Artemis: The Final Battle ➳ Steve Rogers [2]

[ F I F T Y - S I X ]

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C A M I L L E

F O U R Y E A R S L A T E R

The enticing smell of bacon wafting into mine and Steve's bedroom was what pulled me out of my slumber, and Steve's absence between our sheets gave me the feeling that breakfast would be ready by the time I headed downstairs.

My stomach rumbled and I dragged myself out of bed, immediately missing the comfort of our bed. Today was one of the rare days that I got to sleep in.

"Mommy!" And that, my friends, was the cause of the lack of sleep.

Our three-year-old bounds towards me and wraps her tiny arms around my leg as soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Mommy, look! Daddy made pancakes and they're shaped like pigs!" She beams up at me.

I scoop her up in my arms, peppering kisses all over her face, "Whoa! That's amazing. Did you say thank you to Daddy?"

"I did!" Little Brooklyn puffs out her chest with pride.

I chuckle as our daughter turns her attention back to her plate, her brows knitted in concentration as she decorates her pancake-pig with chocolate chips and whipped cream.

Warm arms banded around my waist soon followed by a pair of familiar warm lips trailing from my neck to my jaw.

"Good morning, baby." Steve greets before bending down to plant a kiss on the barely visible bump on my stomach. "Both babies." He adds with a grin, "How're you feeling, huh? Nauseous?"

I shake my head beaming up at him, "I feel fine."

"That's good." He presses another kiss to my shoulder and then to the crown of my head, "Why don't you grab something to eat while I go get ready? Loki should be here any minute."

I nod, watching him take off up the stairs. A smile flirts at the corner of my lips as I watch my little girl dig into her stack of pancakes, getting whipped cream all over her lips.

I grab a napkin, wiping off her mouth with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Mummy!" She grins.

Just as Steve returns to the dining room, the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of our unlikely babysitter.

"I'll get it," Steve says, straightening out his jacket and planting a kiss on my cheek as he passes by.

I spot Loki standing on the other side of the door with a scowl as Steve throws the door open. I can't help by laugh at the sight of him and his perfectly crisp suit that is bound to get ruined throughout the day.

"Hey," I greet as Loki enters our home, "Thanks for doing this. I would've called Clint or Tony but they're both busy today."

"Yeah, we really appreciate this," Steve adds, clapping him on the back.

Soon, our over-friendly daughter hops into the living room, hugging Loki around his calves.

"Hi, Uncle Loki! Where's your helmet? I thought you said you would let me wear it?"

Loki scowl deepens as he nudges Brooklyn off him, but the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth gives him away. He would rather die before he admits it, but I for one think Loki rather enjoys spending time with our little girl.

"Try keeping your hands to yourself, dwarf, and maybe I'll let you."

Steve laughs at the exchange, shaking his head before turning to me, "You ready to go?"

I nod, grabbing my purse off the counter, "We left some money for food on the counter and her snacks are-"

"In the top cabinet. Yeah, yeah. I know." Loki grumbles.

"You're practically a pro at this now," I say giving him a quick hug, which he has grown used to by now- although it doesn't make him any less grumpy when I do it. "Be good for Uncle Loki!" I call out to Brooklyn before Steve shuts the front door.

"He'll never admit it, but he loves hanging out with her," I say when we're in the car and Steve is settled into the driver seat.

Bringing my hand to his lips for a kiss, Steve smiles, "He really does, doesn't he."

*

Soon, I find myself lying on my back on the examination table. The coolness of the gel hits me as soon as the doctor squirts a dollop onto my still relatively flat tummy.

The doctor had wanted to do a sonogram even though everything looked fine, just to see if we could hear the baby's heartbeat. Steve sits in the chair beside me, clutching onto my hand with a death-grip. This isn't our first rodeo but he still is nervous as hell- not that I could blame him.

Shadows flash across the screen of the machine as the doctor starts to move the wand around my belly. I could feel the doctor pushing down a little firmer with the wand and soon, rhythmic thumps starts to sound through the room.

I smile as I listen to the reassuring beats of my baby's heart.

"There you go. Nice and steady." The doctor says as Steve leans over, pressing a kiss to my temple. "A few more measurements and you both can be on your way."

Through the rest of the examination, Steve continues to stare at the screen with a look of awe on his face all while maintaining his solid grip on my hand.

He hasn't said anything, but I could tell that he was worried that things are going to go south. After our history, I can't say I wasn't worried either.

"Everything looks good," the doctor announces, "I'll see you back here in a month's time to check on the little one again. In the meantime, I thought Dad would want to keep this." He says, handing Steve a printout of our baby's heartbeat from the sonogram machine. He too must've picked up on Steve's anxiousness.

"Thanks, Doc," Steve says, smiling down at the slip.

I take a minute to change out of the paper gown I've been wearing and buttoned up my jeans before Steve takes my hand and leads me back to the car.

"Here," Steve hands me the slip of paper as he gets behind the wheel, "You better not lose it." He warns teasingly.

I laugh, leaning over the console to give him a kiss on the cheek, before turning my gaze to the slip, but I find my smile slipping as I notice at the time stamp on the corner. 4:05.