Chapter 20-First Christmas
By: MysticFantasy
.
.
Natasha walked into the bedroom and smiled when she saw her husband rocking their son in his arms while quietly singing a Christmas carol he knew as a child that wasn't around anymore.
James looked content in his father's arms as he lightly sucked on his pacifier and listened to his father sing to him. The small child had a hand wrapped around one of his father's finger's but his eyes stayed completely on Steve's face.
The red haired woman walked over and looked down at her son.
"Tomorrow will be our first Christmas as a family." she mused with a happy tone.
"I still can't believe it." Steve said as he continued to rock his son whose eyes were starting to droop. "Celebrating our first Christmas as parent's and with our baby boy."
"Clint said that he's going to have three different camera's out and Jarvis recording in order to catch every second of James' first Christmas." Natasha said.
Steve lightly chuckled.
It did sound like something that Clint would do. Being a godfather brought out something different in the archer. It made Steve and Natasha happy knowing that they picked the right person to watch over James should anything happen to them.
When the infant was sound asleep, Steve gently placed him in the space in the middle of the bed. Steve and Natasha soon laid down on either side of their son. The baby was wrapped in his baby blanket and absorbed the warmth from his parent's.
"He's perfect." Steve said.
"I still can't believe it." Natasha said as she gently brushed her finger across her son's chubby cheek. "I still can't believe that something so beautiful and perfect came from me."
"Because you are beautiful and perfect." Steve insisted.
"He gets it from you." Natasha replied.
"Hey, don't put yourself down." Steve said. "I'm sure that when he's a teenager he's going to inherit sneaking out of the house from someone."
Natasha lightly smirked. She was sure that James was going to look like his father and take after him in some some personality traits. She even believed that James may very well become something of a second Captain America.
She thought the idea of her son becoming like his father was the greatest thing a mother could ask for. She would be very proud if her son ever wore a costume and shield like his dad.
Naturally, as a mother, she thought that the idea of her son becoming anything like Steve or herself was frightful. Because of the Red Room, Natasha thought that she would never have children.
But when Bruce made a discovery after he'd somehow gotten ahold of her DNA, he announced that he could give her medication that would cancel the Red Room's work and allow her the chance to have a child.
It was a once in a life time opprutunity for her and she took it. Nine months later, James arrived and would be the only child that she and Steve would ever get to have.
The thought of loosing her only son and child...Natasha didn't want to think about it. She felt she would snap if something ever happened to James.
The men were always telling her that she was just a protective mother. That she always had her eyes on her son to make sure that he didn't even get so much as a scratch when he was in his playpen that had been made childproof ten times over.
Tony and Clint kept saying that it looked like the playpen was made out of multicolored cottonballs.
Natasha did her best to ignore the two but knew they had a point. Not that she was denying the fact that she's a protective mother.
She would do anything to protect her baby boy. She would take down anyone who she deemed unsafe to be aroud her son. She would surely kill anyone who she believed might harm her child.
She wasn't even really trusting SHIELD to be around her son because she feared that they would try to turn him into a lackey of theirs. If James become a hero like father on his own free will, Natasha would gladly support him.
But if SHIELD so much as tried to nudge him in the direction of joining their ranks without her knowledge, they were going to have a very angry ex Russian spy to deal with. And she was sure that she would have her husband at her side.
If it were up to her, she'd just quit being a SHIELD agent and possibly being an Avenger to be a full time mother. Steve had already voiced that he would do the same thing had he not already promised to serve his country in the 40's.
Not even a year after he'd been thawed from the ice, he was re-enlisted and back in the army, taking the position of captain once more. He'd already gone to one country to help troops and came back after four months.
Upon his return, Natasha had shown him how much she had missed him and not too long after that she discovered that she was pregnant.
It had been the best thing to ever happen to her. Having a child with the man she loves was a real blessing. One that she had never believed would be bestowed on her.
The mother was pulled out of her thoughts when her son lightly yawned and shifted. He continued to sleep, his breathing but a whisper in their ears.
As she looked at her infant son, Natasha decided that it didn't matter what she thought of herself. Her son was all that mattered. The way that would be raised, the way he would learn who his parent's truly are, keeping him safe from enemies, teaching him right from wrong, teaching him how to choose the right friends, how to handle the press when they want to talk to the son of Captain America...
But Natasha found herself excited about it all.
"Let's try to get some sleep." Steve said softly. "Tomorrow is Christmas and I have a feeling that it's going to be very eventful."
"With Tony and Clint around, that's an understatment." Natasha said with a smile. She quickly leaned over to kiss her husband and son good night.
Steve returned her kiss before placing a loving kiss on James' forehead. Then he and his wife fell asleep with their greatest treasure sleeping between them.
.
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
.
"Present time!" Tony and Clint announced happily as everyone gathered in the large living room.
Natasha smiled and looked at her son who was sitting on his father's lap with a little baby Santa hat on his head.
"Let's let the twerp open something first." Clint stated with a smile and he searched through the pile of presents and nearly diving into the pile to find a present that somehow nearly got placed behind the large tree.
"Jarvis, start recording." Tony stated.
"Already doing so, sir." the AI replied as Clint finally fished out a present wrapped with baby reindeer paper.
Natasha smiled more as her friend walked over, knelt down and held the present in front of his godson. James was right away entranced by the colorful paper and lightly patted the box with his small hands.
"He's got you eager nature." Bruce said with a smirk.
"That's my godson." Clint mused before opening the present for the child. The removed paper allowed them to see something they hadn't seen before.
A complete set of Avengers baby items.
A round rattle that was designed to look like Thor's hammer, baby mittens that looked like the Hulk's fists, two teething rings where each little circluar ring were painted to look like Steve's shield and the other to look like Tony's arc reactor, a baby size pair of black earmuffs that had red hour glasses on each side and a small purple scarf that had a small hawk at the bottom.
Then there were six one piece suits that took styles after each Avengers along with matching beanies and booties.
"Clint, this is amazing." Natasha mused.
"Where did you find that?" Tony asked.
"It is actually the first of those to come out." Clint explained. "I got called to the place that was making them. They wanted my opinion on them and gave me the very first one made to give to James."
"It's wonderful." Steve mused with a smile as Natasha removed the Santa hat to place the Captain America beanie on James. "Thank you."
"Mine next." Tony declared as he dug out a present wrapped in Iron Man printed paper.
"Where'd you find that kind of paper?" Pepper asked.
"I...found it." Tony answered before handing over the present.
The happy parent's watched as their friend's presented glorious gifts to their son. They were so happy that their first Christmas with their son was going so wonderfully with the people they saw as family.
It really was the best Christmas they could ever ask for.
.
.
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! MAY YOUR HOLIDAY BE PERFECT AND BRIGHT!