I know I'm probably a day late but... better late than never right? 

WARNING: No smut but there is a quite a make-out session so... YOU WERE WARNED.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ bonus chapter: a mother's day special ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Steve Rogers had trouble sleeping again.

They were currently staying at Clint's when he had invited them to spend the weekend at their house for the upcoming celebration of Mother's Day. He vaguely dropped that it was Laura's idea after all, not his.

Well, of course, his best friend whom he treats like a sister is staying at his house with her husband while they share the same room. Remind him again how is this not an awkward idea after all?

It's not like this was their first time visiting. It had been almost seven months since Steve and Natasha got married and in just over a short period of time, Steve had already managed to capture most of the Barton kids' affections and approval for being their Auntie Nat's husband.

It means a whole lot to Steve. Especially he knew how much the Barton family means to Natasha, and how much she means to them.

Not once had he felt out of place in this family. That's why he couldn't understand why he had so much trouble sleeping at all. He twisted and shifted his weight on their bed, careful not to wake Natasha up. After about an hour of lying there with no progress at all, he gave up.

Apparently, he wasn't too smooth as he thought.

"Steve?" Natasha reached for the empty space beside her, her eyelids slowly fluttered open. She saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. "What's the matter?"

He looked back at her, despite her hair being in a tangled mess she still looked as beautiful as ever.

"Nothing."

"Nightmares?"

"No."

"Come here. Get back to bed." she slurred, only half awake.

Steve sighed, "I can't sleep."

"C'mere." she gestured, reaching for him, "Stay with me."

He grabbed her hand, rubbing his fingers over it smoothly. "I've been lying awake for an hour now, Nat. I probably need to get some air."

Natasha's eyes were shut but her voice was every ounce filled with concern. "Want me to come with you?"

He shook her head when he realized she couldn't see him. "No, it's okay." He could tell she was still tired and sleepy and decided to give her the rest she needed. "I won't be long."

"You sure?"

He leaned over and brushed the strands of hair away from her face, tucking it beside her ear. He saw the edge of her lips turn upwards at the display of affection. "I'm sure." His eyes shifted over to concern when he recalled her situation last night. "Are you feeling better?"

"A little." she muttered, "Head still hurts."

"We really should go to a doctor." he said, worried, "It's been like this for how long? Two weeks?"

"One and a half." she corrected.

"Oh, that makes it any better," he said, flatly. He took her irritated groan as a disagreement and tried to convince her otherwise, "Come on love, I'm worried. Headaches are not normal when they're becoming frequent for a week now."

"Shh...'m tired."

He sighed in disapproval, being the stubborn spy that she is, she always tries to make excuses by brushing off the fact she's fine. For the first few days, Steve (reluctantly) decided to buy it, but when her headaches are going on for almost weeks now, he couldn't stand doing nothing about it anymore. "Nat..."

Grudgingly, she agreed, half the reason was just probably she could go back to sleep. "Okay... t'morrow, I promise..."

Finally. Steve smiled in relief, "Love you. Sleep tight."

"Love you, too."

He planted a kiss on her forehead before climbing out of bed and heading downstairs.

—————————————————————————————

Steve originally planned to head out for some fresh air, but when he spotted his sketchpad and art materials by the center table, the next thing he knew he was already sitting by the couch and sketching himself a portrait.

About half an hour later, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the stairs. He quickly averted his gaze just in time to see her niece, Lila, emerge with a teddy bear in hand. She didn't look as surprised to see him as he is though.

"Lila? What are you doing up at this time? It's..." he glanced at the clock planted on the wall, "...four in the morning."

"I can't sleep."

"Me too." When he noticed she wasn't moving where she was, he gestured for her to come take the space beside him. "You want to stay with me for a while?"

"Okay." she jumped for the couch and snuggled close to Steve.

Among all the Barton kids, Lila was particularly close to him because he treats her almost as if she's his daughter too. And it's probably because of the fact that her Uncle Steve doesn't annoy or tease her as much as her other uncles.

"Wow..." she leaned over, looking at the sketch in pure amazement. "Is that Auntie Nat?"

It took him a second to realize that he was indeed drawing the love of his life. It was if his fingers had a mind of their own as he only remembered sketching some lines and curves in the first place, he didn't notice that he was unconsciously drawing a portrait of Natasha instead.

Steve smiled at her, "It is her, isn't it?"

"She's beautiful."

"I'm still having trouble what color looks good for her lips."

Lila hummed, putting a hand to her chin as if she was inspecting the drawing thoughtfully.

"How about pink?" she asked.

Steve nodded in agreement. "Good choice." He took the pink-colored pencil from the set of art materials by his side and began bringing her-Natasha's-lips to life. He noticed the way Lila watches his strokes and movements in wonder and curiosity and chuckled at this. He held the colored pencil out for her, "You want to try?"

She beamed. "Can I?"

"Of course you can, here." She took the sketchpad and colored pencil and rested it in her lap. She listened as Steve pointed out the technique (but, really, Steve didn't care at all how she'd color it) on how to properly color the drawing. "You've got to keep your hand as light as possible once you start coloring, otherwise the drawing would end up having uneven marks"

Lila suddenly turned worried. "What if I ruin it?"

"No, you won't. Trust me, you'll be a natural." 

She gave a smile in return, trusting her uncle's words enough to start on with the coloring. Of course, it wasn't as flawless as it would turn out if Steve would have colored it instead, but for a little girl, Lila was pretty good.

"Uncle Steve?"

He turned to face the little girl again, noticing the way her fingers continued to color the and trace the drawing on her sketchpad. She was doing a good job. He lightly smiled at how fast of a learner she was, just like her father. "Yes, Lila?"

"Is this a gift for Auntie Nat?" she suddenly asked.

"Uh, well... could be? I uh... don't really know what to do with it, yet."

"You should give it to her, you know because it's Mother's day."

The realization suddenly dawned in on Steve. No wonder why he felt like today wasn't just any normal day, it was Mother's day after all. How could he have been clueless enough to forget?

"Jeez, how could I've missed that?" he exclaimed, exasperated, "I knew there was something different today!"

"But Auntie Nat's not a mom. Can she celebrate Mother's day even if she's not a mom?"

"Well, there aren't any rules said for that yet. So maybe until then, it's allowed." Steve replied, shrugging.

Silence fell over the two of them until— "Uncle Steve?"

"Yes, Lila?" he answered like before.

"You love Auntie Nat, don't you?"

Steve, clearly taken off by surprise at her question, faintly blushed. But he knew that coming from a little girl like Lila, she meant to ask it sincerely and innocently as she really wanted to.

He smiled genuinely, "Of course, I do."

Lila didn't react as much, almost as if she was expecting that answer already. "What do you love most about her?"

"I love everything about her." he claimed.

"Yeah, I know, but what do you love most about her?"

Amusement filled his features, this little one sure asked a lot of questions, not that he minded answering them. He grabbed a piece of colored pencil and went to help her fill a spot in her sketchpad. He felt Lila stopped for a while, simply watching him with curiosity and wonder as he worked his way through the art.

Once he was finished, he set the pencil down and stared at it with so much love and adoration. "Her eyes."

They took a moment to simply look at the drawing in silence. It looked so real-so lifelike. And every single time, whether it's a picture, a sketch, or Natasha herself - he always finds himself so entranced and captivated by her.

"Her eyes are beautiful," Lila said in awe. "And her hair too. I love Auntie Nat's red hair, like Ariel's."

Steve gave her a puzzled look, sounding unsure, "The mermaid?"

Thankfully, he got it right. Lila grinned at him, bobbing her head excitingly, "Yeah! But it's too red, I like Auntie Nat's hair more." she pouted, "I wish I have her hair..."

He chuckled, brushing the top of her head, "Your hair is pretty the way it is, pumpkin." he said, using the nickname he came up for her.

That was enough to make her eyes lit up and erase the frown on her face. "You really think so, Uncle Steve?"

"Of course, I do."

Then, it was silent for a while. Steve felt Lila shift her weight and leaned against his shoulder, the sketchpad still between her hands as she continued to look at it. He was just starting to think that she had already fallen asleep.

"Can I ask you a question?" her tiny voice jolt him out of his thoughts.

"Sure."

"When can I meet my baby cousin?"

To say Steve was surprised was an understatement, he was completely dumbstruck. The brushing motion of his hand on Lila's head suddenly stopped. She right away noticed how he went quiet and left her question unanswered.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Uncle Steve?"

"Uh..." He really didn't know how to answer that. Much less, even explain his answer to a little girl.

"Don't you want a baby?" She tilted her head at him, confusion etched on her face. "You and Auntie Nat are husband and wife like my mommy and daddy right?"

Steve sighed, giving her a little smile. "Listen, Lila... it's not..." He struggled to think of the right words. But the way this little girl in front of her was staring at him innocently and confusingly made it a lot harder to do. "It's not that I don't want a baby. I... I would love to have one."

"Then why don't you tell Auntie Nat you want a baby?" she asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Steve visibly flushed. The sudden tension was quickly replaced by his complete inability to react so maturely to his niece's question. As much as he knows this question came from a curious child, he couldn't help but become so flustered at the thought of it.

"It's not that simple, Lila." he said.

"Why?"

How could he ever explain the definition of his wife's inability to bear children to his niece without breaking her heart or confusing her mind? This would be quite a sensitive topic for a little girl.

"Well, she... your Auntie Nat is kinda..." he sucked in a breath, "It's not that easy for her to have a baby."

Lila's face suddenly fell, "Auntie Nat doesn't want a baby?"

Steve's eyes widened, "No! No, that's not what I meant. I mean uh... God, how do I explain this..." he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair. He winced, smiling sheepishly, "It's not that we don't want to have a baby, Lila. It's more about... we can't."

The frown on her face only got deeper. "Huh?"

"Listen, pumpkin," he sighed, "this is quite a sensitive subject for your Auntie Nat so be careful to talk about it when she's around, okay?"

She nodded in response.

"A baby... it's the best gift a husband and wife can have." Steve started, forcing himself to smile for Lila's sake despite the hint of sadness in his voice. "But for us, we have a different case. Different from your mommy and daddy's."

"Why?" she knitted her eyebrows.

The smile dropped from Steve's face, his eyes looking a little sullen. "Because we can't have one."

She suddenly sat up straight, looking at Steve with a look of horror. "What? Why?" she gasped. "Is Auntie Nat sick?"

"It's complicated, pumpkin," he answered simply, not wanting to give too much information that could further upset her. And well, this talk isn't the kind he's up to be discussing on a day like this either. "She's not sick it's just... she can't have one."

Lila seemed to understand that was all the answer she would be getting from her uncle and stayed silent. She pursed her lips, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Adoption?" she asked.

Steve lightly smiled. "If I can get her to agree to it."

Silence fell over them again, until Lila asked, a crease appearing on her forehead, making her look adorable by the way she scrunches her nose. "Then why are you making this gift for Auntie Nat if she can't be a mommy?"

Steve's face fell. He didn't know if he should be offended by this question or not. Maybe, if he wasn't talking to a kid, he was sure his response would be less held back.

"Just because she can't be a mommy doesn't mean she should be treated any less of one," Steve explained softly, holding his arms wide and patting the spot beside him again. "C'mere."

Lila stared at his arms for a while. He was beginning to think that she was declining his offer when she gave in and leaned back on him again. He started to brush the top of her head again while his other hand went to grab the sketchpad from her lap.

"A baby is wonderful. But having your Auntie Nat in my life is already enough. More than enough." Steve held the drawing up, the portrait of his wife staring back at him with those striking green eyes of hers. "When you grow up, meet someone, and fall in love with them? You'll understand what I'm saying. That when you fall in love with them... you'll love them no matter what. No conditions."

"That's very sweet, Uncle Steve."

"You think so?" he laughed.

"Mhmm." she hummed in approval. "I'm glad Auntie Nat chose you."

Steve felt warm, flattered at her declaration. "Thanks, Lila." He suddenly heard her yawn, "Sleepy?"

"A bit." she said, her eyes almost sliding shut. It is still past five o'clock in the morning after all. "When are you going to give it to her?"

"Later. After the party."

"Hmm, okay."

"Okay."

"I'm going back to sleep." she announced.

Steve looked at her, "You want me to carry you upstairs?"

She shook her head in response. "I'll stay here. You're more comfortable than my pillows."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Okay." And he continued to finish his drawing until he faintly heard the sound of snoring beside him.

—————————————————————————————

When morning came, Steve took the opportunity to cook breakfast for all of them. He cooked pancakes, waffles, bacon, and eggs. He figured this would just be a part of his courtesy for letting the women in the household feel special since it was Mother's Day after all (even if Natasha isn't really an official one).

Clint was the first to come down along with Cooper. Lila, who was fast asleep on the couch, also woke up a few minutes after (from all the noise going on in the kitchen) and not a moment later, Laura finally appeared with baby Nathaniel in her arms.

"Wow, what is all this?" she asked Steve, a wide grin on her face.

"Happy Mother's Day?" he said.

Laura laughed, "You are quite the charm, Steve. Thank you."

"Yeah, Cap, try not to overdo it because the last thing I need is for Laura falling head over heels for you too. And let me tell you, being married is not an issue when it comes to dealing with Captain America." Clint asserted. "But good cooking. These pancakes are the God."

Steve blushed at his statement, turning back to the pancakes he was making,

Laura took a seat by the table, "Nat isn't up yet, Steve?"

"Still knocked out like a glove." Steve said, "I'm kind of worried about her, actually. She still has these headaches for a while now."

"Why don't you get checked out?"

"Tried to tell her that but she argues every time. Good thing she finally agreed to it the time she's half awake."

Clint raised an eyebrow, his mouth still stuffed with pancakes, "Does she remember though?"

They finally heard footsteps coming from upstairs.

"I guess I'll found out."

Seconds later, Natasha appeared by the staircase. "Morning." she greeted.

The Barton family greeted her with much more enthusiasm. Steve turned off the stove and put the pancakes on the table while he went over to her. He placed a kiss on her temple, smirking, "Morning, sleepyhead."

She smirked back, "Your head all cleared up now?"

"Much. Especially now that I saw you."

Natasha let out an amused chuckle, a faint pink tinted her cheeks, "Smooth, Rogers. Smooth."

"No flirting in front of the food!" Clint demanded.

Steve flinched while Natasha rolled her eyes. He went to sit at the table and started digging in while Natasha went to the fridge and took out a pickle jar before being seated. Steve eyed her warily as she took out some pickles, started slicing it and sandwiching it between the waffles. Clint also shared a look of confusion and (probably) disgust, as they watched her eat it.

"Nat?"

She took a bite of the waffle with pickles, chewing it so she couldn't really utter a word, "Hm?"

"Are you sure about..." Steve glanced at her breakfast with puzzlement.

When she finally swallowed down her food, she asked, "What?"

Steve couldn't answer. How would you nicely ask your wife about her sudden weirdness in taste in breakfast without upsetting her?

"I just..." he cleared his throat, "Pickles and waffles?"

Natasha frowned, a crease appearing on her forehead. Steve right away knew he hit the wrong button. He gulped in response as she asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No, I just think—"

"Why? Do you think it's revolting enough for a breakfast meal?" her voice suddenly went decibels higher real fast.

Steve, as well as everyone in the table, froze. He flushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed by her sudden accusation. "No, of course not, Nat! I just—"

"What?" she challenged.

Clint, also shocked by her outburst, attempted to calm her down, "Hey, Nat, it's fine. Steve just meant to ask nicely, you know."  

Suddenly, the tension in the air was becoming thicker and thicker. To the point where baby Nathaniel was already letting out a cry in Laura's arms as she tried to calm him down. Cooper and Lila were very uncomfortable, possibly, even frightened by the scene.

Despite becoming flustered, Steve felt his eyes harden at the realization that he and Natasha were causing enough of a trouble to ruin this family's breakfast.

"Natasha, I think you should calm down." he reminded, his voice sounding a lot firmer this time, "I was just asking, sweetheart. I'm sorry if I upset you."

Natasha still held on an irritated look for the rest of the meal but she didn't say anything else after that. The whole meal that was supposed to be a good one quickly got mushed by the little escapade he and Natasha had caused earlier. She finished a lot earlier than the rest of them and excused herself to quickly head upstairs. Laura excused herself to change let Nathaniel sleep while Lila and Cooper asked to play outside.

Once they were left alone, Steve looked at Clint helplessly, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." he shook his head, "I don't know what happened but judging from my years of marriage, it's just a plain mood swing. Don't worry about it."

"Mood swing?"

"It's just one of those bad days you know. She probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She'll snap out of it soon, you just got to give her time. And, maybe, do all her requests as much as you can."

Steve ran a hand over his face, "God, I don't know what's going on with her. Maybe it's because of the headaches."

"Headaches?" Clint raised an eyebrow.

"We're going to see a doctor tomorrow. Get her checked up. Nat's been acting pretty weird lately."

"Well, it's Nat. She's probably thinking about something that she doesn't want to bother you with."

"You're saying she might have a problem?"

Clint shrugged, "Not sure. But you know her, she's stubborn enough to keep her worries to herself. It's in her nature."

"As much as I hate to say it, even as her husband, I don't even know why she doesn't open up to me so often. I mean, she tells me she trusts me but sometimes she won't even talk to me!" Steve exclaimed, heaving a sigh of annoyance.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd say you're making a whole lot of progress than any of us ever did. Even me." he assured him, "Look, it's because it's in her nature to endure her problems alone than let anyone involved. Especially the ones closest to her."

Steve could only sigh in response.

Clint patted his shoulder, "You know how much she loves you and trusts you. You just gotta be more patient with her. Even a married couple has their own issues still."

He gave him a weak smile.

"I'll always be here to cheer you on, Cap. Natasha may be stubborn as hell but I sure know she wouldn't stand waking up on a day without you in her life."

That made his smile wider. It was just the encouragement he needed to keep him going again.

"Thanks, Clint."

—————————————————————————————

Natasha was lying on their bed with her side. She didn't want to admit it during the time it was happening but she really messed things up back there. And she felt absolutely awful.

She felt disgusted with herself. Bursting out so suddenly in front of the kids, the food, on Clint and Laura, and on Steve.

Oh, God, Steve.

He looked completely clueless and lost by her sudden rise of anger. Well, who wouldn't? I mean, who the hell would eat waffles and pickles for their breakfast anyway? She clearly didn't know why she did what she did.

It was as if the thought just sprang to her mind. Like she was just suddenly aching to eat pickles and waffles all of a sudden. Thinking about it now, no wonder Steve and Clint looked disgusted by her choice of food.

A knock came by their door.

"Nat?"

Steve.

She didn't answer, too embarrassed by what she did.

"Nat, love? Can I come in?"

Always the typical gentleman. Even it was practically their bedroom he still chose to ask permission if he could come in.

But you're mad. she thought, still ignoring him.

As if he was reading her thoughts, he added seconds after- "I'm not mad." She heard him took a deep breath through the door, "Come on, love, just talk to me. I'm sorry if I made you upset."

Of course, Natasha couldn't resist Steve and opened the door to reveal him standing there with the most baffled look on his face.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. "I...I don't know what happened. I'm sorry."

Natasha shook her head. "It's fine, Steve. It's not your fault. I... I overreacted and I feel stupid about it, really, I'm sorry."

"You want to talk about what happened?" he offered.

It took a while, there was a hint of hesitance by the way she stood there in silence before finally agreeing by letting him come in. They sat by the side of their bed. Steve placed the sketchpad on their bedside table. She didn't even notice him holding it earlier.

"What's going on, Nat?" Steve asked, concern evident in his baby-blue eyes.

Natasha bit her lip, not wanting to meet his gaze. Steve could really tell now that something was troubling her. Her eyes were becoming a little glassy if he'd notice it.

"Hey, love, are you okay? Is it the headaches again?" he cupped her cheek with his one hand, making her meet his gaze.

"No..." she shook her head, reaching up to grab his hand.

Steve looked at her worriedly, "Then what is it?"

"I'm sorry." she blurted out.

"I told you it's okay."

"No, Steve, I'm sorry." She repeated, emphasizing the latter part of her statement. Her voice sounded like it was close to breaking. And not a second later, a tear fell down from her cheek.

Steve suddenly panicked. "Hey, Nat, what's wrong? Don't cry, sweetheart." he wiped the tear away with his thumb, his other hand tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "What's wrong?"

"I..." she swallowed the lump in her throat. He waited patiently for her to continue on. He was suddenly surprised when Natasha suddenly lunged forward to bury her face in his shirt. "I'm sorry. So sorry."

His arms were quickly around her, trying to rub her back soothingly and tried to figure out what on earth is going on.

"Natasha—"

"I'm sorry I can't give you a family."

He froze. Unmoving.

Natasha must've felt him stiffen because her sobs became lighter and she found more strength to continue on. "I'm sorry I can't give you what you've always wanted."

"Nat... what are you talking about?"

"A baby." she gasped, gripping the fronts of his shirt tighter, "I can't even give you a baby."

Steve gently held her shoulders, pulling her body away from him so he could face her clearly, "I thought we already talked about this? I already told you how I felt about this, remember? That I don't blame you and I'm more than content with what we have."

"No, you don't," she claimed. And finally, finally, she looked at him. Her green eyes were wet and puffy, "I know you want a baby. Every time we go here and see the kids, and when you found out that Pepper's pregnant, you just... you always have this... this look in your eyes that shows how much you wanted that life. A family." Steve opened his mouth to protest only for her to cut him off, "Don't lie to me."

"I am not lying to you," he said, annoyance ticked his tone.

"I heard you talking to Lila earlier," she claimed.

"Well, that explains why this suddenly came out again."

It wasn't a surprise that he didn't even as much hear her come in on them. He didn't even want to ask how she does it. She just does it.

Steve looked at her in the eye, "Why do you think I told you that if I didn't mean what I said? We talked about this before we got married, and I told you the exact same thing, Nat. I love you, I don't blame you, and I don't care because I've long given up on that life 75 years ago. I want to be with you because you're more than enough. You're my family."

Natasha couldn't hold back the tears anymore as Steve finished. He leaned in to kiss away the tears on her cheeks. She felt the tenderness of his lips, the sweetness of his kiss all too much for her that she just had to let it all out.

"There's no doubt in my heart that you're the one I want to be with. The one I need to be with."

"You're too good for me..." she whispered, still sobbing, "Don't think I deserve you."

Steve sighed in disapproval, "You always say that." He leaned back to cup both her cheeks and locked their eyes together, "You don't see how much you're worth to us? To me? God, you're amazing, Natasha. And if I have to remind you that every single day to make you believe, I will."

He wasn't prepared for when she suddenly leaned in to capture his lips. 

The kiss was desperate, needing, but wanting at the same time. She ached for him, looping her arms around his neck to drag him closer to her while he placed his hands firmly on her back, securing her within his hold. Their lips moved accordingly, drowning in all the doubts and insecurities Natasha had been feeling just a moment ago.

Because Steve, again, succeeded to show her how much of a gem she means to him and to herself as well. And it was because there was something in his words that made it real enough for her to believe. To believe that she was indeed worthy of him, of his love.

She kissed him deeper until her lips subtly started to go down lower, tracing his jaw and lightly sucking on it to leave a mark.

"Natasha..." he breathed, his voice sounding huskier that just made her turned on even more.

She pushed him back on the bed, straddled him, and bring her lips up to meet him once more. Her curls cascaded down his face while he reached out and tangled his hands on her hair, tugging her down to press her body closer to him. Despite having layers of clothing between them, Steve suddenly let out a moan when he felt her fingers slip inside his shirt, tugging on the clothing.

But then, before it could get anywhere farther, as quick as lightning, the weight on top of him was gone. The lips on his mouth quickly pulled away. Natasha simply sat there, still straddling him, while her face went completely white.

Steve looked at her with concern, "Nat?"

He was startled when Natasha moved away and quickly bolted straight for their bathroom. She opened the door hard enough that it actually smacked against the wall with a loud bang. He quickly got out of bed and walked over to her.

He panicked when she saw her leaning over the toilet bowl. Emptying the remains of what's left of her breakfast.

"Don't come in here." she groaned.

"I thought you said you didn't feel any headaches!" he exclaimed, a mixture of frustration and worry in his tone.

"I didn't." she said, flushing the toilet and closing the lid while she went to rinse her mouth. "I don't know what happened."

He ran a hand through his hair, "Are you still feeling sick?"

"Is this sick enough for you?"

Steve clearly wasn't in the mood for her sarcasm and quickly made a decision. "Alright, that's it. We're going to the doctor. Now. Mother's Day or not, I don't care if we miss the party. We're going now."

—————————————————————————————

Everyone eventually understood that Natasha's health was far more important than any party, although it was such bad timing that this had happened now, they assured them that they could still catch up for the after party (because a party alone isn't enough, especially for Tony Stark).

Natasha immediately got checked in. She even went through a CT scan for a complete assurance that everything would be checked. Steve, of course, was still fidgeting from worry and nervousness, desperately praying to God for his wife to be alright.

She had to assure him several times that she was going to be okay. But it still didn't lessen his worries, as expected.

Once the results came in, they were finally called by the doctor.

Steve was shaking and his hands were becoming sweaty. Natasha rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder, "Would you calm down? It's like you're the one being checked up here."

"I'm sorry I just..." he gulped, "I'm not a fan of hospitals and I'm really not a fan hearing that you're sick."

Natasha sighed deeply, "I told you, I'm okay. I'm not sick."

"You don't know that." he snapped, but she doesn't seem hurt by it when all she could see is worry about her behind those adorable blue eyes.

The doctor came in with her medical results, sitting in the chair in front of them.

"Alright, let's see here, how are you doing Mr. and Mrs. Rogers?"

Despite the situation, Natasha couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat at the mention of her surname. It was enough to put a smile on her face.

"I'm good."

"I'm not."

Natasha tried hard not to smack her husband.

The doctor laughed, "Well, you don't need to worry a thing, Mr. Rogers because Natasha is perfectly fine."

He still wasn't relieved. "Then what's causing all her headaches and..." Steve trailed off, putting a hand over Natasha's and squeezing it tighter. "Nausea?"

They both were surprised at what came out of the doc's mouth next. "It's normal to experience things like these when a woman is already in her first trimester."

"Wh—what?"

Steve stayed silent.

Natasha felt her jaw dropped to the floor, feeling her heartbeat quickened its pace more than ever. She had heard that word before, and she knew well enough to mean that world is used only when a woman is — "She's pregnant."

Yup. That's the word.

This time, Steve was the one who turned completely white. "What did you say?"

"Natasha's pregnant. About three weeks in now."

There was silence for a while before Natasha finally found her voice to speak again.

"But that's... not possible..." she said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. Shock and surprise was the one that outweighed the most. "I can't get pregnant. I was..." she took a deep breath, the word was enough to cut like knives into her heart, "I was sterilized."

The doctor now looked as confused as they were.

"But there were no traces of any form of past sterilization in the results of your test, Mrs. Rogers. Your reproductive system is currently as healthy and perfect as any other lucky mother out there. Oh! Which reminds me, Happy Mother's day."

He suddenly handed over a black and white picture. Natasha grasped it in shaky hands and looked at the picture in complete mesmerize and love. She couldn't help the tears welling up in her eyes as she pressed a hand to her mouth. "This... I can't believe..." she quickly turned to Steve. "Steve, honey, look."

Steve just shared the same expression as she has. His eyes were full of love, awe, and possibly, even a look of complete shock and amazement. He touched his forehead to hers, cupping her cheek and giving her a kiss right then and there. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried happily in his arms.

The doctor seems to sense this was a joyous moment for the husband and wife and decided to give them some privacy.

Steve looked at her with tears in his eyes as well, holding her hand tightly and weaving their fingers together. "I can't believe this... just hours ago we were..."

Natasha chuckled, tears still in her eyes, "How ironic isn't it?"

"Well, the timing is impeccable. Come on, what are the odds?" he looked at the ultrasound again, "How is this even possible?"

She shook her head, "I don't have a damn clue. The KGB probably never once saw it coming that I'm going to end up doing it with Captain America who has super enhanced prostaglandins that could stimulate and penetrate my va—"

"Natasha!" he exclaimed, blushing furiously. "That's just way too much information for me."

She laughed, kissing him again full on the lips. "I love you." she murmured through the kiss, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." he whispered back, stopping to stare at her for a moment, "You know, I have something for you back home."

She raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Lila helped me finish it. Oh! Which reminds me..." he leaned in to give her a kiss, smiling through it, "Happy Mother's Day."

Her smile widened, dawning in the realization that she was indeed, officially, a mother. She looked back at the man she loves, her eyes filled with so much love and joy. "Thank you." For being with me. For loving me. For giving me more than I deserve.

Steve smiled back at her lovingly, looking back at newly bundle of love in their hands.   

Their baby.

Their miracle.

  ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ A MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬   

So, the pictures above aren't clearly mine! Hahaha! They go to their rightful owners. 

Anyway... Belated Happy Mother's day to all mothers out there! Go greet your mama with the love they deserve. Mothers deserve all the best. <3

Clearly, this special chapter already happened sometime after the events of 'A Twist in Time'. Come on, we've all seen Romanogers coming anyway, right?

And that little treasure Steve and Natasha have—   is none other than Baby James. <3

Don't forget to leave comments and votes! 

ROGERS FAMILY (SOON TO BE)