Vibranium Strong || Captain America

We Are A Family

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

I feel the crisp air piercing my lungs. For the first time in what feels like forever, I can feel my chest rising and falling. The air has a clean smell, fresher then anything I remember. Well, then there's that ridiculous hospital smell.

There's a sudden warm touch on my hand. It feels like a hand. I can feel the gentle squeeze from the other person's hand. Their hand is much bigger then mine. Fingers entwine with mine.

I make an attempt to open my eyes. Maybe, just maybe, see the light again. Maybe I could see my husband again. Maybe I could meet my baby girl for the first time. Dear lord, we still haven't picked out a name. Oh well, that'll be decided soon.

"Alice?" I hear a voice. It's very clear. It's Steve's voice! I could recognize it anywhere! He's here and he knows that I'm alive. He doesn't know that I saw him standing in the hallway. Do I tell him that?

"Open your eyes, Alice." He calls again.

Light floods my vision and suddenly everything is white. Then my eyes open. Everything is glossy and foggy at first, but lines sharpen and colors pop. Suddenly, I'm back in the hospital room. Right where I died. I look around until my eyes meet my husband's.

"Steve." I mumble.

Before I could finish saying anything, he cut me off with a hug. I wrap my arms around him and hold him close to me. I don't know how long I've been out, but it's been too long.

"I thought you left us. I thought you left us alone. I couldn't raise our girl without you." He buries his face into my shoulder and begins to climb into the bed beside me. I try to scoot over to make room for him. 

Before I know it, I'm laying in his arms as he tells me all about our baby girl. He laughs as he tells me about the first time he saw her all cleaned up and got to hold her. He talked about how he wouldn't let anyone on the team see the baby until I was there to introduce her to the group. 

Then he talked about what happened after my heart stopped. He told me about how he tried to get me out of his head and how he went to visit the baby. Then he told me about how he felt my touch.

I wanted to tell him so badly that I was there all along. That I had never left them alone. I had made up my mind that I would tell him about what I saw. But before I could, a doctor came in. The same one who delivered my baby.

"Mrs. Rogers! Good to see you up and talking." The doctor begins. "Now, I'm sure you're curious as to what happened during labor."

"Very." I respond.

"It was very complex. You're head must've been pounding during labor. What had happened was that you had a brain aneurysm. Your mind was stressed and a blood vessel had ruptured. It released blood into your brain. From there, it caused a stroke." The doctor explained.

"I died." I conclude.

"Not exactly. More like a near death experience. You're lucky to be alive. Did you have any visions while you were near death? Some people claim they can see things in that state."

I wondered if it would be a sin to lie to the doctor. But I make up my mind to lie. I shake my head and look down. The long talk with the doctor continued for about thirty minutes. He explained in further details about what happened. He also talked about how my baby girl was happy and healthy.

"She laughs a lot. She gurgles and giggles all the time. That's what the nurses have said to me. They think she's the cutest little thing. Blond hair and blue eyes." The doctor smiles.

"She must look just like you, Steve." I grin.

"Would you like to meet her?" The doctor heads for the door.

"Of course!" I laughed.

The doctor smiled and explained that the nurses would be in shortly with the baby. I can't lie. I was so scared about meeting my baby girl for the first time. I could only hope that I knew how to properly hold her. 

"Alice, you're shaking." Steve takes my trembling hands in his.

"I'm nervous. Being a mother for the first time. It's-"

"Terrifying." Steve finishes my sentence, "I feel the same way about being a father for the first time."

There's a soft knock on the wooden door to my room. Steve prepared to stand up and open the door, but the nurses beat him to it. Two nurses came in wheeling a plastic covered bin into the room. Inside I could see a tiny little body. 

One nurse opens the bin and gently takes the baby into her arms. I find myself speechless at the sight of my baby girl. To be able to meet her for the first time, it was exhilarating.

The tiny pink bundle sits safely in my arms. The nurses left the room to give Steve and I a moment alone with the baby. I watch as her little eyes open to the world and she yawns. She makes a little O shape with her mouth. Steve and I smile down at her. In return, she gives us a toothless grin. Her little arm reaches out from the blanket and into the air. Steve reaches out the the little hand. Our baby girl grabs ahold of Steve's index finger and then rests her arm down against her tiny chest still holding his finger.

"Steve, we still have to name her before I leave the hospital."

"I thought of a name after she was born. I don't know if you would like it or not." He answers.

"Well go ahead and say it."

"Margaret." He begins. "We could call her Maggie for short."

I look down at the little bundle in my arms. She looks up at me with glowing blue eyes and smiles at me. Somehow, Margaret felt like the perfect name for her. So old-fashioned. 

"Margaret. Our little Maggie. She's perfect." I hold Maggie close to me. "Her middle name should be Sarah. After your mother." I add.

Steve looked genuinely touched by my surprise. He pulled me in close for a kiss. "Thank you." We kiss agin. But not exactly at the best timing. The door swings open and Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Tony, Pepper, James, and Thor all walk into the room. I knew that thunderstorm meant something!

"Really?" Tony cuts in. "We come to meet the baby, and instead we get a make out session."

Steve glares at Tony while I laugh.

"Sorry, Alice. James let it spill that it was a girl." Natasha cuts in.

"Bucky! It was supposed to be a surprise!" I yell.

Every head in the room turns to me. Steve's eyes are wide.

"Did you just call me Bucky?" He asks.

"I figured it was about time. After all, I do owe you for everything that you've done to help me. I thought this would finally show how much I've grown to trust you." I respond.

"Thank you, Alice." Bucky thanks me.

"Enough chit chat! What's her name!" Pepper interjects.

I smile and pull the blanket down away from Maggie's face. Pepper and Nat both sat in awe as they got to see her for the first time. The boys grinned and laughed as Maggie gurgled.

"This is Margaret. Margaret Sarah Rogers."

-

A/N: Margaret Sarah Rogers :)