The entire decision to write more of this series came from the image above.

"Uncle Steve, how much longer is it gonna be?"

"They'll let us know when they let us know, Allie. Just like I told you five minutes ago."

"Well, duh," the girl snickered, "thanks, Captain Obvious."

"Hey," Steve retorted, finally looking over the outdated magazine that he had read at least a dozen times, "let's watch that attitude, alright? I know you're a Barton, but come on, you've gotta lock that down."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I know that we're all tired, and it's hard to wait, but we're all in the same boat that you are, kiddo." Steve returned to his reading, holding the magazine in one hand while the other gently patted Allie's back as she continued to lay flopped over his legs in exasperation. They had been waiting at the hospital for so many hours that even he had lost count, but the last time that he had been brave enough to ask for an update, Natasha glared at him until he turned and ran back to the lobby.

"Uncle Steve?"

"Yeah, Allie?"

"Are you excited?"

Steve slowly and thoughtfully closed the book and set it on the small table next to his chair, brow furrowed as he thought about the answer he would give the little girl. She was barely eight-years-old now, and despite the intelligence that she had inherited from her parents and a little bit from you, he felt the need to be careful with how he approached her question. "Well, yeah, sure," he nodded with a quiet sigh, "we all are. I'm probably more excited than anyone else that this will be the last time that I get to go through this with your Aunt (Y/N), but yes, I'm excited to have a new member of the family. I know for a fact that your parents are beyond excited more than any of us."

Allie too took an expression that mimicked her uncle, furrowing her brow much as he was, and she knew that if he could see her face, he would be laughing at her attempt. "Do you think..." she began, but paused, taking a shaky breath, "do you think they'll be too busy with a new baby-"

"Allie, don't even go there," Steve warned, albeit softly. He bounced his knees a few times to try to get her attention to make her stand, but when she didn't, he grabbed her waist and sat her up, turning her so that she could sit on his lap to get her full focus. "Your mom and dad are very happy, but let me tell you something. The day that you were born was nothing like this. They were out of their minds with how happy they were to meet you. There's no way that they will ever be too busy for you, sweetheart, I promise. They love you so much, don't ever worry about that, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Steve."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

It had to have been at least another hour before Allie would try again, only to get the same answer from Steve yet again, that they would just have to keep waiting. Steve was being honest when he said that they were all suffering with her, taking a quick glance around the hospital waiting room; Sam and Bucky had left to grab dinner for everyone, taking Scott and Peter along just to give them an excuse to get outside. Wanda was asleep, her head resting heavily against Vision's shoulder as he sat perfectly still as to not wake her. Bruce and Thor were back at the compound, keeping watch for any official business that might come up, and Tony and your trio were in the room with you, as were Clint and Nat; it began to annoy Steve that none of them had the decency to bring any news to him for the past several hours.

"Alright, I'll go in and give it another try," he finally decided, lifting Allie up and into the chair next to him, "you stay here, okay? I'll see if I can work up enough courage to stare down your mom until she cracks."

"I believe in you, Uncle Steve."

"Ha! Thanks, kid." Steve stood with a playful ruffle of her hair and long stretch, an uncomfortable crack in his back from sitting in the cheap chairs for so long. "Yep, I'm officially old," he grumbled into a yawn as he found energy from somewhere to make his legs move. He made his way to the door, reaching out to pull it open only seconds before Anthony appeared on the other side, pushing it into him.

"Oh! Hey, Dad! I was just coming out to give you guys an update!"

"It's about time. How's it going in there?"

"Mom's great, but that's not a surprise. She's only popped out like, a thousand kids already."

"Uh huh," Steve answered flatly, "so how much longer do you think before-"

"That's what I was coming out to say," Ant interrupted with a wide smile, his hand up to stop him, "it's a boy!"

~~~

Once the initial excitement died down, and the team began to slowly make their way back home to the compound, Nat and Clint settled into the hospital room next to yours so that they could stay with their new son. Steve said his goodnights to your three and sent them back with Tony so that he could stay with you for the night and bring you home first thing in the morning. The nurses had offered to bring in a cot for your husband, only to find that it was a moot point when he had already settled in next to you before they could find one anyway. It had been months since you were able to sleep comfortably, and now that your final run at pregnancy was over, he was more than ready to snuggle in at your side.

"You big oaf, you take up the whole bed," you groaned, nudging him with your elbow until he scooted closer to the edge.

"Hey, it's a small bed."

"They offered you a cot."

"Do you want me to sleep on the floor?" he asked with annoyance, pushing up on his elbow to hold the higher ground. "I thought this was okay. It was for the last thousand times you've done this."

"Excuse me? Thousand times?"

Steve sighed, disappointed in himself with his shoulders dropping in defeat at the realization of how that sounded, "I'm sorry, doll. Anthony said that earlier, I guess it stuck. I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just tired."

"You and me both," you yawned. "I'm sorry, too. You can stay, it's fine. I want you here, I promise." Turning to face him, you pressed into his side, all but forcing him to drop back down onto the mattress so that you could rest your head against his chest. "Mmm, you're a nice pillow."

"Are you calling me soft?"

"I would never," you smiled to yourself, "even if it were true."

"Okay, that's just great. Really helpful, doll. Pay no mind to my ego."

"M'kay." The pull of sleep was quick to find you, and you could feel every muscle in your body give into the relaxation. Steve was feeling the same, his arm growing heavy even as it was draped around you. You welcomed it, to finally be able to say goodbye to what this process did to you for the last time and to let your body heal, but your mind jolted you awake, the reminder of something that you had promised to tell him, and the fear that you might forget if you didn't do it right now. "Steve? You awake?"

"I wasn't."

"I'm sorry, but there's something that I promised to the kids that I'd tell you, and you know they'll kill me if I don't."

"What is it? Please don't tell me that we're going to be grandparents."

"Oh my god!" you gasped. "How did you get to that? They're 14!"

"Worst case scenario, babe," he mumbled, still half asleep, "it's what I do."

"No, it's nothing like that. They wanted me to ask you...well, not really ask..." you stammered, suddenly feeling nervous for the first time next to him in a very long time, "they wanted to do it themselves..."

"Spit it out, (Y/N)." Steve had done his best to keep his eyes closed and to maintain a false sense of comfort as he waited, but moments like this had a history of not turning out the way he would want, and his anxiety was trying to get the best of him. He wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and that this wouldn't be so bad to hear, whatever it was, but his mind raced anyway. When the words finally left your lips, his eyes shot open, and the mind that was muddled and anxious was immediately left blank.

"They want you to start training them for the team."