The Captain's Husband

32. Pride & Joy (Wanda)

     Steve and Bucky finally have the family they've always dreamed of. Baby Rogers-Barnes has her fathers and the rest of the Avengers wrapped around her little fingers.

"Hey, boys," Natasha beams as she joins us in Steve and Bucky's bedroom.

Bucky is cradling a little bundle in his arms. Steve has an arm around his shoulders. They're absolutely mesmerized by the little blue-eyed angel that's been brought into their world. Natasha sits on Steve's open side, and he smiles at her as he rests his hand on her knee.

"Does she have a name yet?" Nat asks him.

"You should be sleeping," he says to her.

"How's the next greatest Avenger?" Tony asks as he steps in, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

"She's perfect," Bucky whispers, looking up at Steve with stars in his eyes.

I smile and turn to Tony, saying, "You missed Steve's rendition of 'Trees'."

He smiles, and then he looks at Natasha, saying, "You really should be sleeping, babe."

She leans over and presses a kiss to Bucky's cheek and Steve's cheek before standing up and saying, "I'm so happy for you two."

They look up at her, smiling, content with the world, saying softly, "Thank you."

     "What's the angel's name?" Tony asks as Nat walks toward him.

     Steve kisses Bucky's cheek, smiling, and as he looks at the little girl in his husband's arms, he says, "Ana Natalia Rogers-Barnes."

Natasha nearly falls over, and I immediately start celebrating, saying excitedly, "That's perfect!"

"That's why you kept it a surprise," Natasha whispers, holding back tears and an ecstatic smile. "My sweet boys. I can't believe it."

Bucky smiles warmly at her, "We wanted to honor both of her biological mothers, so we took your aliases and put them together."

Steve tucks a lock of Bucky's hair behind his ear before saying tenderly, "And, just for the record, we'll tell her all of the details of how she came into the world when she's ready for it."

"And what about us?" Natasha asks. "Is there anything that Wanda and I need to do?"

Bucky and Steve look at each other.

Judging by the silent conversation they're having just looking at each other, they've discussed this topic in-depth to an absurd length already.

"We want you to do what is comfortable," Steve says. "And we'll adapt, of course."

I look at Natasha.

We've discussed this too.

I nod at her.

She looks at Steve and Bucky, saying softly, "We don't want to confuse her, so until she's ready, we won't be in the parental picture. We want her to know you two as her parents. And, yeah, we're family, biologically related, but she needs that core family unit before we shake it up and tell her that we stitched her genes together. That and you two really are her parents. You wanted to start a family. We just helped you get there."

"But neither of you are just means to an end," Steve says. "She might be our daughter first, but she's also yours. Shouldn't she have that?"

"She should, but she should also be able to understand the circumstances and the process," Tony says. "It's a complex, controversial subject. Even the government doesn't know we've done this."

"But she does have a birth certificate, social security number, and everything else," Steve says.

"That doesn't mean they know how she was created or born," Tony says softly. "I've kept this project under official Avengers red tape. The only people that have access are us...the Avengers, her parents and family. And according to the process, all four of you are her parents. You can tell her when she's older or allow her to have all four of you to lead and guide her. Personally, I would give her as much support as possible. She needs to know. That and you can always establish the core family unit — Steve and Bucky — and then give her more information. She's unique, you know. She has four biological parents. It's not going to be easy to discuss, but it still has to be done. And if she's anything like any of you, she'll understand why and how she came into the world. Her fathers wanted a daughter that they can love and cherish and call their own. They just had to take a weird route to get there."

"Tony's right," Steve says softly. "She's going to have a better childhood and life if we tell her from the start."

"We just need to make sure that she understands where her alignment in the family unit lies," Natasha says. "She's yours first. Ours second."