snarling at random students and making the teenagers blush. There was a long sad story there, I was sure. But I hadn't managed to get it out of him just yet. I pushed open the door of the study to find the professor and Jean sitting there. Jean turned at my entrance and looked at me solemnly.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong Miss Samuels, please take a seat." I sat carefully, my intuition telling me that this felt like an ambush.
"What's going on? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no, of course not Charlotte. We just want to talk about your future, you and the baby." My brow furrowed.
"Okay."
"As you know Miss Samuels, the end of term is soon, and most, if not all of the students will be leaving for the summer. We've been very grateful for your help this semester, and would love to have you back after the baby is born."
"Of course. I love teaching, I'd be happy to come back next spring maybe. I don't know how long it will take for me to find stable child care." The professor nodded.
"Exactly. We were thinking that it might be time for you to return to the city."
"What?"
"Charlotte, your life is there. The baby's father is there. You can't keep running away from it all." Jean offered.
"What are you talking about? I'm not running from anything. I've been here for six months haven't I? I've been learning and recovering. Healing."
"Yes, and doing an excellent job at it as well. Your hands remain normal, even though you are clearly in distress," I stared at my hands, noting the distinct absence of sparks. "You've been able to go out in public for appointments and kept your abilities perfectly in check. I'm afraid you no longer need us."
"Of course I still need you. I, I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Charlotte, we would never make you leave if that was true," Jean started, "But it's not. You can go back to New York, you have friends there, your baby's father is there. You need to stop lying to yourself and face him. Before the baby comes."
"This was never meant to be a permanent solution. Of course, if you genuinely don't believe you're ready, you're more than welcome to stay, but, I can assure you Miss Samuels, you have people who love you very much, both here and back in the city. We don't want to hold you back. We've found that when adults come to us, sometimes the longer they stay, the more dependent they become. You are a very independent person Charlotte, you wouldn't have been happier here for much longer." I nodded in reluctant agreement. I'd begun to get restless but chalked it up to the pregnancy.
"So, what do I do now?"
"Well, we've taken the liberty of helping you with that step. Jean?" she rose and left, leaving me alone with the professor. Panic sparked up my spine.
"What are you talking about?"
"We contacted one of our friends at the Tower. Agent Clint Barton. He passed on the message to Captain Rogers." I stood abruptly, my heart racing, sparks beginning to dance on my palms. Hope lit up inside me, fighting to get past the fear that had sent my heart into my throat.
"You didn't."
"I'm sorry Miss Samuels, but you cannot run from your past forever. If you've learned anything from recovering your memories, I would think that you had learned that. He's here, and once you calm down, I'm going to invite him in."
"But, Professor-"
"You forget Miss Samuels, that I've been inside of your mind. I know how you still feel about the Captain. I'm asking you to please trust me when I say that this is the next step in your recovery. You need this." I sighed and the sparks on my hand died down before disappearing. He nodded curtly. The door opened, and I heard a familiar heavy step, followed by Jean's light feet and someone I didn't recognize. Clint maybe?
"Charlotte?" I closed my eyes, letting his voice wash over me. A voice I only heard in my dreams, one that I missed with every bone in my body. Straightening my spine, I turned. Placing a hand on my stomach to center me, I looked up, staring into the deep blue eyes of a scruffy, but unmistakably recognizable Steve Rogers.
"Hello Blue Eyes."
AN: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯