Time Unchanging

Chapter 168

A couple of weeks went by before Steve and Eva felt comfortable enough to bathe their daughter. It wasn't that they didn't trust each other or themselves, but they were new parents and didn't want to risk infecting the stump left of the umbilical cord. It fell off after ten days, so on day eleven, they decided to give Fiona her first bath. Steve won the coin toss, so Eva decided to record the moment.

Rather than put her in the baby tub, Steve held her to him in a blanket. Fiona didn't seem to like the water touching her, which was alright with Steve. Still, she cried most of the time.

"It's okay, Fiona," Steve soothed. "Daddy's got you."

When he got to her hair, he gently massaged her scalp and she started cooing. Maybe the water wasn't warm enough, or maybe it was too warm, Eva didn't know. What she did know was that Fiona was enjoying the attention to her head.

"She is loving that!" Eva exclaimed, only for her to have to fight laughing the next minute. "Um... Stevie?"

"What?" he asked before feeling something wet on his stomach and looking down to see Fiona peeing on him. "Oh, you little turd!"

Then, Eva and Steve burst out laughing. It scared Fiona, but Steve went back to massaging her scalp, calming her. He washed out the baby shampoo, cleaned her bottom again, and got her ready for her afternoon feeding.

~~~~~

"I just want to help!" Bucky said, trying to get extra time with his month-old niece. "Please, Eva?"

Just as his sister was about to deny his request, she smelt something and smiled before saying, "Sure. I need something to drink. Can you change her diaper for me?"

Bucky didn't think twice and took Fiona. Eva filmed the interaction from the doorway. Bucky removed the diaper and saw Fiona had pooped. Not only that, but it had gotten on his flesh hand and it felt foul. Bucky turned away and gagged. Eva laughed, holding the door frame to stay upright.

Hearing his sister, Bucky soldiered on, managing to get a diaper on his niece. However, when he picked her up, it slid off of her. Fiona didn't seem to appreciate Bucky's reaction to changing her and proceeded to pee down the front of him.

Deciding to admit defeat, Bucky handed Fiona back to Eva so he could change. He spent an hour in the shower.

~~~~~

Loki was playing with Fiona in the main room. She was two months now and starting to react to the people holding her. Today, Loki was bouncing her on his knee. He didn't notice anything until she pulled on his shirt. Then, he saw the spit up on her chin and made a face at Eva, showing his niece to her as a sign he needed a wet wipe.

~~~~~

Everyone was out for the day on a date night while Steve and Eva stayed home. They weren't ready to share their three-month-old daughter with the world yet. Fiona lay on their bed as they played.

Suddenly, Fiona sneezed and her parents said, "Oh, bless you!"

Fiona giggled. The sneeze had tickled her nose and the looks on her parents' faces were funny. Then, she started gearing up for the next one.

"Another one?" Steve asked.

Instead, Fiona made a noise like she was saying "hey" like the sneeze had been stolen from her. Steve and Eva laughed because it was so cute and so funny. This time, Fiona looked almost mad.

~~~~~

Fiona was four months old when she tried sitting up. Eva was worried about her being on the floor or the couch, so she sat in her room with her daughter. She chuckled every time Fiona fell over, face planting into the blankets and giggling.

~~~~~

Steve and Eva were made to go out to eat. Both were nervous to leave their five-month-old for the first time, but Wanda and Bruce promised to Facetime if Fiona did anything as the team insisted they take some time for themselves.

When they got a call, they got to watch their daughter eat scrambled eggs for the first time. She liked them so much, her toes curled. This made them feel better and glad they had the day out, but sad they missed Fiona eating solid food for the first time.

Just before Steve and Eva left the restaurant, they got another call. Fiona was attempting to crawl and they were missing it too! They drove home as fast as they could, not wanting to be left out of such a big moment. Fiona didn't move, just wobbled back and forth, but she was trying and she was ahead of other children at the same age. No one doubted that it was due to the serums in her DNA.

~~~~~

Bucky got Fiona a special toy that doubled as a walker when she turned six months old. With how fast she was progressing, none of the Avengers doubted Fiona would need it. She was slow at first, as to be expected.

At one point, she let go and fell hard. Hard enough that she didn't stop when she landed on her bottom and her head hit the floor. She burst out crying. The brunette super soldier scooped her up instantly and loved on her as her parents ran in to see what was wrong.

"I shouldn't have gotten her that toy," Bucky cried. "She- she fell and hit her head. She just let go to try walking on her own. I'm so stupid!"

Eva took Fiona and put her back with the toy as Steve said, "Buck, last week, I stepped on her as she crawled around our room. Accidents happen. You did nothing wrong."

By the end of the week, the traumatic incident was largely forgotten as Fiona would move fast around the compound. When she slammed into someone's ankles, the little troublemaker would giggle. Now, everyone blamed Bucky because of the toy, but he just laughed and played "Dodge the Baby." It was soon Fiona's favorite game.

~~~~~

Even after mastering her walker that Bucky gave her, Fiona refused to walk without it. However, climbing was a different story. Tony walked into the lab one day to find the seven-month-old on one of the tables. He quickly grabbed her and took the glass beakers away, thankful they were clean and sterilized.

"Keep her on a leash," Tony said, going back to work.

Steve and Eva just shook their heads. From then on, everyone had to put in a code to enter the lab.