The Hidden Life of Steve Rogers - Ch 09

Author: animealam/Black Dragon on the Rocks

Rating: T

Pairing: Steve Rogers/OFC, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane

Characters: Steve Rogers, Harry Potter, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Thor, Jane Foster, Cameo by Phil Coulson. Various OCs in secondary position.

Notes.- Sorry about the delay guys. It's been a few months since I last posted, but real life got in the way. Then, even though I've had this chapter mostly done for nearly all that time, I was not happy with it. To be truthful, I'm still not completely happy with the last part of it, but I made you wait long enough.

A few of you commented on Steve's behavior, him being… let's call it a bit mischievous. You can blame it on the potions, specially week older Steve. He's rather loopy (or high) because of them, although it does not mean he is hurting any less.

Chapter 10 is still in its infancy, meaning there's not much of it yet (two longish parragraphs and a lot of loose ideas), so I will not promise to update any time soon. I will try though.

To make up for the long delay, this chapter is the longest by far (7,546 words without notes), but I simply did not find a good place to cut it.

Also for those reading my other story Two for the price of one, I had chapter 4 when I posted chapter 3, but the problem with it was that it was much telling, and no showing. It was also very long. So I set to change it, it's progressing, and I already have chapter five, and parts of six done, but chapter 4 needs to be done first.

Steve stood by the hospital's helipad waiting for Stark's helicopter to land. He had left his younger self with Natasha, Clint, and Harry. The two spies decided they better remain close to Grant as Fury instructed and act as a barrier to keep the many visitors from crowding him. The Calming Draught was working, but Grant was still getting stressed. It would not be long before Harry resorted to a Draught of Peace, he had needed it.

After their conversation in the stairs cube, Clint sought Damon, and they had stepped aside for a moment to decide what to do with the amount of people beginning to crowd the NICU's waiting room. They agreed on having the hospital's security informed, and to restrict access to anyone but the patients' relatives. Damon would take care of getting those who had arrived to leave.

Natasha too had done some damage control, and probably traumatized Tammy Kemp for life. The woman had seen Stefano's videos, no surprise there since she seemed to live on the Internet, and her phone's ringtone was actually a song he had performed at the club.

The club had been selling a CD with his performances on the Internet. They had been making a very good profit out of him and the other ragazzos who were members of the band; not counting the profits from selling posters, t-shirts, computer wallpapers, and other assorted merchandize. Domenica Bastieri did have a good mind for business, shame she used it for crime.

Tammy Kemp recognized him of course, and had been gossiping a storm with whomever was close. She was speculating about him, Dana, their relationship, the kids, and his motives for being with her. Most was not good. She had tried to interrogate Harry to get the 'juicy' tidbits of gossip, but well, his kid was not in the mood, and had been rather curt but Britishly polite.

Natasha caught her before she began using her phone to start posting their photos, and her 'ideas' on social media. The story Natasha fed the woman was simple, and the same Harry gave her, in accordance with the background they had created.

Grant was a SHIELD agent, and originally a member of Dana's protection detail. He had been reassigned, and sent undercover to Italy. The details of the mission were classified because it pertained National and International Security. Natasha told Mrs Kemp to stop gossiping before she became a National Security risk.

The Black Widow's job was to take care of dealing with people like her. Prison would be a spa stay compared to what she would do to the woman. Mrs Kemp had squeaked in terror at the threats and said no more. Natasha also casually mentioned Grant was Captain America's grandson, and they were quite close.

Steve Rogers tended to be over-protective of his two remaining relatives, Grant and his son. He was also a very good friend of Tony Stark and the rest of the Avengers, which should be arriving soon. It was in Mrs Kemp best interest not to get on their bad side. The threats worked and the woman was quite subdued after. Steve was sure Dana would have loved to see that.

The Stark Industries' helicopter came into view, and Steve braced himself for the wind and loud noise. He had enhanced hearing, and helicopters were almost a bit too much for him, despite the noise cancelling headphones he had borrowed so he could wait outside.

The helipad was at the top of the hospital, and was used mostly to transport important people and as backup for emergencies. There was no one there, and the hospital was not expecting anyone to arrive besides Stark. This had allowed Harry to set Wards inside the small reception which should allow him to speak more freely with his team mates.

The large, and surprisingly sleek helicopter landed gracefully, and Steve was surprised to see Stark had piloted it himself. He had not been aware the man knew how. For some reason it had not been in the file SHIELD had of him.

Knowing how to fly a helicopter was a useful skill to have since Stark no longer had the arc reactor in his chest, and he was still undecisive about continuing to use the Iron Man suits. An additional pilot besides Hawkeye, if Stark could fly a quinjet, would be an extra asset for the the team. Steve added the skill to his mental profile of his team members.

From the helicopter came Banner and Miss Potts, and they were followed by Stark who relinquished the aircraft's controls to a couple of people. Probably the actual pilot and co-pilot. It was good he brought them, since the hospital staff never knew when the secondary helipad would be needed for an emergency.

The trio approached him rolling a suitcase each, which told him they were expecting to stay for a few days, although he already knew that. Still, it was comforting to know these very busy people were willing to push their work aside for him, specially Stark. They got along much better now, but they were not as close as he was to Natasha and Clint since he interacted with the both of them more often.

They looked concerned, and Steve was heartened by it. The three of them approached the reception room and stopped dead on their tracks at seeing him. It clearly shocked them to see him without his disguise. He was sure Fury informed them about his Grant persona, and that's who they were expecting to meet. Miss Potts recovered faster, and she approached him, giving him a hug.

"I'm sorry for your loss Steve, how are you holding on?" Pepper's voice was full of concern for him. This was also the first time she used his name and Steve's stoic mask crumbled slightly; enough for them to see the grief in his eyes.

"I'm fin…" he was about to say fine, but he was not.

Steve should not keep the act with them, he could trust them, besides, it took too much of an effort. He considered them friends, as he did the other members of the Avengers. Keeping a composed facade had been easier with Nat and Clint, mostly Nat, because she was not emotional. Clint was not as reserved, although he was quite capable of hiding his feelings. Steve took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself.

"I'm drugged up to my eyeballs to keep functioning, which is working somewhat, or I would not be here," Steve admitted rather candidly. Which was true, without the potions he would not have been able to present his Captain America persona.

"I thought your metabolism burned through any type of drugs fast Steve," Bruce commented curious as he came closer and gave him a manly hug.

Bruce was very concerned, specially because the Cap had actually needed to take some drug to be functioning. He was curious as to what he used, nothing too harmful or addictive hopefully. This also revealed just how much Steve was affected by his wife's death, which still boggled the mind.

He initially thought it had been some kind of bad taste joke when Tony told him Steve's wife had died giving birth, and they were needed in DC. Only to learn it was no joke, so Bruced had placed his experiments on hold, and packed a suitcase in a hurry.

Steve had been awake about one and a half years. Bruce knew he was also the youngest of them all. Yet he had managed to have a relationship, and get married. He even had a kid in that short period of time. It was not only unexpected, but shocking, and he wondered why the younger man had not confided in them.

"It does. Dana…" his voice broke and his eyes filled with tears he did not let fall. Just mentioning her name hurt.

It had been a very difficult week and he had to relive it again, even if it was from another point of view. Steve turned away from them, and took a few deep breaths to collect himself.

He needed to present a strong, calm, and supportive front. Captain America was not the one married to Dana Williams. He could feel sorrow, and perhaps grieve her as a friend and a member of his family, but he could not allow himself to look as devastated as he felt. Once he was certain he had his emotions somewhat under control Steve went on.

"She created something to lower my metabolism enough for medicines to work properly. I took two extra strenght Calming Draughts as well as Draught of Peace. So I might be a little… umm… more… talkative and… expressive than usual."

"And these… Calming Draught and Draught of Peace, did she create them?" Bruce was intrigued. They sounded like something he could try to see if they helped with the Other Guy.

"No, they've… they've been around long enough. They are what you would call alternative remedies…" he told Bruce to avoid revealing magic just yet. "They taste like shit though."

Three pairs of eyebrows went up at his use of a swear word. Specially in front of a lady. Because of the potions the filter on his mouth was not working as it should, and Steve really needed to watch what he said.

Steve could allow bad language with the Avengers, they had actually heard him swear once or twice before, and Dana's people, he trusted them. But Captain America was not supposed to swear, at least not in public.

He had been known in the past to swear on occasion during missions when things went FUBAR, as sometimes there was no other way to express how bad things got. After all, Steve had been a poor kid from Brooklyn who spent as much time as health allowed him out on the streets, then when he grew up, he became a soldier in a terrible and bloody war. He was bound to know how to swear with the best of them.

"But I'm… I'm holding on." He led the group inside, where they could speak without eavesdroppers.

"Capsicle I thought we were to meet Grant?" Tony asked after he gave him a quick one armed hug, and left a hand on the younger man's arm to offer support, and perhaps a bit of comfort.

Tony had never seen Rogers looking so devastated, and he had access… well not really, but he hacked SHIELD's mainframe. It was not like he did not do it every other week just to get a rise out of the one eyed spy, and convince him to upgrade his mainframe's security.

Anyway, Tony had seen surveillance videos of Rogers after he was thawed, and then informed he was sixty-something years in the future. The younger man had not looked half as lost as he did at the moment. Tony could admit to being very concerned for the Capsicle.

Besides, Fury told him neither he, nor Williams people, wanted Steve as himself to be involved. Hence the secret identity. Captain America could not afford the fallout if it was found what he did during that mission. Tony had read the full reports by Rogers and the Italian agents.

The younger man did an amazing job, and Tony would not have believed him capable of it, but Rogers surprised him. Unfortunately, while very few would bat an eyelid at an unknown agent/spy doing whatever he needed to get the job done, someone like Rogers would be questioned and judged.

Captain America was held to higher moral standards than any other member of the Avengers, even Bruce who was rather monk-like. So Tony had to wonder why the Cap was there as himself, instead of in disguise as he should have been.

"You will, he's down in the NICU's waiting room with Natasha, and Clint…" He began but Stark interrupted, he expected it though. In fact, if Tony had not Steve would have been worried.

"What? But… I thought…" Tony was confused. "Isn't Grant Parker Williams your alter ego?" He asked; meaning they were the same man. "So how could he be down in the NICU with the ninja assassin duo while you're speaking with us?"

"Look, it's… complicated," Steve began and passed a hand through his hair, "and you will all get a full explanation, as complete as we can give it. I promise, just not today. We'll need several hours and privacy for it, which we don't have. It is also classified infomation only given on a strictly need to know basis."

"And are we on this list?" Pepper asked curious. It was not often she was included, although Tony did tell her what he thought she should know. Which unfortunately more often than not was less than what she needed to know.

"Yes, you all are. Bruce, Tony, you are scientists so what I'm going to say might be difficult to accept," he signalled for them to take a seat on one of the couches in the room. "But I need you to trust me, and have a leap of faith until we have time for explanations."

"I can do that," Tony said after being thoughtful. He did not trust many people, but Steve Rogers was amongst them. Bruce and Pepper nodded as they all took a seat.

"Magic is not something only Asgardians have. There are magical humans as well, and have been since the dawn of man kind." Tony opened his mouth, probably a billion questions already in his mind. "Please, just listen. They call themselves witches and wizards, and up until the Witch Hunts and the Spanish Inquisition they lived amongst non magical humans.

"There are witches and wizards around the globe, and they have developed their own society in secret for their safety. The top people of most governments know about them, and keep it quiet. There are actually four magicals amongst the President's personal guard at all times.

"Dana is…" he paused and had to take a deep breath, "was a witch, as is my daughter. My son is a wizard, as I am."

"You are joking right? This is an elaborate prank, isn't it?" Tony said voice full of disbelief. He knew magic existed because of Loki, but a whole hidden society of magic wielders living on Earth under his very nose? No, that was not posible.

"I wouldn't joke about this Tony," Steve informed him seriously.

He took out his wand from it's Obscuro wand holder on his left forearm, and simply transfigured a chair into a happy golden retriever. Steve had gotten rather good with his inanimate to animate transfiguration. In the scarce free time he had during the mission he practiced as much as he could. The golden retriever wagged its tail and sniffed all three of them asking to be petted. They did practically in autopilot, mouths agape.

"This is…" Bruce had no true words to describe it, because it was different from what they had seen Loki do. "Its alive, smells, and feels like a dog!"

"Behaves like one as well," Pepper added. Her family always had dogs while she was growing up. Besides her Tony said nothing, just stared.

"It is a dog, but only temporarily. We call that an inanimate to animate transfiguration. After a while it'll return to being a chair if I don't turn it back." Steve waved his wand, cancelled the transfiguration, and banished the chair back to its place showing off for their benefit.

"I'm seeing, but working on believing," Tony finally said. "Having a magic user would have been useful when we fought Loki," He pointed out.

"Yes it would have," Steve agreed. "Back then, I had just found out I was a wizard, so I did not know how to use magic. As to not involving the magical world, you can blame that on SHIELD.

"Fury even had one of the most powerful and capable wizards slotted as a member of the Avengers, but he was never summoned." Harry had been approached by the one eyed spy, and he had agreed to be a consultant, but Fury never called.

"This is as much as I'll tell you now about magic, because we don't have much time before Grant has to attend a press conference. Magic is the reason there are two of us, and will be for a week, perhaps more I don't know yet. We resorted to Time Travel, and I'm from a week in the future. I'm doing this because I need to make sure Grant Williams and Steve Rogers are seen together.

"As Fury no doubt told you, we need to stop any rumors of us being the same person. Someone, or someones, inside SHIELD are trying to run me out for whatever the reason. Although their attempts have not been noticeable until now. Fury says he will investigate, but in the meantime we needed to do damage control, and confuse whoever these people are.

"But I'm also doing this to protect my children more than my reputation and credibility; although I'm not going to lie. My reputation is also very important to me. My kids, Sarah and Steve, inherited the Super Soldier Serum. I… I don't want my children to be treated like lab rats."

"It's understandable, no father wants that for his kids. But we did not know you had twins." Bruce said, his mind bursting with questions about the Time Travel business, but willing to give the Cap the time he needed.

"They aren't twins, Steve is actually fourteen, a genius, and one of the most powerful wizards in existence." Both Tony and Bruce opened their mouths to ask, and he raised a hand to halt the barrage of questions he knew they had. "Be aware magic was used for the adoption, so he is a mini-me down to having half of my DNA," the billionaire opened his mouth to say something, but Steve raised his hand again to stop the question or comment, "yes Tony before you say anything, I did see the movie.

"The hows and whats will be explained, right now as I said, I just need for you to be open minded and trust me until there is enough time to work on explanations. By the way, no one from SHIELD knows Dana and I are magical, but after the press conference I'm sure at least Fury will.

"Also, no one, absolutely no one must know about magic. As you can probably deduct it's one of the best kept secrets in the world. There actually are laws against revealing magic to those not authorized. I rather no one is Obliviated any time soon."

"Obliviated?" Tony asked at the unfamiliar word.

"Have your memories of an event deleted. Specially trained magicals can do that. It's normally safe for non magicals, but your mind and Bruce's are not normal. They do… more, process more, and are never quiet. Having you loose something important is not an acceptable risk to me."

Tony and Bruce shuddered at the thought of someone messing with their minds. They all remembered how messed up Clint had been after Loki took control of him. "Very well, we'll trust you Capsicle," Tony agreed. "But don't think we'll let you off without an explanation. Magic and Time Travel, really?"

Tony had a billion questions, but he could wait. The poor man looked like he would break if they said the wrong thing. Rogers had almost crumbled with one simple question by Pepper, and the mention of Williams. He had clearly loved the woman very much. If the Cap was like this drugged up to his eyeballs with sedatives, then the one down in the NICU must be a mess… Or comatose.

"Thank you… just one more thing. I don't expect we'll meet with any reporters before the press conference. The hospital's security is ensuring they keep their distance, as well as Damon Johnson's people (he was Dana's head of security), and the SHIELD agents Fury left. Clint's in charge…"

"Really? Fury left Legolas in charge of something?" Tony could not help but ask, voice skeptical.

"Can you imagine Natasha in charge of anybody?" Steve countered raising an eyebrow.

"She'll terrify the heck out of anyone," Bruce stated, he knew probably most SHIELD agents were terrified of the Black Widow. She was also the only one who could get Tony and Clint to behave when they started acting like silly kids.

"Guess Fury had the right of it," Tony had to agree with a shiver, echoed by Bruce as well. Natasha was way too scary for most people's sanity. "Birdbrain is the less traumatic choice."

"I must warn you, Natasha's already scared Tammy Kemp into social network silence…" Steve knew both Tony and Pepper had met the woman before.

"Oh bless her!" Pepper exclaimed. She could NOT stand that woman. "I'll take Natasha shoe and clothes shopping, and pay for anything she wants, if she can make that stick Steve."

"Tell her Pepper, I think she'll be interested. But… if someone does manage to breach the security, and they ask questions about why Grant Williams and I look so similar… You're to tell everyone he's my grandson." All three were gaping at him, and Steve managed a smirk. That was a pensieve memory, and he was going to ask Harry to take photos.

"You would have still been under the Super Soldier Serum's effects…" Bruce began.

"Not really. The day I was enlisted by Dr. Erskine, I had a double date with Bucky and two girls, friends of his. This is something that's actually been mentioned before when how I was finally recruited was ever asked. So it's documented, my date's name was never mentioned though.

"I'm going to tell the world my date and I 'celebrated' my acceptance. We drank more than a bit, one thing led to another, and she ended pregnant. I 'supposedly' never knew because the next day I was shipped to camp Lehigh, then I went on tour with the USO, and when I was in Europe, I ended an active combatant.

"So you see, it was the runty little guy that I was who supposedly left her pregnant, not the Super Soldier Serum version of me." All three kept gaping at him and he actually managed another amused smirk.

"Your grand son?" Tony sputtered. "I know you're… married now… but… but… you are… you were…"

"Pure and virginal… nope as my kid would say, sorry to disappoint you Stark." He smirked at Tony's dumbfounded expression. "I am human Tony, and for twenty-four years of my life I was a sickly, runty punk at which no dame spared a second look, hell sometimes not even a first look.

"Then I changed into this," his hand signalled himself, "and the dames of all ages were suddenly throwing themselves at my feet. I might sometimes be naive, but I'm not a monk, I wasn't going to say no to getting something I never thought I would."

"Steve I think you broke him," Bruce chuckled seeing Tony opening an closing his mouth unable to utter a word.

Pepper slapped him on the back of the head. "Snap out of it Tony, it's not that hard to believe. You know how that kind of attention can get to people.

"Specially someone with Steve's history with women before the Super Soldier Serum." She gave the young man an understanding smile. "Will you be able to pull this off Steve?" Pepper asked, as she had noticed his eyes reflected great pain despite how he tried to make things light.

"Yes, I have no choice if I want to protect Sarah and Steve, and confound whoever's messing with me at SHIELD," he said. "Before we go down and I introduce you to Steve Junior, I… I'll like to thank you for coming all the way from New York. It… it really means a lot to me."

"You're our friend Steve, not just our leader, so of course we'd be here when you need us," Tony told him. His words clearly moved the younger man, who gave them a rather watery smile.

Steve then took several deep breaths to center himself, closed his eyes for a moment to get into the frame of mind he needed to put his best Captain America act. He distanced himself from the pain as he could not allow it to fully show.

He had to do this to keep Sarah and Harry safe, as well as to find out who wanted him not only out of SHIELD, but discredited as well. Steve straightened his shoulders, and when he opened his eyes he looked more like himself, and the sadness in his eyes could be mistaken for concern.

"And you don't do undercover missions?" Tony asked surprised at the visible change.

Before him was the man who had led them during the Chitauri attack, not a grief stricken widower. Tony began to see just how Steve managed to pull off Stefano Martelli, the Cap was clearly a decent actor at the very least.

"You know I just came back from four months of under cover work, and see where that led me Tony," Steve said bitterly, then he sighed. "I dislike acting, which does not equal being unable to perform if I have to.

"To the USO I was NOT a real soldier, and my rank was certainly not Captain. That was simply the catchy name they chose for the character I had to perform.

"I was led to believe I would be doing my country a great service, but it was not what I enlisted for, or why I agreed to be experimented on," Steve told them, his tone bordering on bitter. "To them I was simply an actor hired to portray the image they wanted me to. Someone to give hope and sell as many war bonds as posible. I even had an acting coach because I was so terrible when I began."

"That was never mentioned in any biography, or recount from those days," Tony commented, but he was not surprised.

"It would not have made them look good," Pepper pointed out. "It would have been bad publicity, which at the time they probably did not need."

Steve nodded in agreement. "They experimented on me, and then only gave me the option of being a dancing monkey, or being a lab rat. I did not even do the full lenght basic training camp before the serum, just enough to convince them I was not the kind to quit, and was the right person for the serum.

"They corrected the oversight after I rescued the 107th and the others. If Bucky had not been captured I would have probably remained their dancing monkey until the end… or gone to Hollywood."

He got shocked looks at that comment, and he flashed them his USO smile, to which Tony snorted, Bruce shook his head, and Pepper gave him an appreciative smile. But really, the offers had been there, and they had been actually very tempting. At least the money part had been, because the fame part had never been something that interested him.

There sure was no mention about giving Captain America acting lessons so he could perform in those shows, and the few movies made in those days. They all made mental notes to watch the movies and pay attention to his acting.

"Hey Steve, I'm forgetting, do you have an excuse for how the Avengers know Grant?" Tony asked, and saw Bruce look curious as well. "We thought of saying he participated in the training excercises with us, sort of playing villain. They were all top secret, so no one besides Fury and Hill were aware what happened during them."

"That's the same explanation Clint, Natasha, and Grant came up with. It's the most feasable after all. It also provides a way to explain how I 'supposedly' found out he was my grandson.

"We all noticed just how much he and I looked alike." They all nodded, since it made a lot of sense. "Might I impose on you Bruce to say you performed the DNA testing? Adelle, Dana's AI, has created several test results to back it up."

"It's no imposition at all Steve, I would like to have the results for my archives though, in case I'm asked for them."

"I'll call Adelle and have her send them to your personal e-mail later."

"I think a pen drive would be better, no electronic trail. Just in case," Bruce suggested. That was not information they wanted others to have access to without restriction. "I'll destroy it after I get the files."

"Yes, that'll be better. I'll give them to you tonight, when we go home. You're staying with us," he told them.

"We had booked hotel rooms Steve," Pepper said. "We really don't want to impose, and cramp your home."

"It's all right Pepper, and no imposition. The Cabin is… more like the manor house of a plantation. It's a big place, quite beautiful, and peaceful. Before the mission we… we had been planning to invite you all over for a weekend.

"You were all finally cleared to learn about magic, as there are magical protections and items all over the house. We had been going steady for three months, although I met Dana on my fourth day awake. She wanted to finally meet my friends."

"Steve, when did you get married?" Tony asked a rather huge lump on his throat. He was coming to the realization Steve would have invited them to the wedding. Or at least told them he had tied the knot.

"For real? This day," he said since for him it was actually a week ago. He sniffled trying not to cry. "Dana… she prepared some fake certificate when she found out about Stefano's success, and the fact that, while she'd been told by many doctors she couldn't ever get pregnant, she was."

"You did not know about the baby?" Bruce asked gently, and shocked. If that was what happened, no wonder he was such a mess.

"No, I had already left, and I was under radio silence. This morning was when I finally returned." Tears did begin to fall despite the potions. "Adelle called me to inform me Dana was at the hospital about to give birth to my premature child." His shoulders began shaking. "Because… because her cancer was back and it was now terminal." He crumbled then, and to everyone's surprise, it was Tony who held him.

"We got you Steve, you aren't alone," Tony said holding the younger man tight. He simply could not begin to comprehend just how difficult things were for him. "We got you."

Tony just let the younger man shed as many tears as he needed and cling to him. But it did not take long for Steve to compose himself. He took a cloth handkerchief from his pocket, cleaned his face, blew his nose, then took out that stick from his sleeve and did something to his face. Whatever he did erased any signs of crying.

"I apologize… This…" He began embarrassed.

"Don't Steve," Bruce told him coming to his side and giving him a tight hug. "You are hurting and grieving, and have every right to express your feelings. It is good that you can.

"We… And I know I speak for all of us here, are honored you trust us enough to allow yourself to show it." Both Pepper and Tony nodded. "As well as allow us to offer comfort."

"I…" He was moved, but they were right. He would not have broken down if he did not trust them, if he did not consider them friends. "Thank you."

"You have nothing to thank us for, and we'll stay with you Steve, thank you for opening your home to us," Pepper's own eyes were filled with tears. She knew Steve's history, and could not help wondering when he was going to get a break.

With those words Steve offered his arm to Pepper, then turned and made his way to the NICU, the others following him thoughtfully. There was no doubt in their minds Steve was indeed drugged with something, since the man they knew was never so fortcoming with information about his life before he was frozen.

Contrary to what they all expected, Steve had been the quietest of them, and the one who took longer to start sharing about his life. Oh, he had told them some funny anecdotes from his days in the USO, and with the Commandos, but they had never suspected he was at least slightly bitter about the USO part of his history. Which he clearly was.

Tony and Bruce shared a look behind Steve's back, as he courteously led Pepper to the elevator. This was the Captain America they had met in the helicarrier, during the Battle of New York, and for a little bit afterwards. They had also seen very slight glimpses of him during the training excercises Fury had them participate in.

But that version had not been present during the team building experiences outside combat situations. Both realized the man they had seen had been a guarded version of who Steve Rogers really was. Although at first He had initially been more closed off than a clam, and a bit standoffish.

Slowly Steve had begun to open up. When someone explained things to him which had nothing to do with the excercises. When Steve was asked for his opinion (again outside of Avenger matters), when someone included him in friendly banter, or simply began to talk to him and draw him into conversations.

Steve had started to joke, to talk a bit about himself, and being the man they had started to consider a friend. It was a shock to realize neither of them had noticed the difference between Captain America and Steve Rogers when there clearly was one. They had not been as good friends to him as they had thought, and both planned to correct that.

Tony's mind was working at its usual speed, so it was not hard for him to start correlating a few things about Captain Steve Rogers he had not stopped to consider before. This version of Rogers was the one with which he had clashed when they first met in the helicarrier.

He was the confident, self assured leader; the super soldier, the Captain America which was presented to the world. What they had seen then was the mask, the act Steve perfected for the USO and public appearances. The one, Tony realized, Steve presented to them then because he had been uncertain of where he stood.

As his mind processed dates, Tony was shocked to realize several surprising facts about Steve. Things they all knew because they read the profile, but never took into consideration. The Capsicle was only twenty-six when he crashed the plane in the Arctic. Not only that, he was that same age biologically and mentally when Loki decided he wanted to rule the Earth since he could not rule Asgard.

Steve had been expected to unite them, and lead them, when all but Natashalie were at least ten years older than him; and even she was older, although only a year. He had to command people not used to taking orders, or working as a team. Even the ninja assassins.

Clint had trouble with authority, as he was more of a rebel than a follower, and Natasha had not been much of a team player, except with Clint, and even that was debatable.

The Cap had also been 'awake' for a bit over two weeks when they first met. Not nearly enough time for someone to deal with the trauma of making the ultimate sacrifice for his country, and surviving. The younger man had been certain he would die during his last mission.

Steve had actually made the conscious choice of ending his life by crashing the plane in order to save so many others. He thought he had died, only to find he survived. But it was not the joyous occasion it should have been. Steve awoke to find he had literally lost everyone and everything he had known and cared about.

The younger man HAD been a soldier during the second World War. One of the cruelest wars in the past century. Steve had fought, been injured, led, and lost men. He had killed. Enemies or not, those men had been human, someone's sons, brothers, or husbands. It was not easy on one's conscience, Tony knew that much, and yet, the Cap apparently took things in stride. He was not so sure it had been the case anymore.

Tony had to admire the fact Rogers had not been catatonic, or cowering in some mental ward. The Capcicle had to have balls of steel, and diamond hard determination to simply keep on going. Steve was clearly also a superb actor, and was shockingly more adaptable than anyone gave him credit for, himself included.

After his experience with the nuke and the portal, Tony could understand all the issues an experience like the one the Cap went through brought. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder anyone? Never mind whatever other issues were already part of Rogers emotional baggage, which could not be a little thing.

Tony was not sure he would have been able to cope if it had happened to him… or was Steve compartmentalizing? Whatever the case, he seemed to have done somewhat well enough for himself. Steve managed to get a girlfriend, adopt a kid, sire another, and get married even if it was in a hurry under less than ideal circumstances; and all of that while keeping SHIELD in the dark.

They had expected too much from the younger man, and as Tony told Loki that day, Steve kind of lived up to the legend. He led and did it well, and made the hard decisions even when he had not wanted to.

Thor told him how conflicted Steve had been when he had to decide whether to wait for him, or close the portal. In the end Steve chose what was best for the world even if it weighted heavily on his conscience.

Tony knew because the team had spent a couple of nights at the tower after the battle, and JARVIS had had to wake Steve from more than one nightmare before he gave up sleeping as a lost cause.

The nightmares had been about choosing to close the portal to save the city, and the world, over saving a team mate; and Tony had until then only annoyed the heck out of him, they were barely acquaintances. Yet Steve firmly believed in not leaving a man behind, annoyance or not, and he had had to leave his best friend's body behind during the next to last mission already.

Steve had had the extra pressure of proving himself a good leader to them, and not just a good fighter, both of which he was. Tony had to give him credit where it was due, and Steve was an amazing fighter, and leader. Always looking for ways to improve. This had been on top of trying to adapt to a new world after having lost everything less than a month prior to that, at least in his mind.

Tony realized the younger man was actually still trying to prove himself to them during the training excercises, but to a lesser degree. It was perhaps why Steve had not opened up as much as he might have if they had been just friends; and yet he had just told them he had wanted them to meet his girlfriend and his adoptive son.

They had earned his trust, but above all they had made the transition from team mates to friends as well. Finally seeing where the Cap was coming from was eye opening for Tony. Humbling as well, because he really was not sure he could have been able to do what the youngest of them had. Frankly he doubted any of the others could have either.

It shocked Tony to realize he was feeling true admiration for Steve Rogers, as opposed to the admiration he had for Captain America when he was young… until Howard turned it to jealousy. Which he was over now, because much as he had hated the tone of admiration in Howard's voice when he spoke about Captain America, Tony had been able to see his father had been shockingly right.

But it seemed Howard forgot to speak about the person behind Captain America. Steve Rogers was clearly much more than the symbol. He was strong, stubborn, and determined as expected of Captain America. Underneath though Steve Rogers was rather shy and quiet until he knew the person.

He could snark up par with him and Clint at times. Steve had a sense of humor, had actually played a couple of successful pranks on him and Clint. Which they would not have found the culprit off if it was not for JARVIS.

Steve was a very good listener, even on the phone or video chats. He somehow always managed to help him and Bruce get unstuck when they reached blocks with their ideas or research. Steve let them ramble, then asked questions… actually he had a penchant for asking just the right questions.

Steve was obviously smarter and more knowledgeable than they all gave him credit for; and Tony was an insensitive idiot for not noticing it. But then Steve was too modest to point it out.

The man had a usually well hidden temper as well. Unless Tony was involved, he simply knew which buttons to push to get a rise out of Steve. Not that he had done that lately. It… it did not feel right anymore.

As they descended to the NICU's floor, Tony felt a shocking surge of protectiveness towards the younger man, it was not unexpected though. The Avengers were starting to become a rather disfunctional family, and Steve… well, he was like their baby brother, Tony realized. Who was hurting now and needed their support.

For Tony the protectiveness began when Fury told him about what SHIELD had not done for Steve, and what they had not done either. They all had neglected him in the past. They had left the young man to his own devices without a care of how he was coping after loosing everything. Hell Steve had been injured by one of the Chitauri weapons and no one offered to patch him up.

Had they been paying attention any one of them would have noticed something was not right with the way SHIELD was treating Steve, well perhaps not Bruce. They could have helped him. At least Williams had met him somehow and took care of Steve when they had all been too self absorved to remember him. She had been the one who protected him, and taught him about life in the 21st century.

Now, Williams was gone, but at least Steve was not left alone. He did have people by his side now, and a real family… although raising a baby and a teenager by himself must be daunting. But Tony would be damned if he left the younger man to muddle through things alone again.

A look at Bruce was enough to tell him his science bro's thought processess had been following the same path as his. There was a glint of protectiveness in his eyes, which Tony suspected was reflected on his own. A brief exchange of glances with Pepper showed she too was in the same frequency.

They would provide as much emotional support as Steve allowed them to. They would also work at finding who was trying to discredit him, behind the scenes of course, and Tony would have JARVIS contact Adelle so they could hide the fact Steve's kids did inherit the Super Soldier Serum.

He was not sure yet, but they might need the ninja assassins assistance. Although Tony needed to be certain they were on Steve's side, and they would not blabber to SHIELD. Not even to Fury. The doors of the elevator opened, distracting him from his train of thought. It was time to meet Grant and Steve's adoptive son.