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Steve was holding his son James. He was rocking him back and forth in front of his crib trying to get him to sleep. He wasn't much of a singer but had tried singing a few lullabies that he knew (which weren't many) Like Rock a Bye Baby, Mockingbird and the hummed version of his theme song back from ww2. Baby James had already drifted off for a while now. But Steve just wanted to hold him just a little bit longer. He was tiny and so precious. He was all Steve had ever wanted and that made Steve so incredibly happy. As he was rocking James in his arms, his wife managed to sneak up on him the way she always did. " How's the little soldier" she says stroking their sons short red hair "I think he's just about tuckered out Nat" He turns to see his beautiful wife next to him dressed in her night gown. "He looks out to me" She notes placing her hand on Steve's shoulder "Let's go to bed". "I want to stay just a little bit longer" Steve says looking at his sleeping child. "I hope he never has to fight" He says to Nat but not looking at her. Natasha places her hand on Steve's cheek "I hope so too, but that's not really up to us Steve". Steve leans his face into her hand. " Steve, we've got a mission tomorrow, go to bed" she says reminding her husband of their duty. Steve sighed he had to do what was right and he didn't always like it. I know" he sighed "I just wish we could sometimes" "but if we did, who would make sure we're all safe" Natasha says looking at James still sleeping soundly. She carefully took James from his arms wanting to cradle her baby "It wouldn't be fair to everyone else". Steve wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek resting his chin on her shoulder. "I love you" he whispered to the both of them. Natasha smiled " I love you too Steve but we really need to get some sleep". "Nat" Steve whined "Just, enjoy the moment " Steve yawned nuzzling into her neck. Natasha laughed "As I said Mister America, time for bed". "Nat, your nagging" he yawned "You'll thank me in the morning" she kissed the top of his head. Natasha moved out of Steve's arms and carefully set James into his crib. She leaned over the railing and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She gently stroked his hair before she stepped away turning to her husband. She grabbed his hand and they retreated to their bedroom.
The next day, was not a good day. They had lost another of their own it wasn't Tony or Steve's fault. But as founders and leaders of the Avengers they both blamed themselves and Natasha knew it. She couldn't mourn the deaths of the fallen publicly because she had to stay strong for the others, her and Clint both. She couldn't help Tony with his grief, and he was definitely feeling this one but she could at the very least be there for Steve. Having said that Natasha had, had to leave Steve alone for a bit so she could go and get their son from Coulson. God bless Coulson. James met her with a smile and she held him tight.
When she returned with James, Steve was in the shower. So she set James down on a mat with some toys on it in the kitchen so she could make dinner. James just layed there under the arch and swatted at the hanging toys. Natasha smiled and began cooking. Since it had been such a hard day she decided to put in a little extra work (and waste a few supplies) to make blueberry pancakes. Steve's Favorite. It was cheesy yes, but it's make him feel a little better. She had to stop mixing the batter for a moment looking up trying to hold in her tears. She sighed wiping them gently from her eyes. 'Dammit Parker! ' She bit her lip and pushed past her tears. She needed to make dinner. It doesn't take very long to make pancake batter and she had probably over mixed it already. So she grabbed a skillet and sprayed it. She began pouring the batter. They didn't have a lot of extra food to spare making unnecessary meals, like blueberry pancakes for example. So she was making silver dollar pancakes so it would give the illusion of more when they couldn't afford it. She was very glad James hadn't quite gotten into eating actually food yet. That's when things would get complicated. She flipped the last few and put them on a group plate buttering them. She put the dirty skillet in the sink. She'd get to it later. She leaned against the counter inhaling waiting for Steve. It didn't take long for her to hear Steve's footsteps coming down the hall. She straightened up before he walked into the doorway. He looked at her and then at James playing and babbling on the floor laughter in every childish breath. He looked back up at Natasha her matching red hair and sad green eyes. He walked over to her and gave her a yearning hug slumping over. Natasha wrapped her arms around him stroking his soft damp hair. "Thank you" he whispered pressing his face gently into her shoulder "thank you so much for everything you've given me" Fin~