Steve felt his heart stop beating the second he heard that loud cry fill the room. That cry that he had been waiting to hear for the past nine months. The cry of his newborn daughter.
“You have a healthy baby girl!” the doctor called out to them. “You want to cut the cord, Dad?” she said to Steve over the crying of his new daughter. Steve felt his heart ache even more. Dad. He’s a dad. He’s a father. He’s the father to that beautiful baby girl.
“Y-yeah,” he mumbled as he took the scissors. It was harder to cut than it looked. It was thick and cord like. It looked nothing like it did in the movies. After two snips, that was it. Their daughter was no longer connected to Bucky.
For the first time in the last 16 hours, Steve felt like he actually did something. It had been hell really. He hated every second of it. He hated feeling so helpless as he spent the whole time trying to do whatever he could to help ease the pain for Bucky. It was futile obviously. It was a natural birth, well as natural as it could be, and Steve was useless.
“Oh my god,” breathed Bucky as the baby was placed on his stomach. She was still covered in gunk and blood. She was bald and scrunched up. Her head was very oddly shaped due to her journey down the birth canal. But she was beautiful. “Oh my god,” Bucky repeated. “Hello, there, baby.” He had tears pouring out of his eyes as the nurses scrubbed at the crying baby to try to clean her up a bit.
“You did so good,” Steve mumbled in Bucky’s ear as he pushed back Bucky’s sweat soaked hair. “I love you so much.”
“Okay, now we just have the afterbirth left to go and you are done,” the doctor said as she knelt back between Bucky’s legs.
Bucky looked helplessly at Steve as a nurse pulled down his hospital gown to reveal a swollen nipple. “We’ll have her suckle from you. It will make passing the afterbirth much easier,” she said softly as she helped arrange the baby in Bucky’s arms. Bucky clearly had no idea what he was doing. He looked confused and lost as the nurse helped the baby latch on. He made a strange noise and his eyes widened as she latched.
“This will be much easier than the baby,” another nurse smiled encouragingly.
It was. It didn’t take long at all. Bucky grunted a few times and the afterbirth was out. He didn’t even scream or cry or yell. He didn’t even threaten Steve’s dick, thankfully, this time. He kept his eyes focused on his daughter. Watched his baby suckle from him.
Steve just stood there awkwardly. He didn’t know what to do or how to handle this. He knew how to fight. He knew how to protect his family. He didn’t know what to do during this. He wasn’t needed. He was just there for support and to watch his daughter be brought into the world.
“Steve, look at her,” Bucky rasped as he watched the baby. Bucky still hasn’t taken his eyes off of her. Steve knew the feeling. He couldn’t stop watching both of them.
“She’s so beautiful,” Steve whispered. “She looks like you.”
Bucky laughed softly and ran a flesh finger down the side of her cheek. “I love you so much,” he whispered. “I can’t- I can’t believe you were inside of me. You were the one kicking around in there, huh?” he laughed as more tears poured down his face.
Steve leaned over and pressed his large palm against his daughter’s back, truly touching her for the first time. “I can’t believe she’s here.” She was so small. She looked ridiculous with his big hand against her little back.
Bucky looked up at Steve, tearing his eyes away from his daughter for the first time. He looked like hell. He looked beyond exhausted. Dark rings circled his eyes that were swollen from exhaustion and tears. His hair was soaked in sweat. He was gorgeous. “I didn’t think I could feel like this,” Bucky said softly. “After everything I- I didn’t think I could.”
“You deserve all the happiness in the world,” Steve kissed the top of Bucky’s head. “And you should get some sleep.”
“I don’t want to,” Bucky shook his head as he turned to look at his daughter again. “I don’t think I ever want to sleep again.”
“She’ll probably make sure we don’t,” Steve cracked a small grin. “But you should. You just brought a human being into the world.”
“Dad’s right,” a nurse said. The hospital personnel gave them their space. Allowed them to have some family time while they helped clean up Bucky. “You get some rest and we’ll make sure nothing happens to the baby. We’ll get her all cleaned up and weighed and measured.”
After Steve promised that he would watch her with his life, which was no lie, Bucky agreed to sleep. He didn’t need to have Bucky say it in order to make him watch her. Steve would die for that baby already.
Steve watched as they measured her, 20.2 inches long, and weighed her, 7 lbs 2 oz. He watched as they ran some tests and checked her over. She was perfect. She was healthy. She was everything that Steve could ever hope to dream of.
Bucky still slept after the baby was checked over and so she was given to Steve. He took her in his big arms and looked at her ridiculously tiny body. He felt like he was the clumsiest person in the world just then. He had every fear possible go through his mind. What if he dropped her? What if he tripped and she flew out of his arms. He was petrified. He sat in the rocking chair in their room and just looked at her.
She still looked a little weird. She was still all wrinkly and red. Thankfully, all the gunk and blood was fully removed from her skin. Her head was still weirdly shaped. He had been assured by the doctors and nurses that her head will start to look normal soon and this was totally typical. He loved her so much.
They didn’t plan her. They didn’t even know it was possible to have her. Bucky came out of cryo. Steve pushed for him to live with him. Bucky agreed. They worked together to help Bucky’s memories come back. One thing led to another and soon more than just friendship blossomed. They were in love. They made love almost every day. Bucky was getting better and better every day. Everything was perfect.
Then Bucky got sick. They didn’t know what was going on. Super soldiers couldn’t get sick. It was then that they discovered the little experiment that was performed on him. Steve had never hated Hydra as much as he hated them then. They will just never let them be in peace.
Bucky was closely monitored. Everyone was on high alert to watch for anything that could go wrong. Nothing did. The pregnancy went smoothly, like there was nothing odd about it. Bucky was able to deliver naturally. He didn’t want to be cut open. He begged not to be cut open. He couldn’t do it again.
And here they are. The result of that pregnancy, of those sleepless nights where Steve prayed to God that everything would go smoothly and Bucky would survive this, the result of all of this, rested in Steve’s arms. And Steve was in love.
He never thought he would be a father, but now he would never trade it in for anything in this world.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see a nervous looking nurse. Steve quickly shot a glance to Bucky, who was still sleeping peacefully. “Mr. Rogers, um, there is a group of people that want to see you.”
Steve frowned. “Who are there?”
“I believe they are the Avengers,” she blushed.
Steve smiled and looked down at his daughter. “Do you want to meet Daddy’s friends?” he asked softly. “Will you watch him? I don’t want him to panic if he wakes up and we aren’t here,” he said to the nurse. She nodded and Steve carefully got up.
It was scary to walk with a baby. Steve had never moved so slow in his entire life, but he made it to the waiting area. They were all there. They looked tired, as though they had been waiting this whole time. They actually might have done so.
“Avengers,” Steve smiled. “I would like you to meet Sarah Winifred Rogers, my daughter.”