5 Avengers and a Baby - Chapter 20

Tragedy strikes Avengers Tower and right at Christmas time! What will happen to our happy, little Avengers family and their adorable little Captain America toddler? Read on and enjoy! (Sorry this Christmas chapter is so late!)

Steve unsteadily wanders around the snowy ground in his heavy boots, entertaining himself as he makes prints in the freshly fallen snow. He pulls at the scarf wrapped around his face so only his eyes are peeking out, but it's hard to get a grip with the mittens on his little hands and the puffy jacket he's wearing makes it difficult to move.

"You need to keep that on, Shorty," Tony kneels next to the bundled toddler and re-wraps the scarf and pulls the knitted hat over Steve's little ears. "It's freezing out here."

Steve frowns from behind the scarf, but toddles away with the pom-pom on his hat bobbing on his head.

"What about this one?" Clint points to a large, fir tree.

"Not big enough," Tony shakes his head and follows after Steve.

"Not big enough? It's got to be 10 feet tall!" Clint laughs.

"Yeah. Not big enough," Tony shrugs. "Steve, lets find a really big tree."

"Big tee!" Steve giggles and 'runs' up to a tree and points at it. "Dat one?"

"That is a big tree," Tony looks up at the huge pine tree.

"Tony, that's a massive tree. It's got to be nearly 15 feet."

"The Tower has tall ceilings. It's perfect. What do you think, Shorty? Should we get this one?"

"Yah!" Steve nods.

"The Toddler has spoken," Tony smirks.

"Geez, do you think you got a big enough tree?" Bruce stares at the massive Christmas tree in the middle of the living room.

"Steve picked it out," Tony winks at the toddler as he pauses from chasing Hamster Bucky with his hands full of ornaments and grins up at the Inventor.

"Lets get this tree decorated," Natasha starts stringing lights and Steve takes that as a cue and starts putting his ornaments on the tree.

"Horsey, Bucky," Steve smiles and shows the hamster the horse drawn sleigh ornament before he hangs it on the tree.

With all of the Avengers decorating, the large tree is soon covered in lights and ornaments.

"Can you tell where Steve decorated?" Clint smiles and points to a spot on the tree that is heavily covered in ornaments.

"Perhaps Steven would like to put the star on top of our glorious tree?" Thor asks and Steve nods.

Steve picks up the star with both of his little hands and stands in front of Thor with a big grin on his face. The Asgardian picks the Toddler up and starts to spin Mjolnir. Thor zips up the tree with Steve in one arm as he holds onto Mjolnir with the other. Steve leans over and carefully places the star on top of the tree before he looks back to Thor.

"It looks most excellent, Little One," Thor smiles and they return to the ground.

"Everyone ready for the grand finale?" Clint glances behind him as he kneels in front of the wall with the plug of the lights poised in front of the electrical outlet.

"Ready!" The Avengers all shout and Clint pushes the plug into the outlet.

"Tee," Steve points to the glowing tree.

"I'd say that is one fantastic looking tree," Tony crosses his arms as they all gaze at the beautiful Christmas tree.

"Indeed," Thor agrees and sets Steve back onto the floor.

Natasha starts to clear away the boxes and bins that the ornaments had been stored in and Steve decides to help her. He starts to pick up the loose ornaments that didn't make it onto the tree and carefully places them into one of the empty bins, but he stops when one of the ornaments slips out of his grip and falls to the floor. The Reindeer ornament cracks in half and Steve carefully picks up the two pieces and brings it to Tony.

"Bo-ken, Oh-ny," Steve frowns and sadly holds up the broken ornament.

"It's okay, Shorty," Tony kneels next to the Toddler and takes the ornament from him. "I think we can fix it."

"Fix?" Steve asks, hopeful that the ornament can be saved.

"I think so. Come on, lets see if we can fix it," Tony smiles. Steve follows Tony into the kitchen and Hamster Bucky is close behind. "Here, you hold this piece," Tony hands the Toddler the front half of the reindeer while he pulls open a drawer and digs around until he finds a tube of glue. He spreads the glue over the half he's holding before he adds some to the half that Steve is holding. "Alright, Shorty. Now we push the two halves together. Ready?" Tony asks and Steve nods, watching closely as Tony presses the two halves together and holds it there for a moment. After a few seconds the two halves are mended together and Steve beams at Tony, amazed that they fixed the reindeer. "See? All fixed."

"Fixed!" Steve exclaims.

"Should we hang this one on the tree, Steve?" Tony asks and Steve nods. "Where should we hang it?"

Steve points to a spot as high as he can reach and Tony carefully hangs the mended ornament on the branch. Steve picks up Bucky and hugs the hamster ball tightly and smiles proudly up at the reindeer ornament.

"Nice job, gentlemen," Natasha picks Steve up and the Toddler yawns. "Now that the tree is all decorated, I think it may be someone's nap time."

"No nap, Sha-sha," Steve shakes his head.

"Yes, nap," Natasha walks down the hall to Steve's room, but the Toddler is too tired to argue too much. With minimal resistance, Natasha lays Steve down in his airplane bed and tucks him in with Hamster Bucky. "Take a good nap, Steve and then we'll go see Santa tonight. Does that sound like a good idea?"

"Santa?" Steve's eyes light up.

"Yeah, you can tell him what you want for Christmas," Natasha smiles and pulls the blanket over Steve. "But he only brings presents for good kids, so you have to be good and take a nap first, okay?"

"Kay," Steve squeezes his eyes shut to go to sleep.

Natasha smiles and draws the curtains and turns on the night light before quietly closing the door.

"I think it sounds like someone is up," Bruce smirks from behind his newspaper when he hears Steve's voice in the nursery.

"That wasn't a very long nap," Tony frowns and glances down at his watch.

"Better go check on the Rugrat," Clint replies from the sofa, but doesn't make any sign of getting up and leaving the video game he's playing. Tony looks over to Bruce who is hiding behind his newspaper.

"Alright, don't everyone get up at once," Tony huffs and starts to walk down the hall to the nursery. "Hey pal," Tony greets as he slowly opens the door to the nursery to check on Steve. "What are you doing up already?"

"Oh-ny," Steve looks up from where he's sitting on the floor with Hamster Bucky. "Bucky." He holds up the hamster ball to Tony.

"What's wrong with Bucky?" Tony asks as he sits on the floor next to Steve to check on the Hamster. The Inventor's heart sinks when he opens the hamster ball to find that Hamster Bucky isn't looking very good.

"Bucky seepy?" Steve hands Tony one of the blankets off of his plane bed for the hamster.

"I don't think Bucky's sleepy, Stevie," Tony sighs and sets the blanket back on the bed. "I think Bucky isn't feeling very good."

"Bucky bo-ken?" Steve looks at Tony with sad, blue eyes.

"I think Bucky might be broken," Tony sighs.

Steve takes the hamster ball from Tony and rushes down the hall.

"Steve! Where are you going?" Tony pushes himself up off the floor with a great deal of effort. "Ugh, getting too old to have a toddler," he grumbles and follows after Steve.

"Hey, Steve," Clint smiles as he completes the level on his video game when Steve wanders past the living area and into the kitchen, but pauses when he notices how sad Steve is. "What's wrong?"

Tony makes a face and shakes his head as he nods to the hamster ball in Steve's arms.

"Oh-ny fix?" Steve points to the drawer that Tony had pulled the glue out of before when the ornament had broke.

"Oh, Stevie," Tony winces when he starts to follow the Toddler's train of thought and kneels next to Steve. "I don't think I can fix Bucky like we fixed the ornament, Pal."

Steve hugs the hamster ball tightly and tears start to streak down his cheeks. "Peas fix Bucky?"

Tony sighs and glances over to the living area where Clint and Bruce are both watching the conversation. They both vehemently shake their heads when the Inventor glances their way, signaling him not to make the promise he has no way of keeping.

"The thing is, Steve," Tony frowns and turns his attention back to the Toddler. "Papa Tony can fix lots of stuff, but I don't think I can fix Hamster Bucky. Fixing hamsters is different than fixing ornaments."

"Peas Oh-ny," Steve pleads and looks at Tony with huge, teary eyes. "Teve love Bucky."

Tony starts to panic and his gaze shifts between Steve's heartbreaking face to the two Avengers in the living room waving their arms and shaking their heads. "Okay, Steve. I'll see if I can fix Bucky," Tony crumbles, not knowing what else to say. Bruce face palms from his seat in the living room.

"Tony…" Clint shoots the Inventor a disapproving look, but before Tony can answer, Natasha walks into the room.

"What's wrong?" She asks when she sees Steve's upset little face.

"Bucky is sick and Tony just told Steve he's going to try to fix him," Clint whispers to her as Steve holds up the hamster ball to Tony.

"Hey Steve," Natasha shoots a look similar to Clint's to Tony before she turns to the Toddler. "Why don't we go watch a movie while Tony, Bruce, and Clint talk."

"S'okay, Bucky. Oh-ny fix," Steve looks up at the hamster before taking Natasha's hand and following her into the living room.

"What were you thinking?" Clint and Bruce both simultaniously ask once the Toddler is out of earshot.

"Shhh," Tony glances over to Steve and Natasha in the living area before hustling them both into the elevator to continue their conversation. "You saw his face. What was I supposed to say. Teve loves Hamster Bucky!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure telling Steve that you will fix Hamster Bucky when he's clearly not fixable was not a great choice," Bruce frowns.

"I know, I know," Tony groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I panicked. I had to tell him something."

"What are you going to do?" Clint folds his arms and waits for the Inventor to pull out a miracle plan out of thin air.

"Go buy him another hamster?" Tony shrugs.

"Tony," Bruce frowns.

"You guys have any better ideas?"

"No, but lying to him isn't a good idea either," Clint looks down at the sick hamster. "You should have just been up front with him and not made him a promise that you have no way of keeping."

"You know, I'm hearing a lot of criticizing and not a lot of solutions coming from you two."

"Fine," Bruce sighs. "How about this: there's a vet downtown. Maybe they can fix him."

"Genius," Tony deadpans. "Lets go."

The three Avengers drive downtown to the veterinarian's office and get checked in. The receptionist shuffles them into a small exam room and they wait for the doctor.

"Hello, gentlemen," the veterinarian greets as he walks in. "My name is Dr. Alec. I understand we have a little hamster who's not feeling very well today."

"Yeah, he's not looking so hot, Doc," Tony sets the hamster ball on the exam table.

"He was acting normally this morning and suddenly became lethargic this afternoon," Bruce explains while Dr. Alec does his exam on Hamster Bucky.

"He is definitely not doing well. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything I can do for this little guy," Dr. Alec frowns at the very sick hamster. "I can send you home with some medications that will help him be more comfortable until he passes, but I think the best choice for Bucky would be to put him to sleep."

"There's got to be something we can do, Doc," Tony sighs, desperate for any shred of hope that they can save Steve's beloved pet. "He belongs to a little two and a half year old boy, Steve, and he loves this hamster. Like, really loves him. It follows him around the house and they play together. They're best pals and he wants me to fix him, so I have to fix him."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but he's just not fixable. What I would recommend is talking to Steve and explain to him that Bucky is really sick and let him say goodbye. I understand it's not going to be easy, but it's honestly the best choice for Bucky."

"Alright," Bruce interrupts before Tony can say anything. "We understand. Thank you, Doctor."

"Take as much time as you need. I'll come back and check in with you soon," Dr. Alec nods and leaves the room.

"We can't just give up," Tony immediately starts before Bruce can stop him. "We have to think of something."

"Tony, look at him," Clint holds up the hamster ball. "He's on his way out. There's no saving him."

"What am I going to tell Steve?" Tony slumps in the chair and rubs his hand across his face.

"The truth," Bruce sets his hand on Tony's shoulder and hands him his phone. "Call Natasha. Have her bring Steve over."

Tony reluctantly takes the phone and calls the Tower. A little while later, Natasha walks into the exam room with Steve, followed by Dr. Alec.

"Bucky," Steve grins and Tony hands him the hamster ball. Steve's smile fades when he sees that Bucky is still just laying in the bottom of the ball. "Bucky till bo-ken?"

"Yeah, Pal," Tony kneels in front of Steve. "Bucky's still broken."

"Oh-ny fix Bucky?" Steve starts to hand the hamster ball back to Tony, but the Inventor frowns and shakes his head.

"I can't fix him, Stevie. Bucky's really, really sick," Tony explains and Steve just hugs the hamster ball and sniffs. "I know you really love Bucky, but he feels really yucky. Dr. Alec can help him feel better, but that means that we have to say goodbye to Bucky, Pal."

Steve sits on the floor with Bucky and reaches in to pet him with tears falling down his little cheeks. "Love you, Bucky," Steve hugs the hamster ball one last time before he looks up at the doctor and holds up Bucky to him.

"I can tell you and Bucky are really good friends, Steve and you're being very brave for him," Dr. Alec gives Steve a hug before he takes Bucky out of the hamster ball. He gives Bucky the shot to put him to sleep and Steve pets him one last time.

"Bye, Bucky," Steve whispers through his tears before Tony picks him up and they walk out to the car.

"I'm really proud of you, Steve," Tony gives the little toddler a hug and Steve just buries his face in Tony's neck while he holds the empty hamster ball close. "You made a very hard choice and did what was best for Bucky. He was lucky to have a friend like you."

"Where have you all been?" Thor asks when they all walk off the elevator and into the Tower.

"Steve's had a hard day," Natasha whispers and points back to Tony with the sleeping Toddler in his arms, the empty hamster ball still hugged close.

"We had to put Bucky down today at the vet's," Tony explains and lays Steve on the sofa. The toddler sighs and curls around the hamster ball gripped tightly in his arms.

"That is most tragic," Thor frowns.

"Poor, Kid took it pretty hard,' Bruce sighs. "He loved that hamster."

"I know. We can't let Christmas end on a sad note. We need to do something to cheer Steve up."

"What are we going to do?" Natasha asks.

"I don't know yet. But I'll think of something," Tony promises.

"Steve," Natasha pokes the little Toddler. "Hey, wake up. It's time to go see Santa."

"Santa?" Steve rubs his eyes.

"Yeah, do you still want to go see Santa?" Natasha asks and Steve nods. "Lets get ready to go."

Clint, Tony, and Steve all get ready to go, but Steve quickly runs back to the sofa and grabs the empty hamster ball before he runs back to Tony.

"Steve, do you really want to bring the hamster ball?" Tony frowns. Steve just nods and walks onto the elevator. Knowing better than to try to argue with the stubborn Toddler, Tony surrenders and hits the button to go down to the garage.

The three of them wait in line to see Santa once they arrive at the mall. It's finally Steve's turn and he sheepishly walks up to the strange man.

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" Santa shouts and smiles at Steve. "What's your name, Little Guy?"

"Teve," Steve shyly answers and Clint gives him a little nudge to get closer to Santa.

"Hello Steve. Would you like to come up here and tell me what you would like for Christmas?"

Steve nods and Tony sets him up on Santa's lap.

"Well, I can tell that you've been a really good little boy this year and I would love to bring you something for Christmas tomorrow morning. What would you like, Steve?"

"Bucky," Steve holds up the hamster ball and Santa looks back at Clint and Tony for an explanation.

"Um, Bucky was his hamster that died this morning," Tony explains with a wince.

"Oh, I see," Santa nods and turns back to Steve.

"Steve, Santa can't bring Bucky back either, Pal," Clint whispers to the Toddler.

"It's okay," Santa smiles at Clint before looking back to Steve with a sympathetic smile. "It's not easy having to say goodbye, is it Steve?"

Steve shakes his head.

"And for Christmas you want Bucky back."

Steve nods.

"I'm sorry, Steve, but your friend is right. I can't bring Bucky back. Even Santa has his limits."

Steve sighs and frowns at the empty hamster ball in his hands.

"But you know what? I think that if Bucky were still here he would want you to be happy and enjoy Christmas with the friends you have. Do you think Bucky would want you to be happy, Steve?"

Steve nods again.

"You know what else, Steve? If you remember all the happy times you had with Bucky he will always be right here with you," Santa smiles and points to Steve's heart.

Steve looks up at Santa and smiles a little before he hugs him. "Tay you, Santa," he says before he hops down to the floor and takes Clint's hand.

"You're very welcome, Steve. Merry Christmas."

Tony, Clint and Steve drive back to the Tower from the mall and ride the elevator up to the penthouse. Steve stands between Tony and Clint, hamster ball still in hand, when the doors slide open.

"Merry Christmas, Steve!" a horde of people shout. Steve flinches, startled by the greeting, but his surprise quickly turns into a big smile when he sees all of his friends waiting for him around the warm glow of the Christmas tree.

"Heard you had a rough day, Stevie," Bucky walks over and smiles at Steve.

"Bucky," Steve holds his hands up and Bucky picks him up.

"We all wanted to come by and make you feel better," Peter waves with one hand and a holds a plate full of food in the other.

"Pee!" Steve waves back before he turns to Bucky and points to Peter. "Pie-man."

"Man, does everyoneknow your secret identity?" Clint smirks and elbows Peter jokingly.

"Because we love you, Steve!" Jane beams and gives Steve a big kiss on the cheek.

"Jay!" Steve beams back.

"Merry Christmas, Handsome," Darcy gives Steve a big kiss on the other cheek and Steve giggles.

"Dicey," Steve gives Darcy a hug.

"I didn't bring any energy drinks for you this time, Pal," Sam walks over and takes Steve from Bucky, throwing him in the air before he gives him a big hug and sets him back down to the floor. "But I did bring you this to hopefully help you feel better." Sam hands the Toddler a picture frame with a photo of both of them, Bucky and Chucky from when they went to Chucky Cheese.

"Uncle Sam!" Steve grins up at the man. "Tucky!"

"Stupid rat," Bucky grumbles with a smile when he looks at the photo with Steve.

"Merry Christmas, Steve," Pepper scoops Steve up and snuggles him.

"Bep!" Steve giggles and scrunches up when Pepper cuddles him.

"Are you happy to see all your friends, Shorty?" Tony laughs and puts his arm around Pepper as she holds the Toddler.

"Yah!" Steve giggles and looks around the room at all of the people he loves.

The rest of the night is spend laughing, eating, and enjoying the holiday together. By the time the last person leaves, there's not a bite of food left and the Avengers are all sprawled out on the sofas in the living area.

"That was a really sweet thing you did for Steve," Pepper smiles at Tony from where she's sitting on one of the big, comfy chairs.

"Wasn't just me. Everyone pitched in to make it happen," Tony smirks down at Steve who is next to him, curled up and sleeping on top of the soft arm of the sofa.

"The Kid deserved a happy ending to the day," Clint pulls Natasha closer to him from where they're sitting next to each other on the sectional.

"It was indeed a very merry Christmas," Thor boasts as he throws his feet up on the lounge seat at the end of the sectional.

"Good work today, Avengers," Bruce raises his glass and the rest of the Avengers follow his lead. "To a very special Christmas."

"And to Hamster Bucky, the most well loved hamster to have ever walked this earth," Tony adds and the Avengers all nod and toast the little Hamster.