S.H.I.E.L.D. was, thus far, proving to be something of a pleasant surprise for Lucy Rogers. Not many organizations would be happy that within a month of joining them, their newest employee had already applied for maternity leave, but it seemed that Nick Fury was so anxious to keep Captain America happy, he had signed her off himself. Not only that, but her hours had been reduced with no loss of income, something highly unusual. It did mean she was left with a few days a week when she wasn't supposed to be doing anything, but at least she wasn't tiring herself out. She'd even started taking lessons in how to cook from Liv - over the phone, naturally - and though her efforts weren't always edible, at least she was trying. The bigger she got, the slower she got, though, and with summer creeping on, Lucy was very glad she wouldn't be carrying baby weight past July. She was already uncomfortably hot most days, and it was only just full spring.

Which was why she was lying full length on the floor of the apartment she now shared with Steve this afternoon, all the windows open, her t-shirt tucked up under her breasts. She would have been naked, if she hadn't known for a fact that it would completely scandalize her husband when he got home.

Steve and Lucy had fallen into something of a routine in New York - as much of a routine as they could anyway, considering who they both were. Things had been mostly quiet since their return from England, and Steve had been trying to keep them that way for Lucy's sake and the sake of the child she was carrying. He found himself missing Johnny and Liv a little and was hopeful the pair would be able to visit sometime soon, before the baby was born.

He was head over heels, albeit a bit nervous, about becoming a father, and the closer it came to Lucy's due date, the more excited he was getting, as well as protective. He was constantly fretting over Lucy to the point where she was probably grateful when he left for work some days. Today was no exception, and when Steve sailed in for the evening, his first reaction to seeing Lucy sprawled half-naked on the floor was that something was wrong. "Luce!" he exclaimed as he slammed the door to their little apartment shut and rushed to her side. "Are you all right' You're not in labor, are you?" he asked, his face flushed with worry. He barely gave her time to say hello before he was hovering over her again, earning himself a definitely sardonic look from his wife as she looked up at him. "Yes, love, I'm in labor," she drawled with deep sarcasm. "That's why I'm lying on the floor mostly undressed, rather than in a hospital with you." Her expression warmed into a smile as she reached up to gently touch his cheek. "Calm down, Steve. I got too hot, and my back was hurting. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite comfortable down here."

"Oh," he replied, his blush deepening, this time from embarrassment. This was becoming something of a regular event, and his famous last word was becoming a resounding and familiar, "Oh." Crouched beside her, he frowned and reached to curl his fingers around her hand. "We should probably move. You deserve a nicer place than this." Housing was at a premium in New York, but they could afford a better apartment. Hell, S.H.I.E.L.D. owed them that much. Every time he brought it up, he was told it was in the works, just be patient, but his patience was running out. "You don't look comfortable." How could she possibly be comfortable, carrying their son around for the last eight or so months" God, he could still hardly believe it. They were having a son!

"Come down here and kiss me, and maybe I'll be even more comfortable, then," she suggested. Despite Liv's warning that Lucy's temper might get a little ragged as the months advanced, Steve's wife actually seemed to have got sweeter the more pregnant she became, which boded well for after the birth itself. Despite being one of the least maternal people she knew, Lucy was blossoming into this new role quite happily. "I'm not the only person who'll be living in a new place, love," she pointed out fondly. "You deserve it as well."

"Yeah, well, I keep getting the..." He paused a moment to search his mind for the right form of slang. "Brush off?" he asked, uncertainly. It had been nearly two years since he'd come out of the deep sleep, and he still had some catching up to do with modern pop culture. He settled himself on the floor, scooping her into his lap and pressing a tender kiss against her lips. "How's Junior doing" Not giving you any trouble today, is he?"

"I keep telling you to let me try," Lucy chuckled, unsurprised that even as big as she was, he could still manhandle her wherever he wanted with little effort, even more gentle with her while she carried their son. "If Nick Fury's too scared to speak to me face to face, I can't see HR being any braver." She grinned into the kiss he pressed to her mouth, smoothing her hand into the soft silk of his hair. "No, he's been good today. A full night's sleep, and very little heartburn. He must be planning something." Laughing teasingly, she drew his hand down to the curve of her belly, where the skin visibly stretched with the movement of their boy. "Not long now."

Whatever nerves he was feeling seemed to ease as she settled his hand against her belly where he could feel the movement of their son inside her, strong and active, as might be expected, considering his parents. "Let's hope he's not planning an escape yet," he remarked with a soft, fond smile as he eased a hand along the curve of her tummy.

"Personally, I'm hoping he books a time slot and sticks to it," she drawled cheerfully, cuddling into the warm strength of his chest and arms to lay her head against his shoulder. A year ago, she would never have thought she'd be so thoroughly domesticated - married, pregnant, and ridiculously happy to be in both states at once, even reconciled with a great-aunt who might never have known she still lived if it hadn't been for her husband. The only cloud on the horizon was the persistent lack of response from Tony Stark, her half-brother, who seemed absolutely determined not to even acknowledge the letter and dossier she'd sent him months before. She wasn't sure how much more patient she could be with a spoiled playboy who didn't seem to understand that her twin was hurting over his continued silence, even after Lucy had knocked him on his arse. "I, um ....I went to Stark Tower today."

He smiled in response to her remark. Steve's smiles were becoming more of a common occurrence since he'd met Lucy. "If he's anything like his father, he's likely to be late," he remarked. It had once been a bit of a private joke between himself and Peggy Carter, but now that Lucy had met her great aunt, she was as privy to it as Peggy was. There had to be some kind of irony in the fact that the woman he'd married was related to his first love, but Steve tried not to think about it too much or all the what ifs would drive him crazy. They'd received Peggy's blessing - and he'd received her forgiveness - and that was all that mattered. He ran his fingers against her stomach, feeling his son moving inside her, smiling contentedly, until the mention of Stark Tower hit him like a ton of bricks, turning him cold sober.

His opinion of Tony Stark had not greatly improved since the debacle in New York nearly a year ago. He seemed to have inherited all of his father's failings and none of his greatness. Oh, he was a genius. Steve couldn't deny that, and he had a feeling that beneath the giant ego of his, Tony Stark was a decent guy who was harboring a painful childhood, but it wasn't fair to Lucy or Liv to blame them for things that weren't their fault. He tried to hide the small hurt that came with the knowledge that Lucy had gone to Stark Tower on her own, without him, but he knew she had her reasons, and her reasons were generally good ones. He held that much trust in her, but Tony was another matter. "How'd that go?" he asked after a moment's hesitation, his fingers stilling for just a fraction of a moment.

She paused to consider just what to tell him. "Pepper's nice," was what she eventually offered up, glancing guiltily at her right hand, which still bore the reddened evidence of her encounter with Tony Stark. "It was her idea; she wanted to talk to me about Tony. I didn't want to worry you with it - I wasn't expecting to see him at all."

Steve frowned, more concerned about Lucy's reaction to Tony, than the other way around. He was smart enough to read between the lines of what she was telling him. She had obviously run into Tony, and it hadn't gone well. "Was he his usual charming self?" he asked, trying to keep a lid on his personal feelings regarding her unstable older brother.

"Yes, but..." He felt a little strange pointing something out to Lucy that seemed so obvious to him, but maybe her judgement was a bit clouded by her own personal feelings. "He didn't have a twin to hold onto or help him through things." This was something Steve understood well. Though Bucky had been almost like a brother, he'd been an only child himself, and Steve knew no one ever really substituted for family.

"He had his mother." And that, right there, was a sticking point. Howard might not have been around much in Tony's life, but he had been there. Tony had had both his parents in some way. The twins had had neither. This wasn't something Lucy was ever going to reconcile with Tony over. Steve had a better chance of making Liv understand it than his own wife.

Steve quieted, allowing Lucy to win that debate, knowing there was no point in arguing over it. They all had their own personal demons, and Lucy and Tony were no exception. He hoped someday they'd reach an agreement and be civil to each other, if only for Liv's sake, but he knew them both well enough to know both were stubborn enough that neither was going to budge an inch without a little push. "I'll go see him in a few days." A visit to Tony Stark was probably overdue anyway, as much as Steve was dreading it.

She nodded, understanding that the argument that was brewing had been set aside as a lost cause on both ends, and twisted to hug him warmly. "I'm sorry you're stuck in the middle of all this, baby," she murmured affectionately. "I promise, I'll behave if he does."

There was no doubt when it came to Steve's loyalties. If it came down to it, he could be counted on to always side with Lucy, especially when the point of contention was Tony. He hated to admit it, but it was really Liv he was most concerned about - they were at least in agreement on that. "It's okay," he replied, hoping to put the discussion of Tony Stark to rest, at least for the time being. He'd already decided to go talk to him, even if it did little good. Maybe he could get him to see reason, though if Pepper hadn't done that already, he wasn't sure what difference a visit from him would make. "I don't want to spend the evening talking about Ironman."

Lucy smiled at the not so subtle hint to change the subject, chuckling as she sat up and began the less than dignified struggle to stand. "What would you like to talk about instead, sweetheart?" she asked, brown eyes twinkling with amusement. "Am I allowed to discuss how fine your rear end looks in the new suit yet, or am I still being vetoed on that subject?"

He laughed again, helping her effortlessly to her feet, as he rose with her. "You can discuss it all you want, so long as we're in private." He smiled down at her, unable to hide the adoration he felt for this woman from his expression, linking his fingers with hers to draw her toward the bedroom, where they'd be more comfortable. Everything else could wait until later. "I think we should talk about our plans for the future. You know what they say - new house, new baby." His eyes sparkled with rare playfulness. Was there something he knew that she didn't"

Drawn up onto her feet with considerably less effort that usual - there were perks to having a superhero for a husband - Lucy blinked in the face of Steve's playfully teasing tone. "New house"" she repeated, her own eyes opening wide with soft surprise. "I thought you were still trying to get a straight answer out of HR about a bigger living allowance?" Not that she was going to object to a new house at all. As much as she loved this tiny apartment, it was tiny, far too small to contemplate trying to raise a child in.

Steve didn't really want to be beholden to S.H.I.E.L.D., but if they wanted his help - especially after the debacle in New York - they were going to have to do better than a teensy outdated apartment they thought he'd like because it was "vintage" and a modest salary. He wouldn't have cared, but he had a wife and child to think of now. "I talked to Fury directly and explained the situation," Steve told her. "I think we're both worth it, don't you?"

"Well, of course we're worth it" - and by we, she really meant that he was worth it, but never mind - "They should have had you in a decent apartment right from the start." Her hand slid into his as he led her toward the bedroom, not even attempting to offer a protest at their destination. He might be trying to get her to relax, but he hadn't yet quite worked out why that never seemed to work when they were on the bed. "So Furby's given in, then" We can find somewhere else to live, or is he going to assign us somewhere else?"

"They thought I'd be more comfortable here, but..." He broke off momentarily. He had done a lot of catching up since he'd awoken from his deep sleep, but there were still things that took him by surprise. She knew him too well - he was trying to do just that, or at least make her comfortable. He didn't quite get the Furby reference. "I told him if we're going to be living here long-term, it's only fair that we have some choice in our accommodations, especially with a baby on the way."

"A baby that no amount of hinting is going to persuade me to allow anyone to do tests on," she added darkly. It was subtle, yes, but there was no denying that the experts at S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to know just how much the serum had affected Steve, and if those effects had been passed on to his son. Lucy, however, was standing very firm on this matter, and for once, she had Fury's backing. Apparently the Director wasn't prepared to sanction experiments on a newborn baby. "It'd be nice to have somewhere a little bigger," she went on, not wanting to linger on that subject. "At least so he can have his own room when he's big enough."

"And a little more modern," Steve added as he led her through the small, cluttered apartment to the tiny bedroom that was too small for two people. Steve made no comment on any research regarding his son. Lucy was a doctor, and if anyone was going to be a judge of their son's health, it was her. What worried him wasn't so much the effects of the serum on their offspring, but rather, the opposite. He'd been a sickly kid himself, and he was hoping their son didn't take after his father in that regard. So far, so good, but they wouldn't know for sure until he was born. Steve tried not to linger on the subject, as Lucy already knew his feelings - and his worries - about the matter. "It's too bad the Dodgers went to L.A.," he remarked idly, wondering if their son would like baseball as much as he did.

"Bigger," she argued cheerfully. "I don't care how old it is or how much work needs to be done on it. So long as it's ours, and it's home, that's all that matters." She squeezed with him into the weeny bedroom and crawled onto the bed, which took up most of the floorspace all by itself. Thumping down onto her back, she sighed contentedly, patting the space beside her. "What on earth are the Dodgers?" she asked curiously, proving that in some areas Steve had a few things to teach her.

The room really wasn't made for the bed that was in there. The entire apartment was too small for two people, but they'd made do. The thought of squeezing a baby, along with all the necessary paraphernalia into the small space was unthinkable. He pulled off his shoes and left them beside the bed before joining her, turning to face her and propping himself up onto an elbow, while he laid his free hand against her belly. "Baseball," he answered. "I wanted to play when I was a kid, but..." He broke off at the memory, shrugging. Poor health had prevented it, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. He wondered what would happen if he tried to get the other members of the team together for a game. He figured Thor, at least, would be a natural. "Brooklyn Dodgers. My favorite team when I was a kid."

She raised her hand, a fingertip delicately teasing wayward strands of blonde hair from his brow as she smiled up at him. It was rare that he spoke about his childhood or any of the time before he'd woken from his ice-cold sleep, and she cherished every little snippet that told her more about her fantastic husband. "You can teach our son to play," she told him fondly. "Maybe he'll bring the Dodgers back to Brooklyn for his old man."

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the effort he'd gone to, or even that she was now effectively on holiday for an undisclosed period of time. No, Lucy's first thought was for the people who had been under her care until, apparently, yesterday. "My patients," she began, shaking her head guiltily. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm not deliberately being difficult here, I do appreciate all this. But I have an obligation to at least hand over my patients to another doctor, if I'm being taken off their cases." She bit her lip, torn between happiness at the prospect of all that time to spend with Steve and their son, and guilt at leaving the wards short-handed.

"Then go visit them tomorrow and tell them. Do you really think they're going to deny you this" I know you care about your patients, Luce, but the world won't fall apart if you take a few months off. Besides, Peggy will be here in a few weeks. Do you really want to get a lecture from her instead of me?" He brushed his fingers against her cheek, pushing her hair back from her face. "Look, I'm not asking you to quit your job. I know how important it is to you. I'm just asking you to take a few months off, until after the baby is born. I'm-I'm afraid you're going to run yourself ragged, if you don't."

"Oh, sweetheart, I know you're not asking me to quit." Realizing she'd worried him with her professional concern over her patients, Lucy forced herself to relax, offering him a warm smile as her hand covered his, squeezing fondly. "I promise, once I've handed over, I'll stop worrying about work. And I do appreciate that you've done this for us, baby, I really do. I won't tire myself out." She leaned close, brushing a soft kiss to his lips. "Now you just have to stop worrying about me."

His smile softened as she realized he'd done this for her and the baby, as much as for himself. For them. Unless the world was attacked by aliens again, he thought a few months off wasn't going to hurt anyone and would do them a world of good. "I know I should have asked you first, but it just sort of came up in conversation." In other words, he'd been talking to Fury and had decided on the spur of a moment to ask. "I don't think I'll ever stop worrying about you, Luce. You or the baby." Or Liv or Johnny or Peggy, for that matter.

She chuckled softly, inching a little closer to tuck into the contour of him as much as she could, despite the physical protests of the baby in her womb. "So ....you intend to take me house-hunting, do you?" she asked curiously, her smile more than evidence enough that she was definitely up for that. "I, um, I don't suppose we'll be looking for somewhere that isn't right in the heart of the city, will we?" This was said hopefully - one thing Lucy missed from England was the abundance of green, even in the cities.

"Actually, I was thinking about someplace outside the city. Suburbs maybe. We'd have to commute, but I think we can work it out." He looked at her hopefully, having put a lot more thought into all of this than he cared to admit or had let on. "Do you want to stay in the city?" he asked, uncertain what she wanted.

He didn't need to worry about this being something she'd argue with; he might as well have read her mind. "Don't get me wrong, Steve, I like the city," she said carefully, "but it's ....I don't know, I suppose it's just too crowded for me. The cities in England aren't anywhere near so packed with people, and the houses are bigger." She laughed gently. "I'd like a place with a garden, even if we did nothing with it. Just somewhere green we can enjoy with our children."

He smiled in complete agreement, not missing the subtle assumption that they'd have more than one child someday. "I want a backyard. I want to teach Junior how to play baseball, even if he hates it. I want a swing set and a pool and a garden and....I don't know....Maybe a dog. I want what everyone else has, Luce. I want a family and a home, and I want it with you."

"Well, you've got half of it already," she promised him, tweaking the end of his nose between her thumb and forefinger. "It sounds lovely. Now all we have to do is find a place that suits us. And I mean it, I don't care how much work needs doing on it - if it suits us, that's all that matters. I can paint walls with one hand."

He laughed as she tweaked his nose, relieved they were in agreement and she wasn't angry with him. "I can't!" he admitted with a slightly sheepish grin. He'd never had the opportunity or necessity to go house hunting or to do any kind of home renovations, and even though he was Captain America, that didn't mean he'd be good at it. In fact, there was a distinct possibility he wouldn't be.

Lucy grinned, kissing him tenderly. "We have plenty of friends and family who can be roped in to do a bit here and there," she reminded him impishly, knowing he wasn't going to believe what she was about to say next. "She doesn't look it, but Liv's a whiz with D.I.Y. You just have to mention what you might like done, and she's on it straightaway. Scary girl."

That bit of news about Liv didn't really come as a great surprise to Steve. He might not know Liv as well as Lucy did, but he knew she was far more talented than she gave herself credit for. "That doesn't really surprise me. She taught me how to dance, you know. The night before the wedding, she gave me a few lessons." He wasn't sure if Lucy already knew this or not, but it was a testament to Liv's patience and unconscious insight.

"Oh, did she now?" Lucy laughed, settling herself onto her back once again. "I did wonder what you two were up to when I was all tucked up and drunk. You're lucky I'm not the jealousy type; Liv might have ended up with a black eye at our wedding." She flickered him a cheeky wink and a grin. They both knew that if the twins got into it, Lucy would be the one who came out of it worse for wear.

Steve smiled, a little amused by the feigned jealousy. Both of them knew Lucy had nothing to be jealous of - certainly, not of a sister whose heart belonged to someone else. "Yeah, well....I was going to tell you how your sister was secretly pining for me, but I figured you were better off not knowing." Let it not be said that Steve Rogers did not have a sense or humor and was not capable of a little teasing now and then.

"Who wouldn't pine for you? You're a god in human form." Whenever he teased, he got teased back; an odd reward for coming a little more out of his shell, but Lucy was doing her best to help her husband feel a little more comfortable in his skin, and in the modern world around him. In her opinion, that meant learning how to laugh at everything in moderation, the way she did. "Even better, you're my god in human form." Her brown eyes sparkled impishly as she met his gaze. "Am I allowed to worship at the altar of Steve yet?"

Whatever her intent, Steve rewarded his wife with a flush of color to his cheeks at her teasing. He really didn't think he was anything special, no matter what anyone told him. Just because the package had been improved, on the inside, he was the same Steve Rogers he'd always been. "I don't want to be a god, Luce. Not to you or anyone. I don't want to be worshiped." He knew she was just teasing him, but it was important she understood this. He'd seen first hand what happened when someone had such a huge ego they thought themselves a god. Nothing good ever came of it. "How about if you just love me instead?" That was all he'd ever really wanted - just to be understood, accepted, and loved, like everyone else.

She smiled gently, drawing him down to kiss him with slow tenderness. She understood where he was coming from, why it was so important for him to know she saw him as the man he was. But she wasn't going to stop telling him how wonderful he was, for all that. "There's no such thing as just loving you," she murmured to him lovingly, her lips brushing his with each word. "Loving you is my whole world and purpose, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Drawn down into her kiss and embrace, he lacked the proper words to express his feelings, her kisses cutting off any words of affection that might have passed his lips. At the gentle press of lips against his, his heart filled with such sweet tenderness he thought it might take flight. He touched her cheek in a gentle caress as their lips met and he returned her loving words with a silent entreaty of his own, letting his kiss silently tell her what his heart was feeling.

Oh, how she loved her hopeless romantic. A year ago, he hadn't been even remotely her type, and yet here they were, so appallingly domesticated that she had caught herself more than once considering giving up work for a few years to be a stay at home mother to the half-dozen children she kept imagining at random. Smiling beneath his kiss, Lucy curled her arms about Steve, nipping fondly at his lips. "Now that is a hello," she murmured impishly, knowing he probably despaired sometimes of getting her to take their affection seriously.

Steve smiled against her lips, sighing softly as she broke the kiss. If there was any truth to opposites attracting, Lucy and Steve were proof of it. As opposite as they could be, they balanced each other perfectly - his serious side offsetting her impishness, at least for the time being. He shifted, leaning over to brush another soft kiss against her lips, sparking the warmth of affection and desire for the woman who'd become his wife, the woman he'd so unexpectedly fallen in love with.

And it wouldn't be long now before their tiny family in their tiny apartment would be made a little bigger, in a real home, first with the arrival of Peggy from England, and then with the birth of their son. Let Tony Stark be an idiot when it came to his family. They would still be there when he came around - Liv in the startlingly nurturing embrace of Johnny Storm's adoration, and Lucy ....watched over, protected, and loved by a man any other would be proud to call friend and brother. Blood didn't make family. Love did.

((Many thanks to Steve's player! Awesome, as always!))