Our little family (sequel to Baby Captain Widow)

Chapter 3: Five years later

Sun light poured through the gaps in the curtains, spilling over onto the sleeping couple, red and blonde heads poking out from the covers. Steve shifted in his light sleep, moving over and wrapping a muscular arm around his tiny girl, pulling her closer to him. Nat smiled, eyes closed, as her head was buried in Steve's chest. She felt him wake, and shifted her arm so that she could stroke his caramel waves, letting them slip and slide through her fingers.
"Morning, soldier." She opened her emerald orbs to meet his baby blues.
"Morning, baby." He smiled at her, kissing her forehead gently. "You sleep alright?"
"Yeah. How about you?"
"Not bad. But it's always better sleeping beside you." Nat smiled wider, and laughed.

Her stomach churned violently.

She quickly leapt out of bed, and dashed to their en-suite bathroom. "Nat? Are you ok?" Steve called after her, following her into the small room.
"Never better. Why d'you ask?" She joked, before spilling her guts into the toilet bowl in front of her.
"Daddy? Is mommy alright?" Lily asked, walking into the room. She had her blonde hair hanging down by her shoulders, wearing pretty pink pyjamas with ponies on them, and was clutching her teddy at her side.
"Mommy's fine, sweetheart." Nat called, before hurling again.
"She's not feeling very well, that's all." Steve finished, going over to his daughter and giving her a cuddle. Nat flushed the toilet, and sat down by the shower, smiling at her child, opening her arms up for an embrace. Steve let go of Lily, and she ran over to her mum, cuddling her tight.
"How about I go and make us breakfast?" Steve suggested, smiling at the two most important girls in his life.
"Sounds good." Nat answered, kissing Lily's head.
"PANCAKES!!" Lily cried in excitement, laughing with her mother.
"Pancakes sounds good. You up for it though, 'Tasha?"
"Yeah, I'm down for them." She replied, loving the fact that she and her little girl have the same weakness to pancakes. "I'm just gonna get dressed, ok?"
"Ok!" Lily said, jumping off her mum and grabbing Steve's hand as they left the room.

"Daddy? Can I have red and blonde hair like mommy? It's so pretty!" Lily asked as he lifted her up onto one of the kitchen island stool.
"Yes, it is very pretty. But I don't want you to dye your hair just yet."
"I'm not gonna dye it, it's just gonna turn red on it's own!" She laughed as he grabbed milk and eggs from the fridge. Steve laughed with her.
"Sweetheart, that's not how it works, unfortunately."
"How do you dye your hair?"
"Well, baby, you put certain, uh, chemicals on your hair, and they turn your hair a different colour. But you have to go to a hair salon to get your hair dyed. And anyway, you don't want to do that. Your hair is beautiful the way it is."

"Turn on the radio, daddy!" Steve laughed again, reaching over and turning the small box on.
"Daddy? What is this? This isn't in English?" She asked, as a k-pop song came on.
"Is that Blackpink?" Nat enquired, as she walked into the room, taking a seat next to Lily.
"Um, I think it is...?" Steve answered, unsure.
"What's Blackpink, mommy?"
"Blackpink is a band. They have four members, and they sing and write songs in English and Korean." She stated, stroking Lily's golden tresses.
"Ah, ok." She said, making her mum laugh.
"You feeling alright, Nat?" Steve asked as he whisked the ingredients together.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Probably a small stomach bug."
"Do you want me to give you fewer pancakes?"
"Um, excuse me?" She joked, making Steve smile and Lily laugh. "Just because I wasn't feeling good earlier does not, and I repeat, does not mean that I don't want the same number of pancakes as everyone else! How dare you assume that I want fewer!" She and Steve both burst out laughing. She suddenly stopped as a memory blasted it's way through her skull.
"What's up?" Steve asked, noticing the sudden change in mood.
"Wanda and I would go and get pancakes together after really hard missions." Silence fell over the table.

"Who's Wanda?" Lily asked, noticing a small tear roll down Natasha's cheek.

"Daddy and I had a really good friend a few of years ago. She, um... she disappeared five years ago. Just after you were born."
"Oh. Did I ever meet her?"
"Yeah, you did. She was outside of the room when you were born."
"Was she nice?"
"Yes, she was very nice. She wasn't at first, but she had lost so much. That is what she and I had in common. But she warmed up, and..." Steve came round the island and hugged her from behind, kissing her neck.
"Lily, you remember we told you that a bad man came and a lot of people went missing?" She nodded. "Your mother and I lost a lot of friends that day. Some went missing, others, we lost contact with."
"Like who?"
"Your uncle Clint." He said, Nat whimpering at his name. "Anyway, how about some pancakes, then?"