One thing Lucy was sure she was never going to get used to in America was the fervor surrounding the Fourth of July. She could understand it, to a certain extent, but that didn't mean she was going to get used to it anytime soon. Besides, that particular date was precious to her for two other, very special reasons - it was a shared birthday; her husband's birthday, and their youngest son's, as well. And as a result, they had decided to leave the house and the lingering memory of Peggy for the day and visit an attraction that Steve seemed very fond of - Coney Island. Though Jamie and Lianne were too small for a few of the larger attractions, they didn't seem to mind waiting with Lucy while Steve and Martin rode the roller-coaster, pointing and laughing each time father and son came into view. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, and for once, they were just a young family out for the day, lost amid the crowds.

Steve's favorite holiday had always been the Fourth of July, but it wasn't because it was his birthday, and it wasn't because it was a national holiday celebrated to commemorate the day the colonies declared their independence - it was simply because it was fun. He loved the barbecues and the fireworks and the family gatherings and everything else that went along with it. He was a lot like Johnny Storm in that way, enjoying all those things with his own family that he missed as a boy. And though Steve was trying to keep a low profile, every now and then, there was someone who'd recognize him and ask for his autograph. It didn't help when his cheeky wife was wearing a t-shirt with his shield emblazoned on the front.

Still, despite that t-shirt, they were mostly unmolested - two parents attempting to corral a two-year old, a seven-year-old, and a nine-year old as they bounced excitedly between the bright attractions of Coney Island. "Maybe we should have invited Johnny and Liv," Lucy drawled in amusement, pulling Jamie's questing hand out of the nearest trashcan with a chuckle. "That way, we'd have had Fliss around to keep them entertained!"

Steve laughed as he scooped Jamie up into his very capable arms. "I'm sure Johnny and Liv will show up at some point," he said, knowing the other couple too well to know they wouldn't stay away very long, even if they didn't make a surprise appearance today. As fond as Steve was of the other couple, he was secretly hoping to spend his birthday having fun and relaxing with his own little family. They needed this, after all - all of them did - especially after everything that had happened over the last few months. The children needed time to bond with their new parents, and the adults needed time to heal from the loss of Peggy. "You know, she would have loved this place," he told her, unable to stop himself from mentioning or thinking of Peggy completely. "I wonder if she ever got here."

"She would have loved it, you're right," Lucy agreed, and there was the seed of healing in her smile. There were no tears as they considered how much their friend would have enjoyed this day with them.

"Mama?" Lianne tugged on Lucy's shorts, pointing hopefully toward a stall where a man was making cotton candy.

Lucy chuckled, glancing at Steve, though they had both agreed the children could stuff themselves on as much junk as they liked today. "All right, ma petit," she told the little girl. "Martin, would you like some candyfloss?" It was going to take a while for her to learn to say cotton candy instead.

Steve only smiled at the thought of that. Somewhere, he knew Peggy was looking down at them and smiling, too, and in all truth, he was grateful for the time they'd had together, however short it might have been. Steve followed Lucy's glance to the little French girl tugging on her adoptive mother's shorts and his smile deepened. He had never imagined how much joy three small children could bring to his life, even if two of those children were not of his own bloodline. "Not too much or you'll get a stomachache!" he warned, laughingly, though he knew that warning likely fell on deaf ears. "Lianne, would you like to ride the carousel with me?" he asked; having just shared a ride with Martin, he thought the little girl deserved equal time.

The little girl's eyes lit up hopefully as she was offered the chance to take on a ride with her father, the cotton candy forgotten as she nodded enthusiastically. "Oui, I mean ...yes, Papa!" One small hand inserted itself into his free palm as Lucy exchanged a glance with Martin and chuckled.

"Well, I think that leaves us getting hot dogs and candyfloss while they're riding a big pink horse for fun, don't you?" she winked at her eldest son, sweeping her fingers through his hair. "What should we get for Jamie, do you think?"

"Ice cream!" Steve suggested with a grin, as he handed Jamie off to Lucy. As much as he adored his sons, the offer to ride the carousel was strictly between father and daughter. "Keep an eye on your brother, Martin! We won't be long." Steve's large hand closed around Lianne's as he bent his head to kiss Lucy's cheek. "Thanks, Luce. This is the best birthday ever."

Lucy laughed as she answered his kiss with her own. "Even better than the one where you got to deliver a baby?" she asked teasingly, hiking Jamie a little higher on her hip as he looked around curiously. Next to Steve, Lianne was tugging on his hand, impatient to go on the ride that had been promised to her now it was her turn.

Steve laughed at Lucy's question and at the impatient tugging at his hand, calling back as he was tugged away toward the carousel. "It's hard to compete with that, but yes!" After all, that birthday had given them Jamie, but he had even more to be thankful for this time around. He turned back to Lianne, scooping her up in his arms to make a dash for the line at the carousel before it started without them.

Laughing at the giggling progress of father and daughter across the park to the carousel, Lucy looked to the boys left with her. "I know, being left with me is terribly boring, isn't it?" she commiserated with them, chuckling. "But ....it does mean that we get to eat first, and go on rides before they can." She grinned at Jamie and Martin. "C'mon, loves, let's buy something horrendously unhealthy to eat."

So long as the boys didn't gorge themselves and then throw it all up! Jamie and Martin both cheered at their mother's suggestion and went off with her to fill their faces with goodies, while Steve and Lianne slid into the queue in front of the carousel. "What do you think, sweetheart' Would you like to ride a horse or something else?"

Held secure on her father's hip, Lianne inspected the turning carousel as they waited in line. "What is horse, Papa?" she asked curiously. Though her grasp on English was improving daily, there were still some words she had yet to learn. One little hand pointed toward a golden pink horse that could seat two. "That is horse, oui?"

"Oui, ma petite. Cela est un cheval," he replied in fluid French. He hadn't spent all those years in France without picking up the language, and though they were working on teaching the children to speak English, there were times when it was easier to make himself understood in their native language. In fact, he was fluent in several languages, and had found it far easier to learn them after the serum had enhanced his memory, along with everything else. "That one, then?" he asked with a nod of his head toward the pink one. It didn't bother him a bit that the horse was pink, nor was he worried about what it might say about his masculinity.

"Un cheval, a horse," Lianne repeated, in the way they had taught her, committing the word to her impressive memory as the ride came to a halt and began to let people off. "Oui, Papa, that one. I like, is pretty." She giggled, hugging her arms around his neck as the line moved forward, innocent enough not to be too worried about the thought that someone else might choose that horse before they reached it.

Luckily for Steve, his wife knew all about his enormous appetite, and had managed to get more than enough for all of them, despite the vendor's concern that perhaps she was being overly ambitious for her family's ability to eat them all. She passed Steve a napkin as Jamie lunged in his general direction, one hand on the escaping toddler as Lianne and Martin seemed to commune with one another on the idea of fireworks.

It was Lianne who eventually gave in. "What makes fire work?" she asked curiously, wiping her mouth with one hand. "Is it dangerous?"

Steve licked at the mustard at the corner of his mouth, not missing a beat as the little Rogers lunged for him, and he scooped the toddler up to set him in his lap. "Hmm," he mused aloud at the little girl's question, wondering if they'd ever seen fireworks before. "It's like fire in the sky. Explosions of color." He searched his mind for a better explanation. "La piece d'artifice," he translated in French, though he wasn't sure if that would help much. "They can be dangerous, but we'll be far enough away that we won't get hurt."

"In the dark, oui?" Lianne looked to Martin to agree with her on this one, fairly sure she was understanding, but needing her big brother to assure her she was right. "Fleurs et fontaines, yes" All pretty color."

Martin nodded silently, looking to Steve for assurance that he was answering his sister correctly. "At night, in the sky. I saw them once when I was little," he said, a vague memory in his head that his sister might not recall. "Loud but pretty," he told her. He didn't want to seem like a coward, not when his father was a hero. In the end, he trusted Steve and Lucy to keep him and his siblings safe, and if they thought it safe to see fireworks, then who was he to disagree"

"If you don't want to see them, it's okay," Steve assured them both, as Jamie was really too young to voice an opinion. There was really no way to avoid them on a night like this, as they were everywhere, but they could maintain a certain distance.

"They are very loud," Lucy agreed with a nod. "Probably too loud for Jamie. But we'll probably be able to see them from our house. Lots of people let off fireworks on the fourth of July; I'm sure someone near where we live will be letting them off. We can shut out the worst of the noise and watch from our house, I'm sure."

Lianne seemed to consider this, not a great fan of loud noises herself. "And ice cream?"

That was good enough for Steve. There would be other years when the children were old enough to understand and enjoy fireworks up close, but he first and foremost came the safety and well-being of their children. "Always ice cream!" Steven replied with a grin and he reached over to tickle his daughter's side, so long as she wasn't chewing on a piece of hotdog.

Martin seemed to consider this and solemnly nodded his head. "And if they are too loud, we can go in the house," he pointed out logically.

"We can," Lucy agreed with Martin warmly. "And best of all, we can wear our pajamas and lounge around because no one will see us!" She winked at him, reaching over to gently ruffle his hair as Lianne squealed with laughter.

That brought a smile to the boy's face, albeit a little shyly. He was obviously fond of both his adoptive parents in his own way, but he had a special place in his heart for his mother, like most little boys did. "Do you think Uncle Johnny and Aunt Liv will visit?" he asked curiously. He'd seen Johnny and Fliss play with fire first hand, but Steve had explained how it was dangerous and not something just anyone should attempt.

"Well, a little bird did tell me that there's a family dinner planned for tomorrow," Lucy admitted with playful secrecy. "And I think someone said something about us going to stay on Rhy'Din for a week or so. That is, if anyone wants to." Her eyes sparkled as she looked at their children, knowing Steve well enough to know that he wouldn't object to visiting the hub where they had first met if the children wanted to visit it.

Steve said nothing about this, waiting for a reaction from the children before he piped up. He was perfectly happy to do whatever the consensus was and, despite enjoying this little holiday on their own, he was looking forward to a visit to see their family there in Rhy'Din and to introduce the children to all the wonders there. "There are real dragons in Rhy'Din," he told them both after a moment of silent communication between the pair.

Martin's eyes widened, his only experience with dragons the ones he'd seen at the movies and read about in books. "Are they dangerous" Will they try to eat us?" he asked solemnly.

Steve laughed. "No, most of them are friendly," he replied, though he knew Rhy'Din posed its own set of dangers, if they weren't careful.

"There is a little girl Uncle Johnny knows," Lucy added, licking mustard off her fingers, "who is friends with real fairies. And I do believe that one of the people who lives where Uncle Johnny and Aunt Liv do is a real mermaid, too."

Lianne stared, open-mouthed. "Est-ce vrai?" she asked, amazed by this thought. "And Maria and Alexei and Fliss, they will be there?"

Fairies and mermaids were far more interesting to a little girl than dragons, Steve thought, and far less dangerous, though he wasn't sure what Martin might think of that. How do you impress a small boy who had seen too much and suffered too much' He thought maybe there was one thing he hadn't mentioned yet. It was sort of his ace in the hole. "You know Johnny and Liv are thinking about letting Bella have puppies, and if they do, we get the first pick of the litter."

Martin was still mulling over fairies, unsure if they were really real or not, when his father mentioned the dog, and that seemed to interest him far more than pink dragons or fairies or mermaids could ever do. "Really, Papa" A dog of our own?" He looked to his mother for confirmation, hoping she was in agreement.

Lucy laughed, spotting a masterful stroke of manipulation when she saw it. It was very difficult to say no when Martin looked so hopeful, and she was certain Steve knew it. "I think ....yes," she agreed with a smile. "Even if Bella doesn't have puppies soon, I think we will see about getting a dog before the end of summer." Another hyperactive nitwit to add to their household, but they were all lovable.

Steve shrugged his shoulders at Lucy in a silent apology, knowing he had jumped the gun, but somehow he knew how much it meant to the boy and he was trying so hard to make him happy. But before he could explain, Martin was tossing his arms around Lucy, a huge smile on his face. "Really, Mama?" he asked, hugging her around the neck. Despite his desire to be a man like his Papa, he was still very much a little boy, and a wounded one at that. "I will be good, I promise!" he added, as if that was necessary.