Monster [Book One]

Chapter 17

LAST CHAPTER 

Chapter Quote:
“You’re late.”
~Peggy Carter, Captain America: The First Avenger
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Chapter 17

Bucky

Two years later… 

“Don’t you say it!  Don’t you dare say it!” Sam warned.

“On your left!” Steve said, blasting past Falcon.  Simultaneously I said, “On your right!”

“Come on!” Sam groaned, trying to pick up the pace to catch up with us.  It didn’t work out so well and by the time Steve and I reached my apartment, Sam was about a mile behind us.  We decided to wait for him.  It took about seven minutes for him to round the corner.  He came to a stop in front of us, bracing himself on his knees and breathing heavily.

“Need a medic?” Steve asked.

“I still need that new pair of lungs,” Sam puffed out.  Steve clapped him on the back.

“Come on, Annabeth has breakfast ready for us,” I said.  We trudged into the building and up the stairs.  We could smell breakfast before we entered the apartment.  Annabeth was moving around the kitchen, cleaning and watching Elizabeth out of the corner of her eye and making sure she didn’t throw any cereal.  Then again, Bryn had inherited my stubbornness (or possibly Annabeth’s because we’re both extremely stubborn).  When my wife saw us come in, she grinned and said, “You’re late.”

“Got held back,” I joked, glancing over at Sam who made a face at me.  Steve picked up my daughter.  She adored him, laughing the second she was in his arms.  I walked over to Annabeth, giving her a kiss.

“We need to hurry up.  I told Natasha we’d be at her place in two hours and between your sweatiness and you needing to eat, and my need to eat, shower, dress, and dress Bryn, we are very short on time.  Chop chop!” She urged.

I laughed, giving her a feather-light poke in the stomach. “Stop stressing.  It’s not good for the baby.”

“I was more stressed than this with Bryn and she turned out fine,” Annabeth remarked, staring in amusement as our daughter pretended to punch Steve in the face who acted out his part.

“Still don’t want to risk it.  I’ll dress Bryn.  You do whatever you need to.”

“You’re the best,” she said, kissing me on the cheek before gulping down an entire pancake in two minutes flat.  My wife was impressive like that.

I let Steve and Sam take showers before me.  They’d spent the night so all their stuff was here and they could dress easily.  I used the guest shower while Annabeth used ours.  After I’d gotten dressed, I tried to pick an appropriate outfit for Bryn but my fashion taste was not the best when it came to babies.  Thankfully my wife came to the rescue.  The five of us left right on time and headed to Natasha’s house.  We were getting together for an update from a guy named Nick Fury on his mission overseas.  I’d never met him, only tried to kill him once or twice.  Possibly thrice… I don’t remember.

Annabeth pulled up to Natasha’s apartment and we filed out.  Annabeth led the way, knocking politely on the door.  The Black Widow opened it; she wore a black dress with dark blue lines running through it, reminding me of an outfit she wore fighting the robot Ultron (I’d seen pictures).  She greeted us with a smile and let us in.  A man in a black trench coat and an eye patch rounded the corner.  Approaching me, he held his hand out for me.  I shook it.