First Year

One week

"It's only us," Pepper announced as she walked through the apartment. Tony followed suit carrying a bag of homemade food.

"In here," Wanda called from the living room. The couple went into the living room only to be greeted by the sight of Wanda with her top up and what looked to be James attached to her exposed breast.

Tony groaned and covered his eyes, "Whoa, give us a bit of warning."

"For god's sake Tony," Pepper chastised. "She's in her own home."

"And you did come unannounced," Wanda added.

"Where is Rogers?" Tony asked.

"Bedroom," Wanda yawned.

Tony went to the bedroom and found Steve asleep with Milena curled up on his chest. Before he attempted to wake his friend up, Tony got out his phone to take a picture.

"Don't even think about it," Steve mumbled. Tony quickly put his phone away and Steve opened his eyes. "Did not know you were coming over."

"Neither did I. Pep has cooked you and the wife some food."

"Right?" Steve sat up so his back was perched against the headboard and he made sure Milena did not shift by resting his hand on her tiny back. She whined a little but soon settled into her sleep again. "What do we have?"

"Um… Chicken korma, sausage casserole, my grandmother's baked ziti. Stuff you can just shove in the oven I guess."

"We're still working through all the meals she cooked for us when we bought the twins home. Thanks anyway."

"You have to thank Pep. Take it you are not getting much sleep then?"

"Well, they have to be fed every couple hours, only they don't feed at the same time meaning we're literally feeding every hour."

"I can't imagine what Wanda's boobs feel like."

"I'm too scared to ask." Steve kissed the top of Milena's head and got off the bed, Milena rested in his arms. The walked into the living room where Wanda had finished up feeding James and was in the process of burping him. "You okay sweetheart?"

"Yeah, we're perfectly fine aren't we?"

-o-

Six Weeks

"Steve!" Wanda screamed through the apartment. Steve jumped awake and ran to the nursery to find a panicked Wanda clutching onto a wailing James. "He's really hot. I think he has a fever."

Steve wasted no time in getting them to the hospital. Milena could sense the stress in her parents and had started fussing in Steve's arms. Wanda had decided to feed her to stop her daughter from flailing about and causing them to stress more though it was not helping anyone.

After what felt like an eternity the paediatrician came and said it was nothing major, they would just have to wait for the fever to break and their son would be far more comfortable at home than in a hospital.

The next two days and nights barely registered with Wanda since she spent most of it trying to sooth James. Steve tried his best to get her to rest whilst he watched both babies but Wanda refused. The two days she spent in the nursery involved so much crying, feeding, changing and soothing. She looked and felt exhausted and Steve was just about coping with Milena, who they had a feeling could sense her brother's distress. At one point Milena just would not stop crying until they put her in the cot beside James. In fact, James started to get better after that point and by the third night his fever broke. Wanda finally fell asleep whilst rocking James. Steve had put his son in his cot and he took Wanda to bed.

Steve had to wonder if his own mother acted like this when he was ill. Granted she was a nurse, but at the same time she had also lost her husband whilst pregnant and had a premature labour, which really should have killed Steve at birth but as Bucky had said, he was a determined and stubborn little guy no matter what life threw at him.

And it was not as though he had been in Wanda's position. When the twins were born he was so scared that he would lose all three of them and they were so small as well. It was only when they cried that his heart finally relaxed.

He fell asleep beside Wanda and woke to find two very awake babies lying on the pillow and Wanda looking at them with a sad smile.

"Mum said she nearly lost me when I was a baby," she said softly. "Apparently there were more complications when I was born compared to Pietro. I was very small and had a weak heart." Steve looked at her for a moment and then the twins. "It's nothing major but I was always the sick one. Once Pietro and I was playing outside and I collapsed. Turned out I had pneumonia and a weak constitution according to the doctors."

"Oh Wanda," he whispered as he gathered her into his arms. "You never said."

"I'm okay now but this week brought it all back. This ability I have makes me see memories since I was little, and I got scared because I saw my mother panicking the way I was over James."

"You know, I get scared too. I think even this serum can't change everything. Yet I think we can handle it better than our parents."

"You think?" Steve kissed her lips and took her hand. Wanda genuinely smiled this time. "Steve, whatever happens, we're going to be okay?"

"Of course we are. We're strong and determined people. I'm sure these two will be just as strong and determined as we are."

Wanda pressed her forehead against his and kissed him. Milena let out a whine. Wanda giggled and turned to her little girl, "I had him first you know." She kissed both babies on the forehead and rubbed their heads. "Be stubborn little guys when you're ill, like your father and I."

-o-

Eight Weeks

Steve had been called on his first mission away since the birth of his children and he felt sick. While he had absolute faith Wanda could cope on her own with the twins, he did not want to leave. Mostly he was just scared that he would not come back. The last precious sight he held was Wanda dancing with James in the nursery.

By some miracle, he got out reasonably unharmed, but everyone could sense that he really would rather be somewhere else. When he was single and still adjusting to the 21st Century, Steve would be more than willing to go and jump into unknown territory. Now he had a family to consider.

When he returned, he found some candles lit and Wanda finishing dinner. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and breathed in her scent.

"Oh I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too." She let him lay kisses on her neck. "Dinner will be ready in a moment. You can check on the babies."

Steve went to the nursery and found both babies asleep and peaceful. He really wanted to know how Wanda got them both to sleep.

"It wasn't that hard. I think all the screaming when I gave her a bath knocked Milena out and James fell asleep as soon as I put him down," she explained. "How was your mission?"

"Typical: pirates."

"You don't sound too wild about it."

"Honestly, I spent the whole time wishing I was back here with you and the twins."

"You really did miss us."

"Of course I miss you all. You three are the most important people in my life. I love you."

"I love you too." Wanda put down her knife and fork and got up to lead him to the bedroom. "Come on."

"Wait, you sure about this?"

It would be the first time they had sex since the birth, but they had been in the clear for a while. Wanda probably didn't have confidence in her body as her stomach was slowly going down, and even then the scar still was red. Maybe now was a good a time as any.

"Absolutely sure."

Steve kissed her and they staggered towards their bedroom.

-o-

Sixteen Weeks

The twins' baptism went as well as one could expect.

They had started to develop their own little personalities, even in their young age, which resulted in two very different reactions to having water trickled down her head. James, despite being awake, was barely phased by it. He shuffled uncomfortably but was handed back to Steve with no problems. Conversely, Milena shrieked blue murder when a drop of water. Wanda was not the least bit surprised. Bathing Milena was a challenge at home because she hated the water. Wanda quickly put a soother into her daughter's mouth and the crying ceased.

It took a lot of willpower for Tony not to make a comment about her rejecting God, mostly due to the last comment he made regarding the Church did not down well. He could still feel the slap that Pepper gave over the back of his head.

Still, both twins were settled when they arrived back at the apartment for the gathering. Bucky and Sam had decided to boast their respective godchildren around the party. Milena lavished the attention while James was just generally happy that he was being held.

"How's parenthood treating you two?" Clint asked sipping a beer.

"I love it," Wanda answered. "I never felt so blessed."

Clint blinked, "There was not a hint of sarcasm in your voice."

"Well, my nipples are going to be chapped forever, I have not had a full night's sleep since I was five months pregnant, most of my clothes don't fit me and the ones that do have been covered in spit up or poop at some point . However, I look at the both of them and I love them so much."

"True. Just thought that two kids would be driving you insane."

"Two is harder than one I will admit, but at the end of the day, when I see them asleep together, I think myself blessed."

"You know, when Cooper was about the twin's age, Laura and I were drained beyond belief. Who knew such a small thing could cause so much noise, but he really was the most precious little guy ever. Used to lie on my stomach and suck on my shirt."

"Yeah. They really are the most precious people to me."

-o-

Twenty-Four Weeks

Wanda had secretly harboured a fear that her children would inherit her and Steve's abilities, and while Steve said they should wait and see, he slowly began to realise that it was not that simple. His and Wanda's powers were exposed compared to everyone else, and it could only take one thing to trigger any unnatural powers within their children.

"I think we should do a gene test," Steve said.

"I thought you said that we'll jump that hurdle when we get to it," Wanda replied.

"I know. I just want to see what our chances are. At least we can prepare ourselves."

"You're right."

The next day, they went straight to Bruce. He really understood their concern since his own abilities were exposed and took blood samples from Milena and James. Steve and Wanda gave their blood samples and Bruce pulled up the blood tests from before they were enhanced in order to compare.

It took a couple days before there was any conclusive results.

"So, I compared the DNA from you two before you were enhanced with the DNA after. There is not that much difference between the two save for one sequence in the middle, which is where it mutated. The twins do seem to have inherited Wanda's genes, yet I would not worry about it too much," Bruce explained.

"Why?" Wanda asked.

"The sequence that changed was a sequence of eight. The sequence that the twins have is only a sequence of four. The other four in James's DNA are from Steve's pre-serum, while Milena has Wanda's before the change. Basically, James is going to be asthmatic and Milena is going to have a slight immune system problem."

"So it might not happen?" Steve asked.

"There may be a small amount of enhancement. James could be slightly faster or stronger but he is not going to be both. Milena might be able to change aspects of her appearance but not her whole body. Then again, it could be vis versa. I'm not saying that those are going to be their exact powers, or that they will ever emerge. It is just a case of waiting."

Later when Wanda was changing Milena's diaper, Steve expressed his relief, "At least Fury can't make a Baby Avengers team."

"Yeah. It does feel crap though that they ended up with our weaker genes."

"Well, if asthma and a couple extra colds is what we have to contend with is the alternative to them being targeted for their powers, then I am going to take it."

Wanda smiled, "I'll take it too."

-o-

Twenty-Six Weeks

When they tried to get the twins onto solid food, there was a mixed reaction. James ate the purée with delight; Milena was sceptical. Once or twice the bowl had landed on Steve's head. Milena was fast becoming the less adventurous twin. Swimming had been an absolute nightmare. When they went to the beach for the first time, she didn't like the sand. Even wearing something other than pink socks seemed to cause a meltdown.

"I'm really worried about this," Wanda said on the fifth attempt of trying to spoon mushed zucchini into Milena's mouth. "If she won't eat then she is going to starve."

"She's not going to starve," Steve replied.

"She's not really eaten much of the solid food though. She is still going to be hungry even if I put her on the breast."

Steve knew what this was about. Wanda had vowed never to let her children starve as she and Pietro had done. Granted, Steve would let his daughter come around in her own time but Wanda did not want a situation where she was spoon feeding James while breastfeeding Milena. She was getting it cracked today.

"Alright then Milena," Wanda said as she put the spoon to her mouth. Milena started to get really annoyed. Wanda then put the spoon into the baby's mouth and Milena ate the food willingly.

This happened a few times when introducing new foods until Milena got the message and sucked it up.

-o-

Thirty-Two Weeks

"I know, I know," Steve soothed James who had been crying for the best part of two hours. Teething had now become Steve's worse nightmare. One teething baby was one thing but two babies, one of whom was very vocal, was like living in Groundhog Day. Once one was asleep, the other was screaming the house down.

By the time James went down, Wanda had very nearly fallen asleep over Milena's crib, "Honestly, I am beginning to doubt going to the wedding tomorrow," she mumbled.

"Sam and Darcy are relying on us."

"I know but who really wants their kids to be the ones that scream when the guy asks about lawful impediments."

Steve let out a dry chuckle, "We could find someone to babysit."

"Problem is that if we tell them that the babies are teething they will say no, and if we don't tell them then we would be lying and sending them into a death trap."

Wanda yawned and they decided to retire for the night. The next morning, the twins were feeling slightly better, but that was due to Steve relinquishing two of his ties for them to suck on since Milena had already slobbered on the tie he had intended on wearing.

Before they entered the courthouse, they struck up a conversation with Thor, who was questioning as to why James and Milena had ties in their mouth.

"The first teeth are pushing through and this is the only thing that seems to be reliving them of pain," Wanda explained.

Thor dug in his pocket and found some sort of sleep potion, "This should help."

"Thanks, but I won't even consider the teething gels. They seem content enough at the moment."

"Take it anyway. You never know you might change your mind."

The ceremony lasted for about ten minutes with no hitches with Steve and Jane acting as best man and maid of honour. By the after party, the babies had settled slightly.

"I'm surprised how well-behaved you guys were," Sam commented as he balanced Milena on his hip.

"Well, they are going to hit their sweet spot around nine this evening," Steve responded.

-o-

One Year

"Happy birthday to you," everyone sang as Steve and Wanda blew the candles out on their children's behalf. The birthday boy and girl then got their own little smash-cake.

For Wanda, the day had been bittersweet. A year ago had been the best day of her life, even in spite of the trauma of the birth, and she could not believe how big her tiny babies had gotten. They had taken their first few steps the other day, albeit very shakily.

They really were happy children, even if Milena was known for her epic stubbornness and James was getting a lot more daring. They were still their darling children though and Steve was happy that both his children were happy and healthy. He was happy that he had a brilliant, loving, happy and beautiful wife. Compared to the sad and frightened young girl he comforted in a small bunk on the Hellicarrier three and a half years ago, she was glowing with joy and peace.

Their life could not have been more perfect at that point.

To be continued…