Steve chuckled at Tony's reaction. "First of all, it's Pepper who's carrying the ....parasite ....and there's a fifty-fifty chance he or she might look like you," he pointed out. He reached out to give Tony's shoulder a squeeze. "You're good with kids. You'll be fine."

Tony scoffed. "Tell that to the baby Avengers." Of course, that might have been part of the problem he was having with the recruited enhanced on Earth - they might all have been under 25, but consistently referring to them as the children was definitely annoying the group.

"They're not kids, Tony. Heck, I'm old enough to be your Grandpa," Steve reminded him with a smirk. "You have to show them the way without treating them like children."

"They're kids!" Tony protested. "A couple of them are still in high school, for Christ's sake!" And then he realised what he'd just let slip to Steve Rogers, Captain America, the man who had views about letting people that young on the front lines.

"High school?" Steve echoed slowly, brows furrowing, all amusement going out of his face. "Just who are we talking about here?" he asked, wondering if these so-called "Baby Avengers" included his niece and her friends. But then Fliss wasn't in high school anymore.

"Oh, didn't you get the dossiers?" Tony rubbed his neck as he paced for a moment. "There's three, I think - one's close to graduating. One energy absorber, one astral projector, one that turns stuff to diamond."

"You have names?" Steve asked, crossing his arms and eyeing Tony suspiciously, even with the beer still in his hand. He obviously hadn't gotten the dossiers, as very little escaped Steve's attention.

"Andrews, Sharpe, Brooks." At least Tony had remembered the pertinent names. "Don't look at me like that, they haven't been out on the front. Training and backtalking are their twin passions. Besides, Tinkerbell and her bodyguard have them wrapped around their pinkies."

Steve relaxed a little as he realized Tony wasn't referring to Johnny's daughter and her friends. "You know what we need?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "We need a school for ..." he trailed off, unsure how to refer to those who possessed special abilities.

"....gifted children?" Tony finished, raising his brow. "You know one exists, right' Oh, wait, no, you probably don't. Lord High English Brain didn't want anyone to know he has a mansion full of what he's calling "mutants" in Westchester. Not too far from the facility, actually."

"Lord ....who?" Steve asked. Despite being a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, there was still a lot he apparently had either not been told or had been too busy to find out. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Tony sigh, rolling his eyes, though it was obvious his attitude was not aimed at Steve. It had everything to do with the man he was about to tell Steve about. "Professor Charles Xavier, best known telepath in the world, possibly runs his own superhero team, but finding out about them is all but impossible because of the aforesaid telepathy."

"And that's why I've never heard about him until now?" Steve asked. It bothered him when things were going on around him that he didn't know about, especially when Tony knew about them before he did. Then again, he couldn't keep on top of everything from Rhy'Din.

"Totally independent of all government or global oversight," Tony told him, his tone dripping with frustration. "Met the guy once or twice - he's infuriating. I have no idea if he ever told me anything about anything he does at that school, because I don't remember what we talked about. I never forget conversations like that."

"We should talk to him, Tony. There's no point in opening a school for gifted youngsters, if one already exists," Steve reasoned, though he wasn't sure if there was enough room at this school for additional children.

"I got nothing. I know I've met the man; did we talk about the school" Who knows" He did his mind mojo on me, I'm pretty sure. To me, that makes him a not my friend. Playing with my brain is a big no-no." Tony was vehement as he said this; this Professor Xavier had not made a friend of Tony Stark.

Steve frowned, thinking. He knew Tony could be a bit much to take, until you got to know him. There had been a time when he and Tony hadn't gotten along very well. Even now, Tony rubbed him the wrong way from time to time, but he'd grown on him. "Maybe we should have someone else doing the talking," he suggested.

"I'm open to suggestions." Tony didn't think straight when he was riled up, and given that he was also getting married in less than a month, his brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders right now.

"Not me. He'll feel like I'm pulling rank, if it's me," Steve thought aloud. Who then" Not Nat, either - not with her reputation. It had to be someone who could reason with the man, make him understand that they both had the same goals - that of teaching young people how to use and control their powers. It was something they were working on right here in Rhy'Din, but he couldn't risk letting too many people know about this place, whether they were allies or not. "Who among us is so nice that no one can tell her no?"

Tony snorted with laughter. "Your scary wife's little sister," he pointed out. "Not sure how I feel about sending the good one into a school full of people with powers, though."

"You said he's telepathic" Maybe we could send Alexei with her," Steve suggested, though he wasn't sure he liked the idea of either of them going to New York unaccompanied. "Maybe a trip to see Johnny's family. That wouldn't look too suspicious."

"Fliss would be preferable," Tony pointed out. "She's got her own skills, and she's trained. She'd defend her mom to the death if necessary." And there was that slightly envious tone once again, that wish for a family bond just as strong for his own.

"Johnny would never let them go alone," Steve pointed out, just as he would never let Lucy go alone. "I don't suppose he'd be willing to meet at a neutral location," he said.

"Hate to say it, but Liv would have the best chance of getting a meeting like that," Tony muttered through his teeth. "I don't like it, but I get it. Maybe she should Facetime him."

"I'm sorry ....Facetime?" Steve echoed, unsure what that meant. He did his best to keep up, but every now and then, he stumbled on something he'd missed. "Do you mean meet him in person or ..." he trailed off, uncertainly.

"It's like Skype. Video calls. C'mon, old man, wake it up!" Tony snapped his fingers at Steve, smirking at the other man cheerfully. "Give me a few years, I could make a hologram of her and she could send that in. There's no rush, right?"

Steve scowled at Tony, a sign of his annoyance, mostly at the finger snapping. "How many kids have we recruited, so far?" he asked, ignoring the other man's jibe. He wasn't sure they had a few years to wait.

"There's just the three of them still in high school," the other man told him, aware that Steve might just scold him if he kept this up. "And Brooks'll be graduating in just a couple of months. We're not deliberately pulling kids out of school, Steve."

"No, I know that. I'm just thinking maybe they'd be better off with this Professor. Either that, or we need to come up with some kind of training program," Steve reasoned. "Let me ask you something ....Are these kids born this way?"

Tony frowned back at him. "From what JARVIS can tell, yes," he said eventually. "It's a genetic mutation that manifests at puberty for pretty much all of them. If you don't have it, then you only get powers through outside means, and then you end up with, well, you. And Alyona's massive headaches. And Nic's whole arm situation."

"And you," Steve countered, including Tony into the equation, though some might argue that his only real superpower was his suit. "So, they're like Fliss and Lucas and Matt," he said, considering again. "What if we referred kids to this school and when they graduated, they could decide if they want to join A.E.G.I.S.?"

"That ....that's a good idea." Tony looked totally nonplussed by the fact that he hadn't thought of this.

"What's a good idea?" Fliss' voice entered the equation as she let herself in through the back door. "Uncle Steve, do you know where the twin bouncy chair thing is" People are gonna start fighting over who gets to hold them pretty soon."

"Uh," Steve said, distracted by Fliss as she let herself in. "I think your mom left it in the living room. You wanna go check?" he asked, letting the first question go, but answering the latter.

"Cool. Thanks!" The young woman waved a hand absently as she passed the door on her way to the living room.

Tony blinked, and looked over at Steve, slightly offended. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Steve smiled and shrugged. "Sorry, it's my house," he said, assuming that was why Fliss had asked him and not "Uncle Tony". "Don't worry so much. She likes you," Steve said, lowering his voice so that Fliss didn't overhear him. It was always a competition with Tony, even though Steve was clearly not trying to compete.

"Why wouldn't he?" Steve asked, furrowing his brows at Tony. He didn't always follow the man's circular way of talking. "Why don't you go say hello and I'll, um, put you-know-what away in a safe place?"

"Doesn't the Black Widow eat the male when she mates?" Tony failed to keep his voice down for that one, and it was pretty obvious that Nat heard every word. "Why don't you put your big boy pants on and find out, Stark?"

"It's just an alias, Tony. She's no more spider than you are made of iron," Steve pointed out, laughing. Of course, Tony knew this already, but sometimes talking to Tony was like talking to a child. "Don't worry," he said, slapping a hand against Tony's back. "You're not her type."

"Deadly, that's what she is," Tony pointed out, but he brightened as a thought occurred to him. "Maybe she'd let me hold the spiderling" Pepper keeps talking about turning me into a safe pair of hands - like I'd drop a kid of ours on purpose!"

"You shouldn't really drop anyone's kid, Tony," Steve reminded him, a little too seriously. It was hard to tell when Tony was kidding and when he was serious sometimes.

"You know what I mean, man, c'mon." Tony flashed him his patented confident smile. "Fine, I'll go play nice. You get sneaky and rescue me from the women in short order, right?"

Steve furrowed his brows, unsure if he wanted to do that, or even how he'd go about doing that. "How am I going to do that?" he asked. Steve was truthful almost to a fault, though sometimes he had no choice but to lie. He wasn't about to lie for Tony though.

Tony snorted. "Just don't let me drown in frilly conversation," he clarified. "Come to the other house. Join in the throng. Protect me from Romanoff."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Nat asked from outside the window, gently jostling her daughter on her shoulder.

"Why don't you just come in and join us?" Steve asked, unable to resist teasing Tony again. "Tony can't wait to get his hands on the sprog," he said, borrowing his wife's slang word for offspring.

The smile on Nat's face was downright evil as she looked at Tony, knowing perfectly well that he would panic as calmly as was humanly possible the moment she put Alia into his arms. "All right." She disappeared from view, walking to the door, and Tony shot Steve a dirty look.

"Are you preparing my eulogy or something?"

"You're the one that was wondering if she'd let her hold the spiderling. Your words not mine," Steve reminded him with a shrug and a smirk. "Stop worrying, Tony. It's just a baby. Not a bomb." Unless the baby left a bomb in its diaper.

"Since when does anyone listen to me?" The panic was right there in Tony's voice as Nat stepped into the kitchen, providing Steve the unforgettable sight of Tony Stark backing away from a baby.

Nat snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes. "Coward."

"I think he's more frightened of you than the baby," Steve said, chuckling. Or more accurately, of what Nat might do to Tony if he so much as looked at her daughter the wrong way.

"Okay, you're having way too much fun with this," Tony accused Steve, still physically leaning away from Natasha while still focusing in on the baby in her arms. "What's the spiderling's name?"

Nat gave him a look that suggested he should never call her daughter that again. "Alia."

"Alia Lucia," Steve corrected with a grin. No, he wasn't the proud Papa; he was just the proud uncle, albeit not by blood. "She's a cutie, isn't she?" he asked, reaching over to tickle the little one's cheek with a large but gentle finger. He sighed a little. The twins were two years old now, and he wasn't sure if they were going to have any more kids.

Alia was a sunny-faced little girl, possessed of big blue eyes and a very cheeky smile, waving her arm up and down with more enthusiasm than accuracy as Steve tickled her cheek.

Tony's expression softened as he watched. "She's cute," he offered.

Nat grinned over at him. "She is," she agreed. "You passed the first test, well done."

"She's adorable," Steve said, though he'd only just pronounced her cute. He was obviously fond of children and was starting to get the itch for another, though they'd decided to wait a while. "If you don't want to hold her, I will!" Steve said, reaching to snatch little Alia out of Nat's arms if Tony didn't do it first.

Nat smacked Steve's hand laughingly, fending him off with her free hand as she backed around the kitchen. Tony, to his utter amazement, found himself holding the baby, who looked at him with bright eyes and let out an infectious cackle of laughter as she leaned against this new person her mother clearly trusted, turning her head to watch Nat and Steve essentially playing.

"Did you just hit me?" Steve asked, an amused look on his face. "She's not a football, yanno!" he said, chuckling as Nat handed the baby off to Tony who looked as surprised as the baby. He didn't really mind that Nat had handed the baby to Tony, since it was Tony who hadn't met her yet.

"I disciplined you," Nat corrected Steve with a smirk. "You're old enough to know better than to snatch."

Meanwhile, Tony was looking down at the baby girl in his arms, visibly charmed by the sunny smile and humbled that Natasha Romanoff would trust him to hold the most precious person in her life. "She's beautiful," he murmured.

Nat met Steve's eyes with a wider smirk, inordinately proud of her baby girl for striking Tony Stark deep in the heart.

"You did good, Nat," Steve said with a soft smile, not because she'd handed the baby to Tony, but because she'd done well in having such a beautiful child. Even Tony thought so. Steve was happy for her, happy she'd been able to find some happiness in her life at long last.

"I'll fully agree with you when she decides it isn't the funniest thing ever to wake up at 5 in the morning and laugh directly into the baby monitor," Nat said, but her smile was warm. "First time she did that, we freaked."

"Come on. She can't know you're watching her. She's only, what, three months old?" Steve asked, doubtfully, eyeing the small bundle in Tony's arms. "See, Tony' She likes you!" he declared. "Either that or she just made a tootie."

"Two months," Nat corrected him. "It's not the waking up that's the problem. It's that laugh - that laugh!" She pointed at the baby as Alia let out a surprisingly low, husky giggle, making a grab for Tony's keys, which he was dangling in front of her. "Imagine hearing that out of nowhere waking you up."

"Yeah, but think of the alternative. Would you rather she was screaming?" Steve asked. "Consider yourself lucky," he added, having survived three newborns himself in the last few years. "She's a good baby, Nat."

"I know I'm lucky," she said quietly. "Hey, Stark, why don't you take Alia over to the Storms' and show her father you can be trusted with babies?"

Tony blinked as he looked up, mouth half-open as though to make sure she was certain about that. But he never asked questions like that, so ...."Sounds like you and me have a date, butterfly. Let's get going."

"We'll be there in a bit!" Steve called as Tony took Alia next door. "You think that's safe with Colin there?" he asked, lowering his voice once Tony had departed and was out of hearing range. He wasn't worried about Tony, but about what Colin might do when he saw Tony with Alia.

"He knows how paranoid I am," Nat assured Steve. "The only way Tony could get hold of Alia is if I gave her to him, and Tony's so charmed right now he'll tell Col where I am straight away." She smirked. "That man is completely weak for helpless babies."

"Who is" Tony?" Steve asked, unsure if she was referring to Tony or Colin. He was completely weak for helpless babies, too, to be honest, but he wouldn't admit it. Steve shoved a hand in his pants pocket, almost as if to make sure the box with the stone in it was still there. He frowned a little, obviously distracted by something.

"Yes, Stark." But Nat was already turning to look pointedly at Steve. "I saw the box," she told him simply. "Pretty sure Tony's not proposing to you, so what?s going on here?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you, but ..." Steve trailed off, the frown deepening. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but what if something happened to him' Should he and Tony be the only ones to know that Steve was hiding an infinity stone somewhere in Rhy'Din" "Nat, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone. And I mean anyone. Not even Colin. I can't even tell Lucy."

His redheaded friend, to her credit, wasn't offended by his insistence. She knew she was better than all of them at keeping secrets, at manipulating people into thinking she had nothing to hide, though she tried not to do it to her friends and family. "You want me to swear it?"

"No, I trust you. It's just ..." He sighed, glancing to the window to make sure no one else was just strolling by. "Come here," he said, turning and leading the way to the basement, where Lucy kept her lab.

"Maybe when I'm one hundred and ninety," he told her, with a grin. Going by calendar years, he was nearly one hundred and one, though he hardly looked a day over thirty.

"You're such an adorable fuddy-duddy." This side of Nat was reserved only for Colin and Steve, and probably Alia too; a less haunted, more carefree version of the woman they all knew. "Okay, see that darker green part of the hedge" We're going through there."

"What's there?" Steve asked, unable to restrain is curiosity. She'd said they were going to put the safe in her "hidey-hole", but he wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. He ignored her teasing for now, his mind too focused on securing the safe.

"Remember the part where I said it was a secret vault?" she asked innocently, parting the thicker, darker foliage to reveal a narrow passage within the hedge itself. "Not even Col knows about this."

"How did it get here?" he asked, arching a brow as she revealed the passage within the hedge. Even he hadn't noticed anyone digging or building anything nearby, but then maybe he hadn't been paying attention.

"I am a very sneaky woman," she informed him, ushering him into the passage ahead of her so she could close it behind them. "Just follow it along - it's about six feet and then a sharp turn to the left and a dead end."

"Aren't you coming with me?" he asked, not wanting to delay any longer. He didn't want anyone to see them or to wonder what they were doing, especially not any of their family members, who they were trying to keep safe.

"I'm right behind you, but it's too narrow for me to take the lead and close up behind us," she told him. "You won't be in the open at all from here on in."

"Okay," he replied, moving forward down the short passage until he reached the end and made a sharp left, just as she'd instructed. It was to his credit and his trust of her that he hadn't questioned her further on the passage's creation.

The dead end she'd warned about was a little abrupt, but it did widen out to the point where Nat could slide past him with a wink and a grin. She dropped to one knee, drawing a knife from her boot, and carefully cut open the turf, peeling it back to reveal a lock of some sort on what appeared to be a metallic door. With barely a flinch, she pricked her thumb with the knife and pressed her blood into the indent of the lock. The mechanism reacted, opening up to reveal a small space beneath. Nat grinned at Steve. "In it goes."

"You're the only one who can open this?" he asked, assuming that was the case, since it had taken a drop of her blood. Of course, all someone else had to do was know that and obtain such from her, but he didn't think that was very likely. First of all, they'd have to know this space existed and then they'd have to know how to find it and open it.

"Yeah," she assured him. "I made certain of that - just me. Not even Alia's blood will open this. I don't even know why I had it done, I just ....I felt like it was necessary, you know" Like I needed a few secrets just to keep being me."

"I'm glad you did," Steve told her, as he carefully lowered the safe into the space, seemingly with little or no effort. Even when they thought they were no longer needed, it seemed their work was never done.

Her smile was a little regretful, a little apologetic. "I'm never going to stop looking over my shoulder," she said softly, closing the little vault and sealing it shut with her blood once again. "Still not sure how I feel about that." Carefully, she rolled the turf back into place, smoothing it down until the cut was invisible. "That should buy us a little time."

"Neither of us can afford to become complacent, Nat," Steve said, in complete agreement. "This isn't about Hydra anymore. It's about an even bigger threat. One that not only threatens Earth, but the entire universe. Maybe the entire multiverse. Let's just hope this Thanos has never heard of Rhy'Din."

Sucking the little cut on her thumb clean, Nat nodded, rising to her feet. She sheathed the knife in her boot, and once again it was invisible to anyone who didn't know it was there. "We've got this," she said with easy confidence. "We kicked Hydra's ass, we can hide a bomb the size of your thumb for all eternity."

"We kicked Hydra's ass, but only after they infiltrated and destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D.," he reminded her grimly. "We can't afford for that to happen this time. I don't think we should tell anyone where the stone is. Not even Tony or Thor."

"We already agreed to that, Steve," she reminded him gently. "You need to stop going in circles, or you're going to drive yourself mad." She eased past him, and parted the foliage at his back, revealing her own back garden as she skipped out of the secret way concealed within the side hedgerow. "Out you come."

He'd left the towel in the hidey-hole, just so that he didn't have to carry it out and risk being seen with it. Lucy might miss it, but that was better than someone asking what he was doing walking around with a towel when it wasn't warm enough for swimming yet. "I know," he said, frowning. "It just worries me. That's all."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't worry," she reassured him, carefully replacing the living wall of privet and hawthorn, disguising the entrance seamlessly. "So ....now we can go and tease Stark about having to take off his chastity belt."

Steve chuckled. "I don't think he's ever worn one, figuratively or otherwise," he said. He seemed to relax a little now that the thing was safely hidden away, at least for now.

Nat snorted with laughter. "He's probably got the suit programmed to uncover the necessary parts just in case Pepper has a fantasy."

Steve scowled. "If that's the case, I feel sorry for Pepper," he said. Tony's suit didn't seem very suitable for snuggling.

"Oh, c'mon ....you and Lucy never had fun with the suit?" she asked playfully, pushing open the gate between her backyard and his so they could make their way over to the Storms. Coco came lurching down off the Rogers' back porch to greet them, having apparently been looking for her other favorite female.

"Yeah, well, my suit isn't cold and made of metal," Steve pointed out, not quite confirming or denying whether or not he and Lucy had played out any personal fantasies involving Steve's suit - or more accurately, suits, since there was more than one. "Well, hello, there, little lady," Steve said, reaching down to ruffle the cocker's spaniel's fur.

Friendly as she was, Coco danced her paws on Steve's leg as he ruffled her fur, turning to Nat to bounce around her human's mate excitedly. Nat laughed. "I know, I know, I let the weird one hold the puppy," she assured the dog. "Believe it or not, he wouldn't hurt a hair on her head."

Steve chuckled again at Nat's description of Tony. "Don't let him hear you say that," he warned, blue eyes bright with amusement.

"It's about time you guys got here!" a familiar voice said as the door to the house opened and a man who looked like he could be Steve's twin stepped outside, a small wrapped bundle cradled in one arm.

"What, I'm not allowed to monopolize my brother from another mother from time to time?" Nat asked innocently. "Which one is this?" She sidled up to Johnny, peeking at the little face on his shoulder. "Hey, cutie pie." She tapped the tiny nose affectionately. "And other cutie pie," she added, tweaking Johnny's nose just because she could.

Johnny grinned at Nat's teasing. "This is Izzy. Can't you tell?" he asked. They'd been hard to tell apart at first, but he and Liv knew their twins well enough to identify small, subtle differences. If he suspected anything about what his friends had been doing, he didn't say so.

"You know what? I'm not gonna answer that." Nat stuck her tongue out at him, insinuating herself close enough to steal Izzy from her father's arms. Whoever had thought that the Black Widow couldn't be wowed by children was proving to be most definitely wrong.

"Wow, Red! You do have one of your own, you know!" Johnny teased.

Where Alia was at that moment was uncertain, but she was probably either with her father or making the rounds of the extended family of superheroes. All of a sudden, the door opened again and a stream of children from ages four on up came rushing out the door and past the trio of adults on their way to the treehouse.

"You have plenty -" Nat began, but was cut off by the giggling stream of children rushing past, complete with at least two dogs and a cat.

"No getting rowdy!" was called from inside the house - probably Liv, but it could have been Lucy. At times, those two could be indistinguishable from one another.

"Hey, I don't mind sharing!" Johnny said, looking not nearly as bleary-eyed as he had a few months ago, now that the twins were sleeping through the night.

Steve remained quietly watching while the other pair chatted back and forth, his gaze following the stream of kids and pets before turning back to look almost longingly at the infant now perched on Nat's shoulder.

Nat caught that look, but didn't get the chance to say anything as Lucy came out onto the porch.

"Ah, so this is where you two are hiding," she said cheerfully, looping an arm about Steve's waist. "Finished with your private sibling time already?"

"And I will never stop being grateful that you decided to give me a lift," he said, leaning in to brush a tender kiss against her lips. "Love you, Lucy," he told her quietly, his eyes bright with happiness - or was it happy tears"

"Always," she promised in a low breath, smoothing her arms about his neck as she leaned into him. There was no rush; they had time to enjoy each other as well as discover the heartbeat hidden in her womb in a little while. "I am going to have to come up with a stronger birth control, though," Lucy added as she drew back. "Your swimmers aren't so much powerful as stubbornly insistent."

He shrugged, a boyishly playful look on his face. "They're enhanced, too, I guess," he said, as if it couldn't be helped. He hadn't been thinking about that when he'd agreed to the super soldier serum; he hadn't been thinking about much except being healthy enough to fight for his country. "I suppose I could have an operation," he remarked, though he wasn't sure how he felt about that, or if it would even work.

She laughed, pulling him with her as she backed toward the door. "I would never ask you to do that," she told him. "If it comes to it, I will have the operation. If it comes to it."

"Well, if we don't do something, we could end up with twenty kids," Steve said as she tugged him toward the door. As much as he loved kids and wanted a big family, that was a little too big, even for him.

"Yes, I think half a dozen is probably our limit," Lucy agreed with a grin. She turned to open the door, pulling off her cardigan as they walked into the house, toward the living room, where she had left the Doppler that morning. "Do you remember how it works?"

Which meant that this was the last one, whether there was only one in there or not. "I think so," he said, though there was little question of that. Though the tech he was most familiar with was that of the past, he had made it a point to catch up with that of the modern world.

Picking up the little machine, Lucy handed it to him, settling herself in a comfortable sprawl on one of the couches. She undid her jeans and lifted her top, gesturing to her now bared abdomen. "Have it at, poppa."

This wasn't the first time he'd done this anyway, so it was just a matter of getting reacquainted with the device. "Okay, this is gonna be a little cold," he warned, as he picked up the tube of gel and squeezed a small blob onto the lower part of her belly.

"Excellent bedside manner," she complimented him, only flinching a little when the gel made contact. She would have offered to find the heartbeat herself, but Lucy knew how much the little moments of contact with his unborn children meant to Steve.

"Thank you, Doctor," Steve replied, with a grin. She was the doctor, after all, not him, but he wasn't stupid. "Okay, let's see what we can find," he said, placing the probe in the gel and flicking the On switch. Very slowly, he started to glide the probe around her abdomen, both of them listening for any trace of a heartbeat.

It took quite a bit of finding, but there was no mistaking the delicate pitter-patter of a tiny heart beating when he found it. Lucy's face broke into a beaming smile as she looked up at Steve, utterly entranced just by the sound.

Steve glanced at the display to see that they had indeed picked up a heart beating at about 120 beats per minute, a sure sign of a healthy heartbeat. "There he is," he said, though the baby could just as easily have been a girl. "I'm only hearing one. What about you?"

"He took some finding," she pointed out in amusement. "I think he's on his own in there." It was going to be weird if they found out this was going to be another girl, but for now, it felt right to call the unborn baby "he".

In a few weeks, they'd be able to have an ultrasound and know for sure, but for now, they both seemed content to refer to the little one as a "he". "That's a relief," Steve admitted, smiling in relief at both hearing a strong, healthy heartbeat and the fact that it seemed to be singular. As much as he loved children, one at a time was enough.

"We won't be quite as overwhelmed this time," Lucy predicted, although with two toddlers running around, it was still going to be exhausting. She reached up, gently stroking Steve's cheek. "He sounds so strong."

"He does," Steve said, smiling softly and leaning close to press a tender kiss to her lips, the Doppler still resting against her belly, the heartbeat loud and clear. "You realize it could be a she," he teased as their lips parted.

She giggled into the kiss. "I'm going to hope on Jamie's behalf that it's a boy," she told him. "I think we should hold off on telling them about it until after the scan. Until we're in the middle trimester. What do you think?"

"At least he has Martin," Steve reasoned, though he knew his younger son well enough to know he felt fairly outnumbered by girls, both siblings and cousins. "I think that's a good idea. Not until we're sure," he said, though it was going to be hard keeping it a secret if Lucy started getting morning sickness. The twins might not notice, but the older ones certainly would.

Lucy smiled up at him, her hand covering his on the little probe that rested at her belly, soothed by the sound of the pattering heartbeat. "Just as well I never applied for that consultancy, isn't it?" she said in a laughing tone.

"The timing could be better," he agreed, smiling back at her. This was just what he needed after the responsibility Tony had laid on him - a reminder of all he held dear and worked to protect. "You think it's only one then?" he asked, unable to make out a second heartbeat.

"Well, unless there's one hiding behind that one, hearts beating perfectly in time with one another, I think we have exhausted the possibilities, love." She chuckled, stretching out for a tissue to wipe her skin clean of the gel.

"I've got it," he said, easily reaching for a couple of tissues to wipe her belly free of the gel. "Have you made an appointment with the midwife yet?" he asked, assuming she hadn't, if she'd only just found out.

She relaxed back, letting him clean her up, watching her husband with a soft look of tender adoration in her eyes. "No, not yet," she assured him. "I didn't want to make any appointments without you."

"You should do that, and schedule an ultrasound, too," he said, though it kind of went without saying. He wanted to make sure this baby was healthy as soon as they were able, though there was no reason to believe he or she wasn't.

"There's generally no ultrasound until twelve weeks, so we have around another month before that happens," Lucy reminded him. "But I'll call Libby and see if she fancies taking on yet another Rogers' birth."

"I don't see why she wouldn't," he said, grabbing a few more tissues so that he could wipe the Doppler off, as well. "At least, we can promise this one won't be twins," he said, with a grin.

"Oh, I think she can cope with pretty much anything by this point," Lucy pointed out, buttoning her jeans once again as she sat up properly. "She handled Nat's adrenaline-fueled fight or flight reaction to being in a hospital with her newborn baby, after all."

"True, but thankfully you aren't Nat," he said, tossing the tissues into a trash can and setting the Doppler down so that he could focus on his wife. "So, how do you honestly feel about having another baby?" he asked, though as far as he was concerned, it was too late to do anything about it now.

In that, they were agreed. But Lucy wouldn't do him the disservice of not being truthful. "Honestly' The timing could have been better," she said quietly. "Jamie will be at school by the time this one is born, and that's fine, but the twins are going to be a handful with a newborn in the house. I know we'll work it out, and it'll be fine, but right now I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed."

"I'll help with whatever you need," he promised, looking a little worried, but appreciating her honesty. "We'll take it as it comes," he said, leaning in to brush a kiss to her brow. "We can always hire a nanny if we have to," he suggested further, though he was hoping that wouldn't be necessary.

Relieved that he wasn't too worried by her honest answer to his question, Lucy's smile relaxed. "I know we'll work out something," she assured him confidently. "But maybe we need to look into some kind of daycare for the twins. A few hours in the afternoon or the morning, just a little time where we're only going to have to worry about one child."

"Maybe I'll talk to Dani," Steve suggested. "She's practically running a daycare as it is." So, long as she didn't take on too many children; otherwise, she'd have to hire some help. With the growing number of kids at the Grove, opening a daycare center right there at the Grove wasn't a bad idea.

"Well, she is saving up to put herself through the degree programme to be a teacher," Lucy mused, leaning comfortably against his side as they talked. "Maybe running a little daycare for the Grove for a couple of years would be a good idea for her."

"Can't hurt to ask," Steve agreed. "So, what now?" he asked, smiling down at her, knowing she was probably considering two things - food and sex. "Should I feed you?"

"Hmm ..." She raised her eyes to his, her smile many varying shades of both cheeky and inviting. "How do you feel about working up an appetite first?"

"What kind of appetite are we talking about?" he asked, eyes mirroring her playfulness. He knew his wife well enough to know what she wanted, though there were numerous ways of giving it to her.

He could probably whip them up something faster than waiting for delivery.

"Wow, you really do want to spoil me today, don't you?" she teased affectionately. To be fair, cooking was an even split in their house. "I know it's terribly bad for us, but grilled cheese is calling to me."

Steve couldn't help but chuckle at her suggestion. She couldn't have picked an easier choice. "Grilled cheese, really' Is that what you're craving?" he asked, teasing her. "And why shouldn't I spoil you? You're my best girl," he said, smooching her cheek. "But if you want grilled cheese, I'm gonna have to get up."

She laughed, looping her arms around his neck as he kissed her cheek. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to whip out a skillet and set fire to the bed," she assured him, kissing his nose in return. "It's been a while since I wore my bathrobe, I wonder if it still smells like roses."

"Probably more like mothballs," he teased. "I think we already set fire to the bed," he added, with a boyishly playful grin. "Come on, Mama. Let me up so I can feed you," he told her, still wrapped in her embrace.

"All right, poppa," she countered, reluctantly letting him go to relax back for a few minutes longer and enjoy the delectable view he was about to present to her.

He'd been self-conscious about showing off America's ass butt-naked for a long time, but nowadays, so long as it was only Lucy he was showing off for, he didn't mind so much. Still as soon as he was out of bed, the first thing he did was snag a pair of sweatpants and pull them over his legs.

He didn't quite manage to cover up before she pinched him. Lucy laughed at her own daring, rolling out of bed on the other side and wandering across the room to investigate the closet for her bathrobe. Usually, she'd just throw one of his shirts on. She wasn't sure why she felt the need for the robe today.

He chuckled at the pinch and turned to gently bat her hand away. "Just can't help yourself, can you? Always gotta pinch the goods to make sure they're fresh," he teased as he pulled a t-shirt on over his head.

"We can't have America's ass going soft now, can we?" she countered, producing the bathrobe the children had got for her for Christmas from the depths of the closet. It was pale pink and fleecy, and enormous on her, but every now and then, it was just what she wanted to wear.

"Well, now it's sort of Rhy'Din's ass. Should I start calling myself Captain Rhy'Din?" he asked, though he was clearly only teasing. No matter where he lived or what he did, deep down, he'd always be an American. He turned to admire the view of his naked wife searching for a bathrobe and was glad he'd put a pair of pants on.

"Never," she told him, turning as she tied the robe in place to find him watching her. Her smile turned just a little wicked again. "Enjoying the view, were we?"

"At least, I didn't pinch," he retorted, with a wink and a smirk. "Come on, Mrs. Rogers. Let's get you your grilled cheese," he said, reaching for her hand.

"You love my grabby hands," Lucy challenged him, approaching with wriggling fingers only to slide her hand into his with a grin. "Besides, I don't pinch you half as much as Liv gropes Johnny."

"They're like teenagers sometimes," Steve pointed out, though he saw no harm in it. He and Lucy had always had a more mature relationship, but it had nothing to do with age so much as personality. "Johnny's just an overgrown teenager," he added, as they started toward the stairs, hand in hand.

"He's good for Liv," was Lucy's answer. "For a while there, I really thought she'd forgotten how to smile at all. Johnny brought a lot of sunshine into her heart. Who cares if they're a little immature at times?"

"They make each other happy. That's all that matters," he agreed. Steve and Lucy's relationship was just different from Johnny and Liv's, but then, they were different people. He wasn't all that aware of what Liv or Johnny had been like before they'd met each other, but it was obvious they were happy now.

"They do." She nodded, looking up at him. "And we make each other happy, don't we?"

He stopped to turn and face her before they got to the stairs. "You make me very happy, Luce," he assured her, tipping her head up to meet his gaze as he smiled down at her.

"I couldn't imagine my life without you, Steve," she murmured back to him, hugging her arms about his waist as she leaned into him. "Being a part of your life has made me so happy."

"I couldn't be happier, Luce," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her in his embrace. There had been a time when he'd loved someone else, when he couldn't have imagined himself with anyone but Peggy, but life had a strange way of surprising you when you least expected it. Lucy had been a complete surprise, but the fact that Peggy had been her great aunt told him that maybe - just maybe - there was a greater power at work in the world.

"So I'm forgiven for telling Jamie he can have a pet of his own, then?" she asked with impish good humor, batting her lashes at her husband as though that ever did her case any good at all.

"He's been asking for one for a while now, hasn't he?" he asked, smirking in amusement at the look she was giving him. "Don't tell me - he wants a puppy," Steve guessed, knowing his son pretty well. What little boy didn't want his own dog"

"He actually wanted a dragon," Lucy told him with a bright grin. "But I vetoed that. We made plans to go to the shelter and just see who caught his eye. They'll probably remember him from the Thor and Cherie trip."

Steve chuckled and rolled his eyes at the mention of a dragon. "Yeah, I think one is enough." The smile faded at the mention of Thor - the dog, not the Asgardian. Maybe they should have adopted a younger dog, but he was happy they'd been able to give the dog a few good years. "It's gonna be hard to say goodbye," he said, assuming she'd know what he was referring to.

"It is," she agreed softly. "Martin knows it's coming, and he'll come to the vet with us when Thor tells him the pain is too much. We can set aside time that's all about giving Thor the best last day we can."

"Martin's gonna be devastated," Steve said, frowning worriedly. They would all miss the dog when he was gone, but Martin would likely miss him the most, as the pair were often inseparable.

"Kiki will help him," Lucy said quietly. The little dog that had once been one of Bella's puppies had just as close a bond with Martin as Thor did. "He has to go through this, love. We all do."

"I know. We'll get through it," he said, sighing as he kissed the top of her head before pulling away to lead her downstairs to the kitchen. They'd get through it together, just as they'd gotten through the loss of Peggy.

Thumping down the stairs behind him, Lucy smiled as she glanced through the kitchen window to see Fliss shepherding Martin, Lianne, Alex, Maria, and Jamie over to her car. "Looks like Liv offloaded everyone who can talk back onto Fliss."

"They'll be fine. It's just one night. Fliss is good with them," Steve said, peeking over her shoulder a moment to see what she was looking at. "Are you worried?" he asked, wondering if she was having second thoughts about the sleepover.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "No," she assured him. "I'm fairly sure that Alex will have shared with them by now what?s going on, and they'll be just as eager not to be here." It did mean Liv and Johnny were handling Bess and two sets of twins, but she had faith in her sister and brother-in-law.

"Shared with them?" Steve echoed, wondering just how much Alex knew about what was going on, not just with him and Lucy and the baby, but with the stone Tony had put into his safekeeping.

"You know what he's like," she reminded her husband. "If they're worrying at something, he'll tell them just enough to reassure them. Zach's done very well, teaching him that."

"How much do you think he knows?" Steve asked, hoping he didn't know anything about the Infinity Stone he and Nat were hiding in her hedge. It almost seemed silly, thinking of it like that, but it was only for a few days.

"As I understand it, Alex has to concentrate to find coherent thoughts in people's minds," Lucy mused, hopping up onto the counter to watch him cooking. "And he knows now not to share everything he learns. Johnny's worked hard with him on respecting other people's privacy."

Steve moved about the kitchen to fetch the items he'd need to make the sandwiches before returning to where Lucy was now perched upon the counter. "It's hard to keep a secret," Steve said. "Even harder when it's not your own."

"Knowing Liv, she's worked out a system for that," Lucy mused, tilting her head as she considered her husband curiously. "Are you worried about him finding something in your head and telling someone, love?"

"Worried about him finding something in my head that could put him in danger," Steve admitted, trusting that Lucy would understand that even she couldn't know that secret, and for the very same reason.

"I don't think he can pick it out of your head unless you are consciously thinking about it," she said thoughtfully. "But perhaps there's a way to protect certain thoughts, or remove them entirely' Zach might know of one."

"Maybe I'll ask him," Steve considered, though he couldn't risk Zach finding out either. "Tony and I have been talking about opening a school for gifted kids here on Rhy'Din," he told her as he buttered a couple slices of bread. That wasn't the thing he was keeping secret, but it was a safe topic of conversation.

"What age are you thinking about?" she asked, interested in the new topic easily. "It's a pretty big undertaking, to open a school. Not that I don't think you could do it - would it be for enhanced children from Earth, or from Rhy'Din alone?"

"I'm not sure, but we're thinking we'd keep it small. Zach is tutoring the kids already. It's just a matter of adding regular classes. Fliss thinks it's a good idea," he said, with a shrug. He knew they'd have to work it all out, but it was a good idea. "I mean, there are a few schools in Rhy'Din, but most of them focus on magic."

"True. And what our kids have is not magic," Lucy agreed, stealing a slice of bread and butter to munch on while she was waiting. "So you're thinking about setting something up on Rhy'Din like the Xavier School on Earth, then?"

He chuckled a little as she stole a slice of bread, even as he put the bread and cheese sandwich in a pan on the stove. "Yeah, you've heard of it?" he asked, though he wasn't too surprised.

"Yeah, I've done a couple of call ins there, when I was under S.H.I.E.L.D. Basic checkups, that sort of thing - some of the kids Charles finds are deeply traumatized by their own mutations, or have been victimised because of them." Lucy looked curious again. "I don't think he was exactly willing to have S.H.I.E.L.D. in his school, but he tolerated me."

"Like Fliss and Lucas," Steve said with a frown. Even here on Rhy'Din, Fliss had been victimized because of her abilities. "If he wasn't fond of S.H.I.E.L.D., he might not be too fond of A.E.G.I.S. either," he added, though that hardly mattered. "It would give his students somewhere to go after graduation though. At least, those who might be interested."

"What would?" Confusion flickered on his wife's face for a moment. "I thought you were talking about a school, not a college. Charles takes any age, but his teaching program is more suited to teenagers. He'd probably be interested in sharing his teaching techniques with you if you asked politely."

"I'm talking about two different things, I guess," Steve said, somewhat distractedly. It had been a busy day, after all. "Tony and I were talking about the possibility of offering Xavier's students a spot in A.E.G.I.S. upon graduation and that led to talk about opening a school here," he explained.

"Oh, I see." Lucy nodded. "Well, I would imagine the first step would be to make contact with Charles Xavier and discuss it with him?"

Steve used a spatula to flip the sandwich over, watching to make sure it didn't burn. "That would mean either going to New York or him coming here," he said, not really keen on either option. "Maybe Tony can talk to him. It's just an idea," he said with another shrug.

"Or maybe I could," she volunteered. "Seeing as I have actually met the man." She flashed Steve a grin. "Although I'm not sure I should really be thinking about another man when I'm practically naked and my gorgeous husband is cooking me an unfeasibly, gloriously unhealthy dinner snack."

"Again, that would mean going to New York," he said, though he supposed it wasn't a big deal now and then. After all, Johnny and Liv made regular trips there to visit Johnny's family all the time. He smiled a little at her teasing. "Should I be worried?"

"Oh, not at all," she promised, teasing her toes up and down his leg for a moment. "Englishmen just don't do it for me when I have America's ass all to myself." She winked at him cheekily.

"Haha," Steve said, smirking at remark, as well as the flirtation. "I wonder if we could arrange for some facetime," he said, just having learned the word's meaning a little earlier that day.

Lucy just about managed to keep her smile under control. She found it absolutely adorable when Steve learned a little more about the technology they lived with, especially when he wasn't quite sure how to use the word or phrase yet. "I'm sure we could," she agreed. "Would you like me to contact him, love?"

"Sure, but not tonight. Tonight you're mine," he replied, with a cheeky grin of his own. Tomorrow maybe, but not tonight. He scooped up the sandwich and slid it onto a plate, before slicing it in half and handing it over. "One grilled cheese sandwich made with love."

"Mmmm, my hero," she murmured, picking up one half to immediately tuck in. The first bite had her groaning in utter delight - it was rare she allowed greasy food, but Lucy was just as much a sucker for grilled cheese as the rest of her family. "Good god, this is almost as good as sex."

Steve chuckled again. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," he said. "What can I get you to drink?" he asked, unsure if she wanted a glass of milk or a cup of tea or something else.

"Wuff?" Mouth way too full to make sense of what she was saying, Lucy winked at him cheerfully. Apparently she had been very hungry. She swallowed, licking her fingertips. "Aren't you eating?"

"Wuff?" he echoed, arching his brows. "Does that mean you want water?" he guessed. Yes, he was eating, but apparently not until he'd taken care of her needs first.

She giggled, biting her lip. "That was supposed to be "what"," she assured him laughingly. "I can get my own drink, Steve, you should eat something."

"Not from the counter, you can't," he pointed out with a smirk, moving back to slather a couple more slices of bread with butter. He could probably eat about six of these, but he'd settle for two.

"Amazingly, I'm just pregnant, not maimed for life," she drawled, leaving the other half of her sandwich where it was to slide down onto her feet and investigate the kitchen for the iced tea.

He would have helped her off the counter if he hadn't been busy putting his own sandwich together, and he looked almost disappointed that he hadn't been fast enough to do it. "Not sick yet?" he asked, hopefully. He knew how sick she'd been with the twins.

"No, not at all," she said, a little surprised by this. "I mean, going by the track record, that should mean it's a wee man in there. Although I think I was sick with the girls because they had no regard for my stomach."