Several Months Later

Blue sky stretched above him, enfolding him with calm and peace, something Steve knew rarely in his waking hours. It had to be a vacation, or a holiday, he surmised, given how he was unencumbered with tasks, his soul placid as he dropped his gaze and assessed where he was. Familiar climbing frames came into view, shrieking laughter ringing around him. He watched with fondness as his son ran across the lawn. The sun was high in the sky, but the day was not oppressively hot. Trees shaded the borders of grass as Jamie darted away, arms spread wide as he swept past a bench. Two women were perched upon it, both with dark hair and leaning towards a bundle of cloth folded in one of their laps. Gentle fingers swept along the blanket, and Holly looked up at him, brilliance and joy radiating from her as she picked the bundle up. Passing it into the arms of her companion, she turned her gaze back onto the other woman, her face in shadow even with the brightness of the day lighting them. With a nod, Holly scooted back, Jamie climbing into her lap and nestling against her as the other woman rose. When she faced him, he felt the breath go out of him.

Peggy was there, and she was smiling, happy as well.

Her confident stride, her lovely face, drew in his gaze as she walked over to him, the bundle in her arms held close and protected. When she was within a few inches of him, she held out the folded blanket to him, the shape of it at once familiar and different to him. As it was placed in his arms, he looked back to his first wife, the pain and sadness he often felt when he thought of her not as strong as it once was. Instead, he watched as her painted red lips stretched into a wider smile, and she leaned up to peck his cheek. She went back to the bench then, leaving him with the bundle and holding her arms open to Jamie. The child clambered off his stepmother's lap, running to her and hugging her tightly. The two women shared a long look before she inclined her chin, a kiss given to the boy before she stepped back, stepped away and disappeared into the foliage.

Holly and Jamie walked hand in hand to Steve then, his family ringing him as peace began to settle upon him once more. The bundle shifted again, and he peered at it, his fingers curling around the cloth to move it out of the way...

With a jolt and a snort, Steve woke from his slumber, a muted groan in his throat as he forced his bleary eyes to open. The digital numbers of the clock told him it was nearly two in the morning, and he rolled away from it, not amused in the slightest to be roused. As he turned, his arms reached out for his bedfellow, though he found the sheets to be cool and empty. Blinking against the darkness, he heaved out another groan as he wondered where his wife had gone. Pushing back the sheets, he rose from the bed, scrubbing his hands over his face as he left the bedroom.

The floorboards of the hall shifted under his weight, the creak of the wood something he was still getting used to. The house was quite different from his old apartment, but he couldn't find it in him to complain. Despite the general creakiness and the settling of the building, the house was a hidden gem of Georgetown, tucked away amidst the high-end homes. The light blue siding invited them in, but it was the space and charm of the house—the wide kitchen, the backyard space and the detail work dating back to the 1940's—that kept them there. It was a treasure, one that they had to try for.

After all, within three months of their wedding and Holly moving in, they found out that there just wasn't enough space in the old place, and it wouldn't do to stay put with their new knowledge.

Moving had been a bit of a hassle, but now, a month after the dust had settled and they had signed to take it, he had no regrets. Swaying Jamie hadn't taken much; he would remain in his school, with his friends and new kindergarten teacher, and was glad to have a bigger bedroom of his own. The period of adjustment was, blessedly, short due to that, and the blond was just too pleased with that.

Passing the boy in question's room, he did not notice the crack of the open door, instead heading right on down the stairs to the first floor. In the entry, he turned his head when the muted roll of music greeted his ears, fingers dashing away the sleep crust in his eyes as he walked towards the sounds. The television in the living room was on, villagers singing about the day as the cartoon on the screen played out. The light of the screen shifted over the couch, over the woman in a night dress sitting along the lounge portion, a blanket spread over her lap. A small, blond boy was nestled against her side, sleeping through the opening number and his palm resting over hers...resting over the pregnant swell of her belly.

The movement in the archway of the room caught her attention, and she turned her head to look, the suspicion on her face melting away instantly upon spotting Steve.

"Hey," Holly murmured, fingers threading through her messy waves and a lazy smile blooming on her lips. He crossed over to her, choosing to go around to the back of the couch. Bracing his arms along the tops of the cushions, he inclined his chin.

"Hey," he returned, another yawn ripping through him briefly. Pointedly spiking an eyebrow at her, he asked, "What are you doing up?"

She snorted softly, not wanting to disturb the child resting against her. "Could ask you the same thing."

He tipped his head to the side, considering what had roused him.

"Dreams, I think. Not bad, but enough to get me up," he assured her, not wanting her to think that his latent issues brought on by his service were the reason why for that night. (It didn't happen often, but there had been a few nights that he'd had to muscle his way past the memories, his wife holding his hand and whispering that all was okay now, that he was safe.) The details of the dream had already faded, with only the memory of calm and acceptance coming to mind as he tried to recall it. Shrugging a shoulder, he continued, "And then I figured out you weren't in bed anymore. Had to check it out."

Holly let out a sigh; his protectiveness would never wear off, she knew, and she wasn't about to bring up the matter then. Rather, she just shot a look to her belly, her free hand framing the other side of it.

"Couldn't sleep. Well, couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. I thought walking around might help a bit."

The corner of Steve's mouth curved up. "This doesn't look like walking around."

The brunette woman pursed her lips, though her mock annoyance was short-lived.

"It was, until I hit the creaky floorboard." She shook her head as Steve repressed a chuckle; much as with the floors of the house, one board in the hall seemed to have it out for her in particular. She always stepped on it without fail whenever she walked around upstairs. Nodding down to the boy at her side, she went on, "Jamie heard me, and then he wanted to keep me company."

Her husband's gaze strayed back to the television, and he snorted as well.

"...So he guilted you into putting on a movie."

"He was trying to help," she stated, though the staunchness of her argument was lessened by the little smirk on her lips. Clearing her throat, she nodded at the movie playing over again. It had become a recent favorite of his, the story of the beauty and the beast who falls in love with her drawing him in. Or perhaps it was the singing furniture; they weren't quite sure which it was. As the heroine smartly denounced the meathead trying to have his way with her, Holly posited, "I do believe our boy has a thing for smart, sassy brunettes who stir things up at times."

Steve's heart swelled at her pronouncement. Though he had long since considered her part of his family, their family, he was always glad to hear her own devotion in her voice, in her love for Jamie. And she did love Jamie, no matter how many tantrums he threw or how frustrated she had been at the beginning...she was his Ma, and would remain so. But he did not phrase that thought aloud then.

Presently, he chose to be cheeky. "Might be a genetic predisposition. I'm rather partial to women like that myself."

Her head tipped back against the cushion, self-deprecation twisting her grin. "Makes you wonder why you married me, then."

Frowning a bit, he leaned over, kissing her upside down to banish the spiral that hovered at the edge of her thoughts.

"You stir up things more than you think, sweetheart," he breathed as he pulled away. When she opened her eyes again, he shot her a subtle wink before pecking her forehead. "Trust me, the partiality is warranted."

"Whatever," was the apt retort, though it was given partly as a yawn. He dropped his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tenderly.

"C'mon, you're practically asleep now. Let's get him and you to bed," he told her, going around the sofa and shutting off the television. Smoothly, he went back to her and Jamie, scooping up his boy deftly to not wake him. The little guy smacked his lips in his sleep, but he otherwise remained out.

"Fine," Holly conceded, doing the two-part shuffle to stand again. The blanket on her lap was pushed aside as she stood. One hand lit upon her swell as the other went to the small of her back, exhaustion lacing her smile as she patted her belly. "The little miss is settled enough now, I'll take it."

More warmth flooded Steve as she spoke of their youngest on the way, a little girl due just a couple of months from then.

"Good," he told his wife, nodding for her to go ahead of him. On the way upstairs, she double-checked the locks on the front door, the security alarms reset as they trotted back to the bedrooms. Jamie was tucked in again in short order, sheets around him and Teddy in his arms. With his nightlight still plugged in, the boy was left to his dreams, his father bidding him a murmured good-night before closing the door behind him. Avoiding the squeaky board, Steve made his way back to bed, Holly already curled up, the comforter swathing her as she faced the center of the bed. Lights were off, and Steve climbed in as well, shuffling in the dark to plant a kiss in her hair.

"Good night, sweetheart," he told her, brushing back the waves as they had already tangled around her. Still as pretty as when he'd first met her, he mused.

"Night," Holly mumbled, almost lost entirely to sleep by that point. "Love."

He smiled warmly as he laid down, his palm slipping under the sheets to trace along the skin of her arm before resting on her belly.

"Love you, too," he said, eyes adjusting enough to the darkness to catch the curve of her mouth. Tapping his thumb against the swell, he continued in a hushed tone, "And you, baby girl."

Thus he fell back into slumber, his own thoughts flitting from what he would have to do at work the next day, what time Jamie would need to be picked up after school, to the nursery that waited to be used by a new girl down the hall.

A/N:...And that, my friends, is that.

This has been a fun, interesting experiment for me (also, kind of an early birthday present for me to finish this). I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ultimately, I am pleased with how it has turned out, and it is a little sad to see it end. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with this story, who has helped me with its development, and has enjoyed it like I have! You guys are really awesome, truly!

Yet...this is not the end for this pair. Growing Pains is still ongoing, and...I have another AU planned. I'm not quite ready to air it yet, but I plan on getting it out for people to start reading within a couple of weeks, so keep your eyes peeled! I will be posting about it on my Twitter (remember, my handle there is PhanProTweets, so follow me if you haven't already! If you want to, I mean, no pressure).

Hope you have enjoyed this journey, and here's to many more!

I own nothing from the MCU, nor do I own any other pop culture references made in the text (Marvel comics, etc.).

Thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you all in the next story!