The Fourth of July was a special day, not only because it was a national holiday, but because it was Steve Rogers' twenty-fifth birthday, at least as far as Steve was concerned. According to the calendar, he was actually ninety-one years old, but over sixty of those years had been spent in suspended animation while the world went on around him. It had only been two years since he'd been found frozen in ice and revived, but a lot had happened in those two short years. For one thing, he'd gotten married - not to his old flame, Peggy Carter, who had continued to age while he was frozen in time and was now over sixty years his senior - but to one half of a pair of twins who he'd met purely by chance and fallen hopelessly in love with.

A twin named Lucy Broderick who had become Lucy Rogers and was due to have his child any day now, one half of twins who were the long lost sisters of one Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. It was a perfect day for a Fourth of July gathering, and the first official family gathering Steve and Lucy had ever had at the new home that had been provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. for their oldest and most valuable agent. It was the least they could do, after all, to show their gratitude to the hero who'd sacrificed so much for his nation and for the world, and though Steve had never asked for anything in return, he was thankful, not only for the home they'd been given, but for the family that now surrounded him, however awkward and strange they might be.

So far, the day had been going pretty well. Johnny had sworn to be on his best behavior, and so long as Pepper was around, Tony's wisecracks had been kept to a bare minimum, but Steve and Lucy knew it was only a matter of time before the fireworks started. Still, for their very first family gathering, everything seemed to be going well, so far. Johnny had insisted on manning the barbecue, insisting he was the resident expert at anything involving flames, which left Steve to play buffer zone between all the conflicting personalities.

Luckily for Steve, Liv had been warned in advance that Tony had been invited as well, giving her time to sort out her nerves before the barbecue had started. She was running interference alongside her brother-in-law to try and keep flaring tempers to a minimum - so much so, in fact, that she had not actually managed to do more than say hello to her brother. Lucy had been taken in hand by Peggy who, much to her great-nieces' amusement, had proved to be an absolute pushover for any opportunity to commune with the baby boy still stubbornly refusing to be born. The elderly woman's relationship with Lucy had warmed since she had moved in with Steve and his wife, and though she didn't entirely approve of Tony, she hadn't attempted to cause any trouble with her sharp tongue yet.

Satisfied that no one was about to hurt anyone else, Liv was able to turn her attention to actually eating something, sharing a grin with Steve as she ducked under Johnny's arm to kiss her husband's cheek. "You know I love you, right?" she teased him softly, her voice quieter than usual in the presence of strangers (even if one of them was her brother). "Do you love me enough to feed me a hot dog?"

Tony was currently chatting Steve up about one thing or another, while Pepper looked on, hoping her big-mouthed boyfriend would hold his tongue long enough that she could sneak away to talk to Peggy and Lucy about the impending arrival of a newborn. Steve flashed a smile back at Liv as she passed, trying hard to look interested in what Tony was babbling on about - something highly technical and over his head - experiments he wanted to do on Steve's shield and blah blah blah. Steve smiled and nodded, though he didn't really understand a word of it, anymore than he had understood Howard's mumbo jumbo six decades earlier.

Johnny grinned when Liv came up beside him, happy as a clam to be put in charge of the grill, even if he was redefining the meaning of "char-broiled". "I know," he replied, grinning happily at her as he poked at the hot dogs, which looked nearly done if not overdone. He laughed at her question, unable stop himself from guttering it the first chance he got. "That depends. Do you want one of these or the one in my pants?"

Liv laughed almost before he got his own question out of his mouth, poking at his navel in retribution for the dirty suggestion. "In front of Peggy' Really?" she teased him cheerfully, turning away to grab a pair of buns. She knew he'd been sneaking meat off the barbecue straight into his mouth, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting him a bun for his next one. "I'll cover you in mustard later," she promised him impishly, and abruptly blushed deep crimson as a loud laugh went up from Lucy and Peggy.

"Olivia Storm, you're supposed to be the well behaved one!"

Johnny flashed a smile to Lucy and Peggy, who had evidently overheard the exchange of innuendo. "If you only knew!" he teased back, with a wink at Lucy. It seemed almost unbelievable to him now that he and Lucy had once been a couple, when she so clearly belonged with Steve and him with Olivia. It was no wonder it hadn't worked. They were too much alike for their own good and needed the more sensible disposition of their significant others to offset their fiery temperament. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Mrs. Storm," Johnny replied as he skewered a hotdog and dropped it into the bun she held ready.

"Keep it down over there!" called Tony. "My virgin ears can't take it!"

"Wear ear plugs, then," Lucy countered Tony's comment with a faint smirk. She wasn't entirely happy he was there, but she had agreed to Steve's plan willingly enough. She shifted a little, rubbing at her aching back, drawn back into conversation with Peggy as Liv's blush grew even deeper.

Embarrassed that not only Lucy but Tony had leapt in to shoot her down, however teasingly, the younger twin ducked her head and focused firmly on adding mustard and ketchup to her hot dog, abruptly shy and silent for the time being.

"Virgin ears my *ss," remarked Johnny, but he left it at that, turning back to Liv with a warm smile, lowering his voice for her ears only. "You can put mustard on my hot dog anytime you want," he whispered, waggling his brows conspiratorially.

One thing Johnny knew very well how to do these days was bring his wife out of herself. Even as she tried to turn inward, there was no way Liv wasn't going to react to that little promise, snorting with laughter that bubbled up into a bright giggle as she looked up at her husband. "Lucky me," she laughed with him, licking mustard off her forefinger as she leaned into him fondly.

"Mmm, it's not made of ivory, actually, but I wouldn't expect someone like you to know that. If it wasn't for Richards, you'd be nobody. What did you do before you became the Human Firecracker again?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right. You were too busy dating girls and driving cars. I've read the file, Firebug. I've got your number."

Johnny looked like he was just about to explode or go to flame - it was hard to tell which. Tony noticed that dinner was ruined, but he wasn't overly concerned about it. He gestured toward the burned burgers. "Well, so much for dinner. Shall we order out or skip straight to cake?"

"Tony, for goodness' sake ..." But Pepper's quiet admonition was drowned out by a sudden hiss of decidedly unfriendly disgust from the supposedly sweet twin sister.

Liv had heard enough, quite obviously, slamming her plate down to push past Johnny and set herself nose to nose with her brother. "How dare you talk down to anyone, least of all my husband?" she snapped at him, one finger poking painfully hard against his chest. "Dating girls and driving cars is the least of your sins, and you know it. I was so prepared to give you the time of day, I actually wanted to meet you before today, but you know what? You can take your Stark Tower and shove it up your arse, Mr Stark."

Behind Liv, Lucy laid a hand against Johnny's chest gently, utterly failing to stifle her smile at seeing her little sister stand up for the husband she adored. "And here I thought she needed protecting," she muttered, wincing a little as she rubbed at her back once again.

"Well, it's about time you said something. And here I thought you were the quiet one. It's good to see there's a little Stark blood in you, after all. I was afraid you might wilt in the heat," Tony said to Liv with a straight face, unruffled by her insults. He'd heard them all before, after all, and from people far closer to him than an estranged sister he hadn't yet decided he wanted to keep in touch with.

Johnny came to a halt when Lucy stepped in his way, not wanting to push his way past his very pregnant sister-in-law. "He's asking for it," he told Lucy between clenched teeth. You could almost see the steam rising from his ears.

Tony looked around at all the faces staring at him, most of them looking appalled. "Is this where I'm supposed to apologize?"

"Just wait a moment," Lucy murmured to Johnny, watching her sister's back intently. "I think he's about to get a bigger shock than any of us could give him." Because, even without being able to see Liv's face, Lucy knew what was going to happen next.

Right under Tony's nose, close enough that he couldn't not see what he was looking at, Liv's expression changed. She went from fiery, angry, to sad, her soft brown eyes suddenly deeply hurt, vulnerable to the harm that words could cause. "So the only thing that you recognize and respect is the ability to feel anger and insult people?" the quiet twin asked very softly, the upset in her voice heartbreakingly obvious. "No wonder you're so lonely." She turned away from everyone then, moving across the grass away from the barbecue, her arms hugging about herself.

Lucy's frown deepened, her eyes turning to Steve. How were they supposed to fix this"

Johnny wondered if that was the reaction Lucy had been looking for. "Nice job, dumb *ss," Johnny said to Tony. "Some big brother you are." And instead of slugging Tony Stark, he pushed past Lucy to chase after his wife and try to soothe her ruffled feathers.

Steve frowned back at Lucy. Their first family gathering not to mention his birthday was quickly turning into a disaster. "That was really uncalled for, Tony," he said, turning back to the man he still considered a friend, despite his irksome behavior. "You should apologize."

Standing quietly off to one side, Pepper was speechless. She'd known Tony was nervous of being here, but she hadn't realized quite how defensive he was going to be. She'd spent years smoothing over his mistakes, but this was one she couldn't help with. And wouldn't. It was his problem to fix this time. Her eyes strayed toward the quietest member of the group, the elderly Peggy Carter, unsurprised to see the old woman's expression was just as appalled as everyone else's seemed to be. Then Peggy's gaze shifted, and her eyes seemed to deepen with concern. Pepper turned her head, and saw the Storms - Liv hugging tightly into her husband's embrace, her face hidden as her body shuddered. "Oh God," Pepper murmured through a low sigh. Tony had made his sister cry at Steve's birthday party.

Tony still seemed a bit oblivious to just what exactly he'd done wrong, but there was still enough humanity inside him to take a look around and see that things had gone horribly wrong. He frowned, his motor mouth and nervous tension having obviously gotten the best of him. "Look, I'll just go. I shouldn't have come here in the first place. You don't need this on your birthday. Thanks for inviting us anyway." He ducked his head with a furtive glance at Peggy, an old friend of his father's and probably the last person he wanted to talk to. "I'll just show myself out," he said, as he started toward the house, not waiting for Pepper since she wasn't the one who'd put her foot in her mouth.

"Oh, for God's sake!" It took a moment for Lucy to realize that she was the one who had spoken, her hand clenched into Steve's unconsciously. "Is it so bloody difficult for you to suck up your pride and apologize to them?" she demanded of Tony. "So you let your mouth run away with you, big deal. Everyone does it. You apologize and you move on. You don't run away from the one person who is more inclined to love you as family without even knowing you than anyone else you have ever met."

Tony was just about to slink away with his tail between his legs when Lucy confronted him, his mouth dropping open as the older of the two twins called him out. Only one other person in his life had ever gotten away with that, and that had been Pepper. He glanced over at Liv and Johnny, looking like there might be a hint of remorse in his eyes for the scene he'd caused. Tony glanced at Steve, as if for confirmation. "I was being an *ss, wasn't I?"

Johnny had a slight problem untangling himself from his wife, given the tight grip she had in his shirt, but Liv did, eventually, let go, her own shy nerves making themselves known in the blush on her cheeks as she fidgeted, finally stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her shorts as Tony spoke. Biting her lip, she shrugged one shoulder lightly. "Liv," she corrected him quietly. "Everyone calls me Liv. I didn't mean to be harsh, I just ....I know I'm quiet, but that doesn't stop me from defending the people I love. Too many people judge Johnny without knowing him. Exactly the way they judge you."

"Point taken," Tony replied, without apology or explanation, since he felt he'd already done that. "Can we start over?" he asked, a hint of hope in his eyes, though if anyone dared mention it, he'd vehemently deny it.

Liv studied him for a moment, startling herself with how noticeable the similarities were between Tony and Lucy in that moment. It was those similarities, that tiny hint of hope, that brought out her tiny smile, her expression warming from the carefully neutral freeze she had adopted to smile at her brother. "I'd like that," she assured him, drawing in a breath and extending her right hand toward him. "Hi, I'm Liv. I think I'm your baby sister."

He actually cracked a smile - a real, genuine smile - at the warmth expressed in those eyes that were so like and yet unlike her sister's. Not much for hugging, he clasped her hand in his, his smile softening as he seemed to relax, just a little. "Hi, Liv. I'm Tony. I think I'm your big brother."

The smile on her face widened, brightening her expression until it mirrored the smiles he had already seen given to Lucy, to Steve, to Johnny, and after a moment's hesitation, Liv tugged on Tony's hand, pulling him off-balance just long enough to thump herself close enough to hug him, whether he wanted it or not. Family.

To say he was surprised by the hug would be an understatement. He was not only surprised, but shocked by the hug, and if it had been anyone but her, he might have pushed them away, but somehow, he sensed that she seemed to need it from him - or maybe he needed it himself. Regardless, he found himself hugging her back, awkwardly, clumsily. He didn't hug her the way he hugged Pepper, and it didn't last long, but it was a start, albeit a rocky one.

The moment didn't last, however, as a shout went up from the direction of the house that Liv would recognize as Johnny. "Livvie!" he shouted, as he always did when he was excited about something. "Lucy is going to have the baby!"

The shout from the house made Liv jump, ending the brief hug with her brother probably not a moment too soon for him. She cast Tony a vaguely embarrassed smile, turning her face toward the excited eruption that was her husband. There was a moment as the words sank in, and suddenly Liv's eyes widened. "What, now?" she called back, and it wasn't Johnny that answered.

Lucy's delightful tones made her reply, a little growly and all kinds of sarcastic. "No, I thought I'd just wet myself for the amusement of our family, Liv. Yes, now!"

"Oh, god....oh, god....What do we do?" Johnny exclaimed, beside himself with excitement, looking like he might just explode like a firecracker.

"We keep a cool head and get her to a hospital," Tony replied logically, while Steve was very carefully helping Lucy to her feet.

Leaning on Steve, Lucy overheard that surprisingly helpful interjection from Tony with a faintly apologetic quirk of her lips. "That would be a great idea," she admitted, pausing to let another contraction pass. She'd been masking them for most of the day, hoping that things wouldn't move on apace until after Steve's birthday party, but apparently the baby had other plans. "Unfortunately, I don't think we have time." She looked up at Steve apologetically. "I didn't want to worry you."

There was a snort from Peggy, who had been helped to her feet by Pepper while this was going on. "Well, then, it would appear we need to make a few arrangements ourselves, don't we?" the old woman announced. "Ms Potts, the number for their midwife is beside the phone, I wonder if you would mind calling her for us?" Pepper nodded, glad to be of some help, casting an amused glance in Tony's direction as she slipped into the house. "Johnny, go and make the bed up in the spare room," Peggy added, seeing the bouncing excitement of the Human Torch was creeping to overly exuberant levels. "And you, Tony ....I assume you have some way of getting medical assistance here if we need it?"

But before Steve had a chance to utter a word in reply to Lucy, it was Johnny who piped up. "Don't have time" What do you mean we don't have time?" he exclaimed excitedly, looking to Peggy as she broke in. "I can fly her to the hospital!" he volunteered helpfully, at which point Tony rolled his eyes.

"And what if she spits the baby out while you're high over the city?" Johnny looked a little crestfallen, as Tony burst his bubble, just wanting to help.

Tony caught Pepper's glance and warned, "Don't even think about it." The last thing he needed right now was a baby. Whatever Pepper might have thought about the idea, he didn't know. Johnny nodded back at Peggy and hurried off to do as he was told, just happy to be able to help in some way. Tony glanced from Pepper to Peggy as she deigned to finally address him in some way. "One phone call is all it takes," he informed her.

As for Steve, he was looking concerned, but calm for the moment, leaning close to Lucy as he helped her toward the spare bedroom, waiting patiently until another contraction passed. "You should have told me, Luce. We could have cancelled dinner until after the baby is born."

"Then let's hope you don't have to make that phone call, shall we?" Peggy offered Tony a disarming smile. "You can help me tidy up. Liv, go and help get your sister settled, and try to corral your husband before he gets too excited."

As Liv moved to follow Lucy and Steve, giggling, Lucy looked up at her own husband with an almost hopeful smile. "Labor takes a long time, baby," she reminded him gently. "Especially the first time. I thought he might hold off on actually arriving for another few hours, but apparently not." Her hand squeezed his fondly. "I might have to talk you through all this."

Liv bit her lips not to laugh at the double-answer from both sides of her, watching as Lucy made her way inside the bedroom, holding tightly onto her husband. "Okay," Lucy said quietly, resting a hand against the end of the bed as she caught her breath. "Okay, someone should go and find out if Pepper's got through to Shawna yet. And if Peggy's murdered Tony and hidden his body somewhere easy to find."

Liv snorted with laughter where she leaned against the door, raising a hand to crook her finger at her own husband. "We can do that," she promised, prodding Steve in the back. "Yell if you need us, all right?"

"Now?" Johnny whined, looking between them, pouting a little as he was being dragged away from all the excitement. "But I wanted to watch! I never had a nephew before. Well, I mean, I did, but I didn't see him born," Johnny was still whining as Liv dragged him from the room, his voice fading as they moved away from the room, leaving Steve and Lucy alone.

Steve nodded to Liv and led Lucy toward the bed. He would have picked her up, but somehow he knew she would have only protested. Now that they were alone and on their son was on the verge of being born, Steve thought he should make a confession. "I've never done this before, you know. You're the doctor, Luce."

Lucy smiled as she looked up at him. "Well, I've never been at this end before," she assured her husband fondly. "We can do this, Steve." Despite the rippling pain in her belly, she rose up onto her toes to kiss him with soft affection, lowering back onto her heels to lean close into him for a long moment. "There's no one I trust more. But first thing first." She twisted, utterly without modesty now push had come to shove, dragging her panties off and shuffling onto the bed. "Baby, I need you to feel up there and tell me how open it is."

He fussed with the pillows a moment to make her more comfortable, arching a brow down at her request. "Up there?" he echoed. "As in..." He trailed off, assuming she wanted him to check her cervix or something. It wasn't the first time he'd been talked through something, but being talked through flying a plane for the first time and having a baby were two entirely different things. "What..." His gaze drifted down her body to her swollen abdomen and beyond. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, needing specifics.

"Wash your hands first, love," she reminded him with a gentle smile, pushing herself up against the pillows. There was another pause as a contraction made its way through her womb, each becoming more and more painful as time went on. "Okay. You need to insert your hand until you can feel the cervix. At this point, it'll be open. I need you to make a guess as to how open it is, how many fingers. Ideally the gap should be about the size of a bagel by now."

"Right. Wash my hands," he echoed, lifting a finger to her as he backed toward the door. "I'll be right back. Don't have the baby without me." As soon as he was out the door, he shouted for her sister, "Olivia!"

Well, Liv had said to yell. She hadn't been expecting the yell quite that soon, but never mind. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, she called back up, one hand fending Johnny off as he made to answer the call himself. "Yes?"

"Can you get up here please?" Steve called, trying hard not to sound like he was on the verge of panic, as well.

Johnny gave Liv a look, realizing perhaps for the first time how very serious this really was. "I'll go check on the midwife. Your sister needs you," he said, brushing a quick kiss against Liv's cheek before he hurried off to finish what Lucy had asked of them.

The kiss dropped on her cheek made Liv smile, though she was as aware as any of them of the seriousness of the situation that had come upon them. "Hey, when you're done, they're probably going to need towels, and baby stuff - you know, a nappy, a onesie, a blanket. Oh, and sterilize some scissors, sweetheart." This offered up, she turned to jog up the stairs, wondering how close to a nervous breakdown Steve was at this point. As calm as he had seemed getting Lucy to bed, Liv didn't believe for one second that Captain Rogers was that in control.

Johnny nodded, waving a hand at Liv as he started away. "I got it!" he replied confidently. After all, they'd sat with Baby Emily enough times to practically be experts at this baby stuff by now, or so Johnny thought. "Scissors?" he echoed puzzled, and then, "Oh, yeah. The cord!" And off he went, glad once again to be of some use.

At the top of the stairs, Steve was looking a little pale as he waited for Liv. "She wants me to check her...uh...cervix," he explained. "Could you, um, stay with her while I wash my hands?" he asked, nervously.

The blood drained from Liv's face as Steve offered up that charming little insight into what Lucy needed done at this precise moment in time. She blushed then, fumbling for a response that wouldn't embarrass the evidently nervous Steve. "Uh ....uh, of course," she nodded, trying not to frown with concern as she looked down at his hands. They were big, after all. But then Lucy was her sister. For once, Liv wasn't going to volunteer for the uncomfortable job. "Sure, I'll, um ....wash your hands. And do your wrists, too."

"No, no..." Steve sighed, realizing he was going to have to buck up and be the one to take charge here, since Liv seemed even more nervous than he was and Johnny, well....As fond as he was of Johnny, he wasn't letting him anywhere near that part of Lucy's anatomy. "You stay with Lucy while I wash my hands."

Blinking, Liv rearranged the former sentence in her head until she realized where she'd misheard it. Somewhat relieved, she offered Steve a warmer smile. "Okay, that's doable," she agreed with a nod. "I'll get her changed into something more comfortable while you're washing." She paused, and lurched forward to hug her brother-in-law. "Everything's going to be fine, Steve," she promised him, stepping back to slip into the bedroom and deal with her sister.

"Why, bored with him already, Captain Rogers?" she teased quietly, pushing down on her hands to sit up, wincing a little at her soreness. "I'd love to meet our son."

Liv glanced up from the floor where she was still kneeling beside Johnny, gently pinching the back of his hand to wake him up again. "Maybe I should clean the bed up a bit," the new aunt mused thoughtfully, wondering if Johnny was going to go thud again if he caught a glimpse of the afterbirth.

Johnny seemed to agree with that, though all he did was groan, feeling a little sick to his stomach. He'd handled the birth like a champ, but the afterbirth was another matter entirely. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he muttered to himself or to anyone who cared to listen.

As bad as Steve felt for Johnny, he couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Luce, take the baby," he instructed, handing out orders, like the Captain he was. "Liv, you take care of the sheets. I'll get Uncle Johnny to the bathroom."

"Aye, aye, sir." It wasn't just his wife who answered him so impishly, but his sister-in-law as well, both of them chuckling a little at being on the receiving end of orders from Captain America. As Liv rose to her feet, moving to hide the afterbirth before Johnny opened his eyes, Lucy took her son into her arms, wrapped about one tiny finger with one unfocused blink of his eyes. "Hello there, little man."

It wasn't the first time Steve had physically carried an ill Johnny to the bathroom, though the last time had been the night before his wedding when the two of them had gone drinking and Johnny had gotten drunk trying to drink Steve under the table, which he had since learned was impossible. Johnny groaned again as Steve slung the other man over a shoulder and carried him from the room.

As efficient as Liv was with most tasks she set herself, she was incredibly fast when it came to sorting out the worst of the mess left on the bed. Lucy was going to need a wash and a change of clothes, and would probably like to get into her own bed at some point, but for now, just getting rid of the ick would have to do. That done, she returned to her sister, crawling onto the bed to hug her fondly. "You did so well, Luce," she whispered affectionately. "He's gorgeous."

Steve wasn't gone long, just long enough to make sure Johnny was going to be all right. Too anxious to get back to his wife and son, he didn't even bother to go downstairs and give everyone the good news - he'd leave that to Olivia. He could hardly believe they'd just had a baby, and he needed to see it for himself again with his own eyes, even though he'd been the one to pull his son from his mother's womb. "He'll be okay," Steve told them both regarding Johnny as he stepped back into the room. "Probably all the excitement."

"And the hot dogs," Liv chuckled, kissing her sister's hair as she crawled back. "Come on, Daddy, come and cuddle up with your family. I'll deal with the wet flame and the eavesdroppers."

Lucy laughed softly as she watched her sister disappear into the bathroom to look after her own husband, lifting her eyes to Steve with tender warmth. "You heard the woman, come here."

Steve felt suddenly shy for some reason or scared, more scared than he'd ever felt before. Here was this tiny bundle of life that had no choice but to depend on Steve and Lucy for survival. It was a daunting task. He closed the door quietly behind him, selfishly wanting a few minutes alone with his new family before the other family members demanded a look. "Are you all right?" he asked as he crossed the room toward her and sat down by her side.

Lucy leaned into him as he sat down beside her, their son nestled in her arms. Liv had done a startlingly good job of cleaning the little boy up before handing him back to his father, nothing immediately disgusting to draw the eye or turn the stomach clinging to the screwed up little face that smacked his lips and blinked up at his parents. "I'm good, surprisingly," Lucy admitted with a smile. "A little sore, a bit tired, but ....I feel wonderful." Her head tipped back to kiss Steve's cheek tenderly. "I'm so proud of you."

Steve was intently watching the tiny bundle in Lucy's arms, his expression full of wonder, as if he'd never seen anything so amazing in all his life. He blinked the mist from his eyes as he turned his gaze to Lucy, not understanding. "Proud of me?" he echoed doubtfully. "I didn't do anything, Lucy. It was all you, and you were..." He paused to correct himself. "You are amazing." He glanced back at their son, unable to keep the tears from clouding his vision. "He's perfect, isn't he?"

"Baby, you just delivered your firstborn son," she pointed out softly, touched by how misty-eyed he had become. "Virtually single-handed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that isn't part of military training." She grinned, deliberately trying to keep herself light before she dissolved into ridiculously happy tears herself. Family was the most important thing in her life - in their lives - and suddenly their own little family was a reality. "He is perfect. Just like you."

"Not like I used to be, I hope," he said as he reached over to touch the baby's cheek, more gently than might be expected of a seasoned soldier. "God, Luce....He's so beautiful. I can hardly believe this is really happening." He lifted his head to her, beaming with happiness, tears of joy brimming in his eyes of blue.

His tearful gaze undid his wife, her own happy tears spilling over as she laughed at her own silly emotional response to him and their son. "Oh, it's happening," she assured him, leaning her head against his shoulder, knowing he could take their weight easily. "Steve, I ....I know we never really talked about names, but I think I know what his name is. If you don't mind, that is."

He sighed softly as she leaned against him, one arm going around her shoulders, as he watched their small son trying to suck on his own tiny fingers. "So long as it's not Junior," he said, a little distractedly, the baby holding and keeping his attention. He had no idea what name she might have in mind and was open to suggestions. He hadn't really thought about it much, more worried about the baby's health than about what they might name him.