Chapter 3: I Love My Family

Scott stared across the littered battlefield, over the giant purple corpse of Thanos. People were reappearing out of thin air and coming back to life. And one of those people was the person he had missed more than anyone else.

Hope van Dyne drifted closer to him, peering at him as though he was from a dream. "It's... it's me," Scott choked up.

The couple rushed into each other's arms. Hope leapt into Scott's embrace, folding her limbs about him and kissing him furiously. While waiting in strange limbo for salvation, she had feared she would never see him or Cassie again. For weeks, she had searched among the disintegrated souls, hoping that maybe the father and daughter were some of the fallen. At the very least, they could have spent eternity together. It had agonized her to think that they would forever be apart.

"Where's... mmm... Cassie?" Hope gasped between desperate pecks.

"At the Avengers' compound. She's guarded and safe," Scott soothed. Setting his lover down gracefully, he captured her lips once. "Let's go home."

The surviving Avengers guided their comrades and loved ones down out of space, back through the Quantum Realm and into the restored, present timeline. And though there were so many things they all needed to say, the group barely spoke. Captain America led the whole tribe across the grassy plain where Sam Wilson and Scott had battled oh so long ago, on final approach to the compound. Across the expanse, Cassie and Rocket could be seen coming over the crest of a hill. Maggie broke into a run, Scott, Paxton and the Pyms close behind. "Cassie? Cassie!"

"Mom! Dad!" Cassie flung herself into her parents' arms. She squirmed when Maggie held her a little too long. "Grandpa Hank! Grandma Janet!" and she hugged Hope's parents as if she'd known them forever. When Cassie moved on to throw herself at Paxton's legs, Hank shot Scott a look.

"Grandpa?"

Scott grinned sheepishly. "I've told her quite a bit about you. All good things!"

"I don't mind," Janet laughed. "You know we already practically view Cassie as our grandchild."

"Please don't age me before my time," Hank grumbled. He looked horrified at the prospect of being a grand-anything.

Meanwhile, Cassie had glanced around Paxton to see Hope coming. "Hope!" She rushed for the Wasp, who promptly lifted her clean off the ground.

For Hope, everything else faded away. She kissed Cassie on her cheeks, her nose, her lips, all over her face. Hope buried her face in the girl's sweet-smelling hair. She was beside herself with relief.

"I love you so much!" Cassie chirped.

Tears clogged Hope's voice. "I love you, too," she croaked. "So much." Nuzzling the little girl's nose, they broke apart.

Most everyone else was staring at Hope in abject disbelief. The cold, bitchy Hope van Dyne - melted into a proverbial puddle over a child. Only Natasha was smiling knowingly. Mortified, Hope's eyes sought out Maggie, as if to apologize, but Maggie just beamed her approval.

Scott, meanwhile, was gazing at the sight with his heart swelled. The image of his child clutched in the arms of his girlfriend looked so right that he blurted out:

"Will you marry me?"

Hope's mouth adorably dropped open. She and Cassie looked at each other, the little girl clutching at Hope's suit, eyes shining.

"Say Yes... oh, Hope, say Yes!"

Hope glanced back to Scott and recognizing that gaze full of love, she weakly smiled. "Yeah," she said, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Scott grinned so wide, it nearly broke his face, as he sauntered over and took Hope in his arms. And with Cassie nestled between them, Scott and Hope embraced and kissed.

All of the Avengers and their associates were in attendance for Ant-Man and the Wasp's big day. Hank seemed to be holding himself in check at the prospect of walking his only daughter down the aisle. Natasha, Carol, Nebula and Maggie served as Hope's bridesmaids. Steve, Bruce, Clint and Luis served as Scott's groomsmen; in a rare gesture of magnanimity, Tony paid for everything.

Cassie literally skipped down the aisle as the flower girl, just as Hope had promised. And then came Hank down the aisle with Hope on his arm. He passed her off to Scott and the couple exchanged their rings. The minister blessed them and then announced, "Will Cassie Lang please step forward?"

Standing off to one side, Cassie came forward with a mask of deep confusion on her face. This hadn't been part of the rehearsal dinner! Instructed to stand so she was facing Hope, the bride knelt down, so that her skirts fanned out around her. Smiling sweetly, Hope caressed Cassie's face.

"Cassie, sweetie: look at me." Cassie did. "I know I'm not just marrying your dad. In a way, I'm marrying you because I am marrying into your family. I know I'm not your mother, unless you want me to be one. I would love just being your friend. I promise you that I will love you and protect you as long as there is breath in my body."

Cassie's eyes filled with tears and with a whimper, she hugged her stepmother. Then, she scurried back over to Natasha. Hope and Scott faced each other, ready to give their vows.

"We've come a long way to get here," Scott began. "I was lost for a long time, but then I found my Hope - literally and figuratively. And I realize that everything that came before you was just a stop, pointing me on my way into your loving arms. What a second chance - I don't intend to waste it."

By now, Hope was crying as she began her own vows. "Scott, I never thought I needed or wanted love... but then you broke into my house." The congregation chuckled. "You shrank and stole your way into my heart, and I'm going to make sure you never get out."

"I love you. I know it's banal compared to your wonderful words, but I love you." Holding his gaze, her eyes absolutely besotted, she pronounced with conviction, "I love my husband. I love my stepdaughter," and her eyes swiveled to Cassie even though that latter phrase had not been written in the vows.

Two minutes later, neither of those statements were any longer premature.

They were bathed in Hawaii moonlight, wrapped up in each other's naked, sweaty arms. The moon was beginning its descent in the sky. Rolling over, Hope checked the digital time on the nightstand. 3:15 AM.

"California's three hours ahead. She'll be getting up for school soon," she mused, tracing patterns along Scott's stomach as she rested her head on her husband's chest. She sighed. "Oh, our first moment of rest in almost three years, and all we can think about is our daughter."

She felt Scott jerk against her in surprise, and Hope sat up, registering his reaction. Her face flushed. "I'm sorry... I know I shouldn't be so... presumptuous, but..."

She was cut off as Scott kissed her so hard, he pressed her down into the mattress so he could straddle her. When they broke apart, his green eyes were clouded over with lust. "I freaking love how much you love my kid."

Hope blushed and looked down. "She's easy to love. Cassie's part of you..." A hand leaped to her mouth, and for a moment, Scott thought she was trying to hold back an emotional sob, but then she was pushing against him, begging to be let up. "Excuse me!" Hope squeaked and made a mad dash for the bathroom; soon, Scott could hear the sound of retching into the toilet. It was several minutes before his wife returned, holding a slip of paper in her hands. She was quivering, trembling, shaking.

"Oh my God... Oh my God! Scott!" She held the slip out to him, and he quickly sat up. A pregnancy test.

"Is that...? Are you...?"

Hope failed to hold back happy tears as they streamed down her cheeks. "Yes, I am."

A slight silence. And then, with a whoop, Scott sprang out of bed. Laughing, he picked Hope up and swirled her around. And when he set her down, the couple beamed into each other's eyes and shared a long, long kiss.

Five Months Later

Hope drummed a hand lazily along her baby bump as she busied herself at the sink, humming a little tune. Behind her, she felt Scott's arms encircle her, lacing her fingers with his. He dropped a kiss into her neck.

"Cassie will be here soon."

"Hmm," Hope purred contentedly. "I hope our baby's a girl, so that she can have a little sister."

Below them, a door opened and footsteps could be heard on the stairs. "Hello? Scott?" Maggie's voice echoed.

Cassie thundered up the steps in the lead. "Dad! Hope!" She flung herself into her father and stepmother's arms. Behind her, Maggie and Paxton came traipsing behind, watching with smiles as Cassie tentatively placed her hands on Hope's swollen belly. "Can I feel her?"

"She was kicking this morning. But I think she's sleeping, sweetie," Hope crooned. Cassie kissed her stomach as Scott moved to greet her mother and stepfather - a firm handshake for Paxton, a hug for Maggie. Maggie moved forward to embrace Hope.

"You're glowing!"

"I can't wait to help when the baby comes!" Cassie chirped.

Hope giggled. "I'll be glad to have you, Cassie - and the baby too!"

Cassie looked between her four parents, happy at how well they were interacting together. Soon, she would have a half sister, and a little brother by her mother and Paxton a few months behind. "I'm sorry our family's so complicated. I guess that's my fault."

The adults stared at her in shock. "Cassie..." Scott said slowly, kneeling before her. "We may be a complicated family, but we are all the better for it. We are all tied together because of you. Your mom and I..." he looked to Maggie. "We didn't work out. But you are the one thing we did right."

Hope watched the exchange smiling. She loved the way that Scott was with Cassie, and as she cradled her baby bump, it made her confident that he would make an excellent father to their own child.

All her life, Hope van Dyne Lang had been seeking to rebuild her family, and then make her own. Watching her husband and stepdaughter embrace, and then joining in the hug herself, Hope knew that she had finally found everything she wanted. A man who loved her, her unborn baby... and her first baby.