Chapter Seven
Soroya

Once Shuri and Bruce get done patching me back up, the others were allowed in to see us. The first to hold the baby is Khari, and Olivia loves the feel of his fur lined leather armor, she snuggles against it and instantly falls asleep. The others crowd around him and admire our daughter, whispering how beautiful she is and deciding which of her features come from Bucky and I. The only one who doesn't go fawn over the baby is John, who goes directly over to me and kneels down to be at my eye level.

"How are you feeling?" He asks softly.

"Sore, but I'm fine, Shuri has me on some pretty heavy pain meds," I tell him, reaching up to gently touch his his cheek. "I'm really glad you're here."

John leans into my touch and grabs onto my hand, holding it against his face, letting out a sigh. I don't need my heightened senses to be able to tell how fearful he has been, or the relief he feels now that he sees me, now that he can touch me. I know being here and seeing my child must be hard for him, but he puts on a mask of joy and tells me: "I'm so happy for you, and so proud."

Once he says this he lets go of my hand and joins Jade and Sam, the former holding my sleeping infant in her arms, swaying her from side to side. Alex, Khari, and Rhodey are talking quietly off the side of the room, Okoye and Scott are in a deep discussion about what Olivia's powers are gonna be like, Bucky is talking with Sharon, and T'Challa, Nakia, and Zy are standing next to me, smiling fondly at the new addition to our family.

"I'm glad Zy'aire will have a friend to play with." Nakia says with a grin her son's way. Zy is currently staring at Olivia in curiosity, his little face furrowed in focus.

"Our kids will be close, I can already tell." I say, sharing Nakia's grin.

Shuri appears at my side, her excitement oozing in every word as she informs the three of us: "Your children will be the brightest minds in Wakanda. Between our advanced schools and my teachings, both of your children will get PHD's. It's a guarantee."

I grip onto her hand and let out a soft chuckle. "Olivia is lucky to have an aunt like you."

This makes Shuri's smile grow wider. "You did a great job with her. She's beautiful."

"She really is." T'Challa agrees.

Bruce appears next to Shuri, his expression bittersweet as he says: "Nat would love to be here. She would be so honored to have your daughter partially named after her."

My own happiness fades slightly at the thought of my friend. Though it's been over three years since her death, it never gets any easier. I still miss her everyday, as I do Steve, Julian, and my parents. I hope Nat would be happy, I really do.

Bruce takes a deep breath and forces a smile, clearly trying not to think about Nat too much. "Where does Olivia come from?"

"My youngest sister," Bucky answers from behind Bruce, leaving Sharon to come over to me. "Her name was Olivia. We felt like our daughter should be named after two of the strongest women we knew."

"You should contact our nephews, tell them they have a new cousin." I say with a smile.

"I will, maybe I'll invite them here once you've healed more. I know James, Richard, and Lucas will want to meet her."

"Yeah how long will healing take?" I ask Shuri and Bruce. "And can I stop taking the serum? Can I have my powers back?"

Shuri and Bruce share an unspoken conversation before Bruce answers: "Healing should take less than two weeks for you, and as far as your powers go, now that Olivia is out you are in no danger. You don't have to take the serum anymore, but the question is do you still want Olivia to take the serum?"

Bucky and I have talked about this many times, and he's the one to answer our friends. "Yes we do. While she's a baby there's no way we can teach her to control herself, so until she's a little older we think it's best to continue to give her the serum."

Shuri and Bruce seem happy with that decision. Alex, who has been over by Khari this whole time, walks up from behind me and lets out a cheer, scaring me half to death. "Thank god we get our powers back. I am at my limit here, I'm about to loose my mind."

"It may take a few days for your powers to fully come back since you've been without them for six months. And since it's been six months, your powers may feel really strong at first, like they did when you first got them when you were kids." Shuri explains.

Alex doesn't care, and quite frankly neither do I. He takes the words right out of my mouth as he tells Shuri: "I could use a sensory overload after having six months of silence."

"Though it sucked, I appreciate that you did that for me. It meant a lot." I tell him, smiling up at his head looming over mine. He bends down and kisses my forehead, winking at me.

Amidst the quiet chatter of our family and friends, I hear footsteps on the stairs leading into the lab. When I lift my head up to see who it is, I see it's Everett, who I've just now noticed has been absent from the celebration. He instantly makes his way over to the medical table, glancing between Bucky and I, holding up two pieces of paper.

"One is Olivia's real birth certificate, the other is a fake. The fake one has her name as 'Olivia Natalie Branson', born today in Chadron, Nebraska to Lynn and Louis Branson. Sharon and I are going to go to Chadron today and file the certificate in their town records. I'll make sure to keep updating her life and records as she grows up, so if she ever decides to not be an Avenger like her parents, she can do whatever she pleases as Olivia Branson."

Buck places his hand on Everett's shoulder, giving him the sincerest: "Thank you, this means everything to us."

"Don't mention it, it was my pleasure," Everett responds, smirking at Olivia, who is now in Okoye's arms, looking around the lab in confusion. "She looks a lot like you, Soroya...except the eyes."

It's true, she has Bucky's steel blue eyes, so bright and beautiful they take my breath away every time I see them. In fact, everything about my daughter takes my breath away, as it clearly does with everyone else too. All our family and friends can't get enough of her, and as Okoye tickles her stomach and she giggles, the whole room begins to laugh alongside her. It's amazing how something so small can have such a big impact, how one person can be so loved, just like how loved Olivia is. As her mother, I promise to remind her everyday about how cherished she is in our lives, and how lucky we are to have her.

-

Alex

Soroya is sleeping at the lab overnight, as are Olivia and Bucky. Shuri and Bruce promised they would be in the next room if she needed them, and all our friends agreed to stay the night in the palace to be sure everything goes alright. The rest of us who live here decided to go home for the night, as much as I love my sister and want to be there for her, I want to sleep in my own bed.

As Khari and I walk through our door, I instantly make my way into the kitchen and get two beers, thinking that it's something we both need. Khari seems to agree. With a smile he takes the beer and holds it up in the air, saying proudly:

"To our niece, may she know how much we love her and how excited we are to have her in our family."

I clink my bottle against his. "To our niece."

As Khari and I both drink, the image of Khari holding Olivia comes into my mind. He was the first person to hold her after Bucky and Soroya, and the way she instantly relaxed and snuggled against his chest, it made my heart melt onto the floor. Khari is a natural at this stuff, which is why he'll make such an amazing uncle...but he would be equally as amazing at something else too.

I set my beer down and look at my husband frankly in the eyes, asking him a question I've wanted to ask for a while now. "Do you want kids?"

Khari's expression goes from joyful to serious in an instant, his throat bobbing as he swallows the beer in his mouth before setting the bottle down on the counter. "I have always been under the impression that you didn't."

"For a long time I didn't," I confess to him honestly. "But seeing Soroya and Bucky start their family has made me rethink that, and seeing you today with Olivia...I wish it was possible for us to have a child of our own."

Khari places his hand over mine, offering me a sad smile. "I wish that too, more than anything, but it's still possible for us to have a child, my love. We can adopt."

"So you do want to have kids?"

Khari lets out a laugh, bringing his other hand up to cup my cheek. "Raising a child with you, in our home, with our love filling these walls, it would make my heart complete."

With my free hand I grip onto the neckline of his armor and pull him against my chest, planting my lips on his. His mouth is firm and focused as it moves against mine, his hand snaking up from my face into my hair. After a moment or so he pulls back, his face still close enough so that I feel his breath on my face. He smells like beer.

"I love you, Alexander Roberts-Chikere." He whispers to me, his smile growing into a grin.

Only on rare occasions does he call me 'Alexander', that fact and his low tone make butterflies flap in my stomach. Even after all these years he still makes me feel like I'm floating on cloud nine.

I kiss his cheek and wrap my arms around his neck, cupping the back of his head as I whisper back: "I love you, too."

-

Bucky

My head falls off of the armrest and I abruptly wake up, trying to stretch myself out with the smallest of groans. Sleeping on a chair is really uncomfortable, but there was no way I was going to leave my wife and child here alone tonight. And speaking of my wife, she's not on the medical table, instead she's sitting on a chair next to Olivia's crib, one Shuri borrowed from the hospital.

I pick my chair up and bring it over to sit next to my wife, who is watching our daughter sleep soundly, a soft smile grazing her lips.

"I can't stop staring at her." Lena whispers.

"Neither can I," I whisper back, watching Olivia stir slightly. "She's so perfect, I can't believe she's real."

I see Lena nod out of the corner of my eye. She lets out a sigh through her nose and says to me tenderly: "Steve would have loved to be here, and he would have loved her."

He would have. I remember my sister told me once that she wanted me to find happiness, to find a home despite what I've been through. That home is right here: it's Lena and Olivia. Steve wanted the same thing, he wanted me to find what he found with Peggy Carter. I just wish he were here to see that I found it, I found that life he and my sister wanted me to have.

"He would be really proud of you. As would Julian, as would your parents."

Her tender smile turns sad for a moment, but it quickly bounces back to joyful as she tells me: "I know what I want to name our next baby."

I let out a soft chuckle and raise an eyebrow her way. "You gave birth to Olivia a few hours ago and you're already planning the next one?"

She nods, her smile growing. "The next one will be a boy."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. We named our daughter after the two strongest women we knew, so I want to name our future son after the two strongest men we knew."

I know where she's going with this, so I finish her thought for her: "Steven Julian Barnes. I like the sound of that."

Lena reaches out and grips onto my hand, her smile glowing as she returns her attention back to our daughter, and after a moment, I do too. For hours we watch our daughter sleep, relishing in the life we have built together, and the new chapter in that life that Olivia brings.