Summer finally seemed to have decided to arrive in New York. It might not last more than a couple of days just now, but Lucy wasn't going to argue with that. A couple of days of glorious sunshine was always worth it, and besides, how else was she going to get her family out into the garden without a little sunny incentive" Peggy had even managed to come out of the house for a little while, letting the sun warm her through as she watched little Jamie investigating the grass. At ten months old, he had wiped away all his father's worries about his ever being a sickly baby, more robust than any child his age had a right to be. Liv lay on the grass near him, phone in hand, waiting for the text that would tell her Johnny and Liv were imminent.

Even Steve was enjoying the warm sunshine after a long, cold winter, chasing after little Jamie who was the spitting image of his father, all blond-haired and blue-eyed. The little boy was a lively, bright, and happy baby, and why shouldn't he be? He had inherited the best of both his parents, who showered their little boy with love and affection. Even now, Steve was laughing at his son's exuberance for life as he walked the barefoot boy across the lawn toward his mother. Jamie held tight to his father's fingers to keep his balance, a look on his face that belied the fact that he wasn't too sure whether he liked the tickle of the grass beneath his bare feet.

"Look at the big boy walking with his daddy!" Lucy declared with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, pushing herself to sit up and grin encouragingly as Jamie toddled along, secure in the knowledge that his daddy would never let him fall. It was a world away from the life Lucy had once thought she might lead, but she couldn't deny it was a good life, nonetheless. She had Steve and Jamie, and Peggy; she had a sister who was loved and happy with her own husband; and she had a job that, despite certain unpleasantries that came with it, was challenging and rewarding. "Or is it the big daddy walking with his little boy?" she added in a tease, her gaze flickering up to Steve.

"He's getting braver, Luce!" Steve declared with the grin that could only belong to a proud papa on his boyishly-handsome face. Like Lucy, his life was far different than he had ever imagined it could be, with both Peggy and Lucy by his side, and a little boy the three of them adored. Work was work, but he had come to an agreement with Nick Fury that so long as his job didn't interfere with his family's safety, he was willing to stay on as a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, in at least an advisory capacity. He'd been asked more than once to move to D.C., but had declined, preferring to remain in N.Y., where he'd grown up and which still felt like home, even seventy years later.

"Well, of course he is, look who he's got holding onto him!" Peggy interjected with a chuckle of her own. She'd come to find a place in their home as an elderly aunt, rather than a grandmother or any similar relation, always happy to read to little Jamie, or to talk Lucy through cooking a meal, or sit and reminisce with Steve. It might not be what she would have wanted in a perfect world, but it was close.

Lucy laughed at Peggy's comment, dropping her phone onto the grass to seize Jamie as soon as he came into range and blow raspberries on his neck as she hugged him, filling the air with tiny giggles.

Steve swept the little boy up into the air easily before dropping him into his mother's lap so she could hug him close and shower him with affection. It might not be a perfect arrangement, but it was the best they could do with what fate had given them. "So long as he's happy and healthy," Steve replied. "That's all that matters." And safe, but that went without saying. Now that little Jamie was giggling in his mother's arms, Steve leaned over to drop an affectionate kiss against Peggy's forehead. Some might find it an odd arrangement, to have Steve's former girlfriend living in close quarters with them, but fate had a strange way of working things out.

The old woman smiled, patting Steve's hand as he drew away again. If nothing else, she was with family, and the older she got, the more she appreciated that fact. "Any word from Liv yet?" she asked, half an eye on Lucy and Jamie, who were now rolling in the grass together, enjoying the sunshine.

If nothing else, there was no denying that Peggy was family now, and she was right where she belonged. Steve settled himself on the grass, between Peggy and Lucy, smiling as he watched his wife and son enjoying the warm, sunny day. He felt a strange sort of contentment in that moment, as if life couldn't get any better than this. Everything he wanted was right there with him. "When are they supposed to get here?" Steve asked curiously. He was as fond of Lucy's sister and her husband, as though they were his own flesh and blood.

"As far as I know, sometime between one and two," Peggy told him, laughing as Jamie rose up on his wobbly legs and planted his rear end directly onto Lucy's face with a loud cackle of laughter. "Those two are both as bad as each other."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, chuckling at his wife and son's antics before reaching over to rescue Lucy from the little boy, taking him into his arms and tickling him.

"Perhaps I should have said they are as bad as you two," Peggy conceded with a quieter chuckle. "One little distraction at the right time, and it adds at least an hour onto their arrival time. Don't think I haven't noticed." She wiggled an arthritic finger in Lucy's direction.

Her niece beamed as innocently as she could, brushing grass out of her hair, and shook her head. "I don't think they're going to be too easily distracted this time, Peggy," she promised, watching as Jamie flailed his little arms and legs, loving every bit of attention from his father. "I'm just glad S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me enough of a pay raise to be able to kit out the basement with a lab of my own."

Something seemed to pass between the two women - some bit of information that Steve was missing. He wasn't a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for nothing. There was definitely something going on with Lucy and Johnny that they were keeping from him. "What's your lab got to do with Johnny and Liv? I thought they were just coming for a visit." He hadn't thought much of an impromptu visit from the other pair; after all, Liv was Lucy's sister, and she knew she and her husband were welcome in their home any time. He'd told them so himself. He let Jamie go, letting the little boy explore the grass on his own so long as he stayed close.

Peggy excused herself from the conversation with nothing more than a suddenly very intense interest in a handful of crushed flower that Jamie brought to her, leaving Lucy to explain.

Steve's wife smiled sadly, sighing in a soft way before she spoke. "They haven't advertised it, but they've been trying for a baby for nearly a year now," she told Steve quietly. "Liv sounded pretty heartbroken on the phone. They want to get tested, to see if there's some reason it hasn't happened yet. So I'll do the tests for them, and they'll have the results by tomorrow morning. It's the least I can do."

"Oh," Steve replied, his expression mirroring Lucy's sadness, feeling a little pang of guilt that they had the one thing Liv and Johnny seemed to lack. "I didn't know they were trying. I thought they were going to wait awhile." Steve turned quiet as he contemplated his sister-in-law's predicament, but a year wasn't that long, was it' There was still hope. Lucy was the best doctor her knew, and they had all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology at their disposal. Of course, Nick Fury might not agree with that, but Steve would handle Nick Fury.

"No, I didn't know either," Lucy sighed, curling her fingers through Steve's. "They didn't tell anyone. But it makes sense that they wouldn't be waiting, if you think about it. We have a baby, Sue and Reed have a baby, Liv's boss just had his second. Everyone around them is starting a family, and they're not. I can't imagine how they must be feeling."

"Fire chief?" Johnny laughed. "I'm not a fire chief, Luce. Just a regular fireman, like everyone else. Not in charge of anything. It's going well, though. Fires are down. Things have been kind of quiet lately." Though he knew that could change at a moment's notice. "How are things with, you know..." he said, gesturing with a hand, reluctant to call S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury by name, always just a little bit suspicious of the man in charge of that organization. He managed to balance Jamie against a hip while he tickled his tummy before handing him off to his mother. It was just too painful to hold onto the little boy for too long, feeling Liv's eyes on him and knowing how much she wanted a child of her own. It seemed like they were dancing around the issue, but he was content not to talk about it just yet.

"Surprisingly quiet, actually," Lucy commented, taking Jamie without any fuss. She certainly wasn't going to draw attention to the pain in her sister's eyes, though she saw Peggy squeeze her twin's hand gently from the corner of her eye. "There was some trouble in Greenwich a few months ago, some business I'm not supposed to know about." She grinned impishly, casting a telling glance toward Steve in the process.

Steve lifted his hands in the air in mock defensiveness. "Don't look at me! Fury will have my head if I say a word." He glanced to Peggy, who was likely to understand that statement the most. He was speaking figuratively, but still. Steve, too, noticed Peggy's subtle demonstration of support to her other niece, and he wished there was some way he could help. "Fury's been pestering me to relocate to D.C., but I declined," Steve added, just making polite conversation now.

"Which is just as well, because I really like this house," Lucy added with a chuckle, lifting Jamie up to sniff his rear end. "Okay, little man. I think you should show your Uncle Johnny how vile your backside is these days, whaddya say?" Jamie giggled, not understanding a word except "Johnny" in that sentence, holding his arms out to the Torch. "And Daddy can go with you so that Uncle Johnny doesn't pass out or run away screaming when they get your pants off, too."

"Wait, what?" Johnny exclaimed, a look of panic crossing his face. One might think he was expected to battle a dragon again, rather than just change a small boy's dirty diaper. He had changed a diaper or two before when he and Liv had been asked to babysit Emily, but for the most part, he'd managed to avoid that particular duty.

Steve laughed, as he moved to his feet, realizing Lucy was trying to get rid of them so they girls could talk in private. He had come close to suggesting just that himself. "Come on, Johnny. It won't kill you, I promise," he said, as he leaned down to snatch Jamie up into his arms. He held the little boy at arm's length, scrunching his nose at him playfully and laughing. "Mama says it's time for a diaper change, little man. You stink!"

Laughter followed them as the men made their way inside, fading off as Lucy looked her little sister in the eye. "All right, Livvie," she said softly. "Talk to me." ((More adventures are planned for Steve and Lucy sometime in the near future. Promise! But for now they are busy being parents. Stay tuned to find out if they can help Johnny and Liv with their own little pregnancy problem. And as always, humongous thanks to my awesome play partner for this scene.))