Chapter Text
Chapter One
Steve and Peggy Rogers had the prefect life. Prefect wasn’t quite the word, but Steve like to think it was close as possible. They married straight out of high school, Peggy pursuing her career in the military while Steve continued to art school. Steve had just graduated when Peggy told him he was going to be a father. Peggy’s family wasn’t exactly happy that Peggy had decided to leave the military because she wanted to stay home. Most of them criticized Steve for pursuing his dreams of being an artist. At least until he luckily had secured a wonderfully paying job at Thor’s Comics. He had interned there and they’d hired him straight away after graduation. Steve was happy with the excellent pay and benefits, he considered himself lucky he had landed it with his growing family. Peggy’s family grumbled but finally let up.
Tony Rogers was born perfectly healthy and Steve couldn’t be a prouder father, especially after his rough childhood. Peggy teased him as she nursed the dark hair infant. Peggy was just about to start back into the workforce when she’d had some stomach bug that wouldn’t go away. Peggy and Steve hadn’t planned on having another child so soon but it was only a year later when Natasha with her bright red hair, surprised them. One trip to the ER later and they went home with Natasha.
“It’s a recessive gene, dear, it’s quite beautiful.” Peggy brushed her fingers over the little tuff on the baby’s head while Steve managed a half smile his nerves worn thin.
After Nat, Steve took a little more care but Peggy just smiled and adjusted accordingly. For a while they were content with their little family of four, Tony and Nat were a handful, Tony always chewing on something or trying to pull it apart while Natasha was happy simply watching her brother with sisterly interest. Steve reading to the children every night and Peggy singing softly to lull them to sleep.
Three years after Nat, there was Jane, with her beautiful brown hair and brown eyes, who only slept when Steve rocked her to sleep, much to Peggy’s teasing. Nat and Tony were eager to help an anyway that could which was tremendous help to their mother. A year after Jane was Bruce. It was very soon after his birth that he needed corrective glasses but Peggy brushed all his worrying aside and assured him it was perfectly fine for Bruce to need glasses and they would deal with the punches as they rolled in. With their growing family, Steve moved them into a larger house. A little bit outside of New York but close enough that it wasn’t a burden to get to work. It had 4 levels: Two for living, one was a basement and the other the attic, both were refurbished to be livable, the basement housed their large kitchen as well. The children had the second floor all to themselves, a large shared spaced for their bedroom and a large loft style play area. The main floor was functionality, the master bedroom, living room, dining room, sun room for Peggy and Steve’s home office. Their attic floor was mostly storage, but also housed a separate bathroom and bedroom and living space.
Two years after Bruce though, Peggy called him at work. She was being used as an emergency foster parent, her friend, Martha Rhodes, was giving up her son, James, for adoption and she had pleaded with Peggy to file to adopt him. Peggy with her big heart and loving nature had of course, agreed. Steve on the other hand was already wearing thin, Peggy’s health wasn’t exactly prefect, the children taking their toll on her body. While his salary was enough to get them by, Peggy’s uncle, Nicholas Fury, had taken over the mortgage of their home. As a favor to my niece the older man stuck his hand out for the deed to the house. Steve gritted his teeth but with Peggy’s hand on his arm and sad smile on her face, Steve reluctantly handed it over. A favor was a debt; Steve was sure of it but held his tongue. Uncle Fury hired a new cook, Mrs. Sif, to ease the burden on Peggy even though Steve had fought against it. He had also wanted to hire a maid to clean, but thankfully Peggy fought that. Steve didn’t think he could handle any more people invading their home.
Steve pleaded with Peggy to allow him to get a vasectomy. He was worried about the toll on her body any more children could take. She had venomously fought against any sort of birth control and she was desperately allergic to latex. She told repeatedly told him, if God blessed them with children, she’d happily bear them. Neither one of them grew up in a big family. Peggy was an only child, she longed for a big family like those she’d seen on her block. Steve was hopelessly sick as a child as such his mother was a slave to keeping him healthy.
Just a few months after they took in James, or “Rhodey” as Tony had started to call him, Maria came to them, first as a foster, then as permanent part of their family. Steve wasn’t sure how much more Peggy could take. But his nerves were completely shot when Peggy took seriously ill and at the same time they found out she was pregnant. Again.
“No Steve, put off the medicine until the baby’s born, please. I can handle it. I can Steve. Please.” The doctors argued, and Peggy was on bedrest for most of the pregnancy, she had Wanda, with practiced ease, thankfully.
She lived one more blissful year before she was taken away from Steve and their seven children. While Steve was still grieving, Uncle Fury stepped in and took control of their finances.