Bucky wakes up in the middle of the night and notices Lizzie isn't in bed with him. He panics for a quick second until he realizes that she's probably with the twins.
He has been sleeping without his arm for about a month now and there has been no issues. The most bizarre thing is that he hardly gets nightmares anymore. He can't explain why but he feels less of hydra's influence with it off. He actually has been dreaming a lot about Wakanda recently. Lizzie thinks it's his subconscious connecting his lack of an arm with the only other time where he didn't have it.
He misses Wakanda, it was beautiful and he was content there. He liked Shuri and respected T'Challa. He doesn't miss much from his old time but he does miss that.
Lizzie would have loved Wakanda. The sights, the people, the technology. He could only imagine how Lizzie would react if she was ever in Shuri's lab. A kid in a candy store seems like an apt description.
He decides to get up and go check on her. He gets out of bed and reattaches his arm before heading over to the nursery. He can hear Lizzie's light voice making its way through the door but it isn't until he's close that he realizes what she's saying.
"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me"
She's singing to the twins he realizes. That song has so much significance in their relationship and now it's being passed on to their kids.
She's sitting in the rocker with a twin on each shoulder, fast asleep. She glances up and sees Bucky standing there.
"Hi," she mouths.
"Hi," he mouths back.
Bucky walks over and takes Steven from her and they place the babies back in their cribs. Bucky wraps his arms around Lizzie from behind and she leans her head back on his chest. They watch their kids for a moment, reveling in the fact that they made them. They were theirs.
They soon decide to go back to bed. As they lie there in the dark, both staring at the ceiling. Lizzie presents a question that's been bothering her for awhile.
"Do you think the super soldier serum will effect them?" She asks.
Bucky sighs because this has also been on his mind a lot. He really didn't know if it was genetic. He knows that supposedly it is supposed to change his cells but did it change his DNA?
"I hope not," he says.
He knows that Hydra would be very interested in getting their hands on the children of one of their greatest weapons.
Lizzie is a little surprised at Bucky's statement. She didn't care either way if her boys had inherited it from Bucky. She was merely curious about the odds of it happening.
"Why do you hope not?" She asks.
"Hydra," he says.
He's not going to hide his fears from her anymore. She knows how to comfort him and she usually knows what to do.
"You think they'd come after the boys?" She asks in surprise.
"If they knew their parentage, they wouldn't hesitate," he says.
They fall in silence for a moment both thinking of the horrible implications of Bucky's words.
Bucky knows that if they got the boys, they would turn them into weapons. Even if Bucky didn't pass his abilities down to them, they already know that Bucky was able to survive taking the serum when so many others have died or turned against Hydra. Bucky was their most successful test subject. It is likely that the boys would have a similar reaction to the serum.
"We have to protect them," Lizzie says furiously.
Lizzie was never a violent person. Her hands were healing hands and not made for destruction but she knows that she would destroy anyone who dare to touch her children.
Bucky turns to face Lizzie and looks deeply into her eyes.
"We will, I will. Nothing will happen to them. We've been careful and haven't told anyone about me and Steve being back except for Howard. I still wish he wouldn't have found out because I only trust us with this secret. I know he's your friend but people slip. That's why we aren't telling Rebecca," he says.
Lizzie has always disagreed with hiding this from Becca. She understands why he thinks it's necessary but Rebecca was never a blabber mouth.
"I still think we should tell Rebecca, she deserves to know you survived," Lizzie says.
Bucky groans because they've been over this time and time again.
"Sure, we can trust Rebecca but can we expect her to hide something this big from her husband? No, we can't. Jack seems like a nice enough guy but I don't know him, therefore, I don't trust him with the safety of our children. Or what if one of the kids overheard them talking about it and they tell someone," Bucky says.
"Rebecca can keep a secret," Lizzie says.
"If the situation was reversed, would you be able to hide something like that from me?" He asks.
"If it was for Steve's safety then yes. I don't like lying but I'd do it to protect my family," she says.
"I can't roll the dice on your safety. In an ideal world, I would love to have Rebecca know. I'd love to meet her other kids and I'd love to have her meet the twins. However, I learned a long time ago that this is far from an ideal world," Bucky says.
Lizzie knows all this but she still wishes things were different.
"I know, I just miss her and it would be nice to have her in our lives again. However, you're right, we can't gamble their safety. They are the most important thing," she says.
They table the conversation there because thoughts of the danger hydra poses is too horrible to think about.
The next morning they are awoken early by a rapid knocking on their bedroom door. Lizzie gets up and opens the door. Steve is standing there with a panicked expression on his face.
"Shhh, you'll wake up the twins," she says.
"Peggy's in labor," Steve says.
Lizzie springs into doctor mood.
"How far apart are her contractions?" Lizzie asks.
"I don't know, like four or five minutes," Steve says.
"What? Why didn't you get me earlier or call the doctor?" Lizzie demands.
She shuts the door in Steve's face and starts to dress.
"You were in labor so long that we thought we had more time," he yells.
She labored for almost 24 hours before having the twins but that was highly irregular.
Bucky is sitting up in bed looking at Lizzie quickly getting dressed.
"Peggy is in labor?" Bucky asks.
"Peggy is about to have the baby and there's no doctor around so I'm going to have to deliver it," Lizzie says.
As soon as she finishes she opens the door and the twins take off.
Lizzie immediately heads into Steve and Peggy's room and finds Peggy on the bed.
"Peggy, can you scoot to the edge of the bed? I need to see how things are progressing," Lizzie says.
Peggy does as she says and Steve helps support her. Lizzie quickly looks and realizes things are a lot further along.
"I see their head," Lizzie says.
She immediately goes into doctor mode and orders Steve to go get all the supplies. When Steve gets out of the room, Peggy turns to Lizzie.
"Lizzie, I can't do this," Peggy cries.
"You're so close, it won't take that much longer," she says.
"No, I mean I can't be a mother. I wasn't made for it," she says.
Peggy winces in pain as another contraction hits. Lizzie knows she's scared but the baby is coming regardless of how Peggy feels.
"Peggy, I know you're scared but I'm going to need you to push for me," Lizzie says sternly.
"I can't," Peggy says.
"Margaret, look at me," Lizzie demands.
Peggy looks up at Lizzie quickly. She has never heard Lizzie use that kind of tone with her.
"You need to get it together. You are the most determined woman I know and you will have this baby. Now stop whining and push," Lizzie says.
Peggy is so surprised that she follows Lizzie instruction without complaint.
By the time Steve returns, the baby is out to their shoulders.
Steve gives Lizzie the supplies and goes to Peggy's side.
"Alright, Peggy, one more big push," Lizzie says.
Peggy follows her directions and a loud cry fills the room.
"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl," Lizzie says with a smile.
Lizzie has Steve cut the cord and then cleans her up and swaddles her. She brings the baby over to Peggy and sets her in her arms.
As she holds her baby girl for the first time, Peggy can't remember why she was so scared. The need to love and protect her is so strong that it is so overpowering for her. When she looks up at Steve, she knows he feels the exact same way.
"Thank you for her," Steve says.
He kisses Peggy on the forehead and then another one on the baby's.
"Does she have a name?" Lizzie asks.
Steve and Peggy had talked about it before hand. Peggy was sure they were having a boy but Steve swore he knew it was a girl. They agreed that whoever was right got to name the baby.
Peggy looks up at Steve waiting for a name.
"Sarah Elizabeth Rogers," Steve says confidently.
Lizzie starts tearing up at the name.
"After mom?" Lizzie asks.
"Yes, she's named after two of the best woman I have ever known. She'll have some big shoes to fill but with who her aunt and mom are, I have no doubt she'll have the best role models," Steve says.
Two years ago, Lizzie never thought she'd get to be an aunt let alone be the aunt of her best friend and her twin brother's child. She got to be there when her niece took her first breathe.
She always knew Steve deserved the world and as she watches her brother gaze down on his wife and daughter, she knew he had the world in his eyes.
"I'll give you guys some alone time," she says.
She begins to leave the room but Peggy yells out to her.
"Lizzie, thank you. For everything," Peggy says.
"Anything for you, Peggy. I just ask that next time you want me to deliver your baby, I get a little more notice," Lizzie jokes.
"Next time?" Peggy asks in exasperation.
Lizzie laughs at Peggy's expression and leaves the room. She walks back over to her house and heads upstairs to take a shower. She goes to the bathroom and thoroughly washes her hands.
She hears a knock and she opens the door. She sits on the counter while Bucky comes in.
"How'd it go?" Bucky asks.
He walks over to her and steps between her legs. He places his hands on her waist while she wraps hers around the back of his neck.
"We have a niece named Sarah Elizabeth," Lizzie says proudly.
"Your mom would've loved that," he says.
Whenever she thinks about her mom, she gets sad. She wishes her mom was here for so many things. She just hums in agreement.
"One more kid and there will be an equal ratio of kids to adults," he says.
"It better be Steve and Peggy who make it even, not us," Lizzie says.
They've briefly talked about if they want more kids but not seriously. Bucky wants more but he doesn't know Lizzie's feelings on it.
"Do you not want any more kids?" Bucky asks sadly.
"Jaime, the twins aren't even two months old," Lizzie says.
"I know but someday down the road," Bucky says.
She can tell how much this means to him but she can't give him the answer he wants. She just had twins and she's already exhausted and she hasn't even gone back to work yet.
"We have two perfect kids, aren't they enough?" Lizzie says.
"Of course they are but I always saw us having a big family," Bucky says in frustration.
A small part of Bucky also wants to get to experience a full pregnancy with her. It's his fault he wasn't there for it but he missed out on so much. He didn't get to see Lizzie's stomach get bigger or get to feel the twins kick for the first time. He was really happy that he got to be there when they were born but he still didn't get to experience those moments with her.
"I'm not saying no more kids, but at this point, I'm happy with what we have," Lizzie says.
She doesn't want to turn him down but she's not ready to talk about any more kids until the twins are older.
"Okay," Bucky says sadly.
Lizzie doesn't like to see him upset so she pulls him down for a kiss. The kiss soon intensifies and eventually they both have to pull away for air.
"Just because we aren't having another kid right now, doesn't mean we can't practice," Lizzie says breathlessly.
"You are a very smart woman Mrs. Barnes," Bucky says.
She nods towards the shower.
"Care to join me?" She says coyly.
He gives a mischievous smile before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. He walks over to the shower and steps in with both of them fully clothed.
"What are you doing?" She yells.
He just laughs and turns the cold water on, hitting her directly in the back. She screams out in shock and hits him on the back.
"Put me down!" She yells.
He listens and as soon as she's down, she flips the water to warm.
She's about to yell at him some more but she can't help but laugh when she sees his sopping wet clothes.
"You're an idiot," she says.
He leans towards her and kisses her softly.
"You married an idiot so what does that say about you?" He asks.
"I must have some kind of superiority complex," she jokes.
"Superiority? I'll show you superiority," Bucky says with a scowl.
He kisses her again but she can't stop laughing so he gives up and laughs with her instead.
They laugh like mad people, standing in the shower while fully clothed. It feels so good because they went through so many years of life without laughter. Life is full of challenges and stress but at the end of the day, the worries didn't matter because they could laugh again.