Personal Soldier

Chapter 20

Delilah went to check the mail and as soon as she opened the mailbox, her face lit up.

She grabbed the mail and ran back into her apartment, nearly tripping over the steps.

As she crossed the threshold, she stumbled over her feet and would have fallen had Sebastian, holding Katia, not caught her.

"Whoa," he said. "Baby in arms. You okay?"

Delilah nodded as she tried to maneuver herself and fell on her butt. "Yeah, I'm okay. Is Kati? Good catch."

"Kati's okay. What's got you in such a rush?"

She held up the Manila folder. "Our next movie with one of the biggest franchises. This time it's an Avengers movie!"

"Does it say what it's called?"

"No, but there's brief information about the movie for us I suspect. And apparently, they want to give Katia a little role."

"As what? The child of Bucky and Gail?"

"Yeah. I got an email from the Russos asking if we'd be okay with Katia having a little role. Obviously I told them I'd talk to you first. But yeah, so the way they're seeing it is that Bucky and Gail got married sometime between Civil War and the new Avengers movie and they're prepping for it all and want to know about using Katia as our/their daughter."

"Well what's your stance on it?"

"I don't really know. It's a great opportunity, but it also puts her out in the world and I want to keep her as sheltered from the media as I can."

"Agreed. If we bring that up to them, do you think they'll be able to do both those things? Have her in it and protect her identity?"

"I imagine they could make it work if they really wanted her, and it sounded to me like they did. I honestly do love the idea, it's just Katia being in the spotlight that I'm uncomfortable with."

"I feel the same way. When do we need to make a decision by?"

"Within the week, so we have time." She let out a frustrated groan. "I just don't know what to do."

Sebastian kissed her forehead. "We'll figure it out, Del."

Delilah set the mail down on the table and took Katia. She lifted her in the air, then towards the ground, supporting her head. Katia squealed excitedly and Delilah did it again.

Sebastian laughed and said, "I'll never understand why she loves that so much. The rush to her head must be insane."

Delilah nodded. "Probably, but I imagine she enjoys the rush. It's adrenaline. You and I, amongst millions of others, enjoy a surge of adrenaline."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Oh, please. You know I'm right."

"I didn't deny it, Del."

"No, but you did brush it off."

"Are we going to argue in front of Katia? Because I really don't want that."

Delilah shook her head. "No, but more enthusiasm would be nice sometimes."

"I'll try."

"Good." She set Katia down, as the little girl was already plotting her escape, and Katia began crawling and hit the couch.

Katia instantly began crying and Sebastian picked her up and checked her over before saying softly, "You're okay, cel mic."

Delilah brushed Katia's little wisps of hair and kissed her head. "It's okay, sweetie."

Katia rested her head on Sebastian's shoulder as her tears slowly subsided.

The three stood in the middle of the room for a short while to make sure their daughter was okay. She'd just started crawling, earlier than most as she was barely six months old, and had a habit of running into things.

Delilah glanced at Sebastian and said in a joking tone, "Seems she takes after you in the klutz department."

Sebastian chuckled and nodded. "It seems she does. That's the one thing I wanted to give her; my ability to run into walls and fridges."

"Perhaps she'll improve as her motor skills develop. Or maybe she'll remain as klutzy as you and as Steve after he'd just been injected with the serum. Either way, I'll love her the same."

Sebastian kissed the top of Katia's head, then the top of Delilah's. "As will I. I'll always love both of you."

Delilah kissed Sebastian and smiled. "I'll always love you and Kati too."

Katia placed her hands on her parents cheeks and smiled. Her parents both took one of her hands and kissed them before smiling back.