"Slowly," Steve whispered as he held your hand, his free hand resting against your back to help you sit on the edge of your bed for the first time since you had woken up. Your three children were sitting together on the far side of your hospital room, watching you eagerly, with Tony next to them by choice to keep himself from interfering and to allow Steve to take the lead. He wanted nothing more than to be at your side as well, but at least from here, he had a perfect vantage point to watch your every move.

"I'm okay."

"I'll be the judge," he answered softly, glancing up at Tony for just a second with a slight smirk, "you've been known to push."

"You've been known to overreact."

"I think this time I've earned the right."

You stopped with a squeeze of his hand, feeling slightly off balance with the shift in position, your head heavy enough to close your eyes to try to wait it out as he watched anxiously. "Maybe I shouldn't push..."

"Hey, Tony, did you hear that?" Steve chuckled slightly. "She just said that I was right."

"Yep, sure did, Cap," Tony agreed readily, "we all did."

"I did not!" you tried to argue, but it was falling on deaf ears.

"Semantics. It's what you meant." Steve turned to stand in front of you with his hands moving to your shoulders to hold you steady. When you looked up at him with heavy eyes and a gentle shake of your head, he wrapped an arm around you and another under your legs to swing you back into bed easily. "Alright, that's enough for today. It's only been a few hours, and even you don't heal that fast."

You stayed quiet while he pulled your blankets up and around you, making sure that you were covered and comfortable before taking his seat next to you just as he had done for every day that you had been there. "Steve," you turned to him quietly, "can we get a few minutes alone?"

"Of course. Hey, Tony, could you maybe take the kids to grab lunch for everyone?" he asked as he stood again, quickly crossing the room towards the group. "(Y/N) wants to talk about something and asked to clear everyone out," he explained in a low voice, "so we just need a little while if you don't mind."

"You got it, Dad," Anthony answered for him, "we can keep Grandpa busy."

"Thanks, bud. Here," he paused, pulling out some cash from his pocket, "grab whatever, we're not picky."

"You're serious?" Tony laughed. "Please, Steve, I've got it. You're forgetting that the entire team is in the lobby, and kindergarten rules apply with this group. Gotta bring enough for everyone."

"Right, thanks."

Stark stopped and looked at Steve for a moment, taking in the weariness and exhaustion in his frame. The two men hadn't yet had the chance to talk about anything since your surgery was complete, but just standing with each other in the silence, they both knew that they had so much to discuss; he knew a little of what Steve had been through to stop you, but Tony couldn't shake the pangs of jealousy in himself that he hadn't been the one to do it. "Steve, the only thing that you have to focus on right now is her, so you let me handle everything else, okay?"

His only reply from Steve was a quick nod and a firm pat on the back in agreement. Steve hurried back to your side once the group had gone, taking a seat on the edge of your bed with your hand in his as he waited patiently for you to begin.

"I remember it all," you finally sighed, keeping your gaze lowered, "and how I almost gave up, even when you were right there asking me not to. I thought it was just a dream that I was remembering at first, like from anesthesia or something, but I've been watching you and noticing how you look at me, and I realize that it wasn't a dream at all. You were there."

"Yes."

"That had to be terrible. I'm so sorry."

"Well," Steve cleared his throat nervously, "it...uh, yeah...it was rough...but I did what I had to. And Wanda...she's the one who got me to you, so if it wasn't for her..."

"I'd be dead."

His chest trembled when he took a breath, visibly uncomfortable with that idea, the surge of feelings that accompanied it slapping him with painful memories in a flood of still-raw emotions. "But you're not...and I don't know what I would do...(Y/N)," he stopped, sniffling gently, "I...I have to admit something, but I need you to promise me that you won't get upset."

"Okay, I promise." Your voice was cautious yet accepting, hoping that whatever bomb he was about to drop on you wouldn't be so destructive that you would have to break the promise that had barely just passed through your lips.

"If we didn't have the kids," he began, his tone almost shy, "I don't think I'd be able to keep going if you didn't make it. The only thing that kept me from thinking about what I would do were those three. I got a glimpse of what it felt like to see your last day before I saw my own, and I don't know if I can do it again. I mean, you've been injured before, sure, and I've been worried, but there's always been hope. This..." he stopped, shaking his head and avoiding your eyes, "this was nothing like that. When I was the only thing between you and that damn light that wouldn't stop pulling you in, I had no hope left. When you just slipped through my hands like nothing, it was the worst feeling that I've ever experienced. I wanted to go with you, (Y/N)."

"Steve..."

"No, it's okay," he corrected quickly, trying to brighten his expression and force a small smile, "don't put that on yourself, please. That's my baggage, and I can carry it. I guess I just needed to tell you."

"I'm glad that you did."

"Really?"

"Yeah," you scoffed, "because that just means that neither of us can ever die. There's no way in hell that I'm letting you go first."

"That could be problematic," he muttered, though nodding in agreement. "Definitely cannot be before Tony, trust me. You weren't here to see that guy lose it like we were."

"Agreed, but let me tell you, Bucky is no ray of sunshine when you're hurt either, mister. Throw Sam in that mix and you had better take me with you just so I don't have to deal with those two at the same time." The two of you laughed softly but restrained, exchanging glances but looking away awkwardly, unsure of how to free yourself from the shift in topic until Steve finally took the leap.

"This is a really macabre conversation, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but can you blame us? We've actually looked at death. That has to change a person."

"Hmm," he agreed under his breath, suddenly perking up when he thought he knew what would bring you a smile, "but, hey, great news! The doctor checked everything out and said that it looks like the baby is doing okay after everything."

Your mouth opened slightly and your expression dropped, staring back at your husband with a hint of terror in your eyes as his words assaulted your mind and senses while trying to make sense of them. "Whose...baby...?"

"Ours?"

"We're having a baby?"

"Oh my god, you didn't know."

"What gave it away? The look of shock? The trembling hands? Or maybe the vomit that I'm about to spew all over you?"

Steve jumped out of his chair and took a precautionary step back, knowing that your aim was far too accurate to take the chance in staying that close. He never once thought about the idea that you hadn't had the chance to find out on your own before the accident happened and just made the assumption on his own. "Um...Ant sensed her-"

"Her?"

"I'm surprised that you haven't."

"Well, I've been a little occupied..."

When you didn't make good on your vomit threat, Steve took slow and purposeful steps back to you and sat on the edge of the bed to take your hand, waiting and watching as your mind raced with the news that he had been given longer to process than you, and that he had come to accept already. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but...we don't have enough bedrooms."

"That's what you're worried about?" he chuckled, reaching up to push a stay hair from your face as he continued to watch you closely. "We can do a remodel, don't worry about that. Actually, I was kind of hoping...that maybe...we could move back to the compound for a while until she's born. It would be nice to have the extra help, right? The kids are just about done at the Sanctum, so they'll be back too. Tony would be ecstatic to have you there again, and I know for a fact that Nat would love to have you around to give her pointers with Allie."

"You want me to have babysitters, just say it like it is, Steve."

"Hey! I jumped between you and death, doll. You're damn right I want babysitters."

"I know you miss going on missions too," you grumbled, "so do I, but clearly, that's on hold again." When you looked at him now, he almost had the excitement of a little kid in his eyes, hoping so much that you would say yes and that he could play with his friends again. After what the man had been through over the past few days, you knew that to see him like this was a gift and something that would have been lost forever if you hadn't made it back. It was a look that you had a terrible time denying, and he knew it; you also knew his back-up in this fight would be Tony, so you decided to just give in now. "Alright, you win. Now stop looking at me like that."

A slow smirk formed, curling at the edges of his lips until you couldn't help but smile with the big jerk. "Like what?" he asked playfully, leaning in closer. "Are you telling me that I have a way to get what I want? This is amazing, and I feel so powerful all of the sudden."

"Stop it," you scolded, though your smile was only growing at his lighthearted shift in mood and with each inch closer to you.

"Stop what?" he cooed, his lips just about to connect to yours, when a new voice in the room stopped him.

"Stop acting like you're not in a hospital room and about to do something nasty up in here," Sam interrupted, leaning against the doorframe with his arms tightly crossed over his chest. "Nobody wants to see that, you guys."

"Hey, the last time that I kissed my wife was in her imagination, to keep her from choosing death over me..." Steve paused, furrowing his brow in an awkward review of his own words. "That sounded weird, right?"

"To anyone else but us, I suppose," Sam shrugged. "Around here, that's just another day."