The Rogers family seemed to have set themselves something of a trend. First Jamie was born on July 4th, and now ....April 1st was not a good day to go into labor, Lucy had decided. It had taken three goes to get her sister to take her seriously, another two to get Johnny to acknowledge that she really was in labor, and who knew how many times Johnny had had to repeat it to get Steve to believe him' Thankfully, however, there were a lot of family on hand to take over custody of Martin, Lianne, and Jamie while their father rushed home to collect their mother and deliver her safely to the hospital. Steve's smallest girls had decided they were arriving, whether their parents were ready or not.

To say he had rushed home was something of an understatement. Things were heating up back in New York, but Nat had assured Steve that she and the rest of the team had things well in hand and that Lucy needed him more than they did. It didn't really take much convincing to send him home, so close to Lucy's due date, so when he finally got the call from Johnny, it was only a matter of minutes before he was there. For a man who was known for his courage in battle, he was looking more than a little bit nervous with worry about the impending delivery.

Lucy was not at all shy about vocalizing her pain this time, either. After all, this time, she wasn't giving birth in her own bed at her husband's birthday party, with everyone they were related to either in the room with them, or at the bottom of the stairs. Leaning forward onto the raised bed, she swayed a little in the aftermath of the latest contraction, gripping Steve's hand entirely too hard for comfort. "At least we're in a hospital this time," she whimpered, raising her head to take a breath. Red-faced and already sweaty and tired, she was not looking forward to the rest of the day.

There was an old saying that doctors made the worst patients, and maybe in Lucy's case that was true, but Steve couldn't much blame her, having witnessed the birth of their son firsthand. He was relieved they'd made it to a hospital this time, and not just because they were having twins. Steve smiled reassuringly, letting her squeeze his hand as hard as she wanted. He wasn't Captain America for nothing, after all. "I'm right here, Luce. I'm not going anywhere."

"I want them to rip my womb out before I go home," she informed him with a pained grimace, though it was pretty obvious that this was the pain talking. She hadn't mentioned this at all in the last few months, therefore she hadn't thought it through. "Five children, more than .....enough!" She let out a loud keening sound, dropping her forehead to the raised bed as she struggled not to push. "Oh for god's sake, this is so much worse than last time!"

He couldn't very well argue with that - five children was a lot, but to be fair, she had thus far only birthed one of them, until now. "Sweetheart, I think it's a little too soon to ..." Steve broke off at his wife's cry of pain. The doctor had said things might move along faster the second time around, but he wasn't expecting things to move quite this quickly. "Um ....Do you want me to get the nurse?" he asked uncertainly, leaning close to dab a damp cloth against her brow.

She shook her head, groping for his free hand to press his fingers against the small of her back. Of course, without a little verbal direction, he might not know that the knots around her spine were actually more painful than the contractions of her womb, but she didn't offer him anything in words, apart from a creative suggestion that unless the nurse came armed with a powerful suction machine, she could leap off the top of the building for all Lucy cared.

Steve frowned with worry. Maybe Lucy was right. If there was this much pain involved in childbirth, maybe they should quit while they were ahead, and yet, he knew from experience that some things were worth suffering a little pain for and having children was probably one of them. After all, the pain was temporary and a small price to pay. But if he dared say any of that to Lucy right now, she was more likely to punch him than agree. Instead, he followed her guidance, letting his fingers massage the small of her back like he'd been taught.

It was just as well they hadn't given in to Martin's desperate pleas to be allowed to witness the birth of his new baby sisters. Lucy's grasp on coherency had already faded to nothing more than general exclamations of pain that were definitely not suitable for small ears by the time the nurse announced that she was ready to go. And Lucy being Lucy ....she insisted on walking to the delivery suite, clinging to Steve every step of the way. "Just so you know," she managed from between clenched teeth, "pretty much everything I say from now until this is done has nothing to do with you."

"I'll try not to take it too personally," he assured her, as he slowly led her to the delivery room, taking it one step at a time. He didn't think it was necessary for her to walk, but hero or no, he knew better than to argue with a woman in labor, even if he did think she was being ridiculously stubborn.

Still, he wouldn't have stayed married to her if he didn't find that stubbornness just a little bit attractive. She had a feeling he should cling to that thought, because the next two hours were in no way attractive at all. Loud, yes. Messy, yes. Embarrassing at times, certainly. But attractive" Not at all. And yet, when all was done, and she was lying in the bed as it was wheeled back toward the private room that was for their use, she couldn't helping smiling as she looked back at her husband. Steve had both their new daughters in his arms, deemed a safe pair of hands by everyone in the delivery suite, and Lucy didn't think she'd ever seen anything quite so touching in all her life.

Now that the hard part was over, both father and mother were beaming with pride, a soft smile on Steve's face for the two newest members of the Rogers' family who had already captured their father's heart. "They're so tiny, Luce," he marveled as he walked along beside her, one daughter in each arm. "Tiny and perfect."

"They didn't feel tiny, coming out," she chuckled softly, resting back against the pillows with no small relief. She genuinely hadn't expected the birth to be so exhausting; Jamie's birth really had been easy in comparison. "You look so cute like that."

He smirked at her comment. No one ever called him cute but her. "They're the cute ones, and you did all the work. All I did was watch," he said, though he'd done at least a little more than that. "I'm just glad I could be here for you. You did great, Luce. I'm so proud of you." He would have stopped and kissed her right there, if they weren't pushing the bed along the hallway toward her room.

She laughed gently, aware of the pulling ache that wasn't going away anytime soon. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, you know," she pointed out fondly. "You are rather instrumental to my being brave about anything, especially if I have to be in pain to do it." Stretching a little, she sat up a bit more as the bed was wheeled safely into their private room and parked, smiling gratefully to the porters as they took their leave. "So ....which one looks like a Sarah, and which one looks like a Natalia?"

Steve followed Lucy's bed into the room, looking from one twin to the other with a thoughtful frown. It didn't help that they were identical twins, with very few differences to distinguish one from the other. "I don't know," he replied uncertainly. "Maybe we should decide which one should be the elder and which the younger," he suggested, at least as far as names were concerned.

"Maybe," she agreed softly. "I know they told us they'd be identical, but I didn't realize just how alike they'd be." Now she had an opportunity to really look at the girls, she couldn't help smiling. "They really are tiny, aren't they?"

"You didn't think so a little while ago," he reminded her with a grin, though he wasn't about to repeat the almost shocking stream of profanity that had come out of her mouth. "Would you like to hold one?"

"I texted Liv," she told him gently. "There's still plenty of time before visiting hours end, so I expect we'll have a small invasion on our hands within a couple of hours." She chuckled softly, stroking her fingertip along Sarah's cheek. "Tell you what, though ....I'm not even trying to breastfeed these two. Bottles all the way, or I'm going to be a walking, talking milking machine for the next year."

"And what?s wrong with that?" Steve teased. He was possessed of a serious nature, but that didn't mean he lacked a sense of humor when the time called for it.

"Oh, you like the idea of sleeping with an actual dairy cow, do you?" she countered in amusement. "Maybe I should find one for you to snuggle up to for a year or so."

"Why do that when I have you?" he countered, a rare teasing gleam in his eyes before leaning close to touch a kiss to her lips. He was not in any way comparing her to a cow, and he hoped she knew that. "I love you, Luce, and I'm happy to help." The Avengers - or whatever they were calling themselves these days - would just have to wait a while.

She giggled against his lips, answering his kiss tenderly as Sarah wriggled in her grip. "I love you back," she promised him fondly. "But I need a shower. Think you can handle the terrible twosome while I make sure I'm not smelly for our other kids?"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it, unless one of them gets hungry," he assured her. He might be able to handle two twins at once, but not if one of them needed a bottle. Then again, they were in a hospital and could easily ask for help. "Go shower before we have company," he told her kissing her again before reaching to take a twin in each arm.

"I love my husband," she smiled, handing over Sarah so she could ease her way to the bathroom and deal with her sticky self. That left Steve with two baby girls who seemed to be enjoying their cuddles with him, though hunger was beginning to make itself known. He might be able to feed one of them, but the other was going to scream the place down if he didn't enlist a little help while his wife was otherwise occupied.

It wasn't too difficult finding help in a hospital teeming with nurses eager to meet "Captain America", even if it was Rhy'Din and not New York. He was trying to be as incognito as possible, and yet, word still got around that Captain America and his wife had just had twin girls. Even on Rhy'Din, where most people weren't very easily impressed by so-called superheroes, he seemed to have a small fanbase. So, it wasn't long before one of the nurses had taken one of the twins off his hands while he fed the other before swapping with him again, while Lucy got herself cleaned up and feeling half human again. At least, no one has asked him for a selfie or an autograph yet.

It said a lot for how practical Lucy was that she didn't come over all jealous at the sound of one of the nurses helping Steve cope with two hungry newborns. She knew it all needed to be done; better, she knew she would have plenty of opportunities to feed and cuddle with her new girls. What was important, as far as she was concerned, was looking less beaten up when their older children arrived. Martin, in particular, would freak out if his Mama looked as though she'd been through the wringer a few times. When she was finally clean and dry, she shuffled back out to the bed, climbing up to sit comfortably, tying her hair back off her face haphazardly. "And how are we doing, hmm?"

"Just about done," Steve informed her, as he finished burping one twin while the other rested peacefully in her little baby bed. "I need to contact Nat and let her know the buns are done," he added, though he didn't want them descended upon by well wishers all at once.

She chuckled, leaning over the little bed to check on Thing One briefly. "You two and your buns," she said, shaking her head. "You should get something to eat as well, you know. You haven't had a rest since this morning."

"What about you?" he asked, thinking the same thing about her and knowing how unappetizing hospital food could be. "You should get some rest before the kids get here," he suggested, eliciting a burp from Thing Two.

"With these two fed and changed, I should be able to get half an hour to doze a bit before we're needed to look awake and parental," she suggested with a grin. Napping was going to be the order of the day for a while.

"So, you doze and I'll eat," he suggested, getting up from his spot on the bed to let her have it and to lay Thing Two down for a nap. Once that was done, he turned back around to tuck his best girl in for a much-needed nap, too. "Get some rest, baby. The kids are going to be excited," he reminded her with a grin, though she had to know that already. He touched a kiss to her cheek as he tucked her into the blankets. "Love you, Mrs. Rogers."

She smiled, nuzzling a soft kiss to his lips. "Love you back, Captain Tightpants." Grinning, she let her head rest on the pillow, and unsurprisingly, she was out like a light. That skill of being able to sleep whenever, wherever, for however long she could grasp at - always so useful in a doctor - was still with her.

"That's Captain Spandex to you," he teased in return, tossing her wink. Of course, he wasn't in uniform today; trying as much as he could to be incognito. "I won't be long," he whispered a promise, though she was already asleep. He touched another kiss to her cheek before quietly slipping away to grab a bite to eat. He hovered at the door, looking back at the mother of his children and their new baby girls, a soft smile on his face, full of the pride and joy that any new father would be feeling at that moment.

Thankfully for them both, Liv managed to exercise some control over their family, resulting in what they'd hoped would be half an hour's reprieve actually being closer to two hours. More than time enough for Lucy to doze and Steve to grab something to eat, for them both to be awake and quiet together when the sound of familiar small voices made themselves known outside the door to their room.

It had also given Steve enough time to contact Nat and pass along the good news. She'd given him a heads up that Tony was eager to meet his new nieces, but he was hoping the man would have the good sense to give them at least a day before descending upon them in full Tony Stark-force.

The door was pushed open to admit three small Rogers, and no accompanying adult. Jamie was clinging to Martin's hand, obediently being quiet as he was lead into the room; Lianne puttered in ahead of them, automatically going straight to Steve to demand her cuddles. She was definitely a Daddy's girl.

Lucy chuckled. "Well, fancy seeing you here!"

"Hey, sweetheart!" Steve greeted his eldest daughter, sweeping her up into his arms to offer some well-deserved cuddles. "Miss me?" he asked, with a smile as he kissed both her cheeks, one at a time like her native Frenchmen might. "Ready to meet your baby sisters?"

"Oui," Lianne nodded, cuddling into her Papa's arms as she watched Jamie struggle up onto the bed with Lucy. "Uncle Tony did bring us and now he is not here."

Lucy frowned curiously as she hugged Jamie, turning a fond smile onto Martin. "What did Aunt Liv do to Uncle Tony?"

"Hey, Tony," Steve said by way of greeting, though he had his hands too full with Lianne and Jamie to offer a proper handshake just yet. "We were wondering where you were hiding."

Lucy looked over her shoulder to where her brother was leaning in the doorway, unsurprised to see the vague hint of wariness in his expression. "You're volunteering to babysit?" she asked in amusement, sharing her grin with Martin. They were going to run rings around him. Just as well Liv and Johnny were only the length of a lawn away. "What do you think, monsters" Can Uncle Tony handle you guys for one night?"

Lianne cackled wickedly, wriggling her fingers in hello to Tony, who cleared his throat.

"What's so hard about it?" he asked. "Pizza, movies, everyone in bed by nine. If the Torch can do it, so can I."

Steve caught what he thought might be a hint of jealousy in Tony's tone when he mentioned "Uncle Johnny", but he said nothing of it. As far as Steve knew, it wasn't a competition, and it wouldn't be fair to make it one. Steve also knew there was a little more involved in caring for children than simply feeding and entertaining them, but he thought it would do Tony some good to find that out for himself.

"I can help, too, Uncle Tony," Martin volunteered, puffing out his chest proudly as eldest of the bunch.

"Course you can, champ," Tony smiled at Martin, and for once, it was an absolutely genuine smile, no sarcasm or deprecation there at all. Lucy was almost shocked at the sight of it. "You're my main man. I have no idea how to do anything in a house without Jarvis."

"You are not installing Jarvis in our house," Lucy warned him with a smirk of her own, rolling her eyes as Tony flashed her an innocent smile.

"Who, me personally' Too much like hard work." He pushed off his lean by the door. "Anyone gonna introduced me to the best prank ever pulled on April Fool's Day?"

"We came close to naming one after you," Steve couldn't help but tell him. It wasn't often he had the opportunity to needle his brother in law, and it was good-natured needling, anyway. "But we decided one Tony in the family was enough," he added, tossing a wink at Lucy.

Lucy caught that wink, biting down on her laugh as Tony resumed his lean against the end of the bed.

"Hey, Tony's a good name," he defended his name, looking down into the crib. "Although not for a girl. Seriously, you were gonna name a girl after me" What's wrong with you, man' You're supposed to belong to the era when men were men and women were helpless. You're not supposed to be naming girls Tony."

Lucy snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes. "Not even Antonia?" she teased.

Tony shuddered affectedly. "Good god, no," he grimaced. "Makes me sound like my own maiden aunt."

Steve chuckled. Did he really have to remind Tony how wrong he was" Peggy was only one case in point. There were plenty of women from Steve's era that had been just as courageous and heroic as men, but he wasn't interested in giving Tony a history lesson at the moment. "We made the right decision then," Steve said. "We named her after Peggy instead. This one is Sarah Margaret and that one is Natalia Olivia," he said, introducing each twin for the first time.

"Natalia as in ..." Tony smirked. "Oh, please let me tell Romanoff she's got a teeny namesake in pink polish."

Jamie blew a raspberry up at his uncle, laughing in delight as Tony buzzed something harmless against his cheek in response.

"Too late. Already done," Steve replied. "Apparently, Clint had a good laugh about it," he added, though Steve didn't look particularly amused. They'd named their daughter after Natasha for a very good reason and one that no one needed to know but them.

"Sarah for your Mama, oui, Papa?" Martin interrupted, with serious eyes.

For once, Tony didn't argue, understanding that Steve's friendship with Natasha was something the man treasured. He bent instead, hooking Lianne up with one arm to look into the bassinet, blatantly using his niece as an excuse to get a closer look at the newborns.

"Oui, Martin," Steve confirmed, a little surprised that the boy was that astute. He did not need to explain that the woman would have been Martin's grandmother, even if not by blood, which made the naming that much more bittersweet. "She would have adored the lot of you," he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Like Bess is for Mama's mama?" Lianne asked curiously, leaning heavily on Tony as he inspected the twins. He was suspiciously silent, at least in Lucy's opinion, but she had a feeling he might be wrestling with a certain amount of domestic envy here. He insisted he wasn't a family man, and yet had started to take every opportunity going to spend time with his sisters' children.

"Something like that, yes," Steve replied, but he didn't really want to turn too morose at a time like this, and he had noticed that Tony had turned quiet for some reason, too. If anything, this was a happy occasion. "Anyway, we were wondering if you'd like to be a godfather," Steve said, glancing at Lucy for a moment, as if for permission, though it was probably a little too late for that now.

"Shouldn't you be asking Thor?" Tony instantly countered, deflecting the question automatically. "He is a god, sort of. Well, he thinks he is."

"Thor isn't my brother," Lucy told him quietly.

For a moment, they were all privileged to witness Tony Stark absolutely speechless, possibly for the first time in living memory.

Lianne blinked, looking at her father. "Uncle Tony is broked."

"He's not broked," Steve told his daughter. "He's just speechless. Well, Tony, what do you say' You want the honor or should we ask someone else?" It was almost priceless to witness Tony Stark at a loss for words for once in his life, but Steve had too big a heart to leave him out to dry for too long.

It was difficult to tell whether Tony was more shocked to be asked, or to hear Lucy actually call him her brother. He glanced between them for a long moment, clearing his throat as he attempted to come up with something vaguely witty. "Uh ....sure," he said finally. "That'd be ....that ..." His eyes narrowed, one hand pointing the finger at Steve. "Are you trying to get me broody, Cap?"