Long overdue...It's been sitting as a draft for months now. My goal is to write a part two to this messy stream of ideas.

"You have three meetings this afternoon," Charlotte said as a way of greeting, shooting Bruce a smile as she walked towards Tony's side of the lab.

"You know, I made Pepper CEO for a reason," Tony contemplated, lifting his welding helmet in a rather dramatic fashion and leveling her with a long stare.

"Yeah, well, investors still prefer to hear the logistics of new tech from the master," and she regretted the last word so much as soon as it left her mouth.

"That'll get to his head," Bruce commented lightly from his side of the lab, and Tony smiled wildly.

"She said it," Tony said, pointing at her, and motioning towards a stool right after. "Take a seat. What else you are you going to say today that will make me want to give you a raise?"

"I'm highly tempted to call you GOAT if only for the sake of being able to afford rent in this city…" Charlotte contemplated out loud, setting the tablet she had with her on the table in front of her, and silently cursing the stools in the labs.

Any other day, she would have been relatively fine. But she had been gaining some weight with the pregnancy, and her back had been giving her problems. Slight ones still (diminutive, really, but she was allowed to complain sometimes), but enough to let her know she was in for a real treat later on when she truly started blowing up.

"You know you can stay at the tower all you want, freeloader. Makes it convenient in case of world catastrophes," Tony commented, pulling some schematics up from the air.

"Not forever, though. I'd like to not be a freeloader one day, thanks," she replied, overriding the schematics in front of Tony with a hologram of his agenda for the day. "You should've been in the shower and dressed, like, yesterday."

Tony looked at the calendar contemplatively for a minute before he rearranged a meeting to earlier, and instructed JARVIS to cancel their reservations for La Mercerie. "You threw up last time we went," Tony commented before he told JARVIS to look for another restaurant and inform their lunch meeting of the new changes.

"I had a stomach bug. It's not like it's going to happen again," Charlotte protested, but almost cried in relief. Pregnancy symptoms hadn't been very apparent yet, but certain smells had started getting to her in the past couple of weeks. The smell of seafood being one of them. "Also, you're making JARVIS do my job, and I'd like to believe I have a bit of job security, so…"

"I would never be able to replace the human element behind your duties, Ms. Owens," JARVIS piped up, and Charlotte smiled up to the ceiling in thanks.

"What he said," Tony agreed, picking up her discarded tablet off the table, and making a beeline towards the door. "I'll be ready in 30."

"How've you been, Bruce?" Charlotte said, walking over to his work station, and giving him a smile.

He smiled back tentatively in that way of his, taking off his glasses and wiping them methodically on his lab coat.

"Never better," he said, and she believed him. "Yourself?"

"Good," she answered with a smile.

There was a small pause, and Charlotte knew that she had to bring up the subject of her pregnancy. Steve had been jittery at best, and while he did not verbalize many of his fears, she knew they were there. He had also been extremely busy, and she knew that he had not had time to speak with Dr. Banner, perhaps the only expert that could help them figure out basic genetics when it came to the fetus (as they had started calling it) in her.

And, to be truthful, Charlotte was right there with the nerves with Steve.

"Actually, there is something that you might be able to help with," she said, and Bruce nodded, taking a seat on one of the stools by his desk, and motioning for her to do the same. "I'm pregnant."

Charlotte could tell that the doctor's eyes were scanning her, taking in her face, and almost smiled when he, after he presumably found what he was looking for in her face said, "congratulations."

"Thank you," she said with a shaky smile.

"I'm not that kind of doctor, though…"

"I know, I know," she said in a rush. "it's just…Steve and I are a bit worried," and that was an understatement. She knew for a fact Steve had been losing sleep over this. "genetically speaking, we're not sure where the, um…the fetus stands."

"I see," Bruce said, putting his glasses back on, and grabbing a remote-control looking thing of the table to fiddle with. "Well, I am no expert in genetics, but I have dabbled because of my green problem," he said with a self-deprecating smile, "I can certainly refer you to someone, however."

Charlotte reminded herself not to look too defeated, but she knew tears were pooling in her eyes. She was scared, damnit, and Steve had been gone without communication for a few days, and she was already a little bit in love with the thing growing inside her, and she was scared shitless for it.

Also, hormones.

"Oh no," Bruce breathed out when he saw the tears, and flailed about looking for some tissues.

"I'm sorry," Charlotte all but wailed, running her fingers underneath her eyes in order to not smudge the make-up she had to have on for the rest of the day. "I don't know what's going on, and I'm scared, and Steve won't talk to me, and he's gone and I don't know what to expect when I have this fetus, other than the fact that I already kind of love it."

Bruce had managed to find a clean napkin from a nearby coffee shop and handed it over, watching her nervously as she calmed herself down.

"I heard its heartbeat yesterday, and it just feels so real now," she continued, giving Bruce a watery smile. "I like to think my fears about their genetic makeup are not completely unfounded."

"Not entirely," Bruce said, and looked panicked when more tears pooled in her eyes. "But, either way, it should not be bad. On one hand, you can have a kid which you will not have to worry about medically or developmentally because he'll have super soldier blood. On the other hand, whatever illnesses that Steve could have passed down might be recessive next to yours, and if not, then we have vaccines and much more medical technologies at our disposal." He gave her a reassuring smile. "I am sure everything will be fine. And I will start doing some research and connect you with someone that can speak more on this."

"I just…I know it goes without saying that it needs to be someone that understands the gravity of what someone with blood with that serum can mean to others. I-we-need to trust them," she said, swallowing thickly around the sour taste in her mouth.

"Of course," he agreed. "I'm sure Tony wouldn't mind helping us run some background checks once I've narrowed down the field…or whenever you're ready to tell people about this."

"We're trying to keep it to ourselves for as long as we can. You're the first person I've told this about…my parents don't even know."

Charlotte saw the conflict brewing in Bruce's face, and was momentarily amused as she saw the man try not to smile, his face settling for looking conflicted in that way that only Bruce Banner can.

"Your secret's safe with me," he said, giving her a nod, and flinching slightly when the doors to the lab opened and Tony announced his arrival.

"Ready, Ms. Owens?" He asked, picking up his phone from his station, and pocketing it into the jacket of his grey suit.

"Yup," She responded, picking up her purse, and the tablet she'd discarded. "Thank you so much, Bruce," she said as she left, waving at him on her way out the door.

BACK IN TOWN. SHOULD I PICK UP TIMBER FROM SOMEWHERE?-Steve

Charlotte smiled as she saw the text, and quickly sent one back telling him that Clint was at the tower, and had stolen the dog for the day. Emphasis on the stolen, since Clint very often took Timber for the day on his days off, and would just send a picture of the dog smiling at the camera when this was the case.

DATE NIGHT?-Steve

WANT TO STAY IN? WE'LL ORDER TAKE-OUT, WATCH A MOVIE…-Charlotte

She texted back, adding a kissing emoji at the end, and chuckling to herself when he sent one back with a winking face.

SOUNDS PERFECT. KNOW YOUR ETA? -Steve

MAYBE AN HOUR? STUCK IN TRAFFIC. STILL HAVE A DEBRIEF WITH PEPPER AFTERWARDS. -Charlotte

"Are you sexting? That's a sexting smile," Tony commented from beside her on the back of the car, his eyes fixated on his own phone, but an eyebrow cocked nonetheless.

"Steve's back," was all she responded with, "and it's date night. I haven't seen him in a while."

"Didn't even deny it." Tony shot back, tossing his phone into the space between them. "So, what gives?"

"What gives what?" She responded, locking her phone, and turning to look at him.

Tony stared her down for a good few seconds, before he sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes. "There's something going on, and, quite frankly, I'm deeply offended that I'm not in on the loop."

"And what do you think is going on?" She asked, turning to give him a raised eyebrow.

"Something diabolical, no doubt," he answered, pulling down his sunglasses to peer at her. Charlotte thought he looked a bit like an old lady.

"Well, fuck, you caught us. We're planning your assassination."

"Knew it," he deadpanned, pulling off his sunglasses completely. "Honestly, though. You've been acting weird, Cap's been more on edge than usual, and I just walked in on Bruce telling you your secret is safe with him. It's inevitable that I feel as if something is going on."

Charlotte looked down at her lap and contemplated how to answer. Although Steve had been relatively busy (and she had an inkling that this was because he was volunteering, not because they were sending him off; she was waiting to explode and speak her mind soon), they had talked about their predicament extensively enough to decide that they would not tell people about the pregnancy until absolutely necessary. And by that, they had defined "absolutely necessary" as the point in the pregnancy in which she looked big enough to actually be pregnant. Right now, Charlotte could pass off the weight gain as just that, as the small bump she was sporting was easily covered with blazers and loose dresses.

So far, it was just Charlotte, Steve, her OBGYN, and now Bruce in on the loop.

"You're my employer…" she began, knowing the implications of not only telling Tony as her friend (which he was, no matter how much the man denied it), but also as her employer. She knew enough about the kind of retaliation that women faced from their employers once they found out they were pregnant. And although she would never think this of Tony, she knew she had to tread lightly. She liked-no, loved her job enough to want to secure it.

And, as it was, although Steve still had money saved up, and made a decent amount of money for his work, she knew her salary was a big help. Especially now that they were thinking about buying a home for their family.

"We're off the clock," he pointed out, and Charlotte snorted.

"I'm on salary. I'm never really off the clock," she pointed out, and Tony turned an accusing finger at her.

"Ha! You said it! I expect you to answer my calls at three in the morning next time I'm feeling like having dinner for breakfast in Paris."

"Sure," she nodded, "I think the last time I checked, I can only book economy at that time of day, but I'm sure you can make it work." She finished with a bright smile.

"I reiterate: diabolical." He said, pointed a dramatic finger at her again. "Back to the topic. I've decided we're officially off the clock for the rest of the day-"

"We have a debrief with Pepper as soon as we make it to the tower."

"-off the clock until we get to the tower. So, spill. I wanna be in the loop."

"I'm pregnant," and it came out in a rush, almost as if it had been bursting to get out- and it kind of was.

Tony opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it again, and mumbled a soft, "huh" before taking a deep breath and looking right at her.

"Not expecting that one, were you?" She asked before adding, "'cause I totally wasn't."

"Is this when I say congratulations, or…"

"I think so. I…" she trailed off, mildly aware that she was fiddling with her fingers in that way Steve had once pointed out she only did when nervous. "I-we-it-it wasn't planned."

"Yeah, well, this is the sort of thing that happens when you don't wrap it," he said in such a conversational tone that Charlotte could only let out a loud laugh. Tony smiled in that self-satisfied way of his before he was chuckling good naturedly next to her, laughing loudly when Charlotte snorted, startling herself into bigger peals of laughter.

After their laughter died down, and Charlotte composed herself enough to wipe the tears that had escaped from laughing too hard, she gave Tony a bright smile, and thanked him. "I needed that."

Tony nodded contemplatively before he brightened, and said, "So, is it Anthony or Antonia?"

"Don't know yet, but definitely neither of those," she said, remembering their half-drunk conversation.

The car stopped then, and their driver, not Happy for once, opened their door. Before they made it into the building, Tony grabbed her elbow gently to stop her from going through the revolving doors, and just said, "I'll look into it."

Charlotte could have cried. Of course the genius had picked up on why she had been talking to Bruce. And, at any rate, she had had a conversation about the perils of a possible pregnancy with him before, and the genius had volunteered his help. She was not surprised (very touched, though) that he thought about this now. So she gave him a smile, and kissed his cheek in thanks.

"So inappropriate," he said with no heat as he motioned for her to step into the building first.

Once she made it out the revolving doors, she raised an eyebrow and gave him a look before she took out her tablet and was back on work mode, telling him a rundown of the rest of the night and the next morning.

Steve groaned into her neck and moaned a displeased, " 'nore it," securing his arms around her tighter, and locking their legs together when the first jingle signaling an email came from her discarded phone. Charlotte hummed in agreement into his hair, dragging lazy fingers down the length of his spine.

There had not been much movie watching after all. There had been a fevered greeting, full of longing, and just a little desperation, and after they laid spent on their couch, Steve had carried her to their room (much to her chagrin), and ordered a couple of pizzas. While they waited, they had titillated between falling asleep, and talking about their respective weeks, Steve's own retelling vague, and with just enough eye shifting that Charlotte wanted to question just how much of it was a mission, and how much was just him looking for Bucky, and Charlotte's a bit more open, but vague enough that she knew Steve was wondering what she was hiding.

Right. He did not need to know two more people knew about her pregnancy. Much less Tony, who Steve was not talking to at the moment. Something about the man showing off during a show off with Hydra agents, and a facility being blown up. Really, Charlotte tried not to listen too much into it. Because, while she loved Steve with all of her heart, she had a soft spot for Tony too, and she tended to have far more tolerance and appreciation for the eccentric man that was just trying to do the right thing than her Steve did.

After pizza, there had been some more welcoming celebrations (there was a talk about catching up in all the missed sex, and Charlotte had downright laughed at Steve's wiggling eyebrows), so by midnight, they had descended into a pile of mush on their bed, Steve as touch-starved as ever after being gone for some time.

Three text messages back to back came through, and Steve groaned against her neck some more. Charlotte made to get up then, and Steve tighten his hold on her, gruffly reminding her that she was off the clock.

"It might be an emergency," she retorted, pushing at one of his arms. "Steve, c'mon. Get off."

The man downright growled, but let go, turning (almost petulantly, if Charlotte said so herself) his back to her, and yanking the sheets all to himself. Charlotte rolled her eyes, and let him, reaching for her phone.

I'D LIKE TO PREREQUISITE THIS BY SAYING THAT THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. -TS

It was a text from Tony, and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, clicking on the link that he had sent right after.

It was a grainy photo of Charlotte and Tony in front of the tower earlier that day. Tony was gripping her forearm with a gentle hand, and she was smiling gently as she kissed his cheek. The headline above read, in bold letters:

CONFIRMED: Pepper Potts and Captain America heartbreak over Tony Stark and Charlotte Owens affair-"We're Done!"

The actual article detailed a long explanation as to how Charlotte was playing both superheroes, how Pepper was none the wiser to Tony's alleged affair with his assistant, and how Charlotte was, putting it simply, the "Yoko Ono" of her generation.

She looked at Steve, curled up next to her, his soft snores letting her know he was asleep before she responded to Tony, not exactly sure what she was apologizing for in the first place.

I AM SO SORRY. IS PEPPER UP? I WANT TO APOLOGIZE.-CO

FOR WHAT? THE ONLY REASON I GAVE YOU THE HEADS UP IS SO THAT STEVE DOESN'T PUNCH ME AS HARD AS HE PROBABLY WILL.-TS

IT WAS INNAPROPRIATE OF ME, AND I AM SO SORRY. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WE WERE IN A PUBLIC PLACE. AND STEVE IS NOT GOING TO PUNCH YOU.-CO

"Is it Stark?" She jumped a little when Steve asked her this in a gruff voice, throwing an arm around her waist, covering her legs with her half of the sheets. Charlotte almost rolled her eyes. She was with a petty child.

She hummed, pulling up the article again, and showing it to Steve. He squinted against the light, but sat up against the headboard and read with furrowed eyebrows.

"He knows I'm pregnant…offered some help to find somebody that might answer some of the questions we've been having." She offered as a way of explanation when he turned to her, but didn't verbalize anything. "We had a conversation about all of this a while back. He had offered help in case we ever wanted to have a kid and-well, he reminded me again that there are experts out there that might know what to expect."

Before he could respond, Charlotte's phone vibrated with a text, and he looked down to find a text from Tony.

IT'S FINE. IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME THEY'LL SAY SOMETHING ABOUT YOU. PEPPER WILL GET THE LAWYERS ON THIS TOMORROW. -TS

AND LIKE HELL HE WON'T AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO PUNCH ME. AT LEAST GIVE ME A HEADS UP WHEN HE HEADS THIS WAY.- TS

"He thinks you're gonna punch him. But you won't." She levelled him with a look. "Because I can kiss my friend on the cheek whenever I want."

"Wasn't goin' to say anythin', doll," Steve drawled, handing her the phone back, and pulling at her arm until she was laying on the bed with him again. This time, his legs entangled with hers, one of his hands pushing up her sleep shirt to lay against the small bump she was sporting.

"Nat knows," He said after they lay in silence for some time. Charlotte was surprised about how not surprised she was. Of course Natasha knew. "I didn't even tell her. We were running away from unfriendly fire, and she just casually asked how you were doing with morning sickness. I was too distracted to think too much about it, and told her you were managing."

Charlotte chuckled, and she felt him smile into her hair. "We should probably tell my parents now, then. It feels like a betrayal that just about everybody but them knows about this."

Steve didn't respond, and Charlotte turn to kiss hiss chin. "They don't hate you."

"They don't like me."

"They're not happy with Captain America. They don't hate you."

"Your dad did not speak to me when went down for Christmas."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, the couple of times we spoke we ended up yelling at each other-"

Steve disentangled himself from her, and sat up, and Charlotte followed, knowing they were not going to get much sleep now.

"Which is why this is not fair to you. I never wanted your family to hate me, and much less for you to be at odds with them over me."

"Ok, one, for the millionth time, they do not hate you. And two, I love my parents and my family, and I love you. And because I love both of you, I can see how wrong my family is. You are good to me, Steve, so good. Sometimes I don't even know how I deserve you. And it sucks that my family, my dad in particular, can't see what I see."

"I don't deserve you," Steve muttered, his sight fixated on his hands.

"I guess not, if I think about it," Charlotte said casually, and Steve's shocked blue eyes met hers. "I'm kind of a mess. I hate cooking, and I hate doing laundry, and I shed hair all the time and I know how much you hate that." Steve looked like he was about to protest, but Charlotte kept talking. "And I'm also selfish enough to fight hard to keep you. So, you definitely deserve better than the trash person you're about to have a baby with."

"You're not a trash person," he mumbled into her hair, having pulled her into his lap as she was finishing talking.

"You say that now, but the next time you're admonishing me for having to unclog the shower drain because of my hair, you'll be calling me a trash person."

"That's because that's what a trash person would do. There's a trash can for you to throw your hair-"

"I use it! I just have a lot, and-"

"And, what? It somehow makes it into the drain, still? It's gross, Charlotte."

"Ok, Mr. I-Don't-Know-How-To-Aim," Charlotte threw back, aware that the tension before had dissipated a bit, and they were just arguing for the sake of arguing.

"It was one time."

"And it was gross," She reminded him, and when she saw the corner of his lip turn up, she gave him a chaste kiss. "Maybe we both deserve each other. Gross attracts gross."

Steve hummed in agreement, and kissed the crook of her neck, holding her closer to him for a while longer.

"Marry me?" Steve asked into her neck after some silence.

"I already said yes," She said, a smile on her face, her fingers carding through his hair.

"We haven't set a date, or even talked about it much."

"We've been busy," Charlotte acquiesced with a shrug, and Steve finally looked up.

"I talked to HR before this last mission. I wanted to rewrite my will, make sure both of you will be taken care of, and the lady said that, while I can do that, in case of something going south, it would be better if we were married. That way, you'd be entitled to the pension money Stark's set aside, and the state money that was allocated from SHIELD. And it would make it easier for the life insurance stuff-oh no," He mumbled the last part, when he saw Charlotte's face fall. She started sobbing as soon as he tucked her face against his neck.

"It's the hormones," she wailed into his neck and Steve winced. Charlotte wasn't overtly emotional on any day, but there had definitely been more tears in the last couple of months, which was to be expected. Steve had read up on it.

"I know, baby," he reassured her, carding his fingers through her hair, and scratching her back soothingly.

"We can get our marriage license tomorrow, we would just have to wait 24 hours for an actual wedding." Charlotte said after some time. "We can be married within the next two days."

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm not planning a wedding. Not right now and not like this Steve…it's a piece of paper. I'm fine without it."

"Did I not just give you a few reasons why it's not just a piece of paper?" Steve questioned, slightly annoyed, and almost regretted saying it when Charlotte scrambled off his lap, and looked at him angrily. Almost.

"Not a romantic by any means, dude, but at least tell a girl you love her, no?" She said, angrily and sarcastically, stumbling off the bed, and shrugging on her robe.

"You just said it's just a piece of paper!"

"So?!" She half yelled, tripping over a discarded shoe on her way to the door. She caught herself against the door frame and threw him a dirty look before slipping out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

Steve counted to ten, and then thirty before he followed her out the door, finding her munching on a piece of cold pizza angrily, Timber by her feet. He walked over, and grabbed a piece himself, not making eye contact, his sole focus on chewing.

"I don't want to get married," Charlotte finally spoke, and Steve had to pause mid chew, his world stopping for a nanosecond before it stuttered to a start again. "Not like this…not like my parents." Steve breathed again.

Right. Parent issues. She had many and he could deal with them.

"We were planning to before the avocado."

"Is that where we're at now?"

Steve nodded. He had an app that told him what size the little life they had created was at during each week. It was the size of an avocado now.

"After?" He asked after some time of silence, only interrupted by Timber's giddy chewing of Charlotte's last bite.

Charlotte shrugged. "I never want the reason you want to marry me to be because it's convenient in the event you die, Steve. That's not…that's not fair to any of us."

"There's many reasons," he said, leaning against the kitchen bar, searching until he found her eyes and said in that voice full of conviction of his, "The number one is because I love you. The second is because you're my home. The third is because I'm selfish and want you all to myself. The fourth is because I sleep like crap without you next to me at night. The fifth is because you smell nice.."

Charlotte was fighting back a smile now, and Steve dared to smile himself.

"The sixth is because you suck at cooking but make up for it by being an amazing baker. The seventh is because you are funny, and kind, and can kick just about everyone's butt, if you wanted. The eighth, and perhaps the most insignificant one right now because the first seven came before it, is because you're the mother of our avocado-" Charlotte chuckled, "and of our actual baby in 5 months."

"It really is just a piece of paper," Charlotte contemplated, walking over, and tucking herself against him. He held her tight.

"You don't want a wedding? I'd you give anything you'd like, sweetheart. You know it."

"Do you want a wedding?" Charlotte asked, tipping her head to look up at him, her chin resting against his chest.

Steve pretended to contemplate the question, even when he knew his answer. "You do look awful pretty in long dresses, doll."

"Can't really wear white anymore," Charlotte replied, and Steve's right hand, almost on instinct, wandered across her side, where he could feel the small bump protruding with the small life they had created together.

"I prefer you in red, anyway," Steve said, shrugging. "You can wear whatever you want. We can make it big or small, whatever you want."

"Small, close friends, and immediate family. No presents, no bridesmaids, and absolutely no pastels anywhere."

Steve hummed, now swaying them to an unknown tune. "I want to dance with you. That'll be a nonnegotiable."

"And I want a house." Charlotte said, dislodging herself from him to stare right at him with those earnest brown eyes of hers. "Or an apartment, or something for us. There will be three of us soon, not counting Timber. And I want normalcy for our kid. As much as we can give it."

"Ok," Steve agreed. He wanted that too. "Not sure how much we can afford…"

"We'll make it work. I don't need anything fancy, Steve." Charlotte reassured him, "I know you want to go back to Brooklyn."

"Neighborhood's not the same," he answered wistfully. "And the pricing-"

"Between the both of us, we'll figure it out. I'm not going to stop working, you know," Charlotte said in an off-hand tone, but the tilt in her chin and the fire in her eyes were anything but.

"Wouldn't dream of it, darlin'" Steve reassured her, running a calming hand down her back. "I think we'd both go crazy if you didn't work."

She pinched his left ass cheek and he flinched but grinned nonetheless.

"I say we just invite people over for dinner, and then surprise them by telling them it's our wedding," Charlotte pondered over her bowl of oatmeal. Steve had made it without any sugar, and had thrown in a few blueberries for color and health purposes. Charlotte had yet to take a bite.

"And your family?" Steve asked, not taking his eyes off the mission reports he was going over.

"We'll call them, and tell them to fly down for the wedding. They can be the only ones that know." She had given up pretending to even find the oatmeal appetizing. Her stomach was turning, anyway, and she doubted she would be able to keep it down if she attempted to eat it to begin with.

"Next week, then?" Steve asked putting the reports down, and offering her a piece of his toast. Charlotte wrinkled her nose at the smell, so Steve took a bite.

"Saturday? Tony and I will be in California on Thursday, and I can take Friday off in case I need to. I'll clear Tony's schedule for Saturday, and talk to Pepper ahead of time. I want them both there. And Bruce. I'll definitely let him know ahead of time."

"I'm not scheduled to be out of town until next month, and I think Clint and Natasha are running secret opts for the next couple of days. I'll try to clear their schedules."

"Oooh, call my boyfriend! I want him there too!"

Steve rolled his eyes but nodded, taking out his phone and sending Sam a text instead. "I'll try to clear his schedule too."

"Do you think Natasha would like to go dress shopping with me when she's back?" Charlotte asked after Steve cleared her oatmeal off the table and looked through the fridge for something that would appease Charlotte's stomach, despite Charlotte insisting the task was futile. He was determined to feed her. "I just…don't know many people."

"She'd probably love to," he answered sincerely, "if not, I can go."

"No thanks. You always just agree with everything and tell me it all looks good, and I hate it. I want honesty."

"You do look beautiful in everything!" Steve exclaimed, hitting his head against the fridge wall in his indignation.

"Lies," Charlotte responded simply, her attention on her work tablet. "A woman's view is better, anyway. It's them I aim to impress."

Right. Steve could ask or live the rest of his life in ignorance.

A pregnant pause.

Ignorance it was.

"They'll be a pear, then," Steve commented instead.

"Speaking of…" Charlotte said, and silence before, "Hi, mom! No, we're fine…how are you?...mmm, yeah, I saw…uh-huh…hey, yeah, I have a few minutes before I have to go, but just an update: I'm pregnant, and Steve and I are getting married next Saturday. Are you going to be able to make it?"

Steve knew his mouth was hanging open. He should know better by now and expect Charlotte to drop news like that out of the blue. Really, he should.

"Okay, one, you're totally over-reacting. Two, not a shot-gun wedding. Steve and I have been engaged for a long time, we were just being lazy about planning. And three, no, I haven't popped yet. I just look like I gained a whole bunch of weight, which is unfortunate, since I still can't seem to keep food down…yeah…I did hear the heartbeat yesterday, and kind of had a mild panic attack. But we're fine. Steve says it's the size of an avocado now…No, thanks. I don't want to marry in white. Besides, you were like a size zero, with a tiny belly in your dress. I won't fit…I'm hardly a virgin, mom." Charlotte rolled her eyes at Steve, who was now leaning against the counter to stare at her. "No, I didn't want to know. I'm waiting for Steve's schedule to line up with mine to find out…" Charlotte mouthed gender when he threw her a questioning look. "He's fine, we're fine. I think we're a little surprised, but he's been the best."

Here, Charlotte gave him a grateful smile, her eyes watery. "Aside from him trying to kill me with healthy eating when he's home, Steve's great…yeah…you'll tell dad? I don't think I want to have the conversation we might have over the phone if I call him about this…thanks, mom…No, I don't have recent pictures of me, and I highly doubt you can tell whether it's a boy or a girl by the way I'm carrying…I don't know! I just look fat…Ok…"

Charlotte eventually got off the phone with a promise to send her mom flight details so that she could easily book them at home.

"You're not fat," Charlotte leveled him with one of her looks, and Steve repeated it. "You're carrying my baby. You're full with my baby, and I have never felt more attracted to you than right now."

"You're such a caveman," was all Charlotte responded with, her hand going around to circle his waist when he made his way over. She laid her head against his abdomen.

"A progressive one, I hope," Steve replied, carding his fingers through her head, and Charlotte laughed.